s
"his father"--his ancestor--and had erected a statue to him; the priests
knew that, by invoking him, they had a chance of obtaining a hearing.

The inscription which they fabricated set forth that in the eighteenth
year of Zosiri's reign he had sent to Madir, lord of Elephantine, a
message couched in these terms: "I am overcome with sorrow for the
throne, and for those who reside in the palace, and my heart is
afflicted and suffers greatly because the Nile has not risen in my time,
for the space of eight years. Corn is scarce, there is a lack of
herbage, and nothing is left to eat: when any one calls upon his
neighbors for help, they take pains not to go. The child weeps, the
young man is uneasy, the hearts of the old men are in despair, their
limbs are bent, they crouch on the earth, they fold their hands; the
courtiers have no further resources; the shops formerly furnished with
rich wares are now filled only with air, all that was within them has
disappeared. My spirit also, mindful of the beginning of things, seeks
to call upon the savior who was here where I am, during the centuries of
the gods, upon Thot-Ibis, that great wise one, upon Imhotpu, son of
Phtah of Memphis. Where is the place in which the Nile is born? Who is
the god or goddess concealed there? What is his likeness?"

The lord of Elephantine brought his reply in person. He described to
the king, who was evidently ignorant of it, the situation of the island
and the rocks of the cataract, the phenomena of the inundation, the gods
who presided over it, and who alone could relieve Egypt from her
disastrous plight.

Zosiri repaired to the temple of the principality and offered the
prescribed sacrifices; the god arose, opened his eyes, panted, and cried
aloud, "I am Khnumu who created thee!" and promised him a speedy return
of a high Nile and the cessation of the famine.

Pharaoh was touched by the benevolence which his divine father had shown
him; he forthwith made a decree by which he ceded to the temple all his
rights of suzerainty over the neighboring nomes within a radius of
twenty miles.

Henceforward the entire population, tillers and vinedressers, fishermen
and hunters, had to yield the tithe of their income to the priests; the
quarries could not be worked without the consent of Khnumu, and the
payment of a suitable indemnity into his coffers; finally, metals and
precious woods, shipped thence for Egypt, had to submit to a toll on
behalf of t