“Did you meet in the cemetery the son of the deceased Don Rafael, who has just returned from Europe?”
“Yes, I saw him as he alighted from his carriage.”
“They say that he went to look for his father’s grave. It must have been a terrible blow.”
The Sage shrugged his shoulders.
“Doesn’t such a misfortune affect you?” asked the young wife.
“You know very well that I was one of the six who accompanied the body, and it was I who appealed to the Captain-General when I saw that no one, not even the authorities, said anything about such an outrage, although I always prefer to honor a good man in life rather than to worship him after his death.”
“Well?”
“But, madam, I am not a believer in hereditary monarchy. By reason of the Chinese blood which I have received from my mother I believe a little like the Chinese: I honor the father on account of the son and not the son on account of the father. I believe that each one should receive the reward or punishment for his own deeds, not for those of another.”
“Did you order a mass said for your dead wife, as I advised you yesterday?” asked the young woman, changing the subject of conversation.
“No,” answered the old man with a smile.