degrees, like a cloud of smoke; the real day returned, and the sun appeared, though very faintly, and as when an eclipse is coming on; and every object seemed changed, from being covered over with white ashes, as with a cep snow, LESSON CXXI. Pompeii. IDEM. PLINY'S account of the eruption of Vesuvius, which extended to Pompeii, has been amply verified. On the 23d of August, in the year 79, the city was suddenly exposed to a continuous and thick shower of ashes, as fine as powder, and at the same time streams of mud and hot water. At the time of the disaster, the city is believed to have contained twenty-five thousand inhabitants, the greater number of whom took to flight, and were saved. Some, however, were struck down in making their escape; and others, who took shelter within their houses, were either killed by the falling of the roofs, or drowned in the sea of mud which flowed into the lower apartments. Altogether, it has been computed that thirteen hundred persons perished. By this sad catastrophe, the city does not appear to have been utterly or at once overwhelmed. The eruption is believed to have consisted of repeated attacks, leaving sufficient intervals for the inhabitants to carry off their most valuable articles, or to return to find them. On this account, comparatively few movables of great value have been found in the houses by modern excavators. After this first and greatest eruption, others ensued; and in a short time the city was effectually covered, and lost to observation. When thus overwhelmed, Pompeii stood on an elevated part of the sea-shore, into which the small river Sarnus, or Sarno, ran on its southern side. Occupying a somewhat irregular surface, it offered admirable sites for elegant public buildings; and from the appearance of the ruins brought to light, it seems to have contained a great variety of temples, and other large structures, in the best style of Grecian art. Behind the town was a fertile plain, spreading upwards towards Vesuvius, and along the coast on each side were many pretty villages and populous cities; among others Herculaneum, which shared the same fate. In consequence of the silting up of the bay, and other changes, Pompeii is now found to be upwards of a mile from the sea, while the ancient character of the plain for fertility has been greatly deteriorated by successive volcanic eruptions. The crater of Vesuvius, from which the city received its death-blow, is about five miles distant from the ruins, in a north-easterly direction. Although it was traditionally known that Pompeii was somewhere entombed in this part of Campania, few if any attempts were made to discover it; and it was not till 1748 that, in making some excavations, its remains were accidentally brought to light. Since that period, the Neapolitan government has exerted itself to clear the ruins from the rubbish which encumbers them. This, however, has been a tedious and expensive process. The mud formed by the steam and ashes sent forth by the volcano, and by the torrents of rain accompanying the eruption, has hardened in the situations into which it poured, and is somewhat difficult to remove. The part chiefly cleared is a strip on the side next the sea, forming, from a fourth to a third of the whole city. The wall, however, which environed the city on the land side, with the gateways in it, has likewise been laid bare. "The road by which we approached the city," says an English traveller, " brought us to its north-western extremity, or the entrance by what is called the gate of Herculaneum ; and here, in the company of our guide and a local official, we began our explorations. The first thing to which we were introduced was the massive ruin of a villa, a little to the right of the pathway, known as the house of Diomedes, a wealthy Roman. The extent of this large ruin did not more surprise us than its open and demolished condition. It seems that here, as elsewhere, exposure to the weather for a number of years has obliterated some fine specimens of paintings on the walls, and greatly injured the different parts of the structure. We were told that, when the building was cleared out, the skeletons of seventeen persons were found in a vaulted cellar, into which they had rushed for safety. The volcanic mud which flowed in had hardened around them; and when excavated, their bodies left impressions in the surrounding material, like moulds for statuary. A piece of the incrustation remains on the wall, impressed with the form of a woman. This hapless sufferer had been a lady, perhaps the mistress of the splendid household; for bracelets, rings, and jewels were found on the remains of her person. Our guide mentioned that, near the villa, the body of a man had been found grasping bags of money and keys in his hands, as if struck down in the effort to escape with these valuables." "Hastening on from this interesting and dismantled ruin, we proceeded along an avenue or street, singular in character, usually called the Street of Tombs. It is in reality what had been the burying-ground of the Pompeians, and is lined with monumental edifices of handsome and solid masonry, some in a tolerable state of preservation, but others dilapidated less, however, by time, than the pressure of volcanic matter. The architecture is principally of the Grecian orders; columns, pilasters, mouldings in stone or marble, being conspicuous amidst the scene of desolation." 66 Reaching the end of the street of tombs, and making an easy ascent, we arrived at the gateway already mentioned. Every part is now in ruin; but originally the entrance consisted of a central and two side arches. When the rubbish which encumbered the street and gateway was cleared away, the skeleton of a Roman soldier was found in a niche, marked on the side of the pathway: his lance was in his hand; and, like a faithful sentinel, he had died rather than desert his post." "Passing through the now broken archway, we found ourselves in a street, evidently of considerable length, lined with broken walls and roofless edifices, the remains generally, we were told, of inns for the accommodation of country people. It was distressing to behold the dismantled condition of many substantial structures. The walls, built of brick or blocks of lava, and mostly plastered, formed a vista of ruins glaring under the noonday sun; and excepting another party before us, no living thing was visible. The rubbish having been thoroughly removed, we saw every thing around us exactly as it stood nearly eighteen centuries ago. Within the deserted shops and mansions, the most interesting tokens of past times present themselves. On the left is a shop in which hot drinks had been sold; the counter of marble still stands, having on its surface marks left by the wet vessels." "Turning up a cross street to the left, we were shown the remains of one of the largest private dwellings in the city, usually styled the house of Pansa, a public officer." "In .his great mansion, the water for drinking and cooking was brought in buckets from public fountains; for, although the city was supplied with water by an aqueduct, from hills eight miles distant, it was not introduced by pipes into the houses. This defect, however, did not arise from an ignorance of hydraulics, because in Pompeii there are paintings of fountains spouting water. As large numbers of slaves and menials were employed in carrying water, and in various cleansing operations, the inconvenience of having no provision for introducing water to the houses in pipes was not probably felt. Another deficiency was the absence of chimneys or fireplaces. Suitable enough for summer, or pleasant dry weather, the houses could not fail to be uncomfortable in winter. Excepting where flues of warm air were led through the walls from furnaces employed for hot baths, the method of heating was by pans of burning wood or charcoal, over which the people sat shivering in cold weather. Cooking was likewise performed over pans of charcoal, sunk in counters of stone work. Ancient Roman writers make grievous complaints of the smoke rising from the heating pans, which, having no contrivance to rid themselves of, wound in clouds through the apartments, spoiling the appearance of the statues and pictured walls, and in certain seasons making life within doors almost insupportable. How remarkable does it now appear, that a people so far advanced in taste and luxury, so accomplished in all ornamental arts, should not have arrived at the discovery and use of chimneys! With these things forced on our notice, the feelings of regret which we experienced in wandering through the roofless halls of Pansa's palace were considerably modified. We thought of our neat dwelling at home, which, without any pretensions to magnificence, surpassed in every useful and substantial accommodation this once proud and lordly mansion.” LESSON CXXII. Last Days of Herculaneum. ATHERSTONE. THERE was a man, A Roman soldier, for some daring deed That trespassed on the laws, in dungeon low A little faithful copy of his sire In face and gesture. In her pangs she died |