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The recent and lamentable death of "the age's wonder," Lord Byron, having rendered every thing connected with the classic land of Greece the object of peculiar attention, we present our Readers with a view of Athens, not from the feeling that they need any excitation to be reminded of the country of heroes and sages, "the greatest this world e'er saw," but in pursuance of our plan, to give at intervals accurate engravings of all the splendid monuments of ancient greatness, and to illustrate our subject, we will quote a modern traveller.

At length, says M. de Chateaubriand arrived the great day of our entrance into Athens. At three in the morning we were all on horseback, and proceeded in silence along the Sacred Way; and never did the most devout of the initia ted experience transports equal to mine. The first thing that struck me was the citadel illumined by the rising sun. was exactly opposite to me, on the other VOL. III.

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side of the plain, and seemed to be supported by Mount Hymettus, which formed the back ground of the picture. It exhibited, in a confused assemblage, the capitals of the Propylæa, the columns of the Parthenon, and of the temple of Erectheus, the embrasures of a wall planted with cannon, the Gothic ruins of the Christians, and the edifices of the Mussulmans.

I proceeded towards Athens with a kind of pleasure which deprived me of the power of reflection; not that I experienced any thing like what I had felt, at the sight of Lacedæmon. Sparta and Athens have, even in their ruins, retaived their different characteristics; those of the former, are gloomy, grave, and solitary; those of the latter, pleas ing, light, and social. At the sight of the land of Lycurgus, every idea becomes serious, manly, and profound; the soul, fraught with new energies, seems to be elevated and expanded: be No. 68.

fore the city of Solon, you are enchanted, as it were by the magic of genius; you are filled with the idea of the perfection of man, considered as an intelligent and immortal being.

We entered the olive wood; and before we reached the Cephisus we met with two tombs and an altar to Jupiter the indulgent. We soon distinguished the bed of the Cephisus, between the trunks of the olive-trees which bordered it like aged willows. I alighted to salute the river and to drink of its water; I found just as much as I wanted in a hollow, close to the bank; the rest had been turned off higher up, to irrigate the plantations of olives. I have always taken a pleasure in drinking at the celebrated rivers which I have passed in my life: thus I have drunk of the water of the Mississippi, the Thames, the Rhine, the Po, the Tiber, the Eurotas, the Cephisus, the Hermus, the Gradicus, the Jordan, the Nile, the Tagus, and the Ebro !

We proceeded for about half an hour, through wheat stubbles, before we reached Athens. A modern wall, recently repaired, and resembling a garden wall, encompasses the city. We passed through the gate, and entered little rural streets, cool, and very clean; each house has its garden, planted with orange and fig-trees.

My guide pointed out the relics of an antique temple, almost at his own door; then, turning to the right, we proceeded along small but very populous streets.' We passed through the bazaar, abuńdantly supplied with butcher's meat, game, vegetables, and fruit.

On passing the middle of modern Athens, and proceeding directly west, the houses begin to be more detached, and then appear large vacant spaces, some enclosed within the walls of the city, and others lying without the walls. In these forsaken spaces we find the temple of Theseus, 'the Pnyx, and the Areopagus. I shall not describe the first, of which there are already so many descriptions, and which bears a great resemblance to the Parthenon ; but shall comprehend it in the general reflections which I shall presently make on the subject of the architecture of the Greeks. This temple is in better preservation than any other edifice in Athens: after having long been a church dedicated to St. George, it is now used for a storehouse.

The Areopagus was situated on an eminence to the west of the citadel

You can scarcely conceive how it was possible to erect a structure of any magnitude on the rock, where its ruins are to be seen. A little valley, called in ancient Athens, Cole, the hollow, separates the hill of the Areopagus from the hill of the Payx, and that of the citadel. In the Cole were shown the tombs of the two Cymnor of Thucydides, and of Herodotus.

The Payx, where the Athenians first held their popular assemblies, is a kind of esplanade, formed on a steep rock, at the back of the Lycabettus. A wall composed of enormous stones supports this esplanade on the north side; on the south stands a rostrum, hewn out of the solid rock, with an ascent of four steps, likewise cut out of the rock.

Pericles, Alcibiades, and Demosthenes, In this rostrum then, it was that

delivered their orations; that Socrates and Phocion harangued the people in the most mellifluous and the most expressive language in the world. It was here that so many unjust acts were committed; that so many iniquitous and cruel decrees were pronounced. This was, perhaps, the spot where Aristides was exiled, where Melitus triumphed, where the entire population of a city was sentenced to die, where a whole nation was doomed to slavery.

