556 



THE STANDARD DICTIONARY OF FACTS 



(Thomas Strong), and one Bishop of London 

 (Dr. Henry Compton). The building is of Port- 

 land stone, in the form of a cross. Its length is 

 510 feet; the width from north to south portico 

 282 feet; the general height is 100 feet. The 

 whole is surmounted by a great dome raised on 

 eight arches. Above the dome is a lantern or 

 gallery terminated above by a ball and gilded 

 cross, 404 feet from the pavement beneath. The 

 elevated portico, forming the grand entrance, 

 consists of twelve Corinthian columns, with an 

 upper series of eight pillars of the composite 

 order, supporting a pediment ; the front oeing 

 flanked by two bell-towers, 120 feet in height. 

 The entablature represents in relief the conver- 

 sion of St. Paul, a work of Francis Bird. Upon 

 the south front, which corresponds with the 

 north, is a phoenix rising from the flames, with 

 the motto, "Resurgam" (I shall rise again). 

 The pavement of the interior is composed of slabs 

 of black and white marble. The crypt under the 

 the nave contains the burying-places of many 

 illustrious personages, and some interesting relics 

 of old St. Paul's. Among the numerous monu- 

 ments and statues to the illustrious dead may be 

 noted those of John Howard and Dr. Johnson, 

 by Bacon; statues of Nelson, Earl Howe, and 

 Sir Joshua Reynolds, by Flaxman; Bishop 

 Heber, by Chantrey; and monuments to Lord 

 Rodney, Lord Heathfield, Admiral Collingwood, 

 General Abercrombie, etc., by Rossi, Westma- 

 cott, and others. The monument to the Duke 

 of Wellington, by Alfred Stevens, is accounted 

 the finest work of its kind in England. It con- 

 sists of a rich marble sarcophagus and canopy, 

 elaborately ornamented with bronze sculptures. 

 It is thirty feet in height and cost upwards of 

 $150,000. Various decorative, structural, and 

 other improvements have recently ' been made 

 on the interior of the cathedral. 



Peking, or Pekin, the capital of the 

 Chinese Empire, Province of Chihle, or Pechili, 

 in a vast sandy plain, between the Pei-ho and 

 its important affluent, the Hoang-ho, 562 miles 

 northwest of Nankin, and 100 miles west-north- 

 west of the Gulf of Pechili, in the Yellow Sea. 

 It consists of two contiguous cities, each sepa- 

 rately surrounded by walls, and together entered 

 by sixteen gates. The entire circumference is 

 twenty-five miles. The northern city, which is 

 nearly a perfect square, consists of three enclo- 

 sures. The outer one is used by Chinese traders. 

 The second enclosure contains the residences of 

 the dignitaries of the empire and foreign lega- 

 tions, the national literary institutions, and the 

 temples of Ancestors and Peace, and is inhabited 

 mostly by the Manchus. The inner enclosure, 

 or "forbidden city," surrounded by walls of yel- 

 low tiles, two miles in circumference, hence 

 called the "Yellow Wall," contains the palaces 

 of the emperor and empress. The southern 

 city, called the Wai-ching, or "outer city," is 

 also square, and occupied by the Chinese, and is 

 both the seat of business and the residence of 

 most of the population. The wall is thirty feet 

 high, twenty-five feet thick at the base, and 

 twelve feet at the top. That of the imperial 

 city is forty feet high. The principal streets 

 are very wide and regular, running between op- 

 posite gates. The houses are generally one story 



hiirh. and built of brick. Of the ornamental 

 buildings, the most conspicuous are those com- 

 monly called triumphal arches. They consist 

 of a large central gateway, with small ones on 

 each side, all covered with narrow roofs, ami, 

 like the houses, are splendidly gilded, varnished, 

 and painted. Peking is indebted for its impor- 

 tance to its being the residence of the emperor 

 and the seat of government. The country round 

 the city being saridv and poor, a large portion 

 of its supplies are brought from a distance - 



Cartly from sea by the Pei-ho, but principally 

 y the Grand Canal and the Eu-ho, which con- 

 nect it with Nankin, and most of the eastern 

 provinces. The early history of Peking is in- 

 volved in obscurity. Kublai Khan rebuilt it, 

 and made it his capital in 1260. The Mongol 

 dynasty, founded by Kublai Khan, continued 

 to occupy this city till it was expelled from 

 China, in 1367. In 1421, the third emperor of 

 the Chinese dynasty of Ming transferred his resi- 

 dence thither from Nankin, since which it has 

 been the capital of the empire. During the 

 "Boxer" uprising of 1900 the various foreigners 

 in Peking were beseiged in the English legation. 

 For weeks they were given up as lost, but they 

 managed to hold out till the arrival of the for- 

 i eign troops. Population (about), 1,700,000. 



Peloponnesus, the ancient name of the 

 peninsula which forms the southern part of 

 Greece, now called the "Morea." It is said to 

 have derived its name from Pelops, a son of 

 Tantalus, King of Phrygia, and grandson of 

 Zeus (Jupiter), who was celebrated in Greek 

 fable, and by whom the country was said to 

 have been settled about 1280 B. C. The " Pelo- 

 ponnesian War," between the Athenians and the 

 people of the Peloponnesus (431-404 B. C.) is 

 the most famous of the wars of Greece. The 

 area of the peninsula is 8,263 square miles, and 

 its population about 1,500,000, divided among 

 | the five provinces, or nomarchies, of Argolis 

 ' and Corinth, Achaia and Elis, Arcadia, Me- 

 senia, and Laconia. 



Persia (native name Iran}, the most exten- 

 I sive, opulent, and powerful kingdom of Western 

 i Asia, is bounded north by the Caspian Sea, 

 Asiatic Russia and Turkestan, east by Afghan- 

 istan and Beloochistan, south by the Persian 

 Gulf and .west by the Turkish territories. 

 Length from north to south, about 700 miles; 

 breadth, 900 miles. The surface of Persia is for 

 the greater part a vast plateau, broken in upon 

 in the north by the Elborz Mountains, and in the 

 west and south by various isolated ranges. In 

 the more east and northeast parts are found the 

 Great Salt Desert, and that of Luth. Persia is 

 drained by the Aras, Kerkhas, etc., but has 

 scarcely a river that can be termed navigable, 

 though some of them extend several hundred 

 miles in length, and possess great volumes of 

 water. Some of its immense valleys abound 

 with vegetable productions; among them are 

 wheat of the very best quality, barley, and other 

 cereals; cotton, sugar, rice, and tobacco. The 

 vine flourishes in many of the provinces, and the 

 wines of Shiraz are celebrated. The mulberry 

 tree is largely cultivated, silk being one of the 

 most important staples of the country. The 

 | chief manufacture is that of silk stuffs, of the 



