Part 1
# Museum of Antiquity: A Description of Ancient Life ### By Yaggy, L. W. (Levi W.)
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[Illustration: Painted by J.M.W. Turner, R.A. Engraved & Printed by Illman Brothers. THE PALACE OF THE CAESARS]
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MUSEUM
OF
ANTIQUITY
A DESCRIPTION OF
_ANCIENT LIFE_:
THE
EMPLOYMENTS, AMUSEMENTS, CUSTOMS AND HABITS, THE CITIES, PALACES, MONUMENTS AND TOMBS, THE LITERATURE AND FINE ARTS OF 3,000 YEARS AGO.
BY L.W. YAGGY, M.S., AND T.L. HAINES, A.M.,
_AUTHORS OF THE "ROYAL PATH OF LIFE," "OUR HOME COUNSELOR," "LITTLE GEMS."_
ILLUSTRATED.
MADISON, WIS.: J.B. FURMAN & CO. WESTERN PUBLISHING HOUSE, CHICAGO, ILL.
1884.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1880 by L.W. YAGGY & T.L. HAINES, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D.C.
PREFACE.
Egypt, Greece and Italy were the fountain heads of our civilization and the source of our knowledge; to them we can trace, link by link, the origin of all that is ornamental, graceful and beautiful. It is therefore a matter of greatest interest to get an intimate knowledge of the original state, and former perfection, the grandeur, magnificence and high civilization of these countries, as well as of the homes, the private and domestic life, the schools, churches, rites, ceremonies, &c.
The many recent excavations in Troy, Nineveh, Babylon and the uncovering of the City of Pompeii, with its innumerable treasures, the unfolding of the long-hoarded secrets, have revealed information for volumes of matter. But works that treat on the various subjects of antiquity are, for the most part, not only costly and hard to procure, but also far too voluminous. The object of this work is to condense into the smallest possible compass the essence of information which usually runs through many volumes, and place it into a practical form for the common reader. We hope, however, that this work will give the reader a greater longing to extend his inquiries into these most interesting subjects, so rich in everything that can refine the taste, enlarge the understanding and improve the heart. It has been our object, so far as possible, to avoid every expression of opinion, whether our own or that of any school of thinkers, and to supply first, facts, and secondly, careful references by which the citations of those facts, may be verified, and the inferences from them traced by the reader himself, to their legitimate result.
Before we close, we would tender our greatest obligations to the English and German authors, from whom we have drawn abundantly in preparing this work; also to the Directors of the British Museum of London, and the Society of Antiquarians of Berlin, and especially to the authorities of the excavated City of Pompeii and its treasures in the Museum of Naples, where we were furnished with an intelligent guide and permitted to spend days in our researches. To each and all of these, who have so kindly promoted our labor, our heartfelt thanks are cordially returned.
Many of the engravings are from drawings made on the spot, but a greater number are from photographs, and executed with the greatest fidelity by German and French artists.
Steel Plate Engravings.
PAGE
_The Palace of the Cæsars_, 1
_House of the Tragic Poet--Sallust_, 112
_Egyptian Feast_, 270
_Approach to Karnac_, 384
_Temple of Karnac_, 470
_The Philae Islands_, 656
_School of the Vestal Virgins_, 832
CONTENTS.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
POMPEII.
