And now the visitor may make his way back to the great entrance-hall of the Museum, where his third visit should close.  In the hall are deposited four colossal specimens of sculpture from Nimroud.  The first of these, to which the visitor should direct his attention, is a colossal figure of a winged human-headed bull, found by Mr. Layard at the portal of a door at Nimroud.  Of the discovery of this marvellous specimen of ancient Assyrian art, Mr. Layard gives a graphic account:—­“I was returning to the mound, when I saw two Arabs urging their mares to the top of their speed.  On approaching me, they stopped.  ‘Hasten, O Bey!’ exclaimed one of them, ’hasten to the diggers; for they have found Nimrod himself.  Wallah! it is wonderful, but it is true! we have seen him with our eyes.  There is no god but God!’ and both joining in this pious exclamation, they galloped off, without further words, in the direction of their tents.  On reaching the ruins I descended into the new trench, and found the workmen, who had already seen me as I approached, standing near a heap of baskets and cloaks.  Whilst Awad advanced and asked for a present to celebrate the occasion, the Arabs withdrew the screen they had hastily constructed, and disclosed an enormous human head, sculptured in full out of the alabaster of the country.  They had uncovered the upper part of a figure, the remainder of which was still buried in the earth.  I saw at once that the head must belong to a winged lion or bull, similar to those of Khorsabad and Persepolis.  It was in admirable preservation.  The expression was calm, yet majestic; and the outline of the features showed a freedom and knowledge of art scarcely to be looked for in works of so remote a period.  I was not surprised that the Arabs had been amazed and terrified at this apparition.  It required no stretch of imagination to conjure up the most strange fancies.  This gigantic head, blanched with age, thus rising from the bowels of the earth, might well have belonged to one of those fearful beings which are pictured in the traditions of the country as appearing to mortals, slowly ascending from the regions below.  One of the workmen, on catching the first glimpse of the monster, had thrown down his basket, and had run off towards Mosul as fast as his legs could carry him.”  The marvellous fidelity and power with which this, and the colossal human-headed bull are executed, must astonish the most uninstructed observer.  For an account of the marvellous labour at the cost of which these colossal Assyrian works were conveyed from Asia Minor to the British Museum, we must refer the reader to Mr. Layard’s excellent condensed account of his researches, published by Mr. Murray.  And with the contemplation of these mysterious monuments of the past, the visitor should close his third visit to the national Museum.