Chapter M: P. Huber is the only modern author that appears to have been witness to (13)

Mr. Coxe divides the glaciers, in the above general survey, into two classes: the first occupy the deep valleys situated in the bosom of the Alps, and the second adhere to the sides and summits of the mountains. Those in the valleys are far more extensive than the upper glaciers; some are several leagues in length; and that of Des Bois is three miles broad and fifteen long: but they do not communicate with each other, and there are few parallel to the central chain; their upper extremities are connected with inaccessible precipices, and the lower proceed, as already mentioned, quite into the vales. The depth of these astonishing accumulations of frozen fluid vary from eighty to six hundred feet, and they generally rest on an inclined plane, where, urged forward by their own enormous weight, and but weakly supported by the pointed rocks inserted in their bases, they are universally intersected by yawning chasms, of dreadful aspect to the curious investigator, who beholds fanciful representations of walls, towers, and pyramids, on every side of him; but upon reaching those parts where the glacier rests upon an horizontal plane, his progress is seldom impeded by considerable fissures, and he walks in safety over a surface nearly uniform, and not so perfectly polished as that of ponds and rivers suddenly and violently frozen.

The absence of transparency, the various marks of air-bubbles, and the general roughness, so perfectly resemble the congelation of snow when half restored to fluidity, that M. de Saussure was immediately led to form the following probable theory of the formation of the glaciers. Snow is constantly accumulating in the recesses or depths of the mountains, during nine months of the year, by the usual fall of moisture, and the descent of vast masses, borne down by their weight, from the precipices and crags above. Part of this is necessarily reduced to water by slight thaws and casual rains, and, being frozen in this state, the glacier is composed of a porous opaque ice.

The upper glaciers Mr. Coxe subdivides into those which cover the summits, and those which extend along the sides of the Alps; the former originate from the snow frequently falling and congealing into a firm body, though not becoming actual ice, which the brilliancy of the projections has induced some philosophers to suppose it to be. M. de Saussure, having explored Mont Blanc, ascertained that the top was encrusted with ice, (which might be penetrated by a stick,) covering a mass of snow on the declivities, so chilled and dry as to be incapable of coherence.

The sides of the Alps support a congelation of half-dissolved snow, which is different from the pure snow of the summits, and the ice of the lower glaciers. Two causes operate to produce this effect; the first is the descent of water from the higher regions, where a dissolution of snow sometimes occurs; and the second arises from the more favourable situation of these parts for reflecting the rays of the sun, and the consequent melting of the snow. From hence downwards, the ice adhering to the cavities becomes gradually more solid by the freezing of the snow-water, then nearly divested of that air which in the less dissolved portions renders the ice, formed from it, porous, opaque, and full of bubbles.

An idea of the sublimity of the glaciers may be formed by reading the account of M. Bourrit, who appears to have viewed and described them with all that enthusiasm which such splendid objects must have inspired.--"To come at this collected mass of ice, (Des Bois,) we crossed the Arve, and travelling in a tolerable road, passed some villages or hamlets, whose inhabitants behaved with much politeness; they invited us to go in and rest ourselves, apologized for our reception, and offered us a taste of their honey. After amusing ourselves some time amongst them, we resumed our road, and entered a beautiful wood of lofty firs, inhabited by squirrels. The bottom is a fine sand, left there by the inundations of the Arveron; it is a very agreeable walk, and exhibits some extraordinary appearances. In proportion as we advanced into this wood, we observed the objects gradually to vanish from our sight; surprised at this circumstance, we were earnest to discover the cause, and our eyes sought in vain for satisfaction, till, having passed through it, the charm ceased. Judge of our astonishment, when we saw before us an enormous mass of ice, twenty times as large as the front of our cathedral of St. Peter, and so constructed, that we have only to change our situation to make it resemble whatever we please. It is a magnificent palace, cased over with the purest crystal; a majestic temple, ornamented with a portico; and columns of several shapes and colours; it has the appearance of a fortress, flanked with towers and bastions to the right and left; and at the bottom is a grotto, terminating in a dome of bold construction. This fairy dwelling, this enchanted residence, or cave of fancy, is the source of the Arveron, and of the gold which is found in the Arve. And if we add to all this rich variety, the ringing tinkling sound of water dropping from its sides, with the glittering refraction of the solar rays, whilst tints of the most lively green, blue, yellow, or violet, have the effect of different compartments in the several divisions of the grotto, the whole is so theatrically splendid, so completely picturesque, so great and beautiful beyond imagination, that I can hardly believe the art of man has ever yet produced, or ever will produce, a building so grand in its construction, or so varied in its ornaments. Desirous of surveying every side of this mass, we crossed the river about four hundred yards from its source, and, mounting upon the rocks and ice, approached the vault; but while we were attentively employed in viewing all its parts, astonished at the sportiveness of nature, we cast our eyes at one considerable member of the pile above us, which was most unaccountably supported, for it seemed to be held by almost nothing: our imprudence was too evident, and we hastened to retreat; yet scarcely had we stepped back thirty paces, before it broke off all at once with a prodigious noise, and tumbled, rolling to the very spot where we were standing just before."

