THE VATICAN.

Waikato Times, Volume XXII, Issue 1860, 7 June 1884, Page 4

T HE VATICAN.

Thr Vatican is the queen of palaces. It joins S Peter's, the " king of churches," and "were it not for the dome the palacp' would overtop the church. It takes its name from Vatican Hill, on which it stand's. This laigest and in sotue respects most intei eating palaca in the worldis visited by thousands of travellers and pilgrims every year. For 500 years it has been the res deuce of the Popes. They, however, occupy but a small pait of the immense building. It is mostly used as a vast museum. In its beautiful chapel, great halls, innumerable rooms, interminable galleries, and grand library are treasures of art, relics of antiquity, marvellous sculptures, immortal paintings, inscriptions from tombs, basreliefs, bronzes, gems aud remains of ancient Etruscan, Roman, and Egyptian civilisations. Take it all in all, the riches of its treasures are not surpassed by any other collection on earth- The Vatican is a vast, irregular duster of buildings, enlarged and extended at different times, until it is seventy-two rods long and forty-eight rods wide. It covers an area larger than the Tuilleries and the Louvre combined. It is said to contain twenty open courts, eight grand and 200 smaller stairways, and 4000 rooms— a little city in itself. We visited it many times, and always came away with weary feet and exhausted brain, so endless are its objects of attraction. From the windows of the Vatican we now and then get a glimpse of the Pope's sunny gardens, with their orange and lemon trees laden with fruit, their flagt ant flower beds and closetiimmcd hedges, shady walks and even driveways, for since the Holy Father has been a " prisoner " he takes his drives in his gardens. It is thought that there was a palace connected with the Church of [St. Peter as early as the time of Constantine, but there certainly was a residence for the "Bishop of Rome" on the site of the Vatican in the early part of the sixth century. Charlemagne resided in a palace on this spot at the time of his coronation, in the eighth century. It was rebuilt on a magnificent scale by Pope Innocent 111 about A. d. 1200, and enlarged by Nicholas 111 in 1277. Since 1377, after the return of the Pontifical Court from Avignon to Rome, the Vatican has been the permanent residence of the Popes. Numerous and extensive alteiations have been made by different Pontiffs, each one trying to excel the others in the splendour of his additions. Theieisa coveted passage, half a mile loner, built by Pope John XXIII in the early part of the fifteenth century, connecting the Vatican with the castle of Angelo. It was dpsigned as a private way of escape for the Popes fiom the palace to the fortress in times ot danger. This escape was used by Alexander the Sixth and by Clement the Seventh and others, when Rome was invaded by enemies. —Rev Selab Brown, in Troy Times.

M. Rounut is slid to have left a considerable woik upon the men and the events of the Second Empire, a work upon which he was continuously engaged since he retired from public life. "The East Afiicin Highlands, a Journey towards the Mountains of the Moon," is the title of a work that Mrs Pringle, of Yair, has in hand, and of w hich Messis Blackwood are to be the publishers. At an auction sale in London recently, the oiiginal lease of the farm of Ellisland to Ro'iert Burns, with the poet's disposition of it to another tenant, was sold for the comparatively tuflin<; sum of £33. C milyle'^ prolific use of voids is being discussed. In " Sartor Resartus " alone it is found that the vocabulary contains about 7,500 words ; whilst the whole of Shakspeare's vocabulaiy is put down at ] 5,000 wouls, and that of Milton at 7,500. At the suggestion of the Austrian Ciown Prince, a work on the ethnography of the Empire is about to be written. MaurusJokai, thewell-known Hungnian, has been entrusted with the task of editing it. Tnu thiec aiticles on the Socialist agitation which have recently appealed in the Quarterly Review were written by Mr W. H Mallock, and are to be republished together in a cheap form by Mr Murray. Ihe Queen's " More Leaves " has run into a fourth edition, making the copies disposed of nearly 20,000. The book has not escaped the eye of the American publisher of cheap icpiints, -who put the booic into the maiket at four dollars. It was immediately reprinted by another firm, and sold at one dollar fifty cents. But this was outdone by Harper Brotheis, who brought out an edition of the book for 15 cents— scvcnpence-halfpenny. Tiik Libiary Chronicle, a new sixpenny monthly, is announced by the Libraiy Association of the United Kingdom. To the til st number Dv Richard Garnett will contribute a paper on " Libiarianship in the Seventeenth Centmy;" Mr H. R. Tedder one on "The Spread of the Fiee Public I Unary Movement in ISS3 ;" and Mr G. C. Thomas will give some description of the " Popular Libraries of Paiis." Accokdim; to the Annales de Statistique, there were on Jan. 1, ISS3, 137S ncw&papeis and penodicals published in Italy. Rome publishes 200, Milan 141. aud Naples 120 There are 159 daily papers, 539 weekly ones, and 258 monthly magazines. Theieaieno less than 267 scientific periodicals. The oldest journal in Italy is the Ga/etta di Gcnova, which dates from 1797. The astonishing number of 333 new peiiodical publications of various kinds made their first appearance dm ing ISS2, and 3i were started on the first day of ISS3. In early numbers of Macmillan's English Illustrated Magazine Mill appear papeis by Mrs Macquoid describing some of the hill cities ot Umbiia. They will be illustrated by Mr T. R. Macquoid. In thcApul number of the magazine will appeal a story by Mr Hugh Conway. author of " Called Back ;" " How I became a War Coi respondent," by Mr Archibald Forbes; "dialing Cross," by My Austin Dobson ;" Binges," by Mi.ss Kingsley ; and a poem by Mr "Walter Crane, w ith his own illustrations. A I)i.u) Si:a Sr.RPENT. — A lecent bulletin of the United States Fish Commission gi\es an interesting conespondeuce relative to a very peculiar fish — something peihaps between an eel and a shark — that was caught, but not kept, by a Maine fisherman in 1880. It has been frequently referred to as " sea serpent," was 24 feet long and 10 inches in diameter, with tail like an eel and skin like that of a shaik, but finer. There were two fins, one on either side, a little back of the head, with a dorsal fin between them. The fish was dead when caught, but had torn the nets badly. Whistling v. Singing.— When Bouffe favoured us with his company in the foyer of the Varieties— a rare occurrence — he generally regaled us with some good story picked up in the course of his long theatrical life ; and one of these, the last I ever heard from his lips, I distinctly remember. He was starring at Rouen, and on one of his off nights strolled into the theatre when Herold's " Zampa " was played. Among the actois was a young rociuit, to whom, for some reason or other, the spectators had taken a great dislike, and hissed him most unmercifully, until at last the poor fellow came forward and addressed the audience as follows: — "Ladies and Gentlemen, — I have a wife and three children, and, if I had been fortunate enough to please you, should have earned; a yearly salary of 1800fj which yjpuld have sufficed for us all. Ido not dispute your right to reject me, but although my singing has not satisfied you, perhaps my whistling may." Therepon he began tp ■ %yhistle a popular air with such, perfect ' tion that the whole house was in raptures, and he was' unanimously accepted or( the express condition that, whateVer Vdcal parts might in future be'aWgried'to him. / lieshouldi.whiß^i^a^^eing them,—" :l Longman's Magazine, ' , "