deficient, he always set the
example of remitting the rents of the tenants of his broad lands, and
was ready to lend money without interest to tenants of harder or more
necessitous landlords.

Yet among the high priesthood Ameres was regarded with suspicion, and
even dislike. It was whispered among them that, learned and pious as
he was, the opinions of the high priest were not in accordance with
the general sentiments of the priesthood; that although he performed
punctiliously all the numerous duties of his office, and took his part
in the sacrifices and processions of the god, he yet lacked reverence
for him, and entertained notions widely at variance with those of his
fellows.

Ameres was, in fact, one of those men who refuse to be bound by the
thoughts and opinions of others, and to whom it is a necessity to
bring their own judgment to bear on every question presented to them.
His father, who had been high priest before him--for the great offices
of Egypt were for the most part hereditary--while he had been
delighted at the thirst for knowledge and the enthusiasm for study in
his son, had been frequently shocked at the freedom with which he
expressed his opinions as step by step he was initiated into the
sacred mysteries.

Already at his introduction to the priesthood, Ameres had mastered all
there was to learn in geometry and astronomy. He was a skillful
architect, and was deeply versed in the history of the nation. He had
already been employed as supervisor in the construction of canals and
irrigation works on the property belonging to the temple, and in all
these respects his father had every reason to be proud of the success
he had attained and the estimation in which he was held by his
fellows. It was only the latitude which he allowed himself in
consideration of religious questions which alarmed and distressed
his father.

The Egyptians were the most conservative of peoples. For thousands
of years no change whatever took place in their constitution, their
manners, customs, and habits. It was the fixed belief of every
Egyptian that in all respects their country was superior to any other,
and that their laws and customs had approached perfection. All, from
the highest to the lowest, were equally bound by these. The king
himself was no more independent than the peasant; his hour of rising,
the manner in which the day should be employed, the very quantity and
quality of food he should eat, were all rigidly d