The Glory of the City--Destruction--Excavation--_Entering Pompeii_ (_Page 21-25_)--The Streets of the City--The Theatres of Pompeii--Villa of Julia Felix--Pavements and Sidewalks--_Arrangement of Private Houses_ (_Page 26-53_)-- Elegance of Domestic Architecture--Ground Plan of Roman House--Exterior Apartments--Interior Apartments--Dining Halls--The Triclinium--Materials and Construction--The Salve Lucru--Paintings and Decorations--The Drunken Hercules-- Wall Decoration--The Peristyle--The House of Siricus--Political Inscriptions--Electioneering Advertisements--The Graffiti-- Street of the Lupanar--Eighty Loaves of Bread Found--The House of the Balcony--Human Bodies Preserved--Discovered Bodies--_House of Diomedes_ (_Page 54-74_)--Location of the Villa--Ground Plan of the Villa--Detail of Ground Plan--The Caldarium--Galleries and Halls--Porticoes and Terraces--Tomb and Family Sepulchre--The Villa Destroyed--Conclusive Evidence--Jewels and Ornaments--Pliny's Account of a Roman Garden--_Stores and Eating Houses_ (_Page 75-81_)--Restaurant-- Pompeian Bill of Fare--Circe, Daughter of the Sun--_Houses of Pansa and Sallust_ (_Page 82-102_)--Curious Religious Painting-- General View of House--Worship of the Lares--Domesticated Serpents--Discoveries Confirm Ancient Authors--Ornamentation and Draperies--Remarkable Mansions--House of the Vestals-- Surgical and other Instruments--Shop of an Apothecary--_House of Holconius_ (_Page 103-112_)--Decorations of the Bed-Chambers-- Perseus and Andromeda--Epigraphs and Inscriptions--Ariadne Discovered by Bacchus--_General Survey of the City_ (_Page 113-118_)--Wine Merchant's Sign--Sculptor's Laboratory--House of Emperor Joseph II 17-119
AMUSEMENTS.
The Amphitheatre--Coliseum--84,000 Seats--The Bloody Entertainments--Examining the Wounded--Theatres--_Roman Baths_ (_Page 147-156_)--Description of the Baths--Cold Baths--Warm Chambers--The Vapor Baths--Hot-Air Baths--_Social Games and Sports_ (_Page 157-162_)--Domestic Games--Jugglers-- Game of Cities--Gymnastic Arts--_Social Entertainments_ (_Page 163-180_)--Characteristics of the Dance--Grace and Dress of the Dancers--Position at the Table--Vases and Ornaments--Food and Vegetables--Mode of Eating--Reminders of Mortality--_Egyptian Music and Entertainments_ (_Page 181-188_)--Musical Instruments-- Jewish Music--Beer, Palm Wine, Etc--_Games and Sports of the Egyptians_ (_Page 189-202_)--Games with Dice--Games of Ball-- Wrestling--Intellectual Capabilities--Hunting 120-202
DOMESTIC LIFE.
Occupation of Women--Bathing--Wedding Ceremonies--Children's Toys--Writing Materials--Families, Schools and Marriages-- Duties of Children--_Dress, Toilet and Jewelry_ (_Page 219-232_)--The Chiton--Dress Materials--Styles of Wearing Hair--Head-Dress of Women--Hair-Pins--Sunshades--_Crimes and Punishments; Contracts, Deeds, Etc._ (_Page 233-252_)-- Punishments--Laws Respecting Debt--Contracts--Superstition--Cure of Diseases--_Houses, Villas, Farmyards, Orchards, Gardens, Etc._ (_Page 253-270_)--Character of the People--Construction of Houses--Plans of Villas--Irrigation--Gardens--_Egyptian Wealth_ (_Page 271-280_)--Gold and Silver--Worth of Gold--Treasures-- Total Value of Gold 203-280
DOMESTIC UTENSILS.
Writing Materials--Literature--Curious Lamps--The Candelabrum-- Candelabra--Oil-Lamps--The Steelyard--Drinking Vessels--Colored Glass--Glass--Glass Vessels--Articles of Jewelry--Toilet-Boxes, Etc.--_Furniture_ (_Page 309-322_)--Chairs and Stools--Bed-Room Furniture--Tables, Etc.--Pottery--Drawings on Vases--_Vases_ (_Page 323-342_)--Greek Vases--Inscriptions on Vases--Historical Subjects on Vases--Uses of Vases--Vases Found in Tombs--Silver Vessels--Decorated Vases 281-342
EMPLOYMENT.
Colored Glass Vessels--Imitation Jewels--Potters--Carpenter's Tools--Professions--Husbandry--Rise of the Nile--Agricultural Implements--Agriculture--_Baking, Dyeing and Painting_ (_Page 363-384_)--Flour Mills--Bread-Baking--Dyeing--Scouring and Dyeing--Coloring Substances--Mineral Used for Dyeing--Cost of Dyeing--Cloth Manufacture--Persian Costumes 343-384
TROY.
