Kenosha tribune and telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1855-1855, 1855-05-31
Foreign corres7ondance Of the Milwaukee sent
Rambles in Europe.-No. II.


Rsme, March 25, 1854
La The silent aud mourhtuf stiffness that reigns
over the seven Hills of Rene, where al! things are
10 decay aud death, no ruin presents SO mGcl,
g's.ndeur aid decay in itsIoasIin rs as The Coli.
scum Here aitstaHgegs learned and unearned
scholars from foreign lands in pursuit ofthe wo,iG's
lore. the gaiiy dressed seeker ofpIeasure m fash
'onahle lie, tie rich merchants on their way to
and from the Orient, the pilgrims from ds.an;
Countries who come heTe TO renew their faith aud
strength .--alt,ay dae. homeage this hxvis than
among the runs Of past ages ..s;.,t.. - d =
Letter writers through pubic journals have Of
ten DESCRIBED it-traveileis have given descrip-
tons IT IL, and eng'svers have copied il time ard
aaH'n. bat no one can appreciate it ST ort of be-
hodHg il with his own eyes, !, Il. f-sg ~.4 e
VITA inspiration, thai fell from his pen,-ofhnw
few OF the poets we can say The .ame, -on brigh,
BEAUTIFUL night, Byrcn wrote on the summit The
following truthful picture: ..,.., s...;s,,sr
~ do remember me that in my youth. m
When was wandeFing-on such night.
stood within the Coi!iseuln's wall,
Midst the chief relics Of almighty Rome
The cFess which grew along lie broken arches
W syed dark in the blue midnight, and the stars
Shone through the rents ofruin; from afsr,
The ws tch dog bayed beyond the Tiber
More near, from out the Cesais' palaces came
Z 1.-The owls long cry: and iHterraptedly,
OF different sentine!s the fiLful song ..., q
Began and died upon the gentle wind.
Some expresses beyond the time worn breach
@ Appeared TO skirt the horizon vet they sluod
Within a bow-shot where the CAESARS dwrll.
And dwell the tnneless birds Of ng.t amidst
grove which springs thfo' levelIed battle,
ments
And twines it's roots around the imperial
1853 hearths, &stA5t~~.sU II ~ r 81 I9atIt.t
Ivy usurps the aurels place of growth;
Butthe Giadiators bloody circus stands,
70 Aabble wreck, in ruinous perfection.
While Caesars chambers, and the Auguslan
halls fs ... ..
Grovel OH earth in indisinct decayr
hope shall be excused in quoting so freely
from fayorite author; but the desc ptions and re
Elections are correct and in unison with my own
feelings that could not resist But the reader
should, finish the authors description which is ,uo
long for me to quoe. A fte he has done so and
reflected upon how much indebted to Rome
Tor Il that Is great IN the arts and sciences in re-
ligion and laws, he will indeed at this desolate
spot with Byron feel and humby bow down
"With sil,nt worship of the great of old;
The dead un~cepterd soverigus. who still rule
Our spirits ftom their arms" ss
According to history the Coliseum was COM
nencedb by Vespasian about 1890 years ago. and
finished by Titus in the wear so, ten wears afier
the destruction ofJerusalem. 1t is said that thou.
sands OF the poor captive Jews were worked in
gangs upon it ami that many of them pined out
their lives here III oppressive labor and with hroL
hearts i'll View of HOPELESS captivity before them.
The orin Of IL is eliipiical. and built of brick
and mat rial called ,ravertine--a sort OF stone
composed o. petlti, d lava This sene is very con
mon all through Italy, showing that at some yar,y
stages OF he world the whole country was volcan-
&c. II has four stories, is l57 feet high 620 feet
the longest way, aud 10 the shortest, and covers
six acres Of land.
