"Then turn we to her latest tribune's name, From her ten thousand tyrants turn to thee, Redeemer of dark centuries of shame-- The friend of Petrarch--hope of Italy-- Rienzi! last of Romans! While the tree Of Freedom's wither'd trunk puts forth a leaf, Even for thy tomb a garland let it be-- The forum's champion, and the people's chief-- Her newborn Numa thou--with reign, alas! too brief." _Childe Harold._ Through the brick arch of the Portico we enter upon the ancient _Pescheria_, with the marble fish-slabs of imperial times still remaining in use. It is a striking scene--the dark, many-storied houses almost meeting overhead and framing a narrow strip of deep blue sky,--below, the bright groups of figures and rich colouring of hanging cloths and drapery. "C'est une des ruines les plus remarquables de Rome, et une de celles qui offrent ces contrastes piquants entre le passé et le présent, amusement perpétuel de l'imagination dans la ville des contrastes. Le portique d'Octavie est, aujourd'hui, le marché aux poissons. Les colonnes et le fronton s'élèvent au milieu de l'endroit le plus sale de Rome; leur effet n'en est pas moins pittoresque, il l'est peut-être davantage. Le lieu est fait pour une aquarelle, et quand un beau soleil éclaire les débris antiques, les vieux murs sombres de la rue étroite où la poisson se vend sur des tables de marbre blanc, et à travers laquelle des nattes sont tendues, on a, à côté du monument romain, le spectacle d'un marché du moyen âge, et un peu le souvenir d'un bazar d'Orient."--_Ampère, Emp._ i. 179. "Who that has ever been to Rome does not remember Roman streets of an evening, when the day's work is done? They are all alive in a serene and homelike fashion. The old town tells its story. Low arches cluster with life--a life humble and stately, though rags hang from the citizens and the windows. You realize it as you pass them--their temples are in ruins, their rule is over--their colonies have revolted long centuries ago. Their gates and their columns have fallen like the trees of a forest, cut down by an invading civilization."--_Miss Thackeray._ * * * * * Here we are in the centre of the Jews' quarter--the famous _Ghetto_.