The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1906-07-11
Ministers Corner.
THE CASTLE OF THE JEWS
DAUGHTER"
By M. B. Chapman, D. D.

cred called Tell Defenne and it has been 49,:
ned as Iahpanhes, and Mr.. Petrie, of the Fgvn.
exploration Fund, has made some very remart
able discoveries. This place is situated Close ~
Lake Menzaleh, at the extreme northeastern ~ ~
ner OF the Delta, and it is a long and tedious ;o,
ney to IT. There, in the midst of an arid vast
the explorer found three groups of mounds win
from nall mile to a mile apart, the INTERVENING
space strewn with debris and the remains Of
Drick foundations indicating the site of 2 Iar
and important city. Two of the mounds wepo
ordlnary-looking, but the third was COMPOSED 81
the burned and blackened ruins of large pile of
br1ck buildings visible for great distance across
the PLAIN AS Mr.. Petrie approached this snor
lar-iook1ng object, toward evening, and saw il
standing high against urid sky and Redeemed bv
d merry sunset, we may imagine his DELIGHT and
surprise as his Arab guides pointed it out and fold
aim that its local name far and near was the Gas
tie OF the Jews Daughter"
Setting to work with some forty or 6ftv labor
ers, he soon discovered that the ruins were those
OF great castle and palace combined If CON
sisted OF one enormous square tower rising 70
the height OF number of stories, with sixteen
rooms on each floor, while all around it were LATER
structures, built up against its outer walls A
great quantity of valuable relics and deDosits was
brought to light, but the most interesting discov
cry was that of pavement of brickwork in front
vi the tower, measuring about 90 feet This
Drlck or pavement" at the entrance of Pharaoh's
mouse has always been puzzle to translators ana
beer
found IN connection with an Egyptian palace BIZ,
mere 1t was just where Jeremiah said it should he
coming to light after more than twenty-five hun
dred years. confirming in remarkable manner
the statement of the prophet. And during all
these centuries the tradition that this palace was
refuge for the daughters of the Jewish king
has been preserved and the very Arabs who live in
all the neighborhood, though ignorant of the
story, vouch for its truth by retaining the name
The very brickwork is there to-day of which
Jeremiah spoke, and which Nebuchadnezzar
spread his pavilion and planted his royal standard
in the hour of victory
There is a strange tradition that Jeremiah es-
capped with Baruch and at least of the kings
daughters when Nebuchadnezzar came down into
Egypt; that they fled first to the land of Judah,
and from thence by to Ireland. There the
tradition goes on to say Zedekiahs daughter mar
ried the young ling of Ireland, and from this
union descended the long and unbroken line OF
Irish and of Scottish kings, stretching through
twenty-five centuries to James VI of Scotland,
who became James |. of England But the most
singular part of this tradition is that when Jere
miah went to Egypt he carried with him the "Pil-
lar of Witness" which the stone which Jacob
set up at Bethel, and to which he referred when
dying as the Stone of Israel" This stone was
SAID to have been used at the coronation of the
Jewish kings, and was one of the stones which
Jeremiah buried in the pavement at the entry OF
Pharaoh's house at Tahpanhes When he
capped to Ireland, he took this stone with him, and
on it the Irish and Scottish kings were crowned
until Edward H., in 1906 A. D., appointed an Eng
lish commission to govern Scotland and carried
off to England the crown jewels and this stone
which called the Sacred Stone of Scone'
This stone made into the seat of the corona
ton chair in Westminster Abbey and from that
day to this all the kings and queens of England
have been crowned it.
The stone is still under the seat of the corona
ton chair of Westminster Abbey, where the writ
er saw it when in London some years ago Form
erly an inscription in Latin was attached to the
stone, stating that it the pillar which Ja'
cob rested his head at Bethel, and that it car
RED from Palestine to Egypt and thence to Ire
land This has since been removed, but the pres