The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, November 11, 1900, Page 16

16 THE SUNDAY CALL. Y PERISTYLE who waut tc to Italy for sur- ®old cotns, hall elets, a long gold table service of t that the nfortunate from the fli-fated hailstorm seck refuge in the red that the empt; fest place for hi The silver service Rothschild, who re e of the At harbor. near quant:ties of , indicating cut off mn » quickly . i s avenue of flight was s far ex- of Dio- rently, a slave and r having a large key ag of guld ana silver r. Doubtless, they were heir way out when they ned, the key being that of ned out of the garden vond. s of the family evidently the cellar, where eigh e found, some of them OF A POMPEILAN HOUSE OO ALCOVE [4 {ldrén. One woman wore three ecklaces and severa! gold and silver gs. These people were suffocated by ashes which came through’ the windows. In other parts of the same house were discovered fourteen skeletons of men; also the bones of a dog and a goat. The bodies of the people who perished in the cellar were covered with molst ashes. which, as they hardened, preserved the ehapes In this manner perfect. molds were made of the forms of many individ- uals dug out in various places, apd., by the simple process of filiing them with moist plaster of paris, admirable casts were obtained, showin what the persons looked like n life, and even how they were dressed. Quite a number of sucn melancholy effigies, representing both men, and women, are preserved in the museum at Pompeli. Ponipeli is believed to have had ratker more than twenty thou inhabitants. The ¢ stood on an e inn overiooking the sea, the whole of the Bay of Na being in, view, while in the loomed grim Vesuvius, the yer. ©lose by flowed the which wasicrossed by a bridge The vol- canb was supposed to be extinct, and its sides, were guitivated all the way ug the spmmit.s @rapes were largely gro and_wine making was an important iu- dus®y, in tae nelghborhood, which like- wise produced:cabbages famous for their uthe eity of the clan of the Pom- peys, foupded by the Oscans, an ancient Italian tribe, In the sixth century, B. C., or earlier) afterwerd conquered by the Samites, a rival tribe, and eventually ab- sorbed by ymighty, Rome. The culture of the people was very Greek: they wor- shiped variotis Greek gods and used the Greek names for thelr weights and meas- ures. Being $o beautifully situated and having a delightful chmate, Pompeli was a favorite resort of . wealthy Romans, many of whom ‘had villas there. Cicero had a handsome ‘‘cottage,” as it would now be calied, and the imperial family maintained a palace close by. The viilas were mostly on the high ground back of IN THE ATRIUM the town, toward Vesuylus and racmg e sea. Small earthquakes were frequent, but not much was thought of them. On Feb- ruary b, in the year 63, A. D., there came a tremendous shock, which was a warn- ing of what was to follow. It threw down a large part of the city, ixcluding the beautiful temples of Juplter, Apollo and Isis, but most of the damage was repaired by the time of the great catastrophe. The eruption which was destined to be 60 miemorable began early in the morning of February 24, 79 A. D. BSpectators, look- ing from a great distance, saw a mighty cloud spread and ovérhang the city like a vast and ominous umbrella. There was still plenty of time to get away in safety, and doubtless a majority of the people did escape before the impending volcanic storm began. Judging from the number of skeletons thus far discovered, it seems probable thac not more than about 2000 persons actually perished. However, a great many who attempted to leave In boats may have lost thelr lives. The pumice fell in Pompeli until the streets of the city were covered eight to ten feet deep with it. Its weight broke in the roofs of many of the hous and the destruction lives must have been trightful vertheless, many of the peo- ple still survived, seeking refuge in celiars and other such places of retreat. They must have imagined that there was still hope when early in the morming of the next day (February 25) there came a great shock, and ashes began falling in a con- tinuous shower with the rain. Though day had arrived, it grew darker than ever, if possible, a cloud of frightful blackness settling down, over the land, while the lghtning and thunder were appalling. Shock followed shock, and the survivors must have at length concluded that thelr last hour was at hand. Such was in truth the cuse. The storm of ashes lasted nearly all day long; they drifted in through the windows of the houses and