Military life in Italy : sketches - Societa italiana di storia militare

1 68 M1LITAR Y LIFE.
" You," replied the doctor.
" Tell me the truth ;
be sincere
with me ;
am
I not "
your only friend here ?
"
Friend, yes ;
but just because I wish to be sincere I might
not like to tell you that which does not exist," answered the
other.
He was silent for a moment, and then went on talking
hastily, now becoming pale, now scarlet, stammering, growing
embarrassed and contradicting himself, like a boy caught in
mischief and obliged to confess his wrong-doing.
"
I, in love ? And with Carmela ? With an insane person ?
What are you thinking of, friend ? How did you get such a
strange idea into your head ? The day that that happens, I '11
give you the right to say to my colonel that I have lost my
with madmen. In love ! You
reason and ought to be shut up
make me laugh. I feel pity for that poor creature ; yes, a
very strong and lively pity. I don't know what I would not
give to see her cured ;
I would make any sacrifice for her
health ;
I should delight in her recovery as if she were one of
my family.
. . . That is all very true, but between this
and falling in love with her there is a great difference. I like
her, this is true too, I like her very much, as I think you do
too, because pity always goes with affection. . . . Then I
am fond of her because they say she has always been a virtuous,
affectionate girl ;
that her first and only lover she really
loved, loved worthily, with the idea of
becoming his wife, and
without being willing to sacrifice her honor to him before bearing
his name. This . . . is virtue, my dear friend, real virtue,
and I admire it, you understand ;
so that poor creature
arouses all the more compassion because she deserved a happy
fate instead of a misfortune like the one which has fallen to
her lot. How could one help having compassion for, and