THE FIRST ASCENT OP POMPEY'S PILLAR.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1790, 15 March 1888, Page 3

THE FIRST ASCENT OP POMPEY'S PILLAR.

This mnsslve, grand, and beautiful column haa for centuries attracted to Us base travellers, biatorianß, and antiquaries of tho highest order. Its magnetic charm la nndiminiahed, as m its solitary majesty it retaina the polish of its shaft and the sharpness of Its Corinthian capital. It has defied the gnawing tooth of time, eaeaped the vandalism of Buperetltloua Ignorance, withstood the shook of wars and bids fair to look down upon lakes and eeaa, doaerts and cities, through twenty centuries more. Its measurements, as given by Murray, are— the total height, 98ft 9ln ; the shaft, 73ft ; the circumference, 20ft Bln ; and thb diameter at tho top of the capital, 16ft 6in. The Bhaft, which ia monolithic, Is a hard and beautiful red granite. Conjectures and traditions complete for the solution of the problem as to In whose memory or In whose honor the pillar waa act up. Though Pompey'a name la asso* elated with It, it is denied that he had any conneotton with the monument, and now it la generally accepted that the column records the capture of Alexandria by Dlooletlan In a.d. 297. Until 1733 It was deemed Inaccessible, when some English captatna performed the dating feat. The author of this incident says : — " These jolly sona of Nepture had been pushing about the can on board one of the Bhlpa m the harbor until a strange freak entered one of their bralna. Tho boat was ordered, and with proper implements foe the attempt, these enterprising heroes pushed ashore to drink a bowl of punch on the top of Pompey s Pillar." After tho failure of many contrivance, " a man was despatohed to tho city for a paper kite. The Inhabitanta wero by this time apprised of what was golDg on, and flicked m crowdß to be witnesses of the boldness of tho

English. . . . The kite was brought, and flown so dlreotly over the pillar, that when it foil on the other Bide the string lodged upon the capital ; the ohlef obstacle was now overcome. A 2ln rope was tied to one end of the string, and drawn over the pillar by the end to which the kite was affixed. By this rope one of the seamen aaoendod to the top, and In leas than an hour a kind of shroud waa constructed, by which Lho whole oompsny wont np and drank their pauch, amid the shoata of the maltltude. To the eye below the capital of the pillar does not look capable of holding more than one man upon It ; but our seamen found It oould contain no less than eight persons very conveniently. It ia Bstoniahlng no Booldent happened to th.so rr.adoapa. The only detriment, whloh the pillar received waa the loes of one of the volutes, which oame down tvlth a thundering sound, and v»b carried to England by one of theao captains as a preaont to a lady, who commissioned him for n pleoe of the pillar. The discovery whloh they made amply compensate for this mtsohlef ; as without their evidence the world would not have known to this hoar that there was i originally a statue on the pillar, one foot and ankle of whioh is still remaining."—From " Nine months on the Nile."