The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1886-08-11
OUR FOREIGN LETTER.
Especial Cores pondence of the PREss9

The pictures along the path OIL the Appiah
wav az far az the ninth milestone, will re-
main clearest in our memory in the years 10
come. Here Paul tarried on the last nlght OF
his toilsome journey of one hunoreo anu
seventy miles over the Appian way from
Puteoli to Rome.
This Appian Way was straight cut OF
three hundred miles from Rome to Brlndlsi,
with roads branching in several dlrecuons'
one of which extended to Capua, by when
Paul entered the main thoroughfare. Like
all roads outside the gates, it was for miles
the street of the tombs, but was by no means
gloomy; on the contrary it was continuous
triumphal way.
The Pagan saw no light beyond the grave,
and labored hard to surround death and his
dead with every external attraction, to cover
up their unsightliness. Paul tells us that
when the brethren heard of us (at Puteolp
they came to meet us as far as the Appii Fo-
rum" Some of these may have been Pauls
friends in Caesars household or at least pros
porous citizens, who could command horses
and chariots, if not, they surelylshewed great
affection for the Apostle to walk forty miles
over adusty road to be the first to shake
hands with him. Again other brethren met
him at the Three Tayerns, or properly Three
Shops. They might have been hardy men,
who would think nothing after doing days
work of walking nine miles in the cool of the
twilight, to this hating place, where they
would calculate that the soldiers would put
up for the night. Here we drove to meet
Paul in imagination and join the caravan on
its march to Rome Many of these brethren
must have been unknown to Paul, except by
the bonds of Christian fellowship, and yet
when we read these simple words; HE
thanked God and took courage we can
easily picture the joyful meeting of the
Apostle and these co-laborers and members
with him of the household of faith.
Julius would surely be in hurry, after his
long absence, to get back to his home, and
would rouse his men by the break of day.
We can fancy Paul, amidst the hubbub of
the starting of this goodly company of SOL
diers both of Caesar and of Christ, looking
backward to see the road in the morning
light, over which he had plodded too YEARLY
the evening before to appreciate its beau
ties.
We stood on little elevation of land.
probably mound over some ruin, and won
dered if it did not look to us very much as it
did to Paul. To-day, as then, the Appian
Way stretches its white thread over the Pom
tine marshes, up hill aud down dale, and
far away where the blue sky drops down
The Sabine and Alban Hills must have
looked vague and blue to him as to us, for
the rich villas, which are in ruins now, were
too far off to be clearly seen by the naked
eye; the old aqueducts are too hard ever to
grow old and wrinkled and the soft green of
the Campagna is renewed year by year; so
excepting the tombs of Pompey and Aruns
and few villas, which are no more. we
could see all that Paul saw. Turning about
towards Rome, we wished we might look
upon the masterpieces of Roman handiwork
as they appeared to his eyes, and not be
obliged to make them out from the scrapings
of old walls, bits of worm-eaten parchment,
and the sfoul'lodgings of dead mems bones.
From here the whole way was a continual
line of tombs, like castles adorned with
gigantic statues and varied only by arches,
villas and temples. How full of interest the
walk must have been to him, for he was a
Roman, and full of Roman pride; he could
not be ignorant of the legends and history of
his boosted birthright, from the stories of
the muses. to the enforcement of the reign
ing Caesars.
The shepherds have kept the legends till
now, which mark the masonry of the one, of
the Three Shops, where Paul spent the
night. A little way on their march he would
see the tomb of Alexander Severus, standing
in the grounds of the villa of Gallienus. Not
far from here is a tomb which must have i'm
pressed Paul with its beauty; in this Per-
seus was inferred that same year. A little
farther on he would pass the temple of Her.
eules, and next the groves and shrine of
Diana came into view. We can imagine as
he passed these Pagan temples, that his soul
was stirred by the sight of these buildings
and their blinded worshippers, and that he
involuntarily delivered his first sermon to the
Romans with great power; for he never
failed to preach the Gospel when he saw an
opportunity to awake dead souls or put in
timely testimony to the glory of his only SOW
ereign, the King of kings. Soon doomed up
before his vision the tumuli of the Horatii,
marking the very spot where the memorable
contest took place between the Roman
brothers and the Latin Curiatii, whose sep
ulchres were farther on. These mounds to-
day are fresh as military earthworks and
crowned with forest trees. Near here Paul
saw the Castel Rotunda, which Marcus Au-
relius, one of the Gotta family, had just fin
ished without regard to cost. His onward
tramp led him in sight of Seneca's lovely
villa, where few months later the philoso-
pher, perhaps to test his nerve, received the
imperial favor from Nero of choosing in
what form he would meet his inevitable
doom of DEATH Seneca was not disturbed,
and deliberately accepted the OFFER and re-
quested to be bled to death in his bath
which was accomplished here.
Soon his eye rested on Cecilia Metella's
tomb, the wife of Lucius Cornelius Sylla.
These last tombs are the most imposing
ruins on the road, and were once filed with
rare treasures. The inner chamber of the
ruin, probably a funeral banqueting hall,
was well adapted for the gorgeous and costly
funeral entertainments that Sylla is said to
have given. We can imagine as the enthusi-
astic Paul left all this grandeur behind and
then passed under the victorious Arch of
Drusus that he often thrilled with emotion
on hearing his companions recount the deeds
and events these monuments of victory COM
memorated; but as soon as she cast glance
at the Columbaria, where rested the ashes of
Caesars household, we think he had many
things of more importance than military
glory to hear and tell.
The mention of Caesars name would rouse
his desire to learn all he could of the man
who held his destiny in his hand. Paul was
brave and hopeful, and wanted to see Caesar,
for he doubtless had never cherished mis-
giving but tibet he should come off victorious,
if he could only be heard. Neither were
Caesars servants strangers to him. Paul
only saw the outside; but we descended into
the chambers of the dead. Of ali the burial
ucGuToS S5dnuInss pro--
served. We descended about thirty stairs
into this square edifce, built mostly under
ground. This Colombaria takes its name
from the fact that in mostsof them the recep-
tacles of the urns are modelled precisely like