GRI M ALB I. 



AH at once a bold thought came into his head", 

 which under thefe circumftances feemed eafily practi- 

 cable. He was certain that no one had feen Grimaldi 

 come into his fhop. In fuch continued rain and thun- 

 der there was no temptation for people to be gaping at 

 their windows. Befides, by denouncing Grimaldi's 

 death, Fazio himfelf might be brought into fufpicion. 

 After weighing maturely the whole of the affair , he 

 fhut up his mop, determined to turn the adventure to. 

 his own advantage 5 and, in conformity with his paf- 

 iion for tranfmutations, to make an experiment whether 

 he could not tranfmute misfortune into fortune, as he. 

 had been trying to turn his lead into lilver or gold. 



Fazio knew of Grimaldi's wealth, or had always fuf- 

 pected him to be rich. He began by fearching his 

 pockets., and found, together with fome coin^ a large 

 bunch of keys. Good ! thought he to himfelf, this is. 

 •a mark of the favour of heaven ; the finger of provi- 

 dence is manifeft in it ! That fuch a terrible frorm 

 fhould come on this night $ that my fhop mould be. 

 Handing open, that Grimaldi mould be wounded, and 

 die in my chair ; all this could not happen without a, 

 particular difpenfation from above. He has no rela- 

 tion, and perhaps even, no friend. One ftranger is as 

 good as another ilranger, and Fazio as good as another 

 heir. I have even one right more. Had it not been for 

 me, he would have died in the ftreet, and have lain 

 in the wet the whole night; who knows whether he did 

 not come into my ill op in order to conftitute me his 

 heir. His vint f applies the place of a formal teft anient. 

 I will quietly take the executorfhip upon me; that will 

 be the wifell and the flfeft way. For, fhould I even 



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