Ruins at Hissarlik--Settlement of Troy--First Settlers--Scæan Gate--Call of Menelaus--Houses at Troy--Objects Found in Houses--Silver Vases--Taking out the Treasure--Shield of the Treasure--Contents of the Treasure--Ear-Rings and Chains--Gold Buttons, Studs, Etc.--Silver Goblet and Vases--Weapons of Troy-- Terra Cotta Mugs--Condition of the Roads--Lack of Inscriptions 385-422
NINEVEH AND BABYLON.
Explorations of Niebuhr and Rich--Excavations at Kouyunjik Palace--Sennacherib's Conquests--Highly-Finished Sculptures--North Palace, Kouyunjik--Temple of Solomon--The Oracle--Description of the Palace--Modern Houses of Persia--Chambers in the Palace--The Walls--Grandeur of Babylon--Building Materials--History of Babylon--_Karnac and Baalbec_ (_Page 461-473_)--Stupendous Remains--Temple of Luxor--Chambers of the Great Pyramid--The Great Temple--The Pantheon at Rome--Egyptian Obelisks-- Obelisks 423-484
RELIGION OR MYTHOLOGY.
Mythology--Mythological Characters--The Pythian Apollo--Phoebus Apollo--Niobe and Leto--Daphne--Kyrene--Hermes--The Sorrow of Demeter--The Sleep of Endymion--Phaethon--Briareos--Dionysos-- Pentheus--Asklepios--Ixion--Tantalos--The Toils of Herakles-- Admetos--Epimetheus and Pandora--Io and Prometheus--Deukalion-- Poseidon and Athene--Medusa--Danae--Perseus--Andromeda-- Akrisios--Kephalos and Prokris--Skylla--Phrixos and Helle-- Medeia--Theseus--Ariadne--Arethusa--Tyro--Narkissos--Orpheus and Eurydike--Kadmos and Europa--Bellerophon--Althaia and the Burning Brand--Iamos 485-642
FINE ARTS.
Egyptian Sculpture--Etruscan Painting--Renowned Painters-- Parrhasius--Colors Used--Sculpture Painting--Fresco Painting-- _Sculpturing_ (_Page 667-694_)--Sculpture in Greece and Egypt-- Sculptures of Ancient Kings--Animal Sculpture--Modeling of the Human Figure--"The Sculptor of the Gods"--Grandeur of Style-- Statues--Description of Statues--Work of Lysippus--The Macedonian Age--Roman Art--Copies of Ancient Gods--_Mosaic_ (_Page 695-702_)--Mosaic Subjects--Battle Represented in Mosaics--Grandeur of Style 643-702
LITERATURE.
Homer--Paris--Achilles--The Vengeance of Odysseus--Sophocles-- Herodotus--The Crocodile--Artabanus Dissuades Xerxes--Socrates-- Socrates and Aristodemus--Aristophanes--Plato--The Perfect Beauty--Last Hours of Socrates--Demosthenes--Philip and the Athenians--Measures to Resist Philip--Former Athenians Described--Oration on the Crown--Invective against Catiline-- Expulsion of Catiline from Rome--The Tyrant Prætor Denounced-- Immortality of the Soul--Julius Cæsar--The Germans--Battle of Pharsalia--Virgil--Employment of the Bee--Punishments in Hell-- Horace--To Licinius--Happiness Founded on Wisdom--The Equality of Man--Plutarch--Proscription of Sylla--Demosthenes and Cicero Compared 703-832
TOMBS AND CATACOMBS.
Extent of the Tombs--An Acre and a quarter in a Tomb-- Sculpturings--Painting--Burying According to Rank--Mummies--Mummy Cases and Sarcophagi--Roman Tombs--Inscriptions--_The Catacombs_ (_Page 873-910_)--Inscriptions--Catacombs--Christian Inscriptions--Early Inscriptions--Catacombs, nearly 900 miles long--Utensils from the Catacombs--Paintings--S. Calixtus-- Lord's Supper 833-910
TRUTH OF THE BIBLE.
The Assyrian and Babylonian Discoveries--1100 Christian Inscriptions--The use of the Bible for Excavators--Accordance with Ancient Writings--Frieze from the Arch of Titus--No Book produced by Chance--God the Author--Its Great Antiquity--The Pentateuch--Preservation of the Scripture--Its Important Discoveries--Its Peculiar Style--Its Harmony--Its Impartiality-- Its Prophecies--Its Important Doctrines--Its Holy Tendency--Its Aims--Its Effects--Its General Reception--Persecuted but not Persecuting 911-944
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ILLUSTRATIONS
BY GERMAN ARTISTS.