SHOWER OF ICE.--A very uncommon kind of shower fell in the west of England, in December 1672, whereof we have various accounts in the Philos. Trans.--"This rain, as soon as it touched any thing above ground, as a bough or the like, immediately settled into ice; and, by multiplying and enlarging the icicles, broke every thing down by its weight. The rain that fell on the ground immediately became frozen, without sinking into the snow at all. It made an incredible destruction of trees, beyond any thing mentioned in history. Had it concluded with a gust of wind, (says a gentleman who was on the spot,) it might have been of terrible consequence. I weighed the sprig of an ash tree, of just three-quarters of a pound, the ice on which weighed sixteen pounds. Some were frightened with the noise in the air, till they discerned that it was the clatter of icy boughs, dashed against each other."

Dr. Beale remarks, that there was no considerable frost observed on the ground during the above: whence he concludes, that a frost may be very intense and dangerous on the tops of some hills and plains; while at other places it keeps at two, three, or four feet distance above the ground, rivers, lakes, &c. and may wander about very furiously in some places, and be mild in others not far off. The frost was followed by glowing heats, and a wonderful forwardness of flowers and fruits.

We close this division with an account of REMARKABLE FROSTS.--In the year 220, a frost in Britain lasted five months.--In 250, The Thames was frozen nine weeks.--291, Most rivers in Britain frozen six weeks.--359. Severe frost in Scotland for fourteen weeks.--508, The rivers in Britain frozen for two months.--558, Danube quite frozen over.--695, Thames frozen six weeks, and booths built on it.--759, Frost from Oct. 1 till Feb. 26 following.--827, Frost in England for nine weeks.--859, Carriages used on the Adriatic.--908, Most rivers in England frozen two months.--923, The Thames frozen thirteen weeks.--987, Frost lasted 130 days; begun Dec. 22.--998, Thames frozen five weeks.--1035, Severe frost on June 24: the corn and fruits destroyed.--1063, The Thames frozen fourteen weeks.--1076, Frost in England from Nov. till April.--1114, Several wooden bridges carried away by ice.--1205, Frost from Jan. 15 till March 22.--1407, Frost that lasted fifteen weeks.--1434, From Nov. 24 till Feb. 10, Thames frozen down to Gravesend.--1683, Frost for thirteen weeks.--1708-9, An extraordinary frost throughout the most parts of Europe, though scarcely felt in Scotland or Ireland.--1715, Severe frost for many weeks.--1739, One for nine weeks; begun Dec. 14.--1742, Severe frost for many weeks.--1747, Severe frost in Russia.--1754, Severe one in England.--1760, The same in Germany.--1776, The same in England.--1788, The Thames frozen below London bridge; and booths erected on it.--1795, The Zuyder Zee frozen over, and the rivers of Holland passed by the French.

CHAP. LII.

CURIOSITIES RESPECTING RUINS.

_Ruin at Siwa, in Egypt--Ruins of Palmyra--Ruins of Herculaneum, and
Pompeii--Ancient Ruins of Balbec--Ruins of Agrigentum, in
Sicily--Ancient Grandeur of Carthage._

The cloud-capt towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve.
_Shakspeare._

RUIN AT SIWA, IN EGYPT.--A great curiosity about Siwa, is a ruin, of undoubted antiquity, which, according to Mr. Browne, resembles exactly those of Upper Egypt, and was erected and adorned by the same intelligent race of men. The figures of Isis and Anubis are conspicuous among the sculptures; and the proportions are those of the Egyptian temples, though in miniature. What remains of it, is a single apartment, built of massy stones, of the same kind as those of which the pyramids consist. The length is thirty-two feet, the height eighteen, the width fifteen. A gate at one end forms the principal entrance; and two doors open opposite to each other. The other end is quite ruinous. In the interior are three rows of emblematical figures, representing a procession; and the space between them is filled with hieroglyphic characters. It has been supposed, with some degree of probability, that Siwa is the Siropum of Pliny, and that this building was coeval with the famous temple of Jupiter Ammon, and a dependency on it.

RUINS OF PALMYRA.--These celebrated ruins consist of temples, palaces, and porticos, of Grecian architecture; and lie scattered over an extent of several miles. They were accidentally discovered by some English travellers from Aleppo, above a century ago. The most remarkable of them is the temple of the sun, of which the ruins are spread over a square of 220 yards. It was encompassed with a stately wall, built of large square stones, and adorned with pilasters within and without, to the number of sixty-two on a side. Within the court are the remains of two rows of noble marble pillars, thirty-seven feet high, with their capitals, of most exquisite workmanship. Of these, only fifty-eight remain entire, but they appear to have gone round the whole court, and to have supported a double piazza. The walks opposite the castle appear to have been spacious. At each end of this line are two niches for statues, with their pedestals, borders, supporters, and canopies, carved with the utmost propriety and elegance. The space within this inclosure seems to have been an open court, in the middle of which stood the temple, encompassed with another row of pillars of a different order and much taller, being fifty feet high; but of these, sixteen only remain. The whole space contained within these pillars is fifty-nine yards in length, and near twenty-eight in breadth.

The temple is thirty-three yards long, and thirteen or fourteen broad. It points north and south; and exactly in the middle of the building on the west side, is a most magnificent entry, on the remains of which are some vines and clusters of grapes, carved in the most masterly imitation of nature that can be conceived. Just over the door are discerned a pair of wings, which extend its whole breadth; but the body, whether of an eagle or an angel, is destroyed. The north end of this temple is adorned with the most curious fret-work in bas-relief; and in the middle is a dome, or cupola, about ten feet diameter.

