Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1895-07-05


tribute. with the houses scattered apart
here and there. 20 enlven all the iand-
scape and to soften what might be too
severe N It, And this Is the landscape
which, when the evening begins and all
around Is covered with the vaporous tints
that come with the sinking OF the sun IN
the heavens, that lives again In the back
grounds OF Peruginos pictures, especially
in those OF the Csmbio and in the early
productions Of Raphael. Few panoramas
in italy can compare with That whlch
opens out from this elevated site. On
three sides the view is free. In the dis
lance you perceive on the horizon an
ocean OF unduating mountains. rising In
various tones OF blue or brown, one be-
hind the other, until they appear finally
TO form an impossible rampant, ana
bound the landscape by an irregular, yet
harmonious tine. Ard away In the far
distance. apparently at the base or
mountain. you see the venersted sane
tuary OF Assist shining white against the
surrounding purple And then beneath one
from this high-pitched eyrie the specta-
Gle. though somewhat different. Is no less
picturesque, for Il is that OF the town
with it's quaint houses. sturdy palaces,
spires and csmpenlles rising one behind
the other on the steep sides OF the cone
on which the city ia built.
PERUGINo AND RAPHAEL.
And. turning from the glorious view to
the immortal works on the walls OF the
Pinacotheca you see transcripts OF the
scenery, but living and peopled win the
men of the past--the Characters In the
very costumes in which they llyed-vhen
Perugino and Raphael were at work to-
gether in the simple studio In the VIA
Deliziosa. producing these glorious pic
lures. Here you may read the INSCRIPTION
which the municipality placed on this
house: where IL is a constant tradition
that Petro Vannucci dwelt Perugian by
domicile. by affection. and by name. (Pe-
rugino in Italiam Three hundred ana
forty-one years after the death or the
great painter, in the November OF the
year 1865, a stone was placed on TINS
house. in order that it also should tesIiiy
to the nations the veneration of Perugia
for the founder Of the school ana the
master of Raphael
HISTORIC DOMES AND TONES.
The afternoon Of this day, so rich In
events and in viewing rare artistic ana
historical souvenirs, was given to the
visitation Of the two remarkable churches
of ST. DomenicO and st. Pietro. me
former is spacious and unadorned. though
the tomb OF Pope Benedict IN, who died
monuments Of italy, being the work of
Giovanni Pisano. The latter, ST. Pictro, IS
a store house Of rich marbles, carved ana
inlald wood work and splendid paintings
by some Of the best masters. ones eye
grew wearied Of the very surfeit OF splen-
did objects 10 which attention was called.
There was a rest as ones vision turned
| to the smiling landscape through which
we passed on the road 10 the ancient
! sepulchre OF Nolumnii, four miles from
! PerugLa Here, after entering into the
upper part OF this tomb of family Oh
| ancient Etruscans, we waited a few mo-
/ ments before descending into the chill
cemetery cut into the rock. Ones ideas
Of time get confused here. and vague
sense possesses you that these recumoent
I statues. all white and llfe-like. which lie
/ on touches on their tiny slrcophagi may
/ have been contemporary with Homer, or
/ Hannibal or Caesar, or any great name
! in ancient story. That they date from a
/ period long prior 10 the Christian era Is
/ evident 10 every one.
ETRUsCAN CEMETERIES.
| Then we descended the steep stairs, led
BY the custodian of the place. who CA
/ ried staff supporting two candles on a
/ cross-bar. and the dead Of the past APP
! peared before us I'm their habit as they
/ lived. II entered the dark cavern says
| the historian of Etruscan cities and GENE
/ teries. my old acquaintance George Den
/ mis-. when writing Of this very sepulchre'
| Il gazei on the ineNplicable characters
| on the doorway-descried the urns dimly
through the gloom-beheld the family
party at their sepulchral revels-the sol
/ emn drearlness OF the surrounding cells
The figures on the walls and ceilings
/ ar efirrgl fancy The IuTttE
with their glazing eyes. gnashins teeth
! and CHASTITY grins-the snakes, with which
! the walls seemed alive. Kissing ana dart
/ ing their tongues at me--and, above all
the solitary wing, chilled me with an un'
! definable awe, with a sense of s0methine
mysterious and terrible. The sepulchre
itself. so neatly hewn and decorated
vet so gloomy, fashioned like house
yet with no moral habiiant--all was SO
strange, so novel. 1t was like enchant'
ment. not reality, or rather 1t was the
realization OF the pictures of subter-
ranean palaces and spel-bound men
which youthful fancy had drawn from the
Arabian Nights, but which had long beer
| cast aside into the lumber-room OF tht
memory. now to be suddenly restored
And he adds that as this was the first
| Etruscan tomb he entered, so the I'M
pressions received in this tomb first di
rected my attention to the antiquities Of
| Etruria."
THE VOLUMNIAN SEPULCHRE.
And all the weird charm OF the place
was brought home 10 us when the Arch
bishop Of Perugia closed the iron door OF
the sepulchre and directed the custodian
10 place the lights behind the arch Sc
that, without being seen. they might H.
illuminate the figures recumbent on the sar
| cophagi. Then the strangeness ana nor
ror OF the place was borne in upon the
| imagination. and all the visions and
dreams OF being buried alive among stony
mortals, with life in their pose ana a
| fearful speculative gaze in their eyes
came home 10 some of us In most i'm
pressive way The cold chill Of the place
was beginning to make Itself felt, and a
the iron door was opened again We be-
/ held the blessed sunlight above our heads
and. making our way into the upper air
felt that the tomb Of the Nolumnii would
leave US with a memory that would not
readily be forgotten. The evening light
was stil bright on the hills and the
wide vale OF the Tiber was like huge
sapphire as Cardinal Gibbons and his
companions drove back to the archiepis-
copal palace in Perugia.
GUILFORD BATTLE-GROGND.