The New York herald., 1879-03-04
THE LECTURE SEASON.



Spaulding began interesting of six lectures
on Life and Art in Ancient Pompe" The drama
of vesuvius the topic of the first treatise Mr..
Spaulding began with a summary of the letters OF
Pliny the Younger written to Tacitus. giving &C.
count of the eruption which is the only contempo-
raneous account that has come down to US. Phny
writes that the oath of August. A. d. 10. little
after O'Clock in the afternoon. their attention
called to the appearance OF the volcano. which
they could distinctly across the bay from the
point where they The sister of Pliny tho
Elder called their attention to the phenomena. and
in the generosity of his heart the Admiral started to
the bay in of his vessels to render what as
sstance he could to the distressed inhabitants. By
the aid of the sereoptcon the lecturer showed the
Bay of Naples and gave the direction in which Pliny
sailed the half circle formed by thu
shore to reach the side of the mountain. The vio-
lence of the phenomena diverted them from Pompeii
and it in the attempt to land in the midst of the
horrors of the eruption that Pny gave utterance to
that sentence that has become proverb so often
quoted-'Fortune favors the brave" The night
passed at the villa OF friend, until toward
morning. when they aroused to fee from the
shower of ashes. They fled. protecting themselves
with pillows from the ashes until they reached the
shore, when for some unexplained reason. Pliny
commended his servant to throw his mantle upon
the ground. Laying himself down upon 1t he was al-
mAt instantly asphyxia.ed by the mephitic gases.
the carbonc gas generated by the volcano as Is
always the with volcanic eruptions. and died.
In his second letter Plny the Younger tells OF the
flight of his mothers household from the villa
the point and their subsequent return after tho
eruption had passed. The shower OF ashes stopped
on the third day.
THE STORY OF THE VOLCANO
These letters valuable for the incidental de-
scrptions which Pny gives of certain volcanic phe-
nomena attending the destruction Of the Campanian
cities But fully to understand the events OF that
great catastrophe it is necessary to question the
principal actors in the Vesuvan DRAMA the volcanic
mountain and the buried towns. Mr.. Spaulding then
gave graphic history OF Mount Vesuvius from pre-
historic times to the present day. and described in
detail the various and interesting phenomena OF vol
canic action He also discussed the later theories
concerning the source of volcanic energy.
series Of carefully prepared stereoptcon views
made every point in the description 1a fore,- @
| tions of 1872 especially good. being
actual photographs of the volcano which were taken
in the very midst OF its outbreak This eruption the
lecturer remarked throws a flood of light backward
| upon the that occurred eighteen centuries
| ago when Pompeii destroyed. supplemented by
| q thorough examination of the buried city itself
| (now half revealed by the excavations) this new
knowledge OF volcanic phenomena enables us to read
the story Of Pompeiis IS destruction almost clearly
as il complete contemporaneous account OF 1t had
| come down to us.
changes which have taken place in the appearance OF
| the volcano and the country surrounding since the
time when the city was entombed i'll ashes the lec-
| tursr took his hearers with him into Pompeii.
They walk its streets visited its Forum and public
buildings joined throng OF worshippars ut sacrl-
fee in the Temple of Fortune, and having called up
| much Of Pompeiis vanished past as would en-
able them to realize its rise and progress they en-
| tered the Pompeian home. Giving historic frame
the scene, the lecturer briefly narrated the
awful events of the afternoon of August a. A. D. ~:
and in imagination followed the terrified inmates OF
| the Pompeian houses as they fed from the sudden
| storm OF cinders ana ashes.
| TIE BURIED CITY.
|. A view shown OF eruption OF Vesuvius such
as that must have been by which Pompeii was over
whelmed while another view represented the fleeing
| Inhabitants Pompeii, he said buried under
two principal strata of ashes and volcanic mud to
average depth of twenty -four feet The lower stratum
made up of dry scori@, the pumice-like stones.
the cinders and ashes Over this is second layer OF
| mud, which formed in the air when the moist
| atmosphere, already laden with the fine ashes and
dust from the explosion, received the torrents or
rain that fell after the showers OF api hal ceased
Very little was burned in pompeii: Only in the the
| frescoes Redeemed by heat The apparently charred
pieces of wood the loaves of bread found in the
ovens, and the other things that seem to have been
burned have been simply carbonized by weathering.
Most OF the inhabitants probably made their escape
The largest number OF victims TO have died of
asphy xation. from the same mephitic vapors which
caused the death OF the elder Pliny. The evidence
| of the manner of their death is abundant aud dis
closes the pathetic story Of the doom OF these Pom.
peians with all eloquence stronger than words The
lecturer showed number Of PICTURES or casts taken
from hollow mouds in which human remains were
| found. Some OF these casts show the out
line of the well developed Roman form
coarseness of the clothing told. thereby afordng
means of judging whether the victim was noble or
plebeian. After speaking OF the valuable results
which archaeological science is now bringing to light
with respect to the unwritten history Of Pompeii
the lecturer exhibited representations of few OK
the gems of art found in the buried city. The
choicest OF these, he said, unquestionably the
famous Naples vase, which was shown in its original
| brilliant colors The vine represented in relief on
this exquisite grows In the volcanic soil around
Pompeii. Let said the lecturer fill the glass with
its wine and across the ably ages salute the
| men of that old Roman world-,nen whose deeds
| imagcd on Pompeis risen walls, and whose voices
seem to be still speaking IN her silent courts and
empty streets saying the burden of their speech.
| Even thus all worldly glories pass away. Last
evenings lecture will be repeated this morning ct
| eleven.
TRIP THROUGH IRELAND AND SCOTLAND.
The Emerald Isle and the Land o. Cakes" were
illustrated in a vivid at the Church of the
Disciples by Rev. DR.. Hepworth. He invited his
hearers to take trip on Transatlantic steamship
with him and landed them safely at Queens
| town. Then he described tho picturesque
city of the south of Ireland. Cork and plac-
ing his hearers in jaunting cars: brought them
through the beautiful lakes of Killarney. They
were next transported to the 'black North" where
they introduced to of the wonders OF the
world. the Giants Causeway. Crossing over TO
Glasgow the lecturer visited the long line of forresses
from Dumbar.on to Edinburgh, not forgetting
| the famed Carseg Stirling. He brought before
the audience the scenes where the hberator Wallace
won his great victories the English invader.
The barns OF Ayr. Ianark. CaInbus-kenneth and
Falkirk were pictured TO the imagination. Then
| followed Roslyn castle, and excursion
mad to the Isle of skye. The national charac-
teristics of the two countries were admira-
bly, hit of. and numerous anecdotes illus
trated the impulsvc Irshman and the canny
SEQ otchman. stercopticon lent additional interest
TO the lecture representing thirty-hve views OF
scenery from Cork To Edinburgh The lecture was
the first OF a series winch Rev. Mr.. Hepworth pro-
poses deliver the result OF his visit to Europe
last summer. England" viii DO the subject OF the
next.
THE SIX NATIONS.
Mr.. Douglas Campbell will read paper tonight.
before the Historical Society the subject of the
''Six Nations and the Northwestern Territory" Mr..
Campbell will endcavor to show that. notwith-
standing the claims of Virginia, Massachusetts,
and Connecticut. no State other than New York had