composed
of an enormously thick and very highly polished slab of red Oriental
granite, supported by six bronze figures of slaves as large as life.
Such being the appropriation of two of the intercolumnial spaces, a
third is occupied by a low column of Cipollino marble, serving as a
pedestal to support a splendid and very large vase of Sevres china,
which was presented by the Emperor Napoleon to Pius VII. In a fourth
intercolumnial space is to be seen, supported on a pedestal of
Cipollino, whose base appears to be a sort of alabaster marked with
different shades of olive-green, a square tazza of malachite, presented
to Gregory XVI. by the Crown-Prince of Russia, after his visit to Rome
in 1838. In the fifth intercolumnial space are a magnificent pair of
candelabra of Sevres china, brought by Pius VII. from Paris, and also a
splendid vase of the same material presented to his holiness by Charles
X. There is also to be observed, placed at the extremity of the room, on
the right-hand side near the wall, a spirally fluted column of Oriental
alabaster, which was discovered near the church of St. Eusebio, on the
Esquiline; and suspended against the wall, not far distant, is a curious
old Russian calendar painted on wood.

"The bookcases being continually locked, as above stated, permission is
nevertheless granted to those visitors who may be desirous of consulting
the books and manuscripts, on making application to the
cardinal-librarian or his assistants; but the privilege is merely
nominal, in consequence of the extremely imperfect state of the
catalogue; and in point of fact the multitudinous volumes on the shelves
may be compared to a mine, unexplored and unexplorable; whence only a
few particular objects, considered the staple curiosities of the region,
and consequently continually had recourse to by the visitors, are
extracted. The volumes in question consist principally of a
splendidly-illuminated Bible of the sixth century; the most ancient
version of the Septuagint; the earliest Greek version of the New
Testament; the 'Assertio Septem Sacramentorum,' written by Henry
VIII.--a royal literary effort in defence of the seven Roman Catholic
sacraments that procured the title of Defender of the Faith for the
author, which descended to the Protestant monarchs of England; and a
most curious and authentic collection of original correspondence between
Henry VIII. and Anne Boleyn. The 'Assertio Septem Sacramentorum' is a
good t