I am obliged for the
following
excellent translation of the old
Chronicle to Mr.
Chronicle to Mr.
Byron
M.
]
[fo] _Have I aught else to undergo ere Death? _--[Alternative reading.
MS. M. ]
[466] {450}[The story as related by Sanudo is of doubtful authenticity,
_vide ante_, p. 332, note 1. ]
[fp] {451}_Until he rolled beneath_----. --[Alternative reading. MS. M. ]
[fq] _A madness of the heart shall rise within_. --[Alternative reading.
MS. M. ]
[467] [Compare--
"I pull in resolution. "
_Macbeth_, act v. sc. 5, line 42. ]
[468] {452}[See the translation of Sanudo's narrative in Appendix, p.
463. ]
[fr]
----_whom I know_
_To be as worthless as the dust they trample_. --[MS. M. erased. ]
[fs] {453}_With unimpaired but not outrageous grief_. --[Alternative
reading, MS. M. ]
[469] {454}[An anachronism, _vide ante_, p. 336. ]
[ft] _I am glad to be so_----. --[Alternative reading. MS. M. ]
[470] This was the actual reply of Bailli, maire of Paris, to a
Frenchman who made him the same reproach on his way to execution, in the
earliest part of their revolution. I find in reading over (since the
completion of this tragedy), for the first time these six years, "Venice
Preserved," a similar reply on a different occasion by Renault, and
other coincidences arising from the subject. I need hardly remind the
gentlest reader, that such coincidences must be accidental, from the
very facility of their detection by reference to so popular a play on
the stage and in the closet as Otway's chef-d'oeuvre.
["Still crueller was the fate of poor Bailly [Jean Sylvani, born
September 17, 1736], First National President, First Mayor of Paris. . . .
It is the 10th of November, 1793, a cold bitter drizzling rain, as poor
Bailly is led through the streets. . . . Silent, unpitied, sits the
innocent old man. . . . The Guillotine is taken down . . . is carried to the
riverside; is there set up again, with slow numbness; pulse after pulse
still counting itself out in the old man's weary heart. For hours long;
amid curses and bitter frost-rain! 'Bailly, thou tremblest,' said one.
'_Mon ami_, it is for cold,' said Bailly, '_C'est de froid_. ' Crueller
end had no mortal. "--Carlyle's _French Revolution_, 1839, iii. 264. ]
[fu] {455}_Who makest and destroyest suns! _--[MS. M. Vide letter of
February 2, 1821. ]
[471] {456}[In his reply to the envoys of the Venetian Senate (April,
1797), Buonaparte threatened to "prove an Attila to Venice. If you
cannot," he added, "disarm your population, I will do it in your
stead--your government is antiquated--it must crumble to
pieces. "--Scott's _Life of Napoleon Bonaparte_, 1828, p. 230. Compare,
too, _Childe Harold_, Canto IV. stanza xc. lines 1, 2--
"The fool of false dominion--and a kind
Of bastard Caesar," etc. ]
[472] Should the dramatic picture seem harsh, let the reader look to the
historical of the period prophesied, or rather of the few years
preceding that period. Voltaire calculated their "nostre bene merite
Meretrici" at 12,000 of regulars, without including volunteers and local
militia, on what authority I know not; but it is, perhaps, the only part
of the population not decreased. Venice once contained two hundred
thousand inhabitants: there are now about ninety thousand; and THESE! !
few individuals can conceive, and none could describe, the actual state
into which the more than infernal tyranny of Austria has plunged this
unhappy city. From the present decay and degeneracy of Venice under the
Barbarians, there are some honourable individual exceptions. There is
Pasqualigo, the last, and, alas! _posthumous_ son of the marriage of the
Doges with the Adriatic, who fought his frigate with far greater
gallantry than any of his French coadjutors in the memorable action off
Lissa. I came home in the squadron with the prizes in 1811, and
recollect to have heard Sir William Hoste, and the other officers
engaged in that glorious conflict, speak in the highest terms of
Pasqualigo's behaviour. There is the Abbate Morelli. There is Alvise
Querini, who, after a long and honourable diplomatic career, finds some
consolation for the wrongs of his country, in the pursuits of literature
with his nephew, Vittor Benzon, the son of the celebrated beauty, the
heroine of "La Biondina in Gondoleta. " There are the patrician poet
Morosini, and the poet Lamberti, the author of the "Biondina," etc. , and
many other estimable productions; and, not least in an Englishman's
estimation, Madame Michelli, the translator of Shakspeare. There are the
young Dandolo and the improvvisatore Carrer, and Giuseppe Albrizzi, the
accomplished son of an accomplished mother. There is Aglietti, and were
there nothing else, there is the immortality of Canova. Cicognara,
Mustoxithi, Bucati, etc. , etc. , I do not reckon, because the one is a
Greek, and the others were born at least a hundred miles off, which,
throughout Italy, constitutes, if not a _foreigner_, at least a
_stranger_ (_forestiere_).
[This note is not in the MS. The first eight lines were included among
the notes, and the remainder formed part of the Appendix in all editions
1821-1831.
Nicolo Pasqualigo (1770-1821) received the command of a ship in the
Austrian Navy in 1800, and in 1805 was appointed Director of the Arsenal
of Venice. He took part in both the Lissa expeditions, and was made
prisoner after a prolonged resistance, March 13, 1811. (See _Personaggi
illustri delta Veneta patrizia gente_, by E. A. Cicogna, 1822, p. 33.
See, too, for Lissa, _Poetical Works_, 1900, iii. 25, note 3. )
The Abate Jacopo Morelli (1745-1819), known as _Principe dei
Bibliotecarj_, became custodian of the Marciana Library in 1778, and
devoted the whole of his long and laborious life to the service of
literature. (For a list of his works, etc. , see Tipaldo's _Biografia,
etc. _, 1835, ii. 481. See, too, _Elogio di Jacopo Morelli_, by A.
Zendrini, Milano, 1822. )
Alvisi Querini, brother to Marina Querini Benzon, published in 1759 a
poem entitled _L'Ammiraglio dell' Indie_. He wrote under a pseudonym,
Ormildo Emeressio.
Vittore Benzon (d. 1822), whose mother, Marina, was celebrated by Anton
Maria Lamberti (1757-1832) as _La biondina in gondoleta (Poesie_, 1817,
i. 20), was the author of _Nella_, a love-poem, abounding in political
allusions. (See Tipaldo, v. 122, and _Isabella Teotochi Albrizzi, I Suoi
amici_, by V. Malamani, 1882, pp. 119, 136. )
II Conte Domenico Morosini (see _Letters_, Venezia, 1829) was the author
of two tragedies, _Medea in Corinto_ and _Giulio Sabino_, published in
1806.
Giustina Renier Michiel (1755-1832) was niece to the last Doge, Lodovico
Manin. Her _salon_ was the centre of a brilliant circle of friends,
including such names as Pindemonte, Foscolo, and Cesarotti. Her
translation of _Othello_, _Macbeth_, and _Coriolanus_ formed part of the
_Opere Drammatiche di Shakspeare_, published in Venice in 1797. Her
work, _Origine delle Feste Veneziane_, was published at Milan in 1829.
(See _G. R. Michiel, Archivio Veneto_, tom. xxxviii. 1889. )
Luigi Carrer (1801-1856) began life as a lawyer, but afterwards devoted
himself to poetry and literature. He was secretary of the Venetian
Institute in 1842, and, later, Director of the Carrer Museum. (See Gio.
Crespan, _Della vita e delle lettere di Luigi Carrer_, 1869. )
For Giuseppino Albrizzi (1800-1860), and for Isabella Teotochi Albrizzi,
Countess Albrizzi (? 1761-1836), see _Letters_, 1900, iv. 14, note 1;
and for Francesco Aglietti (1757-1836), Leopoldo Cicognara (1767-1835),
and Andreas Moustoxudes (1787-1860), see _Poetical Works_, 1899, ii.
324, note 1.
The "younger Dandolo" may be Conte Girolamo Antonio Dandolo, author of
_Sui Quattro Cavalli, etc. _, published in 1817, and of _La Caduta della
Repubblica di Venezia_, 1855. By "Bucati" may possibly be meant the
satirist Pietro Buratti (1772-1832). (See _Poesie Veneziane_, by R.
Barbiera, 1886, p. 209. )]
[fv] {457}
/ _lazars_ \
_Beggars for nobles_, < _lepers_ > _for a people_! --[MS. M. ]
\ _wretches_ /
[473] The chief palaces on the Brenta now belong to the Jews; who in the
earlier times of the republic were only allowed to inhabit Mestri, and
not to enter the city of Venice. The whole commerce is in the hands of
the Jews and Greeks, and the Huns form the garrison.
[474] {458}[Napoleon was crowned King of Italy, May 3, 1805. Venice was
ceded by Austria, December 26, 1805, and shortly after, Eugene
Beauharnais was appointed Viceroy of Italy, with the title of Prince of
Venice. It is certain that the "Vice-gerent" stands for Beauharnais, but
it is less evident why Byron, doubtless quoting from _Hamlet_, calls
Napoleon the "Vice of Kings. " Did he mean a "player-king," one who not
being a king acted the part, as the "vice" in the old moralities; or did
he misunderstand Shakespeare, and seek to depreciate Beauharnais as the
Viceroy of a Viceroy, that is Joseph Bonaparte? ]
[fw] _Vice without luxury_----. --[Alternative reading, MS. M. ]
[475] [Compare--
"When Vice walks forth with her unsoftened terrors. "
_Ode on Venice_, line 34, _vide ante_, p. 194. ]
[476] See Appendix, Note C.
[477] {459}If the Doge's prophecy seem remarkable, look to the
following, made by Alamanni two hundred and seventy years ago;--"There
is one very singular prophecy concerning Venice: 'If thou dost not
change,' it says to that proud republic, 'thy liberty, which is already
on the wing, will not reckon a century more than the thousandth year. '
If we carry back the epocha of Venetian freedom to the establishment of
the government under which the republic flourished, we shall find that
the date of the election of the first Doge is 697: and if we add one
century to a thousand, that is, eleven hundred years, we shall find the
sense of the prediction to be literally this: 'Thy liberty will not last
till 1797. ' Recollect that Venice ceased to be free in the year 1796,
the fifth year of the French republic; and you will perceive that there
never was prediction more pointed, or more exactly followed by the
event. You will, therefore, note as very remarkable the three lines of
Alamanni addressed to Venice; which, however, no one has pointed out:--
"'Se non cangi pensier, l'un secol solo
Non contera sopra 'l millesimo anno
Tua liberta, che va fuggendo a volo. '
_Sat_. , xii. ed. 1531, p. 413.
