Extended reading read the introduction to Edward buller lit NN and his novel the last days of pompei, then read the excerpt from the novel the last . days of pompei excerpt Edward ball litton eighteen no three to eighteen seventy three was a talented british writer who left his mark on the english language. His classic novel the last days of pomp, imagine life in the ancient roman city of pomp. In the year seventy nine, when mount vesuvius erupted, this terrible natural disaster destroyed pompei completely, but IT also kept the ancient city as IT was for future ages. Since seventeen eighty eight, pm. Pay has been systematically unearth today. IT is an international tourist . destination. Pump was a typical roman city in its little shops, its tiny palaces, it's forum, its wine bars, it's theater. In the energy and skill of its people, you saw a model of the whole roman empire trading ships, bringing imports to the city or Carrying exports overseas, along with golden pleasure boats for the rich, were crowded together in the glasses water of the port. The boats of the Fishermen moved rapidly in all directions, above all the cloud cap top of mount the SUV sap peared. It's as iraq's now dark, now light, told the story of past disruptions that might have warned the city what was to come. The awful light rolled slowly away, and the dawn greedy broke on the last day of pump pay. The crowd looked upwards and saw, with unspeakable fear, a huge cloud shooting from the top of the volcano. They took the form of a huge tree, the trunk blass, the branches fire. This fire moved in, changed in color with every moment. Now IT was wildly bright, now of a pale and dying red. And now again, IT burt with an unbearable light. The cries of women broke out. The men looked at each other, but we're silent at that moment. They felt the earth shaking beneath their feet beyond in the distance. They heard the crash of falling roofs. A moment later. The mountain clouds seem to roll towards them, dark and rapid, like a river. At the same time, IT throw out a shower of ashes in huge pieces of burning stone over the empty streets over the forum, far and wide, with mini and noisy crash in the stormy sea fell. That awful shower, each turn to fly, each running, pressing, pushing against the other. If in the darkness wife was separated from husband or parent from child, there was no hope of their meeting again. Each hurried blindly and fearfully on. So came the earthquake, and so ended life in palm pay. Nearly seventeen and centuries had rolled away before the city of palm pei was that from its silent resting place, its walls were fresh. Es, if painted yesterday, not a single color, changed on the rich pattern of its floors. In its forum, the head finished columns seen as if just left by the workman's hand long after fire and ash came for the people of palm pay, the remains of their beautiful city survived to remind us that human lives burn bright and short.