_Rome, April 2, 1740._ The first entrance of Rome is prodigiously
striking. It is by a noble gate, designed by Michael Angelo, and adorned
with statues; this brings you into a large square, in the midst of which
is a large block of granite, and in front you have at one view two
churches of a handsome architecture, and so much alike that they are
called the twins; with three streets, the middle-most of which is one of
the longest in Rome. As high as my expectation was raised, I confess,
the magnificence of this city infinitely surpasses it. You cannot pass
along a street but you have views of some palace, or church, or square,
or fountain, the most picturesque and noble one can imagine.
_III.--The Birth of the "Elegy"_