"
"Your effects have been examined, and they offer nothing to support the
suspicion. By all appearances, Maso, thou hast not much of the goods of
life to boast of; but, in spite of this, thy reputation clings to thee."
"Ay, Signore, this is much after the world's humor. Let it fancy any
quality in a man, and he is sure to get more than his share of the same,
whether it be for or against his interest. The rich man's florin is
quickly coined into a sequin by vulgar tongues, while the poor man is
lucky if he can get the change of a silver mark for an ounce of the better
metal. Even poor Nettuno finds it difficult to get a living here at the
convent, because some difference in coat and instinct has given him a bad
name among the dogs of St. Bernard!"
"Thy answer agrees with thy character; thou art said to have more wit than
honesty, Maso, and thou art described as one that can form a desperate
resolution and act up to its decision at need?"
"I am as Heaven willed at the birth, Signor Castellano, and as the chances
of a pretty busy life have served to give the work its finish.
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