"You do me too much honor!"
"Well, what is your answer?"
"I am at your orders. May God reward you for the honor you have done me to-day! May God be praised for the joy that he has accorded me in my old age! May the benedictions of heaven descend on your son!"
"Thank you, Giovanni."
I gave him my hand. And I saw his profound and sad eyes become moist from tenderness. My heart swelled with acute anguish.
The old man asked me:
"What name will you give him?'
"Raymond."
"The name of your father of sacred memory. He was a man, and you resemble him."
My brother said: