THE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE: JULY 7, 1907
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A
Famous Old Illuminated Choral Manuscript Stolen
iOMB, Juna a. Bo many works of a
R
art have been smuggled out of
Italy without the cognizance or
Consent of the government In the
last few month that the report
that ona of tha rarest of the Illuminated
choral booka In tha collection of Perugia
had disappeared from Ita supposedly safe
resting place In the monaatry of St. Peter
haa passed almost unnoticed. Tet both tha
theft end the plunder are noteworthy.
The amall Umbrlan town of Perugia,
where the theft took place, la probably one
oft-tho most visited of Italian town. It la
(Sll of Interest not only for the art lover
w ho apenda daya raxing at Ita many treas
ures but also for the casual observer who
finds la Ita narrow, quaint streets and old
laalacea much to see and please him. It Is
a favorite resort for motorists from Rome,
as, the spin across the level Unibrlan
plain Is delightful on an early spring morn
, A walk to the eutsklrts of the town by
the gate of Assist brings one to the Basilica
j of 8t. Peter. Adjoining the church la tbe
I sacristy where the collection of choral
' books ajid missals la kept.
This collection Is probably the finest In
Italy. It consists of twenty-two perfect
peclmena, all beautifully Illuminated and
II the work of the celebrated artists, such
f!$o5 W'U j!lra1 w-r-i . ... '-i wOTWW'isfeflsP
AtV a .
(lApyright. 1907, by Frank O. Carpenter.)
I (Special Correspondence of The
mobile!
Riding at breakneck apeed
through tha deserts of eastern Tunisia!
Dashing along on the back of a "yellow
I aevtr-
inrough crowds of . superstitious
f Mohammedan Arabs!
Bearing the people, routing the donkeys
! and camels, and turning the caravana into
Hying herdea of men 'and beasts.
Theae are among the features of my Jour-
ney from Sousoe to Sfax In an automobile,
The distance la eighty miles, and our sid
was about fifteen miles an hour.
We came by train from Tunis to Sousse,
I i tie journey takes about six hours, and
" the whole way is along the Mediterranean
ea. Sousse Ilea on tha Mediterranean, away
off here on the edge of North Africa. It
Is an old city of 26.0W) Mqhammedans, made
up of snow-white, flat-roofed buildings,
crowded together along . streets ao narrow
that wheeled vehicle r.n,.t ,...
them, .mi .rrnn.i. . -
j high. It la entered only by great gates In
J the walls, and the scenes within are those
of the "Arabian Nights." The men are
datk-sklnned, wearing turbans and gowns.
mnA , v. , .
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closely veiled that not even their eye. can
be aeen.
A town of but few foreigners, Sousse baa
all the aspects of the days of Haroun Al
raschld. Its streets resound with the tales
of atorytellera with tha high, thin voices
of Arab schoolboye as they sing out tha
Koran they are trying to learn, and with
fuio snrui cries of the Imana from tha
. minarets of the inosques as they call the
people to prayers.
It Is Indeed the last place on earth where
one would expect to find an automobile. It
one of tbe oldeet cities In the world, tt
waa founded by tha Phoenicians 2.S00 vear.
ago. and was In existence even hfnr."
Carthage Itself. It was an Imperial Roman
city In the daya of the Emperor Trajan,
j and. under the Arabs, It waa- for a long
'. time the stronghold of pirates and corsairs.
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Obi the Yellow Devil.
I wish I could show you tha acena if
. Our departure, and the pmmrA ih ..iu.uj
. V RUIVICU
( outside the walls to see the "yellow devil"
etart off. The "yellow devil." as J call
' It. la a great golden automobile, which has
Just been, brought here from Tarle to carry
urst -class passengers from Sousse to Sfax.
It la of French make, ahaped like an old
loncora
coacn, wun three seats on tha
; top. six Inside, and one In front for tho
chauffeur. Its motive power Is gasoline,
( and on starting It groans and puffs and
, blowe like the demon it la, aendlng chllla
I of fear down the barks of Ihe native.
