That was how far the trust of the Museum went! Layard felt he had to pinch and scrape because the fine gentlemen in London were worried that he might squander their money. Hawkins also explained that all the finds from the first expedition now were in the Museum, except for the great lion and bull which continued to wait at Basra. Everything was causing great interest, but, as he added in a postscript to the letter: 'It is your own book which has done every thing for you, the greatest assistance I have been to you was instigating you to write it'. He also

wanted more finds as soon as possible, and preferably some gold! Hawkins felt that there must be a great chance of finding treasures which had been buried in the days before the final fall of Nineveh.