The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1881-12-24
The Magnificence of Old Venice.


The luxury and grandeur of the cos
TUNES worn by Venetian ladies trace
their origin entirely to Venetian cru
saders and commerce in the East Be-
fore 1871 the Eenetians were COM
paratively simple in their attire; in
that year their Doge, Domenico
Selvo, married a Constantine Ducas.
She brought with her Eastern costumes
and Injuries, which made deep i'm
preston upon her simple-minded con-
tempo, aries in Venice; she was wont to
wash in scented water, to cover her
body with perfumes and rich unguents,
and to battle her face every morning
with dew gathered expressly for her by
her slaves The chroniclers contemptu-
ously speak of the orange water she
profusely use, of her perfumed gloves,
of her silken vests, and of the gold stick
she made use of to convey her food to
her mouth, and they attributed to the
Judgment of God on this excessive
luxury her declining health and
early death. Yet, could they but
have witnessed few centuries
latter, the hold these luxuries would
have, not only over the tair ones
of Venice, but likewise over the
men, they would with reason have
quaked for the well-being of their re.
public. The rich dresses of Venetian
ladies are well known to us all in the
canvases of Titan, Paul Veronese, and
others; their flowing sleeves, their
jeweled head-dresses, the richness OF
their silks and satins, and, moreover,
their long-fiowing trains, OF which
Chrstoforo Moro complains thus:
Married women have exceeding long
tails to their vestments. which drag
along the ground, which thing -
diabolical." The extravaganza OF
women in their jewelry and dress
wrought ruin on many a household, and
from the sumptuary laws of latter
history we gather the extent to
which the evil had run. AS an instance
of female eccentricity in Venice, we
may mention the high-heeled boots
they wore. Invented originally to
keep their dresses out of the mud,
these boots grew into such an
excessive size that the soles and
heels were frequently over foot
in height; consequently a Venetian
lady had great difficulty in locomotlon,
and required two maidservants and
two man-servants to accompany her on
her walks as support from falling;
and to prevent this folly and unneces-
sary expenditure responsibilities were
passed; but, says one Government de-
cree, "the ladies of Venice pay but
little heed to our orders" Into their
baths these devotees of fashion would
throw musk. amber, aloes. myrrh.
cedar leaves, lavender, mint, etc.;
their pale cheeks they would rouge
with paint, and during the night they
would place slices of raw veal, which
had been soaked for several hours in
milk, over their faces. to dispel the pal
lor incident on dissipation. In short,
hundreds of strange recipes are extant
for preparing unguents to make Their
hands and feet soft, make their nails
rosy and their skin glossy. In the Sc
clusion of their rooms the Venetian
ladies gave much time to music, and to
the singing of madrigals; they took but
little exercise, except in gondolas; they
delighted in chess, and even in this
modest pastime their extravaganza was
unlimited, for richly wrought gold and
silver men, set with chalced III, jasper
and Jewels, or of the finest crystal
would alone satisfy their taste. Dearl!
did they love all games of chance, for
MANY authorities tell us that in Venice
cards were first invented; tarocchi was
the favorite game, for which elegantly,
designed cards were executed anu
stamped, as the law demanded, with
the Senatorial permission. 1t was not
long before the evils of gambling mani
tested themselves, for a decree OF the
Council of Ten, in 1906, prohibited
games of chance, the sale of cards ana
dice, and obliged servants to denounce
their masters who had gambling par
ties in their houses. Yet this must
have soon been repealed. for nowhere
did gambling go to greater lengths than
at Venice in later years; the Ridotto
and Casni of Venice were far greater
hells than even Monaco or Homburg.-
FraSer'S NagGzine.