North of this place is an obelisk, consisting of seven large stones, besides its capital. It is about fifty feet high, and just above the pedestal is twelve feet in circumference. About a quarter of a mile from this pillar, to the east and west, are two others, besides the fragment of a third. About 100 paces from the middle obelisk, is a magnificent entry to a piazza, which is forty feet broad, and more than half a mile long, inclosed with two rows of marble pillars twenty-six feet high, and eight or nine in compass. Of these there still remain 129, but there must originally have been no less than 560. The upper end of the piazza was closed by a row of pillars.

To the left are the ruins of a stately banqueting-house, built of better marble, and finished with yet greater elegance, than the piazza. The pillars which supported it were of one entire stone. It measures twenty-two feet in length, and in compass eight feet nine inches.

In the west side of the piazza are several apertures for gates into the court of the palace. Each of these were adorned with four porphyry pillars, placed by couples in the front of the gate facing the palace, two on each side. Two of these only remain entire. They are thirty feet long, and nine in circumference. On the east side of the piazza stands a great number of marble pillars, some perfect, but the greater part mutilated.

At a little distance are the remains of a small temple, without a roof. Before the entry, which looks to the south, is a piazza supported by six pillars, two on each side of the door, and one at each end. The pedestals of those in front have been filled with inscriptions, both in the Greek and Palmyrene languages, which are become totally illegible.

Among these ruins are many sepulchres. They are all square towers, four or five stories high. There is a walk across the whole building; the space on each hand is subdivided into six partitions by thick walls. The space between the partitions is wide enough to receive the largest corpse; and in these niches there are six or seven piled one upon another. Many inscriptions have been found at Palmyra, which have occupied much of the attention of the learned.

RUINS OF HERCULANEUM AND POMPEII,--two ancient cities of Campania in Italy, which were destroyed by an eruption of Vesuvius, in the first year of the emperor Titus, or the 79th of the Christian æra, and lately rendered famous on account of the curious monuments of antiquity discovered in their ruins; an account of which has been published by order of the king of Naples, in a work of six volumes folio. The epocha of the foundation of Herculaneum is unknown. Dionysius of Halicarnassus conjectures that it maybe referred to sixty years before the war of Troy, or about 1342 B. C.; and therefore that it lasted about 1400 years. The thickness of the heaps of lava, by which the city was overwhelmed, has been much increased by fiery streams vomited since that catastrophe, and now forms a mass twenty-four feet deep, of dark grey stone, which is easily broken in pieces. By its non-adhesion to foreign bodies, marbles and bronzes are preserved in it as in a case made to fit them, and exact moulds of the faces and limbs of statues are frequently found in this substance.

The precise situation of this subterraneous city was not known till 1713, when it was accidentally discovered by some labourers, who, in digging a well, struck upon a statue on the benches of the theatre. Many others were afterwards dug out, and sent to France by the prince of Elboeuf. But little progress was made in the excavations, till Charles, infant of Spain, ascended the Neapolitan throne, by whose unwearied efforts and liberality a very considerable part of Herculaneum has been explored, and such treasures of antiquity drawn out, as form the most curious museum in the world.

It being too arduous a task to attempt removing the covering, the king contented himself with cutting galleries to the principal buildings, and causing the extent of one or two of them to be cleared. Of these, the theatre is the most considerable. On a balustrade which divided the orchestra from the stage, was found a row of statues; and, on each side of the pulpitum, the equestrian figure of a person of the Nonian family. They are now placed under porticos of the palace; and from the great rarity of equestrian statues in marble, would be very valuable objects, were the workmanship even less excellent than it is: one of them in particular is a very fine piece of sculpture. The collection of curiosities brought out of Herculaneum and Pompeii, consist not only of statues, busts, altars, inscriptions, and other ornamental appendages of opulence and luxury; but also comprehend an entire assortment of the domestic, musical, and chirurgical instruments used by the ancients; tripods of elegant form and exquisite execution, lamps in endless variety, vases and basons of noble dimensions, chandeliers of the most beautiful shapes, pateras and other appurtenances of sacrifice; looking-glasses of polished metal; coloured glass, so hard, clear, and well stained, as to appear like emeralds, sapphires, and other precious stones; a kitchen completely fitted up with copper pans lined with silver, cisterns for heating water, and every utensil necessary for culinary purposes; specimens of various sorts of combustibles, retaining their form, though burnt to a cinder; corn, bread, fish, oil, wine, and flour; a lady's toilet, fully furnished with combs, thimbles, rings, paint, ear-rings, and other articles.

Among the statues, which are numerous, a Mercury and a sleeping fawn are most admired by connoisseurs. The busts fill several rooms; but very few of the originals whom they were meant to imitate are known. The floors are paved with ancient mosaic. Few rare medals have been found in these ruins: the most curious is a gold medallion of Augustus, struck in Sicily, in the fifteenth year of his reign. The fresco paintings, which, for the sake of preservation, have been torn off the walls, and framed and glazed, are to be seen in another part of the palace.

