Ancient Ruins.

ANCIENT RUINS .

CHAPTER I . Within the last one hundred years we have , through the agency of the French Commission , which accompanied the conquering power of Napoleon Bonaparte into Egypt , been brought into close propinquity with the transactions of thirty-four

Ruins of Ancient Magnificent Temples—Egypt , Palestine , and the East— Wars ofthe Egyptian Monarchs —Solomon ' s Immense : Architectural Labours Style of Workmanship , < _ ¦¦ < - .

BY M . W . ALFRED , A . M ., M . D .

centuries ago . Lapidary inscriptions , and the books of those ancient times , have been deciphered and translated into our own language , fraught with most important historical facts , long buried in oblivion . One of these books , embalmed upon the breast

of a mummy , we have ourself examined . The arms of this body were crossed upon the breast with the right hand lying on the left shoulder , and the left lying on the right shoulder . Between the elbows , and over the sternum , the book was placed , and covered by a yellowish resin , or wax . to the depth

of more than an inch , and which extended over all the body . The mode of preserving these bodies was this : — The contents of the abdomen and cranium having been removed , the spices were applied , and the body firmly bandaged from foot to head . Thc resin was then thickly applied , and

again another stratum of straps applied , encasing the body , which was placed in an interior coffin , and this in an exterior coffin , and this in a sarcophagus of prophyry . This style is denotive of high rank . The book was a roll of papyrus , equal in thickness

to four hundred pages of our paper . The characters had all the freshness and legibility of writings of yesterday . At that time we had not seen any translation of the book or roll . The examination of this book and several of the embalmed bodies brought from Egypt , has perhaps awakened a

greater interest in this matter , within our own mind , than wc can produce in thc minds of others by a mere description , though ever so graphically illustrated . Believing , however , that we shall not fail to entertain our readers , especially the more philosophical

of them , we venture briefly to give the result of much time and thought upon the matters above stated as the heading of this article . It is in Egypt that civilization and the arts first raised man from a state of roving barbarism to the condition of civil and permanent society .

The extreme fertility of the soil m the Valley of the Nile adapted it to the support of a dense population . Its fertility and wealth exposed it to the predatory invasions of the surrounding barbarous tribes , who oftimes descended upon the Egyptians for purposes of rapine and plunder . This

necessitated a strong military organization , and unity in the social compact . They not only defended themselves , but overpowered thc invaders , subjecting them to tribute and bondage . Many tribes , like the sons of Jacob , came to Egypt as supplicants for bread .

The annual flooding of the Nile not only enriched but formed thy soil along its valley . The whole valley rests upon a bed of sea sand , and consists of vegetable earth , from the annual affluence of the Nile of three months in each year . No freshet ever raises it , as it flows along in " solitary

majesty . " The most minute survey of these deposits convinced the French Commission that in a century they amounted to about four and one-third inches , fo form the depth of twenty-four feet would have required about six thousand six hundred years ,

after the sea had formed the sand-bed beneath . A writer represents this soil as long oscilating between the sea's billowy waves and the evaporating rays of a tropical sun . It is equally evident that many centuries must have elapsed after this formation ere the soil could have been cultivated . The

annual inundation of the Nile for three months rationall y accounts for their manner of interment . This great river , thee thousand miles in length before reaching the Mediterranean Sea , divides into several channels . At the point of division is located thc city of

Cairo , opposite to which are seen the ancient P yramids , " casting their gisrintic shadows" over 'he native palm trees which luxuriate on the site of ancient Memphis , where collossal statues and triumphal arches lie smouldering in the dust . Here are the remains of magnificent temples , palaces , and

obelisks . Here are crypts , cut in solid rock , and solemn catacombs . Here reigned Rameses the Great , son of Seti , King of Egypt , thc Pharaoh who oppressed the Hebrew tribes , and embittered 'heir lives with severe service . We learn from the discoveries in Egypt that this Jameses was , perhaps , the most daring of men , to

Ancient Ruins.

whom even Pyrrhus was inferior . He claimed to be the offspring , the son of God , in whom he placed all his hopes of victory over his enemies . Diodorus informs us that Sell had a dream , in which God announced to him that this " son should possess the empire of the earth . " Rameses overpowered forty

eight Asiasttc nations . His slave subjects saluted him as ' * The Son of the Sun , the Lord of Diadems , the Favourite of Phtah , the good deity , Sovereign of two Worlds , and eternal as the sun itself . " The monuments aver that he commanded armies at thc

age of ten years . As a specimen of his prowess in battle , we give the translation of a Papyrus , or embalmed book The reader will discover that some sentences are lost : —

" The Prince of Cheta ( Hittites ) came with his archers and his horsemen well-armed . Every chariot bore three men . They had gathered together the swiftest warriors of those base Chetas , cavefully armed and had placed themselves in ambush to the north-west of the city of Atesch .

