striking than the spectacle. They are not statues, but corpses, moulded
by Vesuvius; the skeletons are still there, in those casings of plaster
which reproduce what time would have destroyed, and what the damp ashes
have preserved,--the clothing and the flesh, I might almost say the
life. The bones peep through here and there, in certain places which
the plaster did not reach. Nowhere else is there anything like this to
be seen. The Egyptian mummies are naked, blackened, hideous; they no
longer have anything in common with us; they are laid out for their
eternal sleep in the consecrated attitude. But the exhumed Pompeians are
human beings whom one sees in the agonies of death.
One of these bodies is that of a woman near whom were picked up
ninety-one pieces of coin, two silver urns, and some keys and jewels.
She was endeavoring to escape, taking with her these precious articles,
when she fell down in the narrow street. You still see her lying on her
left side; her head-dress can very readily be made out, as also can the
texture of her clothing and two silver rings which she still has on her
finger; one of her hands is broken, and you see the cellular structure
of the bone; her left arm is lifted and distorted; her delicate hand is
so tightly clenched that you would say the nails penetrate the flesh;
her whole body appears swollen and contracted; the legs only, which are
very slender, remain extended. One feels that she struggled a long time
in horrible agony; her whole attitude is that of anguish, not of death.
Behind her had fallen a woman and a young girl; the elder of the two,
the mother, perhaps, was of humble birth, to judge by the size of her
ears; on her finger she had only an iron ring; her left leg lifted and
contorted, shows that she, too, suffered; not so much, however, as the
noble lady: the poor have less to lose in dying. Near her, as though
upon the same bed, lies the young girl; one at the head, and the other
at the foot, and their legs are crossed. This young girl, almost a
child, produces a strange impression; one sees exactly the tissue, the
stitches of her clothing, the sleeves that covered her arms almost to
the wrists, some rents here and there that show the naked flesh, and the
embroidery of the little shoes in which she walked; but above all, you
witness her last hour, as though you had been there, beneath the wrath
of Vesuvius; she had thrown her dress over her head, like the daughter
of Diomed, because she was afraid; she had fallen in running, with her
face to the ground, and not being able to rise again, had rested her
young, frail head upon one of her arms. One of her hands was half open,
as though she had been holding something, the veil, perhaps, that
covered her. You see the bones of her fingers penetrating the plaster.
Her cranium is shining and smooth, her legs are raised backward and
placed one upon the other; she did not suffer very long, poor child! but
it is her corpse that causes one the sorest pang to see, for she was not
more than fifteen years of age.
The fourth body is that of a man, a sort of colossus. He lay upon his
back so as to die bravely; his arms and his limbs are straight and
rigid. His clothing is very clearly defined, the greaves visible and
fitting closely; his sandals laced at the feet, and one of them pierced
by the toe, the nails in the soles distinct; the stomach naked and
swollen like those of the other bodies, perhaps by the effect of the
water, which has kneaded the ashes. He wears an iron ring on the bone of
one finger; his mouth is open, and some of his teeth are missing; his
nose and his cheeks stand out promimently; his eyes and his hair have
disappeared, but the moustache still clings. There is something martial
and resolute about this fine corpse. After the women who did not want to
die, we see this man, fearless in the midst of the ruins that are
crushing him--_impavidum ferient ruinæ_.
I stop here, for Pompeii itself can offer nothing that approaches this
palpitating drama. It is violent death, with all its supreme
tortures,--death that suffers and struggles,--taken in the very act,
after the lapse of eighteen centuries.
ITINERARY.
AN ITINERARY.
In order to render my work less lengthy and less confused, as well as
easier to read, I have grouped together the curiosities of Pompeii,
according to their importance and their purport, in different chapters.
I shall now mark out an itinerary, wherein they will be classed in the
order in which they present themselves to the traveller, and I shall
place after each street and each edifice the indication of the chapter
in which I have described or named it in my work.
In approaching Pompeii by the usual entrance, which is the nearest to
the railroad, it would be well to go directly to the Forum. See Chap.
II.
The monuments of the Forum are as follows. I have _italicized_ the most
curious:
_The Basilica_. See Chap. II.
_The Temple of Venus_. "
The Curia, or Council Hall. "
_The Edifice, or Eumachia_. "
The Temple of Mercury. "
_The Temple of Jupiter_. "
The Senate Chamber. "
The Pantheon. "
From the Forum, you will go toward the north, passing by the Arch of
Triumph; visit the _Temple of Fortune_ (see Chap. VI.), and stop at the
Thermæ (see Chap. V.).
On leaving the Thermæ, pass through the entire north-west of the city,
that is to say, the space comprised between the streets of Fortune and
of the Thermæ and the walls. In this space are comprised the following
edifices:
_The House of Pansa_. See Chap. VI.
_The House of the Tragic Poet_. Chap. VII.
_The Fullonica_. Chap. III.
