tury; but the more splendid mosaics which adorn its walls were executed, in the year 1545, by two brothers of the name of Zuccati, who worked under the direction and from the designs of Titian. Speaking of the mosaics which decorate this church, Lanzi says, "The art of mosaic work in stone and coloured glass at that time attained such a degree of perfection in Venice that Vasari observed, with surprise, that it would not be possible to effect more with colours. The church and portico of St. Mark remain an invaluable museum of the kind, where, commencing with the eleventh century, we may trace the gradual progress of design belonging to each age up to the present, as exhibited in many works in mosaic, beginning from the Greeks and continued by the Italians. They chiefly consist of histories from the Old and New Testament, and at the same time furnish very interesting notices relating to civil and ecclesiastical antiquity." The singular operation of painting in mosaic is thus performed. The picture which is to be imitated in mosaic is placed at some distance behind the artist, parallel to the wall on which it is to be copied. The artist sits upon a bench with quantities of marble, stone, or glass, of various colours, on his right hand. The pieces are mostly square in shape, and larger or smaller according to the distance at which the work is to be viewed. The stones and glass are of every variety and of every different shade, and are assorted in several boxes, like the letters in a printing office. On the left hand of the artist lie the various tools necessary in the execution of his labours, and upon the bench on which he sits is fixed a piece of iron, with the edge upwards, on which, with a hammer, he shapes the pieces of stone, &c. to a proper size, as the work requires. In the morning he spreads upon the wall a layer of cement sufficient to afford him occupation for the day; and being seated on the bench, and turning back from time to time to observe the picture, he selects pieces of suitable colours to imitate those of the picture, and fixes them in the cement. It is obvious that an art like this must require very great skill and practice. The church of St. Mark was long celebrated as being the depository of the Evangelist's body, of the translation of which to Venice a singular account is given in one of the ancient Italian historians. The king of Alexandria having resolved to build a palace, collected the most precious materials from every side for that purpose, and did not even spare the church of St. Mark, where the body of the Evangelist reposed. It happened that at this period two Venetians, Bono de Malamocco and Rustico de Torcello, visiting the church, were struck with the grief exhibited by the attendant priests, and inquired into its cause. Learning their apprehensions of the church being despoiled, the strangers entreated from them permission to remove the relics of the saint, not only promising them a large reward, but also the lasting gratitude of their fellow-citizens, the Venetians. The priests at first met their request with a decided negative, but when they perceived the servants of the king busily employed in demolishing the sacred edifice, they yielded to the instances of the Italians. The difficulty now was to convey the body on board one of the Venetian ships, of which there were several in the port of Alexandria, and at the same time to conceal the circumstance from the knowledge of the inhabitants, who held the remains of the Evangelist in high veneration on account of the miracles which were performed through their agency. The body of St. Luke being removed, was replaced by that of St. Claudian; but a miraculous perfume which spread itself through the church when the holy relics were brought to light nearly betrayed the removal. In transporting the body through the city to the port, it became necessary to adopt some expedient which should prevent the curiosity both of the infidels and of the Christians from being awakened. The body was accordingly deposited in a large hamper, surrounded with vegetables, and covered with pieces of pork, an article which every good Mussulman holds in abhorrence. Those who accompanied the hamper were ordered to cry Khanzir as they went, which, in the oriental tongue, signified pork. Having succeeded in reaching the vessels, the precious burden was suspended in the shrouds, to prevent discovery, till the ship put to sea. Scarcely had the Venetians left the port when an awful storm arose, and had not the Evangelist himself appeared to Bono de Malamocco, and advised him to furl his sails, the vessel must have been lost. On their arrival at Venice the whole city was transported with joy. The presence of the saint promised perpetual splendour to the republic. The body was received by the senate with the same words with which his Master had saluted the saint in prison : "Peace be unto thee, Mark, my Evangelist!" Venice was filled with festivals, music, and prayers, and the holy relics were conducted, amidst hymns and incense, to the ducal chapel. The Doge, Giustiniano Participatio, dying a short time after this event, bequeathed a sum of money to build a church to the saint, which, as we have seen, was accomplished under his brother and successor, Giovanni Participatio. In allusion to these translations of the saint's body, the breve attached to the name of Giustiniano Participatio, in the hall of the Great Council, exhibits the following inscription: Corporis alta datur mihi Sancti gratia Marci. The funzioni, or great religious offices of the church, have always been performed with splendour and magnificence in the church of St. Mark. Upon one occasion, it is said, that, during the elevation of the host, the senate, who assisted at the ceremony, and the whole assembly kneeling, a scrupulous English gentleman remained standing. A senator sent a message to him, desiring him to kneel, but our countryman disregarded the intimation. The senator then going to him in person, repeated his request. "Sir," said the Englishman, " I don't hold with transubstantiation." "Ne anche io," said the senator, warmly, "però ginocchione, o fuor di chiesa." " Nor I either; but down on your knees, or get out of the church.” During the performance of the same ceremony at Rome, and in the presence of the sovereign pontiff, Lady Miller ventured upon this proof of stout protestantism, which was suffered to pass unnoticed. "Whilst standing, I looked about me, and as far as I could see all were on their knees. I turned myself towards the pontiff, and caught his eye, but he did not look sour at me, and seemed only to notice the singularity of my standing up; nor was I reprimanded afterwards, either by his Holiness or by any of the Romans." In visiting the church of St. Mark, the treasury of the saint was always an object of great curiosity to travellers, more especially as the obtaining access to it was a matter of some difficulty. The keys of the treasury were committed to the custody of three procurators of St. Mark, the presence of one of whom was necessary whenever the doors were opened. The relics were contained in one room, and the jewels and other rich curiosities in another. The temporal treasury was formerly very rich, and the strangers who visited it were carefully watched. "At the showing of it," says Mr. Wright," the procurator was closely present himself." It contained the corno or state-cap of the Doge, twelve golden breastplates, adorned with precious stones, and twelve crowns, said to have been worn by the maids of honour of the empress Helena, together with several large and valuable gems. Howell, in his "Familiar Letters," tells us, that he saw there "a huge iron chest, as tall as himself, that had no lock, but a crevice through which they cast in the gold that was bequeathed to St. Mark in legacies, whereon there was engraved this proud motto: Quando questo scrinio s'apria One of the most remarkable curiosities in the treasury of St. Mark is a very ancient copy of the Gospels, the handwriting of which the piety of the Venetians has attributed to their patron saint. This volume was care |