Doge

“ He gave the Doge his dear ward, 180
He took from him three boots full of ducats.
The Doge took his god-daughter by the white hand,
He led her to his tent.
And spake smoothly to her:
"Sit thee down, my dear god-daughter.
That we may embrace and love each the other."
But the Bulgarian damsel answered and said:
"Unhappy godfather, Doge of Venice!
The earth would open under us,
The heavens would break above us. ”

“ They know that Mother Nature detests a straight line, and so they summon all the fairy forces of sun, wind, and frost, to break and bend and twist, while they scuttle and bore and dig, [87] until some fine morning after a siege of many years, you stumble upon their victim. The doge who built it would shake his head in despair, but you forgive the tireless little devils—they have made it so delightfully picturesque. ”

“ To me, northern fugitive as I am, this ceremony gave a great deal of pleasure. With us, who parade nothing but short coats in our processions of pomp, and who conceive nothing greater than one performed with shouldered arms, such an affair might be out of place. But these trains, these peaceful celebrations, are all in keeping here.
The doge is a well-grown and well-shaped man, who, perhaps, suffers from ill health, but nevertheless, for dignity's sake, bears himself upright under his heavy robe. In other respects he looks like the grandpapa of the whole race, and is kind and affable. ”

“ Enter the Doge, Badoero, Contarini, Teresa, Matilda, and others.
Veniero.
Once more we welcome all! Let mirth reign here,
Since ne’er a day hath dawned, of joy like this!
And Loredano too—I craved his presence;
Why comes he not? I harbor no resentments
In this glad hour. When happiness o’erflows
The heart, its tide doth sweep all evil thoughts
Like wrecks, away. He should be welcome here.
Say—will ye pledge me, friends? [Pg 188]
Doge. ”

“ Doge. Come hither, my Bertuccio—one embrace;
Speed, for the day grows broader; send me soon
A messenger to tell me how all goes
When you rejoin our troops, and then sound—sound130
The storm-bell from St. Mark's! [et]
[Exit Bertuccio Faliero.
Doge (solus) . He is gone,
And on each footstep moves a life. 'Tis done. [441]
Now the destroying Angel hovers o'er
Venice, and pauses ere he pours the vial,
Even as the eagle overlooks his prey,
And for a moment, poised in middle air,
Suspends the motion of his mighty wings,
Then swoops with his unerring beak. [442] Thou Day! ”

“ Think not to speak unto the people; they550
Are now by thousands swarming at the gates,
But these are closed: the Ten, the Avogadori,
The Giunta, and the chief men of the Forty,
Alone will be beholders of thy doom,
And they are ready to attend the Doge.
Doge. The Doge!
Ben. Yes, Doge, thou hast lived and thou shalt die
A Sovereign ”

“ The public was admitted to view the magnificent spectacle during the whole of the first course, and the ladies of the aristocracy went in great numbers. It was their custom [Pg 166] to walk round the tables, talking with those of their friends who sat among the guests, and accepting the fruits and sweetmeats which the Doge and the rest offered them, rising from their seats to do so. The Doge himself rose from his throne to salute those noble ladies whom he wished to distinguish especially. ”

“ The twelve assembled in the chapel of the palace; and after the solemn invocation of the Holy Ghost, they proceeded to deliberate and vote. A just impulse of respect and gratitude prompted them to crown the virtues of the doge; his wisdom had inspired their enterprise; and the most youthful knights might envy and applaud the exploits of blindness and age. But the patriot Dandolo was devoid of all personal ambition, and fully satisfied that he had been judged worthy to reign. ”

“ They feel not, but no less are shivered. Come,
Foscari; now let us go, and leave this felon,
The sole fit habitant of such a cell,
Which he has peopled often, but ne'er fitly
Till he himself shall brood in it alone.
Enter the Doge.
Jac. Fos. My father!
Doge (embracing him) . Jacopo! my son—my son!340
Jac. Fos. My father still! How long it is since I
Have heard thee name my name—our name!
Doge.‍My boy!
Couldst thou but know——
Jac. ”

