Then built I accordingly the ship, and provided it with the means of sustenance. I divided its interior into . divisions, I looked to the joints, and filled them up, three sars of pitch I poured over its outer side, three sars of pitch over its inner side.

The last paragraph is given in Professor Haupt's lecture, but does not, for some reason or other, appear in his excursus to Professor Schrader's work.

I sailed through the sea lamenting, that the dwelling-places of men were turned into slime; like trunks of trees floated the corpses about.. A crevice I had opened and as the light of day fell upon my countenance, then I quivered (All that I had) I brought together; all that all through and sat myself down.weeping, over I had in silver I brought together; all that I my countenance flowed my tears. I sailed had in gold I brought together, all that I had through the lands (now) a fearful sea, then of living seed (I brought together), and all this emerged a piece of land twelve measures high. I brought upon the ship; all my male and Towards the land of Nizir [which probably female domestics, the cattle of the field, the means deliverance"] steered the ship. The wild beast of the field, also all my relations I mountain of the land Nizir held the ship fast, let embark. As now the sun brought on the and let it no more loose. On the first, on the appointed time, then spake a voice (?) in the second day the mountain of Nizir held the ship evening will the heavens rain destruction, enter fast etc., (also) on the 3rd and 4th day the into the int(erior) of the ship, and shut thy mountain of Nizir held etc., (also) on the 5th door. The appointed time has arrived, spake and 6th day the mountain of Nizir, etc. At the voice (?) in the evening will the heavens the breaking of the 7th day, I took a dove out rain destruction. With terror I looked to the and let her fly. The dove flew here and there, going down of the sun on (this) day (?), the day but there was no resting-place there, therefore (which) for the embarkation (was appointed), she returned again back. Then took I a fear had I, (yet) I stepped into the interior of swallow out and let her fly. The swallow flew the ship and shut my door (behind me), in here and there; but as there was no restingorder to close up the ship. To the Buzurkur-place so she returned again back. Then took gal, the steersman, I gave over the great erec-I a raven out and let it fly. The raven flew tion together with its cargo.

Then Mû-shêri-ina-namari [water of the morning redness at day-break?] erected itself from the bottom of the heaven, a dark cloud, in whose midst Ramân let his thunder crash, while Nebo and Sêrru rushed loose upon one another, the throne-bearers strode over mountain and valley. The mighty Pestilence-god unchained the whirlwinds, Adar let the canals ceaselessly overflow, the Anunnaki [the gods of the great subterranean water] brought floods, the earth they caused to tremble through their power, Ramân's billows-swell reached even up to the heaven; all light lapsed into (darkness). the earth they devastated as . . . they carried on thereby war against men. The brother looked not any more after his brother, men concerned themselves no more about one another. In heaven the gods feared themselves before the deluge, and sought refuge, they ascended up to the heaven of the god Anu. As a dog upon his bed, the gods cowered down together on the lattice of the heaven.

Ishtar screamed like a woman in travail, there cried the sublime goddess with loud voice. (Everything) is turned into slime, which I have announced before the gods as an (impending) calamity. Therefore have I before the gods announced the calamity, the war of annihilation against my men have I announced.

away, and as it saw that the water was falling it came again near (the ship), as it waded cautiously (?) (through the water), but it did not return back again. Then let I (all) out to the four winds, a sacrifice I offered. I erected here an altar upon the height of the summit of the mountain, even seven Adagur-vessels [ie vessels containing each a seah, 2.5 gallons] I set up, under them I spread calamus, cedarwood and riggir. The gods inhaled the savor, the gods inhaled the sweet-smelling savor, like flies the gods collected themselves over the offerer.

When the goddess Ishtar came up, she lifted up on high the great bows (?) which Anu had made according these gods. By the jewels of my neck! (said she) I will not forget these days, I will think (of them) and they shall not be forgotten forever. The gods may come to the altar, Bêl (only) shall not come to the altar, because he has acted inconsiderately, and has caused the deluge, and has given over my men to destruction.

