A NEW ZEALAND PASTORAI.-IST ON TOUR.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 14110, 1 August 1911, Page 3

A NEW ZEALAND PASTORAI.IST ON TOUR.

Br A. W. RcnrEaroas.

WaiTira »oh "Tnx YTeiiu,* Pbibs."

It is rather less than six hours' journey from Pisa to Home—perhaps 200 miles. The ecenery is more varied than that between uanoa and Pisa, hut there is much of tho Italian stock articte —vines and fruit trees. The cows had darkened in complexion, and in romparison more bullocks were at work, and there were horsee. A large morass looked from the train as if it might be drained into the sea, but levels guided by the eye aione arc deceptive. Wβ passed through pine forests and vaileys, amidst low stony hills, covered with scrub pine, on wnich bunh clearing was in process. Perhaps extended arens and not new settlement was taking place. But even so. it is a slight indication that Italy is waking up. Fancy bush clearing within tho twentieth within one hundred miles of Rome. \\e talk of "taihoa" in connection with our Native Department. The real home of unadulterated "taihoa' ! is Italy—the land of plenty of time. There is a lot of masterly inactivity in Timi's "taihoa." The manner in which he has handled the native land question on behalf of tho Maoris has been admirable. The world knows but little of Kir James Carroll, it looks upon him as a lazy, simple man. whos,e placidity irritates the insects that buzz in the political arena. Sir James is the wisest man in our Parliament, but ho won't advertise himsolf, which may be another illustration of his wisdom. If the oDjwrtunity had come hie way, ho would have been in the fust rnnk of European statesmen, He would nevei make a mi^tpke.

