The new series of Sir WILLIAM GELL'S Pompeiana is now
com- pleted, by the appearance of the Twelfth Part. Its interest, as a work of research, is almost unique. The plates, showing fhe restorations Of the interior of their dwellings and the exterior of their public edifices, introduce us to an almost familiar acquaintance with the habits and customs of the people. The rudeness of their contriYanees for purposes of utility, and the elegance of their ornamental . decorations, afford a striking contrast. Were the excavations of Herculaneum continued actively, what additional light would be thrown on the manner of life among the ancients ! The inhabitants of that devoted city had no previous warning, but were suddenly over- whelmed by the burning deluge that engulphed the place. This erup- tion, it appears, was not composed of lava properly so called, but of minute particles of powdered ashes, almost in a state of fusion by rea- son of time heat, and afterwards consolidated by the floods of boiling -- water ejected from Vesuvius. The beams of the houses with which it came into immediate ,contact were charred, but still retained their shape and position. Surely this super-stratum cannot be so solid as a bed of lava ; and the "houses might be dug down upon. The parts which form the site of Portia might' be excavated extensively, by means of the shafts now used, without endangering- the security of the town above." " The treasures of antiquity that would be thus attainable, would 'more than repay (even in money) the expense and labour of the undertaking. .
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