station around us; and looking into
Nardini on my return, I found that the baths of Titus were nearly
entire in the thirteenth century, but were demolished with great
labour and difficulty by the ferocious Senator Brancaleone, who, about
the year 1257, destroyed an infinite number of ancient edifices, "per
togliere ai Nobili il modo di fortificarsi." The ruins were excavated
during the pontificate of Julius the Second, and under the direction
of Raffaelle, who is supposed to have taken the idea of the arabesques
in the Loggie of the Vatican, from the paintings here. We were shown
the niche in which the Laocoon stood, when it was discovered in 1502.
After leaving the baths, we entered the neighbouring church of San
Pietro in Vincoli, to look again at the beautiful fluted Doric columns
which once adorned the splendid edifice of Titus: and on this occasion
we were shown the chest in which the fetters of St. Peter are
preserved in a triple enclosure of iron, wood, and silver. My
unreasonable curiosity not being satisfied by looking at the mere
outside of this sacred coffer, I turned to the monk who exhibited it,
and civilly requested that he would open it, and show us the
miraculous treasure it contained. The poor man looked absolutely
astounded and aghast at the audacity of my request, and stammered out,
that the coffer was never opened, without a written order from his
holiness the pope, and in the presence of a cardinal, and, that this
favour was never granted to a heretic (con rispetto parlando); and
with this excuse we were obliged to be satisfied.

The church of San Martino del Monte is built on part of the
substructure of the baths of Titus; and there is a door opening from
the church, by which you descend into the ancient subterranean vaults.
The small, but exquisite pillars, and the pavement, which is of the
richest marbles, were brought from the Villa of Adrian at Tivoli. The
walls were painted in fresco by Nicolo and Gaspar Poussin, and were
once a celebrated study for young landscape painters; almost every
vestige of colouring is now obliterated by the damp which streams down
the walls. There are some excellent modern pictures in good
preservation, I think by Carluccio. This church, though not large, is
one of the most magnificent we have yet seen, and the most precious
materials are lavished in profusion on every part. The body of
Cardinal Tomasi is preserved here, embalmed in a glass case. It is
exhibited con