The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1886-07-18
OUR G0ND0LIER.

Although at Rome and other
European capitals. for ones personal
Inconvenience aud comfort, it is advis-
able to DO as Rome and the other CAPT
tails do. one is not bound to il by any
necessity Of circumstances and sur
roundings. But at Venice it is other
wise. One must do as Venice does or
simply exist without moving, or seeing.
or learning-by which we mean that it
Is absolutely necessary for every one
who wishes to get about the city to use
the g0ndola.
OF course one may walk If he chooses
that is to say, il he prefers the stencil
and the crowd, and the heat, and the
noise of the narrow lanes, called by
courtesy streets, to the swift, easy, mo-
ton of the gondola; but after one or
two walks the visitor gets a surfeit of
Venetian land progression, unless he
confines himself to the Immediate
neighSorhood of st. Marks, and gladly
enough halls the friendly craft with the
steeI-barbed PROV.
As a rule it is the best plan to engage
. man at so much q day-6ye francs is
not out of the way-snd he is entirely
at the hirer's disposition at any time.
The Venetian gondoliers are, generally,
a civil, honest and intelligent race, and
in choosing among them one is not
running such a risk as il one were TO
hire 8 London cabby on the same prin =
cIpIe.
Well, nearly twenty years ago we
found ourselves 10 Venice for the first
time.
The city was then under the Austrian
dominion, so that we saw ii under
somewhat peculiar circumstances. A
physically degenerated people imbued
with great deal of their ancient pride
and patriotism, goaded to silent fury
by the continual presence and swagger
of an invader, who showed himself as
aggressive and insulting an occupier
as he had been q brutal and callous
enemy; white uniforms and blue legs
everywhere; the harsh gutturals OF the
Teuton bursting in at every moment.
like sullen thunder, amid the soft,
liquid pat er of the native Italian.
Here the victors-gay, jubilant, SUI
preme; there the acknowledgements
depressed, sullen and Sowing; and the
gayety which long survived the setting
of the sun OF Venice had fed under
the iron rule of the double-headed eagle.
The military band PLAYED on soft sum
mer nights in the square of st. Marks,
but no native would be seen listening
to it; half the curio shops in the Piaz-
cite were snutup; people moved secret
ly and moved silently; Austrian Off
GERS monopolize the little tables in front
of the Florina, the Aurora and the
Quauri; Austrian soldiers hung out the
linen over curiously carved balconies
which could speak of many a scene of
romance and chivalry, and smoked
their long pipes in gilded saloons hung
with the portraits of the greatest and
noblest names in Venetian history.
One did not live in a dying city, as is
usually the impression produced by
Venice, but in city that was dead.
Still we resolved to make the most of
the few days at our disposal, and our
first duty was to secure good Condo
ier for the period OF our stay.
Beppo was presented to. US, and we
took him chiefly. verify believe, for
his personal appearance. Visitors with
Out udNG IGIuGTkGu NOW
more frequently the noble type of Ital-
ian face and figure-that is, the type Of
the grand old pictures-is found among
the lower classes than amorg the high
er. Beppo's was an ideal italian face
face that might have pressed the cold
lips of Juliet IN the lonely Verona
tomb; the face we see in those Titians
and Tintorettos toe often hidden be-
hind curtains in dusky Italian churches
dark, regular-feature, oval-shaped,
the face of a hero, not of a humble
gondolier. AS he stood poised on the
slope of the gondola behind US, his long
hair streaming in the breeze. his limbs
working gracefully and tremendously
in the most poetic of motions he might
have posed for demi-god. Nor were
we disappointed when we became b tier
acquainted with the man himself He
was very quiet-sadly quiet, We
thought, for he never smiled during
our ten days acquaintance with him.
He was respectful without being in the
smallest degree servile; and, what was
valuable TO US, he spoke little Eng
lish, and apparently had the history
and romance of Venice by heart-not
by heart in the orthodox licensed guide
style, but thoroughly, as a man who
loves his subject. Sometimes, as he al
luded 70 some glorious DIT OF old Vene-
tan history, such as the war Of ChiOg-
gia or the deeds Of YittOrio Ptsani and
Carlo Zeno, his eyes would flash, his
barred chest heaYe; he would raise one
hand from the oar and shake his fist
with fierce energy at the distant white
uniforms. Suddenly to drop it and to
shake his head sadly and despondently.
This was no well concerted piece OF
acting on his part; he was too consist
ent in his manner 10 be showing what
he did not feel. Sometimes We came
upon him unawares al the trsghetto. OF
, landing place, apart from his fellow
craftsmen. who would be laughing and
gesticulating and playing mora under
| the very noses of his victors. sitting
moodlly with his head in his hands,
his eyes fixed on the Eippling water,
and when We addressed him he would
start as if from a dream.
We never wearied OF floating gently
down the Grand Canal. listening to
Beppo as he enlarged upon the various
buildings we passed on our way, telling
| us about the Ferro Palace, popularity
! known as Desdemona's; Of the Casa