The streets of the city of Pompeii are said to be daily disencumbered. Mr. Williams, a late traveller, informs us, that he entered by the Appian Way through a narrow street of small tombs, beautifully executed, with the names of the deceased, plain and legible. At the gate was a sentry-box, in which the skeleton of a soldier was found, with a lamp in his hand. The streets are lined with public buildings, the painted decorations of which are fresh and entire. There were several tradesmen's shops also discovered--such as, a baker's, an oilman's, an ironmonger's, a wine shop, with money in the till, and a surgeon's house, with chirurgical instruments; also a great theatre, a temple of justice, an amphitheatre 220 feet long, various temples, a barrack for soldiers, (the columns of which are scribbled with their names and jests,) and stocks for prisoners, in one of which a skeleton was likewise discovered. The principal streets are about sixteen feet wide; the subordinate ones from six to ten feet.

THE ANCIENT RUINS OF BALBEC.--To give a just idea of these ruins, we must suppose ourselves descending from the interior of the town. After having crossed the rubbish and huts with which it is filled, we arrive at a vacant place, which appears to have been a square; there, in front, towards the west, we perceive a grand ruin, which consists of two pavilions ornamented with pilasters, joined at their bottom angle by a wall one hundred and sixty feet in length. This front commands the open country from a terrace, on the edge of which we distinguish with difficulty the bases of twelve columns, which formerly extended from one pavilion to the other, and formed a portico. The principal gate is obstructed by heaps of stones; but, that obstacle surmounted, we enter an empty space, which is an hexagonal court of one hundred and eighty feet in diameter. This court is strewed with broken columns, mutilated capitals, and the remains of pilasters, entablatures, and cornices; around it is a row of ruined edifices, which display all the ornaments of the richest architecture.

At the end of this court, opposite the west, is an outlet, which formerly was a gate, through which we perceive a still more extensive range of ruins, whose magnificence strongly excites curiosity. To have a full prospect of these, we must ascend a slope, up which were the steps to this gate; and we then arrive at the entrance of a square court, much more spacious than the former, being three hundred and fifty feet wide, and three hundred and thirty-six in length. The eye is first attracted by the end of this court, where six enormous and majestic columns render the scene astonishingly grand and picturesque. Another object, not less interesting, is a second range of columns to the left, which appear to have been part of the peristyle of a temple; but before we pass thither, we cannot refuse particular attention to the edifices which inclose this court on each side. They form a sort of gallery, which contains various chambers, seven of which may be reckoned in each of the principal wings, viz. two in a semicircle, and five in an oblong square. The bottom of these apartments still retains pediments of niches and tabernacles, the supporters of which are destroyed. On the side of the court they are open, and present only five or six columns totally destroyed. The beauty of the pilasters, and the richness of the frieze of the entablature, are admirable. The singular effect which results from the mixture of the garlands, the large foliage of the capitals, and the sculpture of wild plants with which they are every where ornamented, is peculiarly pleasing. In traversing the length of the court, we find in the middle a little square esplanade, where was a pavilion, of which nothing remains but the foundation. On arriving at the foot of the six columns, we perceive all the boldness of their elevation, and the richness of their workmanship. Their shafts are twenty-one feet eight inches in circumference, and fifty-eight high; so that the total height, including the entablature, is from seventy-one to seventy-two feet.

The sight of this superb ruin, thus solitary and unaccompanied, at first strikes us with astonishment; but, on a more attentive examination, we discover a series of foundations, which mark an oblong square of two hundred and sixty-eight feet in length, and one hundred and forty-six wide, and which, it seems probable, was the peristyle of a grand temple, the primary purpose of the whole structure. It presented to the great court, on the east, a front of ten columns, with nineteen on each side, which, with the other six, made in all fifty-four. The ground on which it stood is an oblong square, on a level with this court, but narrower, so that there was only a terrace of twenty-seven feet wide round the colonnade; the esplanade this produces fronts the open country towards the west, by a sloping wall of about thirty feet. This descent, near the city, becomes less steep, so that the foundation of the pavilion is level with the foot of the hill; whence it is evident that the whole ground of the courts has been artificially raised.

Such was the former state of this edifice; but the southern side of the grand temple was afterwards blocked up to build a smaller one, the peristyle and walls of which are still remaining. This temple, situated somewhat lower than the other, presents a side of thirteen columns by eight in front, (in all thirty-four,) which are likewise of the Corinthian order; their shafts are fifteen feet eight inches in circumference, and forty-four in height. The building they surround is an oblong square, the front of which, turned towards the east, is out of the line of the left wing of the great court. To reach it, we must cross trunks of columns, heaps of stone, and a ruinous wall, by which it is now hid. After surmounting these obstacles, we arrive at the gate, where we may survey the inclosure, which was once the habitation of a god; but instead of the solemn scene of a prostrate people, and sacrifices offered by a multitude of priests, the sky, which is open, from the falling in of the roof, only lets in light to shew a chaos of ruins covered with dust and weeds. The walls, formerly enriched with all the ornaments of the Corinthian order, now present nothing but pediments of niches and tabernacles, of which almost all the supporters are fallen to the ground. Between these niches is a range of fluted pilasters, whose capitals support a broken entablature; but what remains of it displays a rich frieze of foliage, resting on the heads of satyrs, horses, bulls, &c. Over this entablature was the ancient roof, which was fifty-seven feet wide, and one hundred and ten in length. The walls which supported it are thirty-one feet high, and without a window. It is impossible to form any idea of the ornaments of this roof, except from the fragments lying on the ground; but it could not have been richer than the gallery of the peristyle: the principal remaining parts contain tablets in the form of tables, on which are represented Jupiter seated on his eagle, Leda caressed by the swan, Diana with her bow and crescent, and several busts, which seem to be figures of emperors and empresses.

