tablets. Not finding, on a cursory inspection of these tablets, that they contain either king's name or date, and believing them to relate to the affairs of private individuals, I put them aside as of less interest than others. I do not doubt, however, that they contain matter which would repay the person who should have leisure and opportunity to study them.

Of the remaining inscriptions almost all are more or less mutilated. This is deeply to be regretted. We may hope, however, that an examination of the remaining tablets in the Museum collection (of which I understand there are above 800) will bring out fragments which can be connected with those that have been numbered and photographed. Among these I found a fragment of an historical document, relating to the war of Assur-yuchura-bal against the Elymeans (K. 30). It contains the same text, or at any rate refers to the same events, as the fragments of cylinders which I mentioned in my Report to the Trustees. Another fragment relates to the marches of Tuklat-bal-itsri (Tiglath Pileser) the Second, the commencement of whose reign, which probably lasted above forty years, was about 770 B.C., and also, it would seem, to those of some of his predecessors. It contains the conclusions of about ninety consecutive lines, the beginning and ending of the inscription being altogether wanting, and the beginnings of all the lines that remain. In its present state it affords some geographical information, but if the remaining portions could be recovered it would be of immense value as an historical document.

'Several tablets relate to the calendar, and from these I have ascertained what has surprised me not a little. Notwithstanding the reference made by Ptolemy of the eclipses observed at Babylon to the months of a wandering year, resembling that of the Egyptians; (the correctness of which reference I had supposed to be established by my observing, that in more than one instance there were thirty days assigned to consecutive Assyrian months ;) I have now obtained positive proof that the Assyrians used a lunar year, consisting of twelve or thirteen months, each of which contained nominally thirty days. Of course, every sixtythird or sixty-fourth day in the calendar was omitted, in the same manner as it was in the Grecian calendars of Meton and Calippus. I found in a sort of calendar that the first day of the month was called the arakh, or "new moon," as well as the month itself; I found that the thirteenth month, which I had supposed to consist of the five epagomenæ, had as many days as that which preceded it; and, lastly, I found a tablet (K. 90) which contained an estimate of the magnitude of the illuminated portion of the lunar disk on each of the thirty days of the month. This is not very creditable to the mathematical knowledge of the Assyrians; but it is a sufficiently close approximation to leave no doubt as to what was intended. On the first day they estimated that five parts were visible out of the 240 into which they divided the disk. On the second day they doubled this, counting ten parts. In like manner they counted twenty on the third day, forty on the fourth, and eighty on the fifth. They then substituted an arithmetical for a geometrical series, adding sixteen parts each day till the fifteenth, when the whole 240 were visible. They took sixteen parts away on each of the next ten days, so that they had eighty parts, or one-third of the disk, visible on the 25th day. The latter part of the inscription is injured, so that I cannot be very positive. I believe, however, that they halved what was visible on each of the next four days, so as to have five on the 29th as well as on the first, the thirtieth day being altogether dark.

I have very little doubt that the Assyrian year began with the new moon which followed, or which was nearest to, the vernal equinox. This appears from the second month being that which corresponded to the Persian Thuravahara, a name which, as Benfey has pointed out, signifies “the heat of spring;” while the ninth month was that which corresponded to the Persian Atriyadiya, a name which seems to signify "the commencement of fire," indicating the first month of the winter. In confirmation of this, I observe that the character for this ninth month is phonetically kan, and that the Syrian Kanun is the third month from the autumnal equinox; also that Ab is the fifth month from the vernal equinox in Hebrew and Syrian, and that one phonetic value of the Assyrian character for the fifth month is ab. The dates of the commencements of the different campaigns, which are given in the Nimrûd annals, appear to me also to agree with this date of the commencement of the year better than with any other.

'With respect to the position of the intercalary month, it is curious that while more than one tablet places it at the end of the year, that is, before the vernal equinox, which was its place in the Syrian and Hebrew year, it is distinctly placed in K. 160, at the end of the sixth month. It is probable that a change took place in the calendar between the making of the earlier and the later chronological tablets. It is not easy, however, to say which was the earlier. The law of the intercalation, and the precise rule for omitting days in the alternate months, remain to be ascertained.

'I mentioned in my Report that the Syllabarium, Mr. Layard's copy of which first indicated the nature of such a document, had not been found. I am happy to say that it has been met with since, and that it appears in this series as K. 62. Another Syllabarium which I had not seen before is also numbered as K. 110. Both of these are inscribed on both sides. The other Syllabarium, which I met with in the spring of 1853, is K. 144. It is inscribed on one side only. These three fragments belong to three different Syllabariums, so that it is more than ever desirable to obtain the deficient portions. A very large number of values is, however, determined from the fragments which we already possess.

