Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1869-12-24

lutely necessary to take gondola from
point to point in Venice---but it is GER
tainlY a convenience. A person can go
anywhere in the city on foot, by threading
the narrow lanes and alleys, which are
from three to twelve feet wide, yet many
of them are so you can strike the ends of
the fingers of both hands against the walls
on either side at the same time, and so it
is tramp, tramp. all day, and most all night.
Small bridges cross the small canals, and
of the former, there are nearly four hun
dred.
The city contains about 10000 people
and the reader can imagine this large
place as having no real wagon roads,
for they have no need of them, as there are
no wheeled vehicles-no equestrians pass
through the lanes, but four thousand gon-
dolas run on the watery avenues.
The Canalazzo was cut over the fats
and is three hundred feet wide, and has
justly been called the Boulevard of Venice,
yet it is not quite as straight as the
Aaliens B0ulerary in Paiis-the course
through the city being very muIh like
letter" So and. from this liquid broadway
runs numerous smaller ones; and it is over
one of these smaller canals that the famous
Bridge Of Sighs crosses, and connects the
Imperial Palace with the fearful prison.
went down into their terrible dripping
dungeons. An entrance was made through
low doorway, by stepping over thrcsh-
hold foot or more in height, and you can
scarcely stand erect in the highest place.
noticed in one date made in 1906 which
was revealed as placed the torch to the
ceiling. i think I would rather be ex
cuscd from being incarcerated in such a
dark, dismal, horifying place. say
The time of my arrival was indeed
lucky ona, Cor there was to be grand pro-
menade on the Cdndldzso IN honor of one
of Victor Emmanuers daughters.
Forming compact with three others we
chartered a beautiful Gondola, which was
nicely equipped, for qwhiehra respectable
sum was charged, and had it manned 10y
two Yenetiaus, and before dark went out
to get survey of the surroundings. At
dark it was astonishing to see the Condo
las shoot out from the small canals, and
in an hour it seemed that all the crafts in
Venice were brought into rcquisition.
A chariot appeared among US, propelled
by six gondo'as-this contained fine
Venetian ba I'd that discourscd sweet music
as they gliJed down the thoroughfare
There was quite strife among all to get
as near. as possible to this, and quite dcx
ferrous efforts were made with the blades
to accomplish it, but our gondoliers had
become frightened, and withdrew from the
contest, under the high walls of one of the
palaces, and it was difficult to make them
understand anything but we saw that
unless we were rcsolute, goodly share
Of the entertainment would be lost, and
after all efforts proved unavallirg we stood
up, and gave them to understand, unless
they pushed ont towards the chariot, We
would leave their little ship and taky
another. "a
1t was wonderful to us how quick they
understood it, and with lively oar-dips we
passed to within the length of gonGola
of the floating chariot, and in ten minutes
the whole space was covered and we were
surrounded by Venctians in their cabs,
and they became so thick, and so closely
packed that the oars appeared of little use,
and the whole mass seemed to move with
out effort towards the lagoons. st
| What made the scene more brilliant, the
chariot was arranged with lights, like
fountains, and festoons, and as near as |
could calculate, there were about fifteen
hundred OF various colors, red, yellow,
pea-green in the festoons-and each gon-
dola had two Chinese lanterns, one at each
extremity, which dangled with the slight
Moving back, we passed the high domcs
of the Duomo which was nicely brought
out with Bengal lights, think the most
effective ever saw. The .RiG3to was
ahead, and this was loaded with hundreds
of people to witness the grand procession
Really, all the pictures in our school geog-
/ raphys of this famed structure appeared
before me. 1t is of marble, having a
single arch of one hundred and ninety feet
and 1t was ten o'clock at night when we
heard the songs of the gondolicrs as we
rode beneath the marble. 10.
The Canalazzo is dark at night, as the
lights from business places shine on the
narrow alleys, and therefore the high walls
rose perpendicular from the water five or
six stories high. The windows and bal
comics were crowded-by the gay and neatly
dressed, who swung their handkerchiefs to
the passers by. The grim yissages Of
statues seemed to stand stark against the
dark wall of the Venetian sky, and they
looked as though they had just came up
out of the crypts below. ab i3,ta
The procession became compressed in
! going under the Rlalto, and heightened it