that it would remain suspended in the air for several
minutes, and the cob never fell until the very last grain had been
shot from it!

After such a specimen of the drawing of the long bow as this, it would
not be well to introduce any feebler illustrations, and so I will keep
the rest of my anecdotal arrows in my quiver.

AN ANCIENT THEATRE.

[Illustration]

I suppose you are all familiar with pictures of the Colosseum at Rome,
but unless you have carefully studied detailed descriptions of this
edifice it is impossible for you to properly comprehend the grand
style in which the ancients amused themselves.

This great theatre, the ruins of which are now standing in Rome, and
which will probably stand for hundreds of years longer, was built
nearly eighteen hundred years ago. It is a vast oval building, four
stories high, and capable of containing ninety thousand spectators!

Seats, one row above the other like steps, were placed around the
walls, from top to bottom. There was no roof to the building, and if
the sun was hot, or it rained, the people were obliged to shelter
themselves as well as they could, although it is probable that the
seats for the emperors and other great dignitaries were protected by
awnings. In the centre of the building, down at the foot of the seats,
was the great amphitheatre where the performances took place. And
wonderful performances they were. There were sometimes great fights
between lions, tigers, bulls, and bears; sometimes wild beasts were
slain by men, and sometimes men were slain by wild beasts. There were
gladiatorial combats, executions of criminals, and many other kinds of
cruel and barbarous amusements. When the Colosseum was inaugurated,
five thousand wild beasts were put to death, and afterwards, at the
celebration of a great victory, eleven thousand animals perished.
Under the ground, in two vast basement stories, the beasts were kept
in cages until they were brought up to destroy human life or to be
butchered themselves.

For six hundred years these barbarous games were celebrated in the
Colosseum, but it afterwards became a fortress, and it was used at one
time for a hospital. When it began to decay, many of the inhabitants
of Rome carried away portions of its materials to build houses for
themselves, but such depredations have long been forbidden and now the
Colosseum stands, useless and ruined, a silent memento of the
wickedness of man. People are bad enoug