god is rested on the top of the pillar. Two
censer-bearers come forward, and swing their censers, wafting clouds of
incense round the shrine; a priest lifts up his voice, loudly intoning a
hymn of praise to the great god who creates and sustains all things; and
a few of the by-standers lay before the bark offerings of flowers,
fruit, and eatables of various kinds. Then comes the solemn moment. Amid
breathless silence, the veil of the shrine is slowly drawn aside, and
the faithful can see a little wooden image, about 18 inches high,
adorned with tall plumes, carefully dressed, and painted with green and
black. The revelation of this little doll, to a Theban crowd the most
sacred object in all the world, is hailed with shouts of wonder and
reverence. Then the veil is drawn again, the procession passes on,
and the streets are left quiet for awhile.

[Illustration: Plate 3
THE GREAT GATE OF THE TEMPLE OF LUXOR, WITH OBELISK. _Pages 74, 75_]

We are reminded that, if we wish to get a meal before starting out to
see Pharaoh passing in procession to the temple, we had better lose no
time, and so we turn our faces riverwards again, and wander down through
the endless maze of streets to where our galley is moored at the quay.

CHAPTER IV

PHARAOH AT HOME

The time is coming on now for the King to go in state to the great
temple at Karnak to offer sacrifice, and as we go up to the palace to
see him come forth in all his glory, let me tell you a little about him
and the kind of life he leads. Pharaoh, of course, is not his real name;
it is not even his official title; it is just a word which is used to
describe a person who is so great that people scarcely venture to call
him by his proper name. Just as the Turks nowadays speak of the "Sublime
Porte," when they mean the Sultan and his Government, so the Egyptians
speak of "Per-o," or Pharaoh, as we call it, which really signifies
"Great House," when they mean the King.

For the King of Egypt is a very great man indeed; in fact, his people
look upon him, and he looks upon himself, as something more than a man.
There are many gods in Egypt; but the god whom the people know best,
and to whom they pay the most reverence, is their King. Ever since there
have been Kings in the country, and that is a very long time now, the
reigning monarch has been looked upon as a kind of god manifest in the
flesh. He calls himself "Son of the Sun"; in the temples you will see
pictures o