II.

ROME, March 4, 1895.

You will remember that in my last letter I left you at Naples. After that time we visited the old aqueduct, built through the mountain by Nero, to bring the water into Naples. When we were on our way from Pompeii, we saw parts of the old Appian Way, built by Nero from Naples to Rome, over which Saint Paul travelled on his way from Puteoli to Rome, when a prisoner. All roads lead to Rome, and this was one of them.

We took an early start this morning, left our hotel at 7 A.M. and took train for this place. Our managers had secured two cars for us, so we were not obliged to mix up with the natives. These cars will be held here at Rome until Friday, when we shall return to Naples. Saturday the same cars will take us to Brindisi, where we take steamer for Egypt. This was our first car-ride in the old country, and we were interested to know the result, as they tell great stories about their fast trains, etc. One of their yarns is that a young man was on one of their fast express trains, and was going through a town where his lady love resided: he wired her to be on the platform of the station, as he wished to kiss her as he passed through. She was there; but the train went so fast that, instead of kissing his lady love, he kissed a peasant at the next station. Bad egg. Now do not be anxious about us: there is no flirtation in our company. However, we found the train a very good one, and made the one hundred and sixty miles in five hours; but we think Uncle Sam is ahead yet on speed and quality of service.

Starting out from Naples, we found the finest farming lands that ever mortals set eyes upon. Judge Whitmore, of Pennsylvania, who is one of our party, and has travelled extensively, said he never saw the like before. The land was a level plain, and rich in the extreme. There were a great many olive, mulberry and fig trees scattered over it; but under, through, and among them the ground was covered with vegetation, and for some ten miles out it was largely garden vegetables. It was like riding through a grove and garden combined. Everything here is done by hand, and largely the old bog hoe, as we call it, is used,--this, with a round stick driven in for a handle. Occasionally we would see men working with long-handled spades or shovels, which looked quite modern. As we speed on our way, this broad plain begins to narrow in upon us, and the foothills were at one time down near the track; but every foot of ground in this country seems to be cultivated, even to the tops of the mountains. Before we reached Rome, this valley we had been passing over began to widen; and, when we caught sight of the ancient city, it appeared to be standing at the head of a broad plain. As we neared the city, we saw the old stone aqueducts resting upon hundreds of stone arches. When our train drew into the depot, we were surprised to find a building of modern structure; and, as we came outside, we learned the fact that we were in what is called New Rome, which has a very modern appearance. Carriages soon took us to the Hotel d’Angleterre, which is very satisfactory.

After lunch our managers took us to the Pincian Hill, and gave us a bird’s-eye view of Rome, pointing out the places of interest that we should visit between this time and Friday. At the foot of this hill is a park where stands Cleopatra’s Needle. At your right is the old gate to the city where the pilgrims entered. Here Martin Luther entered, and at your left stands the church where he took his first communion. A little farther in front flows the river Tiber, with its large number of bridges spanning its waters, and its splendid stone masonry up and down its banks as far as you can see. Beyond this river stands St. Peter’s Church, with its sixteen domes, the main dome being some four hundred feet high, length of church six hundred feet, width four hundred and fifty feet; and at the right of this wonderful structure stands the Vatican, where resides the pope. After we had our fill of gazing over the city, we descended to the foot of the hill, where we took carriages, and drove to St. Peter’s Church. First you enter the square in front, containing some acres. At your right and left begin the circling colonnades. Upon the top of these, which extend up to the church, stand statues of the saints, some two hundred of them.

As you go up the long line of stone steps and enter the church, your first impression is its immensity. As you go on, this feeling grows upon you; and you are awed with its grandeur. Outside it has a dingy appearance; but a great amount of money is expended inside to keep it in fine condition, and it attracts the eye of all lovers of the beautiful. Our manager explained everything as we went through this great building, which took nearly one hour. This church was nearly three hundred years in building, and was begun in the fourteenth century. We went down into the vault, and they unlocked the door and showed us the box that held, as they claim, the ashes of Saint Peter. The leaving of this church closed quite an eventful day for us; and we went to our hotel for dinner and a good night’s rest, which brought us out all right.

Tuesday morning at nine o’clock we took carriages, and drove to the Pantheon. This is a building of historical interest. It was built twenty-seven years before Christ by Marcus Agrippa. First he intended it for the people as a public bathing-place. It was the first brick building ever erected, also the first dome architecture. One immense dome covers the whole building. It pleased the people and its builder so much that in dedicating it any individual god was not sufficient, and so it was dedicated to the gods, which gave it the name Pantheon. It is now used as a church, and services were going on while we were looking it over. From this building we drove to the Vatican. This building contains eleven hundred rooms. Of course, we did not try to take in the whole thing, but spent some two hours inside; and I will mention only a few things that impressed me most. One was the pope’s private chapel, which no one visits without permission. The decoration was done by Michel Angelo; and at one end of this chapel is his masterpiece, called “The Judgment,” upon which he nearly lost his eyesight. In going through the museum of this building, you will make up your mind that marble, onyx, talent, and time have made obeisance to the pope. From all parts of Italy and Greece have been gathered the finest of everything. When you enter the rotunda, you will notice a gilt bronze statue of Hercules, some twelve feet high, standing with a lion skin thrown over one arm, the other hand holding an immense club resting on the ground. Fabulous sums of money have been offered for this statue, but it cannot be bought. It is said that the Vatican and what is in it cost more than all the wealth of Italy. St. Peter’s Church is said to have cost twelve million pounds sterling, and at that time that sum meant much more than it does now. We have visited the building where the apostles were thrust into the inner prison, and I can say that I never had much of an idea before of that place. We took candles, and went down into a dungeon. Then they told us that the inner prison was under that. So on down we went; and, if the word dismal has any significance, we found it there, stone above, below, and around you. We visited the spot where once stood the monument inscribed “to the unknown god.” The emperor at that time was warned, as he claimed, by some god that the enemy was approaching, and went and conquered them. Not knowing the god that did him this favor, he had the statue or monument erected and thus inscribed. We visited the Palatine Hill where once stood Cæsar’s palace. Everything on this hill, you doubtless know, was destroyed by the Gauls and Vandals, being burned and pulled down; and, as other kings have built their palaces in other parts of the city, they have taken everything of value, and it looks now like the ruins of an immense castle. The government is at work excavating and clearing up matters; but the subterranean caverns, arches, etc., that the palace stood upon are wonderful. We stood on the spot where Paul stood when he appealed to Cæsar for justice, and the foundation of the throne where Cæsar sat is still intact. At the base of the Palatine Hill stand the three pillars of Castor and Pollux, near the Forum. These pillars were once greatly admired for their symmetrical beauty. Pliny tells us of a raven that was hatched upon the roof of the Temple of Castor and Pollux, that flew into a bootmaker’s shop opposite. Every morning it used to fly to the Rostra which looked toward the Forum, where he would salute the Emperor Tiberius and others as they passed by, after which he returned to the shop, doing this for several years and being a great pet. But through the jealousy of an owner of an opposition shop the bird was killed, and for this the man was put to death. The bird had a public funeral, with a larger concourse of people than ever attended any king.

The old historical interest of Rome would fill volumes. I am drinking in what I can of it, and will give you a few more items of this ancient city in my next letter.