The Portland daily press., 1875-05-06
Italian Correspondence.
Garibnidi by Dayiight-The Colosseum
by MoOnligbt-PorII i'm italy.
NAPLES, ITALY. April 8, 1873.

To the Editor OF the Press:
On the 10Th of March 1875 Gen. Garibaldi.
the great fighting man of Italy, was 76 years
years old, and the people of Rome with good
| many of the rest of mankind and womankind
seized on that occasion to pay their respects to
the old hero Very soon after noon the people
| began to march in the direction of POrta Pima
some on horseback, very many more in car
riages, and the masses on foot. The General
| occupies a villa furnished him by the city au-
thorities of Rome. 1t is situated about mile
outside the walls, beyond the gate already
| mentionea-the gate, by the way, close to
which the Italian army made the break in the
| walls through which Rome was entered on the
memorable. Goth of September. The national
guard turned out to do honor to the occasion.
The General made his appearance in the cap
and cloak that the pictures dress him in; and
supported on crutches be stood on a balcony
while the troops passed in review. The soldiers
and officers made all possible demonstrations
of delight. The immense crowd that filled the
grounds around the villa. called on the General
for speech, but he was too feeble to make one,
and replied to the calls by lifting his cap, and
when he did tnat the people responded with
yells of delight, throwing up their hats and
waving their handkerchiefs. The Generals
face beams with an expression of great benev-
olence, and is lighted up with smile of re.
! markabe sweetness. The crowd wished to
hear his voice, and finally called for ''One
word" Garibaldi lifted his cap aud with a
| fatherly smile said, 'tAddio (which trans
lated means God bless YOU The most de-
voted Papist never received the blessing of the
Pope from the balcony of st. PEERS on Easter
with more joy and gadness than did these
Italians the blessing of Garbadi on his BIRTH
day; aud if the old warrior could utilize the
hearty wishes Tor health aud long life which
the populaoe showered upon him, be would re-
new his youth and live two thousand years.
The people of Italy love Garibaldi as heartily
as the French did the first Napoleon.
1t will be remembered that Gar:baldi has
persstently refused grants of money that have
been offered him; but on this occasion there
| was no way in which he could refuse the beau
| tiful flowers that the people brought in quanti
ties that would have buried him many feet
| deep.
1t was impossible for Garibaldi to receive
on his birthday more than few of his per-
sonal friends; for the old hero is indeed very
| feeble, and therefore we waited till the next
| week to pay our respects to him, On the 23d
| of March party of near thirty Americans
| left our hotel for the Generals villa. Feeble
as ne is he receives every afternoon, taking
short periods OF rest. We waited in a long
| dining room few minutes, when the General
entered from a side room, coming on crutches
aud receiving US with "How do you do?'' A
clergyman present introduced the party in
I three minutes speech, and when he spoke of
us as strangers to Garibaldi. the General inter-
| rupted him by saying, mo, no, no; Ameii-
| cans are not strangers; L too am an American
/ citizen" AS the General gave us his hand at
1 parting, we saw how the rheumatism had bent
| his fingers. In a most kindly way he said to
| my boy, Good bye, my little dear" Though
| Garibaldi has not accomplished all he wished
/ to, he sees Rome the capital of Italy; ani now,
unfit for service in the field, he has conceived
| the grand project of so controlling the waters
/ of the Tiber to prevent an overflow of the
| streets OF Rome and at the same time make
| the malarious campagna as healthy as an
| Iowa prairie. Whoever has looked on the wide
| and beautiful campagna from Tusculum and
| Monte Cavo, knows what boon that would be
| to make that exceedingly fertile plain as
| healthy as western prairie. Aud then TO pro-
tect Rome from an overflow is thing greatly
| to be desired as one will see IT he notices the
| hight the water reached on the walls of houses
| ten to twelve feet above the sidewalk in the
flood of 1872 (?) A little marble slab is inserted
in the !walls, here and there along the streets
TO mark the hight of the freshet. In clearing
| out the Tiber, it is expected that articles of
| great value will be found; articles which have
| been there in the mud firm two to three thou
sand years.
