The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1910-07-13

At the Church Of San Lorenzo we
saw the Scala Santa or Sacred stairs.
brought from Jerusalem by the EN-
peror Constantine, and which was
taken from the practorim of Pontius
Plate, and up and down which our
Savior trod many times during his
trial and passion. It is of marble, but
is covered with wood. No one is per-
mitted to ascend the stairs standing.
Everyone must kneel and go up on
their knees. On either side of the
Scala. Santa are other stairs, by
which you may go up standing. There
are always people going up on their
knees. Within this church is the
Tomb Of Plus TX. Adjacent to this
church is st. John Lateran, within
which is magnificent mausole,im
Awaiting the body Of the late Pope
Leo XIII, whose remains are still IN
the crypt of st. Peters. Above all,
however. the Church of st. Peters is
the most magnificent structure ever
built by the hand Of man. will not
undertake to describe it-a reference
to any encyclopedia will give al
necessary information. Within this
church in the crypt which we visited, is
the tomb Of st. PeterI think that
there in that very spot lies the body
OF the friend and companion Of our
Savior, to whom was intrusted the
care and propagation of the Chris
tian faith. 1t was to me overwhelm-
ing. Ones mind travels back to the
early days Of Christianity, to the Pas
sion of our Lord and Savior, and to
the devotion and sacrifice Of His Dis
ciples and the early Christians, upon
whom such q tremendous responsible
fty rested, to preserve the teachings
and the faith Of Christ through fire,
sword and death.
Above the tomb OF st. Peter is q
magnificent jewel box, which contains
the stole Of st. Peter.
On June 18th, myself, Mrs, McMa-
hon and Mr.. voss attended consis-
tory held by the Pope. We also heard
him preach sermon His face is
just like the pictures we have seen,
very kindly, very good We were only
able to get three tickets of admission
and considered ourselves favored.
On yesterday we visited Pompeii.
destroyed in A. ID. 70, by an eruption
Of Yesuvius. A very large part has
been excavated and the ruins are yery
interesting.
We left Pompeii yesterday afternoon
and reached the little town Of La Cava
about three p. M, when we drove to
this spot. The drive was along q
mountain road, skirting the Bay Of
salermo. have never in all my life
seen anything that could in any man.
ner compare with the beauty Of the
scenery along the routes. 1t is not
exaggeration to say that it would take
the most extensive knowledge of the
English language to get words which
could adequately describe the beauty
Of the scenery. The road over which
we Travelled was cut out Of the solid
rock along the side of the Appenine
mountains, the ravines being bridged
by fine stone bridges. There is a
three foot wall on the side of the bay.
The road was upgrade all the way, the
Apprentices towering on our right.
These mountains incline at about an
angle of ninety degrees from the apex
TO the sea. and the sides are terraced
wherever it is possible to hold a load
OF earth. The supporting walls of
the terraces, all of stone, vary from
three to eight feet and the vineyards
are from three to eight feet wide. The
earth in most places had to be hauled
there, and the vines then planted.
How the people did this. or how they
get there to plant or reap their har.
vest, l cannot imagine The noun.
tains are very rugged and broken, no
valleys. but deep precipitous gulches
all along the road. and from the bot.
tom of the gulches to almost the
highest peaks are houses, wherever q
spot can be found wide enough to
support them. We continued upgrade
until we reached about 400 feet above
the sea. when we had to climb by a
zigzag road almost 1000 feet to reach
Rayello The view from the hotel was
magnificent. The shores are lined with
villages, the sky and the sea the most
beautiful blue imaginable.
We left Rayello next morning by
carriages along the north side of the
bay. until we reached place called
Amalfi, q very fine city in the old
days, but a very commonplace town
from q business standpoint, but as q