Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-11-02

tOu OF LuIlCH 10 the valley, seeking
a spot on which to establish a re-
ligious place of retirement from the
world. When he reached the neigh
borhood in which Engelberg now
lies he heard distinctly several times
from the mountain the song OF
angels. Thus arose in ll20 A. D.
the monastery of the Mons Angel
Drum, or Mount of Angels-Engel-
berg!
The history of the Benedictine alb
hey is rich in bright and gloomy
leaves. Even the pious founder ex-
perienced the hardness of fate. As
he was undertaking journey to his
home in the interests OF the mon
astery in 1925, he was assassinated.
Miracle Working Image.
One of the best-known places of
worship in Switzerland, at least to
the Roman Catholic world, is the
pilgrimage resort of Einsiedeln, in
the canton of Schwyz. The foun-
dation is attributed to Count Mein-
rad of Sulgen, whose devotion to
things divine so impressed the abb
bess, Hildegard, of the Fraumun-
ster convent at Zurich that she had
a cell and wooden chapel erected
for him and for the latter she do
mated the world-famous, miracle
working image of the Holy Virgin.
In company with two tame ravens
Meinrad then retired to life of
tstal seclusion. But, all of sud-
den, in the year 86l, the news was
spread that the pious hermit had
been murdered by two robbers who
had been attracted by the silver
lamps in his chapel and it is related
how the two ravens pursued the as
sassins as far as Zurich, flying about
their heads and pecking at them in
such a manner that the authorities
became suspicious, arrested the
criminals and put them to death.
Black Marble Fountain.
In a large open space between
private residences and inns tor. the
pilgrims on one side and the lofty
buildings of the monastery on the
other side rises black marble foun-
tain with Ia jets, surinounted by an
image Of the Holy Virgin.
A magnificent chandelier OF huge
dimensions was a gift Of Napoleon
III and is particularly conspicuous
through its dazzling beauty.
In the nave of the church stands
the wor1d-famous black marble
chapel of the Holy Virgin, the
"Sanctum Sanctorum" OF the whole
foundation, with a grating. through
which, illuminated by four lamps,
small image OF the Virgin and
Child is visible, richly attired and
decked with crowns Of gold and
precious stones. While convent
and church have been FIVE times
destroyed by fire, this image,
though hlackened by smoke, has
never been touched by the devastat-
ing element.
In the Grisons.
Before the Romans conquered the
territory now known as Switzer-
land it was inhabited by a con-
glomeration of hostile tribes, for
the most part of Celtic origin.
The Grisons, Switzerland's larg-
est canton, may readily be de-
scribed as an Alpine wonderland.
1t is broken up by no fewer than
$50 valleys, varying greatly in size,
traversed by wild torrents and
streams and animated by roaring
waterfalls and transparent mountain
lakes.
One of the most venerable spots
in the entire region is Chur or
Coire, the capital of the canton,
which traces its foundation back to
the Roman era, when it was gener-
ally known as Curia Rhaetorum.
What is known as the Episcopal
court occupies high ground. Here
the cathedral of St. Lucius and the
bishops palace face upon square,
adorned with fountain, the entire
quarter being surrounded with
walls, so that its general appearance
is quite like a fortress.
The interior is remarkably beauti-
full in every detail and art critics de-
clare that the 18th century high al
tar, for instance, masterpiece in
carved wood, painted and gilded, is
one of the finest examples of its
kind in existence. The Virgin, sup
ported by Saints Emerita, Lucius,
Ursula and Florian, occupies the
center, while on the wings are
Saints Gallus and Othmar, Sigis-
bert and Placidus. The exterior
shows the Nativity and the Adora-
ton of the Magi; below are six
scenes from the Passion and on the
canopy appear the Annunciation,
the Coronation of the Virgin, the
Trinity, prophets, apostles and the
last judgment. At the back is the
| Crucifxion.
Luini's Masterpieces.
Lugano, which also traces its
origin far back into the Roman pc
Rod, has often been described as
miniature Naples. Its curving line
of quays sweeps around gulf of
pure azure; white houses sun them
selves in amphitheater and wreath
of villas is thrown out upon the
countryside. The interior of the
town is quantity arcaded and paved
| III large DOCKS, ltdl1an 1aSnlOn, ana
the numerous tinle-honored church.
es contain some Of the rarest mas
terpieces of art.
Bernardino Luini has left some of
his very best works upon the walls
of S. Maria degli Angioli. a pas
sion" in three sections, Last Sup
per" and widely known Madonna.
The cathedral of San Lorenzo,
which was erected by Tommaso Ro-
dari at the end of the 18th century,
occupies prominent position on
hill and has costly marble facade
in the early Renaissance style. Con-
noisseurs hail it as the finest speci-
men Of its kind i'll that part of En-
rope and artists describe it as
symphony in marble.