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A number of our friends were not able to join in the discussion this Saturday due to the big snowstorm in the NE knocking out their power and internet. Consequently, I am posting a cleaned up version of the transcript. Thank you to all who joined us and all who were interested.

09:37] Aldo Stern: well as for the question of how we found Lady Miller's book and decided to have a talk about it -- that's a good place to start our discussion today
[09:37] Gloriana Maertens: I loved the NCs, by the way, reading them was a fun way to spend the morning.
[09:37] Aldo Stern: I just happened to see a reference to lady Miller's book in some other online articles
[09:37] Aldo Stern: and found there the only e-book version was the scan that had never been edited
[09:38] Aldo Stern: so I took the part that had to do with the part of Italy that our sim is connected with
[09:38] Aldo Stern: we are after all, technically a part of the Kingdom of Naples here
[09:38] Aldo Stern: so I took the most interesting section related to the time she spent getting to and staying in Naples
[09:39] Aldo Stern: may I ask if you enjoyed it?
[09:39] Aldo Stern: it sounds like Gloriana did...thank you
[09:39] Vulpine Eldrich: it's an enjoyment I look forward to, sadly I did little more than read enough to see what it was. I'm here to do more listening than chatting
[09:40] Aldo Stern: we're glad to have you here, Vulpine -- listening OR chatting
[09:40] Aldo Stern: or a bit of both
[09:40] Vulpine Eldrich: as always
[09:41] Gloriana Maertens: I was very amused by the attention paid to the lack of observing precedence and etiquette
[09:41] Aldo Stern: hah yes!
[09:41] Vulpine Eldrich: which makes rp here a bit more likely for those of us not acquainted with 18th century etiquette anyway
[09:42] Aldo Stern: I don't know if the King and Queen of Naples were like that all the time...I assume there may have been some other ceremonial situations that were more formal
[09:42] Aldo Stern: but as for their fetes and dinners and opera evenings
[09:42] Aldo Stern: it certainly sounds like they were pretty easy going
[09:43] Gloriana Maertens: ...but there still was attention paid, for all of that. Her notes wrt standing with a drink in her hand, and the Queen's attention thereby to put her at ease.
[09:43] Aldo Stern: and yes, Vulpine, we always tell people that they shouldn't expect too much formality here
[09:43] MariaLouisa Muircastle: Thank goodness for that
[09:43] Aldo Stern: as even in Naples, the King and Queen aren't too crazy about it
[09:43] Vulpine Eldrich: so how and where were these letters published?
[09:43] Aldo Stern: lady Miller wrote them to a friend while she was traveling in 1770-71
[09:43] Aldo Stern: another English lady who lived in France
[09:44] Aldo Stern: she had them published as a book in 1776
[09:44] Aldo Stern: with certain details removed
[09:44] Aldo Stern: like names of people who might not have wanted to be talked about in a public way
[09:45] Aldo Stern: the book was published in London and apparently sold rather well
[09:45] Vulpine Eldrich: the names have been changed to protect the innocent....
[09:45] Aldo Stern: I was telling the folks before you got here, if you want to see a e-book that was scanned from an original
[09:45] Aldo Stern: there is a link in one of the books on the sidetable over under the Minerva painting
[09:46] Aldo Stern: so besides the lack of formal etiquette and courtly rules...
[09:46] Aldo Stern: were there other things that struck any of you as particularly interesting in the excerpts?
[09:47] Vulpine Eldrich: the main thing that catches my attention is that a woman author can have a moderately good following as a writer at this time and place
[09:47] Aldo Stern: yes
[09:47] Aldo Stern: she also had a literary salon of her own at her home in Britain
[09:48] Aldo Stern: though a number of people thought she was a bit pretentious
[09:48] Mercury Gandt: You can't mean it, Aldo
[09:48] Aldo Stern: perhaps overreaching her station
[09:48] Aphrodite Macbain: normal
[09:48] Aldo Stern: but that was from people like Horace Walpole and he was snotty about everyone and everything
[09:48] Aphrodite Macbain: 'twas ever thus
[09:48] Gloriana Maertens chuckles
[09:49] MariaLouisa Muircastle:
[09:49] Aldo Stern: Horace Walpole was actually pretty much a jerk
[09:49] Aldo Stern: but the other people who had disdianful things to say about Lady Miller..well it may have been jealousy
[09:49] Aldo Stern: good question Aph
[09:50] Aphrodite Macbain: strong women are often the target of fools
[09:50] Mercury Gandt says nothing so far about Lady Miller, but prepares to sharpen his rapier-like wit against her
[09:50] Aphrodite Macbain: laughs
[09:50] Aphrodite Macbain: then I'll pull out my hat pin
[09:50] Aldo Stern: in an odd way it's kind of like the way that people are so critical of King Ferdinand
[09:50] Gloriana Maertens: Was it that she was a writer herself that people found objectionable? Or that she was so public about it - the salon and so forth?
[09:50] Aphrodite Macbain: how?
[09:51] Aphrodite Macbain: there were women writers in her day
[09:51] Aldo Stern: I'm not sure Gloriana, but yes, it was probably that it was very public
[09:51] Aldo Stern: and she was well known
[09:51] Gloriana Maertens: "Not befitting the modesty more suitable for a woman" and such like, I'm sure. ^.^
[09:52] Aldo Stern: a lot of the criticism was about her appearance..which indicates to me that it was just people being spiteful
[09:52] Aldo Stern: but back to my point about King Ferdinand
[09:52] Aldo Stern: here is a guy who is called the "Re lazzarone"
[09:52] Aldo Stern: the beggar or rascal king
[09:52] Aldo Stern: because he hangs around with the common people
[09:52] Aldo Stern: and speaks their dialect
[09:53] Aldo Stern: and is very informal
[09:53] Mercury Gandt: I didn't know that, interesting
[09:53] Aldo Stern: and not well educated
[09:53] Aldo Stern: ...so he is called by some a terrible king
[09:54] Aldo Stern: but it's interesting to me that he managed to rule for 50 years and when the French came and drove him out of Naples it was the common people who rose up and fought on his behalf to get Naples back for him
[09:55] Aldo Stern: So he is criticized as a lout and a lunkhead....but I ask you, was it jealusy? was it just that people thought he didn't act like a King should? I would argue ...a King who is loved by the common people so they would fight for him -- sounds to me like he was doing pretty well
[09:55] Aldo Stern: certainly beats the heck out of Louis the XVI on that front
[09:55] Aphrodite Macbain: was he Italian? from Naples?
