CHAPTER VI.

The Gardens of Venice--Murano Palace-Villas--Symposia--Pietro Bembo and the _Litterati_--Ariosto and Aretino--“Venus the Fruitful”--Venetian Dialect--Cristina Pisano and Cassandra Fedele--Two Dogaressas--Gold Regalia--Dresses worth £2000 apiece!--A Connoisseur Doge--Dowries with Conditions--Venice Disgraced--Costly Gifts--Wild Beasts--A Disastrous Fire--A Plague-stricken Dogaressa--A Splendid Funeral--A Terrible Pestilence--Dogal-Fraternal Disputes--Beauteous Slaves--The…