Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-03-03
Written Remains of the Egyptians.

Most of the written remains Of an
cient Egypt are religious. Many con-
sist of hymns to the gods, and have d
pathos of their own. Others are lists of
oblations or Of spoils taken in war.
These have no more literary pretensions
than an auctioneer's catalogue or an IN
ventory of furniture. They give us,
however, vivid idea OF Egyptian be
longings. The manifold productions
and richness Of ancient Egypt are no
where set forth In more detail than IN
what is known as the "Great Harris
Papyrus, which contains divers of these
summaries. 1t was found in a tomb, and
measures 1873 feet long by 162 inches
broad. Here we read Of the barge Of
cedar with rivet3 of gold-plated brass,
and cabins adorned with precious stones;
of houses with doors and lintels OF gold,
surrounded by gardens planted with all
kinds Of fruit, and tanks for waterfowl
and fish. Besides these are granaries of
corn and treasures filed, or temples
presented, with surprising amount of
miscellaneous property, paint, spirits Of
wine, honey, oil, linen overcoats, en-
bro;lered caps, incense, silver dishes,
and ladies', rings, onions, cedar harps,
bundles Of writing reeds, wax, leather
sandals, turquoises, perfumes, images,
necklaces, wine, colored bedclothes, etc.
The most careful inventory was made of
the several items, and III every case the
exact amount of the articles in store
seem to be. set down. For instance in
one place we find a record of S25, $40
4 L L.. e
pots of franklncense, while one cedar
rule" figures by itself Beside these
dead OF dry goods we have astonishing
lists of cattle and birds, especially pig
cons, ducks, and geese. Here we are
struck by evidence of much that was
eminently business-like and prosaic
among the old Egyptians. It is true
that their religion especially, at least SO
far as the offerings made by the King
represented the generosity Of the PEG
pie, was marked by marvellous and
abundant devotion; tho adornments of
the temples not being brought to a
focus in some inner shrine, but shone in
! the Gaping of sacred obelisks with
solid gold, and the covering Of huge
| holy walls inside and out with costly
sculpture. But though this indicates a
certain profuseness of expenditure,
nothing is more striking than the min
ute economy and attention to details
exhibited in what may be called the sa-
cred rent rolls, summaries of oblations.
and the like. The chronicIer carefully
| distinguished between the ducks" and
the "ducllings," offered to RIA, the
sliced, sailed, and prepared fish, the
crowns, nosegays, chains, and handfuls
of flowers, and the exact amount Of these
several items are set down. In the
"Great Harris Papyrus," now in the
British Museum, and translated in the
Records Of the Past" there are many
Of these entries, and in every case the
totals Of the goods in question are pre-
cisely recorded. There are, e. g., 1872
600 nosegays of yegetables-it does not
say what proportion of these were
onions-as against 11,0GO nosegays of
corn, and $40 of lotus Thus, in
these chronicles we have evidence of
both extreme profusion and precise
economy, Of the incest reckoning, and
the most liberal abundance-G Good
Words.
Two business houses burned at Oak
Ridge, Ia, yesterday. Insured.