THE ROYAL PAWN OF VENICE
CATERINA CORNARO, QUEEN OF CYPRUSFROM THE PAINTING BY TITIAN]
THE ROYAL PAWN OF VENICE
A Romance of Cyprus
by
MRS. LAWRENCE TURNBULL
Author of"The Golden Book of Venice"
Philadelphia & LondonJ. B. Lippincott Company1911
Copyright, 1911by Francese Litchfield Turnbull
Published April, 1911
Printed by J. B. Lippincott CompanyWashington Square Press, Philadelphia, U. S. A.
DEDICATED
BY GRACIOUS PERMISSION OF
HER MAJESTY
TO
MARGHERITA OF SAVOY
THE BELOVED FIRST QUEEN OF UNITED ITALY
Time:
The latter half of the XV. Century.
_THE ROYAL PAWNOF VENICE_
I
Among the day-dreams of the Rulers of Venice the island of Cyprus hadlong loomed large and fair--Cyprus, the happy isle of romance, _l'isolafortunata_, sea-girdled, clothed with dense forests of precious woods,veined with inexhaustible mines of rich metals; a very garden ofluscious fruits, garlanded with ever-blooming flowers--a land flowingwith milk and honey and steeped in the fragrance of wines that a godmight covet.
_Kypros_--_Paphos_--a theme for poets, where Aphrodite rose from thefoam of the sea, and the fabled groves of the mysteries of Venus gaveplace to primitive shrines of Christian worship, while innumerableGrecian legends were merged in early Christian traditions, impartingsome of their own tint of fable, yet baptizing anew the groves andhillsides to sanctity. Beautiful hillsides, rippling down to thesea-coasts; and plains, nestling among the mountain slopes, litteredwith remnants of vast temples of superb pagan workmanship and withpriceless pre-historic remains: wonderful, ancient marbles,time-mellowed and crumbling, inwrought rather with barbaric symbols ofsplendor than with the tender grace of poetic suggestion.
And this land of many races and dynasties, of conflicting ideals andreligions, as of many tongues--where domination was largely a matter ofthe stronger hand--still held among the nations her ancient soubriquetof _the happy isle_.
But less for her romance and beauty than because this _notissima famaeinsulae_ was a possession to be envied by a diplomatic nation, since itsposition lent it importance, the Republic had looked upon it withlonging eyes--and because of its commerce, which equalled that ofVenice, long ago the far-seeing Senate had sought to purchase it fromthe Greek Emperor, but the agreement had come to naught by treachery ofthe Emperor's son.
Nevertheless, Cyprus had not been forgotten; and the time for Venice tomake good this remembrance had now come uppermost on the calendar of theyears.
So they were ready to give rapt attention to the flattering proposals ofthe young Cyprian Monarch, as presented by his dignified ambassador, theSignor Filippo Mastachelli, when he appeared before the Signoria withthe retinue and splendor of an Eastern Prince, bearing gifts of jewelsmeet for a royal bride, to claim the hand of a patrician maid of Venice,to make her Queen of Cyprus.
Janus the Second was young and brave, the idol of a party of hispeople--and where was the kingdom in which there were known to be nodiscontents? He was upheld by the great Sultan of Egypt to whom he owedsuzerainty and, if in disfavor of the Holy Father for this allegiance,Venice had always permitted Rome to question her own supremacy and wasnot disconcerted thereby. He was beautiful as a young god, with a facefull of laughing appeal, and not less charming than the miniature set incrystals which Mastachelli bore among the wedding gifts; and the graceof him could not be matched, for his power of winning, when he had sethis heart to the task. In whatever deed of skill and daring his prowesswent before his knights and nobles--as, from childhood up, in whateverteaching from books or men, he had distanced all his comrades--with thatstrange facility and fascination with which the Genius of Cyprus mighthave endowed her favorite in that lavish land, beloved of the gods,where her great sea-bound plains were billows of flowers under a longsummer sky, and Nature's gifts came crowding, each upon each, inbewildering redundancy.
Laughter-loving, born to conquer, quick to reward, Janus was tender andgenerous to a fault; for it was whispered that he could take what laynearest to give to those who offered him adoring service on histriumphal march, and that the murmur of the wronged belonged to the moreserious side of life for which his full-flowing Greek blood had smallpatience. Such strange, unlikely tales one's enemy may tell!
And for his religion--be it Greek, or Latin, or whatever else--had henot been named Archbishop of Nikosia at the responsible age of fifteen,before he had exchanged the Episcopal Mitre for the Royal Crown?
These things were told, in all truth, of Janus II, King of Cyprus: andif some others were known, they were not discussed. For the monarch hadlost his heart to the rare charm of the youthful Caterina, niece to aVenetian noble who had become his friend in Cyprus, and had more thanonce stood his helper with good Venetian gold; and who, in innocence orwile, had one day given him sight of the girl's fair face with itstender flush like a flower in spring, painted with rare skill by thegreatest artist of Venice. The breeze might have toyed with that mist ofgolden hair, and the great dark eyes--softly luminous--had theexpectancy of a gazelle awaiting the joy of the daydawn. She wasdaughter to one of the most ancient and noble of the patrician houses,in direct descent, so the Cornari claimed, of the Cornelii of Rome.
"There need be no haste," the Signor Andrea had said lightly, as hereturned the miniature to its case blazoned in pearls with the arms ofthe Cornari, "for the child is but fourteen, though she hath theloveliness of twenty. But it is the way with our patricians of Venice,and Messer Marco of the Cornari, father to Caterina, is already planningwith an ancient noble house of the elder branch with estates of unknownwealth, for the marriage of his daughter. Thus the fancy of the Kingmust pass--there will be another--in Venice or Cyprus--the world islarge."
"Nay, none so beautiful," the King made answer; "and for me none other.And for the matter of birth----"
"Naught hindereth that she might be Queen," Messer Andrea replied withnonchalance, having a scheme somewhat more deeply laid than the casualdropping of the miniature would seem to imply. "For the matter ofbirth--it is a trifle--and doubtless the Republic would make her, byadoption, Daughter to Venice--if there were aught in a created title toenhance her princely name with semblance of royalty. But there arealready quarterings enough to match with the arms of Cyprus, and theLusignans are a house far less ancient than the Cornelii."
Messer Andrea could say things with a certain facile grace that keptthem from rankling, and at the moment the utterance of this truth was ofconsequence.
The King threw him a quick glance, half in amusement, half in admirationof his easy insolence, while Messer Andrea placidly explained that theCasa Cornaro was one of the twelve original families which composed theancient ruling class of the Republic.
"And if the matter hath an interest for your Majesty," he continued,"our great-grandfather on our father's side, was that Marco Cornaro whowas Doge of Venice; and the most noble Lady Fiorenza, mother to thechild Caterina and wife to my brother Marco, was grand-daughter toComnene, Emperor of Trebizonde. But that counteth little," he addedmagnanimously; "since the Empire of Trebizonde hath ceased to be."
"For the matter of birth--verily, as thou hast said, 'it is a trifle,'"the King admitted with a laugh: "but I must create thee Master to thePedigree of the House of Lusignan--a right royal post--and at thydiscretion thou mayest find or _make_ it of a color noble enough to matewith thy fair maid of Venice."
"It pleaseth your Majesty to be of a merry mood. And for the dowry----"
Thence followed this embassy to Venice, for
Janus was of those who wouldbear no thwarting nor delay. The princely dowry was forthcoming, for ithad been offered by Messer Andrea Cornaro himself, and the condition ofadoption by the Republic, "that the bride might be of a stationbefitting the royal alliance," well became the pleasure of the dignifiedSignoria.
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