Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1873-08-12
NUMBER 45.

| Ieaped with his horse and 1t was also here that
Virginia on her way to school was seized by the
Decemvir, Appius Claudius. the worst of the
wicked ten, and here near the temple of Cloa-
Gina, she was stabbed by her father with q
knife snatched from the shambles, and the head
of Appius devoted to the Internal gods But
as am not either writing an essay or history OF
these places, L must hurry on with my letter
and will promise to be even briefer than have
been. My next day and visit in order was to
the Colosseum and the Pantheon. These two
monuments of the past have stood the ravages
OF time better than any of the rest-at this
time cannot begin to write you description
of the Colosseum, or give you any of my i'm
presslons about it. L have been to it several
times and also spent several hours there by
| moonlight. l regard it as one of the mightiest
relics old Rome has left Of her grandeur and
glory.
Much of it is in splendid state of preserva-
tion and it has been supported and kept in re-
pair by several of the Popes, yet firmly be-
lleve that there is much Of the original masonry
OF its grand columns, pillars and arches that
will never fall or succumb to time unless de-
stroyed by man. Already quite a number of
palaces and public works have been built with
stone taken from its walls, but the present Pope
has discontinued this and shown a desire to
keep it in order Speaking of its durability,
do not think that it was any fight of Byron's
fancy when he wrote those memorable lines:
Nv lille stands the Colosseum, Rome shall stand;
| When falls the Colosseum, Rome shall fall {!
And when Rome falls, the worldp
| This vast ruin is an oval structure of bricks
faced by stone blocks, 620 by 5l3 feet from wall
to wall and 1920 feet around. The Arena is 2S7 by
| $50 feet. 1t is from 16O to 200 feet in height.
The capacity was for 100, 900 spectators, sitting
| and standing. As many as 10000 gadiators
fought in the Arena at Trajan's triumph, and
Titus gave wild beast fight of 5000 in one day,
besides sea-fght in which 5000 men exhibit
ed. 1t could be flooded for boats at the naval
fights. It is mighty old ruin. "Nor less had
held Imperial Rome and her attendant realm,
when drunk with power, she ruled with fierce
delight"
have passed hours in that old Arena when
the moonlight was streaming through we'll
| rounded arches and high old windows. Through
cracks and cfeyices where time had forced his
fingers by grand columns and firm pillars and
over that mighty wall as it had done for eigh-
| teen centuries, and for the time my imagination
took wings as | looked upon this ancient mass
of bricks and mortar and stone, of dust and
dirt and weeds and flowers, and then at
''Those gloomy caverns, whence out rushed
Before the innumerable shouting crowd,
The fiery, madden'd tyrants of the wilds,
Lions and tigers, wolves and elephants,
And desperate men more fell"
The Pantheon is also In good condition and
is one OF the most Interesting monuments of
Ancient Rome. This magnificent temple (my
supply OF adjectlves Is so near exhausted that
L am compelled to use the same ones possibly
too often) attracts great share of the attention
and interest of the visitors to r lme not only
from its antiquity, but from Its style and preser-
vation. 1t is simple and does not boast of any
thing gorgeous in its architecture, but it is mas
on1 n 10 of oirouIor oh
splendid Portico which is supported by 16 col
umns of oriental granite of single block with
beautiful capitals. The exterior is quite plain,
and is commonly called here ia Rotunda." The
interior uDites grandeur and elegance. Its d.
ameter is 1872 feet and measures the same in
| height 1t receives light only from the aperture
| which is in the middle of the cupola. There
are several celebrated artists buried here,
among whom is Raphael There are no celebrat-
ed paintings or sculptures in this Church worthy
of any special notice.
L fear that my letter is getting rather long
and l have only told you briefly of the places
that have visited In three days. So now have
concluded toaabandon my plan of telling you
little about what | saw each day and will only
mention the names OF the places. | would not
like to weary you, or your readers, simply by
consulting my interest and taste In these mat
ters and fondness l may have for scribbling
about them. AS l have told you before, any
one of these places is worthy of long letter or
even volume-and to write "A letter from
Rome, it would be quite objectionable not to
name them at least, and say something in their
praise and honor. My humble mite amounts to
just nothing, yet they all have inches in the
temple of my memory that will stand as long as
that memory shall know its own, aud many of
my best thoughts shall be woven into garlands
for their worthy brows
The thraa dagS' siOht-coaipr fbot T oanoo4
comment upon In this letter were as full of in
terest to myself as those l have named. I
only speak Of them and call the names of the
places in the order | visited them
spent day among the Catacombs, of which
''Catacombe d S. Callisto' is the largest and
most extensive. 1t is said that about
| 10000 Christians were buried in this ONE
There are several hundreds of these Catacombs
| and 100 900 bodies are deposited 10 them.
| have passed one day here in the galleries
of the Capitol and the Borghen Palace, among
| the vast collections OF art and treasure, such
as paintings and sculptures, &c. [ have spent
another day outside the city, where the ruins
OF Ancient Rome are to be seen in every direc-
| tioD. ALI of them show that they once existsd
upon the greatest and most extensive scale, full
| worthy OF that time when Rome was the mis-
| tress of the world" Every step that one takes
| is upon classic soil, and almost every object
and renown.
Ifyou will excuse me this time for only send
ing you the faint outlines of a poor picture
| for grand subject-only charcoal sketch of
the sublime original or caricature to cause
you to smile-I may at some time in the fu-
ture entertain you better.
l will be here several days longer and then
leave for Naples. | have only been in Italy
two weeks. and [ have had a delightful time.
notwithstanding the excessive warm weather.
l stopped in Turin only one day; several days
at Florence; also spent couple of days at Pisa
and Leghorn.
There is plenty of life here, and it presents
the gay appearance of large cities. There are
any number of superb squares, ornamented
hills and places of public resort-all free to all
to come and go at pleasure. now close this
communication, remaining
| Respectfully yours, CAR.
| DROWNING ACCIDENT.-An accident occurr-
ed at Richand, Sunday afternoon, by which a
colored deck hand on board the schooner Joe
Miller, named Luther, was drowned, and Gen.
Fitzhugh Lee was, with difficulty, saved from
the same untimey fate The vessel had been
| loaded at Richland, and Gen. Lee was being