Take a seat with me on the top and ride
through the wild scenes of northeastern
( Africa. We are higher up than the roofa
; of thoae huts by the roadside, and away
above the motley crowd of Arabs, watching
the atari. Now the "yellow devil" la tremb
Vllng; the chauffeur haa turned tha crania
whlrh lets on the powerl Now he blow
his horn. Honk! Honk! We are off.
Honk! Honk! We are flying about tha
high walla of Sousse. the men and beasts
In the road running- to get out of our way.
Honk! Honk! See tlise two black ob
J'ts who are almost under the wheels;
they are Arab women clud all In crape, so
frightened that their veils have fallen back '
and their srered brown faces appear.
Honk! Honk! See that crowd of children,
rampvr! One boy has lost his red tea
1 cup. but he runs on and on.
Honk! Honk! We are passing an on
, campment of Arab aoldlers! The men aro
drying their wash op the grass, and they
. I wave their WM garments at ua aa wa. ga
J by.
Gear Rati. ..4 Ea
rl
Now ws have left the suburbs of Sousse,
ana are isr out on the plain. Wo are
F traveling through olive orchard. They
' cover tho eeuntjy for mile. Souse makes
Matto da Terranova, Francesco and
Olovannl Boccardlno da Flrense, Pleran
tonlo Prwclolo. Tnmmaso da Masolo, Ber
nardino and Ercolano dl Pletro and Ola
como Caporall, who lived and worked In tha
sixteenth century.
The art of Illuminating books Is akin to
miniature painting, and the work tins to be
admired In the original, aa photographic
reproductions fall to give an adequate Idea
of Ita beauty and fineness of detail. Tha
accompanying reproductions selected from
the best specimens of choral booka In
Italy, at Florence, fllena and Perugia, IHus
trata the different atyles of Illuminating
art.
The etory of this recent theft Is Interest
ing fro Us very simplicity. About two
years ago a certain doctor of the name
of Oddl opened at Perugia a dispensary for
the free treatment of the poor. Among
his patients was a miniature paloter who,
owing to ill luck, was on the verge of starv
ation. ' In his great need he went to the doc
tor and asked. him to And means of em
ploying his talent. The doctor promised
that he would and a short while after
ward called the artist and requested htm
to accompany him to the monastery of St.
Peter, whither he had been summoned to
attend the 'abbot, who was suffering from
wwo vt TcG jrrxx.. jsAs illicit oS rJZrt::: f JifJr l&JwAWTZZ
jn.ivav 1 111 VUgll
salad oil for shipment to all the world: and for miles throuarh the desert mrrnwlnv
oil for shipment to all the world: and
It has been noted for Ita olives since the
daya of the Carthaginians. Indeed, moat of
the trees look old-enough te have been
planted long before Christ. They are knotty
and gnarly, but their "wide-spreading green
branches are loaded with fruit. Tha orch
ards are Interspersed with grain fields and
pastures, and the automobile frlghtena the
men at the plowa and also tha animals
which feed near the roadside.
Honkl Honk! Bee those black sheep.
with their fat tails flopping, as they gallop
over the fields. The ewes 'are running aa
tast aa they can. with the little lambs tag-
tng behind. Now we are passing a flock
where the rama are butting the ewes to
make them get out. of the way.
Honk! Honk! See those camels canter
ing over the plain! They look like interro
gation point upon legs. Nearer , the road
are soma which are dragging plowa through
the furrows. They are In harneas, away
off from the road, and their backs are
turned to the' automobile. Now they see
and break away In a panic, dragging
'th the forked sticks used here as
plowa We see hundreds of camels during
our Journey. Wa meet them on the road
carrying great burdens, which they almost
lose as they gallop out of the way. We
uiTJiu UULruieu in Ull" urjit., .uu mrj
standout like great yellow ostriches agalr at
the aky of horizon,
.
Aaaoaar the Bedouins.
