The Benton record. [volume] (Benton, M.T. [Mont.]) 1875-1879, 1877-11-09
I'0inpeif.


Pompeii was nothing but a sma
provincial town, mimicking I'll
luxuries and vices of the capital
+; a retreat for banished voluptuarie
pensioned officers and morulizin
poets. It would be ridiculous t
: expect to find within its walls an
traces Of the ancient grandeur Q
antique Rome. Taste in orna-
mentation, skill in design, we lool
for and fnd-and in the City 0
the Dead we discover, as we Nigh
expect to do, more traces Of tht
Titans the buildings Of Pompei
and Herculaneum, though mere
Lighthouses in comparison, appear tc
be the work of men of nearly our
own rank in creation. We find
still standing at Pompeii what at
Rome are mere ruins-We mean the
theatres, Basilica and Forum.
Pompeii might be a city from which
the inhabitants had but just fed.
1t wants only roofs to the houses
and the sound Of life within the
chambers to realize the Odes of
Horace or the Satires of Jurenal.
The traveller can scarcely believe
that eighteen centuries have pass
ed since the red rain Of Vesuvius
fell on these roofs and drove out
their inhabitants. The following
condensation Of the last survey of
Pompeii will be interesting to our
readers. The edifces of the town
are built il the Greek style, modif-
ed by Roman cnstnme Tho =
forgot to render them conven-I
lent. The decoration is IN SO
uniform taste, that Mazos was at
first inclined to think that It was
the work of the same artists, direct
ed by one and the same man.
Marbles are found rarely, except
il the temples and theatres the
chief decorations being mural
paintings, either mosaic or stucco
arabesques. The most striking
feature of the city is the profuslon
Of ornamental detail even in the
meanest house. The walls are
,aipted il fresco, black, red, yellow,
blue, or green. The arabesques are
painted on dry ground, and are not
encaustic. Mosaic payement5 were
universal in this little city Of artists
and art-loyers. The simplest are
white, with black borders others
are labyrintbs Of white and black
cubes, and few are richly colored
The houses are fimsy, built Of lava
brick and petrifed concrete. The
wooden pIanks have all persisted
and iron was often used by tht
:
Pompeians where the rlchel
Romans would have used bronze
The streets were narrow in orde:
to keep out the sun. and this wa
no inconvenience, as the chariot
were few and small, and horses an'
: mules were used as beasts Of bu1
: den. The paving is Of brlrt
asphalte and even marble an
mosaic. The roads we're pave
with huge polygons Of lava, clam :
ed with iron, and filed up wit
loose granite, marble and fints. !
! the rainy season Of December ~
January, the streets must have b
come mere torrents. High step
. ping.stones are still found to enftb.
passengers to cross. Before IL
shop doors are frequently four
, blocks Of store, pierced with hole
! which were used to fasten horse
! At the angle of most Of the stree
j are found fountains: these a
. ornamented with reliefs and carve
= masks. The house-walls facing T.
= streets are covered with innume'
4 able inscriptions, votive.or seculf
e with advertisements Of shows g
: fights, lampoons and caricature
2, Popular Amnsements IN Siberia
. The principal and most favor
80 4 CtI,,,,x, +,s, Il, Il IN Will