Montgomery County sentinel., 1944-11-23

| R. w. Stout for many years prin-
cipal of Poolesville School, after
I commenting on the War Fund cam
paign, the coming War Bond Drive,
and highly commencing the work
| of the Red Cross tells of an i'm
teresting visit to Rome. A release
from Allied Headquarters in Italy
in the same mail is headed Ladies.
In-Khaki Replace Ladies-In In Wait
ing aa sii 3f fiIg' q
Corp. Stout went into the Army
July 1943, overseas in February
1914. He is craftsman in the Air
Corps. Writing his cousin, he says
part:
| "While in Rome saw the Pope,
kissed his ring, was blessed as well
as having my Rosary blessed. Also
answered that / was, to his ques-
ton, American"
4 "My first impression of ST.
Peters was a little bit toward dis
appointment, but as our guide ex-
planned and we began walking to-
ward it the whole thing changed
and by the time we got inside the
grandeur nearly took our breath
away. 1t is one hundred and eighty
six metres long and. one hundred
and thirty seven wide. Inside the
dome is one hundred and ninteen
metres high and forty-two in dia-
meter. But everything is in perfect
proportion. In one case St. Mark,
! believe, is holding pen in his
hand and it looks like any ordinary
pen or quill, but when you get UP
there closer to it you find it lis
nearly two metres long. l was ,up
in the ball on top which, they say,
can hold sixteen men, and from the
walk way at the top of the curved
part of the dome and the bottom
of the columns, the view of Rome
is beautiful.
There is too much to attempt
to describe but I'll hit one or two
things such as a bronze statue O.,
st. Peter, very immense and the
visitors kiss his toe, which was
originally around two or three inc.
hes long. At presentl it has been
kissed away back ITO where the
toes are attached to the foot, Three
inches of bronze, kissed away!!l
Also saw the Slstine Chapel and
missed very little in it. The Swiss
Guards were SAuite loud in their
dress. -ol !.
.In st. Ignatius Church the
tsiatirg IS 50 perfect that when
1'y9p ROk up at the ceiling it is like
looksgs, Mp shaft of columns. II
Ids almost Impossible to see where
the sidesa6fl the walls end. Also
there, thesStombs of St. Aloysius.
St. John Bsfchmann and vst. Robert
Bellarmine. Tn the Holy Name
Church (as well ,as i recall at pre-
sent) / kneltmt the tomb of St.
| Ignatius and said a prayer.) The
Catacombs were interesting, though
not much to describe. ~
'The Colosseum was quite large
and interesting. It is elliptic in
shape and the same length as st.
Peters. The Pantheon, now a
church, was interesting with the
hole in the top. The Roman Forum
was exceptionally interesting. Be-
low the Capitoline Hill the three
tall columns of the Temple of Ves-
pasian and the eight Ionic Columns
of the Temple of Saturn, also the
arch of Septimus Serverus. IhB an
other section is the Basilica of9Con-
stantine, formerly called Basilica
of Maxentius. Especially interest
ing because st. Peter was designed
from this, so the guide said.
II walked through the ArchNof
Titus and over part of the Via
Sacra along which the victorious
armies marched on their way to the
Temple of Jupiter on the Capito-
line Hill, when returning from .
battle.
"It is too bad Dick Briscoe could
MT be stationed at a place like
Rome. Or anyone interested in
Architecture or painting. l do hope
l will be able to go back, but there
is rumor that we have rest
camp at Paris now, so maybe I'll
go to Paris instead. Sounds like
fun, doesn't it? Well, it is to
certain extent. tried to tell 'em
I was too old to fight. And they
must have believed me because /
am back further than the Generals
used to be in the last war. So.
George Wells can probably tell
you ! am safe. We have installed
our half-barrel or rather gas drum
stove in our tent and keep low
gas fire burning all the time now.
1t is low enoughlat present to only
use five gallons Of gas day. Some
Of the fellows have built stone