Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1873-05-22
NO. 3s.l
what n Merchant Saw i'm Europe.

quiet she seems ever to sleep unmindful
of the long gone time when Shylock,
after his pound of flesh, darkened the
Rialto, and Othello strided over st.
Marks plaza. Another has well said,
mo city exerts so strong spell over
the imagination as Venice. The book
of Rome has more pages, but no one
chapter like that of Venice. Everything
is dream-like and unsubstantial fairy
pageant floating upon the waters; city
of cloud-land rather than earth. SO far
the picture is all light; but it is not
without its shadows. A nearer view
of the palaces, which seem SO beautiful
in the distance, reveals the decaying for
tunes of their possessors. On diyerging
from the grand canal to the right left,
a change comes over the spirit of the
scene. we find ourselves upon narrow
and muddy ditch. The sun is excluded
by the hight and proximity of the houses.
All that meets the eye speaks of discom-
fort dampness and poverty. Slime, sea
weed, and mould cling to the walls"
We have been to the Dodge's Palace,
which is purely Venetian in its design,
and through its gallery of monster pic
lures. Tintorettas 'Last Judgment is
here, eighty-four feet long and thirty
three and a-half wide. The Virgin Mary
in this mammoth picture plays coequal
part with Jesus on the throne. Much
as we have seen in Tintoretta's pictures
to admire, we find his 'Last Judgment"
far below the standard. From the c0un-
Gil chamber we went to the Bridge of
Signs. II stood in Venice on the Bridge
of Signs, palace and prison on each
hand" The solid masonry, the great
iron bars, the tomb-like cells. What
must have been human suffering here
To be preferred was the executioner's
axe, which cleaved many head and sent
the blood-drops trickling to the sluggish
canal below. A dark, repulsive, place it
is, and we must shudder at the thought
| of what it aoGs Venice, by candle-light,
| is a treat one cannot afford to miss. The
gondolas skipping over the endless chain
of canals, carrying dim headlight, re-
mind one of fire-fies in midsummer, and
st. Marks Place is all ablaze with the
gaudy shop windows of thousand ira
| ders in jewelry, glassware, etc. groups
of well-dressed people gathered here and
there, slipping coffee or wine, eating ices
and chatting gaily-a very ballroom in
the open air.
We have met few eXtortioners in Ven
| ice, and nowhere have we revelled in
the genial smiles of our host as at the
| Hotel Bril-, on the Grand Canal. Hotel
keepers, generally, in the south Of Eu-
rope, keep themselves quite aloof from
their guests, and one might conclude,
with reason, that bookkeeping is an avo-
cation not the most polite and aristo-
Bril-, has been all smiles, and we have
had but to family indicate desire, to see
it realized. Venice is greatly disappoint-
ing to one, who has an idea of its pure,
clear, watery streets, its dreamy skies
and magnificent palaces. Were it not
for the purgation of ocean tides, with
their salt water, the stagnant canals
would be simply intolerable. AS it is,
the oders, rather than sweet perfumes,
waited on gentle breezes from palatial
flower gardens, are too often the stencil
of some foul sewer, pouring its refuse
into the canal. Nor are the skies ever
clear, and the palaces generally are only
large heaps of blaCkened stone and mar
BILE, fast going to ruin. Have you never
seen an aged woman rather neglectful of
her personal attire Her silk dress, we'll
faded from years of contact with trying
sunbeams. Only flint traces of the once
gay coloring of her tattered shroud. Her
dishevelled gray locks meeting the wrin-
Killed. features of a face whose traces of
departed beauty speak with emphasis,
she IS not aoltGt once she aodS Perhaps
you may have met such an one and per-
chace you have tarried to marvel how
charming she must have been in her day,
but her glory has departed. In some
such way Venice has impressed me, and
leave it pleased that came, but better
pleased to depart. We bought numer-
Gus large sized photographs in Venice for
which we paid but one franc each, but
as we turned our backs upon the Queen
of the Adriatic, we were accosted by
Custom officer who persisted in charging
an export duty upon not only those we
bought in Venice but the large number
we have gathered since leaving Morocco.
First we plead the injuctice, then
we grew indignant, but the only answer
was stern demand for twelve francs.
One sees quite as little to admire in the
Italian as in the Spanish character but
less to hate. The huge stories of Ital-
ian beggary and insolyence, the oft re-
peated menace of those free to unsheath
the knife, we have not seen verified
Not dagger in hand nor at side have we
seen in Italy, and / am confident that in
this, Spain is the rule and Italy the ex-
ception.
| shall carry from Italy recollection
of the natives as more slothful and with
not single circumstance calculated to
exhibit their vindictiveness. l can't
soon forget our fat, lazy old porter at
the hotel in Florence. From contact
with host of snobbish guests, he had
much pride to appear knowing. We
asked him one evening to point us the
way to desired locality. Throwing
himself into self-consequentia attitude
he vainly endeavored to tell us, and fin
ally twitching our coat sleeves, as if to
give an sutburst of pure English, he
said in the most polite manner possible,
Cd d-m wait minute, and off at a
dog trot, he went for his hat and piloted
us in person to the spot The words
were all of English we heard from his
lips during our stay in Florence As
compared with the Spaniard the Italian
is quite as vehement in voice and ges-
ture. | remember that in the car ride
from Rome pair of brawny natives had
set to at cards. The game had we'll
advanced when dispute arose. Words
ran high and gestures were violent.
One of the disputants violently thrust
his hand into his pocket and L fully
expected a knife at the next turn, but
imagine our surprise to see him excitedly
bring forth match and, striking it hur-
riedly, pass it over to what seemed an
embittered adversary, and lighting his
cigar he whitfield nervously and talked |
vehemently. One soon regards with lit |
tie consequence an Italians demonstra- |