RUINS OF AGRIGENTUM, IN SICILY.--The present town, Girgenti, occupies the mountain on which the ancient citadel stood. At the north-east angle of the ancient limits, upon some foundations of large irregular stones, a church has been erected; a road appears hewn in the solid rock, for the convenience of votaries, who visited this temple in ancient days. It was then dedicated to Ceres and her daughter Proserpine, the peculiar patronesses of Sicily. Bishop Blaise has succeeded to their honours.

At the south-east corner, where the ground, rising gradually, ends in a bold eminence, which is crowned with majestic columns, are the ruins of a temple, said to have been consecrated to Juno. To the west of this, stands the building commonly called the Temple of Concord; the stone of which, and the other buildings, is the same as that of the neighbouring mountains and cliffs, a conglutination of sea-sand and shells, full of perforations,--of a hard and durable texture, and a deep reddish brown colour. This Doric temple has all its columns, entablature, pediments, and walls, entire; only part of the roof is wanting. It owes its preservation to the piety of some Christians, who have covered half the nave, and converted it into a church, consecrated under the invocation of St. Gregory, bishop of Girgenti.

In the same direction are rows of sepulchres cut in the rock. Some masses of it are hewn into the shape of coffins; others are drilled full of small square holes, employed in a different mode of interment, and serving as receptacles of urns. One ponderous piece of it lies in an extraordinary position; by the failure of its foundation, or the shock of an earthquake, it has been loosened from the general quarry, and rolled down the declivity, where it now remains supine, with the cavities turned upwards.

Only a single column marks the confused heap of moss-grown ruins belonging to the temple of Hercules. It stood on a projecting rock above a chasm in the ridge, which was cut through for a passage to the port.

In the same tract, over some hills, is situated the Tomb of Thero. It is surrounded by aged olive-trees, which cast a wild irregular shade over the ruin. The edifice inclines to the pyramidal shape, and consists at present of a triple plinth, and a base supporting a square pedestal: upon this plain solid foundation is raised a second order, having a window in each front, and at each angle two Ionic pilasters, crowned with an entablature of the Doric order. Its inside is divided into a vault, a ground room, and one in the Ionic story, communicating with each other by means of a small internal staircase.

In the plain are seen the fragments of the temple of Æsculapius: part of two columns and two pilasters, with an intermediate wall, support the end of a farm-house, and were probably the front of the cells.

Towards the west are the gigantic remains of the temple of Jupiter Olympus, minutely described by Diodorus Siculus. It may literally be said, that it has not one stone left upon another; and it is barely possible, with the help of much conjecture, to discover the traces of its plan and dimensions. Diodorus calls it the largest temple in the whole island; but adds, that the calamities of war caused the work to be abandoned before the roof could be put on; and that the Agrigentines were ever after reduced to such a state of poverty and dependence, that they never had it in their power to finish this superb monument of the taste and opulence of their ancestors. The length of this temple was 370 Greek feet, its breadth 60, and its height 220, exclusive of the foundation; the extent and solidity of its vaults and underworks, its spacious porticos and exquisite sculpture, were suited to the grandeur of the whole.

The next ruin belongs to the temple of Castor and Pollux: vegetation has covered the lower parts of the building, and only a few fragments of columns appear between the vines. This was the point of the hill where the wall stopped on the brink of a large fishpond, spoken of by Diodorus: it was cut in the solid rock thirty feet deep, and water was conveyed to it from the hills. In it was bred a great quantity of fish, for the use of public entertainments; swans, and various other kinds of wild fowl, swam along its surface, for the amusement of the citizens; and the great depth of water prevented an enemy from surprising the town on that side. It is now dry, and used as a garden.

On the opposite bank are two tapering columns without their capitals, placed in a tuft of carob trees. Monte Toro, where Hanna encamped with the Carthaginian army, before the Roman consuls drew him into an engagement that ruined his defensive plan, is a noble back-ground in this picturesque group of objects.

The whole space, comprehended within the walls of the ancient city, abounds with traces of antiquity, foundations, brick arches, and little channels for the conveyance of water; but in no part are there any ruins that can be presumed to have belonged to places of public entertainment. This is the more extraordinary, as the Agrigentines were fond of shows and dramatic performances; and the Romans never dwelt in any place long, without introducing their savage games.

We conclude this division of Curiosities by a description of the ANCIENT GRANDEUR OF CARTHAGE.--At the third Punic war, Carthage appears to have been one of the first cities in the world. It was no less than 360 stadia, or forty-five miles, in circumference, and was joined to the continent by an isthmus, twenty-three stadia, or three miles and a furlong, in breadth. On the west side projected a long tract of land, half a stadium broad; which shooting out into the sea, separated it from a lake, or morass, and was strongly fortified on all sides by rocks and a single wall. In the middle of the city stood the citadel of Byrsa, having on the top of it a temple sacred to Æsculapius, seated upon rocks, to which the ascent was by sixty steps. On the south side the city was surrounded by a triple wall, thirty cubits high; flanked all round by parapets and towers, at equal distances of 480 feet. Every tower had its foundation sunk thirty-two feet deep, and was four stories high, though the walls were but two: they were arched; and in the lower part, corresponding in depth with the foundations above-mentioned, were stalls, large enough to hold 300 elephants, with their fodder, &c. Over these were stalls and other conveniences for 4000 horses; and there was likewise room for lodging 20,000 foot and 4000 cavalry, without incommoding the inhabitants. There were two harbours, which had one common entrance, seventy feet broad, and shut up with chains. The first was appropriated to the merchants, and included in it a vast number of places of refreshment, and all kinds of accommodations for seamen. The second, as well as the island of Cothon in the midst of it, was lined with large quays, in which were receptacles for sheltering 220 ships of war. Over these were magazines of all sorts of naval stores. The entrance into each of these receptacles was adorned with two marble pillars of the Ionic order, so that both the harbour and island represented on each side two magnificent galleries. Near this island was a temple of Apollo, in which was a statue of the god, of massy gold; and the inside of the temple was lined with plates of the same metal, weighing 1000 talents. The city was twenty-three miles in circumference, and contained 700,000 inhabitants.

