"We need them," he added with a laugh, "how else would we know what horses are like, when we read about them in books?"
"It is a great pity that the bell-tower in the square fell," said Mrs. Sprague; "this new one that they are building in its place must be very expensive."
Rafael laughed merrily. "That is a queer thing about the Italians," he said; "if it is a great piece of art which we wish to preserve, we do not care what the expense may be."
Then he added soberly, "The fishermen miss the old tower more than any of us, because they used to find their way into the Lido port by it."
"You say so much about the Lido," said Edith.
"We will go over there after we have looked at some of the pictures inside the palace, and at the dungeons, and the Bridge of Sighs," answered Rafael.
Edith shuddered. "I will look at the pictures, but not at the dungeons," she said; "and I can look at the Bridge of Sighs every time I come from our hotel into the Piazza."
As they stepped back into the room behind them, she repeated the names of three of the great painters whose works have helped to make Venice a treasure-city.
"Titian, Veronese, Tintoretto," she said over and over again, as she looked at the pictures which Rafael pointed out to her in the long rooms. "If I find more of their paintings in other cities of Italy, it will seem like meeting old friends."
Rafael smiled. "Italy is rich because of her artists," he said. "You will find their works in every city. It may not always be the paintings of those same three men, but there are others which are also famous."