They attacked the soldiers of the King when the Sun , god of the two horizons , was at the middle of his course . The latter were on the march , ' and were not expecting an attack . The archers and the horsemen of his Majesty fell back before the enemy , who was master of Atesch on the left bank of the

Aranta Then his Majesty , strong and sound in constitution , rising like the god Month , put on the panoply of battle , arrayed in his weapons , he was like Baal in his hour . Thc mighty coursers of his Majesty came forth from the grandstables ofthe Sun , the lord of justice , Rameses

—Mei Amoun ( Rameses , son of Jupiter ) . The King rushed forth in his chariot , plunged into the ranks of the despicable Cheta . He was alone , no other near him . This onset his Majesty made in sight of his whole retinue . H i found himself surrounded on all sides by two thousand five hundred swift

chariots , manned by the bravest warriors of the pitiful Cheta and his numerous allies Each of their chariots bore three men , . . . . and the King had with him neither his princes , nor his generals , nor the captains of his archers orof his chariots .

"And this is what his Majesty ofthe sound and strong life said : ' What , then , is the intent of my father Amnion ( Jupiter ) ? Is it a father who would deny his son ? Have not I walked according to thy word ? Has not thy mouth guided my goings forth , and thy counsels , have they not directed me ?

Have not I dedicated to thee magnificent festivals in great numbers ? and have I not filled thy house with my booty ? There is building to thee a dwelling for myriads of ages . The whole world is gathering together to dedicate its offerings unto thee . I have enriched thy domain . I have

sacrificed unto thee thirty thousand men , with all the scent-bearing herbs and choicest perfumes . I have built for thee upon the sand temples of blocks of stone ; and bringing obelisks from Elphantina , I have reared eternal shafts in thine honour . For thee the great ships toss upon the deep . They bear

to thee the tribute of the nations . Who will say that like things have been done at any other time ? Ignominy to him who resists thy designs , felicity to him who understands thee , oh Amnion ! I invoke thee , oh my father ! I am in the midst of a throng of unknown tribes , and I am alone before thee .

No one is with me . My archers and my horsemen deserted mc when I called aloud to them , and not one of them hearkened unto me when I cried to them for help . But I prefer Amnion to thousands of archers , to millions of horsemen , and to myriads of young men airayed in phalanx . The wiles of

men are as naught ; Amnion will prevail over them . Oh , Sun , have 1 not obeyed the orderofthy lips and thy counsels , have they not guided me ? Have I not given glory to thee to the ends of the earth ?' " These words resounded in Hermonthis : ' Phra comes to him who calls upon him . He stretches

forth his hand to him . Rejoice and be glad , . . he flies to thee , he flies to thee . . . . Rameses Mei Amoun ! He says to thee : Behold , I am near thee . I am thc father , the Sun . My hand is with thee , and I am more for thee than millions of men arrayed together . It is I who am the lord of troops

and armies . Loving courage , I have found thy heart firm in valour , and my heart exults thereat . . . . . The King pierced his way into the army of these vile Chetas . Six times did he enter into their midst I pursued like Baal in the hour of his might , and I slew them so that none

could escape . " It appears , however , that the Chetas rallied again the next day , and made a desperate effort to save their city and themselves . In this day ' s battle Rameses had his whole force with him , and after a most dreadful conflict , completely subdued them .

From this lengthy description , as contained in thc Papyrus , wc give only the closing words of the translation of F . De Lmiye , from the French : " Thc forests of spears , the clouds of arrows , the shields and the chariots crossed and recrossed each other , and met in deadly shock of battle with such

Ancient Ruins.

reeking uproar that the earth trembled to its depths as though Apophis , * the great serpent , had broken away from the chains with which the gods had fastened him to th . foundations of the world . " Now , any one acquainted with the sacred writings of the Hebrews , especially those of David , cannot

fail to perceive a strong analogy between his invocations , zeal , faith , and triumphant exultation , and those of Rameses , as found in the Saltier Papyrus . The phraseology in many places is almost identical with that of the great Hebrew conqueror , at least seven hundred years before he penned his

beautiful psalms . At the time Egypt was covered with cities , palaces , and gorgeous temples , Abraham dwelt in his frail tent on the plains of Mamre , the lord of " three hundred and eighteen armed servants , " and the possessor of a vast herd of cattle .

