A short ride from this lake，brought US to Ronciglione；a little town like a large pig-sty，where we passed the night．Next morning at seven O’clock，we started for Rome．“
As soon as we were out of the pig-sty，we entered on the Campagne Romana；an undulating flat(as you know)，where few people Can live；and where，for miles and miles，there is nothing to relieve the terrible monotony and gloom．Of all kinds of country that could，by possibility，lie outside the gates of Rome，this is the aptest and fittest burial—ground for the Dead City．So sad，SO quiet，SO sullen；SO secret in its covering up of great masses of ruin，and hiding them；SO like the waste placesinto which the men possessed with devils used to go and howl，and rendthemselves，in the old days of Jerusalem．We had to traverse thirty milesof this Campagna；and for twenty-two we went on and on，seeing nothingbut now and then a lonely house，or a VlajnOus—lOOking shepherd；withmatted hair all over his face，and himself wrapped to the chin in a frowzybrown mantle，tending his sheep．At the end of that distance，we stoppedto refresh the horses，and to get some lunch，in a common malaria—shaken，despondent little public-house，whose every inch of wall andbeam，inside，was(according to custom)painted and decorated in a waySO miserable that every room looked like the wrong side of another room，and，with its wretched imitation of drapery，and lop-sided little daubs oflyres，seemed to have been plundered from behind the scenes of sometravelling circus． When we were fairly going offagain，we began，in a perfect fever，to strain our eyes for Rome；and when after another mile or two，the Eternal City appeared，at length，in the distance；it looked lil(e—I am half afraidto write the word--like LONDON!!!There it lay，under a thick cloud，with innumerable towers，and steeples，and roofs of houses，rising upinto the sky，and high above roofs of houses，rising up into the sky，and high above them all，one Dome．I swear，that keenly as I felt the seeming absurdity of the comparison，it was so like London，at that distance，that if you could have shown it me，in a glass，I should have taken it for nothingelseflourish n．茂盛；華飾；興旺