Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-02-19

alto and the Bridge OF signs. H1alt0
and Venice are synonomous terms,
and the name Of the oldest part OF the
city. In the Eighth and Ninth CEN
turtles the traders of Venice were
called Merchants of Rialto, The
bridge is covered with shops, and
spans the Grand Canal with q single
arch of Istrian marble. In the Friars'
Church are the tombs of Titan aud
Canova, the former a celebrated
painter and the latter known as the
Prince OF Modern Sculptors. Tradi-
ton says that Othello lived here with
Desdemona, and out of respect for the
Venetian nobility he is represented on
the stage and in history as q Moorish
gentleman. The house in which they
lived is still standing and may be Wis
tied by sight-seers. The city is di-
vided into two almost equal parts by
the Grand Canal, which is two miles
long, and from 150 to 180 feet wide.
t is one of the finest streets in the
world and has palaces on either side.
Rogers says of them:
"There is a glorious city in the sea.
The sea is in the broad and narrow streets,
Ebbing and flowing; and the salt seaweed
Clings to the marble Of her palaces.
"No track of man, no footsteps to and fro
Lead to her gates. The path lies O'er the sea
Invincible; and from the land we went
AS to a floating CITY,"
THE GONDoLAs OF VENICE.
In olden times gondolas were not
uniform in size and color, as they are
now; the gondoliers we're dressed to
suit their masters, as the coachman
of to-day. But the wealthy people
spent SO much on decoration and
livery that the city had to put a stop
to it, so now all gondolas are of one
size and painted black, the gondiliers
wearing lin summer) white pants,
blue blouse and straw hat. These
gondolas hold from four to six per-
sons, and on moonlight night there
is nothing more delightful than gon-
doliering on the Grand canal. It is
one of the traditions that it is al
ways moonlight in Venice, as tourists
all claim to have been there when the
moon was full. Nearly all the condo
liers have fine rich voices, and enter
tain their patrons when out on the
Lagoons with their soft, sweet Italian
love songs. One of their favorite
songs is "Oye Caroli," which inn
pressed me 80 much that while in
Rome bought copy to bring home
with me. The island of Lido is one
of the gayest and most charming
watering places in Italy. 1t was on
this island that Lord Byron wished to
be buried. The ceremony of we'd
ding the Adriatic was performed
every year on Ascension Day, and
continued until the fall of the Re-
public. The Adriatic must have
been married over 700 times; it is
strange that, as gold ring was
thrown into the sea every year, not
one has ever been found. A poet
writing on this subject, says that the
sea, though tickle as a woman, will
never part with her husbands gifts.
GEoRaIE TRUMAN.
In j. Fennimore Cooper's "Bra-
vo," one of the most striking
climaxes of the novel is based upon
the interview between the old fisher
man and the Doge, who is brought to
give way to the importantly of the
former when he exhibited the ring
which the latter had cast into the sea
a few days before, on the occasion of
his marriage with the Adriatic. The
fact that the fisherman had found the
ring invests him with an almost su-
pernatural interest. The Doge would
have instantly granted the old mans
petition, but the Council Of Ten-the
real power in the State-overiu uled his
benevolent intention.-EDIToR HER