Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1879-10-26
THE DEAD CITY. !
A Commemoration at Pompeii-The 19OOth
Anniversary Of the Destruction.
n tot hoI iunaa


Special to the London Times.
PoMPEI1, Sept. 25.-The heat yester
day in Naples was excessive; the atmos
phere was heavy and sufsocating, massive
thunder-clouds were gathering over the
hills, and above Vesuvius hung dense
mass of smoke, spreading far away on
each side and sometimes hiding the crest
of the mountain. At night masses of
bright flame burst forth from the crest
from time to time, and everything seem
ed to indicate that the day chosen to COM
memorate the 19O0th anniversary OF the
destruction of Pompeii would be one of
storm and tempest. But the sun rose on
a clear sky, this morning, and by =
o'clock people were hurrylng to the rail-
way station, and crowded special trains
for the Pompeii Station followed each
other in rapid succession, while the road
by Portici and Tore del Greco was alive
with hundreds of vehicles of all kinds,
from the corricozo with its m"rry load, to
the handsome equipages of the nobility.
It might have been Neapolitan Derby
day. In front of the roadside inn, digni-
fed with the title Of Hotel Diomede,
through which one enters Pompeii, the
road and all space around was crowded
with empty vehicles Of every description =,
and such motley groups as can
only be found in Neapolitan ter
ritory. Beggars, of course, abound
ed. There were men with dancing dogs,
sellers Of pulcinelle and rude toys, ven
ders of grapes with their baskets heaped
high with the luscious fruit, stalls with
watermelons, sold whole or in slices, wa.
ter-carriers with their barrels on their
backs, and many others, forming per-
feet Babel of never-ceasing voices. This
phase ended at the gate, through which
admittance was only by ticket; but 5000
or 1000 tickets had been issued, and the
streets of this silent city of the past were
filed with as busily moving and as gay a
crowd as circulated through them eight
cen centuries ago. We first hurried to
the great basilica. It was crowded as of
yore, with the difference that the tops of
the ruined walls and columns were also
| occupied. On the tribune the more dis
tinguished guests were assembled, and in
front stood Signor Michele Ruggiero,
chief director of the excavations, who
read an address, giving brief history
of all that had been done since the first
remains of Pompeii were laid open. On
table IN front of him lay some tele-
grams just received. He spote in italian,
and was followed by Prof. Quinto Guam
cali and Prof. Antonio Mirabelli, who
each spoke in Latin hexameters to loud
repeated applause. On the tribune stood
Signor Fiorelli, who for SO long directed
the excavations of Pompei1 with
such indispensable ability; Prot.
Henzen, representing the German Ar
theological Institute at Rome; Sen
ator Faschlotti, project of Naples;
Signor Bonghi, Ernest Renan, Count
Coello, Spanish Minister to the Quirnal;
the Portuguese Minister, and many others
1t is strange that the only foreign scientl-
tic body represented was the Academy Of
Chrlstophe Colomb Of Marseilles. In the
meantime the many hundreds who could
not gain an entrance to the basilica had
been busy examining various parts of the
unearthed city. The opening ceremonial
ended, bell rang to summon the people
to the excavations. In different parts of
the ninth region ten chambers were to
be opened and their contents revealed,
and there was an eager rush from all
points. 1t is impossible to describe the
intense expectation on every face as the
first picks struck the ground, or the
scene around each piece to be excavated.
Crowds wers pressing round every open
ing; people were perched all along the
tops of the broken walls to the eminent
peril OF their limbs, and groups were
thick!y gathered along the higher unex-
cavated level and on every other point of
vantage. Each room to be excavated
had been cleared of the upper falling in,
leaving about four feet to be removed.
The indications given by the preparatory
work in one of the larger rooms having
been particularly favorable, I took my
| station there, and witnessed in the course
of three hours, as the various objects
peeped forth from the scori@, one by one
and were taken up, such revelation as I
shall never forget. For the first five
minutes there was a breathless silence as
the men worked, then, as the scori@ fell
away, part Of green object became visi-
BILE. In moment the w0rkmen's hands
had cleared the space around it and
amid the cheers small bronze horse,
nine inches In length was held aloft
Then a large amphora appeared then two
bronze vases, one with handles; then q
large iron key, and as each in turn
was lifted high for all to see, 'Ben, benz!
burst in chorus of hearty satisfaction
from the people A list, with the brief
| est description Of the things which then
followed in rapid succession, would fill a
column. There were at least dozen
bronze vases Of different shapes, sizes,
and uses, with and witout handles, and
in them number of bronze coins oxy-
died together, and many other coins
were found at intervals during the exca-
vation. There are many handsome bronz
bracelets, a number of rings, many terra
| Gotta vases, tazze, and amphere, and a
remarkable number of little terra-cotta
water cups for bird cages, various kitchen
utensils, spit, forks ana knives of iron,
bronze bottle, number of little bronze
bells, . dagger with ivory handle, knife
with ivory handle, bronze casserole, and
terra-cotta money-box. After these
and many more objects, of which trayful
after trayful was carried away, had been
taken out, mass of black material an
peared, which falling to pieces, proved
on examination to be beans, then guam
tity of millit and hemp seeds, with coll
siderable remains Of the sacks which had
contained them, the carbonized wood of
grain-bins and of a barrel with iron hoops,
and great masses of the beans Of he.up-
per floor, sufficiently solid, but emit e1y
carbonized like charcoal. Among these
remains splendid bronze candelabrum
was come upon, but its tall, slender,
t1uted stem was broken. In short, from
noon till o'clock continued succession