The Newtown bee., 1892-07-29

gloves are worn to this day by the peo- l pie in parts of the region which they in- habited.
 The first purchase of land mentioned in history was made by Abraham, who, according to the Bible, bought a bit of ground for cemetery at Hebron from 1 the ssson of Heth''-i. e., the HittItes. It is interesting to know that at so remote d period silver was employed a" currency the cash equivalent given being 400 shekels of that metal-and that it was weighed out in a balance. A notion of the geographical extent of the country occupied by this nation, which WAS for a long time ahead of it's Assyrian and 1 Egyptian neighbors in the arts of war and peace, is obtained from the fact that in the Assyrian inscriptions alone ment- ion is made of not less than 300 Hittite geographical names. Yet this great empire of the past has been historically l ignored until lately, and it is only since 1870 that scholars have atte mpted to de- cipher the strange hieroglyphs left be- hind as its only surviving memorials.
 The shock of each Egyptian invasion of the Hittite country seems to have ex- hausted itself against the frontier cities of Kadesh and Carchemish. The latter place was on the Euphrates and isnow known as Jerablus, 40 miles to the north- east of Aleppo. But the empire of these hereditary foes extended over the broad plains and highlands of Asia Minor, and there were always fresh Hittite armies and abundance of Hittite wealth to enable this wonderful and highly civilized nat ion of antiquity to withstand the might of the Pharaohs for a thousand years. It is noticeable that the Egyptian in- scriptions refer to the gods of the Hit tites with respect.
 The Hittite religion was apparently drawn from Babylon and some of their deities were worshiped with abominable rites, young girls being devoted to wick edness in the name of certain divinities, while devotees surrendered their children in flames to Baal, the screams of the innocents being drowned with trumpets and drums. Sculptured and pictured representations of the priestesses who served at the shrines of the goddess of war and love, Astargatis, bearing double headed axes, shields and bows, are sup posed to have given rise to the Greek } myths describing female warriors of } the East, called Amazons.
 The inscriptions left behind by the As- syrians show that they also were con- tinually at war with this martial people. After the struggle for supremacy be- tween the great nations had continued for 300 years, the Hittites in 1130 B. c. were still paramount from the Euphrates to Lebanon. From that time up to near the end of eighth century before Christ, the Assylian kings were kept busy with repeated campaigns against the Hittites, who appear never to have known when they were whipped. Year after year, according to the records written in im- perishable stone by the Assyrians them selves, the latter were obliged to renew E the war, capturing the same cities again and again, only to relinquish them for lack of power to maintain their cOnquests. But the empire which had for so long a time successfully fought against such powerful neighbors, maintaining itself upon an equality with them, was at last on the verge of final dissolution. In l72l B. C., the Assyrian king Sargon came to the throne and, four years later, the long conflict was brought to an end by the overthrow of the Hittites at their eastern capital, Carchemish. Thus fell the mighty nation which had supported existence for period of longer duration than the empires of Babylon or Assyria, Greece or Rome.
 What has been ascertained from these outside sources of the history of this re- markable people is sufficient to make the world eager to learn their account of themselves, doubtless very fully given by the sculptured and painted inseript- ions which they have left behind them in great numbers. Such memorials of the Hittites are scattered all over Asia Minor. Many, either the originals or reproductions, are now in the possess ion of museums and other scientific in- stitutions. It has only remained to dis cover the key for deciphering them and it is to be hoped that the news of the discovery of this long sought secret will prove to be correct. There is no doubt that much of the art which until recent ly was attributed to the Assyrians is ac-- tually of Hittite origin. MT Gladstone, not very long ago. pointed out the fact until then unknown. that there is to be found in Homer a reference to the Hit tites. They are mentioned all through the Old Testament. King David and King Solomon are both spoken of as hav- ing taken Hittite wives, in Huh chapter of the first book of Kings; it is record ed on the same authority that Solomon imported horses from Egypt and sold them to the Hittites and Assyrians. It is rather curious to observe that the pat- terms of the priests dresses on the Hit tite monuments are in fashion to this day in Cappadocia--[Rene Bache, in I Hartford Times.