Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1892-05-25
OUTDOOR VENICE

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any one to write about ''outdoor
se1ice, when but few visitors know 1t
rom any other point of view. and one
might almost be afraid, as Howells says,
IF "catching ones pom in the latter of
4 threadbare theme" Bnt Venice is
perhaps unique uUon earth, lnsomuch
hat her themes are never threadbare.
She may be d, scribed in song and story,
she may be painted IN every mood,
rom Canaletto Turner and ZIem in the
past, to Van Haauen, Woods, Mainella
md ROussof IN the present; painters
/ may devote themselves to transcrlb1ug
ler beauty, and yet they will never
ind ''last word" her subtle charms,
ler intangible and ever-changlng love-
liuess Will always be above and be-
yond their b, st efforts. Like Cleopa-
! ira, ''age cannot wither. nor custom
stale her infinite variety" for age but
adds new beauty, and custom only
/ serves to make one better acquainted
with her fascination.
Many writer's, writing of Venice. as
| Howells did, when she lay groaning
lnder the chaids and slavery of Austrian
| domination, loved her for her mourn
,ulness and decay; and the habit tf
.ooking at her from that point of view
las became almost dominant amongst
ler tourist visitors even at present.
There never WIS more wilful blindness
30 the facts of the place. Venice is
adorable for many reasons, but one of
! .he principal ones is the joyOusness Of
| life which is so characteristic of her
population, the stir and hustle of a
| prosperous community, which yet IS
unattended with those terrible COM
panions of commercI ii prosperity in
other towns, dust, dirt, and noise.
Venice, prosperous and smiling, con-
scIOus of the increase of commerce
which has come to her through her
well-loved parent, Italy, with the long
| lines of shipping lining the quay of the
| Lattere, with her coal wharves, her cot
| ;on mills, her i k and lace factories, all
giving occupation and wages to her
| .eeming population, with her senal
alive with the clang of ship building,
sending out to the sea the biggest frog,
clHds ufiOat, is no longer an object of
pathetic pity to be mourne and wept
over, but a city JOY Gus with the sense
Of life lrofitabiy used, and the con-
sciousness of a great future before her.
There Is no doubt that a great many
of her self-termed worshippers resent
this air of prosperity. 1t pleased these
sentimentalists to see Venice mOurnful,
her palaces uncared for, her Grand
Canal empty, excepted for an occa-
sional gOudola CT, ssIng its eXpins at
the hdgheti. The fuss which they
raised mt the innovation of the little
steam boats W almost Iudicrous. That
the gondoIiers shonld object was per-
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menaced their ancient calling even
more than it has SINCE been found that
they interfere with it in reality; that
they should object, and even go out on
strike Cthe first time such thing
occurred in Venetian aunals); and that
even now, after several years, they still
should utter courses not loud, bat
deep" as the UfpOrcttO glides
past them on the Grand Canal,
is but proving they are human after
all, and that an enemy to their pocket
is an enemy to their peace.
In spite, however of the gondoliers
and the rabid ''faidists," the rGDOr retii
were established on the Grand Canal,
to the immense comfort ofall residents,
for both rich and poor avail themselves
of them. These excellent little boats
run from the Public Gardens past the
Riva degli Schiavoni, up the whole
length of the Grand Canal to Santa
Chiara, st beyond the station and the
lovely Pappadopoh Gardens. There
is one uniform charge; whether one
goes only from one station to another
across the canal, or whether one goes
the whole distance, the cost is a penny,
and 1t can therefore be imagined what
a boon the little steamers are to the
working population, who, before they
were established, had to circulate
about the town on foot, paying a half
penny at the tr0ghetiO each time they
wished to cross the Grand Canal.
These little steamers are admirably
built so as to carry as many passengers
and to produce as little wash as possi-
BILE.
In the summer and autumn months
there is another service of larger
stelm boats that run between the Riva
and the Lido, taking about a quarter
OF an hour or twenty minutes for the
passage, for the benefit of the crowds
that go to bathe in the Adriatic or to
spend the day on the shore, or in the
StabilimeGto del Ba nj Nothing
could be better a ranged for the COM
fort of both blthers and non-bathers
than this establishment, built out on
piles over the water. Between the
two wings of dressing rooms, which
give on to covered galleries, whence
lines of stairs lead down to the water,
Is n large concert and reading-room,
where a band plays daily, and restau-
raut, while on the broad terrace ont
side are innumerable little tables under
the great awning where the non bathers,
or those who have Ind one bath and
are resting before taking a second for
three or four dips are often the order
OF the day during the summer months
can sit III shade and comfort and lJok
down on the 'watCry sports" of their
friends of both sexes below. Every
care ~ taken by the authorities to
make the bathing safe. Lines Of rosts
connected by ropes mark the limit
beyond which deep water should deter
the timid and non, Nperienced swim
mer, and boat is always IN attend
ance. The only two improvements one
would like to see added are a spring.
board for "A dive into deep water, and a
raft moored at some distance to which
one could swim out and rest on b fore
returning shoreward. II these two
things were conceded the Lido would
be the most perfect bathing place in
the world, for the gloriousiy clear, sun
warmed water, ripping in over floor
of finest sand and shells, is a fit bath
for Amphitrite herself. The crowds
that throng TO the Lido every day
during the summer and early autumn
months are "A sight to see, and the
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laughter and chatter walking parties:
for Venetians love the country, and
flowers and greenery are their delight.