The Sun.
London, England, 1857-12-31 00:00:00

THE LEVIATHAN.

The pedestal of Peter the Great's statue, weighing
1,200 tons, was easily transported to St. Petersburg by
division and distribution of the motive power. A similar
method was employed nearly 4,000 years ago in moving
those gigantic masses which astonish the tourist in
Egypt. The weight of the monolithic temple of Latrna,
which, according to Herodutus, was carried from Ele-
phantine to Butn in the Delta, is computed at from
5,000 to 6,000 tons. This may appear somewhat
apochryphal, but every Nile voyager knows the vas It
sitting statue of Rameses 11. in the Memnonium at
Thebes, a single block of close grained syenite upwards
of 60 feet high, and weighing more than 887 tons, which
was brought, about B.C. 1850, from the granite quarries
of Assouan a distance of nearly 130 miles, and must
have been moved across a considerable interval (making
every allowance for the inundation) between the quarry
and the river, and again from the river over alluvial soil
to the Temple.
.A painting in a tomb near the village of Dayr-e-Nakl,
discovered by Irby and Mangles, shows how it was
done. The painting represents a sitting figure, about
24 feet high, fixed on a wooden sledge with skait-ishaped
wooden runners, and dragged by four rows of men (43
in each) pulling at ropes attached to the front of the
sledge, apparently along a plank road. At the feet of
the statue a figure leans over and pours from a vase
abundance of grease on the ways, and on its knees
stands another beating time with his hands to make all
pull together. This tomb is of the date of Osirtauen 11.,
about 1650 B.C. The distribution of force is still better
illustrated in the columns at Fateereb, described by Sir
G. Wilkinson, 60 feet long and 8 feet in diameter, with
a sort of trunnions worked in the stone along the greater
part of their length, to each of which would be fastened
its separate rope.
With simple manual force well distributed, and upon
wood sliding over wood well lubricated—in preference
to rollers, which also they understood—this people,
sometimes called barbarous, succeeded in moving
weights over distances which might even embarrass our
"age of inventions."

THE SPANISH MINISTRY.—Private letters from Madrid
are full of speculations on the state and prospects of the
Ministry; they purport to show that if M. Mon and his
colleagues fall by Palace intrigue, or the open hostility
of parties, the Liberal cause will have sustained another
and a severer blow, and the regeneration of Spain by
pacific means will be postponed to an indefinite period.
DEATH 1111031 POISON. —A. paragraph in yesterday's
Sun mentioned that an inquiry was pending relative to
the death of the wife of the master of the Keighley
workhouse, which took place, under suspicious circum-
stances, at an early hour on Saturday morning, the 19th
inst. The name of the deceased is Barbara Sager, and she
was to have been buried on the Wednesday following her
death ; but, in consequence of various rumours that pre
vailed, the interment was stopped by an order of the
coroner, Mr. Thomas Brown, and a post mortem exami-
nation of the body was ordered to be made. An inquest
was opened on the day the funeral should have taken
place, but it was adjourned till the following Saturday,
and again till Tuesday last. In the meantime Mr. Win,
Ruddock, surgeon, Keighley, in conjunction with Mr.
Ainley, surgeon, Bingley, tested the liver and other
portions of the intestines, with a view to ascertain the
presence of poison, but without any satisfactory result.
The st )mach, liver, kidneys, and rectum were after wards
sent to Mr. Morley, surgeon, Leeds, who made a che-
mical analysis of them, and discovered arsenic in a
quantity more than sufficient to destroy life. The hus-
band of the deceased, John Sager, has been taken into
custody, on suspicion of having administered the poison,
but there has yet been no evidence produced tending to
prove the charge. Oa Tuesday several witnesses deposed
to the deceased having spoken of the ill-treatment of her
husband, and the inquest was again adjourned till to-day
(Thursday), in order that Mr. Morley might have an
opportunity of ascertaining the chemical contents of two
bottles found in the prisoner's house, containing powder
of different colours. The case has caused great excite-
ment in Keighley and the neighbourhood. The deceased,
it may be stated, was only ill about a week before she
died.
MR. SPURGEON'S NEW CHAPEL.--A bazaar, in aid of
the funds for the erection of a tabernacle for Mr. Spur-
geon opened on Tuesday at the Surrey Music Hall. The
hall was tastefully decorated with the flags of all nations,
and various specimens of needlework, jewellery, and fancy
articles were arranged upon stalls on the floor. A plat.
form was erected on the spot hitherto occupied by the
orchestra, upon which was displayed a variety of goods
for sale under the superintendence of Mrs. Spurgeon,
rind in all parts of the building were to be seen photogra-
phic portraits of the preacher, of all sizes, framed for
pictures and for the stereoscope. The bazaar was well
attended from 11 o'clock in the morning, and at 2 o'clock
Mr. Spurgeon had a good audience in the refreshment-
room, to listen to the lecture premiss/4n the programme.
The rev, gentleman selected for his subjeot, " The plea-
sures that might be enjoyed by Christian persons." Be
recommended that asceticism should be avoided ; bat,
at the same time, warned his hearers agair a (those
things called pleasures, which the conscience told were
not pleasures that should be indulged in by a Christian
person. 0! this class he instanced evening parties,
where persons met together in white kid gloves, stared
at one another ; and talked nonsense ; and declared
that for his part be would rather stop at home than
undergo the misery of such amusements. He believed
that if some person advertised bottles of water as a most
delicate drink, the draught would soon be considered a
great delicacy, and that many things pleased merely be-
cause they were called pleasures. With regard to danc-
ing, his opinion was, that it was a mosthealthy exercise,
and should be freely indulged in, but he thought males
and females should dance apart, the ordinary practice of
coupling the sexes in the dance being productive of un-
holy thoughts. Games of skill he saw no objection to,
but games of chance could be said to be productive of
no beneficial result, and as in the case of Messrs. Palmer
and Cook had led to evil consequences, which the coun-
tenance of Lord Darby could not counteract. The rattle
of the dice boxes always reminded him of the casting es
lots at the foot of the cross for the vesture of the Savi-
our, and he did not think it became any Christian
to touch them. But it was no use giving advice on
these matters, for most persons had made up their minds
upon them, and only sought some authority to excuse
that which their consciences told them was not right.
Religion, he declared, was never intended to make our
pleasures less, and he advised all to despise convention.
alism in their enjoyment, but to avoid those pleasures
which the conscience condemned. Referring, in con-
clusion, to the object wfth which the meeting had taken
place, he thanked those who were in attendance for their
assistance, and stated that up to the present time 5,200/.
had been raised towards the erection of the tabernacle,
the total cost of which would be 20,000/. The bazaar
continued open till nine in the evening, and liberal
purchases were made throughout the day.