The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1890-11-20
renember what Garibaldi did for Rome,

remember what Garibaldi did for Rome
and vote for his son."
4 The fountains are larger and far NOR
a numerous than in any city | have eve
been, any one of the dozen or more larg
A est ones, would make any city proud
! They flow at full head all the time, anC
r everywhere about the city are small
/ fountains and hydrants with the watel
always running, beautiful clear water
too, plenty cold enough to be palatablC
right from the faucets. One fountain
near the railway station had round ba
sin about forty feet in diameter, witt
four lions standing about the edge
the heads turned in just enough SO jet
OF water from each mouth fell into the
pool; while series of jets foot apart
all around the basin curved inward and
fell into it, producing charming effect
Another was about fifty feet wide, and
consisted of series of cascades falling
over rocks into large pool. These cas-
cades came out of high wall, and the
pool was at corner, the whole taking
up space about 50x75 feet. Still an.
other was on top of the highest hill,
where three streams each five feet wide
flowed from a stone structure about fifty
feet high, making three very pretty wa
| OOlAoiiSsH - y GHutI' OHt Ot bilt idIRtSb lOull-
tains is great steel chamber, into which
the water flows from to a. M, during
those hours being shut off from the
fountain. At six every morning, the
chamber is suddenly opened and the wa
ter rushes through the principal sewer,
flushing it thoroughly. The water sup
ply is very large, and is derived from
seven different sources, by acqueducts,
most of it coming from the Alban Noun
tains, part of it from distance of twen-
ty miles or more. The quality is all good,
but that furnished to the part of the city
where most of the pensions or boarding
houses are, is very pure.
Rome has had bad name as an un-
healthy place, but within the last ten
years the whole city has been severed
and paved, and the wonderful water sup
ply furnished, so that now it is really the
healthiest city in Europe, with probably
much the best water supply of any city
in the world. People are afraid to go
there in the summer lest they be pros
trated by Roman fever, but that is really
the best time to go there, for the malaria
which lurkes on the Campagna, the great
plain lying between the city and the
mountains, is only increased by the win
ter rains, but the hot summer sun dries
| it all up. We were told we must sleep
with windows tightly closed and stay in
after sunset, all of which we found to be
unmitigated nonsense. What | conceive
| to be the real source of Roman fever is
that people visit Rome, rush about in
the hot sun, get their meals at irregular
hours, walk good deal instead of riding
everywhere, and worst of all visit the
churches and public buildings without
taking warm wraps. All these structures
are cold, st. Peters is the coolest build
ing was ever in, a heavy overcoat only
| just kept me comfortable while there.
To enter these places right out of the hot
sun, without extra wraps is enough to
give any one fever.
Rome is in the same latitude as New
York City. The street pavements con-
sist of stones about four inches square,
laid very smoothly; in many of the
streets there are no side walks, the pave
ments sloping toward a central gutter,
but all are kept very clean. Very few
of the streets are straight or very wide,
most are winding and some quite mar
row. The COrso, the Broadway of Rome,
although staight, is far from wide. 1t is
very difficult, in any of the cities with
winding streets to walk from one point
to another: one starts out with much
confidence, turns to the right, to the left,
backward or forward as the case may be,
for streets run into each other and stop
in the most wonderful way, a straight
line between two points being generally
an impossibility. You think you are
keeping the general direction beautifully,
and often begin to brag of your ability
to find the way even in such labyrinth
of streets, but, arrived at what you think
fought to be the place, you find you are
lost, and have not the smallest idea
where you really are. Why even if you
have come into the street or square you
wish to reach, you come into it from
such totally different direction from
what you expected, that Oftentimes you
do not recognize well known locality.
| remember particularly our attempt to
walk around the Kings Palace, very
large building.
One of the most curious places We
visited was the "Capucinh Monastery, q
great stone building where large mum
Der of monks lived of whom we saw
many about the streets of Rome; they
wandered through the city dressed i'll !
rough gown generally of a faded brown
tied about the waist with rope, and witt
hood for the head usually worn thrown
: back, round spot about two inches IL
diameter shaved at the back of the head
and sandals on their bare feet. Most oi
/, them appeared to be of very ordinary
class of men, and from what / was tOlC
: by an American priest studying in ROm'
judged they were held in very little re
pute by priests and people. The interior
} of the monastery was as cheerless place
as could well be imagined; with il
whitewashed rooms and corridors scanti
ly furnished where the monks wandered
aimlessly around. No ladies are admit
ted except to the chapel, so the gentle
men OF the party had the laugh on th'
ladies, and all looked very mysterious ol
emerging, to make the ladies feel thel
had failed to see something interesting
on account of their sex To the buria
place under the building all were admit
: ted; here in a series ofrooms the cleaned
bones of all the dead monks had beer
piled up like cordwood, here pile of lel
or arm homes reaching to the ceiling
: there pile of skulls of equal height
; while the walls in all the rooms weT'
covered with bones arranged in fancy
patterns, and against the wall in eacl
room was the complete skeleton of de
parted monk, still dressed in his gown
and hood on head, the remnants of {
: smile still clingingt to his fieshless cheeks
1t was a wonderfully cheerful place, par
ticularly for invalids. As the party
drove up to the building a DONKEY lef
standing near began to bray, such an ex
: traordinary roar as none of us had evel
& heard before, it sounded exactly as if h,
was laughing fit to split his sides,a deaf
ening ha-ha-ha-, look at the globe trOt
ters. 1t was so funny we all burst ou
laughing, and strange to relate when W.
$ started TO leave a different donkey wen
through the same performance.
, The railway from Rome to Naples, l6I
: miles distant, crosses the Campagna di
: agonally, so we had good view of it
and more desolate looking place i
would be hard to find. For miles, unit
: the foot hills were reached, not hOus,
. was to be seen, the malaria rendering resi-
: dence there impossible. A colony o
: ! monks have been located at one place anC
= ! are cultivating the soil and planting euca
. lyptus trees, which are said to preven
: the miasma. If the plains were all cul
> tivated, after few years it would be
come healthy, but the ground seems T.
be saturated with disease germs, needing
only the moisture of the wet season Il
render them active. When the grea
Military College was built few year
ago Just outside the city, the ground wa
left bare about the building and numer
49,, oo.ac 90 s;clruaoo oca,rra1 fha tyh nl