Among the Brigands Read online

  CHAPTER XX.

  _The Glories of Naples.--The Museum.--The Curiosities.--How theyunroll the charred Manuscripts exhumed from Herculaneum andPompeii.--On to Rome.--Capua.--The Tomb of Cicero.--Terracina.--ThePontine Marshes.--The Appii Forum._

  The party remained in Naples some time longer, and had much to see.There was the Royal Museum, filled with the treasures of antiqueart, filled also with what was to them far more interesting--thenumerous articles exhumed from Herculaneum and Pompeii. Here werejewels, ornaments, pictures, statues, carvings, kitchen utensils,weights, measures, toilet requisites, surgical instruments, arms,armor, tripods, braziers, and a thousand other articles, theaccompaniments of that busy life which had been so abruptly stopped.All these articles spoke of something connected with an extinctcivilization, and told, too, of human life, with all its hopes,fears, joys, and sorrows. Some spoke of disease and pain, othersof festivity and joy; these of peace, those of war; here were theemblems of religion, there the symbols of literature.

  Among all these, nothing was more interesting than the manuscriptscrolls which had been found in the libraries of the better houses.These looked like anything rather than manuscripts. They had allbeen burned to a cinder, and looked like sticks of charcoal. Buton the first discovery of these they had been carefully preserved,and efforts had been made to unroll them. These efforts at firstwere baffled; but at last, by patience, and also by skill, a methodwas found out by which the thing might be done. The manuscriptswere formed of Egyptian papyrus--a substance which, in its originalcondition, is about as fragile as our modern paper; the sheets wererolled around a stick, and were not over eight inches in width,and about sixteen feet in length. The stick, the ornaments, andthe cases had perished, but the papyrus remained. Its nature wasabout the same as the nature of a scroll of paper manuscript wouldbe after passing through the fire. Each thin filament, as it wasunrolled, would crumble into dust. Now, this crumbling was arrestedby putting over it a coating of tough, gelatinous substance, overwhich a sheet of muslin was placed, the gelatinous substance actingalso upon the charred sheet in such a way as to detach it from therest of the scroll. In this way it was unrolled slowly and carefully,two inches at a time, and on being unrolled a facsimile copy wasat once made. Of course there was no attempt to preserve themanuscripts; they were, too perishable; and after a short exposure,just long enough to admit of a copy being made, they shrank up andcrumbled away.

  There were other places of attraction in this beautiful city--theVilla Reale, the chosen promenade of the Neapolitans, which stretchesalong the shore, filled with trees, and shrubbery, and windingpaths, and flower-beds, and vases, and statues, and sculptures,and ponds, and fountains, and pavilions. There was the Castle ofSt. Elmo, with its frowning walls; the Cathedral of San Francisco,with its lofty dome and sweeping colonnades; and very many otherchurches, together with palaces and monuments.

  But at last all this came to an end, and they left Naples far Rome.They had a carriage to themselves, which they had hired for thejourney, and the weather was delightful The road was smooth andpleasant, the country was one of the fairest on earth, and as theyrolled along they all gave themselves up to the joy of the occasion.They passed through a region every foot of which was classic ground.Along their way they encountered amphitheatres, aqueducts, tombs,and other monuments of the past, some in ruins, others still erectin stately though melancholy grandeur. Capua invited them totarry--not the ancient Capua, but the modern, which, though severalmiles distant from the historic city, has yet a history of its own,and its own charms. But among all these scenes and sights whichthey encountered, the one that impressed them most was Cicero'stomb. It is built on the spot where he was assassinated, of immensestones, joined without cement. In shape it is square, but theinterior is circular, and a single column rises to the vaultedroof. Of course whatever contents there may have been have longsince been scattered to the winds; no memorial of the great oratorand patriotic statesman is visible now; but the name of Cicerothrew a charm about the place, and it seemed as though they weredrawn nearer to the past. The boys expressed their feelings invarious ways, and David, who was most alive to the power of classicalassociations, delivered, verbatim, about one half of the firstoration of Cicero against Catiline. He would have delivered thewhole of it, and more also, beyond a doubt, had not Frank put asudden stop to his flow of eloquence by pressing his hand againstDavid's mouth, and threatening to gag him if he didn't "stop it."

