The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-11-09
VENICE, QUEEN OF THE SEA
Correspondence of the Louisville Courier Journal

Correspondence of the Louisville Courier
 Journal.
 TNHIS is venicel and ten perfect days
 here have kept me wondering
 x whether there is any spot on earth more idyllic. The minutes have posi- lively been so crammed full or interest and charm that not line could I pen, even to loved ones. My last letter was from the Italian lakes. where I spent nearly two weeks in gentle rest and loaf ing. Some bad weather unfortunately in terrupted the dolce far niente charm of the first four days in that magical re- Lake Maggiore, Lake Lugano and Lake Como under perfect skies, the atmos- phere freighted with the fragrance of the sweet olive. What is must be in May and June, when all abloom in laurel rhododendron and camelias, can imag- inc.
 Three days in Milan. on my way to the Queen of the Adriatic gave me time for thes cathedral, that eighth wonder of the world, as they justly term it, and Leonardo da vincis famed picture. ''The IaSI Suppt1, IHuCn udfndBeu, Dul Stlll so grandly beautiful in It's whole concep- ton, it's lifeike, human expressions and soft, rich old tones. one must bow before 1t as we'll as the statue of the artist in the iazza della Scala. Also I found a roble picture of Raphaels in the Breva gallery in Milan, his celebrated "Espous- al of the virgin.''
 Passing Verona and Padua with a sigh of regret, arrived in Venice at night. a dark night after lamp light, sing ing fachine shouldered my grips and found the concierge of my hotel at the canal, where all alone. save for the gondolier perched behind, I was drifted through narrow winding canals, under many low bridges and through spooky, dark waterways, the faint glimmer of an occasional light only serving to render the darkness more intense. Not a sound but the splash of the oar and the shrill calls of the gondoliers in passnig for half an hour I leaned back, being soft ly borne onward, humrning minor motif and thinking of the river Styx, the Bridge of Signs, wierd, fairy legends and feirvland. when we come out at last into the light and open of the Grand Canal.
 It was at once paradise and new world, and when, under thes unlight and moonlight I came to know Venice, so wholly different from and better than T had ever conceived, the impressions of that first evening grew into wonder, enhancement and delight. This hotel is perfect in its location, faces the Grand Canal, adjoins the Piazza di San Marcb, .nl is thoroughly comfortable, with a most courteous and obliging management. So I am lingering beyond my intended time. very 10th to leave Venice. have seen its cathedral, its beautiful churches and Academy of Art. I have sailed on it's canals in vaporetto and gondola. ,in- der sunlight and moonlight. have been to the Rialto of Shylock and crossed the Bridge of Signs. from the palace to the prison; have swung it's heavy iron doors and peeped through Its close-barred windows. It is very beautiful bridge of white marble, carved. and 'tis said no nrisoner worthy of wasting sympathy mon ever crosser 1t to his doom have insnected the Doges' palace, gorgeous in its pictured ceilings and walls, painted bv great old masters. I have spent hours in St. Mares and fed its tame pigeons, in furries and throngs. have visited the lace school over at the isl- and of Murano, where hundreds of healthy, cheery looking girls are engaged in making lace, in bewildering profusion and of priceless texture. Under the tutelage of kindly-looking matrons they are busy in light, clean rooms; and
 have lost my previous painful conception of the life of the lace maker. I have visited the Island of Lido, the seaside
 resort of Venice, more than once to hear | the concerts and gaze upon the blue
 Adriatc, and so. with sigh at parting
 must on to Florence, for tickets in Italy have limits.
 | Tn my journeyings I have been pro- toundly interested in the cathedrals of