Inns near the gates had a paved entrance for wagons, interrupting the sidewalk. A good example is the inn of Hermes, in the first block on the right as one came into the city by the Stabian Gate (Fig. 232). On either side of the broad entrance (_a_), are winerooms (_b_, _d_). Behind the stairway at the right, which leads from the street to the second story, is a hearth with a water heater. On the wall at the left was formerly a painting with the two Lares and the Genius offering sacrifice; below was the figure of a man pouring wine from an amphora into an earthen hogshead (_dolium_), and beside it was written _Hermes_, apparently the name of the proprietor. The wagons stood in the large room at the rear (_f_), with which the narrow stable (_k_) is connected; in one corner is a watering trough of masonry. On the ground floor were only three sleeping rooms (_e_, _g_, and _h_), but there were upper rooms at the rear, reached by a flight of stairs in _f_; these were probably not connected with the upper rooms of the front part, which (over _a_, _b_, _c_, _d_, _e_), having a street entrance, may have been rented separately. [Illustration: Fig. 232.--Plan of the inn of Hermes.] The Pompeian inns were doubtless fair representatives of their class in the different Roman cities. Those of Rome must have been numerous, but are rarely mentioned, and innkeepers are generally referred to in terms of disrespect. The ordinary charges seem to have been low, and the accommodations were of a corresponding character. Owing to the universal custom of furnishing private entertainment to all with whom there existed any ground of hospitality, places of public entertainment tended to become the resorts of the vicious. [Illustration: Fig. 233.--Plan of a wineshop.] * * * * * The wineshop of which the plan is here given (Fig. 233) is on the east side of Mercury Street, at the northwest corner of Ins. VI. x. It was designed not only for the accommodation of guests who would go inside to partake of refreshments, but also for the sale of drinks over the counter to those who might stop a moment in passing. This is evident from the arrangement of the main room (_a_), which has a long counter in front, with a series of small marble shelves arranged like stairs on one end of it, for the display of cups and glasses; on the other is a place for heating a vessel over a fire. Large jars are set in the counter, in which liquids and eatables could be kept. In the corner of the room, at the right as one enters, a hearth is placed. In view of the provision for heating water, we are safe in calling this a _thermopolium_, a wineshop which made a specialty of furnishing hot drinks. The passage at the rear of the hearth (_c_) is connected with a small room (_d_) and also with the adjoining house, which may have been the residence of the proprietor, or may have been used for lodgings. [Illustration: Fig. 234.--Scene in a wineshop. Wall painting.]