The Northern Guardian. — 1893-01-20 (Hartlepool, Cleveland, England)

ROME IN THE OLDEN TIME.  LECTURE AT HARTLEPOOL.  Yesterday evening, at the Lumley Street Schoolroom, Hartlepool, the Rev. Harley Williams delivered a lecture on the subject of "Every Day Life in Rome in the Olden Time." This is the first of a series of ten lectures which have been organised by the Rev. G. F. Taylor, curate of St. Hilda's, Hartlepool, in connection with that parish. The Rector presided, and there was a large attendance. The Chairman briefly introduced Mr Williams. The LECTURER began by referring to the personally-conducted tours of Mr Cook, and said that that gentleman could take hi hearers to the many interesting places mentioned in ancient history, but could not take them to them in their former state. His (the lecturer's) task, however, was to take them upon a personally-conducted trip to Rome as it existed 1,800 years ago, namely, to the time of Augustus, who died A.D. 14. In the course of a brief lecture he could not hope to describe to them all the buildings of that great city, the dresses, fashions, and so forth, but he would endeavour to point out how the old Romans lived, and what difference there was between their customs and our own. Starting at nine o'clock in the morning he said the custom was for people to go making calls. Great men to have any position at all, must have a large following of " clients " to go and call early at their "patron's" house, to dance attendance upon him, to idle about the vestibule until he should choose to come out and see them. He pro ceeded to describe the way in which the patron treated his clients, and then gave a good description of a Roman wedding. Next he described the progress of a " triumph ' accorded to a successful general returning from the wars, the procession, marshalled with great pomp and ceremony, including the lictors, musicians' the members of the Senate, waggons weighted with captured spoils, the captives taken in the war all loaded with chains, and finally the general himself, attired in a gold-embroidered robe, with laurel bow in hand, and laurel crown on head, and riding in a chariot drawn by four milk-white .steeds. It was a proud moment for any man; bat there was a strange custom that a slave, who, in triumph, held over the conqueror's head a jewelled crown, had to remind him, so that he might not he too much eaten up with pride, by whispering now and again: " Remember ! you are only a man." The procession was followed by the entire army, their spears adorned with laurel, and the men singing songs of triumph. It was difficult to believe that bloodshed would enter into such a festival, but they would find that the captive chiefs would be led aside int* a prison, and there be murdered in cold bleed, while the victorious general passed on, and deposited his wreath and some precious article out of the spoils in the Temple of Jupiter. Passing on, the lecturer described the Roman bath and its surroundings, street scenes, a funeral, etc. •He dwelt at some length upon the gladiatorial shows in the Colosseum. The richer classes were so debased as to think only of getting through their time by some pleasure or other, but the lower orders could not buy some pleasures which the rich man could. Two things, however, were free to them—bread could be got for nothing, while there was no charge to go to see the scenes of bloodshed in the Colosseum. So brutalised had they become that it was a proverbial saying "give a Roman bread and blood (i.e., free food and plenty of opportunity of seeing men kill one another) and he has all he wants." Describing the fighting the lecturer said it was difficult to believe that two men who were combating so desperately, each endeavouring to kill the other, were friends. Yet, so they were. They had been brought up together, lived like comrades, and the calling of a gladiator was a recognised profession, and a paying one, too—as long as it lasted. They lived like soldiers in barracks and were properly trained, and then were hired to fight for the amusement of others. A clever description of a Roman dinner party concluded the address. The lecture, which was very interesting throughout, was frequently applauded, anal was beautifully illustrated by lime-light pictures. A vote of thanks to the lecturer, proposed by Mr Edger and sermuded by Councillor Longstaff, closed the proceedings.