d at
an altar fitted up in the cemetery chapel of S. Caecilia, on the
anniversary of her martyrdom, and this part of the catacomb on that
occasion is illuminated with candles.

The other parts are in the usual state, stripped of nearly every
inscription, and the graves empty. The earliest inscription from this
catacomb, of ascertained date, is of A.D. 268 or 279; it is dated by
the names of the consuls, which would apply to either of these two
dates. One important inscription of Bishop Damasus is preserved, and
is valuable in many ways; it shows that the cemetery chapel, in which
it was found, was made in his time, and the slab of marble on which it
is engraved has a Pagan inscription on the back of it, evidently
proving that it was used merely as a slab of marble, without reference
to that inscription. It shows for what purpose _some_ of the Pagan
inscriptions found in the catacombs may have been brought there. Two
small and very curious tombstones, consisting of mosaic pictures said
to have been taken from this catacomb, are now preserved in the
sacristy of the church of S. Maria in Trastevere. They were for some
centuries in the nave, built into one of the piers; but during the
_restorations_ made in 1868-76, they were removed and built into the
wall of the sacristy. One represents a landscape, with building in the
style of the third century, and a harbor or a lake with a vessel, and
fishermen dragging in a great net, evidently intended for the
miraculous draught of fishes. This is an extremely curious mosaic
picture, the probable date of which is the beginning of the fourth
century. The other small mosaic represents birds of various kinds, and
is much earlier than the view of the harbor, perhaps as early as the
first century. Possibly the birds were intended to be symbolical of
the souls of the faithful. These are engraved by Ciampini in his work
on Mosaics. Some of the original paintings [Bosio gives, on eight
plates, engravings of a number of vases and lamps found in this
catacomb, several views of _cubicula_, and upwards of seventy
paintings. The same subjects have been repeated by Perret and Signor
de Rossi.] remain in the lower part of this catacomb that have not
been restored, and these are of the usual subjects: Daniel and the two
lions, Moses striking the rock, the raising of Lazarus, etc.

[Illustration: PAINTED CEILING.]

THE LAST SUPPER.

S. CALIXTUS.

This painting has more the appearance of