Italy from the Alps to Mount Etna . es of Mars and Neptune, on whose topmoststep the Doge was wont to be crowned. And now let us mount by the Scala dOro tothe wide, echoing, gold-encrusted halls, where the Great Council held its sittings, whereare the statues of the famous men who have sprung from the Republic, and the portraitsof the Doges who ruled over it. But yet a little shadow rests on these splendours. A slight shudder mars theenchantment, for the hands of Venice are stained with blood—much noble blood sacrificedto unworthy passions. There is the Bocca di Leone, into which Envy threw it
Italy from the Alps to Mount Etna . es of Mars and Neptune, on whose topmoststep the Doge was wont to be crowned. And now let us mount by the Scala dOro tothe wide, echoing, gold-encrusted halls, where the Great Council held its sittings, whereare the statues of the famous men who have sprung from the Republic, and the portraitsof the Doges who ruled over it. But yet a little shadow rests on these splendours. A slight shudder mars theenchantment, for the hands of Venice are stained with blood—much noble blood sacrificedto unworthy passions. There is the Bocca di Leone, into which Envy threw its secretaccusations. We pass by the door that leads to the prisons and the Bridge of Sighs;we see amidst the line of Doges, the black space from whence Marino Falieros portraitwas effaced when his head had fallen beneath the axe of the executioner. In the Sala delMaggior Consiglio, the Great Council held its sittings. All the members wore scarletrobes. Here the die was cast for war or peace, for honour or disgrace ; and the pride. Of THE UNIVERSITY OF HLINOJS VENICE 67 way,was that uplifted their hearts is, as it were, embodied in the masterpieces which adorn walls androof. Everywhere Victories, coronations, gods,—nay, Tintoret who produced in this hallthe largest painting known in the history of art, chose no meaner subject than the Worldof the Blessed ! Venice dreamt only of Paradise. We pass on through a long series ofsaloons. Here the Doge was elected by the Nobili; there he received ambassadors fromforeign lands ; yonder was his bedchamber; and here the guards paced to and fro watch-ing over the most precious jewel of Venice—the Doges life. The triumphal arch through which we entered, was erected for Morosini, the herowho subjugated the Morea,the barbarian whose cannon Wkdestroyed the Parthenon,burying hundreds of Athe-nians under the most mag-nificent ruin that the earthhas ever seen. We cometo a little chapel on ourin which the Dogeaccustomed to hearmass every morn
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