PON 



83 



PON 



Pompey'* 

 chfirv. 



Ctrsar had clone before ; and it is related both bv Lu- 

 can and \ !aximus, that when the head or Pom- 



was brought to Cirsar at Alexandria, he caused it 

 to l>e bnnu-d with odours and the moit solemn rites, 

 1 its ashes to be enshrined within an urn. As it was 

 sometimes customary among the Romans to plnre their 

 incnirv urns on tin- pinnacles of lofty monuments, Dr. 

 Clarke considers it as highly probable, that Pompey'a 

 Pillar was a sepulchral monument erected by Caesar, 

 t(. pu-.-^rve the urn which contained the ashes of Pom- 

 pey 's head. 



In Mipport of this very plausible theory, Dr. Clarke 

 mentions that Appian remarks, that the head was bu- 

 ried, but that Csesar ordered a shrine to be construct- 

 ed over it, (in the suburbs of Alexandria, a situation 

 exactly answering to the site of Pompey 's Pillar,) which 

 he dedicated to Nemesis, the" protecting goddess of the 

 reliques of the memory of deceased persons. Appian 

 adds, that this shrine was overthrown in the time of 

 Trajan, which explains the cause of its restoration by 

 Hadrian. Pococke likewise mentions, that some Ara- 

 bian historians call the pillar the palace of Julius Caesar. 

 Dr. Clarke therefore proposes to read the inscription 

 thus : 



POSTIIUMUS, PREFECT OP EGYPT, AND TIIK PEOPLE 

 OK THE MF.THOI-OMS, (HONOUR) THE MOST REVERED 

 EMPEROR THE PROTECTING DIVINITY OP ALEXAN- 

 DRIA, THE DIVINE HADRIAN AUGUSTUS. 



With regard to the column itself, Dr. Clarke remarks 

 that the shaft is of much earlier antiquity than either 

 the capital Or the pedestal. He observed that the pedes- 

 tal did not rest upon the sand ; but by removing the 

 sand, he found that this immense pile, consisting of 

 pedestal, shaft, and capital, was sustained upon a small 

 prop of stone about four feet square, exactly as de- 

 scribed by Paul Lucas, ( Voyage fail par ordre de Louis 

 \IV. en 1714, torn. ii. p. 23, Amst. 1744,) though this 

 is denied by Norden. " Around this central base," 

 says Dr. Clarke, " but in very irregular positions, had 

 been placed other masses, the sepulchral fragments of 

 ancient Egyptian monuments, which did not appear to 

 contribute to the support of the column, but to have 

 been brought there for the purpose of maintaining the 

 prop in its adjusted situation, until the pedestal could 

 be raised upon it." The prop consists of Egyptian 

 breccia, and its four sides are covered with hierogly- 

 phic figures, which ere inverted, so that the stone is 

 turned upside down, and must have formed part of 

 some more ancient ruins. 



For further information on this curious subject, the 

 reader is referred particularly to Clarke's Travels, 

 vol. iii. p. 254 270, where there is an excellent re- 

 presentation of the pillar and of the hieroglyphics. See 

 also Pococke's Description of the East, vol. i. p. 8; 

 Hamilton's ffigyptiaca, p. 403, Lond. 1809; Norden's 

 Travels in Egypt, vol. i. p. l6; and Brotier's Annot. 

 in Tacit. Hist. lib. iv. cap. 84. 



PONDICHERRY, Puducheri, a town of Hindostan, 

 in the Carnatic, and the capital of the French settle- 

 ments in India. The town, built in a circular form, is 

 situated near the sea- shore on a sandy plain, which 

 produces only palm trees, millet, and a few herbs. As 

 a commercial town, Pondicherry has no natural advan- 

 tages, and during tlie period when it was no longer 

 the capital of the French possessions, it speedily fell 

 into decay. The French inhabitants having been re- 

 duced by the late war to the greatest distress, were 

 unable to repair their houses. Hence the appearance 

 of the town suffered greatly. 



The destruction of its fortifications was owing to the Pontefnci 

 mistaken policy of the French government. Jn 17 I 



M. Lally was ordin.l to destroy all the British fortifi. Iw St - 

 cations that might fall into his power, and be implu Hprit 



ly obeyed that order when he took Fort St. David. 

 When Colonel Coote Uok Pondichtrry in \~ t (>\, he 

 retaliated, by levelling the fortifications to the ground, 

 and removing the glacis into the ditch. 



At the peace of Amiens, when it was restored to the 

 French, the inhabitants were estimated fit 25,600, aud 

 the revenue at 40,000 pagodas. .Mr. Milburn states, 

 that the Black town of Pondicherry contains a popu- 

 lation of nearly 80,000 souls. Eat Long. 79 C :, 

 and North Lat. 11 55' 41". miltou'* Katt In- 



dia Gazetteer ; and Milburn's Oriental Cummrrcf, 

 vol. i. p. 377. See also the article INDIA, Vol. XII. 

 p. 4-2, 50, &c. for an account of the hutory of Pondi- 

 cherry. 



PONTEFRACT, or POMPRKT, a borough and mar- 

 kettown of England, in the West Riding of Yorkshire. 

 It is agreeably situated near the river Aire, not far 

 from its junction with the Caldcr, and consists of three 

 principal streets nearly parallel, which are intersected 

 by smaller ones. The streets are spacious and clean, 

 and the houses in general handsome and well built. 

 The parish church, once a magnificent building of 

 Gothic architecture, is now a ruin, and divine service 

 is performed in a chapel. There are here places of 

 worship for the Methodists, Quakers, Roman Catholic?, 

 and other dissenters ; likewise a charity school for 24 

 boys and 12 girls, and a free grammar school endowed 

 by Edward VI. The town-hall is an elegant modern 

 building, erected at the joint expence of the county and 

 the corporation. The theatre is a neat building, erect- 

 ed by subscription a few years ago. A small portion 

 of the old castle of Pontefract still exists. It occupied 

 a large site upon an elevated rock. The trade of the 

 town is inconsiderable. It is noted chiefly for its ex- 

 tensive nursery grounds, large plantations of liquorice, 

 and its great horse fairs. In a garden is an ancient 

 cave, the history of which is unknown. Races are 

 annually held here; and the accounts of cloths fulled 

 at all the fulling mills, in the West Riding, are made 

 up here every year. The town is governed by a 

 mayor, recorder, and twelve aldermen. It sends two 

 members to Parliament; and the number of voters is 

 about 330. The population of the borough and town- 

 ship in 1821, was 927houses; 937 families; COO families 

 employed in trades; 200 in agriculture; 2095 males, 

 2352 fenifiles, and a total population of 441-7. See 

 Boothroyd's History of the Ancient Borough of Ponte- 

 fract, 1807; and the Beauties of England and Wales, 

 'vol. xvi. p. 881-898. 



PONTINE MARSHES. See ITALY, vol. xii. 

 p. 366. 



PONTUS, an extensive country of Asia Minor, 

 lying between the 41st and 23d degree of Notth Lati- 

 tude, and bounded by the Euxine Sea on the north ; 

 by Armenia Minor on the south, by Colchis on the 

 east, and by the river Halys on the west. 



PONT ST. ESPRIT, a town of France, in the de- 

 partment of the Card, situated on the right bank of 

 the Rhone. The town is ill built, and the streets 

 crooked and gloomy. It is chiefly celebrated for its 

 magnificent bridge on th Rhone, which has been 

 fully described, and a drawing of it given in our arti- 

 cle BRIDGE, Vol. IV. p. 483, &c. and Plate LXXXIII. 

 There are here some silk manufactures, and a popula- 

 tion of 4100. 