Farther on we reach the edge of tha des
ert. Wa pass Arab encampments. The
low black tents become alive as wa ap-
proacb Bd9ul" women, clad In turkey red
gowns, orawl out from under the tent cur
tains, and gaily clad children loaded with
Jewelry stand and atare at our automo
bile. There are Bedouin girls, whose silver
aakjeta flash In the aun, and whose enor
mous earrings atand out against their rich
coPpe' facea
Now we are passing .a cemetery,
It la
flUe1 wlth ATb tB white gowns; there la
evidently a funeral going on. They rise
fro the tombs and gase at ua aa we fly by.
Tna tombstones are mere boxes of clay.
Bach haa a atone at the head and one at
tha foot, upon which the guardian angela of
the deceased are auppoaed to alt watching
their At-mA
' '
Notice the road. It la aa smooth aa the
Beach drive In Rock Creek park Just out-
aid Washington city, and harder and bel-
ter. From our seats an the top of tha auto-
mohUa wa aA as U airedatilqg ea and aato fig hi with beaata or aaurdar the early
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ntB TELLOW DEVIL". 13 A GREAT
gout.
On the way out of town they discussed
matters of art and Dr. Oddl casually men
tioned that he had been Intrusted by an
American millionaire who had been visit
ing Perugia with a commission to procure
copies of several of the best specimens
of missal Illuminating that were to be
found among the art treasures of Perugia.'
No price had been fixed, but the American
was Willing to pay dearly, provided the
copies were as nearly perfect as possible.
The artist suggested that he might copy
one of the choral books at St. Peter, men-
for miles through the desert, narrowing
down to a pin point In the distance. Tu-
nisla and Algeria have thousands of miles
of well kept highways, and one could travel
from Morocco almost to Tripoli In an auto
mobile. , Our Journey of eighty miles is
everywhere equally good, and, aa dusk
comes on, and we fly along with the yel
low devil's eyes blazing forth their acety
lene flames, we have no fears of bursting
tires nor ruts which may cause
break-:
down.
it Is pitch dark as we make our
ay Into Sfax. and pull up In front of a
French hotel where we stay for the ntght.
Amphitheater of El-DJrm. .
I wonder If you have ever heard of El
DJem. It- is one of the most wonderful of
all Roman ruins, and la surpassed only
In else by the Colosseum at Rome. I mean
the great amphitheater which la altuated
on this road about twenty miles from the
sea. I saw tt on my way from Sousse to
Sfax. It stands on a plain rising high above
Its surroundings. The Colosseum at (Rome
Is dwarfed by other buildings. El-DJem Is
right out' In the open, and save for a little
Arab village- of mud huts about ten feet
In height there are no other buildings In
sight.
From the top of the automobile one can
tee the ruins long before he comes to thepa.
At first they look like a mighty bluff, a
fortification or the walls of a fortified town.
Nearer we observe that they are a great
amphitheater, and closer - still the walls
tower over us to the height of a twelve
story flat. One side of the amphitheater
has been torn away, but the greater part
still stands. I climbed up from gallery to
gallery, and wandered through the arcades.
where the men and women promenaded la
tne aays or imperial norae wnue waning
r wi jiwii.iuii.1 uw. m iK7m in.
arena below.
The outlines of the arena are plainly
marked. They Inclose an ecllspe of almost
an acre, and, according to my pares, they
actually measure about ) feet long a,nd
176 feet wide.
The walla of this mighty structure, the
most of which still stand, are 130 feet hl?h,
and it la said' that they were one story
higher, but that the top story has been
tnrn ...v Tl,r .r. Ihm. . Morten rl.ln
one over the other. Under the lower ones
are the cells where the wild animals were
kept and the rooms in which the gladl-
.tor. ..itH until ..u into th. iniu
ti
GOLDT ATTOMOBXLH.
I U11UU UilVl jLVaVA
rhH.M. iTWi th...- ...'the micr wealth of hr nni tha ru of the
Christians. 'This theater saw the massacre
of thousands; It was even more noted for
Its liona than that of Rome, tbe wild beasts
being brought from tha Atlas mountains
nearby. .
KUDJen Ti, Rsstas ColoMeam,
It . Is said that the Colosseum at Rome
seated 87,00r spectators. EJ-DJem was
about three-fourtS as large, and Is
said to have seats for 80.000. Looking at Its
galleries this seems probably true. The bulld-
' has a. ground floor of five or six acres.
