“Why，Iperceiveadeplorableconditionofignorance！WellIcannotenterintodetailsjustnow：butitisnecessarytoexplainthattoembalmproperlyspeaking，inEgypt，wastoarrestindefinitelyalltheanimalfunctionssubjectedtotheprocess。Iusetheword’animal’initswidestsense，asincludingthephysicalnotmorethanthemoralandvitalbeing。
Irepeatthattheleadingprincipleofembalmmentconsisted，withus，intheimmediatelyarresting，andholdinginperpetualabeyance，alltheanimalfunctionssubjectedtotheprocess。Tobebrief，inwhateverconditiontheindividualwas，attheperiodofembalmment，inthatconditionheremained。Now，asitismygoodfortunetobeofthebloodoftheScarabaeus，Iwasembalmedalive，asyouseemeatpresent。”
“ThebloodoftheScarabaeus！”exclaimedDoctorPonnonner。
“Yes。TheScarabaeuswastheinsigniumorthe’arms，’ofaverydistinguishedandveryrarepatricianfamily。Tobe’ofthebloodoftheScarabaeus，’ismerelytobeoneofthatfamilyofwhichtheScarabaeusistheinsignium。Ispeakfiguratively。”
“Butwhathasthistodowithyoubeingalive？”
“Why，itisthegeneralcustominEgypttodepriveacorpse，beforeembalmment，ofitsbowelsandbrains；theraceoftheScarabaeialonedidnotcoincidewiththecustom。HadInotbeenaScarabeus，therefore，I
shouldhavebeenwithoutbowelsandbrains；andwithouteitheritisinconvenienttolive。”
“Iperceivethat。”saidMr。Buckingham，“andIpresumethatalltheentiremummiesthatcometohandareoftheraceofScarabaei。”
“Beyonddoubt。”
“Ithought。”saidMr。Gliddon，verymeekly，“thattheScarabaeuswasoneoftheEgyptiangods。”
“OneoftheEgyptian_what？”_exclaimedtheMummy，startingtoitsfeet。
“Gods！”repeatedthetraveller。
“Mr。Gliddon，Ireallyamastonishedtohearyoutalkinthisstyle。”saidtheCount，resuminghischair。“Nonationuponthefaceoftheearthhaseveracknowledgedmorethanonegod。TheScarabaeus，theIbis，etc。，werewithusassimilarcreatureshavebeenwithothersthesymbols，ormedia，throughwhichweofferedworshiptotheCreatortooaugusttobemoredirectlyapproached。”
Therewashereapause。AtlengththecolloquywasrenewedbyDoctorPonnonner。
“Itisnotimprobable，then，fromwhatyouhaveexplained。”saidhe，“thatamongthecatacombsneartheNiletheremayexistothermummiesoftheScarabaeustribe，inaconditionofvitality？”
“Therecanbenoquestionofit。”repliedtheCount；“alltheScarabaeiembalmedaccidentallywhilealive，arealivenow。Evensomeofthosepurposelysoembalmed，mayhavebeenoverlookedbytheirexecutors，andstillremaininthetomb。”
“Willyoubekindenoughtoexplain。”Isaid，“whatyoumeanby’purposelysoembalmed’？”
“Withgreatpleasure！”answeredtheMummy，aftersurveyingmeleisurelythroughhiseye-glassforitwasthefirsttimeIhadventuredtoaddresshimadirectquestion。
“Withgreatpleasure。”hesaid。“Theusualdurationofman’slife，inmytime，wasabouteighthundredyears。Fewmendied，unlessbymostextraordinaryaccident，beforetheageofsixhundred；fewlivedlongerthanadecadeofcenturies；buteightwereconsideredthenaturalterm。
Afterthediscoveryoftheembalmingprinciple，asIhavealreadydescribedittoyou，itoccurredtoourphilosophersthatalaudablecuriositymightbegratified，and，atthesametime，theinterestsofsciencemuchadvanced，bylivingthisnaturaltermininstallments。Inthecaseofhistory，indeed，experiencedemonstratedthatsomethingofthiskindwasindispensable。Anhistorian，forexample，havingattainedtheageoffivehundred，wouldwriteabookwithgreatlaborandthengethimselfcarefullyembalmed；leavinginstructionstohisexecutorsprotem。，thattheyshouldcausehimtoberevivifiedafterthelapseofacertainperiodsayfiveorsixhundredyears。Resumingexistenceattheexpirationofthistime，hewouldinvariablyfindhisgreatworkconvertedintoaspeciesofhap-hazardnote-bookthatistosay，intoakindofliteraryarenafortheconflictingguesses，riddles，andpersonalsquabblesofwholeherdsofexasperatedcommentators。Theseguesses，etc。，whichpassedunderthenameofannotations，oremendations，werefoundsocompletelytohaveenveloped，distorted，andoverwhelmedthetext，thattheauthorhadtogoaboutwithalanterntodiscoverhisownbook。Whendiscovered，itwasneverworththetroubleofthesearch。Afterre-writingitthroughout，itwasregardedastheboundendutyofthehistoriantosethimselftoworkimmediatelyincorrecting，fromhisownprivateknowledgeandexperience，thetraditionsofthedayconcerningtheepochatwhichhehadoriginallylived。Nowthisprocessofre-scriptionandpersonalrectification，pursuedbyvariousindividualsagesfromtimetotime，hadtheeffectofpreventingourhistoryfromdegeneratingintoabsolutefable。”
