Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-06-21

most an eQual nolgnt. On the Other
stretches away the beautiful bay of
Naples and the Mediterranean. To the
north lies Naples behind its crescent of
white sand, aud around the rocky
point just beyond is the bay of Puteoli,
where ST. Paul landed on his way to
Rome. 70 the south and west, be-
tween the lower slopes Of the noun
tain and the sea, lies the region which
has been desolated by the lava tides of
the past. 1t is dotted with modern
towns standing out upon the very floods
which engulfed and embalr1ed its pre-
decessors. The slopes OF the noun
tain in the direction of Pompeii is
wild scence of desolation. Crusted
lava, scoria and ashes, cover it to the
base, and black ridges or streams of
erupted matter point towards the
doomed city. 1t is scene of terrible
ruin, as though the titanic forces of
nature had Wed with each other in
scatblng and scouraging one of the
fairest regions of the earth.
Upon the plain some five or six
miles away are the ruins of Pompeii
We descended from the mountain
and entered its silent streets. Two
thousand years ago it was a populace
town of $4,000 inhabitants. For 1900
years 1t has been buried beneath the
scorla and ashes Of Vesuvius. From
one-third to one-half of the town is now
texcavated. The forum, several tenn
pies and public buildings, two theatres,
the amphitheater and many fine pri-
vate buildings have been brought to
light. The roofess walls average, per-
haps twenty feet in height and are COM
posed of concrete or bricks. The streets
are narrow-from fourteen to twenty
four feet in width-and are paved with
huge blocks of lava. There are high
stepping stones at intervals for the con-
venience of foot passengers in crossing
from one side to the other. The pave
ments are deeply worn with passing
wheels and the iron hoofs of horses.
The shops all open upon the streets,
while the private dwellings are entered
by a narrow passage leading into the
court, around which is a covered pas
sage, and In the center reservoir for
rain-water. Some of the courts are yet
adorned with statues; though most of
the works Of art have been removed to
the museum in Naples. In many of
the houses, particularly in the eating
and sleeping-rooms, fine frescoeing in
different states of preservation adorn
the walls. Some of the floors are
mosaics of plain but tasteful patterns
The wall paintings indicate but too
plainly the picture-seeking tendency of
the times. In the museum are
the casts of four bodies which
were discovered in the work of excava-
ton. The cavities where these lay were
filled with plaster of Paris, and thereby
the attitudes of the deceased in the
fearful contortions of the death-strus-
gle were obtained. One of these is a
man in the act of flight. and one girl
with a ring on her finger. But time and
space will not admit of a detailed de-
scription of the half-dozen temple.
here found, nor of the Basilica, the Fo.
rum, the Thermac, the theaters, the
many beautiful private residences
beautiful even In ruins-or of the won
derful street Of tombs. One may spend
many days, or even weeks, here, and
still find something new to excite his ad
miration. A walk through the desolate
streets, with no sound but the ghostly
echoes of your footsteps among the ru
ms, gives one sensation not easily de.
scribed. We tread the same pave
ments, look upon the same walls, ad-
mire the beauty of the public and pri-
vate buildings, and even invade the
sleeping apartments Of the rich and
noble; but the dreamers have vanished
like the visions of the night, though the
pictured walls that guarded their slum-
bers yet remain, while silence and des-
olation have reigned over the city for
1880 years