44 
Bulletin of the Natural History Society. 
was illustrated by views of objects found in that region, and of 
local antiquities. 
October 9TH. 
Prof. J. H. Panton, of Winnipeg, Manitoba, delivered an ad- 
dress on “Gleanings from the Geology of the North-West,” in 
which he described the great prairie “steppes” of the North-West 
Territory of Canada. The geology of this region had an intimate 
relation to its physical geography. The Professor gave graphic 
and very entertaining descriptions of various points of interest 
along the Canada Pacific Railway, which he had visited, and 
whose geological treasures he had collected. 
November 6th. 
Mr. G. F. Matthew gave an account of an Osirid which had re- 
cently been found in the museum of the Mechanics’ Institute. The 
inscription on this little figure had been transmitted to Prof. T. O. 
Paine, of Elmwood, Mass., a well-known oriental scholar, who 
gave the following as the meaning of the hieroglyphic text : 
“ Glorified Osiris Paneh the blessed said : ‘ Behold this image 
is that of [me] a chief reader and chief burier of the dead. It will 
do for all people what is to be done in the divine underworld. 
When the meadows grow green ; when the banks are inundated ; 
when the boat is paddled along the sandy shores from east to 
west, * * ” 
Prof. Paine adds, in explanation, that the meaning is : When the 
friends left behind on old Nile are enjoying life, he wishes to be 
spoken to, and to have part in their pleasures, as when he was 
with them. This Osiris being in the divine image, it was omnipo- 
tent against evil in the future world. An Osiris, or, as here named , 
a Shebwee — image of Osiris, and at the same time of Pa-aa-neh — 
is one who has gone to Osiris. He (Pa-aa-neh) was an ariash 
and an ariut priest — one who was a “chief reader” and “chief 
burier.” He led the funeral procession and read the service. 
The hieroglyphs all belong to the high Pharaonic epoch. But 
one of the signs is new, or not published by Brugsch or Rouge. 
December 4TH. 
Mr. Alfred Morrisey described the habits and characteristics 
of the Woodpeckers, in connection with a paper on the “Pileated 
