The streets of Herculaneum are all paved with lava, just as the streets of Naples are paved to-day. One street is more than thirty feet wide, and furnished with raised sidewalks. The houses were mostly of brick, and in general appearance and structure like those of Pompeii, which we described before. Magnificent pieces of art were taken out of them, but it is to be deplored that the paintings, as a rule, fade as soon as they are exposed to the light of day. Many statues and busts and pieces of furniture claim our highest admiration; they are admirably executed, and evince a highly-cultivated taste. Various musical and surgical instruments, and boxes, and many utensils belonging to the kitchen and toilet, call our attention, especially those of the kitchen, the utensils being very variegated, and mostly manufactured of copper lined with silver. Many imitations of precious stones have been found; they naturally excite the curiosity of the chemist, who is eager to know how the old Romans produced them. Most of these articles are now exhibited in the Museum of Naples, where the paintings are kept under glass, which precaution prevents the fading of the brilliant colors as much as possible. Herculaneum possessed a theater, which claims our greatest attention, as it is the most important building discovered. It was able to contain eight thousand persons. Its walls are highly decorated, and its floors and pillars were constructed of different colored marble. [Sidenote: SIGNOR FIORELLI.] Signor Fiorelli, the Italian engineer who supervises the excavations at Herculaneum and Pompeii, claims that Pompeii did not contain more than 12,000 inhabitants at the time of the eruption, although it has generally been supposed that the population was from 20,000 to 50,000. [Illustration: THE GATE OF HERCULANEUM AND STREET OF TOMBS.] Eight gates have been discovered, and the roads outside of them are lined on each side with tombs of considerable size and architectural pretension. The street of tombs, before the gate of Herculaneum, was probably the principal burial place of the city; and the sepulchral monuments adorning it, give evidence of the refined taste and great wealth of the prominent inhabitants. The streets, which, for the most part, run in regular lines, are, with some exceptions, barely wide enough to admit a single vehicle. Five of the main streets have been partially or wholly traced, and with these a regular system of minor streets appear to have been connected. The thoroughfares, with a single exception, terminate in or traverse the western quarter of the city, which is the only part yet completely explored.