The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1884-09-04
The Gardens Of Rome.

and lentlsk, such groves of umbrage-
GUS pines, empowering the vast and
stately palaces within the walls?
While the villas beyond their stern
enclosure are set in clipped silences of
box and yeW, and shaded by solemn
groves of lex and bay, others (like the
Wolkonsky) are spanned by huge ruins
of aqueduet or bridge, ivy-clad or
tangled with roses, and starred with
anemohe and eycIamen in lavish and
lovely eprofusion. And all alike are
vocal with murmurous flow of tinkling
waters and fantastic shapes of Triton
and Nereid; the maidenhair mantles,
the marble basins with its delicate
froRds, and the sunshine steals through
the boughs and the fancy coniures up
the SYLVAN goat-tooted gods, dancing
to wilde clash of eymbal and horn,
upon the level lawns, while Hemadry-
ads crouch and listen amid their leafy
boughs. The Church of ST. Sabina
has appropriated the site and stately
marble columns set up in honor OF the
gods. The great st. Dominic once
abode. in the adjoining convent aud
planted a certain orange tree, still vig-
orous and green, and covered with
flowers and fruit Hither, too, fed st.
Thomas Aquinas, pursued by his moth
er's tears and lamentations to the very
door of the monastery; and within the
walls of the church St. Gregory read
his famous Homilies, for the building
dates from the fourth century, as an
inscription In mosaic testifies. St. Sa-
bina lies beneath the altar.
The Ludovisi gardens, widely rang
ing and richly planted, offer as their
proud contribution to Roman heritages
Guercino' ! beautiful fresco of the Dawn
driving her horses up the pearly slopes
of heaven. The light. of the new born
day is upon her face; the faint breeze
gently lifts her hair; flowers are scat
tered beneath her chariot wheels. Be-
fore her speed the flying Hours, bear
ing their unknown gifts to men3 ese
The slow sweet hours that bring us all things
The slow sad hours that bring us all things
Behind the car, the beautiful Genius
of the Day, bearing the torch, occupies
one of the alcoves of the summerhouse.
Opposite sits woman with a book on
her knee, sleeping child beside her,
and around her fit the wide winged
birds of night.
The gallery Of statuary boasts the
Ludovisi Juno, colossal, stately, divine
ly fair. Silence reigns upon her parted
lips; the calm of majestic repose rests
upon her serene and level hrows. Hers
'..that large utterance of the earthly
gods, - which, when she speaks, will
compel US to silence. In the ampler
ather, amid which she is wont to dwell,
what knows she of our world of petty
woep where, as old Hesiod puts it, "by
day as well as by night, diseases un-
bidden haunt mankind, silently bearing
ills. to men, But of all these her
colossal loveliness knows nothing, save
ssthat the gods themselves cannot recall
their gifts and time is one. Such is
the Ludovisi Juno. But who that has
ever visited the Villa Albani can, If he
would, forget that fragment of Greek
culture there, so iealously preserved
that has relief, I mean, of Mercury
withdrawing Eurydice from her hus-
bands arms? Words can give no IDEA
of the tender grace of the attitudes, of
the truth, the nature, the pathos of
these figures. Her hand rests upon his
shoulder; his clasps hers with such a
passion of affection that the messenger
of the gods, though he relaxes. not his
grasp, yet by slight movement of his
entwining arm expresses that he gazes
not unmoved upon their tender and en-
trancing farewell. This fragment
should be, if it is not, the despair of the
modern world. as it is truly one of the
most consummate triun1phs OF genius
and art. aE a
4 But the Doria Pamphili gardens sum-
mons US to gather cyclamen and hya-
einth amid their shades and waters and
groves and lawns. This was once. the
/ garden of Galba, and upon the green
and level lawn stands a little heather
altar representing the Plus Antonius
Imp, sacrificing to his household gods.
No sod, here il. ever turned or soil re-
moved, but fragments of sculpture, sar-
cophagi, busts. and eippi or funeral urns
are brought to light; and the columbaria
are singularly interesting and perfect,
In a square chamber approached by a
stair and a door are the many inches,
each of which contains in It's pictured
urn the ashes and half-consumed bones
of some dead and gone Roman of I'm
perial time. The walls are ornamented
with graceful arabesques of bird and
flower ard geniif and fruit. "A group oi
dwarfs disturbed in their antics by q
crocodile advancing from lake is curl
eusly grotesque, In an instant we are
transported back some twenty centuries
as we linger over the sharply cut and
graceful inscriptions to the ccnjux dul
cissime, or the loved aud lasnented fill
let fiilo of those I0ng past days Within
a single recess several cippi are not I'm
frequently accommodated, with praise
worthy eeonomEs of space. lis sait
that extensive catacombs range from
Ethese princely gardens TO Romes o
(which the viewx seen, through the, stem
Of the pines and lex groves, is one o
the most delightful imaginable. an.
prompts one to exclalm, with Shelley
80 Romel o life! time.
On whose last steps climb sgssN g@ 9a fs4
When will return the glory of your prime?
London Society.
The oldest lady guardian Of th
poor in london declares that wome
are more economical than men. BJ
as she afterward says that men az