f flowers whose sweet scent perfumed the
atmosphere.

So in this vast hall, surrounded by the effigies of his ancestors, all
things spoke and sang of the glory of the Pharaoh. The nations of the
world walked behind Egypt and acknowledged her supremacy, and he
governed Egypt. Yet the daughter of Petamounoph, far from being dazzled
by this splendour, thought of the rustic villa, of Poeri, and especially
of the mean hut of mud and straw in the Hebrew quarter, where she had
left Ra'hel,--Ra'hel, from henceforward the happy and only spouse of the
young Hebrew.

The Pharaoh held the tips of the fingers of Tahoser, who stood before
him, and he fixed upon her his hawk eyes, the eyelids of which never
moved. The young girl had no other garment than the drapery substituted
by Ra'hel for the dress which had been soaked during the swim across the
Nile, but her beauty was in no wise impaired. She remained thus, half
nude, holding with one hand the coarse stuff which slipped, and the
whole upper portion of her beautiful body appeared in its golden
fairness. When she was adorned with her jewels, one was tempted to
regret that any part of her form should be concealed by her necklaces,
her bracelets, and her belts of gold or of gems; but on seeing her thus
devoid of all ornament, admiration was satisfied, or rather exalted.
Certainly many very beautiful women had entered the Pharaoh's harem, but
not one of them comparable to Tahoser; and the eyes of the King flashed
such burning glances that, unable to bear their brilliancy, she was
obliged to cast down her eyes.

In her heart, Tahoser was proud of having excited love in the Pharaoh;
for who is the woman, however perfect she may be, who has not some
vanity. Yet she would have preferred to follow the young Hebrew into the
desert. The King terrified her, she felt herself dazzled by the
splendour of his face, and her limbs gave way under her.

The Pharaoh noticed her emotion, and made her sit down at his feet on a
red cushion adorned with tufts.

"Oh, Tahoser," he said, kissing her hair, "I love you. When I saw you
from the top of my triumphal palanquin, borne higher than the heads of
men by the generals, an unknown feeling entered into my soul. I, whose
every desire is forestalled, desired something; I understood that I was
not everything. Until then I had lived solitary in my almightiness, in
the depths of my vast palaces, surrounded by mere shadows which called
themselves women, a