"All that remains, (says Dr. Shaw,) of this once famous city, are,--the area of a spacious room upon one of the hills on which it stood, commanding the south-east shore, with several smaller ones at a little distance from it; the common sewers, which time has not in the least injured or impaired; and the cisterns, which have shared only in a small degree the general ruin of the city."

CHAP. LIII.

CURIOSITIES RESPECTING ANCIENT BUILDINGS, TEMPLES, & OTHER MONUMENTS OF ANTIQUITY.

EGYPTIAN CURIOSITIES:--_Pompey's Pillar--Buildings, and Library, of
Alexandria--Temple of Tentyra--Palace of Memnon--Temple of Osiris._

If glorious structures and immortal deeds
Enlarge the thought, and set our souls on fire;
My tongue has been too cold in Egypt's praise,
The queen of nations, and the boast of times,
Mother of science, and the house of gods!
Scarce can I open wide my labouring mind,
To comprehend the vast idea, big
With arts and arms, so boundless is its fame.
_Young._

PYRAMIDS OF EGYPT--From Cabillia's Researches, as recorded in Belzoni's Narrative.--

"The enterprise of Captain Cabillia was hazardous and bold, and nothing but an enthusiasm for discovery could induce a man to take such a step. The consul, with Mr. Briggs, Mr. Beechey, and myself, went to see the operations that were going on. Captain Cabillia's circumstances were much better than mine; but he had no superfluous wealth at command, to continue what he had begun, which required a supply beyond his means. Mr. Briggs was the first who generously offered to furnish money for this purpose; and, after a consultation with Mr. Salt, they agreed to support the work to any extent that might be required. This gentleman not only encouraged the undertaking at the pyramid, but has exerted his influence with Mohammed Ali, for the general advantage of the commerce of Europe.

"The enterprise of Captain Cabillia is worthy the attention of every one interested in antiquities, as he had solved a question by which the learned world has been puzzled for many centuries. The famous well, which has given rise to so much conjecture, turns out to be a communication with a lower passage, leading into an inferior chamber, discovered and opened by himself. He first descended the well to the depth of thirty-eight feet, where his progress was stopped by four large stones. Three of these being removed, there was space enough for a man to pass through; but the fourth he could not stir, though he had the help of Mr. Kabitsch, a young man in the employment of Mr. Baghos, who bore a share of the expense with the captain. Twenty-one feet below this place they found a grotto, seventeen feet long and four high; and seven feet below this, a platform, from which the well descended two hundred feet lower. The captain went down, and at the bottom found earth and sand; but from the hollow sound under his feet, he judged that the passage must communicate with some other apartment below. He then set some Arabs at work to remove the sand; but the heat was so great, and the candles so incapable of burning, for want of oxygen, that they were compelled to desist. The captain then turned his researches to another quarter, and began to enlarge the entrance into the first passage of the pyramid. For this operation he was well rewarded; for by it he found that the passage continued downward, and having employed several men, and taken out a great deal of earth and rubbish, at last, after a long and ardent toil, he came in contact with the bottom of the well, where he found the baskets and rope which had been left there. The same day that this occurred, was that on which we had agreed to visit the pyramids, and I had the pleasure to be an eye-witness of the arduous task of Captain Cabillia. Proceeding in his laborious researches, he found that the passage led into a chamber cut out of the rock, under the centre of the pyramid.

"Captain Cabillia made several researches round the pyramids also, but none exceeded his toil in uncovering the temple sphinx. He found a small temple between the two paws, and a large tablet of granite on its breast. The tablet is adorned with several figures and hieroglyphics, and two representations of sphinxes are sculptured on it. Before the entrance into the small temple was a lion, placed as if to guard the approach. Farther on from the front of the sphinx, is a staircase of thirty-two steps, at the bottom of which is an altar, with a Greek inscription, of the time of the Ptolemies. At each side of the altar was a sphinx of calcareous stone, much mutilated. From the base of the temple to the summit of the head, is sixty-five feet; the legs of the sphinx are fifty-seven feet long, from the breast to the extremity of the paws, which are eight feet high. Forty-five feet from the first altar, he found another, with an inscription, alluding to the emperor Septimus Severus; and near to the first step was a stone, with another Greek inscription, alluding to Antoninus.

