quarry upon the dome, the trustees
of the edifice did not employ the money expended upon it in erecting a
front, (for that essential part is still wanting,) corresponding with
the style and stateliness of this superb temple. A front has indeed been
begun, but in a taste so dissimilar to that of the main building, and
made up of such a medley of Roman orders and Gothic decorations, that
the total suspension of such a work might be considered as an advantage,
if a more appropriate portal were to be erected in its place. But
unfortunately the funds destined for the completion and repair of this
cathedral are now swallowed up in the general confiscation. Had it been
finished, and the western front built in a style corresponding with the
other parts, the admirers of the Gothic style would have possessed one
specimen perfect in its kind, and accompanied with all the advantages
of the best materials, set off by a fine climate.

In materials, the cathedral of Milan surpasses all the churches of the
universe, the noblest of which are only lined and coated with marble,
while this is entirely built, paved, vaulted, and roofed with the same
substance, and that of the whitest and most resplendent kind. The most
remarkable object in the interior of this church is the subterranean
chapel, in which the body of St. Charles Borromeo reposes. It is
immediately under the dome, in form octangular, and lined with silver,
divided into panels representing the different actions of the life of
the saint. The body is in a shrine of rock crystal, on, or rather behind
the altar; it is stretched at full length, drest in pontifical robes,
with the crosier and mitre. The face is exposed, very improperly,
because much disfigured by decay, a deformity increased and rendered
more hideous by its contrast with the splendour of the vestments which
cover the body, and by the pale ghastly light that gleams from the
aperture above. The inscription over this chapel or mausoleum, was
dictated by St. Charles himself, and breathes that modesty and piety
which so peculiarly marked his character. It is as follows:

CAROLUS CARDINALIS
TITULI S. PRAXEDIS
ARCHIEP. MEDIOLAN.
FREQUENTIORIBUS
CLERI POPULIQ. AC
DEVOTI FAEMINEI SEXUS
PRECIBUS SE COMMENDATUM
CUPIENS HOC LOCO SIBI
MONUMENTUM VIVENS ELEGIT.

Of the statues crowded in and around this edifice many are esteemed, and
some admired. Of the latter, that of St. Bartholomew is the first; it