kitchen, which is copied from the House of Sallust, excepting that the
stove in this has only one arch instead of two. The painting of an
altar, with eggs between two serpents, is of frequent occurrence.
Serpents were cherished in ancient dwellings as creatures of good omen,
and became domesticated, as quadrupeds are with us. A similar painting
of serpents engraved in Pittore Ercolano, vol. iv., p. 65.