The Portland daily press., 1881-02-12

Is it possible whittier the ''chaste Sibyp'
led the pious Eneas-
"Tantum e6ata .tarens antro Sc immiscit aperto''
We are to be carried pig-back in the wake of a
light-bearlng, bare-legged Italian! Yea
Verify! One by one, or rather two by two.
procession of human centaurs takes its
way toward the "pale realms of shade" by
way of side cavern just wide and high
enough to give passage.
'Stopp' shouts our historian, "Put me
down, SO! Now want to if Hannibal went
down after this fashionv'
"Han-ni-bal' stammers the astounded
guide, ''Si Senor-I take him, it will
be too month";. And while some of the
party are laughing themselves out of the sad
die our historical member regains his guides
back but looses his own gravity in remarking
fall right, did not know he had been
here so recently"
We now proceed down a plane of, say,
forty-fve degrees, and it grows sleeper as we
advance, and the passage blacker, narrower
and more slippery. We wind and twist and
shudder as the guide makes slip, until the
torch ahead becomes stationary as we catch
the satisfed-"Ah, grace au ciel nous
sommes arrives" of somebody who seems to
have come to anchor. A splashing of water
follows as the guide plunges along, and one
by one we are backed up to terra firma and
allowed to dismount. Terra firma turns out
to be kind of jutting terrace of rock run
ming along one end of the apartment, some
feet wide, and one or two above the black
water shining before us, in which the guides
are up to their knees. In the wall at one
end of the terrace is an oval aperture.
Through this from the terrace, then kind
of divan, the horrendas an,bages, 1. e., pro-
phecies of the Sibyl, were communicated to
her votaries, when "Apolle wearied her
foaming lips," as was said of him. Along
the other side is pointed out followed
rock as her bath, which, certes, she must
have needed. Beyond is some other appli-
ance whose nature we cannot determine.
The roof or ceiling seems to be rounded, but
is lost in smoke and darkness. The walls
are black and moist. A smell as of roasting
pagans fills the air. Altogether it is most
foul dungeon. Somebody soliloquizes thus
-"To be seven hundred years old and live
in such a palace! No wonder she was will
ing to go with Eneas 'usque dd Orchu,n, ,w
"Ah," falls in the voice of the historian,
''not too lightly. Rebuild the fallen citadel
Replace the polished marble of the these
walls. Hang this cavern with purple. Re-
place with the light of silver lamps these
faring torches. Crowd the old city with
resurrected heroes, and bring Carthageni-
an conqueror to listen to the voice of SOL
emn prophecy from that mysterious cham
Der and" but the sentence was never fin
ished. The advance of second procession,
heralded by coming voices cut it short. Our
guides signified that it was time to 60. And
now ridiculous proceeding occurred. As
we We're all mounted again the second party
came in. One of them, evidently from la
belle France, was in an anomalous position.
Her guide was unequal to his burden of
something like two hu ndred pounds, and
having slipped at the entrance had but fee
Wv POooSooAOh Va OAC AOOG VI LIS ldlr Charge,
The other had escaped him and dangled be-
hind like rudder. In the slip she had
kissed the wall and obtained black eve.
Her arms clung desperately about his neck,
whereby he was made to turn skyward a
countenance whereon disgust intensified an
expression of choking. Her mouth, wide
open, was calculating, ''Ah, mon Dieu! ma
mouchoir! ma meuchoirv' Such an appari-
ton almost unhorsed us. AS soon as we
saw that the lovely stranger was only, like
the Sibyl, furious in mind, raging in a
cave" we departed. Not by the ''ivory
gate OF dreams, which were to come after,
in our "reminiscences, but yet well content
to be emitted to the upper world.
Coming out under the golden day our joy
is somewhat abated by the persistency of
the merchants of these parts, who, having
laid in large stock of beads, broken glass,
earthern lamps, &C., (some of the articles
from the nearest pottery: are determined to
furnish us with material for a museum.
Talk about the amount of wood from the
holy tross," observes our statistician, sin
the world! Verify the number of lamps
taken from the last resting places of distin-
guished Romans is sufficient to girdle the
earth with belt of 1amev' 'sPoohw saws
the historical member, "buy lamp or two.
One should patronize the industries of a
country"
Then we ride on to Lake Avernus.
Nothing surely could less resemble the
burning lake than this expanse of quiet
water. Anciently it was one; but there are
now two lakes. One night in 1888 cone
shaped mountain arose and divided the orig
inal surface. Its sloping sides are bright
green. All around is diffused from deserted
landscape, azure sky and vernal airs the
languor which seized upon Tennyson's Lo-
tos Eaters. Taine reproduces it thus
the whole country, the white
trunks OF the sycamores, the verdue soft
ened by mist and winter, the slender reeds,
the passive surface of Lake Avernus,
the faint mountain forms-all this mute
languid landscape seems to be at rest,
asleep, not subdued and stiffened by death,
but softly enveloped in genial monotonous
tranquility. Such is the ancient conception
of life, of the beyond"
At the shores of the lake appears
the successor of Charon. He guides.
by a rope stretched across, flat-bot-
toned barge from an island. He takes
us all in, forgetful that his predeces-
sor left unburied spirits to wall on the shore
nor is he long in pulling us over the Styx-
spelt now sticks. 1t appears that oysters
are the objects of our coming. And if one
does not like oysters, as is the case with our
statistician? Well, says our host, from the
net of yonder fisherman he can get zone
little feesh." Unluckily the net is empty:
and the statistician also. These oysters,
however, are not like saddlerocks, and he
processes himself filled with contempt for
them and their consumers. On completion
OF this rather Barmecide feast it appears
that timo renaaine 10 go To Baiae. so re-
crossing the Styx, and fleeing the boatman
query-was Charon ever bribed?), we ride
on for that once famous watering place.
The afternoon air is wonderfully quieting to