Hereandthere，inornamentalalcoves，stretcheduponbedsofbones，laydeadanddried—upmonks，withlankframesdressedintheblackrobesoneseesordinarilyuponpriests。Weexaminedoneclosely。Theskinnyhandswereclaspeduponthebreast;twolustrelesstuftsofhairstucktotheskull;theskinwasbrownandsunken;itstretchedtightlyoverthecheekbonesandmadethemstandoutsharply;thecrispdeadeyesweredeepinthesockets;thenostrilswerepainfullyprominent，theendofthenosebeinggone;thelipshadshriveledawayfromtheyellowteeth:andbroughtdowntousthroughthecirclingyears，andpetrifiedthere，wasaweirdlaughafullcenturyold！
Itwasthejolliestlaugh，butyetthemostdreadful，thatonecanimagine。
Surely，Ithought，itmusthavebeenamostextraordinaryjokethisveteranproducedwithhislatestbreath，thathehasnotgotdonelaughingatityet。AtthismomentIsawthattheoldinstinctwasstrongupontheboys，andIsaidwehadbetterhurrytoSt。Peter\'s。Theyweretryingtokeepfromasking，\"Is——ishedead？\"
Itmakesmedizzy，tothinkoftheVatican——ofitswildernessofstatues，paintings，andcuriositiesofeverydescriptionandeveryage。The\"oldmasters\"（especiallyinsculpture，）fairlyswarm，there。IcannotwriteabouttheVatican。IthinkIshallneverrememberanythingIsawtheredistinctlybutthemummies，andtheTransfiguration，byRaphael，andsomeotherthingsitisnotnecessarytomentionnow。IshallremembertheTransfigurationpartlybecauseitwasplacedinaroomalmostbyitself;partlybecauseitisacknowledgedbyalltobethefirstoilpaintingintheworld;andpartlybecauseitwaswonderfullybeautiful。Thecolorsarefreshandrich，the\"expression，\"Iamtold，isfine，the\"feeling\"islively，the\"tone\"
isgood，the\"depth\"isprofound，andthewidthisaboutfourandahalffeet，Ishouldjudge。Itisapicturethatreallyholdsone\'sattention;