Volume I Part 30 (1/2)

[Page Head: ILLUMINATION OF ST PETER'S]

_At night_--The illumination of St Peter's is as fine as I was told it was, and that is saying everything I saw it from the Pincian, from the s of the French Academy and Horace Vernet's room He is established in the Villa Medici; a very lively little fellow, and reat deal of s His daughter is very pretty Here Iman We were introduced and conversed on French politics Afterwards drove down to the piazza and round it The illumination is more effective at a distance, but I think it looks best froelo; the blaze of light, the crowd, and the fountains, covered with a red glare, ht in the world (One poor devil was killed, and there is alht hundredSt Peter's; the first pale and subdued light, which covers the whole church, is brought out by the darkness of night, the little lahts which succeed are rease icks in thenal, each man touches his two la bursts into light at once by a process the effect of which is quite ical--literally, as the Rejected Addresses say, 'starts into light, and hter start'

April 12th, 1830 {p325}

At night at Torlonia's to see the girandola, which is as fine as fireworks can be, but nothing will do after the illumination of St Peter's All the world was there at an assembly after the ceremony, at which I was introduced to Don Michele Gaetani, said to be the cleverest nore Spada, who is a young laye A Monsignore holds ecclesiastical rank at Ro holds eneral; there is no other

He is free toelse, but he ravity of dress and conduct; he is a curious nondescript, about an equal nore is a very clever, agreeable ave me some information about the adood deal of laxity in it, for aanother (with preo to six e Haed hiot the punishot out he cae Head: BUNSEN ON THE FORUM]

April 13th, 1830 {p326}

Breakfasted with Bunsen at the Capitol; Lovaine, Morier, Haddington, Hamilton, Kestner, Falck, G Fitzclarence, Sir W Gell, a little Italian servant, and Mr Hall, Bunsen's brother-in-law

Haddington told the story of Canning's sending to Bagot a despatch in cipher, containing these lines:--

Intoo little and asking too much; With equal protection the French are content: So we'll lay on Dutch bottoms just twenty per cent

_Chorus of Officers_--We'll lay, &c

_Chorus of Douaniers_--Nous frapperons Falck avec Twenty per cent

He received the despatch at dinner, and sent it to be deciphered

After soht him word they did not knohat to make of it, for it seemed to be in verse, when he at once saw there was a joke

Went to see the excavations in the Via Triumphalis and the Temple of Concord, and heard Bunsen's theory of the Foruives different names to the remains of the teiven, and by which they are known, and on very plausible grounds, drawn chiefly from accounts in different Ros themselves The Teustus, and the Temple of Jupiter Tonans the Temple of Saturn; but all his reasons I need not put down if I could remember the to publish in four or six volumes octavo?

Bunsen's history is rather curious He was a poor Gerot eot a taste for antiquities The King of Prussia cae and the character he heard of hiy he wished to introduce into Prussia Bunsen gave him so much satisfaction in that matter, as well as in some others which were entrusted to him, that on Niebuhr's return to Prussia he was appointed to succeed him, and has been at Rome ever since--thirteen years Some say he is not a profoundHe talks English, French, and Italian like his own language

[Page Head: SIGHTS OF ROME]

The part of the triu for a drain; and an atte made to procure the permission of the Government to excavate all that can be found of it, and ascertain its exact course It was in the Temple of Concord that Cicero asseainst Catiline The building nificent, from the remains now visible, which are of the finest marble The pavement is in a state of considerable preservation Then ent to the old Tabulariu on the Intermontium, an undoubted work of the Republic This was the place where the records of the Senate were kept It is very perfect Nibby, the great authority here, differs, however, about this place; the antiquaries are at daggers drawn upon the subject of the ruins, remains, and discoveries They have all different systereat vehenorant and curious traveller is only perplexed with their noisy and discordant assertions They will insist upon knowing everything, whereas there are s here which are so doubtful, that they can only conjecture about them; but when once they have published a theory they will not hear of its being erroneous, and oppose any fresh discovery likely to throw discredit upon it After his lecture in the Forum ent to San Nicolo in Cercera, an old church built on three old temples, or two and a prison, but not much to see The prison of San Nicolo in Cercera is said to be the scene of the story of the Roe of Fabricius to the Basilica of Saint Bartholomew and Temple of Esculapius; small remains, but curious; and very pretty view of the Tiber and Te to Prince Borghese, who never goes there, and will neither let nor lend it One of the finest views of Rome is fros

When Raphael was painting the Vatican, he and Julio Roht to the Villa Lanti, and the ceilings are covered with frescoes painted by both of them Just below is a terrace, and on it a beautiful tree called Tasso's Oak, because under it he used to sit and compose when he lived in the Convent of San Onofrio, which is close by, and where he died This convent is remarkably clean, airy, and spacious In the library is a bust of Tasso, a mask taken from his face just after he died; in the chapel his tolory-- Hark to his strain and then survey his cell

BYRON

In the cloister are some frescoes of the universal Domenichino I like the Convent of San Onofrio To Santa Maria in Trastevere, a very fine church; splendid ceiling with a Doranite columns of various orders taken froree Large pieces of porphyry and verd antique eternally trodden by the Trasteverine mob, and never even cleaned It is a basilica, and at the end is an ancient stone chair, which, was evidently the old justice-seat, though they of the Church do not know it

April 14th, 1830 {p329}

Set off early to make up an arrear of churches First to Santa Maria sopra Minerva, and lit upon the funeral of a cardinal (Bertazzoli), which I was obliged to see instead of Michael Angelo's Christ All the cardinals attended; the church hung with black and gold; guards, tapers, mob, &c Then to the SS

Apostoli, Araceli (built where the Citadel stood, and is a corruption of Arx, but with a legend); a curious church enough, with soin with hundreds of ex voto's hang round it, almost all wretched daubs of pictures, and principally representing accidents in gigs, carriages, or carts, broken heads or limbs To Santa Anastasia, Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Santa Sabina Santa Maria in Cosmedin, or the Bocca della Verita, built in and on the ruins of an old te in Rome; the columns, if freed from the modern church, would present as perfect a front as the temples in the Forum To Monte Aventino to see the view of Rome and the Chapel of the Order of Malta, where Cardinal Zurla as Grand Prior has a e-trees and a very large palorio to see the famous rival frescoes of Guido and Do Guido's and ended by liking the other best The view of the Palatine froorio and San Paolo, and saw the ruins, which ed to the Coliseum, for the architecture is exactly si been the Vivariu one of the best collections of pictures, of which the finest are two portraits of cardinals by Raphael and Domenichino The palace is very fine, and the villa joins it on the opposite hill of the Janiculum, but both are affected by the malaria Then to the Vatican and saw all the frescoes and pictures; the collection of pictures is very sallery below to see the reat pictures The coloured bits are nuh there are not above six or seven colours, the sub-divisions of various shades aree enuity, attention, and soe pictures, such as those which are in St Peter's, several men are employed at the same ti years to copy one of the largest size All the pictures in St Peter's are in mosaic, except one, and they are at work on one which is to replace this single oil-piece The studio appeared in good order, but there were only two men at work, as the Government spends very little alleries we (Morier and I) saw a thunderstor, and rain It was arand from that place as it swept over the city and hese Gardens, and back to one of those sunsets fro the ss in which I am destined to live