The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1859-11-30
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are a number of ragged little ga,eius fitting about
engaged in all sorts of mischief, or greedily de
vouring whatever they can contrive to obtain
One Of these little fellows occupied the top Of the
Shame Stone ON which fraudulent bankrupts
used to be made to stand while their sentence was
read aloud by the officer Of the Court, apparently
wholly Ignorant Of its history, and intent only OF
swallowing the morsel of cake whicl, he kept in
close proximity with his mouth. A9 go e,gnaa
The Place St. Mark is after ALL the great feature
of Venice, as it new exists, and attracts the won
der and admiration Of all who behold it. II is
reached by passing between the Ducal palace and
the Old Mint through the Piazzetta, which opens
on the Mole and the Grand Canal. where are
placed the two famous pillars Of St. Mark, Ian
architectural mistake, as they are really columns)
both of which are monoliths, about rs feet in
height, surmounted BY rectangular capitals. That
nearest the Ducal Palace is Of gray granite and
has on the top the winged Lion; the other is Of
reddish granite, and upon it stands St. Theodore
who was the patron of the city before St. Mark
assumed that office, the feet resting On croco.
ollie. AT the northern extremity Of the Piazzetta
next tue Ducal Palace stands the Church of St.
Mark, almost as unique in appearance and archi
lecture as that of St. Basil, at Moscow of which
endeavored to give some idea in my letter from
that city. To the left or south as you enter the
Place, rises to the height Of over 800 feet. the
Campanile or Tower Of St. Mark it is quadrangle
lar in form, built of brick, and at about twothirds
Of its height, has an open gallery from which, il
the weather be clear, a beautiful view Of Venice
its islands and Lagoons and the distant slopes Of
the Tyolcse Alps is to be had. The enclosure Of
St. Mark is about TOO feet in length and 500 in
breadth, and is paved like all the streets and other
public places CT. the city with blocks of stone
Looking towards either end, there is on each hand
range ofbudngs, with three rows. Of open arched
galleries, of light and very graceful architecture,
which gives a splendid effect. On the ground
7 floors are rows of shops which display every rari
ETY. Of merchandise, particularly jewelry, bright
colored silks and prints, interspersed with cafes
and cigar Diyans opposite. The building to the
south on the side of the Grand Canal is the pre-.
sent Royal Palace; that opposite was the seat Of
lie Public Offices in earlier days, and terminates
at its eastern extremity il the Clock Tower. Al
this season all Of Venice that leaves home at al
finds its way in the earlier hours Of the evening to
the Plaza d San Marco, and clusters in front oftbe
most celebrated Cafes, where there are many
ranges Of chairs, and where bands Of street must
clans succeed each other with uninterrupted regu.
larity for several hours. The long range of the
gas lights with the figures passing athwart them
and casting their moving shadows on the pave
incnt produce very pleasing effect, which added
to the gay and cheerful hum of many voices in the
soft Venetian dialect makes up a scene which is
entirely peculiar to this city and viii be sought
elsewhere in vain, al8H sSics4s all gsf; ss
One Of our Military passengers on the Milano
was a General Of high grade, and in compliment to
his arrival the united bands Of several of the Regi
ments of the garrison assembled in the centre Of
the Place, aud played for about two hours giving
several Marches and Polkas in the unrivalled style
( Of which the Austrian service boasts with great
Justice 81 si i8
The streets of Venice are decidedly the narrow
est and gloomiest to be met with in Europe. The
broadest is not over twelve feet in width, while
most Of them are not above four or FIVE, with
houses on each side rising to the height Of four or
! five stories. After passing through few Of them
one ceases to wonder at the ease with which, from
all accounts, the Brayos were able to effect their
work Of assassination when that was the way in
| which both the State and the individual managed
to get rid of a foe, rival or a dangerous or too
popular citizen, as in many places it needed bnt
the stretching out Of the hand from the shadow OF
a door OF; within window, to plant a dagger in
the heart of the doomed. Gloomy and narrow as
these streets are, several leading out of the Place
st. Mark contain shops filed with the richest and
/ rarcst stufs, and are the resort, not onlyo the
titled who come pass hewinters Such a thing
asa wheeled carriage drawn by. horses is unknown
to most natives and is never seen in their streets
!
Indeed thousands Of them who have never been on
terra .fima would scarcely know a horse from an
elephant were they to Behold for the first time, the
two together. Horses have, nevertheless, been
occasionally seen in Venice on occasions Of great
State or the reception Of some King or other illus
trious persanage from the mainland, and among
other local traditions Of more or less probability
one that when he visited the city, Henry III, Of
France, actually assembled on horseback the easy
Eplanes on, the inside of the Tower Of st. Mark
which lead up to the gallery. If he did so, the
feat was probably performed on such a tame and
broken spirited old hack as usually serves as the
mount Of a Queen when she appears on the stage
4 in the! procession in q Grand Opera or Melo.
Drama. ti5 s.3se A t4stsGf D4sSaYil
a9It is the custom with travellers to so into exsta
cies about the Ducal Palace, but for my part ]
found the front sombre, and gloomy in the extreme
although certainly not devoid Of grandeur. 1t i
however both peculiar in style and imposing in ap
1 pearance. The visitor is conducted up the granG
staircase atlthe head of which the Doges wert
! =