arrying
away with it other parts of the vessel. One man was crushed under
the weight of the falling ruins, and instantly killed. Agrippina and
the lady in waiting upon her were saved by the posts of the bed or
couch on which Agrippina was reclining, which happened to be in such
a position that they held up the impending mass sufficiently to
allow the ladies to creep out from beneath it. The breaking down,
too, of the deck and bulwarks of the barge was less extensive than
had been intended, so that Agrippina not only escaped being crushed
by the ruins but she also saved herself at first from being thrown
into the sea. The men then who were in the secret of the plot
immediately raised a great cry and confusion, and attempted to
upset the barge by climbing up upon one side of it--while the
others, who did not understand the case, did all they could to save
it. In the mean time the noise of the outcries reached the shore,
and fishermen's boats began to put off with a view of coming to the
rescue of the distressed vessel. Before they arrived, however, the
boat had been overturned, Agrippina and Aceronia had been thrown
into the sea, and the men who were in the secret of the plot, taking
advantage of the darkness and confusion, were endeavoring to seal
the fate of their victims, by beating them down with poles and oars
as they struggled in the water.

[Illustration: THE ATTEMPT OF ANICETUS.]

These efforts succeeded in the case of Aceronia, for she uttered
loud and continual outcries in her terror, and thus drew upon
herself the blows of the assassins. Agrippina, on the other hand,
had the presence of mind to keep silence. She received one heavy
blow upon the shoulder, which inflicted a serious wound. In other
respects she escaped uninjured, and succeeded, partly through the
buoyancy of her dress, and partly by the efforts that she made to
swim, in keeping herself afloat until she was taken up by the
fishermen and conveyed to the shore. She was taken to a villa
belonging to her, which was situated not far from the place where
the disaster had occurred.

As soon as Agrippina had recovered a little from the terror and
excitement of this scene, and had time to reflect upon the
circumstances of it, she was convinced that what had occurred was no
accident, but the result of a deep-laid design to destroy her life.
She, however, thought it most prudent to dissemble her opinion for a
time. As soon therefore as she had safely rea