Page:Life in the Old World - Vol. II.djvu/397

Rh life is exhibited. Many inscriptions, however, prove that life here was not of the moral character and many ruins of the temples prove also the deceptions practiced there by the priests in the name of the gods, as, for instance, in the temple of Isis. We were shown the places where skeletons had been found; a priest at his repast; the wife of Diomedes with her female servants, himself in his garden with a purse in his hand. There were not many; the deluge of ashes which fell slowly over the city gave its inhabitants the opportunity for flight. Some, however, appear to have been suffocated by the hot vapors of the eruption, as was the case with Pliny the elder. Many human bodies may still be found in the considerable portion of the city which has not yet been excavated. This visit to Pompeii interested me so much that I resolved to pay a second visit some day, when I was less weary and had more time than at present. We were now hurried in our return to Naples and the cause of our being so I will relate in the next station.