Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-08-24

1879 10 1917 lady professor OF creek.
We left Bologna reluctantly, even with
Venice in prospect. Since then friend
writing from Bologna tells of a curious
fete she saw there. 1t seems there is a
law in the city that the houses in each
parish shall be painted mot red) and
cleaned inside and out once in every ten
years, and when district has just re-
ceIved its decimal coat OF paint 1t has
fete like
CHRISTMAS AND FOURTH OF JULY
turned into one. Bright colored dra-
peries hang froLl pillar to pillar up ana
down the long arcades, bands play, the
priests and the population of the newly
painted region march in triumphal pro
C. ssion through the streets, and there
are all sorts of performances.
No one who has been TO Venice can
forget the delight and the wonder of the
first arrival there. One may have read
about it, and imagined it all many times,
yet it is as strange as if one had never
heard of it before TO get out of the cars,
step off the platform into gondola and
slip quietly away. The arrival at new
city is so connected with rafting cabs,
noise and trouble that the coming to
Venice Is like an advent into new
world. We sailed along up between the
marble palaces of the Grand canal just
as everybody doe. when they arrive, but
IL seemed as wonderful to me as if we
had never heard of any bodV's ever doing
it before; then the dongola, as il of its
own gracious will, swung around
corner and we passed through many
picturesque little canals till we saw what
- No.
chrome. or a magic lantern picture; but
it was not. 1t was the real, live Bridge
of Signs with the prison on one side and
the palace on the other. Under it We
went out into the lagoon with the island
and church of St. Giorgio Maggiore OPP
posite, and we drew up on the steps of
the RIya at Hotel Beau Rivage.
Nothing in Italy is ever on time except
the spectators. II shows the simple,
confiding nature OF the Italian people
that though they have been deceived and
cheated all their1ives as to the hours of
things taking place, yet when the time
of a new thing is announced, they trust
1t implicitly and are on hand at the min
ute. And they will
WAIT FIVE OR SIX HOURS
without Impotence. We sat in a car
pointed time to see the artists return in
procession from their yearly fete in the
country. Then we drove home through
at least two miles of streets lined and
packed with people. That was at z
o'clock, and the artists arrived at IL,
and doubt not that at II O'Clock the
same crowd crammed those same streets.
l said that nothing Is on time in Italy; 1t
ia trn Mot the fine
On that first evening of our arrival in
Venice the hotel man told us the moon
would arise at O'Clock; the gondolier
said it would arise at 9 O'Clock. As
had seen the moon at a reasonable hour
the night before 1 believed them, and we
started out in gondola at $3.50 to see
Venice by moonlight. We did not think
of its being an Italian moon; if we had
we should have gone straight to bed, but
being accustomed to an American moon
that runs on time, we took the gondola,
and we sailed along the curving Grand
Canal, all dark aDd still, with scarcely q
light in the dim palaces, for two hours
and there was not a sign of a moon.
Then we recollected our former eX-
periences in Italy and we went home.
have no idea that the moon appeared till
morning.
l am glad we did not wait for 1t, be-
cause at O'Clock the next morning
there was
GRAND PROCESSION
of Corpus Domini at st. Mark At least
it used to be grand procession when the
holy host was carried through the city
and then back to the church, but every
year the route of the procession is short
ened, and this time We were only to see
1t come out from one door of st. Mark
and around through the piazza into an
other door. We went inside the church
and by standing on our chairs quite an
allowable thing in a Catholic church)
saw what was going on. The procession
was just getting ready. Twelve men in
white linen robes fiuted all over as wash
erwomen used to flute ruffies, with bright
blue stockings and white slippers and
blue sashes were moving around with
candles at least nine feet high and six
inches in diameter; then there were men
in white gowns and blue capes, and men
Ia white gowns and purple capes, all
with huge candles wreathed with artifi-
cial flowers. They were probably fisher
men or gondoliers, and droll
enough they looked in their
fancy rigs with white lace around their
rough. red neeks, and coquettish blue
bows of ribbon under their brown chins.
But all this is but in Insignificant detail; the
effect of the whole. the multitude of
moving lights, the bright colors of the
candle bearers, there In the dim light,
under the low, golden lined domes of st.
Mark was really impressive. 1 have
never seen so gorgeous a scene; the
pope's procession in st. Peters could not
compare with it, because all human pro-
ceedings seem insignificant in that mighty
church. The organ played and ceased;
then suddenly there was a
LOUD BURST OF HORNS,
and a strange, high chant, half plalntive
and half m rtial, aud the white robed
priests filed down from behind the high
altar, followed by the choir boys; before
the high priest, under his rich canopy,
holding the pyx containing the holy host,
there tripped along a tiny boy all in
black with basket of rose leaves, ac-
companied by tiny girl in white who
scattered them. The long procession of
candle bearers fell in behind; painted
banners were borne along; even the
great gilt lanterns on poles, placed along
the main aisle were taken into the line,
aud with the alternate music of the or
gan and the horns, the long procession
moved out, leaving the church all cloudy