Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1873-08-12
LETTER FROM ROME.
''PIAzzA DEL PoPoLo," via Corso, I
No. Is, Rome, Italy, July l7th. I

"a letter from Rome sounds
very much like a 'stereotyped phrase" to ears
even less acute than my own, and fear that
| an attempt at such performance will be equal
| y as commonplace, unoriginal and void OF all
interest and novelty. There are very few of us
who have not time and again seen in print and
read letters from this old and classic city, ICON
| tanning, as it does, almost world history, J.
| letters by men of ability, who welded graceful
pens with purity of language and style
graphic, brilliant and interesting. So that now
feel there is task before, me and l ques-
ton in my mind the proprlety of promise /
made you in the extreme thoughtlessness of
youth as | was about leaving that ''little city
amid the bills" couple of months ago. / am
not at a loss for subject. The only trouble
that faces me is there are too many-the only
question is where to begin and how to end
when one tries to cram In a letter all those
grand old monuments and objects of interest
that crowd upon him when he takes up his pen
to write about them or even name in their or
der, for it is not possible to do more than men
tlon their names in one letter, however long it
may be. The field is too broad and the harvest
too great to be gathered in one hour or be-
twixt the grey Of the morn and the shadows of
eve.
Their name it is legion in number and might,
What you see in the day is tenfold at night.
Like the sands of the sea that each restless wave
Casts up to the light from its bottomless grave,
Or the leaves of Autumn that linger and last
But one brief moment when the storm-king has
passed.
You might roam very far and me- er go astray
For the lack of wonders in the "Applan Way"
However, have followed habit of keeping
my promises for more than the fourth of GEN.
tury and will not introduce any innovation now,
even at the risk Of sending you dull, stupid
communication. l have not been in the 'Eter
nal City" week yet, out as my stay here will
mot be long one, am doing" some of the
most interesting objects first. As | have al
ready told you, there is neither time nor
space in letter to describe these objects. So
| cannot do more than mention their names and
the order In which | am seeing them.
My first day here, the 18th of July, | visited
Sc. Peters and the Vatican. Upon first en-
tering St. Peter | was disappointed, and my
expectations of its magnitude and grandeur
were not realized, and | inwardly remarked to
myself, have been in grand old Cathedrals in
different countries of Europe that exceed this.
But my impressions changed before | lett this
wonderful work of man, and after roaming
about for couple of hours among its columns,
arches, naves, chapels, and under that beautiful,
immense dome, readily concluded and conce-
ded that it surpassed in size and beauty any
so elegantly proportioned that the eye does not
take in at once the massive sizs of Its details.
For example, as you enter, there are two small
looking cherubs on the right holding the holy
water basin. | only glanced at them as pass
ed. When | returned and was standing near
them l observed that each OF them was con-
siderably larger than myself Everything is in
the same relative proportion-the angels are
powerful giants, the doves as immense birds of
prey, yet there is complete and perfect har-
mony 10 every arrangement, and nothing looks
out OF shape or symmetry with all the rest. Thus
the lmmeusity and grandeur of this wonderful
edihce presents itself to the eye and then to
the mind slowly and surely and you will leave
impressed with variety of emotions. The
Vatican is an extensive pile. 1t has vast size
and occupies much space, but | was unable to
detect any architectural design or beauty about
1t. 1t appears to have been added to from
time to time by successive architects, who
made 1t general depository for all the odds
and ends of their architectural ideas. The
Popes Palace is here. and here you see his
swiss guards with their circus suits, l. e.
striped yellow and red livery. They are fine
looking fellows, but their uniforms make them
look very ridiculous. The Vatican, In its ear
ler history, was a successive range OF build
ings not connected, but they are now all joined
ing one building, known generally as the Vati-
can, and it is about 1850 feet long and ITO
feet wide, and comprises 20 courts, S grand and
200 small stalrcases, with several" thousand
rooms. There is much to be seen IN the Vatl-
can In the way OF treasure and art. 1t is now
the first museum in the world for variety. eX-
tent and the character OF its works. The Pope
displays much taste and refinement in the ele-
CANT assortment and magnificent collection of
the best works of the old and modern masters.
All of these galleries are open to the public at
certain hours and days of the week.
Ii write you any more about my first day
here, fear | will make a long letter before |
get through with my sixth. So [ will now tell
you more briefly how passed my second day,
on the Capitoline Hill at the Capitol and at the
foot of the Hill where are the remains of the
old Roman Forum. The Capitol with which
the fame and Classic History of old Rome is SO
much identified, so closely allied to, stands on
the slope of the Capitoline Hill. There is not
much left of the Ancient Capitol, except some
of the massive foundations on this famous site.
The modern capitol is series of square Palaces.
In standing here and musng over the past, one
only knows that the old Capitol once stood here
and Its associations crowd upon the mind thick
and fast. There are surroundings here yet that
call up host of thoughts. The Tarpeian Rock
l.
head of the elegant flight of steps. This is sur
rounded by some colossal statues, and in the
centre is bronze equestrian statue of Marcus
Aurelius, placed here In 1888, on the spot
where Arnold di Boercia was burnt. Petrarch
was crowned with laurel on the capitol 9Th
April, l34l, and RlenZl, the last of the tribunes
was killed by the mob while descending the
steps In 1854, seven years after he had been
proclaimed from the same spot, and there are a
number Of incidents too numerous to name here
which began and ended upon this site, inter-
woven as it is with so much that was good and
so much that was bad. Its history is a mixed
one, yet, wlthal, the true stamp of its great
ness has left Its impress upon all time and the
existence OF this history will be c0eval with the
lasting durance of that granite Hill which looks
down upon that old Forum. The Forum is
sadly in decay ; it only has few columns and
pillars left standing-most Of them are lying
prone 10 the dust and rubbish that looks as if it
had been accumulating for thousand centuries
past. AS l sat amid these ruins, | thought of
those noble old senators who had often made
this place echo with their eloquence. There is
no spot in Rome that possesses a grander his
tory than this old Forum, called the Forum
Romanum." as this distinguished it from the
other Forums of which there are quite num-
Der. This Forum has witnessed many of the
greatest scenes in the early days of this nation.
A long line of noble associations lie buried here.
1t was once the very centre (so to speak, of the
| empire, and in that time, that it breathed and
lived, it was the great nucleus of life and busi-
ness in Ancient Rome, being surrounded with
| temples, palaces, columns, statues, arches.
courts OF justice, shops, &c, &C., and some of