“Most effectually: while I was delivering the closing speech to the public in his stead, he, without saying a word, put an old cap of his own on my head, flung a tattered red cloak about my shoulders, and rubbed some ochre on my face. Then, as soon as the curtain had fallen, he said in my ear:
“‘Goffredi, take the theatre on your back and follow me.’
“And, in fact, we passed through the square in this way, and left the village without being molested. We travelled all night, and before daylight had reached the Roman campagna.”
“But who was this devoted friend?”
“It was a young man of good family, one Guido Massarelli, who, like myself, had run away from the kingdom of Naples. His difficulty was a less serious one than mine; he had fled only from his creditors. But he was not so good a fellow as I, Monsieur Goefle, notwithstanding; I give you my word for it! Still, he was an amiable young man, well educated, accomplished, and with extremely attractive manners. I had been quite intimate with him in Naples, where he had wasted his property, and had made many friends. He was the son of a wealthy merchant, was naturally well endowed, and had received an excellent education; but, like myself, he had been too early launched in a society much too expensive for him; so that he speedily found himself without resources. I had myself supported him for some time; but as he could not be contented to live simply, and had not the force of character to work for a living, he had ended by becoming a swindler.”
“Did you know this?”
“I did, but I could not find it in my heart to reproach him at the moment when he had saved my life. Like myself, he was in a state of complete destitution. He had absconded with a few crowns, and with these had purchased from a mountebank a theatre of marionettes, which he used not so much to make his living as to hide his face.
“‘This business of mine,’ he said, ‘is a stroke of genius upon my part. Here I have been for two months rambling about the kingdom of Naples without being recognized. Perhaps you will ask why I do not go further away. The reason is, that I have creditors in all parts of Italy; I shall find them everywhere, unless I go as far as France. Besides, I had left some little love affairs at Naples that were still pulling at my heart, and I could not make up my mind to leave the neighborhood. This light cloth watch-tower keeps me invisible in the midst of the crowd. While all eyes are fixed upon my burattini, no one thinks of inquiring who the man is that moves them. I go from one neighborhood to another walking erect inside of my shell, and when I am once out of it, nobody knows that I am the same person who has been diverting the public.’
“‘It certainly is a good idea,’ I said; ‘but what do you propose to do now?’
“‘Whatever you choose,’ he answered; ‘I am so glad to meet you again, and to be of service to you, that I will go with you wherever you like. I am more attached to you than I can express. You have always treated me with indulgence. You are not rich, but you have done much more for me in proportion than many of my friends who are. You have defended me when I have been accused; and even while blaming me for my follies, have always tried to persuade me that I was perfectly able to reform. I do not know that you are right, but I am sure of this: that for the sake of pleasing you, I will make one supreme effort, only provided it be out of Italy; for anywhere in Italy I am lost and dishonored. If I am to attempt a better life, I must do it in a foreign country, and under an assumed name.’