emotion she rarely betrayed, though doubtless, under the faultless
dignity of her bearing, there were often currents of feeling and
thwartings hard to be endured.

She was thinking of her boy with a great and sudden tenderness, now that
the moment had come in which she would be less to him and the world of
men must be more, as from the distance she saw the gondola touch the
landing and watched him until he passed out of sight, after pausing with
his father for a moment before the great columns of San Marco and San
Teodoro, looking up perhaps with a keener sense of the dread scenes they
had witnessed than had ever before possessed him, though the sunshine
streamed brilliantly over the water and life seemed full of promise for
this only son of the Ca' Giustiniani, on his way to take the oath of
"Silence and Allegiance to the Republic," as a "_Nobile di Gran'
Consiglio_."

Marcantonio had entered the gondola gaily, with a full, pleasurable
sense of the beauty of life, and well content with that portion which
had fallen to his lot; for he was easily affected, and the air of the
palace was full of the excitement of his fête. The only forebodings that
shadowed his sunshine were connected with Marina and the gift which he
should offer to his mother upon his return from the Ducal Palace. But
the day was one to banish every hint of failure, making him more
conscious of his power than he had ever been before, and he felt himself
floating toward attainment--whatever the difficulties might be. But with
his first step upon the Piazzetta he forgot the glory of the sunshine
flashing over the blue waters, and a sudden sense of fate possessed him,
as his father made an almost imperceptible pause in his grave progress
toward the Ducal Palace, and with the slightest possible movement of
his hand seemed to direct his son's attention to the great granite