DESTRUCTION OF POMPEII 17
VIEW OF POMPEII. (_From a Photograph_) 23
PLAN OF A ROMAN HOUSE 28
VESTIBULE OF A POMPEIAN HOUSE 30
TRICLINIUM OR DINING-ROOM 33
HERCULES DRUNK. (_From Pompeii_) 37
DISCOVERED BODY AT POMPEII 51
GROUND PLAN OF THE SUBURBAN VILLA OF DIOMEDES 57
WALL PAINTING AT POMPEII 69
HOUSEHOLD UTENSILS 72
RESTAURANT. (_From Wall Painting_) 77
BED AND TABLE AT POMPEII. (_From Wall Painting_) 78
PLAN OF A TRICLINIUM 79
HEAD OF CIRCE 81
KITCHEN FURNITURE AT POMPEII 84
BROOCHES OF GOLD FOUND AT POMPEII 98
SCALES FOUND AT POMPEII 100
WALL PAINTING FOUND AT POMPEII 105
GOLD BREASTPINS FOUND AT POMPEII 114
A LABORATORY, AS FOUND IN POMPEII 117
FIRST WALLS DISCOVERED IN POMPEII 118
VIEW OF THE AMPHITHEATRE AT POMPEII 121
COLISEUM OF ROME 128
EXAMINING THE WOUNDED 133
ASKING PARDON 135
NOT GRANTED 135
COMBATS WITH BEASTS 137
VIEW OF THE TEPIDARIUM 151
ANCIENT BATH ROOM. (_As Discovered_) 155
EGYPTIAN VASES 173
SOCIAL ENJOYMENT OF WOMEN. (_From an Ancient Painting_) 205
GOLD PINS 220
SHAWL OR TOGA PIN 220
PEARL SET PINS 221
STONE SET BROOCHES 224
HAIR DRESS. (_From Pompeii_) 227
TOILET ARTICLES FOUND AT POMPEII 231
WREATH OF OAK. (_Life Saving_) 247
TABULÆ, CALAMUS, AND PAPYRUS 283
TABULÆ, STYLUS, AND PAPYRUS 283
TABULÆ AND INK STAND 284
LIBRARIES AND MONEY 284
GOLD LAMP. (_Found at Pompeii_) 287
CANDELABRUM, OR LAMP STAND 289
CANDELABRA, OR LAMP STANDS 290
STANDING LAMP 293
ANCIENT LAMPS 293
SCALES AND WEIGHTS 295
VESSELS. (_From Pompeii_) 296
DRINKING VESSEL 297
GLASS VESSELS. (_From Pompeii_) 302
CUPS AND METALS 304
GOLD JEWELRY. (_From Pompeii_) 305
HEAVY GOLD PINS 306
BROOCHES INSET WITH STONE 307
SAFETY TOGA PINS 308
PLUNDERING CORINTH 317
GREEK VASE 321
ETRUSCAN VASE 324
ROMAN VASES 325
VASE REPRESENTING A MARRIAGE. (_Found at Pompeii_) 328
VASE REPRESENTING TROJAN WAR. (_Found at Pompeii_) 333
VASE. (_Found at Pompeii_) 334
VASE REPRESENTING GREEK SACRIFICE 336
VASE 2,000 YEARS OLD 337
SILVER PLATTER 339
SILVER CUP. (_Found at Hildesheim_) 340
VASE OF THE FIRST CENTURY 341
DISH OF THE FIRST CENTURY 341
ANCIENT GLASS VESSELS 346
GLASS BROOCH 347
IMITATION OF REAL STONE 348
ANCIENT EGYPTIAN POTTERY 350
MILL AND BAKERY AT POMPEII 365
BREAD DISCOVERED IN POMPEII 371
METALS AND BEADS 389
TERRA-COTTA LAMPS 394
BRONZE LAMPS 394
GOLDEN CUPS OF PRIAM. (_Found at Troy_) 396
WONDERFUL VASES OF TERRA-COTTA FROM PALACE OF PRIAM 399
FROM PALACE OF PRIAM 400
LIDS AND METALS OF PRIAM 401
TREASURES OF PRIAM. (_Found at Troy_) 404
PART OF MACHINE OF PRIAM 406
JEWELRY OF GOLD AND STONES 406
VESSEL FOUND IN THE PALACE OF PRIAM 407
SHIELD OF THE PALACE OF PRIAM 408
GOLD NECKLACE OF TROY 409
GOLD TASSELS OF TROY 409
LAMPS FOUND AT TROY 409
STUDS AND BRACELETS OF PRIAM 411
