The Newtown bee., 1895-08-16
MICHAEL ANGELO

MICHAEL ANGELO
 got his conception for the main body of St Peters, and, when you get to the Pan- theon, you'll see where he got his idea for St Peters dome." Sure enough, here was the dome of St Peters all around us, only forming the circular sides of the Pantheon instead of being swung hun dreds of feet in the air. IA feet latitu- dinal diameter and IA feet in height are the dimensions of the Pantheon and the di- mensions of St Peter's dome they agree, l believe to the very inch. Michael An gelo, then, did not get the conception of St Peters mighty dome out of his- own brain; he only took the Pantheon and placed it on the top of St Peters walls. How l do dislike for these conductors through old historic places to be so ex- act in their reference to minor details ]! By-and-by they will tear all my ideals down. By-and-by they will tell me that the Duke of Wellington never gave the famous order at the battle of Waterloo, up, guards, and at them;'' by-and-by they will say that there never was a William Tell or Gesler or an apple on 8 boys head, and that George Washington told, not one only, but thousand. lies. Michael Angelo only slavish copyisti Oh, no, that cannot be; he was, without any detraction, the greatest sculptor and painter the world has ever seen.
 
 Everybody who visits Rome speaks of St Peter's, and, if one had not read wide ly, he would think that that was about the only ecclesiastical edifice in Rome, at least, the only one worth mentioning. This is not in any wise true; among the three hundred and odd other churches that Rome contains there are many that in one respect or another equal, or even surpass St Peter's, which latter, though, taken in toto, is, beyond all doubt, the grandest and most magnificent structure on earth. Prominent among Rome's other churches is the basilica of St Johns Lateran. This church gets it's name from the fact that it stands on the site of the palace of the Roman senator, Plantius Lateranus, who suffered under I the Emperor Nero. Constantine founded the church, and for fifteen centuries ii has been more and more richly embel lished by popes and cardinals. It was nearly destroyed by fire in 1908, but
 under the guide of Pope Clement ", Hike the fabled ph9nix, it rose grandel and more beautiful than before from l it's ashes. In the magnificent portico il a colossal statue of Constantine, whici was found in his baths; the bronze door at the entrance came from the Senat, q House in the Forum, and, for aught know, sounded back the storm of elo quence that came from Tully's lips, a : he thundered against Cethegus, Leutu Jus and the rest of Cataline's conspir ing crew.
 | St Johns Lateran has been aptl { called ssthe mother and head of tn : lchurches of the city and of the world. t lit is the head of the churches becaus 3 here, from time immemorial, the corona T ti.,. of the pontiffs have always take g place. Here the Bishop of Rome take [ his title, and becomes by virtue therec Papa, Pope or Father of the Roma ' Church. Since the death of the las \ Bishop, Plus K, February 20, 1878, til | chair has been vacant; for some reason which he himself probably knows, Le r XIII has never publicly assumed h 2 title and thus taken possession of h [ bishopric.
 THESE CHURCHES OF ROME, whose walls are hoary with time a1