The Daily Dispatch

This celebrated building, under the plan of which the Capitol of Virginia was constructed, is situated at Nismes, in the South of France, and was originally a Roman Temple. The model sent by Mr. Jefferson to this country, is still, we believe, in existence, though where, we do not exactly know. It was kept for a great many years, at the Governor's House, but we think it has been removed, probably, to the Capitol. It is a perfect miniature of the original, and differs from the Capitol in that it has fluted columns. The Capitol, we always thought, one of the most striking buildings we ever saw. It has one defect however, in our eyes, and that is, that it is stucco, whereas the original is marble. This looks most awfully like the shabby genteel, and we have never been able to divest ourselves of the idea, that it evinced a want of taste to waste so fine a model upon such inferior materials. It reminds us of the fable of the frog, endeavoring to swell himself up to the dimensions of the ox. If our predecessors had determined to give us a copy of the Maison Carree, it should have been of marble. If they only wanted to give us a stuccoed building, it should not have been on the plan of the Maison Carree.

But we did not commence this article for the purpose of criticising the taste of a past generation. We only designed to introduce the subjoined passage, from a late work of Alexandre Dumas, who has been travelling down the Rhone, and has written an exceedingly agreeable book upon the subject. Here it is:

"Through all our operations we had not yet had time to visit the Maison Carree, which is generally considered the masterpiece of ancient architecture at Nismes. Cardinal Alberoni, said it ought to be inclosed in a golden case; and Louis XIV. and Napoleon thought seriously of transporting this wonder of art of the second century to Paris, but it was found to be impossible. Louis XIV. forgot this project in dancing at the opera, and Napoleon in gaining the battle of Eylau. Although greatly desirous of seeing an object which had been coveted by a king and an emperor—both surnamed Great—our visit thither was put off on account of the day being too advanced.

Reboul, according to his promise, came to us the next morning at eight o'clock. Giving orders to our host and to our servant to have our breakfast and carriage in readiness on our return, we set off to see the Roman wonder.

I was much disappointed at the first aspect of this monument, which did not come up to the idea I had formed of it. I found it small compared to the Arena, and I quite understood Napoleon's imagining he could have it removed.

The Maison Carree, as I was informed by Reboul, had undergone many degradations.—It was built during the reign of Antoninus; in the eleventh century, it was used as an Hotel de Ville: two or three centuries later it was given up to a man named Peter Boys, in payment of a debt incurred by the town. No sooner was it in his possession than he built a house on the southern side, and defaced the wall by hollowing it out to receive the wood-work and beams destined to support the roof of the new building. From the hands of Peter Boys the Maison Carree passed into those of the Seigneur of St. Chapelle, who converted it into a stable, and, to make it more convenient, built a brick wall across, and divided the interior into manger and stalls. In 1676 his heirs sold it to the Augustine monks, who built a nave, a chapel and tribunes. Finally, in 1789, the Maison Carree, which was then considered as church property, was taken from the monks, and became the central Hotel de l'Administration of the Department. Since this period great care has been taken of it, and it has not only been restored in some places, but much embellished."