CHAPTER XV. 

 A POTTER Y MO UND. 



" And He shall break it as the breaking of the potters' vessel that 

 is broken in pieces." ISAIAH xxx. 14. 



ONE of the most curious objects in Rome is a 

 huge artificial mound called Monte Testaccio. 

 It stands near the gate of St. Paul's, between the 

 Aventine Hill and the Tiber, in the neighbourhood of 

 the Protestant Cemetery and of the pyramid of Cains 

 Cestius, and must have been one of the last objects 

 upon which the Apostle Paul gazed as he was led to 

 execution on the Ostian Road. It is a conspicuous 

 object, being nearly one third of a mile in circumfer- 

 ence, and about a hundred and fifty feet high, com- 

 manding from its top an extensive view of the most 

 desolate and historical parts of the Eternal City, and 

 the Campagna beyond. It is an easy task to climb 

 it, for on different sides there are well-worn tracks from 

 the base to the summit. The surface is covered in a 

 few places with a little sprinkling of soil, and a sparse 



vegetation of grass and coarse weeds; but a close 

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