The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-03-12

feet long; the side towards the mole is
 two hundred and twenty-four feet ir
 length, It is a glorious Gothic struc.
 ture and on the south and west sides
 there are two pointed arcades consist.
 ing of over one hundred columns We
 enter and pass through a beautiful
 court, every carved stone of which is
 of deep interest to behold.
 Pointed arches, rare columns from
 the far east with beautiful capitals
 are to be seen on all sides. In the cen
 ter are two elaborately wrought well.
 curbs of bronze; these are very beauti-
 ful and have stood there for over three
 hundred and fifty years. Let us mount
 the Staircase of the Giants" which
 leads up to the palace. The great
 statues of Mars and Neptune on the
 marble landing give the name to this
 magnificent staircase. The palace con
 sists of vast number of apartments
 and staircases. all of which were used
 in the times of the Doges. The Hall
 of Grand Council" is one hundred and
 65 feet long and 78 feet wide.
 On the frieze of this grand room are
 the portraits of seventy-six Doges.
 Tintoretto's Paradise is hanging on the l WdllI lllt lilBGSl Oll pdIullliB III lue
 world. It is we'll preserved and is con-
 sidered to be the most valuable thing
 in Venice. The historical paintings are
 admirable. Those representing the
 battle of Lepanto, the seize of Constan-
 tinople in 12O4 and other historical 1 events are remarkable in their execu-
 ton.
 Among the portraits of the Doges,
 the place which should be occupied by
 the portrait of Marine Falieri is cov-
 cred with black tablet and an in
 scription telling of his crimes and de- capitation in 1855.
 We pass through many rooms where very many grand pictures adorn the
 walls, pictures whose fame is world-re- nowned, and which daily attract throngs of worshippers. The archaeo- logical museum contains interesting Greek and Roman marbles, which the Venetians brought from the east as booty from their eastern campaigns. We ascend the broad staircase and pass through many rooms on the third floor. In the chamber of the Hall of the Inquisitors" is seen the Lions mouth," a stone lions head with open mouth, through which secret notices and names of denounced people were thrown. Many pictures decorate the spacious rooms and frescoes are to be seen of great brilliancy. The ceiling painting representing Neptune, Mars and Faith by P. Veronese is considered the finest in the palace. The roof painting is entirely by P. Veronese and it Is delight to quietly study the details. Through a small door we en- ter the dreadful prisons, concerning the horrors and traditions of which many interesting pages could be written. The Bridge of Signs" seems to me to be greatly over-rated. Howells calls this pathetic simile" and I doubt if it was really ever crossed by criminals. It is a pretty thing to look at and makes a pretty picture, but I do not fancy very many signing prisoners ever crossed it. The views from the windows of the Ducal palace are very lovely; the view of the Lagune Is espec- ially delightful, as 1t embraces a very wide area, and the delicious breezes that float in from the Adriatic refresh | and cheer at the same time. This feel | ing of cheer is very acceptable, for a | visit to the palace is not thing to | cheer one, as there is so much in the | air of the whole place to recall dread | full scenes of the past, such as torture | chambers prisons, dungeons and other | gruesome things and places. No doubt | there has been a suficiency of physical | as well as mental suffering in this beautiful palace. In the whole of Eu- rope know of no such beautiful build ng-externally-as this Ducal palace; it's wonderful facade Is like lace work wrought in stone, and as for its won derful coloring and the marvellous ef- fects of sunlight and shadow-well, I will not even attempt the description which I could offer would mar and detract from its glory. There are over one hundred churches in Ven ice, and of course we can inspect but few of these, but as we pass along the that well-known thorough fare which conducts us from the Piazza to the Rialto, let us enter the church of St Salvatore; this Is one of the finest | churches in the city; it was built near y four hundred years ago, and con -ains many fine monuments and grand There is a splendid An here which was painted by Titan in his eighty-ninth year. It is glorious painting and every person who visits Venice makes a special visit to his picture. Among many fine monu nents we particularly notice that of Catherine Cornaro.
 This remarkable woman was born in Venice in 1454 and was married In her fifteenth year to the King of Cyprus Afterwards, bereft of husband and her ,nly child her Kingdom rent with in ernal dissensions and foreign wars, he abdicated in favor of her native
 ty in 1489. The Venetians took pos ession of this key to Oriental com nerce and presented the noble donor with a princely house on the Grand ca al, where she continued to live in re- -al state till her death in 1510. Her cath was lamented by every citizen in l yenice. All of the churches possess 'reat interest in architecture, paint 1gs, frescoes, wonderful tombs carved Jood and stained glass. The pave | lents in many of these churches are cry beautiful and date back to the me of those old churches which so to ! peak were the parents of the churches f the present day. mo Cl,,,xo1, rio r,,ra | II