A little distance
beyond the gate we came to the entrance of a vineyard, with a wheel-track
through the midst of it; and, following this, we soon came to a hillside,
in which an excavation had been made with the purpose of building a
grotto for keeping and storing wine. They had dug down into what seemed
to be an ancient bathroom, or some structure of that kind, the excavation
being square and cellar-like, and built round with old subterranean walls
of brick and stone. Within this hollow space the statue had been found,
and it was now standing against one of the walls, covered with a coarse
cloth, or a canvas bag. This being removed, there appeared a headless
marble figure, earth-stained, of course, and with a slightly corroded
surface, but wonderfully delicate and beautiful, the shape, size, and
attitude, apparently, of the Venus de' Medici, but, as we all thought,
more beautiful than that. It is supposed to be the original, from which
the Venus de' Medici was copied. Both arms were broken off, but the
greater part of both, and nearly the whole of one hand, had been found,
and these being adjusted to the figure, they took the well-known position
before the bosom and the middle, as if the fragmentary woman retained her
instinct of modesty to the last.
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