s surrounded by 89 burning lamps!
The total cost of the edifice is about $85,000,000. [It should always be
remembered that labor has been twice to three times as cheap in Europe as
it is now in this country]. "The expense of erecting this church was so
heavy that Julius II. and Leo X. resorted to the sale of indulgences to
raise the money, and this lead to the Reformation."

The Lateran

is the church of the Pope as bishop of Rome, and here his coronation takes
place. "It takes the precedence even of St. Peter, in ecclesiastical rank,
being, as the inscription on its facade sets forth, '_c Ominum Urbis Et
Urbis Ecclesiarum Mater Et Caput._'"

If St. Peter's had not the advantage of a piazza that is unrivaled in
magnificence, I think the lofty facade of the Lateran would present a view
of more imposing grandeur, even, than that stately structure. The interior
of this church is very beautiful. It must not be supposed that St. Peter's
has no rivals in beauty. Even in Rome it does not seem to stand alone. Of
the 363 other churches in the great city of churches, there are numbers
that vie with it in the beauty and perfection of some particular portions.

Santa Maria Maggiore.

"The Virgin appeared simultaneously to the devout Roman patrician Johannes
and to Pope Liberius in their dreams, commanding them to erect a church to
her on the spot where they should find a deposit of snow on the following
morning (August 5th)." The Basilica Liberiana which was erected in
obedience of this vision, was succeeded by a church named S. Maria Mater
Dei (A.D. 432) and later by the present edifice. Almost every church in
Rome has its legend. I have seen no other church that seemed so rich in
gold, precious alabaster and many other kinds of beautiful and costly
stones. Its panelled roof is gilt with the first gold brought to Spain
from South America, and presented to the Pope by Ferdinand and Isabella.

Near S. Maria Maggiore is the church of

S. Antonio Abbate,

to which are brought the horses, mules, cows, etc., during the week
following the feast of the saint (January 17-23). On the 23rd, the Pope
and many persons of the higher classes send their horses here to be
blessed and sprinkled with holy water.

The Scala Santa

referred to on page 189 of this book, are in a church near the Lateran.
They were brought to Rome by the Empress Helena and may only be ascended
on the knees. They are partly covered with