Page:Life in the Old World - Vol. II.djvu/407

Rh merits are related in the inscriptions on the pedestal of the statue of Balbo. His head is of the genuine Roman character, and that of a noble kind. There is in the Egyptian Museum a remarkable mummy of a young girl, which is called Pharaoh's daughter. The hair still remains upon the well-formed head, and the hands, especially the fingers, are remarkable for their great delicacy and beauty of form, but their color is black, as is that of the rest of the body, and its beauty of three thousand years is frightful to behold.

I have, from the statues, retained these for the museum of my own mind:

1st. A noble Esculapius, who holds in his hand the capsule of the poppy, a beautiful emblem of the healing virtues of rest and sleep, and of the power of mild means of cure. This Esculapius is decidedly a Homœopath.

2d. A lovely little statue of Jupiter Serapis, found in his temple on the coast of Pozzuoli. The supreme god is here represented as the judge of the underworld, as Pluto, and has a severe but noble, respect-inspiring character, far superior to that of the common Jupiter-head with the low forehead, and the upturned hair, which does not allow it to seem higher.

3d. A Hercules Farnese, with the Hesperidean apples in his hand. The mighty conflict has been gained, the last of his victories, the wonderful fruit which gives immortality on earth is in his power, but his expression is nevertheless one of weariness and dissatisfaction. He holds the famous apples carelessly in