The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete

Some of the ladies of Trieste thought they would like to act a French play, and I was made stage manager. I had not only to choose the pieces, but to distribute the parts, the l...

An Amusing Meeting in Orsera--Journey to Corfu--My Stay in Constantinople--Bonneval--My Return to Corfu--Madame F.--The False Prince--I Run Away from Corfu--My Frolics at Casopo...

Count Tiretta of Trevisa Abbé Coste--Lambertini, the Pope’s Niece--Her Nick-Name for Tiretta--The Aunt and Niece-- Our Talk by the Fireside--Punishment of Damien--Tiretta’s Mist...

Portrait of the Pretended Countess Piccolomini--Quarrel and Duel--Esther and Her Father, M. D’O.--Esther Still Taken with the Cabala--Piccolomini Forges a Bill of Exchange: Resu...

My Misfortunes in Chiozza--Father Stephano--The Lazzaretto at Ancona--The Greek Slave--My Pilgrimage to Our Lady of Loretto--I Go to Rome on Foot, and From Rome to Naples to Mee...

I had no difficulty in answering the various questions which Doctor Gennaro addressed to me, but I was surprised, and even displeased, at the constant peals of laughter with whi...

M. Dalacqua being very ill, his daughter Barbara gave me my lesson. When it was over, she seized an opportunity of slipping a letter into my pocket, and immediately disappeared,...

One of the ladies, Madame Saxe, was intended by nature to win the devotion of a man of feeling; and if she had not had a jealous officer in her train who never let her go out of...

This man, who, though he did not know me, put the utmost confidence in me, so far from thinking he was horrifying me by the confession of such wickedness, probably considered he...

I The Memoirs of Casanova, though they have enjoyed the popularity of a bad reputation, have never had justice done to them by serious students of literature, of life, and of hi...

I receive the minor orders from the patriarch of Venice-- I get acquainted with Senator Malipiero, with Thérèse Imer, with the niece of the Curate, with Madame Orio, with Nanett...

Fortune, which had taken pleasure in giving me a specimen of its despotic caprice, and had insured my happiness through means which sages would disavow, had not the power to mak...

The Leads, used for the confinement of state prisoners, are in fact the lofts of the ducal palace, and take their name from the large plates of lead with which the roof is cover...

On reflection I concluded that Branicki had not done an ungentlemanly thing in getting into Tomatis’s carriage; he had merely behaved with impetuosity, as if he were the Catai’s...

My Examination--I Give the Clerk Three Hundred Louis--The Midwife and Cartel-Bajac Imprisoned--Mdlle. X. C. V. Is Brought to Bed of a Son and Obliges Her Mother to Make Me Amend...

The poor devil understood the allusion, and as I liked him I reproached myself for having humiliated him unintentionally, but I could not resist the temptation to jest. I hasten...

I am the only daughter of the unfortunate Count X---- o, whom Carvailho Oeiras killed in prison on suspicion of being concerned in the attempt on the king’s life, in which the J...

As I had engaged myself to provide an absolutely impenetrable disguise, I wanted to invent a costume remarkable at once for its originality and its richness. I tortured my brain...

The room I entered was full of people. His excellency, seeing me, smiled and drew upon me the attention of all his guests by saying aloud, “Here comes the young man who is a goo...

My Amours with Gallimena--Journey to Sorrento--Medini-- Goudar--Miss Chudleigh--The Marquis Petina--Gaetano--Madame Cornelis’s Son--An Anecdote of Sara Goudar--The Florentines M...

My niece, now my mistress, grew more dear to me every day, and I could not help trembling when I reflected that Marseilles would be the tomb of our love. Though I could not help...

The idea of the sorry plight in which I had left the Marquis de Prie, his mistress, and perhaps all the company, who had undoubtedly coveted the contents of my cash-box, amused...

There was a reception and a supper at the Court, as they styled the hotel of M. de Chavigni, or rather of the ambassador of the King of France in Switzerland. As I came in I saw...

