Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1879-11-28
The SnIlEnr.

He is carved out Of the natural rock
five endeavor to picture to ourselves
the appe4fafee Of the platean of the
4VfaniieIs before any tombs were placed
npon It. &e can have little difficulty in
the task, Many simalar platforms exist
aHalong tile KiIe IN lower Egypt. There
is broad expanse Of black alluvial soil,
dotted with occasional palms, and green
here and there with corn or clover. Be
yofid tile reach Of the inundahon rises
a wall OF gtons, thirty, forty, perhaE $
ffty feet above the lower level. The top
is fat and covered with loose sand,
which blows over on the fields below at
every SioEli, Behind is yet another
~id6e Of higher rocks, and third step
be effil further, On the inferine-
may Vel the pyrBmids are placed. Bnt
dIaue le y, the track Of the first Plla-
II We follow up from Memphis TO find
rOah who came = : his tomb, threading
a suitable place fe4 fthe Nile, through
hisiV3ly by the side Of ward q hollow
the network Of canals, to-, -. the first
in thelilong line Of low eliLs, stand
object which would meet his eye, If,
ing up by itself out of the sand-di-
halfway on the slope between the lower
and the higher platforms, would be a
great mass or column Of rock some
sixtysoF seventy feet In height, and
backed BY low ridge running out a
couple Of fundred feet toward the face
of theHhilE 9Sueh isolated rocks are
common IN Egypt One of them stands
to the pyramid of DashoOr Just as The
sphinx etsflldS 10 the pyramid of Oheph-
ren.TsA similar rock b'TebablS forms the
core of the mysterious tomb Of SheferOo,
appeared to bear the s6nblanee. of q
human face, but st cotild9 not be over.
lOokedE The first Tays Of the morning
sun would strike it, and the sphinx, II
Is all but certain. must have been rough
hewnl by.tbe7 earliest oeeJfpiers Of the
tOmbs i6fnthsa ancient ehlpiEe. It has
more than Olfce been suggested that two
sphiBxes sat obythe pyramids, like the
two MemnoRsin1 the plain of Thebes,
and that only one remains But it is inn
probable that two rocks to be carved
were on TtlEe same slope. . If a second
sphinx oVrr existed3 he may have been
wholly built up, q circumstance which /
would helpsto aecounbfof his total dis
sppearance. sin Charlotte sBronte's pre-
faceit6 her sisters novel, tsWuthering
HeigitsH she speaks,Of her creation of
tbe eharaeteaGofy Heathfeld3ih words /
which with slight change describe the
maker OF the lsphinxl His work wns
'heWni ina wild workshop with simple /
tools out Of simple tnttterials@ He found
the shloekl ofsaAdstOne in tile SOLITARY /
desert andg agazing thereohihe saw how
from the efag5 might be eIieibed a head,
savage. sNaft sinister "a form nodded
with at least one element of grandeur
l,ower. g He nRrOdghtI with a rough
chisel and from no model bat the vision
OF, hisI lneditati0nSi abA AFithlo time and
labor the cfaE ltOOlt 4tunlRh isbape, and
tbeFesit stands colossal, lark. and fTowh::
ing. half statue. half Foele; Inithe former
sense terrible and goblin like; IN the
latter. almost sbe6atifdls y . But tie con-
cludiflg lines Of Cllrfer Belrs wonderful
picture do 9not apply toItlle sphinx;
thoashs7 its eolOrihg5is fi6f mellow gray
no Hoofland moss clothes it; no sheath
with blooming bells and Ibalmy fagrance
grows faithfully close to the giants
foot;s1an Arab sits astride, on the ear
and offers telichoIC a lhaTge7 piece 1Out of
the eveballI for youTfbf half franc, OF
a small piece Ter 9piastrey yQrZ.1l i'1n .'s
n H.-.E.-E L. H