The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1881-04-01

POmpe1 and IIerCHIaueum Described tE
Ed Interesting Manner.

POmpeu and SIerCnInueum DcscrIbed I'm
Ed an Interesting Manner.
Letter in the Baltimore American.I
In the wear of our Lord 70 Vesuvius
had an uncommon eruption, which sud
denly and very completely buried ont Of
sight the cities of Ponpeii and Hercu-
laneum; and they remained SO buried for
sixteen hundred years-until early in the
last century, when their sites were acci-
dentally discovered. Aftermuch patient
labor and at an enormous expense, about
one-third part of these dead and buried
cities has been dug up; and the excava-
tions are still going ON. Vast treasures
of gold and silver, rare statuary, paint
ings. and household utensils were recov-
vered in good condition, and many of
these are now preserved, as / have said,
in the National Museum at Naples. The,
paved streets have been cleared Of rub.
bisfi and compare faSorabiy with those
of the cities of to-day. The houses are
open to inspection, and one can easily
gather from them a good idea of the
manner of life among the people who
were buried into eternity with such
frightful celebrity eighteen hundred years
ago.
There is a large museum just within
the main gate of Pompeii, IN which are
stored vast numbers of articles recovered
from the uncovered houses. These are
bottles, vases, plates, cups, lamps,
money-boxes. Jars, door-locks, bolts,
bells. eggs, nuts, pieces of bread. dried
fruit. glasses, towels, candlesticks. ladies,
scales, needles, baskets, tunnels, etc. But,
among all these familiar things, 1 was
most impressed with an iron safe-an ac-
tual iron safe-idenhcal in pattern with
those knobbed articles that only few
years ago were considered the best safes
in the world for banking houses and
counting-rooms. And vet dozens Of per-
sons have within fifty years taken out
patents for newly-invented safes.
L saw also lot of fish-hOols of the
identical pattern now 50 eagerly priced
by anglers-the yeritable Limerick hook.
Is the world progressing? And then
there are PROSTATE figures of men and
women-one of the latter evidently on
the point of becoming mother-skele-
tons of horses, cats, dogs, and rats. And
there are many skulls-one of them still
retaining some of its hair. All these
dreadful trophies snatched from the laws
of death serve to illustrate the terrors Of
the dreadful night when fire and brim-
stone rained upon the devoted cities and
wrapped them in the darkness Of death
and desolation.
If I may Judge from paintings and
sculptures on the walls of many rooms,
and from translations of numerous in
scriptions on door-posts, the people of
Pompeii were not strictly virtuous in
every respect, for there Is everywhere
evidence that they had reached re
markably high or low degree OF hcen-
tiousness, as well as of luxury. Almost
every house had its fountain, its hot and
cold bath, its spacious yard or garden,
its statuary and pictures, and excellent
culinary arrangements. But now it is n
silent city. It's houses are tenantless,
and it's streets are trodden only by the
feet of curious teArists. All is desola-
tion-still beautiful and wOndrously at
tractive, but dead, very dead. Despite
its paintings and its statues, and its glo-
rious sunshine, it was to me but a
pathetic suggestion of woe and despair
| would not care to live in a dead city,
and if 1 did, could find one nearer
home