The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1886-05-22
A FINE MUM MY.
An Account of How the Best-PreserveC
Egyptian Mummy Came to America.


An Account of How the Best-Preservet
Egyptian Mummy Came to America.
There have been so many different
accounts touching the ancient Egyp-
tan whose mortal remains repose on
the shelves of the Tennessee Historical
Society that the Union has endeavored
to inquire into their respective authen.
ITCHY.
Whom Prof. Huxley, the distinguished
scisntist, visited Nashville few years
ago, he took great interest in exam
lining this relic of antiquity, and de-
clared it to be the best specimen of the
kind he had ever seen; and well may it
be so considered, for it was selected
from millions of the kind in the cata,
combs on the banks of the Nile especial
ly for our Historical Society, and was
stripped of its thick coverings and
bandages before it was taken away to
ascertain its perfect condition.
1t was obtained by our feIlow-ctizen,
Pay-Director j. George Harris, of the
navy, who has been lifelong member
of the society, as appears by an in
scription on the caSket that contains it.
While Mr.. Harris was attached to the
frigate Wabash as fleet pay-master of
our Mediterranean squadron in the
year 1889, and when the ship was
about to leave Alexandria, in Egypt, a
gentleman for whom as friend he had
done some service asked if there was
any favor he could render in return, to
which Mr., II. jocularly replied that he
could think of nothing unless it was to
send him to the headquarters of the
fleet on the shore of Italy a tirst-class
specimen of an Egyptian mummy for
the Tennessee Historical Society. The
ship sailed on cruise, and he thought
nothing more of it for months.
One bright morning in May, as the
flagship Wabash was lazily swinging al
her anchors in the beautiful bay OF
Naples, the frigate Macedonian, one OF
the squadron, came booming in under
full sail from Alexandria, and he was
soon informed that it had on board a
mummy in box to his address, al
which intelligence he was not a little
annoyed, for he had intended his re-
mark to his Alexandria friend merely al
Joke, for he knew there was a law in
Egypt forbidding the expectation o
such relics. WheR, on opening the box
he beheld a nude figure where he eH
pected for the moment to find han 1
somely ornamented sarcophagus COS
cred artistically with hieroglyphics, Ii,
was somewhat disappointed until he ne
fected that he had in jolly way eS
pressly requested that it should b.
stripped and carefully examined befort
being sent that he might obtain per
feet specimen for historical purposes
So it came to pass that the mummy wa
brought home in the Wabash and for
warded without delay to Mr. Patterson
then president of the Tennessee Histor
zeal Society at Nashville, who hand
somely acknowledged its receipt 81
good order and well-cOnditiOned. -
1t was placed in a glass case by tn
secretary, which soon became some
what dilapidated, and the atmospher
probably occasioned some little crumt
ling of the extremities, but few year
ago Judge John NJ. Lea, the president
presented it with beautiful rosewoo
case, which is not only useful but orni
mental.
The historical and scientific value {
this specimen consists in its entire nj
dity, which shows the extent of il
, preservation. Many museums in tn
country have mummies on exhibition {
, curiosties, with closely-wrapped an
ornamented coverings where the fac
| only is to be seen, but the object of tn
= specimen is to show how perfectly aft
death was preserved "the human for
| divine" thousands of years ago by IL
, lost art of embalming.-NGshUille Unioi
l One of the mostremarkable chang
| in the recent educational life of German
is the rapid increase of theologict
: students in the universities. The 70
lowing figures speak for themselve
l This year there are 2,55S men studyi1
= theology in the Prussian universiti
) alone. OF these 726 are at Berlin, 81
4 | of Hal1a QOO of EriafSUa1dnn OA0