USTICE did but restore the balance of her scales when she gave sentence against Venice. When this city first arose upon its hundred isles, it was the hallowed retreat of a beleagured people, unable to resist their barbarian enemies, yet daring to be free. Its after importance as a maritime republic, and the power and authority of its Doges, rendered it the rival of that mighty empire of which in its origin it was the remnant. Indeed it had features of greatness that admitted no comparison; its history was an illustrious isolation. But the luxury and vice that ever follow in the train of national wealth, corrupted her citizens; and universally acknowledged authority begat tyranny in the hearts of her nobles. Popular insurrections, and the mutual jealousies of the patricians, led to an inquisitorial form of government, and the establishment of a fearful council which condemned in secret, and from whose sentence there was no appeal. Then, "the Lion's Mouth," the general receptacle for accusations, gaped nightly for its victims; and nobles and private citizens daily disappeared, no one dared to ask, but all knew, whither. The vicious

trembled, for they were esteemed dangerous; and the virtuous were in no less peril, for they were the objects of suspicion. Venice was self-doomed, long before her hour of overthrow arrived; and her catastrophe, when at length it came, excited no sympathy beyond poetical regrets and sentimental lamentations.

The ancient Venetia was a province of Cisalpine Gaul, and the Veneti proper were a people located in northern Italy, whose descendants became the founders of Venice. The Veneti long maintained a separate and independent existence; they afterwards entered into friendly alliance with Rome; and ultimately, in the time of Augustus, they and their country were identified with the population and territory of the empire. They appear no more as a distinct people until the fall of the empire, in the beginning of the fifth century, at which period the inhabitants of Patavium (now Padua), one of the cities of Venetia, fled before Alaric, and took refuge on the sand-banks and north-western shores of the Hadrian Gulf. It was not, however, until 452, when Attila and his Huns spread desolation over Italy, that numerous refugees from the different cities of the Veneti, established themselves permanently on the islands of the Lagune, or shallows, that border the whole Venetian coast.

"A few, in fear

Flying away from him whose boast it was,

That the grass grew not where his horse had trod,
Gave birth to Venice."

The first settlement was upon the island of Rialto, where the Patavians had some time before established a commercial, station; and the refugees being principally of the poorer classes, they gladly availed themselves of the existing buildings, content to follow the occupation of fishermen, and to enjoy freedom from the outrages of the barbarian invaders of the empire. The Rialto is the principal island of the Lagune, upon which in the eighth century arose the city of Venice. So early, however, as 421 the modern city may be said to have had its foundation in the erection of the Church of San Jacopo di Rialto, an ecclesiastical edifice that continues to be held in great veneration, and which is said to retain, after all its repairs and restorations, much of its original form and structure.

The ocean-refuge of the Veneti was first named "the Port of the Deserted City," a title at once expressive of thankfulness and regret. Before the towns on the mainland arose from their ashes, the foundations of an independent government had been laid in the new State. In 697, a chief magistrate was elected under the title of Doge, or Duke, whose office was for life, and in whom was vested an authority little less than absolute. An abuse of this unlimited power led to the assassination of the third Doge, and the temporary abolition of the ducal office, which five years afterwards was restored. The renewal of this office brought with it fresh abuses of authority, and the aid of Pepin was sought to carry the election of a popular Doge. This wily monarch gladly availed himself of the opportunity for reducing the power of the republic; but his designs were defeated by the boldness and patriotism of Angelo Participazio, who received a just recompence in his advancement to the ducal chair. The son of this prince succeeded him; and in his reign (827) “the Translation of St. Mark" took place. This event, which is associated with all the subsequent glories of Venice, was marked by an incident of an extremely ludicrous character. The remains of the Saint were reposing in a church at

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Alexandria, at the time when some Venetian ships arrived in that port; and the captains of these ships prevailed upon the priests, who had the custody of the holy treasure, to deliver it into their hands. The transfer was both difficult and dangerous, owing to the attachment of the populace to their Saint; and the following ingenious expedient was adopted to convey the remains on board. The body was placed in a basket stuffed with herbs, and covered with joints of pork, and the porters who bore it made their way to the vessel by crying aloud, Khansir, Khansir!" (pork, pork!) on hearing which every Mussulman hastily avoided contact with the forbidden flesh. The saintly remains are said to have preserved the ship, in circumstances of great peril, on its homeward voyage. On its arrival at Venice, the joy of the people knew no bounds. They had an ancient tradition that St. Mark, in his travels, once visited Aquileia, and also touched at the Hundred Isles, where a prophetic vision declared to him that his bones should one day repose upon them. The arrival of the remains was therefore regarded as a most auspicious omen. Venice was solemnly consigned to the protection of the Saint; his effigy, or that of his Lion, was blazoned on the standards and impressed upon the coin; and thenceforward the gathering cry of the armies of the Republic was "Viva San Marco!" Nearly two hundred and seventy years after this occurrence, the Saint indicated symptoms of displeasure and disappeared; but afterwards, to the joy of the city, he returned, to confer upon it additional benefits. In 901, the magnificent Church of St. Mark was raised, as the mausoleum of the Saint and the national temple of the Venetian state.

