round in some mysterious
manner along the smooth surface of the wall.

"It is very extraordinary!" said Mrs. Holiday.

"It is, indeed!" said Mr. George.

Rollo himself, however, did not seem to be so much interested in this
acoustic phenomenon as his uncle had been. His attention was attracted
to the spectacle of the workmen, who were employed in repainting the
inner surface of the dome, and whom he could now see at their work on
the staging which he had looked up to from below. One side of the
staging--the side towards the wall--was supported by a cornice, which it
rested upon there. The other side--the side that was towards the centre
of the dome--was suspended by ropes and pulleys, which came down through
the lantern from a vast height above.

There was a ladder, the foot of which rested on this staging, the top
of it being placed against the surface of the dome above. There was a
man upon this ladder, near the top of it, at work on the ceiling, and
two or three assistants on the staging at the foot of it.

Rollo and Jennie gazed some time with great wonder and awe at this
spectacle, picturing to their imaginations the scene which would ensue
if the ropes from the lantern above, by which the staging was suspended,
were to break and let the staging, the ladders, and the men all down to
the pavement below.

Presently Rollo and Jane, on looking up, found that Mr. George and Mrs.
Holiday were going back; so they made haste to follow them. On their way
towards the door they met other parties coming in to see the whispering
gallery. They themselves went out; and, following the directions of the
guide, they began to ascend again, by various intricate and winding
staircases, to higher parts of the building still. After ascending to
the height of four or five stories more, the party came to another
gallery, which was, however, outside of the church instead of within it.
This outer gallery is called the stone gallery; it is so called to
distinguish it from another outer gallery, still higher up, called the
golden gallery. You can see the places of both these galleries by
looking at the engraving, as they are both outside of the building. The
stone gallery is below the dome. You can see the balustrade surrounding
it, just above the head of the statue which stands on the pediment in
the centre of the building. There is a row of columns above this gallery
which supports an entablature above them, that forms the base of the