The National Register.
London, England, 1822-02-10 00:00:00

ILERCULA2VBUMIAND POMPEIA.

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The following account of the destruction of Her-
culaneum, &c. near Naples, which happened more
than 1700 years ago, and where so many curiosities
have been found, may prove interesting to many of',
our readers.
The towns of Herculaneum, Pompeia, and Stable,
were destroyed by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius,
which burst out all once between one and two
o'clock in the afternoon, August the 23d, in the
year of Christ, 79, by which these towns were
completely overwhelmed—the former by an inun-
dation of hot mud, between 60 and 80 feet high,
and the two latter with showers of ashes, pummice
stone, and other volcanic substances, in some places
near 20 feet in height. Herculaneum is five miles,
I'ompeia seven, and Stabia ten miles distance from
the mouth of the volcano. This eruption so altered
the face of this part of the country that it is only
116 years ago that any discoveries were made even
at Herculaneum, which was considerably prior to
the other towns. It is well known that Tacitus re-
quested of Pliny the younger, a succinct and accurate
account of his uncle's death, in order that it might
be inserted in his history. The ingenious Mr.
Melmoth has translated Pliny's answer, where we
find that I'liny and his mother, who were left at
l‘lisenuni, were obliged to shake their clothes con-
tieuall to disengage themselves from the vast quan-
tlties of ashes which tell very plentifully all around
them. ftlisenum is 13 English miles distant from
the shore, underneath Vesuvius, and from the shore
to the mouth of the volcano about seven more ; so
that we may fairly say that they were 20 miles dis-
tant from the burning crater. Now if the erup-
tion was so dreadful at that distance, we may form
some idea of the horrible situation of those towns
which were on the same shore with the mountain.
It is recorded that the ashes of this eruption were
carried in the air into Africa, Egypt, and Syria.
This dreadful eruption darkened the sun for three
days. The ancient paintings in the ruins of Her-
culaneum were discovered in the year 1706, at
Portici, near Naples, in a ruinous vault, on occasion
of digging the foundation of a villa tier the Prince
of Elbaulf, (after remaining there 1627 years),
and immediately, with other new discovered marble
and metal statutes, came into the possession of
Prince Eugene, and were transported to Vienna.—
Prince Eugene, who well knew the value, provided
a Sala Terrena to be built expressly for them and a
few others. These curiosities are too numerous to
be inserted here. We will only mention, that at the
play-house at Herculaneum some tickets for ad-
mission were found, markedlßschylus ; at a gaming
house some dice were discovered, loaded for cheating,
and a skeleton was also found, us if running away
with a bag of money in one hand, and a street-door
key in the other. The books and manuscripts that
have been found are not written upon parchment,
as generally believed, or, as it is thought by others,
on the ancient paper of Egypt, but on the leaves of
bullrushea, joined together and rolled up. They
are written only on one side, and disposed in small
columns, about the size of a common page 12mo.
They were ranged one upon another in an inlaid
cabinet, the fragments of which are still visible.—
All those which had not been preserved from the
moisture by the ashes of Vesuvius, were rotten, and
fell to pieces when touched in the air like a cobweb.
Those, on the other hand, which by heat were re-
duced to a cinder, were the only ones that were pre-
served, having resisted the moisture. Thee leav,s
resemble a burnt stick, about two inches in diameter,
and ten in length. When they are attempted to be
unrolled they break and fall to dust, but by dint of
time and patience every letter has been separated
one after the other, and they have been completely
copied. Father Piaggi discovered this secret, which
requires uncommon address and indefatigable assi-
duity.
It is very interesting to read in a detailed descrip-
tion of the Ruins of Herculaneum of the curious
trinkets found in the ladies' cabinets, on their toil.
ets, &c. ; and very awful of the number of skele-
tons found together in some of the rooms, of the
families that had in their confusion there assembled.

One of the daughters of the ex-King of Spain,
Joseph Buonaparte, arrived at Philadelphia on the
2 I t-t of Deceinber, after a very unpleasant and bois-
terous pa:slige, which she hurt without complaint.
Her father was delighted to gee her, and received
her with great affection, and her arrival had dissi-
pated the gloom which had prevailed at Point Brize,
t':e name of his resie.ence, since the news of Ow
acatit of his ',react.

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On Wednesday, Mr. P., of Kennington, and Mr.S.,
solicitor, of llorselydown, for a stake of 7AI. walked
five miles on the new Camberwell road, half wile
o;:t and home. The former did the five miles in 471
t..inutes, leaving the other only 150 yards behind.
It is considered a grett feat, as both gentlemen are
novices.