suffocated all who remained alive. They covered the whole city with a sheet of death six or seven feet thick. Thus was completed the destruction of Pompeli, If the estimate of fatalities FROM A RESTOCRATION 2 >~ above quoted be fairly correct the loss of life was not more than one-third as great as during the recent hurricane at Gal- veston, whose terrors may be said to have fairly equaled those of this ancient ca- IN THE HALLS OF THE ANCIENTY [ o e ~ul ) ATRIUM ATRIUM FROM tastrophe, though so different In kind. When it was all over the roofs of many of the houses still emerged above the volcanic debris which had overwhelmed the city. Herculaneum, however, had OR PRIN BOUSE LOOKING THROUGH. THE WASRINGTION D.C INVERSAT LON ROO! (;‘? RESTORATION IN ICIPAL. APARTIMENT OF TABLI OF AN ANCIENT AN N NUM [NTO THE ANCILENT FOMPEIAN PERISTYLE HOUSE A RESTORATION THE TAMOUY mmmfl HOUWSE AT SARATOCA N Y., wholly disappared under the stream of mud, sixty-five feet deep in spots, which had flowed over it. This mud, being a sort of natural concrete, soon hardened into stone, which Is to-day of such solid- ity as to make excavating work extremely difficult. Excavations were first attempted at Herculaneum in 1719, at which date the eite of ancient Pompell, afterward dls- covered through accident, was actually unknown. Though a relatively small part of the latter city has been disclosed by digging, much that is of the utmost inter- est has been ascertained. The fullest ac- count of the subject is gjven In the newly published work of August Mau, to which the writer is indebted for much of his material. Dr. Mau states that the Em- peror Titus proposed to rebuild the town, using for that purpose money left by wealthy victims of the disaster who had no heirs surviving. Probably, however, it was decided that the task was too formidable, for it was never undertaken. Dr. Mau says that the streets of old Pompeii were mostly from ten to twenty feet wide, the broadest being Mercury street, which was thirty - two feet in breadth. All were paved with blocks of basalt, carefully fitted together. On both ides of every street were raised side- walks, neatly. curbed, and paved some- times with small stones and in other cases with beaten earth. Broad ruts worn by wheels are still visible, and at the cross- ings are stepping stones on a level with the sidewalks, between which the wheels could pass. The two main thoroughfares and business avenues were Stablan -and Nola streets. Driving for pleasure was probably prohibited, the rich riding in lit- ters, because on most of the streets one vehicle could hardly pass another, and must, therefore, have been obliged to wait at a corner. At many of the corners were fountains fed by city water, and the edges of tha stone basins show depressions worn by the hands of those who leaned over to “drink. On the sides of the streets were pillars of masonry at intervals, with lead - pipes running ‘up; There was a reservoir on top of each pillay, from which water reception roc ern parlor, beyond was th ting room, and In the rear was al, & garden. ' Not so much is known about the purposes to which the second story rooms were put. In the kitchen the plage of the modern range was taken by a broad .hearth of masonry built against the wall. The firs was made on top of this hearth, and fuel Wwas stored in a cavity beneath it. Small iron tripods, or else projections of ma- Holdin and other ut being done. small oven for p bought from the t© the kitchen warme panes of glass set sashes were portions of h fares were used & fronts open to tomers could | The. funetion of performed by Most of the fu As of the Pompelian houses was of wood, Including couches, chairs and tables, but, being of such perishable ma 1t has disap- peared. A few bronze n 1 of bronze and marbi Aitchen utenslls of bre enware have been d their forms strikin of the modern I Pastry molds, ers, in which Ii among the conve ancient inbabitan spoons with a bowl at eggs and 4 point at picking shellfish from afrpins and mirrors metal are numerous, while jewelry Is most artistic much so, In fact. that modern jewelers erns. iter of old Pompeil was w. he market place ng plice of the town. It was surrounded by buildings_ the finest of which was the temple of Jupiter, and was adorned with many equestrian statues. There was an amphitheater for gladiatorial cqmbats, as well as two thea- ters for plays, in which painted scenery much like the modern was used. The baths were superb, serving the purpose of clubs, and some of them afforded ac- commodations for both men and woman. the other end Cor