  On the afternoon of the second day they arrived at Terracina. Thistown is situated on the sea-shore, with the blue Mediterranean infront, stretching far away to the horizon. Far out into the searuns the promontory of Circaeum,--familiar to the boys from theirstudies in Homer and Virgil,--while over the water the white sailsof swift-moving vessels passed to and fro. The waves broke on thestrand, fishing-boats were drawn up on the beach, and there werewonderful briskness and animation in the scene.

  Terracina, like all other towns in this country, has remains ofantiquity to show. Its Cathedral is built from the material of aheathen temple, probably that of Apollo, which was once a magnificentedifice, but is now in ruins. But it was the modern beauty of thetown, rather than this or any, other of its antiquities, that mostattracted the boys,--the sea-beach, where the waters of theMediterranean rippled and plashed over the pebbles; the groves andvineyards, that extended all around; the wooded hills; the orangetrees and the palm, the thorny cactus and the aloe; and above all,the deep, azure sky, and the clear, transparent atmosphere. To theintoxication of all this surrounding beauty they gave themselvesup, and wandered, and scrambled, and raced, and chased one anotherabout the slumberous town.

  They slept soundly that night, lolled to rest by the long roll ofthe Mediterranean waters, as they dashed upon the beach, and onthe following morning resumed their journey. The road now passedthrough the Pontine Marshes, and they all entered upon this partof their journey with strong feelings of curiosity.

  The district which goes by the name of the Pontine Marshes is oneof the most famous places in Europe. It is about forty-five mileslong, and varies in breadth from four to eleven miles. The originof these marshes is not known. In the early ages of the republicof Rome numerous cities are mentioned as existing here. But allthese gradually became depopulated; and now not a vestige remainsof any one of them. From a very remote period numerous efforts wereput forth to reclaim these lands. When the famous Appian Way wasconstructed through, them, they were partially drained. Afterwardsa canal was formed, which ran by the road-side; and of this canalHorace speaks in the well-known account of his journey to Brundusium.Julius Caesar intended, among other great works, to enter upon thetask of reclaiming them; but his death prevented it. Under varioussuccessive emperors, the attempt was made, and continued, until atlast, in the reign of Trajan, nearly all the district was recovered.Afterwards it fell to ruin, and the waters flowed in once more.Then they remained neglected for ages, down to modern times. Variouspopes attempted to restore them, but without success, until at lastPope Pius VI. achieved the accomplishment of the mighty task inthe year 1788, ever since which time the district has been undercultivation.

  The road was a magnificent one, having been built on the foundationsof the ancient Appian Way. It was lined on each side with trees,and was broad and well paved. It is considered one of the finestin Europe. Along this they rolled, the blue sky above them, on theright hand the mountains, on the left the sea. The air was dampand chill; but at first they did not feel it particularly, thoughUncle Moses complained of "rheumatics," and took precautionarymeasures against his insidious enemy by wrapping himself up warmly.As they went on they saw crowds of peasants coming to work in thefields. These peasants lived in the hill country on the right, andhad to walk a great distance to get to their place of labor,--forto live on the marshes was impossible. Men, women, and even childrenwere there; and their pale, sickly faces and haggard looks showedhow deadly were the effects of the noxious exhalations from thismarshy soil.

  At about midday they r
eached an inn, which stood about half wayover the marshes, by the road-side. David speculated much as towhether this place might or might not be the Forum Appii mentionedin the book of Acts as a stopping-place of St. Paul on his way toRome; but the others were too hungry to take any interest whateverin the question. They remained here nearly two hours, got somethingto eat, and then resumed their journey.