Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1884-01-26
ST. PETER's.


ST. Peter is the most famous church in
the world, aud it deserves its fame. By
comparison all other churches are pigmies,
and in point of splendor the hand of man
has never made anything to compare with
it. Among churches it is toe whale among
minnows, while in grandeur of conception.
in glory of adornment-beauty Is too small
word, but let it gO-in beauty of COM
pletion, there is nothing like it in Europe
or probably in the world.
When you have seen st. Peters you have
seen everything that is perfect in churches,
and if churches are what you are after, you
should spend a year or two in studying it,
and then borrow money enough and come
home.
Enter Rome from what way you may,
the ma estic dome of st. Peters ia the first
object that catches the eye. It is visible
everywhere, for it towers over all its sur
roundings, uuequaled and unspproached.
1t Is not an ancient structure, having
had its beginning in 1850, though as but
little was done upon it for years, its real
date is a much later one. However, that
antiquity may not be lacking, it Is said
that upon the site Of the present church
there had always been church, and that
the ground is sacred as having been the
scene of martyrdom by the tyrant Nero.
This ought not to give it any especial sane
tity, as one would be puzzled to find an
inch of ground in Rome that had not been
soaked at some period with the blood Of
somebody
Ia 1905 the foundation stones of one of
the great pillars supporting the wondrOus
dome were laid with much ceremony,
though some hundreds Of years elapsed be-
fore the great work was completed. What
its cost was, from beginning to end, nobody
knows or ever viii, but it is known that
after completion the enormous sum Of
SOC. 600, 600 was expended to finish its
oruamentations, and that it requires al
annual expenditure Of SIS, 900 to keep it
in repair. 1t pays the church to do it, for
the money comes fIom all over the world,
and 1t certainly pays Rome to keep 1t up
for st Peters alone is an attraction, in and
of itself, sufficient to keep Rome full Of
strangers.
The entrance from the dirty city to the
front of the great church is as striking as
the church itself 1t is placed at the end
Of a great piazza which is inclosed by two
colonnades, eacn supported by four rows OF
pillars immense IN circumference and sev-
enty feet high, sweeping off to the right
and LETT in 4 bold and imposing semi
circle.
In the center of the ground inclosed by
the colonaades is an Egyptian obelisk, 1870
feet high, solid piece OF granite, and two
fountains, one on each side of the obelsk,
Nv perpetullly, the water falling into I'M
mense basins of porphyry. This obeIisk has
history, as has everything IN Rome, 1t had
stood for l SOC years on the ground now &C.
cupied by the church. Pope Sixtus V. re-
uuired its removal, and the architect Fon-
tana was selected to do the werk. The
stone weighed .0O0, 600 pounds. Fontans
took 900 men and $50 horses, he rugged
ropes to it and raised it clear from is
foundations, and with forty-six windlasses
lowered it to a horizontal position. Then
it was moved on rollers to the new founda-
ton that had been built for it, and the
more dangerous work Of raising end placing
It was commenced. But an unexpected ac-
cident occurred Just as it was being got
into place the ropes stretched by the great
weight upon them, and the pillar hung mo-
tionless suspended in the air. The ropes
could not be shortened, and the work was
liable to fall Just as it was being completed.
Fortunately for Fontana there was a sailor
in the throng who knew something OF
ropes. "Wet the ropes ~ he yelled, and
Fontana and the obehsk were saved. The
ropes were wet, they shrunk to the re-
CURED length, and the work was done.
The obeiisk was in its place, to stand there
forever, which is to say as long as anything
earthly can stand.
From this wonderful colonnade-inclosed
and obsisk and fountain-studded square
s.. Peters is before you. At first you are
disappointed, for you observe something
wrong about IL. 1t is not the imposing
structure that the dome gave you an idea
of. Il looks somehow dwarted and Insls-
niticant. a great mistake was made in
building the great facade so high, for from
the point Of view it cuts off the proper
tions OF the dome, hiding its base and rob-
bing t of hal. its glory.
The facade ia 357 feet long and l4i feet
high. Above is a balustrade with statues
of Christ and the Apostles, which from the
piszzs are life size only, bu. when you got
up TO them you find them eighteen feet IN
hight.
The approach to the entrance is by three
flights Of marble steps, after which you
enter the vestibule, which is really a grand
structure 10 and of itself, being 46S feet
long, 66 feet high and 30 Ieet wide, which
Is large enough for a magnificent church,
but It is only the entrance to the church
itself
l0u push aside heavy leathern screen
on which is the accumulated dirt and
grease Of the thousand of filthy hands that
have pushed il aside. This lea,hern bar
rier passed YOU are inside the greatest re-
ligious structure in the world. Yen are IN
q wilderness of architecture that is Devil
derinc not only because of its magnii-
cence, but OF is extent. You stand on a
polished marble pavement 50 feet wide,
500 feet IN lengta and y feet high. On
either hand are massive COrinthian pillars
crowned with beautiful capitals, the arch.
ways leading into lofty side-chapejs not
less magnificent than the NAN body OF the
church, al oruameuted with paintings,
mosaics, s:atuary and every form OF arti4-
tic decoration.
Your breath is taken away by the very
vastness Of the interior. You see at the
farther end OF the great hall people moving
about who are dwsrfed by the distance
into uigmies. You 90 up 10 inspect the
husing Of pillar and you find it deep
enough to hold statue. Everything is
dwarfed by the enormous size Of everything
else. Some idea Of the extent OF Sc. Peter $
as compared with other churches may be
formed from these figures st. Peters Is
6l3 feet in length, st. PAul's london,
$40. the Cathedral at Milan 443 ID R.
Locke, in Toledo Blade.
Charley Bsgole writes from Lone Pine
to the Iayo Independent: major Barnes,
of the Lone Pine Hotel, had a consignment
OF fresh fish from Sacramento. Among the
lot was a number of catfish. All were
hacked in ice. Upon putting them in cold