The weekly Shasta courier., 1873-11-08
Egyptian and Assyrian Inscriptions.
II has heen known for centuries thai

1t has been known for centuries that
multitudinous inscriptions, in an un-
known language, existed throughout
Egypt; but what historical and literary
wonders lay hidden within these symbol
ical characters no one could conjecture,
until the fortunate finding of the Roset-
ia stone furnished the key to the mys-
terry. 1t has already been mentioned in
these pages that the value of this cele-
brated stone-discovered during the
French occupation of Egypt-lay in its
being engraved with an inscription In
three characters, these being the two
Egyptian modes of writing and the
Greek tongue. The latter furnished the
clue to the former, and served, under
the persevering labors of Young in Eng
land, and Champollion in France, for
the revealment of the well-kept secret of
the hieroglyphics.
The remains of Assyrian literature
were utterly unknown until within the
present century, when Layard dug into
the ruins of the palaces of Nineveh, and
under the clay mounds, which alone re-
mained of great city of the past, dis
covered the libraries and art galleries of
the Assyrian emperors. These, however
were-like the Egyptian-sacred mys-
teries, sealed from the curious brains of
modern scientists in an unknown Ian
guage, written in peculiar, wedge-shap-
ed characters. But this secret, like that
of the Egyptians, had its Rosetta stone.
= The cuneiform characters, as these
wedge-shaped letters are called, were
used alike by the Assyrians, the Medes,
H.
of Persia, desirous that all futurity
should know the glorious doings of his
reign, caused the face of mountain to
be leveled and smoothed, and on this
magnificent page the record of his ex-
ploits was written, in characters which
all the wear of time and tempest has
failed to erase. That all civilized men
might read what the great Darius had
done, this inscription was made three
fold, being written in the separate Ian
guages and characters of Media, Persia,
and Assyria. If the King of the Persians
has failed to raise himself into high hon
or by this history of his exploits, he has
at least earned the gratitude of philolo-
gists, for-the Persian tongue being
known-this inscription at Behistun has
served as the key by which has been un-
locked the treasures of Assyrian litera-
ture, through the persistent labors of
Sir Henry Rawlinson, Mr.. Jules Oppert,
and others.
These remains of ancient writing Law,
until very lately, unread in the British
Museum, as Layard had presented them
but they are now being rapidly translat-
ed, with some very interesting and un-
expected results.-C. Norris IN To day.
A WOLF BoY-An interesting child.
remarks the Pail Mall Gazette, has late
ly made his appearance at Lucknow
6 a novelty in the shape of a wolf boy"
This young gentleman, who is now un-
dergoing process of tanning in luna
tic asylum, was, it is said, carried off by
wolves when an infant, and has remain
ed with them until a short time ago,
when caught and recognized by its pa
rents. His family, however, can hardly
be congratulated on his restoration to
their bosom, for his education in the
wolf nursery (which, by the way, was
purely secular) seems to have been very
defective. His manners are not only
disagreeable, but peculiar. At first he
walked on all fours, though now he has
been induced to walk on his two feet
only, like reasonable being; he has
long hair on his head, and his body is
much SCARED, and he cannot speak, nor
can he understand a single word His
parents suffered much inconvenience on
his first arrival at home, owing to his
frequently attacking and trying to de-
YOUR them by night; and, indeed, it was
owing to his persistence in this unflial
conduct that they were compelled, in
self-defense, to place him under medical
surveillance. He also, among other dis
agreeable habits, tears raw meat to piec-
es with his teeth, and eats it ravenously
like wild beast, and, moreover, bites
and snaps at any one who attempts to
touch him