Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1873-07-22

monuments OF her former glory. She can
never again be great commercial city. The
Tiber no longer swells under the prov of mer.
chantmen, for her springs are dried up and
the sluggish stream remains, like Rome her.
self, only TO mark the spot. M
But we must come down from the lofty
heights of the Eternal City's former great
ness, lest in our soaring flight, we become be-
wildered and plunge headong from the sub
lime to the ridiculous. Shattered fragments,
broken columns, tottering walls, moss-grown
ruins. faded glorics, etc, etc, are all very
fine to talk about and perhaps to read about,
but we can have too much Of them even. Art
enthusiasts, antiquarians, relic hunters, and
those book worms who have delvcd so much
in musty history that they cannot bear the
light of to-day, but prefer, like owls and bats,
to futter among the cobwebs, may in
Rome the realization of their fondest dreams !;
but we have yet to feel any very great admit
ration for this old rubbish. On the contrary,
we almost hourly thank our lucky stars that
we are not Romans, but Americans, prouder
than ever of our heritage, since we have wit
messed the waning lustre of kingly power and
the glittering peagentry and vulgar show with
which it strives to please the people and cover
its rottenness
Coming down to realities we find that this
city is tremendously hot: The sun glares
down upon you like ball of fire, and a
very little OF it will last for long time.
| We are decidedly of the opinion that we made
- grand mistake in delaying our visit here,
instead OF coming just as fast as steam would
take US after our arrival in Liverpool. What
with intense heat by day and poisoned air by
night. so that it is hardly safe to venture out
during the twenty four hours. Rome is a place
rather TO De avoided than much sought after
at his season of the year, if one has much
regard for comfort. This is ST. Johns Day,
and about everything, except the churches
aud hotels, is shut up; no guides are to be
had, aud We are left with nothing to do but to
kill time in writing letter to our far away
friends. May they endure the affection kind
ly and think of the ''lnnocents abroad" with
charity.
/ What incessan, jingling of bells in all these
European cities, especially those in Catholic
countries Even town clocks cannot refrain
from joining in the general din, and humbly
content themselves with striking the hour,
but they must sound the alarm night and day,
every fifteen minutes, and even then they are
not satisfied with one bell to hammer upon,
they must have at least three: one, two,
three, fifteen minutes past; one, two, three,
four, five, six, half past; one. two, three,
four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, quarter to.
1t puts q person quite out of his American
wits and common sense. These incessant
bells, these ince ssant beggars, this incessant
jabber in foreign tongue; to say nothing Of
the distraction caused by trying to straighten
out your accounts, trying to remember how
much franc, a Lira, a centime, a centessimi,
a sou, a solidi, Napoleon, a shilling, PEN
ny, u farthing, pound, a crown, or guinea,
may be in American greenbacks-trying to
sleep at night with mosquitoes and other DOM
este creditors bothering you-trying to sleep
in the morning with braying donkies, barking
dogs under your window, and carts rumbling
over the stony street. We hope, however, that
we shall survive it all Though we are not GER
tain what the result will be when we get into
Switzerland, Germany, and Holland, each
with its additional distractions to torment u.s.
and have the pleasure of reading Mark Twain
once more, under our vine and fig tree,
, for we certainly don't have time or inclination
: to do any reading (beyond our guide books
e under foreigners vines and fig trees. We
e suppose America is right side up with care
s we take it for granted that the Republic still
!, lives, but beyond that We rarely venture. We
shall try never again to make sport of the
r poor foreigner who visits our shores, but re-
: member the days when we were strangers in
=, strange land, and try to help the poor fellow
n along, without even asking him in accents
e wild for ''beer money"
e We have noticed some novel, probably an
; tique, ways of doing things here, such as
watering the streets with tin sprinkling pot,
J or with a cart having piece of hose behind,
l which boy swings from side to side as it
passes on. Perhaps it is cheaper to hire a
! boy than it is to make sprinkling tub. We
, also saw hand organ on wheels-we think
t that Italian must have been in America. The
materials and methods of building houses
here are quite different from our own. The
bricks are OF very poor quality, generally
quite white, and of almost every shape, though
2 mostly very thin, broad, and considerably
longer than our bricks. They are never left
exposed, but always covered with cement or
e mortar, and are frequently laid in such a
g manner that when plastered over, the build
l.. ing looks as though it was constructed OF
i stone with round projecting edges. Usually
n the centers of walls and piers are of rough
n stone while the corners and edges are of brick
y which are more easily fitted than stone would
= be in those places. The object is economy,
Il and that is probably gained by this union Of
d the two building materials. The bricks being
It of such iversity in size one would suppose
l. the mechanic would find considerable difficult
It ty in keeping, the line, but that trouble roub-
les the Italian very little--ihn brick thick
i mortar; thick brick, thin mortar. In France
!. they economist clay and Tighten their bricks
+ by making them hollow after the manner OF
a the fues in an engine boiler, half dozen
: holes running through from end to end. They
c appear to answer every purpose, and are GER
tdiuly less Ciuilsy 10 Hhuule anu less llaDle To
e dampness in the walls. In England most OF
d the bricks (Which are larger and clumsier
i than our own) are made of a poor quality OF
e clay mixed with ashes or sand, and are gen.
o orally light colored, SO that buildings with
walls built of them resemble Milwaukee
}, houses somewhat They have red bricks, but
j. they come much higher and are comparative
If ly little used. What we call face or pressed
d bricks do not seem to be used at all. Almost
y everywhere the common material for cover
= ing the roofs is tiles, and in London every
: chimney which we noticed had stuck on top
g of it from one to three and even four earth
8 ern tops. From their universal use it would
e seem to be national custom, which once es-
d tablished is rarely dropped. These chimney
tops, piled one above another, of all shapes
and sizes, present a very grotesque appear
ance to the traveller on an overhead London
A railroad, and the oddly is enhanced by the
i queer shapes of the chimnies themselves,
n which are commonly built above the house,
= top with an elbow the prevailing idea seem.
ing to be that they will not draw unless thew