The weekly union record., 1864-11-12
Interesting Discoveries at Pompeil.

c. ". Russell, whose rame is associated
with some of the most successful searches 10
the ruins at Pompeii. contributes the following
TO the -ffhsnGam:
Just two years ago ] communicated to you
nv good fortune in witnessing during visit
10 Pompeii. the disiuterment Of bakers oven
sith its full batch OF loaves untouched since
the moment. eighteen hundred years ago, when
they were deposited by the uuforeboding baker
for the sales on that morrow which be was
fated never TO see. In my present visit find
myself close upon The track of the discovery.
hardly less curious, Of another Of the elements
oil human life-ihat of an ancient well, with is
waters still as fresh aud sparkling as when, on
| the day of the great catastrophe. the Gqudrius
of the house TO which it belongs drew from II
the supply of the last meal of the doomed family.
/ The well is in the cellar of house which has
been recently excavated. and in which have
been discovered many objects of interest. es
pecially small but beautiful statue, of which
shall have occasion 10 speak later. The well
is about sixty FIVE feet in depth, and still retains
about fifteen feet of water. Ii is surrounded
by low parapet, but in sil other respects is
quite unprotected, being without cover or other
defense however. as the entrance 10 the cellar
vas completely blocked up with ashes, the well.
although open, was perfectly secure from injury,
and the water supply has remained prob4bly
undminished 10 depth and unaltercd in quality
since the day of the eruption. The cellar is of
small dimensions, but the approach 10 the well
is rudely decorated with the customary altar Of
the Lares. | was naturally attracted, in the
first instance, to the house OF the baker which
had seen disinterred during my last visit. 1t
is now carefully cleared out, and all its perma-
nent apparatus - as corn mills, kneadng
troughs -four bins, etc.-remain IN stu the
smaller and the more perishable objecis-as
the measures, the weights, the loaves. the corn,
etc.-being placed in the temporary museum
which has been formed at Pompeii. The
attractions of this house, however. have been
eclipsed by those of a similar establishment
/ Immediately adjoining it. which had been dis
covered, but not fully excavated, before the
disinterment of the oven. The second bakery
is much larger, and the appointment 90 a much
more extensive scale and in greater variety
The dwelling house of the owner too is much
more luxurious. Although connected with the
bake house, it has a separate entrance and
double atrium ami peristyle, both of which are
of moIe than ordinary extent, and in their size
as well as their decorations bear witness TO the
wealth and luxurious tastes Of the occupant
Among the relics of this house. preserved in
the local museum, is one which throws curious
light on the domestic arrangements of the
Pompeian baker, being no other than one of
the dishes which were actually in process OF
preparation for dinner on the very day of the
catastrophe Upon the cooking stove in the
XII chen was found stew pan half filed with
ashes and in the bottom appeared an indurated
mass, which Signor Florelly rightly conleciured
to have been produced by some of the viands
which lay within the pan, and which, though
long since decompcsed, had left their impress
on the now consolidated ashes. Acting on
this happy thought, he applied in this instance
the same ingenious process which was so sue
eessfully adopted in reproducing that painfully
ifeke group of human figures described with
such terrible fidelity in one of your former
numbers ; and the result has fnlly satisfied his
anticipa,ions, being an exact fac siHade in
bronze Of young pig, which was being siewed
for the family dinner at the very moment when
they were surprised by the stroke of doom. In
connection with this curious relic, may men
ton the discovery Of a skeleton of horse,
which, together with two other skeletons of
horses found many years ago, has, through the
anatomical skill of one of the members of the
Academy, been carefully put together aud
placed in one Of the rooms have had the
curiosity to examine the tooth marks" Of the
most recent of these skeletons, and find that
the animal was just five years old at the time
Of the destruction of the city. All these horses
were small sized, but of good shape. and of a
type still common in Southern Italy. You
have already recorded the discovery of more
than one valuable specimen Of ancient art, and
especially OF the exquisite bronze Narcssus.
now in the Naples museum but do not think
your readers have been informed of still more
recent acquisiiion-a small, but highly charac-
teristic SilenuS, which was found in the same
house in the cellar Of which was the well de-
scribed above The figure is about fifteen
inches high, and stands upon a circular pedestal
OF bronze, not unlike an inverted platter, iulald
with arabesques in silver. This admirable
Silenus was evidently stand either for q
lamp or. more probably for glass vase, frag-
meuts of which were found close by. He is
represented with the legs extended TO the
utmost, for greater frmness of attitude, and
holds high above his head, grasped firmly in
his hand, the bronze ring. 10 which the vase
was intended to rest. The vase may have been
meant to hold flowers. or, if one could argue
from the air OF drunken gravity, and of udi-
crous anxiety 10 guard against the spilling of
it's contents, which the artist has thrown into
the features of oilenus, it might more probably
be supposed to be intended, like Mrs Gilpn's
stone bottles,
To hold the liquor which he loved,
And keep ii safe and sound.
Taken as whole this Pompeian Silenus,
although it substantially preserves all his tradi-
tional cbaractersticS-the squat. punchy figure,
the prominent paunch, the snub nose and dis
tended nostril. the shaggy hair and beard the
maudlin stare of the eye, and the jolly but stu
pid good bumor-is of a higher type than the
ordinary Senus of Grecian art. The figure,
although coarse and massive, is full of laxy
muscuIsrity; and the look of preternaiural
solemnity with which he struggles to preserve
his balance is indescribably amusing.
To KEEP TIREs on WHEELs.-Hear what
practical man says on this subject:
Il iroDed a wagon, some years ago, for my
own use, and before putting on the tires filed
tho felIn1s with linsaad oil and the tiraS hsva