The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1854-09-27
AToUcHINa RELIC OF foMpEI1.


In digging out.the ruins of Pompeii,
every turn of the spade brings up some
relic of the ancient life, some witness of
imperial luxury. For far the greater
part of the relics have merely curious
interest they belong to archaeology, and
find appropriate resting places in his
torieal museums. S+
But there are some exceptions. Here
for instance, the excavator drops, an
unlimited guest, upon banquet; there
he 6csxpedly obtrudes himself into a
ton1s1 In one. place he finds a miser
covering on his heap; another shows
himsbones of dancing girls and broken
instruments of music lying on the mar
BILE floor, in the midst of the painted
chambers, baths, halls, columns, foun-
tains among the splendid evidences of
material wealth, he sometimes stumbles
on simple incident, touching human
story, such as strikes the imagination
and suggests the meRrnful interest of
the great disaster, as the sudden sight of
a wounded soldier conjures up the hor-
rorsof field of battle. .5-
Such, to cur mind, is the latest dis
coyery of the .excayators in this melan-
choly field. 1t is a group of skeletons
in the act of flight, accompanied by a
dog There are three human beings,
one of them young girl, with gold
rings and jewels still on her fingers
The fugitives had bag of gold and sill
yer with them, snatched up, no doubt,
in haste and darkness But the fiery
flood was on their track, and vain their
wealth, their fight-the age of one, the
youth of the other. The burning lava
rolled above them and beyond, and the
faithful dog turned back to share the
fortunes of his mistress, dying at her
feet..e 1 zzsaa
Seen by the light of such an incident,
how sYividly that night of horrors looms
upon the senses! Does not the magma
tion picture the little group in their own
house, by the side of their.evening foun-
tain languidly achattering over the days
events and the unusual heat Does it
not hear with them the troubled swell
of the. waters in the bay? see, as they
do, how the night comes down in sudden
strangeness, how the sky opens overhead
and flames break out, while core, sand,
and molten rocks come pouring down !?
What movements, what emotions, what
surprise The scene grows darker ev-
cry instant; the hollow monotony of the
bay is lifted into yells,l shrieks; the air
grows thick and hot with flames and at
the mountains foot is heard the roll of
the liquid lava. ,-s s.- s.-.-.ys-..
Jewels, household goods, gold and sill
yer coins, are snatehed up on the in
stant5@ No time to say farewell : dark
ness In front and fire behind, they rush
into ithe streets; choked with falling
houses and flying citizens. How find
the way through passages which have no
longer outlets Confusion, danger,
darkness, uproar, everywhere 1.-THE shouts
of parted friends. the agony of men
struck down by. falling columns; fear,
madness, and despair unclaimed; here,
penury clutching gold it cannot keep !;
there gluttony feeding on its final meal,
and phrenzy striking in the dark to fore
stall death. Through all fancy hears
the young girls screams; the fire is on
her jeweHed hand. No time for thought,
no pause the feed rolls on, and wis
dom, beauty, age and youth, with all the
stories of their love, their hopes, their
rank, wealth and greatness, all the once
af1uent life, are gone forever. .s-.-s..
When unearthed after many years,
the nameless group has no other import
ance to mankind than as it may serve
to point moral or adorn tale ps.ts -