Page:The Works of J. W. von Goethe, Volume 12.djvu/170

156 30. Evening.

To-day I have enlarged my notions of Venice by procuring a plan of it. When I had studied it for some time, I ascended the Tower of St. Mark, where a unique spectacle is presented to the eye. It was noon; and the sun was so bright, that I could see places near and distant without a glass. The tide covered the lagunes; and, when I turned my eyes toward what is called the "Lido" (this is a narrow strip of earth which bounds the lagunes), I saw the sea for the first time with some sails upon it. In the lagunes themselves some galleys and frigates are lying, destined to join the Chevalier Emo, who is making war on the Algerines, but detained by unfavourable winds. The mountains of Padua and Vicenza, and the mountain chain of Tyrol, beautifully bound the picture between the north and west.

1.

I went out and surveyed the city from many points of view; and, as it was Sunday, I was struck by the great want of cleanliness in the streets, which forced me to make some reflections. There seems to be a sort of policy in this matter; for the people scrape the sweepings into the corners, and I see large ships going backward and forward, which, at several points, lie to, and take off the accumulation. They belong to the people of the surrounding islands, who are in want of manure. But there is neither consistency nor strictness in this method. And the want of cleanliness in the city is the more unpardonable, as in it as much provision has been made for cleaning it as in any Dutch town.

All the streets are paved, even those in the remotest quarters, with bricks at least, which are laid down lengthwise, with the edges slightly canted. The middle of the street, where necessary, is raised a little;