Many prophecies have passed for such, and many men have been called
prophets for much less. "--P. L. Ginguene, _Hist. Lit. d'Italie_, ix. 144
[Paris Edition, 1819].
[478] Of the first fifty Doges, _five_ abdicated--_five_ were banished
with their eyes put out--_five_ were massacred--and _nine_ deposed; so
that _nineteen_ out of fifty lost the throne by violence, besides two
who fell in battle: this occurred long previous to the reign of Marino
Faliero. One of his more immediate predecessors, Andrea Dandolo, died of
vexation. Marino Faliero himself perished as related. Amongst his
successors, _Foscari_, after seeing his son repeatedly tortured and
banished, was deposed, and died of breaking a blood-vessel, on hearing
the bell of Saint Mark's toll for the election of his successor.
Morosini was impeached for the loss of Candia; but this was previous to
his dukedom, during which he conquered the Morea, and was styled the
Peloponnesian. Faliero might truly say,--
"Thou den of drunkards with the blood of princes! "
[fx] _Thou brothel of the waters! thou sea Sodom! _--[Alternative
reading. MS. M. ]
[479] [See letters to Webster, September 8, 1818, and to Hoppner,
December 31, 1819, _Letters_, 1900, iv. 255, 393. ]
[480] {461} "Un Capo de' Dieci" are the words of Sanuto's Chronicle.
[fy]
_The gory head is rolling down the steps! _
_The head is rolling dawn the gory steps! _--
[Alternative readings. MS. M. ]
[481] [A picture in oils of the execution of Marino Faliero, by
Ferdinand Victor Eugene Delacroix (1798-1863), which was exhibited in
the Salon in 1827, is now in the Wallace Collection (_Provisional
Catalogue_, 1900, p. 28). ]
[482] [End of the Historical Tragedy of Marino Faliero, or the Doge of
Venice.
Begun April 4th, 1820.
Completed July 16th, 1820.
Finished copying in August 16th, 17th, 1820.
The which copying takes ten times the toil of composing, considering the
weather--_thermometer 90 in the shade_--and my domestic duties.
The motto is--
"Dux inquietae turbidus Adrirae. "
Horace. ]
APPENDIX.
NOTE A.
I am obliged for the following excellent translation of the old
Chronicle to Mr. F. Cohen,[483] to whom the reader will find himself
indebted for a version that I could not myself--though after many years'
intercourse with Italian--have given by any means so purely and so
faithfully.
Story of Marino Faliero, Doge XLIV. mcccliv. [483a]
On the eleventh day of September, in the year of our Lord, 1354, Marino
Faliero was elected and chosen to be the Duke of the Commonwealth of
Venice. He was Count of Valdemarino, in the Marches of Treviso, and a
Knight, and a wealthy man to boot. As soon as the election was
completed, it was resolved in the Great Council, that a deputation of
twelve should be despatched to Marino Faliero the Duke, who was then on
his way from Rome; for when he was chosen, he was ambassador at the
court of the Holy Father, at Rome,--the Holy Father himself held his
court at Avignon. When Messer Marino Faliero the Duke was about to land
in this city, on the 5th day of October, 1354, a thick haze came on and
darkened the air: and he was enforced to land on the place of Saint
Mark, between the two columns, on the spot where evil doers are put to
death; and all thought that this was the worst of tokens. --Nor must I
forget to write that which I have read in a chronicle. --When Messer
Marino Faliero was Podesta and Captain of Treviso, the Bishop delayed
coming in with the holy sacrament, on a day when a procession was to
take place. Now, the said Marino Faliero was so very proud and wrathful,
that he buffeted the Bishop, and almost struck him to the ground: and,
therefore, Heaven allowed Marino Faliero to go out of his right senses,
in order that he might bring himself to an evil death.
When this Duke had held the dukedom during nine months and six days, he,
being wicked and ambitious, sought to make himself Lord of Venice, in
the manner which I have read in an ancient chronicle. When the Thursday
arrived upon which they were wont to hunt the bull, the bull hunt took
place as usual; and, according to the usage of those times, after the
bull hunt had ended, they all proceeded unto the palace of the Duke, and
assembled together in one of his halls; and they disported themselves
with the women. And until the first bell tolled they danced, and then a
banquet was served up. My Lord the Duke paid the expenses thereof,
provided he had a Duchess, and after the banquet they all returned to
their homes.
Now to this feast there came a certain Ser Michele Steno, a gentleman of
poor estate and very young, but crafty and daring, and who loved one of
the damsels of the Duchess. Ser Michele stood amongst the women upon the
solajo; and he behaved indiscreetly, so that my Lord the Duke ordered
that he should be kicked off the solajo [i. e. platform]; and the
esquires of the Duke flung him down from the solajo accordingly. Ser
Michele thought that such an affront was beyond all bearing; and when
the feast was over, and all other persons had left the palace, he,
continuing heated with anger, went to the hall of audience, and wrote
certain unseemly words relating to the Duke and the Duchess upon the
chair in which the Duke was used to sit; for in those days the Duke did
not cover his chair with cloth of sendal, but he sat in a chair of wood.
Ser Michele wrote thereon--"_Marin Falier, the husband of the fair wife;
others kiss her, but he keeps her. _"[484] In the morning the words were
seen, and the matter was considered to be very scandalous; and the
Senate commanded the Avogadori of the Commonwealth to proceed therein
with the greatest diligence. A largess of great amount was immediately
proffered by the Avogadori, in order to discover who had written these
words. And at length it was known that Michele Steno had written them.
It was resolved in the Council of Forty that he should be arrested; and
he then confessed that in the fit of vexation and spite, occasioned by
his being thrust off the solajo in the presence of his mistress, he had
written the words. Therefore the Council debated thereon. And the
Council took his youth into consideration, and that he was a lover; and
therefore they adjudged that he should be kept in close confinement
during two months, and that afterwards he should be banished from Venice
and the state during one year. In consequence of this merciful sentence
the Duke became exceedingly wroth, it appearing to him, that the Council
had not acted in such a manner as was required by the respect due to his
ducal dignity; and he said that they ought to have condemned Ser Michele
to be hanged by the neck, or at least to be banished for life.
Now it was fated that my Lord Duke Marino was to have his head cut off.
And as it is necessary when any effect is to be brought about, that the
cause of such effect must happen, it therefore came to pass, that on the
very day after sentence had been pronounced on Ser Michele Steno, being
the first day of Lent, a gentleman of the house of Barbara, a choleric
gentleman, went to the arsenal, and required certain things of the
masters of the galleys. This he did in the presence of the Admiral of
the arsenal, and he, bearing the request, answered, No, it cannot be
done. High words arose between the gentleman and the Admiral, and the
gentleman struck him with his fist just above the eye; and as he
happened to have a ring on his finger, the ring cut the Admiral and drew
blood. The Admiral, all bruised and bloody, ran straight to the Duke to
complain, and with the intent of praying him to inflict some heavy
punishment upon the gentleman of Ca Barbaro. --"What wouldst thou have me
do for thee? " answered the Duke: "think upon the shameful gibe which
hath been written concerning me; and think on the manner in which they
have punished that ribald Michele Steno, who wrote it; and see how the
Council of Forty respect our person. "--Upon this the Admiral answered,
"My Lord Duke, if you would wish to make yourself a prince, and to cut
all those cuckoldy gentlemen to pieces, I have the heart, if you do but
help me, to make you prince of all this state; and then you may punish
them all. " Hearing this, the Duke said, "How can such a matter be
brought about? "--and so they discoursed thereon.
The Duke called for his nephew, Ser Bertuccio Faliero, who lived with
him in the palace, and they communed about this plot. And without
leaving the place, they sent for Philip Calendaro, a seaman of great
repute, and for Bertuccio Israello, who was exceedingly wily and
cunning. Then taking counsel among themselves, they agreed to call in
some others; and so, for several nights successively, they met with the
Duke at home in his palace. And the following men were called in singly;
to wit:--Niccolo Fagiuolo, Giovanni da Corfu, Stefano Fagiono, Niccolo
dalle Bende, Niccolo Biondo, and Stefano Trivisano. --It was concerted
that sixteen or seventeen leaders should be stationed in various parts
of the city, each being at the head of forty men, armed and prepared;
but the followers were not to know their destination. On the appointed
day they were to make affrays amongst themselves here and there, in
order that the Duke might have a pretence for tolling the bells of San
Marco; these bells are never rung but by the order of the Duke. And at
the sound of the bells, these sixteen or seventeen, with their
followers, were to come to San Marco, through the streets which open
upon the Piazza. And when the noble and leading citizens should come
into the Piazza, to know the cause of the riot, then the conspirators
were to cut them in pieces; and this work being finished, my Lord Marino
Faliero the Duke was to be proclaimed the Lord of Venice. Things having
been thus settled, they agreed to fulfil their intent on Wednesday, the
15th day of April, in the year 1355. So covertly did they plot, that no
one ever dreamt of their machinations.
But the Lord, who hath always helped this most glorious city, and who,
loving its righteousness and holiness, hath never forsaken it, inspired
one Beltramo Bergamasco to be the cause of bringing the plot to light,
in the following manner. This Beltramo, who belonged to Ser Niccolo
Lioni of Santo Stefano, had heard a word or two of what was to take
place; and so, in the above-mentioned month of April, he went to the
house of the aforesaid Ser Niccolo Lioni, and told him all the
particulars of the plot. Ser Niccolo, when he heard all these things,
was struck dead, as it were, with affright. He heard all the
particulars; and Beltramo prayed him to keep it all secret; and if he
told Ser Niccolo, it was in order that Ser Niccolo might stop at home on
the 15th of April, and thus save his life. Beltramo was going, but Ser
Niccolo ordered his servants to lay hands upon him, and lock him up. Ser
Niccolo then went to the house of Messer Giovanni Gradenigo Nasoni, who
afterwards became Duke, and who also lived at Santo Stefano, and told
him all. The matter seemed to him to be of the very greatest importance,
as indeed it was; and they two went to the house of Ser Marco Cornaro,
who lived at San Felice; and, having spoken with him, they all three
then determined to go back to the house of Ser Niccolo Lioni, to examine
the said Beltramo; and having questioned him, and heard all that he had
to say, they left him in confinement. And then they all three went into
the sacristy of San Salvatore, and sent their men to summon the
Councillors, the Avogadori, the Capi de' Dieci, and those of the Great
Council.
