The sun., 1908-10-18
HERcUEASsUM.

There must be Ia the makeup Of eoHa
men ehaFaotsTlatlo qualities Of the mols
end beaver, uuIted TO Q slmien ouTioaltyi
else how'aooount for their overwhelming
propeneltiea 20 dig. exoayate. burrow
construct or uncover the bones Of tho
buried dsadi In childhood for children
srs the repoaltofiss Of The secret esatuEss
and hablts Of vanished generauoh
take pailu and ahovels 10 the eeaaide, thsEO
70 tTspsfor the aahd from the shore o. else
ball out the ocsan. We make mud pies--
and 10 there on earth 9 spectacle Of happl-
nsss equal 70 tho boys that crawl through
tilnuels Of snow wrought By their own
Willlng laborf You think Of these things
after you have read the big, book On
sHerculsneun; Past, Present and Future
By Charles Waidstsln and Leonard shoo-
bridge. just ipSued by the Macmillan
Company OF London end New York. It
is hardly nepesaafy TO say that Charles
Yeldstein is Slade professor Of Ane art ut
cambridge or that Professor Rhoobridge
halls from Balliol College, Oxford, Adls-
tingnishad arohRologisb Professor Wald-
stein has been q storm oentre Of eontro-
verhy In his agitation foF The further un-
roofing 70 the worlds eyes Of the spprete
Of Hsroulaneum. In the newly published
vork he tolls us about hls laboFs, ofshlR
abortlve efforts 10 eplist public sym
pathy, and finally how. when everything
seemed anapiolous, international jeal-
ousiea blocked further progress. Even
bis triumphant epenlng ssutenosI Her
oulaneun 10 10 bs excayated" 10 modified
by later statement that Il regret 10 find
thst up to the present hma-June. 1909.
the excavations at Herculaneum have not
yet begun The italian Government IN
taking its time,
On the principle that u you see one
catacopab In Rome you have seen all
most misleading notlon--tourists always
visit Pompeii while sojourning ct Eaples.
but seldom beatow a thought upon Her
osilaneum. Pompeii 10 above ground.
Il 10 sunny. Il 10 cheerful. IL has the
superiority over IT. buried sister city of
mere literary end artistic associations.
You heafof -The Last Days OF Pompeii.' >
but seldom speak OF the catastrophe that
destroyed Heroulaneum. Every one
brnoi<sts the two namss-H -Herculaneun
and Pompeii. yet people are usually
astonlshed II asked Why they did not siight
from the train at Reslns, A few dark
damp cellars and q partially exoavated
area are not sufficiently attractive to
the average traveller. Nevertheless Wald-
stein is probably right in asserting that
In Herculaneum IL the treasure trove
missed from the upheayai by human hands
at Pompeii.
He discusses the topography, the in-
habitants, the earthquake OF % A. D.. and
the classic eruption Of 10 A. D.; also the
history OF the site since the eruption.
Under the caption.of The Future Pro-
fessor Waidstein, experiepced as he In.
points out the many problems that must
be solved by the official cxoavstors. Her
oulaneum was buried beneath q food Of
mud and volcanic ashes-tafa; II lies
partially beneath the city OF Resina; the
material In which It is caked IN hard and
intractable, The clearanoe OF Pompeii
was comparatively faoile task. Re-
form In the methods Of excavation, mod
ern machinery. and the entire and vast
technique OF the subject. toeether with
q multitudinous macs Of detail are placed
before the reader, Between the hns8
ono may guess that Professor. Valid
stein has also aimed his shafts In the
direction Of Italy. He rightly believes
that the noble task OF digging up tho
lost city belongs to all civilization He
certainly cannot be accused OF selhshly
hiding any special knowledge no has
CLEANED while he was working on his
theme, .@r
He notes that one villa excavated In
the eighteenth century has yielded
greater treasures 10 original bronzes and
more ancient manuscripts than tho sxca-
vations Of Athens or Rome. Olympia or
Delphi. Alexandria or Pergamon.' And
then the sudden destruction Of Hercu-
laneum-"it was hsrmeticslly sealed and
preserved All the Campanian cities
suffered later from the inroads Of pirates
and barbarians who spared not even the
remains OF Pompeii, Hsroulaneum. be-
meath their feet. was not touched. Nor
has the excayator besA % busy. Pom.
peii was buried. according to the account
of Pliny the Younger, by Q rain Of ashes
(which the wind blowing from the north
west gradually sent over the distant
city These ashes did not reach o greater
height than twenty feet. There was plenty
Of warning - notwithstanding Bulwer's
dramatic but inaccurate account-for
the inhabitants TO escape and to save
yaluables. art objects, even heavy statues.
Not 90 at Herculaneum. Under eighty feet
the city lay. and not gradual came the
shower, but suddenly there appeared
the torrent Of liquid mud, OF ashes mixed
with water The inhabitants lost no
time 10 praying for o cessation Of the
destructive forces. as did the people
OF Pompeii; they ned. leaving every
thing but portable objects behind them,
these conditions explain the oircum-
stance that comparatively % many
bodies were found at Pompeii and %
few at .Herculaneum.' At Pompeii not
a single manuscript. according TO Wald-
stein, has been found. while at Hercu-
Ianeum many. What dazzling dream
1t In to fancy manuscripts In the dark
under the pleasant streets Of Resina;
the great Greek tragedies and comedies;
the works Of the philosophers. Heraolei-
tus, Parmenides. Detnocritus, Rmped-
ocles, Anaxagoras; the missing works
of Plato and Aristotle; tho whole OF
Roman literature. the lost books OF Livy.'
the lost poems OF Sappho.
The weldstein and Shoobridge volume
contains eleven heliosravures and color
prints and eight halftone plates. Any
one who has studied the rich contents OF