The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1879-08-07
The Pope's Garden.

Let me relate, says a Roman CORES
pondent, visit to the Pope's private
garden, which is supposed to be mac
cessible to the outside world. It's par
ticular interest is in the fact that for
eight years the Popes have not stepped
out of the Vatican Palace except to go
into this garden, and naturally it is
jealously secluded from profane intrud-
ers. However, we bribed the officials
and were let into the garden surrepti-
tiously with permission to remain an
hour, and we improved the time to the
utmost. Until recently it has been
only place to stroll about in on foot.
But now the Pope is having carriage
road made through it, and has just had
an elegant landau constructed in Rome,
with the papal escutcheons upon it, es-
pecially to drive about the garden in.
The principal avenues are bordered by
fat hedges, and in passing along you
get glimpses, through green arches, of
the sweetest little sylvan retreats that
you can imagine; birds singing, fountains
bubbling, light and shade playing
through the Pickering leaves, the air
full of the scents of orange blossoms aud
roses, shady paths winding in and out,
up and down in the most distracting
way, the ground covered with a thick
mating of deep leaves, the accumula-
ton of years. Here an ancient sarcop-
hagus, with sculptured figures in relief,
there a marble statue gray with age,
and something inexpressively weird in
the twilight gloom, the solitude and air
of neglect and decay. Againyou emerge
upon open, snnny spaces, and the prom
enade skirts a quadrangular space sunk
en- fifteen to twenty feet, with perpendic-
ular walls, originally, perhaps, the walls
OF some ancient construction. This is
laid out in an immense flower garden,
and in the midst the gorgeous papal
monogram traced in living verdure.
A pretty surprise was a small grotto
in rockwork, representing that of "Notre
Dame de Lourdes," in which stood a
little fancy figure of the Virgin, at her
foot little grating through which offer
ings were dropped, and three tiny
streams of water flowing from the words:
"Drink and be healed" OF course tiny
streams spout into a little basin, and
above these we applied our mouths to the
little streams and drank the consecrated
water We thought we had explored
every nook and corner of the garden,
but had failed to find the place we were
especially in search of, the famous Casino
where Plus TX. used to sit on sunny
days, and which is said to be Il famous
resort Of the present Pope for study and
writing We met servant who went
with US to show the way, and gave us a
bouquet of exquisite damask roses. The
casino is completely enclosed and hidden
by high hedges, entered by single arch.
Following path through shrubbery, we
passed under deep stone archway, lined
with mosaics-three inches each side
filed with ancient statues-and came
upon a small circular esplanade with the
mosaic pavement, enclosed by two semi
circular loggias or porticos supported by
marble columns, the ceiling and inside
walls covered with beautiful but faded
frescoes and curious mosiacs and shell
work, with inches occupied by busts and
statues. All around was wilderness of
flowers and shrubbery, and close by the
great dome of st. Peter filed in the view
Finally, through distant arch, we saw
vista of trees, and following it up came
out upon an elevated terrace, where,
under the shade of old trees covered
with purple blossoms, was a large basin
of water upon which was a. man-ofwar
in bronze, eight or ten feet long, the
rigging complete, rows of cannons pro-
.jecting from its sides, the mariners at
their post
From this terrace was a view OF the
city, the castle of st. Angelo prominent
in the foreground, and Monte Marie on
the left, the valley of the Tiber beneath,
and the Campagna stretching out to the
Alban range in the distance