LETTERS FROM ROME.

Otago Witness, Issue 2505, 26 March 1902, Page 71

LETTERS FROM ROME.

(By I. C.)

Pension Cargill, 47 E'scdra dei Termini, Rome. January 24. In my previous letter I promised an account of the lequiem mr.s-s he.d in the Pantheon to the memory of the late Victor Emunuel, grandfather of the present King. We had tickets given iv, and of course went, though iat her, I fear, fiom the point of view oi it b.-ing a great sight than because w e thought our presence would be of any material use or service to the poor, dear King. In accordance with the rule which holds good for all clnux-h functions of any importance in Rome, W2 were obliged to %rear black. And let me heai impress upon you. if ever you come here and would like to witness any of these ceremoni.s. s-ucb. as the functions at St. Peters and the Vatican (which is one's- sole chance of seeing his Holiness the Pope), don't forget to bring with you a black dre»s\ The hat does not matter so much, as at St. Peter's the rule is for ladies to wear black lace veils on their heads — and anything more entirely dingy, unbecoming, and living to the best-looking of us than to form a unit in such a dull and dingy assemblage cinnot be imagined. Such, howevei. ":<• t lie mle. strict and unbi ?ak.ible. Clad, th-ie-fore. in our mourning gaib, though on this occiaion hats were permitted, we drove to the Pa.ntheo.i ii. time for the ceremony, which was fixed for half -past 10 in the mornin.

Th; scene when we got in was indescribable weird and impiessiv?. The huge building, relic of days prior to the Christian era — built 27 «.c. and original) v a pagan temple — lias now been adapted for purposes of Christian worship. Circular in form, it is lighted only by a round hole in tiie centre of the roof, through which one sees a brilliant patch of blue Italian sky. or pcihapa a mas'- of grey cloud", the falling diop- fiom which make a gieat round patch of wet upon the shining marbles of the pavement. I always think I should like be«-t of all to be in theie at night, when, sin rounded by the vast, daik silence, one's eyes would search up through the- opening overhead to re*-l upon the soft, fai-awav ladiance of the star.-, or the cleir, bn lkant moonlight, with a s^ii'-e of pure. t:ndiituibed peace, as though one stood somewhere in the centre of the univei'-e. shut •r.uiv fi on) the lo.ir and bustle of (he world. Do I wiarv you with my imaginings? I hope not, though I know l>ow difficult it is to realise it all for those who have nevei wandered through the-e oldtime haunt*.

Ou this occasion the opening in the rnof had been closed up with canvas, thus plunging the whole builling into gloom, which was only partially relieved by the light of myriad*- of wax candle* and ciessets. which shone in the darkness like mi many slar^. In the centre stood a gi-pat catafalque, drappd in crimson and ermine, and with great chandelieis blazing at each corner, making a central spot of bnllnnce. on which were turned the eye« of hundred*, of people who s;it in chairs disposed in circular form around the building to within a short distance from the catafalque its;lf A brilliant touch na« given to th* 1 sombre assemblage by the noble guard, who stood in double line up the principal passage be-tw:-en the chairs, tall, splendid-looking men, whose uniform always seems to me like a survival of ancient Imperial Rome, with its glittering corselet and crested helmet, adding manj; inch.«s»tp the Stature

of the wearer, and from vhich a plume of black horsehair falls below his waist. During the short interval that elapsed between our arrivil and the commenceriKnt of the service, I found myself sitting with closed eyes, trying to listen to the intangible sounds produced by the whimpering and moving of a great crowd enclosed in a vast building to wfnch no outer sounds can ; penetrate- — a thing as fascinating and as impossible as it is to fix with one's eyes the dancing radiance of the wave* of the sea in the sunlight. It was almost a relief -when at length the w hibpermg silence was broken by the chanting of the priests and the monotonous Gregorian music of the choir, perched in a gallery far overhead. The service lasud a little over an hour, reaching its most impressive po:nt at tl c last, when in solemn piocession. to the accompaniment of the chanting ot the choir, the priests walked lour.d the catafalque, amid the clouds of incense ri'ing from the swinging censers. Then it was over, and slowly and with d.fficuliv we all moved out. and stood once more in the bright sunlit piazza, with the shouts of th? cabmen and the street vrr-?itori in our ears, and all the thousand-and-one amusing sights of the Roman streets about m — such a con- ; trast to tile hushGi"- magnificeut gloom which we had left cliat it was like waking from a dream. We felt that we should like to go to some quiet and secluded spot away from the bust.c of the town, and let* our minds dwell peacefully upon the solemn and impressive scene we had just witnessed. 1 After lunch accoidinglv we went off to the Borghe«e Villa, which, let me explain, , is the nam- given not only to a house, lut Ito the whole part in which it stands. The i Villa Borghese is one of nn most favoured haunts, situated ju.«t without the city walls, and yet having all the charm of country. The ground* are extensive and very beautiful, wild and park-like, with mucl-'wooil — a. great desida.ituin in thi.- sunny !;>nd. wheie trees aie scarce. It lr«s just boen passed into the hands of the Government, having been purchased by the King and prevented by him to the people as a memorial of his lute father, poor King Humbert, who was so crueliv murdered nearly two years ago. It x, I believe, to be connected v.tli the Piucio, tlie public drive ot Rome, which is very small, and the Villa Borghtoe will therefore be a great addition to it. The Boigliese. an old Roman family, was at tlie height of it« prosperity when a member of it became Pope, under the name of Paul V. in 1611. He was a great patron of the arts, and being possessed of vast wealth, he left many splendid memorials b hind lpm In conjunction with his^ncphew. Cardinal Scipio.ie Borghese, a man of like talents,

