Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1895-03-06
PICTURESQUE ITALY.

WIZ Will A0A 1d1nlIJ ID oPOhOiIS o. yOe'A
in travel abroad, have been favored
us. We think the descriptions will
be of general interest. Speaking of
Rome, she writes:
GA greater contrast to Germany can
scarcely be imagined! The charac-
teristic of the German people is hon
esty. Here it is quite the reverse
and the feeling that everyone is wait
ing to take advantage of you is most
unpleasant. One is obliged in self
defense to become sharp and calculat-
ing. The beggars, too, with their
ceaseless opportunities are wearing in
the extreme. But when these trying
features are eliminated all else is a
dream. Our first few days here will
remain an exquisite picture in my
memory. We had come from Berlin
where all was ice and snow, and we
reached beautiful, balmy spring when
we touched Rome. The air was SO
soft and the sky as blue as artists and
poets love to paint it. walked around
self that Twas really awake, and truly
gazing upon the Coliseum in all it's
grandeur of ruin, the Roman Forum
and the temples of honor of the various
gods of antiquity. / felt positively
enchanted, but, alas! in this prosaic
world of ours things soon become
familiar and the vividness Of first i'm
pressions becomes somewhat dimmed.
The weather, too, has become unpoet-
ically cold, and we have had frequent
rains SO that much sightseeing in I'M
heated churches and picture galleries
is far from agreeable. Still Rome,
with all it's drawbacks, is the most
absolutely fascinating place one could
possibly imagine. | can only reiterate
HawthOrne's question, How is it pos
sible to say an unkind or irreverential
word of Rome? The city OF all time
and of all the world! The spot for
which mans great life and deeds have
done so much, and for which decay
has done whatever glory and dominion
could not doin Ihave heard
many people express disappointment
in their first view of ST. Peters, but I
can scarcely understand that, for any
thing more truly grand could not be
imagined. Everything is so perfectly
proportional to the whole, and on
such a huge scale that one does not
realize how immense. it all is until ex-
amined in detail. A cherub, which
at distance looks but life-size, proves
on closer investigation to be a giant
in proportions, and | found that one
arm which seemed quite infantine,
was incapable of being spanned by my
two hands stretched to their utmost.
| had my children with me one day
and little Beatrice, as she skipped
through the aisles, looked like a wee
wee doll IN contrast The paintings
and statuary are so wonderful! In
deed feel | never knew the meaning
of sculpture at all until | saw the re-
markable collection in the museum at
Naples. Such wonderful expression
and life as those old sculptors gave
their marble. 1t is not all cold, life
less stone, but lives before you. On
some of the faces smile was actually
breaking forth. The bay OF
Naples was all my fancy painted; its
waters an exquisite blue when the
sun shines-and when the sky was
overcast, a beautiful green. Mt. We
suvius in it's purple distance looked
innocent enough, but one cannot for
get the ruin it has so often wrought.
One can scarcely realize the
wonders of Pompeii until passing ones
self along these ancient streets and
standing within the ruined walls of
their public and private buildings.
And they are in such a remarkable
state of preservation! Most of the
exquisite frescoes and fine statuary
and brOnzeS are in the museum at
Naples, but there are enough left in
Pompeii to give a fair idea of it's an
cient beauty, and the colors of the
paintings are as bright and the mar
bles as fresh as if just from the hand
of painter and sculptor. They were
excavating a large and beautiful house
when we were there and we were much
interested in watching their mode of
procedure. Right beyond it the grass
grows as green and all is as as peace
full and every-day-like, as if no ruins
Of past greatness were lying beneath.
1t was all wonderfully impressive and
solemnizing. This morning
we attended a most interesting service
at the Sistine chapel in the Vatican.
1t was a mass for the soul of Pope
Plus TX, and is one of the few services
that the pope attends in person. l
wish ! could give you some idea of
the gorgeous sight this chapel pre-
sented. A friend very kindly sent
me ticket whichOstated that | must
attend in entire black, with black veil
upon my head. Fortunately had the
necessary garments and so to- day
with many others [ was ushered
through numerous portals Cat every
one of which the famous Swiss guards
were stationed), into this chapel, made
famous by the fact that it contains
Michael Angeles finest frescoes, un-
| iT1on6 hu 4bo 1,-o,,l 4