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diff --git a/old/10455-8.txt b/old/10455-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6b85954 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/10455-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11529 @@ +Project Gutenberg's A Golden Book of Venice, by Mrs. Lawrence Turnbull + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: A Golden Book of Venice + +Author: Mrs. Lawrence Turnbull + +Release Date: December 14, 2003 [EBook #10455] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A GOLDEN BOOK OF VENICE *** + + + + +Produced by Ted Garwin, Annika and PG Distributed Proofreaders + + + + +THE GOLDEN BOOK OF VENICE + +A Historical Romance of the 16th Century + + +By + +MRS. LAWRENCE TURNBULL + + 'This noble citie doth in a manner + chalenge this at my hands, that + I should describe her ... the + fairest Lady, yet the richest Paragon, + and Queene of Christendome.' + +1900 + + + AS A TRIBUTE TO HIS GIFT OF VIVID + HISTORIC NARRATION WHICH WAS + THE DELIGHT OF MY CHILDHOOD, + I INSCRIBE THIS ROMANCE TO THE + MEMORY OF MY DEAR FATHER. + + + +ACKNOWLEDGMENT + +I desire gratefully to acknowledge my indebtedness to many faithful, +loving and able students of Venetian lore, without whose books my own +presentation of Venice in the sixteenth century would have been +impossible. Mr. Ruskin's name must always come first among the prophets +of this City of the Sea, but among others from whom I have gathered +side-lights I have found quite indispensable Mr. Horatio F. Brown's +"Venice; An Historical Sketch of the Republic," "Venetian Studies," and +"Life on the Lagoons"; Mr. Hare's suggestive little volume of "Venice"; +M. Léon Galibert's "Histoire de la République de Venise"; and Mr. +Charles Yriarte's "Venice" and his work studied from the State papers in +the Frari, entitled "La vie d'un Patricien de Venise." + +Mr. Robertson's life of Fra Paolo Sarpi gave me the first hint of this +great personality, but my own portrait has been carefully studied from +the volumes of his collected works which later responded to my search; +these were collected and preserved for the Venetian government under the +title of "Opere di Fra Paolo Sarpi, Servita, Teologo e Consultore della +Serenissima Repubblica di Venezia" and included his life, letters and +"opinions," and all others of his writings which escaped destruction in +the fire of the Servite Convent, as well as many important extracts from +the original manuscripts so destroyed and which had been transcribed by +order of the Doge, Marco Foscarini, a few years before. + +FRANCESE LITCHFIELD TURNBULL. + +_La-Paix, June_, 1900. + + + +PRELUDE + +Venice, with her life and glory but a memory, is still the _citta +nobilissima_,--a city of moods,--all beautiful to the beauty-lover, all +mystic to the dreamer; between the wonderful blue of the water and the +sky she floats like a mirage--visionary--unreal--and under the spell of +her fascination we are not critics, but lovers. We see the pathos, not +the scars of her desolation, and the splendor of her past is too much a +part of her to be forgotten, though the gold is dim upon her +palace-fronts, and the sheen of her precious marbles has lost its bloom, +and the colors of the laughing Giorgione have faded like his smile. + +But the very soul of Venetia is always hovering near, ready to be +invoked by those who confess her charm. When, under the glamor of her +radiant skies the faded hues flash forth once more, there is no ruin nor +decay, nor touch of conquering hand of man nor time, only a splendid +city of dreams, waiting in silence--as all visions wait--until that +invisible, haunting spirit has turned the legends of her power into +actual activities. + + + + + +_THE GOLDEN BOOK OF VENICE_ + + + +I + +Sea and sky were one glory of warmth and color this sunny November +morning in 1565, and there were signs of unusual activity in the Campo +San Rocco before the great church of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, +which, if only brick without, was all glorious within, "in raiment of +needlework" and "wrought gold." And outside, the delicate tracery of the +cornice was like a border of embroidery upon the sombre surface; the +sculptured marble doorway was of surpassing richness, and the airy grace +of the campanile detached itself against the entrancing blue of the sky, +as one of those points of beauty for which Venice is memorable. + +Usually this small square, remote from the centres of traffic as from +the homes of the nobility, seemed scarcely more than a landing-place for +the gondolas which were constantly bringing visitors and worshippers +thither, as to a shrine; for this church was a sort of memorial abbey to +the illustrious dead of Venice,--her Doges, her generals, her artists, +her heads of noble families,--and the monuments were in keeping with all +its sumptuous decorations, for the Frati Minori of the convent to which +it belonged--just across the narrow lane at the side of the church--were +both rich and generous, and many of its gifts and furnishings reflected +the highest art to which modern Venice had attained. Between the +wonderful, mystic, Eastern glory of San Marco, all shadows and +symbolisms and harmonies, and the positive, realistic assertions, +aesthetic and spiritual, of the Frari, lay the entire reach of the art +and religion of the Most Serene Republic. + +The church was ancient enough to be a treasure-house for the historian, +and it had been restored, with much magnificence, less than a century +before,--which was modern for Venice,--while innumerable gifts had +brought its treasures down to the days of Titian and Tintoret. + +To-day the people were coming in throngs, as to a _festa_, on foot from +under the Portico di Zen, across the little marble bridge which spanned +the narrow canal; on foot also from the network of narrow paved lanes, +or _calle_, which led off into a densely populated quarter; for to-day +the people had free right of entrance, equally with those others who +came in gondolas, liveried and otherwise, from more distant and +aristocratic neighborhoods. This pleasant possibility of entrance +sufficed for the crowd at large, who were not learned, and who preferred +the attractions of the outside show to the philosophical debate which +was the cause of all this agreeable excitement, and which was presently +to take place in the great church before a vast assembly of nobles and +clergy and representatives from the Universities of Padua, Mantua, and +Bologna; and outside, in the glowing sunshine, with the strangers and +the confusion, the shifting sounds and lights, the ceaseless unlading of +gondolas and massing and changing of colors, every minute was a +realization of the people's ideal of happiness. + +Brown, bare-legged boys flocked from San Pantaleone and the people's +quarters on the smaller canals, remitting, for the nonce, their +absorbing pastimes of crabbing and petty gambling, and ragged and +radiant, stretched themselves luxuriously along the edge of the little +quay, faces downward, emphasizing their humorous running commentaries +with excited movements of the bare, upturned feet; while the gondoliers +landed their passengers to a lively refrain of "_Stali_!" their curses +and appeals to the Madonna blending not discordantly with the general +babel of sound which gives such a sense of companionship in +Venice--human voices calling in ceaseless interchange from shore to +shore, resonant in the brilliant atmosphere, quarrels softened to +melodies across the water, cries of the gondoliers telling of ceaseless +motion, the constant lap and plash of the wavelets and the drip of the +oars making a soothing undertone of content. + +From time to time staccato notes of delight added a distinct jubilant +quality to this symphony, heralding the arrival of some group of Church +dignitaries from one or other of the seven principal parishes of Venice, +gorgeous in robes of high festival and displaying the choicest of +treasures from sacristies munificently endowed, as was meet for an +ecclesiastical body to whom belonged one half of the area of Venice, +with wealth proportionate. + +Frequent delegations from the lively crowd of the populace--flashing +with repartee, seemly or unseemly, as they gathered close to the door +just under the marble slab with its solemn appeal to reverence, +"Rispettati la Casa di Dio"--penetrated into the Frari to see where the +more pleasure could be gotten, as also to claim their right to be there; +for this pageant was for the people also, which they did not forget, and +their good-humored ripple of comment was tolerant, even when most +critical. But outside one could have all of the festa that was worth +seeing, with the sunshine added,--the glorious sunshine of this November +day, cold enough to fill the air with sparkle,--and the boys, at least, +were sure to return to the free enjoyment impossible within. + +A group of young nobles, in silken hose and velvet mantles, were met +with ecstatic approval and sallies deftly personal. Since the beginning +of the Council of Trent, which was still sitting, philosophy had become +the mode in Venice, and had grown to be a topic of absorbing interest by +no means confined to Churchmen; and young men of fashion took courses of +training in the latest and most intellectual accomplishment. + +Confraternities of every order were arriving in stately processions, +their banners borne before them by gondoliers gaudy and awkward in +sleazy white tunics, with brilliant cotton sashes--habiliments which +possessed a singular power of relieving these sun-browned sons of the +lagoon of every vestige of their native grace. On such days of Church +festival--and these alone--they might have been mistaken for peasants of +some prosaic land, instead of the graceful, free-born Venetians that +they were, as, with no hint of their natural rhythm of motion, they +filed in cramped and orderly procession through the avenue that opened +to them in the crowd to the door of the church, where they disappeared +behind the great leather curtain. + +It was a great day for the friars of the Servi, who were rivals of the +Frari both in learning and splendor, and the entire Servite Brotherhood, +black-robed and white-cowled, was just coming in sight over the little +marble bridge, preceded by youthful choristers, chanting as they came +and bearing with them that famous banner which had been sent them as a +gift from their oldest chapter of San Annunziata in Florence, and which +was the early work of Raphael. + +A small urchin, leaning far over the edge of the quay and craning his +neck upward for a better view, reported some special attraction in this +approaching group which elicited yells of vociferous greeting from his +colleagues, with such forceful emphasis of his own curling, expressive +toes, that he lost his balance and rolled over into the water; from +which he was promptly rescued by a human ladder, dexterously let down to +him in sections, without a moment's hesitation, by his allies, who, like +all Venetian boys of the populace, were amphibious animals, full of +pranks. + +But now there was no more time for fooling on the quay, for at the great +end-window of the library of the convent of the Frari it could be seen +that a procession of this body was forming and would presently enter the +church, and the fun would begin for those who understood Latin. + +A round-faced friar was giving obliging information. The contest would +be between the Frari and the Servi; there was a new brother who had just +entered their order,--and very learned, it was said,--but the name was +not known. He would appear to respond to the propositions of the Frari. + +"Yes, the theses would be in Latin--and harder, it was said, had never +been seen. There were the theses in one of those black frames, at the +side of the great door." + +"But Latin is no good, except in missals, for women and priests to +read." + +The gondolier who owned the voice was undiscoverable among the crowd, +and the remark passed with some humorous retaliation. + +Hints of the day's entertainment sifted about, with much more,--each +suggestion, true or otherwise, waking its little ripple of interest,--as +some nearest the curtain lifted it up, went in, and returned, bringing +reports. + +"The church is filled with great ones, and Mass is going on," a small +scout reported; "and that was Don Ambrogio Morelli that just went in +with a lady--our old Abbé from the school at San Marcuolo--Beppo goes +there now! And don't some of us remember Pierino--always studying and +good for nothing, and not knowing enough to wade out of a _rio_? The +Madonna will have hard work to look after _him_!" + +"Don Ambrogio just wants to cram us boys," Beppo confessed, in a +confidential tone; "but it's no use knowing too much, even for a priest. +For once, at San Marcuolo--true as true, faith of the Madonna!--one of +those priests told the people one day in his sermon that there were no +ghosts!" + +The boy crossed himself and drew a quick breath, which increased the +interest of his auditors. + +"_Ebbene_!" he continued, in an impressive, awestruck whisper. "He had +to come out of his bed at night--Santissima Maria!--and it was the +ghosts of all the people buried in San Marcuolo who dragged him and +kicked him to teach him better, because he wanted to make believe the +dead stayed in their graves! So where was the use of his Latin?" + +"Pierino will be like his uncle, the Abbé Morelli, some day; they say he +also will be a priest." + +"I believe thee," said Beppo, earnestly; "and that was he going in +behind the banner, with the Servi." + +The little fellows made an instant rush for the door, and squeezed +themselves in behind the poor old women of the neighborhood for whom +festivals were perquisites, and who, maimed or deformed, knelt on the +stone floor close to the entrance, while with keenly observant, +ubiquitous eyes they proffered their _aves_ and their petitions for alms +with the same exemplary patience and fervor--"Per l'amor di Dio, +Signori!" + +The body of the church, from the door to the great white marble screen +of the choir and from column to column, was filled with an assembly in +which the brilliant and scholarly elements predominated; and seen +through the marvelous fretwork of this screen of leafage and scroll and +statue and arch, intricately wrought and enhanced with gilding, the +choir presented an almost bewildering pageant. The dark wood background +of the stalls and canopies, elaborately carved and polished and enriched +with mosaics, each surmounted with its benediction of a gilded winged +cherub's head, framed a splendid figure in sacerdotal robes. Through the +small, octagonal panes of the little windows encircling the choir--row +upon row, like an antique necklace of opals set in frosted +stonework--the sunlight slanted in a rainbow mist, broken by splashes of +yellow flame from great wax candles in immense golden candlesticks, +rising from the floor and steps of the altar, as from the altar itself. +From great brass censers, swinging low by exquisite Venetian chainwork, +fragrant smoke curled upward, crossing with slender rays of blue the +gold webwork of the sunlight; and on either side golden lanterns rose +high on scarlet poles, above the heads of the friars who crowded the +church. + +On the bishop's throne, surrounded by the bishops of the dioceses of +Venice, sat the Patriarch, who had been graciously permitted to honor +this occasion, as it had no political significance; and opposite him Fra +Marco Germano, the head of the order of the Frari, presided in a state +scarcely less regal. + +His splendid gift, the masterpiece of Titian, had been fitted into the +polished marble framework over the great altar, and never had the master +so excelled himself as in this glorious "Assumption." The beauty, the +power, the persuasive sense of motion in the figure of the Madonna, +which seemed divinely upborne,--the loveliness of the infant cherubs, +the group of the Apostles solemnly attesting the mysterious event,--were +singularly and inimitably impressive, full of aspiration and faith, +compelling the serious recognition of the sacredness and greatness of +the Christian mystery. + +The choir-screen terminated in pulpits at either side, and here again +the Apostles stood in solemn guardianship on its broad parapet--but +emblems, rather; of the stony rigidity of doctrines which have been +shaped by the minds of men from some little phase of truth, than of that +glowing, spiritualized, human sympathy which, as the soul of man grows +upward into comprehension, is the apostle of an ever widening truth. And +over the richly sculptured central arch which forms the entrance to the +choir, against the incongruous glitter of gold and jewels and +magnificent garments and lights and sumptuous, overwrought details--the +very extravagance of the Renaissance--a great black marble crucifix bore +aloft the most solemn Symbol of the Christian Faith. + +The religious ceremonial with which the festival had opened was over, +and down the aisles on either side, past the family altars, with their +innumerable candles and lanterns and censers,--ceaselessly smoking in +memorial of the honored dead,--the brothers of the Frari and the Servi +marched in solemn procession to the chant of the acolytes, returning to +mass themselves in the transepts, in fuller view of the pulpits, before +the contest began. The Frari had taken their position on the right, +under the elaborate hanging tomb of Fra Pacifico--a mass of sculpture, +rococo, and gilding; the incense rising from the censer swinging below +the coffin of the saint carried the eye insensibly upward to the +grotesque canopy, where cumbrous marble clouds were compacted of dense +masses of saints' and cherubs' heads with uncompromising golden halos. + +Some of the younger brothers scattered leaflets containing heads of the +theses. + +There was a stir among the crowd; a few went out, having witnessed the +pageant; but there was a flutter of increased interest among those who +remained, as a venerable man, in the garb of the Frari, mounted the +pulpit on the right. + +The Abbé Morelli sat in an attitude of breathless interest, and now a +look of intense anxiety crossed his face. "It is Fra Teodoro, the ablest +disputant of the Frari!" he exclaimed. "The trial is too great." + +The lady with him drew closer, arranging the folds of the ample veil +which partially concealed her face, so that she might watch more +closely. But it was on Don Ambrogio Morelli that she fixed her gaze with +painful intensity, reading the success or failure of the orator in her +brother's countenance. + +"Ambrogio!" she entreated, when the argument had been presented and +received with every sign of triumph that the sacredness of the place +made decorous, "thou knowest that I have no understanding of the +Latin--was it unanswerable?" + +"Nay," her brother answered, uneasily; "it was fine, surely; but have no +fear, Fra Teodoro is not incontrovertible, and the Servi have better +methods." + +"May one ask the name of the disputant who is to respond?" a stranger +questioned courteously of Don Ambrogio. + +"It is a brother who hath but entered their order yesterday," Don +Ambrogio answered, with some hesitation, "by name Pierino--nay, Fra +Paolo. He is reputed learned; yet if the methods of the order be strange +to him, one should grant indulgence. For he is reputed learned----" + +He was conscious of repeating the words for his own encouragement, with +a heart less brave than he could have wished. But the information was +pleasantly echoed about, as the ranks of the Servi parted and an old +man, with a face full of benignity, came forward, holding the hand of a +boy with blue eyes and light hair, who walked timidly with him to the +pulpit on the left, where the older man encouraged the shrinking +disputant to mount the stair. + +There was a murmur of astonishment as the young face appeared in the +tribunal of that grave assembly. + +"Impossible! It is only a child!" + +It was, in truth, a strange picture; this child of thirteen, small and +delicate for his years, yet with a face of singular freshness and +gravity, his youthfulness heightened by cassock and cowl--a unique, +simple figure, against the bizarre magnificence of the background, the +central point of interest for that learned and brilliant assembly, as he +stood there above the beautiful kneeling angel who held the Book of the +Law, just under the pulpit. + +For a moment he seemed unable to face his audience, then, with an +effort, he raised his hand, nervously pushing back the white folds of +his unaccustomed cowl, and casting a look of perplexity over the sea of +faces before him; but the expression of trouble slowly cleared away as +his eyes met those of a friar, grave and bent, who had stepped out from +the company of the Servi and fixed upon the boy a steadying gaze of +assurance, triumph, and command. It was Fra Gianmaria, who was known +throughout Venice for his great learning. + +"Pierino!" broke from the mother, in a tone of quick emotion, as she saw +her boy for the first time in the dress of his order, which thrust, as +it were, the claims of her motherhood quite away; it was so soon to +surrender all the beautiful romance of mother and child, so soon to have +done with the joy of watching the development which had long outstripped +her leadership, so soon to consent to the absolute parting of the ways! + +She had not willed it so, and she was weary from the struggle. + +But the boy was satisfied; the presence of his stern and learned mentor +sufficed to restore his composure; he did not even see his mother's face +so near him, piteous in its appeal for a single glance to confess his +need of her. + +"Nay, have no fear," Don Ambrogio counseled, his face glowing with +pride; "the boy is a wonder." + +The good Fra Giulio, turning back from the pulpit stairs, saw the faces +of the two whose hearts were hanging on the words of the child; he went +directly to them and sat down beside Donna Isabella, for he had a tender +heart and he guessed her trouble. "I also," he said, leaning over her +and speaking low, "I also love the boy, and while I live will I care for +him. He shall lack for nothing." + +It was a promise of great comfort; for Pierino--she could not call him +by the new name--would need such loving care; already the mother's pulse +beat more tranquilly, and she almost smiled her gratitude in the +large-hearted friar's face. + +Then Fra Gianmaria, his mentor, seeing that the boy had gained courage, +came also to a seat beside Donna Isabella, with a look of radiant +congratulation; for he had been the boy's teacher ever since the little +lad had passed beyond the limits of Don Ambrogio's modest attainments. +Although she had resented the power of Fra Gianmaria over Pierino, she +was proud of the confidence of the learned friar in her child; already +she began to teach herself to accept pride in the place of the lowlier, +happier, daily love she must learn to do without. Her face grew colder +and more composed; Don Ambrogio gave her a nod of approval. + +"It _is_ Pierino!" the bare-legged Beppo proclaimed, pushing his way +between dignitaries and elegant nobles and taking a position, in +wide-eyed astonishment, in front of the pulpit, where he could watch +every movement of his quondam school-fellow, whose words carried no +meaning to his unlearned ears. But his heart throbbed with sudden +loyalty in seeing his comrade the centre of such a festa; Beppo would +stay and help him to get fair play, if he should need it, since it was +well known that Pierino could not fight, for all his Latin! + +But the little fellow in robe and cowl had neither eyes nor thoughts for +his vast audience when he once gathered courage to begin--no memory for +the pride of his teachers, no perception of his mother's yearning; +shrinking and timid as he was, the first voicing of his own thought, in +his childish treble voice, put him in presence of a problem and banished +all other consciousness. It was merely a question to be met and +answered, and his wonderful reasoning faculty stilled every other +emotion. His voice grew positive as his thought asserted itself; his +learning was a mystery, but argument after argument was met and +conquered with the quoted wisdom of unanswerable names. + +One after another the great men left the choir and came down into the +area before the pulpits, that they might lose nothing. + +One after another the Frari chose out champions to confute the +child-philosopher, but he was armed on every side; and the childish +face, the boyish manner and voice lent a wonderful charm to the words he +uttered, which were not eloquent, but absolutely dispassionate and +reasonable, and the fewest by which he might prove his claim. + +Again and again his audience forgot themselves in murmurs of applause, +rising beyond decorum, and once into a storm of approbation; then his +timidity returned, he became self-conscious, fumbling with the white +cowl that hung partly over his face, forgetting that it was not a hat, +and gravely taking it off in salute. + +The next day it was proclaimed on the Piazza, as a bit of news for the +people of Venice--for which, indeed, those who had not witnessed the +contest in the church of the Frari cared little and understood +nothing--that "in the Philosophical Contest which had taken place +between the Friars of the Frari and the Friars of the Servi, the victory +had been won by Fra Paolo Sarpi, of the Servi, who had honorably +triumphed through his vast understanding of the wisdom of the Fathers of +the Church." + +This was also published in the black frame beside the great door of the +Frari and posted upon the entrance to the church of the Servi, while in +the refectories of the respective convents it formed a theme of +absorbing interest. + +The Frari discussed the possibilities of childish mouthpieces for +learned doctors, miraculously concealed--but low, for fear of scandal. +The Servi said it out, for all to hear, "that it was a modern wonder of +a Child in the Temple!" + +But Fra Gianmaria hushed them, and was afraid; for often while he taught +he came upon some new surprise, for he perceived that the boy's mind +held some hidden spring of knowledge which was to him unfathomable. + +"It is most wonderful," he said one evening to Fra Giulio, as they +talked together in the cloister after vespers; "I solemnly declare that +it hath happened to me to ask him a question of which I, verily, knew +not the answer; and he, keeping in quiet thought for some moments, hath +so lucidly responded that his words have carried with them the +conviction that he had made a discovery which I knew not." + +"It is some lesson which Don Ambrogio hath taught him." + +"Not so--for Don Ambrogio hath little learning; but Paolo will cover us +with honor. In learning he is never weary, yet hath he an understanding +greater than mine own, and in docility he hath no equal. In his duty in +the convent and in the church he is even more punctilious." + +"Is it strange--or is it well," asked Fra Giulio with hesitation, "that +in this year he hath spent with us he asks not for his mother, nor the +little maid his sister, nor seemeth to grieve for them? For the boy is +young." + +"Nay," answered Fra Gianmaria, sternly; "it is no lack, but a grace that +hath been granted him." + +"Knowledge is a wonderful mystery," Fra Giulio answered; but softly to +himself, as he crossed the cloister, he added, "but love is sweet, and +the boy is very young." + +The boy was kneeling placidly before the crucifix in his cell when Fra +Giulio went to give him his nightly benediction; but the good friar's +heart was troubled with tenderness because of a vision, that would not +leave him, of a hungering mother's face. + + + +II + +Many years later one of the great artists of Venice, wandering about at +sunset with an elusive vision of some wonderful picture stirring +impatience within his soul, found a maiden sitting under the +vine-covered pergola of the Traghetto San Maurizio, where she was +waiting for her brother-in-law, who would presently touch at this ferry +on his homeward way to Murano. A little child lay asleep in her arms, +his blond head, which pitying Nature had kept beautiful, resting against +her breast; the meagre body was hidden beneath the folds of her mantle, +which, in the graceful fashion of those days, passed over her head and +fell below the knees; her face, very beautiful and tender, was bent over +the little sufferer, who had forgotten his pain in the weariness it had +brought him as a boon. + +The delicate purple bells of the vine upon the trellis stirred in the +evening breeze, making a shimmer of perfume and color about her, like a +suggestion of an aureole; and in the arbor, as in one of those homely +shrines which everywhere make part of the Venetian life, she seemed +aloof as some ideal of an earlier Christian age from the restless, +voluble group upon the tiny quay. + +There were _facchini_--those doers of nondescript smallest services, +quarreling amiably to pass the time, springing forward for custom as the +gondolas neared the steps; _gransieri_--the licensed traghetto beggars, +ragged and picturesque, pushing past with their long, crooked poles, +under pretence of drawing the gondolas to shore; one or two women from +the islands, filling the moments with swift, declamatory speech until +the gondola of Giambattista or of Jacopo should close the colloquy; an +older peasant, tranquilly kneeling to the Madonna of the traghetto, amid +the clatter, while steaming greasy odors from her housewifely basket of +Venetian dainties mount slowly, like some travesty of incense, and cloud +the humble shrine. Two or three comers swell the group from the recesses +of the dark little shop behind, for no other reason than that life is +pleasant where so much is going on; and some maiden, into whose life a +dawning romance is just creeping, confesses it with a brighter color as +she hangs, half-timidly, her bunch of tinselled flowers before the red +lamp of the good little Madonna of this _traghetto benedetto_, whose +gondoliers are the bravest in all Venice! Meanwhile the boatmen, coming, +going, or waiting, keep up a lively chatter. + +And under the trellis, as if far removed, the sleeping child and Marina +of Murano bending over him a face glorified with its story of love and +compassion, are like a living Rafaello! + +"The _bambino_ is beautiful," said the artist, drawing nearer, but +speaking reverently, for he knew that he had found the face he had been +seeking for his Madonna for the altar of the Servi. "What doth he like, +your little one? For I am a friend to the _bambini_, and the _poverina_ +hath pain to bear." + +She was more beautiful still when she smiled and the anxiety died out of +her girlish face for a moment, in gratitude for the sympathy. +"Eccellenza, thanks," she answered simply; "he has a beautiful face. +Sometimes when he has flowers in his little hand he smiles and is quite +still." + +But the radiant look passed swiftly with the remembrance of the pain +that would come to the child on waking, and she kissed the tiny fingers +that lay over the edge of her mantle with a movement of irrepressible +tenderness, lapsing at once into reverie; while the artist, full of the +enthusiasm of creation, stood dreaming of his picture. This Holy Mother +should be greater, more compassionate, nearer to the people than any +Madonna he had ever painted; for never had he noted in any face before +such a passion of love and pity. In that moment of stillness the sunset +lights, intensifying, cast a glow about her; the child, half-waking, +stretched up his tiny hand and touched her cheek with a rare caress, and +the light in her face was a radiance never to be forgotten. The +Veronese's wonderful _Madonna del Sorriso_ leaped to instant life; a +_smile_ full of the pathos of human suffering, tender in comprehension, +perfect in faith--this, which this moment of inspiration had revealed to +him, would he paint for the consolation of those who should kneel before +the altar of the Servi! + +She was busy with the child, putting him gently on the ground as a +gondola approached; he, with his thought in intense realization, fixing +the peculiar beauty of these sunset clouds in his artist memory as sole +color-scheme of his picture; for this grave, sweet face, with its pale, +fair tones and profusion of soft brown hair, would not bear the vivid +draperies that the Veronese was wont to fashion--the mantle must be a +gray cloud, pink flushed, with delicate sunset borderings where it swept +away to shroud the child; the beauty of his creation should be in that +smile of exquisite compassion, and this wonderful sunset in which it +should glow forever! + +It was a rare moment with the Veronese, in which he seemed lifted above +himself; the revelation of the face had seized him, translating him into +the poetic atmosphere which he rarely attained; the harmonies of the +vision were so perfect that they sufficed for the over-sumptuousness of +color and detail which were usually features of his conceptions. + +Some one called impatiently from the gondola in rude, quick tones, and +the artist woke from his reverie. The maiden lingered on the step for a +word of adieu to this stranger who wished to give the little one +pleasure, but she dared not disturb him, for he was some great +signor--so she interpreted his dress and bearing--and she was only a +maiden of Murano. + +He was still under the spell of his great moment, and he was in the +presence of one who should help him to make it immortal; he uncovered +his head with a motion of courtly deference he did not often assume as +he started forward over the rough planks of the traghetto. "Signora, +where shall I bring the flowers to make the little one smile?" + +"To Murano, near the Stabilimento Magagnati, Eccellenza," she answered +without hesitation, lifting the baby in her arms to escape the rough +help of the gondolier, who reached forward to hasten his stumbling +movements. + +And so they floated off from the traghetto--the Madonna that was to be, +into the deepening twilight, while the Veronese, a splendid and +incongruous figure amid these lowly surroundings, leaned against the +paltry column that supported the shrine, wrapped in a delicious reverie +of creation; for he was unused to failure and he had no doubts, though +he had not yet proffered his request. + +"To-morrow," he said, "I will paint that face!" + + * * * * * + +"By our Lady of Murano!" the gondolier cried suddenly. "He spoke to thee +like a queen--and it was Paolo Cagliari! What did he want with thee?" + +"Not me, Piero; it was the child. He wished to give him flowers. I knew +he must be great to care thus for our 'bimbo.' It was really he--the +Veronese?" + +"The child! Santa Maria! He is not too much like a cherub that the great +painter should notice him!" + +The baby threw out his little clenched fist, striking against the +protecting arms that held him closer, his face drawn with sudden pain; +for a moment he fought against Marina, and then, the spasm over, settled +wearily to sleep in her arms. + +"Poverino!" said the gondolier softly, while Marina crooned over him an +Ave Maria, and the gondola glided noiselessly to its cadence. + +"Piero," she said, looking up with eyes full of tears, "sometimes I +think I cannot bear it! He needs thy prayers as well as mine--wilt thou +not ask our Lady of San Donato to be kinder to him? And I have seen +to-day, on the Rialto, a beautiful lamp, with angels' heads. Thou +shouldst make an offering----" + +The gondolier shook his head and shrugged his shoulders; he had little +faith or reverence. "I will say my aves, _poveriello_," he promised; +"but the lamps are already too many in San Donato. And for the bambino, +I will go not only once, but twice this year to confession--the laws of +our traghetto ask not so much, since once is enough. But thou art even +stricter with thy rules for me." + +She did not answer, and they floated on in silence. + +"To-morrow," said Piero at length, "there is festa in San Pietro di +Castello." + +She moved uneasily, and her beautiful face lost its softness. + +"It is nothing to me," she answered shortly. + +"It is a pretty festa, and Messer Magagnati should take thee. By our +Lady of Castello, there are others who will go!" + +"It would be better for the bambino," he persisted sullenly, as she did +not answer him. His voice was not the pleasanter now that its positive +tone was changed to a coaxing one. + +"One is enough, Piero," she said. "And for the festa of San Pietro in +Castello--never, never name it to me!" + +"Santa Maria!" her companion ejaculated under his breath; "it is the +women, the gentle _donzelle_, who are hard!" + +He stood, tall, handsome, well-made, swaying lightly with the motion of +the gondola, which seemed to float as in a dream to the ripple and lap +of the water; the blue of his shirt had changed to gray in the twilight, +the black cap and sash of the "Nicolotti" accentuated the lines of the +strong, lithe figure as he sprang forward on the sloping foot-rest of +his gondola with that perfect grace and ease which proved him master of +a craft whose every motion is a harmony. If he were proud of belonging +to the Nicolotti, that most powerful faction of the populace, he knew +that they were regarded by the government as the aristocrats of the +people. + +Marina arranged the child's covering in silence, and stooped her face +wistfully to touch his cheek, but she did not turn her head to look at +the man behind her. + + "L'amor zè fato per chi lo sa fare," + +he sang in the low, slow chant of the familiar folk-song, the rhythm +blending perfectly with the movement of the boat in which these two were +faring. His voice was pleasanter in singing, and song is almost a +needful expression of the content of motion in Venice--the necessary +complement of life to the gondolier, a song might mean nothing more. But +Piero sang more slowly than his wont, charging the words with meaning, +yet it did not soften her. + +"Love is for him who knows how to win!" + +He could not see how she flushed and paled with anger as he sang, for it +was growing dark over the water and her face was turned from him; but +she straightened herself uncompromisingly, and he was watching with +subtle comprehension. + +He could not have told why he persisted in this strange wooing, for +there had been but one response during the two years of his widowhood, +while his child had been Marina's ceaseless care. Marina had loved the +baby the more passionately, perhaps, for the sake of her only sister +Toinetta, Piero's child-bride, who had died at the baby's birth, because +she was painfully conscious that Toinetta's little flippant life had +needed much forgiveness and had been crowned with little gladness. +Marina was now the only child of Messer Girolamo Magagnati, which was a +patent of nobility in Murano; and she was not the less worth winning +because she held herself aloof from the freer life of the Piazza, where +she was called the "donzel of Murano," though there were others with +blacker eyes and redder cheeks. Piero did not think her very beautiful; +he liked more color and sparkle and quickness of retort--a chance to +quarrel and forgive. He was not in sympathy with so many aves, such +continual pilgrimages to the cathedral, such brooding over the lives of +the saints--above all, he did not like being kept in order, and Marina +knew well how to do this, in spite of her quiet ways. But he liked the +best for himself, and there was no one like Marina in all Murano. During +all this time he had been coming more and more under her sway, changing +his modes of living to suit her whims, and the only way of safety for +him was to marry her and be master; then she should see how he would +rule his house! His own way had always been the right way for him--rules +of all orders to the contrary--whether he had been a wandering +gondolier, a despised _barcariol toso_, lording it so outrageously over +the established traghetti that they were glad to forgive him his bandit +crimes and swear him into membership, if only to stop his influence +against them; or whether it had been the stealing away of a promised +bride, as on that memorable day at San Pietro in Castello, when he had +married Toinetta--it was never safe to bear "vendetta" with one so +strong and handsome and unprincipled as Piero. + +Gabriele, the jilted lover of Toinetta, over whom Piero had triumphed, +soon became the husband of another _donzel_, handsomer than Toinetta had +been--poor, foolish Toinetta!--and the retributive tragedy of her little +life had warmed the sullen Gabriele into a magnanimity that rendered him +at least a safe, if a moody and unpleasant, member of the traghetto in +which Piero had since become a rising star. A man with a home to keep +may not "cast away his chestnuts," and so when Piero, in that masterful +way of his, swept everything before him in the traghetto--never asking +nor caring who stood for him or against him, but carrying his will +whenever he chose to declare it--to set one's self against such a man +was truly a useless sort of fret, only a "gnawing of one's chain," in +the expressive jargon of the people. + +Piero finished his song, and there was a little pause. They were nearing +the long, low line of Murano. + +"It is not easy," he said, "when women are in the way, 'to touch the sky +with one's finger.'" + +She turned with a sudden passionate motion as if she would answer him, +and then, struggling for control, turned back without a word, drawing +the child closer and caressing him until she was calm again. When she +raised her head she spoke in a resolute, restrained voice. + +"Since thou wilt have it, Piero--listen. And rest thine oar, for we are +almost home; and to-night must be quite the end of all this talk. It can +never be. Thou hast no understanding of such matters, so I forgive thee +for myself. But for Toinetta--I do not think I ever can forgive thee, +may the good Madonna help me!" + +"There are two in every marriage," Piero retorted sullenly, for he was +angry now. + +"It is just that--oh, it is just that!" Marina cried, clasping her hands +passionately. "Thou art so strong and so compelling, and thou dost not +stop for the right of it. She was such a child, she knew no better, +poverina! And thou--a man--not for love, nor right, nor any noble +thing"--the words came with repressed scorn--"to coax her to it, just +for a little triumph! To expose a child to such endless _critica_!" + +Only a Venetian of the people could comprehend the full sting of this +word, which conveyed the searching, persistent disapproval of an entire +class, whose code, if viewed from the moral point of view, was painfully +slack, though from its own standard of decorum it was immutable. + +"It has been said, once for all--thou dost not forgive." + +"It is the last time, for this also, Piero; I meant never to speak of it +again, but those words of thine of the festa in San Pietro in Castello +made me forget. It came over me quite suddenly, that this is how thou +spendest the beautiful, great strength God gave thee to make a leader of +thee in real things. But whether it be great or small, or good or ill, +thou always wilt have thy way!" + +"It's a poor fool of a fellow that wouldn't keep himself uppermost, like +oil," he cried, hesitating only for a moment between anger and +gratification, and choosing the way that ministered to his pride. "Santa +Maria! I'll butter thy macaroni with fine cheese every time!" + +"Nay, spare thy pains, Piero, and be serious for one moment. There is no +_barcariol_ in all Venice who hath greater opportunities, but thou must +use them well. They spoil thee at the traghetto; and if a man hath his +will always, it will either spoil him or make him noble." + +"What wouldst thou have me to do?" he questioned sullenly. + +"They would be afraid of thee--thou couldst quiet these troubles in the +traghetti--thou must use thy strength and thy will for the good of the +people. It is terrible to have power and to use it wrongly." + +Piero moved back to his place again and took up his oar, throwing +himself in position for a forward stroke. "Forget not," he said, +poising, "that I need not listen to thee if I do not choose. I may not +stay _in casa_ Magagnati--not any more, if thou art always scolding." + +"I shall scold--always--until thou dost quiet this disorder of the +traghetti," she answered, undaunted. + +"And thou wilt return; for there is always the bambino." + +"If I come back," he said in a softer tone, responding to the appeal for +his child, "I must speak of what I will." + +"Of all but one thing, Piero;" for it was not possible to misunderstand +him, and she was resolute. "If this is not the end I shall speak with my +father--and the bambino----" + +They were both silent. He knew that no one could ever care for his +invalid child as she had done; and all that he owed her and must +continue to owe her restrained him under her chiding, for the baby could +not live away from her. Sometimes, too, there were moments of strange +tenderness within him for this helpless, suffering morsel of humanity +that called him "babbo!" He did not know what might happen if the wrath +of the redoubtable Magagnati were to be invoked against him, for this +quarrel could not be disposed of as those small matters with the +gondoliers had invariably been. So far from threatening this before, +Marina had hitherto shielded Piero, in her unanswerable way, from +everything that might hasten the rupture that seemed always impending +between these two dissimilar natures; and Messer Magagnati had two +thoughts only, his daughter and his _stabilimento_--the great glass +furnaces which were the pride of Venice. + +Piero had no suspicion that Marina always touched the best that was in +him; he thought she made him weaker, and it was not easy to yield the +point that had become a habit. No one else had ever moved him from any +purpose, but now he perceived that there would be no reversal of that +sentence--that he should continue to come to see his child, and that he +must continue to submit to Marina's influence. It was she who had, in +some unaccountable way, persuaded him out of his unlawful trade of +_barcariol toso_, and had forced his reluctant acceptance of the +overtures that were made to him from the Guild of Santa Maria Zobenigo, +where he had risen to be one of the _bancali_ or governors, his +qualities of force and daring making him useful in this age when +lawlessness was on the increase. He was beginning to feel a sense of +satisfaction, not all barbaric, in the position he had won among men who +had some views of order, and to perceive that there might be a lawful +use, almost as pleasant, for those very attributes which had rendered +him so formidable a foe outside the pale of traghetto civilization. + +"_Ecco_!" he announced, with a slow, sullen emphasis which declared his +unwilling surrender, while he plied his oar with quick, wrathful +strokes. "It will take more than aves to make a saint of thee! And thou +mayst hold thy head too high, looking for better than wheaten bread! But +I'm not the man to wear a curb, nor to put up with thorns where I looked +for roses! Thou hast no right to mind what chances to me--yet thou hast +made me give up the old life." + +"Because I knew thou couldst do better. See where thou standest to-day! +It is not a little thing to be a governor of the Nicolotti!" + +"It is a truth," Piero confessed, "upside down, and not to boast of, +for whoever tries it would wish it less. The bancali are 'like asses who +carry wine and drink water,' for the good of the clouts, in days like +these." + +"I heard them talking to-day, Piero. The _barcarioli tosi_ are worse +than Turks; one must pay, to suit their whim, in the middle of the Canal +Grande, or one may wait long for the landing! And there was a scandal +about a friar of San Zanipolo, of whom they had asked a fare for the +crossing; I know not the truth of it! And at Santa Sofia the great cross +with the beautiful golden lustre is gone, and one says it is the +'tosi.'" + +Piero winced, for, to an ancient "toso," or even to a "bancalo" of +to-day, such enormities had not the exciting novelty that might have +been expected, and Marina had a curious habit of seeming entirely to +forget his past when she wished to exact his best of him. + +"And Gabriele--" + +"Fash not thyself for a man of his measure, that is fitter to 'beat the +fishes' like a galley-slave than to serve an honest gondola!" Piero +interrupted scornfully. + +"But Piero, Gabriele hath sold his license to one worse than he, and +there was great talk of quarrels along the Riva, and how that yesterday +they sent for Padre Gervasio from San Gregorio to bring the Host to +quiet them." + +"Ah, the Castellani!" said Piero, with the contempt that was always +ready for any mention of this great rival faction of the people whose +division into one or other of these factions was absolute. + +"But the Nicolotti have their scandal also," Marina asserted, +uncompromisingly; "among themselves it is told they break the laws like +men not bound by vows! Some say there will be an appeal to the +Consiglio." + +"Nay," said Piero, with an ominous frown; "the _bancali_ and _gastaldi_ +are enough; we need no bossing by crimson robes." + +This question of the traghetti and their abuses had lately grown to +large proportions among the people, and it possessed a deep interest for +all classes quite apart from the antiquity and picturesqueness of these +honorable institutions of the Republic--since all must use the ferries +and wish for safety in their water-streets. For centuries these +confraternities of gondoliers who presided over the ferries, or +traghetti, of Venice had been corporations, self-governing, with +officers and endowments recognized by the Republic, and with a standard +of gondolier morals admirably defined in their codes--those "Mariegole" +which were luxuriously bound and printed, with capitals of vermilion, a +page here and there glowing like an illuminated missal with the legend +of the patron saint of the traghetto, wherein one might read such +admonitions as would make all men wiser. + +But of late there had been much unruliness among the younger members of +the traghetti, and a growing inability among their officers to cope with +increasing difficulties, because of these barcarioli tosi, who lived in +open rebellion against this goodly system of law, poaching upon the +dearly bought rights of the traghetto gondoliers, yet escaping all +taxes. And because of the abuses which had been gradually undermining +the fair reputation of the established orders of the traghetti, the +Republic, by slow encroachments upon ancient concessions, was surely +reducing their wealth and independence. + +"Santa Maria!" Piero ejaculated after a pause, during which his wrath +had been growing. "The Consiglio hath its own matters for ruling; the +traghetti belong to the people!" + +They had reached the little landing of the first long waterway of +Murano, where one of the low arcaded houses, with its slender shafts of +red Verona marble, was the dwelling of Girolamo Magagnati; the others of +this little block of three were used as show-rooms and offices for the +great establishment which was connected with them, in the rear, by small +courtyards; and the dense smoke of the glass factories always rested +over them, although this was the quarter of the aristocrats of Murano. + +The buildings looked low and modest if measured by the palaces of the +greater city, and their massive marble door- and window-frames increased +the impression of gloom. But here and there a portal more ornate, with +treble-twisted cords deeply carved, or a window of fourteenth century +workmanship relieved the severity of the lines; while in this short +arcade, where the houses rose but a storey in height above the square +pillars which supported the overhanging fronts, these unexpected columns +of rosy marble, delicate and unique, on which the windows seemed to +rest, gave singular distinction to these dwellings. + +Often the people passing in gondola or bark glanced carelessly into the +depth of the open window space framed between those polished marble +shafts, for the familiar vision of a wonderful young face, beautiful as +a Madonna from some high altar in Venice; often, too, this vision of a +maiden bent above a child, with rare golden hair and great eyes full of +pain. + +There was a little lingering on the landing as they left the gondola; +for the baby, waking from his long, refreshing sleep, had claimed his +share of petting before the great dark man who tossed him so restfully +in his strong arms went away. There was no one who could make the little +Zuane laugh like "babbo," though the tremulous, treble echo of the full +tones of the gondolier had a pathos for those who listened. + + + +III + +The little Zuane had eaten his supper of _polenta_ and, in the painted +cradle which his grandfather Girolamo had bought for him from under the +arcades of the Piazetta, lay at last asleep, consigned to the care of +all those saints and guardian angels who make the little ones their +charge, and who smiled down upon him from the golden aureoles and clouds +of rose and blue on the cradle-roof while, slowly balancing, it charmed +him into dreams. + +And now, at her window, Marina had the night and the stars to herself, +over the still lagoon and down in its mirroring depths. + +It was a sad little tale soon told, this tragedy of Toinetta which had +seemed so great to the dwellers in that home three years ago. A pretty, +wilful child of fifteen, who had grown up impatient of all needful home +restraint, finding rebellion easier because there was no mother to +control her--with a love of motion, color, sunshine, sound, and laughter +that made her an Ariel of Venice, as full of frolic as a kitten and as +irresponsible, choosing in her latest caprice one from the many lovers +who were ready for the wooing with the seriousness with which she would +have chosen a partner for a festa, since to-morrow, if something else +seemed better, this lover also could be changed. But the opposition of +the grave father and sister made their consent the better worth winning, +and set the youthful Gabriele in a more attractive light. So the +betrothal had been duly made in the presence of the numerous circle of +friends and relatives who stand as witnesses at a betrothal feast in +this City of the Sea, and who were as ready with their smiles and their +felicitations for any event in the home life of the quarter, as they +would be withering in their criticism should there be any failure of +complete fulfilment of those traditional observances which are +imperative in Venice. Thus the boy and girl were _spoza_ and _novizio_, +waiting the fuller bond in all that pretty interchange of tokens so +faithfully prescribed in Venetian circles of every degree; but the +period had been one of quarrels and forgivenesses, of fallings away from +and returns to favor, as might have been expected from two capricious, +foolish children. + +To make part of the pretty pageant of the "Brides of Venice," which took +place on Lady Day in San Pietro in Castello, the maidens, all in white +with floating hair, their dower-boxes fastened by ribbons from their +shoulders, had seemed to Toinetta, as she stood each year an onlooker in +the admiring crowd, a happiness devoutly to be desired. The custom was a +survival of an earlier time, fast losing favor with the better classes +of the people; but to Toinetta its dramatic possibilities held a greater +fascination than the more sober ceremonial of the usual wedding service, +and, all persuasion to the contrary, when the procession gathered in +San Pietro in Castello, Toinetta, with flushed cheeks and sparkling +eyes, was one of the twelve maidens. Marina looked on with offended +eyes; her father consenting, yet only half-convinced, atoning for this +lessening of the family dignity by the elegance of the feast he had +provided, and all permitted bravery in the gondolas that were waiting to +take them thence. + +The ups and downs of her childish courtship had culminated in more tears +and jealousies than usual on the previous day, but these were secrets +between the lovers, and quite unguessed by father or sister. But when +the wedding oration had been preached over those twelve bridal pairs, +and the wedding benediction had been granted, it was _not_ Gabriele, the +boyish betrothed of Toinetta, who brought the blushing bride, partly in +triumph and partly in pique, to her father's side, but Piero Salin, the +handsomest gondolier on the lagoons, the most daring and dreaded foe of +all the established traghetti. It had been impossible for the spectators +from the body of the church to follow closely the movements of the +twelve white-robed maidens with their attendant swains while the +ceremony was progressing in the dim recesses of the choir, and the +surprise and dishonor this unexpected _dénouement_ brought upon the home +were nothing to the unhappiness in store for the childish bride, whose +latest and wildest freak brought neither wisdom for self-discipline nor +power to endure that relentless criticism which ceased only when a +little one lay in the place of the child-mother, who had been too weak +to cope with the worries of the year that had followed upon that +unhappy day in San Pietro. + +The jilted Gabriele had accepted the situation with a parade of +philosophical scorn which removed him beyond the pale of the sympathy +Marina would have offered him; and Marina--whose exquisite sense of +truth, decorum, and duty had been outraged to a degree beyond Toinetta's +comprehension--forgot it all in the overwhelming compassion with which +she took her little sister in her arms and tried to help her live her +difficult life; she realized, as only a large nature could, that love +was the only hope for this emergency, and, feeding on her measureless +compassion, love, the diviner faculty, grew to be a power. + +Slowly and very dimly she had helped the young wife to some vague +comprehension of the duties she had so rashly assumed. Hitherto, for +Toinetta, there had been no difficulties, and now there were so many she +was frightened and did not understand; now, when Piero scolded at her +tears or temper she could not run away nor change him for a pleasanter +companion, and she knew no other way to manage such a difficulty; and +there was no pleasure in the Piazza because of that eternal critica. +There was triumph still in a _canalazzo_, for Piero was so handsome and +so strong, and in the gondola, on the Canal Grande, one could not hear +the talking--besides, Venice was not Murano; but in the home the old +friends came no more, and life was very sad--quite other than it used to +be! + +Even her father, who traced the disgrace that had come upon his house to +his over-indulgence, was now proportionately severe, and to his stern +sense of honor the lawless son-in-law was a most unwelcome guest. +Through that slow year of Toinetta's life Marina was the veritable angel +in the house, not conscious of any self-sacrifice, but only of living +intensely, making the living under the same roof possible for these two +strong men who looked at life from such different standpoints, soothing +the wounded pride of her father by her perfect sympathy while striving +to rouse Piero to nobler ideals. + +And now that it was all over--was it all over?--there lay the poor +little Zuane; and Piero, over the water at his traghetto, was a great +care. But he should do his best yet for the people! + +A deep voice with a ring of wistfulness came through the darkness: + +"Doth he not sleep yet, the little Zuane? The evening hath been long, +and I have somewhat to show thee." + +"I come, my father," she answered very tenderly, as she followed him +through the narrow, dark corridor, into a large chamber which served as +a private office, but where the father and daughter often sat alone in +the evening; for here Girolamo kept many designs and papers relating to +his work, and they often discussed his plans together. + +He unlocked an old carved cabinet and brought out a roll of parchments, +spreading them upon the table and explaining: "I could not leave them +while I went to call thee, for it is an order from the Senate--thou +see'st the seal--and a copy of the letter of the Ambassador of the +Republic to the Levant, with this folded therein--truly a curious scheme +of color, but very rich, and the lines are somewhat uneven. What +thinkest thou of the design?" + +"The outline is good," she answered, after a careful scrutiny, for she +had been trained in copying his best designs. This was a pattern +furnished by the grand vizier of the sultan for a mosque lamp of a +peculiar shape, wrought over with verses from the Koran, in various +colored enamels. "The outline is well; but the colors--mayst thou not +change this yellow? there is too much of it." + +"Nay, for the colors have a meaning; methinks this yellow is their +sacred color. But the texts are fine; the broken lines of the characters +have a charm, and the scrolls relieve the surface, making semblance of +shadow. Yet I will make thee a prettier one for thine own chamber, with +some thought of thy choosing." + +She looked up at him with shining eyes; their trouble, combated and +borne together, had brought them very near to one another. + +"I have often wished for a lamp with the colors soft like moonlight; and +the design shall be of thine own hand, and the verse upon it shall be an +ave, and in it there shall be always a light. It shall be a prayer for +the little one!" she said in quick response. "The Senate wished thee to +make a lamp of this design? I have seen none like it." + +"Nay, not one; there will be nine hundred, for the decoration of a +mosque," and Girolamo's eyes sparkled with triumph. "It is not that it +is difficult," he explained, for Marina's eyes wandered from her +father's face to the design with some astonishment. "It is even simple +for us. But when the Levant sends to Venice for these sacred lamps for +her own temples it is her acknowledgment that we have surpassed our +teachers. It is a glory for us!" + +"Father, I thought the glass of Venice was even all our own!" Marina +exclaimed in a tone of disappointment. "I knew not that our art had come +from the East to us. Some say that it was born here." + +"Ay, some; but thou shouldst know the story of thy Venice better, my +daughter," Girolamo answered gravely, for to him every detail connected +with his art was of vital import. "There may be some who say this, but +not thou. In the time of Orseolo the mosaics were brought from the +Levant for our old San Marco. Thus came the knowledge to us in those +early days. But now there is no longer any country that shares it +equally with Venice, for elsewhere they know not the art in its +fineness. These, when they are finished, shall be sent as a gift from +the Republic; it is so written in this order from the Senate." + +"When came it to thee?" + +"To-day, with much ceremony, it was delivered into mine own hand by one +of the Secretaries of the Ten. For, see'st thou, Marina, it is a mark of +rare favor that they have trusted this parchment with me, and have not +brought me into their presence to make copy of it in the palace. If thou +couldst lend me thy deft fingers----" + +"Surely," she answered, smiling up at him. + +He was standing over her with one hand on her shoulder; he rested the +other lightly on her hair, looking down into her eyes for a moment with +a caress still and tender, after his own grave fashion. "It will be +safer so," he said, folding the parchment and the letters carefully and +locking them away in his cabinet. "And to-morrow, Marina--for they have +granted me but one day." + +The chamber in which they sat was wainscoted with heavy carved woodwork +stained black, and every panel was a drawer with a curiously wrought +lock, containing some design or some order for the house of Magagnati; +and these archives were precious not only for the stabilimento and +Girolamo the master, but they would be treasured by the Republic as +state papers, representing the highest attainment in this exquisite +Venetian industry, which the Government held in such esteem that for a +century past one of the chiefs of the Council of Ten had been appointed +as inspector and supervisor of the manufactories. For further security +the Senate had declared severest penalties against any betrayal of the +secrets of the trade--a form of protection not quite needless, since the +Ambassador of His Most Christian Majesty had formed a species of secret +police with no other object than to bribe the glass-makers and extract +from them the lucrative secret which formed no part of the courtesies +that were interchanged between France and the Republic. + +The large, low table, black and polished like teak-wood, upon which they +had been examining the vizier's design, was lighted by a lamp of wrought +iron swinging low by fanciful chains from the high ceiling, making a +centre of dense yellow flame from which the shadows rayed off into the +gloom of the farther portions of the room, and a charming picture of +father and daughter was outlined against the vague darkness. Another +lamp, fixed against a plate of burnished brass, cast a reflection that +was almost brilliant upon the glory of this chamber--a high, central +cabinet of the same dark, carved framework, with a back of those +wonderful mirror plates so recently brought to perfection by another +stabilimento of which the good Girolamo was almost jealous, although +against this luminous background the exquisite fabrications of the house +of Magagnati reflected their wonderful shapes and colors in increased +beauty. + +Not yet had any plates of clear glass fine enough for the display of +such a cabinet been realized, though it sometimes seemed to Girolamo +that such a time was very near; but the solid doors of wood, with +ponderous brass locks and hinges, stood open, and the inner silk curtain +which protected these treasures from dust was always drawn aside by +Marina's own hand when these evening lamps were lighted; they were so +beautiful to see, if they but raised their eyes; the very consciousness +of their gleaming was sometimes an inspiration to Girolamo, and at this +hour they were quite safe, for the working day was over, and no one +entered this sanctum save by invitation. + +Girolamo Magagnati prided himself on being a Venetian of the people, and +it was true that no member of his family had ever sat in the Consiglio; +but in few of the patrician homes of Venice could more of what was then +counted among the comforts of life have been found than in this less +sumptuous house of Murano, while its luxuries were all such as centered +about his art. He was one of the magnates of his island, for his +furnaces were among the most famous of Murano, and to him belonged +secrets of the craft in his special field to which no others had yet +attained, while in a degree that would scarcely have been esteemed by +the merchant princes of Venice, who sat in the Consiglio, they had +brought him wealth and repute. But to him, whose heart was in his work, +it was power and glory that sufficed. No stranger whom it was desired to +honor came to Venice but was conducted, with a ceremony that was +flattering, while it was also a due precaution against too curious +questioning, through the show-rooms of the factories of Murano; and +often in this chamber had gathered a group of men whom the world called +great, led by that special Chief of the Ten who was then in power at +Murano, to see the treasures of this cabinet of which Girolamo was +justly proud. + +This first bit of the wonderful coloring which glowed and flashed when +the light shot through it, as if some living fire were caught in its +heart; or that curious, tortured shape, with its dragon-eyes of jewels, +and its tongue forever thrusting at you some secret which it almost +utters, yet withholds; this fragment of tenderest opalescence which is +of no color, yet blending all, as if a shower of petals were blown +across a rainbow in spring; that one--frosted in silver and gold--pink, +with the yellow sunshine in its core; here the aquamarine, lucent as +Venice's own sea! And here, throned in regal state, in its quaint case +of faded azure velvet, is that very masterpiece of the glass-workers of +Murano which was carried in the first solemn procession of all the arts +at a Doge's triumph in the thirteenth century. Its very possession was a +patent of nobility in Girolamo's reverent esteem; and the most gracious +letter of the Senate, conferring upon this piece of glass the +distinction of first mention among all that were shown upon that day of +triumph, is here also--a yellowed parchment, carefully inclosed in the +little morocco case, securely screwed to the shelf beneath, and Marina +had been present when it was opened for some rare visitor. It was a +relic of those earlier days when there were no furnaces in Murano, +though many of the finest workers came from this island and belonged to +the corporation of the workers on Rialto, and it was almost a +prehistoric record of greatness. + +Marina had left the table and gone to the cabinet; her father followed +her. "This I would show thee," he said, calling her attention to a +whimsical shape, blown and twisted almost into foam. "This Lorenzo Stino +brought me only yesterday; he is full of genius; I think none hath a +quicker hand, nor a more inventive faculty. I have watched him in his +working." He scanned her eagerly as he spoke. + +"Yes, it is fanciful--wonderful," she added to please him, but without +warmth, while her eyes wandered over the shelves. "Oh, father, here are +some of the very mosaics that were made for San Marco; thou hast +forgotten!" + +She lifted eagerly a small opaque basin of turquoise blue and held it +toward him; it contained a few bits of gold and silver enamel, the +earliest that had been made in Venice, bearing their ancient date. + +"Thou askest more of Venice than I," he said, well pleased with her +enthusiasm; "but have a care lest they say I have not taught thee well, +or that I do not know my art, or that I claim too much. At the time of +the burning of San Marco these Mosaics for the restoration were from the +stabilimenti of the Republic on Rialto--so early it came to us, this +glorious art. And it was one Piero, a founder of our house, though the +name was other than Magagnati, who was the master in that restoration. +But the first mosaics in that old San Marco--ay, and the workmen," he +added with a conscious effort, so much would he have liked to claim the +invention for Venice, "came hither from the East. Thou shouldst know the +history of our art; it is the story of thine ancestry and the nobility +of thy house. Thou hast no other." + +"I have thee, my father!" + + + +IV + +The Veronese did not paint that beautiful face the next morning as he +had planned; for the first time he had encountered difficulties. Slowly, +as he wended his way through the many turnings of the narrow calle to +Campo San Maurizio, carrying a beautiful Moorish box filled with the +pearly shells which the Venetians call "flowers of the Lido," and a +bouquet of aromatic carnations for the bambino, he recalled the figure +and speech of his Madonna, and they were not those of the maidens whom +one might encounter at the traghetto or in the Piazza; there had been a +dignity and self-forgetfulness in such perfect harmony with the face +that, at the moment, this had seemed entirely natural. But the tones +returned to him as he pondered, filled with a deeper melody than the +usual winning speech of the Venetian; with the grace of the soft dialect +there was a rare, unexpected quality, as if thought had formed the +undertone. He had never heard such a voice in the Piazza--it was rare +even in the palazzo; it was the voice of some sweet and gracious woman +with a soul too large for the world; it held a suggestion of peace and +convent bells and even-songs of nuns. + +Then, still more passionately, the desire overcame him to paint that +face for his Madonna; he would never give it up! Yet this maiden was +not one of whom he could ask the favor that he craved, nor to whom he +could offer any return. + +He had come to San Maurizio to take a gondola from the traghetto, partly +that he might be free to wander without comment wherever his search +should lead, partly because he was always ready for a chat with the +people; their experiences interested him, and he himself belonged by his +artist life, as by his sympathies, to all classes. Perhaps, too, he had +been moved with a vague hope that he might find the face he was seeking, +for he was used to fortunate happenings. But there were no waiting +Madonnas under the pergola, and the air of the early spring morning blew +chill from the Lido, almost with an intimation of failure to his +sensitive mood. He pushed aside an old _gransiere_, without the gift of +small coin that usually flowed so easily from his hand, for service +rendered or unrendered, as he impatiently questioned the gondoliers. + +"One who knows Murano well!" he called. + +There was an instant response from an old man almost past traghetto +service, but his age and probable garrulity commended him. + +"I will take thee and thy gondola, since thou knowest Murano," said the +artist kindly; "but I must go swiftly, and I would not tax thee. Thou +shalt have thy fare, but I will pay for another gondolier also from the +traghetto; he must be young and lusty. Choose thou him--and hasten." + +There was a babel of voices and a self-gratulatory proffer of lithe +forms, while the old gondolier turned undecidedly from one to another, +and the tottering gransiere ostentatiously protected the velvet mantle +of the artist as he sprang into the boat. With an impatient gesture the +Veronese indicated his choice, and they were soon on their way. + +"Come hither, _vecchio mio_, and rest thine old bones; let the young one +work for us both," the padrone commanded, as he flung himself down among +the cushions. "Do they treat thee well at thy traghetto?" + +"Eccellenza, yes; but I am scarce older than the others; it is the young +ones who make us trouble; they keep not the Mariegole, and it is only +the old one may depend upon." + +"_Davvero_, the world is changed then! It used to be good to be young." + +"Eccellenza, yes; when I myself was not old, and his excellency also had +no beard." + +"If age and wisdom might be traded for the time of youthful pranks," +said the Veronese with twinkling eyes, "I doubt if there were wisdom +enough left in Venice to cavil at the barter! Yet thou and I, having +wisdom thrust upon us by these same beards, if trouble come to thee, or +too soon they put thee at the gransiere service, we will remember this +day passed together." + +"Eccellenza, thanks; the gransiere has not much beside his beard to keep +him warm, and the time draws near," the old man answered with pleasant +Venetian insouciance. + +"Tell me," said the Veronese, turning to the younger man, "why do you +young fellows make Venice ring with your scandals? You are cutting off +your own 'liberties.'" + +"Yes, signore." The gondolier hesitated, glancing doubtfully at the +artist's sumptuous attire, which might have indicated a state much +greater than he kept; for the Veronese was famed throughout Venice, in +quarters where he was better known, for an unfailing splendor of costume +which would have made him at all times a model for the pictures he loved +to paint. Recently, for bad conduct, the gondoliers had been gradually +forfeiting their licenses, or "liberties," as they were called in +Venice, and the thought crossed the young fellow's mind that this +splendid stranger was possibly one of those government officials who +were charged with the supervision of the confraternities of the +traghetti. + +"It is the first time I have the honor of conducting his Excellency; he +is perhaps of the Provveditori al Comun?" These officials collected the +government taxes and were viewed with jealous eyes by the gondoliers. + +"Nay; I am Paolo Cagliari; I belong to a better craft. But please +thyself, for there is much talk of this matter." + +"Signore, one must live!" the young fellow exclaimed, with a friendly +shrug of his shoulders and a gleam of his white teeth; for it was easy +to make friends with the genial artist. "And between the governors and +the _provveditori_ one may scarce draw breath! One's bread and onions--" +he added, with a dramatic gesture of self-pity. "It is not much to ask!" + +"_Altro_! Nonsense!" the Veronese exclaimed, laughing, for the gondolier +looked little like one who was suffering from hunger, as he stood +swaying in keen enjoyment of the motion which showed his prowess, of the +wind as it swept his bronzed cheek, of the talk which permitted him to +exploit his grievances. + +"There is the High Mass, twice in the month; there is the Low +Mass--every Monday, if you will believe me! There are the priests, _for +nothing_--Santa Maria, they are not few! The first fare in the +day?--always for the Madonna of the traghetto. This _maledetto_ fare of +the Madonna suffices for the Madonna's oil, I ask you? Ebbene non! There +are the fines--and these, it must be confessed, might be fewer, for the +saints are tired of keeping us out of mischief. And little there is for +one's own madonna, if one would make gifts!" + +"This, then, for thine own madonna," said the artist pleasantly, tossing +him a considerable coin. "And may she make thee wiser; for, by thine +inventory, which it doth not harm thee to rehearse, thou hast a good +memory." + +"Eccellenza, there is more, if you be not weary. There is the government +tax; it takes long to gather--ask the _gastaldo_! There are the soldiers +for the navy; how many good men does that leave for the traghetto +service? And a license is not little to buy for a poor barcariol who +would be his own man; one pays three hundred _lire_--not less. Does it +drop into one's hand with the first fare? One must belong to the +Guilds--it is less robbery!" + +"But for your gastaldo, your great man, for him it is much honor--" + +"Eccellenza, believe it not. If the taxes are not there for the +provveditori, it is the gastaldo who pays. When the money is little it +is the gastaldo who pays much. And the toso--all his faults blamed on +the traghetti! Ah, signore, for the gondolier it is a life--Santa +Maria!" He threw up his hands with a feint of being at a loss to convey +its hardships. + +"_Come non c'è altro_!" said the Veronese, laughing; "there is none like +it." + +"Ebbene--va bene!" the gondolier confessed, joining heartily in the +merriment, his grievance, which was nevertheless a real one, infinitely +lessened by confession. + +Suddenly the old man rose and bowed his head, and both gondoliers +crossed themselves. The Veronese also bared his head and made the sign +of reverence, for they were passing the island of San Michele, toward +which a mournful procession of boats, each with its torch and its banner +of black, was slowly gliding, while back over the water echoed the dirge +from those sobbing cellos. Here, where only the dead were sleeping, the +sky was as blue and the sea as calm as if sorrow had never been born in +the world. + +Before them Murano, low-lying, scattered, was close at hand, the smoke +of its daily activities tremulous over it, dimming the beauty of sky and +sea. + +"His Excellency knows Murano? The Duomo, with its mosaics? Wonderful! +there are none like them; and it is old--'ma antica'! And the +stabilimenti?--it is glory enough for one island! Ah, the padrone wishes +to visit the stabilimento Magagnati?" + +Paolo Cagliari had not known what he would do until the old man's +suggestion seemed to make his vision less vaguely inaccessible, and +before they reached the landing he had learned, by a judicious +indifference which sharpened his companion's loquacity, that Messer +Girolamo lived there alone with his daughter, who went about always with +a bambino in her arms--the child of a dead sister. + +There could be no doubt; yet, to keep the old man talking, he put the +question, "She is very beautiful, the donzella?" + +"Eccellenza"--with a pause and deprecatory movement of the +shoulders--"_cosi_--so-so--a little pale--like a saint--devote. For the +poor? Good, _gentile_, the donzel of Messer Girolamo. _Bella_, with rosy +colors? _Non_!" + +With the Venetians there could be no sharp distinction between the +decorative and the fine arts, as the fine arts were employed by them +without limit in their sumptuous decorations; and that which elsewhere +would have been merely decorative they raised, by exquisite quality and +finish, to a point which deserved to be termed art, without +qualifications. + +The Veronese, who had been knighted by the Doge, could scarcely go +unrecognized to any art establishment in any quarter of Venice, and with +unconcealed pleasure Girolamo bowed low before this master who had come +to do him honor; displaying all that the initiated would hold most +precious among his treasures--that design, faded and dim, almost +unrecognizable, of those early mosaics of the Master Pietro--he held +nothing back. It was a day of honor for his house, and the two were +alone in his cabinet. + +The Veronese had a gift of sympathy; his heart opened to those who loved +art and had conquered difficulties in her service, and the talk flowed +freely. "I believe," he said, as together they laid away the parchment, +"that in our modern mosaics we should keep to the massive lines of these +earlier models--greater dignity and simplicity in outline and coloring. +It is a mistake to attempt to confound this art with painting." + +"It is good, then, for our art, Messer Cavalière, that at San Donato, +our mother church, we workmen of Murano have our Lady in that old +Byzantine type; there is none earlier--nor in all Venice more perfect of +its time--and the setting is of marvelous richness and delicacy." + +"It is most interesting," said the Veronese. "Sometimes a question has +come to me, if an artist cannot do the _all_, is he most the artist who +stops below his limitation or beyond it? A question of the earlier hint, +or the later realization." + +"Between the mosaic and the painting, perhaps?" Girolamo questioned, +greatly interested. + +"Nay, not between the arts, but of that which is possible to each. It is +not a Venetian question. Here all is warmth, color, beauty, joy; here +art is the expression of redundancy--it hath lost its symbolism." + +"I know only Venice--the Greek and the Venetian types. But I have heard +that the Michelangelo was in himself a type?" + +"He was a prophet," the Veronese answered reverently, "like the great +Florentine--a seer of visions; but at Rome only one understands why he +was born. He was a maker, creating mighty meanings under formlessness. +His great shapes seem each a mystery, wrestling with a message." + +"I had thought there was none who equaled him in form--that he was even +as a sculptor in his painting." + +"And it was even so. When I spake of 'formlessness' it was not the less, +but the more; as if, _before the visions had taken mortal shape, he, +being greater than men, saw them as spirits_." + +"Never before have I talked with one who knew this master," said +Girolamo, "and it is a feast." + +"Nay, I knew him not, for it was not easy to get speech with him, nor a +favor a young man might crave. But once I saw him at his work in San +Pietro, where he wrought most furiously and would take no payment--'for +the good of his soul,' he said, that he might end his life with a pious +work. The night was coming on, and already his candle was fastened to +his hat, that he might lose no time. They had brought him a little bread +and wine for his evening meal, for often he went not home when the mood +of work possessed him; and beside him was a writing of the man +Savonarola--this and the Holy Evangel and the 'Inferno' fashioned his +thoughts. He lived not long after that, for we were still in Rome when +they made for him that great funeral in Santa Croce of Florence, the +rumor of which is dear to artist hearts. He was great and lonely, and he +knew no joy; there hath been none like him." + +"And the Tintoretto, at Santa Maria dell' Orto?" + +"He, too, is a _furioso_, wonderful in form--and the Michelangelo had +not the coloring of our Jacopo. But the terror of the Tintoretto is very +terrible and very human. The Michelangelo fills a great gloom with +phantasms--they question--and one cannot escape." + +"It hath been a morning of delights," Girolamo said with grave courtesy +when the talk had come to an end. "I thank the master for this honor." + +"Nay," answered the knightly Veronese; "it is I who have received. And +more, yet more would I ask. I know not if in this chamber of treasures I +may leave the trifle which I came to bring for the bambino?" he added +with hesitation, as he placed upon the table his little inlaid box of +baubles and his bunch of spicy flowers. "Yet it was a promise." + +And while Girolamo listened in astonishment he told abruptly the story +of his meeting with Marina and the little one, unconsciously weaving his +thoughts into such a picture as he talked, that Girolamo recognized the +inspiration and was already won to plead his cause. + +"This," continued the artist, unfolding a letter, "is the order which +hath been sent me by Fra Paolo Sarpi, of the convent of the Servi, a man +most wise and of high repute in Venice. 'The face,' this learned friar +sayeth, 'must be full of consolation and one to awaken holy thoughts. +And I, being not an artist' (which, because he is greater than so many +of his craft, he hath the grace to acknowledge!), 'have no other word to +say, save that it shall be noble and most spiritual, as befitteth our +religion.' And such a face till now, Messer Girolamo Magagnati--so +beautiful and holy--I have not found. But now it is a vision sent to me +from heaven, quite other than any picture I have ever dreamed, and I +will paint no other for this Madonna of the Servi. I also, like the +Angelo, would give my holiest work for the good of my soul; for the days +of man are numbered, though his blood be warm in his veins like wine! It +would be a pious act for the maiden; and if she will most graciously +consent, the picture shall be an offering for the altar of the chapel of +Consolation in the Servi." + +"I will ask her," said the father simply, and felt no surprise at what +he had granted when he was left alone with his thoughts, for Paolo +Cagliari, because of a way he had that men could not resist, already +seemed to him a friend; for the rare mingling of knightly grace and +artistic enthusiasm, overcoming spasmodically the usual assertiveness of +his demeanor, seemed at such moments to mean more than when assumed by +those who were never passionate nor brusque, and his very incongruities +held a fascination for his friends. + + + +V + +Marina came often to the studio of the Veronese in San Samuele, while +the _Madonna del Sorriso_ grew slowly into life; it was not that most +perfect life of which the artist had dreamed, for hitherto beauty had +sufficed to him and he had never sought to burden his creations with +questions of the soul; but now the sadness of the unattainable that was +growing within him looked out of the wonderful eyes of the maiden on his +canvas, yet he tossed his brushes aside in discontent. "Her smile +eludeth me, though it hath the candor of a child's," the master cried. + +Within his studio his pupils came and went, some earnest to follow in +the footsteps of the master, absorbed in their tasks; others, golden +youths, painting a little because Art was beautiful--not overcoming. + +In the inner chamber, which was the artist's sanctum, were only the +Veronese and his brother Benedetto at work; his brother, who was +architect and sculptor too, was putting in the background of an +elaborate palace in a fine Venetian group upon which Paolo worked when +not occupied with his Madonna; and a favorite pupil, the young nobleman +Marcantonio Giustiniani, was in attendance upon the master. The lovely +girlish face, of a spiritual type rare in Venice, seemed to the young +patrician more beautiful than that of any of the noble, smiling ladies +who were waiting to be won by him, and in those hours of blissful +service he, too, made a study--crude and inartistic. + +"Thy hand hath yet to learn its cunning," the master said, as in much +confusion, one morning when they were quite alone, his pupil revealed +his roughly executed head; "yet thou hast painted the soul! The heart +hath done it, Signorino mio, for thou art not yet an artist. There is no +other lady for Marcantonio Giustiniani; yet she comes not of a noble +house." + +"She makes it noble!" cried the young fellow, flushing hotly, "for she +is like her face." + +"Ay, for me and thee she is noble," said the Veronese compassionately, +for he loved the boy. "But for the noble Senator, thy father--of the +Council of the Ten--he will not find this maiden's name in the 'Libro +d'Oro.' I am sorry for thee." + +"Master!" cried Marcantonio imploringly, "art thou with me?" + +"Verily, but I can do naught for thee." + +"Listen, then! One day the nobles shall find that name inscribed in the +'Libro d'Oro'; it shall be there, for mine shall suffice." + +The master answered nothing, but bending over the sketch which his pupil +had made he caressed it, here and there, with loving touches of his +magic brush, while the young nobleman poured forth his vehement speech, +forgetting to watch the master's fingers. + +"Once in the annals of the Republic there is noted such a marriage; a +daughter of Murano, of the house of Beroviero--nay, not so beautiful as +Marina--wedded with one of our noblest names; and the children, by +decree of the Senate, were written every one in the 'Libro d'Oro.'" + +"_This_ have I done for thee!" said the master, moving away from the +sketch and disclosing it to the young fellow, who gazed at it in silent +amazement. "Only the eyes have I not touched," the Veronese explained; +"for thou hast made them more soulful than even unto me they seemed, and +thus have I read thy secret." + +"Maestro mio!" cried Marcantonio at length, in ecstasy; "none among us +may learn the marvel of thine art!" + +"I have but touched thy sketch with the power that mine art could give," +the master answered, well pleased. "Yet it is thou who hast read the +secret of the face that was not revealed to me." + +"We were speaking of the 'Libro d'Oro,'" the young patrician interrupted +eagerly. + +"It may be so, I know not," the Veronese answered indifferently, for he +himself was not written in that noble chronicle. "My art deals little +with these cumbrous records of the Republic." + +"Thou art wrong to scorn them, caro maestro, for in them is chronicled +the glory of Venice." + +"The saying doeth honor--from a pupil to his master!" the artist burst +forth with his quick, uncontrollable temper. "The Tablets of Stone were +reserved for the highest dignity of the Law; and in that Sala dei Capi, +where at this moment sits Giustinian Giustiniani--one of the chosen +three of the Council of the Ten--my name is written largely with mine +own hand, as artists write their names, _above_ the heads of rulers for +all coming time to see! The _Avvogadori_ do not keep my 'Libro d'Oro'; +the entrance to it is by divine right!" + +He flung his brushes fiercely aside, in one of those moods that seemed +all unwarranted in comparison with the slightness of the +provocation--moods that alternated with the lovable, genial, generous +impulses of an artist soul, overwhelming in energy and great in +friendship; yet jealous, to a degree a lesser nature could scarcely +pardon, of anything that seemed to touch upon his province as an artist +and the claims of art to highest honor. + + * * * * * + +The day was drawing near when Marcantonio Giustiniani, the only son of +Giustinian Giustiniani, a noble of the Senate and of the Council of the +Ten, should present himself before the _Avvocato del Comun_ to claim +admission to the Great Council as a noble, born in lawful wedlock, of +noble parents, inscribed in the Golden Book. + +To the young fellow himself this twenty-fifth anniversary of his birth, +when, by Venetian law, the ceremony must take place, approached with +needlessly rapid footsteps; he was not yet ready for the duties it would +bring, so much more did he incline to that measure of boyish freedom +which had thus far been his, so unwilling was he to renounce his longing +for some form of art life--the impulse to which fretted him almost +unbearably, in view of the political career which opened mercilessly +before him, threatening every dearer project. + +Not that he felt himself born to be an artist--Paolo Cagliari laughed at +his studies while he encouraged his coming to the studio, telling him +that for one who had not chosen Art for his mistress the drawings were +"well enough"; and from the Veronese the words were consoling. His +mother had been afraid of this taste for art, which, for a short time, +had exercised such sway over his fancy, stimulated by his _culte_ for +the beautiful, that he had plead with her to win his father's consent +for an art life. Yet he had himself acquiesced in her quiet but +inflexible showing of the futility of attempting such an overturning of +Giustiniani traditions, though he still went with dangerous frequency to +the studio of the Veronese, to which she had procured him entrance upon +his promise that he would not seriously consider that impossible +possibility at which he had hinted. There had been mention of Pordenone +and of Aretino, with a certain cool scorn that was worse than censure, +and as convincing, there was the Titian, than whom, in art and +sumptuousness, one could not be greater; but, even for him, Cavalière of +France, there was no place in the Consiglio! + +Not that Marcantonio would voluntarily have relinquished his hereditary +place in the state, his possible part in its glory--the dream which came +to all young noblemen of the portrait in that splendid Sala di Consiglio +of his own face grown venerable, wearing the ermine and the ducal +coronet, in token of that supremacy so dear to each Venetian heart, but +jealously held by every noble of the Republic within confines which +lessened with each succession, until the crown was assumed in trembling +and ignominious restriction--if with external pomp and honor that might +befit a king. + +But he wanted time; he wanted liberty to choose his own life or enjoy +his restlessness, and he realized the more keenly, from the sense of +power that was so chafed in the curbing, that he was too young to be +forced into such ruthless service; and he could not but acquiesce the +less fervently because it was not open to him to _give_ himself, since +the claim of Venice was absolute and resistance was a crime. + +But with quite other sentiments the preparations for the fête were +progressing in that ancient family of Giustiniani, where the day was +awaited with an impatience which increased the fervor and the pomp of +preparation, but was not otherwise manifested in any sign of undignified +eagerness. No house in Venice had held this right for more generations; +no house was princelier in its bearing, nor more superbly republican! No +member of that Supreme Council was more esteemed than the stern +Giustinian, who had been again and again elected to the most important +missions of the state; no _donna nobile_ of all the Venetians was +prouder, more highly born, more beautiful, nor more coldly gracious than +the mother of Marcantonio. + +In such an environment there was but one career possible for the only +son of the house, who had been carefully trained, according to the +traditions that made culture for the young Venetian of those days; he +had even attended courses of those philosophical conferences which had +become the fashion since the sittings of the famous Council of Trent, +and which had been conducted in various convents by distinguished +professors from Padua and Bologna, and even by some of the learned men +of Rome; it was a species of amusement creditable for a young +nobleman--it would quicken the reasoning powers and give more subtlety +in debate, when government problems should later absorb his gifts. + +But if, like other golden youth of his time, he was like a Greek in +possession of their liquid tongue and in a mastery of oratory that +filled the soul of Giustinian Giustiniani with satisfaction, the young +patrician himself had acquired this learning, less with a thought of one +day shining in the Senate than because it pleased him as a touch of +finish. He was, in some sort, a reaction from the proud and typical +Venetian so ably represented by the elder Giustinian, who claimed +unchallenged descent from the Emperor Justinian, upheld by the +traditions of that long line of ancestry and by the memory of many +honorable offices most honorably discharged by numerous members of his +house. Marcantonio, on the contrary, was handsome, winning, +pleasure-loving--after an innocent fashion, which brought some sneers +from his compeers, the gay "company of the hose;" but he thought life +not made for pain, nor ugliness, nor hardness of any sort; he was bred +to luxury, yet his intellectual inheritance made learning easy for him; +he was many sided and vacillating, an exquisite in taste and the science +of trifles. His affectionate nature, repressed and chilled, refused +absolute subjection to that purpose which the elder Giustinian held +relentlessly before him; he wished to live for himself a little, and not +wholly for Venice. He was an embodiment of that late time of Venetian +culture when its magnificence, its artistic and intellectual development +had touched their height, and the hint of decadence shadowed its +splendor with a pathos unguessed except by the thoughtful few. + +He had dabbled a little in costly manuscripts--a taste for an exquisite +in those days, when Venice was the envy of the world for the marvels of +her press; and already he possessed a volume or two, for his cabinet, +from the atelier of Aldus Manutius--that famous edition of Aristotle, +the first ever printed in Greek, with the Aldine mark of anchor and +dolphin on the title-page. But a volume more precious still, with its +dainty finish and piquant history, conferred distinction, it was said, +among the literati, upon its youthful owner; this was no less a treasure +than that first copy of "Le Cose Volgare di Messer Francesco Petrarca," +most exquisitely printed in type modeled after the poet's own elegant +handwriting, and the volume had been superintended by many learned +heads,--awaited with impatience, as a triumph for its makers,--and +thought a thing rare enough to be offered, like a jewel, to the learned +and illustrious lady, Isabella of Mantua. Marcantonio was no pedant, but +these treasures simply had their place in the richly painted cabinet, +beside many other bits of exquisite workmanship, because rare things in +every art were beautiful to our dilettante, and possessions of all kinds +came to him easily. + +There lay the golden necklace presented by Henry III. of France to a +Giustinian who had been one of the young nobles set apart for the +household of the king, when on his visit to Venice; and beside it a +curious volume of songs, all in honor of France and of the king, +entitled "Il Magno Enrico III., difensore di Santa Chiesa, di Francia è +di Polonia Re christianissimo." Here was also preserved that still more +curious allegorical drama which had been given at the grand fête at the +Ducal Palace in honor of this over-adulated monarch. It was natural that +some of these literary curiosities, of which the visit of Henry III. had +been prolific, should have remained in possession of the masters of the +palace which had been tendered for his residence. The volume, bound in +azure velvet, embroidered with golden fleurs-de-lis and seeded with +pearls, lay open at the page "Chapter in which the Most Holy Catholic +Religion is introduced conversing with the most Christian, most powerful +and most holy Henry III., the most glorious King of France and Poland." + +The noble lady Laura Giustiniani, who looked with pride upon these +costly trifles of the cabinet of Marcantonio, was a Venetian in every +throb of her patrician veins--first a patriot and then a mother--she +earnestly coveted for her son that he should render vast services to the +state, receive in his early years the Patriarch's blessing upon his +alliance with some ancient Venetian house, and close his noble career +with the Doge's coronet. She admitted reluctantly to herself, although +she would never have confessed it openly, that in these latter days of +the Republic the ermine was not likely to be offered to one so stern and +masterful as her husband; while she also knew, and the knowledge held +its compensation, that Giustinian Giustiniani could not be spared from +the Councils of his government. She knew her history well, and she +realized that the days of the Michieli and Orseoli were over, and that +the supreme honor was no longer for the strong but for the pliant; this +had made her the more willing that her son should partake of the facile +and gracious mood of this time of Renaissance, and had led her to shape +his education more in consonance with his natural tastes than with her +own views of fitness for a Venetian noble. She knew that this was +weakness for a Giustinian; but it was hard to see the noble line pass +down through the centuries without that coveted sign of honor--the +minikin Lion of San Marco, the mighty symbol--carved upon their palaces. + +Meanwhile, for a suitable alliance there were already schemes on foot, +and mothers of noble young Venetian ladies paid frequent court to the +stately Lady Laura in her palace on the Canal Grande; and fathers, in +the Senate, in moments of unbending, discussed the probability of the +immediate rise of the young Giustinian upon his admission to the +Consiglio--he was competent and not positive, gracious and no fool, he +could be made to see the wisdom of other people's opinions, which, with +the elder Giustinian, was unheard of! + +Among the maidens who should grace the banquet to be given on +Marcantonio's birthnight, more than one had sat for hours in some high +balcony of her palace, preparing for Venetian belle-ship with a patience +worthy of a better cause--her long locks, mysteriously treated, +streaming over the broad brim of the great, crownless hat which +protected her fair face, while the sun bestowed its last touch of beauty +in bleaching the dark tresses to that rich, red, burnished gold which +the Venetians prized. + +The young patrician was already esteemed a connoisseur in the most +exquisite industries of Venice, and the Lady Laura had confided to her +son the ordering of a set of goblets of _girasole_ for the banquet--a +new opalescent glass, with iridescent borderings, such as had never yet +been seen at any Venetian fête. + +Thus the gondola of the Giustiniani floated for long hours before the +famous establishment of Girolamo Magagnati, so delicate and intricate +was the work that had been ordered from him; and the gondoliers, +meanwhile, in their splendid liveries, held converse with other +gondoliers in lazily drifting barks, with hatchments of other noble +houses embroidered on their sleeves; and their tones were strident and +quarrelsome, or self-complacent and patronizing, as the quality of the +silken sashes which displayed the color of their house was heavier or +poorer than their own. + +One boasts of the lantern, all of brass, "Wrought by Messer Alessandro +Leopardi--'come no c'è altro!'--there is no other like it--which he, the +favored gondolier, has been burnishing for the banquet of the Dandolo, +to which he shall that night convey the noble lady of the Giustiniani!" + +"It is less beautiful," retorts a gondolier of the house of Mocenigo, +the fringes of his sash of rose sweeping the bridge of his gondola as it +moves forward, slightly tilting on its side, with a quick, disdainful +motion called forth by proper Mocenigo pride--so pliant are these barks +of Venice to the moods of the gondolier. "It is less beautiful--by the +Holy Madonna of San Castello!--than the lantern of wrought iron with the +jewels of _rubino_ that Messer Girolamo Magagnati makes this day, by +order of the Eccellentissimo Andrea Mocenigo, with the jewels of the +fine glass of Murano that shall be like roses flashing in the night!" + +And he has sworn so great an oath, by that most ancient Madonna of +Castello, and so well has he vindicated the honor and splendor of his +house in thus early appropriating this recent glory of Venetian +workmanship in its own family emblem, that there is no present need of +distance between him and his rival, and resting upon his oar, as he +stands with a proud and graceful bearing of victory, he allows the +gondola to glide back into position with the lapping of the water. + +For the gondoliers of the house of Giustiniani are unfolding, with +quick, ringing, jubilant voices, vast confidential tales of the fêtes +that are in preparation for the marriage of the young noble of the +Council, their master, of which this banquet is only the precursor. "For +of course there will be a _sposalizia_! Santa Maria! there is no room on +the Canal Grande for the gondolas that come to the palazzo--from every +_casa_ in the 'Libro d'Oro'--to win the favor of the donna nobile of the +Giustiniani, for some bella donzella who shall be chosen for their young +master--who is like a prince, and will end one day in being Doge! Santa +Maria di Castello, he does not wait that day to scatter his golden +coins!" + +If that question of "sposalizia" is not imminent there is truth enough +for any Venetian conscience in the story of the ranks of princely +gondolas at the bend of the Canal Grande, on the days when the donna +nobile of the Giustiniani gives welcome to her guests--princely gondolas +they are, with _felzes_ of brocaded and embroidered stuffs, the +framework inlaid with ivory and mother of pearl, with metal fittings +curiously wrought, and all that bravery of pomp so dear to the Venetian +heart, which calls forth surly decrees from those stern Signori of the +Council--the much unloved "Provveditori alle Pompe," the sumptuary +officers of this superb Republic. + +Meanwhile, in this narrow water-street, sunk a few feet below the paved +foot path that stretches to the doors of the dwellings, there are sudden +grumbling movements among the retainers of the patrician families, as +they steer their gorgeous gondolas from side to side, to avoid +humiliating contact with that slow procession of barges bringing produce +from the island gardens of Mazzorbo, there are other barges laden with +great, white wooden tubs of water from Fusina, fresh and very needful to +these cities of the sea, and the dark hulks of barks curiously entangled +with nets and masts and unwieldy tackle of sailor and fisher, show +flashes of brilliant color as the water plays through the netted baskets +swinging low against their sides, while the sunlight glances back from +the gold and silver glory of the scales of living fish, crowded and +palpitating within their meshes. + +The fisherfolk who guide these barks are gray and gnomelike in their +coloring, tanned by sky and sea and ceaseless atmospheres of fish, into +a neutral tint,--less vivid in hues of skin and hair, with eyes less +brilliant, with less vivacity and charm of bearing than the gay +Venetians,--but they are the descendants of those island tribes from +which the commerce and greatness of Venice issued; there is almost a +show of stateliness in the aggravating slowness with which their heavily +freighted barks proceed, serenely occupying the best of the narrow +waterway. They are not envious of the hangers-on of those palaces of the +nobles, these free fisherfolk of the islands; they have only haughty +stares for the servile set of gondoliers in lacings of gold and +scarlet--who are not nobles nor fishers, nor people of the soil--and +they pass them silently, with much ostentation of taking all the +gondoliers of Murano into the friendliness of their jests and curses, as +the barges touch and clash with some swiftly gliding gondolier of their +own rank, who wears no bravery or armorial bearings. + +Their homes--long, low, white-washed cottages--spread along the main +channel and reach in lessening, dotted lines far off into the sea, where +other islands lie in friendly nearness; but the Bridge, with the Lions +of St. Mark on archivolt and parapet--the invariable official signet of +Venetian dominion--stretches between that simpler quarter and this, +which holds the great houses of Murano, whose masters, a sort of _petite +noblesse_, have made their names illustrious by marvelous inventions in +that exquisite industry in which Venice has no rival. + + + +VI + +The "Madonna del Sorriso" now lacked only the finishing touches upon the +exquisite central figure, which reached more nearly to the spiritual +ideal than anything that had ever come from the brush of the Veronese, +and already the Servite friars, in their long black robes and white +cowls, had visited the studio with suggestions many and fruitless, +serving only to arouse the artist's indignant protest and increase his +determination to image more perfectly the poetic vision that had been +vouchsafed to him. + +"It hath not the beauty of the 'Venezia' in the palazzo," said one. + +"And the church is dark," said another, "and the people like the red and +blue of the colors of the true Madonna." + +"And a frate, of the Servi--since it hath been painted for the +convent--here--kneeling," suggested another, more timidly; for it was +known that the Veronese was not always docile in these days, since he +had become great. + +"Nay, leave me," said the Veronese fiercely; "for this one thing I +_know_, and this will I paint, for the good of my soul, as mine art +shall prompt me and not otherwise. And if it please not him--Fra Paolo, +who hath given the order--I will bestow it elsewhere." + +Then a friar habited like the others, who had stood apart and had not +spoken, came and threw back his cowl, dismissing the group with a +gesture. The features thus disclosed were unimportant, apart from the +domelike forehead, which might well belong to the most learned man of +his learned age; but Fra Paolo's face owed its distinction to the rare +impression it gave the beholder of invincible calm and self-mastery, +with a certain mysterious hint of power and a promise of unswervingness. +His gaze held no suggestion of concealment; yet for the deeper thoughts +that move the spirit of man, to those who knew him well his mild blue +eyes remained inscrutable, while his courtesy to all made one forget +that his words were few, and that of himself he had revealed nothing. + +"It is well," he said, "to _know_ that we know. Serve faithfully the God +who gave the gift and take no counsel from men who know not." + +Then he stood silent for a while before the picture, as if he would +learn its meaning, the artist watching anxiously, not guessing his +thought. + +"The pious wish hath made the offering noble," he said at length, in +quiet, measured tones. "And for the face, it is holy--of the beauty that +God permits--yet I pretend no criticism, since Art is not of mine +understanding. I will not take the honor of the gift away from the +giver, though I had meant it otherwise." + +After Fra Paolo had left the studio the Veronese was still studying his +picture, pleased and serious, feeling that this man, who was not an +artist, had comprehended the deepest mood in which he had ever +approached his art, when Marina entered. + +"Fra Paolo hath found our offering worthy," he said very gravely; and +suddenly remembering that Marina had come for the last time, "Benedetto +hath need of me in the outer studio for some measurements," he said to +Marcantonio, "but I shall soon return. Do thou, meanwhile, show the +_damigella_ thy sketch." + +She turned inquiringly toward Marcantonio, who placed it silently before +her. When he gathered courage to look at her she stood flushed and +trembling with clasped hands. + +"Marina!" he cried. + +She moved suddenly away from him, drawing herself up to her full height, +one hand slightly extended, as if to keep him from coming nearer; but +her face, as she turned it frankly to his, was lighted with a smile the +Veronese would never copy, and her eyes shone through her tears. + +"Is it true, Marina?" he questioned radiantly, as he tried to seize her +hand. + +But she still moved backward--not as if she were afraid, but as though +she would help him by a motion to understand. + +"You have confessed me unawares," she said, "and shown me mine own +secret, which I knew not. It is not to confess nor deny." + +"Yet you move away, Marina, as if you would not have it so." + +"Because only the renunciation of it is for us," she answered firmly. +"For I am of the people, and you--of the Giustiniani!" + +"As you shall also be!" he affirmed, undaunted. + +"Marco, at Venice this is not easy!" The tone was a caress which she +made no effort to withhold, yet he dared not try again to touch her +hand; he already felt her strength. + +"None the less, because it is not easy it shall be done. Reach me your +hand, Marina, to prove that you trust my vow." + +He was not wont to crave favor so humbly, but a new reverence had +entered into his soul. + +She hesitated for a moment, then her words came brokenly, yet with +dignity. + +"Marco mio, not yet. Because I am of the people, and because the +others--your father and mother, who are of the nobles, and my father, +who is of the people--may not consent, we will make no vows until this +difficulty is conquered." + +"They shall not keep us from it." + +She shook her head sadly, but came no nearer. "Will Giustinian +Giustiniani ask a daughter of the people? But Girolamo Magagnati is not +less proud." + +"I will return now with thee to Murano. Perhaps thy father will befriend +us." + +"No, no; without their consent it would be useless. I think I shall not +tell him--it would be only a grief." + +"Because it meaneth much to thee?" Marco questioned, luminous and +ungenerous. + +She did not answer. + +"Thou dost verily make too much of the nobles and the people, Marina; we +are all Venetians." + +"Venice is of the sea and of the land--not like other cities; and the +Venetian people is not one, but twain; my father hath often said it. +Some other day, perhaps--I do not know--if it is needful for the +picture, I may come again. Will you tell the maestro? I think he is our +friend, and he will understand." + +He would have followed her, but she waved him back. + +The day had a melancholy cast in the narrow waterways of Murano, where +clouds of smoke, dense and constant, rose from hundreds of +glass-workers' chimneys, dimming the reflections in the lagoon and +obscuring that wonderful coloring of sky which is nowhere so radiant as +at Venice. + +Beyond the bridge, which the ubiquitous Lion guards with menacing, +uplifted paw, beyond the Piazzetta of San Pietro where the acacia trees +are growing, down by the main canal, where the breath comes freer--for +it is broader than the one where the gondolas from the great houses of +Venice gather and float lazily; past the line of low, whitewashed +cottages bordering the narrow foot-path on either side, over the little +wooden bridge that spans the lagoon, fifty feet across from bank to bank +with its ugly traghetto at the farther end, a figure was often seen +wending, with a child held in tender mother fashion, to the campo of the +"Matrice," the mother church of San Donate. + +To-day when Marina had returned from Venice she had caught the little +Zuane to her breast with such a passion of tenderness that he looked up +into her face with startled eyes; hers were brimming with smiles and +tears, and with that wise child-knowledge, which is not granted to +earth's learned ones, he put up his tiny hand with a wan smile and +stroked her cheek. + +"We will go to San Donato, Zuanino mio," she said caressingly, as he +nestled closer, "and I have _thee_, my bimbo!" + +She put the little one gently down as they entered the triangular field +where the grass grew green and long--whiteness of sand gleaming in +irregular patches between the clumps of coarse blades; but to her this +poor turf was something precious associated with that island sanctuary, +restful and strange, and she drew a long breath with a sense of +suppressed pleasure; for sometimes the water, with its shimmering, +uncertain surfaces, wearied her, and unconsciously she craved something +more positive. + +The child, with uncertain steps, tottered toward the standard of San +Marco, which floated proudly from the staff that rose from the rude +stone pillar in the center of the campo, where other little ones were +playing; in the corner by the well groups of women, from the cottages +that bounded the campo on one side, were waiting to draw water for the +evening meal, putting down their jugs and going first into the Duomo to +say an ave, that the good Madonna might bless the cup. + +A few feet only from the Duomo the campanile drew her vision skyward; +the film of smoke was lighter here, and the sky seemed nearer--bluer. +She turned to her little charge with a beaming face--her moods were so +easily wrought upon by phases of nature, but slowly moved by personal +influences. "See'st thou, bimbo, how it is beautiful here by the Duomo?" + +But the little fellow, in one of his sudden spasms of pain, was +striking the air impotently with small, clenched fists, frightening the +children who were gathering around him, joining in his cries. + +Her caress and passionate forgiveness were always ready for the paroxysm +in which she was violently pushed away and combated with struggling feet +and hands, before came the period of exhaustion in which he nestled +close, panting from weakness. Then she carried him into the church, +where, kneeling before the Mother of Sorrows, whose outstretched hands +seemed to touch her own in responsive sympathy and gift of calm, she +prayed and wept. + +"O Holy Mater Dolorosa! Why need the children suffer?--they are so +tender and so dear!" + +She knelt with loving, protecting arms folded close about the little +form now breathing softly and at rest, while an agony of questioning +filled her prayer to that beseeching Mater Dolorosa, who, wrapped in the +clinging folds of her long blue robe, still leaned forward from the +marble background of the apse, compassionate for the suffering ones of +earth, with imploring hands and ceaseless dropping tears, symbol of love +abounding--a symbol, too, of the dignity of those who suffer and are +pure in heart. + +This sanctuary was almost a home to the maiden, who came hither to +praise or question, for life was full of enigmas. Here, too, where she +came from duty and deep devotion, with an intricate sensitiveness of +conscience which often rendered her unintelligible to her confessor, she +lingered for delight. For the tracery on the arches--the color, the +wonderful delicacy of the sculpture--were of that time when art was +suggestive and faint, in tint and meaning, like a dream, and its message +was always spiritual. + +"It is not Thou, O Christ," she said, "who willest pain; but thy +children, who are not always loving!" + +For in her reverie she was comforted by that vision of a legendary time +when the Holy Mother had stood, beautiful, compassionate, and +commanding, in this field of flaming scarlet lilies; when a great +emperor had obeyed her bidding, and San Donato, the Duomo of Murano, had +arisen as a refuge for the sorrowing. + +In tender language of the people it was the mother church--"Matrice." + +She made a cushion of her cloak and laid the little one upon it, for he +still slept and she would not waken him; and then, though the quaint, +inlaid pavement was cold and bare, she knelt again, her rosary dropping +from her hands as she shyly whispered the burden of her strange new +confession to this ever-waiting, tender Mother--her confession more full +of pain than joy, yet already dear, and a thing not to be surrendered, +though it should bring her only pain. + +But there was no other friend to whom she told it. + +Soon, alas! the days grew over-full of pain, and Marina came more often +to the Mater Dolorosa, for the little Zuane had not grown stronger with +the coming of the spring; sleep came to him more easily, but it did not +bring refreshment, and the roses on his cheeks were only signs of +failing bloom. Passionately Marina's loving prayers were breathed +before the shrine of the Madonna San Donato, but the little one grew +weaker every day, till, after a long night of watching, a sweet-voiced +nun stood with Marina beside the cradle. + +"The burden of the baby's suffering life is changed to blessing," she +said. "Earth held no joy for him; God hath been merciful beyond thy +prayer, my daughter." + + + +VII + +Fra Paolo Sarpi--this friar so grave and great and unemotional--had been +since he had entered the convent in his precocious boyhood the central +figure, fascinating the interest of his community by the marvel of his +progress, so that those who had been his teachers stood reverently +aside, before he had attained to manhood, recognizing gifts beyond their +leading which had already won homage from the savants of Europe and +crowned the order of the Servi with unexampled honors. The element of +the unusual in the young Paolo's endowments had transformed this +Benjamin of the convent into a hero, and surrounded the calm flow of his +studious life with a halo of romance for these Servite friars; yet the +good Fra Giulio in those early days, having little learning wherewith to +estimate his progress and watching over him like a father, had been +grieved at his strange placidity. "He sorely needeth some touch of +emotion," he said yearningly; "methinks I love the lad as if he were +mine own son, and I feel something lacking in his life." + +"Fret not the lad needlessly with those fanciful notions of thine," Fra +Gianmaria had retorted with much asperity. "It is the most marvelous +piece of mental mechanism that I have ever dreamed. Already he hath +attained to larger knowledge than thou, with thy gray hairs, canst +comprehend." + +Fra Giulio had crossed himself devoutly, as if confessing to some +earthliness. "I measure not my simple mind with that of a genius, my +brother; for so God hath endowed our lad. Yet it may be that He meaneth +man to garner other blessings besides knowledge. We received him as a +child into our fold, and we are responsible for his development. But his +condition is not normal." + +"Genius is abnormal," Fra Gianmaria had responded shortly. + +"He hath no wish but for this ceaseless mental labor; all natural +youthful fancies, all joy in the things of beauty--for these he careth +naught." + +The elder friar's troubled utterance had stirred no tremor in his +companion's stern reply. "Thou and I, my brother, have attained by +penances and years of abnegation to that mood which hath been granted +the boy as a gift to fit him for the cloister life. It were small +kindness to implant a struggle of which he knows not the beginnings." + +And now, after all these years, through which the good Fra Giulio had +watched this son of his affections, whom he loved with a love "passing +the loves of earth" he pathetically told himself,--"as if God thus made +up to him for all the loves he had resigned,"--now that the name of Fra +Paolo was uttered with reverence while his own was unknown, he still +expressed his heart in many tender cares, providing the new cassock +before the scholar had noticed that the one he wore was seamed and +frayed, with such other gentle ministries as the convent rule permitted +toward one who never gave a worldly thought to the morrow. + +And still, after all these years, the fatherly friar often fondly +recurred to a time when he had first seemed to catch some dim, shadowed +glimpse of that inner self which Fra Paolo so rarely expressed. He had +been endeavoring to rouse the lad to enthusiasm. "Never have I known one +show so little pleasure in nature," he had said. They were standing on +the terrace of a convent among the hills beyond the plains of Venetia, +and the view was beautiful and new for the youth. + +"What is nature?" the lad had responded quietly. + +"Nature?" Fra Giulio echoed, startled at the question. "Why, nature is +God's creation. Dost thou not find this bit of nature beautiful?" + +"It is pleasant," the young friar had assented, without enthusiasm. "But +hath God created anything nobler than the mind and soul of man? The +earth is but for his habitation." + +"Nay," the old man had replied, in a tone of disappointment, "it is more +for me--much more for those whom we call poets." + +"Poets are dreamers," the lad had said, turning to his old friend with a +smile which seemed affectionate, yet was baffling, and went not deep +enough for love. "I would not dream; I must know." + +"A little dreaming would not hurt thee, my Paolo; for sometimes it +seemeth to those who care for thee that thou needest rest." + +"Rest is satisfaction," the lad answered quickly. "If there be a problem +to be solved, I would rather think than dream. I would rather come in +contact with the nobler activities--the mental and spiritual +forces--through the minds and works of men. I would find such attrition +more helpful than this phase of creation which thou callest 'nature,' +whose unfolding is more passive, depending on its inherent law." + +"This also is of God's gift, Paolo mio," Fra Giulio had said yearningly. +"Sometimes thou seemest to find too little beauty in thy life, and when +I brought thee hither I hoped it might move thy soul." + +"What can be more beautiful," the young philosopher had questioned +earnestly, "than the fitting of all to each, the search for hidden keys, +the linking of problems that seemed apart? These are the things that +move me. I must walk soberly, Fra Giulio, lest I miss some revelation, +so sacred and so mysterious is knowledge! And the love of it leaves me +no room for questions of outside beauty--this ordered beauty of hidden +law is so wonderful!" + +For one moment, as Fra Giulio had looked at him, he fancied that he had +seen deeper into his eyes than ever before; then the veil had seemed to +rise up from the boy's heart and close over its depths. If it had been a +moment of self-revelation the young friar was again protected by that +baffling calm as he glanced about him, turning affectionately to his old +friend. "It pleaseth me that thou art pleased," he said. + +Fra Giulio had answered with a sigh. It was hard for one who loved so +truly to get so near, yet be no nearer. "I could wish that thou also +shouldst take pleasure in this beauty, my Paolo, for thou art missing a +joy that God permits." + +Then the youthful scholar had turned his eyes upon him silently; and it +had seemed to the old man, in his great love, that a sudden glory had +transfigured the grave young face like a consecration. He still +remembered the tones of that clear voice saying serenely: "My Father, +when God speaketh a message in our souls, the peace and beauty which +come to us as we follow its call, are in the measure which He hath +decreed for us." + +Now that the convent rang with his triumphs, and Fra Paolo was often +absent from his cell on missions of honor, the old friar sometimes +wondered how many of those philosophic and scientific truths which had +made him famous as an original thinker had come to the lad in +glimmerings on that first night among the hills, when, turning to his +old friend and stretching out his hands with a solemn, imploring motion +which seemed to confess a desperate need of isolation, he had said only, +"Let me think!" + +Had his seeming nearness to the stars in the convent _loggia_ brought +him a premonition of the later message which had made him the "friend +and master" of Galileo? + +Did he develop his "Laws of Sound" in that voiceful silence; or was it +in that solitude he had first watched the gentle ebb and flow of his own +life-current and learned the secret which Harvey, later, uttered to the +world? + +Or had he been wholly absorbed in those philosophical questions which he +so brilliantly disputed at the learned Court of Mantua? + +But to be near him was only to wonder more at the mystery which +enveloped him; and Fra Giulio, now that the lad had reached his prime, +often went reverently back to that night under the stars, when the +gifted youth had first stood, distanced as it were from men, remote from +human habitations and alone with the One whom only he acknowledged as +Master--then, perhaps, he had first been conscious of his latent power; +surely then the manifold message of his life must have whispered within +him many premonitions! + +The time was long past when a question could arise as to the right of +the Augustinians to rich possessions in church and convent; and the +priceless treasures of art, flung sometimes in atonement upon their +quiet walls by a world-worn artist, or sent in propitiation for some +unconfessed sin by a prince of Church or State, were found side by side +with the gifts and legacies of the faithful, which, in sincere devotion, +they often impoverished their families to bestow. + +But none of these things had charms for Fra Paolo. Not even the beauty +of the cloisters, where the low, gray arches rested on slender shafts of +marble, wrought and twisted into as many devices, drew his thoughts from +the ceaseless contemplation of his problems; not even the petted +rose-tree, lovingly trained by the gentle Fra Francesco and lifting its +pink glory to the crest of the colonnade, won his eyes to wander from +the absorbing treasures of the great library where he passed his days. +Here many a brother had taught himself patience over the fine, endless +text of an ancient gospel, or wrought into the exquisite illumination of +some missal which stood to him in the place of his daily living those +yearning, torturing, hungering affections which had so enriched a gentle +home--as a brother, less disciplined, had carved his unruly tempers into +the grotesque figures of the reading desks. But for Fra Paolo the great +library of the convent held no unsatisfied yearnings--only an infinite +content and power to achieve. + +From the days when those curious in philosophical research had flocked +from the neighboring universities to see this professor of theology who +could not be conquered in argument, and had been confronted by a +smooth-faced lad of twenty, until now, he was still the glory of the +Servi; and well might the friars watch in triumph, as one by one he +gathered laurels for their order. A little human flush of triumph or of +self-conceit would have added charm to his argument, but these notes +were lacking; clearly, logically, unanswerably, he met each question, +convincing without emotion and hastening from the gay court, of which +these intellectual tourneys were the delight, to the welcome seclusion +of the convent. If he seemed to have missed a real childhood,--its +follies, its innocent pleasures, its winsome affections,--so later, the +temptations that would naturally beset a career so extraordinary fell +harmlessly away from him, for a passion for knowledge burned within him, +consuming all ignoble motives and keeping this young scholar, in friar's +robes, in marvelous singleness of heart, in the midst of a flattering +and luxurious court. + +Always he had been a law to himself, both morally and intellectually; +never before did it seem that genius had been cast in a mold so orderly +and calm. In that state of intense concentration which was his habitual +mood, he accomplished without apparent effort the things for which +others paid by a life-time of struggle; and morally he had no visible +combats, not seeming to be even reached by the things which tempted +other men. His wants were fewer than the simplest rule of his convent +allowed, and it seemed less that he had triumphed over the usual earthly +temptations than that he had been created abnormally free from them that +his whole strength might spend itself in the solving of problems. In a +certain sense he stood mysteriously alone, though his friends were many +and devoted and among the wise and venerated of the earth; but there was +always a door closed to them beyond the affection which he returned +them. "Always," he said once, "we veil our faces": yet none doubted his +sincerity. + +From time to time, as the years sped, some echo of the jealousy which +his phenomenal success and the boldness of his bearing naturally evoked, +penetrated to the cloisters of the Servi; and more than once there had +been a denunciation to the Inquisition to discuss; some one in authority +had found fault with his theological opinions and denounced him for his +reading of a passage in Genesis, upon which he based his argument--the +affair was grave indeed. + +"Ah, the pity of it--the pity of it!" Fra Giulio had exclaimed. "They +should show mercy--he is still so young a man!" + +"Ay, young enough to need much discipline," bravely muttered a friar +who dared to disbelieve in their prodigy. + +"Silence!" commanded Father Gianmaria, who was now the Superior, in a +stentorian tone; for within these walls there was no appeal from his +judgment or his temper. "The man who speaks only what he _knows_ is old +in wisdom;" and turning he addressed the company in great dignity: "It +doth appear that Rome approveth Fra Paolo's rendering and hath gravely +censured the Inquisitor who hath cited him, commanding him to meddle +only with that of which he hath some understanding." + +"There are then tale-bearers whose jealousy would ruin our Paolo!" Fra +Giulio had exclaimed in anxiety. + +"It was none other than Fra Paolo himself who carried the tale," the +Superior retorted in scorn of the old man's weak affection. "Fra Paolo +refused to appear before the Inquisitor who had cited him, who, he +alleged, knew not Hebrew nor Greek, and had therefore no knowledge upon +which to base his judgment; and on this ground Fra Paolo appealed to +Rome." + +"It were a pity," said a gentle-faced young friar, who had been +listening silently, but with an expression of deep and affectionate +interest, "that one of so rare learning should remain long in a position +of danger to orthodoxy. Already the Court of Mantua hath been censured +by the Holy Father for heretical opinions." + +"Nay; but for harboring heretics, hunted and driven," Fra Giulio +corrected warmly. "There be deeds of mercy that will be forgiven us." + +A look of perplexity crossed the candid, boyish face of Fra Francesco. + +"But the law of obedience is more simple," he said timidly; "and our +Holy Father--" + +"Thou, not yet out of thy novitiate, doest well, verily, to prate of +obedience and doctrines," interrupted Father Gianmaria, less severely +than he was wont to treat such breaches of etiquette; for Fra Francesco +had deep, spiritual, loving eyes, in which an unuttered wonder sometimes +seemed to chide, for all his gentleness; and his ways were winsome. + +So, through the years, whether he were present or absent, the life of +the convent had centered about Fra Paolo, who now, after many missions +of importance, had once more returned to his old cell in the Servi, with +another added for his books and labors, since often it suited him to be +alone. The breath of jealousy still clouded the serenity of his sky, and +he was not without some unfulfilled longings; but no scandal had ever +touched him. He was great enough now to be smitten through his friends, +and the good Fra Giulio had been the victim taken in his stead; upon Fra +Paolo's last homecoming to the convent the loving, fatherly greeting had +failed him. + +"Ask the nuns, to whom he is father confessor; they will have no other, +and refuse admittance to one of our order who hath been sent to take +this duty upon him. And our good Fra Giulio hath been removed in +humiliation, and languisheth in Bologna, by order of the Patriarch who +hath been won by the tale of one who loveth thee not." + +"There is no more to it than that?" Fra Paolo questioned. + +"Nay, no more, my brother," Fra Francesco answered with conviction. + +"The name then?" said Fra Paolo; and when it had been told him he +recognized the man as one in whom trust was misplaced, and one who +intrigued for power. + +"The charge?" he asked again. And when he had patiently learned the +details of which Fra Giulio's long and faithful service gave little +hint, he gathered evidence wherewith to refute them, and journeyed +swiftly back to Rome, returning, triumphant, to reinstate the good old +friar with honor in the home and offices he loved--the manner of his +return making amends to Fra Giulio for the pain he had suffered, so +sweet it seemed to him to owe to this son of his affections all the +gladness of his later days. + + + +VIII + +While the little Zuane was failing, Marcantonio, seeing Marina but +seldom, solaced himself in preparing a royal gift to offer to his mother +on the occasion of his own birthday fête. The idea had come to him that +night after the Veronese had touched his own faulty sketch into such +rounded life; besides, he had thought but one beautiful thought since he +had, as it were, been unconsciously brought to confession by that scene +in the studio. And Paolo Cagliari had been most kind in accepting his +commission with an enthusiasm which promised wonderful results. Great as +was his fame in those days,--and the Veronese never lived beyond his +fame,--still, as in his earlier years, he was eager for any new method +of proving the genius in which his own faith was as unbounded as his +capacity to achieve was vigorous and tireless. And the young noble's +unique fancy for a superb goblet of crystal _da Beroviero_, with a +miniature of Marina of Murano enlaced in exquisite gold borders and set +round with costly pearls--a trifle fit to offer to a princess--not only +pleased the artist's well-known taste for luxury, but seemed to him an +object worthy of his skill. In the kindness of his heart he would make +the lovely face so winning that the great lady should yield to the +prayer that had prompted the gift. + +Among all the elaborate gift-pieces that had come from the workshops of +Murano, but one had as yet approached this, and it had been sent with +the homage of the Senate, by a retiring ambassador of "His Most +Christian Majesty," to the Queen of France, and it bore, from Titian's +hand, the portrait of her royal husband. This goblet, then, must surpass +that one in magnificence, for it was the Veronese's opportunity; and in +his soul, genial as it was, some sense of rivalry, born of Titian's +assumption of the highest place in Venetian art, would last forever, in +spite of the great master's manifest affection. The suggestion of the +pearls--an added touch--was indeed due to Paolo Cagliari's over-weening +sumptuousness, and the eager young lover was scarcely more anxious for +the completion of this gem, upon which his hope depended, than was the +great artist who already had all Venice at his feet. + +"I shall need no sitting," the Veronese had said, when they were +planning for the work. "My picture is nearly completed, and it will +suffice. Nay, ask her not, my Marco; she is a devote--she will not +understand." + +Marcantonio flushed like a boy. He knew it would be difficult to obtain +her consent, and for that very reason he must win it, for he was a true +knight. + +"How shall I win my lady's favor," he cried hotly, "if I peril it by +lack of chivalry! There is no prouder maiden among the donne nobile on +the Canal Grande." + +"_Altro! Altro_!" said the master quietly. "She also shall look down +from the balconies in the palazzo Giustiniani." + +But when the young patrician told her glowingly of his wish to give his +mother, on his great day, the most beautiful gift in all the world, it +was hard to make her yield. + +"It is not fitting," she answered quite simply. + +"Yes, yes, Marina--since I love thee!" + +"Ah, no; it is only sad." Her eyes filled with tears and she moved away, +so that he could not touch her hand. + +"Trust me, Marina! The Veronese knows the world, and he says it is well. +It is this that shall win the consent of my mother, and she will conquer +my father. And in the Gran' Consiglio----" + +He turned his eyes suddenly away from Marina lest she should trace the +faintest flicker of a doubt within them, as the vision rose before him +of that imperious body, so relentless in its decrees, so tenacious in +its traditions, so positive in its autocracy; but the threatened +invincibility of this force only nerved him to a resistance as +invincible, and he turned back to her with a flashing face, almost +before she had noticed the interruption. + +"There also--in the Consiglio--it shall be arranged, and all will be +well." + +And where two were ready for the end that should be gained the pleading +was not over-long, though the thought was very strange for this simple +maiden of Murano; so the precious painting was finished and in the hands +of the decorators. And meanwhile, during those days when Marina had been +watching the flickering of the little Zuane's pale flame of life and +there had been no spare moments for Marcantonio, he had tried to absorb +himself, as far as possible, in the preparation of this gift--since she +would not let him go to her--and he had come to regard it as the symbol +of success; for failure was never for an instant contemplated in his +vision of the future. There were pearls to be selected, one by one, in +visits innumerable to the Fondaco dei Turchi, where the finest of such +treasures were not secured at a first asking, and in these his mother +was a connoisseur; but there were many more anxious visits to Murano, to +be assured that no step in the fashioning of his gift was endangering +its perfection. + +But even for the most impatient, time may not tarry indefinitely, and +the lagging moments had at last brought round that festa of San Marco +which meant so much for Venice, with its splendid pageants for the +Church, its festivities for the people, its fluttering of doves in the +Piazza, and of timid, eager maiden hearts, waiting in a sort of shy +assurance for that earliest Venetian love-token, the _boccolo_--the +rosebud which breathed the secret of many a young Venetian lover to his +_inamorata_ under those April skies, on the festa of this patron saint +of Venice. + +And the next morning the stately lady of the Giustiniani stood quite +alone on the balcony of the great palace at the bend of the Canal +Grande, leaning upon her gold-embroidered cushions to watch the gondola +that was just landing at the step of the Piazzetta; the restless +movements of her tapering jeweled fingers were the only sign of an +emotion she rarely betrayed, though doubtless, under the faultless +dignity of her bearing, there were often currents of feeling and +thwartings hard to be endured. + +She was thinking of her boy with a great and sudden tenderness, now that +the moment had come in which she would be less to him and the world of +men must be more, as from the distance she saw the gondola touch the +landing and watched him until he passed out of sight, after pausing with +his father for a moment before the great columns of San Marco and San +Teodoro, looking up perhaps with a keener sense of the dread scenes they +had witnessed than had ever before possessed him, though the sunshine +streamed brilliantly over the water and life seemed full of promise for +this only son of the Ca' Giustiniani, on his way to take the oath of +"Silence and Allegiance to the Republic," as a "_Nobile di Gran' +Consiglio_." + +Marcantonio had entered the gondola gaily, with a full, pleasurable +sense of the beauty of life, and well content with that portion which +had fallen to his lot; for he was easily affected, and the air of the +palace was full of the excitement of his fête. The only forebodings that +shadowed his sunshine were connected with Marina and the gift which he +should offer to his mother upon his return from the Ducal Palace. But +the day was one to banish every hint of failure, making him more +conscious of his power than he had ever been before, and he felt himself +floating toward attainment--whatever the difficulties might be. But with +his first step upon the Piazzetta he forgot the glory of the sunshine +flashing over the blue waters, and a sudden sense of fate possessed him, +as his father made an almost imperceptible pause in his grave progress +toward the Ducal Palace, and with the slightest possible movement of +his hand seemed to direct his son's attention to the great granite +columns which bore the emblems of the patron saints of Venice. + +A hundred times, in crossing the Piazzetta, Marcantonio had been vaguely +aware of them as appropriate emblems of barbaric force and splendor and +allegoric Christian allegiance; but suddenly they stood to him for +historic records--the echoes of dread deeds avenged there rolled forth +from the space between the columns, and the jeweled eyes of the terrible +winged Lion flashed defiance upon any who questioned, in the remotest +way, the will or the act of the Republic. He glanced toward the elder +man, some deprecatory comment rising to his lips as he strove to +dissipate the symbolic mood which was surely possessing him, for he felt +himself uncomfortably conscious of the meaning wrought into the very +stones about him, and to-day this over-mastering assertion of +Venice--always Venice dominant--was oppressive. + +But his father, apparently unaware of Marcantonio's turbulent +sensations, wore his usual reserved and dignified mien; even the motion +he had seemed to make before the columns in the Piazzetta was probably +only due to Marcantonio's imagination, and the young fellow's light +rejoinder passed unuttered, intensifying his discomfort. He realized +that he was not searching for this symbolism with a poet's appreciation, +nor as an archaeologist delighting in curios, but as a son of the +Republic--to gather her history and her purpose, to make himself one +with her, to put himself under her yoke--and in his heart he rebelled. + +Yet it was he, this time, who paused, undeniably, before the great +window on the Piazzetta. The sun streamed in broad flashes of light over +the soft rose-tinted walls of the palazzo and over the splendid balcony +from which the Doge was wont to view the processions and fêtes of the +Republic; the richly sculptured decorations detached themselves at once +in allegory, the figures all leading up to Venice enthroned, holding out +to the world her proud motto, "Fortis, justa, trono furias, mare sub +pede pono." (Strong, just, I put the furies beneath my throne and the +sea beneath my foot.) He walked on under a spell, feeling that the coils +were tightening around him; he was a noble, but not free; yet he would +not have surrendered his opportunities for the freer life of the people +who had no part in the Consiglio. + +He quickened his pace that the moment of irresolution might be the +sooner over. + +"Wait!" his father commanded, as Marcantonio would have entered the +palace gate; "haste ill befits thy grave and dignified purpose. Before +thou enterest the Consiglio I would have thee reverently mark how, at +the palace gate, Justice sits enthroned on high, between the Lions of +St. Mark, while Courage, Prudence, Hope, and Charity wait upon her." + +"And below," answered Marcantonio, because he could think of nothing +else to say, and because he knew every angle and carving of the palace +from the aesthetic point of view better than his father did; "below is +the Doge Foscari, kneeling very reverently to our noble Lion." + +His father slowly scanned him with his inscrutable gaze, but answered +nothing, and they passed under the magnificent Porta della Carta quite +silently. Under the deep shadow of the gateway the business of the Ducal +Palace was already progressing. Secretaries at their desks were +preparing papers for discussion, while their assistants came and went +with messages from the various departments of the great body