But evidently a
Venetian, or the whole Venetian nation, had recently done them a
wrong.
At any rate one very dark-haired man put his face close up to mine,
unlipped his teeth, and began a great noise of cursing and
threatening, and this so angered me that it overmastered my fear,
which had till then been considerable. I remembered also a rule which
a wise man once told me for guidance, and it is this: 'God disposes of
victory, but, as the world is made, when men smile, smile; when men
laugh, laugh; when men hit, hit; when men shout, shout; and when men
curse, curse you also, my son, and in doubt let them always take the
first move.'
I say my fear had been considerable, especially of the man with the
knife, but I got too angry to remember it, and advancing my face also
to this insulter's I shouted, _'Dio Ladro! Dios di mi alma!
Sanguinamento! Nombre di Dios! Che? Che vole? Non sono da Venezia io!
Sono de Francia! Je m'en fiche da vestra Venezia! Non se vede che non
parlar vestra lingua? Che sono forestiere?'_ and so forth. At this
they evidently divided into two parties, and all began raging amongst
themselves, and some at me, while the others argued louder and louder
that there was an error.
The little innkeeper caught my arm over the counter, and I turned
round sharply, thinking he was doing me a wrong, but I saw him nodding
and winking at me, and he was on my side.