"Notwithstanding his own occupation about the sphinx, Captain Cabillia employed other people to carry on researches. He opened some of the mausoleums which were choked up with sand, and found several small chambers, with hieroglyphics and figures, some of them pretty well executed, and in good preservation. In one of the pits he found some mummies, in their linen envelopes, and various fragments of Egyptian antiquity. He also opened some of the smaller pyramids, and from the suggestion of Mr. Briggs to follow a certain direction, he succeeded in finding the entrance into one of them; but it appears, that it was so decayed in the interior, he could advance only a few feet. No doubt this led into some chamber or apartment, containing perhaps a sarcophagus, &c."

_Belzoni's own Researches._--M. Belzoni determined on penetrating one of the famous pyramids, and, after an immense labour, succeeded in discovering the entrance, and reached a portcullis; but here a large block of stone stared him in the face, and appeared to say, _Ne plus ultra_. He persevered until the stone was removed and the passage opened, which is only four feet high, and three feet six inches wide. After thirty days' exertion, he reached the central chamber, where he found a sarcophagus. This chamber is forty-six feet three inches long, sixteen feet three inches wide, and twenty-three feet six inches high. It is cut out of the solid rock, from the floor to the roof, which is composed of large blocks of calcareous stone, meeting in the centre, and forming a roof of the same slope as the pyramid itself. The sarcophagus is eight feet long, three feet six inches wide, and two feet three inches deep in the inside. It is surrounded by large blocks of granite, apparently to prevent its removal, which could not be effected without great labour. The lid had been broken at the side, so that the sarcophagus was quite open. It is of the finest granite; but, like the other, in the first pyramid, there is not one hieroglyphic on it.

On the wall, at the west end of the chamber, was an inscription in Arabic, which has been thus translated by Mr. Salame:--

"The master Mohammed Ahmed, lapicide, has opened them; and the master Ottoman attended this (_opening_;) and the King Alij Mohammed at first (_from the beginning_) to the closing up."

M. Belzoni refutes the general assertion, that the pyramids were built of stone brought from the east side of the Nile; since stones of immense size have been cut from the very rocks around the pyramids, and there is yet stone enough to build many others if required. He is of opinion, that the pyramids were erected before writing in hieroglyphics was invented, and that they were erected as sepulchres. By the measurement which he took of the second pyramid, he found it to be as follows:--

Feet.
The base 684
Apotome, or central line down the front, from the
top to the base 568
Perpendicular 456
Coating, from the top to the place where it ends 140

POMPEY'S PILLAR AT ALEXANDRIA; with an account of a surprising Exploit of some British Sailors.

_The Pillar._--This pillar is situated a quarter of a league from the southern gate. It is composed of red granite. The capital is Corinthian, with palm leaves, and not indented. It is nine feet high. The shaft and upper member of the base are of one piece of ninety feet long, and nine in diameter. The base is a square of about fifteen feet on each side. This block of marble, sixty feet in circumference, rests on two layers of stone, bound together with lead; which, however, has not prevented the Arabs from forcing out several of them, to search for an imaginary treasure. The whole column is one hundred and fourteen feet high. It is perfectly well polished, and only a little shivered on the eastern side. Nothing can equal the majesty of this monument: seen from a distance, it overtops the town, and serves as a signal for vessels; approaching it nearer, it produces an astonishment mixed with awe. One can never be tired with admiring the beauty of the capital, the length of the shaft, and the extraordinary simplicity of the pedestal. This last has been somewhat damaged by the instruments of travellers, who are curious to possess a relic of this antiquity. Learned men and travellers have made many fruitless attempts to discover, in honour of what prince it was erected. The best informed have concluded that it could not be in honour of Pompey, since neither Strabo nor Diodorus Siculus has spoken of it. The Arabian Abulfeda, in his description of Egypt, calls it the _Pillar of Severus_. And history informs us, that this emperor 'visited the city of Alexandria;' that he granted a senate to its inhabitants, who, until that time, under the subjection of a Roman magistrate, had lived without any national council, as under the reign of the Ptolemies, when the will of the prince was their only law; and that he did not terminate his benefactions here, but changed several laws in their favour. This column, therefore, Mr. Savoy concludes to have been erected by the inhabitants as a mark of their gratitude to Severus; and in a Greek inscription, now half defaced, but visible on the west side when the sun shines upon it, and which probably was legible in the time of Abulfeda, he supposes the name of Severus to have been preserved. He further observes, that this was not the only monument erected to him by the gratitude of the Alexandrians, for there is still seen, in the ruins of Antinöe, built by Adrian, a magnificent pillar, the inscription of which is still remaining, dedicated to Alexander Severus.

_The exploit of some British Seamen._--One of the volutes of the column was prematurely brought down some years ago, by a prank of some English captains; which is thus related by Mr. Irwin. These jolly sons of Neptune had been pushing about the can on board one of the ships in the harbour, until a strange freak entered into one of their brains. The eccentricity of the thought occasioned it immediately to be adopted: and its apparent impossibility was but a spur for the putting it into execution. The boat was ordered; and with proper implements for the attempt, these enterprising heroes pushed ashore, to drink a bowl of punch on the top of Pompey's pillar! At the spot they arrived, and many contrivances were proposed to accomplish the desired point. But their labour was vain; and they began to despair of success, when the genius who struck out the frolic, happily suggested the means of performing it.

