III.

ROME, March 8, 1895.

Still in sunny Italy. For the last few days we have been busy looking over the interesting parts of the city, but will not trouble you with detail in the matter, but would like to give you a general idea of Rome. Romulus pitched his tent here seven hundred and fifty years before the Christian era, and in the nearly three thousand years Rome has had a wonderful experience. At times she ruled the world, then again without prestige. Century after century has crumbled into dust, and the people of to-day are walking over their ashes. The martyrdom of the apostles was at their hand. They slaughtered the Christians, and scattered them to the four corners of the earth; but their cup has been a bitter one, and they have drained it to the dregs. But the stone that was cut out of the mountain has triumphed, and the sun of righteousness is reflecting its light back upon its persecutors; and Rome is to-day rising in her Christian civilization. If you will take a ramble with me, I will show you a city pretty free from saloons and drunkenness, streets beautifully paved and kept remarkably clean; a city with fine hotels, stores full of fine goods, merchants polite, many of the clerks speak English, pure water in abundance; and no city with so great number of fountains, many of them not excelled in beauty in any city. Then look for a moment upon her historical interest, her massive walls that surrounded the city with her many watchtowers and battlement, its gates bolted and barred, but now a thing of the past, her ruined temples and palaces, her old stone aqueduct that has given way to the modern iron pipe. These things are drawing tourists, English as well as American. The Methodists are building a fine mission building here, which is soon to be dedicated. Many from America are expected at the dedication. We are glad this town was in our route, and shall leave it with regrets. Our stay here has been full of interest.

Our party this morning took a carriage for a depot on the east side of the city, and took train for Tivoli. Crossing the large plain we came over on our arrival, eighteen miles brought us to the foot of the Sabine Hills. Up this elevation our train went, wending its way through thousands of acres of olive-trees, until it had carried us some five hundred feet above the level of the plain, and landed us in Tivoli. This town is many years older than Rome. West, some twenty miles distant, you see Rome with the dome of St. Peter’s Church. Tivoli is about half-way up the Sabine Hills. Back of this elevation are the Apennines, whence comes a great quantity of pure spring water. The Sabine Hills are composed of lime-rock; and the water from the Apennines comes through caverns under the town, and makes its appearance in different places one side of the town, and tumbles down three hundred feet into a ravine. The water, running continually, is twice as much as runs in Black River, at Springfield, when it is at its usual height. Walks have been built up and down these cascades. The beautiful rainbow is there when the sun shines, and it is a grand sight to behold. Here is a great electric plant that furnishes the lights for Rome: here, also, Rome takes its water supply. After looking over these beautiful falls and the old town and taking our lunch, we took teams and drove to the plains, and visited the wonderful ruins of Hadrian’s castle, or palace. Hadrian ruled Rome--in fact, the world--twenty-one years in the first part of the second century. He did much to fortify different places, and at the same time spent fabulous sums for himself, and has left the largest ruins probably known. His palace was a mile long, everything conceivable connected with it. We found in the flooring some of the finest mosaic work known. Bathing-houses, swimming and rowing, sports and games of all kinds, were, no doubt, carried on there.

[Illustration: FALLS OF TIVOLI.]

While here at Tivoli, we saw them ploughing with several yoke of oxen. The ploughs were wooden beams, with a wooden prong running down into the ground, and one piece of wood coming up for a handle. Whether these were the same oxen that Elisha was ploughing with when the Lord called upon him I am not prepared to say; but the oxen here are very peculiar looking, with immense horns running up into the air, and look like the pictures of the sacred cattle. Almost all of them are white. You will see large flocks of sheep corralled at night, led out by the shepherds daytimes.

We left Rome Friday morning, had a very pleasant trip to Naples, where we were to spend the night. On our arrival we found there had been an Austrian steamer run on the rocks in the Bay of Naples, and four hundred passengers taken off and put into the hotel. So our managers could not get rooms satisfactory to them, and put us on a train and took us some fifteen miles, to Castellamare, to a fine hotel, where we had excellent quarters for the night. Saturday, March 9, we took train for Brindisi, two hundred and sixty miles distant. This gave us another view of Italy, crossing over sections of the Apennines. We had quite a long train with three engines going up the mountains, two in front and one in the rear. It was a miniature picture of our trip over the Rocky Mountains on our way from California. That was ten thousand feet above the sea. This was four thousand, but the ragged cliffs and the forty tunnels we passed through had the appearance of the Rockies with their snowsheds. These tunnels were from one hundred feet to a mile in length: the snow covered the ground on this elevation. After passing over these mountains, we dropped down into a luxuriant valley in Eastern Italy. Trains here run no dining-cars, and very slight accommodations in the depots for feeding people. So our managers had lunch put up for us at the hotel where we stayed the night before; and we had a jolly time with a picnic dinner, and reached Brindisi at 7 P.M., where we had a full dinner at the hotel. Our steamer, which is a very large one, nearly as large as the “Normannia,” lay waiting for us in front of the hotel. We went aboard about ten. The next day, March 10, we were on the Mediterranean, which at this time is smooth and glassy.