his duty to reconnoitre the new possessions. At last he could quit the
scene of war with the hope of marrying Nefert. He rode his horse to
death the sooner to reach the goal of his desires; but when he reached
Tanis, the city of Rameses, the news met him that his affianced cousin
had been given to another, the handsomest and bravest man in Thebes--the
noble Mena. The more precious a thing is that we hope to possess, the
more we are justified in complaining of him who contests our claim, and
can win it from us. Paaker's blood must have been as cold as a frog's if
he could have forgiven Mena instead of hating him, and the cattle he has
offered to the Gods to bring down their wrath on the head of the traitor
may be counted by hundreds."

"And if you accept them, knowing why they are offered, you do unwisely
and wrongly," exclaimed Gagabu. "If I were a layman, I would take good
care not to worship a Divinity who condescends to serve the foulest human
fiends for a reward. But the omniscient Spirit, that rules the world in
accordance with eternal laws, knows nothing of these sacrifices, which
only tickle the nostrils of the evil one. The treasurer rejoices when a
beautiful spotless heifer is driven in among our herds. But Seth rubs
his red hands

[Red was the color of Seth and Typhon. The evil one is named the
Red, as for instance in the papyrus of fibers. Red-haired men were
typhonic.]

with delight that he accepts it. My friends, I have heard the vows which
Paaker has poured out over our pure altars, like hogwash that men set
before swine. Pestilence and boils has he called down on Mena, and
barrenness and heartache on the poor sweet woman; and I really cannot
blame her for preferring a battle-horse to a hippopotamus--a Mena to a