ird court was a garden, with a beautiful
portico formed of ornamental columns all around it. Beneath this portico
the ladies of the house, in rainy weather, could walk at their ease, and
see the flowers growing in the garden, just as well as if the weather
were fair.

Under this portico, all around, was a subterranean chamber, which seemed
to be used as a sort of cellar. And yet it was very neatly finished, and
the walls of it were ornamented in such a way as to lead people to
suppose that it might have been used as a cool walk in warm weather.
This passage way was first discovered by means of the steps leading down
to it. It was almost full of earth, which earth consisted of volcanic
sand and ashes, which had flowed into it in the form of mud.

On one side of this subterranean passage way, near the entrance, there
were a number of skeletons found. These skeletons were in a standing
position against the wall, where the persons had been stopped and buried
up by the mud as it flowed in. The marks left by the bodies against the
wall remain to this day, and Rollo and all the party saw them.

One of the skeletons was that of a female, and there were a great many
rings on the fingers of the hands, and bracelets, necklaces, and other
ornaments on the other bones. From this circumstance it is supposed
that this person was the wife of the owner of the house, and that in
trying to save herself and her jewelry upon her, she had fled with the
servants to this cellar, and there had been overwhelmed.

There were very few skeletons found in the houses of Pompeii; from which
circumstance it is supposed that the inhabitants generally had time to
escape. There was, however, one remarkable case. It was that of a
sentinel in his sentry box, at the gate of the city. He would not leave
his post, as it would seem, and so perished at the station where he had
been placed. His head, with the helmet still upon it, was carried to the
museum at Naples, where it is now seen by all the world, and every one
who sees it utters some expression of praise for the courage and
fidelity which the poor fellow displayed in fulfilling his trust.

The streets of the town were narrow, but they were paved substantially
with large and solid stones, flat at the top. Along these streets there
were a great many very curious shops, such as barbers' shops, painters'
shops, wine shops, and the like. The wine shops were furnished with deep
jars set in a sort of stone