Edwardsville spectator. [volume] (Edwardsville, Ill.) 1819-1826, 1822-10-26

afCncu wall which ieau 10 the St ats, CaSed
with marble. The area, or pit, was floor
ed with thick squares of gallo aatico, a
beautiful marble of yellovish hue. On
the top stood group of four bronze
horses, drawing car, with charioteer,
all OF exquisite workmanship. The Pc
des,al OF white marble is still to be seen
in this place but the group itself had
been crushed and broken to pieces by
the immense weight of lava which fell
on it. The fragments having been COL
lec,ed, might easily have been brought
together again, but having been careless
ly thrown into corner, part OF them
were stolen, and another portion fused,
and canus-.-d iu,o busts OF their Neapo-
Titan Majesties. AT length, it was re-
solved TO make the best use OF what re-
manned, that is, to convert the four horses
into one, by taking four leg of one of
them, hinder leg OF ano her, the head
OF third, SC. and where the breach was
irremediable to cast new piece To
this Contrivance the bronze torse IN tho
courtyard Of the Museum Of Portlci,
| owes lis existence; and, considering its
patchwork origin still conveys high
idea of the skill of the ancient artist.
| In the forum, which was contiguous
TO the theatre, beside a number of IN
| scriptlons, columns, &c. two beautiful
equestrian statues Of the Balbi family
were found. These are Of white marble,
and are deposited in tie hal! of the left
wing OF the Palace at Porlici
Adjoining To the forum stood the tenn
pie OF Hercules, an elegant ralunda, the
interior of which was decorated with
| variety of paintings, such as Thesrus re-
turning from his Cre,an adven,nrsswiih
the Mipotaur; Te!ephus's birth ;SChiron
the centauf instructing Achilles, Sc
These were carefully separated from the
walls, and are here deposited in the n,u-
scum.
The most important discovery, how
| ever, was that of villa, at a small dis
| tanCe from the forum: not only on &C
coun, OF the peculiarly Of its plan, but
because the greater number of the works
OF ART were dug out OF It's predict; and
more especially because i, con,ah ed a
library consisting Of mora than fifteen
hundred volumes. which are likewise de-
posiled In the museum, and viii were
they leeibie, wouls! lol.i, great classic
'resaure.
The villa is conjec;urea 10 have be-
longed 70 one OF the Balhi family. Al
though elegant, il was small, and eon-
sis ed Of grpond-hoor only, like those
OF Pompsii. Beside number al s,aall
| closets round an interior hall, il contap-
cd bathing room, curionsiy fitted up
with marble and watcr-pipes, and a cha
DEL of diminutive SIZE, without any
window or aperture Tor day light, The
| walls (which were painted with serpents,
and within which a bronze tripod, filed
18th cinders and ashes, was found stand
ing on the floor.
The apartmen, which contained the
library was fitted up with wooden presses
around the lis, about six feet in height:
doubts row of presses stood insn Eted
in the middle of the room, SO as to adj
nit free passage on every side. The
wood of which the presses had been
made, was burned to cinder, and gave
way at the first touch blu, the volumes,
composed of much more perisbab,s
substance, the Egyptian or Syracusan
papyrus, were, although completely car-
bombed through the effect of the heat,
still so far preserved as to admit OF their
removal to similar set Of modern
presses, provided, however, with glass
doors, in the museum.
In the middle of the garden belonging
10 this villa, was a basin nearly Of ,ho
size and form Of the one in the Green
Park, having its edges faced with stone.
and the narrow ends rounded off in a
senaicircular form. This piece Of water
was surrounded by beds or f.s,f~,.s-.- as
various shapes; and the garden was on
every side enclosed by covered walk
supported by columns. OF these Coz
lumns there were six!y-lour, ten for each
Of the shorter, and twenty-five for eseh
of the longer sides Of the quadrangle
they were made of brick, neatly succeed
over, exactly similar to those "a the Pom
pcian barracks Each Pillar supported
one end Of wooden beam, the other ex.
tremity Of which rested ON the garden
wall, thus forming an arbour, in all pro-
babiIi,y planted mith vines, around the
whole garden. Under this covered walk,
several semi-circular recesses, which APP
pear to have served as bathing laces,
were buih. The spaces between the
pillars we're decorated with marble busts
and bronze statues, alternately arranged.
This garden was surrounded BY mar
row ditch: and another covered walk, Of
considerable length, led to Circular
balcony or platform, the ascent to which