R CHAPTER I ROUND ABOUT ROME: IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF PAUL OME was very closely related to the launching of Christianity in the first century. The empire which it had established stretched from the Atlantic on the west to the Euphrates on the east, and from the river Danube on the north to the African desert on the south. Virgil was right when he said: "Others, I know, more tenderly may beat the breathing brass, And better from the marble block bring living looks to pass; Others may better plead the cause, may compass heaven's face, And mark it out, and tell the stars, their rising and their place: But thou, O Roman, look to it the folks of earth to sway; For this shall be thy handicraft, peace on the world to lay." Rome did have the genius to rule, to extend its sway, until it governed the whole of the then civilized world. Moreover, there was peace throughout this mighty dominion at the advent of Christ. The temple of Janus, to express it classically, was closed. There were roads, like the Appian Way, extending in every direction. Besides these overland routes, there were ships plying between ports round the entire Mediterranean. With this freedom of communication and universal peace, the new and spiritual kingdom could be easily advanced. So far as the governmental was concerned, Christ came at an opportune time. For this reason alone, a most interesting city is that on the yellow Tiber. The writer's Cruise to the Orient started from New York in early February, when the snow was lying in deep drifts and in heaped-up piles all over the metropolis, which ordinarily clears away such accumulations on short notice. In a week there was a change like that wrought by a magician's wand, when a landing was made at Funchal in Madeira, where trees were in bloom and flowers were in blossom. For conveyance through the strange streets, there were no automobiles but canopied sleds drawn by small bullocks, and to increase the speed the runners at frequent intervals were greased. It was like a dream later to lie at anchor at Cadiz, from which Columbus sailed forth with his caravels, that in 1492 carried him to America. It was an enlivening experience to be transported to Seville with its stately cathedral, where now repose the ashes of the great discoverer. Equally interesting proved Granada with its glorious Alhambra, around which clusters so much of the historic in Spanish and Moorish story, and around which the inimitable Washington Irving has woven so much of the romantic. There is, for instance, his charming tale regarding the "Legend of the Two Discreet Statues." To abbreviate, an ordinary workman took up his abode in a forsaken and dilapidated portion of the once splendid fortress and palace combined. He was happy as the day is long, and with his guitar he dispensed simple music to neighbors and companions. He had never a care. He had a 66 merry little daughter, who one day found a carved black hand, which was said to have mystic qualities, and she wondered if the charm would not admit her to a subterranean chamber where Boabdil, the last king of the expelled Moors, was said to hold a phantom court. An enchanted lady therein showed her at the portal "to the vaulted passages beneath the great tower of Comares" two alabaster female figures, looking apparently at the same point within. These discreet statues, "the young girl was told, watched over treasure long before hidden by the Moors just before their banishment from the country, and if her father would make an examination of the spot, he would be rewarded with precious things which would forever relieve him of the necessity of further working. The child imparted her information to the parent, who after some hesitation and doubt followed her advice. At the place which had been indicated, he unobserved drew lines from the eyes of the two nymphs to where they converged, and made a private mark on the wall exactly there. He became deeply concerned, he complained that the watchers by their very looks would reveal what had been secreted. "Confound them! they are just like all their if they have not tongues to tattle with, they'll be sure to do it with their eyes." He was anxious lest the saying should prove true again, that women cannot keep a secret though amazingly enough these had kept theirs for centuries. sex; One dark night with his small daughter and her subtle charm he repaired to the mysterious place, dug into the wall, and touching with the talisman two porcelain jars he brought them forth, filled with gold and jewels. The finder became a rich man, and then his troubles increased. Formerly he slept undisturbed in his humble, unlocked apartment. Now he feared robbers, and his slumbers were much broken. |