The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-02-07
ROME AND FLORENCE
Murat Halstead Disappointed
With the Tiber.
BEAUTY OF THE TUSCAN CITY.
The Tower Where GaIiIeo Was Impris-
oned and the Square Where Saw
onarola Was Burned.

that was chaos, the lights of a living city;
then a respectable railroad station, and
line of hacks like New York or Paris then
st. Peters, with its immense front, that at
first disappoints, as Niagara falls does;
the majestic approach, the grand, simple
outside; then the lifting of the ponderous
leather curtain and the entrance upon the
marvellous interior. The matchless splen-
dor of marbles: the surprising sweep of the
arches of crystal; the tombs, austere,
glistening. gigantic; the Byzantine pillars;
the acres of mosaics; the sumptuous cor
ners where genius has wrought during life
times to compose but an atom of the ma
sonry of the gods, laid in light that is
heaped about the horizon. If rainbows
were the arches ofsome celestial aqueduct,
and could be hewn out and organized as
an editice, this might be it. And the
dome, that as it scars away, an inner sky,
is still beniguant and exalting and crowns
the whole-indeed it was here 'the I'M
conscious stones to beauty grew" If
could have seen bat St Peters for an hour,
1t was worth going to Rome for. The
great church is something more to me
now than big house, or dream, hope or
fancy. Mine eyes have beheld the beauty
that the photograph does not tell, and
mine ears have heard the solemn chanting
in the chapels, and the echoes from the
fields of beauty of the golden ceilings, the
haunting melodies of historic words,
freighted with centuries of sorrows
and joys; and there is sounding
through and above all the ring
of the notes of the trumpeters, that tell
only the triumphant tales of infinite vic
tories. There is the Colosseum; one five
minutes gaze at it, with an Italian sky be-
hind it, is a picture seen in no other gal
lery; and the Pantheon has stains that
are the touches of thousands of years.
There are the arches of so-called triumphs;
the columns erected to vanities. not the
less frail because imperial; the dismal
heaps of venerable walls; the litter of ODE
lisks; the SCARED Castle of st. Angelo, an
cient history in the concrete; the shat
tered marbles of the Forum; the stones of
the sacred road some of the pillars that
looked on when the body of julius Caesar
was burned; the butt of the capitol,
with the gilt statue of Marcus Aurelius,
spared from sacrilegious devastation be-
cause long believed to be the work and the
likeness of Constantine; the Tarpeian rock
from which offenders were hurled, and
while under the steep are the red tiles of
the roofs of old houses; the Tiber, none
the worse for modern bridge or two; the
grand view of the whole city, the old
domes contrasting with the new houses
spreading over spaces long deserted; the
rim of mountains, the everlasting frame
of the Eternal City-one day viii do this,
and the rest is detail. There are gal
on
ures; ceilings! chapels, frescoes, paint
ings, statues fragments that are priceless,
marred- figures and faces, every line
precious; but the great gallery is out of
doors, and Rome itself is the supreme
fact, and Rome may be seen in day, and
might be studied through all the years
and yet not be mastered. One must break
away, and perhaps can do it rather better
after three days than three weeks. 1t is
an affectation that verges upon imperti-
nence in some Americans who speak of
others reproachfully as being in hurry.
Well. people who have much to do must
make haste. 1t is q good thing to get
there, even if you have to go away
quickly. 1t is worth while to see Europe
now as a Eighty American, if you have
only three weeks to do it in-two
hSGhS IOI the OCedH ;iliu one LOT
and Paris. 1t IS better. though, to
have a couple more weeks and see the
Rhine and Rome. One cannot cat every
thing, and yet one can appreciate agree
able iiavors in many dishes without stuff
ing, and it is not necessary to drink
barrel of wine to taste it. To travel wisely,
a city must be taken by features. Three
active months in Rome would be an edu-
eating experience, but / am glad to have
had three days. They were lovely days,
too-May days in December while the sun
shone, but when the sun was down there
came chill from the mountains or the
sea such that | wonder the old Romans
did not provide themselves with more
appropriate garments than any | have
see on the stage.
The Tiber seems to me to be an elusive
river. / had associated it so intimately
with Rome that it was desirable it should
be much in evidence. Byron had required
it to rise with Its yellow waves and mantle
the ruins in their distress. 1t now occurs
to me that those ruins might have BEEN
mantled too much, and not by the Tiber
We should have crossed the Tiber coming
from the north, and entering the city on
the south side, and of course we did; but
| missed the mighty stream! I crossed it
three or four time at high speed in an open
cab taking the driver by the course. or
his speed would not have been high). and
the stream appeared unsatisfactory,
not rushing nor vehement or voiumiaous,
and | noticed they were giving it more
space on the st. Peters side of the river.
but there was 10 news that the laborers
had found the gul,!e1 Candiesticks with
seven branches taken from S0lomon's
temple. \ bill was recommended as show
ing the course OF the Iiber through the
city; and there was the CITY. and the
1Iber was not 10 any great extent there
~ Peters aomc. | thought. was III sense
SUSPENDED over Rome; but Il was not 81
when | Was there. That particular dome
w&s seldom seen. There are many tOnes
though, and they are so lauch alike that
the d:Spar.lIes IN dimensions are not al
ways noticeable. The absence Of the Tiber
ara the dome vas disgusting, and
the disappearance Of the old aoue-
duets was disappointment. The
great sewer has q breathing hole
IN tIe Forum excavation thar IS satisfaC-
tory So Tar as It goes. Ii must smell very
m;ch as It ga IN TAG grand days Of old:
Lat the celebrated source Of pure water
t-om ;he ApeauiScs vanished from NV
longing eyes. / have confessed 10 arriy-
M IA l,si-.e a. night. Il was nv resolf-
iton u make amends by departing in the
daytime. ana [ d.G so. WIKI instructions
now u sec tie arches that are such co!os-
So eF.oeEca 3t the talent and ssDsa of tho
Romans; bat not 81 arch -ra,erisJj-ed 7
nal IN mind ;44t We should roll across
'Ae T!Ier ot Rome IL stately style. but
mae az u3iie passed, aud there was no
H.aF. l consulted the Map. bus the
s4.3e1oo~ maps are meant ior the rail-
ROADS, anu ti-ey cut a river down 10 a
however. and I could not have tol1 vb;rb
wy We were c.iEc excrrt HI IL