664 
refluced to a black and friable ‘coal. 
The colour of the volumes is extremely 
different one from the other, in shades 
ofa tawny, a deep or dark brown; and 
black, to that of the darkest charcoal. 
Of the latter are those of Pinlodemus, 
already unrolled; and all the Greek ma- 
nuscripts, indeed, are of a blacker shade 
than the Latin, whichoare of the first. 
The inference from this respective state 
of colour in the different manuscripts, 
reust naturally be, that they were found 
in two different rooms; one of these 
rooms must have been less aflected than 
the other, Ly the heat of the volcanic 
matter. But the less any manuscript 
has been affected by that heat, the more 
dificulty has been always encountered 
in qpening it, for the reason which I have 
assigned in my first letter. _ It is remark- 
able, that all the Latin manuscripts, 
which L have attempted to unrol, have 
heen of a tawny or brown colour; and, 
therefore, one of them (which is the frag- 
ment of a Latin poem before-mentioned) 
was opened with great difficulty. Ano- 
ther produced only unconnected scraps 
of broken pages or columns, in a state 
the more to be lamented, as, from some 
common words, as well as Roman pro- 
per names, it might be concluded to be 
something historical. Of others, it was 
found totally impracticable to separate 
the substance, even in the smallest por- 
tions. All these, consequently, must 
have been lodged in ‘one of the two rooms, 
different from that in which those. of 
of Philodemus and the Greek writers 
were kept. 
The only mode of selecting a manu- 
script from the Royal Museum for deve- 
Jopement, was very simple, but not al- 
ways effectual; yet, at the same time, 
whenever the small brash, which they 
- wetted and applied, in tlits case, ‘to the 
PI > 
eutside surface of a manuscript, caused 
the exterior fuld to raise itself singly in a 
detached state from the next under it, 
that inanuseript, most completely justi+ 
fied the experiment, however simple, by 
‘a more entire separation of each fold in 
the volume, especially from the middle 
part, even to the end, and by a more 
entire preservation of letters, both in 
form and in colour. 
So mauy persons of erudition, and good 
sense, Russians,  Germaus, Swedes, 
Greeks, Spaniards, French, Italians, and 
even English, said so much of chymical 
experiments, as likely to contribute ‘to 
the greatcr and more productive facility 
ef unfolding the most conglutinated 
Hayter’s Report upon the Flerculaneuin Manuscripts. 
masses of these manuseripts,thatT yielded, 
contrary to my Own sentiments, to their © 
representations.’ Thes€ sentiments were » 
founded upon hourly observation of the’. 
variously affected’ sabstance” of several *. 
manuscripts. “That observition was di+¢ 
rected to the nature of their stibstance, © 
and to the nattre of ‘thosé materials, - 
which had brought them to their present « 
state; but, as it was my duty not even [4 ° 
appear to neglect’ any means by which, * 
it was so generally supposed, the unders 
taking might be forwarded, “I thought, 
~ non tam P 
Turpe fuit vinci, quam contendisse decorum, 
A LATIN POEM. wig te 
Monday, November 29th, 1805+ 
“The “ Papirc,”"* No. 817, which 
had been consigned to Don Camilla Pa- 
derni, was finished. There wasno name; 
or title, at the end. Tt was the fragment’ 
of a Latin poem. **Many entire verses’ in * 
series were found: The poem appears 
to be historical. Itspeaks of Alexandria, 
JEgypt, Cesar, the Battle of Actium, a” 
siege, the queen, &c. ere methine 9 
“The ‘same day, another “ Papiro,” 
No. 831, was chosen, and consigned tq 
the same Don Camillo Paderni.”~ 
MODE QF COLLATING. 
If I might be permitted, I would here 
exemplify to your Royal Highness this 
most troublesome part of my employ- 
ment. ; 
The first piece of the eleventh book of J 
Epicurus, which, to repeated view an 
minute observation, exhibited the ap- 
pearance of a tolerably entire and indi- 
vidual column, was copied, as such. “As 
in every other instance, where aity part 
ofa manuscript had been copied, so in 
this, I first collated the copy with fhe 
dark original, letter for letter. Then T 
began, with al] possible attention, mixed, 
however, with extreme distrust, both of 
myself, and af the thing itself, to attempt 
the interpretation. In the different co- 
Jumns of every manuscript, the most 
perfectly unrolled, there have been al- 
BO SESE ME IN Se, 
* The copper-plate fac-simile copy of 
this “ Papiro” isnow at Oxford. What an 
immense price, indeed, the Pere Montfaus 
con, whose grand aim in his Itinerant re- 
searches, was to find in some book a spe- 
cimen of ancient Latin orthography, would 
have set upon this fragment! In fact, the 
Chevalier Seratti, then Secretary of State 
for “ Case Reali,” when I communicated 
to him the discovery of this Latin frag- 
ment, exclaimed, with much rapture, that 
this discovery was worth all my pains, and 
all the expence of our government, ; 
ways 
