dly; men and beasts
fell because of heat, and on fields and trees a gray dust had begun to
settle under which vegetation was dying.

Roses had been harvested and turned into oil; wheat had been gathered
as well as the second crop of clover. The sweeps and buckets moved with
double energy, irrigating the earth with dirty water to fit it for new
seed. Men had begun to gather grapes and figs. The Nile had fallen,
water in canals was low and of evil odor. Above the whole country a
fine dust was borne along in a deluge of burning sun-rays.

In spite of this Prince Ramses rode on and felt gladsome. The life of a
penitent in the temple had grown irksome; he yearned for feasts,
uproar, and women.

Meanwhile the country, intersected with a net of canals, though flat
and monotonous, was pleasing. In the province of Habu lived people of
another origin: not the old Egyptians, but descendants of the valiant
Hyksos, who on a time had conquered Egypt and governed that laud for a
number of generations.

The old Egyptians despised this remnant of a conquering race expelled
from power afterward, but Ramses looked on them with satisfaction. They
were large and strong, their bearing was proud, and there was manly
energy in their faces. They did not fall prostrate before the prince
and his officers, like Egyptians, but looked at him without dislike,
but also without timidity. Neither were their shoulders covered with
scars from beating; the scribes respected them because they knew that
if a Hyksos were beaten he would return the blows, and might kill the
man who gave them. Moreover the Hyksos enjoyed the pharaoh's favor, for
their people furnished the choicest warriors.

As the retinue of the heir approached Pi-Bast, whose temples and
palaces were visible through the haze of dust, as through a veil of
muslin, the neighborhood grew more active. Along the broad highway and
the canals men were taking to market cattle, wheat, fruit, wine,
flowers, bread, and a multitude of other articles of daily consumption.
The torrent of people and goods moving toward the city was as noisy and
dense as that outside Memphis in the holiday season. Around Pi-Bast
reigned throughout the whole year the uproar of a market-day, which
ceased only in the night time.

The cause of this was simple. In that city stood the renowned and
ancient temple of Astarte. This temple was revered throughout Western
Asia and attracted throngs of pilgrims. It could be said wit