gh 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
noble 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 compassion 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 Titus; it wuz big and massive
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 structu