456 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. XVI. 



which were of so inferior a kind as not to imitate 

 the figure of a man. For we know that the second 

 class of mummies were put up in the same form of 

 Osiris; and if it was not so with the cheapest kind, 

 this was in consequence of their being merely 

 wrapped in cloths or matting, and assuming no 

 shape beyond that of a bandaged body.* 



Secondly. It is evident from the mummies which 

 have been found in such abundance at Thebes and 

 other places, that in the three different modes 

 of embalming several gradations existed ; some of 

 which differ so much in many essential points as 

 almost to justify our extending the number men- 

 tioned by the historians, as will be seen from what 

 I shall hereafter state respecting the various modes 

 ascertained from the bodies themselves. I may 

 also refer for this subject to Mr. Pettigrew's 

 valuable work on the History of the Egyptian 

 Mummies. 



Thirdly. The extraction of the brain by the 

 nostrils is proved by the appearance of the mimi- 

 mies found in the tombs; and some of the crooked 

 instruments (always of bronze) supposed to have 

 been used for this purpose have been discovered 

 at Thebes. 



Fourthly. The incision in the side is, as Dio- 

 dorus says, on the left. Over it the sacred eye of 

 Osiris (?) was placed, and through it the viscera were 

 returned wlien hot deposited in the four vases. 



Fifthly. The second class of mummies without 

 any incision in the side are often found in the 



* He perhaps had in view those oiil\ which h;ul a carlo!ia"-L'. 



