titude of articles found during the
excavations were on exhibition. There we had examined hundreds of
objects of art, marble statues, bronze statues, mosaics, vases,
frescoes, and paintings; we had seen thousands of ornaments for personal
adornment, necklaces, cameos, bracelets, rings, chains, and toilet
accessories and had looked at numberless articles for household use,
such as stoves, lamps, dishes, and kitchen utensils. Even food was not
lacking in the exhibition, being represented by olives in a jar, oil in
bottles, charred walnuts, almonds, figs, wheat, and eggs. These things,
abandoned by the fugitives in their wild flight, helped us to imagine
the taste and manner of living of the Pompeians before the destruction
of their city.

"This is the Amphitheatre," said the guide, as we assembled around him
in the arena of a large structure. "Here fights between wild beasts,
gladiatorial combats, and other great spectacles took place. Underneath
the seats on one side are the dens where the lions and tigers were kept
in a starving condition to make them ferocious, and underneath on the
other side are the dungeons where prisoners were confined until forced
into the arena to meet the wild beasts. On the hill nearby are the
barracks where the gladiators lived and trained for combats." An
announcement of an oldtime entertainment remains inscribed on one of the
stone walls. It reads as follows:

Twenty pairs of gladiators, at the expense of Decimus, a priest,
and ten pairs of gladiators, at the expense of Lucretius, will
fight at Pompeii on the eleventh of April. There will be a complete
hunting scene, and the awnings will be spread.

Another inscription on the wall stated:

On the dedication of the baths, at the expense of Maius, there will
be a hunt, athletic sports, showering of perfumes, etc., at the
Amphitheatre.

"There was also a Tragic Theatre in Pompeii," continued the guide. "It
was reserved for dramatic performances. The stone tiers seated an
audience of five thousand. The Amphitheatre and the Tragic were open to
the sky, but both were provided with awnings that could be spread above
the seats to protect the people from the sun."

[Illustration: I. LATELY EXCAVATED ARE CAREFULLY PROTECTED.]

[Illustration: II. PUBLIC BATHS WITH ARCADES.]

Almost all of us had read Bulwer-Lytton's novel, "The Last Days of
Pompeii," and were familiar with his vivid description of the fearful