of workers +within the palace; they were too absorbed to look up as this Chief of +the Ten passed them, so oblivious were they of anything but their duty +that the stir about them left them serene and undisturbed, not even +penetrating the realm of their consciousness. + +"There is no more learned nor devoted body of scribes in the world," +said Giustinian, with pride; "they have not a thought beyond their +papers, and most wonderfully do they sift and prepare them for the +Council, working often far into the night." + +"It is machinery, not life!" Marcantonio exclaimed, hastening beyond the +portal. + +The great courtyard, under the wonderful blue of the sky, was aglow with +color; the palace façades, broken into irregular carvings, seemed to +hold the sunshine in their creamy surfaces; the superb wells of green +bronze, magnificently wrought and dimmed as yet by little +weather-staining, offered a treasury of luminous points. Here, in the +early morning, the women of the neighborhood gathered with their +water-jars, but now the court was filled with those who had business in +the Ducal Palace--red-robed senators and members of the Consiglio +talking in knots; a councillor in his violet gown, a group of +merchant-princes in black robes, enriched with costly furs and relieved +by massive gold chains, absorbed in discussion of some practical details +for the better ordering of the _Fondachi_, those storehouses and marts +for foreign trade peculiar to Venice; some grave attorney, more soberly +arrayed, making haste toward the gloom of the secretary's corner; a +sprinkling of friars on ecclesiastical business, of gondoliers in the +varied liveries of the senators waiting their masters' call; here and +there a figure less in keeping with the magnificence around him, too +full of his trouble to be abashed, going to ask for justice at the +Doge's feet--the heart of Venice was pulsing in the court, and under the +arches came the gleam and shimmer of the sea. Up and down the splendid +stairway that opened immediately from the Porta della Carta the +Venetians came and went--nobles old and young; the people, bringing +wrongs to be adjusted, or favors to be granted, or some secret message +for the terrible _Bocca di Leone_; the people, rich and poor, in +continuous tread upon this Giant Stairway, guarded by the gods of war +and of the sea; the winged Lion enthroned above, just over the landing +where the elected noble dons the rank of _Serenissimo_--this +kaleidoscopic epitome of the life of the Republic was bewildering. + +"How was it possible that all these people could take part in it without +emotion?" the young patrician asked himself, forgetting that in this +familiar scene the emotion only was new for him. + +At the head of the landing on the Giant Stairway the Senator arrested +his son with a gesture of command. "Welcome," he said, "to the +Consiglio, Marcantonio Giustiniani. Thou wilt not forget that thou +comest of a house which has held honors in Church and State. May this +day be memorable for Venice and for thee!" + +The influences of their surroundings were strong upon them both; but the +young fellow, in his bounding life, craved something more than this +formal induction into the official life of his sumptuous state--he +longed to feel the human throb beneath it, that the sense of its weight +might be lifted; but he could not find his voice until they had passed +through the loggia and reached the chambers of the _Avvogadori_, where +sat the keepers of the Golden Book. + +He stretched out his hand wistfully and touched the elder man. + +"Father!" he cried, in a voice not well controlled. And again, more +steadily, though no answer came, "Father, I will not forget!" + +The finding of his name among the birth records of the nobles of Venice, +the registration witnessed by the three solemn Avvogadori,--those +officers of the law whose rulings in their department were +inexorable,--the act of confirmation before the Imperial Senate, +whither, in grave procession, they immediately fared, preceded by the +sacred "Libro d'Oro," upon which the oath of allegiance was sworn with +bended knee--the ceremony was soon over, and Marcantonio stood enrolled +among the ruling body of the great Republic. + +As they returned through the splendid halls of the palace, Giustinian +paused frequently to exchange a greeting with some old senator who came +forward to welcome the young noble to the grave circle of rulers, and +they were followed with glances of interest as they passed through the +Piazza. For it was whispered in the _Broglio_ that there were +reasons--valid and patriotic, as were all the arguments of Venice--for +the fact that no member of that ancient and loyal house had worn the +highest honor of the state. "_The Ca' Giustiniani was too old, too +wealthy, too influential--too much a part of Venice itself_." + +"Like the Orseoli!" said Morosini Morosini, who was a friend of the +Giustiniani, and who, like many another strong-brained Venetian, knew +the taste of unsatisfied longings, yet kept a brave heart for the +records of the Republic. And as he spoke there came to some of them who +knew their annals well a stinging memory of the tale--which was no +legend--of that pathetic group in their island sanctuary--the brothers +who were left, after the death of Otto, the exiled Doge, and of Orso, +the noble bishop-prince, all of the house of Orseoli, who, with their +abbess-sister Felicia, were wounded to the heart because for the crime +of too great love and service the jealous and unrequiting Senate had +banished them forever from the Venice so loyally served--had decreed the +extinction of a family to whom, as Doge and Patriarch, the Republic owed +the wisest and most self-sacrificing of her rulers! + +"Nay," said another speaker quickly, a friend to Morosini the +historian--for the Broglio had been known to have a voice as well as +ears, and the subject was a dangerous one, not honorable to +Venice--"Nay, there are no Orseoli. But it is for honor to the +Giustiniani that none hath been chosen for the Serenissimo. He is +strong, grave, and very silent; but most wise in council, most prudent +in resource. He is needed among the _Savii_." + +"And the coronation oath hath grown over straight since the days of the +Michieli," responded Morosini. "The Giustinian is not a man for our +_promissione_ which, verily, fitteth ill with the dignity of our +Prince--a man of spirit may well find it hard to assume the beretta +under such restrictions!" + + + +IX + +With the nonchalance that concealed a skill all Venetian the gondoliers +of the Giustiniani guided them gracefully through the floating craft +moored to the stakes which rose in sheafs before their palace, +announcing the colors of their noble house. Barges bearing flowers and +decorations for the fête, fruits and game, were unloading on the broad +marble steps, and through the wrought open-work of the splendid gates a +scene of activity was disclosed in the nearer court which served as an +office for the various departments of the household; while the +house-master had come down the steps from his cozy lodge beside the +entrance, and stood dispensing orders to a group of eager domestics. + +In the deep shadow of the entrance-court the open one, through which the +light streamed radiantly, seemed far distant, and when the great bell +sent clanging echoes from court to court, gondoliers in undress +liveries, who were lazily lounging and chatting, sprang to a show of +activity over all those finishing touches of polish and nicety which had +been achieved long before; and the lithe figures coming and going, +throwing themselves into graceful attitudes over their semblance of +labor, exchanging joyous sallies in anticipation of the evening's +revelry, awoke a contagious merriment. Marcantonio rallied from the +heaviness of the morning and felt young again, as he yielded to their +influence and wandered among them, tossing compliments and repartees +with Venetian freedom. + +In the midst of this harmless trifling the voice of Giustinian +Giustiniani sounded sternly. + +"Marcantonio, these ancient arms have been burnished in honor of this +day; I have a moment to remind thee of their history--if thou hast +forgotten." + +He was calling from across the open court, where the sunshine seemed +suddenly less, and Marcantonio hastened to respond. + +The seneschal called for lights, for the workmanship of these heirlooms +was too fine to be appreciated in the gloom which pervaded the far inner +court; two or three iron lanterns were brought and hung up, and +link-boys flashed flaring torches upon the pieces on the wall near which +their master stood. + +"Surely thou dost recall this breastplate of the General Taddeo +Giustiniani, who forced the Austrians to surrender Trieste, when Venice +laid siege to the city in 1369? It was wrought in the East, no doubt, +and the inlaying is of gold and precious; but not for this do we keep it +chained. It is a priceless jewel in the history of our house, for +Trieste meant much for Venice." + +He raised the heavy chain that fastened it, and the links fell, +clanging, against the stones of the wall; for this hall, which served as +an armory, was like a prison in its construction,--as strong and as +forbidding,--and here, among the ancestral relics, were kept the arms +which every nobleman, by Venetian law, was required to hold in readiness +to equip his household against uprisings of the populace, who were, by +this same law, debarred these means of self-defense. + +At a sign from the Senator a young squire came forward, proudly bearing +a sword with a jeweled hilt, in an intricately wrought scabbard. +Giustinian drew it from its sheath, displaying a blade exquisitely +damascened with acanthus foliage, as he turned to his son. + +"This is especially thine own," he said, "in honor of this day--thy +maiden sword. So far as the handiwork of Cellini may make it worthy of a +son of our house, it hath been worthily chosen for thee. Yet, unless +thou leavest it to those who come after thee, enriched by the name of a +Giustinian who hath wrought of his best for Venice, it will be all +unworthy of a place among these trophies." + +The torch-bearers flashed their lights over it, and the squires of the +household pressed forward to admire it, but Giustinian cut short the +enthusiastic chorus of the young men-at-arms and Marcantonio's eager +words of appreciation, crossing the sombre hall with stately steps; for +to his mind this important day held many ceremonies yet unfulfilled, and +the pomp with which he chose to surround them was not a circumstance to +be dilated on. + +"This," he said, as he touched a quaint dagger, "belonged to thine +ancestor, Marco Giustiniani, Ambassador to the Scaglieri; there were +other envoys of our name in other Italian provinces, in England and the +Papal Court, for we have been great in statescraft as well as in war. +But I wrong thee in _seeming_ to think thou knowest not the history of +thine house. Perhaps, in these latter days, a man may best distinguish +himself in statesmanship, for the mind is a weapon not to be +slighted--when it is builded with strength, sharpened with careful use, +and so wielded"--his gaze fell full upon Marcantonio for a weighty +moment--"so wielded that it hath no pliancy save at the will of its +owner. For sometimes it chanceth"--again he paused for a moment--"that a +mind hath more masters than one, and Venice brooks no rival." + +His father had been pointing out one heirloom after another while he +spoke, and the pauses which Marcantonio found irritating, because they +seemed to indicate hidden meanings to be unraveled, might proceed only +from his effort to carry several trains of thought at once; but it was a +habit of the elder Giustinian which held not a less share in the +education of his son because it was distasteful to him. + +To-day the young patrician almost resented this persistent marshaling of +the shades of his ancestors, though at heart he was proud of them, and +the prestige and luxury of his surroundings suited him well; but he +chafed under his father's scrutiny, which, it seemed to him, unveiled +the differences of their temperaments to an almost indecorous degree. +The thought of Marina was tingling in his pulses, but he would not yield +it up until the propitious moment came; and the strong consciousness of +this sweet new queenship made the constant assertion of the sovereignty +of Venice not easy to endure. But the remembrance of his vow of +allegiance, just rendered before the Senate, returned to him rather as +the public investiture of his rights as a man than as a claim of +self-surrender; and he vowed to himself to use that right, in all +possible conflict between himself and the Republic, in questions +personal and dear; for the pleasant freedom of his life thus far had +left him less in awe of the senatorial majesty than Giustinian +Giustiniani would have deemed possible. But how could he hope to win his +father's consent to any unpatrician alliance! + +He passed the elder Giustinian hastily and paused beyond the next group +of armor--battered breastplates, casques, and shields of the twelfth +century--but his thoughts were elsewhere. + +"These," said the Senator, inexorably recalling him, "were of the famous +siege of Lepanto, where, but for the favor of the Holy Father, our house +had been extinct." + +The young fellow's soul stirred within him, for he knew the story well. +How was it possible for a Giustinian to pause before this great stand of +antique trophies of prowess and not call to mind visions of heroism and +suffering in which the Giustiniani of those days--_every one who +belonged to Venice_--had yielded up his life in this great struggle with +the Turks! + +Yes, every one who belonged to Venice. For the young Nicolò, the last +survivor of their ancient name, was already set apart from the world by +his priestly vows, amid the quiet groves of the island of San Nicolò. It +was a pretty romance--all those noble councillors, trembling from fear +of the extinction of this most ancient and princely house, framing +humble petitions to the Holy Father; the youthful monk, leaving the +tranquil solitude of his island sanctuary, unfrocked with honor by a +Pope's decree, to don the crimson robe of senator and wed the daughter +of the Doge! And later, when sons and daughters many had risen up to +call them blessed, the old haunting charm of the convent reasserting +itself, the return of the Giustinian--this solitary link between the +long lines of his noble house, before and after--to his lonely cell on +San Nicolò; the retirement of the Lady Anna from the sweet motherhood of +her home to reign as Lady Abbess in the convent of Sant' Elenà; the +nimbus of sainthood for the pair when their quiet days were closed--it +was a pretty story, leading easily to thoughts of Marina. + +"To-morrow," said Giustinian Giustiniani, as if in answer to his +thoughts, "at dawn of day, there will be Mass in the capello Giustiniani +on Sant' Elenà; and later we must visit the shrines of San Nicolò and +San Lorenzo. For in the Church also we have had our part. A Giustinian +was first Patriarch of Venice; a saint was father to our else broken +line--we have had our share in Church and State, and it behooves a +member of the Consiglio to remember the honors of his house." + +He stood for a moment looking up at the shield on which were blazoned +the arms of the Giustiniani, as if he missed something that should have +been there; then, slowly turning back to the central court, now flooded +with sunshine, he began the ascent of the grand stairway which led to +the banqueting hall. The gleaming marble panels bore a fretwork of +sculptured foliage with symbols entwined--the mitre, the cross, the +sword--in richest Renaissance; but in all the decorations of this lordly +palace, of the most ancient of the Venetians, not once did the mighty +Lion of St. Mark appear. + +When they had reached the landing opening into the banquet hall the +Senator, turning in the direction of his own apartments, released his +son with a motion of his hand toward the great, splendid chamber from +which issued ripples of girlish laughter; and Marcantonio stood for a +few moments under the arches which opened into it, looking on +unobserved, for here it seemed that the fête was already reigning. + +The noble maidens who attended the Lady Laura, fresh and charming, were +knotting loops of ribbon in pendant garlands or grouping flowers in +great vases between the columns which crossed the chamber from end to +end--darting up the stairway to the gallery to alter a festoon in +garland or brocade. Sallies of laughter, snatches of song, and pelting +of flowers, like a May-day frolic, made the work long in the doing, but +full of grace; and now and again, as if any purpose were wearying for +such light-hearted maidens, they dropped their garlands and glided over +the polished floor, twining and untwining their arms--a reflex in active +life, and not less radiant, of the nymphs of Bassano on the painted +ceiling, between those wonderful, gilded arabesques of Sansovino. + +There was a little shriek of discomfiture as they suddenly perceived the +young lord of the day, but the Contessa Beata Tagliapietra came saucily +toward him as he was escaping. + +"The Lady Laura hath charged me to ask the Signor Marcantonio whether +the garlands be disposed according to his liking." + +She swept him a mocking reverence, so full of grace and coquetry that +the maidens all flocked back from their hiding-places to see how the +young signor would receive it. + +"I know not which pleaseth me best," he answered lightly; "the grace of +the garlands, or the grace of the dance, or the grace of the _damigelle_ +who have so wrought for the beauty of this fête. Nay, I may not enter, +for the Lady Laura will await my coming." + +"Is this day then so full of gravity that one may not steal a moment to +dance at one's own fête, Signer Consiglière?" she retorted, mockingly. + +But the Lady Laura herself was coming toward them, with slow, stately +steps, hiding her impatience--for the morning had seemed long. + +At sight of her Marcantonio bent his knee with the knightly homage still +in vogue, and gave his hand to conduct her to her boudoir. + +"Signer Consiglière,"--she began, with a stately congratulation, when +they were quite alone in her own boudoir; she had been planning, during +the long morning, a speech that should be of a dignity to suit so great +an occasion, but the words died away upon her lips; for once she forgot +Venice and the Ca' Giustiniani, and the mother was uppermost. She folded +her arms about him closely, and rested her head upon his shoulder in +delicious abandon. + +"Marco, my boy!" she murmured. + +His heart overflowed to her in unaccustomed endearments, so rarely did +she express any emotion, and to-day the rebound from the morning's +repression filled him with hope and gladness. All fear of winning her +aid was lifted. "_Madre mia_!" he cried, his face radiant with +happiness. + +"This day is not as other days," she said, half in apology for her +weakness, as she recovered herself. + +"I have a gift for thee, madre mia; let me bring it." + +"I need no gift, Marco; for now hast thou everything before thee--every +honor that Venice may offer to a Venetian of the Venetians! Forget it +not, my Marco." + +But he had already flown from her, with impatient, lover's footsteps. +Now that the moment had come he could not wait. + +"Mother!" he cried, with shining eyes, as he placed the costly case upon +a table and drew her gently toward it. + +She stood in mute astonishment before the faultless gift, this perfect +bit of Beroviero crystal,--opalesque and lucent, reflecting hidden +rainbow tints, enhanced by the golden traceries delicate and +artistic--the beautiful young face framed in those sea-gems dear to the +Venetian heart, each pearl a study of changing light. + +"There is none like it in Venice!" she exclaimed; "nor hath there ever +been. Thou hast treated me like a queen, my Marco!" + +"I wished it so," he answered impatiently, for he could not wait. "And +the face----" + +"Never hath there been a more exquisite! It is the Titian's work?" + +"Nay, of the Veronese; for the goblet is of mine own designing. And the +master, for my sake, hath spent himself upon the face." + +"He will be here to-night, and we will thank him," she answered +graciously. "And for thee--thou hast excelled thyself." + +But Marcantonio answered nothing to her praise; his eyes were fixed upon +the miniature of the Veronese. + +"If Paolo Cagliari findeth none so beautiful among the noble damigelle +who will grace thy fête to-night as this face which he hath painted, we +will forgive him," she said playfully. "But thee, Marco, we will not +forgive. The time hath come when thou shouldst choose; thy father and I +have spoken of this." + +She came close to him and folded his hand caressingly. "The Contessa +Beata Tagliapietra hath a wonderful charm; and there is the Lady +Agnesina Contarini--a face for a Titian!" + +"Mother! I pray thee----" Marcantonio interrupted. + +"Nay, Marco--to-day it is fitting; for thy wedding should follow soon +upon this fête. Thou art no longer a boy, and Venice looks to us to help +thee choose a fitting bride; for there is none other of this generation +of thy name, and thou,--I will not hide it from thee since thou needest +heartening,--thou wilt be a fortunate wooer with these maidens, or--or +elsewhere. But my little Beata is charming-----" + +"Mother," said Marcantonio, flushing like a boy, yet drawing himself up +proudly, "I have already crowned her who shall be my bride with pearls; +and for her face--thou hast named it exquisite." Then, unbending, he +threw his arms around her and kissed her on the forehead. + +The Lady Laura stood as if petrified. + +"I know her not," she said, when she could speak. "Name her to me." Her +voice was hard and strained. + +"Do not speak so, madre mia! Love her--she is so charming! And she will +not come to me unless thou love her too." + +"How, then--if she is thy bride?" The words seemed to choke her. + +"Nay, but my _chosen_ bride--holding my vows with my heart; yet, unless +thou plead with me for my happiness she will not wed me--she is so +proud." + +"Name her," the Lady Laura repeated, unbending slightly. + +"Marina Magagnati." + +She stood listening, as if more were to follow, then she shook her head. +"I know not the name, unless--but it is not possible! She is not of +Venice, then?" + +"A Venetian of the Venetians, my mother, with the love of Venice in her +soul--but not----" + +"Marcantonio, explain thine enigma! How should there be a name of all +our nobles unknown to me?" + +"There are nobles of the 'Libro d'Oro,' my mother, and--nobles of the +people, and she is of these." + +"How canst thou name a mesalliance to me--Marcantonio Giustiniani, +Nobile di Consiglio--on this day, when thou hast given thy vows to +Venice! Thou dost forget the traditions of thine house." + +"Nay, mother; Venice and the Ca' Giustiniani I am not likely to forget," +he answered, with sudden bitterness. "One thing--quite other--am I much +more likely to forget; but for this have I sworn, that which my heart +teaches me for noble will I do, and she whom I love will I wed--or none +other." + +"Marco!" the word seemed a desperate appeal. + +"That do I swear upon this sword which my father hath given me to prove +my knighthood--'to enrich,' he hath said, 'the records of our house.' +And thou wilt help me, my mother, for I love thee!" His voice had grown +tender and pleading again. + +"I also love thee, Marco," she answered more gently, for none could +resist his voice when this mood was upon him; "but I may not help thee +to undo thyself and forget the honor of thine house." + +"Mother," said Marcantonio, sternly, "charge me with no unknightly deed! +To love Marina is to love a woman nobler than any of thy maidens; thou +knowest her not. I would bring her to thee to win thee, but she will not +come. It is thou, she saith, who must send her sign of favor." + +"I fear me it must be long in going, my Marco; yet I love thee well. How +should I send my favor to a daughter of the people!" + +"Those are the words of Marina Magagnati." + +"She is wise then; she will help thee to forget." + +"The vow of a Giustinian is never broken; that hast thou taught me, my +mother, from the legends of our house. This sword, upon which I have +sworn it, I lay at thy feet. Bid me raise it in token of thy favor and +of thine aid in this one thing which I ask of thee." + +They stood looking into each other's faces, her pride melting under the +glow of the beautiful new strength in the face of the son whom she had +thought so yielding; yet it was she who had striven to teach him +knightliness. + +She hesitated,--"If I cannot aid thee, what wilt thou do?" + +"I must wait and suffer," he said; "for Marina will not yield." + +"It is new for a maiden of the people to know such pride," she answered, +scornfully. + +"It is because none are like her, and her soul is beautiful as her face! +My mother, there are none prouder in all this palace; the little +Contessa Beata is a _contadina_ beside her! Yet, it is not pride, I +think, but love and care for my happiness," he added, grown suddenly +bold. "She will not come to bring me sorrow; and she hath said that my +duty being to Venice, she can wed me only with the consent of our house. +And Messer Magagnati----" + +"There is a father, then, who would treat with thee?" + +"Mother--use not that tone; thou dost not understand! Ask the Veronese. +Messer Magagnati knows not of this; for so tenderly doth his daughter +care for him that, to save him pain of knowing that she suffers for lack +of thy welcome, she hath not told him. Shall the Veronese plead with +thee better than thine own son? For he knoweth the maiden well; and the +father, who is most honorably reported in Venice for the wonder of his +discoveries in his industry of glass. He is of the people--of the +'original citizens'--for of the days before the _serrata_[1] hath his +family records; but he might well be of the Signoria, so grave he is and +full of dignity. And his name is old--_Mother_!" + + [1] An important constitutional act, limiting the aristocracy to those + families who had at that period, sat in the Council; always referred + to as an era in Venetian history. + +"Nay, Marco, lift thy sword; how should it lie there for lack of thy +mother's favor? I will not have thee suffer, if I can give thee aid. But +one may suffer in other ways--quite other--which thou hast no knowledge +of, for to thee there seemeth to be, in all the world, nothing worthy +but this wish of thine! But it is no promise; one must ponder in so +great a matter, my boy!" + +They broke down in each other's arms, clasping the sword between them. + +The Senator's firm step resounded on the marble floor; they had scant +time to recover themselves; but his eyes fell at once upon the +magnificent goblet, and there was pleasure in his stern face. + +"This, then, is of thy designing, Marcantonio," he exclaimed, as he +stooped to examine it in its case of satin and velvet. "A veritable +gift-piece! And already thou hast won the favor of the Senate, since it +hath been reported to them by our Chief of the Ten, who hath the +industries of Murano in charge, that at the exhibit given yestere'en a +goblet more sumptuous than that prepared for his Majesty of France was +of thy designing. The Secretary will bring thee this night a summons +from the Ten to appear before them on the morrow to receive their +congratulations, because of the inspiration thou hast given to our most +valued industry. + +"It is a rare mark of favor that it hath been confided to me," +Giustinian continued, still examining the goblet with pride, "since +custom doth require that one should withdraw from the sitting of the +Council when any matter touching his house is treated. But Morosini, by +grace of the Signoria, hath been with me for a moment, that there may be +no misgivings of fear upon this fête-day of our house. And to-night this +summons to favor shall be presented, to honor the youngest member of the +Consiglio. Marcantonio, I am proud of thee; the Ten will be here--every +one! And verily the goblet is beautiful. It shall be well displayed in +the great banquet hall." + +"Here, in my boudoir, where my boy hath placed it," said the mother +quickly, as the Senator would have lifted it, "since it is my gift. And, +Marco"--She turned to him a face softened and beautified by the +struggle, which had been very great, and her eyes were deep with a light +which bound him to her forever. + +"Marco mio, it shall be well displayed. For I will bid my maidens circle +this table whereon it rests with a wreath of roses--white and very +beautiful--in token of thy mother's favor." + + + +X + +Marina, under the yellow glare of the lamp in the dark oak cabinet, +worked fitfully, with broken, lifeless strokes, at the designs before +her; while her father, feigning absorption in some new drawings which +lay spread out within touch of his strong-veined hands, watched her +furtively from the other side of the table. + +"Thou art restless," he said, suddenly and sternly; "what aileth thee?" + +Her lip quivered, but she did not look up, while with an effort she +steadied the movement of her hand and continued her work. "My hand hath +no cunning to-night, and it vexeth me, my father." + +"It is poor work when the heart is lacking," he answered, in a tone +charged with irritation. "I also have seen a thing which hath taken my +heart from me." + +The color deepened in her cheeks and the pencil strokes came more +falteringly, but she answered nothing. + +"Nay, then!" he exclaimed, more brusquely than his wont, as he stretched +out his hand and arrested her movement. "What I have to say to thee +importeth much." + +She flushed and paled with the struggle of the moment, then a beautiful +calm came over her face; she laid down her pencil and, quietly dropping +her hands in her lap, she turned to him with a smile that might have +disarmed an angrier man--it was full of tenderness, though it was +shadowed by pain. + +It relaxed his sternness, and, after a moment's hesitation, he came +around the table and sat down beside her. + +"To-night is the fête at Ca' Giustiniani, for the young noble of their +house." + +He waited for her to speak, but she did not tremble now, though he was +searching her face. + +"Yes, father, I know." + +"And, Marina--I do not understand--and it is a grief to me----" + +She nestled to him closely and tried to slip one of her slender hands +between his, which were tightly strained together in a knotted clasp, as +if he would make them the outlet for some unbearable emotion. + +The previous evening was the first they had not passed together since +the death of Zuanino; her father had sent her word that he had matter +which would occupy him alone, and all day Marina had been heavy-hearted, +going at matins and at vespers quite alone to the Madonna at the Duomo, +that she might take comfort and counsel. + +Girolamo did not respond to her caress, though his tone softened a +little as he proceeded with his tale and her arm stole round him. + +"Yesterday, at the stabilimento Beroviero, we were summoned by a call of +our Capo of the Ten to witness the approval that should be passed on the +exhibit of that stabilimento; we all, of the Guild of Murano, were there +as always. And foremost among the productions, most marvelous for +beauty, was a fabric of their lucent crystal--thou knowest it, Marina? +My child--how came thy face there? _Thy_ face, Marina--set round with +lustrous pearls!" + +He folded her to his breast with sudden passion, and stooped his head to +her shoulder for an instant, lifting it quickly that she might not feel +the sobbing of his breath which, even more than his broken words, +betrayed his anguish. + +"Dearest father, it was because I loved thee so much that I would not +have thee suffer from my pain, that I told thee not. Never again will I +hold aught from thee." + +"Thy pain, Marina? and thy face--and for the young noble, Giustiniani? I +do not understand." + +"Father, because I could grant him nothing and he would give me +everything, and because--because God sent the love and the Madonna hath +made me feel that it would be sweet, I granted him only this--my +portrait--because he pleaded so one could not resist; and because he +said it would win the consent of all to see that he treated me like a +queen!" + +"Nay; one comes not in secret to steal the love of a queen." + +"My father," answered the maiden proudly, for he had drawn away from +her, "there is no stealing of that which I would gladly yield him, if it +were thy pleasure and that of the Ca' Giustiniani! And there would have +been no secret; but I--to spare thee pain of knowing that I suffered--I +would not let him come to plead with thee." + +"Why shouldst thou suffer?" + +"It is hard to lose thy love when only I told thee not because I would +spare thee pain! Father--I have only thee!" Her courage broke in a quick +sob. + +"Nay, then--nay, then," he faltered softly, stroking her bowed head; "he +is no man to love, if he would let thee suffer; he should take +thee--before them all--if he would be worthy----" + +The low, intense, interrupted words were a brave surrender. + +"Ay, my father, it is like Marco to hear thee speak!" + +"Then let him come and make thee Lady of the Giustiniani, like a true +knight!" exclaimed the old man fiercely. + +"Ay, father, so would he; but I have told him that thou and I are not +less proud than those of his own house, and without their consent it may +not be." + +"Nay, I care not for their house--only for thy happiness; he shall wed +thee, and my home is thine; I have enough for thee and him; he shall not +make thee suffer." + +They were close together now, father and daughter--a beautiful group in +the yellow lamplight against the dark background that surrounded them +like an impassible fate; her face was a study of happiness, tenderness, +suffering, and strength; her father wrapped her close in his protecting +arms, and thus she could bear everything. They were silent for a while: +he trying to accept the revelation in its strangeness, she planning how +she should make him understand. + +"I am glad thou knowest it, dear father," she said at length, very +softly. "I have thy love--I can bear everything." + +"Nay, thou shalt have nothing to bear! Thou shalt be Lady of the +Giustiniani--what means the portrait else?" + +"It is like Marco again!" she cried, with a little pleased laugh. "He +said--because I would make him no promise until all consented--that he +would take me thus before all the world, and that should make them +consent." + +"Nay, let him come out from his house and take thee! I also, of the +people, bear an ancient name, and I have kept it honorable. Pietro, the +earliest master of our beautiful art, was thine ancestor. The Giustinian +stoops not in taking thee." + +"He is noble enough to be thy son, my father--and chivalrous as +thou--but we are too noble to let him do aught unbefitting his noble +house; for thou knowest the Giustiniani are like princes in Venice, and +Marco is their only son. He oweth duty to the Republic; and this day, in +the Ducal Palace, hath he sworn his oath of allegiance." + +"First should it have been to thee!" + +"Ay, first it was to me," she answered serenely; "he would not have it +otherwise; it is only _my_ promise that is lacking. This will I not give +until the Giustiniani make me welcome, or there would be no happiness +for Marco. He shall not lose, in loving me. The Signor Giustinian +Giustiniani is so stern--and one of the Chiefs--I would not vex him and +bring down the displeasure of the Ten; I would bring my Marco +happiness--not pain." + +"Oh, the courage of young hearts!" the old man exclaimed with a thrill +of pride and amazement. "Never had Giustinian a prouder bride. And +already thou hast won my heart for this lover of thine, who hath hope +of taking thee from thy old father, yet stays at thy bidding." + +"He hath said that he would be here ere the fête began," she answered +timidly, "since already, through the portrait, thou must know the truth; +and it would seem unknightly, or as if he feared thy displeasure, if he +came not this day to pay thee his duty. Father, methinks there is +already a stir below----" + +"Thou shouldst make thyself brave!" her father exclaimed, with a quick, +anxious glance at her simple home toilette. "He will pass from thee to +many noble ladies in the palazzo Giustiniani--all in bravery of +festival." + +"Nay, my father, so he found me; I would not hold him by devices, of +which I know naught. There will be much to suffer, and these trifles +cannot enter into anything so deep and real. I would rather he should +change to-day--if he could be light enough to change. Besides," she +faltered, with a quick, charming blush, "I think it is already his step +without; and to-night he will have so few moments to spare me--Marco!" + +Coming forward through the shadow of the doorway, the young +noble--deferent, masterful, unrenouncing--was a suitor not easily to be +baffled by any claims of Venice. + +Girolamo turned quickly to his child, then looked away, for her face +made a radiance in the room; he, her father, who had loved her through +all the days of her maiden life with a great tenderness, had never known +the fullness of her beauty until now; the soft folds of the simple robe +flowing away from her into the surrounding shadow left the pure young +charm of her head and face in luminous relief, as the brilliant young +noble, in embroidered velvet and silken hose and jeweled clasps--a type +of sumptuous modern day Venice--stepped forward into the little circle +of light, bowing before her with courtly deference. + +The vision of those youthful faces made it easy to forget the outward +contrast--a mere accident of birth. + +Girolamo Magagnati had promised himself that he would be a true knight +to his beloved child; he would question and prove this bold young noble +who claimed, with such presumption, so great a prize--not humbly suing, +as he should have done; he would make him tremble and wait; he should +learn that his daughter was not to be the more easily won because she +was of the people! Then, with the fullness of his vow upon him, and with +a heart loving indeed, but brave as proud, he had raised his eyes and +beheld a vision in which neither nobles nor people held part--only a +maiden, glorified by her love and trust; and a lover--prince or peasant +it mattered not--for on his face it was luminously written that in all +the world there was for him none other than she. And the vision, like an +apprehension of Truth--rare and very beautiful--conquered Girolamo, +because he was strong enough to yield. + +"It is but a moment that I have for this dearest claim of the day," said +Marcantonio Giustiniani, turning to the older man with winning courtesy; +"and sooner should I have come to the father of Marina to crave the +grace I cannot do without, but that she bade me tarry. Yet now--she +herself hath spoken?" + +He looked from one to the other questioningly. + +"There are no secrets between us," Girolamo answered with dignity, while +weighing some words that should welcome his daughter's suitor with +discretion and reserve. + +But the maiden broke in timidly: "And he is not angry, Marco mio!" + +"Nay, my favor is for him who truly honors my daughter and proves +himself worthy; for her happiness is dear to me. But the difficulties +are great, as she herself hath told me." + +"A little time and there shall be none!" cried Marcantonio, joyously. +"For to-day, when first I have taken my seat in the Council, not more +solemnly have I sworn allegiance to the Republic than I would pray +Messer Magagnati to bear me witness that Marina--and none other--will I +wed!" + +"Give him thy hand, my daughter, for thy face confesseth thee; and +to-day his lady should grant him so much grace." + +"Yet, Marco--for thy sake--I make no vows to thee. Only this will I tell +thee," she added, in a voice that was very soft and low, as he sealed +his lover's vow on her fluttering hand. "For me, also, there is no +other!" + +"And I bring thee a '_boccolo_,' Marina, since thou art of the people +and wouldst have me remember all thy traditions," he cried gaily. "Yet +this one hath a fragrance like none other that hath ever blossomed on +the festa of San Marco--my blessed patron!--for I culled it from the +garland which my mother bade her maidens for a token make about the +table where thy portrait is displayed." + +He raised the rosebud to his lips before he placed it in her hand. + +"And the Senator Giustinian Giustiniani?" Girolamo questioned, in his +grave, deep voice, concealing his triumph. + +But Marcantonio had already answered to the timid question of Marina's +eyes, with a ringing tone of assurance. + +"And for my father--we must have courage!" + + + +XI + +The summons from the Ten had been presented with ceremony on the night +of the fête at Ca' Giustiniani, and Marcantonio was grateful for the +strong support of Paolo Cagliari's friendly presence, as they went +together to the Sala di Collegio in the Ducal Palace; for this seemed to +the young noble an opportunity, that might never come again, of +presenting his petition to ears not all unfavorable; and there was a +thrill of triumph in the thought that his maiden speech before this +august body should be his plea for Marina's admission to the favor of +the Signoria. Already fortune had been kind to him beyond his hopes, +and, with the daring of youth, he was resolved to claim the possible. +The Veronese alone knew of his intention, and as to his father--he could +only put him out of his thoughts. If the Senate listened to his petition +there would be no difficulties, but he would not weaken his courage by +any previous contest, unavailing as it must be. + +Meanwhile there was the remembrance of the roses of the Lady +Laura--fragrant with her great renunciation. + +The honor of this summons was reflected in the increased dignity of the +elder Giustinian, and in a tinge of urbanity new to him, as he parted +from Paolo Caghari and Marcantonio, who remained standing on the floor +of the hall, to take his seat among the senators in the seats running +around the chamber, as on the previous day, instead of the one +rightfully his own among the higher Council who were to pronounce the +laudatory words. + +The industries of Murano had always been dear to the senatorial heart, +but of late years the fostering care of the Republic had been increased +to an unprecedented degree, and the stimulus thus given to the workmen +of Murano had been evidenced in a series of brilliant discoveries, so +that the marvel of their fabrics had become as much a source of jealousy +to other nations as of revenue and pride to the Republic. + +Thus the affair of this gift-piece of crystal was deemed of quite +sufficient importance to occupy the attention of the senators, who +prepared themselves to listen with every symptom of interest to this +report of the exhibit of Murano, which had been read on the previous day +before the Ten. + +It had chanced before that these reports had been followed by words of +commendation, but it had rarely happened that a young noble had been +summoned before the Collegio to receive such a testimonial, and the +occasion lost none of its interest from the fact that many of those +present had witnessed the presentation of the summons in the banquet +hall of the palazzo Giustiniani. + +The famous goblet, by order of the Senate, was also present, as a proof +that the laudatory words pronounced by the Secretary of the Ten at the +close of the report were well deserved. + +It was not often that a member won distinction on the day of his +entrance to the Gran' Consiglio; the favor shown by the Senate was +great; the position of the Ca' Giustiniani among the proud Venetian +nobility was beyond question; and some of the fathers of the young and +noble ladies who had graced the banquet watched the young Giustinian +with a quite personal interest. + +"It was time," they said, "that the handsome young patrician should +choose a bride." + +"And once before, in the history of the Republic, as now," suggested +another, "there was but one of the Ca' Giustiniani." + +There was a sympathetic and ominous shaking of heads, for the story was +well known. + +"But to none of those golden-haired maidens who danced at his fête would +he show favor, though upon his birthnight. And when the Lady Beata had +asked him shyly why he wore a white rose in his doublet, he had told her +saucily, 'The meaning of the flower is _silence_.'" + +These and other trifles bearing upon the ceremony of the morning were +discussed in pleasant asides, while the report had been read and the +note of approval had been proclaimed to Marcantonio, who dropped the arm +of his friend and came forward to receive it. + +"My Lords of the Senate, the Collegio and most Illustrious Ten!" he +responded, with a courtly movement of deference which included them all, +"I thank you! In that it graciously pleaseth you to bestow upon me your +favor for a trifle of designing which was the pastime of an hour, and +made for the pleasure of the giving in homage to the noble Lady Laura +Giustiniani. But the praise of it should not be mine; it is rather to +the stabilimento which hath shown perfection in its workmanship. But +first to him, the master, who hath given it its crowning grace. I pray +you, let me share the unmerited honor of this commendation with Paolo +Cagliari, _detto Veronese_, without whom my little had been nothing!" + +The chivalry and grace of the young noble elicited a murmur of +approbation, as he courteously indicated his friend. + +The Veronese, to whom this _dénouement_ was unexpected, and who had long +since been crowned with highest honors by the Republic, did not move +forward, but, acknowledging the tribute of his pupil with a genial +smile, he stood with folded arms, unembarrassed and commanding, scanning +the faces of the assembly, well pleased with the effect produced by the +words of Marcantonio, whom, at all hazards, he intended to befriend. He +realized that the atmosphere might never be so favorable. + +"The crowning grace of that goblet, my Lords of Venice," he said boldly, +"is lent it by the face of the most beautiful maiden it hath ever been +my fortune to paint--than whom Venice hath none more charming." + +There was a murmur of surprise from the younger nobles, who were +standing in groups about the hall of the Gran' Consiglio; they had +supposed the face to be merely a dainty conceit of the artist's fancy, +and those nearest gathered about the case with sudden interest. + +But the face of Marcantonio betrayed him, while he stood unabashed in +the circle of the senators, though with mounting color, his hand, under +shelter of his cloak, resting upon the jeweled hilt of the sword upon +which he had sworn his first knightly vow. + +Giustinian Giustiniani rose to his feet. "Her name, Messer Paolo +Cagliari!" he thundered. + +But it was the young Giustinian who answered to the challenge--"Marina +Magagnati!" with an unconscious reverence, as he confessed his lady's +name. + +"Is no face found fair enough among all the palaces on the Canal Grande +to charm thy fastidious fancy?" cried the angry father, losing all +self-control. "It were fitter that the name of thine inamorata were +first declared elsewhere than in this presence!" + +"Not so, my father," Marcantonio replied, undaunted. "For I first would +ask a grace of our most illustrious Signoria,--the which may it indeed +please them to grant,--or never shall I bring a bride to the Ca' +Giustiniani. As I have sworn a noble's oath of allegiance to Venice, so +faithfully have I vowed to wed none other than Marina Magagnati! And it +is my father who hath taught me to hold sacred the faith of a Venetian +and a Giustinian. But my lady is not _called_ of noble blood." + +"She is daughter to Messer Girolamo Magagnati,"--it was the Veronese who +spoke,--"than whom, in all Murano, is none better reputed for the +fabrics of his stabilimento, nor more noble in his bearing; albeit, he +is of the people--as I also, Paolo Cagliari, am of the people." + +The words had a ring of scorn; the Veronese folded his arms again and +looked defiantly around him--a splendid figure, with the jeweled orders +of France and Rome and the Republic flashing on his breast. His gaze +slowly swept the faces of the assembly, then returned to rest upon the +great votive picture which filled the wall from end to end above the +Doge's throne--_his work_--like the glory of the ceiling, which declared +the artist noble by genius, if not by birth. "I also am of the people!" +he repeated, in a tone that seemed a challenge. + +"Most Illustrious Signoria!" cried Marcantonio; "once, in the history of +our Republic, hath it pleased this most gracious Senate to declare its +favor to a daughter of a master-worker of Murano, in a decree whereby it +was provided that the maid should wed a noble of most ancient house, and +if there should be children of the marriage, each name should stand +unprejudiced, with those of the nobles of Venice, in the 'Libro d'Oro.' +If I have found favor in your sight--I beseech you--that which the +Senate hath once decreed is again possible." + +The senators looked at each other in consternation, awed at the boldness +of the petition and the wit of its presentation. + +The young patrician slowly ascended the steps of the dais, and closed +his appeal with an obeisance to the Doge, full of dignity. + +The Councillors who sat beside the Doge were holding grave discussion, +for the few words of the young noble had touched upon weighty points; +they had been presented with a simplicity which veiled their diplomatic +force; he was a man of growing power who must be bound to the service +of Venice, even were he not the last of a princely line which the +Republic would fain see continued to her own latest generation. So +unabashed in such a presence, he would be tenacious of his purpose and +hold to his vow with unflinching knightliness. + +Venice and his lady were included in his sworn allegiance, and to seek +to make them rivals would be a danger for the Republic. + +Never before had appeal been made to this decree; it was not fresh in +the minds of the Savii and the six most venerated Councillors without +whose acquiescence the mandate of the Doge was powerless, and they had +listened to the bold declaration with a surprise not unmingled with +resentment, that so young a man should make, in their presence, an +assertion touching matters of State which they could neither affirm nor +deny! At a sign from one of the chancellors, one of the three +counsellors at law of the Avvogadori di Commun, who had the keeping of +the Golden Book, had been immediately summoned from adjoining chambers +in the Palace and had confirmed the statement. Such a marriage had +indeed taken place in the latter half of the fourteenth century; the +number of the decree authorizing the full nobility of the children had +been noted in the Golden Book, the original decree could therefore be +found, within the archives, upon demand of the Savii. + +The case had changed from a matter of gracious policy to one of +unquestioned importance in the minds of the gravest counsellors of the +Republic--in spite of the glamor of romance which threatened to lessen +its dignity by winning the enthusiastic support of the younger members +of the assembly and the jealous opposition of the older senators, who +were tenacious of the privileges and restrictions of the ancient +nobility of Venice. The faces of many among them were dark and +threatening. One of their number high in authority, whose seat was near +the Savii on the dais, and who was known to be of the strictest +oligarchical proclivities, risked the words, "_Remember the Serrata +Consiglio_," in a clear undertone, but was immediately repressed by a +terrible glance from more than one of the commanding Savii. + +Giustinian Giustiniani was alone kept silent by the force of conflicting +emotions which left him only strength enough to realize that he was too +angry to advise with dignity, though he was one of the Chiefs of the +Ten. He had been outwitted in the presence of the Maggior Consiglio by a +son who had shown an astuteness and courtliness of which any Venetian +father might be proud, together with a knowledge of the point upon which +he based his appeal, which required the summoning of the Avvogadori di +Commun, though it was uttered in the presence of the six supreme +Councillors of the Republic! He could not interpose to demean his +ancient lineage by consenting to this unpatrician alliance; he would not +accept the alternative for his only son--the last of the Giustiniani! +Nor could he urge a Giustinian to break a vow of honor made before the +highest tribunal of the realm. He was trembling with wrath and filled +with admiration, while he sat speechless, awaiting the issue of a +question which so deeply concerned the interests of the Ca' Giustiniani. + +The impression was profound, and a silence fell upon that magnificent +assembly through which the rulers of the ship of state seemed to hear +the throbbings of a threatened storm. They were men of power, and they +realized that it was a moment when action should be prompt and positive. + +A yellowed parchment, with the great seal of the Republic appended, was +brought in state from the adjoining chambers of the Avvogadori and laid +before the Doge, who passed it, in turn, to each of his Councillors. + +The silence was breathless. All eyes turned instinctively upon the young +noble, who had withdrawn to the side of his friend, and stood, +unconscious of their gaze, radiant with his hope of Marina. + +"Nobles of the Gran' Consiglio of our Most Serene Republic," said the +Doge at last with deep impressiveness, "this record is the original +decree of this Senate, of the fourteenth century, given under the Great +Seal of the Republic in 1357. It hath been duly laid before our +Councillors in your presence and unanimously confirmed by them. And they +do unanimously consent to this our ruling in favor of the petition which +hath this day been presented before this Council by the noble +Marcantonio, of the ancient and princely house of Giustinian. Since in +this sixteenth century our Republic, by grace of God and favor of her +Rulers, is not less enlightened than in those earlier days to perceive +when graciousness may promote her welfare, in granting favor to a noble +house which hath ever shown to Venice its valor, its discretion, its +unfailing loyalty." + +A cry of exaltation rang through the house like an electric thrill; the +senators started to their feet. + +"My life, my faith, my strength--the might of all my house for Venice!" +shouted the young Giustinian, with his sword held high above his head, +like an inspired leader. + + + +XII + +The permission of the Maggior Consiglio, under favor of this imperious +government, was equivalent to a command and a public betrothal, and for +a few ecstatic days the heir of the Ca' Giustiniani went about in a +state of exaltation too great to be aware of any home shadows--the +slumbering anger of the Capo of the Ten and an inharmonious atmosphere +wherein each was intensely conscious of an individual estimate of the +great event which touched them all so nearly. + +For suddenly the betrothal of this only son of an old patrician family +had assumed almost the proportions of a State marriage; and a young +fellow for whom time-honored observances of the realm could be set +aside, and who had won so extreme a proof of favor by his own wit and +grace, was surely a figure that might well occupy public attention. + +But the decree would soon be a state paper; it was already an accepted +fact in the halls of the Council and in the salons of the nobility, and +the disappointed great ladies from the neighboring palaces were calling, +with curious questions decorously dressed in congratulatory form. + +"When should they have the pleasure of welcoming the _new_ Lady of the +Giustiniani?" + +"Was it not true that the Lady Marina--that was to be," there was always +some little stinging emphasis in the gracious speech, "had given a +votive offering to the convent of the Servi? She was a devote +then--quite unworldly--this beautiful maiden of Murano?" + +"What a joy for the Lady Laura that so soon there would be a bride in +the Ca' Giustiniani!" + +"The Lady Laura had never been more stately," they told each other when +they entered their gondolas again, "nor more undisturbed. There were no +signs of displeasure; it must be that the lowly maid was very +beautiful." + +"Was it a thing to make one sad, to have a son who could twist the +rulers round his little finger, and break the very laws of the Republic? +Nay, but cause for much stateliness!" said a matron with two sons in the +Consiglio. + +"The bridal must be soon," said the Lady Laura to herself, as she sat +alone in her boudoir, "for the ceasing of this endless gossip." And, +because she could think of nothing else, she was already weary with the +planning of a pageant which made her heart sick. + +But Giustinian Giustiniani had no words, for the case was hopeless--only +a face of gloom, and much that was imperative to keep him in the Council +Chamber. + +For these few blissful days the lovers had heaven to themselves, +floating about at twilight on the shores of the Lido, where there were +none to trouble the clear serenity of their joy by the chilling breath +of criticism. "That white rose which I brought thee was in sign of my +mother's favor," Marcantonio reminded Marina more than once; "and for +the rest--all will be well; and for a little, we can wait." + +Ah, yes, they could wait--in such a smiling world, under a sky so +exquisite, gliding over the opal of the still lagoons at twilight. + +But old Girolamo, sure now of the decree which should number his +daughter among the patricians of this Republic where, through long +generations, his family had made their boast that they represented the +people, was in a feverish mood--grave, elated, sad by turns, unwilling +to confess to the loneliness which was beginning to gnaw at his heart, +for Marina was his life; he did not think he could live without her; he +_knew_ he could not live and see her unhappy beside him; and he was old +to learn the new, pathetic part he must play--the waiting for death, +quite alone in the old home. + +And those others,--in the sumptuous palace on the Canal Grande,--would +they prize the treasure which was the very light of his life, that he +should break his heart to yield her up? + +He could have cried aloud in his anguish, as he sat waiting for the +happy plash of the returning gondola, the princely gondola of the Ca' +Giustiniani, bringing those two before whom life was opening in a golden +vista; but as the slow ripples breaking over the water brought them +nearer, his heart girded itself again with all his chivalrous strength, +lest he should dim the glad light in his beloved one's eyes--lest he +should seem ungenerous to the brave young knight who had dared the +displeasure of his house and of the Republic for the love he bore his +daughter. + +And the shadows in that other home, the palazzo on the Canal Grande, in +these days of waiting, were colder, hasher,--born of selfishness rather +than love, of disappointed ambition perhaps,--but they were very real +shadows nevertheless, obscuring the clear-cut traditions of centuries, +out of which one should struggle through increase of pride, the other +through the broadening of a more generous love. + +Meanwhile the gondola floated in light--between shadow and shadow--so +slight is the realization of the throes by which joy is sometimes born; +and the pathos of the change which made their gladness possible was for +the two young people still an unrecognized note. + +But waiting was now over; more positive steps must be taken. Two +Secretaries had been sent from the Senate to bring the news of the +filing of the decree. + +"Madre mia!" cried Marcantonio eagerly, when they were gone; "it has +come even before our hope!" + +"Even sooner than thy hope," she echoed, feeling dreary, though he was +sitting with his arm around her, as if for a confidential talk. + +But he was too happy to interpret her tone. + +"The token!" he pleaded; "for Marina--and thou wilt come to see how +beautiful she is!" + +She looked at him searchingly. He did not mean to urge her; he seemed +too happy to understand. + +She rose and going slowly to her cabinet brought him her token--a string +of great Oriental pearls. + +"These," she said, sitting down beside her son and opening the case, +"have I made ready for thy bride, since thou wert a little lad--at one +time one pearl, at another more, as I have found the rarest lustre. Some +of these, they say, have been hidden in Venice since the time of John of +Constantinople, who left them for his ransom; it may be but a tale, yet +they are rare in tint; and I have gleaned them, Marco, since thou wert a +little lad, not knowing who should wear them--not knowing, Marco----" + +She broke off suddenly, touching the gems wistfully, endearingly, with +trembling, tapering fingers. + +He laid his firm young hand upon hers lovingly. "How good thou art, my +mother; how good to think of thy boy through all these years! But thy +pearls are superb--they will almost frighten Marina. Later thou wilt +give them to her. Mother, dearest, let me take this rose which thou hast +worn, with thy little word of love--sweet mother----" + +"They are fit for a princess, Marco," she said, still toying with the +pearls, apparently unheeding his request; "I chose them with that +thought--since they are for thy bride." + +"And she will wear them worthily," Marcantonio answered, flushing, "and +like a queen, for none hath greater dignity, else could I not have +chosen her--I, who have learned a lady's grace by thee, my mother!" + +She drew him to her with sudden emotion, for these days had been very +hard for her. "My boy--my boy! Does she love thee well for all thy faith +and devotion--for all that we are yielding her?" + +"Madre mia, thou shalt see, if thou wilt let me take thee to her!" + +"I had not thought--" she said, and stopped. "Would she not come with +thee?" + +Marcantonio walked suddenly away to a window and stepped out on the +balcony for a breath of air; he was beginning to comprehend the under +side of his great joy, and it had come with a shock, on this very day +which he had thought would have been filled with a rush of gladness. He +grasped the cool marble of the parapet and tried to reason with himself; +he suddenly foresaw that many days of reasoning had entered into his +life, and always he must be ready to meet them with cool wisdom, since +enthusiasm was one-visioned. It was like taking a vow against youth, but +he himself had chosen it for his lot in life; his love was not less to +him, but the sudden realization had come that it was hard to fight +against the traditions of centuries. Yet how bravely she, his mother, +was trying to surrender her social creed for his happiness; it was not a +little thing that he had asked of her, but it seemed to him that her +soul had been nearer to her eyes than ever before during these days when +she had been suffering. At all costs these women--his dearest in the +world--must love each other, must bless each other's lives. + +He went back with some comprehension of the barrier he had thought so +lightly to remove, with a vow in his soul to be more to each; because of +it neither should lose aught for his sake. He seemed suddenly older, +though his face was very tender. + +"That which seemeth best to thee, my mother, in the matter of the +meeting, Marina would surely do; for it is thou who must guard for us +these little matters of custom, which none knoweth better. But her +father--never have I known one more courtly, nor more proud----" + +"Marco, it is much to ask that we should think of him!" + +"Ay, mother, it is much. Yet if thou knewest him thou wouldst +understand. For Marina is all the world to him, and I would take her +from him. Yet so he loveth her that never hath he said me nay. Naught +hath he asked for her of gold nor jewels, but only this--that she shall +not come unbidden to our home." + +He spoke the last words very low and with an effort, as if they held a +prayer. + +"And so--?" + +"And so, sweet mother, none knoweth half so well as thou how best to +greet her whom I long to bring to thee, that she may know and love thee +as she doth love her father--with a great love, very beautiful and +tender." + +She looked up as if she would have answered him, but she could not +speak. + +"More than ever I think I love thee, now that I am grieving thee," he +added after a pause, in a tone so full of comprehension that it smote +her. + +"Nay, Marco--nay," she said, and drew him closer, clasping her hand in +his. But they sat quite silent, while the mother's love intensified, +displacing selfishness. + +He raised her hand to his lips with a new reverence. "In all this have I +asked so much of thee I think thou never canst forgive me, madre mia, +until--until thou knowest Marina!" + +She touched his hair with her beautiful white hand caressingly, as she +had often done when he was a little child; but now, in this sudden +deepening of her nature, with a new yearning. + +"Marco, when thou wert a babe," she said, "there was little I would not +give for thine asking. And now, when my soul is bound up in thine, I +seem not to care for the things I once sought for thee--but more for +happiness and love. Yet, if I go with thee--I seem to know thou wilt not +change to me--?" She paused, wistfully. + +"Save but to prove a truer knight!" he cried radiantly. "So more than +gracious hast thou been!" + +"Nay, it will be sweet to have part in thy happiness," she cried +bravely. "To-night, at sunset, will I go with thee, quite simply, in thy +gondola, to bid my daughter welcome--as our custom is. I will not fail +in honor to my Marco's bride! And since it is love that her father +asketh, I will give her this rose, for thy dear sake. But the bridal +must be soon, to make this endless talking cease. And before we leave +her--for she will learn to love me, Marco mio, and she will not take +thee from me?--I will give her the token that is fitting for a daughter +of our house." + + * * * * * + +Among the members of the Senate, meeting by twos and threes in the +Broglio, Marcantonio's name was often heard. "It would be well when this +marriage was over, for verily it was likely to turn the heads of +Venice--the pageant, and the beauty of the maid, and the favor of the +Collegio----" + +"Nay, not that," said an older senator, resentfully; "those are but +trifles. But the young fellow himself is the danger; too positive and +outspoken, revolutionary and of overturning methods, withal +persuasive----" + +"He would be a power in an ambassade," suggested another, "for he hath a +gift in diplomacy and law which, verily, did astound the old Giustinian. +The eloquence of his great-uncle Sebastiano hath fallen upon him.--If he +were not so young--! Here in Venice he is rolling up influence, and the +charm of his inamorata is also a danger; and already in the Consiglio +all eyes are upon him." + +"For a secretary to an ambassade is the age not set," answered the other +warily, "and the office hath space for diplomacy, which, it were better +for our privileges, were used elsewhere than in Venice. And the honor of +it would blind the eyes of his partizans--for the boy is young." + +The winds, wandering through the Piazza, sometimes blew lightest +whispers from the Broglio into the Council Chambers of the Republic; and +so it was decreed that when the beautiful wedding pageant should be +over, just as the whole of Venice would have laid itself at the feet of +the charming bride--would have made the young nobles of the palazzo +Giustiniani the idols of the hour--these dangers to Venice should be +honorably removed by the appointment of Marcantonio Giustiniani, di +Maggior Consiglio, as Secretary to the Venetian Resident in Rome, with +the gracious permission of the Senate for the Lady Marina to bear him +company. + +"It is well," answered Giustinian Giustiniani, as the Lady Laura made +her little moan on hearing of the appointment which the Senator reported +with such pride. "Marcantonio hath the head of a diplomat and the +bearing of a courtier. It is the way of distinction for such a man." + +"That is justly spoken," said the mother; "and nobly hath our boy +fulfilled our hope. In Venice, or elsewhere, must he ever win +distinction. But to keep them in their palazzo near us--of this and of +their happiness was I thinking--the sight of it is so beautiful." + +The filing of the decree of the Senate had acted like a charm upon our +Capo of the Ten: the importance thus accorded to the Ca' Giustiniani +soothed every vestige of wounded pride, while the beauty and grace of +his prospective daughter-in-law had filled him with a triumph which only +the frigid stateliness of his habitual demeanor enabled him to conceal, +so great was the revulsion from his former state of feeling. + +"I tell thee, Lady Laura," said her husband, coming nearer and speaking +low, "we may well be proud. All this trifling in art and knickknacks in +which it hath pleased the boy to spend himself, like so many of his +hose,[2] hath fluttered off from him like silken ribbons hanging +harmless in the wind, and hath left him with a head quite clear of +nonsense for the Senate's work. _That day_"--he had referred to it so +often that it had become an acknowledged division of time--"_that_ day +when he made his speech not one arose to answer him; for the cunning of +it was so simple one listened, fearing naught, until the end was +reached; and the words of it were so few that the end was a surprise; +and, lo! the Counsellors were confounded by the weight of his demand, +and the reason for the justice of it, and the wit of its +presentation--lying folded in a sentence scarce long enough for a +preamble! And the boy! Holding himself like a prince and winning them +all by his grace, as if he were a child! Nay, but I do forget he is a +man, wearing honors from his country!" + + [2] The young nobles were called "the gay company of the hose." + +"Giustinian, I fain would keep them here!" + +"That is the woman's side of it," said the Chief of the Ten, easily +dismissing her plea. "But for Marcantonio the appointment is good. When +the late-returned Ambassador to His Most Christian Majesty did render +his report before our Maggior Consiglio--an oration diplomatic and of +weight--I noted many of our graver men with eyes observing Marcantonio +closely, as they would mark how he weighed the speech of the old +diplomatist." + +"And Marco?" + +"He seemed not to take note of them. Or it may be a grace that he hath, +that he seemeth not to see; for he weareth the 'pensieri stretti e viso +sciolto'[3] meet for a Venetian councillor--age could not teach him +better to guard his thought, but it would make the wearing of his +careless face less easy. Or it may be that his mind hath space for the +speech only--one knows not! Save that all things come easily to +him--even the most beautiful bride in Venice, raised from the ranks of +the people to suit his whim!" + + [3] Close-locked thoughts and open countenance. + +"Giustinian! She will be our daughter, and none need question her +dignity and grace." + +"My Lady Laura, none knoweth better of her beauty and none so proud of +her as I, who had thought to hide my head for the disgrace of it! But +the daring of this son of ours doth make me gay! I am ready to give thee +a compliment on thy bringing up, which often I had feared was over +frivolous. And now, he hath the Republic before him, where to choose." + +"Giustinian?" + +She rested both hands on his shoulders and looked full in his eyes with +the gravity of her question which was the dream of his life, and was +often tacitly touched, when they conferred together in confidence. + +"Ay," he answered, "even that, the highest--by favor of San Marco--he +may win. For the grace of him maketh his head seem less." + +But the shadow of the coveted Lion's paw had suddenly overclouded him +and changed his mood. + + + +XIII + +When the first faint flush of dawn was waking in the east, the fair, +sweet face of Marina of Murano was outlined for the last time, vague as +some dream memory, against the deep shadows of the interior, between the +quaint columns that framed her window. + +Birds were twittering in the vines of the pergola not far away; +honeysuckles were pouring forth their fragrant morning oblations; and +the salt sea-breeze wafted her its invigorating breath as the early +tide, with slow, increasing motion, brimmed the channels that wound +through the marshes on the borders of Murano and overflowed till the +lagoon was a broad, unbroken vista of silver-gray, in whose shimmer and +radiance, when the tide was at its full, the morning stars died out. But +still they glistened dimly in the twilight of the sky to which she +raised her questioning, believing eyes. Life was always beautiful to her +loving soul; for when the shadows held a meaning deeper than she could +solve, her answer was faith; and now, that her new joy was to grow out +of a deep solitariness for the father so tenderly beloved, it was he who +upheld her courage. + +"Life may not be," he said, "without some shadow; this is the shade of +thine, which, without it, were too bright. Heaven hath some purpose in +its sending, but not that it should darken our eyes to miss the joy." + +"The day will be o'er-lonely in this home, my father." + +"Nay, Marina, let love suffice; so shall we be always together! Shall I +not go to thee? And thou wilt come to me, bringing thy new interests and +holding thy dear heart ever pure and loyal to Venice, and thy home, and +thy God--not forgetting. For thou hast chosen with thy whole heart, my +daughter?" since she had not answered. "Thou dost not fear thyself?" + +"Dearest father," she had said, hiding her face in his tender embrace, +"all of my heart which is not thine is wholly his--only my happiness is +too great." + +"Nay, daughter, since it is of God's own sending; take all the joy and +grieve not." + +"Only at leaving thee." + +"I would not keep thee here, to leave thee mourning and alone when my +days are closed." + +"Father!" + +"Not to sadden thee, my child, but to show thee that life is linked to +life--God wills it so. Thou and I are bound to that which has been and +to that which is to be. We do not stand alone to choose. The sweetness +of our life together should make it easier for me to yield thee to the +fuller life which calleth thee. We must each bear our part in the beauty +of the whole. For perfect love, there must be sacrifice." + +She was thinking of these things as she stood in the gray dawn waiting +for the beauty of the on-coming day, quite alone with her thoughts and +with her God, the giver of this beauty; and often as she had stood there +with her morning offering of trust and adoration, never before had the +day-dawn seemed so full of mystery and promise, nor the new life which +the morning held within its keeping so full of hope and beauty. The very +tide, flowing round her island home, brought thoughts of her home that +was to be, as it swept through the channels of the City of the Sea, past +the palace where her lover was waiting, bringing murmurs and messages of +liquid harmony. The marsh grasses swayed and yielded to its flow, +lending new depths of color to the water-bed, as they bowed beneath the +masterful current--so the difficulties which had seemed to beset their +hopes had been vanquished by the resistless tide of his love and +constancy. + +The stars were lost in the deep gray-blue of the sky; a solemn +stillness, like the presage of some divine event, seemed for a moment to +hold the pulses of the universe; then a soft rose crept into the shimmer +of the water and crested the snows on the distant Euganean Hills, the +transient, many-tinted glory of the east reflected itself in opal lights +upon the silver sea, then suddenly swept the landscape in one dazzling +glow of gold--and the joy-bells rang out. For to-day a festa had been +granted in Murano. + +Then, wrapping herself closely in the soft folds of her gray mantle, +falling Madonna-wise from her head and shrouding her figure, she glided +for the last time over the _ponte_ and down past the sleeping homes of +Murano; for it was yet early for matins, and she would have the Madonna +all to herself as she knelt with her heart full of tenderness for the +dear life this day should merge in that other which beckoned her with +joyous anticipation--yet stilled to serenity by the golden glory and +promise of the dawn, and the beautiful, self-sacrificing, upholding +faith of the great-hearted Girolamo. + +He had followed her and folded her passionately to his heart, as she +crossed the threshold of their home on her way to San Donato. "I must be +first," he said, "to bless thee on thy bridal day. Fret thee not, for +thou art bidden to a mission, since thou goest forth from the people to +the highest circle of the nobles. And love alone hath bidden and drawn +thee. Forget it not, Marina! So shall a blessing go with thee and rest +upon thee!" + +She had brought a gift to the Madonna of San Donato--an exquisite altar +lamp of ivory and silver--and from the flowers which she had laid upon +the altar while she knelt in prayer, she gathered some to scatter over +the grave of the tiny Zuane. + +When Marina returned slowly through the little square, Murano was awake; +the painted sails of the fishing-boats were tacking in the breeze, the +activities of the simple homes had commenced, women with their +water-jugs were chatting round the well, detaining little ones clinging +to the fringes of the tawny mantles which hung below their waists; a few +stopped her with greetings; here and there a child ran to her +shyly--their mothers, from the low cottage doorways, calling to them +that "the donzel Marina had given them festa." + +Yes, there was to be festa in Murano. Girolamo had obtained from the +Senate the grace of providing it. For now, since his daughter would have +no need of the gold which his industry had brought him, he might spend +it lavishly on her wedding day to gladden the hearts of the people whom +she was leaving; for to him this bridal had a deeply consecrated meaning +which divested it of half its sadness. + +The workmen of Murano were to have holiday, and a great feast was spread +for them by Girolamo in the long exhibition hall of the stabilimenti, +for which it had been needful to procure permission of the Senate; but +for once it suited well the humor of this august and autocratic body +that one of the people should, for a day, make himself great among them. +Thus for the inhabitants of Murano--men, women, and children--there was +a welcome waiting the day long in the house of the bride, where they +should come to take her bounty and shower their blessings; for this time +only Murano had no voice for _critica_--it was too busy in +congratulation. + +When Marina reached her home she found it garlanded from column to +column with festal wreaths of green, while the maidens from the village +still lingered, veiling the walls between the windows with delicate +frosts of fruit-bloom from the gardens of Mazzorbo. And closely +following this village tribute came a priest from San Donato with the +band of white-robed nuns who formed the choir of the Matrice, bearing +perfumes of incense and benediction for the home of the bride, that all +who passed beneath its portal, going out or coming in, might carry +blessing with their steps. + +In Venice also there were joy-bells ringing; and to overflowing tables, +spread in the water-storey of the Ca' Giustiniani, the people of Venice +were freely bidden by silken banners floating legends of welcome above +the open doorway. But now the expectant people were thronging the +Piazza; the _fondamenta_ along the Riva was alive with color, balconies +were brilliant with draperies, windows were glowing with vivid shawls, +rugs, brocades--tossed out to lean upon in the splendor that became a +fête; above them the spaces were crowded with enthusiastic spectators in +holiday dress; the children of the populace, shouting, ecstatic, +ubiquitous, swarmed on the quay below. + +The splendor of the pageant which brought a bride from Murano to the +highest patrician circle of the Republic--to that house which held its +patent of nobility from those days of the seventh century when an +ancestor had ruled as tribune over one of the twelve Venetian isles--was +long remembered, almost as a royal wedding fête, and for days before and +after it was the talk of Venice. + +They were coming over the water to the sound of the people's native +songs and the echo of their laughter, the young men and maidens of +Murano, in barks that were wreathed with garlands and brilliant with the +play of color that the Venetians love. + + "Maridite, maridite, donzela, + Che dona maridada è sempre bela; + Maridite finchè la fogia è verde, + Perchè la zoventù presto se perde."[4] + + [4] Marry, maiden, marry, + For she that is wedded is ever fair; + Marry then, in thy tender bloom, + Since youth passeth swiftly. + +By the port of the Lido many a royal pageant had entered into Venice, +but never before had such a procession started from the shores of +Murano; it made one feel fête-like only to see the _bissoni_, those +great boats with twelve oars, each from a stabilimento of Murano, +wreathed for the fête, each merchant master at its head, robed in his +long, black, fur-trimmed gown and wearing his heavy golden chain, the +workmen tossing blossoms back over the water to greet the bride, the +rowers chanting in cadence to their motion: + + "Belina sei, e'l ciel te benedissa, + Che in dove che ti passi l'erba nasse!"[5] + + [5] Beautiful thou art, and may Heaven bless thee, + So that in thy footprints the grass shall spring. + +A cry rang down the Canal Grande from the gondoliers of the Ca' +Giustiniani, who were waiting this sign to start their own train from +the palazzo; for the bridal gondolas were coming in sight, with _felzi_ +of damask, rose, and blue, embroidered with emblems of the Giustiniani, +bearing the noble maidens who had been chosen for the household of the +Lady Marina, each flower-like and charming under her gauzy veil of +tenderest coloring. It was indeed a rare vision to the populace, these +young patrician beauties whose faces never, save in most exceptional +fêtes, had been seen unveiled beyond their mother's drawing-rooms, +floating toward them in a diaphanous mist which turned their living +loveliness into a dream. + +The shout of the Giustiniani was echoed from gondola to gondola of the +waiting throng, from the gondoliers of all the nobles who followed in +their wake, from the housetops, the balconies, the fondamenta, mingled +with the words of the favorite folk-song: + + "Belo zè el mare, e belà la marina!"[6] + + [6] Beautiful is the sea, and beautiful the marsh. + +It was like a fairy dream as the bridal procession came floating toward +San Marco, in the brilliant golden sunshine, between the blue of the +cloudless sky and the blue of the mirroring sea, each gondola garlanded +with roses, its silver dolphins flashing in the light, and in the midst +of them the bark that bore the bride. The stately pall of snowy damask, +fringed with silver, swept almost to the water's breast, behind the +felze of azure velvet, where, beside her father, sat the bride, in robe +of brocaded silver shimmering like the sea--a subtle perfume of orange +blossoms heralding her advance. + +Once more the shout went up--the quaint love-song of the people-- + + "Belo zè el mare, e belà la marina!" + +and then a breathless silence fell, for the bark of the ministering +priest of San Donato had taken the lead, the white-robed nuns of the +Matrice grouped about him, chanting as they approached some ancient +wedding canticles of benediction. The bissoni parted and came no +further, having brought their maiden from Murano with every sign of love +and honor; the barges of the people fell back behind them, and through +their ranks the bridal gondolas followed the bark of the priest of San +Donato to the steps of the Piazzetta, where the train of the +Giustiniani, in a magnificence that was well-nigh royal, had just +disembarked, and Marcantonio stood bareheaded among the nobles to +receive his bride. + +But it was only for a moment of recognition in the sight of the +thronging people, for messengers were arriving with greetings from the +Doge, which this bride, whom the Senate had taken from the people to +bestow upon a noble, must receive from the lips of the Prince himself +before the wedding ceremony should take place; so the train of +Giustiniani, with all the nobles of Venice--who, from immemorial custom, +had come together to witness and rejoice over this great event in the +life of one of their number--entered San Marco by the great doors of the +Piazza; while the bride, obeying the gracious summons of the Doge, +passed through the gate of the Ducal Palace on the seaside, into the +great court where the Signoria were descending the Giant's Stairway on +their passage to the ducal chapel. + +The ceremony of presentation to the Serenissimo was quickly over, and +the bride and her maidens, with Girolamo Magagnati, in sign of the +Prince's favor, followed the Doge and suite into the golden looms and +shifting twilights of this place of symbolism and wonder, where the vast +throng waited in a solemn hush. + +The gloom was broken by countless tongues of flame from lamps of silver +and alabaster burning in the farther chapels, while wandering lights +streaming through the openings of the dome filled it with wonderful +waves of color--only half-revealing the treasures of ivory and jewels +and precious marbles and mosaics, wrought with texts and symbols, but +wholly making felt the mystery and beauty. The vague perfume of those +faint mists of floating incense, crossing and recrossing the scattered +rays of sunshine, mingled with the fragrance of the orange blossoms from +which the light tread of the bride-maidens seemed to crush a breath of +benediction. + +Coming out of the sunlight into this still, beautiful, holy place--the +chant sweet and sacred accompanying her steps, with the Cross repeated +again and again in the heights of the domes, with the dear familiar form +of the Mother Mary on every side lifting adoring eyes to the crowning +figure of the Christ, while the saints who graciously leaned to her from +their golden backgrounds in the great vaulted spaces above recalled the +legends inseparably linked with their intimate friendly faces and +brought back the atmosphere of her own Matrice--her mother church--this +maiden of Murano felt suddenly at home. + +The Patriarch with his pomp, the Signoria and Senate in their robes of +state, the nobles and the pageant were all forgotten. In the sacramental +lights of the ceremonial candles of the great altar, flashing back from +the marvelous _Pala d'Oro_, she saw only Marco waiting for her--to whom +her father, beloved and trusted, was leading her with her heart's +consent. + +How should she falter on the path from love to love! + + + +XIV + +But even in Venice--the magic city--there were days of mists, silvery +and gray, when life took on the indistinctness and indecision of a +dream; as there were days less lucent, when sea and sky melted in an +indistinguishable line and the chameleon tints of the marshes mellowed +into a monotonous gray surface--when the wonted brilliancy of the sunset +clouds, and the glittering domes and campaniles were only faint gray +shadows on the gray whiteness of the waters. And gondoliers came +suddenly into vision, parting the mists with thin, black, swaying +outlines, as quickly fading in the near, gray distance when they passed, +while the shipping loomed like phantoms on an immediate horizon, +vanishing, vision-like; and even the sounds of life came muffled over +the still lagoon, like ghostly echoes from a city wrapped in dreams. + +These were days of dim forebodings, too, for the anxious men of action +who ruled the Republic. In the Broglio there was more often silence than +speech, as the older senators gathered in knots, with faces the more +expressive because of much reticence in words; the sense of approaching +contest increased their mental restlessness and made them outwardly more +stern. Each looked into another's stormy, resolute face, so passing many +a counsel whose echoes he feared to start under the rambling porticoes +of the Piazza, where friars of every order mingled freely with the +crowd, and idlers carried tales into dark, basement recesses, and one +knew not which was friend or foe. Meanwhile the Winged Lion, with those +terrible, jeweled, glaring eyes, and the primitive patron San +Teodoro--each high on his column, in a Nirvana of quiescence--kept +solemn semblance of vigil over that dread space where sometimes a horror +of which one dared not speak scattered the sunshine high in air between +those silent wardens of San Marco. Yet the horror of those figures +swinging lifeless, with veiled faces, was met in silence by a people +trained to suffer this secret meting out of penalty for transgressions +in which justice and vengeance stood confused. + +The ceaseless chains of elections had begotten bribery, corruption, and +strife; the over-weening luxury had fostered unworthy ambitions--it was +a time of much lawlessness. Under the shadow of the embassies infamous +intrigues were planned by bands of idle men, who shrank from no deed of +evil which held its promise of gold; the water-storey of some splendid +palace might be a lurking-place for unprincipled men--spies and +informers by profession--who wore the liveries of noble families whose +secrets they would unhesitatingly consign to that merciless _Bocca del +Leone_, for favor or vengeance of those they secretly served. For +underneath the glitter and the pomp of these latter days of Venice--its +presage of decay--a turbulent mass of malcontents, foreigners +disappointed in intrigue, Venetians shut out from power, grasped and +plotted for its semblance,--sold murder for gold, treason for +gold,--escaping justice by the wiles they so deftly unveiled, or by the +importance of the deposition it was in their power to make. Secret, +swift, relentless, absolute--Venice had work for men who did not court +the sunlight; and such a nucleus drew to its dark centre intriguers from +other courts, and gathered in and strengthened the worthless within its +own borders, until the evil was growing heavy to deal with. + +Causes of discontent between Church and State were alarmingly on the +increase; and while in no other dominion, save that of Rome alone, were +ecclesiastical possessions so rich, or their establishments more +splendid than at Venice, nowhere were the lines of power so jealously +defined and guarded as in the government of this Republic from which +ecclesiastics were rigorously excluded,--although no least ceremonial +was held complete without the presence of the Patriarch and priests who +evidenced the devotion of Venice to the Holy Mother Church,--though +every parish kept its festa, and the religion of Venice was an essential +part of the life of its people. But if the priests had no visible seat +in the splendid Council Chambers of the Republic, they boasted at Rome +that their sway over the consciences of these lordly senators was well +established by virtue of the confessional and that, in the event of +contest, there would be many votes for Rome. + +The _ridotti_, the informal clubs of Venice in those days, were +important centres of influence--political, legislative, and literary; +and there was a certain palazzo Morosini, well known to many of the +senators who gathered in the Broglio, where questions of vital interest +to the thinkers and rulers of Venice were discussed with the degree of +knowledge that might have been expected from so eminent a company as +that which made the home of the distinguished senator Andrea Morosini +the scene of its ridotto, and where freedom of speech was much greater +than seemed wise in the candid sunshine of the Piazza. + +Of its present numbers all, at some period of their lives, held high +office under the Republic--they were senators, secretaries of state, +ambassadors--and three among that little group of thirty lived to wear +the beretta. It represented essentially the patrician culture of Venice, +and Morosini himself was already eminent as an historian; but the chief +literary centre was still acknowledged to be that quaint house in Campo +Agostino, of Aldo Manuzio, _il vecchio_, bearing, as in his day, +shield-wise, its forbidding inscription, "Whoever you are, Aldo +requesteth you, if you want anything, to ask it in few words and depart; +unless, like Hercules, you come to lend the aid of your shoulders to the +weary Atlas. There will always be found, in that case something for you +to do, however many you may be." But in this Aldine mansion only the +most-learned men of letters gathered, and Greek was the sole language +permitted in its discussions. + +One of the _habitues_ of the Aldine Club was chief among this noble +company of the Morosini. He was a grave, scholarly man who listened and +questioned much out of a seemingly inexhaustible fund of historic, +legal, and ecclesiastical knowledge--a man who had the power of +stimulating others, and whose rare word, when uttered, was of value. He +had opinions gathered at first hand from influential minds of every land +and creed to contribute to the talk when it flowed in narrowing +channels; and he himself came thither for refreshment from abstruse +studies, out of a quiet cell in the convent of the Servi, while +seemingly unaware that many a stranger begged for an invitation to the +palazzo Morosini in the hope of an introduction to this "miracle of +Venice." + +Perhaps this grave friar, apparently so careless of his distinction, was +the unsuspected intellectual thread which bound, as it were, together +the various influential circles of Venice; for in every centre, plebeian +or patrician, where there was anything new to be mooted or anything of +value to be discussed, he was a visitor so welcome and so frequent that +he might well have exerted a steady, unifying influence upon Venetian +thought. + +At the sign of the "Nave d'oro," in the Merceria, where the vast +commercial interests of Venice were the absorbing theme, and strangers +from every clime and merchants just returned from distant ports were +eager now, as in the days when Marco Polo had so valiantly entertained +the goodly company, to rehearse the tale of their adventures--it was +neither merchant nor noble who stood forth on the bizarre background of +brilliant baubles and gold-woven tissues as the centre of this ridotto, +but a friar, learned in languages and sciences, of whom it was +pleasantly affirmed that "he was the only man in Venice who could +discuss any subject in any tongue!" + +As this friar, unattended and on foot, turned out of the narrow calle +from San Samuele into the Campo San Stefano, the Giustiniani, father and +son, were just landing from their gondolas in the midst of a gay +retinue, on the steps of the palazzo Morosini; other gondolas of other +nobles were floating in full moonlight before the quay; and to Fra +Paolo, who did not share the Venetian love of color and of art, the +elaborately frescoed façade of an opposite palace--an extravagant freak +of the Veronese's which the Venetians were already beginning to cherish +as the work of their great artist who would paint no more--seemed an +impertinence unworthy of that dazzling illumination. + +Marcantonio Giustiniani had but lately returned from Rome, where, during +his residence as Secretary to the Venetian Ambassador, the affair of the +Venetian Patriarch Zani, which had roused such indignation in Venice, +had taken place. The matter was still of interest in official quarters, +because the death of Zani had caused a new vacancy, to which Venice, +according to her ancient right, had appointed the successor; and this +new Patriarch Vendramin should never go, as Zani had done at the request +of the Holy Father, to receive his benediction and be met with that +perfidious announcement that he had "examined and approved the Venetian +candidate," whom he now confirmed as Patriarch to the Most Serene +Republic! + +At the thought of the manner in which they had been entrapped and +outwitted--denuded, as it were, before the Roman Court of some +semblance of their ancient privilege of appointing their own +Patriarch--there was fresh indignation among these proud patricians. The +secretary Marcantonio Giustiniani had been present at the audience +granted by Clement to the Venetian Patriarch. "He would know if it had +been possible--even with the most favorable intentions toward +Rome,"--they were crowding round him and questioning with jealous +eagerness,--"even with the feeling which loyal sons should possess for +their Mother Church--to interpret that rude cross-questioning of his +Holiness, so unexpected and unexampled and contradicting his own +explicit promise--otherwise than as an examination--_an examination +which prejudiced the ancient right of Venice_?" + +A scarcely perceptible smile flitted over the young secretary's handsome +face--they were so venerable and eager, so careful of shadows of +form!--and in a sudden side-light a hint of a question obtruded itself +on his consciousness, as to whether there could be a slightly farcical +aspect to such an episode between two most Catholic and Christian +governments? He saw them both fired with feelings of very human +strength, both dealing only with shadows of reality--the Sovereign +Pontiff grasping at a semblance of power in insisting that this +candidate, named by Venice to a see within her gift, to which he, the +Pope, would dare present no other, was invested by _his_ examination and +approval; and the Republic, receiving back its own appointee, confirmed +with the papal benediction, jealously aroused to unappeasable +indignation by the empty form of questioning which had preceded this +singular ceremony. + +But the dignified company were pressing the young secretary for his +answer, and one of them anxiously repeated the keynote, "_An examination +which prejudiced the ancient right of Venice_?" + +"Courtesy and wisdom would render any other opinion inadmissible," +Marcantonio replied,--"in Venice." + +The elder Giustinian had detected the slight pause which preceded the +last two words. "Wherefore 'in Venice'?" he questioned, with some heat. +"It is a question not of locality, but of justice and judgment." + +"It is a question of judgment," Marcantonio echoed suavely, "upon which, +it hath been told me, the Senate hath already passed a law that shall +keep our Most Reverend Signor Vendramin from such a fate." + +"Ay, never again may our Patriarch leave the Republic for confirmation +of the see which she alone may grant. The law is just," said the Senator +Leonardo Donate. + +"In the days when his Holiness was but an Eminence, it hath been said, +he gave our ambassador a chance to prove his temper?" Morosini +questioned of Donato, who had been ambassador in Rome while Paul V, who +had but just ascended the throne, was still Cardinal Borghese. + +"It was in the matter of the Uscocks," Donato answered, after a moment's +hesitation, seeing that some were waiting for the story. "And it was the +second time that half-civilized tribe hath provoked disputes between two +most Christian nations. 'If I were Pope,' said the cardinal, 'I would +excommunicate both Doge and Senate!'" + +Fra Paolo scrutinized the faces of the listeners, and fixed his gaze +searchingly on the speaker. There was an uneasy movement among the +company, but Leonardo Donate did not flinch. + +"May they not know your answer, most noble Signor?" Morosini urged. +"For, verily, it was of a quality to illumine a page of history." + +"The words were few," said Leonardo, with dignity. "'_If I were Doge, I +would trample your edict under foot_.'" + +There was a sudden hush, in which those who had not been listening +became intensely conscious of the words just uttered by the aged and +illustrious Cavalière Leonardo Donate, for there had been of late an +abiding undercurrent of suppressed excitement ready to awake at any +mention of Papal supremacy. The Republic had always jealously guarded +against any transference of temporal power from prince to prelate, and +many events which seemed linked in a chain that might lead to the most +deplorable results had succeeded to the election of Camillo Borghese as +Paul V; the desire evidently manifested by Clement during his latter +days to encroach on the perquisites and possessions of the minor Italian +States was crystallizing into a fixed purpose of ecclesiastical +aggrandizement on the part of the new Pope. + +"He was brandishing Saint Peter's sword before he had been knighted," +remarked the Signor Antonio Querini, who was deeply interested in all +disputes between Church and State. + +"But not before he had received strenuous training," responded the +grave, clear voice of the friar. "For five years he hath held office as +Auditor of the Apostolical Chamber, the style of which is written thus, +_'Universal Executor of censures and sentences recorded both in Rome and +abroad'_--a duty which he may be said to have discharged more faithfully +than any of his predecessors, as one cannot recall in any previous fifty +years as many thunderbolts and monitions as were launched during those +five years of his office!" + +Some romance could but attach to the unswerving judicial attitude of a +friar who had friends in high favor at the Court of Rome--who had known +a Bellarmino and a Navarro, and yet pursued, unchanging, the calm tenor +of his critical way. It was rumored that Sixtus V had been known to +leave his coach to converse with him, and would have given him, at his +mere request, a cardinal's hat; that Urban VII, as cardinal and pope, +had been his devoted friend; that Cardinal Borromeo--the saintly San +Carlo--had wished to attach him to his cathedral; and many were the +instances reported when marks of special appreciation had been granted +him from Rome, in lieu of denunciations which those jealous of his rapid +advance had sought to bring upon him. Even the late Pope Clement had +expressed admiration for his learning, while it was, nevertheless, well +known that Fra Paolo's counsels to the Senate, in certain troubles +arising out of Clement's attitude at Ferrara, had brought him the +refusal of the bishoprics of Candia and Caorle; but, whatever the +occasion, he was invariably discreet and fearless. + +However pungent the tone, the words of this man could no more be +attributed to personal bitterness than they might be influenced by +personal interest; and although the opinion which they indicated was a +surprise to some of the company, instinctively they felt the situation +to be graver than they had feared, and the evening's talk drifted as +wholly into the current of Church and State as if this ridotto were a +commission appointed by the Ten to prepare resolutions upon the +situation. And the list of grievances now reviewed, which had occupied +the Senate during the closing years of Clement's reign, was, in truth, +long. Vast differences of opinion concerning the Turks and the piratical +tribes who infested the shores of Italy and the uses their villainy +might be made to serve; troubles at Ferrara, teasing and undignified, +temporarily brought to a close by the sending of the galleys of the +Republic to prevent the seizure of their fishing-boats by agents of his +Holiness; questions of boundaries and taxes; attempts to divert the +trade of Venice, to arrest improvements redounding not only to the +advantage of the Republic but to that of the neighboring country; to +forbid, under pain of excommunication, all commerce with countries +tainted with heresy. These were matters meet for discussion by temporal +sovereigns touching the balance of power--so viewed and strenuously +resisted by the clear-headed Venetians, with much deference of form, +whenever practicable--as became loyal sons of the Church; but +occasionally, when nothing might be expected from temporizing, with a +quiet disregard which proved their consciousness of strength. + +From time to time, as the informal summary progressed, there was an +outburst of indignation. + +"Could an aggression be more palpable than that _Index Expurgatorius_ +demanded by Rome in 1596, when the ruling doctrine of exclusion involved +no question of morality or irreligion, but solely concerned books +upholding rights of consciences and rulers!" + +"It was a contest honorable to Venice, and one which Italy will +remember," responded a secretary of the Senate, who was a regular member +of this ridotto. "I am proud that it was my privilege to transcribe for +the records of the Republic the papers relating to that Concordat which +secured so great a measure of freedom for our press." + +There had been a short truce between Rome and Venice since the accession +of Paul V, who had been so immediately concerned with a certain prophecy +foretelling the death of a Leo and a Paul that his fears were only set +at rest by a further astrological announcement, judiciously arranged in +the palace of his eminence the brother of the Pope, to the effect that +"the evil influences were now conquered." Whereupon Paul had undertaken +in earnest the work which he conscientiously believed to be the highest +duty of a sovereign pontiff, had recalled all nuncios not in full +sympathy with his views of aggrandizement, and had replaced them with +envoys whose notions of authority were echoes of his own; and, as an +opening move, had made the demand, so resented by Venice, that the new +Patriarch Vendramin should be sent to Rome for examination before he +could be allowed to take possession of his prelacy. + +"But what hath Venice to fear from a Pope who is paralyzed for the first +two months of his reign by a reading of a horoscope!" exclaimed one of +the company scornfully. + +"Nay, then," said Donato, who had seen much of the world; "it is a petty +superstition of the age; it is not the fault of the man, who hath +sterling qualities. And by that same potency of credulity have his fears +been set at rest. It is a proof of weakness to undervalue the strength +of an adversary--for so at least he hath recently declared himself on +this question of temporal power, by his petty aggressions and triumphs +in Malta, Parma, Lucca, and Genoa." + +"I crave pardon of the Cavalière Donato," Antonio Querini responded +hotly. "May one call the action at Genoa _petty_?--the compulsion of the +entire vote of a free city, the placing of the election of the whole +body of governing officials in the power of the Society of Jesus?" + +"And it was under threat of excommunication, which made resistance a +duty from the side of the government," Giustinian Giustiniani asserted +uncompromisingly. + +"But impossible from the Church's point of view. It is the eternal +question," Leonardo Donato answered gravely. + +"_The solution is only possible by precisely ascertaining the limits +within which each power is absolute_," the friar announced, with quiet +decision. + +A momentary hush fell upon the company, for the words were weighty and a +surprise. + +"It is well to know the qualities we have to fear," said Andrea +Morosini, "and we have listened in the Senate to letters from our +ambassador at Rome which bespeak his Holiness of a presence and a +dignity--save for over-quickness of temper--which befit a Pope; and that +he hath reserved himself from promises, to the displeasure and surprise +of some of those who created him." + +"It was rumored in Rome," said the younger Giustinian, "that the learned +Bishop Baronious, in the last conclave, by his persistence found means +to save the Consistory from the election by 'adoration' of another +candidate whose life would bear no scrutiny and who never darkened the +doors of his own cathedral! By this election the Church hath verily been +spared a scandal." + +"Therefore, let it be known," said Fra Paolo, with deep gravity, "lest +the nearness of such a scandal should breed confusion--and I speak from +knowledge, having been much in Rome--we have now a Pope blameless in +life; in duty to his Church most faithful and exemplary and concerned +with her welfare, as to himself it seemeth; of an unbending conscience +and a will most absolute; moreover, of marvelous reading in certain +doctrinal writings which seem to him the only books of worth, and with +the training of a lawyer wherewith to assert them. This is the man with +whom we have to contend." + +"Are there no faults?" thundered Giustinian Giustiniani, while the +others listened disconcerted. "A soldier seeks for weak spots in the +armor." + +"I know him," said Leonardo Donato, "and there _is_ one fault. It limits +his power to achieve; it increases his absolutism. It is +near-sightedness--smallness of vision." + +"Draw him strongly," said Giustinian, in a tone of concentrated wrath. +"Let us measure our foe before we meet." + +"There are no books Borghese hath not read; there is no point of view +but that which he doth teach, no appeal from the law as he interpreteth +it. _It is a fault of unity_. One power--the Church; one duty--its +aggrandizement; one prince--temporal and spiritual alike; one unvarying +obedience. All is adjusted to one centre; it is the simplification of +life!" + +There was an ominous silence and an evident wish to change the theme, +and the company readjusted itself by twos and threes. The Senator +Morosini turned graciously to Marcantonio. "It hath been told in +Venice," he said, "that the Lady Marina was received in Rome with marks +of very special favor." + +"The introduction of our Reverend Father Paolo had preceded her," the +young secretary answered lightly, bowing in the direction of the friar, +who sat apparently lost in thought. But Morosini repeated Marcantonio's +speech with some amusement, for the scholarly friar had never been known +to have a friend among the women--old or young. + +"I do not understand," he said, with no perception of any humor in the +situation. + +"It was the gift of the Reverend Father Paolo to the chapel of the +Servi," Marcantonio explained. "The Madonna del Sorriso was well known +in Rome." + +"Ah, I recall now the face of your lady, though I have not known her," +the friar responded courteously, yet he hesitated a moment before +accepting the seat which the secretary rose to offer him. "If it is the +face which the Veronese hath painted, her spirit must be fair. It should +make a home holy," he added, after a moment's pause. + +Marcantonio's face flushed with pleasure. The friar was still regarding +him with a gaze so penetrating, yet apparently so guiltless of +intentional rudeness that it ceased to be an impertinence, and amused +the young Venetian by its unconventionality. "Is there anything it would +please Fra Paolo to ask of me?" he inquired affably. + +"If there are children--" the friar pursued quite simply. + +"Our little son was baptized in Saint Peter's in Rome; he had sponsors +among the cardinals and a private audience and benediction from his +Holiness, Pope Clement," the young nobleman replied, trying to repress a +pleasurable sense of importance. "It was a pleasure to the Lady +Marina--she is devoted to the Church, and his Holiness was always most +gracious to her." + +"As was fitting for the lady of a Venetian representative, and due to +Venice," the elder Giustinian hastened to explain, "his late Holiness +was ever courtly and a gracious diplomat." + +He had been aware from his little distance how the talk had turned, and +he was alert to give it the coloring he liked best. For while the young +people were still in Rome, Signor Agostino Nani, watchful as an +ambassador well might be of the interests of so princely a house, had +confided to the "Illustrissimo Giustiniani," in a private and friendly +letter, that courtesies so unusual had been extended to this noble +young Venetian lady--so devoted to the Church, so gentle and +unsuspicious, so incapable of counter-plotting--that it would be wise to +guard against undue influence by a too prolonged stay at the Roman +court; and the honorable recall of the Secretary Giustiniani had soon +thereafter been managed. + +The friar's face had grown stern, but he did not resume the conversation +until the elder Giustinian had strolled away with his host. Then he +turned to Marcantonio, speaking earnestly. "Simplicity is no match for +subtlety," he said, "and much favor hath been shown to her. You will +pardon me, Signore, not because you are young and I am old, but because +the face of your lady hath moved me with a rare sense of unworldliness. +There should be no flattery in an act our Lord himself hath taught by +his example, and an old man like Pope Clement might well bestow his +blessing on your little child. But the times are not free from danger; +the home is best for the little ones--do not send him from his mother to +the schools." + +"He is but learning to speak," the young man answered, smiling at the +friar's earnestness; "only his baby word for his mother's name." + +"There are schools for the sons of noblemen in which he will forget it," +said the friar bitterly; "where they teach disloyalty to princes and +unmake men to make machines--and the mainspring is at Rome. Gentle women +are won to believe in them by the subtle polish of those who uphold +them, and the marvelous learning by which their teachers fit themselves +for office. And among them are men noble of character and true of +conscience--but bound, soul and body, by their oath; the system of the +Jesuit schools in Venice is for nothing else but the building up of +their order--at all costs of character or happiness. Let her keep her +little son, for her face seemed wise and tender; the favor which hath +been shown her may have a meaning." + +"Will not my father some time come to the palazzo Giustiniani? The Lady +Marina would make him welcome." + +"Nay, I thank you," the friar answered, instantly resuming his habitual +reserve. "Such gentle friendships form no part of my duty. I spake but +in friendly counsel. We, from without, see how the home should be more. +The orders are many to maintain the Church--they need no urging--but the +home hath also its privileged domain of childhood to be defended." + + + +XV + +With the return of the young people from Rome, gala days had once more +dawned for the Ca' Giustiniani, and the two sumptuous palaces which met +at the bend of the Canal Grande were scenes of perpetual fête. The +palazzo Giustinian Giustiniani had been chosen from all the princely +homes of Venice as best fitted, from its magnificence, to be offered as +a residence to Henry the Third of France, when that monarch had deigned +to honor the Republic by accepting its prodigal hospitality. In the +banquet halls, which had been prepared with lavish luxury for his +reception, the few years that had passed had but mellowed the elaborate +carvings and frescoes, while the costly hangings--of crimson velvet with +bullion fringes, of azure silk embroidered with fleurs-de-lis, of +brocades interwoven with threads of gold--had gained in grace of fold +and fusion of tints. + +If there were no halls of equal splendor in the palace which had been +prepared for Marcantonio and his bride, it displayed in all its +appointments an elegance and fitness which the stately Lady Laura was +eager to exhibit to the critical appreciation of the fastidious upper +circle of Venice. + +Marina had had no share in its decorations, and when consulted before +her marriage had expressed but one wish. "These cares of rank are new to +me," she had said, with gentle dignity; "but thou wilt best know how to +choose the elegance befitting Marco's home; for my father hath warned me +that in these matters there is a custom which I, more than others, may +not break. Dear Lady Laura, for Marco's sake forget that I am of the +people, yet, remembering it, to choose but so much of splendor as +seemeth needful, lest the palazzo be too costly for a mistress not noble +by birth, and so"--she hesitated--"and so win Marco's friends to love me +less." + +"Marina, Marco hath told me, with a very lover's face, that some are +noble by birth who are not so by name." + +"Dear Lady," the girl answered, with a charming flush, "had Marco not so +plead with me there could have been no question of this home." + +The eyes of the great lady beamed with a new and tender pride; in +nothing that her boy had ever done for her had he offered her so much as +in this love of his which had threatened to part them, but had stirred +instead the mother depths of her soul, which had become clouded by years +of luxury and artificial life and the knowledge of the ceaseless +ambitions and selfish scheming which her husband--for the intellectual +stimulus she gave him--had been accustomed to confide to her. And now +Marco was not less to her, but more, as he had promised; and if the +uncertain hope of that dim, distant, ducal coronet moved her less, it +was not that she would not still do her possible to help Giustinian to +his ambition--but it had become a smaller peak in the distance since the +home life had grown broad enough to bear her calmly when the proud +Senator rehearsed some failure or disappointment, with disproportioned +bitterness. + +Thinking of these things she smiled at Marina with new appreciation; the +girl's gentle face seemed to her more lovely and her rare calm and grace +of spirit more truly noble than the Venetian vivacity of charm in which +at first she had found her lacking. + +"Thou hast a way of winning," she said, "which many might envy thee; and +in seeming not to ask, thou shalt be served for love. It is the grace of +one born to rule. But hast thou _no_ wish? Is there no one place I may +make all beautiful at thine asking, within thy palace, to prove, sweet +Marina, how thy Marco's mother loves thee?" + +She parted her soft hair and kissed her forehead, but neither of them +noticed that it was a first caress. + +"I should like the oratory to be beautiful!" Marina cried, clasping her +hands with sudden enthusiasm; "very beautiful--like a gift to the Holy +Mother!" + +"And it shall bring a blessing on thy marriage," the Lady Laura answered +her. + +So when the secretary and his young wife had returned to Venice and +their palace was thrown open to guests, the private chapel of the Lady +Marina was discovered to be a marvel of decoration--with superb Venetian +frescoes set in marvelous scrollwork by Vittoria, with carvings of +mother-of-pearl from Constantinople, with every sumptuous detail that +could be devised; for, during the three years of their absence, the Lady +Laura had not wearied of her gracious task nor stayed her hand. And into +this incongruous setting--costly, overloaded, composite, and destitute +of true religious feeling, a very type of the time in Venice--Marina +brought the redeeming note of consecration, a priceless altar--ancient, +earth-stained, and rude, almost grotesque in symbolism--as a great prize +and by special dispensation, from an underground chapel in Rome. Also +the rare and beautiful ivory crucifix had its history; the malachite +basin for holy water had been a gift to the infant Giustinian from his +eminence the cardinal-sponsor on the day of his baptism; there were +other treasures, more rare and sacred still, within the shrine of the +oratory, and there was a gift from his Holiness Pope Clement VIII. + +There was no banquet hall in the palazzo Marcantonio Giustiniani, but it +was not needed, for the two palaces were like one. + +The Lady Laura was radiant. If there had ever been a question of the +place that Marcantonio's bride should occupy in that patrician circle, +the distinction conferred upon her by the Senate had sufficed to +establish it. There could be no jealousy of one who occupied the highest +place, of one so gracious and equal to her honors, only of those who +should win her favor. So all came in the hope of it, and all were won; +but there were no partialities, no intimacies; for all ambitions of the +young and newly created patrician, the fullness of the home life +sufficed to her. + +Marina had grown more beautiful out of the joy of loving and the +increased satisfaction of her religious life, to which she was more than +ever devoted; her passion for beauty expressed itself by delight in +sumptuous ceremonial, while her love of romance and her unquestioning +faith were alike nourished on the legends of the saints which had become +far more to her during her stay in Rome, where every hour had been +happiness. These three years of absence had made some subtle difference +in the Lady Marina; there was more mystery about her with less reserve, +and a certain calm acceptance of the position all conceded had given her +courage to discuss religious history and opinions in a serious way that +was quite charming to the older prelates who mingled in Venetian social +circles, where simple earnestness of soul was a quality so rare that it +might have been mistaken for a depth of subtlety; but the Lady Marina +talked or listened only because the themes were of vital interest for +her. Besides, she had now her child to guide and she must know; and the +learned men who gave their lives to the study of higher things were +those, above all others, from whom she could learn the most; and with +this unconscious flattery a little court, of a character somewhat +unusual in Venice, had gathered in her salons. Her husband, coming in +late from the Council Chamber one evening, rallied her upon it, saying +that her receptions might be mistaken for those of a lady abbess--there +were so many friars and grave ecclesiastics among her guests. His light +tone concealed a little uneasiness, for the friar's warning had more +than once recurred to him. + +But it was impossible to convey anything to Marina by a half-concealed +thrust, her nature was so essentially ingenuous, incapable of imagining +intrigues of any sort. + +"Yes, it is indeed an honor!" she answered, with her ready, trusting +smile. "It is good of them, they are so much more interesting than the +others; and to-night the talk was quite delightful! I would thou hadst +been here, my Marco! Life is so much more beautiful since we have been +to Rome! _Everything_ that was delightful came with our marriage," she +added, turning her radiant face toward him. + +He smiled, too, quite disarmed by her beauty and candor, and a little +amused that this life of a Venetian princess should be so lightly +included in this "everything" which marriage had brought to this maiden +of Murano; but he could not help thinking how easily she wore her +honors, and how she graced them; all Venice was at her feet, and she +preferred the dull talk of a few ecclesiastics to the vivacious +gallantry of the brilliant young nobles who thronged her salons--the +more anxious to please this queen of the day, that their efforts won +only the dignified and gracious, yet reserved, recognition that was +extended to all her guests alike. She was the very reverse of Venetian +in character and manner, but since she had been so honored by the +Republic that difference was recognized as her distinction and charm. + +"I doubt not," Marcantonio said, laughingly, "that if nuns might take +part in our social functions thou wouldst prefer them also to thine own +maidens and all the noble ladies of the Canal Grande. But who held part +in this interesting ridotto to-night?" + +"Truly, Marco, I think some day perchance I may get a dispensation and +have all the nuns of San Donate for baby's festa in the oratory--would +it not be beautiful to hear them chanting in our own palazzo! But that +is only a dream; I know not if it may ever be." + +She came toward him, in her shimmering festal robes, with the +unconscious, happy grace of a child, dropping into a low seat close +beside him, leaning back and letting her hands fall in an attitude of +complete repose, while she gave him, without effort, the detail of the +evening's talk. He was a little surprised at the way in which she made +this graphic recital of a discussion he would have supposed beyond her +comprehension--or at least beyond her concern--and he was not wholly +pleased. He had quite forgotten that one of the charms of Marina upon +which he had insisted in the days when he had made much of this maiden +to his patrician mother was that in capacity for thought and in force of +character she was far above the maidens of ancient lineage, from whom +the Lady Laura would have had him choose his bride. + +Marina had named, among others, Fra Francesco, her own spiritual +director, a Servite friar of gentle and winning demeanor, who was much +beloved both in his convent and in other circles where his duties called +him. He was a man of simple habits and the most exemplary life, whose +whole force lay in his extreme devotion to duty and his passionate love +for the Church; his sole anxiety was for her glory, and he would have +been supremely happy in the life he had chosen, were it not for his +growing anxiety lest from her own sons she should receive dishonor. He +was always a welcome visitor at the palazzo Giustiniani, and already +the little prince of the household had a special smile for him. + +"Ah, Fra Francesco, of course!" said Marcantonio, in an indulgent tone; +"our own friars and ecclesiastics are welcome. But, carina, these +foreign priests are often of a different way of thinking; and Don +Fernanzo Lillo, that fluent Spaniard--verily I would have thee don thy +most freezing dignity when he comes again." + +"But, Marco mio, thou doest him injustice; he is most interesting; he +was telling about the frescoes of the Michelangelo in the Sistine +Chapel; he knoweth them well, yet I think he liketh them little." + +"It matters not," said Marcantonio, a little disdainfully; "thou hast +already seen them; thou canst have thine own opinion of their merit." + +"But to hear all the allegories explained and all the illusions to the +history of our Holy Church is _most_ interesting," Marina pursued +calmly; "for the dear padre of San Donate had but little instruction; I +must know about all these things for baby's sake--he is growing so +fast." + +"He is not going to be an artist," his father answered shortly; "and if +he were, we could find a better person to instruct him than a Spanish +member of the Jesuit College." + +"_Marco_!" exclaimed his wife, with a long note of surprise; "is not our +Holy Church one? and are not her sons scattered over the whole world? I +knew not he displeased thee," she continued, in a changed tone, after a +little pause. "Of course I will not see him again. But is it Don +Fernanzo Lillo himself, or--or--Marco--it cannot be the order! Thou +canst not be so narrow!" + +"At this time, Marina, with matters thus between Venice and Rome, I do +not care to entertain any of their order or any foreign priests in our +home; they do not place things in the proper light, and we have always +held a special position of loyalty toward Venice. When she is in +difficulties all the Ca' Giustiniani should seem to remember it; it +could make no other difference." + +"I do not understand," she answered, looking at him with perplexed +brows. + +"Why shouldst thou!" he exclaimed, glad to change a distasteful topic; +"such weariness is not needful for thee. I will not bring the worries of +the Council Chamber into thy boudoir." + +"Nay, Marco, it would please me," she answered eagerly, rising instantly +from her languid attitude to come and stand over him, laying one hand on +his shoulder, half in caress and half in command. "Thy father tells +these matters to the Lady Laura; and for baby's sake I should understand +these troubles which touch our Republic. He will ask me questions very +soon." + +"Well, then," he consented ungraciously, "what is it thou wouldst ask?" + +She laughed at his reluctance, pressing her hand with a firmer and yet +more loving touch on his shoulder. "Because I am a Giustinian," she +began, with a plea which invariably won him, "tell me about this +question of Vicenza which occupies them all so much--I could not +understand. Who is this Abbott of Nervessa?" + +At her first words he had folded her caressing hand in his, but he +dropped it in immediate displeasure and walked quickly away from her, +speaking indignantly. "They talked of this in thy presence?" + +"They said an abbé was imprisoned in the Piombi; they said it was +against the law to imprison ecclesiastics except by the authority of the +Pope. Oh, Marco mio, I am afraid he will be very angry!" + +"What else did they tell thee?" he questioned doggedly. + +"They said there was a Canon Saraceni also--both imprisoned in Venice. +Marco mio, it is an insult to our Holy Father!" + +"What else?" + +"Nothing more--but only about some law of Venice that I did not +understand; I wished to ask thee." + +"And Fra Francesco was here and heard them talk?" + +"Nay, Fra Francesco stays never long; and this was but a few moments +before thy coming. I left the Sala Tiziana to see if all were going well +in this little salon, and they were speaking of Vicenza, and I asked +them. Wherefore art thou angry, Marco? What kept thee so late to-night?" + +She had never seen him in such a mood; he had persistently refused to +meet her beseeching glance; but now he drew a quick breath of relief, +and came back to her side. + +"It was this miserable matter of Vicenza that detained the Council in +such lengthy session," he said, "and it was not fit to have been +mentioned in thy presence, my sweet wife; I might well be angry. But +since thou wert not there, I can pardon them." + +"Yes, it was I who questioned them," she repeated eagerly, anxious to +shield her guests from her husband's indignation, though she did not +understand it. "They were talking of the Abbot of Nervessa and of his +Holiness, and when I came they rose to do me honor; and I also, to be +not lacking in courtesy, said, 'Le prego, Signori--I beg of you,' and +bade them continue the talk in which they had seemed full of interest. +Marco, in the Senate--do they know that the Pope is angry about the +Abbot of Nervessa?" + +Her eyes were full of the eagerness of her question. If they but knew +all would be well, she thought; she had so wished for Marco to be there +and hear them talk! + +"Marina, this whole matter is a question for the government to decide; +it is not for ecclesiastics to discuss--they know nothing of any laws +but their own. This is a civil case." + +"Would they not understand things better if they were allowed +representation in the Senate?" she persisted. "And what is this law? And +why is the subject not fit for Venetian nobles to discuss, since it +touches them so nearly?" She was growing disturbed, for she feared some +injustice, since Marco had not been indignant at the strange condition +she had unfolded to him, and she had thought it must suffice only to +name it to him. + +The young patrician looked at her in amazement. Fra Paolo was indeed +right, yet he had been almost indignant at the suggestion. + +"The subject cannot be discussed," he said, in quick, hard tones, +"because the Abbot of Nervessa hath committed crimes so atrocious that +thou would'st shrink at the bare naming of them. And for Saraceni--the +Canon of Vicenza--there came one day to the Senate a noble lady of +Vicenza, young, and very beautiful, and in great trouble, casting +herself at the feet of the Serenissimo, imploring protection from +disgrace that the canon would bring upon her--a scandal I had never +thought to name to thee. And there are other charges." + +"It cannot be true!" she cried, flushed and trembling. "Dear Marco, they +are priests!" + +"The truth will be decided by the integrity of the law," he answered, +severely; "they shall have justice at our courts; but it is a question +for the civil courts, since the people also cry for justice, and the +ecclesiastical law is not to deal with heinous civil offenses--though +committed by one in priestly robes. It is a just law of Venice--ancient, +and only now reaffirmed." + +"This is the law they spake of, Marco?" + +Now that she dimly understood there was some great trouble coming on the +people, she must know the right at any cost--even that of her husband's +displeasure; it was her duty to him, and she had put her question +firmly. + +"This--and another," he answered, unwillingly. "Listen, Marina, for I am +weary of thy questions. The law to forbid new foundations of church or +monastery, or the introduction of new religious orders without the +sanction of the government--also an ancient law, and but now +reaffirmed--is doubtless that of which they spake." + +Marina stood confounded, with flashing eyes; how could the Republic +dare to question the liberties of the Church! "Thou meanest, Marco, that +the Church, which is the head, must ask the Doge what she may do when +she would increase her own religious institutions--when she hath need of +buildings for her holy work!" + +"Thou hast an understanding quicker than I had believed," he answered, +with irritation; "and listen further, Marina--'since a Giustinian should +know the reason for the matters which concern the government,' that was +thy word, if I remember--the half of the territory of Venice hath +already passed into the hands of the clergy. Is that not ground enough +to hold their establishments, that thou wouldst grant them more? And for +the value of these possessions--for nowhere is a government more +generous to the ecclesiastics than the Republic hath been--it hath been +rated that a fourth part of the entire realty of the dominion--nay, some +count it a third part--is already the property of the Church. Shall we +nobles of Venice turn paupers and humbly beg of the clergy a pittance +for our children?" + +He laughed and kissed her hand as he rose. "Since thou hast asked it," +he said lightly, "I have given thee the law--and there is an end of it. +But let it not fret thee; Venice will know how to care for her own." + +But Marina had suddenly grown very pale. "Marco," she gasped, detaining +him, "will it be a war?