The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1907-10-04

from the map. and he is fully capable
making good his promise. AS / locke
on the beautiful bay could think {
nothing save some verses | learned
Harford's school-"My soul today is ia
away sailing the Vesuvian Bay" | ha
realized the dream audit was almost to
good to be true. The sides of Vesuviu
are black with lava that has not We
weathered into soil. We went throug
the ruins of PomDeii-such a dead. dea
city, nothing but walls standing, not
| living thing save the lizards whic
scuttled away as we approached. w
saw in the Museum the figures of severa
people that were overcome and wer
sutfocated by the ashes, over eighteel
hundred years ago; they all seemed to b.
in intense agony. Wesaw house which
the guide told US was Nydia's home
mentioned in Last Days of Pompeii
We saw the mosaic floor with Gave
Canum" thereon inscribed. Yet the Pom
peians had ample time to leave the city
before it was covered. The bcggars play
and sing everywhere on the Neapolitar
streets and under my hotel window q
crowd serenaded US far into the night. In
this pleasure loving city there is great
misery. The poor people are taxed
almost beyond endurance, even charcoal
fire is taxed so heavily that oftimes they
just soften their vegetables in water to
save the expense of boiling them. Meat
is an unknown luxury to the poor Of
Naples.
From Naples we went to Rome, the
Eternal City. Truly is that agood name
for her; four times has she been destroyed
and as many times has she risen from her
ashes. Oh such a surprise as she is. On
one side the new city, thriving, with Co.,,
600 people, still the capital of a united
Italy and the very jewel of the papacy
and the worlds treasure house, yet but
a stones throw beyond is the old dead
city, depressing one with its stiffness
How fleeting, how immaterial seems the
ofthe Coliseum, that greatest monument
of pagan Rome! shall never forget the
indescribable thrill of admiration mingled
with fear and awe when it broke upon
our vision, vast monument of heather
barbarism. The marble facings have
been pillaged from it, and it stands black
and gloomy meath southern sun. What
scenes have happened in its arena, what
martyrs and gladiators and beasts have
mostened its floor with their blood, what
savage shouts have echoed and re-echoed
in its midst, what barbaric splendor has
it seen rise ana fade away into oblivion.
Yet still it stands, built to commemorate
Titus triumph in Jerusalem, built by
thousands of Jewish slaves. The Coliseum
would hold comfortably $4,000 people
sitting and $4,000 more could comfort.
ably stand to witness the sports. ltcould
seat at once the whole population Of
Camden, N. J. We saw many ruins, the
Arch of Constantine. Temple of Septimus
Severus, Temple of the Vestal Virgins,
the Forum, the palace of the Caesars, the
baths of Caracalla, etc. Wedrove along
the Via Appia, magnificent paved road
how many Imperial Caesars had passed
the same way and gone the path of all
men! The statues and monuments have
been removed, many were destroyed and
the preserved ones are in various collec,
tons in the city. We went into the St
Calixtus Catacomb; it gave me an un,
comfortable feeling to go down into utter
darkness, lighted only by our tiny wax
tapers, which fiickered and gave such q
little light in so great darkness. How
we trembled for fear they would go out
and leave us in that black horror, in
which there are miles of walk and
thousands of graves hewn out of solid
rock. Now and then our guide would
show us a rude fish carved in stone,
the sign of the early Christians
Oh, what brave people they were to
meet secretly in such a place, perhaps to
be surprised by the Romanllegion and
crucihed or torn to pieces in the Coliseum
In these days of materialism, how many
such martyrs could we find? how small
our faith and how we creep at the
slightest pain. We saw the Capuchir
Monastery and cemetery. This GENE.
terry is in the basement of the church and
entirely above ground. The bones OF
5000 friars decorated the walls in all
sorts of frescoes, with here and there a
whole skeleton reposing in niche in the
wall The soil has been brought from
Jerusalem and when a monk has slept
for some years in the consecrated
ground he was taken up and his bones
adorned the walls and some other monk
was given his place in the sacred soil. We
were told that such custom is now
forbidden by the Italian government.
St. Peters, the worlds largest and
grandest cathedral was of intense in
terest to us. The piazza is surrounded
by two magnificent colonnades extend
ing in a semi circle and to reach the
cathedral we must climb flight of steps
The approach is grand. The cathedra
itself is built in the shape of a Maltese
cross and contains eleven high affairs anc
many smaller ones, as we'll as many
statues and paintings by the world:
masters. 1t is decorated by gold ane
precious stones and is simply gorgeous
but to my mind is not imposing like The
Milan Duomo. Confessions can be re
ceiyed here in every tongue in the world
We saw miles of statuary and paintings
indeed all the churches contain one o.
two celebrated art groups. Then WI
visited the collections at the Capitol ant
Vatican and the Borghese collection
which has lately been bought by TIL
government. OF all the paintings, re
member but two in Rome and they ar
ones that indelliby engrave themselve
on ones ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Transfgur
alton and Angeles Last Judgment
Angeles Moses is fine and of cours
nothing can touch in grace the Apollo
Belvedere, Venus of Milo, Dying Gladia
tor, Marble Faun and numerous Madon
mas One becomes intensely weary G
seeing thousands of statues in all thei
nudity One of my most pleasant memo
ries of Rome was a drive to the Pincia
gardens which is on the Pincina Hill
laid out with beautiful walks and drive
and shaded by glorious southern trees