When all were assembled, the whole story was told to them. They were
struck dead, as it were, with affright. They determined to send for
Beltramo. He was brought in before them. They examined him, and
ascertained that the matter was true; and, although they were
exceedingly troubled, yet they determined upon their measures. And they
sent for the Capi de' Quarante, the Signori di Notte, the Capi de'
Sestieri, and the Cinque della Pace; and they were ordered to associate
to their men other good men and true, who were to proceed to the houses
of the ringleaders of the conspiracy, and secure them. And they secured
the foreman of the arsenal, in order that the conspirators might not do
mischief. Towards nightfall they assembled in the palace. When they were
assembled in the palace, they caused the gates of the quadrangle of the
palace to be shut. And they sent to the keeper of the Bell-tower, and
forbade the tolling of the bells. All this was carried into effect. The
before-mentioned conspirators were secured, and they were brought to the
palace; and, as the Council of Ten saw that the Duke was in the plot,
they resolved that twenty of the leading men of the state should be
associated to them, for the purpose of consultation and deliberation,
but that they should not be allowed to ballot.
The counsellors were the following:--Ser Giovanni Mocenigo, of the
Sestiero of San Marco; Ser Almoro Veniero da Santa Marina, of the
Sestiero of Castello; Ser Tomaso Viadro, of the Sestiero of Canaregio;
Ser Giovanni Sanudo, of the Sestiero of Santa Croce; Ser Pietro
Trivisano, of the Sestiero of San Paolo; Ser Pantalione Barbo il Grando,
of the Sestiero of Ossoduro. The Avogadori of the Commonwealth were
Zufredo Morosini, and Ser Orio Pasqualigo; and these did not ballot.
Those of the Council of Ten were Ser Giovanni Marcello, Ser Tomaso
Sanudo, and Ser Micheletto Dolfino, the heads of the aforesaid Council
of Ten. Ser Luca da Legge, and Ser Pietro da Mosto, inquisitors of the
aforesaid Council. And Ser Marco Polani, Ser Marino Veniero, Ser Lando
Lombardo, and Ser Nicoletto Trivisano, of Sant' Angelo.
Late in the night, just before the dawning, they chose a junta of
twenty noblemen of Venice from amongst the wisest, and the worthiest,
and the oldest. They were to give counsel, but not to ballot. And they
would not admit any one of Ca Faliero. And Niccolo Faliero, and another
Niccolo Faliero, of San Tomaso, were expelled from the Council, because
they belonged to the family of the Doge. And this resolution of creating
the junta of twenty was much praised throughout the state. The following
were the members of the junta of twenty:--Ser Marco Giustiniani,
Procuratore, Ser Andrea Erizzo, Procuratore, Ser Lionardo Giustiniani,
Procuratore, Ser Andrea Contarini, Ser Simone Dandolo, Ser Niccolo
Volpe, Ser Giovanni Loredano, Ser Marco Diedo, Ser Giovanni Gradenigo,
Ser Andrea Cornaro Cavaliere, Ser Marco Soranzo, Ser Rinieri du Mosto,
Ser Gazano Marcello, Ser Marino Morosini, Ser Stefano Belegno, Ser
Niccolo Lioni, Ser Filippo Orio, Ser Marco Trivisano, Ser Jacopo
Bragadino, Ser Giovanni Foscarini.
These twenty were accordingly called in to the Council of Ten; and they
sent for my Lord Marino Faliero, the Duke: and my Lord Marino was then
consorting in the palace with people of great estate, gentlemen, and
other good men, none of whom knew yet how the fact stood.
At the same time Bertuccio Israello, who, as one of the ringleaders, was
to head the conspirators in Santa Croce, was arrested and bound, and
brought before the Council. Zanello del Brin, Nicoletto di Rosa,
Nicoletto Alberto, and the Guardiaga, were also taken, together with
several seamen, and people of various ranks. These were examined, and
the truth of the plot was ascertained.
On the 16th of April judgment was given in the Council of Ten, that
Filippo Calendaro and Bertuccio Israello should be hanged upon the red
pillars of the balcony of the palace, from which the Duke is wont to
look at the bull hunt: and they were hanged with gags in their mouths.
The next day the following were condemned:--Niccolo Zuccuolo, Nicoletto
Blondo, Nicoletto Doro, Marco Giuda, Jacomello Dagolino, Nicoletto
Fidele, the son of Filippo Calendaro, Marco Torello, called Israello,
Stefano Trivisano, the money-changer of Santa Margherita, and Antonio
dalle Bende. These were all taken at Chiozza, for they were endeavouring
to escape. Afterwards, by virtue of the sentence which was passed upon
them in the Council of Ten, they were hanged on successive days; some
singly and some in couples, upon the columns of the palace, beginning
from the red columns, and so going onwards towards the canal. And other
prisoners were discharged, because, although they had been involved in
the conspiracy, yet they had not assisted in it; for they were given to
understand by some of the heads of the plot, that they were to come
armed and prepared for the service of the state, and in order to secure
certain criminals; and they knew nothing else. Nicoletto Alberto, the
Guardiaga, and Bartolommeo Ciricolo and his son, and several others, who
were not guilty, were discharged.
On Friday, the 16th day of April, judgment was also given in the
aforesaid Council of Ten, that my Lord Marino Faliero, the Duke, should
have his head cut off; and that the execution should be done on the
landing-place of the stone staircase, where the Dukes take their oath
when they first enter the palace. On the following day, the 17th of
April, the doors of the palace being shut, the Duke had his head cut
off, about the hour of noon. And the cap of estate was taken from the
Duke's head before he came down stairs. When the execution was over, it
is said that one of the Council of Ten went to the columns of the palace
over against the place of St. Mark, and that he showed the bloody sword
unto the people, crying out with a loud voice--"The terrible doom hath
fallen upon the traitor! "--and the doors were opened, and the people all
rushed in, to see the corpse of the Duke, who had been beheaded.
It must be known that Ser Giovanni Sanudo, the councillor, was not
present when the aforesaid sentence was pronounced; because he was
unwell and remained at home. So that only fourteen balloted; that is to
say, five councillors, and nine of the Council of Ten. And it was
adjudged, that all the lands and chattels of the Duke, as well as of the
other traitors, should be forfeited to the state. And as a grace to the
Duke, it was resolved in the Council of Ten, that he should be allowed
to dispose of two thousand ducats out of his own property. And it was
resolved, that all the councillors and all the Avogadori of the
Commonwealth, those of the Council of Ten, and the members of the junta,
who had assisted in passing sentence on the Duke and the other traitors,
should have the privilege of carrying arms both by day and by night in
Venice, and from Grado to Cavazere. And they were also to be allowed two
footmen carrying arms, the aforesaid footmen living and boarding with
them in their own houses. And he who did not keep two footmen might
transfer the privilege to his sons or his brothers; but only to two.
Permission of carrying arms was also granted to the four Notaries of the
Chancery, that is to say, of the Supreme Court, who took the
depositions; and they were, Amedio, Nicoletto di Lorino, Steffanello,
and Pietro de Compostelli, the secretaries of the Signori di Notte.
After the traitors had been hanged, and the Duke had had his head cut
off, the state remained in great tranquillity and peace. And, as I have
read in a Chronicle, the corpse of the Duke was removed in a barge, with
eight torches, to his tomb in the church of San Giovanni e Paolo, where
it was buried. The tomb is now in that aisle in the middle of the little
church of Santa Maria della Pace which was built by Bishop Gabriel of
Bergamo. It is a coffin of stone, with these words engraven thereon:
"_Heic jacet Dominus Marinus Faletro Dux. _"--And they did not paint his
portrait in the hall of the Great Council:--but in the place where it
ought to have been, you see these words:--"_Hic est locus Marini
Faletro, decapitati pro criminibus. _"--And it is thought that his house
was granted to the church of Sant' Apostolo; it was that great one near
the bridge. Yet this could not be the case, or else the family bought it
back from the church; for it still belongs to Ca Faliero. I must not
refrain from noting, that some wished to write the following words in
the place where his portrait ought to have been, as
aforesaid:--"_Marinus Faletro Dux, temeritas me cepit. Paenas lui,
decapitatus pro criminibus. _"--Others, also, indited a couplet, worthy
of being inscribed upon his tomb.
"_Dux Venetum jacet heic, patriam qui prodere tentans,_
_Sceptra, decus, censum perdidit, atque caput. _"
NOTE B.
Petrarch on the Conspiracy of Marino Faliero. [485]
"Al giovane doge Andrea Dandolo succedette un vecchio, il quale tardi si
pose al timone della repubblica, ma sempre prima di quel, che facea d'
uopo a lui ed alia patria: egli e Marino Faliero, personaggio a me noto
per antica dimestichezza. Falsa era l' opinione intorno a lui, giacche
egli si mostro fornito piu di coraggio, che di senno. Non pago della
prima dignita, entro con sinistro piede nel pubblico Palazzo:
imperciocche questo doge dei Veneti, magistrato sacro in tutti i secoli,
che dagli antichi fu sempre venerato qual nume in quella citta, l'
altr'jeri fu decollato nel vestibolo dell' istesso Palazzo. Discorrerei
fin dal principio le cause di un tale evento, se cosi vario, ed ambiguo
non ne fosse il grido: nessuno pero lo scusa, tutti affermano, che egli
abbia voluto cangiar qualche cosa nell' ordine della repubblica a lui
tramandato dai maggiori. Che desiderava egli di piu? Io son d' avviso,
che egli abbia ottenuto cio, che non si concedette a nessun altro:
mentre adempiva gli uffici di legato presso il Pontefice, e sulle rive
del Rodano trattava la pace, che io prima di lui avevo indarno tentato
di conchiudere, gli fu conferito l' onore del ducato, che ne chiedeva,
ne s' aspettava. Tornato in patria, penso a quello, cui nessuno non pose
mente giammai, e soffri quello, che a niuno accadde mai di soffrire:
giacche in quel luogo celeberrimo, e chiarissimo, e bellissimo infra
tutti quelli, che io vidi, ove i suoi antenati avevano ricevuti
grandissimi onori in mezzo alle pompe trionfali, ivi egli fu trascinato
in modo servile, e spogliato delle insegne ducali, perdette la testa, e
macchio col proprio sangue le soglie del tempio, l' atrio del Palazzo, e
le scale marmoree endute spesse volte illustri o dalle solenni
festivita, o dalle ostili spoglie. Ho notato il luogo, ora noto il
tempo: e l' anno del Natale di Cristo, 1355, fu il giorno diciotto
aprile si alto e il grido sparso, che se alcuno esaminera la disciplina,
e le costumanze di quella citta, e quanto mutamento di cose venga
minacciato dalla morte di un solo uomo (quantunque molti altri, come
narrano, essendo complici, o subirono l' istesso supplicio, o lo
aspettano) si accorgera, che nulla di piu grande avvenne ai nostri tempi
nella Italia. Tu forse qui attendi il mio giudizio: assolvo il popolo,
se credere si dee alia fama, benche abbia potuto e castigate piu
mitemente, e con maggior dolcezza vendicare il suo dolore: ma non cosi
facilmente, si modera un' ira giusta insieme, e grande in un numeroso
popolo principalmente, nel quale il precipitoso, ed instabile volgo
aguzza gli stimoli dell' iracondia con rapidi, e sconsigliati clamori.
