Authors: James Fenimore Cooper
"Here art thou in appointment fresh and fair,
Anticipating time with starting courage."
SHAKESPEARE.
It has been seen that the gondolas, which were to contend in the race,
had been towed towards the place of starting, in order that the men
might enter on the struggle with undiminished vigor. In this precaution,
even the humble and half-clad fisherman had not been neglected, but his
boat, like the others, was attached to the larger barges to which this
duty had been assigned. Still, as he passed along the canal, before the
crowded balconies and groaning vessels which lined its sides, there
arose that scornful and deriding laugh, which seems ever to grow more
strong and bold, as misfortune weighs most heavily on its subject.
The old man was not unconscious of the remarks of which he was the
subject; and, as it is rare indeed that our sensibilities do not survive
our better fortunes, even he was so far conscious of a fall as not to be
callous to contempt thus openly expressed. He looked wistfully on every
side of him, and seemed to seek in every eye he encountered, some
portion of the sympathy which his meek and humble feelings still craved.
But even the men of his caste and profession threw jibes upon his ear;
and though, of all the competitors, perhaps the one whose motive most
hallowed his ambition, he was held to be the only proper subject of
mirth. For the solution of this revolting trait of human character we
are not to look to Venice and her institutions, since it is known that
none are so arrogant, on occasions, as the ridden, and that the abject
and insolent spirits are usually tenants of the same bosom.
The movement of the boats brought those of the masked waterman, and the
subjects of those taunts, side by side.
"Thou art not the favorite in this strife," observed the former, when a
fresh burst of jibes was showered on the head of his unresisting
associate. "Thou hast not been sufficiently heedful of thy attire, for
this is a town of luxury, and he who would meet applause must appear on
the canals in the guise of one less borne upon by fortune."
"I know them! I know them!" returned the fisherman; "they are led away
by their pride, and they think ill of one who cannot share in their
vanities. But, friend unknown, I have brought with me a face, which, old
though it be, and wrinkled, and worn by the weather like the stones of
the sea-shore, is uncovered to the eye, and without shame."
"There may be reasons which thou knowest not, why I wear a mask. But if
my face be hid the limbs are bare, and thou seest there is no lack of
sinews to make good that which I have undertaken. Thou should'st have
thought better of the matter ere thou puttest thyself in the way of so
much mortification. Defeat will not cause the people to treat thee more
tenderly."
"If my sinews are old and stiffened, Signor Mask, they are long used to
toil. As to shame, if it is a shame to be below the rest of mankind in
fortune, it will not now come for the first time. A heavy sorrow hath
befallen me, and this race may lighten the burden of grief. I shall not
pretend that I hear this laughter, and all these scornful speeches, as
one listens to the evening breeze on the Lagunes—for a man is still a
man, though he lives with the humblest, and eats of the coarsest. But
let it pass, Sant' Antonio will give me heart to bear it."
"Thou hast a stout mind, fisherman, and I would gladly pray my patron
to grant thee a stronger arm, but that I have much need of this victory
myself. Wilt thou be content with the second prize, if, by any manner of
skill, I might aid thy efforts? for, I suppose, the metal of the third
is as little to thy taste as it is to my own."
"Nay, I count not on gold or silver."
"Can the honor of such a struggle awaken the pride of one like thee?"
The old man looked earnestly at his companion, but he shook his head
without answer. Fresh merriment, at his expense, caused him to bend his
face towards the scoffers, and he perceived they were just then passing
a numerous group of his fellows of the Lagunes, who seemed to feel that
his unjustifiable ambition reflected, in some degree, on the honor of
their whole body.
"How now, old Antonio!" shouted the boldest of the band, "is it not
enough that thou hast won the honors of the net, but thou would'st have
a golden oar at thy neck?"
"We shall yet see him of the senate!" cried a second.
"He standeth in need of the horned bonnet for his naked head," continued
a third. "We shall see the brave Admiral Antonio sailing in the
Bucentaur, with the nobles of the land!"
