Page images
PDF
EPUB

A baker's shop is as plainly indicated as if the loaves were now at his window. There is a mill for grinding the corn, and the oven for baking; and the surgeon and the druggist have also been traced, by the quality of the articles found in their respective dwellings.

But the most complete specimen that we have of an ancient residence is the villa which has been discovered at a small distance without the gate. It is on a more splendid scale than any of the houses in the town itself, and it has been preserved with scarcely any injury.

Some have imagined that this was the Pompeianum, the Pompeian villa of Cicero. Be this as it may, it must have belonged to a man of taste. Situated on a sloping bank, the front entrance opens, as it were, into the first floor; below which, on the garden side, into which the house looks (for the door is the only aperture on the road side), is a ground floor, with spacious arcades, and open rooms, all facing the garden; and above, are the sleeping rooms. The walls and ceilings of this villa are ornamented with paintings of very elegant design, all which have a relation to the uses of the apartments in which they are placed. In the middle of the garden there is a reservoir of water, surrounded by columns, and the ancient well still remains. Though we have many specimens of Roman glass, in their drinking vessels, it has been doubted whether they were acquainted with the use of it for windows. Swinburne, however, in describing Pompeii, says "in the window of a bed-chamber some panes of glass are still remaining." This

would seem to decide the question,-they remain no longer. The host was fond of conviviality, if we may judge from the dimensions of his celler, which extends under the whole of the house and the arcades also; and many of the amphora remain, in which the wine was stowed. It was here that the skeletons of seven and twenty poor wretches were found, who took refuge in this place, from the fiery shower that would have killed them at once, to suffer the lingering torments of being starved to death.

It was in one of the porticos, leading to the outward entrance, that the skeleton, supposed to be that of the master of the house, was found, with a key in one hand, and a purse of gold in the other. So much for Pompeii.-I lingered amongst its ruins, till the close of evening; and have seldom passed a day, with feelings of interest so strongly excited, or with impressions of the transient nature of all human possessions so strongly enforced, as by the solemn solitudes of this resuscitated town.

MATTHEWS.

ÆETNA AT SUNRISE.

AFTER getting a comfortable nap on our bed of leaves in the Speloncadel Capriole, we awoke about eleven o'clock; and, melting down a sufficient quantity of snow, we boiled our tea-kettle, and made a hearty meal to prepare us for the remaining part of our expedition.

We were nine in number, for we had our three servants, the Cyclops (our conductor), and two

men to take care of our mules. The Cyclops began now to display his great knowledge of the mountain, and we followed him with implicit confidence. He conducted us over "antres vast, and deserts wild," where scarce human feet had ever trod, sometimes through gloomy forests, which by daylight were delightful; but now, from the universal darkness, the rustling of the trees, the heavy dull bellowing of the mountain, the vast expanse of ocean stretched at an immense distance below us, inspired a kind of awful horror. Sometimes we found ourselves ascending great rocks of lava, where, if our mules should make but a false step, we might be thrown headlong over the precipice. However, by the assistance of the Cyclops, we overcame all these difficulties; and he managed matters so well, that in the space of two hours we found we had got above the regions of vegetation; and had left the forests of Ætna far behind. These appeared now like a dark and gloomy gulf below us, that surrounded the mountain.

The prospect before us was of a very different nature; we beheld an expanse of snow and ice that alarmed us exceedingly, and almost staggered our resolution. In the centre of this, but still at a great distance, we descried the high summit of the mountain rearing its tremendous head, and vomiting out torrents of smoke. indeed appeared all together inaccessible, from the vast extent of the fields of snow and ice that surrounded it. Our diffidence was still increased by the sentiments of the Cyclops. He told us, it often happened, that the surface of the moun

It

tain being hot below melted the snow in particular spots, and formed pools of water, where it was impossible to foresee our danger; that it likewise happened that the surface of the water, as well as the snow, was sometimes covered with black ashes, that rendered it exceedingly deceitful; that, however, if we thought proper, he would lead us on with as much caution as possible. Accordingly, after holding a council of war, which you know people generally do when they are very much afraid, we detached our cavalry to the forests below, and prepared to climb the snows. The Cyclops, after taking a great draught of brandy, desired us to be of good cheer; that we had plenty of time, and might take as many rests as we pleased; that the snow could be little more than seven miles, and that we certainly should be able to pass it before sunrise. Accordingly, taking each of us a dram of liquor, which soon removed every objection, we began our march.

The ascent for some time was not steep; and as the surface of the snow sunk a little, we had tolerable good footing; but as it soon began to grow steeper, we found our labour greatly increased; however, we determined to persevere, calling to mind in the midst of our labour, that the Emperor Adrian, and the philosopher Plato had undergone the same; and from the same motive too-to see the rising sun from the top of Etna. After incredible labour and fatigue, but at the same time mixed with a great deal of pleasure, we arrived before dawn at the ruins of an ancient structure, called Il Torre del Filosofo,

supposed to have been built by the philosopher Empedocles, who took up his habitation here, the better to study the nature of Mount Etna. By others it is supposed to be the ruins of a temple of Vulcan, whose shop all the world knows (where he used to make excellent thunderbolts and celestial armour, as well as nets to catch his wife when she went astray) was ever kept in Mount Etna. Here we rested ourselves for some time, and made a fresh application to our liquor bottle, which, I am persuaded, both Vulcan and Empedocles, had they been here, would have greatly approved of after such a march.

I found the mercury had fallen to 20 6. We had now time to pay our adorations in a silent contemplation of the sublime objects of nature. The sky was clear, and the immense vault of the heavens appeared in awful majesty and splendour. We found ourselves more struck with veneration than below, and at first were at a loss to know the cause; till we observed with astonishment, that the number of the stars seemed to be infinitely increased, and the light of each of them appeared brighter than usual. The whiteness of the milky way was like a pure flame that shot across the heavens; and with the naked eye we could observe clusters of stars that were invisible in the regions below. We did not at first attend to the cause, nor recollect that we had now passed through ten or twelve thousand feet of gross vapour, that blunts and confuses every ray before it reaches the surface of the earth. We were amazed at the distinctness of vision, VOL. III.

[ocr errors]
« PreviousContinue »