The Republican journal., 1884-01-03
BY FRVF. 7. c, BATENAN,
Oh Venice. when thy marble walls
Are level with the waters, there shall b.
A cry Of nations DER thy sunken halls,
4 lnul lalnnnt llnnn the SAXnnlniIl1r con !

sides by magnificent palaces, the other
side washed by the blue waves of the
Adriatic, it presents a scene ot which you
never tire. The great cathedral Of St
Mark, with its Turkish architecture. the
dOgeS' palace with its wonderful treas
ureS of art and historical associations,
the MAJ Die palaces Of Venetian patricians
of other and core prosperous days, the
two splendid monolith columns and the
campanie, the lag0Ons with their num-
berleSs gondolas and larger vessels can
all be taken in at a glance, and together
form a scene almost unparalleled in the
world, AS we pause a moment to gaze on
THE SPLENDID BUILDINGS
and animated crowd, what historic and
traditional memories pass before the
mind What wonderful scenes this
square has witnessed what gorgeous
tetes and soemnites of which it has been
the thcattr 1t was here, over eleven
centuries ago. that blind old Dandola re-
ceived the crusader chiefs OF France, and
bid -hem hasten on to fulfill their mission
in the east here that Barb0rasSa bowed
his neck to the sandal of the aged pom
tiff; here that the splendid nuptials of
Francisco Foscari We're celebrated by Il
tournament witnessed by over thirty
thousand people; here that Petrach as
sisted at the gorgeous teteS for the con-
quest OF Gambia, and exclaimed, " know
not that the world hath the equal Of this
place 1t was here that Catherine Cor
nara resigned her sccpter of power over
the island OF Cyprus and was received
L,- ~,
people of Venice. Here, also, the con-
spiracy of Falerio as crushed, and here
the newly elected doge was wont to be
borne in his chair of state on the sboul-
ders of the people After drinking in the
INSPIRATION OF THESE HISTORIC SCENES,
there is a double fascination in again Wis
iting the old palace Of the doges. Again
We stand in the room where the "cOuncil
Of ten established in 1912. and invested
with supreme authority, hated by many
and dreaded by all, secret, powerful, re-
lentlesS and omnipOtent. sent forth its
terrible decrees. While standing within
the awful walls of this room, with all the
paraphernalia of torture which depraved
humanity could invent lying around me
on every side, Il whole series of names Of
illustrious persons who had pined and
suffered in the damp dungeons beneath
could e silly be recalled and visions Of
Strangulati0ns, starvation, torture on the
rack, and the bloody axe of the eXecu-
toner crowded upon my mind. \ narrow
passage leads from this room across the
Bridge Of Sighs to the prison. The man
ner in which this bridge received its
name is suggestive Of horror. Prisoners.
who perhaps an hour before had been sit
ting in their family circle unsuspiclous Of
danger, had been dragged before the
Council of ten," received
THE SENTENCE OF DEATH,
and hurried across this passage into the
dungeons beyond. While passing across,
d glance through the windows would give
them the last glimpse OF the scenes of
earth The natural feelings of the mind
would prompt them to utter groans and
lamentations, from which fact it derived
the name of P0}tc del SOspilI, or "bridge
OF sighs,' which it has borne to the pres
ent day. The dungeons in the prison
beyond are the most terrible ever saw.
For the most part they are below the lev
el OF the water, where no ray of light can
ever penetrate. They are water tight in
the lower portions, and leaden pipes
leading from the canal above enabled the
lailels to flood the dungeons at a mo-
ment's notice. A man whom the "cOun-
ell of ten had any reason to fear, was
thrust into one of these cells and the door
closed. \ moment later the water en-
tered the dungeons and continued to rise
until it reached his chin. Rats were then
thrust into the place from above with no
other refuge from the water but the mans
head The poor wretch, surrounded with
Egyptian darkness, and only his head
above the water, was
OBLIGED TO DEFEND HIMSELF
from the l0athsOme Vermin as best he
could. Usually the rats would succeed
in eating off his nose, and other features,
before death would end his sut1erings 1t
was with a feeling of relief that | quit
such scenes of misery and once more
breathed the pure air of liberty above
The half hour that spent in those dis
NAL dungeons only convinced me of the
truth of Burns lines:
MANS inhumanty to man
Makes countless thousands MOURN
Altogether it is a terrible place, associ-
ated with the darkest deeds of Venetian
despotism, and one that we may never
see duplicated as long AS the star of lib
erty shall continue to guide the destineS
of man. Not only can be seen the evil
dence of the despotlc power Of her rulers
during the period of Venetian greatness,
but also the signs Of their opulence and
prosperity. The spacious halls of the
doges' palace are filled with the most
magnificent treasures Of art, and every
thing which could tend to the luxury and
pleasure of their inmates. Among the
many relics of their past glory can still
be seen
THE FAMOUS BUCENTAUR,
with which the doges sailed forth on their
annual ceremony Of wedding the Adri-
atlc. This peculiar and beautiful custom
originated in consequence of the protec
ton given by the Doge Ziani to Pope
Alexander Ill. When Frederick Bar
barossa invaded Italy, the pope fled to
Venice, where he was received in a most
hospitable manner by the doge, who sail
ed out against the fleet which the en-
PSlol Hlu ocHt Out III pursuit Oh MN.
After having accomplished his purpose
and conquered Barbarossa, Ziani return
ed to Venice, where he was embraced by
the pope with many thanks and blessings
At the conclusion of the reception, the
pope drew a ring from his finger and
holding it above his head said to the doge
in clear and impressive manner: "Take
this ring use it, oh doge! to retain the
sea henceforth in subsection to this city,
Venice. Yea, espouse the Adriatic with
this ring, and let the marriage be annu-
ally celebrated to the end of time, that
the world may ever know that Venice
rules the waves, and that the sea is SUB
ject to the city even as a wife is to her
husband"
FROM THAT TINE FORTH
the doge regularly embarked on Ascen-
sion day in the richly carved galley call
ed the Bucentaur, and proceeded in great
state to little island a few miles from
Venice, accompanied by the nobility and
foreign ambassadors in pleasure boats,
and there, after offering up prayers, he
dropped ring into the sea saying: "We
espouse thee, 0, sea . in token of perDet-
ual dominion" Then to the sound of
sweet music the Bucentaur returned to
Venice, and the remainder of the day and
evening devoted to gaiety among the peO-
pie. Not least among the attractions of
Al 4. 4 - "