and the body being- incased m nitre, grew dry, nothing 

 remaining besides the skin glued upon the bones. For 

 this debcri^ition of the process of embalming we are in- 

 debted to both Heredotus and Diodorus. The former, 

 •who is unquestionably the better authority of the two 

 says, (Book II. Section 85) : — This service is appointed 

 by persons whose art it is to perform tlie process of em- 

 balming as their business. When a dead body is brouglit 

 to them, they show their patterns of mummies in wood, 

 imitated by sculpture, and the most elaborate of these, 

 they say, is one belonging to Osiris ; the second is less 

 costly, and the third is cheapest of all. Having shown 

 these, they enquire in which way the service shall be per- 

 formed, upon which the parties make their agreement 

 and leave the body for preparation. The interior soft 

 parts being removed, both from the Lead and ;.frem the 

 trunk, the cavities are washed with palm wine and 

 fragrant gums, and partly filled up with myrrh, cassia, 

 and other spices. The whole is then steeped in a 

 solution of soda for 70 days, which is the longest 

 time permitted, and then having been washed, the 

 body is rolled up in bandages of cotton cloth, being 

 first smeared with gum in.stead of glue. The relations 

 then receiving the body, procure the case for it in a 

 human shape, and inclose the dead body in it. When 

 thus inclosed. They treasure it up in an appropriate 

 building or apartment, and place it against the wall." 

 This appears to have been the most expensive mode of 

 preparation. In order to avoid such expense for those 

 who prefeired the middle course, the process was 

 simplified by omitting the actual removal of the interior 

 parts, and introducing a con'osive liquid to melt them 

 down ; the soda, which was generally introduced, thus 

 consumes the flesh so that skin and bone are only re- 

 maining when the body is returned to the friends. The 

 third and the most simple process was merely to cleanse 

 the body well both within and without, by means of 

 some vegetable preparations, and keep it in the alkaline 

 solutions for seventy days, without any other pre- 

 cautions. Embalming also appears to have been per- 

 formed by means of a species of pitch, which was 

 poured into the trunk of the body in a liquid state, 

 through an aperture made on purpose in the right : 

 side, but this has been lately considered as apocryphal. 

 The bandaging to which all the Egyptian mummies 

 •w^re subjected, appears to be one of the most remark- [ 

 able parts of the process. The envelopes are composed 



