[ 49 1 ] 
time in it, his majefty fufpended the work : but 
being allured, that this vapour had ceafed to arife, 
he ordered one of his engineers, who had vifited the 
place, to make the necelfary trials to begin again. 
Immediately there were found two pilafters of white 
marble about ten feet high, fluted on every lide, with 
capitals and bales of the Corinthian order. On one 
fide of thefe pilafters they have found a feries of nine 
other pi'afters about feven feet high, equally wrought 
with the larger : there were likewife five other pi- 
lafters on the lide of the other great one, which in 
all will amount to lixteen; and are of one piece, 
exclufive of the capital and the bafe, except one, 
which is compofed of two pieces. They were all 
excellently preferved, and were Handing ; forming a 
portico before a building ; the nature of which I 
cannot undertake to explain, becaufe I do not care- 
to commence author from the relation of others, be- 
fore 1 have examined things with my own eyes. I 
can only write what I have feen. .When I was there, 
little was difcovered, and I have not iince had an 
opportunity of going thither on account of my bad 
ftate of health. By this one view I could perceive,., 
that this was a great fquare building. All the build- 
ings, which are in Pompeii, are of the fame confti- 
tution with thofe of Herculaneum and Stabite ; that 
is to fay, of one ftory. I did not fee the whole of 
the fuppofed front of this fabric, and fo cannot de- 
termine decilively about it, till the whole be cleared 
by digging. The portico is continued on the iides, 
but the pilafters are not of marble, but of brick co- 
vered with ftucco, and coloured with green, and are 
not fluted like thofe of marble. One then only of 
the fides is yet un difcovered, and we muft wait to 
fee 