The three larger stories are comp ,<ed OF arches
'upported by PIERS faced with halt colu.nns an@' he
fonrth is u solid wall fac ed with pilases. Each
ohernate compartment hes square window. In
each of The lower tiers t.rs there are so arches
The fist tier is 80 fee; high Of the Doric order,
the second is - feet aud Of the lone order, the
third Connthan about the same hegth, and the
fourth also Corinthan Al feet high Above This
running eAar around, was un attic. But the in.
terror ot this vast building must have looked grand
and imposing. with It's $4,000 spectatots---a stiff
cient number TO have prised popuIuus city.
fhe arena was like that OF the main body in the
fo.m OF an eIpsis, 2o1 feet long by loO in width.
From this IN a grad uai ascent 10 the top were The
for the eeople. being four tiers corresponding
10 the stories. These seats fupprsed 10 he
made also with view to accommodate the differ
ent grades In the first story for instance there
rounding the arena was covered gallery IL feet
high and IL feet broad, witch IL supposed II
The Emperor, the Senators aud the vestat virgins
Directly above ano sparaled from it by wall. Were
three eIIer orders OF seats IN aitcs or rooe gall
leries The firse OF der con- aued 81 rows OF seats
rhe different orders OF the mobility Of Roine are
supposed 10 have occupied these seals, whHe the
common people occupied those above, being II $50
srparated from them By wall.
a.. loo Of h., r1,,r
small ce Is IN which the wild beasts were undoubt-
EDDY confined. Subterranean passages leading to
these still seen.
The state entrances for the solemn PROFESSIONS
were .cm the extre'nites Of the ina or axis. whie
on the other sides there is from the fsquitDe hii'
Il wide entrance, supposed 10 be TIE one IN org
which the Emperor came-oO the opp0sRe sid.
there IS corresponding one from the falatine ail
with u subterranea passage BY many il is thoughi
that the FIRST named entrance was devoted TO the
conquers, and the other through which they carried
the dead ---..- ~.
The object of this building was no doubt for the
exhibition Of gladiatorial spCctacies, the Romans
being fond of such sports as the Empire
waned, il became the theatre ofscruss teo rev,
ing 10 he desc tbed, where hUwan beings were
made 10 contend with lerocioas beasts, and where
CHRISTIAN III food flowed like rivers ofwster. IL is
sad that at It's dedication 5000 wild beasts were
STAIN, aHq mat tHS gaines III HOHoT ol TIE eCCaston
continued enc huudr.d days. go. rs. .
Some four hundred years after the r,ign OF
Honorius, the g'ada;oriat cotnssts were abolished
During the middle ages, Coliseum was used for a
fort Afterwards. dur,Ng the long protrnctet sisge
hy Robert GuiscaId, it su.fe red mach, aid when
il vas tiaaliy taken bv that a~le-s general, who
id not scrupe 10 destroy the Rornsn n,on1anents,
any more ;hau he did the temples OF Paes!uin, the
western and southwestern sides were battered
down. Il
Four hundred years after this period, the Ro-
man Princes supplied thu msclves " tn build ng ma
terSs 10 bu n their palaces, out oil this rum. he
lace Of st. Mark. the Farnh.e and the BatbeFini
pal4ces we're en,irel built from it,
After these operations had been gong on Tor
centuries, the Popes began to think OF turning II
10 some good account for themselves Rope SIX
,us v. undertook to convert its 80 ground arches
int o shops, to be used as woo!en mandatory, bu'
alter spending a large sum gave it up. hun
dr.d wears afterwards. Clement Xt conceived the
IDEA OF turning il mo n,anufsetory Of sal;ietre
hu, alsa abandoned it. But in $50, Beaed CT XIV
entertaining h CHER and more existed notions OF
the fitness OF things consec rated the building 10
tho memory of the Christian martyrs who has
nar,shsd within its wahs- The rubbish which had
accnmn, ated for ag-s was cleared away, and
means taken TO preserve the rum iretn further
d..sc,a,ion from the hand of man, aud also to
-.,-. :: ,-snv ptacss whe re II was lab TO PEI