is the opening a dead body, taking out the intestines, and filling the place with odoriferous and desiccative drugs and spices, to prevent its putrefying. The Egyptians excelled all other nations in the art of preserving bodies from corruption; for some that they have embalmed upwards of two thousand years ago, remain whole to this day, and are often brought into other countries as great curiosities. Their manner of embalming was thus: they scooped out the brains with an iron scoop, out at the nostrils, and threw in medicaments to fill up the vacuum: they also took out the entrails, and, having filled the body with myrrh, calis, and other spices, except frankincense, proper to dry up the humours, they pickled it in nitre, where it lay soaking for seventy days. The body was then wrapped up in bandages of fine linen and gums, to make it stick like glue, and so was delivered to the kindred of the deceased, entire in all its features, the very hairs of the eye-lids being preserved. They used to keep the bodies of their ancestors, thus embalmed, in little houses magnificently adorned, and took great pleasure in beholding them, alive as it were, without any change in their size, features, or complexion. The Egyptians also embalmed birds, &c. The prices for embalming were different; the highest was a talent, the next twenty minae, and so decreasing to a very small matter: but they who had not wherewithal to answer this expense, contented themselves with infusing, by means of a syringe, thro' the fundament, a certain liquor extracted from the cedar, and leaving it there wrapped up the body in salt of nitre: the oil thus preyed upon the intestines, so that when they took it out, the intestines came away with it, dried, and not in the least putrefied: the body being inclosed in nitre, grew dry, and nothing remained besides the skin glued upon the bones.