Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 45.djvu/429

Rh were acquainted with him are well aware. In his youth he read even more of literature than of science. He had no acquaintance with the Greek or Latin classics in the original, but he read the best of them in translations, and with much enjoyment. His own literary style was a standing refutation of the plea that, in order to write good English, a man had to become familiar with Greek and Latin. It had the three great merits of accuracy, amplitude, and balance, and at times was even impressively eloquent.

Prof. Fiske has given a faithful presentation of the man, and it is not our purpose to add anything to his words of eulogy. Of no man can it be more truly said that his influence survives him. As the biography makes plain, he had a rare combination of qualities intellectual and moral, and he has laid an enduring impress, not only on the magazine which he founded, but on multitudes of minds with which he came into contact. The reason why he accomplished so much and wielded so great an influence may be found, we believe, in that disinterestedness which was one of his most conspicuous qualities. He was a true apostle, because he thought more of his cause than of himself. Had he thought more of himself, he might have been with us to-day; but who shall blame enthusiasm and devotion such as his? It led to oversight in matters pertaining to health, and that is to be regretted; but it stamped the man as one of the working, fighting heroes of the nineteenth century, and as such this generation will honor his memory.



author of this work is acting assistant keeper in the Department of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities in the British Museum. The matter of it was originally written to form the introduction to the catalogue of the Egyptian collection in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, and was intended to supply the information necessary for understanding the object and use of the antiquities described therein. It is hoped that it may likewise be of service to all persons interested in the antiquities of Egypt. It embodies the information which the experience gained from several years of service in the British Museum has shown to be the most needed by those who, though possessing no special knowledge of Egyptian antiquities, are yet greatly interested in them, or who have formed, or are about to form, Egyptian collections. Following up the idea that the mummy was the most important of all objects to the Egyptian, accounts are given of the various methods of embalming; of the amulets and other objects which formed the mummy's dress; of the various kinds of coffins and sarcophagi in which he was laid; and also of the most important classes of tombs hewn or built in different dynasties. These accounts are preceded by a satisfactory sketch of Egyptian history, with a list of the dynasties and of the cartouches of the principal kings, a list of the names, a chapter on Egyptian methods of writing, the Rosetta stone, etc., and are followed by descriptions of mummies, of animals, reptiles, birds, and fishes, and information concerning Egyptian months, Egyptian and Coptic numbers, and lists of common hieroglyphic characters and common determinatives. In a short space the book tells much about Egypt in a wholly acceptable way, and it may be regarded as one of the very best of the popular works on the subject.

is the leading journal of original physiological research in the English language, and is devoted to the recording and illustration of the investigations of the most 