In the time of the doge, Candiano II., (932,) occurred the romantic incident of "the Brides of Venice." According to ancient usage, the marriages of the chief families were celebrated publicly, and the same day and hour witnessed the union of numerous betrothed. On the eve of the feast of the Purification, a bridal procession embarked for Olivolo, the residence of the Patriarch, and proceeded to the cathedral. The corsairs of Istria, watching their opportunity, rushed into the sacred edifice and carried off the brides with all their costly adornings. The Doge, who was present, hastily assembled his galleys, overtook the ravishers before they had cleared the shallows of the Lagune, slew them to a man, and brought back the maidens in triumph. The memory of this event was long preserved by an annual procession of Venetian women, on the eve of the Purification. The trunk-makers of Olivolo formed the greater part of the crew that rescued the brides, and to reward their bravery the Doge bade them demand some privilege. They requested an annual visit from the Doge. "What," said the prince, “if it should prove rainy?" To this they replied, "We will send you hats to cover your heads, and if you are thirsty we will give you drink." To commemorate the question and reply, the priest of Santa Maria annually presented to the Doge, on his visit to Olivolo, two flasks of wine, two oranges, and two hats. This ceremony formed part of the Marian Games which were afterwards, in the palmiest days of the republic, celebrated with so much pomp and magnificence. But we must not linger amidst the early romance of Venice.

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In 991, the ducal seat was filled by Pietro Urseolo II., an enterprising prince, who opened up the avenues of commerce for the Venetians, by forming for them the most advantageous alliances; whilst he gave security to their maritime operations by the total overthrow of the Istriote pirates. An amusing instance is recorded of the luxury which, in the eleventh century, found its way to Venice. A female of Constantinople, who shared the crown of the Doge, banished plain water from her toilet, and used only the richest and most fragrant medicated preparations. She refused also to touch her meat except with a golden fork. This

dainty fair one died of a lingering disease, and her sufferings were regarded by the people as a divine judgment, whence we may infer that lavish expenditure and indulgence were not at this period generally prevalent in Venice. The republic joined in the general Crusade against the infidels; not so much from religious enthusiasm, as from motives of state policy. Her naval armament besieged and reduced Tyre and Ascalon, and well nigh annihilated the Saracen power. These successes awoke the jealousies of the Greeks; but Venice was then the undisputed mistress of the sea; and her fleet swept and desolated the coast of the Eastern empire. The doge, Dominico Michieli, returned to Venice, and after his death this epitaph was engraven upon his tomb, Terror Græcorum jacet hic-The terror of the Greeks lies here. Towards the close of the eleventh century the Venetians took up the cause of Alexander III. against Frederick Barbarossa; and when the doge, Liani, returned to Venice in triumph, the pope met him as he landed, and presented him with a ring as a token of his espousal to the sea. Hence originated that imposing ceremony annually witnessed on the Adriatic, when the doge, in his gorgeous state galley, the Bucentaur, went forth in pomp and triumph to renew his first espousal, by dropping a golden ring into the bosom of his betrothed. And proud and significant was the greeting that he offered to his bride: "We wed thee with this ring, in token of our true and perpetual sovereignty." The ceremony is retained to this day; but the romance of the pageant fled, when the winged lion gave place to the eagle of Austria. The Venetians date a proud period of their history from the close of the twelfth century, when Enrico Dandolo was elected to the ducal seat. If, however, we separate from the glories of this vaunted era, the spoils of war and the territorial additions obtained by the Venetians, there is little else to claim exalted admiration. Venice was solicited to equip a naval armament for the transport of the united forces of the Fourth Crusade. The Doge and the Council fixed the terms of the contract in the true spirit of merchants, and secured, in mercantile phrase, a safe transaction. Dandolo himself, though upwards of eighty years of age, went forth with his fleet, and for the purpose, as the sequel will show, of making the expedition subservient to the political advantages of the Venetian State. The pope (Innocent III.) sanctioned the crusade, and confirmed the treaty with Venice, upon the express condition that the allied powers should not direct their arms against Christian princes, unless compelled to do so by violence, or other unavoidable necessity, and in any case the consent of the papal see was first to be obtained. The Doge, however, taking advantage of a deficiency in the payments of the contract, diverted the expedition from its legitimate object before the day of embarkation, and prevailed upon the knights and barons to reduce the city of Lara, then under the protection of the King of Hungary. This was accordingly done; and the spoils of the city were equally divided between the Venetians and the French. Shortly after this transaction, Dandolo is said to have been bribed by the Sultan of Damascus to postpone or frustrate the original design of the expedition. Be this as it may, the fleet, in place of sailing for the Holy Land, invested and took the city of Constantinople; and in the subsequent partition of the Greek Empire, Venice obtained an extent of territory that added greatly to her maritime power. The allied forces seem to have directed their crusade against Art. Scarcely one of those monuments which had rendered Constantinople the wonder of nations, was thought worthy of preservation; and it is recorded of Dandolo, as an especial honour, that he had sufficient taste to appropriate and carry off the four horses of gilt bronze which afterwards graced the western porch of the basilica of St. Mark.