The Spokane woman. [volume] (Spokane, Wash.) 1921-1935, 1927-07-07


name Interpreter on their caps.
These men speak very good English.
All through Italy we Travelled second
class in perfect comfort. Leaving
Florence at 8 20 a. H., we arrived ut
Venice at "16 40" that afternoon.
The approach is over miles of flood
ed land. In fact, we seemed to be
going out to sea in a steam train, until,
at last, like Noah's dove, we found
enough dry land OH which to alight.
Gondolas waited at the station steps
to take us to our hotel.
The sun was sinking as our gondolier
silently, skillfully glided us up the
Grand Canal, displaying the same pride
that we show when we say, This Is
our main street." The Canal Is lined
completely by pretentious, old, mellow
toned buildings of a somewhat over
decorated style, their front steps of
marble washed by the tide. Tall piles
which are hitching posts for gondolas.
and striped like barber poles, cast
wavering shadows in the water
The soft swish of the oar and the
call of "Eee," as the gondolier round
ed a corner, were the only sounds
that broke the stiffness. An oriental
contentment seemed to steal over me.
| recalled favOrite saying of Father
Cummings, our table companion COM
ing over, "All this, and heaven
besides" Only, with him, it was
usually a particularly luscious dessert
that prompted the remark.
Next day we hired u gondola for two
hours, with no other instruction to
the gondolier than to keep 1t in the
SUM- 1t was blissful and tanning.
At the home of the BrOwnings,
marble slab, high above the water line,
is inscribed
"Open my heart and you will see.
Engraved upon it, Italy."-Browning.
But this didn't seem to be Italy. 1t
was so different from anything we had
seen before. Our joy was complete
when, in the evening, the "Gondolier
Singers" anchored beneath our win
dows and, accompanied by several
stringed instruments, sang so beautiful-
ly that it was almost like grand opera.
Instead of using the more compli-
Gated Baedeker, we have made 1t
practice of buying ii small map and u
local guidebook. Usually they can be
found ut the American Express office
where one goes the first thing for ones
mail. The guidebook we found at
Venice was too funny, particularly In
construction and, perhaps, through
errors in printing. l think I'll give
you some of it "a la naturelles as the
menu says when the potatoes are
plain boiled
"Any gondolier who adopts for
public use cannot hold more than six
persons. He remains upright on the
left side of the fragile boat and full
fills his duties as rover, kindly be-
having himself with the passengers"
Qsn't that richD whenever wish
ing to hire a gondola it is enough to
call out 'Poppe' and enviatly gon-
dolier obseQiou-sly steps forward
We visited two churches 1--WE are
getting somewhat fed up on churches)
one of which was the Bacilico of st.
Marks, best known as "The Church
with the Plgeons.s OF this the guide
book says, "One of the most pleasing
characteristics of this square are the
pigeons, which dwell in and produce
their young. These birds are all over
the square circling in and out OF the
people. "Qn the words of our Eng
fish friend, "Tll never recover from
that >"
st. Marks is pure Byzantine. You
realize the strong influence everywhere
from trade, war and plumber with the
Turks. All trophies of war became