Though papyri found on mummies are often in a good state of preservation, it is necessary to be very careful in handling them. The roll, owing to its being pressed under the swathings of the mummy, being completely flattened, and from the unvarying high temperature of the tomb to which it has for so long a time been subjected, is frequently so dry and brittle, that if any attempt be made to unroll it without previous precaution, small pieces will continually fall off. Still, the durability of this writing material is one of its best qualities. It can, in some instances, be rolled and unrolled after the lapse of many centuries without any detriment to it; but the complete preservation of such specimens is generally to be attributed to their being kept from the air either in wooden or earthen vessels, frequently in the interior of the Idol to which the mummy was once wont to present his offering, which is usually of some grotesque, or even hideous form, altogether unworthy of mention as representing any created thing, either upon the face of the earth, or in the waters beneath. Not long since I was shown one, containing a roll of papyrus, which had been roughly carved out of wood, somewhat resembling an overgrown _cat_ in a sitting posture. And this so called god, as appears to have been customarily the case, was taken from the tomb, where it stood over the mummy, with two very beautiful vases, which at one time contained fragrant oils, believed to be acceptable to the Idol, placed in front. The papyri thus curiously preserved, usually contain an account of the rank or station which the dead once filled, and occasionally some description of the particular rites and ceremonies observed with reference to the worship. With respect to the period at which the ancients began to make a writing substance of the papyrus, or, indeed, of the name of the originator, nothing decisive is known. It would, however, appear from the prophecy in Isaiah, which has been already referred to, in which mention is made of paper reeds by the brooks, that paper made of such reeds was actually in use when that prophecy was written. And in accordance with this conception, the learned Dr. Gill, in his commentary says, “On the banks of the Nile grew a reed, or rush, called by the Greeks papyrus, or byblus, from whence come the words paper and bible, or book, of which paper was anciently made, even as early as the time of Isaiah,” now nearly 3000 years ago. The kind of pen ordinarily used for writing upon this material was simply _a reed_, cut and split just as our quill pens at present are, but with a point not quite so sharp.