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

TFIE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 15, 169.

I 1 ALIAN

'TES.

(Fionz a 6;r 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 bas led to an unprecedented gathering of
English and American visitors. During the two previous
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 result 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 cculd he 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 there. If he wishes to see the most magnificent
1 development of Ritualism which has been 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, be 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
must 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 bonnet 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 occasion 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 sonorous, and the mode in which he
conducted the whole service showed no sign of failing
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,
liTgh mass is again celebrated at St. Peter's, and on this
occasion the Pope blesses a large number of candles,
which are presented to the cardinals and other dign itari,sof
the Church,also to the 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.
Slaves were worked to death in the erection of these stu-
pendous buildings, 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
the Coliseum is in ruins, and that Christianity and freedom
have done something to ameliorate the character and con-
dition of mankind.
A visit to the Catacombs enables you to realise all that
history teaches as to the sufferings of the early Christians
and the mode in which they availed themselves of these
places for the purposes of concealment, religious worship,
and burial. The discoveries recently made in the Cata-
combs of St. Calixtus, under the superintendence
of Father Smith, have added much to the interest
visitwlt e which has
is l
m wpaoysss
battached
ore
realise
s e this
their subject.
adaptability ll7 i t hoort
he
Catacombs to the purposes for which they are used. The
material in which they are excavated is a soft, but tena-
cious sand, which can be cut into with perfect ease, and
which is sufficiently firm to retain the shape of the exa-
vation. The tool-marks made 1,500 years ago are now
seenc
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 altars of the
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 resting-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
of art, and just now many o the studios are occupied with
subjects commemorative of the great struggle thniugh
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 we .1 if trophies were not erected.
Mr. Childs, the propriek r of the Philadelphia Ledger,
is now in Rome, and has dis.inguished his visit by a eerics
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
.vou can purchase a magnificent nosegay ; but

Mr. Child was not satisfied until he had spent 1,300 francs
on the floral decorations for this entertainmelit. During
my visit to Rome a remarkable circumstance occurred,
which is somewhat suggestive as to the extraordinary
character of the locality. An artillery officer hired a
horse for a ride on the Campagna. For some purpose he dis-
mounted, when to his horror he found that the ground
under his horse's hind feet was suddenly giving way. The
horse fell backwards, and after a brief struggle dis-
appeared from his sight, and could be heard falling and
falling as if descending an unfathomable depth. The poor
animal bad fallen into an old and covered well. The
frightened officer walked home and reported his loss ; his
story was scarcely credited, but on visiting the spot and
descending the well, the horse was found at a depth of 150
feet from the surface. According to Roman law the
hirer had to pay the value of the animal.
The Protestant visitors to Rome can attend public
worship at the English, American, or Presbyterian chapels,
which are situated close to each other and just outside the
Popolo gate. The English chapel will afford accommoda-
tion for 600 or 700 persons, and is constantly crowded. The
American chapel is rather smaller, and the Presbyterian
much less, but both are well filled. The service and
sermons in each are remarkably characteristic of the
nationalities they represent. The English is strictly
correct, the American eminently practical, and the Scotch
decidedly philosophical. All are supported by voluntary
contributions, and they certainly should be well supported,
judging by the apparent wealth of the congregations. The
wide streets in which the chapels are situated are crowded
at each service with the carriages of the visitors, and
amongst them are the best equipages which appear on the
Pincian Hill.
The Pope receives a large number of English and
American visitors, who are generally presented on Sunday.
After the presentation he addresses a few practical
observations to his audience, which are usually founded
on the _Scripture lessons for the day. The short sermon to
which I listened has already appeared in your columns. It
was pleasant to think that the same subject was occupying
the attention of so large a portion of Christendom,
both Catholic and Protestant, at the same time. I am
bound to admit that the Pope's unassuming kindness of
manner and sound Christian teaching contrasted very
favourably with a lecture on " Protestant Missions in
Italy" which I attended shortly after hearing the sermon
at the Vatican. In this lecture the Pope was denounced
in the usual terms as the " man of sin," and the "son of
of perdition," language which, if used outside of a chapel,
would be very properly designated as profane swearing.
What should we think of a man who in England applied
such terms to the Archbishop of Canterbury ?
Archbishop Manning, who is now in Rome, is preaching
a series of controversial sermons in defence of the claims
and doctrines of his Church. These sermons are largely
attended, and, as might be expected, the congregation
consists in a great degree of the English and American
visitors. The archbishop, with unusual force, repeats the
oft-used argument that as truth is one, there can be but
one true Church. His sermons appear to me like a beautiful
chain of argument with one link missing. It would be as
just to contend that truth is perfection, and that as it is
manifest that there is no perfect Church, therefore there is
no true Church. It is useless to require absolute truth or
perfection where any human element is introduced, and
at present we cannot have Churches without human
elements.

