Morris tribune., 1896-03-18
EUROPEAN \ |. NEWS !! "
Gathered by a Tribune Re
porter in His Eastern
Travels.
Interesting Scenery Depicted
of Historic Versuvius and
Surroundings.

ing went to the dome of st. Peters,
435 feet high. was tired after that
e1imb, and sat down and rested and
drank in the beauty of that scene for
q long time. On the west lay the
drear campagna, which is interesting
historically = not physically. The
soil looks poor. 1t has had time to
wear out, hasn't it, during 1900 yearsY
The city outskirts are belted with I'M
duiating hills. Farther on, these
wrinkles are smoothed out. Still far
tiaer, in the distance, the sea can be
seen. This roof is so immense that
families occupy houses built on topof
it. To the north lay the Janiculum
ARentine, Capitoline and Palatine
Hills. To the east, the Pincian and
Duirinal, and in the distance the
saow-capped Alban mountains. Just
In front flowed the Tiber, separating
the old, densely built section of the
Gity from more open, newer part. 1t
Iarns sharply at fright angles soon aft
er it passes the Castle of St. Angelo,
getting out of the way of the slope
which rises gradually to st. Peters.
To the south lay great campus, on
which [ counted twenty companies OF
soldiers going through their daily
drill. Adjoining the church on this
side, is the largest palace in the world,
the vatican, which is, indeed, small
world in itself, politically isolated, as
is the District of Columbia. On this
territory. sacred to the pope, no Ital-
ian soldier can set foot; refer, of
course, to the palace or vatican gar
dens. From. my height I looked
down on his holiness private grounds,
beautifully laid out. just beyond
ahemis "a piece of woodland which
looks as if it had been snatched bod
lily from a dense forest and set down
here, so wild and ~uncultivated is it..
Here, we imagine, his holiness takes
refuge on hot summer evenings; and
with the trees as sentinels, he walks
and meditates on how he can regain
the power he will never know. He
has enough titles to be at the head of
The universe. Here they are: "Vicar
of Jesus Christ, Successor of the
Prince of the Apostles, Pontifex of
the Universal Church, Patriarch of
the West, Primate of Italy, Metropol-
iitan Archbishop of the Province of
Rome, Sovereign of the Temporal
Deminions of the Holy Roman
Church" Are you out of breath?
And yet he is a good man. He can
not help his titles.
Coming down the stairs, l counted
81 marble slabs, which had been in
laid in the wall, announcing that on
such date. such crowned head or
royal parsonage had assembled the
dome of st. Peters. This reminds
nae that one of the original stones of
the Romulus, which surrounded the
Old city on the Palatine Hill, is among
the inlaid stones in our Washington
monument. Then I went down and
around to the Vatican library, where
/ saw many relics from the catacombs,
many invaluable illuminated manu-
scripts, beautiful stained glass, and
many priceless treasures in the shape
OF vases, etc., which had been pre-
sented to the different popes from the
greatest personages, and from the
fartherest ends of the earth. But
what surprised me Oh the street was
an African FRANCISCAN monk.
Yesterday, under the shadow of
the prison where his Apostolic name
sake was confined, I took Paul,
book and ball, and went to spend
the afternoon in the Forum Ro-
nanum. I sat on the steps of the
Basihca Julia and read, while Paul
kicked his foot ball up and down the
lava fagstones of the Sacred Way.
Ii stones ever preach sermons how
eloquent are these? We have just
come home and are tired. Yesterday,
likewise, we spent the afternoon there,
and the two days preceding we en-
ioyed the warm sunshine and the fine
'salhtary band on the green lawns of
the Pincian Hill. Here we almost
always see the king and queen taking
a drive. But they are always in diff
ferent carriages, and appear at differ
ent times. Thursday the king was
driving pair Of spirited horses, and
yet took off his hat to everybody who
glanced toward him. A kinply pre-