Aurelius Ambrosius, king of the Britons, procured Merlin by supernatural means to bring from Ireland into Britain; and that he might leave some famous monument of so great a treason in after ages in the same order and art as they stood formerly, set them up where the flower of the British nation fell by the cut-throat practice of the Saxons, and where, under the pretence of peace, the ill-secured youth of the kingdom, by murderous designs were slain." own way, and must therefore give you a another extract from the same pen. Jeffery of Monmouth will tell you a tale that these stones were brought by giants from Africa into Kildare in Ireland, and by some legerdemain of Merlin conveyed to the place where they are; but no credible historian could speak any word of any such thing. Gildas Badonicus of Bath, within twenty or thirty miles of Stonage, writing anno 543, had not a word of it; nor venerable Bede, who writing anno 727, of many other rarities of this island, hath not a word of Stonage. Ethelred, nor Ingulthus, who wrote anno 1060, nor William of Malmsburie, 1142, hath not a word of it; nor Hovedon, 1192; nor Paris, 1250; nor Westmonasteriensis, 1280; nor Florentius Wigorniensis, who wrote about five hundred years since, yet not a word of it; and Henricus Huntingdoniensis, writing soon after, tells us the naked truth of the I need not, however, give myself the trouble to narrate all the various particulars of Stonehenge, set forth by tradition or by historians: it will be enough to sum up, as it were, the whole by observing that one writer is of opinion that the pile was erected at the command of the last British king in memory of four hundred and sixty Britons murdered by Hengist the Saxon: another, that it is a mere monument either of the last British king, or of the famous British queen Boa-matter, and that it was not because they dicea: a third considers it to be the dilapidated remains of a Roman temple: a fourth, that the supposition of its having been built by the Romans is not half so probable, as that of its having been erected by the Danes whilst a fifth, confident that all other conjectures are incorrect, takes it for granted that it is a temple erected by the Druids, and that in it they performed their superstitious rites. It is said to be a national failing in Englishmen to visit other countries before they have half explored their own; but, that all such as wander wide in search of the marvellous, perfectly regardless of the wonders which are near them, may be on their guard, I will quote for their express edification a few words from old John Gibbons. They are as follows: "A wander wit of Wiltshire, rambling to Rome to gaze at antiquities, and there screwing himself into the company of antiquaries, they intreated him to illustrate unto them that famous monument in his country called Stonage. His answer was, he had never seen nor heard of it; whereupon they kicked him out of doors, and bade him go home and visit Stonage." This was a somewhat harsh and summary reproof; but we may gather from it the general lesson, that it is unwise to go abroad in quest of what is wonderful, while we neglect what is yet more wonderful at home. I love these quaint old authors who will express their own meaning in their would not, but because they could not say anything of it. This Stonage did astonish them, this did amaze them, that they durst not labour lest they should lose their labour and themselves also. If the grand seniors which lived so near it, above a thousand years since, could not, how should we silly freshmen unlock the closet?" * The extent of this plain reminds me of the boundless ocean, but all is immovable; for the scattered flocks that speckle the wold are too distant for the eye to discern their movements—the very clouds are motionless. Ay! yonder is a solitary crow flying far, far above me, but the contrast thus afforded only renders the monotonous stillness the more striking. Stonehenge! Stonehenge! There it is, although but dimly descried! I draw my breath shorter, and hurry on impatiently. This distant glance is in itself a luxury. To have seen Stonehenge is a privilege that none can take from me now; there is satisfaction in the thought. What a place is this on which to erect a temple, so remote from all appearance of population! I am now in the centre of this mysterious ruin, so unlike anything which I have ever before seen. How many a fellow-being visiting this place has wrestled with his emotions, filled with strange conjectures and feelings hard to define! It is a painful thought that by the perverse- | treaty, and delivered hostages for perness and blindness of the human heart formance of conditions. such an impressive union of simplicity and sublimity as is here visible should have ever been "perverted to impious and idolatrous purposes, instead of being directed to the worship and honour of Him who created the whole expanse from hence surveyed, above and beneath, who made sun, moon, and stars, the heavens, and heaven of heavens, and worlds of inconceivable glory." To bring my roaming thoughts to a definite point, I will read a few of Dr. Charlton's observations on Stonehenge, which I happen to have with me. The Doctor wrote in the reign of King Charles the Second, being physician to that lightminded monarch. "I adventure to acquaint you with my