_The Mosaic Fountains_. Chap. VII.
_The House of Adonis_. Chap. VII.
The House of Apollo.
The House of Meleager.
The House of the Centaur.
_The House of Castor and Pollux_. Chap. VII.
The House of the Anchor.
The House of Polybius.
The House of the Academy of Music.
_The Bakery_. See Chap. III.
_The House of Sallust_. Chap. VII.
The Public Oven.
A Fountain. Chap. III.
The House of the Dancing Girls.
The Perfumery Shop. Chap III.
The House of Three Stories.
The Custom House. Chap. IV.
The House of the Surgeon. Chap. III.
The House of the Vestal Virgins.
The Shop of Albinus.
The Thermopolium. Chap. III.
Thus you arrive at the _Walls_ and at the Gate of Herculaneum, beyond
which the _Street of the Tombs_ opens and the suburbs develop. All this
is described in Chap. IV.
Here are the monuments in the Street of the Tombs:
The Sentry Box. See Chap. IV.
_The Tomb of Mamia_. "
The Tomb of Ferentius. "
The Sculptor's Atelier. "
The Tomb with the Wreaths. "
The Public Bank. "
The House of the Mosaic Columns. "
The Villa of Cicero. "
The Tomb of Scaurus. "
The Round Tomb. "
The Tomb with the Marble Door. "
The Tomb of Libella. "
_The Tomb of Calventius_. "
_The Tomb of Nevoleia Tyché_. "
_The Funereal Triclinium_. "
The Tomb of Labeo. "
The Tombs of the Arria Family. "
_The Villa of Diomed_. "
Having visited these tombs, re-enter the city by the Herculaneum Gate,
and, returning over part of the way already taken, find the Street of
Fortune again, and there see--
_The House of the Faun_. Chap. VII.
The House with the Black Wall.
The House with the Figured Capitals.
The House of the Grand Duke.
The House of Ariadne.
_The House of the Hunt_. Chap. VII.
You thus reach the place where the Street of Stabiæ turns to the right,
descending toward the southern part of the city. Before taking this
street, you will do well to follow the one in which you already are to
where it ends at the _Nola Gate_, which is worth seeing. See Chap. IV.
The Street of Stabiæ marks the limit reached by the excavations. To the
left, in going down, you will find the handsome _House of Lucretius_.
See Chap. VII.
On the right begins a whole quarter recently discovered and not yet
marked out on the diagram. Get them to show you--
_The House of Siricus_. Chap. VII.
_The Hanging Balconies_. Chap. III.
The New Bakery. Chap. III.
Turning to the left, below the Street of Stabiæ you will cross the open
fields, above the part of the city not yet cleared, as far as the
_Amphitheatre_. See Chap. VIII.
Then, retracing your steps and intersecting the Street of Stabiæ, you
enter a succession of streets, comparatively wide, which will lead you
back to the Forum. You will there find, on your right, the _Hot Baths
of Stabiæ_. See chap. V. On your left is the _House of Cornelius Rufus_
and that of _Proculus_, recently discovered. See Chap. VII.
There now remains for you to cross the _Street of Abundance_ at the
southern extremity of the city. It is the quarter of the triangular
Forum, and of the Theatres--the most interesting of all.
The principal monuments to be seen are--
_The Temple of Isis_. See Chap. VII.
The Curia Isiaca.
_The Temple of Hercules_. Chap. VII.
_The Grand Theatre_. Chap. VIII.
_The Smaller Theatre_. "
_The Barracks of the Gladiators_. Chap. VIII.
At the farther end of these barracks opens a small gate by which you may
leave the city, after having made the tour of it in three hours, on this
first excursion. On your second visit you will be able to go about
without a guide.
=Charles Scribner & Co.=
654 Broadway, New York,
HAVE JUST COMMENCED THE PUBLICATION OF
=The Illustrated Library of Wonders.=
This Library is based upon a similar series of works now in course of
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The following volumes of the series have been published:--
=Optical Wonders.=
THE WONDERS OF OPTICS.--By F. MARION.
Illustrated with over seventy engravings on wood, many of them
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_For specimen illustration see page 31._
In the _Wonders of Optics_, the phenomena of Vision, including the
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THUNDER AND LIGHTNING. By W. DE FONVIELLE.
Illustrated with 39 Engravings on wood, nearly all full-page. One
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_For specimen illustrations see page 14._
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THE WONDERS OF HEAT. By ACHILLE CAZIN.
With 90 illustrations, many of them full-page, and a colored
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_For specimen illustration see page 15._
In the _Wonders of Heat_ the principal phenomena are presented as viewed
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THE INTELLIGENCE OF ANIMALS, WITH ILLUSTRATIVE ANECDOTES.--From the
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Illustrated with 22 woodcuts. One volume 12mo $1 50
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WONDERS OF POMPEII. By MARC MONNIER. With 22 illustrations. One volume
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