panion, the lion should be brought down; and the two embarked together for Baghdad. The night was passed in renewed rejoicings, to celebrate the successful termination of our labors. On the following morning I rode to Mosul, to enjoy a few days' rest after my exertions.

The bull having thus been successfully transported to the banks of the river, preparations were made, on my return to Nimroud, for the removal of the second sculpture; and I ordered the trench, already opened for the passage of the bull to be continued to the entrance formed by the lions, or about eighty feet to the north.

My arrangements were completed by the middle of April. I determined to lower the lion at once on the cart, and not to drag it out of the mound over the rollers. This sculpture, during its descent, was supported in the same manner as the bull had been; but, to avoid a second accident, I doubled the number of ropes and the coils of the cable. Enough earth was removed to bring the top of the cart to a level with the bottom of the lion. Whilst clearing away the wall of unbaked bricks, I discovered two alabaster tablets, similar to those already described. They bore the standard inscription, and had evidently been placed in the foundations of the palace; probably, as coins and similar tablets are now buried under edifices, to commemorate the period and object of their erection.

As the lion was cracked in more than one place, considerable care was required in lowering and moving it. Both, however, were effected without accident. The Arabs assembled as they had done at the removal of the bull. Abd-ur-rahman and his horsemen rode over to the mound. We had the same shouting and the same festivities. The lion descended into the place I had prepared for it on the cart, and was easily dragged out of the ruins. It was two days in reaching the river, as the wheels sank more than once into the loose soil, and were with difficulty extricated. It was, however, at length placed by the side of

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the bull, on the banks of the Tigris, ready to proceed to Busrah, as soon as I could make the necessary arrangements for their embarkation.

The sculptures, which I had hitherto sent to Busrah, had been floated down the river on rafts, as far only as Baghdad, where they had been transferred to boats built by the natives for the lower part of the Tigris and Euphrates. These vessels,

were much too small and weak to carry either the lion or the bull; and, indeed, had they been large enough, it would have been difficult, if not impossible, in the absence of proper machinery, to lift such heavy masses into them. I resolved, therefore, to attempt the navigation of the lower, as well as of the upper, part of the river with rafts; and to embark the lion and bull, at once, for Busrah. The raftmen of Mosul, who are accustomed to descend the Tigris to Baghdad, but never venture further, declared the scheme to be impracticable, and refused to attempt it. Even my friends at Baghdad doubted of my success; principally, however, on the ground that the prejudices and customs of the natives were against me, and every one knows how difficult it is to prevail upon Easterns to undertake anything in opposition to their established habits. Such has been their nature for ages. As their fathers have done, so have they done after them, forgetting or omitting many things, but never adding or improving. As rafts meet with no insurmountable difficulties in descending, even from the mountainous districts of Diarbekir, to Baghdad, there was no good reason why they should not continue their voyage to Busrah. Obstructions might occur in the upper part of the river, which abounds in rapids, rocks, and shallows; but not in the lower, where there is depth of water and nothing to impede the passage of large boats. The stream below Baghdad is sluggish, and the tide ascends nearly sixty miles above Busrah: these were the only objections, and they merely affected the time to be employed in the descent, and not its practicability.

It was impossible by the most convincing arguments, even though supported by the exhibition of a heap of coins, to pre

my

vail upon the raftmen of Mosul to construct such rafts as I required, or to undertake the voyage. I applied therefore to Mr. Hector, and through him found a man at Baghdad, who declared himself willing to make the great sacrifice generally believed to be involved in the attempt. He was indebted in a considerable sum of money, and being the owner of a large number of skins, now lying useless, he preferred a desperate undertaking to the prospect of a debtor's prison. Mullah Ali - for such was the name of raft-contractor at length made his appearance at Nimroud. He was followed by a dirty half-naked Arab, his assistant in the coustruction of rafts; and, like those who carried on his trade some two thousand years before, by a couple of donkeys laden with skins ready for use. Like a genuine native of Baghdad, he had exhausted his ingenuity in the choice of materials for the composition of his garments. There could not have been a more dexterous mixture of colors than that displayed by his antari, cloak, and voluminous turban. He began, of course, with a long speech, protesting, by the Prophet, that he would undertake for no one else in the world what he was going to do for me; that he was my slave and my sacrifice, and that the man who was not, was worse than an infidel. I cut him short in this complimentary discourse. He then, as is usual in such transactions, began to make excuses, to increase his demands, and throw difficulties in the way. On these points I declined all discussion, directing Ibrahim Agha to give him an insight into my way of doing business, to recommend him to resign himself to his fate, as the contract had been signed, and to hint that he was now in the power of an authority from which there was no appeal.

