he paper, and joined one
sheet to the end of another, till they finished what they had to write,
and then rolled it on a cylinder or staff, hence called _volumen_.

But _memoranda_ or other unimportant matters, not intended to be
preserved, were usually written on tablets spread with wax. This was
effected by means of a metal pencil called _stylus_, pointed at one end
to scrape the letters, and flat at the other to smooth the wax when any
correction was necessary.

Julius Caesar introduced the custom of folding letters in a flat square
form, which were then divided into small pages, in the manner of a
modern book. When forwarded for delivery, they were usually perfumed and
tied round with a silken thread, the ends of which were sealed with
common wax.

Letters were not subscribed; but the name of the writer, and that of the
person to whom they were addressed, were inserted at the
commencement--thus, Julius Caesar to his friend Antony, health. At the
end was written a simple, Farewell!

The Romans had many private and public libraries. Adjoining to some of
them were museums for the accommodation of a college or society of
learned men, who were supported there at the public expense, with a
covered walk and seats, where they might dispute.

The first public library at Rome, and probably in the world, was erected
by Asinius Pollio, in the temple of liberty, on Mount Aventine. This was
adorned by the statues of the most celebrated men.

CHAPTER XXI.

_Roman Houses._

The houses of the Romans are supposed at first to have been nothing more
than thatched cottages. After the city was burnt by the Gauls, it was
rebuilt in a more solid and commodious manner; but the streets were very
irregular.

In the time of Nero the city was set on fire, and more than two-thirds
of it burnt to the ground. That tyrant himself is said to have been the
author of this conflagration. He beheld it from the tower of Maecenas,
and being delighted, as he said, with the beauty of the flames, played
the taking of Troy, dressed like an actor.

The city was then rebuilt with greater regularity and splendor--the
streets were widened, the height of the houses was limited to seventy
feet, and each house had a portico before it, fronting the street.

Nero erected for himself a palace of extraordinary extent and
magnificence. The enclosure extended from the Palatine to the Esquiline
mount, which was more than a mile in breadth, and it was