alect of
Italy that is at all pleasing to my ear, for I do not at all relish the
nasal twang and truncated terminations of the Piedmontese and Lombard
dialects, nor the semi-barbarous jargon of the Genoese and the Neapolitan
and, least of all, the execrable cacophony of the Bolognese.

I visited of course the Arsenal and the Doge's Palace. The apartments in
the latter are very spacious and ornamented in the Gothic taste of
grandeur. The chamber of the Council is peculiarly magnificent. There is a
good deal of tapestry and some fine paintings and statues: among the former
I particularly noticed an allegorical picture, representing the triumph of
Venice over the league of Cambray. Venice is represented by the winged
Lion, and the powers of the Coalition are pourtrayed by various other
beasts. Among the latter is a beautiful group in marble representing
Ganymede and the Eagle. The terror depicted in the countenance of the
beautiful boy, and the passion that seems to agitate the Eagle, are
surprizingly well pourtrayed.

The principal theatre at Venice, the _Teatro Fenice_, is not open; but I
have visited the other theatres, and among other things witnessed the
representation of a new opera, call'd _Il Lupo d'Ostende_. The piece itself
was rather interesting; but the music was feeble and did not seem to give
general satisfaction. The singing is in general very good at Venice, but in
scenery, dresses and decorations the theatres here are far inferior to
those of Milan and Naples.

I find the air of Venice very hot and unpleasant, arising from the
exhalation from the canals; and it appears to me as if I were on board of
an enormous ship. I begin to pant for _terra firma_ and green fields.

I have visited in a gondola some of the islands, viz., Malamocco and St
Lazare, where there is a convent of Armenian monks.

Why are the gondolas hung with black? it gives to them such a dismal
funereal appearance. They always resemble the bodies of hearses placed on
boats. I am not fond of gaudy colours in general, yet I do think a gondola
should have a somewhat livelier color than black.

PADUA, 8th June.

Padua is not above ten miles distant from Fusina. As I started from Venice
at six in the morning I had a fine receding view of the Ocean Queen, with
her steeples and turrets rising from the sea. Venice has no fortifications
and needs them not. Her insular position protects her from land attacks,
and the shoals prevent the approa