There are other inscriptions of a philological or lexicographical character which possess much interest for me, but with which I will not trouble the public. Some inscriptions are in praise of different deities, and some appear to be poetical. I will only notice the conclusions of some of the inscriptions, as bearing on the royal succession after Esarhaddon. Many of the tablets, of which the conclusion is preserved, after the hymns, or whatever they may be, that they contain, present to us a formula, which consists of a sort of title, indicating the contents of the main part of the inscription; some connecting words, which vary in different tablets, and which appear to me to indicate the compartment in the royal library where the tablet was to be placed; and then “the palace of Assur-bani-bal, the great king, the powerful king, the king of the provinces, the king of Assyria;" with the addition of a number of fanciful titles, varying on different tablets, such as "who looks for help to Assur and Nina," "whose ears Nabyu and Urmitu have opened wide." By the multiplying of titles of this sort, and by leaving wide intervals between the words, the writer of the tablet contrived to fill up even a very large space, should such remain vacant at the close of the regular inscription. There are other tablets in which a similar large space remains after the regular inscription, but it appears for the most part blank, the following words being alone legible: "The property of Assur-yuchura-bal, the king of the provinces, the king of Assyria." These words are incised after the tablet was burned, and, as it appears to me, on a surface which had been smoothed to receive them. Comparing what I observed in this instance with what I have observed on several well-known Egyptian monuments, I have no doubt that where this name now occurs there were formerly the name and titles of Assurbani-bal, as they now appear on K. 131 or K. 155. These were inscribed before the tablet was baked. Afterwards, Assur-yuchura-bal, having made himself master of the palace, caused the name and titles of his predecessor to be scraped away, and had his own name incised on the surface so left smooth.

"The name of Assur-bani-bal does not appear in Mr. Layard's list of kings of Assyria; nor am I aware that Colonel Rawlinson has noticed him as distinct from his successor in any of his publications. We know that this successor (whom I formerly called Assur-akh-bal, but now Assur-yuchura-bal) was the son of Esarhaddon, and it becomes a question of some interest who his predecessor was. He does not give his genealogy on any of these tablets, nor elsewhere, so far as I know; but I think there can be no doubt that he was a son of Esarhaddon, and that he and Assur-yuchura-bal reigned at the same time in different portions of the empire, the former possessing Nineveh in the first instance, and being succeeded there by the latter. If it were not for the defacement of the

eThe monogram which represents the second element in the name, as it is written on the sculptures in the British Museum representing the conquest of Elymais; and on these tablets is one which is used in no other proper name that I am aware of, except that of the father of Nebuchadnezzar, where it represents the last syllable Yuchur. In the present name it ought perhaps to be read as a participle rather than as an aorist, judging from the analogy of Assur-bani-bal, of which the second element is written phonetically in K. 131.'

one name, and the substitution of the other, and that in a manner which is evidently disrespectful, I should have not questioned the identity of the two kings; and some may think it unreasonable for me to do so even now, inasmuch as it is certain that both kings claimed the glory of the conquest of Elymais, which must have happened, according to my view of the matter, while Assur-bani-bal was reigning at Nineveh, and Assur-yuchura-bal in some other part of the empire. It is possible that the latter may have carried on the war in person; but it seems to me more likely, that having dethroned his brother, and wishing himself to be considered as the immediate successor of his father, he caused himself to be represented as gaining victories, which were in reality those of his brother, or of his brother's generals. I incline to think that the king who is commemorated on the very remarkable stone in the possession of Lord Aberdeen, and who there calls himself ruler of Babylon (which neither Assur-bani-bal nor Assur-yuchurabal ever does), was a third son of Esarhaddon, and that Babylon was separated from Assyria on the death of Esarhaddon, in 667 B.C. The Saosdukhin of Ptolemy's Canon seems a possible corruption of Shamas-akh-iddan; but it is not easy to derive it from any name beginning with Assur. The order of succession, however, and the length of the different reigns between 667 B.C. and 625 B.C., when Nineveh was taken by the Medes and Babylonians, is now, and is likely to remain, very obscure. The most likely way of clearing it up would be, I think, the collection of tablets with dates in regnal years, similar to those of which I gave a list in my Report (Literary Gazette, 22nd April, p. 375). The date of the capture of Nineveh appears to me quite certain; and of course I hold that Herodotus committed a gross blunder, either in placing the Lydian war before the capture of Nineveh, or in identifying the eclipse which terminated that war with the eclipse which Thales foretold. As to the Scythian conquest, it must have occurred about the middle of the interval of forty-two years that I have mentioned; but no allusion to it has been met with on the monuments, nor do I think that any is to be expected. The Assyrian kings carefully recorded their successes; but as to their reverses, they were as carefully silent.'

