The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1892-04-04
THE ETERNAL CITY.
Mr.. Campbell Writes Entertaining
ly from Rome, Italy.
THE ANCIENT AND MODERN ROMES.
Little Remains that MARKS tho Gran.
dcur of Ancient Dnys..-lmprcssions
of tho City.-.No Longer She Rules
the World, Though She is Still Eli.
throncd OH Her Seven Hills.
cOrroppndeuce q Me Intellance..

ter was writtcn from this cityof Rome,
but not In regard TO 1t, save in nero in.
cidental mention. II was almost wholly
taken up with my experiences and OBJ.
%servations ut Naples and vicinity. 1
now propose in this letter to give you
some Of my impressions in regard to
this ancient capital OF tho world, Us
gathered in my two months s%ojourn
within its venerable gates. | came here
from Naples 10 stay q month, but, us l
said, / have been hero two months. and
even yet | am not gone. This may seem
q long time for a traveller with m timer
airy ahead OF him, that embraces other
important places, to ROMAN at one
place, even ut Rome, but 10 me, after
this much OF time, 1t does not seem un-
duly long, for reasons that l trust will
appear satisfactory enough rs | pro-
coed with my letter.
Whatever may DO said Of other cities
in Europe, large or small, ancient or
modern, this much can be said Of Rome,
that in historical importance il out.
ranks them all. Before great Paris, and
before ever still greater London, were
born this city Of Rome was already old
or than America is to-day; and before
even the rudimcnts OF our mother
tongue had taken defined shape she was
writing aud speaking the classics that
arc still studied us models in all GU"
great institutions OF learning. Rome
was tho ancient center OF civilization.
Take from the world whatsheNha given
10 it and it would be poor indeed. Even
in America, rs in every state in Europe,
we have something OF either Roman
warp or wool in our laws, our politics,
our literature, our religion and our arts
and sciences. These antcccdents cstab.
lish n close relationship between Rome
and tho rest Of the world, and hence it
is no wonder that the world still comes
hero to study and explore the sources
from whence has cmanatel SO much
that is OF commanding interest and i'm.
portauce to it.
There never was but mo Rome and
there never will be another. There
never has been room in history but for
one such city. In the nature OF things
Il duplicate OF Rome would be impossi-
bic. We have London with her four
millions OF people, and VIC have Paris
with her two and 4 half millions, and
we have also Vienna and Berlin and st.
Petersburg, with their immense popu-,
l~ations, but VIC have 10 mistress .of
the world" no imperial" OF eternal"
city among them. That possibility
passed. away forever with tho fall OF
Rome.
MODERN ROME
We speak OF Rome now as a fallen
city, and OF course she is no longe. mis-
tress OF the world. She no longer die
tates to three continents as she once
did, in the days OF the Caesars. She has
no longer a population OF two millions,
as she once had. ..All roads" do not
now ''lcad to. Rome" as they once did.
All the shipping OF tho Mediterranean
and the Euxinc does not now load for
Rome as it once did. Still, all the same,
size is the eternal" city, and though
she has been down to tho very gates o.
death, and though tho fate OF Carthage
has impcnded over her time after time,
still she has always risen up and reas-
serted herself, and to-day she is once
again 4 %populous and a commanding
city. Once she Wa even larger than
Paris, some say as large rs London;
hundreds OF years later slic had not so
many people rs your city OF Wheeling;
now she is we'll on to i half million
again. This is Il record OF vitality and
rccuporation that no other city in tho
world has shown. How did it all como
to puss? What is the story OF her
charmed life and her checkered career?
All, that wonld be 4 long story, even in
its most compendious shape, to put in
newspaper correspondence. | am not
in Rome to attempt anything OF that
kind. ! am simply here, rs thousands
OF .others are, people from al! parts OF
the world, to see and, in q cursory and
transient way, to study tho wrecks and
ruins OF her ancient past, and the won-
derful mementocs and trophies oil her
later centuries, as also the pcculiarities
and indications OF ner very latcst'davs.
This is task enough for n short soiourn.
1t is a tasll at whlcl, many. sojourners
have boen working not only fof one or
two months, but for many months, and
not only during one visit, but during
two or three or moro visits.
Having said this much in regard to
the Rome OF tho past, let mo now pro,
coed with the special object OF this let
ter, which is to tell you something OF
the Rome OF to-day. First, l will tell
You what it is geographically and topo-
graphically. You will see by a glance
ut the map how Rome is situated on the
peninsula OF Italy. 1t is distant 1872
miles north from Naples, where l first
landed, and yet, rs YOU will observe, it
is close to the Same Mediterranean sea;
only fifteen miles away. In other
words, it is in tho valley OF the Tibcr,
right on the banks OF that river, and
close 10 its mouth at Ostia, the ancient
port Of Rome; Il place that i've can SEQ
from the top OF st. Peters. Only q TOW
miles to the east are the Aponnine noun
tains, the range that bisccts Italy longi.
tudinally, the nearest spurs OF which
arc the famous and historic Alban and
Sabine hills. from which came the orig
inal settlers OF Rome. This is, in gen
eral terms, the situation OF the Historic
citygeographically. geographically, MS
you hare always heard. it sits on seven
hills tho most famous OF which, and
tho nearest to tho Tibcr, arc the Capi.
tolinc, tho Palatiue and the Aventinc,
small hills in area and none OF them
over 200 fcot in height. The central
hill OF these three, the Palatine, is sup.
posed 10 have been the original Romu.
lus and Remns city. (Romulus and
Remus arc the two youths who were
providentially and additionally sucked
by the remarkable ''she wolfn whose