for a multiplicity of deities. Each member of the Egyptian
Pantheon presided over some special field of human interest or human
environment. To him, who had lived next to nature till her study had
become a worship, there were no flaws in her chronology, no
shortcomings or plethora. The earth responded to the skies; the waters
were in harmony with the earth, the harvests with all. There was unity
in the control over the universe and the hand that was powerful enough
to swing the moon was mighty enough to flood the Nile, was tender
enough to nourish the harvests, was wise enough to govern men. Where,
then, was any need of a superfluity of powers?

But behold, something had thrust a dread hand between the tender
ministrations of this other Thing and the benefits to men. By this
time it had reached the remotenesses of Egypt that it was the God of
the Hebrews. The young man arrived at this alternative in his
reasoning: There was a minister of good and another of evil--two powers
presiding over the earth,--or,--the sole minister was offended and had
deserted its charge, or had loosed upon Egypt the evil at its command.
Here Kenkenes paused. He could not arrive at any conclusion on the
matter or convince himself that he had not reasoned well.

Night after night, he fell asleep upon his ponderings, but they
returned to him with fresh food for thought after every sunset. The
reconstruction of something worshipful was more fascinating than had
been the demolition of the gods. It took many a night's meditation for
the evolution of any fixed idea from the bewildering convection of
thought. And at last he had concluded only that there was one
thing--Power--Purpose, which was greater than man.

This was not a great achievement. He had simply permitted the
universal, indefinable claim to piety, inherent in every reasoning
thing, to assert itself.

Great and sincere and beyond expression was his amazement and his joy
when a taskmaster called him from the canal-bed one day and informed
him that he was free.

The order was shown him at his request, and the name of the Princess
Ta-user as his champion filled him with puzzlement. State news
filtered slowly down even to the level he had occupied for the past
eight months. He had heard that it was Masanath whom the Hathors had
destined to wear the crown of queen to Rameses; the convicts had known
of the supremacy of Har-hat. He could not understand how it came that
Ta-u