When the god Bêl came up and saw the ship, he stopped, full of anger (?) was he filled against the gods and the Igigi [the spirits of the heaven]: "What soul has then escaped! No man shall remain alive in the destruction.' Then opened Adur his mouth and spake, he said to the warlike Bêl, "Who except Ea (can)

have known the matter? Ea knew (thereof) | spoken of in the two narratives. But we and has informed him of all !" rather refer to the fact that no mention Then opened Ea his mouth and spake, he whatever occurs in the Babylonian narrasaid to the warlike Bêl: "Thou art the war-tive of "the covenant" made after the like leader of the gods, (but) wherefore, wherefore hast thou acted so unconsiderately and caused the deluge? Upon the sinner let his sins fall, upon the wicked let (his) wickedness fall. Be thou entreated, that he may not be destroyed, be gracious, that he may not In place of again causing a deluge, let lions come and diminish mankind; in place of again causing a deluge, let hyenas come and diminish mankind; in place of again causing a deluge, let a famine occur, and (depopulate) the land; instead of again causing a deluge, let the Pestilence-god come and diminish mankind! I have not communicated (to him) the determination of the great gods, a dream (only) I sent to Adra-hasis and he understood the determination of the gods.

The meaning of this clause is, as Professor Haupt has noted, that Adra-hasis possessed by his piety the gift of understanding dreams. Had he been a godless man he could not have understood the dream aright, or known of the coming Deluge.

Deluge, which forms so important a feature in the Mosaic narrative. Dr. George Smith, in his Chaldæan Genesis, p. 272 (or p. 228 of the German edition edited by Professor Fried. Delitzsch), does, indeed, make the Babylonian tablet speak of "a covenant" established by Bêl with Hasisadra, though no particulars of that covenant are related. But in the more correct translation of that clause, as given by Professor Haupt, the word " covenant utterly disappears.

As no mention is made in the cuneiform inscriptions of the covenant narrated in the account in Genesis, so likewise, as might consequently be expected, no allusion is made in the former to the story of the rainbow being constituted as the sign and symbol of that covenant. That interesting episode of the Book of Genesis entirely disappears. In place, however, of the covenant with Noah, the Babylonian account presents us with the striking expostulation of Ea, the god of wisdom, with Bêl, in which he recommends Bêl not to destroy the human race again in such a wanton manner.

Then came Bêl to reason, he stepped up into the interior of the ship, seized my hand and lifted me up, lifted up also my wife, and put her hand in mine, turned himself to us, stepped between us and blessed us: "Hitherto was This omission in the Babylonian narraShamash-napishti [the sun of life] a man, now, tive is important, especially when taken however, shall Shamash-napishti and his wife in connection with the fact that that nartogether be raised to the gods. Shamash-rative makes mention of the sacrifice ofnapishti shall dwell in the far land at the mouth of the streams!" Then they took me and translated me into the far land at the mouth of the streams.

Here closes the episode of the Deluge in the Nimrod epic.

Several very interesting questions arise in reference to the foregoing narrative, some of which may here in conclusion be glanced at.

In the first place the similarity of the phraseology used in many parts of the Babylonian account with the narrative of the Book of Genesis is most striking. We may instance the word used for the Deluge in both narratives, the description given of the characters of the Adra-hasis and Noah, the expression used with respect to the destruction of all flesh, and phrases such as the cattle of the field and the wild beast of the field.

But the two narratives present most striking differences. We do not here so much refer to the polytheism of the one, and the monotheism which characterizes the other narrative, or even the very different manner in which the sin of man is

fered up after the Deluge, and of the gods smelling the sweet savor thereof, in terms almost identical with the Book of Genesis, though the spirit of the two narratives is singularly dissimilar.

It will be admitted by all that the two differing accounts are by no means independent of one other. But the differences between them are too striking to permit us to believe that either narrative was directly copied from the other.

In several places the cuneiform narrative throws, however, new light upon that in the Book of Genesis. For example, the statement in Gen. vi. 16, about the "window" of the ark, has always presented a difficulty. One window would plainly have been inadequate to give light to such a structure, and, still more, a window of such a diminutive size. To meet this objection, the Hebrew word sohar, has been usually regarded as a collective noun; and inasmuch as it is actually treated in the passage as feminine, this latter fact has been regarded as deci sively in favor of that explanation. Not a little, too, can be said in its defence.

