The Irish standard., 1910-02-26

! find the proper door leading to the
great descending stairway l wan
dered over the vast roof for nearly an
hour before l could find anyone to
show me an exit. In the meantime
utilized my exalted detention by ex-
aiming and studying the various
works OF art with which the roof of
this great church is adorned. Many
former Popes have placed above the
cornices their coat of arms in finely
chiseled marble, giving dates and so
forth relating to important events OF
their respective reigns. At last my
deliverance came in the person of one
of the attendants who lived up there
BY the way, a great many persons
dwell in little cases on the roofs, but
as they were very nearly all on duty
below, l found it difficult to capture
one when I wanted him.
On another occasion l was on this
some roof when the great bells of st
Peters suddenly tolled out to the
world the announcement that Pope
had been elected to succeed Leo XIII.
To fully describe my sensations on
that memorable occasion would be
impossible. Being so near the man.
moth chimes, the noise was fairly
; deafening but wildly musical. The
; L
, mammoth bells rang out with such
vigor and 80 rapidly that the great
edifice fairly treinbled under us. The
, tinguisted on account Of the pro-
longed vibrations Of the chimes. At
distance the airs, no doubt, could
be made out but to us in the midst OF
: the clamor it seemed more like the
buzzing that might come from
colony of thousand beehives, with
: each noisy bee as big as q polar bear.
If reports be true, the Vatican is
the largest castle on earth. Romans
J claim it contains 1900 rooms. 1t
does certainly look very large and as
: roomy as rumor claims. The exterior
} is not very attractive, as many ad-
ditions were built at different times
J and by various constructors thus de-
, priving it of that uniform architecture
we might expect in such famous
palace. The interior, however, con-
J tains treasures of art far SURPRISING
' in beauty and value all other collec-
tions in the world. The statuary nnd
paintings in this immense palace arc
! originals; no copies being allowed
standing or hanging room. Many
! sculptors and painters from all parts
= of the world are constantly making
e replicas of the precious works or ar
t so highly cherished by all lovers OF
Y the beautiful. During the Chicago
exhibition, strong efforts were made
for q loan Of some of the origina
\ works Of the old masters, but plead
I ings were in vain, as no money value
could be placed upon them and In
surance would not be thought Of, al
thew could not be replaced in case O
= loss.
Y The art treasures of the Vatican arr
s so numerous and the galleries so vas
d that it is impossible for the visitor tt
Y give anything like satisfactory de-
a scription of the numberless objects .
8 interest contained therein. ! can onl!
say, in q general way, that was NOR
h than delighted to witness, in snow!
+ marble and lasting bronze, the fulfill
r ment of my early day-dreams OF tn
4 Greek and Roman classics as I rea'
Il them at Old Niagara, in the happ,
:, DAVIS of long ago, when buoyant you'll
n and bounding ambition fired my yea
9 to know the history and various OK
v ploits of the heroes Of antiquity.
p One of the most interesting local.
u ties in Rome Is the Forum, so oftel
: described by travellers. 1t is a vas
n mine of historical treasures and tn
y eagerly sought Mecca Of studious anti
# uuarians. AS 1 wandered through it
y crumbling arches and among tn
fluted columns. retrospection with a
Ie its hallowed memories, recalled tn
II fact that this portion of the Eterna
e City was once the scene of civil
IT life and national ambition that sc