"If Lucia is married to some one else, I do not care what happens.
So you have got your warning!" "Thank you.

If you had remained what you used to be, you might have married her without further difficulty.

But to have you and Lucia and Maria Luisa and Paolo all conspiring against me from morning till night is more than I can bear.

Good-night, and the devil be with you, you fool!" "_Et cum spiritu tuo_," answered Gianbattista as he left the room.
When Marzio was alone he returned to the head he was drawing--a head of wonderful beauty, inclined downwards and towards one side, bearing a crown of thorns, the eyelids drooped and shaded in death.

He glanced at it with a bitter smile and threw aside the pencil without making another stroke upon the paper.
He leaned back, lighted another pipe, and began to reflect upon the events of the evening.