Thus also the translation of Adra-hasis is only another version of the story of the translation of Enoch. The Babylonian narrative seems to have confused the two, which are kept apart in the Book of Genesis. Was this confusion caused by the fact that the length of Enoch's earthly existence was three hundred and sixtyfive years? We have seen already that a solar myth is the basis of the Nimrod epic. CHARLES H. H. WRIGHT.

But inasmuch as in the corresponding | the narrative of the Book of Genesis in passage in the Babylonian account dis- this and many other points is strongly in tinct mention is made of the ship being favor of the greater antiquity of its narcovered with "a deck," it now appears rative. highly probable that sohar, in Gen. vi. 16, ought not to be regarded as identical with "the window" spoken of in Gen. viii. 6, but ought to be translated "deck" or "roof." The word occurs in the singular nowhere else in Hebrew, and it has probably been incorrectly viewed as connected with the dual noun in Hebrew, which signifies "midday." The view of Schultens, Dathe, and, later on, of Rosenmüller and Ewald, is thus strikingly confirmed that the word in question ought to be regarded as identical in meaning with the corresponding Arabic word, which signifies "a roof." The statement in the Book of Genesis would consequently mean that the roof over the ark was to terminate in a narrow ridge, only BY MRS. PARR, AUTHOR OF "ADAM AND EVE.' one-fiftieth part of the width of the entire ark.

From Temple Bar.

ROBIN.

CHAPTER V.

"Written with tears in heart's close-bleeding book." DURING the month which followed Jack Dorian's departure, several letters had come from him-three in the first fortnight, and after the lapse of a week another which still waited a reply. Strangely enough Robin, who during any of Jack's former absences had been ready on the slightest provocation to plunge into a correspondence with him, now shirked writ ing-seemed to regard answering his letters as a task of which, seeing she had much to occupy her, her father might well relieve her.

But this incidentally tells in favor of the higher antiquity of the narrative as related in the book of Genesis. The cuneiform inscriptions speak distinctly of the building of "a ship." Bint êlippa "build a ship," is the Assyrian phrase. The Assyrian word elippa is identical with the word for "ship" commonly used in Chaldee and Syriac. Moreover, the Babylonian account speaks of "a steersman" being required for the navigation ot his "ship," and of the ship "sailing." In contrast thereto the book of Genesis only speaks of an ark, or coffer, or huge chest. The word used in Genesis, "All right then, I'll set about it to-mortebhah (connected with the Egyptian teb, row," Mr. Veriker would reply-to-morcoffer, sarcophagus, tebh, a vase), is only row was always Mr. Veriker's time for used in Biblical literature in reference to doing anything he had to do- and the the ark of Noah, and to the ark of bul-morrow come, Robin, who by some intuirushes, in which the infant Moses was tion always seemed to discover that the placed. It has not yet been discovered thing had not been done, would say, a in the cuneiform inscriptions (see Fried. trifle sharply, Delitzsch's edit. of Smith's Chald. Genesis, p. 321). The corresponding Arabic word, derived in all probability from the Hebrew, is commonly used in the signification of a box, coffin, and as the chest, bosom. The book of Genesis does not speak of the ark as sailing, or of a steersman being required. It was simply designed to float, and nothing more. That floating chest seems to have terminated above in a narrow ridge somewhat in the form of The idea of the building of a ship must have been necessarily a later idea than that of the construction of a mere floating ark, and the simplicity of

"If you don't write soon, dear, you may as well give up writing altogether. Jack will have left the place he was at, and the letter won't reach him."

"Then like a good girl sit down and write the letter yourself; then it will be done without any more delay."

But no; in this Robin would not be persuaded. She had something to make, something to mend, something which would occupy her time too fully to leave any leisure for writing to Jack.

She did not say that since he had left them she had commenced a hundred letters to him; each one torn up, and scat

Unluckily, too, situated as they were just now, there was nothing in her life to distract her. The bathing season over, the Italians whom they had known were Christopher Blunt," she said at length. gone away, and among the many travel-"Christopher Blunt," she repeated dreamTers who came there was no one whom ily. "Who is Christopher Blunt, papa? they knew. I never heard the name."