Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1919-04-26
VISITS HISTORIC TOWNS.
Frank Raaen Writes OF Historical
Spots in France.

In a letter To {. x. Berry, his former
employer, Sergt. Frank W. Ragen, Of
NJ T. =. unit sos. former manager Of
the United Delivery Company, tells
most interestingly Of the historic cities
o. southern France. which he was
permitted 10 visit while on a leave OF
absence. When We dropped of the
train ~ Mines" he writes, "one OF the
FIRST things 7 saw was the ord Roman
arena which, was huil: by Titus in l3s.
Tbs old arena measures tS1NSS2 feet
and is sixty or seventy feet high. u
held $4,000 people. In the olden days it
was used chiefly Tor gladi1or.al com
hats but Of late. just before the war,
il was used for bull fights. But since
the 4. I. =. has arrived in this country
il Is used chiefly for the good old
game 0, baseball.
The Y. VI. =. 4. has charge OF this
leave area and has q bunch o. trips
scheduled 10 the important places IN
and about the city OF Mines and with
thar guiSss we tceE In different
places. The first trip We took was over
10 Avignon. which rs about thirty miles
from Mines. There they have the
palace Of the popes- Seven popes ruled
from there the same as they do now
from Rome. II was in It's prime IN the
thirteenth century During the war the
bank OF Paris kept its valuable pa pers
n this old building for safe keeping
against air raids. It il located. like
Mines, on the banks OF the Rhone
river. The guide told Us that Dante
IVES a. one time a frequent visitor 70
this place and il was from here that
he gazed out over the surrounding
rivers and valley and at the Alps noun
ta.ns which are easily seen in the dis
lance and got from these sights the
dope FOR his Inferno "
He visited the Old city Of Tarascon,
where Saint Martha is buried and
Aries. where Julius Caesar founded
one Of his foremost military colonies
in 50 3. c. Constantine lived there at
ore time. and the first counci! OF the
Occident met in this town in 314
Aries was the residence Of the
Caesars writes Ragen. who governed
that part OF the Roman empire which
comprised Great Britain. Spain and
France. The Roman project lived here
Until SO. Frederick Barbarossa was
crowned here. In the museum here We
saw the original Venus Of Aries. sec
ond only to the famous Venus de Milo.
The old palace Of Constantine is part
Is standing. One Of the most interest
ing sights was the old Alyscamps
cemetery, where IN o.den times ii was
the common belief OF ali Romans that
unless their bodies were buried in
their cemetery their souls would not
rest in peace. They buried the dead in
stone caskets with q large stone on
top and many Of these remain. but in
poor condition, AS We were going down
the line " these old toIubs the guide
pointed out one just ahead Of Us and
TOLD rs 10 take notice Of il. A snlaS
section Of one side had fallen out and
when We came close 10 It we saw an
old man lying in it and 10 our surprise
he was alive. The guide told US that
eight Years before this old bird had
been disappointed in love and had
come 70 this place and crawled in and
had made this his home ever since. He
mad not missed night in sleeping
there in all that time. He begged for
living and from the looks Of him l
don't think ne had shaved since his
dame gave him the slip.
Nearly every one OF these old towns
have walls around them and The notes
just outside the walls and the massive
gateuays which protected the towns
from the oncominG warriors OF old
with their tin swords.
Just before the trip down 10 Mines
five Of Use made trip up to Souilly,
which is just little west OF verdun,
and the, sights - that way hare those
old ruins OF the Romans beat 4 mile.
And some Of these sights are only Eve
c.,, s:r rrnnnths n1G ;,