He was encouraged by the shouts of the multitude, who now forgot his Calabrian origin in his success, while many of the serving-men of his master cheered him on by name.

All would not do.

The masked waterman, for the first time, threw the grandeur of his skill and force into the oar.

The ashen instrument bent to the power of an arm whose strength appeared to increase at will, and the movements of his body became rapid as the leaps of the greyhound.

The pliant gondola obeyed, and amid a shout which passed from the Piazzetta to the Rialto, it glided ahead.
If success gives force and increases the physical and moral energies, there is a fearful and certain reaction in defeat.