ke peristyles, or cloisters of an abbey.

[Footnote 1: A pace was 1-9/25 yards, 1,000 paces making a mile.]

But the palaces have no entrances from below, except on the inner or
concave partition, from which one enters directly to the lower parts of
the building. The higher parts, however, are reached by flights of
marble steps, which lead to galleries for promenading on the inside
similar to those on the outside. From these one enters the higher rooms,
which are very beautiful, and have windows on the concave and convex
partitions. These rooms are divided from one another by richly
decorated walls. The convex or outer wall of the ring is about eight
spans thick; the concave, three; the intermediate walls are one, or
perhaps one and a half. Leaving this circle one gets to the second
plain, which is nearly three paces narrower than the first. Then the
first wall of the second ring is seen adorned above and below with
similar galleries for walking, and there is on the inside of it another
interior wall enclosing palaces. It has also similar peristyles
supported by columns in the lower part, but above are excellent
pictures, round the ways into the upper houses. And so on afterwards
through similar spaces and double walls, enclosing palaces, and adorned
with galleries for walking, extending along their outer side, and
supported by columns, till the last circuit is reached, the way being
still over a level plain.

But when the two gates, that is to say, those of the outmost and the
inmost walls, have been passed, one mounts by means of steps so formed
that an ascent is scarcely discernible, since it proceeds in a slanting
direction, and the steps succeed one another at almost imperceptible
heights. On the top of the hill is a rather spacious plain, and in the
midst of this there rises a temple built with wondrous art.

_G.M._ Tell on, I pray you! Tell on! I am dying to hear more.

_Capt._ The temple is built in the form of a circle; it is not girt with
walls, but stands upon thick columns, beautifully grouped. A very large
dome, built with great care in the centre or pole, contains another
small vault as it were rising out of it, and in this is a spiracle,
which is right over the altar. There is but one altar in the middle of
the temple, and this is hedged round by columns. The temple itself is on
a space of more than three hundred and fifty paces. Without it, arches
measuring about eight paces extend from the heads of