The suicide of Giacomo Casanova, famed womanizer of the eighteenth century, is interrupted by an unexpected visitor:
“Camillo! You foolish and clumsy servant! You know perfectly well that I don't want to be disturbed when I'm creating. This work will assure me undying fame... and perhaps even some ready cash.”
“No doubt, sir, but there is a gentleman outside who wishes to propose a business deal to you. If you think it will disturb you, I'll send him away.”
“No, no! In that case, let him in. Let's hear what he wants from us. His name?”
“Here is the card he gave me.”
“’Jérôme Sombre, magical goldsmith.’ The name and title sound like a charlatan!”
“And you would know all about that, Messer Casanova. I humbly bow before the most celebrated charlatan of our time!”
“I should resent the insult, but I always appreciate someone who knows how to perform a bow in the old-fashioned way. And in any case, you are gravely mistaken, monsieur. The most illustrious of charlatans is my friend Giuseppe Balsamo, known as the Count of Cagliostro. I am an artist, a writer...”
“...who has used the sword more than the pen!”
“Different times. Now I have a secure job that allows me to write.”
“I know. You are the librarian at the castle of Dux, and you have come down to Prague for the opera season. Count Waldstein is an enlightened master, if he allows such liberties to his servants.”
“I find your choice of words quite unfortunate, Monsieur Sombre.”
“Why hide the truth? This is a very unfortunate moment for you, Messer Giacomo. At Dux you suffer a thousand humiliations. Your poetic vein is inconsistent, you suffer the ailments of age, women no longer fall at your feet...”
“How dare you?”
Casanova (1725-1798) lived a colorful life, winning and losing fortunes, spending time as a priest, a prison inmate, a charlatan wizard, and finally (as mentioned above) a librarian. He is best known for his 3,500 page Memoirs, which gives special attention to his romantic conquests across Europe.
The last panel uses an unconventionally low POV angle to put Sombre's suitcase in the foreground.
