The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1870-12-30
HERcuLAxEUM AND POMPRu.



On llancient and now uninhabit-
ed cities, there is none other that
awakens 50 much interest IN the mind
of Fellef-that appeals Withf so
much force TO The imagination-that
puts such a strain nDon his scnsibiLi-
ties-that so-beWilders his thoughts
wondering in what age he is living,
and where arc all the people that
once trod these streets and whose
chariOts made the deep ruts in the
hard pavement before our eyes-as
Pompeii l remember well the eX-
element which the story of it's dis
cOEeFy and continued eNhUmatiou
made in lay youthful imaginings, and
the longing desire / had to walk
through It's silent thOroUghfarcs and
10 enter its deserted houses; and how
fully all the fancies L had mddlged
were realized when first held con-
verse wiffsthe shades of the Gid liGz.
man Inhabitants by going into their
houses and calling th9m mp from the
vastly deep OF eighteen centuries.
Scarcely less exciting and inte testing
was a visit after the lapse Of fifteen
years, FOR, in the mean time, The larger
part of the city had been eXcaFated.
Tie work has gone oil vigorously,
until now Pompeii is nearly all open
ed to the light of day.
l speak particularly OF Pompeii be-
cause very little of Herculaneum has
as yet been. explored, and very little
ever will be, owing to the different
manner ii which the two cities were
buried. Pompeii was covered by
shower Of ashes and scoriae or ciuders
buried deep and beyond all recOgni-
ton Of the site, but VITA such loose
material that it is easily excavated.
HerCulanGam, on the other hand, was
not only buried much deeper, but by
lava, or mud formed from the ashes
and steam, which flowed liked q sea
over houses and buildings Of all kinds
pouring into the doors and windows
and into every crevice, filling rooms
and cavities of all kinds and then
hardening like rock, making the city
one solid mass of stone. II was COW
cred with this material to the depth
ofsGyenty feet or more. The work
Of excavation, therefore, is like re-
moving stone from Il quarry.
Herculaneum, though buried so
much deeper than Pompeii and with
material of such solidity. was disC0Y--
cred first. \ city had been built di-
rcCtly over it, whose inhabitants
never dreamed that buried city was
below them, until one day, in dig
ging n wetl, a. citizen of Iiesina came
down into an old Roman Amphithe-
atre. This 'wSs about the middle OF
the last century. \ small portion of
the city was then cXhumcd, but the
work was so difficult ii was abandon
cd Search was made for POmpCu;
II was soon found, and explorations
were transferred to its streets and
carried on with varying rapjdity un-
ii! Victor Emanuel took possession OF
Naples, since which time the work
has been prosecuted more vigorous
Iy than ever before. One can now
spend the whole day in walking
through street after street without
pausing TO look into thc. houses.
Some of the streets have the Rames
upon The corners; nearly all have
elevated sidewalks, and the pave
mcnts Of carriage way are sometimes
worn deep with the marks of wheels,
showing that carts and carriages were
in as common use in ancient days as
now,
The buildings Of Ponfpeii could
never have been very magnificent in
their proportions. We find nothing
like the palaces aud baths, as they
are inappr0priately called, which Of
ten cover many acres, the arches and
towers giving one an idea of the
grandeur of the structures. Lin Pom
peii everything was upon smaller
scale, but probably more exquisite in
and adOrnment. The
4 Amphitheatre, which is the spot usu-
ally visited first, and which stands at
a little distance from the town, has
been completely eXCavated and is in
perfect preservation, the seats and
alleys remaining just as they were in
that night when the multitude was
driven forth from the devoted city by
the fearful shower that overwhelmed
it. In this Amphithe8tre, about
twenty Years before the destruction
Of the city, according to Tacitus on
the occasion of some grand perform
ance, u sanguinary fight occurred be
tween the Pompeians and the people
of Nucena, upon which it was closed
by the order of the Emperor for ten
years. Near this is the villa of Julia
Felix, one Of the Wealtbiest citizens
ofPompeii, III which was found an
advertisement, a poster, to the effect
that
JULIA HAS TO LET FOR FIVE YEARS,
A BATH, A VENERiUM NINETY
SHOPS,
WITH TERRACES AND UPPER CHAMBERS
They are still without tenants, al
though they have been advertised
about I 500 years.
Let us turn into some OF fhc houses
in the heart of the city, and if we do
not find thc owners III, We can leave
our cards and retire, after inspecting
the premises. The old POmpeians
were great patrons OF the 1ine arts,
especially of painting. Almost every
house of any pretens.0n was richly
frescOed, the walls painted elaborate
IL. IN one respect the artists Of that
day and Of that city eXcellcd all others
in grs cefal drawings OF the human
form and drapery. Nowhere else
not in the wonderful works of ISaph-
ael, not even in his masterpiece, the
Transfiguration-d we find such per-
fectly aerial forms and postures. The
figures float in air as gracefully, and
seem to be as much in their native
clement when thus floating rs n
standing or when rep0siug on &
couch.
The furniture, movable works and
art ornaments, and everything not
stationary, have been takon from
-Ponpeii. for safety and for deliberate
examination. to the MUsee BorbOnicO
as it used to be called. now the Ma
tionai Museum, forming ono Of the
richest. most interesting and valuable
oOlIactf0rs f,f o1.fftfuitipS IN fbe whole
world. With the help Of his collec
tiom, Wc can easily in Imagination
furnish ono OF the many luxurious
homes of Ponpeii. Here We find the
various articles OF furniture, which,
III reality, are few, the homes of the
ancicnts not being filed with chairs