The castle is a large and barbarous edifice, with square towers. You ascend to it over heaps of stones, intermixed with scraps of marble. "An outwork," continues Dr. Chandler, "which secured the approach, once consisted of two lateral walls from the body of the fortress, with a gateway. This is supported on each side by a huge and awkward buttress, constructed chiefly with the seats of a theatre, or stadium, many marked with Greek letters. Several fragments of inscriptions are inserted in it, or lie near. Over the arch are four pieces of ancient sculpture. Two in the middle are in alto-relievo, of most exquisite workmanship, and parts of the same design; representing the death of Patroclus, and the bringing of his body to Achilles." A third is in basso-relievo. "The figures are, a man leading away a little boy, a corpse extended, two women lamenting, and soldiers bearing forth the armour and weapons of the deceased, to decorate his funeral pile." This referred to the story of Hector. The fourth is much injured, but sufficient remains to show boys and vine-branches. The gateway faces the sea. Within the castle were a few huts, an old mosque, and a great deal of rubbish. "If you move a stone, it is a chance but you find a scorpion under it."

The grand mosque is situated beneath the castle. The side next the foot of the hill is of stone; the rest of polished marble, veined. In front is a court, having a large fountain; there are, also, broken columns—remains of a portico. The fabric was raised with old materials; and the large granite columns which sustain the roof, as well as all the marbles, are remains of what were long supposed to constitute ancient Ephesus.

In regard to the aqueduct, the piers are square; not large, but many, with arches formed with brick. These are constructed with inscribed pedestals, on one of which is the name of Herodes Atticus, whose statue it once supported. These ruins abound in snakes. Chamelions and lizards, also, are frequently seen basking in the sun. "The marbles, yet untouched, would form a copious and curious harvest, if accessible. The downfall of some may be expected continually, from the tottering condition of the fabric; and time and earthquakes will supply the place of ladders; for which the traveller wishes in vain at a place, where, if a tall man, he may almost overlook the houses."

And yet these ruins, strictly speaking, are in Dr. Chandler's opinion not those of Ephesus: those lie nearer the sea; and are visible from the castle hill. The ruins of Aiasaluck are those of a town, built in great part, if not entirely, of Ephesian ruins; and it may be supposed, by the Mahometan potentate, Mantakhia, who conquered Ephesus and all Caria, in the year 1313.

The site of Ephesus is to be sought for in the way from Aiasaluck to a square tower of white marble, which stands on a ridge, projecting from the chain of Corissus, the southern boundary of the plain of the Cayster. For about half a mile from the village the route is over a flat, interspersed with thickets of tamarinds, agnus-castus, and other shrubs; it then arrives at a low round hill which extends to the north-east from the high range of Corissus. All the inhabitants of the once famous Ephesus, the chief of this part of Asia, as the mistress governing the rest, by the residence of the proconsul here, amount now not to above forty or fifty families of Turks, living in poor thatched cottages, without, says Wheler, one Christian among them. They lie in a knot together, on the south side of the castle. "Within the gate, on the castle wall," continues he, "we saw a marble, whereon is cut a face, representing the moon, with two snakes; one on one side of the head, and the other on the other; joining their heads in the middle of the crown, and their tails pointing outwards; with each of them a circle in such shape, they both represent a bow. This was to represent the deity Hecate triformis; the moon in the heavens, represented by the large round visage; Proserpine in Hell, represented by the snakes; and Diana upon earth by the bow."

All the principal part of the ruins are on the side of the hill, lately mentioned, and in a flat recess between the west side of it and the high mountains. On the slope of the hill which is called Pion, or Prion (sometimes Lepre Acte), is a large arch of white marble, built, like the aqueduct before mentioned, from ancient ruins. On another part of the hill are two arches and vestiges of a theatre. This was, doubtless, the theatre into which the people rushed, shouting, "Great is Diana!" when St. Paul, by his preaching, produced a tumult at Ephesus. In both wings of this theatre, the seats and the ruins of the proscenium of which are removed, are several architectural fragments; and over an arch, once one of the avenues, is an inscription, enjoining the reader: "If he did not think proper to approach the festive scene, at least to be pleased with the skill of the architect, who had saved a vast circle of the theatre; all-conquering time having yielded to the succour he had contrived."

Coming to a narrow valley, broken columns and pieces of marble are observed, with vestiges of an Odeum, or music-room; this is stripped of the seats, and is naked. Beyond this are the remains of a large edifice, greatly resembling the one with an arcade at Troas. The top of one of the niches is painted with waves and fishes; and amongst the fragments lying in the front are two trunks of statues, of great size, without heads and almost buried; the drapery of which is both the same, alike remarkable. This was the gymnasium. "We pitched our tents," says Dr. Chandler, "among the ruins of this huge building, when we arrived from Claros, and employed on it three days in taking a plan and view. We found the area green with corn, and the site in general overrun with fennel, in seed, the stalks strong and tall."

At the entrance from Aiasaluck is a street, and from the remains still existing, it must have been a noble one. The edifices must have been, also, ample ones, with colonnades. There are many bases and pedestals of columns; and the vaulted substructions of the fabrics are still entire.

Turning towards the sea, the traveller is greeted with the sight of a prostrate heap, once forming a temple. The cell, or nave, was constructed of large, coarse stones. This temple had four columns between the antæ. Their diameter is about four feet six inches; their length about thirty-two feet; but, including the base and capital, forty-six feet and about seven inches. Though the dimensions of these pillars was so great, the shafts are fluted. The most entire of them, however, are broken into two pieces. The ornaments were rich; but "of inferior taste, and the mouldings ill proportioned[248]." This temple is supposed to be the remains of that erected at Ephesus, by permission of Augustus, to the god Julius. Some, however, have imagined that it might have been that dedicated to Claudius Cæsar on his apotheosis.

About a mile from this are the remnants of a sumptuous edifice; among the bushes beneath which are altars of white marble. These stand upon an eminence; and from that is beheld a lovely prospect of the river Cayster, which there crosses the plain from near Gellesus, into a small but full stream, and with many luxuriant windings.

Mount Prion, according to Chandler, is among the curiosities of Ionia enumerated by Pausanias. It has served as an inexhaustible magazine of marble, and contributed largely to the magnificence of the city. "The Ephesians, it is related, when they first resolved to provide an edifice worthy of Diana, met to agree on importing materials. The quarries, then in use, were remote, and the expense, it was foreseen, would be prodigious. At this time a shepherd happened to be feeding his flock on mount Prion[249], and two rams fighting, one of them missed his antagonist, and, striking the rock with his horn, broke off a crust of very white marble. He ran into the city with this specimen, which was received with excess of joy. He was highly honoured for this accidental discovery; the Ephesians changing his name from Pixodorus to Evangelus, the good messenger, and enjoining their chief magistrate, under a penalty, to visit the spot, and to sacrifice to him monthly." This custom continued to be observed, even so late as the time of Augustus Cæsar.

