Morning journal and courier., 1880-02-05
Rome,s Ancient Monuments.

The second lecture in the course by Rev. Henry G. Spaulding, given last night at the Grand Opera House, to large audience, treated of '"The Walls and Gates of the Eter- nal City, Fountains, Aqueducts and Baths" Of the unique and fascinating city he began by quoting George EIiot's words that it is a
 'city of visible history, where the past of a whole hemisphere moves in funeral proces- sion j" and the remark of French writer that it is the ''synthesis of the world,' and of which Edward A. Freeman says ''it is @ great central lake, in which all early history loses itself, and out of which all modern his tory has grown" Its 2, 600 years of uninter- rupted history made it 8 resume of all other cities. The lecturer dwelt on the authentic historic value of archaeological proof, and said that even the glowing pages of Virgil and Tacitus were not equal to careful study and observation of old monuments of antiqui- ty. Manuscripts from the past may have been interpolated or forged, but old monuments, such as the Colosseum or the excavations of Pompeii, gave us the living picture of those old days. The illustrations were vividly pie tured, and began with several maps to show the advantages of Rome's location, and why it became the ruler of the world. He followed
 
 at Palatine Hill, where undoubtedly are the re- mains of the first Notifications made by the Latins against the Sabines These walls were formed of large blocks of volcanic rock or tufa, unhewn and nearly square, and laid without cement. Foundation walls of the same rock were shown hewn into perfectly rectangular shape and regularly laid, but also without cement. These characteristics de- noted that the work belonged to the period of the Roman kings in the 9th century before Christ. It had been disputed that wall would be found within the Servian embark ment on the Esquiline Hill. When the rail way entered Rome, cut was made through the embankment, disclosing the interior wall. Sections of the Servian wall lately dug up have led to the discovery on the tufa walls of inscriptions in Greek alphabetic characters. which indicated that the Romans had high CT state of civilization than had hitherto been ascribed to them in this epoch of their his- tory.
 Views were then given of the famous Cloa- ca Maxima and of the fortified wall of Au- relian, followed by two pictures, one repre- senting the ruins of the old aqueduct, and one the tomb of Cecilia Metella. In giving views of the aqueducts, the lecturer stated that the Roman aqueducts marked the transi- ton from 8 mere village to stately capital. The first was built 312 B. c. and was called Ap- plan. It was almost subterranean and ex- tended nearly five miles outside the city. In 293 B."C. the Anio was constructed, and reach ed from the springs in the Sabine noun tains to the city, distance of forty two miles. Still another was sixty-two miles long. In the imperial epoch Rome was supplied with fifty millions cubic feet of water per day, giving splendor and beauty to their numerous foun- tains and ample supplies for their great public baths Of the famous baths of Oardacalla, a public institution which covered an area about equal to Boston common, he gave many views, some of them architectural. These baths, or xUh Un f0 nm library, reading room, lecture hall. base ball grounds and gymnasium, and were adorned with magnificent statuary and paintings They were places where the lowest and highest could come together with equal privileges. Following these views came Pompeian and Roman wall decorations, which have, as pic tured forth, very Eastlakian look.
 The lecture next Wendesday evening will be devoted to the ''Rome of the Caesars."
 Reserved seats for the remaining four lec- lures of the course can be obtained at Judd's book store at $1 and $1.5o, according to loca- finn