Never let it be near a traghetto; for at traghetti there is talk incessant, day and night: argument, abuse, and raillery.

The prevailing tone is that of men with a grievance.

The only sound you never hear there is laughter.
The passion for bickering belongs to watermen, although loquacity is shared by the whole city.

The right to the back answer is one which the Venetian cherishes as jealously, I should say, as any; so much so that the gondolier whom your generosity struck dumb would be an unhappy man in spite of his windfall.
[Illustration: THE DOGANA (WITH S.GIORGIO MAGGIORE JUST VISIBLE)] The gondolier assimilates to the cabman also in his liking to be overpaid.

The English and Americans have been overpaying him for so many years that to receive now an exact fare from foreigners fills him with dismay.