St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1895-08-24
THE eRowN,Nos' PALACE.
An the 0ondolless oe veaieo Raow II
Relles Of the Poets.

An the 0ondollafs Oe veatee Knew H.
Relles of the Poets.
On the Grand canal At Venice there
is . singularly interesting group OF
buildings. First, ut the corner OF tina
small canal which every tourist trav-
erses on his way to and from the sta
ton. is the great red pile known as tho
Palazzo Foscari 1t is now used as .
sort Of business college and young
venetians learn bookkeeping in the
banquet halls Of the old Doge. Next
to it are two gray and ancient build
ings, leaning against each other and
the Foscari for support They form
one of the Gustiniani palaces. and har-
Dor . mosaic factory. Beyond is =
solid and rather Rloomy-loolsinR build
ing, standing somewhat alOof from the
neighbors, and with . broad, semi-cir-
cular fight of steps leading from the
pillard entrance down into the water
of the Grand canal. The posts outside
for the convenience of the gondolas
are painted = dull brown In contrast
with the blue and white posts Of the
other palaces High iron gates close
the entrance.
The first trip you make on the wa
terry highway Of Venice your curiosity
will be satified in regard to this palace,
if ON no other point, for every Condo
lier knows the Browning palace. Get
him to poke the nose of his gondola
between these brown posts. and. if the
custodian is not in sight, ring the bell
beside the iron gates. A rather crab
bid-looking man will let you in. and.
with . gruffness which is only, rs it
were. skin deep. tell you to 60 through
the court and up the broad stairway ut
the rear. In the court you will find
bronze statue of . beautiful woman.
about whose nude body . serpent has
coiled its folds: she holds its head to
her bosom, and looks at it with .
strange fondness. II you like specu-
lation you will begin to wonder what
manner of man it is that modelled this
figure. and you will climb the staircase
with more than ever of anticipation,
for the sculptor is Robert Barrett
Browning, the sole heir to the names
of two great poets and the master Of
the house you have come to see.
At the top of the broad stairs the
custodian will be waiting for you ut
the doors leading into . great hall
with high frescoed ceiling by Tiepolo
and . polished wood floor. II You are
rs young rs it is to be hoped you are.
you will take an experimental whirl
across this shining expanse while the
custodian's back is turned. Result. an
envious sigh when he .annouces that
this is the sale du bal.
The custodian unwittingly helps to
ground You in the faith by leading you
through one apartment after another
filed with beautiful old wood carving,
and frescoes, inlaid cabinets, and
pictures and statutes by the owner of
it all. More interesting than the
works Of art, however. are the re-
minders of the two poets whose per
sonalities are so dear to thousand of
people. Here is . bust of Elizabeth
Barrett Browning. modelled by her son.
and her portrait by the same careful
hand. And there is IN earlier portrait
of her, more beautiful than those one
generally sees. and . bust Of her Is
young girl, with the curls in the same
way that she wore them all her life
In one corner is the small writing desk
she used, and near it is the bust of her
husband. In = small alcove is . repro
duction Of . memorial tablet in
Florence.-Boston Advertiser.