Catacombs

caverns, grottoes, sub terrane ous caves, destined for the se pulture of the dead. The name o: eat a combs, according to Gregory, wa: at first applied to designate exclusivel! the cave in -which the bodies of St Peter and St. Paul were buried, anc - -_ f - Vie ro ing OO » A CATACOMB GRAVE. it was only at a later period that it came to be given to all the subterraneous pa ages which were used as public burying-places. It is now regarded as certain that in times of persecution the early Christians frequently took refuge in the catacombs; but it is not le certain that the catacombs served also as places of burial to the early Christians, and that in spite of the contrary opinion which prevailed for two centuries, the catacombs were not for the most part abandoned quarries, but were excavated by the Christians themselves. The catacombs of Paris, situated on the left bank of the Seine river, are almost equally celebrated. By the light of wax tapers, a person may descend about 70 feet to a world of silence, over which the Paris i an police keeps watch as strictly as over the world of noise and confusion above. He will then enter a gallery where only two can go abreast. A black streak on the stones of the walls points out the way, which, from the great number of by-pa ages, it would be difficult for the visitor to retrace without this aid or without guides.