POR

321

POR

So the h ! -

e fttir e . orn 'Stone, whilst the quartz and hornblende

*ol Can : c whole thus acquires the appearance of in

Por,

the

. -vi«v v^uui wu unu iivi iik/ivuuu iviuum

11 e whole thus acquires the appearance of induratedasbes > though the quartz might prove the contrary :

■°i, 3 l3 P ar alone be decayed, the horn-stone will appear8n< ^ ma 7 l Je taken for lava. Its transitions are into" r lii c } l j an< ^ sand-stone. 2. Felspar porphyry, the base of°f fel SD S cot nmonly red compact felspar, enclosing crystalsfr°rn t j ( ar an< l quartz. 3. Sienitic porphyry , wliich differsft< ^'tion t prececbn g i n containing crystals of hornblende inbj, °„the other ingredients. 4. Pitch-stone porphyry,Stay, hli a} wb ' ck 1® pitch-stone, either red, green, brown,5 ar> y Colo. ° r y ellow > va, 'l° u3 shades, having generally

Sreas.,,

urs at once in the same specimen. According to" s porphyry has the following characters : lustre,

f* 0 '<lai" ^i, 1: tran sparency, 2.1: fracture, imperfectly con-r acta re _ at 'dness, 8, 9, 10: the felspar often blue : theSCar Ce]y j 8ome is slaty, and colour yellowish-gray; lustre,pavity 2’ trans parency, 1 ; hardness, scarcely 9 ; specific'p2. 5. Clay porphyry, the base of which is

an j* a ^’ Passing into horn-stone; generally of a reddish

a ? d containing crystals of quartz and felspar. ThePor Phy r - thls '

porphyry, belonging to Kirwan’s argillaceous

q * "yrigg • r uctuii^ujg iu luiwuuo uigmaucuus

'v r i)r 0NVn 8, J S generally some shade of gray, or greenish-gray,, u str e

f " le an^ r bIackish or reddish-brown, or isabella-yellow.P °-r? 5 to y *‘ rans P at 'ency, 0 ; fracture, earthy; hardness,a -rj T some times adhering to the tongue.

0 ^RTAlr BRIDGE - See Bridge.

Or tlle side 1 ’ ‘! le face or frontispiece of a church, viewedt ^atei tg e ] ’ n which is the great door. Also, the great door,j * >B RT.at’ °r a P a ' ace > castle, &c.

Jj° r i "at e \ \P ei 'haps a diminutive of the French , porte,it ) 1 frotn tf 161111 Used Por a httle square corner of a room,p lc 'ent 1, • rest op the room by the wainscot; frequent

, Ul Wings, but now disused.

ft/P the r p S Somet i m es also used for a little gate, portclla ;r! ioin 8 , re two gates of a different size ; ’ ’ ‘ ’ "

f ? 0 liT'no 8 l Vork before a door.

also, a kind of

Sep

(French ) a pencil-case, an instrument5ttj e Wr h ^ j- 0 a pencil, and occasionally also used as aby Cotl tri Vec i dln ®’ R is usually four or five inches long,sinp^s 0 f 80 that the pencil may be slid up and downiiitgj s ' ( les 0l , a „ 8 P r ing and button. Its outside is filed intocyt: • its . aces , on which are sometimes drawn the sector

C^calT de is

>nt’o ; 0t ! 1 Wllnout and within,a^CULt '/o and P ai ts °f inches,of e, '$e atl( j tS, (from the French portecoulisse ) called^ti<j °°'1> iajjj Sarr «sin, an assemblage of several great piecesTh a<dl Point °j j0 ' n ed, across one another, like a harrow,Wa Ce es ® Wer e f at tbe bottom with iron.n°uu’ to he let° f !' rner ^" bun S over the gateways of fortified, Ot a c °>ne Sn ^f^n in case of a surprise, when the enemy

sometimes it isand within, and

made round orhas its length

’ tlj,

so

til

■ at), -ne or ^ U '°k as n °t to allow time to shut the gates., tl,;™ are more generally used, as being formed

V R Tl Cl P Ur P° a e better.

