The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1910-02-26

! find the proper door leading to the
great descending stairway. l wall
dered over the vast roof for nearly an
hour before ] could find anyone to
show me an exit. In the meantime !
utilized my exalted detention by cx-
amininE 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
chiselcd marble, giving dates and so
forth relating to important events of
their respective rcigns. At last my
delivcrance 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 1 wanted him.
On another occasion l was on this
! some roof when the great bells Of st
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 tho MAN.
moth chimes, the noise was fairly
deafening but wildly musical. The
| 1>t,11
vigor and so rapidly that the great
edificc fairly trembled under us. The
strokes of the bells could not be dis
tingnislcd on account of the pro-
longed vibrations of the chimes. At
n distance the airs, no doubt, could
be made out but to us in the midst Of
the clamor it secmed more like the
buZzing that might come from n
colony of n thousand bcehives, with
each noisy bee as big as a polar bear.
If reports be true, the Vatican is
the largest castle on earth. Romans
claim it contains 1900 rooms. 1t
does certainly look very large and as
roomv as rumor claims. The exterior
lis not very attractive. as many ad-
ditions were built at different times
and by various constructors, thus de-
priying IT, of that uniform architecture
we might expect in such a Famous
nalacc. The interior, however, con-
tains treasures of art far surprising
in beauty and value all other collcc-
tions in the world. The stntunry and
paintings in this immense palace are
originals; no copies being allowed
standing or hanging room. Many
sculptors and painters from all parts
OF the world are constantly making
replicas of the precious works or arr
40 highly cherished by all lovers OF
the beautiful. During the Chicago
exhibition, strong efforts were made
for n loan Of some OF the original
works of the old masters, but plead
rgs were in vain, as no money value
could be placed upon them and In
surance would not be thought Of, as
thew could not be replaced in case OF
loss
The art treas of the Vatican are
so numerous and the galleries so vast
that it is impossible for the visitor to
give anything like n satisfactory de-
scription of the numberless objects ot
interest contained therein. ] can only
saw, in a general way, that I was more
than delighted to witness, in snowy
marble and lasting bronze, the fulfill
mcnt of my early day-dreams Of the
Greek and Roman classics as l read
them at Old Niagara. in the happy
days OF long ago. when buoyant youth
and bounding ambition fired my zeal
to know the history and various ex-
ploits of the heroes of antiquity.
One of the most interesting locali.
ties in Rome is the Forum, so Otter
; described by travellers. 1t is a vas
mine of historical treasures and the
eagerly sought Mecca of studious anti.
uuarians. AS wandered through its
crumbling arches and among the
nuted columns, retrospection with al
2 it's hallowed memories. recalled thu
I fact that this portion of the Eterna
e City was once the scene of Il civic
I life and national ambition that Sc