and other repulsive features. "But the portico, with its sixteen
Corinthian columns, is forever majestic; the interior, a vast circular
cell surmounted by a dome through which alone it is lighted, there being
no windows in the walls, is massive and grim, but the magical
illumination, the eye constantly revealing the sky above, gives it
wonderful beauty. Over the outer portals is the inscription of its
erection by Agrippa twenty-seven years before Christ, so it has stood
for nearly two thousand years. Colossal statues of Augustus and Agrippa
fill niches. In diameter the interior of the Pantheon is one hundred and
thirty-two feet, and it is the same in height, which insures the
singularly harmonious proportions. The tribune of the High-Altar is cut
in the thickness of the wall in the form of a semicircle, and is
ornamented, like the door, with four pilasters and two columns of violet
marble. The six chapels are also cut in the wall and ornamented by two
columns and two pilasters. The columns and the pilasters support the
beautiful cornice of white marble; the frieze is of porphyry, and goes
round the whole temple. Above this order there is a species of attic
with fourteen niches, and the great cornice from which rises the
majestic dome. Eight other niches are between the chapels, and these are
also with a pediment supported by two Corinthian columns. They are now
converted into altars. In this temple are buried several artists, among
whom are Raphael, Giovanni da Udine, Baldassare Peruzzi, and Annibale
Carracci. Raphael is buried beneath the base of the statue called la
Madonna del Sasso, sculptured by Lorenzetti. This church is, however,
without paintings or sculptures of much interest. Victor Emmanuel was
entombed here on the 20th of January, 1878, and King Umberto on the 9th
of August, 1900." One of the imposing ceremonies of Rome is that always
celebrated in the Pantheon on March 14, in memory of King Umberto Primo.

A grand catafalque, surmounted by the royal crown, and surrounded by
tall candelabra with wax candles, is erected in the centre of the
temple, draped with black velvet and gold lace, and lighted with
electric lamps. The mass is for a chorus of voices only. All the civil
and military authorities, the state dignitaries, and the _corps
diplomatique_ to the court of Italy are present. The troops, in full
dress uniform, file in the Piazza of the Collegio Romano, Via Pie di
Marmo, and the Piazza della Minerva, e