Mullah Ali made many vain efforts to amend his condition, and to induce, on my part, a fuller appreciation of his merits. He expected that these endeavours might, at least, lead to an additional amount of bakshish. At last he resigned himself to his fate, and slowly worked, with his assistant, at the binding together of beams and logs of wood with willow twigs to form a

framework for a raft. There were still some difficulties and obstacles to be surmounted. The man of Baghdad had his own opinions on the building of rafts in general, founded upon immemorial customs and the traditions of the country. I had my theories, which could not be supported by equally substantial arguments. Consequently, he, who had all the proof on his side, may not have been wrong in declaring against any method, in favor of which I could produce no better evidence than my own will. But, like many other injured men, he fell a victim to the "droit du plus fort," and had to sacrifice, at once, prejudice and habit.

I did not doubt that the skins, once blown up, would support the sculptures without difficulty as far as Baghdad, a voyage of eight or ten days, under favorable circumstances. But there they would require to be opened and refilled, or they would scarcely sustain so heavy a weight during the longer voyage to Busrah. However carefully the skins are filled, the air gradually escapes, and rafts, bearing merchandise, are generally detained several times during their descent, to enable the raftmen to examine and refill the skins.

It may interest the reader to know how these rafts, which have probably been for ages the only means of traffic on the upper parts of the rivers of Mesopotamia, are constructed. The skins of full-grown sheep and goats, taken off with as few incisions as possible, are dried and prepared, one aperture being left, through which the air is forced by the lungs. A framework of poplar beams, branches of trees, and reeds, having been constructed of the size of the intended raft, the inflated skins are tied to it by osier twigs. The raft is then complete, and is moved to the water and launched. Care is taken to place the skins with their mouths upwards, that, in case any should burst or require refilling, they can be easily reached. Upon the framework of wood are piled bales of goods, and property belonging to merchants and travellers. When persons of rank or wealth descend the river, small huts are constructed for them on the raft by covering a common

wooden takht, or bedstead of the country, with a hood formed of reeds and lined with felt. The poorer passengers seek shade or warmth, by burying themselves amongst the bales and other cargo, and sit patiently, almost in one position, until they reach their destination. They carry with them an earthen mangal or chafing-dish, containing a charcoal fire, which serves to light their pipes, and to cook their coffee and food. The only real danger to be apprehended on the river is from the Arabs; who, when the country is in a disturbed state, invariably attack and pillage the rafts.

The raftmen impel and guide these rude vessels by long poles, to the end of which are fastened a few pieces of split cane. They skilfully avoid the rapids; and, seated on the bales, row continually, even in the hottest sun. They will seldom travel after dark before reaching Tekrit, on account of the rocks and shoals, which occur in the upper part of the river; but when they have passed that place, they resign themselves, night and day, to the sluggish stream. During the floods in the spring, or after heavy rains, small rafts may float from Mosul to Baghdad in about eighty-four hours; but the larger are generally six or seven days in performing the voyage. In summer, and when the river is low, they are frequently nearly a month in reaching their destination. When they have been unloaded, they are broken up, and the beams, wood, and twigs sold at a considerable profit. The skins are washed and afterwards rubbed with a preparation of pounded pomegranate skins, to keep them from cracking and rotting. They are then brought back, either upon the shoulders of the raftmen or upon donkeys, to Mosul and Tekrit, where the men engaged in the navigation of the Tigris usually reside.

On the 20th of April, there being fortunately a slight rise in the river, and my arrangements being complete, I determined to attempt the embarkation of the lion and bull. The two sculptures had been so placed on beams of poplar wood that, by withdrawing wedges from under them, they would slide nearly into the centre of the rafts. The high bank of the river had