S 7^ M I s s o n’s ’Travels through the Book IL 
and Stockins, a great Bafin was brought, and Ewers of 
Vermilion, one for each Pilgrim *, then the Cardinal 
that officiated inftead of the Pope, putting their Feet 
in the Bafon, walh*d and rubb’d them with his own 
Hands, and at lafl: wip*d and kifs’d them : Soon after, 
each of them being regaled with two golden Medals, 
they went all together to an Apartment of the Palace, 
to partake of a magnificent Entertainment prepared for 
them 5 they were placed in one Row at a Table, the 
Cardinal dining at the fame Time at another in the 
fame Room. 
The Pope [ Innocent XI. ] though really old and in- 
firm, yet often makes the Want of Health ferve for a 
Pretence to excufe his Abfence at thofe numerous Cere- 
monies ufed at Rome. I had it from very credible Per- 
fons, that he did not approve of the French Way of 
converting People by Dragooning., and fhew’d a great 
deal of Averfion to thofe who pretended to propofe 
certain Methods of Accommodation to him with the 
Crown of France. His Retirement is the Occafion he is 
feldom feen by Strangers nay, it is a Rarity to meet 
any of his Coaches, Footmen, or others belonging to 
his Retinue, If he happens to ftir abroad, it is in a 
large Litter lined with Crimfon Velvet, without and 
within adorn’d with Gold Galoons and Fringes, the 
Harneffes of the Mules cover’d with the fame Stuff. 
He fits always alone in his Litter, with a little Table 
before him. All the Popes have the fame Livery, viz. 
Scarlet, with a double Velvet Galoon of the fame Co- 
lour j even the Apartments of the Vatican and Monte 
Cavallo are hung with red Damask intermixed with 
Edges of Gold Galoons, and adorn’d above with Gold 
Fringes. 
The Situation of the Gardens of Monte Cavallo is very 
delightful, but their Contrivance is not very regular, 
nor are they well kept. The two Marble Horfes be- 
fore this Palace are generally reputed to be made by 
Phidias and Praxiteles, whofe Names are engraven 
upon them. 
Opus Phidias, Opus Praxiteles. 
Some will have them to be the Statues of Bucephalus 
the Horfe of Alexander, which thefe Artifts made in 
Emulation of each other i but there is a Miftake in this 
Tradition, confidering that Phidias fiourifhed a whole 
Age before Praxiteles, and Alexander the Great reign’d 
fifty Years after Praxiteles. The two Marble Horfes m 
the Court of the Capitol, were brought thither from 
the Theatre of Pompey, and the Eq^uejlris Statua of 
Brafs, placed here by Paul III. is fuppofed to be the 
Statue of Marcus Aurelius. The Capitol is a modern 
Strudure, built not only upon the Ruins, but even up- 
on Part of the Foundations of the ancient Fabrick, the 
old Foundations (fill appearing. 
The Antiquities here being fo many, that a Defcrip- 
tion of them would require an entire Volume, I will 
only mention fome of the principal : The She~Wolf gi- 
ving Suck to the two Brothers, on which is to be feen 
the Mark of the Thunderbolt mentioned by Cicero, 
(Orat. 3. contr. Cat.) four great Baflo relievo*% reprefent- 
ing divers Paffages of the Hiflory of M. Aurelius j the 
Columna rojlrata of Duilius, the firft that was honour’d 
with a naval Triumph at Rome •, the Meffenger pulling 
out a Thorn in the Senate-houfe ; the Buff of Cicero 
with his Vetches ; the four ancient Meafures, one for 
Oil, two for Wine, and the fourth for Grain ; the Buff 
^iVirgih, Nero’s Nurfe holding him by the Hand ; 
the Goddels of Silence ; the God Pan ; the three Fu- 
ries ; a Statue of Cafar in Armour j another of Au- 
guftus thofe of Cafior and Pollux •, the Fragments of 
the Colojfes of Apollo, Domitian, and Commodus ; the Lion 
devouring a Horfe *, and the Trophies of Frajan, but 
believ’d by others to have belong’d io Marius. The 
Fidures in Frejco in the great Hall are of Cavalier Jo- 
fepFs Hand , in my Opinion they reprefent the Battle 
of the Romans with the Sabines. 
