The works of Edgar Allan Poe; newly collected and edited, with a memoir, critical introductions, and notes, by Edmund Clarence Stedman and George Edward Woodberry; the illustrations by Albert Edward Sterner.

SOME WORDS WITH A MUMMY

Stripping off the papyrus, we found the flesh in
excellent preservation, with no perceptible odor. The
color was reddish. The skin was hard, smooth, and
glossy. The teeth and hair were in good condition.
The eyes (it seemed) had been removed, and glass
ones substituted, which were very beautiful and
wonderfully life-like, with the exception of somewhat
too determined a stare. The fingers and the nails
were brilliantly gilded.
Mr. Gliddon was of opinion, from the redness of
the epidermis, that the embalmment had been effected
altogether by asphaltum; but on scraping the surface
with a steel instrument, and throwing into the fire
some of the powder thus obtained, the flavor of camphor and other sweet-scented gums became apparent.
We searched the corpse very carefully for the usual
openings through which the entrails are extracted,
but, to our surprise, we could discover none. No
member of the party was at that period aware that
entire or unopened mummies are not unfrequently
met. The brain it was customary to withdraw through
the nose; the intestines through an incision in the
side; the body was then shaved, washed, and salted;
then laid aside for several weeks, when the operation
of embalming, properly so called, began.
As no trace of an opening could be found, Doctor
Ponnonner was preparing his instruments for dissection, when I observed that it was then past two
o'clock. Hereupon it was agreed to postpone the
internal examination until the next evening; and we
were about to separate for the present, when some
one suggested an experiment or two with the Voltaic
pile.
The application of electricity to a mummy, three or
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