"
She did not seek to detain him.
"Promise me that thou wilt be reasonable," he said, looking back, as he
parted the draperies of the doorway; "thou wilt not grieve."
"A promise for a promise, Marco; thou hast given me none, and may the
Madonna have mercy upon us!"
After a long, lingering look at the drooping figure of his wife he
dropped the curtain and descended to his gondola, sombre in spirit
because of the work that awaited him in the Senate Chamber; his
footsteps lagged wearily upon the stone floor of the long, dark passage,
and the brilliant outer sunshine flooded him with a sense of desperately
needed relief.
When Marina moved it was to throw herself before the altar, resting her
head upon her clasped hands, in an agony of supplication.
* * * * *
In the midst of an excited debate, immediately preceding the final vote,
the door of the Senate Chamber was suddenly thrown open by the keeper,
who announced in an awestruck tone:
"A citizen claims the right of the humblest Venetian to bring before
Messer the Doge a message of vital import in the question under
discussion.
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