The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1878-12-19

seem 10 UE ullAlU1I lnAE ~ AN"AA nv 80
land and times Of fable, and to reacf
back and grasp the mythical and IN
known past.
Not far from the Forum along The
Appian way We come to the Colosseum
the grandest and best known Of all the
ruins Of Rome, and which is ali, and
even more, to the traveller than can evel
be described. It's massiveness has evel
been the symbol Of the greatness OF
Rome, and gave rise, among the Saxon
pilgrims Of the eighth century, to the
saying:
While stands the Colosseum. Rome shall
stand;
When falls the Colosseum. Rome shall nIl
| And when Rome alls-the world"
Near it are the beautiful arch Of Con-
stantine aud the basis on which stood
the magnificent gilded statue, one hund-
red and twenty feet high, Of Nero as god
Of the sun.
There are many places in Rome asso-
ciated in tradition at least with one OF
more of the apostles. We visit the
three small, low, arehed rooms some ten
feet below the surface of the modern
city, 'and which it is certainly known
as the hired house in which st. Paul
dwelJ while in Rome. The old Etruscan
prison is shown US in which it is said
st. Peter and st. Paul were confined.
In its lower story, now far below ground,
is a spring which is said to have had a
miraculous origin so that the apostle
could baptise the jailer and forty other
converts. In this prison we are shown
the impression Of human face in the
hard rock, and are told that when Peter
was being let down into this prison, the
jailer cruelty pushed his head against
the wall, and that this miraculous i'm
preston ofhis face was thus made. We
also stop at the little chapel built on the
spot where the Savior met Peter the
night before his martyrdom, as he was
escaping from the city, and by a reBuke
turned him back to be crucified with
his head downward, the next morning.
But time fails Us to speak of the many
greatpublic baths, which were establish
ments Of the greatest magniiceuce; Of
the golden houses Of Nero; Of the Pam
theon, that marvel Of architecture, IN
whose walls Victor Emanuel is buried
of the catecombs. and places Of Roman
burial; of the houses Of the great Ilienz'
and the very bridge so bravely defende,
by Horatius Of Mt Trstaccio, on,
hundred and seventy feet high, bull
entirely of broken pottery; of the Pro
testsnt cemetery where are buried man,
illustrious foreigners, among them Tia
/ poet Keats, and the heart Of the poe
Shelly, but whose body was burne,
where il had washed Oh shore iu th
bay of Spezia; of the Vatican, with il
treasures Of art; Of the Saneta Scala, o
sacred stairs, up which We saw pilgrim
toiling on their knees; Of the thre
hundred and sixty-five churches whicl
the city is said to contain; Of the grea
aqueincts which supplied the city will
water, aud hundreds Of other things o
interest which are around Us on every
side
When we see the vastness Of the ruins
and remember that marble aud preciou
stones were as common as brick in
modern city, and thata world was plum
dered to enrich this magnificent capitol
we can get something Of an idea of wha
the city must have been when she sa
on her seven hills, mistress Of the world
1t is said by contemporary writers tina
there were as many statues in the cit,
as inhabitants. when her citizens wnr
numbered by millions, and that Roman
generals had plundered the Greek elite
Of their works Of art, until they did no
even have god left to worship.
The destruction of this city has hee
falsely ascribed to the Goths and Van
dals, when in reality it is largely due t
the Italians themselves, for the moder
city was mostly constructed Of materia q
plundered from the old. What marbl
has not been needed for buildings ha
been put through the lime kiln, unit
now hut little remains Of the old cit,
except dilapidated brick and concfet
walls. We fairly boiled with indigua
tion as we rode along the Appian wa,
outside Of the city and saw pieces
carved marble built into walls aroun
cornfelds.
As we wander for days among th
ruins Of this great city, our respect an
admiration for the ancient Roma,
hourly increases, and we cease TO loo
upon them as halfcivilized people who.
, only delight was in war. Few spots i
the world have played so prominent
; part in the worlds history, and coufai
saw few things in Europe whie
= made such an impression on me, or wei
Of greater interest, than these broken r,
mains Of the greatness Of the create,
! nation the world has ever seen.
seemed TO stand in the cemetery Of NJ
, tious beside its most celebrated mont
ment. o. r. BURCHARD.
.
What heart has not acknowledged N