Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1894-03-01
THE STIPPLES FAMILY
IN VENICE.
"Tales OF Ten Travellers" Series.
By Edgar L. wakeman.
when saltwater stlpplcs, ESD, with

= Yenice, and saw this luggage with his
family comprising his faithful wife,
his son, Master Burr Weighton Stipples,
destined for the ministry without con.
suitation with the latter, his two daugh-
tegs, Venetia and Olive and their maid,
Rose--safely within the huge omnibus
gondola which was to convey them to
their lodgings, midway between the
Rialto and st. Marks on the Grand
Canal, lie sat down beside his wife, who
had limp way of closing her eyes and
onening her viniagrette in the face of
unusual incidents of travel, as sternly
mute as a parlor clock.
I My dream is at last realized p sighed
Venetia Stipples, crossing her hands and
rolling her eyes in sentimental exalta-
ion.
"Oh, bother your dreamr' replied
olive Stipples, with a mingled snort
and giggle. "Myl Those gondoliers'
toes spread just like andiron claws. Sis,
5ust look Ones making eyes at you,
as sure's I'm allvep
"The warm blood of the Eastr muir
INJURED Venetia. Don't mind it, Olive
dear. Think of the rapture of this
balmy air, this zephyrus breeze, these
hyaline waters, this tender, melting sky,
bilNbS eNOllSh hsbOSlhtlOHss IL bhluh L
v am at last in Venice-Bride of the Seal !
+ Oh, ! just can't find words for utter
anceW
Don't try;" said Olive with another
spiteful little giggle, cut short by the
lurching of the gondola, terminating
a her laughter in pretty couch y while
a Master Burr Weighton Stipples glowerud
as though no hap or scene should be
permitted to take his luminous intellect
unawares; Mrs. Stipples groaned softly
and pressed the viniagrette more closely
to her reddening nose; Mr.. Stipples
compressed his lips more tightly; Rose
gave tmid little start and looked APP
pealingly at Dennis; and Dennis Nc
M Cam, ever ready for war upon the male
Italian Of any age or station, half rising
and introducing his pugnacious inten-
tons with, "By tn five Grasses p began
sundry violent head -jerkings at the grim
y ming gondoliers, which would have
been followed by more than menace had
mot Mr.. Stipples at that moment roared
y out,
"McCann set down."
Il set, sor," returned Dennis nimbly
q but holly, "but If had thin two dagos
X ON land, fur TIL wink O. me eyes, sor,
I'd tache them chune not Vaynayshun,
aythurl"
"Oh, Lord, yes; so you would. Be-
have yourself, or I'll discharge you this
minute"
"Divil hap'orth I'd be carin' thin,
notice an wages an all, if l had it fair
out wild tn shamers they are. Hoo ye
molasses-s skinned haythen
"Mirandy, Mirandyp' groaned Mr..
Stipples to his apparently somnolent
wife, that fellow'll git us all IN some
. internal dungeon yit. At Bolony, he
sassed the church-keeper and got yanked
in. twenty-five dollars for that scrape.
At Parry the gensdarmy didn'tsuit him.
Counsil.general and $40 there. AT
Gibralter the sunset salute shot all the
clothes often him; $40 more there. All
long the Riveery 1t was row and rumpus
+ and racket and buyin' him out the
clutches of one-hoss guv'ments; and
here we are, not fairly inside these
pesky Venus bitches, another row on,
and all of us likely to git stabbed with
stl!letters or slit with daggers afore we
kin git under shelter. II this is doin'
a Urup with vally, then Dennis Nc.
81 CAMS dom the dom, and saltwater
Stipple's doin' the vally. Fudge on
Urup, ennyhowl Wish We wus to
hum ~
"oh, Saltwater" plaintively returned
poor little Mrs. Stipples, do remember
we're finishing Burr and the girls |"
"Finishin'g l should think so
They're tinishin' us, Mirandy. l didn't
need any finishin to make my money
You didn't need any finishin' to git youl
goodness. Rose didn't need any finishin
to tend to her work. Dennis didn't
a Hni itt 20, u, l.
wagon on the East SIDE, New York city
Vene got too much finishin' at Vassar
And that boy of ours ought to be
shoyelin' coal, stead of studyin' for the
ministry"
Don't, saltwater; don't"
"That there Olive of ours and me and
you, Mirandy and Rose, and she's Irish
are the only out and out, up and up, al
around Americans in the hull lot n
"On, Stillwaterl Do think of New
York societyh
81 am thinkin' of it," he retorted
giving the gondola fondo vicious 1at
with his heels, land / hate it, bag ant
baggage. No comfort in it. Lord III
give half I'm worth to never seen it; ant
If this high art moonin'," bere MIR
Stipples stole furtive glance a
Venetia, lost in her gentle raptures and
raphsodies, land these theology can
trips" here he scowled at Master Bur
WeightOn Stipples, who sat clutchinl
his Kodak and modify lunching off hi
cane land this coal cart yally business
don't let up pretty soon, Pll-I'll pu
Venetia in nuanery, Burr in asylum
pitch Dennis Mccain into Vennu
ditch, and start for hum-By thunder, i
/ don'tp
1t was with such mingled and divers
emotions that the Stipples family auC
their attendants glided with the yellow
rays of the afternoon Italian sun alon,
the Grand Canal, coming at last to on
OF those ,decaying palaces who's
sepulchral interiors, separated int
damp and mournful apartments, al,
leased at fabulous prices to adventrfrou
tourists, while their, decaying noblemei
owners are struggling with theproblem
Of Italian taxation, cocoons and sou
wine between the great Venetian plail
and the misty Alps beyond.
An, imposing house 1T had been in it
day, with, huge columns, wondrousli
carved spandrels and volutes, with bal
comics filmy as lace but now like dirt
hecks of foam across its dingy facade
with massive crumbling stairs leadin
from the water edge to tho shadowy en-
trance, forest like in multifoils of ding
marble and handwrought iron and brass
in ancient torch holders of bellyin
cupids, strange screens with emaciate
satyrs and much other dead age demon
ology peenng from bronze and bras