The historical fact that such a magnificent collection of jewels as adorned the Beretta existed in Venice in the middle of the ninth century proves that its Oriental commerce must already have been prosperous and extensive; and the earliest paintings of Venetian life represent a {219} remarkable splendor of costume and ornament. We know that the fifteenth century was the most luxurious period in Venice; but its wealth and splendor were gradually developing during five centuries at least, and happily the decline, though much more rapid than the growth, did not rob its actual life of æsthetic interest for at least a century and a half after its well-recognized beginning. We turn to the canvases of the Bellini, Titian, Giorgione, Tintoretto, and Palma Vecchio to see what the Venetian ladies were like; but we must remember, alas! that many of these were not the honorable wives and mothers of the men who made the strength and glory of Venice. Where else have the women who give their beauty and their lives for the pleasures of men been so much in evidence, so tolerated, and so luxurious in their living, as in Venice in her palmy days? They were not even excluded from the society of the Dogaressa herself on the occasions of balls and festivities in the Ducal Palace. Their houses were marvels of luxury; and in the society that gathered about them the best wit, the most brilliant conversation, and the most delightful music in Venice were enjoyed. It was to the drawing-rooms of the women to whom he would not introduce his wife, much less his daughter, that a man must go if he would meet the best artists, scholars, and thinkers of the city. It was there and there only that women were found who were accomplished in music and poetry, and could interest superior men by their superior talk. Was the conversation of the lightest matters, and did they say nothing, they said it in a fascinating way; or were politics and the more earnest questions of life discussed, they were strong in their opinions, discriminating in their judgments, and quite as bold in their expression of them as the Ten would have permitted men to be. Their _bon-mots_ were {220} quoted, their goings and comings were noted, and, in short, the interest of all Venetian gayety centred about these women. Quite the opposite was true of the real _gentildonne_. They were rarely seen except on great public occasions, when, to the credit of the husbands, it must be acknowledged that they were careful to see that their wives were more magnificently attired than their mistresses. But so rarely were they seen that this indulgence could well be accorded them without envy. Yriarte calculates that not more than sixty or seventy of the seven hundred noble ladies of Venice were seen daily. Many of them were not in society more than two or three times in a year, and then on the most formal and ceremonious occasions.