Rev. Mr. Mitchell died on the way, and his wife died within ten days thereafter; and Mr. Hinsdale died after a residence of one year. Their place was supplied by the coming of the Rev. Mr. Lowry, whose wife died within a year from the date of his arrival. Then followed the death of Dr. Grant; and at a subsequent period, the death of Rev. Messrs. Marsh and Williams and their wives; and, still later, the death of Rev. Messrs. Lobdell and Haskell. But old Elder Khowaja Meekha thinks that these good servants of the Lord would have died had they lived in Jerusalem or Mardeen or Beirut, and is strong in the opinion that the little community should not be neglected because so many missionaries found Mosul to be the gate of heaven to their ascending souls.

The Monday and Tuesday succeeding Easter-Sunday are holidays with the Christians of Mosul, and are devoted to exchanging calls, not unlike our calls on Newyear's-day. They are festive days, and in each house a feast of fat things awaits the callers. Mr. Rassam had provided for his many guests with that good taste and elegance so characteristic of himself. It was a favorable opportunity for us to observe the social customs prevalent in this far-off Assyrian city, and especially the rich costumes of the Chaldean ladies. The weather was charming, and the ladies appeared in all the gorgeousness peculiar to the East. The display was reserved entirely for the house. They appeared at the portal of the court wrapped in a huge checkered blue sheet, and with the face hidden beneath a square horse-hair veil; but these were removed as they entered the court, and then was displayed the splendor of their attire. The high head-dress was resplendent with gold and pearls; the necklaces were elaborately wrought; the frontlets, anklets, and bracelets sparkled with the richest gems; the

bust and arms were covered with the finest lace inwrought with gold, and their ample robes of silk were embroidered with gold and silver thread in many a curious device. The youthful wife of Mr. Rassam's eldest brother was adorned like the daughter of a king. But these outward adornments were the least of their many charms. Nature had left the impress of beauty on each lovely face, and bequeathed to each a grace of carriage worthy of an Esther. Nor had the mind and heart been neglected. Their conversation evinced an appreciation of the beautiful and the true; their graceful deportment was proof of the careful culture of the refined amenities of social life; and the joyousness of their smile bespoke a soul conversant with the higher and better sentiments of our humanity.

CHAPTER V.

Among the Ruins of Ancient Nineveh.-Historical and Scriptural Allusions. -Nimrod, the Mighty Hunter.-Asshur and his Colony.-Extent and Duration of the Assyrian Empire.-Extent and Glory of Nineveh.-Its Walls, Gates, and Palaces.-Identity of its Ruins.-Jonah's Visit to Nineveh.-His Mission and his Tomb.-Sail down the Euphrates.-Beautiful Scenery.—Selamiyah.-Donkey-ride.-Birthplace of Saladin.-Great Image of Nebuchadnezzar.-Exploring the Ruins.-Tower of Nimroud.-Ancient Temples. Wonderful Sculptures.-Palace of Asshurizir-pal.-Splendid Remains. Palaces of Shalmaneser II., and of Tiglath-pileser II. — The Marble Obelisk.--Palace of Esarhaddon. - God Nebo.-Horrid Night with the Arabs.-Return to Mosul.-Grand Palace of Sennacherib, and its Magnificent Sculpture.-Annals and Will of Sennacherib.-Palace of Sardanapalus, and its Splendid Bass-reliefs.-Assyrian Wars.-Fall of Nineveh. The Last Battle.-Prophecy Fulfilled.

SEVEN days among the ruins of ancient Nineveh gave me the rare opportunity to trace its walls, to stand within its monumental gates, to wander through its excavated palaces and examine their sculptured halls, to recall the mighty past, to read prophecy in the light of modern discoveries, and compare Herodotus with Isaiah, Ctesias with Nahum, and Diodorus with Jonah. The three sources of information as to the origin, extent, and fall of the Assyrian empire are, the Bible, the Greek histo rians, and the cuneiform inscriptions. These authorities synchronize in the main, and supplement each other. The earliest record of the empire of Assyria, in authentic history, is by Moses, in the tenth chapter of Genesis. The allusion thereto is brief, but definite: "Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah, and Resen between Nineveh.

and Calah: the same is a great city." It is apparent, from this concise statement, that Asshur was a colonist, and the founder of Nineveh. "Out of that land went forth Asshur," is an expression that clearly indicates the existence of an antecedent kingdom. That kingdom was founded by Nimrod in the land of Shinar, the lower section of the great valley between the Tigris and the Euphrates, and near the confluence of those two historic rivers. The sacred historian is no less concise than def inite in his allusion to that fact: "And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar." That was the first kingdom established subsequent to the Flood, and probably about two thousand four hundred years before the Christian era. The Tower of Babel is the only remaining monument of the oldest empire known to mankind, and of the identity of that tower there is but little doubt. From a point so advantageous in location, the “mighty hunter" rapidly spread his dominion inland and northward; and other cities than Babylon were founded by him, who is among the foremost men of the Old World, and whose memory will last while time endures. Even now his name is mentioned with reverence by the people of Chaldea, and wherever a mound of ashes or an extraordinary ruin is to be seen in Babylonia or the adjoining regions, the local traditions attach to it the name of Nimrod.

From the dominions of the "mighty hunter," Asshur went forth and laid the foundations of a rival empire, whose remains are now exciting the attention of the civ ilized world. Whether his emigration was voluntary or

* Genesis x., 11, 12.

+ Genesis x., 8, 10.

Rawlinson.

compulsory, or in obedience to a royal decree of Nimrod, are facts not known to history; but that the Assyrians and Babylonians were of a common origin, and that the former were colonists from the land of the latter, is evident from the similarity of religion, of language, and of architecture. And whether this colonization took place two thousand two hundred years before our era, or one thousand four hundred years, is a point on which the Assyrian archæologists do not agree. At present the weight of the evidence favors the earlier of the two dates; and, accordingly, the empire of Assyria continued. during fifteen centuries, or from B.C. 2182 to B.C. 606. The grandeur of such a duration has scarcely a parallel in history. Rome, whether kingdom, commonwealth, or empire, lasted but twelve centuries. The Chaldean monarchy endured but a thousand years, from Nimrod to Tiglathi-Nin. The first Persian empire continued less than two and a half centuries. The kingdom of Babylon, founded by the father of Nebuchadnezzar, did not survive a century. The continuity of Egypt was interrupted by foreign domination; and the same is true of China. It is thought that there are sufficient grounds for the conjecture that there were two distinct Assyrian dynasties the first commencing with Asshur, and ending with Sardanapalus; and the second, including the kings mentioned in the Scriptures, and ending with Saracus, in whose reign Nineveh was finally destroyed by the combined armies of Persia and Babylon.*

But of the extent and magnificence of the empire of the Assyrians there is greater certainty. While the true heart of Assyria was on the banks of the Tigris, and within the limits of the four great cities, marked by the

* Layard.