Odo brought to the spectacle the humour best fitted for its enjoyment.
His weariness and discouragement sought refuge in the emotional
satisfaction of the hour. Here at least the old problem of living had
been solved, and from the patrician taking the air in his gondola to the
gondolier himself, gambling and singing on the water-steps of his
master's palace, all seemed equally satisfied with the solution. Now if
ever was the time to cry "halt!" to the present, to forget the travelled
road and take no thought for the morrow...
The months passed rapidly and agreeably. The Procuratessa was the most
amiable of guides, and in her company Odo enjoyed the best that Venice
had to offer, from the matchless music of the churches and hospitals to
the petits soupers in the private casini of the nobility; while
Coeur-Volant and Castelrovinato introduced him to scenes where even a
lady of the Procuratessa's intrepidity might not venture.
Such a life left little time for thoughtful pleasures; nor did Odo find
in the society about him any sympathy with his more personal tastes. At
first he yielded willingly enough to the pressure of his surroundings,
glad to escape from thoughts of the past and speculations about the
future; but it was impossible for him to lose his footing in such an
element, and at times he felt the lack of such companionship as de
Crucis had given him. There was no society in Venice corresponding with
the polished circles of Milan or Naples, or with the academic class in
such University towns as Padua and Pavia.
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