Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1908-10-09


and some fallen-Ee everywhere
But the Forum is only one of the
many antique ruins. The Pantheon
where recline the bodies of Humbert
and Victor Emanuel is of no little in
terest. The column of Trajan, uninjured
towers high from another low spot, anC
around it the ruins and broken columns
of temple or lesser Forum. Arches
of Titus, Constantine and other great
ones, are here or there and on nearly
every side. One advantage Rome offers
is that you do not have to travel far
from one interesting thing to another.
We pass on to the great ruins of the
Colosseum. Here one shudders as the
arena spreads before him where the
gladiators drenched each other in blood,
and views the massive openings where
the wild beasts were ushered in from
their dens cellars beneath the outer
circle of the edifice) and would pounce
upon the helpless Christians. In the
floor Of the arena are still the gratings
through which incense poured from
underneath cellars TO assauge the stencil
that arose from the bloody arena to
the nostrils of the fair women and
brave (?) men who sat in safety tier
after tier above and around the awful
vortex of murder. There is still to be
seen the seats and apartments of En-
perors and their suites. Here the Senate
had its seats beside the Vestal Virgins,
and yonder the nobility sat. Just as in
a large theatre today the galleries are
one above the other and sloping back,
so the seats in the Colosseum were ar
ranged. History recounts that $500
gladiators fought, bled and died here
during the occasion of the festivals in
.cident upon Titus victories over Jeru-
salem and Babylon. Upon seeing the
Dying Gladiator, a notable piece of
sculpture, one standing in the Forum
can speculate as to the many thousands
who died at the turning of the thumb of
the Emperor from his seat cushioned
upon stone.
To write on all the points of interest
about Rome would occupy a skilled pen,
lots of time and space. A few of the
most interesting would tire the reader
if adequately described, so we will only
touch on these few. We pass the Tar
peian rock, in the heart of the city, and
a little way further on, not far from
the Forum, we come to the prison
which held Peter and Paul, among many
another in its history. 1t consists of
an upper and lower cell, hewn out of
a solid rock or cliff. Descending from
the street to the upper cell, about 20
feet square, floor and walls all of the
natural stone boulder, the awful dark
ness and clamminess makes one shudder.
In the centre is a circular trap door
through which in former times access
was had to the dungeon below. Today
a Roman chapel is built above this
prison and is kept for sight-seers; so
stairway has been arranged by which
one can get to the lower dungeon. The
upper cellwas usually for those awaiting
trial, and the lower one where important
malefactors or the condemned were
kept. In this lower dungeon, with no
light other than that which might have
come through the trap. st. Paul and
st. Peter were incarcerated. The stone
post or pillar to which they were
chained, and from which they were
loosed by the angel or earthquake, still
stands, and is protected by an iron
latticed hood. Close to this is a well
in the floor where the prisoner could
dip his long handled cup and drink from
water probably on a level with the
Tiber
Across this narrow and turbid stream
are some dozen bridges, one on the site
of the old wooden structure that Hora-
thus held in the brave days of old until
his Romans could cut it away to keep
out the enemy. 1t is no great feat to
jump into the Tiber and swim across.
but we have often wondered how he
could have done this with the armor
he had on, and if stripped, why the
enemy did not get in deadly work with
arrow and javelin while he was swim
ming.
Across the Tiber is almost as much
of city as within the walls of Rome
proper. Here is the great mausoleum of
Adrian; but the thing of most interest
on that side, and possibly in all Italy,
is the Cathedral of st. Peter. To de-
scribe it is not within the gift of this
pen. Not only is it the most stupen-
dous structure in the world but also the
handsomest. Walking up the great
street, plaza and stairs, one is lost in
wonder and amazement. Statuary on
all sides and in every niche. On the
roof are the eleven Apostles and Christ
In figures twenty feet tall, but looking
like pigmies from the pavement below
You enter the portico, and then one Of
the many front doors, treading marbl,
| floors. Within are numerous smaller
chapels, organs without number, statu
airy, marble pillars, beautiful sculptures
heroic effigies of Popes, with thei
tombs below them, these usually in som,
recess of a great pillar. The foul
main pillars of $50 feet in height imme
diately under and supporting the grea
dome, of solid marble, are as large
square as the ordinary country dwell
ing house. They are not plain, bu
have recesses and inches in them fo