Three Weeks in Europe (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1912 edition. Excerpt: ...but with uniform courtesy. Gondolas are cheap; twenty cents an hour or $r.2o per day of ten hours for two people and twenty-six cents an hour after dark, is the tariff, to which must be added the universal pourboire of a few cents. This gratuity is never scowled at, as in southern Italy, but is always graciously received with a musical "grazie" and a smile that is very winning We just snapped Desdemona's House. That reminds me that if the pillows of ancient Venice had been as hard as are their descendants, Othello might have dpne quicker execution by hitting her over the head. We landed at the Academy of Fine Arts where there is a magnificent collection of paintings, principally by Venetian masters. There is an elaborate catalogue, apparently made by shaking the numbers in a hat and then printing them in the order drawn forth. The charm of uncertainty must have made the game exceedingly interesting for the original participants but it has a tendency to bewilder a stranger unfamiliar with the rules. To one not really well acquainted with old masters it must be trying but of course it did not bother us any. Old masters lost their power to trouble us some time ago. 5 We visited Browning's Palace, now occupied by his son. It is a grand residence, with handsome court, immense ball-room and other rooms in proportion. One large reception room is set apart for memorials of Robert and Elizabeth Browning and it is filled with their pictures and busts and countless gifts showered on them by enthusiastic admirers. Every part of the house is shown, including bed-rooms, dining-room and pantry. All is on a massive scale and rich in carvings and decorations. i We called on Lord Byron but he was out and the woman in charge could not understand a...