Egyptian mummies. 305 
indeed been surmised by some of the modern writers on the 
subject ; but in none of them have I been able to find a cor- 
roborating proof of the correctness of such a surmise. The 
examination of my mummy has afforded me that proof, in 
the shape of ?i JifthfacL, namely, the thoroughly impregna- 
ted state of the bones, membranes, and muscles, in every part 
of the body, by the same waxy and bituminous substance. 
The inspection of the bones of the pelvis, of those of the 
thighs, and of the vertebrae, as well as of some of the mus- 
cles, and membranes, to be submitted to the Society, will 
shew this abundantly. Now such a condition of the parts 
could not have been produced, but by maceration or immer- 
sion, for a length of time, of the whole body, into a liquefied 
mixture of those two ingredients ; accordingly we must 
conclude that such a process was actually followed by the 
embalmers ; unless we feel disposed to believe that they in- 
jected the body through the blood-vessels ; an operation of 
which there is not the most distant evidence in the mummy 
before us. 
The adoption of my view on this point, is farther authorized 
by the soft and pliant condition of the capsular membranes, 
of the cellular texture, and above all, of the two coverings of 
the spinal marrow, than which nothing can be more beauti- 
ful or striking ; whether we admire their perfect preservation, 
or reflect on the number of centuries through which these 
delicate tissues have travelled. I have already noticed to the 
Society the flexibility of the joints, a circumstance whicli is 
entirely due to the process here explained ; and now I have 
to add that this process is made out beyond contradiction, 
by my having been able to separate the wax by means of 
