The little dog began barking vociferously, and Baroni, looking up, instantly bade him be quiet. It was Sidonia whose appearance in the distance had roused the precautionary voice.
‘Well,’ said Sidonia, ‘I heard your trumpets this morning.’
‘The grandmother sleeps,’ said Baroni, taking off his cap, and slightly rising. ‘The rest also are lying down after their dinner. Children will never repose unless there are rules, and this with them is invariable.’
‘But your children surely cannot be averse to repose, for they require it.’
‘Their blood is young,’ continued Baroni, still mending his clarionet; ‘they are naturally gay, except my eldest son. He is restless, but he is not gay.’
‘He likes his art?’
‘Not too much; what he wants is to travel, and, after all, though we are always moving, the circle is limited.’
‘Yes; you have many to move. And can this ark contain them all?’ said Sidonia, seating himself on some timber that was at hand.
‘With convenience even,’ replied Baroni; ‘but everything can be effected by order and discipline. I rule and regulate my house like a ship. In a vessel, there is not as much accommodation for the size as in a house of this kind; yet nowhere is there more decency and cleanliness than on board ship.’
‘You have an obedient crew,’ said Sidonia, ‘and that is much.’