[09:55] Aldo Stern: he was a Spanish Bourbon but he was born in Naples, I think
[09:56] Aldo Stern: just checked
[09:56] Aldo Stern: yes he was born in Naples
[09:56] Aphrodite Macbain: So he wasn't really a Neapolitan, but managed to integrate himself into them?
[09:56] Aldo Stern: yes -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_I_of_the_Two_Sicilies#Childhood
[09:57] Aphrodite Macbain: 50 years is a long time to rule
[09:57] Aldo Stern: and the Queen Maria Carolina, was of course Austrian
[09:57] Aldo Stern: their chief minister for many years was of English descent
[09:58] Aphrodite Macbain: Interesting that they kicked out the Jesuits
[09:58] Aldo Stern: and you may have noticed when Lady Miller was talking about the people she met
[09:58] Aldo Stern: they were from many different places
[09:58] Vulpine Eldrich: significant, particularly at that time
[09:58] Gloriana Maertens nods. i did note that.
[09:58] Aphrodite Macbain: Naples was a melting pot
[09:58] Aldo Stern: yes
[09:58] Aldo Stern: like our island
[09:58] Aphrodite Macbain:
[09:58] Aldo Stern: and the English in particular were very popular
[09:59] Aphrodite Macbain: I wonder why
[09:59] Aldo Stern: I don't think I included it in the notes, but Lady Miller said she thought the Neapolitans liked English people better than English people liked themselves
[09:59] Aldo Stern: But as far as why the Neapolitans liked the English so much --- well that's a good question
[10:00] Aldo Stern: why do you think they may have liked the English so much, Aph?
[10:00] Aphrodite Macbain: lol
[10:00] Aphrodite Macbain: because they were so different?
[10:00] Aldo Stern: how so?
[10:00] Aphrodite Macbain: because they offered an alternate culture - more organized perhaps, more democratic
[10:01] Aphrodite Macbain: I am only guessing
[10:01] Mercury Gandt: (smiles) My guess is, they had spent a fortune on their travels
[10:01] Aphrodite Macbain: They were also enemies of France
[10:01] Gloriana Maertens: The enemy of my enemy is my friend?
[10:01] Aphrodite Macbain: something like that
[10:01] Aldo Stern: yes, Mercury...tourists spending lots of money are fun to have around
[10:02] Aldo Stern: but tourists can also be unpleasant -- think the "ugly American" of the 50s and 60s -- and you can hate them even as you cheerfully take their money
[10:02] Gloriana Maertens: ...there's also the Mary connection, with Phillip, but that's about a century past and didn't turn out that well, all things considered. So maybe not that.
[10:02] Aphrodite Macbain: yes, they are wanted, but can also be resented. Especially if they try to impose their cultural habits and values on local culture
[10:03] Mercury Gandt: ...as Lady Miller hints sometimes in her letters, Aph..
[10:03] Aldo Stern: That's a very good point Aph...and that's the difference here, perhaps -- think about the Englishman that most Neapolitans know as the representative of the UK
[10:03] Aldo Stern: Sir William Hamilton -- for many many years, the British ambassador to Naples
[10:04] Aldo Stern: In effect, the Englishman that most Neapolitans knew best was a very good example of some of the best aspects of his culture and socieity -- not only is he a genuinely nice guy but he loves and embraces Italian culture
[10:04] Aphrodite Macbain: smiles- who couldn't?
[10:05] Aldo Stern: as far as being a nice guy
[10:05] Aldo Stern: did you note how generous and welcoming he is with Lady Miller and her husband?
[10:05] Aldo Stern: and he has musical evenings at his home every week
[10:05] Aldo Stern: both Englishmen, and Italians are welcomed
[10:05] Aphrodite Macbain: I wonder what role Lady Hamilton played in all this.
[10:06] Aldo Stern: lots -- but the lady Hamilton who Lady Miller met was the first wife of the ambassador (she dies in 1782, Emma comes in 1786) and Emma Hamilton was helpful in making connections in Naples society too
[10:06] Aldo Stern: she was charming
[10:06] Aldo Stern: and pretty
[10:06] Aphrodite Macbain: or was she more interested in Lord Nelson
[10:06] Aldo Stern: not at this time
[10:06] Aldo Stern: Nelson isn't there until the late 1790s
[10:06] Aldo Stern: this is 20 years before that
[10:07] Aphrodite Macbain: nods
[10:07] Aldo Stern: on another note, what did you think of lady Miller's account of actually getting to Naples from Rome?
[10:08] Gloriana Maertens: What a horrid journey. >.<
[10:08] Mercury Gandt: If I had read it in 1776, I would have never travel to Italy
[10:08] Aldo Stern: at least not maybe by land
[10:08] Aphrodite Macbain: I haven't had a chance to read this. How did she travel? By boat or by carriage?
[10:08] Aldo Stern: carriage
[10:09] Gloriana Maertens: and a series of really bad accommodations
[10:09] Aldo Stern: follwing the route of the old Roman road
[10:09] Aphrodite Macbain: and the roads must have been terrible and dangerous
[10:09] Aldo Stern: part of which is actually under water
[10:09] Aphrodite Macbain: rainy season?
[10:09] Aldo Stern: I loved some of the detail
[10:09] Gloriana Maertens: ...you get the feeling they existed merely to provide a roof and to separate tourists with their money.
[10:09] Aldo Stern: not just about the food and the inns with no windows...but things like the fact that her husband kept a blunderbuss with him during the trip
[10:10] Mercury Gandt:
[10:10] Aphrodite Macbain: what a time of year to travel!
[10:10] Aldo Stern: they were traveling in Winter
[10:10] Vulpine Eldrich: I doubt they were deliberately bad, usually that sort of place has nothing to spend on its maintenance anyway
[10:10] Aldo Stern: yes. clearly these were country people without a lot of resources for themselves, let alone travelers
[10:11] Gloriana Maertens: I suppose I shouldn't expect Holiday Inns. :D
[10:11] Aldo Stern: though some were better than others
[10:12] Aldo Stern: and one should keep in mind that much of Italy had been fought over for the previous several centuries -- war and passing armies tend to reduce the amount of resources in the countryside for generations
[10:12] Vulpine Eldrich: she's not going to complain about them being bad if there aren't better elsewhere (though obviously nowhere on her route to Naples)
[10:12] Vulpine Eldrich: and was about to be again, if I read Ferdinand's history correctly... first the French revolution, then the Napoleonic wars
[10:13] Aldo Stern: yes
[10:13] Aldo Stern: that may also go back to some of why the Neapolitans liked the British
[10:13] Aldo Stern: there wasn't the same kind of history there
[10:14] Aldo Stern: the French the Austrians, the Spanish had at various times conquered and ruled southern Italy
