, 1875-02-14


| Church at that date. The Interior ia not, Bur
| passed in magpihcence, aud in elegant and cost-
| " decorations Is exceled By none IN italy. e1-
! cept perhaps, St: Peters aud St. Paula, at
Rome, Cne foorn are Of Ftorentine mosalca,
| and the marbles nte Of the richest
| ., THEEANuI0a
| are, with two or three exceptions, nothing Won
derfnl as works Of art, but very interesting. Tho
principal ones in fresco record the monastic yir-
tues and miracles Of st. Eeuedick. They were
executed by Giordano. in 1e77. We found in the
refocto1ya = ine work by Bassam, representing the
Miracle Of the Leaves aud Fishes" Beneath the
high altar, rich in marble decoration, repose the
remains Of st. Benedick himself and his sanity
good people, There are several objects Of inter-
est in the sacristy, ty,-crozars, crosses, ivories,
&c.,-one very remarkable crozier by that artistic
tend, Benreuuto Cellni.
In the library We vera shown many: ancient
and vnluable productions. This: Was the sa1ctu-
ars whefa many treasures OF Greek and Latin
literature WAS preserved during the; daEk ages.
Even in the carly fmaa OF the monastery copies
Of the -
AAREsr CLASSICAL MANUSCRIPTS
we're copied by the monks. To the Abbot De-
eiderius, to whom the institution owes much Of
it's glory, the world is indebted for the preae17a
tiou of the Idy]s of Theocritns and the Fasti Of
Ovid. The collection contains about 10.00o
volumes. The Oldest 1nanuscrpta are:
translation Of origen's Commentaries
lis
Of the si1th century "a Dante Of the fourteeutb,
with marginal notesl; Virgil OF the fourteenth.
copied from another OF tile tenth, IN Lombard
characters original MSS. OF Leo Ostiensis; and
the yislou Of Frate Alberlco. which some sup
pose to have given Dante the idea OF the " Dis
wins Commeda."
The archives comprise rare ard valuable col
lection, containing Shout 500 original diplomas
and charters Of Embsrors, Kinge, puKes. and
barons, beginning with A}o, one Of ths Lon
bulls Of the popes relating to the mon
tnry: t' These, sae'' in themselves, e would form
a volume of wonderful interest in the political
and religious history Of tile middle ages. Alto
gether, this 10 one Of the rarest and most pre-
cious collections IN the world. In the cloiatera
We found part of the building devoted to coll
lection of antiquities, gathered naiuIy from an
cient Casinuna.
We we're treated With
GREAT KINDNESS AND COURTESY.
by the brethren, although We uere known to be
heretics by our not conforming to the religious
obsersanees Of the place, 4 comfortable. room |
was allotted us, and good substantial food pro-
vided, with vino ad fibitu1n. They have been |
noted for hundteds Of years for their hospitality
to strangers, and they take pride in doing ali /
they can to preserve this reputation.
The Bened,ctines OF Monte Casino have for |
many years occupied peculiar. position in the !
political wofla. Long before the |
aFdlL8 Ut 1615s IL WiA3 tuG 3eAuo9 VI Ap5Iat aNu
opinions. Whilst, under: the DARK
rule OF the Donrbous, the cergy Of Naples &C
qniesced in their: deBpotic rule, the Abbey Of
Monte Casino maintained 3 noble Independence. /
The inmates OF the monastery number about
- in holy orders. about as many povices, and
l50 pupils who receive q general education. In |
.heir pa!my days, the revenue derived from their
past posseBslons atnonnted3 to 800. 600 yearly, |
,ut are now about 100000. Like all the mones-
c institutions in Italy, it will soon pass away as
such, but will probably still continue to exist as
II educational establishment +
Just before sunset nc Were taken to the dif-
erent points OF view pesr the convent, byA
'oung monk, who pointed out the principal
POINTS Of interest.
THE PROSPECT WAS suBIIME,
nd with an eager e7e we toox in the whole field
4 Nature in one Of ner lovliest moods; as it1ay
efore cur vision. To the wes: aud south e1-
ends the broad valley OF the gliding da1giiano,
nth it's numerous villages, separated from the !
ca by range OF hills. with here
nd there blue gleam Of distant water.
o the east lies San. .Ge1mxno. yal1ey, beyond
'hich rise the rocky. SUBMITS Of the A6ruzzi :;
lille; to the north. lies Wild; mountainous dis.
rlct. The peak OF Monte Cara rises back Of
said to command one Of the finest views in !
Ealy. We could scarcely imagine that it could
q much finer ttan the one extending before us,
Though comprehending = much: wider scope Of
a1ritoky.
After refreshing nights sleep, And an ample
reakfast wobade the worthy Fathers fkrewell.af
nd, n.king our way back, stopping now and
len to ndmiro the scenery aud make few
asty peucil-sketchea, We reached the San Ger |
ano station in time to catch the first morning
ain for Naples. L. n.