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nal temple. On the right is a marble equestrian statue of thefounder, Constantine the Great , in the attitude of observingthe celebrated cross in the heavens, with the motto, In hocsiffno vinces: it is the work of Cav. Bernini . In the fourniches of the vestibule of the portico are as many statues, viz.,Hope, by Livoni; Faith, by Rossi; Charity, by Ludovisi;and the Church , by Frascari. At the other end, on the left,is the equestrian statue of Charlemagne , as defender of thechurch, by Agostino Cornachini. In the vestibule, on thenear side, are four other statues, viz., Prudence , by Livoni ;Fortitude, by Ottone ; Justice, by Rossi; and Temperance ,by Rafaelli. Over the middle door is a large basso-relievo,in marble, of Christ committing his flock to St. Peter , byBernini : and opposite to it is the celebrated Navicelli, orsmall ship, painted by Giotto , about the year 1300 : this wasformerly placed in the yard of the square portico, as a symbolof the Catholic Church , agitated, but not overwhelmed, fromthe tempest of many persecutions.

The entrance to the basilica is by five doors : that in themiddle is metal, and was executed by order of Pope EugeniusIV., at Constantinople , by Filareto; its ornaments representthe martyrdom of St. Peter and St. Paul, and some deeds ofthe pope who ordered it.

The fifth door, called Porta Santa , or holy door, is onlyopened in the jubilee year; and under the portico, near thismiddle door, the first bull for the jubilee, composed by Boni-face VIII,, is inscribed upon marble. Near the Porta Santa at;e two other inscriptions ; one consisting of verses made byCharlemagne, in 795, in praise of Pope Adrian I. ; the otherdescribing the donations of Pope Gregory II. to this church,of olive grounds and other lands, for supplying the lamps atthe sepulchre of the apostles.

On first entering this vast temple, the imagination is raisedwith the expectation of beholding exquisite beauty and ele-gance ; but the admiration it excites does not equal its fame,till the spectator begins to observe its several parts. Ondrawing near to one of the basins of holy water, on the firstpilaster, the marble cherubim, that support it, appear at firstregular and natural; but afterwards they are found to begigantic, and almost out of proportion ; they are the work ofLivoni, Moderati, Rossi, and Cornachini. The doves, ofmarble, with olive-branches, that seem at first as if theycould be touched by the hand, prove, on a nearer approach,to be very high, and appear to be flying still higher: aneffect observable in most of the other works.

The middle aisle has a magnificent marble pavement, andthe ceiling is grandly ornamented with gilt stucco, workedin grotesque with fruits, by Provenzale, by order of PopePaul V. , whose arms are' in the centre, in mosaic ; and everypart is embellished with beautiful marble columns, and excel-lent basso-relievos, among which are fifty-six large medal-lions, with the portraits of as many sainted popes, sculpturedby Nicolo Sale, a Frenchman, from designs of Bernini . Fixedagainst the pilasters are two remarkable stones, on one ofwhich, it is said, Pope Sylvester I. divided the bodies of St.Peter and St. Paul; and, on the other, many martyrs weretortured and put to death. There are also two round blackstones, which the Gentiles tied to the feet of the martyrs whenon the eculeo, an instrument of torture in the form of a horse.The bronze statue of St. Peter , sitting, in the act of givinghis benediction, was executed by order of Leo I „ from theJupiter Capitolinus, as an acknowledgment of the liberationof Rome from the persecution of Attila the Hun .

In the centre of the cross aisle, under the grand cupola, isthe altar, called the Confessional of the Apostles ; and underit is the ancient altar, turned toward the east, beneath whichare said to be half the body of St. Peter and half that of St. t

