rough a series of magnificent passages and vestibules,
with very broad staircases, and massive stone balustrades, and other
marks of a very ancient and venerable style of architecture, Mr. George
led the way through an open door, where the children saw extended before
them, as far as the eye could reach, a long range of rooms, opening into
one another, and all filled with bookshelves and books. The rooms had
windows only on one side; that is, on the side next the courtyard; and
the doors which led from one room to the other were all near that side
of the room. Thus three sides of each room were almost wholly unbroken,
and they were all filled with bookshelves and books. The doors which led
from one room to another were all in a range; so that standing at one
end, opposite to one of these doors, the spectator could look through
the whole range of rooms to the other end. The distance was, moreover,
so great, that, though there was a group of several persons standing at
the farther end of the range of rooms at the time that Rollo entered,
they looked so small and so indistinct that Rollo could not count them
to tell how many there were.

"It is a library," said Rollo.

"Yes," said Mr. George, "it is the National Library of Paris, one of the
largest libraries in the world. The books have been accumulating here
for ages."

"I don't see what can be the use of such a large library," said Rollo;
"nobody can possibly read all the books."

"No," said Mr. George, "they cannot read them all; but they may wish to
consult them. There are often particular reasons for seeing some
particular book, which was published so long ago that it is not now to
be found in common bookstores; in such cases, people come here, and they
are pretty sure to find the book in this collection."

There were several parties of ladies and gentlemen to be seen, at
different distances, walking along the range of rooms, all of whom
seemed to be visitors. Mr. George, himself, walked on, and the children
followed him. They passed from one apartment to another, amazed at the
number of books. They were all neatly arranged on bookshelves, which
extended from the floor to the ceiling, and were protected by a wire
netting in front; so that, although the visitors could see the books,
they could not take them down.

Mr. George and the children walked on, until, at length, they came to
the end of the range of rooms, and there they found another range,
running at ri