Now rested from the cushioned seats we rise
And to the stairway turn again our eyes;
The fourth stage plated o'er with beaten gold
We pass, and topaz fifth till we behold
The sixth of azure blue; to seventh glide,
That glows with silvery summit where reside
The gods, within a shrine of silvery sheen
Which brightly glows, and from afar is seen.
Without the temple, burnished silver shines;
Within, pure gold and gems in rare designs.

[Footnote 1: "Assur Samas and Merodac" ("Unto the king, my lord, may they
be propitious!"), the response of the priest to the prayer.]

[Footnote 2: See "Records of the Past," vol. xi. p. 63. These oracles seem
to be formulas which are filled in with the monarch's name, and may apply
to any king.]



COLUMN V

EXPEDITION AGAINST KHUMBABA, AND BATTLE IN THE BLACK FOREST


At early dawn the shining ranks are massed,
And Erech echoes with the trumpet's blast;
The chosen men of Erech are in line,
And Ishtar in her car above doth shine.
The blazing standards high with shouts are raised,