The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1882-03-25
NEW FINDS AT POMPEII.
What has been Done at the New Excn.
vatiOns.

Correspondents Pail Mall Gazette.1
was anxious to see what was doing
at the new excavations, but I knew
that the best things would be at once
transferred to the museum at Naples,
so went there first. found one room
entirely devoted to the newest frescoes.
There are about five pictures, averag-
ing four feet square, each full of roman
tic interest; some Of these have only
been there few weeks, and none of
them are yet labelled. The colors are
fresh, the drawing is equal to most
things at the Royal Academy, and the
effect of these buried relics of the first
century "a. D..79} so suddenly lifted
into the daylight Of 1881, is, I confess,
little ghostly. should not have
been surprised on turning round to find
a Pompeiian Of the arrested life of the
period looking over my shoulders at
some of his old haunts. One Of the
larger pictures gives sort of bird's-eye
view of the theatre at Pompeii, with
a wild-beast fight going on. You look
down upon the arena from some height.
You also command view of the street
with the passers-by and a few booths,
from one of which thief has stolen
something and is making off. The
"velarium," or vast awning, Is half
drawn over the top of the theatre. 1t
Is, as far as know, the only contem-
porary representation of the thing ever
discovered. We know that sailors
were employed to stretch similar veil,
supported by poles, over the top of the
Coliseum, but exactly how the thing
was managed believe has puzzled an
tiquaries. They may get hint from a
closer inspection of this amazingly
vivid bit of contemporary history. Two
long flights of steps outside enable the
spectators to reach the top seats with
out going inside the theatre. This is
surely an admirable idea, worthy of
our imitation. The next day at Pom
peii puzzled over the ruins of both
theatres. could not make out where
these external stairs could have been
placed. In the painting they rise from
a public square, but the temple of Isis
is built close against the big theatre,
and the small theatre is also completely
he,nmed in by houses. Is it perchance,
tho theatre of Herculaneum?
a large painting of sleeping bac-
chante, nude, watched by satyr,
might have been designed for Etty in
drawing, color and perspective. 1t is a
4 mastery study, showing besides Il
great deal of feeling for landscape paint
ing, which for some reason or other, the
ancients are not supposed to have cared
for; but the more we conceited creatures
know of them the more evident it is
hat they knew about as much about
color and drawing as they did about
sculpture. Look at pyramus and
Thisbe on the other wall, or Mars and
Venus and capital study of Europa
the bull surrounded by her
maidens. All these are highly pre-
served and show perfect ease, vigor
and freshness of handling that many a
modern artist might envy. The new
find in bronze is an exquisite seated
,tatuette figure of "Abundanti," about
4 foot high, holding a patera, or cup.
Her chair is adorned with horns OF
plenty, and the pressure of her body
and the set of her drapery over the
cushion on which she sits is so realistic
that one expects to see her move upon
her chair or rise at any moment. Be-
side her is n slave-boy, in back ward at
titude about n foot and a-han high,
pouring wine into a cup. This is also
new.
I visited Pompeii next day, and went
straight to the diggings. The only
is that anything is ever dug up
1t all; the process is ridiculously slow,
even for Italy. The directors sit all day
On the rubbish heaps smoking, and
dozens of children file up and down
with their little baskets of earth, while
q few idle peasants shovel up few lazy
5padesful at a time. Still the first thing
l saw was the side of dining room,
only few days ago. On one
side was bright picture OF fine cock