It was a glad day in Venice. The eve of the feastof the Purification had arrived, and all those maidensof the Republic, whose names had been written in the"Book of Gold," were assembled with their parents,their friends and lovers—a beautiful and joyouscrowd—repairing, in the gondolas provided by theRepublic, to the church of San Pietro de Castella, atOlivolo, which was the residence of the Patriarch.This place was on the extreme verge of the city, abeautiful and isolate