differ in order, size, and proportion. The attic is painted in fresco, as is the gallery around the pillars below; the former represents several Gospel histories, the latter some of the principal events of the reign of Constantine. The modern font, a large vase of green basaltes, stands in the centre of the bason raised on some steps of marble. Anciently the bason itself was the font into which the catechumen descended by the four steps which still remain for that purpose. There are two chapels, one on each side of the Baptistery, formerly destined for the instruction and accommodation of the catechumens. In this chapel only, and only upon the eves of Easter and Pentecost, was public baptism administered anciently in Rome; many magnificent ceremonies which occupied the whole night accompanied this solemnity, and rendered it more delightful to the fervent Christians of that period than the most brilliant exhibitions of the day.

The view from the steps of the principal portico of St. John Lateran is extensive and interesting. It presents a grove before; on one side the venerable walls of the city; the lofty arches of an aqueduct on the other: the church of Santa Croce in front, and beyond it the desolate Campagna bounded by the Alban Mount, tinged with blue and purple, and checkered with woods, towns, and villages.

A wide and straight road leads through the solitary grove which I have just mentioned to the Basilica di Santa Croce in Gierusalemme, another patriarchal church erected by Constantine on the ruins of a temple of Venus destroyed by his orders. This church derives its name from some pieces of the holy cross, and from a quantity of earth taken from Mount Calvary and deposited in it by St. Helena, Constantine's mother. It is remarkable only for its antique shape, and for the eight noble columns of granite that support its

nave.

Its front is modern, of rich materials, but of very indifferent architecture. The semicircular vault of the sanctuary is adorned with paintings in fresco, which, though very defective in the essential parts, yet charm the eye by the beauty of some of the figures and the exquisite freshness of the colouring. The lonely situation of this antique Basilica amidst groves, gardens, and vineyards, and the number of mouldering monuments and tottering arches that surround it, give it a solemn and affecting

appearance.

The patriarchal Basilica of St. Paul, called S. Paolo fuori delle Mura, at some distance from the Porta Ostiensis, is one of the grandest temples erected by the first Christian Emperor. It was finished by Theodosius and his son Honorius, and afterwards, when shattered by earthquakes and time, it was repaired first by Leo III. and again after a long interval by Sixtus Quintus. Such was the respect which the public' entertained for this church, and so great the crowds that flocked to it, that the Emperors abovementioned thought it necessary (if we may believe Procopius) to build a portico from the gate to the Basilica, a distance of near a mile. The magnificence of this portico seems to have equalled the most celebrated works of the ancient Romans, as it was supported by marble pillars and covered with gilt copper. But whatsoever may have been its former glory, it has long since yielded to the depredations of age or barbarism, and sunk into dust without leaving even a trace to ascertain its former existence. The road is now unfrequented, and the church itself, with the adjoining abbey belonging to the Benedictine monks, is almost abandoned during the summer months on account of the real or imaginary unwholesomeness of the air.

The exterior of this edifice, like that of the Pantheon, being of