182 7. J Varieties* 



6 feet English, and in length. 12 palms, or 

 10-31 feet English measure. The interior is 

 ornamented with paintings ; two children 

 are represented on the roof, flowers and 

 birds on the walls. The structure of the 

 vaulted roof is extremely curious, it being 

 composed of square channels interwoven with 

 great skill. A door which' has been disco- 

 vered, has given rise to a hope, from the 

 manner in which it is placed, that it leads to 

 a suite of chambers and monuments, which 

 may prove worthy of interest. 



Egyptian Mummies. An eminent French 

 chemist, M. Julia Fontenelle, in a discourse, 

 pronounced at the opening of an Egyptian 

 Mummy in the Amphitheatre of the Sorbonne 

 at Paris, has delivered an opinion regarding 

 (he cause of embalming in Egypt, which is 

 worthy of attention : it is, that the Egyp- 

 tians were led to it from physical necessity ; 

 and he supports this opinion by the following 

 reasons. During four months of every year, 

 the inundations of the Nile cover almost en- 

 tirely the whole surface of Egypt which is 

 under cultivation ; it is, therefore, evident, 

 that the villages, towns, and cities, must be 

 placed in elevated situations. Now, if this 

 country be examined at the epoch of its 

 greatest prosperity, under the reign of Sesos- 

 tris, it will be found, that for an extent of 

 territory of about 2,250 square leagues, ac- 



cording to D'Anville, there would be a popu- 

 lation of 0,232 per square league, which 

 would allow in the whole 350,000 deaths per 

 annum, reckoning, as usual, one death to 

 forty living persons. These corpses must be 

 gotten rid of either by burning or by inter- 

 ment ; methods equally impracticable iti 

 Egypt, for they must be buried around the 

 inhabited spots, or in tho^e which were inun- 

 dated by the Nile, and then the decompo- 

 sition of these bodies, it must be evident, in 

 affecting the purity of the air, would have 

 been to the population at large, a source of 

 destruction as to the cremation of the dead, 

 the insufficiency of wood would have ber,ii 

 an insurmountable obstacle. A more avail- 

 able resource was open to the Egyptians- 

 the soil of their beautiful country abounds iti 

 springs of natron (subcarbonate of soda), 

 and as this substance is a perfect antiseptic, 

 the inhabitants were naturally led to pre- 

 serve with it the corpses of the dead. In 

 support of the opinion that sanitary views 

 alone were the cause of embalment down 

 to the third century, before the Christian a?ra, 

 when the practice was abandoned, the pro- 

 fessor observes ihat during the whole of 

 this period, the plague was unknown in 

 Egypt, where, according to the opinion of 

 M. M. Desgenettes and Saverey, it is now 

 endemic. 



WORKS IN THE PRESS, AND NEW PUBLICATIONS. 



WORKS IN PREPARATION. 



The Reasons of the Laws of Moses, from 

 the More Nevochim^of Maimonides, with 

 Notes, Dissertations, and a Life of the Au- 

 thor, by James Townley, D.D. 



The Plea of the Midsummer Fairies, Hero 

 and Leander, Lycus the Centaur, and other 

 Poerns, by T. Hood. 



A Translation of the Life and Writings of 

 the German-Patriot acd^Poet, Koerner, with 

 Engravings. 



A Narrative of the Capture, Detention, 

 and Ransom, of Charles Johnston, of Bo- 

 tetourt County, Virginia, who was made 

 Prisoner by the Indians, on the River Ohio, 

 i the year 1790, is nearly ready. 



Lieut.-Gensral the Marquis of London- 

 derry's Narrative of the late War in Spain 

 aud Portugal, is in the press. 



Dr. Moseley is preparing for publication, 

 a Dictionary of Latin Quantities ; or, Proso- 

 dian's Guide to the different Quantities of 

 every Syllable in the Latin Language ; al- 

 phabetically arranged, with Authorities from 

 the best Poets ; to which is prefixed a Trea- 

 tise on Prosody. 



. Mr. J. . R. Young, Author of an Elemen- 

 tary Treatise on Algebra, will shortly pub- 

 lish Elements of Geometry, containing a 

 New and Universal Treatise on the Doctrine 

 of Proportion, together with Notes ; in which 

 are pointed out and corrected some important 

 errors that have hitherto remained unnoticed 



in the writings of Geometers ; also, an Exa- 

 mination of the various Theories of Parallel 

 Lines, that have been proposed by Legeudre, 

 Bertrand, Ivory, &c. 



A new edition of the Butterfly Collector's 

 Vacb Mecum ; or a Synoptical Table of 

 English Butterflies. With Directions for 

 collecting and preserving them ; the peculiar 

 character of the Eggs, Caterpillars, and 

 Chrysalises of each kind ; and a minute De- 

 scription of each Butterfly, with coloured 

 Plates, is nearly ready. 



A Series of Views in the Isle of Wight, 

 illustrative of its Picturesque Scenery, Na- 

 tural Curiosities, and Seats of Nobility and 

 Gentry, is on the eve of publication, from 

 Drawings made during the last Summer, by 

 Mr. F. Calvert, accompanied with descrip- 

 tions. 



No. III. of Robson's Picturesque Views 

 of English Cities,' '' containing eight En- 

 gravings of Lincoln, York, Canterbury, Ox- 

 ford, Ely, Gloucester, Bath, and Peterbo- 

 rough, will be ready in a few days. 



"The Architectural Antiquities of Nor- 

 mandy ;>' No, IV., to finish that Work, will 

 be published in the ensuing month ; and, at 

 the same time, Mr. Britton announces his 

 intention of giving to the Subscribers a vo- 

 lume of letter-press. 



Now publishing, the History and Antiqui- 

 ties of the Cathedral Church of Peterborough, 

 illustrated by a Series of Engravings of 

 Views, Elevations, Plans, and Architectural 

 N Z 



