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Article REVIEW OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. Page 1 of 10 →
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Review Of New Publications.
REVIEW OF NEW PUBLICATIONS .
Travels in theYear ngz , through France , Turkey , and Hungary , to Vienna , concluding -v : ith an Account of that City . In a Series of Letters , to a Lad y in England " By William Hunter , Esq . Svo . pages 4 . 51 . B . and J . White . tcOSCLUDED FROM OUIt LAST . ]
F ' i onr last Number we introduced our Readers to Mr . Hunter as a pleasing and elegant Writer , and we proceed with pleasure to give a farther :-: ccoun t of his Travels . While in Consvuminople he visited the Hippodrome , the description of which we shall rive sn his own words . ' The first place we were co ! iduii : ed to , was the Hippodrome , where horse races and other amusements of the same nature were formerly exhibited . The Turks have indeed reserved it for similar purposes , and are very
dexterous in the management of their horses , winch are surprisingly fleet . —Here it is they also frequently practise throwing the jirid , which is one of their favourite diversions , and at which they arc astonishingly expert .- —But the hippodrome is stripped of all that'magnificence and splendour with which the Greek Emperor adorned it , and is now nothing more than a large irregular square , inclosed with irregular buildings . Near its centre there is an obelisk of h which is in a perfect stateandalthough very lofty , is
porpyry , , , of one stone . The four sides of it are covered with hkroglyphxs , which is perhaps a proof that it is cf Egyptian workmanship . It rests en four biazen balls , ' supported by a well-proportioned pedestal , on which there are various bass-reliefs , and inscriptions , both , in Greek and Latin , mentioning , that it was restored by Thcodosius to its present condition . . ' At a small distance from this obelisk , there is another , which , from its mutilated appearancebears the marks of very remote antiquity . It is
com-, posed of several p ieces of stone , and , from the numerous holes in us surface , it is evident , that it was formerly covered with p lates of bronze or seme other metal . ' The famous brazen triple serpent , of which Mahomet If . broke one of the heads , when he triumphantly entered the city , still continue : ; to attract strangeis to the Hippodrome , and to remind them of the fooiisli arrogance of that haughty despot . —E ; : asptr . " iitd at the long and vigorous defence that
had been made , he resrarded this inoffensive serpent ar . a tali-anaii , which had imphed resistance to ids arms , and , for such a length of time , rendesed ids efforts ineffectual . When it was in his power , he accordingly took this impotent revenge . —This remarkable pillar is very ancient , and is said to have been brought from Delphi ,, where it served to support the celebrated tripod of gold , which the Greeks , after the battle of Platrea , cansecrated to Apollo . ' '
Mr . Hunter mig ht have added more of the history of this tripod . It was the workmanship of one of the iiist a ; lists of Greece , and remained in the Temple of Apollo , at Delphi , till the conquest of that place by the Romans , when it was carried to R . nr . e , and placed m the Forum ; from whence it was transferred to its present situation , upon the removal of the seat of empire to Byzantium by Constantine the Great . Of the benevolence of our Author ' s sentiments and the misery of the Turkish Peasantry , the following passage , from a letter dated Gakitz , on the Danube , aiiords a specimen .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Review Of New Publications.
REVIEW OF NEW PUBLICATIONS .
Travels in theYear ngz , through France , Turkey , and Hungary , to Vienna , concluding -v : ith an Account of that City . In a Series of Letters , to a Lad y in England " By William Hunter , Esq . Svo . pages 4 . 51 . B . and J . White . tcOSCLUDED FROM OUIt LAST . ]
F ' i onr last Number we introduced our Readers to Mr . Hunter as a pleasing and elegant Writer , and we proceed with pleasure to give a farther :-: ccoun t of his Travels . While in Consvuminople he visited the Hippodrome , the description of which we shall rive sn his own words . ' The first place we were co ! iduii : ed to , was the Hippodrome , where horse races and other amusements of the same nature were formerly exhibited . The Turks have indeed reserved it for similar purposes , and are very
dexterous in the management of their horses , winch are surprisingly fleet . —Here it is they also frequently practise throwing the jirid , which is one of their favourite diversions , and at which they arc astonishingly expert .- —But the hippodrome is stripped of all that'magnificence and splendour with which the Greek Emperor adorned it , and is now nothing more than a large irregular square , inclosed with irregular buildings . Near its centre there is an obelisk of h which is in a perfect stateandalthough very lofty , is
porpyry , , , of one stone . The four sides of it are covered with hkroglyphxs , which is perhaps a proof that it is cf Egyptian workmanship . It rests en four biazen balls , ' supported by a well-proportioned pedestal , on which there are various bass-reliefs , and inscriptions , both , in Greek and Latin , mentioning , that it was restored by Thcodosius to its present condition . . ' At a small distance from this obelisk , there is another , which , from its mutilated appearancebears the marks of very remote antiquity . It is
com-, posed of several p ieces of stone , and , from the numerous holes in us surface , it is evident , that it was formerly covered with p lates of bronze or seme other metal . ' The famous brazen triple serpent , of which Mahomet If . broke one of the heads , when he triumphantly entered the city , still continue : ; to attract strangeis to the Hippodrome , and to remind them of the fooiisli arrogance of that haughty despot . —E ; : asptr . " iitd at the long and vigorous defence that
had been made , he resrarded this inoffensive serpent ar . a tali-anaii , which had imphed resistance to ids arms , and , for such a length of time , rendesed ids efforts ineffectual . When it was in his power , he accordingly took this impotent revenge . —This remarkable pillar is very ancient , and is said to have been brought from Delphi ,, where it served to support the celebrated tripod of gold , which the Greeks , after the battle of Platrea , cansecrated to Apollo . ' '
Mr . Hunter mig ht have added more of the history of this tripod . It was the workmanship of one of the iiist a ; lists of Greece , and remained in the Temple of Apollo , at Delphi , till the conquest of that place by the Romans , when it was carried to R . nr . e , and placed m the Forum ; from whence it was transferred to its present situation , upon the removal of the seat of empire to Byzantium by Constantine the Great . Of the benevolence of our Author ' s sentiments and the misery of the Turkish Peasantry , the following passage , from a letter dated Gakitz , on the Danube , aiiords a specimen .