Mr. Tolcott Williams, a son of the late missionary, was present at the
meeting of the Society, and gave an interesting account of the classic
ground from which the slab was obtained. It was one of a number lining
the walls of the palace of Assur-nazir-pal. The inscriptions, as
translated by Dr. Peters, indicate that this particular slab was carved
during the first portion of this king's reign, and some conception
of its great antiquity may be gained when it is stated that he was a
contemporary of Ahab and Jehosaphat; he was born not more than a
century later than Solomon, and he reigned three centuries before
Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon. After the slabs were procured, it was
necessary to send them on the backs of camels a journey of eight hundred
miles across the Great Desert, through a region which was more or less
infested at all seasons with roving bands of robbers. Mr. Williams well
remembered the interview between his father and the Arab camel owner,
who told several conflicting stories by way of preliminary to the
confession of the actual facts, in order to account for the non-arrival
of the stones at Alexandretta, the sea coast town from whence they were
to be shipped to Philadelphia.
Pages:
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174