Among the numerous other sculptures which Mr. Layard, with great trouble and expense, succeeded in forwarding to England, was the figure of a king, one of the most carefully executed and best preserved in the palace. He is represented with one hand on the hilt of his sword, the other being supported by a long wand or sword. It was found in the north-west palace at Nimroud.
When Mr. Layard had expended the funds appropriated by the Trustees of the British Museum for the excavations, and sent a large number of sculptures down the Tigris to Busrah, to be shipped to England, he caused the excavations to be carefully filled up, and leaving for a season the scene of his labors, returned to England. Another expedition has since been sent to Nimroud, further excavations have been made, and Mr. Putnam will ere long publish their results. In the meantime, we feel that we cannot too cordially commend to the reading public, the first work of Mr. Layard, as affording the most interesting and important revelations concerning the actual state of the ancient world, which have been made public since the Egyptian discoveries of Champollion.
Storms of this nature are frequent during the early part of
summer throughout Mesopotamia, Babylonia, and Susiana. It is difficult
to convey an idea of their violence. They appear suddenly and without
any previous sign, and seldom last above an hour. It was during one of
them that the Tigris steamer, under the command of Colonel Chesney, was
wrecked in the Euphrates; and so darkened was the atmosphere, that,
although the vessel was within a short distance of the bank of the
river, several persons who were in her are supposed to have lost their
lives from not knowing in what direction to swim.
