elegance. Rich rows of pearls wind through her braided hair, in colour
gold, in texture soft as silk. A band of gold forms the girdle of her
ruby-coloured velvet robe, which descends to the wrist, and there reveals
the small white hand and tapering fingers of patrician beauty. All this
may captivate the fastidious noble; but, to men less artificial in their
tastes and habits, could such a woman be better than a statue--and could
love, the strongest of human passions, be ever more to her than a
short-lived and amusing pastime?

"From these immortal portraits, my Antonio, you may learn that _colour_
was the grand secret of the great Venetian painters. _Their_ pale forms
are never white, nor their blooming cheeks rose-colour, but the true
colour of life--mellow, rich, and glowing; both men and women strictly
true to nature, and looking as if they could turn pale with anger or blush
with tender passion. From these great men can best be learned how much
charm may be conveyed by _colour_, and what life and glow, what passion,
grace, and beauty it gives to _form_.

"But I weary thee, Antonio; and after such excitement thou hast need of
repose. To-morrow, let me see thee early."

The exhausted youth gladly departed from a scene of so much trial; and,
hastening to his gondola, sought refreshment in an excursion to the Lido.
Returning after nightfall, he landed on the Place of St Mark's, and
wandered through its cool arcades until they were deserted. In vain,
however, did he strive to banish the graceful form and grisly features of
the stranger. The strong impression he had received became so vivid and
absorbing, that at every turn he thought he saw her gazing at him as if in
mockery, and lighting up the deep shadows beneath the arches with her
glowing orbs, which seemed to his disordered fancy to emit sparks and