Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1893-02-13

And rain their odors on the crowd below.
But where was the sport to come
from? Well, l went in to the cellars
opening off from the arena, and | saw
the places where they kept the hyenas
and lions and PARTNERS and wild boars
and beastly violences Of all sorts, with
out food or water until made fierce
enough for the arena. and l saw the
underground rooms where the gladiators
were accustomed 10 wait until the clap
ping OF the people outside demanded
that they come forth armed 10 muir
der or 20 be murdered. All the
arrangements were complete, as
enough OF the cellars and galleries still
remain TO indicate. What fun they
must have had turning lions without
food or drink for a week upon an un
armed disciple Of Jesus Christ! At the
dedication of this Colosseum, nine
thousand wild beasts and ten thousand
immortal men were slain; so that the
blood OF men and beast was not brook
but river, not pool but lake. Hav-
ing been in that way dedicated, be not
surprised when l tell you that Emperor
ProbuS on one occasion threw into the
arena OF the Colosseum thousand stays,
a thousand bears and q thousand oS-
.rlches. What fun it must have been!
the sound of trumpets, the roar OF wild
beasts and the groans Of dying men!
while in the gallery
TIE WIVES AND CHILDREN
of those down under the lions paw
wrung their hands and shrieked out in
widowhood aud orphansge, while one
hundred thousand people clapped their
hands, aud there was "Ha! Hal" wide
as Rome and deep as perditlon. The
corpses Of that arena were put on
cart or dragged by hook out through
what was called the Gate Of Death.
What an excitement there must have
been when two combatantS entered the
arena. the one with sword and shield
and the other with net and spear. The
swordsman strikes at the man with the
net and spear; lie lodges the sword and
then filings the net over the head OF the
SwordSman and jerks him TO the floor
OF the arena, and the man who flnug
the net puts his foot on the
neck OF the fallen swOrdSman, and spear
in hand, looks up 10 the galleries, as
much as 20 say: "Shall let him up, or
shall plunge his spear into his body
until ne is dead?" The audience had
two signs, either Of which they might
give. III they waved their flags, IL
meant spare5the fallen contestants. II
they turned their thumbs down, it
meant STAY him. Occasionally the au-
dieuce would wave their flags and the
fallen would be let up, but that was
too tame sport for most occasions, and
generally the thumbs from the galleries
were turned down, and with that sign
would be heard the accompanying
shout Of
KILL. KILL! KILL. KILL"
Yet II was far from being monotone
OF sport, for there was change OF pro-
gramme In that wOudrouS Colosseum.
Under a strange and powerful machin-
cry, beyond anything Of modern inven-
ton, the floor OF the arena would begin
90 rock and roll and then give way, and
there would appear lake Of bright wa
ter, and on its banks trees would spring
up rustling with foliage, and tigers ao-
Deared among the jungles, and armed
men would come forth, and there would
be a tiger hunt. Then, on the lake in
the Colosseum, armed ships would float
and there would be sea fight. What
fun! What lots OF fual When pesti-
lence came, in order 10 appeaSe the
gods, I'm the Colosseum sacrifice would
be made, and the people would throng
that great amphitheatre, shouting The
Christians TO the wild beasts" and there
would be a cracking of human bones in
the jaws OF leOnine ferocity.
But All this was TO be stopped. By
the Outraged-senSe OF public decency?
No There is only one thing that has
ever stopped cruelty and sin, and that
is Christianity, and IL was Christianity
whether you like its form or not, that
stopped this massacre OF centuries. One
day while in the Colosseum, Roman
victory was being celebrated, aud one
hundred thousand enraptured specta-
tors were looking down upon two gladi-
ators in the arena stabbing and sliclng
each other TO death, an ASiatic monk by
the name Of TelamaChus was so over
come by the cruelty that he leaped
from the gallery into the arena and ran
I'm between the two swOrdsmen, and
pushed first one back and then the
other back aud broke up the contest.
OF course, the audience was afronted
at having their sport stopped, and they
hurled stones at the head Of Telemach-
US until he fell dead in the arena. But
W hen
THE DAY WAS PASSED
ana the passions Of the people had
cooled of, they deplored the martyrdom
of the brave aud Christian Telemachus
and as a result OF the Overdone cruelty,
the human sacrifices OF the Colosseum
were forever abolished.
The last evening before leaving Rome
for Brindisi and Athens and Egypt and
Palestine, Invent alone TO the Colosseum.
There was not living soul in all the
immense area. Even those accustomed
20 sell curiOs at the four entrances OF
the building had gone away, The place
was so overwhelmingly silent, l could
hear my own heart beat with the emo
tionS reused by the place and hour.
I paced the arena. I walked down into
the dens where the hyenaS were once
kept. | assembled 10 the place where
the Emperor used 10 sit. climbed up
on the galleries from which the mighty
throngS OF people had gazed In enchant-
menu. To break the silence.
I shouted, and that seemed
TO awaken the echoes, echo upon echo
And those awaked echoes seemed TO ad-
dress me, saying: "Men die but their
work lives on. GaudeDtiuS, the archi-
tect who planned this structure, the
sixty thousand enslaved Jews brought
by Titus from Jerusalem and who
toiled on these walls, the gladiatOrs who
fought In this arena, the emperors and
empreSses who had place on yOnder
platform, the millions who, during cen