me
men, comfort seems as unnecessary as it is unattainable. The Italian
antiquary, in particular, had need be careless of his ease, and
regardless of external temperature; as that degree of it necessary for
the conservation of nude marble figures, is by no means congenial to
flesh and blood. This reflection occurs to us to-day--not for the
first time, certes--under the noble portico of the villa Albani, with
a volume of Winkelmann in our hand; for in this palace, and in some
such study as we have hinted at, must he have shivered over these
recondite labours, while meditating, composing, and consulting
authorities, to constitute himself hereafter the great oracle of the
fine arts. Had Winkelmann been half as curious in his research after
comfort as vertu, verily the world would have lost many an able
dissertation and ingenious conjecture; and this villa in
particular--to which we are now come to pay our respects--we fear our
last respects--had been deprived of this renowned commentary on her
treasures. Let us hope parenthetically that a recent perusal of the
venerable antiquary, together with some slight acquaintance with the
objects themselves, will on such an occasion excite in us a spark of
that enthusiasm which animates all his descriptions. What a beautiful
portico! we catch ourselves saying _con amore_ for the hundredth
time--and who will gainsay us?--with its thirty columns of different
coloured granites and rare marbles, cipolino, porta santa, occhio di
pavone (_vide_ Corsi); its busts, its ornamented tazzas, its statues,
and many other _et coeteras_ too numerous to catalogue. Among the
statues, our eye soon singles out the queenly figure of Agrippina
seated in her marble chair. Stateliness and high rank apparent in her
features, grace and perfect self-possession in her attitude, doubtless
she is expecting a deputation of importance, or maybe a visit from the
emperor, and has prepared her well-tutored countenance to receive
either with dignity. Here are the busts of Nerva and of the first
Caesar, to whose characters, while history gives the key, we are apt to
fancy, as we stare at them, that to Lavater we owe the discovery.
Those ubiquitous emperors Hadrian, Trajan, Antoninus _Pius_, and
Gordianus _ditto_, on whom as on other boring acquaintance you are
sure to stumble in every gallery at Rome till you almost yawn in their
faces, are here of course. Besides these, by way of novelty, we fall
in with the grave, muc