Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1872-02-03
LETTERS FROM ABROAD.

'..r .--. .u.s VENICE, Oct, II.
Three or four nights OF the week the militia
ry band furnishes the public with good music
on the Square or as all speak of it, "the Piaz-
zd'. We ventured out one evening to try the
narrow streets by lamp light and as matter
of course turned down the wrong alley sever:
al times. coming suddenly to the end of one
perhaps and then trying another, find that we
was cut off by canal, till the right one was
hit upon. 1t does not save any time to study
map for the corners are to be turned at every
few steps, but one must remember the points
OF the compass and count the blocks. But
was charmed with the view of the Piazza by
gns-light--the musicians in the centre gather
ed around large chandelier; the shops bril-
lanlly lighted from within and by reflectors
from without; the three sides of the square
good share of which are jeweiry stores,
looking very gay and attractive with the
flashing diamonds. mOsaics, corals and Geno-
ese filagree, for these people must have SNOWY
goods however cheap. OF course, the Italian
dress looks slouchy and gaudy enough to us,
but not to compare, but to think of them as
Ituisns--the light-heared eXctable, easy
esquc, the women of the lower classes with
shawls over the head, or us we saw them in
Verona, with black lace wells, not covering the
face but falling gracefully behind the ears,
down in front of the shoulders Even the lit
tie ragged urchins that possibly were washed
last year, show pretty faces through the dirt.
But after all, do not see the handsome wo-
men that one reads of, but the men are really
handsome; why, our coachman in Verona was
a real beauty. All the people Were on the Pi-
azza at night-the gaily dressed as well as the
beggar (the latter with coats teartullY and
wonderfully worn out, so what they original
ly were, whether the remains of some palatal
velvet garment of past days, or work of
patching art of the present, would be difficult
TO say J all classes crowd together abound the
central light and the music, just as the gay
nightmoth and the unpretentious insect how
or around the evening lamp. At sunset tables
are placed out in front of the numerous res
tadrants. and the arcadcs are so crowded there
is scarcely room for passers.by
We watched the red sun one evening from
the top of the Campanile, sink behind the Ju-
liam Alps, leaving behind it the most exquis-
lte rosy tint which spread over the whole city
and wafer, a scene / would not have missed
on any account, and it fully repaid us for the
long climb up the inclined plane This bell
tower is over 300 feet high, but the windows
from which we looked are about twothirda
of the way up and the prospect could hardly
be more perfect. The stretch is immense
with the sea to the South, the Lagoon with
the low land beyond to the East, the Julian
Alps TO the West with the "leg of the boot u
running down below. and the thicklY built
city lying around the base, spreading out Ia
the North, East and West, while the Canal to
the South and all around the city are large
islands, also thickly populated. 1t seemed
strange that of all the water through the city
only little OF the Grand Canal can be seen
from this height, the houses being SO close to,
gether. The great clock on the clock tower
opposite us on the Piazza, struck as we stood
in the Campanile. It's great tsce is toward
the Campanile, with the old style of twelve
numbers on each side-ohe for day and one
for night and only one hand above the face
are two sets of numbers, for the hour and
minute; at the end of every five minutes the
new number slips down over the old one, The
bell on the top is struck by bronze figure oi
a man every hour, and two or three minutes
4 AFTER by another on the opposide side who
strikes with different motion,
i have not lost my Yankee peachsRt for
rowing so on Wednesday when In the gondola
! ventured 10 ask our amiable gandolier TO let
me try the other oar, At tiIsl the pouderoqs
thing slipped out of its place at nearly every
stroke, which sent A. and E-s- into con