It was not without
difficulty that he put the rapacious question: "Will your honour do me
the favour to give me this promise in writing?"
"Certainly! Bring writing materials and I will dictate it to you on the
spot."
And so an agreement was duly drawn up whereby Mr. Margari, in
consideration of a yearly salary of 300 florins to be punctually sent to
him at the beginning of every quarter, undertook in his capacity of
secretary to Baron Hatszegi, to keep his Honour Demetrius Lapussa
informed of all that he saw and heard at the residence of that
gentleman, Henrietta's future husband, and this obligation of
maintaining Margari was to be transferred on the death of Mr. Demetrius
to his son John. And no doubt Mr. Demetrius knew very well what he was
about.
This document signed and sealed, Mr. Margari, with the greatest
alacrity, produced the Latin exercises in question, first of all,
however, respectfully kissing the hand of his patron.
It took till midnight to read and translate all these documents one by
one. Mr. Demetrius was very well satisfied with the result, that is to
say so far as concerned the fidelity of the translation,--with the tenor
of the original text he had not the slightest reason to be pleased.
When, shortly after midnight, these revelations were concluded, Mr.
Demetrius commanded Margari to go up into his room and have a complete
translation of all this Latin rigmarole written down in honest Hungarian
by the morning and to encourage him in his task he gave him two guldens
and an order on the butler for as much punch as he could drink.
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