The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-03-05


 and this was the order of affairs fo many centuries. Germany and tn Germans are still to be found jus where the Roman scouts first locke, down upon them from the mountain tops. Where are the Romans? Is iti case of the survival of the Attest?
 United Germany is a great nation her achievements have been grand ant on grand scale, and the indications O future successful development are yer, evident. l fear I may have wearieC your readers with a long panegyrit upon Germany-too long I fear-so le us return to Italy.
 
 At Pontebba the Italian customs offl cials, with three-cornered chapeauS and cumbrous great swords and coats poked their Italian noses into the con. tents of our trunks and boxes, thereby causing no end of nonsensical delay and annoyance. We were delighted tc again hear the pipe of the shrill engine whistle and feel ourselves again start ing southward further into Italy.
 We sped rapidly down towards the Adriatic and could not tire of the | finer than the views which delighted us in the morning.
 We traversed the wild ravine of the Fella, remarkable for the grandeur of the scenery and the boldness displayed in the construction of the line of rail- road. We rushed along through twen- ty-four tunnels and across many via ducts and at times crept right along the very edge of a steep dizzy preci- pice.
 At Dogma, which is at the mouth of the valley, stands the great Pyramidal mountain of the same name; it is ten thousand feet high. After a charming ride from Pontebba we reached Udine, the ancient Ultima, a Venice in minia- ture The old castle is situated on @ hill, which was thrown up by Attila, the king of the Huns, in order that he Aquilla. This was very long ago in the year 452, Aquilla itself was founded by the Romans B. c. 1sO. and in the time of Augustus boasted a population of one hundred thousand.
 At Mestre Venice is seen rising from the blue waves of the Adriatic, and af- ter crossing the long bridge of two hun dred and twenty-two arches of thirty feet span each, the entire length of which is two and one-half miles, we come to a full stop, and as the guards cry out "Venezia" we descend from our carriage and find ourselves in spa cious railroad station; in the space of five minutes we collect our luggage and of foly te In black gondola, two gaily and gaudily attired gondoliers propel us through network of wonderful canals, passing beneath very many bridges, in the di- rection of our Hotel --.
 I had visited this beautiful city be- fore; still it was a singular experience to thread the canals of a city whose very name centuries ago carried terror to many cities, and whose history itself has now well nigh ceased. Every pal ace, every bridge, every church, seemed to cry aloud of the past, and spirit of sadness and departed glory appeared to hover over all. Still Venice is Venice, and many consider it the most beauti- full and wonderful city in the world. In it's unique loveliness Venice reigns without peer.
 No city surely can point to 8 more glorious past history and to grander achievements. My thoughts of the glory of old Venice were suddenly in- terrupted as we shot out from the dark ness of a narrow canal into the broad | waters of the Grand canal which re- aeeted the beams of the moon at her | full It was a fairy scene as we passed l through a perfect fleet of gondolas | which surrounded two music boats in | which musicians with piano, violoncello | md other instruments accompanied | ringers who sweetly sang the Venetian gondolier songs. At last we arrived | afe, but weary at the steps of our ho- el, situated on the Grand canal di- ectly opposite that wondrously beauti- ul church of Santa Maria de la Sa- ute" Our host met us with his hands filed with lighted candles and escorted IS to the dining room we supped heart ly and soon afterwards retired to rest. When l arose on the following morn ng I must confess that it did seem trange and rather singular to find ca als in the place of streets, and hum reds of gondolas conveying passengers nd goods in all directions as we the tide ebb and flow at our cry door steps. It is a singular fact hat horses are never seen in Venice, pr such animals are unnecessary; their ulk would block and obstruct the nar- ow lanes. There are fifteen thousand ouses and palaces built on piles; the ity is seven miles in circumference lmprising one hundred and seventeen mall islands formed by one hundred nd fifty canals and joined together by early four hundred bridges. In the ., aling and glorious days of Venice ( lere were two hundred thousand in- a bitants; the population declined to inety thousand just after the destruc- on of the republic; at the present day le hundred and thirty thousand peo- e call Venice their home; of these at ast twenty-five per cent. are abject lupers There is very great number "Calli" or narrow lanes, many not } ore than five or six feet wide, paved ith asphalt or broad flat flag stones, ith tall buildings rising directly up- ard on either side. To find ones way {; bout is like entering the maze of the bled labyrinth of Crete; directly one arts he is hopelessly lost, but after T onth's soiourn I came to know clearly Il w to go and come, and became quite V miIiar with the intricacies of dark all