The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-01-14

vines there were twenty-five great gran aries, nearly one hundred fountains and over three thousand houses,
 All who live here now, perhaps three hundred are connected with the churches, and the interest of the Aven- tine seems to center around the story of Saint Dominic.
 The cave of Cactus was situated upon the Aventine. Hercules tended the oxen of Geryon in the valley between the Palatine and Aventine. Cactus stole four of these and dragged them by their tails to his cave, their foot prints being for this reason reversed. Hercules found it impossible to trace the stolen oxen; finally one of the im- prisoned animals lowed loudly; then en- sued the memorable battle in which the giant Cactus was strangled in the arms of Hercules. Many of the most inter- esting traditions and legends of ancient Rome finger about the Aventine. Here Remus lbeheld the six vultures which he interpreted as favorable au- gury; at the same time Romulus de- scried twelve birds; hence arose the difficulty which resulted ih the death of Remus. Hence the hill was named the Aventine, or hill of birds. Ancus Mar tius built a wall about the Aventine and placed there many thousands of inhabitants of Latin towns which he had conquered, and this was the origin of the Plebs. and thus the place be- came the grand sanctuary of the Plebs
 This little road up which we are now | fni1inoe tc fha Sar ma yyrhioh C,ir
 chus ran rapidly up the day previous to ! his death, when he fled to the Temple of Diana.
 The poets Galus and Ennius lived here, as did Linus Adronicus and many of Rome's greatest and noblest citizens had residence on this same classic mound. Let us enter the old churches on the Aventine. The church of St. Sabina was erected A. D. 425, in the nave are twenty-four Corinthian columns of marble from the old temple of Juno which once stood here. These are grand specimens of intricate work
 in marble. If these old capitals could but tell us a tithe of what they have
 witnessed, even of the days prior to 425 A. D., what pages of interest could they | church is the celebrated orange tree
 which has been growing there for near
 ly seven hundred years. It was plant
 ed, so the tradition tells us, by St. Dom mic. There are some fine old pictures
 and tombs in this ancient church. It
 was to this church that St Thomas Aquinas fled to the monastic life; his
 mother followed her boy to the very
 doors, but her pleadings availed not to
 restrain him from pursuing course
 which has rendered his name immortal.
 One stormy night poor half starved
 monk riding an antiquated mule ap- peared at the door of St. Sabina He was ridiculed by some of the fat, sleek
 monks, who asked him if he had come
 to Rome to help the cardinals elect a
 new Pope. T come replied MicheI
 Ghrisreh, flor the good of the church
 beg for brief assistance, for food for
 myself and hay for my mule,' A few
 years later this same monk became
 Pope Plus Fifth, and history faithfully
 records how nobly he defended the in stitutions of St. Dominic.
 This old church is interwoven With
 many historic scenes and traditions but let us go beyond to theschurch of
 St. Alessio a very old church built
 upon the site of an older church which
 was built in A. D. 300. Here is hoary age depicted upon everything connect ed with this church. some of it's mar.
 bles and Mosaic pillars in the choir are 1 the marvellous work of Cosimos of the twelfth century.
 The pavement is of great antiquity :, and wonderfully well preserved Be heath is the crypt, which in the early ages was a church; the old Episcopa , chair is still in its former position; it is a relic of great antiquity.
 The convent close by is now a Blind , asylum, and its cloister or garden is sweet with blossoms of lemon and or. ange trees. It is difficult to think thai these silent retreats or the Aventine . where no sound is heard save the notes of birds, and where the chants and or gan notes floating from the church die away so sweetly, was once the over.
 crowded settlement, in fact the very matching place of the old Roman Plebs , Close by St. Aleesio is the Prioratc Garden, in which the old King Tatius was buried nearly .twenty-eight hun ; dred years ago. As We approach this spot we first cone to great door il ! the street wall, and in this door is the
 celebrated keyhole, and no keyhole 1T the world has such revelation as this
 one in the door of the Priorato.
 , As we look through 1t we view most
 magnificent vista enshrouded in vines and Towering shrubs, with a multitude
 of lemon and orange trees in full bios , som. and at the end of this glorious wis
 ta we behold far far away beyond thc , mysterious Janiculum Hill, the wonder full Basilica of Saint Peters towering against the blue Italian sky.
 The effect is as if one should look
 through an eyelet hole into the very gate of Paradise. Ye men of learning , and science, ye who pretend to, know f aught of God and of His works, tel , me, Why did the divine world builder I create Italy so lovely? Tell me why dC f the skies and waters Of that fairy lant possess such delicious tints? Why i!
 there such an halo of glory about t7lis . delightful country? And again, wh! s do all the delights of art and scenery , and history concenter in Rome? Here $ indeed is riddle, but the fact remains , In the Garden of the Priorato the ia
 nous Rildehand Pope Gregory VII. I was brought up as boy more thar lo,r~ d.