The ancients, whose fancy was so fertile in allegory, used to figure Innocence as playing with a serpent or with a sharp arrow. These old sages had made a deep study of the huma...

“Those gondoliers,” said the elderly priest, addressing me in order to begin the conversation, “are very fortunate. They took us up at the Rialto for thirty soldi, on condition...

I Undeceive Esther--I set out for Germany--Adventure Near Cologne--The Burgomaster’s Wife; My Conquest of Her--Ball at Bonn--Welcome From the Elector of Cologne--Breakfast at Br...

Thus freed from the cares which the dreadful slanders of Possano had caused me, I gave myself up to the enjoyment of my fair Venetian, doing all in my power to increase her happ...

The difficulties I encountered only served to increase my love for my charming Englishwoman. I went to see her every morning, and as my interest in her condition was genuine, sh...

We entered the ball-room and walked round several times. Donna Ignazia was in such a state of ecstasy that I felt her trembling, and augured well for my amorous projects. Though...

While the three girls were helping Le Duc to pack my mails my landlord entered, gave me his bill, and finding everything correct I paid him, much to his satisfaction. I owed him...

Amongst the letters which were waiting for me was one from the comptroller-general, which advised me that twenty millions in Government securities had been placed in the hands o...

But I had hardly spoken when she came in, and Jarbe went out. I addressed her with the utmost calmness, and begged her to give me back the two bills of exchange I had placed in...

During my journey from the Hague to Paris, short as it was, I had plenty of opportunities for seeing that the mental qualities of my adopted son were by no means equal to his ph...

When the servants had gone away and left us alone, it would have looked strange if we had remained as dumb as two posts; but in my state of mind I did not feel myself capable of...

“M. de Voltaire,” said I, “this is the happiest moment of my life. I have been your pupil for twenty years, and my heart is full of joy to see my master.”

At nine o’clock the next morning, the Abbé Gama was announced. The first thing he did was to shed tears of joy (as he said) at seeing me so well and prosperous after so many yea...

The greatest mistake a man that punishes a knave can commit is to leave the said rogue alive, for he is certain to take vengeance. If I had had my sword in the den of thieves, I...

I thought of leaving Russia at the beginning of the autumn, but I was told by M M. Panin and Alsuwieff that I ought not to go without having spoken to the empress.

I shall not, dear reader, attempt the impossible, however much I should like to describe the joy, the happiness, I may say the ecstasy, which I experienced in returning to Naple...

The manorial castle of the little town of St. Angelo is a vast and ancient building, dating back at least eight centuries, but devoid of regularity, and not indicating the date...

Far from punishing the Corticelli by making her live with Redegonde, the Count d’Aglie seemed to have encouraged her; and I was not sorry for it, since as long as she did not tr...

On Low Sunday Charles paid us a visit with his lovely wife, who seemed totally indifferent to what Christine used to be. Her hair dressed with powder did not please me as well a...

Gardella Portrait of The Duke of Wurtemburg--My Dinner with Gardella, And its Consequences--Unfortunate Meeting--I Play and Lose Four Thousand Louis--Lawsuit--Lucky Flight-- My...

This was the fourth adventure I had had of this kind. There is nothing particularly out of the common in having a fellow-traveller in one’s carriage; this time, however, the aff...

I went in due time to the assembly, and the secretary at the door wrote down my name as I handed in my ticket. When Madame Cornelis saw me she said she was delighted I had come...

The wedding only interested me because of the bride. The plentiful rather than choice repast, the numerous and noisy company, the empty compliments, the silly conversation, the...

Although my Swiss landlord seemed an honest and trustworthy kind of man, I could not help thinking that Nina had acted very imprudently in commending me to him. She was the vice...

When I got to Calais I consigned my post-chaise to the care of the landlord of the inn, and hired a packet. There was only one available for a private party, there being another...