Not far from the gymnasium, are cavities with mouths, like ovens, forming burial-places, made to admit bodies, which were thrust in. This was supposed to have belonged to the oratory or church of St. John, rebuilt by Justinian. Near the city, also, are quarries in the bowels of the mountain, with numberless mazes, and vast, silent, dripping caverns. In many parts of this, Dr. Chandler informs us, are chippings of marble and marks of tools. He found chippings, also, which supplied marble for the city wall, and huge pieces lying among the bushes at the bottom.

The Ephesians, at the time in which the learned traveller to whom in this account we have so frequently referred, were a few Greek peasants, living in extreme wretchedness, dependence, and insensibility; "the representatives of an illustrious people, and exhibiting the wreck of their greatness; some, the substructions of the glorious edifices which they raised; some beneath the vaults of the stadium, once the crowded scene of their diversions; and some by the abrupt precipice, in the sepulchres, which received their ashes."

These ruins were visited by Sir John Hobhouse. "The desolate walls of the mosque of St. John, and the whole scene of Aiasaluck," says he, "cannot but suggest a train of melancholy reflections. The decay of these religions is thus presented, at one view, to the eye of the traveller! The marble spoils of the Grecian temple adorn the mouldering edifice, over which the tower of the Mussulman, the emblem of another triumphant worship, is itself seen to totter, and sink into the mouldering ruins." Not a single inhabitant, not even a shepherd's hut, was to be seen on the actual site of this once resplendent city! "Its streets are obscure and overgrown," says Chandler. "A herd of goats was driven to it for shelter from the sun at noon; and a noisy flight of crows from the quarries seemed to insult its silence. We heard the partridge call in the area of the theatre, and of the stadium. The glorious pomp of its heathen worship is no longer remembered; and Christianity, which was there nursed by apostles, and fostered by general councils, until it increased in fulness of stature, barely lingers on in an existence hardly visible."

Since this, the state of Christianity there has fallen still lower. In 1812, one Greek, who was a baker, living at Aiasaluck, and three or four fishermen, who lived in sheds near the river, were the only Christians to be found in the city of Ephesus[250].

NO. XXXVI.—GERASA. (DJERASH.)

This city is placed among those of the Decapolis, in Matthew, vii. 28; and it is from a rock near it, from which the swine are described as having ran down into the Dead Sea. By some it is included in Cœlosyria; by others in Arabia.

The ruins of this city were discovered by the well known traveller, M. Seetzen (Conseiller d'Ambassade de S. M. l'Empereur de Russie). His letters were addressed to M. von Zach, Grand Marshal of the court of Saxe Gotha, and part of them appeared, at different times, in the Moniteur. Some members of the National Institute sent over these papers to Sir Joseph Banks, by whom they were forwarded to the Palestine Association.

One of the most interesting portions of this journal is that, which comprises the account of the ruins of Jerrash, situated in about the centre of the Holy Land, the dilapidated buildings of which had, till then, escaped the notice of its lovers of antiquity, and which, for beauty and importance, may be compared to those of Palmyra and Balbec.

"Jerrash," says our journalist, "is situated in an open and tolerably fertile plain, through which a river runs. Before entering the town, I found several sarcophagi, with very beautiful bas-reliefs, among which I remarked one, on the edge of the road, with a Greek inscription. The walls of the town are mouldered away, but one may yet trace their whole extent, which may have been three-quarters of a league, or a whole one. These walls were entirely built of hewn marble. The ground within it is of unequal heights, and falls towards the river. Not a single private house remains entire; but on the other hand, I observed several public buildings which were distinguished by a very beautiful style of architecture. I found two superb amphitheatres, solidly built of marble, with columns, niches, &c. the whole in good preservation. I found also some palaces, and three temples, one of which has a peristyle of twelve grand columns of the Corinthian order, eleven of which are still upright. In another of these temples, I saw a column on the ground, of most beautiful polished Egyptian granite. I also found a handsome gate of the city, well preserved, formed of three arcades, and ornamented with pilasters.

"The most beautiful thing I discovered was a long street, crossed by another, and ornamented on both sides with a row of marble columns of the Corinthian order, and one of whose extremities terminated in a semicircle, that was set round with sixty pillars, of the Ionic order. At the points where the two streets cross, in each of the four angles, a large pedestal of hewn stone is visible, on which probably statues were formerly set. A part of the pavement remains, formed of hewn stones.

"To speak generally, I counted about two hundred columns, which yet partly support their entablatures, but the number of those overthrown is infinitely more considerable: I saw indeed but half the extent of the town, and a person would probably still find in the other half, on the opposite side of the river, a quantity of remarkable curiosities.

"Jerrash can be no other than the ancient Geresa, one of the Decapolitan towns. It is difficult to conceive that so much ignorance of its real situation should exist, as would allow Monsieur Paulus, in his map, to have placed it to the north-east of the northern extremity of the Lake of Tiberias. I do not know whether any ancient geographer has made the same mistake. From a fragment of a Greek inscription, which I copied, I am led to conclude, that several of the buildings of this town were erected under the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. The Roman history may, perhaps, furnish some data in corroboration of this conjecture. It is, at all events, certain, that the edifices of this town are of the age of the most beautiful Roman architecture."

Gerasa has been since visited by other travellers, from whose report we learn, that the principal curiosities of antiquity are, a temple adorned in front with a double row of six columns in each row, of which nine are standing; and on each side of the temple there remains one column belonging to the single row of pillars, that surrounded the temple on every side except the front. Of these eleven columns are entire, and two are without capitals. They are of the Corinthian order; their capitals being beautifully ornamented with the acanthus leaf. The interior of this temple is choked with the ruins of the roof. The number of columns which originally adorned the temple and its area, was not less than from 200 to 250. "The whole edifice," says Burckhardt^*, "seems to have been superior in taste and magnificence to every public building of the kind in Syria,—the temple of the Sun at Palmyra excepted."

To the west of this, at about two hundred yards distance, are the remains of a small temple, with three Corinthian pillars, still standing. Not far from this are two colonnades, of which thirty broken shafts are yet standing, and two entire columns, but without capitals; and opposite to these are five columns, with their capitals and entablatures. Originally there were about fifty.