lie laid out the grounds are'd built the Ccsino. or little palace Borgkese, among the b:autitul wood's. The villa was iilways mii tended mure or le«s for public benefit, for the Bc.rghe.~e. although they lived in almost royal state, did not go "in for that seclusion which is so characteristic of an Engglish private residence. I can hiragin-e nothing more perfect on 0 warm and sunny day than a itroll under trie shade of the dark Ilexes, among which gleam the statues and the amusing sham ruins of temples and theatre* and eirru*, and with the sound in one's ears of the water splashing in the many fountains, of which the basins are hung with great fringes of maidenhair. It is only of late years that a charge has been made at the gates, and that by Prince Borghese's- creditors. For the family is down at last after a long career of what is called princelj extravagance, and the present owner was absolutely bankrupt until he retrieved bis fortunes: by marriage with a great Genoese heiress. With the aid of tho fortune thus acquired lie has been able to buy back the great palace in the (Jor&o. in Rome, but the Villa, the Casino, and the pictures have had to go. This art collection has always been rather overrated Many of the picture* are bad copies. jr.J those that are originals are mostly inferior specimens of the masters. It contains, however, one gem ot inestimable value the world famous pictme by Titian, called " Rdcied and Profane Love." .'nd this, by the way, raises the question of the right of the individual, as compared with the interests of \h' community at large. The Government have fixed the price of the Casino and it*, contents, at 3.500.000 fiancs (about £140.000 sterling), but Prmce Borghese was ijrivatelv ofiLr^d 5.000.000 francs (£200.000 sterling) for the Tifan ;:lone. Hi> is bound by law to gi\e the Government firr-t choice. Another Roman nob'eman has been recently sentenced to a heavy fine and term of im.pii.~onment for Mirceptitiouslv selling a valuable picture out of the country ! Tins law. only lately enacted, teems hard <yi the individual, but Ptill one mu«t consider that without it foreign millionaires would soon strip Jialy of all hei treasure* that come into the mnktt. ai.d this would toll axain'-l her fiuancKillv, a 1 - fewer visitors, would come if thoie weie le<-<- to see. The collection al c o contain- ,i Domenichino. a Convirgio, d charming <-c-t of " Th? Season--." hv Alluno. and the fjmnii- portrait-statue (by C.mova) of Pauline Bonaparte. wlio mamed a Borche.-"". Apropos of this jatter there is

ari"amu«ing~Tr'ory. which i> iniiir'atn.' 1 of iliT state of the morals of so( ietv in that day The statue, which i«- eeitainly vcrv beautiful, nevei thele^ 1 - represents a veiv lowh .nude figure reclining on a sofa. A fncrd, whose idea= were somewhat stiait-lacc-d fT the period, asked Pauline if she did not di>hke sitting for tl)p portrait to which the latter in all simplicity replied. "Oh! no. not at all. fo; I always have a fire in the room!" Besides this, there arc fome specimens of ancient «tatiifrv — n fine d,incii>g faun, a copy of the famous farm by Praxitflfs m the Capitol, much rcfened to in Hawthorne' i "Transformation." an Herlnaphrodte. and many other oits of classic sculpture, some of which have b.en dug up in tiie Villa itself.

I fear mv pen ha« run away with me. and now I have neither time nor space for the account of the ball which I promised yon Next time you shall have it. and I hope you will be a* amused and interested as I was by tiie vita! points of difference which exist between a Itoman ball and a colonial ojjfl^