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knowing two Policinellas. The first was so admirable, so killingly droll, that we could not hope to see his loss supplied; but no sooner had he sickened and died than another Policinella sprung up, ready and perfect, and so like his predecessor, that he might have passed for him but for the misfortune and blemish of his having only one eye. We knew this second Punch off the stage as well as on it. The poor fellow could scarcely read, and yet his mind was a well-spring of wit and fun, and of the raciest and richest humor. Much of what he said on the stage was his own invention or composition, and it very often came from him as an impromptu. He had always something to say on the event or predominant folly of the day, and most facetiously did he say it, in his broad, open-mouthed, Neapolitan dialect, which we take to be the most happy of all vehicles for the conveyance of humor, and perhaps also of wit. One of the pieces in which he was very great, was entitled "Le Novanta-Nove Disgrazie di Polecenella," or "The Ninety-nine Misfortunes or Mishaps of Punch." He was also very eminent in "l'Accademia de' Poeti," or the "Academy [or Club] of Poets," where he revelled in sports and jests, at the expense of the poetasters and sonneteers of the day, who, like the Roman versemakers in Horace's time, had an inveterate habit of stopping their acquaintances in the streets and public places, and there holding them fast, while they recited, with loud voice and passionate gesticulations, their last compositions. All these plays or farces were from beginning to end in the Neapolitan dialect; the drollest of the standing characters, next to Punch, being Il Biscegliese, or Man of Bisceglia, and Il Tartaglione, or the Stutterer. The Biscegliese, who was a true comic genius, and a native of Bisceglia, in the province of Apulia, where the modification of the national vernacular is exceedingly droll, represented a whole class, being that of the Apulian townspeople. The stammerer or stutterer was always attired as a provincial lawyer or notary, and his fun consisted chiefly in the strange way in which he dislocated his words and sentences. As Policinella was always Policinella, so was the Biscegliese always the Biscegliese, and the Tartaglione the Tartaglione. They never played any other parts; but the pieces in which these standing characters were introduced, varied in plots and incidents, and while some of them were new, others boasted a very respectable antiquity. This truly national theatre was situated not far from the great theatre of San Carlo (the most extensive, and, on the whole, most splendid opera-house in Europe), on one side of the Largo del Castello, or Castle-square; it was called San Carlino, or little San Carlo; and little it was, and far from being splendid in its appointments and accessories. The boxes were on a level with the street or square, but to get to the pit you had to descend some thirty feet into the bowels of the earth, and to dive down a steep staircase, not unlike that by which Roderick Random and his faithful Strap dived for their dinner. The price paid for admission was very small; we think it was about a shilling for a seat in the boxes, and about sixpence for a seat in the pit. Every where there is a "fashionable world," and a set of superfine people, who deprive themselves of much racy and innocent amusement, from a notion that it is not genteel. San Carlino was rarely visited except by the second and third-rate classes of burgesses, for the native fashionables considered it as "low," and very few foreigners ever acquired a sufficient knowledge of the patois or dialect to enjoy and fully understand these rich Neapolitan farces, and the perennial wit and humor of our friend Punch. But before we quitted Naples, this ridiculous prejudice seemed to be on the decline, for a few young men of family, who had wit as well as high birth, had appreciated the genius of that living Policinella, and had made the little cellar almost fashionable. For ourselves, we very often strolled away from the gorgeous and fine, and thoroughly artificial opera-house, to enjoy a little homely nature and drollery in San Carlino, where we have laughed more than we shall ever laugh again. As in every other theatre in the city, there was always present a commissary of police, to preserve order and decorum, and check any too free use of the tongue on the stage. This representative of the laws, and of majesty itself, wore a blue court-cut coat, embroidered with silver; he sat in what we call a stage-box, on a high-backed chair, covered with faded crimson velvet, and behind his back there were two large wax candles, and the royal arms of the Two Sicilies painted upon a bit of board. But not all this official splendor could repress the hilarity or stifle the roguish impromptus of friend Punch; and we have at times seen the starch-visaged commissary, after some vain attempts to maintain his dignity, hold both his sides, and join in the universal roar of laughter; and this too even when Signor Policinella had gone

beyond bounds, and handled matters strictly tabooed. What Forsyth said of the Molo and the Marionettes, and out-door Punch, might be more correctly applied to San Carlino: "This is a theatre where any stranger may study for nothing the manners of the people. At the theatre of San Carlo the mind, as well as the man, seems parted off from its fellows in an elbow-chair. There all is regulation and silence; no applause, no censure, no object worthy of attention except the court and the fiddle. There the drama-but what is a drama in Naples without Punch? or what is Punch out of Naples? Here, in his native tongue, and among his own countrymen, Punch is a person of real power; he dresses up and retails all the drolleries of the day; he is the channel and sometimes the source of the passing opinions; he can inflict ridicule, he could gain a mob, or keep the whole kingdom in good humor. Such was De Fiori, the Aristophanes of his nation, immortal in buffoonery."

