The farmers' union. (Memphis, Mo.) 1891-1895, 1891-09-10
HOUSES or tn: ACCENTS.
They W-ro Planned and Butt to Last
for All Time.

Henri Wattersnn writes III the Lntlis-
Vile Couicr-Jonrnat: TIE Diligence
with which, in. recent wears. the work
IF excavatiny ancient cities and ruins
has been prosecuted has given us mnch
valuable Information concerning the
habits and house told equipments of
the earlier world. but il leaves still
open that question. deeply Interesting
to students scholars and antiquarians.
If not to the general public. namely.
whether the ancients attained il higher
degree of civilization than tho present
generation possesses. That 1t is a
problem that can never lie decided
does not check the discussion. nor does
it dctract from the Interest that it cx.'
cites among II special class.
Ignoring the comparative degree of
intellectual developments atiaiue.l nv
the nncirnts and the modcrns. about
which one could argu. forever. the
question Of production In material
matters affords more substantial basis
for decision. For instance. We now
have very good i.i.a Of the construc-
tion and furniture IF n Roman hoi,-e'
and it is easy to conjecture how the
Roman citizen Of wealth lived and had
his being. Among the most interest
ing of these development. are the ex.
cavations of Roman villas in England.
The history Of the Romans in Britain
Il but fraSmentarv. hut it i. well
known that the island was one OF the
most important provinces Of the en-
pirc. H.,iran visited it. Constantine
was declared emperor by his soldiers
at York. and tho Romans fuuyht to
retain it with a courage aud tenacity
that showed their appreciation of its
value. That tho wealth and civilian
ton of Britain have not been rxagger-
atcd by the conjrcturcs of historical
writer's is now sufficiently proved
At Woodchcs,cr. in Gioucesiershire.
Roman villa Of the grand type has
been laid entirely bare. and the mag
nificence of its ruins shows that it was
equal to many modern palace. al
though this was merely the residence
7 of IL private citizen. Everything is ON
great scale. There are sitting rooms
! fifty feet square. ranged about courts
0r gardens. themselves $50 feet square.
The floors are sp.endit tesselated
pavencnts; the walls are covered with
fresco paintings. aud scattered about
are fragments of marble groups aud
statues. rich Samian ware. aud numer-
GUS other evidences of art and luxury.
In Britain. ns well ~ elsewhere.
wherever Roman dominion long rest
ed, enough is left to indicate that the
wealthy Roman citizen had All ensc
and plenty that the world was 'uufa-
miliar with after the fall Of the Il ,l,an
empire until the Venetian merchants
began again to accumulate from every
region the products of taste ynd lux
ury. Although the rich old Romans
lacked some things that are modern
inventions. yet their houses were in
many respects superior to the l,est "f
to-day. They were larger. built With
more sOliditv, and adorned with II. re
taste and richness. Very few n,oa"rn
mansions. after 1900 years. would rr-
main in Is go"d preservation as arc
the Roman houses found in Britain.
And if they reachci such sp!tnior in
Britain. which was merely prnvInce.
what must they have been in Eatiun.
which was the seat of empire?
The ancient architect planned and
the ancient contractor built for all
time. We'll wager our last ,sestcrce
that there were no Bui,icnsiek< IN
Rome. When Cicero gave dinner
party he did not stand in mortal fear
o: the roof falling in or the walls ,um-
bling down on his guests. Seriously.
when one cnntempla,cs the magniti-
cent architecture of tho Romans,
whether expressed in houses, ol
bridges. or aqueducts. though exposed
to the decay of many centuries he
can not withhold admiration for the
solid character of their work, nor Cal
he avoid reflection that we Aner
cans. and English. and Germans. ant
} others have many things to Iear'. thai
were known well enough 1000 Year