He ate rolls and butter, eggs, cold meat, continually excusing himself
for his outrageous hunger, while Bragadino looked on well pleased.
"I do like young people to have a healthy appetite," said the Senator.
"As far as I can remember, my dear Casanova, you have always been a
good trencherman!" He recalled to mind a meal which he and Casanova had
enjoyed together in the early days of their acquaintance. "Or rather, as
now, I sat looking on while you ate. I had not taken a long walk, as
you had. It was shortly after you had kicked that physician out of the
house, the man who had almost been the death of me with his perpetual
bleedings."
They went on talking of old times--when life had been better in Venice
than it was to-day.
"Not everywhere," said Casanova, with a smiling allusion to The Leads.
Bragadino waved away the suggestion, as if this were not a suitable time
for a reference to such petty disagreeables. "Besides, you must know
that I did everything I could to save you from punishment, though
unfortunately my efforts proved unavailing. Of course, if in those days
I had already been a member of the Council of Ten!"
This broached the topic of political affairs.
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