[Illustration: Letter T.]

The earliest and one of the most fatal eruptions of Mount Vesuvius that
is mentioned in history took place in the year 79, during the reign of
the Emperor Titus. All Campagna was filled with consternation, and the
country was overwhelmed with devastation in every direction; towns,
villages, palaces, and their inhabitants were consumed by molten lava,
and hidden from the sight by showers of volcanic stones, cinders, and
ashes.

Pompeii had suffered severely from an earthquake sixteen years before,
but had been rebuilt and adorned with many a stately building,
particularly a magnificent theatre, where thousands were assembled to
see the gladiators when this tremendous visitation burst upon the
devoted city, and buried it to a considerable depth with the fiery
materials thrown from the crater. "Day was turned to night," says a
classic author, "and night into darkness; an inexpressible quantity of
dust and ashes was poured out, deluging land, sea, and air, and burying
two entire cities, Pompeii and Herculaneum, whilst the people were
sitting in the theatre."

[Illustration: POMPEII--APARTMENT IN "THE HOUSE OF THE HUNTER"]

Many parts of Pompeii have, at various times, been excavated, so as to
allow visitors to examine the houses and streets; and in February, 1846,
the house of the Hunter was finally cleared, as it appears in the
Engraving. This is an interesting dwelling, and was very likely the
residence of a man of wealth, fond of the chase. A painting on the right