Compatisco, e nell' istesso tempo mi adiro con quell' infelice uomo, il
quale adorno di un' insolito onore, non so, che cosa si volesse negli
estremi anni della sua vita: la calamita di lui diviene sempre piu
grave, perche dalla sentenza contra di esso promulgata apparira, che
egli fu non solo misero, ma insano, e demente, e che con vane arti si
usurpo per tanti anni una falsa fama di sapienza. Ammonisco i dogi, i
quali gli succederanno, che questo e un' esempio posto innanzi ai loro
occhi, quale specchio, nel quale veggano d' essere non signori, ma duci,
anzi nemmeno duci, ma onorati servi della Repubblica. Tu sta sano; e
giacche fluttuano le pubbliche cose, sforziamoci di governar
modestissimamente i privati nostri affari. "--_Viaggi di Francesco
Petrarca_, descritti dal Professore Ambrogio Levati, Milano, 1820, iv.
323-325.
The above Italian translation from the Latin epistles of Petrarch
proves--1stly, That Marino Faliero was a personal friend of Petrarch's;
"antica dimestichezza," old intimacy, is the phrase of the poet. 2dly,
That Petrarch thought that he had more courage than conduct, "piu di
_coraggio_ che di senno. " 3dly, That there was some jealousy on the part
of Petrarch; for he says that Marino Faliero was treating of the peace
which he himself had "vainly attempted to conclude. " 4thly, That the
honour of the Dukedom was conferred upon him, which he neither sought
nor expected, "che ne chiedeva, ne aspettava," and which had never been
granted to any other in like circumstances, "cio che non si concedette a
nessun altro," a proof of the high esteem in which he must have been
held. 5thly, That he had a reputation for _wisdom_, _only_ forfeited by
the last enterprise of his life, "si usurpo per tanti anni una falsa
fama di sapienza. "--"He had usurped for so many years a false fame of
wisdom," rather a difficult task, I should think. People are generally
found out before eighty years of age, at least in a republic. --From
these, and the other historical notes which I have collected, it may be
inferred, that Marino Faliero possessed many of the qualities, but not
the success of a hero; and that his passions were too violent. The
paltry and ignorant account of Dr. Moore falls to the ground. Petrarch
says, "that there had been no greater event in his times" (_our times_
literally), "nostri tempi," in Italy. He also differs from the historian
in saying that Faliero was "on the banks of the _Rhone_," instead of at
Rome, when elected; the other accounts say, that the deputation of the
Venetian senate met him at Ravenna. How this may have been, it is not
for me to decide, and is of no great importance. Had the man succeeded,
he would have changed the face of Venice, and perhaps of Italy. As it
is, what _are_ they both?
NOTE C.
Venetian Society and Manners.
"Vice without splendour, sin without relief
Even from the gloss of love to smooth it o'er;
But in its stead, coarse lusts of habitude," etc.
"To these attacks so frequently pointed by the government against the
clergy,--to the continual struggles between the different constituted
bodies,--to these enterprises carried on by the mass of the nobles
against the depositaries of power,--to all those projects of innovation,
which always ended by a stroke of state policy; we must add a cause not
less fitted to spread contempt for ancient doctrines; _this was the
excess of corruption_.
"That freedom of manners, which had been long boasted of as the
principal charm of Venetian society, had degenerated into scandalous
licentiousness: the tie of marriage was less sacred in that Catholic
country, than among those nations where the laws and religion admit of
its being dissolved. Because they could not break the contract, they
feigned that it had not existed; and the ground of nullity, immodestly
alleged by the married pair, was admitted with equal facility by priests
and magistrates, alike corrupt. These divorces, veiled under another
name, became so frequent, that the most important act of civil society
was discovered to be amenable to a tribunal of exceptions; and to
restrain the open scandal of such proceedings became the office of the
police. In 1782 the Council of Ten decreed, that every woman who should
sue for a dissolution of her marriage should be compelled to await the
decision of the judges in some convent, to be named by the court. [486]
Soon afterwards the same council summoned all causes of that nature
before itself. [487] This infringement on ecclesiastical jurisdiction
having occasioned some remonstrance from Rome, the council retained only
the right of rejecting the petition of the married persons, and
consented to refer such causes to the holy office as it should not
previously have rejected. [488]
"There was a moment in which, doubtless, the destruction of private
fortunes, the ruin of youth, the domestic discord occasioned by these
abuses, determined the government to depart from its established maxims
concerning the freedom of manners allowed the subject. All the
courtesans were banished from Venice; but their absence was not enough
to reclaim and bring back good morals to a whole people brought up in
the most scandalous licentiousness. Depravity reached the very bosoms of
private families, and even into the cloister; and they found themselves
obliged to recall, and even to indemnify,[489] women who sometimes
gained possession of important secrets, and who might be usefully
employed in the ruin of men whose fortunes might have rendered them
dangerous. Since that time licentiousness has gone on increasing; and we
have seen mothers, not only selling the innocence of their daughters,
but selling it by a contract, authenticated by the signature of a public
officer, and the performance of which was secured by the protection of
the laws. [490]
"The parlours of the convents of noble ladies, and the houses of the
courtesans, though the police carefully kept up a number of spies about
them, were the only assemblies for society in Venice; and in these two
places, so different from each other, there was equal freedom. Music,
collations, gallantry, were not more forbidden in the parlours than at
the casinos. There were a number of casinos for the purpose of public
assemblies, where gaming was the principal pursuit of the company. It
was a strange sight to see persons of either sex masked, or grave in
their magisterial robes, round a table, invoking chance, and giving way
at one instant to the agonies of despair, at the next to the illusions
of hope, and that without uttering a single word.
"The rich had private casinos, but they lived _incognito_ in them; and
the wives whom they abandoned found compensation in the liberty they
enjoyed. The corruption of morals had deprived them of their empire. We
have just reviewed the whole history of Venice, and we have not once
seen them exercise the slightest influence. "--Daru, _Hist. de la Repub.
de Venise_, Paris, 1821, v. 328-332.
* * * * *
The author of "Sketches Descriptive of Italy," (1820), etc. , one of the
hundred tours lately published, is extremely anxious to disclaim a
possible plagiarism from _Childe Harold_ and _Beppo_. See p. 159, vol.
iv. He adds that still less could this presumed coincidence arise from
"my conversation," as he had "_repeatedly declined an introduction to me
while in Italy_. "
Who this person may be I know not;[491] but he must have been deceived
by all or any of those who "repeatedly offered to introduce" him, as I
invariably refused to receive any English with whom I was not previously
acquainted, even when they had letters from England. If the whole
assertion is not an invention, I request this person not to sit down
with the notion that he could have been introduced, since there has been
nothing I have so carefully avoided as any kind of intercourse with his
countrymen,--excepting the very few who were for a considerable time
resident in Venice, or had been of my previous acquaintance. Whoever
made him any such offer was possessed of impudence equal to that of
making such an assertion without having had it. The fact is, that I hold
in utter abhorrence any contact with the travelling English, as my
friend the Consul General Hoppner and the Countess Benzoni (in whose
house the Conversazione mostly frequented by them is held), could amply
testify, were it worth while. I was persecuted by these tourists even to
my riding ground at Lido, and reduced to the most disagreeable circuits
to avoid them. At Madame Benzoni's I repeatedly refused to be introduced
to them;--of a thousand such presentations pressed upon me, I accepted
two, and both were to Irish women.
* * * * *
I should hardly have descended to speak of such trifles publicly, if the
impudence of this "sketcher" had not forced me to a refutation of a
disingenuous and gratuitously impertinent assertion; so meant to be, for
what could it import to the reader to be told that the author "had
repeatedly declined an introduction," even if it had been true, which,
for the reasons I have above given, is scarcely possible. Except Lords
Lansdowne, Jersey, and Lauderdale, Messrs. Scott, Hammond, Sir Humphry
Davy, the late M. Lewis, W. Bankes, Mr. Hoppner, Thomas Moore, Lord
Kinnaird, his brother, Mr. Joy, and Mr. Hobhouse, I do not recollect to
have exchanged a word with another Englishman since I left their
Country; and almost all these I had known before. The others,--and God
knows there were some hundreds, who bored me with letters or visits, I
refused to have any communication with, and shall be proud and happy
when that wish becomes mutual.
FOOTNOTES:
[483] {462}Mr. Francis Cohen, afterwards Sir Francis Palgrave
(1788-1861), the author of the _Rise and Progress of the English
Constitution, History of the Anglo-Saxons_, etc. , etc.
[483a][In the earlier editions (1821-1825) Francis Cohen's translation
(Appendix II. ) is preceded by an Italian version (Appendix I. ), taken
directly from Muratori's edition of Marin Sanudo's _Vite dei Dogi_
(_Rerum Italicarum Scriptores_, 1733, xii. 628-635). The two versions
are by no means identical. Cohen's "translation" is, presumably an
accurate rendering of Sanudo's text, and must have been made either from
the original MS.
