No traces of him can be discovered between April and July 1553. He was wandering either in French or Swiss territory; and when, at a later period, he was asked where he had intended to go after his escape from Vienne, he varied in his answers, sometimes naming Spain and at others Italy as his proposed place of refuge. I am inclined to believe that from the very first he intended to make his way to a much nearer spot. Be that as it may, whilst he was wandering from place to place, either undecided as to his future course, or waiting for a fitting opportunity of carrying out his plan, sentence was pronounced upon him by the Catholic judges at Vienne; and on the 17th of June he was condemned 'to be burnt alive over a slow fire, at the place of public execution, so that his body should be reduced to cinders as well as his book.' {312} Chapter XVIII. Servetus In Geneva. His Trial And Execution. A month later--on the 17th of July Servetus entered a little inn on the banks of the lake at Geneva, called the _Auberge de la Rose_. He was alone and unknown: he said that he wanted a boat across the lake, so that he might go on to Zurich. He did not cross the lake, but stayed for twenty-seven days at Geneva, greatly exciting the curiosity of his host, who asked him one day if he was married: 'No,' he said, 'there are plenty of women in the world without marrying.' He seems to have walked out and seen several persons. It is even asserted that he went to church and heard Calvin preach. Calvin afterwards said, 'I do not know how to account for his conduct, unless he was seized by a fatal infatuation and rushed into danger.' [Footnote 122] [Footnote 122: Henry, iii. 149-151; Rilliet, _Procès de Michel Servet_, p. 20; _Revue des deux Mondes_, 1848, i. 826.]