. 28.] JOURNAL. 205 



professors. The church of St. Augustine is in the same 

 style, and not much inferior. . . . There is very much 

 that I wish to write, but I have not the time nor the 

 strength to write longer, and must sleep. To under- 

 stand the full luxury of a bed you should sleep with- 

 out one, as I have done very often of late. Good- 

 night. 



VENICE, on board steamboat for Triest, lying at anchor, 

 Wednesday evening, May 15, 1839. 



For nearly two days I have been " a looker-on in 

 Venice," a strange place, as unlike any other city of 

 Europe as can be, unless Constantinople resemble it 

 in some respects. It is more like some place you 

 visit in dreams, some creation of fancy, than a real, 

 earthly city, if it can be called earthly which scarcely 

 stands upon earth. 



We left Padua at five o'clock in the morning, yes- 

 terday, by the diligence, passing along the banks of a 

 canal, bordered with numerous villas ; all of them had 

 been fine, some very magnificent, but they are now 

 decaying. The clouds prevented me from obtaining 

 a view of the Rhsetian Alps, which bound the view on 

 the north, but I hope to make up for this to-morrow, 

 which will give me some amends for our detention here ; 

 for you must know that the steamboat was to have left 

 at nine o'clock this evening, and I expected to have 

 been in Triest this morning ; but the day has been 

 stormy, and the water is a little rough, so, forsooth, 

 the boat is to remain until morning ; but as it is to start 

 early, I have remained on board, where I have a com- 

 fortable place to sleep, and a quiet hour to write. 



Oh, I wish you could see Venice ! and the dear 

 girls whenever I see anything particularly queer, I 

 think of them at once, and wish for them to enjoy it 



