Etienne Gerard, colonel of Hussars, is the bravest man in France and the vainest, and he tells you so himself — through Spain, Russia, Venice, the escape from Dartmoor and a wolf hunt with the Emperor. Conan Doyle thought Gerard his best work and preferred him to Holmes; the joke is built with real affection, because Gerard is a fool about everything except courage, and about that he is never wrong.
























