As early as 1084 the extravagance of the wife of Doge Selvo was much written of by the chroniclers of the time. It was said that this Theodora, the daughter of a Greek emperor, had her cheeks bathed in dew every morning to give them a glow of freshness. This would not seem to have been an expensive habit. Her ablutions were made with rose water, and her linen was scented with fine balsams; and so many aromatic perfumes pervaded her apartments that it was not unusual for her maids to faint while dressing her. She always wore gloves, and fed herself {225} with a double-pronged gold fork; and all this was so sinful in the eyes of the Venetians that the loathsome malady from which she died was regarded as a legitimate punishment of her vanity. We have elsewhere spoken of the custom of conducting the wife of the Doge to be seated on the throne beside him soon after his own investiture with the insignia of his office; and as the luxury and pageantry of Venetian life increased, naturally the first lady of the Republic acquired more importance and greater privileges. At length, in 1595, the wife of the Doge, Marino Grimani, who was herself of the Morosini family, was conducted from her home to San Marco in a style that aroused all the jealousy of the Seigniory. She was dressed in cloth of gold, and wore a gold crown. The Bucentaur brought her to the Piazza, and strains of martial music there welcomed her, as well as salvos of artillery. In the palace she occupied a throne, and was attended by noble ladies in regal state. The festivities in which she played a prominent part were extended unusually, and the Pope sent her the golden rose, which is presented only to sovereign princes. This was more than the jealous Senators could endure. It was also noticed that this ambitious lady wore a closed or arched crown,--a privilege denied to all but such reigning princes as acknowledged no superior. It was now thought to be high time to limit the state and assumption of these ladies; and the Senate published a decree ordering the golden rose to be taken from the Dogaressa and deposited in the treasury of St. Mark, and good care was afterwards taken that no other Dogaressa should be crowned at all. {226} CATERINA CORNARO, QUEEN OF CYPRUS. This beautiful woman was born on St. Catherine's Day, in 1454, in one of the distinguished Venetian families. Her mother was the granddaughter of the Emperor of Trebizond, and her father of most noble descent. James Lusignan, whom, as king of Cyprus, Caterina was afterwards to wed, had been driven from his home by the intrigues of the second wife of his father, Elena Paleologus, who, in order that her daughter might come to the throne, had secured James's appointment as Archbishop of Nicosia, where he lived a gay life, little suited to the office he held.