[fo] _Have I aught else to undergo ere Death? _--[Alternative reading.
MS. M. ]
[466] {450}[The story as related by Sanudo is of doubtful authenticity,
_vide ante_, p. 332, note 1. ]
[fp] {451}_Until he rolled beneath_----. --[Alternative reading. MS. M. ]
[fq] _A madness of the heart shall rise within_. --[Alternative reading.
MS. M. ]
[467] [Compare--
"I pull in resolution. "
_Macbeth_, act v. sc. 5, line 42. ]
[468] {452}[See the translation of Sanudo's narrative in Appendix, p.
463. ]
[fr]
----_whom I know_
_To be as worthless as the dust they trample_. --[MS. M. erased. ]
[fs] {453}_With unimpaired but not outrageous grief_. --[Alternative
reading, MS. M. ]
[469] {454}[An anachronism, _vide ante_, p. 336. ]
[ft] _I am glad to be so_----. --[Alternative reading. MS. M. ]
[470] This was the actual reply of Bailli, maire of Paris, to a
Frenchman who made him the same reproach on his way to execution, in the
earliest part of their revolution. I find in reading over (since the
completion of this tragedy), for the first time these six years, "Venice
Preserved," a similar reply on a different occasion by Renault, and
other coincidences arising from the subject. I need hardly remind the
gentlest reader, that such coincidences must be accidental, from the
very facility of their detection by reference to so popular a play on
the stage and in the closet as Otway's chef-d'oeuvre.
["Still crueller was the fate of poor Bailly [Jean Sylvani, born
September 17, 1736], First National President, First Mayor of Paris. . . .
It is the 10th of November, 1793, a cold bitter drizzling rain, as poor
Bailly is led through the streets. . . . Silent, unpitied, sits the
innocent old man. . . . The Guillotine is taken down . . . is carried to the
riverside; is there set up again, with slow numbness; pulse after pulse
still counting itself out in the old man's weary heart. For hours long;
amid curses and bitter frost-rain! 'Bailly, thou tremblest,' said one.
'_Mon ami_, it is for cold,' said Bailly, '_C'est de froid_. ' Crueller
end had no mortal. "--Carlyle's _French Revolution_, 1839, iii. 264. ]
[fu] {455}_Who makest and destroyest suns! _--[MS. M. Vide letter of
February 2, 1821. ]
[471] {456}[In his reply to the envoys of the Venetian Senate (April,
1797), Buonaparte threatened to "prove an Attila to Venice. If you
cannot," he added, "disarm your population, I will do it in your
stead--your government is antiquated--it must crumble to
pieces. "--Scott's _Life of Napoleon Bonaparte_, 1828, p. 230. Compare,
too, _Childe Harold_, Canto IV. stanza xc. lines 1, 2--
"The fool of false dominion--and a kind
Of bastard Caesar," etc. ]
[472] Should the dramatic picture seem harsh, let the reader look to the
historical of the period prophesied, or rather of the few years
preceding that period. Voltaire calculated their "nostre bene merite
Meretrici" at 12,000 of regulars, without including volunteers and local
militia, on what authority I know not; but it is, perhaps, the only part
of the population not decreased. Venice once contained two hundred
thousand inhabitants: there are now about ninety thousand; and THESE! !
few individuals can conceive, and none could describe, the actual state
into which the more than infernal tyranny of Austria has plunged this
unhappy city. From the present decay and degeneracy of Venice under the
Barbarians, there are some honourable individual exceptions. There is
Pasqualigo, the last, and, alas! _posthumous_ son of the marriage of the
Doges with the Adriatic, who fought his frigate with far greater
gallantry than any of his French coadjutors in the memorable action off
Lissa. I came home in the squadron with the prizes in 1811, and
recollect to have heard Sir William Hoste, and the other officers
engaged in that glorious conflict, speak in the highest terms of
Pasqualigo's behaviour. There is the Abbate Morelli. There is Alvise
Querini, who, after a long and honourable diplomatic career, finds some
consolation for the wrongs of his country, in the pursuits of literature
with his nephew, Vittor Benzon, the son of the celebrated beauty, the
heroine of "La Biondina in Gondoleta. " There are the patrician poet
Morosini, and the poet Lamberti, the author of the "Biondina," etc. , and
many other estimable productions; and, not least in an Englishman's
estimation, Madame Michelli, the translator of Shakspeare. There are the
young Dandolo and the improvvisatore Carrer, and Giuseppe Albrizzi, the
accomplished son of an accomplished mother. There is Aglietti, and were
there nothing else, there is the immortality of Canova. Cicognara,
Mustoxithi, Bucati, etc. , etc. , I do not reckon, because the one is a
Greek, and the others were born at least a hundred miles off, which,
throughout Italy, constitutes, if not a _foreigner_, at least a
_stranger_ (_forestiere_).
[This note is not in the MS. The first eight lines were included among
the notes, and the remainder formed part of the Appendix in all editions
1821-1831.
Nicolo Pasqualigo (1770-1821) received the command of a ship in the
Austrian Navy in 1800, and in 1805 was appointed Director of the Arsenal
of Venice. He took part in both the Lissa expeditions, and was made
prisoner after a prolonged resistance, March 13, 1811. (See _Personaggi
illustri delta Veneta patrizia gente_, by E. A. Cicogna, 1822, p. 33.
See, too, for Lissa, _Poetical Works_, 1900, iii. 25, note 3. )
The Abate Jacopo Morelli (1745-1819), known as _Principe dei
Bibliotecarj_, became custodian of the Marciana Library in 1778, and
devoted the whole of his long and laborious life to the service of
literature. (For a list of his works, etc. , see Tipaldo's _Biografia,
etc. _, 1835, ii. 481. See, too, _Elogio di Jacopo Morelli_, by A.
Zendrini, Milano, 1822. )
Alvisi Querini, brother to Marina Querini Benzon, published in 1759 a
poem entitled _L'Ammiraglio dell' Indie_. He wrote under a pseudonym,
Ormildo Emeressio.
Vittore Benzon (d. 1822), whose mother, Marina, was celebrated by Anton
Maria Lamberti (1757-1832) as _La biondina in gondoleta (Poesie_, 1817,
i. 20), was the author of _Nella_, a love-poem, abounding in political
allusions. (See Tipaldo, v. 122, and _Isabella Teotochi Albrizzi, I Suoi
amici_, by V. Malamani, 1882, pp. 119, 136. )
II Conte Domenico Morosini (see _Letters_, Venezia, 1829) was the author
of two tragedies, _Medea in Corinto_ and _Giulio Sabino_, published in
1806.
Giustina Renier Michiel (1755-1832) was niece to the last Doge, Lodovico
Manin. Her _salon_ was the centre of a brilliant circle of friends,
including such names as Pindemonte, Foscolo, and Cesarotti. Her
translation of _Othello_, _Macbeth_, and _Coriolanus_ formed part of the
_Opere Drammatiche di Shakspeare_, published in Venice in 1797. Her
work, _Origine delle Feste Veneziane_, was published at Milan in 1829.
(See _G. R. Michiel, Archivio Veneto_, tom. xxxviii. 1889. )
Luigi Carrer (1801-1856) began life as a lawyer, but afterwards devoted
himself to poetry and literature. He was secretary of the Venetian
Institute in 1842, and, later, Director of the Carrer Museum. (See Gio.
Crespan, _Della vita e delle lettere di Luigi Carrer_, 1869. )
For Giuseppino Albrizzi (1800-1860), and for Isabella Teotochi Albrizzi,
Countess Albrizzi (? 1761-1836), see _Letters_, 1900, iv. 14, note 1;
and for Francesco Aglietti (1757-1836), Leopoldo Cicognara (1767-1835),
and Andreas Moustoxudes (1787-1860), see _Poetical Works_, 1899, ii.
324, note 1.
The "younger Dandolo" may be Conte Girolamo Antonio Dandolo, author of
_Sui Quattro Cavalli, etc. _, published in 1817, and of _La Caduta della
Repubblica di Venezia_, 1855. By "Bucati" may possibly be meant the
satirist Pietro Buratti (1772-1832). (See _Poesie Veneziane_, by R.
Barbiera, 1886, p. 209. )]
[fv] {457}
/ _lazars_ \
_Beggars for nobles_, < _lepers_ > _for a people_! --[MS. M. ]
\ _wretches_ /
[473] The chief palaces on the Brenta now belong to the Jews; who in the
earlier times of the republic were only allowed to inhabit Mestri, and
not to enter the city of Venice. The whole commerce is in the hands of
the Jews and Greeks, and the Huns form the garrison.
[474] {458}[Napoleon was crowned King of Italy, May 3, 1805. Venice was
ceded by Austria, December 26, 1805, and shortly after, Eugene
Beauharnais was appointed Viceroy of Italy, with the title of Prince of
Venice. It is certain that the "Vice-gerent" stands for Beauharnais, but
it is less evident why Byron, doubtless quoting from _Hamlet_, calls
Napoleon the "Vice of Kings. " Did he mean a "player-king," one who not
being a king acted the part, as the "vice" in the old moralities; or did
he misunderstand Shakespeare, and seek to depreciate Beauharnais as the
Viceroy of a Viceroy, that is Joseph Bonaparte? ]
[fw] _Vice without luxury_----. --[Alternative reading, MS. M. ]
[475] [Compare--
"When Vice walks forth with her unsoftened terrors. "
_Ode on Venice_, line 34, _vide ante_, p. 194. ]
[476] See Appendix, Note C.
[477] {459}If the Doge's prophecy seem remarkable, look to the
following, made by Alamanni two hundred and seventy years ago;--"There
is one very singular prophecy concerning Venice: 'If thou dost not
change,' it says to that proud republic, 'thy liberty, which is already
on the wing, will not reckon a century more than the thousandth year. '
If we carry back the epocha of Venetian freedom to the establishment of
the government under which the republic flourished, we shall find that
the date of the election of the first Doge is 697: and if we add one
century to a thousand, that is, eleven hundred years, we shall find the
sense of the prediction to be literally this: 'Thy liberty will not last
till 1797. ' Recollect that Venice ceased to be free in the year 1796,
the fifth year of the French republic; and you will perceive that there
never was prediction more pointed, or more exactly followed by the
event. You will, therefore, note as very remarkable the three lines of
Alamanni addressed to Venice; which, however, no one has pointed out:--
"'Se non cangi pensier, l'un secol solo
Non contera sopra 'l millesimo anno
Tua liberta, che va fuggendo a volo. '
_Sat_. , xii. ed. 1531, p. 413.