--a war between Venice and--and----" + +She broke off; she could not speak the word which seemed a sacrilege. + +"Think of our child!" she whispered, as he gathered her in his arms, and +tried to soothe her. "Marco, are we not a Christian nation? And our +Patriarch--does he know about the displeasure of the Holy Father? What +will become of us?" + +"There will be no war," Marcantonio declared, with assurance. "Thou +see'st, carina, these matters are not for women to discuss; they cannot +understand; they are questions for the government alone; and well it is +for us that the clergy are out of it, or we might have the spectacle of +a Senate drowned in tears! There will be no war," he declared again, +mistaking the self-control for which she had bravely struggled as an +outcome of his attempts at consolation. "And now, since thou art thy +sweet self again, hath the boy not made the day richer for thee with +some tale of wonder thou wouldst unfold?" + + + +XVI + +There was no longer any doubt as to the intention of his Holiness toward +the rebellious spirit of the Most Serene Republic; the Ambassade +Extraordinary which had been appointed to convey to the Holy See the +dutiful congratulations of her devoted Venetian sons, on the accession +of Paul V, had few amenities to report in those lengthy dispatches to +which the Senate listened with a dignity which disdained to show the +least outward trace of irritation or forgetfulness, in a presence so +exasperating as that of the Papal Nuncio, Orazio Mattei. + +Day after day the Senate sat, in solemn state, to hear its delinquencies +rehearsed in the words of Paul V, by the graphic pen of his Excellency +Agostino Nani, Ambassador from the Republic to the Holy See, with +ceaseless repetitions of demand on the part of the Sovereign Pontiff; +with ceaseless repetitions of refusal, most deferently couched, from the +courtly representative of the offending power; with threats of that most +dread compeller of obedience which none but a sovereign pontiff may +wield; and very clearly phrased, that all might understand, the +declaration in the words of his Holiness himself, that he had determined +to "mortify the over-weening audacity of the secular rulers of the +world." + +With a patience which bore its fruit in a more rigid determination to +conquer, they listened, also, to many violent speeches from the Nuncio, +explanatory of papal authority, founded upon the dicta of a Gregory, +"_That none may judge the Pope. That all princes should kiss the feet of +the Pope_," and invariably sustained by this axiom of Mattei, delivered +as a refrain--so sure were the college of its repetition, "I am Pope +here; I want no replies, only obedience," and the reiterated assertion +that "Christianity depends upon the acceptance in its entirety of the +doctrine of papal supremacy, and that he has heard much of the vaunted +piety of the Venetian Republic, of which he fails to find evidence." + +In vain the Senate pleaded that on such a point there might be differing +views, and that men should be known for Christians by their faithfulness +in duty, by their practice of almsgiving and of the sacraments and of +all other good and Christian works; but the answer came swiftly, "Naught +else availeth." + +It was a relief to the stately and grim Giustinian to lose his temper in +the sanctity of his home, since that freedom was beneath the dignity of +a Venetian ruler in the company of others who were chafing like himself +from insults they would have rejoiced to hurl back in the face of the +speaker; and he was the less inclined to view favorably the efforts +toward conciliation of the embassy to the Holy See, because it would +have pleased him to have been named among those six of this Ambassade +Extraordinary, on a mission so important, as an honor due to his ancient +house. + +"It is repetition _ad nauseam_," he insisted hotly, "of demands for +abrogation of those laws, for yielding up of those two reverend +criminals to the ecclesiastical courts, of Nani's soft replies to the +quick speeches of his Holiness--an unending farce!" + +"Giustinian," said the Lady Laura quietly, "the difficulties are great. +How can the Holy Father yield a point which touches the honor of the +Church?" + +"Verily, my lady, I believe thou art not responsible for thine own +foolishness!" her husband exclaimed angrily. "If that prelate cousin of +Saraceni comes again to thy salon, let him be refused! He shall not +prate to thee of 'law' and 'supremacy,' who hath sought for this +occasion to embroil us with the Holy See. For the Senate hath learned +to-day, through the trustworthy open mouth of our watchful Lion, with +evidence irrefragable, that it is this reverend father who hath carried +the tale to Rome." + +"Tell me the right of it," she said again. "How may the honor of the +Church be saved, yet the dignity of Venice be maintained? If there be a +way, we women should speak for it." + +"Is the honor of the Church maintained by standing as a shield to crime? +It is Venice who would save the Church; the civil ruler shall purge her +sacred courts of such iniquities and leave her the purer for her sons to +love. Such is the law--ancient and just--and a right Venice cannot +yield. And more than this," he continued impressively, "all Europe is +waiting on the issue, for the real contest is on the rights of civil +rulers, and these imprisoned ecclesiastics are but the pretext for a +quarrel; and ill-judged, verily, on the part of the Holy Father, since +if the cases were less heinous there might have been occasion for +confusion of judgment. But now, who will dare assert that the honor of +the Church is concerned in protecting men who disgrace mankind!" + +"The Republic is then sure of her ground?" + +"So sure we are of right that letters are already sent to every +Christian court of Europe, announcing the causes of this quarrel and the +stand of Venice." + +"Marina is greatly troubled," said the Lady Laura, with a sigh. + +"Let her go often to San Marco and pray for us--the child is good for +nothing else since this trouble came." + +"She hath more comfort at San Donato; and the mother superior is a noble +woman and beloved by her." + +"Ay, it is all one--so that she wear not out the patience of Marcantonio +by her importunities. The Senate will stand firm on the issue, and not +one of the Ca' Giustiniani shall flinch." + +"Is there no possible doubt of the ending?" the Lady Laura questioned, +after a little troubled silence. Her heart was very sore for Marina, who +slept but little, and was constantly fasting. + +"Only of that which lieth between; the end is triumph for Venice," +Giustinian declared. "Tell that to Marina, and calm her fears. Also, let +it not be known that she is so weak in courage; it would be held against +Marcantonio, to whom the suspicion of being wife-ridden would do an +infinite injustice. And bid Marcantonio himself tell her of the vote +that hath passed the Senate, without dissent of a single voice, for +letters to be sent to the imperious Paul to make an end of his demands, +declaring that Venice recognizeth for the temporal government of her +states no superior, save God alone." + +Meanwhile in Rome, to the Ambassador Agostino Nani, Paul had already +superbly made answer, "We are above all men, and God hath given us power +over all men; we can depose kings and do yet more than that. Especially +our power is 'quae tendunt ad finem supranaturalem.' (Over those things +which tend to a supernatural end.)" + +All thoughts of festivity in the City of the Sea were over; the strength +of her patricians--men and women--was concentrated on this momentous +quarrel with the Holy See, which they would indeed have put off were it +possible, but which, having come upon them, they would bear with +conquering pride. All through those dark December days the pressure +tightened; there were mutterings of the coming storm, against which the +rulers of Venice were planning defense; there was an oppression, like a +sense of mental sirocco, in the air--a vague terror of the unknown among +the people, gathering like the blighting breath which precedes some +fierce tornado--while in the palace of San Marco, the Doge, Marino +Grimani, Chief of the Republic in revolt against the Holy See, lay +dying! + +The Lady Marina Giustiniani had forgotten how to smile. When her little +one lifted his rosy baby face to hers she smothered him in caresses, +that he might not see her tears; and her husband failed to note the +change, for the Senate sat in unbroken session and the permitted +absences from the Council Chambers of the Republic barely sufficed for +sleep. Daily in the oratory of her palace Mass was said, and Marina +passed long hours there on her knees alone, tracing the coming horror to +its most dread issue, trying to understand it wholly, that she might +pray with all her soul against it--this _Curse_ which was to blight the +lives of all she loved, and of which her dearest seemed to feel no +dread! She scarcely ate nor slept--watching, for the morning, when a new +intercession for mercy should rise from the oratory in her palace; +waiting for the evening, when she might go with her maidens to vespers +in San Marco. And still the days darkened in threats--had God forgotten +to be gracious? + +And on this Christmas morning, when the Doge of Venice lay dying in his +halls of state, the nuns of San Donate, won by the prayers and gifts of +the Lady Marina, were making a procession to all the shrines of Murano, +praying, if by any means, God would stay this curse from falling upon +Venice. + +No joy-bells rang to usher in the sunrise Mass of this memorable +Christmas day. The royal standards of the mighty Lion drooped at +half-mast before the dimmed magnificence of San Marco, their glowing +gold and scarlet deadened to shades of mourning steel; and low, muffled +tones, like the throbbings of the heart of a people, dropped down from +the campanile through an atmosphere still and cold as a breath of dread; +while from the embassies, the homes of the senators and Signoria, the +Patriarch and bishops of Venice, gondolas by twos and threes loomed +black against the gray-dark of the winter dawn, hurrying noiselessly to +the steps of the Piazzetta; and dark, stately figures, each heralded by +its torch-bearer, glided like phantoms under the arcades of the Ducal +Palace, up between the grim, giant guardians of the stairway, and on to +the galleries adjoining the apartments of the Doge, to await the hour of +Mass. + +An edict, more unanswerable than any ever issued by Republic or Curia, +had gone forth, and in solemn state Venice awaited its fulfilment. + +In that hush of reverent waiting, before the first faint saffron streak +had glimmered in the east, up through the flaring torches of the lower +court, unbidden and unwelcome, came the single figure in all that throng +which seemed to have no part in the solemn drama. To-day was like other +days for the nuncio, who was no member of the court of Venice, but a +figure without discretionary privilege, sent to keep in perpetual mind a +higher power. By his peremptory instructions he requested at once a +formal audience to deliver a message from his Holiness Paul V, which +could brook no delay. + +"Behold!" said he, after due grace of apology, when the senators had +withdrawn to the Sala di Collegio and taken their accustomed places, +"here are two briefs which, by the imperative instructions of our +Sovereign Lord the Pope, I must at once deliver to your Serene +Highnesses." + +They were sealed with the sacred seal of the Curia, and each bore the +inscription: + +"A Marino Grimani, Duce; e alla Republica Veneta." + +There was but a moment's consultation among the Signoria. + +"The Serenissimo is _in extremis_," the most venerable of the Ducal +Councillors announced, "therefore these briefs which, in the name of the +Serene Republic of Venice, we receive, cannot be opened until the solemn +ceremonials of the death and the election shall have been concluded," +and so dismissed the bearer of the Papal message to return to the +audience of the greater king. + +Meanwhile there was no arresting of that other message, which came +swiftly, and the placid old Grimani--wise, beloved, and regretted--laid +down his sceptre of state in the moment of the greatest need of Venice, +and passed on to a Court of Inquiry whose findings are inalterably just. + +Calmly, as if they knew not the contents of the unopened briefs, or like +men never to be surprised into forgetfulness, the Signoria and +councillors assisted at the crowded ceremonials of the days that +followed, when the Serenissimo lay in state in the _chapelle ardente_, +which was prepared in one of the great chambers of the Palace, with +twenty nobles in ceaseless attendance, the people thronging silently to +pay their duty to their Prince--when, by night, in solemn procession, +with torches and chanting of requiems, they carried him to the church of +San Zanipolo, their gondolas draped in mourning, their banners furled in +crêpe, the imposing insignia of the state he had put off forever borne +before him to the giant baldichino before the high altar, where, +surrounded by innumerable candles, he lay until the morning should bring +the closing pomp of the last solemn Mass. + +Not one honor had been omitted, not one ceremonial abridged because of +those briefs upon which the seal of the Vatican was still unbroken; and +when the imposing obsequies were over, and there was no longer a prince +to lift the weight of the gold-wrought mantle and the ducal beretta in +the sight of the people, the ship of state yet bore herself superbly, +steering as serenely through the troubled sea as if each man still read +his signal in the face of a beloved commander. + +And now the singular strength of the Republic and the perfection of the +machine of government was evidenced, as, without a moment of indecision, +the officers proceeded to discharge the duty allotted to the hour, +according to the forms prescribed in those endless volumes of the "Libri +Ceremoniali," which provided for every function of life or death of the +punctilious Venetian court. + +No leader, however loved and revered, was individually great, but only +as he contributed to the greatness of Venice--the one deathless entity; +her noblest were content to give of their greatness and be themselves +nameless; and against the less great, for whom self-effacement was +impossible--men strong in gifts and eager for power--the jealous +Republic had provided a system of efficient checks, based upon an astute +understanding of the fears and claims of self-interest. Venice knew no +hiatus in rule; all were leaders to point the way of that inviolable +constitution when the supreme voice was temporarily silent, for it was +the voice of an impersonal prince, and not of the man--who had +absolutely put off individuality when he assumed the insignia of +royalty. + +In this hour of adversity the men of Venice rose to their greatest, +forgetting their rivalries and standing breast to breast in phalanx +around their vacant throne, that Venice might meet trouble with +increased strength when the eyes of the world were curiously turned upon +her. + +Inexorably, though no voice had been raised against Grimani, they +appointed that commission of inquisitors to review every official act of +the last wearer of this crown which now lay idly waiting on the golden +cushion; as sternly elected, those five "correctors" of the coronation +oath so soon to be administered to a new wearer of the ermine, and +without pause for praise or strife, proceeded to the cumbersome choice +of the ducal electors whose word should suffice to create a new Venetian +prince. + +Meanwhile, against the barred doors of the Council Chambers, where those +grave Signori were balloting and re-balloting with exemplary patience +for the golden balls, the nuncio knocked again, breathless with his +latest message sent in haste from the Holy See: "_The election of a new +prince would be void, being made by a people under censure_." + +But the law of Venice was ready with its decorous shield, and the +message could not pass beyond. The punctilious Signoria might give no +audience in the days that intervened between Doge and Doge, except to +receive that message of condolence which it had not entered the heart of +his Holiness to frame, and the nuncio appealed in vain to other +authorities in Venice to win him audience for the delivery of his +sovereign's mandate. + +With whatever burnings of heart and secret hopes and ambitions those +forty-one elected nobles, after days of weary, patient tossings of gold +and silver balls--a mere intricate child's play had it not been for the +greatness of the prize--saw themselves closed within the chamber from +which they might not issue forth until there was again a prince in +Venice; with what vividness a Giustinian foresaw his own stern visage +stamped on the coin of Venice in that moment when his name appeared on +the first folded paper drawn from the fateful urn; with what dignity he +concealed his baffled hope and watched, from under frowning eyebrows, a +Morosini and a Ziani pass, in turn, through the fierce ordeal of +relegation to obscurity--the annals of that secret council do not +reveal. + +But in this stress of Venice the electors quitted themselves like true +men, and when the noble Cavalière Leonardo Donato--full of dignity, of +wisdom, and of honors, skilled in diplomacy and experience, and bold as +wise--came forth to scatter his coronation gift of coin in the Piazza, +and after solemn religious ceremonial was shown from the pulpit of San +Marco as Prince of Venice, well might the people shout in acclamation, +"_Provato! Provato_!" ("Approved!") and the watching courts of Europe +hasten to express, through their resident ambassadors, eager +congratulations that one so fitted to fill the position with distinction +had taken his place among the rulers. + +But Orazio Mattei brought no message of congratulation from Rome. + + + +XVII + +Giustinian Giustiniani had been among the electors and had listened to +that strict canvassing of acts, both private and official, which +preceded the final vote for the Prince of Venetia. + +"Venice hath taken stand before the courts of Europe with a leader who +feareth naught--save not to do the right," he magnanimously assured the +Lady Laura one evening when, according to their wont, they were +discussing the theme which never failed in interest. "Nay, not even +that; for Donato hath courage in himself, and in his own rulings faith, +and more a man needs not." + +"Then wherefore hath the Signoria created this office of _Teologo +Consultore_, and appointed thereto this friar of the Servi, of whom they +tell such marvels--as if the Collegio, with all our learned chancellors, +were not enough!" + +"Leave thou these matters to the Signoria, who, verily, know how to +rule--ay, and how to choose; for the man is like none other." + +"What uses hath the Senate for this cloistered scholar, skilled in many +sciences and master of tongues," the Lady Laura persisted, "that it +should create an office--which since the _serrata_ it hath not been +known to do--and appoint a friar over the heads of our nobles who have +loyally served the Republic since our ancestors first sat in the +Consiglio? There are the halls of Padua for our scholars, where already +his friend, the master Galileo, holdeth high honors, by favor of the +Senate; and if Fra Paolo were named Rector Magnifico, and put at its +head----" + +"Nay, nay, the Senate is wise," her husband interrupted, not ill pleased +at her vehemence and the patrician pride which prompted it. "And if the +Republic hath no present need of the Consultore's mastery of sciences, +the fame thereof hath made a hearing for any speech of his. But he hath +no mind to any social pleasures--how, then, my lady, hast seen him, or +knowest thou the quality of his learning?" + +"Fra Francesco is never weary of telling of his wisdom; they have been +friends since boyhood in the Servi. The master Galileo, if one may +believe him, can do naught without consulting Fra Paolo, and together +they are building some strange tunnel that shall bring the stars nearer! +It is like a fable to listen to these marvels of his friend, who for his +discoveries might well hold all the chairs in Padua if Fra Francesco +might decree his deserts! But Fra Francesco is simple-minded. Tell me, +Giustinian, how doth the Consultore appear to thee?" + +"To me and to all men like one who betrays no secret and speaks no idle +word." + +"Once," pursued the lady meditatively, "I had sight of him, going with +Marco to the convent to see our Madonna of the Veronese, and Fra Paolo +ministered in the chapel of the Consolation; very quiet and simple he +seemed, like the other frati. I had not thought him great, nor a leader +of men. Are there no statesmen in Venice who might better fit the +dignity of so great an office?" + +"Think not to teach subtlety to the Signoria, my Lady Laura! Is not +every noble a statesman trained, and every one at the service of the +Republic? But there is no greater theologian at the Court of Paul V, nor +any ecclesiastic among them all more familiar with the writings of their +authorities; and he hath a memory so astounding that he beareth the +meaning of all their codes on the end of his tongue wherewith to confute +the fallacious arguments of Rome." + +"Giustinian!" + +"It is like a woman to ask a thing and cry out if the answer be not +smothered in sweets!" the old Senator retorted irritably, resenting her +accent of reproof. "It is small marvel if the Consultore seemeth not +great to thee; the power of the man is in the clarity of his vision and +the brevity of his speech." + +"Who named him to the Signoria?" + +"Donato knew him well, and Morosini and all our ablest men; and his +knowledge of the ways of Rome, where he hath been much in legislation at +the Vatican, is a power in the Senate--which hath no mind to be taken in +argument, nor to fail in courtesy, nor to show ignorance in its demands. +It is much to have a judge whose opinion our adversary must respect." + +"The Senate will be cautious--will not forget the reverence owed to the +Holy Church?" she asked, in warning, troubled at his bold use of words. + +"Nay, but the Republic will first remember the duty owed to our prince, +since it is a matter that toucheth the State," he answered, +uncompromisingly, "and for our duty to the Church--leave that to our +frate, than whom none is more devout." + +She was too keenly interested not to put the further question: + +"Is it safe for Fra Paolo to lead this controversy? Is it pleasing to +his order?" + +Giustinian gave a contemptuous laugh. + +"Thou mayest well ask! Fra Paolo also would not hear of it at first, +foreseeing where it might lead. But from urgency of the Senate he +yielded--if the consent of the general of the Servi were first won. +Wherefore it was granted one knows not; but the purple robe had, +perchance, some weight in the argument,--being a pleasing honor,--though +one may dare assert that Fra Paolo himself gave it not a thought, having +gathered honors all his life with no care for any greatness they might +bring." + +"Nay, it was not this that won them," said the Lady Laura, with +decision, "but their hope that Fra Paolo would support the claims of the +Holy Father; it could have been nothing else." + +"A hope most reasonable, were he a man of less remarkable force," +Giustinian answered confidently. "But, as if he held a divining-rod, he +findeth at once the heart of a matter, and Venice hath no fears." + +No, Venice had no fears. If there had been heartburnings, they were all +forgotten; her rulers were one in determination while they calmly +weighed the balance between Church and State, and confidently awaited +the issue. The briefs had been opened and the chief Counsellor, the new +Teologo Consultore, had given an opinion which filled the Senate with +admiration. + +"Two remedies might be found: one, material, by forbidding the +publication of the censures and preventing the execution of them, thus +resisting illegitimate force by force clearly legitimate, so long as it +doth not overpass the bounds of natural right of defense; and the other +moral, which consisteth in an appeal to a future council. But," +continued this sagacious Counsellor, after a word explanatory of the +"future council," "it were better to avoid this appeal in order not to +irritate the Pope more than ever; and also because he who appealeth +admiteth that the goodness of his cause is doubtful, whereas that of the +Republic is indubitable." + +Such was the opinion, brief as positive, to which the senators listened +in undisguised satisfaction on that memorable day in January, 1606; and +although those briefs, "Given in Saint Peter's, in Rome, under the Ring +of the Fisherman, on the 10th of December, 1605," darkly threatened +excommunication unless these dearly beloved sons of Venice withdrew from +the stand they had taken, yet with a Doge who "would laugh at an +excommunication," and a learned Counsellor who assured them that the +cause of the Republic was indubitable, well might the shadows lessen in +the Senate Chamber; while in calm assurance the Savii[7] prepared the +reply to these communications from his Holiness, which the Signor +Agostino Nani presently delivered in an audience at Rome. + + [7] These Savii, or _wise men_, had charge of the diplomatic + despatches of the Republic. + +But the task of the courtly Nani was not an enviable one, deferent as +was the form of the epistle in which these devoted sons declared that +nothing could have been further from the thoughts of Venice than to +prejudice the rights of the Church--humbly as they implored the Holy +Father to recall the many acts of loyalty by which Venice had shown her +love and reverence. Had she not been foremost in the Crusade? Was the +Church anywhere more magnificently supported in temporal weal? Earnestly +as they assured him of the harmlessness of those laws which he condemned +as hurtful to their souls, quietly announcing that the Republic had +transgressed no right in making laws for her own independent civil +government,--and gracious and diplomatic as were the ways of Nani,--his +Holiness declared the letter to be "frivolous and vain," and dismissed +the ambassador with temper, assuring him that unless the Republic found +means to retract those laws "the gates of hell should not prevail" to +deter him from inflicting the utmost threatened penalty. + +It was a frank contest of wills, in which each opponent conscientiously +believed himself in the right; but it was, nevertheless, not an equal +contest; for Paul, conceiving that his duty in the exalted position of +head of the Church which had been so unexpectedly thrust upon him, lay +in its mere temporal aggrandizement, while consciously turning all his +powers in that direction, misnamed the struggle a _spiritual_ one. But +Venice not only believed but confessed it to be merely a question of +civil rights of rulers, and, strong in the sense of the justice of her +cause, used every grace of trained diplomacy in asserting it--upon an +understanding of civil law which was beyond the attainment of the lawyer +Camillo Borghese, and with the aid of specialists whose knowledge of +canon law equaled that of his Holiness. + +Among the important matters touched upon in those days in the Senate the +question had been broached, not without anxiety, as to whether Rome +would have recourse to force of a less spiritual nature, and a secret +commission had been appointed to examine and report from the frontiers +any accession of papal troops, while envoys were sent to Ferrara on the +same furtive errand: and the more serious Venetians were already +discussing the possibility of war as one of the aspects of this quarrel +with the Holy See. + +One day, through the swift and secret mouth of the Lion, an unusual +message reached the Ten, standing strangely out amid a mass of darker +matter--denunciations, sinister information, hints of intrigues; the +reason for the choice of this mysterious messenger was stated in the +preamble: "To the end that this may, without circumlocution, immediately +reach your noble body and be acted upon in your discretion--being +secretly dismissed, if this seemeth wisest in the interests of the +State." It was a brief offer on the part of Girolamo Magagnati to equip +and maintain, at his expense, in the event of war with the Holy See, a +war-galley of the largest size, as a gift to the Republic in the name of +his little grandson, the infant Giustinian. + +Venice, being more munificent in expenditure than her unassisted +treasury would warrant, was at all times ready to receive and encourage +private bounties from her wealthy citizens; and the promptness and +generosity of Magagnati's gift, the first which had been offered in this +emergency, seemed in the interests of the government to demand some +adequate public recognition, modestly as it had been proffered. Haughty +as was the attitude of Venice in the face of the threatened +excommunication, the occasion was one of peril to which she was not +blind, and the danger was greatest among the people--the _popolo_--who +were more under the influence of the priests, and who still included in +their beliefs many superstitions which were not likely to deter the +disciplined body of nobles from acquiescence in the decisions of their +chiefs. + +It was therefore a moment for diplomacy, when Venice might fitly show +magnanimity in her acceptance of so princely a gift from one of the +people, as this master-worker of Murano was still esteemed; and Girolamo +Magagnati was invited to appear before the Senate and receive the +acknowledgment of the Serenissimo, who had already been informed by the +Councillors that while the spontaneous offer of a galley so maintained +had no precedent in the annals of Venice, the reward which the Senate +proposed to bestow had, in fact, in early historic days been offered by +the Republic as a stimulus to such a gift. + +Girolamo Magagnati, a grave and venerable figure,--with white locks +falling from under his round black cap, and a full gray beard flowing +over the long merchant's robe of stiff silk, and wearing the insignia +of his calling, a golden chain which by its weight and numerous links +was also an indication of his wealth,--might have been one of the +Signoria, as he stood among them to receive their thanks--unabashed, as +became one of his dignity of character and age, unattended, as befitted +one of the people. + +The Doge himself made a gracious speech of acceptance on behalf of the +Republic, to which Girolamo briefly answered: "Most Serene Prince and +Noble Lords of the Council, in the name of my grandson Giustinian, I +thank you," and with a grave obeisance he would have retired; but it was +signified to him that he might not yet withdraw. + +"Yet one thing remaineth, most esteemed Messer Magagnati, by which this +Republic would testify her appreciation of such loyalty and forethought, +by reason of which--as for the esteem in which this Republic hath ever +held the ancient house of Magagnati, which from the earliest times hath +been foremost in our industry of Murano--we propose to confer nobility +upon thine house, and to give thee an immediate seat of right in the +Maggior Consiglio." + +The honor was so unexpected that the body of grave Councillors had risen +in congratulation before Girolamo Magagnati could frame other response +than his profound and grave obeisance. + +But there was no hint of indecision in the deep, measured tones with +which he made reply: + +"Most Serene Prince and Lords of the Council, I beg you to believe in my +deep appreciation of the honor you would bestow. But let it rather be +said of me that I--being still of the people, as all of my house from +the commencement of this Republic have ever been--have yet received such +favor of my Prince that he accepts from one of the people this token of +loyal service to the government. And more I ask not." + +"Also," he proceeded calmly, taking no note of the consternation on the +faces of his auditors, "is it not fitting for old men to receive favors +from children, rather for them to bestow--as I, this galley, in the name +of the boy; the which--were I to accept in return the munificence of the +Senate--would be the offering of my galley as so much base coin, +wherewith to purchase an honor not mine by birth. Let it not be said in +scorn that Girolamo Magagnati hath bought the nobility with which his +birth hath failed to endow him!" + +"Is it better, Messer Magagnati, that some should now say 'it is for +arrogance that this noble son of the people refuses a seat among the +nobles of Venice'?" the Doge questioned coldly. + +"Not so, Most Serene Prince; each man is rather noble if, in that place +which God hath assigned him, he doeth nobly the duty belonging thereto; +as ye, my Lords, Nobles, and Councillors of the Republic, each in the +seat appointed you by birth, serve, without wearying, the interests of +Venice. I am already old and the last of my race, for those of my blood +who come after me, by the favor of Venice, are inscribed in the 'Libro +d'Oro.' If I have deserved aught of your bounty, be gracious when some +right of the people is in danger of being forgotten; and let my +grandson, among the nobles, ever serve nobles and people alike--as +Venetians--without distinction of interests. But let me die as I have +lived, among the workmen of Murano--Magagnati, of the Venetian people." + +"Never before, in the annals of the Republic, was one known to refuse +the gift of nobility," Giustinian explained, as he described the scene +to the Lady Laura. "And, verily, one saw that the displeasure of the Ten +was great; the more so that in the interests of the government the +return they would have made may not be kept from the knowledge of the +people. Yet our senior master of Murano was suffered to depart with a +gracious word of regret from this consummate Donate, 'that a new noble, +so loyal in sentiment, should not be numbered among the councillors of +Venice.' Truly this grandsire of our little one lacketh not pride, and +his bearing became him well, though the Senate would have had it +otherwise. His gift was generous; but verily he needeth little for the +maintenance of the state he keepeth!" + +"Giustinian, it was a noble act! And already the Republic is more +beholden to our baby than to any child in Venice; it will bring gladness +to the face of our sad Marina." + +"Nay, guard thee from speech of it; perchance she may not hear thereof, +being thus concerned with grief for this quarrel--womanlike; and she +hath not strength to bear the thought of war. Verily, the reverend +father confessors in Venice have much to answer for; I would thou +couldst find means to keep Fra Francesco from his ministrations in her +palace." + +"Fra Francesco--so holy and gentle--a man to trust!" + +"Ay, I have naught against him, save that he is trained in the school of +Rome, having a conscience to uphold their claims, and with no thought or +care for anything but the Church--no wisdom to discover any right of +princes. Such confessors make trouble among the people. I doubt not our +daughter trusteth the word of Fra Francesco beyond thine or mine. Do thy +possible to keep him from her; there is no knowing what Marcantonio may +do at her bidding, and in this crisis there shall be no stain upon our +house." + +"Thou, then, Giustinian, speak with Marco." + +"Nay, I dare not name Marina to him under such suspicion; it might be +the forcing of the very thing we fear. He hath a way with him of hearing +all and saying naught, save some gay, facile word, courteous to the +point one can find no fault; and underneath he hath perhaps some scheme, +and never can one get a promise from him." + + + +XVIII + +The Lady Marina was wan from fear and fasting but very resolute, though +her face showed traces of tears, as her husband entered the oratory of +the palace, whither she had implored him to come to her before he went +to the Senate Chamber--a dignity to which he had but just been elected. + +"Why hast thou summoned me hither?" he asked somewhat coldly; for, like +most light-hearted people, he disliked scenes, and differences between +himself and his wife were the more intolerable to him because he truly +loved her. + +"Oh, Marco, my beloved!" she exclaimed imploringly, "thou lovest Venice +as much as I, and thy little word can save her from this great horror, +for thou art in the councils of thy people." + +"Nay, Marina, thou dost not understand," he answered deprecatingly, +softening at the sight of her trouble. "I have but one vote; it is as +nothing in the Senate--it would but draw indignation against our house. +It is not possible to fail in loyalty to the Republic on this first +occasion of moment." + +"Thy father might be won, if thou hast but courage. Thou art a +Giustinian; it is thy duty to speak in time of peril, and thy words +would make others brave to follow thee. Thus shalt thou save Venice." + +"If thou didst but know, carina, how the Senate and the Ten are set +against this wish of thine! I should not speak of this matter to thee, +for it is secret--but to calm thee and help thee understand." + +"How shall it calm me to know that the people and the city are rushing +under the ban? If this terrible resolution passes, if our child--our +tender child--were to die to-morrow he would go without burial--a little +wandering soul! Marco, thou lovest our child?" + +Her pauses and her desperate struggle for control were full of +inexpressible horror. + +"Calm thyself, my darling; it shall not be," he answered, reassuringly. + +"Oh, Marco mio! And thou wilt give thy vote against it? And thou wilt +use thine influence in the Council? Promise me!" + +She clung to him, sobbing and exhausted. + +He soothed her for a moment silently; should he leave her under such a +misunderstanding? It would be easier for them both, but he had intended +no untruth. How was it possible to make such a woman understand? She was +quiet now, and he was stealing away from her with a kiss on her +forehead. + +"Promise me!" she insisted, following him and clasping his arm with +sudden strength. + +"Marina, they are very set; and the Ten--thou dost not know their +power." + +"And shall all Venice brave the wrath of our most Holy Church because +the Senate is afraid of the Ten? Are the Ten more powerful than the Holy +Father and all the priesthood and sacraments of the Church? Marco, my +beloved, how shall I save thee?" "Carina, these things are not coming +upon Venice; thou dost not understand the law of Church and State." + +"No, Marco," she answered boldly, "it is rather thou who dost not +understand. There will be no services, no marriage for our people, no +burial, no consolations of our holy religion, no sacraments--if this +excommunication should come upon us." + +"If we had sinned, Marina, and laid ourselves open to interdict, then +these things should come--not otherwise." + +"Ay, but we _have_ sinned--by rebellion against the Holy Church. Marco, +it is not easy for men to submit; but Father Francesco says the women +shall save Venice." + +"The women of Venice are priest-ridden!" the young Senator cried +angrily, breaking away from her. "If there is trouble, it is the priests +who have brought it. They cannot be a separate power within Venice!" + +"Not a separate power, Marco, only the representative of the Church, +which is the supreme power." + +"These things are not for women to discuss," he exclaimed in +astonishment that she should attempt to reason on such a subject. + +"Not for women, and not for men," she answered quietly. "The power of +the Holy Father is by _divine_ right." + +"Marina, if thou canst say so much, thou _shalt_ understand the rest!" +he cried desperately. "So also is the power of temporal princes by +divine right--if not even more, as some of the authorities would have +it. But the temporal prince hath right only to that within his own +jurisdiction. Granting the divine right to the spiritual prince, it +lieth only within his own province. Paul V hath exceeded his rights. +Leonardo Donato, Serenissimo of the Republic, is not guilty in +self-defense." + +She quivered as if a knife had been thrust through her; then, +controlling herself by force, she dipped her fingers in the basin of +holy water that stood upon the little altar. "It is sacrilegious to +speak against the Holy Father," she said in a low, grieved tone, as she +made the sign of the cross upon his breast. "May God forgive thee, my +dear one--it is not thy fault. But in the Senate they are misleading +thee!" + +"My sweet wife," he answered, much troubled, and folding her closely. +"Do not grieve. All will be well for Venice. We shall not bring harm +upon her." + +But she detected no yielding in his tone. She lifted her head from his +breast, and moved slightly away from him. + +"Marco," she asked firmly, "when is the vote to be cast?" + +"To-day, before sunset, and I must not linger. It would bring misfortune +upon our house if I were to be absent in an affair of such moment. Else +would I not leave thee." + +She did not seek to detain him. + +"Promise me that thou wilt be reasonable," he said, looking back, as he +parted the draperies of the doorway; "thou wilt not grieve." + +"A promise for a promise, Marco; thou hast given me none, and may the +Madonna have mercy upon us!" + +After a long, lingering look at the drooping figure of his wife he +dropped the curtain and descended to his gondola, sombre in spirit +because of the work that awaited him in the Senate Chamber; his +footsteps lagged wearily upon the stone floor of the long, dark passage, +and the brilliant outer sunshine flooded him with a sense of desperately +needed relief. + +When Marina moved it was to throw herself before the altar, resting her +head upon her clasped hands, in an agony of supplication. + + * * * * * + +In the midst of an excited debate, immediately preceding the final vote, +the door of the Senate Chamber was suddenly thrown open by the keeper, +who announced in an awestruck tone: + +"A citizen claims the right of the humblest Venetian to bring before +Messer the Doge a message of vital import in the question under +discussion." + +He uttered the words tremblingly, as if he had been taught them, and the +interruption at such an hour, though not unprecedented, was at least +unusual enough to cause consternation. The flood of words ceased; there +was an uneasy movement among the senators, then a hush of suspense. + +Without waiting for the customary consent of the Doge, a procession of +white-robed, white-veiled women passed through the open doorway, moving +slowly and solemnly to the Doge's throne. The leader stepped forth from +her group of maidens and knelt at the foot of the dais. + +This sudden arrest of action by these white-robed gliding figures, at a +moment when the Senate was about to defy the authority of the Church, +brought a superstitious thrill to many hearts within that chamber. + +Among the younger senators it was whispered, in unsteady tones, that a +message delayed for the death of a prince was likely to bring +trouble--messengers, perchance, from another world--when forced again to +discussion. They listened breathlessly for the message; but the figure +still knelt in silence. + +The group of Councillors on the dais swayed and parted against that +wonderful background of Tintoret, the dead Christ and the two Doges +reverently kneeling in proof of the devotion of this Most Serene +Republic. Around the vast and sumptuous chamber, where the proud +Signoria assembled, like a council of kings, Venice had chronicled her +triumphs and her religious humility in endless repetition and intimately +blended, as became her faith; the Doges Priuli, kneeling in prayer; +Venice, mounted defiantly on the Lion of Saint Mark; other portraits of +other doges, in attitudes of devotion; other pictures of the Christ, of +the saints, always symbolic; but over all,--triumphant, beautiful,--with +its irresistible sea-tones, cool and strong, Venice, Queen of the Sea, +compelling the homage of her rulers, from the ceiling's height. + +Twice the Doge essayed to speak, but the faces of the younger men warned +him of the danger of such an interruption at a moment when the entire +vote had seemed sure, and so filled him with wrath that he dared not +speak until he could control his voice, lest its tremor be mistaken for +fear. The moment seemed an hour. + +"Reveal thyself!" Leonardo Donato commanded at last; "and rise!" + +The supplicant slowly rose, throwing back her veil, and revealing a face +that was spirit-like in its pallor and beauty, with deep eyes, +unfathomably sad. Her maidens gathered close about her, as if to support +her, for she trembled as she stood. + +A low murmur arose. "The Lady of the Giustiniani!" + +In all that vast Council Chamber there was no movement, save the slight +commotion among a group of red-robed senators farthest from the throne, +who were forcibly detaining the Senator Marcantonio Giustiniani, and the +imperative gesture from the dais which had waved him back and hushed his +involuntary exclamation of horror. Among the Savii, Giustinian +Giustiniani sat livid with anger, close under the eyes of that one calm, +terrible Counsellor whose gaze, fastened upon him, rendered speech +impossible. + +"My daughter," said the Doge, in a tone full of consideration, "this is +not fitting. At another moment we will listen to thy request. Thou +mayest withdraw." + +"Serenissimo, Prince of Venice!" Marina cried, stretching forth her +hands, "be gracious to me! _Now_ must I speak my message, or it will be +too late--and it hath been granted me in a vision, for the welfare of +the people of Venice. _If the Ruler of this Republic will win the +consent of the Senate and the Council to comply with the admonitions of +the Most Holy Father, the day shall be happy for Venice_." + +"Take her away--she is distraught," commanded one of the Chiefs of the +Ten, starting forward. + +There was a movement of irresolution among those immediately surrounding +the Doge; but the Lady Marina, like one commissioned for a holy emprise, +had no fear. + +"Nay, for I claim my right, as citizen of Venice, to bring my grievance +to the Doge's throne!" she answered proudly. "I am mother to a son who +shall one day take his seat among the nobles of this Council; I am +daughter to a man of the people,--beloved by his own class and honorably +known, in the records of the Ten, among the industries of Venice,--who +hath but now refused the seat of honor they would have granted him, that +he might more truly serve the interests of the people; I am wife to a +noble whose ancient name hath been written again and again in records of +highest service most honorable to the Republic. My grievance is the +grievance of Venice--of the nobles and the people!" + +She spoke with the exaltation of inspiration, and there was a hush in +the chamber, as if she had wrought some spell they could not break. + +Presently into this silence a voice--low, clear, emotionless--dropped +the consenting words, "Speak on, that justice be not defrauded by the +half-told tale." + +Instinctively the eyes of the senators turned to the face of the Chief +Counsellor, whose opinions had ruled the debate for many days past; but +he sat serene and unmoved among his violet-robed colleagues, with no +trace of sympathy nor speech upon his placid and inscrutable +countenance. If the words were his they were simply an impartial +reminder of duty--they concealed no opinion; the senators were to be the +judges of the scene, and justice required them to listen. + +They gave a quickened interest. + +"I plead for the people, who have no representatives here--for the +people, who are faithful to the Church and dutiful to the Holy Father; +let not this undeserved horror come upon them. Leave them their heaven, +who have no earthly paradise!" + +The lady's strength seemed failing, for the last words had come more +painfully, though with a ring of passionate indignation. + +Again Marcantonio Giustiniani broke from his detaining colleagues in an +attempt to reach his wife; and a second time the hands of the +Councillors waved him back. + +"Spare us this anathema, most gracious Prince!" she cried. "I speak for +the mothers of all the babes of Venice. And oh, my Lords,"--and now the +words came in a low, intense wail, as she turned instinctively and +included them all in the beseeching motion of her hands,--"if you have +no mercy on yourselves, at least have mercy on your tender little ones! +Do not bring damnation on these innocent, helpless children by your own +act. Be great enough to submit to a greater power!" + +"It is unseemly," murmured another of the Councillors, yet low, as if +afraid of his own judgment in a case so strange. + +Leonardo Donato had been in possession of the supreme ducal authority +but a few weeks, not long enough to unlearn the tone of command and the +quick power of decision which had distinguished him as ambassador, when +he had been chosen with the unanimous approval of this august assembly, +to conciliate the court of Rome in the hour of the Republic's great +emergency. His presence of mind returned to him; the scene had lasted +long enough, and the situation was critical. The noble Lady Marina must +be retired without disgrace, for the honor of the Ca' Giustiniani; but, +above all, that she might not heighten the impression which her presence +had already created. And she must be placed where she could exercise no +further influence, yet in a way that should awaken no commiseration; for +she was beautiful and terribly in earnest, and in her deep eyes there +was the light of a prophet, and all Venice was at her feet. + +The Doge spoke a word low to his Councillors, who sat nearest him on +either side, and they, with decorous signs of approval, passed it on to +the others. Thus fortified he rose, descended the steps of the ducal +throne, and addressed her with grave courtesy; the whole house, as in +custom bound, rising also while their prince was standing. + +"We do not forget, most noble Lady Marina Giustiniani, that more than +many others thou art a daughter of the Republic, being especially +adopted by the Act of the Signoria; and thy love for Venice wins +forgiveness for the strangeness of thy fear that we, her loyal rulers, +could work her harm. But thou art distressed and needing rest, from the +pain of the vision which thou hast confided to us. We will care for +thee, as a father should. + +"Let the noble Senator Marcantonio Giustiniani approach and conduct his +lady to private apartments within our palace, where she may rest, with +her maidens, until she shall be refreshed. One of our secretaries shall +show the way and remain to see that every aid is bestowed." + +The secretary whom the Doge had designated by a glance had approached +and received a rapid order, spoken in an undertone; Marina had fallen, +almost fainting, upon her husband's arm, as he reached her after the +permission so intolerably delayed, yet he dared not move in that +imperious presence without further bidding. His hand stole over hers to +comfort her. She had suffered so much that he could not be angry. + +Leonardo Donato's eyes quickly scanned the faces of the senators, +seeking the two least sympathetic. + +"The Senators Morosini and Sagredo will escort them," he said, "and will +return in haste with the Senator Giustiniani to do their duty to the +Republic." + +At the door Marina turned again, rallying her failing strength with a +last desperate effort, but the words came in a broken, agonized whisper: +"O Santissima Maria Vergine! Mater Dolorosa! because thou art the +special guardian of this Virgin City--and here, in her councils, none of +thy reverend fathers may plead for thee--be merciful, Madre Beatissima! +Save us from our doom!" + + + +XIX + +As the door closed upon the retreating cortège the attitude of the Doge +grew stern. He turned as if about to address the still standing Senate, +when, remembering that he had already assumed the initiative to an +unusual degree, and having so recent a recollection of that formidable +coronation oath whose slightest infraction would be visited upon his +nearest of kin, he mounted in silence to his seat and consulted with his +Councillors until the senators were in their places. Then, in a tone of +authority, he proclaimed: + +"That which hath just occurred within this hall of the Senate shall be +for those who have witnessed it as if it had not been, and the +secretaries of the day shall not transcribe it upon their records, since +it hath already more than sufficiently consumed our time. This vision of +the lady was doubtless wrought by unwise tampering, being a vision of a +nature that may gain credence with women--dependent and timid and +unversed in law--but with which men and rulers have nothing to do." + +An expression of relief slowly grew upon the faces before him while the +Doge was speaking; noting which his words were allowed to produce their +full effect during the few moments of relaxation and informal talk, +which, as was immediately announced by a secretary, would occupy the +time until the return of the three senators--all meanwhile keeping their +seats that no moment might be lost in resuming the important interrupted +debate. + +The strain had been so great, both during the discussion and the visit +of the Lady Marina, that there was a willingness among the senators to +unbend, to throw aside serious impressions and make light of all dread, +as womanish and weak, accepting the Doge's words as leaders. For in +those days the faith of many of the gravest walked only a little way +from the borderland of superstition; and it was long since any of their +princes had held so great a reputation for judgment and diplomacy as +Leonardo Donato. + +"The Senate now being complete," the Doge solemnly announced, +immediately upon the return of the three senators, "the interrupted +speech will be concluded, and before the final vote is taken there will +be presented once more before this august body that argument of our most +learned and venerated Counsellor, Padre Maestro Paolo, upon which the +decision of the Ten hath been based, and upon which the College, the +Senate, and the Great Council will presently be called to vote." + +This marshaling of the entire ruling body of the Republic could not fail +to exercise a steadying power, and neither fear nor irresolution were +revealed to the impressive, penetrating, and commanding gaze of +Leonardo, when the Senator Contarini resumed the speech which had been +so strangely interrupted. The enthusiasm and determination of the +morning had returned; the words fell upon a receptive and positive +atmosphere. The opinions of the distinguished Senator carried great +weight, so loyal and catholic was he known to be; and above the portal +of the Contarini many times the Lion of St. Mark had proudly rested. + +"We are loyal sons of the Church," he said, "but no highest +ecclesiastical court--though with authority from Rome itself--may rule +that any decree of this imperial Senate of Venice, bearing upon Church +and State alike, can be set aside by Church alone." + +"We have not subjected ourselves to being put out of the body of this +Church, which we revere, by any failure of duty on our part--duty being +a rendering of that which is owed. + +"As citizens of this Republic, our duty in things temporal is owed to +our Prince--by right divine; as men, our duty to our Church, by right +divine, is in things spiritual alone--which we render; but in things +temporal God gave not the Church rule over us. If, at any point, these +two dominions may seem to touch and intersect it is our Prince who +disentangles, by his decree, the twisted thread. For he is Lord over us, +who are Venetians and not Romans." + +The words had a ring of victory; enthusiasm spread from face to face, +and the house rose in a tumult of approval to express its loyalty, +unchecked by any sign of dissent from the dais at a demonstration so +unusual. + +But the Contarini saw his advantage and broke in upon the wave of +feeling, while an imperative motion from the Chief Counsellor restored +order for the hearing of an important legal point upon which it was +desired that action should be based. + +"These laws--whose abrogation the Holy Father doth demand--are ancient +rights of Venice, acknowledged by many previous popes, and reaffirmed, +in these our own days, after wise and learned scrutiny of our +chancellors, in the light of modern, civic requirements, as needful to +the healthful administration of this realm; as binding upon our Prince, +who hath ever in mind the welfare of Venice; and to be upheld by our +people who believe in the divine right of princes. They are by these +reverend Councillors also declared non-prejudicial to the spiritual +authority of our Most Holy Church, which this Serene Republic of Venice +doth ever reverently acknowledge. The question is of civil and not of +spiritual rights." + +An enthusiastic senator made a motion for the casting of the final vote, +as an expression of the sense of the chamber. The speech of the +Contarini and the manner of its reception gave pleasing assurance of the +general temper of the Senate; the faces of the Doge and of his Savii +recorded the sense of security with which it was needful to impress the +assembly, and wore, if possible, a more dignified calm. Nevertheless +Leonardo, with his statesman's eye, detected here and there a face that +was set in an opposite opinion or likely to yield from fear, and his +pride decreed that the vote, when cast, should be unanimous. + +Again the Doge consulted his Councillors. + +"The nations will owe us much," he said, "if our unanimous vote shall +record the sentiments expressed in this speech of the noble Senator +Contarini as the faith and will of this Republic. Never hath there been +a greater opportunity to win a triumph for the liberty of princes. + +"Therefore, because the question is weighty, we will request our most +learned Counsellor and Theologian to the Republic to give us an +exposition of the law as it doth appear at this latest moment of our +discussion to his judicial mind." + +All Venice knew that Fra Paolo's nerve and knowledge were the central +forces of the resistance of the Republic in this crisis. + +As he moved slowly forward and stood before this magnificent assembly +with the same simple dignity that had characterized him among the friars +of the Servi,--after the splendors of the ducal costume, the scarlet, +the ermine, the beretta, the gold-brocaded mantle,--the plain folds of +the violet robe of the Counsellor seemed almost austere. His lineless +face was so fresh in color that it looked youthful, though of singular +gravity and refined asceticism. Yet men of force were drawn to him +because of his strength, his broad grasp of duty, and his absolute +fearlessness. + +As he stood for a moment perfectly still before them, his eyes--blue, +penetrating, and unrevealing--swept the faces of the assembly with a +magnetic glance which compelled their entire attention. The hush was +_felt_ among them, and in the silence his voice--clear, passionless, +low, and far-reaching--seemed not so much a voice as a suggestion within +the inner consciousness of his hearers of the thoughts he uttered. The +strange sense of impersonality which was one of his distinguishing +attributes prevented the usual desire for contest with which most +thinking men meet other strong minds, and was, perhaps, a secret of his +triumphs. + +"Most Serene Prince, Counsellors, and Nobles of the Council, if you ask +me of the law as it hath declared itself to my understanding, the matter +is simple and quickly to be uttered. + +"The dominion of the Church marches in the paths of heaven; it cannot +therefore clash with the dominion of princes, which marches on the paths +of earth. But the Roman court--calling itself the Church--is no longer +satisfied with that spiritual dominion to which it hath right, having +become aggressive and seeking to impose doctrines far removed from the +primitive law of the Church." + +There was a slight pause, while the quiet eyes held his audience with a +challenge of assent; the faces of those who were unqualifiedly with him +in doctrine grew eager; here and there a dignified head bowed, unaware, +as if surrendering some belief. + +"Christ himself hath said, 'My kingdom is not of this world,' and the +power of the Sovereign Pontiff over Christians is not limitless, but is +restricted to spiritual matters and hath for rule the Divine Law. + +"If the Pope, to enforce his commands--unlawful when they exceed the +authority given him by Christ--fulminates his interdict, it is unjust +and null; in spite of the reverence owed to the Holy See, it should not +be obeyed. + +"Seven times before hath Venice been so banned--and _never_ for anything +that had to do with religion!" + +Again that strange, slight, emphatic pause, as if he need wait but a +moment for his reasoning to dissipate any conscious unwillingness. + +The Contarini quoted low to his neighbor a recent _bon mot_ of the +Senate, "Everybody hath a window in his breast to Fra Paolo;" for +several senators of families closely allied to Rome started at the +boldness of the thought, and exchanged furtive glances of disapproval, +and the fearless eye of the friar immediately fixed upon them, holding +and quieting them as they moved restlessly to evade his glance. It was +as if he assured them silently, "I speak that I do know; cease to oppose +truth; let yourselves believe." And resistance lessened before the +impersonality of the pleader. + +"One of the fathers tells us that an excommunication is null when it +would usurp over citizens the right of their prince. '_By me kings reign +and princes decree justice_'--it is the word of God." + +There was no need of further pauses in the quiet flow of words, for +there was no longer any resistance; the Senate and Council hung +breathless upon his speech, which answered every misgiving; they knew +that his reading of canon law had never been questioned in Rome itself; +the man spoke with immense authority. But there was no triumph in his +bearing as he tuned the atmosphere of that august assembly into absolute +harmony, conquering every discordant note--only a further lowering of +the quiet voice, which seemed to utter, unchallenged, the conclusions of +each listener. + +"The Sacred Canons agree that a Pope is liable to error and fallible in +cases of special judgment. + +"Isaiah denounces such legislation, 'Woe unto them that decree +unrighteous decrees.' + +"Wherefore I declare the justice of the cause of the Republic, and the +nullity of any judgment that may be pronounced against her in this +matter. + +"Nor shall evil befall one for a sin not committed, nor can there be +disobedience to a mandate which hath been issued, without lawful +authority, by him who proclaims it; and authority, transcended, is no +longer lawful." + + + +XX + +When Marcantonio, finally released from his long day of service in the +Senate Chamber, sought the private apartments of the Doge, where Marina +with her maidens was waiting for him, he found her lying back, wan and +spiritless, in one of the great gold and crimson arm-chairs of the state +salon; her eyes were closed, her lips were moving in prayer, but her +rosary had dropped from her weak clasp. Some of her maidens, as thus +doing their lady truest service, were still kneeling with hopeless +petitions to the Holy Mother to avert the doom from Venice; but one, the +Lady Beata, who was tenderly devoted to her, had not ceased from efforts +to rouse her with nameless little gracious cares. She was watching for +Marcantonio, to whom she signed eagerly to hasten, as the guard of the +Doge permitted him to pass the doorway. + +"Thus hath our lady been, and naught hath moved her," she said low, and +in distress, "since the Secretary of the Serenissimo, who with much +futile reasoning hath sought to change her, hath taken his leave, save +that ever and anon she hath opened her eyes to watch the door and bid us +pray for Venice." + +Her husband had reached her side and taken her listless hand before +Marina had noticed his approach; but there was no smile in her eyes as +she raised them to his--only a look of unutterable misery. + +"Is there no hope?" she questioned. Her fingers, weakly folded about +his, were burning. + +He controlled himself with a great effort. + +"Yes, carina, every hope. All is well; and the Serenissimo hath been +most gracious. To-morrow, when thou hast had thy rest, he will send to +thee the Reverend Counsellor Padre Maestro Paolo, that he may quiet all +thy fears. For all is well." + +She tried to draw him nearer, but her hand dropped powerless. "The +vote?" she questioned, with her eager eyes; and, more falteringly, with +that hoarse, broken whisper which pierced his heart. + +"It is well," he answered her tenderly. "Carinissima, all is well." + +She fixed him with terror-stricken eyes, in which her soul seemed +burning and her lips moved with a question he could not hear. He bent +closer, touching her cheek caressingly. + +"The vote?" she had asked again. + +"Tell her the count," said the Lady Beata, with an imperious touch on +his wrist; "it is killing her." + +The Senate had adjourned in triumph; without a dissenting voice Venice +had rallied to the support of her prince. Marcantonio had thought he +should be proud to tell her of this unanimous action of their august +body, which could not fail to restore her confidence and quiet her +fears. But now he could not find the words he sought, for never had he +looked into eyes so full of a comprehending woe. + +"Marina," he began. "Carinissima--" helplessly repeating his powerless +assurance: "It is well." + +Still her deep eyes seemed to question him relentlessly, though she did +not speak; her gaze fascinated him, and he could not withdraw his eyes +until he had read in hers the great agony he had so lightly +estimated--the agony of a soul deeply religious, of unquestioning faith +in the strictest doctrine and dogma of the Church of Rome; the grief of +such a soul, tenderly compassionate for the suffering brought upon an +innocent people by no rebellion of its own; the terror of this +soul--passionately loving--measuring the horrors of an unblessed life +and death for all its dearest ones. + +"All?" she had seemed to question him, leaning nearer, and Marcantonio +could not answer; but he saw, from the deepening horror in her eyes, +that she understood. She knew that _he_ had helped to bring the doom. +Oh, if he could but have told her that he had not voted--that he had +withheld his one little vote from Venice to comfort her! If, for this +once, he had failed to give what Venice expected of him, only for +Marina's sake! + +He bent over her passionately, a thousand reasons rushing to his rescue, +clamoring to be told her. "Marina, beloved, there is nothing to fear!" +he cried desperately, eager for his own defense, resolute to make her +comprehend the perfect safety of Venice, to calm the beseeching horror +in her eyes; "Fra Paolo will come!" + +Her gaze relaxed, her eyelids quivered and closed; she had fainted. + +--Or was it death? + +He folded her to his heart with a cry of desolation. + +The Lady Beata hastily thrust him aside and opened the white robe at the +throat, and Marcantonio started back; there were stripes of half-healed +laceration on the tender flesh--some fresh, as if but just raised by the +lash. + +"Ay, my lord," Beata answered very low, to his quick, grieved question; +"all that a daughter of the Church may do hath our lady added to her +prayers for Venice. She hath been rigorous in fasting and in penance +until her strength is gone; but the pain of it she feeleth not, because +of the greater pain of her soul, which is lost in supplication that +availeth naught." + +Leonardo Donato would be very gracious to the Lady of the Giustiniani, +though she had come so near to costing the city a divided vote, because +he had seen the misery in her eyes with her great love for Venice, and +because the Council had so declared its vote for the State that he could +afford to be magnanimous. Nay, since even the Senator Marcantonio had +not flinched before that wonderful agonized white face, he need not +confine her, as he had intended, in a convent for decorous keeping; he +was glad of the change in her favor which would prevent the harshness +that might have increased her influence to the degree of danger. He +sent, instead, a gracious message by his secretary--"Might the father +pay a visit to his daughter of the Republic to inquire of her welfare +and assure her of his favor, before she returned to her palace?" + +But the message of courtesy, sent by the Doge himself, had been stayed +on the threshold of his own state salon. + + * * * * * + +The Republic had, indeed, quitted herself nobly in her vote; so valiant +a blow had she struck for the rights of princes that this consciousness +rang out in the bold tones of her announcement to the courts of +Europe--"Which things we have thought best to tell you for your sole +information, so that if mention be made of them to you, and not else, +you may be able to answer to the purpose and to justify this our most +righteous cause." + +And from the moment that the Senate had been unofficially apprised by +Nani that the terrible Interdict was already printed and would presently +be fulminated, every possible precaution of self-defense had been put in +operation throughout the dominions of Venice, with an ingenuity, a +foresight, and a celerity which the watching courts of Europe not only +viewed with amazement, but accepted as an evidence of the conscious +power and justice of the Republic. Overtures came fast from England, +from Spain, from France--every monarch wished some share in the +pacification between these courts of Rome and Venice. + +Meanwhile, in Venice life went on superbly. There was no question of any +spiritual disfranchisement; these sons of the Church were not under +interdict, having committed no sin which laid them open to that charge. +Moreover, no ban had been _published_ throughout the wide extent of +their domain. Hence, for the Venetians, there was no interdict, whatever +awful anathema might be affixed to those distant doors of Saint Peter's +in Rome; with whatever voice of anger its terrors might be thundered at +the Holy See, against rulers, people, priests, and sacraments within the +doomed city--the wide waters of the lagoon laved its shores in +benediction, like a baptismal charm upon the fair front of Venice, +against which the Curse threatened impotently. + +At the centre of this superb and daring court sat a friar, trained from +his childhood up in the customs, traditions, and beliefs of his Church +and of his order--a reverent practitioner in her fasts and sacraments, +simple in his habits as a hermit-monk, faithful in his religious duties +as the most punctilious priest in Rome, sure in his faith that God would +uphold the right, and asserting, without compromise, that right was on +the side of Venice. + +What a stay for rulers who fortified their every position by some appeal +to precedent--who would punctiliously know the source and interpretation +of every law upon which they rested! + +Above all, what a stay for the simple people who, in these days of +bewildering conflict, knew not what to believe! + +Would Masses go on, and the church doors be open and the sacraments +continue? Might they still take their brides and baptize their little +ones, and follow their dead to burial, and sign the sign of the cross, +in token of the favor of heaven--as loyal sons of the Church? + +And would the Madre Beata--blessed guardian of this Virgin City--still +smile upon them from all the separate shrines of Venice? + +Should the labor and the imprecation of this simple people go on until +the evening in their wonted flow, and should nothing fail them of the +benedictions they had known? + +It was a mystery; but threatening Rome was far and unfamiliar, and +Venice they knew--present, protecting, peremptory--impossible to +disobey. + +Before the commands of the angry Pontiff could reach the heads of the +orders in Venice, people, priests, and prelates throughout the dominions +were forewarned; they must continue in every accustomed practice of +their religion; they might neither receive nor publish any minatory +papers--these must be instantly brought to the government, under +severest penalties. + +Offending prelates were brought from distant sees to meet the +displeasure of the Republic; hesitating priests were silently hastened +to decision by scaffolds, looming suddenly within their precincts. While +leaflets--expressly prepared to disaffect the Venetians--proclaiming +that no obedience was due from a people to its prince under censure; +that all vows, contracts, and duties between man and man, husband and +wife, children and parents were nullified for those who remained +faithful to the Church in acknowledging the censure, as against those +who disclaimed it--these leaflets, introduced by secret agents of the +Pontiff and interdicted by the Republic, flowed in vast numbers, but +silently, into the hands of the Ten, and were seen no more. + +Meanwhile that terrible thing which the people had vaguely feared had +_not_ come upon them; though at first they paused, half-hearted, when +they passed the house of the Tintoret, where the quaint figure of +"Ser-Robia," the Pasquino of Venice, had often a bit of news that the +people cared to hear, grotesquely placarded over his broad mouth. He was +a good friend to the people, Ser-Robia, and gave them many a pleasant +bit of gossip to cheer their evening stroll; but it was wise not to +laugh until one had heard the words, and there was often a priest or a +scholar near to tell the meaning to those who could not spell it out for +themselves. Always, in these days, there was some one who could read to +the people, for this was that solemn "protest" of "Leonardo Donato, by +the Grace of God Doge of Venice," etc., wherewith the most Christian +Republic defied the interdict. Here, along the Rialto, in all the public +squares of Venice, on the doors of the churches,--wherever proclamation +was wont to be made,--the people might pause and read this consoling +word of Venice, instead, perchance, of some copy of the interdict which +had been smuggled into the city and pasted, surreptitiously, over the +Doge's "protest," but which those faithful _Signori di Notte_--the +night-watch of Venice--were sure to destroy before the morning dawned. + +"To the Most Reverend the Patriarchs, Archbishops, and Bishops of our +Venetian Dominions," said this "Protest," "and to the Vicars, Abbots, +Priors, Rectors of Parochial Churches, and other Ecclesiastical +Prelates, greeting:" forthwith proceeding to declare that "the Interdict +which his Holiness was 'said' to have published was null and void, and +forbidden to be observed--not having been incurred by any fault of +Venice." + +But even those who could not read soon recognized the features of that +message, which met them everywhere, hiding the scars of other messages +which they must not see. + +"No, no," they said, with laughing thanks to some friendly interpreter +who stood near; "it is enough; _va bene_--we know it like our Ave +Maria!" + +But sometimes a family group came back for a word, when the others had +scattered. + +"Thou, Gigio, tell the good padre!" says the bright-eyed young +contadina, pulling the gray sleeve of her fisherman who stands stolidly +beside her. + +"_Si, si_," he answers indifferently, shrugging his shoulders and +relapsing into silence, as he pushes his wife and mother before him for +a refuge; for the men of the islands were less at home in argument with +the priests than were the women of their households. + +"It is thus, your Reverence," the young woman explains cheerily. "It is +the grandmother who is afraid. Santa Maria! _how_ she is afraid!" She +touches her forehead significantly. + +The simple old woman, comprehending only that they speak of her, drops a +courtesy, looking furtively about her with troubled eyes, and fumbling +over her beads; the "protest" has no meaning for her, although it is +written in good Venetian. + +But a few words suffice for such as these who have caught only some +vague hint of the Holy Father's displeasure, and are reassured by the +open church and the promise of Mass and benediction. + +It is those others who make trouble; they come, from time to time,--by +twos and threes, never alone,--and read for themselves, with lowering +brows, but ask no questions. And sometimes, if they watch too silently, +the courteous friar who has graciously interpreted the message which is +above the heads of the crowd, exchanges a glance of intelligence with +some gay young signor who belongs to the great army of secret +service--as revealed to the friar on guard by the password of the day; +and the sullen-browed group is courteously accosted by the young +noble--"Excuse me, signori, you are strangers in Venice; a gondola is +waiting to conduct you to the palace." + +They will be tried as secret agents of the enemy. But resistance is +rare, for an escort of guards pours out from the doorways and calles, if +a stiletto but gleam in the sunlight; and no secret agent may cope with +Venice in promptness of self-defense and ingenuity of prevention. + +It is interesting in the campo in these early days, before the effect of +the government's measures for coercing the opinions of the populace is +fully declared. + +"I am a good Catholic, most reverend father; I keep the mariegole; every +year I go to confession," protests some sturdy gondolier, who has been +made anxious by his womenfolk. "And many a fare I pay to light the +traghetto of San Nicolò; with an ave for the favor of the Blessed Mother +to confound the scoundrel Castellani, who threw a good Nicolotto over +the Ponte Senza Parapetti, in the last fight; and it cost us oil enough +to light Venice for a year--faith of San Nicolò!--to keep them from +winning at our regatta--_maledetti_!" + +For even those gondoliers who kept the mariegole were not precisely +angels, and the part of their creed which they religiously upheld was a +deathless antagonism to the rival faction which won more lamps and +pretty gifts for the patron madonnas of the various traghetti than any +other article of their faith. + +To a few, chiefly women with devout, sad faces--watchers, perchance, +beside beds over which the shadow of death is creeping--the padre tells +compassionately of consoling, helpful words that are preached daily in +the great deserted church of _I Gesuiti_; for in this parish, more than +others, there are difficulties, since it had been the centre of the +disaffection. But now its doors are ceaselessly open for a refuge; no +service is omitted, no sacrament denied; and daily, before vespers, the +people may listen to a few simple words from Fra Paolo. Thither, in +these early days of the struggle, the crowd flocks, drawn partly by +curiosity to hear a man of whom it is whispered that he has just been +individually put under the greater excommunication by the Holy +Inquisition, because of his attitude in this quarrel. + +There is much talk of Fra Paolo sifting about the church and square, +where the gathering of the people shows a sprinkling of red-robed +senators; for the Padre Maestro Paolo, which is his title since he has +been Consultore to the Republic, is a great man now, with a greatness +that means something to the populace, to whom letters and sciences are +nothings. But the Consultore is the friend of Venice; he is _their_ +friend--coming each day to talk to the people. "It is not true that +great trouble has come upon Venice, for Fra Paolo makes it all quite +plain, and he knows everything," they say; "our padre in San Marcuolo is +like a bimbo to him! The Jesuit Fathers went too soon, and might have +spared themselves the burning of their papers and their treasure. Santa +Maria!--what is it they are saying about Fra Paolo finding the die for +making money that the _padri_ left behind? What is a 'die,' Luigi? If +thou hadst had the sense to bring thy boat to clear away the rubbish, +instead of thinking there are only fish in the world, thou mightest have +had the luck to find it; it must be better than working lace bobbins all +the week for a handful of _soldi_ that wouldn't buy one macaroni!" + +"Peace, then, with thy babble!" + +"See, then, the holy water is quite safe; I saw our padre cross himself +by that first basin. Thou hast done well,--_hein_ Luigi,--to bring me +from Burano, if there are _no_ fish to-morrow at the Ave Maria; for now +we can sleep in peace! They told such tales of I Gesuiti, one thought +the devils were having a holiday--Santa Maria!" + +"The women are worse for chattering," Luigi retorts, with a forcible +imprecation. "Here cometh the Consultore--hold thy tongue." + +"No, no, Luigi; it is only a frate from the Servi; Fra Paolo is a great +man, with a robe like the Serenissimo; he might wear a crown if he +liked! Ah, to be great like that!" + +But Fra Paolo and his secretary wore the grave garb of their order, to +the great disappointment of the younger women, who had been attracted by +the expectation of some pomp. + +"Word hath reached the Contarini secretly from Rome," said one senator +to another, as the Consultore passed them, "that they have found +themselves a new diversion before the palace of the Vatican, and that +some of our great ones here are burned in effigy to instruct the +populace. A pile of Fra Paolo's writings doth light the funeral pyre; +and all that he hath written or _may hereafter write_ is placed upon the +Index." + +"_Davvero_! his words would make me wrathful if I held the views of his +Holiness, who may well fear the incontrovertibility of his wit. But our +Consultore looketh a simple man to have been shown such honor!" + +"He beareth honors bravely," the other answered, with due appreciation +of the humor; "but lately, when the master Galileo was before the Senate +with his telescope, he had a pretty tale of Gian Penelli and Ghetaldo, +wherewith in Padua Fra Paolo hath won the title of 'the miracle of the +century.'" + +"I heard it not; some commission held me at the arsenal; San Marco be +thanked that it is over!" + +"Ebbene, old Penelli--gouty so that he can scarce move--hath a visit +from our great mathematician Ghetaldo, who findeth with our magnificent +patron of letters a friar to whom Penelli showeth such honor--limping to +the door with him, as if he were a prince--that Ghetaldo, wrathful at +this foolish waste over a friar, asketh his name with scorn. And is not +better pleased when Penelli telleth that Fra Paolo is the 'miracle of +the age in every science.' 'So, I will prove it,' saith Penelli, 'for +verily the world knoweth the great Ghetaldo for a mathematician! Come, +then, with problems the most difficult thou canst prepare, on a day it +may please thee to name, and meet Fra Paolo at my table, without warning +to him.' _Ecco_! Penelli is subtle; great satisfaction and much labor on +the part of our mathematician. Enter Fra Paolo,--simple, +unadvised,--solves the propositions at a hearing. 'Miraculous!' cries +the superb Ghetaldo, gentle as a lamb! A friendship for life, and Fra +Paolo is the teacher! But it is more wonderful to hear the tales of how +he preacheth to the people here, in the Gesuiti. Let us follow, for he +giveth them not many minutes, for fear of wearying them. We need lift +our mantles high, for the pavement is like a market garden of Mazzorbo, +with broken bits from the women's baskets--Faugh!" + +The splendid senators seldom mingled in such a crowd, except at guarded +distances, to make a pageant for it; it was picturesque, shabby, +malodorous, composed chiefly of young women with bright-eyed babies and +baskets emitting unctuous savors of _frittola_ and garlic; now and then +an old peasant who could not be tranquil until she had heard Fra Paolo +speak was escorted by a rebellious grandson, bribed to quiet by the +promise of a _soldo_ for his little game of chance; occasionally a man, +impatient to have done with it all and get out on the canal again, moved +restlessly from place to place; only here and there the dim light showed +a face pathetic in its questioning, to whom the answer meant life or +death. + +"What hath a man of such rare powers and learning to do with these +simple ones--a man whose time is precious to the State?" + +The noble senators withdrew a little from the crowd to watch the scene, +as they put the question to each other; their servants brought them +chairs within the shadow of a column. + +They did not know that few are great enough in an age of superstition to +hold a conscience uncontrolled by traditions, and a primitive faith +simple as a child's, with the tenacity of a strong man; there had been +nothing in his labors at the Senate to call forth this most sacred side +of his reserved nature, and they did not understand that it was to this +he owed much of the marvelous poise of will and judgment which kept him +unspoiled in spite of intellectual gifts that would have ruined him +without his absolute dependence on the One Supreme. But on this sacred +side alone was there any entrance to his emotions. + +Fra Paolo was not speaking from the pulpit; he stood beside a table that +had been placed in the nave, and the people gathered close about him, as +children near a father, while he opened a great vellum-bound volume with +massive golden clasps, which his secretary had brought from the library +of the Servi. + +"Come nearer," he called to them simply, beckoning with his hand, "so +that all may hear; put the old people and the little ones nearest." + +He looked around him, not smiling, but very quiet and patient, as if he +were waiting for the slight confusion to subside; for at first they +pushed each other rudely to get closer. + +"There is room for all," he said, "in God's house;" and as he looked +into their faces each felt that it was a word to him, and held his +breath to listen--which suddenly seemed quite easy! The smaller children +nestled contentedly on their mothers' arms, munching some dainty brought +to keep them quiet, and fascinated by the low, clear voice, watched with +round, solemn eyes to see if he would smile; while two or three who were +tall enough to reach just over the edge of the table steadied themselves +by clutching it with their chubby hands, dropping their hold of their +mothers' mantles--for the pages were full of pretty colors, and the +voice of the padre was like a lullaby to keep them still, and they were +not afraid--at all. + +Fra Paolo never gave the people many words, but sometimes they were +strong and beautiful, like an old poem, and in their own Venetian--not +in the Latin which had been made for the great ones. + +"It was a wonderful book, written long ago," he told them; "before the +Bishop of Altinum fled with his people to Torcello and built the old +Duomo; before Venice began to be." + +Many of them did not know there was _anything_ so old as that! They +looked at each other and began to think. + +"And it was written for the comfort of every one who loveth God, our +Father, whatever his troubles may be. See what is written here for any +who fear that the consolations of our holy religion shall be taken away. +For that is what you fear?" + +They looked at each other, hesitating. "Si, si--yes--" timidly. "No, +no," more bravely. + +Fra Paolo smiled. + +"No!" they said, distinctly. + +"If any of you are afraid," Fra Paolo said, looking full into their +faces as they pressed nearer, "because the fathers of this church have +gone away and left you, there are words in this old book--written long +ago, before there was any Venice--to condemn those who would close the +churches. 'Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of +my pasture,' saith the Lord. 'Behold, I will visit upon them the evil of +their doings, saith the Lord.' 'Where is the flock that was given thee, +thy beautiful flock?'" + +"And here are some words that are written for you--whom they have +deserted. 'Thus saith the Lord: again there shall be heard in this +place, _which ye say shall be desolate_, the voice of joy and the voice +of gladness; the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; and +of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the +Lord.' It is all very simple. Love God and pray to him, and be faithful +in your duty. And he will keep you happy and safe from harm." + +The ringing treble of children's voices sounded through the open door of +the sacristy and distracted the attention of the congregation, who +turned to watch the choristers as they came in sight, by twos and twos, +chanting the canticle, "Praise the Lord of Hosts; for the Lord is good; +for His mercy endureth forever!" + +While Fra Paolo slipped away unnoticed. + + + +XXI + +So life went on, and those who looked to see the people fail and falter +under this burden which the rebellion of their rulers had brought upon +them saw them, with unshaken confidence, still loyally upholding the +banner of Saint Mark. Preparations for war--marshaling of soldiers, +building of galleys, increased activities at the arsenal--enlarged the +industries and added a judicious vivacity to the life of the people. + +There was no war declared; but it was a time when border-lands should be +looked to and bravery encouraged and the martial spirit developed; and +the ever politic Senate tickled the fancy of its pleasure-loving people +with the pomp of a fête, on the day when the newly created +general-in-chief of the armies of the Republic assembled, with fanfare +of trumpets and roaring of cannon, his splendidly appointed corps in the +Piazza, the people thronging the arcades, crowding the windows and +balconies, waving and shouting, as the stately escort of three hundred +nobles, in crimson robes, led the way to San Marco for solemn +dedication. And here, like a knight vowed to holiest service, the +general knelt before the altar, while the Patriarch blessed his sword. +"In defense of Venice and the right," with a memory of the old +battle-cry of the Republic. + + "Non nobis, Domine--sed tibi gloria!" + +And the people, accepting as a favor the pageant which had been +cunningly devised to impress them, followed, thronging, up the giant +stairway, into the halls of the Council Chamber, into the stately +presence of the Serenissimo and the Signoria, to hear their latest +magnate profess his gratitude for the honor of his investiture and the +magnificence of his outfit, with solemn oaths of loyalty. + +There was no war, though talk of it had little truce in those days; but +the cardinal nephews were busy in Ferrara and Ancona with the marshaling +of troops, and four of the princes of the Church had been appointed by +the Holy Father--vice-regent of the Prince of Peace--to superintend his +military operations and prepare his army of forty thousand infantry and +four thousand cavalry! Thus, in Venice, the spectacle of a +general-in-chief, with his splendid accoutrements, was timely and +inspiriting. + +Meanwhile, in the palazzo Giustiniani the days dragged wearily, and knew +no sunshine; the Senator Marcantonio had been by special favor excused +from attendance in the Council Chamber; in his mind Venice was no longer +regnant; one thought absorbed him wholly through all that miserable +time--he had but one hope--everything centred in Marina. + +When they had undressed her to apply restoratives a small, rough +crucifix had been taken from the folds of her robe near her heart; it +had belonged to Santa Beata Tagliapietra,--that devoted daughter of the +Church,--and the Lady Beata herself had given the precious heirloom out +of the treasures of the chapel of their house to her beloved Lady +Marina. Possibly she reflected, with a shudder, as she laid the relic on +the altar of the oratory of the palazzo Giustiniani, that the +remembrance of the constant dangers of Santa Beata had incited the Lady +Marina thus to peril her life. Of the long nights of vigil on the floor +of the oratory and of many other austerities which had filled those last +sad days since the quarrel with Rome had begun, the Lady Beata was +forced to give faithful account to the physicians who were summoned in +immediate consultation to the bedchamber of the Lady Marina. These +practices and the horror upon which she had dwelt ceaselessly would +sufficiently account for her condition, said the learned Professor +Santorio; and if she could but forget it there might be hope; meanwhile, +let her memory lie dormant--at present nothing must be done to rouse +her. + +Perhaps already she had forgotten it; for the shock had been great and +life was at a very low ebb; had all memory gone from her of her life and +love? They thought she knew them, but she expressed no wish; she +scarcely spoke; lying listless and white under the heavy canopy of the +great carved bedstead, which had become the centre of every hope in +those two palaces on the Canal Grande, while the absorbing life of the +Ducal Palace, so little distant, was for Marcantonio as though it did +not exist. In that time of waiting--he knew not how long it was nor +what was passing--life was a great void to him, echoing with one +agonized hope; time had no existence, except as an indefinite point when +Marina should come back to him with her soul and heart in her eyes once +more. + +He had gathered the few books from her oratory and boudoir, and at +intervals when he could control his thought he pored over them, +treasuring every faint pencil-line, every sentence blotted by tears, as +an indication of having specially occupied her. Now that he could no +longer discuss these moods, how eagerly he sought for the light she +would so gladly have given him in those past, happier days! + +In vain he asked of the Lady Beata whether they had discussed these +thoughts together--whether Fra Francesco had brought her the little worn +volumes. + +"My lord, I know not," she answered coldly, resolved in her own heart to +tell him nothing that he did not already know, since only now it had +pleased him to concern himself with that religious attitude which was +costing Marina so dearly. For the whole strength of the love she would +once have yielded him for the asking, the Lady Beata now lavished upon +Marina, in jealous devotion. + +But he could not be angry with Fra Francesco, who had only been faithful +in sharing his belief with her, while he, her husband, had refused to +help her. "My God!" he groaned; "why are we blind until the anguish +comes!" + +As he drearily paced the stately chambers--so empty without Marina--what +would he not have given to hear her voice again repeat those eager +questions he had been so willing to repress! How could it ever have +vexed him that she should wish to understand the question that was +occupying Venice! But now he remembered having grown less and less +patient with her as she had returned to this theme, until, in +self-defense, she had said with gentle dignity, yet half-surprised at +his irritation: + +"Marco, have a little patience with me. Remember that our young nobles +are trained in knowledge of these laws of Venice from quite early +boyhood." + +"It is part training, if thou wilt," he had answered lightly; "or in +these questions women are stupid--I know not. But these matters concern +them not." And after that, he remembered now with shame, she had +troubled him no more, and he had felt it a relief; for during the few +discussions they had had together he had been aware that they approached +the question from a radically different point of view. He had never +taken the trouble to comprehend her ground nor to give her reasons for +his own; he had simply made assertions, with a sense of irritation that +any repetition should be called for in a matter quite out of a woman's +province; for the women of Venice had no part in that salon influence on +politics which was ascribed to their sisters of France, and her attempts +to gain understanding for a personal judgment had chafed him like an +interference in his own special field. He, with his subtly trained +intellect and legal knowledge, could so easily have convinced her, he +told himself remorsefully; but he had not taken the trouble even to look +through her lens, while she had been so eager to understand his point of +view--and only that she might reach the truth! + +Now he had much time to understand it all! He recalled a strange, hurt +look when her questions had ceased, but it had not troubled him then; +she would forget it,--would understand that he preferred to talk about +other things,--he had said to himself, and he had been careful in +gracious little ways to show her that he was not displeased. And she had +been wise and had vexed him no more; there had been no arguments on this +or any other theme. And then the days of strain had come and the labors +of the Council had absorbed him. Now he saw that she had been too proud +and strong to subject herself to repeated insinuations of inferiority of +understanding, as she had been too loving and dutiful to prolong the +contest. And so--he groaned aloud as his mistake revealed itself to him +in those long, unhappy hours--he had lost the dear opportunity of +leading her aright; for he contemplated but one possible issue of such +an attempt on his part; he had scorned her entreaty when she came to him +for understanding of a mystery that was killing her, and he had driven +her to take up the study alone, with the help of her father confessor, +who knew but one side of the vexed question, and that _not_ the side of +Venice! + +He was sure that it was a matter of conscience and not of contest with +Marina, therefore she _must_ know; he should have realized that! How had +Fra Francesco met her questions? Had he told her it was a matter beyond +the comprehension of women? Or had he been patient with her difficulties +and solved them with terrible positiveness? Was it he who had brought +her these manuals on "Fasts and Penances," "The Use and Nature of the +Interdict," "The Duty of the Believer," which completed for her the +pictures of horror her faith had already outlined? Marcantonio had taken +in all their dread meaning in rapid glances. How could she believe those +terrible things he had seen in her eyes--those terrible, terrible +things! + +Nay, how should she not believe them? And how implicitly she must have +believed them to have endured so much in hope of averting this doom! + +"Marina! Carina!" his heart went out to her in a great wail of pity; a +woman--so tender, so young--kneeling at night in her chapel, alone with +the vision of the horror she was praying to avert; bearing the fasting +and the penance and the weakness, all alone, in the hope that God would +be merciful; gathering up her failing strength so bravely for that +thankless scene in the Senate. And he, her husband, who had never meant +that his love should fail her, could have spared her all this pain by a +little comprehension! Could she ever forgive him? And would she +understand some day? Might he reason it all out lovingly with her when +her strength came back to her--"For baby's sake!" that sweet, womanly, +natural plea which he had disregarded? + +"Signor Santorio," he moaned, "if I might but reason with her, I might +cure her!" + +"Nay," said Santorio, "not yet; the shadow hath not left her eyes. Let +her forget." + +She had been growing stronger, they said, doing quite passively the +things they asked of her toward her restoration; she recognized them +all, but she expressed neither wish nor emotion, lying chiefly with +closed eyes in the cavernous depths of the great invalid chair where +they laid her each day, yet responding by some movement if they called +her name--rarely with any words; nothing roused her from that mood of +unbroken brooding. + +"She will not forget," the great Santorio said in despair. "We must try +to rouse her. Let her child be brought." + +The ghost of a smile flitted for an instant about her pale lips and over +the shadowy horror in her eyes, as Marcantonio leaned over her with +their boy in his arms. "Carina," he cried imploringly, "our little one +needeth thee!" + +She half-opened her arms, but this wraith of the mother, he remembered, +frightened the child, who clung sobbing to his father. + +Marina fell back with a cry of grief, struggling for the words which +came slowly--her first connected speech since her illness. "It is the +curse! It parts even mothers and children!" + +A strange strength seemed to have come to her; a sudden light gleamed in +her eyes; she turned from one to the other, as if seeking some one in +authority to answer her question, and fixed upon Santorio's as the +strongest face. + +"The official acts of a Pope are infallible?" she questioned, with +feverish insistence, after the first futile attempt to speak. "The Holy +Father who succeeds him may not undo his acts of mercy?" + +"Yes, yes, it is true," Santorio assented, waiting eagerly for the +sequence. + +A little color had crept into her cheeks; her hands were burning; they +grasped the physician's arm like a vise; the change was alarming. + +"The edict cannot hurt my baby! Santissima Maria, thou hast saved him!" +she cried. "For he hath the special blessing of his Holiness Pope +Clement, and our Holy Father cannot reach him with this curse of +Venice!" + +"We cannot keep her mind from it," said Santorio, aside to Marcantonio; +"it is essential to calm it with the right view--no argument, it might +induce the most dangerous excitement. Send for some bishop or theologian +who takes the right view; let him present it as a fact, and with +authority; her life depends upon it." + +He leaned down to his patient in deep commiseration to tell her that all +was well--that Venice was under no ban, that God's blessing still +shielded her churches and her children; but she raised her eyes steadily +to his, and the strength of the belief, which he saw clearly written +within them, filled him with awe and hushed his speech. How was it +possible to make her understand! + +"Nay," said Marina faintly, still holding him with her sad, solemn eyes, +"do not speak. Since Fra Francesco comes no more there is but one who +speaketh truth to me. It is the vision of my beautiful Mater Dolorosa of +San Donato, which leaveth me not." + +There was a stir in the depths of the streets below--a noise of the +populace coming nearer, following along the banks of the Canal Grande, +as if the cause of their excitement were in some hurried movement on +its placid waters; the shouts and jeers of the strident voices were +broken by authoritative commands of the Signori della Notte--the +officers of police--and the tramp of their guards failing to create +order; and above the hubbub rose the cry, distinctly repeated again and +again--the cry of an angry populace, "Andè in malora! Andè in malora!" +("Curses go with you!") + + + +XXII + +Even Giustinian Giustiniani came and went heavily, asking for the latest +change before he returned to the Senate Chamber, and carrying with him +always a vision of that white, pleading face which had so wrought upon +his anger when he had seen it luminous with her hope for Venice. But now +his anger was transferred to her confessor who had bewitched her, to all +those Roman prelates who had paid her court--a mere child, not able to +defend herself nor to understand, killing herself for a question beyond +her! And Marcantonio, for love of her, useless and unmanned! It was more +than his senatorial pride could endure to find himself powerless under +such complications. To appease his wrath he denounced Fra Francesco +through the Bocca di Leone, but when the friar was sought for, by order +of the Ten, he was not found. Fra Paolo was appealed to, for he was the +friend of the gentle confessor; but he had not known his plans. "If his +conscience held him not, it was well for him to flee," he said, "and +best for Venice." + +But when Fra Paolo was alone in his cell, which, in those days of +greatness, he would not exchange for quarters at the Ducal Palace though +the Senate pleaded, the memory of a confidential talk held since this +quarrel with Rome began brought a hint of the reason for this sudden +flight. + +He was tender of conscience and strong of faith, this good Fra +Francesco; always sad, but never stern toward Fra Paolo's failure to +hold a belief implicit as his own in some doctrines of his beloved +Church which he held to be vital. Yet his reverence for Fra Paolo's +great knowledge and holy life made him unwilling to criticize where he +unconsciously questioned. It was the severest test of friendship to keep +his faith and affectionate devotion in one who was taking so prominent a +part in a movement opposing papal authority; but sometimes, when Fra +Paolo had uttered many things he would not have tolerated in any other +priest, Fra Francesco said only to himself, in great sadness, "It is God +who maketh men different; we do not know the why!" + +The gentle friar sometimes wondered in himself that he could not openly +say to Fra Paolo when they met, after matins, the many things which had +lain hot in his heart through the night--for how _could_ it be right to +oppose the supreme authority? But when the placid face of his friend met +his, bathed in the fresh benediction of his altar service--new each +morning and never omitted--he forgot the horror with which he had been +reasoning that Fra Paolo was hastening the curse upon Venice. + +But if Fra Paolo derived no added _finesse_ for his masterful thought +from the confidences he so often unconsciously invited from this +lifelong friend, his faith in the sincerity and spiritual depth of this +brother friar who, out of love for him, listened to much that pained +him, taught him to value at its highest this opportunity of the closest +scrutiny of his own motives, as he noted the impression of their talk on +a nature as sincere and spiritual as it was transparent. + +But that night, when they had passed from the cloister into Fra Paolo's +study-cell, continuing as they walked the train of thought they had been +discussing, his listener soon became so distrait that Fra Paolo, who was +singularly conscious of unspoken moods, dropped the problem he was +unfolding and laid his hand upon his shoulder with the rare tenderness +expressed only where he hoped that he might serve. + +"We were speaking of weighty matter and thy thoughts are not with me. +Tell me thy trouble." + +"It is a question of responsibility--the burden of the confessional," +Fra Francesco answered simply. + +Fra Paolo drew back his hand, and his tone was a shade less tender. + +"Of all that hath been reposed in thee under that sacred seal thou must +bear the burden alone." + +"My brother, dost thou think I can forget my vow?" Fra Francesco +exclaimed, reproachfully. "I spake not of that which hath been reposed +in me, but of my duty growing out of that sacred office. It was for this +I wanted counsel, and I had sought thee before to pray thee to confess +me; but I know thy views and I ask thee not." + +"Yet as brothers of one holy order thou mayest confide in me, if +perchance it may bring thee comfort. For us of the Servi it is our duty +of service." + +Fra Francesco sat for a moment in silence. "Life is heavy," he said +slowly, "and hard to interpret. Yet I seem to feel that thou wilt +understand, though it be in the very matter of our difference. There is +one--highly placed and noble in spirit, and to the Church a most devoted +daughter--who cometh to me for teaching in this matter of the interdict. +She asketh of me all its meaning--what it shall bring to Venice?" + +"Thou tell her, then, it shall bring naught. For if it be pronounced it +will be unjustly, and without due cause." + +"Nay, Paolo, my brother; it is written in the nineteenth maxim of the +'Dictatus Papae' 'That none may judge the Pope.'" + +"My brother, who gave thee thy conscience and thine intellect?" Fra +Paolo questioned sternly. "And hath He who gave them thee so taught thee +to yield them that it should be as if thou had'st not these gifts which, +verily, distinguish man from the animals--to whom instinct sufficeth? +Yet, if thou would'st have answer from one of our own casuists in whom +thou dost place thy trust, the Cardinal Bellarmino, in his second book +on the Roman Pontiffs, will teach thee that without prejudice to this +maxim of Gregory thou mayest refuse obedience to a command extending +beyond the jurisdiction of him who commands; as Gaetano in his first +treatise on the 'Power of the Pope,' will also tell thee. For the peace +of thine own mind, my brother, I would I might make thee understand!" + +"Nay," answered Fra Francesco, not less earnestly. "Peace for him who +hath faith cometh not with one intellectual solution, nor another; but +with calm purpose to do the right, however it may be revealed." + +"Which, as thou knowest, Francesco, Venice seeketh--and naught else. It +is a matter of law in which thou hast made no studies, and therefore +hard for thee. Now must I to the Council Chamber, but later I would +willingly show thee all the argument. But of this be sure. The Republic +will not offend against the liberty of the Holy Church; but she will +protect her own." + +"Fearest thou not, dear friend," Fra Francesco questioned, greatly +troubled, "that thou mayest lead Venice o'erlightly to esteem this vow +of obedience which every loyal son of the Church oweth to the Holy +Father? My heart is sore for thee. I see not the matter as thou would'st +have me." + +"Nay," said Fra Paolo quietly, "to each one his burden! If thy +conscience bears not out my teaching, thou art free from it. I interpret +the law by the grace which God hath given me; I, also, being free from +sin therein, if my understanding be not equal to the tasks wherein I +seem to feel God's guidance." + +"Yet tell me, I pray thee, Paolo mio, and be not displeased by mine +insistence,--perchance it may help me to comprehend this mystery,--how +knowest thou the limit beyond which one may without sin, judge that the +Holy Father shall not command obedience of the sons of the Church?" + +"I do not say, when it conflicts with that which is in itself against +the law of God," Fra Paolo answered him, "this limitation thou also +would'st admit; yet it may well-nigh seem to thee a blasphemy to suppose +so strange a case, though many of the early fathers do provide against +it. But, to take another case, when a command of the Sovereign Pontiff +doth conflict with the rule of the Prince in his realm, see'st thou not +what confusion should come if the Pope may revoke the laws of princes +and replace them by his own in the temporal affairs of their dominions? +And if it belong to his Holiness to judge which laws shall be revoked +and what may be legislated to replace the old laws, ultimately but one +power should everywhere reign--and that an ecclesiastical power. The +matter is simple." + +Fra Paolo's searching gaze noted the flush of feeling in the face of his +friend, which was his only response. + +"And thus will the Senate vote when the question shall come before +them?" Fra Francesco had asked, after a pause; for this conversation had +taken place in the earlier days of the struggle, while in many quarters +opinions were forming. + +"There can be no accurate recital of the manner of a happening before it +hath taken place," the Teologo Consultore replied so placidly that his +tone conveyed as little reproach as information; yet Fra Francesco could +not again have put his question in any form. + +Still he lingered, as if something more must be spoken, although Fra +Paolo had already sent to summon his secretary. "I also," he said, +asserting himself, with an effort which was always painful to his gentle +soul, "I also would be faithful to my conscience and my vow; that which +I believe--I can teach no other." + +"More can one not ask of thee," Fra Paolo answered, suddenly unbending +from the stilted mood of his last words. "By the light that is given him +must each man choose his path." + +"If," said Fra Francesco, speaking sorrowfully, "the blessed law of +silence were added to our vow, how would it save a man perplexity and +trouble! For that which one believeth must color his speech, though he +would fain speak little. Thy light is larger than mine own--I know it to +be so--and yet to me it bringeth no vision. I would it had been given us +to see and teach alike!" + +"In this matter of the confessional," said Fra Paolo, returning and +speaking low, "if but thou didst believe with me that, _as a sacrament_, +it is oftenest unwise and best left unpractised, thy difficulties might +be fewer." + +"Nay, Paolo mio, tempt me not. I would I might believe it, but my +conscience agreeth to my vow." + +"As thou believest, so do; 'for whatsoever is not of faith is sin,'" +said Fra Paolo solemnly. "That was a strong word spoken of doctrine to +guard the conscience. I would I might scatter all the noble words of +that noble Apostle Paul among the people and the priests, in our own +tongue!" + +"Sometimes thou seemest so like a rebel I know not why I come to thee in +trouble"--Fra Francesco looked at him with grieving eyes--"except that +in thine heart thou art indeed true." + +"So help me God--it is my prayer!" Fra Paolo answered. "And for thee and +me alike, however we may differ, there is this other helpful word in +that same blessed book which they will not let the starving people +share--'God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that +ye are able, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, +that ye may be able to bear it.' May God be with thee!" + +"And Christ and the Holy Mother have thee in their keeping!" Fra +Francesco answered, with a yearning look in his loving face, in a tone +that lingered on the sweet word "mother" and almost seemed to hint of an +omission, as they clasped hands and parted. + +This was the last time they had had speech together; but on the evening +of the day when Venice had declared her loyalty to her Prince by +unanimous vote, there was much animated talk of the matter in the +refectory. Fra Francesco had joined the group and listened silently. But +as the call to _compline_ rang through the cloisters and the friars +scattered, he had turned his face to Fra Paolo, who read thereon a very +passion of love, reproach, and pain which he could not forget. "When the +duties of the Council press me less," he thought, "I will seek him out +and reason with him." + +But after that night the gentle friar was seen no more in Venice, and +inquiry failed to develop a reason for his flight. They missed him in +the Servi, where already they were beginning to gather up the pale +happenings of his convent life with the kindly recollection which tinged +them with a thread of romance, as his brothers of the order rehearsed +them in the cloistered ways where he would come no more; for to him some +ministry of beauty had always been assigned. The vines drooped for his +tending, they said; and the pet stork who wandered in the close +languished for his hand to feed the dainty morsel, and for his voice in +that indulgent teasing which had provoked its proudest preening. + +But this, perhaps, was only fancy, or their way of recognizing a certain +grace they missed. But of the reason of his going, which most of them +connected in some way with this movement in Venice over which he had +often grieved, there was no open recognition among them--partly because +they feared that ubiquitous ear of the Senate, which penetrated unseen +through many closed doorways, partly because they realized how strange +it was that their own sympathies had not confessed his view of right. + +Furtively, too, the friars watched Fra Paolo; for the adoration of the +gentle Fra Francesco for this idol of their order, from the day when +they had entered the convent as boys together, had formed a cloister +idyl--none the less that the response of the graver friar was not +equally demonstrative, though it was felt to be true; for it was a +marvel that two such opposite natures should hold so closely together +and that Fra Francesco, for all his gentleness, should apparently retain +opinions uninfluenced by the power and learning which all others +recognized. + +Yet, from those early days, Fra Francesco had abated nothing of his +scrupulous and loving conservatism; never had he questioned a rule, nor +chosen the least, instead of the most, permitted in an act of humility; +and after his Church, the Madonna, and his patron saint, he expended the +devotion of his nature upon his friend with a just estimate of his power +and daring which filled his soul with anxious happiness. Often, in +those earlier days, when the echoes of Fra Paolo's triumphs had +penetrated to the refectory of the Servi, Fra Francesco had felt a +strange premonition which had kept him long on his knees before the +altar in the chapel. "Shield him, O Holy Mother, from danger," he had +prayed, "nor let him wander from the lowly path of obedience for pride +of that which thou permittest him to know!" And his day-dream of earthly +happiness was the spending of his friend's great gifts in the service of +the Holy Church, wherein he should ascend from honor to honor, enlarging +her borders and strengthening her rule, attaining at last to the supreme +position. + +Weeks after Fra Francesco had disappeared from the convent a letter was +brought by the gastaldo of Nicolotti, Piero Salin, who, in spite of +opposition among the brothers, persisted in delivering it with his own +hand, though it was rare that any one outside his usual circle was +permitted to hold an interview with Fra Paolo; but Piero's masterful +ways had not left him, and when he willed to do a thing the wills of +others counted little. It was a pity--because the missive was +mysterious, crumpled with long carrying--and if a trusty member of their +own community had delivered it to Fra Paolo in his cell, there might +have been some revelation! + +But there was none. Fra Paolo was only a little more grave and silent +than of wont; but often now he was so absorbed in government matters +that he took less part in the social life of the Servi. + +So Piero, laughing at the ease with which he had carried his point for +nothing but the asking,--and it had to be done, since he had promised +Marina,--had his interview alone with Fra Paolo, and passed easily +through the group of disappointed friars, under those exquisitely +wrought arcades to his gondola, thanking them with nonchalance and +pressing them to avail themselves more often of the eager service of his +barcarioli, that the blessing of the Madonna might be upon their +traghetti, to the discomfiture of their rivals the Castellani. For Piero +was a faithful gastaldo and lost no opportunity of seeking favor for the +faction he represented, and there was a certain grace in his proffer, +since priests and friars paid no fares. + +Fra Paolo left alone read the message which held the tragedy of a life. + +"I could not stay in Venice, dear friend of my whole life, to see thee +guide our country into such sad error; for so to my heart it +seemeth--may God help us both! + +"And when there was no longer hope that my little word might prevail to +hold any in that way which alone seemeth to me right--and thou, with thy +great gifts, art using them for State and not for Church, Paolo mio, not +for our Holy Church--I could not stay, because I love thee! I must have +been ever chiding thee had I remained, as if God had made me for no use +but to be a thorn in thy flesh--which I could not believe. + +"But because He hath made thee great, He hath given thee thy conscience +for thy guide, as mine to me; which holdeth me from grief over-much, for +I know thee to be true and great. + +"Therefore for peace, and not for gladness, have I left thee; for +reverence to the Holy Father, and for the better keeping of all my vows. + +"If perchance, at the feet of the Holy Father, my prayers and penances +might, by miracle, avail to turn his wrath from Venice--it could not +hurt thee! + +"Yet because of this wish, which only holdeth life in me,--so sore is my +heart at leaving Venice and thee and our dear home of the Servi,--well I +know that never more mine eyes shall see these places of my love--and +thee, my friend! + +"If we learn by the way of pain, after this life God will forgive our +errors! + +"FRANCESCO, thy brother of the Servi." + + + +XXIII + +As the cry of the populace rang down the Canal Grande, following the +retreating ranks of the Jesuits, who, bound by their greater vows to +Rome, had remained steadfast and refused obedience to the Senate's +mandate, the Lady Marina, roused by the excitement which they dreaded, +had started to her feet with a marvelous return of her former mental +power and a fullness of comprehension which sought for no explanations. +She stood for a moment panting with hot, unspoken speech, turning from +one to another, and then, with a sudden, great effort, repressed the +words she would have spoken, asking quietly, after a pause in which no +reference had been made to the expulsion of the confraternities: + +"Which of the orders have gone? What more hath happened that I know +not?" + +"Nay, the orders of the monks and of the friars have chiefly been +faithful to Venice," they told her, "and all is well. This society, +which for long hath been cause of much disorder in our Republic, it is +well that it leave Venice in peace." + +She answered nothing, weighing their words silently. "Is it because they +are faithful to their vows, and to their Church?" she asked at length, +in quiet irony. + +"Nay, but because they teach disobedience to princes and would thus +undermine the law of the land," Marcantonio hastened to explain, +grateful that she could at length discuss the question. +"Carina,--blessed be San Marco,--thou art like thyself! We will talk +together; we will make all clear to thee; thou shalt grieve no more, +carinissima!" + +She put up her hand and touched his cheek with an answering caress--the +first through all these weary days. "I shall get well, Marco mio," she +said, with a sudden conviction that surprised them; but still there was +no smile in her eyes, and their hearts were sad, though the change that +had come over her was so extraordinary that they hoped much from the +explanation which the great Santorio had authorized. + +But for whom should they send in this moment, when life and death hung +in the balance, to speak that authoritative word. + +The Bishop of Aquileia, first and greatest of the Venetian bishops, had +incurred the displeasure of the Senate for refusing to perform the +duties of his office while the Republic remained under that fulminated +but unacknowledged censure, and a new prelate, of opinions approved by +the Most Serene Republic, sat in the vacated see. The Bishop of Vicenza +had likewise signified his sympathy with the Holy See; and in Brescia +their wandering prelate had scarcely yet received that strengthening +monition of the watching Senate which was to recall him from his +hiding-place and hold him steadfast in his cathedral service. + +And for the Patriarch Vendramin, who had been summoned to Rome to +receive the benediction of the Supreme Pontiff, but had been forbidden +by the Senate to leave the Venetian domains, this episode, which was a +feature of the struggle known to the whole of Venice, placed him so +openly on the side of the Republic that it forbade his ministry with the +Lady Marina. + +But there was one so jealously guarded from all interruption and fatigue +that strangers who came from far to see him were refused audience, by +order of the Senate, or were received for a few moments only in some +protected chamber of the Ducal Palace; for the springs of government +moved at his touch, the matters which occupied him were weighty, and for +these they would spare his strength. Yet again the Senate signified a +rare consideration for the Ca' Giustiniani by permitting the attendance +of their Teologo Consultore in the palazzo of the Lady Marina; for who +so well could minister to her diseased mind as he who had unanswerably +placed the question in its true light before all the Councils of the +Republic? + +She stood with bowed head and clasped hands as he approached her, her +hair falling unbound, as in her maiden days, over the simply white robe +which she had preferred in her illness, discarding all her jewels and +all emblems of her state--pale as a vision, like a sad dream of the +beautiful Madonna del Sorriso which the Veronese had painted for that +altar of the Servi at which, each morning, Fra Paolo still dutifully +ministered. + +"Peace be with thee and to thine house, my daughter," said the Padre +Maestro Paolo, spreading out his hands in priestly salutation as he +entered the oratory of the palazzo Giustiniani, where the Lady Marina +awaited him. + +She had desired that the interview should take place in this chapel, +which she had not visited since her illness. A faint odor of desolation +stole through the dimness of the place to meet him--a breath from the +withered rose-petals which had dropped from the golden vases upon the +splendid embroidered altar-cloth and mingled with the dust of those many +days which had remained guiltless of Mass or service; the altar candles +were unlighted; the censer had lost its halo of mystic smoke. + +"It were fitter to my mood, most Reverend Father, wert thou to scatter +penitential ashes before a desecrated altar which may send no incense of +praise to heaven." + +"Nay, my daughter; love and faith may still minister, and God, the +Unchangeable, accept that service from every altar in Venice! 'The +sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit,' it is written in the Holy Book +which God hath granted for the comfort of His people. May peace indeed +bring thee its benediction--the more that thy need is great." + +Was there some strange power of resistance in that fragile, drooping +figure which made it difficult to rehearse the argument for Venice with +his accustomed mastery? + +She listened silently while the learned Counsellor patiently explained +that the sentence of Rome was unjust, therefore not incurred and not to +be observed by priests nor people; wherefore it was the duty of the +Prince to prevent its execution--of the Prince who, more than any +private citizen, is bound to fear God, to be zealous in the faith and +reverent toward the priests who are permitted to stand in the place of +Christ for the enforcement of his teaching only; but it is also the more +the duty of the Prince to eschew hypocrisy and superstition, to preserve +his own dignity, and maintain his state in the exercise of the true +religion. + +But there was no acquiescence in her eyes. + +"I thank thee, most Reverend Father, for thy patient teaching," she +said; "but I lack the learning to make it helpful. Fra Francesco was +more simple, and he hath taught me by no arguments; but he, for the +exercise of the true religion, hath found it needful to quit Venice, and +doth make his pilgrimage to Rome, barefooted, that he may pray the Holy +Father, of his grace, to lift this curse from our people." + +"There is that in her face which maketh argument useless," Fra Paolo +said low to his friend Santorio, for he was himself no mean physician, +having contributed discoveries of utmost importance to the medical +science, "and there is a physical weakness combined with this mental +assertiveness which doth make it a danger to oppose her beliefs. Yet I +would I might comfort her, for her soul is tortured." + +"It must be that thou shalt convince her!" Santorio pleaded with him. + +Thus urged, Fra Paolo spoke again, in a tone that pity rendered +strangely near to tenderness. "I would not weary thee, my daughter, +having spoken the truth which I would fain have thee embrace for thine +own healing. Only this would I remind thee--that none may be excluded +from the Holy Catholic Church if he be not first excluded by his own +demerits from Divine Grace." + +She answered nothing, but there was an unspoken argument in her face. + +"See'st thou not that those terrors which thou dost fear shall not come +upon Venice, since she hath not sinned? It is this which, for thy peace, +we would have thee comprehend." + +"My Father, there is but one whose teaching fitteth my reasoning," she +answered resolutely, "and he hath fled from Venice that he may be free +to believe and to practise his religion as our Holy Church doth require, +and to plead against our doom, where prayer may be heard, unhindered by +the cloud which keepeth us in Venice from God's favor. He, being a holy +man, hath taught me that the law of obedience to the Supreme Head of the +Church may not be transgressed--that our doom cometh not undeserved--and +my whole heart is sick with fear!" + +"There is but One to whom is owed this supreme and inalterable +obedience, my daughter; we do not differ in our beliefs; yield it always +to him, most reverently and unreservedly," Fra Paolo answered solemnly. +"But upon this earth, it hath been taught us by our Lord himself, 'there +is none good--nay, not one.' The Head of the Church of God is God +himself, the only infallible and just. Thinkest thou that He would have +us obey a command conceived in error, with intention to exclude from +every benefit of our Holy Church, in the hour when they most need divine +comfort and protection, those who would faithfully do him service? Thus +read we not the love and mercy of our Heavenly Father!" + +"Most Reverend Father," she cried, clasping her hands in extremity. +"How shall a weak, untaught woman reason with the Counsellor of Venice! +I know not where the words are written--but, somewhere, Fra Francesco +hath taught me, yet his soul is loving--there is a thought of the +vengeance of God, and it is terrible! Day and night there is no other +vision in my soul but this--of the _vengeance of God_, poured out upon +the disobedient. For this the blessed Mater Dolorosa of San Donato +weepeth ceaselessly. Love is for those who serve him; but +vengeance--here and hereafter--for those who disobey. Oh, my Father! for +every human soul in Venice--the helpless women, who have no power but +prayer, which is but insult while God's face is hidden--the little +children who have done no harm--Madre Beatissima, how can we bear it!" + +"Nay, nay, my daughter, for our Father is righteous and merciful. +'Vengeance is mine,' he saith; '_I_ will repay.' He giveth no man charge +to bring his wrath upon us. He hath invested no human power with a +supremacy beyond that which abideth in every loving and faithful soul, +as to the things of the conscience. Thou, with thy love and faith and +pain, art at this moment very near to Him; be comforted, and cease not +to believe that He counteth all thy tears, and that thy prayers are dear +to Him." + +"My Father," she confessed sadly, "it is a part of the shadow that it +hides my faith; night and day, with fast and penance, have I not ceased +to pray for Venice--and the answer hath been denied me. I could seek for +death, but for the horror that cometh after, at the Madonna dell' +Orto--the Tintoret--and that which the Michelangelo hath seen in +vision--Oh, my God!" + +"My child, it is not God who faileth thee in answer to thy prayer; and +love and faith are yet strong and beautiful within thy soul; only a +human weakness is upon thee which cloudeth thy human reason, and for +this thy soul is dark. For reason, also, is of God's gift--lower than +faith and love, yet a very needful part of man while God leaveth him in +his human habitation. There hath come an answer to the prayer, though +thou see'st it not." + +"Is it written, my father, in the cruel words of the interdict?" she +gasped. + +"She is tortured out of reverence," Santorio exclaimed apart, and would +have hushed her. + +But Fra Paolo, overhearing, said gently: + +"For this I came, to hearken all thy trouble, if perchance I might give +thee rest. The answer to thy prayer is not written in those unjust +words. For they--mark well, it is here that thy reason faileth thee--for +they were uttered by a human will, striving to coerce obedience in a +matter beyond its province. The power which God hath given to priests +and princes is not arbitrary, but to be regulated by the law of God; +neither is obedience toward those in authority to be stolid and blind, +but yielded only when the command is within this divine law. The Holy +Father hath no power to command disobedience to the Prince in his +rightful realm,--which thus he seeketh to do." + +She spread out her hands before her and half-turned away her head, as if +in deprecation of some sacrilege, growing very white. + +"Is _this_ the answer, my Father?" + +"It is the reason for the answer which hath come by unanimous conviction +into the soul of every man of the ruling body of Venice, and hath been +voiced by each, in his vote, with a fullness of consent which is of +God's sending. Thus are they nerved to declare the censure void--and +Venice is unharmed." + +"Madre Beatissima! _thus_ hast thou answered me?" + +"My daughter, may it not comfort thee to know that that which thou, in +faith and love, hast prayed for Venice--that in this struggle she should +hold God's favor unharmed--hath come to her, though the manner of the +benefit accord not with the manner of the grace which thou hast asked?" + +"If my reason is clouded with terror," she said very slowly, as if her +strength were spent, "God hath vouchsafed me no other reason--but only +that which trembles at this broken law of obedience. My Father--I pray +thee--I am very weary----" + + + +XXIV + +The nuncio had declared that Venice no longer required his services and +had withdrawn, with every ceremony of punctilious and honorable +dismissal, to Rome, from whence the Venetian ambassador presently went +forth _without_ the customary compliments. + +But if diplomatic relations were severed between Rome and Venice, there +were still chances for private communication which sometimes cast a +curious light upon the subject under discussion, but which made no +change in that irreproachable suavity of exterior or that invincibility +of purpose with which the Venetians held in check any attempt at +disaffection through Roman agency, or averted any schismatic movement +within their own dependencies. + +To Sarpi, the Chief Counsellor, had been committed the censorship of the +press; and the supervision of those very papers which had been written +by friends of the Republic to scatter broadcast in defense of its +rights, formed not the least delicate part of his task. For the +government demanded that they should maintain a fine reserve in method, +and in spite of examples to the contrary freely given by their +opponents, would tolerate neither heresy nor coarseness. Every detail of +this world-renowned quarrel was conducted on the part of Venice with an +irreproachable dignity and diplomacy that raised it to the height of a +negotiation of State, and it formed no part of the policy of the +Republic to tolerate any disbelief in her own loyalty; the Venetians +should stand before the world as faithful sons of the Church, bearing +unmerited sentence of excommunication. + +Then Rome, to make an end of the brilliant flow of pamphlets from +Sarpi's pen, would have lured him from Venice with flattering promises +of churchly preferment. "Nay," said he, "here lieth my duty; and my work +hath not deserved honest favor from a Pope who interpreteth the law with +other eyes than mine." + +Meanwhile the schemes of the enemy were tireless for obtaining secret +influence within Venetian borders. Now it was a barefooted friar to be +watched for at Mantua, coming with powers plenipotentiary from his +Holiness over all the prelates of the rebellious realm; or it might be +this same friar, in lay disguise, still armed with those ghostly and +secret powers, for whom the trusted servants of Venice were to be on +guard. Or there were disaffected brothers, who had left their convents +and were roaming through the land inciting to rebellion, to whom it was +needful to teach the value of quiet, however summary the process. But +Venice, by a broad training in intrigue and cunning, joined to her +mastery of the finer principles of statesmanship, still remained +mistress of the springs of action and wore her outward dignity, and the +disappointments were for her adversaries. But this training was a costly +one, for it put a prize on daring, confused the colors of right, and +invariably laureled success--if it did no more specific harm to the +State. + +Piero Salin had been secretly summoned by the Ten and given an +indefinite leave of absence from Venice, together with a large +discretionary power in the direction of his wanderings, with certain +other passes and perquisites which bespoke a curious confidence in one +who had been known for a successful and much dreaded bandit gondolier. +But if the government in its complicated labors had need of tools of +various tempers, it had also the wisdom to discern legitimate uses for +certain wild and lawless spirits when they were, like Piero, full of +daring and resource. + +In the days when they had been dwellers under the same roof Piero had +never been able to disregard Marina's will, often as he had chafed under +the necessity of yielding to it; and now, since she was Lady of the +Giustiniani, it had not been otherwise in the rare instances when it had +pleased her to require anything of him. Yet it would have been +incongruous to charge Piero with over-sensitiveness on the side of +chivalry, though Marina's power over him was still as great as in those +old days when, being unable to shake himself free from her influence, he +had wished to marry her to make it less. + +Piero was not introspective, but he doubtless knew that his ruling +passion was to achieve whatever purpose he might choose to set himself. +The Nicolotti knew it well when, a few months before, they had +unanimously elected him to rule over them--as their chief officers had +realized it when they had nominated him, without a dissenting voice, to +this position of gastaldo grande--a position of great honor fully +recognized by the government. So the rival faction of the Castellani +bore marvelous testimony to his mastery when they went over in +surprising numbers from along the _Giudecca_, and underwent the strange +ceremonial of baptism into the opposition party. + +Yet when the rival factions of the people had thus conspired to make him +their chief it was Marina who had alone induced him to accept the honor. +To all his objections her answer had been ready: + +"Nay, Piero, it is meet for thee; they need one strong and brave, of +whom they stand in dread, who knoweth their ways--" + +"As much bad as good," Piero had interposed frankly, and not without +asseverations well known to gondoliers. + +"It is well said," she had answered, with the comprehension born of her +intimate knowledge of the class; "and to keep them in order--verily, +none but thou canst do it." + +Piero gave an expressive shrug, having had enough of compliment. "_En +avanti--c'è altro_!" he said, laughing. "The taxes are heavy, and their +Excellencies the tax-gatherers have less patience than the poor +gondoliers bring of _zecchini_ to the purse of the Nicolotti. But the +gastaldo hath as little liberty of delay, as their Excellencies leave +him to decline the burden--I might better make shipwreck in the Canale +Orfano." + +It was in this canal that the victims of the Inquisition mysteriously +disappeared, and Marina had repressed a shudder while she answered, +"Thou wilt come to me, Piero, if the purse of the Nicolotti weighs +little; thou shalt not fail, for this, of wearing the honor of gastaldo +grande. + +"Nay," she had added, quickly disposing of his awkward attempts at +thanks, "think not of it again; it is for my pleasure to see thee great +among the people, for I also and my father are of them. It is this that +I have always wished for thee." + +So, chiefly because it had been Marina's will, Piero had waived his +unwillingness and become the central figure in the imposing ceremony of +the election of the gastaldo grande of the Nicolotti, who were, indeed, +almost nobles by antiquity and prestige, not only claiming among +themselves the coveted title of _nobili_, but, under the sanction of the +government, electing their gastaldo with a degree of ceremonial granted +only to high officials, and prescribed in very ancient books of the laws +of the traghetti. One of the ducal secretaries, having received official +notice of the vacancy of the office carried in person before the Senate +by the oldest man of the Nicolotti, came, in purple state, to preside +over the election when the bell of San Nicolò had tolled forth the +call--taking his seat among the twelve electoral presidents who, already +chosen by the people, awaited him, having sworn the inevitable oath of +impartiality and fealty to the Republic; they sat behind locked doors +until the election was brought to a close--in that solemn semblance of a +ducal election which could not fail to impress the people--with +complicated, time-using ballotings, and comings and goings of candidates +from adjoining chambers to express their views of the responsibilities +of the office, or to defend themselves against the freely invited +attacks of opponents or malcontents. + +And for once Piero had uttered opinions, however clumsily, upon +"government" and "reform" from the pulpit of San Nicolò, in the +dignified and interested presence of a ducal secretary, the bancali, and +the disconcerting throng of gondoliers who were intolerant of speeches +and impatient for their vote; and he had retired shamefacedly, like an +awkward boy, while his jejune remarks were elaborately discussed by the +judges. And because his views--if he had any--had not been +over-luminously set forth in this his maiden oration, a party of zealous +advocates had nearly caused an uproar by their irrepressible shout of +"Non c'e da parlar', ma da fare!" which was, in truth, too sure an +indication of the temper of the people to be ignored. "We do not want +talking--but doing!" + +And for once he had experienced a curious sensation which cowardly men +call "fear," but for which Piero had neither name nor tolerance, when +all the people who had been worrying him led him in triumph to the altar +and forced him down on his stubborn knees to take a solemn oath of +allegiance, his great bronzed hand, all unaccustomed to restraint, +resting meanwhile in the slippery silken clasp of the ducal secretary. + +Here also had the gastaldo received, from those same patrician hands, +the unfurled banner of the Nicolotti, with the sacramental words: + +"We consign to you the standard of San Nicolò, in the name of the Most +Serene Prince and as proof that you are the chief gastaldo and head of +the people of San Nicolò and San Raffaele." + +And after that had come freedom of breath, with the Te Deum, without +which no ceremonial was ever complete in Venice, chanted by all those +full-throated gondoliers--a jubilant chorus of men's voices, ringing the +more heartily through the church for those unwonted hours of repression. + +But when the doors had at last been thrown wide to the sunshine and the +babel of life which rose from the eager, thronging populace who had no +right of entrance on this solemn occasion--men who had no vote, women +and children who had all their lives been Nicolotti of the Nicolotti--a +Venetian must indeed have been stolid to feel no thrill of pride as the +procession, with great pomp, passed out of the church to a chorus of +bells and cannon and shouts of the people, proclaiming him their chosen +chief. + +Piero Salin was a splendid specimen of the people--tall, +broad-shouldered, gifted by nature and trained by wind and wave to the +very perfection of his craft; positive, nonchalant, and masterful; +affable when not thwarted; of fewer words than most Venetians; an adept +at all the intricacies of gondolier intrigue, and fitted by intimate +knowledge to circumvent the _tosi_. Moreover, he was in favor with the +government, a crowning grace to other qualities not valueless in one of +this commanding position. + +No wonder that the enthusiasm of the populace was wild enough to bring +the frankest delight to his handsome sun-bronzed face as they rushed +upon him in a frenzy of appreciation and bore him aloft on their +shoulders around the Piazza San Nicolò, almost dizzied with their haste +and the smallness of the circle opened to them in the little square by +the throng who pressed eagerly around him to grasp his hand--to wave +their banners, to shout themselves hoarse for the Nicolotti, for San +Nicolò and San Raffaele, for _Piero, gastaldo grande_, for Venezia, for +San Marco, with "Bravi," "Felicitazioni," and every possible childish +demonstration of delight. + +Should not the Nicolotti--blessed be the Madonna!--always overcome the +Castellani with Piero at their head, in those party battles on the +bridges which had now grown to be as serious a factor in the lives of +the gondoliers of Venice as they were disturbing to the citizens at +large, and therefore the more to the glory of the combatants? + +Was he not their own representative--elected by the very voice of the +people, as in those lost days of their freedom the doges had been? And +did not the rival faction so stand in awe of the new gastaldo that from +the moment of his nomination there had been disaffection in their ranks? + +And now, as they shouted around him, many a sturdy red cap tossed his +badge disdainfully into the throng and snatched a black bonnet from the +nearest head to wave it aloft with cries of "the black cap! The +Nicolotti! Viva San Nicolò!" + +And again, when Piero essayed to prove himself equal to his honors, his +few words dropped without sound upon the storm of vivas--"We do not want +talking for our gastaldo--but doing!" + +Since this happening Piero had been indeed a great man among the +people--a popular idol, with a degree of power difficult to estimate by +one unfamiliar with the customs and traditions of Venice; holding the +key, practically, to all the traghetti of Venice, since even before this +sweeping disaffection of the Castellani the Nicolotti were invariably +acknowledged to be the more powerful faction, so that now it was a +trifling matter to coerce a rival offending traghetto; and gondoliers, +private and public, were, to say the least, courteous toward these +nobles of the Nicolotti, who were dealing with tosi as never before in +the history of Venice. + +In truth, but for those unknown _observors_ in secret service to the +terrible Inquisition,--an army sixty thousand strong, one third of the +entire population of Venice,--impressed from nobles, gondoliers, +ecclesiastics, and people of every grade and profession, from every +quarter of the city, and charged to lose nothing of any detail that +might aid the dreaded chiefs of the Inquisition in their silent and +fearful work--the power of Piero would have been virtually limitless. +These three terrible unknown chiefs of the Inquisition were never named +among the people except with bated breath, as "i tre di sopra," _the +three above_, lest some echo should condemn the speakers. But the +unsought favor of the government was as much a check as an assistance to +Piero's schemes, bringing him so frequently into requisition for +official intrigues that he had less opportunity for counterplotting, +while his knowledge of State secrets which he might not compromise, of +the far-reaching vision of Inquisitorial eyes, and of the swift and +relentless execution of those unknown _osservatori_ who had been +unfaithful to their primal duty as spies, made him dare less where +others were concerned than he would have foretold before he had been +admitted to these unexpected official confidences; while for himself he +had absolutely no fears--having but one life to order or to lose, and +caring less for its length than for the freedom of its ruling while it +remained to him. + +And still Marina was, as she had always been, the gentlest influence in +his reckless life,--to some slight extent an inspiring one,--steadying +his daring yet generous instincts into a course that was occasionally +nearer to nobility than he could ever have chanced upon without her, yet +never able to instil a higher motive power than came from pleasing her. + +It was Piero who had escorted Fra Francesco to the borders of the Roman +dominions, guarding him from pitfalls and discovery until he was free to +undertake his barefooted penitential pilgrimage upon Roman soil; and +from no faith nor sympathy in the gentle friar's views, but only because +he was dear to Marina. + +And through Piero's agents, established under threats as terrible as +those of the Ten themselves, had come the news which, from time to time, +he unfolded to her; while the same secret agent brought perhaps a rumor +which the gastaldo grande confided to the Ten, wherewith some convent +plotting was unmasked, or other news so greatly to the keeping of the +peace of the Serene Republic, that Piero might have bought therewith +propitiation for all those sins against it, of which the government was +happily in ignorance. Now it was a hint of a plot in embryo to seize +the arsenal, involving some members of distinction in the households of +resident ambassadors; or word of the whereabouts of that wandering, +barefooted emissary with plenary powers, who had hitherto eluded +Venetian vigilance. + +It was Piero also--although he never confessed to it--who, out of +compassion for Marina's priestly proclivities when she lay critically +ill, had made it possible for the Jesuits to remove those coffers of +treasure which, in spite of strictest orders to the contrary, +accompanied them on their flight from Venice; it was not that he took +part against Venice in the quarrel, but that the penalty of exile seemed +to him sufficient, especially as Marina had a weakness for priests; and +he could be generous in his use of power, though a man less daring would +not have risked the freak. But there was a masterful pleasure in +outwitting the Signoria and the Ten, lessened only by the consciousness +that he must keep this triumph to himself, and Piero also knew how to +hold his tongue--for discretion was a needful grace in that strange time +of barbaric lawlessness shrouded in a more than Eastern splendor. + +But even Piero sometimes quickened his step as he passed the beautiful +sea façade of the Ducal Palace, whose rose-tinted walls seemed made only +to reflect sunshine; for perchance he guessed the name of that victim +who hung with covered face between the columns, bearing in bold letters +on his breast, by way of warning, the nature of the crime for which he +paid such awful penalty--some crime against the State. "To-day," said +Piero to himself, "it is this poor devil who cried to me to shield him +when I was forced to denounce him to the Signoria; to-morrow, for some +caprice of their Excellencies--it may be Piero Salin!" + +But the gastaldo relapsed easily into such philosophy as he knew. "By +the blessed San Marco and San Teodoro themselves!" he was ready to cry, +as he reached his gondola, "there must always be a last 'to-morrow'!" + + + +XXV + +Life had begun to move again, with slow, clogged wheels, in the Ca' +Giustiniani since that sudden favorable change had come to the Lady +Marina. Her husband was no longer excused from attendance in the Council +Halls of the Republic, and whether to quicken his interest in the +affairs of the government or because, in due course, the time had come +when a young noble so full of promise should take a prominent place in +her councils, he was now constantly called upon to fill important +offices in transient committees. Certainly there was some strange, +ubiquitous power in that watchful governmental eye; and in the Broglio +it had been whispered that if the young Senator were not held constant +by multiplied honors and responsibilities the home influence might be +fateful to the house of Giustiniani--a house too princely and too +important to Venice to be suffered to tolerate any sympathy with Rome. +Giustinian the elder, being pronounced in his patriotic partizanship, +had replaced the ambassador to his Most Catholic Majesty of Spain, whose +attempts at conciliation were so ludicrously inadequate that a court of +less astute diplomacy than Venice might have been tempted to withdraw +its embassy. Spain and Venice had been stepping through a stately dance, +as it were, decorous and princely,--though scarcely misleading,--an +interminable round of bows and dignified advances leading no whither, +since for a forward step there was a corresponding backward motion to +complete the _chassé_, and all in that gracious circle which flatters +the actor and the onlooker with a pleasurable sense of progress; but the +suspense as to the issue of this minuet was all on the side of Spain, +and Venice had patience to spare for these pretty time-filling paces +which presented such semblance of careless ease to the watching +embassies. England, with an understanding quickened by her own +experience, took a serious interest in the quarrel. But his Most +Christian Majesty of France was foremost among the princes in efforts to +hasten the conciliation of the disputants, and when Henry of France +offered to mediate between the powers, Venice said him not nay. For if +she would take no personal step toward conciliation, she yet held no +code by which the intercession of a monarch might seem to lessen her +dignity; and the coming of so princely an envoy as the Cardinal di +Gioiosa was celebrated with fêtes meet to grace the reception of so high +a dignitary of the Church of Rome. + +Hence Venice, under the ban, suggested rather a lively tourney in some +field of cloth of gold, than an excommunicated nation in its time of +mourning; there were frequent interchanges of diplomatic +courtesies--receptions to special embassies which had lost nothing of +their punctilious splendor. There had always been time in Venice for +absolute decorum, and now there was not less than usual, since her +conduct had been denounced--though Venice and her prestige were +untarnished and the world was looking on! + +Marcantonio, in spite of his deep home anxiety, was becoming more and +more absorbed in the affairs of a government which made such claims upon +him, and for the honor of his house, by all Venetian tradition, he must +give to the full that which was exacted of him. But he worked without +the brilliancy and enthusiasm of a few months past--as a man steadied by +some great sorrow, striving more strenuously to give of his best where +honor is concerned, because he is conscious that the heaviness of his +heart makes all duty irksome. + +For Marina, with returning health,--the physicians spoke of her thus +since they had pronounced her out of danger,--had not fully returned to +him; it was less her whiteness and wanness that oppressed him than that +nameless change in the face and eyes which suggested a ceaseless, +passionate suppression of the deep, impassioned self, under the listless +exterior; there was an immeasurable loss in the sweetness of life to +them both, though never since the early days of their love had he been +so tender and patient, so eager to gladden her in little ways. But she +answered his love more often with a mute caress of her hand upon his +cheek than with smiles or words--yet with a touch that lingered, as if +to assure him that her love was not less, though she herself was +changed. + +Something terribly real lay between them, of which it seemed better not +to speak, since all his efforts to change her point of view had failed. +It was utterly sad to have her so nearly herself again, and yet so far +from him. Life was hard for this young senator with his multiplied +honors, his wealth, and prestige. Marina had always given impetus to his +life; now it was he who watched and cared for her, while she seemed to +have no will for anything, yet had lost that old charming ingenuousness +which had underlain her power. He had promised himself, out of his new +pathetic yearning when she had begun to improve, that never again should +she know an ungratified wish, yet now he feared that she would give him +no opportunity of granting a request, so apathetic had she grown. But +one day, when he was trying to rouse her to express a desire, she laid +her hand eagerly on his, asking a thing so strange that unconsciously he +started away from her. + +"Marco, mio, take me to Rome!" + +For a moment, in spite of all that had gone before, the young Senator +was betrayed into a forgetfulness of his tender mood--it was so strange, +this request of a Lady of the Giustiniani, to choose Rome rather than +Venice at a time of contest; but her face and manner and speech were +luminous with hope; she was radiant again, as she had not been for many +months; yet the words escaped from him unintentionally and sternly: + +"_To Rome_!" + +"Yes, Marco, thou and I and the little one! We should be so happy again +in the palazzo Donatello, where baby came to us." + +"Marina, a Giustinian abides by Venice. From the days when every man of +the Ca' Giustiniani--save only the priest, who might not take up +arms--laid down his life before Lepanto, none hath ever forsaken +Venice." + +"It is not to forsake our Venice, Marco mio!" she cried, with growing +eagerness, "but to serve her--to plead with the Holy Father that he will +remove the curse and let all the prayers of Venice ascend again to the +Madre Beatissima, who listens no more! It is a service for a Giustinian +to render!" + +Her whole soul pleaded in face and gesture, beautiful and compelling; he +felt her old power reasserting itself; he almost groaned aloud as he put +up his hand to shut out this beseeching vision of the wife whom he loved +before all things but honor--lest he, being among the trusted rulers of +his country, should fail to Venice out of the great joy of granting to +Marina the happiness she craved. + +Not for an instant did the young Venetian noble question his duty, while +with head averted, lest Marina should guess his struggle, he invoked +that ever-present image of Venetia regnant, which all her children +recognize, to stay him from forgetting it until this temptation were +past and he could be strong again; but now he knew that he was weak from +an irrepressible yearning to clasp Marina in his arms and grant her +heart's desire--at whatever cost; he dared not touch her lest he should +yield. + +The moment's silence intensified her eagerness and hope; he felt them +burning in her eyes, and would not meet their prayer again. But she +could not wait, and her hand, fluttering restlessly upon his shoulder, +crept up to touch his cheek, thrilling him unbearably, as if each +sensitive finger-tip repeated her urgency. He must yield if she kept it +there. He snatched her hand to his lips and dropped it quickly, nerving +himself to speak steadily, lest he should betray irresolution--so +covering the tenderness which would have atoned for the positive +refusal. + +"Marina, a Venetian may not demean himself to ask forgiveness of the +Holy Father in a matter wherein Venice hath not sinned--but Rome." + +"Marco, my beloved, if Venice were mistaken! If thou and I might save +her!" + +Her voice broke in a sob of agony, and her husband gathered her in his +arms, struggling not to weep with her. "Carina--carinissima!" he +repeated soothingly; yet, as she grew calmer, brought despair again. + +"Nay, Marina, no loyal senator may question the decision of his +government; thou presumest too far; but thine illness and thy suffering +have made thee irresponsible." + +Then, grieving so to cross her in her weakness and pain, with all his +tenderness in his voice, he hastened to atone for the firmness of the +declaration which had sufficiently proved his staunchness. + +"Marina, thou and I--were we not Giustiniani--more than all other +Venetians owe our loyalty in time of stress; and for love of thee, +beloved, shall Venice find me faithful in her need--I and all my +household true, and all my fortune hers in service, if need should +be--as thus I vowed, before them all, on that day when the Senate gave +thee to me and made thee the sweetest patrician lady in all the land. We +will not fail them, beloved!" + +He clasped her close, holding her firmly, as if to infuse her with his +faith. "All blessings are for those who do the right, Marina; we need +not fear." + +Never had she seen his face so inspired, so masterful, so tender; it was +a revelation. The whole of their beautiful love story was written on it, +mastering all the traditions of Venice, yet binding him more closely to +the service of his country. + +For a moment she looked at him awestruck, longing to give the submission +which would bring her rest; it was not strange that she loved him so; +oh, if she might but acquiesce in his view of right! Madre Beatissima, +life was hard, and the way of right was the way of the cross--how many +holy women had found it so! One hand stole to the little crucifix +beneath her robe and pressed its roughened surfaces into her breast, for +she must not place the sweetness of this earthly love before the duty of +the heavenly one. "Santa Maria, save me!" she prayed, while, only for +one moment, she drooped her head to his shoulder and nestled close, that +he should know her heart was his, whatever came--_whatever came_. + +Was it strange that her agony threatened her reason? In that one little +moment of comfort, which she yearned to hold free from suffering that +its remembrance might uphold her, the powerful vision of the +Tintoretto's awful _Judgment_ rose beckoningly before her. It was the +doom of Venice, and she alone--so impotent--recognized the danger. + +The vision pursued her night and day. The River of the Wrath of God, +leaping up to meet those frowning skies of His most just anger, and +Venice--superb, disdainful--overwhelmed between; the cloud of +innumerable souls, tortured and writhing, fleeing from before the face +of the Holy One, no more than a mere film of whirling atoms, +falling--falling into an abyss of horrors--the dim, doomed shapes +wearing faces that had smiled into hers--With an inarticulate moan she +hid her face on her husband's shoulder. + +"Marco," she whispered with an effort, for her strength was spent, "not +though it were a vision, revealed by the Madonna San Donato, thou +wouldest take me to Rome? Not though I could make thee comprehend what +it means for me--and thee?" + +She waited breathlessly for his answer, with pulses that seemed to pause +for the momentous decision, not daring to look at him lest she should +falter and retract; for never again would she ask this question, which, +even now, she had put in the form of an assertion. + +"Nay, Marina, the Madonna asketh naught of thee but that which gracious +women must give--submission to their princes--in which, beloved, thou +seemest to fail; and duty to thy Church, in which thou, having ever been +before all others, art now neglectful. For from the altar of your home +no Masses ascend, no fragrance of flowers nor praise. Venice is more +faithful in that which she commands, and we, carina, may not longer +disregard her will without suspicion of disloyalty. Since Fra Francesco +is no longer here, I will apply for some new ministrant. Hast thou a +wish in this choice of a priest for the service of our oratory?" + +She had started away from him almost resentfully, that he could charge +her--whose fealty to her Church was killing her--with neglect of any +duty it imposed; but, out of her larger love, she understood him better +than he knew her, and she forgave him and nestled back again. He had not +been brought up to place the requirements of the Church before the +commands of Venice,--few patricians were in those days,--she could not +make him realize the awful restrictions of that ban which, by her strict +teaching, made it impossible for the faithful to worship in Venice while +it remained unwithdrawn; yet he could count it as non-existent! + +She was glad that she had felt the tumult of his heart while he answered +her so calmly; it made her realize what it cost him to deny her prayer; +it assured her that a staunch sense of duty underlay his strength; +pitilessly it assured her also that he would not change, and the very +firmness which came between them made her love and admire him the more. +In the midst of her pain she was proud that he also had conscience on +his side, however misguided it seemed to her. Why did the good Madonna +permit these differences? How was it possible for Marco, with his quick, +intellectual grasp, not to comprehend the truth--not to see the terrors +that Venice had brought upon herself! He was suffering also, but only +because she suffered; never would he understand her agony; the rudest, +crudest weight of the cross she must lift alone, weary and spent with +the bitter struggle. + +She summoned all her strength to answer him as though the words were +easily spoken. "Since it is not Fra Francesco, whom we love," she said, +"I know no other; choose thou, my Marco." + +His face flushed with pleasure that her resistance seemed conquered. +"And when we have found our confessor, shall we go together--thou and +the little one and I," he asked brightly, "to the Island of Sant' Elenà, +which thou lovest, and we ourselves bring flowers to deck our chapel? +For it hath been long since Mass was said therein." + +"Yes, Marco mio," she answered to the love in his voice, struggling to +repress every accent of dissent; for in her heart she told herself that +the chapel of the palazzo Giustiniani was his, not hers, since their +faith was divided; "and for me only, not for him, to worship there is +sin. And the beautiful day together, alone on the island with the +flowers--it is the gift of the Holy Mother to help me endure!" + +And her husband, as he left her, carried with him a smile that satisfied +him. + +But, turning in the doorway for another glance--so sweet it was to have +her all his own again--a pang shot through him, for the glory was gone +from her face--or was it the shadow that made it so wan and gray?