A man was dispatched to the city for a paper kite; and the inhabitants, by this time apprised of what was going forward, flocked in crowds to be witnesses of the address and boldness of the English. The governor of Alexandria was told that these seamen were about to pull down Pompey's pillar. But whether he gave them credit for their respect to the Roman warrior, or to the Turkish government, he left them to themselves; and politely answered, that the English were too great patriots to injure the remains of Pompey. He knew little, however, of the disposition of the people who were engaged in this undertaking. Had the Turkish empire risen in opposition, it would not at that moment have deterred them. The kite was brought, and flown directly over the pillar; so that when it fell on the other side, the string lodged upon the capital. The chief obstacle was now overcome. A two-inch rope was tied to one end of the string, and drawn over the pillar by the end to which the kite was affixed. By this rope, one of the seamen ascended to the top; and in less than an hour, a kind of shroud was constructed, by which the whole company went up, and drank their punch, amidst the shouts of the astonished multitude.

To the eye below, the capital of the pillar does not appear capable of holding more than one man upon it; but our seamen found it could contain no less than eight persons very conveniently. It is astonishing that no accident befel these madcaps, in a situation so elevated, that it would have turned a landman giddy in his sober senses. The only detriment which the pillar received, was the loss of the volute before-mentioned, which came down with a thundering sound, and was carried to England by one of the captains, as a present to a lady who had commissioned him to procure her a piece of it. The discovery which they made amply compensated for this mischief; as without their evidence, the world would not have known at this hour, that there was originally a statue on this pillar, one foot and ancle of which are still remaining. The statue must have been of a gigantic size, to have appeared of a man's proportion at so great a height. There are circumstances in this story which might give it an air of fiction, were it not proved beyond all doubt. Besides the testimonies of many eye-witnesses, the adventurers themselves have left a token of the fact, by the initials of their names, which are very legibly painted in black just beneath the capital.

BUILDINGS, AND LIBRARY, OF ALEXANDRIA.--The architect employed by Alexander, in this undertaking, was the celebrated Dinocrates, who had acquired so much reputation by rebuilding the temple of Diana at Ephesus. The city was first rendered populous by Ptolemy Soter, one of Alexander's captains, who, after the death of the Macedonian monarch, being appointed governor of Egypt, soon assumed the title of king, and took up his residence at Alexandria, about three hundred and four years before Christ. In the thirtieth year of his reign he made his son, Ptolemy Philadelphus, partner with him in the empire; and by this prince the city of Alexandria was much embellished. In the first year of his reign, the famous watch-tower of Pharos was finished. It had been begun several years before by Ptolemy Soter; and, when finished, was looked upon as one of the wonders of the world.

The same year, the island of Pharos itself, originally seven furlongs distant from the continent, was joined to it by a causeway. This was the work of Dexiphanes, who completed it at the same time that his son put the last hand to the tower. The tower was a large square structure of white marble, on the top of which, fires were kept constantly burning for the direction of sailors. The building cost 800 talents; which, if Attic, amounted to £165,000; if Alexandrian, to twice that sum. The architect employed in this famous structure, fell upon the following contrivance to usurp the whole glory to himself. Being ordered to engrave upon it the following inscription, "King Ptolemy, to the Gods the Saviours, for the Benefit of Sailors;" instead of the king's name, he substituted his own, and then filling up the marble with mortar, wrote upon it the above-mentioned inscription. In process of time, the mortar being worn off, the following inscription appeared: "Sostratus the Cnidian, the son of Dexiphanes, to the Gods the Saviours, for the Benefit of Sailors."

This year, also, was remarkable for bringing the image of Serapis from Pontus to Alexandria. It was set up in one of the suburbs of the city called Rhacotis, where a temple was afterwards erected to his honour, suitable to the greatness of that stately metropolis, and called, from the god worshipped there, Serapium. This structure, according to Ammianus Marcellinus, surpassed in beauty the magnificence of all others in the world, except the capitol at Rome.

Within the verge of this temple was the famous Alexandrian library. It was founded by Ptolemy Soter, for the use of an academy he instituted in this city; and, from continual additions by his successors, became at last the finest library in the world, containing no fewer than seven hundred thousand volumes. One method adopted in collecting books for this library, was, to seize all those which were brought into Egypt by the Greeks, or other foreigners. The books were transcribed in the museum by persons appointed for that purpose; the copies were then delivered to the proprietors, and the originals laid up in the library. Ptolemy Euergetes, having borrowed from the Athenians the works of Sophocles, Euripides, and Æschylus, returned them only the copies, which he caused to be transcribed in as beautiful a manner as possible, presenting the Athenians at the same time with 13 talents (upwards of £3000 sterling) for the exchange. As the museum was at first in that quarter of the city called Bruchion, near the royal palace, the library was placed there likewise; but when it came to contain four hundred thousand volumes, another library within the Serapium was erected, by way of supplement to it, and on that account called the Daughter of the former. In this second library, three hundred thousand volumes, in process of time, were deposited; and both libraries together contained the seven hundred thousand volumes already mentioned. In the war carried on by Julius Cæsar against the inhabitants of this city, the library in the Bruchion, with the four hundred thousand volumes it contained, was reduced to ashes. The library in the Serapium, however, still remained; and here Cleopatra deposited two hundred thousand volumes of the Permagean library, with which Marc Antony presented her. These, and others added from time to time, rendered the new library at Alexandria more numerous and considerable than the former; and though it was often plundered during the revolutions and troubles of the Roman Empire, yet it was again and again repaired, and filled with the same number of books.

TEMPLE OF TENTYRA, IN EGYPT.--From Belzoni's Narrative.