On the left leg, about midway above the ankle, there is a dull,
red stain, said to be Caesar's blood; but, of course, it is just such a
red stain in the marble as may be seen on the statue of Antinous at the
Capitol. I could not see any resemblance in the face of the statue to
that of the bust of Pompey, shown as such at the Capitol, in which there
is not the slightest moral dignity, or sign of intellectual eminence. I
am glad to have seen this statue, and glad to remember it in that gray,
dim, lofty hall; glad that there were no bright frescos on the walls, and
that the ceiling was wrought with massive beams, and the floor paved with
ancient brick.
From this anteroom we passed through several saloons containing pictures,
some of which were by eminent artists; the Judith of Guido, a copy of
which used to weary me to death, year after year, in the Boston
Athenaeum; and many portraits of Cardinals in the Spada family, and other
pictures, by Guido. There were some portraits, also of the family, by
Titian; some good pictures by Guercino; and many which I should have been
glad to examine more at leisure; but, by and by, the custode made his
appearance, and began to close the shutters, under pretence that the
sunshine would injure the paintings,--an effect, I presume, not very
likely to follow after two or three centuries' exposure to light, air,
and whatever else might hurt them.
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