Excavations on the Site of Delphi.

Last week the startling announcement was made to the people of this country that Delphi was for sale. As every one knows, Delphi is the seat of the most famous oracle in the world, that of Apollo, in Greece. From it the people of Greece were accustomed to hear their destinies foretold in verse. All placed implicit confidence in the utterances of the divine goddess, whose predictions were singularly accurate. It was once the most wealthy spot in all Greece, and now presents a field of singular fruitfulness for the work of modern excavators.

It was with the intention of raising funds for the purchase of the right to excavate over the site of Delphi that Professor C. E. Norton of the University visited New York recently. His idea is to retain for American archaeologists the sole privilege of excavating on the site of the famous shrine. The English, Germans and French all have their particular spots upon which they are now carrying on their researches; while America is being distanced in this praiseworthy effort for the extension of knowledge concerning the relics of ancient art and learning. Dr. Schliemann, the eminent German excavator. has already conferred a name on his native country by his vigorous and successful attempts to throw light on subjects which have remained in darkness for so many centuries.

No site of exploration hitherto offered for the investigation of Grecian antiquities compares in promised fertility with Delphi. The French government have had the refusal of the privilege of investigation, but the recent failure of the French Senate to ratify a commercial treaty under negotiation has made its acceptance impossible. Thus the Greek government offers Delphi to the world, to be sold to the highest bidder. Fully $80,000 is necessary for its purchase, as the village of Castri is situated on the site. For the purpose of raising this money, a group of New York gentlemen are soliciting subscriptions. It will be interesting to note how far the Americans will go for the purpose of advancing a knowledge of the ancient world, so necessary to a complete appreciation of that much-ridiculed "culture" of today.