The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1872-05-17
A GOndOla-Ride in Venice.

U ~ NS--NNS-@N ~N-N@N - ~--N~'
Chained TO her many isles, and
crowned by a tiara of proud palaces, she
rises, like sea-sybil, from her watery
bed, and her crumbling magnificence of
Oriental splendOr mirrors the naughty
age when Venice was the mistress of
the seas. Anchored in the Lagune, she
surveys, with a saddened majesty, the
mOurnful Adriatic, who once bore her
commerce, received her spOils, and rev.
eled in naval dignity in her imperial
festivities The vicissitudes of centuries
have yoked her ambition; her pride has
been crushed.
The ages of prosperity and freedom,
shimmering through the vista of her
glories, trace struggles for liberty char
aeteristic of our own. The mighty
pomp with which she led her shaekled
captives, bowed emperors, and lassOed
nations, has been succeeded by dire
desolation; and she who flung her pur-
pie robe DER empires, now sinks beneath
the weight of Italy's sovereignty. Her
stately halls, which once resounded with
the clash of victorious arms, now mourn
their lords. Where soldiers, kings, and
pOpes knelt with royal brllliancy, the
denizen tramples.
The Dogeless palace frOwns with a
scornfuI mien; her blackened marble
depicts her rage ut her withered power,
and from her ercouncil-chambers herrulers
look down, in pictures from the walls,
upon her broken wand.
From the Bridge of Signs l looked
through the grated windows on that
dismal prison, where so many culprits
have suffered the distempered horrors
inflicted by the "Immortal Ten," and L
was told that within its cells victims
still languished \ tOrch-light guided
my footsteps down q worn stairway TO
the darkened vaults. There were two
ranges, one above the other, each sepa-
rated by massive walls, and distin-
guished as the last resting-place of some
fallen hero. In one-that of Marino
Falieri-I traced nail-marks upon the
boarded walls, that were scratched dur
ing the half-hOurs of candle-light allot-
ted to him of each day. The poor un-
fOrtunates were handed their portions
through n loop-hOle, by which they also
received their brief cheerful rays. Here
their luxurious beds were changed to
those of stone. In another, / saw the
rocky pillow left for the last night of
the condemned, and before its iron
] framed window the brOwn-rObed priest
was wont to come, in the gloom of dark
i hNoTf anu llHAtil " Alit Nv AAA NbhAS'7ANhi
and, as deaths herald, point to the dis
tant Madonna, which smiled benignly
through the murky hours, as the sweet
consOlatrice.
Still farther on we passed n threshold
I beyond which no one ever retraced
steps, being numbered among the dead
I before crossing it. These dreaded pris-
Ons are made more awful when, stand
/ ing upon the bloody spot where the exc
cutiOner's AK severed the head from the
I trunk, we see traces of innocent blood,
and place the hand upon the latch OF
/ the low door, where the sack was low
cred into the gOndola, carried To the sea,
and buried ''whe1e il is death to cast a
net"
Out Of these dungeon strongholls,
/ filled with tales Of the deepest wrongs,
we enter a palace of princely elegance,
and unrivaled architectural beauty. In
/ the supremacy of the republic, when the
! Venetian fleet maintained its power
over the Mediterranean, and Venice was
/ the commercial centre of Europe; when
/ ConstantinOple was subdued, and the
/ Egyptian seas controlled; when the
zenith of her glory was marked by her
extensive possessions, the laws of the
government were issued from this pal
ace. Though discolOred by the elements
of years, there is n beauty and fascina-
tion about it not known of any SINH
/ lar structure in Europe. Here her
chieftains dwelt in unparalleled luxury.
The picturesqueness, gorgeous scenery,
and knighthOOd romance of the Middle
Ages, are unveiled in their antique
p. grandeur. These august scenes are ac-
cessOry features to those days of chiy-
airy.
Adjacent to the palace of Doges rises
the famous cathedral of st. Marco. 1t is
q dreamy structure, of vast proportions,
with broad aisles, colossal dOmes,
abOunding in the richness of the East.
The delicate mosaic work, rich foliage,
arched pediments, and numerous can
opied turrets, and its Byzantine style of
architecture, render it both picturesque
and imposing. 1t looks like the work OF
fairy hands, yet so mighty that the lapse
of time has not destroyed it.
=. Immediately in front of this edifice is
the Piazza, bounded on all sides by
beautiful palaces. At one corner is a
watch-tower of massive masonry, with
a staircase so mighty that Napoleon rode
on horseback to the top. From its dizzy
, height, far above the city, is offered an
extensive view of the distant sea and
, mountains. Beneath are three flag
, stalls, placed in beautiful bronze pedes-
tails, where the banners of Cypress
Gambia. and Morea once waved, to com
2 memorate their subsection to the repub-
r lie. Standing upon the Biva Iii Schia.
n yoni, we see places Of naval combat ant
victory; and where the Venetian men
of-war once fioated in majestic motion
T the silent gondola skins.
4 The Grand Canal winds its serpentin'
= course, and from its watery edge rise
paIaces of various ages and beauty
The foreign names of their occupants
l and their neglected aspect, tell of the
: Austrian rule and Italy's power. Re
clinincs beneath the canopy Of a gOndol:
D, "A lean bdrca, differing somewhat from
i the old Venetian gOndola in size AM
d strength, with heavy, halberd-like prov
u serving as a cOunterbalance in weigh
and as a measure OF the height of bridge
we glide,I through its ''liquid streets,
Z visiting places of art and reminiseence
T of Venetian glory; past quays and ter
- races. where gracefully veiled wOmel
,, were passing and repassing; where ther
was busy life in the products of fruit an
e fish; where lOafers lay reclining in tn
rays of the sun, and where poverty an
shame were exposed. In our journey
we visited the Rialto, mighty bridg
of n single arch, spanning the Gran
N Canal. and resting on l., 600 piles. Ther
are many little shops upon it, and tn
traffic reminds one of the days whe