The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1912-05-16
WERE LOST IN THE CATA-
COMBS OF ST. CALYXTUS
Two Young Travellers Have Terrible Experience
in Underground Passage After Being
Deserted by Guide.

Thirty years ago was a girl or
1S, spending my first Easter in Rome
with old family friends-Mr. and
Mrs. Anderson and their only son,
Maurice, a bright, jolly Cambridge
undergraduate, whose spirits, alas!
were in a much better state of repair
than his lungs.
Mostly for his sake we had drifted
slowly down the Riviera and dawdled
on in Rome, until now it was abso-
lutely imperative that the next day
should see US start for England.
Maurice and I had determined to
visit the Catacombs of st. Calyxtus,
but, with the usual dilatoriness of
youth we had postponed the trip un-
til the very last day of our stay. Be-
ing anxious to see some fine frescoes
that had recently been uncovered, we
decided, though it was getting late
in the afternoon, to drive out to the
Catacombs and see if we could per-
suade a guide to take us down.
On arriving at Porta San Sabasti-
ano, we found that all the regular
guides had gone home, but heavy,
disagreeable-looking man, sitting and
drinking outside a small tavern, at
last consented to take us through If
we would wait while he finished his
supper.
We agreed that it would be no
darker inside the Catacombs at 3
O'Clock than it was at midday, so we
possessed our souls with what pa
thence we could muster while the
surly looking rufian ate and drank.
The tether of an undergraduates
patience is proverbially short, and
soon Maurice would allow the man
no peace, but, by worrying in his
broken Italian, at length cajoled him
into leaving his meal unfinished.
Arming each of us with long pieces
OF twisted candle and grumbling un-
der his breath, the guide led the way
and we descended into the Cata-
combs.
All went fairly we'll for some time,
and as we traversed passage after
passage and turned this way and that,
in the tortuous windings of the
vaults, our guide explained the rude
frescoes adorning the roof and sides.
But, alas that was where the
trouble began, for his English was,
If possible, shade more peculiar
than Maurice's Italian, and, from
shouting questions and answers IN
what, each fondly believed to be the
others native tongue, they finally got
Z intensely irritated with the difficulty
of understanding one another. In
spite of my earnest entreatles to
Maurice to be careful and not need
lessly annoy the man, he persisted in
yelling at him, and at length with an
oath, our guide roughly told us to
stand still. A moment later he strode
off down one of the numerous tun-
nels, which extended, as we knew
for many miles beneath the earth.
AS long as the glimmer of his light
could be followed we ran after him,
calling upon him to return, but pres
emily I caught my foot on a piece OF
broken masonry and fell heavily,
dropping my precious piece of candle
in the fall.
On recovering my senses I found
that Maurice had picked me out o.
the mud and seated me on one of 4
the little shelves or recesses, about
a foot from the ground, which-cen-
turies ago-had been cut to receive
the bodies of the early Christians.
The guide had vanished.
By the dim light of Maurice's taper
I could see that he looked very white
and anxious, but a gloom of JOY IL
Illuminated the poor boys face when
he saw that I was regaining conscl-
BUSINESS.
One of my earliest questions was
as to whether he had found my pre-
cious piece of candle, darkness IN
such a place being the worst possible
misfortune that could befall u.s.
Luckily, he had discovered it after
careful search, and, though it was
much damaged, he had pinned it on
to the crown of his soft cap to insure
its protection from further harm.
It was now nearly 7 o'clock, and
we reckoned we had been in the Cat
acombs rather over two hours.
How we inwardly cursed our folly
in not having told any one at tht
hotel of our intentions.
Although by this time we had, nc
doubt been missed, no one would
have the slightest idea in what direc