Their sallies were succeeded by coarse laughter. Even the fair in the
balconies were not uninfluenced by these constant jibes, and the
apparent discrepancy between the condition and the means of so unusual a
pretender to the honors of the regatta. The purpose of the old man
wavered, but he seemed goaded by some inward incentive that still
enabled him to maintain his ground. His companion closely watched the
varying expression of a countenance that was far too little trained in
deception to conceal the feelings within; and, as they approached the
place of starting, he again spoke.
"Thou mayest yet withdraw," he said; "why should one of thy years make
the little time he has to stay bitter, by bearing the ridicule of his
associates for the rest of his life?"
"St. Anthony did a greater wonder when he caused the fishes to come up
on the waters to hear his preaching, and I will not show a cowardly
heart at a moment when there is most need of resolution."
The masked waterman crossed himself devoutly; and, relinquishing all
further design to persuade the other to abandon the fruitless contest,
he gave all his thoughts to his own interest in the coming struggle.
The narrowness of most of the canals of Venice, with the innumerable
angles and the constant passing, have given rise to a fashion of
construction and of rowing that are so peculiar to that city and its
immediate dependencies as to require some explanation. The reader has
doubtless already understood that a gondola is a long, narrow, and light
boat, adapted to the uses of the place, and distinct from the wherries
of all other towns. The distance between the dwellings on most of the
canals is so small, that the width of the latter does not admit of the
use of oars on both sides, at the same time. The necessity of constantly
turning aside to give room for others, and the frequency of the bridges
and the corners, have suggested the expediency of placing the face of
the waterman in the direction in which the boat is steering, and, of
course, of keeping him on his feet. As every gondola, when fully
equipped, has its pavilion in the centre, the height of the latter
renders it necessary to place him who steers on such an elevation as
will enable him to overlook it. From these several causes a one-oared
boat in Venice is propelled by a gondolier, who stands on a little
angular deck in its stern, formed like the low roof of a house, and the
stroke of the oar is given by a push, instead of a pull, as is common
elsewhere. This habit of rowing erect, however, which is usually done
by a forward, instead of a backward movement of the body, is not
unfrequent in all the ports of the Mediterranean, though in no other is
there a boat which resembles the gondola in all its properties or uses.
The upright position of the gondolier requires that the pivot on which
the oar rests should have a corresponding elevation; and there is,
consequently, a species of bumkin raised from the side of the boat to
the desired height, and which, being formed of a crooked and very
irregular knee of wood, has two or three row-locks, one above the other,
to suit the stature of different individuals, or to give a broader or a
narrower sweep of the blade as the movement shall require. As there is
frequent occasion to cast the oar from one of these row-locks to the
other, and not unfrequently to change its side, it rests in a very open
bed; and the instrument is kept in its place by great dexterity alone,
and by a perfect knowledge of the means of accommodating the force and
the rapidity of the effort to the forward movement of the boat and the
resistance of the water. All these difficulties united render skill in a
gondolier one of the most delicate branches of a waterman's art, as it
is clear that muscular strength alone, though of great aid, can avail
but little in such a practice.
The great canal of Venice, following its windings, being more than a
league in length, the distance in the present race was reduced nearly
half, by causing the boats to start from the Rialto. At this point,
then, the gondolas were all assembled, attended by those who were to
place them. As the whole of the population which before had been
extended along the entire course of the water, was now crowded between
the bridge and the Bucentaur, the long and graceful avenue resembled a
vista of human heads. It was an imposing sight to look along that bright
and living lane, and the hearts of each competitor beat high, as hope,
or pride, or apprehension, became the feeling of the moment.
"Gino of Calabria," cried the marshal who placed the gondolas, "thy
station is on the right. Take it, and St. Januarius speed thee!"
The servitor of Don Camillo assumed his oar, and the boat glided
gracefully into its berth.
"Thou comest next, Enrico of Fusina. Call stoutly on thy Paduan patron,
and husband thy strength; for none of the main have ever yet borne away
a prize in Venice."
He then summoned, in succession, those whose names have not been
mentioned, and placed them side by side, in the centre of the canal.
