, 1886-08-03
THE EXCAVATIONS AT poMpEII.
bringing to Light a Beautiful House
Discovery of q Skeleton.


bringing to Light a Beautiful House
Discovery of . Skeleton.
1t seems odd to speak OF q dead city as
a growing one. But that is exactly the
the case with Pompeii. There are many
cities in Italy that do not grow half as
fast as the n buried by the ashes of
Vesuvius i, 800 years ago.. A person Wis.,
iting 1t at intervals of a year notices a
marked enlargement OF its boundaries.
The Italians, you know, are the cham
pion diggers. They make the shovel fly
when they attack the grave of Pompeii.
We saw a gang of Them at work there.
A government overseer watched them
like a hawk. He wanted to be sure a
they pocketed no jewelry, coins, or Dbl
jects of art or utility yielded by the ex-
cavations. The only produce of their
toll in hat line as we stood by was a bit
of iron, which the guide called a hinge.
and the fragment Of a small marble
column. The spades busily Piled were
gradually bringing to light a beautiful
house. The floors were mosaic, with
simple but graceful designs in scroll pat
~tern-nearly as fresh of color as if laid
yesterday. The walls bore frescoes OF
fainter tints-grinning masks. fawns,
cupids, birds, fish, and fruit. 1t had
evidently beer the home of a well-to-do
citizen of Pompeii. The nervous move
ments of the workmen betrayed their
anxiety. They were hoping at every
moment to make a valuable find"
Perhaps they might hit upon a great
iron chest, studded with round knobs
like a boiler, and full OF gold, money, or
ornaments. or they might be startled by
coming suddenly upon a skull or other
human remains. In the latter event,
the work is suspended till a careful in
spection is made.
The responsible and intelligent person
in charge proceeds to ascertain if the
dead Pompeiian has left mould of him
self or herself in the plastic ashes. If so,
he prepares a mixture Of plaster of Paris,
breaks a hole in the crust, and slowly
pours in the liquid till the mould is full.
When it has hardened, the casting is ten
derby removed. Lol there is a rough
image. showing some poor creature in
the agonies of death, prone on the floor,
face downward.
Thus, most usually, were the inhab-
itants of the doomed city caught by the
destroying angel. The skull, or leg, o r
arm, or whatever other part of the skel-
eton has not relapsed into its original
dust, may attach itself to the plaster cast
in the proper place, or may require to be
joined on by a pardonable restoration"
In either case the effect is thrilling in its
horrible reality. Nothing in painting or
sculpture can shock the beholder more
than these s~elf-produced and truthful
statues exhibited in the museum, which
is the first and most interesting thing
shown to visitors. But, though neither
gold o silver, nor the minutest scrap of
a skeleton, nor anything else Of import
ance was unearthed for my benefit, 1
quilted the new excavations with reluc-
lance to examine those parts of Pompeii
with which the world is already familiar
through the medium OF books and pic
lures. l found myself quite at home in
the bakery, the wine shop. at the oil
merchants, at the houses of Pansa, of
Sallust, of the Tragic Poet" and the
rest. The high stepping-stones across
the streets looked familiar, as if l had
trodden them before. The deep ruts cut
by the carts as they groaned up the hill,
coming from the ancient Stabia, were
like friendly landmarks. So fully have
art and literature made us acquainted
with this disinterred city.
1t may be true, as our guide insists,
that the temples, forums, baths, theaters,
and fine houses now above ground sur
pass anything of the kind that may here
after be discovered at Pompeii. But the
Italian government is not disposed to
take that for granted. Liberal sums are
yearly appropriated to push on the work.
1t bears fruit. A new temple or
amphitheater may not be struck every
year, but something is constantly being
turned up to instruct the world in the
manners and customs of the old Romans,
so well reflected in the representative
city of Pompeii. OF bronze or stone
statues, household implements, and tools
Of trades, the yield is immense and
steady. These may be counted by the
thousand in the splendid museum at
Naples. One IA see 30 many articles Of
luxury n use exactly similar to those
he buys nowadays, that he is fain to
pause and try to remember what besides
the steam engine, the photograph, and
the electric telegraph we moderns have
invented. There being no more at
Naples to store these treasures, the
excess of them is huddled together in the
court-yards and houses of Pompeii her
self. 1t is estimated that at the present
rate this mine Of antiquities will not be
worked out in fifty years. Journal of
Commerce.