The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1884-06-28
Pompeif.

PoMPEII, February 10, 18S4.-In
two recently excayated houses the
paintings on the walls are as fresh as
II Just put on. and the halls are rich
with decorations. Some of the marble
tables are still standing; the foun-
tains in the atrium and peristyIe,
with their pretty little statues and
mosaics, look as if they might begin
to play at any moment; the kitchen
hearths. built like ranges, seem ready
Tor their pots and kettles; few
flower pots are still set in the gardens,
IN the storerooms ale some oil lars
and wine jars; it is as if one might
begin housekeeping tomorrow. and
invite ones friends to dinner the day
after,
one thing is difficult to conceive
without seeing II, and sl,nt is tpe.
gorgeousness Of the interiors of the
private houses. The colors are now
faded the columns are broken the
mosaics Of the floors are generally
nea.1y destroyed the fountains do
not play; the flower beds are destitute
OF flowers yet. even as it is, one is
continually amazed by the brilliant
effect of the interior vistas, In one
house the view from a tricinum
across two courts, both surrounded
by gayly decorated Corinthian COL
umns standing before walls painted
from top to bottom in a variety of
colors, is really dazing to the eyes.
The old Pompeians lived in rainbow
atmosphere.
Another striking thing is the abso-
Lutte cleanliness. You may say that
the dirt has all been taken away by
the Italian government. That is true,
but it is quite evident that in the old
times it never was there. Our modern
houses are not made to be clean, as
were the Pompeian residences. The
walls, the floors, every corner of their
homes, were finished with the most
admirable workmanship. In their
rooms no plaster ever fell, for it was
of such excellent material, and 50
we'll put on, that it soon became like
marble. They had no wooden walls,
no cracks where dust could penetrate.
Water for cleansing was found in
every part of the house, and ran off
through perfect drains. All the tables
and bedsteads were of marble or
bronze; even the welI-curbs and the
borders of the flower beds were of
hewn stone. Hygiene must havecome
naturally to the old Pompeian; he
evidently had no chance to get a
typhoidal attack the only class of
diseases he could not provide against
were the eruptive. and one of these
carried him off at last. X
The excavations are going on stead
lily, and are admirably managed. 1t
is delight to see one room after an
other revealed to the light of day.
The authorities are now beginning to
replace the charred timbers of the
roofs with new ones. In this way
some second story balconies are kept
in place, instead of being allowed to
fall down as formerly. Over some of
the most richly decorated houses the
roofs are restored exactly as they
were, with tiles made after the an
cient patterns.
You would be astonished at the
size of some of the Pompeian houses,
and of the rooms and spaces they in
close. They look small because they
are so empty, but when you measure
them you find them very spacious.
Houses of thirty and forty rooms in
the first story are not uncommon.
The great space was the atrium, often
80 to 40 feet long, having an opening
for light in the center of the roof. and
Juob uIuVi tIlo a lIIuliIO IIIIe'l DdSlIIf
raised above the floor, INTO which the
rain fell, and on the margin of which
were placed bronze and vases. Out
of this opened bedrooms, and at the
end reception room and dining
room. Beyond these was peristyIe
or court, surrounded by from eight
to twenty columns. thus making a
broad corridor running all around.
Some of the perislyles were 80 or 100
feet square, with great variety of
rooms opening into them. Beyond
the peristyle was the garden, some.
times $50 feet square, or more, with
all sorts of arrangements for plants
and fountains. A good many of the
elaborate niche-shaped fountains are
still perfect. The street entrances to
some of the houses are 10 to Is feet
in width, and had quadruple or four
leaved doors. In fact, so spacious are
these dwellings on the ground floor
that it is generally believed that
the upper story rooms were rented
ont.
The floors of the first and second
stories were of cement in which not