Parozzi.—I? Ridiculous, Rosabella may bestow her hand on the German Emperor, or a Venetian gondolier, without its giving me the least anxiety.
Falieri.—Ha! ha! ha!
Memmo.—Well, one thing at least even envy must confess; Flodoardo is the handsomest man in Venice. I doubt whether there’s a woman in the city who can resist him.
Parozzi.—And I should doubt it too, if women had as little sense as you have, and looked only at the shell without minding the kernel—
Memmo.—Which unluckily is exactly the thing which women always do—
Falieri.—The old Lomellino seems to be extremely intimate with this Flodoardo. They say he was well acquainted with his father.
Memmo.—It was he who presented him to the Doge.
Parozzi.—Hark!—Surely some one knocked at the palace door?
Memmo.—It can be none but Contarino. Now, then, we shall hear whether he has discovered the banditti.
Falieri (starting from his chair).—I’ll swear to that footstep, it’s Contarino.