which some of our readers will, doubtless, recollect having seen. THE ALABASTER SARCOPHAGUS. SCULPTURE. But our admiration of ancient Egyptian skill will increase, when we take into account the nature of the materials on which they worked, in raising their temIt was in the tomb of Psammuthis, in the centre of ples, obelisks, and statues. The stones, particularly the saloon, that Belzoni found the beautiful Alabaster the granite and the breccia, are extremely hard, and Sarcophagus. This magnificent remnant of ancient we do not know with what tools they were cut. The days, which, most probably, once contained a royal tools of the present day will not cut granite without mummy, has not its equal in the world. It is of the much difficulty; and there is a great doubt whether finest Oriental alabaster, nine feet five inches long, and we could give it the fine smooth surface, and sharp three feet seven inches wide; and, though of consid- clear edge, which we see so perfect in these ancient erable thickness, is highly transparent: this may be remains, some of which, in this respect, may be said proved on placing a light within. It is minutely and to look as if they had been finished but yesterday. richly sculptured, inside and outside, with several For an illustration of this, we may refer our readers hundred figures, of about two inches high, and at the to an admirable specimen of Egyptian sculpture in bottom, within, is a graceful form, carved in outline, the British Museum, ninth room, No. 66. It consists of the human shape and size, supposed to represent of the head, and upper part of the body, of a colossal one of the numerous deities worshipped by the nations figure, brought from the Memnonium, and thence proof early Egypt. This rich treasure is in the posses-bably called, by mistake, the "Younger Memnon;" sion of Sir John Soane, in his Muscum in Lincoln's while the statue of the genuine Memnon, famous for Inn Fields, and remains altogether unrivalled in beauty his concert of Music at sun-rise, still exists at Thebes. and curiosity. The fragment, however, to which we have adverted, is well worthy of inspection, conveying a remarkable instance of preservation as a relic of art, and, at the same time, of the simple and pleasing expression of the Egyptian countenance. In considering these astonishing works, we can scarcely doubt the deserved eminence of the ancient Egyptians in the arts and sciences. Indeed, some of the most illustrious characters of Greece; Homer, Pythagoras, Plato, Lycurgus, and Solon, are said to have travelled hither to complete their studies, and to draw from that source whatever was most valuable in every kind of knowledge. But the Holy Scriptures themselves have incidentally given this testimony, when they speak of Moses as being learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and mighty in words and deeds. (Acts vii. 22.) Yet we wonder how the history of a people, which was once so great as to erect these mighty edifices, could be so far obscured, that even their language and method of writing are in a great degree unknown to us. HIEROGLYPHICS. AN ANCIENT VESSEL. EFFECTS OF LIGHTNING. In making a new sluice to the citadel of Calais, an ancient vessel, 45 feet in length, 12 in breadth, and 8 in depth, was discovered in the ground; it is strongly built, though the measurement does not exceed 80 tons, and has evidently never been covered with a deck. Coins were found in it with the date of 1219, and, as it lay 12 feet below the foundation of the inner wall of the fortifications erected by the Count de Boulogne, it is to be presumed, that the vessel was not discovered at that period. It cannot be ascertained whether it was Much has indeed been done of late, in deciphering ever at sea-but there is reason to believe it was erectHieroglyphics; and with the knowledge of themed before Calais was made a regular port, and when which is now gained, it may be hoped, that ere long, the sea ran far up the present land.-Paris Advertiser. this picture-language of ancient Egypt may be read with correctness and certainty. The labours of M. Champollion in this department are well known. Among Englishmen, Mr. Wilkinson, an intelligent traveller, who has examined the tombs in Thebes, has A labouring man, finding himself overtaken by a pursued the subject with perseverance, and a gratify-storm in the wood of Mareuil, imprudently sheltered ing degree of success. himself under a tree; the lightning struck the tree, and It was clear, that no masterkey to those hidden stores could be obtained, unless shivered a part of it to atoms. The man did not at first some ancient inscription were found, written in Hiero- feel any ill effects from it, although his clothes were glyphics, as well as in some known language. Now, torn, and pieces of his waistcoat, blouse, and shirt, His right it so happens, that a stone of this kind actually exists had been carried to a considerable distance. among us; the celebrated ROSETTA STONE, found by eyebrow was burned, and the epidermus of that side the French in digging for the foundation of Fort St. was either torn from him, or stuck to what remained Julian, near Rosetta. It is a large black stone, con- left his shelter-but the first movement brought back of his clothing. As soon as the storm had ceased, he taining three inscriptions of the same import; namely, sensibility, and he with difficulty reached a house, one in hieroglyphics, another in the ancient and common characters