[10:14] Aldo Stern: they came in, ruled things (usually badly) and then got driven out by someone else -- and the Italians didn't forget this...
[10:14] Aldo Stern: after all the Sicilians still talk about the Sicilian Vespers like it happened last week
[10:14] Aldo Stern: when it was actually in the 1200's
[10:15] Aphrodite Macbain: sounds like Ireland
[10:15] Aldo Stern: yes
[10:16] Vulpine Eldrich: hardly unique in areas with long lasting cultural memories. Though modern Americans don't have much experience with that.
[10:16] Aldo Stern: well sort of...
[10:17] Aphrodite Macbain: I will tiptoe away and make coffee
[10:17] Aldo Stern: I worked for a while for the Pequot Indian tribe in Conn. and their war with the English colonists was still a raw, sore issue for them
[10:17] Aldo Stern: and that happened in 1637
[10:17] Gloriana Maertens waves to Aphrodite
[10:17] Aldo Stern: but they talk about it like it was last week
[10:18] Aldo Stern: thank you Aph
[10:18] Vulpine Eldrich nods
[10:18] Aldo Stern: see you in a bit
[10:18] Aldo Stern: would you mind if I would call your attention to a few things that I found particularity intriguing
[10:18] Vulpine Eldrich: please do
[10:18] Aldo Stern: well besides the lack of formality that Gloriana mentioned
[10:19] Aldo Stern: and the trip details...
[10:19] Aldo Stern: ...I loved the blunderbuss...
[10:19] Aldo Stern: but that we also found evidence that English visitors in southern Italy DID in fact enjoy sea bathing
in the 18th century
[10:19] Aldo Stern: and from the description it seemed that Italians did too
[10:19] Mercury Gandt: Yes I smiled reading that part
[10:20] Vulpine Eldrich: it certainly makes our own facilities less an oddity and more of a fashionable thing
[10:20] Mercury Gandt: And they were good swimmers!
[10:20] Aldo Stern: ha, yes Mercury so the next time some know-it-all tries to tell you that our bathing beach is implausible, you can tell him we have documentation and he can go jump in the lake
[10:21] Gloriana Maertens: ...literally.
[10:21] Vulpine Eldrich: preferably with his clothes on to avoid offending the refined facilities of any piscine relatives he might have below
[10:21] Mercury Gandt: I haven't had the slightest doubt about it, Aldo
[10:21] Aldo Stern: and I also enjoyed the descriptions of the musical evenings at the Hamilton's... that it was not just having professionals or the hired help perform music...but something that guests and hosts joined in as well
[10:22] Vulpine Eldrich: now that's more like a party
[10:22] Mercury Gandt: karaoke party :P
[10:22] Aldo Stern: hahah yes, sort of
[10:23] Aldo Stern: and again, I was very impressed by the variety of nationalities that were represented...
[10:23] Aldo Stern: like the lady who provided lodging to lady Miller in Naples was the widow of a Spanish Marquis...which was also a very cool detail -- the idea of upper class ladies making ends meet in very practical ways
[10:25] Vulpine Eldrich: and nicely done, since having guests would be a noble thing to do (the fact that they are paying for it a small detail easily ignored when convenient)
[10:25] Aldo Stern: yes!
[10:25] Gloriana Maertens: "Proper" guests, at that. ^.^
[10:25] Vulpine Eldrich giggles
[10:26] Gloriana Maertens: ...the letters of introductions and multi-state social networking mentioned was of interest to me as well
[10:26] Aldo Stern: oh yes
[10:27] Mercury Gandt: I know I'm unjust saying this since I didn't know all her letters but I missed a kind of personality from her writings - I don't have an idea what kind of a person she could be
[10:27] Aldo Stern: that's a good question Mercury
[10:28] Aldo Stern: I would be curious if you try reading the entire book if it would give you a better sense
[10:28] Mercury Gandt: I don't dare to take the risk :P
[10:29] Aldo Stern: but i do agree with you, you have to sort of read between the lines and do some overall analysis to get an idea of what lady Miller is like as a person
[10:30] Aldo Stern: I have the sense she was a pretty adaptable person..essentially kind, and yes, a bit of a suck-up, perhaps
[10:30] Mercury Gandt: Disciplined then - she doesn't give out her opinion easily - I can't decide if she is whining, or objective when writing about the inns, for example
[10:30] Mercury Gandt: Or she likes the queen or not
[10:31] Aldo Stern: oh I think there is a difference between whining and complaining
[10:31] Vulpine Eldrich: She notes that she's rather tired of repeating herself on those
[10:31] Mercury Gandt: Surely there is - and I can't see which she is
[10:31] Aldo Stern: I think the really interesting aspect of it
[10:32] Aldo Stern: and perhaps the only way of knowing for sure would be to talk to her husband
[10:32] Vulpine Eldrich laughs
[10:32] Aldo Stern: she may have soldiered through it all, and only really complained to her friend in the letters
[10:32] Gloriana Maertens: there's a bit of wit to it though. when she describes the broth of a stew as a close cousin to the oil used for the lamps, for instance.
[10:32] Vulpine Eldrich: actually, it is something to read between the lines when someone describes themselves
[10:33] Vulpine Eldrich: other times, it's a bit more obvious...
[10:33] Aldo Stern: or she may have whined the whole time and her husband possibly wanted at some point to sell her to the banditi if she didn't close her pie-hole
[10:33] Mercury Gandt: lol
[10:34] Aldo Stern: But inthe end, I suspect she wasn't a bad traveling companion...and she certainly had diverse interests, including the art and history around them
[10:35] Gloriana Maertens: But in a Cousin Violet kind of way? Don't get me wrong, I loves me some snark. ^.^
[10:35] Vulpine Eldrich: a necessary breadth of interest to desire traveling as a tourist in the first place
[10:35] Aldo Stern: yes, very true Vulpine
[10:35] Vulpine Eldrich: (why ELSE are you going to go suffer in inns with no windows and rope beds)
[10:35] Aldo Stern: otherwise you can stay at home and be comfortable
[10:36] Aldo Stern: again I invite you to take the link and look at the actual book
[10:36] Aldo Stern: I think we are at an end and should, if possible, go join Aph in the coffee house, which is more IC
[10:36] Mercury Gandt: And Lawrence Stern on the shelves? Will he be the next subject of a discussion?
[10:37] Aldo Stern: possibly
[10:37] Aldo Stern: we have one more session to wrap up Tristram Shandy
[10:37] Aldo Stern: and then JJ and I were talking about maybe doing Sterne's travel book
[10:37] Aldo Stern: but that would only be may two sessions
[10:37] Aldo Stern: then maybe we can move on to Casanova's memoirs, eh?
[10:38] Mercury Gandt:
[10:38] Mercury Gandt: Now HE has a personality in his writing!

