pure, according to the commandment of the Gods, O son of the Royal
House; O hope of Khemi! be but ware of Woman the Destroyer, and as I
have said, so shall it be. I am poor and wretched; yea, stricken with
sorrow. I have sinned in speaking of what should be hid, and for my sin
I have paid in the coin of that which was born of my womb; willingly
have I paid for thee. But I have still of the wisdom of our people, nor
do the Gods, in whose eyes all are equal, turn their countenance from
the poor; the Divine Mother Isis hath spoken to me--but last night she
spake--bidding me come hither to gather herbs, and read to thee the
signs that I should see. And as I have said, so it shall come to pass,
if thou canst but endure the weight of the great temptation. Come
hither, Royal One!" and she led me to the edge of the canal, where the
water was deep, and still and blue. "Now gaze upon that face as the
water throws it back. Is not that brow fitted to bear the double crown?
Do not those gentle eyes mirror the majesty of kings? Hath not the Ptah,
the Creator, fashioned that form to fit the Imperial garb, and awe the
glance of multitudes looking through thee to God?

"Nay, nay!" she went on in another voice--a shrill old wife's voice--"I
will--be not so foolish, boy--the scratch of a lion is a venomous thing,
a terrible thing; yea, as bad as the bite of an asp--it must be treated,
else it will fester, and all thy days thou shalt dream of lions; ay, and
snakes; and, also, it will break out in sores. But I know of it--I know.
I am not crazed for nothing. For mark! everything has its balance--in
madness is much wisdom, and in wisdom much madness. _La! la! la!_
Pharaoh himself can't say where the one begins and the other ends. Now,
don't stand gazing there, looking as silly as a cat in a crocus-coloured
robe, as they say in Alexandria; but just let me stick these green
things on the place, and in six days you'll heal up as white as a
three-year-child. Never mind the smart of it, lad. By Him who sleeps