The Lion of Saint Mark: A Story of Venice in the Fourteenth Century Read online

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  THE LION OF ST. MARK:

  A Story of Venice in the Fourteenth Century

  by

  G. A. Henty.

  Preface.Chapter 1: Venice.Chapter 2: A Conspiracy.Chapter 3: On The Grand Canal.Chapter 4: Carried Off.Chapter 5: Finding A Clue.Chapter 6: The Hut On San Nicolo.Chapter 7: On Board A Trader.Chapter 8: An Attack By Pirates.Chapter 9: The Capture Of The Lido.Chapter 10: Recaptured.Chapter 11: The Battle Of Antium.Chapter 12: In Mocenigo's Power.Chapter 13: The Pirates' Raid.Chapter 14: The End Of The Persecutor.Chapter 15: The Battle Of Pola.Chapter 16: The Recapture Of The Pluto.Chapter 17: An Ungrateful Republic.Chapter 18: The Release Of Pisani.Chapter 19: The Siege Of Chioggia.Chapter 20: The Triumph Of Venice.

  Preface.

  Of all the chapters of history, there are few more interesting orwonderful than that which tells the story of the rise and progress ofVenice. Built upon a few sandy islands in a shallow lagoon, andoriginally founded by fugitives from the mainland, Venice became one ofthe greatest and most respected powers of Europe. She was mistress ofthe sea; conquered and ruled over a considerable territory bordering onthe Adriatic; checked the rising power of the Turks; conqueredConstantinople; successfully defied all the attacks of her jealousrivals to shake her power; and carried on a trade relatively as greatas that of England in the present day. I have laid my story in the timenot of the triumphs of Venice, but of her hardest struggle forexistence--when she defended herself successfully against the coalitionof Hungary, Padua, and Genoa--for never at any time were the virtues ofVenice, her steadfastness, her patriotism, and her willingness to makeall sacrifice for her independence, more brilliantly shown. Thehistorical portion of the story is drawn from Hazlitt's History of theRepublic of Venice, and with it I have woven the adventures of anEnglish boy, endowed with a full share of that energy and pluck which,more than any other qualities, have made the British empire thegreatest the world has ever seen.

  G. A. Henty.

  Chapter 1: Venice.

  "I suppose you never have such nights as these in that misty island ofyours, Francisco?"

  "Yes, we have," the other said stoutly. "I have seen just as brightnights on the Thames. I have stood down by Paul's Stairs and watchedthe reflection of the moon on the water, and the lights of the houseson the bridge, and the passing boats, just as we are doing now.

  "But," he added honestly, "I must confess that we do not have suchstill, bright nights very often, while with you they are the rule,though sometimes even here a mist rises up and dims the water, just asit does with us."

  "But I have heard you say that the stars are not so bright as we havethem here."

  "No, I do not think they are, Matteo. I do not remember now, but I doknow, when I first came here, I was struck with the brightness of thestars, so I suppose there must have been a difference."

  "But you like this better than England? You are glad that your fathercame out here?"

  Francis Hammond did not answer at once.

  "I am glad he came out," he said after a pause, "because I have seenmany things I should never have seen if I had stayed at home, and Ihave learned to speak your tongue. But I do not know that I like itbetter than home. Things are different, you see. There was more fun athome. My father had two or three apprentices, whom I used to play withwhen the shop was closed, and there were often what you would calltumults, but which were not serious. Sometimes there would be a fightbetween the apprentices of one ward and another. A shout would beraised of 'Clubs!' and all the 'prentices would catch up their sticksand pour out of the shops, and then there would be a fight till thecity guard turned out and separated them. Then there used to be theshooting at the butts, and the shows, and the Mayday revels, and allsorts of things. The people were more merry than you are here, and muchmore free. You see, the barons, who are the same to us that your greatfamilies are to you, had no influence in the city. You are a nation oftraders, and so are we; but in London the traders have the power, andare absolute masters inside their own walls, caring nothing for thebarons, and not much for the king. If anyone did wrong he got an openand fair trial. There was no fear of secret accusations. Everyonethought and said as he pleased. There was no Lion's Mouth, and noCouncil of Ten."

