224 ROMAN VILLAS DISCOVERED IN DORSET. 



would not be astonished were an ancient Roman to confront 

 you ! You expect to meet one at every corner you turn. The 

 place is alive with memories. There you may see the life of 

 Rome depicted ; the shops, the theatres, the temples, the 

 private houses both of the wealthy and of the poor ; all has 

 been preserved to us in the present day, having been buried 

 in the ashes of Vesuvius for the last eighteen centuries. Now, 

 as Pompeii was utterly destroyed by an earthquake in the 

 year 63 a.d., and was at once rebuilt, and then, only 16 years 

 later, was buried out of sight in the volcanic eruption of 

 Vesuvius in August, 79 a.d., we have here an exact record of 

 the civilisation to which Rome had attained at the time, or 

 very shortly after, the Roman invasion of Britain. 



The decoration of their houses exhibited the most refined 

 taste. The walls were covered with frescoes or mosaics. 

 What can we imagine more beautiful in the way of decoration 

 than the frescoes on the walls of the house of the Vettii, the 

 colours of which are as fresh to-day as when they were first 

 painted ? The floors were inlaid with coloured mosaics, 

 worked out in the most choice and elaborate patterns. A 

 most beautiful example of Roman mosaic of about this period, 

 or a little earlier, is to be seen in the museum "Alaoui," in 

 the suburbs of Tunis. It has been removed there from 

 Sousse, and it represents the " Triumph of Neptune." It is 

 a noble piece of work, of splendid design, covering an 

 immense area. But that which is considered by some to 

 be the finest Roman specimen extant is one representing the 

 " Battle of Issus." It was found at Pompeii in the " House 

 of the Faun," being the floor of a sitting-room in the peristyle, 

 an apartment probably used by the ladies of the family. In 

 it Darius is seen flying before Alexander, who pursues him 

 mounted on Bucephalus. 



The relics found in Pompeii are both numerous and varied 

 in character. There are articles of ladies' toilet, includmg the 

 safety-pm which is still in use, combs for the hair, hair-pms, 

 studs, &c. Articles in glass, such as wine glasses, tumblers, 

 chemists' jars, also a beautiful specimen of glass, cut like a 



