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BY ORDER OF THE CZAR. 329

and a rich perfume from beans in flower and the scent of many herbs, It was a mixed garden of the English kind \ that seemed unconsciously to lend itself to the Juliet illu- sion of the English poet. Even Walter was subdued by its unostentatious beauty, and the little party followed the old lady who opened the garden gate upon the narrow way that led to the great stone coffin which, as a matter of sen- timent and imagination, the world is willing to accept as a relic of the Shakespearean story.

It was somewhat out of keeping with the romance of the scene to find the great stone sarcophagus half-full of visit' ing cards, the prosaic character of which was not quite redeemed by the one or two faded wreaths that hung about the tomb. But it was all, nevertheless, very lovely and im- pressive in the moonlight and without the presence of other sightseers; and the Milbankes, with their newly- engaged companions, drove to their hotel, being generally more or less under the impression that they possessed a far higher and poetic appreciation of the beautiful than any of them had imagined.

That same silvery moon, however which seemed to look down with special approval upon Verona cast only fitful and furtive beams upon a weird ghost-like figure that appeared to a party of Venetian fishermen sailing their picturesque vessel through the water-gateway of the Adri- atic into the shimmering lagoons of the City-in-the-Sea.

CHAPTER XLIII.

THE GHOST OF THE LAGOONS.

THEY were a fishing trio of the lagoons, Chiozotti, in feet, well known for their industry and their piety. They had been beating about most of the night without hauling in anything worth mentioning, until it was nearly morning,