Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1878-01-30

NiAO hNOlNO NOhOh nave luClI uGduo
covered in the Eastern style, leav-
ing nothing of the face showing
but the eyes. On the whole l have
already learned to regard the Gus
tom as a blessing to strangers, for
the few women whose faces have
been exposed were as homely as
they were greasy and dirty. The
buildings and streets will dispose
of by stating that they are as mot
ley in appearance as the population.
However, certain quarters of the
city are almost exclusively native,
and Others againare peopled by the
Franks, or Europeans, the build
ings and streets partaking in a
great measure of their respective
Inhabitants. A suburb of the city
on the sea called Ramleh is built
entirely lyofmodern European houses,
and constitutes the summer resort
of wealthy Franks.
A SKETCH OF THE CITY.
Alexandria was commenced by
Alexander the Great B. @. 323, the
site having been selected on ac-
count Of its natural advantages as
a great harbor. The building of
the city was carried forward after
Alexander's death by Ptolemy So
ter, and afterward again by his son.
Continuing under successive mon
archists to increase in wealth and
population, it at last, in its greatest
days, numbered 100000 people. In
the third century of the Christian
era its glory commenced to wane,
until in the latter part of the
eighteenth century the population
was not 10000 souls. Under Me-
hemet Ali in the present century
the tide again turned, so that now
Alexandria shelters not less than
225, 900 inhabitants.
The city has two harbors, or ports
of entry, known as the New and the
Old. The New Port is used only
by small native boats, the com
merce Of the place being confined
to the Old Port, which is better
protected by breakwaterS, and free
of rocks and shoals. Directly on
the shores of the harbor in the east
ern part Of the city stands the ODE.
lisk whose mate, known as Cleo
patra's Needle, was lately EN-.
barked for London. The people
here and some authorities designate
both by the name of Cleepatra's
Needle, and there is no reason why
it should not be so, as they are ex-
act duplicates. The one still here
is standing, while the other was al
most buried in the sand in its fallen
position until removed by the Eng
llsh. The spot from which they
took it remains exactly as when
the disinterment was completed,
showing the situation of the
column as it lay imbedded
While the exact origin of these
obeliskS is shrouded in the obscu-
rity of early Egyptian history,
they were most probably first set up
by Thothmosis III in front of the
Temple of the Sun at Heliopolis,
somewhere about 1850 B. @. He'll
opoliS was located about five miles
from modern Cairo. Among the
hieroglyphics carved on them are
the names of Thothmosis III, Ra.
meses II, and Seth II. As it very
often happened that Egyptian
rulers erected temples, tom6s and
obelisks to glorify their own names,
the Cleopatra Needles are attributed
to the first king whose name is cut
on them. On the question of their
removal to this city the authorities
disagree, One writer asserts that
they were brought here during the
reign Of Tiberius, early in the first
century, and placed before the Tenn
pie of Caesar. Another historian
assigns their removal to Cleopatra,
who set them before the Cesarium
which she built to celebrate the
birth of her son by Julius Caesar.
The latter statement would proba-
bly, account for the origin Of the
names Of the shafts, which otherwise
is unknown. Both are of red
Syene granite, which closely resem-
bles that now exported from Scot
land, though larger in the grain.
The Needle which left for London
is &C feet in hight, and the remain
ing one, II feet. The diameter at
the base is the same in both, I feet
z inches. The shorter one, lately
taken away in the novel "Oleo-
patra," was presented to England
by Mohammed Ali, to commemo-
rate the successful issue of the cam
paign which drove the French from
Egypt. A report is now in circula-
tion here to the effect that a party
Of Americans have purchased the
second obelisk from the khedive,
with a view to dispose of it at a
profit to some city of the United
States. The story even goes so Car
as to name the amount paid,
100000.
POMPEY's PILLAR.