“Venice has long borne in the imagination of the world a distinctive position, something of the character of a great enchantress, a magician of the seas.… She is all wonder, enchantment, the brightness and glory of a dream.” [Illustration: THE GRAND CANAL _Looking across the canal we see here an example of the beautiful palaces which line this famous thoroughfare._] _SUPPLEMENTARY READING_ [Illustration] Studies in the History of Venice _H. R. F. Brown_ Venice _H. R. F. Brown_ Makers of Venice _Mrs. Oliphant_ The Venetian Republic (two volumes) _W. C. Hazlitt_ Venetian Life _W. D. Howells_ St. Mark’s Rest _John Ruskin_ The Stones of Venice _John Ruskin_ Gondola Days _F. Hopkinson Smith_ Literary Landmarks of Venice _Laurence Hutton_ Pen Sketches _Finley Archer_ [Illustration] _QUESTIONS ANSWERED_ Subscribers desiring further information concerning this subject can obtain it by writing to _The Mentor Association_ _381 Fourth Avenue, New York City_ [Illustration: ST. MARK’S CATHEDRAL, VENICE] _VENICE_ _St. Mark’s Cathedral_ ONE The Church of St. Mark’s is unequaled in the whole world for richness of material and construction. It was originally the private chapel of the Doge or ruler of Venice. One reason for its being so richly adorned is that there was a law in Venice which required every merchant trading with the East to bring back some material for the decoration of the church. Thus it became the final resting place of the adornments from countless other buildings, both in the East and in Italy. The building has been compared to the treasure den of a band of pirates. It forms a museum of sculpture of the most varied kind, from the fourth century down to the latest Renaissance. In 828 a little wooden church was built to receive the relics of the Apostle Mark. The Moslems had pulled down the church where he was buried in Alexandria; so his remains were brought to Venice, and Saint Mark became the patron saint of the city in place of Saint Theodore. In 976 this wooden church was burned, along with the ducal palace, in the insurrection against Doge Canadiano IV. The church was rebuilt on a larger scale by Pietro Orseolo and his successors. It was a very simple church, in the form of a Greek cross, built of brick in the Romanesque style. It was adorned with lines of colored brick, and brick set in patterns here and there. On it were five low cupolas. St. Mark’s grew in wealth as Venice became rich and important.