The last days of Pompeii, by the author of 'Pelham'.

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Page 247 - Yet, while my Hector still survives, I see My father, mother, brethren, all in thee : Alas ! my parents, brothers, kindred, all Once more will perish, if my Hector fall. Thy wife, thy infant, in thy danger share : Oh ! prove a husband's and a father's care! That quarter most the skilful Greeks annoy, Where yon wild fig-trees join the wall of Troy : Thou from this tower defend th...
Page 397 - ... fell without the protection which the streets and roofs afforded to the land. Wild, haggard, ghastly with supernatural fears, these groups encountered each other, but without the leisure to speak, to consult, to advise ; for the showers fell now frequently, though not...
Page 138 - The first signal of the wrath of the dread foe. WHEN lone entered the spacious hall of the Egyptian, the same awe which had crept over her brother impressed itself also upon her : there seemed to her as to him something ominous and warning in the still and mournful faces of those dread Theban monsters, whose majestic and passionless features the marble so well portrayed : " Their look, with the reach of past ages, was wise, And the soul of eternity thought in their eyes.
Page 396 - In some places, immense fragments of rock, hurled upon the house roofs, bore down along the streets masses of confused ruin, which yet more and more, with every hour, obstructed the way ; and, as the day advanced, the motion of the earth was more sensibly felt — the footing seemed to slide and creep — nor could chariot or litter be kept steady, even on the most level ground. Sometimes the huger stones striking against each other as they fell, broke into countless fragments, emitting sparks of...
Page 382 - ... to leap up the parapet that divided it from the audience, and, on failing, uttered rather a baffled howl than its deep-toned and kingly roar. It evinced no sign, either of wrath or hunger ; its tail drooped along the sand, instead of lashing its gaunt sides ; and its eye, though it wandered at times to Glaucus, rolled again listlessly from him. At length, as if tired of attempting to escape, it crept with a moan into its cage, and once more laid itself down to rest.
Page 401 - ... there seemed to spring a cragged and stupendous arch, from which, as from the jaws of hell, gushed the sources of the sudden Phlegethon. And through the stilled air was heard the rattling of the fragments of rock...
Page 404 - At length it occurred to Nydia, that, as it had been resolved to seek the seashore for escape, her most probable chance of rejoining her companions would be to persevere in that direction. Guiding her steps, then, by the staff which she always carried, she continued with incredible dexterity to avoid the masses of ruin that encumbered the path — to thread the streets — and unerringly (so blessed now was that accustomed darkness so afflicting in ordinary life I) to take the nearest direction to...
Page 401 - Its summit seemed riven in two ; or rather above its surface there seemed to rise two monster-shapes, each confronting each, as demons contending for a world. These were of one deep blood-red hue of fire, which lighted up the whole atmosphere far and wide ; but below, the nether part of the mountain was still dark and shrouded, — save in three places, adown which flowed, serpentine and irregular, rivers of the molten lava.
Page xi - It is necessary, for exciting interest of any kind, that the subject assumed should be, as it were, translated into the manners as well as the language of the age we live in.
Page 412 - ... in its gardens the sacrificial tripod, — in its halls the chest of treasure, — in its baths the strigil, — in its theatres the counter of admission, — in its saloons the furniture and the lamp, — in its triclinia the fragments of the last feast, — in its cubicula the perfumes and the rouge of faded beauty, — and everywhere the bones and skeletons of those who once moved the springs of that minute yet gorgeous machine of luxury and of life...

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