"Receive the flowers, my love," mildly whispered her companion--"the cavalier who offers them simply intends to show the quality of his breeding."
"That will be seen in the end," hastily returned Don Camillo--for it was he. "Signora, adieu; we have met on this water when there was less restraint between us."
He bowed, and, signing to his gondolier, was quickly lost in the crowd of boats. Ere the barks, however, were separated, the mask of the silent fair was slightly moved as if she sought relief from the air; and the Neapolitan was rewarded for his gallantry by a momentary glance at the glowing countenance of Violetta.
"Thy guardian hath a displeased eye," hurriedly observed Donna Florinda.
"I wonder that we should be known!"
"I should more wonder that we were not. I could recall the n.o.ble Neapolitan cavalier amid a million. Thou dost not remember all that I owe to him!"
Donna Florinda did not answer; but in secret she offered up a fervent prayer that the obligation might be blessed to the future happiness of her who had received it. There was a furtive and uneasy glance between her and the Carmelite; but as neither spoke, a long and thoughtful silence succeeded the rencontre.
From this musing the party, in common with all the gay and laughing mult.i.tude by which they were surrounded, were reminded of the business on which they were a.s.sembled by the signal-gun, the agitation on the great ca.n.a.l nearest the scene of strife, and a clear blast of the trumpets. But in order that the narrative may proceed regularly, it is fit that we should return a little in the order of time.
CHAPTER IX.
"Here art thou in appointment fresh and fair, Antic.i.p.ating time with starting courage."
SHAKSPEARE.
It has been seen that the gondolas, which were to contend in the race, had been towed towards the place of starting, in order that the men might enter on the struggle with undiminished vigor. In this precaution, even the humble and half-clad fisherman had not been neglected, but his boat, like the others, was attached to the larger barges to which this duty had been a.s.signed. Still, as he pa.s.sed along the ca.n.a.l, before the crowded balconies and groaning vessels which lined its sides, there arose that scornful and deriding laugh, which seems ever to grow more strong and bold, as misfortune weighs most heavily on its subject.
The old man was not unconscious of the remarks of which he was the subject; and, as it is rare indeed that our sensibilities do not survive our better fortunes, even he was so far conscious of a fall as not to be callous to contempt thus openly expressed. He looked wistfully on every side of him, and seemed to seek in every eye he encountered, some portion of the sympathy which his meek and humble feelings still craved.
But even the men of his caste and profession threw jibes upon his ear; and though, of all the compet.i.tors, perhaps the one whose motive most hallowed his ambition, he was held to be the only proper subject of mirth. For the solution of this revolting trait of human character we are not to look to Venice and her inst.i.tutions, since it is known that none are so arrogant, on occasions, as the ridden, and that the abject and insolent spirits are usually tenants of the same bosom.
The movement of the boats brought those of the masked waterman, and the subjects of those taunts, side by side.
"Thou art not the favorite in this strife," observed the former, when a fresh burst of jibes was showered on the head of his unresisting a.s.sociate. "Thou hast not been sufficiently heedful of thy attire, for this is a town of luxury, and he who would meet applause must appear on the ca.n.a.ls in the guise of one less borne upon by fortune."
"I know them! I know them!" returned the fisherman; "they are led away by their pride, and they think ill of one who cannot share in their vanities. But, friend unknown, I have brought with me a face, which, old though it be, and wrinkled, and worn by the weather like the stones of the sea-sh.o.r.e, is uncovered to the eye, and without shame."
"There may be reasons which thou knowest not, why I wear a mask. But if my face be hid the limbs are bare, and thou seest there is no lack of sinews to make good that which I have undertaken. Thou should"st have thought better of the matter ere thou puttest thyself in the way of so much mortification. Defeat will not cause the people to treat thee more tenderly."
"If my sinews are old and stiffened, Signor Mask, they are long used to toil. As to shame, if it is a shame to be below the rest of mankind in fortune, it will not now come for the first time. A heavy sorrow hath befallen me, and this race may lighten the burden of grief. I shall not pretend that I hear this laughter, and all these scornful speeches, as one listens to the evening breeze on the Lagunes--for a man is still a man, though he lives with the humblest, and eats of the coa.r.s.est. But let it pa.s.s, Sant" Antonio will give me heart to bear it."
"Thou hast a stout mind, fisherman, and I would gladly pray my patron to grant thee a stronger arm, but that I have much need of this victory myself. Wilt thou be content with the second prize, if, by any manner of skill, I might aid thy efforts? for, I suppose, the metal of the third is as little to thy taste as it is to my own."
"Nay, I count not on gold or silver."
"Can the honor of such a struggle awaken the pride of one like thee?"
