sist in attacking it, he shall be allowed to
speak without interruption; immediately afterwards he shall be arrested,
and instructions as to his trial shall be given, so that he may be judged
by the ordinary tribunals; and, if this does not succeed in preventing his
proceedings, he shall be put to death secretly.

"In case of a complaint against one of the heads of the Council of Ten,
the instructions shall be made secretly, and, in case of sentence of
death, poison shall be the agent selected.

"Should any dissatisfied noble speak ill of the Government, he shall first
be forbidden to appear in the councils and public places for two years.
Should he not obey, or should he repeat the offence after the two years,
he shall be drowned as incorrigible...." &c.

One can easily understand that in order to carry out these laws the most
careful measures were taken to organize a system of espionage. The nobles
were subjected to a rigorous supervision; the privacy of letters was not
respected; an ambassador was never lost sight of, and his smallest acts
were narrowly watched. Any one who dared to throw obstacles in the way of
the spies employed by the Council of Ten, was put on the rack, and "made
afterwards to receive the punishment which the State inquisitors might
consider befitting." Whole pages of the secret statutes bear witness that
lying and fraud formed the basis of all the diplomatic relations of the
Venetian Government. Nevertheless the Council of Ten, which was solely
instituted with the view of watching over the safety of the Republic,
could not inter-meddle in civil cases, and its members were forbidden to
hold any sort of communication with foreigners.

[Illustration: Figs. 335 and 336.--Chiefs of Sbirri, in the Secret
Service of the Council of Ten.--From Cesare Vecellio.]

The list of names of Venetian nobles and distinguished persons who became
victims to the suspicions tyranny of the Council of Ten, and of the State
inquisitors, would be very long and of little interest. We may mention a
few, however. We find that in 1385, Peter Justiniani, and, in 1388,
Stephen Monalesco, were punished for holding secret transactions with the
Lord of Padua; in 1413, John Nogarola, for having tried to set fire to
Verona; in 1471, Borromeo Memo, for having uttered defamatory speeches
against the Podestat of Padua. Not only was this Borromeo Memo punished,
but three witnesses of the crime which was imputed to him were condemned