ranged in a spiral form, from the bottom to the top. These represent the victories of Trajan over the Dacians. The column erected by the Roman senate in honor of the victories of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, is similar in plan and size, but inferior in execution, to that of Trajan. Their There are four bridges over the Tiber now in use within the walls of Rome. Of these, that of St. Angelo, formerly the Ælian, is most used. It was built by the Emperor Hadrian, to lead to that vast sepulchre which he built for himself, and which is now called the Castle of St. Angelo. The bridge was repaired by Clement the Ninth, and a row of colossal statues of saints are mounted on the balustrades, on each side. robes are flying in the wind, and so far from having devout and becoming attitudes, they rather look as if they were contending with the elements, or moving in the wild and mazy dance. I have given this general outline of the city, and of those objects which first strike the eye, in order that I might not, in future, be diverted by them from the regular train of description. Our starting point, in all our excursions through Rome, was the Piazza del Populo. This is a large, open area, adjoining the northern gate of the city, with a lofty obelisk in the centre, at the base of which are four lions, hewn from granite, from whose mouths the water is pouring into a spacious marble basin. On the upper side of this same square, is another copious fountain, made from marble, and crowned with colossal statues, while around rise three churches, and other large and imposing structures. From this point the three principal streets diverge as radii, leading in a direct line to the different parts of the city; so that at a single view one may see the numerous stately churches and palaces with which these streets are lined, extending one beyond another, far off in the distance. The street on the right, as you face to the south, leads to the banks of the Tiber, while that on the left passes through the Piazza di Spagna, to the southern gates of the city. But the Corso, the central street, is by far the most showy and fashionable, and is the place where all who can afford it take their evening ride. It is broad for a European street, has sidewalks, and is well paved. It leads in a direct line through the heart of the city to the capitol, and is adorned with many of the largest palaces and churches. The number of these buildings in Rome is very great. There are about three hundred churches, -and the palaces, most of which belong to the Pope and his cardinals, are so large and numerous, that they are computed to cover more than half the surface of the modern city. Yes, they belong to those who claim to be the chief accredited agents and vicegerents of Him, who was so poor that he had not where to lay his head, and who, when on earth, declared, "How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God. It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." The great and leading object of interest in Rome is that splendid miracle of architecture, St. Peter's Church. This was the first place of importance we visited. The morn - ing after our arrival in the city, with this object in view, we sallied forth en masse, armed with books of reference, and led on by faithful and experienced guides. Passing the bridge and castle of St. Angelo, we turned to the left, through a narrow street which conducted us to the splendid area in front of St. Peter's Church. The Vatican Mount, on which it stands, is a gentle eminence, and was formerly occupied by the palace, gardens, and amphitheatre of Nero. As tradition fixed upon this as the place where St. Peter was beheaded, and his body buried, it was therefore selected as a proper site for the church which now bears his name. In opposition to this, men learned in the early history of the church have maintained, that St. Peter never visited Rome, while others, who admit that he was there, deny that he was ever bishop. To support their views, they quote Iræneus, bishop of Lyons, who lived during part of the first and second centuries, and states that Linus was ordained as first bishop of Rome by Peter and Paul. But, be that as it may, it is sufficient for our present purpose that we know that St. Peter's Church is there, and that there, too, have been those who claimed to be his lineal successors. The first object next to the lofty dome, which strikes the eye on approaching the church, is the obelisk of which we have spoken, and two splendid fountains. These last, as if fed by a river, are ever throwing large columns of water high in the air, which, spreading and descending on every side, have not unaptly been compared, in size and form, to large weeping willows, sparkling in the sun. The area in front of the church is about one thousand feet long, and eight hundred broad, and is paved with large stones. Commencing at its entrance, there is on each side a splen did circular portico extending up towards the church, composed of four rows of enormous Doric pillars, three hundred in all, forming colonnades, which are at sufficient distances to leave three covered avenues between them. Of these, the central one is wide enough for two carriages to pass abreast. From their upper end there are covered galleries, reaching to the church, with arcades opening into the square. The top of these splendid avenues, which are each more than one thousand feet in length, are adorned with pilasters and balustrades, above which rise two hundred statues, ten or twelve feet high. Thus the enclosure of the area in front has an elevation of more than seventy feet, and presents a peculiarly grand and imposing appearance. The flight of steps leading to the church is about four hundred feet in breadth, and begins slowly to ascend about two hundred feet from its front. The appearance of the church, as one enters the area of which we have spoken, is less striking than fancy would picture it to be. Though its height is near two hundred feet, yet its breadth being double this extent, you thus lose much of the effect of the elevation, while the lofty balustrade above, and the colossal statues of the Twelve Apostles, with which it is surmounted, serve in a great