igns on
the rights of his fellow-creatures. On Maso the wine produced an effect
that might almost be termed characteristic, and which it is in some sort
germane to the moral of the tale to describe.

Il Maledetto had indulged freely and with apparent recklessness in the
frequent draughts. He was long familiarized to the habits of this wild and
uncouth fellowship, and a singular sentiment, that men of his class choose
to call honor, and which perhaps deserves the name as much as half of the
principles that are described by the same appellation, prevented him from
refusing to incur an equal risk in the common assault on their faculties,
inducing him to swallow his full share of the intoxicating fluid as the
cup passed from one reeking mouth to another. He liked the wine, too, and
tasted its perfume, and cherished its glowing influence, with the perfect
good-will of a man who knew how to profit by the accident which placed
such generous liquor at his command. He had also his designs in wishing to
unmask his companions, and he thought the moment favorable to such an
intention. In addition to these motives, Maso had his especial reasons for
being uneasy at finding himself in the hands of the authorities, and he
was not sorry to bring about a state of things that might lead to his
being confounded with the others in a group of vulgar devotees of Bacchus.

But Maso yielded to the common disposition in a manner peculiar to
himself. His eyes became even more lustrous than usual, his face reddened,
and his voice even grew thick, while his senses retained their powers. His
reason, instead of giving way, like those of the men around him, rather
brightened under the excitement, as if it foresaw the danger it incurred,
and the greater necessity there existed for vigilance. Though born in a
southern clime, he was saturnine and cold when unexcited, and such
temperaments rather gain their tone than lose their powers by stimulants
under which men of feebler organizations sink. He had passed his life amid
wild adventure and in scenes of peril which suited such a disposition, and
it most probably required either some strong motive of danger, like that
of the tempest on the Leman, or a stimulant of another quality, to draw
out the latent properties of his mind, which so well fitted him to lead
when others were the most disposed to follow. He was, therefore, without
fear for himself while he aroused his companions; and he was free of his
pur