The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1877-04-26
DIR. schIiemAnn's Discoveries.

Dr.
If the indefatigable DR.. Schliemann
does not succeed in reconstructing his
tory, and transferring the Homeric tale
from the region of fable to that of act
ual fact. he will at least have achieved
by no means vain or useless purpose
that offeeding and satisfying the eager
and cOmmendable curiosity of mankind.
Never have the "flnds" Of antiquarian
delivers and diggers-not even those of
Layard in Assyria, or of his successor,
George Smith, or of the slowly. toiling
excavators of Pompeii-been SO full of
thrilling and romantic interest as the
discoveries which the devoted German
has made, or thinks he has made, on the
famed plain of Troy, and now among
the ruins Of the only less-famed city of
Perseus and Agamemmon. Unlike most
of his countrymen, who are usually
cautious. cool, incredulous, painfully
weighing evidence on this side and that,
and watching intently lest they should
allow a sentiment of poetry or tradition
to color the theories they construct, DR..
Schiiemann has perfect faith-we had
almost said credulity-in the Importance
of his discovery, the indentity of the
antique objects he unearths with those
mentioned by the blind bard, and in the
historic existence of events hitherto re-
garded as legendary. ltwas German,
we believe, who proved that the heroic
William Tell never existed except in the
lively imagination of the Swiss; it is a
German who now tells us that Troy
certainly was, and Priam, and Achilles,
and Agamemmon, and Hector; that an
elopement, breeding war, really took
place on the part of Paris and Helen !;
and that he has found the treasure of
the king, the citadel, and many other
of the objects and places described in
the "Iliad."
DR.. Schliemann has logically trans
ferred his researches from the Troad to
Argos, and crossing the Egean, has
settled down to the excavation of the
long-mysterious ruins of Mycene.
Those ruins are, not improbably, con-
temporaneous with those of Troy; and
from Mycene came the king who COM
manded the Hellenic forces before the
Asiatic city, the brother of the outraged
husband of Helen. Substantial results
have followed the painful digging of the
German and his devoted wife, which
enthusiastic couple "may have been
seen" squatting on the ground under
the rain, trOweling up the earth, and
every now and then bringing forth from
oblivion golden diadems and goblets,
earrings and necklaces.
Whether or not these ruins date as far
back as the warlike monarch who, ac-
cording to Homer, was not the first of
the great men of earth, it seems at least
clear that they existed as stately editices
at period when glass and iron were
unknown in Argos, that is, in the pc
riod which archaologists designate as
the "Bronze age;" and the same may be
said Of the Troy unearthed by DR.. Schlie,
mann. AS yet he has been able to find
no writings or inscriptions, from which
it would appear that the sepultures of
the gorgeously. .arrayed bodies which he
has found took place, in all likelihood
before the Greeks had adopted the PhG
nician alphabet. Yet the artistic beauty
of the pottery and jewelry which have
so abundantly rewarded DR.. Schlie-
mann's delving shows to what a high
state of perfection the workmanship of
goldsmths and potters had attained in
this unquestionably remote period.
DR.. Schliemann is not, indeed, enti-
tied to the credit of discovering the site
and making the first researches at N.Y.
cen@, as at Troy; for the Treasury of
Aureus, the Gate of the Lions, and the
SlOlOJCdu WdllS WilCu OhOO SUI lOuhuSu
the city, were excavated many year
ago. No doubt the tombs which Drs
Schliemann has found are those of an
ancient line Of powerful and wealthy
kings, who must have lived in gorgeous
fashion, tojudge by the splendor of their
funeral ornaments; for one Of them, at
least, was buried with a crown of.gold
over two feet long, while their rings
and other jewels, adorned with precious
stones, further attest their luxury. We
have as yet, doubtless, but small in
stalment of the discoveries the indefat-
igable doctor is destined TO make at My
cen@; and very likely, before he has
completed his task, he may come upon
Inscriptions which will prove incompa.
rably more precious to history than the
golden treasures already found.-Apple-
TOMS Journal.
Take Care of Your Eyes.
The more you avoid glaring and