Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1878-12-26
THE HERALD,
EUROPEAN CORRESPONDENCE
From Oar Own Correspondent.

VENICE.
From Oar Own Correspondent.
How strangely the fate of cities Of
well as of men seems to be decided.
A band of outlaws defending them.
selves on small hill in q rough in.
land country, founded Rome. the
mistress of the world for nearly q
thousand years. On the overthrow
OF the Western Roman Empire. hen
Italy was overrun by hordes oil
Northern barbarians, the Veneti
were driven from their fertile homes
on the north bank of the Pc aud took
refuge on the low islands along the
Adriatic coast, where among the
rushes and yellow willows they
built their huts and reared their
families, their very poverty protect
ing them from the rapscity of their
cooquerors. From this uDpropitious
beginning sprang Venice, the bright
queen of the Adriatic, for centuries
the T. IS of the sea and an inde-
pendent state for 1876 years
Around her are gathered more of ro-
nance and song, of chivalry and
jealous despotism, Of beauty and the
blacke " tragedy of wioxedness OF
tho hun va h.a han abou; simos'
any other place Ia he world.
lmag,us if you Can, u city with 30
broad aved streets, no rattle o..
car,s. no sound or sight of horses,
but in their places The dark water
d wing between the houses and be
gentle plash Of the Waves a. The
black gondolas speed swiftly by, b
city where the busy Gia OF ceaselss,
activity seems to have died out for
ever, or rather never 10 have been
born. and you have something of an
idea of Venice.
The center of the city in sttrac.
ton of every kind is the Piazza OF
ST.. Mark, an open oblong, some 500
bv $50 feet, well paved and sur
rounded on all sides by historic
buiidings-the churches of st. Mark,
and it's wonderful bell tower, the
palace of the Doges, the Royal pail
ace and the finest shops and cafes of
the whole city.
The church of St. Mark is q muse
am of curiosities, and if one has seen
ell the csthedrals of Europe except
this. it will pay TO 60 thousand
miles for the privilege of going
through it. The church is built in
the shape of Greek cross, and from
the exterior looks half church, half
mosque. II has wonderful amount
OF decoration externally as well as in
the interior and is maze Of domes,
marble pillars, arches and mosaics.
Over the principal entrance are the
fonr bronze horses, which are sup
posed TO have been brought from
Rome TO Greece, from there taken TO
Constsntinople and when that city
was conquered by one of the Doges
in the middle ages, brought to Ven-
ice. Napoleon carried them TO Paris,
but afterwards was obliged to re-
turn them with the spoiIs plundered
from other European cities. They
weigh about two tons each and are
Of solid copper. Passing through
The vestibule, one is bewildered at
the sight before him, The ceiling
sides and floor are literally oVered
with mosaics, of which there are
enough to cover the ceiling of room
700 feet square. The floor of the
cathedral is q mixture of mosaic end
beautiful marble, and is very uneven,
parts of the foundation having set
tied. Around the church are me-
mentoes from all parts of the world,
and notlceably largo number of
very fne presentations in bronze.
Beneath the richly ornamented
High Altar are the relics and remains
OF ST. Mark Behind this is q second
altar with four spiral columns of la
baster, Of which The two center ones
which ara nearly white ard SENT.
transP ent, arr eaid i" have telouc-
cd 20 > lnmons mris. Among % q
other 'urlcns thh e IL the ca,he1rs
are tht stone on which Jobo he
BAplis, Was behesded, crys,~i Y SO
containing some Of the "b.uJd of b-
Savior,"a fragment Of The trn" ornss.
a portion OF tho skull of ST. John
end Umber OF othor sacred and 10
ieresting relics.
IL wac in the vest,buIe of this
church where the emperor Baroaros-
ga kneeled before tbs Pope and rs a
sign OF Subsection receive he pom
tifF's foot upon his neck,
In this church we're Inferred the
remains OF Isaly's idolizad hero in
1868 the President OF the Republic
OF l848, Daniel Manin, the only one
who had been thus honored during
the last three centuries.
la front OF the church is The Boil
Tower, square based. brick struo.
ture more than 800 feet high,
from which there is q fue view OF
the city, the canals, the sea and the
mainland. As most of the houses
are covered with dingy old tiles, and
the chimneys are made of the same
material, the Wow reminds
ooe strongly of vas. de-
serted brick yard with thousands
OF old flower pots scattered over it.
Ga the loft of st. Marks is the clock
tower with the automatic figures,
which go through various motions
when the clock strikes the hours,the
wonder and admiration of the Vene-
tians. When the clock strikes two
multitude of pigeons, which have
their homes in the buildings about
tho square come TO be fed, and it is
one of the things to do to buy corn
at the rate of about FIVE dollars a
bnshel to feed them. When no trav-
eilers are about thsy are fed at pub
lilo expense.
Where the Piszatta touches the
Grand Canal are two granite col.
umns which were brought from Syr-
10 10 the 18th century. One is sur.
mounted with the winged lion of st.
Mark and the other with figure of
ST. Theodore, one of the early pat
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