Oh! what a pity that the
French could not keep that country! What a paradise they would have made of
it! As it is (and to their credit be it said) they did more good for the
country during three years only, than we have done for our possessions in
India for fifty years.
ROME, 15th Septr.
The next morning, after an early breakfast, I repaired to the Pantheon, now
called _Santa Maria della Rotonda_, and appropriated to the Catholic
worship. It is easily recognizable by its rotundity and by the simple
grandeur of its facade and portico. The bronze has been taken out of the
letters of the inscription. This beautiful specimen of ancient architecture
is situated in a small _piazza_ or square called _Piazza della Rotonda_,
where a market of poultry, game, and vegetables is held. There are only now
three or four steps on the _escalier_ to ascend, in order to enter into the
portico; but as it is known that according to the descriptions of the
Pantheon in ancient times there was an immense flight of steps to ascend,
it is an additional proof how much the ground on which modern Rome stands
has been filled up, and consequently it is evident that the greater part of
this flight of steps remains still buried in the earth.
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