The Gondolas of Venice.

Evening Post, Volume LXVI, Issue 152, 24 December 1903, Page 15

The Gondolas of Venice.

1 If you me good at finding darksome * little budges, and do not mind walking ' on- the narrow footpaths skirling the ( houses, you can go ninny a ciooked milo . dry-shod in Venice. In r>uch wanderinga it is amusing to como upon a «quero, where gondolas are built and repaired. , The water approach to ono of these dook- ' yards is by a long, mud-pluHlered slope, 1 at tho top of which the black gondolas drawn up for. repair look liko so many stranded whales. Here aro Hoods of black ■ paint und pota of pitch and tallow, always boiling and bubbling. In former times tho Venetian craft wero mado of walnut, beautifully carved by hand, but common pine is mostly u*>ed ', at present. Tho boards mubt be thin, well-seasoned, und as heo from knots as possible The regulation coat of black paint is not applied to v gondola until the bout is «. year old, tho unpuinted state being a proof of newness, us well us ditfolobing any knots or otner imperfect ions. After tho defects urc covered with paint the boat loses in valuo. ' A gondola is usually 36ft long. Only a small portion of tho Hat bottom rests in tho water ; prow and stern alope sharply upward, and tho craft turns us easily us if on a pivot. So fully under control is it that mere are only two places in all tha intricate meunderings of tbo Veuetian canals where gondolas cannot pussone hard by the Phoenix theatre, aud tho other neur tho I'aluazo Mocenigo. A good gondola has three characteristics, it draws little water, tun.s readily, and oboys the poling of ono gondolier. At tho prow is the graceful steel forro with its six teeth, standing high us the roof of tho cabin, and serving as guide to tho pondolier in passing under n low bridge, aa a cut's whiskero aro e>uid to givo her warning of a- tight equecwo of -her body in an unfamiliar hole. A good steol ferro costs £4 j it requires frequent and thorough polishing, twice a duy, at lenM, in damp weather, and a good gondolier may be known by the gleam on his ferro. A&tern is the branched prop for the sculling pole, by which tho gondolier sends his boat's black -nose prying into every corner of the water 'city. The snug little cabin, culled tho felzo, holding two or four passengers, ia covered with mack cloth, tufted, und fringed with black, and is provided generously with soft, black leather cushions — all very hearse-like in J appearance, save fpr the brass sea-horses ■Hid dolphins sporting among the «traps and tassels. It ie carpeted and curtninedi and usually the picture of a saint hangs above the cushions. Tho folze, with ail its belongings, coats £20 ; and the gondola complete in all ila equipments has v valuo of about £50. Tho general blackness dates from tho i6tn century, when the republic,of Venice issued an order that all gondolas, nave those of foreign uinbacsudorA, should he black — this as a. check upon the araat oxtravaganco in decoration which had become the fashion. With woodwork heav. ily gilded and carved, ornaments of silver and fjold, piilo blue and rose-coloured silk curtains and cushions richly embroidered, ; the gondolas of that Unit) must havo been t beautiful indeed, * , ' Quiut on thu soft cushions under the black drapery, you oeeni to be sliding gently and comfortably over tho green water in yQur own funeral procession. " Stuli I i» tho gondolier's musical warning cry — "To the right!" "Preme!" •—'•To the left!" If two gondolni come into collision, the cries are lons musical, but more picturesque. "Blood of Diana! Why didn't you cull 'Stali!'" shrieks tho gondolier whoso craft has hcen bumped. I did, figure of v. pig 1" " You didn't !" ' What oort of ass's ears wng on your head that you can't hoar a fellow call I ' ' What sort of a croak was it came out of gin-soaked throat? Body of Bacchus !" " Your worm-eaten hulk couldn't stand another scratch, eh?" Thus the tongue lashing goes on long after tho winding of the canal hmt hidden tho disputants from each other's (fhgry gaze. An you disembtirlc, n nhabby old man , hobbles forward and holds your gondola steady with the hook at tho end of hid aticn., for which graceful but unnecewmry serrico you pay one cent. The man's j hook, called a ganzo, may bo worth examining. These old fellows spend much of ; ' thoir time in ornamenting their hooked i . sticks with btray bits of copper and j brass, and small coins fastened on with copper tacks, Here and thoro you may possibly find an osola imbedded in some ''old fellow's ganio— this is a small silver coin with nn interesting history. As long ago as 1275 the doge of Venice ! was required once a year to oend five wild ducks, fat nnd loan, turn about, to every nobleman in the city. This custom grew tiresome after a while, and in 1521 the doge wns allowed to have a silver coin' struck, with a, bird upon it, called osela, which was sent to tho'noblos in-

stead of tho duck». In time thexo coins began to bo regularly circulated us Venetian money, and so continued till 1796 They are now very rare, and among cmiosity collectors command a good price. Sometimes m» old gnnziero iviJJ he)] you his hook, aud if among the peep-show of ornament on the Mick 3-011 find an nscla, you have a prize indeed. — Ur.ice Kldicdge, in tho Youth's Companion.