Transcriber’s Notes: Underscores “_” before and after a word or phrase indicate _italics_ in the original text. Small capitals have been converted to SOLID capitals. Illustrations have been moved so they do not break up paragraphs. Old or antiquated spellings have been preserved. Typographical and punctuation errors have been silently corrected. [Illustration: OUR EGYPTIAN OBELISK: CLEOPATRA’S NEEDLE. ENGRAVED FROM A PHOTOGRAPH.] CLEOPATRA’S NEEDLE: WITH BRIEF NOTES ON EGYPT AND EGYPTIAN OBELISKS. BY ERASMUS WILSON, F.R.S. [Illustration: CLEOPATRA’S NEEDLE AT ALEXANDRIA.] LONDON: BRAIN & CO., 26, PATERNOSTER ROW. ENTERED AT STATIONERS’ HALL. 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.