ster.]

[Footnote 2: "Twenty kaspu," 140 miles; each kaspu was seven miles, or two
hours' journey.]

[Footnote 3: "Six gars," 120 feet; each gar was a twenty-foot measure.
Khumbaba's walls were thus 120 feet high and forty feet thick--much like
the walls of Babylon.]

[Footnote 4: "Nipur" was one of the cities of Izdubar's kingdom, from
whence he came to the rescue of Erech.]

[Footnote 5: "Man-u-ban-i," a tree or shrub of unpleasant odor mentioned
by Heabani. See Sayce's revised edition Smith's "Chald. Acc. of Genesis,"
p. 254. The fragment translated by Mr. Sayce should be placed in another
position in the epic.]

[Footnote 6: "Amaranti," amaranth. "Immortal amaranth."--"Par. Lost."]

COLUMN III

THE KING WORSHIPS AT THE SHRINE OF ISHTAR

[1]The richest and the poorest here must stay,
Each proud or humble maid must take her way;
To Ishtar's temple grand, a lofty shrine,
With youth and beauty seek her aid divine.
Some drive in covered chariots of gold,
With courtly trains come to the temple old.
With ribbons on their brows all take their seats,
The richer maid of nobles, princes, waits
Within grand chambers for the nobler maids;
The rest all sit within the shrine's arcades.
Thus fill the temple with sweet beauties, crones;
The latest maids are the most timid ones.

In rows the maidens sat along the halls
And vestibules, on couches, where the walls
Were carved with mystic signs of Ishtar's feast;
Till at the inner shrine the carvings ceased.
Amid the crowd long silken cords were strung
To mark the paths, and to the pillows clung.
The King through the great crowd now pressed his way
Toward the inner shrine, where he may pray.
The jewelled maidens on the cushioned seats,
Now babbling hailed the King, and each entreats
For sacred service, silver or of gold,
And to him, all, their sweetest charms unfold.
Some lovely were, in tears besought and cried,
And many would a blooming bride provide;
While others were deformed and homely, old,
As spinsters still remained, till now grown bold,
They raised their bony arms aloft and bawled.
Some hideous were with harshest voices squalled,
And hags like _dal-khi_ from the Under-World,
Their curses deep, growled forth from where they curled.
But these were few and silent soon became,
And hid their ugliness away in shame.
For years some maids had waited day and night,
But beauty hides the ugly ones from sight.

The King astounded, eyed them seated round;
Bene