| Show des bes athens greece april 10 isa 3 president brigham Brig llam Jiam young dear brother our short stay of four days at constantinople gave us but little time to form an acquaintance with a people so reserved and exclusive in their domestic affairs as are the turks the more we examined the city the more we appreciated its fine situation the quarters called galata and pera between the golden horn and the bosah bob Bos orua orna are being built up much in the european style many M a y aarts parts of constantinople proper cand called stamboul tam boul have been burned nt at different if periods penn peri odB and much of the remainder would bo be improved by clearing clear clearing off the old ric ketty wooden buildings v widening denin g and straightening the streets and erecting more sightly and substantial buildings its population pu lation including immediate suburbs is stated to be and under a liberal government it would become one of the largest commercial cities in the world its possession has been fiercely contested con tested within the period of history it being recorded to have been besieged twenty four times and taken six elx times the latin crusaders under dandolo Don Dou dolo the blind doge of venice in 1203 1303 conquered and pillaged this city not even sparing paring s the tombs tomb of the emperors the sacred ornaments of the church of st sophia were carried to venice its final conquest by sultan lab lah mahmond and 2nd 0 was in 1481 the tile mosque of st sophia stripped of its images its crosses crosse sand and paIn paintings tines tinis mutilated remains in good presentation to this day four stately minarets mina having been erected to give it the character and appearance of a mosque to build that church justinian justini all ail had plundered the temples of asia egypt kr treece greece ecce and rome it measures feet north andl and south by cast and west and was built in the byzantine style when it was token by the turks it was filled with a worshipping wor shipping cengr congregation ca tion of frightened men women add and children who hoped they would be protected and their lives preserved in the church history states they were massacred in the building in by the soldiers our guide told us tag that t a clergyman was performing service bervice at the time and was but half ahr through that the marble opened when whet the tr turks k entered and enclosed the minister and hia hla boy assistant and that when the Christi christl christiana ails atis again take the building the marble will open and the priest and boy come out and finish the service ser Fer vice the guide did not seem to credit the legend but said it w wab was as believed by many A considerable portion of the inhabitants I 1 tan ts of constantinople are arc G greers greeks reck reek s gen baker the american minister with whom we had a pleasant interview stated that the turks at the present were far more tolerant to the christians than the christians are towards each other ile lie expected to soon receive instructions to sign a protocol which will authorize american citizens to purchase and hold bold real estate and enjoy the rights and protection of citizens we called on the german minister minis ter ten and were cou con courteously entertained we witnessed the procession of the sultan going to tei thi mosque on friday the turkish sunday accompanied by his son A magnificent boat richly gilt Wilt with a highly ornamented throne under a canopy rowed by 26 oarsmen oarsman oars men a smaller boat with the son soil rowed past seven steamships of war formed in line with their masts and 6 rigging ging covered with men during the time 21 guns were fired by the ships he be was received nt at the by some 1200 infantry and a large number of officers in gay y uniform lie he stepped from the boat to the platform and walked it up p the steps stepa into the mosque on his hid n the firing was omitted Is somewhat remarkable for a large number of very fine horses well fed and cared for on our visit to the sweet waters w we C saw hundreds of carrIaL carrias rea rca a laree number of which contained turkish lad lesonly their eyes unveiled though most of the tile veils were thin the the turnouts turn outs oats were most of them first class the sexes of the natives riding separately on the morning of the ath we went on board the steamship mars and arrived at syra on the evening of the 61 uh 11 where brother and sister snow bro carrington and myself re shipped on the steamship wier wien while brother brothen LittIe and daughter and brother jennings not wishing to visit greece stayed on the mars on their way to trieste and venice expecting to stop a day or two at venice from which place e brother little and daughter purpose proceeding to england we arrived at rineus the port of athens and I 1 having laving a beautiful land landlocked lock harbor on the m morning arnin g of the ath on the ath visited the temple of jupiter olympus sixteen of the original columns are arc standing a fallen one shows the mode of their construction also the arch of hadrian near by which formerly was on the line between the city of theseus and the city of hadrian who reigned in rome A D then drove to the monument of