How it fares with the little theatre of San Carlino and the inn-door Punch, we know not; but we are informed that the out-of-door Punch and the burattini, in general, have been suffering a worse than heathen persecution at the hands of the present government; that povero Policinella is banished from his home and country, and that in consequence of these and similar improvements, all life and brio are vanishing from the streets of Naples. It is some comfort to know that Punch, at the same time, is becoming more popular at Paris than ever he was before.

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CHAPTER XIV.-ITALY.

THE environs of Rome present many objects of interest to the antiquary and traveller.

The church of St. Cecilia in Trastavere was erected on the foundations of the house of St. Cecilia, and contains the bath wherein she suffered martyrdom. The court leading to the church is adorned with a fine antique marble vase, and the portico is embellished with antique columns, two of which are granite. The high altar of the church is adorned with four columns of nero and bianco antico, supporting a baldacchino of Parian marble, under which rest the ashes of St. Cecilia, in a tomb composed of alabaster, lapis lazuli, jasper, verde antique, agate, and bronze gilt. Here, likewise, is the statue of St. Cecilia, by Stefano Maderno, in the position in which she was found after her martyrdom. The pavement encircling the altar is of alabaster and various precious marbles, and the ceiling is adorned with ancient mosaics. Here, also, are a small, round picture of the Carracci school, and an ancient pontifical chair. On the right of the great door of the church is an ancient vapor-bath, whose walls exhibit earthen pipes, to convey hot air. This is supposed to be the spot where St. Cecilia was killed; it is now converted into a chapel, and contains two pictures in the style of Guido; the one representing the decapitation of the saint, the other her coronation.

The basilic of St. Maria in Trastavere is generally supposed to stand upon the foundations of the Taberna Meritoria, which was an hospital for invalid soldiers. The portico of this edifice is supported by antique granite columns, and adorned with ancient mosaic; it likewise contains several ancient inscriptions. The church is a noble structure, divided into three naves by twenty-two magnificent antique columns of red and gray granite; four columns of the same description support a fine architrave, and some of the capitals are adorned with heads of Jupiter and Juno. The pavement is that kind of mosaic which was invented by the emperor Alexander Severus, and consists of porphyry, verde antique, &c. In the centre of the roof of the middle aisle is an Assumption of the Virgin, by Domenichino, and the chapel to the left, on approaching the high altar, is embellished with frescoes, attributed to the same great artist. The baldacchino of the high altar is supported by four columns of porphyry, and the tribuna adorned with mosaics of the twelfth century. Here, likewise, are two still more ancient mosaics; the one representing birds, the other a seaport. This basilic also contains an ancient pontifical chair, together with the tombs of two celebrated painters-the Cav. Lanfranco, and Ciro Ferri.

In the piazza, before the church, is a fountain, made during the pontificate of Adrian I., and the most ancient of modern Rome.

The church of St. Prisca, Mount Aventine, is on the left, in ascending the Aventine hill, from Rome, and is supposed to have been originally a temple of Diana. Twenty-four antique columns yet remain; and an Isiaic table was found near the church, which circumstance leads some persons to imagine it was a temple of Isis, especially as Isis had a temple on the Aventine hill.

The church of St. Sabina, further, to the right, is a noble edifice, and is supposed to stand on the foundations of the temple of Diana, built by Servius Tullus, for the common use of the cities of Latium, and therefore called Templum commune Latium; or else, on the site of the temple of Juno, built by Camillus. But all we know to a certainty on this subject is, that the portico exhibits four antique columns, two of which are rare granite; that the interior of the church is supported by twenty-four particularly beautiful antique fluted shafts of Parian marble, with Corinthian bases and capitals; and that the shape of the church resembles an ancient temple. In the last chapel on the right of the high altar is a picture, by Sassoferato, representing the Madonna, St. Domenico, St. Catharine, and the angels. The small paintings round this fine work are good; they represent the life of our Savior.

The church of St. Alessio, still further to the right, is supposed, by some persons, to have been erected on the foundations of the temple of Hercules. Here are an ancient pavement and an ancient well. The high altar is adorned with fine columns

of verde antique; the tabernacle is handsome; and adjoining to the church is the villa of the deceased king of Spain, said to stand on, or near the site of the temple of Dea Bona (the earth). The garden belonging to this villa commands a very fine view. Behind the Aventine hill is Monte Testaccio, anciently Mons Testaceus, which, though one hundred and sixty-three feet in height, and above five hundred feet in circumference, is composed, almost entirely, of potsherds, conjectured to have been heaped upon this spot, in former ages, by workmen belonging to the potteries of the neighborhood.

