A few excited fishermen clustered about the doors of the
cathedral, like bees swarming before their hive; but, on that side,
there was no very visible cause of alarm. Unaccustomed as she was to
scenes like that before her, the first glance assured the gentle girl of
the real privacy which so singularly distinguishes the solitude of a
crowd. Gathering her simple mantle more closely about her form, and
settling her mask with care, she moved with a swift step into the centre
of the piazza.
We shall not detail the progress of our heroine, as, avoiding the
commonplace gallantry that assailed and offended her ear, she went her
way on her errand of kindness. Young, active, and impelled by her
intentions, the square was soon passed, and she reached the place of San
Nico. Here was one of the landings of the public gondolas. But at the
moment there was no boat in waiting, for curiosity or fear had induced
the men to quit their usual stand. Gelsomina had ascended the bridge,
and was on the crown of its arch, when a gondolier came sweeping lazily
in from the direction of the Grand Canal. Her hesitation and doubting
manner attracted his attention, and the man made the customary sign
which conveyed the offer of his services. As she was nearly a stranger
in the streets of Venice, labyrinths that offer greater embarrassment to
the uninitiated than perhaps the passages of any other town of its size,
she gladly availed herself of the offer.
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