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A Trip Abroad

Chapter 2 CROSSING EUROPE.

Word Count: 5402    |    Released on: 06/12/2017

then returned to Antwerp, and went on to Brussels, the capital of Belgium. The battlefield of Waterloo is about nine and a half miles from Brussels, and I had an enjoyable trip to

There is another monument on the field, which, though quite small and not at all beautiful, contains an impressive inscription. It was raised in memory of Alexander Gordon, an aide to the Duke

Wilhelm I., a crucifixion monument, and, as I walked along the street, I saw an advertisement for "Henry Clay Habanna Cigarren," but not being a smoker, I can not say whether t

the Eiffel Tower, which was completed in 1889 at a cost of a million dollars. It contains about seven thousand tons of metal, and the platform at the top is nine hundred and eighty-five feet high. The Tomb of Napoleon is in the Church of the Invalides, one of the finest places I had visited up to that ti

through a tunnel overlooking a beautiful valley, bounded by mountains on the opposite side and presenting a very pleasing view. There were many other beautiful scenes as I journeyed along, sometimes climbing the rugged mountain by a cog railway, and sometime

each daylight again for seventeen minutes. This tunnel, at that time the longest in the world, is a little more than nine miles in length. It is twenty-eight feet wide, twenty-one feet high, lined throughout with masonry, and cost eleven million four hundred thousand dollars. Since I was in Switzerland the Simplon Tunnel has been

ets are like this, for I walked on some that are paved with good, hard sandstone. I was not moved by the beauty of the place, and soon left for Pisa, passing a night in Florence on the way. The chief point of interest was the Leaning Tower, which has eight stories and is one hundred and eighty feet high. This structure, completed in the fourteenth century, seems to

of Rome) which are sometimes seen in pictures concerning the crucifixion of Christ. In London there are numerous public water-closets; in France also there are public urinals, which are almost too public in some cases, but here in Rome the climax is

the "Porto S. Paolo," seeing the street called the "Corso," or race course, Piazza Colonna, Fountain of Treves

expense of a deformed body might be profited by a study of this figure of Health. Trajan's Forum is an interesting little place, but it is a small show compared with the Roman Forum, which is much more extensive, and whose ruins are more varied. The latter contains the temples of Vespasian, of Concordia, of Castor and Pollux, and others. It also contains the famous Arch of Titus, the Basilica of Constantine, the remains of great palaces, and other ruins. "Originally the Forum was a low valley among the hills, a convenient place for the people to meet and barter." The Palatine Hill was fortified by the first Romans, and the Sabines lived on other hills. These two races finally united, and the valley between the hills became the site of numerous

as lavishly generous and merciful, but he soon became mad, and his cruelty knew no bounds. He banished or murdered his relatives and many of his subjects. Victims were tortured and slain in his presence while dining, and he uttered the wish that all the Roman people had but one neck, that he might strike it off at one blow. He built a bridge across the Bay of Baiae, and planted trees upon it and built houses upon it that he might say he had crossed the sea on dry land

built of Parian marble and still contains a well-preserved figure of the golden candlestick of the Tabernacle carved on one of its walls. There is a representa

ed and sixty-five feet high. This structure, capable of seating eighty-seven thousand people, stands near the bounds of the Forum. It is the largest of its kind, and is one of the best preserved and most interesting

Angelo, and on to St. Peter's. Before this great church-building there is a large open space containing an obelisk and two fountains, said to be the finest in the city, with a semi-circular colonnade on two sides containing two hundred and eighty-four columns in four rows, and on the top of the entablature there are ninety-six large statues. There are large figures on the top of the church, representing Christ and the apostles. The interior is magnificent. There are three aisles five hundred and seventy-five feet long, and the middle one is eighty

mall recesses in the walls, but I saw none there as I went through, but there were two in marble coffins under glass. In one of the small chambers the party sang in some foreign language, probably Italian, and while I could not understand them, I thought the music sounded well. The Circus of Maxentius, fifteen hundred feet long and two hundred and sixty feet wide, is near the Catacombs, as is also the tomb of Caecilla Metella, which is said to have been erec

