At noon on the 22d of January, 1881, the huge monolith (single stone) from the banks of the Nile was lowered to its final resting-place on the knoll in Central Park. Lieutenant-Commander Gorringe's face was lighted up with smiles at the accomplishment of his arduous enterprise as the Needle of Egypt swung into position and settled into its bed. About 11 o'clock all the officers of the Navy Yard and a strong force of sailors and marines, numbering over 300, were present.

After defiling through the Eighty-second Street entrance and reaching the foot of the knoll on which the monolith was to be erected, the guard of honor halted, the sailors forming one side of a square on the east, and the marines on the north. Lieutenant-Commander Gorringe then gave directions to knock away all encumbrances, and be ready for lowering. A few minutea later a carriage drove up, and Secretary William M. Evarts and General Goff, the new Secretary of the Navy, alighted. The sailors and marines presented arms, and the drams rolled and the band played. Fronting the obelisk were many .Masonic dignitaries.

Over 5,000 people lined the snow-covered sides of the Knoll. At high noon Lieutenant-Commander Gorringe waved his handkerchief, down fell light supports and scaffolding, and the colossal stone revolved majestically on the apparatus to which it was attached. When the point swung round uutil it became vertical, and the base hung over the socket prepared for it, everybody cheered, the band struck up "Hail Columbia," and the marines and sailors again presented arms.

Less than five minutes sufficed to fix this stupendous yet delicate piece of work. The stranger from the burning sands of Egypt had taken up permanent quarters on a hill in the New World.

The following figures will be found interesting:

Height of the obelisk from base to tip, 69 feet 2 inches.

Base of the obelisk, square through its axis, 7 feet 8| inches; at the top, 5 feet 3 inches.

Weight, 219 1/4 tons.

Main body of the obelisk, 61 feet 7 inches in length.

Pyramidon, 7 feet 7 inches in length.

No two sides of the obelisk are equal in width. If it is cut through in sections it will be found to be a trapezium.

The height of the pedestal is 6 feet 11 inches; at the base it is 9 feet 3 inches square, and at the top 9 feet 1 inch square.

The weight of the pedestal is 49 tons.

The height of the foundation is 4 feet 10 inches.

Height of the bottom step, 1 foot 5 1/2 inches; width, 1 foot 6 inches.

Height of the middle step, 1 foot 7 inches; width, 1 foot 2 1/2 inches.

Height of top step, 1 foot 9 1/2 inches.

The base is 17 feet 8 inches square at the bottom, and 12 feet 3 1/2 inches as the top.

Its weight is 87| tons.

Total height of the tip of the obelisk from the monticle on which the base stands, 80 feet 11 inches.

Height from the eastern drive to the foundation, 12 feet 1 inch.

Elevation of the site of the obelisk above mean high water 101 feet 6 inches; to the top of the obelisk, 194 feet 6 inches.

Weight of the obelisk and its pedestal and foundation, 712,000 pounds.

According to the best authorities 3,746 years intervened between the first erection of the obelisk and its removal to New York. Its builder, Thotmes III., is said to be identical with the Pharaoh who persecuted the Jews and was afterward overwhelmed with his host in the waters of the Red Sea. During the existence of this latest ornament to Central Park, 125 generations have walked over the surface of the globe, and its figured shaft recalls the days when Moses and Aaron stood before the king and commanded him to allow Israel to depart.

This obelisk was presented to the City of New York by the ex-Khedive of Egypt, and the work of bringing it home was given to Lieutenant-Commander H. H. Gorringe, of the United States Navy. The express charges were paid by a wealthy New Yorker, believed to be Mr. William H. Vanderbilt. The machinery for moving the stone was all made in this country. It consists of a pair of iron trunnions and a pair of steel derricks. The stone was carried overland seven miles to the Government dock at Alexandria, and was put in the hold of the steamship Dessoug, a vessel of 1,600 tons. The vessel reached New York City July 20, 1880. The work of moving it across the city was done skillfully. (See page 571).