It was correctly supposed that the other two columns contained translations of the same Persian text; and the knowledge now acquired of the latter could not but afford an invaluable key to unlock the difficulties of the others. The decipherment of the inscriptions in the second column was attended by even less interest than the first. The language was ascertained to be Scythic, but nothing was found written in it except what was already known from the Persian. It, however, gave rise to a very heated controversy as to who the people were by whom it was spoken, which for a time enlivened an otherwise extremely dull subject. The decipherment of the third column, however, at length led to very important consequences that amply compensated for all previous disappointments. It was clearly recognised that the writing closely resembled inscriptions found on bricks that had been picked up from time to time on the site of Babylon; and hence the third column received, even in the beginning of the inquiry, the distinctive name of the ‘Babylonian Column.’ Only very few specimens of these unilingual inscriptions in the Babylonian character were collected during the first half of the century, and no progress was made in their decipherment. Meanwhile, however, the study of the third column proceeded with the help of the Persian key; and at length the energy of scholars was stimulated by the sudden discovery in Assyria of multitudes of unilingual inscriptions written in a very similar character to that of the Babylonian and the third column. M. Botta began his excavations at Khorsabad, in 1843, and Mr. Layard at Nineveh, in 1845-6, and from that period there was no lack of material. The walls, and even the floors, of the newly discovered palaces were covered with long inscriptions which were afterwards found to record the great achievements of their Royal founders. But of far greater interest and importance than these were the numerous inscribed tablets found in what was called the Library of Assurbanipal. The first stage in the progress of this branch of the subject was reached in 1852, when Major Rawlinson published a complete transliteration and translation of the third column of the Behistun inscription, followed soon afterwards by translations of a few of the unilingual inscriptions recently found. The mastery he had obtained of the language of the third column by means of the Persian key enabled him at length to dispense with its assistance, and to pass on to the unilingual inscriptions where he had no such guide. He found that the language belonged to the Semitic family, and it came as a surprise to the learned world of that day to learn that the polytheistic nations of the Euphrates Valley spoke a kindred language to the Hebrew, and belonged presumably to a kindred race. It was thus shown that the three languages of the Persian inscriptions were representatives, of the Aryan, Turanian and Semitic families. The