At a short distance from these there are other columns, much larger; and still farther on seventeen Corinthian, all of which are united by their entablature. Some of these are twenty-one, some twenty-five, and others thirty feet high. Their entablatures are slightly ornamented with sculptured bas-reliefs.

In other parts of the ruins are other columns; and a large open space is enclosed by a magnificent semicircle of columns in a single row; fifty-seven columns are yet standing; originally, it is supposed, there were sixty. On entering the forum there are four, and then twenty-one, united by their entablatures. To the left, five, seven, and twenty, united in the same manner. They are of the Ionic order; thus differing from all the others.

At the end of a semicircle are several basins, which seem to have been reservoirs of water; and remains of an aqueduct are still visible. To the right and left are some other chambers. From this spot the ground rises; and on mounting a low but steep hill, Mr. Burckhardt found on its top a beautiful temple, commanding a view over the greater part of the town. Not far from this are the remains of a theatre. It fronted the town; so that the spectators, seated on the highest row of benches, enjoyed the prospect of all its buildings and quarters. At the back runs the town wall.

In another part of the town are found in every direction columns of considerable height, some still standing, others lying prostrate, some having inscriptions on their pedestals. In many parts, the streets are absolutely rendered impassable from fragments; indeed we have not space to describe all that is to be seen among these splendid remains. There are 190 columns still standing, and 100 half columns. In respect to private habitations, there are none in a state of preservation; but the whole of the area within the walls is covered with their ruins.

In one of the temples Mr. Irby noticed a curious singularity, viz.—a chamber under ground, below the principal hall of one of the temples, with a bath in the centre. "There are numerous inscriptions in all directions," says Mr. Irby, "chiefly of the time of Antoninus Pius; most of them much mutilated. On the whole, we hold Djerash to be a much finer mass of ruins than Palmyra. This city has three entrances of richly ornamented gateways; and the remains of the wall, with its occasional towers, are in wonderful preservation.

"Gerasa," says Mr. Robinson, "was nearly square, each side something less than a mile, the walls crossing the river in two places at right angles; the other two sides being parallel to each other on opposite sides of the hill. The greater part of the inclosed space is covered with the ruins of houses, forming a deep contrast with the elegant specimens of art, whichever way the eye is turned. From the triumphal arch on the south-west side to the wall inclosing the north-east, along both sides of the stream, the whole space is covered; also east and west of it, up the sides of the hill. There are several small eminences within the walls, from one of which, near the northern theatre, the view of columns seems interminable, and that of the rest of the ruins is beyond every thing attractive from this spot;—it is indeed a perfect gallery of art."

The smaller theatre, Mr. Robinson is inclined to believe, was used for purposes different from the other; the area below the seats being more extensive, and furnished with a suite of dark, arched chambers, opening into it. The latter was, probably, used to confine the wild beasts destined to combat in the arena; such exhibitions being in vogue at the time Gerasa may be supposed to have flourished[251].

NO. XXXVII.—GRANADA.

The city of Granada[252] has twelve gates; and is about eight miles round, defended by high walls, flanked with a multitude of towers. Its situation is of a mixed kind; some parts of it being upon the mountain, and other parts in the plain. The mountainous part stands upon three small eminences; the one is called Albrezzin; which was inhabited by the Moors that were driven out of Baezza by the Christians. The second is called Alcazebe; and the third Alhambra. This last is separated from the other parts by a valley, through which the river Darro runs; and it is also fortified with strong walls, in such a manner as to command all the rest of the city. The greatest part of this fortified spot of ground is taken up with a most sumptuous palace of the Moorish kings. This palace is built with square stones of great dimensions; and is fortified with strong walls and prodigious large towers; and the whole is of such an extent as to be capable of holding a very numerous garrison. The outside has exactly the appearance of an immense romantic old castle; but it is exceedingly magnificent within.

But before we enter, we must take notice of a remarkable piece of sculpture over the great gate; there is the figure of a large key of a castle-gate, and at some distance above it, there is an arm reaching towards it; and the signification of this emblematical marble basso-relief is this:—that the castles will never be taken till the arm can reach the key.

Upon entering, not only the portico is of marble, but the apartments also are incrusted with marble, jasper, and porphyry, and the beams curiously carved, painted, and gilt; and the ceilings ornamented with pieces of foliage in stucco. The next place you come to is an oblong-square court, paved with marble, at each angle of which there is a fountain, and in the middle there is a very fine canal of running water. The baths and chambers, where they cooled themselves and reposed, are incrusted with alabaster and marble. There is an exceeding venerable tower, called La Toure Comazey; in which are noble saloons, and fine apartments; and all perfectly well supplied with water. In the time of the Moors, there was a kind of espalier, or cut hedge of myrtle, accompanied with a row of orange trees, which went round the canal.

From thence you pass into an exceeding fine square, which is called the Square of Lions, from a noble fountain, which is adorned with twelve lions cut in marble, pouring out a vast torrent of water at its mouth; and when the water is turned off, and ceases to run, if you whisper ever so low at the mouth of any one of them, you may hear what is said by applying your ear to the mouth of any one of the rest. Above the lions, there is another basin, and a grand jet-d'eau. The court is paved with marble, and has a portico quite round it, which is supported by one hundred and seventeen high columns of alabaster. In one of the saloons, if you whisper ever so low, it will be distinctly heard at the further end; and this they call the Chamber of Secrets. This sumptuous palace was built by Mahomed Mir, king of Granada, in 1278.

"There is no part of the edifice," says Washington Irving, "that gives us a more complete idea of its original beauty and magnificence, than the Hall of Lions, for none has suffered so little from the ravages of time. In the centre stands the fountain, famous in song and story. The alabaster basins still shed their diamond drops; and the twelve lions, which support them, cast forth their crystal streams as in the days of Boabdil. The court is laid out in flower-beds, surrounded by high Arabian arcades of open filagree work, supported by slender pillars of white marble. The architecture, like that of all the other parts of the palace, is characterised by elegance rather than grandeur; bespeaking a delicate and graceful taste, and a disposition to indolent enjoyment. When one looks upon the fair tracery of the peristyles, and the apparently fragile fretwork of the walls, it is difficult to believe that so much has survived the wear and tear of centuries, the shock of earthquakes, the violence of war, and the quiet and no less baneful pilfering of the tasteful traveller.

There is a Moorish tradition, that a king who built this mighty pile was skilled in the occult sciences, and furnished himself with gold and silver for the purpose by means of alchymy; certainly never was there an edifice accomplished in a superior style of barbaric magnificence; and the stranger who, even at the present day, wanders among its silent and deserted courts and ruined halls, gazes with astonishment at its gilded and fretted domes and luxurious decorations, still retaining their brilliancy and beauty in spite of the ravages of time.

