RUINS OF PERSEPOLIS. 
7.^ 
I went early in the morning to the ruins, which were situated about 
a mile from my habitation, attended by the stone-cutters. Considering 
the quantity of sculptured remains that had fallen from their original 
positions, and which were spread about the ruins in great profusion, I 
did not hesitate to appropriate such parts of them as seemed the most 
fitting to be sent to England. An engraving of one of the fragments, 
which may serve as a specimen of the style of the whole of the 
sculptures, has been given as a frontispiece to this book. The most 
interesting part of the ruins, in point of sculptured detail, is certainly 
the front of the staircase, which leads to the great hall of columns; 
and here I found many fallen pieces, corresponding to those still erect. 
I caused one large stone to be turned, upon which was sculptured the 
busts of two large figures. It was impossible to carry away the whole 
block, as I had no other mode of conveyance than the backs of mules 
and asses, consequently the two figures were obliged to be separated; 
but unfortunately a vein running across the upper part of the stone, the 
head-dress of one of the figures was broken off in the operation. The 
Persians do not know the use of the saw in stone-cutting, therefore my 
dissections were performed in a very rude manner. I was lucky to find 
the commencement of the arrow-headed inscription, the termination 
of which Le Bruyn has given in his drawings ; so if this character 
should ever be deciphered, we should be in possession of the whole of 
the inscription. I perceived the angle of a block just appearing on the 
surface of the ground opposite to that part of the inscription which is 
now remaining, and concluded it must be the commencement of it: 
it may be imagined how happy I was to find, after the long toil of 
digging it up, that my conclusion was well founded. 
Both Le Bruyn and Chardin have only given one line of figures on the 
left of the staircase ; but as it was evident that in order to complete the 
symmetry there must have been the same number on the left as there 
are on the right, I hired some labourers fi’om the surrounding villages, 
and made them dig. To my great delight, a second row of figures, 
highly preserved, were discovered, the details of whose faces, hair, 
dresses, arms, and general character, seemed but as the work of yester- 
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