Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1871-03-12
LETTER FROM ROME.
Interesting Account Of Excavations Made
at the F0ot Of the eosllHs Hill BY "a
Their Aull00Iy-Glimpsss Of PrIml-
tive Christianity, Ancient
Art, ETC., Eto.

We have been permitted to make some
extracts from a deeply interesting letter
from Rome, which was receivedinth city
last week. 1t was written by a tourist Of
great ability and learning, and treats of a
subject which has interest for every Chris
tian and classical reader OF history. "One
of the notabilities Of the Eternal City, AZ
present and for sometime past, is the
Reverend Joseph MullOOly, Of the Do
minIcan Order, the same as those at u
st. Peters Church. He is chief Of the
Irish Dominican mOnHstry here, and the
bess specimen of s genuine antiquarian i
ever laid sn eye N. He is chiefly remark
able for his extensive excavations under
the comparatively modern lin your city
IL would be called very ancientl
basilica Of st Clement, the immedi-
ate successor OF st. Peter in the
see of Rome according to Terbullian and
other ancient writers; but others dispute
| this, and say that Linus and Cletus pre-
| coded Clement in the ~bishOpric Of Rome.
However, 1 have nothing to do with that.
/ want to tell you about the long and
notwithstanding labOrs of Father Null
lOoly. q genuine Irishmsn that hss'nt lost
the brOOus during a residence Of forty
+ wears IN the Eternal City. The convent
is a0iacent to the church OF st. Clement,
comparatively modern" 1 call IL,
though it was built in the ninth or tenth
| century, st. Jerome, in his catalogue of
ecclesiastical writers, says that "the name
of Clement is kept up to this daY the
fifth century, by the church in Rome,
raised TO his memory" and this church
"r8ised TO his memory" was built upon
the ruins of an OratOry which he built
himself in his Episcopal place. Now, the
question with Father MullOOly, forty
wears agO-fOr he was a natural antigua
- a. o 90 aLs- hH-NI
church raised to the memory Of Clement"
the first POpe2 In As, Father MulloOly
first cOnjectUred the site Of the ancient
church TO be Immediately under the
modern" basilica of st. Clement at the
foot Of COelius Hill right on the
spot where this Irish monastery of
his is situated. Owing to the rsvO-
lutisn he could then make no researches,
and want Of funds (fOr the Convent is
poor compelled him to postpone his de-
sign until 81. He has continued his sub
~terranean excavations ever since under
the modern" church of St. Clement. He
has dug out 10000 csrt-lOads Of rubbish.
This fact alone is enough to establish the
Herculesn character Of the task he has
been pursuing in the interests of history
and science. I will pass over the long
and toilsOme labor he has gone through,
and the difficulties he has encountered
and overcome, and will merely say hat
he was completely successful.
HE DISCOVERED THE OLD CHURCH
mentioned by st. Jerome and other faith
ers. He has cleaned 1t out. 1 visited It
in his company, III way being lit up by
Old-fsshiOned twisted wax tspsrs, which
we carried in our hands. The interior
walls Of the church are painted all round, !
covered with pictures of various subjects. /
The entire length of the unearth6d basil I
lics is I46 feet, and its width % feet. It
has a nave and two sisles. The nave is
divided from the aisles by two rows Of
columns. These columns are twelve
feet high, imbedded in q wall; they are of
rare beauty, but wanting in uniformity. /
It is pretty obvious that they belonged to
still more ancient edihces-perhsps to pa
gan temples. One of the paintings on the
wall represents the msrtyrdOm Of st.
Catherine, of Alexander. Tn. old style
of writing the name OF a subject under
the piece is found very useful here,
though we modsrns look upon it as
useless. The fact is, we dOn't do things
Tor pOsterity. This picture contains q
brief pictorial history of the m~srtyrdOm
in three parts. There is a recess near this
which contains q painting of the Blessed
Virgin and her Child. Observed Father
MullOOly to me, You will observe the
of the virgin is identical. in its
general features, with those commonly
seen in churches all over the world to-
day" The walls Of the south aisle had
also been covered with paintings, but
most of them had been stfacsd by the cor
hand of time, and dsmpness.
There are still, however, some fragments
left. One is the C~rucihxiOn Of st. Peter,
his head downward. There are also
portions of angels faces, painted with
3onsummate skill. There is a picture
lesl the high altar, representing st. Gle
- n HaH- eLa- - -
20 the people with his hands
spread out, while the words " DOmlnuy
" is written in plain characters
IN the misssl. The altar Is covered with
|. white cloth, and the chalacs and paten
ire seen upon it. The priestIy robes are
the same as those now worn, except
hat the msniple is held between the {
hUmb and f~Or8hnger of the lett hand. {
mother picture represents st. Peter be- [
towing the PGJliLW On st. Clement. This
8 the symbol of universal jurisdiction. {
linus "a Cletus are present at this cers- s
nOny. 6
THE PICTURE OF THE C~RUCIFIXION,
n a plaster at the end Of the nave, is
.eculjsrly interesting, from the fact that
il wss the earliest church picture
f that awful event. It is a very rude 7
nd old composition. On the right of the
is the Virgin stretching out her
as If in supplicatiOn to her SOM
ghile on the other side of the cross stands
E. John the Evangelist. on the same
ilsster is represented the SaviOr's de-
into Limbo to release the souls con-
ned there, until they had been redeemed =
Y Christ. On the right of the high altar .
here is another picture representing the
anne subject, and representing Christ in
be act Of releasing Adam, who, as Father
fullOOly says: "has q look upon his face
yhich plainly says he has been long n
nOugh there" He also pointed out, with i
satisfaction, a picture of the As ii
umption Of the Virgin into heaven in a
be presence Of al the Apostles" n
The writer then goes on into more de- q
about this ancient unesrthed church, q
D which we cannot follow him. He gives =
long and deeply interesting account of
Ow the interchangeable Father MullooIy
managed 70 get funds to raise those one
undred and thirty Thousand cart lOads q
dirt, most Of which was given by tour
is from England and America, the
.mericans being particularly generous. 81
writer also goes into the merits of
10 old architecture Of the church, and
ito the style Of the painting, and gives q
D archaeological dissertation on the mar
les and other stones, and concludes by T
.ying that Father MullOOly is a vigorous
Did young man, full Of energy and
He Is shortly to be moved
ON his old convent and the scenes of his 8
ng and successful labOrs, and sent as a
shop to some diocese in Ireland. Most
the pictures and the whole interior Of
e ~eXCavated church have been photo ST.
aud some of the pictures are now Il
this city. 1t may be necessary to add
st the old church was covered up by an
rthquake, which is said to have Oc-