Constantine republican. [volume] (Constantine, Mich.) 1836-1838, 1837-06-14

and excited by the extraordinary beauty
and excellent condition of that great temple
at Petra. Even in coming upon it as we
did, at disadvantage, | remember that Paul
who was a passionate admirer of the arts,
when he first obtained a glimpsespf it in
voluntary cried out, and movinS on to tho
front with vvacity, never saw him ex.
hibit before or afterward, clapped his hands
and shouted in extacy. To the last day
OF our being together, he was in the habit
OF referring to this extraordinary fit of en-
thusiasm when he first came upon that tenn
pie; and | can well imagine that, entering
by this narrow dcfile with the feelings rous.
ed by its high and romantic wildness and
beauty, the first view of that superb facade
must produce an effect which could never
pass away. Even now, that have return
ed to the pursuits and thought engrossing
| incidents In a life in the business city in the
world, often in situations as widely different
as light from, derlsness, see before me the
facade of that temple; neither the Coliseum
at Rome, grand and interesting as j: is, nor
the ruins of the Metropolis at Athens, nor
the pyramids, nor the mighty temples of
the Nile, are SO often present to my men,
| Dry.
The whole temple, its columns, orna-
ments porticoes, and porches, are cut from
and form part of the solid rock; and this
rock, at the foot of which the temple stands
like mere prison, towers several hundred
feet above, its face cut smooth to the very
summit, and the top remaining wild and
misshapen as Nature made it. The whole
area before the temple is perhaps an acre
in extent, enclosed on all sides except at the
narrow entrance, and an opening to the
left of the temple, which leads into the area
of the city by pass through the perpend-
cular rocks, five or six hundred feet in
height.
1t is not my design to enter into the de.
tails OF the many monuments in this extra
ordinary city but TO give general idea of
the character of all the excavations, can
not do better than 60 within the temple
Ascending several broad steps, we entered
under colonnade of four Corinthian col
umns, about thirty fve feet high, into large
chamber of some fifty feet square and twen-
ty-five feet high. The outside of the tenn
pie is richly ornamented, but the interior is
perfectly plain, there being no ornament Of
any kind upon the walls or ceiling; on each
of the three sides is a small chamber for the
reception of the dead; and on the back
wall of theannermost chamber saw the
names of Messrs. Leigh, Banks, Irby, and
Mangles, the four English travellers who
with so much difficulty had effected their
entrance to the city; Messieurs Laborde
and Linant, and the two Englishmen and
Italian, of whom have before spoken; and
two or three others, which, from the char
acter of the writing, supposed to be the
names ofattendants upon some of these gen.
temon. These were the only names recor-
ded in the temple; and, besides Buckhardt.
no other traveller had ever reached it. |
was the first American who had ever been
there. Many Of my countrymen, proba-
bly,, as was the case with me, have never
known the existence of such city and,
independently Of all personal considerations,
| confess that felt what trust was not an
inexcusable pride, in writing upon the in
nermost wall of that temple the name of
an American citizen: and under it, and
flourishing on its own account in temples
and tombs, and all the most conspicuous pla-
ces in Petra, is the illustrous name of Pauo
Nuozzo, drogomana.
Leaving the temple and the open area on
which it fronts, and following the stream,
we entered another defilc much broader
than the first, on each side of which were
ranges of tombs, with sculptured doors and
columns; and on the left, in the bosom of
the mountain, hewn out of the solid rock, is
large theatre, circular in form, the pillars
in front fallen, and containing thirty. three
rows of seats, capable of containing more
than three thousand persons. Above the
corridor was range of doors opening TO
chambers in the rocks, the seat of the prin-
ces and wealthiest inhabitants of Petra, and
not unlike row ofprivate boxes in mod.
ern theatre.
The whole theatre is at this day in such
state of preservation, that if the tenants
ofthe tombs around could once more rise
into life, they might take their places on
its seats, and listen to the defamation of
their favorite player. To me the stiffness
ola ruined city is nowhere so impressive as
when sitting on the steps of its theatre; once
thronged with the gay and pleasure seeking
but now given up TO solitude and desolation.
Day after day these seats had been filled
and the now silent rocks had echoed to the
applauding shouts Of thousands; and little
could an ancient Edomite imagine that a
solitary stranger, from then unknown
world, would one day be wandering among
the ruins of his proud and wonderful city,
meditating upon the fate of race that has
for ages passed away. Where are we in
habitants of this dosolate city We who once
sat on the seats of this theatre, the young,
the high born, the beautiful, and brave I;
who once rejoiced in your riches and pow.
err, and lived as if there was no grave T.
Where are ye nowl Even the very tombs
whose doors are stretching away in long
ranges before the eyes of tho wandering
traveller, cannot reveal the mystery fyour
doom; your dry bones are gone, the rob-
Der has invaded your graves, and your ve-
ry ashes have been swept away to make
room for the wandering Arab ofthe desert.
| But we need not stop at the days when
a gay population were crowding to this the.
atre. In the earliest periods Of recorded
time, long before this theatre was built, and
long before the tragic muse was known,
great city stood here. When Esau, having
sold his birthright for a mess of pottage,
came to his portion among the mountains OF
SER and Edom growing in nover md