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]
[1] See Appendix, p. 187. Letter from Consul Briggs to Sir Benjamin
Blomfield.
[2] See Appendix, p. 199.
In 1832, the propriety of making an endeavour to procure the Obelisk
was discussed in Parliament, and supported by Joseph Hume, a sum of
money being proposed for the purpose.
In 1867, Lieutenant-General Sir James Alexander directed his attention
to the same subject, and read a Paper on the existing state of the
Obelisk, before the Royal Society of Edinburgh.[3] In 1875, he visited
Alexandria for the purpose of ascertaining the actual condition of the
Obelisk, and the possibility of getting it into British possession. A
letter from Mr. Arthur Arnold to Lord Henry Lennox, First Commissioner
of Works, dated April, 1876, and published in his book, entitled,
“Through Persia by Caravan,” exhibits one of the results of Sir James
Alexander’s exertions, and may be regarded as the most recent official
report on the Obelisk question.[4]
[3] Appendix, p. 190.
[4] See Appendix: Mr. Arnold’s letter; p. 195.
While in Egypt, Sir James Alexander became acquainted with Mr. John
Dixon, C.E., who had given considerable attention to the subject of
the Obelisk and to the mode of its transport to England. Mr. Dixon had
already made some successful explorations of the Great Pyramid, and had
then brought his skill and experience, as a civil engineer, to bear
on the practical question of the means and contrivance by which the
transport of our Obelisk might be effected.
Such was the state of affairs in November, 1876, when Sir James
Alexander first broached the subject to the author of these pages.
Shortly afterwards the writer had an interview with Mr. John Dixon;
succeeded by a conference, in which he was assisted by the judgment
and advice of two valued friends—Mr. Charles Alfred Swinburne, of
Bedford Row, and Mr. Henry Palfrey Stephenson, civil engineer. The
conclusion arrived at in this conference was, that the undertaking was
practicable; and an agreement was shortly afterwards (January 30th,
1877) signed, by which Mr. John Dixon engaged to set up the Obelisk on
the banks of the Thames safe and sound.
The incidents of voyage, the shipwreck, the abandonment and recovery of
the cylinder-ship “Cleopatra,” together with her subsequent adventures,
form an episode of surpassing interest, which has already been partly
analysed in the journals of the day; but must now be left, for the
completion of its history, until the Obelisk shall have been safely
erected in London, on a site worthy of its antiquity and symbolical
significance, and of the dignity of the metropolis of Great Britain. A
happy chance already points to the precincts of Westminster Abbey, with
its harmonious architectural and classical surroundings:—Westminster
Hall, the Houses of Parliament, the Government Offices, the
Horse-Guards, the Admiralty, Trafalgar Square, the Thames, and the most
beautiful of its bridges, as a possible site; and in very truth, no
better place can be found for it in our great city, even should Queen
Anne graciously condescend to step from her pedestal at St. Paul’s, to
make way for her more ancient monumental companion.
In the compilation of these pages, the writer has availed himself of
all the sources of information which his leisure has permitted him to
consult; and he now takes the opportunity of expressing his especial
obligations to the works of—Birch, Bonomi, Mariette, Sir Gardner
Wilkinson, Sir Henry Rawlinson, George Rawlinson, Burton, Chabas,
Pierret, Sharpe, Lane, Admiral Smyth, Rev. George Tomlinson, Parker, W.
R. Cooper, Bayle St. John, Lady Duff Gordon, and Miss Edwards; although
these authors represent only a portion of the writers in whose pages he
has sought for instruction.
LONDON
_December, 1877._