Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1836-06-23
[vol. xxxvII---No. 10.

time, forgets the ages that have elapsed
since the execution OF the works he sees.
! The numerous relics which a lucky
chance has 50 well preserved, give him
an intimacy, as il were, with the Ro-
man and Grecian ages, that no never
ieit before. The Scipios are known
me better when the plain Sarcophagus
OF Scipio Barbatus is seen. The attrii
putes 10 the Roman deltiss one can unl
derstand the moro when one sees the
Jupiter or the Juno that Grccian chi.
sci has carved. Mythology is perso.
nified here as il was with The ancients,
as well as ideal as it is with us. The
sculptured car, and the horses attached,
give vivid idea of chariot race Of
old and the Halls of the massive and
solemn Egyptian relics, with their un.
fathomable hieroglyphics, remind ons
of that dark''ahd doubtful people, whose
laws and whose history are so obscure
to US. The scholar feels within these
halls that flood Of light il bursting
upon him, such as he never saw before,
and the lover OF beauty is charmed
with objects that even his beau ideal
can never draw in more graceful or
grander form. pomp and majesty are
also enthroned in every room, and the
mere vulgar admiration Of wealth, or
the products of wealth. is satiated, and
more. The beautiful Belvidere Apol.
10 is here, and such man, the eyes of
man never saw before. The agonizcd
LAGOON is also here, with his hapless
boys, and such agony is ,criten on
marble, as never man described with
pen. Both ofthese statutes are Gre
clan, but the last is the work of three
Rhodian sculptors. and was found in
the baths of Titus, having been buried
there for years. Here is the Meleager
also asserted TO be one of the finest
sculptures the world can boast. Tho
Venus, the Ganymede, the Adonis, tho
groupe of the Nile and his offspring.
Nymphs, Amazons, the Danaides, Di-
anas, Torsus, Candelabras, Cinerary
urns, Vases of all sizes. magnificent
Sphinxes in alabaster, Vcstals, AMI
mails Of many kinds in marble and por-
phyry--things innumerablc, in short,
are to be seen in galleries where you
walk at least a mile. A statute Of
Marcellus, young wild boar in Nero
Antico, q swan, a semi. colossal stat
ute Of Tiberius in Pentelic marble, ST.
lenus with Tiger, the father Of Ira.
jan, the Minerva Medici, semi. collos.
sal statute Of Fortune, the celebrated
Belvidere Torso, by Apollonius of Ath-
ems, Sappho, Juno as Queen of Hea.
ven, are but few ofthe many rcmarkai
Bile works Of ancient artists.
The relics ofthe lustrous days of old
and shining Rome, that plunderer ofthe.
world, are gathered here. Pilasters Of
the purest alabaster, Mosaics Of work.
the most curious, the rich. Sar-
cophagi of Emperors, and Basalt, gra-.
mite, and porphyry, tho columns of
Greciun and Roman temples, uphold.
ing domes Of faultless purity. Bat
must stop, for who can ever narrate,
or who would fan attempt to describe
the details of these halls Of beauty p
oh, we must steal them all, for we can
never have the like without. Old Rome
plundered other Republics, and, when
we are strong enough we must plumber
her. The rascals even stole their
wives, the Sabine women,--and as the
arts are the mistresses Of the republics
why should not ours run away with
them when she cant You see what d
shameless sinner am when in such a
place as this, and though am far from
approving the principle, nevertheless,
| cannot help thinking that Bonaparto
would have been blockhead ifhe had
not taken the finest Of these things to
adorn the Louvre OF the Tuillerics -
But when we steal them no Holy Alli-
ance will be able TO get them buck.