That I am
not wanting in manly qualities on occasion, perhaps these noble travellers
will be willing to testify, in consideration of some activity that I may
have shown on the Leman, during their late passage of that treacherous
water."
Though this was said carelessly, the appeal to the recollection and
gratitude of those he had served was too direct to be overlooked. Melchior
de Willading, the pious clavier, and the Signor Grimaldi all testified in
behalf of the prisoner, freely admitting that, without his coolness and
skill, the Winkelried and all she held would irretrievably have been lost.
Sigismund was not content with so cold a demonstration of his feelings. He
owed not only the lives of his father and him self to the courage of Maso,
but that of one dearer than all; one whose preservation, to his youthful
imagination, seemed a service that might nearly atone for any crime, and
his gratitude was in proportion.
"I will testify more strongly to thy merit, Maso, in face of this or any
tribunal;" he said, grasping the hand of the Italian. "One who showed so
much bravery and so strong love for his fellows, would be little likely to
take life clandestinely and like a coward.
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