THE GREEKS AND ROMANS. 27

purpose of assisting, but from some supposed impedi-ments which obstructed his research, gave up theexperiment, after a little success had attended hisendeavours. It is to the shape of these rolls, and thecoverings they may have had, we have to refer: inshape, the engraving at page 19 gives a correct re-presentation, and of the state in which they werefound, two letters received in this country, about themiddle of the last century, present a full account.One, from Camillo Paderni, keeper of the museum atPortici , among other things, describes a room, tbefloor of which was formed of mosaic work. He says,“ it appears to have been a library, adorned withpresses, inlaid with different sorts of wood, disposedin rows, at the top of which were cornices.” Hewas buried in that spot more than ten days; he tookaway three hundred and twenty-seven manuscripts,all in Greek characters; there was also a bundle,consisting of eighteen volumes, wrapped round withbark of tree; they were Latin . The second, fromanother person, describes a chamber of a house inHerculaneum , where was found a great quantity ofrolls, about half a palm long, and round; they ap-peared like roots of wood, all black, and seeming tobe only of one piece ; one of them falling on the-ground, it broke in the middle, and many letters wereobserved, by which it was first known that the rollswere of papyrus. There were about one hundredand fifty rolls in wooden cases, much burnt. Thiswriter mentions the unrolling of a tract on music, byd 2