The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-03-29

and Jerusalem, through the hills O Judea Such grand Improvements (? do not suit the Lids. There is al abundance of delicious fruit to be hat here; pears, apples, peaches, fresh flgi and melons and rich clusters of whit grapes to be had almost for the asking Very many resort hither every after noon In the glow of autumn's wester ing sun to bathe in the sea, and 1t is { place which is well patronized. In tht old days df Venice magnificent resi- dences were built here, but they havt long since disappeared Steamers ply between the Lids and the Molo at Ven. ice every twenty minutes. If people wish to rush over these classic waters by quick steamers let them do so; some
 would gladly travel here by electricity the idea of many tourists being only tt get there! One of the Armenian priests once told Howells about bustline Yankee traveller rushing into the quiet convent rubbing his hands and de, manding, Show me all you cam in five minutes. That rapid traveller could dc Venice in two days and the whole oi Italy in a fortnight.
 
 the Venetian glass industry, is very pleasant one, and can be easily made after lunch, returning by dinner time We walk from our hotel right across the city to the great wharf known as the Fondamenta Nuova; here we hire a gondolal and row two miles to the is- land. A few minutes after leaving the wharf we row by the little island of St Michele, or Cemetery islands It is a pretty place, the burial place of the Ve- netians, where the trees stand out brightly against the blue skies.
 Every day a, gondola can be seen ap- preaching this island; it glides noise- iessly with black flags, and inside Is a black bier covered with a black pail. One or two priests are to be seen in black robes; the gondola itself is black, and the oarsmen or gendoliers stand on the high stern dressed in black, and finally the funeral, for such 1t Is, disap- pears under the black cypress trees. The above is seen daily in Venice. The gondoier guiding this uncanny craft with it's ghostly freight always sug- gested to me picture of old Charon as that gaupt smileless one was In the act of ferrying the souls of the departed across the Stygian waters.
 The Church of St. Michele on this is- land was built in 1466.
 We are now half way to Murano, and after passing many fisher craft we ar rive at our destination.
 Murano has about 4000 inhabitants and it's chief industry since the four teenth century has been the manufac- ture of glass. The citizens used to manage their own affairs, minted their own coins, and held high positions in the old republic. There are some fine old churches here, one of which dates back to the year HI. There are very many interesting objects here, but will not attempt their description.
 It is great privilege to visit the glass workers and behold the wonder ful and beautiful objects which they evolve from great masses of molten glass.
 They looked to me like the old a1- chemists who toiled intently to find gold, but there was this difference, the never found the gold they sought for, but these glass workers were. rewarded with palpable results, and finished and perfected most beautiful objects wrought in glass,
 The "Musco Civico" on the Grand canal possesses an interesting exhibition of this famous glass manufacture of Murano. With the decadence of an- cient Tyre came the loss of those secrets which produced the royal Tyrian purple so well known to the ancients. The downfall of Venetian supremacy car ried away with it many secrets. of an- eient glass manufacture, and this is in- Iced a great loss.
 Five miles beyond Murano is Torcello with 1000 inhabitants.
 The old cathedral was erected about i5O and is of great interest. An old mosaic of the twelfth century repre- ,ents the Last Judgment and the Epts- ,opal throne in the centre is very old md curious There is a museum here which contains many antiquities which rave been found at Torcello Torcello | lates far back to the early days of the Christian era. and Christian refugees built their homes in this secluded place; | when they hid away in this little island 1 was almost in it's infancy; 1 heir grandsires no doubt remembered | he day when Palycarp died martyr l n his eighty eighth year, and only lit | le before this event the aged Saint 1 ohm had died a peaceful death. The | ,Iace Is older than Venice. There is an | immense stone seat here which is called l lttila's chair. No doubt that warrior | ,urnt this place, for he laid waste near y every city in this quarter of the l 'lobe He was truly a scourge of the l 4ord''
 Every day a steamer runs from the Tolo to Chioggia, It is but fifteen miles way and two hours takes us there omfortably. The trip is a delightful ne. and on our way thither we get a ne sight of the famous "Murazzi." or uge stone sea wall The erection of hese breakwaters cost millions. They | yere built one hundred and twenty ears ago, and their united length is bout 20 1000 feet, or nearly four miles 'hese stone antennae have saved Ven ,e from the ravages of the sea, Chi ggia is a, very ancient city and its in- l abitants are different in customs and Cnguage from those who dwell in the l ther islands of the Lagoon. The trip ) Chioggia and back to Venice is a cal delight, a constant panorama of eautiful objects.
 The island of St. Giorgio Maggiore is