The top of the hills is surrounded with walls, partly of ancient and partly of 'modern construction; other walls formerly encompassed its base. In the space comprised within these walls are, in the first place, the relics of the Propylæa, and the ruins of the temple of Victory. Behind the Propylæa, on the left, towards the city, you next find the Pandroseum, and the double temple of Neptune Erectheus and Minerva Polias; lastly, on the most elevated point of the Acropolis stands the temple of Minerva. The rest of the space is covered with the rubbish of ancient and modern buildings, and with the tents, arms. and barracks, of the Turks.

The first thing that strikes you in the edifices of Athens is the beautiful colour. of those monuments. In our climate, in an atmosphere overcharged with smoke, and rain, store of the purest white soon turns black, or of a greenish hue. The serene sky and the brilliant sun of Greece merely communicate to the marble of Paros and Pentelicus, a golden tint resembling that of ripe corn or the autumnal foliage.

Next to their general harmony, their accordance with places and sites, their adaptation to the purposes for which they

were designed, and the high finish of all the parts, is what must be admired in the edifices of Greece. In them, the object which is not intended to be seen, is wrought with as much care as the exterior compositions. The junctures of the blocks which form the columns of the temple of Minerva are so perfect as to require the greatest attention to discover them, and to leave a mark no thicker than the finest thread.

The roses, the plinths, the mouldings, the astragals, all the details of the edifice, exhibit the same perfection. The lines of the capital, and the fluting of the columns of the Parthenon, are so sharp, that you would be tempted to suppose that the entire column had passed through a lathe. No turner's work in ivory can be more delicate than the Ionic, ornaments of the temple of Erectheus; and the cariatides of the Pandroseum are perfect models. If, after viewing the edifices of Rome, those of France appeared coarse to me, the structures of Rome now seem barbarous in their turn, since I have seen the monuments of Greece; not even excepting the Parthenon, with its disproportionate pediment. The comparison may be easily made at Athens, where the Grecian architecture is often placed quite close to architecture of Roine.

We ascended by the half-destroyed staircase of the minaret; we seated ourselves on a broken part of the frieze of the temple, and looked around us. We had Mount Hymettus on the east; the Pentelycus on the north; the Paraes on the north-west; the Mounts Icarus, Cordyalus, or galæa, on the west, and be yond the former was perceived the summit of the Citharon; and to the southwest and south appeared to the sea, the Piræus, the coast of Salamis, Egina, Epidarus, and the citadel of Corinth.

Below us, in the hollow, whose circumference I have just described, were seen the hills and most of the monuments of Athens; to the south-west, the hill of the Museum, with the tomb of Philopappus; to the west, the rocks of the Areopagus, the Payx, and the Lycabettus; to the north, the little mount of Achesmus, and to the east the hills which overlook the Stadium. At the very foot of the citadel lay the ruins of the theatre of Bacchus and of Herodes Atticus. To the left of these ruins stood the huge detached columns of the temple of Jupiter Olympius; and still farther off, looking towards the north west, we perceived the site of the

Lyceum, the course of the Illissus, the Stadium, and a temple of Diana or Ceres. In the west and north-west quarter, towards the large wood of olive trees, was the site of the outer Ceramicus, the Academy, and its road bordered with tombs. Lastly, in the valley formed by the Anchesmus and the citadel, was seen the modern town

You must now figure to yourself all this space, partly waste and covered with a yellow heath; partly interspersed. with olive-groves, fields of barley, and vineyards. Your imagination must represent shafts of columns and heaps of ancient and modern ruins, scattered among these cultivated lands; and whitened walls, and the enclosures of gardens intersecting them. You must scatter over this space Albanian women fetching water, or washing the garments of the Turks at the wells; peasants going and coming, driving asses, or carrying provisions on their backs, to the city. You must conceive all these mountains which have such fine names, all these celebrated ruins, all these islands, all these seas not less famous, illumiged by a brilliant light. From the summit of the Acropolis, I beheld the sun rise between the two peaks of Mount Hymettus; the crows which build their nests around the citadel but never soar to its summit, hovered below us; their black and polished wings were tinged with roseat hues by the first radi nt beams of Aurora; columns of light blue smoke ascended in the shade, along the sides of the Hymettus, and marked the gardens where the bees are kept: Athens, the Acropolis, and the ruins of the Parthenon, were coloured with the most beautiful tints of peachblossom; the sculptures of Phidias, struck horizontally by a ray of gold, started into life and seemed to move upon the marble from the mobility of the shadows of the relief; in the distance, the sea and the Piræus were perfectly white with the light; and the citadel of Corinth, reflecting the brilliancy of the rising day, glowed on the southern horizon like a rock of purple and fire.

