n his eldest son,
Francesco. Throughout the _nozze_ he took the lead in a grand imperious
fashion of his own. Wherever he went, he seemed to fill the place, and
was fully aware of his own importance. In Florence I think he would have
got the nickname of _Tacchin_, or turkey-cock. Here at Venice the sons
and daughters call their parent briefly _Vecchio_. I heard him so
addressed with a certain amount of awe, expecting an explosion of
bubbly-jock displeasure. But he took it, as though it was natural,
without disturbance. The other _Vecchio_, father of the bridegroom,
struck me as more sympathetic. He was a gentle old man, proud of his
many prosperous, laborious sons. They, like the rest of the gentlemen,
were gondoliers. Both the _Vecchi_, indeed, continue to ply their trade,
day and night, at the _traghetto_.

_Traghetti_ are stations for gondolas at different points of the canals.
As their name implies, it is the first duty of the gondoliers upon them
to ferry people across. This they do for the fixed fee of five centimes.
The _traghetti_ are in fact Venetian cab-stands. And, of course, like
London cabs, the gondolas may be taken off them for trips. The
municipality, however, makes it a condition, under penalty of fine to
the _traghetto_, that each station should always be provided with two
boats for the service of the ferry. When vacancies occur on the
_traghetti_, a gondolier who owns or hires a boat makes application to
the municipality, receives a number, and is inscribed as plying at a
certain station. He has now entered a sort of guild, which is presided
over by a _Capo-traghetto_, elected by the rest for the protection of
their interests, the settlement of disputes, and the management of their
common funds. In the old acts of Venice this functionary is styled
_Gastaldo di traghetto_. The members have to contribute something yearly
to the guild. This payment varies upon different stations, according to
the greater or less amount of the tax levied by the municipality on the
_traghetto_. The highest subscription I have heard of is twenty-five
francs; the lowest, seven. There is one _traghetto_, known by the name
of Madonna del Giglio or Zobenigo, which possesses near its _pergola_ of
vines a nice old brown Venetian picture. Some stranger offered a
considerable sum for this. But the guild refused to part with it.

As may be imagined, the _traghetti_ vary greatly in the amount and
quality of their custom. By far the