So Rollo and Charles walked away.
"I believe the name of it is the column of Trajan," said Rollo, "for I saw the name of it on the model at the hotel. That man has just come, and he don't know."
"Are you sure it is the same column?" suggested Charles.
"Yes," said Rollo, "for it was exactly of that shape, and it had the same spiral line of images going round and round it, and a statue on the top. See, how old and venerable it looks! It was built almost two thousand years ago."
"What did they build it for?" asked Charles.
"Why, I don't know exactly," said Rollo, looking a little puzzled; "for ornament, I suppose."
"But I don't see much ornament," said Charles, "in a big column standing all by itself, and with nothing for it to keep up."
"But it has something to keep up," rejoined Rollo. "Don't you see, there is a statue on the top of it."
"If that's what it is to keep up," said Charles, "I don't see any sense in making the column so tall as to hold up the statue so high that we can't see it."
"Nor I," said Rollo, "but they often made tall columns, like these, in ancient times."