“The Egyptian name of this plant is Babr, from whence both papyrus and our word paper, seem to have been derived. The bark of a species of mulberry tree was afterwards used for paper; and liber, which properly meant the bark of a tree, was, therefore, applied to signify a book.”
Caroline, whose memory always serves her at the right moment, immediately repeated these lines,—
Papyrus, verdant on the banks of Nile,
Spread its thin leaf, and waved its silvery style;
Its plastic pellicles Invention took,
To form the polished page and lettered book;
And on its folds, with skill consummate taught
To paint, in mystic colors, sound and thought.
My aunt smiled, and then added: “To form those little bulrush vessels that are alluded to in the Bible and elsewhere, the papyrus was made up in bundles, and by tying these bundles together, and placing a piece of timber at the bottom to serve as a keel, they gave their vessels the necessary shape. Several ancient writers describe them; Lucan speaks of the Memphian or Egyptian boat, made of the thirsty papyrus; which corresponds exactly with the nature of the plant, as well as with its Hebrew name, which signifies, to drink or soak up.
“This plant requires so much water that it perishes when the river on whose banks it grows is much reduced; and it is for that reason that Job mentions it as the image of transient prosperity.”
15th.—My uncle has returned, to the joy of the whole family; he looks a little tired, but seems rejoiced to be at home. He has seen numbers of curious things, and has already told us some of them.
One thing that he mentioned was very interesting to me; he met a gentleman who had lately arrived from our southern regions, and who had seen that wonderful luminous creature of those seas which I mentioned to you in my journal when on board the Phaeton. According to this gentleman’s account, each of these brilliant animals diffused a sphere of light of eighteen inches in diameter; “Think then,” said he to my uncle, “what the effect must be on the spectator, when the sea is absolutely full of them as far as the eye can reach, and to many yards in depth. One evening, in particular, from seven to eleven o’clock, the ship sailed upwards of twenty miles through these living lamps; and the strong light they gave enabled him to distinguish many fishes, even ten or twelve feet beneath the surface of the water, that appeared to be accompanying the ship.”
My uncle then gave us a very entertaining account of an experiment he witnessed on the common house-spider, which proves that it possesses a natural diving-bell, to assist it in crossing water. The spider was placed on a small platform in the middle of a large tumbler full of water, the platform being about half an inch above the edge of the glass, and two inches above the water. It first descended by the stick that supported the platform, till it reached the water, but finding no way to escape, it returned to the platform, and for some time employed itself in preparing a web, with which, by means of its hinder legs, it loosely enveloped its body and head. It again descended, and without hesitation plunged into the water, when my uncle observed, that the web with which it was covered contained a bubble of air, probably intended for respiration. The spider, wrapped up in this little diving-bell, endeavoured on every side to make its escape; but in vain, on account of the slipperiness of the glass; and after remaining at the bottom for about thirteen minutes, it returned, apparently much exhausted, as it coiled itself closely under the platform, and remained there for some time without motion.
Another beautiful thing that my uncle was shewn by Dr. W., was a veil woven by caterpillars—actually a gossamer veil. The ingenious person, a German I believe, who had managed those little manufacturers, spread them over a large glass, and contrived to place them so that the work of each was connected with that of its neighbour. As he could direct or change their progress at pleasure, he was not only able to form the veil of a tolerably regular shape, but by sometimes inducing them to go two or three times over the same spot, to give it the appearance of flowered lace. The whole veil, though of a large size, weighed only three grains and a half; and a breath blew it up into the air, where it floated like a cloud.
16th.—When my uncle was in town, he was present at the opening and examination of an Egyptian mummy, along with several members of the Royal Society. Some mummies, he says, have two cases; in these, the outer one is ornamented with stripes of painted linen, and the inner case is covered with a kind of paper on which figures and hieroglyphics are painted with great brilliancy of colour.