Drive by a well graded road to the ton of the highest hill in Runw, or rather its outskirts (there is a large equestrian statue of Garibaldi set up on this hill) you -will see the best of Rome. It is a white city, and towering above tho other buildings aro the domes and spires of great cathedrals, and many notable structures, particularly the* statue of Victor Emmanuel. These make a glorious sky line, but. unfortunately, a sky line that indicates what isn't below. C'.imb down and investigate. Rome has not one fine street. There nre streets with good buildings, but they are too narrow. There isn't a street worthy of a city of GOO,ooo'inhabitants. Mostly they are very narrow, say, twenty to thirty feet. Some are mere gangways, and dirty. The best streets aro reasonably clean, with fair shops. Open doors in the narrow streets disclose Pompoian crowding. What is recniirefl is a Baron Haussm.inn, clothed with autocratic authority, and bomb and dagger-proof armour. There is a legend extant, about an Englishman's house being his castle in the past. Well, the Italians have an effective means of retaining their inalienable rights in this connection. Vested rights have given them a title to narrow streets and dirt. If vested rights have arisen with us ■within fifty voar»- what must the accumulated vested rights amount to in Romo, whoso history goes back right through the B.C. era, and is lost amongst a handful of savages settled on the banks of the Tiber. I had forgotten the story of Romulus and Remus until I taw in a 6tatuary shop a statuette of thorn with thoir foster, mother —at meal-time, and then it came back to mc like a flash. ' There is a small quarter of Rome which, a few years since, -was in the slum area. The land was purchased, and the buildings, erased. Wide streets ■were formed, and a good class of dwellings erected. To come from the slum area to this snot is exhilarating. It is the aristocratic quarter. Our guide told us that there was an increasing terrlcncv amongst the wealthy to gravitate to Rome, and all that was necessary tp restore its ancient glories was a gaming Casino 1 'Add a Baron Hauss. Mann, and I concur. To do Rome as a visitor, a guide is imperative. He ascertains the time you have allocated in your itinerary to 'iis city. And ho show.* you his best ■within that time. Ho knows where the lions are, and legends attached to them off by heart. A month ago wo re-visited Versailles, and, as luck would have it, again had my old friend Mac as guide. He was letter perfect, and paused for the laugh at the same, place as he did twelve months before. I may explain that guides stop before special works, and make a descriptive speech. Some guides are' bores. ' One of ours, by his interminable speeches, talked himselt dry. Other guides—in fact tho majority—give the information required, and no more. This brand don't require moisteners at intervals. Whilst on the subject of guides, I would mention a purely disinterested habit they havo. of recommending shops. You reply, "Don't want to buy." "No one will ask you to buy. Won derful Venetian glass, wonderful lace, wonderful corals; very chenp." You are tempted, and accompany him, and on arrival are handed over to the shopkeeper—a nice man so far as smiles go. Hβ makes no bones about the matter, but asks you to buy. Yon explain that you are a far distance from New Zealand. " Oh, I Bend goods to New Zealand. Whit part of New Zealand do you live? ,, "Christchurch." He produced a book, and there, sure enough, wen- several wellknown names. With my best argument knocked over. I collapsed, and replaced n)y gold with something that looked better in Iho shop under the electric light than it did in the sanctity of my bedroom. Some people aro of opinion that the guides got a cut—they deserve it. Unless a person is desirous of purchasing, my advice is don't enter a shot) recommended by a guide—more especially one where "\ou won't be asked to buy." I make an exception in favour of a shop facing the steps leading to the door of St. Petbi-'s. This shop was stocked with religious books, beads, crosses, crucifixes, and other articles attached to the Catholic faith. The guide asked if I cared to go there. The manager, a gentlemanly man, explained that although I was not a Catholic. I might like to buy a few things as presents to Catholic friends. That all purchases were sent twice a week to the Vatican, where they were blessed by the Pope, this giving them a specially religious value in the eyes of the faithful. I remembered that I had Catholic friends in New Zealand. . ■ • , To my mind guide? make the initial mistake in first showing visitors thr best article in their repertoire. By doing so, what follows seems commonolace. The morning after our arrival we were driven to St. Peter's. It is not only tho largest, but the grandest cathedral in the world, externally and internally. Its dimensions are: 696 ft in length <md 4.~>oft wide, and the top of tho cross 435 ft. The spire of tho Cologne Cathedral is oo3ft, but in all else 'it is a poor thing in comparison with St. Peter's. Putting aside tho religious element, the only thing a heathen could cavil at as not being in keeping with tho rest, in all that vast chamber is a bronze statue of bt. Peter with a protuberant great toe, kept shiny by the kisses of devotees Knowing my limitations I shall not attempt a description of the pictures a r.(3 sculptures, further than to mention that they are the work of the greatest artists of ail ages The foundation I stone of St. Peter's was laid ™*- D , 90. an,! i t was completed in I*so, at an estimated cost or £10.000.000 tor tho outer vails. I am not clear it this sum included architects fees As mishfc be exsMted in Italy,. Michael Angalo had a" finger in the pie. He was the architect for the last seventeen years of his life, and so far as I could ascertain, there is no mention in historical records of architects' fees between A.D 90 and 1780. Probably they laboured for tho sake of Art alono. If so, the present day designers have sadly deteriorited. St. Peter's stands on the site of Nero's circus, and Here

