ure that fortune
has less to do with the matter than his personal merits. Three times
have you earned special credit; upon the first occasion, the grand
master--no mean judge of conduct and character--deemed you worthy of
secular knighthood, an honour which has not, in my memory, been bestowed
at Rhodes upon any young knight; on the second, you were promoted to the
command of a galley, though never before has such a command been given
to any, save knights of long experience; and now, for the third time,
the councillors of one of the greatest of Italian cities are about to do
you honour. It is good to be modest, Sir Gervaise, and it is better to
underestimate than to overrate one's own merits, but it is not well to
carry the feeling to an extreme. I am quite sure that in your case your
disclaimer is wholly sincere and unaffected; but take my advice, accept
the honours the world may pay you as not undeserved, determining only in
your mind that if you deem them excessive, you will at least do all
in your power to show that they are not ill bestowed. You will not, I
trust, take my counsel amiss."

"On the contrary, Sir Fabricius," Gervaise said warmly. "I am really
but a boy yet, though by good fortune pushed strangely forward, and I
am glad indeed to receive council from a knight of vastly greater
experience than myself and, in future, however much I may be conscious
in my own mind that anything I have done is greatly overrated, I will at
least abstain from protest. And now, Countess, I must pray you to excuse
me. I know that Sir Ralph Harcourt is, before this, down at the dockyard
waiting my coming to engage sailors."

"You will come tomorrow at the same time, I hope, Sir Gervaise. As
Claudia's sworn knight we have now a claim upon you, and for the short
time that you remain here you must regard this as your home, although
you must necessarily remain the guest of the doge."

"He is a fine young fellow, indeed," Caretto said, after Gervaise
had left. "There is no affectation about his modesty, and he really
considers that this success he has gained is solely a stroke of good
fortune. Of course, I have been asking many questions about him of the
young knights of his own langue, Harcourt among them. They tell me that
he is always in earnest in everything he undertakes. He is without a
rival among the younger knights of the convent in his skill in arms, and
for strength and activity in all exercises; he seems to care nothin