INTRODUCTION. xvii 



Why call this a tabernacle ? To my unsophisti- 

 cated mind, it is a tent, with a leg of mutton in a 

 dish on a table, and a table-attendant keeping off 

 the flies, by means of a fly-flapper, until the king 

 comes — a thing seen every day in India ! Near 

 the table is a jar, on a stand, containing water, or 

 more likely wine. Probably the whole refreshment 

 was mistaken for objects intended for sacrifice, but 

 the attendant with a fly-flapper in his hand is un- 

 commonly like an Indian ' Kitmagar ' ; but being 

 a royal one, he was allowed to have a sword ! 



We may be apt to give too much weight to every 

 little thing on the monuments, as meaning perhaps 

 something profoundly abstruse and religious, but 

 which in many cases may mean nothing more than 

 the fancy of the artist, to fill up an awkward-looking 

 space. 



In the interpretation of Assyrian sculptures, there 

 is one circumstance which may not have been given 

 due weight ; it is this : The sculptor had to deliver 

 his thoughts on a limited slab of stone ; and there- 

 fore what may appear to us a purpose, having a 

 special meaning, in the mind of the Assyrian artist, 

 may have been only a physical necessity, owing to 

 the limited space of the slab. 



To this simple circumstance is probably due the 

 proximity of the cone to the sacred tree, which not 

 unlikely suggested the idea that the genius was 

 fertilizing the date-tree. It may also have sug- 



