(A long pause.) “I cannot go on; there is water, a lot of water.”
“And you do not see any bridge?”
“Of course there is no bridge.”
“Perhaps there is a boat to cross in, as there is to cross the Loire at Chaumont.”
“Boats—yes—but this Loire is a regular flood; it frightens me.”
“Come, come; take courage—embark.”
(A long silence, agitation, pallor, nausea.) “Have you arrived?”
“Nearly; but I am much fatigued, and I do not see any people on shore.”
“Land and go on; you will soon find some one.”
“There, now I see some people—they are all women, dressed in white. But that is queer—they all have beards.”