The Washington herald., 1918-03-14

My membories Of Venice are asso
eiated with the quaint old guide that
met on my first morning there a. !
stood In front Of St Marks and mar
veled that Il should be 90 like the
pictures and that the flock OF tame
pigeons, celebrated In Venetian his
tory and literature. should stir be
there. My green absorption must
have made ii easy for him 10 spot me
as visitor. He came forward and in
language that he fondly believed 10 be
Engiish he offered his services. Day
after day for several hours q day we
roamed about together, understanding
each other fairly well IN spite OF the
confusion Of tongues. His rich Italian
accent mingled strangely with an &C
cent unmistakably Cockney. whep
I asked him where he had acquired
this speech. he said he had been a
sailor for two years on a British zhip.
oh, that was long ago. % long. In fact,
that could zee he felt AZ n it might
have been in another life. On that
ship he had devised a language Of
his own and for more than thirty
years he had made Il serve MIN IN
his native Venice. evidently a hardy
thing capable Of resisting the infE-
ence Of travellers from Ene1ish-speak-
ing countries
He did not ask me whore had
acquired my way Of speaking: bot he
delicately conveyed that. 20 his ears.
II had a very peculiar sodnd. when
explained that I was an American
he nodded his head ana he laughed
TO indicate that he undeTstood. ard
that he was very pleased. and Ne b.
gan to talk about millionaires. Though
at once proceeded to explain that
was not a millionaire and 70 head eff
all possible honors and expsctstioos
In that capacity, he somewhat rUefuny
indicated that he didn't mind.
II was through his guidance that i
was able TO see many parts Of the city
/ should not have thought Of other
wise and that was able 70 catch
something Of the hideOusDess behiL1
all this sumptuoUsness. In sonns Of ITS
aspects very grim. the poverty none
the less pitiful because Il expressed
itself through wild beauty ana
grace. On our tours he would occa-
sionally point out some disting1ished
citizen whose name I would Be IN
familiar with and once, 70 my delight.
his sharp little eyes recognized the
great Italian actress. Eleonora Duse.
Walking dIOuk one OF Lne uaTTCN
streets near her home. hmply dressed
and heavily veiIed. the great sad eyes,
dark and luminous. alone character
istic OF the respondent creature ! had
seen on the stage.
Where that little man acquired his
knowledge Of art / never found out
I doubt IL he knew himself He must
have breathed IL in But he had q
really extraordinary appreciation OF
the treasures within the walls Of
those palaces and churches that mad
the interiors even more wonderful
than the exteriorA II was not the
mere jargon OF art that he spoke.
made up Of phrases caught from other
guides or from visiting art experts: IL
showed a spiritual relation with the
minks behind the work. q sympathetic
understanding. This retired sailor
was q little brother to the great paint
ers and decorators and architects that
had contributed to the glory Of Venice
The glory shed q radiance on hss
humble life. He fairly baSked in IL
and he was never so happy as whet
| he could find some rave-er like my.
self to illuminate by reflection. THAI
he made many mistakes OF fact. that
his criticisms were often technically
unsound, ! suspected from the first
| but he had something in hts bliths
spirit denied 70 most professional
guides, something that made him q