.......Hugo sits down after much weary travel and business to write in his journal. He sits back and takes a deep breath and watches the candle flicker for a moment before beginning.Raising the quill, he smoothes out the page as he starts his entry.....

Journal Entry 3rd of February

My business of late has kept me from giving you some needed attention. As always you, my old journal, keep my thoughts clear and sorted.

I have been called upon to help an old friend of the female persuasion. She sent word to me not long ago from Venezia,but seemed to hesitate to reveal everything in the message. I cannot help but smile to myself however, one hopes it won't cost much coin in the end. Perhaps I'm being cynical but in the end, it's always the coin that speaks the loudest.

Although, one does have secrets ..... but the secrets one holds over others can often be the best kind. One can make of that a pun, it would seem. It's a 'toss up' between the coin and the secrets, which one holds more value? Until next time .....

........ lays down his quill and rubs his eyes and considers what the future may hold. Hugo leans over and blows out the candle and decides to sleep. He cannot help but recall the swish of satin and the smell of fragrant perfume of the dear lady that requires his attention. Hugo drifts off to sleep with the face of the woman in his memory, her substantial charms not far behind.

I have just received news from Mercury who has learned that La Contessa is no longer in Venice, or anywhere near. Now what do I do? I will never learn of her location, which means I have nothing to offer in exchange for my sister. Things are getting bleak; I am in such despair.

My only option is to write to a few friends in high or influential places who may be able to use their powers to free dear Elisabetta from prison and certain death. I will first try dear Hugo, a wonderful (and rather hadsome) friend and former client on mine (it never felt like work!) and ask him to meet me in Campo San Marco where I will explain fully. I will write to him immediately!

January 11, 1784 (New Moon)
Ah, now my path is clear--I know what I must do!

I have spent an emotional afternoon with Snr. Gandt in his temporary rooms at Contessa Courants simple home. (How kind she is to let him stay while he recovers from his wounds.) Mercury first listened very kindly to the story of my sisters abduction, offered me a glass of prosecco, and told me he would do anything within his power to help me free my sister.

Unfortunately, he does not have much power here in Venezia and is feeling very hurt and discouraged. Apparently he learned from Conte Foscari, Elenas grandfather, who now lives at La Malcontenta on the Brenta canal, that Elena is quite safe and has escaped to parts unknown to avoid certain people who are chasing her. Mercury was very hurt and angry for having been kept in the dark about all this until now. He kept pacing around the room (I thought for a minute he was going to upset the tea tray!), raging about the fact that he had been played for a fool. As reward for his pains, he said, he had been beaten up and left for dead by some ruffians after Mercurys searching in vain for Elena at a convent where she last disappeared. (I do wonder what game she is playing.)

I realized there was no hope of getting information from Mercury on Elenas whereabouts, so I told him about the letter from the chief of the sbirri saying that it was also important to me that I acquire this information. I gave him a wink - we now have a common purpose, though for different reasons. Both of us are willing (god forgive me) to tell the police where Elena could be found--to betray her! My reason is to get my sister out of prison, and Mercurys is simply for revengealthough through his tirade he still showed some hesitation. Finally he admitted that he also wished he could be compensated in some way for all he had expended and endured during his search.

(At one point in our discussions he had the audacity to suggest that an evening with me, exercising my courtesans skills, might soften the pain of the blows to his pride. He was quite persuasive in his attentions to me but I quickly put those thoughts out of his head.) I decided to tell him about the reward, and admitted to him that I would split with him the 10,000 ducati - something that might serve his longer term interests far better than a night with me! It didnt take him long to accept.

Our first actions, we finally agreed at the end of a very long evening, would be to talk to people who might know where Elena could be found. I am acquainted with a few gentlemen who share similar interests and confidences with the dreaded Snr. Cristofolo. (I will see what pillow talk will uncover.) Mercury, for his part, will talk with with Saturnine, the secretary of Conte Filipe Foscari who also might know where Elena might be hiding.

It was almost dark, the sun setting leaving a warm glow in the evening sky when I left Mercury to his own devices, desires and angry thoughts. He is a tortured soul!
We will meet again in a week to compare our discoveries.

