e. Of the inscription, only a few letters can at
present be made out. It originally ran thus:--

[Greek: To theion ergon enthade phtharen chrono
kainei manouel eusebes autokrator.]

Passing onwards, we came to a dark dismal place, called the Cistern of
the Thousand and One Pillars, a large reservoir for water, but now dry
and occupied by the winders of silk thread. Its extent is very great,
and the number of pillars far exceeds that above-mentioned. There is
also another cistern, but as the entrance is through a Turk's dwelling,
it cannot be visited except as a special favour, not always granted.
[Sidenote: HIPPODROME.] From this, we were led to the Atmeidan, or
place of horses, the ancient hippodrome; a large oblong area, on one
side of which is the beautiful mosque of Sultan Achmet, separated from
the open square by a handsome screen of masonry; over which a number of
plane trees hang their luxuriant foliage, and through its windows we
were gratified with a view of the court of the mosque. The Atmeidan is
famous as being the scene of countless insurrections and tumults; it was
the rendezvous of the turbulent janissaries; here they made their last
noble stand, and were hewn to pieces and swept down by the Sultan's
cannon and cavalry. Here too were held games and reviews, and here
stands the obelisk of Theodosius, the brazen serpents from Delphi, and
the lofty monument of Constantine, built of rough masonry, and supposed
to have been once covered with brass. It is ninety feet in height. The
obelisk was brought from Egypt and placed there by Theodosius, as
appears from the following inscription on the pedestal, which is now
covered up with earth, and the Turks will not allow of its being cleared
away.

Difficilis quondam Dominis parere serenis
Jussus, et extinctis palmam portare tyrannis:
Omnia Theodosio cedunt sobolique perenni;
Terenis sic victus ego, duobusque diebus,
Judice sub Proclo, superas elatus ad auras.

It measures sixty feet in height, and each of its faces is covered with
hieroglyphics. On the pedestal is a badly executed _alto relievo_,
intended to represent the victories of Theodosius. Between these two
monuments is the celebrated tripod from the island of Delphos; the heads
of the serpents of which it is composed are lost: one of them was cut
off by Sultan Mechmed with a single blow of his sword. From the number
of people that gathered about me, I had some difficulty in making a
draw