The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-03-16

tnlng to every ndllOni ana wherever
 they appeared they received oppres-
 sion such as history fails to record of
 any other nation, and here in Venice
 they were well nigh ground to powder.
 Even an earth worm when trodden
 upon will turn and fight to live; so the
 Jews turned and conteded for their
 existence and are very much alive to-
 day in Venice.
 There is an odd proverb among the
 West Indian negroes, What the devil
 wore on his belly he now carries on
 his back" We say, How the wheel of | life turns round" It has turned com
 pletely round in Venice and the des-
 cendents of those Ghetto-penned Jews to-day own nearly everything worth owning in the city. The Ghetto con
 sists of many narrow lanes and reeking canals, with houses six or eight stories high, having peculiar little windows
 and singular entrances. It is a dark,
 damp, wierd place, and no Christian has ever lived within it. Many Jews still dwell in this hateful place, just as
 white and black bats continue to exist
 in he dark cellars beneath the old tenn ples on the Nile, threatening you as they WHIT eillu puHO clbOuL JOhl NSC9s even extinguishing your torch as you approach their abode. Tn like manner
 the aged Jews crawl about the houses
 of their fathers, following you to ask aims. They looked to me much like
 those Jews I used to see in Alexandria,
 and later in Jericho and Tiberias wear
 ing loose yellow gowns, crushed hats
 and flowing curls. There were original
 ly no less than seven synagogues in the
 Ghetto, which fact points to an enor-
 nous number who lived here. Some of
 these houses of worship still remain and are still in use, and contain many singu-
 lar and peculiar objects of great in-
 terest.
 The Jews have ever been a peculiar race, their origin, history, dispersion are peculiar their physiognomy is peculiar, and everything pertaining to them, even
 their existence through ages of cruel oppression as well as their grand suc- cesses in the present century are pe- culiar riddles. Now adieu to our friends the Jews, as we emerge from the musty, medieval darkness of the Ghetto, and find ourselves rowing once more on the Grand canal, enjoying the bright sun EISS and cheerful surroundings.
 We will row slowly back the whole length of the canal and delight our selves with the effect of light and shad- ow upon the old palaces as we pass along, and at the same time read some of the many traditions and interesting stories connected with every building on the Grand canal. We will alight at the marble steps of the "Dogaua" or custom house. This is directly opposite our hotel, and less than a minutes dis tance by gondoia.
 I often resorted thither towards sun i set, and thought of the past commer- cial grandeur of the old city which the "Dogaua" always suggested to me. The custom house was built in the olden days at the point made by the Grand | canal and branch canal known as the | Canal of the Gindeaca, where steam 1 CTS and sailings crafts at the present | day come to anchor. Venice reached | the zenith of her commercial greatness about the year 1420 She had at that period a population of 100000, and own ed 5000 vessels, with B, GOO sailors, while i her fleet consisted of 45 galleys manned [ Rg al supremacy of the powerful republic, | which was of sufficient strength to com pei the payment of a heavy tax from . every foreign vessel which entered the | Adriatic She traded with ports of the | Orient, bringing rich goods brought by caravans from the far east and China. Her grain ships were constantly em- ployed in fetching the yellow grain from and Black sea ports! And, alas, the horror of it. her coffers were heaped with gold resulting from the lucrative slave trade while a perfect stream of slave ships breasted the waves of the Adriatic, as they sailed in- to port and anchored in the Guideaca, while at their mast heads floated the banner bearing the Lion of St. Mark. Not only the black men of Africa were sold as slaves in the market of Venice, put even white Christians from Eng and and France and Saraceus taken lpon the high seas, helped to swell the of the iniquitous traffic in human beings.
 The general imports of Venice were # enormous value, netting nearly fifty Der cent on the invested canital. Ven
 | commerce., and the Lion of St. Mark ioated proudly on her ships in distant .astern cities; it was feared and res- 'ected in the sea ports of Africa. Spain md France, as well as in the ports of he low countries. (
 And many Venetian ships cast their -nchors beneath the chalky cliffs of England. But there came a change. The capture of Constantinople by the turks in 1450 undermined the suprema- y of Venice in the east and by the dis every of the new sea route to India by | he way of the Cape of Good Hope a I erce blow was dealt to Venetian com 1erce. The Portuguese gained as Ven- l ,e lost, and thereafter the supremacy f Venice, which was strengthened by z CT very great commercial success. be- 0 an to wane, and fade. With the loss C f the Morea, and many islands in the irecian archipelago, Venice dwindled. nd at the commencement of the eigh- aenth century her sun completely sank c elow the horizon. But the "arts i mich had meanwhile been silently de- ( eloping, shed a glorious sunset over he waning glory of the mighty repub- C." At the present time of writing the e