Middletown transcript., 1871-02-18

most ignorant Of those whom they conduct
through the narrow passage The fact
that they were rywhcrc occupied us
places OF ourial, makes it more improbable
that they were much used ns places Of
worship. Not thousands, but hundreds
Of thousands were laid to sleep their las,
sleep. For miles the long corridors are
lined with nitchcs for the dead, and, in
some cases, with the remains Of the dead.
had several times been in the Ca,a-
combs uudcr the Church Of St. Sebastian,
then as far us the old monk consented to
act as guide, and as far, probably, as he
was familiar with the windings of the
way. beyond which it certainly was not
safe to venture, us a single turn nigh,
bewilder any one and lead him into an
endless laby yrnth. \ Rom'sh ccelesas'ic.
who was visiting Rome to be present Mt
the Council entered at the same t,.nc With
our party but he soon became alarn.cd,
and cntreaicd us not ta 90 farther, as VT
must needs keep together to have the SER
vices of the guide. The passages are
very narrow, not more than three or four
On each size and throughout their whole
extent the; are lined with inches, or
shelves. cnt into the wall one above an
other aud usually four or five in height.
in each Of which there was just room for
II body to be laid lcngthwisc. The from,
Of the niche had been closed with long
slab Of terra Gotta, cementcd. Occasion
aly marble had been used. with an in-
seripton. containing some motto or sym
hol expressive Of the wish or hopes Of the
living for the dcl These inches are now
nil tcnantless anl opcu. but We could see
where the dead had been rcposing. The
inscriptions are preserved elsewhere rs
relies Ono Of the long halls Of the Va
lican is lined Hith the marbles taken from
these tonbs Travellers now visit the
CiJacombs rs halls deserted even by the
dead
llavin. often heard that the fa,ncombs
connected with the Church of - .gncsc,
in another part of the rampagna. were
much more IN !bc state in which they
were discpvrtui, | felt strong desire to
visit ihem. bu, it was said e. be impos-
siblc to gain admission. \ large party.
however, was formed, nnl through the
perseverance Of Que II our number. an
American lady 20 whom even cardinal
could not say nay We were granted ppr-
mission 10 entyr We spent "A largo part
of the morning wlieh hal bccn appointed
for the vi.ii N wandering through these
silent vaults, which. unllSe the others.
are still iilcd With the crumbling remains
Of the early coniassnrs %: the Christian
faith The uHcaiatiuns are mnra morr
regular aud On . larger scale than thoso
which We had previously y seen. lnstea J
of being more unsafe, as they are gem
orally supposed tu he, thcy are less liable
10 crumle and fall The rock in which
the excavations are made is more solid.
allowing the passages To be- cut with more
cxnc,ncs.. sul they run often to 4 great
distance IN right lin, The sonis are
yaulici with regularity, and the sides ru,
perfectly square The same inches occur
! Ms in the other Cstaramb bs and rise above
one another to the mum or Of five or six.
but they have not been rilcd cxccptiu. TO
remove the slabs anl inscriptions, The
bones Of The dead by hr ndrcds ani even
thousands were lying where they were
deposited sixteen or eighteen centuries
ago, Occasionally they were in n state
of preservation aud not nufrcquenily were
covered with II mineral deposit from tn
drippings of thc rock above. which had
assisted in Keeping them entire in many
eases it seemed TO have produced sort Of
pctriiicatinn, but generally, where the
form of a bone appeared, the slightcs,
touch would cause il In sink like some.
thing altogether unsubstantial fire.
qucn,ly observed, near the head of the
ninchc. the cup. --nr the glazed spot il,
the cement where it had stood. which
has been supposed to have contained the
! blood Of the martyrs; but the use is not
| known. As in the other Catacombs a
large portion cf the inches were small, in.
dicating that they had been the burial
places of children. Sometimes it wsuld
appear as il n family had been buried to-
gcthcr and entire. there being two large
graves with several smaller surrounding
them After walking for long time
through these halls. Some seventy feet
below the surface Of the ground and hav-
ing entered several chambers painted
rudely in frcsco. We asccndcd to another
story, but not to the light Of day. These
passages are generally two or three stories
in height but seldom have any intercom-
munication. The air is exceedingly dry
and temperature higher than that Of the
air above but after time it becomes sti-
fling. although there is nothing unpleasan,
in other respects. II appears 10 be per-
fcctiy pure. One may spend hours in the
Catacombs and experience ho other un.
pleasant sensations than those arising from
the narrowncss Of the place and the con,
6ucment of the air Even this Ia less dis
agreeable than the damp chillincss Of mos
Of the churches Of Rome.
The Inscriptions which we're found upor
the marble slabs with which the niche
we're closed are an interesting study, an,
may be see at any timc in the main en-
trance TO tho museum Of the Va'icnn
I % a