the outer circle, vast piers of brickwork have been erected, and in a style that, in this species of construction, is only equalled in Italy. This edifice was 1641 feet in circumference, according to Vasi, who wrote in French; and if French feet are meant, this will exceed 1700 of our feet, which is near a third of a mile. The height is 157 feet, which is quite equal to an ordinary American church spire, even in the towns. From these facts you may obtain some ideas of the general vastness, for the summit was every where of the same elevation. The earth had accumulated to the height of several feet about the base; but it has been removed, a wall has been erected, a short distance from the edifice, and, on that side, one may see the Coliseum very much as it existed under Nero. The arena, according to my former authority, was 285 feet long, by 182 wide. This arena is now encircled by fourteen little chapels, erected in honour of the Christians, who are said to have perished here. The interior, however, is a wild and ruined place. I know nothing, in its way, that gives one ideas of the magnificence and power of Rome so imposing as the Coliseum. It was erected in an incredibly short time, in a way to resist wars, earthquakes, time, and almost the art of man, and now offers one of the most imposing piles under which the earth groans; in some respects the most imposing. The uncertainty that hangs about the Pyramids impairs their interest; but the Coliseum is almost as well known to us, through the lapse of eighteen centuries, as Drury Lane or the Théâtre Français.