Giacomo Casanova: A Life From Beginning to End by Hourly History

Author:Hourly History [History, Hourly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hourly History
Published: 2018-06-26T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

Spying and Dueling, Incest and Imprisonment

“Why should I deny myself this gratification?”

—Giacomo Casanova

Casanova found his influential friends in Paris preoccupied with the interesting scheme of beginning a national lottery. Dubious about the risks, the men listened attentively to Casanova’s mathematical calculations and his optimistic opinions. Giacomo Casanova would be just the man to become an effective trustee, they decided. They were right. Casanova not only made the French national lottery a success but also greatly enriched himself as a ticket salesman. His social standing in Paris blossomed.

In May of 1757, Casanova was given a secret mission of spying on the British Navy at Dunkirk. His subsequent report was pronounced “very accurate,” though Casanova himself felt that the French admiralty could have attained the information using “any intelligent young naval officer” without paying the high price with which they rewarded him for his work.

In his leisure time, Casanova dabbled in knowledge of a different sort altogether, visiting local occultists and pretending to be able to effect physical healings or revelations from the spirit world through occult practices. Through this means he made friends with the wealthy Marquise d’Urfé, a superstitious woman who would use her wealth and influence on Casanova’s behalf for years to come, although he played shamefully on her gullibility.

Casanova’s next adventures took place in Amsterdam and Holland, where he was sent to sell state bonds and where he had the pleasure of experiencing ice sailing. Once again, he substantially increased his wealth. In Holland, Casanova also discovered that he had a young daughter, whose distinct resemblance to himself pleased him so much that he begged her mother to allow him to take the little girl with him. The mother refused but permitted him to take her son instead. Casanova agreed even though he was not the father of the boy, but he quickly realized that he liked the lad less and less the longer he was with him. Once in Paris, he allowed the Marquise d’Urfé to take charge of the boy, further strengthening his relationship with this wealthy, doting woman.

This would not be the final time that Casanova would discover an unknown son or daughter. Some were abandoned by their mothers and became wards of the state; some were cherished and acknowledged to be his children; some were claimed by other men as their own. Casanova would never know how many fatherless children he had scattered across Europe.

Now an independently wealthy man, Casanova established a silk manufactory in Paris at which he hired a number of young ladies to work. Ironically, the business was not profitable enough to support Casanova’s perpetual and expensive purchases of the sexual favors of the girls working for him along with the other expenses of his extravagant lifestyle. Soon, he was imprisoned for debt and released only through the intervention of his friends. He would have to leave France for the time being.

Casanova attempted to improve his fortunes in Holland once again, but this time he was unsuccessful. A wild succession

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