In a room attached to the Egyptian Museum visitors may purchase Egyptian antiquities, and as many travellers take away with them a scarab or a ushabti figure, or some small object which was buried with the mummy, the following notes, which explain the commonest of them, and a short account of mummification, are added: Ushabtiu figures are made of stone, alabaster, wood, and glazed faïence, and are in the form of the god Osiris, who is here represented in the form of a mummy. They were placed in the tomb to do certain agricultural works for the deceased, who was supposed to be condemned to sow the fields, to fill the canals with water, and to carry sand from the East to the West. They are usually inscribed with the VIth Chapter of the Book of the Dead. As many travellers buy ushabtiu figures in Egypt, the following version of the chapter may be of interest to them : the underworld, behold, be there smitten down for him obstructions there That is to say, the deceased addresses each figure and says "O ushabtiu figures, if the Osiris," that is, the deceased, "is decreed to do any work whatsoever in the underworld may all obstacles be cast down in front of him!" The figure answers and says, "Here am I ready when ye call." The deceased next says, "O ye figures, be ye ever watchful to work, to plough and sow the fields, to water the canals, and to carry sand from the east to the west." The figure replies, "Here am I when ye call." Amulets. I. The Tet, an internal organ of the body of Isis. It is usually made of red stone, symbolic of the blood of Isis; it was placed on the neck of the mummy to which it gave the magic protection of the blood of Isis. It was often inscribed with the CLVIth Chapter of the Book of the Dead. 2. The Tet,, or part of the backbone of Osiris, which had sometimes plumes, disk, and horns,, attached to it, was also placed on the neck of the mummy, and was often inscribed with the CLVth Chapter of the Book of the Dead. 3. The Vulture, was placed upon the neck of the mummy on the day of the funeral, and brought with it the protection of the "mother" Isis. 4. The Collar,, was placed upon the neck of the mummy on the day of the funeral. 5. The Papyrus Sceptre, s, was placed upon the neck of the mummy, and typified the green youth which it was hoped the deceased would enjoy in the nether world. 6. The Pillow,, usually made of hæmatite, was generally inscribed with the CLXVIth Chapter of the Book of the Dead. 7. The Heart, &, represented the "soul of Kheperȧ." 8. The Ankh, †, symbolised “Life.” 9. The Utchat, or Symbolic Eye, typified "good health and happiness,” and was a very popular form of amulet in Egypt. 10. The Nefer, †, represented “good-luck.” 11. The Sma,↓, represented “union.” 12. The Menat,, represented "virility." 13. The Neha, P, represented "protection." 14. The Serpent's Head,, was placed in mummies to prevent their being devoured by worms. 15. The Frog,, represented "fertility" and "abund ance." 16. The Stairs,, were the symbol of ascending to heaven. 17. The Fingers, index and medius, found inside mummies, represented the two fingers which the god Horus stretched out to help the deceased up the ladder to heaven. Scarabs. Scarab or Scarabæus (from the Greek oκapаßos) is the name given by Egyptologists to the myriads of models of a certain beetle, which are found in mummies and tombs and in the ruins of temples and other buildings in Egypt, and in other countries the inhabitants of which, from a remote period, had intercourse with the Egyptians. M. Latreille considered the species which he named Ateuchus Aegyptiorum, or λokáνeapos, and which is of a fine greenish colour, as that which especially engaged the attention of the early Egyptians, and Dr. Clarke affirmed that it was eaten by the women of Egypt because it was considered to be an emblem of fertility. This custom is common at certain places in the Sûdân at the present day. In these insects a remarkable peculiarity exists in the structure and situation of the hind legs, which are placed so near the extremity of the body, and so far from each other, as to give them a most extraordinary appearance when walking. This peculiar formation is, nevertheless, particularly serviceable to its possessors in rolling along the balls of excrementitious matter on which they feed. These balls are at first irregularly shaped and soft, but by degrees, and during the process of rolling along, become rounded and harder; they are propelled by means of the hind legs. Sometimes these balls are an inch and a half or two inches in diameter, and in rolling them along the beetles stand almost upon their heads, with heads turned from the balls. They do this in order to bury their balls in holes which they have already dug for them, |