"No, no. You are great and strong; you would begin life again, and I would support you. We would show the world the noble and rare alliance of a rich man and an artist in perfect sympathy and understanding."
"Do you mean it?" asked Gambara, struck with amazement.
"As I have told you, you are a poet more than a musician."
"A poet, a poet! It is better than nothing. But tell me truly, which do you esteem most highly, Mozart or Homer?"
"I admire them equally."
"On your honor?"
"On my honor."
"H'm! Once more. What do you think of Meyerbeer and Byron?"
"You have measured them by naming them together."
The Count's carriage was in waiting. The composer and his noble physician ran downstairs, and in a few minutes they were with Marianna.