JOTTINGS FROM A TRAVELLER’S JOURNAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume IV, Issue 1055, 22 September 1883, Page 4

JOTTINGS FROM A TRAVELLER’S JOURNAL.

. WRITTEN FOE “ THE ASHBURTON ‘ GUARDIAN.”]

CHAPTER XVI. The Latbran—The Cloisters The Sacristan’s Bklief A Splendi d Pros - pect—A Legend of the Lateranx <•/The Palace—The Holy Staircase. ' * From the church 1 followed the Sacristan into the cloisters. The inner court, which is a garden,, is surrounded by a covered* way -supported by very curious and beautiful twisted and inlaid columns.

In the centre of the garden is a well,

. I was told, was the well of the ! ’ .woman of Samaria! But other and greater marvels were revealed to me. The are full of architectural and traiii: dltiqual relics. I select the following for . ; , special .notice. A white marble throne )^;..; in&d;!with < mosaics; an ancient candelabra . ;r a lion and some beautifully wrought details of the original structure. But these are comparatively commonplace. Walking leisurely along the paved court , jim.yr.eya was attracted by a large porphyry "slab •; “ What is that,” I enquired, “ and

’ where did.it come from?” 9 *'.' said the Sacristan with all 1 ’ ' solemnity," “ is the stone on which the soldiers cast the dice to determine who amongst them should f ossess the seamless vesture of Je&us Christ !” A little further on my attention was drawn to several fragments' of marble pillars. “ What are tfchese; and what is their history?” >• ' 1 - ‘ “Those,” replied my guide,■ “ are the remains of some columns that were sent

and thrown down by the earthquake at

„ .the crucifixoion !” , . -- • .fic. 6 “ And what is this upright slab, slip

ported by two pillars ?” j. f , , t That is the standard whicht was used ; s W.mieasure the stature of Jesus Christ!” “ And this flat stone with a circular hole in the centre of of it ?” “ Ah,” rejoined my veracious expositor, “ that stone has a remarkable history j’ifc once formed part of an altar in a church officiating priest did rrot ■believe in the real presence of the Saviour in the Sacrament. W hile he was incredut | lousiy uttering Jhe consecrating words, t| the wafer wrenched itself from his hands, * passed through the altar and disappeared, and there is the whole remaining to this

; ,day I” • ; - / r ■ c.- •• ' tfj) 0 y OU believe this?" I innocently enquired. ' With a significant shrug of hia shoulders peculiar twinkle in his eye, the cautious . old : man answered evasively, “I did not '• see 1 it.” '' ni ' '•

. Leaving the cloisters and regaining the a I 'butwdeof the church, I went round to *'' the PPHico that faces west. Tt commands awpFeiidid prospect, extending to the Altan ' ' Hills and Sabini Mountains. The broad-

way immediately below the steps was the favorite promenade of the Popes in the ii-j!'tniddMages. 1$ was there that the cele■i:: * ‘btated Francis d’Assisi came to obtain audience of Innoent HI. Sir., James Stephens in his ecclesiastical Essays thqs describes 1 fhV incident “ The splendid ~ , palace pf the Lateran reflected the rays lU ~pf tbb'qomihg.Bun as Francis of Assisi with two or tnree of his disciples approached it

to obtain the papal sanction for tpe rules

, of his new Order. A of churchmen iu,i, J -'shmptubus' apparel' were traversing with slow and measured steps,, its lofty terrace, then c lied “ The Mirror,” as if afraid to overtake bim'who preceded them, in a dress studiously'simple, and'with a

countenance wrapped in earnest medita- ' ' ’ tidn". Unruffled by passion, and yet elate Y / with conscious power, that eagle eye, and those capacious brows announced him the ~ of a dominion which might have satis* ' lied the pride of Diogenes, and the ambition’of Alexander.' Since the TurqUrium o •• Waa buiit on the Gapitoline, no greater ! i ; monarch had ever called the seven hills bis own. But in his pontificate no era had occurred more arduous than that in ivl.i Jv Tnnocent 111.- saw the mendicants I -■.•jin ofsAasioi prostrate at his feet. The interruption was Vro-i •»* it was