GOLD PINS WITH SET GEMS 411
GOLD EAR-RINGS OF TROY 412
SPEARS, LANCES, AX AND CHAIN 415
SHEARS, KNIVES AND SPEARS 415
LANCES FOUND AT PALACE OF PRIAM, TROY 416
COINS OR METALS 418
ELEGANT BROOCH OF TROY 421
LAMP FOUND AT TROY 422
PALACE OF SENNACHERIB 427
DISCOVERED IN THE PALACE 435
VIEW OF A HALL 445
COLUMNS OF KARNAC 463
THE GREAT PYRAMIDS AND SPHINX 469
RUINS OF BAALBEC 473
VIEW OF THE PANTHEON AT ROME 475
PANTHEON AT ROME 477
HALF SECTION OF THE PANTHEON 478
OBELISK OF HELIOPOLIS 481
JUPITER. (_or Zeus_) 491
APOLLO. (_From an Ancient Sculpture_) 495
PLUTO AND HIS WIFE 503
CERES. (_or Demeter. From Pompeii Wall Painting_) 512
JUNO. (_or Here_) 516
DIANA. (_or Artemis_) 520
VULCAN. (_or Hephaistos_) 526
MINERVA. (_or Pallas Athene. Found at Pompeii_) 530
ANCIENT SCULPTURING ON TANTALOS 537
URANIA. (_Muse of Astronomy_) 538
JUPITER. (_or Zeus with his Thunderbolt_) 544
THALIA, THE MUSE 550
LAOCOON, THE FALSE PRIEST 555
GRECIAN ALTAR. (_3000 years old_) 563
THEMIS. (_Goddess of Law_) 565
EUTERPE. (_Muse of Pleasure_) 577
THALIA. (_Muse of Comedy_) 584
NUMA POMPILIUS VISITING THE NYMPH EGERIA 591
POLYHYMNIA. (_Muse of Rhetoric_) 603
SPHINX OF EGYPT 607
CALLIOPE. (_Muse of Heroic Verse_) 614
THE ORIGIN OF MAN 617
ERATE. (_Muse of the Lute_) 623
TERPSICHORE. (_Muse of Dancing_) 625
ANCIENT SACRIFICE. (_From Wall Painting of Pompeii_) 631
MELPOMENE. (_Muse of Tragedy_) 639
CLIO. (_Muse of History_) 642
ANCIENT ART AND LITERATURE 645
PAINTING. (_2600 years old_) 655
DYING GLADIATOR 689
MOSAIC FLOOR 696
MOSAIC DOVES 697
APOLLO CHARMING NATURE 701
ANCIENT AUTHORS 709
LIBRARY OF HERCULANEUM 723
TROJAN HEROES 735
ANCIENT METAL ENGRAVING 745
SOCRATES DRINKING THE POISON 762
FROM ANCIENT SCULPTURING 775
KING PHILIP. (_of Macedon_) 784
AUGUSTUS CÆSAR. (_Found at Pompeii_) 795
JULIUS CÆSAR. (_From an Ancient Sculpturing_) 805
VIRGIL AND HORACE 813
EUCLID 824
ALEXANDER SEVERUS 831
EGYPTIAN TOMB 835
SARCOPHAGUS, OR COFFIN. (_With Noah's Ark Cut in Relief on the Outside_) 841
COFFIN OF ALABASTER. (_Features of the Deceased Sculptured_) 843
DISCOVERED TOMB WITH ITS TREASURES. (_At Pompeii_) 847
ARTICLES FOUND IN A TOMB 852
HIEROGLYPHICS 857, 858, 859
EGYPTIAN PILLAR 862
EGYPTIAN COLUMN 867
SECTIONS OF THE CATACOMBS WITH CHAMBERS 874
PLAN OF THE CATACOMBS AT ROME 875
STONE COFFIN 878
STONE COFFIN WITH OPEN SIDE 879
INSIDE VIEW OF THE CATACOMBS 881
LAMPS FOUND IN THE CATACOMBS 884
TOMB INSCRIPTION 896
PAINTED CEILING 906
CHAMBER OF A CATACOMB 909
FRIEZE FROM THE ARCH OF TITUS 916
PENTATEUCH, WRITTEN 3200 YEARS AGO 921
SHISHAK AND HIS CAPTIVES ON SCULPTURED WALL AT KARNAC 935
PORTRAIT OF REHOBOAM 936
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ADDRESS TO THE MUMMY.
