In delicious air, under a warm sun, yet always tempered by a cool breeze, my portion of the task was a pure pleasure. On the other hand, my companions looked fatigued in the evening. When my turn came for work inside the crater, I readily understood the cause. From noon to three o'clock the conditions were most exhausting. The sun flamed above our heads, and the rock reverberated under our feet. Refreshment came when the wind rose, but it was in the nature of a strong draught. On one occasion I let fall a lighted match by accident; it set fire to a whole side of the central hill. Our people and the soldiers cut down branches and made arbours; but, even so, they suffered during the heat of the day. Our cook implored me to move camp, and not deprive his wife and children of their sole support. If only the floating population of the place would allow the little trees to grow into wood! But they need firing more than shade. The shade temperature was never excessive--some 80° to 85°. And the nights were cool, necessitating a double blanket. When we arrived, there still remained a patch or two of last winter's snow within the wide area of the interior. The commanding position, the imposing dimensions, the remarkable preservation of the Nimrud crater cannot fail to arouse the curiosity of the traveller, as he sees it from afar or passes it by. In summer it is a circle of grassy cliffs with a vaulted outline; during winter and autumn, when the higher levels are early robed in snow, it is a startling presence against the sky (see Fig. 145, p. 142). From any point you command but a small portion of the vast circumference, which, measured upon our plan, amounts to 14 1/2 miles. Of unequal height, the edge of the basin is most elevated upon the north, where at two points it attains an altitude of nearly 10,000 feet. It is lowest upon the east and west; in either quarter the outline dips to a level of 8100 feet. But the circle is nowhere broken; the rim of the caldron remains intact, although worn down and, in places, chipped. With two great depressions on either side, the lake of Van (5600 feet) and the plain of Mush (4200 feet), such a presence fills the landscape and engrosses the eye.