SURVEY OF THE REMAINDER OF THE CITY. INSCRIPTIONS AND GRAFFITI. CASTS OF BODIES

PROCEEDING southward along the Street of Mercury, we pass under the triumphal arch of Nero, and crossing the transverse street which leads towards the Gate of Nola, enter the Street of the Forum, a continuation of the Street of Mercury, leading straight to the triumphal arch at the north end of the Forum, and bounding the island of the baths on the eastern side. This street is one of the most spacious in Pompeii, being twenty-two feet wide and about two hundred feet long. We have given, in the first part of this work, a long catalogue of articles found here in the course of excavation. One of the houses about the centre of the street, nearly opposite the entrance to the Therm , is of more consequence than the rest, and has been named the House of Bacchus, from a large painting of that god on a door opposite to the entry. Channels for the introduction of water were found in the atrium, which has been surrounded by a small trough, formed to contain flowers, the outer side of which is painted blue, to imitate water, with boats floating upon it. The wall behind this is painted with pillars, between which are balustrades of various forms. Cranes and other birds perch upon these, and there is a background of reeds and other vegetables, above which the sky is visible.

Bacchus, from a painting.

The greater portion of the eastern side of the street is occupied by a row of shops with a portico in front of them. It is flanked on either side by footpaths, and must have presented a noble appearance when terminated by triumphal arches at either end, and overlooked by the splendid Temple of Jupiter and that of Fortune elevated on its lofty basis. It is to be noticed that the last-named edifice does not stand symmetrically either with the Street of the Forum or with the Street of the Baths running past the House of Pansa. The portico," we quote again from Gell, is turned a little towards the Forum, and the front of the temple is so contrived that a part of it might be seen also from the other street. It is highly probable that these, circumstances are the result of design rather than of chance The Greeks seem to have preferred the view of a magnificent building from a corner, and there is scarcely a right-angled plan to be found either in ancient or modern Italy." In the Street of the Forum has been established a temporary museum of articles found in Pompeii. Adjoining it is a library containing all the best works that have been written on the city.

The street running westward between the baths and the Forum presents nothing remarkable, except that in it are the signs of the milk-shop and school of gladiators above described. There is also an altar, probably dedicated to Jupiter, placed against the wall of a house above it is a bas-relief in stucco, with an eagle in the tympanum. Eastward of the Forum this street assumes the name of the Street of Dried Fruits, from an inscription showing that dried fruits were sold in it; and, indeed, a considerable quantity of figs, raisins, chesnuts. plums, hempseed, and similar articles were found. It is now however usually called the Street of the Augustals. Near the point at which this street is intersected by that of Eumachia, running at the back of the east side of the Forum. there is a remarkably graceful painting of a youthful Bacchus' pressing the juice of the grape into a vase placed upon a pillar, at the foot of which is a rampant animal expecting the nor, apparently meant for a tiger or panther, but of very diminutive size. This picture is one foot five inches high and one foot two inches wide. It probably served for the sign of a wine-merchant. Corresponding with it, on the other side of the shop, is a painting of Mercury, to render that knavish god propitious to the owner's trade.

We will now proceed to the Street of Abundance, or of the Merchants, formerly called the Street of the Silversmiths. This is about twenty-eight feet wide, and bordered on each side by footpaths about six feet wide, which are described as made in several places of a hard plaster, probably analogous to opus Signinum. At the end next the Forum it is blocked up by two steps, which deny access to wheel carriages, and is in other parts so much encumbered by large stepping-stones that the passage of such vehicles, if not prohibited, must have been difficult and inconvenient.

Stone Doorway in the Street of the Silversmiths.

We may here take notice of a peculiarity in this street. It slopes with a very gentle descent away from the Forum, and the courses of masonry, instead of being laid horizontally, run parallel to the slope of the ground, a unique instance, as we believe, of such a construction. We give a view of a handsome and (which is rare in Pompeii) a perfect doorway of stone, copied from the second series of Sir W. Gell's Pompeii. Above it part of a window still remains. In front the reader will observe the stepping-stones of which we have spoken. On the right-hand of the vestibule a monkey is painted playing on the double pipe, as if he were the guardian of the entry. The doors of several shops in this street have left perfect impressions on the volcanic deposit, by which it appears that the planks of which they were made lapped one over the other, like the planks of a boat.

Although the houses that line this street have now been cleared, there still remains a large unexcavated space on its southern side. The only house requiring notice is that called the Casa del Cinghiale, or House of the Wild Boar, a little way down on the right-hand side in going from the Forum. Its name is derived from the mosaic pavement of the prothyrum, representing a boar attacked by two dogs. The house is remarkable for its well-preserved peristyle of fourteen Ionic columns, with their capitals. On the right is a brick staircase leading to a large garden. The atrium is bordered with a mosaic representing the walls of a city with towers and battlements, supposed by some to be the walls of Pompeii.

Just beyond this house is a small street or lane, turning down to the right called the Vicolo dei Dodici Dei, from a painting on the outside wall of the corner house, in the manner of a frieze, representing the twelve greater divinities. Below is the usual painting of serpents. At the corner of the quadrivium is the apothecary's shop, in which was a large collection of surgical instruments, mortars, drugs, and pills. The house is not otherwise remarkable.

Of the early excavations at the southern extremity of the town few records are preserved. In the Quarter of the Theatres, besides the public buildings, which have, been fully described, there are but two houses of any interest.