--and +no smile hid the questioning anguish of her eyes. Nay, he himself was +fanciful, for it was too far to see, and he could not shake off the +sadness of the days that were past. But he must teach himself to forget +them. For Marina had smiled at him, radiantly, as in the sweet, old +days; and together they would deck the chapel for a benediction! + + + +XXVI + +Fra Paolo was fast becoming a centre of romance, so many were the +attempts from suspicious quarters to manage private interviews which the +Senate had thought necessary to frustrate; and the fact that he was +known to have declined the escort of guards which the Senate urged upon +him as means of safety endowed him with a sort of heroic halo in the +eyes of the lesser multitude. "Fate largo a Fra Paolo," they called in +the Merceria if the people pressed him too closely--"Make way for Fra +Paolo!"--and a strange youthfulness, as of satisfied affections, was +beginning to grow upon his calm face. He had had no cravings, feeling +that duty sufficed; yet, through this absolute yielding of himself to +express the message with which his life was charged, his heart had +warmed within him, and now, unsought, the people loved him, magnifying +the interest of every minor happening of his life and zealously +gathering anecdotes of the days before he was great. + +A group of his brother friars were strolling back and forth under the +fretted colonnades of the greater court of the Servi one evening before +vespers, a glow of relish on their genial, cowled faces, rehearsing the +tale of Fra Paolo's unconventional slippers; for it was the hour of +small gossip, and the day had been warm. + +"They were scarlet, like an eminence's," explained Fra Giulio, who had +secured this choice bit for the entertainment of his special cronies; +"for all colors are one to Fra Paolo, who hath no distinction for +trifles." + +"Because he spendeth himself in scheming for honors that belong +elsewhere," interposed a disaffected brother who had strolled up and +joined the group uninvited; he belonged to another chapter of the Servi, +and had but recently come among them; honors had passed him by and +duties attracted him less, and he had made no friends within the +convent, though he professed great interest in all that concerned Fra +Paolo, and had even offered to wait upon him in chapel or in his cell. + +"Thou, Fra Antonio, seek thine own friends!" Fra Giulio retorted, with +unusual asperity; "for this tale is too good for thine hearing, being +another triumph for Fra Paolo in the days when he was only a frate of +the Servi." + +"_Ebbene_, and then?" urged the eager auditors, crowding around the +speaker, for the incongruity of the grave padre, in his frayed and rusty +gown attempting to usurp a decoration, lent interest to the petty +happening. + +"_Ebbene_, and then his Eminence of Borromeo--for it seemeth that only +the illustrious play parts in this farce"--Fra Giulio continued with +keen enjoyment, "his Eminence of Borromeo hath explained at Rome that +Fra Paolo was innocent of contempt of rule." + +"Verily, the fault might have been counted to one who hath no sins of +the body to atone for!" sneered Fra Antonio, who could not be converted +to the prevailing tone of admiration for this abnormal being who walked +among them not as other men, and toward whom his own attitude was a +singular compound of obsequiousness and cynicism. "Even the slippers of +your saint can do no wrong," he added venomously. + +"But thou, in canonized shoes, couldst walk but wearily, Fra Antonio, +lest they should lead thee in unwonted ways!" one of the party retorted +maliciously. + +"Fra Paolo hath fear of no man, and that which he declareth he knoweth," +said another of the frati, lowering his voice and glancing about him +furtively. "And it hath chanced to him, more than once, to be wiser than +the Serenissimo and the Ten themselves--may San Marco have other uses +for his ears! But the day that our famous Signor Bragadin was summoned +from his palace on the Giudecca to make his promised gold for the +Signoria, I stood with the crowd in the Merceria to see him pass, with +his two black dogs and their golden collars looking for all the world +like powers of evil! And our gold-maker himself going to the Senate like +a noble, with his friends the Cornaro and the Dandolo in crimson +robes--the people thronging to see him pass!" + +"Ay, Bragadin was a saintly man!" one of them retorted mockingly. "Dost +remember the tale how that he fooled the worshipful Signoria to leave +him a week in peace, that he might take the blessed sacrament quietly, +finding therein 'a holy joy' that should fit him to proceed to the +service of Venice--looking, meanwhile, for means of escape?" + +"_Davvero_! but this was the hour of his highest favor, and I followed +with the rest of the crowd till there was scarce breathing space under +the clock tower, where the _Magi_ were just coming forth to salute the +Madonna and the Bambino at the stroke of the day; and the people were +shouting so one could not hear the bell for cries of 'Gold! gold! +Bragadin!' + +"We surged back against the doorway of the 'Nave d'Oro,' the people +struggling with each other lest they should lose the sight as he passed +through the Piazza, and suddenly there came a voice,--cold, and +scornful, and low, but no man lost the words,--'Thou art wearied in the +multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the star-gazers, the +monthly prognosticators stand up and save thee from these things that +shall come upon thee!' The people stopped their pushing and looked +aghast to see who spake, but I could have sworn it was Fra Paolo's +voice. I caught a glimpse of him standing quietly just inside the 'Nave +d'Oro,' while the other signori who go there to ridotto were out in the +Merceria to see the show; and I made haste away lest the crowd should +object to my habit for being like Fra Paolo's--they were so crazy for +Bragadin, following in the footsteps of the Signoria, like good +Venetians!" + +"Who told the saying to the Signoria, when it might have crushed Fra +Paolo?" Fra Giulio questioned jealously. + +"It may well have been his Excellency the Signor Donato, who was of the +Council in those days, but a man too strong to have a mind to the folly +of the others, and who walked about the chamber giving sign of much +displeasure while Bragadin made his gold. And the next day Fra Paolo is +commanded before the Signoria to meet the Provveditor of the Mint--being +the only man who hath dared speak his mind before the Signoria had +proved the worthlessness of Bragadin's promise. And our fine gold-maker +exchangeth his palace for a prison; for the test of the crucible is all +too easy for Fra Paolo, who speaketh naught that he knoweth not." + +"Santa Maria! here cometh the 'bride,'" some one exclaimed warningly; +for none of Fra Paolo's friends had the courage for frivolity in his +grave presence, harmless as it might appear in his absence, and this +watchword was often heard in the cloister as he approached. + +He was conversing earnestly with his secretary, Fra Fulgenzio, evidently +on business of the Senate, having remained in the convent all day, +contrary to his usual custom; Fra Fulgenzio had been to and fro with +messages, and once had returned from the Ducal Palace escorting several +grave personages who had gone to Fra Paolo's cell for some conference, +which gave rise to pleasant comment in the convent--since the +Serenissimo could not dispense with the personal service of its +Consultore for a single day, and every honor shown to Fra Paolo was dear +to the hearts of the Servi. + +Fra Paolo paused only for a moment as he passed the group to exchange a +greeting, but his keen, quiet glance took in every expression, from the +affectionate smile of old Fra Giulio to the jealous discontent of Fra +Antonio, whose gaze drooped before him while he hastened to give the +accustomed sign of reverence due to one so high in authority. + +Fra Paolo considered him seriously for a moment before resuming his +stroll. "Fra Antonio," he said, in his passionless voice, "the head of +the Roman Chapter hath made inquiry for thee, and knew naught of thy +presence here. Thou wilt soon be recalled. That thou doest--do quickly." + +A sudden pallor overspread the features of Fra Antonio, who staggered +and would have fallen, as he made an effort to steal away unobserved, +had not the others come to his assistance. + +"What is thy sudden ailment?" one of them asked him roughly, for he was +no favorite. + +But before the trembling friar could steady his voice or choose his +words he was forgotten, for the evening bells began to chime for +vespers, and as the brothers came flocking through the cloisters the +great bell at the entrance gate on the Fondamenta dei Servi sent back +the special deep-toned call, which took precedence of every order within +the convent. Those who had already reached the chapel streamed back in +wild confusion to answer the summons which filled the court with +clanging echoes, while the silvery notes of the chapel chimes sounded +faintly in the pauses of the deeper reverberations--like the voice of a +timid child crying to be comforted when it does not understand. + +In the excitement that followed Fra Antonio was forgotten by all but Fra +Giulio, who had been watching him closely as he made his way with +difficulty toward the low, arched passage which led in the direction of +the dormitory. + +"Lean on me," said Fra Giulio, who stood barring the way. + +"Nay," replied the other, who seemed scarcely able to stand, "I must +needs reach my cell; a sudden illness hath overtaken me." + +But Fra Giulio, usually so compassionate that he was called "woman +hearted," did not move. + +"Later a remedy shall be brought thee," he answered coldly. "Thou +hearest the great summons which none of our order may disobey; it is +rare and solemn to hear that call. Something of moment hath chanced. +_Ecco_, now we shall know!" he added in a tone of relief, as Fra +Gianmaria appeared from under the convent entrance, whither he had gone +to receive the Chief of the Ten, who now entered the great court with +him in formal state, with a secretary and attendants and an officer of +the guards. + +The tumultuous crowd began to range itself in orderly groups at the +command of the superior, and Fra Antonio controlled himself with a +supreme effort as a body of palace guards, in brilliant uniforms, +scattered themselves among the black-robed friars. The heavy gates +closed behind them, and the dismal tolling of the bell ended in a +silence through which the heart-beats of Fra Antonio sounded in his ears +louder and more ominous than the harsh tones of the summons had done a +moment before. + +Who were those two terrible gondoliers all in black, who stood by the +water-entrance on the Fondamenta? Was it the shadow of their great black +hats that darkened their features like masks? Why were they there? + +He glanced stealthily at the faces of the friars; they were more full of +interest than dread, while the eyes of the little choristers who stood +robed for chapel service shone with delight. Evidently to all that +community the interruption was an event filled with possibilities of +excitement that was welcomed as breaking the monotony of the daily +round. Perhaps no one had noticed those gondoliers! Only Father +Gianmaria, the Superior, and the Senator Giustinian Giustiniani, the +Chief of the Ten, were stern and angry; and Fra Paolo stood between +them--calm and inscrutable as ever. + +Now, thought Fra Antonio, before the curiosity of the friars had been +satisfied,--while no one was thinking of him,--he must escape! But at +every passage leading out of the court a scarlet coat stood guard, save +only before the low doorway of the dormitory stair. Fra Giulio's eyes +were fixed earnestly, adoringly, upon his beloved Fra Paolo, and he had +moved a little way from the wall. + +Fra Antonio stole softly in behind him, breathlessly anxious. He was +already under the archway when his unsteady foot stumbled in a hollow of +the worn brick pavement just within the opening--in another moment he +should be safe! But a voice, meant for him alone, leaped through all +that crowd and petrified him with horror; it was filled with a sarcastic +grace as it offered the courtesy. + +"Whoever hath need to leave this cloister before the Inquiry of Venice +is satisfied, shall be served by the gondola of the _Piombi_--which +waits." + +I Piombi! Those prisons under the leads where the heat was slow +torture--this was the meaning of the masked gondoliers! + +Surely it was the Chief of the Ten who had spoken! Fra Antonio trembled +from head to foot; but was he not already far enough within the narrow, +winding passage to be hidden from the cruel gaze of that man of power? +Half an inch might make the difference between life and death; he folded +his black gown closer about him--stealthily--so that it might not +rustle, watching the faint shadow on the pavement in agony--what if his +hand had been seen as he passed it behind him to gather up the folds! + +Those words could not be meant for him; they were merely a general +order; there were twenty men--forty men in that company more wicked than +he! He could not turn back and face them to glide into his place again; +it would be certain death; but when the Chief of the Ten or Father +Gianmaria should begin to speak, he must go on. + +He lifted one foot to be ready; a great sweat broke out on his +forehead--would this silence never end? He dared not stir until there +should be words to hold the crowd; for if he should be caught---- + +Were they speaking?--His heart thumped so that he could not hear. Santa +Maria!--death could not be worse! + +"Thou art summoned; they are calling thee," said Fra Giulio, close +beside him, in a low, hard voice that changed to one more compassionate +as the friar turned his livid face toward him. "I know not thy fault, +but Fra Paolo will plead for thee; for thou art ill, verily." + +"Fra Paolo is no man of mercy." + +"Nay, but of justice. He will not remember thy discourtesies." + +"_Discourtesies_!" ay, it was true; Fra Giulio did not know--nobody +knew; he would take courage and plead to be forgiven his manifold +"discourtesies" toward this idol of the Servi; it was for this that he +was summoned! The palace guards were approaching the low passage, and +the extremity of his need steadied him; he rallied all his powers for a +last effort, and, shaking off their touch, advanced into the court--his +face, withered and pain-stricken, might have plead for him but for the +strange hardness of the lines. + +"It was a sudden malady that bade me seek my cell," he gasped. "I knew +not that your Excellency had need of me." + +He was a ghastly thing in his fear. + +The inexorable Chief of the Ten surveyed him in silence for a brief +moment that seemed unending. + +"Ay, Fra Antonio, we _have_ need of thee--more than another. For word +hath reached Venice, privately, from special friendly sources in Rome, +that thou art come hither charged with a message of vital import to a +trusted servant of the Republic. Thou hast leave of the Signoria to +declare it in this presence." + +Fra Antonio opened his dry lips and framed some words of which he heard +no echo. + +"The Inquiry of Venice is satisfied," said the Chief. "Thou art the man +whom we seek. Conduct him to the gondola of the Piombi." + +Fra Antonio fell upon his knees in wild supplication as the guards +gathered around him, but the Father Superior detained them with a +prohibitory motion. + +"I crave your Excellency's pardon. For the better ruling of this +community and the clearing of all the innocent among our brotherhood, I +have summoned hither every soul under my rule. That no scandal may +arise, your Excellency will permit that the charge under which this +arrest is made be declared." + +Assent was given by an impatient gesture. + +"Fra Antonio, while he hath been a recipient of our hospitality," said +the Superior, "is described by trustworthy advices from our Chapter in +Rome, but just received, as a person who hath designs upon the life of a +member of this community." + +"It is a false scandal," cried Fra Antonio, who had found his voice at +last. "I shall not be condemned without proof!" + +"The truth is known," said Fra Paolo, leaning toward him and speaking +low. "It were better for thee to confess--or depart in silence." + +But the man was beside himself with fear; he caught at his last, +desperate chance of favor, dragging himself to the feet of Fra Paolo and +pouring out an abject tale of petty jealousies and offenses for which he +obsequiously craved pardon of this "idol of the convent," protesting, +with horrible oaths, that he was guilty of nothing more. + +The rare shade of compassion that had softened Fra Paolo's face when he +gave his warning, deepened to a glory and his eyes shone with a grace +that was like love, as he raised the wretched man and strove to arrest +his torrent of words. "_God_ heareth thee, my brother," he said +pleadingly; "have pity on thine own soul. Kneel to Him alone in thy +great need. But spend not thy strength with trifles that demean us both. +If thine heart hath aught against me, I forgive it." + +Then turning to the Chief he besought that the trial should be +short--"For the man is ill, and I would have quiet speech with him." + +"For the honor of the Servi, let the matter be dispatched, and let proof +be brought," the Superior demanded, surprised and displeased at any +softness in Fra Paolo, whose dominant note was justice, rather than +mercy. + +"We will grant him the favor of a farewell collation ere he taketh leave +of his entertainers," said the Giustinian. "Let the refection be +brought." + +The friars exchanged glances of astonishment and dismay as a dish of +fruit and of white bread were brought forward by two of the ducal +guards, on a costly salver wrought with the arms of Venice. It was like +the simple refreshment they had often carried to Fra Paolo's cell when +he had been absorbed by some train of thought, which, according to his +wont, he would not suspend for any hour of sleep or meals until the +problem had been conquered. Fra Giulio trembled; he would have said +those were the very grapes he had chosen to tempt Fra Paolo's slender +appetite,--white, with the veins of purple,--all as he had left them on +his desk that day, with the plate of fine white bread, when the midday +meal was served--but in no lordly dish. + +A faint cry escaped Fra Antonio, and he put his hands before his face. + +There was a moment of breathless silence; but no compassion anywhere +upon all those strained and eager faces, except in the eyes of Fra +Paolo, which seemed divine in pity, as he drew nearer the guilty man and +put his arm about him to steady him. + +"These," said the Chief of the Ten, "fine grapes and wheaten bread, +exquisitely flavored with a most precious powder, thou shalt presently +enjoy in this presence,--with the compliments of the Signoria, who have +most carefully considered this repast,--unless thou dost instantly make +frank and full confession of thy deed and thine accomplices. + +"And if more be to thy taste," the cruel voice went on, for no answer +came, "since in these matters thou hast a consummate knowledge--thou art +permitted, by grace of the Signoria, to use the contents of this packet, +which hath been found within the lining of thy cassock. This powder hath +a marvelous power to still the blood which floweth over-swiftly----" + +"We have proof more than sufficient for the arrest, your Excellency," +interposed the officer of the guards, as he gave the signal. "And no +deposition can be taken here, for the man hath fainted from his fright." + +But almost unnoticed the guards bore their burden from the cloister to +the gondola of the prisons of the Piombi; for it had taken but a moment +to complete the unfinished tale in the minds of the listeners, and with +one accord they were gathering about Fra Paolo, eager to express their +loyalty, their indignation, their gratitude for his escape. + +The court was in a tumult. "Fra Paolo!" "_Our_ Fra Paolo!" mingled with +bursts of vehement condemnation and rapid questions. "Our Consultore!" +"And because he is necessary to Venice!" + +The chimes of the chapel sounding joyously broke in upon these +demonstrations, and two little choristers came running back to tell them +that, by order of Fra Gianmaria, a Te Deum for the safety of Fra Paolo +would be sung, in lieu of the interrupted vesper service. + +"The Signoria hath had warnings without end," the Chief of the Ten was +explaining hastily to Father Gianmaria, as they strolled toward the +chapel. "The Holy Father wanteth him out of Venice, since he hath been +Consultore--for the man is a marvel! But he would rather have him alive +than dead--as the learned Scioppius hath explained, not long since, to +Fra Paolo himself! And this whole plot hath been unveiled to us by one +who watcheth secretly in Rome for the interest of Venice, since there +hath been no open communication. It was hatched in the Orsini palace, in +that holy city, not unknown to some of their Eminences; the chief +accomplices are friars--we have the names of the other two; and Piero +Salin is on the watch. The stakes are high for the friars' game--five +thousand _scudi_ apiece and a promise of Church preferment; but Piero +Salin hath ways of doing his duty! The Senate will send orders for the +better protection of its Consultore; meanwhile let him not venture forth +without two ducal guards." + +"Your Excellency knoweth that Fra Paolo will have no state." + +"A cowl over their saintly faces, if it please his fancy! It is the +order of the Senate, waiting better plans of safety--a suite in the +Ducal Palace or a house connected therewith by some guarded passage. +Warning hath been sent us most urgently, by friends of the Republic, of +a great price and absolution for him who may bring Fra Paolo to +Rome--alive or dead!" + + + +XXVII + +These days had been important in the Senate. In the deliberations prior +to the departure of di Gioiosa the concessions which Rome had +persistently asked had been so persistently and diplomatically declined +that even the wily cardinal dared no longer press them; and it seemed at +last that there was to be truce to the cautious and subtle word-weighing +of months past, as di Gioiosa, suddenly realizing that he held the +ultimatum of the Republic, had taken his departure for Rome in the +night--conceiving it easier, perhaps, to confess his partial defeat to +the dignified Signoria by proxy. So he made the announcement through a +gentleman of his household the next morning, while he was already +journeying toward the expectant Pope, to whom he carried bitter +disappointment; and the heart of the cardinal himself had been scarcely +less set upon those points of amelioration which he had not obtained. It +was a blow to his diplomacy and to his churchman's pride; for the terms +which the cardinal was empowered to offer were scarcely less haughty +than was the attitude which Venice had assumed throughout the quarrel. + +His Holiness had wished that Venice, as a first step, should cancel the +"Protest" which she had widely published, declaring the interdict +invalid. + +But Venice, with cool logic, had declined to accede to this; since the +protest, being based upon the censures, was practically annulled by +their withdrawal--which must therefore first take place. And, although +by this same logic she was led to declare that no act on the part of the +Republic would then be necessary to void her protest, she consented to +give a writing to that effect, so soon as the censures should have been +withdrawn. + +The Pope requested that all who had left Venice on account of the +interdict should, upon its withdrawal, return and be reinstated in their +former privileges--making a special point of including the Jesuits. + +But here, also, Venice made and kept to her amendment; all should +return, with full privilege and favor--save only the Jesuits, who had in +various ways rendered themselves obnoxious to the government. + +The revocation of those laws which the Pope demanded was not to be +thought of, since this would be questioning the right of Venice to make +laws; neither was their suspension possible, for the laws were just. But +his Holiness might rest assured that they would be used in moderation +and Christian piety only--as they had ever been. + +The real concession--the only one--was in the case of the ecclesiastical +prisoners--the Abbot of Nervessa and the Canon of Vicenza--whom his +Holiness persisted in claiming. But Monsieur du Fresne, the French +Ambassador, suggested that the Republic should, "without prejudice to +her right of jurisdiction over criminal ecclesiastics," _give_ these +prisoners to the ambassador as a mark of special favor to his king, the +mediator, who might then consign them to the Pope if he chose--they +being his to deal with. + +Venice, with her powers of subtle reasoning, gladly embraced this way +out of the difficulty which had first appeared insuperable. "So to +_give_ them," she said, appeased, "confirms rather than questions our +authority, since no one may 'give' to another that over which he +exercises no dominion." + +It was not Venice, but France, who was to request that the interdict be +withdrawn, that she might not seem to other nations to be under the ban; +for the Republic did not acknowledge that this condition of disfavor had +gone into effect; she could not therefore personally request the Pope to +change an attitude which put only himself in the wrong. But when there +was a hint of "absolution," which the cardinal in his zeal would also +ask the Holy Father to pronounce, Venice was silent from displeasure. +She had done no wrong; she would neither ask nor accept absolution. + +The Senate might indeed be weary of these interminable discussions and +unending compliments, and glad of a respite in which to turn to other +matters. But there were no idle hours in that august assembly, though it +might chance that some whimsical phase of statesmanship lightened, by +way of entr'acte, the severity of their deliberations. They were, +possibly, not unpleasantly aware of the irony of the situation when a +letter from their governor in Constantinople announced "the extreme +solicitude of the Turkish Government for the life and welfare of the +Holy Father," who had so furthered their interests by widely inciting +discord among the nations of Christianity that, seeing therein a mark of +the special favor of Allah, the sultan had ordered prayers and +processions for the continued welfare of his Holiness! + +The singular jealousy of the Venetians for the solidarity of their +government, with their no less singular jealousy of individual +aggrandizement, together with the rare perception of mental +characteristics that was fostered by the daily culture of the councils +in which every noble took his part, led them constantly to ignore their +selfish hopes in order to choose the right man for the place. These +sentiments, acting and reacting upon each other, had secured their +political prosperity; but a disaffection was beginning to make itself +felt in the Senate which led ultimately to over-limitations of power and +such multiplied checks and suspicions that noble living and wise ruling +became impossible. + +It was a time of suppressed excitement, and there had been a grave +discussion as to the growing power of the Ten, against which some of the +senators had dared to express themselves openly; for many of these +strong men were beginning to feel that their government weighed upon +them like a Fate, crushing all liberty and individuality; and of secret +trials without defense there were tragic memories haunting the annals of +that grave tribunal. + +But so great were the complications of the involved Venetian machine--so +many were the mysteries and fears environing the daily life of these +patricians--that each felt the actual to be safer than the untried +unknown, and surrendered the hope of change, tightening the cords that +upheld the government as their only means of safety. + +For there was an under side to all this gold-tissued splendor that was +sometimes laid bare to the people, in spite of the deftness with which +the Signoria stood tirelessly ready to cover up the flaws; and a recent +sad travesty of justice was one of the weird happenings of this time. + +Not long since a formal _decree of pardon_ had been solemnly declared +and published throughout Venetia, at which the people stood aghast. For +the man to whom this clemency was graciously extended had been condemned +and executed between the columns of San Marco and San Teodoro, ten years +before--standing accused of conspiracy against the State. There had been +many murmurings when the name of this old patrician, holding honorable +office in service of the Republic, had been erased from the Golden Book; +and he had suffered his ignominious death protesting that the charge was +false, and that all who had aided in his condemnation should die before +the year was out. His dying words had proved a grim prophecy, which, +encouraged by the pressure of the senators, induced the Signoria to +order a re-investigation of his case, whereby the _manes_ of this +dishonored servant of the State were re-instated in that serene favor +now so worthless. + +And to-day the people gathered in gloomy silence while the great bell of +the campanile tolled the call to the solemn funeral pageant by which the +Republic offered reparation over the exhumed body of the victim. The +senators, wrapped in mourning cloaks, surrounded the bust of the man +they desired to honor as it was carried in triumph to the church where +the tomb was prepared; and the three _avvogadori_, who had the keeping +of the Golden Book, bore it on a great cushion behind the marble effigy, +the leaf bound open where the name was re-inscribed. Here also walked +the domestics of the re-habilitated noble of Venice--the hatchments that +had been doomed to oblivion freshly embroidered upon their sleeves above +their tokens of crêpe. The Doge and the Signoria all took part in this +tragic confession of wrong, doing penance unflinchingly for the sins of +their predecessors; for Venice could be munificent in reparation, not +shrinking from her own humiliation to appease outraged justice and +confirm her power, and there was nothing lacking that might add +impressiveness to the pageant. + +But the people looked on gloomy and unappeased, filled with a horror +which the funeral pomp did little to quiet; they did not follow as the +_cortège_ descended the steps of the Piazzetta to embark in the waiting +gondolas that had been lavishly provided by the Republic. Santissima +Maria! they wanted to get back to their own quarters on the Giudecca and +breathe a little sunshine! What did one noble matter, less or more? "But +it's a gloomy barcarolle that a dead man sings!" + +"And one that hath not died his own death!" a woman answered under her +breath, as she crossed herself with a shudder. + +The wind inflated the empty folds of the crimson robe that draped the +bier, carrying it almost into the water, as the gondolas glided away +from the Piazzetta. + +"San Marco save us! he wanted none of their pomp," said an onlooker +scornfully. "The ten good years of his life and a quiet grave in San +Michele--the Signoria would buy them dear, to give them to _him_ +to-day!" + +Yet if some had died unjustly, there was not less need of ceaseless +vigilance against unceasing intrigue, within and without that body which +held the power; and one morning the Senate was thrown into a state of +great agitation by disclosures from one of the brothers of the Frari, +indubitably confirmed by the papers which he delivered into the hands of +the Doge. + +"It is beyond belief!" Giustinian Giustiniani exclaimed to the Lady +Laura, "how Spain findeth method to make traitors in Venice itself! It +is a nation treacherous to the core, and it were beyond the diplomacy of +any government,--save only ours,--to maintain relations on such a basis +of fraud." + +"What is there of new to chide them for?" she asked with keen interest. + +"Is not the old enough to make one wrathful! Boastful threats of arms +against the Republic if she yield not obedience to the Holy Father, with +secret promises of armed assistance to his Holiness to keep him firm in +his course, at the very moment of her cringing attempts at mediation +lest France should carry off the glory!--and because Spain hath neither +men to spare for Rome, nor courage to declare against the Republic, nor +diplomacy to bring anything to an issue!" + +"Nay, now them art returned to Venice forget the disturbing ways of +Spain," the Lady Laura answered, with an attempt at conciliation. "I am +glad that thy mission in that strange land hath come to an end." + +"Ay, but the ways of Spain do make traitors of us all!" Giustinian +exclaimed hotly. "When a senator of the Republic hath such amity for the +ambassador of his Most Catholic Majesty, forsooth, that at vespers and +at matins, in the Frari, they must use the self-same kneeling stool--a +tenderness and devotion beautiful to see in men so great; for it is aye +one, and aye the other, and never both who tell their beads at +once--that, verily, some brother of the Frari doth take cognizance of a +thing so rare and saintly and bringeth word thereof to the Serenissimo, +_with matter of much interest found within the prie-dieu_." + +"Giustinian!" + +"Ay, these minutes of the noble Senator, who acteth so well the spy for +favor of Spain, would do honor to a ducal secretary, for accuracy of +information concerning weighty private matters before the Council! And +due acknowledgment of so rare a courtesy doth not fail us in the very +hand of the ambassador himself, for this letter also was intercepted! +This frate who hath brought the information verily deserveth honor for +so great a service!" + +"And the others?" + +"Is there more than one treatment for a traitor?" Giustinian exclaimed, +with increasing temper. "And for the ambassador--it hath already been +courteously signified to him that the air of Venice agreeth not well +with one of his devotional tendencies." + +"Tell me the name of the traitor," the Lady Laura urged, coming close +and laying her hand upon his shoulder. + +"Nay," said her husband, shaking off her touch impatiently, "my anger +doth unlock my speech to a point I had not dreamed, for the matter may +be held before the Inquisition! But it is a name unknown to thee, and +new to this dignity, which he weareth like a clown! The freedom is still +too great for this entry to the Senate; the serrata hath done its work +too lightly if it leave space for one parvenu! To-morrow, when thou +takest the air in thy gondola, my Lady Laura, thou shalt look between +the columns of the Ducal Palace and know whatever the State will declare +to thee of that which concerneth the government alone! The times are +perilous." + +"They will be better when the interdict is removed----" + +"Ay--no--one knows not; it is a matter too grave for women and too +little for the Republic to grieve about. His Holiness would have us on +our knees, weeping like naughty infants, and abjectly craving his pardon +for daring to make our own laws and uphold our prince!" + +"Giustinian, there is more to it than that." + +"Ay, there _is_ more, if it setteth the women up to preach to us and to +expound the laws of the Republic--a knowledge in which I knew not that +they held the mastery! Take not the tone of Marina, who hath come near +to killing herself and making half a fool of Marcantonio." + +"Nay, Marco is true to Venice and swerveth not. And for our +daughter--she hath suffered till it breaks my heart to look into her +face, poor child! And thou, Giustinian, wert little like thyself, when +she lay almost dying! The Signor Nani hath confessed to me that in Rome +there was much intriguing for her favor--of which she suspected naught. +It was a harm to them that they went to Rome; I would not have had it +so." + +"Ay, thou would'st not have had it so; thou would'st have had it all +thine own way!" retorted Giustinian, who was becoming impossible to +please, now that the paths of government were growing more thorny and +exacting, and the Lion showed no sign of climbing to his portal. "That +father confessor of hers hath much to answer for. Keep the little one +well out of the way of their craft--dost thou hear? He is to be trained +for Venice, after the ways of the Ca' Giustiniani. And Marcantonio--who +knows?" + +He had drifted into his favorite reverie, and wandered abstractedly out +upon the balcony looking longingly toward the rose-colored palace where +his every ambition centred; but he felt the glittering, jeweled eyes of +the patron saint of Venice glare upon him mockingly from his vantage +point upon the column, while the very twist of the out-thrust tongue +insinuated a personal message of malice and defeat. + + + +XXVIII + +Venice was flooded with moonlight. The long line of palaces down the +Canal Grande shone back from the breast of the water, starred with +lights, repeated again and again in the rippling surface. + +A ceaseless melody filled the air, braided of sounds familiar only to +this magic city--echoes of laughter from balconies high in air, silvery +tintinnabulations falling like drippings of water from speeding oars, +franker bursts of merriment from the open windows of the palaces, low +murmured tones of lovers in content from gliding gondolas, hoarse shouts +of quick imperious orders from gondoliers to offending gondoliers, as +they passed--apostrophes to liquid names of guardian saints, too +melodious for denunciations, hurled back with triple expletives and +forgotten the next moment in friendly parsiflage; here and there a +strain of ordered music, in serenade, from a group of friendly gondolas +swaying only with the tranquil movement of the water; or the mysterious +tone of a violin, uttering a soul prayer meant for some single listener, +which yet steals tremblingly forth upon the night air--more passionate, +more beautiful and true than that other human voice which breaks the +quiet of a neighboring calle with some monotonous love song of the +people. + +And far away, perhaps, in the quainter squares of the more primitive +island villages--in Burano or Chioggia--before the Duomo, some reader +lies at full length in the brilliant moonlight under the banner of San +Marco, his "Boccaccio" open before him, repeating in a half-chant, +monotonous and droning, some favorite tale from the well-worn pages to +listeners who pause in groups in their evening stroll and linger until +another story is begun; this time it is some strophe from the +"Gerusalemme," to which a passing gondolier may chant the answering +strain--for this is the very poem of the people, echoing familiarly from +lip to lip, and tales from the Tasso are not seldom wrought into the +ebony carvings of their barks. Meanwhile the younger men and maidens, on +a neighboring fondamenta, keep step to the music of some strolling +player who lives, content, on the trifling harvest of these moonlight +festivities. + +In the great Piazza of San Marco, with its hundreds of lights and its +hurrying throng, life is gayer than in the day. Crowds come and go under +the arcades, loiter at the tables closely set before the brilliant +cafes, or stroll with laughter and snatches of song and free Venetian +banter where there is less restraint, up and down the broad space of the +Piazza, between the colonnade and the burnished Eastern magnificence of +San Marco, beyond the reach of the yellow lamp flames--their laughing +faces grotesque and weird in the white glare of the moon. But under the +shadow of the Broglio and those great columns of the Ducal Palace there +are only slow-moving figures here and there, wrapped in cloaks, and dark +under the low, unlighted arches, talking in undertones which even the +watchful Lion--so near, so cunning--does not always overhear. + +But in the calles, half in moonlight and half in shadow, night wears a +more poetic air of mystery and quiet; and if a fear but come in passing +some dread spot of tragic memory, a gentle Virgin at every turning, with +a dingy, flickering flame beneath her image, is waiting to grant her +grace--for is not Venice the Virgin City? And on the splendid palaces in +the broad canals the watching Madonna stands glorified in exquisite +sculpture and cunningest blendings of color,--ofttimes a crown of light +above her, or rays of stars, symbolic, beneath her feet,--casting her +benediction far out on the water, which, ever in motion, repeats it in +shimmering, widening circles--all-embracing--in which the stars of +heaven shine, tangled and confused with these stars of a paradise in +which earth has so large a part. + +Yet in the glory and charm of this Venetian night how should there be +space for sorrow or thought of care, or cause for the tears which +brimmed the eyes of the Lady Marina, as she sat in her sculptured +balcony at the bend of the Canal Grande, watching for the coming of +Marcantonio, who lingered late at the Senate when every moment was +precious to her! + +Ever since her husband had left her she had sat with her little one +gathered convulsively in her arms, showering upon him a tenderness so +passionate and so unlike herself in its uncontrolled expression, that +the child, wondering and afraid, was but half-beguiled by the rare treat +of the music and the lights of the Canal Grande, and clamored for his +nurse. + +And now he was gone, with a kiss upon his sweet, round baby-mouth that +was like a benediction and a dirge in which a whole heart of wild mother +love sobbed itself out in renunciation--but to him it was only strange. +And she herself had hushed the grieving quiver of his lip, and quickly +filled his dimpled hands with flowers to win the farewell caress of that +dancing smile which irradiated his face like an April sunbeam, parting +the pink lips over a vision of pearly infant teeth. + +Below, in the chapel, her maidens were decking it as for a festa with +vines and blossoms which she and Marco had brought that day--that +heavenly day--from the beautiful island of Sant' Elenà, wandering alone, +like rustic lovers, over the luxuriant flower-starred meadows and +through the cloistered gardens of its ancient convent, lingering awhile +in the chapel of the Giustiniani, while he rehearsed the deeds of those +of his own name who slept there so tranquilly under their marble +effigies--primate, ambassadors, statesmen, and generals; ay, and more +than these--lovers, mothers, and little ones! + +And now, while she sat alone in this holy moonlight, the voices of her +maidens came in sounds of merriment through the fretted stonework of the +great window, and a sweet odor of altar candles and incense mingled with +the breath of the blossoms that was wafted up to her; for to-morrow, for +the first time since her illness, there would be matins in the chapel +of the palazzo, and Marcantonio had assured her that the new father +confessor was much like Fra Francesco--coming, also, from the convent of +the Servi, that he might seem nearer to her who had so loved the gentle +confessor. + +Ay, she had loved him, with a holy reverence, for his goodness and +gentleness and faith; for his inflexible grasp of duty, according to his +views of right; for his teachings, which she could understand and which +she believed the Holy Mother had taught him--for his self-denial and +suffering. + +And now, for a few moments, she forgot herself--forgot to watch for +Marco, her thoughts busied with the sad tale of Fra Francesco, which +Piero, always _in viaggio_ for business of the Senate, had told her but +a few days before--news that had reached him from the frontier. The +gentle confessor had indeed completed his pilgrimage, barefooted, to +Rome, but had gained no favor with the Holy Father; having at first been +welcomed as a deserter from the enemy's camp, flattered, and plied with +questions, to which Fra Francesco gave no answers--wishing no harm to +Venice nor to any who sat in the councils of the Republic. Whereupon his +lodgings had been changed and all communications with the brothers of +the Servite chapel in Rome had been forbidden. And again, and more than +once, he had been brought forth to be questioned; and again there had +been nothing told of that which they sought, for they asked him of his +friends, and his heart was true. But it was told that he had used +strange words. "Each man is answerable to his own soul and to God for +that which he believeth. He answereth not for the faith of another +man--nor shall he bring danger upon his friend--who hath also his +conscience and God for judge of his faith and actions." + +"But what of Fra Paolo?" he had been asked; "How doth he defend himself +for leading thus the cause of Venice against Rome?" + +"Am I my brother's keeper?" the gentle Fra Francesco had answered; and +had said no more. + +"Thou shalt at least show us how one may obtain speech with him, for the +furtherance of his soul's salvation--apart from the vigilance of the +Senate, and without suspicion in the convent that the message cometh +from Rome, else were it not received in that unholy city." + +And in this also Fra Francesco was obdurate. And then, for disobedience +to authority, acknowledged lawful by his own submission, came +prison--wherein he languished, always obdurate,--and death,--perhaps +from discontent or homesickness, one knows not; or from failure of his +plans; or--there was a question of torture, but one knows not if it were +true. + +"No, no, it was not true!" Marina had exclaimed, quivering, when Piero +had told her the story. "It is wicked to say these things--and they are +not true!" + +But now, alone--apart from all the brightness about her, from every hope +of happiness except those few brief hours with Marco--she did not know +if it might not be true; her heart was too sad to deny any pain that had +been or that might be; but Fra Francesco's sad and gentle eyes seemed to +smile upon her through whatever distance might be between them--of +this, or of any other world--without reproach for those who had bidden +him suffer, and charging her to keep her faith. + +"If it be true," she said, "the end of pain is reached, and he hath won +his happiness.--Why cometh not my Marco?" + +A gondola of the Nicolotti detached itself from a group of serenaders +just above the palace, was caught for a few moments among the _pali_ +before the Ca' Giustiniani, and then floated leisurely down toward the +Piazzetta. She noted it idly while she sat waiting for Marco, for in the +gondola there was a graceful figure, closely wrapped, clasping her +mantle yet more closely with a hand that was white and slender enough +for one of the nobility; yet the gondolier wore the black sash of the +Nicolotti with the great hat of a bravo shading his face. "It is some +intrigue," she said, almost unconsciously, in the midst of her sad +dreaming. + +"Oh, Marco, thou art come! It hath been long without thee." + +"The Senate is but just dismissed," he answered, smiling fondly at the +eagerness which gave to her pale face a passing flush of health. "But +why is the Lady Beata not with thee?" he questioned abruptly. + +"She is in the chapel, making it fair with flowers." + +"Thou knowest it, Marina?" + +"She came to me with a question but a little while ago, when Marconino +was with me--and I wished to be alone. Marco, he was so beautiful! And +the day has been a dream; I wished for no one but for thee alone." + +He held her hand in a mute caress, but with preoccupation, while his +eyes wandered back to the Piazzetta searchingly. + +"It is strange," he muttered to himself, still watching from the end of +the balcony. "It was an echo of the Lady Beata's voice that startled me, +crossing the Piazzetta saying two words only--'In Padua.'" + +Then rousing himself, he turned brightly to his wife. "Carina, I have +news for thee, for the time hath been momentous for us in Venice. Di +Gioiosa hath gone forward, these many days, with terms from Venice; and +soon, it is thought, there will be peace." + +_Terms_ from Venice to Rome!--but the words did not move her from her +resolve to let no shadow of their difference mar the beauty of this +night. + +She looked at him wearily. "It is ever the same," she said, "through +this long, dreary year--ever the same! Let us forget it all for this one +night. Let us talk together of our Marconino!" + +And as if there had been no questions--no interdict--no pain--while the +night sounds died into silence and the moon withdrew her glamor and left +them alone to the solemn mystery of the starlight, they sat and talked +together of love and their little one and their hopes for him, and of +things that lie too deep for utterance--save by one to one--far into +that beautiful Venetian night, with the odor of flowers and incense +blown up to them on the breath of the sea. + + + +XXIX + +The yellow lamp flames were burning late in the cabinet of Girolamo +Magagnati, who took less note of the difference between evening hours +and those of early dawn since there was no longer in his household a +beloved one to guard from weariness. Nay, the night was rather the time +in which he might forget himself and plunge more whole-heartedly into +his schemes of work--financial or creative. For the world was surely on +the eve of discoveries important to his art, and it would be well if he +might secure them, before his working days should pass, for the +Stabilimento Magagnati. + +Piero Salin stood in the doorway as he glanced up from the drawings that +littered his table--the dark oak table which had seemed a centre of +cheer to Girolamo, when, in this very chamber, his child had made a +radiance for him in which the lines of his life shone large and +satisfying. + +Girolamo never seemed to remember that this son-in-law was a great man +among the people; to him he was only Piero Salin, barcariol; the single +token of the old man's favor was that in his thought he no longer added +the despicable word _toso_; and it was a proof that he was mellowing +with the years, for Girolamo never forgot this unwelcome and +dishonorable past, and Piero was always ill at ease in his presence. + +"Messer Magagnati," he began awkwardly, twirling his black cap in his +hand rather after the fashion of a gondolier than of the Chief of the +Nicolotti, "I must crave, by dawn of the morrow, the blessing of San +Nicolò--of holy memory." + +"Enter," said Girolamo, with a reluctance not wholly concealed by his +attempt at courtesy, for he felt the moments to be the more precious +that the dawn was near; but the invocation of the sailor's patron saint +portended a journey. "Verily, Piero, thy comings and goings have been, +of late, so frequent that one learns the wisdom of not mourning +over-much when thou dost crave an ave at the shrine of San Nicolò. May +he grant thee favoring breezes! Thou art in favor with the Ten, they +tell me." + +Piero shrugged his shoulders. "Favor or disfavor," he said, "it is but +the turning of the head--and both may lead to that place of unsought +distinction between San Marco and San Teodoro, if the orders of their +Excellencies bring not the end they sought. But it matters little--a +candle flame is better blown out than dying spent." + +"And whither art thou bent on the morrow?" + +"Nay, Messer Girolamo, that is not mine own secret. But this word would +I leave with thee; if, perchance, I return not before many days, seek me +on the border-land--at the point nearest Roman dominions." He had come +close to the old merchant, and uttered the last words in a tone very low +and full of meaning. + +Girolamo started. "On the border-land of Rome!" he echoed. "This mission +of thine is then weighty; and thou fearest----" + +"Nay, I fear naught," said Piero haughtily. "But the times are perilous; +and later, if thou would'st seek me, thou hast the clew. But of the +mission, to which I am sworn in secrecy, let it not be known that I have +so much as named it--it would argue ill for me and thee. And the clew is +for thy using only. Meanwhile, forget that I have spoken. The Ave Maria +will soon waken the fishers of Murano. _Addio_!" + +But he still waited as if he had not uttered all his mind. Girolamo +studied his face closely. + +"There is more," he said. "Speak!" + +"By the Holy Madonna of San Donato!" said Piero, casting off his +restraint with a sudden impulse, "if I come not back, I would have thee +know that if ever there came a chance to me to serve Marina--the Lady +Marina of the Giustiniani--I, Piero, barcariol or gastaldo, would serve +her as a soldier may serve a saint. For she hath been good to the +Zuanino. Ay, though it cost me my life, I would serve her like a saint +in heaven!" he repeated. Then, flushed with the shame of such unwonted +speech and confession, he hastened to the door, and his steps were +already resounding on the stone floor of the passage when Girolamo +recovered from his astonishment sufficiently to follow him into the +shadow and command him to stop. + +"Thou hast seen my daughter--thou hast news of her?" + +"Ay, yestere'en, at the Ave Maria, I spoke with her, in Santa Maria +dell' Orto, coming upon her kneeling before the great picture of Jacopo +Robusti--she, saint enough already to wear a gloria and looking as if +the heart of her were worn away from grief! She hath need of thee daily, +for her love for thee is great, and death not far." + +"Tell it plainly!" commanded Girolamo, hastening after the retreating +figure and violently grasping his arm to detain him. "Have I failed to +her in aught? She is soul of my soul! Maledetto! why dost thou break my +heart?" + +"Look to thine other son-in-law!" Piero retorted wrathfully; "him of the +crimson robe who sits in the Councils of Venice, and findeth no cure for +thy daughter--dying of terror beside him." + +"It is a base slander!" cried old Girolamo, trembling with anger and +fear. "Never was wife more beloved and petted! Marcantonio hath no +thought, save for Marina and Venice!" + +"Ay, 'for Marina and Venice,'" was the scornful answer, "_but Venice +first_. Splendor and gifts and the pleasing of every whim, if he could +but guess it--gold for her asking, and her palace no better than a cross +for her dwelling; for the one thing she needeth for her peace and life +he giveth not!" + +"What meanest thou?" cried Girolamo, furiously. "Hath he not spent a +fortune on physicians--sparing nothing, save to torment her no more, +since their skill is but weariness to her! She is eating her heart out +for this quarrel with Rome--which no man may help, and it is but +foolishness for women to meddle with; and she hath ever been too much +under priestly sway. Why earnest thou hither this night?" + +"For this cause and for no other," said Piero solemnly, "that thou +mightest find me, if need should be for any service to her. And to swear +to thee, by the Madonna and every saint of Venice, that I would give my +life for her!" + +But old Girolamo grew the angrier for Piero's professions of loyalty. +"Shall her father do less than thou?" he questioned, wrathfully. "On the +morrow will I go to her, and leave her no more until she forgets." + +"By all the saints in heaven, and every Madonna in Venice, and our Lady +of every traghetto!" Piero exclaimed, as he wrenched himself away from +Girolamo's angry grasp, while the old man staggered against the wall, +still holding a bit of cloth from the gondolier's cloak in his closed +hand, "I am vowed to my mission before this dawn! What I have spoken is +for duty to thine house, and not in anger--though I could color my +stiletto in good patrician blood and die for it gaily, if that would +help her!" + +But Girolamo could not yet find his voice, and Piero, with his hand on +the latch of the great iron gates of the water-story, turned and called +back: "Women are not like men, and Marina is like no other woman that +ever was born in Venice. Whether it be the priests that have bewitched +her--may the Holy Madonna have mercy, and curse them for it!--or whether +she be truly the Blessed Virgin of San Donato come to earth again, one +knows not. But, Messer Magagnati,"--and the voice came solemnly from the +dark figure dimly outlined against the gray darkness beyond the iron +bars,--"thy daughter is dying for this curse of the Most Holy +Father--'il mal anno che Dio le dia!' (may heaven make him suffer for +it!)--and she hath no peace in Venice. _She will never forget nor +change_. If thy love be great, as thou hast said, thou wilt find some +way to help her. _For in Venice she hath no peace_." + +The old merchant, dazed by Piero's hot words, was a pitiful figure, +standing, desolate, behind the closed bars of his gate, the night wind +lifting his long beard and parting the thin gray locks that flowed from +under his cap, while he called and beckoned impotently to Piero to +return, repeating meanwhile mechanically, with no perception of their +meaning, those strange words of Piero's--"_In Venice she hath no +peace_." He stood, peering out into the gray gloom and listening to the +lessening plash of the oar, until the gondola of the gastaldo was +already far on the way to San Marco, where sat the Ten. + +But it was not of Piero's mission he was thinking, but of his +child--saying over and over again those fateful words, "In Venice she +hath no peace." Had Piero said that? + +Suddenly the entire speech recurred to him--insistent, tense with +meaning. She could not live in Venice. Marina had no peace in Venice. +She would never forget nor change. She had need of him--of her father's +love; and if he loved enough, _he would find a way_! + +Chilled and heart-sick he turned, and with no torch and missing the +voice which had guided him through the long, dark passage, he groped his +way to his cabinet and sat down to confront a graver problem than any he +had ever conquered with Marina's aid. He _would_ find a way--but "it +must not be in Venice!" How could they leave Venice? Were they not +Venetians born, and was not Venice in trouble? To leave her now were to +deny her. _It could not be_! + +He put the argument many times, feverishly at first, then more +calmly--coming always to the same conclusion, "it could not be." It was +a comfort to reach so sensible and positive a decision. To-morrow he +would go to his daughter, and meanwhile he must continue his work; he +needed to reassert his power, for he had been strangely shaken. + +He drew the scattered papers together, but the lines, blurred and +confused, carried no meaning; the fragments of broken glass in the +little trays beside him were a dull, untranslucent gray, and written all +over papers and fragments, in vivid letters that burned into his brain, +were those other terrible words of Piero's which he had tried in vain to +forget--"Thy daughter is dying for this curse." _Marina--dying_! + +How should Piero know more about Marina than her own father knew? Did he +profess to be a physician that one should credit his every word? What +did he mean by his impudent boast of "dying for her, if need should be!" +Had she not her husband and father to care for her? Her husband "who was +denying her the only thing that could give her life and peace," Piero +had said.--What was the matter with his insulting words, that he could +not forget them?--Had she not her father, who was going to her on the +morrow, when he had matured his plans, and would do whatever she +wished--"in Venice"? Her father "who loved her, as his own soul"--that +was what he had said to Piero, with the memory of all those dear years +when they had been all in all to each other, in this home. + +Was it for hours or moments only that he sat in torture--enduring, +reasoning, placing love against pride, Marina against Venice, Venice +against a father's weakness, duty to the Republic before the need of +this only child who was "soul of his soul"? + +The last of his race--inheriting the traditions and passionate +attachments of that long line of loyal men who had founded and built up +the stabilimento which was the pride of Murano; of the people, yet +ennobled by the proffer of the Senate, and grandsire to the son of one +of the highest nobles of the Republic--what was there left in life for +him away from Venice? How should he bear to die dishonored and +disinherited by the country which he had deserted in her hour of +struggle? For never any more might one return who should desert Venice +for Rome! + +And those panes of brilliant, crystal clarity which he had dreamed of +adding to the honors of the Stabilimento Magagnati--so strong that a +single sheet might be framed in the great spaces of the windows of the +palaces and show neither curve nor flaw--so pure that their only trace +of color should come from a chance reflection which would but lend added +charm--these might not be the discovery of his later days, though the +time was near in which this gift _must_ come to Venice. He had not +dreamed that he could ever say, while strength yet remained to think and +plan, "The house of Magagnati has touched its height, and others may +come forward to do the rest for Venice." + +And the secret lay so near--scarcely eluding him! + +It was no mere empty jealousy, nor trivial wish for fame, nor greed of +recompense--of which he had enough--that forced the veins out on the +strong forehead of this master-worker, as he struggled with this +question of surrendering all for his daughter's peace. It was the art in +which his ancestors had taken the lead from the earliest industrial +triumphs of the Republic--an art in which Venice stood first--and in his +simple belief it was not less to their glory than the work of a Titian +or a Sansovino. In this field he wrought whole-hearted, with the passion +of an artist who has achieved, and his place and part in the Republic, +as in life, was bounded for him by his art. "To stand with folded +hands--always, hereafter, to be unnecessary to Venice!" + +How should one who had not been born in Venice ever guess the strange +fascination of that magic city for her sons, or dream with what a +passion the blood of generations of Venetian ancestry surged in one's +veins, compelling patriotism, so that it was not possible to do aught +with one's gifts and life that did not enhance the greatness of so fair +a kingdom! It was the wonderful secret of the empire of Venice that here +the pride of self was counted only as a factor in the superior pride of +her dominion. + +Marina had been proud of his cabinet, and he took the little antique +lamp she used to hold for him and unlocked the door with a tremulous +hand, standing unsteadily before it and trying to hearten himself, as he +ruthlessly flashed the light so that each fantastic bit came out in +perfect beauty, glowing with the wonderful coloring of transparent gems. + +But suddenly those fearful words of Piero's played riot among them, +obliterating every trace of beauty, every claim of Venice, every +question as to his own judgment or Marina's reasoning--even the ignominy +of the secret flight. "_Thy daughter dying_!" + +The letters blazed like stars, gleaming among his papers--glittering +around the chair where Marina used to sit, climbing up into the air, +closing nearer to him--wavering, writhing lines of living fire, tracing +those awful words he could not forget---- + +"My God!" he cried, "is not Marina more than all!" There was no longer +anything in life that he willed to do but to win peace for her, +according to her whim. + +"Stino!" he shrieked, with a voice louder than the clang of the rude +iron bell whose rope had broken in his impetuous hand. + +"Light me a fire in the brazier, and burn me this rubbish!" he commanded +of the foreman who entered, aghast at the imperious summons, and yet +more amazed at the destruction of those precious pages over which his +master had spent days of brooding; but he ventured no protest. + +"And here," said Girolamo, with a look of relief, as the last paper +shrivelled and curled into smoke, "are the keys of these cabinets--thou +knowest their contents, and that they are precious. And here shalt thou +remain, as master, until my return--keeping all in order, as thou +knowest how, and loyally serving the interest of the stabilimento. All +moneys which I may send for thou shalt instantly remit by trusty +messenger." + +"How long doth the Master remain away?" + +"So long as it may please the Lady Marina, who hath need of change. And +if I return not," Girolamo resumed, after a moment's pause which gave +solemnity to his words, "my will shall be found filed with the +Avvogadori del Commun; and thou, Stino, shalt answer to the summons they +will send thee--if I come no more." + +"Master!" cried the faithful Stino, greatly troubled, for these +preparations filled him with dread, and were strange indeed for so old a +man who had never yet left Venice for a night. "Life is other than we +know it away from Venice; and the heart of us goes mourning for the +sight and sound of the sea and the color of our skies!" + +"Nay, Stino, I have said it," his master answered, unmoved by his +imploring eyes. + +"When goest thou--that all may be ready?" + +"Now; ere the dawn!" Girolamo cried with sudden resolution. "I would say +my Ave Maria in the chapel of the Lady Marina. Rouse the gondolier, and +lift the curtain that I may see how soon the day cometh." + +"Master, dear Master," said Stino tenderly, as he drew the heavy +draperies aside. "Already the sun is high, and the household hath been, +these many hours, awake." + +"So!" Girolamo answered with deep gravity, for the battle had been +longer than he had dreamed, yet with his habitual control. "I knew not +the time--my thoughts held me. Stino, if I return not, may the saints +bless thee for all thou hast been to me since the Lady Marina hath dwelt +in the palazzo Giustiniani. And in my will thou art not forgotten." + +As Girolamo issued from his own portal, closely followed by Stino and +the other superintendents of the great stabilimento who were filled with +foreboding at this sudden and surprising decision of their good master, +several gondolas wearing the colors of the Giustiniani floated into the +waterway from the broad lagoon; and with them, like a flock of sea-birds +in their habits of gray and their cowls of white, came the sisters of +San Donato, returning from that early chanted Mass at the palazzo +Giustiniani which had been a dream of the Lady Marina's happier days. + +The young Senator had urged his boatmen to feverish speed, and his own +gondola was far in advance of the train. He bounded from his bark the +moment it neared the steps, and, rushing blindly toward the dwelling, +encountered his father-in-law on the threshold. + +"She is here--Marina?" he questioned, half crazed with grief; and, +forgetful of the usual courtesies, would have pushed him aside to enter. +"I have come with her maidens and her child to take her home. Let me go +to her!" + +And, as Girolamo stood, dumb and dazed, "I beseech thee--conceal her +not!" + +Looking into each other's faces for one anguished moment, they knew, +without need of further speech, that she had gone from them both. + +Girolamo gave a great and bitter cry, "My son!" folding his arms about +the younger man in measureless grief and compassion. + +And when they could trust their footsteps they went desolately into the +house together. + + * * * * * + +"Nay," Girolamo had answered to every argument. "It is for thee to +remain in Venice with her child, that the Signoria be not wroth with the +Ca' Giustiniani, and for me to seek and care for her--mayhap, if heaven +be merciful, to bring her to thee again! She cannot be far to seek." + +"In Padua!" cried Marcantonio, with sudden conviction. "They will sleep +in Padua to-night. It _was_ the voice of the Lady Beata!" + + + +XXX + +"Art thou sure, Marina?" + +"Ay, Piero, though it were death to me; and death were sweeter----" + +Her hair lay like a wreath of snow across her forehead, from stress of +the night's vigil, her lip trembled like a grieved child's, but in her +exquisite face there was the grace of a spirit strong and tender. + +He helped her silently into the gondola and steered it carefully between +the pali which rose like a scattered sheaf, glowing with the colors of +the Giustiniani, in the water before her palace. And thus, in the early +dawn--unattended, with the sadness of death in her pallid face--the lady +of the Giustiniani floated away from her beautiful home--away from +happiness and love--into a future cheerless and dim as the dawn lights +that were faintly tinging the sea. For the day was breaking, full of +gloom, under a sky of clouds, and the wind blew chill from across the +Lido. + +She sat with her gray mantle shrouding her face, and neither of them +spoke, while the gondola, under Piero's deft guidance, quickly gained +the steps of the Piazzetta and passed on to San Giorgio. Then she +touched his arm entreatingly. + +"Oh, let us wait one moment before we lose sight of the palazzo! Madre +Beatissima, have them in thy keeping!" + +She stretched out her hands unconsciously, with a gesture of petition, +and her mantle slipped back, exposing her pallid, pain-stricken face and +her whitened tresses. + +Piero was startled at the havoc the night had made, for he had seen her +only the day before, in answer to her summons, when she had been far +more like herself. + +"Santa Maria!" he exclaimed, crossing himself, and awkward under the +unaccustomed sense of an overwhelming compassion. "The Holy Mother must +shrive me for breaking my vow, for if San Marco and San Teodoro would +give me a place between them before the matins ring again--mistaking me +for a traitor--I cannot take thee from Venice. We will return," and +already the gondola was yielding to his stroke. "Let Marcantonio bring +thee himself to Rome." + +"Piero, thou hast sworn to me! Thou shalt abide by thy promise!" she +cried, seizing the oar in her trembling hand. + +"Ay, Marina, I have sworn to thee," he answered, with slow pauses, "and +by our Holy Mother of San Giorgio, I will serve thee like a saint in +heaven. Yet I would thou wert in thy home again--already thou hast +broken thy heart for love of it." + +The gondolas of the people were gathering about the steps of the +palaces, bringing their burdens for the day's ongoings in those +luxurious homes; the bells were calling to early Mass; the stir of life +was beginning in the city; soon, in her own palace, her little one would +wake, and Marco--She stood with straining eyes, yearning for the chance +of a face in her palace window--the bare last chance of another sight of +his dear face. She did not know that Piero was watching +her--compassionate and comprehending--while she was struggling to +outlive the agony for the very love's sake which made it so keen. + +It was the only sweetness left in life for her, that this cruel parting +was yet for Marco's sake; that she might still plead with the Holy +Father for this desperate need of which Marco seemed unconscious--since, +in a vision never to be forgotten, the blessed Madre of San Donato had +confided this mission to her. She could bear everything to win such a +blessing for her beloved ones, only she must reach Rome--surely the +Madre Beatissima would let her live to reach the Holy City! + +The tide was brimming the canals, rising over the water steps; the +growing light gleamed coldly on the polished marbles of her palace, +burnishing the rich gold fretwork of frieze and tracery--but not any +face of any dear one responded to her hungry longing, watching for her +in the deep spaces of the windows, in token of the love from which she +was fleeing. + +This also--this last longing--she must surrender! + +Her white face grew brave again; she sat down and drew her veil--the +ample _fazzuolo_ of the Muranese--more closely about her. "I am ready," +she said, and turned her face resolutely forward. + +As they rounded San Giorgio, turning into the broad Giudecca, a shoal of +little boats came over the water from Murano. + +"They are the nuns of San Donato!" she said in amazement, and drawing +her veil closer. "Piero, canst thou not ask their whither?" + +It was so strange, on this morning of all others, to see them turn in +the direction of Ca' Giustiniani; there came a vision of her chapel, +which her maidens were decking--of the dear altar, at which she should +kneel no more--and she held her breath to hear the answer. + +"Will the most Reverend Mother bless the boat of a gondolier of the +people; and his sister, who hath been ill and craveth the morning air?" +Piero, who had discarded every emblem of his office, and wore only the +simple dress of the Nicolotti, put the question easily, without fear of +recognition. "And there is no great trouble in the city which calleth +these illustrious ladies so early from Murano?" + +"Nay; but the Senator Giustiniani hath prayed us for a grace to his +sweet lady, for the chapel hath been closed while she hath been too ill +for service; and to-day it will be opened, dressed with flowers, and +we--because she loveth greatly our Madonna of San Donato and hath shown +bounty, with munificent gifts, to all the parish--will chant the matins +in her oratory." + +They gave the benediction and passed. + +While Marcantonio, with his tender thought for Marina fresh in his +heart, was waking to find only her note of farewell. + +"Only because I love thee, Marco mio, I have the strength to leave thee. +And it is the Madonna who hath called me. Forgive, and forget not thy +sad Marina." + +"Marina--" Piero began awkwardly, for argument was not his forte, and +Marina had always conquered him. "'Chi troppo abbraccia nulla stringe,' +one gains nothing who grasps too much. Thou wast ever one for duty, and +if the Senator Marcantonio will not take thee to Rome----" + +"No, Piero, he cannot; he is one of the rulers of Venice." + +"Thou, then--his wife----" + +How could he venture to counsel her, of whose will and wisdom he had +always stood in awe? It seemed to Piero that he had already delivered an +oration; yet he felt that there was more to say, but his thoughts grew +confused in seeking for expression, and it was a relief to him to +communicate his uncertainty to the motion of his gondola. + +The unsteady movement said more to her than words, for Piero was an +unfailing stroke. + +"It is the men only of whom the Republic hath need," she explained, +unflinchingly; "but for the women there is no conflict of duty--the Holy +Church is first. 'Prayers for the women and deeds for the men'--thou +hast seen it written." + +"And thy father?" Piero questioned, unconvinced, recalling the interview +of a few hours before. + +A quick, tender light flashed and passed in her eyes; a ray of color +trembled on her cheek. "I shall grieve him," she said, "but he will +forgive, for ever hath he bidden me choose the right." Her voice broke +and she was silent, while she sought for some token in the folds of her +robe. "Thou wilt take him this when thou returnest, that he may know I +hold him dear." + +"Marina!" he pleaded, growing eloquent, with a last desperate effort, +"thou wast ever an angel to the Zuanino--thou canst not leave thine own +bimbo!" + +She did not answer immediately, but she clasped and unclasped her hands +passionately. "He is safe," she said at last, very low and struggling +for control. "He hath the blessing of the Holy Father, given when it +might avail; and the little ones are ever in the care of the Blessed +Mother. It is not for my baby that I needs must go--but for Marco and my +father, and for Venice. Santissima Maria, because thou sendest me, shalt +thou not grant the strength!" + +There was a silence between them while they floated on, for Piero had +many things to think of. He was accustomed to accomplish whatever he +undertook, for he was not a man to fail from lack of resource, nor to be +overcome by fears and scruples. By means of his passes and his favor +with the government he could reach the borders of the Venetian dominions +without suspicion, from whence he would escort Marina to the nearest +convent and place her in safety with the Mother Superior, to whom he +would confide the story of her distinguished guest and secure for her +the treatment due to a Venetian princess; which, under the +circumstances, would be an easy matter, as no member of a noble Venetian +house espousing the side of Rome would be met with any but the most +flattering reception. To provide Marina with companionship, Piero had +confided her intended flight to the Lady Beata Tagliapietra, being sure +of her devotion; and she would be waiting for them at Padua with two +trusted gondoliers and whatever might be needful from the wardrobe of +the Lady of the Giustiniani. The fact that he had broken his promise of +secrecy did not trouble him, since it was in Marina's service, which +made the action honorable; and were it not so, the little perjury was +well atoned for by a keg of oil anonymously sent to the traghetto of San +Nicolò è San Raffaele, "pel luminar al Madonna";[8] and Piero had much +faith in anonymous gifts, for confessions were not always convenient for +an officer of his dignity. But it was perhaps too much to expect that +these poor little traghetto lamps should be more than dimly luminous, +since the oil was so largely provided by fines for delinquencies! + + [8] To light the Madonna. + +With an easy conscience, also, he had helped himself to the requisite +funds for their journey, amply estimated, from the treasury of the +Nicolotti, which was in his keeping; and his reasoning savored of +Venetian subtlety, with a hint of his toso training. Had not the Lady of +the Giustiniani offered to guarantee the funds necessary for the +assessments of the state, when Piero, doubtful of their resources, would +have declined the position of gastaldo grande, cumbered as it was with +the uncomfortable requirement that the chief should be personally +responsible for all dues and taxes levied upon the traghetti? Piero was +not the first gastaldo who had wished to escape an honor that weighed so +heavily, and a very serious penalty was already decreed for such +contempt of office by that tribunal tireless in vigilance. + +So, without compunction, Piero had taken the needful, sure that when he +returned Marina's husband or her father would repay it. + +_Could_ he return--after helping a patrician to escape from Venice into +the heart of the country with which the Republic was at war? It looked +doubtful even to Piero, with his indomitable temperament, but he wasted +no sentiment upon this question; for if he might not return there were +other countries in which a man could live. Or, should he be pursued and +lighted upon by the far-seeing eye of the Ten, he could die but once and +get into trouble no more! He crossed himself decorously as he dismissed +the matter; but it was not an event that he could change by pondering. + +There was another question that interested him more keenly at this +moment; when Messer Girolamo should know that his daughter was not in +Venice, could he fail to comprehend the hint he had given a few hours +before, and would he not follow them to Rome, as Piero devoutly hoped, +for he wished to leave Marina in her father's care. It was not easy to +predict what Messer Girolamo might do--the case had been too doubtful +for a more explicit confession, and Piero had been wise in his +generation. + +He turned now to Marina with the question: "If thou hadst told thy +father of thy wish mayhap he might have come with thee?" + +She shook her head sadly and made no answer, but after awhile she said, +"He is like the others. They cannot understand the need, for to them the +Madonna hath not revealed the desperate state of Venice." + +"Yet thou knowest, Marina, that already the great cardinal--but lately +come from France--hath started for Rome to make up this quarrel?" + +"That is what the Senate will not understand!" she cried, with flashing +eyes. "The Holy Father will have submission and penance, in place of +embassies and pomp. One must go to him quite simply, from the people, +saying, 'We have sinned; have mercy upon Venice!' Piero, thou knowest +that awful vision of the Tintoret? It is Venice that he hath painted in +her doom--the great floods bursting in upon her--all the agony and the +anguish and the desolation of God's wrath! Santa Maria! I cannot bear +it!" She closed her eyes, shuddering and sick with terror. + +"It was the way with Jacopo," said Pietro irreverently. "He was full of +freaks, and some demon hath tormented him. He was a man like others--not +one for a revelation." + +"Hush, Piero!" she implored; "it breaks my heart! This also may be +counted against Venice, for it is the Holy Madonna who hath granted me +the vision." + +If Piero was silent he was only restrained by deference to Marina from +invoking the aid of every saint in the calendar, in copious malediction, +on this miserable Jacopo who had so increased the trouble in Marina's +eyes--since women had such foolish faith in pictures. + +"Jacopo Robusti, posing for a seer, and foretelling the end of the +world, like a prophet or a saint! _Goffone_!"[9] Piero was paddling +furiously. "Jacopo, of the Fondamenta del Mori--not better than +others--with that boastful sentence blazoned on his door!--'The coloring +of Titian, with the drawing of Angelo!'" + + [9] Great fool! + +But he forgot even his resentment against Jacopo in his anxiety as he +watched Marina, asking himself if it would be possible for her to pray +herself back into healthful life again, even in the dominions of the +Holy Father; for he realized that nothing could help her but this one +thing on which her heart was set--while he was yet, if possible, more +utterly without sympathy for the fear that moved her than her father or +Marcantonio had been. But if the one woman in Venice had but one desire, +however desperate and incomprehensible,--"_Basta_! It is enough," said +Piero to himself,--she should not die with it unfulfilled, if he could +compass it. + +Yet, at the thought of death his heart sank. "It was the Madonna which +thou beheldest in thy vision--not the cross?" he asked her quickly, +making the fateful sign as he spoke, to avert this dread presage of +death, and afraid of her answer; for Marina was failing before his eyes, +and doubtless, in her vision, there had been some apparition of a cross; +and even the less devout among the gondoliers were still dominated by +some of the superstitions which gave a picturesque color to the habits +of the people. + +But she, too earnest in her faith to take any note of a less serious +mood, answered simply: + +"It was the very Madonna herself, as thou knowest her in San Donato, who +came to me in the palazzo one night when I slept not, and gave me the +mission to save Venice,--scarce able to speak for her great sadness, +and the tears dropping, as thou knowest her in San Donato,--commanding +me to go before the Holy Father and pray for mercy to Venice. She it was +who told me that our prayers pass not up beyond the clouds which hang +above a city under doom of interdict. Oh, Piero, hasten; for my strength +is little, and Rome is far!" + +When the Lady of the Giustiniani had sent for Piero to meet her in Santa +Maria dell' Orto, to ask him to manage her escape to Rome, it had not +been possible to refuse her; all his attempts at reasoning were in vain. +"I must go," she said, with that invincible persistence which he never +could combat. "If thou wilt not help me, I go alone." She was kneeling +before the terrible "Judgment" of the Tintoret, and the face she had +lifted to him in appeal was white with agonized comprehension. + +The journey had been long and wearisome; all day they had been slowly +toiling against the tide; and long since Piero had summoned to his aid a +trusted gondolier who had been ordered to follow them at a little +distance, and who, at a sign from the gastaldo, had silently left his +bark to drift and taken his place at the other end of the gondola in +which the fugitives were making their way to Padua. + +They had passed the domain of the Laguna Morta, weird and +half-forbidding, with tangles of sea-plants and upspringing wild fowl +calling to each other with hoarse cries across the marshes--with armies +of water beetles zigzagging in the shallows, and crabs and lizards +crawling upon the scattered sand heaps among the coarse sea-grasses, +while small fish brought unexpected dimples to the deeper pools that lay +between. And the mingled odor of waters fresh and salt was broken into a +breath now pungent and pleasant, now almost noisome, as the light breeze +stirred the shallows of this strange domain which was neither land nor +sea. Yet even here the pale sea-holly and the evening primrose made +redeeming spots of beauty, with their faint hues of violet and yellow; +and a distant water-meadow shimmered like the sea, with the tender blue +of the spreading lavender. + +They had passed Fusina, and the lagoon lay silvery, like a trail of +moonlight behind them--Venice in the distance, opalesque, radiant, a +city of dreams. The clouds above them, beautiful with changing sunset +lights, were no longer mirrored on a still lagoon, but mottled the +broken surfaces of the river with hues of bronze and purple, between the +leaves of the creeping water-plants which clogged the movement of the +oars; for they had exchanged the liquid azure pavement of their "Città +Nobilissima" for the brown tide of the Brenta. On the river's brink the +rushes were starred with lilies and iris and ranunculus, and the +fragrance of sheeted flowers from the water-meadows came to them fresh +and delicious, mingled with the salt breath of the sea, while +swallows--dusky, violet-winged--circled about their bows, teasing their +progress with mystic eliptical flight--like persistent problems +perpetually recurring, yet to be solved by fate alone. + +It was the hour of the Ave Maria, and Marina roused herself from her sad +reverie. The clouds piled themselves in luminous masses and drifted +into the hollows of the wonderful Euganean hills, and a crimson sunset +tinged peaks and clouds with glory, as Padua with its low arcaded +streets, and San Antonio--cousin to San Marco in minarets and Eastern +splendor--and the Lion of Saint Mark upon his lofty column, closed the +vista of their weary day. The chimes of Venice were too far for sound, +but from every campanile of this quaint city the vesper bells, solemn +and sweet, pealed forth their call to prayer--as if no threat of Rome's +displeasure made a discord in their harmony. + + + +XXXI + +Piero had watched all night before the little inn of the "Buon Pesce," +impatient to meet and conquer his fate, while above, in an upper room, +the ladies Marina and Beata tried to sleep; but before the dawn they +were off again, down by the way of the brown, rolling river, taking the +weary length to Brondolo and the sea. + +There were two gondolas now, and the men in each pulled as if the prize +of a great regatta awaited them--Nicolotti against Castellani--and +silently, saving voice and strength for a great need. + +It might have seemed a pleasure party, save for the stress of their +speed, as they swept by the groves of poplar and catalpa, which bordered +the broad flood, to the sound of the waters only and the song of the +birds in the wood; water-lilies floated in the pools along the shore; +currents of fragrance were blown out to them on wandering winds; and in +the felze, as they were nearing Brondolo, Marina and the Lady Beata, +soothed by the gliding motion and the monotonous plash of the oars into +the needed sleep which the night had failed to bring them, were unaware +of the colloquy between Piero and his gondolier. + +"Antonio!" Piero called cautiously to the man who was rowing behind the +felze, "I have somewhat to say to thee; are there those within thy +vision who may hear our speech?" + +"Padrone, no; but the time is short for speaking much, for we reach the +lock with another turn of the Brenta." + +"May the blessed San Nicolò send sunshine to dazzle the jewels in the +eyes of Messer San Marco till we are safe beyond it and out of +Chioggia!" Piero exclaimed fervently. "And thou, Antonio, swear me again +thy faith--or swear it not, as thou wilt. But thou shalt choose this +moment whom thou wilt serve; and it shall go ill with thee if thou keep +not thy troth." + +"By San Marco and San Teodoro," Antonio responded readily, crossing +himself devoutly as he spoke, "I swear to do thy bidding, Messer +Gastaldo." + +"And thou wilt die for the people against the nobles if need should be?" + +"If thou leadest, Gastaldo Grande." + +"Hast thou a pouch beneath thy stiletto where thou mayest defend with +thy life what I shall give thee?" + +Antonio displayed it silently. + +"This for the need of the cause in thy hand," said Piero, passing him a +purse of gold. "But gold is worthless to this token which shall win thee +the hearing of the bancali, and the aid of every loyal son of San +Nicolò, and shall be proof that thou bearest my orders and my trust." + +The trust was great--the bancali were the governing board of the +traghetti. + +Antonio unfastened his doublet and secured the precious token under his +belt. + +"Command then, caro padrone." + +"Slacken thy pace, for this may be our last speech together. Are those +who follow true as thou?" + +"Messer Gastaldo," Antonio answered with reluctance, "by signs which be +but trifles to relate,--by a word dropped in Padua, and not for mine +ear,--one of them--I know not which--hath, perchance, affair with a +master mightier than thou." He made the usual gesture which indicated +the Three of that terrible Inquisition whose name was better left +unsaid--a sign much used in Venice where the very walls had ears. + +It was a blow to Piero, but he wasted no words. + +"They then--both--are apart from this and all my counsel. It shall be +for thee alone, Antonio." + +"So safer, Messer Gastaldo. I listen--and forget, save as it shall serve +thee." + +"First, then, Antonio; I have sworn to escort the Lady of the +Giustiniani in safety to Rome, from which naught shall keep me--save if +the Ten have other plans, the Madonna doth forgive the broken vow!" + +It was a strange admission from a man stalwart and fearless like Piero, +but he made it without shame, as a soldier acquiescing in destiny. + +"Santissima Maria!" Antonio ejaculated with unusual fervor and crossing +himself in full realization of the meaning. + +"At Brondolo a brig is waiting--orange and yellow of sail, device of a +blazing sun; a hunchback, with doublet of orange above the mast for +luck, and a fine figure of a _gobbo_ upon the deck--a living +hunchback--by which thou shalt know it for mine, and bound to my order +whether it come by me or by my token. If we reach and board her it shall +be well--and Rome, so will it heaven, before us all! But if the dreaded +ones are on the search and overtake us----" + +Again the sign. + +The tragedy of the situation was in his face as he looked steadily at +Antonio, who did not flinch. + +"Thy duty, then, Antonio, shall lie elsewhere. Thou must escape, unseen, +while they lay hands upon the lady and me, whom first they will secure +before they give thee a thought." + +Antonio instantly touched his stiletto, and looked his question with a +fearless glance. + +"Nay," said the gastaldo scornfully, and drawing a line quickly about +his own throat. "Thou wilt serve me better with thy head in its place. +Thou shalt return to Venice--by Fusina or Brondolo, as thy wit shall +serve thee--leaving the precious gondolieri to prove whether their +silken sashes be badges of men or traitors! Art thou listening?" + +"Command me, padrone!" + +"Within two days, if I be free, the bancali shall have news of me. +Listen well, Antonio,"--again the hand and eyes went up with the dreaded +unmistakable sign,--"if thou seest THEM seize me before thou takest +leave, wait no longer than to plan with the bancali to come and demand +my release. Thou shalt tell the bancali that I sent thee; thou shalt +tell them there are affairs of moment for the Nicolotti which shall go +hard for the traghetti if I be not there to work them--Art listening, +Antonio?" he questioned feverishly. + +Antonio's eyes were fastened upon his. "Padrone, yes!" he answered +breathlessly. + +"With my token thou canst command the loyalty of every Nicolotto--is it +thine oar that made that rustle?--and perchance, if there were a rising +of the traghetti to demand aught of the Signoria--come nearer, +Antonio!--the Castellani also, if they willed to join with their +traghetti in asking for justice--would not serve under my token the less +heartily for the word, confided low to their bancali--dost +understand?--_that if their taxes and their fines oppress them_, these +also, I being free, will pay this year to the maledetto Avvogadoro del +Commun." + +Antonio gravely bowed his head in assent. + +"This at thy discretion--thou understandest, Antonio--and so that no +violence come from the massing of the people, but only the proof of its +will and of the numbers who make the demand. Only--if it be not granted, +they shall make a stand at the traghetti and _fight_----" + +"Padrone, yes!" + +"For--thou dost mark me, Antonio?--this Lady of the Giustiniani hath +been a saint among the people; she hath given them much in gifts--she +hath given almost her life in prayers and penances, that heaven may +avert its wrath from Venice, which she in truth believeth the Holy +Father--may the saints make him suffer for it!--hath brought upon the +people by his curse--may heaven forbid! And she, being now noble, hath +preferred the cause of the _people_ to the cause of the _nobles_, and +bringeth upon her the displeasure of the Signoria by her flight to +Rome. For--see it well, Antonio!--if the Senate hold the Lady of the +Giustiniani for fault in this,"--Piero paused and uttered the last words +with a slow, mysterious emphasis, while Antonio listened with an +intensity that missed no shading of meaning,--"_it will be the cause of +the people against the nobles_." + +"If they harm her not," he resumed in his usual tone, after a moment's +pause, "my fate shall be avenged in the judgment and command of the +bancali of the Nicolotti only. They shall not risk the people's good for +the poor life of one leader!" + +"Padrone!" Antonio cried, with flashing eyes. "Commandi altro?" ("Hast +thou other commands?") + +"None, save that if I return not--and not otherwise--thou shalt seek +with my token the Master Girolamo Magagnati; thou shalt tell him of this +my confidence, holding nothing back; and thou shalt pray him, of his +honor, to discharge the debt which may be found lacking in the treasury +of the Nicolotti,--since the moneys have been taken for the need of the +lady on her journey,--the which, if I return, I have means, and more, to +repay." + +The two men grasped hands and looked into each other's eyes for a brief +recording moment, having each touched that _best_ in the other which was +not shown to all men, and so begotten trust each in each. + +"By the Holy Madonna and San Nicolò, I will not fail!" Antonio promised, +and in a moment had seized his oar again and was springing forward on +the bridge of his gondola, as if his thoughts were light and rhythmic as +his motions. + +They sped on with a few swift, silent strokes--then, "Brondolo!" he +cried brightly; but a sudden desperate steadying of resolution was felt +in the fierce stroke which sent the gondola forward with a jerk. + +The fishing-skiffs of Chioggia fluttered like gaudy butterflies before +them, dipping their wings of orange and crimson and every conceivable +sunset tint to catch the breeze; and the air was suddenly vibrant with +sounds of traffic and busy life. Men called to each other with song and +jest from heavily laden barks, while they waited the hour of sailing; or +lay at ease on the top of their wares, smoking luxurious draughts of +content from their comrade pipes,--lords of their craft, though their +couch was but a pile of cabbages or market produce,--exchanging some +whimsical comment upon the affairs of busier neighbors which brimmed +these frequent hours of _dolce far niente_ with unflagging interest. + +And there, among the lighter shipping, was the brig bound to the order +of the gastaldo grande, with the yellow sails and device of the rising +sun--with the gobbo in orange doublet on the masthead for good luck, and +the gobbo on the deck to make it sure. Piero turned and looked for it, +as they passed the lock. And there too---- + +"_Corpo di San Marco_!" ejaculated Antonio under his breath, for he +stood higher than Piero upon the bridge of the gondola and facing +forward. + +There, full in sight, and riding proudly at anchor, the beautiful curves +of her swan-like prows made cannon proof with plates of shining +steel,--and below, in lieu of figurehead to promise victory, those +letters of dread omen, C.D.X.,--with thirty oars-men from the arsenal +of Venice, to ensure her speed, each ready at his oar-lock to wield his +oar, with a band of marksmen trained to finest tempered arms to quell +the resistance which no Venetian would dare offer with those letters on +the prow; the gold and scarlet banner of San Marco, for good fortune, at +her masthead; the wind swelling her impatient sail, as the curb but +frets the steed--_the galley of the Ten was not waiting without a +purpose_! + +The shock of the boats as they passed through the lock had roused the +sleepers rudely, and Piero had time but for a swift glance of command to +Antonio, bidding him escape, when a gondola bearing the ducal colors +floated out from the sea of small waiting craft and saluted them +courteously. The dignified signor who addressed them wore the violet +robe and stole of a secretary of the Doge, and his face was the face of +that secretary in whose silken hand the gastaldo's had lain prisoned +when he took the oath of office! + +Resistance was impossible. + +"Messer Gastaldo," said the secretary suavely, "it hath pleased those +who have ever the welfare of Venice at heart to provide for the most +noble Lady of the Giustiniani an escort which better fitteth her rank +than the size of thy _barchetta_ permitteth, and a dwelling more +honorable than the 'Osteria del Buon Pesce,' where, in company of the +Lady Beata Tagliapietra, she hath passed the night." + +The secretary paused and placidly noted the effect of his words upon +Piero, who could have gnashed his teeth for anger at those talking walls +of Venice which had betrayed him--so cautiously had he told his secret +to the Lady Beata only, in that short moonlight stroll! + +At a sign from the secretary a second gondola, wearing the ducal livery +and filled with the gorgeous costumes of the palace guards, came out +from the floating mass and approached the gondola of the people, where +the Lady Marina sat trembling like a frightened fawn. + +There was a struggle among the lesser craft to draw closer to this +dramatic centre; they jostled each other unceremoniously; a splash, like +a falling oar, was heard, but scarce noted in the absorbing interest of +the moment; only a bare-legged boy jumped off from a tiny fishing-skiff +near which the oar had floated, and swam with it to to the gondola from +which it had fallen--since it was this boat which was making the +carnival for them! Piero, alone, had slightly turned his head and noted +that no one now stood on the _ponte piede_ behind the felze of his +gondola. + +"The galley waits to receive the noble ladies to whom I am commissioned +_by those who have sent me_ to offer my respectful homage," said the +secretary, bowing low before the felze. "The noble ladies will proceed +thither in the ducal gondola which attends them. And thou, Messer +Gastaldo, wilt graciously aid me in their escort--since, verily, they +owe much to thy chivalry." + +It was a pleasant scene for the onlookers. + +But the Lady Marina sat motionless, and gave neither word nor sign in +response to the invitation of the ducal secretary. + +"Shall the pleasure of the lady of this noble house not be consulted?" +Piero questioned, struggling to cover his defiance under a tone of +deference. + +But his answer was only in the secretary's eyes,--smiling, +imperious,--more defiant than his own impotent will; and in the courtly +waiting attitude, which had not changed, and which seemed unbearably to +lengthen out the passing seconds. + +The Lady Beata, winding compassionate arms around her friend, had raised +her veil, whispering words of tenderness. + +But there was no recognition in the glance that met hers--only the +immeasurable pathos of a hopeless surrender; the fervent passion of +Marina's will and faith had made all things seem possible of +achievement, though Venice was against her, for had not the mission been +given her in a vision by the Holy Madonna of San Donato--Mother of +Sorrows--and was not the issue sure? And yielding all thought of self +she had braced every faculty to accomplish the holy task of which she +alone felt the urgency. But the overtaxed heart and brain could endure +no longer thwarting; their activity and unquestioning purpose had been +her only power; and the moment she ceased to struggle will and reason +fled together. + +Pitifully acquiescent, she went with them unresisting. + + * * * * * + +A haze that was not luminous hung in the sky; night was creeping on +without a sunset, as they battled their way up the Giudecca against the +current which rushed like a boiling torrent around San Giorgio--the blue +calm of the waters turned to a frenzied, foam-lashed green. + +The men rowed fast, with tight-furled sail, but the storm came faster; +ranks of threatening clouds were hurrying from the east, gathering like +armies of vengeful spirits, darker, closer about them, shutting off +every breath of air; an oppression, throbbing with nameless fears, was +upon them--a hush, as if life had ceased; then the scorching, withering +torment of a fierce sirocco, and the moan of the wind, like a soul in +pain. + +Marina grew faint and wide-eyed for terror, but they could not soothe +her by word or touch; she sat with clasped hands, gasping for breath, +listening to the low, long boom on the shores of the Lido, like muffled +thunder, ceaselessly recurring--the terrible noise of the great waves +beating against the sea-walls--beating and breaking in fury, tossing +their spray high in air and whirling it in clouds, like rain mists, far +across the lagoon. Would the barriers stand--or yield and leave them to +their doom? Were the great waters of the Adriatic uprising in vengeance +to overwhelm this city in her sin? Boom upon boom sounded through all +the voices of the storm. Santa Maria! was it this that the Tintoretto +had foretold! + +A dazzling, frenzied flash of light,--a vast peal of thunder that was +like the wrath of a mighty, offended God,--then darkness, and a torrent +of rain--the waters in the shifting path of the wind leaping up to meet +the waters from the sky! + +The vesper bells of Venice came sobbing through the storm, tossed and +broken by the tornado into a wraith of a dirge; and now, by some +fantastic freak of nature, as the winds rose higher, the iron tongues +from every campanile--for a brief moment of horror--came wrangling and +discordant, as if tortured by some demon of despair. + + "_Ave Maria, Gratia plena_!" + +the women cried together, falling on their knees, while the men toiled +and struggled to hold the invincible galley of the Ten outside the +whirling path of the storm--advancing and retreating at the will of the +elements, against which their own splendid, human strength was like the +feeble, untaught effort of a helpless infant. + +"_Mater Dei, Ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc et in hora mortis +nostrae_." + +The words rose in a wail between the gusts. + +For measureless moments, mighty as hours, they battled between San Marco +and San Giorgio, tossed to and fro--now nearer the haven of the great +white dome, now--as a lightning flash unveiled San Marco--near enough to +see a cloud of frightened doves go whirling over the flood which swept +the Piazza from end to end and poured out under the great gates of the +Ducal Palace into the lagoon. + +"_Summa Parens clementia--nocte surgentes_----" + + + +XXXII + +A Day momentous for Venice--or was it Rome?--had come and passed; it +chronicled the right of the Crown to make its own laws within its own +realm, without reference to ecclesiastical claims which had hitherto +been found hampering; it defined the limits of Church and State, as no +protest had hitherto done. + +But Venice was calm in her triumph as she had been unmoved in disaster, +and would not reflect the jubilant tone of the cardinal when he had +returned from Rome empowered to withdraw the censures upon the terms +stipulated by the Republic. + +Yet, at this latest moment, the cardinal mediator, from lack of +discretion, had come near to failure; for the terms being less favorable +than he had desired to obtain for the Holy Father, he could not resist +attempting to win some little further grace before pronouncing the final +word, when the Signoria, weary of temporizing, told him plainly that his +Holiness must come at once to a decision, or Venice would forget that +she had so far yielded as to listen to any negotiations. + +There was no pageant at the close of this long drama of which the +princes of Europe had been interested spectators. Venice sat smiling and +unruffled under her April skies when the ducal secretary escorted the +two famous prisoners from the dungeons of the Palace to the residence of +the French ambassador, and there, _without prejudice to the Republic's +right of jurisdiction over criminal ecclesiastics_, explicitly +stipulated, bestowed this gift--so fitting for the gratification of a +"Most Christian Majesty"--upon the representative of France, who must +indeed have breathed more freely when this testimonial of favor, with +its precious burden of nameless crimes, had been consigned by him to one +who waited as an appointee of the Pope. + +The Doge and the Signoria sat in their accustomed places in their +stately Assembly Chamber when the cardinal came with congratulations +upon the withdrawal of the interdict, and the words of the Serenissimo, +as he gave the promised parchment, were few and dignified. + +"I thank the Lord our God that his Holiness hath assured himself of the +purity of our intentions and the sincerity of our deeds." + +And the writing of that parchment, sealed with the seal of Saint Mark, +stood thus: + +"Essendo state levate le Censure è restate parimente rivocato il +Protesto." ("The censures having been taken off the protest remains +equally revoked.") + +It was whispered low that the cardinal, under his cape, made the sign of +the cross and murmured a word of absolution. But if the Signoria +suspected his intention there was no movement of acquiescence; only, +when the short ceremony of the passing of the document was completed, +they observed the usual forms of courtesy with which the audience of so +princely an envoy is closed when his mission is accomplished. + +If Paul V had surrendered with reluctance his hope of a sumptuous +ceremony in San Pietro, where delegates of penitent Venetians should +kneel in public and confess and be graciously absolved--if the Cardinal +di Gioiosa had indulged flattering visions of a procession of priests +and people to the patriarchal church in the Piazza, with paeans of +joy-bells and shouts of gladness that Venice was again free to resume +her worship, and that her penitent people were pardoned sons of the +Church--he was doomed to disappointment. The cardinals of Spain and +France, attended only by their households, celebrated Mass in the ducal +chapel of San Marco; and the people came and went--as they did before +and after, through that day and all the days since the interdict had +been pronounced, in this and all the churches of Venice--and scarcely +knew that their doom was lifted, as they had hardly realized that the +curse had ever penetrated from those distant doors of San Pietro to the +sanctuary of San Marco! + +But the world knew and never forgot how that stately court of Venice had +met the thunder of the Vatican and lessened its power forever. + +The cause had been won in moderation and dignity upon a basis of civil +justice that was none the less accredited because the Teologo Consultore +who sat in chancelor's robes behind the throne was a zealous advocate of +the primitive principles of Christianity, and defended, without fear of +obloquy or death, the right of the individual conscience to interpret +for itself the laws of right,--as founded upon the words of +Christ,--because the extraordinary keenness, fineness, and breadth of +his masterly mind enabled him to conceive with unusual definiteness the +limits of civil and spiritual authority, and to ascribe the overgrowth +of error upon the Church he loved to the misconception and weakness of +human nature. He did not place Venice, the superb,--with her pride and +pomp and power and intellectual astuteness, with her faults and +worldliness and her magnificent statesmanship,--against the _spiritual_ +kingdom of Christ's Church on earth and declare for Venice _against_ the +Church. + +But he weighed in the clear poise of his brain the Book of the Divine +Law--which none knew better than he--with the laws of the princes of +this world--which also few knew better--and declared that _One_, lowly +and great, had defined the limits of the Church's jurisdiction when He +said, "My kingdom is not of this world." + +But in Rome the reasoning was not so simple, and threats of vengeance +pursued this "terrible friar," whose bold judgments had ruled the +councils of rebellious Venice. + +But though peace was declared with Rome the labors of the Senate were +scarcely lessened; there were still adjustments to be made which were +not whispered abroad--there were embassies to be dissolved and +appointed, gifts to be voted, honors to be heaped upon the head of the +man whose counsels had led to such results, and in whose person the +Senate now united the three offices of the Counsellors to the Doge, +making Fra Paolo sole Teologo Consultore. + +It was the first time in the history of the Republic that such honors +had been voted, for Venice was not wont to be over-generous in +recognition of individual service; and this friend of statesmen, +scholars, and princes temporal and spiritual, preserved the greatness of +his simplicity unspoiled in prosperity and power--as was possible only +to a spirit ruled by inflexible principle and faith. + +When the Senate voted him a palace near San Marco he preferred his +simple quarters among his brethren of the Servi. When, in proof of their +appreciation, they doubled his salary and would have trebled it +again--"Nay," said he, "it is but my duty that I have done. May the +honorable words of the Senate's recognition but hold before me that +which, by God's help, I may yet accomplish"; and he would take but so +much as he might bestow in charity and gifts to his convent, having for +himself no need nor tastes that were not met by the modest provision of +his order. + +And when, having refused to go to Rome for reconciliation--being not +penitent--or for preferment, which would not come without penitence, Fra +Paolo still pursued, unmoved, the quiet tenor of his daily round, from +convent to palace, without pause or tremor, in spite of continued +warning;--"My life," he said, "is in the hands of God. My duty hath he +confided to mine own effort." + + * * * * * + +The Lady Marina was a guest in the Ducal Palace, detained under +surveillance, yet treated with much honor; her friends might see her in +the presence of the ducal guards who watched within the doors of her +sumptuous chambers, but she was not free to go to her own, who had +guarded her with such laxity that in striving to reach the court of the +enemy she had imperiled the dignity of the Republic by her silent +censure. Marcantonio had trembled more when, the morning after the +storm, news had reached him that the fugitive was in the keeping of the +Signoria, than if the message had announced her death. What might he not +expect of their jealousy! + +But a ducal secretary had received him with courtesy and conducted him +at once into the audience chamber of the Doge, who bade him send for her +maidens that she might be cared for tenderly, for her stay at the Palace +would be indefinite. It was a royal command, against which pleading or +rebellion were alike useless. + +"Most Serene Prince!" cried Marcantonio in agony, "I beseech thee leave +me that gift which a gracious Senate once so generously bestowed! I have +never swerved in loyalty--though my heart was nigh to breaking that I +might not grant her prayer!" + +But one in attendance spoke quickly; for the face of the good Leonardo +Donato was full of compassion, and he might not be trusted to serve the +higher interests of the Republic. + +"It is of the clemency of the Serenissimo," said that inflexible voice, +"that the Lady Marina reaps not the penalty of her flight and of her +disloyalty to the State, since she hath sought to place her private +judgment beyond the wisdom of the rulers of Venice." + +The figure stood motionless in the shadow of a column, muffled in a long +black mantle, a black beretta partially concealing the face. + +There was an icy inflection in the tones which sent a chill to +Marcantonio's heart as he listened. One of the Chiefs of the Ten was +always a member of the still more dreaded Inquisition, whose identity +was never known, and the passionless voice held a hint of indisputable +authority--was his suffering wife to rely upon the mercy of the most +puissant member of this terrible commission! + +"Take my life for hers!" he implored, so beside himself with grief and +terror that he disclosed his fear for Marina; "and bid her return to +care for our little one." + +"Not so," said the emotionless voice; "the Lady Marina hath disproved +her right to care for a noble of Venice. It would be to imperil his +loyalty to leave the child under his mother's influence." + +"My God!" cried Marcantonio bitterly; "take me to her and let us die +together--if the Republic may grant us so much grace!" + +Again the Doge would have spoken compassionate words, but the other +interposed: + +"The State hath little use for the lady's life--save in her keeping. And +she herself, perchance, hath less. For so hath her strange whim wrought +upon her that she knoweth naught of that which passeth around her, and +one face to her is like another." + +The young Senator turned from the cruel speaker to the Doge in mute +appealing agony. The old man grasped his hand in a steadying clasp. + +"Let us go to her," said Leonardo, very low, when he could command his +voice. "She is like a lovely child--resisting nothing. It is some +shock--it will pass." + + * * * * * + +And now there came a day when the proud heart of Venice was stirred to +its core, for a messenger dashed breathless into the Council Chamber--an +excited, protesting throng of the populace surging in through the open +door behind him. "Fra Paolo! Il caro Padre! Morto!" + +"_Dead_!" They started to their feet with ready imprecations. Fra Paolo, +who had left them an hour before, with the Signor Malipiero and his +devoted secretary! They exchanged glances of terrible comprehension--the +triumph of Venice was avenged upon the faithful servant of the State! + +The Consiglio broke up in confusion. + +"Eccellentissimi," the messenger explained to the horror-stricken +questioners, "they were five,--rushing out from the dark of the convent +wall against him when he came alone down the steps of the Ponte della +Pugna,--the villains held the others down. And Fra Paolo lay dead on the +Fondamenta--stabbed in many places, as if one would cut him in bits--and +the stiletto still in his forehead! And they sent me----" + +"'Alone'? you ask me, Illustrissimi?--Santissima Vergine! the whole city +pouring in to the cries of those that found him; and the murderers off +before one could touch them, and never a guard near! They carried him +into the Servi.--And the people--furious--are storming the palazzo of +the nuncio as I pass; and some one cries that the envoy is off to the +Lido, with his fine friends, who start for Rome. A thousand devils!--May +the good San Nicolò send them to feed the fishes!" + +The Senate, to testify its honor, grief, and sympathy for the beloved +Counsellor, had instantly adjourned, and its members repaired in great +numbers to the convent to make personal inquiries, returning to a new +session prolonged through the night; for Fra Paolo, who had fainted from +loss of blood on his pallet in the Servite cell, had recovered +consciousness and hovered between life and death--his humble bed +attended by the most famous physicians and surgeons whom the Republic +could summon to her aid. The secretaries, meanwhile, were busy in +preparing resolutions of affection by which to honor him in the sight of +the Venetian people; letters of announcement to foreign courts, as if he +had been of the blood royal; proclamations of reward for the persons of +the criminals, alive or dead, which, before the day had dawned, the +Signori della Notte had affixed to the doors of San Marco, along the +Rialto, on the breast of Ser Robia, that all might read. And for means +of bringing the offenders to justice they plotted and schemed as none +but Venetians could do. + +It was three days since the storm, and the gastaldo had not yet been +released, he also was simply detained, without ignominy or discomfort in +rooms set apart for prisoners of State before they had been brought to +trial; for the events of these days had been too absorbing to permit of +an examination of his case. And now, in the gray dawn which broke upon +that night of anxiety and excitement, alternating between hope and fear +as frequent messengers, each guarded by a detachment of palace guards, +appeared with fresh news from the convent, the weary senators strolled +up and down in the great chambers opening on the sea façade of the Ducal +Palace discussing the event in a more desultory way--its meaning, its +dangers, the achievements of the great man who might, even now, be +receiving the viaticum in the convent of the Servi. + +He was first named with terms of endearment strange upon the lips of +that stately assembly--"Il caro Padre," "Teologo amato di Venezia"--yet +the guards had failed to seize those villains who lay in wait at the +Ponte della Pugna! The bridges and traghetti must be closely +watched.--Ah--the gastaldo grande! + +"Hath one yet been named _Condottiere_ for this frontier service?" +questioned one of the older senators, among a group of the more +important men who had detached themselves from the others and strolled +out into the great loggia on the sea façade for a reviving breath of the +morning air. "For such an employ there is none like Piero Salin for +daring and intrigue; and the assassins may linger long in hiding on the +route to Rome." + +And so they first remembered Piero in these crowded days and discussed +his fault with a degree of leniency that would have been foreign to the +traditions of Venice had he not been needed for important secret +service. + +Meanwhile, Fra Paolo was still the theme among the senators at large in +the Council Chamber. "Il miracolo del suo secolo," they called him, as +they rehearsed the opinions of the learned men of their age in every +field of science. + +"It cannot be from knowledge, acquired as all men learn, that he taketh +this position in such varied sciences," said the Senator Morosini; "for +a life-time doth suffice to few men for such attainment in one field as +he hath reached in all. It must be that the marvel of his mind doth hold +some central truth which maketh all science cognate." + +"Else were he not 'friend and master' to Galileo of Padua." + +"And it is told that Acquapendente, who hath been summoned by the +Signoria to bestow his skill, hath learned of him some matters which he +taught in the medical school of Bologna. The world hath not his equal +for learning." + +"By the blessed San Marco!" ejaculated one under his breath, who had +been idly leaning on the balustrade, as he crossed himself and looked +furtively around to note whether he had been overheard. + +But the others of the group, keenly alive to danger, had instantly +joined him. + +"Was this some new intrigue?" "Was the night not already full with +horror?" they questioned of each other, thrilled with dread and +superstition. + +Dawn was growing over the water, and the gray and oily surface of the +lagoon was closely dotted with gondolas, distinct and black in the +morning twilight; they came sweeping on from San Nicolò and +Castello--black and red, breast to breast--gathering impetus as they +neared the Piazzetta, in numbers which must have left every traghetto of +Venice deserted; Nicolotti and Castellani--_allies_, since they never +had been friends! It was some intrigue of the people, or some favor they +had come to ask--_to-day_, when the Senate might not spare one thought +for disorder among the masses! + +Weary and overwrought, after their night of sorrowful labor, they looked +at each other in consternation. + +"It is their gastaldo whom they are come to seek," a secretary of the +Ten confided by inspiration to his Chief, as an old man, wearing the +robe of a bancalo, was escorted from the landing by a band of gondoliers +with black and crimson sashes, who disappeared under the entrance to the +palace courtyard. + +"Let him be summoned and honorably discharged; he hath done no harm that +may be compared with the disaffection of the traghetti." + +"Rather, let them receive him back, appointed by the Senate to honor, as +Condottiere of the border forces"; a second Chief hastened to respond, +for the moment was grave, "and the command will most excellently fit the +gastaldo." + +"And for the Lady of the Giustiniani, it matters little--Rome or +Venice," said an old senator, compassionately, as he followed his +colleagues into the Council Chamber. "She hath so spent herself in +grieving that she knoweth naught. For the Senator Marcantonio hath +vainly sought to teach her that the interdict hath been lifted; yet even +this she comprehendeth not." + +"We are come, your Excellencies, for news of our Gastaldo Grande, whose +presence is verily needful for the traghetti," said the white-haired +bancalo, when an audience had been granted him. + +"How many of you have come as escort?" the secretary questioned +carelessly. + +"Eccellenza, we are enough," the bancalo answered fearlessly, and with a +significant pause, "_to prove the will of the people--as well Nicolotti +as Castellani_. And to escort our Gastaldo Grande with honor, since it +hath pleased your excellencies to receive him--_as a guest_--in the +Ducal Palace." + +He was the eldest of the officers of the traghetti, accustomed to +respect, upheld by the united forces of the people; this man of the +people and this mouthpiece of the nobles measured each other fearlessly +as they looked into each other's faces--each coolly choosing his phrases +to carry so much as the other might count wise. + +"It is well," said the secretary of the Ten, after a brief private +conference with his Chiefs, "that ye are come in numbers to do him +honor. Since the Senate hath need of his brave service and hath named +Piero Salin, for exigencies of the Republic, Condottiere, with honors +and men of artillery to do him service." + +And so it chanced, that because of the stress of the time, Piero Salin +floated off in triumph to Murano, named General of the Border Forces, +with secret orders from the Ten. + + + +XXXIII + +The great bell in the tower of the arsenal told twelve of the day, and +already the broader waters near the rios which led to the high +machicolated walls surrounding this famous Venetian stronghold were +crowded with gondolas of the people and barges from the islands filled +with men, women, and children, jubilant with holiday speech and +brilliant in gala colors; for this was one of those perpetually +recurring festas which so endeared this City of the Sea to its +pleasure-loving people. + +This splendid ceremony of inspection by the Doge was a day of annual +triumph, for nowhere in all the world was there such an arsenal, and +nowhere such an army of workmen,--thirty-five thousand men trained to +the cunning from father to son in lifelong service,--with sailors, +sixteen thousand more, who should presently make a brave review within +those battlemented walls, to tickle the fancy of the Serenissimo and his +guests. For these pageants of Venice were not guiltless of timely hints +to the onlookers of the futility of opposition to a naval force so great +and so admirably controlled; and well might the Republic be proud of the +foundry, the docks, the galleys, which the Doge and the Signoria came +each year in state to visit, with all the nobles of the Maggior +Consiglio and many of the high officials. + +This year it was to be a fête more magnificent than usual, for the +households of the ambassadors were bidden to the banquet which was +prepared in the Great Hall of the arsenal--the attractions of which were +invitingly rehearsed, as the speakers leaned across from gondola to +gondola, to exchange their pleasant bits of gossip with dramatic +exaggerations. "And the gondolas of the ambassadors! Santa Maria! the +Signori, 'i provveditori alle pompe' have nothing to say, for there is a +dispensation! the velvets and satins and golden fringes--it will be a +true glimpse of the _paradiso_!" + +"And the great Signor medico, Acquapendente, will be made this day +Cavalière of the Republic, since he hath had the wonderful fortune to +save the life of our Padre Maestro Paolo; for it is well known there was +little hope of matins or vespers more for him, the night the _maledetti +bravi_ left the stiletto in his face!" + +"And thou, Giuseppe!" cried a smiling mother from Mazzorbo, proudly +indicating her boy as an object of interest, and pushing him into a more +prominent position--"the bambino hath seen it with his own eyes, since +he is prentice at the metal graver's shop of Messer Maffeo Olivieri on +the Rialto; thou, tell us, Giuseppe, of this great goblet of graven +silver which the Master Olivieri hath ready for the presentation, by +order of the Signoria. È bello, ah? _Bellissimo_! And the Lion of San +Marco on the crown of it--_è vero_ Giuseppe?--with wings--_magnifico_! +And jewels of rubino in the eyes of it; and a tongue----" + +"Cosi!" interposed Giuseppe, with dramatic effectiveness, thrusting out +his own with relish. "_Thus_!" + +"Ma c'è altro!" cried a gondolier from Murano. "There is more yet! For +the magnificent galley which the little one of the Ca' Giustiniani--he +that is grandson to our Messer Girolamo Magagnati--hath given to the +Republic will be floated out from the basin of the arsenal and +christened this day!" + +The spirits of the light-hearted crowd effervesced in a jubilant cheer. + +"_I Giustiniani_!" + +On every page of the history of Venice the name of the Giustiniani stood +brilliantly forth, and the stained and tattered banners in the great +hall of the arsenal were so many laurel leaves for this patrician house, +keeping the memory of the brilliant victory of Lepanto green in the +hearts of the Venetians. It was a Giustinian, "Gonfalonière," _standard +bearer_, who had brought the glorious news on his triumphant galley, the +solemn Lion of San Marco waving his banner above the drooping crescent +of the Turk from every green wreathed mast. It was this Giustinian who +had been carried in triumph on the shoulders of the people, before the +Doge and the Signoria--who had been the hero when that solemn Mass, in +honor of the victory, had been offered up in the ducal chapel--when the +Rialto and the Merceria, for the extravagant joy of Venice, were draped +in blue and scarlet and gold, bound laurel wreaths and decorated with +the art treasures of Titian and Giorgone. It was a name which the people +were accustomed to honor. "I Giustiniani!" they shouted. + +There was a sudden hush, for the bells of the Campanile of San Marco +had given the signal, and there was a great stir before the Piazza--a +train of gondolas was sweeping into line far down the Canal Grande; the +guards on the watch-towers of the arsenal were full of animation; the +gondolas of the orderlies were buzzing like bees about the barge of the +grand admiral, who awaited the coming of the Doge, in all his +magnificence of satin ceremonial robes. He was like a noble to-day, this +man of the people. _Viva San Marco_! + +The moment was approaching; orderlies glided back and forth among the +excited people, prescribing their distance; the raft of small craft +shifted its position and presently a salute was fired from all the +cannon of the arsenal; the Doge, in his great State barge, was near. + +The people shouted themselves hoarse when the smoke cleared away and +revealed the splendid train of private barges from Venice; there were +banners of the Republic and streaming pennons of the nobles; the +gondoliers wore the colors of their house, and were welcomed by the +people on these days of pageant as a distinct addition to the glories of +the festa--though on other days the barcarioli of the traghetti poured +out full vials of contempt upon their sashes of rose and silver and the +blazonry of arms upon their silken sleeves. + +The gondolas and barges of the people drifted back again, close about +the train of magnates from Venice. + +"I Giustiniani," they shouted; "il Marconino!" + +There was a movement on one of the splendid barges bearing the colors of +the Giustiniani; a little child was caught up and held for a moment +high in the air; he waved his tiny hands gleefully--it was such +beautiful play! + +"It is the grandson of Messer Girolamo Magagnati, of the Stabilimenti!" +they cried from the barges of Murano, surging nearer in the waterway. +"He belongs to us--to the people!" for the story was well known, and the +people of Venice were not less proud than the nobles who ruled them. +"Viva Messer Magagnati!" + +The group upon the deck parted and disclosed an old man with bowed head +and faltering movements, supported by the young Senator Giustiniani, who +gravely recognized their salute; but there was no answering smile upon +his face; and Girolamo Magagnati, who had proudly confronted the +senators in their Council Chamber when he had declined their proffer of +nobility, in this day of triumph scarcely raised his eyes. + +The mothers on the barges lifted their little ones in their arms and +taught them to call a name--"Il Marconino!" they ventured, in hesitant, +treble tones. + +But now the splendid moment was near. The admiral, in his crimson robes +of state, had mounted to his place on the Doge's barge, and all the +floating crowd had fallen into ordered position, in a hush of vibrant +suspense, as, with slow majesty and grace, one by one the galleys of +Venice came forth in procession from the great basin of the arsenal, +sweeping round from the Punta della Motta into the lagoon, and passing +the Signoria with a salute. And now the great bell sounded again from +the arsenal tower, and was answered from the Campanile of San Marco, +and the suppressed excitement of the eager spectators burst forth in +cries of greeting to the _Marconino_--just set afloat--as she came +gracefully around in front of the Doge's barge, full manned and +saluting, magnificently equipped, the colors of the Giustiniani waving +below the crimson banner of San Marco, with its regnant Lion, and on her +prow the beautiful sculptured figure of a little child. + +"_Il Marconino! Il Marconino_!" + +There was a brief moment of confusion from the coming and going of +barges,--a short delay which brimmed their excitement to the fever +pitch,--then the waters cleared again of their floating craft, and the +Senator Marcantonio Giustiniani stepped forth on the deck to christen +the gift of his child. + +The people looked, and would have shouted--but forebore--gazing +awestruck. + +As he stood, firmly planted upon the prow, the crimson drapery of his +senator's robe parted and disclosed the firm young vigor of his limbs, +in their silken hose, and his very attitude showed power. But he wore +the face of a young Greek god who had lightly dreamed that he could +fashion Life out of grace and sunshine, and had waked to carve Endurance +out of Agony. + +The child, held high in his arms, was radiant in the sunshine, its +rosebud mouth parting over pearly teeth in dimpling glee, the breeze +lifting the light rings of hair that caressed his soft, round throat, +the hands waving in childish ecstasy and grace. As they stood, just over +the beautiful bust of the "Marconino" which Vittorio had carved upon the +prow, child and father were an embodiment of the play of the crested +foam over the deep trouble of the waves beneath. + +"Was it thus that the nobles took their triumphs?" the people questioned +low of each other. "And where was the Lady Marina, the daughter of +Messer Magagnati--_their_ lady, who had been good to the people?" + +"She was there--within," some one answered, "she was not strong--the +salutes were too much for her. She was waiting within, with her +maidens." + +"To miss such a beautiful festa! Santa Maria!"--the strong peasant +mothers, clasping their infants in their arms, with prattling, +barefooted children clinging to their mantles--so glad for this glimpse +of holiday--looked again at the beautiful, stern face of this father who +had youth and gifts and wealth, his seat in the Consiglio, his boy in +his arms--but no smile for the people pressing around him ready to shout +his name, and they crossed themselves with a nameless yearning and +dread. + +But the nobles, with more understanding, looked upon him and forgot +their jealousy. + +For the Lady Marina was within, waiting with her maidens in a private +chamber of the arsenal until the hour of the banquet, when her presence +had been required by the Signoria. Only so much had her father--the +giver of the gift--and Marcantonio, on this day of honor to his +name--been able to obtain of the imperious Republic. There were rumors +afloat, questions were asked, and the body of nobles must bear witness +to the clemency of the State, who could be gracious in forgiving. If the +Lady of the Giustiniani might not have the custody of her child, it was +not that because of her transgressions they would refuse her any grace +or honor. + +Meanwhile Giustinian Giustiniani, standing proudly erect among the +nobles of the Doge's suite, searched the crowd for further homage, and +wondered at the silence when the charming figure of the baby Marconino +danced in his father's arms--a very embodiment of life and glee. + +It was over in a moment, and the crowd of smaller barges fell back in +disorder, for the Doge was passing through the gates of the arsenal; the +galleys were returning back by San Pietro in Castello, and that which +was to follow of the glories of the day was only for the great ones now +gathering behind that charmèd gate, where the golden chair was waiting +in which the Serenissimo should make his royal progress. There was +nothing more for the people until the hour of the Ave Maria should call +the stately procession forth on its homeward way. + +But the brilliant memories of this morning would gladden many a less +golden day--Viva San Marco! Their voluble tongues were suddenly +unloosed, and those who had been favored with near glimpses of the +heroes of the day became centres of animated discussion. Life was good +in Venice! "And thou, Nino, forget not that the Madonna hath been +'gentile' to thee! Thou shalt tell thy little ones, when thou art old, +that thou hast this day seen, with thine own eyes, the Marconino, who +hath given the great galley to the Republic!" + +The banquet was over, and there was a stir among the Signoria when the +infant Giustinian was called for that he might receive the thanks of +the Republic for his princely gift; and a murmur of admiration circled +from lip to lip as the blooming child was brought into the banquet hall. +All eyes were now turned upon the Lady Marina, who had hitherto remained +surrounded by her household and inconspicuous among the group of noble +Venetian ladies who gave distinction to this festa. + +It was Marcantonio who, with a tenderness that was pathetic and a touch +that was a caress, led her down from her place and folded the little +one's hand in hers. He would have led her to the throne; but a gesture +that was scarcely more than a glance conveyed a command he dared not +disobey. + +They looked to see a flush of pride on her beautiful face as, in answer +to the Doge's summons, she came slowly forward, with the tiny hand of +the boy clasped in hers--his unsteady, childish footsteps echoing +unevenly on the marble pavement between her measured movements. But she +walked as in a dream, as if she were no longer one of this bright +company, yet strangely beautiful to see, with a face like some noble +spirit,--pale and grieving,--and in her eyes a great trouble that was +full of dignity and love. Over the dark velvet of her robe the +bountiful, white waves of her hair streamed like a bridal veil, +wreathing her brows and her young, pathetic face with silken rings of +drifted snow. + +But before she had reached the dais prepared for the Signoria at the end +of the great hall she paused, as if unable to proceed further, swaying +slightly and throwing out her hands to steady herself; a sudden change +swept over her face, and for a moment it seemed that she would fall; the +child, losing hold of her hand, clung sobbing to her skirts, hiding his +pretty head. + +Her husband sprang to her aid, tenderly supporting her, but as instantly +she seemed to recover her strength, smiling upon him graciously, while +she gently disengaged herself from his hold, leaving the little one with +him, and gliding rapidly forward, looked around her with unrecognizing +eyes. + +It had pleased the whim of the Republic to make some ecclesiastical +parade on this festa of Venice which followed so closely upon the +prosaic closing scene of the quarrel with Rome, wherein no churchly pomp +had been permitted; and as Marina's bewildered gaze steadied itself upon +the noble group of the Signoria, with whom to-day, in great state, sat +the Patriarch of Venice with mitre and hierarchical robes and all the +attendant group of Venetian bishops, a look of intense relief suddenly +flashed over the trouble in her eyes--as if that which she had sought +with such long suffering no longer eluded her. + +"Madre Beatissima!" she cried, clasping her crucifix closely to her +breast, and raising her eyes to heaven, "I thank thee!" + +The light grew upon her face. + +As her whole life had been merged in this struggle which had only +conquered her overwrought heart and brain when she had felt that the +Madonna had deserted her and delivered her to the wrath of Venice, so +now, in her hallucination,--since the Madonna had brought her to +Rome,--her faith and power of speech suddenly returned, and she rallied +all her strength to fulfil her mission. + +In that great and sumptuous Hall, flaunting and gay with banners which +chronicled the victories and the power of the Republic--in the +impregnable stronghold of the realm, under the astonished gaze of the +entire Venetian court and the brilliant throng of the households of +nobles and ambassadors who looked down from the circling galleries, +expectant and awestruck under the spell of so strange a vision--this +pale, slight champion of a desperate spiritual struggle, with no host to +help her save her prayers and faith, with no standard but the cross +clasped to her breast, knelt at the feet of the Patriarch, while the +sunset light through the broad western window made a radiance where she +knelt--as if Heaven at last had smiled upon her. + +"Oh, Holy Father!" she implored, "have mercy upon Venice! Forgive her +unfaithfulness, because she hath meant no sin! + +"The Madonna hath granted me to reach Rome at last, because she hath +laid her command upon me in a vision and it could not fail. But all +those, my loved ones, have I lost by the weary way; and save for her +mercy I could not have reached thee. + +"With prayers and penance have I striven--and ceased not--since the +anguish of thy displeasure came upon Venice. Oh, Holy Father! for all +the mothers who understand and grieve, and for our innocent little ones, +and for all those, our beloved, who are good and noble--and yet know not +the hard way of submission, because the Lord hath taught them some other +way--lift thy wrath from Venice, that our Heavenly Father hide not his +face in clouds too heavy for our prayers to reach him! + +"It is the will of the Madonna San Donato--thou canst not refuse to lift +the doom!" + +The words leaped over each other like a torrent--impetuous, passionate, +as if the moments for speech were few. + +"These do I bring--and these, for an offering!" she cried, feverishly +unclasping the lustrous pearls from her throat and girdle and laying +them at the feet of the Patriarch. "And all the dear happiness of my +life have I given, that I might reach thee with this prayer for Venice! +Oh, Holy Father, accept my sacrifice!" + +She reverently pressed the hem of the priestly robe to her lips, and +those who knew of her flight from Venice understood that she fancied she +had reached the Roman Court and was kneeling in the presence of the +Sovereign Pontiff; but in their amazement that she alone, who was dying +from the grief of it, did not know that the interdict had been removed, +it had not seemed possible to answer her. + +But there was no room for anger as they listened--though her plea was a +judgment on the court of Venice--for her voice thrilled them with its +unearthly sadness, and, looking into her beautiful, spirit face, they +saw that all her consciousness was merged in her intense realization of +the utmost terror of the curse, and in her one burning hope--to which +all things else were as nothing and in which she herself was wholly +lost. + +The Patriarch, moved with immeasurable compassion, raised her tenderly. +"My daughter," he said, in a voice that trembled with feeling, "Venice +is restored to favor. The Interdict is removed!" + +Through the stern assembly a wave of sympathy surged irresistibly, +impelling them to comfort this lovely, grieving lady, distraught by +anguished brooding. Scarcely knowing that their emotion expressed itself +in words, they caught up the Patriarch's answer and echoed it from group +to group--from gallery to gallery--until it gathered impetus and rolled +like a Hallelujah Chorus through the vast, vaulted chamber. + +"Venice is restored to favor; the Interdict is removed!" + +The light grew upon her face. + +How should it seem strange to her that her prayer at the feet of the +Holy Father had wrought this pardon for Venice--was it not for this that +the blessed Madonna of San Donato had sent her? She had promised +blessing for sacrifice! + +She stood for a moment, radiant, while the chorus of many voices +throbbed around her--her face like an angel's for joy and love--a +glorified vision in the parting rays of the evening sun--then her faint +fluttering breath died in a _Benedicite_! + + * * * * * +The vesper bells of Venice came softly through the twilight, calling to +Ave Maria. + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's A Golden Book of Venice, by Mrs. Lawrence Turnbull + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A GOLDEN BOOK OF VENICE *** + +***** This file should be named 10455-8.txt or 10455-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/4/5/10455/ + +Produced by Ted Garwin, Annika and PG Distributed Proofreaders + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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If you want to +download any of these eBooks directly, rather than using the regular +search system you may utilize the following addresses and just +download by the etext year. + + https://www.gutenberg.org/etext06 + + (Or /etext 05, 04, 03, 02, 01, 00, 99, + 98, 97, 96, 95, 94, 93, 92, 92, 91 or 90) + +EBooks posted since November 2003, with etext numbers OVER #10000, are +filed in a different way. The year of a release date is no longer part +of the directory path. The path is based on the etext number (which is +identical to the filename). The path to the file is made up of single +digits corresponding to all but the last digit in the filename. For +example an eBook of filename 10234 would be found at: + + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/2/3/10234 + +or filename 24689 would be found at: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/6/8/24689 + +An alternative method of locating eBooks: + https://www.gutenberg.org/GUTINDEX.ALL + + diff --git a/old/10455-8.zip b/old/10455-8.