I am fomewhat doubtful what Account to give you 
©f the Pillar called the Milliarium j it is of white Mar- 
ble eight Foot and a half high, with a Cypher [ I ] 
mark’d on the Top, and on the Chapiter a brafs Globe 
of two Foot Diameter : It is the general Opinionj that 
this Pillar ffands in the Center of Rome, from whence 
they ufed to compute the Diftances from that City, di« 
vided into Miles by other Pillars ereded on all the 
great Roads of Italy but there are feverai Arguments 
which contradid this Opinion, for the Column in the 
Forum Romanum was, according to Suetonius, Facitus, 
and other ancient Roman Authors, either of Brafs or 
Brafs gilt, with the Names of the great Roads and Di- 
ffances of the chief Cities engraven upon it, Nothing 
like which appears on the Milliarium in the Capitol. 
If you objed, that perhaps the brazen Milliarium being 
loft, this was fet up inftead of it ; the Infcription engra- 
ven on one of the Faces of the Pedeftal will tell you» 
that it was found near the Appian Highway, 
S. P. Q^R. Columnam Milliariam primi ah Urhe lapidis 
indicem ah Imperatore Vefpafiano Cf Nerva rejiitutam 
de ruinis Suhurhanis Vi<s Appi<e in Capitolium tranjiuliti 
And it feems not likely that this Column was from the 
Center of the City tranfpos’d to a Mile’s Diftance from 
the Walls ; then which Way can you give a true Ex- 
plication of thefe Expreffions, primus, or fecundus, ah 
Urhe lapidis, if thefe Stones or Pillars were not without 
the City, the Words ab Urhe ftiewing plainly that they 
were not within And fince this Milliarium was found 
in one of the Suburbs near the Highway, I cannot but 
perfuade myfelf that it then ftood in its proper Place, 
and that the Number of thofe firft Columns was equal 
to that of the great Roads. Whether we fuppofe the 
gilt Milliarium to be the only firft Pillar, and the fe- 
cond Columns to have been placed at the Diftance of 
one Mile from it ; or that the gilt Column in the Center 
of the City was the Head-mark from whence all the 
Diftances were computed, and that the next Columns 
were called the firft Milliariums, and mark’d with an 
Infcription like that you fee in the Capitol ; ic is evi- 
dent from either of thefe Suppofitions, that confidering 
the Extent of Rome, none of thefe firft or fecond Co- 
lumns but muft be within the City ; and that confe- 
quently this Expreflion, primo ah Urhe lapide, could not 
take Place, but inftead thereof, the primus lapis muft 
have been in Urhe, and not ah Urhe. 
There is a very ancient Infcription in the Palace call’d 
Palabirinum, which contains the Statues of a College 
of jEfculapius and of Health, unto which Salvia Mar- 
cellina bequeath’d a Temple, a Place or Court, and a 
Walk, the Whole fituate on the Appian Way, near the 
Temple of Mars, Intra milliarium primum Q fecundum 
ah Urhe euntihus, i. e. Between the fir(l and fecond Mile 
as you go from the City ; which Words, join’d to the 
Opinion of the beft Antiquaries, that there was a Tem- 
ple of Mars without the City, and on the Via Appia, 
are a fufficient Inducement to convince me, that the 
gilt Milliarium was erected as a publick Mark to know 
where all the great Roads begun, and to compute the 
Diftance of great Cities ; but that all the firft Columns 
were each one Mile diftant from the Walls of Rome. 
The two following Infcriptions are engraven on the 
Body of the Milliarium in the Capitol : 
IMP. C/ESAR VESPASIANUS PONTIF. MAXIM. 
TRIB. POTESTAT. XVII. IMP. XVII. P. P. 
CENSOR. COS. VII. DESIGN. VIII. 
IMP. NERVA C^SAR AUGUSTUS PONTI- 
FEX MAXIMUS TRIBUNITIA POTEST ATE 
COS. III. PATER PATRIiE REFECIT. 
Adjoining to the right Wing of the Capitol is the 
Church known by the Name of Ara Cmli : They tell 
you, that Augujlus having for a confiderable Time, but 
in vain, follicited the Oracle of Delphos to know his 
Succeffor in the Empire, the Oracle at laft declared, 
that his Mouth was ftopt by the Hebrew Child, who was 
the Son of God, and God himfelf j and that Augujlus, 
finding this to agree with Sibyllin Prophecies, or- 
der’d an Altar to be built in the Capitol to the Honour 
of 
