Staunton spectator, and general advertiser. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 183?-1849, 1842-06-30
which gives it great tenacity as we'll as


we arrived at the wonderful ruins OF Pompei
situated on small plain which extends fror
the foot of the mountain 10 the MARGIN of IN
bay. OF all the melancholy spectaclesI eve
beheld, nothing in solemnity can be more i'm
| pressive than this unburied city of the mas
presented to us almost perfect and entire il
all parts, and in form and substance as palpa
bic and real as on that fatal day when it wa
suddenly entombed beneaththe Clouds of ashe
and cindcrs that were emitted from the crate
OF the mountain at whose base it had so Ton,
reposed'ip tranquility. :.
| There have been but fifty skeletons tliscoy
cred, and the conjecture, therefore, would an
pear to be that the inhabitants had nearly al
lied from the city OH the very first agitation
oil the crater. The destruction Of Pompeii wa.
not so sudden, but that most of the inhabitant.
had time to escape, and to carry with them
most OF their valuables; which accounts fol
the fact thatvcry fitrle Of intrinsic value has We,
been discovered.
Some, however, like the sentinel on Inc
ramparts OF bcseiged fortress, born and
brought up as they were in the immediate
proximity of the volcano, must doubtless have
becomes In measure insensible or Indifferent
to danger, which may account for the fact that
when this place was excavated, some of the
skeletons in the houses and streets were OBJ
served TO be in a position that indicated that
they were destroyed in the very midst of their
accustomed occupations and pleasures.
In one palace, however, a female was found
III gallery in the evident act of escaping with
her infant in her arms. She was supposed to
have been person of rank, as rich brace
let was found upon her. From what we saw
we should presume that the death of all the
inhabitants that remained must have been al
most instantaneous, and, therefore, without
much suffering, rs the ashes and sand are so
extremely fine that even the wne-Iars and 9TH
CIR small vessels were Uniformly found filled
with this volcanic material They appcar 10
have penetrated into the minutest recesses and
assures and thus must have, in the same
no doubt, entered the respiratory or
gans. and caused immediate sufiocation, leav-
ing no time for the slightest agony.-The o.
pinion that the population were at the theatre
at the moment Of the awful visitation is not
credited by the learned and acute Professor
Anthem.
The houses, much to the surprise even of
The antiquarians, who had heretofore thought
themselves most informed on the subject, are
OF one story only and exceedingly diminutive,
scarcely larger, in fact, thana modern log cab
in IN our country, though built of stone. re-
collect only one instance of house in which
npologyyfid 10, by q stairway to something like an
lie more wealthy classes are. it is ,.. 81
larger dimensions, md have greater number
81 rooms, but still are cramped and confined,
and generally of one story. We believe we
may except one building only, which is the
mansion ofDiomede, and is compos-
I'd of three small stories. The apartments are
II al .C,o,
richly ornamented in mosaic and paintings,
md the floors in the larger houses frequently
Of entire mosaic of the most beautiful work
nanship. The bathing arrangements are of
Inc most luxurious kind, and constructed of
marble Of the finest texture and whiteness.
There are numbers of buildings in marble,
which, from the character of the statuary found
in them, were evidently places of worship, or
where the priests made their sacrifices and per-
formed their mummeries: Both theatres and
are found iii these extensive
ruins; which cover large space of ground;
and still but small portion of the city, it is
believed is yet exposed. The government is
constantly occupied IN removing the ashes,
which generally appear to be in a stratum of
less than 90 feet deep; enough, however, to
have crushed, in every distance, the flat ter
raced roofs of all the houses.
The excavation is effected with great facili- !
ty the volcanic matter Is all Of loose, light
texture. Such is the value attached to all
that relates to Pompcii by the government;
that the King has constituted system of the
most rigid regulations in respect to the work.
men. Those who are employed in the dig
ging, and even the cicerones who conduct the
visitors, are sworn not to permit eSeh the
smallest fragment of marble or mosaic to be
carried away under the heaviest penalties: ]
offered as brible to one of the persons EN-
ployed n small sum for single human bone as
a souvenir of the spot but was unable to pro-
cure even this trifling fnemento Of some one
of the skeletons whth dopblsss Y}hsa the
eagles of their country; and shared in the glo-
ries of the Roman empire, for there were
no exempts among the conscripts, centurions,
and cohorts of those days, and that Roman
citizen would almost scorn to live who was
not permitted to bear the helmet and the
ialchion blade in the maintenance of the ex-
tended military power which this warlIke peo-
pie had obtained at the era Of the destruction OF
Pompeii
The soil around is extremely fertile, pro-
ducng ON the very margin Of the excavations
the most lusious grapes and wine. The
streets Dire small and gehera'ly irregular, bu
paved with large flat stones of various shapes
without any particular order in the arrange
ment, differing in this respect from all the
modern cities Of Italy, yet i'll this very par
ticular resembling the celebrated Appian Way
at least in those parts Of this road that ART
now visible. In the largest streets, all o