One of the things for tourists to do in Rome
| is to see the Colosseum by moonlight, if they
can. The best conditions are, large moon
ard some floating Clouds and we had both. lt
IS not an easy thing to get a true idea of an EN-.
closure that will seat one hundred thousand
| II q hui inn md nnfo q foYl arra
| lot, The Colosseum vas four stories high,
! and on one side the walls are conn plete at
that height. At the hour of our visit
there were hundreds of people on the premises.
| dozen guides rushing about here aud there
| with torches, lighting up the dark corridors and
| showing the way up and down the steps. We
| stationed ourselves in the middle of the arena
| where once stood the gladiators, waiting for
| the entrance of the wild beasts. 1t was difficult
/ to realize the presence of a hundred thousand
| faces looking down on that arena; but as the
| clouds sailediby the moon, now obscuring, now
| revealing the vast space, we could realize that
| there was room for countless thousands IN that
| immense building: After watching a while
| the effect of light and shadow, we mounted
| gallery after gallery till we reached the high
| est point, whence we looked down on the arena
| where so many Christians were made victims
| of pagan cruelty; cruelty improved upon CEN
| turies after by that Papacy which Garibaldi
told bis countrymen ought to disappear from
1 Italy as Paganlsm already has.
| And Just let me put in few words here in
| regard to the cOnflct now going on between
| the Papacy aud Professionalism in Europe. 1t
| promises to be a seriou matter. There is a
| disposition to postpone the battle till the pres
ent Pope has disappeared from the scene
| Since Rome has been the capital OF Italy and
| the temporal power and pOmp have departed
| from Pho Mono, his administration has been
| that of a soured, sulky old man. AS small
| specimen of his bad human nature, he does all
| be can to make Rome uuattractive to strangers
| He is afraid to act against the government OF
Italy because the bayonets are right under ms
| nose; but he can sit in the Vatican and defy
| the Emperor of Germany afar off. Italy has
| been demonstrated with tor giving shelter to
| man Who is disturbing the peace of Germany
and thus far the reply of Italy is, I'VE take care
| that the Pope does not meddle with our politi-
| cal affairs and you must do the best you can.
Bismarck takes the ground that the Pope is an
| Ishmaelite; he is hostile to AL Don-papal peo-
pie ana governments, aud actively so. In few
| days he will have an interview with the hing
of Italy in company with the Emperor OF Ger
many on this, the greatest question now before
the Christian world. How long this conflict
will continue it is impossible to say; but IN my
mind there is no doubt as to the result. The Pa
pacy must~succumb to the pressure. Inc SELF
respect of the Protestant powers of Europe de-
mands such result. Meanwhile the Pope is
playing prisoner in the Vatican and drawing
very large sums of money from the sympathiz-
| ing Patricks and Bridgets in all Christian
lands.
We spent four months in Florence and were
surprised to find so many Portland names on
the registers of the bankers. Some of them
were there. you know, studying music. As
Cumberland boy. L was glad to hear of the sue
cess of these students IN music, and notably
that of Mrs. bennett Being told that should
find Portlanders everywhere IN Italy, doubted
the fact; but when came to Rome and saw
on the register the name of j. Wlnsow Jones,
had to "acknowledge the corn." That gen
mans name is intimately associated with that
of my native town, and the two have taken
me by surprise in rather another part OF the
earth, sometimes high up 10 the air, as for ex-
ample at Idaho Springs in Colorado, place
near 5000 feet above the sea. While MIR. Jones
| has done all he can to make Yarmouth known
| to the world as producing maize that is amaS-
| ing fine; your kipsman has demonstrated the
| fact that the good old town raises men TO wnom
| the public universally accords the right TO EN-
| blazon on their banners the motto OF our flEe
tree State-.'Drigo' May the readers OF the
| PRESS always follow ss wise and safe leader.
| As the weather has been during the Iase lew
| months the topic of remark in American news
| papers let me say a word about sunny Ita-
| iy.'' The public are indebted to Enghshmen
| for their erroneous impression in regard to the
| winter climate of Italy. Contrasting 1t with
| ENGLAND Italy has good winter climate; but
| that any part of Italy in winter is proper re-
| sort for an invalid is very wide OF the truth.
| 1,a do comfortable