Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1878-01-05
what Cleopatra. Needle Has to
@. H, in the christian Observer.

nayIfrSt voyage more than thirty
five hundred1zyea ago. If yoL
would know something of my birth
you may see at this day, at AssuaI
| (the modern name of Syene), among
thesterracesS0f reddish granite, a lit
tie to the southeast of the AraE
cemetery, an obelisk partially form
| ed, still attached to the native rock
Thus WasjI brought forth. Through
long ages / had lain shapeleSS, lock
ed in the embrace of that granite
range, which, towering on both sides
upon the precious flood that carries
in its sparkling bosom health and
wealth to the land below. In my
prison / now and then had heard
the murmurs of the river, and when
at length released, | fioated on a
calm, majestic stream, / wondered
at the placid waters that gave no
sign of recent strife. Never shall
forget the glories of my voyage in
that far off time. Glories of sun
light and of starlight; of the river
and of the land; the delicious air of
early morning; the radiance of the
day; the warm glow of the evening;
the palm groves with their waving
branches; the majestic temples and
statues and tombs; the bright green
of the fields that lay between the
river and the deserts yellow sand.
Such were the charms that made
eternal my recollection of that first
voyage down the Nile.
But / was not destined to remain
long on the river. Arriving in
few days near the city of Reel, my
boats landed amidst the acclama-
tions of the multitude and in stately
procession to the sound of harp and
flute, of pipe and cymbal, l was
drawn by thousands of strong arms
into that great ''City of Sum-" The
traveller, wandering to-day near the
spot where long | stood, can scarce
conceive how noble was the city and
the temple l was carried to adorn.
The place is spoken of in the Bible
as On, or by its Hebrew name of
Bethshemesh. Now it bears the
Greek name of Heliopolis, and but
for one of my sisters, fifteen CEN
turies my senior, who yet bears the
name of Osirtassen l., her king, and
still remains there pointing out the
site of the ancient city, few would
suppose that on that spot once stood
the glorious "Temple of the Sum-"
Looking over that furrOWed field
near Cairo, where buffaloes drag the
wooden plOughs and turn rude
wheels that draw the water from
the ancient well, few would imagine
that there, in the days of which l
speak, was centered the learning of
Egypt.
There, in my sisters younger
days, Pharoah gave to Joseph for
a wife the beautiful Asenath,
daughter of Potipherah, high priest
of the temple before which my sis
ter stood.
There, in my youth, dWelt Moses,
and there, in later years, SOlOn and
Plato studied and HerOdotus learn
ed. tHeliOpolis may be seen to-day
mounds and crude brick walls sur
rounding a space of about three
hundred and seventy acres, which
some modern travellers have sup
posed were the limits of the ancient
city. Such was not the case. Those
mounds mark the boundary wall of
the tenlenOs, or sacred enclosure, of
the temple, which was built of stone.
The visitor to the ruins about
Thebes and Karnac may see how
obelisks were placed on each side of
the temples; the corridors, the halls,
the massive columns-siXtyf feet in
height and thirty five feet cir
conference.-the height exclusive
of the plinth and abacus. Add to
these, in imagination, the rich col
oring of capitals and cOrnice and in
scriptions on the walls; the gateways
with their pyramidal towers one
hundred and fifty feet in height; the
drOn1os of sphinXes, the magnificent
statues, and you can form some idea
of the grandeur of our Temple at
HeliopOlis.
For more than eleven hundred
years / stood guard at one of the
gateWays of that temple, then Cam
byses, the Persian, came and laid
waste the city with fire and sword.
Still l was spared and remained in
that dreary waste more than five
centuries, until Cleopatra, daughter
of Ptolemy, became our queen.
In her veins flowed Macedonian
blood, and she was fairer than the
women of Egypt. By her beauty
and her boldness, varied arts and
graceS, she SWayed men at her will.
Even great Caesar, in the enchant-
ment of her society, forgot the world
and came near losing both his en-
pire and his life while dallying in
her arms. To Caesar she bore a son,
and in cOmmemOration Of his birth
she erected a temple at Alexandria. |
At that time | was more than six
teen hundred years old; yet / was
thought sufficiently beautiful to
adOrn that temple. From the ruins |
of HeliopOlis was taken to the Nile,
and for the second time fiOated OH
it's waters. Soon | stood once more |
in the midst of magnifcence and |
Does it not seem fitting |
that [, who assisted in making beau /
tiful the wisest city of ancient Egypt,
should have been chosen, sixteen
hundred years later, to adOrn the
World-renOWned Alexandra?
Standing in dust and ashes in
had occasionally heard |
rumors of great city on the coast,
built by Alexander. At last l stood |
in that metropolis of five hundred
thousand souls, and, as l beheld its
port, through which
flowed the wealth of India and
vast streets, through
the vista of whose marble porticOs
the gaIleys on Lake MareOtis eX-
changed signals with those upon the
sea; its thousands of palaces and
baths and gardens; its libraries and |
its schools of learning; its busy pop
ulation, engaged in industrious pur-
suits-I felt that no city in Egypt |
had ever before presented such lux
ury and such magnificence.
| was take to Alexandria more
than nineteen hundred years ago,
but not many centuries after my ar
rival the splendOr of the city COM
menced to Wane-a few hundred
years more and it was sad, picture
of decay.
The hand of conquering Amer
fell on Alexandria, even as the hand
of Cambyses had fallen on Heliopo-
lis, and soon again l stood in the
midst of desOlation and ruins. The
PharOs, four hundred
feet in height, which for ages stood
the admiration of the world: the