THE AMPHITHEATRE, VERONA.

I hear again the quick guitar,

The buoyant step, the laugh of glee;
I see again the graceful forms

Dance on the turf so light and free.
Long years have pass'd since that bright eve,
When mingling with that festal throng,
I danced with them beneath the vines,

Whose purple clusters o'er us hung;
But still I dream of that glad hour,

And turn from fair, deceitful smiles;
Weary and sad with flattering words,

The gay world's glittering, hollow wiles;
And when I prove how false its glare,
When dizzy pleasures tire and pall,

I almost wish the great could see,

For once, a simple PEASANT'S BALL!

THE AMPHITHEATRE, VERONA.

ITALY.

53

THE Amphitheatre of Verona, in consequence of the perfect preservation of its interior structure, is one of the most interesting of the remaining relics of Roman antiquity. Inferior in magnitude to the Colosseum, this building exceeds in dimensions the Amphitheatres of Nismes and Pola, and is considerably larger than those of Pompeii and Pæstum. Its exterior circuit has yielded less to the invasions of time, than to the attacks of human spoilers; who, with the most Gothic barbarity, have carried off the great blocks of red marble that were employed in the construction of the surrounding arcades. The grand elliptical façade originally consisted of three stories of arches, ascending to the height of one hundred feet; there were seventy-two arches in all; but of these, only four have survived the active operations of the destroyers. Pilasters, of the Tuscan order, with intermediate bas-reliefs, adorned the exterior; and the simplicity of that style accorded happily with the solid and massive character of the structure.

The interior, which is still perfect, consists of forty-five tiers of seats, ascending from the arena to the level of the third story of external arches; four of which, still remaining, are shown in the accompanying plate. The seats, with all the masonry of the interior, are of marble; and are so compact and solidly disposed, that the vomitoria, galleries of communication, and staircases, are in their original state, and carry back the visitor to the days of Roman power and cruelty. At each end of the arena rises a portal twenty-five feet in height, forming a communication with the interior, in

S. S.-VOL. II.