Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1886-07-29
OUR GONDOLIER.


aessity ofeireumstanoes and surround
ings. Bat az yenioe i < Otherwise.
0ns rnHst do 50 Venice does or simply
exist without moving. seeing or learn
ing-by which ne mean that il i alb
sosatssy necessary for every one who
sisbes to get about the city 70 Use
the goadoia-
OF course enc may wax i be ehoos-
es-that Is 10 say, i be prefers the
crowd, and the heat, and the noise OF
the na<ros lanes, called b. courtesy
streets, 20 the szift, easy motion Of
the gondola; but alter one or two
walks the visitor gets 8 surfeit Of We
netisn land progression, unless heoOn-
fines himself 70 the immediate neigh
borhood Of St Marks, sud gladly
enough halls the friendly craft with
the stsei-barbei prov.
As 3 rule it Is the best plan 70 en-
gage man ST 50 much day-tivs
francs Is not out Of the way ard Is
entirely at the hirer's disposition al
any time. The Venetian gondoliers
are, generally, a civil, honest and IL
telligent race. and in choosing among
them one is not running such risk
as if one we're 70 hire q London cabby
on the same principe.
Wei, nearly twenty years ago NE
found ourselves IN Venice for the FIRST
time.
TIE city vas then under the Austri-
an dominion. 90 tist Ne saw ]. under
soHeshat peculiar circumstances. A
physically degenerate paopss Inbued
with s great deal Of their ancient
pride and patriotism, goaded 20 silent
fury By the continual Presenee and
EaaggsF OF an invader, who showed
himself az aggressive and insulting an
oecupier as he h2d been = brutal and
eAlloBs enemy; while uniforms and
blue legs esfrYsYlsere; the harsh gut
turals Of the Teuton bursting IN 81
every moment, like suilen thunder,
amid the soft liquid patter Of tbe ma
tive Italian. Here The yict0E-9ay,
iubilant, supreme; there beganQnish-
ed-morose. depressed. sslIea and
scroalinz; and the gayetY which long
survived the setting ct the sun Of
Venice had fed under the iron rule d
the double headed eagle. The military
band played on soft ssmBleE nights Isg
the square Of 81. Marks, but no ma
iIge would De seen listening to il: half
the eUsio shops Ia the Pia1etta were
shut ap; people moved secretly and
moved silently: Austrian officers mo-
nopolized the little tables IN front Of
their FloriBa. the Aurora ard this
QnadFi; Austrian soldiers hung out
the linen over eUriousIy carved bal
oonies which could speak Of many &
scene Of romance and ehiYalry, and
smoked theiE long pipes IN gilded sa-
looms hung aith the portraits Of the
greatest and noblest names in SeDs-
tian history. One did not live in q dy-
iBg city, as i usually the impression
produced b. Venice, bat in city that
sas dead.
Still ne resolved 70 make the most
Of the fen days az our disposal, and
our first duty was 70 secure good
gondolier for the period Of our stay.
Beppo was presented to ", and we
took him chiefly, verify believe, for
his personal sppearanoe. Visitors
without number have remarked hos
much more frequently the noble type
Of Italian face and 6g'lrs-that Is, the
type Of the grand old psetures-is
found among the lower classes than
among the higher. Beppo's was an
IDEAL Italian faces face that might
have pressed the cold hips Of Julie in
the lonely Verona tomb; the face ne
see ia those Litians and TIntorett os
too often hidden behind curtains 10
dusky Italian eharehes-dark, regular
featured. oYal-shaped, the face of q
hero, not Of humble gondoiier As
be stood poised on the slope Of the
gondoia behind Us, bis ioEg h2ir
streaming in the bneezs, bis limbs
working gracefully and tremendously
in the most poetic Of motions. be
might have posed for s denai-god. Nor
were ne disappointed when ne became
better ac4aalnted with the man him
self He MAS very Quiet-sadIy quiet,
we thought, fer he never smiled during
our ten days acquaintance with him.
He was respectful without being IN
the smallest degree serYlle; and, what
was valuable 20 Us, be spoke q little
English, and apparently had the his-
tory and romance Of Venice by heart
not By heart in tbaOrthofox licensed
guide style, but thoroughly, as a man
who Loves his subject. Sometimes, a.
be alluded 20 some glorious bit Of old
Venetian history. such SIS the wax o.
Chlozgia or the deeds Of Sittorio Pr
sani and Carlo Zeno, his eyes EoBld
fash, bis barred chest heaTe: he would
raise ore hand from the oar and
shake the fist with fierce energy az
the distant white uniforms, suddenly
70 drop il and 70 shake his bead sad,
ly and despondently. This was 10
sell-ooneerted piece o. acting on his
part; be vas too CONSTANT az mis- man
ner 70 be showing what be did not feel.
Sometimes NE came upon him nna-
wares AZ the tragfletto, or landing
place, apart from bis feslow craftsmen,
who would be laughing and gesticuia.
ting and playing mora under tie very
noses Of the yietors, sitting moodiIy
with his head In h.s hands, his eyes
fixed on the ripDling water, AMI ahen
We addressed him be would start as
from dream.
We never weariei OF floating gently
down the Grand Canal listening %
Beppo as heenlargad upon the various
buildings We passed on our way, tell
ing Us about the Ferro Palaes, popH-
larry known as Desdemona's; OF the
Casa Doro; of the GiustIani; Of the
Palace NoeeniH, where lived Byron: OF
the Foscari, sIth its 365 Windows,
then & bzrraek for the Austrian
soldiery: OF the magnificent PesAro.
snd 80 under the Rialto Arch 10 where
now stands the railway station
But there was one exquisite little
palace which had attracted our notice
from the very first, and about which
Beppc vas always silent Indeed
sitter bali dozen trips we found that
be never looked at Il, ard, IN spite ol
our drawing his attention 70 il and
asking him about IL, resoiutsgy turned
bis head toward the opposite side ol
the canal.
At iezagth ne became so iTnportunate
that be answered Us:
A3iH- ysAAACcs ss14-s1zzAaEts Z uE4N y
the grsatest prig among all the Aus.
TRAN p,izs, the colonel Of the army Of
occupation No, gentlemen, do no.
think Of landing there, / pray you;
there Is nothing TO beseen IN it. Moth.
inz-notbinZ az ALL
And, before we could insist, a few
rapid strokes had carried US away.
and Beppo vas explaining something
else pith more volubIliity than usual
One OF us skstehed the little palace,
with IT. quaint srabesque arcsles aud
deep balconies, its ese1teheons and its
gzudlaY painted mooring posts, but
.ar,1.ar 2czxa...,a. rid 49,. =. o...rA -.