The pyramid which was erected in memory of Caius Cestius, septemvir epulonum, or provider for the feasts of the gods, measures one hundred and thirteen feet in height; and each of its four sides is, at the base, sixty-nine feet in length. It was built in three hundred and thirty days, and adorned with paintings, now almost totally effaced. It stands near the Porta St. Pacla, called Ostiense, by Aurelian.

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The baths of Caracalla, on the plain below the Aventine, and opposite to the Celian hill, are magnificent ruins. They contained sixteen hundred selle, or bathing. places, and were ornamented with the Farnese Hercules of Glycon, the group of the Toro Farnese, and the Farnese Flora. The building seems to have been nearly square, and consisted of subterranean apartments, with two stories above them. In order to see what remains, drive toward the Porta St. Sebastiano, till, on the right, you find a green lane (called Via Antonina) leading to a door, through which you enter a vast pile of ruins, once part of the baths. Here may be traced two immense courts, which appear to have been open, with niches for statues, and perhaps for baths likewise. Here, also, are two staircases, and almost innumerable apartments of various dimensions. The height of the walls is great, and the whole exhibits one of the best specimens of ancient Roman architecture now existing. After having ex amined these ruins, return down the Via Antonina, and enter a garden on the right, which exhibits the remains of the subterranean apartments.

The Tomb of the Scipios.-This tomb is situated in a vineyard, on the Via-Appia, still nearer to the Porto St. Sebastiano than are the baths of Caracalla; it is on the left side of the way, and the words "Sepulchra Scipionum" are inscribed over the door. This was the tomb of Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus, great-grandfather of Asiaticus and Africanus. It is a handsome piece of Doric architecture, very perfect, very extensive, and extremely interesting, though now robbed of its most valuable treasures. The candles provided by the custode of this subterranean repository are so few in number, that persons who wish to see it distinctly should carry lights of their own; it is excessively damp.

The Gate of San Sebastiano.-This is the Appian gate, sometimes called Capena, though that gate appears to have stood below the Villa Mattei, between the Celian

and Aventine hills. Immediately within the gate of San Sebastiano is an arch, called that of Drusus, though it probably belonged to an aqueduct.

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Basilic of San Sebastiano alle Catacombe.-This church is about two miles distant from the gate: it has a portico, supported by antique columns, and is supposed to have been erected by Constantine. The high-altar is adorned with four antique columns of green marble; and over the three doors of ingress are paintings, by Antonio Carracci. Under this church are catacombs, originally formed, no doubt, by the ancient Romans, and whence they took the pozzolana of which their buildings were made. The Christians enlarged these catacombs, and, in times of persecution, used them as hiding-places and cemeteries; they are said to extend several miles. It is often necessary to stoop in going through these caverns, but, generally speaking, they are neither damp nor difficult of access. The passages are from two to three feet wide; the chambers (of which there are several) are from four to six feet broad, and from six to eight in length, some of them being still larger; and here it is said the primitive Christians performed their religious exercises. In the walls are cavities about a span and a half high, and between four and five long, many of which are open and empty, others closed with a piece of marble, sometimes containing an inscription. Few of these cavities appear large enough to contain a full-grown person, though the skeletons of children have frequently been found in them: and this circumstance makes the conjecture that children, among the ancients, were oftener buried than burnt, very plausible. Here have been discovered several small vases, called lachrymatories, though more probably incense-bottles; and here likewise are places for cinerary urns. When this mark, "," is found upon a monument, it is deemed a sure indication of a martyr's sepulchre, being a composition, from the Latin and Greek alphabets, to denote pro Christo. The cross on a monument is also considered as a sign that a Christian lies buried there: but it should be remembered that a cross was the Egyptian emblem of eternal life, and many crosses have been discovered upon Egyptian tombs, and likewise in the temples of Serapis. The churches of St. Lorenzo and St. Agnes also lead to ancient catacombs, whose extent can not be accurately known, because it is impossible to explore every part of them, as their communications with each other are so intricate, that several persons have lost themselves in these subterranean labyrinths-which are, however, supposed to be the Puticuli mentioned by Horace, Varro, and Festus Pompeius, where the bodies of slaves only, or persons whose circumstances would not allow of their being burnt on funeral-piles, were deposited; but in process of time, persons of a higher rank might probably be interred here: for the Romans, before Christianity prevailed,

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