English: Drawing of a Naiad from an ancient Roman mural in Pompeii by Henri Roux, 1870. Translated related text: The Fable had populated the sky, the woods and the plains, the tumultuous waves of the sea, the rapid waters of the rivers and the crystal springing from the fountains. In the depths of each spring dwelt the Naiad who had given it its name (1); and sometimes she was seen leaving her sanctuary, attracted either by the complaints of Sappho (2) or by the beauty of Hylas (3).

Here, the Naiad is in the heart of a green countryside, half lying on rocks, whose celestial blue drapery spares her contact, and leaning on one side on her urn, while her left arm folds over her head. This last characteristic of the attitude is found in the Apollo of Florence: it is picturesque, and gives something original to the repose of our nymph.

In the fragments of the vignette we see, on the stems of a flower, a bird of prey, a himantopod, another smaller bird, a grasshopper, and a cochlea. The ancients considered the cochlea as a very delicate dish.(4)