Little Falls transcript., 1886-07-02
EXC a N 20 OMPEIl


lAnxious Disgins for % known TREASURES
The Museuna Will, = ~ its Rare Sights. B
ICorresp 81 tho journal Of Com
Inerce. 81
HOTEL aRANDE BRETAaEE. NAPLES,
May Is, 1886 It seems odd to speak
Ola dead city as q growing one. But
that is exactly the case with Pompeii.
There are many cities ain Italy who
do not grow half as faast as the one
buried by the ashes Of Vesuvins eight.
cen hundred years ago. A person vis-
iting it at intervals Of year notices q
narked enlargement ofits bound aries.
The Italians, you know, are the cham
pion diggers. The make the shovel fly
when they attack the grave Of Pom
peii We saw q gang of them at work
there. A Government overseer watch
ed them like a hawk. He wanted to
be sure they pocketed no jewelry,coins
or objects of art or utility yielded by
the excavations. "
The only produce Of their. toll in
that line, as we stood by, was q bit Of
iron, which the. guide called hinge,
and the fragment OF a small marble
column. The spades, busily piled,
we're gradually bringing to light a
beautiful house. The floors were
mosaic, with simple but graceful de-
signs in scroll pattern--nearly as
fresh OF color as if laid. yester-
day. The walls bore frescoes of fainter
grinning masks, fawns, cuplds,
5lrds, fish and fruit. 1t had evidently
been the home OF q well.to-do citizen
OF Pompeii. The nervous movements
OF the workmen betrayed their ankle
ty. They were hoping at every move
ment to make a valuable "fnd." Per-
haps 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 strike
! another wonder in marble or bronze,
or they might be startled by coming
suddenly upon skull or other human
remains. In the latter event the work
was suspended till a careful inspection
is made. The responsible and intelli-
gent person in charge proceeds to as
certain If the dead Pompeiian has lett
a mould of himself or herself in the
plastic ashes. II so, he prepares a
mixture OF plaster Of Paris, breaks a
hole in the crust and slowly pours in
the liquid till the mold isfull. When
it has hardened the castingis tenderly
removed. Lo! there is rough image
showing some poor creature in the
agonles 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 or arm or whatever other part of
the skeleton had not re]apsed into its
original dust, may attach itself to the
plaster cast in the proper place or
may require to be joined on by par
donahle restoration" In either
case the effect is thrilling in it's horri-
BILE. reality. Nothing in painting or
sculpture can shock the beholder more
thanthese self-produced and truthful
statues exhibited in the museum,
which is the first and most interesting
thing shown to visitors. But, though
neither gold nor silver, nor thesminut-
est scrap Of a skeleton. nor anything
else ot.mportance was lii.:sasarthed for
mybenefit, / quilted the new excava-
tons with reluctance to examine those
parts of Pompeii with which the
- g., +l,o
medium OF books and pictures.
I found myself quite at home in
the bakery, the wine shop. at the
Oil merchants, at the houses OF
Pansa, ofSallust, ,ofth ''Tragic Poet"
and the rest. The high stepping stones
acrossthe streets looked familiar, as
if l lad trodden them before. The
deep ruts cut by the carts as they
groaned up the hill, coming from the
ancient Stabia, were likefriendly land.
marks. So fully have literature and
art made us acquainted with this dis
inferred city,
The guide tells me that only about
one-third OF Pompeii has yet been un-
covered. / take his word for it. He
is also OF the opinion that the best
parts of the city have already been
dug out. He evidently wishes that
the work would stop. He is very
human in this: for he finds it tiresome
to show people about the present
Pompeii. Treble it's size, and his labor
would be threefold. And he is forbid
den to accept money. But I imagine
that this very stern prohibition does
not prevent persons from Offering him
(say) couple OF francs on ''the sly"
or him from accepting them. vi
1t may be true, as our guide insists,
that the temples, forums, baths,
theaters and fine houses now above
ground surpass anything OF the kind
that may hereafter be discovered at
Pompeii. But the italian Govern
ment is not disposed to take that for
granted. Liberal sums are yearly ap-
propriated to push the work. 1t bears
fruits. A new temple or amphitheater
may not be struck every year, but
something is constantly being turned
up to instruct the world IN the man
ners and customs Of the old Romans
SO we'll reflected in the representative
city Of Pompeii. OF bronze or stone
Statues, household implements and
tools Of trade, the yield is immense
and steady These may be counted
by the thousand in the splendid
museum at Naples. One can see SO
many articles Of luxury and use ex.
|actly similar to those ne buys nova
days that he is fain to pause and try
Ito remember what besides the steam
engine, the photograph and the electric
telegraph we moderns have invented.
There being no more room at Naples
Ito store these treasures the excess of
Ithem is huddled together in the court
yards and houses Of Pompeii herself.
1t is estimated that at The present
rate this mine Of antiquities will not