  "Hush! hush! Francisco," the other said, grasping his arm. "Do not saya word against the council. There is no saying who may be listening."

  And he looked nervously round to see if anyone was within earshot.

  "There it is, you see," his companion said. "So long as we have a safeconscience, in London we are frightened at nothing, whereas here no onecan say with certainty that he may not, before tomorrow morning, belying in the dungeons of St. Mark, without the slightest idea in theworld as to what his crime has been."

  "There, there, Francisco," Matteo said uneasily. "Do talk about otherthings. Your notions may do very well in England, but are not safe todiscuss here. Of course there are plenty here who would gladly see achange in some matters, but one cannot have everything; and, after all,when one has so much to be proud of, one need not grumble becauseeverything is not just as one would like."

  "Yes, you have much to be proud of," Francis Hammond agreed. "It ismarvellous that the people of these scattered islets should be mastersof the sea, that their alliance should be coveted by every power inEurope, that they should be the greatest trading community in theworld. If I were not English I should like to be Venetian."

  The speakers were standing at the edge of the water in front of thePalace of St. Mark. In the piazza behind them a throng of people werewalking to and fro, gossiping over the latest news from Constantinople,the last rumour as to the doings of the hated rival of Venice, Genoa,or the purport of the letter which had, as everyone knew, been broughtby the Bishop of Treviso from the pope to the seignory.

  The moon was shining brightly overhead, and glittering in the waters ofthe lagoon, which were broken into innumerable little wavelets by thecontinual crossing and recrossing of the gondolas dotting its surface.There was a constant arrival and departure of boats from the steps,fifty yards to the right of the spot where the speakers were standing;but where they had stationed themselves, about halfway between thelanding steps and the canal running down by the side of the ducalpalace, there were but few people about.

  Francis Hammond was a lad between fifteen and sixteen years old. Hisfather was a merchant of London. He was a man of great enterprise andenergy, and had four years before determined to leave his juniorpartner in charge of the business in London, and to come out himselffor a time to Venice, so as to buy the Eastern stuffs in which he dealtat the headquarters of the trade, instead of paying such prices as theagents of the Venetian traders might demand in London.

  He had succeeded beyond his expectations. In Venice there wereconstantly bargains to be purchased from ships returning laden with thespoils of some captured Genoese merchantman, or taken in the sack ofsome Eastern seaport. The prices, too, asked by the traders with thetowns of Syria or the Black Sea, were but a fraction of those chargedwhen these goods arrived in London. It was true that occasionally someof his cargoes were lost on the homeward voyage, captured either by theGenoese or the Moorish pirates; but even allowing for this, the profitsof the trade were excellent.

  The English merchant occupied a good position in Venice. The promptnessof his payments, and the integrity of his dealings, made him generallyrespected; and the fact that he was engaged in trade was no drawback tohis social position, in a city in which, of all others, trade wasconsidered honourable, and where members of even the most aristocraticf
amilies were, with scarcely an exception, engaged in commerce. Therewere many foreign merchants settled in Venice, for from the first therepublic had encouraged strangers to take up their residence there, andhad granted them several privileges and advantages.

  Between Venice and England there had always been good feeling. Althoughjealous of foreigners, England had granted the Venetians liberty totrade in London, Southampton, and some other towns as far back as theyear 1304; and their relations had always been cordial, as there wereno grounds for jealousy or rivalry between the two peoples; whereas theinterference of France, Germany, Austria, and Hungary in the affairs ofItaly, had frequently caused uneasiness to Venice, and had on severaloccasions embroiled her with one or other of the three last namedpowers. France had as yet taken a very minor part in the continual warswhich were waged between the rival cities of Italy, and during theCrusades there had been a close alliance between her and Venice, thetroops of the two nations fighting together at the siege ofConstantinople, and causing the temporary overthrow of the Greek Empireof the East.

  The rise of Venice had been rapid, and she owed her advancement to acombination of circumstances. In the first place, her insular positionrendered her almost impervious to attack, and she had therefore nooccasion to keep on foot any army, and was able to throw all herstrength on to the sea, where Genoa was her only formidable rival. Inthe second place, her mercantile spirit, and her extensive trade withthe East, brought in a steady influx of wealth, and her gold enabledher to purchase allies, to maintain lengthy struggles withoutfaltering, and to emerge unscathed from wars which exhausted theresources, and crippled the powers, of her rivals.