of the country, and another in Greek. where he discovered the full extent of the injury he Though imperfect, the stone being broken, the writing is sufficiently ample to form a most valuable guide in further researches. The visiter to the British Museum may see in the ninth room, No. 65, this invaluable specimen, which records a decree of the Egyptian priests, in honour of Ptolemy Epiphanes; the leading events of his reign; his liberality to the temples; his conquests over certain rebellious subjects, his clemency towards some of the traitors; the measures he took against the fatal consequences of an excessive inundation of the Nile, and his generosity towards the College of the Priests. Proceeding upon this and other documents, Champollion published in 1824 his Precis du Systeme Hieroglyphique, a work of high interest and value, as affording light on some of the most intricate points that can engage the attention of the antiquary. had received.—Journal de l'Oise. BUSINESS. Business, says a celebrated writer, is the salt of life, which not only gives a grateful smack to it, but dries up those crudities that would offend, preserves from putrefaction, and drives off all those blowing flies that would corrupt it. Let a man be sure to drive his business, rather than let it drive him. When a man is but once brought to be driven, he becomes a vassal to his affairs. Reason and right give the quickest despatch. All the entanglements that we meet with arise from the irrationality of ourselves or others. With a wise and honest man a business is soon ended, but with a fool and knave there is no conclusion, and seldom even a beginning. Athens as it once was-The Parthenon-The Temples-Columns | the pillars of the ancient buildings. Among these are of Adrian-Athens as it now is-Account of the Ruins. Ancient Athens was divided into the Acropolis, or upper, and the Catapolis, or lower city. The former contained the most splendid works of art, of which Athens could boast. Its chief ornament, however, was the PARTHENON, or temple of Minerva. This magnificent building, which even in ruins has been the wonder of the world, was 217 feet long, 98 broad, and 65 high. Destroyed by the Persians, it was rebuilt in a noble manner by Pericles, 444 years before Christ. Here stood the statue of Minerva, formed of ivory, 46 feet high, and richly decorated with gold to the value of more than $520,000. six whole columns of the Propylæum with gateways between them, eight front columns of the Parthenon,* and several colonnades. Of all the statues with which the Parthenon was adorned, we find only that of Adrian. There are also remains of the temple of Neptune, the Poikile, and the temple of the Winds; and without the city, of Jupiter Olympus, and the temple of Theseus. On the hill (Mars Hill) where the court of the Areopagus held its sittings, we find steps hewn in the rock, and places for the judges to sit, as well as for the accusers aud the accused. This hill is now a Turkish burying ground. The Pnyx, the place of assembly for the people, is still to be seen, with the place hewn in the rock from which the orators spoke; also the seats of the scribes and officers. The paths for running, where the gymnastic exercises were performed, are The Propylæum, built of white marble, formed the entrance to the Parthenon. This building lay on the north side of the Acropolis, close to the Erectheum, also of white marble, consisting of two temples; besides another remarkable building, called the Pan-yet visible. droseum. In the circle of Minerva's temple stood the olive tree, sacred to that goddess. On the front part of the Acropolis, and on each end, were two theatres, built with extraordinary splendor. In the lower city were the Poikile, or the gallery of historical paintings, the temple of the Winds, and the monuments of celebrated men. But the greatest pieces of architecture were without the city. These were the temples of Theseus and Jupiter Olympus; one on the north, and the other on the south side of the city. The temple of Theseus resembled the Parthenon. On this temple, the famous deeds of old heroes and kings were represented. The temple of Jupiter Olympus surpassed all the other buildings of Athens in splendor and beauty. Incalculable sums were spent on it. It was finished by Adrian. The outside of this temple was adorned by 120 fluted columns, 60 feet high, and 6 in diameter. The inside was more than half a league in circumference. Here stood the statue of the god made by Phydias, of gold and ivory. In the fifth century, the Parthenon was turned into a church of the Virgin Mary. In 1456, when Athens fell into the hands of the Turks, it became a mosque. This is a brief account of Athens, as it once was. Now, under the dominion of the Turks, and after 2300 years of war and devastation, how changed! Still its ruins excite astonishment. The Turks have surrounded it with a broad irre gular wall. With this wall are remains of some of ROYAL PASTIME EXTRAORDINARY. At the Adelaide street Gallery, London, is exhibited a very remarkable stick or weapon recently brought from Portugal, and which belonged to Don Miguel, whose amusement it was to carry it with him when he rode out, for the purpose of killing dogs, and wounding any of his subjects whose demeanor did not appear to him sufficiently humble and submissive. It is about five feet long, of very tough wood, apparently a species of thorn, with a mounting of brass at each end, and the larger end loaded with iron. Miguel carried it between his leg and the saddle, and it bears the marks of the friction thus produced. A piece of thick tape is passed through a hole at the small end, which he put round his wrist when he struck with it, to prevent its slipping or being wrested out of his grasp. A more formidable instrument of the kind can hardly be imagined; and it is said to have been made after instructions given by himself. Its genuineness is believed to be perfectly well established. When nations can subdue their enemies by kind treatment, the instruments of war may be destroyed. These eight columns of the Parthenon, are seen in the en graving, at the righthand. 