Among the princes, Chamus sat nearest to the king;

[He is named Cha-em-Us on the monuments, i. e., 'splendor in
Thebes.' He became the Sam, or high-priest of Memphis. His mummy
was discovered by Mariette in the tomb of Apis at Saqqarah during ha
excavations of the Serapeum at Memphis.]

he was the eldest of his sons, and while still young had been invested
with the dignity of high-priest of Memphis. The curly-haired Rameri,
who had been rescued from imprisonment--into which he had fallen on his
journey from Egypt--had been assigned a place with the younger princes at
the lowest end of the table.

"It all sounds very threatening!" said the king. "But though each of
you croakers speaks the truth, your love for me dims your sight. In
fact, all that Rameri has told me, that Bent-Anat writes, that Mena's
stud-keeper says of Ani, and that comes through other channels--amounts
to nothing that need disturb us. I know your uncle--I know that he will
make his borrowed throne as wide as he possibly can; but when we return
home he will be quite content to sit on a narrow seat again. Great
enterprises and daring deeds are not what he excels in; but he is very
apt at carrying out a ready-made system, and therefore I choose him to be
my Regent."

"But Ameni," said Chamus, bowing respectfully to his father, "seems to
have stirred up his ambition, and to support him with his advice. The
chief of the House of Seti is a man of great ability, and at least half
of the priesthood are his adherents."