TO HIS ESTEEMED FRIENDS,
CHARLES ALFRED SWINBURNE
AND
HENRY PALFREY STEPHENSON,
WHOSE JUDICIOUS COUNSELS
HAVE AIDED HIM IN CARRYING OUT
THE PROJECT OF SECURING
THE BRITISH OBELISK
TO GREAT BRITAIN,
THIS LITTLE WORK IS AFFECTIONATELY
DEDICATED BY THE AUTHOR.
PREFACE.
The accompanying pages are intended as an introduction to the magnificent Egyptian Obelisk which is about to take its place among the monuments of London. This Obelisk was hewn in the renowned quarries of Syené, at the extreme southern boundary of Egypt, and was thence floated down the stream of the Nile to Heliopolis, the City of the Sun. It was erected, as one of a pair, in front of the seat of learning wherein Moses received his education, and stood in that position for about 1,600 years. Shortly before the Christian era it was conveyed to Alexandria, where it has remained until the present time, and is now on its voyage to the banks of the Thames. Its age, therefore, may be computed at upwards of 3,000 years.
At that early period, when other nations had not yet awakened into the dawn of civilisation, Egypt had made substantial progress in architecture and sculpture; and the British Obelisk may be taken as an admirable example of their excellence. The hieroglyphs which adorn its surface, inform us that it was erected by a powerful Pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty, Thothmes III.; and that, 200 years later, it was carved with the name of another illustrious Egyptian potentate, Rameses the Great. The sculptures of Thothmes occupy the central line of each face of the shaft from top to bottom, and those of Rameses the side lines; so that, at a glance, we are enabled to compare the art of sculpture at periods of two centuries apart.
Heliopolis was the On of the Bible, and one of the cities of the Land of Goshen, where Abraham sought refuge when driven by famine out of Canaan. It was at Heliopolis that Joseph endured his slavery and imprisonment, and was rewarded by the Pharaoh of his day with the hand of Asenath, the daughter of Potipherah, a priest and ruler of On. Here he received in his arms his aged father Jacob, and Jacob fell on his neck and wept with joy at the recovery of his long-lost and well-beloved son: whilst in the neighbourhood of Heliopolis is still shown the venerable sycamore tree, under which, according to traditional report, the Holy Family took shelter in their flight into Egypt.
These are some of the interesting associations which will crowd into the mind when we look upward at this colossal monolith, and of which it was once the silent spectator. Ancient Egypt, Egyptian enlightenment and refinement, scenes and acts of Bible history—are, as it were, realised by the presence of this stately object of art in the midst of our ancient, although, compared with itself, very modern, city. This, however, is not all; for our Obelisk was a witness to the fall of the Greek and the rise of Roman dominion in Egypt, and revives in our memory the brilliant exploits of Nelson at Aboukir, and the grievous loss sustained by Britain in the death of Abercromby, at Alexandria.
After the battle of Alexandria, in 1801, it had been the eager wish of the British army and navy to convey this Obelisk to England as a memorial of their victory. Weightier considerations frustrated their efforts.
In 1820, the matter was revived, and the Obelisk was formally presented by Mehemet Ali to the British nation, through His Majesty George IV.[1]
In 1822, a distinguished naval officer, Admiral W. H. Smyth, F.R.S., drew up a statement of plans by which the transport of the Obelisk might be accomplished; and Mehemet Ali offered to assist the undertaking by building a pier expressly for the purpose.[2]