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Show 1 On the Right Is a Remarkable Photograph of "The Man on the Branch-" Just Uncovered at Pompeii. Above Is Shown How 2,000 Years Ago During the Destruction- of Pompeii This Man Climbed a Tree to Es-" Es-" ' . cape the Torrents of Boiling Mud and Ashes Pouring Over and Through the City. The Branch Broke and the Alan Fell to Be Uncovered Centuries Later, His Death Agony Preserved and His Knees Still Clutching the Broken Piece of Wood. THIS newspaper has already described the recent discoveries at Pompeii, the most remarkable and interesting, per- HnVl haps, which have ever been made In that HflH wonderful buried city of the past. IH These discoveries were chiefly made in HH the Street of Abundance, a street which, H though previously known, had never been ex- HH tensively excavated. It has proved to be BHj the true Fifth avenuo of ancient Pompeii, a HH thoroughfare as splendid, as luxurious, as HM tuoiif y Aviumtlug, as ostentatious us New HH York's principal street of fashio. Ir.it !n- Hi finitely more sensual, cruel and brutal. HH We havo now received a series .of photo-graphs photo-graphs of the most interesting objects re- HH covered in the new excavations from a cor- H respondent at Naples, who holds a high po- HB sition in university circles. The Italian H Government jealously guards the right to HH photograph objects recovered at Pompeii, HhH and it was only by special permission of the HH government that the accompanying pictures H could he obtained. HH These photographs enable us with a little ffiM Imagination to reconstruct some of the most BhH stirring scenes that happened during the HH great tragedy of the destruction of Pompeii HRflfl by ashes and lava from Vesuvius in the year HH 79 A. D. HH One photograph, for instance, shows us the HH bodies of six persons lying just as- they were HH overwhelmed aud destroyed in the act of HflH flight. They are the bodies of Obellius Fir- HHI mus, one of the richest residents of the HB Street of Abundance, and his family. Here Kfl lies the head of the family and his wife, RlH both huddled together in a last pitiful em- HD brace. HfiH There lie two little girls, presumably HbHHM , daughters of the family, also cHnglng together to-gether in a death, embrace A little apart He the bodies of two men who are supposed to have been servants. These skeletons are lying in the entrance o! the atrium or hallway hall-way of the palace of Obellius Flrmus. They had evidently waited in the shelter of the house until the fall of ashes had become very heavy, and then had been overcome in attempting to flee. They are to be loft as they were found. Of equal Interest to this discovery is that of the man clinging to the limb of a tree, also Bhown in a photograph. This poor fellow fel-low must have found that the ground was becoming covered with hot ashes and mud to a great depth. Unable to run through, he sought tho only means of refuge he could see. He climbed up a tree. There he clung until the branch broke and he iell, clinging frantically in his death agony to his faithless refuge, to be smothered in tho viscid torrent below him. The mud hardened around his body, encasing itl To-day, twenty centries later, his death agony ag-ony is preserved in the form shown In the photograph. Another photograph throws light on the religious life of Pompeii. At the corner of a street leading from the Street of Abundance there was found a large and handsome fresco representing the twelve chief divinities of Olympus, and below it a smaller, very charming charm-ing fresco representing four priests sacrificing to the Lares, the domestic deities of the Pompeians. How little those pagan divinities helped the Pompeians in that dreadful time! In another photograph we see the remains of a "thermopolium," or drinking saloon, of ancient Pompeii. Here are all the wine jars and cups and other accompaniments of drinking. s The many interesting discoveries made In the drinking saloon include a complete apparatus ap-paratus for heating wine, water and every sort of drink. This may be seen quite clearly in tho photograph. The heating apparatus has a lid conveniently con-veniently secured by a chain so that it could not be lost or thrown by one drinker at another. an-other. Near tho opening is a small pipe through which the smoke from the fire escaped. es-caped. The report of tho tofflolal archaeologist states that water was found in the heating apparatus and that it must havo been enclosed en-closed there ever since the time Pompeii was destroyed, because none could have reached there from outside. This is rather difficult to believe. If wine should be discovered in any of the jugs it will bo more easy to believe be-lieve that tho water was left over from ancient times. The drinking saloon was full of objects of interest. Tho drinkers had evidently been overwhelmed by the eruption as they lay stupified by their libations. The bodies of men and women were found in the place. Some of them were lying on couches in recesses re-cesses which held walls exquisitely painted with curious designs. Portions of the richly embroidered togas of the men and peplums of the women wero still preserved. Tho fittings were superb. Many of the jars were made of bronze and glass, a material then novel and rare. The cups were of gold. The money receptacles were filled -with a rich harvest of golden aursi and silver sesterces. There was the vintner who had perished as he was pouring out wine nineteen centuries cen-turies ago. Before him stood a row of great wine jars. It is very significant that this luxurious drinking saloon stood In tho heart of the moat fashionable section of Pompeii's Fifth avenuo. ave-nuo. It Is only one of the many facts that speak eloquently of the moral degradation of this sensuous and luxury-loving people. Undoubtedly Un-doubtedly the fashionable matrons of Pompeii entered shamelessly into the gilded drinking palace situated within sight of their own homes and imbibed copious draughts of Fal-ernian, Fal-ernian, Samlan or whatever their favorite brand happened to be. This choice section of the' Street of Abundance' was shut off by closely placed tall stone pillars so that chariots and other wheeled vehicles could not pasB through it. It was a corse such a3 Naples possesses to-day. There was ample access to the palaces from the rear. Apparently, tho ancient Pompeians were proud of what wo should call depravity. Games with dice and other games of chanco are depicted thousands of times on the walls. Even young girls played theml We find inscriptions in-scriptions recording tho existence of powerful power-ful unions known as tho "The Circle of Late Drinkers," "The Society of the Indefatigable Inde-fatigable Worshippers of Venus" and "Tho Devotees of Games of Chance." The drinking cups wero often engraved with skeletons and fleshless heads for a reminder re-minder to revellers of both sexes reclining at the banquet table to make the most of the present moment. A huge drinking bowl was inscribed: "A3', this Ib life; and 'tis naught butpleasure. Throw aside all care! Tho life of man Is-so Is-so short! Bring vine at once, and dancers and crowns of flowers, and women! Let U3 enjoy to-day, for who can count on the morrow?" mor-row?" Pompeii's Street of Abundance would havo made New York's Fifth avenue seem like a Now England village street by comparison A Drinking Fountain at the Corner of "The Street of Abundance," FrescoB of tho 12 Divinities of Olympus, and a Priest Sacrificing towyt. i Is i il "woa,.veea.ro.d,lHe.E,ra0,Th.lrPslac.1Pompell. The P,mpoli, Bar Just Pod ' th. Slrt gf Abuce. A (of Hcalln8 WW |