arkled under the
light, falling from a sky as blue as the enamel of the Osiris
statuettes.

On the southern side of the parade ground the revetment wall was cut
through by a road which ran towards Upper Egypt along the foot of the
Libyan chain. At the opposite corner the revetment was again cut so that
the road was prolonged to the palace of Rameses Meiamoun through the
thick brick walls. Petamounoph's daughter and Nofre, for whom the
servants had made room, stood on this corner on the top of the wall, so
that they could see the whole procession pass at their feet.

A mighty rumour, low, deep, and powerful, like that of an advancing
ocean, was heard in the distance and drowned the innumerable noises
arising from the crowd, as the roar of a lion silences the yelping of a
tribe of jackals. Soon the separate sounds of the instruments were heard
amidst the thunderous noise produced by the driving of war chariots and
the rhythmic marching of the soldiers. A sort of reddish mist like that
raised by the desert wind filled the sky in that direction, and yet
there was no breeze,--not a breath of air,--and the most delicate
branches of the palms were as motionless as if they had been carved on
granite capitals. Not a hair moved on the wet temples of the women, and
the fluted lappets of their head-dresses fell limp behind their backs.
The dusty mist was produced by the army on the march, and hovered above
it like a dun-coloured cloud.

The roar increased, the cloud of dust opened, and the first files of
musicians debouched into the vast arena, to the intense delight of the
multitude, which, notwithstanding its respect for the majesty of the
Pharaoh, was beginning to weary of waiting under a sunshine which would
have melted any but Egyptian skulls.

The advance guard of musicians stopped for a few moments. Delegations of
priests and deputations of the chief inhabitants of Thebes crossed the
parade ground to meet the Pharaoh, and drew up in double line in
attitudes of the deepest respect so as to leave a free passage for the
procession.

The music, which alone might have formed a small army, was composed of
drums, tambourines, trumpets, and sistra. The first squad passed,
blowing a sounding blare of triumph through its short copper bugles that
shone like gold. Every one of these musicians carried a second bugle
under his arm, as if the instrument were likely to be worn out before
the man. The costume of the trumpeters consiste