Now, I must write a few letters

January 7,1784: Ca dOro, Venezia
Oh how difficult and perplexing the world has become! I desperately need help, and tomorrow I will go to San Barnaba to pray for divine guidance. I have been torn between loyalty to my new friends and fear for the safety of my dear sister. I suspect that my love of Elisabetta will win out. I have been fortunate that, in my profession, I have come to know people of power and influence. This has kept me out of prison even when, at banquets, opera or theatre, I have publicly derided the current corrupt regime. And yet, for an unspecified offence, my poor sister, Elisabetta, has been unceremoniously thrown into the Piombi in one of those rat infested, over crowded prison cells, directly under the Doges Palace's lead roof, that are very hot in summer and, right now, bitterly cold in winter. After learning about her plight from one of my more sympathetic clients, I visited her a few days ago. How shocked I was to see her she is younger than I am, but her yellow pallor and thin body has transformed her into an old woman. She has not eaten and she is unwell. I fear for both her health and her mental wellbeing.

She told me the dreaded secret police, the sbirri, captured her as she was walking home to her room in the Campo San Barnaba last week. They threw a cloak over her head, and dragged her directly to prison where she is now being held without charges. I first thought perhaps these outrageous actions had resulted from her enthusiastic support of freemasonry. (Women are admitted into what are known as "adoption lodges" in which they can participate in their ritual life.) I also know that the Council of Ten, the major governing body of our Republic, is deeply suspicious of freemasons as they answer to powers other than their own.

Although the sbirris role is now largely limited to suppressing the minor plotting of the Barnabotti (the poor nobility of our City), they continue to reassert their authority by hounding innocent people like my sister simply to either prove their importance or to serve more sinister purposes (the latter which I have confirmed). Since leaving the prison, I was delivered a letter written by the head of the sbirri, Cristoforo Cristofoli, saying the police would free my sister only if I would divulge to them the whereabouts of La Contessa Elena Foscari! They also said 10,000 ducati would be placed in my name at the local banco di Medici once they received the information.

What am I to do? I have no idea of where La Contessa has gone and, even if I did, I dont know whether my conscience would ever be clear if my betrayal brought harm to Elena! I must visit Mercury or Contessa Courant as soon as possible to get their advice. Perhaps, by now, Mercury might know where Elena is hiding and I can draw the information out of him

My poor sister.

As we rushed into the apartments we saw the body. A most horrid sight.......the Mlle de Bidache dead with blood on the walls and on her beautiful dress! On a day where a wedding would have taken place wasinsteada day of horror and sadness.

I know it has been truly long. I went away before and later return, but this time I believed I need to explain why I disappear so abruptly and how is that Im returning now. For this, I feel that I need to explain a lot not only on my SL, but from my own RL. It was a mix of lack of internet, computer and time.

It started one day when my internet went away. I didnt pay that month because I was moving to another house but I believe it was going to take longer to the cable company to notice (I know, wasnt a smart move). I completely lost the connection from one day to another.

Finally, almost 15 days later we finally landed on the new house, me and my grandma (yes, I live with her no, they arent always as lovely as you imagine, dam Disneys clichs) anyway. Besides, she rise me since I was five, and she has a lot of patient with me especially considering she had for adoptive daughter the most distracted girl of all Durango. But between unpack, placing the things, paying and attending to college and go to work I didnt have much time or money. The good part is that the reason to move was because one of my aunts found a cheap house (at least cheaper than my old one, rental sucks) near hers and she had the idea that it would be nice that we became neighbors. My grandmother had health troubles past year and she wasnt truly well on the last months and it was better if she had more eyes (and hands) around.

Internet and a little more time came, but I still had one big obligation: the 132. Let me explain detailed it, starting with some history. Once upon a time, on Mexico.

Yo Soy 132 is an ongoing Mexican protest movement centered around the democratization of the country and its media. It began as opposition to the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) candidate Enrique Pea Nieto and the Mexican media's allegedly biased coverage of the 2012 general election. The name Yo Soy 132, Spanish for "I Am 132", originated in an expression of solidarity with the protest's initiators.

There were violent days and dark times, especially after elections. PRI, one of the parties, and now the leading one, is the symbol of yeas of corruption, tyranny, political murdering, massacres, drug dealers and financial decadency. For example, this little jewel knew as the dog:

Defender el peso como un perro! "I will defend the peso like a dog!" It earned him the nickname 'El perro' (The dog) and having people barking at him. 1981.

Vamos a administrar la abundancia! "We are going to manage abundance!"

How did he manage the abundance? With high charges and houses to family and friends, new business and insanely big mansions.

His obituary in the New York Times referred to his well publicized generosity toward his one time mistress, Rosa Luz Alegra as "a symbol of the era's political decadence". He bought her a US$2 million mansion in Acapulco.

Wikipedia again.

The Institutional Revolutionary Party (Spanish: Partido Revolucionario Institucional, PRI) is a Mexican political party that held power in the countryunder a succession of namesfor 71 years. Violence, murdering, crisis, those who lived It still have the memories of it. Other example is the massacre of Tlatelolco.

The improvement of the economy had a disparate impact in different social sectors and discontent started growing within the low classes. In 1968 Mexico City became the first city in the Spanish speaking world to be chosen to host an Olympic Games. Using the international focus on the country, students at the National Mexican Autonomous University (UNAM) protested the lack of democracy and social justice. President Gustavo Daz Ordaz (19641970) ordered the army to occupy the university to suppress the revolt and minimize the disruption of the Olympic Games. On October 2, 1968 student groups demanding the withdrawal of the IPN protested at the Plaza de las Tres Culturas. Unaccustomed to this type of protests, the Mexican Government made an unusual move by asking the United States for assistance, through LITEMPO, a spy-program to inform the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the US to obtain information from Mexico. The CIA responded by sending military radios, weapons and ammunition. The LITEMPO had previously provided the Daz Ordaz government with 1,000 rounds of .223 Remington ammunition in 1963. During the protests shots were fired and a number of students died (officially 39, although hundreds are claimed) and hundreds were arrested. The President of the Olympic Committee then declared that the protests were against the government and not the Olympics so the games proceeded.

Wikipedia.

And dont believe that with years it went better. Other example is Colosio.

