Page:Architectural Review and American Builders' Journal, Volume 1, 1869.djvu/90

 70 Sloan's Architectural Review and Builders' Journal. [July, peared to proclaim aloud, through the stony lips of its saintly statues, the en- during excellence, the unapproachable beauty, and the everlasting grandeur of the Church. Every feature of its tow- ering walls, every line of its surprising proportions, seemed as if designed by some master genius to convey to the mind of the beholder a lasting idea of that purity and that harmony which dwell neither in metals nor in stone, but which exist in the sublime and unfading- realities of Christian faith and Christian feeling. Yielding indulgently to this train of thought, I permitted nry mind to wander from the things about me, and was speedily lost in the considera- tion of those ennobling truths which were naturally suggested bj r the occa- sion. I was soon, however, aroused from my reveries by the appearance of a phenomenon as magnificent as it was sudden. The shadowy dome, the dark and solemn colonnades of St. Peter's were no longer before me. In their place stood a gigantic edifice, the same in outline, it is true, but resplendent, with a flood of silvery light, amidst whose delicate radiations every portion of the mighty structure became beauti- fully visible. From the summit of the cross to the pavement of the piazza, thousands of scintillations seemed em- anating from the sculptured stone, as though the inner light of the tabernacle were bursting from its confinement and seeking to diffuse its beams throughout the world. Filled with admiration, and rendered speechless by the beauty of the spectacle, the crowd remained mo- tionless, gazing with avidity upon the illuminated temple, and seeking in vain to satisfy its appreciation of the glories which greeted its sight. But something yet remained to perfect the brilliancy of the scene, and complete the astonishment of the multitude. Scarcely had their gaze grown somewhat accustomed to this marvellous picture, when it faded from their view, but only to yield place to a second phenomenon more surprising in its splendor than the first. As the silvery lights disappeared in rapid succession, a blaze of golden fire darted in a myriad of jets from every part of the facade, and spread with the celerity of flame over the remaining por- tions of the edifice, giving to the atmos- phere that brilliant hue which accom- panies the fall of a thousand aerolites. It seemed as if an angel, working with the speed of lightning, had traced in fiery outlines upon the canvas of night each cornice and column, each pilaster and frieze, and had crowned them all with a resplendent dome, from whose summit blazed the emblem of Chris- tianity. Disregarding every object of meaner interest, I permitted myself to become totally absorbed in the contem- plation of a sight so charming, that it alone would have repaid the distant traveller for all his fatigues, both on sea and on land. It is thus that the Pontiffs seekto honor the holy festival of Easter ; it is thus that they yearly astonish the world by the magnificence of their piety. At length, when the admiration of the crowd had become partially appeased, the carriages began to disperse from the piazza. In continuous lines they crossed the bridges which span the Tiber, and having reached the fashionable quarter of Rome, were quickly lost to sight amidst the darkness which now ex- tended over the city. The neighbor- hood of the Vatican was again deserted, and the declining lights left to smoulder in the growing solitude of the night. As I drove away towards, the Corso, I happened by accident to glance be- hind me, when I beheld the cross, which surmounts the dome, shining aloft by itself in the quiet atmosphere, every other portion of the church being con- cealed from my view by hundreds of in- tervening buildings. This sight, present- ing itself unexpectedly, like a constella- tion in the heavens, produced an effect peculiarly charming, and seemed to my admiring gaze more like a celestial