“You see those two portraits close together?”
“Yes, Paoli and Napoleon.”
“Well, near the portrait of Paoli is a sword.”
“Precisely so.”
“That is his sword.”
“Paoli’s sword? And is it as authentic as the poignard of Sampietro?”
“Yes, at least as authentic; though he did not give it to one of my male ancestors, but to one of the ladies.”
“To one of your female ancestors?”
“Yes. Perhaps you have heard people speak of this woman, who in the war of independence presented herself at the Tower of Sullacaro, accompanied by a young man?”