Chapter 10

"We shall not spend a large expense of time,
Before we reckon with your several loves,
And make us even with you."
MACBETH.

When the three gondolas reached the side of the Bucentaur, the fisherman
hung back, as if he distrusted his right to intrude himself into the
presence of the senate. He was, however, commanded to ascend, and signs
were made for his two companions to follow.

The nobles, clad in their attire of office, formed a long and imposing
lane from the gangway to the stern, where the titular sovereign of that
still more titular Republic was placed, in the centre of the high
officers of state, gorgeous and grave in borrowed guise and natural
qualities.

"Approach," said the Prince, mildly, observing that the old and
half-naked man that led the victors hesitated to advance. "Thou art the
conqueror, fisherman, and to thy hands must I consign the prize."

Antonio bent his knee to the deck, and bowed his head lowly ere he
obeyed. Then taking courage, he drew nearer to the person of the Doge,
where he stood with a bewildered eye and rebuked mien, waiting the
further pleasure of his superiors. The aged Prince paused for stillness
to succeed the slight movements created by curiosity. When he spoke, it
was amid a perfect calm.

"It is the boast of our glorious Republic," he said, "that the rights of
none are disregarded; that the lowly receive their merited rewards as
surely as the great; that St. Mark holds the balance with an even hand,
and that this obscure fisherman, having deserved the honors of this
regatta, will receive them with the same readiness on the part of him
who bestows, as if he were the most favored follower of our own house.
Nobles and burghers of Venice, learn to prize your excellent and equable
laws in this occasion, for it is most in acts of familiar and common
usage that the paternal character of a government is seen, since in
matters of higher moment the eyes of a world impel a compliance with its
own opinions."

The Doge delivered these preliminary remarks in a firm tone, like one
confident of his auditors' applause. He was not deceived. No sooner had
he done, than a murmur of approbation passed through the assembly, and
extended itself to thousands who were beyond the sound of his voice, and
to more who were beyond the reach of his meaning. The senators bent
their heads in acknowledgment of the justice of what their chief had
uttered, and the latter, having waited to gather these signs of an
approving loyalty, proceeded.

"It is my duty, Antonio, and, being a duty, it hath become a pleasure to
place around thy neck this golden chain. The oar which it bears is an
emblem of thy skill;