text:  We have selected here a case of an ordinary grave but how much stronger would the case be were we to take a sarcophagus of Egypt enclosing a mummy? The inscription the fabric of the cere-cloth the chemical substances with which it is impregnated as well as those by which the body is preserved and the relics commonly deposited with it would lead by careful investigation to a tolerably accurate knowledge of the character and habits of the time; and where many relics of different descriptions collected from different parts are skilfully compared a body of evidence is arrived at minutely circumstantial in its details and the veracity of which admits of no dispute