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A Historical Romance of the 16th Century
By
'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
I desire gratefully to acknowledge my indebtedness to many faithful,loving and able students of Venetian lore, without whose books my ownpresentation of Venice in the sixteenth century would have beenimpossible. Mr. Ruskin's name must always come first among the prophetsof this City of the Sea, but among others from whom I have gatheredside-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 inthe Frari, entitled "La vie d'un Patricien de Venise."
Mr. Robertson's life of Fra Paolo Sarpi gave me the first hint of thisgreat personality, but my own portrait has been carefully studied fromthe volumes of his collected works which later responded to my search;these were collected and preserved for the Venetian government under thetitle of "Opere di Fra Paolo Sarpi, Servita, Teologo e Consultore dellaSerenissima Repubblica di Venezia" and included his life, letters and"opinions," and all others of his writings which escaped destruction inthe fire of the Servite Convent, as well as many important extracts fromthe original manuscripts so destroyed and which had been transcribed byorder of the Doge, Marco Foscarini, a few years before.
La-Paix, June, 1900.
Venice, with her life and glory but a memory, is still the cittanobilissima,—a city of moods,—all beautiful to the beauty-lover, allmystic to the dreamer; between the wonderful blue of the water and thesky she floats like a mirage—visionary—unreal—and under the spell ofher fascination we are not critics, but lovers. We see the pathos, notthe scars of her desolation, and the splendor of her past is too much apart of her to be forgotten, though the gold is dim upon herpalace-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 beinvoked by those who confess her charm. When, under the glamor of herradiant skies the faded hues flash forth once more, there is no ruin nordecay, nor touch of conquering hand of man nor time, only a splendidcity of dreams, waiting in silence—as all visions wait—until thatinvisible, haunting spirit has turned the legends of her power intoactual activities.
Sea and sky were one glory of warmth and color this sunny Novembermorning in 1565, and there were signs of unusual activity in the CampoSan Rocco before the great church of Santa Mar