Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1877-11-09
From the Cincinnati Star.
AbOuI ObeIIsks.

an Obellsk. Chicago is understood
10 be advertising for an .onelisk.
Obelisks are becoming fashionable,
and all at once the world is wild for
obelisks. These monuments of the
ancient ages have kept their solemn
watch, like forgotten sentinels, over
the plains of Egypt during unknown
centuries, and just now have become
objects of desire among races who
were unknown to earth when those
polished shafts were reared, and
whose seulptured sides bear record
of heroes who died fifteen centuries
before Christ was born.
Although the ancient Egyptians
reared the obelisks, they did not
leave us their name for them. That
we get from the Greeks, who called
them 'obeliskos," their name for
large awl for coarse sewing. Hence,
probably, our modern name of
''needles" given to these tapering
columns. The Arabs called them
''Pharaoh's Needless" but Europe
ans, doubtless considering such in
struments better suited to woman's
work than to mans, named them
"Cleopatra's Needles. The obelisks
commonly known as Cleopatra's
Needles were, however, only those
found at Alexandra, where Europe
an visitors were common. Similar
obelisks are, nevertheless, abundant
along the Valley Of the Nile, though
seldom OF so great height and size.
There is record, however, of much
more lofty obelisks than these of
Alexandria, which are about seventy
feet high above their platform base.
Phius erected one about ninety feet
high, and Ptolemy Philadelphus
erected one one hundred and forty
six feet in height, in memory of his
wife Arsince.
In addition to the two obelisks
known as "Cleopatra's Needles" J"
there is another at Alexandria,
which has received the name of
"Pompey's Pillar" of about the
same height. Only one of the
Needles" was standing, the other
had fallen; and this fallen one is the
obelisk now destined for London. 1t
was offered to the British Govern
ment by Mehemt Ali, when Pasha
of Egypt; but, like the gift of an ele-
phant, the British could do nothing
with their present then; and not un-
til quite recently was there any at
tempt made to remove this relic of
antiquity from the banks of the
Nile to the banks of the Thames.
They came very near losing it on the
voyage, by reason of a storm, where
in the craft built on purpose for
bearing this "needle" over the ocean
had to be cut loose from the tug
steamer which had it in tow. It
was recovered, however, and now,
as we are told, awaits decision un-
der claim for salvage.
This is not by any means the only
obelisk brought to Europe frem the
Nilotie Valley. Rome has received
about fifty of these Egyptian obe-
liSks. Only six of these, however,
were of great size; the others were
small, but equally well polished,
and all bore craven inscriptions.
One of the loftiest of these was OBJ
tanned and brought to Rome by
Caliguls. 1t is one hundred and
eight feet high, eight feet square at
its base, and weighs four hundred
and fifty tons. 1t is covered with
hieroglyphs, attesting, it is said,
that it was erected in honor of
Thothmes ", and originally stood
before the great temple of AmmOn
Ra-the "Sun-god" of Egyptian
worship. Of all brought to Rome
only twelve remain. 44
The purpose of these obelisks was
evidently monumental as among the
ancient Egyptians. They all bear
craven inscriptions, which are
found, since the hierogIyphs have
become translatable, to record hero
ic deeds or the virtues of some be-
loved or distinguished parsonage.
And right royalty was this monu-
mental work performed. The form,
the size, the material, the workman
ship, each perfect for the purpose as
proposed, all combine to give assur-
ance to the modern world of the ex-
istence in those ancient times of at
tainments in the mechanic arts that
amaze while they convince.
1t must be remembered that these
obelisks are each composed of but
one single stone, and are what we
call monoliths. This stone is uni
formly reddish granite and horn
blende combined, the hardest stone
known for architectural use. With
all our present appliances, of the fin.
est steel known to modern manufac.
ture, it is found difficult to cut our
plain Romantic letters in such stone.
And yet, each of the four faces of
these Obelisks is found covered with
the finest hieroglyphical inscriptions,
clean cut in all their fine lines, and
symbolical figures. No bungling
hand with soft-iron chisels could
have done such mastery work as
that.
1t must furthermore be remem-
bered that all these obelisks brought
from Egypt to Europe have been
obtained from the delta of the lower
Nile, and most of them from Alex
andria, directly adjacent to the
mediterranean shore. Now, there is
no granite found on the lower Nile
in quarry. There is no place nearer
than the neighborhood of the first
cataract, about Seyne, where this
granite rock could have been OBJ
tanned; aud this is full six hundred
miles IRON Alexandria. Then, if we
are amazed at the perfect polish and
delicate engravings found npon this
hard rock in its finished form, how
much must our amazement be in
creased when we consider that