They are propelled by one man
standing near the stern, with a single oar, which he pushes, moving
the boat in the same direction as he looks. Those persons who are
not rich enough to possess a gondola of their own, hire them, as we
do cabs, when they require to go abroad. The Venetian territories
are as fruitful as any in Italy, abounding with vineyards, and
mulberry plantations. Its chief towns are Venice (which I have
described), Padua, Verona, Milan, Cremona, Lodi, and Mantua. Venice
was once at the head of the European naval powers; 'her merchants
were princes, and her traffickers the honorable of the earth,' but
now--
"'Her pageants on the sunny waves are gone,
Her glory lives in memory's page alone.'
"In a beautiful poem written by the lamented Miss Landon, there are
some very appropriate lines:--
"'But her glory is departed,
And her pleasure is no more,
Like a pale queen broken-hearted,
Left lonely on the shore.
No more thy waves are cumbered
With her galleys bold and free;
For her days of pride are numbered,
And she rules no more the sea.
Her sword has left her keeping,
Her prows forget the tide,
And the Adriatic, weeping,
Wails round his mourning bride.'
* * * * *
"'In those straits is desolation,
And darkness and dismay--
Venice, no more a nation,
Has owned the stranger's sway.'"
CHARLES.
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