The Sun.
London, England, 1869-02-15 00:00:00

17 ALLIN NOTES.

(From a Cm-respondent.)
The present invasion of Italy by the Anglo-Saxons will
long be remembered by the hotel-keepers of Rome and
Naples. The tide of travel has flowed steadily towards
the Italian peninsula since the commencement of the
winter, and has led to an unprecedented gathering of
English and American visitors. During the two precious
seasons Garibaldi and the cholera have kept many 'persons
from Rome, and these dangers having subsided, travellers
are now making up for lost time, and the res-ult is a rather
inconvenient degree of overcrowding at all the hotels and
pensions. With the view of avoiding any difficulty in
getting accommodation, I engaged rooms before reaching
Rome, but our train being two hours late it was thought
that we had not arrived, and when we reached the
hotel the rooms we had engaged were let to other
visitors. We therefore quickly learned how
crowded Rome was by driving from one hotel to
another, and receiving always the same answer. At
last, some time after midnight, we found a hotel where
we could be received, and while hesitating whether to
accept the accommodation another party arrived, and on
hearing their inquiry, " Can you give us five bedrooms ?"
we rushed upstairs without further parley, glad to get in
where we could.
Beyond the inconvenience of hotels unusually crowded,
visitors are not likely to be disappointed. Rome is quite
as disagreeable and dangerous as it is represented to be,
and it certainly is quite as interesting and wonderful.
Each visitor will find in Rome precisely what he expects
! to find these. If he wishes to see the most magnificent
development of Ritualism which has Lcen displayed since
the days of Solomon's Temple there he will find it.
If he desires to realise the grandeur and the
barbarism of heathen times, he cannot fail to feel both
pleasure and pain as he studies the relics of the Forum
and contemplates the ruins of the Coliseum. The most
earnest Puritan must be interested as he explores the mazes
of the Catacombs and discovers unmistakeable evidence of
" the patience of the saints " who contended against the
powers of darkness and of paganism. The most zealous
Catholic must be delighted as he witnesses high mass at
St. Peter's, or listens to the earnest eloquence of Arch-
bishop Manning. The artist finds his home in Rome, and
mrst not, therefore, be spoken of as a traveller in a place,
where for a longer or shorter period of his life he must be
a sojourner. The politician, who finds interest everywhere,
discovers a double interest in Italy, where on the same
soil the oldest power in Europe is passing through
a crisis in its history, and the youngest European
kingdom is struggling in the perils of infancy.
Surrounded by all these elements of interest, it is
not surprising that travellers, who quickly learn to
adapt themselves to circumstances, soon discover the
essential difference between the atmosphere of Rome and
that of other places. The latest arrival from Nice is
surprised to find that the colour of a dress or the shape
of a bcnnet is no longer a matter of supreme importance'
and that to hold your own in Rome it is necessary to see,
and to think, and to know. One of the most pleasant
circumstances connected with life here is the number of intel-
ligent and agreeable fellow travellers which you constantly
meet.