"And thou hast walked about, (how strange a story!) In Thebes' streets three thousand years ago, When the Memnonium was in all its glory, And time had not begun to overthrow Those temples, palaces and piles stupendous, Of which the very ruins are tremendous.
"Perhaps that very hand now pinioned flat, Has hob-a-nobbed with Pharaoh, glass to glass; Or dropped a half-penny in Homer's hat; Or doffed thine own to let Queen Dido pass; Or held, by Solomon's own invitation, A torch at the great Temple's dedication.
"Thou couldst develop--if that withered tongue Could tell us what those sightless orbs have seen-- How the world looked when it was fresh and young And the great deluge still had left it green; Or was it then so old that history's pages Contained no record of its early ages?
"Since first thy form was in this box extended We have, above ground, seen some strange mutations; The Roman Empire has begun and ended, New worlds have risen--we have lost old nations; And countless kings have into dust been humbled, While not a fragment of thy flesh has crumbled.
"If the tomb's secrets may not be confessed, The nature of thy private life unfold: A heart has throbbed beneath that leathern breast, And tears adown that dusty cheek have rolled; Have children climbed those knees and kissed that face? What was thy name and station, age and race?"
ANSWER.
"Child of the later days! thy words have broken A spell that long has bound these lungs of clay, For since this smoke-dried tongue of mine hath spoken, Three thousand tedious years have rolled away. Unswathed at length, I 'stand at ease' before ye. List, then. O list, while I unfold my story." * * * * * * * * *
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POMPEII.
[Illustration: DESTRUCTION OF POMPEII.]
Pompeii was in its full glory at the commencement of the Christian era. It was a city of wealth and refinement, with about 35,000 inhabitants, and beautifully located at the foot of Mount Vesuvius; it possessed all local advantages that the most refined taste could desire. Upon the verge of the sea, at the entrance of a fertile plain, on the bank of a navigable river, it united the conveniences of a commercial town with the security of a military station, and the romantic beauty of a spot celebrated in all ages for its pre-eminent loveliness. Its environs, even to the heights of Vesuvius, were covered with villas, and the coast, all the way to Naples, was so ornamented with gardens and villages, that the shores of the whole gulf appeared as one city.
What an enchanting picture must have presented itself to one approaching Pompeii by sea! He beheld the bright, cheerful Grecian temples spreading out on the slopes before him; the pillared Forum; the rounded marble Theatres. He saw the grand Palaces descending to the very edge of the blue waves by noble flights of steps, surrounded with green pines, laurels and cypresses, from amidst whose dark foliage marble statues of gods gleamed whitely.
The skillful architect, the sculptors, the painters, and the casters of bronze were all employed to make Pompeii an asylum of arts; all trades and callings endeavored to grace and beautify the city. The prodigious concourse of strangers who came here in search of health and recreation added new charms and life to the scene.
But behind all this, and encased as it were in a frame, the landscape rose in a gentle slope to the summit of the thundering mountain. But indications were not wanting of the peril with which the city was threatened. The whole district is volcanic; and a few years before the final catastrophe, an earthquake had shaken Pompeii to its foundations; some of the buildings were much injured. On August 24, A.D. 79, the inhabitants were busily engaged in repairing the damage thus wrought, when suddenly and without any previous warning a vast column of black smoke burst from the overhanging mountain. Rising to a prodigious height in the cloudless summer sky, it then gradually spread out like the head of some mighty Italian pine, hiding the sun, and overshadowing the earth for miles in distance.
