Page:The Last Days of Pompeii - Bulwer-Lytton - Volume 1.djvu/16

 andria; the associations of the Sarnus with the Nile, called forth the Egyptian Arbaces—the base Calenus—and the fervent Apæcides. The early struggles of Christianity with the Heathen superstition, suggested the creation of Olinthus; and the Burnt Fields of Campania, long celebrated for the spells of the Sorceress, naturally produced the Saga of Vesuvius. For the existence of the Blind Girl I am indebted to a casual conversation with a gentleman, well known amongst the English at Naples for his general knowledge of the many paths of life. Speaking of the utter darkness which accompanied the first recorded eruption of Vesuvius, and the additional obstacle it presented to the escape of the inhabitants, he observed, that the blind would be the most favoured in such a moment, and find the easiest deliverance. This remark originated the creation of Nydia.

The characters, therefore, are the natural offspring of the scene and time—the incidents of the tale are equally consonant, perhaps, to the then existent society: for it is not only the ordinary habits of life, the feasts and the forum, the baths and the amphitheatre, the common-place routine of the classic luxury, which we