xceptional beauty, to say
nothing of the unequalled historic interest that attaches to every
square mile of territory and to the broad bay close at hand. Horace
declared it to be the loveliest spot on earth, and Seneca warned every
one who desired to maintain dominion over himself to avoid this
fascinating watering-place. It is here that Virgil laid many of his
poetic scenes.

A day's journey by railway takes us to Rome, the "Eternal City," which
is built on both sides of the Tiber, three or four leagues from its
influx to the Mediterranean. We know that this city must at one time
have been nearly as populous as London is to-day, but the present number
cannot much exceed four hundred thousand. The ruins of Rome--for it is a
city of ruins, notwithstanding its many fine modern structures--can give
but a faint idea of what the great capital was in the days of its glory.
At the zenith of her fame the city was filled with grand squares,
temples, amphitheatres, circuses, baths, and public and private palaces,
scarcely more than the ruins of which now remain--eloquent, however, in
their grim silence. In the days of the Caesars, fourteen grand aqueducts,
supported by immense arches, hundreds of which still remain, conducted
whole rivers into Rome from a distance of many leagues, supplying one
hundred and fifty public fountains, with over a hundred public baths. In
those marvellous days, over a hundred thousand marble and bronze
statues ornamented the public squares, streets, and fountains, together
with ninety colossal statues on lofty pedestals, and over forty Egyptian
obelisks were in place. What an enumeration! Yet it falls far short of
the facts as illustrated in the text of history and proven by the
tangible evidence of numberless ruins.

The Piazza, del Popolo is a famous square in Roman history, in the
centre of which is one of those curious obelisks transported from Egypt
eighteen centuries ago, where it stood before the Temple of the Sun, at
Heliopolis, thousands of years since. On one side of the square there
are twin churches, far enough apart to permit the Corso, or Broadway of
Rome, to enter the square between them. The Corso has an average width
of fifty feet, and is a mile long. It is on this central street that the
horse-races take place during the Carnival; and it is here that the
finest shops, cafes, and palaces are to be found.

The Piazza di Spagna is another interesting square, about a quarter of a
mile