He belonged to another type--the
heroic type. Suffering anguish of soul, he yet preferred honour to
baseness. In self-defence--"
At this point the great Deputy ceased to speak. Signor Malipizzo had
swooned away. He had to be carried out of Court.
It mattered little, for the proceedings were at an end save for a few
formalities. The case was won.
People were rather annoyed at being deprived of one of Don Giustino's
far-famed perorations. It could not be helped. Better luck next time.
Then they asked themselves why the judge had fainted. Some thought it
might be the heat, or a touch of his old complaint. The majority were
agreed that the attack was due to the Deputy's eloquence. And it was
true that he was greatly impressed by the speech, but not quite as much
as all that. He had decided to faint at a critical moment, for the sake
of appearances. It was clever of him. He did it beautifully too; he had
been rehearsing half the night. Don Giustino, on his part, shared the
common opinion and was charmed with this tribute to his genius.
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