Peter's into masquerade;and make it a Cathedral of Lamplight instead of a stone one.Two evenings ago this feat was performed;and I was able to see it from the rooms of a friend near this,which command an excellent view of it.I never saw so beautiful an effect of artificial light.The evening was perfectly serene and clear;the principal lines of the building,the columns,architrave and pediment of the front,the two inferior cupolas,the curves of the dome from which the dome rises,the ribs of the dome itself,the small oriel windows between them,and the lantern and ball and cross,--all were delineated in the clear vault of air by lines of pale yellow fire.
The dome of another great Church,much nearer to the eye,stood up as a great black mass,--a funereal contrast to the luminous tabernacle.
"While I was looking at this latter,a red blaze burst from the summit,and at the same moment seemed to flash over the whole building,filling up the pale outline with a simultaneous burst of fire.This is a celebrated display;and is done,I believe,by the employment of a very great number of men to light,at the same instant,the torches which are fixed for the purpose all over the building.After the first glare of fire,I did not think the second aspect of the building so beautiful as the first;it wanted both softness and distinctness.The two most animated days of the Carnival are still to come.""_April 4th_,1839.--We have just come to the termination of all the Easter spectacles here.On Sunday evening St.Peter's was a second time illuminated;I was in the Piazza,and admired the sight from a nearer point than when I had seen it before at the time of the Carnival.
"On Monday evening the celebrated fire-works were let off from the Castle of St.Angelo;they were said to be,in some respects more brilliant than usual.I certainly never saw any fireworks comparable to them for beauty.The Girandola is a discharge of many thousands of rockets at once,which of course fall back,like the leaves of a lily,and form for a minute a very beautiful picture.There was also in silvery light a very long Facade of a Palace,which looked a residence for Oberon and Titania,and beat Aladdin's into darkness.Afterwards a series of cascades of red fire poured down the faces of the Castle and of the scaffoldings round it,and seemed a burning Niagara.Of course there were abundance of serpents,wheels and cannon-shot;there was also a display of dazzling white light,which made a strange appearance on the houses,the river,the bridge,and the faces of the multitude.The whole ended with a second and a more splendid Girandola."Take finally,to people the scene a little for us,if our imagination be at all lively,these three small entries,of different dates,and so wind up:--"_December 30th_,1838.--I received on Christmas-day a packet from Dr.
Carlyle,containing Letters from the Maurices;which were a very pleasant arrival.The Dr.wrote a few lines with them,mentioning that he was only at Civita Vecchia while the steamer baited on its way to Naples.I have written to thank him for his despatches.""_March 16th_,1839.--I have seen a good deal of John Mill,whose society I like much.He enters heartily into the interest of the things which I most care for here,and I have seldom had more pleasure than in taking him to see Raffael's Loggie,where are the Frescos called his Bible,and to the Sixtine Chapel,which I admire and love more and more.He is in very weak health,but as fresh and clear in mind as possible....English politics seem in a queer state,the Conservatives creeping on,the Whigs losing ground;like combatants on the top of a breach,while there is a social mine below which will probably blow both parties into the air.""_April 4th_,1839.--I walked out on Tuesday on the Ancona Road,and about noon met a travelling carriage,which from a distance looked very suspicious,and on nearer approach was found really to contain Captain Sterling and an Albanian manservant on the front,and behind under the hood Mrs.A.Sterling and the she portion of the tail.They seemed very well;and,having turned the Albanian back to the rear of the whole machine,I sat by Anthony,and entered Rome in triumph."--Here is indeed a conquest!Captain A.Sterling,now on his return from service in Corfu,meets his Brother in this manner;and the remaining Roman days are of a brighter complexion.As these suddenly ended,I believe he turned southward,and found at Naples the Dr.Carlyle above mentioned (an extremely intimate acquaintance of mine),who was still there.For we are a most travelling people,we of this Island in this time;and,as the Prophet threatened,see ourselves,in so many senses,made "like unto a wheel!"--Sterling returned from Italy filled with much cheerful imagery and reminiscence,and great store of artistic,serious,dilettante and other speculation for the time;improved in health,too;but probably little enriched in real culture or spiritual strength;and indeed not permanently altered by his tour in any respect to a sensible extent,that one could notice.He returned rather in haste,and before the expected time;summoned,about the middle of April,by his Wife's domestic situation at Hastings;who,poor lady,had been brought to bed before her calculation,and had in few days lost her infant;and now saw a household round her much needing the master's presence.He hurried off to Malta,dreading the Alps at that season;and came home,by steamer,with all speed,early in May,1839.