Around the World with Josiah Allen's Wife Part 42

As you stand under the dome and look up it is like looking at the very ruff of the sky. It is supported by four great pillars and the interior of the immense globe is one hundred and thirty-nine feet in circ.u.mference measured on the inside.

All the houses in Jonesville could be piled up on top of each other in this immense s.p.a.ce and Zoar and Shackville piled onto them and not half fill it.

As we stood under the great dome the canopy over St. Peter's tomb seemed to us no bigger than the band stand in Jonesville. But when we got up to it we see that it wuz 'most a hundred feet high, for fur up the mosaic medallions of the four evangelists lookin' none too big for the place come to examine 'em, the pen of St. Luke is six feet long and his nose is big enough for a spare bedroom. The writing that runs along under the dome each letter is six feet high, higher than Thomas Jefferson on tip toes, or Josiah on stilts. The idee!

I don't spoze that Peter, that earnest, hot-tempered fisherman ever spozed he would have such a buildin' erected to his honor, and I wondered as I looked through the immense distances of this meetin'-house how many turned their thoughts from the glory about 'em onto Peter's inspired words when he wuz here in the flesh. This huge pile seemed as if Time could have no power over it, but his own words rung in my ear:

"The day of the Lord shall come as a thief in the night and all these things shall be dissolved. Nevertheless we according to his promise look for a new heaven and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness."

And as I thought of his death right here on this very spot agin his words sounded in my heart:

"Beloved, think it not strange concerning this fiery trial which is to try you--But rejoice--Partakers of Christ's suffering--"

And even as I listened to the chantin' of the priests I methought I heard Peter speaking of the Voice which come down from Heaven which they heard who wuz with Him on the mount. I thought of the sure word of prophecy. "The light shining in a dark place"--"Until the day dawns and the day star arise in our hearts."

Yes, the real Peter wuz enshrined in my heart as I trod the grand aisles of that meetin'-house of hisen, and I didn't think nothin' at all in comparison of that statute of Peter settin' on a white stun throne holdin' his foot out for the ma.s.ses to kiss.

He sets up there with a queer lookin' thing on his head. Josiah said it wuz a sa.s.s pan, and I sez: "No, Josiah, it is a halo." And he sez:

"Samantha, if I'm ever sculped and sot up in the Jonesville meetin'-house, I don't want any halo on my head."

And I told him I guessed there wuzn't any danger of his ever wearin' a halo on this earth.

And Josiah said before the subject wuz broached that never, never should he kiss that toe. And he sez it to me in reproachful axents as if I'd been teasin' him to. But I hadn't thought on't and told him so.

But right whilst we stood there we see folks of all cla.s.ses from peasants to n.o.bles and of all ages from childhood to old age walk up and kneel and kiss that onconscious big toe and go into some chapel countin' the beads of their rosaries.

Good land! Peter don't care anything about that mummery unless he has changed for the worse since he left this mortal spear, which hain't very likely bein' the man he wuz. And as I thought of the evil things done in the name of the power that rared up that figger, I methought I hearn him say:

"The time has come when judgment must begin at the house of the Lord."

I had lots of emotions as I walked to and fro and didn't want to talk to anybody or hear the talkin' round me.

I hearn Tommy talkin' sunthin' to Carabi and I catched these words, "I wonner, oh, I wonner what good it duz 'em to kiss that toe." And Arvilly and Josiah jined in in sharp criticism. And agin Josiah sez: "I know I am a leadin' man in Jonesville and have been called more'n once a pillar in the meetin'-house, but never, never do I want to be made a statter with a sa.s.s pan on my head, and the bretheren and sistern kissin' my toes."

And agin I sez, "It hain't a sa.s.s pan." But they kep' on to that extent that I had to say, "Josiah and Arvilly, the one that figger represents, said: 'Above all things have charity, for charity covers a mult.i.tude of sin.'"