The Alhamrā, usually, but erroneously, denominated the Alhambra, is a vast pile of building about two thousand three hundred English feet in length; and its breadth, which is the same throughout, is about six hundred feet. It was erected by Mūhammed Abū Abdillāh, surnamed Alghālib Billāh, who superintended the edifice himself, and, when it was completed, made it the royal residence.

Although the glory and prosperity of Granada may be said to have departed with its old inhabitants, yet, happily, it still retains, in pretty good preservation, what formed its chief ornament in the time of the Moors. This is the Alhambra, the royal alcazar, or fortress and palace, which was founded by Mūhammed Abū. Abdillāh Ben Nasz, the second sovereign of Granada, defrayed the expense of the works by a tribute imposed upon his conquered subjects. He superintended the building in person, and when it was completed, he made it a royal residence[253]. The immediate successors of this prince also took delight in embellishing and making additions to the fabric. Since the conquest of Granada by the Christians, the Alhambra has undergone some alterations. It was for a time occasionally inhabited by the kings of Spain. Charles the Fifth caused a magnificent palace to be commenced within the walls; but owing to his wars and frequent absences from Spain, or, as some accounts say, to repeated shocks of earthquakes, a splendid suite of apartments, in the Spanish style, is all that resulted from an alleged intention to eclipse the palace of the Moslem kings. Like the rest of the Alhambra, it is falling rapidly to decay through neglect. At present the walls are defaced, the paintings faded, the wood-work is decayed, and festoons of cobwebs are seen hanging from the ceiling. In the works of the Arabs, on the contrary, the walls remain unaltered, except by the injuries inflicted by the hand of man. The beams and wood-work of the ceiling present no signs of decay; and spiders, flies, and all other insects, shun their apartments at every season. The art of rendering timber and paints durable, and of making porcelain, mosaics, arabesques, and other ornaments, began and ended in western Europe with the Spanish Arabs.

The palace has had no royal residents since the beginning of the last century, when Philip the Fifth was there for a short time with his queen.

The Alhambra is generally spoken of as a palace, but it is to be understood, that, in the extensive sense, the name applies to a fortress, a sort of city in itself.

The palace, situated upon the northern brow of a steep hill, overlooks the city of Granada on one side, and on the other commands an extensive view over a most charming country. All the wonders of this palace lie within its walls. Externally, according to the account of Swinburne, it appears as a large mass of irregular buildings, all huddled together without any apparent intention of forming one habitation. The walls are entirely unornamented, of gravel and pebbles coarsely daubed over with plaster. We cannot trace the successive courts and apartments, through which the visiter passes as he penetrates to the interior, or attempt to enumerate their separate claims to notice.

The general arrangement of the buildings which compose the palace is exceedingly simple. The courts, for instance, which in our mansions are dull and uninteresting, are here so planned, as to seem a continuation of a series of apartments; and as the whole is on the same level throughout, the prospect through the building, in its perfect state, must have been like a scene of enchantment or a dream; halls and galleries, porticoes and columns, arches, mosaics, with plants and flowers of various hues, being seen in various extensive views, through the haze arising from the spray of the fountains. In every part of the palace its inmates had water in abundance, with a perfect command over it, making it high, low, visible, or invisible, at pleasure.

In every department two currents of air were continually in motion. Also, by means of tubes of baked earth placed in the walls, warmth was diffused from subterranean furnaces; not only through the whole range of the baths, but to all the contiguous upper apartments where warmth was required. The doors were large, but rather sparingly introduced; and, except on the side towards the precipice, where the prospect is very grand, the windows are so placed as to confine the view to the interior of the palace. The object of this is declared in an inscription in one of the apartments, which says—"My windows admit the light, but exclude the view of external objects, lest the beauties of Nature should divert attention from the beauties of my work."

In this mansion the elaborate arabesques and mosaics which cover the ceilings, walls, and floor, give a consequence and interest even to the smallest apartment. Instead of being papered and wainscoted, the walls are provided with the peculiar ornament which, from the Arabs, has been denominated "arabesque." The receding ornaments are illuminated in just gradation with leaf-gold, pink, light blue, and dusky purple: the first colour is the nearest, the last is the most distant, from the eye; but the general surface is white. The domes and arcades are also covered with ornamented casts, which are as light as wood, and as durable as marble.

Besides the inscriptions above alluded to, there are various others. In the king's bath, and in various other parts of the Alhambra, is, "There is no conqueror but God;" and "Glory to our Lord, Sultan Abū Abdallāh!"

Over the principal door of the golden saloon, or hall of ambassadors: "By the sun and its rising brightness; by the moon, when she followeth him; by the day, when he showeth his splendour; by the night, when it covereth him into darkness; by the heaven, and Him who created it; by the earth, and Him who spread it forth; by the soul, and Him who completely formed it: there is no other God but God."

The gate of judgment was erected by Sultan Abu Yusuff, A. H. 749. or A. D. 1348, as appears from an Arabic inscription over it. On each side of that inscription is a block of marble, containing (in Arabic) "Praise be to God. There is no God but God, and Mahomet is his prophet. There is no strength but from God."

In one of the windows on the right hand of the saloon are the following verses, descriptive of its elegance:—

At the entrance of the tower of Comares: "The kingdom is God's;" "The tower is God's;" "Durability is God's."

In the middle of the golden saloon: "There is no God but God, the Sovereign, the True, the Manifest. Muhamud is the just, the faithful messenger of God. I flee to God for protection from Satan: the pelted with stones.. In the name of God the merciful, the forgiving; there is no God but He, the living, the eternal; sleep nor slumber seizeth Him. To Him (belongeth) whatever is in the heavens, and whatever is in the earth; who is there who shall intercede with him except by His permission? He knoweth what is before them, and what is behind them; and they comprehend not His wisdom, except what he pleaseth. He hath extended His throne, the heavens, and the earth; the protection of which incommodeth Him not; and he is the exalted, the great! There is no forcing in the faith. Truly, righteousness is distinguished from error. He, therefore, who disbelieveth in (the idol) Tāgūt, and believeth in God, hath taken hold of a sure handle, that cannot be broken. God heareth, knoweth the truth of God."

The walls of the alcoves in the Court del Aqua, present, also, various effusions of the Muse, which have been inscribed by various travellers; amongst which this:—

"When these famed walls did Pagan rites admit,
Here reigned unrivalled breeding, science, wit.
Christ's standard came, the prophet's flag assailed,
And fix'd true worship where the false prevailed:
And, such the zeal its pious followers bore,
Wit, science, breeding, perished with the Moor."

