April 4, 1895] 



NATURE 



537 



a brief notice of the ancient kings -of Nineveh and 

 Babylon," London, 1850; and "Outline of the History 

 of Assyria," London, 1852; and "Notes on the Early 

 History of Babylonia," 1854. He had also in 1850 and 

 1 85 1 revised the "Inscriptions in the Cuneiform Character 

 from Assyrian Monuments,'' which Mr. Layard published 

 in 1851. Curiously enough, though Rawlinson's translation 

 of the Behistun inscription was accepted generally, there 

 were many, and Sir G. C. Lewis was among them, who 

 stated unhesitatingly that the cuneiform inscriptions had 

 not yet been accurately deciphered, and we owe it to 

 Mr. Fox Talbot that this view was proved to be erroneous. 

 Rawlinson had undertaken to publish a series of cuneiform 

 texts with English translations of the same for the 

 Trustees of the British Museum, and Talbot, having 

 obtained a set of the plates of the text of the great 

 Tiglath Pileser inscription, began to work at an in- 

 dependent translation which, when finished, he sent in 

 a sealed packet to the Council of the Royal Asiatic 

 Society, pointing out that if his own translation and that 

 of Rawlinson, when it appeared, should agree, a strong 

 proof of the accuracy of Rawlinson's system would be 

 established. The Council appointed a Committee con- 

 sisting of Dean Milman, Whewell, Gardner Wilkinson, 

 Grote, Cureton, and Prof. Wilson as examiners, and they 

 asked Rawlinson, Oppert and Hincks to send in versions 

 of the same inscription by a certain date. I'albot's 

 arrived first, Rawlinson's next, Hincks's next, and Oppert's 

 next ; the last two scholars could not, however, translate 

 all the inscription for want of time. The four independent 

 translations' were carefully examined, and it was found 

 that they agreed as to general sense in a marvellous 

 manner, and the Committee rightly judged that the 

 decipherment of the cuneiform inscriptions was a fait 

 accompli; Rawlinson, however, translated the whole 

 text, while his three competitors left passages here and 

 there unrendered. 



In the matter of publication, Rawlinson's greatest 

 work was undoubtedly the " Cuneiform Inscriptions 

 of Western Asia" in five vols, folio, which he 

 prepared for the Trustees of the British Museum ; here 

 he supplied material for generations of workers, and gave 

 the proofs of his knowledge and ability in cuneiform 

 matters, which have justly earned for him the title of 

 " Father of Assyriology." Between the years 1858 and 

 1875 he largely assisted his brother Prof. Rawlinson 

 in his works on Oriental history, and a large share 

 of whatever credit attaches to them is due to him. 

 His last published translation was that of the cylinder 

 of Cyrus, which recorded his conquest of Babylon ; 

 it appeared in the Journal of tlic Royal Asiatic 

 Society, new series, vol. xii. (1S80; p. 70. As was 

 to be expected, honours were showered upon Raw- 

 linson from all parts of the civilised world. He was 

 elected to a Trusteeship of the British Museum — a much 

 coveted honour — in 1876; Oxford, Cambridge, and Edin- 

 burgh gave him honorary degrees ; Prussia awarded him 

 the " Ordre pour le Mcrite " ; and the Academies of other 

 countries elected him to Memberships. In summing up 

 his labours, it is hard to say whether he did most for 

 cuneiform scholarship, or to advance the interests and 

 empire of Her Britannic Majesty in the East. Smali- 

 minded men, wishing to lessen Rawlinson's merits, have 

 harped upon the fact that Lassen made his alphabet 

 before Rawlinson ; but this he freely admitted, only say- 

 ing in reply that he never saw it until 1839. That Raw- 

 linson was the first European who translated cuneiform 

 inscriptions, is beyond all doubt, and from first to last, 

 j>. from 1835 to 1895, he exercised a wise and beneficent 

 influence over cuneiform studies which cannot be over- 

 rated. His position in Persia gave him unrivalled 

 opportunities, which he used to the best of his ability, 



1 See Rawlinson, "Inscription of Tiglath-Pilescr I., King o Assyria, 

 about 1150 B.C." (London, 1857.) 



NO. 1327, VOL. 51] 



and as Consul of Bagdad from 184+ to 1855, his strong 

 but silent power was freely exerted on behalf of Mr. 

 Layard while carrying on his work at Kouyunjik ; be- 

 yond all doubt is it the fact that he has done more for 

 cuneiform research and excavation than any other man 

 living or dead. It must never be forgotten, too, that he was 

 the only early excavator who had fully qualified himself 

 to understand his work, and of them all he was the only 

 one who could read cuneiform. He was a fine example 

 of the English soldier, now only too rare, for to the 

 bravery of the warrior he added the courtesy of the 

 diplomat, and a wide knowledge of Oriental countries, 

 languages, and history ; his modesty was as great as his 

 learning was deep. His ready wit and honest straight- 

 forwardness made him a favourite at every Oriental 

 Court, and helped greatly to bring his plans to a suc- 

 cessful issue ; and his fearless bearing and manly love 

 of warlike exercises attracted to him the admiration 

 of the Indian and Persian soldiers who came in 

 contact with him. His tolerance led men, both in 

 the East and in the West, to confide in him, while 

 his natural good-heartedness often made them like 

 him as much as they trusted him. Other English- 

 men have left behind them in the East fame for a certain 

 exploit, or renown as great horsemen, cSrc, but no man 

 was more feared and liked throughout the East than 

 Henry Creswicke Rawlinson. He was a thorough 

 Englishman, and with him English interests were para- 

 mount everywhere ; he never forgot, too, in spite of his 

 gracious bearing to all, that he was a trusted servant of 

 the " Right Honourable John Company Sahib Bahadur." 

 Wherever he went he impressed his personality in a 

 marvellous degree, and an idea of the reputation which 

 he left behind him in Bagdad may be gained from the 

 remark which an old native of that city made to a British 

 merchant some years ago. " Sahib, in the days of 

 Rawlinson Sahib, may God lengthen his life, if you had 

 put an English hat on the head of a dog and sent hint 

 through the bazaar, the Turks would have made way for 

 him and bowed to him on the right and left as he passed, 

 and now they spit on us as they pass us." 



NOTES. 



We are glad to learn that Prof. Huxley is now rapidly 

 recovering from his recent attack of influenza. 



Rei'EREN'CE was made last week to the activity and 

 great development of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and 

 Sciences. Among the most successful of its recent en- 

 terprises must be counted the establishment of a summer 

 school of biology by the sea. The first session was held 

 in July and August 1S90, at Cold Spring Harbour, on 

 the north shore of Long Island, in a building lent by the 

 New York Fish Commissioners. The school annually in- 

 creased in size and importance, and a specially designed 

 laboratory, capable of accommodating fifty students, was last 

 year opened for work in the same locality. The laboratory 

 is well arranged for the purposes of lectures and practical 

 instruction, and possesses private laboratories for investigators, 

 a library, aquaria with running water, both salt and fresh, boats, 

 microscopes — indeed everythiog needed to make profitable a 

 Gjmmer at the sea-shore. It is impossible to over-estimate the 

 advanl.iges which marine laboratories afford for the purpose of 

 biological instruction ; and America may be congratulated 

 upon the successful inauguration of an institution specially 

 adapted to subserve this important end. 



We drew attention a short time ago (Nature, vol. xlix. 

 p. 597) to the fact that the late Sir W. Macleay had willed to 

 his executors the sum of ^^12,000, for the foundation of a chair 

 of Bacteriology in the Sydney University. The terms of the 



