The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1879-10-25
Morning In VeniCe


Little by little business began to take
possession Of the streets. Bakers shops
and butchers shops and fish stalls were
opened; the din Of countless blacksmiths
and coppcrsmiths filled the air at every turn,
as though the making of locks and kettles
and chimncy-pots were the one usurping
industry of the world; loridsyoiccd women
called all the people to come and partakc OF
baked pumpkin, fresh and hot; and the
melody of mingled street cries grew to a
chorus of suppIication.
Lately risen maidens lowered baskets
from their balconies, and llshcd up cat
meat, or bread, or onions, or other house
hold supplies, lowered the coppcrs for
payment, gathered their scanty raimcnt
about them, and withdrew. The vcndcr---
we knew him at the opcra--pockctcd his
money, tossed his load on his head, and
yelled his noisy way down tho alley.
In the Piazza beyond the Rialto, where
early activity most centres, | took up a
commanding postionat an out ofdoor table,
and ordered my "whitc coffee and bread
and butter What a wonderful place it
was for rcalifasing-just for once! What
pretty but carclcssly clad women in black
lace hcad-drcsscs came from each street
and went toward the church; what Il clat-
ter the wooden pattcns made, and what a
gabblc the ncwsboys; what loads Of fresh
fruit and vegetables the women carried
past how the urchins gamblcd for soldi ;
how unlike everything was to what we sec
at home; and how unreal one grows TO
be in watching it all
The cheap dealers Of the RialtO were
taking down their shutters and displaying
their low-priccd wares Boys sat on the
broad steps munching bread and rcvclling
in the yellow luxury Of broad wedges of
hot and savory pumpkin. The purvcyors
of the adjacent quarters were climbing the
steps with whole hcad-lOads of grapes, or
fish, or vegetables Over the hnnd-rail,
filing the whole width Of the Grand Canal
lay fleet of bargcs unloading, with pro-
duce from beyond the lagoons or slowing
away assorted cargocs of white and purple
grapes, peaches, iigs lettuce, chiccorv,
radishcs shining white onions, carrots, bccts,
potatocs-thc whole frcsh-cOlOrcd assort
mcnt of green grocery. IN shore the mar
ket people filed the streets and urcadcs
with fish, and flesh, and foul, and fruit,
and flowers, and the whole mir with .tu-
mutt of noisy traffic. ] descended among
the thr0ng, where customers were impor-
tuned on every hand, and where sharp bar
gains were driving in sprnts and snails and
in fractions Of the smallest fowl.
Entering little square, shut in by high
houses, and, like most Venetian squares,
dominated by the unfinished facade Of Il
timo-staincd church, | noticed Il singular
activity among the people. They were
scurryng in from every alley, and hasten
ing from every door with odd shaped cop.
per buckets on hool-rndcd wooden bows,
and with little coils of rope. Old men and
women, boys and girls, all gathered closely
about II covered well curb in the middle of
the square; and still they hurried ON, until
they stood Il dozen deep around II. Pre-
scntly the church tower slowly struck eight,
and n little old man forced his way through
the crowd, passed his pondcrous iron key
through the lid, and unlocked the we'll
The kettles went jnnglng into il, and came
stopping out again at M amazing rate, and
the people trudged of home, each with n
pair of them swung from the shoulder
The wells arc deep cistcrns, which are filled
during the night, and it is out of nmiahlc
consideration for those who love their
morning nap That they are given as good
chance rs their ncghbors of getting an un-
soiIcd supply. II is the first instance, tha,
has come TO my notice Of n colnmcndnblc
municipal restraint upon the rcprchcnsiblc
Practice of early rising. Few, very few.
of those who came for water had had time
for thCi' toilets. Their dny evidently be-
gins with this excursion to the public res
crvoir.
Later in my walk saw cistcrn hcing
rcplcnishcd. A barge filed with fresh wa
ter lay in canal near by, and u steam
pump forced the supply through Il hose to
the square, where Il gutter carried il to the
we'll The water is of excellent quality
1t is brought through conduils from the
Eugancn Hills, near Padua, hut its distri-
button through the city is carried on in the
original manner indicated. For city
where the salt sea is II scavcngcr, where
abuutions are not dc riyuC'u, and where
water is not beverage, the cost of laying
distributing mains has wisely been spared