The Massachusetts spy, and Worcester County advertiser. [volume] ([Worcester, Mass.]) 1825-1831, 1828-10-15

n Diana of the Ephesians And the Callen
: dar of Saints and Saintesses-of men ant
women canonized and deified by morta
Popes, is as numerous as were ever thu
+, catalogues of the inferior Heather Deities
S We hear so much of miracles wrought by
: modern Saints, and become so accustomed
: to papal system, that it all seems vel
: enough, while we repro6ate in the mos
3 bitter terms, the same vague forms as prac
tlsed in the other times. But any Religion
IS better than none, and perhaps the Catho
lie system, with all its abuses, is more adapt
ed to the present state of Italy, than any
) other which could be devised.
The next objects that met our view were
the remains of a spacious Amphitheatre, a
Tragic, and a Comic Theatre. The first
wos evidently for equestrian sports. and for
combats of the wild beasts, and perhaps
) also for contests between the oidu1atvis,
an order of men taught to wage mortal
combat for the amusement of the people
and their imperial masters. This building
was of eleptic form, large, and adorned with
statues and painting.
The Tragic Theatre was also large, and
ma gnificently ornamented. 1t contained
different apartments for the Patricians, for
not much for the gallantry of the Romans
to know, that the females were postponed
to the most remote places, behind the lowest
order OF the people. They were perched
aloft in circles, corresponding to the upper
galleries of modern Theatres. This was
the universal practice all over the Empire.
The Comic Theatre is much smaller
Places for the different ranks of people are
recognized as in the others. They are not
divided into different distinct rows of boxes
as in our times. The seats rise gradually
above each other, as in Amphitheatres.
The stages of both these Theatres are ex-
tremely shallow, and could have admitted
but little variety of scenery.
4 But time, ink and paper would fail me, il
descended to every particular. We walk
ed through many streets, and entered num-
berless houses, baths and villas of different
individuals. They seem to have been but
one story high, and the rooms exceedingly
small, with mosaic floors, and pictured walls
and ceiling, in good preservation. Some
whole streets were filled with little shops
for all kinds of merchandise. Large stone
jars for wine and oil, are still seen inserted
in the counters, and when first discovered
the dipping ladies were found in them!
One of the largest private houses brought
TO light, belonged to one Diomedes. lie
persisted with the city, and after having
| been inhummed for more than II centuries
his body was found preserved, and holding
a purse in one hand, and in the other q
bunch of keys! About 20 other bodies
were also discovered in asubterranean part
of this villa. Close to the city walls are a
number of stately sepulchres, many ofwhict
still contain urns in one of which, being
broken, we saw the ashes of the dead, whose
body, as was the custom, had probably been
burned. These and numberless other OBJ
jects of equal interest, we saw and handled
and without much aid of the Imagination
we seemed actually carried back to the
days when Pompeii fourished in meridian
splendor. Having spent about five hours
among these enchanted walls and ruins, we
next proceeded to
HERCULANEUM.
The story of this city is soon told. Like
Pompeii, it was totally destroyed by the
: eruption of Vesuvius in the year 70. But
the destroying element was very different
from the ashes which covered the other
city. Herculaneum was buried and hermet.
ically sealed, 60 feet deep in liquid lava
which on cooling, become like stone. Thu:
! far it has been more than a match for the
, workmen employed. The scite of the city
has been ascertained, and an immense The
atre developed 60 feet below the surface
, The city proves to be directly under thu
modern town of Portigi. This is another
serious obstacle to excavations. They
r would be done at the peril of the modern
town. While exploring the dark recesse
of the Theatre by torch light, we heard thu
: vehicles trundling along the streets owe
our heads, with the noise of thunder. Ii
! spite of all these impediments, CRANE
l effort is about to be made, to bring to ligh
: the long lost ruins of Herculaneum. Tn
world of taste and letters will await thu
: result, with the most anxious solicitude.
This Museum contains the most rare col
! lection of genuine antiquities in the worlC
: The vast mines of Pompeii have been rifle
/ of their venerable treasures, with no sparin
hand. Every thing movable has bee
, transferred to Naples. Other museums @
, antiquities are composed chiefly of statues
monuments, and coins-things that are d,t
rGbLe in their very nature. The Vatican il
Rome stands preeminent in objects of thl
kind. But here, we are in the midst of
6 profusion of the most minute and commo
utensils of every days necessity, that hav
I been preserved fresh as the day they wer
! used by the Pompeians! 1t would be end
:, less to particularize except in classes. w
!, have before us, the ornaments of the bar
: quoting hall, and the drawing room-the to,
= en- Semble of the bed chamber, and the ladie
toilette--rogue, heads, rings, bracelet
, combs, and trifes; and last not least,
number or interest, we see all the peraphel
4 MALTA of the larder, and the kitchen-lamp
+ knives and forks, cauldrons and stewpan
y. pots and kettles, with hooks and trammel
: These are usually of bronze, and are in e1