“ Pitch dark the night, but somewhere or another is a leader, and they follow, wild duck and swallow, sea-fowl and dove, broad-winged geese and tiny gold-crest wrens, an instinct-driven mob that, in spite of all perils of storm and of distance, keeps its course, with dogged courage, and steers straight for the land that is to be its summer home. ”

“ A few brief sentences, perspicuously worded and scientifically arranged, will enumerate all the characteristics of a lion, or a tiger, or a wolf, or a bear, or a squirrel, or a goat, or a horse, or an ass, or a rat, or a cat, or a hog, or a dog; and whatever is physiologically predicated of any individual lion, tiger, wolf, bear, squirrel, goat, horse, ass, hog, or dog, will be found to hold true of all lions, tigers, wolves, bears, squirrels, goats, horses, asses, hogs, and dogs whatsoever. ”

“ Now and again overhead there swung slowly an occasional great black bird, its shadow not yet falling straight on the sunlit ground, as it would at midday, when the puppies of the pack would begin their daily pastime of chasing it across the fields.
This silent surrounding forest even yet held its ancient creatures— the swift and graceful deer, the soft-footed panther, the shambling black bear, the wild hog, the wolf, all manner of furred creatures, great store of noble wild fowl—all these thriving after the fecund fashion of this brooding land. ”

“ Ah! Doggy, don't you think you should very faithful be,
For having such a loving friend to comfort you as me?
And when your leg is better, and you can run and play,
We'll have a scamper in the fields and see them making hay.
But, Doggy, you must promise (and mind your word you keep)
Not once to tease the little lambs, or run among the sheep;
And then the little yellow chicks that play upon the grass,
You must not even wag your tail to scare them as you pass.
Pussy sits beside the fire—
How can she be fair?
In comes little puppy-dog:
"Pussy, are you there? ”

“ He could outrun and tomahawk the fastest hog, could bring down with his sling a kangaroo on the jump or a pigeon on the wing, could smell and distinguish game to windward with the keen scent of a hound, and became so formidable an enemy of his troublesome rivals, the dingoes,—whose flesh he disapproved of,—and the sharks in the lagoon, that the one deserted his hunting-ground and the other seldom left the reef. ”

“ The dodo had never before seen any wild animals larger than rats or squirrels. The dodos lived in peace and friendship with other birds and small wild beasts. When ships began to visit the islands where the poor dodos lived, men, dogs, and cats soon put an end to the gentle birds.
Lost, with the auk and dodo, we may count two kinds of beautiful parrots, and a starling with a splendid crest, like an unfurled fan; also a tall, handsome [Pg 238] bird, called a rail, has been hunted out of existence. ”

“ The Lion said to the Wild Dog that he did not fear any one in the forest except these four, viz., tree-leaves, grass, flies, and earth, and when the Wild Dog said, "There is certainly one stronger than thou," the Lion replied to the Wild Dog, "I kill the young ones of the elephant, the wild cow, and the leopard, and bring them to my children to be eaten. If I give one roar, all the beasts of the forest tremble, every one of them, on hearing me roar; none is greater than I within this forest." ”

“ He puts the head of a lion on the neck of a goose, the body of a lizard, the legs of a goat, the tail of a fox; on the back of this monster he puts another, if possible still more hideous, with five or six heads, and a bush of horns. There is no kind of horn in the world he has not collected, and his pleasure is to see them all flourishing upon the same head. ”

“ Ducks and geese and swans have struck the trail, and snipe, stork and heron, crane and flamingo have rolled up their trousers and are wading in. Even the fish-hawk, the osprey and the eagle find it worth while to look beneath the wave. ”

“ There were ducks of many sorts, and the larger geese, and the great white birds with black tips to their wings, and long yellow bills; and the cranes that fly over, far up in the sky, looking like spots, but whose loud callings are heard plainly as they pass along. ”

“ With his long, narrow head, small eyes, donkey-like ears, pendant lips, the upper one curling like a small proboscis, with his high shoulders and giraffe-like hips, with his short, round body, long and clumsy legs, he is as distinguished for his want of grace and comeliness as the red deer is for its presence. No animal is better adapted for its own home and mode of life. ”

