THE Editor is pleased to present to the readers of the Bird Center Argosy the following travel-paper from Mr. Gus Figgey, the genial Chicago traveling gentleman, who is traveling in Europe with society leaders from Bird Center.
J. Oscar Fisher, Editor.
Rome, Aug. —
This burg isn’t half bad. In some of the new parts of town you’d think you were in Chicago. They have buildings here eight and ten stories high, and the old fogy part of the city is fast disappearing. A good hustling Commissioner of Public Works could soon make Rome look as up-to-date as any of our American cities. Rome is only about a third as big as Chicago, although it was started long before. To-day we did two miles of picture galleries and saw paintings which, if put together, would make one painting a mile square. I priced some of them but didn’t buy. Reverend Walpole has been right in his element here and has visited about ninety-seven churches. Smiley Greene has spent most of his time in the Catacombs and J. Milton Brown and Lucile have reveled in art. The party is all split up. They refused to go out to the Race Track with me, and I have had a hard time entertaining them. Yesterday we all went in a bunch to see St. Peter’s. Say, there’s a building for you. Ernest Pratt says it’s the greatest building in the world, and he’s been in Europe before. I guess he saw it when it was new; for now it is showing signs of age. When I got the crowd in front of the church, I had ’em stand all in a row while I went on in front to give ’em an idea of how big the building really is. You can’t realize its size until you compare it with a man standing at the door. They were much surprised to see how small I looked.
To-morrow we sail from Naples for New York, and before many days you will see us drifting into Bird Center, all sound and well. Riley Peters and Myrtle Prute are engaged. Venice and the moon did it. Riley’s hot stuff, all right.
Mr. Gus Figgey.
BIRD CENTER AT ROME
