ndered obedience at times rose from the ranks; on some
occasion their master had noticed them in the crowd, and had transferred
them, some by a single promotion, others by slow degrees, to the
highest offices of the state. Many among them, however, belonged to
old families, and held positions in the palace which their fathers
and grandfathers had occupied before them, some were members of the
provincial nobility, distant descendants of former royal princes and
princesses, more or less nearly related to the reigning sovereign.*

* It was the former who, I believe, formed the class of
_rokhu suton_ so often mentioned on the monuments. This
title is generally supposed to have been a mark of
relationship with the royal family. M. de Rouge proved long
ago that this was not so, and that functionaries might bear
this title even though they were not blood relations of the
Pharaohs. It seems to me to have been used to indicate a
class of courtiers whom the king condescended to "know"
(_rokhu_) directly, without the intermediary of a
chamberlain, the "persons known by the king;" the others
were only his "friends" (samiru).

They had been sought out to be the companions of his education and of
his pastimes, while he was still living an obscure life in the "House
of the Children;" he had grown up with them and had kept them about his
person as his "sole friends" and counsellors. He lavished titles and
offices upon them by the dozen, according to the confidence he felt in
their capacity or to the amount of faithfulness with which he credited
them. A few of the most favoured were called "Masters of the Secret of
the Royal House;" they knew all the innermost recesses of the palace,
all the passwords needed in going from one part of it to another, the
place where the royal treasures were kept, and the modes of access to
it. Several of them were "Masters of the Secret of all the Royal Words,"
and had authority over the high courtiers of the palace, which gave
them the power of banishing whom they pleased from the person of the
sovereign. Upon others devolved the task of arranging his amusements;
they rejoiced the heart of his Majesty by pleasant songs, while the
chiefs of the sailors and soldiers kept watch over his safety. To these
active services were attached honorary privileges which were highly
esteemed, such as the right to retain their sandals in the palace, while
the gener