The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1885-03-28
VENICE.
Bin Nye Tells of His Experiences in the
Best watered Town In Europe.


Best watered Town In Europe.
We arrived in Venice last evening,
latitude As deg. 20 min. N, longitude,
IS deg. 10 min. E.
Venice is the home of the Venetian,
and also where the gondola has its
nest and rears its young. 1t is also the
headquarters for the paint known as
Venetian red. They use it in
painting the town on festive occasions.
This is the town where the Merchant of
Venice used to do business, and the
home of Shylock, q broker, who
sheared the Venetian lamb at the cor
ner of the Rialto and the Grand Canal.
He is now no more. ] couldn't even
find an old neighbor near the Rialto
who remembered Shylock. From what
l can learn of him. however, | am led
to believe that he was pretty close in
his deals, and liked to catch man in
tight place and then make him squirm.
Shylock, during the great panic in Ven-
ice many years ago, it is said, had q
chattel mortgage on more lives than
YOU could shake stick at. He would
loan q small amount to merchant at
three per cent. month, and secure 1t
on a pound of merchants liver, or by
a cut-throat mortgage on his respiras
tory apparatus. Then, when the paper
matured he would go up to the house
with a pair of scales and pie knife
and demand foreclosure.
Venice is one of the best watered
towns in Europe. You can hardly walk
u block without getting your feet wet,
unless you ride in n gondola.
Tho Eondola Is long, slim hack
without wheels and is worked around
through the damp streets by bru-
nette man whose breath should be sad
warming to us all. He is called the gon-
dolier. Sometimes he sings in a low
tone of voice and In foreign tongue.
| do not know where | have met so
many foreigners as have here in Eu-
rope. Wherever | go | hear a foreign
tongue, do not know whether these
people talk in the Italian language just
to show it off or not. Perhaps they pre-
fer it. London Is the only place have
visited where the Boston dialect is used.
London was originally settled by adj
venturers from Boston. The blood OF
some of the royal families of Massa-
chusetts MAY be found in the veins OF
London people.
Wealthy young ladies in Venice do
not run away with the coachmen.
There are no coaches, no coachmen and
no horses in Venice. There are only
four horses In Venice, and they are
made of copper and exhibited at st.
! Marks as curiosities.
The Academia dele Belle Artl OF
Venice is large picture store where
went yesterday to buy few pictures
for Christmas presents. A painting by
| Titan, the Italian Prang, pleased me
very much, but l couldn'nt beat down
the price to where it would be any OBJ
ject for me to buy it. Besides, it would
be nuisance to carry such picture
around with me all over the Alps, up
the Rhide and through St Lawrence
! County. | finally decided to leave il
and secure something less awkward to
carry and pay for.
The Italians are quite proud of their
smoky old paintings. | have often
thought that if Venice would run less
to art and more to soap, she would bt
more apt to win my respect. Arts all
right to a certain extent, but it can b.
run in the ground. 1t breaks my hear
to know how lavish nature has beer
with water here, and yet how the We
netians scorn to investigate its benefits
When gondolier gets drop of waite
on him, he swoons. Then he lies in
kind of coma till another gondolie
comes along to breathe in his face AM
revive him. Y. Mirror.