ROME.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13637, 5 July 1906, Page 10

ROME.

(By Rnv, Andkfav Cameron, M.A.)

No. 111. Our excursion 10-tlny is to begin with a clrivo along tlio Appian Way, the "Queen of Road. l )," as the ancient' Rtrtnans loved to call it.' It is posSlblrt w<s may not be able la go fir this midsummer' day, as tha ma looks down with unpitying fierceness, ilrivim; nil wary folks to some grateful Bhade. Our Jelitt is hopeful. He is certain uf a good fare, and bids us take our seats, (irofessitig-hirnsclf ready to drivn m anywhero iri spite of the sun. Away we roll 10 tlio Porta. Appia, anil through it. on to the Roman Cumpagna, a wide plain which liirrounds tlio city. Once, in the long ago. tiiifj plain was crowdcd with life. Now "it is tho most awful image of death in the bosoin of life anywhere lo lio witnessed." 11 is an uncultivated waste forsaken of men because of malaria. Away licfore m stretches lilt l Appian Way, perhaps ihe most, famous highway in the world. Is there not a witchery about a rond like this; it seems 'a kind of .Jacob's ladder, which reaches from our feet, info tli«.< far o!T and the unknown, which v<'t seems known because of this visible link between the past and the present. Have you ever stood on a road which was built morn than 2200 years Kgd? A road which for centuries was a mam artery of life for a world empire, anil not fell; the invisible^ brought nigh? Why, hero passed the armies of Home Ilia' conHun rod (treece. Along this way went the soldiers nf Titus, who laid .Jerusalem in ruins. Koine's emperors and statesmen, pools, historians, and orators journeyed here. Her princes and her peasants, her knights and lier knaves, her rich and hor poor were passengers along this highway. And on" day there pawn a lianil of prisoners, a sight all too common here; for them the- idle passerby has scare a thought, but T.'e, from our coign of vantage, see things inoro clearly than any man on the Appian Way on thai, far-oli' iiay. And we knotf that, never prince nor statesman more wortliv of a crown entered Koine than that litt.lo prisoner known as l'aul. Meanwhilo wo will let him pass. We hope to meet him again More we leave Home. And he has much to hear from and to say to the friends who. travelled 10 miles to meet him at Appii Forum. i

A PKGHIRTORIO RADICAL. As we crept slowly along 1 reminded finr friend Jehu that we had come, on (his expedition, not merely lo he dried up in tho sun, that we were thirsting for knowledge, and looked to him lo give us drink. Ho mistook my meaning, and said he would he, pleased to drink my Jicalth at the next lavorn~-or sooner, if possible. Indeed, 3ie thought it would he well to turn hack at once, as the Canmagna w j(l, ;t, „„•„, wan a dry and thirsty land. In this ras.li proposition he found himself in a minority of one lo three, and yielded, as all minon'les ought lo do. In answer lo tho miestiou who huill this "Queen of Ways," he told us that a Wind censor called Appius Claudius, a prcliislorio Radical, was responsible for if. ,that in the year 312 n.C. lio hail begun lo lay this royal road a» far «s Capua, near Naples; and that afterwards i|. was carried as far south as Brin<lisi. Ho pointed lo the blocks of which the, road was formed—large: polygons, so «!os!>lr fitted toother I hat il was almost impossible lo delect (he (.-earns. And hero fo'day they lie in perfect order a,i the workman laid them mciro than 300 years B.C. But why. I asked, did he calf this blind road-building censor a radical? Promptly came the answer: With him befall a new age for Rome. He widened tho franchise, extending the right of Roman citizenship lo other than freeholders. He was tho. first, to tap Ihe springs anion? iho hills, and carry their freshness into the fountains and baths of the city: and with him began Roman jurisprudence, .oratory, grammar, and Latin prose. That, I replied, was not a bad record for a blind man. Would lliere were more blind folks ■wjth.sueli clear vision!

