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 general crowd of courtiers could only enter unshod; that of kissing
the knees and not the feet of the "good god," and that of wearing the
panther's skin. Among those who enjoyed these distinctions were the
physicians of the king, chaplains, and men of the roll--"khri-habi."
The latter did not confine themselves to the task of guiding Pharaoh
through the intricacies of ritual, nor to that of prompting him with the
necessary formulas needed to make the sacrifice efficacious; they were
styled "Masters of the Secrets of Heaven," those who see what is in the
firmament, on the earth and in Hades, those who know all the charms
of the soothsayers, prophets, or magicians. The laws relating to the
government of the seasons and the stars presented no mysteries to them,
neither were they ignorant of the months, days, or hours propitious to
the undertakings of everyday life or the starting out on an expedition,