epless night, when I felt impelled to go out on to my
balcony in the small hours, I heard for the first time the famous old
folk-song of the _gondolieri_. I seemed to hear the first call, in the
stillness of the night, proceeding from the Rialto, about a mile away
like a rough lament, and answered in the same tone from a yet further
distance in another direction. This melancholy dialogue, which was
repeated at longer intervals, affected me so much that I could not fix
the very simple musical component parts in my memory. However on a
subsequent occasion I was told that this folk-song was of great poetic
interest. As I was returning home late one night on the gloomy canal,
the moon appeared suddenly and illuminated the marvellous palaces and
the tall figure of my gondolier towering above the stern of the gondola,
slowly moving his huge sweep. Suddenly he uttered a deep wail, not
unlike the cry of an animal; the cry gradually gained in strength, and
formed itself, after a long-drawn 'Oh!' into the simple musical
exclamation 'Venezia!' This was followed by other sounds of which I have
no distinct recollection, as I was so much moved at the time. Such were
the impressions that to me appeared the most characteristic of Venice
during my stay there, and they remained with me until the completion of
the second act of _Tristan_, and possibly even suggested to me the
long-drawn wail of the shepherd's horn at the beginning of the third
act."

Later we shall see the palace where Wagner died, which also is on the
Grand Canal.

Now comes the great and splendid Foscari Palace, once also a Giustiniani
home and once also the lodging of a king of France--Henry III, certain
of whose sumptuous Venetian experiences we saw depicted on the walls of
the Doges' Palace. The Foscari is very splendid with its golden borders
to the windows, its rich reliefs and pretty effects of red brickwork,
and more than most it brings to mind the lost aristocratic glories of
Venice. To-day it is a commercial school, with a courtyard at the back
full of weeds. The fine lamp at its corner must give as useful a light
as any in Venice.

CHAPTER X

THE GRAND CANAL. III: FROM THE RIO FOSCARI TO S. SIMEONE, LOOKING TO THE
LEFT

Napoleon _s'amuse_--Paul Veronese--The Layard collection--The Palazzo
Papadopoli--The Rialto Bridge--The keystone--Carpaccio--The "Uncle" of
Venice--Modern painting--English artists in Venice--The Civic
Museum--Pictures and curiosi