road; and on observing attentively, he
perceived that there was a curve in the road itself, before them.

"Uncle George," said he, "we have got off the marshes!"

"I verily believe we have," said Mr. George.

"So now we may go to sleep," said Rollo.

"Yes," said Mr. George. "I'll lay my head over into the corner, and you
may lie against my shoulder."

So Mr. George and Rollo placed themselves in as comfortable a position
as possible, and composed themselves to sleep. They slept several hours;
waking up, or, rather, half waking up, once during the interval, while
the diligence stopped for the purpose of changing horses. When they
finally awoke, the sun was up high, and was shining in quite bright
through the coupe windows.

CHAPTER III.

THE ARRIVAL AT ROME.

When Mr. George and Rollo awoke from their sleep, they found that they
were coming into the environs of Rome. The country was green and
beautiful, but it seemed almost uninhabited; and in every direction were
to be seen immense ruins of tombs, and aqueducts, and other such
structures, now gone to decay. There was an ancient road leading out of
Rome in this direction, called the _Appian Way_. It was by this road
that the apostle Paul travelled, in making his celebrated journey to
Rome, after appealing from the Jewish jurisdiction to that of Caesar.
Indeed, the Appii Forum and the Three Taverns, places mentioned in the
account of this journey contained in the Acts, were on the very road
that Mr. George and Rollo had been travelling in their journey from
Naples to Rome.

The remains of the Appian Way are still to be traced for many miles
south of Rome. The road was paved, in ancient times, with very large
blocks of an exceedingly hard kind of stone. These stones were of
various shapes, but they were fitted together and flattened on the top,
and thus they made a very smooth, and at the same time a very solid,
pavement. In many places along the Appian Way this old pavement still
remains, and is as good as ever.

At length the diligence arrived at the gate of the city. It passed
through an arched gateway, leading through an ancient and very venerable
wall, and then stopped at the door of a sort of office just within.
There were two soldiers walking to and fro before the office.

"What are we stopping for here?" asked Rollo.

"For the passports, I suppose," said Mr. George.

The conductor of the diligence came to the door of the coupe and asked
for