z libraries in it and museums and picture
galleries. I believe myself Mr. Pope is a real likely man, of which
more anon. I don't believe that there is a room in the U. S. or the
hull surroundin' world so grand and magnificent as the Great Hall of
the Vatican Library. It is over two hundred feet long, and glorious in
architecture and ornaments from top to bottom. It contains the most
priceless treasures in books and manuscripts. For hundreds of years
the collection has been constantly growing by purchase, gifts and
conquests. One of its choicest treasures is the Bible of the fourth
century.

The picture galleries in the Vatican contain pictures and statutes
enough, it seems to me, to ornament the parlors of the world if they
wuz divided up. And the museum--I don't spoze there is so big a
collection in the world of such rare and costly things, and I spoze
like as not there will never be another one so large and valuable. I
never should try it, nor Josiah wouldn't. It would be too big a tug on
our strength, if we had oceans of money, and can no more be described
than I could count the sands of the sea and set 'em in rows.

We thought one day we would visit the Pantheon. Miss Meechim didn't
really want to go on account of her conscience partly, and I too felt
some as she did, for it wuz a pagan temple riz up to all the gods
twenty-seven years before Christ. But finally we all did go. As I told
Miss Meechim, we could keep up a stiddy thinkin' on better things, if
we wuz lookin' on pagan shrines.

She said she wuz afraid that Rev. Mr. Weakdew wouldn't approve of her
being there, and she didn't seem to enjoy herself very much and I d'no
as I did. But it must have been a glorious place as fur as beauty is
concerned in its prime, for it is beautiful in its ruin. There are no
windows, but it has a large circular openin' in the ruff through which
I spoze the smoke of sacrifice ascended, not much, I believe, above
the figures that used to stand up there fifty feet above the marble
and porphry pavement--Mars, Jupiter, Apollo, Minerva, Vulcan, etc.,
etc. For all everything has been stole from this gorgeous temple that
could be, it is grand-lookin' and beautiful now.

From the Pantheon we went to the Capitol--the Capituline Hill where
justice wuz meted out to the public from kings and nobles.

We went safely past the two huge lions at the foot of the
staircase--though Tommy got behind me when he first saw them--past the
spot whe