to by Pliny, when he says-"Then the Forum was dedicated, which is called Pervium, in which a loftier and more magnificent Temple is erected to Minerva." name. Originally there is said to have been a ridge between the Capitoline and Quirinal Hills. In the time of the Emperor Trajan this ridge was all cleared away, to the depth of many feet, and the valley widened on both sides. And here this magnificent Emperor, under the direction of his architect Apollodorus, laid out the Basilica, which was to form the central point of the Forum, to be called after his Those fragments of granite pillars that the modern traveler sees in that walled in space called the Forum of Trajan, is but the middle portion of this Grand Basilica. These fragments are all that remain of the double row of massive columns that once supported the bronze roof of the magnificent edifice. That stump of a pillar of yellow marble ornamented its side front-those yellow marble steps, to be seen in a niche in the enclosure, once led up to its Portico. And just in the rear of the space occupied by this splendid Basilica Ulpia, so called from the family name of Trajan, rises the magnificent marble pillar which bears the name of the column of Trajan. This pillar was erected about the year 115, in commemoration of Trajan's two Dacian campaigns, and from the inscription, was the work of the People and Senate of Rome. The shaft itself is covered with bas-reliefs, which go round the whole from the bottom to the top in twenty-three spirals, representing the exploits of the Emperor in both his Dacian expeditions. There are said to be about two thousand five hundred figures in all, and the figure of Trajan is repeated more than fifty times. These figures are about two feet high in the lower part of the column, but Ꮓ towards the top they increase in size, that they may appear the same from below. Thirty-three separate pieces of marble are used in the work. There is a spiral staircase within, which winds twelve times round, and contains, one hundred and eighty-four steps: and it is a most remarkable circumstance that this staircase is not a separate work, but is cut out of the same stones of which the shaft itself is composed. A statue of the Emperor formerly surmounted the whole, twenty-one feet high. A Pope of the sixteenth century, finding the Emperor's place vacant, elevated there a statue of St. Peter in gilt bronze, who seems out of place, surmounting a column erected to commemorate the warlike exploits of a Pagan Emperor. The space which passes as the Forum Trajanum, is nothing more than a portion of that once occupied by the magnificent circuit, now covered by the buildings of modern Rome; and where palaces, gymnasiums and libraries, of old attested the stupendous designs of its architect. It is not my intention to introduce the reader to all the ruins that remain of ancient Rome, the mere catalogue of which, would almost of itself, make a volume; but I cannot conclude this chapter without a brief allusion to the little Temple of Vesta, which stands by the banks of the Tiber, in the Piazza di Bocca della Verita. I hardly think that it is older than the age of Augustus. It is circular, with a portico all round it, and had originally twenty Corinthian columns, fluted; one of which is now wanting. The cornice also, and the ancient roof, have disappeared. In Ovid's time it was covered with a dome of brass. In other respects it is tolerably perfect, and forms a very interesting and elegant object. The walls within the portico, are all of white marble, much of which still remains. Is it not this Temple to which Horace alludes, in the following verse of one of his finest odes? "Vidimus flavum Tiberim, retortis Near this elegant little fane rolls the Tiber-the muddy and still the Yellow Tiber" of classic days. It passes on with the same solemn and majestic flow, silently bathing the ruins of those edifices which were the scenes of so many great actions. In these wanderings through Roman ruins, we are fully aware that many have been necessarily passed by without notice. To describe fully and accurately all the memorials that are left in Rome, of these ancient rulers of the world, I would alone fill volumes. Nor are those that have been disinterred, which one stumbles upon in every direction in the streets of modern Rome, and upon the elevations, where the proud city once reared herself, all that remain to tell of former greatness. In many places Pregnant with form, the turf unheeded lies." And beneath the soil are architectural and artistic treasures that will yet challenge the admiration of future generations. CHAPTER V. THE MARBLE TREASURES OF THE VATICAN. St. Peter's and the Vatican-Dimensions of the Vatican - Christian Epitaphs-Museo Chiarimonte - Il Braccio Nuovo - Museo Pio Clementino - Ancient Sarcophagus - The Apollo - The Laocoon-Hall of Animals-Hall of Busts - Hall of the Muses -Hall of the Greek Cross-Collection of Antiquities in Rome. No tourist can visit St. Peter's or the Vatican, and be surprised at the revelations made by history of that "vaulting ambition," that aspiring desire for empire; which nothing but universal power could satisfy, and which more or less forms the principal characteristic of the Roman Pontiffs. Walk along that vast aisle of St. Peter'sstand within the shadow of its heaven-scaling dome-traverse the vast corridors of the Vatican, and look out upon the living and dead majesty of Rome, from the lofty windows and then wonder if you can, that its possessors within sight of the locality of the palace of the Cæsars, should suppose they might also wield their power. But now even the pontifical glory hath departed. ""Tis Rome, but living Rome no more." How fallen is that ecclesiastical sovereignty, which in the days of Hildebrand kept shivering royalty for four days a suppliant at its gate, and placed its proud foot, glittering with the jewelled cross, upon the necks of prostrate Emperors and Kings. That throne once so powerful, is now upheld by foreign bayonets, and trembles at the nod of the descendant of an obscure Corsican advocate, who has usurped the throne of Clovis and Charlemagne. But fallen as is the Papal power, it still has its strong-holds, in St. Peter's and the Vatican: and there was force and pertinency in the remark of our republican servant Baptiste, when he said, "if we are ever to have liberty in Italy, we must bury the Pope beneath the ruins of the Vatican and St. Peter's." There is a magic in their very names, power in their majesty, which still give strength and endurance to the Papacy. It has been truly and finely said, "that Saint Peter's is the grandest temple that man ever raised to his Godwhile the Vatican is the noblest he ever raised to himself;" and it is so. Whatever judgments we may be disposed to pass upon the Popes in their spiritual capacity, no tourist, who saunters through the countless chambers of the Vatican, where buried art is restored to life and light again; but will freely admit their claim as temporal sovereigns to the gratitude of the scholar and the artist. The Museum of the Vatican, is next to the Ruins, the most irresistible attraction of modern Rome- a grand and glorious Treasure House of Art, where one might range for years, and find attractions, ever varying, ever new. You can visit these magnificent Halls day after day, and still find fresh subjects for contemplation; new objects to gaze at and admire. The first visit is bewildering. Divinities - Emperors - Philosophers - Orators and Statesmen of Imperial Rome, seem rushing past in most tantalizing confusion; and it is not until after repeated visits, and much study that you are enabled to classify and arrange them, so as to derive that pleasure in their contemplation, which always accompanies familiarity with the higher works of art. The dimensions of this Palace, and the number of rooms assigned to it, border on the marvellous. The whole |