282 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER 



My aunt smiled, and then added : "To form 

 those little bulrush vessels that are alluded to in 

 the Bible and elsewhere, the papyrus was made 

 up in bundles, and by tying these bundles to- 

 gether, and placing a piece of timber at the 

 bottom to serve as a keel, they gave their vessels 

 the necessary shape. Several ancient writers 

 describe them ; Lucan speaks of the Memphian 

 or Egyptian boat, made of the thirsty papyrus ; 

 which corresponds exactly with the nature of the 

 plant, as well as with its Hebrew name, which 

 signifies, to drink or soak up. 



" This plant requires so much water that it 

 perishes when the river on whose banks it grows 

 is much reduced ; and it is for that reason that 

 Job mentions it as the image of transient pro- 

 sperity." 



. My uncle has returned, to the joy of 

 the whole family ; he looks a little tired, but 

 seems rejoiced to be at home. He has seen 

 numbers of curious things, and has already told 

 us some of them. 



One thing that he mentioned was very inter- 

 esting to me ; he met a gentleman who had 

 lately arrived from our southern regions, and who 

 had seen that wonderful luminous creature of 

 those seas which I mentioned to you in my 

 journal when on board the Phaeton. Ac- 

 cording to this gentleman's account, each of 



