The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-04-18

without emotions of reverence and alteration.
In one place. at a little distance from each other.
were assembled two separate groups OF stu
dents,al sittinR upon tho fe or with the Koran In
their hands, listening to the loud reading ana
exposition of their two professors who would
first give a passage from the sacred book. and
then pause TO explain and comment. The read
Ing was apparently in Arabic, and l thought that
the exposition was also In that language. but In
this I may have been mistaken. The only
point that I was quite sure of was that neither
OF the two schools seemed To be interferod with
by the other, although the instruction In each
was audible to the students of the other rs
we'll as TO the strangers who stood around.
From st. Sophia we drove to the museum OF
antiquities at SeraGlio Point. This Is an In
stitution which has existed moro than forty
years. but IL Is only In the last tan years that IL
has risen into serious Importance. Now tie law
10 that all objects of antiquity unearthed in any
part OF the Turkish empire must be brought
here for preservation and exhibition, and an
experienced ANTIQUARIAN can spend a day
pro6tably In examining tho collection long
since assembled.
But It was not until 1887 that the great dis
covery was made at Sidon, which has raised
the museum to high distinction among the ia
nous collections OF the great European cities.
This dissoverv produced seventeen sarcophagi,
the most important of them Greek. all of which
are now to be ssen here. One among them,
known as the sarcophaRus of Alexan, or .he
Great, excels all the others. and must DO
ranked among tho most admirable re-
mains Of Grecian sculpture. Though there
Is no reason to believe that IL was made for
Alexander II Is called by his name because his
efigy Is conspicuous among it's carvings. II
Is OF white marble. perhaps u little less than
elk feet high, and all four Of its sides are GOV.
cred With the nnblest strle of Greek art. On
one side q hunt l., depicted: on the other side
q ba tie. and each end has q battle scene. The
entablatures, which are covered with these
scenes, arc perhaps two feet and a half in
height. Tho figures are in high relief and In
violent action. and. what is more remarkable,
thoy are all gently tinted with delicate colors
that add much to the effect. but do not injure
tho quality of the marble surface. It
is one Of the most wonderful works that
have been recovered from antiquity. wor-
thy OF being matched with tho Venus of
Milo and the Herines OF Olympia. Precisely
when It was made. or who was tho artist who
conceived and executed such q glorious prod uc-
ton. is unknown. There 1, no mention or allu-
sion In classical literature that indicates
either It's epoch or Its authorship: but the trav-
eller wit has not seen It should pack his trunk
as quickly as possible. and take his tickets for
the Golden Horn. =
ourd day was now we'll advanced. yet after
st. Sophia and the Museum and the Ba-
zaar. 1t was still impossible 10 leave the
place without DRIVING around the ancient
walls. Few things in all Europe are bet
ter worth seeing: and. II I were to visit
the old city . thousand times, should
always wish to SEQ them again. The day
was l0velv and our carrta1n. ,or -a.a 49,.
the rouEhness Of the streets was something that
NO one could imaElne.without driving through
them. The further west you go and the nearer
you approach to the ancient towers, the more
precinitously rough, back ward. forward, and
Sideways. tho roads become. However, we
lived through 1t. until we reached the head
waters Of the Golden Horn. There, hiring n
boat and rowers, we dismissed:our shatterinR
cabs and got back to our ship in time to make
everything comfortable before she started To
20 up the Bosporus.
As we were passing out of the Golden Horn
and turning our pro toward the north we
came upon . lovely American yacht of per.
haps 800 tons. painted white and bearing the
starry banner. What her name was and who
was her owner we could:not find out. But It
was almost like seeing home:once more, and all
our hearts gave three cheers again and again.
The:journey up tho Bosporus from Constan-
tinople 10 the Black Sea is among the spocta-
cles that every traveller celebrates. We accom-.
plished 1t in sunshine. and with the flowers CT
the peach trees and: Judas trees in full display.
The distance is perhaps twenty-five or thirty
miles. and the high and gently slopinz and va.
ried shores are covered with villas. palaces,
gardens. and castles. It was indeed a deli
cious excursion. We entered tho Black Sea
before dark, and without further adventure
found ourselves at Odessa the second morning
afterward at atout 10 o'clock. G. A., ID.