Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1906-03-15

dressed TO SlgnOr Pietro SimOna, ship.
owner, of Venice. Thus provided
bade tender farewell to my brother,
unaccompanied by servant. In eight
days l reached Dover. having jour
neyed by way Of London, quite safely
and without adventure. At Dover
sold my horse to an innkeeper, who at
first offered me tenth of his value,
and when I refused 1t threatened to
carry me before justice Of the peace
and accuse me Of having stolen the
horse. I told him he was an impudent
rogue, and that II had the pleasure
of appearing before justice in his
company l had influence in my pocket
sufficient to hang him on the nearest
gallows for so insolently aHpersing the
character Of an honorable gentleman,
whereon / pulled out of satchel
which depended from my glrdlc n
passport signed by King James, with
His Majesty's seal attached. When
he looked on this document the inn
keeper turned pale and trembled. and
without further ado told out from a
long purse as much money as / had
asked for the horse and withal shared
with me q quart of choice canary at
his own expense.
After diligent inquiry l obtained an
Introduction to the captain Of n
baruuc, who designed to presently
proceed to Calais, and he contracted
to transport me to France for twenty
shillings. 1t was two days before we
set sail, and the barque was no sooner
at sea than the wind proved contrary,
and we beat about the coast of Tha'
net in imminent peril for day and
night. was sore sick from the tur'
bulence of the sea- and almost starvedI
for my inclination for food was but
small, and the only victual aboard
musty biscuit and sour wine. After
two days of dire misery l was carried
ashore, more dead than alive, at Dun
kirQue, where recovered my wonted
health very speedily. though l soon
came near to losing it again by n sur
felt OF oysters and onions prepared for
me by fshwife of that town. My
clothes were torn and spoiled by the
buffetings l had sustained in the
Darque, so l bought me others OF
French make, which served eXcellently
for long time, being exceeding
strong though such as would denote
French mariner rather than an Eng
lish gentleman making the grand tour,
When l was perfectly recovered from
the i'll effects of my voyage l bought
horse and set out for Paris, spending
my money with great economy on the
way, and carefully avoiding such com.
pany as l judged might be dangerous
for the safety of my thousand pounds,
into which l had dipped but sparingly
as yet, and 1 doubt not my security
had an additional warrant In the fact
that / was tall and muscular, at any
time prepared for combat with the
best man in France. In this manner
did l journey across She continent of
Europe, staying many days in the fine
cities Of Eoucn, Paris, Dijon, Geneva,
Turin, Milan, Verona and Padua, OBJ
serving all that Is remarkable therein;
and so at last came to Venice, fair city
of the waters. Inasmuch as Venice is
beautiful beyond the power of words
to depict, and | had been travelling
with but brief rests for seven months,
purposed living among the Venetians
one whole summer at least, and so In
deed 1t fell out, as shall presently ap-
pear.
had always heard that Venice was
the most beautiful city of Italy, quite
fascinating the stranger. who reveled
in a constant succession of delightful
surprises as he paced her stately
squares and colonades or luxuriously
gilded over the surface of her wonder
full canals, with sky Of unbroken
azure above and historic palaces
around, and so indeed l found it.
Here, therefore, I resolved to stay TN
til had mastered the Italian tongue,
of which at present l knew only in
considerable fragments, picked up
haphazard since l had come to Italy,
and I rightly appreciated my want
when presented my letters to Signor
Simona, who spake no English. French
/ could speak tolerably well before
left England, thanks to Monsieur Fc-
l.. Lamonte, who when 1 was a pupil
at King Edwards Grammar School,
Bury st. Edmund's, impressed upon
me the Irregularities of French verbs
by the regularity of his fioggings,
which were frequent and severe.
Touching this Monsieur Lamonte, l
retain to this day vivid recollection
of his skill in tying up birch rods flor
he would Use none but those he had
made HIMSELF. of the graceful curves
described by his right arm when he
foggcd any of his pupils, and of his
boast that he could produce by six
strokes a posterioral agony as eXQui'
duce by dozen. Though in bitterness
of spirit had often cursed Monsieur
Lamonte, l had of late had cause to
think more charilab]y of him, for he
was a good teacher, and now eXpe-
rlenced the convenience of his lessons
as much as formerly did the incon.
venience of his methods Of imparting
them. 1t was great boon to me to
be able to converse with Signor 81,
mona, who was good French scholar.
which would not have been the case
If had been ignorant of French.
( When first ! beheld Siguor Pietro