of the beard and nails. In
those days the hair had a special magical virtue: by burning it while
uttering certain incantations, one might acquire an almost limitless
power over the person to whom it had belonged. The ernbalmers,
therefore, took care to place with the mummy such portions of the hair
as they had been obliged to cut off, so as to remove them out of the way
of the perverse ingenuity of the sorcerers.

[Illustration: 009.jpg WRAPPING OF THE MUMMY, UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE
"MAN OF THE ROLL"]

Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from Rosellini.

Over the first covering of the mummy already alluded to, there was
sometimes placed a strip of papyrus or a long piece of linen, upon which
the scribe had transcribed selections--both text and pictures--from "The
Book of the going forth by Day:" in such cases the roll containing the
whole work was placed between the legs. The body was further wrapped in
several bandages, then in a second piece of stuff, then in more bands,
the whole being finally covered with a shroud of coarse canvas and a
red linen winding-sheet, sewn together at the back, and kept in place by
transverse bands disposed at intervals from head to foot. The son of the
deceased and a "man of the roll" were present at this lugubrious toilet,
and recited at the application of each piece a prayer, in which its
object was defined and its duration secured. Every Egyptian was supposed
to be acquainted with the formulas, from having learned them during his
lifetime, by which he was to have restored to him the use of his limbs,
and be protected from the dangers of the world beyond. These were
repeated to the dead person, however, for greater security, during the
process of embalming, and the son of the deceased, or the master of the
ceremonies, took care to whisper to the mummy the most mysterious parts,
which no living ear might hear with impunity. The wrappings having
been completed, the deceased person became aware of his equipment, and
enjoyed all the privileges of the "instructed and fortified Manes." He
felt himself, both mummy and double, now ready for the tomb.

Egyptian funerals were not like those to which we are accustomed--mute
ceremonies, in which sorrow is barely expressed by a furtive tear:
noise, sobbings, and wild gestures were their necessary concomitants.
Not only was it customary to hire weeping women, who tore their hair,
filled the air with their lamentations, and simulated by skilful actions