Since Mexico's constitution permits presidents to remain in power for only one term, and as an extralegal rule presidents (until Salinas) handpicked their own successors (the party's first primary election in history took place in 1999), Colosio apparently enjoyed the president's favour, expressed in his famous declaration No se hagan bolas: el candidato es Colosio ("Don't get confused: Colosio is the candidate" would be an appropriate translation, literally it means "Don't entangle yourselves: Colosio is the candidate").

But later it was clear that Colosio wasnt going to be Salinas pet. He wanted, instead, to take him to justice for the corruption he held and the crisis the country was about to face. That without mention other new politics he wanted to held. He wasnt good for his planes, and one morning Mexico wake up shocked when the worst scenario came true:

At 7:12 PM, on March 23, 1994, at a campaign rally in Lomas Taurinas, a poor neighborhood of Tijuana, Baja California, Colosio was shot in the head with a .38 Special a distance of a few centimeters in front of a person recording video nearby.

And guess who was Salinass new favorite candidate?

In 1994, for the first time since the revolution, a presidential candidate was murdered, Luis Donaldo Colosio Murrieta. His campaign director, Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Leon, was subsequently elected in the first presidential election monitored by international observers.

Wikipedia.

In 1990 Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa called the government under the PRI as la dictadura perfecta ("the perfect dictatorship"). The 1994 economic crisis in Mexico caused the PRI to lose its absolute majority in both chambers of the federal congress for the first time in 1997.On 2000 other party, however, managed to take control, and we believed the time of the old PRI finally faded. But we were wrong. On 2005, one man started to appear every day on the news and media, with all of his good government and all the things he did for his state. His name: Pea Nieto.

The Televisa controversy refers to a series of allegations published by the British newspaper The Guardian on June 2012 that claims Mexico's largest television network, Televisa, sold favorable coverage to top politicians in its news and entertainment shows.

You may think is not bad enough to buy the media, but he was much more than a corrupt governor. It didnt take long to discover it.

During the administration of Vicente Fox in 2002, several peasants in San Salvador Atenco, State of Mexico, resisted the government's plan to expropriate their lands to build a new international airport near the country's capital, Mexico City. Consequently, on 3 May 2006, state and federal police forces raided the San Salvador Atenco and violently took many of its dwellers into custody, unleashing a civil unrest in the area between 300 unarmed civilians and 3,000 police officers. Some law enforcement officials retaliated for the confrontations of the previous days and tried to break up a blockade of a federal highway stopping a group of flower vendors protesting against the government. The leader of the movement was sentenced to 150 years in prison, and the rest of the members were accused of alleged "organized kidnapping" of police officers and sent to supermax prisons. National and international human rights organizations demanded the release of the activists, whose sentences were turned down until August 2010. According to a report issued by Amnesty International on February 2009, the civil unrest resulted in the detention of 200 people and hundreds of allegations of abuses, including sexual violence against 26 women who were arrested; others, in addition, were allegedly tortured. In the operations, the police used firearms, tear gas and electric batons. Two young men were murdered by the Mexican Federal Police, while hundreds were arrested without warrants and beaten. A 14-year-old boy was killed too. In response to the abuse allegations, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation agreed to investigate the incident to establish whether the unrest was an isolated event or if it was part of a larger plot formed by politicians in the municipal and state levels.

After this the least you would expect as a victim is a public apologize. But no, he claimed that the goverment act firm and he used the public force to "restore order"... yes, nothing good can came of a president like that. By the past year, elections began and we all see most of us with horror who he was going to became president. People werent happy, and after a bad reception on the Ibero college one civil movement started against him and I became part of it.

On May 11, 2012, Pea Nieto held a campaign event at Ibero-American University. Most of the attendees questioned and strongly expressed their opposition to the candidate. Their protest was centered around the 2006 Atenco incident, in which then-governor of the State of Mexico Pea Nieto called in the state police to break up a protest by local residents. However, during the news conference, Pea Nieto defended his decision to use force in order to prevent an alleged greater evil. His answer inflamed the students, who started to chant the motto "Atenco is not forgotten".

After the event, prominent media outlets and PRI politicians dismissed the attendees' reaction, saying that they had been "smuggled in" by contending parties, and were not really students. In response, 131 students who had attended the event posted a video on YouTube showing their student IDs and expressing discontent with the media reporting of the event. When people began expressing solidarity with the students by tweeting "I'm the 132nd student", the name "yo soy 132" was coined.

I finally had the Internet but the #yosoy132 involved all my free time, especially after the elections when we were making even more protest and trying to find a way Pea didnt took the charge. He didnt won legally: buying votes and media, closing electoral polls before time, even arresting members of our movement. At the end on that last day of December he did not only take it and became president but at the same time protestants were murder and violent arrested in Mexico City. One of them, Irving, was of my town and we started to collect money to help the family to pay his defense. Thanks to god that part had a happy ending and he could get out of jail and comeback. But we had troubles even before it. Once I almost got arrested: when Pea came to my city and we made a protest. After we left we divided on different groups to leave on separate cars, and suddenly my group notices tow armed patrols following us. Fast we managed to land on a commercial centre nearby and run inside were we lose them.

The infamous visit. We tried to get in, but a big group of cops where already waiting for us and didnt let us in. Almost everyone left, trying to find other entrance, but others stayed there, trying to talk with the cops and the press that later came. If you wonder who I am, look at the girl with a silver car behind and wearing a red shirt and black and white leggings. (If you still cant find me, Im holding a book)

Unfortunately, Pea, even with all the protest, disturbs, unconformism, and people declaring on public to not recognize him as president, has the charge now. It was beyond sad, even disappointing. But I learned a lot of it. I learned of what Im capable to defend on what I believe. I made friends who share mi ideas, and I discover what is to defend your country even when it is dangerous.

And, even with it, or even because of it, life is coming better. Now things have finally turned on their place. Im at my new house, I finished the 4 ^th cuatrimester with good grades, and my grandmother is recovered. She cant walk yet, but she has learned to move with her wheelchair and with that she can move all around the house. She even can cook now! And my lap is back on home (yep, I had the power again)

I really wanted to comeback before, but between the activism, work, college, grandma and house changing, I was truly busy. And my lap to the pawn shop (yes, again thank you college) but on a very special day my grandmother gave me one big surprise: she recover it. I wrote this lines on it, and I feel truly blessed for be able to do it.

