has been taken to Paris. The obelisk of Heliopolis bears the
name of Osirtasen I., 2020 B.C. (Wilkinson), and is consequently the
most ancient. It is about sixty-seven feet high. The obelisks at
Alexandria were brought from Heliopolis about 2,000 years ago. The one
that was lying in the sand, and the smaller of the two, was removed to
London some years ago, and the other, which was still standing, was
presented to the United States by Ismail Pasha, father of the present
Khedive. This monument of antiquity is an inestimable treasure to our
country. It bears the name of Thohtmes III. In the lateral lines are
the ovals of Rameses the Great. It is of red granite of Syene. It
bears the name of Cleopatra's Needle, is about seventy feet high, with
a diameter at its base of seven feet, seven inches. We can hardly
appreciate that we should have standing in New York a relic so
ancient--a column upon which Moses and Aaron looked, and doubtless
read its hieroglyphic inscription; that Rameses the Great (Sesostris)
had his knightly banner carved upon it; that Darius, Cambyses,
Alexander the Great, the Ptolemies, Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, Mark
Antony and Augustus knew it; that it was equally known and beheld of
Pythagoras, Herodotus and Strabo; that a long procession of the most
illustrious characters of the middle ages have passed before it, from
the days of Clement and Anastasius to those of Don John of Austria;
and, finally, that it was the first herald of Egypt to Napoleon and
Mohammed Ali. A monument like this will truly be cherished by every
citizen. The obelisk of the Piazza del Popolo claims great interest,
as it also stood before the Temple of the Sun at Heliopolis. Lepsius
attributes it to Meneptha. It was removed to Rome by Augustus, B.C.
19, to ornament the Circus Maximus. The obelisk in front of St.
Peter's was brought to Rome by Caligula, and placed on the Vatican in
the Circus of Caligula. It is about eighty-three feet high. There are
several other Egyptian obelisks in Rome. Nothing can afford a greater
idea of the skill of the Egyptians, and of their wonderful knowledge
of mechanism, than the erection of these monoliths.

[Illustration: OBELISK OF HELIOPOLIS. (_Over 4000 years old_).
The following is a translation of the hieroglyphic writing
which is set into it: "The Horus; the living from his birth;
the king of Upper and Lower Egypt; Ra Kheper Ka; Lord of the
two diadems; Son of the sun; Osirtasen