see that no one was present but a stranger, whipped the
bayonet he wore out of its sheath, forced the point into the mosaic
close behind as well as above us, pried out one of the square pieces of
agate or some such stone of which that mosaic is composed, put it in his
pocket and made off. I had no idea that he would deface the edifice
until the moment he did it, and then hastily remonstrated, but of course
without avail. I looked at the wall on which he operated, and found that
two or three had preceded him in the same work of paltry but most
outrageous robbery. Of course, each will boast of his exploit to his
comrades of kindred spirit, and they will be tempted to imitate it,
until the mischief done becomes sufficiently serious to attract
attention, and then Nobody will have a serious reckoning to encounter. A
few acts of unobserved rapine as trifling as these may easily occasion
some signal disaster. In an edifice like this, there should be no point
accessible to visiters unwatched by a faithful guardian even for one
hour.

In the afternoon, I attended the Celebration of High Mass, this being
observed by the Catholic world as St. Peter's Day, and the Pope himself
officiating in the great Cathedral. Not understanding the service, I
could not profit by it, and the spectacle impressed me unfavorably. Such
a multiplicity of spears and bayonets seem to me strangely out of
keeping in a place of worship; if they belong here, why not bring in a
regiment of horse and a park of artillery as well? There is ample room
for them in St. Peter's, and the cavalry might charge and the cannoniers
fire a few volleys with little harm to the building, and with great
increase both to the numbers and interest of the audience. I am not
pretending to judge this for others, but simply to state how it
naturally strikes one educated in the simple, sober observances of
Puritan New-England. I have heard of Protestants being converted in
Rome, but it seems to me the very last place where the great body of
those educated in really Protestant ways would be likely to undergo
conversion. I have seen very much here to admire, and there is doubtless
many times more such that I have not seen, but the radical antagonism of
Catholic and Protestant ideas, observances and tendencies never before
stood out in a light so clear and strong as that shed upon it by a few
days in Rome. I obtained admission yesterday to the Sistine Chapel of
the Vatican, and saw ther