Dave Duncan: The Alchemists pursuit

"Oh yes, the cat. Your familiar, I suppose?"

"No, Brother. Please understand that my master's first objective always was to prevent any more murders. He is an avaricious man, but a good Christian in spite of it. I happily do his bidding. Throughout this case, that cat has been helping me. I first saw it last Friday, when it blocked my way. I thought it must be rabid, so I went by another road, and that turned out to be a very fortunate decision. On Saturday I tried to stop your mother from killing Marina Bortholuzzi and was chased by a mob that thought I was the killer. The cat showed me a refuge. On Sunday it saved me from arrest. Tonight it intervened to save a woman's life. This is no ordinary cat, Brother."

Fedele crossed himself. "It is possessed by a demon!"

"A strangely cooperative, right-thinking demon. A honey-colored cat?"

It was, of course, the last of the tarot predictions. The card showing the helper had been Trump XX, Judgment, the dead rising from their graves. I said, "Do you believe in ghosts, Brother?"

The staring match continued.

"Well? Do you, Brother?"

Fedele whispered, "I suppose… Yes."

The cat shot into his lap. He almost fell off the stool, hands raised so as not to touch the animal. He must be even less of a cat person than I had been.

The cat cuddled itself in tidily, curled its tail around, and began to purr, staring up at the friar's anguished face.

I rose. "You can try an exorcism if you want, Brother, but perhaps you should just offer your blessing. He died unconfessed, remember. By the look of him, I think he is ready to give you his forgiveness and accept yours. Then he can be on his way."

At the door I looked back. The friar was embracing the cat and it seemed to be licking his tears.

In the course of writing these stories about a parallel historical Venice, I have collected a personal library of over forty books, and borrowed many others from libraries. To acknowledge all of them would be tiresome and also unfair, because I have improved certain facts and made some accidental mistakes also.

For this story, though, I should acknowledge my debt to three books in particular. First, The War of the Fists: Popular Culture and Public Violence in Late Renaissance Venice, by Robert C. Davis, Oxford University Press, 1994. Matteo the Butcher is my invention, and I have changed the dates slightly, but otherwise I have followed Davis's account of a unique and astonishing custom in a city that has always been unique and astonishing. The Ponte dei Pugni is still there in San Barnaba parish, although nowadays it has parapets to keep people from falling off.

A book I have borrowed much from is Coryat's Crudities (1611). (I have the Scolar Press facsimile edition of 1905.) Thomas Coryat journeyed from London to Venice and back in 1605, mostly on foot, and thus invented the "Grand Tour." On his return he wrote what may fairly be called the first travel book since Pausanias's Description of Greece in the second century AD. Coryat includes vivid descriptions of much of the Venice of his day-although some of his observations are clearly wrong (he describes the nude statue of Mars in the Doges' Palace as representing the goddess Minerva). It is thanks to him that I know that the Campo San Zanipolo was not yet paved.

Another valuable eyewitness, an exact contemporary of my imaginary events, was Fynes Moryson, another English-man. Moryson visited Venice in 1593, 1596, and 1597. I have a collection of extracts from his records published as Shakespeare's Europe: A survey of the condition of Europe at the end of the 16 th century, edited by Charles Hughes, published 1903, reissued 1967 by Benjamin Blom, Inc., New York. I used Moryson's eyewitness description of the doge's procession to San Maria Formosa and the Christmas Mass in the Basilica. I have had a private tour of that church, which included sitting in darkness until those glorious, incredible golden mosaics appeared, gradually being illuminated. It is an experience one could never forget. Nowadays the trick is done with electric lights, of course, so I was fascinated to discover that it was done with candles back in Alfeo's day. But the Venetians have been managing the tourist trade since before the Crusades.

altana a rooftop platform

androne a ground-floor hall used for business in a merchant's palace

atelier a studio or workshop

barnabotti (sing: barnabotto) impoverished nobles, named for the parish of San Barnaba

Basilica of San Marco the great church alongside the Doges' Palace; burial place of St. Mark and center of the city

broglio the area of the Piazzetta just outside the palace where the nobles meet and intrigue; by extension the political intrigue itself

ca' (short for casa) a palace

calle an alley

campo an open space in front of a parish church

casa a noble house, meaning either the palace or the family itself

cavaliere servente a married woman's male attendant (and possibly gigolo)

Circospetto popular nickname for the chief secretary to the Council of Ten

clarissimo "most illustrious," form of address for a nobleman

Constantinople the capital of the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire, now Istanbul

cortigiana onesta a courtesan trained in art, music, literature, etc.

Council of Ten the intelligence and security arm of the government, made up of the doge, his six counselors, and ten elected noblemen

doge ("duke" in Venetian dialect) the head of state, elected for life

ducat a silver coin, equal to 8 lira or 160 soldi, and roughly a week's wages for a married journeyman laborer with children (unmarried men were paid less)

fante (pl: fanti) a minion of the Ten

felze a canopy on a gondola (no longer used)

fondamenta a footpath alongside a canal

fraterna under Venetian law, brothers held family property in common unless they agreed otherwise; a joint-stock company in modern terms

giovane (pl: giovani) a youth or young man (note: Giovanni = John)

Great Council the noblemen of Venice in assembly, the ultimate authority in the state

khave coffee (a recent innovation)

lira (pl: lire) a coin equal to 20 soldi

lustrissimo "most illustrious," honorific given to wealthy or notable citizens

magazzen a tavern that does not sell food and stays open around the clock

marangona the great bell in the campanile San Marco, which marked the main divisions of the day

messer (pl: messere) my lord

Missier Grande the chief of police, who carries out the orders of the Ten

Molo the waterfront of the Piazzetta, on the Grand Canal

padrino (pl: padrini) literally a "godfather"; in the War of Fists, a leader and also umpire

Piazza the city square in front of the Basilica of San Marco

Piazzetta an extension of the Piazza, flanking the palace

riva a broad quay or street flanking water; literally a "shore"

salone a reception hall

salotto a living room

sbirro (pl: sbirri) a police constable

scuola (pl: scuole) a charitable confraternity open to both citizens and nobles

sequin a gold coin equal to 440 soldi (22 lire)

Serenissima, la the Republic of Venice

Signori di Notte young aristocrats elected to run the local sbirri

soldo (pl: soldi) see ducat

Ten see COUNCIL OF TEN

Three the state inquisitors, a subcommittee of the Council of Ten

traghetto a permanent mooring station for public-hire gondolas; also the association of gondoliers that owns it and ferries that dock at the station

Veneziano the language of Venice

vizio Missier Grande's deputy