bridges and chase the other boys through the water,
to listen to the music in the Piazza at night, seemed to him the only
life worth living.

But the stranger was speaking again. "I could have been happy here
centuries ago, when the city was in the making," he said. "It would
have been glorious to fight for the right to live on these islands,
and to have a hand in building such palaces and churches. Those were
days of service for the men who loved their city."

Rafael knew well the history of Venice. As the officer spoke, the
boy's eyes turned to the stately walls of the Doge's palace, and to
the domes of the great churches; and he thought of the early Venetians
who gave their lives in loving service for their country.

The stranger continued, "Your good Doge Dandolo had a powerful navy
when he led the Venetians across the Mediterranean to conquer the
islands of Candia and Cyprus."

Rafael nodded. "Si, Signore," he said. "There were many at home who
held the city safe while he was away," he added, "and there was need
enough of brave men then, both at home and abroad."

"Venice was a rich and powerful state in those days," said the
stranger. "Now she has little left but her beauty, and that will fall
to ruin, as the great bell-tower in the Piazza fell not long ago. A
man likes to fight for something more than beauty."

Rafael nodded again. He liked this stranger who spoke so easily of the
early life of Venice.

Just then the boat slipped into a nook under the bridge, where it was
safe from the sweep of the gondolas which crowded near, and the two
became silent in watching the approach of the barge filled with
musicians and singers.

This barge was surrounded by a solid mass of gondolas, closely wedged
together, each gondolier trying to push his boat as close as
possible, so that his patrons might see and hear well.

Suddenly red lights flared up from the bridge and flooded everything
with radiance. Palace fronts shone with a magical beauty; crimson
banners waved from Moorish windows; statues and columns stood out
clearly and asked boldly to be admired.

Rafael looked at his companion. "Did you ever see a more beautiful
sight?" he asked.

But he could get no satisfaction from the stranger. "Beauty is not
everything," was his answer; and Rafael racked his brain to think what
more could be desired in this wonderland of marble and sky and water.

Suddenly the music from the barge swelled into a great volume of