e left this sacred building,
and went to St. Peter's, which received from the bright heavens the
loveliest light possible, and every part of it was clearly lit up. As
men willing to be pleased, we were delighted with its vastness and
splendor, and did not allow an over-nice or hypercritical taste to mar
our pleasure. We supprest every harsher judgment; we enjoyed the
enjoyable.

Lastly we ascended the roof of the church, where one finds in little the
plan, of a well-built city. Houses and magazines, springs (in appearance
at least), churches, and a great temple all in the air, and beautiful
walks between. We mounted the dome, and saw glistening before us the
regions of the Apennines, Soracte, and toward Tivoli the volcanic hills.
Frascati, Castelgandolfo, and the plains, and beyond all the sea. Close
at our feet lay the whole city of Rome in its length and breadth, with
its mountain palaces, domes, etc. Not a breath of air was moving, and in
the upper dome it was (as they say) like being in a hot-house. When we
had looked enough at these things, we went down, and they opened for us
the doors in the cornices of the dome, the tympanum, and the nave. There
is a passage all round, and from above you can take a view of the whole
church, and of its several parts. As we stood on the cornices of the
tympanum, we saw beneath us the pope passing to his mid-day devotions.
Nothing, therefore, was wanting to make our view of St. Peter's perfect.
We at last descended to the piazza, and took in a neighboring hotel a
cheerful but frugal meal, and then set off for St. Cecilia's.

It would take many words to describe the decorations of this church,
which was crammed full of people; not a stone of the edifice was to be
seen. The pillars were covered with red velvet wound round with gold
lace; the capitals were overlaid with embroidered velvet, so as to
retain somewhat of the appearance of capitals, and all the cornices and
pillars were in like manner covered with hangings. All the entablatures
of the walls were also covered with life-like paintings, so that the
whole church seemed to be laid out in mosaic. Around the church, and on
the high altar more than two hundred wax tapers were burning. It looked
like a wall of lights, and the whole nave was perfectly lit up. The
aisles and side altars were equally adorned and illuminated. Right
opposite the high altar, and under the organ, two scaffolds were
erected, which also were covered with v