The San Francisco call., 1909-01-31

her. truly Of an evil eye, one who
seemed strangely informed of her plans
and purposes. 1t was evident that the
telegraph was as useful to the powers
of darkness as to those of light. If the
fellow at Verona was Mephistopheles,
this certainly was his henchman, Beel-
zebub. The tall. buxom girl sat stolid
and stony before him, entrenched be-
hind her baggage, her well rounded
breast a fortress of conscious and in
dignant virtue. The satyr's eloquence
fell upon deaf ears. A valkyrie might
thus have stood confronting some
black, malignant troll.
There is a steamer for the Lido
tonight" said I. and Satan got him
behind US.
The launch for the Lido steamed
away. olafs love happy and grateful
upon it's deck. A dozen boys were
struggling to carry my baggage.
ITO the Hotel Breslau, Riva schia-
voni," said l. and three victorious boys
shouIdered my valises.
In the strangeness of my arrival in
Venice. L had not thought of the fact
that the usual omnibuses cabs and
hotel wagons are here represented by
gondolas. The Riva Schiavoni-the
shore of the slaves-was close by, said
the lads. over bent bridges and along
narrow canal walks we went, down
granite steps and through dark pas
sages with water. water everywhere"
Soon the great piazza burst upon the
sight with all its glitter and life, and
two tall pillars, one with ST. George
and the dragon, the other with the
winged lion. standing like eternal SEN
tinels in the piazzetta against the
simmer of the grand canal and the
sapphire sky filled with scud that flew
across the peaceful moon. But where.
the slender campanile had stood and
wooden inclosure, hiding a hole. This
is Venice the veritable," said /, and
went TO bed in that pleasant hotel on
the shore of the slaves.
In Venice alone of all cities Of i'm
portance might the traveller imagine
ulIlhtlL lIduSpldlltQ liOlu liO AWCh-
tieth century back into the sixteenth.
Here no blatant trolleys storm through
the Streets here arc neither telegraph
nor telephone poles, nor motors, nor
carriages, nor trades wagons, nor all
the common and clashing furniture of
the modern city. The princely edifices
stand as Of old. the gondolas are as
unchanging in form as black swans
are unchanging and the marble, stone
and brick of pier and palace would
greet the great doges with a familiar
smile were they to revisit the
glimpses Of this sea city. Only now
and then, some swift little steamer
pokes it's PROV around sculptured
corner and at night electric light
makes radiant certain piazzas. Venice
is the charming city of silence. Only
the footballs of its citizens, and the
musical cries of its venders, or the
Ginning of bells rise in pitch above
the whispers of waters-the love whis-
pers of the Adriatic to It's bride of
stone whose feet are rooted in the
sea and whose body, resting upon so
islets, basks splendidly in the sun.
The place was full of magnificent
leisure, a noble nothing TO do. So 1
could do naught but hire a gondola,
recline at mine ease and explore the
canals. For one lira an hour this may
be done royalty. The gondola, most
graceful Of water craft, is usually
equipped with an ornamental steel
prov, unchanged in shape since 1900.
The one rowlock is the crotch of a
tree and small structure with glass
slides and curtains may be placed over
the center of the boat. giving it the
privacy of a cab. The gondolier some
times wears a picturesque sailor garb.
Adroitly he guides and propels the
boat. while you sit at your ease in its
body on soft cushions. The boatman
cries warningly when he turns a COR
ner. Sometimes the gondolas kiss but
seldom collide.
There came floating a funeral pro-
cession OF gondolas starting from a
broad fight of steps. where priests and
choristers with banners and censers
stood brilliantly against the gray stone