A Jew Named Mardocheus Becomes My Travelling Companion-- He Persuades Me to Lodge in His House--I Fall in Love With His Daughter Leah--After a Stay of Six Weeks I Go to Trieste

On my reappearance, Madame Orio told me, with many heart-felt thanks, that I must for the future consider myself as a privileged and welcome friend, and the evening passed off v...

Before the supper I had loved Armelline to such an extent that I had determined to see her no more, but after it I felt that I must obtain her or die. I saw that she had only co...

All my friends seemed delighted to see me, and I was well pleased to find myself in such good company. People were on the point of leaving Aix for Spa. Nearly everyone went, and...

Different circumstances in my life seem to have combined to render me somewhat superstitious; it is a humiliating confession, and yet I make it. But who could help it? A man who...

Absurd Ideas of Madame D’Urfe on My Supernatural Powers-- Marriage of My Brother--I Conceive a Plan on His Wedding Day--I Go to Holland on a Financial Mission--The Jew Boaz Give...

My Short Stay in Fort St. Andre--My First Repentance in Love Affairs--I Enjoy the Sweets of Revenge, and Prove a Clever Alibi--Arrest of Count Bonafede--My Release--Arrival of t...

As soon as I was left alone with the Sclavonian woman, she took me up to the garret, where she pointed out my bed in a row with four others, three of which belonged to three you...

The Corticelli was as gentle as a lamb, and left me as we got into Turin. I promised I would come and see her, and immediately went to the house the Chevalier had taken, which I...

“Well, chevalier,” I said, “I have read the little note, and I will try and oblige his majesty as soon as possible. However, if I have not time to get away in twenty-four hours,...

At ten o’clock in the morning, cheered by the pleasant feeling of being once more in that Paris which is so imperfect, but which is the only true town in the world, I called on...

These innovations were the work of some six months. The first reform was the abolition of the prohibition on entering the large parlour and even the interior of the convent; for...

This citation, which did not promise to lead to anything agreeable, surprised and displeased me exceedingly. However, I could not avoid it, so I drove to the office of the deput...

If these Memoirs, only written to console me in the dreadful weariness which is slowly killing me in Bohemia--and which, perhaps, would kill me anywhere, since, though my body i...

Without speaking at any length I asked the young grand duke to give me an asylum in his dominions for as long as I might care to stay. I anticipated any questions he might have...

I had made up my mind to spend a quiet six months at Rome, and the day after my arrival I took a pleasant suite of rooms opposite the Spanish Ambassador, whose name was d’Aspura...

Lord Keith--My Appointment to Meet the King in the Garden of Sans-Souci--My Conversation with Frederick the Great--Madame Denis The Pomeranian Cadets--Lambert--I Go to Mitau My...

I reached an elevation from which I could look over a vast stretch of country watered by a little river, and noticing a path leading to a kind of stair, the fancy took me to fol...

My Spaniard was going on before us on horseback, and I was sleeping profoundly beside Don Ciccio Alfani in my comfortable carriage, drawn by four horses, when a violent shock ar...

To celebrate the arrival of her son, Silvia gave a splendid supper to which she had invited all her relatives, and it was a good opportunity for me to make their acquaintance. B...

The youngest daughter of my landlady, Mdlle. Quinson, a young girl between fifteen and sixteen years of age, was in the habit of often coming to my room without being called. It...

Thus ended the first act of the comedy; the second began the next morning. I was just getting up, when I heard a noise at the street door, and on putting my head out of the wind...

The Subterranean Prisons Known as the Wells--Lawrence’s Vengeance--I Enter into a Correspondence With Another Prisoner, Father Balbi: His Character--I Plan With Him a Means of E...

As I fell over the Englishman I had struck my hand against a nail, and the fourth finger of my left hand was bleeding as if a vein had been opened. Betty helped me to tie a hand...

Prince Charles de Biron, the younger son of the Duke of Courland, Major-General in the Russian service, Knight of the Order of St. Alexander Newski, gave me a distinguished rece...

