We were much interested by an excavation beneath the cloisters of this church, where, within the last few years, a subterranean room has been discovered. It is called the Bath of Julius. A building, used for the dressing of marble for the repairs of the church, has been erected over the aperture leading to this room; but we were able to obtain an entrance. The sides of the room are covered with frescoes, which are very well executed. The colours are quite fresh; the reds and greens clear and very brilliant. They appear to have been painted upon a wet ground; and we found the surface of the colour impervious to a scratch with a sharp instrument. The floor of the room was partly covered with rubbish; and the excavation has not yet been completed, on account of the interference of the temporary building which stands above it.

Attached to the Olivetan Convent is the church of Santa Maria Nuova, also called the church of Santa Francesca Romana, from a canonized female who is buried within its walls, and whose tomb is the work of Bernini. This church contains the mausoleum of Gregory the Eleventh, who, upon his election to the Papal chair, in the year 1377, brought back the seat of the Holy See from Avignon to Rome. His entry into the eternal city is represented upon his tomb.

The ceiling of the nave, the cupola, and the tribuna, of this church, were painted by Pietro di Cortona. The subject painted on the tribuna is the Assumption. In the chapels of this church are some good paintings by Rubens, Carlo Maratta, and Pietro Perugino. In one of them is a portrait of St. Felippo Neri, in mosaic, from the original by Guido..

The principal fortress in Rome is the Castle of St. Angelo, so called because it is surmounted with the figure of an angel. The castle and the bridge below it were anciently called Elio, from the Emperor Ælius Adrian, as whose mausoleum it was erected; and the change of name arose out of the miraculous vision alleged to have been seen by Pope Gregory the Great, in the year 593. The plague was, at that time, devastating

the population of the city; and the Pontiff had, one night, a dream, in which he saw an angel standing on the castle, and in the act of sheathing a sword. This his Holiness hailed as an omen of the staying of the plague; and, as the pestilence soon afterwards ceased its ravages, he placed the figure of an angel, sheathing his sword, upon the castle, in memory of the deliverance. The building is ornamented with ten marble statues, from the designs of Bernini, and carrying representations of the different instruments of the Saviour's sufferings, viz., the nails, the cross, the lance, the scourges, the crown of thorns, &c.

The castle is an elegant structure, of a circular form, and is surrounded by colonnades and statues. The walls are exceedingly massive; and the situation of the fortress is most commanding, in a military point of view. Belisarius is said to have been the first to avail himself of its advantages, in this respect. The castle has a communication with the Vatican, by a long subterranean corridor; and it has often furnished an asylum for the Supreme Pontiff, in times of danger.

I have been very much pleased with the fragment of an ancient portico, in the Forum Romanum. It consists of three columns, which some antiquaries consider to have belonged to the temple of Jupiter Stator. Others are of opinion that they formed part of the temple of Castor; others assign them to the ancient edifice of the Concilium; and the celebrated architect Palladio is said to have supposed that they belonged to the temple which Augustus erected, and dedicated to Mars. These questions I do not attempt to settle. I leave them to the antiquary; and look upon these beautiful columns with the eye of a painter. I consider that, both for style and execution, they are amongst the most attractive of the remains of ancient Rome. Architects regard these columns as of excellent proportions, and the most elegant specimens which have been spared by the devastations of ruthless barbarians, and "the wild waste of alldevouring years!"

The Capitol, which is the seat of the minucipal au

thorities, contains a museum, in which are collected numerous treasures of art and antiquity, the property of the city. There is, also, a considerable gallery of paintings and statues. Amongst other curiosities shown here is the bronze statue of the Wolf of Romulus, which was struck by lightning at the time of Julius Cæsar's death.

