rarely-sounded alarum every
dweller in the House of Seti was expected to appear in the court of the
temple. Even the leech Nebsecht came; for he feared that the unusual
summons announced the outbreak of a fire.

Ameni ordered the assembly to arrange itself in a procession, informed
his astonished hearers that in the breast of the deceased prophet Rui, a
ram's heart, instead of a man's, had been found, and desired them all to
follow his instructions. Each one, he said, was to fall on his knees
and pray, while he would carry the heart into the holiest of holies, and
enquire of the Gods what this wonder might portend to the faithful.

Ameni, with the heart in his hand, placed himself at the head of the
procession, and disappeared behind the veil of the sanctuary, the
initiated prayed in the vestibule, in front of it; the priests and
scholars in the vast court, which was closed on the west by the stately
colonnade and the main gateway to the temple.

For fully an hour Ameni remained in the silent holy of holies, from
which thick clouds of incense rolled out, and then he reappeared with
a golden vase set with precious stones. His tall figure was now
resplendent with rich ornaments, and a priest, who walked before him,
held the vessel high above his head.

Ameni's eyes seemed spell-bound to the vase, and he followed it,
supporting himself by his crozier, with humble inflections.

The initiated bowed their heads till they touched the pavement, and
the priests and scholars bent their faces down to the earth, when they
beheld their haughty master so filled with humility and devotion. The
worshippers did not raise themselves till Ameni had reached the middle
of the court and ascended the steps of the altar, on which the vase
with the heart was now placed, and they listened to the slow and solemn
accents of the high-priest which sounded clearly through the whole
court.

"Fall down again and worship! wonder, pray, and adore! The noble
inspector of sacrifices of the temple of Anion has not been deceived
in his judgment; a ram's heart was in fact found in the pious breast of
Rui. I heard distinctly the voice of the Divinity in the sanctuary, and
strange indeed was the speech that met my ear. Wolves tore the sacred
ram of Anion in his sanctuary on the other bank of the river, but the
heart of the divine beast found its way into the bosom of the saintly
Rui. A great miracle has been worked, and the Gods have shown a
wonderful si