Morning journal and courier., 1881-05-05
The ObeIisk.


 Opera House, under the auspices of the New Haven Colony Historical society, drew out very large audience, including many of our foremost citizens and many ladies. The members of the society were supplied with reserved seats, admitted by tickets obtained in advance, and all the remaining space was free to the public Not only was the parquet well filled, but the galleries also, front and rear. Commodore Gorringe came to this city in the afternoon, and was the guest of Thomas R. Trowbridge, Esq. At o'clock he was received at the new rooms of the Histor- ical society in the State House, being there inent citizens. He was shown a few of the many objects of in | terest in the very extensive collection of l the society," in which he took much interest, | and we learn that he bestowed quite a num- | Der of very valuable additions to the collec- | tion. After half hour spent in the society rooms he was shown the crypt under Center | church, and in the evening after the lecture was introduced into the beautiful rooms of the Quinnipiack club.
 Commodore Gorringe was introduced to l dent of the Historical society, who, in brief and very appropriate remarks spoke of Com modore Gorringe's highly successful accom- pIishment of the great work of removing the obelisk to this country, and his having kind Iy consented to deliver the lecture before the | society.
 The speaker read for 8 few moments and then the lights were turned down, leaving the room and stage in darkness (for the remain der of the lecture, except 8 small space on the speakers desk illumined by a shaded l lamp), in order that the very beautiful and | highly interesting stereopticon views might appear distinctly.
 The speaker said The obelisk, the pyra- mid and the sphinx are the three most characteristic forms of ancient Egyptian | monuments. Their real signifcation is 8 matter of speculation. Psychologists gene rally regard the obelisk as the symbol of the creative power, the ray of light, the source
 of life; the pyramid is the symbol of death; :; the Egyptian sphinx is believed to represent combination of intellectual and physical force, the heal of man on the body of 8 l lion. The great obelisks were Invariably erected in pairs, one on each side of the gate way before each Pylon of the temples. Pyramids and sphinxes appear to have been placed singly and in groups. It has been as- ! serted that obelisks have been found only on the east bank of the Nile, and pyramids only on the west bank and this is the rule everywhere, but generally they are arranged in rows on each side of the approaches to the temples. One of the most striking fea- lures of these ancient Egyptian symbols is l the enormous dimensions of some of them.
 You cannot realize the size of the great pyramid without seeing it but you may form some estimate of it's grandeur and the labor in volved in it's construction iwhen you know that in it's present condition it contains not less than six and three-quarter millions of tons of carefully hewn stone. The great sphinx is hewn out of 8 mass of natural rock; you may form an idea of it's size when you know that the length of it's nose is equal to the average height of man. The largest obelisk still stands at Karnak, where it was
 erected by Queen Hatasou about thirty-five l centuries ago. It is more than one and three quarters the height and weight of ours. 1 The ancient Egyptian obelisks were origi- nally monoliths and were all quarried at Syene, on the banks of the Nile about $50 | miles from the sea, and where there exists an l immense mass of rock, known as Syenite, l celebrated for it's hardness, freedom from l cracks and veins of foreign matter. and sus- l ceptible of high polish. The speaker here mentioned the effect of the Egyptian climate, | storms, etc., upon the obelsk, which had | fEo,o orS,1 aro% G1 the suns heat and to moisture, not from the l sides which were exposed to the sand storms f of Alexandria The same conditions, he l continued. that caused the defacement of the two sides in Egypt exist in New York, but under different circumstances and to a l less degree. It is only during the summer afternoons during the thunder showers that l the sun has an opportunity to exert it's most powerful influence on moist surface. This | is the reason have turned the worst face of l the obelisk to the west to receive whatever | injury may result from the same cause. 1 Many persons interested in the preservation | of the hieroglypths as they are, have ex- pressed some anxiety as to the effect of se-
 were cold following quickly after a. heavy 1 rain. 1 have no hesitation in asserting that l we have little to fear from this cause. It has also been asserted that the sea breezes caused the defacement of our obelisk. This cannot be true, for one of the perfect faces l was toward the northwest, from whence the sea breezes blow in Alexandria.
 To return to Syene, where all the Egyptian obelisks were quarried, there is no record of the first pieces that were removed but there is an obelisk now standing at Heliopolis, five miles from Cairo, that was quarried and erected more than 1000 years ago. (View given. Four thousand years ago Egyp- tian quarried and transported 600 miles and erected 8 slender shaft of syenite weighing 15O tons and then. the artist engraved fig ures and signs corresponding to our words and letters, and finally polished the surface so admirably that the polish still remains With all our skill, and in spite of the excel lence of our tools, it would tax to their ut most the most skillful workmen of to-day to produce the figures and then give the surface lasting polish and under no circumstances could the same artistic feeling be given to the i,,taQliO sculptures On the base of the great obelisk of Hatasou it is recorded that only seven months elapsed from the time she gave the order to quarry the stone to the date of its final completion. I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the record If 1t IS correct 1t means that the Egyptians were possessed of mechanical appliances superior to those in use at the present day. It must be remem- bered also that in the creation, transportation and erection of an obelisk, the number of men employed is limited to comparatively few, and I quite sure that there IS not man living who would undertake. in seven AAAOAAN-ASb transport 600 miles, erect, carve and polish granite shaft 12O feet long, weighing $50 tons, such as that of Queen Hatasou at Karnak. The obelisks were designed to stand before temples. (View given of the remaining obelisk at Luxor and the pylons of the temple, before which it stands.) I cannot help calling attention to the fact that the French selected for removal to Paris one of the only pair of obelisks that remained erect before temple where the ancient Egyptians placed them, and where they stood for twenty three centuries worthy mon uments of great people If the removal of our obelisk from Alexandria, where it was out of place,-having been put there by the Roman conquerers to commemorate their subjugation of the Greco Egyptians, was an act of vandalism, what words can adequately characterize the act of the French in remov- ing one of the obel1sks of Luxor to Paris ? And yet the French residents of Egypt were loudest in their condemnation of the Khedive for giving us an obelisk. (View given of obelisk as the speaker found it.) It stood in stone-cutter's yard. On one side was a railway station and on another an unfinished