t for a visit of eighteen years to Paris, to
please the Emperor Napoleon."

"See how they paw the air," said Edith. "They look as if they were
eager to be off again to the ends of the earth."

"No," said Rafael, "we Venetians love those bronze horses. No one will
ever take them away from us again.

"We need them," he added with a laugh, "how else would we know what
horses are like, when we read about them in books?"

"It is a great pity that the bell-tower in the square fell," said Mrs.
Sprague; "this new one that they are building in its place must be
very expensive."

Rafael laughed merrily. "That is a queer thing about the Italians," he
said; "if it is a great piece of art which we wish to preserve, we do
not care what the expense may be."

Then he added soberly, "The fishermen miss the old tower more than any
of us, because they used to find their way into the Lido port by it."

"You say so much about the Lido," said Edith.

"We will go over there after we have looked at some of the pictures
inside the palace, and at the dungeons, and the Bridge of Sighs,"
answered Rafael.

Edith shuddered. "I will look at the pictures, but not at the
dungeons," she said; "and I can look at the Bridge of Sighs every time
I come from our hotel into the Piazza."

As they stepped back into the room behind them, she repeated the names
of three of the great painters whose works have helped to make Venice
a treasure-city.

"Titian, Veronese, Tintoretto," she said over and over again, as she
looked at the pictures which Rafael pointed out to her in the long
rooms. "If I find more of their paintings in other cities of Italy, it
will seem like meeting old friends."

Rafael smiled. "Italy is rich because of her artists," he said. "You
will find their works in every city. It may not always be the
paintings of those same three men, but there are others which are also
famous."

Then his happy face grew serious. "It makes the heart sad to think
what wonderful dreams our great Italians have had," he said. "My
mother says that no dream, no thought of beauty, was ever felt
anywhere, that has not found expression here in Italy."

As he spoke, he led the mother and daughter out of the palace and
across the Piazzetta to the steps where his little boat was tied, and
Edith wondered if his words were true.

Before her sight-seeing in Italy was ended, she was very sure that
they were.

CHAPTER VI

SUNSET FROM THE TOWER OF SAN