The Portland daily press., 1882-03-10
THE BRITISH MUSEUM.
A Day in the Egyptian Rooms.

Such was the title of Rev. W. B. Haydens
lecture delivered in the New Jerusalem Tenn
pie last evening before a large and appreciative
audience. The lecture forms two magazine
articles soon to-be published and we therefore
give but mere sketch of the points touched
upon by the lecturer.
The speaker commenced by saying that this
department-the Egyptian rooms-was the
largest, excepting the library, in the Museum,
the monuments covering period of from 81
600 to 1900 years, reachlngffrom the earliest
times to the Mohammedan invasion of Egypt
A. d. GAO. They are contained in six large
saloons in the west wing, three on the ground
floor and three in the second story, connected
by large stone stairway filed with papyri.
You first enter the southern gallery and pause
instinctiyely before the ''Rosetta Stone" in
the middle of the apartment. This stone is a
block of black basalt, three feet long by two
and one-half feet wide, and foot thick,
mounted on pedestal, with an inclination
like writing-desk 1t is somewhat broken
and Clipped. AS many of these Stetde were or
dered by the Egyptians at the same time and
containing the same text, it is confidently
hoped others will be uDearthed in time and
the perfect text of the inscriptions recovered.
The stone was discovered in 1899 and received
at the Museum in 1902. The Antiquarian So
ciety had the inscriptions copied and forwarded
to scholars all over the world and finally in
1919 DR.. Young discovered the key to the in
scriptions, aud this key is the key to all that
lies in the galleries beyond, since it translates
the Egyptian hieroglyphics. Its age is 1856
years before Christ, showing the hieroglyphics
were In use when the septuagint version of the
Old Testament was made and did not 20
out of use till near the coming of our Lord.
As far as the eye can reach to the north,
from the Rosetta stone, stretch the monuments
arranged on either side the apartments, for
distance of at least 800 feet. They are ar
ranged on both sides with broad passage-way
between. In Sydenham Crystal Palace is
hall fitted up in gorgeous Egyptian style; with
magnificent frescoes, carved columns, with
the Sphinx, lotus, palm and papyrus repre-
sented; with fountains splashing, and birds
carolling: but here all is sombre, hoary,
desolate. The massive figures grouped abont,
standing or sitting; gods and goddesses, ami
NAL headed, kings, queens and priests, stare at
US with mute gaze, in awful silence. 1t seems
as if crowd of beings had been summoned
from the sepulchure of ages to receive their
doom. The size of the statues is colossal; the
stone used dark-colored, frequently jet-black,
SO that the darkness of Egypt" is realized.
The large monuments in the lower galleries
come, the older from Memphis and Abydos in
lower Egypt, the later dates from Middle
Egypt, the Misunderstanding Karnak and
Luxor, Gournch and Medinet-Haboo. They
are arranged in chronological order, according
to dynasties, and have clearly descriptive la
bells attached.
Entering the southern gallery the more re-
cent remains are encountered and the visitor
goes backward with time. The first monu-
ments are those of the Roman occupation from
the capture of Alexandria by Augustus y. Y.
80 dowr to the Mahommedan invasion in A.
D. $40. Next come those of the Ptolemaic
or Greek period, introduced by Alexander's
conquests and accession of Ptolemy Softer to
the throne, B. G. 1923, including a trilingual
tablet bearing decree of the priests at Cano-
pus in honor of Ptolemy Euergetes ], and
Berenice b. G. 23S. AS che latest monuments
were the first whose precise dates could Dc
fixed, from these the exploration has worked
back year after year settling point after point,
The ancient prieses seem to have had the same
trouble over the question of their own antiq-
uity, going backward in the same way.
| A very interesting description was given by
| the lecturer of the course of the Nile, which
| crosses the Both parallel no less than eight
| times on its way to the Mediterranean. The
exceptional derivation of the country's fertility
| from the slime and mud of the river instead OF
| from the rains of Heaven was used as an illus
| lustration OF the peculiar correspondence be-
| tween the rivers physical characteristics and
the habits and manners of the people.
| The next two compartments contain the
monuments of the 30th, or last native dynasty,
| which expelled the Persians from Egypt; the
two following the remains of the 26th dynasty
| commencing with Psammetichus /, and con-
| spicuous for the encouragement of art, and
| terminating with the conquest of Egypt by
| Cambyses B. @. 525. Next come the monu-
ments of the 22d, followed by the central sa-
loon filled with memorials of the 10Th dynasty,
| that of Rameses III, the great Sesostris of the
Greeks, under whom the Egyptians conquered
Ph9nicia and built up Thebes. In the north
| ern gallery are the memorials of the prosper
GUS 18th commencing with the expulsion OF the
shepherd kings, and the conquests of Ethiopia
| and Africa. Here stands colossal head OF
Thotmes III, discovered by Balzoni at Karn-
ak Here is the famous "tablet OF Abydos'
| discovered by w. Bankes in the temple OF
| hvd0q in 1913 and which has dOna SO much