",a "lrcn 11 "
commodated an enormous number of peo
pie. I have seen as many as 2S.O0O men at
one ' of our great national conventions.
Fully, that many were seated at Chicago
when Garfield was nominated, and the
seating capacity of EJ-DJem waa almost
three times aa large. The circumference
of the amphitheater here la only 200 feet
less than that of the Colosseum, and Its
width and breadth each measure'as much
within 100 feet. Tbe Colosseum, as It exists
today, Is a little higher than El-DJem, but
with the story which was torn away added
they would be about the same height.
The Romans had an old saying which
read:
While stands the Colosseum, Rome shall
stand:
Wh-n falls tbe Colosseum. Home shall fall.
And when Rome falls, with It shall fall the
world.
Oa the Site of Old Thradraa.
I doubt not the citizens of northern Africa
thought the same of El-DJem. But who
can now tell ua anything of the people who
aat In this mighty playhouseT We know
only that there was a great town here In
the time of Imperial Rome. It was called
Tny8irus. and It must have been of enor-
mous size to have required a theater like
tnl During the third century It was one
of th ,.,cheBt cltle, of northern Africa, and
,..,, , . lh,Wi i.. ,,i.v
There were other great cities nearby; about
eight miles away was one which had alao
a theater, and which still shows the re
mains ef vast cisterns built for Ita water
supply. ,
Thysdrus remained great up to about tha
time or tne Aran invasion, DUl me people
about were then governed by a Berber
queen known as Kahena The country
was ao rich that It waa attacked again and
aaaln. and Kahena, thinking tha matter
ovar, same to
the oouoiuakia that tha
Sir'
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COLISEUM AT PJBM NT3AKLT AS
wealth of her people was the causa of the
numerous Invasions, and that if they do-
stroyed their cities her country would be
let alone. 8he thereupon called her moun
tain tribes together and ordered them to
cut down the orohards and level the towns.
This was done all over the country, vast
territories being reduced from riches to
poverty. It had, however, the reverse ef
fect of what she Intended. The people who
had lost their property sided with the In-.
vadera and Kahena was defeated. Her last
stand was made In the amphitheater of El
DJem, and Its battered walls still show the
effects of that siege.
Since then It has been robbed by the
generations which followed. It has been a
quarry for both Arabs and Christians, and
of late the French have uncovered Us
-moBalca and carried them off to their mu
seums. Today they are making efforts to
protect what Is left. I found parts of the
ruins shut , off by doors and wire fences,
and. masons were at work here and there
repairing the damages of the vandala.
Rains of North Africa.
The day will come when northern Africa
will be thronged with touriata and others
studying the historio remains of its past.
The most of the ruins here have, until
now, been allowed to remain aa they were,
while those of Italy. Greece and Egypt
have been carted off to fill the museums of
the world. There are aoroa of mosaics to
be seen In the museums of Tunisia wnicn
w, compare m beauty with any In Italy,
Tn8 arena cf this great amphitheater waa
one moBaic. it la now a part of the
won0rful collection In the bey s palace, In
4ha Utf Tunis. There are other mosalca
aimoBt as wonderful In the museum of
8oUMe an(1 others of great value In the
Carthage museum.
Sousse has recently excavated a cemetery
which dates back to the time of tha
Carthagenlans. In It are tombs which were
built when Hannibal was alive, and I
fingered the bone dust of some of. these
ancient heroes aa I looked at the urns
which contained their remains.
Even more wonderful are the catacombs
of Sousse, now for the first time being ex-
poseo to ine llgni 01 momrn umo..
I had
neyer heard of them until I cam here,
Tou will not find them mentioned In the
booka upon Africa, and I doubt If they are
known outside this part of Tunisia. Never-
thuUra thay Afo ox enormous ajiunt ana ex
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III
LiARGE AS ROMEfSL
From a Monastery
tlontng the one by Caporall, which was
considered the best one In the entire col
lection, but he added that It would be very
difficult to obtain permiauton from the gov
ernment officials to copy It, as the abbot
was not allowed to take the book out of
Its case and much less break the seals.
