The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1860-07-19
A PICTURE OFROME.
~ MRS. HARRIr r BEEcnEa STOWE.

sad old city--Sad somber it must ALWAYS
br-with its moldcring ruins, it's wide
surrounding Ca,npagna---and its dark ey
ed, poetic looking people. whom even
dirt and rags cannot make vulgar or
common place. went to the top of the
Capitol the other morning. II was clear,
lovely day, and as we stood ia the little
stone balcony of the crowniny tower, the
cus'ode counted out to u the seven hills
OF Rome-now scarcely to be distlnyu>h-
ed,covered with buildings We saw how
the old city had been cradlcd on all sides,
like some gigantic infant, in a circle of
surrounding mountains, which, rising
now in snowy, silvery cearness, seemed
to cut the blue horizon all around.
In the spring of the year, the snow
upon these 'nnuntains gives them, ,throug h
the the purple vail Of Italian air, all the
picturesque and dreamy grace Of Alpine
peaks Their outlines are, many Of them,
peculiarly bold and graceful; aud one
look. on them with interes, because they
are features Of the landscape tha, could
not have changed. Such as they are to
tnlS ulOEhlhH, SUCH they 14nkeu tn
Ctccio uuu H-'re;i .nu ~ Ceos.
thousands of eyes now shut forever.
One thing strikes one in panorama of
Rome-thc deficiency in tres AS one
stands on the top Of the Capitol nothing
like foi'uye strikes the eye in that great
circle of country, bounded by mountains
and centered by Rome. No sroves-no
torests-no tuit Of trccs-oak, ash. pop
lar, and consequent variations Of undula.
ting outline. There are but two trees
which u,ake much impression on ones
eyes ia the picture aud these are the
cypress aud aud stone pine, and both
have rms Of such stony deGuiscness Of
o,tliue, that | call them ar,httectural
trees. They look as if they too might
have been carved out Of stone. like the
pyramids obcIisks. and domes among
which they rise, black aud STILL with no
sway Of leaf or spray, with no Aut:er or
wave OF bouyh, quiet and lifeless, as if
they belonged to that ENCHANTED city one
reads of in romance, wlere everything
was suddenly turned to spne.
To me the sense Of an oi oppressive dead.
ness, u heavy lifeless stiles., seems to
be the general spirit of It's lnndscapc-
as if some awful doom, sSne spell of sin.
lister enchantmcnt, mada the air prefer
naturally heavy, as one sometimes feels
it before thunder ssdm. From the
Capitol one looks dowp at the broken
columns Of the Forum below at ones
feet, and tie endless tr3n Of workmen
digging all day among Ehe ruins, and
wheeling their barrowslin slow line
toward the Coliseum, ,seebs sort of spec
trail proc"ssion-so lifelksly they work,
so slow y they move, }eir ragged old
cloaks still thrown ovef their shoulders !
in ghostly suggestion ol the old Roman !
toga, Ruins of mcn-@adows of Rom
ans-dark-eyed, ha!low Ecckcd, picking
aimlcssly at the grave d old Rome, pow
erless aud unrefecting live cents day
their wages, aud their xrk auccrd'uS.-- =,
There they pick feebly Ger spots where ,
the old hard handed plelians Of fome
made good their cause many hard
election. bringing II thcI,ribunes ofthe
people in the face of al that patrlcian
rank and power could do Surely these
are ghosts Of Romans in shostly forum.
The coloring that NESTS the whole
landscape of Rome is Of hat wonarous
bri yhtness, that golden rihness Of tone,
which almost reconciles oe to the want
Of freshness and green, all Of that vivac-
GUS motion which pervacs IN English
or American landscape.
The peculiar oranscsolored lichen
which clinss to buildins here gives u
golden tone to every rof, and the air
shimmers at every hour the day with
fluttering prismatic lists and warm
shadows Even the blac obelisk Of the
cypress and the umbrel,.shaped stone
stone ;ine have their oplescent chang.
,ngs Of purple, lilac, aud Old as q morn.
ing or evening foods thes with Light
One does MT wonder tha artists fall in
love with old Rome--the mistress Of en-
chantmentS-and that thy say to her, in
rags, in filth,in i-nonliny," Thou art my
mistress. l would not hange thee for
the cleanliest aud sweetest good house
wife in the world" Oneonly wants to
to drop humanity out Of their oalcula.
ton, to live merely in a, artistic and
picturesque, to feel thus themselves -
One feels the enchantmens working-thc
weird old sybil tells upon you.
| But let IA come down from our airy
perch on TIE Capitol, and descend bodily
into tho Forum below. Fifteen feet BE-