Middletown transcript., 1871-02-18
popular ltlisfel|ann.
THE CATACOMBS OF ROME.

Few travellers come to Rome without
making IL visit TO the Catacomb, al
though few penetrate far into those dark
and intricate reccsscs. Their origin l.
unknown-at least. there are NO authentic
records OF their excavation. The purpose
for which they were last used the burial
Of the Christian dcSd--iocs uot nccessari-
ly indicate the purpose far which they
were farmcd. It is probable that they
were dug o,e ia order to obtain, for build
Sug purposes. Ike rnieauc sinue aud sand
which uudcriie tts vhulc Eampaena; hat
whcp, or BY whom i is MT kuown The
excavation mas la,t been commenced be-
fore the tiiuc ct the ,acicnt Romans; but
il SO. they were eep.iaued in their day. rs
they contained the :3aterial required for
khc construction af mauy nf their wor =.
il was taken out by quarryins or digging.
peaying only enough 10 sustain the super
incumbent mass Of earth They are OF
great extent. reaching in eScry dir, ctipn
,as far AZ modern research hats extended.
The whole Camragna is hoaescomhrd by
them. Openings occur ia various rltees
and accidents have not hecn lneomnou in
which riders over che Campaigns have hrn-
ken in and sustained severe injury They
are regarded as 50 unsafe. that visitor, arr
taken only through limited pnriiou OF
those connected with the Church of ST.
Sebastian on the Appian Way. The rock
and earth are liable to fall. aud sal Indeed
would be tHe l:atr of those wha should he
buried bcncaa, the falling uiass; aud sal
der yet of ttSse whose rctrest shnuld b.
cut of. while ther we're left 90 wander
hopclesslv. uatil esnp'dled b. wcariness
aud weakness to lie down aud die ln-
deed, the place is act wi,heat incidents Of
this character To excite the apprehension.
Of those who nigh, wish To exceed the
limits which prudcacc has assigned to ex-
animation.
Several years since, school, consisting
Of n teacher aud more than twenty boys.
descended iuto this subtcrrancap city oi
the ancient dead. but aot one Of them TO-
turned to tell what was their fate. The
fall of the earti, over one ef the passager
by which they left the main route. rendered
their escape by the samc way impossible
and although diligcnt search was made
nothing is known to this day Of how Of
where in the vast labyrinth they met thew
death. The Imagination Of every one who
now reads or hears Of their story aud en-.
ters by the stairway that they entered
pictures TO himself scene Of thrilling in
tcrcst which he scarcely has the hardiheod
TO express in words Later still. an artist
resident at Rome entered the Ca,acomb,
alone, bat losing his way. became bewil.
dcrcd, and wandered on aud on, until his
light was extiuguishcd aud he was almost
ready 10 lie down in despair and die; bu
by some means he gained access to the
light Of day. and finally reached it, more
dcai than alive.
The peculiar interest attaching te these
Ca.acombs IL, that during tho early ages
Of Christianity, in the times Of persecu.
tions by the Roman Emperors, they were
the resort Of Christians who fled to these
rcccsscs for safety, and probably to some
extent for worship. Either at this time
or subsequently,. they became Christian
scpulchcrs. and were peopled with vas,
multitude Of the dead. 1t docs not seen
probable that they we're used to any large
extent ~ places Of worship. unless in eases
Of great extremity. There are no cham
bcrs Of sufficient sixe to accommodate any
considerable number, such as Il would
have been perfectly easy to cxcavate, had
tbey desired to hold their assemblies in
!. these retreats. The largsst chamber that
I hssc seen in either of the Catacomb,
vould not hold fifty persons conveniently
Ubile by depositiug the earth or turfa il
the nciehboring passages, and withou
coming out to the light Of day, rooms o
large Dimensions might have been opened
Byeut tho smallest chambers occur bu,
J rarely. In one or two Of them rude eros
ses are erected. and the monks who ar,
the usual guides through the winding pas
saees--say that crosses were found herr