| ALTHOUGH
the early history of Assyria is
obscure, the artistic genius and
wonderful ingenuity of this
people, developed a civilization
second to no contemporary one. In
architecture and as sculptors,
engravers and designers they were
especially pre-eminent. The
ancient cities of Nineveh and
Babylon also attest the luxury to
which the wealthy of this people
became accustomed To acquire and
maintain such supremacy, the
Assyrians must have been a brave
and warlike people. They were
endowed with many other virtues
distinctive of a noble nation.
The
chariot was both a vehicle of war
and of hunting. It led the van of
battle and through its aid only
it became possible to follow the
larger game of the Assyrian
forests. The dextrous hand of the
charioteer guided the noble
steeds, and the unerring aim of
the warrior or huntsman laid low
the quarry which he pursued.
The
Tug-of-War, so popular in our
athletic games to-day, was often
practised by the Assyrians. The
opposing sides, evenly matched,
took equal hold of the rope of
contention, and the side which
gained a length on the other and
retained it, was pronounced the
winner.
The
bow and arrow was the especial
weapon of the Assyrian soldier.
These were no holiday playthings,
but the bow was often nearly of
the stature of the man who
wielded it. Formidable indeed was
the arrow which sped from the bow
of one of these doughty warriors.
Leap-frog,
still so popular to-day, was one
of the primitive games Assyrian
children indulged in.
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here.