We know from the first paragraph of Chapter XXV that the attack was in
March. Also, according to Isotta, the attack "took place on
the night of Monday" [Chapter XXIX]. (In Chapter XXX Isotta
says that the attack was on a Tuesday; I'm taking her earlier statement
as the more accurate—memory fades with time.) Finally,
Vendramin finished sounding the canals "within a fortnight of having set
his hand to the task" and hired his bullies the same day.
So the attack was either March 20 or March 27, with the former more
likely. To establish the date positively, we note that ten days
following the attack Vendramin says that Easter is "a month
hence". Such a statement makes no sense on April 6, ten days
before Easter, but is reasonable on March 30 when still in the preceding
calendar month.
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