JOTTINGS FROM A TRAVELLER’S JOURNAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume IV, Issue 1056, 24 September 1883, Page 4

JOTTINGS FROM A TRAVELLER’S JOURNAL.

[SPECIALLY WHITTEN FOR “ THE ASHBURTON gTuarman. ”]

v , .CHAPTER XVl—Continued. .Car- Slidii SAKCtoßVM—Relics—The Roman Fever Antiquities anb Works of Art -• An Impressive Status—A Mosaic Pavement—Out of ■ Place—A .Legend—A Rich Church —The Sacked Cradle—Sixtus V. , - Theraare iside staircases by which orslinaryavisitors may ascend in the usual manner, to. the Sancta Sanctorum, a chapel considered so- very sacred, that uniyi thaPope: may officiate at the. altar. - iOn the morning before Palm Sunday the canons of the Lateran come hither with candlaSi and a vailed crucifix, in solemn , procession ; and none hut the clergy . are permitted to enter. The laity Are at all limesrigidly excluded. Through a grated opening !I, gazed: into . the interior-—the gilded glories of whiph were but partially visible in the dim religious light. The ;a recess, with two porphyry t .apd,.ahov,o it is a silver tabornacre, In which is preserved, the relimthat invests the place with its peculiar sanctity —a portrait of the. Saviour, said to have been commeubed by'St. Luke, hut tniraculously finished by an angel.. It is called Acheiropoeton, or the'piicturef made'-with-out handa. Besides this, there a relicchamber, in which are the sandals worn by Jesus, and a portion of the real cross on which he suffered ! Pilgrims who ascend 'he holy stairs on thoirt knees, leave their offerings on tha sill -in* front vof -tha screen, ~ which is often covered, with mondy." ’ *" o"moSern palace^ ~oT the Lateran is «sfcgffyl interesting as a museum., d^tmbn’is“necessary in visiting its chil|y. ; cheerless galleries. The transition from ■ the genial atmosphere without is so great as at times to endanger health. Mt ! is said that the seeds bf the dreaded Roman fever have often been implanted-iu the systems of th oSa wb ohavb gone intothefcoldchambeih| and corridors of. the Lateran’ while hatfted from previous exercise irv the

sunshine. JT Cl \l'f Mirny houra'naay Be spent in examining ijjhe numerous statues, pictures and curio* collected, heye. „ I,pannot pretend Jtp r dea(&4Hairaem in detail. Kt The fe* oußd-flijrirj is devoted to -antiquities found in Rome. There aro Id 'rooms full of interesting objects in great variety. .The- Ghciatfin museum and the picture gallery are on ifirat.-jdiodr. Li ln -thef.entrance ihalll is a remarkable 'statue .of : Christ by consbious that in 1 of factual -resemblance it ■ is en- ', tirely an artisticioiieatton, it is impossible to ■jugazemporntbe noblefigure- without .being deeply impressed! From a-gallery, access to which is gained-by stairs leading .from. isdk therioorns, ,1 looked, of vast extent,- wh»ch was found in the batlis .of Carracalla. It representa . twenty-eight-athletes— them having their names attached. ’ It is i!*hfetla pleaaing'pictureibnfc in spite' of the > repDlfeifismsss of the subject as » work of art it excites wonder and admiration.The corridor is full of inscriptions frotn • - Thn picture gallery con^ . sists of nine rooms : strange to say, in ihesecond room, by the side cl "pictures of the. Assumption and Annunciation, there. ( ,li9ngs the portrait of '* The ifirst gentle"man of Europe,” evidently but of place. —Xt-would-ba-diffioult to- give a reason for Msociating Geprge 3TVJ of England with a « Christian museum/ - 1| Lateran I-proceaded to the OhurordT^t^Mar^itaggrqtlij'otie of the oldest riwpefets most cele-, bratedof thaijinany churches in Rome, d ’dt (is said, appeared ; simultr neously to a devout JRomannoble, and. Pop* Tjiborius in their dreams, commanding them build and dedicate a church rd tfte IwrifinTther ep! t Vhsre ireuM find a deposit of snow. Accordingly, the next morningj beihg the sth of August, rrl and John sallied forth and found tiibw stands.; ’ ITOe originalstructure .tyas.called Basilica “ Liberian, but was afterwards named by. jyfarja v 3llate.r;Dei. .The • legend - is conseprsAed 'and preserved by a somewhat ridiculous ceremony, enacted ,pa ) s^ e s)th every year,. Durin^ihe'cerebration 'of high mass white rose leavee~showered down continuoual^lhr^gbtwo .holes in the ceiling of the Botghese chapel ! Thejchurch is 120 yards long and 50 yards wide, divided into three columns of white marble of tnb* tonic ofder, surmounted by a frieze of mosaic- pictures from the Old is'exquisitely. beautiful; of variegated marble worked: in the style called Its mingling colors contract very strikingly with me white and-gold 1 of the walls. The roof is fiat, pannelled', -carved and richly gilded with the- first- of ;the gold brought to Spain from-South America, and presented by Ferdinand and Isabella The high altar is a large urn of porphyry covered by a marble slab 'supported by four ange!#-fii-‘gHb bronze. Tael canopy rests on four columns ofvporphvry surrounded by gilt palms, In dront of the high altar, and descending- .beneath the pavement is a splendid chathDer, Hand., with alabaster.and various colored marbles, ,9 *&s J i^Ceiptable 1 fol'lhe remains of Pius lX. r 'Bat when he died burials within tnb" trails of the city were contrary ~ip the.law -oOpe, kingdom.., The proud would 1 not copdnacehd ‘so fari ass **** *to ■&rtbP v hfa' successor' tb'ask leave from the Government in his will, therefore he; bo be buried in the churobl of £& Lorenzo amongst‘the poor. In the

