"In constructing a suspension bridge the piles of the Ponte Rotto were used as a foundation, which last structure was erected in the Middle Ages upon the foundations of the Pons Palatinus, finished under the censorship of Scipio Africanus. Scipio Africanus and a suspension bridge, such are the contrasts which can be found nowhere but in Rome." Ampère, Trans. Ponte San Angelo. See BRIDGE OF ST. ANGELO. Ponte SS. Trinita. A well-known bridge in Florence, Italy, constructed in the fourteenth century, but more than once restored. Ponte Vecchio. [The Old Bridge,] A celebrated bridge across the Arno in Florence, Italy, built in the fourteenth century, and, like the Rialto in Venice, a street of shops, appropriated to jewellers, goldsmiths, and other workers in metal. "The space of one house, in the centre, being left open, the view beyond is shown as in a frame; and that precious glimpse of sky, and water, and rich buildings, shining so quietly among the huddled roofs and gables on the bridge, is exquisite. Above it, the Gallery of the Grand Duke crosses the river. It was built to connect the two great palaces by a secret passage; and it takes its jealous course among the streets and houses, with true despotism: going where it lists, and spurning every obstacle away, before it." Dickens. "I returned homeward over the Ponte Vecchio, which is a continuous street of ancient houses, except over the central arch, so that a stranger might easily cross the river without knowing it.' Hawthorne. Taddeo Gaddi built me. I am old- stone by 10 broad, infected with mias mata, which for ages have given rise to malarial fevers. Many attempts have been made to drain these marshes. The tract is supposed to have been at one time a gulf of the sea; and within the historical period it was a fertile neighborhood, containing towns and a considerable population. Pool, The. A name given to a part of the river Thames, just below London Bridge, where the stream is divided into two channels by the rows of vessels anchored in it. Pool of Bethesda. A fountain in Jerusalem alluded to in the Bible (John v. 2-7). Its situation is not established beyond question, but it is by Dr. Robinson and others identified with the intermittent spring called the Fountain of the Virgin. See FOUNTAIN OF THE VIRGIN. "I could not but wish that it might have been Bethesda; but it cannot be reasonably supposed so." Miss Martineau. Pool of Siloam. This celebrated pool is near the Valley of Jehoshaphat at Jerusalem. It is a rectangular reservoir of stone, which is now crumbling, and overrun by a weedy growth, which adds beauty and grace to the scene. It is fed from a fountain high up in the rock. Its waters, once sacred to the Temple, are now used to irrigate the neighboring valleys. It is only three times referred to in the Scriptures. The waters of Siloah that flow softly. Isa. viii. 6. The wall of the pool of Silogah by the king's garden. Neh. iii. 15. Go wash in the pool of Siloam. He went his way, therefore, and washed and came seeing. John ix. 17. supply from a subterranean fountain which furnished water for the Holy City, the "Pools of Solomon" serving to render the supply of water constant. Pope's Head. A noted tavern in London, in existence as early as 1464, and still standing in 1756. Popolo. See PIAZZA DEL POPOLO and PORTA DEL POPOLO. Porcelain Tower. A celebrated tower in the city of Nanking, China. It was built the ninth century before Christ by King A-yon, was rebuilt in the fourth century of the Christian era, and, having been again destroyed, was rebuilt for the last time in 1413 by Hoang-li-Tai. The edifice, which was the most splendid of its kind in China, was octagonal in shape and 261 feet high. It was made of white brick, and the cost of the edifice is said to have been between $35000,000 and $40,000,000. This superb tower was destroyed during the Tae Ping occupation of the city in 1853. "When the introduction of Buddhism into the country necessitated the use of high towers, the Chinese achieved marvels in this kind of structure. The Great Porcelain Tower at Nankin attains a height of 350 feet. Originally eight chains of iron, falling from the summit at each of the eight angles, sustained 72 brass bells. Eighty other bells hung from the roofs of the nine stories, which were ornamented also with 128 lamps. From the summit rose a great mast, surrounded with a spiral cage in open-work, and crowned with a globe of an extraordinary size. This Porcelain Tower is so named because of the brilliant porcelain ornaments