Mexico weekly ledger., 1900-08-30
DR. HIHDE REyELs III THE CLIO.
RTEs OF THE PAST III THE
AECIEHT CITY.
saw ALL PLACES OF INTEREST.
Where Augustus Caesar Was Bern
The Temple Of Jupiter, the
Tomb Of Romulus-In Full
View Of Vssuyius-From
Rome to KapleA

2 c-orcspondencs Of TIE Ledger.
BokE, Aug. 3-As I stand amid the
3 ruins Of ancient Rome the words oil
Byron seem very appropriate:
"There is q moral of all human tales;
Z It's bat the rehearsal OF the past,
! First freedom and then glory-whsn
! that falls
Wealth, wee, coEruptIon-barbarism
at last
And history with all volumes vast,
Hath but D pAge-'tis better writ.
! ten here
Where gorgeous tyranny hath thus
Gmassed
All treasures, all delights, that eys
OF ear,
Heart, soul, could seek, tongue ask
away with worda.n
Poor Byron was . psssimint and /
pray the picture he draws may never
be fulfilled In our beloved country,
but we may wen take warning from
the history Of Rome which Is bat the
history Of all countries which have
become drunken from the greed Of
power and wealth. / have stood on
the very spot where Gibbon, looking
out upon these ruins, decided to
write the "Hissory Of the Decline auc
Fail Of Rome" II ID hard for me 70
go into details here when 90 many
things crowd upon my memory and /
feel more Ike silently thinking and
dreaming, rather than writing for the
entertainment Of friends. But l must
not be selfish and, appreciating the
great privilege / IN enjoying, it is q
pleasure to me 10 transfer some Of the
benefits I am securing TO my friends
Yesterday wss = day of mingled
pleasure snd disappointment. Owing
to the death OF the King many Of the
places Of interest to the tourist are
closed. Il wai q Sad disappointment
not 60 . inside Of the Pantheon and
Capitol Museum, but We were com
pensated by seeing SOME other things
that We would have missed.
We were fortunate In our visit to
the Forum to strike a pleasant and
Euglish-speaking guide and have
pointed out to us ali the places Of
special interest. AZ Indicated In
another letter recent excavations
have thrown much light upon the
early Roman history. The Temple Of
Jupiter, and Of Castor and Pollux; the
Tribune where MArkAntony delivered
his celebrated Grafton over the dead
body Of Caesar; the Temple OF the
Vestal Virgins, and sven the tomb OF.
Romulus with inscription, has recent
~ been discovered and was shown us.
The Arches Of servsTus and Titus
and Constantine can all be Identified
and were shown us.
1 especially enjoyed my lonely stroll
on the Palatine where Augustus Cae-
sar was born and where the great
Palace stood where 60 many Of the
emperora lived. In full view was the
Golden House OF Nero whose build
ings were q mile square. The Cap
itol was In Immediate connection
with these, and when l stood in the
midst Of these ruins, about whose.
identity there could be no doubt, my
memory rapidly recalled some Of the
thrilling events in human history con-
nected Herewith. Seemingly, In . few
minutes ! lived over The centuries
past, Gnd some OF those mighty char
acters stood out before me actual and
life-iike. There stood Cicero hurting
his philippines against OataIine and the
c~onspirators; Antony came to bury
Caesar, not to praise him; vifgirs
country-home was near by; and over
yonder in sight Horace was writing
his odes and stories; and In full view.
the Coliseum with all of its horrible
histories.
From this point in our drive we.
took = look down into the Cloaca
Maximes, the old sewer built In the
very earliest days Of Rome and still
serving its purpose Of conducting
Nth as our nostrils Immediately tsstis
fed. Next We came to the vsstal
Temple, which figures c-onspicaously
in Quo Vadis and looked quite like all
the pictures We have seen. Going on
We Soon came to the Jewish Quarter
and the house Of st. Paul-hia own
SHRED house." / was never Ia the
midst of such 3 mass Of humanity be-
fore as this Jewish Quarter presented
-mens women, children, poor, rag
geo and dirty, crowded together, sit
ting right out ia the street 90 narrow
that our carriage could scarcely pass.
And yet as we halted ana / sat there,
looking into tbs old house, I wal al
most unconscious of all tho strange
acenes around me. T.could only think
OF that ene lonely man, . prisoner,
chained to 9 RomaH soldier, and Jet
the g~reatest man in Rome, or that
ever lived in this world. Just 10
think, that from this room emanated
writings that have done more TO
change the destiny OF the world and
to cheer Christian hearts than all else
that has emanated from the greatest
mer that Rome has produced. We
hear and see much OF 81. Peter and
lite Of St. Paul In Rome. From THE
sacred spot we drove on, crossing the
TfbeF near the old bridge Of HoFatius
and up the summit OF the Janacuium,
where the finest OF all the views Of
Rome is obtained. Indeed, not until
/ stood on this hill did l appreciate
Rome as she has been represented,
standing on her ''sevsn hills.n Sit
ting in our carriage ct this p~oint,svery
place of interest lie in distinct view,
and with an Intelligent guide and good
map, you a see old aud new Rome
as from no other point. On this hill
is located the church of "st Petro in
Montrorio"-tne church standing, II
is claimed, W the very spot where !
Peter was crusdhsd. Some Of cur !
party viii take home VIVA them dirt
taken from the spot vbsre the cross
stood. On this hill is the greatest
modern monument in Rome, erected 7
In memory Of Victor ImmanueI. Il I
was q happy farewell drive for ne In !