"And if the
Republic hath no present need of the Consultore's mastery of sciences,
the fame thereof hath made a hearing for any speech of his. But he hath
no mind to any social pleasures--how, then, my lady, hast seen him, or
knowest thou the quality of his learning?"
"Fra Francesco is never weary of telling of his wisdom; they have been
friends since boyhood in the Servi. The master Galileo, if one may
believe him, can do naught without consulting Fra Paolo, and together
they are building some strange tunnel that shall bring the stars nearer!
It is like a fable to listen to these marvels of his friend, who for his
discoveries might well hold all the chairs in Padua if Fra Francesco
might decree his deserts! But Fra Francesco is simple-minded. Tell me,
Giustinian, how doth the Consultore appear to thee?"
"To me and to all men like one who betrays no secret and speaks no idle
word."
"Once," pursued the lady meditatively, "I had sight of him, going with
Marco to the convent to see our Madonna of the Veronese, and Fra Paolo
ministered in the chapel of the Consolation; very quiet and simple he
seemed, like the other frati.
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