The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1847-06-22 00:00:00

Etttraturt.

,MSNITO,

-4c4
ETCHES OF .A
ITAL Y, TRIP TO
GYP THE CONTINENT,
AND ET.
BY EDWIN KEET, ESQ.
No. XII.
(Written for the Liverpool Standard.).
liZewalk•Jil lewn the railway station at Torre del An-
r..i2.ta It) the exhumed city of Pompeii, through fertile
wue veil-cultivated gardens and vineyards; and as you
*wad We gate of the long-buried city, you are impressed
mitit awe, and a mournful solemnity steals over the mind
iliktus.ibly. Here, in these shops, business was transacted
yeafs since; and the marks of the wine and oil ves-
Axis r.eataiti on the counter still, plainly visible. There,
,ser,. Use roofless temples, their beautiful marble pillars
day «act aril sublitne ; the painted decorations still or-
lati:alent the walls of grottos, baths, fountains, and houses,
Ana.?i..-Are as fresh as when first painted; and the beautiful
inlaid,tloors. with the portraitures of birds, beasts,
„Yeaswzrs, fruit, tics, and, various other subjects of a higher
-fnad more hi.storic order, depicting heroes, beautiful wo-
mtu, and pagan dute2s, are worthy all admiration and
aa<ti In one of the apartments, down so far below the
:.Ikwei of the! surrounding soil at Herculaneum, we were
stgptied bread, fruit, and wine; and busy thoughts
mominpanied us during this refreshment, of the state of
se*ty so heautitu:ly described by Bulwer as existing

dec~x, in contrast to the present trailing, scientific, book-
-7rAelnigr, and ,Mantrnon-loving age. The house of the
lriatic poet, the target house of Sallust, and that of
L'aiia, are _ beautifuily ornamented, particularly that
. .

-,6,o.4iniug the Z.iacritiee of Iphigenia: There you see, in
.oic, the picture of the " Comic Actors attiring them-
-,-Rve,s," and also that of the " Re-marriage of Alcnelaits
zuvi Helen after the Trojan war." The bearded man
with the sceptre,—the hatf-veiled, timid, lovely woman,
,itrit,ti the diadem, embroidered dress and bracelets, and

-'fie winged Victoria,—these are wonderfully fine and spi-
z:,/c4l._ Another scene of Achilles and Briseis, Patroclus

d the wingless Mercury, huropa and the Bull, are also,
wolth a mulinudc of others, very fine, graceful, and effec-
tive. The guard-room seems as if the soldiers had just
3kelt it to esuipe the fiery deluge : their pencil scribbliugs '
the wally yet remain. It is a question with some whe-
lrier the greater part of the inhabitants did not escape,
Ts, with the exception of thirteen skeletons being found
year the entrance-gate, but comparatively few other re-
twins of dead bodies were discovered. Some of the few
-fiette.rs, in bronze, remaining on the floors and the fronts
--tf the houses, are of a tine bold and Roman character.
While I was sitting pensively ruminating upon the de-
zuction around me, in the house of Diomedes, noticing
`lino marble fluted columns cracked and injured by fierce
the wooden beams scorched and black, and burnt
4v.0.:..t to tinder, by the ashes, sulphur, and lava, that had
nverwhelined the doomed city. The custode aroused me
Ittwai my reverie, by telling me that the King of Naples
not allow any sketches to be taken without permission,
mad that no one was allowed to walk about without a
42.-dde accompanying him. This I found a trouble and
Annoyance, utterly subversive of all serious thought, as he '
wras continually gabbling about every building and object
-Are came to. Before I' went over the city I had carefully
itar.oected most of the fifteen thousand objects exhumed,
---4=ti placed in the magnificent Museo Borbonico, at
Kuplee ; these give you a good idea of the manners, cos-
-4=ms, state of the arts, civilization, and luxury that pre-
-railed in the three cities of Herculaneum, Pompeii, and
tat iae. Tne 1 tely-planted willow trees are in good taste,
And add aculitiocal sadness to the solemn grandeur that
salvo around this devoted, ruined, and for so many years
intried, city of Pompeii. Twenty-one large Amphorve
*mad in one room where seventeen skeletons were found.
"Cho figures of a pig, cock, and slave are depicted on an
Akar. The house of the Eaun contains splendid figures of
,omits, fish, ducks, peacocks, goldfinches, and curious
owers, and a most splendid interior is, by the order of
the King of Naples, excluded from public view, and
-wavered with boards.
Tale hot and cold baths, the fountains, the marble seats,
Vae forty figures of Satyrs supporting the frieze of a beau-
tiful temple, the marble squares, cisterns, the forty am-
Thome sphinxes, the font with beautiful -mosaic shell
-*arks: let into the forms of animals, vases of flowers,
all are worthy the traveller's careful attention. Here
you see a magistrate's name' there, HAVE, or good day ;
<Lae bath with SALVE. The temple of Vesta contains a
:Sue bath and place for sacrifice, one chapel with cats,
.cats, and forms of angels all round, between pretty fluted
Ataarble columns ; then a little further on you see a granary,
"wens, mills, and a soap shop; then a marble tomb, with
gallery and men in fine clear bold relief—all these, and
-a, variety of other interesting objects might be enumerated ;
.taitt, utter our exploration of the long-buried majesty of
city, we looked wonderingly at the imperturbable
manse of all the mischief, \' esuvius ! and how quietly did
ire gently puff forth /he smoke from his ponderous jaws.
We determined, although it was high noon, at the solici-
lation of a labouring man, who said he was a guide; to as-
cend the mountain 'on-the side it was seldom or ever as-

