_The Glories of Naples.--The Museum.--The Curiosities.--How they
unroll the charred Manuscripts exhumed from Herculaneum and
Pompeii.--On to Rome.--Capua.--The Tomb of Cicero.--Terracina.--The
Pontine Marshes.--The Appii Forum._
The party remained in Naples some time longer, and had much to see.
There was the Royal Museum, filled with the treasures of antique
art, filled also with what was to them far more interesting--the
numerous articles exhumed from Herculaneum and Pompeii. Here were
jewels, ornaments, pictures, statues, carvings, kitchen utensils,
weights, measures, toilet requisites, surgical instruments, arms,
armor, tripods, braziers, and a thousand other articles, the
accompaniments of that busy life which had been so abruptly stopped.
All these articles spoke of something connected with an extinct
civilization, and told, too, of human life, with all its hopes,
fears, joys, and sorrows. Some spoke of disease and pain, others
of festivity and joy; these of peace, those of war; here were the
emblems of religion, there the symbols of literature.
Among all these, nothing was more interesting than the manuscript
scrolls which had been found in the libraries of the better houses.
These looked like anything rather than manuscripts. They had all
been burned to a cinder, and looked like sticks of charcoal. But
on the first discovery of these they had been carefully preserved,
and efforts had been made to unroll them. These efforts at first
were baffled; but at last, by patience, and also by skill, a method
was found out by which the thing might be done. The manuscripts
were formed of Egyptian papyrus--a substance which, in its original
condition, is about as fragile as our modern paper; the sheets were
rolled around a stick, and were not over eight inches in width,
and about sixteen feet in length. The stick, the ornaments, and
the cases had perished, but the papyrus remained. Its nature was
about the same as the nature of a scroll of paper manuscript would
be after passing through the fire. Each thin filament, as it was
unrolled, would crumble into dust. Now, this crumbling was arrested
by putting over it a coating of tough, gelatinous substance, over
which a sheet of muslin was placed, the gelatinous substance acting
also upon the charred sheet in such a way as to detach it from the
rest of the scroll. In this way it was unrolled slowly and carefully,
two inches at a time, and on being unrolled a facsimile copy was
at once made. Of course there was no attempt to preserve the
manuscripts; they were, too perishable; and after a short exposure,
just long enough to admit of a copy being made, they shrank up and
crumbled away.
There were other places of attraction in this beautiful city--the
Villa Reale, the chosen promenade of the Neapolitans, which stretches
along the shore, filled with trees, and shrubbery, and winding
paths, and flower-beds, and vases, and statues, and sculptures,
and ponds, and fountains, and pavilions. There was the Castle of
St. Elmo, with its frowning walls; the Cathedral of San Francisco,
with its lofty dome and sweeping colonnades; and very many other
churches, together with palaces and monuments.
But at last all this came to an end, and they left Naples far Rome.
They had a carriage to themselves, which they had hired for the
journey, and the weather was delightful The road was smooth and
pleasant, the country was one of the fairest on earth, and as they
rolled along they all gave themselves up to the joy of the occasion.
They passed through a region every foot of which was classic ground.
Along their way they encountered amphitheatres, aqueducts, tombs,
and other monuments of the past, some in ruins, others still erect
in stately though melancholy grandeur. Capua invited them to
tarry--not the ancient Capua, but the modern, which, though several
miles distant from the historic city, has yet a history of its own,
and its own charms. But among all these scenes and sights which
they encountered, the one that impressed them most was Cicero's
tomb. It is built on the spot where he was assassinated, of immense
stones, joined without cement. In shape it is square, but the
interior is circular, and a single column rises to the vaulted
roof. Of course whatever contents there may have been have long
since been scattered to the winds; no memorial of the great orator
and patriotic statesman is visible now; but the name of Cicero
threw a charm about the place, and it seemed as though they were
drawn nearer to the past. The boys expressed their feelings in
various ways, and David, who was most alive to the power of classical
associations, delivered, verbatim, about one half of the first
oration of Cicero against Catiline. He would have delivered the
whole of it, and more also, beyond a doubt, had not Frank put a
sudden stop to his flow of eloquence by pressing his hand against
David's mouth, and threatening to gag him if he didn't "stop it."
