"
Having spoken thus, the man of the flowing grey beard once more began to
stroke it, first with one hand, then with the other, and, puckering his
eyes, which sparkled with a shrewd smile, for he was pleased with his
own words, watched for surprise on Benedetto's face.
"We are, moreover, believers also," he continued.
The other personage, without raising his head from the back of the
couch, lifted his open hands, and said, almost solemnly:
"Steady!" "Let the word pass, my dear friend," the first speaker said,
without looking towards him. "We are both believers, but in different
ways. I believe in God with all my might, and my might is great, and
I shall have Him with me always, You believe in God. with all your
weaknesses, and they are few, and you will not have Him with you until
you are upon your death-bed."
Another shrewd and self-complacent smile, another pause. The friend
shook his head, raising his eyebrows as if he had heard a jest deserving
only of commiseration, but not of an answer.
"I, for my part," the deep and harmonious voice went on, "am also a
Christian.
Pages:
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472