Many prophecies have passed for such, and many men have been called
prophets for much less. "--P. L. Ginguene, _Hist. Lit. d'Italie_, ix. 144
[Paris Edition, 1819].
[478] Of the first fifty Doges, _five_ abdicated--_five_ were banished
with their eyes put out--_five_ were massacred--and _nine_ deposed; so
that _nineteen_ out of fifty lost the throne by violence, besides two
who fell in battle: this occurred long previous to the reign of Marino
Faliero. One of his more immediate predecessors, Andrea Dandolo, died of
vexation. Marino Faliero himself perished as related. Amongst his
successors, _Foscari_, after seeing his son repeatedly tortured and
banished, was deposed, and died of breaking a blood-vessel, on hearing
the bell of Saint Mark's toll for the election of his successor.
Morosini was impeached for the loss of Candia; but this was previous to
his dukedom, during which he conquered the Morea, and was styled the
Peloponnesian. Faliero might truly say,--
"Thou den of drunkards with the blood of princes! "
[fx] _Thou brothel of the waters! thou sea Sodom! _--[Alternative
reading. MS. M. ]
[479] [See letters to Webster, September 8, 1818, and to Hoppner,
December 31, 1819, _Letters_, 1900, iv. 255, 393. ]
[480] {461} "Un Capo de' Dieci" are the words of Sanuto's Chronicle.
[fy]
_The gory head is rolling down the steps! _
_The head is rolling dawn the gory steps! _--
[Alternative readings. MS. M. ]
[481] [A picture in oils of the execution of Marino Faliero, by
Ferdinand Victor Eugene Delacroix (1798-1863), which was exhibited in
the Salon in 1827, is now in the Wallace Collection (_Provisional
Catalogue_, 1900, p. 28). ]
[482] [End of the Historical Tragedy of Marino Faliero, or the Doge of
Venice.
Begun April 4th, 1820.
Completed July 16th, 1820.
Finished copying in August 16th, 17th, 1820.
The which copying takes ten times the toil of composing, considering the
weather--_thermometer 90 in the shade_--and my domestic duties.
The motto is--
"Dux inquietae turbidus Adrirae. "
Horace. ]
APPENDIX.
NOTE A.
I am obliged for the following excellent translation of the old
Chronicle to Mr. F. Cohen,[483] to whom the reader will find himself
indebted for a version that I could not myself--though after many years'
intercourse with Italian--have given by any means so purely and so
faithfully.
Story of Marino Faliero, Doge XLIV. mcccliv. [483a]
On the eleventh day of September, in the year of our Lord, 1354, Marino
Faliero was elected and chosen to be the Duke of the Commonwealth of
Venice. He was Count of Valdemarino, in the Marches of Treviso, and a
Knight, and a wealthy man to boot. As soon as the election was
completed, it was resolved in the Great Council, that a deputation of
twelve should be despatched to Marino Faliero the Duke, who was then on
his way from Rome; for when he was chosen, he was ambassador at the
court of the Holy Father, at Rome,--the Holy Father himself held his
court at Avignon. When Messer Marino Faliero the Duke was about to land
in this city, on the 5th day of October, 1354, a thick haze came on and
darkened the air: and he was enforced to land on the place of Saint
Mark, between the two columns, on the spot where evil doers are put to
death; and all thought that this was the worst of tokens. --Nor must I
forget to write that which I have read in a chronicle. --When Messer
Marino Faliero was Podesta and Captain of Treviso, the Bishop delayed
coming in with the holy sacrament, on a day when a procession was to
take place. Now, the said Marino Faliero was so very proud and wrathful,
that he buffeted the Bishop, and almost struck him to the ground: and,
therefore, Heaven allowed Marino Faliero to go out of his right senses,
in order that he might bring himself to an evil death.
When this Duke had held the dukedom during nine months and six days, he,
being wicked and ambitious, sought to make himself Lord of Venice, in
the manner which I have read in an ancient chronicle. When the Thursday
arrived upon which they were wont to hunt the bull, the bull hunt took
place as usual; and, according to the usage of those times, after the
bull hunt had ended, they all proceeded unto the palace of the Duke, and
assembled together in one of his halls; and they disported themselves
with the women. And until the first bell tolled they danced, and then a
banquet was served up. My Lord the Duke paid the expenses thereof,
provided he had a Duchess, and after the banquet they all returned to
their homes.
Now to this feast there came a certain Ser Michele Steno, a gentleman of
poor estate and very young, but crafty and daring, and who loved one of
the damsels of the Duchess. Ser Michele stood amongst the women upon the
solajo; and he behaved indiscreetly, so that my Lord the Duke ordered
that he should be kicked off the solajo [i. e. platform]; and the
esquires of the Duke flung him down from the solajo accordingly. Ser
Michele thought that such an affront was beyond all bearing; and when
the feast was over, and all other persons had left the palace, he,
continuing heated with anger, went to the hall of audience, and wrote
certain unseemly words relating to the Duke and the Duchess upon the
chair in which the Duke was used to sit; for in those days the Duke did
not cover his chair with cloth of sendal, but he sat in a chair of wood.
Ser Michele wrote thereon--"_Marin Falier, the husband of the fair wife;
others kiss her, but he keeps her. _"[484] In the morning the words were
seen, and the matter was considered to be very scandalous; and the
Senate commanded the Avogadori of the Commonwealth to proceed therein
with the greatest diligence. A largess of great amount was immediately
proffered by the Avogadori, in order to discover who had written these
words. And at length it was known that Michele Steno had written them.
It was resolved in the Council of Forty that he should be arrested; and
he then confessed that in the fit of vexation and spite, occasioned by
his being thrust off the solajo in the presence of his mistress, he had
written the words. Therefore the Council debated thereon. And the
Council took his youth into consideration, and that he was a lover; and
therefore they adjudged that he should be kept in close confinement
during two months, and that afterwards he should be banished from Venice
and the state during one year. In consequence of this merciful sentence
the Duke became exceedingly wroth, it appearing to him, that the Council
had not acted in such a manner as was required by the respect due to his
ducal dignity; and he said that they ought to have condemned Ser Michele
to be hanged by the neck, or at least to be banished for life.
Now it was fated that my Lord Duke Marino was to have his head cut off.
And as it is necessary when any effect is to be brought about, that the
cause of such effect must happen, it therefore came to pass, that on the
very day after sentence had been pronounced on Ser Michele Steno, being
the first day of Lent, a gentleman of the house of Barbara, a choleric
gentleman, went to the arsenal, and required certain things of the
masters of the galleys. This he did in the presence of the Admiral of
the arsenal, and he, bearing the request, answered, No, it cannot be
done. High words arose between the gentleman and the Admiral, and the
gentleman struck him with his fist just above the eye; and as he
happened to have a ring on his finger, the ring cut the Admiral and drew
blood. The Admiral, all bruised and bloody, ran straight to the Duke to
complain, and with the intent of praying him to inflict some heavy
punishment upon the gentleman of Ca Barbaro. --"What wouldst thou have me
do for thee? " answered the Duke: "think upon the shameful gibe which
hath been written concerning me; and think on the manner in which they
have punished that ribald Michele Steno, who wrote it; and see how the
Council of Forty respect our person. "--Upon this the Admiral answered,
"My Lord Duke, if you would wish to make yourself a prince, and to cut
all those cuckoldy gentlemen to pieces, I have the heart, if you do but
help me, to make you prince of all this state; and then you may punish
them all. " Hearing this, the Duke said, "How can such a matter be
brought about? "--and so they discoursed thereon.
The Duke called for his nephew, Ser Bertuccio Faliero, who lived with
him in the palace, and they communed about this plot. And without
leaving the place, they sent for Philip Calendaro, a seaman of great
repute, and for Bertuccio Israello, who was exceedingly wily and
cunning. Then taking counsel among themselves, they agreed to call in
some others; and so, for several nights successively, they met with the
Duke at home in his palace. And the following men were called in singly;
to wit:--Niccolo Fagiuolo, Giovanni da Corfu, Stefano Fagiono, Niccolo
dalle Bende, Niccolo Biondo, and Stefano Trivisano. --It was concerted
that sixteen or seventeen leaders should be stationed in various parts
of the city, each being at the head of forty men, armed and prepared;
but the followers were not to know their destination. On the appointed
day they were to make affrays amongst themselves here and there, in
order that the Duke might have a pretence for tolling the bells of San
Marco; these bells are never rung but by the order of the Duke. And at
the sound of the bells, these sixteen or seventeen, with their
followers, were to come to San Marco, through the streets which open
upon the Piazza. And when the noble and leading citizens should come
into the Piazza, to know the cause of the riot, then the conspirators
were to cut them in pieces; and this work being finished, my Lord Marino
Faliero the Duke was to be proclaimed the Lord of Venice. Things having
been thus settled, they agreed to fulfil their intent on Wednesday, the
15th day of April, in the year 1355. So covertly did they plot, that no
one ever dreamt of their machinations.
But the Lord, who hath always helped this most glorious city, and who,
loving its righteousness and holiness, hath never forsaken it, inspired
one Beltramo Bergamasco to be the cause of bringing the plot to light,
in the following manner. This Beltramo, who belonged to Ser Niccolo
Lioni of Santo Stefano, had heard a word or two of what was to take
place; and so, in the above-mentioned month of April, he went to the
house of the aforesaid Ser Niccolo Lioni, and told him all the
particulars of the plot. Ser Niccolo, when he heard all these things,
was struck dead, as it were, with affright. He heard all the
particulars; and Beltramo prayed him to keep it all secret; and if he
told Ser Niccolo, it was in order that Ser Niccolo might stop at home on
the 15th of April, and thus save his life. Beltramo was going, but Ser
Niccolo ordered his servants to lay hands upon him, and lock him up. Ser
Niccolo then went to the house of Messer Giovanni Gradenigo Nasoni, who
afterwards became Duke, and who also lived at Santo Stefano, and told
him all. The matter seemed to him to be of the very greatest importance,
as indeed it was; and they two went to the house of Ser Marco Cornaro,
who lived at San Felice; and, having spoken with him, they all three
then determined to go back to the house of Ser Niccolo Lioni, to examine
the said Beltramo; and having questioned him, and heard all that he had
to say, they left him in confinement. And then they all three went into
the sacristy of San Salvatore, and sent their men to summon the
Councillors, the Avogadori, the Capi de' Dieci, and those of the Great
Council.