116 AMPHITHEATRE AT POMPEII. You have heard of the ancient city of Pompeii, I suppose; how in about 50 years after the death of our Saviour, during a terrible irruption of Mount Vesuvius, it was so completely buried under a shower of stones and cinders, that the place where it stood was hardly known, till the year 1755. You have, perhaps, read about its being excavated, since that time; and what curiosities have been found. Among the rest are the remains of the ancient The latter were oval theatres, and amphitheatres. buildings, in the centre of which, public amusements were held, and round the outside were seats for the spectators. There were ranges or rows of seats, one above another. The engraving is a plan of the amphitheatre at Pompeii. It had seats enough to accommodate more than 10,000 people, besides room for many to stand. It was 430 feet long and 335 broad. You will find the word Podium twice repeated, in the engraving. It refers to the parapet or elevation, on which seats were placed. The Arena is the part of the amphitheatre where the amusements or combats took place. Pompeii was about twelve miles S. E. of Naples. The city was built of volcanic matter, thrown out of Vesuvius; and the streets paved with lava. Herculaneum, another city not far distant, was overwhelmed at the same time with Pompeii, and has recently been excavated in a similar manner. SAYINGS OF THE ANCIENTS. When Ptolemy the Second, king of Egypt, looked forth one day from his palace window, afflicted as he was at the time with the gout, the consequence of his luxurious indulgences, and distracted with kingly anxieties, he observed a multitude of his poorer subjects reclining in festal ease on the sandy banks of the Nile-"Miserable fate," said the monarch, "that my fate hath not allowed me to be one of them." Anaxagoras, the Clazomenian philosopher, and preceptor of Socrates, being asked for what purpose he conceived he had come into the world, answered, "To see sun, moon, and stars!" The same philosopher being utterly negligent regarding the politics of his town of Clazomene, was twitted for his indifference on that subject by some of his most zealous fellow-citizens, "For my country," replied the who asked him whether he entertained no concern for his native country? sage, "I have always a great concern. My native city," pointing to the heavens, "is perpetually the subject of my thoughts." Chilon, the sage of Sparta, inquied of Æsop what was Jupiter's employment-what was his regular daily business in the skies? "To humble those that are elevated, and elevate those that are humble," said the fabulist. Anacharsis, though a Scythian, uttered sentiments as beautiful as those of Plato himself. Among his fine sayings is the one-"The vine bears three grapes: the first is that of pleasure; the second is that of drunkenness; the third is that of sorrow." A certain Greek poet, in a very ingenious distribution, gave the first bowl, or crater, to the Graces, Hours, and Bacchus; the second to other heathen deities; the third to Mischief. When Mark Antony was fast fleeing from his conqueror, after the battle of Mutina, one of his acquaintances gave as a reply to some person that inquired of him what his master was about, "He is doing what dogs do in Egypt when pursued by the crocodiledrinking and running." Cresus, king of Lydia, who felt presumptuously proud on account of his power and his riches, had dressed himself one day in his utmost splendor of apparel and royal ornament, and, seating himself on his throne, exhibited his person to Solon, as comprehending within itself the substance and sun of all worldly glory. Have you ever beheld," said he to the Grecian "I have," was the a spectacle more august?" sage, answer: "their is neither a pheasant in our fields, nor a peacock in our court-yard, nor a cock on our dunghill, Chambers' Edinburgh Journal. that does not surpass you in glory." 66 And what about the Wassel Cup? you will perhaps ask. Why, there is a story in Hone's Every Day Book about the Saxons, and the British king Voltigern, and Rowena, and the wassel cup; but we never found it interesting enough to be worth reading through, and we doubt whether it would please out readers any better. The picture, however, at the beginning of the story, has so odd an appearance, that we have ventured to show you that. The birds are two hawks, with a string fastened to the necks of each other. It seems that this wassel cup, was a famous bowl which the Saxons used on New Year's day, as they assembled with their neighbours around their glowing hearths to converse together and sing songs; and that as the bowl went round, filled with apples or some rarity, every guest, as he took any portion of the contents of the bowl into his hand, said Wassel. Some oldfashioned poet, in allusion to this