  The third source of her success lay in the spirit of her population.Like Rome in her early days, she was never cast down by reverses.Misfortune only nerved her to further exertions, and after each defeatshe rose stronger than before. But the cause which, more than all,contributed to give to Venice her ascendancy among the cities of Italy,was her form of government. Democratic at first, as among allcommunities, it had gradually assumed the character of a closeoligarchy, and although nominally ruled by a council containing a largenumber of members, her destinies were actually in the hands of theDoge, elected for life, and the Council of Ten, chosen from the greatbody of the council. Thus she had from the first been free from thosefactions which were the bane of Genoa and Florence. Some of the greatfamilies had from time to time come more prominently to the front thanothers, but none had attained predominant political power, and beyond afew street tumults of slight importance, Venice had not suffered fromthe popular tumults and uprisings which played so prominent a part inthe history of her rivals.

  Thus, undisturbed by discord at home, Venice had been able to give allher attention and all her care to her interests abroad, and heraffairs, conducted as they were by her wisest citizens, with a singleeye to the benefit of the state, had been distinguished by a raresagacity. Her object had been single and uniform, to protect her owninterests, and to prevent any one city on the mainland attaining such apreponderance as would render her a dangerous neighbour. Hence she wasalways ready to ally herself with the weaker against the stronger, andto aid with money and men any state struggling against an ambitiousneighbour. Acting on this principle she by turns assisted Padua againstVerona, and Verona against Padua, or either of them when threatened bythe growing power of Milan, and at the end of a war she generally cameout with an increased territory, and added importance.

  It is probable that no community was ever governed, for hundreds ofyears, with such uniform wisdom and sagacity as was Venice; but theadvantage was not without drawbacks. The vigilance of the Council ofTen in repressing plots, not unfrequently set on foot by the enemies ofthe republic, resulted in the adoption of a hateful system ofespionage. The city was pervaded with spies, and even secretdenunciations were attended to, and the slightest expression ofdiscontent against the ruling authorities was severely punished. On theother hand, comparatively slight attention was paid to private crime.Assassinations were of frequent occurrence, and unless the victimhappened to be very powerfully connected, no notice was taken when aman was found to be missing from his usual place, and his corpse wasdiscovered floating in the lagoon. Consequently crimes of this kindwere, in the great majority of cases, committed with impunity, and evenwhen traced, the authors, if possessed of powerful protectors, seldomsuffered any greater punishment than temporary banishment.

  After standing for some time on the Piazzetta, the two lads turned and,entering the square of Saint Mark, mingled with the crowd. It was amotley one. Nobles in silks and satins jostled with fishermen of thelagoons. Natives of all the coasts and islands which owned the sway ofVenice, Greeks from Constantinople, Tartar merchants from the Crimea,Tyrians, and inhabitants of the islands of the Aegean, were present inconsiderable numbers; while among the crowd, vendors of fruit andflowers from the mainland, and of fresh water or cooling drinks, soldtheir wares. The English lad's companion--Matteo Giustiniani--belongedto one of the leading families of Venice, and was able to name toFrancis most of the nobles and persons of importance whom they passed.

  "There is Pisani," he said. "Of course you know him. What a jolly,good-tempered looking fellow he is! The sailors would do anything forhim, and they say he will have command of the next fleet that puts tosea. I wish I was going with him. There is sure to be a fierce fightwhen he comes across the Genoese. His father was one of our greatestadmirals.

  "That noble just behind him is Fiofio Dandolo. What a grand family theyhave been, what a number of great men they have given to the republic!I should like to have seen the grand old Doge who stormed the walls ofConstantinople, and divided the Eastern empire among the crusadingbarons. He was a hero indeed.

