Herr H. V. Hilprecht is Professor of Assyriology in the University ofPennsylvania. That university had despatched an expedition to explorethe ruins of Babylon, and sketches of the objects discovered had beensent home. Among these were drawings of two small fragments of agate,inscribed with characters. One Saturday night in March, 1893,Professor Hilprecht had wearied himself with puzzling over these twofragments, which were supposed to be broken pieces of finger-rings.He was inclined, from the nature of the characters, to date them about1700-1140 B.C.; and as the first character of the third line of thefirst fragment seemed to read KU, he guessed that it might stand forKurigalzu, a king of that name.About midnight the professor went, weary and perplexed, to bed."Then I dreamed the following remarkable dream. A tall thin priest ofthe old pre-Christian Nippur, about forty years of age, and clad in asimple abba, led me to the treasure-chamber of the temple, on itssouth-east side. He went with me into a small low-ceiled room withoutwindows, in which there was a large wooden chest, while scraps ofagate and lapis lazuli lay scattered on the floor. Here he addressedme as follows:--"'The two fragments, which you have published separately upon pages 22and 26, _belong together_'" (this amazing Assyrian priest spokeAmerican!). {20} "'They are not finger-rings, and their history is asfollows:--"'King Kurigalzu (about 1300 B.C.) once sent to the temple of Bel,among other articles of agate and lapis lazuli, an inscribed votivecylinder of agate. Then the priests suddenly received the command tomake for the statue of the god Nibib a pair of ear-rings of agate. Wewere in great dismay, since there was no agate as raw material athand. In order to execute the command there was nothing for us to dobut cut the votive cylinder in three parts, thus making three rings,each of which contained a portion of the original inscription. Thefirst two rings served as ear-rings for the statue of the god; the twofragments which have given you so much trouble are parts of them. Ifyou will put the two together, you will have confirmation of my words.But the third ring you have not found yet, and you never will findit.'"The professor awoke, bounded out of bed, as Mrs. Hilprecht testifies,and was heard crying from his study, "It is so, it is so!" Mrs.Hilprecht followed her lord, "and satisfied myself in the midnighthour as to the outcome of his most interesting dream".The professor, however, says that he awoke, told his wife the dream,and verified it next day. Both statements are correct. There weretwo sets of drawings, one in the study (used that night) one used nextday in the University Library.The inscription ran thus, the missing fragment being restored, "byanalogy from many similar inscriptions":--