When all were assembled, the whole story was told to them. They were
struck dead, as it were, with affright. They determined to send for
Beltramo. He was brought in before them. They examined him, and
ascertained that the matter was true; and, although they were
exceedingly troubled, yet they determined upon their measures. And they
sent for the Capi de' Quarante, the Signori di Notte, the Capi de'
Sestieri, and the Cinque della Pace; and they were ordered to associate
to their men other good men and true, who were to proceed to the houses
of the ringleaders of the conspiracy, and secure them. And they secured
the foreman of the arsenal, in order that the conspirators might not do
mischief. Towards nightfall they assembled in the palace. When they were
assembled in the palace, they caused the gates of the quadrangle of the
palace to be shut. And they sent to the keeper of the Bell-tower, and
forbade the tolling of the bells. All this was carried into effect. The
before-mentioned conspirators were secured, and they were brought to the
palace; and, as the Council of Ten saw that the Duke was in the plot,
they resolved that twenty of the leading men of the state should be
associated to them, for the purpose of consultation and deliberation,
but that they should not be allowed to ballot.
The counsellors were the following:--Ser Giovanni Mocenigo, of the
Sestiero of San Marco; Ser Almoro Veniero da Santa Marina, of the
Sestiero of Castello; Ser Tomaso Viadro, of the Sestiero of Canaregio;
Ser Giovanni Sanudo, of the Sestiero of Santa Croce; Ser Pietro
Trivisano, of the Sestiero of San Paolo; Ser Pantalione Barbo il Grando,
of the Sestiero of Ossoduro. The Avogadori of the Commonwealth were
Zufredo Morosini, and Ser Orio Pasqualigo; and these did not ballot.
Those of the Council of Ten were Ser Giovanni Marcello, Ser Tomaso
Sanudo, and Ser Micheletto Dolfino, the heads of the aforesaid Council
of Ten. Ser Luca da Legge, and Ser Pietro da Mosto, inquisitors of the
aforesaid Council. And Ser Marco Polani, Ser Marino Veniero, Ser Lando
Lombardo, and Ser Nicoletto Trivisano, of Sant' Angelo.
Late in the night, just before the dawning, they chose a junta of
twenty noblemen of Venice from amongst the wisest, and the worthiest,
and the oldest. They were to give counsel, but not to ballot. And they
would not admit any one of Ca Faliero. And Niccolo Faliero, and another
Niccolo Faliero, of San Tomaso, were expelled from the Council, because
they belonged to the family of the Doge. And this resolution of creating
the junta of twenty was much praised throughout the state. The following
were the members of the junta of twenty:--Ser Marco Giustiniani,
Procuratore, Ser Andrea Erizzo, Procuratore, Ser Lionardo Giustiniani,
Procuratore, Ser Andrea Contarini, Ser Simone Dandolo, Ser Niccolo
Volpe, Ser Giovanni Loredano, Ser Marco Diedo, Ser Giovanni Gradenigo,
Ser Andrea Cornaro Cavaliere, Ser Marco Soranzo, Ser Rinieri du Mosto,
Ser Gazano Marcello, Ser Marino Morosini, Ser Stefano Belegno, Ser
Niccolo Lioni, Ser Filippo Orio, Ser Marco Trivisano, Ser Jacopo
Bragadino, Ser Giovanni Foscarini.
These twenty were accordingly called in to the Council of Ten; and they
sent for my Lord Marino Faliero, the Duke: and my Lord Marino was then
consorting in the palace with people of great estate, gentlemen, and
other good men, none of whom knew yet how the fact stood.
At the same time Bertuccio Israello, who, as one of the ringleaders, was
to head the conspirators in Santa Croce, was arrested and bound, and
brought before the Council. Zanello del Brin, Nicoletto di Rosa,
Nicoletto Alberto, and the Guardiaga, were also taken, together with
several seamen, and people of various ranks. These were examined, and
the truth of the plot was ascertained.
On the 16th of April judgment was given in the Council of Ten, that
Filippo Calendaro and Bertuccio Israello should be hanged upon the red
pillars of the balcony of the palace, from which the Duke is wont to
look at the bull hunt: and they were hanged with gags in their mouths.
The next day the following were condemned:--Niccolo Zuccuolo, Nicoletto
Blondo, Nicoletto Doro, Marco Giuda, Jacomello Dagolino, Nicoletto
Fidele, the son of Filippo Calendaro, Marco Torello, called Israello,
Stefano Trivisano, the money-changer of Santa Margherita, and Antonio
dalle Bende. These were all taken at Chiozza, for they were endeavouring
to escape. Afterwards, by virtue of the sentence which was passed upon
them in the Council of Ten, they were hanged on successive days; some
singly and some in couples, upon the columns of the palace, beginning
from the red columns, and so going onwards towards the canal. And other
prisoners were discharged, because, although they had been involved in
the conspiracy, yet they had not assisted in it; for they were given to
understand by some of the heads of the plot, that they were to come
armed and prepared for the service of the state, and in order to secure
certain criminals; and they knew nothing else. Nicoletto Alberto, the
Guardiaga, and Bartolommeo Ciricolo and his son, and several others, who
were not guilty, were discharged.
On Friday, the 16th day of April, judgment was also given in the
aforesaid Council of Ten, that my Lord Marino Faliero, the Duke, should
have his head cut off; and that the execution should be done on the
landing-place of the stone staircase, where the Dukes take their oath
when they first enter the palace. On the following day, the 17th of
April, the doors of the palace being shut, the Duke had his head cut
off, about the hour of noon. And the cap of estate was taken from the
Duke's head before he came down stairs. When the execution was over, it
is said that one of the Council of Ten went to the columns of the palace
over against the place of St. Mark, and that he showed the bloody sword
unto the people, crying out with a loud voice--"The terrible doom hath
fallen upon the traitor! "--and the doors were opened, and the people all
rushed in, to see the corpse of the Duke, who had been beheaded.
It must be known that Ser Giovanni Sanudo, the councillor, was not
present when the aforesaid sentence was pronounced; because he was
unwell and remained at home. So that only fourteen balloted; that is to
say, five councillors, and nine of the Council of Ten. And it was
adjudged, that all the lands and chattels of the Duke, as well as of the
other traitors, should be forfeited to the state. And as a grace to the
Duke, it was resolved in the Council of Ten, that he should be allowed
to dispose of two thousand ducats out of his own property. And it was
resolved, that all the councillors and all the Avogadori of the
Commonwealth, those of the Council of Ten, and the members of the junta,
who had assisted in passing sentence on the Duke and the other traitors,
should have the privilege of carrying arms both by day and by night in
Venice, and from Grado to Cavazere. And they were also to be allowed two
footmen carrying arms, the aforesaid footmen living and boarding with
them in their own houses. And he who did not keep two footmen might
transfer the privilege to his sons or his brothers; but only to two.
Permission of carrying arms was also granted to the four Notaries of the
Chancery, that is to say, of the Supreme Court, who took the
depositions; and they were, Amedio, Nicoletto di Lorino, Steffanello,
and Pietro de Compostelli, the secretaries of the Signori di Notte.
After the traitors had been hanged, and the Duke had had his head cut
off, the state remained in great tranquillity and peace. And, as I have
read in a Chronicle, the corpse of the Duke was removed in a barge, with
eight torches, to his tomb in the church of San Giovanni e Paolo, where
it was buried. The tomb is now in that aisle in the middle of the little
church of Santa Maria della Pace which was built by Bishop Gabriel of
Bergamo. It is a coffin of stone, with these words engraven thereon:
"_Heic jacet Dominus Marinus Faletro Dux. _"--And they did not paint his
portrait in the hall of the Great Council:--but in the place where it
ought to have been, you see these words:--"_Hic est locus Marini
Faletro, decapitati pro criminibus. _"--And it is thought that his house
was granted to the church of Sant' Apostolo; it was that great one near
the bridge. Yet this could not be the case, or else the family bought it
back from the church; for it still belongs to Ca Faliero. I must not
refrain from noting, that some wished to write the following words in
the place where his portrait ought to have been, as
aforesaid:--"_Marinus Faletro Dux, temeritas me cepit. Paenas lui,
decapitatus pro criminibus. _"--Others, also, indited a couplet, worthy
of being inscribed upon his tomb.
"_Dux Venetum jacet heic, patriam qui prodere tentans,_
_Sceptra, decus, censum perdidit, atque caput. _"
NOTE B.
Petrarch on the Conspiracy of Marino Faliero. [485]
"Al giovane doge Andrea Dandolo succedette un vecchio, il quale tardi si
pose al timone della repubblica, ma sempre prima di quel, che facea d'
uopo a lui ed alia patria: egli e Marino Faliero, personaggio a me noto
per antica dimestichezza. Falsa era l' opinione intorno a lui, giacche
egli si mostro fornito piu di coraggio, che di senno. Non pago della
prima dignita, entro con sinistro piede nel pubblico Palazzo:
imperciocche questo doge dei Veneti, magistrato sacro in tutti i secoli,
che dagli antichi fu sempre venerato qual nume in quella citta, l'
altr'jeri fu decollato nel vestibolo dell' istesso Palazzo. Discorrerei
fin dal principio le cause di un tale evento, se cosi vario, ed ambiguo
non ne fosse il grido: nessuno pero lo scusa, tutti affermano, che egli
abbia voluto cangiar qualche cosa nell' ordine della repubblica a lui
tramandato dai maggiori. Che desiderava egli di piu? Io son d' avviso,
che egli abbia ottenuto cio, che non si concedette a nessun altro:
mentre adempiva gli uffici di legato presso il Pontefice, e sulle rive
del Rodano trattava la pace, che io prima di lui avevo indarno tentato
di conchiudere, gli fu conferito l' onore del ducato, che ne chiedeva,
ne s' aspettava. Tornato in patria, penso a quello, cui nessuno non pose
mente giammai, e soffri quello, che a niuno accadde mai di soffrire:
giacche in quel luogo celeberrimo, e chiarissimo, e bellissimo infra
tutti quelli, che io vidi, ove i suoi antenati avevano ricevuti
grandissimi onori in mezzo alle pompe trionfali, ivi egli fu trascinato
in modo servile, e spogliato delle insegne ducali, perdette la testa, e
macchio col proprio sangue le soglie del tempio, l' atrio del Palazzo, e
le scale marmoree endute spesse volte illustri o dalle solenni
festivita, o dalle ostili spoglie. Ho notato il luogo, ora noto il
tempo: e l' anno del Natale di Cristo, 1355, fu il giorno diciotto
aprile si alto e il grido sparso, che se alcuno esaminera la disciplina,
e le costumanze di quella citta, e quanto mutamento di cose venga
minacciato dalla morte di un solo uomo (quantunque molti altri, come
narrano, essendo complici, o subirono l' istesso supplicio, o lo
aspettano) si accorgera, che nulla di piu grande avvenne ai nostri tempi
nella Italia. Tu forse qui attendi il mio giudizio: assolvo il popolo,
se credere si dee alia fama, benche abbia potuto e castigate piu
mitemente, e con maggior dolcezza vendicare il suo dolore: ma non cosi
facilmente, si modera un' ira giusta insieme, e grande in un numeroso
popolo principalmente, nel quale il precipitoso, ed instabile volgo
aguzza gli stimoli dell' iracondia con rapidi, e sconsigliati clamori.