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..931905c --- /dev/null +++ b/old/10455-8.zip diff --git a/old/10455.txt b/old/10455.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..35adabe --- /dev/null +++ b/old/10455.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11529 @@ +Project Gutenberg's A Golden Book of Venice, by Mrs. Lawrence Turnbull + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: A Golden Book of Venice + +Author: Mrs. Lawrence Turnbull + +Release Date: December 14, 2003 [EBook #10455] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A GOLDEN BOOK OF VENICE *** + + + + +Produced by Ted Garwin, Annika and PG Distributed Proofreaders + + + + +THE GOLDEN BOOK OF VENICE + +A Historical Romance of the 16th Century + + +By + +MRS. LAWRENCE TURNBULL + + 'This noble citie doth in a manner + chalenge this at my hands, that + I should describe her ... the + fairest Lady, yet the richest Paragon, + and Queene of Christendome.' + +1900 + + + AS A TRIBUTE TO HIS GIFT OF VIVID + HISTORIC NARRATION WHICH WAS + THE DELIGHT OF MY CHILDHOOD, + I INSCRIBE THIS ROMANCE TO THE + MEMORY OF MY DEAR FATHER. + + + +ACKNOWLEDGMENT + +I desire gratefully to acknowledge my indebtedness to many faithful, +loving and able students of Venetian lore, without whose books my own +presentation of Venice in the sixteenth century would have been +impossible. Mr. Ruskin's name must always come first among the prophets +of this City of the Sea, but among others from whom I have gathered +side-lights I have found quite indispensable Mr. Horatio F. Brown's +"Venice; An Historical Sketch of the Republic," "Venetian Studies," and +"Life on the Lagoons"; Mr. Hare's suggestive little volume of "Venice"; +M. Leon Galibert's "Histoire de la Republique de Venise"; and Mr. +Charles Yriarte's "Venice" and his work studied from the State papers in +the Frari, entitled "La vie d'un Patricien de Venise." + +Mr. Robertson's life of Fra Paolo Sarpi gave me the first hint of this +great personality, but my own portrait has been carefully studied from +the volumes of his collected works which later responded to my search; +these were collected and preserved for the Venetian government under the +title of "Opere di Fra Paolo Sarpi, Servita, Teologo e Consultore della +Serenissima Repubblica di Venezia" and included his life, letters and +"opinions," and all others of his writings which escaped destruction in +the fire of the Servite Convent, as well as many important extracts from +the original manuscripts so destroyed and which had been transcribed by +order of the Doge, Marco Foscarini, a few years before. + +FRANCESE LITCHFIELD TURNBULL. + +_La-Paix, June_, 1900. + + + +PRELUDE + +Venice, with her life and glory but a memory, is still the _citta +nobilissima_,--a city of moods,--all beautiful to the beauty-lover, all +mystic to the dreamer; between the wonderful blue of the water and the +sky she floats like a mirage--visionary--unreal--and under the spell of +her fascination we are not critics, but lovers. We see the pathos, not +the scars of her desolation, and the splendor of her past is too much a +part of her to be forgotten, though the gold is dim upon her +palace-fronts, and the sheen of her precious marbles has lost its bloom, +and the colors of the laughing Giorgione have faded like his smile. + +But the very soul of Venetia is always hovering near, ready to be +invoked by those who confess her charm. When, under the glamor of her +radiant skies the faded hues flash forth once more, there is no ruin nor +decay, nor touch of conquering hand of man nor time, only a splendid +city of dreams, waiting in silence--as all visions wait--until that +invisible, haunting spirit has turned the legends of her power into +actual activities. + + + + + +_THE GOLDEN BOOK OF VENICE_ + + + +I + +Sea and sky were one glory of warmth and color this sunny November +morning in 1565, and there were signs of unusual activity in the Campo +San Rocco before the great church of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, +which, if only brick without, was all glorious within, "in raiment of +needlework" and "wrought gold." And outside, the delicate tracery of the +cornice was like a border of embroidery upon the sombre surface; the +sculptured marble doorway was of surpassing richness, and the airy grace +of the campanile detached itself against the entrancing blue of the sky, +as one of those points of beauty for which Venice is memorable. + +Usually this small square, remote from the centres of traffic as from +the homes of the nobility, seemed scarcely more than a landing-place for +the gondolas which were constantly bringing visitors and worshippers +thither, as to a shrine; for this church was a sort of memorial abbey to +the illustrious dead of Venice,--her Doges, her generals, her artists, +her heads of noble families,--and the monuments were in keeping with all +its sumptuous decorations, for the Frati Minori of the convent to which +it belonged--just across the narrow lane at the side of the church--were +both rich and generous, and many of its gifts and furnishings reflected +the highest art to which modern Venice had attained. Between the +wonderful, mystic, Eastern glory of San Marco, all shadows and +symbolisms and harmonies, and the positive, realistic assertions, +aesthetic and spiritual, of the Frari, lay the entire reach of the art +and religion of the Most Serene Republic. + +The church was ancient enough to be a treasure-house for the historian, +and it had been restored, with much magnificence, less than a century +before,--which was modern for Venice,--while innumerable gifts had +brought its treasures down to the days of Titian and Tintoret. + +To-day the people were coming in throngs, as to a _festa_, on foot from +under the Portico di Zen, across the little marble bridge which spanned +the narrow canal; on foot also from the network of narrow paved lanes, +or _calle_, which led off into a densely populated quarter; for to-day +the people had free right of entrance, equally with those others who +came in gondolas, liveried and otherwise, from more distant and +aristocratic neighborhoods. This pleasant possibility of entrance +sufficed for the crowd at large, who were not learned, and who preferred +the attractions of the outside show to the philosophical debate which +was the cause of all this agreeable excitement, and which was presently +to take place in the great church before a vast assembly of nobles and +clergy and representatives from the Universities of Padua, Mantua, and +Bologna; and outside, in the glowing sunshine, with the strangers and +the confusion, the shifting sounds and lights, the ceaseless unlading of +gondolas and massing and changing of colors, every minute was a +realization of the people's ideal of happiness. + +Brown, bare-legged boys flocked from San Pantaleone and the people's +quarters on the smaller canals, remitting, for the nonce, their +absorbing pastimes of crabbing and petty gambling, and ragged and +radiant, stretched themselves luxuriously along the edge of the little +quay, faces downward, emphasizing their humorous running commentaries +with excited movements of the bare, upturned feet; while the gondoliers +landed their passengers to a lively refrain of "_Stali_!" their curses +and appeals to the Madonna blending not discordantly with the general +babel of sound which gives such a sense of companionship in +Venice--human voices calling in ceaseless interchange from shore to +shore, resonant in the brilliant atmosphere, quarrels softened to +melodies across the water, cries of the gondoliers telling of ceaseless +motion, the constant lap and plash of the wavelets and the drip of the +oars making a soothing undertone of content. + +From time to time staccato notes of delight added a distinct jubilant +quality to this symphony, heralding the arrival of some group of Church +dignitaries from one or other of the seven principal parishes of Venice, +gorgeous in robes of high festival and displaying the choicest of +treasures from sacristies munificently endowed, as was meet for an +ecclesiastical body to whom belonged one half of the area of Venice, +with wealth proportionate. + +Frequent delegations from the lively crowd of the populace--flashing +with repartee, seemly or unseemly, as they gathered close to the door +just under the marble slab with its solemn appeal to reverence, +"Rispettati la Casa di Dio"--penetrated into the Frari to see where the +more pleasure could be gotten, as also to claim their right to be there; +for this pageant was for the people also, which they did not forget, and +their good-humored ripple of comment was tolerant, even when most +critical. But outside one could have all of the festa that was worth +seeing, with the sunshine added,--the glorious sunshine of this November +day, cold enough to fill the air with sparkle,--and the boys, at least, +were sure to return to the free enjoyment impossible within. + +A group of young nobles, in silken hose and velvet mantles, were met +with ecstatic approval and sallies deftly personal. Since the beginning +of the Council of Trent, which was still sitting, philosophy had become +the mode in Venice, and had grown to be a topic of absorbing interest by +no means confined to Churchmen; and young men of fashion took courses of +training in the latest and most intellectual accomplishment. + +Confraternities of every order were arriving in stately processions, +their banners borne before them by gondoliers gaudy and awkward in +sleazy white tunics, with brilliant cotton sashes--habiliments which +possessed a singular power of relieving these sun-browned sons of the +lagoon of every vestige of their native grace. On such days of Church +festival--and these alone--they might have been mistaken for peasants of +some prosaic land, instead of the graceful, free-born Venetians that +they were, as, with no hint of their natural rhythm of motion, they +filed in cramped and orderly procession through the avenue that opened +to them in the crowd to the door of the church, where they disappeared +behind the great leather curtain. + +It was a great day for the friars of the Servi, who were rivals of the +Frari both in learning and splendor, and the entire Servite Brotherhood, +black-robed and white-cowled, was just coming in sight over the little +marble bridge, preceded by youthful choristers, chanting as they came +and bearing with them that famous banner which had been sent them as a +gift from their oldest chapter of San Annunziata in Florence, and which +was the early work of Raphael. + +A small urchin, leaning far over the edge of the quay and craning his +neck upward for a better view, reported some special attraction in this +approaching group which elicited yells of vociferous greeting from his +colleagues, with such forceful emphasis of his own curling, expressive +toes, that he lost his balance and rolled over into the water; from +which he was promptly rescued by a human ladder, dexterously let down to +him in sections, without a moment's hesitation, by his allies, who, like +all Venetian boys of the populace, were amphibious animals, full of +pranks. + +But now there was no more time for fooling on the quay, for at the great +end-window of the library of the convent of the Frari it could be seen +that a procession of this body was forming and would presently enter the +church, and the fun would begin for those who understood Latin. + +A round-faced friar was giving obliging information. The contest would +be between the Frari and the Servi; there was a new brother who had just +entered their order,--and very learned, it was said,--but the name was +not known. He would appear to respond to the propositions of the Frari. + +"Yes, the theses would be in Latin--and harder, it was said, had never +been seen. There were the theses in one of those black frames, at the +side of the great door." + +"But Latin is no good, except in missals, for women and priests to +read." + +The gondolier who owned the voice was undiscoverable among the crowd, +and the remark passed with some humorous retaliation. + +Hints of the day's entertainment sifted about, with much more,--each +suggestion, true or otherwise, waking its little ripple of interest,--as +some nearest the curtain lifted it up, went in, and returned, bringing +reports. + +"The church is filled with great ones, and Mass is going on," a small +scout reported; "and that was Don Ambrogio Morelli that just went in +with a lady--our old Abbe from the school at San Marcuolo--Beppo goes +there now! And don't some of us remember Pierino--always studying and +good for nothing, and not knowing enough to wade out of a _rio_? The +Madonna will have hard work to look after _him_!" + +"Don Ambrogio just wants to cram us boys," Beppo confessed, in a +confidential tone; "but it's no use knowing too much, even for a priest. +For once, at San Marcuolo--true as true, faith of the Madonna!--one of +those priests told the people one day in his sermon that there were no +ghosts!" + +The boy crossed himself and drew a quick breath, which increased the +interest of his auditors. + +"_Ebbene_!" he continued, in an impressive, awestruck whisper. "He had +to come out of his bed at night--Santissima Maria!--and it was the +ghosts of all the people buried in San Marcuolo who dragged him and +kicked him to teach him better, because he wanted to make believe the +dead stayed in their graves! So where was the use of his Latin?" + +"Pierino will be like his uncle, the Abbe Morelli, some day; they say he +also will be a priest." + +"I believe thee," said Beppo, earnestly; "and that was he going in +behind the banner, with the Servi." + +The little fellows made an instant rush for the door, and squeezed +themselves in behind the poor old women of the neighborhood for whom +festivals were perquisites, and who, maimed or deformed, knelt on the +stone floor close to the entrance, while with keenly observant, +ubiquitous eyes they proffered their _aves_ and their petitions for alms +with the same exemplary patience and fervor--"Per l'amor di Dio, +Signori!" + +The body of the church, from the door to the great white marble screen +of the choir and from column to column, was filled with an assembly in +which the brilliant and scholarly elements predominated; and seen +through the marvelous fretwork of this screen of leafage and scroll and +statue and arch, intricately wrought and enhanced with gilding, the +choir presented an almost bewildering pageant. The dark wood background +of the stalls and canopies, elaborately carved and polished and enriched +with mosaics, each surmounted with its benediction of a gilded winged +cherub's head, framed a splendid figure in sacerdotal robes. Through the +small, octagonal panes of the little windows encircling the choir--row +upon row, like an antique necklace of opals set in frosted +stonework--the sunlight slanted in a rainbow mist, broken by splashes of +yellow flame from great wax candles in immense golden candlesticks, +rising from the floor and steps of the altar, as from the altar itself. +From great brass censers, swinging low by exquisite Venetian chainwork, +fragrant smoke curled upward, crossing with slender rays of blue the +gold webwork of the sunlight; and on either side golden lanterns rose +high on scarlet poles, above the heads of the friars who crowded the +church. + +On the bishop's throne, surrounded by the bishops of the dioceses of +Venice, sat the Patriarch, who had been graciously permitted to honor +this occasion, as it had no political significance; and opposite him Fra +Marco Germano, the head of the order of the Frari, presided in a state +scarcely less regal. + +His splendid gift, the masterpiece of Titian, had been fitted into the +polished marble framework over the great altar, and never had the master +so excelled himself as in this glorious "Assumption." The beauty, the +power, the persuasive sense of motion in the figure of the Madonna, +which seemed divinely upborne,--the loveliness of the infant cherubs, +the group of the Apostles solemnly attesting the mysterious event,--were +singularly and inimitably impressive, full of aspiration and faith, +compelling the serious recognition of the sacredness and greatness of +the Christian mystery. + +The choir-screen terminated in pulpits at either side, and here again +the Apostles stood in solemn guardianship on its broad parapet--but +emblems, rather; of the stony rigidity of doctrines which have been +shaped by the minds of men from some little phase of truth, than of that +glowing, spiritualized, human sympathy which, as the soul of man grows +upward into comprehension, is the apostle of an ever widening truth. And +over the richly sculptured central arch which forms the entrance to the +choir, against the incongruous glitter of gold and jewels and +magnificent garments and lights and sumptuous, overwrought details--the +very extravagance of the Renaissance--a great black marble crucifix bore +aloft the most solemn Symbol of the Christian Faith. + +The religious ceremonial with which the festival had opened was over, +and down the aisles on either side, past the family altars, with their +innumerable candles and lanterns and censers,--ceaselessly smoking in +memorial of the honored dead,--the brothers of the Frari and the Servi +marched in solemn procession to the chant of the acolytes, returning to +mass themselves in the transepts, in fuller view of the pulpits, before +the contest began. The Frari had taken their position on the right, +under the elaborate hanging tomb of Fra Pacifico--a mass of sculpture, +rococo, and gilding; the incense rising from the censer swinging below +the coffin of the saint carried the eye insensibly upward to the +grotesque canopy, where cumbrous marble clouds were compacted of dense +masses of saints' and cherubs' heads with uncompromising golden halos. + +Some of the younger brothers scattered leaflets containing heads of the +theses. + +There was a stir among the crowd; a few went out, having witnessed the +pageant; but there was a flutter of increased interest among those who +remained, as a venerable man, in the garb of the Frari, mounted the +pulpit on the right. + +The Abbe Morelli sat in an attitude of breathless interest, and now a +look of intense anxiety crossed his face. "It is Fra Teodoro, the ablest +disputant of the Frari!" he exclaimed. "The trial is too great." + +The lady with him drew closer, arranging the folds of the ample veil +which partially concealed her face, so that she might watch more +closely. But it was on Don Ambrogio Morelli that she fixed her gaze with +painful intensity, reading the success or failure of the orator in her +brother's countenance. + +"Ambrogio!" she entreated, when the argument had been presented and +received with every sign of triumph that the sacredness of the place +made decorous, "thou knowest that I have no understanding of the +Latin--was it unanswerable?" + +"Nay," her brother answered, uneasily; "it was fine, surely; but have no +fear, Fra Teodoro is not incontrovertible, and the Servi have better +methods." + +"May one ask the name of the disputant who is to respond?" a stranger +questioned courteously of Don Ambrogio. + +"It is a brother who hath but entered their order yesterday," Don +Ambrogio answered, with some hesitation, "by name Pierino--nay, Fra +Paolo. He is reputed learned; yet if the methods of the order be strange +to him, one should grant indulgence. For he is reputed learned----" + +He was conscious of repeating the words for his own encouragement, with +a heart less brave than he could have wished. But the information was +pleasantly echoed about, as the ranks of the Servi parted and an old +man, with a face full of benignity, came forward, holding the hand of a +boy with blue eyes and light hair, who walked timidly with him to the +pulpit on the left, where the older man encouraged the shrinking +disputant to mount the stair. + +There was a murmur of astonishment as the young face appeared in the +tribunal of that grave assembly. + +"Impossible! It is only a child!" + +It was, in truth, a strange picture; this child of thirteen, small and +delicate for his years, yet with a face of singular freshness and +gravity, his youthfulness heightened by cassock and cowl--a unique, +simple figure, against the bizarre magnificence of the background, the +central point of interest for that learned and brilliant assembly, as he +stood there above the beautiful kneeling angel who held the Book of the +Law, just under the pulpit. + +For a moment he seemed unable to face his audience, then, with an +effort, he raised his hand, nervously pushing back the white folds of +his unaccustomed cowl, and casting a look of perplexity over the sea of +faces before him; but the expression of trouble slowly cleared away as +his eyes met those of a friar, grave and bent, who had stepped out from +the company of the Servi and fixed upon the boy a steadying gaze of +assurance, triumph, and command. It was Fra Gianmaria, who was known +throughout Venice for his great learning. + +"Pierino!" broke from the mother, in a tone of quick emotion, as she saw +her boy for the first time in the dress of his order, which thrust, as +it were, the claims of her motherhood quite away; it was so soon to +surrender all the beautiful romance of mother and child, so soon to have +done with the joy of watching the development which had long outstripped +her leadership, so soon to consent to the absolute parting of the ways! + +She had not willed it so, and she was weary from the struggle. + +But the boy was satisfied; the presence of his stern and learned mentor +sufficed to restore his composure; he did not even see his mother's face +so near him, piteous in its appeal for a single glance to confess his +need of her. + +"Nay, have no fear," Don Ambrogio counseled, his face glowing with +pride; "the boy is a wonder." + +The good Fra Giulio, turning back from the pulpit stairs, saw the faces +of the two whose hearts were hanging on the words of the child; he went +directly to them and sat down beside Donna Isabella, for he had a tender +heart and he guessed her trouble. "I also," he said, leaning over her +and speaking low, "I also love the boy, and while I live will I care for +him. He shall lack for nothing." + +It was a promise of great comfort; for Pierino--she could not call him +by the new name--would need such loving care; already the mother's pulse +beat more tranquilly, and she almost smiled her gratitude in the +large-hearted friar's face. + +Then Fra Gianmaria, his mentor, seeing that the boy had gained courage, +came also to a seat beside Donna Isabella, with a look of radiant +congratulation; for he had been the boy's teacher ever since the little +lad had passed beyond the limits of Don Ambrogio's modest attainments. +Although she had resented the power of Fra Gianmaria over Pierino, she +was proud of the confidence of the learned friar in her child; already +she began to teach herself to accept pride in the place of the lowlier, +happier, daily love she must learn to do without. Her face grew colder +and more composed; Don Ambrogio gave her a nod of approval. + +"It _is_ Pierino!" the bare-legged Beppo proclaimed, pushing his way +between dignitaries and elegant nobles and taking a position, in +wide-eyed astonishment, in front of the pulpit, where he could watch +every movement of his quondam school-fellow, whose words carried no +meaning to his unlearned ears. But his heart throbbed with sudden +loyalty in seeing his comrade the centre of such a festa; Beppo would +stay and help him to get fair play, if he should need it, since it was +well known that Pierino could not fight, for all his Latin! + +But the little fellow in robe and cowl had neither eyes nor thoughts for +his vast audience when he once gathered courage to begin--no memory for +the pride of his teachers, no perception of his mother's yearning; +shrinking and timid as he was, the first voicing of his own thought, in +his childish treble voice, put him in presence of a problem and banished +all other consciousness. It was merely a question to be met and +answered, and his wonderful reasoning faculty stilled every other +emotion. His voice grew positive as his thought asserted itself; his +learning was a mystery, but argument after argument was met and +conquered with the quoted wisdom of unanswerable names. + +One after another the great men left the choir and came down into the +area before the pulpits, that they might lose nothing. + +One after another the Frari chose out champions to confute the +child-philosopher, but he was armed on every side; and the childish +face, the boyish manner and voice lent a wonderful charm to the words he +uttered, which were not eloquent, but absolutely dispassionate and +reasonable, and the fewest by which he might prove his claim. + +Again and again his audience forgot themselves in murmurs of applause, +rising beyond decorum, and once into a storm of approbation; then his +timidity returned, he became self-conscious, fumbling with the white +cowl that hung partly over his face, forgetting that it was not a hat, +and gravely taking it off in salute. + +The next day it was proclaimed on the Piazza, as a bit of news for the +people of Venice--for which, indeed, those who had not witnessed the +contest in the church of the Frari cared little and understood +nothing--that "in the Philosophical Contest which had taken place +between the Friars of the Frari and the Friars of the Servi, the victory +had been won by Fra Paolo Sarpi, of the Servi, who had honorably +triumphed through his vast understanding of the wisdom of the Fathers of +the Church." + +This was also published in the black frame beside the great door of the +Frari and posted upon the entrance to the church of the Servi, while in +the refectories of the respective convents it formed a theme of +absorbing interest. + +The Frari discussed the possibilities of childish mouthpieces for +learned doctors, miraculously concealed--but low, for fear of scandal. +The Servi said it out, for all to hear, "that it was a modern wonder of +a Child in the Temple!" + +But Fra Gianmaria hushed them, and was afraid; for often while he taught +he came upon some new surprise, for he perceived that the boy's mind +held some hidden spring of knowledge which was to him unfathomable. + +"It is most wonderful," he said one evening to Fra Giulio, as they +talked together in the cloister after vespers; "I solemnly declare that +it hath happened to me to ask him a question of which I, verily, knew +not the answer; and he, keeping in quiet thought for some moments, hath +so lucidly responded that his words have carried with them the +conviction that he had made a discovery which I knew not." + +"It is some lesson which Don Ambrogio hath taught him." + +"Not so--for Don Ambrogio hath little learning; but Paolo will cover us +with honor. In learning he is never weary, yet hath he an understanding +greater than mine own, and in docility he hath no equal. In his duty in +the convent and in the church he is even more punctilious." + +"Is it strange--or is it well," asked Fra Giulio with hesitation, "that +in this year he hath spent with us he asks not for his mother, nor the +little maid his sister, nor seemeth to grieve for them? For the boy is +young." + +"Nay," answered Fra Gianmaria, sternly; "it is no lack, but a grace that +hath been granted him." + +"Knowledge is a wonderful mystery," Fra Giulio answered; but softly to +himself, as he crossed the cloister, he added, "but love is sweet, and +the boy is very young." + +The boy was kneeling placidly before the crucifix in his cell when Fra +Giulio went to give him his nightly benediction; but the good friar's +heart was troubled with tenderness because of a vision, that would not +leave him, of a hungering mother's face. + + + +II + +Many years later one of the great artists of Venice, wandering about at +sunset with an elusive vision of some wonderful picture stirring +impatience within his soul, found a maiden sitting under the +vine-covered pergola of the Traghetto San Maurizio, where she was +waiting for her brother-in-law, who would presently touch at this ferry +on his homeward way to Murano. A little child lay asleep in her arms, +his blond head, which pitying Nature had kept beautiful, resting against +her breast; the meagre body was hidden beneath the folds of her mantle, +which, in the graceful fashion of those days, passed over her head and +fell below the knees; her face, very beautiful and tender, was bent over +the little sufferer, who had forgotten his pain in the weariness it had +brought him as a boon. + +The delicate purple bells of the vine upon the trellis stirred in the +evening breeze, making a shimmer of perfume and color about her, like a +suggestion of an aureole; and in the arbor, as in one of those homely +shrines which everywhere make part of the Venetian life, she seemed +aloof as some ideal of an earlier Christian age from the restless, +voluble group upon the tiny quay. + +There were _facchini_--those doers of nondescript smallest services, +quarreling amiably to pass the time, springing forward for custom as the +gondolas neared the steps; _gransieri_--the licensed traghetto beggars, +ragged and picturesque, pushing past with their long, crooked poles, +under pretence of drawing the gondolas to shore; one or two women from +the islands, filling the moments with swift, declamatory speech until +the gondola of Giambattista or of Jacopo should close the colloquy; an +older peasant, tranquilly kneeling to the Madonna of the traghetto, amid +the clatter, while steaming greasy odors from her housewifely basket of +Venetian dainties mount slowly, like some travesty of incense, and cloud +the humble shrine. Two or three comers swell the group from the recesses +of the dark little shop behind, for no other reason than that life is +pleasant where so much is going on; and some maiden, into whose life a +dawning romance is just creeping, confesses it with a brighter color as +she hangs, half-timidly, her bunch of tinselled flowers before the red +lamp of the good little Madonna of this _traghetto benedetto_, whose +gondoliers are the bravest in all Venice! Meanwhile the boatmen, coming, +going, or waiting, keep up a lively chatter. + +And under the trellis, as if far removed, the sleeping child and Marina +of Murano bending over him a face glorified with its story of love and +compassion, are like a living Rafaello! + +"The _bambino_ is beautiful," said the artist, drawing nearer, but +speaking reverently, for he knew that he had found the face he had been +seeking for his Madonna for the altar of the Servi. "What doth he like, +your little one? For I am a friend to the _bambini_, and the _poverina_ +hath pain to bear." + +She was more beautiful still when she smiled and the anxiety died out of +her girlish face for a moment, in gratitude for the sympathy. +"Eccellenza, thanks," she answered simply; "he has a beautiful face. +Sometimes when he has flowers in his little hand he smiles and is quite +still." + +But the radiant look passed swiftly with the remembrance of the pain +that would come to the child on waking, and she kissed the tiny fingers +that lay over the edge of her mantle with a movement of irrepressible +tenderness, lapsing at once into reverie; while the artist, full of the +enthusiasm of creation, stood dreaming of his picture. This Holy Mother +should be greater, more compassionate, nearer to the people than any +Madonna he had ever painted; for never had he noted in any face before +such a passion of love and pity. In that moment of stillness the sunset +lights, intensifying, cast a glow about her; the child, half-waking, +stretched up his tiny hand and touched her cheek with a rare caress, and +the light in her face was a radiance never to be forgotten. The +Veronese's wonderful _Madonna del Sorriso_ leaped to instant life; a +_smile_ full of the pathos of human suffering, tender in comprehension, +perfect in faith--this, which this moment of inspiration had revealed to +him, would he paint for the consolation of those who should kneel before +the altar of the Servi! + +She was busy with the child, putting him gently on the ground as a +gondola approached; he, with his thought in intense realization, fixing +the peculiar beauty of these sunset clouds in his artist memory as sole +color-scheme of his picture; for this grave, sweet face, with its pale, +fair tones and profusion of soft brown hair, would not bear the vivid +draperies that the Veronese was wont to fashion--the mantle must be a +gray cloud, pink flushed, with delicate sunset borderings where it swept +away to shroud the child; the beauty of his creation should be in that +smile of exquisite compassion, and this wonderful sunset in which it +should glow forever! + +It was a rare moment with the Veronese, in which he seemed lifted above +himself; the revelation of the face had seized him, translating him into +the poetic atmosphere which he rarely attained; the harmonies of the +vision were so perfect that they sufficed for the over-sumptuousness of +color and detail which were usually features of his conceptions. + +Some one called impatiently from the gondola in rude, quick tones, and +the artist woke from his reverie. The maiden lingered on the step for a +word of adieu to this stranger who wished to give the little one +pleasure, but she dared not disturb him, for he was some great +signor--so she interpreted his dress and bearing--and she was only a +maiden of Murano. + +He was still under the spell of his great moment, and he was in the +presence of one who should help him to make it immortal; he uncovered +his head with a motion of courtly deference he did not often assume as +he started forward over the rough planks of the traghetto. "Signora, +where shall I bring the flowers to make the little one smile?" + +"To Murano, near the Stabilimento Magagnati, Eccellenza," she answered +without hesitation, lifting the baby in her arms to escape the rough +help of the gondolier, who reached forward to hasten his stumbling +movements. + +And so they floated off from the traghetto--the Madonna that was to be, +into the deepening twilight, while the Veronese, a splendid and +incongruous figure amid these lowly surroundings, leaned against the +paltry column that supported the shrine, wrapped in a delicious reverie +of creation; for he was unused to failure and he had no doubts, though +he had not yet proffered his request. + +"To-morrow," he said, "I will paint that face!" + + * * * * * + +"By our Lady of Murano!" the gondolier cried suddenly. "He spoke to thee +like a queen--and it was Paolo Cagliari! What did he want with thee?" + +"Not me, Piero; it was the child. He wished to give him flowers. I knew +he must be great to care thus for our 'bimbo.' It was really he--the +Veronese?" + +"The child! Santa Maria! He is not too much like a cherub that the great +painter should notice him!" + +The baby threw out his little clenched fist, striking against the +protecting arms that held him closer, his face drawn with sudden pain; +for a moment he fought against Marina, and then, the spasm over, settled +wearily to sleep in her arms. + +"Poverino!" said the gondolier softly, while Marina crooned over him an +Ave Maria, and the gondola glided noiselessly to its cadence. + +"Piero," she said, looking up with eyes full of tears, "sometimes I +think I cannot bear it! He needs thy prayers as well as mine--wilt thou +not ask our Lady of San Donato to be kinder to him? And I have seen +to-day, on the Rialto, a beautiful lamp, with angels' heads. Thou +shouldst make an offering----" + +The gondolier shook his head and shrugged his shoulders; he had little +faith or reverence. "I will say my aves, _poveriello_," he promised; +"but the lamps are already too many in San Donato. And for the bambino, +I will go not only once, but twice this year to confession--the laws of +our traghetto ask not so much, since once is enough. But thou art even +stricter with thy rules for me." + +She did not answer, and they floated on in silence. + +"To-morrow," said Piero at length, "there is festa in San Pietro di +Castello." + +She moved uneasily, and her beautiful face lost its softness. + +"It is nothing to me," she answered shortly. + +"It is a pretty festa, and Messer Magagnati should take thee. By our +Lady of Castello, there are others who will go!" + +"It would be better for the bambino," he persisted sullenly, as she did +not answer him. His voice was not the pleasanter now that its positive +tone was changed to a coaxing one. + +"One is enough, Piero," she said. "And for the festa of San Pietro in +Castello--never, never name it to me!" + +"Santa Maria!" her companion ejaculated under his breath; "it is the +women, the gentle _donzelle_, who are hard!" + +He stood, tall, handsome, well-made, swaying lightly with the motion of +the gondola, which seemed to float as in a dream to the ripple and lap +of the water; the blue of his shirt had changed to gray in the twilight, +the black cap and sash of the "Nicolotti" accentuated the lines of the +strong, lithe figure as he sprang forward on the sloping foot-rest of +his gondola with that perfect grace and ease which proved him master of +a craft whose every motion is a harmony. If he were proud of belonging +to the Nicolotti, that most powerful faction of the populace, he knew +that they were regarded by the government as the aristocrats of the +people. + +Marina arranged the child's covering in silence, and stooped her face +wistfully to touch his cheek, but she did not turn her head to look at +the man behind her. + + "L'amor ze fato per chi lo sa fare," + +he sang in the low, slow chant of the familiar folk-song, the rhythm +blending perfectly with the movement of the boat in which these two were +faring. His voice was pleasanter in singing, and song is almost a +needful expression of the content of motion in Venice--the necessary +complement of life to the gondolier, a song might mean nothing more. But +Piero sang more slowly than his wont, charging the words with meaning, +yet it did not soften her. + +"Love is for him who knows how to win!" + +He could not see how she flushed and paled with anger as he sang, for it +was growing dark over the water and her face was turned from him; but +she straightened herself uncompromisingly, and he was watching with +subtle comprehension. + +He could not have told why he persisted in this strange wooing, for +there had been but one response during the two years of his widowhood, +while his child had been Marina's ceaseless care. Marina had loved the +baby the more passionately, perhaps, for the sake of her only sister +Toinetta, Piero's child-bride, who had died at the baby's birth, because +she was painfully conscious that Toinetta's little flippant life had +needed much forgiveness and had been crowned with little gladness. +Marina was now the only child of Messer Girolamo Magagnati, which was a +patent of nobility in Murano; and she was not the less worth winning +because she held herself aloof from the freer life of the Piazza, where +she was called the "donzel of Murano," though there were others with +blacker eyes and redder cheeks. Piero did not think her very beautiful; +he liked more color and sparkle and quickness of retort--a chance to +quarrel and forgive. He was not in sympathy with so many aves, such +continual pilgrimages to the cathedral, such brooding over the lives of +the saints--above all, he did not like being kept in order, and Marina +knew well how to do this, in spite of her quiet ways. But he liked the +best for himself, and there was no one like Marina in all Murano. During +all this time he had been coming more and more under her sway, changing +his modes of living to suit her whims, and the only way of safety for +him was to marry her and be master; then she should see how he would +rule his house! His own way had always been the right way for him--rules +of all orders to the contrary--whether he had been a wandering +gondolier, a despised _barcariol toso_, lording it so outrageously over +the established traghetti that they were glad to forgive him his bandit +crimes and swear him into membership, if only to stop his influence +against them; or whether it had been the stealing away of a promised +bride, as on that memorable day at San Pietro in Castello, when he had +married Toinetta--it was never safe to bear "vendetta" with one so +strong and handsome and unprincipled as Piero. + +Gabriele, the jilted lover of Toinetta, over whom Piero had triumphed, +soon became the husband of another _donzel_, handsomer than Toinetta had +been--poor, foolish Toinetta!--and the retributive tragedy of her little +life had warmed the sullen Gabriele into a magnanimity that rendered him +at least a safe, if a moody and unpleasant, member of the traghetto in +which Piero had since become a rising star. A man with a home to keep +may not "cast away his chestnuts," and so when Piero, in that masterful +way of his, swept everything before him in the traghetto--never asking +nor caring who stood for him or against him, but carrying his will +whenever he chose to declare it--to set one's self against such a man +was truly a useless sort of fret, only a "gnawing of one's chain," in +the expressive jargon of the people. + +Piero finished his song, and there was a little pause. They were nearing +the long, low line of Murano. + +"It is not easy," he said, "when women are in the way, 'to touch the sky +with one's finger.'" + +She turned with a sudden passionate motion as if she would answer him, +and then, struggling for control, turned back without a word, drawing +the child closer and caressing him until she was calm again. When she +raised her head she spoke in a resolute, restrained voice. + +"Since thou wilt have it, Piero--listen. And rest thine oar, for we are +almost home; and to-night must be quite the end of all this talk. It can +never be. Thou hast no understanding of such matters, so I forgive thee +for myself. But for Toinetta--I do not think I ever can forgive thee, +may the good Madonna help me!" + +"There are two in every marriage," Piero retorted sullenly, for he was +angry now. + +"It is just that--oh, it is just that!" Marina cried, clasping her hands +passionately. "Thou art so strong and so compelling, and thou dost not +stop for the right of it. She was such a child, she knew no better, +poverina! And thou--a man--not for love, nor right, nor any noble +thing"--the words came with repressed scorn--"to coax her to it, just +for a little triumph! To expose a child to such endless _critica_!" + +Only a Venetian of the people could comprehend the full sting of this +word, which conveyed the searching, persistent disapproval of an entire +class, whose code, if viewed from the moral point of view, was painfully +slack, though from its own standard of decorum it was immutable. + +"It has been said, once for all--thou dost not forgive." + +"It is the last time, for this also, Piero; I meant never to speak of it +again, but those words of thine of the festa in San Pietro in Castello +made me forget. It came over me quite suddenly, that this is how thou +spendest the beautiful, great strength God gave thee to make a leader of +thee in real things. But whether it be great or small, or good or ill, +thou always wilt have thy way!" + +"It's a poor fool of a fellow that wouldn't keep himself uppermost, like +oil," he cried, hesitating only for a moment between anger and +gratification, and choosing the way that ministered to his pride. "Santa +Maria! I'll butter thy macaroni with fine cheese every time!" + +"Nay, spare thy pains, Piero, and be serious for one moment. There is no +_barcariol_ in all Venice who hath greater opportunities, but thou must +use them well. They spoil thee at the traghetto; and if a man hath his +will always, it will either spoil him or make him noble." + +"What wouldst thou have me to do?" he questioned sullenly. + +"They would be afraid of thee--thou couldst quiet these troubles in the +traghetti--thou must use thy strength and thy will for the good of the +people. It is terrible to have power and to use it wrongly." + +Piero moved back to his place again and took up his oar, throwing +himself in position for a forward stroke. "Forget not," he said, +poising, "that I need not listen to thee if I do not choose. I may not +stay _in casa_ Magagnati--not any more, if thou art always scolding." + +"I shall scold--always--until thou dost quiet this disorder of the +traghetti," she answered, undaunted. + +"And thou wilt return; for there is always the bambino." + +"If I come back," he said in a softer tone, responding to the appeal for +his child, "I must speak of what I will." + +"Of all but one thing, Piero;" for it was not possible to misunderstand +him, and she was resolute. "If this is not the end I shall speak with my +father--and the bambino----" + +They were both silent. He knew that no one could ever care for his +invalid child as she had done; and all that he owed her and must +continue to owe her restrained him under her chiding, for the baby could +not live away from her. Sometimes, too, there were moments of strange +tenderness within him for this helpless, suffering morsel of humanity +that called him "babbo!" He did not know what might happen if the wrath +of the redoubtable Magagnati were to be invoked against him, for this +quarrel could not be disposed of as those small matters with the +gondoliers had invariably been. So far from threatening this before, +Marina had hitherto shielded Piero, in her unanswerable way, from +everything that might hasten the rupture that seemed always impending +between these two dissimilar natures; and Messer Magagnati had two +thoughts only, his daughter and his _stabilimento_--the great glass +furnaces which were the pride of Venice. + +Piero had no suspicion that Marina always touched the best that was in +him; he thought she made him weaker, and it was not easy to yield the +point that had become a habit. No one else had ever moved him from any +purpose, but now he perceived that there would be no reversal of that +sentence--that he should continue to come to see his child, and that he +must continue to submit to Marina's influence. It was she who had, in +some unaccountable way, persuaded him out of his unlawful trade of +_barcariol toso_, and had forced his reluctant acceptance of the +overtures that were made to him from the Guild of Santa Maria Zobenigo, +where he had risen to be one of the _bancali_ or governors, his +qualities of force and daring making him useful in this age when +lawlessness was on the increase. He was beginning to feel a sense of +satisfaction, not all barbaric, in the position he had won among men who +had some views of order, and to perceive that there might be a lawful +use, almost as pleasant, for those very attributes which had rendered +him so formidable a foe outside the pale of traghetto civilization. + +"_Ecco_!" he announced, with a slow, sullen emphasis which declared his +unwilling surrender, while he plied his oar with quick, wrathful +strokes. "It will take more than aves to make a saint of thee! And thou +mayst hold thy head too high, looking for better than wheaten bread! But +I'm not the man to wear a curb, nor to put up with thorns where I looked +for roses! Thou hast no right to mind what chances to me--yet thou hast +made me give up the old life." + +"Because I knew thou couldst do better. See where thou standest to-day! +It is not a little thing to be a governor of the Nicolotti!" + +"It is a truth," Piero confessed, "upside down, and not to boast of, +for whoever tries it would wish it less. The bancali are 'like asses who +carry wine and drink water,' for the good of the clouts, in days like +these." + +"I heard them talking to-day, Piero. The _barcarioli tosi_ are worse +than Turks; one must pay, to suit their whim, in the middle of the Canal +Grande, or one may wait long for the landing! And there was a scandal +about a friar of San Zanipolo, of whom they had asked a fare for the +crossing; I know not the truth of it! And at Santa Sofia the great cross +with the beautiful golden lustre is gone, and one says it is the +'tosi.'" + +Piero winced, for, to an ancient "toso," or even to a "bancalo" of +to-day, such enormities had not the exciting novelty that might have +been expected, and Marina had a curious habit of seeming entirely to +forget his past when she wished to exact his best of him. + +"And Gabriele--" + +"Fash not thyself for a man of his measure, that is fitter to 'beat the +fishes' like a galley-slave than to serve an honest gondola!" Piero +interrupted scornfully. + +"But Piero, Gabriele hath sold his license to one worse than he, and +there was great talk of quarrels along the Riva, and how that yesterday +they sent for Padre Gervasio from San Gregorio to bring the Host to +quiet them." + +"Ah, the Castellani!" said Piero, with the contempt that was always +ready for any mention of this great rival faction of the people whose +division into one or other of these factions was absolute. + +"But the Nicolotti have their scandal also," Marina asserted, +uncompromisingly; "among themselves it is told they break the laws like +men not bound by vows! Some say there will be an appeal to the +Consiglio." + +"Nay," said Piero, with an ominous frown; "the _bancali_ and _gastaldi_ +are enough; we need no bossing by crimson robes." + +This question of the traghetti and their abuses had lately grown to +large proportions among the people, and it possessed a deep interest for +all classes quite apart from the antiquity and picturesqueness of these +honorable institutions of the Republic--since all must use the ferries +and wish for safety in their water-streets. For centuries these +confraternities of gondoliers who presided over the ferries, or +traghetti, of Venice had been corporations, self-governing, with +officers and endowments recognized by the Republic, and with a standard +of gondolier morals admirably defined in their codes--those "Mariegole" +which were luxuriously bound and printed, with capitals of vermilion, a +page here and there glowing like an illuminated missal with the legend +of the patron saint of the traghetto, wherein one might read such +admonitions as would make all men wiser. + +But of late there had been much unruliness among the younger members of +the traghetti, and a growing inability among their officers to cope with +increasing difficulties, because of these barcarioli tosi, who lived in +open rebellion against this goodly system of law, poaching upon the +dearly bought rights of the traghetto gondoliers, yet escaping all +taxes. And because of the abuses which had been gradually undermining +the fair reputation of the established orders of the traghetti, the +Republic, by slow encroachments upon ancient concessions, was surely +reducing their wealth and independence. + +"Santa Maria!" Piero ejaculated after a pause, during which his wrath +had been growing. "The Consiglio hath its own matters for ruling; the +traghetti belong to the people!" + +They had reached the little landing of the first long waterway of +Murano, where one of the low arcaded houses, with its slender shafts of +red Verona marble, was the dwelling of Girolamo Magagnati; the others of +this little block of three were used as show-rooms and offices for the +great establishment which was connected with them, in the rear, by small +courtyards; and the dense smoke of the glass factories always rested +over them, although this was the quarter of the aristocrats of Murano. + +The buildings looked low and modest if measured by the palaces of the +greater city, and their massive marble door- and window-frames increased +the impression of gloom. But here and there a portal more ornate, with +treble-twisted cords deeply carved, or a window of fourteenth century +workmanship relieved the severity of the lines; while in this short +arcade, where the houses rose but a storey in height above the square +pillars which supported the overhanging fronts, these unexpected columns +of rosy marble, delicate and unique, on which the windows seemed to +rest, gave singular distinction to these dwellings. + +Often the people passing in gondola or bark glanced carelessly into the +depth of the open window space framed between those polished marble +shafts, for the familiar vision of a wonderful young face, beautiful as +a Madonna from some high altar in Venice; often, too, this vision of a +maiden bent above a child, with rare golden hair and great eyes full of +pain. + +There was a little lingering on the landing as they left the gondola; +for the baby, waking from his long, refreshing sleep, had claimed his +share of petting before the great dark man who tossed him so restfully +in his strong arms went away. There was no one who could make the little +Zuane laugh like "babbo," though the tremulous, treble echo of the full +tones of the gondolier had a pathos for those who listened. + + + +III + +The little Zuane had eaten his supper of _polenta_ and, in the painted +cradle which his grandfather Girolamo had bought for him from under the +arcades of the Piazetta, lay at last asleep, consigned to the care of +all those saints and guardian angels who make the little ones their +charge, and who smiled down upon him from the golden aureoles and clouds +of rose and blue on the cradle-roof while, slowly balancing, it charmed +him into dreams. + +And now, at her window, Marina had the night and the stars to herself, +over the still lagoon and down in its mirroring depths. + +It was a sad little tale soon told, this tragedy of Toinetta which had +seemed so great to the dwellers in that home three years ago. A pretty, +wilful child of fifteen, who had grown up impatient of all needful home +restraint, finding rebellion easier because there was no mother to +control her--with a love of motion, color, sunshine, sound, and laughter +that made her an Ariel of Venice, as full of frolic as a kitten and as +irresponsible, choosing in her latest caprice one from the many lovers +who were ready for the wooing with the seriousness with which she would +have chosen a partner for a festa, since to-morrow, if something else +seemed better, this lover also could be changed. But the opposition of +the grave father and sister made their consent the better worth winning, +and set the youthful Gabriele in a more attractive light. So the +betrothal had been duly made in the presence of the numerous circle of +friends and relatives who stand as witnesses at a betrothal feast in +this City of the Sea, and who were as ready with their smiles and their +felicitations for any event in the home life of the quarter, as they +would be withering in their criticism should there be any failure of +complete fulfilment of those traditional observances which are +imperative in Venice. Thus the boy and girl were _spoza_ and _novizio_, +waiting the fuller bond in all that pretty interchange of tokens so +faithfully prescribed in Venetian circles of every degree; but the +period had been one of quarrels and forgivenesses, of fallings away from +and returns to favor, as might have been expected from two capricious, +foolish children. + +To make part of the pretty pageant of the "Brides of Venice," which took +place on Lady Day in San Pietro in Castello, the maidens, all in white +with floating hair, their dower-boxes fastened by ribbons from their +shoulders, had seemed to Toinetta, as she stood each year an onlooker in +the admiring crowd, a happiness devoutly to be desired. The custom was a +survival of an earlier time, fast losing favor with the better classes +of the people; but to Toinetta its dramatic possibilities held a greater +fascination than the more sober ceremonial of the usual wedding service, +and, all persuasion to the contrary, when the procession gathered in +San Pietro in Castello, Toinetta, with flushed cheeks and sparkling +eyes, was one of the twelve maidens. Marina looked on with offended +eyes; her father consenting, yet only half-convinced, atoning for this +lessening of the family dignity by the elegance of the feast he had +provided, and all permitted bravery in the gondolas that were waiting to +take them thence. + +The ups and downs of her childish courtship had culminated in more tears +and jealousies than usual on the previous day, but these were secrets +between the lovers, and quite unguessed by father or sister. But when +the wedding oration had been preached over those twelve bridal pairs, +and the wedding benediction had been granted, it was _not_ Gabriele, the +boyish betrothed of Toinetta, who brought the blushing bride, partly in +triumph and partly in pique, to her father's side, but Piero Salin, the +handsomest gondolier on the lagoons, the most daring and dreaded foe of +all the established traghetti. It had been impossible for the spectators +from the body of the church to follow closely the movements of the +twelve white-robed maidens with their attendant swains while the +ceremony was progressing in the dim recesses of the choir, and the +surprise and dishonor this unexpected _denouement_ brought upon the home +were nothing to the unhappiness in store for the childish bride, whose +latest and wildest freak brought neither wisdom for self-discipline nor +power to endure that relentless criticism which ceased only when a +little one lay in the place of the child-mother, who had been too weak +to cope with the worries of the year that had followed upon that +unhappy day in San Pietro. + +The jilted Gabriele had accepted the situation with a parade of +philosophical scorn which removed him beyond the pale of the sympathy +Marina would have offered him; and Marina--whose exquisite sense of +truth, decorum, and duty had been outraged to a degree beyond Toinetta's +comprehension--forgot it all in the overwhelming compassion with which +she took her little sister in her arms and tried to help her live her +difficult life; she realized, as only a large nature could, that love +was the only hope for this emergency, and, feeding on her measureless +compassion, love, the diviner faculty, grew to be a power. + +Slowly and very dimly she had helped the young wife to some vague +comprehension of the duties she had so rashly assumed. Hitherto, for +Toinetta, there had been no difficulties, and now there were so many she +was frightened and did not understand; now, when Piero scolded at her +tears or temper she could not run away nor change him for a pleasanter +companion, and she knew no other way to manage such a difficulty; and +there was no pleasure in the Piazza because of that eternal critica. +There was triumph still in a _canalazzo_, for Piero was so handsome and +so strong, and in the gondola, on the Canal Grande, one could not hear +the talking--besides, Venice was not Murano; but in the home the old +friends came no more, and life was very sad--quite other than it used to +be! + +Even her father, who traced the disgrace that had come upon his house to +his over-indulgence, was now proportionately severe, and to his stern +sense of honor the lawless son-in-law was a most unwelcome guest. +Through that slow year of Toinetta's life Marina was the veritable angel +in the house, not conscious of any self-sacrifice, but only of living +intensely, making the living under the same roof possible for these two +strong men who looked at life from such different standpoints, soothing +the wounded pride of her father by her perfect sympathy while striving +to rouse Piero to nobler ideals. + +And now that it was all over--was it all over?--there lay the poor +little Zuane; and Piero, over the water at his traghetto, was a great +care. But he should do his best yet for the people! + +A deep voice with a ring of wistfulness came through the darkness: + +"Doth he not sleep yet, the little Zuane? The evening hath been long, +and I have somewhat to show thee." + +"I come, my father," she answered very tenderly, as she followed him +through the narrow, dark corridor, into a large chamber which served as +a private office, but where the father and daughter often sat alone in +the evening; for here Girolamo kept many designs and papers relating to +his work, and they often discussed his plans together. + +He unlocked an old carved cabinet and brought out a roll of parchments, +spreading them upon the table and explaining: "I could not leave them +while I went to call thee, for it is an order from the Senate--thou +see'st the seal--and a copy of the letter of the Ambassador of the +Republic to the Levant, with this folded therein--truly a curious scheme +of color, but very rich, and the lines are somewhat uneven. What +thinkest thou of the design?" + +"The outline is good," she answered, after a careful scrutiny, for she +had been trained in copying his best designs. This was a pattern +furnished by the grand vizier of the sultan for a mosque lamp of a +peculiar shape, wrought over with verses from the Koran, in various +colored enamels. "The outline is well; but the colors--mayst thou not +change this yellow? there is too much of it." + +"Nay, for the colors have a meaning; methinks this yellow is their +sacred color. But the texts are fine; the broken lines of the characters +have a charm, and the scrolls relieve the surface, making semblance of +shadow. Yet I will make thee a prettier one for thine own chamber, with +some thought of thy choosing." + +She looked up at him with shining eyes; their trouble, combated and +borne together, had brought them very near to one another. + +"I have often wished for a lamp with the colors soft like moonlight; and +the design shall be of thine own hand, and the verse upon it shall be an +ave, and in it there shall be always a light. It shall be a prayer for +the little one!" she said in quick response. "The Senate wished thee to +make a lamp of this design? I have seen none like it." + +"Nay, not one; there will be nine hundred, for the decoration of a +mosque," and Girolamo's eyes sparkled with triumph. "It is not that it +is difficult," he explained, for Marina's eyes wandered from her +father's face to the design with some astonishment. "It is even simple +for us. But when the Levant sends to Venice for these sacred lamps for +her own temples it is her acknowledgment that we have surpassed our +teachers. It is a glory for us!" + +"Father, I thought the glass of Venice was even all our own!" Marina +exclaimed in a tone of disappointment. "I knew not that our art had come +from the East to us. Some say that it was born here." + +"Ay, some; but thou shouldst know the story of thy Venice better, my +daughter," Girolamo answered gravely, for to him every detail connected +with his art was of vital import. "There may be some who say this, but +not thou. In the time of Orseolo the mosaics were brought from the +Levant for our old San Marco. Thus came the knowledge to us in those +early days. But now there is no longer any country that shares it +equally with Venice, for elsewhere they know not the art in its +fineness. These, when they are finished, shall be sent as a gift from +the Republic; it is so written in this order from the Senate." + +"When came it to thee?" + +"To-day, with much ceremony, it was delivered into mine own hand by one +of the Secretaries of the Ten. For, see'st thou, Marina, it is a mark of +rare favor that they have trusted this parchment with me, and have not +brought me into their presence to make copy of it in the palace. If thou +couldst lend me thy deft fingers----" + +"Surely," she answered, smiling up at him. + +He was standing over her with one hand on her shoulder; he rested the +other lightly on her hair, looking down into her eyes for a moment with +a caress still and tender, after his own grave fashion. "It will be +safer so," he said, folding the parchment and the letters carefully and +locking them away in his cabinet. "And to-morrow, Marina--for they have +granted me but one day." + +The chamber in which they sat was wainscoted with heavy carved woodwork +stained black, and every panel was a drawer with a curiously wrought +lock, containing some design or some order for the house of Magagnati; +and these archives were precious not only for the stabilimento and +Girolamo the master, but they would be treasured by the Republic as +state papers, representing the highest attainment in this exquisite +Venetian industry, which the Government held in such esteem that for a +century past one of the chiefs of the Council of Ten had been appointed +as inspector and supervisor of the manufactories. For further security +the Senate had declared severest penalties against any betrayal of the +secrets of the trade--a form of protection not quite needless, since the +Ambassador of His Most Christian Majesty had formed a species of secret +police with no other object than to bribe the glass-makers and extract +from them the lucrative secret which formed no part of the courtesies +that were interchanged between France and the Republic. + +The large, low table, black and polished like teak-wood, upon which they +had been examining the vizier's design, was lighted by a lamp of wrought +iron swinging low by fanciful chains from the high ceiling, making a +centre of dense yellow flame from which the shadows rayed off into the +gloom of the farther portions of the room, and a charming picture of +father and daughter was outlined against the vague darkness. Another +lamp, fixed against a plate of burnished brass, cast a reflection that +was almost brilliant upon the glory of this chamber--a high, central +cabinet of the same dark, carved framework, with a back of those +wonderful mirror plates so recently brought to perfection by another +stabilimento of which the good Girolamo was almost jealous, although +against this luminous background the exquisite fabrications of the house +of Magagnati reflected their wonderful shapes and colors in increased +beauty. + +Not yet had any plates of clear glass fine enough for the display of +such a cabinet been realized, though it sometimes seemed to Girolamo +that such a time was very near; but the solid doors of wood, with +ponderous brass locks and hinges, stood open, and the inner silk curtain +which protected these treasures from dust was always drawn aside by +Marina's own hand when these evening lamps were lighted; they were so +beautiful to see, if they but raised their eyes; the very consciousness +of their gleaming was sometimes an inspiration to Girolamo, and at this +hour they were quite safe, for the working day was over, and no one +entered this sanctum save by invitation. + +Girolamo Magagnati prided himself on being a Venetian of the people, and +it was true that no member of his family had ever sat in the Consiglio; +but in few of the patrician homes of Venice could more of what was then +counted among the comforts of life have been found than in this less +sumptuous house of Murano, while its luxuries were all such as centered +about his art. He was one of the magnates of his island, for his +furnaces were among the most famous of Murano, and to him belonged +secrets of the craft in his special field to which no others had yet +attained, while in a degree that would scarcely have been esteemed by +the merchant princes of Venice, who sat in the Consiglio, they had +brought him wealth and repute. But to him, whose heart was in his work, +it was power and glory that sufficed. No stranger whom it was desired to +honor came to Venice but was conducted, with a ceremony that was +flattering, while it was also a due precaution against too curious +questioning, through the show-rooms of the factories of Murano; and +often in this chamber had gathered a group of men whom the world called +great, led by that special Chief of the Ten who was then in power at +Murano, to see the treasures of this cabinet of which Girolamo was +justly proud. + +This first bit of the wonderful coloring which glowed and flashed when +the light shot through it, as if some living fire were caught in its +heart; or that curious, tortured shape, with its dragon-eyes of jewels, +and its tongue forever thrusting at you some secret which it almost +utters, yet withholds; this fragment of tenderest opalescence which is +of no color, yet blending all, as if a shower of petals were blown +across a rainbow in spring; that one--frosted in silver and gold--pink, +with the yellow sunshine in its core; here the aquamarine, lucent as +Venice's own sea! And here, throned in regal state, in its quaint case +of faded azure velvet, is that very masterpiece of the glass-workers of +Murano which was carried in the first solemn procession of all the arts +at a Doge's triumph in the thirteenth century. Its very possession was a +patent of nobility in Girolamo's reverent esteem; and the most gracious +letter of the Senate, conferring upon this piece of glass the +distinction of first mention among all that were shown upon that day of +triumph, is here also--a yellowed parchment, carefully inclosed in the +little morocco case, securely screwed to the shelf beneath, and Marina +had been present when it was opened for some rare visitor. It was a +relic of those earlier days when there were no furnaces in Murano, +though many of the finest workers came from this island and belonged to +the corporation of the workers on Rialto, and it was almost a +prehistoric record of greatness. + +Marina had left the table and gone to the cabinet; her father followed +her. "This I would show thee," he said, calling her attention to a +whimsical shape, blown and twisted almost into foam. "This Lorenzo Stino +brought me only yesterday; he is full of genius; I think none hath a +quicker hand, nor a more inventive faculty. I have watched him in his +working." He scanned her eagerly as he spoke. + +"Yes, it is fanciful--wonderful," she added to please him, but without +warmth, while her eyes wandered over the shelves. "Oh, father, here are +some of the very mosaics that were made for San Marco; thou hast +forgotten!" + +She lifted eagerly a small opaque basin of turquoise blue and held it +toward him; it contained a few bits of gold and silver enamel, the +earliest that had been made in Venice, bearing their ancient date. + +"Thou askest more of Venice than I," he said, well pleased with her +enthusiasm; "but have a care lest they say I have not taught thee well, +or that I do not know my art, or that I claim too much. At the time of +the burning of San Marco these Mosaics for the restoration were from the +stabilimenti of the Republic on Rialto--so early it came to us, this +glorious art. And it was one Piero, a founder of our house, though the +name was other than Magagnati, who was the master in that restoration. +But the first mosaics in that old San Marco--ay, and the workmen," he +added with a conscious effort, so much would he have liked to claim the +invention for Venice, "came hither from the East. Thou shouldst know the +history of our art; it is the story of thine ancestry and the nobility +of thy house. Thou hast no other." + +"I have thee, my father!" + + + +IV + +The Veronese did not paint that beautiful face the next morning as he +had planned; for the first time he had encountered difficulties. Slowly, +as he wended his way through the many turnings of the narrow calle to +Campo San Maurizio, carrying a beautiful Moorish box filled with the +pearly shells which the Venetians call "flowers of the Lido," and a +bouquet of aromatic carnations for the bambino, he recalled the figure +and speech of his Madonna, and they were not those of the maidens whom +one might encounter at the traghetto or in the Piazza; there had been a +dignity and self-forgetfulness in such perfect harmony with the face +that, at the moment, this had seemed entirely natural. But the tones +returned to him as he pondered, filled with a deeper melody than the +usual winning speech of the Venetian; with the grace of the soft dialect +there was a rare, unexpected quality, as if thought had formed the +undertone. He had never heard such a voice in the Piazza--it was rare +even in the palazzo; it was the voice of some sweet and gracious woman +with a soul too large for the world; it held a suggestion of peace and +convent bells and even-songs of nuns. + +Then, still more passionately, the desire overcame him to paint that +face for his Madonna; he would never give it up! Yet this maiden was +not one of whom he could ask the favor that he craved, nor to whom he +could offer any return. + +He had come to San Maurizio to take a gondola from the traghetto, partly +that he might be free to wander without comment wherever his search +should lead, partly because he was always ready for a chat with the +people; their experiences interested him, and he himself belonged by his +artist life, as by his sympathies, to all classes. Perhaps, too, he had +been moved with a vague hope that he might find the face he was seeking, +for he was used to fortunate happenings. But there were no waiting +Madonnas under the pergola, and the air of the early spring morning blew +chill from the Lido, almost with an intimation of failure to his +sensitive mood. He pushed aside an old _gransiere_, without the gift of +small coin that usually flowed so easily from his hand, for service +rendered or unrendered, as he impatiently questioned the gondoliers. + +"One who knows Murano well!" he called. + +There was an instant response from an old man almost past traghetto +service, but his age and probable garrulity commended him. + +"I will take thee and thy gondola, since thou knowest Murano," said the +artist kindly; "but I must go swiftly, and I would not tax thee. Thou +shalt have thy fare, but I will pay for another gondolier also from the +traghetto; he must be young and lusty. Choose thou him--and hasten." + +There was a babel of voices and a self-gratulatory proffer of lithe +forms, while the old gondolier turned undecidedly from one to another, +and the tottering gransiere ostentatiously protected the velvet mantle +of the artist as he sprang into the boat. With an impatient gesture the +Veronese indicated his choice, and they were soon on their way. + +"Come hither, _vecchio mio_, and rest thine old bones; let the young one +work for us both," the padrone commanded, as he flung himself down among +the cushions. "Do they treat thee well at thy traghetto?" + +"Eccellenza, yes; but I am scarce older than the others; it is the young +ones who make us trouble; they keep not the Mariegole, and it is only +the old one may depend upon." + +"_Davvero_, the world is changed then! It used to be good to be young." + +"Eccellenza, yes; when I myself was not old, and his excellency also had +no beard." + +"If age and wisdom might be traded for the time of youthful pranks," +said the Veronese with twinkling eyes, "I doubt if there were wisdom +enough left in Venice to cavil at the barter! Yet thou and I, having +wisdom thrust upon us by these same beards, if trouble come to thee, or +too soon they put thee at the gransiere service, we will remember this +day passed together." + +"Eccellenza, thanks; the gransiere has not much beside his beard to keep +him warm, and the time draws near," the old man answered with pleasant +Venetian insouciance. + +"Tell me," said the Veronese, turning to the younger man, "why do you +young fellows make Venice ring with your scandals? You are cutting off +your own 'liberties.'" + +"Yes, signore." The gondolier hesitated, glancing doubtfully at the +artist's sumptuous attire, which might have indicated a state much +greater than he kept; for the Veronese was famed throughout Venice, in +quarters where he was better known, for an unfailing splendor of costume +which would have made him at all times a model for the pictures he loved +to paint. Recently, for bad conduct, the gondoliers had been gradually +forfeiting their licenses, or "liberties," as they were called in +Venice, and the thought crossed the young fellow's mind that this +splendid stranger was possibly one of those government officials who +were charged with the supervision of the confraternities of the +traghetti. + +"It is the first time I have the honor of conducting his Excellency; he +is perhaps of the Provveditori al Comun?" These officials collected the +government taxes and were viewed with jealous eyes by the gondoliers. + +"Nay; I am Paolo Cagliari; I belong to a better craft. But please +thyself, for there is much talk of this matter." + +"Signore, one must live!" the young fellow exclaimed, with a friendly +shrug of his shoulders and a gleam of his white teeth; for it was easy +to make friends with the genial artist. "And between the governors and +the _provveditori_ one may scarce draw breath! One's bread and onions--" +he added, with a dramatic gesture of self-pity. "It is not much to ask!" + +"_Altro_! Nonsense!" the Veronese exclaimed, laughing, for the gondolier +looked little like one who was suffering from hunger, as he stood +swaying in keen enjoyment of the motion which showed his prowess, of the +wind as it swept his bronzed cheek, of the talk which permitted him to +exploit his grievances. + +"There is the High Mass, twice in the month; there is the Low +Mass--every Monday, if you will believe me! There are the priests, _for +nothing_--Santa Maria, they are not few! The first fare in the +day?--always for the Madonna of the traghetto. This _maledetto_ fare of +the Madonna suffices for the Madonna's oil, I ask you? Ebbene non! There +are the fines--and these, it must be confessed, might be fewer, for the +saints are tired of keeping us out of mischief. And little there is for +one's own madonna, if one would make gifts!" + +"This, then, for thine own madonna," said the artist pleasantly, tossing +him a considerable coin. "And may she make thee wiser; for, by thine +inventory, which it doth not harm thee to rehearse, thou hast a good +memory." + +"Eccellenza, there is more, if you be not weary. There is the government +tax; it takes long to gather--ask the _gastaldo_! There are the soldiers +for the navy; how many good men does that leave for the traghetto +service? And a license is not little to buy for a poor barcariol who +would be his own man; one pays three hundred _lire_--not less. Does it +drop into one's hand with the first fare? One must belong to the +Guilds--it is less robbery!" + +"But for your gastaldo, your great man, for him it is much honor--" + +"Eccellenza, believe it not. If the taxes are not there for the +provveditori, it is the gastaldo who pays. When the money is little it +is the gastaldo who pays much. And the toso--all his faults blamed on +the traghetti! Ah, signore, for the gondolier it is a life--Santa +Maria!" He threw up his hands with a feint of being at a loss to convey +its hardships. + +"_Come non c'e altro_!" said the Veronese, laughing; "there is none like +it." + +"Ebbene--va bene!" the gondolier confessed, joining heartily in the +merriment, his grievance, which was nevertheless a real one, infinitely +lessened by confession. + +Suddenly the old man rose and bowed his head, and both gondoliers +crossed themselves. The Veronese also bared his head and made the sign +of reverence, for they were passing the island of San Michele, toward +which a mournful procession of boats, each with its torch and its banner +of black, was slowly gliding, while back over the water echoed the dirge +from those sobbing cellos. Here, where only the dead were sleeping, the +sky was as blue and the sea as calm as if sorrow had never been born in +the world. + +Before them Murano, low-lying, scattered, was close at hand, the smoke +of its daily activities tremulous over it, dimming the beauty of sky and +sea. + +"His Excellency knows Murano? The Duomo, with its mosaics? Wonderful! +there are none like them; and it is old--'ma antica'! And the +stabilimenti?--it is glory enough for one island! Ah, the padrone wishes +to visit the stabilimento Magagnati?" + +Paolo Cagliari had not known what he would do until the old man's +suggestion seemed to make his vision less vaguely inaccessible, and +before they reached the landing he had learned, by a judicious +indifference which sharpened his companion's loquacity, that Messer +Girolamo lived there alone with his daughter, who went about always with +a bambino in her arms--the child of a dead sister. + +There could be no doubt; yet, to keep the old man talking, he put the +question, "She is very beautiful, the donzella?" + +"Eccellenza"--with a pause and deprecatory movement of the +shoulders--"_cosi_--so-so--a little pale--like a saint--devote. For the +poor? Good, _gentile_, the donzel of Messer Girolamo. _Bella_, with rosy +colors? _Non_!" + +With the Venetians there could be no sharp distinction between the +decorative and the fine arts, as the fine arts were employed by them +without limit in their sumptuous decorations; and that which elsewhere +would have been merely decorative they raised, by exquisite quality and +finish, to a point which deserved to be termed art, without +qualifications. + +The Veronese, who had been knighted by the Doge, could scarcely go +unrecognized to any art establishment in any quarter of Venice, and with +unconcealed pleasure Girolamo bowed low before this master who had come +to do him honor; displaying all that the initiated would hold most +precious among his treasures--that design, faded and dim, almost +unrecognizable, of those early mosaics of the Master Pietro--he held +nothing back. It was a day of honor for his house, and the two were +alone in his cabinet. + +The Veronese had a gift of sympathy; his heart opened to those who loved +art and had conquered difficulties in her service, and the talk flowed +freely. "I believe," he said, as together they laid away the parchment, +"that in our modern mosaics we should keep to the massive lines of these +earlier models--greater dignity and simplicity in outline and coloring. +It is a mistake to attempt to confound this art with painting." + +"It is good, then, for our art, Messer Cavaliere, that at San Donato, +our mother church, we workmen of Murano have our Lady in that old +Byzantine type; there is none earlier--nor in all Venice more perfect of +its time--and the setting is of marvelous richness and delicacy." + +"It is most interesting," said the Veronese. "Sometimes a question has +come to me, if an artist cannot do the _all_, is he most the artist who +stops below his limitation or beyond it? A question of the earlier hint, +or the later realization." + +"Between the mosaic and the painting, perhaps?" Girolamo questioned, +greatly interested. + +"Nay, not between the arts, but of that which is possible to each. It is +not a Venetian question. Here all is warmth, color, beauty, joy; here +art is the expression of redundancy--it hath lost its symbolism." + +"I know only Venice--the Greek and the Venetian types. But I have heard +that the Michelangelo was in himself a type?" + +"He was a prophet," the Veronese answered reverently, "like the great +Florentine--a seer of visions; but at Rome only one understands why he +was born. He was a maker, creating mighty meanings under formlessness. +His great shapes seem each a mystery, wrestling with a message." + +"I had thought there was none who equaled him in form--that he was even +as a sculptor in his painting." + +"And it was even so. When I spake of 'formlessness' it was not the less, +but the more; as if, _before the visions had taken mortal shape, he, +being greater than men, saw them as spirits_." + +"Never before have I talked with one who knew this master," said +Girolamo, "and it is a feast." + +"Nay, I knew him not, for it was not easy to get speech with him, nor a +favor a young man might crave. But once I saw him at his work in San +Pietro, where he wrought most furiously and would take no payment--'for +the good of his soul,' he said, that he might end his life with a pious +work. The night was coming on, and already his candle was fastened to +his hat, that he might lose no time. They had brought him a little bread +and wine for his evening meal, for often he went not home when the mood +of work possessed him; and beside him was a writing of the man +Savonarola--this and the Holy Evangel and the 'Inferno' fashioned his +thoughts. He lived not long after that, for we were still in Rome when +they made for him that great funeral in Santa Croce of Florence, the +rumor of which is dear to artist hearts. He was great and lonely, and he +knew no joy; there hath been none like him." + +"And the Tintoretto, at Santa Maria dell' Orto?" + +"He, too, is a _furioso_, wonderful in form--and the Michelangelo had +not the coloring of our Jacopo. But the terror of the Tintoretto is very +terrible and very human. The Michelangelo fills a great gloom with +phantasms--they question--and one cannot escape." + +"It hath been a morning of delights," Girolamo said with grave courtesy +when the talk had come to an end. "I thank the master for this honor." + +"Nay," answered the knightly Veronese; "it is I who have received. And +more, yet more would I ask. I know not if in this chamber of treasures I +may leave the trifle which I came to bring for the bambino?" he added +with hesitation, as he placed upon the table his little inlaid box of +baubles and his bunch of spicy flowers. "Yet it was a promise." + +And while Girolamo listened in astonishment he told abruptly the story +of his meeting with Marina and the little one, unconsciously weaving his +thoughts into such a picture as he talked, that Girolamo recognized the +inspiration and was already won to plead his cause. + +"This," continued the artist, unfolding a letter, "is the order which +hath been sent me by Fra Paolo Sarpi, of the convent of the Servi, a man +most wise and of high repute in Venice. 'The face,' this learned friar +sayeth, 'must be full of consolation and one to awaken holy thoughts. +And I, being not an artist' (which, because he is greater than so many +of his craft, he hath the grace to acknowledge!), 'have no other word to +say, save that it shall be noble and most spiritual, as befitteth our +religion.' And such a face till now, Messer Girolamo Magagnati--so +beautiful and holy--I have not found. But now it is a vision sent to me +from heaven, quite other than any picture I have ever dreamed, and I +will paint no other for this Madonna of the Servi. I also, like the +Angelo, would give my holiest work for the good of my soul; for the days +of man are numbered, though his blood be warm in his veins like wine! It +would be a pious act for the maiden; and if she will most graciously +consent, the picture shall be an offering for the altar of the chapel of +Consolation in the Servi." + +"I will ask her," said the father simply, and felt no surprise at what +he had granted when he was left alone with his thoughts, for Paolo +Cagliari, because of a way he had that men could not resist, already +seemed to him a friend; for the rare mingling of knightly grace and +artistic enthusiasm, overcoming spasmodically the usual assertiveness of +his demeanor, seemed at such moments to mean more than when assumed by +those who were never passionate nor brusque, and his very incongruities +held a fascination for his friends. + + + +V + +Marina came often to the studio of the Veronese in San Samuele, while +the _Madonna del Sorriso_ grew slowly into life; it was not that most +perfect life of which the artist had dreamed, for hitherto beauty had +sufficed to him and he had never sought to burden his creations with +questions of the soul; but now the sadness of the unattainable that was +growing within him looked out of the wonderful eyes of the maiden on his +canvas, yet he tossed his brushes aside in discontent. "Her smile +eludeth me, though it hath the candor of a child's," the master cried. + +Within his studio his pupils came and went, some earnest to follow in +the footsteps of the master, absorbed in their tasks; others, golden +youths, painting a little because Art was beautiful--not overcoming. + +In the inner chamber, which was the artist's sanctum, were only the +Veronese and his brother Benedetto at work; his brother, who was +architect and sculptor too, was putting in the background of an +elaborate palace in a fine Venetian group upon which Paolo worked when +not occupied with his Madonna; and a favorite pupil, the young nobleman +Marcantonio Giustiniani, was in attendance upon the master. The lovely +girlish face, of a spiritual type rare in Venice, seemed to the young +patrician more beautiful than that of any of the noble, smiling ladies +who were waiting to be won by him, and in those hours of blissful +service he, too, made a study--crude and inartistic. + +"Thy hand hath yet to learn its cunning," the master said, as in much +confusion, one morning when they were quite alone, his pupil revealed +his roughly executed head; "yet thou hast painted the soul! The heart +hath done it, Signorino mio, for thou art not yet an artist. There is no +other lady for Marcantonio Giustiniani; yet she comes not of a noble +house." + +"She makes it noble!" cried the young fellow, flushing hotly, "for she +is like her face." + +"Ay, for me and thee she is noble," said the Veronese compassionately, +for he loved the boy. "But for the noble Senator, thy father--of the +Council of the Ten--he will not find this maiden's name in the 'Libro +d'Oro.' I am sorry for thee." + +"Master!" cried Marcantonio imploringly, "art thou with me?" + +"Verily, but I can do naught for thee." + +"Listen, then! One day the nobles shall find that name inscribed in the +'Libro d'Oro'; it shall be there, for mine shall suffice." + +The master answered nothing, but bending over the sketch which his pupil +had made he caressed it, here and there, with loving touches of his +magic brush, while the young nobleman poured forth his vehement speech, +forgetting to watch the master's fingers. + +"Once in the annals of the Republic there is noted such a marriage; a +daughter of Murano, of the house of Beroviero--nay, not so beautiful as +Marina--wedded with one of our noblest names; and the children, by +decree of the Senate, were written every one in the 'Libro d'Oro.'" + +"_This_ have I done for thee!" said the master, moving away from the +sketch and disclosing it to the young fellow, who gazed at it in silent +amazement. "Only the eyes have I not touched," the Veronese explained; +"for thou hast made them more soulful than even unto me they seemed, and +thus have I read thy secret." + +"Maestro mio!" cried Marcantonio at length, in ecstasy; "none among us +may learn the marvel of thine art!" + +"I have but touched thy sketch with the power that mine art could give," +the master answered, well pleased. "Yet it is thou who hast read the +secret of the face that was not revealed to me." + +"We were speaking of the 'Libro d'Oro,'" the young patrician interrupted +eagerly. + +"It may be so, I know not," the Veronese answered indifferently, for he +himself was not written in that noble chronicle. "My art deals little +with these cumbrous records of the Republic." + +"Thou art wrong to scorn them, caro maestro, for in them is chronicled +the glory of Venice." + +"The saying doeth honor--from a pupil to his master!" the artist burst +forth with his quick, uncontrollable temper. "The Tablets of Stone were +reserved for the highest dignity of the Law; and in that Sala dei Capi, +where at this moment sits Giustinian Giustiniani--one of the chosen +three of the Council of the Ten--my name is written largely with mine +own hand, as artists write their names, _above_ the heads of rulers for +all coming time to see! The _Avvogadori_ do not keep my 'Libro d'Oro'; +the entrance to it is by divine right!" + +He flung his brushes fiercely aside, in one of those moods that seemed +all unwarranted in comparison with the slightness of the +provocation--moods that alternated with the lovable, genial, generous +impulses of an artist soul, overwhelming in energy and great in +friendship; yet jealous, to a degree a lesser nature could scarcely +pardon, of anything that seemed to touch upon his province as an artist +and the claims of art to highest honor. + + * * * * * + +The day was drawing near when Marcantonio Giustiniani, the only son of +Giustinian Giustiniani, a noble of the Senate and of the Council of the +Ten, should present himself before the _Avvocato del Comun_ to claim +admission to the Great Council as a noble, born in lawful wedlock, of +noble parents, inscribed in the Golden Book. + +To the young fellow himself this twenty-fifth anniversary of his birth, +when, by Venetian law, the ceremony must take place, approached with +needlessly rapid footsteps; he was not yet ready for the duties it would +bring, so much more did he incline to that measure of boyish freedom +which had thus far been his, so unwilling was he to renounce his longing +for some form of art life--the impulse to which fretted him almost +unbearably, in view of the political career which opened mercilessly +before him, threatening every dearer project. + +Not that he felt himself born to be an artist--Paolo Cagliari laughed at +his studies while he encouraged his coming to the studio, telling him +that for one who had not chosen Art for his mistress the drawings were +"well enough"; and from the Veronese the words were consoling. His +mother had been afraid of this taste for art, which, for a short time, +had exercised such sway over his fancy, stimulated by his _culte_ for +the beautiful, that he had plead with her to win his father's consent +for an art life. Yet he had himself acquiesced in her quiet but +inflexible showing of the futility of attempting such an overturning of +Giustiniani traditions, though he still went with dangerous frequency to +the studio of the Veronese, to which she had procured him entrance upon +his promise that he would not seriously consider that impossible +possibility at which he had hinted. There had been mention of Pordenone +and of Aretino, with a certain cool scorn that was worse than censure, +and as convincing, there was the Titian, than whom, in art and +sumptuousness, one could not be greater; but, even for him, Cavaliere of +France, there was no place in the Consiglio! + +Not that Marcantonio would voluntarily have relinquished his hereditary +place in the state, his possible part in its glory--the dream which came +to all young noblemen of the portrait in that splendid Sala di Consiglio +of his own face grown venerable, wearing the ermine and the ducal +coronet, in token of that supremacy so dear to each Venetian heart, but +jealously held by every noble of the Republic within confines which +lessened with each succession, until the crown was assumed in trembling +and ignominious restriction--if with external pomp and honor that might +befit a king. + +But he wanted time; he wanted liberty to choose his own life or enjoy +his restlessness, and he realized the more keenly, from the sense of +power that was so chafed in the curbing, that he was too young to be +forced into such ruthless service; and he could not but acquiesce the +less fervently because it was not open to him to _give_ himself, since +the claim of Venice was absolute and resistance was a crime. + +But with quite other sentiments the preparations for the fete were +progressing in that ancient family of Giustiniani, where the day was +awaited with an impatience which increased the fervor and the pomp of +preparation, but was not otherwise manifested in any sign of undignified +eagerness. No house in Venice had held this right for more generations; +no house was princelier in its bearing, nor more superbly republican! No +member of that Supreme Council was more esteemed than the stern +Giustinian, who had been again and again elected to the most important +missions of the state; no _donna nobile_ of all the Venetians was +prouder, more highly born, more beautiful, nor more coldly gracious than +the mother of Marcantonio. + +In such an environment there was but one career possible for the only +son of the house, who had been carefully trained, according to the +traditions that made culture for the young Venetian of those days; he +had even attended courses of those philosophical conferences which had +become the fashion since the sittings of the famous Council of Trent, +and which had been conducted in various convents by distinguished +professors from Padua and Bologna, and even by some of the learned men +of Rome; it was a species of amusement creditable for a young +nobleman--it would quicken the reasoning powers and give more subtlety +in debate, when government problems should later absorb his gifts. + +But if, like other golden youth of his time, he was like a Greek in +possession of their liquid tongue and in a mastery of oratory that +filled the soul of Giustinian Giustiniani with satisfaction, the young +patrician himself had acquired this learning, less with a thought of one +day shining in the Senate than because it pleased him as a touch of +finish. He was, in some sort, a reaction from the proud and typical +Venetian so ably represented by the elder Giustinian, who claimed +unchallenged descent from the Emperor Justinian, upheld by the +traditions of that long line of ancestry and by the memory of many +honorable offices most honorably discharged by numerous members of his +house. Marcantonio, on the contrary, was handsome, winning, +pleasure-loving--after an innocent fashion, which brought some sneers +from his compeers, the gay "company of the hose;" but he thought life +not made for pain, nor ugliness, nor hardness of any sort; he was bred +to luxury, yet his intellectual inheritance made learning easy for him; +he was many sided and vacillating, an exquisite in taste and the science +of trifles. His affectionate nature, repressed and chilled, refused +absolute subjection to that purpose which the elder Giustinian held +relentlessly before him; he wished to live for himself a little, and not +wholly for Venice. He was an embodiment of that late time of Venetian +culture when its magnificence, its artistic and intellectual development +had touched their height, and the hint of decadence shadowed its +splendor with a pathos unguessed except by the thoughtful few. + +He had dabbled a little in costly manuscripts--a taste for an exquisite +in those days, when Venice was the envy of the world for the marvels of +her press; and already he possessed a volume or two, for his cabinet, +from the atelier of Aldus Manutius--that famous edition of Aristotle, +the first ever printed in Greek, with the Aldine mark of anchor and +dolphin on the title-page. But a volume more precious still, with its +dainty finish and piquant history, conferred distinction, it was said, +among the literati, upon its youthful owner; this was no less a treasure +than that first copy of "Le Cose Volgare di Messer Francesco Petrarca," +most exquisitely printed in type modeled after the poet's own elegant +handwriting, and the volume had been superintended by many learned +heads,--awaited with impatience, as a triumph for its makers,--and +thought a thing rare enough to be offered, like a jewel, to the learned +and illustrious lady, Isabella of Mantua. Marcantonio was no pedant, but +these treasures simply had their place in the richly painted cabinet, +beside many other bits of exquisite workmanship, because rare things in +every art were beautiful to our dilettante, and possessions of all kinds +came to him easily. + +There lay the golden necklace presented by Henry III. of France to a +Giustinian who had been one of the young nobles set apart for the +household of the king, when on his visit to Venice; and beside it a +curious volume of songs, all in honor of France and of the king, +entitled "Il Magno Enrico III., difensore di Santa Chiesa, di Francia e +di Polonia Re christianissimo." Here was also preserved that still more +curious allegorical drama which had been given at the grand fete at the +Ducal Palace in honor of this over-adulated monarch. It was natural that +some of these literary curiosities, of which the visit of Henry III. had +been prolific, should have remained in possession of the masters of the +palace which had been tendered for his residence. The volume, bound in +azure velvet, embroidered with golden fleurs-de-lis and seeded with +pearls, lay open at the page "Chapter in which the Most Holy Catholic +Religion is introduced conversing with the most Christian, most powerful +and most holy Henry III., the most glorious King of France and Poland." + +The noble lady Laura Giustiniani, who looked with pride upon these +costly trifles of the cabinet of Marcantonio, was a Venetian in every +throb of her patrician veins--first a patriot and then a mother--she +earnestly coveted for her son that he should render vast services to the +state, receive in his early years the Patriarch's blessing upon his +alliance with some ancient Venetian house, and close his noble career +with the Doge's coronet. She admitted reluctantly to herself, although +she would never have confessed it openly, that in these latter days of +the Republic the ermine was not likely to be offered to one so stern and +masterful as her husband; while she also knew, and the knowledge held +its compensation, that Giustinian Giustiniani could not be spared from +the Councils of his government. She knew her history well, and she +realized that the days of the Michieli and Orseoli were over, and that +the supreme honor was no longer for the strong but for the pliant; this +had made her the more willing that her son should partake of the facile +and gracious mood of this time of Renaissance, and had led her to shape +his education more in consonance with his natural tastes than with her +own views of fitness for a Venetian noble. She knew that this was +weakness for a Giustinian; but it was hard to see the noble line pass +down through the centuries without that coveted sign of honor--the +minikin Lion of San Marco, the mighty symbol--carved upon their palaces. + +Meanwhile, for a suitable alliance there were already schemes on foot, +and mothers of noble young Venetian ladies paid frequent court to the +stately Lady Laura in her palace on the Canal Grande; and fathers, in +the Senate, in moments of unbending, discussed the probability of the +immediate rise of the young Giustinian upon his admission to the +Consiglio--he was competent and not positive, gracious and no fool, he +could be made to see the wisdom of other people's opinions, which, with +the elder Giustinian, was unheard of! + +Among the maidens who should grace the banquet to be given on +Marcantonio's birthnight, more than one had sat for hours in some high +balcony of her palace, preparing for Venetian belle-ship with a patience +worthy of a better cause--her long locks, mysteriously treated, +streaming over the broad brim of the great, crownless hat which +protected her fair face, while the sun bestowed its last touch of beauty +in bleaching the dark tresses to that rich, red, burnished gold which +the Venetians prized. + +The young patrician was already esteemed a connoisseur in the most +exquisite industries of Venice, and the Lady Laura had confided to her +son the ordering of a set of goblets of _girasole_ for the banquet--a +new opalescent glass, with iridescent borderings, such as had never yet +been seen at any Venetian fete. + +Thus the gondola of the Giustiniani floated for long hours before the +famous establishment of Girolamo Magagnati, so delicate and intricate +was the work that had been ordered from him; and the gondoliers, +meanwhile, in their splendid liveries, held converse with other +gondoliers in lazily drifting barks, with hatchments of other noble +houses embroidered on their sleeves; and their tones were strident and +quarrelsome, or self-complacent and patronizing, as the quality of the +silken sashes which displayed the color of their house was heavier or +poorer than their own. + +One boasts of the lantern, all of brass, "Wrought by Messer Alessandro +Leopardi--'come no c'e altro!'--there is no other like it--which he, the +favored gondolier, has been burnishing for the banquet of the Dandolo, +to which he shall that night convey the noble lady of the Giustiniani!" + +"It is less beautiful," retorts a gondolier of the house of Mocenigo, +the fringes of his sash of rose sweeping the bridge of his gondola as it +moves forward, slightly tilting on its side, with a quick, disdainful +motion called forth by proper Mocenigo pride--so pliant are these barks +of Venice to the moods of the gondolier. "It is less beautiful--by the +Holy Madonna of San Castello!--than the lantern of wrought iron with the +jewels of _rubino_ that Messer Girolamo Magagnati makes this day, by +order of the Eccellentissimo Andrea Mocenigo, with the jewels of the +fine glass of Murano that shall be like roses flashing in the night!" + +And he has sworn so great an oath, by that most ancient Madonna of +Castello, and so well has he vindicated the honor and splendor of his +house in thus early appropriating this recent glory of Venetian +workmanship in its own family emblem, that there is no present need of +distance between him and his rival, and resting upon his oar, as he +stands with a proud and graceful bearing of victory, he allows the +gondola to glide back into position with the lapping of the water. + +For the gondoliers of the house of Giustiniani are unfolding, with +quick, ringing, jubilant voices, vast confidential tales of the fetes +that are in preparation for the marriage of the young noble of the +Council, their master, of which this banquet is only the precursor. "For +of course there will be a _sposalizia_! Santa Maria! there is no room on +the Canal Grande for the gondolas that come to the palazzo--from every +_casa_ in the 'Libro d'Oro'--to win the favor of the donna nobile of the +Giustiniani, for some bella donzella who shall be chosen for their young +master--who is like a prince, and will end one day in being Doge! Santa +Maria di Castello, he does not wait that day to scatter his golden +coins!" + +If that question of "sposalizia" is not imminent there is truth enough +for any Venetian conscience in the story of the ranks of princely +gondolas at the bend of the Canal Grande, on the days when the donna +nobile of the Giustiniani gives welcome to her guests--princely gondolas +they are, with _felzes_ of brocaded and embroidered stuffs, the +framework inlaid with ivory and mother of pearl, with metal fittings +curiously wrought, and all that bravery of pomp so dear to the Venetian +heart, which calls forth surly decrees from those stern Signori of the +Council--the much unloved "Provveditori alle Pompe," the sumptuary +officers of this superb Republic. + +Meanwhile, in this narrow water-street, sunk a few feet below the paved +foot path that stretches to the doors of the dwellings, there are sudden +grumbling movements among the retainers of the patrician families, as +they steer their gorgeous gondolas from side to side, to avoid +humiliating contact with that slow procession of barges bringing produce +from the island gardens of Mazzorbo, there are other barges laden with +great, white wooden tubs of water from Fusina, fresh and very needful to +these cities of the sea, and the dark hulks of barks curiously entangled +with nets and masts and unwieldy tackle of sailor and fisher, show +flashes of brilliant color as the water plays through the netted baskets +swinging low against their sides, while the sunlight glances back from +the gold and silver glory of the scales of living fish, crowded and +palpitating within their meshes. + +The fisherfolk who guide these barks are gray and gnomelike in their +coloring, tanned by sky and sea and ceaseless atmospheres of fish, into +a neutral tint,--less vivid in hues of skin and hair, with eyes less +brilliant, with less vivacity and charm of bearing than the gay +Venetians,--but they are the descendants of those island tribes from +which the commerce and greatness of Venice issued; there is almost a +show of stateliness in the aggravating slowness with which their heavily +freighted barks proceed, serenely occupying the best of the narrow +waterway. They are not envious of the hangers-on of those palaces of the +nobles, these free fisherfolk of the islands; they have only haughty +stares for the servile set of gondoliers in lacings of gold and +scarlet--who are not nobles nor fishers, nor people of the soil--and +they pass them silently, with much ostentation of taking all the +gondoliers of Murano into the friendliness of their jests and curses, as +the barges touch and clash with some swiftly gliding gondolier of their +own rank, who wears no bravery or armorial bearings. + +Their homes--long, low, white-washed cottages--spread along the main +channel and reach in lessening, dotted lines far off into the sea, where +other islands lie in friendly nearness; but the Bridge, with the Lions +of St. Mark on archivolt and parapet--the invariable official signet of +Venetian dominion--stretches between that simpler quarter and this, +which holds the great houses of Murano, whose masters, a sort of _petite +noblesse_, have made their names illustrious by marvelous inventions in +that exquisite industry in which Venice has no rival. + + + +VI + +The "Madonna del Sorriso" now lacked only the finishing touches upon the +exquisite central figure, which reached more nearly to the spiritual +ideal than anything that had ever come from the brush of the Veronese, +and already the Servite friars, in their long black robes and white +cowls, had visited the studio with suggestions many and fruitless, +serving only to arouse the artist's indignant protest and increase his +determination to image more perfectly the poetic vision that had been +vouchsafed to him. + +"It hath not the beauty of the 'Venezia' in the palazzo," said one. + +"And the church is dark," said another, "and the people like the red and +blue of the colors of the true Madonna." + +"And a frate, of the Servi--since it hath been painted for the +convent--here--kneeling," suggested another, more timidly; for it was +known that the Veronese was not always docile in these days, since he +had become great. + +"Nay, leave me," said the Veronese fiercely; "for this one thing I +_know_, and this will I paint, for the good of my soul, as mine art +shall prompt me and not otherwise. And if it please not him--Fra Paolo, +who hath given the order--I will bestow it elsewhere." + +Then a friar habited like the others, who had stood apart and had not +spoken, came and threw back his cowl, dismissing the group with a +gesture. The features thus disclosed were unimportant, apart from the +domelike forehead, which might well belong to the most learned man of +his learned age; but Fra Paolo's face owed its distinction to the rare +impression it gave the beholder of invincible calm and self-mastery, +with a certain mysterious hint of power and a promise of unswervingness. +His gaze held no suggestion of concealment; yet for the deeper thoughts +that move the spirit of man, to those who knew him well his mild blue +eyes remained inscrutable, while his courtesy to all made one forget +that his words were few, and that of himself he had revealed nothing. + +"It is well," he said, "to _know_ that we know. Serve faithfully the God +who gave the gift and take no counsel from men who know not." + +Then he stood silent for a while before the picture, as if he would +learn its meaning, the artist watching anxiously, not guessing his +thought. + +"The pious wish hath made the offering noble," he said at length, in +quiet, measured tones. "And for the face, it is holy--of the beauty that +God permits--yet I pretend no criticism, since Art is not of mine +understanding. I will not take the honor of the gift away from the +giver, though I had meant it otherwise." + +After Fra Paolo had left the studio the Veronese was still studying his +picture, pleased and serious, feeling that this man, who was not an +artist, had comprehended the deepest mood in which he had ever +approached his art, when Marina entered. + +"Fra Paolo hath found our offering worthy," he said very gravely; and +suddenly remembering that Marina had come for the last time, "Benedetto +hath need of me in the outer studio for some measurements," he said to +Marcantonio, "but I shall soon return. Do thou, meanwhile, show the +_damigella_ thy sketch." + +She turned inquiringly toward Marcantonio, who placed it silently before +her. When he gathered courage to look at her she stood flushed and +trembling with clasped hands. + +"Marina!" he cried. + +She moved suddenly away from him, drawing herself up to her full height, +one hand slightly extended, as if to keep him from coming nearer; but +her face, as she turned it frankly to his, was lighted with a smile the +Veronese would never copy, and her eyes shone through her tears. + +"Is it true, Marina?" he questioned radiantly, as he tried to seize her +hand. + +But she still moved backward--not as if she were afraid, but as though +she would help him by a motion to understand. + +"You have confessed me unawares," she said, "and shown me mine own +secret, which I knew not. It is not to confess nor deny." + +"Yet you move away, Marina, as if you would not have it so." + +"Because only the renunciation of it is for us," she answered firmly. +"For I am of the people, and you--of the Giustiniani!" + +"As you shall also be!" he affirmed, undaunted. + +"Marco, at Venice this is not easy!" The tone was a caress which she +made no effort to withhold, yet he dared not try again to touch her +hand; he already felt her strength. + +"None the less, because it is not easy it shall be done. Reach me your +hand, Marina, to prove that you trust my vow." + +He was not wont to crave favor so humbly, but a new reverence had +entered into his soul. + +She hesitated for a moment, then her words came brokenly, yet with +dignity. + +"Marco mio, not yet. Because I am of the people, and because the +others--your father and mother, who are of the nobles, and my father, +who is of the people--may not consent, we will make no vows until this +difficulty is conquered." + +"They shall not keep us from it." + +She shook her head sadly, but came no nearer. "Will Giustinian +Giustiniani ask a daughter of the people? But Girolamo Magagnati is not +less proud." + +"I will return now with thee to Murano. Perhaps thy father will befriend +us." + +"No, no; without their consent it would be useless. I think I shall not +tell him--it would be only a grief." + +"Because it meaneth much to thee?" Marco questioned, luminous and +ungenerous. + +She did not answer. + +"Thou dost verily make too much of the nobles and the people, Marina; we +are all Venetians." + +"Venice is of the sea and of the land--not like other cities; and the +Venetian people is not one, but twain; my father hath often said it. +Some other day, perhaps--I do not know--if it is needful for the +picture, I may come again. Will you tell the maestro? I think he is our +friend, and he will understand." + +He would have followed her, but she waved him back. + +The day had a melancholy cast in the narrow waterways of Murano, where +clouds of smoke, dense and constant, rose from hundreds of +glass-workers' chimneys, dimming the reflections in the lagoon and +obscuring that wonderful coloring of sky which is nowhere so radiant as +at Venice. + +Beyond the bridge, which the ubiquitous Lion guards with menacing, +uplifted paw, beyond the Piazzetta of San Pietro where the acacia trees +are growing, down by the main canal, where the breath comes freer--for +it is broader than the one where the gondolas from the great houses of +Venice gather and float lazily; past the line of low, whitewashed +cottages bordering the narrow foot-path on either side, over the little +wooden bridge that spans the lagoon, fifty feet across from bank to bank +with its ugly traghetto at the farther end, a figure was often seen +wending, with a child held in tender mother fashion, to the campo of the +"Matrice," the mother church of San Donate. + +To-day when Marina had returned from Venice she had caught the little +Zuane to her breast with such a passion of tenderness that he looked up +into her face with startled eyes; hers were brimming with smiles and +tears, and with that wise child-knowledge, which is not granted to +earth's learned ones, he put up his tiny hand with a wan smile and +stroked her cheek. + +"We will go to San Donato, Zuanino mio," she said caressingly, as he +nestled closer, "and I have _thee_, my bimbo!" + +She put the little one gently down as they entered the triangular field +where the grass grew green and long--whiteness of sand gleaming in +irregular patches between the clumps of coarse blades; but to her this +poor turf was something precious associated with that island sanctuary, +restful and strange, and she drew a long breath with a sense of +suppressed pleasure; for sometimes the water, with its shimmering, +uncertain surfaces, wearied her, and unconsciously she craved something +more positive. + +The child, with uncertain steps, tottered toward the standard of San +Marco, which floated proudly from the staff that rose from the rude +stone pillar in the center of the campo, where other little ones were +playing; in the corner by the well groups of women, from the cottages +that bounded the campo on one side, were waiting to draw water for the +evening meal, putting down their jugs and going first into the Duomo to +say an ave, that the good Madonna might bless the cup. + +A few feet only from the Duomo the campanile drew her vision skyward; +the film of smoke was lighter here, and the sky seemed nearer--bluer. +She turned to her little charge with a beaming face--her moods were so +easily wrought upon by phases of nature, but slowly moved by personal +influences. "See'st thou, bimbo, how it is beautiful here by the Duomo?" + +But the little fellow, in one of his sudden spasms of pain, was +striking the air impotently with small, clenched fists, frightening the +children who were gathering around him, joining in his cries. + +Her caress and passionate forgiveness were always ready for the paroxysm +in which she was violently pushed away and combated with struggling feet +and hands, before came the period of exhaustion in which he nestled +close, panting from weakness. Then she carried him into the church, +where, kneeling before the Mother of Sorrows, whose outstretched hands +seemed to touch her own in responsive sympathy and gift of calm, she +prayed and wept. + +"O Holy Mater Dolorosa! Why need the children suffer?--they are so +tender and so dear!" + +She knelt with loving, protecting arms folded close about the little +form now breathing softly and at rest, while an agony of questioning +filled her prayer to that beseeching Mater Dolorosa, who, wrapped in the +clinging folds of her long blue robe, still leaned forward from the +marble background of the apse, compassionate for the suffering ones of +earth, with imploring hands and ceaseless dropping tears, symbol of love +abounding--a symbol, too, of the dignity of those who suffer and are +pure in heart. + +This sanctuary was almost a home to the maiden, who came hither to +praise or question, for life was full of enigmas. Here, too, where she +came from duty and deep devotion, with an intricate sensitiveness of +conscience which often rendered her unintelligible to her confessor, she +lingered for delight. For the tracery on the arches--the color, the +wonderful delicacy of the sculpture--were of that time when art was +suggestive and faint, in tint and meaning, like a dream, and its message +was always spiritual. + +"It is not Thou, O Christ," she said, "who willest pain; but thy +children, who are not always loving!" + +For in her reverie she was comforted by that vision of a legendary time +when the Holy Mother had stood, beautiful, compassionate, and +commanding, in this field of flaming scarlet lilies; when a great +emperor had obeyed her bidding, and San Donato, the Duomo of Murano, had +arisen as a refuge for the sorrowing. + +In tender language of the people it was the mother church--"Matrice." + +She made a cushion of her cloak and laid the little one upon it, for he +still slept and she would not waken him; and then, though the quaint, +inlaid pavement was cold and bare, she knelt again, her rosary dropping +from her hands as she shyly whispered the burden of her strange new +confession to this ever-waiting, tender Mother--her confession more full +of pain than joy, yet already dear, and a thing not to be surrendered, +though it should bring her only pain. + +But there was no other friend to whom she told it. + +Soon, alas! the days grew over-full of pain, and Marina came more often +to the Mater Dolorosa, for the little Zuane had not grown stronger with +the coming of the spring; sleep came to him more easily, but it did not +bring refreshment, and the roses on his cheeks were only signs of +failing bloom. Passionately Marina's loving prayers were breathed +before the shrine of the Madonna San Donato, but the little one grew +weaker every day, till, after a long night of watching, a sweet-voiced +nun stood with Marina beside the cradle. + +"The burden of the baby's suffering life is changed to blessing," she +said. "Earth held no joy for him; God hath been merciful beyond thy +prayer, my daughter." + + + +VII + +Fra Paolo Sarpi--this friar so grave and great and unemotional--had been +since he had entered the convent in his precocious boyhood the central +figure, fascinating the interest of his community by the marvel of his +progress, so that those who had been his teachers stood reverently +aside, before he had attained to manhood, recognizing gifts beyond their +leading which had already won homage from the savants of Europe and +crowned the order of the Servi with unexampled honors. The element of +the unusual in the young Paolo's endowments had transformed this +Benjamin of the convent into a hero, and surrounded the calm flow of his +studious life with a halo of romance for these Servite friars; yet the +good Fra Giulio in those early days, having little learning wherewith to +estimate his progress and watching over him like a father, had been +grieved at his strange placidity. "He sorely needeth some touch of +emotion," he said yearningly; "methinks I love the lad as if he were +mine own son, and I feel something lacking in his life." + +"Fret not the lad needlessly with those fanciful notions of thine," Fra +Gianmaria had retorted with much asperity. "It is the most marvelous +piece of mental mechanism that I have ever dreamed. Already he hath +attained to larger knowledge than thou, with thy gray hairs, canst +comprehend." + +Fra Giulio had crossed himself devoutly, as if confessing to some +earthliness. "I measure not my simple mind with that of a genius, my +brother; for so God hath endowed our lad. Yet it may be that He meaneth +man to garner other blessings besides knowledge. We received him as a +child into our fold, and we are responsible for his development. But his +condition is not normal." + +"Genius is abnormal," Fra Gianmaria had responded shortly. + +"He hath no wish but for this ceaseless mental labor; all natural +youthful fancies, all joy in the things of beauty--for these he careth +naught." + +The elder friar's troubled utterance had stirred no tremor in his +companion's stern reply. "Thou and I, my brother, have attained by +penances and years of abnegation to that mood which hath been granted +the boy as a gift to fit him for the cloister life. It were small +kindness to implant a struggle of which he knows not the beginnings." + +And now, after all these years, through which the good Fra Giulio had +watched this son of his affections, whom he loved with a love "passing +the loves of earth" he pathetically told himself,--"as if God thus made +up to him for all the loves he had resigned,"--now that the name of Fra +Paolo was uttered with reverence while his own was unknown, he still +expressed his heart in many tender cares, providing the new cassock +before the scholar had noticed that the one he wore was seamed and +frayed, with such other gentle ministries as the convent rule permitted +toward one who never gave a worldly thought to the morrow. + +And still, after all these years, the fatherly friar often fondly +recurred to a time when he had first seemed to catch some dim, shadowed +glimpse of that inner self which Fra Paolo so rarely expressed. He had +been endeavoring to rouse the lad to enthusiasm. "Never have I known one +show so little pleasure in nature," he had said. They were standing on +the terrace of a convent among the hills beyond the plains of Venetia, +and the view was beautiful and new for the youth. + +"What is nature?" the lad had responded quietly. + +"Nature?" Fra Giulio echoed, startled at the question. "Why, nature is +God's creation. Dost thou not find this bit of nature beautiful?" + +"It is pleasant," the young friar had assented, without enthusiasm. "But +hath God created anything nobler than the mind and soul of man? The +earth is but for his habitation." + +"Nay," the old man had replied, in a tone of disappointment, "it is more +for me--much more for those whom we call poets." + +"Poets are dreamers," the lad had said, turning to his old friend with a +smile which seemed affectionate, yet was baffling, and went not deep +enough for love. "I would not dream; I must know." + +"A little dreaming would not hurt thee, my Paolo; for sometimes it +seemeth to those who care for thee that thou needest rest." + +"Rest is satisfaction," the lad answered quickly. "If there be a problem +to be solved, I would rather think than dream. I would rather come in +contact with the nobler activities--the mental and spiritual +forces--through the minds and works of men. I would find such attrition +more helpful than this phase of creation which thou callest 'nature,' +whose unfolding is more passive, depending on its inherent law." + +"This also is of God's gift, Paolo mio," Fra Giulio had said yearningly. +"Sometimes thou seemest to find too little beauty in thy life, and when +I brought thee hither I hoped it might move thy soul." + +"What can be more beautiful," the young philosopher had questioned +earnestly, "than the fitting of all to each, the search for hidden keys, +the linking of problems that seemed apart? These are the things that +move me. I must walk soberly, Fra Giulio, lest I miss some revelation, +so sacred and so mysterious is knowledge! And the love of it leaves me +no room for questions of outside beauty--this ordered beauty of hidden +law is so wonderful!" + +For one moment, as Fra Giulio had looked at him, he fancied that he had +seen deeper into his eyes than ever before; then the veil had seemed to +rise up from the boy's heart and close over its depths. If it had been a +moment of self-revelation the young friar was again protected by that +baffling calm as he glanced about him, turning affectionately to his old +friend. "It pleaseth me that thou art pleased," he said. + +Fra Giulio had answered with a sigh. It was hard for one who loved so +truly to get so near, yet be no nearer. "I could wish that thou also +shouldst take pleasure in this beauty, my Paolo, for thou art missing a +joy that God permits." + +Then the youthful scholar had turned his eyes upon him silently; and it +had seemed to the old man, in his great love, that a sudden glory had +transfigured the grave young face like a consecration. He still +remembered the tones of that clear voice saying serenely: "My Father, +when God speaketh a message in our souls, the peace and beauty which +come to us as we follow its call, are in the measure which He hath +decreed for us." + +Now that the convent rang with his triumphs, and Fra Paolo was often +absent from his cell on missions of honor, the old friar sometimes +wondered how many of those philosophic and scientific truths which had +made him famous as an original thinker had come to the lad in +glimmerings on that first night among the hills, when, turning to his +old friend and stretching out his hands with a solemn, imploring motion +which seemed to confess a desperate need of isolation, he had said only, +"Let me think!" + +Had his seeming nearness to the stars in the convent _loggia_ brought +him a premonition of the later message which had made him the "friend +and master" of Galileo? + +Did he develop his "Laws of Sound" in that voiceful silence; or was it +in that solitude he had first watched the gentle ebb and flow of his own +life-current and learned the secret which Harvey, later, uttered to the +world? + +Or had he been wholly absorbed in those philosophical questions which he +so brilliantly disputed at the learned Court of Mantua? + +But to be near him was only to wonder more at the mystery which +enveloped him; and Fra Giulio, now that the lad had reached his prime, +often went reverently back to that night under the stars, when the +gifted youth had first stood, distanced as it were from men, remote from +human habitations and alone with the One whom only he acknowledged as +Master--then, perhaps, he had first been conscious of his latent power; +surely then the manifold message of his life must have whispered within +him many premonitions! + +The time was long past when a question could arise as to the right of +the Augustinians to rich possessions in church and convent; and the +priceless treasures of art, flung sometimes in atonement upon their +quiet walls by a world-worn artist, or sent in propitiation for some +unconfessed sin by a prince of Church or State, were found side by side +with the gifts and legacies of the faithful, which, in sincere devotion, +they often impoverished their families to bestow. + +But none of these things had charms for Fra Paolo. Not even the beauty +of the cloisters, where the low, gray arches rested on slender shafts of +marble, wrought and twisted into as many devices, drew his thoughts from +the ceaseless contemplation of his problems; not even the petted +rose-tree, lovingly trained by the gentle Fra Francesco and lifting its +pink glory to the crest of the colonnade, won his eyes to wander from +the absorbing treasures of the great library where he passed his days. +Here many a brother had taught himself patience over the fine, endless +text of an ancient gospel, or wrought into the exquisite illumination of +some missal which stood to him in the place of his daily living those +yearning, torturing, hungering affections which had so enriched a gentle +home--as a brother, less disciplined, had carved his unruly tempers into +the grotesque figures of the reading desks. But for Fra Paolo the great +library of the convent held no unsatisfied yearnings--only an infinite +content and power to achieve. + +From the days when those curious in philosophical research had flocked +from the neighboring universities to see this professor of theology who +could not be conquered in argument, and had been confronted by a +smooth-faced lad of twenty, until now, he was still the glory of the +Servi; and well might the friars watch in triumph, as one by one he +gathered laurels for their order. A little human flush of triumph or of +self-conceit would have added charm to his argument, but these notes +were lacking; clearly, logically, unanswerably, he met each question, +convincing without emotion and hastening from the gay court, of which +these intellectual tourneys were the delight, to the welcome seclusion +of the convent. If he seemed to have missed a real childhood,--its +follies, its innocent pleasures, its winsome affections,--so later, the +temptations that would naturally beset a career so extraordinary fell +harmlessly away from him, for a passion for knowledge burned within him, +consuming all ignoble motives and keeping this young scholar, in friar's +robes, in marvelous singleness of heart, in the midst of a flattering +and luxurious court. + +Always he had been a law to himself, both morally and intellectually; +never before did it seem that genius had been cast in a mold so orderly +and calm. In that state of intense concentration which was his habitual +mood, he accomplished without apparent effort the things for which +others paid by a life-time of struggle; and morally he had no visible +combats, not seeming to be even reached by the things which tempted +other men. His wants were fewer than the simplest rule of his convent +allowed, and it seemed less that he had triumphed over the usual earthly +temptations than that he had been created abnormally free from them that +his whole strength might spend itself in the solving of problems. In a +certain sense he stood mysteriously alone, though his friends were many +and devoted and among the wise and venerated of the earth; but there was +always a door closed to them beyond the affection which he returned +them. "Always," he said once, "we veil our faces": yet none doubted his +sincerity. + +From time to time, as the years sped, some echo of the jealousy which +his phenomenal success and the boldness of his bearing naturally evoked, +penetrated to the cloisters of the Servi; and more than once there had +been a denunciation to the Inquisition to discuss; some one in authority +had found fault with his theological opinions and denounced him for his +reading of a passage in Genesis, upon which he based his argument--the +affair was grave indeed. + +"Ah, the pity of it--the pity of it!" Fra Giulio had exclaimed. "They +should show mercy--he is still so young a man!" + +"Ay, young enough to need much discipline," bravely muttered a friar +who dared to disbelieve in their prodigy. + +"Silence!" commanded Father Gianmaria, who was now the Superior, in a +stentorian tone; for within these walls there was no appeal from his +judgment or his temper. "The man who speaks only what he _knows_ is old +in wisdom;" and turning he addressed the company in great dignity: "It +doth appear that Rome approveth Fra Paolo's rendering and hath gravely +censured the Inquisitor who hath cited him, commanding him to meddle +only with that of which he hath some understanding." + +"There are then tale-bearers whose jealousy would ruin our Paolo!" Fra +Giulio had exclaimed in anxiety. + +"It was none other than Fra Paolo himself who carried the tale," the +Superior retorted in scorn of the old man's weak affection. "Fra Paolo +refused to appear before the Inquisitor who had cited him, who, he +alleged, knew not Hebrew nor Greek, and had therefore no knowledge upon +which to base his judgment; and on this ground Fra Paolo appealed to +Rome." + +"It were a pity," said a gentle-faced young friar, who had been +listening silently, but with an expression of deep and affectionate +interest, "that one of so rare learning should remain long in a position +of danger to orthodoxy. Already the Court of Mantua hath been censured +by the Holy Father for heretical opinions." + +"Nay; but for harboring heretics, hunted and driven," Fra Giulio +corrected warmly. "There be deeds of mercy that will be forgiven us." + +A look of perplexity crossed the candid, boyish face of Fra Francesco. + +"But the law of obedience is more simple," he said timidly; "and our +Holy Father--" + +"Thou, not yet out of thy novitiate, doest well, verily, to prate of +obedience and doctrines," interrupted Father Gianmaria, less severely +than he was wont to treat such breaches of etiquette; for Fra Francesco +had deep, spiritual, loving eyes, in which an unuttered wonder sometimes +seemed to chide, for all his gentleness; and his ways were winsome. + +So, through the years, whether he were present or absent, the life of +the convent had centered about Fra Paolo, who now, after many missions +of importance, had once more returned to his old cell in the Servi, with +another added for his books and labors, since often it suited him to be +alone. The breath of jealousy still clouded the serenity of his sky, and +he was not without some unfulfilled longings; but no scandal had ever +touched him. He was great enough now to be smitten through his friends, +and the good Fra Giulio had been the victim taken in his stead; upon Fra +Paolo's last homecoming to the convent the loving, fatherly greeting had +failed him. + +"Ask the nuns, to whom he is father confessor; they will have no other, +and refuse admittance to one of our order who hath been sent to take +this duty upon him. And our good Fra Giulio hath been removed in +humiliation, and languisheth in Bologna, by order of the Patriarch who +hath been won by the tale of one who loveth thee not." + +"There is no more to it than that?" Fra Paolo questioned. + +"Nay, no more, my brother," Fra Francesco answered with conviction. + +"The name then?" said Fra Paolo; and when it had been told him he +recognized the man as one in whom trust was misplaced, and one who +intrigued for power. + +"The charge?" he asked again. And when he had patiently learned the +details of which Fra Giulio's long and faithful service gave little +hint, he gathered evidence wherewith to refute them, and journeyed +swiftly back to Rome, returning, triumphant, to reinstate the good old +friar with honor in the home and offices he loved--the manner of his +return making amends to Fra Giulio for the pain he had suffered, so +sweet it seemed to him to owe to this son of his affections all the +gladness of his later days. + + + +VIII + +While the little Zuane was failing, Marcantonio, seeing Marina but +seldom, solaced himself in preparing a royal gift to offer to his mother +on the occasion of his own birthday fete. The idea had come to him that +night after the Veronese had touched his own faulty sketch into such +rounded life; besides, he had thought but one beautiful thought since he +had, as it were, been unconsciously brought to confession by that scene +in the studio. And Paolo Cagliari had been most kind in accepting his +commission with an enthusiasm which promised wonderful results. Great as +was his fame in those days,--and the Veronese never lived beyond his +fame,--still, as in his earlier years, he was eager for any new method +of proving the genius in which his own faith was as unbounded as his +capacity to achieve was vigorous and tireless. And the young noble's +unique fancy for a superb goblet of crystal _da Beroviero_, with a +miniature of Marina of Murano enlaced in exquisite gold borders and set +round with costly pearls--a trifle fit to offer to a princess--not only +pleased the artist's well-known taste for luxury, but seemed to him an +object worthy of his skill. In the kindness of his heart he would make +the lovely face so winning that the great lady should yield to the +prayer that had prompted the gift. + +Among all the elaborate gift-pieces that had come from the workshops of +Murano, but one had as yet approached this, and it had been sent with +the homage of the Senate, by a retiring ambassador of "His Most +Christian Majesty," to the Queen of France, and it bore, from Titian's +hand, the portrait of her royal husband. This goblet, then, must surpass +that one in magnificence, for it was the Veronese's opportunity; and in +his soul, genial as it was, some sense of rivalry, born of Titian's +assumption of the highest place in Venetian art, would last forever, in +spite of the great master's manifest affection. The suggestion of the +pearls--an added touch--was indeed due to Paolo Cagliari's over-weening +sumptuousness, and the eager young lover was scarcely more anxious for +the completion of this gem, upon which his hope depended, than was the +great artist who already had all Venice at his feet. + +"I shall need no sitting," the Veronese had said, when they were +planning for the work. "My picture is nearly completed, and it will +suffice. Nay, ask her not, my Marco; she is a devote--she will not +understand." + +Marcantonio flushed like a boy. He knew it would be difficult to obtain +her consent, and for that very reason he must win it, for he was a true +knight. + +"How shall I win my lady's favor," he cried hotly, "if I peril it by +lack of chivalry! There is no prouder maiden among the donne nobile on +the Canal Grande." + +"_Altro! Altro_!" said the master quietly. "She also shall look down +from the balconies in the palazzo Giustiniani." + +But when the young patrician told her glowingly of his wish to give his +mother, on his great day, the most beautiful gift in all the world, it +was hard to make her yield. + +"It is not fitting," she answered quite simply. + +"Yes, yes, Marina--since I love thee!" + +"Ah, no; it is only sad." Her eyes filled with tears and she moved away, +so that he could not touch her hand. + +"Trust me, Marina! The Veronese knows the world, and he says it is well. +It is this that shall win the consent of my mother, and she will conquer +my father. And in the Gran' Consiglio----" + +He turned his eyes suddenly away from Marina lest she should trace the +faintest flicker of a doubt within them, as the vision rose before him +of that imperious body, so relentless in its decrees, so tenacious in +its traditions, so positive in its autocracy; but the threatened +invincibility of this force only nerved him to a resistance as +invincible, and he turned back to her with a flashing face, almost +before she had noticed the interruption. + +"There also--in the Consiglio--it shall be arranged, and all will be +well." + +And where two were ready for the end that should be gained the pleading +was not over-long, though the thought was very strange for this simple +maiden of Murano; so the precious painting was finished and in the hands +of the decorators. And meanwhile, during those days when Marina had been +watching the flickering of the little Zuane's pale flame of life and +there had been no spare moments for Marcantonio, he had tried to absorb +himself, as far as possible, in the preparation of this gift--since she +would not let him go to her--and he had come to regard it as the symbol +of success; for failure was never for an instant contemplated in his +vision of the future. There were pearls to be selected, one by one, in +visits innumerable to the Fondaco dei Turchi, where the finest of such +treasures were not secured at a first asking, and in these his mother +was a connoisseur; but there were many more anxious visits to Murano, to +be assured that no step in the fashioning of his gift was endangering +its perfection. + +But even for the most impatient, time may not tarry indefinitely, and +the lagging moments had at last brought round that festa of San Marco +which meant so much for Venice, with its splendid pageants for the +Church, its festivities for the people, its fluttering of doves in the +Piazza, and of timid, eager maiden hearts, waiting in a sort of shy +assurance for that earliest Venetian love-token, the _boccolo_--the +rosebud which breathed the secret of many a young Venetian lover to his +_inamorata_ under those April skies, on the festa of this patron saint +of Venice. + +And the next morning the stately lady of the Giustiniani stood quite +alone on the balcony of the great palace at the bend of the Canal +Grande, leaning upon her gold-embroidered cushions to watch the gondola +that was just landing at the step of the Piazzetta; the restless +movements of her tapering jeweled fingers were the only sign of an +emotion she rarely betrayed, though doubtless, under the faultless +dignity of her bearing, there were often currents of feeling and +thwartings hard to be endured. + +She was thinking of her boy with a great and sudden tenderness, now that +the moment had come in which she would be less to him and the world of +men must be more, as from the distance she saw the gondola touch the +landing and watched him until he passed out of sight, after pausing with +his father for a moment before the great columns of San Marco and San +Teodoro, looking up perhaps with a keener sense of the dread scenes they +had witnessed than had ever before possessed him, though the sunshine +streamed brilliantly over the water and life seemed full of promise for +this only son of the Ca' Giustiniani, on his way to take the oath of +"Silence and Allegiance to the Republic," as a "_Nobile di Gran' +Consiglio_." + +Marcantonio had entered the gondola gaily, with a full, pleasurable +sense of the beauty of life, and well content with that portion which +had fallen to his lot; for he was easily affected, and the air of the +palace was full of the excitement of his fete. The only forebodings that +shadowed his sunshine were connected with Marina and the gift which he +should offer to his mother upon his return from the Ducal Palace. But +the day was one to banish every hint of failure, making him more +conscious of his power than he had ever been before, and he felt himself +floating toward attainment--whatever the difficulties might be. But with +his first step upon the Piazzetta he forgot the glory of the sunshine +flashing over the blue waters, and a sudden sense of fate possessed him, +as his father made an almost imperceptible pause in his grave progress +toward the Ducal Palace, and with the slightest possible movement of +his hand seemed to direct his son's attention to the great granite +columns which bore the emblems of the patron saints of Venice. + +A hundred times, in crossing the Piazzetta, Marcantonio had been vaguely +aware of them as appropriate emblems of barbaric force and splendor and +allegoric Christian allegiance; but suddenly they stood to him for +historic records--the echoes of dread deeds avenged there rolled forth +from the space between the columns, and the jeweled eyes of the terrible +winged Lion flashed defiance upon any who questioned, in the remotest +way, the will or the act of the Republic. He glanced toward the elder +man, some deprecatory comment rising to his lips as he strove to +dissipate the symbolic mood which was surely possessing him, for he felt +himself uncomfortably conscious of the meaning wrought into the very +stones about him, and to-day this over-mastering assertion of +Venice--always Venice dominant--was oppressive. + +But his father, apparently unaware of Marcantonio's turbulent +sensations, wore his usual reserved and dignified mien; even the motion +he had seemed to make before the columns in the Piazzetta was probably +only due to Marcantonio's imagination, and the young fellow's light +rejoinder passed unuttered, intensifying his discomfort. He realized +that he was not searching for this symbolism with a poet's appreciation, +nor as an archaeologist delighting in curios, but as a son of the +Republic--to gather her history and her purpose, to make himself one +with her, to put himself under her yoke--and in his heart he rebelled. + +Yet it was he, this time, who paused, undeniably, before the great +window on the Piazzetta. The sun streamed in broad flashes of light over +the soft rose-tinted walls of the palazzo and over the splendid balcony +from which the Doge was wont to view the processions and fetes of the +Republic; the richly sculptured decorations detached themselves at once +in allegory, the figures all leading up to Venice enthroned, holding out +to the world her proud motto, "Fortis, justa, trono furias, mare sub +pede pono." (Strong, just, I put the furies beneath my throne and the +sea beneath my foot.) He walked on under a spell, feeling that the coils +were tightening around him; he was a noble, but not free; yet he would +not have surrendered his opportunities for the freer life of the people +who had no part in the Consiglio. + +He quickened his pace that the moment of irresolution might be the +sooner over. + +"Wait!" his father commanded, as Marcantonio would have entered the +palace gate; "haste ill befits thy grave and dignified purpose. Before +thou enterest the Consiglio I would have thee reverently mark how, at +the palace gate, Justice sits enthroned on high, between the Lions of +St. Mark, while Courage, Prudence, Hope, and Charity wait upon her." + +"And below," answered Marcantonio, because he could think of nothing +else to say, and because he knew every angle and carving of the palace +from the aesthetic point of view