The odes seemed to possess a certain quaintness, and among the proverbs there were many that were new to me in framing and in substance.

Moreover, I was glad of this means of improving my acquaintance with the tongue of Spain, and I was soon absorbed.

So absorbed, indeed, as never to hear the footsteps of the Lord Giovanni, when presently he approached me unattended, nor to guess at his presence until his shadow fell athwart my page.

I raised my eyes, and seeing who it was I made shift to get on my feet; but he commanded me to remain seated, commenting sympathetically upon my weak condition.
He asked me what I read, and when I had told him, a thin smile fluttered across his white face.
"You choose your reading with rare judgment," said he.

"Read on, and prime your mind with fresh humour, prepare yourself with new conceits for our amusement against the time when health shall be more fully restored you." It was in such words as these that he intimated to me that I was pardoned, and reinstated--as the Fool of the Court of Pesaro.