“And this plan has not improbably been the one adopted in ancient times—perhaps by the Celts and Druids of our own island, who were exceedingly fond of monoliths, of which an astonishing number still remain.”
It does not fall within the scope of this book to attempt the panegyric of the brave men who fought like heroes under their country’s flag in Egypt; but the following extract from one of the illustrated newspapers, of about the date of April, 1845, and sent to us by the daughter of the subject of the article, may be considered a not unfitting conclusion to our present labours.
“General Robert Browne Clayton, K.C., of Adlington Hall, Lancashire, and of Carrickburn, in the county of Wexford, entered the army at the early age of fourteen; rose, during sixty years’ service, through every gradation of rank; and achieved a well-earned fame by the side of many of the heroes of the late war. He was Lieut.-Colonel of the 12th Light Dragoons, or Royal Lancers. With that regiment he fought in Egypt, under Sir Ralph Abercromby, taking part there in the actions of the 8th, 13th, and 21st of March, 1801.”
In his letters home, he speaks with enthusiastic language of Egypt:—“Gizeh,” he says, “where the enemy lies, ten miles off; and, across the Nile—Cairo and its lofty minarets, with the dreary Mokattan rising above. In such a situation, one hour of life is worth an age at home; no time or space can efface those recollections.... On our approach to Cairo, which it was expected would be given up to plunder, numerous bodies of Turks and hosts of Bedouin Arabs collected; and I was assured that the Grand Vizier was obliged to issue, daily, 18,000 rations of corn for horses alone.”
“The general’s patriotic services in the campaign under Sir Ralph Abercromby, have obtained a lasting testimonial in the erection of a lofty column on the rock of Carrick-a-Daggon, county of Wexford. It is a facsimile of Pompey’s Pillar, but not monolithic; it consists of Carlow granite, and has a staircase in the shaft: its total height rises to 94 feet 4 inches; the architect is Mr. Cobden. Placed considerably above the sea-level, it stands a conspicuous landmark for mariners. The events of the campaign are further to be commemorated by the appointment of trustees, under the will of General Browne Clayton, who shall annually, at sunrise on the 21st of March (the anniversary of the French attack on the British encampment before Alexandria), hoist the tri-colour French flag on the column, which shall remain until ten o’clock, when the British flag is to be fixed and kept up till sunset. On the 28th of March, annually, the British flag is to be raised half-standard high, as a memorial of the death of Sir Ralph Abercromby. The first commemoration took place in March, 1842, General Browne Clayton himself superintending the ceremony.”
The date of General Clayton’s death would appear to have been March 16th, 1845; aged 74.
Translation of the Text of the British Obelisk,
by Demetrius Mosconas: 1877.
Since the final “Revise” of our last sheet, we have received a quarto pamphlet from Alexandria, entitled, “Deux mots sur les Obelisques d’Egypte,” with a translation of the inscriptions on Cleopatra’s Needle, now on its way to England. The author’s name is Demetrius Mosconas; and as the text differs somewhat from that derived from Burton and Chabas, we have thought it well to place it before our readers.
On each side of the pyramidion is a bas-relief of offerings, representing the sun-god, protector of the city of On, seated on a throne, adorned with the pschent, or double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt, and receiving gifts from Thothmes, who is represented as a sphynx, symbolising the power of the lion. On the other sides, the sun-god is represented differently: sometimes as a man, crowned with the solar disk; sometimes with the head of a hawk, surmounted with the pschent. And the offerings likewise vary: they may be wine, or milk, or water, or any other thing that shall in itself be pure and good.