His son Isaac and grandson Jacob roved with their flocks along the borders of the Red Sea , but unlike the Egyptians , never cultivated the soil . But the Hebrews , rising from this condition , became , in the reign of Solomon , as mighty a nation as their former oppressors .

* The formidable enemy of the Sun . The Sun represented God , and the serpent Apophis the Evil Genius , or Satan . ( To be continued )

Don't Get Discouraged.

DON'T GET DISCOURAGED .

Don't get discouraged . Who ever gained anything by drawing down the corners of his mouth when a cloud came over the sun , or letting his heart drop like a dead weight into his shoes when misfortune came upon him ? Why , man , if the world knocks you down and jostles past you in its great

race , don't sit whining under people ' s feet , but get up , rub your elbows , and begin again . There are some people whom even to look at is worse than a dose of camomile tea . What if you do happen to get puzzled on the dollar-and-cent question . Others besides you have stood exactly in the same spot ,

and struggled bravely out of it ; and you are neither halt nor blind that you cannot do likewise . The weather may be dark and rainy ; very well , laugh between the drops , and think cheerily of the blue sky and sunshine that will surely come to-morrow . Business may be dull ; make the best of what you

have , and look forward to something more hopeful ' . If you catch a fall , don't lament over your brusies , but be thankful that no bones are broken . If you cannot afford to cat roast beef and plum pudding , eat your codfish joyfully , and bless your stars forthe indigestion and dyspepsia you thereby escape . But

the moment you begin to moan over your troubles , and count up your calamities , you may as well throw yourself over the docks and be done with it . The luckiest fellow that ever lived might have woes enough if he set himself seriously to work looking them up . They are like invisible specks of

dustyou don ' t see them till you put on your spectacles . But then it is not worth while to put on your spectacles to discover what is a great deal better let alone . Don't get discouraged , little wife ! Life is not long to spend in inflaming your eyes and reddening your nose because thc pudding won't

bake , and your husband says the new shirts you worked over so long " set like meal bags . " Make another pudding—begin the shirts anew . Don ' t feel " down in the mouth " because dust will settle and clothes will wear out , and crockery will get broken . Being a woman don't procure you an

exception from trouble and care ; fight the battle of life as well as your husband , and it will never do to give up without a bold struggle . Take things as they come , good and bad together ; and whenever you feel inclined to cry , just change your mind and laugh . Keep the horrors at arm ' s length , never

turn a blessing round to sec if it has a dark side to it , and always take it for granted that tilings are blessings until they prove to be something else . Never allow yourself to get discouraged , and you'll find the world a pretty comfortable son of a place after all . —Landmark .

"Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts , U . S ., " by Bro . W . James Hughan , will appear next week .

CROSBY ' S BALSAMIC COUGH ELIXER .-Opiates Narcotics , and Squills are too often invoked to civc relief in Coughs , Colds , and all Pulmonary diseases . Instead of such fallacious rein . dies , which yield momentary relief at the expense of enfeebling the digestive organs and thus increasing that debility which lies at the rnl of thc malady , modern science points to Crosby ' s 1 ' alsamic Cough Elixer , as the true remedy . —Select Testimonial , Dr . Rooke , Scarborough , authur of the " Anti-Lancet , " says : "I have

repeatedly observed how very lapidiy and invariably it f . ubducd cou ; ' . i . Pain , and irritation of thc chest in cases of pulmonary consumption , and i an , with tlie greatest confidence , recommend it as a most vain , able adjunct lo an otherwise strcnathcniii ^ treatment for this disease . " —This in . diciuc , which is free from ooiuiu and wpiills , not only allays ihe local irritation , but improves digestion and strengthens the constitution Hence it is used with the most signal success in

Asthmas , llronclv . lis , Consumption , Coughs , Inllticr . za , Night Sweat , of Consumption , Quinsy , and all affections of thc throad and chests Said by all respectable Chemists and Patent Medicine Dealers in bottles at is . od ., JS . 6 d , and ns each , and wholesale b y J AS . M . CIIOSBY , Chemist , Scarborough . * . * Invalids should read Crosb y ' s Prize Treatise on "Diseases of the Lungs and Air-Vessels , " a copy of which cau be obtained . rails of any re-ue _ ub ! eChemist . —[ Adv _*