they might have stripped them of their silver spoons and forks, their jewels, their trinkets, and even their ear-rings, and have returned to France, gorged with plunder, without despoiling them of the last consolation of the ruined, the retention of the only vestiges which remained of the genius of their forefathers. But nothing has escaped the ravenous maw of the Republican freebooter and his philosophical associates. With the spirit of Buccaneers, they have made a prey of every thing; and they have answered the groans, tears, lamentations, and remonstrances of the wretched people on whom they trampled, with insulting mockery and contemptuous peals of laughter. Had it been possible to have removed Rome itself, they would have transported it to their guilty capital. Wretches like these, lost to all sense of moral reprobation, and heedless of the opinion of the living, cannot entertain any fears respecting the judgment of posterity. But they must be arraigned before its severe tribunal, and when the names of Cosmo and Lorenzo de Medici, of Leo X. and Julius II. shall be mentioned with pride and gratitude, theirs shall descend accurst and hated to eternal ages.

Having thus disburthened my mind, I proceed to give you a correct description of this sublime and majeftic gallery, together with the names of the places whence the statues were stolen.

In the court through which you pass to enter the gallery, there are four colossal statues of slaves, and in a niche beside the door, the statue. of Jupiter Hermes, which has been removed. from Versailles, like every thing else, to enrich Paris, the Republic of the French Republic. The revolution was made for Paris, therefore Paris must reap all the profits of it; the Republic was founded at Paris, therefore Paris, must enjoy it; the rest of France was made for Paris, therefore it must be fleeced for the sake of Paris. In this way, the disinterested inhabitants, and patriotic members of the Institute of that capital, continually reason.

Every article of this gallery merits attention, and admiration too; the folding doors at the entrance, and the inscription over them, are remarkable for the elegant taste with which they are adjusted. As soon as you have entered the gallery, you should purchase for the small sum of 75 centimes, the catalogue, entitled, "Notice des Statues, Bustes, et Bas-Reliefs, de la Galerie des Antiques du Musée Central des Arts, ouverte pour la première fois, le 18 Brumaire, an 9.” A person sits by a table, ready to provide you with this indispensable article.

I should advise you by no means to rush at once on the Laocoon, but to examine the compartments in regular order, beginning with the

lesser,

lesser, and ending (if you can end) with the higher productions of sculpture. You will therefore, advance to the center of the gallery, and turning your back on the Laocoon, pass straightways to the opposite extremity, where you will find yourself in,

I. THE HALL OF THE SEASONS, which is thus denoted on account of the painted ceiling executed by Romanelli, representing the seasons, and of this compartment having been allotted to the antique statues of the deities of the woods, and their attributes. This hall contains twentysix figures, viz. 1. A Faun reposing and holding a flute, of Pentelican marble, supposed to be a copy of the famous satyr of Praxiteles, stolen from the Museum of the Capitol at Rome. 2. A naked Youth in the act of extracting a thorn from his left foot, in bronze, and admirably executed; stolen from the same quarter as the above. 3. A young naked Faun, of Parian marble, holding his pedum in the left hand, and in the attitude of aiming it at a young panther, which has overthrown a vase at his feet. Stolen as above. 4. Another Faun, similar to the former, of Parian marble also. 5. Venus issuing from a bath, of Pentelican marble, stolen from the Museum of the Vatican. 6. Flora, or the Muse Polyhimnia (it is doubtful which) of Pentelican marble; stolen. from the Museum of the Capitol. 7. Ceres, the head resembling Julia, the daughter of Augustus. 8. Hygeia.

8. Hygeia, of Parian marble, with a serpent entwined round her arm. 9. Cupid and Psyche, of Parian marble; stolen from the Museum of the Capitol. 10. Ariadne, of Parian marble, known by the name of Cleopatra, on account of the Ophis bracelet on her left arm; stolen from the Belvidere of the Vatican. 11. A naked Cupid bending his bow, of Parian marble; stolen from the Museum of the Capitol. 12. A female Bacchanal. 13. A Funereal Genius. of Cupid, of Parian marble; stolen from the Museum of the Capitol. 15. A Grecian Youth, of Parian marble; swindled from one of the Greek islands. 16. Septimius Severus, of Pentelican marble, from Ecouen. 17. A Wrestler, of marble of Luni, stolen from Verona. 18. An Indian Bacchus; stolen from Rome. 19. The colossal bust of Antoninus Pius, of Pentelican marble, from Ecouen. 20. Colossal bust of Lucius Verus, companion of the former, from the same place. 21. Augustus, of Parian marble; stolen from the cabinet of the Bevilacqua at Verona. 22. Vitellius. 23. The bust of Eleus Cæsar, of fine Parian marble. 24. Lucius Verus, of Pentelican marble; stolen from the Villa Albani at Rome. 25. Bust of Matidia, of marble of Luni, from the Garde Meuble. 26. Plautilla, from the same.

14. A beautiful fragment

II. HALL OF ILLUSTRIOUS MEN; decorated by eight antique pillars of granatillo, plundered from the nave of the church at Aix-la-Chapelle,

in which the tomb of Charlemagne was deposited. The paintings on the ceiling are the work of Romanelli. This compartment contains eight figures, viz. 1. Zeno, the philosopher (this statue is of the epicene gender) of Grechetto marble, stolen from the Museum of the Capitol. 2. Demosthenes

sitting with a book on his knees, stolen from the Vatican. 3. The head of Trajan placed on a statue of another person, stolen as above. 4. A statue supposed to represent Sextus, the uncle of Plutarch, and one of the preceptors of Marcus Aurelius, of Grechetto marble, stolen as above. 5. A Warrior, said to be Phocion, of Pentelican marble, stolen as above. 6. Menander, the Greek poet, sitting, of Pentelican marble, stolen from the Museum of the Vatican. 7. Posidippus, the poet, sitting, of Pentelican marble, stolen as above. Minerva, of Pentelican marble.

8.

III. THE ROMAN HALL. The ceiling, painted by Romanelli, being ornamented with various subjects taken from the Roman history; all the statues, busts, and other antiquities which bear any relation to that people, are placed in this hall. It contains twenty-nine figures, viz. 1. A Roman orator, of Parian marble, executed by Cleomenes, an Athenian. elder Scipio Africanus, in bronze. 3. Clio, of Parian marble, brought by Pope Ganganelli to the Museum of the Vatican, and stolen thence by Bonaparte and the philosophical crew of the National Institute. 4. The bust of Adrian, in bronze,

2. The head of the

stolen