Miss Meechim and Dorothy and Robert Strong clumb clear up into the dome twice as high as Bunker Hill monument or ruther walked up for they hain't stairs, but a smooth wooden way leads up, up to that hite.

Miss Meechim told me when they come down that though there wuz a high railin' it seemed so frightful to look down that immense height she didn't hardly dare to look off and enjoy herself, though the view wuz sublime.

But I can't describe St. Peter's no more than a ant can describe the Zodiac, I mean an a-n-t, not mother's sister. Why, the great side chapels are big enough for meetin'-houses and fur grander than we shall ever see in Jonesville or the environin' townships. And the tomb and monuments and altars, etc., are more gorgeous than I could ever tell on if I should try a year.

There wuz one statute by Canova of Clement XIII that is lovely, the marble figure of the pope and on each side kneelin' figures of Religion and Death. Down below as if guardin' the tomb stands two n.o.ble lions.

And Pope Innocent, I d'no whether his name agreed with his nater or not, but he sets there holdin' the lance that pierced the side of our Lord, so they say. But I don't believe that it wuz the same one nor Robert Strong don't; I should have had different feelin's when I looked at it if it had been the one.

Besides this relic they claim to have at St. Peter's a piece of the cross and the napkin that wuz laid to our Lord's face when he wuz faintin' under the burden of the cross, and that still holds the imprint of his face, so they say. They are shown on sacred days. They say that there is confessionals at St. Peter's where folks of every language in the world can confess and be absolved by a priest that understands 'em. Well, I shouldn't wonder, it is big enough, it seems like a world in itself. But I couldn't help thinkin' of our great High Priest whose confessional is broad and high as the needs and sorrows of a world and the "silent liftin' of an eye can bring us there to be," and who understands not only every language under the sun, but every secret and hidden thought and aspiration of the soul, good or evil, and whose forgiveness and compa.s.sion never fails the penitent soul. I couldn't help thinkin' on't, and I felt that St. Peter if he could speak would say, "Josiah Allen's wife, I don't blame you for your methinkin', I think just so myself."

One day we all went to see the Arch of t.i.tus; it wuz big and ma.s.sive lookin' with a lot of writin' over the top that I couldn't read nor Josiah couldn't, but interestin' like all the remains of imperial Rome that ruled over almost the hull of the known world. It was erected about the year 70 to commemorate the destruction of Jerusalem.

There wuz another arch fur more interestin' to me, and that wuz the arch of Constantine. It is perfectly beautiful, and would be, even if it wuz built by a misable pagan. But it wuz built by Mr. Constantine when he declared himself in favor of Christianity. I sot store by him.

It is a grand and beautiful structure, richly ornamented, and has three pa.s.sages. I didn't like all the base reliefs on it; indeed, I considered some on 'em as real base, such as Mr. Tragan's offerin's to the G.o.ds, etc. But then I realized that I wuzn't obleeged to look at 'em. And some on 'em wuz very good showin' off Mr. Tragan educatin'

poor children, etc. And some of Constantine's doin's there I liked first-rate.

And I d'no as I see anything in Rome that interested me more than the tomb of Celia Cra.s.sus--Celia Matella that wuz. It is a round, ma.s.sive structure that stands on the Appian Way and is about two thousand years old. It wuz once all covered with costly marble, but the hand of Time and other thieves, in mortal shape, have stole it a long time ago. But enough is left to show what it wuz. n.o.body knows jest who Celia wuz and what she did do, or didn't do, to git such a monument.

But I shall always believe she wuz a real likely woman and smart.

'Tennyrate, I said her pardner must have thought high on her and mourned her loss like a dog or he never would have rared such a magnificent tomb to her memory.

But Arvilly looked at it different. She said she believed her husband drinked and got led off into all sorts of sins and made Celia no end of trouble and riz this monument up to smooth things over.

But I sez, "Mebby things wuz different then;" but didn't really spoze so, human nater havin' capered about the same from the start.

