. The life of the Greeks and Romans. ose have been found in the thresholds of housesat Pompeii. Like the threshold, the doorpost (posies) in goodhouses consisted of marble or of elegant woodwork. Knockers,fastened in the centre of the panel, may be seen in wall-paintings ;a few specimens of these have been preserved. The janitor orporter (whose office was held in every good house by a particularslave, and whose box, cella ostiarii, was near the door) ojDened thedoor by pushing back the bolt (pessuli) or bar (sera, whence theexpression reserare, to unbolt). Doors opening outward, parti-cularly
. The life of the Greeks and Romans. ose have been found in the thresholds of housesat Pompeii. Like the threshold, the doorpost (posies) in goodhouses consisted of marble or of elegant woodwork. Knockers,fastened in the centre of the panel, may be seen in wall-paintings ;a few specimens of these have been preserved. The janitor orporter (whose office was held in every good house by a particularslave, and whose box, cella ostiarii, was near the door) ojDened thedoor by pushing back the bolt (pessuli) or bar (sera, whence theexpression reserare, to unbolt). Doors opening outward, parti-cularly those of cupboards,&c, were not bolted, butclosed with lock and of our larger mu-seums possess specimens ofiron or bronze keys (). They are of allsizes, from the small ring-key (Fig. 464, a) attached to the finger-ring, or the smallskeleton-key (Fig. 464, c), to the large latch-key. Frequentlythey are of a peculiar shape (Fig. 464, b), and the locks towhich they were fitted must have been contrived with great H H. 466 FA MIL Y PICTURES. mechanical ingenuity. A few locks have been preserved; butmost of them, like, for instance, those found at Neuwied, are in analmost decayed condition. There were no separate doors to the single rooms, which wereclosed only by curtains {vela), so as not to shut out the freshair from the generally small bedrooms and sitting-rooms. Polesand rings for these curtains have been found at Pompeii. We now enter the interior of the house, undeterred by therod (virga) or threatening fist, which the porter (pstiarius) waswont to oppose to unwelcome visitors. A SALVE on thethreshold bids us welcome. We first come to the atrium, thecentre of house and family, where stood the hearth with its Laresand Penates and the venerable marital couch (lectus geniaUs).Here, in ancient times, the matron, surrounded by her childrenand hand-maidens, used to sit and weave. These old customs,however, soon disappeared. It is true that even at a later periodthe a
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