ter. It was a glorious morning; we children were collected
in the great hall of the King, all in festival dresses; he had us called
into this room, which had been inhabited by my mother, who then had
been dead only a few months. He took each of us by the hand, and said he
forgave us everything we might have done wrong if only we were sincerely
penitent, and gave us each a kiss on our forehead. Then he beckoned us
all to him, and said, as humbly as if he were one of us instead of the
great king, 'Perhaps I may have done one of you some injustice, or have
kept you out of some right; I am not conscious of such a thing, but if
it has occurred I am very sorry'--we all rushed upon him, and wanted
to kiss him, but he put us aside smiling, and said, 'Each of you has
enjoyed an equal share of one thing, that you may be sure--I mean your
father's love; and I see now that you return what I have given you.'
Then he spoke of our mother, and said that even the tenderest father
could not fill the place of a mother. He drew a lovely picture of the
unselfish devotion of the dead mother, and desired us to pray and to
sacrifice with him at her resting-place, and to resolve to be worthy of
her; not only in great things but in trifles too, for they make up
the sum of life, as hours make the days, and the years. We elder ones
clasped each other's hands, and I never felt happier than in that
moment, and afterwards by my mother's grave." Nefert raised her eyes
that were wet with tears.

"With such a father it must be easy to be good," she said.

"Did your mother never speak good words that went to your heart on the
morning of this festival?" asked Bent-Anat.

Nefert colored, and answered: "We were always late in dressing, and then
had to hurry to be at the temple in time."

"Then let me be your mother to-day," cried the princess, "and yours too,
Rameri. Do you not remember how my father offered forgiveness to the
officers of the court, and to all the servants, and how he enjoined us
to root out every grudge from our hearts on this day? 'Only stainless
garments,' he said, 'befit this feast; only hearts without spot.' So,
brother, I will not hear an evil word about Ameni, who is most likely
forced to be severe by the law; my father will enquire into it all and
decide. My heart is so full, it must overflow. Come, Nefert, give me a
kiss, and you too, Rameri. Now I will go into my little temple, in
which the images of our ancestors stand, and th