The Others Were Not Indeed In Very Good Preservation, Although Sufficiently So To Show That The Sculptors Did Not Particularly Excel In Their Profession. The Sphynxes Were Small, And Had Unfortunately Suffered More Damage Than The Bulls.

Shortly before my arrival, an obelisk of inconsiderable height, a small and uninjured sphynx, together with other remains, had been sent to England.

The excavations near Tel-Nimroud have been discontinued about a year, and Mr. Layard has been recalled to London. An order was afterwards given to cover in the places which had been dug open, as the wandering Arabs had begun to do a great deal of injury. When I visited the spot, some places were already covered in, but the greater part remained open.

The excavations near Nebbi Yunus are still being carried on. An annual grant is made by the British government for this purpose.

The English resident at Baghdad, Major Rawlinson, had made himself perfectly master of the cuneiform character. He reads the inscriptions with ease, and many of the translations are the results of his labours.

We returned to Mosul on horseback in five hours and a half. The power of endurance of the Arabian horses is almost incredible. They were allowed only a quarter of an hour's rest in Mosul, where they had nothing but water, and then travelled the eighteen miles back again during the hottest part of the day. Mr. Ross told me that even this was not equal to the work done by the post horses:

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