Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1914-09-18
PLANTATION I[[ SONGS
HEARD IN ANCIENT
ITALIAN CLOISTER
Incident of Tour Through
Country Which Presents
Many Sharp Contrasts Be-
tween he Old and New.

,sstsr Italv. Sept. is-More than BY
.,,,;rs else is one impressed nowadays
,,a,r nv the contrast between the very
ala and the very new. 1t Is more s;riE-
here than elsewhere. because the rom
.,s of one of the worlds oldest ciVi!iza-
~, are here. while many of the Italian
,,,es are keeping vigorously in the stride
u,oaern progress. They have quite as
NH nride in Marconi as in the remains
:, tbe Roman Enperors. In fact they
-ou,d he very Indifferent to the latter
4, tb.se we're not now an inexhaustible
..ures Of revenue. For many centuries
49,, ancestors demolished the srandest
..ohitsoriraI monuments the world had
.r.r sesn to use the fragments in inferior
huildincs, ana It was not until pilgrinlages
from tire four corners Of the earth came
"a worship what was left that the whole
,o,e destruction ended. 1t is hoartbreak-
a., On look at these ruins Of nlasnifi-
,,noo that never will be reproduced, and
,ot ~ Is not impossible to understand tine
unitarian spirit which would protest
,sainst tons OF good building material be-
ipC ua6tpn In useless dIClltS anu uhlh'SVu
roT,lms, Thanks are due to the much
.irtsed tourist that every scrap of an
,jnuitv Is now preserved and the earth's
inferior Is searched for more.
n is here al Assist and the neighhoring
perl,sia that we have been especially
struck by the juxtaposition of the old and
,he new Tn these ancient tmbran- towns
was considerable degree of civilization
rent,,ries before the birth of Christ and
their possession was fought FOR through
mt countless centuries Between the G%o
lie the Etruscan Tombs, of comparatively
recent excavation, with the figures on
their eyquisitelH carved receptacles for
the ashes almost as perfect as when made
in the third century before Christ, while
within may be seen the imperishable
ssnes themselves. Suspended from the
ceiling of the different rooms are tiny
E.ruscan lamps of bronze where a faint
taper was once kept burning, but now the
tombs are lighted by electricity. With
bulb at the end of u LSng pole the attend
ant shows many fine details that would
be invisible by torch or candle, but the
mconsru.ty OF it jars. And so at Assist,
when we dctccnd into the crypt of Santa
Chiara with becoming solemnty to gaze
upon the tomb of Saint Clara, who died
early in the thirteenth century, the little
nun touches button and it is flooded
with electric light 1t is the same in the
old monastery where good Catholics go
to kneel at the tomb Of ST. Francis,
who died in l@26-electric buttons every
where. We viewed by electric light the
sarcophagus Of san Rufno against NTH
century wall.
MODERN HOTELS IN TOWNS.
Every lover of antiquity looks forward !
to visiting Porugia and Assist, the old, |
o!d Etruscan towns envcloped in the |
semi-oDscurity or thousands of years. |
He imag1nes and half hopes that he will .
climb their steep hills on donkey and |
sleep in monastic cell bat the roman
tic dream Is shattered when the fast eX |
PRESS train with a LOUD shrek stops !
Just long enough for him to scramble !
out and he is bundle ed into d. big hotel |
motor bus, which 90 tiers over the his
toric ground without speed limit and /
races with several other omnibuses. !
The comfortable hotels arc modern in
every respect, steam heat, electric lights
and bells. bathrooms with hot and cold
water lifts" in the largest of them
It may be said of both towns, by the
way, that even in their narrowcst streets
and closest quarters they arc cleaner
than any in the United States.
When one goes. however, for charm
and association, he should stop At Assist
Cnly two hours away by delightful
carriage drive over the hills. We came
10 the Hotel Windsor, new last year, at
ractCd by the magnet Of an English
!andlady. And here after the sun had
set and the moon had risen all our ro-
mantle visions came to pa IS, Now as
our visit ends we feel that never shall
W. forget those evenings on our bal
Cony oVerhanging the high terraces
T'th the moonlight flooding the valley
and tile beautiful old monastery among
the cypress trees. \ charming singer
who was with us sang for hours to the
accompaniment of her guitar and when-
ever she would pause the niGhtingalcs
IN the trees below would III the air with
their plnintivc melody. All night they
sang, while from down in the valley
came answering notes softcned by the
distance, and imagination pictured st.
francis listening TO this same sweet
music as he spent the hours in prayer,
ana St Clara as she kept lonely vig!
In her little convent.
SONGS IN ANCIENT CLOISTER.
We have had an experience at Assist
which no one ever had before and which
Always will linger in memory.
There arc attached to the splendid
franciscan monastery. built between
uNH I-Wr Some or the most beau !
HIul cloisters in existence. filled with
pa iFceS and surrounded BY upper and |
o"ei pu7ches, and into these Cloisters I
5ur musician was determined to take .
e' guitar at sunset and sing. Even (
NE most worldly minded of US were
'noeked at this idea. but VIC decided To
~ with her We slipped through the
I'M -aarkness OF the great church and
111t INTO the cloisters, where she sat
o%h on fragment of stone Of the
IN century and TO our horror began
'ns'ng plantation melodies. Nothing
-saalul happened, however. and pres ,
,noy ,ny out OF the cleaning came very
'pou- pet, hooking young priest with delicate. ,
,sCeuc features, who listened with ap-
ILqaemt Lqtsnt enjoyment but flushed face ,
ht many ne asked Miss Porter TO go to I,
s.s t upper porch and sing the Ave Maria
ia uia So standing between two an ,
D. ~ pllals and singing it entirely
tvush' her voice ringing through the
~ ''nSs .t and unquestionably penetrating
cry ''e'S o' 'ne hohas'
Wnen che finished he said: "In 7Oy
,oias Ihls Is the first time a womau's
wallis" "esFu "iIilh thess
Vas htting that an American woman !
.srio'i. oieak tie record, but what did the {
sSt S isthers and brothers and the
hat tAem think when they heard it {