Maria was awed at the imposing doorway, but Andrea, boylike, marched in
unabashed, and, after a cursory glance in various directions, declared
himself ready to leave. He would far rather be outdoors and could scarcely
wait to get on to the Lido.
"Not so soon, my lad, there is much that you should see." And, taking him
by the hand, Giovanni led him into a great room with two immense pictures.
One was the Assumption of the Virgin by the great Titian and before it even
restless Andrea was stilled, feeling a little of the spell that has made of
this place a world shrine for all lovers of art--the wonderful figure of
the Virgin, in billowy robes, rising to heaven, while countless angels,
each one seeming more adorable than the other, seem to bear her up in her
glad flight.
"Listen," Luisa whispered, "do you not hear them singing 'Halleleujah'?"
There were other pictures in the same room, and one especially that
interested Andrea. It was Tintoretto's Miracle of St. Mark, and he listened
attentively as his father told the story:
How a certain pious slave, forbidden to visit and venerate the house of St.
Mark, disobeyed the command and went, notwithstanding. His master, angered,
ordered that the poor fellow's eyes be put out. But lo, a miracle stayed
the hands of those who were sent to carry out the cruel sentence. The slave
was freed, and his master converted.
Then Luisa led Maria into another room, saying:
"Here is the picture I most wanted you to see, for you are named for the
blessed Virgin.
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