Athothis : a satire on modern medicine / by Thomas C. Minor.

aperture. Going to the table he once more picked up the scroll of Athothis, and read : " To restore the disembodied spirit to its original habi- tation and give back to the body the natural motions and actions of life, fresh water must be sprinkled over the mummy with the necromancer's left hand, and this invo- cation solemnly intoned : " Oh! Osiris ! God of the Water ! Sublime ruler of Amento, the silent land beyond the setting sun. I in- voke thy assistance in returning the spirit belonging to these remains, in the name of Patah, Grand Master of the Universe; in the name of Horus, thy avenging son, I command the spiritual resurrection of this body! "As the necromancer finishes this invocation, he shall take the emblem of life, which has previously been drawn from the mummy's side, and striking the remains with this symbol of Horus, shall cry aloud, ' In the name of Patah, Ra, Shu, Seb, and Osiris! I command thee to walk!' Then shall the mummy arise and walk; then shall the body once clothed with mortality be immortal— inhabited by a deity, with the powers of a God, making himself visible or invisible at will, and able to perform miracles." Doctor Paulus Androcydes now filled a quaintly orna- mented silver goblet with water, and kneeling at the mummy's side he sprinkled it over the remains, he slowly intoned the final incantation, ending with the in- vocation, " I command thee to walk!" The echo of these words had scarcely died away when a dazzling white light broke forth from the body, its shrunken form expanded to its natural size and currents of warm blood seemed to animate all its tissues, the dark eyes opened, the lips moved smilingly; then, with a motion so rapid as to be