at an exchange Ameni had condemned him! Here, wherever he looked, he
met with sulkiness and aversion; while, when he walked through the courts
of the House of Seti, a hundred boys would hurry towards him, and cling
affectionately to his robe. Honored there by great and small, his every
word had had its value; and when each day he gave utterance to his
thoughts, what he bestowed came back to him refined by earnest discourse
with his associates and superiors, and he gained new treasures for his
inner life.

"What is rare," thought he, "is full of charm; and yet how hard it is to
do without what is habitual!" The occurrences of the last few days passed
before his mental sight. Bent-Anat's image appeared before him, and took
a more and more distinct and captivating form. His heart began to beat
wildly, the blood rushed faster through his veins; he hid his face in his
hands, and recalled every glance, every word from her lips.

"I follow thee willingly," she had said to him before the hut of the
paraschites. Now he asked himself whether he were worthy of such a
follower.

He had indeed broken through the old bonds, but not to disgrace the house
that was dear to him, only to let new light into its dim chambers.

"To do what we have earnestly felt to be right," said he to himself, "may
seem worthy of punishment to men, but cannot before God."

He sighed and walked out into the terrace in a mood of lofty excitement,
and fully resolved to do here nothing but what was right, to lay the
foundation of all that was good.

"We men," thought he, "prepare sorrow when we come into the world, and
lamentation when we leave it; and so it is our duty in the intermediate
time to fight with suffering, and to sow the seeds of joy. There are many
tears here to be wiped away. To work then!" The poet found none of his
subordinates on the upper terrace. They had all met in the forecourt of
the temple, and were listening to the gate-keeper's tale, and seemed to
sympathize with his angry complaint--against whom Pentaur well knew.

With a firm step he went towards them and said:

"I have expelled this man from among us, for he is a disgrace to us.
To-morrow he quits the temple."

"I will go at once," replied the gate-keeper defiantly, "and in behalf of
the holy fathers (here he cast a significant glance at the priests), ask
the high-priest Ameni if the unclean are henceforth to be permitted to
enter this sanctuary."

He was already approac