"On looking from the royal villa or pleasure-house of Ál Generalife," says Mr. Murphy, "the spectator beholds the side of the Alhambra that commands the quarter of the city called the Albrezzin. The massive towers are connected by solid walls, constructed upon the system of fortification, which generally prevailed in the middle ages. Those walls and towers follow all the turnings and windings of the mountain; and previously to the invention of gunpowder and artillery, this fortress must have been almost impregnable. The situation of this edifice is the most delightful and commanding that can be conceived. Wherever the spectator may turn his eyes, it is impossible for him not to be struck with admiration at the picturesque beauty and fertility of the surrounding country. On the north and west, as far as the eye can reach, a lovely plain presents itself, which is covered with an immense number of trees laden with fruit and blossoms; while, on the south, it is bounded by mountains, whose lofty summits are crowned with perpetual snows, whence issue the springs and streams that diffuse both health and coolness through the city of Granada."

"But," in the language of Mr. Swinburne, "the glories of Granada have passed away; its streets are choked with filth; its woods destroyed; its territory depopulated; its trade lost. In a word, everything, except the church and the law, is in the most deplorable condition[254]."

NO. XXXVIII.—GNIDOS.

Venus, surnamed the Gnidian, was the chief deity of this place, where she had a temple, greatly celebrated for a marble statue of the goddess. This beautiful image was the masterpiece of Praxiteles, who had infused into it all the soft graces and attractions of his favourite Phryne; and it became so celebrated, that travellers visited the spot with great eagerness. It represented the goddess in her naked graces, erect in posture, and with her right hand covering her waist; but every feature and every part was so naturally expressed, that the whole seemed to be animated[255].

"We were shown, as we passed by," says Anacharsis, "the house in which Eudoxus, the astronomer, made his observations; and soon after found ourselves in the presence of the celebrated Venus of Praxiteles. This statue had just been placed in the middle of a small temple, which received light by two opposite doors, in order that a gentle light might fall on it on every side. But how may it be possible to describe the surprise we felt at the first view, and the illusions, which quickly followed! We lent our feelings to the marble, and seemed to hear it sigh. Two pupils of Praxiteles, who had lately arrived from Athens to study this masterpiece, pointed out to us the beauties, of which we felt the effect without penetrating the cause. Among the by-standers, one said,—'Venus has forsaken Olympus, and come down to dwell among us.' Another said,—'If Juno and Minerva should now behold her, they would no more complain of the judgment of Paris:' and a third exclaimed,—'The goddess formerly deigned to exhibit her charms without a veil to Paris, Anchises, and Adonis. Has she been seen by Praxiteles?'"

Mounting the rocks extending along the sea-shore, Mr. Morritt came in view of the broken cliffs of the Acropolis, and its ruined walls. The foundation and lower courses of the city walls are still visible; these extend from those of the Acropolis to the sea, and have been strengthened by towers, now also in ruins. He found also a building, the use of which he could not understand. It was a plain wall of brown stone, with a semicircle in the centre, and a terrace in front, supported by a breast-work of masonry, facing the sea. The walls were about ten or twelve feet in height, solidly built of hewn stone, but without ornament. There was anciently a theatre; the marble seats of which still remain, although mixed with bushes and overturned. The arches and walls of the proscenium are now a heap of ruins on the ground.

A large torso of a female figure with drapery, of white marble, lies in the orchestra. It appears to have been, originally, of good work; but is so mutilated and corroded by the air, as now to be of little or no consequence. Near this are foundations and ruins of a magnificent Corinthian temple, also of white marble; and several beautiful fragments of the frieze, cornice, and capitals, lie scattered about; the few bases of the peristyle remaining in their original situation, so ruined, that it appears impossible to ascertain the original form and proportion of the building. In another part is seen a large temple, also in ruins, and still more overgrown with bushes. The frieze and cornice of this temple, which lie amongst the rubbish, are of the highest and most beautiful workmanship. A little to the north of this stood a smaller temple, of grey veined marble, whereof almost every vestige is obliterated.

Several arches of rough masonry, and a breast-work, support a large square area, in which are the remains of a long colonnade, of white marble, and of the Doric order, the ruins of an ancient stoa. Of the Acropolis nothing is left but a few walls of strong brown stone[256].

Besides these there are the remains of two aqueducts; undistinguishable pieces of wall, some three, some five, eight, ten feet from the ground; columns plain, and fluted; a few small octagon altars, and heaps of stones. Along the sea-shore lie pieces of black marble[257].

Whenever the ground is clear[258], it is ploughed by the peasantry around, who frequently stop here for days together, in chambers of the ruins and caves of the rocks. The Turks and Greeks have long resorted thither, as to a quarry, for the building materials afforded by the remains.

The British consul at Rhodes states, that a fine colossal statue of marble is still standing in the centre of the orchestra belonging to the theatre, the head of which the Turks have broken off; but he remembers it when in a perfect state. Mr. Walpole brought away the torso of a male statue, and which has since been added to the collection of Greek marbles at Cambridge[259].

NO. XXXIX.—HELIOPOLIS.

In this city[260] Sesostris built two obelisks of extreme hard stone, brought from the quarries of Syene, at the extremity of Egypt. They were each 120 cubits high; that is, 30 fathoms, or 180 feet. The emperor Augustus, having made Egypt a province of the Roman empire, caused these two obelisks to be transplanted to Rome, one of which was afterwards broken to pieces. He durst not venture upon a third, which was of monstrous size. It was made in the reign of Rameses; and it is said that 20,000 men were employed in the cutting of it. Constantius, more daring than Augustus, ordered it to be removed to Rome. Two of these obelisks are still to be seen; as well as another of 100 cubits, or 25 fathoms high, and 8 cubits, or 2 fathoms in diameter. Caius Cæsar had it taken from Egypt in a ship of so odd a form, that, according to Pliny, the like had never been seen.

At Heliopolis, there remains only a solitary sphinx and an obelisk, to mark the site of the city of the sun, where Moses, Herodotus, and Plato, are said to have been instructed in the learning of the Egyptians; whose learning and arts brought even Greece for a pupil, and whose empire, says Bossuet, in regard to Egypt in general, had a character distinct from any other.

