The letter describing this treasure arrived duly, but the stones did not come. It appears that the caravan bringing them down to Alexandretta, from whence they were to be shipped to Philadelphia, was attacked by robbers, and the sculptured stones were thrown upon the desert as useless, and there they remained for some years. Finally they were recovered, shipped to this country (about twenty-five years ago), and arriving at their destination during the absence of the consignee, were deposited temporarily in a subterranean storeroom at his manufactory. In some way they were overlooked, and here they have remained unopened until they were rediscovered a few days ago; meanwhile the missionary and his friend have both passed away, ignorant of the fact that the rare gift had finally reached its destination and had become again lost. The cuneiform inscription is now being translated by an Assyrian scholar (Rev. Dr. J.P. Peters, of the Divinity School), and its identity is established; it came from the temple of King Assur-nazir-pal, a famous conqueror who reigned from 883 to 859 B.C. The slab was cut into three sections, 3x31/2 feet each, for convenience of transportation, and they have been somewhat broken on the journey; fortunately, however, this does not obliterate the writing. Mr. Tolcott Williams, a son of the late missionary, was present at the meeting of the Society, and gave an interesting account of the classic ground from which the slab was obtained. It was one of a number lining the walls of the palace of Assur-nazir-pal. The inscriptions, as translated by Dr. Peters, indicate that this particular slab was carved during the first portion of this king's reign, and some conception of its great antiquity may be gained when it is stated that he was a contemporary of Ahab and Jehosaphat; he was born not more than a century later than Solomon, and he reigned three centuries before Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon. After the slabs were procured, it was necessary to send them on the backs of camels a journey of eight hundred miles across the Great Desert, through a region which was more or less infested at all seasons with roving bands of robbers. Mr. Williams well remembered the interview between his father and the Arab camel owner, who told several conflicting stories by way of preliminary to the confession of the actual facts, in order to account for the non-arrival of the stones at Alexandretta, the sea coast town from whence they were to be shipped to Philadelphia.