Chapter 8 Summary

The eighth chapter finds the Baron Arminio riding on horseback out to where his son is in the trees. He opens the conversation by scolding his son for making a spectacle of himself before all of the townsfolk, but very shortly reveals his true purpose for coming, no surprise to Cosimo. He requests that Cosimo to come down out of the trees and assume his duties as the young Baron. Cosimo replies respectfully that he has no intention of obeying his father's request. His father is not surprised by his answer, either. The two discuss Cosimo's taking up with the ruffians, and Cosimo explains that he remains his own, and acts independently of the whims of the boys. Next, his father asks him about school and religious observances if he is going to stay in the trees, to which Cosimo declares that teaching...