of St. Peter's there is an immense area, enclosed on each side
by a magnificent semicircular colonnade. There are four rows of lofty
columns in this colonnade, with a carriage way in the centre between
them. The space enclosed between these colonnades is called the
_piazza_,[A] and it is adorned with fountains and colossal statues, and
on days of public festivities and celebrations, it is filled with an
immense concourse of people. It is large enough to contain a great many
thousands.

[8][Footnote 8: A Pronounced _piatza_.]

When Mr. George and his party arrived, they dismissed the carriage and
began to walk to and fro under the colonnade and about the piazza. The
time passed away very rapidly; and at length, a few minutes before
eight, the other carriages began to come. All the persons who belonged
to the party were anxious to arrive in time, for they were afraid that,
if they were too late, the others would have gone into the Vatican,
where, the building being so immense, it might be very difficult to find
them.

Accordingly, before the clock struck eight, all the party were assembled
at the entrance door.

The entrance opened from a vast covered gallery, which formed one of the
approaches to St. Peter's, between the end of the colonnade and the main
front of the building. There were several Swiss sentinels on guard here.
They were dressed in what seemed to Rollo a very fantastic garb. In a
few minutes the men who were to accompany the party through the
galleries appeared. One of them carried a great number of very long
candles under his arm. Another had a long pole with a socket at the top
of it, and a semicircular screen of tin on one side, to screen the light
of the candles from the eyes of the visitors, and to throw it upon the
statues. When all was ready, these torch bearers moved on, and were
followed by the whole party up the great staircase which led to the
galleries of the Vatican.

After going upward and onward for some time, they came at length to the
entrance of one of the long galleries of sculpture. Here the torch
bearers stopped and began to prepare their torches. They cut the long
candles in two, so as to make pieces about eighteen inches long. Taking
six or eight of these pieces, they placed them together like a bundle of
sticks, and tied them, and then crowded the ends together into the
socket upon the end of the pole. This socket was made large enough to
receive them. They then lighted the wi