ntil the propitious moment came; and the strong consciousness of
this sweet new queenship made the constant assertion of the sovereignty
of Venice not easy to endure. But the remembrance of his vow of
allegiance, just rendered before the Senate, returned to him rather as
the public investiture of his rights as a man than as a claim of
self-surrender; and he vowed to himself to use that right, in all
possible conflict between himself and the Republic, in questions
personal and dear; for the pleasant freedom of his life thus far had
left him less in awe of the senatorial majesty than Giustinian
Giustiniani would have deemed possible. But how could he hope to win his
father's consent to any unpatrician alliance!

He passed the elder Giustinian hastily and paused beyond the next group
of armor--battered breastplates, casques, and shields of the twelfth
century--but his thoughts were elsewhere.

"These," said the Senator, inexorably recalling him, "were of the famous
siege of Lepanto, where, but for the favor of the Holy Father, our house
had been extinct."

The young fellow's soul stirred within him, for he knew the story well.
How was it possible for a Giustinian to pause before this great stand of
antique trophies of prowess and not call to mind visions of heroism and
suffering in which the Giustiniani of those days--_every one who
belonged to Venice_--had yielded up his life in this great struggle with
the Turks!

Yes, every one who belonged to Venice. For the young Nicolo, the last
survivor of their ancient name, was already set apart from the world by
his priestly vows, amid the quiet groves of the island of San Nicolo. It
was a pretty romance--all those noble councillors, trembling from fear
of the extinction of this most ancient and princely house, framing
humble petitions to the Holy Father; the youthful monk, leaving the
tranquil solitude of his island sanctuary, unfrocked with honor by a
Pope's decree, to don the crimson robe of senator and wed the daughter
of the Doge! And later, when sons and daughters many had risen up to
call them blessed, the old haunting charm of the convent reasserting
itself, the return of the Giustinian--this solitary link between the
long lines of his noble house, before and after--to his lonely cell on
San Nicolo; the retirement of the Lady Anna from the sweet motherhood of
her home to reign as Lady Abbess in the convent of Sant' Elena; the
nimbus of sainthood for the pair when thei