"This kingdom (says Rollin) bestowed its noblest labours and finest arts on the improving of mankind; and Greece was so sensible of this, that its most illustrious men,—as Homer, Pythagoras, Plato, even its great legislators, Lycurgus and Solon, with many more,—travelled into Egypt to complete their studies, and draw from that fountain whatever was most rare and valuable in every kind of learning. God himself has given this kingdom a glorious testimony, when, praising Moses, he says of him, that 'he was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians.' Such was the desire for encouraging the growth of scientific pursuits, that the discoverers of any useful invention received rewards suitable to their skill and labour. They studied natural history, geometry, and astronomy, and what is worthy of remark, they were so far masters of the latter science, as to be aware of the period required for the earth's annual revolutions, and fixed the year at 365 days 6 hours—a period which remained unaltered till the very recent change of the style. They likewise studied and improved the science of physic, in which they attained a certain proficiency. The persevering ingenuity and industry of the Egyptians are attested by the remains of their great works of art, which could not well be surpassed in modern times; and although their working classes were doomed to engage in the occupations of their fathers, and no others, as is still the custom in India, society might thereby be hampered, but the practice of handicrafts would be certainly improved. The Egyptians were also the first people who were acquainted with the process of communicating information by means of writing, or engraving on stone and metal; and were, consequently, the first who formed books and collected libraries. These repositories of learning they guarded with scrupulous care, and the titles they bore, naturally inspired a desire to enter them. They were called the "Office for the Diseases of the Soul," and that very justly; because the soul was there cured of ignorance, which, it will be allowed, is the source of many of the maladies of our mental faculties[261]."

NO. XL.—HERCULANEUM.

"It is characteristic of the noblest natures and the finest imaginations," says an elegant writer[262], "to love to explore the vestiges of antiquity, and to dwell in times that are no more. The first is the domain of the imaginative affections alone; we can carry none of our baser passions with us thither. The antiquary is often spoken of as being of a peculiar construction of intellect, which makes him think and feel differently from other people. But, in truth, the spirit of antiquarianism is one of the most universal of human tendencies. There is, perhaps, scarcely any person, for example, not utterly stupid or sophisticated, who would not feel a strange thrill come over him in the wonderful scenes these volumes describe. Looking round upon the long ruined city, who would not, for the moment, utterly forget the seventeen centuries that had revolved since Herculaneum and Pompeii were part and parcel of the world, moving to and fro along its streets! It would not be deemed a mere fever of curiosity that would occupy the mind,—an impatience to pry into every hole and corner of a scene at once so old and so new. Besides all that, there would be a sense of the actual presence of those past times, almost like the illusion of a dream. There is, in fact, perhaps no spot of interest on the globe, which would be found to strike so deep an impression into so many minds."

Herculaneum is an ancient city of Italy, situated in the Bay of Naples, and supposed to have been founded by Hercules, or in honour of him, 1250 years before the Christian era.[263] "This city," says Strabo, "and its next neighbour, Pompeii, on the river Sarnus, were originally held by the Osci, then by the Tyrrhenians and Pelasgians, then by the Samnites, who, in their turn, took possession of it, and retained it ever after."

The adjacent country[264] was distinguished in all ages for its romantic loveliness and beauty. The whole coast, as far as Naples, was studded with villas, and Vesuvius, whose fires had been long quiescent, was itself covered with them. Villages were also scattered along the shores, and the scene presented the appearance of one vast city, cut into a number of sections by the luxuriant vegetation of the paradise in which it was embosomed.

The following epigram of Martial gives an animated view of the scene, previous to the dreadful catastrophe, which so blasted this fair page of Nature's book:—

Here verdant vines o'erspread Vesuvius' sides;
The generous grape here pour'd her purple tides.
This Bacchus loved beyond his native scene;
Here dancing satyrs joy'd to trip the green.
Far more than Sparta this in Venus' grace;
And great Alcides once renown'd the place;
Now flaming embers spread dire waste around,
And gods regret that gods can so confound.

The scene of luxurious beauty[265] and tranquillity above described was doomed to cease, and the subterranean fire which had been from time immemorial extinct in this quarter, again resumed its former channel of escape. The long period of rest, which had preceded this event, seems to have augmented the energies of the volcano, and prepared it for the terrible explosion. The first intimation of this was the occurrence of an earthquake, in the year 63 after Christ, which threw down a considerable portion of Pompeii, and also did great damage to Herculaneum. In the year following, another severe shock was felt, which extended to Naples, where the Roman emperor Nero was at the time exhibiting as a vocalist. The building in which he performed was destroyed, but unfortunately the musician had left it. These presages of the approaching catastrophe were frequently repeated, until, in A. D. 79 (Aug. 24), they ended in the great eruption. Fortunately we are in possession of a narrative of the awful scene, by an eye-witness;—Pliny the younger, who was at the time at Misenum, with the Roman fleet, commanded by his uncle, Pliny the elder. The latter, in order to obtain a nearer view of the phenomena, ventured too far, and was suffocated by the vapours. His nephew remained at Misenum, and describes the appalling spectacle in a very lively manner.

"You ask me the particulars of my uncle's death," says he, in a letter to Tacitus, "in order to transmit it, you say, with all its circumstances, to posterity. I thank you for your intention. Undoubtedly the eternal remembrance of a calamity, by which my uncle perished with nations, promised immortality to his name; undoubtedly his works also flattered him with the same. But a line of Tacitus ensures it. Happy the man to whom the gods have granted to perform things worthy of being written, or to write what is worthy of being read. Happier still is he who at once obtains from them both these favours. Such was my uncle's good fortune. I willingly therefore obey your orders, which I should have solicited. My uncle was at Misenum, where he commanded the fleet. On the 23d of August, at one in the afternoon, as he was on his bed, employed in studying, after having, according to his custom, slept a moment in the sun and drunk a glass of cold water, my mother went up into his chamber. She informed him that a cloud of an extraordinary shape and magnitude was rising in the heavens. My uncle got up and examined the prodigy; but without being able to distinguish, on account of the distance, that this cloud proceeded from Vesuvius. It resembled a large pine-tree: it had its top and its branches. It appeared sometimes white, sometimes black, and at intervals of various colours, according as it was more or less loaded with stones or cinders.

"My uncle was astonished; he thought such a phenomenon worthy of a nearer examination. He ordered a galley to be immediately made ready, and invited me to follow him; but I rather chose to stay at home and continue my studies. My uncle therefore departed alone.

"In the interim I continued at my studies. I went to the bath; I lay down, but I could not sleep. The earthquake, which for several days had repeatedly shaken all the small towns, and even cities in the neighbourhood, was increasing every moment. I rose to go and awake my mother, and met her hastily entering my apartment to awaken me.