From this spot where we were placed we might, in the prosperous times of Athens, have seen her fleets standing out of the Piræus to engage the enemy, or to repair to the feasts of Delos: we might have heard the griefs of dipe, Philoctetus, and Hecuba, burst from the theatre of Bacchus; we might have listened to the applanses of the citizens and the orations of Demosthenes. But

alas! no sound met our ears, save a few shouts from an enslaved populace, issuing at intervals from those walls which so long re-echoed the voice of a free people. To console myself, I said what we are obliged to be continually repeating every thing passes away, every thing must have an end in this world. Whither are fled those divine geniuses, who reared the temple on whose ruins I was seated? This sun which, perhaps, beamed on the last moment of the poor girl of Megara, had witnessed the death of the brilliant Aspasia. This picture of Attica, this spectacle which I contemplated, had been surveyed by eyes that have been closed above two thousand years; I, too, shall soon be no more; and other mortals, transitory as myself, will make the same reflections on the same ruins."

ARTS AND SCIENCES.

ZEROSTATION.

Since, owing to a late melancholy event, and a combination of other causes, the public is taking more than ordinary interest in subjects of this nature, we Jay before them the following facts, trusting, that if they effect no advancement in this department of science, they will, at least, help to explain its principles, and so far prove acceptable to the less scientific portion of our readers.

In the year 1672, Bishop Wilkins published a treatise, entitled, "The discovery of the New World ;" in which, quoting from Albertus de Saxonia and Francis Mendara, he says, "that the air is, in some parts of it, nagivable; and upon this static principle, any brass or iron vessel (supposing a kettle), whose substance is much heavier than water, yet being filled with lighter air, will swim upon it, and not sink-so suppose a cup or wooden vessel upon the outward borders of this elementary air, the capacity of it being filled with fire, or rather etherial air, it must necessarily, upon the same ground, remain swimming there, and of itself can no more fall than an empty ship can sink.' This idea, however, was not pursued, and his hopes of accomplishment rested upon the strength of men, or springs, &c.

The jesuit Francis Lana supposed that a metalline vessel might be made so large, that when emptied of its air, it would be able to raise itself in the air, and to take up passengers along with it. The theory was unexceptionable,

but the means proposed were insuffi cient to the end; for a vessel of copper made so thin as was necessary to make it float in the atmosphere, would be unable to resist the external pressure.

In the year 1709, Friar Gusman, a Portuguese, applied to the king for encouragement to his invention of a flying machine. The principle seems to have been that of a kite. The machine was in form like a bird, with tubes through which the wind was to pass, to fill some sails, which were to elevate it: when the wind was insufficient, bellows, concealed within the body of the machine,' were to be used. The ascent was to be promoted by the electric attraction of pieces of amber, and two spheres, inclosing magnets, placed at the top.

In 1766, Mr. H. Cavendish ascertained the weight, &c. of inflammable air, determining it seven times lighter than common air. Soon after it occurred to Dr. Black that a bag filled with inflammable air might be buoyed up by the atmosphere; but his avocations prevented him from pursuing the experiment. The same thought occurred some years after to Mr. Cavallo, and he was the first to make experiments on the subject. He tried bladders, but the thinnest was found too heavy: he then tried Chinese paper, but that proved so permeable, that the vapour easily passed through it. His experiments, therefore, made in 1782, went no further than blowing up soap bubbles with inflammable air, which ascended rapidly to the ceiling and broke against it.

Two brothers, Stephen and John Montgolfier, paper manufacturers, turned their thoughts towards this project in 1792. The idea was suggested by the ascent of smoke, and their design was to enclose smoke in a bag and make it carry up the covering. In November that year the experiment w as tried with a fine silk bag, of a parallelopiped shape. Burning paper was applied to the lower aperture, and the bag ascended and struck the ceiling. Tried in the open air, it rose seventy feet.

