The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1890-10-30

ton: sooner or later it will be gone, as
all attemps to preserve it have failed.
With the usual stupidity of such people,
at some time door has been cut through
the wall under the picture, taking out
quite piece from below the centre Of
the table. The old church close by is one
of the queerest specimens ofarchitecture
| ever saw.
Our route from Milan to Venice was
uid Verona and through fiat monoton-
GUS plain, so fiat that all the streams
running through it were kept in bounds
by dykes from ten to fifteen feet high.
The only interesting features were the
splendid snow-capped wall Of Alpine
Mountains along the Northern horizon;
beautiful Lake Garda with its intensely
blue waters, prettier than the other ltal-
ian lakes because of less precipitous
banks; and two of the great fortresses
belonging to the famous "Quadrilateral,"
built very strong, but not nearly so for
midable as those of Germany, at Mayence
and Cologne. Near Lake Garda, was the
battlefield, plainly visible from the rail-
way, where in 1859 Napoleon Ill defeated
the Austrians, and compelled them to
evacuate Italy and virtually made it free
Outside of Italy, only in Germany did l
see corn growing, and there in but very
small and scattered patches; while as
soon as we entered Italy, and in every
part, we found it grown almost as extern
sively as with us. Beyond Verona the
surface was quite rolling until we had
nearly reached Venice, then the route
was over a broad alluvial plain which
gradually merged into the Adriatic. Sud-
denly some one shouted 81 see Venice" y"
and rush was made for the car windows
all being exceedingly curious to see that
city. We.
x low stone bridge, double-tracked,
two miles long, is built over the shallow
lagoon which separates Venice from the
main land. Centuries ago the people
who lived along this coast thought they
had suffered enough from the forays of
their various enemies, and determined to
build their city on large number of very
small islands and few larger ones, out
in the bay. Millions of wooden piles
were driven down in the mud along the
various inlets between these islands on
which buildings were erected; the inlets
becoming the canals of the present day.
1t is wonderful what heavy stone struc-
lures they were able to build on this un-
stable foundation, and how well they
have stood the strain of centuries. The
grand canal which is about $50 feet wide,
and u deep, winds through the city like
the letter S, while little canals by the
score enter it from every direction.
Leaving the railway station we entered
gondolas which were waiting at the land
ing, just as cabs do with us, and were
conveyed baggage and all to our hotel,
where the boatman landed us at the front
steps. Although we had seen so many
canals in city streets through Holland,
those of Venice are so different, and the
gondola is so much part of that city,
that we found it very novel to step into
one of these boats and glide gently along
through the queer scenes opening about
us. The gondola is about Is feet long,
and wide, both ends tapering somewhat
from the middle and decked over. Pas
sengers are carried in the cock pit, a
space about I feet long in the centre OF
the boat; comfortable leather-covered
settee for two at one end, this and chairs
for two or three more, six including the
boatman being all they like to carry;
every one faces the bow, on which is
peculiar metal affair rising about foul
feet above it, impossible to describe, bul
alike on every gondola. The gondoliel
stands on one side of the rear deck, boil
decks slope each way from the middle
like roof, the single oar resting on
wooden pillar which looks much like thu
hind leg of horse set in the deck witt
the hoof uppermost. The oar rests in
little hollow in the side of this post, onl!
deep enough to steady it as it is used
by twist of his wrist, the boatmaI
sends the gondola along at fair speed, b!
another motion he turns sharp corners
grazing them or passing boat by frac
tions Of inches, but scarcely ever touch
1 ing anything. Drawing only about thre'
inches of water, the gondola skins alonl
easily, turning as if on pivot; like tn
Mississippi steamboat it will almost rul
on heavy dew. ...