conjecture concerning the time when Stonehenge was first set up, which I take to be in the beginning of the reign of that excellent prince, Alfred, or Allured; who, as he was the first anointed king of this island, so was he the first learned king, and most munificent patron of scholars that ever swayed the sceptre of Britain; for all our chronicles agreeingly deliver that he was scarcely seated in his throne, when there came over greater swarms of Danes than ever before to infest his dominions; and that, after many unfortunate battles with them, he was reduced to that extremity that, leaving his large monarchy to the rage and rapine of those insulting Pagans, he fled, for safety of his life, into the marshes of Somersetshire, where for two years he lay concealed in a poor disguise, sustaining himself by fishing and fowling. Learning policy from adversity, and deriving courage from necessity, he ventured in the habit of a common minstrel to enter the Danes' camp, (in Wiltshire,) and probably not far from the place where Stonehenge stands; and having viewed the manner of their encamping, and observed their security, he returned back to several of his lords, retreated into the island called Edlinsey, environed with two rivers, Thane and Parrett, in Somersetshire, and acquainted them in how careless and open a posture he found the enemy, re-collected the scattered remains of his forces, and with these surprising the Danes, and putting them first into a panic terror, and then to flight, gave them so considerable a defeat that they immediately submitted to a "Now, considering the extreme low ebb of fortune to which this excellent king was at that time brought, and the high flood of prosperity that had in the meanwhile advanced the Danes over all parts of his dominions, insomuch that nothing seemed wanting to complete their conquest, but only to find out the few defendants who remained in obscurity; and withal reflecting on that former mentioned custom of that ambitious and martial nation, to erect Courts Royal of huge stones, according to the manner described, for the election of their kings, in all countries where the happy success of their arms had given them a title to sovereignty; I am apt to believe that having then over-run the whole kingdom except only Somersetshire, and encamping their main army in Wiltshire for near upon two years together, and setting up their rest in a confidence to perpetuate their newly-acquired power, they employed themselves during that time of leisure and jollity in erecting Stonehenge as a place wherein to elect and inaugurate their supreme commander, king of England; the weakness of the distressed Alfred affording them a fit opportunity, and that country yielding them fit materials, for so great and stupendous a work." When I first approached the ruin, a longing to comprehend its origin came over me, a yearning to make out the dark enigma that for ages had puzzled the learned and the wise. "Who raised the wondrous pile?" I asked and And paused for a reply; but none replied. I came not here to measure the height, breadth, and thickness of these stupendous stones, the extent of the two imperfect ovals, or the diameters of the two huge circles which surround them; those who are curious in such matters may measure for themselves, for many have found great pleasure in this employment. I take it for granted that the dimensions given by Speed, Camden, Inigo Jones, Gibson, Stukely, Wood, Smith, Wansey, Maton, King, Hoare, and others, are sufficiently correct. The outer circle of this roofless temple is about three hundred feet in circumference, composed of upright stones of a stupendous size. Speed in describing them, says they are "twentyeight feet and more in length, and ten in breadth," but this is more than others make them; the thickness of them is between three and four feet. The ditch that surrounds the whole is about thirty feet wide, and at a distance of a hundred feet or little more. The stone called the Friar's Heel stands at least two hundred feet from the pile, and there is another stone or two between this and the temple. Before I entered this mysterious ring, the erect stones appeared uniform, close together, and placed with some regard to regularity, and on this account they did not so much affect me: but now, the vast irregular grandeur of the colossal pile astonishes and bewilders me. Awe, amazement, and solemnity are as a load on my spirit pressing heavily. I want to know, but I am ignorant; I wish to admire, but I am awe-struck. I long to enjoy the scene around me, but I cannot; tears would be a relief to me. Seated on a moss-grown stone, I seem equally moved by the durability and desolation of this stupendous pile. Ages seem present, shadowy giant forms, Silence and time, and dread eternity the manners and customs of ancient times, peopling our pathway, and calling around us armed men, and abbots, and abbesses, and hooded friars, and white-robed nuns, as the case may be; but here we have nothing but vague and shadowy legends, wild and unearthly traditions, to enable us to conjecture the forbidding forms that have moved beneath the dark shade of these gigantic stones. Imagination takes the place of memory, and influenced by the appalling gloom that pervades the spot, conjures up shapes of human victims reeking in sacrifice; while