I really want to just logged in, but before I felted that I needed to write this and explain all of you why I wasnt here and how I abruptly left. I wish I still have friends here.

Coming back (and hoping to find everyone alive and well)

Aimee.

The Sinti Camp in the mountains.

Elena wrapped her cloak around herself and stared into the night. She remembered how the English Baron had stormed back in to the Villa, leaving her alone in the gardens.

She was sorry for his anger, but mostly she felt relief that matters between them had now been clarified. He had been a charming and amusing companion, but honestly!!!

A Girl dances a few dances with a fellow, at some public balls, and he starts acting as if they were engaged!

Far better to nip such presumptions in the bud!

He claimed he had written letters to her. She had certainly not received any letters but then men say all sorts of things in order to gain a ladys favour....

Devi joins Elena by the fire...

Please tell me you are not still thinking about that English Baron! She explains impatiently

As it happens I was

Forget about him! He will get over you as quickly as he changes a shirt and find someone else. His sort always does.Devi continues in an irritated tone. Instead listen to me; we have far more serious concerns. Achille has made his way here.

Elena straightens up and pays attention.

Achille has brought messages from Rocca Sorentina and news from Venezia Devi continues

I shall go and speak to him, what are the news from Venezia? Elena asks

Well... Devi pauses for effect You remember how we left Sior Gandt waiting outside the convent like a lemon?

Elena nods and giggles.

Well, it would seem that when he finally gave up his vigil, and was making his way back to the embarcadero to get a Gondola, he was viciously attacked, and badly beaten!

But this is terrible! Elena looks horrified Poor man! I shall have to go back and see that he is all right, I feel so responsible. Was it Brigands for his purse?

Absolutely not! You are not to go anywhere! Your fathers orders are very clear. You are to stay here until further orders are received.

But...

No Buts! Achille says that despite being very badly beaten, Sior Gandt managed to make his way to his friend, the Cortigiana, the one who calls herself Countess, where he is recovering well. Devi continues with authority It is believed that it was not Brigands. His purse was not stolen. Your father and the Proffesore are already working on plans to get Sior Gandt safely out of Venezia and back to Rocca Sorentina. What they dont need is to be worrying about you riding around the country on some misguided mission!Devi says angrily Instead you will stay here! And in case you get any ideas while I am away, I shall have Ezeriah watch you.

Where are you going? Asks Elena

Speak with Achille Devi throws back her head and shakes her curls, her irritation forgotten she smiles He is waiting to give you messages from your father. Achille will explain everything.

Tossed by the seas and buffeted by the winds, the wandering apprentices of Rocca Sorrentina remember so many people with gratitude at Christmas time: the villagers, visitors and friends of the Rocca, as well as the nobles, courtiers, diplomats, pirates, soldiers and servants of all the courts and principalities, past and present, in the Royal Courts of Second Life .

May the Star of the Sea -- Maris Stella -- lead all to safe harbor and into the arms of the Beauty whose birth we sing. Venite, adoremus !

