Mark's herself appeared more like a jewel box than ever, and was only
surpassed by the Campanile which was ablaze from top to bottom.
Everywhere was music, everywhere was light, and in this new and splendid
setting, Venice looked a very gorgeous "Bride of the Sea!"
The spirit of the old Carnival days was once more present: as women in
black shawls and strange masked figures threaded their way amid the throngs
of people accompanied by wild music, while confetti, thrown from every
balcony, caused shouts of laughter and fell harmlessly upon them.
There were to be fireworks on the water, and Paolo had offered his old
gondola that they might join the gay crowds on the Grand Canal. Here Pietro
was supreme, and it required only the twisting of a scarf about his waist
to transform him into a gondolier, at least in the eyes of his not too
critical audience.
So Giovanni and the children crowded into the shabby gondola and rowed with
thousands of others up and down, watching the rockets soaring into the sky
and bursting into myriads of dazzling stars as they fell into the water
below.
Later, when the display was over, Pietro guided them among the storied
palaces of the long ago, now close behind some concert barge, playing
softest strains of grand opera, or answering the low call of passing
gondoliers with like musical response.
CHAPTER XI
A LITTLE JOURNEY IN THE WORLD
The morning after the great Carnival day Andrea woke with a sense of
disquietude.
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