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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Untitled Article
wteeh / kepUguard ittthexefltre ^ the splendid uniforms of the foreign ambassadoif * r'dft £ sqa&tixe&qmdresses , of thb Roman women , and' the so vereign PDntifthiMseH ' ^ wlib satt enthroned above us all , with two superb fans of dstricb i ^ atHere behmdl and his cardinals and chief officers about him ; ### which was
formed ^ iteg ^ tlrer a io ^ jo < as imposing in its effect as it was oiiique hi itSkind . As soon &s the benediction was pronounced , the drums beat , the ^ cannon of St , Angelofired , two indulgences were thrown down * as on thei Thursday , and eagerly scrambled for by the crowd , and the immense assemblage then began to disperse to their homes .
In the evening the exterior of St . Peter ' s was beautifully illuminated , according to the plan of Michael Angelo . In order to accomplish this , it is necessary to suspend some of the lamplighters by ropes , that they may reach particular parts of the building ; and the danger thus incurred is so great , that they all receive absolution before they begin their work . The
lamps are so arranged as to trace all the great lines of the building , so that its beauties and its defects are brought prominently before the eye , and the cumbering attic is more than usually offensive ; it quite spoiled the effect which the dome would otherwise have produced . * The spectacle , however , was brilliant , and still more so , as I was told , when the second illumination
took place an hour or two after the first had begun ; but this , unfortunately , I did not see , for I was not quite well , and felt that the night air was doing me harm ; and I had waited so long that I imagined that I had seen all , and therefore hastened back to my hotel . Mc 4 lt 4 fc . lk Jb 4 lc Jlt Jfc . 9 fc Jfc . lfc
The ceremonies of the holy week are terminated by a grand display of fire-works at the castle of St . Angelo . This used to take place on the evening of Easter Sunday , but this year it was put off till the Monday ; not from any reverence for the former day—for with Catholics the sabbath ends with the day-light , or even before— -but , as the printed notices announced , to prevent the dangerous rush of carriages and of foot-passengers returning from St . Peter ' s over the bridge of St . Angelo after the illumination . I heard another reason suggested as the true one , namely , that his Holiness , who is a very sly fellow , and understands bis own interests perfectly well ,
wished to detain the immense concourse of strangers a day longer in Rome , to the great profit of the inn-keepers , and the increase of his own revenue . Be this as it may , the exhibition took place on the Monday evening , about eight o ' clock . The night was in every respect favourable , being dark , but without rain ; and the fire-works were grand beyond all description . They
began with a mimic representation of an eruption of Mount Vesuvius , after which there were showers of gold , and trees of fire , and blazing sun-flowers , and crackers and rockets , and more inventions of the pyrotechnic art than I can give a name to . The whole was well kept up , and the effect was extremel y fine . , , ;¦ . „ ¦ , ¦ .-,.. ; .
Thus terminated the ceremonies and rejoicings of the holy week . This pomp and show regarded aa a mere spectacle , are certainly very grand ; and even in a religious point of view , they may be well calculated to make an impression on the minds of the ignorant ; but ( hey are of themselves so extraneous to the true spirit of Christianity , and they are mixed up with so
* Forsyth , speaking of St . Peter ' s , very pointedly remarks , that " instead of describing its whole cycloid on the vacant air , the cupola is more than half hidden by the front ; a front at variance with the body , confounding two orders in one , debased by a gaping attic , and encumbered by colossal apostles . "—Remarks on Antiquities and FPorfo of Art in Italy , Vol . I . p , 214 .
Untitled Article
748 Journal-of a TouYon the Continent .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Nov. 2, 1828, page 748, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2566/page/20/
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