"'Tennyrate," sez I, "I shall always believe that Miss Cra.s.sus wuz good as gold, and this great ma.s.sive monument that it seems as if the hand of Time can't ever throw down I take as a great compliment to my sect as well as Celia Cra.s.sus."

But Arvilly wuz as firm as a rock to the last in her belief that Mr.

Cra.s.sus drinked and that Miss Cra.s.sus wuz broken-hearted by her grief and anxiety and tryin' to cover up her pardner's doin's as the wives of drunkards will, and tryin' to keep her children from follerin'

their pa's dretful example, and then after he'd jest killed her with these doin's he rared up this great monument as a conscience soother.

Josiah thought Celia wuz equinomical and a wonderful good cook, and her grateful pardner riz this up in honor of his blissful life with her.

Miss Meechim thought that at all events she must have been genteel.

Robert and Dorothy looked at its ma.s.sive walls, and I hearn him say sunthin' to her kinder low about "how love wuz stronger than time or death."

But Tommy just wonnered at it, wonnered who Celia Matella wuz, how she looked, how old she wuz, if she had any little boys and girls. He jest wonnered and nothin' else, and in the end I did, too.

You have no idee till you see how big the Colosseum is. It is as long as from our house to she that wuz Submit Tewksberry's, and so on round by Solomon Gowdey's back agin. You may not believe it, but it is true, and I d'no but it is bigger. It used to accommodate one hundred thousand people in its palmy days, or so I spoze they called it, when some time durin' one season five thousand beasts would be killed there fightin' with human bein's, hull armies of captives bein' torn to pieces there for the delight of them old pagans. Fathers bein' made to kill their wives and children right there for their delight.

Oh, how I wished, as I told Arvilly, I could git holt of Mr. t.i.tus and Mr. Nero and some of the rest of them leadin' men.

The conqueror, Mr. t.i.tus, brought back twelve thousand of the conquered Jews and made 'em work and toil to build up that lofty arch in memory of their own defeat and captivity and his glory. You'd think that wuz enough trouble for 'em, but I've hearn, and it come pretty straight to me, that he misused 'em more or less while they wuz workin' away at it.

'Tennyrate, they say a Jew won't go under that arch to this day and they've been seen to spit at it, and I spoze they throw things at it more or less on the sly.

Sez I, "I'd gin 'em a piece of my mind if I knowed they would make me fight with a elephant the next minute."

Arvilly thought that if she could sold them the "Twin Crimes" it might have helped 'em to do better, but I d'no as it would. But that great amphitheatre where the blood and agony of the martyrs cried to heaven, was afterwards dedicated to these Christian martyrs. There are eighty arches of entrance. Only a part of the immense circular wall is now standing, but you can see what it wuz. There are four stories of arches, one hundred and fifty-seven feet high in all, the arena it encloses is two hundred and eighty-seven feet long.

Dorothy and Robert Strong and Miss Meechim went and see it by moonlight, and they say that it wuz a more beautiful sight than words can describe. But I bein' a little afraid of the rumatiz, thought that I had better go by broad daylight, and Josiah did, too. I mistrusted that Robert and Dorothy beheld it by a sweeter and softer light than even the Italian moonlight, but I kep' in and didn't speak my mistrustin'. I dast as soon die as gin vent to any such idee before Albina Meechim.

We went one day to see the Pantheon, built by Mr. Agrippa, 27 B.C. It is a dretful big buildin'; I guess about the biggest ancient buildin'

in the world. It has had its ups and downs, shown out in brilliant beauty, been stole from and blackened by the hand of Time, but it is still beautiful.

It wuz dedicated to Jupiter at first, and afterwards to the Virgin and the Christian martyrs, afterwards it was dedicated to all the saints.

In speakin' on this subject, Josiah said: "What a lot of saints they do have in these furren countries," and says he to me, _soto vosy_, "I'd kinder like, Samantha, to get that name; Saint Josiah would sound well and uneek in Jonesville."

But I scorfed at the idee, though knowin' that he wuz jest as worthy to be called saint as a good many who wuz called by that name.