Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1900-08-15
A VOLCANIC TRAGEDY
OVERCOME BY DEADLY FUMES
FROM MOUNT vESUviU&
The Family Of q Rich Wine Maker
at Bosco Reale Found ~ They Were
When in . Supposedly ea1e Refuge,
In the Year A. ID. '70.

earthed At Pompeii, still more % an
some recent finds at Bosco Reale. neal
Naples. Recently there was laid bare
the home Of q well-to-do ancient who
was engaged in the wine and oil busi
ness. His house was strictly self-con.
tained, having the dwelling-rooms and
the winemaking-rooms on two adjacen,
sides Of small court. The house wal
not remarkable, except for the singular
modernity Of its water supply. 1t de
pended on the rainfall, which was care
fully stored In q lead cistern. Thence 9
portion passed to the ordinary domestic
taps. A portion passed to q large boil
er, from which by an elaborate system
Of cocks the masters private bath and
basin could be supplied at pleasure
with hot, cold or tepid water. In the
early autumn of 70 A. d. the threaten
ing state of Vesuvius alarmed the
household. The vintage was approach
Ing, and the room which contained the
wine presses had been cleaned and
made ready for the new grapes. lr
particular a reservoir to which the new
wine flowed from the presses was clean
and empty. The room was well pro
tected with thick wall Here. there
fore. when flight was still thought tC
be unnecessary. or perhaps when it had
already become impossible, a couch and
q table and smaller articles were
brought from the living rooms Of the
house. Some man. perhaps the master
hastily gathered In a cloth his precious
collection Of silver plate and his hoard
Of . thousand gold pieces-varying in
date from the well worn coins Of the
early emperors to the brand new mint.
age Of Vespasian. The lady Of the
house, marked by her jeweled earrings;
two other men and a favOrite dog also
came to the chosen refuge. But the
foul gases were quick In their action.
The master sought safety in the under
ground reservoir, but shared the fate
of his companions. His store Of silver
plate lay with him till the other day. 1t
now adOrns the Louvre, to which 1t was
presented by the liberality Of a mem
ber of the house Of Rothschild. One
fragment alone. which in his haste he
had dropped near his strong cupboard.
and which was therefore found separ-
ately, is now at the British Museum.
While this was passing indoors there
was also a moment Of brief agony out
side. The dog by the porter's recess
was straining his chain when he was
overcome. One Of the three horses had
broken loose from the stable. The fowls
had huddled together in one corner of
the yard and the pigs in another.
Still another interesting find was In
the grounds of a villa called Vona at
Bosco Reale, belonging to the De Frisco
A huge peristyle and four
large chambers have been discovered,
on the walls of which are some twenty
frescoes Of large dimensions, rich col
oring. and Of a design hitherto un-
by any brought to light.
Most Of the figures are full sized and
more carefully executed than any hith-
erto known. One is probably portrait
of Epicurus, another represents two
young female figures reclining on large
cushions at a banquet. A third frescO
represents a woman, richly clad, play
ing a Tyre, while fourth is an exQuis-
itely designed representation Of glad
iator seated by the side Of a female fig
ure. Rich mural decorations. fresh in
color and perfect in drawing, cover the
parts Of the walls not occupied by tie
main frescoes.
Unfortunately for students Of art, 1t
is feared that exposure to the air and
the light will cause these magnificent
paintings to fade as quickly as those
at Poinpeii and in the Naples museum.
Every effort is being made to preserve
them as long as possible.