One of the sights which no visitor to Rome should fail
to see is the drawing of the lottery tickets, which takes
place at the office of the Minister of Finance every
Saturday precisely at noon. In almost every street in
Rome there are offices where lottery tickets are sold, and
where any purchaser who can command twopence-half-
penny may take his chance of losing or increasing his fortune.
The Government, of course, makes a handsome percentage
of profit on all subscriptions. The mode of conducting the
lottery is as follows :—ln a balcony in front of the Finance
Minister's office is placed a glass barrel. At a few minutes
before noon the proper officer places in this barrel a series
of numbers from 1 to 89, each number being put into a
small cardboard box about as large as a man's finger.
The number as it is put in is called out in a loud voice,
which is heard by the et owd below. Precisely at 12o'clock
a cardinal appears upon the scene, the ninetieth number
is handed to him, and he solemnly places it in the glass
barrel. A flourish of trumpets is then sounded, during
which the barrel is turned rapidly round in one direc-
tion—the music changes, and the barrel goes round
in the opposite direction. The barrel is then
stopped; a boy standing behind it takes off
his hat, makes the sign of the cross, and
thrusting his hand into the barrel through a doorway at
the side, he draws out one of the round cases. This is
handed to the cardinal, who opens it, hands the paper it
contains to the official, who reads it aloud, and then
throws down the paper to the crowd. Five numbers are
drawn in this way, and the business is concluded. If you
wish to speculate in the lottery you may do so in several
ways, three of which are as follows :—You may name a
number, and, if it comes up in either of the five' draw-
ings, you receive about fifteen times the sum which you
have staked ; you may name two numbers, and if both are
drawn, a sum equal to about 250 times the stake is raid;
if three numbers are named, and all are drawn, the
prize is about 3,000 times the stake. It will
be seen that under these arrangements the average profit
to the Government cannot be less than 50 per cent., and
the average loss to the speculators must be in like propor-
tion. The infallibility of the Papal Government is a ()Teat
misfortune ; it makes a difficulty in the way of acknow-
ott e r
y
oud mode of
ledging errors and reforming them. But for this circum-
stance
the
objectionableraising
have
been abandoned
means
doubtless long since.

Everything in Rome is carried on under the sanction
and authority of the Government. The Carnival is taken
under its special protection, and all amusements are
allowed or prohibited at the pleasure of the authorities.
This year the Carnival was formally opened on the 30th
January. A body of mounted guards rode clown the
Corso, dropping one of their number at each of the
streets that lead into it, for the purpose of stopping
all traffic. A grand procession then made its
appearance, consisting of the governor of Rome and
various officials connected with the municipality, in
carriages, and members of the fire brigade following the
carriages on foot. The street was then cleared for the
races by a body of the mounted guard, who rode slowly
clown the Corso and galloped back. Seven horses, without
riders, were started for the races, with goads dangling
from their sides, which prick them as they run,
and coloured papers flying from their manes and
tails. The, horses being sufficiently frightened and
hurt, gallop as fast as circumstances permit ; but the
street being pitched with stones which are exceedingly
hard and slippery, it is difficult for the horses to keep their
feet. One horse, not being able to guide himself, dashed
into the crowd, and the result was a child severely injured,
with arm and ribs broken. Another horse fell about the
middle of the Corso, and rolled over. He lay stunned
for a minute, and then got up and galloped on,
much to the astonishment of the crowd, which had closed
in behind the foremost horses, and were not expecting a
second edition of danger. Horse-racing without riders
might do very well on turf, and with proper arrangements
but in a street it is simply an absurdity. The horse which
is most frightened islikely to be the first, and the race is won,
not by the strongest sinews, but by the weakest nerves. At
the Carnival, universal liberty is allowed for pelting with
chalk sugar-plums. Walking on stilts has been forbidden,
for last year the aspiring gem who towered on stilts peered
into the upper windows and alarmed several elderly ladies
by the unexpected apparition. At Florence the Carnival
vulgarity.
costumes
is conducted much more sensibly. There it consists in
parading the streets in carriages, and throwing nosegays
sweetmeats
Isaw n
at youroh
friends.rougnessor
Masksvul
ar
areand al reall
oNv ed but

A committee, consisting of Governor Claflin,
General Francis A. Osborn, Gardner Brewer and Charles
0. Whittemore, has been organized for the purpose of put-
ting in marble and presenting to the State of Massachusetts,
to be deposited in the State-house, Martin Millmore's fine
bust of Charles Sumner, as a permanent memorial of his
great service, to the thy.o 4n-ma of hia
Senatorship.

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MISCELLANEOUS NEWS.

tion of the Jockey Club on the subject, and they seek,
by giving " ease' to " two-year-olds," to stop the
downward course on which it is supposed they have
entered. Admiral Bons, writing to the Times, gives
an entirely different view of the subject. He attributes
fall in quality to other causes altogether, and there-
fore regards the resolutions in question as mere
restrictions. He first advocates greater care in the
selection of stock for breeding, thinking that a great
deal has been lost through inferior parentage. He
then goes on to say : " The great misfortune to the
Turf is owing to that barbarous system of racing
from February to the end of November,
which ought to be forbidden by Act of Par-
liament." Discussing the motions to be made at the
Jockey Club, he finds all of them unsatisfactory.
Still he readily admits that something might be
altered with respect to the early working. "It has
been calculated that the early running- of two-year-
olds, is the least expensive system of training ; it
either pays the bills by winning stakes, or it opens
the eyes of the owner to the demerits of the animal
which he hastens to get rid of. In a commercial
point of view it is the quick return that pays—the
world is governed by R. s. d., and racing men
are unfortunately not exempted from this human
frailty."