"They're not all that, Nan."
"No, of course not, but the old glory has passed. Yet, how beautiful it still is here."
"It is beautiful under any circumstances, and what a history the place has had. With how many different nations has Venice been connected, and what changes she has seen!"
"When was she at the height of her glory?"
"In the fifteenth century, and a great republic she was then, but her magnificence began to wane in the sixteenth century. She has since twice belonged to Austria, has belonged to Italy, has been a republic, and at last was again united to Italy."
"I don't like to think of her as anything but Italian."
"She has had many Oriental influences which are still very evident and make her different from other Italian cities. She used to be the centre where the traffic of both the East and West met and under her Doges held many Eastern possessions. We must get some books, Nan, and read up so you will become better acquainted with the past of the queen of the Adriatic."
"Indeed, I do want to do that. I should love to have seen that ceremony of wedding her to the sea."