An experiment on a larger scale was now proposed, and a machine, containing 650 cubit feet, was made, which broke the cords confining it, and rose 600 feet. Another 35 feet diameter, rose 1,000 feet, and fell three quarters of a mile from where it ascended. public exhibition was made on the 5th June, 1783, at Annonay. A bag of linen lined with paper, containing 23,000 cubit feet, had power to lift 500 pounds

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weight. The operation was began by burning chopped straw and wood under the balloon, which immediately began to swell. This mounted in ten minutes 6,000 feet, and fell 7,668 feet from where it rose.

One of these brothers tried another experiment at the expence of the Academy of Sciences. This machine lifted from the ground eight persons who held it, and would have carried them off if more had not assisted. A wicker cage was attached, containing a sheep, a cock, and a duck, which were the first animals ever sent through the atmosphere. It rose 1440 feet, and fell 10,200 feet off.

M. Montgolfier proposed to make a new ærostatic machine of firmer construction than the former, and M. Pelatre de Rozier offered himself to be the first aerial adventurer. This machine was constructed in a garden in the Fauxbourgh de St. Antoine. It was of an oval shape, 45 feet in diameter, and 74 in height. A gallery, grate, &c. were appended, so that the person who ascended could supply the fire with fuel, and keep up the machine as long as he pleased. The weight of the apparatus was 1600 pounds. The experiment was performed on the 15th of October, 1782, M. Pilatre ro se 84 feet, where he kept it afloat four minutes and a half; after which it descended gently; but such was its tendency to rise, that it rebounded some distance after touching the ground. On repeating the experiment in calm weather, he ascended 210 feet. Some time after he descended in company with M. Girond de Villette to the height of 330 feet; hovering over Paris at least nine minutes in sight of all of the inhabitants, and the machine keeping all the while perfectly steady.

It was now obvious these machines might be raised or lowered at the will of the person who ascended. On the 21st of November, therefore, M. Pilatre determined to take a flight in the balloon with full liberty. M. Pilatre ascended with the Marquis d'Arlandes, and in twenty-five minutes passed over five miles.

M. Montgolfier designed to keep the secret from the world, but it could not be concealed. Inflammable air was afterwards tried in the place of rarified air; but frequently from ignorance of the proper apparatus with which to fill the balloon, whole days were lost in the attempt.

In 1783 Messrs. Robert and Charles

ascended, and alighted twenty-seven miles from Paris. On M. Robert get ting out of the boat, it ascended with M. Charles 9000 feet, entirely out of the sight of terrestrial objects. He opened the valve to prevent its busting, on which the inflammable air diffused iself all round, and felt like a warm atmosphere. It suddenly became cold; his fingers were benumbed, and he felt violent pain in his right ear and jaw; which he ascribed to the dilation of these organs. The beauty of the prospect, however, compensated for these inconveniences. The sun was set on the vallies; he saw for a few seconds vapours rising from the vailies and rivers. The clouds seemed to ascend from the earth, and collect one upon the other, still preserving their usual form; their colour, grey and monotonous for wat of sufficient light in the atmosphere. By the moon's light he perceived the machine was turning round with him in the air, and he observed there were con trary currents which brought him back again. He observed, also, the effects of the wind, and that his streamers pointed upwards; which, he says, could not be the effect of ascent or descent, as he was moving horizontally. He gently alighted in a field three miles distant from whence he set out. He rose this time 10,500 feet; a height greater than that of Mount Etna.

Several unsuccessful attempts have been made to affix oars or sails to balloons, for the purpose of controling them; but M. Jean Pierre was the first of these experimentalists. In his third aerial voyage he seemed to produce some effect by the agitation of his wings, both in ascending, descending, moving sideways, and even, in some measure, against the wind; in all his succeeding voyages, the effects of his machinery could not be perceived.

A scheme was put in execution by M. Pilatre de Rozier, and M. Romaine, to raise or lower the machine by means of a small balloon with rarified air fixed under an inflammable air balloon. They ascended without appearance of danger; but had not been long in the atmosphere, when the inflammable air balloon was seen to swell very considerably, at the same time that the aeronauts were observed very anxious to get down, and hurried in pulling the valve, and opening the appendages to the balloon, in order to facilitate the escape of as much inflammable air as possible. A short time after this the whole machine was