Compare thine own
career with mine, and let it be proclaimed by sound of trumpet if thou
wilt, which hath most reason to be proud, and which to exult. Thou wert
reared in the hopes and honors of our name; thou passed thy youth in the
pursuit of arms according to thy fancy, and when tired of change, and
willing to narrow thy pleasures, thou looked about thee for a maiden to
become the mother of thy successor; thou turned a wishing eye on one
young, fair, and noble, but whose affections, as her faith, were solemnly,
irretrievably plighted to another."
The Doge shuddered and veiled his eye; but he eagerly interrupted Maso.
"Her kinsman was unworthy of her love," he cried; "he was an outcast, and
little better than thyself, unhappy boy, except in the chances of
condition."
"It matters not, Signore; God had not made you the arbiter of her fate. In
tempting her family by your greater riches, you crushed two hearts, and
destroyed the hopes of your fellow-creatures. In her was sacrificed an
angel, mild and pure as this fair creature who is now listening so
breathlessly to my words; in him a fierce untamed spirit, that had only
the greater need of management, since it was as likely to go wrong as
right.
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