The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1882-05-10
THE DEAD CITIES.
Pompeii and HercuIaneum De,cribed In
an Interesting Manner.
Letter In the Baltimore Americana

Letter In the Baltimore Americana
In the year of our Lord 70 Vesuyius
had an uncommon eruption, which sud
denly and very completely buried out OF
sight the cities OF Pompeii and Hercu-
laneum; and they remained so buried for
sixteen hundred years-until early in the
last century, when their sites were acct
dentally discovered. Aftermuch patient
labor and at an enormous expense, about
onc-third part Of these dead and buried
cities has been dug up; and the excava-
tons 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,
III the National Museum at Naples. The
paved streets have been cleared Of rub
bish, and compare favorably with those
Of the cities OF to-day. Tho houses are
open to inspection, and one can easily
gather from them good idea of the
manner of life among the people who
were buried into eternity with such
irightful celebrity eighteen hundred years
ago.
There is large museum just within
tho 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, [ was
most impressed with an iron safe-an ac-
tral iron safe-identical in pattern with
those knobbed articles that only few
years ago were considered the best safes
in the world for banking-houses and
couuting.rooms. And yet dozens Of per-
sons have within fifty years taken Out
patents for newl y-invented safes.
saw also n lot of iish-hooks Of the
identical pattern now SO eagerly priced
by anglers-the veritable Limerick hook.
is the world progressing? And then
there arc PROSTATE figures OF men and
women-one of the latter evidently on
the point of becoming q 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 jaws
of death serve to illustrate the terrors Of
the dreadful night when fire and brim-
stone raned upon the devoted cities and
wrapped them in the darkness OF death
and desolation.
If may Judge from paintings and
sculptures on the walls of many rooms,
aud from TRANSACTIONS OF numerous in
scriptions on door-posts, the people Oh
Pompen were not strictly virtuous in
every respect, for there is everywhere
evidence that they had reached re-
markably high or low degree of licen-
! 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 q
silent city. Its houses are tenantless
/ and its streets are trodden only by the
feet of curious tourists. 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 s
pathetic suggestion Of woe and despair
| would not caro- to live in dead city
and if I did, l could find one nearel
| homo