"
"Signore, I have had that satisfaction, for he was an orphan born; and I
would wish to have it until the child is fit to go into the world armed
with an honesty and faith that shall keep him from harm. Were my own
brave son here, he would ask no other fortune for the lad than such
counsel and aid as a poor man has a right to bestow on his own flesh and
blood."
"He fareth no worse than others; and thou knowest that the Republic hath
need of every arm."
"Eccellenza, I saw the Signor Giacomo land from his gondola, as I
entered the palace."
"Out upon thee, fellow! dost thou make no distinction between the son of
a fisherman, one trained to the oar and toil, and the heir of an ancient
house? Go to, presuming man, and remember thy condition, and the
difference that God hath made between our children."
"Mine never gave me sorrow but the hour in which they died," said the
fisherman, uttering a severe but mild reproof.
The Signor Gradenigo felt the sting of this retort, which in no degree
aided the cause of his indiscreet foster-brother. After pacing the room
in agitation for some time, he so far conquered his resentment as to
answer more mildly, as became his rank.
"Antonio," he said, "thy disposition and boldness are not strangers to
me; if thou would'st have masses for the dead, or gold for the living,
they are thine; but in asking for my interest with the general of the
galleys, thou askest that which, at a moment so critical, could not be
yielded to the son of the Doge, were the Doge--"
"A fisherman," continued Antonio, observing that he hesitated--"Signore,
adieu; I would not part in anger with my foster-brother, and I pray the
saints to bless you and your house.
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