Lysic rates said to be the most ancient monument in the corinthian style B C 1 then to a he the Dionysi dionysian ae theatre on the casl carl east cast t comer of the southeast south east slope of the acropolis built B C sio then to the of erodes herodes IT from there the gulde guide pointed out the so called museum hill hlll the prison rison of socrates the onyx and mars hill fill all near by then to the ean entrance to the temples on the acropolis on the left was the pedestal of the statue of agrippa to the right the ruins of the temple of nike Apt Ap teros ero cro or victory with out wings erected in honor of the greek victory at marathon from thence the guide pointed out the island of salamis Sala saia mis and the straits of salamis where the greeks de defeated the persians in a naval battle we then went into the Part henno or temple of the virgin then to a point where we had haq a nine fine yiew view over athens Ath and huchor much of the surrounding country then to the a temple just north of the parthenon and near the north wall of the acropolis then we drove to the onyx and stood on the stone platform from which it Is said demosthenes and others used to adar address ebs CBS t the h e people assembled in the open air then we drove to t the he temple of theseus in which are many specimens of statuary more or less injured and many other antiques then to an old c cemetery e recently laid bare in part where are some fine specimens of burm burk m monuments onu then we were shown one side of the magazine maca maza zinc zine of hadrian which had some fine column columns s then an ancient market gate near which was a stone column on which ph was chiseled an ancient price list then the temple of eolus or the wines wings and from thence to the hotel after an interesting te and instruct instructive iye lye out of nearly lour tour hours bours last evening agreeable ag rembie to invitation we took tea at tiie tite the amerian ministers and spent some two and a half hours very agreeably this city is said to contain inhabitants and piraeus the two connected by a five mile railroad the only one in greece there are two other good small email harbors near the piraeus christian are tolerated but no Is allowed except to the established oriental greek church tile the icing though a lutheran lias has his children baptized by immersion by the greek pat rat patriarch ri constituting them members 0 of f the greek church as Is their russian mother the orange trees are loaded with ripening fruit and are both useful and arid ornamental what our guide called pepper trees are much used tor for shade and are arc very handsome only a small part of G greece reece recce eail can be cultivated the residue being mountainous and swam swampy y barley Is headed outa out and looks look svery very F luxuriant the deef beef beella is excellent also the butter and honey one thinks of these things after being some weeks in tu turkey key it li asserted that there is no brun brigandage sage sago in greece now as an evidence we are rold told it we were to visit the field ot of marathon or take a drive inthe in the regions adjacent to this city lity we ve must give a days notice and a guard ot of soldiers will be sent with us at the expense ot of the government which at leat leae shows a determination to protect travelers I 1 have not seen an american flag in the mediterranean but yesterday I 1 met the admiral ot of the U 9 mediterranean deet ceet and the captain ot of the ft wabash and several other officers of the U S na navo navy vy they told me there were six V U S ships of war in tho the mediterranean but for some time past they had bad been off the coast of spain watching hatchl american interests there the wabash I 1 and another ship are now la in greek waters when athens contained inhabitants with the temples on the acropolis in their splendor etwas it was probably worth visiting especially it if men spent their time as st paul describes in acts chapter 17 the ruins show an extensive knowledge ot of architecture and arid the mechanic arts an immense venetian tower somewhat rea rca the outlines of the acropolis therease Ther there eare oare are marks on the columns ot of the parthenon ot of the cannonade during the greek independence pen dence and there is a pile pi to ot of sheils shells and cannon ball balls near the prop lea ea or entrance to the tile temples though not with you in person at the conference we vre were with you in spirit and while traveling to acquire general information and improve health we exercise our faith by constant prayer to our father in heaven that a double portion of the holy spirit arlt may rest upon n you and president wells and all the UK priesthood riest niest hood lood ot of zion and feel cont confident ident that zions cause is daliy dally strengthening while satans gatans kingdom Is growing more rotten and divided our party all unite with me in a hearty god bless you ou arid and all israel A SMITH THE following is a portion portio of a letter from president geo A smith to a member of his family samily HOTEL AV att grand gnand PARIS varis VERONA italy april 1873 we were five days on the water between athens aud trieste we spent all day suit sun