Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1905-06-06

tR
ing and the high church dignitaries
| snowy vestments altogether made a
very impressive and memorable SER
vice.
There were special services each
day of the week, especially from We'd
nesday on, with the climax at Easter
Sunday, on which day we were again
at st. Peters
The art galleries of the Vatican con-
tain many of the finest paintings and
pieces Of sculpture in the world. There
are literally miles Of the galleries and
corridors, for altogether there are said
! to be over 5000 rooms in the Vatican.
To be sure most of them are for the
various private and official rooms of
the pope and the cardinals and various
church officials. Among the most val
ued paintings as well as those of the
most popular interest were the fres-
Goes of Michael Angelo, almost COW
ering the walls and ceilings of the Sis
tine chapel, Raphael's TRANSPORTATION
and Madonnas, the famous Sistine Ma
donna Of Raphael's being now in the
Dresden gallery of sculpture. We liked
best the Apollo Belvidere, the LAGOON,
Venus of Praxiteles, termed the "Cnid-
ian Venus" Hermes and one or two
of Aesculapius, the mythical god of
medicine.
Rome Rich In Art Treasures.
AS Italy mas been the chief center of
art for many centuries it is to be ex-
pected that its capital city, Rome,
should be very rich in art treasures
and while those Of the Vatican are the
most numerous and important of any
one collection, yet there are scores Of
different galleries and museums be-
side the hundreds of churches, many
of which have some Of the best exam
pies of the old masters. It is wonderful
the amount of wealth represented in
these churches and cathedrals-basil-
icas, with their treasures in jewels,
paintings, sculptures and yestments.
All Of these together with the property
interests in lands and buildings, clois-
tiers, nunneries, ETC., make the Catholic
church rich almost beyond computa-
ton.
What difference there Is when
compared with the time when the early
| Christians in order to escape persecu-
ton, held their services, and many of
them lived, in the catacombs. One of
our first visits in the city was to the
famous and most extensive of all the
atacombs-Calixtus. A monk con
Quoted party of about a dozen
through some of tie most interesting
of these underground tombs. They
consist of a labyrinth of passages gen
orally about yard wide and in series
of floors or depths. They are seven
floors deep, each one about ten tc
) twenty feet and the sides of the pass
ages are hewn out to receive the deac
bodies of the Christians. Occasionally
a large family tomb, sometimes large
excavation like a small hall and USED
for chapel. 1t has been estimated
that there were about 1000 miles o.
these underground passages in the diff
ferent catacombs of Rome
Closely associated in thought witt
: these tombs of the early Christians is
the great coliseum, where so many
Christians were killed, either by glad
iators, or wild beasts, or were cruciflet
and otherwise sacrificed according tt
: the whim of the ruling emperor. To b.
: sure the building is in ruins but origin
. ally it was SO ir- mense in proportion
: and grand in outline, as well as ricl
in its material, that its ruins are won
= derfully impressive.
. Attend Concert at Coliseum.
t One beautiful moonlight evening W
e attended a concert and grand illun
9 ination of the coliseum. There wer
probably two or three thousand, bu
u even then the arena, or what was fol
9 merly the arena, was not more thai
t half filled The illumination wa
e quite interesting, whether viewed fror
y within or without, but quite differen
p from the two standpoints. Within tn
y various colored lights illuminated tn
S tiers upon tiers of the ampitheatr
S and gave one a little idea of what
J must have been when the emperor
S surrounded by his court, the vestal vii
e gins, then the mobiles and higher u
S the richer common people, with tn
h slaves and poorest at the top, vas
/ concourse of ever $4,000 people in thi
9 marble palace looking down into tn
e arena applauding some favorite glad
e tacks upon the helpless Christian ma
IS tyrs. When viewed from without W
r could see the lights shining throug
i the openings, some of which had bee
e windows, others made by the fallin
II of part of the walls Probably altt
9 gether more than two-thirds of the 70
o mer buildings remain, that is, of th
n outlines, for all of its marble GOVERN
e has been removed, pillaged in larg
IS measure to build palaces and churche
e The church of st. Peters is said to b
e erected on the circus or ampitheatr
built by Nero, and where the Apostl
Peter was crucifed.
a. Asthma Sufferers Should Know Thi
- Foleys Honey and Tar has cure
- many cases Of asthma that were COZ
- sidered hopeless. Mrs. Adolph Bue
2 701 Woct Third