  "No; I don't know who that young noble in the green velvet cap and plumcoloured dress is. O yes, I do, though; it is Ruggiero Mocenigo; he hasbeen away for the last two years at Constantinople; he was banished forhaving killed Polo Morosini--he declared it was in fair fight, but noone believed him. They had quarrelled a few days before over somequestion of the precedence of their families, and Morosini was founddead at the top of the steps close to the church of Saint Paolo. Somepeople heard a cry and ran up just as Mocenigo leapt into his gondola,but as it rowed off their shouts called the attention of one of thecity guard boats which happened to be passing, and it was stopped. Ashis sword was still wet with blood, he could not deny that he was theauthor of the deed, but, as I said, he declared it was in fair fight.The Morosinis asserted that Polo's sword was undrawn, but the Mocenigofamily brought forward a man, who swore that he was one of the first toarrive, and pick up the sword and place it in its scabbard to preventits being lost. No doubt he lied; but as Mocenigo's influence in thecouncil was greater than that of the Morosini, the story was accepted.However, the public feeling was so strong that they could not do lessthan sentence Ruggiero to two years' banishment. I suppose that hasjust expired, and he has returned from Constantinople. He had a badreputation before this affair took place, but as his connections are sopowerful, I suppose he will be received as if nothing had happened.There are plenty of others as bad as he is."

  "It's a scandalous thing," Francis Hammond said indignantly, "that,just because they have got powerful connections, men should be allowedto do, almost with impunity, things for which an ordinary man would behung. There ought to be one law for the rich as well as the poor."

  "So there is as far as the state is concerned," his companion replied."A noble who plots against the state is as certain of a place in thelowest dungeons as a fisherman who has done the same; but in otherrespects there is naturally some difference."

  "Why naturally?" Francis retorted. "You belong to a powerful family,Giustiniani, and my father is only a trader, but I don't see thatnaturally you have any more right to get me stabbed in the back, than Ihave to get you put out of the way."

  "Naturally perhaps not," Matteo laughed; "but you see it has become asecond nature to us here in Venice. But seriously I admit that thepresent state
of things has grown to be a scandal, and that the doingsof some of our class ought to be put down with a strong hand."

  "Well, I shall say goodnight now," the English boy said. "My fatherdoesn't like my being out after ten. He keeps up his English habits ofshutting up early, and has not learned to turn night into day as you dohere in Venice."

  "The bell has just tolled the hour, Francis," his father said as heentered.

  "I didn't think it was quite so late, father; the Piazza is crowded. Ireally do not think there is one person in Venice who goes to bed soearly as we do. It is so pleasant in the moonlight after the heat ofthe day."

  "That is true enough, Francis, but men are meant to sleep at night andto work in the day. I think our fathers carried this too far when theyrang the curfew at eight; but ten is quite late enough for any honestman to be about in the streets, and the hours of the early morning arejust as pleasant and far more healthy than those of the evening,especially in a place like this where the mists rise from the water, tosay nothing of the chance of meeting a band of wild gallants on theirway homewards heated with wine, or of getting a stab in the back fromsome midnight assassin. However, I do not blame Venice for enjoyingherself while she can. She will have more serious matters to attend tosoon."

  "But she is at peace with every one at present, father. I thought whenshe signed the treaty with Austria after a year's fighting, she wasgoing to have rest for a time."

  "That was only the beginning of the trouble, Francis, and the councilknew it well; that was why they made such terms with Austria as theydid. They knew that Austria was only acting in accord with Hungary, andPadua, and Genoa. The others were not ready to begin, so Austria cameon her own account to get what booty and plunder she could. But thestorm is gathering, and will burst before long. But do not let us standtalking here any longer. It is high time for you to be in bed."

  But though Francis retired to his room, it was more than an hour beforehe got into bed. His window looked down upon one of the canals runninginto the Grand Canal. Gondolas lighted by lanterns, or by torches heldby servitors, passed constantly backwards and forwards beneath hiswindow, and by leaning out he could see the passing lights of those onthe Grand Canal. Snatches of song and laughter came up to him, andsometimes the note of a musical instrument. The air was soft and balmy,and he felt no inclination for sleep.

  Francis thought over what his father had said of the probability ofwar, as he sat at his window, and wished that he were a couple of yearsolder and could take part in the struggle. The Venetian fleet hadperformed such marvels of valour, that, in the days when militaryservice was almost the sole avenue to distinction and fortune, thedesire to take part in a naval expedition, which promised unusualopportunities of gaining credit and renown, was the most natural thingpossible for a boy of spirit.

