“Let us hear the history,” said Franz, motioning Signor Pastrini to seat himself.
“Your excellencies permit it?” asked the host.
“ Pardieu! ” cried Albert, “you are not a preacher, to remain standing!”
The host sat down, after having made each of them a respectful bow, which meant that he was ready to tell them all they wished to know concerning Luigi Vampa.
“You tell me,” said Franz, at the moment Signor Pastrini was about to open his mouth, “that you knew Luigi Vampa when he was a child—he is still a young man, then?”
“A young man? he is only two-and-twenty;—he will gain himself a reputation.”
“What do you think of that, Albert?—at two-and-twenty to be thus famous?”
“Yes, and at his age, Alexander, Caesar, and Napoleon, who have all made some noise in the world, were quite behind him.”
“So,” continued Franz, “the hero of this history is only two-and-twenty?”
“Scarcely so much.”
“Is he tall or short?”
“Of the middle height—about the same stature as his excellency,” returned the host, pointing to Albert.
“Thanks for the comparison,” said Albert, with a bow.