OLD WOULD SKETCHES.

Otago Witness, Issue 1861, 22 July 1887, Page 32

OLD WOULD SKETCHES.

By FABIAN BELL,

Author of " Kccollections of Belgium," "In Two He^riflpheres," "The Big Nugget," " Forgotten," &c, &c, &c.

N0.25.-BECOLLI'CTIOI!fSOF ITALY.

Excavations In and Around Rome"— ?Wsent State of the For am— A Backward Qi&nce at its Fast Greatness and Historic Interest -E^lipa-The Arch of Trojan— The Basilica of Jtaia'—^fee Modern Eomana— Unworthy of their Qrtidt- Ancestors— Excavations at San Stefano— Ancietitf Tonxba — Beautiful Decorations— Sarcophagi, tiKtfi? Exquisite Carving— Contrast of the Moden? Style of Burial— Christian Tombs— Respect for fee Dead— Worn-out Fetters of the Soul.

The excavations in and around Rome are very interesting, laying bare as they do so much of the old city of the Republic, and of times still anterior to that . In the city itself, the Capitolium and the Forum have revealed many hidden Secfets to the tf easure-seeker who delves among them for that which he esteems more precious than gold ; some of these works are quite on a large scale, and promise to last for an indefinite period. The excavations in the Forum are about 15ft below the level of the present street, and show the accumulation of rubbish which the lapse of ■ ages has heaped on this classic spot. Here was the ancient meeting-place of Romans and Sabines ; here the famous hall where the old senators in their curule chairs awaited the advent of Brennus and his Gauls ; here Manlins showed his wounds and appealed to the Gods against the injustice of his countrymen. Irberius Gracchus defied the machinations of the Patricians, they could not slay him vrithin sight oi the atlars of his country, these and a thousand kindred memories crowd on the mind as one stands in the Forum of to-day, surrounded by a heap of ruins, while columns, singly or in groups, still remain erect, though battered and bruised and stained with time. Inexpressibly sad and mournful they look, standing thus solitary and without apparent object, clear-cut against the exquisite blue sky which siailed upon them in their prime, just as it smiles now. Fragments of other columns lie prostrate, mingled with richly wrought capitals and friezes, and portions of statues' heads, amis, and busts ; and then, where the excavations have laid it bare, a long winding pavement, part of the old ascent to the Capitol, formed of great flags so firmly welded together that the lapse of ages seems only to have rendered them more homogeneous than ever, and a little further on the huge blocks of stone which formed the base of Ihe great fortress of the Capit.nl, and are, like other Roman works, perfect as ever. On the Forum is the arch of Titus, showing in a series of basreliefs the story of the siege and fall of Jerusalem and the terrible punishment of God's ancient people ; the column of Procas with nide steps leading up to the pedestal, and the so-called Basilica of Julia, its floor beautifully inlaid with precious marbles, many of which have been removed for insertion in modern chinches and palaces, or merely for sale as curios. la these heaps of ruins where treasures and rubbish are indescriminately mingled, many a languid old beggar, with true Southern laziness, is to be seen slowly rooting for specimens which the stranger may be induced to buy. This is an occupation entirely congenial to the modern Roman, who will certainly never die from hard work, and who seems to have inherited nothing from his brave ancestors — unless it be their features, and these are carefully reproduced age after age in a manner calculated to shake one's faith "in the science of physiognomy.

The most interesting excavations which we saw in the vicinity of Rome were thosa at San Stefano, on the Alban Hills, about two miles from the city. At the time when we visited them several tombs and the forgotten church of San Stefano had already been unearthed, and new discoveries were daily made. The sight of these tombs impressed me very much. They are easily accessible by flights of steps leading downward ; and it is. not quite certain whether they were originally excavated underground with the intention of tilling them in again

'after ttie, interment .flf those for wKomthey iwere intended, or whether they were once on i the stoface, LiJfP thosp other tombs ; which borflej? the , AjJpian Way, none , lof them have windows' f sq? that whether ,on the earth or under' the eattl( .the .treasures of' art which they' 6'atfßdSnM were effpctaully" entombed, and nsver" 3Hw the light of day,, except when a new idmate 1 applied 1 f^admissipn... Ami yet with this knowledge before them tit .is marvellous to see the time, the wor& the skill, and the exquisite finish which tlVe? old artificers bestowed on these homes of the' departed. ■ In many instances the walls and vaulted roofs were decorated with coloured frescoes in exquisite designs of flowers, fruit, and joyous dancing figures, and the marble sarcophagi, which held tht; ashes of the cremated dead, were eJsqoisite works of art, carved in bas-relief with great freedom and delicacy, "a throng of glad- and lovely shapes in marble, clustering thickly and chasing each other round the sides of those old stone coffins." It is impossible to fancy anything more dainty and beautiful, fit to adorn the reception room of a prince, and yet designed and executed to be annihilated in the darkness of the tomb. It is strange to contrast these beautiful old burying places • with the hideous pits of modern days — pits intowhichthe dead are promiscuously thrown, stripped ol all honour and respect, without even the decent covering of a I winding sheet, without funeral rites except such aa are shared by all who have i died on the same day, and who are thrust at j niidtoighij&y the coarse hands of hirelings into i common pit. Bab I the thought is revolting. I The Italians seem to fiave an unconquerable i horror of death,- and flee from the sight of |it with brutal selfishness. In the old days [they feared it less, and the finely-carved sarcophagi, with their dainty dancing figures, »eem almost to rhock at, and defy, the power of the King of Terrors. Here, again, how great is the contrast between the new ami the old. We saw-also, here and elsewhere, many Christian tombs ; these are chiefly noticeable for the fact that the bodies were not cremated, or preserved in any way, but allowed to crumble to dust. In the Catacombs each Christian tomb or niche is marked with a cross, sacred Hionogram, or an inscription, touching in its unlettered simplicity. The isolated tombs are generally but little ornamented — perhaps because those early Christian converts were seldom wealthy, or perhaps because they regarded sach elaborate entombment as unfit for one who believed that his body was but—

A worn out fetter, which the soul

Had broken and thrown away. Still, view it as we will, that body which has been rendered sacred by the common humanity of our Lord is entitled, whether alive or dead, to the respect of its fellow man.