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SCENE FROM VESUVIUS.

landscape below. Lovely it always is; but though the pureness of the atmosphere allowed us a clear and distinct view of the islands and mountains stretching far away into the blue waters of the Mediterranean, the pretty villages scattered over the amphitheatre of hills which form the environs, and the whole of the palace-lined crescent of the bay, all outspread below us, I did not admire it as much as other less extensive but more beautiful views which you have from many points about Naples, particularly from the heights of the "Campo Santa," the new cemetery. Near the place where we regain our horses, government is erecting a handsome building from the huge blocks of lava around, which is to serve as a place of refreshment for man and beast, and as a station from whence telegraphic notice is to be given when an eruption takes place, that all may come out to see.

HERCULANEUM - THE CAMPO-SARITA -A BURIAL-THE GROTTO OF CAPRI, &c.

Naples.

WE paused on our return from Vesuvius to witness at Herculaneum the effects of its mysterious and marvellous workings. Its theatre is half excavated, but owing to its being immediately under the king's palace at Portici, cannot be altogether disinterred. It has been sufficiently cleared, however, to give one an idea of its size, form and magnificence; and as it has to be viewed by torchlight, you may fancy our singular procession, each bearing a light, threading the subterranean windings of this huge imbedded edifice. Every space and crevice seems to have been filled with the melted lava which consolidated into a firm and solid cement, enveloping all and every thing; and the skill and labor evinced in clearing the beautiful statues found here from the hard and rocky substance enwrapping them, seem equal to their first creation by the sculptor. In the neighborhood of this, they have cleared quite a space, and brought to the light of day and the open air, a square with streets, houses, and the beautiful colonnade of a large and handsome temple, which, surrounded with the dark, dirty, and dingy houses of the modern Italians, had a strange and singular aspect. The sun had set when we left these dwellings of a by-gone age, but the west was glowing with the reflection of his parting rays, of which we caught glimpses between the houses as we drove rapidly past. On reaching our hotel, we were gratified to find an invitation from our Charge, Mr. B.,

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to his box at the opera, and as "Il Puritani" was to be performed, we hastened our preparations, and passed a delightful evening listening to fine music and the conversation of Mr. B. and a friend to whom he introduced us. When this was over, you may imagine we were glad enough to retire after a day of so much pleasure, excitement and fatigue.

After this, I think I cannot do better than give you an account of a day spent at Pompeii. The excavations at Herculaneum require so much time, labor, and expense, that a long time will elapse before much will be accomplished, while Pompeii, being covered only with ashes, has a great portion of it already disinterred. You walk through quite a city of ruined and rooffless dwellings,-you behold the manner in which they divided their houses, their fine open court-yards, with cisterns at the corners, and reservoirs for fish in the centre of each, and their numerous large and commodious baths, considered not only a luxury, but a necessity. Then the beautiful frescoes of the walls, the colors still fresh and the figures distinct, which embellished every room; the niches for statues that ornamented many, and the fine mosaics forming the beautiful pavements of the lower apartments; these, with the gardens beautified with terraces, fountains, reservoirs, and marble ornaments, especially those attached to the villas of Cicero, Sallust, and the rich Diomedes, attest the luxury of these wealthy cits, as the magnificent temples, the splendid monuments, and the fountains at the corner of every street, give evidence of the splendor and elegance of the city which they inhabited. We spent some five hours in walking through these ancient dwellings and streets. In the latter may still be seen the marks worn by the wheels which rolled over them near eighteen hundred years ago. At intervals are raised stones for the con. venience of foot-passengers in crossing. It is curious to see in the collection of the museum at Naples, taken from

A DAY AT POMPEII.

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this entombed city, how many things of every-day use they had, to which those of the present time bear close resemblance; many, too, that have been considered modern inventions. How wonderful is it to look upon things which formed part of the household furniture of beings who had their existence centuries ago-things that were necessary to their ordinary every-day life; objects which made a part of their domestic comforts; beautiful creations contributing to their enjoyment and delight-so many things thought essential to actual or ideal happiness. Here you walk past the dwellings of those who lived, with its number to distinguish it, and perhaps a name and some simple insignia, denoting the handicraft of the occupant--here is the grindstone and hopper of the miller, there the oven of the baker --in one the study of the poet, in another the studio of the artist; while all are decorated with beautiful imaginings of the painter and the sculptor. Extending your walk beyond the gates of the city, you see the kind provision for belated and benighted travellers arriving too late to enter, in the large caravansary erected just without the walls. And along the way-side, on either hand, denoting the dwellings of their dead, are monuments, vaults and tablets, with memorial inscriptions written by those who lived and loved. A little beyond the precincts of the exhumed city, you ascend a high mound where, still hidden as it were in the bowels of the earth, lie unrevealed yet other mysteries of the age in which they were engulphed. How imposing and awe-inspiring are the scenes here presented! Mysterious and awful are the convulsions of nature-strange and wonderful in their effects! What a field does Naples afford to the geologist, naturalist, and mineralogist! On one of the promontories of its bay, one point of its crescent, are two cones, one probably the crater of a volcano now extinct. Between this and the present active crater, Vesuvius, is a valley. On

This

the sides and base of both are nestling beautiful villages, the soil of their fruitful vineyards warmed by the slumbering fires beneath. Many of them are planted on the site of some long buried village once fair and lovely as themselves, and nearly all of which have suffered more or less from their near vicinity to this great safety-valve of the earth. On the opposite side of the bay, the other point of the crescent, are the ruined cities of Baiæ, Puozzioli, Cumæ, and Tripergola, the two last altogether hidden from human sight or ken. Turn where we may, beauty and destruction meet the eye; and we feel as if treading on a mine that may at any moment burst upon us with all its horrors. We had our picnic amid the remains of one of its fair and ruined temples, then drove some distance and took our leave of buried Pompeii from the same place whence it is supposed the Pompeiians themselves looked their last upon the city of their love, buried and hidden before their tearful gaze. was their amphitheatre, still quite perfect in its form, giving us a correct idea of the size and manner of constructing the ancient theatres. On our return, there was still time to devote to some other object we had not yet seen, so we drove first to the catacombs. As I have already described others, it will be necessary only to mention some points of difference. Those of Naples are superior to those of Malta or Syracuse ;-they consist of three stories or ranges, one above the other, are quite lofty, with fine wide passages beautifully arched, and are ornamented with frescoes. The places for interment are in chambers; but the divisions, instead of being placed side by side, are one above the other; they are much more regular, built with more order and method, than any we have seen, and are also still more extensive. Many of them contain bones and skulls, and there is a large pit, where are bones thickly mingled with the earth, in which they buried those who died of the plague.