“ A man that cannot mount a donkey and ride over a trail where the river is hundreds of feet below, or as it looks to be nearly under him, and the trail not more than twelve inches wide, hewn out of the solid rock, he had best remain in the East.
This is a sportsman's paradise, and the trapper will find here prey in the way of bear, both black and brown, fisher, mink, raccoon, fox, otter, panther, or as the natives call them, mountain lion, wildcat, skunk, civet cat and many other fur bearing animals and all quite numerous. Deer seem to be very abundant. ”

“ Avanel says these were put up the day the “Boone Ax” newspaper was founded.
On the central pedestal, which is higher and more massive than the rest, crawling down from the top, is a dragon with a duck’s head. On the top of the other pedestals are the stone images of a fretful ape, an enormous frog, a long nosed ant eater, a laughing idiot, a hawk, a goat, a three-legged bull dog wearing a plug hat, a chicken without feathers, and a hog wearing trousers. ”

“ Thousands of birds that fly in the air or walk on the plain are water fowl. Away on the eastern horizon we see a long black line. As it approaches we hide in the grass, for the motion of the wings are those of the wild duck. As the gun goes off, wild geese rise up with cranes, as they do from the edge of a great lake. ”

“ Geese, ducks, swans, pigeons, and cocks, bewilder you with their noise. Intermingled with these birds of a feather are hawks, ferrets, dogs and cats, moving about in their wicker cages, and almost aggravated to madness by the proximity of their prey. ”

“ What an excitement it is when the trained ducks mix with the wild birds! and when they tempt them into the right canal, and to dress their feathers on the bank till the dog appears! Then all take to the water, of course. The question is which way will they turn. The trained ducks once more lead; and having been daily fed at the place where the nets are now laid, at the head of the decoy, they tend that way now, followed by scores of new friends. As often as there is any lingering, or appearance of turning back, the dog appears again, and perhaps man or boy, looking through the fence. ”

“ The deer said, “If any man wants to run, I am very fast.” Then the earth said, “If any man wants to wrestle, I know very well how to do.” The monkey said, “If any man wants to climb, I can go higher.” Then they took the rooster to the place of the fighting, and Dogidog had him fight the other rooster. But the rooster had been a cat before, and he seized the other rooster in his claws, as a cat does, and killed it. ”

“ Here we stop to feed our engine, while a diversified company{86} of wild hogs—gaunt, lean, hungry-looking creatures, all legs and heads, like swinish tramps who get their living in the woods—gather and grunt in herds almost under our car wheels, and goats with large families of youthful nannies and billies stand staring mildly in the background, now and then playfully butting one another. ”

“ And the lion invited them in, and they sat down. The hare gave the lion a sign with his eyebrow, telling him, 'This is your meat, it has come with me already; I am going out,' And he said to the donkey, 'I am going on private business, converse here with your husband.'
"The lion sprang upon her, and they fought: the lion was kicked very hard, and he struck hard with his claws. And the donkey threw the lion down and ran away, and went off into the forest. ”

“ DOG, a sort of iron hook, or bar, with a sharp fang at one end, so formed as to be easily driven into a plank: it is used to drag along the planks of oak when they are let into a hole under the stern of a ship, to be stowed in the hold. For this purpose there is a rope fastened to the end of the dog, upon which several men pull, to draw the plank towards the place where it is to be stowed. ”

“ The Wild-Goat is as bigg and as fleshy as a Hart, but not so long-legg’d. The best time for hunting them is, at All-hollontide; and having observed the Advantages of the Coasts, Rocks, and places where the Goats lie, set Nets and Toiles towards the Rivers and Bottoms; for ’tis not to be imagined, the Doggs can follow them down every place of the Mountaines. 26 Stand some on the tops of the Rocks, and as Occasion offers throw down Stones; and place your Relays at the small Brooks or Waters, where the Goat comes down; but let them not tarry till the Hounds come in, that were cast off. ”

“ Ring-doves, minas, hoopoes, jays and parrots hardly trouble themselves to hop out of the way of the heavy bull-carts, and every wayside pond and lake is alive with ducks, geese, pelicans, and flamingoes and waders of every size and sort, from dainty beauties, the size of pigeons, up to the great unwieldy cranes and adjutants, five feet high. ”