POMPEII.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume VII, Issue 352, 16 January 1880, Page 16

POMPEII.

The Standard Correspondent describes what he saw at Pompeii on the 25th September, the eighteen hundredth anniversary of the destruction of the fated city :—: — At ten o'clock this the directing engineer of the excavations, Sign or Ruggiero, delivered an inaugural address of a rather popular character in the Great Basilica, probably the most ancient building in Pompeii, as it already A. U. C. 676, and the portico which faces towards the forum is of greatly anterior date. On the podium at the eastern extremity, a temporary theatre had been erected to accommodate the orators and shelter them from the rays of the September sun, which by this time was too powerful to be quite pleasant. After Signor Ruggiero's Italian speech, which was well received, Signor Guanciale spoke in Latin, and created much enthusiasm by a few well-chostn and excellently delivered sentences, referring to the deep and tragic interest, especially to those of the Latin race, of all connected with the destruction and re-discovery of the brilliant little Latin city, and eloquently praising the intelligent and laborious services of Senator Fiorelli, who has taken so important a part in recent discoveries. Monsignor Mirabelli next made a short and eloquent Latin oration on the topic of the day, and then a general adjournment took place to the principal point of interest, namely, the spot next to be excavated ; but truly it may be said that during the whole day there was not an uninhabited house in Pompeii. The crowd was immense, the great majority, of course, being Italians, and, contrary to_my expectations, was largely composed of the lower middle class, with even a sprinkling of the humblest. As it was impossible to be at all the points of interest, ten new excavations being carried on simultaneously, I went, being advised by those most competent to judge, to Section No. 9, and there, in a small division parallel to that already numbered five, the curiosity of the spectators was soon richly rewarded. Almost with the first strokes of pick and spade, used, by the way, as only Pompeian diggers know how, there came to light a quantity of household objects, chiefly of those light and beautiful forms and delicate workmanship to be found in even the humble Pompeian dwellings. A detailed list of the various articles in the order in which they were found fills six closely written pages of my note book. There were bronze amphora lamps, brooches, bracelets, delicate vases, and one very large and elegant bronze candlestick, earthen vessels of various forms, fragments of glass, amongst which were the pieces of a lovely little glass vase of the most brilliant blue colour. The belongings of the upper and under storeys of this little house were curiously mingled together, objects of mere ornament being mixed up with kitchen utensils. Then came some large tiles and fragments of a large beam of wood, showing that the roof had been crushed in on the lower storeys. It is judged to have been the shop of a seedsman, for besides some bronze scales and weights, several large heaps of small beans, grain, and hemp seed, came to light, with portions of wooden casks, and canvas sacks in which they had been kept. One piece ©f sacking which I had in my hand still tied with a bit of string was wonderfully perfect, although quite black. In one corner were the bones of some small animal, probably some household pet ; and stuck against the wall was a skeleton of a little bird, its breast pressed against the mortar, where it had clung in its fright and bewilderment. Several human skeletons were found in other parts of the^city, and one very perfect piece of Mosaic pavement. One feature of the scene not to be passed over was the intense interest displayed by the plebeian portion of the crowd— an eagerness which sorely tried the almost too great patience and gentleness of the officials ; and causing loss of time from too close crowding ; but the applause bestowed when the custodians held up any object to public view and the shouts of "bravo " when it happened to be anything of real classic beauty, were rather striking in view of all that has been said of the Italians not feeling or caring for their own antiquities. This time the whole thing has been organised and carried out by Italians alone, and to the Royal Carabineers many foreigners are obliged for acts of courteous kindness.