New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1879-08-12

The front has been dishgured by great mass or
modern binding. The old custodian opened the
iron gate and admitted me. The solitary monk
who figures so prominently I'm MI Sylnohus
description has either been relieved from du'y, n
he ought 10 have been. or has succumbed 10 the
marsh fever, as Mr.. SymOnds predicted ina! ne
would, and escaped bis prison forever mere i ITO
priest on the ground, no odOr OF incense lheeI'hV
in thcair. None 20 there TO worship, save on some
special occasion. The old man said he lived there
alone The church consists of a simple nave s!1e
aisles and apse and has neither tran-epts nor sue
chapels Midway between the entrance ana Tue
high altar stands the little marble altar Whch Once
covered the remains ot the murdered Afcholshop
Apollinars. Along the sides Of the chuIch arc
ranged the stone collins Of different Archp'>h"ps:
The nave and aisles are separated hy two rows OF
columns with beautiful capitals. surely nor 'oiilss
THAN a. Mr.. Hare describes them. lhe celIh9I, oI
rough beams. is Hat or nearly so. over nc nIsn
altar and ON the side walls of ITS recess are the gen
uine mussics Of G71. They have specl3l lhlrte-I
from the fact that IN them we see me ectiesiscg,
sentiment beginning TO rank itself with the purely
Christian. The Byzantine Church mere asserts ~
equality with the Church OF Rome by pacing tue
6rure of 81. Apolluaris a level with that ot 81.
Peter; indeed IN the very Genital position h,thtIlo
occupied only bv the figure Of tho saviour. In ike
manner, along with the pictures Of the sacrncpS OF
Abel and Abraham is Denoted the granting OF pilN-
ileges to the Church of haVcnna:
From the mosaics | turned and looked out from
the altar upon ne dreary church lhc green siM1
of the marsh was over the stone HoOT, ana hal
climbed the altar steps. The solitary lamp burned
family before the Iu the real sunset -htNhth
rested with sad beauty on the exquisite capitals
Our footballs alone broke the deathIikc s,ll1t re-;
No voice OF man. cry OF child, nor song Of blId
wa, audible. No he'll rang from The altar no robe
Of priest fitted through the slcrisy door. The ar
was damp and chilly, and The Old man 1ade me Dc
covered SAVING NJ was motto pcdd0" IL was re-
lcf to pass ont OF the iron gate ana INTO me IeH
cious summer evening, wuere tlo vanished sun had
left the distant ApcnnIues overarcheu WIN
sweet color Of the oriental sapphire"
RcclJed with clouds of rose.
Eight o'clock the next morning found me on the
same road but this time rolling past the Oh church
and on TO tine Pineta. Before ST. ApolllnaTe is
reached one begins to see the dark outline OF the
pines upon the horizon, rolling like pillows, as II
irving TO shape to themselves some image OF the
sea which once covered the tract where they stand
Mr.. LINDSAY, i'm the passage OF ms Christian ATT "
quoted by Hare, falls into "a singular mistake about
this same pine forest When hc says thdt ~ Spplltd
the ships that waited Augustus 20 Actium," unlrs,
indeed he means that II supplied them Win wafer
to sail or 60 anchor for the Plueta was not when
Augustus sailed TO Actium, but the AdTlatc dashed
where now the RayeuncSc peasant DICKS up pine
cones for market and the great oxen wander amid
the tall trunks. 1t Is noticeable how unique lea
ture of the landscape tins pine grove constitutes
It gives no announcement OF Uset; throws our no
advance guard into the fiat, marShy eXpanse, but
starts up abruptly from the PLAIN, az distance OF
less than an hours ride from 81. Apolllnare,
and stretches for forty miles uOWn tht
shore toward Bmini. Along the road the
marshy pools are bright with the pure
water-lilies, and the sluggish canal flows weauiy
onward. its mOnOtOny now and then relieved by "a
peasant padding IN his clumsy skin, until 1t passes
into the shadows of the pines, IN current Tar I'M
like that stream OF the terrestrial paradise whose
waters conceal nothing although IL moves on
brown, brown"
Again failed to find the numerous descriptions
of the place wholly answered by what l saw III
could not be said of the canal that II flows
"soto, Pombra perpetual"
so that neither ray of sun moon reaches il, nor
indeed could it be said of any other object under
the trees. Mr. Svmonds SAYS " they grow so thic6ly
one behind the other that we might compare thcm
10 the pipes of a great organ, or the pillars OF
Gothic church, or the basatIc columns OF the
Giants Causeway" That may possibly be true
deeper III the forest, but the portion when
traversed proved very inadequate shelter from the
hot sun. | could not tiud patch OF shade larger
than the shadow of q single tree. The stone pine,
as most readers probably know, is quite unlike our
American pine IN shape. 10 rises IN tail, siTalgn
trunk and then spreads out at the top ike a vast
umbrella. Occasionally one encounters an oak, a
vine a laurel, and the undergrowth OF juniper IS
abundant but this Is preGnlncntly the Kingdom OF
the pine. 1t was easy 10 see how the scene mad
wrought itself into the mind and heart of Dante,
and had given It's setting to the opening OF the 2ot
purgatOriO, than which no puieT Outbreathlng OF
iov IS TO be found in literature outside of the Scrip
in these pine aisles. They are pgny souls, beside
that gigantic shade which a fond fancy PIC
lures still haunting the dim walks where he
wrestled of yOre with his awful thoughts OF things
unseen. The odOr was delicious The SOIL
"Che d'ogn parte DIVA"
sent up its spicy breath at every footstep to blend
with the perfume of the glorious old trees. Inc
birds among the branches as on that lneffable
ing in the earthly paradise ceased not TO practice
their art; the "r river flowed slowly on under the
scauty shadows; only the sweet breeze" the
laura dolce" was wanting aud, therefore, the
pines added to the birds melody no bass gather
ing on from branch to branch"
"por Ia pneta IN sui Ito di Chiassi."
drove back along the hot and dusty road, and
over the bridge, with lingering look at the dark
pine waves on the low horizon at the stern, lionel
ole church. and at the tower where no keeper shall
ever again hear the dash of the waves, and kindle
the ligh Is or the ships of an empire,
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