cating myself with difficulty from the crowd, I rejoined the bairakdar, who was hurrying on his prisoner with evident good-will.

The sheikh had already made himself well known to the authorities by his dealings with the villages, and there was scarcely a man in the country who could not bring forward a specious claim against him—either for a donkey, a horse, a sheep, or a copper-kettle. He was consequently most averse to an interview with the pashaw, and looked with evident horror on the prospect of a journey to Mosul. I added considerably to his alarm, by dropping a few friendly hints on the advantage of the dreary subterraneous lock-up house under the governor's palace, and of the pillory and sticks. By the time he reached Nimroud, he was fully alive to his fate, and deemed it prudent to make a full confession. He sent an Arab to his tents; and next morning an ass appeared in my court-yard bearing the missing property, with the addition of a lamb and a kid, by way of a conciliatory offering. I dismissed the sheikh with a lecture, and had afterward no reason to complain of him or of his tribe, nor indeed of any tribes in the neighborhood; for the story got abroad, and was invested with several horrible facts in addition, which could only be traced to the imagination of the Arabs, but which served to produce the effect I desired— a proper respect for my property.

During the winter Mr. Longworth, and two other English travelers, visited me at Nimroud. They were the only Europeans (except Mr. Ross), who saw the ruins when uncovered.*

I was riding home from the ruins one evening with Mr. Longworth. The Arabs returning from their day's work were following a flock of sheep belonging to the people of the village, shouting their war-cry, flourishing their swords, and Indulging in the most extravagant gesticulations. My friend, css acquainted with the excitable temperament of the children of the desert than myself, was somewhat amazed at these vio

* Mr. Seymour was also with me at Nimroud, but before the excavations were in an advanced stage.

L

I asked

lent proceedings, and desired to learn their cause. one of the most active of the party. "O Bey," they exclaimed almost all together, "God be praised, we have eaten butter and wheaten bread under your shadow, and are content-but an Arab is an Arab. It is not for a man to carry about dirt in baskets, and to use a spade all his life; he should be with his sword and his mare in the desert. We are sad as we think of the days when we plundered the Aneyza, and we must have excitement, or our hearts would break. Let us then believe that these are the sheep we have taken from the enemy, and that we are driving them to our tents!" And off they ran, raising their wild cry and flourishing their swords, to the no small alarm of the shepherd, who, seeing his sheep scampering in all directions, did not seem inclined to enter into the joke.

By the middle of December, a second cargo of sculptures was ready to be sent to Baghdad. I was again obliged to have recourse to the buffalo-carts of the pashaw; and as none of the bas-reliefs and objects to be moved were of great weight, these rotten and unwieldy vehicles could be patched up for the occasion. On Christmas-day I had the satisfaction of seeing a raft, bearing twenty-three cases, in one of which was the obelisk, floating down the river. I watched them until they were out of sight, and then galloped into Mosul to celebrate the festivities of the season, with the few Europeans whom duty or business had collected in this remote corner of the globe.

CHAPTER X.

DEATH OF TAHYAR PASHAW.-DISCOVERIES IN THE NORTHWEST PALACE. -IVORY ORNAMENTS AND CARTOUCHES WITH HIEROGLYPHICS.-PAINTED CHAMBERS.-POTTERY.-DISCOVERY OF UPPER CHAMBERS.-PAINTINGS ON THE WALLS.-PAVEMENT SLABS.-DISCOVERIES IN THE CENTER OF THE MOUND.-TOMBS CONTAINING VASES AND ORNAMENTS.-SCULPTURES.-FURTHER DISCOVERIES IN THE SOUTHWEST EDIFICE.-SCULPTURES.-DISCOVERY OF MORE TOMBS IN THE SOUTHEAST CORNER.OF CHAMBERS BENEATH THEM.--OF A VAULTED ROOM.

As I was drawing one morning at the mound, Ibrahim Agn came to me, with his eyes full of tears, and announced the death of Tahyar Pashaw. The cawass had followed the fortunes of the late Governor of Mosul almost since childhood, and was looked upon as a member of his family. Like other Turks of his class, he had been devoted to the service of his patron, and was treated more like a companion than a servant. In no country in the world are ties of this nature more close than in Turkey; nowhere does there exist a better feeling between the master and the servant, and the master and the slave.

I was much grieved at the sudden death of Tahyar; for he was a man of gentle and kindly manners, just and considerate in his government, and of considerable information and learning for a Turk. The cause of his death showed his integrity. His troop had plundered a friendly tribe, falsely represented to him as rebellious by his principal officers, who were anx. ious to have an opportunity of enriching themselves with the spoil. When he learned the truth, and that the tribe, so far from being hostile, were peaceably pasturing their flocks on the banks of the Khabour, he exclaimed, "You have destroyed my house" (i.e. its honor); and, without speaking again, died of a broken heart. He was buried in the court-yard of the principal mosque at Mardin. A simple but elegant tomb, surrounded by

flowers and evergreens, was raised over his remains; and an Arabic inscription records the virtues and probable reward of one of the most honest and amiable men that it has been my lot, in a life of some experience among men of various kinds, to meet. I visited his monument during my journey to Con. stantinople. From the lofty terrace, where it stands, the eye wanders over the vast plains of Mesopotamia, stretching to the Euphrates,-in spring one great meadow, covered with the tents and flocks of innumerable tribes.

The kiayah, or chief secretary, was chosen governor of the province by the council, until the Porte could name a new pashaw, or take other steps for the administration of affairs. Essad Pashaw, who had lately been at Beyrout, was at length appointed to succeed Tahyar, and soon after reached his pashawlic. These changes did not affect my proceedings. Armed with my vizirial letter, I was able to defy the machinations of the cadi and the ulema, who did not cease their endeavors to throw obstacles in my way.

After the celebration of Christmas I returned to Nimroud, and the excavations were again carried on with activity.

The N. W. palace was naturally the most interesting portion of the ruins, and to it were principally directed my researches. I had satisfied myself beyond a doubt that it was the most ancient building yet explored in Assyria; although, not having been destroyed by fire, it was in a better state of preservation than any edifice hitherto discovered.

When the excavations were resumed after Christmas, eight chambers had been opened. There were now so many out. lets and entrances, that I had no trouble in finding new chambers, one leading into another. By the end of the month of April I had explored almost the whole building; and ha opened twenty-eight rooms cased with alabaster slabs. Although many new sculptures of considerable interest were found in them, still the principal part of the edifice seems to have been that to the north, where the best artists had evidently been employed upon the walls of the chambers. and the bas-reliefs

excelled all those that had yet been discovered, in the elegance and finish of the ornaments, and in the spirited delineation of the figures. In the other chambers were either winged figures, separated by the sacred tree, and resembling one another in every respect; or the standard-inscription alone was carved upon the slabs.

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THE KING. (N W Falace Nimroud. '

The colossal figure of a female with four wings, carrying a garnd, now in the British Museum, was discovered in a