hast finished a war, the end of which was unseen by us common
men."

The pharaoh felt his dislike toward the minister decreasing.

"For this cause," continued the high priest, "the supreme council
implores thee, holiness, to appoint ten talents' reward to the valiant
regiments. Do thou, as supreme chief, permit that to thy name be added
'The Victorious.'."

Counting on the youth of the pharaoh, Herhor exaggerated in flattery.
Ramses recovered from his delight and replied on a sudden,

"What wouldst Thou add to my name had I destroyed the Assyrian army and
filled our temples with the riches of Nineveh and Babylon?"

"So he is always dreaming of that?" thought the high priest.

The pharaoh, as if to confirm Herhor's fears, changed the subject.

"How many troops have we?" asked he.

"Here in Memphis?"

"No, in all Egypt."

"Thou hadst ten regiments, holiness," answered Herhor. "The worthy
Nitager on the eastern boundary has fifteen. There are ten on the
south, for Nubia begins to be disturbed; five are garrisoned throughout
the country."

"Forty altogether," said Ramses, after some thought. "How many warriors
in all?"

"About sixty thousand."

Ramses sprang up from his chair.

"Sixty thousand instead of one hundred and twenty thousand!" shouted
he. "What does this mean? What have ye done with my army?"

"There are no means to maintain more men."

"O God!" said the Pharaoh, seizing his head. "But the Assyrians may
attack us a month hence. We are disarmed."

"We have a preliminary treaty with Assyria," put in Herhor.

"A woman might give such an answer, but not a minister of war," said
Ramses, with indignation. "What does a treaty mean when there is no
army behind it: Today one half of the troops which King Assar commands
would crush us."

"Deign to be at rest, holy lord. At the first news of Assyrian treason
we should have half a million of warriors."

The pharaoh laughed in his face.

"What? How? Thou art mad, priest! Thou art groping among papyruses, but
I have served seven years in the army, and there was almost no day
which I did not pass in drill or maneuvers. How couldst Thou have an
army of half a million in the course of a few months?"

"All the nobility would rise."

"What is thy nobility? Nobility is not an army. To form an army of half
a million, at least a hundred and fifty regiments are needed, and we,
as Thou thyself sayest, have forty. How could those men who today are
herding c