ge," quoth the Senator, musingly, "that these ancient Pompey
fellers should pick out this kind of a way of getting buried. This
must be the reason why people speak of urns and ashes when they speak
of dead people."

[Illustration: Villa Of Diomedes.]

They walked through the Villa of Diomedes. They were somewhat
disappointed. From guide-books, and especially from the remarkably
well-got-up Pompeian court at Sydenham Palace, Buttons had been led to
expect something far grander. But in this, the largest house in the
city, what did he find? Mites of rooms, in fact closets, in which even
a humble modern would find himself rather crowded. There was scarcely
a decent-sized apartment in the whole establishment, as they all
indignantly declared. The cellars were more striking. A number of
earthern vessels of enormous size were in one corner.

"What are these?" asked the Senator.

"Wine jars."

"What?"

"Wine jars. They didn't use wooden casks."

"The more fools they. Now do you mean to say that wooden casks are
not infinitely more convenient than these things that can't stand up
without they are leaned against the wall? Pho!"

At one corner the guide stopped, and pointing down, said something.

"What does he say?" asked the Senator.

"He says if you want to know how the Pompeians got choked, stoop down
and smell that. Every body who comes here is expected to smell this
particular spot, or he can't say that he has seen Pompeii."

[Illustration: Phew!]

So down went the five on their knees, and up again faster than they
went down. With one universal shout of: "Phew-w-w-w-w-h-h-h!"

It was a torrent of sulphurous vapor that they inhaled.

"Now, I suppose," said the Senator, as soon as he could speak,
"that that there comes direct in a bee-line through a subterranean
tunnel right straight from old Vesuvius."

"Yes, and it was this that suggested the famous scheme for
extinguishing the volcano."

"How? What famous scheme?"

"Why, an English stock-broker came here last year, and smelled this
place, as every one must do. An idea struck him. He started up. He ran
off without a word. He went straight to London. There he organized a
company. They propose to dig a tunnel from the sea to the interior of
the mountain. When all is ready they will let in the water. There will
be a tremendous hiss. The volcano will belch out steam for about six
weeks; but the result will be that the fires will be put out forever."