Amongst the modern works in the gallery, are many busts, some executed by Canova, and others under his inspection; there are busts of poets, painters, architects, and men of letters. A bust of Pope Pius the Seventh, by Canova, is most admirable. The sculptor has imitated the surface of the flesh, and also kept a polish upon it. The expresion is very good. The mouth is a little open; and the nostril is so deep that there is a reflection through the cartilage, which, although it is marble, has a very natural effect, and the transparency is well managed. Sir Thomas Lawrence, it will be recollected, went to Rome, by command of George the Fourth, to paint the portrait of this Pope.

The paintings in this collection are generally good. Some by Guido are fine, but weak in comparison with those of other painters. In one of the rooms I saw the original painting of a battle piece, a copy from which, by Mr. Palmer, of Burnley, was in the Halifax Exhi bition. It is, I believe, the battle of Arbela, in which Alexander the Great, with fifty thousand men, defeated the Persian army, commanded by Darius, and consisting of a million of men. This was the decisive victory which placed Alexander upon the throne of Persia.

In this valuable collection there is much to admire, much to study, much to learn. To understand and to reap all the advantages to be gained by studying in it, will require much time, close attention, and patient perThese I am determined to give. I am, Dear Sir, yours truly,

severance.

J. H.

LETTER XIV.

CHRISTMAS CEREMONIES AT THE CHURCH OF ST. MARIA MAGGIORE, AT ST. PETER'S, AT THE JESU CHURCH, AND AT THE GREEK CHURCH.-FIGURES OF THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI.-EXHIBITION OF MODERN ARTISTS.

-CONCLUSION.

To the Editor of the Halifax Express.

Rome, Jan. 8, 1841.

Dear Sir,-The ceremonies observed, at the festive season of Christmas, by the Catholic church, in this the centre of her dominion, have now been brought to a close; and I have been too much occupied with seeing them, to write to you until after their termination. I now take up my pen to give you some account of these splendid and attractive exhibitions.

At four o'clock on the morning of Christmas-day, we went to the church of St. Maria Maggiore, and we thought that we were in good time; but the service had already begun, and the procession of the cradle was passing into the chapel, when we arrived. We were, therefore, only in time to see the latter part of it, consisting of Cardinals and Bishops. Over these dignitaries was held a canopy, of white satin figured with gold, and supported by six golden rods. The effect was most splendid.

After the parties who formed the procession had seated themselves, we were admitted; and we saw the remainder of the service. Some parts of the singing were very plaintive, and soothing to the feelings; and other parts were grand and sublime. The Bishop had

two mitres on a table before him; and, at different parts of the service, he placed one or other of them on his head. One was studded with thirteen jewels in the front; the other appeared to be covered with golden cloth; and, when not upon his head, it was laid flat on the table. The communion plate was all of gold; it was taken out of a cabinet covered with scarlet leather; and with places made to fit each article.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, there was another service in the same church. The procession,-when seen in the chapel, behind the high altar, was not so grand as that we saw in the morning; but the music was the finest I ever heard, even in this city, where the singing and music, with which the ecclesiastical services abound to profusion, are proverbial for excellence. Upon the high altar, surrounded by six large candles, was placed the cradle, in the situation usually occupied by the golden cross. I was informed that it was the original cradle, or manger, in which the infant Saviour was laid, in the stable at Bethlehem; when the Virgin Mother" wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room in the inn." (Luke ii. 7.) The vessel in which this relic is enshrined, is supported by a pedestal of massive silver, and is in the form of a large urn, with an angel on the top of it.

At the head of the procession was the officiating Bishop, who wore his mitre, and was dressed in white satin with a gold pattern upon it. He went into a chapel, at the opposite side of the church to that at which the procession entered in the morning; and he afterwards returned to the chapel behind the high altar. Seven Cardinals, clothed in purple and wearing ermine tippets, followed him; and they were succeeded by priests and others. The church and its chapels were lighted with tapers, placed in beautiful glass lustres, one of which was suspended from the centre of each of the arches down the nave; and which had a fine effect. In the evening we went to St. Peter's, and were greatly disappointed, on our arrival, to find that we had