17 



liable to decay, But which, believing that it would be wanted 

 some day, they took such care to preserve ; then there was tht- 

 spiritual body, which was lasting and incorruptible ; and thirdly, 

 there was the heart, which was the seat of the pciwer of life, and 

 the fountain of good and evil thoughts. Besides these somewhat 

 corporeal elements were others less tangible. There was the 

 myterious Ka, or double, supposed to be the vital principle. It 

 was believed that it could not exist by itself, and hence wen+ 

 made the statuettes found so numerously in tombs. The idefi. 

 was a curious one, namely, that the Ka stretched itself around 

 these images, which were made like the dead person, in the same 

 way that a glove fits to the hand. The Ka did not stay always 

 in the tomb, but had the power of going out, through a mock 

 door painted or carved in the wall. A significance was also given 

 to the soul ; to the shadow ; to the Khu, or intelligence, or "the 

 shining," a kind of halo that was supposed to emanate from the 

 person ; to the form ; and even to the name. As to the future of 

 the soul, the " Book of the Dead," some of which went back in 

 age to the first dynasty, gave long details of the passage through 

 the dim regions of the dead, guarded with animal-headed deities, 

 the dread ordeals, the weighing in the balances, and the final 

 judgment. For the good soul, it was promised that it should 

 exist for "millions and millions of years," "in heaven by the side 

 of God in the most holy place," and texts were found such as 

 " My soul is God, my soul is eternity," or " Soul to heaven, body 

 to earth." In conclusion, Mr. Wallis said that Egypt had had 

 the greatest of influence upon the world ; an influence that, in 

 many channels, had come down to us, and remained with us at 

 the present day. 



THURSDAY, MARCH 24th. 



LECTURE IN THE DOME 



BY 



Mr. F. COURTENEY SELOUS, 



ON 



TRAVEL AND ADVENTURE IN SOUTH 

 AFRICA 



(With Lantern Illustrations). 



This lecture, it was explained by Mr. J. P. Slingsby 

 Roberts, in introducing Mr. Selous, was one of a series by which 



B 



