His uncle (I need scarcely say)
had made no innovation upon the laced hat and gaiters proper to
his archidiaconal rank--though it is likely enough that the
Venetians found this costume as eccentric as any in the throng.
He had arrived in the city a bare week before; and walked with
an arm paternally thrust in his nephew's, while he made
acquaintance with the luxurious frivolities of a Venetian
carnival.
"As they passed me I stooped to trim the peccant wick of one of
the many lamps disposed like glowworms along the path: but a
moment later their voices told me that my countrymen had found
a seat a few paces away, in an arbour whence, by the rays of a
paper lantern which overhung it, they could observe the
passers-by.
"'A wonderful nation,' the Archdeacon was saying, in that
resonant voice of which the well-connected among the Anglican
clergy (and their wives) alone possess the secret. 'I may tell
you, my dear lad, that this visit to Venice has been a dream of
my life, cherished though long deferred.
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