The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1878-12-12


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Our first visit is to the museum, whicl
is particularly rich in mementoes from
the buried city Of Pompeii, and there i
no other place where so good an idei
can be obtained Of the home life Of tn
Romans as from careful study Of IN,
many articles which are here pre-
served. Among these are household
and domestic articles, many of whici
are Of similar shape to those in Us,
with US. There was a plane which 8
modern carpenter would handle with
ease. / do not know how many article.
there are in all, but saw one numbered
ten thousand eight hundred and seventy.
eight There are great many statues
bronzes and vases, in a more or less per
/ feet state, which have been exhumed.
One room contains grain Of various
kinds, bread, meat and some eggs which
came from the buried city. These are
all charred, and would not be recognized
except from their form. There is also a
glass bottle filed with oil, which is in a
good condition, and not dried up. One
OF the most interesting rooms to me con-
tains the library Of the Papyri, which
was discovered in a villa near Hercula-
neum. These rolls were completely en-
erusted with ashes, and they were sup
posed for long time to be valueless.
Oriufna IIK- thor ,r..r, .... tt.-...---s r
them, but only one thousand eight
hundred are now preserved. They are
charred and are as black as coal. The
inner bark of the papyrus plant WAS
pasted together, forming long roll, and
on this the writing was done with the
stylus. 1t was for long time thought
impossible TO uuroll them, but at length
an ingenious machine was made bv
which they are carefully uurolled, after
being moisteued. Two or three Of these
were at work at the time Of our visit.
Several hundred papyri have been un-
rolled aud read, but they are mostly Of
little value. There are also human flo
ures encrusted in ashes, which were
found in various places in the buried
city.
In the afternoon we go by train, ride
OF forty minutes, to Pompeii, where we
at once engage a guide for the visit TO
the buried city. Pompeii was DESTROYED
during the great eruption Of seventy
nine, by a cloud of hot ashes, and by
subsequent falls of volcanic matter, uu-
til at present il is covered with depos-
it twenty feet in thickness. For three
hundred years after its destruction the
ruins were dug into and ransacked for
marble and other treasures until il was
supposed that everything Of value had
been removed. For the next ], 400 years
the buried city was neglected and almost
forgotten. a little more than a hund-
red years ago excavations were again
commenced, but it is only within the
last twenty years, since they have been
taken in hand 10y the government, that
they have been conducted in a system
attic manner, and anything like satisfac-
tory results obtained. Everything
which can be readily moved, and even
the more important frescoes, as soon as
found, are taken to the museum at Ma
piles. An area Of about sixty-eight acres
has already been excavated, which is
supposed to include the most i'm portant
third Of the city. Ifthe work is eontin-
ued at the same rate as now, il will take
about seventy years to complete it, and
will cost 81 100000. The streets are reg
ularly laid out, the main ones twenty
four feet wide, the narrower ones fourteen
feet only. They were originally well
paved with large square blocks Of lava,
which have been worn into deep ruts by
wagon wheels. At the corners of the
streets are stepping stones projecting
nearly a foot above the pavement for
the convenience Of pedestrians in muddy
weather, aud at the same places there
are often remains Of fountains, or notices
painted in real letters, generally relat-
ing to municipal affairs. The houses
are mostly built Of concrete, and covered
with a coating of marble or plaster.
which was ornamented with paintings
in bright colors, red being particularly
noticeable. Most Of the houses have stair
ways, showing that they were more than
one story high, aud one OF them has
charred second story remaining, which
was built Of wood, and projected over
the street. The shops, which were small,
were opened on the street the whole
width Of the front, and closed at night
with wooden shutters. The private
houses, particularly those Of the
wealthy, were built around an open
court, and had only a solid wall on the
outside, with a single entrance from the
street. As these walls were built up to
the line of the street, and had almost no
windows, a walk through street oceu-
pied entirely with residences must have
been a dismal affair. Within. the
rooms Of the houses generally opened
into some court, which was an uneoy-
cred square, containing a fountain or
flower garden. All the walls were brill
iantly painted and the floors frequently
inlaid with mOsaics. With the bronze
ornaments aud statuary and the inlaid
furniture, these houses must have been
cheerful and very pleasant. It was
with mingled awe and pleasure that we
wandered amid these remains of the
everyday life Of the Romans, and moth
ing we have ever seen, except the ruins