which, although built in the same form, is considerably larger than the gondola, and has a more spacious cabin at the stern. For a charge of one and a half lira (thirty cents) each, we were rowed with our light luggage along the Grand Canal and through the narrow winding streets for half an hour or more to the Victoria Hotel, where we concluded to stop. As in the case of all buildings here rising up from the sea, the steps of the hotel extend into the water, and we disembarked upon them directly from the boat. Along some portions of the Grand Canal, which winds through the city, there is a quay of good width, mostly, we understand, of modern date; and this is a great improvement, inasmuch as it serves not only as a protection to the buildings, which everywhere have a rusty appearance from the action of the salt water upon them, but it also affords an agreeable promenade.

Mr. Rogers' description of the city as he saw it is true to life. An American traveler calling on him in London, in 1852, three years before his death, took occasion, in the course of their conversation, to say that Mr. Rogers' volume of poems had been his constant companion in his travels, when the latter at once spoke of his residence on the continent with Lord Byron, and quoted part of his own lines on Venice. "Byron," said he, "repeated them to me one morning as we sailed up the Grand Canal, telling me they were very fine, and written, he believed, by Southey, forgetting that the real author was by his side."

The city is compact, and the land streets, lanes, and alleys are so narrow, generally not over four or five feet in width, while many are much narrower; and the one hundred and forty-seven canals,

only wide enough usually to allow gondolas to pass one another, are likewise so confined that one here feels as though he were in a wilderness. Madame de Staël made this observation: "A sentiment of sadness seizes the imagination on entering the city. You take leave of vegetation-not even a fly is to be seen; all animals are banished, and man alone remains to struggle against the sea. Silence is profound in this place, whose streets are canals, and the noise of the oars is the only interruption to this silence. It is not the country, since not a tree is to ́be seen here; it is not a city, since one hears here not the least movement; it is not even a vessel, since one advances not." She adds: "You find persons here who have never been from one quarter of the city to another, who have never seen St. Mark's square, and to whom the sight of a horse would be a veritable marvel. These black gondolas, which glide upon the canals, resemble coffins or cradles--the last and first habitation of man. In the evening one sees only the reflection of the lanterns in the gondolas, whose black color prevents their being descried. One might say that these were shadows gliding in the water guided by a small star." We have translated these remarks from a French volume of "Corinne" before us, because they give, in the main, a vivid description of this wonderful "city in the sea as it struck us on the occasion of our present visit, and as it appeared to the writer when here for a day in 1867. We are not able, however, either to confirm or deny the statement that there were no flies in Venice, although we can conceive of no good reason why they should not exist there, as well as in any other city. As regards horses, it is doubtless true that none were seen there in Madame de Staël's

time, as the number now there does not exceed a dozen, and these are kept on a small island laid out as a riding park, which we visited, at the extreme eastern end of the city. In this park there are clusters of trees, and there may be seen here and there one, in the city; but generally one beholds only a wilderness of houses closely packed. One may walk over the three hundred and seventy-eight bridges to almost any part of the city; but to a stranger, as we have observed before, it is like being in a maze, so numerous and irregular are the streets and lanes, many of which are arched ways under the second stories of houses, and only just wide enough for two to pass. By "spotting" corner shops and signboards we soon learned the way to Piazzo San Marco, the great central point of the city. It is in form oblong, about five hundred and seventy-five by one hundred and eighty-five feet, with an open space, called the Piazzetta, (little square,) leading to the quay on the east side. The celebrated Church of St. Mark faces the eastern end of the square, and next to it stands the Palace of the Doges, facing the same way and extending along the Piazzetta to the quay, presenting also a beautiful front toward the sea. Here, on either side of the Piazzetta, is a splendid granite column-one bearing the "Winged Lion of St. Mark, the emblem of the tutelary Saint of Venice, the other surmounted by St. Theodore on a crocodile, the patron of the ancient Republic, placed there in 1326." The gondoliers have their headquarters here. Nearly opposite to St. Mark's is the campanile of that Church, a square tower three hundred and twenty-two feet in height, and affording a magnificent view of the city, country, and Adriatic sea for many miles around. This tower is probably one of

the easiest of ascent of any in Europe, the way up being by an inclined plane rising by one step at each corner. The bell man at the summit, provided with a telescope, keeps constant watch, and in case of fire gives instant alarm by telegraph or by ringing the bell. While we were there the band, which performs here several times a week in the daytime as well as on specified evenings, was discoursing sweet music in the square below. Opposite the campanile is the clock tower, on the platform of which are two bronze figures in the shape of men, which strike the hours on a bell, as though animated by life; and by means of revolving machinery and transparencies the time both of day and night is always apparent on the face of the clock.

The Church of St. Mark dates back eight hundred years. Its form "is that of a Greek cross, with equal arms, covered by a Byzantine dome in the center and one at the extremity of each arm.” Over the vestibule are smaller domes, and "externally and internally the Church is adorned with five hundred columns of marble, the capitals of which present an exuberant variety of styles." The vaulting is of marble mosaics on a gold ground, and the floors, which have become very uneven, are of tesselated marble. They were being repaired when we were there. Over the main entrance are the four celebrated horses in gilded bronze, supposed to have been constructed in the time of Nero. "Constantine caused them to be conveyed to Constantinople, whence the Doge Dandolo brought them to Venice in 1204. In 1797 they were carried by Napoleon to Paris, where they afterward occupied the summit of the Triumphal Arch in the Place de Carousel." In 1815 they were restored to their former position by

the Emperor Francis. The Church contains a large number of statues, both in marble and bronze, of noted persons, and other monuments, as well as relics, including a crystal vase with the "Blood of the Saviour;" a silver column, with a fragment of the "True Cross," and a cup of agate, with portions of the "Skull of St. John."

We visited several other churches, in all of which there are many things to interest the traveler. In none were the attractions greater than in the Church of the Franciscans, built in the thirteenth century, and which is one of the largest and most beautiful in the city. It contains many paintings, sculptures, and monuments-among the latter a fine monument to Titian and one to Canova, of which, as well as of the Church, interior and exterior, we have photographs.

CHAPTER XXXVI.

ENICE, NOVEMBER 12.- We have now been here about four days, and have seen the principal objects of interest in the city, which is between seven and eight miles in circumference. Of the three hundred and seventy-eight bridges here, nearly all are quite narrow and are reached by steps, rendered necessary to allow the gondolas to pass under them. Three of the bridges only span the Grand Canal. Two of these are of iron, and the third, the famous Rialto, is of marble, built in 1588-'91 by Antonio da Ponte. This is called after the largest island (isola del Rialto, from il rivo alto,