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THE LUXOR OBELISK, AT PARIS. (17.) 



This obelisk was the lesser of two which stood at the entrance of the 

 Temple of Luxor, in ancient Thebes ; it is of the red granite of Syene, 

 and is in height seventy-five French feet, eight to ten feet wide at the 

 base, and is calculated to weigh two hundred and forty tons; it was re- 

 moved from the ruins of Thebes, which is one thousand two hundred 

 feet from the Nile. All the monuments of Thebes belong to a period an- 

 terior to the Persian conquest, B.C. 525, and are beyond dispute the oldest 

 and most genuine specimens of Egyptian architecture. Speaking of the 

 magnitude of the ruins of Thebes, Belzoni says, " It appeared to me like 

 entering a city of giants, who, after a long conflict were all destroyed, 

 leaving the ruins of their various temples as the only proof their former 

 existence." The French, by immense labor, ingenuity, and time, (from 

 the 15th of April 1831, to the 5th of August 1833,) brought it to Paris; 

 the whole distance performed in the voyage was one thousand four 

 hundred leagues. It is richly ornamented with Hieroglyphic characters, 

 and now forms one of the many beauties of Paris. 



THE AQUEDUCT OF SEGOVIA. (18.) 



This is supposed to have been built by the Romans, in the reign of the 

 Emperor Vespasian. Its object was to convey the water brought from 

 a great distance over a steep ravine, seven hundred feet wide and more 

 than ninety deep, which divided one portion of the city from the other. 

 To effect this, two ranges of arches were thrown one above another. 

 The upper one is on a level with the high land on either side, and has 

 one hundred and fifty-nine arches. Though the middle part of the 

 aqueduct is ninety-four feet from the ground, yet the bases of the 

 abutments are not more than eight feet wide ; a fact which is the best 

 comment upon the beauty, lightness, and perfection of the structure. 

 Indeed it is even admitted, that though inferior in extent and magni- 

 ficence to the Pont du Gard, the aqueduct of Segovia is yet the greater 

 wonder. The stones used in the construction of this aqueduct are all 

 of equal size, about two feet square, and are put together without any 

 cement, depending solely upon each other to be maintained in their 

 places. A very few have fallen ; but the action of the weather has 

 worn away the edges of all of them, until they now appear nearly round. 

 This aqueduct is one hundred and two feet in height. 



