"
"If it had been a dispute about the Sovereignty of the ocean in
general," remarked Willis, "there would have been another competitor."
"Venice," continued Sophia, "carried the day, and about 1275 or 76 she
resolved to celebrate her victory by an annual ceremony. For this
purpose, a magnificent galley was built, encrusted with gold, silver,
and precious stones. This floating _bijou_ was called the
_Bucentaure_, was guarded in the arsenal, whence it was removed on the
eve of the Ascension. Next day the Doge, the patriarch, and the
Council of Ten embarked, and the galley was towed out to the open sea,
but not far from the shore. There, in the presence of the foreign
ambassadors, whilst the clergy chanted the marriage service, the Doge
advanced majestically to the front of the galley, and there formally
wedded the sea."
"He might have done worse," observed Willis.
"The ceremony," continued Sophia, "consisted in the Doge throwing a
ring into the sea, saying, 'We wed thee, O sea! to mark the real and
perpetual dominion we possess over thee.'"
"And it may be added," observed Becker, "that the history of Venice
shows how religiously the spouses of the Adriatic kept their vows."
"Now," said Sophia, "that I have told my tale, let us hear what became
of Cecilia."
"Well, the marriage took place the morning after Herbert's ring had
been thrown to the fishes.
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