conded; and to go down it on the other, little dreaming
o siatould have about 17 miles hot, ashy, fatiguing walk-
nug. After passing through several fields and vineyards,
Riatenced as usual in Italy, we came to a village surrounded
Irir ashes. Here we laid in our supply of bread, wine, and
cgs, and, the guide furnishing us with walking-sticks by
Itreaking off branches of trees six feet in length, we set off
▪ good earnest to climb the mountain. Leigh Hunt says
lofty mountains appear to him as " great impostors."
We found this ash-mantled giant preeminently one ;
for soon we left behind us the cultivated fields and vine-
3wds, and entered upon one vast sea of ashes, forty
miles in circumference ; no footpath or road, no mark
human or any living feet ; on, on we plodded our
arfocotonous, weary way, sometimes taking vast ridges
lea firmer footpath, then from the rugged scorie
-cinders, and lava, obliged to change our line of march,
lite guide first, myself next, our silent, sulky companion,
ItLe Bostonian last, after about four miles of gradual
.c:facenthe wished to turn back, as he did from the heights
• Terracina. 1 strenuously opposed this retrograde
crovetnent. After a rest of two minutes and a little wine,

"ye again proceeded: now the ascent began to be more
apa-pandicular, and as the air got thinner and purer, and
are got hotter and more exhausted, we turned over on our
'tacks, gasping like fish thrown upon the verdant grass
men" dragged from their native element, only our bed
-was ashes, our walk in ashes, our prospect all around us,
as the eye could reach, ashes--how happy was I as the
guide gradually increased his distance from us to throw
myself, on the large lumps of lava, thrown out in erup-
ti.unas, and imbedded in the ashes, as a momentary respite
-am our toil. These lavas are said to contain portions of
is u, copper, and sometimes small quantities of silver,
Arad, and other metals, these lumps have reached the
-iensermous size of 108 feet round, and 17 feet high, one of
'this size was projected from the crater to a quarter of a
Vitae distance ; one other of 92 feet in circumference was
licown a greater distance into the valley between the
inountain and the hermitage. Pliny describes the erup-
ion in A.D. 79, as involving the whole country in pitchy
-karkness ; after burning until the twelfth century the fire
4lppeared to be quite extinct until the sixteenth. Since
11 s)6 it has continued burning. Out of 29 eruptions,
*um the time of Titus Vespasian to 1800, 14 took place
in the last century.—But the guide is shouting to us
Andiaino, corragio !" and on we go, and at last arrive
at-the base of the cone—what a most lovely prospect was
—the vast Mediterranean with its bays, islands of
Procida, and Caprsea, the ruins of Pompeii like a
-do.ess-board, its temples, streets, theatres, and squares,
•Itike castles, knights, kings, and queens in the mimic
,±But the guide still calls ! We have been three hours,
anti twenty-five minutes' more desperate work will enable
las to scale the rugged crown of the Fire King ! How
ilarefully did I step by step follow in the footsteps of our
_vide, to gain a firmer footing. Every tread was nearly
-.afoot deep in ashes ; all the sewings of my boots were
•Istsarly burnt, so as to separate the soles from the upper
part; and a piece of string from my guide, and one of my
garters, kept me just from being barefooted as a friar.
