s the name of an ancient city of Campania in Italy, which was destroyed by an eruption of Vesuvius in the first year of the emperor Titus, or the 79th of the Christian era, and lately rendered famous on account of the curious monuments of antiquity discovered in its ruins; an account of which has been published by order of the king of Naples, in a work of fix volumes folio.—The epocha of the foundation of Herculaneum is unknown. Dionysius Halicarnassensis conjectures that it may be referred to 60 years before the war of Troy, or about 1342 years before Christ; and therefore that it lasted about 1400 years.

The thicknels of the heap of lava and ashes by which the city was overwhelmed, has been much increased by fiery streams vomited since that catastrophe; and now forms a mass 24 feet deep, of dark gray stone, which is easily broken to pieces. By its non-adhesion to foreign bodies, marbles and bronzes are preserved in it as in a case made to fit them; and exact moulds of the faces and limbs of statues are frequently found in this substance. The precise situation of this subterraneous city was not known till the year 1713, when, it was accidentally discovered by some labourers, who, in digging a well, struck upon a statue on the benches of the theatre. Many others were afterwards dug out and sent to France by the prince of Elbeuf. But little progress was made in the excavations till Charles infant of Spain ascended the Neapolitan throne; by whose unwearied efforts and liberality a very considerable part of Herculaneum has been explored, and such treasures of antiquity drawn out as form the most curious museum in the world. It being too arduous a task to attempt removing the covering, the king contented himself with cutting galleries to the principal buildings, and causing the extent of one or two of them to be cleared. Of these the theatre is the most considerable. On a balustrade which divided the orchestra from the stage was found a row of statues; and, on each side of the pulpitum, the equestrian figure of a person of the Nonia family. They are now placed under porticoes of the palace; and from the great rarity of equestrian statues in marble would be very valuable objects, were their workmanship even less excellent than it is: one of them in particular is a very fine piece of sculpture. Since the king of Spain left Naples, the digging has been continued, but with less spirit and expenditure: indeed the collection of curiosities brought out of Herculaneum and Pompeii is already so considerable, that a relaxation of zeal and activity becomes excusable. They are now arranged in a wing of the palace; and consist not only of statues, busts, altars, inscriptions, and other ornamental appendages of opulence and luxury; but also comprehend an entire assortment of the domestic, musical, and chirurgical instruments used by the ancients; tripods of elegant form and exquisite execution, lamps in endless variety, vases and basins of noble dimensions, chandeliers of the most beautiful shapes, paters and other appurtenances of sacrifice, looking-glasses of polished metal, coloured glass, so hard, clear, and well stained, as to appear emeralds, sapphires, and other precious stones; a kitchen completely fitted up with copper-pans lined with silver, kettles, cisterns for heating water, and every utensil necessary for culinary purposes; specimens of various sorts of combustibles, retaining their form though burnt to a cinder; corn, bread, fish, oil, wine, and flour; a lady's toilet, fully furnished with combs, thimbles, rings, paint, ear-rings, &c. Among the statues, which are numerous, connoisseurs allow the greatest share of merit to a Mercury and a sleeping faun: the busts fill several rooms; but very few of the originals whom they were meant to imitate are known. The floors are paved with ancient mosaics. Few rare medals have been found in these ruins; the most curious is a gold medallion of Augustus struck in Sicily in the 15th year of his reign. The fresco paintings, which, for the sake of preservation, have been torn off the walls and framed and glazed, are to be seen in another part of the palace. "The elegance of the attitudes, and the infinite variety of the subjects (Mr Swinburne observes), stamp them as performances worthy of the attention of artists and antiquarians; but no pictures yet found are matterly enough to prove that the Greeks carried the art of painting to as great a height of perfection as they did that of statuary. Yet can we suppose those authors incapable of appreciating the merits of an Apelles or a Zeuxis, who with so much critical discernment have pointed out the beauties of the works of a Phidias or a Praxiteles, beauties that we have still an opportunity of contemplating? would they have bestowed equal praises upon both kinds of performances, if either of them had been much inferior to the other? I think it is not probable; and we must presume, that the capital productions of the ancient painters, being of more perishable materials than busts and statues, have been destroyed in the fatal disasters that have so often afflicted both Greece and Italy. Herculaneum and Pompeii were but towns of the second order, and not likely to possess the masterpieces of the great artists, which were usually destined to adorn the more celebrated temples, or the palaces of kings and emperors." A more valuable acquisition than bronzes and pictures was thought to be made, when a large parcel of manuscripts was found among the ruins. Hopes were entertained that many works of the classics, which time has deprived us of, were now going to be restored to light, and that a new mine of science was on the point of being opened. But the difficulty of unrolling the burnt parchment, of pasting the fragments on a flat surface, and of deciphering the obscure letters, have proved such obstacles, that very little progress has been made in the work. A priest invented the method of proceeding; but it would require the joint labours of many learned men to succeed in so nice and tedious an operation. Under the patronage of the prince of Wales, attempts have been made to unroll some of the manuscripts, but with no great success; and we do not understand that any important work has been recovered.