y mend the hole?" asked Charles.

"O, they made it so on purpose," said Rollo.

"Made it on purpose!" repeated Allie. "I never heard of such a thing. I
should think the rain would come in."

"It does come in," said Rollo, "and that is the reason why I want to go
and see the Pantheon in the time of a shower. It is so curious to see
the rain falling down slowly to the pavement. You see, the church is
round, and there is a dome over it, and in the centre of the dome they
left a great round hole."

"How big?" asked Allie.

"It is twenty-eight feet across," said Rollo; "but you would not think
it so big when you come to see it. It is up so high that it looks very
small. We know how big it is by the size of the wet spot on the floor."

By the time that the party had arrived at this point in the
conversation, Rollo saw a carriage standing in the street at a little
distance before him, and he made a signal to the coachman to come to
him. The coachman came. Rollo made his bargain with him, and they all
got in. The coachman drove immediately to the Pantheon, and they arrived
there just as the shower began to come on.

Before the church was an immense portico, supported by columns. The
columns, and the whole entablature which they supported, were darkened
by time, and cracked, and chipped, and broken in the most remarkable
manner. Allie and Charles stood under the portico and looked around,
while Rollo paid the coachman.

[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE PANTHEON.]

There was a large open square before the Pantheon, with an ancient and
very remarkable looking fountain in the centre of it. There was a basin
around this fountain, into which monstrous mouths, carved in marble,
were spouting water. When Rollo had paid the coachman, he led the way
into the church. Allie and Charles followed him. They found themselves
ushered into an immense circular interior, with rows of columns all
around the sides, and chapels, and sculptures, and paintings, and
beautiful panels of variegated marbles between them.

Overhead was an immense dome. This dome is nearly a hundred and fifty
feet high, and the circular opening in the centre of it is about thirty
feet across. Through this opening the rain was descending in a steady
but gentle shower. It was very curious to look up and see the
innumerable drops falling slowly from the bright opening above, down to
the marble floor. This opening is the only window. There is no other
place, as you wil