swagger, his cane held lightly in his left hand, his coat cut snugly to
show his hips, and genteelly swaying with the motion of his body. He is a
dandy, of course,--all Italians are dandies,--but his vanity is perfectly
harmless, and his heart is not bad. He would go half an hour out of his
way to put you in the direction of the Piazza. A little thing can make him
happy,--to stand in the pit at the opera, and gaze at the ladies in the
lower boxes--to attend the Marionette, or the Malibran Theatre, and
imperil the peace of pretty seamstresses and contadinas--to stand at the
church doors and ogle the fair saints as they pass out. Go, harmless
lasagnone, to thy lodging in some mysterious height, and break hearts if
thou wilt. They are quickly mended.

Of other vagabonds in Venice, if I had my choice, I think I must select a
certain ruffian who deals in dog-flesh, as the nearest my ideal of what a
vagabond should be in all respects. He stands habitually under the Old
Procuratie, beside a basket of small puppies in that snuffling and
quivering state which appears to be the favorite condition of very young
dogs, and occupies himself in conversation with an adjacent dealer in
grapes and peaches, or sometimes fastidiously engages in trimming the hair
upon the closely shaven bodies of the dogs; for in Venice it is the
ambition of every dog to look as much like the Lion of St. Mark as the
nature of the case will permit. My vagabond at times makes expeditions to
the groups of travelers always seated in summer before the Caffe Florian,
appearing at such times with a very small puppy,--neatly poised upon the
palm of his hand, and winking pensively,--which he advertises to the
company as a "Beautiful Beast," or a "Lovely Babe," according to the
inspiration of his light and pleasant fancy. I think the latter term is
used generally as a means of ingratiation with the ladies, to whom my
vagabond always shows a demeanor of agreeable gallantry. I never saw him
sell any of these dogs, nor ever in the least cast down by his failure to