"He standeth in need of the horned bonnet for his naked head," continued
a third. "We shall see the brave Admiral Antonio sailing in the
Bucentaur, with the nobles of the land!"
Their sallies were succeeded by coarse laughter. Even the fair in the
balconies were not uninfluenced by these constant jibes, and the
apparent discrepancy between the condition and the means of so unusual a
pretender to the honors of the regatta. The purpose of the old man
wavered, but he seemed goaded by some inward incentive that still
enabled him to maintain his ground. His companion closely watched the
varying expression of a countenance that was far too little trained in
deception to conceal the feelings within; and, as they approached the
place of starting, he again spoke.
"Thou mayest yet withdraw," he said; "why should one of thy years make
the little time he has to stay bitter, by bearing the ridicule of his
associates for the rest of his life?"
"St. Anthony did a greater wonder when he caused the fishes to come up
on the waters to hear his preaching, and I will not show a cowardly
heart at a moment when there is most need of resolution."
The masked waterman crossed himself devoutly; and, relinquishing all
further design to persuade the other to abandon the fruitless contest,
he gave all his thoughts to his own interest in the coming struggle.
The narrowness of most of the canals of Venice, with the innumerable
angles and the constant passing, have given rise to a fashion of
construction and of rowing that are so peculiar to that city and its
immediate dependencies as to require some explanation.
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