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Show THE COLISEUM AT ROME. It costs the Orvernment of Italy about $201X0 a ear to keep up the Coliseum, tho most Imprenslve i rel Imposing ruin In the world end tho most conspicuous tspe of llnman architecture nnd rlvlllsatlon riris or slxtv minn are kept at work all the white r pairing breaks and cracks for fear of enlangerlng the lives or tho tourists who constantly vl.lt tho place rii are working under the direction or in architect nnd inglneer emplosed by 111 Mini ler or 1 uhllc Instruction I'eo-I I'eo-I i wllh ar'lile taste comploln about till r juration but It Is absolute! i ecsjrj in rl r to save the ruin At Hi f me time It was not neressnrs for ihe earo I iker after Ihe rail or the la-laev la-laev to tear out the shrubs and plants vvl-l h di retid this most stately, solemn sol-emn m 0 -eile pile or stone Uefori is a the gaunt nnd bare Interloi, Hie gi rlMi w ills and the tltinlo arches wen softened and embelUthed with gar-In gar-In ids of gre n and In places large trees ktc-iv ftum the crucks In the "tones 'the ir'pts und vailts were cushioned villi m se with the same edect that one sees In the Scottish abbess and the Castle or Kenllworth It was then the most beautirul ns will as the most Impo-lng structure In existence nnd so grc-ut was Ihe varielv of vegitutlon and foliage which sprang from the sol! that had been saturated with the blood of the marts rs that a botanist mimed Dinkln published a uitiilogue or the llora or tliu Collsium, lelenllfjlng 120 species In tearing away this foltago the workmen did nn Immense amount or dami go more thin the cle-cas or a centurs would cause becauso the roots or Ihe trees ind shrub hud wormed their wav Into the cracks and en vices and had clinched themselves stoutly resisting re-sisting Ihe attempts at their diction There Is a popular notion tl at St Peters Pe-ters cathedral could be placed Inside or Ihe Coliseum but that Is i c t quite true Ht I'elers Is In Ihe rorm or a iro lTie lolleeum Is oval IT) fut In circumference circumfer-ence 680 feet at the major l and tUS reel at the minor axis ht I t r l W, feet long by 0 iwt wide ii Hill If It were shaped a little elllteui U It might lie squcesed within tho collsium walls The dome of St I'elers Is H feet high the walls of the Collsecm on I " teet and Ihey were probabls thirls or torts rest higher once Theie has been a good deal or discussion discus-sion as to the seating cnpacltv or the tollseum but robodj c u I'll exactls what It was The estimates run all tho way rrom loono to s7' There were eighty entrances and eights stalrwass nn 1 four Hers or boxi s nnd seals Tor Iho different ranks of society, tho nolllliy surrounding the Imperial box on both sides, and the soldiers ami sailors having free cntrnnco Into what we would cull tho peanut gallerv which was about 11) feet from the ground 1 rec admission was given to the sailors btcauso they handled the awning that were stretched over the seats or the nobility when tho sun was too bright tor comrort It Is said that tho umphlthcutre coul I be emptied or spectators In ten minutes, tho -orrldon and the stalrwass all being wide 'Ihe Coliseum like that other wonder or the world tho l'vramtcls or Kgvpt, was built by Jewish labor, and completed by . cipllves whom Titus brought rrom Jerusalem alter the conquest Tho arch! tect was a Jew Ooudentlus, who was converted to chrlsllinliv and artirward surered mnrtyrdom In the nrenn '1 he matcri il lor the Coliseum came chlcils rrom Nero s famous golden house which covered an area of nearly a square mile. Including the courts and a portion or It occupied the placo where tho Coll-seum Coll-seum stands. Much or tho material In Neros house camo rrom temples nn 1 Kalaces erected bs hN prcelccesor, and ince It was perrectly natural for the 1' pc and the l'rlnces of Home to use tho material In the Coliseum lo build their churches and palaces The records show lint four or the most famous or the llo-mm llo-mm pal ices tho l'arnesc Darhcrlnl onezla nnd Cancelterla were built entirely en-tirely from materials token from Us waits nnd eirli om or them was erected ! a cardinal who alterward becamo lope. We know that, without counting tho material taken from .Nrros house the t ollreum cost tho Hmperor cspaslon Jl'MiOw nnd It wns only about halt clono when he died 'Ihe decorations had not Set begun Thev were done under the direction or tho emperor Tllus and must hevo cost es much more, becauso there were acres or richly sculptured murbte. acres of mosaics and acres or glided bronze The Ironwork or tho Coliseum, wis all pulled out during the middle oi.es to bo mado over Into arms, because metal was suirce In those dass c nntcmpnrars writers havo riven us a vivid account or the ceremonies nttcnl-Ing nttcnl-Ing the dedication or the Coliseum b the 1-mi eror Titus which atTorded an oppor limits rnr a display or m ignlllcencei and extravagance which rem iln unrivaled to the present day One of the reatures was a bitttet between women glidlaturs to the eternal dlsgrneo or Ihe moral or Imperial Home Another net on Iho pro gremine was a buttle between n squid-ron squid-ron or drafts and n llnck or cranes, and & animal. Including btaits of cvers d( scrlptlon from wolves to elephants nn 1 rllhioscerl were Introduced Into the anna to light with sluven Iho show was cloeed bv. hooding the arena with water an! making a lake upon which was given a representation of a sea tight betw en the Corinthians and the Conyrenns a re lated by Phucydldes At the' Close or the I rformanco tho 1 mperor wai r mn 1 weeping, ror during tho excitement an i . client occurred which Iho astroloeteis interpreted in-terpreted as nn omen or death llo ex. claimed that he did not deserve to die but expired a tuw dass later on September Septem-ber It, ti, being a Uttlo moro than jii sears old Iho lmperor Hadrian onco celebrated Ids birthday by turning the nrena Into a forest and Introducing a thousand wild hearts including moro than a hundred lions und as muny lionesses and tigers (lladlators were sent In to kill them urtd the speetaclo must have been very exciting excit-ing I mperor Commodus descended into the arena jihnself, dressed In a Ilo.i a skin, with hit hair sprinkled with gold dust lie called hlmselr Hercules and fought both Kladiators nnd wild beasts On one occasion it Is written Hint he killed ho II ns with his bow and arrows the anl-m anl-m lis being thrown Into the anna bv trap eluors fioin below, slmllir, 1 suppose, ti th. trip us d ror throwing pigeons and as the$ struck the trounil bewildered the ImiNrnr shot them one aller another Ihe llrst mirtvrdoin m the Coliseum was that or St Ignaelus tho disciple or John the l.vancelliet and the flr-t bHhop of Antlorh lions were let loose in on him and devoured him except thi laruixt bones, which Ihe Christians colli, ti. I Sir' hg the night and havu since preserved In ut Clem, nts church dedicate d to his m mory hero In Itome-Itcmc Corre-spvndcnt Corre-spvndcnt Chicago Tlmcs-llerild |