Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1884-07-30
Within o Red Hot Ball.

outside, the tapering Obelisk in its cen
ter-so like the one in New York-tht
fountains squirting up their water dust
like great snow-white tiger-lillies striped
with rainbOws, and the outstretcheG
colonades of the sculptor-architect, Ber
mini, closing round the front of tht
church like the claws Of gigantic
crab. Every cobble-stone in the square
bad sent a fllnIy gleam right into oul
optic nerves and lighted up the face Of
the church till its yellow colors seemed
on fire. There was no coolnesS any
where to be found. except in the neigh.
bOrhoOd of the ever-splashingf fountains
or behind the pillars of the colonades
/ A glance at the Tiber river near by
made you recoil from its deep-sunk food
that seemed to boil and ooze sluggishly
! III the sun. The castle of st. Angelo,
over yonder, which was once the tomb OF
/ Hadrian, regained part of its original
) purpOse-that of huge vase for ashes
filled with the relics of the Caesars, over
I which the archangel-weathercOck exult-
ed in the bright air, like mounting
flame. The sky, absolutely peeled OF
clouds, was cauldren of blue crystal
I in which molten turquoise was all aqui-
yer. Was it any wonder that we had
fled to the all-embracing cathedral
church of the world for refuge against
| the beleaguering light?
Here within, all was dim and twi-
light-like and sweet; even the faded
and overriding incense was sweet. 1t
was delightful to touch the cold mar
bles, to handle the moist wings Of the
''young cherubim" that upheld
the mighty basin Of eau benite, to put
the palm of the hand against the icy
porphyry and the shuddering malachite.
Away up yonder in the vast arch of the
dome, the feathery quill of 81. Mark
seemed to watt down GOODNESS upon the
pilgrims below; the tombs of princes
and prophets around were ice chests
stored with vitality III comparison with
the heat and languishment without;
the chapels behind the iron gratings
were redOlent with mountain breezes in
the GOODNESS which they suggestively
breathed upon US. The Silvery tone of
the interior of the church was tranquil
Zing. No painted glass threw tumbled
spots of blood and fire ON the sensitive
floor or concentrated IN their CLASSY
flowerbed the humors and passions of
the sun. The air was rich and still and
filteIed; the panes OF white glass were
nebulous, the long. drawn aisleS were
forest vistas full of shade; Vallombrosa
itself itself could not be moister or dim
mer than the perfect arch of the dome
crowded with its far withdrawn mOSaics.
Had it been cathedral of ice with
pillars of ice, We could not have been
more refreshed.
Lets go up into the roof" cried
one of the party wearying of the mono
tony of the church.
No sooner said than done. A cour-
teous ecclesiastical guided US up the
inclined plane that led heavenward by
an ascent 50 easy that you could ride
up on horseback or roll up IN carriage
and four.
Lets go up into the DOME" cried
another, finishing his hasty survey of
the small town that has sprung up on
the roof of the church. The masons
and workmen, you must know, live
here on top and their supplies are
brought up to them on donkey back.
They succeed each other in regular
hereditary line and the right of living
n this arial is handed down from
tather to son.
So off we started on the climb of the
lone, in and out of winding staircases,
with little flashes of light shooting
in on us through loop-holes as We
climbed. Presently We came to gdlIerid
that girdles the dome outside like a
necklace or the rltche of a Turkish
minaret. Here some one dropped his
pocket book, and out in every direction,
scattered and run and rolled the bright
gold coins. How the Capuchin painted,
and the Italian c0HtadiRd pufed, and
the Englishman blew, and everybody
beloved! Evidently nobody had lung
complaint.
Let's go up into the ball." suggested
a third member of the party, scornfully
viewing the landscape at our feet, this
is nothingl"
Everybody started on run, higher
and higher still, up the steep ladder
that led from the gdllerid into the gold
en- orange that surmounts the dome of
st. Peters. From the ground this
orange Is really an orange to look at.
When you get into it-lt holds sixteen
peoplel And on the top of this there is
what looks like a tiny cross, a mere
glittering toy, such as lady might hang
about her neck, or uun swing to her
rosary; butt is Seventeenfeet long, fit
for the neck of one of the Jack-killed
giantsl In we climbed, cautiously, one
after the other, through an aperature
just big enough to admit person of
ordinary size. There were Sits in the
messy bronze through which We were
soon gazing out, as through an arial
spy glass-out-out--far as the eye
could see.
Wonderfully distinct like a piece of
chiseled marble, lay the city of Rome,
beneath and about us. The thunder of
the Eternal City melted to a musical
and almost inaudible murmur as II
gathered in shadowy focalization within
the hollow heart of the ball. Far away
westward, or what seemed westward,
in the direction of OStia, there was
line Of white that betrayed the simmer
Of the ivory toothed Mediterranean as
1t gnawed and chopped the shore. YOn-
der was the crawling skein of the Tiber,
itself in the complications of Old Rome,
clutching the throat of the city, like
yellow fingers of thug. Three hun
dred churches sent up campaniles,
clock towers, duomos, of every Imagin-
able shape and size, into the air te meet
us. On one side the gardens of the
Vatican, shrouded in shade, made a
dark green spot on the earth; and on
the other the beautiful terraces Of the
Palnpili Doria and the lines of the
Janiculum Hills retreated into lovely
distances unsubstantialized by the deli
cate and beaming vapor that lay be-
tween. The Protestant cemetery rich
in immortal ashes, seemed richer. for
the powerful lens of magnifying air
through which we looked at it. Tas-
SOS San Onotrio, the sweetest and most
sacred spot in Rome, full of honey-bees,
and grapes beloved Of the wasps, and
garnered memories. and glories of Do
menichins. shone like stanza out of
some mythic Ferie Queen enclosing the
bower Of Adonis. Over the house lay
the glorified Campagna the purple peak
Of Soracte, and over this the masses of