The Sun.
London, England, 1856-08-12 00:00:00

EXCURSION TO CIRENCESTER.

Notwithstanding the gloomy aspect of the weather
nearly 200 ladies and gentlemen started at 9 o'clock by
a special train on the Great Western line for Cheltenham.
The distance by road is about 15 miles, and by rail up
the beautiful Stroud valley more than double the dis-
tance. The objects of inspection at Cirencester were the
Royal Agricultural College and the Rciman remains
which have been discovered here, and for the reception
of which a building has been expressly built by Earl
Bathurst.

The college is an imposing structure, situate about a
mile from the town of Cirencester, and adjoins the
magnificent park and woods of Earl Bathurst. The
principal front is 190 feet long, and it includes a large
dining hall, library, museum, lecture theatre, laborato-
ries, elms rooms, private studies, kitchens, and servants'
offices, with apartments for the resident professors, dor-
mitories, &c. There are about 100 students. The farm
buildings, &c., are of the most modern construction.
The town of Cirencester itself was originally a British
city, called Caer Cori, from its position on the small I
River Corm, now called the Churn. The Roman name
was Corinium ; and, as it stood at the intersection
of the Fusseway with the Ermin and Ikenild-streets I
it became a town of considerable importance, and was
regarded as the capital of the Dobuni. Vestiges of the
Roman vallum and rampart are still visible, and a fine
collection of Roman remains have been excavated, and
are now deposited in a building erected especially
for their reception by BAH Bathurst. These consist
of a beautiful .asselatecl pavement, discovered in the
town of Cirencester itself about six years ago, besides nu.
merous articles of domestic use and ornament, brooches,
armlets, knives, spear heads, steelyards, compasses,
keys, &c., of bronze, of exquisite'workmanship. In ivory
a❑d bone are many curious objects, such as salt spoons,
pins, bodkins, knife-handles, &c., with articles in glass,
as Leads, vases, bottles, &c. There is also a large collec-
tion of pottery, some of which is most elaborately and
elegantly ornamented. Besides these, several sculptured
tombstones, fragments of architecture, &c., and the
private collections of individuals in the neighbourhood,
were for the occasion added to the museum. The rain
ceased about midday, so that the party was enabled to
walk out and enjoy the excursion.

COLONEL MIR U. lINLINSON.S LECTURE.
Last night one of the most gay and brilliant assem-
blages of the learned and fashionab:e ever brought toge-
ther in Cheltenham met at the College to hear Colonel
(late Major) Sir H. Rawlinson lecture on ,Leent disco-
veries in Assyria and Babylonia, with the results of cunei-
form research up to the present time. This was the best-
attended meeting of the series up to this time. Half-past
3 was the hour fixed for the opening of the proceedings,
but before 3 o'clock the room was crowded to the doors.
Sir H. RereiNsox said the subject was one which it
would be impossible t 3 compress in one lecture, and
therefore he would only take up the salient points.
First, he proceeded to explain what cuneiform inscrip-
tions were, and then showed how they were to be deci-
phered. The learned traveller gave a moat interesting
account of his visits to Ecbatana, and his daring and
successful attempts to scale the heights of Basuton, on
which were—in spots supposed to be inaccessible—sets
of inscriptions in Persian, the Medean (as it was called,
though really Scyteien), and the Babylonian characters.
Having got paper c ists of these inscriptions, the next
test was to compare the Persian with the Babylonian
version. He soon found the Babylonian the most
difficult. The writing was not alphabetical, but idio-
graphic. Arbitrary signs were used to express sound.
The number of characters in the Babylonian was 360 or
370, independent of what they had been accustomed
to call idiographic signs. He described the process by
which he had arrived at a knowledge of these ancient
writings, and how coetemporancous research had been
made by Dr. Hinck in Ireland, and by certain conti-
nental literati, who had arrived at the same translation
as himself, thus confirming his views. He then came to
the result. The greatest value of these results of cunei-
form investigation was the particular reference to Scrip-
ture history. Up to the investigation of cuneiform in-
scriptions there had been no means of testing the histori.
cal history of the Scriptures. They found the same
names in the same order, and the events described the
same, but with some difference in colouring, as the As
Syrians were not likely to record their own defeat.
There were three periods of cuneiform character. First,
the Chaldean period ; two, the Assyrian ; and three, the
Babylonian, and he explained the history of each period,
with the kings ruling in each. He also gave an interest-
ing account of his discovery of two cylinders in an anci-
ent building, which cylinders bore inscriptions supposed
to have been written by Nebuchadnezzar (in the cylin-
ders "Nabu-kadun-uzzer''). In conclusion, be pole ted
out the value of these discoveries, through which they
were able to fill up approximately a history of 1,000 or
1,500 years, which before were entirely blank ; an d they
were also enabled to verify Scripture. At a tiw e when
the German school was attacking the authorit y of the
' Scriptures he thought it most fortunate—he 'might al.