Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1919-05-21

l,ooO feet, moving all the time with
increased speed toward the city of
Rome, ten miles away.
Panorama Of Romo.
At speed of 40 to so miles an hour
we sped over farmhouses and ruins
OF the Appian way toward the city.
Within five minutes the miles of arched
stone aqueducts that stretch from
Rome to the mountains had been
passed and we were In the outskirts
of the town with the River Tiber lust
ahead threading the solldly packed
rows of houses like dull blue ribbon.
They tell you in Rome that the most
satisfactory view of the wrecked Coli
scum, where the Caesars used to MUIR
der Christians by the hundred and
where the gladitorial combats of the
old days We're held, may be had by
moonlight.
However, a much better idea of the
Coliseum and its size can be obtained
| by viewing 1t from the air. From
1000 to 1900 feet above earth you can
get better estimate of Its size, and as
you float by you have to scrutinize
closely to notice the damage time has
| brought to walls and arena.
Near the Coliseum the other ruins
are less distinguishable. They are too
small to stand out in the panorama.
| The palace of Augustus is a mere pile
| of bricks. The world-famous Palatlne
hill near by is to all appearances an
| irregular strip of brick-strewn mead
owland and loses all of the grandeur
that the fanciful tourist, on foot among
| the ruins. Is able to reconstruct from
! his imagination.
On the other hand, the Quirinal pal
| ace, the Rome residence of the king of
Italy In peace times. Is notably unin-
I spring when viewed from the street.
But seen from the air, the magnificence
| of the Quirinal Is impressive.
Wonderful Scene Unroils.
To all appearances we we're barely
| moving. Whole sections of landscape
presented themselves smoothly and
seemingly slowly. We had ample time
to inspect with considerable care the
larger points Of interest from our van
| tage point In the steady basket, and it
was only after landing that we learned
! our speed had averaged 40 miles an
hour. The distance above the ground
was responsible for the delusion of
slow speed.
These dirigibles seem utterly una
fraid Of swooping along a very few
feet above the church towers when it
is desirable to fly low. When Presi-
dent Wilson arrived in Rome several
| airshlps flew along the line of march,
| keeping so close to the ground that
| the faces of the crew were visible
| from the crowd.
The glorles of st. Peters. viewed
| from the air, are no small part of the
Joy of flying over Rome. 1t is only from
high elevation that one Is able to ap-
| preciate the perfect symmetry of de-
| sign that represents the best genius of
| architectural thought In Rome through
four centuries under the patronage of
over score of popes.
Naturally enough the finer embellish-
ments of st. Peters are more or less
| ilAfAotblt llbil ll4t utis ne ldLHDuS
| Egyptian obelisk, brought to Rome by
one of the old emperors, who utilized
| 500 men and 40 horses to perform
| part of the work and spent a small for
tune in gold on the enterprise. Is a dot
In the landscape. The statues are
mere blurs. the fountains are simply
brighter spots in the landscape. You
have, in brief, below you a sort of
miniature model of st. Peters in color
resembling an architects clay model
of building.
Trip Quickly Made.
One of the disappointing features Of
first flight over Rome is the quick
ness with which the trip Is accom-
pllshed. You have no sooner gotten
into the spirit of viewing things from
aloft until your machine scoots out
side the city over the green fields again
and you have groups of country peo-
pie below gazing skyward for the ever
interesting sight of an airship.
Once headed toward the airdrome,
you will probably worry bit about
how efficiently the crew is going to
manage the descent and landing. You
commence to realize what an unwieldy
thing an alrshlp is, how sensitive it is
to the air currents, how much it weighs,
and. above all other things, how far
away the ground appears. You con-
slider, after bit of thought. that after
all 1t was an idiotic idea TO fly while
the airship business is In q state of
comparative infancy.
About that time the airdrome, with
ITS immense roof and sides of CORFU
gated iron. is in sight. The pilots cir
Gle the airdrome and do sort of
figure six In the air On the ground
nearly a battalion of men are rushing
along to the spot the pilot has picked
for the landing. Sure enough, just as
you feared they nrp drOnninQ the huge