POMPEII AND HERCULANEUM.-1. Restored interior of theater, Herculaneum. 2. Street of graves, painting, Pompeii. 6. Garden; 7, shop; 8, plan of the so-called house of Pansa, Pompeii.

Pompey.

foundation to Hercules); but in more recent times it became a favorite resort for wealthy. Romans, many of whom, including Cicero, had villas in the suburbs. It must have been at one time a place of considerable trade, since it was the port-town of Nola and other inland cities which studded the fertile valley of the Sarnus. The city was much damaged by an earthquake which happened on Feb. 5, 63 A.D., and not many years had revolved when the great and final calamity overtook it. In 79 A.D. occurred that terrific eruption of Vesuvius which, in one day, overwhelmed in irremediable ruin the towns of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiæ. In course of time a small village rose at or near the spot; but by and by the memory of Pompeii was forgotten, and for centuries its very site was unknown. The difficulty of discovering its true position was increased in consequence of the changes produced by this fearful convulsion, which had hurled back the Sarnus from its ancient course, and raised the sea-beach to a considerable height, so that the re-discovered city, to which merchantmen resorted of old, is now a mile from the coast, and a considerable distance from the stream that in ancient times was wont to skirt its walls. For more than sixteen hundred years Pompeii lay undisturbed beneath heaps of ashes and cinders. At length, in 1689, some ruins were noticed, but it was not till 1755 that any excavations were made. These operations, begun by the Neapolitan government, have been continued till the present time (and recently with increased energy), and have been exceedingly productive of objects which interest the antiquarian and the classical scholar. The remains found are in a remarkably good state of preservation, owing to the fact that the city was destroyed not by lava, but by showers of sand, ashes, and cinders (lapilli), forming a light covering, which found its way into every nook, and, as it were, hermetically sealed up the town. It would appear that in some parts at least the matter was deposited in a state of liquid mud, and so flowed into the remotest cellars of the doomed habitations. This is proved by the discovery of the skeleton of a woman "inclosed in a mold of volcanic paste, which retained a perfect impression of her form." It suggested to signor Fiorelli, the director of the excavations, the idea of filling up the molds with liquid plaster, and obtaining casts of the forms they contained. Many interesting objects recently discovered have thus been preserved. Among recent excavations are several paintings of classical subjects, one of which, the Laocoon, excavated in 1875, is a most valuable specimen of ancient art. That the superincumbent rubbish, in most places about 15 ft. deep, is the accumulation of several eruptions is proved by the facts: that as many as eight or nine different layers have been distinctly counted; and that, while the upper layers are undisturbed, the lower one has evidently been moved. The comparatively few skeletons found, and the almost entire absence of objects of great value, as gold and silver plate, show that most of the inhabitants (estimated at 20,000) escaped and returned to bury their dead, and recover their treasures. In the autumn of 1864, upward of two hundred skeletons were found in a temple of Juno, the victims having evidently gone thither to seek the protection of the goddess. Only about one third of the city has as yet been excavated. The plan of Pompeii seems to have been regular, the narrow streets crossing one another at right angles. The houses were plain and seldom more than two stories high, and had all their good apartments on the ground-floor. The walls are about two miles in circumference. It would be impossible in our brief space to attempt even an enumeration of the objects discovered in this now famous city. Suffice it to say that in all the departments of social life—in the affairs of domestic and of public life, of the worship of the gods, and the shows of the arena-in architecture, painting, and sculpture-in fine, in all the appliances of comfort and of luxury in a wealthy community, we have, as it were, a living picture of a city 1800 years ago. The reader who wishes fuller information should consult Mazois's work, Les Ruines de Pompeii (Paris, 1812–38); Breton's Pompeia (Paris, 1855); Overbeck's Pompeji in seinen Gebäuden, Alterthümern und Kunstwerken (3d ed., Leip. 1875); sir W. Gell's well-known Pompeiana (4 vols. 1824-30); and Pompeii: its History, Buildings, and Antiquities, by T. H. Dyer (1875). For a popular account of the state of Pompeii some years ago, we may refer to Something of Italy, by W. Chambers. See also the volume issued, 1879, by the directorate of the Museum of Naples.

POMPELMOOSE, or POMELO, Citrus pompelmoos, a fruit nearly resembling the shaddock (q.v.), of which, perhaps, it ought to be esteemed a variety, although it is now distinguished by some botanists as a separate species. It is large and pale yellow. It has long been cultivated in the East Indies, and has recently been introduced into many warm countries. It has become an article of importation into Britain, and is frequently to be seen in fruit-shops. In pleasantness of taste it resembles the best oranges. It is often preserved with wine and sugar, when it is very agreeable and refreshing in a hot climate. The rind is often candied.

POMPEY THE GREAT. Cneius Pompeius Magnus, son of Cneius Pompeius Strabo, was born in 106 B.C. At the early age of 17 he began to learn the military art under his . father by service in the field against the Italians in the Social war. Though so young, he gave proof of extraordinary valor and of remarkable energy of character. On the death of his father in 87 B.C., when he was only 19 years of age, he was left without a protector, and during the temporary triumph of the Marian party, he was for some time in considerable danger. When Sulla, to whose side he was attached, returned from Greece to Italy to oppose Marius, Pompey hastened into Picenum, where he had con