  Francis was a well built lad of nearly sixteen. He had, until he leftLondon when about twelve years old, taken his full share in the roughsports which formed so good a training for the youths of England, andin which the citizens of London were in no way behind the rest of thekingdom. He had practised shooting with a light bow and arrows, incompany with boys of his own age, in the fields outside the city walls;had engaged in many a rough tussle with light clubs and quarterstaffs;and his whole time--except for an hour or two daily which he had, asthe son of a well to do citizen, spent in learning to read andwrite--had been occupied in games and exercises of one kind or other.

  Since his arrival in Venice he had not altogether discontinued hisformer habits. At his earnest solicitation, his father had permittedhim to attend the School of Arms, where the sons of patricians andwell-to-do merchants learned the use of sword and dagger, to hurl thejavelin, and wield the mace and battleaxe; and was, besides, afrequenter of some of the schools where old soldiers gave privatelessons in arms to such as could afford it; and the skill and strengthof the English lad excited no slight envy among the young Venetiannobles. Often, too, he would go out to one of the sandy islets, andthere setting up a mark, practise with the bow. His muscles too, hadgained strength and hardness by rowing. It was his constant habit of anevening, when well away from the crowded canals in the gondola, withGiuseppi, the son and assistant of his father's gondolier, to take anoar, for he had thoroughly mastered the difficult accomplishment ofrowing well in a gondola; but he only did this when far out from thecity, or when the darkness of evening would prevent his figure frombeing recognized by any of his acquaintances, for no Venetian of goodfamily would demean himself by handling an oar. Francis, however,accustomed to row upon the Thames, could see no reason why he shouldnot do the same in a gondola, and in time he and his companion couldsend the boat dancing over the water, at a rate which enabled them toovertake and distance most pair-oared boats.

  After breakfast next morning he went down to the steps, where Beppo andGiuseppi, in their black cloth suits with red sashes round theirwaists, were waiting with the gondola in which Mr. Hammond was goingout to Malamocco, to examine a cargo which had the day before arrivedfrom Azoph. Giuseppi jumped ashore.

  "I have heard of just the gondola to suit you, Messer Francisco, andyou can get her a bargain."

  "What is she like, Giuseppi?"

  "She belongs to a man out at Lido. She was built for the race two yearsago, but her owner fell sick and was unable to start. He has not gotstrong again, and wants to sell his boat, which is far too light forordinary work. They say she is almost like an eggshell, and you and Iwill be able to send her along grandly. She cost four ducats, but hewill sell her for two."

  "That is capital, Giuseppi. This gondola is all well enough for myfather, but she is very heavy. This evening we will row over to Lidoand look at her."

  A few minutes later Mr. Hammond came down. Beppo and his son took offtheir jackets, and in their snow white shirts and black trousers, setoff by the red scarf and a red ribbon round their broad hats, tooktheir places on the bow and stern. Mr. Hammond sat down on the cushionsin the middle of the boat, and with an easy, noiseless motion thegondola glided away from the stairs. Francis, with a little sigh,turned away and strolled off for a couple of hours' work with thepreceptor, with whom he had continued his studies since he came toVenice.

  This work consisted chiefly of learning various languages, for in thosedays there was little else to learn. Latin was almost universallyspoken by educated men in southern Europe, and Greeks, Italians,Spaniards, and Frenchmen were able to converse in this common medium.French Francis understood, for it was the language in use in the courtand among the upper classes in England. Italian he picked up naturallyduring his residence, and spoke it with the facility of a native. Hecould now converse freely in Latin, and had some knowledge of German.At the same school were many lads of good Venetian families, and it washere that he had first made the acquaintance of Matteo Giustiniani, whowas now his most intimate friend.

  Matteo, like all the young nobles of Venice, was anxious to excel inmilitary exercises, but he had none of the ardour for really hard workwhich distinguished his friend. He admired the latter's strength andactivity, but could not bring himself to imitate him, in the exercisesby which that strength was attained, and had often remonstrated withhim upon his fondness for rowing.