On the afternoon of the second day they arrived at Terracina. This
town is situated on the sea-shore, with the blue Mediterranean in
front, stretching far away to the horizon. Far out into the sea
runs the promontory of Circaeum,--familiar to the boys from their
studies in Homer and Virgil,--while over the water the white sails
of swift-moving vessels passed to and fro. The waves broke on the
strand, fishing-boats were drawn up on the beach, and there were
wonderful briskness and animation in the scene.
Terracina, like all other towns in this country, has remains of
antiquity to show. Its Cathedral is built from the material of a
heathen temple, probably that of Apollo, which was once a magnificent
edifice, but is now in ruins. But it was the modern beauty of the
town, rather than this or any, other of its antiquities, that most
attracted the boys,--the sea-beach, where the waters of the
Mediterranean rippled and plashed over the pebbles; the groves and
vineyards, that extended all around; the wooded hills; the orange
trees and the palm, the thorny cactus and the aloe; and above all,
the deep, azure sky, and the clear, transparent atmosphere. To the
intoxication of all this surrounding beauty they gave themselves
up, and wandered, and scrambled, and raced, and chased one another
about the slumberous town.
They slept soundly that night, lolled to rest by the long roll of
the Mediterranean waters, as they dashed upon the beach, and on
the following morning resumed their journey. The road now passed
through the Pontine Marshes, and they all entered upon this part
of their journey with strong feelings of curiosity.
The district which goes by the name of the Pontine Marshes is one
of the most famous places in Europe. It is about forty-five miles
long, and varies in breadth from four to eleven miles. The origin
of these marshes is not known. In the early ages of the republic
of Rome numerous cities are mentioned as existing here. But all
these gradually became depopulated; and now not a vestige remains
of any one of them. From a very remote period numerous efforts were
put forth to reclaim these lands. When the famous Appian Way was
constructed through, them, they were partially drained. Afterwards
a canal was formed, which ran by the road-side; and of this canal
Horace speaks in the well-known account of his journey to Brundusium.
Julius Caesar intended, among other great works, to enter upon the
task of reclaiming them; but his death prevented it. Under various
successive emperors, the attempt was made, and continued, until at
last, in the reign of Trajan, nearly all the district was recovered.
Afterwards it fell to ruin, and the waters flowed in once more.
Then they remained neglected for ages, down to modern times. Various
popes attempted to restore them, but without success, until at last
Pope Pius VI. achieved the accomplishment of the mighty task in
the year 1788, ever since which time the district has been under
cultivation.
The road was a magnificent one, having been built on the foundations
of the ancient Appian Way. It was lined on each side with trees,
and was broad and well paved. It is considered one of the finest
in Europe. Along this they rolled, the blue sky above them, on the
right hand the mountains, on the left the sea. The air was damp
and chill; but at first they did not feel it particularly, though
Uncle Moses complained of "rheumatics," and took precautionary
measures against his insidious enemy by wrapping himself up warmly.
As they went on they saw crowds of peasants coming to work in the
fields. These peasants lived in the hill country on the right, and
had to walk a great distance to get to their place of labor,--for
to live on the marshes was impossible. Men, women, and even children
were there; and their pale, sickly faces and haggard looks showed
how deadly were the effects of the noxious exhalations from this
marshy soil.
At about midday they reached an inn, which stood about half way
over the marshes, by the road-side. David speculated much as to
whether this place might or might not be the Forum Appii mentioned
in the book of Acts as a stopping-place of St. Paul on his way to
Rome; but the others were too hungry to take any interest whatever
in the question. They remained here nearly two hours, got something
to eat, and then resumed their journey.