331 



As they advanced towards it, Mr. Hamil- 

 ton, observed, with great pleasure, the ad- 

 miration of his friend ; who stopped before 

 it a long while, without saying a word. 

 When at last he began to speak : " I have 

 often heard," said he, " of the beauty and 

 magnificence of this building, the grandest, 

 I believe, of any modern temple, or per- 

 haps of any that ever existed : I have often 

 longed to see the original, and just before 

 the French got possession of Italy, I had 

 determined to go to Home. This picture 

 makes me feel still greater regret at the 

 disappointment, and at the same time, in 

 some deo-ree, consoles me for it ; but I can- 

 not help reflecting with pain, that a build- 

 ing, which requires such constant attention 

 and expence to keep it in repair, may now 

 perhaps, by degrees, become a mere ruin: 

 all that delightful symmetry, that eorres- : 

 pondence of all the parts, that profusion 1 

 of gilding and of precious marbles, may, in ' 

 a few years, be broken and defaced', and 

 eovercd with dirty stains and incrustations : 

 in short, all its high finished ornaments 



