Thus it will be observed that the Egyptian method is not a lost art, as has been supposed, neither would any person living under the present age of improvement allow it to be practiced on their dead. It has been often remarked by those not informed in such matters, that the Egyptian method could not be fully analyzed or a new and better method discovered to take its place; but, fortunately, this is a great mistake. The Peruvians equalled the Egyptian method without removing anything from the body, and all they used was smoke and heat. When the moisture was fully evaporated from the body it was placed in a dry, rocky tomb. Many of these _mummies_ have been discovered in a fine state of preservation, and few, if any, are prepared to say but that these ancient dead have been lying in their rock-hewn tombs as long as the so-called Egyptian mummies have in the catacombs of Egypt. I have given the above, as you will be asked many times in regard to the Egyptian method of embalming, and it will be a very great advantage to you in being able to give the information called for. There are a number of so-called preserving or embalming preparations, sold as such (some having a little merit as a temporary preservative), but _none of them_ possessing all the requirements of a perfect preservative, deodorizer and embalming compound. _Perfection_, however, has been attained in the Excelsior Preservative, it being a perfect deodorizer, and for preserving and embalming the dead _it surpasses anything known_ either in _ancient_ or _modern_ times. Having explained the ancient method of preserving the dead, I will now take up the science as perfected, with the aid of the Excelsior Preservative and the practical instructions, which I herewith lay before you. With this manual in your possession, you will be enabled to attain that perfection in the art of preserving and embalming the dead which the educated and refined taste of the people of this day require of your profession. [Illustration: [Fleuron]] CHAPTER II. Directions for the Care of Ordinary Cases. To handle and preserve an ordinary case in warm weather, when the body is only to be kept one or two days, the undertaker will find my process very much easier than any of the old methods (in fact not half the work). In a case of this kind (as the ice-box or icing is done away with or omitted), all the undertaker has to do is to lay the body out, with the head from ten to twelve inches higher than the feet (_the higher the head the better_), and inject with the Syringe, using the large bent tube, say one-half of a pint of the Preservative into the nose or mouth, which will immediately run down the throat into the lungs and stomach, and prevent any fermentation or decay of any substance that may be in them. The body should be raised up in the sitting posture if there is any difficulty in injecting down the throat.