  "It is not seemly, Francisco, for a gentleman to be labouring like acommon gondolier. These men are paid for doing it; but what pleasurethere can be in standing up working that oar, till you are drenchedwith perspiration, I cannot understand. I don't mind getting hot in theSchool of Arms, because one cannot learn to use the sword and daggerwithout it, but that's quite another thing from tugging at an oar."

  "But I like it, Matteo; and see how strong it has made my muscles, notof the arm only, but the leg and back. You often say you envy me mystrength, but you might be just as strong if you chose to work as I do.Besides, it is delightful, when you are accustomed to it, to feel thegondola flying away under your stroke."

  "I prefer feeling it fly away under some one else's stroke, Francisco.That is pleasant enough, I grant; but the very thought of wo
rking asyou do throws me into a perspiration. I should like to be as strong asyou are, but to work as a gondolier is too high a price to pay for it."

  That evening, Francis crossed the lagoon in the gondola with Giuseppi,to inspect the boat he had heard of. It was just what he wanted. Inappearance it differed in no way from an ordinary gondola, but it was amere shell. The timbers and planking were extremely light, and theweight of the boat was little more than a third of that of other craft.She had been built like a working gondola, instead of in the form ofthose mostly used for racing, because her owner had intended, after therace was over, to plank her inside and strengthen her for everydaywork. But the race had never come off, and the boat lay just as she hadcome from the hands of her builder, except that she had been paintedblack, like other gondolas, to prevent her planks from opening. Whenher owner had determined to part with her he had given her a fresh coatof paint, and had put her in the water, that her seams might close up.

  "I don't like parting with her," the young fisherman to whom shebelonged said. "I tried her once or twice, and she went like the wind,but I got fever in my bones and I am unlikely to race again, and thetimes are hard, and I must part with her."

  Francis and Giuseppi gave her a trial, and were delighted with thespeed and ease with which she flew through the water. On their returnFrancis at once paid the price asked for her. His father made him ahandsome allowance, in order that he might be able to mix, withoutdiscomfort, with the lads of good family whom he met at his preceptor'sand at the schools of arms. But Francis did not care for strolling inthe Piazza, or sitting for hours sipping liquors. Still less did hecare for dress or finery. Consequently he had always plenty of money toindulge in his own special fancies.

  As soon as the bargain was completed, Giuseppi took his place in theold gondola, while Francis took the oar in his new acquisition, andfound to his satisfaction that with scarcely an effort he could dartahead of his companion and leave him far behind. By nightfall the twogondolas were fastened, side by side, behind the gaily painted postswhich, in almost all Venetian houses, are driven into the canal closeto the steps, and behind which the gondolas belonging to the house liesafe from injury by passing craft.

  "I have bought another gondola, father," Francis said the next morning."She is a very light, fast craft, and I got her cheap."

  "I don't see what you wanted another gondola for, Francis. I do not usemine very much, and you are always welcome to take it when I do notwant it."

  "Yes, father, but you often use it in the evening, and that is just thetime when one wants to go out. You very often only take Beppo with you,when you do not go on business, and I often want a boat that I couldtake with Giuseppi. Besides, your gondola is a very solid one, and Ilike passing people."

  "Young people always want to go fast," Mr. Hammond said. "Why, I can'tmake out. However, Francis, I am not sorry that you have got a boat ofyour own, for it has happened several times lately, that when in theevening I have gone down intending to row round to the Piazzetta, Ihave found the boat gone, and have had to walk. Now I shall be able torely on finding Beppo asleep in the boat at the steps. In future, sinceyou have a boat of your own, I shall not be so particular as to yourbeing in at ten. I do not so much mind your being out on the water,only you must promise me that you will not be in the streets after thathour. There are frequent broils as the evening gets on, not to mentionthe danger of cutthroats in unfrequented lanes; but if you will promiseme that you will never be about the streets after half past nine, Iwill give you leave to stay out on the water till a later hour; butwhen you come in late be careful always to close and bar the door, anddo not make more noise than you can help in coming up to your room."

  Francis was much pleased with this concession, for the obligation toreturn at ten o'clock, just when the temperature was most delightfuland the Grand Canal at its gayest, had been very irksome to him. As tothe prohibition against being in the streets of Venice after half pastnine, he felt that no hardship whatever, as he found no amusement instrolling in the crowded Piazza.