fear in the matter," said Nino,
seriously. "It is a great thing to have upon one's soul."

"What?" I asked.

"To take a daughter away from her father without his consent,--or at
least without consulting him. I would not like to do it."

"Do you mean to ask the old gentleman's consent before eloping with
his daughter? You are a little donkey, Nino, upon my word."

"Donkey, or anything else you like, but I will act like a galantuomo.
I will see the count, and ask him once more whether he is willing to
let his daughter marry me. If not, so much the worse; he will be
warned."

"Look here, Nino," I said, astonished at the idea. "I have taught you
a little logic. Suppose you meant to steal a horse instead of a woman.
Would you go to the owner of the horse, with your hat in your hand,
and say, 'I trust your worship will not be offended if I steal this
horse, which seems to be a good animal and pleases me'; and then would
you expect him to allow you to steal his horse?"

"Sor Cornelio, the case is not the same. Women have a right to be
free, and to marry whom they please; but horses are slaves. However,
as I am not a thief, I would certainly ask the man for the horse; and
if he refused it, and I conceived that I had a right to have it, I
would take it by force and not by stealth."

"It appears to me that if you meant to get possession of what was not
yours, you might as well get it in the easiest possible way," I
objected. "But we need not argue the case. There is a much better
reason why you should not consult the count."

"I do not believe it," said Nino, stubbornly.

"Nevertheless, it is so. The Contessina di Lira is desperately
unhappy, and if nothing is done she may die. Young women have died of
broken hearts before now. You have no right to endanger her life by
risking failure. Answer me that, if you can, and I will grant you are
a cunning sophist, but not a good lover."

"There is reason in what you say now," he answered. "I had not thought
of that desperateness of the case which you speak of. You have seen
her." He buried his face in his hand, and seemed to be thinking.

"Yes, I have seen her, and I wish you had been in my place. You would
think differently about asking her father's leave to rescue her." From
having been anxious to prevent anything rash, it seemed that I was now
urging him into the very jaws of danger. I think that Hedwig's face
was before me, as it had been in reality on the previous eveni