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.
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