Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1853-01-22
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~ 4. fN ~, ~ ---HrlAFtRA ~ F-S
What gorgeous spets Gle is presented by Catholi-
cism at Rome; especially when arrayed in all it's
magnifcence, for the ceremonies Of the Settirnana
Sameta; Holy " Week; y and Saint Peters. in itself a,
world of solitary grandeur, becomes suddenly
populous; for the ~visiters who throng its aisles at
ordinary seasonsi the devotees who kneel at the
Confessionals, or attend mass in its retired recess
ses,-the grand altar being reserved for some sta
ted celebIaton,-or the %yotaries who. PROSTATE
themselves before its marble Saints, are lost, or
scarcely perceived; insits immensely; and,&even,a
on this occasion, which appeared to collect the
inhabitants of a large city under its dome, there
was yet room, and to spare.
In spite of our prepossessions, there is something
very imposing in such a temple as th~is-something
substantial in this evidence OF devotion, which ell
~levates our ideas of Deity, and is favorable to our
conceptions, of the majesty of Him to whom it is
dedicated. It's very ~vastness is mathematical, and
the insignifcance of his creatures, who appear like
pigmies among its colossal proportions, and loiter,
disregarded among the splendors that enrich, and
wonders of art that adorn it, serve to hsighten our
amazement' ut the magnitude of a Being deemed
worthy of such an offering. livery much question
whether man does not feel himselfless, in such n
temple as this, though built by human hands, than
that ofthe universe, whose architect is God
Not thai, in the latter, his love for his Maker is di-
unfinished, but that in the former his reverence is
increased. He feels of kindree with Nature, and,
as one of her great family, has a portion in her at
tributes,-nay, has good reason to believe, for it
has been told him by high authority, they were Civ
en- for his use and enjoyment. But here, he can
only be astounded, and has no participation in hon.
ors designed not for his attainment; honors as dis
tinct from his lot as he is, himself, from the inami-
mate substance ofwhich they are composed, and
which have baen made TO assume their forms of
grandeur, grace the beauty, to glonfy One, i'll
hose estimation they are of less account than the
veriest bauble of childhood would be to an earth
ly potentate. Herehe feels himself but part of a
pageant, so stupendous, that his very extinction
would not diminish its lustre, or occasion it TO
showone sparkle theless. Truly, there is some
thing sublime in such n monument of human ado
ration as this; something more than sublime in the
object that could inspire it. sol, -.-H.
On this occasion, however, Nature assisted Art
in rendering the ceremony of the Benedlction, the
prominent feature in the festivals, impressive; and.
though the facade of Peters, and lis noble semi
circular colonnades, extending on each side, en-
closed the spacious area in front of the church, in
which the spectators were assembled. the bright
sun OF Italy was smiling on the delighted populace
OF the Holy City, and her clear blue sky, unche-
quered by a single fieecy cloud, spread over them
a canopy they might almost call their own; while
her soft genial air, playing the arcades, or minglins
with the flashing fountains, Art had introduced,
but which Natur's limpid waters made animate
and melodious, became vocal, as if
"To testify his hidden residence"
1t was estimated that upwards of thirty thou
sand persons were here united, not to celebrate the
adventof worldly power, or to swell the pomp of
temporal distinction, but, with human perception
OF majesty, thus TO honor, in the person of his vice
gerent, Him in whose eyes the universe is q speck.
and man an atom, who weighs, in the same impair
tlel balance of sincerity, the prayer of solitary and
humble devotion, and the loud hosannas of conrre-
gated worshipperS. .-r...
Although the Vatican adjoins St. Peters, and is
tho nominal and official residence of the Pope; the
citadel whence have Illuminated the canons that
have so alton agitated the world; the atmosphere
in its vicinity is frequently so insalubr;ous that
the actual abode of the Head of the Church is gen.
orally on Mount Quisenal, one of the seven hills
of ancient Rome, about twomiles distant, where a
suitable and sumptuous palace is provided. The
streets leading from this to the Church, were SAN
NNNt NH' NV "hiAo aLu "lluO"S Vi II HOUSES
hung with tapestry, and crowded with anxious
faces watching the progress of their Holy Sover-
eign. The intention of the first was TO relieve him
from jostling over the stones, in the antiouat.d
vehicle which bore his reverend person, aud one
or two favored attendants; and which, though COW
cred with gliding and ornament; and drawn by
horses whose sober pace suited the %solemnity of the
procession, had none of the comforts and applian-
IpAc of rf
IN nothing the commodities of our times, and il
better described by lkcning it the conveyance that
bore the family of the Duke to the Wappingschaw.
III Old mortality, or to the prints of the Lord May
or's equpage which illuStrateithe ~story-of Whiting.
ton and his cat, than any representation my hum
Die pen can make of it. But it was in admirable
keeplng with the occasion, and had an air of an
tlque and quaint Splendor about it that relieved it
from the imputation OF ~frippery. 1t told of ages
long gone by, when the successors of St. Peter had
learned another lesson than was taught them by
theii lowly master, and 10 adopt the tinsel of the
world as an instrument of rule more potent than
its notifications. In vain the sandalcd monk has
preached, the Reformer denounced, the Coyenon.
ter condemned,-the cross, the hair cloth, and the
penance ale reserved for the cell, and the Deyotee.
but Religion becomes enamored of power, and has
her pomp and circumstance to engage him. Hand
IN hand, they marched on tllis memorable day, for
soldiers guarded every avenue, and a troop of no.
bles, whose equipments might have rivaIled the
BODY guam OF Saladin,-whose meanest members
boosted the title of Marquis, followed in the path
OF MN who came, in the name of his great Soyer-
elgn, not mounted on an ass, or clothed in humil-
lty' but rich IN attendance and attire, and surroun-
ded by military display, to proclaim peace and
good will to man, while the thunder of artillery
from the adjoining castle of st. Angelo, converted,
in the strange mutations of Time, from the tomb Of
a Roman Emperor, into a christian fortress. an
nounced the approach OF the Servant of Gcd 70