"Eh via!" she said to herself, " 't is almost as if it were a
revenge upon us for our former churlishness, that he thus now
puts us to shame."
The ambassador of Cyprus, swarthy of face and stately in bearing,
entered the great hall. With him came his attendant retinue of
Cypriote nobles. Kneeling before the doge, the ambassador
presented the petition of his master, the King of Cyprus, seeking
alliance and friendship with Venice.
"And the better to secure this and the more firmly to cement it,
Eccellenza," said the ambassador, "my lord and master the king
doth crave from your puissant state the hand, of some high-born
damsel of the Republic as that of his loving and acknowledged
queen."
The old doge waved his hand toward the fair and anxious
seventy-two.
"Behold, noble sir," he said, "the fairest and noblest of our
maidens of Venice. Let your eye seek among these a fitting bride
for your lord, the King of Cyprus, and it shall be our pleasure
to give her to him in such a manner as shall suit the power and
dignity of the State of Venice."
Courteous and stately still, but with a shrewd and critical eye,
the ambassador of Cyprus slowly passed from candidate to
candidate, with here a pleasant word and there a look of
admiration; to this one a honeyed compliment upon her beauty, to
that one a bit of praise for her elegance of dress.
Pages:
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148