"That Is easily arranged," said the doc
tor, "as the abbot has absolute faith In me
and will let me handle whatever I want."
The visit was paid to the head of ' the
monastery and, true to the boast of the
doctor, he waa allowed to take down from
Its glass case the choral book which the
greal Umbrlan artist, Caporall, had spent
half a lifetime In decorating. Each page
Is Illuminated and adorned with miniatures
of .saints and angols, so delicately drawn
and full of detail that with a magnifying
Vl Jl-iUkJ'I.VJI
historic Interest. They lie a mils or so out-
historic Interest. They He a mile or so out
side the walls, with olive trees and other
crops growing above them. They are
reached by stone steps, which take one far
below the surface, and they extend over
several aquare miles. It was by means of
my letter from Ihe regent of Tunisia that I
was able to go through them. We walked
along gallery after gallery, cut out of the
solid limestone, lighting our way with can-
H- Now and then we had to stoop over,
and I waa warned to keep close to the
guide, as there are so many cross-passages
that one might become lost and
wander long before getting out. The gal
leries are walled with tombs; they contain
the remains of tens of thousands of hu
man beings, all lying In boxes cut out of
the wails, away down there under the
ground. The tombs are, In fact, a serlea
of pigeon holes, each hole containing a
skeleton or bones and bone dust.
After the body was put In the front of
the tomb waa walled up, and an lnsciip-
tjon waa carved upon lt4 mentioning tha
name and sometimes the story of the man.
In many of the tombs gold and silver
and precious stones have been found, and
In othera articles which Illustrate the Ufa
of the times. Some of the tombs were
those of little children. In one I saw the
bones of a woman, the Impression of whose
buxom bust still showed In the plaster cast
made by the soft limestone and clay. Upon
a ,nelf over this I saw the bones of a baby
0( perhaps 2 years of age, and In the
pigeon hole Just below the skull and foot
of a man, the rest of his skeleton having
passed away.
I am writing these notes In Sfaz, the
: A Quartette of
Gei
m
Geaeral Grant and Two Bells.
UST prior to his recent death in
Helena, Mont., relates the Bt,
Paul Pioneer Press. Governor
'Preston H. Leslie of Kentucky
and Montana related a story here
tofore unpublished concerning a trait In
General U. 8. Grant which caused the
southern sympathizer to change hia opinion
of the northern soldier from hatred to In
tense admiration.
Governor Lelle In 1S64 had Just escorted
two nieces to a school at Georgetown, Ky.,
and waa returning to Ixiuisvllle. The fell
ing was very bitter, and to avoid any con
troversy Governor Leslie entered the lad Its'
car, sitting opposite two young and in
tensely patriotic Kentucky women. They
lauded General Leo to the skies and fairly
excoriated General Orant for hla alleged
heartleasneas and cruelty.
Unbeknownst to them General Grant was
also a passenger, and after listening to
their caustic comment for fully half an
hour Informed them that all they had siid
of General Lee- waa true and that he per
sonally knew him to be one of the best
aoldlers the world bad ever seen, lie fur
ther ventured the assertion that the charges
against Grant were untrue; that while acts
of cruelty and atrocitlea might have been
committed they were without his sanction,
He then Introduced himself, said that he
could not accept the apologlea which were
profusely offered; tliat they would be un-
natural daughters of the south if they felt
otherwise. He told them that war of Itself
1 was cruel and he did not blqrne the.ru.
Thereafter Governor Leslie became a great
admirer and defender of General Grant.
What More o4 Be Asked t
"On the way down here from up home I
saw your advertisement In the paper,"
said "Oszy" Hitchcock, as he entered the
office of the New Notion company In hla
Sunday suit, his boots creaking at every
step. "I'm here in the city to get work."
"I hardly think you're Just the mn wo
eed now," and tho tier la charge our
glass even the reins on the hands of lh
figures represented stand out in lifelike dis
tinction. With great nonchaJanoe the doctor, after
making sure by bremjtlng the seala that
the missal was the one he sought, smilingly
placed It under his arm and, nodding cheer
fully to the abbot, left tha monastery. Tha
artist, elated at the prospect of the delight- '
ful task before him of copying all those
precious pages, hurried to his native vil
lage for a brief sojourn and returned ttf
Perugia ready to begin the work.
