The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-04-20
'
ROME At
EASTER TIME
<+++<t
How the Holy City OBJ
serves Easter Holiday

lCmzEN's SPECIAL CoRREsroNDENT.l


"All roads lead to Rome" Es.
pecially is this true at the Easter
season. The pilgrims come from
all over Italy. from France and
Switzerland, many from Germany,
and not a few from the gambling
tables of Monte Carlo. OF course
a multitude do not go from any
motives of piety, but only out of
a mere curiosity. desiring to see the
Easter ceremonial where it is most
elaborately observed. Catholic and
Protestant, Jew and Gentle, they
all come.
Rome is still the Sacred City
even as in the days of the Caesars.
1t is strange how the very word
grips the imagination. Napoleon
wittily said concerning the Holy
Roman Empire" at a certain stage
of its degeneracy that it was
neither holy, Roman, nor an En-
pire," yet so powerfully did the
very name appeal to the minds of
men that they still continued to
obey the behest of the puppet king
Marion Crawford's great work halls
the city as immortal, and so indeed
the city seems to be at the Paschal
season.
Perhaps this is because Rome is
such suitable place to spend Eas-
ter. 1t is literally powered in
palms and flowers. 1t is said that
there are more palms on one short
trip of the Italian coast than in all
the Holy land. On the way down
we rode through miles of flowers,
primroses and daisies in the grass,
almond, plum and cherry trees
white, and peach trees literally COW
cred with pink blossoms; gardens
well grown; while oranges and
lemons covered the trees or lay
upon the ground beneath. All this
at sea-level, while the distant
mountains in plain sight at Cararra
were whittier than the beautiful
marble piled about the station. The
very contrast to those who had left
the SHOWS made Rome the ideal
spot to spend Easter.
The whole trip down the coast
would have been one long delight
but for the fact that the train kept
running into trouble every few
minutes. l actually counted forty
two tunnels, many of them more
than half a mile long, in the first
twenty miles. 1t was like trying to
see Italy by midnight. l lost count
somewhere between rs and 100.
But before we reached Rome the
flowers in the fields more abund-
ant.
1t is said that every year more
and more people come to Rome for
Holy week. All the hotels were
strained to their utmost capacity to
accommodate those who came at
the last moment Mark Twain's
daughter and her husband, NJ. Cab
went to seventeen ho-
tells before finding a room and
bath, and in the end left in despair
for Florence, after a day spent in
Rome. In all there were some co.
600 people came to Rome for Easter y
this year
In order to get the full apprecia- |
ton of the service of the Resurrec-
ton morning, one should at least !
be present in st. Peters on Good |
Friday, when what is called the Of |
ice of teneorae is performed. In |
this service, the most painfully |
solemn in the ritual of the church, |
the gathering darkness of the day |
is symbolized, One after another
the candles flaming before the high F..
altar are eXtinguished. Cardinals F.
and bishops retire, no bells are al !
lowed TO be rung, while in solemn
silence they wait for the Passover
dawn.
Although no unusual attraction
was offered beyond other years, the
service at St. Peters was attended
)y an unusually large throng. From
he point of view of a mere strang-
sr, | should say "a great majority
we're there solely from curiosity,
lot for the purpose of worship. 1t
S not always easy to distinguish
he strange from the native, for in
elligent, well-bred people look
much the same the world over but
I was possible from the actions
md speech of many, to guess that
hey were not native to the city.
The great majority walked about
slowly, looking at the pictures,
statues or relics while only a small
seemed to be worshipers.
The crowd was enormous. Fully
5000 people passed through st.
'eteT's during the day, with per-
laps 10000 standing in front of
he high altar during the celebration
# the High Mass. Many brought
hairs and sat. while a few, per-
laps, knelt. During the progress
# this service which attracts the
great crowd a much smaller SER
ice went on in the west transept.
Iere l found evidences of real de-
'otion, about two hundred persons
eYerently kneeling.
/ was shocked at the irreverence