The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1870-02-09

Tur Srony OF PoNPEu-Most people know that
Pompeii was buried by volcanic eruption A. " ss,
and that long centuries after certain exhumations
were made leading to archaeological discoveries sur
assinp for interest any Of which the modern world
has record. But comparatively few are aware tnat
since the Italian revolution OF 1850 more has been
learned of the unfortunate city than perhaps bad &C
cumuIated during all the preceding years since tne
catastrophe. Light follows liberty and one OF me
first acts of the new Government was tai .. -P
poInting Sgnor Fioreh inspector OF the excavatons
with facilities no similar official had before enjoyed
This gentleman, who has the rare fortune 10 unite
the culture of scholar With the practical energy oi
4 rood business man. soon had large force busiiy
AZ work 5 No fewer than 100 men have sometimes
heen working under his ORDERS and the results have
beeu most propitious. The chronicle OF previous
work is brief enough, and may oe menuoqec ~ wsy
b G. g. a premonitory earthquake had desolated
Pompei. Il had destroyed several temples, the
great Basiica the colonnadc OF the Forum ana otner
important buildings, besides others OF lesser note
The people hed, but subsequently, refurned ana oeEt
themselves TO the task OF restoration bnldiug was
slower process then than now, but the Temples OF
Venus and Jupiter of Isia and OF Fortune, all went
/ mn again. and Pompei If somewhat deoased aTehi-
ierfnrallv was more snowy and luxurious than
( ever The Emperor Titus seemed TO have Thought
it pity all this splendor should be LOST out tne oe-
nators he sent to view the site and estimate the ex
pense of digging the town free OF its terrible incubus
Of ashes, were frightened by the magnitude Of tne
/ task and the idea was abandoned. mus ~ ume
the yery place where Pompeil had stood was forgot
| ten.
Towards the end Of the sixteenth century an aque-
duct from the Sarno to Tore DELI Annuuziafa was
carried straight through the heart Of the bur
ried city following and piercing walls let no
one said aught of Pompeii. and Il was not until
1913 under Charles H., after the world bad been
excited By the discovery of Hercuhneum that GER
tain prying engineer, Alcubiera BY name, got the
roval permsson to excavate the site Of the for
mer place, and began to ind out what was hidden
there Even then neither this adventurer nor others
mention Pompeii;. They thought 9e was work.lng s.n
under the BOurbons. The men In charge would oc-
| casonally fnd something, and then, for the most
part would cover it up agan, 50 tnat on the yist oI
some royal or other distinguished parsonage they
might aatter their visitor by pretending TO make
surprising discovery in his presence When The
Bonapartes prostrated the Bourbons early In the
nineteenth century the energy OF the hepu0e OF ~
was In A manner prefgured. Caroline, Napoleon 5
sister and Murats Queen, was enthusiastically inter
ested In the works and caused them TO be energet-
cally advanced. The Bourbons returned and all
stood still apin until the cry Of free Italy was heard,
and with Victor Emmanuel came kiorelh, since
then, as we have said, the ground over fomPei has
been worked with almost as much vigor and eager
ness as the gold dggings OF California; ana since
then. consequently, the returns have been eommen-
surate with the investment Of capital and labor
Streets. houses, theatres, have one by one been
exhumed, inscriptions deciphered, trnkets, coins
and household utensils collected, jars OF cosmetics
and phials of medicine, and lately even such ordina
rily perishable things as oaves OF bread Eghtyone
of these have been discovered by Fiorelli in single
Oyen-the place having Oecn 30 eeaicu nv "SAt
entered H. and the bread found exactly IN the
order In which it was placed that dreadful sd OF
November 10 when the fierce strife OF the gadia
tors at the Amphitheare interrupted by the Ia
va storm from Vesuyius. All sorts OF things have
been found, unthought Of even at the time the ad
mirabe copies OF Pompeiian architecture, &c, were
constructed at the Crystal Palace al Sydennam
Posters bearing entreaties TO vote for such an one
for odie love messages written on back walls, ari
ces of female apparel ornament, paintings In iul
preservation, poor animals held fast by chains winch
prevented their escape from the burning desiruc
lion and so dying where they stood, and worse
still human prisoners in the gladiators barracks I'm
movablv riveted By the ankles TO iron racks. y
course only the skeletons Of these remained but i
no human form rounded In life, has been discov
ed there las been found what Is 80 precisely Ike !
as TO be no less mournfully impressive We are told
bv NJ Monnier-a French writer who mas published
this and other cognate information in an interesting
rnonograph-that recently, In small street unde
heaps Of rubbish the vorkmen perceived an empty
space at the bottom OF which were some bones
Siynor Fioreli who was al once called, bad lamin
ous idea He made them mix plaster. and poured
4, into the hollow as in n vast The operation wa
reueated in other instances close by. Afterwards
the ernst of pumice stone and hardened ashes wa
carefully removed. When this was done, four ap
parently perfect human bodies lay calmly below
Their fes had sustained their hot shround OF ashe
until IT had cooled and crusted and as that nesh nat
withered away the spaces had been left which FLO
relli now so ingenlously filed