better than his father did; "below is +the Doge Foscari, kneeling very reverently to our noble Lion." + +His father slowly scanned him with his inscrutable gaze, but answered +nothing, and they passed under the magnificent Porta della Carta quite +silently. Under the deep shadow of the gateway the business of the Ducal +Palace was already progressing. Secretaries at their desks were +preparing papers for discussion, while their assistants came and went +with messages from the various departments of the great body of workers +within the palace; they were too absorbed to look up as this Chief of +the Ten passed them, so oblivious were they of anything but their duty +that the stir about them left them serene and undisturbed, not even +penetrating the realm of their consciousness. + +"There is no more learned nor devoted body of scribes in the world," +said Giustinian, with pride; "they have not a thought beyond their +papers, and most wonderfully do they sift and prepare them for the +Council, working often far into the night." + +"It is machinery, not life!" Marcantonio exclaimed, hastening beyond the +portal. + +The great courtyard, under the wonderful blue of the sky, was aglow with +color; the palace facades, broken into irregular carvings, seemed to +hold the sunshine in their creamy surfaces; the superb wells of green +bronze, magnificently wrought and dimmed as yet by little +weather-staining, offered a treasury of luminous points. Here, in the +early morning, the women of the neighborhood gathered with their +water-jars, but now the court was filled with those who had business in +the Ducal Palace--red-robed senators and members of the Consiglio +talking in knots; a councillor in his violet gown, a group of +merchant-princes in black robes, enriched with costly furs and relieved +by massive gold chains, absorbed in discussion of some practical details +for the better ordering of the _Fondachi_, those storehouses and marts +for foreign trade peculiar to Venice; some grave attorney, more soberly +arrayed, making haste toward the gloom of the secretary's corner; a +sprinkling of friars on ecclesiastical business, of gondoliers in the +varied liveries of the senators waiting their masters' call; here and +there a figure less in keeping with the magnificence around him, too +full of his trouble to be abashed, going to ask for justice at the +Doge's feet--the heart of Venice was pulsing in the court, and under the +arches came the gleam and shimmer of the sea. Up and down the splendid +stairway that opened immediately from the Porta della Carta the +Venetians came and went--nobles old and young; the people, bringing +wrongs to be adjusted, or favors to be granted, or some secret message +for the terrible _Bocca di Leone_; the people, rich and poor, in +continuous tread upon this Giant Stairway, guarded by the gods of war +and of the sea; the winged Lion enthroned above, just over the landing +where the elected noble dons the rank of _Serenissimo_--this +kaleidoscopic epitome of the life of the Republic was bewildering. + +"How was it possible that all these people could take part in it without +emotion?" the young patrician asked himself, forgetting that in this +familiar scene the emotion only was new for him. + +At the head of the landing on the Giant Stairway the Senator arrested +his son with a gesture of command. "Welcome," he said, "to the +Consiglio, Marcantonio Giustiniani. Thou wilt not forget that thou +comest of a house which has held honors in Church and State. May this +day be memorable for Venice and for thee!" + +The influences of their surroundings were strong upon them both; but the +young fellow, in his bounding life, craved something more than this +formal induction into the official life of his sumptuous state--he +longed to feel the human throb beneath it, that the sense of its weight +might be lifted; but he could not find his voice until they had passed +through the loggia and reached the chambers of the _Avvogadori_, where +sat the keepers of the Golden Book. + +He stretched out his hand wistfully and touched the elder man. + +"Father!" he cried, in a voice not well controlled. And again, more +steadily, though no answer came, "Father, I will not forget!" + +The finding of his name among the birth records of the nobles of Venice, +the registration witnessed by the three solemn Avvogadori,--those +officers of the law whose rulings in their department were +inexorable,--the act of confirmation before the Imperial Senate, +whither, in grave procession, they immediately fared, preceded by the +sacred "Libro d'Oro," upon which the oath of allegiance was sworn with +bended knee--the ceremony was soon over, and Marcantonio stood enrolled +among the ruling body of the great Republic. + +As they returned through the splendid halls of the palace, Giustinian +paused frequently to exchange a greeting with some old senator who came +forward to welcome the young noble to the grave circle of rulers, and +they were followed with glances of interest as they passed through the +Piazza. For it was whispered in the _Broglio_ that there were +reasons--valid and patriotic, as were all the arguments of Venice--for +the fact that no member of that ancient and loyal house had worn the +highest honor of the state. "_The Ca' Giustiniani was too old, too +wealthy, too influential--too much a part of Venice itself_." + +"Like the Orseoli!" said Morosini Morosini, who was a friend of the +Giustiniani, and who, like many another strong-brained Venetian, knew +the taste of unsatisfied longings, yet kept a brave heart for the +records of the Republic. And as he spoke there came to some of them who +knew their annals well a stinging memory of the tale--which was no +legend--of that pathetic group in their island sanctuary--the brothers +who were left, after the death of Otto, the exiled Doge, and of Orso, +the noble bishop-prince, all of the house of Orseoli, who, with their +abbess-sister Felicia, were wounded to the heart because for the crime +of too great love and service the jealous and unrequiting Senate had +banished them forever from the Venice so loyally served--had decreed the +extinction of a family to whom, as Doge and Patriarch, the Republic owed +the wisest and most self-sacrificing of her rulers! + +"Nay," said another speaker quickly, a friend to Morosini the +historian--for the Broglio had been known to have a voice as well as +ears, and the subject was a dangerous one, not honorable to +Venice--"Nay, there are no Orseoli. But it is for honor to the +Giustiniani that none hath been chosen for the Serenissimo. He is +strong, grave, and very silent; but most wise in council, most prudent +in resource. He is needed among the _Savii_." + +"And the coronation oath hath grown over straight since the days of the +Michieli," responded Morosini. "The Giustinian is not a man for our +_promissione_ which, verily, fitteth ill with the dignity of our +Prince--a man of spirit may well find it hard to assume the beretta +under such restrictions!" + + + +IX + +With the nonchalance that concealed a skill all Venetian the gondoliers +of the Giustiniani guided them gracefully through the floating craft +moored to the stakes which rose in sheafs before their palace, +announcing the colors of their noble house. Barges bearing flowers and +decorations for the fete, fruits and game, were unloading on the broad +marble steps, and through the wrought open-work of the splendid gates a +scene of activity was disclosed in the nearer court which served as an +office for the various departments of the household; while the +house-master had come down the steps from his cozy lodge beside the +entrance, and stood dispensing orders to a group of eager domestics. + +In the deep shadow of the entrance-court the open one, through which the +light streamed radiantly, seemed far distant, and when the great bell +sent clanging echoes from court to court, gondoliers in undress +liveries, who were lazily lounging and chatting, sprang to a show of +activity over all those finishing touches of polish and nicety which had +been achieved long before; and the lithe figures coming and going, +throwing themselves into graceful attitudes over their semblance of +labor, exchanging joyous sallies in anticipation of the evening's +revelry, awoke a contagious merriment. Marcantonio rallied from the +heaviness of the morning and felt young again, as he yielded to their +influence and wandered among them, tossing compliments and repartees +with Venetian freedom. + +In the midst of this harmless trifling the voice of Giustinian +Giustiniani sounded sternly. + +"Marcantonio, these ancient arms have been burnished in honor of this +day; I have a moment to remind thee of their history--if thou hast +forgotten." + +He was calling from across the open court, where the sunshine seemed +suddenly less, and Marcantonio hastened to respond. + +The seneschal called for lights, for the workmanship of these heirlooms +was too fine to be appreciated in the gloom which pervaded the far inner +court; two or three iron lanterns were brought and hung up, and +link-boys flashed flaring torches upon the pieces on the wall near which +their master stood. + +"Surely thou dost recall this breastplate of the General Taddeo +Giustiniani, who forced the Austrians to surrender Trieste, when Venice +laid siege to the city in 1369? It was wrought in the East, no doubt, +and the inlaying is of gold and precious; but not for this do we keep it +chained. It is a priceless jewel in the history of our house, for +Trieste meant much for Venice." + +He raised the heavy chain that fastened it, and the links fell, +clanging, against the stones of the wall; for this hall, which served as +an armory, was like a prison in its construction,--as strong and as +forbidding,--and here, among the ancestral relics, were kept the arms +which every nobleman, by Venetian law, was required to hold in readiness +to equip his household against uprisings of the populace, who were, by +this same law, debarred these means of self-defense. + +At a sign from the Senator a young squire came forward, proudly bearing +a sword with a jeweled hilt, in an intricately wrought scabbard. +Giustinian drew it from its sheath, displaying a blade exquisitely +damascened with acanthus foliage, as he turned to his son. + +"This is especially thine own," he said, "in honor of this day--thy +maiden sword. So far as the handiwork of Cellini may make it worthy of a +son of our house, it hath been worthily chosen for thee. Yet, unless +thou leavest it to those who come after thee, enriched by the name of a +Giustinian who hath wrought of his best for Venice, it will be all +unworthy of a place among these trophies." + +The torch-bearers flashed their lights over it, and the squires of the +household pressed forward to admire it, but Giustinian cut short the +enthusiastic chorus of the young men-at-arms and Marcantonio's eager +words of appreciation, crossing the sombre hall with stately steps; for +to his mind this important day held many ceremonies yet unfulfilled, and +the pomp with which he chose to surround them was not a circumstance to +be dilated on. + +"This," he said, as he touched a quaint dagger, "belonged to thine +ancestor, Marco Giustiniani, Ambassador to the Scaglieri; there were +other envoys of our name in other Italian provinces, in England and the +Papal Court, for we have been great in statescraft as well as in war. +But I wrong thee in _seeming_ to think thou knowest not the history of +thine house. Perhaps, in these latter days, a man may best distinguish +himself in statesmanship, for the mind is a weapon not to be +slighted--when it is builded with strength, sharpened with careful use, +and so wielded"--his gaze fell full upon Marcantonio for a weighty +moment--"so wielded that it hath no pliancy save at the will of its +owner. For sometimes it chanceth"--again he paused for a moment--"that a +mind hath more masters than one, and Venice brooks no rival." + +His father had been pointing out one heirloom after another while he +spoke, and the pauses which Marcantonio found irritating, because they +seemed to indicate hidden meanings to be unraveled, might proceed only +from his effort to carry several trains of thought at once; but it was a +habit of the elder Giustinian which held not a less share in the +education of his son because it was distasteful to him. + +To-day the young patrician almost resented this persistent marshaling of +the shades of his ancestors, though at heart he was proud of them, and +the prestige and luxury of his surroundings suited him well; but he +chafed under his father's scrutiny, which, it seemed to him, unveiled +the differences of their temperaments to an almost indecorous degree. +The thought of Marina was tingling in his pulses, but he would not yield +it up until the propitious moment came; and the strong consciousness of +this sweet new queenship made the constant assertion of the sovereignty +of Venice not easy to endure. But the remembrance of his vow of +allegiance, just rendered before the Senate, returned to him rather as +the public investiture of his rights as a man than as a claim of +self-surrender; and he vowed to himself to use that right, in all +possible conflict between himself and the Republic, in questions +personal and dear; for the pleasant freedom of his life thus far had +left him less in awe of the senatorial majesty than Giustinian +Giustiniani would have deemed possible. But how could he hope to win his +father's consent to any unpatrician alliance! + +He passed the elder Giustinian hastily and paused beyond the next group +of armor--battered breastplates, casques, and shields of the twelfth +century--but his thoughts were elsewhere. + +"These," said the Senator, inexorably recalling him, "were of the famous +siege of Lepanto, where, but for the favor of the Holy Father, our house +had been extinct." + +The young fellow's soul stirred within him, for he knew the story well. +How was it possible for a Giustinian to pause before this great stand of +antique trophies of prowess and not call to mind visions of heroism and +suffering in which the Giustiniani of those days--_every one who +belonged to Venice_--had yielded up his life in this great struggle with +the Turks! + +Yes, every one who belonged to Venice. For the young Nicolo, the last +survivor of their ancient name, was already set apart from the world by +his priestly vows, amid the quiet groves of the island of San Nicolo. It +was a pretty romance--all those noble councillors, trembling from fear +of the extinction of this most ancient and princely house, framing +humble petitions to the Holy Father; the youthful monk, leaving the +tranquil solitude of his island sanctuary, unfrocked with honor by a +Pope's decree, to don the crimson robe of senator and wed the daughter +of the Doge! And later, when sons and daughters many had risen up to +call them blessed, the old haunting charm of the convent reasserting +itself, the return of the Giustinian--this solitary link between the +long lines of his noble house, before and after--to his lonely cell on +San Nicolo; the retirement of the Lady Anna from the sweet motherhood of +her home to reign as Lady Abbess in the convent of Sant' Elena; the +nimbus of sainthood for the pair when their quiet days were closed--it +was a pretty story, leading easily to thoughts of Marina. + +"To-morrow," said Giustinian Giustiniani, as if in answer to his +thoughts, "at dawn of day, there will be Mass in the capello Giustiniani +on Sant' Elena; and later we must visit the shrines of San Nicolo and +San Lorenzo. For in the Church also we have had our part. A Giustinian +was first Patriarch of Venice; a saint was father to our else broken +line--we have had our share in Church and State, and it behooves a +member of the Consiglio to remember the honors of his house." + +He stood for a moment looking up at the shield on which were blazoned +the arms of the Giustiniani, as if he missed something that should have +been there; then, slowly turning back to the central court, now flooded +with sunshine, he began the ascent of the grand stairway which led to +the banqueting hall. The gleaming marble panels bore a fretwork of +sculptured foliage with symbols entwined--the mitre, the cross, the +sword--in richest Renaissance; but in all the decorations of this lordly +palace, of the most ancient of the Venetians, not once did the mighty +Lion of St. Mark appear. + +When they had reached the landing opening into the banquet hall the +Senator, turning in the direction of his own apartments, released his +son with a motion of his hand toward the great, splendid chamber from +which issued ripples of girlish laughter; and Marcantonio stood for a +few moments under the arches which opened into it, looking on +unobserved, for here it seemed that the fete was already reigning. + +The noble maidens who attended the Lady Laura, fresh and charming, were +knotting loops of ribbon in pendant garlands or grouping flowers in +great vases between the columns which crossed the chamber from end to +end--darting up the stairway to the gallery to alter a festoon in +garland or brocade. Sallies of laughter, snatches of song, and pelting +of flowers, like a May-day frolic, made the work long in the doing, but +full of grace; and now and again, as if any purpose were wearying for +such light-hearted maidens, they dropped their garlands and glided over +the polished floor, twining and untwining their arms--a reflex in active +life, and not less radiant, of the nymphs of Bassano on the painted +ceiling, between those wonderful, gilded arabesques of Sansovino. + +There was a little shriek of discomfiture as they suddenly perceived the +young lord of the day, but the Contessa Beata Tagliapietra came saucily +toward him as he was escaping. + +"The Lady Laura hath charged me to ask the Signor Marcantonio whether +the garlands be disposed according to his liking." + +She swept him a mocking reverence, so full of grace and coquetry that +the maidens all flocked back from their hiding-places to see how the +young signor would receive it. + +"I know not which pleaseth me best," he answered lightly; "the grace of +the garlands, or the grace of the dance, or the grace of the _damigelle_ +who have so wrought for the beauty of this fete. Nay, I may not enter, +for the Lady Laura will await my coming." + +"Is this day then so full of gravity that one may not steal a moment to +dance at one's own fete, Signer Consigliere?" she retorted, mockingly. + +But the Lady Laura herself was coming toward them, with slow, stately +steps, hiding her impatience--for the morning had seemed long. + +At sight of her Marcantonio bent his knee with the knightly homage still +in vogue, and gave his hand to conduct her to her boudoir. + +"Signer Consigliere,"--she began, with a stately congratulation, when +they were quite alone in her own boudoir; she had been planning, during +the long morning, a speech that should be of a dignity to suit so great +an occasion, but the words died away upon her lips; for once she forgot +Venice and the Ca' Giustiniani, and the mother was uppermost. She folded +her arms about him closely, and rested her head upon his shoulder in +delicious abandon. + +"Marco, my boy!" she murmured. + +His heart overflowed to her in unaccustomed endearments, so rarely did +she express any emotion, and to-day the rebound from the morning's +repression filled him with hope and gladness. All fear of winning her +aid was lifted. "_Madre mia_!" he cried, his face radiant with +happiness. + +"This day is not as other days," she said, half in apology for her +weakness, as she recovered herself. + +"I have a gift for thee, madre mia; let me bring it." + +"I need no gift, Marco; for now hast thou everything before thee--every +honor that Venice may offer to a Venetian of the Venetians! Forget it +not, my Marco." + +But he had already flown from her, with impatient, lover's footsteps. +Now that the moment had come he could not wait. + +"Mother!" he cried, with shining eyes, as he placed the costly case upon +a table and drew her gently toward it. + +She stood in mute astonishment before the faultless gift, this perfect +bit of Beroviero crystal,--opalesque and lucent, reflecting hidden +rainbow tints, enhanced by the golden traceries delicate and +artistic--the beautiful young face framed in those sea-gems dear to the +Venetian heart, each pearl a study of changing light. + +"There is none like it in Venice!" she exclaimed; "nor hath there ever +been. Thou hast treated me like a queen, my Marco!" + +"I wished it so," he answered impatiently, for he could not wait. "And +the face----" + +"Never hath there been a more exquisite! It is the Titian's work?" + +"Nay, of the Veronese; for the goblet is of mine own designing. And the +master, for my sake, hath spent himself upon the face." + +"He will be here to-night, and we will thank him," she answered +graciously. "And for thee--thou hast excelled thyself." + +But Marcantonio answered nothing to her praise; his eyes were fixed upon +the miniature of the Veronese. + +"If Paolo Cagliari findeth none so beautiful among the noble damigelle +who will grace thy fete to-night as this face which he hath painted, we +will forgive him," she said playfully. "But thee, Marco, we will not +forgive. The time hath come when thou shouldst choose; thy father and I +have spoken of this." + +She came close to him and folded his hand caressingly. "The Contessa +Beata Tagliapietra hath a wonderful charm; and there is the Lady +Agnesina Contarini--a face for a Titian!" + +"Mother! I pray thee----" Marcantonio interrupted. + +"Nay, Marco--to-day it is fitting; for thy wedding should follow soon +upon this fete. Thou art no longer a boy, and Venice looks to us to help +thee choose a fitting bride; for there is none other of this generation +of thy name, and thou,--I will not hide it from thee since thou needest +heartening,--thou wilt be a fortunate wooer with these maidens, or--or +elsewhere. But my little Beata is charming-----" + +"Mother," said Marcantonio, flushing like a boy, yet drawing himself up +proudly, "I have already crowned her who shall be my bride with pearls; +and for her face--thou hast named it exquisite." Then, unbending, he +threw his arms around her and kissed her on the forehead. + +The Lady Laura stood as if petrified. + +"I know her not," she said, when she could speak. "Name her to me." Her +voice was hard and strained. + +"Do not speak so, madre mia! Love her--she is so charming! And she will +not come to me unless thou love her too." + +"How, then--if she is thy bride?" The words seemed to choke her. + +"Nay, but my _chosen_ bride--holding my vows with my heart; yet, unless +thou plead with me for my happiness she will not wed me--she is so +proud." + +"Name her," the Lady Laura repeated, unbending slightly. + +"Marina Magagnati." + +She stood listening, as if more were to follow, then she shook her head. +"I know not the name, unless--but it is not possible! She is not of +Venice, then?" + +"A Venetian of the Venetians, my mother, with the love of Venice in her +soul--but not----" + +"Marcantonio, explain thine enigma! How should there be a name of all +our nobles unknown to me?" + +"There are nobles of the 'Libro d'Oro,' my mother, and--nobles of the +people, and she is of these." + +"How canst thou name a mesalliance to me--Marcantonio Giustiniani, +Nobile di Consiglio--on this day, when thou hast given thy vows to +Venice! Thou dost forget the traditions of thine house." + +"Nay, mother; Venice and the Ca' Giustiniani I am not likely to forget," +he answered, with sudden bitterness. "One thing--quite other--am I much +more likely to forget; but for this have I sworn, that which my heart +teaches me for noble will I do, and she whom I love will I wed--or none +other." + +"Marco!" the word seemed a desperate appeal. + +"That do I swear upon this sword which my father hath given me to prove +my knighthood--'to enrich,' he hath said, 'the records of our house.' +And thou wilt help me, my mother, for I love thee!" His voice had grown +tender and pleading again. + +"I also love thee, Marco," she answered more gently, for none could +resist his voice when this mood was upon him; "but I may not help thee +to undo thyself and forget the honor of thine house." + +"Mother," said Marcantonio, sternly, "charge me with no unknightly deed! +To love Marina is to love a woman nobler than any of thy maidens; thou +knowest her not. I would bring her to thee to win thee, but she will not +come. It is thou, she saith, who must send her sign of favor." + +"I fear me it must be long in going, my Marco; yet I love thee well. How +should I send my favor to a daughter of the people!" + +"Those are the words of Marina Magagnati." + +"She is wise then; she will help thee to forget." + +"The vow of a Giustinian is never broken; that hast thou taught me, my +mother, from the legends of our house. This sword, upon which I have +sworn it, I lay at thy feet. Bid me raise it in token of thy favor and +of thine aid in this one thing which I ask of thee." + +They stood looking into each other's faces, her pride melting under the +glow of the beautiful new strength in the face of the son whom she had +thought so yielding; yet it was she who had striven to teach him +knightliness. + +She hesitated,--"If I cannot aid thee, what wilt thou do?" + +"I must wait and suffer," he said; "for Marina will not yield." + +"It is new for a maiden of the people to know such pride," she answered, +scornfully. + +"It is because none are like her, and her soul is beautiful as her face! +My mother, there are none prouder in all this palace; the little +Contessa Beata is a _contadina_ beside her! Yet, it is not pride, I +think, but love and care for my happiness," he added, grown suddenly +bold. "She will not come to bring me sorrow; and she hath said that my +duty being to Venice, she can wed me only with the consent of our house. +And Messer Magagnati----" + +"There is a father, then, who would treat with thee?" + +"Mother--use not that tone; thou dost not understand! Ask the Veronese. +Messer Magagnati knows not of this; for so tenderly doth his daughter +care for him that, to save him pain of knowing that she suffers for lack +of thy welcome, she hath not told him. Shall the Veronese plead with +thee better than thine own son? For he knoweth the maiden well; and the +father, who is most honorably reported in Venice for the wonder of his +discoveries in his industry of glass. He is of the people--of the +'original citizens'--for of the days before the _serrata_[1] hath his +family records; but he might well be of the Signoria, so grave he is and +full of dignity. And his name is old--_Mother_!" + + [1] An important constitutional act, limiting the aristocracy to those + families who had at that period, sat in the Council; always referred + to as an era in Venetian history. + +"Nay, Marco, lift thy sword; how should it lie there for lack of thy +mother's favor? I will not have thee suffer, if I can give thee aid. But +one may suffer in other ways--quite other--which thou hast no knowledge +of, for to thee there seemeth to be, in all the world, nothing worthy +but this wish of thine! But it is no promise; one must ponder in so +great a matter, my boy!" + +They broke down in each other's arms, clasping the sword between them. + +The Senator's firm step resounded on the marble floor; they had scant +time to recover themselves; but his eyes fell at once upon the +magnificent goblet, and there was pleasure in his stern face. + +"This, then, is of thy designing, Marcantonio," he exclaimed, as he +stooped to examine it in its case of satin and velvet. "A veritable +gift-piece! And already thou hast won the favor of the Senate, since it +hath been reported to them by our Chief of the Ten, who hath the +industries of Murano in charge, that at the exhibit given yestere'en a +goblet more sumptuous than that prepared for his Majesty of France was +of thy designing. The Secretary will bring thee this night a summons +from the Ten to appear before them on the morrow to receive their +congratulations, because of the inspiration thou hast given to our most +valued industry. + +"It is a rare mark of favor that it hath been confided to me," +Giustinian continued, still examining the goblet with pride, "since +custom doth require that one should withdraw from the sitting of the +Council when any matter touching his house is treated. But Morosini, by +grace of the Signoria, hath been with me for a moment, that there may be +no misgivings of fear upon this fete-day of our house. And to-night this +summons to favor shall be presented, to honor the youngest member of the +Consiglio. Marcantonio, I am proud of thee; the Ten will be here--every +one! And verily the goblet is beautiful. It shall be well displayed in +the great banquet hall." + +"Here, in my boudoir, where my boy hath placed it," said the mother +quickly, as the Senator would have lifted it, "since it is my gift. And, +Marco"--She turned to him a face softened and beautified by the +struggle, which had been very great, and her eyes were deep with a light +which bound him to her forever. + +"Marco mio, it shall be well displayed. For I will bid my maidens circle +this table whereon it rests with a wreath of roses--white and very +beautiful--in token of thy mother's favor." + + + +X + +Marina, under the yellow glare of the lamp in the dark oak cabinet, +worked fitfully, with broken, lifeless strokes, at the designs before +her; while her father, feigning absorption in some new drawings which +lay spread out within touch of his strong-veined hands, watched her +furtively from the other side of the table. + +"Thou art restless," he said, suddenly and sternly; "what aileth thee?" + +Her lip quivered, but she did not look up, while with an effort she +steadied the movement of her hand and continued her work. "My hand hath +no cunning to-night, and it vexeth me, my father." + +"It is poor work when the heart is lacking," he answered, in a tone +charged with irritation. "I also have seen a thing which hath taken my +heart from me." + +The color deepened in her cheeks and the pencil strokes came more +falteringly, but she answered nothing. + +"Nay, then!" he exclaimed, more brusquely than his wont, as he stretched +out his hand and arrested her movement. "What I have to say to thee +importeth much." + +She flushed and paled with the struggle of the moment, then a beautiful +calm came over her face; she laid down her pencil and, quietly dropping +her hands in her lap, she turned to him with a smile that might have +disarmed an angrier man--it was full of tenderness, though it was +shadowed by pain. + +It relaxed his sternness, and, after a moment's hesitation, he came +around the table and sat down beside her. + +"To-night is the fete at Ca' Giustiniani, for the young noble of their +house." + +He waited for her to speak, but she did not tremble now, though he was +searching her face. + +"Yes, father, I know." + +"And, Marina--I do not understand--and it is a grief to me----" + +She nestled to him closely and tried to slip one of her slender hands +between his, which were tightly strained together in a knotted clasp, as +if he would make them the outlet for some unbearable emotion. + +The previous evening was the first they had not passed together since +the death of Zuanino; her father had sent her word that he had matter +which would occupy him alone, and all day Marina had been heavy-hearted, +going at matins and at vespers quite alone to the Madonna at the Duomo, +that she might take comfort and counsel. + +Girolamo did not respond to her caress, though his tone softened a +little as he proceeded with his tale and her arm stole round him. + +"Yesterday, at the stabilimento Beroviero, we were summoned by a call of +our Capo of the Ten to witness the approval that should be passed on the +exhibit of that stabilimento; we all, of the Guild of Murano, were there +as always. And foremost among the productions, most marvelous for +beauty, was a fabric of their lucent crystal--thou knowest it, Marina? +My child--how came thy face there? _Thy_ face, Marina--set round with +lustrous pearls!" + +He folded her to his breast with sudden passion, and stooped his head to +her shoulder for an instant, lifting it quickly that she might not feel +the sobbing of his breath which, even more than his broken words, +betrayed his anguish. + +"Dearest father, it was because I loved thee so much that I would not +have thee suffer from my pain, that I told thee not. Never again will I +hold aught from thee." + +"Thy pain, Marina? and thy face--and for the young noble, Giustiniani? I +do not understand." + +"Father, because I could grant him nothing and he would give me +everything, and because--because God sent the love and the Madonna hath +made me feel that it would be sweet, I granted him only this--my +portrait--because he pleaded so one could not resist; and because he +said it would win the consent of all to see that he treated me like a +queen!" + +"Nay; one comes not in secret to steal the love of a queen." + +"My father," answered the maiden proudly, for he had drawn away from +her, "there is no stealing of that which I would gladly yield him, if it +were thy pleasure and that of the Ca' Giustiniani! And there would have +been no secret; but I--to spare thee pain of knowing that I suffered--I +would not let him come to plead with thee." + +"Why shouldst thou suffer?" + +"It is hard to lose thy love when only I told thee not because I would +spare thee pain! Father--I have only thee!" Her courage broke in a quick +sob. + +"Nay, then--nay, then," he faltered softly, stroking her bowed head; "he +is no man to love, if he would let thee suffer; he should take +thee--before them all--if he would be worthy----" + +The low, intense, interrupted words were a brave surrender. + +"Ay, my father, it is like Marco to hear thee speak!" + +"Then let him come and make thee Lady of the Giustiniani, like a true +knight!" exclaimed the old man fiercely. + +"Ay, father, so would he; but I have told him that thou and I are not +less proud than those of his own house, and without their consent it may +not be." + +"Nay, I care not for their house--only for thy happiness; he shall wed +thee, and my home is thine; I have enough for thee and him; he shall not +make thee suffer." + +They were close together now, father and daughter--a beautiful group in +the yellow lamplight against the dark background that surrounded them +like an impassible fate; her face was a study of happiness, tenderness, +suffering, and strength; her father wrapped her close in his protecting +arms, and thus she could bear everything. They were silent for a while: +he trying to accept the revelation in its strangeness, she planning how +she should make him understand. + +"I am glad thou knowest it, dear father," she said at length, very +softly. "I have thy love--I can bear everything." + +"Nay, thou shalt have nothing to bear! Thou shalt be Lady of the +Giustiniani--what means the portrait else?" + +"It is like Marco again!" she cried, with a little pleased laugh. "He +said--because I would make him no promise until all consented--that he +would take me thus before all the world, and that should make them +consent." + +"Nay, let him come out from his house and take thee! I also, of the +people, bear an ancient name, and I have kept it honorable. Pietro, the +earliest master of our beautiful art, was thine ancestor. The Giustinian +stoops not in taking thee." + +"He is noble enough to be thy son, my father--and chivalrous as +thou--but we are too noble to let him do aught unbefitting his noble +house; for thou knowest the Giustiniani are like princes in Venice, and +Marco is their only son. He oweth duty to the Republic; and this day, in +the Ducal Palace, hath he sworn his oath of allegiance." + +"First should it have been to thee!" + +"Ay, first it was to me," she answered serenely; "he would not have it +otherwise; it is only _my_ promise that is lacking. This will I not give +until the Giustiniani make me welcome, or there would be no happiness +for Marco. He shall not lose, in loving me. The Signor Giustinian +Giustiniani is so stern--and one of the Chiefs--I would not vex him and +bring down the displeasure of the Ten; I would bring my Marco +happiness--not pain." + +"Oh, the courage of young hearts!" the old man exclaimed with a thrill +of pride and amazement. "Never had Giustinian a prouder bride. And +already thou hast won my heart for this lover of thine, who hath hope +of taking thee from thy old father, yet stays at thy bidding." + +"He hath said that he would be here ere the fete began," she answered +timidly, "since already, through the portrait, thou must know the truth; +and it would seem unknightly, or as if he feared thy displeasure, if he +came not this day to pay thee his duty. Father, methinks there is +already a stir below----" + +"Thou shouldst make thyself brave!" her father exclaimed, with a quick, +anxious glance at her simple home toilette. "He will pass from thee to +many noble ladies in the palazzo Giustiniani--all in bravery of +festival." + +"Nay, my father, so he found me; I would not hold him by devices, of +which I know naught. There will be much to suffer, and these trifles +cannot enter into anything so deep and real. I would rather he should +change to-day--if he could be light enough to change. Besides," she +faltered, with a quick, charming blush, "I think it is already his step +without; and to-night he will have so few moments to spare me--Marco!" + +Coming forward through the shadow of the doorway, the young +noble--deferent, masterful, unrenouncing--was a suitor not easily to be +baffled by any claims of Venice. + +Girolamo turned quickly to his child, then looked away, for her face +made a radiance in the room; he, her father, who had loved her through +all the days of her maiden life with a great tenderness, had never known +the fullness of her beauty until now; the soft folds of the simple robe +flowing away from her into the surrounding shadow left the pure young +charm of her head and face in luminous relief, as the brilliant young +noble, in embroidered velvet and silken hose and jeweled clasps--a type +of sumptuous modern day Venice--stepped forward into the little circle +of light, bowing before her with courtly deference. + +The vision of those youthful faces made it easy to forget the outward +contrast--a mere accident of birth. + +Girolamo Magagnati had promised himself that he would be a true knight +to his beloved child; he would question and prove this bold young noble +who claimed, with such presumption, so great a prize--not humbly suing, +as he should have done; he would make him tremble and wait; he should +learn that his daughter was not to be the more easily won because she +was of the people! Then, with the fullness of his vow upon him, and with +a heart loving indeed, but brave as proud, he had raised his eyes and +beheld a vision in which neither nobles nor people held part--only a +maiden, glorified by her love and trust; and a lover--prince or peasant +it mattered not--for on his face it was luminously written that in all +the world there was for him none other than she. And the vision, like an +apprehension of Truth--rare and very beautiful--conquered Girolamo, +because he was strong enough to yield. + +"It is but a moment that I have for this dearest claim of the day," said +Marcantonio Giustiniani, turning to the older man with winning courtesy; +"and sooner should I have come to the father of Marina to crave the +grace I cannot do without, but that she bade me tarry. Yet now--she +herself hath spoken?" + +He looked from one to the other questioningly. + +"There are no secrets between us," Girolamo answered with dignity, while +weighing some words that should welcome his daughter's suitor with +discretion and reserve. + +But the maiden broke in timidly: "And he is not angry, Marco mio!" + +"Nay, my favor is for him who truly honors my daughter and proves +himself worthy; for her happiness is dear to me. But the difficulties +are great, as she herself hath told me." + +"A little time and there shall be none!" cried Marcantonio, joyously. +"For to-day, when first I have taken my seat in the Council, not more +solemnly have I sworn allegiance to the Republic than I would pray +Messer Magagnati to bear me witness that Marina--and none other--will I +wed!" + +"Give him thy hand, my daughter, for thy face confesseth thee; and +to-day his lady should grant him so much grace." + +"Yet, Marco--for thy sake--I make no vows to thee. Only this will I tell +thee," she added, in a voice that was very soft and low, as he sealed +his lover's vow on her fluttering hand. "For me, also, there is no +other!" + +"And I bring thee a '_boccolo_,' Marina, since thou art of the people +and wouldst have me remember all thy traditions," he cried gaily. "Yet +this one hath a fragrance like none other that hath ever blossomed on +the festa of San Marco--my blessed patron!--for I culled it from the +garland which my mother bade her maidens for a token make about the +table where thy portrait is displayed." + +He raised the rosebud to his lips before he placed it in her hand. + +"And the Senator Giustinian Giustiniani?" Girolamo questioned, in his +grave, deep voice, concealing his triumph. + +But Marcantonio had already answered to the timid question of Marina's +eyes, with a ringing tone of assurance. + +"And for my father--we must have courage!" + + + +XI + +The summons from the Ten had been presented with ceremony on the night +of the fete at Ca' Giustiniani, and Marcantonio was grateful for the +strong support of Paolo Cagliari's friendly presence, as they went +together to the Sala di Collegio in the Ducal Palace; for this seemed to +the young noble an opportunity, that might never come again, of +presenting his petition to ears not all unfavorable; and there was a +thrill of triumph in the thought that his maiden speech before this +august body should be his plea for Marina's admission to the favor of +the Signoria. Already fortune had been kind to him beyond his hopes, +and, with the daring of youth, he was resolved to claim the possible. +The Veronese alone knew of his intention, and as to his father--he could +only put him out of his thoughts. If the Senate listened to his petition +there would be no difficulties, but he would not weaken his courage by +any previous contest, unavailing as it must be. + +Meanwhile there was the remembrance of the roses of the Lady +Laura--fragrant with her great renunciation. + +The honor of this summons was reflected in the increased dignity of the +elder Giustinian, and in a tinge of urbanity new to him, as he parted +from Paolo Caghari and Marcantonio, who remained standing on the floor +of the hall, to take his seat among the senators in the seats running +around the chamber, as on the previous day, instead of the one +rightfully his own among the higher Council who were to pronounce the +laudatory words. + +The industries of Murano had always been dear to the senatorial heart, +but of late years the fostering care of the Republic had been increased +to an unprecedented degree, and the stimulus thus given to the workmen +of Murano had been evidenced in a series of brilliant discoveries, so +that the marvel of their fabrics had become as much a source of jealousy +to other nations as of revenue and pride to the Republic. + +Thus the affair of this gift-piece of crystal was deemed of quite +sufficient importance to occupy the attention of the senators, who +prepared themselves to listen with every symptom of interest to this +report of the exhibit of Murano, which had been read on the previous day +before the Ten. + +It had chanced before that these reports had been followed by words of +commendation, but it had rarely happened that a young noble had been +summoned before the Collegio to receive such a testimonial, and the +occasion lost none of its interest from the fact that many of those +present had witnessed the presentation of the summons in the banquet +hall of the palazzo Giustiniani. + +The famous goblet, by order of the Senate, was also present, as a proof +that the laudatory words pronounced by the Secretary of the Ten at the +close of the report were well deserved. + +It was not often that a member won distinction on the day of his +entrance to the Gran' Consiglio; the favor shown by the Senate was +great; the position of the Ca' Giustiniani among the proud Venetian +nobility was beyond question; and some of the fathers of the young and +noble ladies who had graced the banquet watched the young Giustinian +with a quite personal interest. + +"It was time," they said, "that the handsome young patrician should +choose a bride." + +"And once before, in the history of the Republic, as now," suggested +another, "there was but one of the Ca' Giustiniani." + +There was a sympathetic and ominous shaking of heads, for the story was +well known. + +"But to none of those golden-haired maidens who danced at his fete would +he show favor, though upon his birthnight. And when the Lady Beata had +asked him shyly why he wore a white rose in his doublet, he had told her +saucily, 'The meaning of the flower is _silence_.'" + +These and other trifles bearing upon the ceremony of the morning were +discussed in pleasant asides, while the report had been read and the +note of approval had been proclaimed to Marcantonio, who dropped the arm +of his friend and came forward to receive it. + +"My Lords of the Senate, the Collegio and most Illustrious Ten!" he +responded, with a courtly movement of deference which included them all, +"I thank you! In that it graciously pleaseth you to bestow upon me your +favor for a trifle of designing which was the pastime of an hour, and +made for the pleasure of the giving in homage to the noble Lady Laura +Giustiniani. But the praise of it should not be mine; it is rather to +the stabilimento which hath shown perfection in its workmanship. But +first to him, the master, who hath given it its crowning grace. I pray +you, let me share the unmerited honor of this commendation with Paolo +Cagliari, _detto Veronese_, without whom my little had been nothing!" + +The chivalry and grace of the young noble elicited a murmur of +approbation, as he courteously indicated his friend. + +The Veronese, to whom this _denouement_ was unexpected, and who had long +since been crowned with highest honors by the Republic, did not move +forward, but, acknowledging the tribute of his pupil with a genial +smile, he stood with folded arms, unembarrassed and commanding, scanning +the faces of the assembly, well pleased with the effect produced by the +words of Marcantonio, whom, at all hazards, he intended to befriend. He +realized that the atmosphere might never be so favorable. + +"The crowning grace of that goblet, my Lords of Venice," he said boldly, +"is lent it by the face of the most beautiful maiden it hath ever been +my fortune to paint--than whom Venice hath none more charming." + +There was a murmur of surprise from the younger nobles, who were +standing in groups about the hall of the Gran' Consiglio; they had +supposed the face to be merely a dainty conceit of the artist's fancy, +and those nearest gathered about the case with sudden interest. + +But the face of Marcantonio betrayed him, while he stood unabashed in +the circle of the senators, though with mounting color, his hand, under +shelter of his cloak, resting upon the jeweled hilt of the sword upon +which he had sworn his first knightly vow. + +Giustinian Giustiniani rose to his feet. "Her name, Messer Paolo +Cagliari!" he thundered. + +But it was the young Giustinian who answered to the challenge--"Marina +Magagnati!" with an unconscious reverence, as he confessed his lady's +name. + +"Is no face found fair enough among all the palaces on the Canal Grande +to charm thy fastidious fancy?" cried the angry father, losing all +self-control. "It were fitter that the name of thine inamorata were +first declared elsewhere than in this presence!" + +"Not so, my father," Marcantonio replied, undaunted. "For I first would +ask a grace of our most illustrious Signoria,--the which may it indeed +please them to grant,--or never shall I bring a bride to the Ca' +Giustiniani. As I have sworn a noble's oath of allegiance to Venice, so +faithfully have I vowed to wed none other than Marina Magagnati! And it +is my father who hath taught me to hold sacred the faith of a Venetian +and a Giustinian. But my lady is not _called_ of noble blood." + +"She is daughter to Messer Girolamo Magagnati,"--it was the Veronese who +spoke,--"than whom, in all Murano, is none better reputed for the +fabrics of his stabilimento, nor more noble in his bearing; albeit, he +is of the people--as I also, Paolo Cagliari, am of the people." + +The words had a ring of scorn; the Veronese folded his arms again and +looked defiantly around him--a splendid figure, with the jeweled orders +of France and Rome and the Republic flashing on his breast. His gaze +slowly swept the faces of the assembly, then returned to rest upon the +great votive picture which filled the wall from end to end above the +Doge's throne--_his work_--like the glory of the ceiling, which declared +the artist noble by genius, if not by birth. "I also am of the people!" +he repeated, in a tone that seemed a challenge. + +"Most Illustrious Signoria!" cried Marcantonio; "once, in the history of +our Republic, hath it pleased this most gracious Senate to declare its +favor to a daughter of a master-worker of Murano, in a decree whereby it +was provided that the maid should wed a noble of most ancient house, and +if there should be children of the marriage, each name should stand +unprejudiced, with those of the nobles of Venice, in the 'Libro d'Oro.' +If I have found favor in your sight--I beseech you--that which the +Senate hath once decreed is again possible." + +The senators looked at each other in consternation, awed at the boldness +of the petition and the wit of its presentation. + +The young patrician slowly ascended the steps of the dais, and closed +his appeal with an obeisance to the Doge, full of dignity. + +The Councillors who sat beside the Doge were holding grave discussion, +for the few words of the young noble had touched upon weighty points; +they had been presented with a simplicity which veiled their diplomatic +force; he was a man of growing power who must be bound to the service +of Venice, even were he not the last of a princely line which the +Republic would fain see continued to her own latest generation. So +unabashed in such a presence, he would be tenacious of his purpose and +hold to his vow with unflinching knightliness. + +Venice and his lady were included in his sworn allegiance, and to seek +to make them rivals would be a danger for the Republic. + +Never before had appeal been made to this decree; it was not fresh in +the minds of the Savii and the six most venerated Councillors without +whose acquiescence the mandate of the Doge was powerless, and they had +listened to the bold declaration with a surprise not unmingled with +resentment, that so young a man should make, in their presence, an +assertion touching matters of State which they could neither affirm nor +deny! At a sign from one of the chancellors, one of the three +counsellors at law of the Avvogadori di Commun, who had the keeping of +the Golden Book, had been immediately summoned from adjoining chambers +in the Palace and had confirmed the statement. Such a marriage had +indeed taken place in the latter half of the fourteenth century; the +number of the decree authorizing the full nobility of the children had +been noted in the Golden Book, the original decree could therefore be +found, within the archives, upon demand of the Savii. + +The case had changed from a matter of gracious policy to one of +unquestioned importance in the minds of the gravest counsellors of the +Republic--in spite of the glamor of romance which threatened to lessen +its dignity by winning the enthusiastic support of the younger members +of the assembly and the jealous opposition of the older senators, who +were tenacious of the privileges and restrictions of the ancient +nobility of Venice. The faces of many among them were dark and +threatening. One of their number high in authority, whose seat was near +the Savii on the dais, and who was known to be of the strictest +oligarchical proclivities, risked the words, "_Remember the Serrata +Consiglio_," in a clear undertone, but was immediately repressed by a +terrible glance from more than one of the commanding Savii. + +Giustinian Giustiniani was alone kept silent by the force of conflicting +emotions which left him only strength enough to realize that he was too +angry to advise with dignity, though he was one of the Chiefs of the +Ten. He had been outwitted in the presence of the Maggior Consiglio by a +son who had shown an astuteness and courtliness of which any Venetian +father might be proud, together with a knowledge of the point upon which +he based his appeal, which required the summoning of the Avvogadori di +Commun, though it was uttered in the presence of the six supreme +Councillors of the Republic! He could not interpose to demean his +ancient lineage by consenting to this unpatrician alliance; he would not +accept the alternative for his only son--the last of the Giustiniani! +Nor could he urge a Giustinian to break a vow of honor made before the +highest tribunal of the realm. He was trembling with wrath and filled +with admiration, while he sat speechless, awaiting the issue of a +question which so deeply concerned the interests of the Ca' Giustiniani. + +The impression was profound, and a silence fell upon that magnificent +assembly through which the rulers of the ship of state seemed to hear +the throbbings of a threatened storm. They were men of power, and they +realized that it was a moment when action should be prompt and positive. + +A yellowed parchment, with the great seal of the Republic appended, was +brought in state from the adjoining chambers of the Avvogadori and laid +before the Doge, who passed it, in turn, to each of his Councillors. + +The silence was breathless. All eyes turned instinctively upon the young +noble, who had withdrawn to the side of his friend, and stood, +unconscious of their gaze, radiant with his hope of Marina. + +"Nobles of the Gran' Consiglio of our Most Serene Republic," said the +Doge at last with deep impressiveness, "this record is the original +decree of this Senate, of the fourteenth century, given under the Great +Seal of the Republic in 1357. It hath been duly laid before our +Councillors in your presence and unanimously confirmed by them. And they +do unanimously consent to this our ruling in favor of the petition which +hath this day been presented before this Council by the noble +Marcantonio, of the ancient and princely house of Giustinian. Since in +this sixteenth century our Republic, by grace of God and favor of her +Rulers, is not less enlightened than in those earlier days to perceive +when graciousness may promote her welfare, in granting favor to a noble +house which hath ever shown to Venice its valor, its discretion, its +unfailing loyalty." + +A cry of exaltation rang through the house like an electric thrill; the +senators started to their feet. + +"My life, my faith, my strength--the might of all my house for Venice!" +shouted the young Giustinian, with his sword held high above his head, +like an inspired leader. + + + +XII + +The permission of the Maggior Consiglio, under favor of this imperious +government, was equivalent to a command and a public betrothal, and for +a few ecstatic days the heir of the Ca' Giustiniani went about in a +state of exaltation too great to be aware of any home shadows--the +slumbering anger of the Capo of the Ten and an inharmonious atmosphere +wherein each was intensely conscious of an individual estimate of the +great event which touched them all so nearly. + +For suddenly the betrothal of this only son of an old patrician family +had assumed almost the proportions of a State marriage; and a young +fellow for whom time-honored observances of the realm could be set +aside, and who had won so extreme a proof of favor by his own wit and +grace, was surely a figure that might well occupy public attention. + +But the decree would soon be a state paper; it was already an accepted +fact in the halls of the Council and in the salons of the nobility, and +the disappointed great ladies from the neighboring palaces were calling, +with curious questions decorously dressed in congratulatory form. + +"When should they have the pleasure of welcoming the _new_ Lady of the +Giustiniani?" + +"Was it not true that the Lady Marina--that was to be," there was always +some little stinging emphasis in the gracious speech, "had given a +votive offering to the convent of the Servi? She was a devote +then--quite unworldly--this beautiful maiden of Murano?" + +"What a joy for the Lady Laura that so soon there would be a bride in +the Ca' Giustiniani!" + +"The Lady Laura had never been more stately," they told each other when +they entered their gondolas again, "nor more undisturbed. There were no +signs of displeasure; it must be that the lowly maid was very +beautiful." + +"Was it a thing to make one sad, to have a son who could twist the +rulers round his little finger, and break the very laws of the Republic? +Nay, but cause for much stateliness!" said a matron with two sons in the +Consiglio. + +"The bridal must be soon," said the Lady Laura to herself, as she sat +alone in her boudoir, "for the ceasing of this endless gossip." And, +because she could think of nothing else, she was already weary with the +planning of a pageant which made her heart sick. + +But Giustinian Giustiniani had no words, for the case was hopeless--only +a face of gloom, and much that was imperative to keep him in the Council +Chamber. + +For these few blissful days the lovers had heaven to themselves, +floating about at twilight on the shores of the Lido, where there were +none to trouble the clear serenity of their joy by the chilling breath +of criticism. "That white rose which I brought thee was in sign of my +mother's favor," Marcantonio reminded Marina more than once; "and for +the rest--all will be well; and for a little, we can wait." + +Ah, yes, they could wait--in such a smiling world, under a sky so +exquisite, gliding over the opal of the still lagoons at twilight. + +But old Girolamo, sure now of the decree which should number his +daughter among the patricians of this Republic where, through long +generations, his family had made their boast that they represented the +people, was in a feverish mood--grave, elated, sad by turns, unwilling +to confess to the loneliness which was beginning to gnaw at his heart, +for Marina was his life; he did not think he could live without her; he +_knew_ he could not live and see her unhappy beside him; and he was old +to learn the new, pathetic part he must play--the waiting for death, +quite alone in the old home. + +And those others,--in the sumptuous palace on the Canal Grande,--would +they prize the treasure which was the very light of his life, that he +should break his heart to yield her up? + +He could have cried aloud in his anguish, as he sat waiting for the +happy plash of the returning gondola, the princely gondola of the Ca' +Giustiniani, bringing those two before whom life was opening in a golden +vista; but as the slow ripples breaking over the water brought them +nearer, his heart girded itself again with all his chivalrous strength, +lest he should dim the glad light in his beloved one's eyes--lest he +should seem ungenerous to the brave young knight who had dared the +displeasure of his house and of the Republic for the love he bore his +daughter. + +And the shadows in that other home, the palazzo on the Canal Grande, in +these days of waiting, were colder, hasher,--born of selfishness rather +than love, of disappointed ambition perhaps,--but they were very real +shadows nevertheless, obscuring the clear-cut traditions of centuries, +out of which one should struggle through increase of pride, the other +through the broadening of a more generous love. + +Meanwhile the gondola floated in light--between shadow and shadow--so +slight is the realization of the throes by which joy is sometimes born; +and the pathos of the change which made their gladness possible was for +the two young people still an unrecognized note. + +But waiting was now over; more positive steps must be taken. Two +Secretaries had been sent from the Senate to bring the news of the +filing of the decree. + +"Madre mia!" cried Marcantonio eagerly, when they were gone; "it has +come even before our hope!" + +"Even sooner than thy hope," she echoed, feeling dreary, though he was +sitting with his arm around her, as if for a confidential talk. + +But he was too happy to interpret her tone. + +"The token!" he pleaded; "for Marina--and thou wilt come to see how +beautiful she is!" + +She looked at him searchingly. He did not mean to urge her; he seemed +too happy to understand. + +She rose and going slowly to her cabinet brought him her token--a string +of great Oriental pearls. + +"These," she said, sitting down beside her son and opening the case, +"have I made ready for thy bride, since thou wert a little lad--at one +time one pearl, at another more, as I have found the rarest lustre. Some +of these, they say, have been hidden in Venice since the time of John of +Constantinople, who left them for his ransom; it may be but a tale, yet +they are rare in tint; and I have gleaned them, Marco, since thou wert a +little lad, not knowing who should wear them--not knowing, Marco----" + +She broke off suddenly, touching the gems wistfully, endearingly, with +trembling, tapering fingers. + +He laid his firm young hand upon hers lovingly. "How good thou art, my +mother; how good to think of thy boy through all these years! But thy +pearls are superb--they will almost frighten Marina. Later thou wilt +give them to her. Mother, dearest, let me take this rose which thou hast +worn, with thy little word of love--sweet mother----" + +"They are fit for a princess, Marco," she said, still toying with the +pearls, apparently unheeding his request; "I chose them with that +thought--since they are for thy bride." + +"And she will wear them worthily," Marcantonio answered, flushing, "and +like a queen, for none hath greater dignity, else could I not have +chosen her--I, who have learned a lady's grace by thee, my mother!" + +She drew him to her with sudden emotion, for these days had been very +hard for her. "My boy--my boy! Does she love thee well for all thy faith +and devotion--for all that we are yielding her?" + +"Madre mia, thou shalt see, if thou wilt let me take thee to her!" + +"I had not thought--" she said, and stopped. "Would she not come with +thee?" + +Marcantonio walked suddenly away to a window and stepped out on the +balcony for a breath of air; he was beginning to comprehend the under +side of his great joy, and it had come with a shock, on this very day +which he had thought would have been filled with a rush of gladness. He +grasped the cool marble of the parapet and tried to reason with himself; +he suddenly foresaw that many days of reasoning had entered into his +life, and always he must be ready to meet them with cool wisdom, since +enthusiasm was one-visioned. It was like taking a vow against youth, but +he himself had chosen it for his lot in life; his love was not less to +him, but the sudden realization had come that it was hard to fight +against the traditions of centuries. Yet how bravely she, his mother, +was trying to surrender her social creed for his happiness; it was not a +little thing that he had asked of her, but it seemed to him that her +soul had been nearer to her eyes than ever before during these days when +she had been suffering. At all costs these women--his dearest in the +world--must love each other, must bless each other's lives. + +He went back with some comprehension of the barrier he had thought so +lightly to remove, with a vow in his soul to be more to each; because of +it neither should lose aught for his sake. He seemed suddenly older, +though his face was very tender. + +"That which seemeth best to thee, my mother, in the matter of the +meeting, Marina would surely do; for it is thou who must guard for us +these little matters of custom, which none knoweth better. But her +father--never have I known one more courtly, nor more proud----" + +"Marco, it is much to ask that we should think of him!" + +"Ay, mother, it is much. Yet if thou knewest him thou wouldst +understand. For Marina is all the world to him, and I would take her +from him. Yet so he loveth her that never hath he said me nay. Naught +hath he asked for her of gold nor jewels, but only this--that she shall +not come unbidden to our home." + +He spoke the last words very low and with an effort, as if they held a +prayer. + +"And so--?" + +"And so, sweet mother, none knoweth half so well as thou how best to +greet her whom I long to bring to thee, that she may know and love thee +as she doth love her father--with a great love, very beautiful and +tender." + +She looked up as if she would have answered him, but she could not +speak. + +"More than ever I think I love thee, now that I am grieving thee," he +added after a pause, in a tone so full of comprehension that it smote +her. + +"Nay, Marco--nay," she said, and drew him closer, clasping her hand in +his. But they sat quite silent, while the mother's love intensified, +displacing selfishness. + +He raised her hand to his lips with a new reverence. "In all this have I +asked so much of thee I think thou never canst forgive me, madre mia, +until--until thou knowest Marina!" + +She touched his hair with her beautiful white hand caressingly, as she +had often done when he was a little child; but now, in this sudden +deepening of her nature, with a new yearning. + +"Marco, when thou wert a babe," she said, "there was little I would not +give for thine asking. And now, when my soul is bound up in thine, I +seem not to care for the things I once sought for thee--but more for +happiness and love. Yet, if I go with thee--I seem to know thou wilt not +change to me--?" She paused, wistfully. + +"Save but to prove a truer knight!" he cried radiantly. "So more than +gracious hast thou been!" + +"Nay, it will be sweet to have part in thy happiness," she cried +bravely. "To-night, at sunset, will I go with thee, quite simply, in thy +gondola, to bid my daughter welcome--as our custom is. I will not fail +in honor to my Marco's bride! And since it is love that her father +asketh, I will give her this rose, for thy dear sake. But the bridal +must be soon, to make this endless talking cease. And before we leave +her--for she will learn to love me, Marco mio, and she will not take +thee from me?--I will give her the token that is fitting for a daughter +of our house." + + * * * * * + +Among the members of the Senate, meeting by twos and threes in the +Broglio, Marcantonio's name was often heard. "It would be well when this +marriage was over, for verily it was likely to turn the heads of +Venice--the pageant, and the beauty of the maid, and the favor of the +Collegio----" + +"Nay, not that," said an older senator, resentfully; "those are but +trifles. But the young fellow himself is the danger; too positive and +outspoken, revolutionary and of overturning methods, withal +persuasive----" + +"He would be a power in an ambassade," suggested another, "for he hath a +gift in diplomacy and law which, verily, did astound the old Giustinian. +The eloquence of his great-uncle Sebastiano hath fallen upon him.--If he +were not so young--! Here in Venice he is rolling up influence, and the +charm of his inamorata is also a danger; and already in the Consiglio +all eyes are upon him." + +"For a secretary to an ambassade is the age not set," answered the other +warily, "and the office hath space for diplomacy, which, it were better +for our privileges, were used elsewhere than in Venice. And the honor of +it would blind the eyes of his partizans--for the boy is young." + +The winds, wandering through the Piazza, sometimes blew lightest +whispers from the Broglio into the Council Chambers of the Republic; and +so it was decreed that when the beautiful wedding pageant should be +over, just as the whole of Venice would have laid itself at the feet of +the charming bride--would have made the young nobles of the palazzo +Giustiniani the idols of the hour--these dangers to Venice should be +honorably removed by the appointment of Marcantonio Giustiniani, di +Maggior Consiglio, as Secretary to the Venetian Resident in Rome, with +the gracious permission of the Senate for the Lady Marina to bear him +company. + +"It is well," answered Giustinian Giustiniani, as the Lady Laura made +her little moan on hearing of the appointment which the Senator reported +with such pride. "Marcantonio hath the head of a diplomat and the +bearing of a courtier. It is the way of distinction for such a man." + +"That is justly spoken," said the mother; "and nobly hath our boy +fulfilled our hope. In Venice, or elsewhere, must he ever win +distinction. But to keep them in their palazzo near us--of this and of +their happiness was I thinking--the sight of it is so beautiful." + +The filing of the decree of the Senate had acted like a charm upon our +Capo of the Ten: the importance thus accorded to the Ca' Giustiniani +soothed every vestige of wounded pride, while the beauty and grace of +his prospective daughter-in-law had filled him with a triumph which only +the frigid stateliness of his habitual demeanor enabled him to conceal, +so great was the revulsion from his former state of feeling. + +"I tell thee, Lady Laura," said her husband, coming nearer and speaking +low, "we may well be proud. All this trifling in art and knickknacks in +which it hath pleased the boy to spend himself, like so many of his +hose,[2] hath fluttered off from him like silken ribbons hanging +harmless in the wind, and hath left him with a head quite clear of +nonsense for the Senate's work. _That day_"--he had referred to it so +often that it had become an acknowledged division of time--"_that_ day +when he made his speech not one arose to answer him; for the cunning of +it was so simple one listened, fearing naught, until the end was +reached; and the words of it were so few that the end was a surprise; +and, lo! the Counsellors were confounded by the weight of his demand, +and the reason for the justice of it, and the wit of its +presentation--lying folded in a sentence scarce long enough for a +preamble! And the boy! Holding himself like a prince and winning them +all by his grace, as if he were a child! Nay, but I do forget he is a +man, wearing honors from his country!" + + [2] The young nobles were called "the gay company of the hose." + +"Giustinian, I fain would keep them here!" + +"That is the woman's side of it," said the Chief of the Ten, easily +dismissing her plea. "But for Marcantonio the appointment is good. When +the late-returned Ambassador to His Most Christian Majesty did render +his report before our Maggior Consiglio--an oration diplomatic and of +weight--I noted many of our graver men with eyes observing Marcantonio +closely, as they would mark how he weighed the speech of the old +diplomatist." + +"And Marco?" + +"He seemed not to take note of them. Or it may be a grace that he hath, +that he seemeth not to see; for he weareth the 'pensieri stretti e viso +sciolto'[3] meet for a Venetian councillor--age could not teach him +better to guard his thought, but it would make the wearing of his +careless face less easy. Or it may be that his mind hath space for the +speech only--one knows not! Save that all things come easily to +him--even the most beautiful bride in Venice, raised from the ranks of +the people to suit his whim!" + + [3] Close-locked thoughts and open countenance. + +"Giustinian! She will be our daughter, and none need question her +dignity and grace." + +"My Lady Laura, none knoweth better of her beauty and none so proud of +her as I, who had thought to hide my head for the disgrace of it! But +the daring of this son of ours doth make me gay! I am ready to give thee +a compliment on thy bringing up, which often I had feared was over +frivolous. And now, he hath the Republic before him, where to choose." + +"Giustinian?" + +She rested both hands on his shoulders and looked full in his eyes with +the gravity of her question which was the dream of his life, and was +often tacitly touched, when they conferred together in confidence. + +"Ay," he answered, "even that, the highest--by favor of San Marco--he +may win. For the grace of him maketh his head seem less." + +But the shadow of the coveted Lion's paw had suddenly overclouded him +and changed his mood. + + + +XIII + +When the first faint flush of dawn was waking in the east, the fair, +sweet face of Marina of Murano was outlined for the last time, vague as +some dream memory, against the deep shadows of the interior, between the +quaint columns that framed her window. + +Birds were twittering in the vines of the pergola not far away; +honeysuckles were pouring forth their fragrant morning oblations; and +the salt sea-breeze wafted her its invigorating breath as the early +tide, with slow, increasing motion, brimmed the channels that wound +through the marshes on the borders of Murano and overflowed till the +lagoon was a broad, unbroken vista of silver-gray, in whose shimmer and +radiance, when the tide was at its full, the morning stars died out. But +still they glistened dimly in the twilight of the sky to which she +raised her questioning, believing eyes. Life was always beautiful to her +loving soul; for when the shadows held a meaning deeper than she could +solve, her answer was faith; and now, that her new joy was to grow out +of a deep solitariness for the father so tenderly beloved, it was he who +upheld her courage. + +"Life may not be," he said, "without some shadow; this is the shade of +thine, which, without it, were too bright. Heaven hath some purpose in +its sending, but not that it should darken our eyes to miss the joy." + +"The day will be o'er-lonely in this home, my father." + +"Nay, Marina, let love suffice; so shall we be always together! Shall I +not go to thee? And thou wilt come to me, bringing thy new interests and +holding thy dear heart ever pure and loyal to Venice, and thy home, and +thy God--not forgetting. For thou hast chosen with thy whole heart, my +daughter?" since she had not answered. "Thou dost not fear thyself?" + +"Dearest father," she had said, hiding her face in his tender embrace, +"all of my heart which is not thine is wholly his--only my happiness is +too great." + +"Nay, daughter, since it is of God's own sending; take all the joy and +grieve not." + +"Only at leaving thee." + +"I would not keep thee here, to leave thee mourning and alone when my +days are closed." + +"Father!" + +"Not to sadden thee, my child, but to show thee that life is linked to +life--God wills it so. Thou and I are bound to that which has been and +to that which is to be. We do not stand alone to choose. The sweetness +of our life together should make it easier for me to yield thee to the +fuller life which calleth thee. We must each bear our part in the beauty +of the whole. For perfect love, there must be sacrifice." + +She was thinking of these things as she stood in the gray dawn waiting +for the beauty of the on-coming day, quite alone with her thoughts and +with her God, the giver of this beauty; and often as she had stood there +with her morning offering of trust and adoration, never before had the +day-dawn seemed so full of mystery and promise, nor the new life which +the morning held within its keeping so full of hope and beauty. The very +tide, flowing round her island home, brought thoughts of her home that +was to be, as it swept through the channels of the City of the Sea, past +the palace where her lover was waiting, bringing murmurs and messages of +liquid harmony. The marsh grasses swayed and yielded to its flow, +lending new depths of color to the water-bed, as they bowed beneath the +masterful current--so the difficulties which had seemed to beset their +hopes had been vanquished by the resistless tide of his love and +constancy. + +The stars were lost in the deep gray-blue of the sky; a solemn +stillness, like the presage of some divine event, seemed for a moment to +hold the pulses of the universe; then a soft rose crept into the shimmer +of the water and crested the snows on the distant Euganean Hills, the +transient, many-tinted glory of the east reflected itself in opal lights +upon the silver sea, then suddenly swept the landscape in one dazzling +glow of gold--and the joy-bells rang out. For to-day a festa had been +granted in Murano. + +Then, wrapping herself closely in the soft folds of her gray mantle, +falling Madonna-wise from her head and shrouding her figure, she glided +for the last time over the _ponte_ and down past the sleeping homes of +Murano; for it was yet early for matins, and she would have the Madonna +all to herself as she knelt with her heart full of tenderness for the +dear life this day should merge in that other which beckoned her with +joyous anticipation--yet stilled to serenity by the golden glory and +promise of the dawn, and the beautiful, self-sacrificing, upholding +faith of the great-hearted Girolamo. + +He had followed her and folded her passionately to his heart, as she +crossed the threshold of their home on her way to San Donato. "I must be +first," he said, "to bless thee on thy bridal day. Fret thee not, for +thou art bidden to a mission, since thou goest forth from the people to +the highest circle of the nobles. And love alone hath bidden and drawn +thee. Forget it not, Marina! So shall a blessing go with thee and rest +upon thee!" + +She had brought a gift to the Madonna of San Donato--an exquisite altar +lamp of ivory and silver--and from the flowers which she had laid upon +the altar while she knelt in prayer, she gathered some to scatter over +the grave of the tiny Zuane. + +When Marina returned slowly through the little square, Murano was awake; +the painted sails of the fishing-boats were tacking in the breeze, the +activities of the simple homes had commenced, women with their +water-jugs were chatting round the well, detaining little ones clinging +to the fringes of the tawny mantles which hung below their waists; a few +stopped her with greetings; here and there a child ran to her +shyly--their mothers, from the low cottage doorways, calling to them +that "the donzel Marina had given them festa." + +Yes, there was to be festa in Murano. Girolamo had obtained from the +Senate the grace of providing it. For now, since his daughter would have +no need of the gold which his industry had brought him, he might spend +it lavishly on her wedding day to gladden the hearts of the people whom +she was leaving; for to him this bridal had a deeply consecrated meaning +which divested it of half its sadness. + +The workmen of Murano were to have holiday, and a great feast was spread +for them by Girolamo in the long exhibition hall of the stabilimenti, +for which it had been needful to procure permission of the Senate; but +for once it suited well the humor of this august and autocratic body +that one of the people should, for a day, make himself great among them. +Thus for the inhabitants of Murano--men, women, and children--there was +a welcome waiting the day long in the house of the bride, where they +should come to take her bounty and shower their blessings; for this time +only Murano had no voice for _critica_--it was too busy in +congratulation. + +When Marina reached her home she found it garlanded from column to +column with festal wreaths of green, while the maidens from the village +still lingered, veiling the walls between the windows with delicate +frosts of fruit-bloom from the gardens of Mazzorbo. And closely +following this village tribute came a priest from San Donato with the +band of white-robed nuns who formed the choir of the Matrice, bearing +perfumes of incense and benediction for the home of the bride, that all +who passed beneath its portal, going out or coming in, might carry +blessing with their steps. + +In Venice also there were joy-bells ringing; and to overflowing tables, +spread in the water-storey of the Ca' Giustiniani, the people of Venice +were freely bidden by silken banners floating legends of welcome above +the open doorway. But now the expectant people were thronging the +Piazza; the _fondamenta_ along the Riva was alive with color, balconies +were brilliant with draperies, windows were glowing with vivid shawls, +rugs, brocades--tossed out to lean upon in the splendor that became a +fete; above them the spaces were crowded with enthusiastic spectators in +holiday dress; the children of the populace, shouting, ecstatic, +ubiquitous, swarmed on the quay below. + +The splendor of the pageant which brought a bride from Murano to the +highest patrician circle of the Republic--to that house which held its +patent of nobility from those days of the seventh century when an +ancestor had ruled as tribune over one of the twelve Venetian isles--was +long remembered, almost as a royal wedding fete, and for days before and +after it was the talk of Venice. + +They were coming over the water to the sound of the people's native +songs and the echo of their laughter, the young men and maidens of +Murano, in barks that were wreathed with garlands and brilliant with the +play of color that the Venetians love. + + "Maridite, maridite, donzela, + Che dona maridada e sempre bela; + Maridite finche la fogia e verde, + Perche la zoventu presto se perde."[4] + + [4] Marry, maiden, marry, + For she that is wedded is ever fair; + Marry then, in thy tender bloom, + Since youth passeth swiftly. + +By the port of the Lido many a royal pageant had entered into Venice, +but never before had such a procession started from the shores of +Murano; it made one feel fete-like only to see the _bissoni_, those +great boats with twelve oars, each from a stabilimento of Murano, +wreathed for the fete, each merchant master at its head, robed in his +long, black, fur-trimmed gown and wearing his heavy golden chain, the +workmen tossing blossoms back over the water to greet the bride, the +rowers chanting in cadence to their motion: + + "Belina sei, e'l ciel te benedissa, + Che in dove che ti passi l'erba nasse!"[5] + + [5] Beautiful thou art, and may Heaven bless thee, + So that in thy footprints the grass shall spring. + +A cry rang down the Canal Grande from the gondoliers of the Ca' +Giustiniani, who were waiting this sign to start their own train from +the palazzo; for the bridal gondolas were coming in sight, with _felzi_ +of damask, rose, and blue, embroidered with emblems of the Giustiniani, +bearing the noble maidens who had been chosen for the household of the +Lady Marina, each flower-like and charming under her gauzy veil of +tenderest coloring. It was indeed a rare vision to the populace, these +young patrician beauties whose faces never, save in most exceptional +fetes, had been seen unveiled beyond their mother's drawing-rooms, +floating toward them in a diaphanous mist which turned their living +loveliness into a dream. + +The shout of the Giustiniani was echoed from gondola to gondola of the +waiting throng, from the gondoliers of all the nobles who followed in +their wake, from the housetops, the balconies, the fondamenta, mingled +with the words of the favorite folk-song: + + "Belo ze el mare, e bela la marina!"[6] + + [6] Beautiful is the sea, and beautiful the marsh. + +It was like a fairy dream as the bridal procession came floating toward +San Marco, in the brilliant golden sunshine, between the blue of the +cloudless sky and the blue of the mirroring sea, each gondola garlanded +with roses, its silver dolphins flashing in the light, and in the midst +of them the bark that bore the bride. The stately pall of snowy damask, +fringed with silver, swept almost to the water's breast, behind the +felze of azure velvet, where, beside her father, sat the bride, in robe +of brocaded silver shimmering like the sea--a subtle perfume of orange +blossoms heralding her advance. + +Once more the shout went up--the quaint love-song of the people-- + + "Belo ze el mare, e bela la marina!" + +and then a breathless silence fell, for the bark of the ministering +priest of San Donato had taken the lead, the white-robed nuns of the +Matrice grouped about him, chanting as they approached some ancient +wedding canticles of benediction. The bissoni parted and came no +further, having brought their maiden from Murano with every sign of love +and honor; the barges of the people fell back behind them, and through +their ranks the bridal gondolas followed the bark of the priest of San +Donato to the steps of the Piazzetta, where the train of the +Giustiniani, in a magnificence that was well-nigh royal, had just +disembarked, and Marcantonio stood bareheaded among the nobles to +receive his bride. + +But it was only for a moment of recognition in the sight of the +thronging people, for messengers were arriving with greetings from the +Doge, which this bride, whom the Senate had taken from the people to +bestow upon a noble, must receive from the lips of the Prince himself +before the wedding ceremony should take place; so the train of +Giustiniani, with all the nobles of Venice--who, from immemorial custom, +had come together to witness and rejoice over this great event in the +life of one of their number--entered San Marco by the great doors of the +Piazza; while the bride, obeying the gracious summons of the Doge, +passed through the gate of the Ducal Palace on the seaside, into the +great court where the Signoria were descending the Giant's Stairway on +their passage to the ducal chapel. + +The ceremony of presentation to the Serenissimo was quickly over, and +the bride and her maidens, with Girolamo Magagnati, in sign of the +Prince's favor, followed the Doge and suite into the golden looms and +shifting twilights of this place of symbolism and wonder, where the vast +throng waited in a solemn hush. + +The gloom was broken by countless tongues of flame from lamps of silver +and alabaster burning in the farther chapels, while wandering lights +streaming through the openings of the dome filled it with wonderful +waves of color--only half-revealing the treasures of ivory and jewels +and precious marbles and mosaics, wrought with texts and symbols, but +wholly making felt the mystery and beauty. The vague perfume of those +faint mists of floating incense, crossing and recrossing the scattered +rays of sunshine, mingled with the fragrance of the orange blossoms from +which the light tread of the bride-maidens seemed to crush a breath of +benediction. + +Coming out of the sunlight into this still, beautiful, holy place--the +chant sweet and sacred accompanying her steps, with the Cross repeated +again and again in the heights of the domes, with the dear familiar form +of the Mother Mary on every side lifting adoring eyes to the crowning +figure of the Christ, while the saints who graciously leaned to her from +their golden backgrounds in the great vaulted spaces above recalled the +legends inseparably linked with their intimate friendly faces and +brought back the atmosphere of her own Matrice--her mother church--this +maiden of Murano felt suddenly at home. + +The Patriarch with his pomp, the Signoria and Senate in their robes of +state, the nobles and the pageant were all forgotten. In the sacramental +lights of the ceremonial candles of the great altar, flashing back from +the marvelous _Pala d'Oro_, she saw only Marco waiting for her--to whom +her father, beloved and trusted, was leading her with her heart's +consent. + +How should she falter on the path from love to love! + + + +XIV + +But even in Venice--the magic city--there were days of mists, silvery +and gray, when life took on the indistinctness and indecision of a +dream; as there were days less lucent, when sea and sky melted in an +indistinguishable line and the chameleon tints of the marshes mellowed +into a monotonous gray surface--when the wonted brilliancy of the sunset +clouds, and the glittering domes and campaniles were only faint gray +shadows on the gray whiteness of the waters. And gondoliers came +suddenly into vision, parting the mists with thin, black, swaying +outlines, as quickly fading in the near, gray distance when they passed, +while the shipping loomed like phantoms on an immediate horizon, +vanishing, vision-like; and even the sounds of life came muffled over +the still lagoon, like ghostly echoes from a city wrapped in dreams. + +These were days of dim forebodings, too, for the anxious men of action +who ruled the Republic. In the Broglio there was more often silence than +speech, as the older senators gathered in knots, with faces the more +expressive because of much reticence in words; the sense of approaching +contest increased their mental restlessness and made them outwardly more +stern. Each looked into another's stormy, resolute face, so passing many +a counsel whose echoes he feared to start under the rambling porticoes +of the Piazza, where friars of every order mingled freely with the +crowd, and idlers carried tales into dark, basement recesses, and one +knew not which was friend or foe. Meanwhile the Winged Lion, with those +terrible, jeweled, glaring eyes, and the primitive patron San +Teodoro--each high on his column, in a Nirvana of quiescence--kept +solemn semblance of vigil over that dread space where sometimes a horror +of which one dared not speak scattered the sunshine high in air between +those silent wardens of San Marco. Yet the horror of those figures +swinging lifeless, with veiled faces, was met in silence by a people +trained to suffer this secret meting out of penalty for transgressions +in which justice and vengeance stood confused. + +The ceaseless chains of elections had begotten bribery, corruption, and +strife; the over-weening luxury had fostered unworthy ambitions--it was +a time of much lawlessness. Under the shadow of the embassies infamous +intrigues were planned by bands of idle men, who shrank from no deed of +evil which held its promise of gold; the water-storey of some splendid +palace might be a lurking-place for unprincipled men--spies and +informers by profession--who wore the liveries of noble families whose +secrets they would unhesitatingly consign to that merciless _Bocca del +Leone_, for favor or vengeance of those they secretly served. For +underneath the glitter and the pomp of these latter days of Venice--its +presage of decay--a turbulent mass of malcontents, foreigners +disappointed in intrigue, Venetians shut out from power, grasped and +plotted for its semblance,--sold murder for gold, treason for +gold,--escaping justice by the wiles they so deftly unveiled, or by the +importance of the deposition it was in their power to make. Secret, +swift, relentless, absolute--Venice had work for men who did not court +the sunlight; and such a nucleus drew to its dark centre intriguers from +other courts, and gathered in and strengthened the worthless within its +own borders, until the evil was growing heavy to deal with. + +Causes of discontent between Church and State were alarmingly on the +increase; and while in no other dominion, save that of Rome alone, were +ecclesiastical possessions so rich, or their establishments more +splendid than at Venice, nowhere were the lines of power so jealously +defined and guarded as in the government of this Republic from which +ecclesiastics were rigorously excluded,--although no least ceremonial +was held complete without the presence of the Patriarch and priests who +evidenced the devotion of Venice to the Holy Mother Church,--though +every parish kept its festa, and the religion of Venice was an essential +part of the life of its people. But if the priests had no visible seat +in the splendid Council Chambers of the Republic, they boasted at Rome +that their sway over the consciences of these lordly senators was well +established by virtue of the confessional and that, in the event of +contest, there would be many votes for Rome. + +The _ridotti_, the informal clubs of Venice in those days, were +important centres of influence--political, legislative, and literary; +and there was a certain palazzo Morosini, well known to many of the +senators who gathered in the Broglio, where questions of vital interest +to the thinkers and rulers of Venice were discussed with the degree of +knowledge that might have been expected from so eminent a company as +that which made the home of the distinguished senator Andrea Morosini +the scene of its ridotto, and where freedom of speech was much greater +than seemed wise in the candid sunshine of the Piazza. + +Of its present numbers all, at some period of their lives, held high +office under the Republic--they were senators, secretaries of state, +ambassadors--and three among that little group of thirty lived to wear +the beretta. It represented essentially the patrician culture of Venice, +and Morosini himself was already eminent as an historian; but the chief +literary centre was still acknowledged to be that quaint house in Campo +Agostino, of Aldo Manuzio, _il vecchio_, bearing, as in his day, +shield-wise, its forbidding inscription, "Whoever you are, Aldo +requesteth you, if you want anything, to ask it in few words and depart; +unless, like Hercules, you come to lend the aid of your shoulders to the +weary Atlas. There will always be found, in that case something for you +to do, however many you may be." But in this Aldine mansion only the +most-learned men of letters gathered, and Greek was the sole language +permitted in its discussions. + +One of the _habitues_ of the Aldine Club was chief among this noble +company of the Morosini. He was a grave, scholarly man who listened and +questioned much out of a seemingly inexhaustible fund of historic, +legal, and ecclesiastical knowledge--a man who had the power of +stimulating others, and whose rare word, when uttered, was of value. He +had opinions gathered at first hand from influential minds of every land +and creed to contribute to the talk when it flowed in narrowing +channels; and he himself came thither for refreshment from abstruse +studies, out of a quiet cell in the convent of the Servi, while +seemingly unaware that many a stranger begged for an invitation to the +palazzo Morosini in the hope of an introduction to this "miracle of +Venice." + +Perhaps this grave friar, apparently so careless of his distinction, was +the unsuspected intellectual thread which bound, as it were, together +the various influential circles of Venice; for in every centre, plebeian +or patrician, where there was anything new to be mooted or anything of +value to be discussed, he was a visitor so welcome and so frequent that +he might well have exerted a steady, unifying influence upon Venetian +thought. + +At the sign of the "Nave d'oro," in the Merceria, where the vast +commercial interests of Venice were the absorbing theme, and strangers +from every clime and merchants just returned from distant ports were +eager now, as in the days when Marco Polo had so valiantly entertained +the goodly company, to rehearse the tale of their adventures--it was +neither merchant nor noble who stood forth on the bizarre background of +brilliant baubles and gold-woven tissues as the centre of this ridotto, +but a friar, learned in languages and sciences, of whom it was +pleasantly affirmed that "he was the only man in Venice who could +discuss any subject in any tongue!" + +As this friar, unattended and on foot, turned out of the narrow calle +from San Samuele into the Campo San Stefano, the Giustiniani, father and +son, were just landing from their gondolas in the midst of a gay +retinue, on the steps of the palazzo Morosini; other gondolas of other +nobles were floating in full moonlight before the quay; and to Fra +Paolo, who did not share the Venetian love of color and of art, the +elaborately frescoed facade of an opposite palace--an extravagant freak +of the Veronese's which the Venetians were already beginning to cherish +as the work of their great artist who would paint no more--seemed an +impertinence unworthy of that dazzling illumination. + +Marcantonio Giustiniani had but lately returned from Rome, where, during +his residence as Secretary to the Venetian Ambassador, the affair of the +Venetian Patriarch Zani, which had roused such indignation in Venice, +had taken place. The matter was still of interest in official quarters, +because the death of Zani had caused a new vacancy, to which Venice, +according to her ancient right, had appointed the successor; and this +new Patriarch Vendramin should never go, as Zani had done at the request +of the Holy Father, to receive his benediction and be met with that +perfidious announcement that he had "examined and approved the Venetian +candidate," whom he now confirmed as Patriarch to the Most Serene +Republic! + +At the thought of the manner in which they had been entrapped and +outwitted--denuded, as it were, before the Roman Court of some +semblance of their ancient privilege of appointing their own +Patriarch--there was fresh indignation among these proud patricians. The +secretary Marcantonio Giustiniani had been present at the audience +granted by Clement to the Venetian Patriarch. "He would know if it had +been possible--even with the most favorable intentions toward +Rome,"--they were crowding round him and questioning with jealous +eagerness,--"even with the feeling which loyal sons should possess for +their Mother Church--to interpret that rude cross-questioning of his +Holiness, so unexpected and unexampled and contradicting his own +explicit promise--otherwise than as an examination--_an examination +which prejudiced the ancient right of Venice_?" + +A scarcely perceptible smile flitted over the young secretary's handsome +face--they were so venerable and eager, so careful of shadows of +form!--and in a sudden side-light a hint of a question obtruded itself +on his consciousness, as to whether there could be a slightly farcical +aspect to such an episode between two most Catholic and Christian +governments? He saw them both fired with feelings of very human +strength, both dealing only with shadows of reality--the Sovereign +Pontiff grasping at a semblance of power in insisting that this +candidate, named by Venice to a see within her gift, to which he, the +Pope, would dare present no other, was invested by _his_ examination and +approval; and the Republic, receiving back its own appointee, confirmed +with the papal benediction, jealously aroused to unappeasable +indignation by the empty form of questioning which had preceded this +singular ceremony. + +But the dignified company were pressing the young secretary for his +answer, and one of them anxiously repeated the keynote, "_An examination +which prejudiced the ancient right of Venice_?" + +"Courtesy and wisdom would render any other opinion inadmissible," +Marcantonio replied,--"in Venice." + +The elder Giustinian had detected the slight pause which preceded the +last two words. "Wherefore 'in Venice'?" he questioned, with some heat. +"It is a question not of locality, but of justice and judgment." + +"It is a question of judgment," Marcantonio echoed suavely, "upon which, +it hath been told me, the Senate hath already passed a law that shall +keep our Most Reverend Signor Vendramin from such a fate." + +"Ay, never again may our Patriarch leave the Republic for confirmation +of the see which she alone may grant. The law is just," said the Senator +Leonardo Donate. + +"In the days when his Holiness was but an Eminence, it hath been said, +he gave our ambassador a chance to prove his temper?" Morosini +questioned of Donato, who had been ambassador in Rome while Paul V, who +had but just ascended the throne, was still Cardinal Borghese. + +"It was in the matter of the Uscocks," Donato answered, after a moment's +hesitation, seeing that some were waiting for the story. "And it was the +second time that half-civilized tribe hath provoked disputes between two +most Christian nations. 'If I were Pope,' said the cardinal, 'I would +excommunicate both Doge and Senate!'" + +Fra Paolo scrutinized the faces of the listeners, and fixed his gaze +searchingly on the speaker. There was an uneasy movement among the +company, but Leonardo Donate did not flinch. + +"May they not know your answer, most noble Signor?" Morosini urged. +"For, verily, it was of a quality to illumine a page of history." + +"The words were few," said Leonardo, with dignity. "'_If I were Doge, I +would trample your edict under foot_.'" + +There was a sudden hush, in which those who had not been listening +became intensely conscious of the words just uttered by the aged and +illustrious Cavaliere Leonardo Donate, for there had been of late an +abiding undercurrent of suppressed excitement ready to awake at any +mention of Papal supremacy. The Republic had always jealously guarded +against any transference of temporal power from prince to prelate, and +many events which seemed linked in a chain that might lead to the most +deplorable results had succeeded to the election of Camillo Borghese as +Paul V; the desire evidently manifested by Clement during his latter +days to encroach on the perquisites and possessions of the minor Italian +States was crystallizing into a fixed purpose of ecclesiastical +aggrandizement on the part of the new Pope. + +"He was brandishing Saint Peter's sword before he had been knighted," +remarked the Signor Antonio Querini, who was deeply interested in all +disputes between Church and State. + +"But not before he had received strenuous training," responded the +grave, clear voice of the friar. "For five years he hath held office as +Auditor of the Apostolical Chamber, the style of which is written thus, +_'Universal Executor of censures and sentences recorded both in Rome and +abroad'_--a duty which he may be said to have discharged more faithfully +than any of his predecessors, as one cannot recall in any previous fifty +years as many thunderbolts and monitions as were launched during those +five years of his office!" + +Some romance could but attach to the unswerving judicial attitude of a +friar who had friends in high favor at the Court of Rome--who had known +a Bellarmino and a Navarro, and yet pursued, unchanging, the calm tenor +of his critical way. It was rumored that Sixtus V had been known to +leave his coach to converse with him, and would have given him, at his +mere request, a cardinal's hat; that Urban VII, as cardinal and pope, +had been his devoted friend; that Cardinal Borromeo--the saintly San +Carlo--had wished to attach him to his cathedral; and many were the +instances reported when marks of special appreciation had been granted +him from Rome, in lieu of denunciations which those jealous of his rapid +advance had sought to bring upon him. Even the late Pope Clement had +expressed admiration for his learning, while it was, nevertheless, well +known that Fra Paolo's counsels to the Senate, in certain troubles +arising out of Clement's attitude at Ferrara, had brought him the +refusal of the bishoprics of Candia and Caorle; but, whatever the +occasion, he was invariably discreet and fearless. + +However pungent the tone, the words of this man could no more be +attributed to personal bitterness than they might be influenced by +personal interest; and although the opinion which they indicated was a +surprise to some of the company, instinctively they felt the situation +to be graver than they had feared, and the evening's talk drifted as +wholly into the current of Church and State as if this ridotto were a +commission appointed by the Ten to prepare resolutions upon the +situation. And the list of grievances now reviewed, which had occupied +the Senate during the closing years of Clement's reign, was, in truth, +long. Vast differences of opinion concerning the Turks and the piratical +tribes who infested the shores of Italy and the uses their villainy +might be made to serve; troubles at Ferrara, teasing and undignified, +temporarily brought to a close by the sending of the galleys of the +Republic to prevent the seizure of their fishing-boats by agents of his +Holiness; questions of boundaries and taxes; attempts to divert the +trade of Venice, to arrest improvements redounding not only to the +advantage of the Republic but to that of the neighboring country; to +forbid, under pain of excommunication, all commerce with countries +tainted with heresy. These were matters meet for discussion by temporal +sovereigns touching the balance of power--so viewed and strenuously +resisted by the clear-headed Venetians, with much deference of form, +whenever practicable--as became loyal sons of the Church; but +occasionally, when nothing might be expected from temporizing, with a +quiet disregard which proved their consciousness of strength. + +From time to time, as the informal summary progressed, there was an +outburst of indignation. + +"Could an aggression be more palpable than that _Index Expurgatorius_ +demanded by Rome in 1596, when the ruling doctrine of exclusion involved +no question of morality or irreligion, but solely concerned books +upholding rights of consciences and rulers!" + +"It was a contest honorable to Venice, and one which Italy will +remember," responded a secretary of the Senate, who was a regular member +of this ridotto. "I am proud that it was my privilege to transcribe for +the records of the Republic the papers relating to that Concordat which +secured so great a measure of freedom for our press." + +There had been a short truce between Rome and Venice since the accession +of Paul V, who had been so immediately concerned with a certain prophecy +foretelling the death of a Leo and a Paul that his fears were only set +at rest by a further astrological announcement, judiciously arranged in +the palace of his eminence the brother of the Pope, to the effect that +"the evil influences were now conquered." Whereupon Paul had undertaken +in earnest the work which he conscientiously believed to be the highest +duty of a sovereign pontiff, had recalled all nuncios not in full +sympathy with his views of aggrandizement, and had replaced them with +envoys whose notions of authority were echoes of his own; and, as an +opening move, had made the demand, so resented by Venice, that the new +Patriarch Vendramin should be sent to Rome for examination before he +could be allowed to take possession of his prelacy. + +"But what hath Venice to fear from a Pope who is paralyzed for the first +two months of his reign by a reading of a horoscope!" exclaimed one of +the company scornfully. + +"Nay, then," said Donato, who had seen much of the world; "it is a petty +superstition of the age; it is not the fault of the man, who hath +sterling qualities. And by that same potency of credulity have his fears +been set at rest. It is a proof of weakness to undervalue the strength +of an adversary--for so at least he hath recently declared himself on +this question of temporal power, by his petty aggressions and triumphs +in Malta, Parma, Lucca, and Genoa." + +"I crave pardon of the Cavaliere Donato," Antonio Querini responded +hotly. "May one call the action at Genoa _petty_?--the compulsion of the +entire vote of a free city, the placing of the election of the whole +body of governing officials in the power of the Society of Jesus?" + +"And it was under threat of excommunication, which made resistance a +duty from the side of the government," Giustinian Giustiniani asserted +uncompromisingly. + +"But impossible from the Church's point of view. It is the eternal +question," Leonardo Donato answered gravely. + +"_The solution is only possible by precisely ascertaining the limits +within which each power is absolute_," the friar announced, with quiet +decision. + +A momentary hush fell upon the company, for the words were weighty and a +surprise. + +"It is well to know the qualities we have to fear," said Andrea +Morosini, "and we have listened in the Senate to letters from our +ambassador at Rome which bespeak his Holiness of a presence and a +dignity--save for over-quickness of temper--which befit a Pope; and that +he hath reserved himself from promises, to the displeasure and surprise +of some of those who created him." + +"It was rumored in Rome," said the younger Giustinian, "that the learned +Bishop Baronious, in the last conclave, by his persistence found means +to save the Consistory from the election by 'adoration' of another +candidate whose life would bear no scrutiny and who never darkened the +doors of his own cathedral! By this election the Church hath verily been +spared a scandal." + +"Therefore, let it be known," said Fra Paolo, with deep gravity, "lest +the nearness of such a scandal should breed confusion--and I speak from +knowledge, having been much in Rome--we have now a Pope blameless in +life; in duty to his Church most faithful and exemplary and concerned +with her welfare, as to himself it seemeth; of an unbending conscience +and a will most absolute; moreover, of marvelous reading in certain +doctrinal writings which seem to him the only books of worth, and with +the training of a lawyer wherewith to assert them. This is the man with +whom we have to contend." + +"Are there no faults?" thundered Giustinian Giustiniani, while the +others listened disconcerted. "A soldier seeks for weak spots in the +armor." + +"I know him," said Leonardo Donato, "and there _is_ one fault. It limits +his power to achieve; it increases his absolutism. It is +near-sightedness--smallness of vision." + +"Draw him strongly," said Giustinian, in a tone of concentrated wrath. +"Let us measure our foe before we meet." + +"There are no books Borghese hath not read; there is no point of view +but that which he doth teach, no appeal from the law as he interpreteth +it. _It is a fault of unity_. One power--the Church; one duty--its +aggrandizement; one prince--temporal and spiritual alike; one unvarying +obedience. All is adjusted to one centre; it is the simplification of +life!" + +There was an ominous silence and an evident wish to change the theme, +and the company readjusted itself by twos and threes. The Senator +Morosini turned graciously to Marcantonio. "It hath been told in +Venice," he said, "that the Lady Marina was received in Rome with marks +of very special favor." + +"The introduction of our Reverend Father Paolo had preceded her," the +young secretary answered lightly, bowing in the direction of the friar, +who sat apparently lost in thought. But Morosini repeated Marcantonio's +speech with some amusement, for the scholarly friar had never been known +to have a friend among the women--old or young. + +"I do not understand," he said, with no perception of any humor in the +situation. + +"It was the gift of the Reverend Father Paolo to the chapel of the +Servi," Marcantonio explained. "The Madonna del Sorriso was well known +in Rome." + +"Ah, I recall now the face of your lady, though I have not known her," +the friar responded courteously, yet he hesitated a moment before +accepting the seat which the secretary rose to offer him. "If it is the +face which the Veronese hath painted, her spirit must be fair. It should +make a home holy," he added, after a moment's pause. + +Marcantonio's face flushed with pleasure. The friar was still regarding +him with a gaze so penetrating, yet apparently so guiltless of +intentional rudeness that it ceased to be an impertinence, and amused +the young Venetian by its unconventionality. "Is there anything it would +please Fra Paolo to ask of me?" he inquired affably. + +"If there are children--" the friar pursued quite simply. + +"Our little son was baptized in Saint Peter's in Rome; he had sponsors +among the cardinals and a private audience and benediction from his +Holiness, Pope Clement," the young nobleman replied, trying to repress a +pleasurable sense of importance. "It was a pleasure to the Lady +Marina--she is devoted to the Church, and his Holiness was always most +gracious to her." + +"As was fitting for the lady of a Venetian representative, and due to +Venice," the elder Giustinian hastened to explain, "his late Holiness +was ever courtly and a gracious diplomat." + +He had been aware from his little distance how the talk had turned, and +he was alert to give it the coloring he liked best. For while the young +people were still in Rome, Signor Agostino Nani, watchful as an +ambassador well might be of the interests of so princely a house, had +confided to the "Illustrissimo Giustiniani," in a private and friendly +letter, that courtesies so unusual had been extended to this noble +young Venetian lady--so devoted to the Church, so gentle and +unsuspicious, so incapable of counter-plotting--that it would be wise to +guard against undue influence by a too prolonged stay at the Roman +court; and the honorable recall of the Secretary Giustiniani had soon +thereafter been managed. + +The friar's face had grown stern, but he did not resume the conversation +until the elder Giustinian had strolled away with his host. Then he +turned to Marcantonio, speaking earnestly. "Simplicity is no match for +subtlety," he said, "and much favor hath been shown to her. You will +pardon me, Signore, not because you are young and I am old, but because +the face of your lady hath moved me with a rare sense of unworldliness. +There should be no flattery in an act our Lord himself hath taught by +his example, and an old man like Pope Clement might well bestow his +blessing on your little child. But the times are not free from danger; +the home is best for the little ones--do not send him from his mother to +the schools." + +"He is but learning to speak," the young man answered, smiling at the +friar's earnestness; "only his baby word for his mother's name." + +"There are schools for the sons of noblemen in which he will forget it," +said the friar bitterly; "where they teach disloyalty to princes and +unmake men to make machines--and the mainspring is at Rome. Gentle women +are won to believe in them by the subtle polish of those who uphold +them, and the marvelous learning by which their teachers fit themselves +for office. And among them are men noble of character and true of +conscience--but bound, soul and body, by their oath; the system of the +Jesuit schools in Venice is for nothing else but the building up of +their order--at all costs of character or happiness. Let her keep her +little son, for her face seemed wise and tender; the favor which hath +been shown her may have a meaning." + +"Will not my father some time come to the palazzo Giustiniani? The Lady +Marina would make him welcome." + +"Nay, I thank you," the friar answered, instantly resuming his habitual +reserve. "Such gentle friendships form no part of my duty. I spake but +in friendly counsel. We, from without, see how the home should be more. +The orders are many to maintain the Church--they need no urging--but the +home hath also its privileged domain of childhood to be defended." + + + +XV + +With the return of the young people from Rome, gala days had once more +dawned for the Ca' Giustiniani, and the two sumptuous palaces which met +at the bend of the Canal Grande were scenes of perpetual fete. The +palazzo Giustinian Giustiniani had been chosen from all the princely +homes of Venice as best fitted, from its magnificence, to be offered as +a residence to Henry the Third of France, when that monarch had deigned +to honor the Republic by accepting its prodigal hospitality. In the +banquet halls, which had been prepared with lavish luxury for his +reception, the few years that had passed had but mellowed the elaborate +carvings and frescoes, while the costly hangings--of crimson velvet with +bullion fringes, of azure silk embroidered with fleurs-de-lis, of +brocades interwoven with threads of gold--had gained in grace of fold +and fusion of tints. + +If there were no halls of equal splendor in the palace which had been +prepared for Marcantonio and his bride, it displayed in all its +appointments an elegance and fitness which the stately Lady Laura was +eager to exhibit to the critical appreciation of the fastidious upper +circle of Venice. + +Marina had had no share in its decorations, and when consulted before +her marriage had expressed but one wish. "These cares of rank are new to +me," she had said, with gentle dignity; "but thou wilt best know how to +choose the elegance befitting Marco's home; for my father hath warned me +that in these matters there is a custom which I, more than others, may +not break. Dear Lady Laura, for Marco's sake forget that I am of the +people, yet, remembering it, to choose but so much of splendor as +seemeth needful, lest the palazzo be too costly for a mistress not noble +by birth, and so"--she hesitated--"and so win Marco's friends to love me +less." + +"Marina, Marco hath told me, with a very lover's face, that some are +noble by birth who are not so by name." + +"Dear Lady," the girl answered, with a charming flush, "had Marco not so +plead with me there could have been no question of this home." + +The eyes of the great lady beamed with a new and tender pride; in +nothing that her boy had ever done for her had he offered her so much as +in this love of his which had threatened to part them, but had stirred +instead the mother depths of her soul, which had become clouded by years +of luxury and artificial life and the knowledge of the ceaseless +ambitions and selfish scheming which her husband--for the intellectual +stimulus she gave him--had been accustomed to confide to her. And now +Marco was not less to her, but more, as he had promised; and if the +uncertain hope of that dim, distant, ducal coronet moved her less, it +was not that she would not still do her possible to help Giustinian to +his ambition--but it had become a smaller peak in the distance since the +home life had grown broad enough to bear her calmly when the proud +Senator rehearsed some failure or disappointment, with disproportioned +bitterness. + +Thinking of these things she smiled at Marina with new appreciation; the +girl's gentle face seemed to her more lovely and her rare calm and grace +of spirit more truly noble than the Venetian vivacity of charm in which +at first she had found her lacking. + +"Thou hast a way of winning," she said, "which many might envy thee; and +in seeming not to ask, thou shalt be served for love. It is the grace of +one born to rule. But hast thou _no_ wish? Is there no one place I may +make all beautiful at thine asking, within thy palace, to prove, sweet +Marina, how thy Marco's mother loves thee?" + +She parted her soft hair and kissed her forehead, but neither of them +noticed that it was a first caress. + +"I should like the oratory to be beautiful!" Marina cried, clasping her +hands with sudden enthusiasm; "very beautiful--like a gift to the Holy +Mother!" + +"And it shall bring a blessing on thy marriage," the Lady Laura answered +her. + +So when the secretary and his young wife had returned to Venice and +their palace was thrown open to guests, the private chapel of the Lady +Marina was discovered to be a marvel of decoration--with superb Venetian +frescoes set in marvelous scrollwork by Vittoria, with carvings of +mother-of-pearl from Constantinople, with every sumptuous detail that +could be devised; for, during the three years of their absence, the Lady +Laura had not wearied of her gracious task nor stayed her hand. And into +this incongruous setting--costly, overloaded, composite, and destitute +of true religious feeling, a very type of the time in Venice--Marina +brought the redeeming note of consecration, a priceless altar--ancient, +earth-stained, and rude, almost grotesque in symbolism--as a great prize +and by special dispensation, from an underground chapel in Rome. Also +the rare and beautiful ivory crucifix had its history; the malachite +basin for holy water had been a gift to the infant Giustinian from his +eminence the cardinal-sponsor on the day of his baptism; there were +other treasures, more rare and sacred still, within the shrine of the +oratory, and there was a gift from his Holiness Pope Clement VIII. + +There was no banquet hall in the palazzo Marcantonio Giustiniani, but it +was not needed, for the two palaces were like one. + +The Lady Laura was radiant. If there had ever been a question of the +place that Marcantonio's bride should occupy in that patrician circle, +the distinction conferred upon her by the Senate had sufficed to +establish it. There could be no jealousy of one who occupied the highest +place, of one so gracious and equal to her honors, only of those who +should win her favor. So all came in the hope of it, and all were won; +but there were no partialities, no intimacies; for all ambitions of the +young and newly created patrician, the fullness of the home life +sufficed to her. + +Marina had grown more beautiful out of the joy of loving and the +increased satisfaction of her religious life, to which she was more than +ever devoted; her passion for beauty expressed itself by delight in +sumptuous ceremonial, while her love of romance and her unquestioning +faith were alike nourished on the legends of the saints which had become +far more to her during her stay in Rome, where every hour had been +happiness. These three years of absence had made some subtle difference +in the Lady Marina; there was more mystery about her with less reserve, +and a certain calm acceptance of the position all conceded had given her +courage to discuss religious history and opinions in a serious way that +was quite charming to the older prelates who mingled in Venetian social +circles, where simple earnestness of soul was a quality so rare that it +might have been mistaken for a depth of subtlety; but the Lady Marina +talked or listened only because the themes were of vital interest for +her. Besides, she had now her child to guide and she must know; and the +learned men who gave their lives to the study of higher things were +those, above all others, from whom she could learn the most; and with +this unconscious flattery a little court, of a character somewhat +unusual in Venice, had gathered in her salons. Her husband, coming in +late from the Council Chamber one evening, rallied her upon it, saying +that her receptions might be mistaken for those of a lady abbess--there +were so many friars and grave ecclesiastics among her guests. His light +tone concealed a little uneasiness, for the friar's warning had more +than once recurred to him. + +But it was impossible to convey anything to Marina by a half-concealed +thrust, her nature was so essentially ingenuous, incapable of imagining +intrigues of any sort. + +"Yes, it is indeed an honor!" she answered, with her ready, trusting +smile. "It is good of them, they are so much more interesting than the +others; and to-night the talk was quite delightful! I would thou hadst +been here, my Marco! Life is so much more beautiful since we have been +to Rome! _Everything_ that was delightful came with our marriage," she +added, turning her radiant face toward him. + +He smiled, too, quite disarmed by her beauty and candor, and a little +amused that this life of a Venetian princess should be so lightly +included in this "everything" which marriage had brought to this maiden +of Murano; but he could not help thinking how easily she wore her +honors, and how she graced them; all Venice was at her feet, and she +preferred the dull talk of a few ecclesiastics to the vivacious +gallantry of the brilliant young nobles who thronged her salons--the +more anxious to please this queen of the day, that their efforts won +only the dignified and gracious, yet reserved, recognition that was +extended to all her guests alike. She was the very reverse of Venetian +in character and manner, but since she had been so honored by the +Republic that difference was recognized as her distinction and charm. + +"I doubt not," Marcantonio said, laughingly, "that if nuns might take +part in our social functions thou wouldst prefer them also to thine own +maidens and all the noble ladies of the Canal Grande. But who held part +in this interesting ridotto to-night?" + +"Truly, Marco, I think some day perchance I may get a dispensation and +have all the nuns of San Donate for baby's festa in the oratory--would +it not be beautiful to hear them chanting in our own palazzo! But that +is only a dream; I know not if it may ever be." + +She came toward him, in her shimmering festal robes, with the +unconscious, happy grace of a child, dropping into a low seat close +beside him, leaning back and letting her hands fall in an attitude of +complete repose, while she gave him, without effort, the detail of the +evening's talk. He was a little surprised at the way in which she made +this graphic recital of a discussion he would have supposed beyond her +comprehension--or at least beyond her concern--and he was not wholly +pleased. He had quite forgotten that one of the charms of Marina upon +which he had insisted in the days when he had made much of this maiden +to his patrician mother was that in capacity for thought and in force of +character she was far above the maidens of ancient lineage, from whom +the Lady Laura would have had him choose his bride. + +Marina had named, among others, Fra Francesco, her own spiritual +director, a Servite friar of gentle and winning demeanor, who was much +beloved both in his convent and in other circles where his duties called +him. He was a man of simple habits and the most exemplary life, whose +whole force lay in his extreme devotion to duty and his passionate love +for the Church; his sole anxiety was for her glory, and he would have +been supremely happy in the life he had chosen, were it not for his +growing anxiety lest from her own sons she should receive dishonor. He +was always a welcome visitor at the palazzo Giustiniani, and already +the little prince of the household had a special smile for him. + +"Ah, Fra Francesco, of course!" said Marcantonio, in an indulgent tone; +"our own friars and ecclesiastics are welcome. But, carina, these +foreign priests are often of a different way of thinking; and Don +Fernanzo Lillo, that fluent Spaniard--verily I would have thee don thy +most freezing dignity when he comes again." + +"But, Marco mio, thou doest him injustice; he is most interesting; he +was telling about the frescoes of the Michelangelo in the Sistine +Chapel; he knoweth them well, yet I think he liketh them little." + +"It matters not," said Marcantonio, a little disdainfully; "thou hast +already seen them; thou canst have thine own opinion of their merit." + +"But to hear all the allegories explained and all the illusions to the +history of our Holy Church is _most_ interesting," Marina pursued +calmly; "for the dear padre of San Donate had but little instruction; I +must know about all these things for baby's sake--he is growing so +fast." + +"He is not going to be an artist," his father answered shortly; "and if +he were, we could find a better person to instruct him than a Spanish +member of the Jesuit College." + +"_Marco_!" exclaimed his wife, with a long note of surprise; "is not our +Holy Church one? and are not her sons scattered over the whole world? I +knew not he displeased thee," she continued, in a changed tone, after a +little pause. "Of course I will not see him again. But is it Don +Fernanzo Lillo himself, or--or--Marco--it cannot be the order! Thou +canst not be so narrow!" + +"At this time, Marina, with matters thus between Venice and Rome, I do +not care to entertain any of their order or any foreign priests in our +home; they do not place things in the proper light, and we have always +held a special position of loyalty toward Venice. When she is in +difficulties all the Ca' Giustiniani should seem to remember it; it +could make no other difference." + +"I do not understand," she answered, looking at him with perplexed +brows. + +"Why shouldst thou!" he exclaimed, glad to change a distasteful topic; +"such weariness is not needful for thee. I will not bring the worries of +the Council Chamber into thy boudoir." + +"Nay, Marco, it would please me," she answered eagerly, rising instantly +from her languid attitude to come and stand over him, laying one hand on +his shoulder, half in caress and half in command. "Thy father tells +these matters to the Lady Laura; and for baby's sake I should understand +these troubles which touch our Republic. He will ask me questions very +soon." + +"Well, then," he consented ungraciously, "what is it thou wouldst ask?" + +She laughed at his reluctance, pressing her hand with a firmer and yet +more loving touch on his shoulder. "Because I am a Giustinian," she +began, with a plea which invariably won him, "tell me about this +question of Vicenza which occupies them all so much--I could not +understand. Who is this Abbott of Nervessa?" + +At her first words he had folded her caressing hand in his, but he +dropped it in immediate displeasure and walked quickly away from her, +speaking indignantly. "They talked of this in thy presence?" + +"They said an abbe was imprisoned in the Piombi; they said it was +against the law to imprison ecclesiastics except by the authority of the +Pope. Oh, Marco mio, I am afraid he will be very angry!" + +"What else did they tell thee?" he questioned doggedly. + +"They said there was a Canon Saraceni also--both imprisoned in Venice. +Marco mio, it is an insult to our Holy Father!" + +"What else?" + +"Nothing more--but only about some law of Venice that I did not +understand; I wished to ask thee." + +"And Fra Francesco was here and heard them talk?" + +"Nay, Fra Francesco stays never long; and this was but a few moments +before thy coming. I left the Sala Tiziana to see if all were going well +in this little salon, and they were speaking of Vicenza, and I asked +them. Wherefore art thou angry, Marco? What kept thee so late to-night?" + +She had never seen him in such a mood; he had persistently refused to +meet her beseeching glance; but now he drew a quick breath of relief, +and came back to her side. + +"It was this miserable matter of Vicenza that detained the Council in +such lengthy session," he said, "and it was not fit to have been +mentioned in thy presence, my sweet wife; I might well be angry. But +since thou wert not there, I can pardon them." + +"Yes, it was I who questioned them," she repeated eagerly, anxious to +shield her guests from her husband's indignation, though she did not +understand it. "They were talking of the Abbot of Nervessa and of his +Holiness, and when I came they rose to do me honor; and I also, to be +not lacking in courtesy, said, 'Le prego, Signori--I beg of you,' and +bade them continue the talk in which they had seemed full of interest. +Marco, in the Senate--do they know that the Pope is angry about the +Abbot of Nervessa?" + +Her eyes were full of the eagerness of her question. If they but knew +all would be well, she thought; she had so wished for Marco to be there +and hear them talk! + +"Marina, this whole matter is a question for the government to decide; +it is not for ecclesiastics to discuss--they know nothing of any laws +but their own. This is a civil case." + +"Would they not understand things better if they were allowed +representation in the Senate?" she persisted. "And what is this law? And +why is the subject not fit for Venetian nobles to discuss, since it +touches them so nearly?" She was growing disturbed, for she feared some +injustice, since Marco had not been indignant at the strange condition +she had unfolded to him, and she had thought it must suffice only to +name it to him. + +The young patrician looked at her in amazement. Fra Paolo was indeed +right, yet he had been almost indignant at the suggestion. + +"The subject cannot be discussed," he said, in quick, hard tones, +"because the Abbot of Nervessa hath committed crimes so atrocious that +thou would'st shrink at the bare naming of them. And for Saraceni--the +Canon of Vicenza--there came one day to the Senate a noble lady of +Vicenza, young, and very beautiful, and in great trouble, casting +herself at the feet of the Serenissimo, imploring protection from +disgrace that the canon would bring upon her--a scandal I had never +thought to name to thee. And there are other charges." + +"It cannot be true!" she cried, flushed and trembling. "Dear Marco, they +are priests!" + +"The truth will be decided by the integrity of the law," he answered, +severely; "they shall have justice at our courts; but it is a question +for the civil courts, since the people also cry for justice, and the +ecclesiastical law is not to deal with heinous civil offenses--though +committed by one in priestly robes. It is a just law of Venice--ancient, +and only now reaffirmed." + +"This is the law they spake of, Marco?" + +Now that she dimly understood there was some great trouble coming on the +people, she must know the right at any cost--even that of her husband's +displeasure; it was her duty to him, and she had put her question +firmly. + +"This--and another," he answered, unwillingly. "Listen, Marina, for I am +weary of thy questions. The law to forbid new foundations of church or +monastery, or the introduction of new religious orders without the +sanction of the government--also an ancient law, and but now +reaffirmed--is doubtless that of which they spake." + +Marina stood confounded, with flashing eyes; how could the Republic +dare to question the liberties of the Church! "Thou meanest, Marco, that +the Church, which is the head, must ask the Doge what she may do when +she would increase her own religious institutions--when she hath need of +buildings for her holy work!" + +"Thou hast an understanding quicker than I had believed," he answered, +with irritation; "and listen further, Marina--'since a Giustinian should +know the reason for the matters which concern the government,' that was +thy word, if I remember--the half of the territory of Venice hath +already passed into the hands of the clergy. Is that not ground enough +to hold their establishments, that thou wouldst grant them more? And for +the value of these possessions--for nowhere is a government more +generous to the ecclesiastics than the Republic hath been--it hath been +rated that a fourth part of the entire realty of the dominion--nay, some +count it a third part--is already the property of the Church. Shall we +nobles of Venice turn paupers and humbly beg of the clergy a pittance +for our children?" + +He laughed and kissed her hand as he rose. "Since thou hast asked it," +he said lightly, "I have given thee the law--and there is an end of it. +But let it not fret thee; Venice will know how to care for her own." + +But Marina had suddenly grown very pale. "Marco," she gasped, detaining +him, "will it be a war?