“Ibegyourpardon。”saidDoctorPonnonneratthispoint，layinghishandgentlyuponthearmoftheEgyptian“Ibegyourpardon，sir，butmayI
presumetointerruptyouforonemoment？”
“Byallmeans，sir。”repliedtheCount，drawingup。
“Imerelywishedtoaskyouaquestion。”saidtheDoctor。“Youmentionedthehistorian’spersonalcorrectionoftraditionsrespectinghisownepoch。Pray，sir，uponanaveragewhatproportionoftheseKabbalawereusuallyfoundtoberight？”
“TheKabbala，asyouproperlytermthem，sir，weregenerallydiscoveredtobepreciselyonaparwiththefactsrecordedintheun-re-writtenhistoriesthemselves；thatistosay，notoneindividualiotaofeitherwaseverknown，underanycircumstances，tobenottotallyandradicallywrong。”
“Butsinceitisquiteclear。”resumedtheDoctor，“thatatleastfivethousandyearshaveelapsedsinceyourentombment，Itakeitforgrantedthatyourhistoriesatthatperiod，ifnotyourtraditionsweresufficientlyexplicitonthatonetopicofuniversalinterest，theCreation，whichtookplace，asIpresumeyouareaware，onlyabouttencenturiesbefore。”
“Sir！”saidtheCountAllamistakeo。
TheDoctorrepeatedhisremarks，butitwasonlyaftermuchadditionalexplanationthattheforeignercouldbemadetocomprehendthem。Thelatteratlengthsaid，hesitatingly：
“Theideasyouhavesuggestedaretome，Iconfess，utterlynovel。DuringmytimeIneverknewanyonetoentertainsosingularafancyasthattheuniverseorthisworldifyouwillhaveitsoeverhadabeginningatall。Irememberonce，andonceonly，hearingsomethingremotelyhinted，byamanofmanyspeculations，concerningtheorigin_ofthehumanrace；_andbythisindividual，theveryword_Adam_orRedEarth，whichyoumakeuseof，wasemployed。Heemployedit，however，inagenericalsense，withreferencetothespontaneousgerminationfromranksoiljustasathousandofthelowergeneraofcreaturesaregerminatedthespontaneousgermination，Isay，offivevasthordesofmen，simultaneouslyupspringinginfivedistinctandnearlyequaldivisionsoftheglobe。”
Here，ingeneral，thecompanyshruggedtheirshoulders，andoneortwoofustouchedourforeheadswithaverysignificantair。Mr。SilkBuckingham，firstglancingslightlyattheocciputandthenatthesinciputofAllamistakeo，spokeasfollows：
“Thelongdurationofhumanlifeinyourtime，togetherwiththeoccasionalpracticeofpassingit，asyouhaveexplained，ininstallments，musthavehad，indeed，astrongtendencytothegeneraldevelopmentandconglomerationofknowledge。Ipresume，therefore，thatwearetoattributethemarkedinferiorityoftheoldEgyptiansinallparticularsofscience，whencomparedwiththemoderns，andmoreespeciallywiththeYankees，altogethertothesuperiorsolidityoftheEgyptianskull。”
“Iconfessagain。”repliedtheCount，withmuchsuavity，“thatIamsomewhatatalosstocomprehendyou；pray，towhatparticularsofsciencedoyouallude？”
Hereourwholeparty，joiningvoices，detailed，atgreatlength，theassumptionsofphrenologyandthemarvelsofanimalmagnetism。
Havingheardustoanend，theCountproceededtorelateafewanecdotes，whichrendereditevidentthatprototypesofGallandSpurzheimhadflourishedandfadedinEgyptsolongagoastohavebeennearlyforgotten，andthatthemanoeuvresofMesmerwerereallyverycontemptibletrickswhenputincollationwiththepositivemiraclesoftheThebansavans，whocreatedliceandagreatmanyothersimilarthings。
IhereaskedtheCountifhispeoplewereabletocalculateeclipses。Hesmiledrathercontemptuously，andsaidtheywere。
