The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1909-07-09
Z WILL SEABROOK'S TRAVELS.
(By ". 3. Seabrook.)
4 x ): ): * = :: * x :: !: !: i: i:


1ioA-;n the dome Of St. Peters,. The
expedition was less perilous than an
ascent Of the Matterhorn, but it was
just as fatiguing and just as full of
exciting experiences, though the be-
ginning of the journey was quite tame
and gave no promise Of the surprises
which were awaiting in higher alti-
tudes.
After purchasing for half Ira
one Of the tickets Of admission to the
cupola, which are on sale every morn
ine except Sundays at the office OF
the economo. I entered the baslllca
and passed from the left aisle through
the doorway which leads into the
wall Of the building. just beneath the
monument to Maria Sobieskv, wife OF
the English Pretender, James Ill. A
uniformed custodian whose duty 1t
was to take up tickets and conhscate
all contraband articles such as canes,
umbrellas. pocket-kodaks, dynamite
bombs. etc. pounced upon my
walking stick. tapped my pockets and
permitted me to pass. The Vatican
officials are clever and courteous, but
they have no sense Of humor; instead
Of depriving the climber Of his light
cane. in view Of what lies before him,
they ought to invite him to come
armed with an iron-shod alpenstock
and a coil Of rope; or better still, they
might install a funicular like that on
the slope of Eesuvius.
Being inside "building." [ had
eNpected to encountec StalrcaSeS and
ladders. but found instead,in the hol-
low space between the enormous walls
which were thirty feet thick in some
places, a wide spiral roadway, paved
with brick and cobblestones, up
which a Rocky Mountain stage-coach,
drawn by six-horse team could cas-
ilv have mounted to the roof. Here
and there along the route were bronze
and marble plates with the names OF
members Of the reigning houses OF
E7roDe. who had made the ascent:
one Of the inscriptions recording the
fact that King Edward VII Of Eng
land had once passed that way. Con-
sidering the corpulency of that mon
arch, it was a feat worthy Of being
commemorated by triumphal arch
rather than a mere marble tablet. En-
couraged by his Majesty's illustrious
example, / toiled doggedly upward IN
The path trodden by so many royal
Feet, and at last emerged upon the
roof, where I saw that the climb had
not really begun, for the gigantic gray
dome still lowered above, like some
inaccessible snow-capped peak, while
the roof was sort Of intermediate
plateau country.
I call it "roof,'' because I don t
know any other suitable name, but 1t
was really more like a terraced villa,
built upon a mountain side. Here was
a house for the caretaker, two-story
house stuck off in corner, where 1t
seemed like a toy, dwarfed by the
surrounding architecture, but If 1t
had been placed down on the ground
in an ordinary street, it would have
appeared quite a respectable dwell
ing.
There were fountains, sun-dlals,
vegetable gardens, telephone system
and numerous brick structures, 1nvls-
ible from the piazza below because
of the facade The statues OF the
twelve apostles, which ornament the
facade. seem. when viewed from the
ground. to be only eight or ten feet
hiea. but I found on drawing lear
.h.n that St. Matthew's little tinssr
was bigger than my whole arm.
The dome. whether viewed from
within or without, is the great OBJECT
which commands the admiration OF
the stranger, who visits St. Peters
for the first time Nothing can sur
pass the magni6cenee Of its stupen-
dous vault, no language can do 1t JUS
tice. The interior of the cupola IS
divided into 16 compartments, orna-
nented with gilded stuccoes and four
ranges of mosaics the lowest repre- ,'
senting the Savior, the Virgin and the
Apostles, and on the ceiling OF the
laniern is a mosaic Of the Almighty,
by Narcello Provencal. The eupoia
is glorious in its design, IN It's aItl-
tude and even its decorations; viewed
either as whole or in part, 1t en-
chants the eye, it satisfies the TASTE
i 4xnands the soul. The very air