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ing the dead man tells you more than all the funeral pomp; and, as the bier moves on, the body rolls from side to side in such evident helplessness that, notwithstanding the long train of priests who are chanting "Dies illa— Dies iræ," it seems like the day of nothingness. A crucifix, and torches, and priests, and sacconi, sometimes to the number of two hundred, fix your eye and your ear.

I thought within myself, well may you cover your heads and make those mournful sounds, when you are persuaded that the living spirit of that poor body is surely gone down to the bitter pains of purgatory. Blessed are we who receive our light immediately from the Scripture: we have no mists over the promised land to which we go; no purgatorial regions in which to dwell for a while. In death, we look up, by faith with Stephen, into Heaven: we see Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and say, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." With Paul, we long to be absent from the body and present with the Lord. He dreamed not of sleep nor of purgatory when he said-" to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."

The sacconi throw about their torches, and leer through their eye-holes, in a way that gives them the effect of infernal agents, already rejoicing in their prey. When a poor creature is in the act of dying, he is given up wholly to the priests, to receive extreme unction, or holy oil, on his eyes, nose, mouth, ears-and the viaticum, to make easy his miserable progress to his place of torment; for to that place even their popes must go for a shorter or longer period!

CHAPTER XXII.

Villa Albani-Sacristia di San Pietro-San Stefano-the Baptistry of Constantine-the Campidoglio.

In a very fine day in December, when the tramontane blew briskly, and the sun made all nature gay, we drove to the Villa Albani, now possessed by Cardinal Albano, governor of Bologna. It is about a mile and a half from Rome, opposite the Tiburtine range. The hills were beautifully blue, and the snow capped every high point. Soracte, to the left, looked dark and sullen; the Sabines came across with a deep violet hue: the vale between is dark with pine, and needs the mixture of the summer foliage to add gaiety to that which is now too sombre.

The word "forestiere" opens all the villas and palaces here: I wish it were so in England. The late Cardinal Albani collected a prodigious treasure of statues, busts, basreliefs, columns, inscriptions, and other ancient monuments. Having passed the iron gates, you enter a grove: opposite to your eye are temples and fountains; at the end of the central approach is a balustrade, and, on looking down, the flower-garden appears. The casina is in form a long parallelogram, with a superb portico. On the grand staircase is a Niobe and her Children, smitten by Apollo ;Esculapius, with a Plant and Serpent; Nature and Wisdom; a most admirable little picture of Diogenes and his

Dog-he is peeping out of his tub, and you almost hear him say "Stand out of my sunshine."

The Apollo, in bronze, is beautiful; and near it is Hercules in repose, and a curious little statue of Plasme, of emerald, representing Osiris, with hieroglyphics round the base; and a Serapis, from Canopus, of green basalt. Then follow three rooms, of which Bicchieri has painted the ceilings. Over the fire-place of one is the celebrated basso-relievo, in marble, representing Antinous in profile: the design and execution are magical. These rooms lead to a magnificent gallery, lined with flowers, in pietra dura, and encrusted altogether in marbles. On the ceiling, Mengs has drawn Apollo and Mnemosyne so well, that you may almost fancy you hear the sound of his lyre, and the voice of Erato, who stands near, with the other Muses. The chiaroscuro is surprisingly done by

Lapicola.

The portico of the Caryatides contains the celebrated Caryatide, bearing the Greek inscription of Criton and Nicolaus, sculptors of Athens, found at Tivoli.

In the long gallery, we were struck with the statue of Faustina playing with everlasting flowers. She appears to be thinking of immortality: if so, she would surely say, with Juturna, "Of immortality I nothing feel but its immortal woe." Then follow exquisite antique busts of the philosophers, and warriors, and kings of ancient times. The head of Numa is so perfectly shrivelled, that he looks as if he had been buried, dried, and taken up again. As I gazed on this visage, I could not help thinking that the fresh Egeria could not have found him very subduing in this guise. We peeped into a little boudoir, paved with mosaic, and ornamented by two

superb pillars. One is denominated flowered alabaster : it is fluted and beautifully varied with colours, and almost transparent; and was found in the Cæsarini vineyard, near the ancient Navalia, on the Tiber. The opposite pillar is of Sicilian jasper, white and red: between them is a sarcophagus, with the marriage of Peleus and Thetis. Strange association for those who were not sure that death opens the portals of life! Dædalus, working at the wings of Icarus, in rosso-antico, is extremely pretty. Near, is an ancient picture, found on the Esquiline, and a little fisherman, placed on a triangular base, representing the three seasons, into which the ancients divided the year.

About eight miles from Rome, on the Appian way, Domitian erected a temple to Hercules, the ruins of which still remain. On this spot was found the splendid basin, to which our attention was next directed. It is of white marble, twenty-two feet in circumference; and represents the labours of Hercules, in bold relief.

In a passage leading from the circular room is an Apollo, seated on a tripod; and a Leda and swan, very rare and curious.

The Casina a Billiardo is sumptuous, with marbles, and busts, and statues. One, the Ephesian Diana, is most disgusting. The Greeks could not have originated such a monster; it is, doubtless, of Egyptian origin.

At the opposite end of the garden is a circular portico, supported by twenty-six marble pillars, and thronged with statues and busts. That of Esop is curious, and we were much struck with its resemblance to a friend of ours at Cambridge. In the centre is a singular vase, of Egyptian brescia, like our pudding-stone, but containing a much greater variety of colour.

SACRISTIA OF THE CANONS.

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We returned to Rome by the Porta Salaria, remarkable as that by which Alaric and the Gauls rushed in. On the right you pass the site of the gardens formed by Sallust, after he returned from the government of Africa, occupying the valley between the Quirinal and Pincian hills. This property became afterwards that of the emperors. Nerva died here; and Aurelian, after conquering Palmyra, amused himself on this spot. Alaric burned the royal palaces.

On the site occupied by the Vigna Barberini, was the field where the unchaste Vestal virgins were buried alive.

We had not yet seen the Sacristia de St. Pietro. Passing through St. Peter's, a door on the left opens to a pretty vestibule, decorated by columns of granito rosso. Opposite is a large statue of St. Andrea, found in the ancient Basilica. Then follow three beautiful galleries, supported by grey columns and pilasters of verde antico, which lead to the common sacristia. It has eight beautiful pillars of grey marble, eight di giallo antico, and an interesting altar-piece.

The Sacristia of the Canons is rich in marbles and Brazilian wood; has a good picture of the Virgin, Jesus, St. Anne, St. Peter, and St. Paul; and opposite to this a famous one by Julio Romano-the subject, the Virgin, Jesus, and St. John. There are two pretty pieces by Cavallerci.

Thence the conductor leads on to the chapel of the choir. The sacristia of beneficed clergy contains a picture by Jerome Mutieno, in which Peter is exhibited receiving the keys of Paradise from our Lord! and opposite is placed the ancient image of the Virgin, called "della fiore," worshipped, according to all accounts, in the ancient sacristia: a most precious relic, with a golden crown!! Besides a number of rooms for various purposes, the sacristia contains magnificent apartments for the canons