ull moon cast a charm about every scene, and as we watched the
appearance of tropical species of plants and trees under the subdued and
enchanted light of the moon and stars, we felt that we were about to enter
the celestial city under eminently fascinating circumstances. At 10:00
o'clock we were intently looking from the windows, each for the first
glimpse of Rome. Will we reach the Tiber soon? As our train leaped upon
the bridge and my French companion first saw the glassy surface of the
historic stream, he, half distracted by solemnity of the occasion,
exclaimed with a forced but feeble effort, "THE TIBER, _the Tiber_!" None
was his own, and the enraptured Professor, sinking from the effects of an
ecstatic swoon, grasped hold of me and with labored enunciation spoke in a
low voice, saying, "I feel in-ex-pres-si-ble e-mo-sions!"

At 10:20 we entered the shed of the great Railway Station. It was my good
fortune to meet a German porter who conducted me and my new companion to
an excellent hotel (Albergo Torino E Trattoria duetto da Abrate--Via
Principe Amedo in prossimita alla Stazione) where we took rooms together.

One sees a thousand strange and curious things at Rome that my limited
space will preclude me from describing or mentioning, even. The gable-end
of the Stazione (Station) has in base relief a representation of the
traditional she-wolf nursing the twin brothers, Romulus and Remus, the
founders of Rome.

Emblems unique and obscure in design, may be seen in almost every street.
I saw in one place the hands of a clock dial in the form of snakes.

I did more justice to my eyes than to my feet, during my first day in
Rome. The Column of Marcus Aurelius, the Post-Office, Castello S. Angelo,
St. Peter, the Vatican, the Colosseum _(Amfiteatro Flavia,_ or _Coliseo_)
and the fountains, arches and ruins of ancient heathen temples that I
passed on my way, gave me a pretty good practical idea of the Rome that I
had read about in the books. Only the approaching darkness and the dread
of walking alone through the suburbs of Rome under cover of night, could
induce me on the evening of the first day to tear myself away from the
crumbling heaps of stones which constitute the ruins of ancient Rome, so
charming and grand to behold.

It required about three days of close study before I could readily
identify on my map of ancient Rome, the temples of Vespasian, of Saturn,
of Castor and Pollux, of Julius Caesar, of Faustina, an