Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1873-11-25


and half in silver. Through the chinks and
crevices poured the brilliant rays of the moon,
casting black shadows about, but also diffusing
soft and gentle twilight through the long vistas
and arcades. | sat awhile among these sur
roundings with my thoughts roaming far back
into the past, when the object of my ramble oc-
CURED to me and l rose and bent my steps to-
ward the Colosseum, entered and mounted a
narrow flight of stone steps. Soon found spot
where | could command full view of the en-
tire interior OF the edi6ce, which lay spread out
beneath me In so SOFT so indefinite ustre,
half shadow, half light, so hazy and myster
Gus that to me it appeared rather like a
reflection on the bosom Of some enchanted lake
| than any earthly reality. [ sat thinking, call
ing up 10 my mind all the wonderful specta.
ces witnessed by these historic and sacred
walls. imagined it filled with the people of
the past. Lo motley crowd of phantoms
thronged the seats; matrous and virgins
priests aud soldiers, ictors, and the igladiators
'butchered to make a Roman holiday" Caesar
| (Domitan) and all bis minons, and the wild
and painting beasts not more blood-thirsty than
the human beiogs that looked down upon them.
All were there, distinctly visible to my fancy
OILY shadows, faint, misty gleamings, creations
OF moment which presently faded away, leav-
| ing the huge blood stained arena more dreary
and more desolate than ever. All the seats
empty and crumbling to dust-all deserted, SOL
ltary in the great, wandering, sad moonbeams,
the deep shadows and decaying walls. Far
| away through the rents in the masonry could
be seen the golden cross of St Peters church,
gittering high up In the sky-higher far than
was ever raised any trophy of paganism. His
word has prevailed, and within these walls,
| amid the hideous yell of an in.uriated mob
and the shouts of ferocious people, never
more will the hunted Christians soul wing its
| flight through the bloody portals of martyrs
death to Lite.
| do not know how long would have sat in
| dulging my reverie amid such quaint surround
| ings and beneath such moonlight, had not a
| huge owl, that was perched above me, given
| vent to one of the most unearthly boots that
ever fell upon mortal ears, that not only thor
oughly aroused, but also terribly frightened me
| for few moments | got up looked up at the
| owl, shook one of my feet that was asleep, and
walked down into the arena, strolled around In
it and looked at the fourteen small chapels
erected 10 remembrance of the Christian mar
tyrs and then went and stood In its centre at
the cross that has upon 1t much venerated
image of crucifed Jesus, five feet high, the
kissing of which gives twenty days indulgence
I must tell you something Of the history of this
grand old pile that has stood SO long and SO
much of which is still standing, apparently de-
fying the ravages Of time The Colosseum, or
Faqian Amphitheatre near the Baths of tt
tus, is one of the Oldest as we'll as one of the
best preserved ruins of Ancient Rome. 1t
embraces space of six acres On the site of the
pond In Nero's Golden House. 1t was built in
the latter part of the first century Of this era,
or about the year IS, A. ID. 1t was three years
in construction. 1t was erected by Vespasian
and other members of the Flavian family, many
Jewish captives (12 2,000) being employed 1t is
difficult to conceive OF the great amount of labor
and the vast supply of material required in the
perfection OF its gigantic proportions 1t is
constructed with broad, thin bricks, cetnented
with composition hard as stone and then
faced With stone blocks 1t is over 900 feet 10
diameter from wall to wall and between 1900
and 1900 feet in circumference. with height
varying from 100 to 100 feet The arena is near
300 by $50 feet, being oval-shaped like the en-
tire structure. The exterior is composed of
three stories of arches, and each story cou DOS
ed of 80 arches, with the same number OF half
columns; the whole Of the edIfce was crowned
by an entablature, adorned with pilasters and
windows the style of architecture varies at
each tier the first being Doric, the second
Ionic, and the third and fourth .Corinthian.-
The arches of the first tier are marked with
Roman numbers as they formed so many entran-
ces, through which, by means of internal stair
cases, the upper stories were reached Some
half dozen Palaces and fine extensive landing
along the banks of the TIber were built with
st ne taken iron Its walls at different times
before several of the Popes in the past centu-
ry began to preserve 1t as an interesting ruin.
This mighty work of an age of barbarlsm has
often held within Its vast dimensions over one
hundred thousand spectators 10 witness deeds
of cruelty and bio 'dshed. Within its arena,
many thousand human beings aud wild beasts
cd hQ tbo +hor
and it was here also that thousands of the
early Christians suffered martyrdom. becoming
the prey of the wild beasts. The arena had
two entrances, and all around apertures enclosed
by ratings Of bronze, from which the gladia-
tors and the wild beasts entered. Above was
the Rodiuns, place intended for the emperors
and their families, for the magistrates, the sem
ators, the Priests and the vestals To get
good view and to fully enjoy the imposing spec
tacle which this ancient and historic monument
presents in the interior, you will find it necessa
~ to ascend to the highest part, where you can
look down upon all the wreck that time has
wrought with pillars. arches, columns and steps
of stone; you will see that all are covered with
weeds and grasses, and festooned with creepers
and fowers-wall-h0wer ,anemones, ferns, &c.
the inseparable drapery of mourning, tenacious
ly clinging to the home of the dead, trying to
shade the lack-lustre eyes, helping to smooth
the sunken cheeks and bioding up the chin that
hangs so loose with these last sad acts of chari-
ty, these mourning weeds and flowers will ever
keep green part that is dead, dead, dead
they will entwine themselves in and about
this olden relic, supporting it all they can and
only falling when it shall fall
The Colosseum impresses a stranger who
looks upon it for the first time. not only with
the grandeur of it's proportions, the state of
| its preservation and all its present existence as
stern, tangible reality; but also with the an
| tlqulty OF It's strange and varied history, all
those scenes aud associations so indissolubIy
connected with and illustrating the WAYS and
| times of old Rome. 1t was founded in that
fierce age of barbarism 1t was conception
that sprang from the restless, cruel, brain of
warlike race, whose sources of amusement and
| recreation. when not warning abroad, naturally
sought sports at home that were bloodthirsty
| and exciting and conducted on a grand scale,
receiving the full encouragement and hearty
approval OF all its people, the proudest the
| best In all the land, warriors and statesmen.
| patrlclans and pleblans, men, women and chill
| dren. We can tax our Imagination to picture
| that immense throng, assembled for the first
time within Its mighty walls, awaiting the
| bloody drama to be enacted In its arena 1t is
recorded as having been inaugurated by games
which lasted hundred days and in which 5000
wild beasts and many thousands of gladiators
were killed and for hundreds of years that fol-
| lowed this terrible Inauguration served as
the general type, showing the nature and char
acter OF the many exhibitions that innumera-