a few days after our arrival at venice, we met the archduke and duchess, at the house of the imperial ambassador. they were highly entertained with the history of their cook and butler, which i gave them at full length.
the company consisted entirely of foreigners, the venetian nobility never visiting in the houses of foreign ministers.
among other strangers was the son of the duke of berwick. this young gentleman has lately allied himself to the family from which he is descended, by marrying the sister of the countess of albany. i[21] suppose you have heard that the pretender, now at florence, has assumed the title of count albany.
next day the d—— of h—— accompanied the archduke and duchess to the arsenal. they were attended by a deputation from the senate.
some venetian ladies of the first distinction, in compliment to the archduchess, were of the party.
the arsenal at venice is a fortification of between two and three miles in compass. on the ramparts are many little watch-towers, where centinels are stationed. like the arsenal at toulon, it is at once a dockyard, and repository for naval and military stores. here the venetians build their ships, cast their cannon, make their cables, sails, anchors, &c. the arms are arranged here as in other places of the same kind,[22] in large rooms divided into narrow walks by long walls of muskets, pikes, and halberts. every thing having been prepared before the archduke and duchess arrived, a cannon was cast in their presence. after this the company were conducted on board the bucentaur, or vessel in which the doge is carried to espouse the adriatic. here they were regaled with wine and sweetmeats, the venetian nobles doing the honours of the entertainment.
the bucentaur is kept under cover, and never taken out but for the espousals. it is formed for containing a very numerous company, is finely gilt and ornamented within, and loaded on the outside with emblematical figures in sculpture. this vessel may possibly be admired by landsmen, but will not much charm a seaman’s eye, being a heavy broad-bottomed machine, which draws little water, and consequently may be easily overset in a gale of wind.[23] of this, however, there is no great danger, as two precautions are taken to prevent such an accident; one of which seems calculated to quiet the minds of believers, and the other to give confidence to the most incredulous. the first is used by the patriarch, who, as soon as the vessel is afloat, takes care to pour into the sea some holy water, which is believed to have the virtue of preventing or allaying storms. the second is entrusted to the admiral, who has the discretionary power of postponing the marriage ceremony, when the bride seems in the smallest degree boisterous. one of the virtues of the holy water, that of allaying storms, is by this means rendered superfluous.
but when the weather is quite favourable, the ceremony is performed every ascension day. the solemnity is announced in the morning by the ringing of bells and firing of cannon. about mid-day the[24] doge, attended by a numerous party of the senate and clergy, goes on board the bucentaur; the vessel is rowed a little way into the sea, accompanied by the splendid yachts of the foreign ambassadors, the gondolas of the venetian nobility, and an incredible number of barks and gallies of every kind. hymns are sung, and a band of music performs, while the bucentaur and her attendants slowly move towards st. lido, a small island, two miles from venice. prayers are then said; after which the doge drops a ring, of no great value, into the sea, pronouncing these words—desponsamus te, mare, in signum veri perpetuique dominii. the sea, like a modest bride, assents by her silence, and the marriage is deemed valid and secure to all intents and purposes.
certain it is, the time has been, when the doge had entire possession of, and dominion over, his spouse; but, for a considerable[25] time past, her favours have been shared by several other lovers; or, according to that violent metaphor of otway’s,
——now
their great duke shrinks, trembling in his palace,
and sees his wife, the adriatic, plough’d,
like a lewd whore, by bolder prows than his.
after viewing every thing in the arsenal, the archduke and duchess, with all the company, were invited on board some boats which had been prepared for their reception. they were directly rowed to that part of the lake from whence there was the most advantageous view of venice, a band of music performing all the time; while the sailors, in two or three small boats, were employed in fishing oysters, which they opened and presented to the company.
the amusements of this day had all the advantage of novelty to render them agreeable[26] to strangers, and every additional pleasure which the attentive and polite behaviour of the venetian nobility could give.