Having arrived at Rome just before Christmas Day,
the first subject which engaged our attention was the high
mass which is then held at St. Peter's. There is no other
building in the world to equal St. Peter's for giving affect to
any spectacle of an extensive character. Whenever anything
of the kind is attempted elsewhere two elements are
wanting— space and experience—and the result is, that
crowding and confusion are sure to prevail more or less.
In St. Peter's the five acres of marble floor afford ample
space, and the constant repetition of these ceremoniesgives
the experience which is necessary to avoid mistakes.
Although a larger number of dignitaries are present than
are usually found on more rare occasions of state ceremonies,
there is ample space for all, and the complicated pro-
gramme is carried through, not only without confusion, but
with the most absolute precision.
On this oceacion about forty-five cardinals and a very
large number of Monsignors took part in the celebra-
tion (each cardinal brings a servant to attend to his robes
and vestments). The corps diplomatique, with all the deco-
rations they could muster, and a few " distinguished
visitors," were present. The floor of the large building is
kept by soldiers in magnificent uniforms, the line of
soldiers in the chancel being formed of the 'noble guard.
The spectacle is witnessed by a large concourse of persons,
a considerable proportion of whom are visitors to Rome.
Ladies are expected to appear in veils, and gentlemen in
evening dress ; otherwise they are not allowed to pass
beyond the nave of the church. The portion of the ser-
vice read by the Pope was pronounced in a voice remark-
ably clear and sonlrons, and the mode in which he
conducted the whole service sbewed no sign of falling
strength. At the elevation of the Host all kneel, the
soldiers dropping on one knee with military precision.
At Candlemas, or the Purification of the Virgin Mary,
li:gh mass is again celebrated at St. Peter's, and on this
occasion the Pope blesses a large lumber of candles,
which are prcocnted to the cardinals and other dignitarirs of
the Church,also to' he members of the diplomatic corps. This
ceremony is carried out with great state. Each candle
passes through the hands of five or six Church dignitaries
before it reaches the Pope, who holds it in a horizontal
position with both hands. The recipient approaches,
kneels, kisses each hand of the Pope, and his foot, and
then reverently takes the candle. The whole is done
with the most perfect order and without the slightest
appearance of haste, and yet so rapidly that towards the
conclusion of the ceremony as many as seven candles were
blessed and presented in one minute. When the presenta-
tion of candles was completed the procession was re-formed,
and the Pope was raised in his chair and carried round the
church, each recipient bearing the candle which had been
presented. It is a remarkable sight to see the members of
the corps diplomatique, including the representatives of
nearly all the Great Powers on earth, receiving from the
Pope a blessed candle. After this it can scarcely be said
that the age in which we live is utilitarian.
After Christmas Day we were at liberty to devote our-
selves to the investigation of the multitudinous objects of
interest in and about Rome ; and let ro one suppose that
he can do justice to these in a brief visit. No traveller
should arrange to give less than two months to Rome, and
at the end of that time I venture to say that he will leave
it with regret, and with a distinct consciousness that
he has left many things undone. Visitors are never
tired of contemplating the Forum, with its varied
ruins ; or the Palace of the Caesars, the site of
which has been purchased by Napoleon 111., under
whose energetic authority excavations continually lead-
ing to interesting discoveries are now going on. The
Coliseum will require repeated visits, and any
amount of time and thought may be devoted to the con-
templation of its material vastness and the moral depravity
which its history discloses. You see the arena where the
Christians and other Roman captives were torn to pieces
by wild beasts, and the benches still remain on which the
ladies of the capital were seated to enjoy the spectacle.
Slavesw
buildings,
eilvidigonrksed to death in the erection of these stu-
pendous, and then they were tortured and slain
to gratify the fiendish propensities of the heathen multi-
tude. You think of all this, and you thank heaven that
thehaveCdeloinseeuselomieetiheirengieteo
ruins,
and that Christianity and freedom
dition of mankind. ameliorate the character and con-
A visit to the Catacombs enables you to realise all that
places
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and burial. The discoveries recently made in the Cata-
combs
superintendence
the
of St. Calixtus, under the
of Father Smith, have added much
to interesto t
o,
which has always attached to this subject. With visit it is impossible to realise their adaptability of the
Catacombs to the purposes for which they are used. The
material in which they are excavated is a soft, but ten a
wcihcouish is sufficiently sand, which c
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m t o
e cut
retaininto wtite shape
ago arenow
hper f perfecto ft, et
ha see , and
seen
exca-
vation. The tool-marks madel,soo years h
just as they were made, and the sand is so dry that the
paintings and inscriptions on the walls are in.
many cases
nearly perfect. The chapels in which the altarsofthe
early Christians were erected, and the galleries in which
their dead were interred, are as perfect as when they were
first excavated. The various ramifications of the galleries
were well adapted for the purposes of concealment, and
the horror of the pagans at the thought of a dead body
added to the security which the Christians felt in their
hiding-places. After the necessity for concealment ceased
the mode of interment was continued, until seven millions
of persons have found their final retting-place in the cata-
combs immediately around Rome.
A large number of American artists are residing there.
The Americans are always extensive purchasers of works
cf art, and just now many of the studios are occupied with
subjects commemorative of the great struggle through
which they have just passed. I could not avoid an expres-
sion of regret that pains and expense should be incurred
in perpetuating remembrances which might be forgotten
with advantage. Amongst the heathen it was considered
an accursed thing to keep a trophy in repair ; amongst
Christians it would be as well if trophies were not erected.
Mr. Childs, the proprietor of the Philadelphia Ledger,
is now in Rome, and has distinguished his visit by a series
of banquets on a most liberal scale, in which he entertains
his numerous friends. At a dinner given a few days since,
at the Hotel de l'Europe, when Longfellow was the chief
guest of the evening, the magnificence of the entertain-
ment was such that it attracted universal attention. The
hotel, from the basement to the third floor, was illumi-
nated with flowers, and the dining-room was one blaze of
floral beauty. Flowers are very cheap in Rome, and for
half a franc 37011 can purchase a magnificent nosegay; but