with which its walls and roofs are decked." Lefèvre, Tr. Donald. Porch, The. See STOA. Longfellow. Porchester Castle. An ancient fortress in the harbor of Portsmouth, England. Its origin is referred by some to the time of the Roman occupation. Port Coon Cave. A natural curiosity in the county of Antrim, Ireland. It is an extraordinary excavation in the basaltic rocks into which boats may row a long distance. Port Royal des Champs. A famous abbey, now in ruins, about eight miles from Versailles in France, the headquarters of the Jansenists. It was destroyed in 1709 through the influence of the Jesuits. In the seventeenth century a society of learned men gathered here for purposes of study, and published many works. From their place of residence. they are known in history as the Port Royalists. "France has many a lovelier prospect, though this is not without its beauty, and many a field of more heartstirring interest, though this, too, has been ennobled by heroic daring; but through the length and breadth of that land of chivalry and song, the traveller will in vain seek a spot so sacred to genius, to piety, and to virtue. The round tower of the dove-cote and the bases of the piers of the abbey chapel are all that remain of the once crowded monastery of Port Royal. In those woods Racine first learned the language of poetry. Under the roof of that humble farm-house, Pascal, Arnauld, Nicole, De Sacy, and Tillemont meditated those works which as long as civiliza tion and Christianity survive will retain their hold on the gratitude and reverence of mankind... To this seclu. sion retired the heroine of the Fronde, Ann Génévieve, Duchess of Longue. ville, to seek the peace the world could not give. Madame de Sévigné discov ered here a place tout propre à inspirer le désir de faire son salut.' From Versailles there came hither to worship God many a courtier and many a beauty, heart-broken or jaded with the very vanity of vanities - the idolatry of their fellow-mortals. Survey French society in the seventeenth century from what aspect you may, at Port Royal will be found the most illustrious examples of whatever imparted to that motley assemblage any real dignity or permanent regard." Stephen. Porta Aurea. See ARCH OF TRA JAN. Porta del Popolo. [Gate of the People.] A gate of Rome, upon the north, and not far from the site of the ancient Porta Flaminia, which was the entrance of the old Flaminian Way. The Porta del Popolo was built in 1561 from designs by Michael Angelo. "The first entrance of Rome is prodigiously striking. It is by a noble gate designed by Michael Angelo and adorned with statues; this brings you into a large square, in the midst of which is a large obelisk of granite, and in the front you have at one view two churches of a handsome architecture, and so much alike that they are called the twins, with three streets, the middlemost of which is one of the largest in Rome." Addison. Hence turning on the right out of the Porto del Popolo we came to Justinian's gardens neere the Muro torto, so prominently built as threatening every moment to fall, yet standing so for these thousand yeares. John Evelyn, 1644. Porta di San Giovanni. [Gate of St. John.] A modern gate of Rome, built by Gregory XIII. in the sixteenth century. It is near the ancient Porta Asinaria, which is now walled up, but which is the best preserved of those of the Aurelian wall, and is the one through which Belisarius first entered the city, and through which the treachery of the Isaurians allowed Totila to pass. Porta di San Paolo. [Gate of St. Paul.] A celebrated ancient gate in Rome, and one of the most picturesque entrances to the city. It was rebuilt by Belisarius, and a portion of it is thought to be older than his time. Porta di San Sebastiano. [Gate of St. Sebastian.] One of the ancient gateways of Rome. Porta Flaminia. [The Flaminian Gate.] One of the ancient gates of Rome, the place of which is now supplied by the Porta del Popolo. See PORTA DEL POPOLO. Porta Maggiore. [The Greater Gate.] The finest of the city gates of Rome, and a noble mon ument of ancient architecture. It was originally an arch of the aqueduct of Claudius. Porta Nigra. [The Black Gate.] A noted ruin and relic of Roman times at Trèves, in Rhenish Prussia. It was a provincial gate of justice. "It is the only example of its class which we possess in any thing like its original state. Notwithstand ing its defects of detail, there is a variety in the outline of this building and a boldness of profile that render it an extremely