NOTE. Besides the frequent mention of the obelisk in the countless Egyptian inscriptions on stone, wood, leather, and papyrus, dating back to the earliest dynasties, we find the picture of two obelisks in many copies of the sacred writings of the Egyptians, the so-called "Book of the Dead" or the Egyptian Ritual. It forms part of the vignette of the first division of this book (1-15 chap.), which has mostly to do with hymns, prayers, and incantations addressed to the sun-god. No mention is made of the obelisk in the text of the Ritual. On the preceding page will be found the picture of the two obelisks on a piece of mummy-cloth in the possession of the author. The Hieratic words below the vignette form a portion of the first chapter of the Ritual. {35}[Illustration] CHAPTER V THE HISTORY OF THE NEW YORK OBELISK, AND ITS REMOVAL FROM ALEXANDRIA. [Illustration: King Thothmes III.] §1. The obelisk in Central Park antedates our Christian era by more than fifteen centuries. The central columns of the four sides, being the first that were inscribed, record as the author of this monument, Thothmes III., called the Great, the greatest sovereign of that period (about 1600 B. C.). A warrior of wonderful prowess and a ruler of the highest intelligence, he put aside at an early date the leading-strings of his famous sister and co-regent, Hatasu, surnamed Makarâ, and constituted himself sole regent and law-giver. He heads the list of the kings of the XVIIIth dynasty. From the beginning to the end of his reign the inscriptions record his victories over foreign nations. He claims it as his order from the god Amen to extend the boundaries of Egypt. He subdues the prince of Kadesh in Upper {36}Palestine at Megiddo, and overpowers the Kharu [Syrian] and Kheta [Hittite] tribes. The Rotennu [Syrians of Mesopotamia] are conquered, Damascus falls, and Carkhemish is taken. He reaches Nineveh, the Tigris, and the Orontes, and is everywhere victorious. He claims as his own and in vassalage all of the then known world. It is he whom Pliny calls Mesphres, and of whom he says that he erected a pair of obelisks, commemorating his valiant deeds. These obelisks are at present in London and New York. [Illustration: Cartouche of Thothmes III. "The king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Men-Kheper-Ra, the son of Ra, Thoth-Meses".]