Borghese Chapel, which is gorgeousl; ornate, is preserved. one of the picture . said ip have been painted, by gt.. Luke t l f Because' it was th< nseanl of thh pta|u'6'-frh{ch deyas tated the city id'tha time of Pelagiua IF. and-afterwarcte was instrumental in over -Wdti'feh dhtaia&A'Sn Spain. '* Theje is „also the pqipptnpua Siatonc ‘9oKrip&l, l! tM ‘Bhp'tMeifj^'with 'an ancient •a*’ 1 4? B A? f iP9FP|»y5Xr *jw sl|*pel of the Holj ' Sacraments, of theTatnzzi family, and oi ' Santa Croce. Mi these are superbly do. enter into particulars/ Bub the greit relic arid curiosity Mxv-aSpf .■ !,■ gr*<W>,-‘ffl.Rh.ich..the; infant Jesus was It is- preserved in a i»» #f wltji-Bi^nettes'arid has • *'{ fcjfflSfe- jlfr i» • Amongst.&e many . jtpjdsi not pat*? oyer the tomb ,'JwHjlfyb it excepds in splenJahaMrwnP 8«on ,in the «“& h.eciyiae of the. ; remarkable tbjT mah -for .whom .it was ' SfpakwgK.cf this’' Pope, G>e’tel s9 an( * *«walcen'hfrf i ts is the monument of ’*«j j§if Pa^iinjgJyrigm aP. who, as a . child, MifoPr*sßM .-oM man 00mnufidied". peoples' 1 and .kings, and who with.so,.many>,works, that Ui -riW^TVyil® 4o -IMP -»aiue,\iikeFaPi ecfeo, ‘Weller’s -ear. We, never y V,' ; ,ajSße'j£; he.amazed at the wondorful luck v 'Which' raised Napoleon from the dust to ■tth'thVkne of the world as if it were a .UOHMaiohe,M'-%, fairy story. Bui .if in the history fjf kings theae-aatonishing changes > extraordinary ac-identa, they seem; c **' *hmlehifaral id the history of the-Popes; they Belong"" to . the very essence of 0*6 1,3 e Cnriiffeiadm, t; 'whicH does; not ‘ appeal to the person bnt to the spirit/ anif while iCLitkftOW hiatoiw. is ■ full of ordinary men, Mtlrow’mer" prerogative 1 ' df their ■tes-ifcunk,, into leternal ■ifja.nijch in great men, riffarent sphere, would ponby of rejgujp.”,, - continued.)