[...] In any case it was useless to talk any more about Mussolini, no one was thinking about Mussolini now. Now there was the King, the collector of coins, who gradually had pulled himself together and wanted to try and take command. The King would dig out goodness knows what old ministers, because Italy had had quite enough of Fascists with big muscular torsos and of athletic processions and had a great longing for white-haired, mild old gentlemen with crooked, trembling knees. In a short time Italy would certainly be flooded with mild old gentlemen, dressed as generals and ministers and dragging behind them elderly wives, trembling and white-haired, and Italy would clap her hands at these elderly wives, sick as she was of the women that Fascism had brought into fashion, bronze breasts and thighs crowned with ears of corn on the bridges and the fountains. The King would go about Italy sometimes on horseback and Italy would clap her hands at him, he had never imagined that the King’s crooked knees could be pleasing to Italy and yet now it was just those crooked knees that Italy was greeting with joy and relief, and the wizened, disdainful, monkey-like little face under the peaked cap that was too big for him. If anyone fired a shot in the air the little monkey would run off and hide himself in the place where he had been for so many years, the little monkey would run off to the cellar where his collection of coins was kept, but at present Italy was pleased and was not thinking of firing any shots immediately. The police-sergeant made as if to rise, because he could not bear to hear the King called a little monkey. His father had received a medal from the King’s own hands. Cenzo Rena held him firmly by his cloak and poured him out some more wine, perhaps later on he and the police-sergeant might become enemies but not yet, not that day, that day they must drink together over the downfall of Mussolini. Later on, after the little monkey had also been put aside, they would have to begin to do something really fine, but he did not want to tell the police-sergeant what, because he did not want to cause him pain that day.