CHAPTER XVII.

MUMMIES AND THEIR USE IN MEDICINE—THE UNICORN. The art of embalming and its antiquity—Various processes employed—The cost of embalming—The practitioners of the art—The drugs and substances employed—Process used for the poorer people—The veneration of mummies by the Egyptians—Trade in mummies for use in medicine—Fictitious mummies—How to tell genuine mummy—The dose and medicinal properties—The price in 1685—Varieties of mummies used in medicine—Process for preparing artificial mummy—Methods of administration—Human fat and its medicinal properties—Human skulls and their value—Human bones and other animal substances as remedial agents—The Unicorn—Its appearance described—Properties attributed to the horn—Where the horn was obtained—The value of the horn—A horn presented to King Charles I.—Virtues attributed to it _pages_ 166-174