Druidic priests, sullen, cruel, and implacable, stand around the crimson-stained altar, shrouded with superstition, mystery, and death. It is a relief to turn to the merciful and purifying influences of the Christian dispensation, calling to remembrance that "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life," John iii. 16. Oh! that the abominations of idolatry were done away throughout the world, and that every Pagan temple was, like this, in ruins! The circus, or hippodrome, the vestiges of which Dr. Stukely discovered half a mile north of the temple, was above ten thousand feet long; and the Barrows, gigantic mounds of earth, where bodies have been committed to the ground, are full of interest; but he who has mused in this mighty ruin has enough to occupy his mind without other pursuits. Stonehenge, whether regarded as a grand tem solemn carnedd, or a mighty cromlech, arrests the eye and heart of every spectator. It is a monument of antiquity that in every sense stands alone, huge, uncouth, unequalled, grand, wonderful, and incomprehensible. Many remains, colossal, massy, and secluded, have I gazed on with solemn feelings, but never do I remember such arresting, mysterious solemnity being ex-ple, a huge altar, an imposing trophy, a cited within me by mouldering castle, abbey, church, or priory, as that which now oppresses me. It is strange; but these huge, uncouth, erect, and frowning stones seem embued with the spirit of by-gone ages. They over-awe me as they stand gloomily questioning, as it were, my right to trespass within their shadowy circle. That single stone, that mighty fallen fragment yonder, is a ruin in itself. There it lies like the carcase of some overthrown Druidic Goliath, an opposer and defier of the living God! How can it be accounted for that one so fond of abstraction and scenes of solitude as I, should now experience sensations bordering almost on fear? These huge grey stones flinging their broad shadows seem displeased, and I feel as though I should be safer at a distance on the exposed plain than among them. In other ruins we call to remembrance KEY TO EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHICS.* IN the year 1819, an important and supplement to the Encyclopedia Britanhighly interesting essay appeared in the nica, under the article " Egypt," which was understood and acknowledged to be the production of Dr. Thomas Young, a gentleman whose great talents and varied acquirements, both in science and literature, have seldom been equalled, perhaps never surpassed. This elaborate article * From a work entitled, "Egyptian Antiquities," published by the Religious Tract Society. embodied the result of a laborious com- | been very nearly demonstrated to contain parison of the three inscriptions on the the proper name of Ptolemy; pillar of Rosetta, and gave a list of more than two hundred groups of hieroglyphic characters to which this comparison had enabled him to assign some probable meaning. A considerable number of these proved afterwards to be correct. Much attention was excited by this announcement, and efforts were made by many learned men to extend and apply Dr. Young's discoveries, by which the following most important fact regarding the nature of the Egyptian writings had been established. He demonstrated that the two unknown inscriptions were, as to their mode of expressing ideas, identical; the middle one being in good measure a corruption or running form of the upper one. Amongst other important discoveries, the mode of numeration used in the hieroglyphic writings was satisfactorily ascertained by the researches of Dr. Young. Still, however, the subject remained in an imperfect state. It seemed scarcely possible to deduce from these few ascertained facts what was the nature of this ancient system of expressing or rather of concealing ideas; that is, whether the hieroglyphic characters were the signs of sounds or the pictures of things; and until this had been settled, it was of course in vain to attempt any application or extension of the knowledge gained upon the subject. but there was also another group on the "The first sign of the name of Cleopatra which represents a kind of quadrant, and which ought to be the letter K (C,) should not occur in the name of Ptolemy, and it is not there. The second, a crouching lion, which should represent the L, is identical with the fourth of Ptolemy, which is also an L. The third sign is a feather or leaf, which should represent the short vowel E. Two similar leaves may be observed at the end of the name of Ptolemy, which by their position must have the sound of E long. The fourth character to the left represents a kind of flower or root with its stalk bent downwards, should answer to the letter O, and is accordingly the third letter in the name of Ptolemy. The fifth to the right is a sort of square, which should represent the letter P, and it is the first in the name of Ptolemy. The sixth to the left is a hawk, which should be the letter A. That letter does not occur in the Greek name Ptolemy, neither does it occur in the hieroglyphic transcription. The seventh is an open hand representing the T, but this character is not found in the name Ptolemy, where the second letter T is expressed by the segment of a sphere. The author thought that these two characters might be homophonic; that