The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1884-09-13

ane stepping stones for pedestrians, nearly
a foot above the pavement. With but few
exceptions the houses are only one story
high and are built on the same general
plan, solid wall with a single entrance
towards the street and the rooms ranged
around an open court which was orna-
mented and decorated with fountains,
statues, flowers, mosaics etc, according to
the fancy or wealth Of the owner. Unlike
Herculaneum, which was buried beneath
q lava flow to depth of nearly 100 feet,
Pompeii was covered with ashes and scoria
only to depth or about twenty feet, thus
making the work Of excavation much less
laborious. In the small museum within
the walls are several figures made by pour
ing plaster into the openings left in the
ashes by the decay and absorption of the
bodies of the dead who were overwhelmed
in the eruption; thus showing the exact
attitude in which death overlook them.
The agony thus depicted ON the faces as
well as indicated by the position of the
bodies is most horrible, and even after q
lapse of nearly two thousand years is
sufficient to cause one to shudder at the
horrors of that dreadful night, when a
city teeming with life and prosperity was
surprised and buried.
The National Museum at Naples contains
much Of interest IN its valuable and extern
sive collection ofaneient statuary, bronzes,
Egyptian antiquities, ETC., but by far its
greatest attraction lies in its vast exhibit
of Pompeian relics. We find here beauti-
full mosaics; frescoes and other mural de-
corations which IN form and color compare
favorably with the works of the renais-
sance; thousands of articles of domestic
utility, including kitchen utensils, scales,
lamps, stoves, bedsteads, surgical and
musical instruments, chairs, toilet articles,
vases, dishes, agricultural implements and
many other things very similar to those in
use in the present day; glass amphore still
containing olive oil; several round black
loaves Of bread bearing the bakers name,
as we'll as many other articles of food; and
a vast assortment, " too numerous to men,
ton, of articles taken from the buried
city.
We return to Rome by the same road
over which we Travelled in going to Naples,
and after a few hours spent in revisiting
the Forum and few other places of in
terest, we took the train for Florence, a
city of about 10000 population located
nearly in tho centre of Italy. Gun. route
passes Lake Trasemenns, memorable as
the scene of Hannibal's great victory over
the Romans more fhan 200 years before
Christ, as well IS many .sother places of
historical interest.
Nhe city of Florence Is situated in an ex-
tensive plain surrounded by cultivated hills
whose sides are studded with elegant villas.
It is divided into two unequal parts by the
Arno, a stream which is perhaps an i'm
provement on the Tiber, but still does not
possess any features which should justly
give it the common appellation of "the
lovely Arno." Florence has suffered in
every age from military incursions; but
during the fifteenth century it was the ac-
knowledged leader in the intellectual renais-
sance which followed the darkness of the
middle ages. Its GALAXY of illustrious
Giotto, Michael Angelo, Raphael, da Virci,
Savonarolo and many others is unsurpassed
in modern times and we'll entities the city
to be known as the Italian Athens. The
Piazza della Signoria is the business as we'll
as the historic centre of the city. Here Sa-
vonarola was burned and here stands the
old capitol of the Republic. Adjoining this
square is the Uffzi gallery founded by the
Medici family and containing one of the
largest and choicest art collections in the
world. The hall known as the Tribune is
located near the centre of the gallery and is
spoken of by Hawthorne as " the richest
nus de Medici, the Dancing Faun, the
Wrest1ers and other masterpieces of ancient
sculpture as we'll as some of the finest works
of Raphael, Titan, Corregio, Angelo and
other great masters. Besides the pictures
and statuary the gallery contains valuable
collection of gems as well as many mosaics
and others works of art. Among the
mosaics is table of wondrous beauty,
which represents the labor of twenty-five
artists for twenty five years. On the op-
posite side of the Arno, but connected with
tlb O1AZi SdIloEy Wy q AOuS COVoFoO pSSSaSo,
is the Pitt Palace, one Of the finest archi.
tectural structures of modern times and
containing collection of about 500 paint.
ings, including Raphael's Madonna della
Seggiola, Titian's Magdalen and many
other choice gems of art.
Among the churches of Florence the
cathedral is the most interesting. It is
800 feet in length and the exterior is coated
with marble but the facade has never beer
completed. Its interior is grand and i'm.
impressive but exceedingly bare and cold
The church of Santa Croce is spoken of as
the West minister Abbey of Florence. Here
sons, and memorial tablets are here erected
to many others whose remains are buried
elsewhere. In the square in front stands 6
statue of Dante, nineteen feet high, erecteG
in 1865 on the 6O0th anniversary of his
birth. The Medicean chapel in the rear OF
the church of San Lorenzo is, with the excep
ton of the Tai Mahal in India. probabI,
the richest tomb in the world. 1t was cree
ted in 1904 at cost of over 81, 000, 600 as 1
receptacle for the Holy Sepulchre, but hal
never received its expected deposit. tt
magnifcence is beyoned description, II
the sacristy adjoining are the tombs of TIN
which are the masterpieces of that grea
artist and fully equal to the nobiest figure
of the best period of Greek art. But tn,
pile of manuscript before us reminds u
again that we must not presume too ia
upon the patience of the readers of tn
CHIEF and consequently we must leav
many points of which, did space permit
should be glad to write, and pass on t
beautiful Venice, the Bride of the Sea-
C. L. N.
The Irish World is becoming famous fo
its cartoons. The last one represents