its citizens in their commerce upon the seas, it was no less zealous for
their security and its own dignity in their traffic with the continent of
Europe. In that rude day, neither the life nor the property of the
merchant who visited the ultramontane countries was safe; for the sorry
device which he practiced, of taking with him a train of apes, buffoons,
dancers, and singers, in order to divert his ferocious patrons from
robbery and murder, was not always successful. The Venetians, therefore,
were forbidden by the State to trade in those parts; and the Bohemians,
Germans, and Hungarians, who wished to buy their wares, were obliged to
come to the lagoons and buy them at the great marts which were held in
different parts of the city, and on the neighboring main-land. A triple
purpose was thus served,--the Venetian merchants were protected in their
lives and goods, the national honor was saved from insult, and many an
honest zecchino was turned by the innkeepers and others who lodged and
entertained the customers of the merchants.

Five of these great fairs were held every week, the chief market being at
Rialto; and the transactions in trade were carefully supervised by the
servants of the State. Among the magistracies especially appointed for the
orderly conduct of the foreign and domestic commerce were the so-called
Mercantile Consuls (_Ufficio dei Consoli dei Mercanti_), whose
special duty it was to see that the traffic of the nation received no hurt
from the schemes of any citizen or foreigner, and to punish offenses of
this kind with banishment and even graver penalties. They measured every
ship about to depart, to learn if her cargo exceeded the lawful amount;
they guarded creditors against debtors and protected poor debtors against
the rapacity of creditors, and they punished thefts sustained by the
merchants. It is curious to find contemporary with this beneficent
magistracy, a charge of equal dignity exercised by the College of
Reprisals. A citizen offended in his person or property abroad, demanded