Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-03-08
PoMg II.
The Resurreeted City In the Shadow
of Vesuvius.

] he ReSurrected City IN Cne SnaooW
of Vesuvius.
1 had seen in the Naples museum
the treasures so wonderfully pre-
served through such a tract Of time.
Here was all the evidence Of the life
Of a vanished age; drinking vessels,
carved tables, weight and measures,
beds and couches. Letters and manu-
scripts as II delivered yesterday; COM
plicated medical instruments Of brass
and iron, lamps and candlesticks, cum
ningly fashioned, appeared by the
side of rings and exquisitely cut cam
eos, dice and theatre tickets, and gold
en- coins. The feast Of the night be-
fore was set out under glass; figs and
fruits, grapes still glossy purple, dates
and almonds, wine in the wine jars
the feasts Of the night before the del
uge which buried Pompeii.
I came out to the city expecting dis
appointment, protesting against the
obviousness of its appeal; knowing
what 1 should see there. 1 found It
beyond measure impressive; a place
supreme about the vulgarization Of a
show centre, one of the unchallenged
wonders of the world.
1t lies under the shadow Of Vesu-
vius, facing the sea, in the centre Of a
huge amphitheatre Of encompassing
hills. The old mountain smokes tri-
umphantly above, its sides are scored
with black rivers Of lava which II
threw out last April, shattering many
populous villages now buried beneath
them, and nearly determining again to
overwhelm Pompeii. You enter
through a narrow defile lined. with
evergreens and cactus, under an arch
and up a narrow street. In moment
you are in the centre Of city Of the
dead.
Narrow roads stretch away through
the masses of rooflesS trees and lose
themselves in the distance; at the end
q vignetle picture Of a stone pine. per-
haps. with for background the violet
hills. The shops line this one; that
reveals nothing but the blank walls of
private dwellings. This leads down
through splendid temples to the two
theatres, and this one to the great
baths; and this again winds out
through the city gate Of Herculaneum
down into the quiet valley, with its
double border Of tombs. Stand on the
grassy summit of those long, low walls
and lcok downward to where all the
pathways slope gently toward the sea.
You are looking on a city which has
fallen asleep, which has fallen asleep
but yesterday; roofless indeed, with an
air Of ruin and of age; but city
whose busy, crowded life has been ar
rested and not destroyed.
The wonder Of 1t does not reside in
the splendor Of its public buildings,
the Forum, with its colonnades, and
marbles; the Basilica, with its enor-
nous red temples; the great temples Of
Jupiter and Apollo. 1t Is found rath-
er in the obscure houses stamped with
all the evidence of the life of the peo-
pie. Here is the home Of rich man,
full of courts and gardens, the dining
room magnificent with wall paintings.
the little bedrooms magnificent with
its particular taste in decoration. Here
are the narrow and austere houses Of
the poor. Streets of shops stand
there, with their large open windows;
bakers with their ovens still undis-
turbed, wine-sellers with the front
stone excavated into wine stores, tav-
erns, with their inscriptions in praise
of drinking and of love. The stand
ard weights and measures rest near
the Forum, the buried statues and
marble attest to the wealth of the city;
the theatres, the house Of the Gladia-
tors, the amphitheatre, the enormous
baths, witness to its pleasures. One
of these latter remains forever incom-
plete; there are the heating appara-
tus, the channels for hot air, the
places for hanging coats and clothing.
They were calculating how soon these
baths would be available when the
mountain which they had thought
tanned and friendly vomited dust and
ashes over them and destroyed them
all.
Their writings are on all the walls;
Welcome" on one house entrance,
Beware Of the dog" on another.
Their public spirit is attested by the
certificates of great public gifts made
to the town by private persons, built
into the enduring stone. On one wall
is the protest against tavern keeper
who sold weak wine: May the frauds
you practice mine host, be your own
ruin, you who sell water and yourself
drink wine" In another is a warn
ing in white letters over a little open
space: This is no place for loafers.
Loiterers be gone" In a tiny, little bed
room Is an inscription with a gift to
child, Little girl who art so pret-
ty, he who Is thine sent me to thee.
Be we'll and happy"
The streets of solid lava are worn
into deep ruts by the wagons and
chariots. The intimate life Of the
city, arrested like the sudden stop
ping of a clock, is exposed to the gaze
Of men. The walls are bedecked with
exhortations in red paint to the voters
at the imminent elections. You can
interpret the spirit Of these appeals.
The one seemed to say, vote for
Maccinus Sylvius, and combine eff
cheney and economy; the other, "Ev-
cry vote given to Maccinus Sylvius is
a vote for socialism" Or words to
that effect. It was only eighteen hun
dred years ago.
I can imagine a Pompeii "in the
season." under a blue sky and SUM-
shine, with its streets filled with chat
tering tourists and the loquacious
Americans dilating on the ruins and
the customs of the people who once
occupied the ruins. But Pompeii as
/ shall always remember 1t Is de-
prived of these special attractions.
We were solitary in the city Of the
dead-not only OF dead persons, but