is here, with the epitaph of Cardinal Bembo, of which Pope has availed himself so fully in his Epitaph on Kneller;

Ille est hic Raphael timuit quo sospite, vinci

Rerum magna Parens, et moriente mori.

In my way from the Pantheon, to explore the site of the Tarpeian Rock, I passed through the region of the Jews;-who are huddled together in one quarter of the town, and allowed to reside nowhere else. Here, too, they are locked up every night; but-" suffering is the badge of all their tribe." In spite of these strict measures of confinement, which, one would suppose, must tend still more to isolate the race, I thought the features of these Jews did not exhibit so strongly that peculiar and distinctive physiognomy, which is so striking in England, where they have every facility of crossing the breed.

It is not easy to determine the exact site of the Tarpeian Rock;—or, at least, of that part of it from whence criminals were flung;-and, when you have ascertained the spot, as nearly as it can

picture to the Pope, knowing that he could not have afforded to present it unpaid for. The consequence of the present was, an appointment, and subsequent patronage—· in short, the making of his pupil's fortune.

be done, you will be more disappointed than by any thing else in Rome. Where shall we find any traces of Seneca's description of it?" Stat moles abscissa in profundum, frequentibus exasperata saxis, quæ aut elidant corpus, aut de integro gravius impellant; inhorrent scopulis enascentibus latera, et immensæ altitudinis aspectus." There is absolutely nothing at all of all this-the only precipice that remains is one of about thirty feet, from the point of a wall, where you might leap down, on the dung-mixen in the yard below, without any fear of broken bones.

It is not surprising that the great wreck of old Rome should have so destroyed the features of the Capitoline Hill. Besides, the character of the ground below is completely changed; and the Campus Martius, which was at the foot of the Tarpeian Rock-into which the mangled bodies fell-is now, like the rock itself, covered with the modern town.

From hence we drove to the Catacombs. These dreary and deserted regions were once filled with thousands of martyrs. The ecclesiastical writers say that 170,000 were buried here; and it is not incredible; for the extent of these caverns is six miles. But the Catacombs are now empty; the bones have been carried all over Christendom,

for the edification of the pious ;-and there must have been enough, in this mine of martyrs, to furnish relics to the whole world.

31st. On this last day of the year, there was a grand ceremony at the church of the Jesuits;to sing out the old year-to offer up thanksgivings for all past blessings--and to solicit a renewal of them in the year to come. The crowd was immense; and the ceremony very impressive. There is a principle of equality in Catholic congregations, more consonant with the spirit of that religion which teaches that God is no respecter of persons, than the practice which prevails in our own church ;-where the greatest distinction is made between the accommodations of rich and poor. The former are carefully separated from the contamination of the latter, into pews; where every thing is provided that luxury can suggest to render the postures of public worship as little inconvenient as possible. In the Catholic congregations, there are no such invidious distinctions;-the rich and the poor kneel down together, on the same marble floor;- as children of the same Parent-to ask the same blessings, from their common Benefactor. All the congregation joined in the chant of thanksgiving, and I was deeply impressed by the touching so

lemnity of the ceremony. There is always something affecting in a large concourse of people participating in the same emotion—the feeling is heightened by the contagion of sympathy, and wound up to enthusiasm by the influence of numbers.

And so much for the year 1817. It has been to me, like most of its predecessors-" woven of a mingled yarn;"-much time lost in unavailing hope, and more saddened with the gloom of disappointment. For the Future:-I leave it with humble confidence to the great Disposer of all things, in whose hands are the issues of life and death.

CHAPTER IV.

New Year's Day-The Pope's Chapel-Italian WomenMichael Angelo-Modern Capitol-Mamertine Prisons

Canova-Thorwaldson-Vatican-Sculpture-Paintings.

January 1st, 1818. THE new year opened with a dark and dreary morning-foreboding disaster and disappointment ;-but, "we defy augury!"

Went to mass in the private chapel of the Pope, in his palace on Monte Cavallo. The most striking trait in the appearance of the venerable Pius VII. is his black hair, wholly unmixed with grey. There is a piety and sincerity in his demeanour that conciliate respect, in spite of the mummery that surrounds him.

But, let the character of the Pope be what it may, the part he is called upon to act must identify him with Lord Peter;-of whom I was reminded incessantly; particularly when the priest, who preached, previously to the delivery of his sermon, prostrated himself at the Pontiff's feet, to kiss the papal slipper.*

*Eustace endeavours to furnish at once a reason and an excuse for this strange ceremonial, by explaining, that it is to the Cross, embroidered on the slipper, that this homage