Page:Life in the Old World - Vol. II.djvu/84

94 and statues are numerous, but all are subordinate, or unite harmoniously with the large and beautiful proportions of the chief temple. Every thing there is harmony, light, beauty—an image of the church triumphant; but a very worldly, earthly image, and whilst the mind enjoys its splendor, the soul cannot, in the higher sense, be edified by its symbolism. The Cathedral of Sienna gave me a higher impression of the Christian temple. But I shall return to St. Peter's.

Rainbows shone in the plenteous jets of water thrown up by the fountains in the square outside. The air was as warm as summer, so that Jenny and I drove home in an open carriage without any inconvenience, with merely tulle vails over our heads.

During the afternoon, whilst Jenny, in company with one of our countrymen, enjoyed the sunshine on Monte Pincio, I went to the Colosseum, where I was told that every Sunday, “simple, true Christianity” was preached by a Capuchin monk; and this I wished to hear.

I had not been long on the square, empty as usual, excepting for some nurses who let the little ones kiss the cross in the middle of the Colosseum, before I heard singing, and through the gate saw advancing a procession of gray-clad men and black-clad women, one of whom, a little, pale woman, carried a large black cross at the head of the procession. The faces of the gray brothers were also concealed by gray cloth, with openings merely for the eyes, producing a very disagreeable effect. I have been told that this costume frequently concealed men of high birth, who, in this manner accomplish a vow or perform penance; and