THK CATACOMBS. Wo had not gouo far beyond the city walls when tho beat began io 101 l on our hoft-e. . ICver fiince we left tho city he had been, wondering what, had gone wrong. iNever before, probably, had ho been asked !o break thn good old rule, of rest for nun ami beast, in tho heat of iho snmnier day, and he now failed to seo any fun in this picnic. What harm had ho 'done that ho (should,bo thus wronged? In order to mako his meaning clear even to us ho slackened liia pai-o from a lrot to a walk, and then camo to a full etop. He had been fooled (|uito enough, and had' made up his equino mind. Nay h;s had done morn. Ho had tnado up tho minds of tho whole party. ißvcu to this day I can feel the blaze of that noonday sun. With gladness wo ngroed' to Jehu's suggestion to turn back and spend some time visiting the catacombs of SI. Oaiixtus, which were not far off. A guide* soon answered our summons, and laving provided each of us with a lighted candlo led us from tho brilliant sunlight into Egyptian darkness. How deep undorffroiiml wo wont Ido not know; in what direction I cannot imagine; but in and out and room! about wo went in this city of the dead. Imagine to yourself, a. narrow passage 'leading dc.wu through a soft rock to unknown depths, and reaching away into the ritknown. Hero and there are cross passages, and some go up and others go down. .Now. blow out your candles, and where are you? Utterly lost without * Kiiide. And so, holding our lights high, wo keep' our guidu well in view. Curiosity cannot tempt us to make excursions down theso side pal-sages on our own account. It is not ,tho darkness wo havo come to «ee, but What the darkness conceals, for hero! through the long years tho early Christians buried thoir dead. What, led the Christiana thus to dispose of. their dead is not quite clear. Perhaps it was their poverty; moie likely it was the apposition of their focft, who drove them underground, as hero 'thoy were able not only io bury their dejo., but also to bold secret roligioii3 mooting.), and in times of soro Biitress to find a, safe hiding-place. The passages are l'.nt'd on either hand with berth-like icccs-os, .fivu deep, in which w-era iilaeed the bodies of the dead. Most of tlieni aro sealed with a stone- slab, but 'bore and there we ,pacs «» open recess. Before oita of theso wo pause. It is a jimthor's resting-platv, and by her side was plaecd her child. Of mother and child, a few bones and a handful of dust is all that remains. Further on we come to a larger i.haml)cr. It is only a few feet either way, 'hut it served us a chapel to those who dared not meet to worship God more •publicly. These walla echoed with the song of praise, and hero the voice of prayer tow hear:! by Him who sees in score:-. Tin')) was once tho gate of heaven lo weary moil and women, wjio lisUmod to tho Word of Life, and from secret, communion went back to ihefr burden-beariug—back, somo of thvm, to win ih.r msr-tyv's crown.

It is interesting to note tho drawings on the grave-slabs. They tiro rudo, but eloquent of hope--hope even in tho faco of death. The drawing most frequently met with is that of the flood Shepherd. They felt that they were in the Shepherd's Iceeiiinsr. and that no man. not even a Russian Emperor, could pluck them out of His hand. The other drawings that oceur most frequently are Noah in the Ark. Moses striking tho rock, Daniel in tho lion's den, the history of Jonah, the multiplication of tho loaves and fishes, and tho resurrection of Lazarus. Then words like these, are added: " Peace be with thee." Hope is the nolo which rings from out this far-off age from this persecuted people. Comparo this with the following inscription from olio of the pagan tombs l>y tho Annum Way, not far from tho Catacombs wo are visiting: — How much lies hero of gentleness and truth— In. mind old, in years young; but they perished. Who would not weep my fate Ye, god.9 of the dead now ye hold my children. The extent of the Catacombs of Rome is variously estimated, some saying; .they would make a continuous lino of 300 miles —others say 900 miles,—while the number faid to sleep therein is put asvhigh as 6,000,000. •DOMINE, QUO VADIS? Ero wo roontcr tho city let us turn aside-and visit a church somewhere in this neighbourhood. It is so long since I visited it I cannot at once locate it. So far as I remember, it was a modest building, romarkablo only for its relic and the legend connected with it. Near the city gate the Lord is said, to havo met Peter fleeing from Rorao to escape persecution. "Lord, whither goest Thou?" (Domine. quo vadis?) asked tho discouraged disciple. "I go to Rome," answered' Jesus,' "to l» crucified again for thee." This gentlo rebuko sent the apostle back to suffer for his Lord. So runs tho legend, and a slone is shown to visitors bearing the impress of the Saviour's or the dfsciplc's foot—l forget which. By tho time we got back to tho city lunch time was past, and we found considerable difficulty in getting something to eat. Everybody was asleep, or wished to bo so till the heat was past. At last we fountl a good Samaritan; but something bad gone wrong. The beat or the food was too much for me. and I too wished to sleep till tho heat was over. Of many things I am not certain. Of ono I havo no doubt-no visitor should go to Rome in supuncfr

