The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1858-04-22

THURSDAY, APRIL %.


over the volume of the past and study the char
acter, habits and mode of life of the people of
former ages-and then by comparing them with
those of the present day, to ascertain the advance
which the world has made in the path OF pro-
gress. Ordinary written history comprises few
of those minor details which, more than anything
else, are illustrative of the social character OF a
nation. 1t is to other sources that we must look
for this kind of information and we find no field
of examination more fruitful in this respect, no
study more interesting than that which the par
tally recovered cities of Herculaneum and Pom
| peii afford. The lava ashes of Vesuvius have pre-
served them in almost their primeval freshness,
for a period of eighteen hundred years !; and
strangers may walk the very sidewalks, and enter
! at the same doors that Pliny and Sallust walked
upon and entered in the year Of our Lord 10.
We are led to these reflections by the recent
perusal of one of Jaryes' most popular works
his 50 italian Sights and Papal Principles in
which he gives a very interesting account of his
visit to, and exploration of, Pompeii. And from
the chapter devoted to this subject we gather
some facts in relation to this old relic of the past,
which, although not new to all, will doubtless be
perused with interest by our readers. In enter
ing Pompeii, Mr.. Jarves was so fortunate as to
dodge the legion of oficious guides who throng
around the gate, and gained an opportunity to
indulge in solitude and peace, the promptings of
his curiosity. Thus unattended, he dived into
cellars and pried into ladies' boudoirs with i'm
punity and visited every spot which gave token
of warm hearts and a busy life. Let us peep
with him into the Villa of Diomedes-a fine three
story building, with glass windows, and sur
rounded with many of the luxuries common to
more modern times. Two skeletons, arrested by
the fatal shower while in the act of escaping,
keep watch over the outer gate, and in the
kitchen we find the skeleton of the cook at his
place by the fire, surrounded by traces of a coming
meal
s.But the wine-cellar, still perfect, and lighted by
the same narrow loop-holes, looking into the garden,
which let in the fatal shower and gases, is the most
interesting spot, from the fact that here were found
the remains of twenty persons, including a child and
baby, who had here taken refuge, with sufficient pro-
vision, as they supposed, to weather the strange
storm. They were, however, speedily suffocated by
the mephitic vapors while making a vain effort TO es-
cape from their fatal refuge, the falling stones and
lava having closed the door upon them for eternity.
The fine ashes and hot water, penetrating by the
windows, formed a paste around their bodies, pre-
serving the impressions of form, and even clothing,
as perfectly as a ~sculptor's mould. Even the texture
of the fine linen worn by the women was imprinted on
this lava paste, as well as their jewels The saddest
relic of all was n portion of the blonde hair Of the
mother, still retaining its color and shape. Tn the
Museo Borbonico at Naples, where all removable ar
ticles of value are carried as soon as discovered, we
see the impression in lava of n female breast, matronly,
full and fair, and the entire female head, formed of
a fine crust, so delicate that it seems as if a breath
might disturb it, yet every feature is as perfect as IN
life, exhibiting a portrait OF rare beauty and regular
ity. No sculptor could have taken his mould with
more DrpslGi0Q The utmost care IL taken OF II. so
that it viii probably endure through all time as the
sole artificial bust of Nature 5 moulding, a priceless
and unique specimen of geological portraiture.
Whether these remains we're found or not in Dione-
des's cellar, 1 do not know.
"The wine-jars of Diomedes remain leaning in
rows against the walls, as when he last took account
of stock. They are filled with ashes. Beneath there
is a dried substance, which connoisseurs pretend to
say still retains a portion of the rich aroma of the
wines that for thousands of years have given TO
Vesuvius its most cherished celebrity
These are but a few of many human remains
which have been and will be disinterred at Pom
peii,-although there is no doubt that a great
majority of the inhabitants succeeded in escaping
from the city. More than three score soldiers
persisted in their barracks, victims to military
discipline. Four of them it is true, were invol-
untary sufferer-being in irons at the time. The
irons, partially melted, were found around their
limbs by the explorers.
Among the numerous Pompeiian curiosities
which are on exhibition in the Royal Museum,
not the least is a huge bronze cock, perhaps from
some great bathing establishment, Theoretically
sealed at both ends, and containing a considerable
quantity of ancient water, which is heard to
splash to and fro when shaken. There are many
baths, public and private, in Pompeii. And their
love of fresh water affords one of the best evil
dences we have of the superior civilization of the
people. The cold baths were frequently ar
ranged in gardens, in the open air, with a some
what nonchalant disregard of exposure and our
author says that some of the bath tubs, of the
purest white marble, look . as invitingly under
the warm sky of to-day as when Grecian bellies
were wont to battle their fair limbs therein: The
public baths of Pompeii are vastly superior, both
in size and decoration, to any of more modern
date. The three principal divisions of the estab-
lishment were the s.trepidarium' or warm cham
Der, the SO calidarium'' or hot chamber, and the
Sc frigidarium'' or undressing room. On the
wall of the court is the following inscription
20 On occasion of the dedication of the baths at
the expense of Cneus Alleius Nigidius Maius,
there will be the chase of wild beasts, athletic
contests. s~prinkling of perfumes, and an awning.
Prosperity to Maius, Chief of the Colony" The
public baths were public in every sense. No con-
sideration of modesty interfered with a Romans
enjoyment of promiscuous bathing. 1t was an
enjoyment equivalent to the opera of modern civ
ilization. Emperors mingled freely upon such
occasions with the cornmonest citizens.
cit lie said Of Hadrian. that one day, seeing n
VETERAN soldier rubbing his body against the marble
for hiction. he asked him why he did not employ the
slaves The soldier replied that he was too poor.
The Emperor Immediately presented him with two
slaves and . gum sufficient to maintain them. A few
day4aher, several old men, who had witnessed tine