S ’ °n the^, 8tna h town of Italy , about six miles fromj' ap >Ce°i f . , ' ar Oent ea ~ sbore > at the foot of Vesuvius . Its prin-f ' ; 'h ><* bu r ; i 8 a royal palace. Under this town and

c 8 of t a > the * at Ble depth of 70 feet under accumulated.? v er- * r es Uv - Clt y of Herculaneum , the first victim of theX.* 8 * niacj 8 ' Brince d’Elboeuf, after the first dis-

Xt tb e e ® by accident, purchased the spot, and con-vHl e sta t Ues Rations that had been begun, discoveredy^PoJi ad ° rt >ed wit) 1 " 8 ’ and even a whole temple of the finest

, - govor itb stat ues. Upon the interposition of thea o\y. e, iune n * ’ -

it. ever ,the<

boweyj^ment, the work was stopped for twenty

excavations were occasionally continued,

4 N

and a basilica, two temples, and a theatre, were successivelydiscovered, and stripped of their numerous pillars and statues.Streets were observed, that were paved and flagged on thesides, and private houses, and even monuments, explored.A prodigious number of statues of bronze, of ditl^rent sizes,pillars of marble and alabaster, and paintings and mosaics,many of them entire and in high preservation, others frac-tured and damaged, have been drawn from the edifices ofthis subterraneous city, and give a high idea of its opulence ;to these we may add many species of ornaments used indress, of weapons and armour, of kitchen utensils and domes-tic furniture, of agricultural and chirurgical instruments.The theatre is at present the only part open to inspection.Of all the articles drawn from Herculaneum , the most curiousand valuable are the MSS. Of these many dissolved intodust as soon as they were exposed to the air: while others,though scorched, or rather burnt, resist the action of thatelement. The number of the latter, it is conjectured, maybe about 1800.

PORTICO, (from the Latin portions, a gate) a kind ofgallery on the ground ; or a piazza encompassed with archessupported by columns. The roof is usually vaulted,sometimes flat. The ancients called it lacunar. SeeLacunaris,

The most celebrated porticos of antiquity were those ofSolomon’s temple, which formed the atrium, or court, andencompassed the sanctuary; that of Athens, built for thepeople to divert themselves in, and where the philosophersheld their disputes and conversations ; which occasioned thedisciples of Zeno to be called stoics, from the Greek voa, por-tions ; and that of Pompey at Rome , consisting of severalrows of columns.

Plate I.—Plan and elevation of the Doric portico atAthens.

Plate II.—Portico of the Ionic temple, on the Ilissus ,at Athens.

Porticos were numerous buildings in Rome for the con-venience of the public in sultry or inclement weather ; dis-tinguished from those which formed the vestibules, or whichdecorated the entrance of temples. Some of the principalwere the porticus duplex, so called from its double row ofpillars, erected by Cneius Octavius, near the Circus Flami-nius, after the defeat of Perses ; it was of the Corinthianorder, and ornamented with brazen capitals ; the walls weredecorated with paintings representing the achievements ofthe founder. The portico of Pompey , annexed to his theatre,was supported by 100 marble columns ; opened on both sidesinto groves of plane-trees, was refreshed by fountains andstreams, and, in summer time, was the favourite resort of theyoung, the gay, and the gallant. Augustus erected severalporticos; and, prompted by his example, many of his mostdistinguished and opulent friends vied with each other insimilar works of magnificence. Among the former were theporticos of Caius and Lucius, with a basilica annexed to it ;that of Octavia, which rose near the theatre of Marcellus,and contributed not a little to its beauty as well as conve-nience ; that of Livia, near the Roman Forum . This latterwas ornamented with a collection of ancient pictures, andshaded by a vine of prodigious luxuriance. Ovid alludes toit in his usual lively manner. But this, and every edifice ofthe kind prior to this sera, was eclipsed by the splendourof the Palatine portico, dedicated to Apollo. It was sup-ported by pillars of Numidian marble, enlivened with exqui-site paintings and statues, and emblazoned with brass andgold. It enclosed the library and temple of Apollo, so oftenalluded to by the writers of the Augustan age, and wasdeservedly ranked among the wonders of the city. It is

*