"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.
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