But we are now at the top, and in my joy I chanted
' God save the Queen," in triumph over the " Star-
:opangled Banner." Here we took out our bread, wine,
;2.d eggs, roasting the latter in the crevices of the hot
iralphur, in about six or seven minutes. While enjoying
this repast, and- wondering how silent everything was
trout us, we were alarmed by a jarring sensation and a
lova report, something above the slamming of a huge
minor in a vaulted chamber, and a clap of thunder ; a great
• -smell of sulphur, with a cloud of vapour and smoke,.came
per us. bilatAing up the fragments, we hastily ran
-mund to another part of the margin of the crater, to
..rvoid the suffocating cloud that passed over us. Having
:wished our repast, we walked carefully round the vortex
:be a favourable spot for close inspection down the fathom-
less abyss. All was dark—distant rumblings, as of a giant
drr_ pain, only heard at intervals. Seeing a large lump of
=gusted lava on the margin of the pit, I dislodged it
iny'stick, and it went bounding back, down into the
tgalph below. Immediately afterwards arose such a hiss-
t„ spitting, thundering explosion of hot water, stones,
sia
ashes, that we all -feared the monster was angry and
..cruraged at the insult ; and to escape his resentment, we
lam from his formidable jaws in great trepidation.
The shades of evening began now to close around us.
'We hadteen seven hours on the mountain sides and top,
-and our descent down the precipitate sides of the cone
-was as zierial, flying, and rapid as our ascent was slow,
•ftiguing, and monotonous. I think each stride, aided_
mad supported by our sticks, was from six to eight feet
-visstaut, the feet penetrating about eight or ten inches in
'tale ashes. I have skated fast in the Sefton Meadows and
15.. e Serpentine, but never had I so rapid a flight, or such
Ariciailarating sensations, as when galloping down the ashy
417311 e of Vesuvius. We soon recovered breath, emptied
the ashes from our boots, and reached the Hermitage,
-mere Lachrymi Christi, with delicious bread and butter,
-11f.galed, elevated, and reinvigorated us. The travellers'
.athum was brought to us, in which some severe lines to
50gers, Moore, and Hobhouse were inserted, penned
ba groin ptu , for their passive indifference at the long in-
"nation of Byrons statue in the vaults of the London
Custom-house. The trees around the Hermitage are
ysy pleasant, and the seats as commodious as the pros-
ect is enchanting. Many parties were coming up with
ls
:r guides, horses, and attendants; but we had the
woad .satisfaetion of having accomplished a feat which
law travellers had dared to venture ; and when we reached
file York Hotel, and had climbed ourkll3 steps
to our
ur
tatr.mliers on the terraced roof, we too a g ance at
vlig,ht flames then visible amidst the
_dark clouds of smoke
Cut wreathed around the Fire King's mountain top, and
"T on sank into a profoundly deep slumber, enjoying, after
.sue romantic day's pleasure and fatigue,
" Tied Nature's sweet restorer, balmy sleep!"

ru RAILWAY SPECULATORS--ALARMING PRECEDENT.
-injunction was the other day granted by the Vice
IC-rancellor, to restrain the transfer of shares disposed of
1,1 a hmatic. This is a fearful precedent. If transactions
All the share-market are to be invalidated merely because
varties to them were lunatics, how many bargains
-I"""hiring the runway al;zia will be allowed to stand ?