Lanterns were extinguished, families reunited, and everything seemed to return to its rightful place. Order reigned, and the council once again governed without any external interference; its own chairman and Councillor Freitas returned to their respective positions. Porfírio the barber, chastened by events and having “experienced all in life,” as the poet said of Napoleon (and even more than that, because Napoleon never experienced the Casa Verde), decided that the obscure glories of razor and scissors were preferable to the brilliant calamities of power. He was, of course, prosecuted by the authorities, but the townspeople begged His Majesty to show clemency, and a pardon was duly granted. João Pina was cleared of all charges, since his actions had brought down a rebel. The chroniclers think it was this that gave birth to our adage, “When a thief robs a thief the sentence is but brief,” an immoral saying, it’s true, but still highly useful.

All complaints against the alienist ceased, as did any lingering traces of resentment for what he had done. Ever since he had declared the Casa Verde’s inmates to be completely sane, they had all been filled with a sense of profound gratitude and fervent enthusiasm. Many of them felt that the alienist deserved special recognition for his services and even gave a ball in his honor, followed by further dinners and celebrations. The chronicles say that, at first, Dona Evarista considered asking for a separation, but the sad prospect of losing the companionship of such a great man overcame any wounded feelings, and the couple ended up even happier than before.

The friendship between the alienist and the apothecary remained equally close. The latter concluded from Simão Bacamarte’s memorandum that, in times of revolution, prudence is the most important virtue, and he greatly appreciated the alienist’s magnanimity in extending him the hand of friendship when he granted him his liberty.

“He is indeed a great man,” said Soares to his wife, referring to the alienist’s gesture.

Needless to say, Mateus the saddler, Costa, Coelho, Martim Brito, and all the others mentioned earlier were free to return to their former habits and occupations. Martim Brito, locked up on account of that overenthusiastic speech in praise of Dona Evarista, now gave another speech in honor of the eminent doctor “whose exalted genius spreads its wings far above the sun and leaves beneath it all other spirits of the earth.”

“Thank you for your kind words,” replied the alienist, “which only serve to remind me how right I was to release you.”