The darkness grew into profound night, only broken by the blue and sulphurous flashes which darted from the pitchy cloud. Soon the thick rain of thin, light ashes, almost imperceptible to the touch, fell upon the land. Then quickly succeeded shower of small pumice stones and heavier ashes, and emitting stifling eruptic fumes. After a time the sounds of approaching torrent were heard, and soon streaming rivers of dense black mud poured slowly but irresistibly down the mountain sides, and circled through the streets, insidiously creeping into such recesses as even the subtle ashes had failed to penetrate. There was now no place of shelter left. No man could defend himself against this double enemy. It was too late for flight for such as had remained behind. Those who had taken refuge in the innermost parts of the houses, or in the subterranean passages, were closed up forever. Those who sought to flee through the streets were clogged by the small, loose pumice stones, which lay many feet deep, or were entangled and overwhelmed in the mud-streams, or were struck down by the rocks which fell from the heavens. If they escaped these dangers, blinded by the drifting ashes and groping in the dark, not knowing which way to go, they were overcome by the sulphurous vapors, and sinking on the highway were soon buried beneath the volcanic matter. Even many who had gained the open country, at the beginning of the eruption, were overtaken by the darkness and falling cinders, and perished miserably in the field or on the sea-shore, where they had vainly sought the means of flight.
In three days the doomed city had disappeared. It lay buried beneath a vast mass of ashes, pumice stone and hardened mud, from twenty to seventy feet deep. Those of its terror-stricken inhabitants who escaped destruction, abandoned forever its desolate site. Years, generations, centuries went by, and the existence of Pompeii--yea, even its very name--had ceased to be remembered. The rich volcanic soil became covered with a profusion of vegetation. Vineyards flourished and houses were built on the site of the buried city.
Nearly eighteen hundred years had elapsed since the thunderer Vesuvius had thrown the black mantle of ashes over the fair city before the resuscitation arrived. Some antique bronzes and utensils, discovered by a peasant, excited universal attention. Excavations were begun, and Pompeii, shaking off as it were her musty grave clothes, stared from the classic and poetical age of the first into the prosaic modern world of the nineteenth century. The world was startled, and looked with wondering interest to see this ancient stranger arising from her tomb--to behold the awakening of the remote past from the womb of the earth which had so long hoarded it.
The excavation has been assiduously prosecuted, until to-day three hundred and sixty houses, temples, theatres, schools, stores, factories, etc., have been thrown open before us with their treasured contents. It is often, but erroneously, supposed that Pompeii, like Herculaneum, was overwhelmed by a flood of lava. Had this been the case, the work of excavation would have been immensely more difficult, and the result would have been far less important. The marbles must have been calcined, the bronzes melted, the frescoes effaced, and smaller articles destroyed by the fiery flood. The ruin was effected by showers of dust and scoriæ, and by torrents of liquid mud, which formed a mould, encasing the objects, thus preserving them from injury or decay. We thus gain a perfect picture of what a Roman city was eighteen hundred years ago, as everything is laid bare to us in almost a perfect state.
What wealth of splendid vessels and utensils was contained in the chests and closets! Gold and gilded ivory, pearls and precious stones were used to decorate tables, chairs and vessels for eating and drinking. Elegant lamps hung from the ceiling, and candelabra and little lamps of most exquisite shapes illuminated the apartments at night. To-day, looking at the walls, the eyes may feast on beautiful fresco paintings, with colors so vivid and fresh as if painted but yesterday; while gleaming everywhere on ceiling, wall and floor, are marbles of rarest hue, sculptured into every conceivable form of grace and beauty, and inlaid in most artistic designs.
ENTERING POMPEII.
We will now proceed to describe the general aspect of the city, and for this purpose it will be convenient to suppose that we have entered it by the gate of Herculaneum, though in other respects the Porta della Marina is the more usual and, perhaps, the best entrance.
On entering, the visitor finds himself in a street, running a little east of south, which leads to the Forum. To the right, stands a house formerly owned by a musician; to the left, a thermopolium or shop for hot drinks; beyond is the house of the Vestals; beyond this the custom-house; and a little further on, where another street runs into this one from the north at a very acute angle, stands a public fountain. In the last-named street is a surgeon's house; at least one so named from the quantity of surgical instruments found in it, all made of bronze. On the right or western side of the street, by which we entered, the houses, as we have said, are built on the declivity of a rock, and are several stories high.