■.any Christians suffered martyrdom. Jur guido told us that every square varu of land in Romo and its suburbs i was a page of Roman history. Tho phrase seemed familiar, but what ot the site of St. Peter's! One uoiild imagine many books would be required to i cover its history. Tho Vatican Museum adjoins St. Petor's. It contains tho best collection ; of art in the world. It is not a question- of competency to judge. Any oenrm who has visited tho galleries of other cities can ccc that tbo Vatican Museum stands out by itself. Taking a lino through tho sale of "Tho Mill," j which sold for £100.000, tho pictures md .statues in tho Vatican Museum ' '■mist be worth many millions of pounds. , Much, of tho work is by Michael An- i gelo, who crowded an enormous \ amount of art into his life of 89 years, j He was n painter, a sculptor, and an j architect. "Readers of "The Innocents j Abroad" will remember Mark Twain's frivolous companion, who, tiring of tho monotony of being told by their guide that nearly everything was by Michael Ann:e!o, f.aid, <- Oh, put them all down ; tn Michael." There is a lot of his j work in the Vatican Museum, and the | stiido mentioned favourite pupils, so > probably a good deal of it was executed | by them under his supervision. Oive ' of the most talked-of is the fresco of -j "Tho Last Judgment." It is dim and 1 emudgy, with accumulated incense an«l-| candle smoke of three or four hundreds ' of years, but the principal characters ' con bo made out. There is old Charon : standing up in his boat, amid stygior gloom, loading up* with passengers. I ' nm not aware if Charon is related to ' the old gentleman, but he hns the family ears. There is a ringed he-ad bursting up through the earth, like a half-hatched nM!shrcom. I enquired who_ ho was, and tho guide supplied the "legend Tho Popo "commanded" j Michael Angelo to paint some- pictures. ! XoWj Minhael was a very naughty old man, and when tho pictures were ■ hnmleid in the censor, a cardinal, re- ' fused to" pass them on the ground of thrir pre-expatrwtion costumes —and other things. Michael Angelo appealed to the Pope, who endorsed the censor's i decision, and adfled insult to injury by '■ ordering the appellant to provide gar- ! ments of the period immediately sub- ; sequent to the apple-eating episode. '' Michael was touchy on the subject of art. He took a big risk, and refused. Now, tho Pope was a wise man; ho knew there was only on© Michael Anctelo in all the world, so he winked the other eye, and a "scab" fixed up the vegetation. Concurrent with being naughty, Michael Angelo was revengeful —the man with the singed bend was the censor. This fre-vco i 3 deemed by art critics one of Angelo's masterpieces, but" to mo it looked a hideous caricature, without merit, of a sacred subject. I like bestr his statue of Moses in the St. Pietro in Vincoli Cathedral. It is a noble conception, a strong, clean cut, pure face. A head on which there isn't a '"bump" to engender vice, set on a perfectly proportioned Lerculenn body, with "limbs in proportion. A just man—a born commander of men—a perfect man. The eugenics in their praiseworthy attempt to divert the progress of the human ■race from the direction of their simian ancestry, should keep Mrscs steadily in view. Persiflage apart, these unpractical people treat as a negligible quantity tho fact, to borrow Sir Robert Stout's sheepyard term, that tho "culls" have votes. The Biblical historian states that Mcrsos was a meek man. That is not Angelo's conception of him. Michael Angelo's statue- of David, which is eet upon a hill top overlooking Florence, is another of hie lanious works. A'j;ain ho ignores history. The Florence" David attacking Goliath has a stone in his upraised right hand, and a reserve stono in his left, but no sling. The Bibleversion is that David cook a shepherd's bag to a brook, selected some suitable stones, and put them in the bag, end u,scd a sling in propelling tho stone that brought down Goliath. This kind of thing jars me-. Then there ie the picture of St. Sebastian, which is almost .:•; numerous as that of the crucifixion and the Madonna. There are arrow 3 stuck in it. They range in number from two to twelve. They reminded mo of an old chestnut. A show man was-exhibiting a child's skull as that of some historical grown up personage-. A oystander objected. "It it, a chi.d'e skiill." "Of course it ie. It was his when he was a boy," was tho ready answer. It seems to mo that some S i )rfc v i° f working arrangement should bo come to between artists in dealing with the same subject. Tho one subject on which there is complete unanimity is the Madonna. It matters not what artist a Madonna is painted by—it is easily recognised as a Madonna, bhe is all of one type—pale, .velLw hair, and n simple, characterless face. I he one exception is that of Raphael's Sistine Madonna in Dresden. Here we have a refined, high-class Italian face, with life and character. This Madonna has a room to herself, and it is tho only room I know of where men _ voluntarily remove their hats. This is one of those pictures that it is not requisite to understand art to know. As a Scotch friond would say. "It is something by ordinar'." It 'is an unwritten law that the tourist must either behove all the guide tolls h.'m. or dissemble. X ow these people kwp n story circulating to the ofTost Ihnt agents of American millionaires havo offered vast sums for certain picturrs. Xccdtess to say, the amount mentioned is steep. I dissembled at hundreds of thousands, but struck at millions. In a gallery in ttoriin there is a small bun of ji we 'T)v, i,aihetie MadrT.r.r. —witbort a_nedicn?p. A sort of Topsy that was picked up in Italy for a <=onjr. is supposed to bo by'a Spanish arii*t. Our guide told « 5 "that an Amcriran millionaire had offered lfi 000,000 <3ols. (£3.200.000) for it. I ctruck—refused to any longer dissemble, and told him. before n roomful o f people, that I d : d not believe him— wouldn't believe him even if ho mado a declaration to tli-r , effect before all tho saints in t)v calendar, flnd had it endorsed by r resurrected George Washington- It

