leagues beyond her borders. To her greatness I would dedicate my
life. I placed my hand upon my heart as I swore it, and at that
instant the gondolier fell upon me from behind.

When I say that he fell upon me I do not mean merely that he
attacked me, but that he really did tumble upon me with all his
weight. The fellow stands behind you and above you as he rows,
so that you can neither see him nor can you in any way guard
against such an assault.

One moment I had sat with my mind filled with sublime
resolutions, the next I was flattened out upon the bottom of the
boat, the breath dashed out of my body, and this monster pinning
me down. I felt the fierce pants of his hot breath upon the back
of my neck. In an instant he had torn away my sword, had slipped
a sack over my head, and had tied a rope firmly round the outside
of it.

There I was at the bottom of the gondola as helpless as a trussed
fowl. I could not shout, I could not move; I was a mere bundle.
An instant later I heard once more the swishing of the water and
the creaking of the oar.

This fellow had done his work and had resumed his journey as
quietly and unconcernedly as if he were accustomed to clap a sack
over a colonel of Hussars every day of the week.

I cannot tell you the humiliation and also the fury which filled
my mind as I lay there like a helpless sheep being carried to the
butcher's. I, Etienne Gerard, the champion of the six brigades