But the matter was delayed, and In tha
Interval the abbot died. The doctor closed
his dispensary and left Perugia, telling
everybody that he had finished a new book
on medical research and that he had de
cided to go to London and find a publisher.
Several months went
The other day. Just before -the opening of
the exhibition of Umbrlan art at Perugia, a
commission waa Indexing the choral booka
previoue to their removal to the Flazzn
Comunale. Then the theft waa discovered.
An Inquiry Is pending, the artist haa been
arrested and also the doctor, who waa
found In Florence.
It Is reported that the stolen book, haa
been recovered, but definite Information, on,
the eubject la withheld, which leada to tha
belief that the genuine book la still miss
ing and that the one now In the handa af
the police la a clevor forgery.
II JL
capital of southern Tunisia and one of tha
capital of southern Tunisia and one of tha
rnpldly growing cities of northern Africa.
The town Ilea on a harbor, which can ba
entered by the largest of ocean steamers,
and It has a considerable trade. It ahipa
phosphates and olive oil and millions of
sponges, caught In the waters nearby. The
population of Sfaz Is about 60,000 natives
and I, QUO European a, the moat of whom
are Italians and Spaniards. The Euro-
pan town lies between the Arab town
and the sea. It contains a theater, a post
office, several hotels and some few busi
ness houses.
The native city, like all those of Tunisia,
Is surrounded by an enormous wall and
entered by gates. Tbe houses Inside the
walls are all of Arabian architecture, and
the streets wind this way and that, and
are too narrow for wheeled vehicles.
The natives are Mohammedans. They
do not like Christians, and It was not until
1K32 that Europeans were allowed tocome
inside tbe walls. Were it not that tha
French govern the country It would hardly
be possible to go inside today, and. In
fact, one sees few Europeans , Inside tha
town. They are not allowed to enter tha
principal mosque, and- It Is 'not safe' to
go Into any of the other places of wor
ship. The people of Sfax dress In oriental cos
tumes, the women wrapping themselveo
up In white blankets, which they hold so
tightly over their facea that only a three
cornered eye hole can be seen. They do
not wear blac, aa In Sousse and Kal
rouan. The men are clad like their kind
In all parte of Tunisia.
FRANK G. CARPENTER.
Short Stories
veyed his 'caller with unflattering gaze.
"You spoke of wanting a young man with
a good address," said "Otry," In his loud,
clear, distinct-school voice. "I guess Lane
ville. New Hampshire, Is as good aa any
you could find, and father has the only store
In the place." Youths' Companion,
A Mlbl Owl.
It Is only about four yeara alnca Robert
J. Wynne, who resigned as postmaster gen-
inral to accept the post of consul general
In London, was a newspaper correspondent
In Washington. He represented a morn
ing paper and necessarily kept late hours.
Just before he enteied the government ser
vice an enumerator for the city directory
called at his office for the usual Informa
tion. A colored maid was the only per
son at home and she was asked as to Mr.
Wynne's business. "I dunno "zackly," she
said, "but he comes In so '"late o' nights
and goea away so late In de afternoon dat
I reckon he must be some kind of a spoht
ln' man."
New Orders. '
Shortly after the railway companlee abol
lahed the pasa privilege a certain United
Stales senator who has held his office many
years and had carried a passs all that time
boarded a train for Washington. He had
forgotten to provide himself with the nrces-
eary ticket. Presently tbe conductor came
along. He was one of tha oldeat men on tho
line, and the senator, who had made many,
a trip with him before, cordially extended
hla hand.
"How ara you, OregoryT" he said.
"First rate, senator," answered the con
ductor. "Glad to see you looking ao well.''
"Thank you, Greg. But why are you offer
ing me your left hand?"
"Because I don't want my left hand to
know what my right hand la doing."
''What la your tight band dolngT"
"It's reaching for your fare, senator,"
aald tha oonduetor, with a grim siiili.-
- Youth's CojnatJB.
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