Alaska sentinel., 1903-01-29

nre, earthquake and war. It Is ready
 now to drop with old age. The part
 threatening collapse Is the fiat wooden
 roof which Is richly ornamented with
 ornate sunken panels In the style
 known as coffered. Both on account
 of Its antiquity and its beauty it's fall
 would be a loss to the whole world
 To make the roof safe would cost S4O,-
 900, and the Pope has ordered a sub-
 scription to raise the required amount.
 Cleopatra's Needle, like the Sphinx,
 Is monument of the dead past. No
 one likes to be told that 1t is falling to
 pieces. But this ancient landmark Is
 not withstanding the rigors of the Western climate. There in Central
 Park. New York. like the Sphinx on
 the Egyptian desert, 1t Is beginning to show marked signs of failing age. The
 fate of the transplanted relic of the Nile is assuredly the same as that of the native and undsturbed relic of the sands save for it's foreign surround.
 ings.
 The bell tower of San Stefano. In | Venice, Is threatening to fall. after
 having stood for more than 900 years, and portion of the front of the
 Church of Saints John and Paul has tumbled bodily outward. with its storied window, through which the ! light used to stream In softened splen. dor on the long array of sculptured tombs of the dead doges.
 The Parthenon.
 Most strenuous efforts a ra now hai,r made to save the Parthenon or Temple of Athena. that most perfect specimen of Greek architecture. Tourists arriv- ing In Athens are In a perfect state of exultation over what Is hoped to be the recovery of this proudest posses sion of Greece. Great praise Is due to the Archaeological Society of Athens
 for this. The work of saving the clas- sic pile from destruction was com
 menced in 1896, but since the fall of
 the Campanile greater alarm was felt
 for the safety of the Parthenon, so the
 society pushed the work to a finish. All these years the view has been | hidden by It's surrounding scaffolding. Now its face Is again revealed. The | Parthenon is great DOric temple erected under the superintendence of | Phidias, by Ictinus and Callicrates. It Is built of Pentelic marble. Eight | pillars mark the width of the struc- ture. On each side there are 15, not | counting those on the corners The
 total length is 22S feet. the height at
 the top of the pediment is 64 feet. Un-
 til 1t was used as q Turkish magazine l this magnificent relic of Periclean
 times stood little injured by the wealth CT or war. That was in 1887. when a l bomb from a Venetian mortar burst within, the explosion breaking the building practically in two. It was the time of the siege of the Acropolis | by the Venetans under Morosini. By
 order of Lord Elgin of England many of It's remaining glories were subse- quently removed. bringing it's final de-
 struction all the closer.
 Nothing was done to render the safe | ty of what was left more secure until 1895, when the Archaeological Society of Athens took an interest In the mat
 ter and experts were engaged to ln- spect the venerable ruins. The result
 of these deliberations was to strength en, but not restore, the facade of the
 Parthenon which was most threatened the western.
 l The design of the repairs was well
 conceived. and is being wisely carried
 out. Wherever the heavy stones of the
 architecture had not support sufficient
 they were strengthened by the inser-
 ton of maintaining pieces. by clamps
 and other contrivances that. while not
 changing the facade in the least de-