The old man looked earnestly at his companion, but he shook his head without answer. Fresh merriment, at his expense, caused him to bend his face towards the scoffers, and he perceived they were just then pa.s.sing a numerous group of his fellows of the Lagunes, who seemed to feel that his unjustifiable ambition reflected, in some degree, on the honor of their whole body.
"How now, old Antonio!" shouted the boldest of the band, "is it not enough that thou hast won the honors of the net, but thou would"st have a golden oar at thy neck?"
"We shall yet see him of the senate!" cried a second.
"He standeth in need of the horned bonnet for his naked head," continued a third. "We shall see the brave Admiral Antonio sailing in the Bucentaur, with the n.o.bles of the land!"
Their sallies were succeeded by coa.r.s.e laughter. Even the fair in the balconies were not uninfluenced by these constant jibes, and the apparent discrepancy between the condition and the means of so unusual a pretender to the honors of the regatta. The purpose of the old man wavered, but he seemed goaded by some inward incentive that still enabled him to maintain his ground. His companion closely watched the varying expression of a countenance that was far too little trained in deception to conceal the feelings within; and, as they approached the place of starting, he again spoke.
"Thou mayest yet withdraw," he said; "why should one of thy years make the little time he has to stay bitter, by bearing the ridicule of his a.s.sociates for the rest of his life?"
"St. Anthony did a greater wonder when he caused the fishes to come up on the waters to hear his preaching, and I will not show a cowardly heart at a moment when there is most need of resolution."
The masked waterman crossed himself devoutly; and, relinquishing all further design to persuade the other to abandon the fruitless contest, he gave all his thoughts to his own interest in the coming struggle.
The narrowness of most of the ca.n.a.ls of Venice, with the innumerable angles and the constant pa.s.sing, have given rise to a fashion of construction and of rowing that are so peculiar to that city and its immediate dependencies as to require some explanation. The reader has doubtless already understood that a gondola is a long, narrow, and light boat, adapted to the uses of the place, and distinct from the wherries of all other towns. The distance between the dwellings on most of the ca.n.a.ls is so small, that the width of the latter does not admit of the use of oars on both sides, at the same time. The necessity of constantly turning aside to give room for others, and the frequency of the bridges and the corners, have suggested the expediency of placing the face of the waterman in the direction in which the boat is steering, and, of course, of keeping him on his feet. As every gondola, when fully equipped, has its pavilion in the centre, the height of the latter renders it necessary to place him who steers on such an elevation as will enable him to overlook it. From these several causes a one-oared boat in Venice is propelled by a gondolier, who stands on a little angular deck in its stern, formed like the low roof of a house, and the stroke of the oar is given by a push, instead of a pull, as is common elsewhere. This habit of rowing erect, however, which is usually done by a forward, instead of a backward movement of the body, is not unfrequent in all the ports of the Mediterranean, though in no other is there a boat which resembles the gondola in all its properties or uses.
The upright position of the gondolier requires that the pivot on which the oar rests should have a corresponding elevation; and there is, consequently, a species of b.u.mkin raised from the side of the boat to the desired height, and which, being formed of a crooked and very irregular knee of wood, has two or three row-locks, one above the other, to suit the stature of different individuals, or to give a broader or a narrower sweep of the blade as the movement shall require. As there is frequent occasion to cast the oar from one of these row-locks to the other, and not unfrequently to change its side, it rests in a very open bed; and the instrument is kept in its place by great dexterity alone, and by a perfect knowledge of the means of accommodating the force and the rapidity of the effort to the forward movement of the boat and the resistance of the water. All these difficulties united render skill in a gondolier one of the most delicate branches of a waterman"s art, as it is clear that muscular strength alone, though of great aid, can avail but little in such a practice.
The great ca.n.a.l of Venice, following its windings, being more than a league in length, the distance in the present race was reduced nearly half, by causing the boats to start from the Rialto. At this point, then, the gondolas were all a.s.sembled, attended by those who were to place them. As the whole of the population which before had been extended along the entire course of the water, was now crowded between the bridge and the Bucentaur, the long and graceful avenue resembled a vista of human heads. It was an imposing sight to look along that bright and living lane, and the hearts of each compet.i.tor beat high, as hope, or pride, or apprehension, became the feeling of the moment.
"Gino of Calabria," cried the marshal who placed the gondolas, "thy station is on the right. Take it, and St. Januarius speed thee!"
The servitor of Don Camillo a.s.sumed his oar, and the boat glided gracefully into its berth.
"Thou comest next, Enrico of Fusina. Call stoutly on thy Paduan patron, and husband thy strength; for none of the main have ever yet borne away a prize in Venice."
He then summoned, in succession, those whose names have not been mentioned, and placed them side by side, in the centre of the ca.n.a.l.
"Here is place for thee, Signore," continued the officer, inclining his head to the unknown gondolier; for he had imbibed the general impression that the face of some young patrician was concealed beneath the mask, to humor the fancy of some capricious fair.--"Chance hath given thee the extreme left."
