Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1854-01-01

! not 50 fine as any that we are bow in the h.bt 81
calling coarse, but it IS not the less curious 10 Loot
uponi and what sensation creeps over Won ne We,
take IN your fingers the shroud OF the prous mn
, noPh who lived 1850 years before the Christie,
era! And here Is another piece which fell from, "a,
hand OF some fair damsei whilst she was set.s,,v
dnrnlng II, exactly as we fair damsels darn /, thas.
days and with needle almost precisely resembles
modern daring needle, and with stitches zreh -
no good housewife need not blush to own
Here are chidren's dresses embroidered I'D,
scarcely less taste than modern mamrnas' j;sr;,,
and work-baskets ample and convenient ,,ro
skeins of thread toilet box and the pigment s..h
as Jezebel used to stain her eyebrows and the lit
Tie stick with which it was PIT or
These locks of hair might have been braided bv
any modern barber and would have gained hin,
credit; and this comb was actually used bv s.,ma
dark-eyed maiden to smooth her flowing TO-
and make her beauteOus in the ewes OF enc wboss
| smile she essayed to win
And these are the toys with which Egvpt;,.
children played three thousand wears ago. and n
they were placed IN some modern toy-shop he DAY
before Christmas, would not be recognized as a. al
different from those Santa Claes dispenses "a f,eo.
ly now. Here is a little stone ball With the C.rcei
alphabet inscribed upon it, for greater facility IN
teaching children their letters, and some small
tablets exactly resembling orr states in frames. up-
on which they learned to write, with the STYLUS
they used in writing.
Men and women are only children of Iarscr
growth and truly children are children all The
world over, IS these wooden dolls viii testifs.Z
There has been scarcely any improvement in baby
houses or their occupants.
Here is the inkstand Of scribe. and the uaps.
Of painter with the brushes and pigments pey-
hsps used by this very mummy staining here 80
prim and mum, to whom | am continually address
ing the words of the poet
And thou hast walked about. how strange story
In Thehes streets three Thousand wears ago
WheE The MOmonian in all his glory
And time had not begun to overthrow
dhose e, palaces and piles stgpendaus,
vi which the very runs axe tremendous
1t is a cold rainy day, and il is gloomy enough
among this musty old trumpery unless the Gre OF
enthusiasm Is kHdled in your soul but If YOU are
at ali like you wonld not SILVER in such a place
were it ten times colder, for imagine myself o..
the burning sands Of Egypt beneath her sunny
sky. could stand all day and talk TO those silerl
figures, but yet am not without a strong desire
to. know what they are saying to me. How /
should like to read these hieroglyphics and reyrl
in the very thoughts of this strange people.
To think of seeing the bronze plate worn by the =
very Terak we read about in Kings and Chron-
icles, with his Inscribed and the breast-l,aie
Of Shishak who took Jerusalem from RehOhoam.
with its cartouche corresponding to the armorial
bearings Of the feudal lords.-of looking upon the
necklace Of Menes. the first Pharaoh of Egypt.
and earliest king in history, and the gold signet
ring of Shoufou or Cheops. the builder Of the great
Pyramid two thousand three hundred and fflytwo
years before Christ
Here are munmied eggs, which the hens Of an
tiquty laid, proving that hens not prcgressives
as the latest patterns differ very little from those
which gave birth to the chicks Of the oIden time.
We are told that the Romans for many wears
after the Christian Era did not use lamps yet here
is lamp found in the Pyramid of Cheo2s and
another in the Pyramid of Iakkatah OF greca
porcelain, and candlesticks without ngmber. ard &
this image of u woman kneading dough would he
recognized in any farmers kitchen as a genuine
housewife at a modern bread trough.
1t was the custom among the Israelitcs 10 havs
the names Of heads Of families inscribed upon their
stats an allusiOn to which is made in Numbers =
2: and similar custom seems TO have prevailed
among the Egyptians, Is the chief person in tie
representations on the walls Of the ancient tombs
has always a staff. And here il walking sties
from rhebes, -sisk Thieh i Is easy to imagine
dgnits~y TO sls 'hlsIse,is Iiisssireets OF tie
or obelisk, bis haad Fsss ~ Rson &c fvs1t {z s.
while he read the hieregiypLies ~hich enrnffratef
his titles. or his weRdFogs deeds, and whicir4ks
thought would need no interpreter.
Here are what are called a handsome mummy
and a very handsome mummy, and magnificent
mummy; but am not savant or amateur enough
TO see any beauty in mummy; but the colors OF
the heroglyphics very brilliant, and all the g
ures are in wonderful preservation. On a piece OF
a covering Of mummy is the figure OF an Israel
ite bound and placed on the sole Of q sandal. a.
mark of contempt. What veFifcatOn Of Bible
history indeed this is the place for the nfdel an
the skeptic to come and ponder, to believe AMI
tremble.
And this is said to be the leg of chair in which
Pharaoh Bu -han-a-ten-ra actually sat 1870 years
before Christ and this ring with the armoriai
bearing of Thomas III, the Pharaoh Of the Exod-
us. 1895 years before Christ; and another with
those of Thothmes ", the king by whose order
the great sphinx was cut oat Of the rock GEAR
Ghiseh and a gold sgnet ring bearing the name
of ShofoO, the SUPPLIES Of the Greeks, 1925 years
before Christ
Here are clasps and bracelets, and necklaces,
and amulets all exquisitely wrought and Of the
finest gold and silver. And the custom so preya-
lent now of wearing ornaments in toe form Of SER
penis and lizards, and other bideeus things, was
also custom of the Egyptians, certifying the prov
erb that fashions have periodical spasms. A good
housewife says IL you keep thing seven years it
viii be to come in use; so it seems -
that if you keep thing seven thousand yee. J 8 -
will come in use also, which ladies who wish 10 =
economical, and yet always in fashion, HiigAt -
well 10 remember -
Some of the ornaments are set with prfcs17n
stones pearls and emeralds and carbunclea ss. q
han and agate, and in many Of them the sirklna<s
shin is not at all inferior the ehasings and en-
cravings in the splendid showcases on Broadway.
There are in this collection more than thod-
sand specimens, which DIR. Abbott spent more than
twenty years in collecting, at an expense of hun
dred thousand dollars Every reader of history,
and especially every reader Of the Bible must
anime them with peculiar interest. Here the an
tquary may revel 70 his hearts content. There's
everything in the form Of man animal upon the
face OF the earth-ish and fowl. and creeping
thing; everything that the heart Of man hath dew
sed and the hand Of man hath fashioned There
is a high degree of beauty and the very lowest de-
gree of deformty but in all there is abundant food
for thought, and abundant material for the study
of the mind and habits and character Of tie coun-
try and people their works here represent.
But alas that the glory of such people shoald
have passed away. and the why comes up with al
most frightful pertinacity. Because they knew