The Israelite, a weekly religious journal published at Cincinnati, U.S., of Aug. 12, 1854, copies an article from the New York Tribune, containing the following information in regard to agriculture in Palestine :

In no part of the civilized world, where a productive soil abounds, is the condition of agriculture at a lower ebb than in the country about Jerusalem. This city is largely inhabited by Jews, many of whom are pensioners of their brethren in all the rest of the world. They are miserably poor, indolent, and without employment. The country round about is in possession of the Arabs, who hate the Christians much, and the Jews more. The Arabs are the worst farmers in the world. Their implements of husbandry are so rude and primitive, that a sample of them would surprise even a cotton-planter of South Carolina. It is supposed by many that the lands of Palestine are generally of the poorest character for the purposes of the husbandman. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The country possesses a great diversity of climate, owing to the variation in elevation. The Valley of the Jordan, at the level of the Dead Sea, is 1312 feet below the Mediterranean, while the Mountain of Lebanon rises above the line of perpetual snow, which is 9300 feet above the sea; so that there is eternal winter, while the Valley of the Jordan is a perpetual tropical climate, and between these variations of altitude there are all the varieties of productions of the temperate zones. The soil is generally a calcareous, light-coloured loam in the interior, particularly near Jerusalem; and near the sea-shore it is of a dark red loam; and on the plains of Sharon very productive, yielding three crops a year of such things as will ripen within that space. The soil produces good wheat, and corn, oats, potatoes, &c., about equal to the average crops of Connecticut. Cotton has been produced here in quality and product per acre equal to the best upland plantations in this country. Fruit of various kinds grows to great perfection; the grapes, in particular, are very superior; while peaches, pomegranates, apricots, plums, olives, figs, oranges, and melons are rich and abundant. Altogether, the climate and soil, and the productions, make it a most desirable country for a residence. The rich lands near Jaffa can be

bought for a sum equal to about six or eight dollars an English acre. To all this there is a drawback, which has heretofore deterred settlers from seeking a home there, who know how to appreciate and cultivate such a soil, and make the productions profitable, and homes in such a climate pleasant and beautiful. The country is in possession of the Arabs, who in point of civilization are but a small remove above the wild Indians of this continent. Two years ago an effort was made to ameliorate the condition of the inhabitants of Palestine. Seven Americans, with improved ploughs and other tools, and American seeds, located upon a piece of land seven miles from Jerusalem, one mile from Bethlehem, and made preparations for farming after the American system. Their location was in the valley of Artos, upon the very site of one of the gardens of Solomon. Their friends in the city were much opposed to their going out there to reside, urging them, if they were determined to try to cultivate the soil, to keep their residence within the city, for fear of the Arabs. This did not suit their plans, and they took up their residence upon the land, and commenced operations, ploughing deep with one of our best ploughs, harrowing with an iron-toothed harrow, such as was never seen there before, and planting corn, potatoes, beans, peas, oats, barley, wheat, and all sorts of garden vegetables; in short, making a perfect American farm. The operations, instead of exciting the jealousy of the Arabs, aroused them to a state of surprise, and the news of what the Americans at Solomon's garden were doing, and what wonderful tools they were using, and how peaceable and quiet they were, never saying anything about their religion, flew on the wings of the wind, and visitors came to look and wonder from far and near. The operations of the carpenter and blacksmith were not among the least sources of wonder. The rapid manner in which he heated his iron, and hammered it into just such shape as he desired, was beyond the comprehension of this simple-minded people.'