"Thou hast forgotten to call the fisherman," observed the masker, as he drove his own gondola into its station.
"Does the h.o.a.ry fool persist in exposing his vanity and his rags to the best of Venice?"
"I can take place in the rear," meekly observed Antonio. "There may be those in the line it doth not become one like me to crowd, and a few strokes of the oar, more or less, can differ but little in so long; a strife."
"Thou hadst better push modesty to discretion, and remain."
"If it be your pleasure, Signore, I would rather see what St. Anthony may do for an old fisherman, who has prayed to him, night and morning, these sixty years?"
"It is thy right; and, as thou seemest content with it, Keep the place thou hast in the rear. It is only occupying it a little earlier than thou would"st otherwise. Now, recall the rules of the games, hardy gondoliers, and make your last appeal to your patrons. There is to be no crossing, or other foul expedients; naught except ready oars, and nimble wrists. He who varies needlessly from his line until he leadeth, shall be recalled by name; and whoever is guilty of any act to spoil the sports, or otherwise to offend the patricians, shall be both checked and punished. Be ready for the signal."
The a.s.sistant, who was in a strongly manned boat, fell back a little, while runners, similarly equipped, went ahead to order the curious from the water. These preparations were scarcely made, when a signal floated on the nearest dome. It was repeated on the campanile, and a gun was fired at the a.r.s.enal. A deep but suppressed murmur arose in the throng, which was as quickly succeeded by suspense.
Each gondolier had suffered the bows of his boat to incline slightly towards the left sh.o.r.e of the ca.n.a.l, as the jockey is seen, at the starting-post, to turn his courser aside, in order to repress its ardor, or divert its attention. But the first long and broad sweep of the oar brought them all in a line again, and away they glided in a body.
For the first few minutes there was no difference in speed, nor any sign by which the instructed might detect the probable evidence of defeat or success. The whole ten, which formed the front line, skimmed the water with an equal velocity, beak to beak, as if some secret attraction held each in its place, while the humble, though equally light bark of the fisherman steadily kept its position in the rear.
The boats were soon held in command. The oars got their justest poise and widest sweep, and the wrists of the men accustomed to their play.
The line began to waver, It undulated, the glittering prow of one protruding beyond the others; and then it changed its form. Enrico of Fusina shot ahead, and, privileged by success, he insensibly sheered more into the centre of the ca.n.a.l, avoiding by the change the eddies, and the other obstructions of the sh.o.r.e. This manoeuvre which, in the language of the course, would have been called "taking the track," had the additional advantage of throwing upon those who followed some trifling impediment from the back-water. The st.u.r.dy and practised Bartolomeo of the Lido, as his companions usually called him, came next, occupying the s.p.a.ce on his leader"s quarter, where he suffered least from the reaction caused by the stroke of his oar. The gondolier of Don Camillo, also, soon shot out of the crowd, and was seen plying his arms vigorously still farther to the right, and a little in the rear of Bartolomeo. Then came in the centre of the ca.n.a.l, and near as might be in the rear of the triumphant waterman of the main, a dense body, with little order and varying positions, compelling each other to give way, and otherwise increasing the difficulties of their struggle. More to the left, and so near to the palaces as barely to allow room for the sweep of his oar, was the masked compet.i.tor, whose progress seemed r.e.t.a.r.ded by some unseen cause, for he gradually fell behind all the others, until several boats" lengths of open water lay between him and even the group of his nameless opponents. Still he plied his arms steadily, and with sufficient skill. As the interest of mystery had been excited in his favor, a rumor pa.s.sed up the ca.n.a.l, that the young cavalier had been little favored by fortune in the choice of a boat. Others, who reflected more deeply on causes, whispered of the folly of one of his habits taking the risk of mortification by a compet.i.tion with men whose daily labor had hardened their sinews, and whose practice enabled them to judge closely of every chance of the race. But when the eyes of the mult.i.tude turned from the cl.u.s.ter of pa.s.sing boats to the solitary barge of the fisherman, who came singly on in the rear, admiration was again turned to derision.
Antonio had cast aside the cap he wore of wont, and the few straggling hairs that were left streamed about his hollow temples, leaving the whole of his swarthy features exposed to view. More than once, as the gondola came on, his eyes turned aside reproachfully, as if he keenly felt the stings of so many unlicensed tongues applied to feelings which, though blunted by his habits and condition, were far from extinguished.
Laugh arose above laugh, however, and taunt succeeded taunt more bitterly, as the boats came among the gorgeous palaces which lined the ca.n.a.l nearer to the goal. It was not that the owners of these lordly piles indulged in the unfeeling triumph, but their dependants, constantly subject themselves to the degrading influence of a superior presence, let loose the long-pent torrents of their arrogance on the head of the first unresisting subject which offered.