MONTHLY REVIEW OF LITERATURE. 295 



Street of Venice. The numerous gondolas, which are constantly gliding on 

 at a rapid speed on the fine and open expanse of water in front of the hotel, 

 leave one no occasion to regret the absence of the omnibus, coach, or cab. 

 There are no coaches in Venice, nor even horses, none being necessary. 

 Every street is accessible by water, and the gondolas, of which there are thou- 

 sands, form a delightful, easy, and swift mode of communication. The dis- 

 tant land of the Lido, the barrier of the Adriatic, was pointed out to us on the 

 left, and the church of St. Marie de la Salute with its beautiful cupola on the 

 right; many other pleasing objects are seen from the hotel. The absence of 

 the stench, so unpleasant from the canals, renders an additional reason why 

 such a situation should be chosen as the temporary abode of visitors, who 

 wish to have a central situation, and one divested of the many drawbacks 

 which must be found elsewhere. 



" The far-famed Piazza of St. Mark presents at one view a very interesting 

 combination of objects. From the centre of the open space on entering it are seen 

 the following objects : In the piazetta, or smaller place, are the two lofty gra- 

 nite columns brought thither by one of the doges on his return from the Holy 

 Land, in the twelfth century ; one is surmounted by the figure in marble of St. 

 Theodore, high in repute in the calendar, and the other by the winged lion, 

 removed to France in the wars of the republic, and at Paris ornamenting the 

 Hotel des Invallides : at the restoration of the Bourbons it was RESTORED 

 to Venice. The restoration of the lion has been more permanent than the 

 other. The ducal palace and the cathedral of St. Mark, in themselves a host, 

 will have further mention. In the larget piazza is the Campanile, rendered 

 immortal by the observations of the star-gazer, Galileo. 



"Around three sides of the extensive area of the piazza, are the buildings 

 now converted into shops, &c. screened by a covered gallery, which is the 

 lounge of the city. The principal cafes are the Florian and the Fenice. 

 Milliners' shops (I beg their pardon), artistes des modes, are in such abundance 

 as to convince one that, the fashions are not neglected by the Venetian fair 

 ones. The print shops furnish their quota of amusements : the specimens of 

 art displayed there are, in general, of a superior description. We entered the 

 ducal palace, which flanks the quay and the smaller piazza. It was built in 

 time of the doge Marino Faliero, of Byronic fame. From the bronze cisterns 

 in the court some noisy girls were drawing water of a questionable quality. 

 A multitude of statues adorn the exterior. We ascended the giant's staircase, 

 and STARED at the colossal figures (the Gog and Magog of Venice) from 

 which it derives its name. On the landing-place at the top of the staircase, 

 in days of yore, the doges of Venice were crowned by the senior councillor. 

 The council-hall, now the library, is a very large apartment, tenanted by sta- 

 tues, paintings of Venetian exploits, portraits of their rulers, a great number 

 of pigeons, which fly about at pleasure, students, bookworms, and visitors 

 from all parts of the world. My space will not allow me to descant upon the 

 treasures of art contained in this and the adjoining room, about which a vo- 

 lume might be written. Near the entrance is Tintoretto's largest easel-pain- 

 ing " the Glories of Paradise, ""containing a vast number of figures in various 

 postures, depicting pleasure and adoration : the whole in a good state of pre- 

 servation. Our guide did not fail to draw our attention to that strange mor- 

 ceau of sculpture, the Leda : in no public collection in our own land would 

 such a work be allowed to remain exposed to public gaze. Many other strange 

 freaks of art there exhibited will reward the curiosity- seeker. The walls of 

 the apartment are adorned by upwards of twenty paintings by Tintoretto 

 Paul Veronese, Palma, Bassano, &c. ; the pope blessing several of the doges 

 on their departure on warlike missions is the subject of many of them : the 

 conquests of the Venetians at Constantinople, and over the Genoese, and the 

 Emperor Otho and Barbarossa his son are strikingly depicted. I shall only 

 particularize two paintings of great merit ; one is the veteran Doge Henri 

 Dandolo, at the siege of Constantinople, in 1203, then above ninety years old, 



