The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1868-03-07
information.
From tlc ADVANCE.
sOslE MND IT'S MBS.
BY MARY +. ATKINSON

Who land the foundations of Rome You
boys and girls, who are studying VJrj R0Atae
and Ancient History, are ready to answer
at once with the story of ROmuus and Remus
But mean the old, old foundations of those sew
en- hills which Romulus and Renus found ready
for their city God laid those foundations in a
very wonderful way, making provision, thou
sands OF years before any thought of build
ing city there, for his prosecuted children, who
would need refuge in the latter days.
The foundation Of Rome is a volcano, extinct
ever since men first lived in Italy, perhaps ever
since men lived in the world Mt all. But now
that biologists have learned to know the signs of
an old, burnt out volcano when they sec one,
they find tina. the Forum is just where the crater
was, and the seven hills parts of the ancient
mountain. This old, old volcano died before
Neouvius was born but it seems to have been
one OF lis ancestors, and to have had some Of the
same habits You know that Vesuvious, on the
23d Of August, A. ID. 10 buried Ponipoii to the
depth Of twelve feet above its house tops with
punice and ashes Now this old mountain, at
some date before any reckoning of ours, disgorg-
ed ashes in the same way only there was no city
there t. bury. Instead OF that, the immense
layers of ashes were themselves buried, nifty or
sixty feet deep; and, long after, Rome was built
over them, great city OF four millions OF inhab-
itants, and more than double the SIZE OF London.
When the early Romans were looking about
for building material, they found places on the
hillsdes where the volcanic ashes cropped out,
and discovered that mixed with lime, they form
ed an admirable cement for building and paving
purposes. The demand for the material inn
lnense, and u large body OF men were employed
in eXcayating the layer OF ashes, and making the
cement Oh course, it could not ali be taken out,
or the city would cave in; so il WIS carefully
excavated in tunnels partially lighted and ven
tilated by holes at regular intervals There are
forty-onc different caverns thus dug out They
e.ll al .ia =
Uudying interest to the Christian world, because
during the prosecutions under the Roman En-
pcrors, when there no spot Of Roman earth
whore a Christina safe, these subterranoan
caves became their inaccessible stronghold
They extended sixteen miles underground far
ther than the explored part of our Mammoth
Cave; and If the passages were put into con-
tinuous street, 1t wOud be nine hundred miles
long. They were two feet wide, and eight
feet h ~ with three rows of berths built into
the We - each side, narrow resting places Tor
the DO OF martyred Christians, or FOR those
who dief IN their hiding-places. These tombs
number about six millions.
The passages open in crypts, or arched cham
bers. Of which there about twelve hundred.
In these were held Christian worship, and with
the slab upon some tomb for a table, the Lords
supper was celebrated Here met the hundreds
of the excaYators, with many men and more
women, OF every degree, from Crispa and Vale
ria, the wife and daughter of the Emperor Do
clctjan, who began the persecution, to the labor
Crs i'll the farms and vineyards in the suburbs.
Food and clothing often let down through
the yentilators to the Christians in hiding there
and many time the body of martyr passed the
Roman Police III the great wine-casks carried
out Of the city TO some Christian vintner, who
would take the honored remains by night through
the secret opening into the CatacoInbs which he
had made, somewhere in his vineyards.
,ha l. Ia fIr;s. 49,.
placed some sacred symbol, most frequently the
Greek cross. as it il called, bat which had no al
fusion to the at all, but was merely the
Greek letter y, Christ's initial, often combined
with the Greek letter Z. They never used the
Roman cross which only the painful memo
rial Of His agony. Another inscription OF fire.
quent occurrence was HIS which is often used
III our churches now, and commonly supposed to
stand for Iesus Homimun Salvador, Jesus, the
Saviour OF men but that is not what the Christ
ians III the Catacombs meant by it, for they gen.
orally added thus: us meaning In Hoe
Signo Ninces. By this sign, conquer A curl
Gus symbol often used was the rude outline Of
fish, which meant TO them, Jesus Christ, the
Son OF God, the Saviour because the word 1ch-
thus, fish, is formed Of the initial letters of
that sentence. Tho tombs OF those who died in
glallatoriat shows distinguished by little
walls Of their blood ccmen;ed into the stone.
They did not call themselves by such names as
now distinguish Christs followers there was no
Catholic nor Protestant then. They did not even
the name Christian, but said, Followers Of
Christ" Children of Cod" Saints" They did
not speak of any Christian as dead, for Christ
abolished DEATH" but wrote, He sleeps" or
"Hor birthday was on such a day.
st Paal was prisoner III Rome Chained as
he was to soldier guards, it is not probable that
he was ever able to meet with the Christians in
these underground chapels, but his Epistle to the
Romans must have been read there, and its deep
truths pondered by men who were shut up IN
these dark cavevns, full of the memories Of the
departed. When St Paul was martyrod his re-
mains were buried in the Catacom6s. Romsh
priests claim that Peter lies there also: but there
is no proof that he ever was in Rome. But there
with that mobile army OF martyrs rests the sa-
cred dust of the apostle Paul.
Just over where he lies, fifty feet above tho
low roof of the crypt, is the high altar in that
magnificent Cathedral of st. Peters, whose Won
derful dome rises higher into the air than even
the Pyramids and is the most lofty erection ever
made by man.
Over the Catacombs, also stands the Vatican,
the Pope's thousand-chambere1 palace whose
buildings, with the gardens belonging to them,
cover as much ground as the city of Turin
Over that silent city of the dead stand palace,
and street, tower and ruin. There is that vast
est ruin OF the Coliseum, which was in Rome
while Vesuyius was yet green innocent hill.
Its master-builder became a Christian was mar
tyrod within it, and is buried in the Catacombs
beneath
Whatever wars and tumults rage in upper
Rome, whatever questions vox her rulers and
disturb Christendon. there is quiet abode,