Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1868-09-04
e5eneral Sntelliaemtr-
ROME IN THE AUGUsTAN ERA.
Life and manners in the Eternal City

rife and Manners in the Eternal Sity'
The streets OF Rome were not at all
stro;gbt and were besides cluttered up
with ali sorts of stalls, gToggeries, ana
vvorkshops. TO the utter discomfort ana III
convenience of the promenGders OF them.
..AIl Rome. ~ saws Mastial, Us nothing out
an immense tavern, where MERGERS anu
traders of every description, butchers' mn
keeDers and BARRIERS so possess themselves
of the streets as everywhere to mask anu
cucumber the sills of the hoIlses Inc
Prsator. as well as the common cltlZen' was
compelled to ampthrough mnd ana aihla
the flthiest sheds and tenements. lhere
IS constant excitement In the streets,
owing to the immense crowd, coihposeu "a
apopulatiOn living out OF doors, ana OF
Strangers fiocking into the city from all
narts of the world. Rents, as nowadays
In CONT CITY, were four times as hlgh as
anvxhere else. Noise and tumult greeted
the ears necessarily day and night nor
ace complained OF It, and delighted 10 gel
awey into the country.
a; early dawn the bakers began TO Dawi
ont bread. school children to spell IN emo
rus. saws and hammers to clatter III the
workshops, carts to jolt along over the mas
sive slabs Of the pavement, Loaded Win
timber and stone, and animals charged
with heavy burdens to press agalnst anu
iostle the pedestrians flckpockets anu
beggars abounded, and professions OF
chanting priests, hawkerS OF peanuts and
smoking sausages yelled in concert, and
Ioud cries issued from within the walls OF
the TEMPLES: add to ali this, the rafting OF
travelling and huckster vehicles, which seem
10 have been considered great nuisance,
and which were prohibited froIa cltcnlit-
mo during certain hours, and We have a
pretty good idea of a daylight scene Ia
Rome. At night ali was still and dark;
or. at all events, the hubbub was OF a dii-
ferent character. Insecurity was great eve
ryvhere and at all hours Robberles ana
assassinations were very common and Went
UNPUBLISHED Young men delighted IN noe
turnal adventures. Other dangers were
imminent in the shape OF Ordure dropped
from windows and apertures, loose MES
dropping from thereof, and cracked earth
enwaIe smashing ON the pavement below
and on the heads of passeTs-by.
Other and constant peTils menaced the
inhabitants of Rome. Houses were badly
built and badly kept. House spectators
were as numerous and as irresponsible as
IN New York. Everybody tined to build a.
cheap and as fIail as possible. So negli-
gent we've their constructors that the
houses were marked by oracksand crevlces,
and always in danger OF falling. Most -
Cur misery" SAYS Seneca. is due 20 our
roofs" Even III the great palaces decor
eted with paintings, everybody frequentIng
them stood in dread, and ready to scsmpeT
at the first intimation Of weakness. Houses
frequently c1umbled and buried THEN in
mates. 10 these features OF insecurity
must be added frequent confagmtions, and
occasional earthquakes, inundations and
famine.
Roman senators possessed vast estab
l:snments throughout the Italian PENN
slIa. Every lake reflected palace on its
waters. ana every gulf OF the sea vas over
locked by one OF their villas. immense
srects Of land we're cultivated by captiyes
of eli nations. Every grand mansion nth
its thousands Of slaves and freedmen,
formed q small township capable OF self
support. One Of these splendid habita-
ticns in the city Of Rome. with its pianta-
ticns Of Italian pines, piantalns, and lau-
rels. its baths. poIticOs, and wide avenues,
and numerous fountains, might be COM
pared to a great city. Senators of the sec
cni rank enjoyed fortune OF 300, 600 ana
$500. eco per annum. The fortune OF Fliny
the Younger amounted to q very large sum,
ali Of which seems TO have been bequeath-
ed 10 friends and the public IN the liberal
spirit of q modern mllhona1Te-the town
Of Como fer instance. being endowed with
a library. q school for the education OF
pctn sexes, a public bath, and sum
equal to S100, 900 with which to regaie the
entire population
Rome possessed schools and school
teachers. The life of an instructor was
hard one; the duties were burdensolne and
the compensation light. Schools were
opened before daylight. The master was
II. ~1n-, ha 1-l-
smith or weaver, and to breathe the effiuvia
of the lamps brought by the pupils-the
smoke of which blackened the busts of
Homer and Virgil placed In the school
room The stick and cat-'o-nine-tails
served to maintain order. Not less painful
was the life OF client,-a dependent upon
some rich and powerful man of the upper
class. A pitiful stipend of fifty cents a day
had to be earned by ienoble service, the
most essential OF which was to visit his
patron before dawn and pay him homage
The poet Martial seems to have been one
of these victims, and all he asks as re-
ward for his verses is. Ito have a night to
himself TO sleep, the impossibility of OBJ
tanning this privilege together with other
yexations, finally driving him out of Rome.
Work of course was done by the slaves,
and labor was considered as ''ungentle-
manly"
A DAYS occupation for Roman citizen
consisted principally ofhonoIing birthdays,
weddings, visiting the sick, attending faes
and trials, supporting and congratnlating
candidates for office, acting as witness on
the innumerable and tedious ceremonies at
tending the bargainings wills and funerals
of friends; and, worst of all, poets invita-
tlons TO hear the reading of their last effl-
sion, which, as Juvenal SAYS We're more
dreaded than the crumbling, or the con-
slant conhagration. Lawyers and physic-
ians seem to have been the most independ-
ent among all classes of citizens. the lat
ter being generally strangers and. under
julius Cesar, endowed with the freedom OF
the city on establishing themselves in IT,
Patients, ii seems, placed more confidence
in Strangers. most OF the physicians at ons
time being Egyptians and other orientals
Fashionable doctors were richly remunerat
ed by the aTistocracy. Pliny mentions
case in which 200, 600 sesterce $50, 900
were stipulated for as a recompense to tn,
physician succeeding in cure. GalenI
received for the cure of a consuls wife 81,
eco. One physician died leaving a foTtun'
of over $500, 600, after having rebuilt tn
walls of his native town, and executing
other works not less costly" A surgeon i
fined $500, Goa sum which he regains
however, in a few years, during his exii
among the Gauls, and on his return {.
Rome"