Paul , with those of the early sainted popes. _ ? e ^ e X>o&1Vatican cemetery, where Anacletes first buried , ( ; c |iSt. Peter ; and a small temple was built over i‘> jjelio? 9 ,afterwards pulled down, by order of the emp er0 ^balus, to enlarge the passage for the triumphalthis shrine were formerly a vast number of lamp s i .^uS 1 ^of asbestos, continually burning balsam. Pop e 8 ”,

in 1119, repaired and adorned it with eostlyconsecrated it in the presence of the fathers ot t j l0 i |9an scouncil convoked by him, and consisting of abou vt

bishops. It suffered no change, though the ® jjj #> ivj 1 ^rebuilt in the interval, till the time of Clement j,n a ^about the year 1600, without removing any P ar ‘ a r3 jjerected over the present altar. Paul V. , a f eW ? n ot> ce ’wards, having enlarged the basilica, as alre '_ er ,adorned this confessional with precious marble> J br 00 ^alabaster columns, the statues of the two apost e®)^^ er ec‘®gilt, with other ornaments of the same material, ^ a ppro aC ^two noble descents, for the convenience of ^ e T°| e on e

ing nearer the sanctuary to pray, around which iJr®.

and twenty-two silver lamps are continually bur ‘

VIII., at an expense of 100,000 crowns f° r ^ ze oV® r * } ],alone, employed Bernini to erect a canopy of bro jnet ’shrine, supported by four twisted columns of the p^ing ’ornamented with very fine cherubim, modelled j y F 09and partly gilt; with other remarkable works, c ^ jtsThe height of this canopy, including the cr0 , j n p)#k> 0is 124 palms ;186,3921bs. of metal were consumit, and, for the gilding, 46,000 crowns of gold* ^ t j ia j of ^The grand cupola is said by some t0 . e< l ua e( ]s i‘ ^pi-ancient Pantheon ; but others insist that it in

palms in breadth, and 30 palms in height; " en an« . gtude 200 palms. The ball is 12 palms in d‘“® ir)g jde 0 {cross is 25 feet in height, cast in bronze. I car t0 ° n cll llicupola is covered with mosaic work, from P an f a,

Cav. d’Arpino. The cherubim and flowers a ^ g t J1 ^and Provenzale ; the evangelists, St. Mattl:iei,j. l n ^by Nebbia ; and St. Luke and St. John, by eX hibi t ' n ^ of efpilasters, Bernini opened four galleries, f° r j n that jy

sacred relics kept within the tabernacles* f tl ,e , e d

- - .

and tl

by Sultan Bajazet II. to Pope Innocent ' LA !’ /, :[ n pre f}Se ’ noof Veronica, on which the face of Christ ^ ^

the statue of Sta. Veronica is said to &e E^ r d, (p re , secross ; the spear that pierced the side of our -J the

bought 'by her (o ir.- — _

°ne is permitted to io™ 6 j ^ u ‘ ‘° these precious re.*- ■$,IT* ° f th * Pone Al Cend L exce P‘ thecLns, without .$ ie r relics, J-- Qb °! er the statue of Sta. Helena, areof the year. Th e ‘7u p ublicly exhibited at variousto have stood onrn n>t f‘ t . eo,u mns in these galleries are#e statues in thenich y m Solomon's temple. The feu , j lt!1'*“ of Sta. Ve,t “ S are ea ch twenty-two P^sf^M

B r 0, g‘ >• that of St 77 by Moci)i i ‘hat of Sta. Helen ^

°f St. Lotigi nua i' f n, , 'ew, by Quesnoy Fiamingo > a , t j,gan ?ols znd oiZJ y n B<inini t which last alsopedestal of each g , 0 ,’ n>i - t>lents In ‘he galleries, fro#

‘he paintings of A 7 13 an “har-piece in mosaic, ta

Wear Ocelli. *

0r the old church ^ 13 descent to the Grotto j to

“? te ronWhitsZi" to wi, ich women are only P eTia t 0 ^Here is the senulnh ay> ^hen men are prohibited to , a f c ]eteo >and among the nr re ° apostles, erected by (oto e of

St-James, a l J oli„,7’ nent3 of ‘he high altar , are a be' ,eS

f °und i n vari J‘* ndr o ool pro Cristofcontaining r° a,y it h an

m »ge of God ,1,! °f marble j and a chapel, *

ftn leaving this U , ler ’ marble. trib« n ®' t

mosaic, repaired 7 . a P el is observed the old 0 elP^red by Giotto, * the verses were cut on