"Very good," exclaimed Licurgo, clapping his hands. "And I say like Don
Renialdos:

"'Let none the wrath of Don Renialdos
Dare brave and hope to escape unscathed;
For he who seeks with him a quarrel,
Shall pay so dearly for his rashness
That he, and all his cause who champion,
Shall at my hand or meet destruction
Or chastisement severe shall suffer.'"

"Ramos, you will take some supper, you will eat something; won't you?"
said the mistress of the house.

"Nothing, nothing;" answered the Centaur. "Or if you give me any thing,
let it be a plate of gunpowder."

And bursting into a boisterous laugh, he walked up and down the room
several times, attentively observed by every one; then, stopping beside
the group, he looked fixedly at Dona Perfecta and thundered forth these
words:

"I say that there is nothing more to be said. Long live Orbajosa! death
to Madrid!"

And he brought his hand down on the table with such violence that the
floor shook.

"What a valiant spirit!" said Don Inocencio.