custom, has made the following This is among the largest of land birds. Some of the males weigh from 25 to 30 pounds. It is found in different parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa. The Bustard frequents vast plains, has a long neck, long legs, and feet well adapted to running. It travels, or rather runs, with very great swiftness. Some have been ready to class it with the ostrich, to which it certainly has a slight resemblance, in its shape and mode of travelling. The colour, however, is different. The head and neck are of a pale, ashy hue; the breast and belly white; the back, wings, and tail are marked with dashes of deep brown and black, on a polished nut-coloured ground. A tuft of long feathers grows from each side of the lower mandible. The male is furnished with a most singular sack or pouch, situated in the front part of the neck, the en trance to which is under the tongue. It is capable of containing two quarts of water; some say more. It is supposed that in traversing those open plains, in which it delights to roam, it supplies itself with water from this reservoir. Perhaps, too, it supplies the female with drink while sitting; or the young ones, before they are able to reach the distant ponds. The female is but about half as large as the male. She lays her eggs in a hole in the ground. They are usually two in number. THE ARROWS, NEAR BOROUGHBRIDGE, YORKSHIRE. These are three large obelisks, standing about half a mile southwest of Boroughbridge. They are irregular in form, and greatly worn by exposure to the weather, and are of very ancient origin. In the time of our famous antiquary Leland, who began his travels through England in 1536, there were four of these stones, but one has since fallen, or been pulled down. The three now remaining, stand nearly in a line from north to south. The northernmost obelisk is eighteen feet high, and is supposed to weigh thirty-six tons; the centre stone, twenty-two feet and a half high, is also thought to weigh thirty tons. These extraordinary monuments of antiquity did not escape the notice of the greatest of all English antiquaries, Camden, who visited Yorkshire in 1582, and who imagined that they were compositions of sand, lime, and small pebbles, cemented together. He was probably deceived by their vast bulk, not conceiving it possible for human art to bring such masses of stone, each being a single block, from any long distance. But it is now well known that they are natural stones, of a kind common in the north of England, called the coarse ragstone, or millstone grit; and it is fair to conclude, that they were brought from a quarry at Plumpton, near Harrowgate. Hargrove, in his History of Knaresborough, in describing Plumpton, says, "One huge mass of rock, insulated by water, which measures nearly fifty feet in length, without a joint, shows the possibility of finding obelisks here, even higher than those at Boroughbridge, which are believed to have been carried from hence, as being of the same grit." In the year 1709, the ground about the centre obelisk was opened to the width of nine feet. At first, a good soil was found, and at about a foot deep was a quantity of rough stones and large pebbles; layers of these appeared, which were probably placed there, to keep it steady; beneath, was a strong and hard clay, supporting the bottom of the obelisk, at above six feet below the surface of the earth. It has never been determined by what people or for what object these stones were erected, although the point has engaged the attention of many ingenious men. Stukeley's idea is, that they ments." were fixed by the Britons, long before the time of the Romans; he imagines, that in this place the Druids held a great yearly festival, like the famous Grecian games, and that these were the goals round which the chariots were turned at the races. Another author suggests that they were set up by the early Britons to the honour of their gods. But the opinions of Leland, Camden, and Drake, seem to be better founded; namely, that they were the work of the Romans, and raised to commemorate some important victory. The last mentioned writer remarks: "The foundations of these stones being laid with the same clay and pebble as the walls of Aldburgh, the ancient Isurium of the Romans, is a convincing proof of their being Roman monuAldburgh is not a mile and a half distant from Boroughbridge, and when, in addition to the fact stated by Drake, we consider the facilities possessed by the Romans for conveyance on their great military road, together with their fondness for raising records to their own honour, we cannot but consider them as belonging to the Romans. It is true that they bear no marks of Roman elegance, nor the traces of any inscription: yet these, if any such existed, may probably have been worn away by time and the weather. Dean Gale had a notion that they were originally those Mercuries described by the ancients, which were usually placed where four ways met, (as they did here,) and that the bead on the top of the stones had been displaced. Amidst so many theories on the subject of the Arrows, or Boroughbridge Obelisks, we will leave those of our readers, who are curious in such matters, to consult the authorities quoted; and, notwithstanding the title by which these stones are commonly known in the country, (the devil's arrows,) we are sure that they will agree in rejecting one ancient opinion quaintly enough adverted to by Camden in his Britannia. "As