POMONA. 



PONDICHERRY. 



201 



bog-iron, salt, turf, and amber. The Pomeranian forests are very 

 extensive and productive. The chief manufactures are linen and 

 woollen stuffs, iron, and glass-wares, leather, beer, and spirits. Ship- 

 building is carried on in the coast towns. The principal branches of 

 industry however are agriculture and cattle breeding. The salmon 

 and sturgeon fisheries are productive. Smoked geese are largely 

 exported. The trade of thU province in corn is very important. 



The inhabitants are by descent partly Slavonians and partly 

 Germans. The Slavonian language is still spoken in the north-east of 

 the province. The nobles are numerous, chiefly consisting of German 

 families who have settled here since the 12th century. The vassalage 

 of the peasants was abolished by Frederick William III. 



Pomerania waa formerly a considerable part of the ancient kingdom 

 of the Wends, or Vandals. From the year 1062 it had its own dukes. 

 The Christian religion was introduced in the 12th century. The line 

 of the dukes became extinct on the death of Bolealaus XIII., in 1637. 

 On the death of the last Duke of Pomerania, the electoral House of 

 Brandenburg, conformably to a family compact, claimed the whole 

 country ; but Pomerania having been occupied by the Swedes during 

 the Thirty Years' War, Prussia waa obliged to be content, at the 

 peace of Westphalia, with Further Pomerania (to the east of the 

 Oder), leaving Sweden in possession of Hither Pomerania, with the 

 island of linden. After the death of Charles XII., by the treaty of 

 Stockholm in 17'20, the southern part of Pomerania and the islands of 

 Uiedom and Wollin were ceded to Frederick William I., king of Prus-ia. 

 Sweden ceded her part of Pomerania to Denmark as a compensation 

 for Norway. About a seventh part of Pomerania, forming the 

 western part of the country, was still held by the Swedes and was 

 called Swedish Pomerania. At the general settlement of the conti- 

 nental states in 1S14, and finally by a convention dated June 4, 1815, 

 Denmark gave Swedish Pomerania to Prussia in exchange for the 

 duchy of Lauenbnrg (which had been received from Hanover in 

 exchange for East Friealand) and a large sum of money. 



POMONA. [ORKNEY ISLANDS.] 



POMPADOUR. [CoRRiz*.] 



POMPEII, an ancient town of Campania, situated about 13 miles 

 S.E. from Naples, in a plain at the foot of Vesuvius, through which 

 runs the little river Sarno. The town appear* to have been once close 

 to the sea, and much resorted to as a bathing-place by the wealthy 

 citizens of Rome. It is now nearly 2 miles from the sea in conse- 

 quence of the physical changes which have taken place in the district. 

 It stood on an eminence formed by a bed of lava, which seems to have 

 been thrown up from the ground in this spot, and in several other 

 places round the foot of Vesuvius, long before any of the eruptions 

 recorded in history. Pompeii, as well as the neighbouring town of 

 Herculanium, is said by Strabo (p. 247) to have been originally pos- 

 snued by the Osci, and then by the Tyrseni and Pelasgi. It after- 

 wards fell nnder the power of the Greek colonies of Coma) and 

 Parthenope, and lastly of the Samnites (about B.C. 440), who made 

 themselves masters of this coast as far as the river Silarus. About 80 

 rears later the inhabitant* of Campania threw off the yok of the 

 Samnites, and placed themselves under the protection of Rome. In 

 the second Punic war the Campanians joined Hannibal, but were 

 severely punUhed for it by the Romans, who brought the country 

 under subjection. In the Social War (B.C. 90) the Campanian towns 

 revolted, and Pompeii, among them, joined the Marsian Confederacy. 

 A fearful earthquake threw down a great part of Pompeii, A.D. 63. 

 In the year A.D. 79, in the month of August, the first recorded 

 eruption of Vrsuvius took place, which is well known from the letter 

 of Pliny the Younger, whose uncle lost his life on the occasion. In 

 this eruption Pompeii was buried under showers of stones, cinders, 

 and ssbes, which in course of time became a bed of earth, and corn 

 was sown and the vine was planted above the buried town, whose 

 existence was forgotten until 1089, when the ruins protruding above 

 the ground were first noticed. In 1755 the excavations began. They 

 have been continued at intervals, and are still being carried on under 

 the superintendence of the Neapolitan government. About a fourth 

 part of the city along the western side of the walls has been excavated 

 tad cleared of the rubbish. This portion, which appears to have 

 been the finest part of the town, contains about eighty houses and 

 numerous small shops, two theatres, a basilica, nine temples, three 

 forums, the amphitheatre, the baths, the prison, and other public 

 buildings of less note. The city was anciently surrounded by walls, 

 of which the greater portion ha* been traced, including six gates and 

 twelve towers. The walls had a parapet on each side. The circuit 

 of the wall* is nearly 2 miles, and the area within measures about 

 161 acres. There were however suburbs, one of which, at the north- 

 western or Herculanium gate, is partly excavated, and is called the 

 street of tombs, from a number of handsome tombs which line the 

 road liartins; to the town. The suburban villa, called the villa of 

 Diomedea, is in this quarter. On entering the gate the visitor finds 

 himself in a Inns; tortuous street leading to the great forum. To the 

 bit of this street is the bouse called that of Sallust, which occupies a 

 square of about 40 yards ; and near it is the house of Pan**, which, 

 whh i(s court and garden, is about 100 yards long by 40 yards wide. 

