The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1866-06-09
AN ANCIENT RELIC.

W cllp the lOllOWlnP Interesting aC-
count of the oldest relic in the world
from one of our foreign exchanges:
There is an anecdote on record of some
English visitors of one of the Contincn-
tai churches which boasted Of its relics,
having been shown very old sword as
one of its rarest treasures. "What is
this?" asked one of the party. "That
sword, sir" said the custodian, " Is the
one with which Balaam smotc his obsti-
nate ass" "Ass" retorted the ques-
toner; "why, Scripture does not mem
ton that Balaam had Il sword, but only
that he wished for one" con, sir" was
the ready reply, "this is the very sword
which Balaam desired to haVe". With
out laying too much stress on the au-
thcnticity of this sword, we can offer
satisfactory proof that England possesses
genuine relic of antiquity fully six
centuries older than the age of Balaam,
which the late Baron Bunsen justly de-
clared to be the Coolest royal relic and
human remains to which date can be
assigned in the world" In large glass
case, standing in one of the upper cham
bcrs of our great National Museum, is
to be seen the skeleton, decCntly cncascd
in its original burial clothes, of one Pha-
roah Mykerinus, and surrounded by
fragments Of the coffin, Whcrcon the
name Of its occupant can be easily read
by the Psychologists of the present day !;
atlorCling thereby conclusive evidence
that it once contained the mummy Of a
king who was reigning in Egypt more
than Il century before the time Of Abra-
ham.
The proof of this may be thus explain
cd: About two years ago Herr Dumb
chen, a German explorer of the noun
tains of Egypt, following up the indica-
tions pointed out by NJ. Mariottc, Il dis
tinguishcd archUolOgist, discovered on
the buried walls of the Temple Of Osiris,
Mt AbydoS, large tablet containing the
names of the ancient PharaohS from the
, time of Mizraim, the grandson of Noah
and founder of the Egyptian monarchy,
unto that of Pharaoh Scti l., the father
of the Well-known RamcscS the Great,
including thereby the chronology of
nine centuries, viz: from b. c. 23OO to
Is. G. 100. This historical tablet, by far
; the most important ever yet discovered,
may be compared to the Sculpturcd fig
} urcs of the Kings OF England at the
CRYSTAL Palace, from William the Con-
; qucror to her Majesty Queen Victoria,
which we presume will afford sufficient
evidence to the wunderer from New
= Zealand, when in the year Of grace 1866
, hcmay be exploring the ruins of ancient
London, of the order of the succession
of the mOnarchS of England.
: Astronomical evidence, moreover, en-
= ables us to determine the time of tive
| important epochs in the history OF
, Egypt, one of which is connected with
= our present subject. Sir John Herschol
h has fixed the age Of the Great Pyramid
: of Chzch to the middle of the twenty
4 second century b, c, The tablet o
= AbydOs shows that the Pharaoh WhOsC
c bones we now possess succeeded tho
+, builder of the Great Pyramid, with only
+ two intervening kings. The tropica
cycle has been calculated by the AstrOn
= omcr Royal at B, c. 20Oj, Il date whicl
e comedies with Abaham's soiourn in tina
if country. We are therefore warranted
i in assuming that the remains of Pha
raoh Mykerinus belong to the age t.
which we have assigned them. Abou
II forty years ago the pyramids Of Chizel
Is were explored under the direction q
e Colonel Howard Nysc, whose work al
Is Gords much valuable information to an!
one interested in the subject of Egyptian
Y archaeology. As he was not prcsen