Each
Barge Bore An Appropriate Ensign, And The Dresses Of The Crew Were All
Tasteful, And Thoroughly Analogous To The
Profession they represented.
These barges are richly gilded, and from the variety of the costumes and
streamers, I thought it
One of the most beautiful sights I ever beheld.
Here were the bankers' barge, the jewellers', the mercers', the tailors',
the shoe-makers', and, to crown all, the printers' barge, which showered
down from the masthead sonnets in honor of the fete, printed on board of
the barge itself. Every trade or profession, in short, had a barge and
appropriate flag and costumes. A quantity of private barges and gondolas
followed this procession. The Archduke and his staff occupied the
Government barge, which is very magnificent and made in imitation of the
Bucentaur. Musicians were on board of many of the barges, and the houses on
both banks of the Canale Grande were filled with beautiful women and
other spectators waving their handkerchiefs. Guns were fired on the
embarkation of the Viceroy from the Piazzetta di San Marco, and on his
return. The Piazza itself was splendidly illuminated, and the cafes
which abound there, and which constitute one half of the whole quadrangle,
were superbly and tastefully decorated.
The Piazza di San Marco is certainly the most beautiful thing of the kind
in the world. It is a good deal in the style of the Palais Royal at
Paris, and tho' not so large, is far more striking, from the very tasteful
and even sumptuous manner in which the cafes are fitted up, both
internally and externally; they have spacious rooms with mirrors on all
sides, some in the shape of Turkish tents, others in that of Egyptian
temples.
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