is a far cry from Berlin to the Eternal City, so I must retrace my footsteps. In all Italian cities except Home, tho cathedrals are tho best show places. They all contain a plethora of pictures and statuary and legends of merit. The kgends aro like sausages— it is brst to -take them o:i trust. As a sample—-but not of the legend or tho sausages but of tho cathedrals —lit tr>ke t'le'Latcran. It claims to higher ecHefinstical rank than St. Peter's, because the Pope used to be crowned there. It was first consecrated in 321, was destroyed by an earthquake m 85X3. th« ser-nnd built, 901-11 ;• was burned in 1308- it was rebuilt, but burned Renin in 1360; and in 1332-70 the present edifice wns erected. Ibis is pretty murh the history of :■!! the cathedrals, not nnlv in Rome, but in all the cities of TtiK- I ennuired of our guide where the fires originated I could see nothing less inflammable than stone anrt nibble" He replied to the effort that there war, much wood in the cc'Ungs and roofs; there was n bk, workmen put on to repnir it, and fires followed a* mirolv as they do in a well _insi.r- rj huiUing in "nnr oversea I ', o ' l Closn- to the I.nterniv. m a little bui'dinrr js th- Soala Santo, or sacred steps. Tho loeer.d attached to thorn is that they were removed from Pilate's house, *Z\ sot iin hove. They owe their snnctiv to the thnt thr T >d s™« «■•.,<£ « vZ went is "but it is otne«r«e *n thl c"se of the elderly and obese, i" netted to ask the puidc thereason , a^Sv c iSuXiVfcrtJn din«eter. ht from j n/nmn°?S> Peter's. 1 and'is the residence | - of the/ Pope It is 6«W to contain! 11.000 rooms, but this nyist sure y oe a >»ro=i< exaggeration. If our guiat » story be true? the Pope is a prisoner wHliinthe palace and i« wji»i ed tHnlc in 1859 a condition winch surely Sit now be relaxed. We looked up the Forum, or rather what is left ot it • pnrt of the site is now bmlt on. visited the Bath, of now he lnrirest mass of nuns in Rome, l.ney cover an area of 2,500.000 yards, and 1600 could tub at once in tepid water. There were other large baths in ancient Rome. The Romans in olden times SSS addicted to bathins. but to the present generation, it is a lo.=t art- live Colosseum ia the moot /O ".sr.icuoi:so> *ho Roman ruins. Guides vary in their estimate of its seating ™P. a «ty- 6 °»e guess 80,000, others up. to 100,'JuO. It was here thn gladiatorial tights to tho death took place, fights between man and man. and between man and wild beast. The tunnels by which the contestants were brought into tho vuvt aro fairly intact. Stand on the remains or a gallery, and cast one's thoughts back for 11 >0 years, and picture the dreadful tragedies that were enacted in that little arena—tragedies that rejoiced the | hearts of the Romans. It is a reasonable assumption that Nero v s typical of his subjects, and got come fun out of addling whilst Rome was burning. Our guide told us that in the ''onco upon a time" era, the Romans had a few thousand Christians on; ioyed u'on public works—tho works finished, they i ivM-o put to death. A clr-a,) mc l expo-| ditious mode of s e- ng the unemployed quest inn. My point is that a lot of sympathy has* been wasted upon Nero's roasted Romans. We drove for miles along the Appian way, a road fringed with unsishtly heaps of earth and bricks, the tombs of old time swagger people- These tombs \n their pristine glory were faced with marble, but it has all been removed. \Sc passed the catacombs of S\ Cnli-:tus. but did enter. Grovelling beneath the earth amomrst stacks of I; urnan bones doesn't appeal to mc. Wo saw in the distance : the arches of the ruined aqueduct. ; stretching along the Catnpagna. that j once conveyed Rome's water supply | i from the Sabine hills. And amidst end- ': less antiquity, we saw modernity in tho form of huntors and hounds, a lM'ni Row, an up-to-date raco course, and a Ciirbine cot ! Our si:c days' stay in Rome slid away all too rapidly. It may bo that I shall J never again pec it, tn my poignant reI gret. for I should much have liked to ( i si'ond a few dvvs ire-' j- , Mio V<tt : n'i I MiiFoum, even though I did get n crick ' in mv neck, which took werks to rrear i o(F. looking at the gloriously painted ce-iiincrs. London, May 22nd, 1911.