--a war between Venice and--and----" + +She broke off; she could not speak the word which seemed a sacrilege. + +"Think of our child!" she whispered, as he gathered her in his arms, and +tried to soothe her. "Marco, are we not a Christian nation? And our +Patriarch--does he know about the displeasure of the Holy Father? What +will become of us?" + +"There will be no war," Marcantonio declared, with assurance. "Thou +see'st, carina, these matters are not for women to discuss; they cannot +understand; they are questions for the government alone; and well it is +for us that the clergy are out of it, or we might have the spectacle of +a Senate drowned in tears! There will be no war," he declared again, +mistaking the self-control for which she had bravely struggled as an +outcome of his attempts at consolation. "And now, since thou art thy +sweet self again, hath the boy not made the day richer for thee with +some tale of wonder thou wouldst unfold?" + + + +XVI + +There was no longer any doubt as to the intention of his Holiness toward +the rebellious spirit of the Most Serene Republic; the Ambassade +Extraordinary which had been appointed to convey to the Holy See the +dutiful congratulations of her devoted Venetian sons, on the accession +of Paul V, had few amenities to report in those lengthy dispatches to +which the Senate listened with a dignity which disdained to show the +least outward trace of irritation or forgetfulness, in a presence so +exasperating as that of the Papal Nuncio, Orazio Mattei. + +Day after day the Senate sat, in solemn state, to hear its delinquencies +rehearsed in the words of Paul V, by the graphic pen of his Excellency +Agostino Nani, Ambassador from the Republic to the Holy See, with +ceaseless repetitions of demand on the part of the Sovereign Pontiff; +with ceaseless repetitions of refusal, most deferently couched, from the +courtly representative of the offending power; with threats of that most +dread compeller of obedience which none but a sovereign pontiff may +wield; and very clearly phrased, that all might understand, the +declaration in the words of his Holiness himself, that he had determined +to "mortify the over-weening audacity of the secular rulers of the +world." + +With a patience which bore its fruit in a more rigid determination to +conquer, they listened, also, to many violent speeches from the Nuncio, +explanatory of papal authority, founded upon the dicta of a Gregory, +"_That none may judge the Pope. That all princes should kiss the feet of +the Pope_," and invariably sustained by this axiom of Mattei, delivered +as a refrain--so sure were the college of its repetition, "I am Pope +here; I want no replies, only obedience," and the reiterated assertion +that "Christianity depends upon the acceptance in its entirety of the +doctrine of papal supremacy, and that he has heard much of the vaunted +piety of the Venetian Republic, of which he fails to find evidence." + +In vain the Senate pleaded that on such a point there might be differing +views, and that men should be known for Christians by their faithfulness +in duty, by their practice of almsgiving and of the sacraments and of +all other good and Christian works; but the answer came swiftly, "Naught +else availeth." + +It was a relief to the stately and grim Giustinian to lose his temper in +the sanctity of his home, since that freedom was beneath the dignity of +a Venetian ruler in the company of others who were chafing like himself +from insults they would have rejoiced to hurl back in the face of the +speaker; and he was the less inclined to view favorably the efforts +toward conciliation of the embassy to the Holy See, because it would +have pleased him to have been named among those six of this Ambassade +Extraordinary, on a mission so important, as an honor due to his ancient +house. + +"It is repetition _ad nauseam_," he insisted hotly, "of demands for +abrogation of those laws, for yielding up of those two reverend +criminals to the ecclesiastical courts, of Nani's soft replies to the +quick speeches of his Holiness--an unending farce!" + +"Giustinian," said the Lady Laura quietly, "the difficulties are great. +How can the Holy Father yield a point which touches the honor of the +Church?" + +"Verily, my lady, I believe thou art not responsible for thine own +foolishness!" her husband exclaimed angrily. "If that prelate cousin of +Saraceni comes again to thy salon, let him be refused! He shall not +prate to thee of 'law' and 'supremacy,' who hath sought for this +occasion to embroil us with the Holy See. For the Senate hath learned +to-day, through the trustworthy open mouth of our watchful Lion, with +evidence irrefragable, that it is this reverend father who hath carried +the tale to Rome." + +"Tell me the right of it," she said again. "How may the honor of the +Church be saved, yet the dignity of Venice be maintained? If there be a +way, we women should speak for it." + +"Is the honor of the Church maintained by standing as a shield to crime? +It is Venice who would save the Church; the civil ruler shall purge her +sacred courts of such iniquities and leave her the purer for her sons to +love. Such is the law--ancient and just--and a right Venice cannot +yield. And more than this," he continued impressively, "all Europe is +waiting on the issue, for the real contest is on the rights of civil +rulers, and these imprisoned ecclesiastics are but the pretext for a +quarrel; and ill-judged, verily, on the part of the Holy Father, since +if the cases were less heinous there might have been occasion for +confusion of judgment. But now, who will dare assert that the honor of +the Church is concerned in protecting men who disgrace mankind!" + +"The Republic is then sure of her ground?" + +"So sure we are of right that letters are already sent to every +Christian court of Europe, announcing the causes of this quarrel and the +stand of Venice." + +"Marina is greatly troubled," said the Lady Laura, with a sigh. + +"Let her go often to San Marco and pray for us--the child is good for +nothing else since this trouble came." + +"She hath more comfort at San Donato; and the mother superior is a noble +woman and beloved by her." + +"Ay, it is all one--so that she wear not out the patience of Marcantonio +by her importunities. The Senate will stand firm on the issue, and not +one of the Ca' Giustiniani shall flinch." + +"Is there no possible doubt of the ending?" the Lady Laura questioned, +after a little troubled silence. Her heart was very sore for Marina, who +slept but little, and was constantly fasting. + +"Only of that which lieth between; the end is triumph for Venice," +Giustinian declared. "Tell that to Marina, and calm her fears. Also, let +it not be known that she is so weak in courage; it would be held against +Marcantonio, to whom the suspicion of being wife-ridden would do an +infinite injustice. And bid Marcantonio himself tell her of the vote +that hath passed the Senate, without dissent of a single voice, for +letters to be sent to the imperious Paul to make an end of his demands, +declaring that Venice recognizeth for the temporal government of her +states no superior, save God alone." + +Meanwhile in Rome, to the Ambassador Agostino Nani, Paul had already +superbly made answer, "We are above all men, and God hath given us power +over all men; we can depose kings and do yet more than that. Especially +our power is 'quae tendunt ad finem supranaturalem.' (Over those things +which tend to a supernatural end.)" + +All thoughts of festivity in the City of the Sea were over; the strength +of her patricians--men and women--was concentrated on this momentous +quarrel with the Holy See, which they would indeed have put off were it +possible, but which, having come upon them, they would bear with +conquering pride. All through those dark December days the pressure +tightened; there were mutterings of the coming storm, against which the +rulers of Venice were planning defense; there was an oppression, like a +sense of mental sirocco, in the air--a vague terror of the unknown among +the people, gathering like the blighting breath which precedes some +fierce tornado--while in the palace of San Marco, the Doge, Marino +Grimani, Chief of the Republic in revolt against the Holy See, lay +dying! + +The Lady Marina Giustiniani had forgotten how to smile. When her little +one lifted his rosy baby face to hers she smothered him in caresses, +that he might not see her tears; and her husband failed to note the +change, for the Senate sat in unbroken session and the permitted +absences from the Council Chambers of the Republic barely sufficed for +sleep. Daily in the oratory of her palace Mass was said, and Marina +passed long hours there on her knees alone, tracing the coming horror to +its most dread issue, trying to understand it wholly, that she might +pray with all her soul against it--this _Curse_ which was to blight the +lives of all she loved, and of which her dearest seemed to feel no +dread! She scarcely ate nor slept--watching, for the morning, when a new +intercession for mercy should rise from the oratory in her palace; +waiting for the evening, when she might go with her maidens to vespers +in San Marco. And still the days darkened in threats--had God forgotten +to be gracious? + +And on this Christmas morning, when the Doge of Venice lay dying in his +halls of state, the nuns of San Donate, won by the prayers and gifts of +the Lady Marina, were making a procession to all the shrines of Murano, +praying, if by any means, God would stay this curse from falling upon +Venice. + +No joy-bells rang to usher in the sunrise Mass of this memorable +Christmas day. The royal standards of the mighty Lion drooped at +half-mast before the dimmed magnificence of San Marco, their glowing +gold and scarlet deadened to shades of mourning steel; and low, muffled +tones, like the throbbings of the heart of a people, dropped down from +the campanile through an atmosphere still and cold as a breath of dread; +while from the embassies, the homes of the senators and Signoria, the +Patriarch and bishops of Venice, gondolas by twos and threes loomed +black against the gray-dark of the winter dawn, hurrying noiselessly to +the steps of the Piazzetta; and dark, stately figures, each heralded by +its torch-bearer, glided like phantoms under the arcades of the Ducal +Palace, up between the grim, giant guardians of the stairway, and on to +the galleries adjoining the apartments of the Doge, to await the hour of +Mass. + +An edict, more unanswerable than any ever issued by Republic or Curia, +had gone forth, and in solemn state Venice awaited its fulfilment. + +In that hush of reverent waiting, before the first faint saffron streak +had glimmered in the east, up through the flaring torches of the lower +court, unbidden and unwelcome, came the single figure in all that throng +which seemed to have no part in the solemn drama. To-day was like other +days for the nuncio, who was no member of the court of Venice, but a +figure without discretionary privilege, sent to keep in perpetual mind a +higher power. By his peremptory instructions he requested at once a +formal audience to deliver a message from his Holiness Paul V, which +could brook no delay. + +"Behold!" said he, after due grace of apology, when the senators had +withdrawn to the Sala di Collegio and taken their accustomed places, +"here are two briefs which, by the imperative instructions of our +Sovereign Lord the Pope, I must at once deliver to your Serene +Highnesses." + +They were sealed with the sacred seal of the Curia, and each bore the +inscription: + +"A Marino Grimani, Duce; e alla Republica Veneta." + +There was but a moment's consultation among the Signoria. + +"The Serenissimo is _in extremis_," the most venerable of the Ducal +Councillors announced, "therefore these briefs which, in the name of the +Serene Republic of Venice, we receive, cannot be opened until the solemn +ceremonials of the death and the election shall have been concluded," +and so dismissed the bearer of the Papal message to return to the +audience of the greater king. + +Meanwhile there was no arresting of that other message, which came +swiftly, and the placid old Grimani--wise, beloved, and regretted--laid +down his sceptre of state in the moment of the greatest need of Venice, +and passed on to a Court of Inquiry whose findings are inalterably just. + +Calmly, as if they knew not the contents of the unopened briefs, or like +men never to be surprised into forgetfulness, the Signoria and +councillors assisted at the crowded ceremonials of the days that +followed, when the Serenissimo lay in state in the _chapelle ardente_, +which was prepared in one of the great chambers of the Palace, with +twenty nobles in ceaseless attendance, the people thronging silently to +pay their duty to their Prince--when, by night, in solemn procession, +with torches and chanting of requiems, they carried him to the church of +San Zanipolo, their gondolas draped in mourning, their banners furled in +crepe, the imposing insignia of the state he had put off forever borne +before him to the giant baldichino before the high altar, where, +surrounded by innumerable candles, he lay until the morning should bring +the closing pomp of the last solemn Mass. + +Not one honor had been omitted, not one ceremonial abridged because of +those briefs upon which the seal of the Vatican was still unbroken; and +when the imposing obsequies were over, and there was no longer a prince +to lift the weight of the gold-wrought mantle and the ducal beretta in +the sight of the people, the ship of state yet bore herself superbly, +steering as serenely through the troubled sea as if each man still read +his signal in the face of a beloved commander. + +And now the singular strength of the Republic and the perfection of the +machine of government was evidenced, as, without a moment of indecision, +the officers proceeded to discharge the duty allotted to the hour, +according to the forms prescribed in those endless volumes of the "Libri +Ceremoniali," which provided for every function of life or death of the +punctilious Venetian court. + +No leader, however loved and revered, was individually great, but only +as he contributed to the greatness of Venice--the one deathless entity; +her noblest were content to give of their greatness and be themselves +nameless; and against the less great, for whom self-effacement was +impossible--men strong in gifts and eager for power--the jealous +Republic had provided a system of efficient checks, based upon an astute +understanding of the fears and claims of self-interest. Venice knew no +hiatus in rule; all were leaders to point the way of that inviolable +constitution when the supreme voice was temporarily silent, for it was +the voice of an impersonal prince, and not of the man--who had +absolutely put off individuality when he assumed the insignia of +royalty. + +In this hour of adversity the men of Venice rose to their greatest, +forgetting their rivalries and standing breast to breast in phalanx +around their vacant throne, that Venice might meet trouble with +increased strength when the eyes of the world were curiously turned upon +her. + +Inexorably, though no voice had been raised against Grimani, they +appointed that commission of inquisitors to review every official act of +the last wearer of this crown which now lay idly waiting on the golden +cushion; as sternly elected, those five "correctors" of the coronation +oath so soon to be administered to a new wearer of the ermine, and +without pause for praise or strife, proceeded to the cumbersome choice +of the ducal electors whose word should suffice to create a new Venetian +prince. + +Meanwhile, against the barred doors of the Council Chambers, where those +grave Signori were balloting and re-balloting with exemplary patience +for the golden balls, the nuncio knocked again, breathless with his +latest message sent in haste from the Holy See: "_The election of a new +prince would be void, being made by a people under censure_." + +But the law of Venice was ready with its decorous shield, and the +message could not pass beyond. The punctilious Signoria might give no +audience in the days that intervened between Doge and Doge, except to +receive that message of condolence which it had not entered the heart of +his Holiness to frame, and the nuncio appealed in vain to other +authorities in Venice to win him audience for the delivery of his +sovereign's mandate. + +With whatever burnings of heart and secret hopes and ambitions those +forty-one elected nobles, after days of weary, patient tossings of gold +and silver balls--a mere intricate child's play had it not been for the +greatness of the prize--saw themselves closed within the chamber from +which they might not issue forth until there was again a prince in +Venice; with what vividness a Giustinian foresaw his own stern visage +stamped on the coin of Venice in that moment when his name appeared on +the first folded paper drawn from the fateful urn; with what dignity he +concealed his baffled hope and watched, from under frowning eyebrows, a +Morosini and a Ziani pass, in turn, through the fierce ordeal of +relegation to obscurity--the annals of that secret council do not +reveal. + +But in this stress of Venice the electors quitted themselves like true +men, and when the noble Cavaliere Leonardo Donato--full of dignity, of +wisdom, and of honors, skilled in diplomacy and experience, and bold as +wise--came forth to scatter his coronation gift of coin in the Piazza, +and after solemn religious ceremonial was shown from the pulpit of San +Marco as Prince of Venice, well might the people shout in acclamation, +"_Provato! Provato_!" ("Approved!") and the watching courts of Europe +hasten to express, through their resident ambassadors, eager +congratulations that one so fitted to fill the position with distinction +had taken his place among the rulers. + +But Orazio Mattei brought no message of congratulation from Rome. + + + +XVII + +Giustinian Giustiniani had been among the electors and had listened to +that strict canvassing of acts, both private and official, which +preceded the final vote for the Prince of Venetia. + +"Venice hath taken stand before the courts of Europe with a leader who +feareth naught--save not to do the right," he magnanimously assured the +Lady Laura one evening when, according to their wont, they were +discussing the theme which never failed in interest. "Nay, not even +that; for Donato hath courage in himself, and in his own rulings faith, +and more a man needs not." + +"Then wherefore hath the Signoria created this office of _Teologo +Consultore_, and appointed thereto this friar of the Servi, of whom they +tell such marvels--as if the Collegio, with all our learned chancellors, +were not enough!" + +"Leave thou these matters to the Signoria, who, verily, know how to +rule--ay, and how to choose; for the man is like none other." + +"What uses hath the Senate for this cloistered scholar, skilled in many +sciences and master of tongues," the Lady Laura persisted, "that it +should create an office--which since the _serrata_ it hath not been +known to do--and appoint a friar over the heads of our nobles who have +loyally served the Republic since our ancestors first sat in the +Consiglio? There are the halls of Padua for our scholars, where already +his friend, the master Galileo, holdeth high honors, by favor of the +Senate; and if Fra Paolo were named Rector Magnifico, and put at its +head----" + +"Nay, nay, the Senate is wise," her husband interrupted, not ill pleased +at her vehemence and the patrician pride which prompted it. "And if the +Republic hath no present need of the Consultore's mastery of sciences, +the fame thereof hath made a hearing for any speech of his. But he hath +no mind to any social pleasures--how, then, my lady, hast seen him, or +knowest thou the quality of his learning?" + +"Fra Francesco is never weary of telling of his wisdom; they have been +friends since boyhood in the Servi. The master Galileo, if one may +believe him, can do naught without consulting Fra Paolo, and together +they are building some strange tunnel that shall bring the stars nearer! +It is like a fable to listen to these marvels of his friend, who for his +discoveries might well hold all the chairs in Padua if Fra Francesco +might decree his deserts! But Fra Francesco is simple-minded. Tell me, +Giustinian, how doth the Consultore appear to thee?" + +"To me and to all men like one who betrays no secret and speaks no idle +word." + +"Once," pursued the lady meditatively, "I had sight of him, going with +Marco to the convent to see our Madonna of the Veronese, and Fra Paolo +ministered in the chapel of the Consolation; very quiet and simple he +seemed, like the other frati. I had not thought him great, nor a leader +of men. Are there no statesmen in Venice who might better fit the +dignity of so great an office?" + +"Think not to teach subtlety to the Signoria, my Lady Laura! Is not +every noble a statesman trained, and every one at the service of the +Republic? But there is no greater theologian at the Court of Paul V, nor +any ecclesiastic among them all more familiar with the writings of their +authorities; and he hath a memory so astounding that he beareth the +meaning of all their codes on the end of his tongue wherewith to confute +the fallacious arguments of Rome." + +"Giustinian!" + +"It is like a woman to ask a thing and cry out if the answer be not +smothered in sweets!" the old Senator retorted irritably, resenting her +accent of reproof. "It is small marvel if the Consultore seemeth not +great to thee; the power of the man is in the clarity of his vision and +the brevity of his speech." + +"Who named him to the Signoria?" + +"Donato knew him well, and Morosini and all our ablest men; and his +knowledge of the ways of Rome, where he hath been much in legislation at +the Vatican, is a power in the Senate--which hath no mind to be taken in +argument, nor to fail in courtesy, nor to show ignorance in its demands. +It is much to have a judge whose opinion our adversary must respect." + +"The Senate will be cautious--will not forget the reverence owed to the +Holy Church?" she asked, in warning, troubled at his bold use of words. + +"Nay, but the Republic will first remember the duty owed to our prince, +since it is a matter that toucheth the State," he answered, +uncompromisingly, "and for our duty to the Church--leave that to our +frate, than whom none is more devout." + +She was too keenly interested not to put the further question: + +"Is it safe for Fra Paolo to lead this controversy? Is it pleasing to +his order?" + +Giustinian gave a contemptuous laugh. + +"Thou mayest well ask! Fra Paolo also would not hear of it at first, +foreseeing where it might lead. But from urgency of the Senate he +yielded--if the consent of the general of the Servi were first won. +Wherefore it was granted one knows not; but the purple robe had, +perchance, some weight in the argument,--being a pleasing honor,--though +one may dare assert that Fra Paolo himself gave it not a thought, having +gathered honors all his life with no care for any greatness they might +bring." + +"Nay, it was not this that won them," said the Lady Laura, with +decision, "but their hope that Fra Paolo would support the claims of the +Holy Father; it could have been nothing else." + +"A hope most reasonable, were he a man of less remarkable force," +Giustinian answered confidently. "But, as if he held a divining-rod, he +findeth at once the heart of a matter, and Venice hath no fears." + +No, Venice had no fears. If there had been heartburnings, they were all +forgotten; her rulers were one in determination while they calmly +weighed the balance between Church and State, and confidently awaited +the issue. The briefs had been opened and the chief Counsellor, the new +Teologo Consultore, had given an opinion which filled the Senate with +admiration. + +"Two remedies might be found: one, material, by forbidding the +publication of the censures and preventing the execution of them, thus +resisting illegitimate force by force clearly legitimate, so long as it +doth not overpass the bounds of natural right of defense; and the other +moral, which consisteth in an appeal to a future council. But," +continued this sagacious Counsellor, after a word explanatory of the +"future council," "it were better to avoid this appeal in order not to +irritate the Pope more than ever; and also because he who appealeth +admiteth that the goodness of his cause is doubtful, whereas that of the +Republic is indubitable." + +Such was the opinion, brief as positive, to which the senators listened +in undisguised satisfaction on that memorable day in January, 1606; and +although those briefs, "Given in Saint Peter's, in Rome, under the Ring +of the Fisherman, on the 10th of December, 1605," darkly threatened +excommunication unless these dearly beloved sons of Venice withdrew from +the stand they had taken, yet with a Doge who "would laugh at an +excommunication," and a learned Counsellor who assured them that the +cause of the Republic was indubitable, well might the shadows lessen in +the Senate Chamber; while in calm assurance the Savii[7] prepared the +reply to these communications from his Holiness, which the Signor +Agostino Nani presently delivered in an audience at Rome. + + [7] These Savii, or _wise men_, had charge of the diplomatic + despatches of the Republic. + +But the task of the courtly Nani was not an enviable one, deferent as +was the form of the epistle in which these devoted sons declared that +nothing could have been further from the thoughts of Venice than to +prejudice the rights of the Church--humbly as they implored the Holy +Father to recall the many acts of loyalty by which Venice had shown her +love and reverence. Had she not been foremost in the Crusade? Was the +Church anywhere more magnificently supported in temporal weal? Earnestly +as they assured him of the harmlessness of those laws which he condemned +as hurtful to their souls, quietly announcing that the Republic had +transgressed no right in making laws for her own independent civil +government,--and gracious and diplomatic as were the ways of Nani,--his +Holiness declared the letter to be "frivolous and vain," and dismissed +the ambassador with temper, assuring him that unless the Republic found +means to retract those laws "the gates of hell should not prevail" to +deter him from inflicting the utmost threatened penalty. + +It was a frank contest of wills, in which each opponent conscientiously +believed himself in the right; but it was, nevertheless, not an equal +contest; for Paul, conceiving that his duty in the exalted position of +head of the Church which had been so unexpectedly thrust upon him, lay +in its mere temporal aggrandizement, while consciously turning all his +powers in that direction, misnamed the struggle a _spiritual_ one. But +Venice not only believed but confessed it to be merely a question of +civil rights of rulers, and, strong in the sense of the justice of her +cause, used every grace of trained diplomacy in asserting it--upon an +understanding of civil law which was beyond the attainment of the lawyer +Camillo Borghese, and with the aid of specialists whose knowledge of +canon law equaled that of his Holiness. + +Among the important matters touched upon in those days in the Senate the +question had been broached, not without anxiety, as to whether Rome +would have recourse to force of a less spiritual nature, and a secret +commission had been appointed to examine and report from the frontiers +any accession of papal troops, while envoys were sent to Ferrara on the +same furtive errand: and the more serious Venetians were already +discussing the possibility of war as one of the aspects of this quarrel +with the Holy See. + +One day, through the swift and secret mouth of the Lion, an unusual +message reached the Ten, standing strangely out amid a mass of darker +matter--denunciations, sinister information, hints of intrigues; the +reason for the choice of this mysterious messenger was stated in the +preamble: "To the end that this may, without circumlocution, immediately +reach your noble body and be acted upon in your discretion--being +secretly dismissed, if this seemeth wisest in the interests of the +State." It was a brief offer on the part of Girolamo Magagnati to equip +and maintain, at his expense, in the event of war with the Holy See, a +war-galley of the largest size, as a gift to the Republic in the name of +his little grandson, the infant Giustinian. + +Venice, being more munificent in expenditure than her unassisted +treasury would warrant, was at all times ready to receive and encourage +private bounties from her wealthy citizens; and the promptness and +generosity of Magagnati's gift, the first which had been offered in this +emergency, seemed in the interests of the government to demand some +adequate public recognition, modestly as it had been proffered. Haughty +as was the attitude of Venice in the face of the threatened +excommunication, the occasion was one of peril to which she was not +blind, and the danger was greatest among the people--the _popolo_--who +were more under the influence of the priests, and who still included in +their beliefs many superstitions which were not likely to deter the +disciplined body of nobles from acquiescence in the decisions of their +chiefs. + +It was therefore a moment for diplomacy, when Venice might fitly show +magnanimity in her acceptance of so princely a gift from one of the +people, as this master-worker of Murano was still esteemed; and Girolamo +Magagnati was invited to appear before the Senate and receive the +acknowledgment of the Serenissimo, who had already been informed by the +Councillors that while the spontaneous offer of a galley so maintained +had no precedent in the annals of Venice, the reward which the Senate +proposed to bestow had, in fact, in early historic days been offered by +the Republic as a stimulus to such a gift. + +Girolamo Magagnati, a grave and venerable figure,--with white locks +falling from under his round black cap, and a full gray beard flowing +over the long merchant's robe of stiff silk, and wearing the insignia +of his calling, a golden chain which by its weight and numerous links +was also an indication of his wealth,--might have been one of the +Signoria, as he stood among them to receive their thanks--unabashed, as +became one of his dignity of character and age, unattended, as befitted +one of the people. + +The Doge himself made a gracious speech of acceptance on behalf of the +Republic, to which Girolamo briefly answered: "Most Serene Prince and +Noble Lords of the Council, in the name of my grandson Giustinian, I +thank you," and with a grave obeisance he would have retired; but it was +signified to him that he might not yet withdraw. + +"Yet one thing remaineth, most esteemed Messer Magagnati, by which this +Republic would testify her appreciation of such loyalty and forethought, +by reason of which--as for the esteem in which this Republic hath ever +held the ancient house of Magagnati, which from the earliest times hath +been foremost in our industry of Murano--we propose to confer nobility +upon thine house, and to give thee an immediate seat of right in the +Maggior Consiglio." + +The honor was so unexpected that the body of grave Councillors had risen +in congratulation before Girolamo Magagnati could frame other response +than his profound and grave obeisance. + +But there was no hint of indecision in the deep, measured tones with +which he made reply: + +"Most Serene Prince and Lords of the Council, I beg you to believe in my +deep appreciation of the honor you would bestow. But let it rather be +said of me that I--being still of the people, as all of my house from +the commencement of this Republic have ever been--have yet received such +favor of my Prince that he accepts from one of the people this token of +loyal service to the government. And more I ask not." + +"Also," he proceeded calmly, taking no note of the consternation on the +faces of his auditors, "is it not fitting for old men to receive favors +from children, rather for them to bestow--as I, this galley, in the name +of the boy; the which--were I to accept in return the munificence of the +Senate--would be the offering of my galley as so much base coin, +wherewith to purchase an honor not mine by birth. Let it not be said in +scorn that Girolamo Magagnati hath bought the nobility with which his +birth hath failed to endow him!" + +"Is it better, Messer Magagnati, that some should now say 'it is for +arrogance that this noble son of the people refuses a seat among the +nobles of Venice'?" the Doge questioned coldly. + +"Not so, Most Serene Prince; each man is rather noble if, in that place +which God hath assigned him, he doeth nobly the duty belonging thereto; +as ye, my Lords, Nobles, and Councillors of the Republic, each in the +seat appointed you by birth, serve, without wearying, the interests of +Venice. I am already old and the last of my race, for those of my blood +who come after me, by the favor of Venice, are inscribed in the 'Libro +d'Oro.' If I have deserved aught of your bounty, be gracious when some +right of the people is in danger of being forgotten; and let my +grandson, among the nobles, ever serve nobles and people alike--as +Venetians--without distinction of interests. But let me die as I have +lived, among the workmen of Murano--Magagnati, of the Venetian people." + +"Never before, in the annals of the Republic, was one known to refuse +the gift of nobility," Giustinian explained, as he described the scene +to the Lady Laura. "And, verily, one saw that the displeasure of the Ten +was great; the more so that in the interests of the government the +return they would have made may not be kept from the knowledge of the +people. Yet our senior master of Murano was suffered to depart with a +gracious word of regret from this consummate Donate, 'that a new noble, +so loyal in sentiment, should not be numbered among the councillors of +Venice.' Truly this grandsire of our little one lacketh not pride, and +his bearing became him well, though the Senate would have had it +otherwise. His gift was generous; but verily he needeth little for the +maintenance of the state he keepeth!" + +"Giustinian, it was a noble act! And already the Republic is more +beholden to our baby than to any child in Venice; it will bring gladness +to the face of our sad Marina." + +"Nay, guard thee from speech of it; perchance she may not hear thereof, +being thus concerned with grief for this quarrel--womanlike; and she +hath not strength to bear the thought of war. Verily, the reverend +father confessors in Venice have much to answer for; I would thou +couldst find means to keep Fra Francesco from his ministrations in her +palace." + +"Fra Francesco--so holy and gentle--a man to trust!" + +"Ay, I have naught against him, save that he is trained in the school of +Rome, having a conscience to uphold their claims, and with no thought or +care for anything but the Church--no wisdom to discover any right of +princes. Such confessors make trouble among the people. I doubt not our +daughter trusteth the word of Fra Francesco beyond thine or mine. Do thy +possible to keep him from her; there is no knowing what Marcantonio may +do at her bidding, and in this crisis there shall be no stain upon our +house." + +"Thou, then, Giustinian, speak with Marco." + +"Nay, I dare not name Marina to him under such suspicion; it might be +the forcing of the very thing we fear. He hath a way with him of hearing +all and saying naught, save some gay, facile word, courteous to the +point one can find no fault; and underneath he hath perhaps some scheme, +and never can one get a promise from him." + + + +XVIII + +The Lady Marina was wan from fear and fasting but very resolute, though +her face showed traces of tears, as her husband entered the oratory of +the palace, whither she had implored him to come to her before he went +to the Senate Chamber--a dignity to which he had but just been elected. + +"Why hast thou summoned me hither?" he asked somewhat coldly; for, like +most light-hearted people, he disliked scenes, and differences between +himself and his wife were the more intolerable to him because he truly +loved her. + +"Oh, Marco, my beloved!" she exclaimed imploringly, "thou lovest Venice +as much as I, and thy little word can save her from this great horror, +for thou art in the councils of thy people." + +"Nay, Marina, thou dost not understand," he answered deprecatingly, +softening at the sight of her trouble. "I have but one vote; it is as +nothing in the Senate--it would but draw indignation against our house. +It is not possible to fail in loyalty to the Republic on this first +occasion of moment." + +"Thy father might be won, if thou hast but courage. Thou art a +Giustinian; it is thy duty to speak in time of peril, and thy words +would make others brave to follow thee. Thus shalt thou save Venice." + +"If thou didst but know, carina, how the Senate and the Ten are set +against this wish of thine! I should not speak of this matter to thee, +for it is secret--but to calm thee and help thee understand." + +"How shall it calm me to know that the people and the city are rushing +under the ban? If this terrible resolution passes, if our child--our +tender child--were to die to-morrow he would go without burial--a little +wandering soul! Marco, thou lovest our child?" + +Her pauses and her desperate struggle for control were full of +inexpressible horror. + +"Calm thyself, my darling; it shall not be," he answered, reassuringly. + +"Oh, Marco mio! And thou wilt give thy vote against it? And thou wilt +use thine influence in the Council? Promise me!" + +She clung to him, sobbing and exhausted. + +He soothed her for a moment silently; should he leave her under such a +misunderstanding? It would be easier for them both, but he had intended +no untruth. How was it possible to make such a woman understand? She was +quiet now, and he was stealing away from her with a kiss on her +forehead. + +"Promise me!" she insisted, following him and clasping his arm with +sudden strength. + +"Marina, they are very set; and the Ten--thou dost not know their +power." + +"And shall all Venice brave the wrath of our most Holy Church because +the Senate is afraid of the Ten? Are the Ten more powerful than the Holy +Father and all the priesthood and sacraments of the Church? Marco, my +beloved, how shall I save thee?" "Carina, these things are not coming +upon Venice; thou dost not understand the law of Church and State." + +"No, Marco," she answered boldly, "it is rather thou who dost not +understand. There will be no services, no marriage for our people, no +burial, no consolations of our holy religion, no sacraments--if this +excommunication should come upon us." + +"If we had sinned, Marina, and laid ourselves open to interdict, then +these things should come--not otherwise." + +"Ay, but we _have_ sinned--by rebellion against the Holy Church. Marco, +it is not easy for men to submit; but Father Francesco says the women +shall save Venice." + +"The women of Venice are priest-ridden!" the young Senator cried +angrily, breaking away from her. "If there is trouble, it is the priests +who have brought it. They cannot be a separate power within Venice!" + +"Not a separate power, Marco, only the representative of the Church, +which is the supreme power." + +"These things are not for women to discuss," he exclaimed in +astonishment that she should attempt to reason on such a subject. + +"Not for women, and not for men," she answered quietly. "The power of +the Holy Father is by _divine_ right." + +"Marina, if thou canst say so much, thou _shalt_ understand the rest!" +he cried desperately. "So also is the power of temporal princes by +divine right--if not even more, as some of the authorities would have +it. But the temporal prince hath right only to that within his own +jurisdiction. Granting the divine right to the spiritual prince, it +lieth only within his own province. Paul V hath exceeded his rights. +Leonardo Donato, Serenissimo of the Republic, is not guilty in +self-defense." + +She quivered as if a knife had been thrust through her; then, +controlling herself by force, she dipped her fingers in the basin of +holy water that stood upon the little altar. "It is sacrilegious to +speak against the Holy Father," she said in a low, grieved tone, as she +made the sign of the cross upon his breast. "May God forgive thee, my +dear one--it is not thy fault. But in the Senate they are misleading +thee!" + +"My sweet wife," he answered, much troubled, and folding her closely. +"Do not grieve. All will be well for Venice. We shall not bring harm +upon her." + +But she detected no yielding in his tone. She lifted her head from his +breast, and moved slightly away from him. + +"Marco," she asked firmly, "when is the vote to be cast?" + +"To-day, before sunset, and I must not linger. It would bring misfortune +upon our house if I were to be absent in an affair of such moment. Else +would I not leave thee." + +She did not seek to detain him. + +"Promise me that thou wilt be reasonable," he said, looking back, as he +parted the draperies of the doorway; "thou wilt not grieve." + +"A promise for a promise, Marco; thou hast given me none, and may the +Madonna have mercy upon us!" + +After a long, lingering look at the drooping figure of his wife he +dropped the curtain and descended to his gondola, sombre in spirit +because of the work that awaited him in the Senate Chamber; his +footsteps lagged wearily upon the stone floor of the long, dark passage, +and the brilliant outer sunshine flooded him with a sense of desperately +needed relief. + +When Marina moved it was to throw herself before the altar, resting her +head upon her clasped hands, in an agony of supplication. + + * * * * * + +In the midst of an excited debate, immediately preceding the final vote, +the door of the Senate Chamber was suddenly thrown open by the keeper, +who announced in an awestruck tone: + +"A citizen claims the right of the humblest Venetian to bring before +Messer the Doge a message of vital import in the question under +discussion." + +He uttered the words tremblingly, as if he had been taught them, and the +interruption at such an hour, though not unprecedented, was at least +unusual enough to cause consternation. The flood of words ceased; there +was an uneasy movement among the senators, then a hush of suspense. + +Without waiting for the customary consent of the Doge, a procession of +white-robed, white-veiled women passed through the open doorway, moving +slowly and solemnly to the Doge's throne. The leader stepped forth from +her group of maidens and knelt at the foot of the dais. + +This sudden arrest of action by these white-robed gliding figures, at a +moment when the Senate was about to defy the authority of the Church, +brought a superstitious thrill to many hearts within that chamber. + +Among the younger senators it was whispered, in unsteady tones, that a +message delayed for the death of a prince was likely to bring +trouble--messengers, perchance, from another world--when forced again to +discussion. They listened breathlessly for the message; but the figure +still knelt in silence. + +The group of Councillors on the dais swayed and parted against that +wonderful background of Tintoret, the dead Christ and the two Doges +reverently kneeling in proof of the devotion of this Most Serene +Republic. Around the vast and sumptuous chamber, where the proud +Signoria assembled, like a council of kings, Venice had chronicled her +triumphs and her religious humility in endless repetition and intimately +blended, as became her faith; the Doges Priuli, kneeling in prayer; +Venice, mounted defiantly on the Lion of Saint Mark; other portraits of +other doges, in attitudes of devotion; other pictures of the Christ, of +the saints, always symbolic; but over all,--triumphant, beautiful,--with +its irresistible sea-tones, cool and strong, Venice, Queen of the Sea, +compelling the homage of her rulers, from the ceiling's height. + +Twice the Doge essayed to speak, but the faces of the younger men warned +him of the danger of such an interruption at a moment when the entire +vote had seemed sure, and so filled him with wrath that he dared not +speak until he could control his voice, lest its tremor be mistaken for +fear. The moment seemed an hour. + +"Reveal thyself!" Leonardo Donato commanded at last; "and rise!" + +The supplicant slowly rose, throwing back her veil, and revealing a face +that was spirit-like in its pallor and beauty, with deep eyes, +unfathomably sad. Her maidens gathered close about her, as if to support +her, for she trembled as she stood. + +A low murmur arose. "The Lady of the Giustiniani!" + +In all that vast Council Chamber there was no movement, save the slight +commotion among a group of red-robed senators farthest from the throne, +who were forcibly detaining the Senator Marcantonio Giustiniani, and the +imperative gesture from the dais which had waved him back and hushed his +involuntary exclamation of horror. Among the Savii, Giustinian +Giustiniani sat livid with anger, close under the eyes of that one calm, +terrible Counsellor whose gaze, fastened upon him, rendered speech +impossible. + +"My daughter," said the Doge, in a tone full of consideration, "this is +not fitting. At another moment we will listen to thy request. Thou +mayest withdraw." + +"Serenissimo, Prince of Venice!" Marina cried, stretching forth her +hands, "be gracious to me! _Now_ must I speak my message, or it will be +too late--and it hath been granted me in a vision, for the welfare of +the people of Venice. _If the Ruler of this Republic will win the +consent of the Senate and the Council to comply with the admonitions of +the Most Holy Father, the day shall be happy for Venice_." + +"Take her away--she is distraught," commanded one of the Chiefs of the +Ten, starting forward. + +There was a movement of irresolution among those immediately surrounding +the Doge; but the Lady Marina, like one commissioned for a holy emprise, +had no fear. + +"Nay, for I claim my right, as citizen of Venice, to bring my grievance +to the Doge's throne!" she answered proudly. "I am mother to a son who +shall one day take his seat among the nobles of this Council; I am +daughter to a man of the people,--beloved by his own class and honorably +known, in the records of the Ten, among the industries of Venice,--who +hath but now refused the seat of honor they would have granted him, that +he might more truly serve the interests of the people; I am wife to a +noble whose ancient name hath been written again and again in records of +highest service most honorable to the Republic. My grievance is the +grievance of Venice--of the nobles and the people!" + +She spoke with the exaltation of inspiration, and there was a hush in +the chamber, as if she had wrought some spell they could not break. + +Presently into this silence a voice--low, clear, emotionless--dropped +the consenting words, "Speak on, that justice be not defrauded by the +half-told tale." + +Instinctively the eyes of the senators turned to the face of the Chief +Counsellor, whose opinions had ruled the debate for many days past; but +he sat serene and unmoved among his violet-robed colleagues, with no +trace of sympathy nor speech upon his placid and inscrutable +countenance. If the words were his they were simply an impartial +reminder of duty--they concealed no opinion; the senators were to be the +judges of the scene, and justice required them to listen. + +They gave a quickened interest. + +"I plead for the people, who have no representatives here--for the +people, who are faithful to the Church and dutiful to the Holy Father; +let not this undeserved horror come upon them. Leave them their heaven, +who have no earthly paradise!" + +The lady's strength seemed failing, for the last words had come more +painfully, though with a ring of passionate indignation. + +Again Marcantonio Giustiniani broke from his detaining colleagues in an +attempt to reach his wife; and a second time the hands of the +Councillors waved him back. + +"Spare us this anathema, most gracious Prince!" she cried. "I speak for +the mothers of all the babes of Venice. And oh, my Lords,"--and now the +words came in a low, intense wail, as she turned instinctively and +included them all in the beseeching motion of her hands,--"if you have +no mercy on yourselves, at least have mercy on your tender little ones! +Do not bring damnation on these innocent, helpless children by your own +act. Be great enough to submit to a greater power!" + +"It is unseemly," murmured another of the Councillors, yet low, as if +afraid of his own judgment in a case so strange. + +Leonardo Donato had been in possession of the supreme ducal authority +but a few weeks, not long enough to unlearn the tone of command and the +quick power of decision which had distinguished him as ambassador, when +he had been chosen with the unanimous approval of this august assembly, +to conciliate the court of Rome in the hour of the Republic's great +emergency. His presence of mind returned to him; the scene had lasted +long enough, and the situation was critical. The noble Lady Marina must +be retired without disgrace, for the honor of the Ca' Giustiniani; but, +above all, that she might not heighten the impression which her presence +had already created. And she must be placed where she could exercise no +further influence, yet in a way that should awaken no commiseration; for +she was beautiful and terribly in earnest, and in her deep eyes there +was the light of a prophet, and all Venice was at her feet. + +The Doge spoke a word low to his Councillors, who sat nearest him on +either side, and they, with decorous signs of approval, passed it on to +the others. Thus fortified he rose, descended the steps of the ducal +throne, and addressed her with grave courtesy; the whole house, as in +custom bound, rising also while their prince was standing. + +"We do not forget, most noble Lady Marina Giustiniani, that more than +many others thou art a daughter of the Republic, being especially +adopted by the Act of the Signoria; and thy love for Venice wins +forgiveness for the strangeness of thy fear that we, her loyal rulers, +could work her harm. But thou art distressed and needing rest, from the +pain of the vision which thou hast confided to us. We will care for +thee, as a father should. + +"Let the noble Senator Marcantonio Giustiniani approach and conduct his +lady to private apartments within our palace, where she may rest, with +her maidens, until she shall be refreshed. One of our secretaries shall +show the way and remain to see that every aid is bestowed." + +The secretary whom the Doge had designated by a glance had approached +and received a rapid order, spoken in an undertone; Marina had fallen, +almost fainting, upon her husband's arm, as he reached her after the +permission so intolerably delayed, yet he dared not move in that +imperious presence without further bidding. His hand stole over hers to +comfort her. She had suffered so much that he could not be angry. + +Leonardo Donato's eyes quickly scanned the faces of the senators, +seeking the two least sympathetic. + +"The Senators Morosini and Sagredo will escort them," he said, "and will +return in haste with the Senator Giustiniani to do their duty to the +Republic." + +At the door Marina turned again, rallying her failing strength with a +last desperate effort, but the words came in a broken, agonized whisper: +"O Santissima Maria Vergine! Mater Dolorosa! because thou art the +special guardian of this Virgin City--and here, in her councils, none of +thy reverend fathers may plead for thee--be merciful, Madre Beatissima! +Save us from our doom!" + + + +XIX + +As the door closed upon the retreating cortege the attitude of the Doge +grew stern. He turned as if about to address the still standing Senate, +when, remembering that he had already assumed the initiative to an +unusual degree, and having so recent a recollection of that formidable +coronation oath whose slightest infraction would be visited upon his +nearest of kin, he mounted in silence to his seat and consulted with his +Councillors until the senators were in their places. Then, in a tone of +authority, he proclaimed: + +"That which hath just occurred within this hall of the Senate shall be +for those who have witnessed it as if it had not been, and the +secretaries of the day shall not transcribe it upon their records, since +it hath already more than sufficiently consumed our time. This vision of +the lady was doubtless wrought by unwise tampering, being a vision of a +nature that may gain credence with women--dependent and timid and +unversed in law--but with which men and rulers have nothing to do." + +An expression of relief slowly grew upon the faces before him while the +Doge was speaking; noting which his words were allowed to produce their +full effect during the few moments of relaxation and informal talk, +which, as was immediately announced by a secretary, would occupy the +time until the return of the three senators--all meanwhile keeping their +seats that no moment might be lost in resuming the important interrupted +debate. + +The strain had been so great, both during the discussion and the visit +of the Lady Marina, that there was a willingness among the senators to +unbend, to throw aside serious impressions and make light of all dread, +as womanish and weak, accepting the Doge's words as leaders. For in +those days the faith of many of the gravest walked only a little way +from the borderland of superstition; and it was long since any of their +princes had held so great a reputation for judgment and diplomacy as +Leonardo Donato. + +"The Senate now being complete," the Doge solemnly announced, +immediately upon the return of the three senators, "the interrupted +speech will be concluded, and before the final vote is taken there will +be presented once more before this august body that argument of our most +learned and venerated Counsellor, Padre Maestro Paolo, upon which the +decision of the Ten hath been based, and upon which the College, the +Senate, and the Great Council will presently be called to vote." + +This marshaling of the entire ruling body of the Republic could not fail +to exercise a steadying power, and neither fear nor irresolution were +revealed to the impressive, penetrating, and commanding gaze of +Leonardo, when the Senator Contarini resumed the speech which had been +so strangely interrupted. The enthusiasm and determination of the +morning had returned; the words fell upon a receptive and positive +atmosphere. The opinions of the distinguished Senator carried great +weight, so loyal and catholic was he known to be; and above the portal +of the Contarini many times the Lion of St. Mark had proudly rested. + +"We are loyal sons of the Church," he said, "but no highest +ecclesiastical court--though with authority from Rome itself--may rule +that any decree of this imperial Senate of Venice, bearing upon Church +and State alike, can be set aside by Church alone." + +"We have not subjected ourselves to being put out of the body of this +Church, which we revere, by any failure of duty on our part--duty being +a rendering of that which is owed. + +"As citizens of this Republic, our duty in things temporal is owed to +our Prince--by right divine; as men, our duty to our Church, by right +divine, is in things spiritual alone--which we render; but in things +temporal God gave not the Church rule over us. If, at any point, these +two dominions may seem to touch and intersect it is our Prince who +disentangles, by his decree, the twisted thread. For he is Lord over us, +who are Venetians and not Romans." + +The words had a ring of victory; enthusiasm spread from face to face, +and the house rose in a tumult of approval to express its loyalty, +unchecked by any sign of dissent from the dais at a demonstration so +unusual. + +But the Contarini saw his advantage and broke in upon the wave of +feeling, while an imperative motion from the Chief Counsellor restored +order for the hearing of an important legal point upon which it was +desired that action should be based. + +"These laws--whose abrogation the Holy Father doth demand--are ancient +rights of Venice, acknowledged by many previous popes, and reaffirmed, +in these our own days, after wise and learned scrutiny of our +chancellors, in the light of modern, civic requirements, as needful to +the healthful administration of this realm; as binding upon our Prince, +who hath ever in mind the welfare of Venice; and to be upheld by our +people who believe in the divine right of princes. They are by these +reverend Councillors also declared non-prejudicial to the spiritual +authority of our Most Holy Church, which this Serene Republic of Venice +doth ever reverently acknowledge. The question is of civil and not of +spiritual rights." + +An enthusiastic senator made a motion for the casting of the final vote, +as an expression of the sense of the chamber. The speech of the +Contarini and the manner of its reception gave pleasing assurance of the +general temper of the Senate; the faces of the Doge and of his Savii +recorded the sense of security with which it was needful to impress the +assembly, and wore, if possible, a more dignified calm. Nevertheless +Leonardo, with his statesman's eye, detected here and there a face that +was set in an opposite opinion or likely to yield from fear, and his +pride decreed that the vote, when cast, should be unanimous. + +Again the Doge consulted his Councillors. + +"The nations will owe us much," he said, "if our unanimous vote shall +record the sentiments expressed in this speech of the noble Senator +Contarini as the faith and will of this Republic. Never hath there been +a greater opportunity to win a triumph for the liberty of princes. + +"Therefore, because the question is weighty, we will request our most +learned Counsellor and Theologian to the Republic to give us an +exposition of the law as it doth appear at this latest moment of our +discussion to his judicial mind." + +All Venice knew that Fra Paolo's nerve and knowledge were the central +forces of the resistance of the Republic in this crisis. + +As he moved slowly forward and stood before this magnificent assembly +with the same simple dignity that had characterized him among the friars +of the Servi,--after the splendors of the ducal costume, the scarlet, +the ermine, the beretta, the gold-brocaded mantle,--the plain folds of +the violet robe of the Counsellor seemed almost austere. His lineless +face was so fresh in color that it looked youthful, though of singular +gravity and refined asceticism. Yet men of force were drawn to him +because of his strength, his broad grasp of duty, and his absolute +fearlessness. + +As he stood for a moment perfectly still before them, his eyes--blue, +penetrating, and unrevealing--swept the faces of the assembly with a +magnetic glance which compelled their entire attention. The hush was +_felt_ among them, and in the silence his voice--clear, passionless, +low, and far-reaching--seemed not so much a voice as a suggestion within +the inner consciousness of his hearers of the thoughts he uttered. The +strange sense of impersonality which was one of his distinguishing +attributes prevented the usual desire for contest with which most +thinking men meet other strong minds, and was, perhaps, a secret of his +triumphs. + +"Most Serene Prince, Counsellors, and Nobles of the Council, if you ask +me of the law as it hath declared itself to my understanding, the matter +is simple and quickly to be uttered. + +"The dominion of the Church marches in the paths of heaven; it cannot +therefore clash with the dominion of princes, which marches on the paths +of earth. But the Roman court--calling itself the Church--is no longer +satisfied with that spiritual dominion to which it hath right, having +become aggressive and seeking to impose doctrines far removed from the +primitive law of the Church." + +There was a slight pause, while the quiet eyes held his audience with a +challenge of assent; the faces of those who were unqualifiedly with him +in doctrine grew eager; here and there a dignified head bowed, unaware, +as if surrendering some belief. + +"Christ himself hath said, 'My kingdom is not of this world,' and the +power of the Sovereign Pontiff over Christians is not limitless, but is +restricted to spiritual matters and hath for rule the Divine Law. + +"If the Pope, to enforce his commands--unlawful when they exceed the +authority given him by Christ--fulminates his interdict, it is unjust +and null; in spite of the reverence owed to the Holy See, it should not +be obeyed. + +"Seven times before hath Venice been so banned--and _never_ for anything +that had to do with religion!" + +Again that strange, slight, emphatic pause, as if he need wait but a +moment for his reasoning to dissipate any conscious unwillingness. + +The Contarini quoted low to his neighbor a recent _bon mot_ of the +Senate, "Everybody hath a window in his breast to Fra Paolo;" for +several senators of families closely allied to Rome started at the +boldness of the thought, and exchanged furtive glances of disapproval, +and the fearless eye of the friar immediately fixed upon them, holding +and quieting them as they moved restlessly to evade his glance. It was +as if he assured them silently, "I speak that I do know; cease to oppose +truth; let yourselves believe." And resistance lessened before the +impersonality of the pleader. + +"One of the fathers tells us that an excommunication is null when it +would usurp over citizens the right of their prince. '_By me kings reign +and princes decree justice_'--it is the word of God." + +There was no need of further pauses in the quiet flow of words, for +there was no longer any resistance; the Senate and Council hung +breathless upon his speech, which answered every misgiving; they knew +that his reading of canon law had never been questioned in Rome itself; +the man spoke with immense authority. But there was no triumph in his +bearing as he tuned the atmosphere of that august assembly into absolute +harmony, conquering every discordant note--only a further lowering of +the quiet voice, which seemed to utter, unchallenged, the conclusions of +each listener. + +"The Sacred Canons agree that a Pope is liable to error and fallible in +cases of special judgment. + +"Isaiah denounces such legislation, 'Woe unto them that decree +unrighteous decrees.' + +"Wherefore I declare the justice of the cause of the Republic, and the +nullity of any judgment that may be pronounced against her in this +matter. + +"Nor shall evil befall one for a sin not committed, nor can there be +disobedience to a mandate which hath been issued, without lawful +authority, by him who proclaims it; and authority, transcended, is no +longer lawful." + + + +XX + +When Marcantonio, finally released from his long day of service in the +Senate Chamber, sought the private apartments of the Doge, where Marina +with her maidens was waiting for him, he found her lying back, wan and +spiritless, in one of the great gold and crimson arm-chairs of the state +salon; her eyes were closed, her lips were moving in prayer, but her +rosary had dropped from her weak clasp. Some of her maidens, as thus +doing their lady truest service, were still kneeling with hopeless +petitions to the Holy Mother to avert the doom from Venice; but one, the +Lady Beata, who was tenderly devoted to her, had not ceased from efforts +to rouse her with nameless little gracious cares. She was watching for +Marcantonio, to whom she signed eagerly to hasten, as the guard of the +Doge permitted him to pass the doorway. + +"Thus hath our lady been, and naught hath moved her," she said low, and +in distress, "since the Secretary of the Serenissimo, who with much +futile reasoning hath sought to change her, hath taken his leave, save +that ever and anon she hath opened her eyes to watch the door and bid us +pray for Venice." + +Her husband had reached her side and taken her listless hand before +Marina had noticed his approach; but there was no smile in her eyes as +she raised them to his--only a look of unutterable misery. + +"Is there no hope?" she questioned. Her fingers, weakly folded about +his, were burning. + +He controlled himself with a great effort. + +"Yes, carina, every hope. All is well; and the Serenissimo hath been +most gracious. To-morrow, when thou hast had thy rest, he will send to +thee the Reverend Counsellor Padre Maestro Paolo, that he may quiet all +thy fears. For all is well." + +She tried to draw him nearer, but her hand dropped powerless. "The +vote?" she questioned, with her eager eyes; and, more falteringly, with +that hoarse, broken whisper which pierced his heart. + +"It is well," he answered her tenderly. "Carinissima, all is well." + +She fixed him with terror-stricken eyes, in which her soul seemed +burning and her lips moved with a question he could not hear. He bent +closer, touching her cheek caressingly. + +"The vote?" she had asked again. + +"Tell her the count," said the Lady Beata, with an imperious touch on +his wrist; "it is killing her." + +The Senate had adjourned in triumph; without a dissenting voice Venice +had rallied to the support of her prince. Marcantonio had thought he +should be proud to tell her of this unanimous action of their august +body, which could not fail to restore her confidence and quiet her +fears. But now he could not find the words he sought, for never had he +looked into eyes so full of a comprehending woe. + +"Marina," he began. "Carinissima--" helplessly repeating his powerless +assurance: "It is well." + +Still her deep eyes seemed to question him relentlessly, though she did +not speak; her gaze fascinated him, and he could not withdraw his eyes +until he had read in hers the great agony he had so lightly +estimated--the agony of a soul deeply religious, of unquestioning faith +in the strictest doctrine and dogma of the Church of Rome; the grief of +such a soul, tenderly compassionate for the suffering brought upon an +innocent people by no rebellion of its own; the terror of this +soul--passionately loving--measuring the horrors of an unblessed life +and death for all its dearest ones. + +"All?" she had seemed to question him, leaning nearer, and Marcantonio +could not answer; but he saw, from the deepening horror in her eyes, +that she understood. She knew that _he_ had helped to bring the doom. +Oh, if he could but have told her that he had not voted--that he had +withheld his one little vote from Venice to comfort her! If, for this +once, he had failed to give what Venice expected of him, only for +Marina's sake! + +He bent over her passionately, a thousand reasons rushing to his rescue, +clamoring to be told her. "Marina, beloved, there is nothing to fear!" +he cried desperately, eager for his own defense, resolute to make her +comprehend the perfect safety of Venice, to calm the beseeching horror +in her eyes; "Fra Paolo will come!" + +Her gaze relaxed, her eyelids quivered and closed; she had fainted. + +--Or was it death? + +He folded her to his heart with a cry of desolation. + +The Lady Beata hastily thrust him aside and opened the white robe at the +throat, and Marcantonio started back; there were stripes of half-healed +laceration on the tender flesh--some fresh, as if but just raised by the +lash. + +"Ay, my lord," Beata answered very low, to his quick, grieved question; +"all that a daughter of the Church may do hath our lady added to her +prayers for Venice. She hath been rigorous in fasting and in penance +until her strength is gone; but the pain of it she feeleth not, because +of the greater pain of her soul, which is lost in supplication that +availeth naught." + +Leonardo Donato would be very gracious to the Lady of the Giustiniani, +though she had come so near to costing the city a divided vote, because +he had seen the misery in her eyes with her great love for Venice, and +because the Council had so declared its vote for the State that he could +afford to be magnanimous. Nay, since even the Senator Marcantonio had +not flinched before that wonderful agonized white face, he need not +confine her, as he had intended, in a convent for decorous keeping; he +was glad of the change in her favor which would prevent the harshness +that might have increased her influence to the degree of danger. He +sent, instead, a gracious message by his secretary--"Might the father +pay a visit to his daughter of the Republic to inquire of her welfare +and assure her of his favor, before she returned to her palace?" + +But the message of courtesy, sent by the Doge himself, had been stayed +on the threshold of his own state salon. + + * * * * * + +The Republic had, indeed, quitted herself nobly in her vote; so valiant +a blow had she struck for the rights of princes that this consciousness +rang out in the bold tones of her announcement to the courts of +Europe--"Which things we have thought best to tell you for your sole +information, so that if mention be made of them to you, and not else, +you may be able to answer to the purpose and to justify this our most +righteous cause." + +And from the moment that the Senate had been unofficially apprised by +Nani that the terrible Interdict was already printed and would presently +be fulminated, every possible precaution of self-defense had been put in +operation throughout the dominions of Venice, with an ingenuity, a +foresight, and a celerity which the watching courts of Europe not only +viewed with amazement, but accepted as an evidence of the conscious +power and justice of the Republic. Overtures came fast from England, +from Spain, from France--every monarch wished some share in the +pacification between these courts of Rome and Venice. + +Meanwhile, in Venice life went on superbly. There was no question of any +spiritual disfranchisement; these sons of the Church were not under +interdict, having committed no sin which laid them open to that charge. +Moreover, no ban had been _published_ throughout the wide extent of +their domain. Hence, for the Venetians, there was no interdict, whatever +awful anathema might be affixed to those distant doors of Saint Peter's +in Rome; with whatever voice of anger its terrors might be thundered at +the Holy See, against rulers, people, priests, and sacraments within the +doomed city--the wide waters of the lagoon laved its shores in +benediction, like a baptismal charm upon the fair front of Venice, +against which the Curse threatened impotently. + +At the centre of this superb and daring court sat a friar, trained from +his childhood up in the customs, traditions, and beliefs of his Church +and of his order--a reverent practitioner in her fasts and sacraments, +simple in his habits as a hermit-monk, faithful in his religious duties +as the most punctilious priest in Rome, sure in his faith that God would +uphold the right, and asserting, without compromise, that right was on +the side of Venice. + +What a stay for rulers who fortified their every position by some appeal +to precedent--who would punctiliously know the source and interpretation +of every law upon which they rested! + +Above all, what a stay for the simple people who, in these days of +bewildering conflict, knew not what to believe! + +Would Masses go on, and the church doors be open and the sacraments +continue? Might they still take their brides and baptize their little +ones, and follow their dead to burial, and sign the sign of the cross, +in token of the favor of heaven--as loyal sons of the Church? + +And would the Madre Beata--blessed guardian of this Virgin City--still +smile upon them from all the separate shrines of Venice? + +Should the labor and the imprecation of this simple people go on until +the evening in their wonted flow, and should nothing fail them of the +benedictions they had known? + +It was a mystery; but threatening Rome was far and unfamiliar, and +Venice they knew--present, protecting, peremptory--impossible to +disobey. + +Before the commands of the angry Pontiff could reach the heads of the +orders in Venice, people, priests, and prelates throughout the dominions +were forewarned; they must continue in every accustomed practice of +their religion; they might neither receive nor publish any minatory +papers--these must be instantly brought to the government, under +severest penalties. + +Offending prelates were brought from distant sees to meet the +displeasure of the Republic; hesitating priests were silently hastened +to decision by scaffolds, looming suddenly within their precincts. While +leaflets--expressly prepared to disaffect the Venetians--proclaiming +that no obedience was due from a people to its prince under censure; +that all vows, contracts, and duties between man and man, husband and +wife, children and parents were nullified for those who remained +faithful to the Church in acknowledging the censure, as against those +who disclaimed it--these leaflets, introduced by secret agents of the +Pontiff and interdicted by the Republic, flowed in vast numbers, but +silently, into the hands of the Ten, and were seen no more. + +Meanwhile that terrible thing which the people had vaguely feared had +_not_ come upon them; though at first they paused, half-hearted, when +they passed the house of the Tintoret, where the quaint figure of +"Ser-Robia," the Pasquino of Venice, had often a bit of news that the +people cared to hear, grotesquely placarded over his broad mouth. He was +a good friend to the people, Ser-Robia, and gave them many a pleasant +bit of gossip to cheer their evening stroll; but it was wise not to +laugh until one had heard the words, and there was often a priest or a +scholar near to tell the meaning to those who could not spell it out for +themselves. Always, in these days, there was some one who could read to +the people, for this was that solemn "protest" of "Leonardo Donato, by +the Grace of God Doge of Venice," etc., wherewith the most Christian +Republic defied the interdict. Here, along the Rialto, in all the public +squares of Venice, on the doors of the churches,--wherever proclamation +was wont to be made,--the people might pause and read this consoling +word of Venice, instead, perchance, of some copy of the interdict which +had been smuggled into the city and pasted, surreptitiously, over the +Doge's "protest," but which those faithful _Signori di Notte_--the +night-watch of Venice--were sure to destroy before the morning dawned. + +"To the Most Reverend the Patriarchs, Archbishops, and Bishops of our +Venetian Dominions," said this "Protest," "and to the Vicars, Abbots, +Priors, Rectors of Parochial Churches, and other Ecclesiastical +Prelates, greeting:" forthwith proceeding to declare that "the Interdict +which his Holiness was 'said' to have published was null and void, and +forbidden to be observed--not having been incurred by any fault of +Venice." + +But even those who could not read soon recognized the features of that +message, which met them everywhere, hiding the scars of other messages +which they must not see. + +"No, no," they said, with laughing thanks to some friendly interpreter +who stood near; "it is enough; _va bene_--we know it like our Ave +Maria!" + +But sometimes a family group came back for a word, when the others had +scattered. + +"Thou, Gigio, tell the good padre!" says the bright-eyed young +contadina, pulling the gray sleeve of her fisherman who stands stolidly +beside her. + +"_Si, si_," he answers indifferently, shrugging his shoulders and +relapsing into silence, as he pushes his wife and mother before him for +a refuge; for the men of the islands were less at home in argument with +the priests than were the women of their households. + +"It is thus, your Reverence," the young woman explains cheerily. "It is +the grandmother who is afraid. Santa Maria! _how_ she is afraid!" She +touches her forehead significantly. + +The simple old woman, comprehending only that they speak of her, drops a +courtesy, looking furtively about her with troubled eyes, and fumbling +over her beads; the "protest" has no meaning for her, although it is +written in good Venetian. + +But a few words suffice for such as these who have caught only some +vague hint of the Holy Father's displeasure, and are reassured by the +open church and the promise of Mass and benediction. + +It is those others who make trouble; they come, from time to time,--by +twos and threes, never alone,--and read for themselves, with lowering +brows, but ask no questions. And sometimes, if they watch too silently, +the courteous friar who has graciously interpreted the message which is +above the heads of the crowd, exchanges a glance of intelligence with +some gay young signor who belongs to the great army of secret +service--as revealed to the friar on guard by the password of the day; +and the sullen-browed group is courteously accosted by the young +noble--"Excuse me, signori, you are strangers in Venice; a gondola is +waiting to conduct you to the palace." + +They will be tried as secret agents of the enemy. But resistance is +rare, for an escort of guards pours out from the doorways and calles, if +a stiletto but gleam in the sunlight; and no secret agent may cope with +Venice in promptness of self-defense and ingenuity of prevention. + +It is interesting in the campo in these early days, before the effect of +the government's measures for coercing the opinions of the populace is +fully declared. + +"I am a good Catholic, most reverend father; I keep the mariegole; every +year I go to confession," protests some sturdy gondolier, who has been +made anxious by his womenfolk. "And many a fare I pay to light the +traghetto of San Nicolo; with an ave for the favor of the Blessed Mother +to confound the scoundrel Castellani, who threw a good Nicolotto over +the Ponte Senza Parapetti, in the last fight; and it cost us oil enough +to light Venice for a year--faith of San Nicolo!--to keep them from +winning at our regatta--_maledetti_!" + +For even those gondoliers who kept the mariegole were not precisely +angels, and the part of their creed which they religiously upheld was a +deathless antagonism to the rival faction which won more lamps and +pretty gifts for the patron madonnas of the various traghetti than any +other article of their faith. + +To a few, chiefly women with devout, sad faces--watchers, perchance, +beside beds over which the shadow of death is creeping--the padre tells +compassionately of consoling, helpful words that are preached daily in +the great deserted church of _I Gesuiti_; for in this parish, more than +others, there are difficulties, since it had been the centre of the +disaffection. But now its doors are ceaselessly open for a refuge; no +service is omitted, no sacrament denied; and daily, before vespers, the +people may listen to a few simple words from Fra Paolo. Thither, in +these early days of the struggle, the crowd flocks, drawn partly by +curiosity to hear a man of whom it is whispered that he has just been +individually put under the greater excommunication by the Holy +Inquisition, because of his attitude in this quarrel. + +There is much talk of Fra Paolo sifting about the church and square, +where the gathering of the people shows a sprinkling of red-robed +senators; for the Padre Maestro Paolo, which is his title since he has +been Consultore to the Republic, is a great man now, with a greatness +that means something to the populace, to whom letters and sciences are +nothings. But the Consultore is the friend of Venice; he is _their_ +friend--coming each day to talk to the people. "It is not true that +great trouble has come upon Venice, for Fra Paolo makes it all quite +plain, and he knows everything," they say; "our padre in San Marcuolo is +like a bimbo to him! The Jesuit Fathers went too soon, and might have +spared themselves the burning of their papers and their treasure. Santa +Maria!--what is it they are saying about Fra Paolo finding the die for +making money that the _padri_ left behind? What is a 'die,' Luigi? If +thou hadst had the sense to bring thy boat to clear away the rubbish, +instead of thinking there are only fish in the world, thou mightest have +had the luck to find it; it must be better than working lace bobbins all +the week for a handful of _soldi_ that wouldn't buy one macaroni!" + +"Peace, then, with thy babble!" + +"See, then, the holy water is quite safe; I saw our padre cross himself +by that first basin. Thou hast done well,--_hein_ Luigi,--to bring me +from Burano, if there are _no_ fish to-morrow at the Ave Maria; for now +we can sleep in peace! They told such tales of I Gesuiti, one thought +the devils were having a holiday--Santa Maria!" + +"The women are worse for chattering," Luigi retorts, with a forcible +imprecation. "Here cometh the Consultore--hold thy tongue." + +"No, no, Luigi; it is only a frate from the Servi; Fra Paolo is a great +man, with a robe like the Serenissimo; he might wear a crown if he +liked! Ah, to be great like that!" + +But Fra Paolo and his secretary wore the grave garb of their order, to +the great disappointment of the younger women, who had been attracted by +the expectation of some pomp. + +"Word hath reached the Contarini secretly from Rome," said one senator +to another, as the Consultore passed them, "that they have found +themselves a new diversion before the palace of the Vatican, and that +some of our great ones here are burned in effigy to instruct the +populace. A pile of Fra Paolo's writings doth light the funeral pyre; +and all that he hath written or _may hereafter write_ is placed upon the +Index." + +"_Davvero_! his words would make me wrathful if I held the views of his +Holiness, who may well fear the incontrovertibility of his wit. But our +Consultore looketh a simple man to have been shown such honor!" + +"He beareth honors bravely," the other answered, with due appreciation +of the humor; "but lately, when the master Galileo was before the Senate +with his telescope, he had a pretty tale of Gian Penelli and Ghetaldo, +wherewith in Padua Fra Paolo hath won the title of 'the miracle of the +century.'" + +"I heard it not; some commission held me at the arsenal; San Marco be +thanked that it is over!" + +"Ebbene, old Penelli--gouty so that he can scarce move--hath a visit +from our great mathematician Ghetaldo, who findeth with our magnificent +patron of letters a friar to whom Penelli showeth such honor--limping to +the door with him, as if he were a prince--that Ghetaldo, wrathful at +this foolish waste over a friar, asketh his name with scorn. And is not +better pleased when Penelli telleth that Fra Paolo is the 'miracle of +the age in every science.' 'So, I will prove it,' saith Penelli, 'for +verily the world knoweth the great Ghetaldo for a mathematician! Come, +then, with problems the most difficult thou canst prepare, on a day it +may please thee to name, and meet Fra Paolo at my table, without warning +to him.' _Ecco_! Penelli is subtle; great satisfaction and much labor on +the part of our mathematician. Enter Fra Paolo,--simple, +unadvised,--solves the propositions at a hearing. 'Miraculous!' cries +the superb Ghetaldo, gentle as a lamb! A friendship for life, and Fra +Paolo is the teacher! But it is more wonderful to hear the tales of how +he preacheth to the people here, in the Gesuiti. Let us follow, for he +giveth them not many minutes, for fear of wearying them. We need lift +our mantles high, for the pavement is like a market garden of Mazzorbo, +with broken bits from the women's baskets--Faugh!" + +The splendid senators seldom mingled in such a crowd, except at guarded +distances, to make a pageant for it; it was picturesque, shabby, +malodorous, composed chiefly of young women with bright-eyed babies and +baskets emitting unctuous savors of _frittola_ and garlic; now and then +an old peasant who could not be tranquil until she had heard Fra Paolo +speak was escorted by a rebellious grandson, bribed to quiet by the +promise of a _soldo_ for his little game of chance; occasionally a man, +impatient to have done with it all and get out on the canal again, moved +restlessly from place to place; only here and there the dim light showed +a face pathetic in its questioning, to whom the answer meant life or +death. + +"What hath a man of such rare powers and learning to do with these +simple ones--a man whose time is precious to the State?" + +The noble senators withdrew a little from the crowd to watch the scene, +as they put the question to each other; their servants brought them +chairs within the shadow of a column. + +They did not know that few are great enough in an age of superstition to +hold a conscience uncontrolled by traditions, and a primitive faith +simple as a child's, with the tenacity of a strong man; there had been +nothing in his labors at the Senate to call forth this most sacred side +of his reserved nature, and they did not understand that it was to this +he owed much of the marvelous poise of will and judgment which kept him +unspoiled in spite of intellectual gifts that would have ruined him +without his absolute dependence on the One Supreme. But on this sacred +side alone was there any entrance to his emotions. + +Fra Paolo was not speaking from the pulpit; he stood beside a table that +had been placed in the nave, and the people gathered close about him, as +children near a father, while he opened a great vellum-bound volume with +massive golden clasps, which his secretary had brought from the library +of the Servi. + +"Come nearer," he called to them simply, beckoning with his hand, "so +that all may hear; put the old people and the little ones nearest." + +He looked around him, not smiling, but very quiet and patient, as if he +were waiting for the slight confusion to subside; for at first they +pushed each other rudely to get closer. + +"There is room for all," he said, "in God's house;" and as he looked +into their faces each felt that it was a word to him, and held his +breath to listen--which suddenly seemed quite easy! The smaller children +nestled contentedly on their mothers' arms, munching some dainty brought +to keep them quiet, and fascinated by the low, clear voice, watched with +round, solemn eyes to see if he would smile; while two or three who were +tall enough to reach just over the edge of the table steadied themselves +by clutching it with their chubby hands, dropping their hold of their +mothers' mantles--for the pages were full of pretty colors, and the +voice of the padre was like a lullaby to keep them still, and they were +not afraid--at all. + +Fra Paolo never gave the people many words, but sometimes they were +strong and beautiful, like an old poem, and in their own Venetian--not +in the Latin which had been made for the great ones. + +"It was a wonderful book, written long ago," he told them; "before the +Bishop of Altinum fled with his people to Torcello and built the old +Duomo; before Venice began to be." + +Many of them did not know there was _anything_ so old as that! They +looked at each other and began to think. + +"And it was written for the comfort of every one who loveth God, our +Father, whatever his troubles may be. See what is written here for any +who fear that the consolations of our holy religion shall be taken away. +For that is what you fear?" + +They looked at each other, hesitating. "Si, si--yes--" timidly. "No, +no," more bravely. + +Fra Paolo smiled. + +"No!" they said, distinctly. + +"If any of you are afraid," Fra Paolo said, looking full into their +faces as they pressed nearer, "because the fathers of this church have +gone away and left you, there are words in this old book--written long +ago, before there was any Venice--to condemn those who would close the +churches. 'Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of +my pasture,' saith the Lord. 'Behold, I will visit upon them the evil of +their doings, saith the Lord.' 'Where is the flock that was given thee, +thy beautiful flock?'" + +"And here are some words that are written for you--whom they have +deserted. 'Thus saith the Lord: again there shall be heard in this +place, _which ye say shall be desolate_, the voice of joy and the voice +of gladness; the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; and +of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the +Lord.' It is all very simple. Love God and pray to him, and be faithful +in your duty. And he will keep you happy and safe from harm." + +The ringing treble of children's voices sounded through the open door of +the sacristy and distracted the attention of the congregation, who +turned to watch the choristers as they came in sight, by twos and twos, +chanting the canticle, "Praise the Lord of Hosts; for the Lord is good; +for His mercy endureth forever!" + +While Fra Paolo slipped away unnoticed. + + + +XXI + +So life went on, and those who looked to see the people fail and falter +under this burden which the rebellion of their rulers had brought upon +them saw them, with unshaken confidence, still loyally upholding the +banner of Saint Mark. Preparations for war--marshaling of soldiers, +building of galleys, increased activities at the arsenal--enlarged the +industries and added a judicious vivacity to the life of the people. + +There was no war declared; but it was a time when border-lands should be +looked to and bravery encouraged and the martial spirit developed; and +the ever politic Senate tickled the fancy of its pleasure-loving people +with the pomp of a fete, on the day when the newly created +general-in-chief of the armies of the Republic assembled, with fanfare +of trumpets and roaring of cannon, his splendidly appointed corps in the +Piazza, the people thronging the arcades, crowding the windows and +balconies, waving and shouting, as the stately escort of three hundred +nobles, in crimson robes, led the way to San Marco for solemn +dedication. And here, like a knight vowed to holiest service, the +general knelt before the altar, while the Patriarch blessed his sword. +"In defense of Venice and the right," with a memory of the old +battle-cry of the Republic. + + "Non nobis, Domine--sed tibi gloria!" + +And the people, accepting as a favor the pageant which had been +cunningly devised to impress them, followed, thronging, up the giant +stairway, into the halls of the Council Chamber, into the stately +presence of the Serenissimo and the Signoria, to hear their latest +magnate profess his gratitude for the honor of his investiture and the +magnificence of his outfit, with solemn oaths of loyalty. + +There was no war, though talk of it had little truce in those days; but +the cardinal nephews were busy in Ferrara and Ancona with the marshaling +of troops, and four of the princes of the Church had been appointed by +the Holy Father--vice-regent of the Prince of Peace--to superintend his +military operations and prepare his army of forty thousand infantry and +four thousand cavalry! Thus, in Venice, the spectacle of a +general-in-chief, with his splendid accoutrements, was timely and +inspiriting. + +Meanwhile, in the palazzo Giustiniani the days dragged wearily, and knew +no sunshine; the Senator Marcantonio had been by special favor excused +from attendance in the Council Chamber; in his mind Venice was no longer +regnant; one thought absorbed him wholly through all that miserable +time--he had but one hope--everything centred in Marina. + +When they had undressed her to apply restoratives a small, rough +crucifix had been taken from the folds of her robe near her heart; it +had belonged to Santa Beata Tagliapietra,--that devoted daughter of the +Church,--and the Lady Beata herself had given the precious heirloom out +of the treasures of the chapel of their house to her beloved Lady +Marina. Possibly she reflected, with a shudder, as she laid the relic on +the altar of the oratory of the palazzo Giustiniani, that the +remembrance of the constant dangers of Santa Beata had incited the Lady +Marina thus to peril her life. Of the long nights of vigil on the floor +of the oratory and of many other austerities which had filled those last +sad days since the quarrel with Rome had begun, the Lady Beata was +forced to give faithful account to the physicians who were summoned in +immediate consultation to the bedchamber of the Lady Marina. These +practices and the horror upon which she had dwelt ceaselessly would +sufficiently account for her condition, said the learned Professor +Santorio; and if she could but forget it there might be hope; meanwhile, +let her memory lie dormant--at present nothing must be done to rouse +her. + +Perhaps already she had forgotten it; for the shock had been great and +life was at a very low ebb; had all memory gone from her of her life and +love? They thought she knew them, but she expressed no wish; she +scarcely spoke; lying listless and white under the heavy canopy of the +great carved bedstead, which had become the centre of every hope in +those two palaces on the Canal Grande, while the absorbing life of the +Ducal Palace, so little distant, was for Marcantonio as though it did +not exist. In that time of waiting--he knew not how long it was nor +what was passing--life was a great void to him, echoing with one +agonized hope; time had no existence, except as an indefinite point when +Marina should come back to him with her soul and heart in her eyes once +more. + +He had gathered the few books from her oratory and boudoir, and at +intervals when he could control his thought he pored over them, +treasuring every faint pencil-line, every sentence blotted by tears, as +an indication of having specially occupied her. Now that he could no +longer discuss these moods, how eagerly he sought for the light she +would so gladly have given him in those past, happier days! + +In vain he asked of the Lady Beata whether they had discussed these +thoughts together--whether Fra Francesco had brought her the little worn +volumes. + +"My lord, I know not," she answered coldly, resolved in her own heart to +tell him nothing that he did not already know, since only now it had +pleased him to concern himself with that religious attitude which was +costing Marina so dearly. For the whole strength of the love she would +once have yielded him for the asking, the Lady Beata now lavished upon +Marina, in jealous devotion. + +But he could not be angry with Fra Francesco, who had only been faithful +in sharing his belief with her, while he, her husband, had refused to +help her. "My God!" he groaned; "why are we blind until the anguish +comes!" + +As he drearily paced the stately chambers--so empty without Marina--what +would he not have given to hear her voice again repeat those eager +questions he had been so willing to repress! How could it ever have +vexed him that she should wish to understand the question that was +occupying Venice! But now he remembered having grown less and less +patient with her as she had returned to this theme, until, in +self-defense, she had said with gentle dignity, yet half-surprised at +his irritation: + +"Marco, have a little patience with me. Remember that our young nobles +are trained in knowledge of these laws of Venice from quite early +boyhood." + +"It is part training, if thou wilt," he had answered lightly; "or in +these questions women are stupid--I know not. But these matters concern +them not." And after that, he remembered now with shame, she had +troubled him no more, and he had felt it a relief; for during the few +discussions they had had together he had been aware that they approached +the question from a radically different point of view. He had never +taken the trouble to comprehend her ground nor to give her reasons for +his own; he had simply made assertions, with a sense of irritation that +any repetition should be called for in a matter quite out of a woman's +province; for the women of Venice had no part in that salon influence on +politics which was ascribed to their sisters of France, and her attempts +to gain understanding for a personal judgment had chafed him like an +interference in his own special field. He, with his subtly trained +intellect and legal knowledge, could so easily have convinced her, he +told himself remorsefully; but he had not taken the trouble even to look +through her lens, while she had been so eager to understand his point of +view--and only that she might reach the truth! + +Now he had much time to understand it all! He recalled a strange, hurt +look when her questions had ceased, but it had not troubled him then; +she would forget it,--would understand that he preferred to talk about +other things,--he had said to himself, and he had been careful in +gracious little ways to show her that he was not displeased. And she had +been wise and had vexed him no more; there had been no arguments on this +or any other theme. And then the days of strain had come and the labors +of the Council had absorbed him. Now he saw that she had been too proud +and strong to subject herself to repeated insinuations of inferiority of +understanding, as she had been too loving and dutiful to prolong the +contest. And so--he groaned aloud as his mistake revealed itself to him +in those long, unhappy hours--he had lost the dear opportunity of +leading her aright; for he contemplated but one possible issue of such +an attempt on his part; he had scorned her entreaty when she came to him +for understanding of a mystery that was killing her, and he had driven +her to take up the study alone, with the help of her father confessor, +who knew but one side of the vexed question, and that _not_ the side of +Venice! + +He was sure that it was a matter of conscience and not of contest with +Marina, therefore she _must_ know; he should have realized that! How had +Fra Francesco met her questions? Had he told her it was a matter beyond +the comprehension of women? Or had he been patient with her difficulties +and solved them with terrible positiveness? Was it he who had brought +her these manuals on "Fasts and Penances," "The Use and Nature of the +Interdict," "The Duty of the Believer," which completed for her the +pictures of horror her faith had already outlined? Marcantonio had taken +in all their dread meaning in rapid glances. How could she believe those +terrible things he had seen in her eyes--those terrible, terrible +things! + +Nay, how should she not believe them? And how implicitly she must have +believed them to have endured so much in hope of averting this doom! + +"Marina! Carina!" his heart went out to her in a great wail of pity; a +woman--so tender, so young--kneeling at night in her chapel, alone with +the vision of the horror she was praying to avert; bearing the fasting +and the penance and the weakness, all alone, in the hope that God would +be merciful; gathering up her failing strength so bravely for that +thankless scene in the Senate. And he, her husband, who had never meant +that his love should fail her, could have spared her all this pain by a +little comprehension! Could she ever forgive him? And would she +understand some day? Might he reason it all out lovingly with her when +her strength came back to her--"For baby's sake!" that sweet, womanly, +natural plea which he had disregarded? + +"Signor Santorio," he moaned, "if I might but reason with her, I might +cure her!" + +"Nay," said Santorio, "not yet; the shadow hath not left her eyes. Let +her forget." + +She had been growing stronger, they said, doing quite passively the +things they asked of her toward her restoration; she recognized them +all, but she expressed neither wish nor emotion, lying chiefly with +closed eyes in the cavernous depths of the great invalid chair where +they laid her each day, yet responding by some movement if they called +her name--rarely with any words; nothing roused her from that mood of +unbroken brooding. + +"She will not forget," the great Santorio said in despair. "We must try +to rouse her. Let her child be brought." + +The ghost of a smile flitted for an instant about her pale lips and over +the shadowy horror in her eyes, as Marcantonio leaned over her with +their boy in his arms. "Carina," he cried imploringly, "our little one +needeth thee!" + +She half-opened her arms, but this wraith of the mother, he remembered, +frightened the child, who clung sobbing to his father. + +Marina fell back with a cry of grief, struggling for the words which +came slowly--her first connected speech since her illness. "It is the +curse! It parts even mothers and children!" + +A strange strength seemed to have come to her; a sudden light gleamed in +her eyes; she turned from one to the other, as if seeking some one in +authority to answer her question, and fixed upon Santorio's as the +strongest face. + +"The official acts of a Pope are infallible?" she questioned, with +feverish insistence, after the first futile attempt to speak. "The Holy +Father who succeeds him may not undo his acts of mercy?" + +"Yes, yes, it is true," Santorio assented, waiting eagerly for the +sequence. + +A little color had crept into her cheeks; her hands were burning; they +grasped the physician's arm like a vise; the change was alarming. + +"The edict cannot hurt my baby! Santissima Maria, thou hast saved him!" +she cried. "For he hath the special blessing of his Holiness Pope +Clement, and our Holy Father cannot reach him with this curse of +Venice!" + +"We cannot keep her mind from it," said Santorio, aside to Marcantonio; +"it is essential to calm it with the right view--no argument, it might +induce the most dangerous excitement. Send for some bishop or theologian +who takes the right view; let him present it as a fact, and with +authority; her life depends upon it." + +He leaned down to his patient in deep commiseration to tell her that all +was well--that Venice was under no ban, that God's blessing still +shielded her churches and her children; but she raised her eyes steadily +to his, and the strength of the belief, which he saw clearly written +within them, filled him with awe and hushed his speech. How was it +possible to make her understand! + +"Nay," said Marina faintly, still holding him with her sad, solemn eyes, +"do not speak. Since Fra Francesco comes no more there is but one who +speaketh truth to me. It is the vision of my beautiful Mater Dolorosa of +San Donato, which leaveth me not." + +There was a stir in the depths of the streets below--a noise of the +populace coming nearer, following along the banks of the Canal Grande, +as if the cause of their excitement were in some hurried movement on +its placid waters; the shouts and jeers of the strident voices were +broken by authoritative commands of the Signori della Notte--the +officers of police--and the tramp of their guards failing to create +order; and above the hubbub rose the cry, distinctly repeated again and +again--the cry of an angry populace, "Ande in malora! Ande in malora!" +("Curses go with you!") + + + +XXII + +Even Giustinian Giustiniani came and went heavily, asking for the latest +change before he returned to the Senate Chamber, and carrying with him +always a vision of that white, pleading face which had so wrought upon +his anger when he had seen it luminous with her hope for Venice. But now +his anger was transferred to her confessor who had bewitched her, to all +those Roman prelates who had paid her court--a mere child, not able to +defend herself nor to understand, killing herself for a question beyond +her! And Marcantonio, for love of her, useless and unmanned! It was more +than his senatorial pride could endure to find himself powerless under +such complications. To appease his wrath he denounced Fra Francesco +through the Bocca di Leone, but when the friar was sought for, by order +of the Ten, he was not found. Fra Paolo was appealed to, for he was the +friend of the gentle confessor; but he had not known his plans. "If his +conscience held him not, it was well for him to flee," he said, "and +best for Venice." + +But when Fra Paolo was alone in his cell, which, in those days of +greatness, he would not exchange for quarters at the Ducal Palace though +the Senate pleaded, the memory of a confidential talk held since this +quarrel with Rome began brought a hint of the reason for this sudden +flight. + +He was tender of conscience and strong of faith, this good Fra +Francesco; always sad, but never stern toward Fra Paolo's failure to +hold a belief implicit as his own in some doctrines of his beloved +Church which he held to be vital. Yet his reverence for Fra Paolo's +great knowledge and holy life made him unwilling to criticize where he +unconsciously questioned. It was the severest test of friendship to keep +his faith and affectionate devotion in one who was taking so prominent a +part in a movement opposing papal authority; but sometimes, when Fra +Paolo had uttered many things he would not have tolerated in any other +priest, Fra Francesco said only to himself, in great sadness, "It is God +who maketh men different; we do not know the why!" + +The gentle friar sometimes wondered in himself that he could not openly +say to Fra Paolo when they met, after matins, the many things which had +lain hot in his heart through the night--for how _could_ it be right to +oppose the supreme authority? But when the placid face of his friend met +his, bathed in the fresh benediction of his altar service--new each +morning and never omitted--he forgot the horror with which he had been +reasoning that Fra Paolo was hastening the curse upon Venice. + +But if Fra Paolo derived no added _finesse_ for his masterful thought +from the confidences he so often unconsciously invited from this +lifelong friend, his faith in the sincerity and spiritual depth of this +brother friar who, out of love for him, listened to much that pained +him, taught him to value at its highest this opportunity of the closest +scrutiny of his own motives, as he noted the impression of their talk on +a nature as sincere and spiritual as it was transparent. + +But that night, when they had passed from the cloister into Fra Paolo's +study-cell, continuing as they walked the train of thought they had been +discussing, his listener soon became so distrait that Fra Paolo, who was +singularly conscious of unspoken moods, dropped the problem he was +unfolding and laid his hand upon his shoulder with the rare tenderness +expressed only where he hoped that he might serve. + +"We were speaking of weighty matter and thy thoughts are not with me. +Tell me thy trouble." + +"It is a question of responsibility--the burden of the confessional," +Fra Francesco answered simply. + +Fra Paolo drew back his hand, and his tone was a shade less tender. + +"Of all that hath been reposed in thee under that sacred seal thou must +bear the burden alone." + +"My brother, dost thou think I can forget my vow?" Fra Francesco +exclaimed, reproachfully. "I spake not of that which hath been reposed +in me, but of my duty growing out of that sacred office. It was for this +I wanted counsel, and I had sought thee before to pray thee to confess +me; but I know thy views and I ask thee not." + +"Yet as brothers of one holy order thou mayest confide in me, if +perchance it may bring thee comfort. For us of the Servi it is our duty +of service." + +Fra Francesco sat for a moment in silence. "Life is heavy," he said +slowly, "and hard to interpret. Yet I seem to feel that thou wilt +understand, though it be in the very matter of our difference. There is +one--highly placed and noble in spirit, and to the Church a most devoted +daughter--who cometh to me for teaching in this matter of the interdict. +She asketh of me all its meaning--what it shall bring to Venice?" + +"Thou tell her, then, it shall bring naught. For if it be pronounced it +will be unjustly, and without due cause." + +"Nay, Paolo, my brother; it is written in the nineteenth maxim of the +'Dictatus Papae' 'That none may judge the Pope.'" + +"My brother, who gave thee thy conscience and thine intellect?" Fra +Paolo questioned sternly. "And hath He who gave them thee so taught thee +to yield them that it should be as if thou had'st not these gifts which, +verily, distinguish man from the animals--to whom instinct sufficeth? +Yet, if thou would'st have answer from one of our own casuists in whom +thou dost place thy trust, the Cardinal Bellarmino, in his second book +on the Roman Pontiffs, will teach thee that without prejudice to this +maxim of Gregory thou mayest refuse obedience to a command extending +beyond the jurisdiction of him who commands; as Gaetano in his first +treatise on the 'Power of the Pope,' will also tell thee. For the peace +of thine own mind, my brother, I would I might make thee understand!" + +"Nay," answered Fra Francesco, not less earnestly. "Peace for him who +hath faith cometh not with one intellectual solution, nor another; but +with calm purpose to do the right, however it may be revealed." + +"Which, as thou knowest, Francesco, Venice seeketh--and naught else. It +is a matter of law in which thou hast made no studies, and therefore +hard for thee. Now must I to the Council Chamber, but later I would +willingly show thee all the argument. But of this be sure. The Republic +will not offend against the liberty of the Holy Church; but she will +protect her own." + +"Fearest thou not, dear friend," Fra Francesco questioned, greatly +troubled, "that thou mayest lead Venice o'erlightly to esteem this vow +of obedience which every loyal son of the Church oweth to the Holy +Father? My heart is sore for thee. I see not the matter as thou would'st +have me." + +"Nay," said Fra Paolo quietly, "to each one his burden! If thy +conscience bears not out my teaching, thou art free from it. I interpret +the law by the grace which God hath given me; I, also, being free from +sin therein, if my understanding be not equal to the tasks wherein I +seem to feel God's guidance." + +"Yet tell me, I pray thee, Paolo mio, and be not displeased by mine +insistence,--perchance it may help me to comprehend this mystery,--how +knowest thou the limit beyond which one may without sin, judge that the +Holy Father shall not command obedience of the sons of the Church?" + +"I do not say, when it conflicts with that which is in itself against +the law of God," Fra Paolo answered him, "this limitation thou also +would'st admit; yet it may well-nigh seem to thee a blasphemy to suppose +so strange a case, though many of the early fathers do provide against +it. But, to take another case, when a command of the Sovereign Pontiff +doth conflict with the rule of the Prince in his realm, see'st thou not +what confusion should come if the Pope may revoke the laws of princes +and replace them by his own in the temporal affairs of their dominions? +And if it belong to his Holiness to judge which laws shall be revoked +and what may be legislated to replace the old laws, ultimately but one +power should everywhere reign--and that an ecclesiastical power. The +matter is simple." + +Fra Paolo's searching gaze noted the flush of feeling in the face of his +friend, which was his only response. + +"And thus will the Senate vote when the question shall come before +them?" Fra Francesco had asked, after a pause; for this conversation had +taken place in the earlier days of the struggle, while in many quarters +opinions were forming. + +"There can be no accurate recital of the manner of a happening before it +hath taken place," the Teologo Consultore replied so placidly that his +tone conveyed as little reproach as information; yet Fra Francesco could +not again have put his question in any form. + +Still he lingered, as if something more must be spoken, although Fra +Paolo had already sent to summon his secretary. "I also," he said, +asserting himself, with an effort which was always painful to his gentle +soul, "I also would be faithful to my conscience and my vow; that which +I believe--I can teach no other." + +"More can one not ask of thee," Fra Paolo answered, suddenly unbending +from the stilted mood of his last words. "By the light that is given him +must each man choose his path." + +"If," said Fra Francesco, speaking sorrowfully, "the blessed law of +silence were added to our vow, how would it save a man perplexity and +trouble! For that which one believeth must color his speech, though he +would fain speak little. Thy light is larger than mine own--I know it to +be so--and yet to me it bringeth no vision. I would it had been given us +to see and teach alike!" + +"In this matter of the confessional," said Fra Paolo, returning and +speaking low, "if but thou didst believe with me that, _as a sacrament_, +it is oftenest unwise and best left unpractised, thy difficulties might +be fewer." + +"Nay, Paolo mio, tempt me not. I would I might believe it, but my +conscience agreeth to my vow." + +"As thou believest, so do; 'for whatsoever is not of faith is sin,'" +said Fra Paolo solemnly. "That was a strong word spoken of doctrine to +guard the conscience. I would I might scatter all the noble words of +that noble Apostle Paul among the people and the priests, in our own +tongue!" + +"Sometimes thou seemest so like a rebel I know not why I come to thee in +trouble"--Fra Francesco looked at him with grieving eyes--"except that +in thine heart thou art indeed true." + +"So help me God--it is my prayer!" Fra Paolo answered. "And for thee and +me alike, however we may differ, there is this other helpful word in +that same blessed book which they will not let the starving people +share--'God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that +ye are able, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, +that ye may be able to bear it.' May God be with thee!" + +"And Christ and the Holy Mother have thee in their keeping!" Fra +Francesco answered, with a yearning look in his loving face, in a tone +that lingered on the sweet word "mother" and almost seemed to hint of an +omission, as they clasped hands and parted. + +This was the last time they had had speech together; but on the evening +of the day when Venice had declared her loyalty to her Prince by +unanimous vote, there was much animated talk of the matter in the +refectory. Fra Francesco had joined the group and listened silently. But +as the call to _compline_ rang through the cloisters and the friars +scattered, he had turned his face to Fra Paolo, who read thereon a very +passion of love, reproach, and pain which he could not forget. "When the +duties of the Council press me less," he thought, "I will seek him out +and reason with him." + +But after that night the gentle friar was seen no more in Venice, and +inquiry failed to develop a reason for his flight. They missed him in +the Servi, where already they were beginning to gather up the pale +happenings of his convent life with the kindly recollection which tinged +them with a thread of romance, as his brothers of the order rehearsed +them in the cloistered ways where he would come no more; for to him some +ministry of beauty had always been assigned. The vines drooped for his +tending, they said; and the pet stork who wandered in the close +languished for his hand to feed the dainty morsel, and for his voice in +that indulgent teasing which had provoked its proudest preening. + +But this, perhaps, was only fancy, or their way of recognizing a certain +grace they missed. But of the reason of his going, which most of them +connected in some way with this movement in Venice over which he had +often grieved, there was no open recognition among them--partly because +they feared that ubiquitous ear of the Senate, which penetrated unseen +through many closed doorways, partly because they realized how strange +it was that their own sympathies had not confessed his view of right. + +Furtively, too, the friars watched Fra Paolo; for the adoration of the +gentle Fra Francesco for this idol of their order, from the day when +they had entered the convent as boys together, had formed a cloister +idyl--none the less that the response of the graver friar was not +equally demonstrative, though it was felt to be true; for it was a +marvel that two such opposite natures should hold so closely together +and that Fra Francesco, for all his gentleness, should apparently retain +opinions uninfluenced by the power and learning which all others +recognized. + +Yet, from those early days, Fra Francesco had abated nothing of his +scrupulous and loving conservatism; never had he questioned a rule, nor +chosen the least, instead of the most, permitted in an act of humility; +and after his Church, the Madonna, and his patron saint, he expended the +devotion of his nature upon his friend with a just estimate of his power +and daring which filled his soul with anxious happiness. Often, in +those earlier days, when the echoes of Fra Paolo's triumphs had +penetrated to the refectory of the Servi, Fra Francesco had felt a +strange premonition which had kept him long on his knees before the +altar in the chapel. "Shield him, O Holy Mother, from danger," he had +prayed, "nor let him wander from the lowly path of obedience for pride +of that which thou permittest him to know!" And his day-dream of earthly +happiness was the spending of his friend's great gifts in the service of +the Holy Church, wherein he should ascend from honor to honor, enlarging +her borders and strengthening her rule, attaining at last to the supreme +position. + +Weeks after Fra Francesco had disappeared from the convent a letter was +brought by the gastaldo of Nicolotti, Piero Salin, who, in spite of +opposition among the brothers, persisted in delivering it with his own +hand, though it was rare that any one outside his usual circle was +permitted to hold an interview with Fra Paolo; but Piero's masterful +ways had not left him, and when he willed to do a thing the wills of +others counted little. It was a pity--because the missive was +mysterious, crumpled with long carrying--and if a trusty member of their +own community had delivered it to Fra Paolo in his cell, there might +have been some revelation! + +But there was none. Fra Paolo was only a little more grave and silent +than of wont; but often now he was so absorbed in government matters +that he took less part in the social life of the Servi. + +So Piero, laughing at the ease with which he had carried his point for +nothing but the asking,--and it had to be done, since he had promised +Marina,--had his interview alone with Fra Paolo, and passed easily +through the group of disappointed friars, under those exquisitely +wrought arcades to his gondola, thanking them with nonchalance and +pressing them to avail themselves more often of the eager service of his +barcarioli, that the blessing of the Madonna might be upon their +traghetti, to the discomfiture of their rivals the Castellani. For Piero +was a faithful gastaldo and lost no opportunity of seeking favor for the +faction he represented, and there was a certain grace in his proffer, +since priests and friars paid no fares. + +Fra Paolo left alone read the message which held the tragedy of a life. + +"I could not stay in Venice, dear friend of my whole life, to see thee +guide our country into such sad error; for so to my heart it +seemeth--may God help us both! + +"And when there was no longer hope that my little word might prevail to +hold any in that way which alone seemeth to me right--and thou, with thy +great gifts, art using them for State and not for Church, Paolo mio, not +for our Holy Church--I could not stay, because I love thee! I must have +been ever chiding thee had I remained, as if God had made me for no use +but to be a thorn in thy flesh--which I could not believe. + +"But because He hath made thee great, He hath given thee thy conscience +for thy guide, as mine to me; which holdeth me from grief over-much, for +I know thee to be true and great. + +"Therefore for peace, and not for gladness, have I left thee; for +reverence to the Holy Father, and for the better keeping of all my vows. + +"If perchance, at the feet of the Holy Father, my prayers and penances +might, by miracle, avail to turn his wrath from Venice--it could not +hurt thee! + +"Yet because of this wish, which only holdeth life in me,--so sore is my +heart at leaving Venice and thee and our dear home of the Servi,--well I +know that never more mine eyes shall see these places of my love--and +thee, my friend! + +"If we learn by the way of pain, after this life God will forgive our +errors! + +"FRANCESCO, thy brother of the Servi." + + + +XXIII + +As the cry of the populace rang down the Canal Grande, following the +retreating ranks of the Jesuits, who, bound by their greater vows to +Rome, had remained steadfast and refused obedience to the Senate's +mandate, the Lady Marina, roused by the excitement which they dreaded, +had started to her feet with a marvelous return of her former mental +power and a fullness of comprehension which sought for no explanations. +She stood for a moment panting with hot, unspoken speech, turning from +one to another, and then, with a sudden, great effort, repressed the +words she would have spoken, asking quietly, after a pause in which no +reference had been made to the expulsion of the confraternities: + +"Which of the orders have gone? What more hath happened that I know +not?" + +"Nay, the orders of the monks and of the friars have chiefly been +faithful to Venice," they told her, "and all is well. This society, +which for long hath been cause of much disorder in our Republic, it is +well that it leave Venice in peace." + +She answered nothing, weighing their words silently. "Is it because they +are faithful to their vows, and to their Church?" she asked at length, +in quiet irony. + +"Nay, but because they teach disobedience to princes and would thus +undermine the law of the land," Marcantonio hastened to explain, +grateful that she could at length discuss the question. +"Carina,--blessed be San Marco,--thou art like thyself! We will talk +together; we will make all clear to thee; thou shalt grieve no more, +carinissima!" + +She put up her hand and touched his cheek with an answering caress--the +first through all these weary days. "I shall get well, Marco mio," she +said, with a sudden conviction that surprised them; but still there was +no smile in her eyes, and their hearts were sad, though the change that +had come over her was so extraordinary that they hoped much from the +explanation which the great Santorio had authorized. + +But for whom should they send in this moment, when life and death hung +in the balance, to speak that authoritative word. + +The Bishop of Aquileia, first and greatest of the Venetian bishops, had +incurred the displeasure of the Senate for refusing to perform the +duties of his office while the Republic remained under that fulminated +but unacknowledged censure, and a new prelate, of opinions approved by +the Most Serene Republic, sat in the vacated see. The Bishop of Vicenza +had likewise signified his sympathy with the Holy See; and in Brescia +their wandering prelate had scarcely yet received that strengthening +monition of the watching Senate which was to recall him from his +hiding-place and hold him steadfast in his cathedral service. + +And for the Patriarch Vendramin, who had been summoned to Rome to +receive the benediction of the Supreme Pontiff, but had been forbidden +by the Senate to leave the Venetian domains, this episode, which was a +feature of the struggle known to the whole of Venice, placed him so +openly on the side of the Republic that it forbade his ministry with the +Lady Marina. + +But there was one so jealously guarded from all interruption and fatigue +that strangers who came from far to see him were refused audience, by +order of the Senate, or were received for a few moments only in some +protected chamber of the Ducal Palace; for the springs of government +moved at his touch, the matters which occupied him were weighty, and for +these they would spare his strength. Yet again the Senate signified a +rare consideration for the Ca' Giustiniani by permitting the attendance +of their Teologo Consultore in the palazzo of the Lady Marina; for who +so well could minister to her diseased mind as he who had unanswerably +placed the question in its true light before all the Councils of the +Republic? + +She stood with bowed head and clasped hands as he approached her, her +hair falling unbound, as in her maiden days, over the simply white robe +which she had preferred in her illness, discarding all her jewels and +all emblems of her state--pale as a vision, like a sad dream of the +beautiful Madonna del Sorriso which the Veronese had painted for that +altar of the Servi at which, each morning, Fra Paolo still dutifully +ministered. + +"Peace be with thee and to thine house, my daughter," said the Padre +Maestro Paolo, spreading out his hands in priestly salutation as he +entered the oratory of the palazzo Giustiniani, where the Lady Marina +awaited him. + +She had desired that the interview should take place in this chapel, +which she had not visited since her illness. A faint odor of desolation +stole through the dimness of the place to meet him--a breath from the +withered rose-petals which had dropped from the golden vases upon the +splendid embroidered altar-cloth and mingled with the dust of those many +days which had remained guiltless of Mass or service; the altar candles +were unlighted; the censer had lost its halo of mystic smoke. + +"It were fitter to my mood, most Reverend Father, wert thou to scatter +penitential ashes before a desecrated altar which may send no incense of +praise to heaven." + +"Nay, my daughter; love and faith may still minister, and God, the +Unchangeable, accept that service from every altar in Venice! 'The +sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit,' it is written in the Holy Book +which God hath granted for the comfort of His people. May peace indeed +bring thee its benediction--the more that thy need is great." + +Was there some strange power of resistance in that fragile, drooping +figure which made it difficult to rehearse the argument for Venice with +his accustomed mastery? + +She listened silently while the learned Counsellor patiently explained +that the sentence of Rome was unjust, therefore not incurred and not to +be observed by priests nor people; wherefore it was the duty of the +Prince to prevent its execution--of the Prince who, more than any +private citizen, is bound to fear God, to be zealous in the faith and +reverent toward the priests who are permitted to stand in the place of +Christ for the enforcement of his teaching only; but it is also the more +the duty of the Prince to eschew hypocrisy and superstition, to preserve +his own dignity, and maintain his state in the exercise of the true +religion. + +But there was no acquiescence in her eyes. + +"I thank thee, most Reverend Father, for thy patient teaching," she +said; "but I lack the learning to make it helpful. Fra Francesco was +more simple, and he hath taught me by no arguments; but he, for the +exercise of the true religion, hath found it needful to quit Venice, and +doth make his pilgrimage to Rome, barefooted, that he may pray the Holy +Father, of his grace, to lift this curse from our people." + +"There is that in her face which maketh argument useless," Fra Paolo +said low to his friend Santorio, for he was himself no mean physician, +having contributed discoveries of utmost importance to the medical +science, "and there is a physical weakness combined with this mental +assertiveness which doth make it a danger to oppose her beliefs. Yet I +would I might comfort her, for her soul is tortured." + +"It must be that thou shalt convince her!" Santorio pleaded with him. + +Thus urged, Fra Paolo spoke again, in a tone that pity rendered +strangely near to tenderness. "I would not weary thee, my daughter, +having spoken the truth which I would fain have thee embrace for thine +own healing. Only this would I remind thee--that none may be excluded +from the Holy Catholic Church if he be not first excluded by his own +demerits from Divine Grace." + +She answered nothing, but there was an unspoken argument in her face. + +"See'st thou not that those terrors which thou dost fear shall not come +upon Venice, since she hath not sinned? It is this which, for thy peace, +we would have thee comprehend." + +"My Father, there is but one whose teaching fitteth my reasoning," she +answered resolutely, "and he hath fled from Venice that he may be free +to believe and to practise his religion as our Holy Church doth require, +and to plead against our doom, where prayer may be heard, unhindered by +the cloud which keepeth us in Venice from God's favor. He, being a holy +man, hath taught me that the law of obedience to the Supreme Head of the +Church may not be transgressed--that our doom cometh not undeserved--and +my whole heart is sick with fear!" + +"There is but One to whom is owed this supreme and inalterable +obedience, my daughter; we do not differ in our beliefs; yield it always +to him, most reverently and unreservedly," Fra Paolo answered solemnly. +"But upon this earth, it hath been taught us by our Lord himself, 'there +is none good--nay, not one.' The Head of the Church of God is God +himself, the only infallible and just. Thinkest thou that He would have +us obey a command conceived in error, with intention to exclude from +every benefit of our Holy Church, in the hour when they most need divine +comfort and protection, those who would faithfully do him service? Thus +read we not the love and mercy of our Heavenly Father!" + +"Most Reverend Father," she cried, clasping her hands in extremity. +"How shall a weak, untaught woman reason with the Counsellor of Venice! +I know not where the words are written--but, somewhere, Fra Francesco +hath taught me, yet his soul is loving--there is a thought of the +vengeance of God, and it is terrible! Day and night there is no other +vision in my soul but this--of the _vengeance of God_, poured out upon +the disobedient. For this the blessed Mater Dolorosa of San Donato +weepeth ceaselessly. Love is for those who serve him; but +vengeance--here and hereafter--for those who disobey. Oh, my Father! for +every human soul in Venice--the helpless women, who have no power but +prayer, which is but insult while God's face is hidden--the little +children who have done no harm--Madre Beatissima, how can we bear it!" + +"Nay, nay, my daughter, for our Father is righteous and merciful. +'Vengeance is mine,' he saith; '_I_ will repay.' He giveth no man charge +to bring his wrath upon us. He hath invested no human power with a +supremacy beyond that which abideth in every loving and faithful soul, +as to the things of the conscience. Thou, with thy love and faith and +pain, art at this moment very near to Him; be comforted, and cease not +to believe that He counteth all thy tears, and that thy prayers are dear +to Him." + +"My Father," she confessed sadly, "it is a part of the shadow that it +hides my faith; night and day, with fast and penance, have I not ceased +to pray for Venice--and the answer hath been denied me. I could seek for +death, but for the horror that cometh after, at the Madonna dell' +Orto--the Tintoret--and that which the Michelangelo hath seen in +vision--Oh, my God!" + +"My child, it is not God who faileth thee in answer to thy prayer; and +love and faith are yet strong and beautiful within thy soul; only a +human weakness is upon thee which cloudeth thy human reason, and for +this thy soul is dark. For reason, also, is of God's gift--lower than +faith and love, yet a very needful part of man while God leaveth him in +his human habitation. There hath come an answer to the prayer, though +thou see'st it not." + +"Is it written, my father, in the cruel words of the interdict?" she +gasped. + +"She is tortured out of reverence," Santorio exclaimed apart, and would +have hushed her. + +But Fra Paolo, overhearing, said gently: + +"For this I came, to hearken all thy trouble, if perchance I might give +thee rest. The answer to thy prayer is not written in those unjust +words. For they--mark well, it is here that thy reason faileth thee--for +they were uttered by a human will, striving to coerce obedience in a +matter beyond its province. The power which God hath given to priests +and princes is not arbitrary, but to be regulated by the law of God; +neither is obedience toward those in authority to be stolid and blind, +but yielded only when the command is within this divine law. The Holy +Father hath no power to command disobedience to the Prince in his +rightful realm,--which thus he seeketh to do." + +She spread out her hands before her and half-turned away her head, as if +in deprecation of some sacrilege, growing very white. + +"Is _this_ the answer, my Father?" + +"It is the reason for the answer which hath come by unanimous conviction +into the soul of every man of the ruling body of Venice, and hath been +voiced by each, in his vote, with a fullness of consent which is of +God's sending. Thus are they nerved to declare the censure void--and +Venice is unharmed." + +"Madre Beatissima! _thus_ hast thou answered me?" + +"My daughter, may it not comfort thee to know that that which thou, in +faith and love, hast prayed for Venice--that in this struggle she should +hold God's favor unharmed--hath come to her, though the manner of the +benefit accord not with the manner of the grace which thou hast asked?" + +"If my reason is clouded with terror," she said very slowly, as if her +strength were spent, "God hath vouchsafed me no other reason--but only +that which trembles at this broken law of obedience. My Father--I pray +thee--I am very weary----" + + + +XXIV + +The nuncio had declared that Venice no longer required his services and +had withdrawn, with every ceremony of punctilious and honorable +dismissal, to Rome, from whence the Venetian ambassador presently went +forth _without_ the customary compliments. + +But if diplomatic relations were severed between Rome and Venice, there +were still chances for private communication which sometimes cast a +curious light upon the subject under discussion, but which made no +change in that irreproachable suavity of exterior or that invincibility +of purpose with which the Venetians held in check any attempt at +disaffection through Roman agency, or averted any schismatic movement +within their own dependencies. + +To Sarpi, the Chief Counsellor, had been committed the censorship of the +press; and the supervision of those very papers which had been written +by friends of the Republic to scatter broadcast in defense of its +rights, formed not the least delicate part of his task. For the +government demanded that they should maintain a fine reserve in method, +and in spite of examples to the contrary freely given by their +opponents, would tolerate neither heresy nor coarseness. Every detail of +this world-renowned quarrel was conducted on the part of Venice with an +irreproachable dignity and diplomacy that raised it to the height of a +negotiation of State, and it formed no part of the policy of the +Republic to tolerate any disbelief in her own loyalty; the Venetians +should stand before the world as faithful sons of the Church, bearing +unmerited sentence of excommunication. + +Then Rome, to make an end of the brilliant flow of pamphlets from +Sarpi's pen, would have lured him from Venice with flattering promises +of churchly preferment. "Nay," said he, "here lieth my duty; and my work +hath not deserved honest favor from a Pope who interpreteth the law with +other eyes than mine." + +Meanwhile the schemes of the enemy were tireless for obtaining secret +influence within Venetian borders. Now it was a barefooted friar to be +watched for at Mantua, coming with powers plenipotentiary from his +Holiness over all the prelates of the rebellious realm; or it might be +this same friar, in lay disguise, still armed with those ghostly and +secret powers, for whom the trusted servants of Venice were to be on +guard. Or there were disaffected brothers, who had left their convents +and were roaming through the land inciting to rebellion, to whom it was +needful to teach the value of quiet, however summary the process. But +Venice, by a broad training in intrigue and cunning, joined to her +mastery of the finer principles of statesmanship, still remained +mistress of the springs of action and wore her outward dignity, and the +disappointments were for her adversaries. But this training was a costly +one, for it put a prize on daring, confused the colors of right, and +invariably laureled success--if it did no more specific harm to the +State. + +Piero Salin had been secretly summoned by the Ten and given an +indefinite leave of absence from Venice, together with a large +discretionary power in the direction of his wanderings, with certain +other passes and perquisites which bespoke a curious confidence in one +who had been known for a successful and much dreaded bandit gondolier. +But if the government in its complicated labors had need of tools of +various tempers, it had also the wisdom to discern legitimate uses for +certain wild and lawless spirits when they were, like Piero, full of +daring and resource. + +In the days when they had been dwellers under the same roof Piero had +never been able to disregard Marina's will, often as he had chafed under +the necessity of yielding to it; and now, since she was Lady of the +Giustiniani, it had not been otherwise in the rare instances when it had +pleased her to require anything of him. Yet it would have been +incongruous to charge Piero with over-sensitiveness on the side of +chivalry, though Marina's power over him was still as great as in those +old days when, being unable to shake himself free from her influence, he +had wished to marry her to make it less. + +Piero was not introspective, but he doubtless knew that his ruling +passion was to achieve whatever purpose he might choose to set himself. +The Nicolotti knew it well when, a few months before, they had +unanimously elected him to rule over them--as their chief officers had +realized it when they had nominated him, without a dissenting voice, to +this position of gastaldo grande--a position of great honor fully +recognized by the government. So the rival faction of the Castellani +bore marvelous testimony to his mastery when they went over in +surprising numbers from along the _Giudecca_, and underwent the strange +ceremonial of baptism into the opposition party. + +Yet when the rival factions of the people had thus conspired to make him +their chief it was Marina who had alone induced him to accept the honor. +To all his objections her answer had been ready: + +"Nay, Piero, it is meet for thee; they need one strong and brave, of +whom they stand in dread, who knoweth their ways--" + +"As much bad as good," Piero had interposed frankly, and not without +asseverations well known to gondoliers. + +"It is well said," she had answered, with the comprehension born of her +intimate knowledge of the class; "and to keep them in order--verily, +none but thou canst do it." + +Piero gave an expressive shrug, having had enough of compliment. "_En +avanti--c'e altro_!" he said, laughing. "The taxes are heavy, and their +Excellencies the tax-gatherers have less patience than the poor +gondoliers bring of _zecchini_ to the purse of the Nicolotti. But the +gastaldo hath as little liberty of delay, as their Excellencies leave +him to decline the burden--I might better make shipwreck in the Canale +Orfano." + +It was in this canal that the victims of the Inquisition mysteriously +disappeared, and Marina had repressed a shudder while she answered, +"Thou wilt come to me, Piero, if the purse of the Nicolotti weighs +little; thou shalt not fail, for this, of wearing the honor of gastaldo +grande. + +"Nay," she had added, quickly disposing of his awkward attempts at +thanks, "think not of it again; it is for my pleasure to see thee great +among the people, for I also and my father are of them. It is this that +I have always wished for thee." + +So, chiefly because it had been Marina's will, Piero had waived his +unwillingness and become the central figure in the imposing ceremony of +the election of the gastaldo grande of the Nicolotti, who were, indeed, +almost nobles by antiquity and prestige, not only claiming among +themselves the coveted title of _nobili_, but, under the sanction of the +government, electing their gastaldo with a degree of ceremonial granted +only to high officials, and prescribed in very ancient books of the laws +of the traghetti. One of the ducal secretaries, having received official +notice of the vacancy of the office carried in person before the Senate +by the oldest man of the Nicolotti, came, in purple state, to preside +over the election when the bell of San Nicolo had tolled forth the +call--taking his seat among the twelve electoral presidents who, already +chosen by the people, awaited him, having sworn the inevitable oath of +impartiality and fealty to the Republic; they sat behind locked doors +until the election was brought to a close--in that solemn semblance of a +ducal election which could not fail to impress the people--with +complicated, time-using ballotings, and comings and goings of candidates +from adjoining chambers to express their views of the responsibilities +of the office, or to defend themselves against the freely invited +attacks of opponents or malcontents. + +And for once Piero had uttered opinions, however clumsily, upon +"government" and "reform" from the pulpit of San Nicolo, in the +dignified and interested presence of a ducal secretary, the bancali, and +the disconcerting throng of gondoliers who were intolerant of speeches +and impatient for their vote; and he had retired shamefacedly, like an +awkward boy, while his jejune remarks were elaborately discussed by the +judges. And because his views--if he had any--had not been +over-luminously set forth in this his maiden oration, a party of zealous +advocates had nearly caused an uproar by their irrepressible shout of +"Non c'e da parlar', ma da fare!" which was, in truth, too sure an +indication of the temper of the people to be ignored. "We do not want +talking--but doing!" + +And for once he had experienced a curious sensation which cowardly men +call "fear," but for which Piero had neither name nor tolerance, when +all the people who had been worrying him led him in triumph to the altar +and forced him down on his stubborn knees to take a solemn oath of +allegiance, his great bronzed hand, all unaccustomed to restraint, +resting meanwhile in the slippery silken clasp of the ducal secretary. + +Here also had the gastaldo received, from those same patrician hands, +the unfurled banner of the Nicolotti, with the sacramental words: + +"We consign to you the standard of San Nicolo, in the name of the Most +Serene Prince and as proof that you are the chief gastaldo and head of +the people of San Nicolo and San Raffaele." + +And after that had come freedom of breath, with the Te Deum, without +which no ceremonial was ever complete in Venice, chanted by all those +full-throated gondoliers--a jubilant chorus of men's voices, ringing the +more heartily through the church for those unwonted hours of repression. + +But when the doors had at last been thrown wide to the sunshine and the +babel of life which rose from the eager, thronging populace who had no +right of entrance on this solemn occasion--men who had no vote, women +and children who had all their lives been Nicolotti of the Nicolotti--a +Venetian must indeed have been stolid to feel no thrill of pride as the +procession, with great pomp, passed out of the church to a chorus of +bells and cannon and shouts of the people, proclaiming him their chosen +chief. + +Piero Salin was a splendid specimen of the people--tall, +broad-shouldered, gifted by nature and trained by wind and wave to the +very perfection of his craft; positive, nonchalant, and masterful; +affable when not thwarted; of fewer words than most Venetians; an adept +at all the intricacies of gondolier intrigue, and fitted by intimate +knowledge to circumvent the _tosi_. Moreover, he was in favor with the +government, a crowning grace to other qualities not valueless in one of +this commanding position. + +No wonder that the enthusiasm of the populace was wild enough to bring +the frankest delight to his handsome sun-bronzed face as they rushed +upon him in a frenzy of appreciation and bore him aloft on their +shoulders around the Piazza San Nicolo, almost dizzied with their haste +and the smallness of the circle opened to them in the little square by +the throng who pressed eagerly around him to grasp his hand--to wave +their banners, to shout themselves hoarse for the Nicolotti, for San +Nicolo and San Raffaele, for _Piero, gastaldo grande_, for Venezia, for +San Marco, with "Bravi," "Felicitazioni," and every possible childish +demonstration of delight. + +Should not the Nicolotti--blessed be the Madonna!--always overcome the +Castellani with Piero at their head, in those party battles on the +bridges which had now grown to be as serious a factor in the lives of +the gondoliers of Venice as they were disturbing to the citizens at +large, and therefore the more to the glory of the combatants? + +Was he not their own representative--elected by the very voice of the +people, as in those lost days of their freedom the doges had been? And +did not the rival faction so stand in awe of the new gastaldo that from +the moment of his nomination there had been disaffection in their ranks? + +And now, as they shouted around him, many a sturdy red cap tossed his +badge disdainfully into the throng and snatched a black bonnet from the +nearest head to wave it aloft with cries of "the black cap! The +Nicolotti! Viva San Nicolo!" + +And again, when Piero essayed to prove himself equal to his honors, his +few words dropped without sound upon the storm of vivas--"We do not want +talking for our gastaldo--but doing!" + +Since this happening Piero had been indeed a great man among the +people--a popular idol, with a degree of power difficult to estimate by +one unfamiliar with the customs and traditions of Venice; holding the +key, practically, to all the traghetti of Venice, since even before this +sweeping disaffection of the Castellani the Nicolotti were invariably +acknowledged to be the more powerful faction, so that now it was a +trifling matter to coerce a rival offending traghetto; and gondoliers, +private and public, were, to say the least, courteous toward these +nobles of the Nicolotti, who were dealing with tosi as never before in +the history of Venice. + +In truth, but for those unknown _observors_ in secret service to the +terrible Inquisition,--an army sixty thousand strong, one third of the +entire population of Venice,--impressed from nobles, gondoliers, +ecclesiastics, and people of every grade and profession, from every +quarter of the city, and charged to lose nothing of any detail that +might aid the dreaded chiefs of the Inquisition in their silent and +fearful work--the power of Piero would have been virtually limitless. +These three terrible unknown chiefs of the Inquisition were never named +among the people except with bated breath, as "i tre di sopra," _the +three above_, lest some echo should condemn the speakers. But the +unsought favor of the government was as much a check as an assistance to +Piero's schemes, bringing him so frequently into requisition for +official intrigues that he had less opportunity for counterplotting, +while his knowledge of State secrets which he might not compromise, of +the far-reaching vision of Inquisitorial eyes, and of the swift and +relentless execution of those unknown _osservatori_ who had been +unfaithful to their primal duty as spies, made him dare less where +others were concerned than he would have foretold before he had been +admitted to these unexpected official confidences; while for himself he +had absolutely no fears--having but one life to order or to lose, and +caring less for its length than for the freedom of its ruling while it +remained to him. + +And still Marina was, as she had always been, the gentlest influence in +his reckless life,--to some slight extent an inspiring one,--steadying +his daring yet generous instincts into a course that was occasionally +nearer to nobility than he could ever have chanced upon without her, yet +never able to instil a higher motive power than came from pleasing her. + +It was Piero who had escorted Fra Francesco to the borders of the Roman +dominions, guarding him from pitfalls and discovery until he was free to +undertake his barefooted penitential pilgrimage upon Roman soil; and +from no faith nor sympathy in the gentle friar's views, but only because +he was dear to Marina. + +And through Piero's agents, established under threats as terrible as +those of the Ten themselves, had come the news which, from time to time, +he unfolded to her; while the same secret agent brought perhaps a rumor +which the gastaldo grande confided to the Ten, wherewith some convent +plotting was unmasked, or other news so greatly to the keeping of the +peace of the Serene Republic, that Piero might have bought therewith +propitiation for all those sins against it, of which the government was +happily in ignorance. Now it was a hint of a plot in embryo to seize +the arsenal, involving some members of distinction in the households of +resident ambassadors; or word of the whereabouts of that wandering, +barefooted emissary with plenary powers, who had hitherto eluded +Venetian vigilance. + +It was Piero also--although he never confessed to it--who, out of +compassion for Marina's priestly proclivities when she lay critically +ill, had made it possible for the Jesuits to remove those coffers of +treasure which, in spite of strictest orders to the contrary, +accompanied them on their flight from Venice; it was not that he took +part against Venice in the quarrel, but that the penalty of exile seemed +to him sufficient, especially as Marina had a weakness for priests; and +he could be generous in his use of power, though a man less daring would +not have risked the freak. But there was a masterful pleasure in +outwitting the Signoria and the Ten, lessened only by the consciousness +that he must keep this triumph to himself, and Piero also knew how to +hold his tongue--for discretion was a needful grace in that strange time +of barbaric lawlessness shrouded in a more than Eastern splendor. + +But even Piero sometimes quickened his step as he passed the beautiful +sea facade of the Ducal Palace, whose rose-tinted walls seemed made only +to reflect sunshine; for perchance he guessed the name of that victim +who hung with covered face between the columns, bearing in bold letters +on his breast, by way of warning, the nature of the crime for which he +paid such awful penalty--some crime against the State. "To-day," said +Piero to himself, "it is this poor devil who cried to me to shield him +when I was forced to denounce him to the Signoria; to-morrow, for some +caprice of their Excellencies--it may be Piero Salin!" + +But the gastaldo relapsed easily into such philosophy as he knew. "By +the blessed San Marco and San Teodoro themselves!" he was ready to cry, +as he reached his gondola, "there must always be a last 'to-morrow'!" + + + +XXV + +Life had begun to move again, with slow, clogged wheels, in the Ca' +Giustiniani since that sudden favorable change had come to the Lady +Marina. Her husband was no longer excused from attendance in the Council +Halls of the Republic, and whether to quicken his interest in the +affairs of the government or because, in due course, the time had come +when a young noble so full of promise should take a prominent place in +her councils, he was now constantly called upon to fill important +offices in transient committees. Certainly there was some strange, +ubiquitous power in that watchful governmental eye; and in the Broglio +it had been whispered that if the young Senator were not held constant +by multiplied honors and responsibilities the home influence might be +fateful to the house of Giustiniani--a house too princely and too +important to Venice to be suffered to tolerate any sympathy with Rome. +Giustinian the elder, being pronounced in his patriotic partizanship, +had replaced the ambassador to his Most Catholic Majesty of Spain, whose +attempts at conciliation were so ludicrously inadequate that a court of +less astute diplomacy than Venice might have been tempted to withdraw +its embassy. Spain and Venice had been stepping through a stately dance, +as it were, decorous and princely,--though scarcely misleading,--an +interminable round of bows and dignified advances leading no whither, +since for a forward step there was a corresponding backward motion to +complete the _chasse_, and all in that gracious circle which flatters +the actor and the onlooker with a pleasurable sense of progress; but the +suspense as to the issue of this minuet was all on the side of Spain, +and Venice had patience to spare for these pretty time-filling paces +which presented such semblance of careless ease to the watching +embassies. England, with an understanding quickened by her own +experience, took a serious interest in the quarrel. But his Most +Christian Majesty of France was foremost among the princes in efforts to +hasten the conciliation of the disputants, and when Henry of France +offered to mediate between the powers, Venice said him not nay. For if +she would take no personal step toward conciliation, she yet held no +code by which the intercession of a monarch might seem to lessen her +dignity; and the coming of so princely an envoy as the Cardinal di +Gioiosa was celebrated with fetes meet to grace the reception of so high +a dignitary of the Church of Rome. + +Hence Venice, under the ban, suggested rather a lively tourney in some +field of cloth of gold, than an excommunicated nation in its time of +mourning; there were frequent interchanges of diplomatic +courtesies--receptions to special embassies which had lost nothing of +their punctilious splendor. There had always been time in Venice for +absolute decorum, and now there was not less than usual, since her +conduct had been denounced--though Venice and her prestige were +untarnished and the world was looking on! + +Marcantonio, in spite of his deep home anxiety, was becoming more and +more absorbed in the affairs of a government which made such claims upon +him, and for the honor of his house, by all Venetian tradition, he must +give to the full that which was exacted of him. But he worked without +the brilliancy and enthusiasm of a few months past--as a man steadied by +some great sorrow, striving more strenuously to give of his best where +honor is concerned, because he is conscious that the heaviness of his +heart makes all duty irksome. + +For Marina, with returning health,--the physicians spoke of her thus +since they had pronounced her out of danger,--had not fully returned to +him; it was less her whiteness and wanness that oppressed him than that +nameless change in the face and eyes which suggested a ceaseless, +passionate suppression of the deep, impassioned self, under the listless +exterior; there was an immeasurable loss in the sweetness of life to +them both, though never since the early days of their love had he been +so tender and patient, so eager to gladden her in little ways. But she +answered his love more often with a mute caress of her hand upon his +cheek than with smiles or words--yet with a touch that lingered, as if +to assure him that her love was not less, though she herself was +changed. + +Something terribly real lay between them, of which it seemed better not +to speak, since all his efforts to change her point of view had failed. +It was utterly sad to have her so nearly herself again, and yet so far +from him. Life was hard for this young senator with his multiplied +honors, his wealth, and prestige. Marina had always given impetus to his +life; now it was he who watched and cared for her, while she seemed to +have no will for anything, yet had lost that old charming ingenuousness +which had underlain her power. He had promised himself, out of his new +pathetic yearning when she had begun to improve, that never again should +she know an ungratified wish, yet now he feared that she would give him +no opportunity of granting a request, so apathetic had she grown. But +one day, when he was trying to rouse her to express a desire, she laid +her hand eagerly on his, asking a thing so strange that unconsciously he +started away from her. + +"Marco, mio, take me to Rome!" + +For a moment, in spite of all that had gone before, the young Senator +was betrayed into a forgetfulness of his tender mood--it was so strange, +this request of a Lady of the Giustiniani, to choose Rome rather than +Venice at a time of contest; but her face and manner and speech were +luminous with hope; she was radiant again, as she had not been for many +months; yet the words escaped from him unintentionally and sternly: + +"_To Rome_!" + +"Yes, Marco, thou and I and the little one! We should be so happy again +in the palazzo Donatello, where baby came to us." + +"Marina, a Giustinian abides by Venice. From the days when every man of +the Ca' Giustiniani--save only the priest, who might not take up +arms--laid down his life before Lepanto, none hath ever forsaken +Venice." + +"It is not to forsake our Venice, Marco mio!" she cried, with growing +eagerness, "but to serve her--to plead with the Holy Father that he will +remove the curse and let all the prayers of Venice ascend again to the +Madre Beatissima, who listens no more! It is a service for a Giustinian +to render!" + +Her whole soul pleaded in face and gesture, beautiful and compelling; he +felt her old power reasserting itself; he almost groaned aloud as he put +up his hand to shut out this beseeching vision of the wife whom he loved +before all things but honor--lest he, being among the trusted rulers of +his country, should fail to Venice out of the great joy of granting to +Marina the happiness she craved. + +Not for an instant did the young Venetian noble question his duty, while +with head averted, lest Marina should guess his struggle, he invoked +that ever-present image of Venetia regnant, which all her children +recognize, to stay him from forgetting it until this temptation were +past and he could be strong again; but now he knew that he was weak from +an irrepressible yearning to clasp Marina in his arms and grant her +heart's desire--at whatever cost; he dared not touch her lest he should +yield. + +The moment's silence intensified her eagerness and hope; he felt them +burning in her eyes, and would not meet their prayer again. But she +could not wait, and her hand, fluttering restlessly upon his shoulder, +crept up to touch his cheek, thrilling him unbearably, as if each +sensitive finger-tip repeated her urgency. He must yield if she kept it +there. He snatched her hand to his lips and dropped it quickly, nerving +himself to speak steadily, lest he should betray irresolution--so +covering the tenderness which would have atoned for the positive +refusal. + +"Marina, a Venetian may not demean himself to ask forgiveness of the +Holy Father in a matter wherein Venice hath not sinned--but Rome." + +"Marco, my beloved, if Venice were mistaken! If thou and I might save +her!" + +Her voice broke in a sob of agony, and her husband gathered her in his +arms, struggling not to weep with her. "Carina--carinissima!" he +repeated soothingly; yet, as she grew calmer, brought despair again. + +"Nay, Marina, no loyal senator may question the decision of his +government; thou presumest too far; but thine illness and thy suffering +have made thee irresponsible." + +Then, grieving so to cross her in her weakness and pain, with all his +tenderness in his voice, he hastened to atone for the firmness of the +declaration which had sufficiently proved his staunchness. + +"Marina, thou and I--were we not Giustiniani--more than all other +Venetians owe our loyalty in time of stress; and for love of thee, +beloved, shall Venice find me faithful in her need--I and all my +household true, and all my fortune hers in service, if need should +be--as thus I vowed, before them all, on that day when the Senate gave +thee to me and made thee the sweetest patrician lady in all the land. We +will not fail them, beloved!" + +He clasped her close, holding her firmly, as if to infuse her with his +faith. "All blessings are for those who do the right, Marina; we need +not fear." + +Never had she seen his face so inspired, so masterful, so tender; it was +a revelation. The whole of their beautiful love story was written on it, +mastering all the traditions of Venice, yet binding him more closely to +the service of his country. + +For a moment she looked at him awestruck, longing to give the submission +which would bring her rest; it was not strange that she loved him so; +oh, if she might but acquiesce in his view of right! Madre Beatissima, +life was hard, and the way of right was the way of the cross--how many +holy women had found it so! One hand stole to the little crucifix +beneath her robe and pressed its roughened surfaces into her breast, for +she must not place the sweetness of this earthly love before the duty of +the heavenly one. "Santa Maria, save me!" she prayed, while, only for +one moment, she drooped her head to his shoulder and nestled close, that +he should know her heart was his, whatever came--_whatever came_. + +Was it strange that her agony threatened her reason? In that one little +moment of comfort, which she yearned to hold free from suffering that +its remembrance might uphold her, the powerful vision of the +Tintoretto's awful _Judgment_ rose beckoningly before her. It was the +doom of Venice, and she alone--so impotent--recognized the danger. + +The vision pursued her night and day. The River of the Wrath of God, +leaping up to meet those frowning skies of His most just anger, and +Venice--superb, disdainful--overwhelmed between; the cloud of +innumerable souls, tortured and writhing, fleeing from before the face +of the Holy One, no more than a mere film of whirling atoms, +falling--falling into an abyss of horrors--the dim, doomed shapes +wearing faces that had smiled into hers--With an inarticulate moan she +hid her face on her husband's shoulder. + +"Marco," she whispered with an effort, for her strength was spent, "not +though it were a vision, revealed by the Madonna San Donato, thou +wouldest take me to Rome? Not though I could make thee comprehend what +it means for me--and thee?" + +She waited breathlessly for his answer, with pulses that seemed to pause +for the momentous decision, not daring to look at him lest she should +falter and retract; for never again would she ask this question, which, +even now, she had put in the form of an assertion. + +"Nay, Marina, the Madonna asketh naught of thee but that which gracious +women must give--submission to their princes--in which, beloved, thou +seemest to fail; and duty to thy Church, in which thou, having ever been +before all others, art now neglectful. For from the altar of your home +no Masses ascend, no fragrance of flowers nor praise. Venice is more +faithful in that which she commands, and we, carina, may not longer +disregard her will without suspicion of disloyalty. Since Fra Francesco +is no longer here, I will apply for some new ministrant. Hast thou a +wish in this choice of a priest for the service of our oratory?" + +She had started away from him almost resentfully, that he could charge +her--whose fealty to her Church was killing her--with neglect of any +duty it imposed; but, out of her larger love, she understood him better +than he knew her, and she forgave him and nestled back again. He had not +been brought up to place the requirements of the Church before the +commands of Venice,--few patricians were in those days,--she could not +make him realize the awful restrictions of that ban which, by her strict +teaching, made it impossible for the faithful to worship in Venice while +it remained unwithdrawn; yet he could count it as non-existent! + +She was glad that she had felt the tumult of his heart while he answered +her so calmly; it made her realize what it cost him to deny her prayer; +it assured her that a staunch sense of duty underlay his strength; +pitilessly it assured her also that he would not change, and the very +firmness which came between them made her love and admire him the more. +In the midst of her pain she was proud that he also had conscience on +his side, however misguided it seemed to her. Why did the good Madonna +permit these differences? How was it possible for Marco, with his quick, +intellectual grasp, not to comprehend the truth--not to see the terrors +that Venice had brought upon herself! He was suffering also, but only +because she suffered; never would he understand her agony; the rudest, +crudest weight of the cross she must lift alone, weary and spent with +the bitter struggle. + +She summoned all her strength to answer him as though the words were +easily spoken. "Since it is not Fra Francesco, whom we love," she said, +"I know no other; choose thou, my Marco." + +His face flushed with pleasure that her resistance seemed conquered. +"And when we have found our confessor, shall we go together--thou and +the little one and I," he asked brightly, "to the Island of Sant' Elena, +which thou lovest, and we ourselves bring flowers to deck our chapel? +For it hath been long since Mass was said therein." + +"Yes, Marco mio," she answered to the love in his voice, struggling to +repress every accent of dissent; for in her heart she told herself that +the chapel of the palazzo Giustiniani was his, not hers, since their +faith was divided; "and for me only, not for him, to worship there is +sin. And the beautiful day together, alone on the island with the +flowers--it is the gift of the Holy Mother to help me endure!" + +And her husband, as he left her, carried with him a smile that satisfied +him. + +But, turning in the doorway for another glance--so sweet it was to have +her all his own again--a pang shot through him, for the glory was gone +from her face--or was it the shadow that made it so wan and gray?