The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1891-12-17

ence employed in their arrangement, that
they seem to set at defiance the effects of
time and the efforts of human violence"
1t is said that pyramid never looks as
large as it is; and it is not till you almost
touch it that you can realize it's vast dimen-
siOns. This is owing principally to its
parts slOping away from the eye instead of
boldly challenging observation. Still. the
great pyramids of Egypt, having this dis
advantage to struggle against, must be said
to have overcome it by the vastness of their
mass. and by the impression of solidity and
durability which they produce. They i'm
pressed HerOdOtus as no works that he had
seen elsewhere. They astOnished German
icus, familiar as he was with the great con-
structions of Rome They stirred the spirit
of Napoleon. and drew from him one of his
most telling phrases. when he turned to his
army and said, ''SOldiers. forty centuries
look down upon you from the top of the
pyramids" Greece and Rome reckoned
them among the Seven Wonders of the
World. MOderns have doubted whether
they could really be the work of human
hands. If they possess one Only.Of the ele.
ments of architectural excellence. they pos.
sess that element to so great an extent that
in respect of it they are unsurpassed. and
probably unsurpassable. The MIRROR
published an article from the Philadelphia
Press last week giving the opinion of
''mOneyed man" of the Quaker city. that
the pyramids were made of artificial stone.
formed of Nile mud. etc. Historians who
rank among the first class. such as HerOdO.
tus Wilkinson, Pliny. and Rawlinson, all
agree that there were mammoth stone
quarries at Syene. city situated on the
southern boundary line between Egypt and
Ethiopia. The great Temples at Thebes
and Memphis were built from the massive
blocks of sand stone taken from these quar-
ries. Blocks of stone measuring forty feet
long and four feet wide are seen to day
piled up in the pyramids. Huge machines
were used that would raise the ponderous
stone one step at the time. only to rest long
enough to readjust the machine. when an
other step would be accomplished in like
manner. The engineering science of the
Egyptians was certainly most remarkable
In their cutting of hard materials. in their
finished polish of surfaces. in their exact
production Of whatever angle they required.
in their perfect fitting of stone to stone. and
again in their power of quarrying, trans
porting. and raising into place enormous
masses. this ancient people was. and still is,
unsurpassed. The engineering student is
naturally lost in admiration when he con-
templates the huge masses of stone so
prodigally employed by the Egyptians in
their temples. their palaces. and their tOmbs
blocks of stone thirty or forty feet long,
used in walls or for the lintels of doors
obelisks weighing from two hundred to four
hundred and fifty tons. each wonder to
the western world. but in Egypt a common
OrnamentatiOn. sometimes set up in ave-
nues-mOnOlithic chambers and cOlossi
weighing eight hundred tons-and all ap.
parently moved with ease to the point re-
quired, as though there were no mechan-
ical difficulties whatsoever in the transport
tation. We cannot but have great admira-
tiOn of the skill which produced such vast
results. Surely there is nothing new under
the sun. CHET.