My Grandmother’s Death and Its Consequences--I Lose M. de Malipiero’s Friendship--I Have No Longer a Home-- La Tintoretta--I Am Sent to a Clerical Seminary--I Am Expelled From I...

I have never liked eating by myself, and thus I have never turned hermit, though I once thought of turning monk; but a monk without renouncing all the pleasures of life lives we...

All the Italian actors in Paris insisted upon entertaining me, in order to shew me their magnificence, and they all did it in a sumptuous style. Carlin Bertinazzi who played Har...

I went to St. Lawrence’s Fair with my friend Patu, who, taking it into his head to sup with a Flemish actress known by the name of Morphi, invited me to go with him. I felt no i...

On the Tuesday in Holy Week I was just getting up, when Clairmont came to tell me that a priest who would not give his name wanted to speak to me. I went out in my night-cap, an...

I noticed that the four principal boxes on both sides of the proscenium were adorned with pretty women, but not a single gentleman. In the interval between the first and second...

Bettina must have been in despair, not knowing into whose hands her letter had fallen; to return it to her and thus to allay her anxiety, was therefore a great proof of friendsh...

I Give My Portrait to M. M.--A Present From Her--I Go to the Opera With Her--She Plays At the Faro Table and Replenishes My Empty Purse--Philosophical Conversation With M. M.--...

At supper-time, the doctor, his mother, and one of his sisters came to see me. All of them bore the love of their kind written on their features; they assured me that I should h...

Dear reader, I said enough at the end of the last chapter to make you guess what happened, but no language would be powerful enough to make you realize all the voluptuousness wh...

M. De Bernis Goes Away Leaving Me the Use of His Casino--His Good Advice: How I Follow It--Peril of M. M. and Myself--Mr. Murray, the English Ambassador--Sale of the Casino and...

All you barons, counts, and marquises who laugh at an untitled man who calls himself a gentleman, pause and reflect, spare your disdain till you have degraded him; allow him a g...

“Why did you allow your mother to call herself my wife, little simpleton? Do you think that’s a compliment to my judgment? She might have given herself out for your governess, a...

We all remained for some time dumb with delight. M. de R. was the first to break the silence by giving me a cordial embrace. We burst out into mutual excuses, he for having imag...

When I saw myself in the carriage with this pretty girl, who had fallen on me as if from the clouds, I imagined I was intended to shape her destiny. Her tutelary genius must hav...

The Corticelli had a good warm mantle, but the fool who carried her off had no cloak, even of the most meagre kind, to keep off the piercing cold, which was increased by a keen...

The landlord asked me my name, we made our agreement, and I found myself very comfortably lodged. Next day I went to the post-office and found several letters which had been awa...

The day on which I took Zaira I sent Lambert away, for I did not know what to do with him. He got drunk every day, and when in his cups he was unbearable. Nobody would have anyt...

In spite of my love for Mdlle. Baletti, I did not omit to pay my court to the most noted ladies of the pavement; but I was chiefly interested in kept women, and those who consid...

“I see what you mean; I like that! But console yourself, Veronique is nothing compared to you, in my eyes at all events. You are my only beauty; but to reassure you I will ask M...

Henriette Receives the Visit of M. d’Antoine--I Accompany Her as Far as Geneva and Then I Lose Her--I Cross the St. Bernard, and Return to Parma--A Letter from Henriette-- My De...

The Escape--I Nearly Lose My Life on the Roof--I Get out of the Ducal Palace, Take a Boat, and Reach the Mainland-- Danger to Which I Am Exposed by Father Balbi--My Scheme for R...

Cardinal Passionei received me in a large hall where he was writing. He begged me to wait till he had finished, but he could not ask me to take a seat as he occupied the only ch...

At Genoa, where he was known to all, Pogomas called himself Possano. He introduced me to his wife and daughter, but they were so ugly and disgusting in every respect that I left...

