of art. As it was
not wholly covered, moreover, the inhabitants returned and dug up
some of their greatest treasures. Herculaneum, on the other hand,
had its actual life, arrested at the highest point, securely
preserved from depredation, to a depth of eighty feet, by a
material which preserved intact the most delicate specimens which
have come down to us in a state so perfect as to be really
remarkable.

"The most important of these delicate objects are manuscripts, of
which that one villa produced 1750. The state of preservation is
illustrated by one specimen, giving two pages from the works of the
philosopher Philademus. Unfortunately, the possessor of the villa
was a specialist, a student of Epicurean philosophy. While his
taste in art was fortunately so catholic, his taste in literature
was narrowed down by his special bent. Piso was the friend and
protector of the philosopher Philo. Already sixty-five copies of
that author's works have been found among the papyri.

"Yet the city of Herculaneum contained many such villas, and herein
it differed from Pompeii. Pompeii was a commonplace provincial town
devoted exclusively to commerce; it was not the resort of wealthy
and cultured Romans. It was essentially illiterate. No manuscript
can be proved to have been found there. It is true a wax tablet
with writing has been found; yet this contains--receipts of
auctions. Herculaneum, on the other hand, was the favorite resort
of wealthy Romans, who built beautiful villas there as in our times
people from modern Rome settle for the summer at Sorrento and
Castellammare."

The present descent into the theatre of Herculaneum is made by a flight
of more than a hundred steps, slippery and cold, in total darkness save
for the candle that is carried by the guide, and the visitor sees only
the stone seats of the amphitheatre and the stage with the two vacant
niches, the statues that filled each being now placed in the Museum in
Naples.

The journey of thirteen miles from Naples to Pompeii is through a
succession of densely populated villages that seem to be an integral
part of Naples itself, for there is no line of demarcation. Portici,
Torre del Greco, Torre dell'Annunziata, and others all blend with each
other and with Naples. However familiar one has become with the
literature of Pompeii, with both