Egypt; a detached altar in the
transept was a gift from the heretic Emperor of Russia; the granite
pillars in the nave came from the Emperor of Austria. Among them is the
one celebrated by Wordsworth when it stood on the Simplon, and which
Napoleon intended for the triumphal arch of Milan. Some noble-minded and
generous Jew has bequeathed a large sum for the support of the church;
and the King of Holland gave 50,000 francs for the same purpose--truly a
world's acknowledgment of St. Paul's large-hearted, self-sacrificing,
and noble life. Among other treasures it possesses a painting of the
Conversion of St. Paul by Camuccini, the choir by Carlo Maderno, and a
fine St. Benedict by Ramaldi.

An adjoining cloister, belonging to the Benedictine Convent, dates from
the thirteenth century. It rests on fluted and twisted columns, and
contains in its library a small collection of Christian gravestones
from A.D. 355. One bears the figure of an organ, with the
words, "_Rustreus te vit, and Feci_." The atrium of the old church,
which is the distinguishing mark of a Basilica, existed down to the
seventeenth century, and is now replaced by a modern court. The plan of
the former church was a duplicate of that of old St. Peter's. About
twenty-four of its columns were taken from the tomb of Hadrian; and yet
one other remarkable feature consists in its having been under the
patronage of the English kings till the time of Henry VIII., when that
fickle monarch broke allegiance with Rome altogether, for reasons of his
own. Though this church always seems to have struck travellers with
admiration, as combining in itself the last reminiscence of pagan Rome,
and the earliest mementoes of the Christian world, it had nevertheless
been so far altered by the processes of decay and whitewash, that many
of its most striking peculiarities and beauties had been effaced, even
before its total destruction by fire.

I admired the now existing church extremely, both for its noble
proportions and the beautiful simplicity of its design and
ornamentation. The stained glass windows are one of its distinguishing
marks of beauty. "It is a woful thing, a sad necessity, that any
Christian soul should pass from earth without once seeing an antique
painted window, with the bright Italian sunshine glowing through it.
There is no other such true symbol of the glories of the better world,
where a celestial radiance will be inherent in all things and persons,
and re