"Is it here where the men fought with the lions and the tigers?" asked Rollo, pointing around him over the arena.
"Yes," said Mr. George.
"And up there, all around were the seats of the spectators, I suppose," said Rollo.
"Yes," said Mr. George, "on those slopes."
You must know that the scats, and all the inside finish of the Coliseum, were originally of marble, and people have stripped it all away, and left nothing but the naked masonry; and even that is all now going to ruin.
"What did they strip the marble off for?" asked Rollo.
"To build their houses and palaces with," replied Mr. George. "Half of the modern palaces of Rome are built of stone and marble plundered from the ancient ruins."
"O, uncle George!" exclaimed Rollo.
"Come out here where we can sit down," said Mr. George, "and I'll tell you all about it."