"Here is place for thee, Signore," continued the officer, inclining his
head to the unknown gondolier; for he had imbibed the general impression
that the face of some young patrician was concealed beneath the mask, to
humor the fancy of some capricious fair.—"Chance hath given thee the
extreme left."
"Thou hast forgotten to call the fisherman," observed the masker, as he
drove his own gondola into its station.
"Does the hoary fool persist in exposing his vanity and his rags to the
best of Venice?"
"I can take place in the rear," meekly observed Antonio. "There may be
those in the line it doth not become one like me to crowd, and a few
strokes of the oar, more or less, can differ but little in so long; a
strife."
"Thou hadst better push modesty to discretion, and remain."
"If it be your pleasure, Signore, I would rather see what St. Anthony
may do for an old fisherman, who has prayed to him, night and morning,
these sixty years?"
"It is thy right; and, as thou seemest content with it, Keep the place
thou hast in the rear. It is only occupying it a little earlier than
thou would'st otherwise. Now, recall the rules of the games, hardy
gondoliers, and make your last appeal to your patrons. There is to be no
crossing, or other foul expedients; naught except ready oars, and
nimble wrists. He who varies needlessly from his line until he leadeth,
shall be recalled by name; and whoever is guilty of any act to spoil the
sports, or otherwise to offend the patricians, shall be both checked and
punished. Be ready for the signal."
The assistant, who was in a strongly manned boat, fell back a little,
while runners, similarly equipped, went ahead to order the curious from
the water. These preparations were scarcely made, when a signal floated
on the nearest dome. It was repeated on the campanile, and a gun was
fired at the arsenal. A deep but suppressed murmur arose in the throng,
which was as quickly succeeded by suspense.
Each gondolier had suffered the bows of his boat to incline slightly
towards the left shore of the canal, as the jockey is seen, at the
starting-post, to turn his courser aside, in order to repress its ardor,
or divert its attention. But the first long and broad sweep of the oar
brought them all in a line again, and away they glided in a body.
For the first few minutes there was no difference in speed, nor any sign
by which the instructed might detect the probable evidence of defeat or
success. The whole ten, which formed the front line, skimmed the water
with an equal velocity, beak to beak, as if some secret attraction held
each in its place, while the humble, though equally light bark of the
fisherman steadily kept its position in the rear.
The boats were soon held in command. The oars got their justest poise
and widest sweep, and the wrists of the men accustomed to their play.
The line began to waver, It undulated, the glittering prow of one
protruding beyond the others; and then it changed its form. Enrico of
Fusina shot ahead, and, privileged by success, he insensibly sheered
more into the centre of the canal, avoiding by the change the eddies,
and the other obstructions of the shore. This manoeuvre which, in the
language of the course, would have been called "taking the track," had
the additional advantage of throwing upon those who followed some
trifling impediment from the back-water. The sturdy and practised
Bartolomeo of the Lido, as his companions usually called him, came next,
occupying the space on his leader's quarter, where he suffered least
from the reaction caused by the stroke of his oar. The gondolier of Don
Camillo, also, soon shot out of the crowd, and was seen plying his arms
vigorously still farther to the right, and a little in the rear of
Bartolomeo. Then came in the centre of the canal, and near as might be
in the rear of the triumphant waterman of the main, a dense body, with
little order and varying positions, compelling each other to give way,
and otherwise increasing the difficulties of their struggle. More to the
left, and so near to the palaces as barely to allow room for the sweep
of his oar, was the masked competitor, whose progress seemed retarded by
some unseen cause, for he gradually fell behind all the others, until
several boats' lengths of open water lay between him and even the group
of his nameless opponents. Still he plied his arms steadily, and with
sufficient skill. As the interest of mystery had been excited in his
favor, a rumor passed up the canal, that the young cavalier had been
little favored by fortune in the choice of a boat. Others, who reflected
more deeply on causes, whispered of the folly of one of his habits
taking the risk of mortification by a competition with men whose daily
labor had hardened their sinews, and whose practice enabled them to
judge closely of every chance of the race. But when the eyes of the
multitude turned from the cluster of passing boats to the solitary barge
of the fisherman, who came singly on in the rear, admiration was again
turned to derision.