s of ancient Roman
life; and we would often go and sit amidst the earth-covered ruins on
the Palatine. Here, children, I have heard your own dear father more
than once repeat, as only he could, Byron's graphic lines:--

"Cypress and ivy, weed and wall-flower grown,
Matted and mass'd together; hillocks heap'd
On what were chambers, arch crushed, column strewn
In fragments; choked-up vaults, and frescoes steep'd
In subterranean damps, where the owl peep'd
Deeming it midnight.

"He used to love to repeat bits of poetry everywhere, just as Margery
does.

"We climbed the Colosseum walls and sat there for hours dreaming of what
it once was--and so we went all over the city--until I really think I
lived in ancient Rome a part of the time. Often did I weep over the
tragic fate of Roman heroes and matrons as I was in the places sacred to
their history, so deeply impressed was I by the reality of the past life
of Rome. I had not followed the erudite words of any interpreter of the
ruins; I had not learned which was the particular pile of stones which
marks the location of the palace of Tiberius, Augustus, or Septimius
Severus; I could not even give name to all the various ruins of the
Roman Forum, but old Rome was very real to me, and has been ever since.

"Now," she continued, as she glanced at the interested faces about her,
"we are here for a very short time, and it does seem much the best to
both Robert and me that you should try to get Rome into your _hearts_
first. Don't be one bit afraid to grow sentimental over her. It is a
good place in which to give ourselves up to sentiment. We will take a
guide for all that which seems necessary. This one afternoon, however,
up here, when you have learned the location of the seven hills and have
clearly fixed in your minds the relative positions of the most important
ruins and old buildings is, in my opinion, worth more than would be many
afternoons spent in prowling through particular ruins; that is, for you.
Were we archaeological students, it would of course be a far different
matter."

"And we will at once resume our study of paintings," said Mr. Sumner,
drawing nearer. "To-morrow morning, if Malcom has no engagement, we will
go to the Sistine Chapel to see Michael Angelo's frescoes. I have been
so busy until now that I could not get the time I wished for it."

The next morning, as Barbara and Bettina were getting ready for the
drive according to Mr