archaeological descriptions and
imaginative interpretations in romance, and however familiar with its
aspects he may have become from replicas in art museums, and from
pictures, one can yet hardly approach this silent, phantom city without
being thrilled by its deep significance. At a distance of a few miles
over the gently undulating plain rises Vesuvius; one gazes on the paths
where the rivers of molten fire must have rolled down. George S.
Hillard, visiting Pompeii in 1853, thus described a house which the
visitors of to-day study and admire:--

"The finest house we saw within the walls is one which had been
discovered and laid bare about four months previous to the date of
our visit, called the house of the Suonatrice, from a painting of a
female playing on a pipe, at the entrance. This house was deemed of
such peculiar interest that it was under the charge of a special
custode, and was only to be seen on payment of an extra fee. It was
not of large size, but had evidently been occupied by a person of
ample fortune and exquisite taste. The paintings on the walls were
numerous, and in the most perfect preservation. In the rear was a
minute garden not more than twenty or thirty feet square, with a
fairy fountain in the centre; around which were several small
statues of children and animals, of white marble, wrought with
considerable skill. The whole thing had a very curious effect, like
the tasteful baby-house of a grown-up child. Everything in this
house was in the most wonderful preservation. The metal pipes which
distributed the water, and the cocks by which it was let off,
looked perfectly suited for use. Nothing at Pompeii seemed so real
as this house, and nowhere else were the embellishments so numerous
and so costly.

"Pompeii, though a Roman city in its political relations, was
everywhere strongly marked with the impress of the Greek mind. It
stood on the northern edge of that part of Italy which, from the
number of Grecian colonies it contained, was called Magna
Graecia,--a region of enchanting beauty, in which the genius of
Greece attained its most luxurious development. It has been
conjectured that Pompeii had an unusually large proportion of men
of property, who had been drawn there by the charms of its
situation and climate, and that it thus extended a liberal