--On."
MARINO FALIERO.
Another morning called the Venetians to their affairs. Agents of the
police had been active in preparing the public mind, and as the sun rose
above the narrow sea, the squares began to fill. There were present the
curious citizen in his, cloak and cap, bare-legged laborers in wondering
awe, the circumspect Hebrew in his gaberdine and beard, masked
gentlemen, and many an attentive stranger from among the thousands who
still frequented that declining mart. It was rumored that an act of
retributive justice was about to take place, for the peace of the town
and the protection of the citizen. In short, curiosity, idleness, and
revenge, with all the usual train of human feelings, had drawn together
a multitude eager to witness the agonies of a fellow-creature.
The Dalmatians were drawn up near the sea, in a manner to inclose the
two granite columns of the Piazzetta. Their grave and disciplined faces
fronted inwards towards the African pillars, those well known landmarks
of death. A few grim warriors of higher rank paced the flags before the
troops, while a dense crowd filled the exterior space. By special favor
more than a hundred fishermen were grouped within the armed men,
witnesses that their class had revenge. Between the lofty pedestals of
St. Theodore and the winged lion lay the block and the axe, the basket
and the saw-dust; the usual accompaniments of justice in that day.
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