The Minister of Foreign Affairs M. de Boulogne, the Comptroller--M. le Duc de Choiseul--M. Paris du Vernai-- Establishment of the Lottery--My Brother’s Arrival at Paris; His Rec...

I passed a night which seemed like a never-ending nightmare, and I got up sad and savage, feeling as if I could kill a man on the smallest provocation. It seemed as if the house...

M. Haller was a man six feet high and broad in a proportion; he was a well-made man, and a physical as well as a mental colossus. He received me courteously, and when he had rea...

I arrived in Ancona on the 25th of February, 1744, and put up at the best inn. Pleased with my room, I told mine host to prepare for me a good meat dinner; but he answered that...

M. Mote, my landlord, introduced his two sons to me. He had brought them up like young princes. In Switzerland, an inn-keeper is not always a man of no account. There are many w...

What a strange and unexplained power certain words exercise upon the soul! I, who the evening before so bravely fortified myself with my innocence and courage, by the word tribu...

I Purchase a Handsome Carriage, and Proceed to Parma With the Old Captain and the Young Frenchwoman--I Pay a Visit to Javotte, and Present Her With a Beautiful Pair of Gold Brac...

The Fair Invalid I Cure Her--A Plot Formed to Ruin Me--What Happened at the House of the Young Countess Bonafede--The Erberia--Domiciliary Visit--My Conversation with M. de Brag...

Continuation of My Intrigues with C. C.--M. de Bragadin Asks the Hand of That Young Person for Me--Her Father Refuses, and Sends Her to a Convent--De la Haye--I Lose All my Mone...

There is nothing, there can be nothing, dearer to a thinking being than life; yet the voluptuous men, those who try to enjoy it in the best manner, are the men who practise with...

Continues the Preceding Chapter--M. M. Recovers--I Return to Venice--Tonine Consoles Me--Decrease of My Love For M. M.-- Doctor Righelini--Curious Conversation With Him--How Thi...

With an education which ought to have ensured me an honourable standing in the world, with some intelligence, wit, good literary and scientific knowledge, and endowed with those...

The Incantation--A Terrible Storm--My Fright--Javotte’s Virginity Is Saved--I Give Up the Undertaking, and Sell the Sheath to Capitani--I Meet Juliette and Count Alfani, Alias C...

The Abby de la Ville--The Abby Galiani--The Neapolitan Dialect--I Set Out for Dunkirk on a Secret Mission-- I Succeed--I Return to Paris by Amiens--My Adventure by the Way--M. d...

Necessity, that imperious law and my only excuse, having made me almost the partner of a cheat, there was still the difficulty of finding the three hundred sequins required; but...

I Receive Good News From Venice, to Which City I Return with De la Haye and Bavois--My Three Friends Give Me a Warm Welcome; Their Surprise at Finding Me a Model of Devotion-- B...

Soradaci had had my letters for two or three days when Lawrence came one afternoon to take him to the secretary. As he was several hours away, I hoped to see his face no more; b...

My beautiful nun had not spoken to me, and I was glad of it, for I was so astonished, so completely under the spell of her beauty, that I might have given her a very poor opinio...

Supper at My Casino With M. M. and M. de Bernis, the French Ambassador--A Proposal from M. M.; I Accept It-- Consequences--C. C. is Unfaithful to Me, and I Cannot Complain

I Am in Danger of Perishing in the Lagunes--Illness--Letters from C. C. and M. M.--The Quarrel is Made Up--Meeting at the Casino of Muran--I Learn the Name of M. M.’s Friend, an...

Leave Bologna a Happy Man--The Captain Parts from Us in Reggio, where I Spend a Delightful Night with Henriette--Our Arrival in Parma--Henriette Resumes the Costume of a Woman;...

Augusta Becomes Lord Pembroke’s Titular Mistress--The King of Corsica’s Son--M. du Claude, or the Jesuit Lavalette-- Departure of the Hanoverians--I Balance My Accounts-- The Ba...

The governor of the galeasses having issued orders for a general review at Gouyn, M. F----, left for that place in his galley, telling me to join him there early on the followin...

