Italian Yesterdays, vol. 1

by Mrs. Hugh Fraser

The business of disciplining them was laid upon Carlo, as the only man who had had any experience of condottieri; brave as he was, he might well have shrunk from the task, as from entering a den of wild beasts, but he accepted it instantly, put on his armour, and had himself rowed over to the island.

When he got there he found the men, as he probably expected to do, at each other’s throats, but he was not daunted by their savagery. We are told that many of them had served under him before, so that when he announced his arrival with a blare of trumpets, and called upon them to listen to what he had to say, they did as they were told, and surrounded him, pouring out their complaints as to a man who was a soldier himself and who could understand them.

To be sure, he had known what was at the bottom of their grievances before he started. They were mercenaries. They fought for pay and for loot. The Senate, being extremely hard up, had not paid them, nor had it shown any honest intention of doing so. Carlo himself had already been told, and with all gravity, that the Senators were of the unanimous opinion that it was his duty personally to serve without pay.

But, having temporarily calmed the storm, Carlo immediately communicated with the Senate and informed that august body that, unless the mercenaries’ pay were forthcoming, he must give up any idea of storming Chioggia. It was an affair for regular troops, and, even in the unlikely event of his being able to bring the Venetian amateurs up to the defence, there was not the least chance of his being able to induce them to attack with any seriousness. He even went so far as to offer to subscribe five hundred ducats himself if the Senate would come forward with a similar amount.

This they did, very unwillingly, and Carlo was enabled to give his whole attention to the frustrating of the Genoese commander’s scheme for saving his fleet by digging a canal through the island and bringing his ships out to open sea, whence they could once more threaten Venice effectively.

This captain’s name was Grimaldi, and he was, by all accounts, a daring and resourceful man, but he had not reckoned with Carlo Zeno. He could outnumber the Venetians by five thousand and more, but, unless he contrived to cut or manœuvre his way out, he would be driven to surrender by famine—one hope, albeit a very doubtful one, he had besides, and that was the arrival of the Genoese fleet under Matteo Maruffo, who, emboldened by an easy victory over Giustiniani, near Naples, appeared off Chioggia on the 14th of May, when he immediately challenged Pisani to an encounter.

Being a serious person, Pisani naturally refused to accommodate him and run the risk of losing men and ships, when the ends of the campaign could be attained without any further trouble than that of remaining where he was; and, a short while afterwards, Matteo withdrew, and the garrison of Chioggia were compelled to watch their last chance disappear seawards.

Before this, it must be said, Carlo had succeeded in capturing Brondolo, and the Genoese were running short of food and water. The garrison tried to foment disorder in Carlo’s command, and even attempted to assassinate Carlo, without success. At last, on the 22d of June, the Genoese struck their colours, and on the morning of the 24th Carlo made his entry.

Afterwards, Carlo captured the Castle of Marano, and finally drove the Genoese into their own harbour of Genoa and kept them there, which brought the war to an end. When peace was once more upon Venice, Carlo, now about forty-seven years old, was made Captain-General of the forces, and later was very nearly elected to the Dogeship, only being defeated by the fact that, if Venice should again find herself at war, there would be nobody to lead her troops, since the Doge’s place was in Venice. For another thing, the Patricians disliked him intensely, he having always and resolutely refused to follow their advice during the war.

There being nothing more to be gained at the moment in Venice, Carlo went a-visiting once more, and the receptions which he received at the various courts of Italy must have been a source of great gratification to him after the dark days he had been through.