e ruts made by chariot wheels that ceased to roll centuries ago, have been laid bare. Portions of the houses are still standing, and the stone drinking fountains along the streets are yet to be seen, as are also the stepping stones at the crossings, which are higher than the blocks used in paving. Some of the walls still contain very clear paintings, some of which are not at all commendable, and others are positively lewd. One picture represented a wild boar, a deer, a lion, a rabbit, some birds, and a female (almost nude) playing a harp. There was also a very clear picture of a bird and some cherries. At one place in the ruins I saw a well-executed picture of a chained dog in mosaic wo

s were carried to Constantinople; in 1066, the lava flowed down to the sea; in 1631, eighteen thousand lives were lost; and in 1794 a stream of lava more than a thousand

ed with the railroad trip from there to Athens, where the hotel men made more ado over me than I was accustomed to, but I got through all right and secured comfortable quarters at the New York Hotel, just acr

emple of the Olympian Jupiter, which was commenced long before the birth of Christ and finished by Hadrian about A.D. 140. Originally this temple, after that of Ephesus said to be the largest in the world, had three rows of eight columns each, on the eastern and western fronts, and a double row of one hundred columns on the northern and southern sides, and contained a statue of Jupiter, overlaid with gold and ivory. Its glory has long since departed, and only fifteen of th

s first-mentioned theater is said to have been "the cradle of dramatic art," the masterpieces of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and

e from these steps is perhaps thirty or forty feet high and very rugged. The rock slopes toward the wide end, which is only a few feet above the ground. I estimate the greatest length of it to be about two hundred yards, and the greatest width one hundred and fifty yards, but accurate measurements might show these figures to be cons

the brethren sent Paul away, but Silas and Timothy were left behind. "They that conducted Paul, brought him as far as Athens," and then went back to Berea with a message to Silas and Timothy to come to him "with all speed." "Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he beheld the city full of idols." Being thus vexed, and ha

theater of Bacchus and the Odeon, capable of accommodating about thirty and six thousand people respectively. On the Acropolis, probably within shouting distance, stood some heathen temples, one of them anciently containing a colossal statue of Athene Parthenos, said to have been not less than thirty-nine feet high and covered

ing he himself giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; and he made of one every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed seasons, and the bounds of their habitation; that they should seek God, if haply they might feel after him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us; for in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain even of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

stairs to the top, where there are large quantities of marble in columns, walls, and fragments. The two chief structures are the Parthenon and the Erectheum. The Parthenon is two hundred and eight feet long and one hundred and one feet wide, having a height of sixty-six feet. It is so large and situated in such a prominent place that it can be seen from all sides of the hill. In 1687 the Venetians while besieging Athens, threw a shell into it and wrecked a portion o

nearly nineteen feet high. The Hill of the Pynx lies across the road a short distance from the Theseum. At the lower side there is a wall of large stone blocks and above this a little distance is another wall cut i

be seen in larger and wealthier countries. The Academy, finished in 1885, is near the University, and, although smaller than its neighbor, is more beautiful. On the opposite side of the University a fine new Library was being finished, and in the same street there is a new Roman Catholic church. I also saw two Greek Catholic church houses, but they did not seem to be so lavishly decorated within as the Roman church, but their high ceilings were both beautifully ornamented with small stars on a blue background. I entered a cemetery near one of these churc

standing in the corners. The throne room and reception room are both open to visitors, as is also the ball room, which seemed to be more elaborately ornamented than the throne room. There is a little park of orange and other trees before the palace, also a small fountain wit

Omar, captured the city. The Acropolis was occupied by the Turks in 1826, but they surrendered the next year, and in 1839 Athens became the seat of government of the kingdom of Greece. With Athens, my sight-seeing on the continent ended. Other interesting and curious sights were seen besides those mentioned here. For instance, I had noticed a variety of fences. There were hedges, wire fences, fences of stone slabs set side by side, frail fences made of the stalks of some plant, and embryo fences of cactus growing along the railroad. In Italy, I saw many white oxen

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