Morning journal and courier., 1883-02-19
High Tides in Venice.


 place in the morning. As one opens the
 window blast of warm, moist air streams Sinto the room, wetting all the walls, and
 standing in drops on the seagsiola paTsl
 ment; the air is thick and heavy, charged
 with salt sea spray; and far of above the
 roofs of the houses, there reigns 8 continual
 booming noise unremitting and impressive
 in it's pervasiveness-it is the roar of the sea
 on the Lido, two miles or more away. Then : the small canal below the window begins to 2 feel the incoming tide. The chips of hay or
 of wood, the cabbage stalks. and scraps of
 which way they are to go; then, with final
 turn on their pivots, they yield to the current,
 and sweep away toward the Giudecca.
 The color of the water changes to a pale
 pea green, not quite clear, but looking as if it had come fresh from thesea. Steadily the tide flows faster and faster under the bridge, and market men and gondoliers begin to secure their boats to the posts. So itI |goes on for an hour more, till the jade \ Aeolored flood has nearly brimmed to ihej ledge of the fondamenta, but not yet over flowed it. Then the water begins to appearI in the calle; it comes yelling up through
 every drain hole and between the flags of theI pavement, bubbling like little geyser anal
 making low gurgling noise; for the sea be- I
 gins to flood Venice under the pavements,
 and not over the fondamenta, which areI usually higher than the streets. Presently the bakers shop puts out board to serve as bridge for it's customers; but soon the water
 from the canal has joined that in the calle; the bridge ceases to be of use and floats idly away.
 Persistently the sea rises it creeps under the large door of the palace and swells ths little pools that are bubbling up in the court yard, and flows right out by the great gates
 on the grand canal, converting the whole cortile into little lake. Then the first boat AL
 doors to pick up fares, and bare legged menI offer their services as porters from the high bridge steps to the upper end of the street,
 which is still dry. Indeed the food is an ex ! cuse for the display of bare legs, and half .the population of the quarter are tucked above the knee All the windows are full of women and children laughing at the traffic at the thrifty, high kilted, housewife, out for her marketing, whoi grudges sou for the boat and shrinks fromj lthe porterage; laughing at the thin shod dan I AdY, whose hat was blown off and umbrellaI turned inside out; laughing at the heavy man. who nearly brings himself and his bearer; prone upon the water. Then suddenly, with out moments warning, there is 8 dazzlingl flash of lightning, rattling peal; every faceI disappears from the windows, and all theI Igreen shutters go to with bang All the streets arc full of people, most ofs them bound for the Piazza to see the fun There is laughter and testing everywhere, Iand the impression of capital joke in barei egs and top boots; the people get theirs amusement out of it all, though the base ments of their houses are soaking and theirI winter firewood slowly taking in the water. Here is one woman walking along through; the flood serenely regardless of indiscreetI disclosure; another in a pair of high top; boots, lent by her friend, who stands on thej bridge and looks on. The Piazza is one largsI lake from the door of St. Marks up to the; raised walk that runs under the colonnades, and right down the Piazetta out into theI stormy lagoon. Under the colonnades a! IcroWd promenades or stands in the arches;
 watching the boats. the gondoias; the sand olas, and barche, that charge two sous for 8; arew. The bright mosaics of St. Marks facade1 and the long lines of the two Procurat1el seem to gain in color and in form as they r1sel fright up from this level of the sea TheS ldoYes go wheeling about in the upper; lair half in alarm at the unwonted sight be-i How them Hard by the two granite co!umnsl ast the sea end of the Piazzetts some spscula-' tors have fixed rickety wooden bridge two, blanks wide, that leads to the Ponte della Pagl tia; but the wind is so high that only al |venturous few attempt the passage Rndj more, it would seem, to keep the game alive than from any pressure of business They are greeted with applause or laughter as they; make the transit in safety or lose their hats on the way. Presently the water begins to; Igo down, and then follows . regular stampede, sof all the boats in the Piazza, for, once lcsught there, it is serious matter to lift a. 1gondola down to the sea. In moment the bridge is broken up, and the boats, Tn 1nex-; atrioable confusion, come steaming down the
 Piazzetta, pumping together. or now and
 then giving an ominous crunch against the
 flags There is laughter, encouragement and . k1- Arar1 serves for some one to rush into the water; a
 hand to this gondola, a lift to that barchetta. 4 In very short space the Piazza is empty
 once more. The water falls fast, leaving
 patches of green seaweed on the stones.
 Out towards San Gioreio and the Gardens a
 heavy haze hangs in the sky; a wind laden
 with foam drives inward from the sec. There
 is the perpetual boom of the Adriatie on the
 beach, and the hot breath of the siroeco
 sweeping over the heaving gray expanse of
 water that breaks in waves on the marble
 steps and foundations of the Piazzetta