Fiorino Pera, with Ricco Millefiori and Prospero Pastorelli

~~~

This woman, thought Achille Giglio to himself, is not an ordinary sort of woman...

Without slowing his pace, he readjusted the pack he was carrying so that it rode a little more comfortably. All the while, he kept his eyes on the woman ahead of him, appreciating her steady, confident stride....

This Devi...she is no stranger to difficult journeys, to the ways of the forest...and she definitely knows where she is going, mused Achille. He was actually quite pleased to find himself reassured of this fact. Because most decidedly, he did not know where he was going. On instructions from the Professore and the Conte Foscari, he had gone back to Venezia and and found this Devi woman, who was in service to the Contessa Elena Foscari. His job then, once he had found Devi, was to convince her that he actually was carrying messages from the Padrone and the Conte, and to have her to take him to where the Contessa was hiding.

Yes, the Contessa was in hiding, with a tribe of Romani, it seemed. And Devi was the only person who could take Achille to the people who were concealing the Contessa.

He had expected the hard part to be convincing her that he wasnt one of the bad guys. In actuality, it turned out to be not so difficult. Once Achille gave a secret sign and password provided by the Conte, Devi had been more than ready to work with him. They had ridden north from Venezia, and left the horses at an inn in the foothills of the Dolomite mountains. Now they were going over trails that could only be navigated by donkeys or people on foot. There were roads -- of a sort -- though this area, roads that Devi said went to the place where the Romani were camped. After all, they had to be able to get their animals and their wagons to the campsites. But Devi stated that these footpaths would be faster, and that it would be harder for anyone who might be following them to keep up, and Achille had absolutely no inclination to give her an argument about it. Only those who knew these trails could keep from getting lost in the mountains. And Devi obviously was someone who knew these pathways very, very well.

No, they would not get lost. And anyone trying to follow them from Venice, more than likely would.

Eventually, when it was almost dusk on the fourth day of their trek, they came to what seemed to be a dead end of the path, where it dissipated in a cluster of fir trees. But Devi pointed to steep slope, almost like a wall of rock and underbrush: they climbed it and then broke through the bushes at the top, out into a glen that spread below, where campfires burned, covered Romani wagons were parked, and people went about their daily chores. The distinctive tinny clattering of hammer blows on thin metal gave evidence that tinsmiths or coppersmiths were at work somewhere among this small, mobile community.

Devi indicated that Achille should wait on the edge of the camp while she went over to a group of what seemed to be the tribal leaders, who were seated around a central fire on felled logs and rocks. Achille could see that Devi appeared to be well known to these people, and was warmly greeted by them, particularly one older gentleman, who welcomed Devi even more enthusiastically than the others.

Among this cluster of dark-haired, colorfully dressed individuals, Achille could see a figure among the group, shorter than others, wrapped in a simple, dark cloak, with her jet-back hair woven into an impressively long and full-bodied braid that reached far down her back. It was obvious to Achilles powers of observation that this person was a part of the group, but also somehow different...slightly set apart...with them, but not entirely one of them?

Achille realized almost immediately it was the Contessa Elena Foscari. His journey from Sorrentina had not been in vain.

He could see Devi pointing to him and explaining something. The main body of the tribal leaders came over, smiling, welcoming him to their camp in heavily accented Italian. The old gentlemen who had seemed especially glad to see Devi introduced himself as the chieftain of the community, and he called for the Romani women to bring wine, bread and cheese for their guest. Meanwhile, Achille could see that Devi and the Contessa had been left to themselves by the group. The sun had now set, bu their faces were illuminated by the central fire -- the council fire it would seem -- of the Romani camp.

Although the two women were quite far away from him, Achille could tell it was a relatively animated conversation. It certainly seemed to the tavern-keeper that Devi and the Contessa did not have the usual sort of relationship one expected between a Padrona and serva. From what Achille could discern in the dancing light of the campfire, Devi was giving her mistress a pretty sizable piece of her mind. He reflected that although he never hesitated to be honest with his Padrone, Don Aldo, he always made sure that he couched such honesty within a framework of respect and...well...deference, which was certainly something that il Professore was entitled to...not so much because of his formal status and position -- which in the larger scheme of things wasnt that big of a deal -- but because he had earned it though his actions as a man of honor and decency...

Achille was stirred from his thoughts by the fact that Devi had risen and was signaling from him to come over to the fire. He carried over his pack, which he had taken from his back, and extracted a small envelope. He bowed to the Contessa and began, Signorina Contessa, I bring you greetings from your father, the Conte Foscari, who is safe and cheerfully pursuing his various business interests in Rocca Sorrentina, as the former principality of Melioria is now called. He sends you this message with all possible expressions of affection, and hopes for your well-being and good health.

He handed her the envelope and followed up this action with another small bow, inclining neck and head in a modest gesture of respect. Then he continued, When you are ready, I also have a verbal message from my Padrone, Don Aldo Stern, member of the council of Magistrates of Rocca Sorrentina.

He waited while she opened the envelope and read the contents of the letter it contained. Her face was a mask as she read. If anything in the content of the letter disturbed or alarmed her, she gave no indication of it. Instead she laid the paper on the fire and impassively watched it first darken, then blacken and turn to ash. She looked up at Achille and spoke softly, My father wishes for me to join him in...Rocca Sorrentina. It seems he now knows who has been sending us confusing messages, and trying to take me into some kind of custody.... Her eyes suddenly flashed angrily as she spoke this last part...then the calm returned.

What is the message from Don Aldo?

Achille cleared his throat and began, Don Aldo Stern sends the Contessa Foscari his greetings and best wishes. He enjoins you to take care. as the agents of Signore Cristofoli are quite numerous...and as you by now know, it is Cristofoli, Chief of the Sbirri secret police in Venezia, who are behind all this confusion and the effort to detain you. My Padone also most respectfully asks that you permit the woman who is in your service, Devi, to return to Venezia with me, Achille Giglio, in order that she may employ her skills, contacts and knowledge in assisting in the execution of a plan that will hopefully correct some unfortunate situations.

The Contessa appeared thoughtful for a moment and then asked, May I know more about this plan?

Simply put, Contessa, the intention is to extract Signor Gandt from Venezia before the Sbirri realize that he is not going to lead them to you. The Professore and the Conte have shaped a plan that will provide him with the means to safely relocate...and it must be done with some haste and efficiency, hence the desirability of including Devi in the process. After all, once Cristofolis men have come to see Don Mercurio as no longer potentially useful..."

At this point Achille shrugged and then went on, "... it is not unlikely that the poor gentleman will soon end up sleeping with the fishes at the bottom of a canal.

The Contessa Elena Foscari paused, but then nodded. I understand. You have my leave to employ Devi in carrying out this plan, if she is willing to do so.

The tavern keeper smiled. Milie grazie, Contessa. If all goes as intended, Devi will be able to rejoin you on Rocca Sorrentina in a matter of no more than two weeks.

The Contessa looked puzzled and a little annoyed. What? She wont be staying in Venezia? Perhaps I have some reasons of my own for her to remain the city.

Ah...well...you see, Contessa...that would be...um...unwise, replied Achille. You see...the plan includes elements that have some significant longer-term implications.

Such as?

It is the intention of the Conte and the Professore...and their extensive networks of associates and friends...to actually strike a blow back at Cristofoli...by diminishing his assets somewhat...and by taking at least one of his operatives into custody and making a trade for someone else whom the Sbirri is holding...

Achille realized that the Contessa was staring at him with an unusual intensity for what seemed to be a very long time. He really couldnt tell if she had concluded that the plan was brilliantly audacious in its intent...or perhaps had she concluded it was utterly insane?

Finally, she spoke. I see now...yes...if Devi is involved in any of this, it would be risky for her to be anywhere near the long arm of the Sbirri for some time after the game has played out. We cannot give Cristofoli any opportunities to get even. The island will be a better place for her to be.

Achille smiled and bowed again. The Contessa is very perceptive. The Professore will be much happier with Devi on Rocca Sorrentina, once the die have been cast.

That night, the Romani camp was awash with singing, dancing and music. There was also a good bit of drinking going on, and at a certain point, Achille convinced one of the men to lend him his guitar. If the Romani man had not been quite so drunk he might have been even more doubtful about the wisdom of loaning his beloved instrument to the gadje. But Achille carefully tuned the guitar and began playing the Boccherini fandango he had been working on so much in recent months with the Professore. Although it did not sound the same without Don Aldo playing his part on the harpsichord, the Romani seemed to like it very much, especially the rousing fast passages, and several of them picked it up quickly and were soon joining in with their guitars and violins.

Achille glanced over and noticed that Devi had taken a seat next to him, and was gazing into the fire, seemingly lost in the music, a strangely charming little smile on her face.

He was very pleased. The fact that Devi would be going with him back to Venezia gave him some additional confidence that this crazy plan would work out. And then the idea that Devi would also be going on to Rocca Sorrentina after the plan was executed...that made Achille extremely happy for some reason. Yes, things might just work out nicely in the end...provided of course, that they all lived through what they were about to attempt.