ron loved to ride, and the paltry apartments where, cheered by a new
affection, in which was more of tender friendship than of passion, he
found himself less wretched than at beautiful Venice or stately Genoa.

All the details of this visit to Ravenna are pretty. I shall write
them out some time. Of Padua, too, the little to be said should be
said in detail.

Of Venice and its enchanted life I could not speak; it should only
be echoed back in music. There only I began to feel in its fulness
Venetian Art. It can only be seen in its own atmosphere. Never had I
the least idea of what is to be seen at Venice. It seems to me as if
no one ever yet had seen it,--so entirely wanting is any expression
of what I felt myself. Venice! on this subject I shall not write much
till time, place, and mode agree to make it fit.

Venice, where all is past, is a fit asylum for the dynasties of the
Past. The Duchesse de Berri owns one of the finest palaces on the
Grand Canal; the Duc de Bordeaux rents another; Mademoiselle Taglioni
has bought the famous Casa d'Oro, and it is under repair. Thanks to
the fashion which has made Venice a refuge of this kind, the palaces,
rarely inhabited by the representatives of their ancient names, are
valuable property, and the noble structures will not be suffered
to lapse into the sea, above which they rose so proudly.
The restorations, too, are made with excellent taste and
judgment,--nothing is spoiled. Three of these fine palaces are now
hotels, so that the transient visitor can enjoy from their balconies
all the wondrous shows of the Venetian night and day as much as any
of their former possessors did. I was at the Europa, formerly the
Giustiniani Palace, with better air than those on the Grand Canal, and
a more unobstructed view than Danieli's.

Madame de Berri gave an entertainment on the birthnight of her son,
and the old Duchesse d'Angouleme came from Vienna to attend it. 'T
was a scene of fairy-land, the palace full of light, so that from the
canal could be seen even the pictures on the walls. Landing from the
gondolas, the elegantly dressed ladies and gentlemen seemed to rise
from the water; we also saw them glide up the great stair, rustling
their plumes, and in the reception-rooms make and receive the
customary grimaces. A fine band stationed on the opposite side of the
canal played the while, and a flotilla of gondolas lingered there to
listen. I, too, amid, the mob, a pleasant position in