Compatisco, e nell' istesso tempo mi adiro con quell' infelice uomo, il
quale adorno di un' insolito onore, non so, che cosa si volesse negli
estremi anni della sua vita: la calamita di lui diviene sempre piu
grave, perche dalla sentenza contra di esso promulgata apparira, che
egli fu non solo misero, ma insano, e demente, e che con vane arti si
usurpo per tanti anni una falsa fama di sapienza. Ammonisco i dogi, i
quali gli succederanno, che questo e un' esempio posto innanzi ai loro
occhi, quale specchio, nel quale veggano d' essere non signori, ma duci,
anzi nemmeno duci, ma onorati servi della Repubblica. Tu sta sano; e
giacche fluttuano le pubbliche cose, sforziamoci di governar
modestissimamente i privati nostri affari. "--_Viaggi di Francesco
Petrarca_, descritti dal Professore Ambrogio Levati, Milano, 1820, iv.
323-325.
The above Italian translation from the Latin epistles of Petrarch
proves--1stly, That Marino Faliero was a personal friend of Petrarch's;
"antica dimestichezza," old intimacy, is the phrase of the poet. 2dly,
That Petrarch thought that he had more courage than conduct, "piu di
_coraggio_ che di senno. " 3dly, That there was some jealousy on the part
of Petrarch; for he says that Marino Faliero was treating of the peace
which he himself had "vainly attempted to conclude. " 4thly, That the
honour of the Dukedom was conferred upon him, which he neither sought
nor expected, "che ne chiedeva, ne aspettava," and which had never been
granted to any other in like circumstances, "cio che non si concedette a
nessun altro," a proof of the high esteem in which he must have been
held. 5thly, That he had a reputation for _wisdom_, _only_ forfeited by
the last enterprise of his life, "si usurpo per tanti anni una falsa
fama di sapienza. "--"He had usurped for so many years a false fame of
wisdom," rather a difficult task, I should think. People are generally
found out before eighty years of age, at least in a republic. --From
these, and the other historical notes which I have collected, it may be
inferred, that Marino Faliero possessed many of the qualities, but not
the success of a hero; and that his passions were too violent. The
paltry and ignorant account of Dr. Moore falls to the ground. Petrarch
says, "that there had been no greater event in his times" (_our times_
literally), "nostri tempi," in Italy. He also differs from the historian
in saying that Faliero was "on the banks of the _Rhone_," instead of at
Rome, when elected; the other accounts say, that the deputation of the
Venetian senate met him at Ravenna. How this may have been, it is not
for me to decide, and is of no great importance. Had the man succeeded,
he would have changed the face of Venice, and perhaps of Italy. As it
is, what _are_ they both?
NOTE C.
Venetian Society and Manners.
"Vice without splendour, sin without relief
Even from the gloss of love to smooth it o'er;
But in its stead, coarse lusts of habitude," etc.
"To these attacks so frequently pointed by the government against the
clergy,--to the continual struggles between the different constituted
bodies,--to these enterprises carried on by the mass of the nobles
against the depositaries of power,--to all those projects of innovation,
which always ended by a stroke of state policy; we must add a cause not
less fitted to spread contempt for ancient doctrines; _this was the
excess of corruption_.
"That freedom of manners, which had been long boasted of as the
principal charm of Venetian society, had degenerated into scandalous
licentiousness: the tie of marriage was less sacred in that Catholic
country, than among those nations where the laws and religion admit of
its being dissolved. Because they could not break the contract, they
feigned that it had not existed; and the ground of nullity, immodestly
alleged by the married pair, was admitted with equal facility by priests
and magistrates, alike corrupt. These divorces, veiled under another
name, became so frequent, that the most important act of civil society
was discovered to be amenable to a tribunal of exceptions; and to
restrain the open scandal of such proceedings became the office of the
police. In 1782 the Council of Ten decreed, that every woman who should
sue for a dissolution of her marriage should be compelled to await the
decision of the judges in some convent, to be named by the court. [486]
Soon afterwards the same council summoned all causes of that nature
before itself. [487] This infringement on ecclesiastical jurisdiction
having occasioned some remonstrance from Rome, the council retained only
the right of rejecting the petition of the married persons, and
consented to refer such causes to the holy office as it should not
previously have rejected. [488]
"There was a moment in which, doubtless, the destruction of private
fortunes, the ruin of youth, the domestic discord occasioned by these
abuses, determined the government to depart from its established maxims
concerning the freedom of manners allowed the subject. All the
courtesans were banished from Venice; but their absence was not enough
to reclaim and bring back good morals to a whole people brought up in
the most scandalous licentiousness. Depravity reached the very bosoms of
private families, and even into the cloister; and they found themselves
obliged to recall, and even to indemnify,[489] women who sometimes
gained possession of important secrets, and who might be usefully
employed in the ruin of men whose fortunes might have rendered them
dangerous. Since that time licentiousness has gone on increasing; and we
have seen mothers, not only selling the innocence of their daughters,
but selling it by a contract, authenticated by the signature of a public
officer, and the performance of which was secured by the protection of
the laws. [490]
"The parlours of the convents of noble ladies, and the houses of the
courtesans, though the police carefully kept up a number of spies about
them, were the only assemblies for society in Venice; and in these two
places, so different from each other, there was equal freedom. Music,
collations, gallantry, were not more forbidden in the parlours than at
the casinos. There were a number of casinos for the purpose of public
assemblies, where gaming was the principal pursuit of the company. It
was a strange sight to see persons of either sex masked, or grave in
their magisterial robes, round a table, invoking chance, and giving way
at one instant to the agonies of despair, at the next to the illusions
of hope, and that without uttering a single word.
"The rich had private casinos, but they lived _incognito_ in them; and
the wives whom they abandoned found compensation in the liberty they
enjoyed. The corruption of morals had deprived them of their empire. We
have just reviewed the whole history of Venice, and we have not once
seen them exercise the slightest influence. "--Daru, _Hist. de la Repub.
de Venise_, Paris, 1821, v. 328-332.
* * * * *
The author of "Sketches Descriptive of Italy," (1820), etc. , one of the
hundred tours lately published, is extremely anxious to disclaim a
possible plagiarism from _Childe Harold_ and _Beppo_. See p. 159, vol.
iv. He adds that still less could this presumed coincidence arise from
"my conversation," as he had "_repeatedly declined an introduction to me
while in Italy_. "
Who this person may be I know not;[491] but he must have been deceived
by all or any of those who "repeatedly offered to introduce" him, as I
invariably refused to receive any English with whom I was not previously
acquainted, even when they had letters from England. If the whole
assertion is not an invention, I request this person not to sit down
with the notion that he could have been introduced, since there has been
nothing I have so carefully avoided as any kind of intercourse with his
countrymen,--excepting the very few who were for a considerable time
resident in Venice, or had been of my previous acquaintance. Whoever
made him any such offer was possessed of impudence equal to that of
making such an assertion without having had it. The fact is, that I hold
in utter abhorrence any contact with the travelling English, as my
friend the Consul General Hoppner and the Countess Benzoni (in whose
house the Conversazione mostly frequented by them is held), could amply
testify, were it worth while. I was persecuted by these tourists even to
my riding ground at Lido, and reduced to the most disagreeable circuits
to avoid them. At Madame Benzoni's I repeatedly refused to be introduced
to them;--of a thousand such presentations pressed upon me, I accepted
two, and both were to Irish women.
* * * * *
I should hardly have descended to speak of such trifles publicly, if the
impudence of this "sketcher" had not forced me to a refutation of a
disingenuous and gratuitously impertinent assertion; so meant to be, for
what could it import to the reader to be told that the author "had
repeatedly declined an introduction," even if it had been true, which,
for the reasons I have above given, is scarcely possible. Except Lords
Lansdowne, Jersey, and Lauderdale, Messrs. Scott, Hammond, Sir Humphry
Davy, the late M. Lewis, W. Bankes, Mr. Hoppner, Thomas Moore, Lord
Kinnaird, his brother, Mr. Joy, and Mr. Hobhouse, I do not recollect to
have exchanged a word with another Englishman since I left their
Country; and almost all these I had known before. The others,--and God
knows there were some hundreds, who bored me with letters or visits, I
refused to have any communication with, and shall be proud and happy
when that wish becomes mutual.
FOOTNOTES:
[483] {462}Mr. Francis Cohen, afterwards Sir Francis Palgrave
(1788-1861), the author of the _Rise and Progress of the English
Constitution, History of the Anglo-Saxons_, etc. , etc.
[483a][In the earlier editions (1821-1825) Francis Cohen's translation
(Appendix II. ) is preceded by an Italian version (Appendix I. ), taken
directly from Muratori's edition of Marin Sanudo's _Vite dei Dogi_
(_Rerum Italicarum Scriptores_, 1733, xii. 628-635). The two versions
are by no means identical. Cohen's "translation" is, presumably an
accurate rendering of Sanudo's text, and must have been made either from
the original MS.