day on the steamer in the harbor of syra waiting for the tile arrival of the jupiter from constantinople and changed to mate late in the evening it was dark and the water somewhat rough and the process of changing steamers in a small email boat was wag somewhat difficult but bih was made without accident we have had exceeding fine weather at sea being altogether some fifteen days since we left brindisi Brind isi en route for egypt and I 1 reel feel to speak spear well of the austrian lloyd steamers slow and poking as they go paddle paddle they carry us safely around I 1 for fon or about fourteen hours after I 1 left syra I 1 was gessick seasick sea sick bick after which my disposition to cast up accounts ceased this was caused by a fresh breeze ahead we wc spent brent t our oar day at trieste partly rainy in yli I 1 ing the wonders of that commercial comme me iclal port of f the austrian empire A A number of steamers and a great number of bailing sailing vessels are constantly there the austrian government is bul bui building iding an immense ship of war the largest of other othen ner her navy which looks like a floating palace and seems to be a heavy drain on the imperial treasury to very tery little purpose the streets are well paved mostly with good square quare stone blocks which contrast g finely with the rough narrow ill III pared paved streets of turkish cities oar hotel de vuie vule was good but we had to go up five flights of marble steps to the last boor floor they saying they had to put us there because they had guests est cst we visited an 91 old cathedral very furnished and decorated the columns being clothed in i red velvet jackets we also visited an old roman tower a collection of marbles recently dugout dug out of the ground on d the dockyard of the austri austrian an ar lloyds ds conbere Cow co where bere was the iron frame of a larze large steamer in course of construction this company are said to have 80 steamships afloat and purpose increasing to on the morning of the we took car for verona passed through a very delightful country in a high state of cultivation producing a greil grell great variety of choice things it seemed a pleasant change to again get on a railroad we had to change cars swipe during the day and at one station had our baggage bage examined by the custom officers of victor vietor I 1 actor emanuel they were very polite and gave us as little trouble as possible consistent with their duties we have had no occasion to find fault with the treatment of customs ollI officers cers during our journey and I 1 have only onee once been asked to show my passport which was on landing in egypt ever since I 1 landed in palestine I 1 have been ex exceedingly free tree from colds affections of the throat throats and rheumatic affection in my shoulder and arm of which I 1 complained lastu last winter inter in utah the affection ot of the throat that I 1 complained of at corfu soon passed away sightseeing sight seeing Is hard work and I 1 am hem heh heavy ry and ana tire au out t wi without th being able to accomplish as much as I 1 would like ilke to it takes considerable time tomorra to form acquaintance with the people and institutions of any country we visit and ox 0 that account our acquaintance lg Is necessarily limited this place is one of the four which were a at t the angles of what was wag termed the quadrilateral it was anciently fortified by the roman emperors portions of their walls and ga gatea gates remain to the presents in 1815 it was in possession of the austrians Aust iana lana who fortified it with the greatest care and skill they possessed erom prom a hill in a highly cultivated garden garde nwe we had a view of the posit positos ns of these theae forts which seem to have done them very little good in maintaining their supremacy witaly In Italy in plain sight from the hallwas hill was the field of solferino where napoleon 3rd ard and franeis francis J seph of austria contested in a great battle engaging some bome men on both sides the result ceded this region to victor emanuel and it now belongs to the kingdom of 0 italy wo we also had bad a view of an another ther great battle field of ism 1866 between tho the tho Aust austrians lustriana Au rians and italians arid and though the Aust austrians lustriana Au rians were victorious the tho italians being ano allies of or prussia secured as the result of this campaign tho tha cession ot of venetia and italian unity we visited the old roman amphitheatre a large portion of which is still preserved the marble seats now remaining would seat over SOWO people and when perfect it was said to accommodate sitting and standing some it is said to have been built somewhere between AD A D 80 and we have also visited several fine flue gardens in one of them was said to be the tomb of romeo the fabled hero of one of shakea peres plays we take rail at 5 in the morning mornin gg and cross the alps at the brenner bronner pass k going clog through twenty three tunnels between here and Inn and will arrive in munich bavaria about IQ 10 p m we expect to meet there and receive more news from imm home we aro arc allwell all ail well weli expect to so go to vienna about the of may way |
