im no longer: he
wants wheaten bread with milk and honey; he washes his feet in beer and
quenches his thirst with wine from foreign countries.

"Because of this all nobles are in debt, the people are beaten and
overloaded with labor; here and there rebellions break out. What do I
say! here and there? During a certain time through the length and the
breadth of Egypt, thanks to secret disturbances, we hear the shout:
'Give us rest after every six days of labor! Do not beat us without
judgment! Give each man of us a plot of land as his property!'

"This is a declaration of ruin for Egypt, against which we must find
rescue. The rescue is only in religion, which teaches that the people
should labor. Holy men, as persons knowing the will of the gods, should
indicate the labor, and it is the duty of the pharaoh and his officials
to see that this labor is carried out actually.

"Religion teaches all this; according to these principles Ramses XII,
who was equal to the gods, governed Egypt. We high priests, knowing his
devotion, will cut out the following inscription on his tomb and on the
temples:

"The bull Horus, the mighty Apes who united the crowns of the kingdom,
the golden falcon wielding the saber, the conqueror of nine nations,
the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, the ruler of two worlds, the son of
the sun, Amen-Mer-Ramses, beloved of Amon-Ra, the lord and ruler of the
Theban region, the son of Amon-Ra received as son by Horus, and
begotten by Hormach, King of Egypt, ruler of Phoenicia, lord of nine
nations." [Authentic tomb inscription. ]

When this proposal was confirmed by a shout of those assembled, dancers
ran out from behind the curtain and performed a sacred dance before the
sarcophagus, and the priests burned incense. Then they took the mummy
from the boat and bore it to the sanctuary of Amon into which Ramses
XIII had not the right to enter.

The service ended soon after and the assembly left the temple.

While returning to the palace of Luxor the young pharaoh was so sunk in
thought that he hardly saw the immense throng of people and did not
hear the shouts which rose from it.

"I cannot deceive my own heart," thought Ramses. "The high priests
insult me; this has not happened to any pharaoh till my time; more,
they point out to me the way in which I can gain their favor. They wish
to manage the state, and I am to see that their commands are
accomplished.

"But it will be otherwise: I shall command and