The Express.
London, England, 1866-11-12 00:00:00

ENTRY OF VICTOR EMMANUEL

INTO VENICE.

(111011 01:111 SMELL conasarommaNy.)

VENICE, Nov. 7.
The weather has not been fine, but the spectacle
has been magnificent. His Majesty's progress

through Venice, from the railway station to St.
Mark's, has been made with a fleet of boats and barges
worthy the Queen of the Adriatic in her palmiest

. -
days. Though a November fog rendered the pave-
ment slippery, and curled in smoke•like wreaths
over the Grand Canal, it could not choke the out-
bunt of joy which greeted Victor Emmanuel as he
passed along. Nor was the fog thick enough to
conceal the crowded walls and the tapestried win-

down upon either side. How delighted the people
were to know that " Vittorio " had come at last,
and to have the chance of giving him a hearty
cheer after so much delay. What inexhaustible

good humour they evinced with respect to the
weather, when nine o'clock, ten o'clock, eleven
_

o'clock came, and not a gleam of sunshine.
There was hurrying of bright-coloured barges to•
wards the railway station as the time of his Majesty's
arrival drew nigh, and a breathless wedging toge-
ther of sightseers upon every inch of foothold
near the upper part of the canal. Then there was
a murmur that he had come, and a deafening
shout of "Viva el Re," caught up by thousands at a
distance who guessed its meaning. The ships of
war in the harbour thundered forth a royal salute,
and the procession was formed. It was formed
with many a skilful manoeuvre of the gondoliers to
avoid collision between their fairy craft, with many
glidings in and glidings out, and twists and turns,
such as none but Venetians would attempt. In alittle
while it was moving slowly forward, and amid the
shouts and the clapping of hands and the waving of
handkerchiefs approached the Rialto. Now for a
rush through narrow passages, and a desperate
jostle at the water-side by persona eager to obtain a
second glimpse. The Rialto is passed amid in-
describable enthusiasm, and the shouts from right
and left swell louder and louder until those bright-
coloured barges have vanished into the fog beyond
the municipal palace.
You must fancy us waiting at St. Mark's for the pro-
cession to emerge from the Grand Canal. There is an
immense crowd in the Piazetta, and an open space
kept clear between lines of soldiers from the land-
ing stage before the Ducal Palace to the Basilica,
where aTe Deum will presently be chanted. There
are Italian officers—naval and military—foreign
diplomats, and messengers from the Cardinal
Patriarch of Venice assembled on the landing
stage. Outside, pushing and struggling behind the
soldiers, are people of every class—priests and
citizens, fishermen of the Lagoon, Greeks in their
national dress, and red-shirted Garibaldians. It is
better to mount to the gallery of the Ducal Palace
' than to struggle uselessly below—for the soldiers,
though very polite, will not budge a step. Once
in the gallery, we can enjoy at our ease the
motley scene. Alas that there is no sunshine to
light it up ! But such boats as COlllO dart-
ing through the fog and shoot past like
birds of Paradise, with many-coloured plum-
age of velvet awnings and silken streamers,
are very bright, even as it is. Slowly the mist
rises, and the ships of war become visible. They
are gaily dressed with flags from stem to stern, as
they were on the 19th of October. Then they had
a large share of public attention, but to-day, having
glanced at them to teat the thickness of the fog,
we turn our eyes eagerly towards the Grand Canal.
More boats are darting towards us, and these are
really the forerunners of the procession. As they
advance the mist descends again, so that the ships
of war are hidden from► sight. But the boats will
nut be hidden. They draw nearer. It is a perfect
flower-garden of varied colours, and the cheers on
shore grow doubly loud, for the people see the
King's barge in the midst, with the royal
standard waving over her. Well suited in style
to the silken streamers and velvet awnings
are the dresses of the oarsmen who propel
this fantastic fleet. It is not his ordinary costume,
yet the sinewy gondolier is quite at his ease in
trunkhose—with one leg red and one white—in
green jacket, pink belt, and red cap with blue
feather. He has many more tasteful costumes, but
I give this as an instance of a costume in which to
be at his ease is most creditable. The royal barge
drifts towards the shore, or rather is pressed almost
aground by her brilliant cortege. Their unex-
pectedly good view of " Vittorio " delights the
crowd, and from the ducal palace we see the waving
handkerchiefs, and the King bowing in acknow-
ledgment of repeated cheers. His barge,
brightest of the birds of paradise, at length
shakes herself free, without injury to her
plumage, and steadily nears towards the landing-
stage. The men-of-war thunder another salute
through the fog, which completely conceals them.
The band of the National Guard strikes up
the Royal March, the soldiers of the National
Guard present arms, and the bersaglieri, in token of
salute, hold their rifles slantwise across their breasts.
Quickly the barge is moored, the plank is laid, and
Victor Emmanuel steps ashore. He advances un-
covered between the lines of silent soldiers and the
crowds of shouting people. " Viva it Re" is our
watchword, you old republican lion up there in the
mist. Fold your wings and take life easy in future,
for the deliverance of Venice is accomplished. "He
is a tine man, Vittorio," cry the people round me.
" He is a fine man, though not handsome, and he
holds himself like a king indeed."

IMPORTANT DECISION AGAINST A RAILWAY COM-
PANY. —The Tribunal of Commerce of the Seine has just
given judgment on a question of immense importance to
all railway travellers. Four gentlemen, named Couvreux,
de Villiers, Lempereur, and Miedan, wishing to go to
Chfitillon-sur-Seine on the sth May last, took tickets by
the seven o'clock morning train, which should reach Nuits-
sur-Riviere at two, in time for the corresponding train to
Chitillon, twelve minutes later. The engine, however,
broke down on the way, and the travellers only reached
Nuita at ten minutes past three, and then, finding that
they would have to wait several hours before another
train left for their destination, took a special one fur
which they paid 201 f. 70c. They now sued the Lyons
Railway Company to recover that sum, with 100 f. addi-
tional, which they claimed for the inconvenience to which
they had been put. The defendants alleged in their de-
fence that the accident was Gee over which they had no
control, and that they were consequently not responsible
for the delay ; but the court decided that the stoppage had
been caused by the breaking of a piston rod, which would
, not have occurred had the company bad its engines pro-
perly examined, and condemned it to pay an indemnity of
WOL with interest from the date of theoccurrence, and costs
of the action.—Gahonani.
HOSPITAL FOR DUMAS= OF THE CRIS; VICCORIA-
PARIL—The number of patients relieved at this institu-
tion during LA week was 1,342, of which 319 were new

CCRYSTAL PALACB. RALF-A-CROWN DAY.
SATURDAT, Nov. 10.—Admissioas on payment, 838
ditto by seaman ticket., 4,878 ; total viaitors, 6,718.