Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1901-06-06

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RoNE, Italy, May 81, 1901
Sunday morning 1 took stroll
down to the old Coliseum. Twas
early and there was not q soul
there. It seemed 30 strange to be
in that big lonesome place with
no one around. Its walls now-a-
days generally ring with the echos
OF German, French, English and
in fact most any old language, but
to properly feel what the old wells
mean one must be there alone.
Traces of the once most beauti-
ful of flower beds can now and
chen be seen, for here and there
springs up some queer little flower
which apparently hasn't the fear
of the sun in its soul. It was q
shame that when the Italians took
Rome they couldn't at least have
left that flower bed. They said
that the decay that it would cause
those old walls justified them in
taking it away; and yet now every
two weeks or 80 they allow it to
be filled with cheap fireworks that
do more harm in the one evening
than the flowers would do in q
century. OF course the flowers
didn't bring into the treasury any
compensation, but they get q
measly four bits for their cheap
fire works. For me, 1 would
rather have let the flowers remain
and paid a dollar or if needs be
more to have seen it, than to see
the fireworks gratis. But the
flowers were taken from the arena
and the fireworks remain. Only
now at this time of the year you
see some few little remains of that
once wonderful scene that makes
you wish it was years ago instead
of today you could have seen it.
In years gone by there was a
big black cross in the center of
the arena but for some reason or
other it too has disappeared with
the new hand, that is now the
master of Rome. One thing,
though, that still remains Of other
days is the song birds who make
the walls their home. It q fellow
goes down there who hasn't as
much sentiment in his soul as
there is in a cheese box, or as
much poetry in his makeup
as there is in the average wooden
Indian cigar sign, he can't help
but be filed with strange feel
ing, even though he did not know
of the awful scenes that have been
enacted there. Those old walls
seem SO overpowering-in a way
seem 80 human-that they make
you respect them even though
they do use it for a pit for cheap
fireworks, and 1 never 60 down
there but what l think that it
doesn't get the respect and rever-
ence it should. I don't see Why
we common mortals should not
appreciate as we'll as Byron, Dick
ems and few other of the shining
lights.
From the Coliseum 1 went over
to the arch of Constantine and
then up to the ruins of the "old
Golden House of Nero" then up
the Via Screa. 1 never go up
there but what I like to speculate
on which stone Homer and Virgil,
or Nero, or Hadnan stepped
when they were prominading that
most famous of all Rome Was.
As l was coming back l met 9
funeral train and to attempt to
desribe it would be useless. That
[ can describe it, but how, so that
you can get any idea. In the first
place there were some 20 or 30
monks or priests who we're covered
from the top of their heads to
their shoes with long black robes.
No, robes isn't the word; q sack
would, methinks, be better, and
with the large holes cut in the
sack for the eyes and nose it made
quite wierd sight. Each monk
carried in his hand a long burn
ing candle. After the monks
came about the same number of
boys dressed in the same way,
only in their hands they carried a
sort of a silver dish. What they
were for l have no idea, nor can 1