The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1876-02-06
(European CORRESPONDENCE of the Bulletln.I

ROME, January, 1910.
Dear BuQetin-This morning We TOOK car
rage and went out to visit the Catacombs OF
ST. Callxtus one of those to which the puohc
are admitted, and which are situated ABOUT
two miles and a half outside Of the city
proper. The gentle reader must know that
there are no less than sixty sets OF catacombs
! in and around Rome, and of these scarcely
half dozen are accessible.
1t is presumed, however, that nearly every
bodv knows that the Catacombs were origin
ally burying places, and that during the first
second and third centuries of our Christian
era they served as well as places of dwelling
and refuge for the prosecuted sect of Chris
tians whose religious doctrines at the present
day are so generally accepted. It was de-
cidedly unpleasant to be Christian in those
old times, for besides having to live like
moles in subterranean dens, surrounded by
the dead, and breathing the poisoned air of
the great charnel house, the good people
could never feel that they were secure for q
moment, for the soldiers were constantly find-
ing them out and making martyrs Of Them
without even as much as giving them time
to say their prayers.
Well, the road along which we drove to
the Catacombs of st. Calixtus was nothing less
than the removed Via Appia, and hot dus-
ty old road it is. despite its celebrity. On
the way our driver, a socisble sort of fellow,
pointed out various objects of interest, and
among other things, the tomb of the Scipios,
now, Of course, empty, but certainly gen.
uine which is some satisfaction, as one hard
" knows sometimes whether to rely on the
genuineness of such things or not, SO that
when the authenticity of this tomb is an
nounced by all parties as unquestionable, it
possesses on that account special claim
upon the travellers attention.
In 1880, when the tomb YVES discovered,
that is, recognized, the curiosity of the pub
lie caused the bones Of the old hero, L. Cor
nelius Scipio, Consul B. G. 29S. to be exposed
to general view. but proper feeling Venetian
gentleman, one Quirini, had the remains re-
moved to Padua and respectfully inferred.
Our driver at length drew up before gate
opening in a high stone wall, and on entering
We were met by a melancholy guide, who
asked to see our permessi or papers Of admis-
sion, which one has to take out before being
allowed to visit certain institutions here, and
having satisfied him on that point, he led the
way to sort of cellar door through which we
descended at once to the cool damp passages
below.
Visitors are admonished to provide them
selves with wax tapers before visiting the
| Catacombs, but as we had forgotten to COM
ply with this advice, the guide had an oppor-
tunity to furnish us lights at his own prices.
The little procession then moved forward
through the narrow "halls of death f" as
silent as ghosts, and the first halt Was made
in sort of chamber or widening Of the pas
sage, called the "Chamber of the Popes.
This contains the tombs of various early
fathers Of the Church who lived and died
here, as the inscri ptions on the wall testify.
II almost makes one SILVER to think Of people
having lived in that cold, dark tomb OF
room. Another such apartment is called
after St. Cecilia, from having formerly con-
tanned her remains, which now rest in the
church Of her name in the city.
The walls of this room are decorated with
primitive frescoes and pious Inscriptions, such
as the early Christians loved to make in hon
or of their martyred dead. These inscrip-
tons and paintings of the Catacombs are very
interesting. The former all speak of unfal-
terinp trust in the pronGse Of salvation in
Christ, and the latter are mostly symbolical
of the resurrection and other prominent
points of the Christian faith, upon which it
is most pleasant to think. Truly We can not
too much honor the memory Of the pious
people who wrote these simple sentences and
drew these rude pictures. for with the thought
of their patience and fortitude under
sorest persecution. their life OF suffer-
ing and privation, we can not help
feeling that theirs must have been differ
ent sort of religious faith from that pre-
vailing among the Christians Of the present
day, with their thousand and one dissentions.
petty jealousies, vanities, follies and general
shallowness, and one is disposed to wonder
how many of the Christians of to-day would
cling to their faith rather than to the comforts
of life, to say nothing Of enduring martyr
dom rather than relinquish it. But such re-
Elections are very Improbable. In one cham
Der we were shown two sarcophagi covered
over with plates of glass, and in them lay
hideous Wondering skeletons, fitting guests
for the lonely depths of the Catacombs.
The extent Of the various Catacombs Is
something astonishing. It is estimated that
if all the passages were put in one continuous
line, that the same would be more than 500
miles long, In some the galleries lie one
above the other, those nearest the surface OF
the ground being about twenty-five feet down,
and the deepest nearly fifty feet The
branching of the different passages is so COM
plcated that even the experienced guides are
oart;or, ahout Coino hayond a limited circle,