The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1898-09-20

Roman Times.
AS they lay on the professors table.
the first thought of the uninitated Wis
itor would be. what could be the use
OF heap of such old crumbling brown
rubbish. and why are those dusty frag-
ments being folded with such tender ;,
care. and placed between sheets OF
glass?
How strange is the story which these
papyri have to tell az sheet after sheet
is slowly deciphered. Gathered from be-
meath the drifting sands of the Libyan
desert, they are all that remain TO re-
cord the life OF one of the wealthiest
Christian cities OF Egypt in Greco-Ro-
man times. The sand-dunes of Beh-
mesa, in Middle Egypt. and on the .bor-
ders of the papyrus- bearing Fayoum.
where this mass of records was found
mark the site of the ancient city OF Oxy-
rhynchus, the city of the Fish Wor-
shippers" once the centre of a great
diocese, containing converts. monas-
teries and many churches. There are
no ruins on the site, and all the work
achieved by Meosrs. Grenfell and Hunt,
on behalf of the Egypt Exploration
Fund. had to be carried out in the open
desert and In the face of binding sand
storms.
As we turn over the fragments
which cover "A period extending from
the second to the sixth century of our
era we seem TO have the whole of the
busy life of this once fiourishing city
set before us, not only the religious
and intellectual life, but all the minu-
test details of society, the complaints
of the grumblers and the sweet cooings
OF the lovers. Although but provin-
cial town, there must have been cul-
| tured and intellectual set among the
| inhabitants as early as the second GEN.
| tury, for among the fragments we find
| portions of the writings OF most of the
best known classical writer's. includ-
! ing Homer, Herodotus, Sophocles, Pla-
] to and the orations of Demoethenes.The
I gem of the classical remains Is a bith-
| erto unknown poem of the LesTan
poetess, the Burning Sappho" of By
! ron. 1t is a sweet. pathetic appeal to
( her brother Charaxus. the lover OF the
notorious Rhodopis, TO make up the
| quarrels which had so long separated
| them. The ecclesiastical literature, OF
| course, is extensive, the most import
| ant being a very early copy or a por-
ton of the Gospel of Matthew-proba-
bly, the earliest
IT is not those religious or classical
| fragments that possess that human In
terest which Is the charm OF archaeol-
ogy. Little pieces of paper. often torn
| and badly written, and with detective
| spelling. often have a tale OF much In
terest to tell: and of these torn scraps
there are many. or society letters there
are several. -Four lines OF writing rec
ord an invitation TO dinner; "Chaere-
mon requests your company to dinner:
at the table OF the Lord Seraps, In the
Sepapaeum tomorrow, the 18th. at
o'clock" Several such invitations have
been found which show that 3
o'clock was the fashionable Greco-Ro-
man dinner hour. The dinner referred
20 was, no doubt, a festival of Scraps
the favorite Greco Roman god,as Is
shown by another beautifully written
letter: Greeting. my dear Serenia.
from Pet-osiris. Re sure. dear. to come
on the Goth for the birthday festival or
the god (Serapis); and let me know
whether YOU are coming by boat or
donkey, that we may meet you accord
ingly." Substitute train for the last
| mentioned and il would be suitable for
the nineteenth century. In another FEM
inlne letter written by a country friend
|
sions. "a piece of violet stuff-is TO be
matched FOR n tunic: small chesses are
wanted for the festival and an oboi =
worth of cake for my little nephew
AS present the writer sends flowers
CD and apples. There is something
| very much of modern society air in the
| following letter. although OF the tins
of the second century. a lady writes to
her friend TO say she has pledged cas-
kets OF sandalwood another of onyx. q
white veil with real purple border
armlets. n statue OF Aphrodite.' and
, other objects. and asks her friend tc
, redeem them. The rate of interest Is
4 per cent. per month. most exorbI.
; tant charge. but as the debt was I'm al
probability a gambling one the money
, must he obtained.
Another interesting letter Ia thai
from a father to his daughters flancs
to say that the engagement il broker
, off on account of his fast life and asso'
, citation with the women OF Alexandria
: OF still greater interest TO the citi
. zen OF the present progressive age ART
! the municipal documents. The docu
: ments relating to the sale OF the taxe'
record the fact that although the an
nual farming had twice been held NJ
one would come forward 20 buy. on ac
: | count of former losses. The accounts o
the city police are very interesting bu
dry. Very curious are the reports o
the municipal doctor. who had beel
sent By the governor 20 hold an inques
n on y man who hanged himself. and a
o another time on q girl who was injur
cd by the fall of n house and cut abou
the hips and legs. The payment to tn
Y carpenters for the repairs and decora
: ton Of shepherds street. has much O
e the air OF n modern County Counc'
:. mjssive. Tn conclusion. az we turn Owe
i this bundle of old letters. We once NOR
9 recall the old saving. ever true. "ther
, 10 nothing new undeg the sun."-Lon