when roused from such
meditations by Carmagnola's cry:

"Serenissimo, the palazzo is on fire, or the old Doges have risen from
their tombs! There are lights in the windows of the upper floor!"

Prince Emilio fancied that his dream was realized by the touch of a
magic wand. It was dusk, and the old gondolier could by tying up his
gondola to the top step, help his young master to land without being
seen by the bustling servants in the palazzo, some of whom were buzzing
about the landing-place like bees at the door of a hive. Emilio stole
into the great hall, whence rose the finest flight of stairs in all
Venice, up which he lightly ran to investigate the cause of this strange
bustle.

A whole tribe of workmen were hurriedly completing the furnishing and
redecoration of the palace. The first floor, worthy of the antique
glories of Venice, displayed to Emilio's waking eyes the magnificence of
which he had just been dreaming, and the fairy had exercised admirable
taste. Splendor worthy of a parvenu sovereign was to be seen even in the
smallest details. Emilio wandered about without remark from anybody, and
surprise followed on surprise.

Curious, then, to know what was going forward on the second floor,
he went up, and found everything finished. The unknown laborers,
commissioned by a wizard to revive the marvels of the Arabian nights in
behalf of an impoverished Italian prince, were exchanging some inferior
articles of furniture brought in for the nonce. Prince Emilio made his
way into the bedroom, which smiled on him like a shell just deserted by
Venus. The room was so charmingly pretty, so daintily smart, so full of
elegant contrivance, that he straightway seated himself in an armchair
of gilt wood, in front of which a most appetizing cold supper stood
ready, and, without more ado, proceeded to eat.

"In all the world there is no one but Massimilla who would have thought
of this surprise," thought he. "She heard that I was now a prince; Duke
Cataneo is perhaps dead, and has left her his fortune; she is twice as
rich as she was; she will marry me----"

And he ate in a way that would have roused the envy of an invalid
Croesus, if he could have seen him; and he drank floods of capital port
wine.

"Now I understand the knowing little air she put on as she said, 'Till
this evening!' Perhaps she means to come and break the spell. What a
fine bed! and in the bed-place such a pretty lamp! Quite a Florentine
idea!"

The