abrupt as he 1 gazed at the squalid dress , , , • and of his suitors, and observed . their bare. and;, unwashed feet, his lip curled with disdain., ’ and sternly commanding them to withdraw, he seemed •, ’s ti#gain.,to.reUr e !.from the c uter world into 1 some of the deep recesses of that capacious mind. /Francis and hie companions j t betook themselves - to prayer; Innocent to his couch. .There (says the legend) he drpampd? that a palm' tree sprouted up .»Ir6th* ihd ground beneath his feet, and „jurlftly shooting up into the heavens, cast her boughs on qvery aide, a shelter from the heat} a refreshment to the weary. The vision of the night dictated the policy of the morning, and assured Innocent that, under his fostering care, the Franciscan palm would strike deep her roots, and expand her foliage on ©very side, in the vineyard of the church.” I next went to the Palace, or rather the modern structure which occupies the place of the ancient building, which for, close . upon a thousand years, was the dwelling place of successive Popes. - But ,the ori-

ginal structure after - undergoing many ravages • plundered by invaders, and partially ‘ burnt— was finally demolished by Sixtus Y., who had n 6 respect for antiquities. The only'relic of the venerable edifice is the private, chapel of the Popes, and the end wall of the apartment , . that was , the ancient dining-hall, now ' w called the'Triclinium. He-e is to be seen the.mqsaic which has been made the sub-ject-of much discussion as to its symboli:! - , meaning. It may be thus; briefly de- / scribgd I;a the’ centre Christ is :represented surrounded by the Apostles to whom He is giving commission to prea;h : tbe gqsjiel to the world p with ono hand ' he is bestqwing His blessing, in thd other he holds a book on which are the tfotd? I“;Pax' iobisJ’ Beneath is an- ,:< r , othep ~%ura,, of the : Lord in a 'sit:Vling posture; Pope Sylvester is kneeling ; - cn his right, and the Emperor Constant tine on hisdeft.' To the Pope Christ gives

the .key# ofheayen and hell,. to the Em I emblazoned with a cross . In another groupon.the opposite side o ■ 'tli'e arch, Peter is seated ; and before hin . fttp kneeling 'Pope Xiao 111, and the Em . peror .Charles. Peter himself holding the keys, gived'the pallium < f an Archbishof tpLeo, and,the t anner of the Ohriatiar army to Charles. The inscription reads ...Jfeafti s, Petries donamtam Leoni P.P. ei yictorfonti (Jarulo rigi dona, “and over ali •,,, are the words ” Gloria in accelsis Deo, et i? i terra pax omnibus honaa voluntatis.” r L \. ’ ..In; the rear of the Triclinium is a build- ’ ing containing the fc’cala Santa or Holy Staircase, said to have belonged originally jV - t th the pfScial, residence of Pilate and to be ".the identical steps trodden by the Lord when entered, and left the Judgment Balk' Tbe.marble has been encased with «opd';ffont-,apertures.■; are left through ’ i on auna of the steps, dark stains ~1 m ; ba seen. These stains are held to JbyvA Ijipftn caused by the Saviour’s blooo - from rthe wounds made by the t l ,cno«rn^t»f rtborjas,: and the scourge applied I® jPercid’s; soldiers. No human foot is *' tjetopeh: those sacred stairs; »1 The ) ..faithful - ascend upon their knees ; com!i ; their toilsome task from betwdeh ’ 1 the two, scntf, tinges that stand at the foot, • r4{itefefebting' the ‘ Ecce Homo,’ the * i=<rth«r Judas betraying his master by a Vi««- On the day I visited the place some ig or 20 deyotqa^ —amongst them several Lpridufa— were slowly wriggling up the .BtoM,,osqaßiQflßlly pausing, td repeat a 'kneeled,, Numerous indulgences are rviflWkw* 1° ,-i;l|i»,*he Jifeof Lutber, cdnhected with these ■ '" 1 i(l?d bfe ifbiiiiiiiued!y * ' ASA(JrU' U .7/ .A ( • •' 9 p.'c ! '*d