But even if I am held to have stretched the prerogative of the _Ka_,
or of the waxen image which, by the way, has survived almost to our own
time, and in West Africa, as a fetish, is still pierced with pins or
nails, I can urge in excuse that I have tried, so far as a modern may,
to reproduce something of the atmosphere and colour of Old Egypt, as
it has appeared to a traveller in that country and a student of its
records. If Neter-Tua never sat upon its throne, at least another
daughter of Amen, a mighty queen, Hatshepu, wore the crown of the Upper
and the Lower Lands, and sent her embassies to search out the mysteries
of Punt. Of romance also, in high places, there must have been
abundance, though the short-cut records of the religious texts of the
priests do not trouble themselves with such matters.

At any rate, so believing, in the hope that it may interest readers
of to-day, I have ventured to discover and present one such romance,
whereof the motive, we may be sure, is more ancient, by far, than the
old Egyptians, namely, the triumph of true love over great difficulties
and dangers. It is pleasant to dream that the gods are on the side of
such lovers, and deign for their sakes to work the miracles in which for
thousands of years mankind has believed, although the scientist tells us
that they do not happen.

How large a part marvel and magic of the most terrible and exalted kind
played in the life of Old Egypt and of the nations with which she fought
and traded, we need go no further than the Book of Exodus to learn.
Also all her history is full of it, since among the Egyptians it was an
article of faith that the Divinity, which they worshipped under so many
names and symbols, made use of such mysterious means to influence or
direct the affairs of men and bring about the accomplishment of Its
decrees.