ittle fun."

Soon after breakfast Mr. George bade Rollo good by, and went off to the
bookstore and library, where he was to see and read the American papers.
As soon as his uncle had gone, Rollo went up to Mrs. Beekman's room, and
knocked at the door. A well-dressed man servant came to the door. It
was Mr. Beekman's courier.

"Walk in, Mr. Rollo," said the courier; "Mrs. Beekman and Charles will
come in a minute."

So Rollo went in. The room was a small parlor, very beautifully
furnished. In a few minutes Mrs. Beekman and Charles came in, followed
by Charles's sister, a lively young lady about twelve years of age. Her
name was Almira, though they usually called her Allie.

Rollo informed Mrs. Beekman, when she came into the room, that he had
come to ask her to allow Charles to go and make an excursion with him.
He was going, he said, to see the Tarpeian Rock.

"O, I would not go to see the Tarpeian Rock," said Mrs. Beekman. "Some
ladies of my acquaintance went to see it the other day, and they said it
was nothing at all."

"Ah, yes, mother!" said Charles, in an entreating tone of voice, "let me
go with Rollo."

"Why, there is nothing at all to see," said Mrs. Beekman. "It is only a
small, steep face of a rock in a bank. On the Hudson River Railroad you
see rocks and precipices forty times as picturesque, all along the way."

Still Rollo and Charles were very desirous to go. The truth was, it was
not so much what they expected to see at the end of the excursion, which
made it so alluring to them, as the interest and excitement of the
various adventures which they thought they would meet with on the way.
Finally Mrs. Beekman said that she had not the least objection in the
world to their going to see the rock, only she was herself perfectly
convinced that they would not find any thing worth seeing.

"I wish Allie could go too," said Rollo.

"Yes, mother," said Allie, clapping her hands.

"Why, do you care about seeing the Tarpeian Rock?" asked her mother.

"Yes, mother," said Allie, "I wish to see it very much, though I don't
know what it is. What is it, Rollo?"

"I'll tell you all about it on the way," said Rollo, "if you can only go
with us."

"But she cannot walk there," said Mrs. Beekman. "No lady ever walks in
Rome."

"I will take a carriage," said Rollo.

"I am afraid you don't know how to manage about a carriage," said Mrs.
Beekman.

"Yes, mother," replied Charles, "he knows how to manage abou