From the same journal (the No. for August 18) we extract the following:'Jews and Agriculture.-Concerning the statement that there are about 17,000 Israelites in the United States, and among all not one is engaged in agriculture, we reply, that if there be none who till the soil with their own hands, there are certainly many who own land and oversee its cultivation. One of the greatest planters in Kentucky, Mr. Benjamin Gratz, an old personal friend of the late Henry Clay, is an Israelite; while in South Carolina, Georgia, and other states, there are many of that ancient faith extensively engaged in agriculture. Hon. M. Benjamin, of Louisiana, is also extensively engaged in sugar planting, and has written a standard essay upon the culture and chemistry of that staple.-N. Y. Sun.' 'We have to add to this, that there are many Jews engaged in farming. We could mention several names, as Uriah Levy, owner of Monticello (Jefferson's homestead); B. Behrend, of Narrowsburg, N. Y.; J. Kaffenberg, of Bethlehemtown, N. Y. Dr. Rodrigos, of Charleston, S. C., and many others. The numeral statement of 17,000 Jews in the United States is also a considerable mistake. There are in the United States forty-two synagogues, and more than double that number of congregations who have not yet built. There are about 100,000 Jews in the United States. The census of 1850 contains more mistakes besides this. 17,000 Jewish families might be something approaching truth. The erroneous statement as to our having no agriculturists among us has been paraded in the columns of several papers as a stigma; few took the trouble to ascertain its truth; and the inference, of course, was unfavourable to our people in a land, where the culture of the soil is viewed as honourable, as in the United States. Why there are so few of us following agriculture, compared with other callings, can be easily explained. A large majority of the Israelites of the United States are from continental Europe, where, debarred from following the avocations and professions of their choice, and hunted about from place to place, self-preservation has compelled them to adopt commerce as their almost universal means to gain a livelihood. Emigrants to this country could not at once shake off the effects of education; and being in most cases unacquainted with the English language, they naturally and properly selected that calling to which they thought themselves best adapted. For this they should receive the commendations of their fellow-citizens; and we will show why. Emigrants are generally poor, the Jew not excepted. How many foreigners become from the moment they land in this country burthens on the public, let our poor

house records show; but they also show that the thrift, the industry, the perseverance, and untiring energy of the Hebrew race, has made them prosper so much that there are none of them paupers. Without attempting to lessen the benefits of farming, we must also assert that commerce is as requisite to develope the resources of our country as agriculture.'

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND MISCELLANEOUS.

In Bohn's Ecclesiastical Library,' the first volume is given of the Works of Philo-Judæus,' translated from the Greek by C. D. Yonge, B.A. This volume contains a number of the Alexandrian Platonist's miscellaneous treatises on the Mosaic cosmogony and the early biblical records of the Jews. Mr. Yonge professes to follow chiefly the text of Mangey, which was printed in two volumes folio in 1742, subsequently reprinted at Erlangen in 1820; and in eight volumes octavo, at Leipsic, 1828-1830, under the care of Pfeiffer.

The Burney prize for the best English essay on 'Faith in Natural and Revealed Religion is necessary for the Purification and Perfectibility of Man,' has been adjudged to Thomas Wade Powell, B.A., St. John's College.

For students of Oriental literature, a very acceptable work has appeared in A Descriptive Catalogue of the Historical Manuscripts in the Arabic and Persian Languages in the Library of the Royal Asiatic Society,' by William H. Morley, (John W. Parker and Son). General notices are given of each history, with short accounts of the author where procurable; details being added regarding particular manuscripts, as to their external form and condition, as well as their subjects and contents. There are a hundred and sixty-three volumes described, many of them of much rarity and value. An index is appended of names of works, and also of names of authors. The Catalogue is printed by order of the Council of the Asiatic Society, who have thereby rendered good service to students of Eastern history and literature. Mr. Morley has performed his work with much judgment and ability; and we lay aside his book among our manuals of reference with a wish that similar catalogues could be prepared of some of the other public libraries of Europe, where important and valuable manuscripts are lying unknown, and useless to the student or historiographer.

'The Recent Insurrections in China.-Chinese Works in relation thereto.-From an article in "Le Moniteur Universel," of Paris, we gather the following facts which relate to the revolution in China, and which are apparently worthy of consideration. The Imperial Library of Paris has recently been enriched with thirteen Chinese brochures, printed at Nanking, by order of Thai-ping-Wang (literally, King of Universal Peace), the chief of the insurgents in the Chinese empire. At the request of the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, M. Stanisla Julien, Associate Conservateur of the Library, has analyzed these brochures in a work which will throw much light upon the character of the religious and political movement which has been in progress for some time past in the Celestial Empire. It is well known that one of the circumstances which has embarrassed those who early watched this revolution, was a strange blending of the doctrines of Christianity with the pretended divine mission of Thai-ping-Wang to provoke the people against the reigning dynasty. This fact is placed above doubt by these publications. A list, inserted in one of these brochures, includes the Old and New Testaments, calling them sacred books; another contains the Ten Commandments of the Decalogue of Moses, which are mentioned as having been given by God upon Mount Sinai, and which are accompanied by a commentary and by forms of prayer. In a third book there is an account of the creation of heaven and of earth; of the deluge of forty days and forty nights; of the journey of the Israelites from Egypt; of the sending of the Saviour, Jesus; of his incarnation in the kingdom of Judea, and of his sufferings for the atonement of the sins of man. The authors of this résumé pass, without any other transition, to the present age. They announce that in the year Tingtcheou (1837) the sacred and supreme Emperor (God) sent a messenger, who appeared before Thai-ping-Wang, and made him mount to heaven, whence