The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1884-01-31
Images OF Death.

Who that has an object before him
ever grows tired in Pompeii? AS !
have said, the aspect of the local mu-
scum is smart. 1t glistenS, 1t CLEANS
with its polished oaken fittings and
glass cases. The pots and pans, the
tishhooks and stirrups, the leaves and
fruits and nuts that have almost, but
not quite, brought me face to face
with the people of A. D. 70 are from
carboaization black, but they are
comely. The whole room looks bright
and cheerful, yet on every side there
are mementoeS OF death, sudden, vio-
lent and terrible. Ranged round the
walls are skeletons Of men, women,
infants, horses, mules, dogs, cats
and poultry, all dug from the ruins.
Stay, the little sucking pig yonder,
that was found in the bakers
oven, escaped violent end. He had
been mercifully stuck to death before
they scored and trussed him for the
bake-house. His tender cracking,
the gristle of his snout, his ears and
eyes have long since been resolved
into dust and ashes, but the osseous
structure of the tiny creature is yet
perfect, even to the bones of the petit
toes and the vertebrR of the once
curly tail. Plum sauce and not pum-
ice-stone should have crowned the
funeral pyre of that little pig. How
brown and Shay he must have been
growing, how nice he must have
smelt, when the bri-tl rain of ashes
came down upon him and covered
him up for eighteen INJURIES.
But the middle Of the museum
what is there in the middle Of the
museum? Sudden, violent and dread
full death, the aspect of which is almost
supernatural revealed to lis, but which
bears no appalling look. have rare
ly known a civilian who, having once
been over the field Of battle say three
days after the slaughter, eyhibite d the
slightest desire to make a second time
that journey full of horrors. Yet
there is nothing shocking, and scarce
ly anything, indeed, that can be called
painful, in the appearance of the
images of death ranged at full length
on the tables. The prostrate figure OF
the man who, from the aquiline out
line of his countenance, is known as
the Roman, and who is girt with a
money belt. His death must have
head reposes on one of his arms; the
expression Of the countenapce is one
Of deeply thoughtful gTaYity-scarce.
ly sleep, although the eyes are closed
but rather profound MEDITATION. And
then the ragazzo, the boy of eleven OF
twelve summers, who has tumbled
face foremost on the ground, and died
there in moment. And the ragaZza
the eXquisitely formed young girl OF
sixteen or seventeen, her face turned
little on one side, so that you can see
her sweet innocent features, and hel
hair fixed in girlish coquetry. These
images of sudden and violent death
are dill nude; but when they
were stricken down by death they
wore the garments of their time
and rank-garmentS which the
heated ashes calcined and made
to vanish in moment. But the aqua
bollante, the boiling vapor, permeat-
ing the pumice, the scori9 and ashes
formed round each body. a fine paste
which received the imprint of the
corpse which it surrounded. This
paste, after some days, dried and be.
came sharply defined mold, and then
came the eighteen centuries of en-.
tombment. The bodies decayed, the
bones fell away from ligaments which
turned to dust, but the sharp mold re.
mained, retaining every detail Of the
external form of what had once been
human. And oDe day Cavaliere Flo.
relli, experimenting the proofs of the
"scavi," was told by one of his work
men that with his pickax he ha6
struck into cavity apparently Of
considerable dimensions. The cav.
ity was sounded, and by anG
by some Yestige of mortality -
avertebra, bone of tarsus
OR metacarpus was brought to the
surface. 1t instantly occurred to the
astute mind of Cavaliere Fiorelli that
u human body had once filled thai
cavity, and that the long since indu
rated mass of punice and ashes haC
formed a mould which should present
an exact imprint of the disintegratet
corpse. Liquid plaster of Paris wa:
brought and poured through the aper
ture of the cavity. The plaster wa:
allowed to harden, and then the sur
rounding mould was gently removed
and these astonishing transcripts ol
life suddenly turned into death were
T6N0dl0u. LII Ouly Olc VI
these bodies, strangely resuscitated-
it the paradox can be pardoned-by
means of a bucketful of iquified plas
ter of Paris, are any signs of acute
physical suffering visible. There is {
reproduction of the body OF a dog
which, with collar round it's neck
was found by the side of the vesti
bule of a patrician's house. The pool
dog has died hard, it has rolled ovel
in its agony and lies on its back, it
mouth open, its limbs violently con
torted. The stretched-out fore-pawi
are crossed almost in an attitude O.
supplication; and the whole frame il
twisted and wrenched in manne
suggestive Of fearful pain having
been suffered ere the relief of deatl
came.-London Telegraph.