The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1888-12-05
A POmpeiian Home.

1t was most frequently in the upper
part of the house that the ladies of the
family had their sleeping apartments,
though these were sometimes arranged
round the peristyle, or second of the
two open courts on the ground floor;
the first and largest being the atrium, a
large court with splendid Mosaic pave
ment, rich frescoes, and many statues
and columns. An open space in the
roof let in the air and light, and a shall
low marble tank beneath collected the
rain water, and was generally also furn-
ished with small jet of spring water,
flowing from the beak of bronze goose
held by beautiful boy, or some other
similar statuette. This part of the man
sion and the rooms adjoining it were
more especially set apart for the mas
ter, who, when person of consequence
and wealth, as we may suppose the hus-
band of our lady to be, received every
morning crowds of friends, clients aud
hangers-on of every description. The
rooms allotted to the gentlemen of the
family were ranged on each side of the
atrium, small for the most part, and
only receiving light and air from the
niche built in the wall or on a bedstead
of wood with bronze corners. But
even these small and comparatively
dark rooms were adorned with wall
decorations of the most graceful de-
scription, and in the most tasteful and
brilliant colors. Beyond the atrium,
and between it and the peristyle, was
the reception-room for state occasions
Here were kept the statues and busts
of the ancestors, and the family arch
ives and pompous inscriptions on the
walls often testified to the fame and
glory of the house. Near this apart
ment was the library, where connois-
seurship and dilettantism in matters APP
pertaining to the fine arts were dis
played, for the Pompeiians expended
fabulous sums in the purchase of an
tiquities found in the early Greek graves
in Capua and elsewhere, and in bronze
figures and other works. No doubt
some traits of the excessive luxury
which prevailed in Rome during the
latter days of Empire reached the dis
tant walls of commercial Pompeii;
and, as in Rome the villas and palaces
of the aristocracy became the deposit
tory of collections, so the houses of the
wealthy who chose Pompeii for their
country residence or seaside resort, also
contained numberless precious artistic
works, and the love of beauty displayed
even in the humblest dwelling proves
that an aesthetic taste was universally
spread among the inhabitants. We
must not forget that the ease and lux
ury of the wealthy classes rested on the
background of slavery, so that our
Pompeiian lady left all the more seri-
GUS work of the household to her
woman-slaves, many of whom were nc
doubt confidential and trusted servants.
Music was favorite amusement among
the ladies. They were by no means ig.
norant of literature, and took an inter.
est in public life, being emancipated
from the severe control of the earlier
Roman period. But in the joyous life
under the southern sunny cline, even
the slaves shared in the ease and gaiety
of their mistresses, playing and singing
before them, or in their leisure hours
playing the old, old game of chuck
stone or knuckle-bones, with the actual
knuckle-bones of the sheep they had
probably consumed at dinner, as we
see them depicted in drawing in red
chalk in the museum at Naples. Other
diversions they found in household
pets, among which were quails, rock
pigeons (the colored varieties and fancy
breeds were unknown) peacocks, par
rots, guinea-fowls, "that beautiful bir6
speckled all over with pearls or tears, ,
swans and geese, of all of which we
find life-like presentations among the
fresco paintings. But it is worthy Of
remark that cats were then unknown
as domestic animals, the figure of one
mangling a quail, introduced into the
mural decorations, being evidently the
wild variety by its special characters
tics. This explains the fact that ne
skeletons of these animals were ex
humed from the buried city.-Woman'I
World.