(193) Henry fourth Earl of Carlisle, grandfather of the present Earl.  In 1742, he married Isabella, the daughter of William fourth Lord Byron, and died in 1758.-E.

(194) Cardinal Ottoboni, Dean of the Sacred College, who died in 1740:  he had been made a cardinal in 1689.-E.

153 Letter 23 To Richard West, Esq.  Naples, June 14, 1740, N. S.

Dear West, One hates writing descriptions that are to be found in every book of travels; but we have seen something to-day that I am sure you never read of, and perhaps never heard of.  Have you ever heard of a subterraneous town? a whole Roman town, with all its edifices, remaining under ground?  Don’t fancy the inhabitants buried it there to save it from the Goths:  they were buried with it themselves; which is a caution we are not told that they ever took.  You remember in Titus’s time there were several cities destroyed by an eruption of Vesuvius, attended with an earthquake.  Well, this was one of them, not very considerable, and then called Herculaneum. (195) Above it has since been built Portici, about three miles from Naples, where the King has a villa.  This under-ground city is perhaps one of the noblest curiosities that ever has been discovered.  It was found out by chance, about a year and half ago.  They began digging, they found statues; they dug, further, they found more.  Since that they have made a very considerable progress, and find continually.  You may walk the compass of a mile; but by the misfortune of the modern town being overhead, they are obliged to proceed with great caution, lest they destroy both one and t’other.  By this occasion the path is very narrow, just wide enough and high enough for one man to walk upright.  They have hollowed, as they found it easiest to work, and have carried their streets not exactly where were the ancient ones, but sometimes before houses, sometimes through them.  You would imagine that all the fabrics were crushed together; on the contrary., except some columns, they have found all the edifices standing upright in their proper ’ situation.  There is one inside of a temple quite perfect, with the middle arch, two columns, and two pilasters.  It is built of brick plastered over, and painted with architecture almost all the insides of the houses are in the same manner; and, what is very particular the general ground of all the painting is red.  Besides this temple, they make out very plainly an amphitheatre:  the stairs, of white marble and the seats are very perfect; the inside was painted in the same colour with the private houses, and great part cased with white marble.  They have found among other things some fine statues, some human bones, some rice, medals, and a few paintings extremely fine.  These latter are preferred to all the ancient paintings that have ever been discovered.  We have not seen them yet, as they are kept in the King’s apartment, whither all these curiosities are transplanted; and ’tis difficult to see them-but we shall.  I forgot to tell you, that in several places the beams of the houses remain, but burnt to charcoal; so little damaged that they retain visibly the grain of the wood, but upon touching crumble to ashes.  What is remarkable, there are no other marks or appearance of fire, but what are visible on these beams.