I Find a Lodging in the House of the Chief of the Sbirri--I Pass a Good Night There and Recover My Strength--I Go to Mass--A Disagreeable Meeting--I Am Obliged to Take Six Sequi...

The name Charpillon reminded me that I was the bearer of a letter for her, and drawing it from my pocket-book I gave it her, saying that the document ought to cement our acquain...

I Engage a Box at the Opera, in Spite of Henriette’s Reluctance--M. Dubois Pays Us a Visit and Dines with Us; My Darling Plays Him a Trick--Henriette Argues on Happiness-- We Ca...

As usual, Madame d’Urfe received me with open arms, but I was surprised at hearing her tell Aranda to fetch the sealed letter she had given him in the morning. I opened it, foun...

Pleasant Ending of the Adventure of the False Nun--M. M. Finds Out That I Have a Mistress--She is Avenged on the Wretch Capsucefalo--I Ruin Myself at Play, and at the Suggestion...

My former partner was, as I have said before, a skilful and experienced hand at securing the favours of Fortune; he was driving a good trade in Venice, and as he was amiable, an...

I was standing at some distance from my carriage into which they were putting four horses, when a man accosted me and asked me if I would pay in advance or at the next stage. Wi...

As we were leaving the house we met the two eldest sisters, who came home looking very sad. I was struck by their beauty, and extremely surprised to hear myself greeted by one o...

I Return the Portrait I Had Stolen in Vienna--I Proceed to Padua--An Adventure on My Way Back, and Its Consequences-- I Meet Thérèse Imer Again--My Acquaintance With Mademoisell...

The next morning P---- C---- called on me with an air of triumph; he told me that his sister had confessed to her mother that we loved one another, and that if she was ever to b...

According to my promise, I went to see M---- M---- two days afterwards, but as soon as she came to the parlour she told me that her lover had said he was coming, and that she ex...

The cool way in which the abbot told these cock-and-bull stories gave me an inclination to laughter, which the holiness of the place and the laws of politeness had much difficul...

Precisely at twelve o’clock the peotta landed me at Ponte di Lago Oscuro, and I immediately took a post-chaise to reach Ferrara in time for dinner. I put up at St. Mark’s Hotel....

I Renounce the Clerical Profession, and Enter the Military Service--Thérèse Leaves for Naples, and I Go to Venice--I Am Appointed Ensign in the Army of My Native Country--I Emba...

As soon as I had regained my usual strength, I went to take leave of the Marquis d’Argens and his brother. I dined with them, pretending not to observe the presence of the Jesui...

The opera was nearly over when I was accosted by a young man who, abruptly, and without any introduction, told me that as a stranger I had been very wrong in spending two months...

Arrived, for the first time, in the capital of Austria, at the age of eight-and-twenty, well provided with clothes, but rather short of money--a circumstance which made it neces...

I asked in my dialogue whether it was lawful for a provost-marshal to call himself simply marshal, and whether a lieutenant-colonel had a right to the title of colonel. I also a...

“I shall be delighted. It will be the most precious of all my jewels, but I wonder how you can ask me to take it as a favour, whereas you are doing me a favour I should never ha...

Mdlle. X. C. V. had now been in the convent for a month, and her affair had ceased to be a common topic of conversation. I thought I should hear no more of it, but I was mistake...

A woman, ugly enough, but lively like all Italians, called on me, and asked me to intercede with the police to obtain permission for her company to act in Augsburg. In spite of...

If she had written all this to me instead of coming and delivering it viva voce, it would probably have produced no effect; there would have been no tears, no ravishing features...

Don Jacob Casanova, the illegitimate son of Don Francisco Casanova, was a native of Saragosa, the capital of Aragon, and in the year of 1428 he carried off Dona Anna Palofax fro...

“My lord, I do my best, but it is really impossible to spend more, unless I compel the inn-keepers to take double the amount of their bills; and your eminence will admit that no...