"Why not, if you refuse his invitation to dinner tomorrow?"

"Tell his highness that his commands shall be obeyed. Will you present me
to him now?"

"He has left the ball, but wait on me to-morrow at noon." So saying, he
gave me his hand and went away.

I took care to keep the appointment on the day following, but when I was
presented I was in some confusion, as the Elector was surrounded by five
or six courtiers, and never having seen him I looked in vain for an
ecclesiastic. He saw my embarrassment and hastened to put an end to it,
saying, in bad Venetian, "I am wearing the costume of Grand Master of the
Teutonic Order to-day." In spite of his costume I made the usual
genuflexion, and when I would have kissed his hand he would not allow it,
but shook mine in an affectionate manner. "I was at Venice," said he,
"when you were under the Leads, and my nephew, the Elector of Bavaria,
told me that after your fortunate escape you stayed some time at Munich;
if you had come to Cologne I should have kept you. I hope that after
dinner you will be kind enough to tell us the story of your escape, that
you will stay to supper, and will join in a little masquerade with which
we propose to amuse ourselves."

I promised to tell my tale if he thought it would not weary him, warning
him that it would take two hours. "One could never have too much of a
good thing," he was kind enough to say; and I made him laugh by my
account of the conversation between the Duc de Choiseul and myself.

At dinner the prince spoke to me in Venetian, and was pleased to be most