ucture--the immense blocks
of stone, so typical of the colossal empire under which it was
constructed. Passing through a long series of narrow passages, gloomy
and sad, impervious to all sound, save that of low sighs and groans from
dungeons below and around us, we arrived at an open space in the centre,
above which the winged angel is poised in the act of sheathing his
sword. The moon shone around it, and the expanded wings, edged with a
silvery light, seemed almost to move in the light breeze: there were
guards on the battlements, who marched with solemn, measured tread; and
high above all floated the Pontifical banner, with the keys of St. Peter
in its huge folds flapping in the breeze,--the emblem of sovereignty,
spiritual and temporal. No one can judge of the immense extent of St.
Angelo from the interior. The ashes of the great Emperor, how small a
space could they have occupied in that vast circumference--the tomb of
the one day, the citadel of the morrow--the grave of the Pagan, the
fortress of Christianity! During the recent revolution at Rome the
people broke down the viaduct which connects it with the Vatican, and
the ruined wall still remains;--we may hope, as a good omen, to show
that the palace and the prison are no longer closely connected together,
and that safety does not depend on the battlements and armaments of that
stern old tower of other days, which stands surrounded with the
memorials and memories of imperial Rome.

In one of the darkest of these cells the poor girl had been thrown.

When the door was opened gently, we saw what seemed to be a heap of
clothes piled together in one corner; but the light from a small lamp
suspended from the ceiling was so weak that it was quite impossible to
distinguish any object distinctly. The cell, as far as I could judge
from a hasty glance, resembled those abodes of misery which have been so
frequently described, and which it would require the energies of ten
Howards to improve. There was a disagreeable, close, damp smell; the
pavement of the floor was sadly out of repair; there was a bracket
placed against the wall, with a few necessary articles of furniture for
ordinary use; but when my eyes became more accustomed to the light, I
discovered that what had appeared a mere heap of clothes was the poor
girl, almost rolled up in the corner. For some moments she continued to
lie there, apparently quite insensible; but at last, with a sharp cry,
she raised her hea