The Microscope. Ill 



daily for two months is a long time to decide the fibre of an old 

 rag ! Remembering that the Egyptian method of embalming is 

 to a great extent a lost art, let him take a piece of this cloth, 

 some of which is as brittle as ^w inch cover glass, and treat it 

 with different solvents till in a condition for teazing, being ever 

 guarded not to vitiate structure b}!- these solvents, and perhaps 

 he will find himself in a fog at the expiration of twice two 

 months ; a good lesson about carefulness in " little things." 



As a relief to the pressure of the past two months, and they 

 have been hot ones, I have occasionally written a so-called non- 

 sensical letter to some microscopical brother or sister, the replies 

 to which have been far from nonsensical although containing 

 some facetiae. I violate no microscopical or social confidence in 

 <luoting from one very pleasantly written reply, as follows : • 



" That mummy business interests me exceedingly. Where 

 did you get him and what in the world are you learning from 

 him ? Can he throw any light upon the building of the 

 Great Pyramid ? Are there any epithelial or endothelial cells 

 still recognizable. Any traces of protoplasm or blood corpus- 

 cles? What did he die of? Remember the story of the grain 

 of wheat found in a mummy case that sprouted and grew ; and 

 beware of the disease germ." 



" How strange to find those pictures of which you write. Are 

 they crystalline ? What was next the slide in the microscope 

 box? — No, I am not superstitious, yet I believe I had just a 

 little rather see the new moon over my right shoulder. If there 

 is any supernatural manifestation there, depend upon it the 

 mummy is at the bottom of it, or had a hand therein. Now re- 

 member, my advice is don't get on too familiar terms with that 

 old party." 



The pictures referred to had their origin in two or three minute 

 drops of an aniline solution used in coloring the sherbet that 

 caused the death of Miss D' Homecourt of New Orleans. Such 

 was the chemical and legal decision. I was in no way connected 

 with the case, but for my own edification made a microscopical 

 examination of the dried aniline solution, to see if there was suf- 

 ficient of the arsenious acid to be revealed by the microscope. 

 There was an abundance of minute crystals, in form and size 

 apparently identical with those from a dried solution of pure 

 arsenious acid. Although willing to swear to the identity of some 



