Languages & literature > Adventures of Gil Blas of Santillane > Volume 4

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THE ADVENTURES
M This it is; liften attentively to what I am going
“ Some years before I was in favour, (continued'
“ he.) chance one day prefented to my view a lady
“ fo handfome and well made, that I ordered her ta
“ be followed. I learned that flic was a Genoefe,
“ called Donna Margarita Spinola, who lived at
“ Madrid on the revenue of her beauty, and that
“ Don Francifco de Valeafar *, an alcade of the
“ court, a rich old married man, fpent a great deal
“ of money upon the coquette. This report, which
“ ought to have infpired me with contempt for her,
“ made me conceive a violent defire of fliaring her
“ favours with Valeafar ; and to fatisfy it, I had re-
“ courfe to a female go-between, who had the ad-
“ drefs in a little time to procure for me a private
“ interview with the Genoefe; and that was fol-
“ lowed by many more, lb that my rival and I were
“ equally well treated for our prefents. Perhaps
“ too, fhe had other gallants as happy as we were.
“ Be that as it will, Margarita, in receiving fuch
“ confufed homage, infenfibly became pregnant, and
“ brought forth a fon, the honour of whom fhe be-
“ flowed on each of her lovers in particular ; but
u not one of them being in confcience able to boafl
“ himfelf the father of that child, it was difowned by
“ them all; fo that the Genoefe was obliged to maiu-
“ tain it with the fruit of her intrigues t this flic did
» Don Francifco Valeafar actually married this lady when
fhe was big wiih child, and adopted the boy, whom he
educated and acknowledged as his ow'n fon during the
fpace of 31 years; ar the expiration of which the Cmint-
Duke finding himfelf without heirs-male, had him legiti-
mated, and created Marquis of Majeeaa.