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in a century is incredible, and upsets Professor Huxley^s own 
arguments. Let ns deal with tbe last objection first. 
Unless then tbe Professor is prepared to adhere to the posi- 
tion that all this “ 70 feet of mud ” was deposited prior to the 
founding of Memphis and the building’ of the pyramids ; un- 
less he will now admit that it was not all deposited 2,000 years 
B.C., then we must clear away no less then 3,800 years de- 
posit, — that is 20 feet before the Christian era and 18 feet 
since, together 38 feet, — or considerably more than half the 
depth of the whole existing deposit, in order to know what the 
valley of the Nile was like at the founding of Memphis. 
But prepared as we might be upon reflection to reject such 
an extravagant estimate, as almost tantamount to clearing out 
the Nile valley altogether, and leaving no sufficient extent of 
well-watered alluvial plain remaining, that would have been 
worthy of attracting the descendants of Ham to settle there ; 
we must not forget that this argument is based upon the fact 
that the Nile deposit is going on still ; so that, whatever be the 
true rate of deposit, we must clear away what was deposited 
from the days of Mizraim and Memphis to our own. Let us 
therefore now, in the second place, take what Professor Huxley 
calls the general and “ correct” estimate of five inches in a 
century ; and let us then see “ the results.” The deposit in 
38 centuries, at 5 inches in a century, would give 190 inches, 
or 15 feet 10 inches, which must be taken off* from the whole 
upper surface of the Nile valley, in order to know something 
of what it was like when Memphis was built. With this 
Herculean labour before us,- it is well that we have been able 
to reduce the superficial dimensions of the length of the valley 
of the Nile to something less than 1,200 miles ! But the 
whole breadth of the Nile valley at Heliopolis, i.e., about eight 
miles above the apex of the Delta, is only some sixteen miles ; 
and at Memphis it is but five. At both these places “ borings ” 
have been made ; and one of them was certainly said to be 
70 feet deep, — or rather it was 72 feet ; — but that was 
in the deepest part of the valley — assuming water to find its 
level — within 200 metres of the river itself ! But what of all 
the other borings, as to which Professor Huxley was silent ? 
As the case was put at Sion College, you have to imagine an 
enormously extended valley, 1,200 miles long, and nothing 
less than 70 feet deep, filled up to the brim with mud ! 
The conception is truly sublime, and on the largest scale. 
In comparison with it the real facts are almost contemptible. 
But we are bound to deal with the facts. Let me cite them 
from a small work by Archdeacon Pratt of Calcutta, that it 
may be known that all the teachings of Sion College must not 
