Page:Manzoni - The Betrothed, 1834.djvu/249

 is not possible it should remain a secret. And then it is not only my nephew—you raise a wasp's nest, very reverend father. We are a powerful house—we have adherents."

The father bowed in assent. The count proceeded. "You understand me; they are all people who have blood in their veins, and who in the world—count as something. They are proud of their honour; the affair will become theirs, and then Even those who are the friends of peace It would be a grief of heart to me to be obliged I, who have always had such a friendship for the capuchins! The fathers, for their ministry to be efficient, should be in harmony with all men—no misunderstandings: besides, they have relations abroad—and these affairs of punctilio extend, ramify I, too, have a certain dignity to maintain His excellencymy noble colleagues It becomes a party matter"

"It is true," said the provincial, "that Father Christopher is a preacher; I had already the intention—I have even been solicited to do it—but under these circumstances, and just at this time, it might be considered as a punishment; and to punish without being well acquainted"

"But it is not a punishment; it is a prudent precaution, an honest means of preventing evils that might I have explained myself."

"The signor count and myself understand each other very well; but the facts being those which your excellency has adduced, it is impossible but that they should in part be known through the country: there are every where firebrands, or idle spirits, who find pleasure in the contests of the monks and the nobility, and love to make malignant observations. Each one has his own dignity to preserve; and I, in the character of a superior, have an express duty—the honour of the habit—it is not my own affair—it is a deposit which—and since the signor your nephew is so irritated, as your excellency has said, he might take it as a satisfaction offered to him, and—I do not say boast of it, but"