Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1888-03-11
UNDER ITALIAN SKIES
WILL CARLETON OF THE SpLBND0RS OF
MODERN ROME.
The Grsa. St. Peter Ca.aairal-Hcar!ng the Pope
Say Nass-Hrw the Great Prslate Looks
E,5S.-g the FJ2t Of S. Peur-llsde
the Dame q R1mes Cathedral,
special Co,respo1deucaI

teeth Of Time. The foremost cathedral OF
he world is a pleasant thing to visit after
trying to trace the vanished walls OF 8
dozen heather temples.
The iroat OF st. Peters Is not so impress
s,ys rs tina. Of many inferior churches.
The facade IS yoluminOus and ugly. The
two rows OF UrcaGss that flank The vast
front yard like q parenthesis are rs stiff rs
II Whitfield out Of stone. The huge Obe!isk
needs ia two comrades o! fountains to
Keep il from being positively drcary. The
majority O.. ROmsn churches are anything
but handsome on the outside.
But once withiu-0nCe having passed
the two leather curtains at the dO0r5-we
are in @ fairy COuntry--l region full o!
human mirac'es-a place 50 magnificent
tina. we can scarcely realize that IT was
made b. hands. Before we reach the far
ther end OF the structure we have wan
GcJcd for the eighth OF q mile through q
great gallery Of theological art, full OF
paintings, stItuary, costly jewels and lofty
cOlumu5. The walls on either side are
lined with chJpCls, each large enough Tor
aghurlh.
/ have seen many aJterapts to give an
iieI Ut the yastuCss OF s.. Peters, but al!
OF them were failures. | have visited II
many times when special services were be.
ing held, and ll.gC crowds were gathered,
but exCtp. upon n occasion, ITS great S'Ae
has made it seem almost empty, nOtwltI-
Standing the thsougs which II held.
This one occasion was on the lst Of Jan
Ulrg last, when, being in Rome, | had the
tem9estuous pleasure of seeing the mass
said by Pope Leo Mi. Ga that
day the great auditorium met its
match. 4 hundred thousand people
crushed and tramplsd against each other,
and Leo was carried among them the whole
length Of the church, borne high in mis-
Papal chair. lie was cheeTed by nearly
every throat IN in the audience, ana as big
% rackc. was made on that Sunday NOM
ing as if all the Salvation armies OF both
h~euisph5ges were shouting together. Ho
looked psle-almOst COrpse-lIgo-and one
tal. that the empty GOTTA fastened TO Que
@. the pillars, ;1at always waits p the
tJmparsTg abode OF the next dead Pope,
would sJ0a open I0- hun
But Leo OF the ]uulucEy number has one
OF the sweetest aged face, that | have ever
ssen-ani there ia nothing on etrth more
angelic than q good facet that has kept is
hgu,fiacnce through seventy or eighty years
o.: the turmoil of this terrible cIT,l. lie
looked like q dear old angel Of the mascu-
line gender, as he extended his jewcied
hand IN blessing over the audience. He
is lid TO be very sweet tempered aud low
able.
one Iliy VINO had an audience with
him, refused, beiGy q Protestant, TO knteI,
az ia customary, aud take his blessing.
at you will not take the blessing OF the
Pop, yoJ will, pe,hIPs, at least, accept
that OF IN oil mGu, % said Leo, mildly and
she was on her knees in u moment, while
tears z,oa. in her eyes.
Ne looks, Indeed, much better adapted
TO the kjugship Of souls than OF bodice;
AID il is Told as mere than q IumOr that,
II he could have his way, th.re would not
be very mach more trouble between the
PapIcy and the Italian Government.
AZ different points in this great church
are pllcsd the confessional boxes-one for
eacu language. Il was al the one marked
3 ErgI.,l' that U~awthornc's heroine.
Ul.il, OF the ''MArhle Fam revealed
her terrible secret. After the penitent
has confessed he kasels before the priest,
and Is lightly touched by a long rod which
the latter holds, and which is IN ancient
symbol Of forgiveness derived from some
OF the customs Vt Old Rome.
The toe ~ she IrDvEe statue OF ST. Peter
is kissed this winter, perhaps, oitencr than
ever before. Pilgrims from all over the
world have been here, ard added much to
the religious t-ryar OF tue Hlssc-; there IS
hardly an hour ia the day OF = minute in
The hour when the toe ia not kissed. A
steel shoe has to be KEEP. over the bronze
foot. u- il would s1ua be melted away. Ia
another church in Rome is a statue Of
Christ. by Michael Angelo. Vhis, als,,
has 10 he protected for the same reason
Under the dome il q golden box which
is said 10 contain the body Of s. Peter:
but in Rome one soon learns to doubt many
OF the pious legends. The Gltlr-sup
posed to be thus hlcssed-ls nearly sur
rounded by golden lamps, always kept
burning
Beneath this structure there IS said to be
a crypt, which ia almost q twin church in
itself, but | have not ~ yet been able to
get into L.. lam told that the public are
lust now prohibited from entering, for fear
of DynInite-that bliai Samson who is
trying TO pull down the pillars ofthc nine
teeuth century. But by obtaining a print
ed permission almost as large as u medical
diploma, aud signing my name within it,
/ am allowed TO climb 70 the root and
dome.
The former is guile a little city Of itself
obtaining among other interesting
thjgss, tenement houses in which live the
workmen. Some statutes Of martyr u,
which form the ground, loni. like small
men, turn oUt to he stone giants nearly a
rod tall. There is room enough up here
for the camp Of an army.
Pcrched upon a platform Inside the dome
we ,'Udy the gorgeous Mosaic pictures
with which its couCtyc surface is covered,
and then gaZr eighteen rods straight down
upon the floor of the church, aud see
men and women, not NJ trees, bat
rs insects, walking. Tnure is being
celebrated 4 mas5, with full chorus Of
voices, almost Immediately beneath; and
the Mosaic Of sounds that is Off red to
heaven is almost fit to he accepted and
placed among the prajsa-treasures above.
The anthem OF worship echoes and re-
echoes, until it seems as if the very dome
itself were slagiug.
Still hjahcr-Ii08g q narrow staircase
that makes you bead us you walk-for it Is
under the roof OF hedOme and corresponds