The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1880-09-09
Foreign Correspondence.
ROM. Italy. AUGUST IL. lssl


pies, where / spent three or four
days very pleasantly visiting YES
uvius and Pompeii, and of which |
will speak hereafter.
After leaving Venice. the date of
my last letter. | came by rail via
BOlogne to Florence. which city Is
celebrated as being the home of
Michael Angelo. and whose tomb is
in the Santa Croce. The UffiZi and
Pitt galleries contain some of the
finest paintings in the world. The
principal gems of the whole collec-
ton are conferred in one room. and
in this comparatively small hall are
originals of paintings and sculpture
Of priceless value, and of which you
gh see copies in almost every gal
iery in Europe. One of the attrac-
/. tions of Florence is the Baptistery,
built in the seventh century. from
the remains of Pagan temple. The
principal feature of this Baptistery
is its wonderful bronze doors. That
! facing the Cathedral is the most
celebrated and is considered mar
yelous work of art. OF this door.
Michael Angelo said it was worthy
10 be the gate of paradise" The
subjects are scriptural. commencing
with the creation. Leaving Florence
we came over picturesque country
to Rome. The most interesting fea-
ture of the route was passing Lake
Trasimeno. Here Hannibal con-
quered Flaminius bv an intrigue
which led the Roman army into this
''valley of DEATH" II would be idle
for me to attempt to write of all
| have seen in Rome. The more you
see of this eternal city the more You
are reminded of its ancient glory.
/ Every school boy knows that Rome
was built upon seven hills. Here
still stands the mighty Colosseum:
not as il stood 1900 years ago, but
enough to show that it was the
largest theater in the world. There
was accommodation for 100000 spec
tators, and after the performance of
gladiatOrs and wild beasts, an ar
rangement existed, of which traces
still remain, of removing the whole |
of the floor of the arena, which could |
be easily flooded, thus forming a
lake, on which naval combats took |
place. The Colosseum is now very |
much out of repair, having for a |
long time been used as quarry, |
from WHICH several of the palaces in |
Rome were reared. Here we see the |
Roman Forum, where the Roman |
orators used to address the popu-
lace, and the Rostra Julia, from |
which Mark Anthony delivered his |
celebrated Grafton. | visited the
Mamertine prison. where St. Paul |
anh 81 Dntnr inn ricnnn6 hx-I
order of Nero. and spring is still |
shown, which, according to legend,
appeared at the command of Peter
for the baptism Of his gaolers. The |
Arch OfDrusus, on the ApPian way,
still stands as it stood when st. Paul
passed under il as Il prisoner TO
Rome. The catacombs are marvel
Gus. They consist of passages Of
long, marrow, underground galleries,
the sides being hOney-combed with
graves. The idea that these subter-
ranean passages served as refuge
for the first Christians seems to have
given way to the impression that the
catacombs were ancicntly the quar-
ries made by the Romans and after
wards used as burial places for the
city. The Arch of Titus stands al-
most perfect, and commentaries
the fall of Jerusalem. This arch,
though deeply interesting to the
Christian. recalls, of course. the most
hateful memories TO the jew, and it
is said Il.at no israeIite viii go I'M
derneath it, but always passes round
and splits, polite way Of showing
his contempt for it. Tho accumula-
finn Of 1,nfth To-, |
Rock must be considerable since the
S3.uans used il as place of eXecu-
Oh, or it is difficult to surmise how
tne fall could have been certain
death. Ihn TFnYi FQuntain, which
draws its precious water from a
source far beyond the walls, still
sparkles forth MS pure as il did in
The days Of Agrippa. Tho Pantheon
is one of the grandest relics of the
past Rome possesses, and is said to
be the only edifice which has with
stood all the rayages of time, and
remains i'll Il perfect state of preser-
walton. II would take months to
form 4 fair acquaintance Of this
grand old city and visit the various
places of interest, Among the most
prominent are the great picture and
sculpture galleries. the Vatican and
Sistine Chapel, the Palace of the
Caesars, the Baths of Caracalla and
the principal churches. ! would
mention right here that anyone Wis
ting Rome should by all means en-
gage the services Of Mr., s, Russell
Forbes, the well known archa0losi-
cal resident. lie has been here for
ten years and is thoroughly posted
with the rise and fall of this once
mighty empire
Having doneup Rome pretty well.
we took an evening train for the
beautiful city of Naples. stopping at
Hotel Washington on our arrival.
Our first visit was 10 Pompeii, and
the most interesting sight in this de-
stroyed city was the House of Do
medes. Here. when eXcavated, were
terraces, gardens, fountains, statues,
and every appearance of luxurious
proprietor. In the cellar below were
found a number of bodies of wo-
men and children who sought pro-
lection here and, too late, attempted
to escape. The grand catastrophe
which took place on August %, A.
p. 79, is fortunately described to us
by Pliny w., in his letter to Tacitus.
the historian. Our next visit was to |
Vesuvius. We drive along the side
of the bay, passing through Portici
and Resina. On the road the prin-
cipal objects of interest are the man
ufactories ofmaeearoni. Finally, az
ter driye'of about three hours, we
reach the observatory where sticks
are supplied, and where the ascent
in great earnestness. The
distance from the observatory to
the station of the one-track
is about one and a
half miles. Some of our party !
it about fifteen before they
got through, Arriving at this sta {
ton you pay fourteen francs (about
S2.75) aud are taken up almost per-
about tiree-fourths Of
a mile, when you again commence
the ascent ON foot. During this
time you viii be pestered by num-
Der of men with straps. which they
viii temptingly offer at frequent in
leryaiS, :pd 20 accept the assistance
Of these peopia L engaging their
which must he paid ac-
,orling to tariff unless YOU make !,
positive agreement before hand =
When you arrive at the top YOU are !.
hilly repaid for all The trouble. The
heat and sulphuric fumes that rise y