The ambassadors, the high dignitaries of the state, and the
aged man who had been chosen to bear the empty honors of sovereignty,
still remained on the land, waiting, with the quiet of trained docility,
the moment to embark. At this moment, a man of an embrowned visage, legs
bare to the knee, and breast open to the breeze, rushed through the
guards, and knelt on the stones of the quay at his feet.
"Justice!--great prince!" cried the bold stranger; "justice and mercy!
Listen to one who has bled for St. Mark, and who hath his scars for his
witnesses."
"Justice and mercy are not always companions," calmly observed he who
wore the horned bonnet, motioning to his officious attendants to let the
intruder stay.
"Mighty prince! I come for the last."
"Who and what art thou?"
"A fisherman of the Lagunes. One named Antonio, who seeketh the liberty
of the prop of his years--a glorious boy, that force and the policy of
the state have torn from me."
"This should not be! Violence is not the attribute of justice--but the
youth hath offended the laws, and he suffereth for his crimes?"
"He is guilty, Excellent and most Serene Highness, of youth, and health,
and strength, with some skill in the craft of the mariner. They have
taken him, without warning or consent, for the service of the galleys,
and have left me in my age, alone."
The expression of pity, which had taken possession of the venerable
features of the prince, changed instantly to a look of uneasiness and
distrust.
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