aroundworldortra00peebiala-1

ITALY. 383
POMPEn AND HEECULANETJM.
Cinder-shingled Vesuvius buried these cities on the
24th of August in the year 79 of the Christian era. Their
origin is lost in the misty regions of mythology. They
were prosperous and famous more than two thousand years
since. Livy speaks of their harbors as " magnificent naval
stations." Fifty years before the advent of the Nazarene,
the geographer Strabo praised the excellence of Pompeii's
grain and oils. Roman patricians had embellished adjoining
landscapes with splendid villas. Marius, Pompey,. and
Caesar had residences in these cities.
Here, too, Cicero had a charming villa. He speaks of its
beauty in a letter to Atticus, associating it with Tusculum.
Pliny, the naturalist, was in charge of the Roman fleet
stationed at Misenum when the catastrophe transpired.
Striving to save others, he lost his life. To the younger
Pliny are we indebted for a most graphic description of the
scene. Ruthless as was this destruction, an index finger
pointed to a compensation ; for, if Vesuvius destroyed, it
also shielded and preserved. Beautiful are the paintings
and statues lapilli-entomhed for nearly two thousand years.
The excavations were commenced in 1748. During the
exhumations, about one thousand bodies have been found,
and with them papyrus, coins, cups, keys, necklaces, bracelets,
rings, seals, engraved gems, beautiful lamps, gauzy
fabrics, and even well-preserved blonde hair.
Pompeii is now almost completely unearthed. The resurrection
is quite perfect. It was good for me to be there.
Walking its Roman-paved streets, I felt introduced to the
citizens and customs of an ancient civilization. And yet
Phny characterized this period as the age of " dying art," —
dying as compared with those artists, Apelles and Protogenes,
living nearly five hundred centuries earlier.
Pompeii and Herculaneum are bridges spanning the gap of
centuries, and holding together as with a golden link