The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1859-11-30
THE QUEEN OF THE ADRIATIC

Venice is none the less interesting be
cause written two years ago. Its is from
the practised pen ola citizen of Louisiana
whose taste, education and experience
impart value to all he writes. 1t has
never before been published
sl&4 VENICE, Sept. "a, 1851.
The steamer Milano, j snug little affair, which
left the pier of Trieste at midnight and rapidly
nearing the northwestern extremity of the ,Adri
attic at daylight, and on coming within short dis
lance of the low sandy shore, made a sudden turn
in her course entered the mouth of the Grand
Laguna, and passing between the heavy batteries
on each hand, which constitute the Pillars of St
Mark, and her anchor was no sooner down than
scores Of Gondoas were clustered around, their
capitanos anxious and clamorous to secure fare
from the crowded decks, which she presented to
their view. The Police, as a matter of course
were first aboard and as there were several Austri
an officers of high rank among the passengers, il
was wholly useless for common folk to expect to
get off until these military dignitaries were trans
ferred with their baggage and orderlies to the best
boats, and were speeding away towards the Mole
certain that for them at least there was no uncer
tanty as to getting the best quarters at whatever
hotel they might choose to honor with their pa
tronage The rest of us took our turns afterward
andnot a few perhaps who we're conducted up to
| Al. 4 H. \ II,
the Hotels to which they went, grumbled inwardly
if not audbly, at their luck in having arrived a,
the same time as the Austrian Magnifcos as they
were evidently regarded by Hotel.keepers as Of
considerably less consequence than the Chasseur;
ofthe former On my part, there was, while de-
tanned aboard, at least the comfort of looking at
two quite pretty Trieste girls with ruddy brown
cheeks and bright black eyes, apparently just out
of school, and on their first pleasure tour. A
pretty young GIRLS an excellent thing to look upon
at,any time, but when you have her presence to
prevent your growing impatient, when to do SO,
would be utterly useless, the charm is more than
doubled. -g.ts ....s.e. ,t-,e.e
Daniel. and doing what the waiter at least must
have thought full justice to my breakfast, placed
myself under the care of a ralet de place, to be
shown those localities to which business or curiosity
might call ME, and was soon embarked in a Con
dola, and making my way up the Grand Canal with
Its palaces of the old Eenitian nobility and many
lofts Doges on either hand. We passed those Of
the Gustiniani, Contarini, Comaros, Balbi, Pisani
hoanigo, Foscari, Lopedano, Dandolo, Benabo,
ETC., ETC., all of which exhibit the effects of time
and change while several are almost in ruins. The
Palace Moainigo was tor FIVE years the home of
Lord Byron, and he left its shelter to en-.
gage in the work of aiding the Greeks in 1924.
The Giustinian is now the Hotel Europa, while the
home of the hapless Foscari, after various muta-
tons of fortune, has become an Austrian Barrack
The celebrated danscuse Tagloni owns four of
these venerable mansions, in one of which she re-
sides while in Venice; the Duchess of Berri lives
in another, and her son, the Count de Chambord
also occupies q third. r. a
| All the buildings on the Grand brother Veni.
tan Canals rise directly from the water and their
mainportals have flights Of steps leading down to
it SO that in visiting one of them, you step from
your Gondola into the entrance hall. The style of
architecture varies very considerably, though
mostly the palaces have graceful faeades, adorned
generally by balconies or galleries from which the
inmates could obtain view of what was passing
on the Canal below On few ofthe fronts traces
of fresco paintings still visible, although most
and among them, works of Titan or other Vene-
tian masters have long ago disappeared as CON-
pletey as the people of the era greatness OF
the Queen of the Adriatic herself. sei 5ts6s
The Grand Canal almost doubles on itself twice,
resembling in its course through the city an inn
mense letter mnch compressed at one extremity,
and is crossed in its course by two bridges, the
lower one ofiron and on the sunpension principle,
which was completed only three years since by an
English gcntleman named Neville, who built it
without other compensation than the privilege Of
collecting for twenty years very moderate toll
from the passengers. It is light and graceful
structure, and to all appearance, asafe one. The
other bridge is the Riato which has received men.
ton in every Poem, Romance or Drama, where the
scene is laid in Venice. This bridge is ofemarble
with but single arch, which is nf6ne proportions
and was thought at the period of its erection to be
most extraordinary work, but handsome as it UNI
qdestonably is the triumphs of modern engineering
would now make it nothing to boast ofas a seien-
tifc feat, a5amasu
Passing underneath the arch of the bridge, the
PROV of the Gondola is suddenly thrown in towards
the stairs with which the bank of the Canal is here
lined, by one of those skiliful manmuHres of boat
manship which Distinguishing Venetian Gondolers,
and after landing and passing through rather
dirty passage-way where fish, vegetables, fruits,
&C., &C., are sold in open market, you find your
self in small rectangular place, paved with fiat
stones and surrounded on all sides by old and din
gy houses, the Church Of ST. Giaomco, said to date
from the early part Of the 9th century, and which
certainly looks old enough to have been erected
about the same era as the Tower Of Babel This
. "a