ed.

"Gentlemen, beautiful, and worthy of veneration is heroism in a man! But
in a child, in whom there can be no prompting of ambition or of profit
whatever; in a child, who must have all the more ardor in proportion as
he has less strength; in a child, from whom we require nothing, who is
bound to nothing, who already appears to us so noble and lovable, not
when he acts, but when he merely understands, and is grateful for the
sacrifices of others;--in a child, heroism is divine! I will say nothing
more, gentlemen. I do not care to deck, with superfluous praises, such
simple grandeur. Here before you stands the noble and valorous rescuer.
Soldier, greet him as a brother; mothers, bless him like a son;
children, remember his name, engrave on your minds his visage, that it
may nevermore be erased from your memories and from your hearts.
Approach, my boy. In the name of the king of Italy, I give you the medal
for civic valor."

An extremely loud hurrah, uttered at the same moment by many voices,
made the palace ring.

The mayor took the medal from the table, and fastened it on the boy's
breast. Then he embraced and kissed him. The mother placed one hand over
her eyes; the father held his chin on his breast.

The mayor shook hands with both; and taking the decree of decoration,
which was bound with a ribbon, he handed it to the woman.

Then he turned to the boy again, and said: "May the memory of this day,
which is such a glorious one for you, such a happy one for your father
and mother, keep you all your life in the path of virtue and honor!
Farewell!"

The mayor withdrew, the band struck up, and everything seemed to be at
an end, when the detachment of firemen opened, and a lad of eight or
nine years, pushed forwards by a woman who instantly concealed herself,
rushed towards the boy with the decoration, and flung himself in his
arms.

Another outburst of hurrahs and applause made the courtyard echo; every
one had instantly understood that this was the boy who had been saved
from the Po, and who had come to thank his rescuer. After kissing him,
he clung to one arm, in order to accompany him out. These two, with the
father and mother following behind, took their way towards the door,
making a path with difficulty among the people who formed in line to let
them pass,--policemen, boys, soldiers, women, all mingled together in
confusion. All pressed forwards and raised on tiptoe to see the boy.
Those who stood near h