, 1842-02-05

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sweet perfume.
On reaching Porlici, we alighted at a gate,
over which was inscribed in large letters
sScale de Ercolano.'' With wax tapers in
our hands, and attended by 4 guide, we de-
seconded the stairs cut in the lava. and pres
emily reached the level of the ancient city.
All was darkness and gloom, and as we
treaJed the intricate mazes. a feeling Of in
desc,ibable horror struck ne | e~ndeavored
guide gave US, | remember being LED around
the corridors of the theatre, and seeing the
we'll, ia sinking which the city was first dis
covered {; but all else was unintelIigible to
me. and it was with delight that we quilted
Iierculaneum and returned TO open day.
How different was Pompeii | can never
lose the impression made upon my mind, as
We en:etcd the street Of tombs. The an
cheats had Il superstitioas reverence for eve
~ thing touched by the lightning of Jove :;
it WAS with 4 similar feeling of awe that !
re .arded this city, which seemed 10 be a
sacred spot death and ruin had swept
through the streets. ald the silence of desc
lation now %rciLnci around. Other and
mi-htIcr cities have fallen by the hand Of
tine, OF the swords OF the barbarians; Rome.
Palmyra, B ,bylon. the glory OF them all, has
passed away, we cln trace the causes Of
their decline, and watch them IN their decay,
us in their rise but in the dreadful state of
Pompeii, there is a deeper and more spark
linz interest. Suddenly, ~aWfully did destruc-
ton fail upon it, as Il thief in the night
crushing and hurying tie entire city in q
few short lours; in The morning its streets
were alive with the crowds eagerly pursuing
their pleasures or business needless of the
pu'ctc. Death, in many cases, overlook the
unconscious inhaLitan;s in the midst OF their
emplovmcnls; here the mason'S hammer was
erected in the act Of striking the chisel {;
there the sentinel was struck While at the
post OF duty, one spot is pointed out where
the skeleton Of a poor mother was found
~clasping a babe to he. breast, unable to
shield her child from The ruin which involved
them both. Ia the shops men were actively
engaged in the business of life the Ioaves
were found in the bakers ovens; the hot
drinks stood on the marble counters of the
The%rmopollum prisoners were discovered
in their solitary cells, while the ministers OF
Justice sat in the courts above. In many
cases, mcn and women, terrified at the ap-
preaching torrent. seem 10 have attempted to
escape, some by fl 5ht, but whittier could
they fly ? Others sought refuge in the sub
ferranean cellars; but there death met them.
The picture is too painful to realize every
where traces of life and activity are visible.
but activity is suddenly arrested by the touch
of death. and you start at the desoIation and
silence around. The street of tombs derives
its name from the srpulchral monuments
which line it on either side, and lis termlna-
ton at the gate Of the city. The villa of
Diomed, which is situated without the walls
on this side of the town, is amongst the best
preserved houses.
All the private residences are built on
the same plan; they surround a court
yard, or in the larger. two courts are en-
braced in one house ; in the centre is a re-
.servoir for water, generally of white marble;
on this we saw the marks of the cords by
which the buckets ha been drawn up. The
sleeping apartments are of such narrow d.
mansions. rs 10 admit OF no furniture but a
he'd, and many Of them have no windows.
The reception rooms are larger, but even IN
the houses Of the principal citizens, these are
small compared with modern drawing and
d,ninu rooms. In the cellars OF Dlomed's
villa, under the ~porticos which surround the
seventeen skeletons were buried IN
shes. One female figure had on when dis
bracelets, rings, and OF
gold. the skeleton mouidered away when ex'
posed to the air, leaving only an impression
If the dust in the ashes. Another POOR
was found grasping bags of money
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