degree to conceal the splendid dome, rising as it does from near the further extremity of the church. Every one complains of the front of St. Peter's. The Grecian style of architecture was never made for windows, and these, with balconies, so divide and deform the whole exterior of the church, as to destroy all simplicity and grandeur of design. A Gothic structure, with its lofty windows and its deep and noble arches, though of but half the size of St. Peter's, would be far more grand and imposing. But on entering the vestibule of the church, the vastness of its proportions_begin to be felt. Though but thirty feet in breadth, yet its great length and its gigantic marble pillars, sixty feet in height, the colossal equestrian statues of Charlemagne and Constantine, which on either hand limit the view, all prepare the mind to realize the grandeur of the inner temple. And yet in Rome it requires some time for the mind to expand itself to the measure of every thing around. Each day one's ideas and conceptions of magnitude become enlarged, until those words which he had always used, when speaking of the vast and wonderful, seem to have lost their meaning, and wholly fail to shadow forth his feelings. He needs a new class of epithets, far more strong and powerful than he has ever used before. There is, in this expanding process of the mind, high-wrought and peculiar pleasure, which, if it do not evaporate in wild, romantic feeling, but is wisely tempered and restrained by Christian wisdom, and right impressions of the vain and fleeting nature of all human greatness, may stamp upon the soul a deep and living impress, which time can never efface. But leaving behind us the vestibule, with its bass relief, and other ornaments, and its richly gilded ceiling, let us enter the inner sanctuary. And there, how striking and how beautiful is all around. At first, the nave alone is seen, which is more than six hundred feet in length, and two hundred in breadth, while the richly gilded vault is seventy or eighty feet above the head. But still one cannot feel that it is indeed so vast, for everything he sees is in such fine keeping and proportion that there is nothing of a common size, by which to graduate and compare the things around him, in such a way as to convince him how great is his deception. But as he casts his eye along its length, and sees in the distance how small a man appears, and what an insect he becomes when compared with this the proudest of his works, then his mind begins to open to the vastness of the scene. Advancing from the door he sees on either side two highly polished marble statues clinging to the wall, and holding in their hands a vase of holy water. They are infant cherubs, with curling locks and beaming face, and the full form of early days, but as one approaches them, he finds them taller than himself. With both his hands he scarce can span their wrists, and they have arms which might wield with ease the club of Hercules. Then the arches which rise between the lofty pilasters open to the view, with the long and spacious aisles on either hand, and the range of richly furnished chapels and altars connected with them. The most costly and highly finished works of sculpture and of painting are everywhere around. All is rich and durable, and all is showy and magnificent; and yet every thing is chaste and beautiful. There is nothing overdone or tawdry, and, with some slight exceptions, nothing to offend the eye of taste. True, there are those who think that in place of the vast pilasters and arches which sustain the roof, and by which the nave is separated from the aisles, there should be rows of pillars, so as to expose the grandeur of the whole immense interior to the view at once. The effect in such a case would indeed be most imposing and sublime, but then there could hardly be columns firm and large enough to sustain the mighty mass above, and yet be in keeping and proportion with every thing around. In advancing towards the upper end of the church, new wonders open to the view. A rich enclosure surrounds a flight of steps and an open area below, with a pavement of brilliant mosaics and walls lined with alabaster, lapis lazuli,' and red antique. From it open the brazen doors of what is called St. Peter's Tomb, before which kneels the marble statue of a recent Pope. The balustrade above is hung with a hundred costly lamps, which never cease to burn. How many a poor suffering beggar might be fed and clothed by the useless wealth that has been lavished on this single spot. The High Altar of St. Peter's rises just beyond the Tomb, and is indeed a proud, and splendid shrine. The Canopy, which is surmounted by statues of angels, with a Cross rising above it, rests upon four spiral columns of bronze, wreathed with garlands, and adorned with cherubim. Although these columns are ninety feet in height, and the cross rises one hundred and thirty feet from the pavement of the church, yet so colossal is every thing around, and so accurate are the proportions, that I could not convince myself, that the whole was more than fifty feet in height. Beyond the Altar, is an open space, and, in the further extremity of the church, rises a kind of pulpit, in the form of a huge chair. It is made of bronze, is seventy feet above the pavement, and rests on the fingers of four colossal statues, of Doctors of the Church. It is called St. Peter's Chair, but what the poor old fisherman of Galilee, the despised and persecuted preacher of the Cross, could have had to do with such a large and costly toy as this, would be hard to tell. The French, when they were in Rome, had the curiosity closely to examine this chair, and on the back of it they found an Arabic inscription, stating that it once belonged to an eastern prince. Lady Morgan published this fact, and a pamphlet in reply to this assertion is now for sale in the book-stores at Rome. Though the author wrote upon the spot, still, it is singular, that he does not resort to examination and direct testimony, by which he might disprove the statement, if false, but merely trusts himself to a specious general argument on the probability of the thing. On the right of the Chair, as one faces it, is the tomb of Urban the Eighth, and |