The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-05-25

glomerate of brick, marble and meaningless
nosaics, and its faded daubs on canvas and
in fresco, as the ultimate in all art, born out
of the highest and purest aspiration OF
time and genius nurtured in the grandest
epochs OF an enlightened liberty and ex-
allied civilization. With this sort of minds
light upon all Venice has to display. one
can see, as Quixote saw in every reeklng
countrywench of Spain, female Of noble
birth and divine beauty, that ideal city Of
consummate beauty and witchery with
which historic romance, romantic history
and the magic dream builders in verse have
for ten centuries been deluding the fond
and willing imagination of men.
Then, if you have an iota of the sense of
things absurd about you, Venice, divesteo
of false history and false sentiment, while
possessing ample that is worthy III art, arch
| itecture, associations and human interest,
upon the inexpressibly superlative claimed
from time immemorial for the "Adriatic
| Queen" There is not a city of $1,000 lnhab-
itants in continental Europe which does
not own, and without endless bravado and
tiresome self-praise about it. equal stores OF
ecclesiastical treasure and equal if not SUI
perior treasure in painting and sculpture.
| This is simply statement of fact. the
exact truth Of which any observant and
well.informed European traveller will
minarets" until the minds horizon is
fretted with the flashing silhouettes of
some magical city of the orient. Venice
has no more domes than Boston; no more
minarets than New York. Any one can
count these on the fingers of both hands.
; Such rs she has are squatty and pinched, as
though the appropriation had suddenly
given out and the builders had knocked
| off, right there awaiting the funds of some
} golden age. The enthusiastically famous
proportion, stateliness and majesty by SOC
. religious structures in the United States.
The crumbling tumbling, rumbling city
hall of Chicago, that architectural laugh
8 ing-stock of the west. is better building
| in every respect, and with its mammoth
8 granite columns, presents more IMPOSING
9 facade than the restored" Ducal Palace of
! Venice. There are thousand stone
! and marble bridges i'll private gardens
9 and grounds, and within the public parks
of the United States, more expensive, beau
tiful, and more chaste expressions of ideas
1 | in stone art, than can be found in the mos
l raved-over canal bridge here. Senator
} Farwell, of Illinois, built state house TO
> Texas, that grand, great commonwealth o
: tree, infinitely vaster, statelier, more sym
;, metric and a better expression of true ar
e chitectural opulence and magnihcence thai
S any one who ever lived in Venice ever saw
Q And when it comes to the matter OF ''pala
+ ces'' who that has ever read has not beer
d fred with glowing descriptions of 9TH
IS countless transcendent palaces of the queel
r city by the sea-" tell you there has neve
% been a more cruel or infamous imposition
n in the history of cities and the literatur
II of travel. San Francisco, Den
h Yer. even Kansas City. St. Loui.
Is Minneapolis. and st. Paul. Chica
lie go, Cincinnati, Pittsburg, philadelphia
,e Washington, Baltimore, New York or Bos
y ton, each possesses more paiatlai res
Or dences, which never even got into the Su,
I'd day papers, than this pretentious, watel
o soaked old fishing and piratical POI
h. ever contained: and there are half hui
s. dred country palaces in half dozen Ne
in York and New England counties. | coul
a, name, where Americans have built palace
of for homes, costing more money, represent
o, ing more chaste and exquisite conceptlo
re of the purest form of architectural art, an
of in every manner in which they may !
Id contemplated, representing IN each, per $
ht a more refined and impressive monumel
ed to generous wealth and perfect civilization
SIS than the most splendid single example
at Venice can show. And this, too. at vel
nd ices best She has been repeatedly iken'
&c to palmyra of the sea" The VOC
as less dead never SO suffered py
d. pudent comparison. Where pow stal
ad the huts of the Thadmor shephere
nd 500 years before Venice was known sto
Il the most majestic monuments OF arcl
an tsctural perfection ever known 20 ma
is No structure that ever added luster 70 I
I'd, "fame and magni6cence" OF Venice Is ~
Ire den by the sands of time or en0uifed oy !
its waves of the sea. Every one. dilapdat
IN or RESTORED" occupied - rassvas"i