scoured the mountains with his men, and thereupon became one of the most
important personages in the defence of the country. The Pharaohs had
built fortified stations, and had from time to time constructed walls at
certain points where the roads entered the valley--at Syene, at Coptos,
and at the entrance to the Wady Tumilat. Amten having been proclaimed
"Primate of the Western Gate," that is, governor of the Libyan marches,
undertook to protect the frontier against the wandering Bedouin from the
other side of Lake Mareotis. His duties as Chief Huntsman had been
the best preparation he could have had for this arduous task. They had
forced him to make incessant expeditions among the mountains, to explore
the gorges and ravines, to be acquainted with the routes marked out by
wells which the marauders were obliged to follow in their incursions,
and the pathways and passes by which they could descend into the plain
of the Delta; in running the game to earth, he had gained all the
knowledge needful for repulsing the enemy. Such a combination of
capabilities made Amten the most important noble in this part of Egypt.
When old age at last prevented him from leading an active life, he
accepted, by way of a pension, the governorship of the nome of
the Haunch: with civil authority, military command, local priestly
functions, and honorary distinctions, he lacked only one thing to make
him the equal of the nobles of ancient family, and that was permission
to bequeath without restriction his towns and offices to his children.

His private fortune was not as great as we might be led to think. He
inherited from his father only one estate, but had acquired twelve
others in the nomes of the Delta whither his successive appointments had
led him--namely, in the Saite, Xoite, and Letopolite nomes. He received
subsequently, as a reward for his services, two hundred portions of
cultivated land, with numerous peasants, both male and female, and an
income of one hundred loaves daily, a first charge upon the funeral
provision of Queen Hapunimait. He took advantage of this windfall to
endow his family suitably. His only son was already provided for, thanks
to the munificence of Pharaoh; he had begun his administrative career by
holding the same post of scribe, in addition to the office of provision
registrar, which his father had held, and over and above these he
received by royal grant, four portions of cornland with their population
and stock.