Under a soaring dome where Americans once paid last respects to presidents Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy, both powerful and ordinary citizens paid tribute to Ronald Reagan, the 40th president.

　　Officials in Washington hailed Reagan on Wednesday as "a graceful and gallant man," in Vice President Dick Cheney's words.

　　House speaker Dennis Hastert, speaking at the state funeral ceremony opening the 34-hour period of Reagan's lying in state, said, "It is altogether fitting and proper that he has returned to this Capitol Rotunda, like another great son of Illinois, Abraham Lincoln, so the nation can say goodbye."

　　Once the dignitaries had departed, average Americans who had waited much of the day began to stream past Reagan's flag-draped casket. The viewing goes on until this morning.

　　Capitol police were counting visitors as they neared the Rotunda. Although the police force wasn't giving out official crowd estimates, one officer estimated that 80,000 had passed the president's casket by yesterday, with an additional 30,000 lined up outside. Visitors split into two columns as they entered the viewing area, filing around both sides of the casket.

　　At the Reagan library in California, approximately 106,000 viewed the casket during a 33-hour period.

　　His body was flown in from California on a presidential jet and brought to the Capitol on a century-old, horse-drawn caisson for an honor last accorded a president in 1973 when Lyndon Johnson died.

　　As the service ended, Nancy Reagan drew near, patting the casket before taking her leave at the end of a long day that began in California.

　　Senator edward Kennedy gazed at Reagan's casket when the funeral ended. Kennedy, of course, was present in 1963 when his brother, President Kennedy, was eulogized in the Capitol following his assassination.

　　Unlike some prior state funerals, where a grief-stricken nation mourned the unexpected loss of its leader, the events honoring the former movie actor sometimes had the feel of a parade.

　　Every clicking step of shined boots, every sounding of the bugle, every firing of rifle and cannon was tightly scripted.

　　Reagan, who died on Saturday at 93 at his home in Los Angeles, will be buried today in a sunset ceremony on the grounds of his presidential library in Simi Valley, California.

　　President george W. Bush and his father, George, who was Reagan's vice president and succeeded him in the White House, will be among the eulogists today.

　　(The Associated Press)