Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1862-10-10
A Story of Art.


In one of the ar,-galeries of Vienna
hangs pietme Of Venetian life, by the
painter Francesca Mayez, Which excites Pc
culiar interest in the visitor. II is an inte-
rior, an apartment in the ducal palace,
where three aged senators, evidently the
famous Council Of Three, are holding one
Of their secret sessions. One of them, a
tall, proud figure, with the fnely-cliselled
Intellectual, daik face, familiar TO us in old
Venetian portraits, has risen in excitement.
and with stern gesture, is addressing a
young and beautiful woman. who sinks
fainting on the stone hoor. She is support
ed by an official who seems to deprecate ibe
harsh demeanor of the senator. A notary
behind the table in the rear Of the group,
is making a record Of the proceedings.
The story on which tits picture is found.
ed is contained in a French romance of the
seventeenth century, and though no authen-
! iicalion of il has been discovered in the
Venetian archives, il probably rests on a
! tradition then current. If not, il is no less
a true reflection OF the character OF the
/ time in Venice, when amidst the gay pa
geant of its fourishing and gorgeous life,
/ rose that dark, mysterious trbunal--irre-
! sponsible, remorscless, irresistible as Fate.
which held in its unseen hand the whole
power of the republic. The story runs
| thus -
Valencia was the daughter of the Sena-
tor Gfadenieo; by birth. therefore, one of
the first ladies Of Venice. She had all the
rich beauty of her counirywomen, with this
remarkable distinction. admired in propor-
\ tion TO its rareness, that her hair was of the
| loveliest blonde color, changing in the sun
| TO gold and was so abundant that it fell in
heavy shining waves below her knees.
A beautiful Italian xoman Of nineteen
could not be without lover. and Valencia
bad already yielded the first bloom Of her
heart TO the young patrcian Leonardo
Whether from necessity or the mere ca
price of the youthful fancy. the attachment
was kept a secret from their respective
families, and the young pair met only in the
| pals ce of Leonaido's bosom friend, Antonio
| Foscsrini. Even he was not entrusted
with the name of the lady who stole, close
| ly veiled into his house, nor had he ever
been favored with glimpse of her face.
But the glowing eulogies of her charms, to
which he was obliged TO lisien--especially
the description of her wonderful hair, ex-
cited his imagination all the more, and the
idea fastened itself in his mind that in those
golden threads lay some magic power which
had enthralled his friend, for heretofore
| Leonardo had been insensible to female at
fractions.
| For lime the course of true love ran
smooth. Then suddenly, as if the earth
had opened to swallow him, Leonardo dis
appeared, and few days after his dead
body was found in one OF the canals which
vein this city Of the sea. A deep wound
in the breast showed that he hsd been the
victim OF assassination. Naleazia's grief
! had all the stormy violence OF FIRST great
SORROW. Bus far more profound was the af-
| Fiction of the friend, Who fuzzy believed
that the fatal stab had been given by ieal-
Gus rival.
leonardo leonardo" he exclaimed,
as he gazed on the bloody corpse, sthe ac-
cursed blonde LOCKS are answerable for this
deed F"
! From this hour an unconquerable aver
sion to blonde hair took possession of him.
which grew into a monomania. II was the
fashion of the day in Venice for the ladies'
to bleach their dark hair by the use of
chemical preparations, and SO strong and
undisguised was his contempt for the prac-
tice as to obtain for him the sobriqaet of
" Blonde Hair Hater."
His relatives, anxious to divert his mind
from these morbid fancies and recollections.
urged him TO marry. He was one of the
handsomest Of the young pairicians of Ve-
nice--his figure noble, his face full OF in
telligence aud feeling; and he had fur
ther passport to the favor of the ladies in
his singular devotion in friendship, and his
corresponding Indifference TO themselves.
Admiration, sympathy, pipue, ccnspired TO
render him an object of transcendeni inter-
est TO the fair sex. His friends led him
from one gay circle to another, in the hope
that he might. unawares, find himself in the
meshes of the little blind god. 1t was all
in vain. AT length his father settled the
question by an arrangement with the Sena-
tor Gradenigo for marriage between the
two families, and Antonio found himself
pledged 10 the connection entirely without
his own knowledge or consent. But such
marriages of domestic or state policy were
:he rule in Venice. and his heart having no
Tie elsewhere, be submi ted without remon-
STRANGE. Preparations were fastened on,
and the wedding day was appointed.
Valencia had yielded with less reluctance
nay, even with degree Of mournful pleas
ure. She well knew Antonio, though her
self wholly unknown to him. Their mutual
attachment TO the lost Leonardo was ten
der bond. His inconsolabe grief for one
dearest to her had given him sacred place
in her heart. Her own lot, moreover, was
full Of discomfort and chagrin. her father
being one of those stern and cruel men 1
whose iron rule turns the palace into de-
tested prison. After the death Of her low |
er she had wished to bury her sorrows in a |
convent, but the old senator. who regarded |
his daughter as simply an instrument of I
family aggrsndizement, had perempiorily 1
and harshiy refused bis consent. Life. with |
the honorable, gentle, and true hearted AM
tonic, seemed TO her crushed spirit bless, d
escape from this bondage; and thus it hap
pened that she not only assented without
objection to her fathers plan, but became
most anxious to win the affection of her
knowing too well his morbid
prejudice against blonde hair. aud the fatal