When he heard it amounted to at least two hundred ducats, he suddenly bethought him of the richly dressed lady who stood near him at mass, imagining he had seen it upon her arm, but of this he was not certain. He next conjectured she had played him a trick, but neither the time nor place seemed to warrant such a supposition. Besides he did not know her, nor she him, though he wished to learn where she lived.
“I think I have guessed it though now,” he exclaimed, as if a sudden bright thought had struck him. “My purse lay beside me; I was buried in profound devotion, and she, wanting money, thrust her hand into my money-bag, and by accident left the bracelet behind her.” Yet how to reconcile this, he thought, with so much fashion, beauty, and devotion as she displayed.
He felt ashamed of such an accusation, and tried to banish it from his mind. He resolved, however, to keep the bracelet and quietly await the result; then returning in better spirits to settle his account with the agent, not without some jeers, he pre-tended to have forgotten the money, which, having now paid, he felt much happier and easier, and, with a smile on both sides, they took leave.
Sacristy of Santo Marcuola
The next day Messer Gherardo, walking along the streets, observed, upon turning a comer, affixed to a pillar the following advertisement in large letters: “Lost or stolen, a rich gold bracelet, with handsome diamond clasps; whoever will restore it to the owner, by leaving it at the sacristy of Santo Marcuola, shall receive a handsome reward.” Messer Gherardo, thunderstruck at these words, read them again and again, as he would otherwise have had no scruples in retaining the bracelet.
As it was, how-ever, such was the singularity of the case, that he could not help laughing as he directed his steps towards the said sacristy, where, upon his arrival, he inquired for the curate. Taking him on one side, he said, “My reverend father, my business with you is no other than a confession, and if you will give me permission, I will inform you. But you must grant me one condition, without which I must take my leave as I came.” “Speak out,” replied the curate; “what is it? If proper, it is granted.”
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