Sentinel of the valley. [volume] (Woodstock, Va) 1841-1848, 1841-12-02
From the National Intelligencer.
NATIONAL. INSTITUTION.

The following letter has been rcceiy-
d at the institution, from Mr.. Vail,
Charge dAfIairs Of the United States to
spain:
MADR1D. August IL. I84l.
NV DEAR SIR: Conflned as am by
ny public duties to the city Of Madrid.
i point not very fertile in objects iater-
esting to the arts and sciences, and,
withai, Sufficiently occupied BY subjects
Of more immediate concern, have had
but little leisure to listen to my desire Of
my mite to the latjars of the
National Institution. Seeing. however,
that agriculture is one Of the branches Of
industry which the Institution is endeav-
orlng to promote, cannot resist the
temptation of presenting TO it a few ears.
herewith transmitted for that purpose, OF
a curious looking kind of wheat. which
| picked up in late excursion into An
daiusia, and which | have no where e Sc
seen or ever heard Of. You must no'
take its dark blush color for the effect oil
accident saw many very extensive
fields Of that color, which, with the un-,
usually long and heavy beard, gave t.
the abundant crops the appearance OF
beautiful blue fur. am not able to as
sure you that the grain itself possesses a.
ny marked advantage over other kinds;
indeed was told that richer and better
is raised in this country. But you Will
perceive that the kernal is large. though
it might not have acquired its full deyel-
opnent when gathered it standing IN
the first dayssof June. | wassindnces' to
take specimen of it more OH account Of
the place where it grew than from any
other cause. That place Was no other
than the vast arena of the magnigcent
Raman Ampitheatre Of ths ancieLt aud
sumptuous city of lTALIcA, the BIRTH
place Of The Emperors 'frajan. Hadrian.
and TheoIosias, and of the Raman poet.
Siius Italicus. Founded by Scipio AZ
ricanus, Italica became the capital OF the
rich and fertile province Of Bmtica, now
Andalusia, and judging from what is left
of it, must have beer, indeed, lit place
to cradle such mighty spirits. 1t stood
on the right bank OF the Gaadaiquiyer,
one league above the present site o. the
city Of Seville, with which it is connect
ed by fine Roman road. still used. and
in good preservation. The lazy, indo
lent Andalusian is content to SOW anil
reap his corn on the now level and de-
serted soil, and allows a few feet of earth
to hide numberIess remains of magniii-
cent works Of art The eighty thousand
marble columns which sustain the private
dwellings,, even the hnmblest in Seville.
were dug out of the ruins OF ltalica, and
nunberless fragments OF statuary of the
most exquisite. Workmanship may be
seen in the possession of private indivld-
uals, aud in some public establishments,
while others are left to moulder on the
surface of the earth, ard beautiful mosaic
payements suffered to be- washe d away
with the common soil. It's strange that
nothing certain is known of the fate of
italica, and we might be utterly isnor-
ant OF the cause of the destruction OF that
splendid city, did not the fragments of
statuary and other productions of art
found amid its ruins afford conclusive
evidence that it was laid PROSTATE by
some great convulson of nature. The
amphitheatre, in whose immense elipti-
cal arena, near three hundred feet IN d.
ameter, now grow luxuriant crops of blue
wheat, is but heap OF huge masses Of
masonry, broken and lifted from their
places BY superhulnan agency; no part
of the structure having witbstood the
shock except the deepest, foundations, in
which are still seen, leading by arehed
ways into the arena, the vaulted cham
bers in which the wild beasts we're wont
to be prepared for the cruel sport. A
segment Of the circumference, however,
still exhibits six or eight rows of bench
es in good state Of preservation, which
serve to trace the outline of the building.
Whether enriched by the blood of the
contending gla,liators and their feroclous
competitors for applause. or by a small
stream which now runs through the are
ma, the soil produces the heaviest crops
have seen in Spain. The crimson fow-
ers growing among the wheat present to
the mind an image Of the gore with which
the place was so often stained. The
stream. at intervals, yet rolls up some
copper obol, which the traselermay ge
for few maraved,s from the sanbreec1
urchins who haunt the spot.
have spent many hours there
with ny own hands hays<
soil for valuable rrlian