"We descended into the court, and sat down there. Not to lose time, I sent for my Livy. I read, meditated, and made extracts, as I would have done in my chamber. Was this firmness, or was it imprudence? I know not now; but I was then very young![266] At the same instant one of my uncle's friends, just arrived from Spain, came to visit him. He reproached my mother with her security, and me with my audacity. The houses, however, were shaking in so violent a manner, that we resolved to quit Misenum. The people followed us in consternation.

"As soon as we had got out of the town we stopped. Here we found new prodigies and new terrors. The shore, which was continually extending itself, and covered with fishes left dry on it, was heaving every moment, and repelling to a great distance the enraged sea which fell back upon itself; whilst before us, from the limits of the horizon, advanced a black cloud, loaded with dull fires, which were incessantly rending it, and darting forth large flashes of lightning. The cloud descended and enveloped all the sea, it was impossible any longer to discern either the isle of Caprea, or the promontory of Misenum. 'Save yourself, my dear son,' cried my mother; 'save yourself; it is your duty; for you can, and you are young: but as for me, bulky as I am, and enfeebled with years, provided I am not the cause of thy death, I die contented.'—'Mother, there is no safety for me but with you.'—I took my mother by the hand, and drew her along.—'O my son,' said she in tears, 'I delay thy flight.'

"Already the ashes began to fall; I turned my head; a thick cloud was rushing precipitately towards us.—'Mother,' said I, 'let us quit the high road; the crowd will stifle us in that darkness which is pursuing us.' Scarcely had we left the high road before it was night, the blackest night. Then nothing was to be heard but the lamentations of women, the groans of children, and the cries of men. We could distinguish, through the confused sobs and the various accents of grief, the words, my father!—my son!—my wife!—there was no knowing each other but by the voice. One was lamenting his destiny; another the fate of his relations: some were imploring the gods; others denying their existence; many were invoking death to defend them from death. Some said that they were now about to be buried with the world, in that concluding night which was to be eternal:—and amidst all this, what dreadful reports! Fear exaggerated and believed everything.

"In the mean time a glimmering penetrated the darkness; this was the conflagration which was approaching; but it stopped and extinguished; the night grew more intensely dark, and the shower of cinders and stones more thick and heavy. We were obliged to rise from time to time to shake our clothes. Shall I say it? Not a single complaint escaped me. I consoled myself, amid the fears of death, with the reflection that the world was about to expire with me.

"At length this thick and black vapour gradually vanished. The day revived, and even the sun appeared, but dull and yellowish, such as he usually shows himself in an eclipse. What a spectacle now offered itself to our yet troubled and uncertain eyes! The whole country was buried beneath the ashes, as in winter under the snow. The road was no longer to be discerned. We sought for Misenum, and again found it; we returned and took possession; for we had in some measure abandoned it. Soon after, we received news of my uncle. Alas! we had but too good reason to be uneasy for him.

"I have told you, that, after quitting Misenum, he went on board a galley. He directed his course towards Retina, and the other towns which were threatened. Every one was flying from it; he however entered it, and, amidst the general confusion, remarked all the phenomena, and dictated as he observed. But already a cloud of burning ashes beat down on his galley; already were stones falling all around, and the shore covered with large pieces of the mountain. My uncle hesitated whether he should return from whence he came, or put out to sea. Fortune favours courage (exclaimed he), let us turn towards Pomponianus. Pomponianus was at Stabiæ. My uncle found him all trembling: embraced and encouraged him, and to comfort him by his security, asked for a bath, then sat down to table and supped cheerfully; or, at least, which does not show less fortitude, with all the appearance of cheerfulness.

"In the mean time Vesuvius was taking fire on every side, amid the thick darkness. 'It is the villages which have been abandoned that are burning,' said my uncle to the crowd about him, to endeavour to quiet them. He then went to bed, and fell asleep. He was in the profoundest sleep, when the court of the house began to fill with cinders; and all the passages were nearly closed up. They run to him; and were obliged to awaken him. He rises, joins Pomponianus, and deliberates with him and his attendants what is best to be done, whether it would be safest to remain in the house or fly into the country. They chose the latter measure.

"They departed instantly therefore from the town, and the only precaution they could take was to cover their heads with pillows. The day was reviving everywhere else; but there it continued night; horrible night! the fire from the cloud alone enlightened it. My uncle wished to gain the shore, notwithstanding the sea was still tremendous. He descended, drank some water, had a sheet spread, and lay down on it. On a sudden, violent flames, preceded by a sulphureous odour, shot forth with a prodigious brightness, and made every one take to flight. My uncle, supported by two slaves, arose; but suddenly, suffocated by the vapour, he fell[267],—and Pliny was no more[268]."

If this visitation affected Misenum in so terrible a manner, what must have been the situation of the unfortunate inhabitants of Pompeii and Herculaneum, so near its focus? The emperor Titus here found an opportunity for the exercise of his humanity. He hastened to the scene of affliction, appointed curatores[269], persons of consular dignity, to set up the ruined buildings, and take charge of the effects. He personally encouraged the desponding, and alleviated the misery of the sufferers; whilst a calamity of an equally melancholy description recalled him to Rome; where a most destructive fire, laying waste nearly half the city, and raging three days without interruption, was succeeded by a pestilence, which for some time carried off ten thousand persons every day!

Herculaneum and Pompeii rose again from their ruins in the reign of Titus; and they still existed with some remains of splendour under Hadrian[270]. The beautiful characters of the inscription, traced out on the base of the equestrian statue of Marcus Nonius Balbus, son of Marcus, are an evident proof of its existence at that period. They were found under the reign of the Antonines. In the geographical monument, known under the name of Peutinger's chart, which is of a date posterior to the reign of Constantine, that is to say in the commencement of the 4th century, Herculaneum and Pompeii were still standing, and then inhabited; but in the Itinerary, improperly ascribed to Antoninus, neither of these two cities is noticed; from which it may be conjectured, that their entire ruin must have taken place in the interval between the time when Peutinger's chart was constructed, and that when the above Itinerary was composed.

The eruption, which took place in 471, occasioned the most dreadful ravages. It is very probable that the cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii disappeared at that period, and that no more traces of them were left.

It appears, by the observation of Sir W. Hamilton[271], that the matter, which covers the ancient town of Herculaneum, is not the produce of one eruption only; but there are evident marks that the matter of six eruptions has taken its course over that which lie immediately above the town; and which was the cause of its destruction. These strata are either of lava or burnt matter, with veins of good soil between them. The stratum of erupted matter that immediately covers the town, and with which the theatre and most of the houses were filled, is not of that sort of vitrified matter, called lava, but of a sort of soft stone composed of pumice, ashes, and burnt matter. It is exactly of the same nature with what is called the Naples stone. The Italians call it tufa; and it is in general use for building.

