self thrown
upon a cloud beyond the Brocken, though it appears to be on the
mountain itself, and it is so perfect a representation that it is
difficult to believe it is only a shadow. But it can be easily proved.
If the man stoops to pick up anything, down goes the spectre; if he
raises his hand, so does the spectre; if he takes a step of two feet,
the spectre takes one of miles; if he raises his hat, the spectre
politely returns his salute.

When you behold anything marvellous, and your eyes tell you that you
have seen some ghostly thing, don't believe them, but investigate the
matter closely, and you will find it no more a phantom than the mirage
or the Spectre of the Brocken.

A CITY UNDER THE GROUND.

Under the bright skies of Italy, in a picturesque valley, with the
mountains close at hand and the blue waves of the Mediterranean
rolling at a little distance--at the foot of wonderful Vesuvius, green
and fertile, and covered with vines to its very top, from which smoke
is perpetually escaping, and in whose heart fires are eternally
raging, in this beautiful valley stands the city of Pompeii.

[Illustration: CLEARING OUT A NARROW STREET IN POMPEII.]

You might, however, remain upon the spot a long time and never find
out that there was a city there. All around you would see groves and
vineyards, and cultivated fields and villas. For the city is beneath
your feet. Under the vineyards and orchards are temples filled with
statues, houses with furniture, pictures, and all homelike things.
Nothing is wanting there but life. For Pompeii is a buried city, and
fully two-thirds of it has not yet been excavated.

But a short walk from this place will bring you to the spot where
excavations have been made, and about one-third of the ancient city
lies once more under the light of heaven. It is doubtful whether you
can see it when you get to it for the mounds of ashes and rubbish
piled around. But, clambering over these, you will pay forty cents for
admission, and pass through a turnstile into a street where you will
see long rows of ruined houses, and empty shops, and broken temples,
and niches which have contained statues of heathen gods and goddesses.
As you wander about you will come across laborers busily employed in
clearing away rubbish in obstructed streets. It is a very lively
scene, as you can see in the picture. Men are digging zealously into
the heaps of earth and rubbish, and filling baskets which the