PAUL THE PRISONER. Of all the travellers on the Appian Way ] llie one who interested us most was not j the wearer of purple, no great officer of State, no general whoso name is written in Rome's history for ever. We wished rather to see a man more kingly than any wlio sat in Cesar's seat, who yet trod the Appian Way in the garb of a prisoner. Yes, it was Paul, the prisoner, we desired to meet. How and shall we go about it? Whero is tho guide book? Oh, yes; it was j lost some days ago. So wo must look for a guide who knows his business. We do not wish to be fooled like tho Irish tourists, of whom Penelope writes in her journal. " It's mostly ruins they do be wantin' these days," said a wayside acquaintance. "I built a stone house for my donkey on the knockaun beyant my cabin jist, and. bodad, there's a crowd around it every Saturday callin' it tho risidenco of wan of the Danish kings." A kindly old soldier offered his services, ami soon I discovered that wo had found a treasure. He had been one of Nero's soldiers, and part of his duty had been to guard this Syrian prisoner. For weeks together he had lived with his prisoner in bis own hired house, bound to liirn by a light chain. lie offered to tako us to see the bouse. Wo went, but refused lo enter it. If this was in very deed the houso where Paul dwelt for two years before ■ being brought to trial wo had no desire to enler it. To see the room whero he wrote his epistles to Ephesus. Oolosso?, Philippi, and Philemon turned into a modern kitchen wo could not abide. Our guide told us how at first he despised his prisoner. Did he not belong to that nation of which no man spoke well? And, within, that nation, to a sect most vile? Rut contempt was turned to admiration, which soon gave placo to love, as ho watched the (simple, strong, pure life of this •Tew. Two friends of Paul he rememfcered well; they wcro often with him in his home—Luke,' a physician, who watched over Paul as a mother with her child, and Timothy, who seemed the joy of Paul's heart, and his most trusted messenger. Then Micro were happy gatherings in that little room. Strangers and friends would come to hear Paul's message, and at times it seemed as if tho light of a. new world was breaking round I hem. as the prisoncrnreacho.r told of the things he had learned from his crucified Master. Then camo Paul's trial and release at the end of two years, after which our friend lost sight of him. It. was said he had left Rome" for a time. Not long after his release tho great firo of 61 A.D., which laid Rome in ashes, broko out. Our guide saw it, ami would gladly have told us how the devouring flames ran from liou.-n to house, then leapt from bill to hill; how multitudes perished in tho burning buildings; but wo could not, give limp to his tale. Resides, wo could road it at our leisure when at home. Nor would we listen to him describing the awful persecution, of tho" Christians, by which Nero sought, to roll the blamo of hnrning Rome from his own shoulders to t.hoso_ of this hated sect. Not even the promise of a drive in the Hardens of Nerowhore tho Vatican now stands—while Christians, wrapped in skins, were torn by dogs for our amusement, and others were crucified and turnod into flaming torches, could tempt us to listen to him. We asked him, r.it!wr, to take its, if lie could, to the place whero Rome had crowned her shame by rearresting and beheading tho great apostle to tho Gentiles. Ho could not remember tho year in which Paul returned and was again made prisoner, but as he was one of tho soldiers told off to guard him to tho place of execution ho would gladly do as we desired. Ily this time tho sun was Ti •'" t ,l,c heavens, and it. was pleasantwalking in the long summer evening, so we nmlo our way to the gate now known by thn apostle's name. Just bevond the city walls we see tho pyramid of Gestius. near whieb is the English Cemetery, where lie Keats and Shelley. To-day we must pass tayond this interesting spot. We have, yet three miles to travel along the Ost'ian Way, and as wo go our guide tells us that when Paul went to execution he stopped like a prince about to be crowned. Words he had written to his friend Timothv during his last imprisonment were now his triumph 6o:ig: "The time of my departure is conic. I have fought tho go'odi fight: I have, finished tho course; I luivo kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of rghtcnusness. which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give to me at that day. and' not only- lo me, but. also to them that have loved His appearing." Then at tho Three Springs the headsman's sword lel_t.be prisoner free with the freedom for which he hud long waited. And while rude hands dug a grave for his headless body ii. seemed to our guide as if an an invisible, chnir chanled a verse from the Fame letter: " For which cause I suffer also these things. Yet I am not, ashamed, for I know Whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that Ho is ablo to pianl that which T have committod unto Him against that day."