her of the
reigning King Rameses II.

[The two pyramidal towers joined by a gateway which formed the
entrance to an Egyptian temple were called the Pylon.]

The moon was up, and her pale light flooded the stately structure, while
the walls glowed with the ruddy smoky light of the torches which flared
in the hands of black attendants.

A man of sturdy build, in sumptuous dress, was knocking at the
brass-covered temple door with the metal handle of a whip, so violently
that the blows rang far and loud through the night. Near him stood a
litter, and a chariot, to which were harnessed two fine horses. In the
litter sat a young woman, and in the carriage, next to the driver, was
the tall figure of a lady. Several men of the upper classes and many
servants stood around the litter and the chariot. Few words were
exchanged; the whole attention of the strangely lighted groups seemed
concentrated on the temple-gate. The darkness concealed the features
of individuals, but the mingled light of the moon and the torches was
enough to reveal to the gate-keeper, who looked down on the party from a
tower of the Pylon, that it was composed of persons of the highest rank;
nay, perhaps of the royal family.

He called aloud to the one who knocked, and asked him what was his will.

He looked up, and in a voice so rough and imperious, that the lady in
the litter shrank in horror as its tones suddenly violated the place of
the dead, he cried out--"How long are we to wait here for you--you
dirty hound? Come down and open the door and then ask questions. If
the torch-light is not bright enough to show you who is waiting, I will
score our name on your shoulders with my whip, and teach you how to
receive princely visitors."

While the porter muttered an unintelligible answer and came down the
steps within to open the door, the lady in the chariot turned to her
impatient companion and said in a pleasant but yet decided voice, "You
forget, Paaker, that you are back again in Egypt, and that here you have
to deal not with the wild Schasu,--[A Semitic race of robbers in the
cast of Egypt.]--but with friendly priests of whom we have to solicit
a favor. We have always had to lament your roughness, which seems to
me very ill-suited to the unusual circumstances under which we approach
this sanctuary."

Although these words were spoken in a tone rather of regret than of
blame, they wounded the sensibilities of the person addressed; his wide
n