pleasing example of the style adopted, and, though exhibiting many of the faults incidental to the design of the Colosseum, it possesses all that repetition of parts and Gothic feeling of design which gives value to such dimensions." Fergusson. Porta Ostiensis. [The Ostian Gate.] One of the old Roman gates, leading to the seaport Ostia. Its place is now occupied by the Porta San Paolo. See PORTA DI SAN PAOLO. Porta Santa. [The Holy Gate.] A door adjoining the main entrance to St. Peter's in Rome, which is walled up and marked by a cross in the middle. It is pulled down by the pope in person on the Christmas-eve of the Jubilee which has taken place at the expiration of every period of 25 years (except 1850) since the time of Sixtus IV. The pope himself begins the destruction of the door by striking it with a silver hammer. The dates of the two preceding jubilees are afterwards placed over the entrance. There are three other basilicas in Rome, besides St. Peter's, viz.: St. John Lateran, Sta. Maria Maggiore, and St. Paolo fuori le Mură, which enjoy the dignity of a Porta Santa. "These holy years and doors were originally invented by Boniface VIII., at the termination of the thirteenth century, who proclaimed a jubi lee throughout the Christian world, with plenary indulgence and remission of sins to all who in the course of that year should visit the shrines of the apostles and martyrs of Christianity at Rome; and commanded this festival to be held for evermore at the expiration of every century. But it was found so lucrative to the Holy See from the heaps of gold the piety of wealthy pilgrims poured on the altars, that instead of one the number was gradually multiplied to four jubilees or holy years in every age. Thus after the holy doors have been walled up, and the brazen cross upon them devoutly pressed by the lips and rubbed by the foreheads and chins of the pious for five and twenty years, they are thrown open, and the Pope, followed by ev ery good Christian, walks into the four churches through them, but always walks out by some door not holy." Eaton. "After preliminary prayers from Scripture, singularly apt, the pope goes down from his throne, and, armed with a silver hammer, strikes the wall in the doorway, which, hav. ing been cut round from its jambs and lintel, falls at once inwards, and is cleared away in a moment by the San Pietrini. The pope then, bareheaded and torch in hand, first enters the door, and is followed by his cardinals and other attendants to the high altar, where the first vespers of Christmas Day are chanted as usual. The other doors of the church are then flung open, and the great queen of churches is filled." Cardinal Wiseman. Porta Westphalica. [The Westphalian Gate.] A pass in the mountain range called the Wiehengebirge near Minden, Ger many. Portage Bridge. A famous wooden bridge at Portage, N.Y., 800 feet long, and 234 feet high. It is said to have been the largest wooden structure of the kind in the world. It is now replaced by an iron structure. Portamento della Croce. [Bearing of the Cross.] A fine picture by Gaudenzio Ferrari (1484-1550). Porte St. Denis. A triumphal arch, 76 feet in height, in Paris, built in 1672 in honor of the victories of Louis XIV. The walls of Paris at that time ran where the Boulevards now are, and this arch was one of the gates of the city. The tops of this arch and of the Porte St. Martin were occupied and held by the insurgents in 1830. "It commemorates some of the wonderful feats of arms of Ludovicus Magnus, and abounds in ponderous allegories- nymphs and river-gods, and pyramids crowned with fleurs-delis; Louis passing over the Rhine in triumph, and the Dutch lion giving up the ghost, in the year of our Lord 1672." Thackeray. He [Voltaire] is properly their god,such god as they are fit for. Accordingly all persons, from the Queen Antoinette to the Douanier at the Porte St. Denis, do they not worship him? Carlyle. Porte St. Martin. A triumphal arch in Paris, 57 feet high and 57 feet wide, erected in 1675 in honor of the victories of Louis XIV. See PORTE ST. DENIS. Portland Vase. This beautiful work of art was found in a sarcophagus in a sepulchre near Rome about the year 1560. It was formerly the principal ornament of the Barberini palace in Rome, but afterwards became the property of the Duchess of Portland, and after her death was deposited in the British Museum. It is composed of glass and enamel, out of which figures are cut in the manner of a cameo. There are different opinions as to the designs of