utting over it a coating of tough, gelatinous substance, over
which a sheet of muslin was placed, the gelatinous substance acting
also upon the charred sheet in such a way as to detach it from the
rest of the scroll. In this way it was unrolled slowly and carefully,
two inches at a time, and on being unrolled a facsimile copy was
at once made. Of course there was no attempt to preserve the
manuscripts; they were, too perishable; and after a short exposure,
just long enough to admit of a copy being made, they shrank up and
crumbled away.

There were other places of attraction in this beautiful city--the
Villa Reale, the chosen promenade of the Neapolitans, which stretches
along the shore, filled with trees, and shrubbery, and winding
paths, and flower-beds, and vases, and statues, and sculptures,
and ponds, and fountains, and pavilions. There was the Castle of
St. Elmo, with its frowning walls; the Cathedral of San Francisco,
with its lofty dome and sweeping colonnades; and very many other
churches, together with palaces and monuments.

But at last all this came to an end, and they left Naples far Rome.
They had a carriage to themselves, which they had hired for the
journey, and the weather was delightful The road was smooth and
pleasant, the country was one of the fairest on earth, and as they
rolled along they all gave themselves up to the joy of the occasion.
They passed through a region every foot of which was classic ground.
Along their way they encountered amphitheatres, aqueducts, tombs,
and other monuments of the past, some in ruins, others still erect
in stately though melancholy grandeur. Capua invited them to
tarry--not the ancient Capua, but the modern, which, though several
miles distant from the historic city, has yet a history of its own,
and its own charms. But among all these scenes and sights which
they encountered, the one that impressed them most was Cicero's
tomb. It is built on the spot where he was assassinated, of immense
stones, joined without cement. In shape it is square, but the
interior is circular, and a single column rises to the vaulted
roof. Of course whatever contents there may have been have long
since been scattered to the winds; no memorial of the great orator
and patriotic statesman is visible now; but the name of Cicero
threw a charm about the place, and it seemed as though they were
drawn nearer to the past. The boys expressed their feelings in
various ways, and David, who was m