Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1892-04-08

few monks, dressed in the habit of the |
order-a long, white, wooden dress, With !
cape of the same NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. silent
" about, for their rules do not permit |
conversation between the brothers more
than once a week. On going throuob The |
eloister which was surrounded bv bean. |
tiful columns, our attention was directed |
to a we'll inside the court, symboucal. orr |
gn,de said, of the well of living water"
spoken of In the Scriptures The designs |
on the basin and arch above were the |
workmanship of Michael Angelo A few
rose bushes were striving to come into
leaf, but did not suggest that profusion
which is said to be one of the charms of
this garden-for the brothers are fond of
flowers, and are quite noted for their skill
in horticulture. We seemed to be in
M rSed In an atmosphere of symbolism!
In looking up at the lunette over the door
of the church my eyes rested on the
Pelican of the wilderness, depicted there.
lhe church had taken the old legend OF
the Pelican, VINO is supposed to tear open
her breast to feed the young with her
blood, as an emblem of Christ's sufferings
for mankind, and, though not far from the
scenes OF busy life by actual distance, this
place in It's excessive silence and repres-
sion seemed a veritable solitude OF the
wilderness. How many sad hearts have
made their home wi@hin lis wall during
Its 500 years of existence! 1t could not
be possible for a man to condemn himself
TO such LITE without some very bitter or
sorrofnl experience For the outside
world surely affords ample scope for all
the active, self. denying Christianity that
can be brought to its aid.
The church had q beautiful pavement.
finely carved stalls and maav valuable
trescoes. A staircase 8escends to the
Lurlal chapel containing the tombs of the
Acclagnoll family, among the most noted
that of NlCColo, of whom we have spoken
as the founder of the monastery He was
very handsome and talented and gained
great favor at the court Of Naples being
appointed tutor to Prince Louis of Ter
rentuDl, a youth who afterwards married
his cousin Joanna under very suspicious
circumstances. As this time the court of
Naples was the scene of very mysterious
tragedy not unlike that of Mary Queen of
Scots. The grandfather, Robert or Aniou.
died in 1343, leaving Joanna heir TO the
throne. Her husband was Andrew of
Hungary, but was murdered, some say
strangled, and, it Is thought with the
knowledge OF Joanna. Nicc0io has been
thought not altogether blameess, and his
promotion to Grand Seneschal to the
Kingdom of Naples Immediately after all
these occurrences has given color to the
accusation, but whether innocent or
guilty of any completely in the intrigues
of his former pupil, Louis, with his cousin,
Joanna, after ife's fitfuI dream, he sleeps
the sleep of death beneath Gothic shrine
of carved wood and colored marble
GALILEo' S TOWER.
Ga our return from Certosa | pleaded
for an extension of ou ride home, that we
might visit GaIileo's home, on San Nina
to, for which | had been exceedingly
anxious ever since spending a morning in
the Calico Tribuna, in the Florentine
Museum of Natural History, swhose walls
covered with the pictured life of the
heroic philosopher. These frescoes re-
pre- ented every phase of his lite, begin
ming at the eerly age 49, when he was
pupil of Esculapius, for it seems that
MS father had purposeIy left him ignorant
OF mathematics, hoping to make him
figure as an IN. D., but The oscillations
OF that famosus swinging lamp in the
Cathedral of Pisa scattered the fathers
fond hopes to the winds. This partiCul II
period of GaIileo's life was the occasion Of
considerable merriment among our parts
while IN the cathedral, owing to a guides
struggles with our language. He brought
out his choicest "eengeesh' and en-
deavosed to tell US that Calico ''she"
saw that lamp, and then he waved his
hands frantically back and forth to help
out his "eengleesh, finally wanted to
know if we knew "her''-to this day we |
have not been able to determine to which |
he referred, the lamp Or Calico. We |
left him, thankful that our interest in me
subject did not depend on his education |
We found that the main part of GaliIeo'S |
home consisted of an old antique square
tower, surrounded by grounds that were
much neglected, yet were in keeping |
with the plalness and simplicity of every
thing else. We entered lar ge hall lead |
ing into parlor, or salon, whose ceiling
was vaulted, and painted blue, with
gold stars, interspersed occasionally with
coat of arms, and on the upper part of the
walls were others. | suppose they had
some relation to his ancestry for he was
Of noble birth, aud the family had al
ways been Identified with rthe Floentine
Republic, being represented fifteen times
in the Signoria, ard in 1446 had given
Gonfhl0nier, but the old woman who
information regarding the unusual decor.
ation5 Of the rooEl. From the hallway the
staircase led up to GaliIeo's study, small
square room In the tower, upon the table
in the center of this room were placed the
primitive instruments Of that day among
them the queer-lookjng four-sided teie-
scope that had given so much information
to the world, presenting wonderful con
trast to those In use at the present time.
believe All men are willing to conce2e 10
this wonderful man the distinction of the
invention of the telescope, although the
idea was not entirely new with him, for
being in Venice May, 1907, he heard
rumOrs of an instrument being made in
Holland by which distant objects coul0 be
seen that were otherwise invisible to hui
man sight, but he thought out and planned
his own instruments unaided. Upon pre-
senting the Doge OF Venice with one,
the Venetian Senate gave a substantial
recognition OF It's value by appointing him
to professorship for life at Pddua. The
mechanism oe the instruments seemed
very primitive; even to an unsclentihc eye,
and as we clambered up the steep stairs
leading out upon the fat roof of the
tower where he was in the habit of taking
his observations, our minds were filed
with wonder for the man who Lad achiev
ed SO much with such limited means. The
extensive view from this tower was en-
chanting. The city of Florence lay at our
feet, the graceful tower of the Palozzio
Vecchlo, and immense dome of the Duomo
rising up from its midst all shrouded in
the softened sunshine of the descending