these figures, but all agree as to the value and beauty of the work. Copies of it were executed by Wedgwood, one of which may be seen in the British Museum. The original vase was broken in 1845, but the pieces were so skilfully put together that scarcely a blemish can be detected. It is kept in the medalroom of the museum. Portman Square. A well-known public square in London. A vessel of Portsmouth, The. the United States navy, with which, aided by the Levant, Admiral Foote attacked and took the four Barrier-forts in Canton, China, in 1856. Portugal Street. A street in London which has acquired considerable notoriety from the court for the relief of insolvent debtors being held there. Posilipo, Grotta di. See GROTTA DI POSILIPO. Potiphar's Wife accusing Joseph. A picture by Rembrandt van Ryn (1607-1669), the Dutch painter. It is now in the Hermitage at St. Petersburg, Russia. Potomac, The. A noted frigate of the United States navy, in service in the war of 1812. She was built at Washington. Potter's Field. An ancient burial place for strangers at Jerusalem. It is on a hill overlooking the Valley of Hinnom. Poulterer's Shop. A picture by Gerard Dow (1613-1680), the Dutch genre-painter. In the National Gallery, London. Poultry. A well-known street in London anciently occupied by poulterers, whence the name. Poverty. A picture by Hans Holbein the Younger (1498?-1543), well known by engravings. The original perished at Whitehall in 1698. Powderham Castle. A noble mansion, the seat of the Earl of Devon, near Kenton, England. Pozzi. See WELLS, THE. Praça do Commercio. and handsome public square in Lisbon, Portugal. A large Prado, El. [The Meadow.] The grand boulevard of Madrid, Spain, converted by Charles III. from a meadow, as the name indicates, into a delightful promenade. "The interior of the city of Madrid, taken as a whole, is far from handsome. It should not, however, be forgotten that no city in Europe can boast within its walls so fine a walk as the Prado." George Ticknor. "To me the Prado is an inexhaustible source of amusement. In the first place, it is in itself the finest public walk I have ever seen within the walls of any city.... Anciently it was an uneven meadow of little beauty, but famous for being the scene of the plots, murders, duels, and intrigues of the city and court. It was not, however, until the middle of the last century that Charles III. levelled it, and made it the beautiful walk it now is.... During the forenoon, and nearly all the afternoon, no part of the city in summer is so silent and deserted as this. At five o'clock the whole Prado is watered, to prevent the dust which would otherwise be intolerable. Just before sundown the carriages and crowd begin to appear, and about half an hour the exhibition is in its greatest splendor. On your left hand are two rows of carriages slowly moving up and down on each side, while the king and the infantas dash up and down in the middle with all the privileges of royalty, and compel everybody on foot to take off his hat as he passes, and everybody in a carriage to stop and stand up. Every time I see this singularly picturesque crowd mingled with the great number of the officers of the guard that are always there in splendid uniforms, and contrasted with the still greater number of priests and monks in their dark, severe costumes, I feel persuaded anew that it is the most striking moving panorama the world can afford." George Ticknor. Prairie Avenue. A well-known and prominent street in Chicago, Ill. Prarie de Lacken. A landscape picture by Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), now in Buckingham Palace, London. Prater, The. A celebrated promenade in Vienna, Austria, consisting of avenues nearly four miles in length, and greatly frequented. "In the afternoon we drove out to the Prater- the famous Prater. It is a great public garden and drive, intersected with many pleasant walks and roads, ornamented with fine old trees, and parts of it enlivened with large numbers of deer, while other parts are rendered still more lively with coffee-houses, puppet-shows, and shows of animals. But we enjoyed very much the drive into the more picturesque parts, where the deer were browsing undisturbed, and oaks a thousand years old cast their shade upon us, as they had perchance in their youth upon the court of Charlemagne." George Ticknor. Prato della Valle. A well-known public square in Padua, Italy, containing a large number of colossal statues. Pratt Street. A street in Balti more, Md. It was while passing |