ing to know, that its main features, the grand outlines of mountain, hill, valley and ocean, as they now exist, had been gazed on by him... (We crossed the Pontine marshes during the night, and) it was shortly after daybreak that we reached Terracina, which is washed by the blue waves of the Mediterranean ... The Appian way passed through Terracina... (We examined part of it) which runs through the town towards Rome. We traced it distinctly, in greater or less degrees of preservation, nearly to the point where it was met by the present road over the Pontine marshes; and the greater part of it is as fresh, and in as solid a state, as at any time during the existence of ancient Rome. While walking on this memorable road, it was not by any means an effort of the imagination to conceive that our feet were actually pressing the very stones on which St. Paul trod in his way to Rome, after having appealed to Cæsar; for it is more than probable that he journeyed on foot, such being the customary mode of travelling; and in earlier days it was usual even for persons of distinction to travel as pedestrians. What changes has Rome undergone since the day on which the Apostle trod the Appian way! How unlike is the Christianity now professed there, to that which had gained ground when he addressed his Epistle to all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints!' How deep must have been the emotion of his energetic and heavenly mind, when toiling along the Appian way, not only to make good his appeal to Cæsar, but also to visit the Church which Divine grace had planted in the heart of Pagan Rome."-FISK's Pastor's Memorial, &c.

The road we are about to travel was constructed by Appius Claudius the Censor, at a very early period. "It was the first real highway, and was rightly called after him, the Appian Way, as by the poets it was named for its superior excellence, 'the Queen of Roads.'

"This ancient road was, in fact, a raised causeway, formed of three layers of materials, and paved with

flint stones; time could make on such a work little impression. From examining the remains of similar pavements in Rome, we can understand the severity of the fatigue in travelling over so hard and rough a substance. Moreover, although the ancients surpassed us in many things, they had no conception of the comfort and elegance of our modern carriages, nor indeed would our conveyances have been well adapted to their roads.

"We have, in traversing this region, an incentive to the perusal of history, classics, poetry, and Scripture. A spot is pointed out some miles beyond Aricia, named the Three Taverns (tribus tavernis). The verse in the Acts instantly recurs to the memory, reminding us of the mightiest event in the history of the world-of Christianity itself. The great Apostle who trod this path, helped to found a religion in the West, which has extinguished paganism, and will overspread the world. Empires may pass away, but the truth of God is everlasting

...

"There were several stations on this famous road, as the Forum Appii, Tres Pontium, Tres Tabernæ, Ad Medias; these were no doubt market towns... The place now called Foro Appio, in the Pontine marshes, is a miserable habitation almost in ruins. There we stopped to refresh our horses; the padrone had gone to mass to a neighbouring barn, and taken the key of his delightful abode (the resort of brigands) with him. Our walk enabled us to catch the character of the surrounding flats; unhealthy they must be, for the people who crawled out of their miserable hovels had a pallid and dismal aspect.

6

"Here again were we reminded of St. Paul; probably at this very spot the mighty champion of our faith was met by the brethren, whom when he saw he thanked God and took courage.' None so truly great ever trod this path before or since. This place must be sacred in the recollection of Christians."-See WHITESIDE'S Italy.

"The subterranean galleries which penetrate the soil surrounding the city of Rome, after having for four centuries served as a refuge and a sanctuary to the ancient Church, were nearly lost sight of during the disorder occasioned by barbarian invaders. As the knowledge of their windings could only be preserved by constant use, the principal entrances alone remained accessible; and even these were gradually neglected and blocked up by rubbish, with the exception of two or three which were still resorted to, and decorated afresh from time to time. In the sixteenth century, the whole range of catacombs was reopened, and the entire contents, which had remained absolutely untouched during more than a thousand years, were restored to the world. . . It is difficult now to realize the impression which must have been made upon the first explorers of this subterranean city. A vast necropolis, rich in the bones of

saints and martyrs; a stupendous testimony to the truth of Christian history, a faithful record of the trials of a persecuted Church-such were the objects presented to their view.

"St. Jerome speaks of visiting on Sundays these sepulchres of the martyrs, and writes that he was wont 'to go down into the crypts dug in the heart of the earth, where the walls on either side are lined with the dead... here and there a scanty aperture, ill deserving the name of window, admits scarcely light enough to mitigate the gloom which reigns below.'

"The Christians did not begin the excavation of the catacombs, but appropriated to their own use the subterranean galleries originally dug to provide the materials for building Rome. These Christian cemeteries are free from all admixture of Pagan bodies. In these remains the church which (was) in Babylon, saluteth' us.

"The origin of the catacombs was as follows. The great increase which took place in the magnificence of ancient Rome, naturally led to the formation of quarries in the immediate neighbourhood. The custom of digging sand from these crypts or galleries being established, the whole subsoil on one side of Rome was in course of time perforated by a network of excavations, spreading at least to a distance of fifteen miles. The catacombs having been originally dug by the Pagans for sandpits and quarries, it remains to be shown in what manner the Christians became connected with them. The sand diggers were persons of the lowest grade: there is reason to suppose that Christianity spread very early among them; for, in time of persecution, the converts employed in the subterranean passages not only took refuge there themselves, but also put the whole Church in possession of these otherwise inaccessible retreats. It appears.. .. that the primitive confessors were at times sentenced to work in the sand-pits... The fact that the catacombs were employed as a refuge from persecution, 1 The graves were cut in the walls.

rests upon good evidence... Had the intricacies of the catacombs been known to the heathen authorities, or the entrances few in number, they would doubtless have afforded an insecure asylum. But the entrances were numberless, scattered over the Campagna for miles, and the labyrinth below was so occupied by the Christians, and so blocked up in various places by them, that pursuit must have been almost useless. Some noble witnesses to the truth were martyred in the catacombs, and one of these is said to have lived eight years there. The discovery of wells and springs in various parts assists us in understanding how life could be supported in those dismal regions. Food was brought to the sufferers by relatives, friends, or servants.

"There existed formerly on the walls of the catacombs many paintings, representing individuals of the lowest class, employed in excavating an overhanging rock, with a lamp suspended from the summit. A copy of one of these is annexed. The inscription is, 'Diogenes the Fossor, buried in peace,' &c.

"On either side is seen a dove with an olive branch, the common emblem of Christian peace. The pickaxe and lamp together plainly designate the subterranean excavator; while the spike by which the lamp is suspended from the rock, the cutting instruments and compasses used in marking out the graves, and the chapel lined with tombs, among which the fossor stands, mark as distinctly the whole routine of his occupations, as the cross on his dress, his Christian profession... Could we imagine the humble Diogenes to look out from the entrance to the crypt, and behold, in their present splendour, the domes and palaces of Christian Rome; to see the cross which he could only wear in secret on his coarse woollen tunic, glittering from every pinnacle of the city, (how would he hail the sight, as proving that idolatry was at an end!) He. hastens to the nearest temple to give thanks for the marvellous change: (but) he stops short at the threshold,