for the silly story of their being those bolts which the devil shot at some cities hereabouts, and so destroyed them, I think it not worth while to mention it." wall between both houses, in which wail there was a small chink, never discovered by any of the servants. The crevice the lovers found, and met here: their words and their sighs went through, but kisses could not pass; which, when they parted, they printed on each side of the wall. By some contrivance they met, and agreed upon an interview under the shade of a large mulberry tree, which stood near a fountain. When night came on, Thisbe deceived her keepers, and éscapes first, and flies into the wood; for love gave her wings. When she got to the appointed place, a lioness, fresh from the slaughter of some cattle, came to drink at the fountain. Thisbe was so frightened that she ran into a cave, and in her fright her veil fell from her head; the lioness returning from the fountain, found the veil, and tore it with her jaws besmeared with blood. Pyramus comes next, and sees the print of a wild beast's foot, and finds the veil of Thisbe bloody and torn. He, imagining that she was killed and devoured by the wild beast, grew distracted, and hastened to the appointed tree; but not finding Thisbe he threw himself upon his sword and died. Thisbe in the meantime recovered from her fright, came to the mulberry tree, where she saw Pyramus in the struggles of death; she embraced her dying love, mingled her tears with his blood, and folding her arms about him, called upon him to answer her, but he was speechless, and looking up, expired. Thisbe, distracted with grief, tore her cheeks, beat her breast, rent her hair, and shed a deluge of tears upon his cold face; nor did she cease to mourn, till she perceived her veil, bloody and torn in Pyramus's hand. She then understood the occasion of his death, and drew the sword from the body of her lover, plunged it into her own, and falling accidentally on him, gave him a cold kiss, and breathed her last breath into his bosom. The tree, warmed with the blood of the slain lovers, became sensible of their misfortune, and mourned. Its berries, which were before white, became red with grief, and blushed for the death of Pyramus; when Thisbe also died, the berries then became black and dark, as if they had put on mourning." ATALANTA AND HIPPOMENES. At Rudston, about five miles from Bridlington, in the same county, is a similar obelisk, upwards of twentynine feet high. Its depth in the ground has been traced more than twelve feet, without coming to the bottom. It stands forty miles from any quarry where this sort In the next place hear the story of Atalanta and of stone is found, and neither history nor tradition has Hippomenes. She was the daughter of the king Schaany record either of its date or of the cause of its erec-neus, or Cæneus. It was doubted whether her beauty tion.-London Saturday Magazine. MYTHOLOGY. PYMALION, OR PYGMALION. or swiftness in running were greater. When she consulted the oracle, whether she should marry or not, this auswer was given, "That marriage would be fatal to her." Upon which the virgin hid herself in the woods, and lived in places remote from the conversation of men. But the more she avoided them, the more eagerly they courted her; for her disdain inflamed their desires, and her pride raised their adoration. At last, when "Pymalion, a statuary, considering the great incon- she saw she could not otherwise deliver herself from ventences of marrying, had resolved to live single; but the importunity of her lovers, she made this agreement afterwards making a most elegant and artificial image with them: "You court me in vain; he who overtakes of Venus, he fell so much in love with his own work-me in running shall be my husband; but they who are manship that he begged Venus to turn it into a woman, and enliven the ivory. His wishes were granted, and of her he had Paphos, from whom the island Paphos had its name." PYRAMUS AND THISBE. beaten by me shall suffer death; I will be the victor's prize, but the vanquished's punishment. If the terms please, go with me into the field." They all agreed to these conditions: All her mad wooers take the terms proposed. "They strove to outrun her; but they were all beat"Pyramus and Thisbe were both inhabitants of theen and put to death according to the agreement; suffercity of Babylon; equal in beauty, age, condition, and ing the loss of their lives for the fault of their feet. Yet fortune. They began to love each other from their the example of these lovers did not deter Hippomenes cradles. Their houses were contiguous, so that their from undertaking the race, who entertained hopes of love arose from their neighbourhood, grew greater by winning the victory, because Venus had given him their mutual play, and was perfected by their singular three golden apples, gathered in the gardens of the beauty. This love increased with their years, and in Hesperides, and also told him how to use them. Hipdue time, they begged their parents' consent; which pomenes briskly set out and began the race; and when was refused, because of some former quarrels between he saw that Atalaata overtook him, he threw down a the two families. And that the children might not at- golden apple: the beauty of it enticed her so that tempt any thing against their parents' will, they were she went out of her way, followed the apple, and not permitted to see each other. There was a partition- took it up. |