Herculaneum was covered with lava; Pompeii with pumice stone; yet the houses of the latter were built of lava; the product of former eruptions.

All memorials of the devoted cities were lost[272]; and discussions, over the places they had once occupied, were excited only by some obscure passages in the classical authors. Six successive eruptions contributed to lay them still deeper under the surface. But after that period had elapsed, a peasant digging a well beside his cottage in 1711, obtained some fragments of coloured marble, which attracted attention. Regular excavations were made, under the superintendence of Stendardo, an architect of Naples; and a statue of Hercules, of Greek workmanship, and also a mutilated one of Cleopatra, were drawn from what proved to be a temple in the centre of the ancient Herculaneum.

It may be well conceived with what interest the intelligence was received, that a Roman city had been discovered, which, safely entombed under-ground, had thus escaped the barbarian Goths and Vandals, who ravaged Italy, or the sacrilegious hands of modern pillagers.

The remains of several public buildings have been discovered[273], which have possibly suffered from subsequent convulsions. Among these are two temples; one of them one hundred and fifty feet by sixty, in which was found a statue of Jupiter. A more extensive edifice stood opposite to them; forming a rectangle of two hundred and twenty-eight feet by one hundred and thirty-two, supposed to have been appropriated for the courts of justice. The arches of a portico surrounding it were supported by columns; within, it was paved with marble; the walls were painted in fresco; and bronze statues stood between forty columns under the roof. A theatre was found nearly entire; very little had been displaced; and we see in it one of the best specimens extant of the architecture of the ancients. The greatest diameter of the theatre is two hundred and thirty-four feet, whence it is computed, that it could contain ten thousand persons, which proves the great population of the city.

This theatre was rich in antiquities[274], independent of the ornamental part. Statues, occupying niches, represented the Muses; scenic masks were imitated on the entablatures; and inscriptions were engraven on different places. Analogous to the last were several large alphabetical Roman characters in bronze; and a number of smaller size, which had probably been connected in some conspicuous situation. A metallic car was found, with four bronze horses attached to it, nearly of the natural size; but all in such a state of decay, that only one, and the spokes of the wheels, also in metal, could be preserved. A beautiful white marble statue of Venus, only eighteen inches high, in the same attitude as the famous Venus de Medicis, was recovered; and either here, or in the immediate vicinity, was found a colossal bronze statue of Vespasian, filled with lead, which twelve men were unable to move.

Besides many objects entire, there were numerous fragments of others, extremely interesting; which had been originally impaired, or were injured by attempts to remove them.

When we reflect, that sixteen hundred years have elapsed since the destruction of this city[275], an interval which has been marked by numerous revolutions, both in the political and mental state of Europe, a high degree of interest must be experienced in contemplating the venerable remains, recovered from the subterraneous city of Herculaneum. Pliny, the younger, in his letters, brings the Romans, their occupations, manners, and customs, before us. He pictures in feeling terms the death of his uncle, who perished in the same eruption as the city we now describe; and that event is brought to our immediate notice by those very things which it was the means of preserving. Among these we see the various articles which administered to the necessities and the pleasures of the inhabitants, the emblems of their religious sentiments, and the very manners and customs of domestic life.

These curiosities consist not only of statues, busts, altars, inscriptions, and other ornamental appendages of Grecian opulence and luxury; but also comprehend an entire assortment of the domestic, musical, and surgical instruments; tripods of elegant form and exquisite execution; lamps in endless variety; vases and basins of noble dimensions; chandeliers of the most beautiful shapes, looking-glasses of polished metal; coloured glass, so hard, clear, and well stained, as to appear like emeralds, sapphires, and other precious stones; a kitchen completely fitted up with copper pans lined with silver, kettles, cisterns for heating water, and every utensil necessary for culinary purposes; also specimens of various sorts of combustibles, retaining their form though burnt to a cinder. By an inscription, too, we learn that Herculaneum contained no less than nine hundred houses of entertainment, such as we call taverns. Articles of glass, artificial gems, vases, tripods, candelabra, lamps, urns, dice, and dice-boxes; various articles of dress and ornaments; surgical instruments, weights and measures, carpenters' and masons' tools; but no musical instruments except the sistrum, cymbals, and flutes of bone and ivory.

Fragments of columns of various coloured marble and beautiful mosaic pavements were also found disseminated among the ruins; and numerous sacrificial implements, such as pateræ, tripods, cups, and vases, were recovered in excellent preservation, and even some of the knives with which the victims are conjectured to have been slaughtered.

The ancient pictures of Herculaneum[276] are of the utmost interest; not only from the freshness and colour, but from the nature of the subjects they represent. All are executed in fresco; they are exclusively on the walls, and generally on a black or red ground. Some are of animated beings large as life; but the majority are in miniature. Every different subject of antiquity is depicted here; deities, human figures, animals, landscapes, foreign and domestic, and a variety of grotesque beings; sports and pastimes, theatrical performances, sacrifices, all enter the catalogue.

In regard to the statues found[277], some are colossal, some of the natural size, and some in miniature; and the materials of their formation are either clay, marble, or bronze. They represent all different objects, divinities, heroes, or distinguished persons; and in the same substances, especially bronze, there are the figures of many animals.

It is not probable that the best paintings of ancient Greece and Italy[278] were deposited in Herculaneum or Pompeii, which were towns of the second order, and unlikely to possess the master-pieces of the chief artists, which were usually destined to adorn the more celebrated temples or the palaces of kings and emperors. Their best statues are correct in their proportions, and elegant in their forms; but their paintings are not correct in their proportions, and are, comparatively, inelegant in their forms.

A few rare medals also have been found among these ruins, the most curious of which is a gold medallion of Augustus, struck in Sicily in the fifteenth year of his reign.

Nor must we omit one of the greatest curiosities, preserved at Portici[279]. This consists of a cement of cinders, which in one of the eruptions of Vesuvius surprised a woman, and totally enveloped her. This cement, compressed and hardened by time around her body, has become a complete mould of it, and in the pieces here preserved, we see a perfect impression of the different parts to which it adhered. One represents half a bosom, which is of exquisite beauty; another a shoulder, a third a portion of her shape, and all concur in revealing to us that this woman was young; that she was tall and well made, and even that she had escaped in her chemise, for some of the linen was still adhering to the ashes.

Though the city was destroyed[280] in the manner we have related, remarkably few skeletons have been found, though many were discovered in the streets of Pompeii; but one appears under the threshold of a door with a bag of money in his hand, as if in the attitude of escaping, leaving its impression in the surrounding volcanic matter.