The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-05-22

said that many of them learned by ex- perience the words of King Henry ". Uneasy lies the head that wears the lent deaths, a number of them were banished, and several of them suffered the horror of having their eyes plucked from their sockets.
 Through the centuries Venice pro- gressed in the arts, in science, in archi- lecture, in commerce and in arms. She became populous and rich, for nations of the east and west poured into her com mercial lap their wealth of yellow treas- ure. and thus Venice became a city of graceful arcades, gleaming walls veined with azure and warmed with gold, and fretted with sculpture like frost upon forest branches turned to marhle.'
 A sturdy and naughty set of princes were the old doges, as one may easily fancy as he looks upon their portraits, executed in oil and forming the frieze of the handsomest hall in the ducal palace. Their portraits hang upon the lofty walls in the order of their reigns. One of them disgraced the ducal office by political treachery, and at the place where his, portrait should otherwise hang there Is & frame precisely like the others. but within the frame there is no portrait Instead. there is painted black pail. and upon it are the words, in Latin, '1n this place Marine Faliero's face should be seen; instead, behold his dishonor" What a terrible punishment: for the sign of his dishonor hangs there through the ages "seen and known of all men,
 Finally, in the changes and chances of war and other misfortunes, Venice, so distinguished in the crusades. and which so stoutly opposed the Turks. and held the world in its grasp of power. with it's own hand wrote its sentence of doom The last of the doges vacated the throne beneath the canopy of gold in 17s5, and Venice fell into the hands of Napoleon, who acted with merciless vandalism to- ward the Venetians. He destroyed many of the city's ancient treasures from mere wantonness. and without reason flung into the flames the Golden Book of Ven ice. The book contained the names of the original patrician families of Venice from the year 1923.
 
 ruling princes, tainted, and for sometime was insensibie. at the sight of Venice subscribing to the oath of allegiance to foreign power. Protests arose from many nations against destroying and wiping away from the map of the world so unique a government; but no national hand was uplifted against the modern Alaric. The world was afraid of the Cor sican. From the possession of the French, Venice was turned over to the Austrians. It is now, however, a part of United Italy.
 From this historical sketch of Venice pass to description of the city as 1t is today.
 Venice. I said. is old. There is noth- ing new in what is essentially the city. Time and the sea tides have painted ''age' in letters of green moss upon all. Yet, the signs of antiquity only add to the picturesque beauty of the old city. One has said, 'venice Is a dream of water. of sun and beautiful buiidings.'' Ruskins calls 1t "A golden city, paved with emerald; for truly. every pinnacle and turret glanced and gleamed being overiaid with gold and based with jas per-" It has been likened to ..lovely sea shell cast up by the tides of the Ad- riatic." It is designated Imperial Ven ice. the white swan of the sea-" "A phan- tom city, whose crown ana crest are sum- illumined spires'' Shelley said:
 And from the funereal bark. learned and saw the city, and could
 mark,
 How from the many isles, in ev'nIng,s
 gleam, It's temples and Its palaces did seem Like fabrics of entertainment piled to
 heaven
 Column, tower and dome and spire Shine like obelisks of fire"
 was in Venice in the summer season. time most favorable for sight seeing and the silent city of the circling sea cor responded so well with my preconceived fancies that I could move amid its scenes with a sense of familiar satisfaction and restfulness. and yet in dreamy wonder.
 Night, a moonlight night. is the best time to see Venice, If one be willing to yield himself to its spell of romantic and wondrous witchery. It's palaces are then bathed in silver; its twinkling lights are