In a room on the first floor is a half figure of a vestal virgin who has a noble expression on her face. On the second floor is a large bronze statue of a pugilist resting. It was found not long ago when they were excavating to build the Theatre Nazionale. It is very powerfully done, with its prominent muscles. Its head is hideous, and he has many scars and a broken nose. In another room is a headless statue of a young man on one knee. This statue is very pretty, and it is a great pity that it has lost its head.
In one room is a lovely head of a woman asleep, and lying on a velvet cushion it looks very natural, although it has lost most of its nose. It has a very peaceful expression. In one room are some old coins dug up here not many years ago. Ages ago they were sent from England as Peterpence by Alfred the Great, Athelstan, and other kings. The Baths of Diocletian are now used in many ways very different from those they were meant for; one large vaulted hall is used to store the wood of a carpenter, another for coal, and a large part of the building is turned into a blind-asylum. There is also a big church made from part of it planned by Michaelangelo. It is called Santa Maria degli Angeli. It is a very handsome church, and has several immense ancient granite columns. Formerly they had been shamefully plastered over, but now the plaster has been scraped off. On the floor of the church is a metal line on some part of which the sun shines at meridian, and on each side of it are the Signs of the Zodiac set in marble of many colors.
Near the entrance is the tomb of Salvator Rosa with his bust over it. He was a good painter, but he chose queer subjects. I have seen dark landscapes, a picture of a witch, and a group of three horrible heads of fierce-looking brigands of his. He was a poet, too, and we have a book of his satires. We have also some pretty songs of his, which prove that he was a good musician. In front of these many buildings, which were once used for bathing, is a very attractive square with a lovely fountain which has a splendid flow of water, and in the evening it is very beautifully illuminated by electricity. Near there is the great Central Station of Rome.
Rome, Italy.
Maria Ojetti, R. T. L.
Want Corner.
A Newport member asks what numbers on the head-light of a locomotive indicate. They are the number of the locomotive repeated on the head-light, in order that it may be seen at night. A locomotive's number is its identification on the books of the company from other locomotives. We would like to print Samuel D. McCoy's exchange notice, but cannot do so. The Table has no exchange column. Harry A. Light is interested in flowers, and his address is 27 Pine Street, New York. He asks how the United States ranks with foreign powers in point of military strength. The German army, when on a peace footing, has 546,136 men in it; the French, 567,464; the Italian, 220,685; the Austrian, 334,400; the Russian, 1,112,684; the British, 138,410; and the United States, 27,957. Great Britain has in its navy 6790 guns; France, 6554; Germany, 1361; Italy, 1562; and Russia, 1643. The United States has about the same number of guns as Germany, though it has no fewer than sixty naval vessels, as tugs, school-ships, small steamers, condemned boats, etc., out of commission and unfit for service in war.
Linnie Schloeman: Jane Porter was born in Durham, in 1776, and died in Bristol, May 24, 1850. She was educated at Edinburgh, and afterward removed to London with her mother and sister. Here she published Thaddeas of Warsaw, which was translated into several languages. In 1809 she published The Scottish Chiefs, a story of the adventures of Bruce and Wallace. Essex Hobarten asks how to make a simple dynamo. He will find more detailed information than we can repeat here in the Young People dated January 15, 1895. A copy may be had from the publishers. The price is five cents. Any dealer can get it for you.
Two Knights say they collect birds' eggs. Better not, friends. The eggs belong to the birds. We are aware that naturalists say it does no harm to extract one egg from a nest. Perhaps not, when the purpose is clearly for study. But the Table cannot do this thing as a pleasure—a mere fancy for that sort of a collection. Please do not collect birds' eggs. Chester Lewis, writing from Cincinnati, sends no street address. Suppose he writes again. James F. Rodgers will find an account of the Johnson Impeachment case in any history, Moore's American Congress, for example. The Senate refused to sustain the impeachment, hence one might say that it thought it unjustifiable. Stanislaus Bloch, 5 Krueza Street, Warsaw, in Russian Poland, has Russian and Finland stamps to trade, and says he will answer all letters. Carl Deal: The Order has no gold badges, but it has been suggested that it provide such.