The Great Regatta

'It was already very well stocked on the eve of the fateful morning of 1667.'

'You called?' the Hon. Evelyn smiled.

Blaise smiled in answer and continued:

'The abbey was not completely destroyed by the earthquake, but a fire broke following the first wave of tremors, and this fire ravaged all the archives.'

'Dear me!' Trevor said in distress.

'The renaissance of the library dates back to the early 19^th century, when, after the French occupation of Dubrovnik, several monasteries were closed down. A friar named Inocentje Culic very energetically set about saving the manuscripts of the monasteries that were closed down. After many years of dedication, at the moment of his death, his collection consisted of one thousand one hundred and thirty-two manuscripts and nine hundred and four printed works. Culic donated everything to the library of his order. That library has a truly beautiful reading room. It is filled by bookcases of extremely fine workmanship and has a portrait of Sebastian Slade, a famous historiographer, who did much of his work here and donated all his income to the library. But this building from the oldest times was also imbued by other aroma than the aroma of books - the aroma of herbs.'

'Ah!' Trevor said.

'A pharmacy existed here from 1317,' Blaise said. 'At first the pharmacy catered only for the monastery, but soon the needs of the town began to grow. Also, a growing number of citizens began to contribute money for the development of the pharmacy. The items on show today in the small pharmacy museum are only some meager relics of an institution that according to Slade was decorated with pictures of Hippocrates and Galen and was the best stocked pharmacy in the entire area.'

Trevor sighed respectfully.

'The location of the pharmacy in the complex was often changed, but it always remained an important influence on the medical science of the city,' Blaise said.

'This place evokes respect in every naturalist,' Trevor said.

'So it does,' Blaise said.

Between the abbey and the small church, there was another fountain, in the shape of a domed pavilion.

'This is the Large Onofrian Fountain,' Blaise said. 'It was built at the same time that the Small Onofrian Fountain was built, in 1438, to honor the Dubrovnik waterworks. The waterworks supplied the city with good well water from the wells in Rijeka Dubrovacka, 8 miles from Dubrovnik.'

Then they went to see St. Blaise's. It was a lovely Baroque church with a blue dome. Blaise said that the first, Romanesque church of that name was destroyed in the great earthquake, and the new church was built only in the beginning of the 18^th century.

'The church houses the famous effigy of St. Blaise, the only statue that survived the great fire which ravaged the church in 1706,' Blaise said. 'Let's go and admire it.'

They went inside and saw the statue. It was of an old man with long beard, in a bishop's array, with miter, a crosier in his right hand and a model of Dubrovnik in his left hand.

'They say that St. Blaise saved Dubrovnik in the 10^th century when the Venetian galleys dropped anchor at Gruž and near Lokrum under the pretext that they must renew their water supply before continuing their journey to the Levant. As the legend says, the people were friendly towards them, and the sly enemy availed himself of this opportunity to reconnoiter the city and the defense system, planning to attack it. But they were thwarted in their plans, because St. Blaise revealed their pernicious plan to Stojko, parson of St. Stephen's Cathedral. Thanks to such timely forewarning, Dubrovnik was saved! In order to acquaint themselves with the details of St. Blaise's nocturnal visitation, the Senate summoned the minister, Stojko, who told them in great detail how St. Blaise appeared before him as an old man with a long beard and a bishop's miter and staff. The old man whom Stojko saw in his vision forthwith became the protector of Dubrovnik. In old Dubrovnik St. Blaise was found everywhere. The area of the former Republic is full of churches and sculptures dedicated to the patron saint. His statue was placed in the old town hall, and the initials SB adorned the ceremonial flag of the Republic. Naturally, the effigy of the saint was impressed on the state seal and on the coins of Dubrovnik. Since time immemorial St. Blaise's day has been celebrated on February 3, (my name-day), and is celebrated by everyone alive in the city. In older times people imprisoned for minor offenses were let out of prison for the two weeks before and after the holiday, and persons banned from the city could come back for the time the festivities lasted.'

'A good custom,' Justin said.

'Yes,' Blaise said 'And now let's see the Fort Lovrijenac. It's outside the city boundaries.'

They went to see Fort Lovrijenac. It turned out to be a very impressive fortress on a high cliff.

'The cliff is about 37 meters high,' Blaise said. 'The chronicles of Dubrovnik have an interesting story about the origins of the fort. It was at the beginning of the 11^th century that the Venetians intended to build a large stronghold on the same spot. The stronghold would have served their intention of keeping Dubrovnik in their power. The people of Dubrovnik discovered this intention of the Venetians and immediately decided to build a fortress on this almost inaccessible rock in the shortest possible time, thus building up a defense against the Venetians. According to the chronicles, the building of Lovrijenac has been completed in three months only. When the Venetian ships laden with building materials arrived, the Venetians could do nothing but admit that they had been outwitted and forestalled by the citizens of Dubrovnik.'

'Served them right,' Justin said. 'It was none of their business to intrude.'

They returned to the town through the beautiful eastern gate and went to sleep on their ship in the harbor, under the old city walls.

The next day they started on their journey along the lovely mountainous coasts of Croatia, Serbia and Albania, then among the charming islands near the Greek coast. They rounded the Peloponnesus and dropped anchor in a quiet bay among the orchards near Athens.