The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1877-11-28
For THE CENTRAL PRESBYTERIAN.
LETTER FROM REV. ]. Il. BRYsON.
ATHENS, GREECE. Oct. Is. 1877

ATHENS, GREECE, Oct 18, 1877.
Dear Doctor BrOwn Il promised you
when started on my Eastern tour to giVeyou
some jottingS by the way. l found on my
return to London from Ireland, where Rev.
DR.. Knox, Professor Porter, and Mr.. Simp-
son made my visit extremely pleasant by
their generous hospitality and kindness, that
1 would have to make my trip to the East
this fall, as the country would not likely be
open for travel in the spring l had before
this consented to supply DR.. Donald Fraser's
church for some two months while he went
to Italy, but he generously allowed me to
withdraw my promise, so in day or two l
was off on my way.
1 took Paris and northern Italy on my
way out. Leaving Paris at night I had the
advantage of passing through the
Italy by day, light. 1t was bright, OO..
full morning as the mountains burst on our
view. In approaching the Mount Gents
Tunnel the road winds for several hours up
narrow valley; at every point the scenery
is very fine. Above US we could see the snow
falling on the tops of the Alps, while below
the snow line, the trees and shrubs were
brilliant in their autumn foliage. AT some
angles in the valley the scenery was most
gorgeous. The tunnel through Mount Gents
is one of the great triumphs of engineer
ing skill. The train was about half an hour
passing through, but We did not experience
the damp, unpleasant air which is sometimes
complained of. From the foot of the noun
tains to Turin the country is level and beau
tiful resembling very much the Piedmont
country in Virginia. 1t looked quite home
like to see the fields of Indian corn.
One of the most attractive objects of in
terest to the traveller in northern Italy is the
Cathedral at Milan, and certainly it is worthy
of all that has been said of it, 1t is the gem
of Gothic Architecture. Every part of it is
80 graceful and beautiful, that the eye never
wesries looking at it. The view from the
top of the central spire is the finest and most
extensive in all Italy. To the north are the
Alps, glorious in the sunlight, covered with
their white robes of snow. South and east
lie the fertile plains of Lombardy, where hos
tile armies have so often met in fierce con-
hict. The morning We climbed to the top
the atmosphere was very clear. There was
cOudless sky, and the magnificent view
was rich feast to the SOUL 1t was with
difficulty We could turn away from this won
derful structure. But in Milan there is an
other object of special historic interest, the
celebrated Painting of Leonardo de Vinci,
called The Last Supper" of which there
are so many engravingS all over the world
It is painted on the end wall of the refectory
of an old Monastry, but it has so far de-
cayed as to be lost to the world as a great
work of art. Repeated efforts have been
made to restore it, but without success. You
can still see the power of the artist in some
of the heads of the picture, which have suf-
fered the least injury. The impression on
the visitor is one of sadness and disappoint-
ment, for he sees but too plainly the blightings
of time upon one of the proudest triumphs of
human genius. The head of Christ, which
we wished mainly to see, has evidently lost
the wonderful expression given to it by the
artist. When the painting was first made,
Leonardo de Vinci left off the head of Christ,
saying, he could not paint Divinity jncsr-
nate, and it was with the utmost difficulty he
could be persuaded to put on canvass his con
Ception of Christ, as he appeared in that fear
full hour. There were a number of artists
there copying this famous painting, but the
specimens we saw gave no promise of re-
production of the original.
At Venice We spent few days in seeing
its various objects of interest. The church
of St. Mark, which claims to have the bones
of the Apostle under the high altar, is the