--and +no smile hid the questioning anguish of her eyes. Nay, he himself was +fanciful, for it was too far to see, and he could not shake off the +sadness of the days that were past. But he must teach himself to forget +them. For Marina had smiled at him, radiantly, as in the sweet, old +days; and together they would deck the chapel for a benediction! + + + +XXVI + +Fra Paolo was fast becoming a centre of romance, so many were the +attempts from suspicious quarters to manage private interviews which the +Senate had thought necessary to frustrate; and the fact that he was +known to have declined the escort of guards which the Senate urged upon +him as means of safety endowed him with a sort of heroic halo in the +eyes of the lesser multitude. "Fate largo a Fra Paolo," they called in +the Merceria if the people pressed him too closely--"Make way for Fra +Paolo!"--and a strange youthfulness, as of satisfied affections, was +beginning to grow upon his calm face. He had had no cravings, feeling +that duty sufficed; yet, through this absolute yielding of himself to +express the message with which his life was charged, his heart had +warmed within him, and now, unsought, the people loved him, magnifying +the interest of every minor happening of his life and zealously +gathering anecdotes of the days before he was great. + +A group of his brother friars were strolling back and forth under the +fretted colonnades of the greater court of the Servi one evening before +vespers, a glow of relish on their genial, cowled faces, rehearsing the +tale of Fra Paolo's unconventional slippers; for it was the hour of +small gossip, and the day had been warm. + +"They were scarlet, like an eminence's," explained Fra Giulio, who had +secured this choice bit for the entertainment of his special cronies; +"for all colors are one to Fra Paolo, who hath no distinction for +trifles." + +"Because he spendeth himself in scheming for honors that belong +elsewhere," interposed a disaffected brother who had strolled up and +joined the group uninvited; he belonged to another chapter of the Servi, +and had but recently come among them; honors had passed him by and +duties attracted him less, and he had made no friends within the +convent, though he professed great interest in all that concerned Fra +Paolo, and had even offered to wait upon him in chapel or in his cell. + +"Thou, Fra Antonio, seek thine own friends!" Fra Giulio retorted, with +unusual asperity; "for this tale is too good for thine hearing, being +another triumph for Fra Paolo in the days when he was only a frate of +the Servi." + +"_Ebbene_, and then?" urged the eager auditors, crowding around the +speaker, for the incongruity of the grave padre, in his frayed and rusty +gown attempting to usurp a decoration, lent interest to the petty +happening. + +"_Ebbene_, and then his Eminence of Borromeo--for it seemeth that only +the illustrious play parts in this farce"--Fra Giulio continued with +keen enjoyment, "his Eminence of Borromeo hath explained at Rome that +Fra Paolo was innocent of contempt of rule." + +"Verily, the fault might have been counted to one who hath no sins of +the body to atone for!" sneered Fra Antonio, who could not be converted +to the prevailing tone of admiration for this abnormal being who walked +among them not as other men, and toward whom his own attitude was a +singular compound of obsequiousness and cynicism. "Even the slippers of +your saint can do no wrong," he added venomously. + +"But thou, in canonized shoes, couldst walk but wearily, Fra Antonio, +lest they should lead thee in unwonted ways!" one of the party retorted +maliciously. + +"Fra Paolo hath fear of no man, and that which he declareth he knoweth," +said another of the frati, lowering his voice and glancing about him +furtively. "And it hath chanced to him, more than once, to be wiser than +the Serenissimo and the Ten themselves--may San Marco have other uses +for his ears! But the day that our famous Signor Bragadin was summoned +from his palace on the Giudecca to make his promised gold for the +Signoria, I stood with the crowd in the Merceria to see him pass, with +his two black dogs and their golden collars looking for all the world +like powers of evil! And our gold-maker himself going to the Senate like +a noble, with his friends the Cornaro and the Dandolo in crimson +robes--the people thronging to see him pass!" + +"Ay, Bragadin was a saintly man!" one of them retorted mockingly. "Dost +remember the tale how that he fooled the worshipful Signoria to leave +him a week in peace, that he might take the blessed sacrament quietly, +finding therein 'a holy joy' that should fit him to proceed to the +service of Venice--looking, meanwhile, for means of escape?" + +"_Davvero_! but this was the hour of his highest favor, and I followed +with the rest of the crowd till there was scarce breathing space under +the clock tower, where the _Magi_ were just coming forth to salute the +Madonna and the Bambino at the stroke of the day; and the people were +shouting so one could not hear the bell for cries of 'Gold! gold! +Bragadin!' + +"We surged back against the doorway of the 'Nave d'Oro,' the people +struggling with each other lest they should lose the sight as he passed +through the Piazza, and suddenly there came a voice,--cold, and +scornful, and low, but no man lost the words,--'Thou art wearied in the +multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the star-gazers, the +monthly prognosticators stand up and save thee from these things that +shall come upon thee!' The people stopped their pushing and looked +aghast to see who spake, but I could have sworn it was Fra Paolo's +voice. I caught a glimpse of him standing quietly just inside the 'Nave +d'Oro,' while the other signori who go there to ridotto were out in the +Merceria to see the show; and I made haste away lest the crowd should +object to my habit for being like Fra Paolo's--they were so crazy for +Bragadin, following in the footsteps of the Signoria, like good +Venetians!" + +"Who told the saying to the Signoria, when it might have crushed Fra +Paolo?" Fra Giulio questioned jealously. + +"It may well have been his Excellency the Signor Donato, who was of the +Council in those days, but a man too strong to have a mind to the folly +of the others, and who walked about the chamber giving sign of much +displeasure while Bragadin made his gold. And the next day Fra Paolo is +commanded before the Signoria to meet the Provveditor of the Mint--being +the only man who hath dared speak his mind before the Signoria had +proved the worthlessness of Bragadin's promise. And our fine gold-maker +exchangeth his palace for a prison; for the test of the crucible is all +too easy for Fra Paolo, who speaketh naught that he knoweth not." + +"Santa Maria! here cometh the 'bride,'" some one exclaimed warningly; +for none of Fra Paolo's friends had the courage for frivolity in his +grave presence, harmless as it might appear in his absence, and this +watchword was often heard in the cloister as he approached. + +He was conversing earnestly with his secretary, Fra Fulgenzio, evidently +on business of the Senate, having remained in the convent all day, +contrary to his usual custom; Fra Fulgenzio had been to and fro with +messages, and once had returned from the Ducal Palace escorting several +grave personages who had gone to Fra Paolo's cell for some conference, +which gave rise to pleasant comment in the convent--since the +Serenissimo could not dispense with the personal service of its +Consultore for a single day, and every honor shown to Fra Paolo was dear +to the hearts of the Servi. + +Fra Paolo paused only for a moment as he passed the group to exchange a +greeting, but his keen, quiet glance took in every expression, from the +affectionate smile of old Fra Giulio to the jealous discontent of Fra +Antonio, whose gaze drooped before him while he hastened to give the +accustomed sign of reverence due to one so high in authority. + +Fra Paolo considered him seriously for a moment before resuming his +stroll. "Fra Antonio," he said, in his passionless voice, "the head of +the Roman Chapter hath made inquiry for thee, and knew naught of thy +presence here. Thou wilt soon be recalled. That thou doest--do quickly." + +A sudden pallor overspread the features of Fra Antonio, who staggered +and would have fallen, as he made an effort to steal away unobserved, +had not the others come to his assistance. + +"What is thy sudden ailment?" one of them asked him roughly, for he was +no favorite. + +But before the trembling friar could steady his voice or choose his +words he was forgotten, for the evening bells began to chime for +vespers, and as the brothers came flocking through the cloisters the +great bell at the entrance gate on the Fondamenta dei Servi sent back +the special deep-toned call, which took precedence of every order within +the convent. Those who had already reached the chapel streamed back in +wild confusion to answer the summons which filled the court with +clanging echoes, while the silvery notes of the chapel chimes sounded +faintly in the pauses of the deeper reverberations--like the voice of a +timid child crying to be comforted when it does not understand. + +In the excitement that followed Fra Antonio was forgotten by all but Fra +Giulio, who had been watching him closely as he made his way with +difficulty toward the low, arched passage which led in the direction of +the dormitory. + +"Lean on me," said Fra Giulio, who stood barring the way. + +"Nay," replied the other, who seemed scarcely able to stand, "I must +needs reach my cell; a sudden illness hath overtaken me." + +But Fra Giulio, usually so compassionate that he was called "woman +hearted," did not move. + +"Later a remedy shall be brought thee," he answered coldly. "Thou +hearest the great summons which none of our order may disobey; it is +rare and solemn to hear that call. Something of moment hath chanced. +_Ecco_, now we shall know!" he added in a tone of relief, as Fra +Gianmaria appeared from under the convent entrance, whither he had gone +to receive the Chief of the Ten, who now entered the great court with +him in formal state, with a secretary and attendants and an officer of +the guards. + +The tumultuous crowd began to range itself in orderly groups at the +command of the superior, and Fra Antonio controlled himself with a +supreme effort as a body of palace guards, in brilliant uniforms, +scattered themselves among the black-robed friars. The heavy gates +closed behind them, and the dismal tolling of the bell ended in a +silence through which the heart-beats of Fra Antonio sounded in his ears +louder and more ominous than the harsh tones of the summons had done a +moment before. + +Who were those two terrible gondoliers all in black, who stood by the +water-entrance on the Fondamenta? Was it the shadow of their great black +hats that darkened their features like masks? Why were they there? + +He glanced stealthily at the faces of the friars; they were more full of +interest than dread, while the eyes of the little choristers who stood +robed for chapel service shone with delight. Evidently to all that +community the interruption was an event filled with possibilities of +excitement that was welcomed as breaking the monotony of the daily +round. Perhaps no one had noticed those gondoliers! Only Father +Gianmaria, the Superior, and the Senator Giustinian Giustiniani, the +Chief of the Ten, were stern and angry; and Fra Paolo stood between +them--calm and inscrutable as ever. + +Now, thought Fra Antonio, before the curiosity of the friars had been +satisfied,--while no one was thinking of him,--he must escape! But at +every passage leading out of the court a scarlet coat stood guard, save +only before the low doorway of the dormitory stair. Fra Giulio's eyes +were fixed earnestly, adoringly, upon his beloved Fra Paolo, and he had +moved a little way from the wall. + +Fra Antonio stole softly in behind him, breathlessly anxious. He was +already under the archway when his unsteady foot stumbled in a hollow of +the worn brick pavement just within the opening--in another moment he +should be safe! But a voice, meant for him alone, leaped through all +that crowd and petrified him with horror; it was filled with a sarcastic +grace as it offered the courtesy. + +"Whoever hath need to leave this cloister before the Inquiry of Venice +is satisfied, shall be served by the gondola of the _Piombi_--which +waits." + +I Piombi! Those prisons under the leads where the heat was slow +torture--this was the meaning of the masked gondoliers! + +Surely it was the Chief of the Ten who had spoken! Fra Antonio trembled +from head to foot; but was he not already far enough within the narrow, +winding passage to be hidden from the cruel gaze of that man of power? +Half an inch might make the difference between life and death; he folded +his black gown closer about him--stealthily--so that it might not +rustle, watching the faint shadow on the pavement in agony--what if his +hand had been seen as he passed it behind him to gather up the folds! + +Those words could not be meant for him; they were merely a general +order; there were twenty men--forty men in that company more wicked than +he! He could not turn back and face them to glide into his place again; +it would be certain death; but when the Chief of the Ten or Father +Gianmaria should begin to speak, he must go on. + +He lifted one foot to be ready; a great sweat broke out on his +forehead--would this silence never end? He dared not stir until there +should be words to hold the crowd; for if he should be caught---- + +Were they speaking?--His heart thumped so that he could not hear. Santa +Maria!--death could not be worse! + +"Thou art summoned; they are calling thee," said Fra Giulio, close +beside him, in a low, hard voice that changed to one more compassionate +as the friar turned his livid face toward him. "I know not thy fault, +but Fra Paolo will plead for thee; for thou art ill, verily." + +"Fra Paolo is no man of mercy." + +"Nay, but of justice. He will not remember thy discourtesies." + +"_Discourtesies_!" ay, it was true; Fra Giulio did not know--nobody +knew; he would take courage and plead to be forgiven his manifold +"discourtesies" toward this idol of the Servi; it was for this that he +was summoned! The palace guards were approaching the low passage, and +the extremity of his need steadied him; he rallied all his powers for a +last effort, and, shaking off their touch, advanced into the court--his +face, withered and pain-stricken, might have plead for him but for the +strange hardness of the lines. + +"It was a sudden malady that bade me seek my cell," he gasped. "I knew +not that your Excellency had need of me." + +He was a ghastly thing in his fear. + +The inexorable Chief of the Ten surveyed him in silence for a brief +moment that seemed unending. + +"Ay, Fra Antonio, we _have_ need of thee--more than another. For word +hath reached Venice, privately, from special friendly sources in Rome, +that thou art come hither charged with a message of vital import to a +trusted servant of the Republic. Thou hast leave of the Signoria to +declare it in this presence." + +Fra Antonio opened his dry lips and framed some words of which he heard +no echo. + +"The Inquiry of Venice is satisfied," said the Chief. "Thou art the man +whom we seek. Conduct him to the gondola of the Piombi." + +Fra Antonio fell upon his knees in wild supplication as the guards +gathered around him, but the Father Superior detained them with a +prohibitory motion. + +"I crave your Excellency's pardon. For the better ruling of this +community and the clearing of all the innocent among our brotherhood, I +have summoned hither every soul under my rule. That no scandal may +arise, your Excellency will permit that the charge under which this +arrest is made be declared." + +Assent was given by an impatient gesture. + +"Fra Antonio, while he hath been a recipient of our hospitality," said +the Superior, "is described by trustworthy advices from our Chapter in +Rome, but just received, as a person who hath designs upon the life of a +member of this community." + +"It is a false scandal," cried Fra Antonio, who had found his voice at +last. "I shall not be condemned without proof!" + +"The truth is known," said Fra Paolo, leaning toward him and speaking +low. "It were better for thee to confess--or depart in silence." + +But the man was beside himself with fear; he caught at his last, +desperate chance of favor, dragging himself to the feet of Fra Paolo and +pouring out an abject tale of petty jealousies and offenses for which he +obsequiously craved pardon of this "idol of the convent," protesting, +with horrible oaths, that he was guilty of nothing more. + +The rare shade of compassion that had softened Fra Paolo's face when he +gave his warning, deepened to a glory and his eyes shone with a grace +that was like love, as he raised the wretched man and strove to arrest +his torrent of words. "_God_ heareth thee, my brother," he said +pleadingly; "have pity on thine own soul. Kneel to Him alone in thy +great need. But spend not thy strength with trifles that demean us both. +If thine heart hath aught against me, I forgive it." + +Then turning to the Chief he besought that the trial should be +short--"For the man is ill, and I would have quiet speech with him." + +"For the honor of the Servi, let the matter be dispatched, and let proof +be brought," the Superior demanded, surprised and displeased at any +softness in Fra Paolo, whose dominant note was justice, rather than +mercy. + +"We will grant him the favor of a farewell collation ere he taketh leave +of his entertainers," said the Giustinian. "Let the refection be +brought." + +The friars exchanged glances of astonishment and dismay as a dish of +fruit and of white bread were brought forward by two of the ducal +guards, on a costly salver wrought with the arms of Venice. It was like +the simple refreshment they had often carried to Fra Paolo's cell when +he had been absorbed by some train of thought, which, according to his +wont, he would not suspend for any hour of sleep or meals until the +problem had been conquered. Fra Giulio trembled; he would have said +those were the very grapes he had chosen to tempt Fra Paolo's slender +appetite,--white, with the veins of purple,--all as he had left them on +his desk that day, with the plate of fine white bread, when the midday +meal was served--but in no lordly dish. + +A faint cry escaped Fra Antonio, and he put his hands before his face. + +There was a moment of breathless silence; but no compassion anywhere +upon all those strained and eager faces, except in the eyes of Fra +Paolo, which seemed divine in pity, as he drew nearer the guilty man and +put his arm about him to steady him. + +"These," said the Chief of the Ten, "fine grapes and wheaten bread, +exquisitely flavored with a most precious powder, thou shalt presently +enjoy in this presence,--with the compliments of the Signoria, who have +most carefully considered this repast,--unless thou dost instantly make +frank and full confession of thy deed and thine accomplices. + +"And if more be to thy taste," the cruel voice went on, for no answer +came, "since in these matters thou hast a consummate knowledge--thou art +permitted, by grace of the Signoria, to use the contents of this packet, +which hath been found within the lining of thy cassock. This powder hath +a marvelous power to still the blood which floweth over-swiftly----" + +"We have proof more than sufficient for the arrest, your Excellency," +interposed the officer of the guards, as he gave the signal. "And no +deposition can be taken here, for the man hath fainted from his fright." + +But almost unnoticed the guards bore their burden from the cloister to +the gondola of the prisons of the Piombi; for it had taken but a moment +to complete the unfinished tale in the minds of the listeners, and with +one accord they were gathering about Fra Paolo, eager to express their +loyalty, their indignation, their gratitude for his escape. + +The court was in a tumult. "Fra Paolo!" "_Our_ Fra Paolo!" mingled with +bursts of vehement condemnation and rapid questions. "Our Consultore!" +"And because he is necessary to Venice!" + +The chimes of the chapel sounding joyously broke in upon these +demonstrations, and two little choristers came running back to tell them +that, by order of Fra Gianmaria, a Te Deum for the safety of Fra Paolo +would be sung, in lieu of the interrupted vesper service. + +"The Signoria hath had warnings without end," the Chief of the Ten was +explaining hastily to Father Gianmaria, as they strolled toward the +chapel. "The Holy Father wanteth him out of Venice, since he hath been +Consultore--for the man is a marvel! But he would rather have him alive +than dead--as the learned Scioppius hath explained, not long since, to +Fra Paolo himself! And this whole plot hath been unveiled to us by one +who watcheth secretly in Rome for the interest of Venice, since there +hath been no open communication. It was hatched in the Orsini palace, in +that holy city, not unknown to some of their Eminences; the chief +accomplices are friars--we have the names of the other two; and Piero +Salin is on the watch. The stakes are high for the friars' game--five +thousand _scudi_ apiece and a promise of Church preferment; but Piero +Salin hath ways of doing his duty! The Senate will send orders for the +better protection of its Consultore; meanwhile let him not venture forth +without two ducal guards." + +"Your Excellency knoweth that Fra Paolo will have no state." + +"A cowl over their saintly faces, if it please his fancy! It is the +order of the Senate, waiting better plans of safety--a suite in the +Ducal Palace or a house connected therewith by some guarded passage. +Warning hath been sent us most urgently, by friends of the Republic, of +a great price and absolution for him who may bring Fra Paolo to +Rome--alive or dead!" + + + +XXVII + +These days had been important in the Senate. In the deliberations prior +to the departure of di Gioiosa the concessions which Rome had +persistently asked had been so persistently and diplomatically declined +that even the wily cardinal dared no longer press them; and it seemed at +last that there was to be truce to the cautious and subtle word-weighing +of months past, as di Gioiosa, suddenly realizing that he held the +ultimatum of the Republic, had taken his departure for Rome in the +night--conceiving it easier, perhaps, to confess his partial defeat to +the dignified Signoria by proxy. So he made the announcement through a +gentleman of his household the next morning, while he was already +journeying toward the expectant Pope, to whom he carried bitter +disappointment; and the heart of the cardinal himself had been scarcely +less set upon those points of amelioration which he had not obtained. It +was a blow to his diplomacy and to his churchman's pride; for the terms +which the cardinal was empowered to offer were scarcely less haughty +than was the attitude which Venice had assumed throughout the quarrel. + +His Holiness had wished that Venice, as a first step, should cancel the +"Protest" which she had widely published, declaring the interdict +invalid. + +But Venice, with cool logic, had declined to accede to this; since the +protest, being based upon the censures, was practically annulled by +their withdrawal--which must therefore first take place. And, although +by this same logic she was led to declare that no act on the part of the +Republic would then be necessary to void her protest, she consented to +give a writing to that effect, so soon as the censures should have been +withdrawn. + +The Pope requested that all who had left Venice on account of the +interdict should, upon its withdrawal, return and be reinstated in their +former privileges--making a special point of including the Jesuits. + +But here, also, Venice made and kept to her amendment; all should +return, with full privilege and favor--save only the Jesuits, who had in +various ways rendered themselves obnoxious to the government. + +The revocation of those laws which the Pope demanded was not to be +thought of, since this would be questioning the right of Venice to make +laws; neither was their suspension possible, for the laws were just. But +his Holiness might rest assured that they would be used in moderation +and Christian piety only--as they had ever been. + +The real concession--the only one--was in the case of the ecclesiastical +prisoners--the Abbot of Nervessa and the Canon of Vicenza--whom his +Holiness persisted in claiming. But Monsieur du Fresne, the French +Ambassador, suggested that the Republic should, "without prejudice to +her right of jurisdiction over criminal ecclesiastics," _give_ these +prisoners to the ambassador as a mark of special favor to his king, the +mediator, who might then consign them to the Pope if he chose--they +being his to deal with. + +Venice, with her powers of subtle reasoning, gladly embraced this way +out of the difficulty which had first appeared insuperable. "So to +_give_ them," she said, appeased, "confirms rather than questions our +authority, since no one may 'give' to another that over which he +exercises no dominion." + +It was not Venice, but France, who was to request that the interdict be +withdrawn, that she might not seem to other nations to be under the ban; +for the Republic did not acknowledge that this condition of disfavor had +gone into effect; she could not therefore personally request the Pope to +change an attitude which put only himself in the wrong. But when there +was a hint of "absolution," which the cardinal in his zeal would also +ask the Holy Father to pronounce, Venice was silent from displeasure. +She had done no wrong; she would neither ask nor accept absolution. + +The Senate might indeed be weary of these interminable discussions and +unending compliments, and glad of a respite in which to turn to other +matters. But there were no idle hours in that august assembly, though it +might chance that some whimsical phase of statesmanship lightened, by +way of entr'acte, the severity of their deliberations. They were, +possibly, not unpleasantly aware of the irony of the situation when a +letter from their governor in Constantinople announced "the extreme +solicitude of the Turkish Government for the life and welfare of the +Holy Father," who had so furthered their interests by widely inciting +discord among the nations of Christianity that, seeing therein a mark of +the special favor of Allah, the sultan had ordered prayers and +processions for the continued welfare of his Holiness! + +The singular jealousy of the Venetians for the solidarity of their +government, with their no less singular jealousy of individual +aggrandizement, together with the rare perception of mental +characteristics that was fostered by the daily culture of the councils +in which every noble took his part, led them constantly to ignore their +selfish hopes in order to choose the right man for the place. These +sentiments, acting and reacting upon each other, had secured their +political prosperity; but a disaffection was beginning to make itself +felt in the Senate which led ultimately to over-limitations of power and +such multiplied checks and suspicions that noble living and wise ruling +became impossible. + +It was a time of suppressed excitement, and there had been a grave +discussion as to the growing power of the Ten, against which some of the +senators had dared to express themselves openly; for many of these +strong men were beginning to feel that their government weighed upon +them like a Fate, crushing all liberty and individuality; and of secret +trials without defense there were tragic memories haunting the annals of +that grave tribunal. + +But so great were the complications of the involved Venetian machine--so +many were the mysteries and fears environing the daily life of these +patricians--that each felt the actual to be safer than the untried +unknown, and surrendered the hope of change, tightening the cords that +upheld the government as their only means of safety. + +For there was an under side to all this gold-tissued splendor that was +sometimes laid bare to the people, in spite of the deftness with which +the Signoria stood tirelessly ready to cover up the flaws; and a recent +sad travesty of justice was one of the weird happenings of this time. + +Not long since a formal _decree of pardon_ had been solemnly declared +and published throughout Venetia, at which the people stood aghast. For +the man to whom this clemency was graciously extended had been condemned +and executed between the columns of San Marco and San Teodoro, ten years +before--standing accused of conspiracy against the State. There had been +many murmurings when the name of this old patrician, holding honorable +office in service of the Republic, had been erased from the Golden Book; +and he had suffered his ignominious death protesting that the charge was +false, and that all who had aided in his condemnation should die before +the year was out. His dying words had proved a grim prophecy, which, +encouraged by the pressure of the senators, induced the Signoria to +order a re-investigation of his case, whereby the _manes_ of this +dishonored servant of the State were re-instated in that serene favor +now so worthless. + +And to-day the people gathered in gloomy silence while the great bell of +the campanile tolled the call to the solemn funeral pageant by which the +Republic offered reparation over the exhumed body of the victim. The +senators, wrapped in mourning cloaks, surrounded the bust of the man +they desired to honor as it was carried in triumph to the church where +the tomb was prepared; and the three _avvogadori_, who had the keeping +of the Golden Book, bore it on a great cushion behind the marble effigy, +the leaf bound open where the name was re-inscribed. Here also walked +the domestics of the re-habilitated noble of Venice--the hatchments that +had been doomed to oblivion freshly embroidered upon their sleeves above +their tokens of crepe. The Doge and the Signoria all took part in this +tragic confession of wrong, doing penance unflinchingly for the sins of +their predecessors; for Venice could be munificent in reparation, not +shrinking from her own humiliation to appease outraged justice and +confirm her power, and there was nothing lacking that might add +impressiveness to the pageant. + +But the people looked on gloomy and unappeased, filled with a horror +which the funeral pomp did little to quiet; they did not follow as the +_cortege_ descended the steps of the Piazzetta to embark in the waiting +gondolas that had been lavishly provided by the Republic. Santissima +Maria! they wanted to get back to their own quarters on the Giudecca and +breathe a little sunshine! What did one noble matter, less or more? "But +it's a gloomy barcarolle that a dead man sings!" + +"And one that hath not died his own death!" a woman answered under her +breath, as she crossed herself with a shudder. + +The wind inflated the empty folds of the crimson robe that draped the +bier, carrying it almost into the water, as the gondolas glided away +from the Piazzetta. + +"San Marco save us! he wanted none of their pomp," said an onlooker +scornfully. "The ten good years of his life and a quiet grave in San +Michele--the Signoria would buy them dear, to give them to _him_ +to-day!" + +Yet if some had died unjustly, there was not less need of ceaseless +vigilance against unceasing intrigue, within and without that body which +held the power; and one morning the Senate was thrown into a state of +great agitation by disclosures from one of the brothers of the Frari, +indubitably confirmed by the papers which he delivered into the hands of +the Doge. + +"It is beyond belief!" Giustinian Giustiniani exclaimed to the Lady +Laura, "how Spain findeth method to make traitors in Venice itself! It +is a nation treacherous to the core, and it were beyond the diplomacy of +any government,--save only ours,--to maintain relations on such a basis +of fraud." + +"What is there of new to chide them for?" she asked with keen interest. + +"Is not the old enough to make one wrathful! Boastful threats of arms +against the Republic if she yield not obedience to the Holy Father, with +secret promises of armed assistance to his Holiness to keep him firm in +his course, at the very moment of her cringing attempts at mediation +lest France should carry off the glory!--and because Spain hath neither +men to spare for Rome, nor courage to declare against the Republic, nor +diplomacy to bring anything to an issue!" + +"Nay, now them art returned to Venice forget the disturbing ways of +Spain," the Lady Laura answered, with an attempt at conciliation. "I am +glad that thy mission in that strange land hath come to an end." + +"Ay, but the ways of Spain do make traitors of us all!" Giustinian +exclaimed hotly. "When a senator of the Republic hath such amity for the +ambassador of his Most Catholic Majesty, forsooth, that at vespers and +at matins, in the Frari, they must use the self-same kneeling stool--a +tenderness and devotion beautiful to see in men so great; for it is aye +one, and aye the other, and never both who tell their beads at +once--that, verily, some brother of the Frari doth take cognizance of a +thing so rare and saintly and bringeth word thereof to the Serenissimo, +_with matter of much interest found within the prie-dieu_." + +"Giustinian!" + +"Ay, these minutes of the noble Senator, who acteth so well the spy for +favor of Spain, would do honor to a ducal secretary, for accuracy of +information concerning weighty private matters before the Council! And +due acknowledgment of so rare a courtesy doth not fail us in the very +hand of the ambassador himself, for this letter also was intercepted! +This frate who hath brought the information verily deserveth honor for +so great a service!" + +"And the others?" + +"Is there more than one treatment for a traitor?" Giustinian exclaimed, +with increasing temper. "And for the ambassador--it hath already been +courteously signified to him that the air of Venice agreeth not well +with one of his devotional tendencies." + +"Tell me the name of the traitor," the Lady Laura urged, coming close +and laying her hand upon his shoulder. + +"Nay," said her husband, shaking off her touch impatiently, "my anger +doth unlock my speech to a point I had not dreamed, for the matter may +be held before the Inquisition! But it is a name unknown to thee, and +new to this dignity, which he weareth like a clown! The freedom is still +too great for this entry to the Senate; the serrata hath done its work +too lightly if it leave space for one parvenu! To-morrow, when thou +takest the air in thy gondola, my Lady Laura, thou shalt look between +the columns of the Ducal Palace and know whatever the State will declare +to thee of that which concerneth the government alone! The times are +perilous." + +"They will be better when the interdict is removed----" + +"Ay--no--one knows not; it is a matter too grave for women and too +little for the Republic to grieve about. His Holiness would have us on +our knees, weeping like naughty infants, and abjectly craving his pardon +for daring to make our own laws and uphold our prince!" + +"Giustinian, there is more to it than that." + +"Ay, there _is_ more, if it setteth the women up to preach to us and to +expound the laws of the Republic--a knowledge in which I knew not that +they held the mastery! Take not the tone of Marina, who hath come near +to killing herself and making half a fool of Marcantonio." + +"Nay, Marco is true to Venice and swerveth not. And for our +daughter--she hath suffered till it breaks my heart to look into her +face, poor child! And thou, Giustinian, wert little like thyself, when +she lay almost dying! The Signor Nani hath confessed to me that in Rome +there was much intriguing for her favor--of which she suspected naught. +It was a harm to them that they went to Rome; I would not have had it +so." + +"Ay, thou would'st not have had it so; thou would'st have had it all +thine own way!" retorted Giustinian, who was becoming impossible to +please, now that the paths of government were growing more thorny and +exacting, and the Lion showed no sign of climbing to his portal. "That +father confessor of hers hath much to answer for. Keep the little one +well out of the way of their craft--dost thou hear? He is to be trained +for Venice, after the ways of the Ca' Giustiniani. And Marcantonio--who +knows?" + +He had drifted into his favorite reverie, and wandered abstractedly out +upon the balcony looking longingly toward the rose-colored palace where +his every ambition centred; but he felt the glittering, jeweled eyes of +the patron saint of Venice glare upon him mockingly from his vantage +point upon the column, while the very twist of the out-thrust tongue +insinuated a personal message of malice and defeat. + + + +XXVIII + +Venice was flooded with moonlight. The long line of palaces down the +Canal Grande shone back from the breast of the water, starred with +lights, repeated again and again in the rippling surface. + +A ceaseless melody filled the air, braided of sounds familiar only to +this magic city--echoes of laughter from balconies high in air, silvery +tintinnabulations falling like drippings of water from speeding oars, +franker bursts of merriment from the open windows of the palaces, low +murmured tones of lovers in content from gliding gondolas, hoarse shouts +of quick imperious orders from gondoliers to offending gondoliers, as +they passed--apostrophes to liquid names of guardian saints, too +melodious for denunciations, hurled back with triple expletives and +forgotten the next moment in friendly parsiflage; here and there a +strain of ordered music, in serenade, from a group of friendly gondolas +swaying only with the tranquil movement of the water; or the mysterious +tone of a violin, uttering a soul prayer meant for some single listener, +which yet steals tremblingly forth upon the night air--more passionate, +more beautiful and true than that other human voice which breaks the +quiet of a neighboring calle with some monotonous love song of the +people. + +And far away, perhaps, in the quainter squares of the more primitive +island villages--in Burano or Chioggia--before the Duomo, some reader +lies at full length in the brilliant moonlight under the banner of San +Marco, his "Boccaccio" open before him, repeating in a half-chant, +monotonous and droning, some favorite tale from the well-worn pages to +listeners who pause in groups in their evening stroll and linger until +another story is begun; this time it is some strophe from the +"Gerusalemme," to which a passing gondolier may chant the answering +strain--for this is the very poem of the people, echoing familiarly from +lip to lip, and tales from the Tasso are not seldom wrought into the +ebony carvings of their barks. Meanwhile the younger men and maidens, on +a neighboring fondamenta, keep step to the music of some strolling +player who lives, content, on the trifling harvest of these moonlight +festivities. + +In the great Piazza of San Marco, with its hundreds of lights and its +hurrying throng, life is gayer than in the day. Crowds come and go under +the arcades, loiter at the tables closely set before the brilliant +cafes, or stroll with laughter and snatches of song and free Venetian +banter where there is less restraint, up and down the broad space of the +Piazza, between the colonnade and the burnished Eastern magnificence of +San Marco, beyond the reach of the yellow lamp flames--their laughing +faces grotesque and weird in the white glare of the moon. But under the +shadow of the Broglio and those great columns of the Ducal Palace there +are only slow-moving figures here and there, wrapped in cloaks, and dark +under the low, unlighted arches, talking in undertones which even the +watchful Lion--so near, so cunning--does not always overhear. + +But in the calles, half in moonlight and half in shadow, night wears a +more poetic air of mystery and quiet; and if a fear but come in passing +some dread spot of tragic memory, a gentle Virgin at every turning, with +a dingy, flickering flame beneath her image, is waiting to grant her +grace--for is not Venice the Virgin City? And on the splendid palaces in +the broad canals the watching Madonna stands glorified in exquisite +sculpture and cunningest blendings of color,--ofttimes a crown of light +above her, or rays of stars, symbolic, beneath her feet,--casting her +benediction far out on the water, which, ever in motion, repeats it in +shimmering, widening circles--all-embracing--in which the stars of +heaven shine, tangled and confused with these stars of a paradise in +which earth has so large a part. + +Yet in the glory and charm of this Venetian night how should there be +space for sorrow or thought of care, or cause for the tears which +brimmed the eyes of the Lady Marina, as she sat in her sculptured +balcony at the bend of the Canal Grande, watching for the coming of +Marcantonio, who lingered late at the Senate when every moment was +precious to her! + +Ever since her husband had left her she had sat with her little one +gathered convulsively in her arms, showering upon him a tenderness so +passionate and so unlike herself in its uncontrolled expression, that +the child, wondering and afraid, was but half-beguiled by the rare treat +of the music and the lights of the Canal Grande, and clamored for his +nurse. + +And now he was gone, with a kiss upon his sweet, round baby-mouth that +was like a benediction and a dirge in which a whole heart of wild mother +love sobbed itself out in renunciation--but to him it was only strange. +And she herself had hushed the grieving quiver of his lip, and quickly +filled his dimpled hands with flowers to win the farewell caress of that +dancing smile which irradiated his face like an April sunbeam, parting +the pink lips over a vision of pearly infant teeth. + +Below, in the chapel, her maidens were decking it as for a festa with +vines and blossoms which she and Marco had brought that day--that +heavenly day--from the beautiful island of Sant' Elena, wandering alone, +like rustic lovers, over the luxuriant flower-starred meadows and +through the cloistered gardens of its ancient convent, lingering awhile +in the chapel of the Giustiniani, while he rehearsed the deeds of those +of his own name who slept there so tranquilly under their marble +effigies--primate, ambassadors, statesmen, and generals; ay, and more +than these--lovers, mothers, and little ones! + +And now, while she sat alone in this holy moonlight, the voices of her +maidens came in sounds of merriment through the fretted stonework of the +great window, and a sweet odor of altar candles and incense mingled with +the breath of the blossoms that was wafted up to her; for to-morrow, for +the first time since her illness, there would be matins in the chapel +of the palazzo, and Marcantonio had assured her that the new father +confessor was much like Fra Francesco--coming, also, from the convent of +the Servi, that he might seem nearer to her who had so loved the gentle +confessor. + +Ay, she had loved him, with a holy reverence, for his goodness and +gentleness and faith; for his inflexible grasp of duty, according to his +views of right; for his teachings, which she could understand and which +she believed the Holy Mother had taught him--for his self-denial and +suffering. + +And now, for a few moments, she forgot herself--forgot to watch for +Marco, her thoughts busied with the sad tale of Fra Francesco, which +Piero, always _in viaggio_ for business of the Senate, had told her but +a few days before--news that had reached him from the frontier. The +gentle confessor had indeed completed his pilgrimage, barefooted, to +Rome, but had gained no favor with the Holy Father; having at first been +welcomed as a deserter from the enemy's camp, flattered, and plied with +questions, to which Fra Francesco gave no answers--wishing no harm to +Venice nor to any who sat in the councils of the Republic. Whereupon his +lodgings had been changed and all communications with the brothers of +the Servite chapel in Rome had been forbidden. And again, and more than +once, he had been brought forth to be questioned; and again there had +been nothing told of that which they sought, for they asked him of his +friends, and his heart was true. But it was told that he had used +strange words. "Each man is answerable to his own soul and to God for +that which he believeth. He answereth not for the faith of another +man--nor shall he bring danger upon his friend--who hath also his +conscience and God for judge of his faith and actions." + +"But what of Fra Paolo?" he had been asked; "How doth he defend himself +for leading thus the cause of Venice against Rome?" + +"Am I my brother's keeper?" the gentle Fra Francesco had answered; and +had said no more. + +"Thou shalt at least show us how one may obtain speech with him, for the +furtherance of his soul's salvation--apart from the vigilance of the +Senate, and without suspicion in the convent that the message cometh +from Rome, else were it not received in that unholy city." + +And in this also Fra Francesco was obdurate. And then, for disobedience +to authority, acknowledged lawful by his own submission, came +prison--wherein he languished, always obdurate,--and death,--perhaps +from discontent or homesickness, one knows not; or from failure of his +plans; or--there was a question of torture, but one knows not if it were +true. + +"No, no, it was not true!" Marina had exclaimed, quivering, when Piero +had told her the story. "It is wicked to say these things--and they are +not true!" + +But now, alone--apart from all the brightness about her, from every hope +of happiness except those few brief hours with Marco--she did not know +if it might not be true; her heart was too sad to deny any pain that had +been or that might be; but Fra Francesco's sad and gentle eyes seemed to +smile upon her through whatever distance might be between them--of +this, or of any other world--without reproach for those who had bidden +him suffer, and charging her to keep her faith. + +"If it be true," she said, "the end of pain is reached, and he hath won +his happiness.--Why cometh not my Marco?" + +A gondola of the Nicolotti detached itself from a group of serenaders +just above the palace, was caught for a few moments among the _pali_ +before the Ca' Giustiniani, and then floated leisurely down toward the +Piazzetta. She noted it idly while she sat waiting for Marco, for in the +gondola there was a graceful figure, closely wrapped, clasping her +mantle yet more closely with a hand that was white and slender enough +for one of the nobility; yet the gondolier wore the black sash of the +Nicolotti with the great hat of a bravo shading his face. "It is some +intrigue," she said, almost unconsciously, in the midst of her sad +dreaming. + +"Oh, Marco, thou art come! It hath been long without thee." + +"The Senate is but just dismissed," he answered, smiling fondly at the +eagerness which gave to her pale face a passing flush of health. "But +why is the Lady Beata not with thee?" he questioned abruptly. + +"She is in the chapel, making it fair with flowers." + +"Thou knowest it, Marina?" + +"She came to me with a question but a little while ago, when Marconino +was with me--and I wished to be alone. Marco, he was so beautiful! And +the day has been a dream; I wished for no one but for thee alone." + +He held her hand in a mute caress, but with preoccupation, while his +eyes wandered back to the Piazzetta searchingly. + +"It is strange," he muttered to himself, still watching from the end of +the balcony. "It was an echo of the Lady Beata's voice that startled me, +crossing the Piazzetta saying two words only--'In Padua.'" + +Then rousing himself, he turned brightly to his wife. "Carina, I have +news for thee, for the time hath been momentous for us in Venice. Di +Gioiosa hath gone forward, these many days, with terms from Venice; and +soon, it is thought, there will be peace." + +_Terms_ from Venice to Rome!--but the words did not move her from her +resolve to let no shadow of their difference mar the beauty of this +night. + +She looked at him wearily. "It is ever the same," she said, "through +this long, dreary year--ever the same! Let us forget it all for this one +night. Let us talk together of our Marconino!" + +And as if there had been no questions--no interdict--no pain--while the +night sounds died into silence and the moon withdrew her glamor and left +them alone to the solemn mystery of the starlight, they sat and talked +together of love and their little one and their hopes for him, and of +things that lie too deep for utterance--save by one to one--far into +that beautiful Venetian night, with the odor of flowers and incense +blown up to them on the breath of the sea. + + + +XXIX + +The yellow lamp flames were burning late in the cabinet of Girolamo +Magagnati, who took less note of the difference between evening hours +and those of early dawn since there was no longer in his household a +beloved one to guard from weariness. Nay, the night was rather the time +in which he might forget himself and plunge more whole-heartedly into +his schemes of work--financial or creative. For the world was surely on +the eve of discoveries important to his art, and it would be well if he +might secure them, before his working days should pass, for the +Stabilimento Magagnati. + +Piero Salin stood in the doorway as he glanced up from the drawings that +littered his table--the dark oak table which had seemed a centre of +cheer to Girolamo, when, in this very chamber, his child had made a +radiance for him in which the lines of his life shone large and +satisfying. + +Girolamo never seemed to remember that this son-in-law was a great man +among the people; to him he was only Piero Salin, barcariol; the single +token of the old man's favor was that in his thought he no longer added +the despicable word _toso_; and it was a proof that he was mellowing +with the years, for Girolamo never forgot this unwelcome and +dishonorable past, and Piero was always ill at ease in his presence. + +"Messer Magagnati," he began awkwardly, twirling his black cap in his +hand rather after the fashion of a gondolier than of the Chief of the +Nicolotti, "I must crave, by dawn of the morrow, the blessing of San +Nicolo--of holy memory." + +"Enter," said Girolamo, with a reluctance not wholly concealed by his +attempt at courtesy, for he felt the moments to be the more precious +that the dawn was near; but the invocation of the sailor's patron saint +portended a journey. "Verily, Piero, thy comings and goings have been, +of late, so frequent that one learns the wisdom of not mourning +over-much when thou dost crave an ave at the shrine of San Nicolo. May +he grant thee favoring breezes! Thou art in favor with the Ten, they +tell me." + +Piero shrugged his shoulders. "Favor or disfavor," he said, "it is but +the turning of the head--and both may lead to that place of unsought +distinction between San Marco and San Teodoro, if the orders of their +Excellencies bring not the end they sought. But it matters little--a +candle flame is better blown out than dying spent." + +"And whither art thou bent on the morrow?" + +"Nay, Messer Girolamo, that is not mine own secret. But this word would +I leave with thee; if, perchance, I return not before many days, seek me +on the border-land--at the point nearest Roman dominions." He had come +close to the old merchant, and uttered the last words in a tone very low +and full of meaning. + +Girolamo started. "On the border-land of Rome!" he echoed. "This mission +of thine is then weighty; and thou fearest----" + +"Nay, I fear naught," said Piero haughtily. "But the times are perilous; +and later, if thou would'st seek me, thou hast the clew. But of the +mission, to which I am sworn in secrecy, let it not be known that I have +so much as named it--it would argue ill for me and thee. And the clew is +for thy using only. Meanwhile, forget that I have spoken. The Ave Maria +will soon waken the fishers of Murano. _Addio_!" + +But he still waited as if he had not uttered all his mind. Girolamo +studied his face closely. + +"There is more," he said. "Speak!" + +"By the Holy Madonna of San Donato!" said Piero, casting off his +restraint with a sudden impulse, "if I come not back, I would have thee +know that if ever there came a chance to me to serve Marina--the Lady +Marina of the Giustiniani--I, Piero, barcariol or gastaldo, would serve +her as a soldier may serve a saint. For she hath been good to the +Zuanino. Ay, though it cost me my life, I would serve her like a saint +in heaven!" he repeated. Then, flushed with the shame of such unwonted +speech and confession, he hastened to the door, and his steps were +already resounding on the stone floor of the passage when Girolamo +recovered from his astonishment sufficiently to follow him into the +shadow and command him to stop. + +"Thou hast seen my daughter--thou hast news of her?" + +"Ay, yestere'en, at the Ave Maria, I spoke with her, in Santa Maria +dell' Orto, coming upon her kneeling before the great picture of Jacopo +Robusti--she, saint enough already to wear a gloria and looking as if +the heart of her were worn away from grief! She hath need of thee daily, +for her love for thee is great, and death not far." + +"Tell it plainly!" commanded Girolamo, hastening after the retreating +figure and violently grasping his arm to detain him. "Have I failed to +her in aught? She is soul of my soul! Maledetto! why dost thou break my +heart?" + +"Look to thine other son-in-law!" Piero retorted wrathfully; "him of the +crimson robe who sits in the Councils of Venice, and findeth no cure for +thy daughter--dying of terror beside him." + +"It is a base slander!" cried old Girolamo, trembling with anger and +fear. "Never was wife more beloved and petted! Marcantonio hath no +thought, save for Marina and Venice!" + +"Ay, 'for Marina and Venice,'" was the scornful answer, "_but Venice +first_. Splendor and gifts and the pleasing of every whim, if he could +but guess it--gold for her asking, and her palace no better than a cross +for her dwelling; for the one thing she needeth for her peace and life +he giveth not!" + +"What meanest thou?" cried Girolamo, furiously. "Hath he not spent a +fortune on physicians--sparing nothing, save to torment her no more, +since their skill is but weariness to her! She is eating her heart out +for this quarrel with Rome--which no man may help, and it is but +foolishness for women to meddle with; and she hath ever been too much +under priestly sway. Why earnest thou hither this night?" + +"For this cause and for no other," said Piero solemnly, "that thou +mightest find me, if need should be for any service to her. And to swear +to thee, by the Madonna and every saint of Venice, that I would give my +life for her!" + +But old Girolamo grew the angrier for Piero's professions of loyalty. +"Shall her father do less than thou?" he questioned, wrathfully. "On the +morrow will I go to her, and leave her no more until she forgets." + +"By all the saints in heaven, and every Madonna in Venice, and our Lady +of every traghetto!" Piero exclaimed, as he wrenched himself away from +Girolamo's angry grasp, while the old man staggered against the wall, +still holding a bit of cloth from the gondolier's cloak in his closed +hand, "I am vowed to my mission before this dawn! What I have spoken is +for duty to thine house, and not in anger--though I could color my +stiletto in good patrician blood and die for it gaily, if that would +help her!" + +But Girolamo could not yet find his voice, and Piero, with his hand on +the latch of the great iron gates of the water-story, turned and called +back: "Women are not like men, and Marina is like no other woman that +ever was born in Venice. Whether it be the priests that have bewitched +her--may the Holy Madonna have mercy, and curse them for it!--or whether +she be truly the Blessed Virgin of San Donato come to earth again, one +knows not. But, Messer Magagnati,"--and the voice came solemnly from the +dark figure dimly outlined against the gray darkness beyond the iron +bars,--"thy daughter is dying for this curse of the Most Holy +Father--'il mal anno che Dio le dia!' (may heaven make him suffer for +it!)--and she hath no peace in Venice. _She will never forget nor +change_. If thy love be great, as thou hast said, thou wilt find some +way to help her. _For in Venice she hath no peace_." + +The old merchant, dazed by Piero's hot words, was a pitiful figure, +standing, desolate, behind the closed bars of his gate, the night wind +lifting his long beard and parting the thin gray locks that flowed from +under his cap, while he called and beckoned impotently to Piero to +return, repeating meanwhile mechanically, with no perception of their +meaning, those strange words of Piero's--"_In Venice she hath no +peace_." He stood, peering out into the gray gloom and listening to the +lessening plash of the oar, until the gondola of the gastaldo was +already far on the way to San Marco, where sat the Ten. + +But it was not of Piero's mission he was thinking, but of his +child--saying over and over again those fateful words, "In Venice she +hath no peace." Had Piero said that? + +Suddenly the entire speech recurred to him--insistent, tense with +meaning. She could not live in Venice. Marina had no peace in Venice. +She would never forget nor change. She had need of him--of her father's +love; and if he loved enough, _he would find a way_! + +Chilled and heart-sick he turned, and with no torch and missing the +voice which had guided him through the long, dark passage, he groped his +way to his cabinet and sat down to confront a graver problem than any he +had ever conquered with Marina's aid. He _would_ find a way--but "it +must not be in Venice!" How could they leave Venice? Were they not +Venetians born, and was not Venice in trouble? To leave her now were to +deny her. _It could not be_! + +He put the argument many times, feverishly at first, then more +calmly--coming always to the same conclusion, "it could not be." It was +a comfort to reach so sensible and positive a decision. To-morrow he +would go to his daughter, and meanwhile he must continue his work; he +needed to reassert his power, for he had been strangely shaken. + +He drew the scattered papers together, but the lines, blurred and +confused, carried no meaning; the fragments of broken glass in the +little trays beside him were a dull, untranslucent gray, and written all +over papers and fragments, in vivid letters that burned into his brain, +were those other terrible words of Piero's which he had tried in vain to +forget--"Thy daughter is dying for this curse." _Marina--dying_! + +How should Piero know more about Marina than her own father knew? Did he +profess to be a physician that one should credit his every word? What +did he mean by his impudent boast of "dying for her, if need should be!" +Had she not her husband and father to care for her? Her husband "who was +denying her the only thing that could give her life and peace," Piero +had said.--What was the matter with his insulting words, that he could +not forget them?--Had she not her father, who was going to her on the +morrow, when he had matured his plans, and would do whatever she +wished--"in Venice"? Her father "who loved her, as his own soul"--that +was what he had said to Piero, with the memory of all those dear years +when they had been all in all to each other, in this home. + +Was it for hours or moments only that he sat in torture--enduring, +reasoning, placing love against pride, Marina against Venice, Venice +against a father's weakness, duty to the Republic before the need of +this only child who was "soul of his soul"? + +The last of his race--inheriting the traditions and passionate +attachments of that long line of loyal men who had founded and built up +the stabilimento which was the pride of Murano; of the people, yet +ennobled by the proffer of the Senate, and grandsire to the son of one +of the highest nobles of the Republic--what was there left in life for +him away from Venice? How should he bear to die dishonored and +disinherited by the country which he had deserted in her hour of +struggle? For never any more might one return who should desert Venice +for Rome! + +And those panes of brilliant, crystal clarity which he had dreamed of +adding to the honors of the Stabilimento Magagnati--so strong that a +single sheet might be framed in the great spaces of the windows of the +palaces and show neither curve nor flaw--so pure that their only trace +of color should come from a chance reflection which would but lend added +charm--these might not be the discovery of his later days, though the +time was near in which this gift _must_ come to Venice. He had not +dreamed that he could ever say, while strength yet remained to think and +plan, "The house of Magagnati has touched its height, and others may +come forward to do the rest for Venice." + +And the secret lay so near--scarcely eluding him! + +It was no mere empty jealousy, nor trivial wish for fame, nor greed of +recompense--of which he had enough--that forced the veins out on the +strong forehead of this master-worker, as he struggled with this +question of surrendering all for his daughter's peace. It was the art in +which his ancestors had taken the lead from the earliest industrial +triumphs of the Republic--an art in which Venice stood first--and in his +simple belief it was not less to their glory than the work of a Titian +or a Sansovino. In this field he wrought whole-hearted, with the passion +of an artist who has achieved, and his place and part in the Republic, +as in life, was bounded for him by his art. "To stand with folded +hands--always, hereafter, to be unnecessary to Venice!" + +How should one who had not been born in Venice ever guess the strange +fascination of that magic city for her sons, or dream with what a +passion the blood of generations of Venetian ancestry surged in one's +veins, compelling patriotism, so that it was not possible to do aught +with one's gifts and life that did not enhance the greatness of so fair +a kingdom! It was the wonderful secret of the empire of Venice that here +the pride of self was counted only as a factor in the superior pride of +her dominion. + +Marina had been proud of his cabinet, and he took the little antique +lamp she used to hold for him and unlocked the door with a tremulous +hand, standing unsteadily before it and trying to hearten himself, as he +ruthlessly flashed the light so that each fantastic bit came out in +perfect beauty, glowing with the wonderful coloring of transparent gems. + +But suddenly those fearful words of Piero's played riot among them, +obliterating every trace of beauty, every claim of Venice, every +question as to his own judgment or Marina's reasoning--even the ignominy +of the secret flight. "_Thy daughter dying_!" + +The letters blazed like stars, gleaming among his papers--glittering +around the chair where Marina used to sit, climbing up into the air, +closing nearer to him--wavering, writhing lines of living fire, tracing +those awful words he could not forget---- + +"My God!" he cried, "is not Marina more than all!" There was no longer +anything in life that he willed to do but to win peace for her, +according to her whim. + +"Stino!" he shrieked, with a voice louder than the clang of the rude +iron bell whose rope had broken in his impetuous hand. + +"Light me a fire in the brazier, and burn me this rubbish!" he commanded +of the foreman who entered, aghast at the imperious summons, and yet +more amazed at the destruction of those precious pages over which his +master had spent days of brooding; but he ventured no protest. + +"And here," said Girolamo, with a look of relief, as the last paper +shrivelled and curled into smoke, "are the keys of these cabinets--thou +knowest their contents, and that they are precious. And here shalt thou +remain, as master, until my return--keeping all in order, as thou +knowest how, and loyally serving the interest of the stabilimento. All +moneys which I may send for thou shalt instantly remit by trusty +messenger." + +"How long doth the Master remain away?" + +"So long as it may please the Lady Marina, who hath need of change. And +if I return not," Girolamo resumed, after a moment's pause which gave +solemnity to his words, "my will shall be found filed with the +Avvogadori del Commun; and thou, Stino, shalt answer to the summons they +will send thee--if I come no more." + +"Master!" cried the faithful Stino, greatly troubled, for these +preparations filled him with dread, and were strange indeed for so old a +man who had never yet left Venice for a night. "Life is other than we +know it away from Venice; and the heart of us goes mourning for the +sight and sound of the sea and the color of our skies!" + +"Nay, Stino, I have said it," his master answered, unmoved by his +imploring eyes. + +"When goest thou--that all may be ready?" + +"Now; ere the dawn!" Girolamo cried with sudden resolution. "I would say +my Ave Maria in the chapel of the Lady Marina. Rouse the gondolier, and +lift the curtain that I may see how soon the day cometh." + +"Master, dear Master," said Stino tenderly, as he drew the heavy +draperies aside. "Already the sun is high, and the household hath been, +these many hours, awake." + +"So!" Girolamo answered with deep gravity, for the battle had been +longer than he had dreamed, yet with his habitual control. "I knew not +the time--my thoughts held me. Stino, if I return not, may the saints +bless thee for all thou hast been to me since the Lady Marina hath dwelt +in the palazzo Giustiniani. And in my will thou art not forgotten." + +As Girolamo issued from his own portal, closely followed by Stino and +the other superintendents of the great stabilimento who were filled with +foreboding at this sudden and surprising decision of their good master, +several gondolas wearing the colors of the Giustiniani floated into the +waterway from the broad lagoon; and with them, like a flock of sea-birds +in their habits of gray and their cowls of white, came the sisters of +San Donato, returning from that early chanted Mass at the palazzo +Giustiniani which had been a dream of the Lady Marina's happier days. + +The young Senator had urged his boatmen to feverish speed, and his own +gondola was far in advance of the train. He bounded from his bark the +moment it neared the steps, and, rushing blindly toward the dwelling, +encountered his father-in-law on the threshold. + +"She is here--Marina?" he questioned, half crazed with grief; and, +forgetful of the usual courtesies, would have pushed him aside to enter. +"I have come with her maidens and her child to take her home. Let me go +to her!" + +And, as Girolamo stood, dumb and dazed, "I beseech thee--conceal her +not!" + +Looking into each other's faces for one anguished moment, they knew, +without need of further speech, that she had gone from them both. + +Girolamo gave a great and bitter cry, "My son!" folding his arms about +the younger man in measureless grief and compassion. + +And when they could trust their footsteps they went desolately into the +house together. + + * * * * * + +"Nay," Girolamo had answered to every argument. "It is for thee to +remain in Venice with her child, that the Signoria be not wroth with the +Ca' Giustiniani, and for me to seek and care for her--mayhap, if heaven +be merciful, to bring her to thee again! She cannot be far to seek." + +"In Padua!" cried Marcantonio, with sudden conviction. "They will sleep +in Padua to-night. It _was_ the voice of the Lady Beata!" + + + +XXX + +"Art thou sure, Marina?" + +"Ay, Piero, though it were death to me; and death were sweeter----" + +Her hair lay like a wreath of snow across her forehead, from stress of +the night's vigil, her lip trembled like a grieved child's, but in her +exquisite face there was the grace of a spirit strong and tender. + +He helped her silently into the gondola and steered it carefully between +the pali which rose like a scattered sheaf, glowing with the colors of +the Giustiniani, in the water before her palace. And thus, in the early +dawn--unattended, with the sadness of death in her pallid face--the lady +of the Giustiniani floated away from her beautiful home--away from +happiness and love--into a future cheerless and dim as the dawn lights +that were faintly tinging the sea. For the day was breaking, full of +gloom, under a sky of clouds, and the wind blew chill from across the +Lido. + +She sat with her gray mantle shrouding her face, and neither of them +spoke, while the gondola, under Piero's deft guidance, quickly gained +the steps of the Piazzetta and passed on to San Giorgio. Then she +touched his arm entreatingly. + +"Oh, let us wait one moment before we lose sight of the palazzo! Madre +Beatissima, have them in thy keeping!" + +She stretched out her hands unconsciously, with a gesture of petition, +and her mantle slipped back, exposing her pallid, pain-stricken face and +her whitened tresses. + +Piero was startled at the havoc the night had made, for he had seen her +only the day before, in answer to her summons, when she had been far +more like herself. + +"Santa Maria!" he exclaimed, crossing himself, and awkward under the +unaccustomed sense of an overwhelming compassion. "The Holy Mother must +shrive me for breaking my vow, for if San Marco and San Teodoro would +give me a place between them before the matins ring again--mistaking me +for a traitor--I cannot take thee from Venice. We will return," and +already the gondola was yielding to his stroke. "Let Marcantonio bring +thee himself to Rome." + +"Piero, thou hast sworn to me! Thou shalt abide by thy promise!" she +cried, seizing the oar in her trembling hand. + +"Ay, Marina, I have sworn to thee," he answered, with slow pauses, "and +by our Holy Mother of San Giorgio, I will serve thee like a saint in +heaven. Yet I would thou wert in thy home again--already thou hast +broken thy heart for love of it." + +The gondolas of the people were gathering about the steps of the +palaces, bringing their burdens for the day's ongoings in those +luxurious homes; the bells were calling to early Mass; the stir of life +was beginning in the city; soon, in her own palace, her little one would +wake, and Marco--She stood with straining eyes, yearning for the chance +of a face in her palace window--the bare last chance of another sight of +his dear face. She did not know that Piero was watching +her--compassionate and comprehending--while she was struggling to +outlive the agony for the very love's sake which made it so keen. + +It was the only sweetness left in life for her, that this cruel parting +was yet for Marco's sake; that she might still plead with the Holy +Father for this desperate need of which Marco seemed unconscious--since, +in a vision never to be forgotten, the blessed Madre of San Donato had +confided this mission to her. She could bear everything to win such a +blessing for her beloved ones, only she must reach Rome--surely the +Madre Beatissima would let her live to reach the Holy City! + +The tide was brimming the canals, rising over the water steps; the +growing light gleamed coldly on the polished marbles of her palace, +burnishing the rich gold fretwork of frieze and tracery--but not any +face of any dear one responded to her hungry longing, watching for her +in the deep spaces of the windows, in token of the love from which she +was fleeing. + +This also--this last longing--she must surrender! + +Her white face grew brave again; she sat down and drew her veil--the +ample _fazzuolo_ of the Muranese--more closely about her. "I am ready," +she said, and turned her face resolutely forward. + +As they rounded San Giorgio, turning into the broad Giudecca, a shoal of +little boats came over the water from Murano. + +"They are the nuns of San Donato!" she said in amazement, and drawing +her veil closer. "Piero, canst thou not ask their whither?" + +It was so strange, on this morning of all others, to see them turn in +the direction of Ca' Giustiniani; there came a vision of her chapel, +which her maidens were decking--of the dear altar, at which she should +kneel no more--and she held her breath to hear the answer. + +"Will the most Reverend Mother bless the boat of a gondolier of the +people; and his sister, who hath been ill and craveth the morning air?" +Piero, who had discarded every emblem of his office, and wore only the +simple dress of the Nicolotti, put the question easily, without fear of +recognition. "And there is no great trouble in the city which calleth +these illustrious ladies so early from Murano?" + +"Nay; but the Senator Giustiniani hath prayed us for a grace to his +sweet lady, for the chapel hath been closed while she hath been too ill +for service; and to-day it will be opened, dressed with flowers, and +we--because she loveth greatly our Madonna of San Donato and hath shown +bounty, with munificent gifts, to all the parish--will chant the matins +in her oratory." + +They gave the benediction and passed. + +While Marcantonio, with his tender thought for Marina fresh in his +heart, was waking to find only her note of farewell. + +"Only because I love thee, Marco mio, I have the strength to leave thee. +And it is the Madonna who hath called me. Forgive, and forget not thy +sad Marina." + +"Marina--" Piero began awkwardly, for argument was not his forte, and +Marina had always conquered him. "'Chi troppo abbraccia nulla stringe,' +one gains nothing who grasps too much. Thou wast ever one for duty, and +if the Senator Marcantonio will not take thee to Rome----" + +"No, Piero, he cannot; he is one of the rulers of Venice." + +"Thou, then--his wife----" + +How could he venture to counsel her, of whose will and wisdom he had +always stood in awe? It seemed to Piero that he had already delivered an +oration; yet he felt that there was more to say, but his thoughts grew +confused in seeking for expression, and it was a relief to him to +communicate his uncertainty to the motion of his gondola. + +The unsteady movement said more to her than words, for Piero was an +unfailing stroke. + +"It is the men only of whom the Republic hath need," she explained, +unflinchingly; "but for the women there is no conflict of duty--the Holy +Church is first. 'Prayers for the women and deeds for the men'--thou +hast seen it written." + +"And thy father?" Piero questioned, unconvinced, recalling the interview +of a few hours before. + +A quick, tender light flashed and passed in her eyes; a ray of color +trembled on her cheek. "I shall grieve him," she said, "but he will +forgive, for ever hath he bidden me choose the right." Her voice broke +and she was silent, while she sought for some token in the folds of her +robe. "Thou wilt take him this when thou returnest, that he may know I +hold him dear." + +"Marina!" he pleaded, growing eloquent, with a last desperate effort, +"thou wast ever an angel to the Zuanino--thou canst not leave thine own +bimbo!" + +She did not answer immediately, but she clasped and unclasped her hands +passionately. "He is safe," she said at last, very low and struggling +for control. "He hath the blessing of the Holy Father, given when it +might avail; and the little ones are ever in the care of the Blessed +Mother. It is not for my baby that I needs must go--but for Marco and my +father, and for Venice. Santissima Maria, because thou sendest me, shalt +thou not grant the strength!" + +There was a silence between them while they floated on, for Piero had +many things to think of. He was accustomed to accomplish whatever he +undertook, for he was not a man to fail from lack of resource, nor to be +overcome by fears and scruples. By means of his passes and his favor +with the government he could reach the borders of the Venetian dominions +without suspicion, from whence he would escort Marina to the nearest +convent and place her in safety with the Mother Superior, to whom he +would confide the story of her distinguished guest and secure for her +the treatment due to a Venetian princess; which, under the +circumstances, would be an easy matter, as no member of a noble Venetian +house espousing the side of Rome would be met with any but the most +flattering reception. To provide Marina with companionship, Piero had +confided her intended flight to the Lady Beata Tagliapietra, being sure +of her devotion; and she would be waiting for them at Padua with two +trusted gondoliers and whatever might be needful from the wardrobe of +the Lady of the Giustiniani. The fact that he had broken his promise of +secrecy did not trouble him, since it was in Marina's service, which +made the action honorable; and were it not so, the little perjury was +well atoned for by a keg of oil anonymously sent to the traghetto of San +Nicolo e San Raffaele, "pel luminar al Madonna";[8] and Piero had much +faith in anonymous gifts, for confessions were not always convenient for +an officer of his dignity. But it was perhaps too much to expect that +these poor little traghetto lamps should be more than dimly luminous, +since the oil was so largely provided by fines for delinquencies! + + [8] To light the Madonna. + +With an easy conscience, also, he had helped himself to the requisite +funds for their journey, amply estimated, from the treasury of the +Nicolotti, which was in his keeping; and his reasoning savored of +Venetian subtlety, with a hint of his toso training. Had not the Lady of +the Giustiniani offered to guarantee the funds necessary for the +assessments of the state, when Piero, doubtful of their resources, would +have declined the position of gastaldo grande, cumbered as it was with +the uncomfortable requirement that the chief should be personally +responsible for all dues and taxes levied upon the traghetti? Piero was +not the first gastaldo who had wished to escape an honor that weighed so +heavily, and a very serious penalty was already decreed for such +contempt of office by that tribunal tireless in vigilance. + +So, without compunction, Piero had taken the needful, sure that when he +returned Marina's husband or her father would repay it. + +_Could_ he return--after helping a patrician to escape from Venice into +the heart of the country with which the Republic was at war? It looked +doubtful even to Piero, with his indomitable temperament, but he wasted +no sentiment upon this question; for if he might not return there were +other countries in which a man could live. Or, should he be pursued and +lighted upon by the far-seeing eye of the Ten, he could die but once and +get into trouble no more! He crossed himself decorously as he dismissed +the matter; but it was not an event that he could change by pondering. + +There was another question that interested him more keenly at this +moment; when Messer Girolamo should know that his daughter was not in +Venice, could he fail to comprehend the hint he had given a few hours +before, and would he not follow them to Rome, as Piero devoutly hoped, +for he wished to leave Marina in her father's care. It was not easy to +predict what Messer Girolamo might do--the case had been too doubtful +for a more explicit confession, and Piero had been wise in his +generation. + +He turned now to Marina with the question: "If thou hadst told thy +father of thy wish mayhap he might have come with thee?" + +She shook her head sadly and made no answer, but after awhile she said, +"He is like the others. They cannot understand the need, for to them the +Madonna hath not revealed the desperate state of Venice." + +"Yet thou knowest, Marina, that already the great cardinal--but lately +come from France--hath started for Rome to make up this quarrel?" + +"That is what the Senate will not understand!" she cried, with flashing +eyes. "The Holy Father will have submission and penance, in place of +embassies and pomp. One must go to him quite simply, from the people, +saying, 'We have sinned; have mercy upon Venice!' Piero, thou knowest +that awful vision of the Tintoret? It is Venice that he hath painted in +her doom--the great floods bursting in upon her--all the agony and the +anguish and the desolation of God's wrath! Santa Maria! I cannot bear +it!" She closed her eyes, shuddering and sick with terror. + +"It was the way with Jacopo," said Pietro irreverently. "He was full of +freaks, and some demon hath tormented him. He was a man like others--not +one for a revelation." + +"Hush, Piero!" she implored; "it breaks my heart! This also may be +counted against Venice, for it is the Holy Madonna who hath granted me +the vision." + +If Piero was silent he was only restrained by deference to Marina from +invoking the aid of every saint in the calendar, in copious malediction, +on this miserable Jacopo who had so increased the trouble in Marina's +eyes--since women had such foolish faith in pictures. + +"Jacopo Robusti, posing for a seer, and foretelling the end of the +world, like a prophet or a saint! _Goffone_!"[9] Piero was paddling +furiously. "Jacopo, of the Fondamenta del Mori--not better than +others--with that boastful sentence blazoned on his door!--'The coloring +of Titian, with the drawing of Angelo!'" + + [9] Great fool! + +But he forgot even his resentment against Jacopo in his anxiety as he +watched Marina, asking himself if it would be possible for her to pray +herself back into healthful life again, even in the dominions of the +Holy Father; for he realized that nothing could help her but this one +thing on which her heart was set--while he was yet, if possible, more +utterly without sympathy for the fear that moved her than her father or +Marcantonio had been. But if the one woman in Venice had but one desire, +however desperate and incomprehensible,--"_Basta_! It is enough," said +Piero to himself,--she should not die with it unfulfilled, if he could +compass it. + +Yet, at the thought of death his heart sank. "It was the Madonna which +thou beheldest in thy vision--not the cross?" he asked her quickly, +making the fateful sign as he spoke, to avert this dread presage of +death, and afraid of her answer; for Marina was failing before his eyes, +and doubtless, in her vision, there had been some apparition of a cross; +and even the less devout among the gondoliers were still dominated by +some of the superstitions which gave a picturesque color to the habits +of the people. + +But she, too earnest in her faith to take any note of a less serious +mood, answered simply: + +"It was the very Madonna herself, as thou knowest her in San Donato, who +came to me in the palazzo one night when I slept not, and gave me the +mission to save Venice,--scarce able to speak for her great sadness, +and the tears dropping, as thou knowest her in San Donato,--commanding +me to go before the Holy Father and pray for mercy to Venice. She it was +who told me that our prayers pass not up beyond the clouds which hang +above a city under doom of interdict. Oh, Piero, hasten; for my strength +is little, and Rome is far!" + +When the Lady of the Giustiniani had sent for Piero to meet her in Santa +Maria dell' Orto, to ask him to manage her escape to Rome, it had not +been possible to refuse her; all his attempts at reasoning were in vain. +"I must go," she said, with that invincible persistence which he never +could combat. "If thou wilt not help me, I go alone." She was kneeling +before the terrible "Judgment" of the Tintoret, and the face she had +lifted to him in appeal was white with agonized comprehension. + +The journey had been long and wearisome; all day they had been slowly +toiling against the tide; and long since Piero had summoned to his aid a +trusted gondolier who had been ordered to follow them at a little +distance, and who, at a sign from the gastaldo, had silently left his +bark to drift and taken his place at the other end of the gondola in +which the fugitives were making their way to Padua. + +They had passed the domain of the Laguna Morta, weird and +half-forbidding, with tangles of sea-plants and upspringing wild fowl +calling to each other with hoarse cries across the marshes--with armies +of water beetles zigzagging in the shallows, and crabs and lizards +crawling upon the scattered sand heaps among the coarse sea-grasses, +while small fish brought unexpected dimples to the deeper pools that lay +between. And the mingled odor of waters fresh and salt was broken into a +breath now pungent and pleasant, now almost noisome, as the light breeze +stirred the shallows of this strange domain which was neither land nor +sea. Yet even here the pale sea-holly and the evening primrose made +redeeming spots of beauty, with their faint hues of violet and yellow; +and a distant water-meadow shimmered like the sea, with the tender blue +of the spreading lavender. + +They had passed Fusina, and the lagoon lay silvery, like a trail of +moonlight behind them--Venice in the distance, opalesque, radiant, a +city of dreams. The clouds above them, beautiful with changing sunset +lights, were no longer mirrored on a still lagoon, but mottled the +broken surfaces of the river with hues of bronze and purple, between the +leaves of the creeping water-plants which clogged the movement of the +oars; for they had exchanged the liquid azure pavement of their "Citta +Nobilissima" for the brown tide of the Brenta. On the river's brink the +rushes were starred with lilies and iris and ranunculus, and the +fragrance of sheeted flowers from the water-meadows came to them fresh +and delicious, mingled with the salt breath of the sea, while +swallows--dusky, violet-winged--circled about their bows, teasing their +progress with mystic eliptical flight--like persistent problems +perpetually recurring, yet to be solved by fate alone. + +It was the hour of the Ave Maria, and Marina roused herself from her sad +reverie. The clouds piled themselves in luminous masses and drifted +into the hollows of the wonderful Euganean hills, and a crimson sunset +tinged peaks and clouds with glory, as Padua with its low arcaded +streets, and San Antonio--cousin to San Marco in minarets and Eastern +splendor--and the Lion of Saint Mark upon his lofty column, closed the +vista of their weary day. The chimes of Venice were too far for sound, +but from every campanile of this quaint city the vesper bells, solemn +and sweet, pealed forth their call to prayer--as if no threat of Rome's +displeasure made a discord in their harmony. + + + +XXXI + +Piero had watched all night before the little inn of the "Buon Pesce," +impatient to meet and conquer his fate, while above, in an upper room, +the ladies Marina and Beata tried to sleep; but before the dawn they +were off again, down by the way of the brown, rolling river, taking the +weary length to Brondolo and the sea. + +There were two gondolas now, and the men in each pulled as if the prize +of a great regatta awaited them--Nicolotti against Castellani--and +silently, saving voice and strength for a great need. + +It might have seemed a pleasure party, save for the stress of their +speed, as they swept by the groves of poplar and catalpa, which bordered +the broad flood, to the sound of the waters only and the song of the +birds in the wood; water-lilies floated in the pools along the shore; +currents of fragrance were blown out to them on wandering winds; and in +the felze, as they were nearing Brondolo, Marina and the Lady Beata, +soothed by the gliding motion and the monotonous plash of the oars into +the needed sleep which the night had failed to bring them, were unaware +of the colloquy between Piero and his gondolier. + +"Antonio!" Piero called cautiously to the man who was rowing behind the +felze, "I have somewhat to say to thee; are there those within thy +vision who may hear our speech?" + +"Padrone, no; but the time is short for speaking much, for we reach the +lock with another turn of the Brenta." + +"May the blessed San Nicolo send sunshine to dazzle the jewels in the +eyes of Messer San Marco till we are safe beyond it and out of +Chioggia!" Piero exclaimed fervently. "And thou, Antonio, swear me again +thy faith--or swear it not, as thou wilt. But thou shalt choose this +moment whom thou wilt serve; and it shall go ill with thee if thou keep +not thy troth." + +"By San Marco and San Teodoro," Antonio responded readily, crossing +himself devoutly as he spoke, "I swear to do thy bidding, Messer +Gastaldo." + +"And thou wilt die for the people against the nobles if need should be?" + +"If thou leadest, Gastaldo Grande." + +"Hast thou a pouch beneath thy stiletto where thou mayest defend with +thy life what I shall give thee?" + +Antonio displayed it silently. + +"This for the need of the cause in thy hand," said Piero, passing him a +purse of gold. "But gold is worthless to this token which shall win thee +the hearing of the bancali, and the aid of every loyal son of San +Nicolo, and shall be proof that thou bearest my orders and my trust." + +The trust was great--the bancali were the governing board of the +traghetti. + +Antonio unfastened his doublet and secured the precious token under his +belt. + +"Command then, caro padrone." + +"Slacken thy pace, for this may be our last speech together. Are those +who follow true as thou?" + +"Messer Gastaldo," Antonio answered with reluctance, "by signs which be +but trifles to relate,--by a word dropped in Padua, and not for mine +ear,--one of them--I know not which--hath, perchance, affair with a +master mightier than thou." He made the usual gesture which indicated +the Three of that terrible Inquisition whose name was better left +unsaid--a sign much used in Venice where the very walls had ears. + +It was a blow to Piero, but he wasted no words. + +"They then--both--are apart from this and all my counsel. It shall be +for thee alone, Antonio." + +"So safer, Messer Gastaldo. I listen--and forget, save as it shall serve +thee." + +"First, then, Antonio; I have sworn to escort the Lady of the +Giustiniani in safety to Rome, from which naught shall keep me--save if +the Ten have other plans, the Madonna doth forgive the broken vow!" + +It was a strange admission from a man stalwart and fearless like Piero, +but he made it without shame, as a soldier acquiescing in destiny. + +"Santissima Maria!" Antonio ejaculated with unusual fervor and crossing +himself in full realization of the meaning. + +"At Brondolo a brig is waiting--orange and yellow of sail, device of a +blazing sun; a hunchback, with doublet of orange above the mast for +luck, and a fine figure of a _gobbo_ upon the deck--a living +hunchback--by which thou shalt know it for mine, and bound to my order +whether it come by me or by my token. If we reach and board her it shall +be well--and Rome, so will it heaven, before us all! But if the dreaded +ones are on the search and overtake us----" + +Again the sign. + +The tragedy of the situation was in his face as he looked steadily at +Antonio, who did not flinch. + +"Thy duty, then, Antonio, shall lie elsewhere. Thou must escape, unseen, +while they lay hands upon the lady and me, whom first they will secure +before they give thee a thought." + +Antonio instantly touched his stiletto, and looked his question with a +fearless glance. + +"Nay," said the gastaldo scornfully, and drawing a line quickly about +his own throat. "Thou wilt serve me better with thy head in its place. +Thou shalt return to Venice--by Fusina or Brondolo, as thy wit shall +serve thee--leaving the precious gondolieri to prove whether their +silken sashes be badges of men or traitors! Art thou listening?" + +"Command me, padrone!" + +"Within two days, if I be free, the bancali shall have news of me. +Listen well, Antonio,"--again the hand and eyes went up with the dreaded +unmistakable sign,--"if thou seest THEM seize me before thou takest +leave, wait no longer than to plan with the bancali to come and demand +my release. Thou shalt tell the bancali that I sent thee; thou shalt +tell them there are affairs of moment for the Nicolotti which shall go +hard for the traghetti if I be not there to work them--Art listening, +Antonio?" he questioned feverishly. + +Antonio's eyes were fastened upon his. "Padrone, yes!" he answered +breathlessly. + +"With my token thou canst command the loyalty of every Nicolotto--is it +thine oar that made that rustle?--and perchance, if there were a rising +of the traghetti to demand aught of the Signoria--come nearer, +Antonio!--the Castellani also, if they willed to join with their +traghetti in asking for justice--would not serve under my token the less +heartily for the word, confided low to their bancali--dost +understand?--_that if their taxes and their fines oppress them_, these +also, I being free, will pay this year to the maledetto Avvogadoro del +Commun." + +Antonio gravely bowed his head in assent. + +"This at thy discretion--thou understandest, Antonio--and so that no +violence come from the massing of the people, but only the proof of its +will and of the numbers who make the demand. Only--if it be not granted, +they shall make a stand at the traghetti and _fight_----" + +"Padrone, yes!" + +"For--thou dost mark me, Antonio?--this Lady of the Giustiniani hath +been a saint among the people; she hath given them much in gifts--she +hath given almost her life in prayers and penances, that heaven may +avert its wrath from Venice, which she in truth believeth the Holy +Father--may the saints make him suffer for it!--hath brought upon the +people by his curse--may heaven forbid! And she, being now noble, hath +preferred the cause of the _people_ to the cause of the _nobles_, and +bringeth upon her the displeasure of the Signoria by her flight to +Rome. For--see it well, Antonio!--if the Senate hold the Lady of the +Giustiniani for fault in this,"--Piero paused and uttered the last words +with a slow, mysterious emphasis, while Antonio listened with an +intensity that missed no shading of meaning,--"_it will be the cause of +the people against the nobles_." + +"If they harm her not," he resumed in his usual tone, after a moment's +pause, "my fate shall be avenged in the judgment and command of the +bancali of the Nicolotti only. They shall not risk the people's good for +the poor life of one leader!" + +"Padrone!" Antonio cried, with flashing eyes. "Commandi altro?" ("Hast +thou other commands?") + +"None, save that if I return not--and not otherwise--thou shalt seek +with my token the Master Girolamo Magagnati; thou shalt tell him of this +my confidence, holding nothing back; and thou shalt pray him, of his +honor, to discharge the debt which may be found lacking in the treasury +of the Nicolotti,--since the moneys have been taken for the need of the +lady on her journey,--the which, if I return, I have means, and more, to +repay." + +The two men grasped hands and looked into each other's eyes for a brief +recording moment, having each touched that _best_ in the other which was +not shown to all men, and so begotten trust each in each. + +"By the Holy Madonna and San Nicolo, I will not fail!" Antonio promised, +and in a moment had seized his oar again and was springing forward on +the bridge of his gondola, as if his thoughts were light and rhythmic as +his motions. + +They sped on with a few swift, silent strokes--then, "Brondolo!" he +cried brightly; but a sudden desperate steadying of resolution was felt +in the fierce stroke which sent the gondola forward with a jerk. + +The fishing-skiffs of Chioggia fluttered like gaudy butterflies before +them, dipping their wings of orange and crimson and every conceivable +sunset tint to catch the breeze; and the air was suddenly vibrant with +sounds of traffic and busy life. Men called to each other with song and +jest from heavily laden barks, while they waited the hour of sailing; or +lay at ease on the top of their wares, smoking luxurious draughts of +content from their comrade pipes,--lords of their craft, though their +couch was but a pile of cabbages or market produce,--exchanging some +whimsical comment upon the affairs of busier neighbors which brimmed +these frequent hours of _dolce far niente_ with unflagging interest. + +And there, among the lighter shipping, was the brig bound to the order +of the gastaldo grande, with the yellow sails and device of the rising +sun--with the gobbo in orange doublet on the masthead for good luck, and +the gobbo on the deck to make it sure. Piero turned and looked for it, +as they passed the lock. And there too---- + +"_Corpo di San Marco_!" ejaculated Antonio under his breath, for he +stood higher than Piero upon the bridge of the gondola and facing +forward. + +There, full in sight, and riding proudly at anchor, the beautiful curves +of her swan-like prows made cannon proof with plates of shining +steel,--and below, in lieu of figurehead to promise victory, those +letters of dread omen, C.D.X.,--with thirty oars-men from the arsenal +of Venice, to ensure her speed, each ready at his oar-lock to wield his +oar, with a band of marksmen trained to finest tempered arms to quell +the resistance which no Venetian would dare offer with those letters on +the prow; the gold and scarlet banner of San Marco, for good fortune, at +her masthead; the wind swelling her impatient sail, as the curb but +frets the steed--_the galley of the Ten was not waiting without a +purpose_! + +The shock of the boats as they passed through the lock had roused the +sleepers rudely, and Piero had time but for a swift glance of command to +Antonio, bidding him escape, when a gondola bearing the ducal colors +floated out from the sea of small waiting craft and saluted them +courteously. The dignified signor who addressed them wore the violet +robe and stole of a secretary of the Doge, and his face was the face of +that secretary in whose silken hand the gastaldo's had lain prisoned +when he took the oath of office! + +Resistance was impossible. + +"Messer Gastaldo," said the secretary suavely, "it hath pleased those +who have ever the welfare of Venice at heart to provide for the most +noble Lady of the Giustiniani an escort which better fitteth her rank +than the size of thy _barchetta_ permitteth, and a dwelling more +honorable than the 'Osteria del Buon Pesce,' where, in company of the +Lady Beata Tagliapietra, she hath passed the night." + +The secretary paused and placidly noted the effect of his words upon +Piero, who could have gnashed his teeth for anger at those talking walls +of Venice which had betrayed him--so cautiously had he told his secret +to the Lady Beata only, in that short moonlight stroll! + +At a sign from the secretary a second gondola, wearing the ducal livery +and filled with the gorgeous costumes of the palace guards, came out +from the floating mass and approached the gondola of the people, where +the Lady Marina sat trembling like a frightened fawn. + +There was a struggle among the lesser craft to draw closer to this +dramatic centre; they jostled each other unceremoniously; a splash, like +a falling oar, was heard, but scarce noted in the absorbing interest of +the moment; only a bare-legged boy jumped off from a tiny fishing-skiff +near which the oar had floated, and swam with it to to the gondola from +which it had fallen--since it was this boat which was making the +carnival for them! Piero, alone, had slightly turned his head and noted +that no one now stood on the _ponte piede_ behind the felze of his +gondola. + +"The galley waits to receive the noble ladies to whom I am commissioned +_by those who have sent me_ to offer my respectful homage," said the +secretary, bowing low before the felze. "The noble ladies will proceed +thither in the ducal gondola which attends them. And thou, Messer +Gastaldo, wilt graciously aid me in their escort--since, verily, they +owe much to thy chivalry." + +It was a pleasant scene for the onlookers. + +But the Lady Marina sat motionless, and gave neither word nor sign in +response to the invitation of the ducal secretary. + +"Shall the pleasure of the lady of this noble house not be consulted?" +Piero questioned, struggling to cover his defiance under a tone of +deference. + +But his answer was only in the secretary's eyes,--smiling, +imperious,--more defiant than his own impotent will; and in the courtly +waiting attitude, which had not changed, and which seemed unbearably to +lengthen out the passing seconds. + +The Lady Beata, winding compassionate arms around her friend, had raised +her veil, whispering words of tenderness. + +But there was no recognition in the glance that met hers--only the +immeasurable pathos of a hopeless surrender; the fervent passion of +Marina's will and faith had made all things seem possible of +achievement, though Venice was against her, for had not the mission been +given her in a vision by the Holy Madonna of San Donato--Mother of +Sorrows--and was not the issue sure? And yielding all thought of self +she had braced every faculty to accomplish the holy task of which she +alone felt the urgency. But the overtaxed heart and brain could endure +no longer thwarting; their activity and unquestioning purpose had been +her only power; and the moment she ceased to struggle will and reason +fled together. + +Pitifully acquiescent, she went with them unresisting. + + * * * * * + +A haze that was not luminous hung in the sky; night was creeping on +without a sunset, as they battled their way up the Giudecca against the +current which rushed like a boiling torrent around San Giorgio--the blue +calm of the waters turned to a frenzied, foam-lashed green. + +The men rowed fast, with tight-furled sail, but the storm came faster; +ranks of threatening clouds were hurrying from the east, gathering like +armies of vengeful spirits, darker, closer about them, shutting off +every breath of air; an oppression, throbbing with nameless fears, was +upon them--a hush, as if life had ceased; then the scorching, withering +torment of a fierce sirocco, and the moan of the wind, like a soul in +pain. + +Marina grew faint and wide-eyed for terror, but they could not soothe +her by word or touch; she sat with clasped hands, gasping for breath, +listening to the low, long boom on the shores of the Lido, like muffled +thunder, ceaselessly recurring--the terrible noise of the great waves +beating against the sea-walls--beating and breaking in fury, tossing +their spray high in air and whirling it in clouds, like rain mists, far +across the lagoon. Would the barriers stand--or yield and leave them to +their doom? Were the great waters of the Adriatic uprising in vengeance +to overwhelm this city in her sin? Boom upon boom sounded through all +the voices of the storm. Santa Maria! was it this that the Tintoretto +had foretold! + +A dazzling, frenzied flash of light,--a vast peal of thunder that was +like the wrath of a mighty, offended God,--then darkness, and a torrent +of rain--the waters in the shifting path of the wind leaping up to meet +the waters from the sky! + +The vesper bells of Venice came sobbing through the storm, tossed and +broken by the tornado into a wraith of a dirge; and now, by some +fantastic freak of nature, as the winds rose higher, the iron tongues +from every campanile--for a brief moment of horror--came wrangling and +discordant, as if tortured by some demon of despair. + + "_Ave Maria, Gratia plena_!" + +the women cried together, falling on their knees, while the men toiled +and struggled to hold the invincible galley of the Ten outside the +whirling path of the storm--advancing and retreating at the will of the +elements, against which their own splendid, human strength was like the +feeble, untaught effort of a helpless infant. + +"_Mater Dei, Ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc et in hora mortis +nostrae_." + +The words rose in a wail between the gusts. + +For measureless moments, mighty as hours, they battled between San Marco +and San Giorgio, tossed to and fro--now nearer the haven of the great +white dome, now--as a lightning flash unveiled San Marco--near enough to +see a cloud of frightened doves go whirling over the flood which swept +the Piazza from end to end and poured out under the great gates of the +Ducal Palace into the lagoon. + +"_Summa Parens clementia--nocte surgentes_----" + + + +XXXII + +A Day momentous for Venice--or was it Rome?--had come and passed; it +chronicled the right of the Crown to make its own laws within its own +realm, without reference to ecclesiastical claims which had hitherto +been found hampering; it defined the limits of Church and State, as no +protest had hitherto done. + +But Venice was calm in her triumph as she had been unmoved in disaster, +and would not reflect the jubilant tone of the cardinal when he had +returned from Rome empowered to withdraw the censures upon the terms +stipulated by the Republic. + +Yet, at this latest moment, the cardinal mediator, from lack of +discretion, had come near to failure; for the terms being less favorable +than he had desired to obtain for the Holy Father, he could not resist +attempting to win some little further grace before pronouncing the final +word, when the Signoria, weary of temporizing, told him plainly that his +Holiness must come at once to a decision, or Venice would forget that +she had so far yielded as to listen to any negotiations. + +There was no pageant at the close of this long drama of which the +princes of Europe had been interested spectators. Venice sat smiling and +unruffled under her April skies when the ducal secretary escorted the +two famous prisoners from the dungeons of the Palace to the residence of +the French ambassador, and there, _without prejudice to the Republic's +right of jurisdiction over criminal ecclesiastics_, explicitly +stipulated, bestowed this gift--so fitting for the gratification of a +"Most Christian Majesty"--upon the representative of France, who must +indeed have breathed more freely when this testimonial of favor, with +its precious burden of nameless crimes, had been consigned by him to one +who waited as an appointee of the Pope. + +The Doge and the Signoria sat in their accustomed places in their +stately Assembly Chamber when the cardinal came with congratulations +upon the withdrawal of the interdict, and the words of the Serenissimo, +as he gave the promised parchment, were few and dignified. + +"I thank the Lord our God that his Holiness hath assured himself of the +purity of our intentions and the sincerity of our deeds." + +And the writing of that parchment, sealed with the seal of Saint Mark, +stood thus: + +"Essendo state levate le Censure e restate parimente rivocato il +Protesto." ("The censures having been taken off the protest remains +equally revoked.") + +It was whispered low that the cardinal, under his cape, made the sign of +the cross and murmured a word of absolution. But if the Signoria +suspected his intention there was no movement of acquiescence; only, +when the short ceremony of the passing of the document was completed, +they observed the usual forms of courtesy with which the audience of so +princely an envoy is closed when his mission is accomplished. + +If Paul V had surrendered with reluctance his hope of a sumptuous +ceremony in San Pietro, where delegates of penitent Venetians should +kneel in public and confess and be graciously absolved--if the Cardinal +di Gioiosa had indulged flattering visions of a procession of priests +and people to the patriarchal church in the Piazza, with paeans of +joy-bells and shouts of gladness that Venice was again free to resume +her worship, and that her penitent people were pardoned sons of the +Church--he was doomed to disappointment. The cardinals of Spain and +France, attended only by their households, celebrated Mass in the ducal +chapel of San Marco; and the people came and went--as they did before +and after, through that day and all the days since the interdict had +been pronounced, in this and all the churches of Venice--and scarcely +knew that their doom was lifted, as they had hardly realized that the +curse had ever penetrated from those distant doors of San Pietro to the +sanctuary of San Marco! + +But the world knew and never forgot how that stately court of Venice had +met the thunder of the Vatican and lessened its power forever. + +The cause had been won in moderation and dignity upon a basis of civil +justice that was none the less accredited because the Teologo Consultore +who sat in chancelor's robes behind the throne was a zealous advocate of +the primitive principles of Christianity, and defended, without fear of +obloquy or death, the right of the individual conscience to interpret +for itself the laws of right,--as founded upon the words of +Christ,--because the extraordinary keenness, fineness, and breadth of +his masterly mind enabled him to conceive with unusual definiteness the +limits of civil and spiritual authority, and to ascribe the overgrowth +of error upon the Church he loved to the misconception and weakness of +human nature. He did not place Venice, the superb,--with her pride and +pomp and power and intellectual astuteness, with her faults and +worldliness and her magnificent statesmanship,--against the _spiritual_ +kingdom of Christ's Church on earth and declare for Venice _against_ the +Church. + +But he weighed in the clear poise of his brain the Book of the Divine +Law--which none knew better than he--with the laws of the princes of +this world--which also few knew better--and declared that _One_, lowly +and great, had defined the limits of the Church's jurisdiction when He +said, "My kingdom is not of this world." + +But in Rome the reasoning was not so simple, and threats of vengeance +pursued this "terrible friar," whose bold judgments had ruled the +councils of rebellious Venice. + +But though peace was declared with Rome the labors of the Senate were +scarcely lessened; there were still adjustments to be made which were +not whispered abroad--there were embassies to be dissolved and +appointed, gifts to be voted, honors to be heaped upon the head of the +man whose counsels had led to such results, and in whose person the +Senate now united the three offices of the Counsellors to the Doge, +making Fra Paolo sole Teologo Consultore. + +It was the first time in the history of the Republic that such honors +had been voted, for Venice was not wont to be over-generous in +recognition of individual service; and this friend of statesmen, +scholars, and princes temporal and spiritual, preserved the greatness of +his simplicity unspoiled in prosperity and power--as was possible only +to a spirit ruled by inflexible principle and faith. + +When the Senate voted him a palace near San Marco he preferred his +simple quarters among his brethren of the Servi. When, in proof of their +appreciation, they doubled his salary and would have trebled it +again--"Nay," said he, "it is but my duty that I have done. May the +honorable words of the Senate's recognition but hold before me that +which, by God's help, I may yet accomplish"; and he would take but so +much as he might bestow in charity and gifts to his convent, having for +himself no need nor tastes that were not met by the modest provision of +his order. + +And when, having refused to go to Rome for reconciliation--being not +penitent--or for preferment, which would not come without penitence, Fra +Paolo still pursued, unmoved, the quiet tenor of his daily round, from +convent to palace, without pause or tremor, in spite of continued +warning;--"My life," he said, "is in the hands of God. My duty hath he +confided to mine own effort." + + * * * * * + +The Lady Marina was a guest in the Ducal Palace, detained under +surveillance, yet treated with much honor; her friends might see her in +the presence of the ducal guards who watched within the doors of her +sumptuous chambers, but she was not free to go to her own, who had +guarded her with such laxity that in striving to reach the court of the +enemy she had imperiled the dignity of the Republic by her silent +censure. Marcantonio had trembled more when, the morning after the +storm, news had reached him that the fugitive was in the keeping of the +Signoria, than if the message had announced her death. What might he not +expect of their jealousy! + +But a ducal secretary had received him with courtesy and conducted him +at once into the audience chamber of the Doge, who bade him send for her +maidens that she might be cared for tenderly, for her stay at the Palace +would be indefinite. It was a royal command, against which pleading or +rebellion were alike useless. + +"Most Serene Prince!" cried Marcantonio in agony, "I beseech thee leave +me that gift which a gracious Senate once so generously bestowed! I have +never swerved in loyalty--though my heart was nigh to breaking that I +might not grant her prayer!" + +But one in attendance spoke quickly; for the face of the good Leonardo +Donato was full of compassion, and he might not be trusted to serve the +higher interests of the Republic. + +"It is of the clemency of the Serenissimo," said that inflexible voice, +"that the Lady Marina reaps not the penalty of her flight and of her +disloyalty to the State, since she hath sought to place her private +judgment beyond the wisdom of the rulers of Venice." + +The figure stood motionless in the shadow of a column, muffled in a long +black mantle, a black beretta partially concealing the face. + +There was an icy inflection in the tones which sent a chill to +Marcantonio's heart as he listened. One of the Chiefs of the Ten was +always a member of the still more dreaded Inquisition, whose identity +was never known, and the passionless voice held a hint of indisputable +authority--was his suffering wife to rely upon the mercy of the most +puissant member of this terrible commission! + +"Take my life for hers!" he implored, so beside himself with grief and +terror that he disclosed his fear for Marina; "and bid her return to +care for our little one." + +"Not so," said the emotionless voice; "the Lady Marina hath disproved +her right to care for a noble of Venice. It would be to imperil his +loyalty to leave the child under his mother's influence." + +"My God!" cried Marcantonio bitterly; "take me to her and let us die +together--if the Republic may grant us so much grace!" + +Again the Doge would have spoken compassionate words, but the other +interposed: + +"The State hath little use for the lady's life--save in her keeping. And +she herself, perchance, hath less. For so hath her strange whim wrought +upon her that she knoweth naught of that which passeth around her, and +one face to her is like another." + +The young Senator turned from the cruel speaker to the Doge in mute +appealing agony. The old man grasped his hand in a steadying clasp. + +"Let us go to her," said Leonardo, very low, when he could command his +voice. "She is like a lovely child--resisting nothing. It is some +shock--it will pass." + + * * * * * + +And now there came a day when the proud heart of Venice was stirred to +its core, for a messenger dashed breathless into the Council Chamber--an +excited, protesting throng of the populace surging in through the open +door behind him. "Fra Paolo! Il caro Padre! Morto!" + +"_Dead_!" They started to their feet with ready imprecations. Fra Paolo, +who had left them an hour before, with the Signor Malipiero and his +devoted secretary! They exchanged glances of terrible comprehension--the +triumph of Venice was avenged upon the faithful servant of the State! + +The Consiglio broke up in confusion. + +"Eccellentissimi," the messenger explained to the horror-stricken +questioners, "they were five,--rushing out from the dark of the convent +wall against him when he came alone down the steps of the Ponte della +Pugna,--the villains held the others down. And Fra Paolo lay dead on the +Fondamenta--stabbed in many places, as if one would cut him in bits--and +the stiletto still in his forehead! And they sent me----" + +"'Alone'? you ask me, Illustrissimi?--Santissima Vergine! the whole city +pouring in to the cries of those that found him; and the murderers off +before one could touch them, and never a guard near! They carried him +into the Servi.--And the people--furious--are storming the palazzo of +the nuncio as I pass; and some one cries that the envoy is off to the +Lido, with his fine friends, who start for Rome. A thousand devils!--May +the good San Nicolo send them to feed the fishes!" + +The Senate, to testify its honor, grief, and sympathy for the beloved +Counsellor, had instantly adjourned, and its members repaired in great +numbers to the convent to make personal inquiries, returning to a new +session prolonged through the night; for Fra Paolo, who had fainted from +loss of blood on his pallet in the Servite cell, had recovered +consciousness and hovered between life and death--his humble bed +attended by the most famous physicians and surgeons whom the Republic +could summon to her aid. The secretaries, meanwhile, were busy in +preparing resolutions of affection by which to honor him in the sight of +the Venetian people; letters of announcement to foreign courts, as if he +had been of the blood royal; proclamations of reward for the persons of +the criminals, alive or dead, which, before the day had dawned, the +Signori della Notte had affixed to the doors of San Marco, along the +Rialto, on the breast of Ser Robia, that all might read. And for means +of bringing the offenders to justice they plotted and schemed as none +but Venetians could do. + +It was three days since the storm, and the gastaldo had not yet been +released, he also was simply detained, without ignominy or discomfort in +rooms set apart for prisoners of State before they had been brought to +trial; for the events of these days had been too absorbing to permit of +an examination of his case. And now, in the gray dawn which broke upon +that night of anxiety and excitement, alternating between hope and fear +as frequent messengers, each guarded by a detachment of palace guards, +appeared with fresh news from the convent, the weary senators strolled +up and down in the great chambers opening on the sea facade of the Ducal +Palace discussing the event in a more desultory way--its meaning, its +dangers, the achievements of the great man who might, even now, be +receiving the viaticum in the convent of the Servi. + +He was first named with terms of endearment strange upon the lips of +that stately assembly--"Il caro Padre," "Teologo amato di Venezia"--yet +the guards had failed to seize those villains who lay in wait at the +Ponte della Pugna! The bridges and traghetti must be closely +watched.--Ah--the gastaldo grande! + +"Hath one yet been named _Condottiere_ for this frontier service?" +questioned one of the older senators, among a group of the more +important men who had detached themselves from the others and strolled +out into the great loggia on the sea facade for a reviving breath of the +morning air. "For such an employ there is none like Piero Salin for +daring and intrigue; and the assassins may linger long in hiding on the +route to Rome." + +And so they first remembered Piero in these crowded days and discussed +his fault with a degree of leniency that would have been foreign to the +traditions of Venice had he not been needed for important secret +service. + +Meanwhile, Fra Paolo was still the theme among the senators at large in +the Council Chamber. "Il miracolo del suo secolo," they called him, as +they rehearsed the opinions of the learned men of their age in every +field of science. + +"It cannot be from knowledge, acquired as all men learn, that he taketh +this position in such varied sciences," said the Senator Morosini; "for +a life-time doth suffice to few men for such attainment in one field as +he hath reached in all. It must be that the marvel of his mind doth hold +some central truth which maketh all science cognate." + +"Else were he not 'friend and master' to Galileo of Padua." + +"And it is told that Acquapendente, who hath been summoned by the +Signoria to bestow his skill, hath learned of him some matters which he +taught in the medical school of Bologna. The world hath not his equal +for learning." + +"By the blessed San Marco!" ejaculated one under his breath, who had +been idly leaning on the balustrade, as he crossed himself and looked +furtively around to note whether he had been overheard. + +But the others of the group, keenly alive to danger, had instantly +joined him. + +"Was this some new intrigue?" "Was the night not already full with +horror?" they questioned of each other, thrilled with dread and +superstition. + +Dawn was growing over the water, and the gray and oily surface of the +lagoon was closely dotted with gondolas, distinct and black in the +morning twilight; they came sweeping on from San Nicolo and +Castello--black and red, breast to breast--gathering impetus as they +neared the Piazzetta, in numbers which must have left every traghetto of +Venice deserted; Nicolotti and Castellani--_allies_, since they never +had been friends! It was some intrigue of the people, or some favor they +had come to ask--_to-day_, when the Senate might not spare one thought +for disorder among the masses! + +Weary and overwrought, after their night of sorrowful labor, they looked +at each other in consternation. + +"It is their gastaldo whom they are come to seek," a secretary of the +Ten confided by inspiration to his Chief, as an old man, wearing the +robe of a bancalo, was escorted from the landing by a band of gondoliers +with black and crimson sashes, who disappeared under the entrance to the +palace courtyard. + +"Let him be summoned and honorably discharged; he hath done no harm that +may be compared with the disaffection of the traghetti." + +"Rather, let them receive him back, appointed by the Senate to honor, as +Condottiere of the border forces"; a second Chief hastened to respond, +for the moment was grave, "and the command will most excellently fit the +gastaldo." + +"And for the Lady of the Giustiniani, it matters little--Rome or +Venice," said an old senator, compassionately, as he followed his +colleagues into the Council Chamber. "She hath so spent herself in +grieving that she knoweth naught. For the Senator Marcantonio hath +vainly sought to teach her that the interdict hath been lifted; yet even +this she comprehendeth not." + +"We are come, your Excellencies, for news of our Gastaldo Grande, whose +presence is verily needful for the traghetti," said the white-haired +bancalo, when an audience had been granted him. + +"How many of you have come as escort?" the secretary questioned +carelessly. + +"Eccellenza, we are enough," the bancalo answered fearlessly, and with a +significant pause, "_to prove the will of the people--as well Nicolotti +as Castellani_. And to escort our Gastaldo Grande with honor, since it +hath pleased your excellencies to receive him--_as a guest_--in the +Ducal Palace." + +He was the eldest of the officers of the traghetti, accustomed to +respect, upheld by the united forces of the people; this man of the +people and this mouthpiece of the nobles measured each other fearlessly +as they looked into each other's faces--each coolly choosing his phrases +to carry so much as the other might count wise. + +"It is well," said the secretary of the Ten, after a brief private +conference with his Chiefs, "that ye are come in numbers to do him +honor. Since the Senate hath need of his brave service and hath named +Piero Salin, for exigencies of the Republic, Condottiere, with honors +and men of artillery to do him service." + +And so it chanced, that because of the stress of the time, Piero Salin +floated off in triumph to Murano, named General of the Border Forces, +with secret orders from the Ten. + + + +XXXIII + +The great bell in the tower of the arsenal told twelve of the day, and +already the broader waters near the rios which led to the high +machicolated walls surrounding this famous Venetian stronghold were +crowded with gondolas of the people and barges from the islands filled +with men, women, and children, jubilant with holiday speech and +brilliant in gala colors; for this was one of those perpetually +recurring festas which so endeared this City of the Sea to its +pleasure-loving people. + +This splendid ceremony of inspection by the Doge was a day of annual +triumph, for nowhere in all the world was there such an arsenal, and +nowhere such an army of workmen,--thirty-five thousand men trained to +the cunning from father to son in lifelong service,--with sailors, +sixteen thousand more, who should presently make a brave review within +those battlemented walls, to tickle the fancy of the Serenissimo and his +guests. For these pageants of Venice were not guiltless of timely hints +to the onlookers of the futility of opposition to a naval force so great +and so admirably controlled; and well might the Republic be proud of the +foundry, the docks, the galleys, which the Doge and the Signoria came +each year in state to visit, with all the nobles of the Maggior +Consiglio and many of the high officials. + +This year it was to be a fete more magnificent than usual, for the +households of the ambassadors were bidden to the banquet which was +prepared in the Great Hall of the arsenal--the attractions of which were +invitingly rehearsed, as the speakers leaned across from gondola to +gondola, to exchange their pleasant bits of gossip with dramatic +exaggerations. "And the gondolas of the ambassadors! Santa Maria! the +Signori, 'i provveditori alle pompe' have nothing to say, for there is a +dispensation! the velvets and satins and golden fringes--it will be a +true glimpse of the _paradiso_!" + +"And the great Signor medico, Acquapendente, will be made this day +Cavaliere of the Republic, since he hath had the wonderful fortune to +save the life of our Padre Maestro Paolo; for it is well known there was +little hope of matins or vespers more for him, the night the _maledetti +bravi_ left the stiletto in his face!" + +"And thou, Giuseppe!" cried a smiling mother from Mazzorbo, proudly +indicating her boy as an object of interest, and pushing him into a more +prominent position--"the bambino hath seen it with his own eyes, since +he is prentice at the metal graver's shop of Messer Maffeo Olivieri on +the Rialto; thou, tell us, Giuseppe, of this great goblet of graven +silver which the Master Olivieri hath ready for the presentation, by +order of the Signoria. E bello, ah? _Bellissimo_! And the Lion of San +Marco on the crown of it--_e vero_ Giuseppe?--with wings--_magnifico_! +And jewels of rubino in the eyes of it; and a tongue----" + +"Cosi!" interposed Giuseppe, with dramatic effectiveness, thrusting out +his own with relish. "_Thus_!" + +"Ma c'e altro!" cried a gondolier from Murano. "There is more yet! For +the magnificent galley which the little one of the Ca' Giustiniani--he +that is grandson to our Messer Girolamo Magagnati--hath given to the +Republic will be floated out from the basin of the arsenal and +christened this day!" + +The spirits of the light-hearted crowd effervesced in a jubilant cheer. + +"_I Giustiniani_!" + +On every page of the history of Venice the name of the Giustiniani stood +brilliantly forth, and the stained and tattered banners in the great +hall of the arsenal were so many laurel leaves for this patrician house, +keeping the memory of the brilliant victory of Lepanto green in the +hearts of the Venetians. It was a Giustinian, "Gonfaloniere," _standard +bearer_, who had brought the glorious news on his triumphant galley, the +solemn Lion of San Marco waving his banner above the drooping crescent +of the Turk from every green wreathed mast. It was this Giustinian who +had been carried in triumph on the shoulders of the people, before the +Doge and the Signoria--who had been the hero when that solemn Mass, in +honor of the victory, had been offered up in the ducal chapel--when the +Rialto and the Merceria, for the extravagant joy of Venice, were draped +in blue and scarlet and gold, bound laurel wreaths and decorated with +the art treasures of Titian and Giorgone. It was a name which the people +were accustomed to honor. "I Giustiniani!" they shouted. + +There was a sudden hush, for the bells of the Campanile of San Marco +had given the signal, and there was a great stir before the Piazza--a +train of gondolas was sweeping into line far down the Canal Grande; the +guards on the watch-towers of the arsenal were full of animation; the +gondolas of the orderlies were buzzing like bees about the barge of the +grand admiral, who awaited the coming of the Doge, in all his +magnificence of satin ceremonial robes. He was like a noble to-day, this +man of the people. _Viva San Marco_! + +The moment was approaching; orderlies glided back and forth among the +excited people, prescribing their distance; the raft of small craft +shifted its position and presently a salute was fired from all the +cannon of the arsenal; the Doge, in his great State barge, was near. + +The people shouted themselves hoarse when the smoke cleared away and +revealed the splendid train of private barges from Venice; there were +banners of the Republic and streaming pennons of the nobles; the +gondoliers wore the colors of their house, and were welcomed by the +people on these days of pageant as a distinct addition to the glories of +the festa--though on other days the barcarioli of the traghetti poured +out full vials of contempt upon their sashes of rose and silver and the +blazonry of arms upon their silken sleeves. + +The gondolas and barges of the people drifted back again, close about +the train of magnates from Venice. + +"I Giustiniani," they shouted; "il Marconino!" + +There was a movement on one of the splendid barges bearing the colors of +the Giustiniani; a little child was caught up and held for a moment +high in the air; he waved his tiny hands gleefully--it was such +beautiful play! + +"It is the grandson of Messer Girolamo Magagnati, of the Stabilimenti!" +they cried from the barges of Murano, surging nearer in the waterway. +"He belongs to us--to the people!" for the story was well known, and the +people of Venice were not less proud than the nobles who ruled them. +"Viva Messer Magagnati!" + +The group upon the deck parted and disclosed an old man with bowed head +and faltering movements, supported by the young Senator Giustiniani, who +gravely recognized their salute; but there was no answering smile upon +his face; and Girolamo Magagnati, who had proudly confronted the +senators in their Council Chamber when he had declined their proffer of +nobility, in this day of triumph scarcely raised his eyes. + +The mothers on the barges lifted their little ones in their arms and +taught them to call a name--"Il Marconino!" they ventured, in hesitant, +treble tones. + +But now the splendid moment was near. The admiral, in his crimson robes +of state, had mounted to his place on the Doge's barge, and all the +floating crowd had fallen into ordered position, in a hush of vibrant +suspense, as, with slow majesty and grace, one by one the galleys of +Venice came forth in procession from the great basin of the arsenal, +sweeping round from the Punta della Motta into the lagoon, and passing +the Signoria with a salute. And now the great bell sounded again from +the arsenal tower, and was answered from the Campanile of San Marco, +and the suppressed excitement of the eager spectators burst forth in +cries of greeting to the _Marconino_--just set afloat--as she came +gracefully around in front of the Doge's barge, full manned and +saluting, magnificently equipped, the colors of the Giustiniani waving +below the crimson banner of San Marco, with its regnant Lion, and on her +prow the beautiful sculptured figure of a little child. + +"_Il Marconino! Il Marconino_!" + +There was a brief moment of confusion from the coming and going of +barges,--a short delay which brimmed their excitement to the fever +pitch,--then the waters cleared again of their floating craft, and the +Senator Marcantonio Giustiniani stepped forth on the deck to christen +the gift of his child. + +The people looked, and would have shouted--but forebore--gazing +awestruck. + +As he stood, firmly planted upon the prow, the crimson drapery of his +senator's robe parted and disclosed the firm young vigor of his limbs, +in their silken hose, and his very attitude showed power. But he wore +the face of a young Greek god who had lightly dreamed that he could +fashion Life out of grace and sunshine, and had waked to carve Endurance +out of Agony. + +The child, held high in his arms, was radiant in the sunshine, its +rosebud mouth parting over pearly teeth in dimpling glee, the breeze +lifting the light rings of hair that caressed his soft, round throat, +the hands waving in childish ecstasy and grace. As they stood, just over +the beautiful bust of the "Marconino" which Vittorio had carved upon the +prow, child and father were an embodiment of the play of the crested +foam over the deep trouble of the waves beneath. + +"Was it thus that the nobles took their triumphs?" the people questioned +low of each other. "And where was the Lady Marina, the daughter of +Messer Magagnati--_their_ lady, who had been good to the people?" + +"She was there--within," some one answered, "she was not strong--the +salutes were too much for her. She was waiting within, with her +maidens." + +"To miss such a beautiful festa! Santa Maria!"--the strong peasant +mothers, clasping their infants in their arms, with prattling, +barefooted children clinging to their mantles--so glad for this glimpse +of holiday--looked again at the beautiful, stern face of this father who +had youth and gifts and wealth, his seat in the Consiglio, his boy in +his arms--but no smile for the people pressing around him ready to shout +his name, and they crossed themselves with a nameless yearning and +dread. + +But the nobles, with more understanding, looked upon him and forgot +their jealousy. + +For the Lady Marina was within, waiting with her maidens in a private +chamber of the arsenal until the hour of the banquet, when her presence +had been required by the Signoria. Only so much had her father--the +giver of the gift--and Marcantonio, on this day of honor to his +name--been able to obtain of the imperious Republic. There were rumors +afloat, questions were asked, and the body of nobles must bear witness +to the clemency of the State, who could be gracious in forgiving. If the +Lady of the Giustiniani might not have the custody of her child, it was +not that because of her transgressions they would refuse her any grace +or honor. + +Meanwhile Giustinian Giustiniani, standing proudly erect among the +nobles of the Doge's suite, searched the crowd for further homage, and +wondered at the silence when the charming figure of the baby Marconino +danced in his father's arms--a very embodiment of life and glee. + +It was over in a moment, and the crowd of smaller barges fell back in +disorder, for the Doge was passing through the gates of the arsenal; the +galleys were returning back by San Pietro in Castello, and that which +was to follow of the glories of the day was only for the great ones now +gathering behind that charmed gate, where the golden chair was waiting +in which the Serenissimo should make his royal progress. There was +nothing more for the people until the hour of the Ave Maria should call +the stately procession forth on its homeward way. + +But the brilliant memories of this morning would gladden many a less +golden day--Viva San Marco! Their voluble tongues were suddenly +unloosed, and those who had been favored with near glimpses of the +heroes of the day became centres of animated discussion. Life was good +in Venice! "And thou, Nino, forget not that the Madonna hath been +'gentile' to thee! Thou shalt tell thy little ones, when thou art old, +that thou hast this day seen, with thine own eyes, the Marconino, who +hath given the great galley to the Republic!" + +The banquet was over, and there was a stir among the Signoria when the +infant Giustinian was called for that he might receive the thanks of +the Republic for his princely gift; and a murmur of admiration circled +from lip to lip as the blooming child was brought into the banquet hall. +All eyes were now turned upon the Lady Marina, who had hitherto remained +surrounded by her household and inconspicuous among the group of noble +Venetian ladies who gave distinction to this festa. + +It was Marcantonio who, with a tenderness that was pathetic and a touch +that was a caress, led her down from her place and folded the little +one's hand in hers. He would have led her to the throne; but a gesture +that was scarcely more than a glance conveyed a command he dared not +disobey. + +They looked to see a flush of pride on her beautiful face as, in answer +to the Doge's summons, she came slowly forward, with the tiny hand of +the boy clasped in hers--his unsteady, childish footsteps echoing +unevenly on the marble pavement between her measured movements. But she +walked as in a dream, as if she were no longer one of this bright +company, yet strangely beautiful to see, with a face like some noble +spirit,--pale and grieving,--and in her eyes a great trouble that was +full of dignity and love. Over the dark velvet of her robe the +bountiful, white waves of her hair streamed like a bridal veil, +wreathing her brows and her young, pathetic face with silken rings of +drifted snow. + +But before she had reached the dais prepared for the Signoria at the end +of the great hall she paused, as if unable to proceed further, swaying +slightly and throwing out her hands to steady herself; a sudden change +swept over her face, and for a moment it seemed that she would fall; the +child, losing hold of her hand, clung sobbing to her skirts, hiding his +pretty head. + +Her husband sprang to her aid, tenderly supporting her, but as instantly +she seemed to recover her strength, smiling upon him graciously, while +she gently disengaged herself from his hold, leaving the little one with +him, and gliding rapidly forward, looked around her with unrecognizing +eyes. + +It had pleased the whim of the Republic to make some ecclesiastical +parade on this festa of Venice which followed so closely upon the +prosaic closing scene of the quarrel with Rome, wherein no churchly pomp +had been permitted; and as Marina's bewildered gaze steadied itself upon +the noble group of the Signoria, with whom to-day, in great state, sat +the Patriarch of Venice with mitre and hierarchical robes and all the +attendant group of Venetian bishops, a look of intense relief suddenly +flashed over the trouble in her eyes--as if that which she had sought +with such long suffering no longer eluded her. + +"Madre Beatissima!" she cried, clasping her crucifix closely to her +breast, and raising her eyes to heaven, "I thank thee!" + +The light grew upon her face. + +As her whole life had been merged in this struggle which had only +conquered her overwrought heart and brain when she had felt that the +Madonna had deserted her and delivered her to the wrath of Venice, so +now, in her hallucination,--since the Madonna had brought her to +Rome,--her faith and power of speech suddenly returned, and she rallied +all her strength to fulfil her mission. + +In that great and sumptuous Hall, flaunting and gay with banners which +chronicled the victories and the power of the Republic--in the +impregnable stronghold of the realm, under the astonished gaze of the +entire Venetian court and the brilliant throng of the households of +nobles and ambassadors who looked down from the circling galleries, +expectant and awestruck under the spell of so strange a vision--this +pale, slight champion of a desperate spiritual struggle, with no host to +help her save her prayers and faith, with no standard but the cross +clasped to her breast, knelt at the feet of the Patriarch, while the +sunset light through the broad western window made a radiance where she +knelt--as if Heaven at last had smiled upon her. + +"Oh, Holy Father!" she implored, "have mercy upon Venice! Forgive her +unfaithfulness, because she hath meant no sin! + +"The Madonna hath granted me to reach Rome at last, because she hath +laid her command upon me in a vision and it could not fail. But all +those, my loved ones, have I lost by the weary way; and save for her +mercy I could not have reached thee. + +"With prayers and penance have I striven--and ceased not--since the +anguish of thy displeasure came upon Venice. Oh, Holy Father! for all +the mothers who understand and grieve, and for our innocent little ones, +and for all those, our beloved, who are good and noble--and yet know not +the hard way of submission, because the Lord hath taught them some other +way--lift thy wrath from Venice, that our Heavenly Father hide not his +face in clouds too heavy for our prayers to reach him! + +"It is the will of the Madonna San Donato--thou canst not refuse to lift +the doom!" + +The words leaped over each other like a torrent--impetuous, passionate, +as if the moments for speech were few. + +"These do I bring--and these, for an offering!" she cried, feverishly +unclasping the lustrous pearls from her throat and girdle and laying +them at the feet of the Patriarch. "And all the dear happiness of my +life have I given, that I might reach thee with this prayer for Venice! +Oh, Holy Father, accept my sacrifice!" + +She reverently pressed the hem of the priestly robe to her lips, and +those who knew of her flight from Venice understood that she fancied she +had reached the Roman Court and was kneeling in the presence of the +Sovereign Pontiff; but in their amazement that she alone, who was dying +from the grief of it, did not know that the interdict had been removed, +it had not seemed possible to answer her. + +But there was no room for anger as they listened--though her plea was a +judgment on the court of Venice--for her voice thrilled them with its +unearthly sadness, and, looking into her beautiful, spirit face, they +saw that all her consciousness was merged in her intense realization of +the utmost terror of the curse, and in her one burning hope--to which +all things else were as nothing and in which she herself was wholly +lost. + +The Patriarch, moved with immeasurable compassion, raised her tenderly. +"My daughter," he said, in a voice that trembled with feeling, "Venice +is restored to favor. The Interdict is removed!" + +Through the stern assembly a wave of sympathy surged irresistibly, +impelling them to comfort this lovely, grieving lady, distraught by +anguished brooding. Scarcely knowing that their emotion expressed itself +in words, they caught up the Patriarch's answer and echoed it from group +to group--from gallery to gallery--until it gathered impetus and rolled +like a Hallelujah Chorus through the vast, vaulted chamber. + +"Venice is restored to favor; the Interdict is removed!" + +The light grew upon her face. + +How should it seem strange to her that her prayer at the feet of the +Holy Father had wrought this pardon for Venice--was it not for this that +the blessed Madonna of San Donato had sent her? She had promised +blessing for sacrifice! + +She stood for a moment, radiant, while the chorus of many voices +throbbed around her--her face like an angel's for joy and love--a +glorified vision in the parting rays of the evening sun--then her faint +fluttering breath died in a _Benedicite_! + + * * * * * +The vesper bells of Venice came softly through the twilight, calling to +Ave Maria. + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's A Golden Book of Venice, by Mrs. Lawrence Turnbull + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A GOLDEN BOOK OF VENICE *** + +***** This file should be named 10455.txt or 10455.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/4/5/10455/ + +Produced by Ted Garwin, Annika and PG Distributed Proofreaders + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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