"And you will find on the morrow that you are deeply attached to Venice.
It is by living there from day to that you feel the fullness of her charm; that you invite her exquisite influence to sink into your spirit.
The creature varies like a nervous woman, whom you know only when you know all the aspects of her beauty.
She has high spirits or low, she is pale or red, grey or pink, cold or warm, fresh or wan, according to the weather or the hour.
She is always interesting and almost always sad; but she has a thousand occasional graces and is always liable to happy accidents.
You become extraordinarily fond of these things; you count upon them; they make part of your life. Tenderly fond you become; there is something indefinable in those depths of personal acquaintance that gradually establish themselves.
The place seems to personify itself, to become human and sentient and conscious of your affection.
You desire to embrace it, to caress it, to possess it; and finally a soft sense of possession grows up and your visit becomes a perpetual love-affair."
Henry James
Henry James
