Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1873-12-10
f1r rur,esw ROME.

Koxe. October 27.--I have never
- sarrlenced Amore bitter disappoiut.
taent than In revisitiay Roaic
fiudinv the SimproyeuteHts's when
have taken pincc since tho ltsstan
occopation, Rome Nc | know u ten
ysears 6ao has disappea,ed In It's
nlscei ID q bustliDg city that is evcrS
Say rrowsng extremely more like the
Parieisn lmodel which lis ~rcnovators
have Ii mind.
Ia Tho Iirst place, ! md Its streets
cleaned and lighted BY Eas. THIS,
vnu wiiTear, ought not TO aisappoint
onr. Nevertheless IL aocs. How
would Westminsstcr Abbey look
we're Il scrubbed ous with soap AMI
brushes?. The erydiri OF ROME was
an element in its pi~cturesqueness, and
the mighty shadows of It's Mtdaiyht
streets, feebiy lit with g~limmerine
oil lamps, added to the mystery aud
asecfihc majestic city.
) Next I found u railway station In
the heart Of tho city. The locomotive
actually whistles among the ruins OF
the baths OF Diocietian, aud al,
around that once aaist .nd beautiful
spot are ecand-new houses aud shops.
The railroad picrces through The WILLIE
grounds between the Alazza del
'rermini and the Porta MaggiIre, aud
i.tis course has worked the annihi-
iatiou Of the "Ag.cr OF Scrvius,"
which, with the CIoaea Masima, tho
Capi,oiiue foundations. and tue
StaMertiue prison, was one az the
few undoubtcd relies of the k!nsiy
period.
Where converts formerly held their
hundreds Of monks, who were ccr-
taiuly picturesque in their costumes,
and where torchlight funeral process
sions were among the most impress
sive Of Roman sights. there are nav
regiments of huikiug conscripts
whose drums and ,rumpets Keep up
a steady noise that is madIeuing Ii
amy one who lives in the nrighbur.
hood.
The peryading smell in Rome just
now is of mortar aud white wash.
Nearly three thousand buildings ~.
in process ofercctiom. Many of these
are manufactures, and tN sangulnc
Italians from Piedmont, the New
England of Italy, look forward to the
time when Rome shall he u sccund
Birmingham. The new buildings arc
going up for the most part in the
neighborhood Of the railway station,
and those delicious so!itudes, thr
l.udovisi, the Rospeslioso. and other
so-called "gardcns," will soon be
covered with streets of prime and
succeed houses. Not the slightest
concerh Is shown for antiquity bv The
land and building spccula;ors. Their
one idea is TO transform Rome into
another Paris, ami fatty expect To
see them fitting up the Coliseum as u
mandatory for locomotive engines
befor many months.
As for the Government, il con;cm.
plates perhaps,the worst vandalism
of all. The houses OH each side o!
the Tiber are TO be torn down, and
an embankment like that Of the
Thames. fanked by rows Of houses
modelled upon those of the Rue di
Rivoli, with their eXusperating rcit-
Grafton Of ugly arches and meaning
less siucco ornaments. This. IL is
thought. will be a magnificent i'm
provement.
Four years ago I symrathizcd
warmly with those Romans who
longed for Italian occupation. Now
perceive the error Of my ways.
Under the Pope, Rome would have
renamed the natural home Of every
lover of art, antiquity, and the pie
tnresquc. Under the King, i. is
doomed TO become as umintcrcEtirg
and rcpu!sively nav rs Turin Itself.
So bitter 10 my disappointment that |
shall leave the city to-day. after liav.
ing stayed three days instead at six
months, US | had intended ; and | am
almost ready to hope that n French
Legitimist Government will drive
out the Italians and restore Rome to
the "unprogressivo" government q
the Popes. y.