the north, and the desert on the
east, we have had a number of bad harvests; in a word, tale follows
tale while the treasury becomes poorer and poorer. Therefore I beg thee
to explain this matter. Look about, learn to know well-informed men who
are truthful, and form of them an examining commission. When they begin
to report, trust not over-much to papyrus, but verify here and there in
person. I hear that Thou hast the eye of a leader; if that be true, one
glance will tell thee how accurate the statements of the commission
are. But hasten not in giving thy opinion, and above all, do not herald
it. Note down every weighty conclusion which conies to thy head on a
given day, and when a few days have passed reexamine that question and
note it down a second time. This will teach thee caution in judgment
and accuracy in grasping subjects."

"It will be as Thou commandest," replied the prince.

"Another mission which Thou must accomplish is truly difficult.
Something is happening in Assyria which begins to alarm my government.
Our priests declare that beyond the Northern sea stands a pyramidal
mountain covered with green at its base and with snow on the summit.
This mountain has marvelous qualities. After many years of quiet it
begins all at once to smoke, roar, and tremble, and then it hurls out
as much liquid fire as there is water in the Nile. This fire, which
flows down its sides in various directions and over an immense stretch
of country, ruins the labor of earth-tillers.

"Well, Assyria is a mountain of that sort. For whole ages calm and
quiet reign in that region, till all on a sudden a tempest bursts out
there, great armies pour forth from it and annihilate peaceful
neighbors. At present around Nineveh and Babylon seething is audible:
the mountain is smoking. Thou must learn therefore how far that smoke
indicates an outburst, and think out means of precaution."

"Shall I be able to do so?" asked the prince, in a low voice.

"Thou must learn to observe. If Thou hast the wish to learn anything
well, be not satisfied with the witness of thy own eyes, but strengthen
thyself with the aid of a number of others. Confine not thyself to the
judgment of Egyptians alone, for each people, each man has a special
way of looking at subjects, and neither one grasps the whole truth in
any question. Listen therefore to what the Phoenicians, the Hebrews,
the Hittites, and the Egyptians think of the Assyrians, and weigh in
thy own h