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This papyrus was the property of Miss Westcar of Whitchurch, who gave it to the eminent German Egyptologist, Richard Lepsius, in 1839; it was written probably at some period between the twelfth and eighteenth dynasties. The texts were first edited and translated by Professor Erman. The first story describes an event which happened in the reign of Nebka, a king of the third dynasty.

D. Forbes, "On the Geology of Bolivia and Southern Peru," Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, vol. xvii. p. 22 . Darwin, Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs, second edition, p. 186. Erman, Reise um die Welt. Milne, "Cruise amongst the Kurile Islands," Geol. Mag., New Ser. See Daubeny, Volcanoes, Map I.

This papyrus has been more thoroughly studied than most, perhaps more than any other. Erman has devoted two volumes to it; publishing the whole in photographic facsimile, transcribed in hieroglyphs, transcribed in the modern alphabet, translated literally, translated freely, commented on and discussed word by word, and with a complete glossary of all words used in it.

For the astronomical explanation of the phenomena, recourse was had to a method introduced by Erman of computing meteoric orbits. It was found, however, that conspicuous recurrences every thirty-three or thirty-four years could be explained on the supposition of five widely different periods, combined with varying degrees of extension in the revolving group.

Erman, in an admirable paper contributed to the Zeitschrift, 1883, showed it to have been a forgery concocted by the priests of Khonsû during the period of the Persian rule in Egypt, or in early Ptolemaic times. Ancienne des Peuples de l'Orient, chap, vi., pp. 287, 288.

"Against all kinds of witchcraft," says an ancient formula, "a great scarabaeus beetle; cut off his head and wings, boil him; put him in oil and lay him out; then cook his head and wings, put them in snake fat, boil, and let the patient drink the mixture." The modern Egyptian, says Erman, uses almost precisely the same recipe, except that the snake fat is replaced by modern oil.

The memorable speech of Erman, delivered on the occasion of his election as a member of the Berlin Academy, sets forth clearly the progress made in the science of Egyptology and present-day tendencies.

This chain may also be cited in evidence of volcanic action along fissure lines. It connects the volcanoes of Kamtschatka with those of Japan, and the linear arrangement is apparent. In the former peninsula Erman counted no fewer than thirteen active volcanic mountains rising to heights of 12,000 to 15,000 feet above the sea.

While Hansteen and Erman were still prosecuting their labours in every branch of natural science, Alexander von Humboldt, Ehrenberg, and Gustav Rose made a short visit to Siberia, which, however, remained one of the most important in the history of science.

Our knowledge of the subject rests largely upon the so-called papyrus Rhind, which is a sort of mythological hand-book of the ancient Egyptians. Analyzing this document, Professor Erman concludes that the knowledge of the Egyptians was adequate to all practical requirements.