The day after I called on him with my little
message, what does he do--of his own free-will, mind you--but send back
the daughter of old De Bedros to her home, with a pledge to her father
that she shall have a dowry of ten thousand lire when she marries. The
father is pleased, the daughter is not. She sits and cries. She talks of
herself getting at him with a stiletto."
He took a cigarette, and accepted a light from Calabressa.
"Further," he continued, "his Eminence is so kind as to propose to give
the Council an annual subsidy from his own purse of thirty thousand
lire."
"Thirty thousand lire!" Calabressa exclaimed.
But at this point even Granaglia began to laugh.
"Yes, yes, my friend," he said, apparently apostrophizing the absent
Cardinal. "You know, then, who we are, and you do not wish to give up
all pleasures. No; we are to become the good boy among secret societies;
we are to have the blessing of the Pope; we are to fight Prince Bismarck
for you. Prince Bismarck has all his knights and his castles on the
board; but what are they against an angelic host of bishops and some
millions of common pawns? Prince Bismarck wishes to plunge Europe again
into war.
Pages:
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407