is, both expressing the same sound, and he was soon able to demonstrate that his opinion was well founded. The eighth sign, a mouth seen in front, ought to be the letter R, and as that letter does not occur in Ptolemy, it is also absent from his hieroglyphic name. The ninth and last sign, which ought to Tens. Hunds. Thous. be the vowel A, is a repetition of the Another discovery, however, was soon afterwards made through the labours of the zealous and indefatigable person to whom we have just alluded, Champollion. A small obelisk had been found in the island of Philé by Belzoni, whose name is well known as an adventurous and successful explorer of the remains of ancient Egypt: this was afterwards brought to England by Mr. Bankes, and copies of it were transmitted by him to various learned bodies on the continent. It was remarkable for a Greek inscription on the square base, which is a supplication of the priests of Isis residing at Philé to king Ptolemy, to Cleopatra, his sister, and to Cleopatra, his wife. On the obelisk itself was an hieroglyphic inscription, in the course of which a group of characters occurred, enclosed in a ring or frame: this same group was also found on the pillar of Rosetta, and had there * Units hawk, which has that sound in the sixth. [ The signs of the feminine on each side of this hawk terminate the name of Cleopatra; that of Ptolemy ends with a bent stalk, which we conclude to be the letter S." This ingenious analysis put the author in possession of eleven hieroglyphic characters, representing vowels, consonants, or dipthongs of the Greek alphabet. The great works on Egypt, published by the French government, and containing the results of the labours of the body of learned men who, as before stated, accompanied the expedition to that country, supplied him with abundant materials wherewith to extend his discovery. The names of Alexander and the Ptolemies Alexander, and Neo-Cesar pretty nearly completed the list of the names of the Macedonian sovereigns of Egypt, and made many further additions to the hieroglyphic alphabet; fully establishing the singular principle that homophons, or different characters denoting the same sounds, were employed. Another, and still more extraordinary discovery, arose from the application of the knowledge thus acquired. Champollion read the Greek names and titles of the Roman emperors transcribed in hieroglyphic characters: and since then, the names of most of them, from Augustus down to Caracalla, have been found thus engraved on the walls of the temples of Egypt. An interesting as well as amusing result was noticed in the first announcement of the discovery. Champollion read upon the circular zodiac of Dendara the titles of Augustus Cesar; and upon the square one at Esneh the name of Antoninus. That temple, then, which M. Dupuis had demonstrated to be 4000 years older than the Christian era, proved to have been built about the time of its commencement; while the temple at Esneh, to which another authority had assigned an antiquity of at least 17,000 years before that period, ought to have been dated 140 years after it. These were the firstfruits of this extraordinary discovery; and it is pleasant to have to relate that they thus subserved the cause of scriptural truth. The bold assertions of these infidels regarding the extreme antiquity of the zodiacs, had certainly made a considerable impression in this country as well as on the continent. The effect of this complete exposure of their groundlessness was highly beneficial. It exercised much influence in exposing the pretensions of a class of arrogant writers upon antiquity, who had assumed a tone of all but infallibility in perverting every thing to be found upon any part of this subject, either in existing remains or in ancient writings, to support their opposition to the Bible. An at The key to the Egyptian hieroglyphics was now evidently discovered. tempt made to limit their alphabetic use to the rings or cartels containing the names of Greek or Roman potentates, by certain learned persons who were too much wedded to ancient prepossessions to admit readily the overthrow of them, proved to be vain. A work published in 1824 established the reality and importance of the whole discovery, in a manner too apparent to admit of further question. THE CHRISTIAN'S SAFETY. THERE is one new and living way, in which I trust we shall daily proceed towards the Holiest of all. What a privilege it is to receive from on high that soundness of mind, and that warmth of heart which, when united, give a delightful interest to the Christian character, and fortify the believer against the frost of indifference on the one hand, and the freaks of fanaticism on the other!—Joseph Hughes. PUBLIC LIBRARIES. THE largest library in Great Britain is that in the British Museum, which contains about 225,000 printed books; but there are no less than eight libraries on the Continent which surpass it, namely, Paris, 700,000 books; Munich, 500,000; St. Petersburgh, 400,000; Copenhagen, 400,000; Vienna, 350,000; Naples, 310,000; Dresden, 300,000; Gottingen, 300,000; Berlin, 250,000. In valuable manuscripts, however, our national library is richer than any other, that of France excepted; the former containing 22,500, and the latter 80,000. Précis du système Hieroglyphique, &c., par Champollion le jeune. |