street which passes out of the Piazza Barberini, and it is no very great
distance from our own street, Via Porta Pinciana. The grounds, though
very extensive, are wholly within the walls of the city, which skirt
them, and comprise a part of what were formerly the gardens of Sallust.
The villa is now the property of Prince Piombini, a ticket from whom
procured us admission. A little within the gateway, to the right, is a
casino, containing two large rooms filled with sculpture, much of which
is very valuable. A colossal head of Juno, I believe, is considered the
greatest treasure of the collection, but I did not myself feel it to be
so, nor indeed did I receive any strong impression of its excellence. I
admired nothing so much, I think, as the face of Penelope (if it be her
face) in the group supposed also to represent Electra and Orestes. The
sitting statue of Mars is very fine; so is the Arria and Paetus; so are
many other busts and figures.

By and by we left the casino and wandered among the grounds, threading
interminable alleys of cypress, through the long vistas of which we could
see here and there a statue, an urn, a pillar, a temple, or garden-house,
or a bas-relief against the wall. It seems as if there must have been a
time, and not so very long ago,--when it was worth while to spend money
and thought upon the ornamentation of grounds in the neighborhood of
Rome. That time is past, however, and the result is very melancholy; for
great beauty has been produced, but it can be enjoyed in its perfection
only at the peril of one's life. . . . . For my part, and judging from my
own experience, I suspect that the Roman atmosphere, never wholesome, is
always more or less poisonous.

We came to another and larger casino remote from the gateway, in which
the Prince resides during two months of the year. It was now under
repair, but we gained admission, as did several other visitors, and saw