Tribil And Mechanical Engineer's Society.

about ten times the square of the base . The hieroglyphics' on " Cleopatra's Needle " Avere from 2 ft . to 3 ft . long , cut 2 in . deep , and 3 in . or 4 in . broad , so that they could be read from a distance of fifty or sixty yards . The inscription , besides recording the virtues and poAver of

Thothmes , recorded that the obelisk when set up was tipped with gold . This feature was of course gone , but there was a slight ledge round the point at the top , which was no doubt made to receive a gold tip , or one of bronze gilt . On the top of the

obelisk of Luxor , at Paris , which the French brought from Egypt , there was a similar ledge or groove . The inscri ption on Cleopatra's Needle did not say in what city that obelisk was set up . Some accounts had it that it was first erected at Thebes ,

and was afterwards removed by liainesis to Memphis . Be that as it might , it was ultimately remoi'ed to the ancient city of Heliopolis . The site of that city , once the Oxford ancl Cambridge of the world , ancl at that time , it may be presumed ,

covered with magnificent buildings , now presented one of the most astounding spectacles which could be witnessed . Nothing remained but a green plain , in the centre of which was a solitary obelisk , opposite to which once stood the stone now known as " Cleopatra ' s Needle . " The latter was subsequently removed to Alexandria . How it came to be thrown

down in its present position nobody knew . It hacl been conjectured that an earthquake was the cause of its overthrow , but it Avas much more likely , Mr . Dixon thought , that it was thrown down to get at the bronze tortoises on which it was believed all these obelisks were placed .

In 1798 the French conquered Egypt , and they laid their hands ou everything that Avas valuable or invaluable in the country . They carried off an enormous quantity of Egyptian remains , and they proposed to carry off the Rosetta stone ( now in the

British Museum ) , Cleopatra ' s Needle , ancl other antiquities . Before they could do so , however , they were driven out of Egypt by the English , and at the conclusion of that brilliant campaign , in which Sir Ralph Aberorombie fell , a great effort was made to secure Cleopatra ' s Needle , which would when erected in London , form a fitting monument of one

of the most brilliant campaigns in which English arms had ever been engaged . The army subscribed four or five clays ' pay , ancl , assisted by the navy , took steps to remove the obelisk . They had hardly commenced , however , ere the red tape and

pipeclay of those clays sent forth an order to desist in the attempt , as such Avork would be destructive of discipline and of the accoutrements of the men . So the obelisk remained where it was . When Mehetnet Ali assumed the reins of power

, he , wishing to please George III ., presented the Rosetta stone aud many of the principal objects in the Egyptian Court of the British Museum , together with Cleopatra ' s Needle , to the English nation . Tho British Governmenthoweverhacl

, , ahvays declined meddling with this obelisk , although repeatedly urged to bring it over . The expense involved was made the great obstacle , although eA'en so utilitarian a man as Joseph Hume proposed to spend the national money in bringing over the

obelisk , and contended that the money would be well spent for such an object , The cost of bringing over the obelisk has been estimated in years gone by at £ 100 , 000 , but Mr . Dixon said he was confident that the cost would not exceed

one-eighth or one-tenth of that sum . Eventually the British Government had renounced the gift . Recently , as was well known , Dr . Erasmus Wilson , F . R . S ., hacl munificently come forward , and hacl offered to find the money if Mr . Dixon would undertake the engineering details involved

in the transport of the obelisk to England , That offer had been accepted . The Khedive , on being spoken to on the subject by Mr . Fowler , his Higlmess ' s chief engineer , and ivho was now in Egypt , said he should be pleased to see the obelisk

removed to England if the Government would accept it on behalf of the nation . This the Government hacl consented to do , and it hacl again been presented , to England through our Consul General in EgyptNothing now remainedtherefore ,

, , but to remove the obelisk to Eng land . The stone Avas at present lying embedded in the sand on the shore of Canopus Bay , to the east of Alexandria . It was

parallel to , and not far from the waterline , which washed the foot of a quay-wall backed up by the sand in which the obelisk