Again Gouache smiled in his delicate satirical fashion, and glanced at Madame Mayer, who burst into a laugh.
"Moral reflections never sound so especially and ridiculously moral as in your mouth, Ugo," she said.
"Why ?" he asked, in an injured tone.
"I am sure I do not know.

Of course, we all would like to see Victor Emmanuel in the Quirinal, and Rome the capital of a free Italy.

Of course we would all like to see it accomplished without murder or bloodshed; but somehow, when you put it into words, it sounds very absurd." In her brutal fashion Madame Mayer had hit upon a great truth, and Del Ferice was very much annoyed.

He knew himself to be a scoundrel; he knew Madame Mayer to be a woman of very commonplace intellect; he wondered why he was not able to deceive her more effectually.

He was often able to direct her, he sometimes elicited from her some expression of admiration at his astuteness; but in spite of his best efforts, she saw through him and understood him better than he liked.
"I am sorry," he said, "that what is honourable should sound ridiculous when it comes from me.