Voyages to Portugal, Spain, Sicily, Malta, Asia Minor, Egypt, Book

General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1809 Original Publisher: R. Phillips Subjects: Mediterranean Sea Mediterranean Region Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: CHAP. III. Museums of Natural Curiosities and Capital Paintings -- Egyptian Mummy -- Sketch of the History of the Tremendous Earthquake -- Unusual Serenity of the Morning -- Awful Sound which announced the sudden Visitation -- Consternation of the Inhabitants, Forty Thousand of whom Perished in the dreadful Convulsions -- Reflections -- Second Earthquake -- Vestiges -- Lisbon again very Populous -- Indifference and Dissipation of its Inhabitants -- Old Lisbon -- Royal Gardens -- Numerous and Prolific Vineyards -- Manners of the Villagers. ADJOINING the gardens is the museum, containing a large and choice collection of natural curiosities; also an exhibition of valuable paintings, || xtensive and well arranged, all well worthy the attention of the curious. The paintings arrested my attention immediately, for the first that was presented to notice was an extraordinary representation of Constantine the Great and his army, arrested by a supernatural appearance in the clouds; if the author may presume to give his opinion, from the effect it had upon his mind, it is one of the most striking in this vast collection. The artist has so clearly and forciby pourtrayed this part of Roman history on the canvas, that the spectator may, in some measure, instantly conceive the effect this solemn phenomenon must have had on the minds of the emperor and his associates, if it be true, which many doubt. The interesting appearance in the heavens, the whole army struck with awful surprize, and held in anxious suspense, the light striking o...Read More