ITALY. 573 



well built, and much alike ; some of the rooms paved with Mosaic, 

 others with tine marbles, others again with bricks three feet long and 

 six inches thick It appears that the town was not tilled up so unexpect- 

 edly with the melted lava, as to prevent the greatest part of the in- 

 habitants Irom escaping with many of the richest effects : for when 

 the excavations were made, tnere was not more than a dozen skele- 

 tons lound, and but little gold, silver, or precious stones. 



Tne town of Pompeii was destroyed by the same erupiion of Mount 

 Vesuvius which occasioned the destruction of Herculaneum ; but it 

 was not discovered till near forty years after the discovery of Hercu- 

 laneum. One street, i.nda few detached buildings of this town, have 

 been cleared ; the street is well paved with the same kind of stone of 

 which the ancient roads are made, and narrow causeways are raised 

 a loot and a half on each side for conveniency of foot passengers. Dr. 

 Moore observes, that t e street itself is not so broad as the narrowest 

 part oi the Strand, and is supposed to have been inhabited by trades- 

 people. The traces of wheels of carriages are to be seen on the pave- 

 ment. The houses are small, but give an idea of neatness and conve- 

 niency The stucco on the Walls is smooth and beautiful, and as hard 

 as marble. Some of the rooms are ornamented with paintings, mostly 

 single figuiv.s, representing some animal. They are tolerably well ex- 

 ecuted, and a little w^.ter being thrown on them, the colours appear 

 surprisingly fresh. Most of the houses are built on the same plan, 

 and have one small room from the passage, which is conjectured to 

 have been the shop, with a window to the street, and a place which 

 seems to have been contrived for showing the goods to the greatest 

 advantage. In another part of the town is a rectangular building, with 

 a colonnade towards the court, something in the stile of the Royal Ex- 

 change at London, but smaller. At a considerable distance from this, 

 is a temple of the goddess Iscs, the pillars of which are of brick, 

 stuccoed like those of the guard-room; but there is nothing very- 

 magnificent in the appearance of this edifice. The best paintings hi- 

 therto found at Pompeii, are those of this temple ; they have been cut 

 out of the walls and removed to Portici. Few skeletons were found in 

 the streets of this town, but a considerable number in the houses. In 

 one apartment (says Mr. Sutherland) we saw the skeletons of 17 

 poor wretches who were confined by the ancles in an iron machine. 

 Many other bodies were found, some of them in circumstances which 

 plainly shewed that they were endeavouring to escape when the 

 eruption overtook them. 



States of italy, governments, cities, chief towns. ...Thus 

 far, of Italy in general; but as the Italian states are not, like the re- 

 public of Switzerland, or the empire of Germany, cemented by a po- 

 litical confederacy, to which every member is accountable (for every 

 Italian slate has a distinct form of government, trade, and interests) 

 it will be necessary to take a separate view of each, to assist the 

 reader in forming an idea of the whole. 



The first and principal state which presents itself in the northern 

 part of Italy is the new kingdom of Italy, founded in the year 1797 by 

 Bonaparte, under the name of the Cisalpine Republic. In the year 

 1799 it was for a time abolished, by the success of the Austrian and 

 Russian arms ; but restored again after the battle of Marengo, in 1800, 

 and acknowledged, on the part of Austria, by the treaty of Luneville. 

 It consists of the Austrian duchies of Milan and Mantua, the duchy 

 of Modena, the principalities of Massa and Carrara ; the Venetian 