Thisputmealittleout，butIbegantomakeotherinquiriesinregardtohisastronomicalknowledge，whenamemberofthecompany，whohadneverasyetopenedhismouth，whisperedinmyear，thatforinformationonthishead，IhadbetterconsultPtolemywhoeverPtolemyis，aswellasonePlutarchdefacielunae。
IthenquestionedtheMummyaboutburning-glassesandlenses，and，ingeneral，aboutthemanufactureofglass；butIhadnotmadeanendofmyqueriesbeforethesilentmemberagaintouchedmequietlyontheelbow，andbeggedmeforGod’ssaketotakeapeepatDiodorusSiculus。AsfortheCount，hemerelyaskedme，inthewayofreply，ifwemodernspossessedanysuchmicroscopesaswouldenableustocutcameosinthestyleoftheEgyptians。WhileIwasthinkinghowIshouldanswerthisquestion，littleDoctorPonnonnercommittedhimselfinaveryextraordinaryway。
“Lookatourarchitecture！”heexclaimed，greatlytotheindignationofboththetravellers，whopinchedhimblackandbluetonopurpose。
“Look。”hecriedwithenthusiasm，“attheBowling-GreenFountaininNewYork！orifthisbetoovastacontemplation，regardforamomenttheCapitolatWashington，D。C。！”andthegoodlittlemedicalmanwentontodetailveryminutely，theproportionsofthefabrictowhichhereferred。Heexplainedthattheporticoalonewasadornedwithnolessthanfourandtwentycolumns，fivefeetindiameter，andtenfeetapart。
TheCountsaidthatheregrettednotbeingabletoremember，justatthatmoment，theprecisedimensionsofanyoneoftheprincipalbuildingsofthecityofAznac，whosefoundationswerelaidinthenightofTime，buttheruinsofwhichwerestillstanding，attheepochofhisentombment，inavastplainofsandtothewestwardofThebes。Herecollected，however，talkingoftheporticoes，thatoneaffixedtoaninferiorpalaceinakindofsuburbcalledCarnac，consistedofahundredandforty-fourcolumns，thirty-sevenfeetincircumference，andtwenty-fivefeetapart。
Theapproachtothisportico，fromtheNile，wasthroughanavenuetwomileslong，composedofsphynxes，statues，andobelisks，twenty，sixty，andahundredfeetinheight。Thepalaceitselfaswellashecouldrememberwas，inonedirection，twomileslong，andmighthavebeenaltogetheraboutsevenincircuit。Itswallswererichlypaintedallover，withinandwithout，withhieroglyphics。HewouldnotpretendtoassertthatevenfiftyorsixtyoftheDoctor’sCapitolsmighthavebeenbuiltwithinthesewalls，buthewasbynomeanssurethattwoorthreehundredofthemmightnothavebeensqueezedinwithsometrouble。ThatpalaceatCarnacwasaninsignificantlittlebuildingafterall。HetheCount，however，couldnotconscientiouslyrefusetoadmittheingenuity，magnificence，andsuperiorityoftheFountainattheBowlingGreen，asdescribedbytheDoctor。Nothinglikeit，hewasforcedtoallow，hadeverbeenseeninEgyptorelsewhere。
IhereaskedtheCountwhathehadtosaytoourrailroads。
“Nothing。”hereplied，“inparticular。”Theywereratherslight，ratherill-conceived，andclumsilyputtogether。Theycouldnotbecompared，ofcourse，withthevast，level，direct，iron-groovedcausewaysuponwhichtheEgyptiansconveyedentiretemplesandsolidobelisksofahundredandfiftyfeetinaltitude。
Ispokeofourgiganticmechanicalforces。
Heagreedthatweknewsomethinginthatway，butinquiredhowIshouldhavegonetoworkingettinguptheimpostsonthelintelsofeventhelittlepalaceatCarnac。
ThisquestionIconcludednottohear，anddemandedifhehadanyideaofArtesianwells；buthesimplyraisedhiseyebrows；whileMr。Gliddonwinkedatmeveryhardandsaid，inalowtone，thatonehadbeenrecentlydiscoveredbytheengineersemployedtoboreforwaterintheGreatOasis。
Ithenmentionedoursteel；buttheforeignerelevatedhisnose，andaskedmeifoursteelcouldhaveexecutedthesharpcarvedworkseenontheobelisks，andwhichwaswroughtaltogetherbyedge-toolsofcopper。
ThisdisconcertedussogreatlythatwethoughtitadvisabletovarytheattacktoMetaphysics。Wesentforacopyofabookcalledthe“Dial。”andreadoutofitachapterortwoaboutsomethingthatisnotveryclear，butwhichtheBostonianscalltheGreatMovementofProgress。
TheCountmerelysaidthatGreatMovementswereawfullycommonthingsinhisday，andasforProgress，itwasatonetimequiteanuisance，butitneverprogressed。