watched her mistress's face.

"What do you mean?"

"The master has ordered just such a gown. That is what I mean. Do you
think I would talk of such a beautiful thing, just to make you unhappy,
if you were not to have one? But you will not forget poor Nella, my
little lady? You will take me with you to Venice?"

"Then you think I am to marry some one from the city? What is his name?"

"The master knows. That is enough. But it must be the Doge's son, or at
least the son of the Admiral of Venice. It will take two months to
embroider the gown. That means that you are to be married in August, of
course."

"Do you think so?" asked Marietta indifferently.

"I know it." And Nella gave a discontented little snort, for she did not
like to have her conclusions questioned. "Am I half-witted? Am I in my
dotage? Am I an imbecile? The gown is ordered, and that is the truth. Do
you think the master has ordered a wedding gown embroidered with gold
and pearls for himself?"

Marietta tossed her hair back and shook it down her shoulders, laughing
gaily at the idea.

"Ah!" cried Nella indignantly. "Now you are mocking me! You are making a
laughing-stock of your poor Nella! It is too bad! But you will be sorry
that you laughed at me, when I am not here to bring you melons and
cherries and tell you the news in the morning! You will say: 'Poor
Nella! She was not such an ignorant person after all!' That is what you
will say. I tell you that if your father orders a wedding gown, you are
the only person in the house who can wear it, and he would not order it
just to see how beautiful you would be as a bride! He is a serious man,
the master, he is grave, he is wise! He does nothing without much
reflection, and what he does is well done. He says, 'My daughter is to
be married, therefore I will order a splendid dress for her.' That is
what he says, and he orders it."

"That has an air of reason," said Marietta gravely. "I did not mean to
laugh at you."

"Oh, very well! If you thought your father unreasonable, what should I
say? He does not say one thing and do another, your father. And I will
tell you something. They will make the gown even handsomer than he
ordered it, because he is very rich, and he will grumble and scold, but
in the end he will pay, for the honour of the house. Then you will wear
the gown, and all Venice will see you in it on your wedding day."

"That will be a great thing for the Venetians," observed the young girl,