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"Just the advice of Perpetua," thought Don Abbondio vexed, to

whose mind, even in the midst of these touching appeals, the

images which most frequently presented themselves, were those of

the bravoes and Don Roderick, alive and well, and returning at

some future time, triumphant, and inflamed with rage. Although

the presence, the aspect, and the language of the cardinal

embarrassed him, and impressed him with a degree of apprehension,

it was, however, an embarrassment and an apprehension which did

not subjugate his thoughts, nor prevent him from reflecting that,

after all, the cardinal employed neither arms nor bravoes.