 Nearer to the forum are the baths, hi very good preservation, which 

 appear to have been finished a short time before the destruction of 

 the town. Upon entering the forum the spectator finds himself in a 



large oblong area, about 120 yards long and 40 yards wide, surrounded 

 by columns, pedestals which once supported statues, the ruins of 

 temples, triumphal arches, and other public buildings. Around the 

 west, south, and east sides there runa a Grecian Doric colonnade, 

 some of the columns of which are standing; they are 2 feet 3 inches 

 in diameter, and 12 feet in height ; the interval between them is 6 feet 

 10 inches. At the north end of the forum stand the ruins of a build- 

 ing, which has been called the temple of Jupiter, 120 feet long aud 

 43 feet wide : when entire, it must have been 60 feet high. The 

 columns are of the Corinthian order, and 3 feet 8 inches in diameter. 

 On the west side of the forum is the temple of Venus, which stood 

 in an open area surrounded by a wall and portico. Beyond it, to the 

 south, is the basilica, or court of justice, the largest building in Pom- 

 peii, 220 feet long and 80 feet wide : the lateral walls remain, but the 

 roof and upper gallery have fallen in. On the eastern side of the forum, 

 towards its northern end, is the Pantheon, so called from 12 pedestals 

 placed in a circle round an altar in the centre of an extensive area. 



The other public buildings of Pompeii which have been excavated 

 are the two theatres, the larger of which is capable of containing about 

 5000 persons ; the temple of Hercules, which is the oldest building in 

 the town, and the amphitheatre. The latter, which is at the eastern 

 extremity of the town, separate from the other excavated parts, is 

 430 feet long and 335 feet broad, aud is estimated to have been 

 capable of accommodating 10,000 persons. 



A description of these buildings is given iu the work entitled 

 ' Pompeii," in the ' Library of Entertaining Knowledge,' and in the 

 elaborate works of Mazois, Sir William Gell, and Donaldson. The 

 numerous statues, medals, and other moveable antiquities found at 

 Pompeii have been deposited in the Royal Museum of Naples, and 

 are described in the work entitled ' Mmeo Borbonico,' published at 

 Naples. An interesting view of the character of the architecture 

 and antiquities of Pompeii is presented in the Pompeian Court in the 

 Crystal Palace, Sydenham, and the descriptions and plans given in the 

 ' Official Handbook ' by Mr. G. Scharf, illustrate the subject in a very 

 satisfactory manner. 



POMPTINE or PONTINE MARSHES is the name of a low marshy 

 plain in the Papal State, about 21 miles long from north-west to south- 

 east, and varying from 8 to 10 miles in breadth. The plain is bounded 

 E. by the Monti Lepini ; W. by a range of downs from 30 to 60 feet 

 high, which begin on the south at Mount Circeo, and thence run to 

 the northwards parallel to and at the distance of from two to three 

 miles from the coast, leaving a belt of land between them and the sea, 

 which is partly covered by forests and partly occupied by lagoons. 

 This belt has no water communication with the basin of the Poiuptiue 

 Marshes. From Mount Circeo eastward to Terracina another ridge of 

 downs of much smaller dimensions runs close to the sea-coast, and is 

 cut through by the canal called Portatore di Badino, which is the 

 great outlet of the waters of the Pomptiue Marshes. On the north 

 and north-west the Pomptiue Marshes border on the dry plains of 

 CUterna and Sermoneta. The greatest depression is towards the 

 south-east extremity, where an extent of about three or four square 

 miles is below the level of the sea. The rivers which flow into this 

 basin are the Tepia, Ninfa, Cavata, Ufeute, Amazeno, and Pedicata. 



There is every appearance that the basin of the Pomptine Marshes 

 was once a gulf of the sea, which hs been gradually filled up by 

 alluvium from the mountains. Within the historical period it was a 

 fertile district containing towns and a considerable population. It 

 was occupied by the Volsci, one of whose towns, Sueua-Pometia 

 (destroyed by Tarquinus Superbus), was situated in it, and is supposed 

 to have given its name to the whole region. Both under the Republic 

 and the Empire of Rome great works were undertaken fur the draining 

 of the Pomptine Marshes; and the Appian Road traversed part of them 

 to Terracina. Something was done towards draining them by the 

 popes, from Boniface VIII. to Pius VI., and by the French during their 

 occupation of the Roman States. Since that time all that has been 

 done for the Pomptine Marshes has been to maintain the drainage iu 

 the state in which Pius VI. left it, by keeping the canals clear and the 

 dykes in repair. The greater part of the plain is covered with rich 

 pastures, in which are numerous herds of buffaloes and other horned 

 cattle, and other parts of it are sown with rice, wheat, and Indinn corn, 

 and afford rich crops. In the spring, before the great heat renders the 

 atmosphere unwholesome, it has the appearance of a most delightful 

 region. But, except the post stations along the high road, and some 

 scattered huts here and there, there is no permanent population 

 throughout the whole of the plain. 



PONANY. [HIXDUSTAM.] 



PONCIN. [Am.] 



PONDICHERRY, a considerable town on the sea-coast of the 

 Carnatic, in Hindu-ton, the principal seat of the French power in 

 the Bait Indies, is situated in 11" 57' N. laL, 79 54' E. long., 85 miles 

 a by W. from Madras. 



The first commercial expedition of the French which succeeded in 

 reaching the East Indies by sea was composed of two vessels fitted out 

 from a port in Bretagne (A.D. 1601) ; but the vessels were wrecked on 

 the Maldive Islands before reaching their ultimate destination, and 

 their commander returned ten years afterwards to France. In 1616, 

 1619, and 1633, attempts were made to form settlements in Java and 

 Madagascar, but these attempts did not succeed. In 1664 Colbert 



