No. II. — Herculaneum, Pompeii, and Stabice. 131 



ter of the volcano, simply in the form of ashes, and inde- 

 pendent of eruptions of mud or lava. It may, however, have 

 accumulated to its present extent on different occasions, as, 

 for instance, we find that in the eruption of 1822 the ashes 

 lay three feet deep in Pompeii, whose ruined walls were 

 threatened by a second catastrophe; and the whole has since 

 . been cleared of the new deposit. 



The excavations of Stabiae, which afforded little of interest 

 except lachrymatory vases and papyrus rolls, have long since 

 been filled up, so that the curious traveller can gain no infor- 

 mation by visiting its site. I shall therefore quote a passage 

 from Swinburne's Travels, written about fifty years since, which 

 gives a perspicuous view of the true state of that small town, 

 of the nature of its interment, and throws light upon its origi- 

 nal condition, which we have seen has been a matter of some 

 debate. " March 26th, 1776. — Having received an invitation 

 to be present at the opening of some lately discovered rooms at 

 Stabia, I went thither with a party. On our way we visited 

 Herculaneum and Pompeii. We then traversed the rich plain 

 that lies between Vesuvius and the Sorrentine branch of the 

 Apennines, and came by a gentle ascent to the excavations. 

 Stabia was a long string of country houses rather than a town, 

 for it had been destroyed by Sylla, and before the reign of 

 Titus all its rebuilt edifices were . overturned by an earth- 

 quake. In the catastrophe of 79, the wind blowing furiously 

 from the north, brought the ashes of Vesuvius upon it. All 

 the country was covered with cinders and lapilli, or small 

 pumice-stones, many yards deep. Stabia, though six miles 

 from the mountain, was overwhelmed and lost, till it was 

 casually discovered about twenty-eight years ago. The earth- 

 quake had so damaged the buildings that none of them can 

 be preserved, and therefore, as soon as every thing curious is 

 taken out, the pits are filled up again. The ashes penetrated 

 into all parts, and consumed every thing that was combustible. 

 On our arrival the workmen began to break into the subterra- 

 W nean rooms, and, as the soil is all a crumbling cinder, very little 

 labour was requisite to clear them. When opened, the apart- 

 ments presented us with shattered walls, daubed rather than 

 painted with gaudy colours in compartments, and some birds 



