The Ladies Find A
Great Resource In Going To Church, Which Serves To Pass Away The Time That
Is Not Spent In Bed, Or At The Opera, Or At The Promenade En Voiture.
The
ladies seldom take exercise on foot at Naples.
There being very little
taste for litterature in this vast metropolis, the most pleasant society is
among the foreign families who inhabit Naples or at the houses of the
Corps diplomatique. There is, however, a good cabinet litteraire and
library in the Strada di San Giacomo, where various French and Italian
newspapers may be read. The Austrians occupy the greater part of the
military posts at Naples; at the Royal Palace however the Sicilian guards
do duty; they are clothed in scarlet and a anglaise.
NAPLES, 8th Octr.
One day I went to visit the Museum or Studii, as it is called, which is
situated at the extremity of the Strada di Toledo on the land side. Here
is a superb collection of sculpture and painting; and this building
contains likewise the national library, and a choice and unique collection
of Etruscan vases. A large hall contains these vases, which were found at
Pompeii[96]; they are much admired for their beauty and simplicity; each
vase has a mythological or historical painting on it. In this Museum I was
shewn the rolls of papyrus found in Pompeii and Herculaneum and the method
of unrolling them. The work to unroll which they are now employed at this
Museum is a Greek treatise on philosophy by Epicurus. It is a most delicate
operation to unroll these leaves, and with the utmost possible care it is
impossible to avoid effacing many of the letters, and even sentences, in
the act of unrolling. It must require also considerable learning and skill
in the Greek language, combined with a good deal of practise, to supply the
deficiency of the words effaced. When these manuscripts are put in print,
the letters that remain on the papyrus are put in black type, and the words
guessed at are supplied in red; so that you see at one glance what letters
have been preserved, and what are supplied to replace those effaced by the
operation of unrolling; and in this manner are all the papyrus manuscripts'
printed.
Visit to Pompeii and Ascent of Vesuvius.
11th Oct.
We returned, Mr R - - D - - and I, from our visit to Vesuvius, half dead
with fatigue from having had little or no rest the whole night, about three
o'clock to Naples.
We left Naples in a caleche yesterday after breakfast and drove to
Portici. Portici, Resina, and Torre del Greco are beautiful little towns on
the sea-shore of the bay of Naples or rather they may be termed a
continuation of the city, as they are close together in succession, and the
interval filled up with villas. The distance from the gates of Naples to
Portici is three miles. The road runs through the court yard of the Royal
Palace at Portici which has a large archway at its entrance and sortie. We
proceeded to Resina and alighted in order to descend under ground to
Herculaneum, Resina being built on the spot where Herculaneum stood. There
are always guides on this road on the look out for travellers; one
addressed us, and conducted us to a house where we alighted and entered.
Our guide then prepared a flambeau, and having unlocked and lifted up a
trap door invited us to descend. A winding rampe under ground leads to
Herculaneum. We discovered a large theatre with its proscenium, seats,
corridors, vomitories, etc., and we were enabled, having two lighted
torches with us, to read the inscriptions. Some statues that were found
here have been removed to the Museum at Portici. This is the only part of
Herculaneum that has been excavated; for if any further excavations were
attempted, the whole town of Resina, which is built over it, would fall in.
Herculaneum no doubt contains many things of value, but it would be rather
too desperate a stake to expose the town of Resina to certain ruin, for the
sake of what might be found. At Pompeii the case is very different, there
being nothing built over its site.
After having satisfied our curiosity here, we regained the light of heaven
in Resina, and proceeded to Pompeii, which is seven miles further, the
total distance from Naples to Pompeii being ten miles. The part of Pompeii
already discovered looks like a town with the houses unroofed situated in a
deep gravel or sand pit, the depth of which is considerably greater than
the height of the buildings standing in it. You descend into it from the
brink, which is on a level with the rest of the country; Pompeii is
consequently exposed to the open air, and you have neither to go under
ground, nor to use flambeaux as at Herculaneum, but simply to descend as
into a pit. There is always a guard stationed at Pompeii to protect the
place from delapidation and thefts of antiquarians. From its resembling, as
I have already said, a town in the centre of a deep gravel pit, you come
upon it abruptly and on looking down you are surprized to see a city newly
brought to day. The streets and houses here remain entire, the roofs of the
houses excepted, which fell in by the effect of the excavation; so that you
here behold a Roman city nearly in the exact state it was hi when it was
buried under the ashes of Vesuvius, during its first eruption in the year
79 of the Christian era. It does not appear to me that the catastrophe of
Pompeii could have been occasioned by an earthquake, for if so the streets
and houses would not be found upright and entire: it appears rather to have
been caused by the showers of ashes and ecroulement of the mountain,
which covered it up and buried it for ever from the sight of day.
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