Page 253 - A Knight of the White Cross

agreed upon; and I am pleased to be the first to whisper to you that it is
intended to bestow upon you an honour that is jealously guarded and

seldom granted, even to crowned heads, unless as a token of gratitude for
some signal service done to the Republic."

"I should feel most honoured and most grateful, Countess, for so
extraordinary a favour, did I feel that I had done any extraordinary action to

merit it. There can be no doubt that the destruction of the corsairs has saved
Genoa and all the maritime towns from immense loss by damage to their

trade, and by the raids that would have been made at various points on the
coast. But I cannot see that the mere fact that we have destroyed their fleet
merits any marked honour. They were caught in a trap, and half of them

burned, and this might have been done equally as well by the Sardinian
fishermen, unarmed, and without our aid. As to the fighting, it was of small

account. The first three craft we captured offered a much stouter resistance,
and we lost two of our number; but in the other affair no knight was killed,
or even seriously wounded, and believe me, Countess, I feel absolutely

ashamed at the fuss that is made over it. It seems to me that I am a sort of
impostor, obtaining credit under false pretences."

"No man is a fair judge of his own actions, Sir Gervaise," Caretto said. "A
man may believe himself a Solon, or a Roland; others may consider him as

a fool, or an empty braggart; and it must be taken that the general opinion
of the public is the judgment from which there is no appeal. It is not the

mob of Genoa only who regard the services that you have rendered as
extraordinary, but it is the opinion of the councillors and authorities of the
Republic, and of those who, like myself, have borne our share in warfare,

that not only is the service great, but that it is due to the singular ability
with which you, in command of only a single galley, have wholly destroyed

or captured the fleet that threatened our commerce. As our councillors,
therefore, all competent judges, are unanimous in their opinion that you
have deserved the highest honours that Genoa can bestow upon you, it is

useless for you to set up your own opinion to the contrary. Take the good
things that fall to you, Sir Gervaise, and be thankful. It is seldom that men

obtain more honours than they deserve, while it very often happens that
they deserve far more than they obtain. Fortune has doubtless some share in