The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1844-01-24
VENICE.

The Ocean-Queen, once so proudly seated on her
hundred isles, was, in her origin asylum amidst
her forlorn lagoons for the outcas and the outlaw
for the prosecuted who flung aside the soft humani
ties In present destiuton and desire OF future VEN
geance--and the prescribed and banished of social
life, who was but too glad to JOIN any banner which
was raised against the existinI powers, and authori-
Ties, and systems or Tie world Venice is the youn-
ger sister of Rome, creation more finely and deli
caeIy wrought, but less robust-necessarily less en-
during at least without the vitality for secondary
existence. Rome is the especial city Of austerc his
tory every thing that breathes Of Venice there is
the hutter of romance. 1t looks like mirage of the
| ocean like one of those pageant cities which the
deep, at the termination of certain magic cycles is
tabled to give for H. when the genii of the world be.
meath the waves, leaving for the time, between the
ux and the reflux Of the tide their cold dull caves
and yalueess treasures, their sad coral forests and
murky fountains in word, all the impossible hor-
rors indicated by the funeral light of their own sun
less regions, are allowed to visit the upper air. and
conjure up fairy city, visible to every eye as the
theatre for their wild and high soemnty. Here, in
the show OF this Venice, such fabric would SEEM
by power mighter than their own to be enforced
to stay, and rendered real and subsan ial Yet still
the Wne you gaze upon 1t in the distance, you do
feel as though its appropriate inhabitants should be
dwaris, and giant blacks and genii kings, and en-
chanted ladies of surprising beauty and that sooth
to say, it should in all things the aspect of the
East-o the portal city to the land of monstrous and
gorgeous fable Its wild story, too, accolds with its
appearance. How much Of astounding crime and
most glorious achievement is there not recorded for
its mobiles They were more constuonally luxuri-
ous more refined OF nicer tastes, and, perhaps gene
rally of subtler powers of intellect than the Romans
but this only made them the more wicked; for they
were quite stern as naughty, bood-thirsy, and
as mplacab!e as the old patricians They too, bore
about them all the tokens of their origin from men
insecure of life, the enemies of all other men,
They, too were utterly regardless OF human suf-
ferings-careless of human e-setting not the slight
est store by it In Others because they reckessly per-
Tiled their own and BECAUSE from the nature of their
government, they never knew how many moments it
might be Their N to throw away. For the rest, in
likewise, they were grave, debauched supersttious,
false, tteacherous every in Venice had his dag
ger, every woman in Venice had her gallant. But
the sea-wolves were quite as brave as the wolves of
Italy and the State was, in its pamest days, almost
chvalrous, under terrible disasters. Certain
| ly when The winged lion spread his wings abroad
their shadow fell widely and darky over land and
sea they oveIshadowed even the capital of the
great Eastern Empire
Constantlnope cannot for ms ant compete in in
| terest with Venice the victorious Venice was ia
truth, the city Of the Crusades she was nsprited
too, and supported in her wild career by spirit and
will like those which belonged to the Crusades them
selves wild and headstrong, and therefore sure to
wear utterly away far sooner than the more calm and
deep, and consecrated will of Rome: But within the
city the oppression Of the many was more terrific
than anything that had ever been before known-for
IT proceeded from the tyranny of government not
alone Irresponsible but invisible There were few
freemen, because hey were inaccessible it, indeed,
men who are the rants Of others, be themselves
deemed free but all the rest of the population noble
or plebeian, native or stranger were mere slaves
Fraser.