The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1880-05-07
La Serenissinna,

Atlantic.
La Serenissinna.
tFrcm Chambers Journal
Whilst all other capitals have gradual
~ Increased, and are increasing every
day III every direction, Venice, surround
Ell 10y Its inland sea. attained several CEN
turtles ago Its present size and shape.
The Piazza san Marco has been since
then It's forum; successive generations
have daily repaired To it in quest of
news, ot sunshine or of friends; and will
continue TO walk under its arcades. TO
cross II and recrOss it In every direction,
as long as the Duomo and the Procu-
rattle wallit round, as long rs the golden
angeln 81. Mark 'stower shines far above
the silent city. Its glory and It's power
have disappeared, the Queen of the Seas
rs now only small provincial town. But
however fallen from diplomatic or COM
merral point of view, Venice has still
and Will always have a peculiar thrilling
interest. Every stone has its own Legal
cy OF romance; every dark gateIs haunt
81 10y It's familiar ghost; every recess,
every Granny, whispers its old weird
Sfo,v
The official annals OF the Most Serene
Venetian Republic contains iunumerable
instances of secret arrests, secret trials.
followed almost always by still more Sc
cret Executions; but besides these. many
aterrlb!e drama has taken place within
the stone walls Of the state prisons. Con-
L. Al
ace, and with their floors slightly under
high water mark, these wells It's they
were called on account of dampness-
very seldom gave up a victim except as a
corpsc. Silent and dark as the grave,
they were a III instrument for a stern
and mysterious tribunal. The severity
OF the Council Of Ten. the swiftness with
which il reached both high and low, the
secrecy Of its nocturnal sittings and of
ITS sentences, created universal feeling
OF awe, that has not Yet completely dis
appeared.
Among the poorer classes there are
many who still believe the existence of
the secret council, and who expect il TO
reappear some day; they abstain, there.
fore, from amy direct allusiOn to il only
when absolutely necessary, 10y the vague
term OF La Serenissilna We NAV smile
at Tins childish fear, but it proves very
clearly the terror it must have inspired.
The following legend that was whispered
10 Inc short time aga by an old Condo
ier, Will show by what means this
result was obtained. Though [ cannot
vouch for the accuracy Of every detail,
there Is no doubt in nv mind as to its
general truth, because the grandfather
of my informant lived in the time it oc-
currel, and would not have dared to re-
peat any tale against the Sercnissima I'M
less he was sure of it. With this pro-
viso, | will now relate the legend as
heard It whilst / WAS quietly lolllng III a
NeTetian gondola.
Ii was toward the end of 100, when
sDne night an English kings messenger
reached Mestre, wanting to cross over to
Venice. Sir John Hawser-such was
his name-waS young, brave, and very
highly connected, and as such, perhaps,
he had been chosen bv til" ministry to
convey some tntiing message to King
Georg" Ill S representative in that
town. After delay that would seem
enormous to our modern express train
travellers, Il gOndOla was manned, his
luggage loaded in it, and NJ last it began
to glide toward the city. He reached
Venice Just befOr" dawn; anu after a
hurried toilet and Il still more hurried
breakfast, Sir John delivcled his packet
and began exploring the lanes and alleys
of this incomprchcusiblc town. Being
tolerably proficient in the language, he
soon found ms way 10 the Piazza San
Marco, and Was duly astonished by its
peculiar aspect. Then, as now, the
piazza WAS the heart of the city; laws and
edicts wcrc promulgated i'll it; sentences
were pronounced from the balcony of the
ducal palaca; while beggars, singers,
and others of similar caste gave it n
strange animation.
Thoroughly enjoying the freedom of
walking sitter his long Journey by coach
and gondola, Sir John INDUCED his
rambling prOpensities to the full extent.
Whilst he WAS doing SO crowd collected
in front OF the ducal palace. Naturally
curious, and having nothing else to do,
he fastened to the spot and elbowed his
way to the ceuter. BY the red pillar of
the balcony an usher was reading out
the sentence Of some unknown felUn,
with all the pOmpous circumlocutioms 50
much III favor in those DAYS. The
"lSAS-iSa pl'SolI'ls Jiibl Oub III
some dark cell, seemed scarcely to real
ize the scene, as his eyes, unused now to
the light of the sun, gazed vacantly on
the excited mob that surrounded the low
scaffold Oh which he was standing. The
sentence having been read, the prisoner
was taken away to the Jail where he was
TO undergo the term of Imprisonment To
which he had just been condemned; and
the crowd, the sight being over, gradu.
ally dispersed.
This incident was i'll itself very trihing,
and Sir John would probably have for
gotten it within week had it not beer
for its strange consequences. Whilst
pushing and elbOwing his way in the
crowd ii seems that some clever pick
pocket had robbed him of his lace hand
kerchief. 1t is certainly very mpleas
ant to be robbed even of valueless ar
ticle: but in this case the thief had oh
tanned Il valuable prize; and besides
there was for Sir John Hawser the add
tional sting Of having been robbed by n
Italian. He would have been less angr,,
if it had happened III London; the pici:
pockets there were so clever that Their
WAS no shame i'll being their victim; bu
to have been plundered by clums,
Venetian was too much for his eguanim
ity, aud he burst out in a torrent o
abuse.
Speaking mostly i'll Italian, but mixing
few English anathemas in his speech
lie related his loss TO few by-standers
and was advised by them to complain b
the police, or rather to those official
who, under the Serenissima, fulfilled til
present duties of the police. Thougl
without great faith in this plan, he fol
lowed il, and gave notice to the nuthori
ties. He was assured by very stated
official that he need have no fear, an
that his property would soon be foun
and restored to him. Forced to be COZ
tent with this vague consolation, he wer
home to his supper and bed.
For three or four days afterward L