Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1905-08-15

able horror and gloom creeps over one
in that awful city of the dead Our
hotel was just at the foot of the ruins
and from our windows we could look
out in the moonlight across the ruins
of the horror and see the finger of
Gods wrath pointing there. The
whole place reeks with death 1t is
still in the air., after eighteen hundred
years. They have built up new city
of Pompeii at the foot of the old 1t
seems truly like tempting of Provi-
dence, but | guess they built it with the
idea in mind that lighting never strikes
twice in the same spot. All the same,
Vesuvius looks fierce and ugly right
now.
Sunday, June 18-Pompeii.
According to the bible this is day
of rest. Julie and | did the best we
could and went to mass in magnifi-
cent ediice in Pompeii. 1t was early
mass, and a bishop read it. We
walked back to the hotel after Nell,
and with the Halls of Boston (Romanic
people, we went through the ruins of
Pompeii, with a guide to explain it.
How much have added to my little
store house of knowledge today
Money can never buy the treasure and
pleasure it has given me. We saw the
ancient wall about the city, the ruins of
the theatre, the market streets and in
the pavements the imprints of wheels
that had worn the stone. There was a
drinking fountain for horses, shoe shop,
meat market, temples erected to their
gods, the sacrifcial affairs, the forum
and number of private dwellings.
All these have been excavated through
80 feet of lava, and half of the ancient
city is exposed the other is still buried.
There is no written history of the place
in existence that is authentic, but the
deep wheel imprints in the pavement, a
slab of marble, an oven, or skeleton,
each tell their own stories, better than
print ever could.
Pompeii is depressing and we were
glad to leave it after we had invested
in few prints. Nell and each bought
a piece of pottery, small, battered and
very unattractive, but it comes from
the ruins of Pompeii and we cherish it.
1t took half an hour by train to come
from Pompeii back to Naples, We
went directly to the aquarium, that
world famous selection of fish. 1t is
a small but very rare collection,
and furnishes specimens to every
country. All the fish we saw come
from the Bay of Naples, and some of
them are very curious. There were
coral and sponges growing, an unusual
variety of jelly fish that look like mush-
rooms, also an octopus. One flat fish
that looked like skate, we took hold
of and it gave us a shock like that
produced by an electric battery 1t is
called the electric fish There was
sepia fish, too, from which the natives
get their ink. | met charming little
lady who told me a lot of thiHgs about
fish | didn't know. 1t was all very
curious and select.
Tomorrow we go to the museum here,
and the girls want some corals, so we
are going to shop, and Tuesday morn
ing 60 on to Rome, where we settle for
ten days or two weeks. This, so far,
has been lively. We have no trouble,
orb n L h &c
so long as we know the money and its
value, are not apt to get cheated.
Monday, June 19-Today we saw the
principal object of interest in Naples,
the national museum, with its collection
of gems. The rarest in it of course is
the Pompelian room with its collection
of objects found in unearthing the
ruined city. Such exquisite mosaics,
frescoeS End utensils, besides toilet
articles and jew slry worn by ladies of
the time. Thep there is the Chef
D'ourve of the gallery; the Farnese
Bull, tremendous piece of sculpture,
with modelling and action that is
almost living. The most noted bronze
collection in the world is here and
surely there was never fowler piece
made than the Narcissus or the
Mercury in this collection. We lunched
down town and then Nell and Julie
wanted coral, so we went to number
of shops. 1t is expensive here.
Tuesday, June 90
Rome, the eternal, and we are here.
Tiny thrills chased each other up and
down my spine on beholding the Tiber,
st. Peters and the Roman Forum with
its magnificent coliseum. In the face
of it all am simply powerless to write.
All one can do is just stand and look.
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