The insult was happily unseen, and the count caressed his shaven chin and smiled himself onward.

The point for the officers to decide was, whether they dared offend an enthusiastic house--the fiery core of the population of Milan--by putting a stop to the opera before worse should come.
Their own views were entirely military; but they were paralyzed by the recent pseudo-liberalistic despatches from Vienna; and agreed, with some malice in their shrugs, that the odium might as well be left on the shoulders of the bureau which had examined the libretto.

In fact, they saw that there would be rank peril in attempting to arrest the course of things within the walls of the house.
'The temper this people is changeing oddly,' said General Pierson.

Major de Pyrmont listened awhile to what they had to say, and returned to the duchess.

Amalia wrote these lines to Laura:--'If she sings that song she is to be seized on the wings of the stage.