But let anyone again besmirch the character of Don Anastasio!
"The Missourian"
Eugene P. (Eugene Percy) Lyle
I might pause here to make some attempt at refuting the base falsehoods that had been bruited by that time-serving vassal Guicciardini, and others of his kidney, whom the upstart Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere-sometime pedlar-in his jealous fury at seeing the coveted pontificate pass into the family of Borgia, bought and hired to do his loathsome work of calumny and besmirch the fame of as sweet a lady as Italy has known.
"The Shame of Motley"
Raphael Sabatini
He sniffed a scandal, and in his resentment at Mrs. Truscott's evident avoidance of him and Miss Sanford's serene indifference, he was beginning to feel that he could welcome anything that would besmirch their names or cloud their domestic peace.
"Marion's Faith."
Charles King