The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-05-30
UNDER THE spE1Nx,s LEFT EAR.
Names of Napoleon end Wellington
Topped by an Inustrioas American.
From the Chfcaoo Ne.cs.

From the Chicago Netcs.
MY sojourn in Europe says Col. Ed
ward g. Mason, president of the Chicago
Historical Society, twas wholly delightful
The climate is salubrious. the scenery is be-
wiideringly novel, and the natives are
politely attentive. When 1 went to that
part Of the world my health was failing
tor several years / had worked hard, and
my nerves had suffered q particularly
severe strain In that famous debate In
which, as president of the historical society.
was compelled to engage with Hiram At
water OF kaskaskia relative to the exact
location of Pierre Menard's barn prior to
the June rise of the Mississippi in 1894.
had been in Cairo but week when felt
fnlly restored, an corpore ct in men q |
return to Chicago splendidly equipped to
grapple with the brilliant soDhistries Of
Norton, the artful hereSies of Head, the
cold peSsimism Of MacNeagh, and such
other specious persuasions as that Talented
coterie with which | am won't to associate
may choose to bring to bear upon me.
That object in all Egypt which most en-
gagged my attention was the sphinx. | WIS.,
tied 1t a number of times, and each time
regarded it with absorbing interest. My
companion at such times was the venerable
sheik, Kamir-el- Abdul, man of profound
learning, and l never wearied of the rem
iniscences with which he beguiled the
tedium OF the journey to and from the
pyramids.
81 shall never forget my first visit to the
sphinx. Starting from Cairo before day
light we reached our destination Just as the
solar orb, issuing from the glowing east,
cast upon that mighty stretch of sand the
rosy flood of his gracious benediction. The
sullen head and massive shoulders of the
beast-woman doomed up threateningly be-
fore us; the pitllesSness of forty centuries of
desolate loneliness lay like shadow on the
ruthless face and over the cruel eyer; here
at last found the master expression OF utter
hopelessness. Observing my unwonted
serlousness-for | was, indeed, awed by the
solemnity, the grandeur and the awfulness
or this spectacle-the good sheik sought to
dlssipate the gathering clouds of sadness by
relating certain entertaining bits of histori-
cal information.
Here, light Of the western world, ,
quoth he, for he always employed the
ornate metaphors Of the Orient when he adj
dressed me; here the years meet and speak
with one another. Monarchs of all ages
have come hither to commune with this
mighty monument to the genius of the
dead; hither come artisans to wonder at
the work Of an art they know not of, and
hlther repair the sage, the poet and the
philosopher to ruminate in the shadow Of
this pile upon the awful mysteries of human
life'
Yes said l, the spot is pregnant of the
most solemn associations. IL was here that,
as remember to have read in my geo
graphY, Bonaparte encouraged his soldiery
to battle by reminding them that from
yonder pyramids forty centuries looked
down upon them
Napoleon inscribed his name upon the
sphinx at that time said the good sheil.
Take your spyglass and you will see the
name cut upon the neck of the sphinx just
below the ear there. Below it appears, in
Turkish, the name of the great Sultan
Abdul Hamed, while to the right, upon the
cheek, you will see the name of Buffeon the
naturalist
1.-The head and face of the sphinx seems
to be covered with names, said |, contem-
plating the mammoth through my glass.
1T is even so, pearl of the prairies.' said
he. For many years the great men of all
nations and tribes have delighted to cut
their names into the deathless monument
even your people come here to do this hon
orable office, as you shall see if you SWEEP
your glass to the left and right and up and
down the surface of that SCARED face
II did as the good shelk suggested. and a
thousand NOBLE names were presented to my
enraptured vision by the aid of my glass.
Among my own countrymen Bayard Tay-
lor, Franklin, Burr, Prescott, Beacher
Grant, Longfellow, Emerson-yes, and a
hundred others, representing our statesman
ship, our theology, our literature, our art
and our sciences, had engraved their proud
names upon this historic, this solemn, thi:
imperishable tablet And the great geniuse!
of other nations had been there, too; be-
held with unfeigned delight the immortal
names of Wellington, of Cuvier, of Goethe
of Cavour. of Kossuth, Of Dumas, of Dis
raeli, of Schopenhauer, of Heine, of Byron
of Scott, of Burton, of Browning, and OF
other noble masters The sight ms pired me
with indescribable feelings, my bosom
heaved with conflicting emotions, and
seemed to commune with the invisible
spirits of those who in this human life had
borne those names.
"Would the star of the west choose tx
set himself amid that galaxyp inquired the
sheik, Kamir-el-Abdul, interruDting my
delicious reverie. L have brought with me
q chisel and maui, and yonder Arabs will
provide us with rope ladder whereby the
summit Of the sphinx can easily be reached.
Il thanked the good sheik for the sugges
ton. With what pride should l return &c
my native land and announce to my com
patriots that my name was high in this ros
ter of immortals; with what feelings o.
delight should posterity gather on thest
blistering sands and rivet their eyes upon the
imperishable name of e. g. Mason in bis
capital letters! Kamir-el signaled
to the Arabs and they approached. | was
eager for action; my whole frame quiverec
with excitement.
But stay quoth I; another moment,
pray, until decipher that name which
stands boldly out, high above all the rest
Some transcendent genius has with consum
mate valor braved the perils of the en-
deavor, and set his mark where no les
noble hand may reach
~ scanned that name eagerly. A solemn
stillness-fitting in its reverential absolute
ess-reigned all around. l saw and reaC
there. high above the rest. triumphing ovel
the names and titles of emperors, kings
princes, warriors, statesmen and the rest
blazed, as it were the polar star set in thu
highest point of the heavens. the proud, thu
pro-aminent the i'm rerishab bile name of A