, 1890-05-29

for homes, costing more money,
representing more chaste aud cX-
quisite conception Of the purcat
form Of architectural art, ind, In ev-
cry manner In which they may be
contemplated, representing each,
per 81, u more refined and impressive
monument to generous wealth and
perfect civilization, than the most
splendid single example all Venice
eau show. And this, too, ut
Nenice's best. She has been re.
peatedly hxencd too u PALMYRA OF
the sea.n The voicelcss dead never
so suffered by impudent comparison.
Where now stand the huts OF the
Thadmor shepherds, 600 years be-
fore Venice was known stood the
most majestic monuments OF archi-
tectural perfection ever known TO
man. No structure that ever added
luster 10 the flame and mngnlii-
cence" of Venice Is
HIDDEN ny THE SANDS or TIME
or engulfed by the waves of the sen.
Every Que, ,dilapldated or "rcstored," "
occupied ~ mt-swarning hotel or
let to modern nouveaux riches who
strut and cackle TO attract notice to
their modern rookeries, or whether
utilized as barracks for garlic-eatlng,
spider-walsted soldiery, or still, de-
serted, moldy aud silent, echoing
only to the carnivals of the ghosts
ofa dosolate past, are here for your
inspection to-day. Como and look
at them. See them and observe how
they shrink and dwindlc, as though
you looked from the wrong leuses Of
your glass. See them and reflect how
drunken with the wine OF hyperbole
and how blinded by the glamor OF
this szephyr-blown region oi romance
have been all that myriad host who
have come and written and gone,
we will trust, to do secret penance.
Then, what u dreary old mess of
decay II IL to us who come with our
eyes open and our senses keen and
alert from endless contact with and
healthy love for all things clean,
good and new! True the landward
breezes bring the balm and thyme
Of Southern spring. Where In our
own loved land do the meadows,
the forests and the hedgerows fail
with their subtle, tender affairs
Of the awaken outer world?
True, as you stand ON the
caupanlle of st. Marks, or idly
float in your gondola upon the
outer lagoOns, palpitatlng brenths of
tremulous air Kiss your face lovingly
utter tender voyages from across far
"A La.
yacht along the glowing Pacific
coast, I'm score of bayous along the
dreamy gulf, even I'm your old ram
shackle rowboat OIL the Chicago
break water, when Grabbing on
the Chesapeake, IL "chumminy" for
biueilsh along Long Island shores,
In your catboat at Newport, or float
ing In the verest tub of dory any
where from Cape Cod to Grand
Manan. But still II IL true that you
have never before seen, and will
never again sec, that wave-washed
spot where
THE VERY TEETH or THE SEA
seem so relentlessly gnawing and
eating that which, being consumed,
40 pollutes its rcmorseless destroyer.
In port, molo, basin, canal; on
quays, campi, rive, fondamenti; In
every article of clothing you
wear; and In every article of
food you eat, there Is am
endless odor and taste Of that
omnipresent and unvanquished
tyrant OF the sea-bilge- Ride
in gondola and your pores become
Its clammy matrices. Lean upon
the marble tables III the gaudy cafes
and Its fetld breath IL In the very
stone. Grope your way to your
camera dc letto for sleep, the very
walls are mildewed with Its rime;
you gasp and wheeze all night, ~
though In an old ships hold, from
Its vapors; and you awaken in the
morning limp Us mold of dough
from its stealthy saturatlon and Ill
tration through sheets and blankets
into your enervated body. 1t oozes
and shines over marble steps and
under marble arches; II perspires
through the complexions of Nero-
nese's portraits; tricklcs among the
of Giorgione; exudes from
the frescoes of Titan; and stands
like "a gummy dew upon the entab-
latures OF 'rintoretto!
EDGAR l.. WAKEMAS.