The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1896-08-06

AImouf n Pnnornmn of the worid strsteh-
ed Before the Bshoider.
The strnngest. most extravagant,
most incomprehensible. most dis
turbing sight of all Is TO be seen
from the upper gallery in the cupo-
In looking down TO the church be-
low. Hanging in midair. with moth
ing under Une's feet, one sees the
church projected in perspective
within a huge circle. IL Is as though
one saw IL upside down and inside
out. Few men could bear TO stand
there without that bit of iron rail-
ing between them and the hideous
fall, and the inevitable slight dizzi-
ness which the strongest head feels
may make one doubt for a moment
whether what is really the floor be
low may not be in reality a ceiling
above, and whether ones sense of
gravitAtion be not inverted in an
extraordinary dream. At that dis
tance human beings look no bigger
than flies, and the canopy of the
high altar might be an ordinary Ia
BILE.
And thence. climbing up between
the double domes. one may emerge
from the almost terrible perspective
TO the open air and suddenly see all
Rome mt ones feet, and all the Ro-
man mountains stretched out to
south and east, in perfect grace of
restful outline, shoulder TO shoul-
der. like shadowy women lying side
by side and holding hands.
And the broken symmetry of
streets and squares ranges below.
cut by the winding ribbon of the
yellow Tiber; 10 the right the low
Aventine, with the dark Expresses
of the Protestant cemetery beyond,
and the Palatine. crested with trees
and ruins; the Pincian on the left,
with its high gardens, and the mass
of foliage of the Villa Melici behind
IL; the lofty tower of tho capitol in
the midst of the city, and the sun
clasping all 10 its heart of gold, the
Just and the unjust. the new and the
9AA AAAANf NAAHA anu NANTAAAAH .N1AAAAH
age and dscay-gonerous as only the
sun can bc in this sordid and misor-
ly world, where broad Is but anoth-
er name for blood and n rood of
growing corn means n pound Of hu-
man flesh. The sun Is the only good
thing in nature that always gives
itself TO man for nothing but the
mere trouble of sitting In the sun
shine, and Rome without sunlight Is
a very grim and gloomy town today.
Ii is worth the effort Of climbing
so high. Four hundred feet in the
air you look down on what ruled
half the world by force for ages and
on what rules tho other half today
by faith-the greatest center of con.
quest and of discord and of religion
which the world has ever seen. A
thousand volumes have been written
about II by a thousand wise mon. a
word tells what IL has becu-hcari
of tho world. Hither was drawn the
worlds blood by all the roads that
lead 10 Rome, and hence 10 was
forced out again along the mighty
arteries of the Cesars' roads 90 b
spilled in the CAESARS battles-tc
redden the world with the Roman
name. Blood, blood, and more blood
that was the history Of old Rom,
the blood Of brothers. tho blood oi
foes, the blood of martyrs without
end. IL flowed and ebbed in VARYING
tide at the will of the just and tn,
unjust, but there was always mor'
TO shed, and there were always NOR,
hands TO shed IL. And 80 IL may b,
again hereafter. for the name o.
Rome has "a heart stirring ring. ant
there has always been as much blool
spilled for the names Of things n,
, for tho things themselves Marion
Crawford in Century.