At the end of the "Street of the Tombs" is the "Suburban Villa," or the Villa of Diomedes,—the last object I saw on leaving Pompeii. It stands near the north-western or Herculaneum gate. Of all the private buildings yet discovered, this is said to be by far the most interesting, as well as the most extensive. It was a mansion in which the owner doubtless took pride and pleasure, as we may judge from the expense lavished with unsparing hand on its decoration and internal arrangements. It is called the Villa of Diomedes from a tomb discovered immediately opposite to it, bearing that name, though not a trace remains that can indicate to whom it belonged. All that we know of the owner, or his family, may be comprised in one sentence; which, short as it is, speaks forcibly to our feelings :-Their life was one of elegant luxury and enjoyment, in the midst of which death came on them by surprise, a death of strange and lingering agony. When Vesuvius first showed signs of the coming storm, the air was still, (as we learn from the description of Pliny,) and the smoke of the mountain rose up straight, until the atmosphere would bear it no higher, and then spread on all sides into a canopy, suggesting to him the idea of an enormous pine-tree. After this a wind sprung up from the west, which served to waft Pliny from Misenum to Stabiæ, but prevented his return. The next morning, probably, it veered something to the north, when, in the younger Pliny's words, a cloud seemed to descend upon the earth, to cover the sea, and hide the Isle of Capreæ from his view. The ashes are said by Dion Cassius to have reached Egypt. It was, perhaps, at this moment that the hail of fire fell thickest at Pompeii,-at day-break, on the second morning; and, if any had thus long survived the stifling air and burning earth, their misery was probably now brought to a close. The villa of which we have spoken lay exactly between the city and the mountain, and must have felt the firstand, if there were degrees of misery where all perished alike, the worst-effects of this visitation. Fearful is such an occurrence, even to those who now crowd to see an eruption of Vesuvius, as they would to a picturegallery or an opera: how much more terrible, when accompanied by the certainty of impending death, to those who had never heard of such a visitation, until they themselves became its helpless victims ! It is most remarkable and interesting, that the discoveries at Pompeii introduce us to the homes, nay, to the very persons, of a long-forgotten age; so that many circumstances relating to them can be verified by evidence little less than conclusive. Several members of the family and household sought protection in the underground vaults, which, by reason of the wine-jars already stored there, and the provisions which they brought down with them, they probably considered a sufficient refuge against an evil of which they could not guess the whole extent. It was a vain hope: the same fate awaited them all, by different ways. The strong vaults, and narrow openings to the day, protected them, indeed, from the falling cinders; but the burning heat could not be kept out by such means. The vital air was changed into a sulphurous vapour, charged with hot dust. In their despair, longing for the pure breath of heaven, they rushed to the door, already choked with scoria and ruins, and perished in agonies on which the imagination does not wish to dwell. Beside the garden-gate two skeletons were found. One, presumed to be the master, had in his hand the key of that gate; and near him were about a hundred gold and silver coins the other, stretched beside some silver vases, was probably a slave charged with the transport of these. In another direction the skeletons of seventeen persons were found huddled together, unmoved during seventeen centuries since they sank in death. They were covered by several feet of ashes of extreme fineness, which had been, evidently, borne in slowly through the vent-holes, and afterwards consolidated by damp. The substance thus formed resembles the sand used by metal-founders for castings; but it is yet more delicate, and it took perfect impressions of everything on which it lay. Considering that about the fifth part only of Pompeii has been excavated, and how large is the number of valuable monuments and relics already recovered, one may form an idea of the quantity that must still lie under ground. It is supposed that, with the small sum allowed for the excavation, and the little activity that prevails in the works, another century will pass away before the city can be laid open. The district beyond Pompeii, in the direction of Vesuvius, is thickly covered with ashes; notwithstanding which, it is largely under cultivation. The soil produced by volcanic matter, it appears, is admirably suited for vineyards. The Such is the description given by a recent visiter. How forcibly are we reminded, on reading it, of the overthrow of the cities of the plain in the days of Abraham. Romans were at that time the rulers of the world, and made all nations contribute to their wealth and luxury. Pompeii and other cities along the western shores of the peninsula were places of popular resort for the rich and licentious patricians of Rome. It might be that many captains and centurions of the Roman army, which a few years ago had returned from the overthrow of Jerusalem, were there also resting from their war-toils. It may be, too, that the Arch of Titus, yet standing, was then in course of erection, to celebrate the fall of the holy city. If so, what an awful lesson did God teach these proud conquerors. He had permitted them to punish the Jews for their great sin in rejecting and killing his own Son, but he taught these power-boasting men that they were as nothing and less than nothing before him. |