would help our slaves in
their labor.

"But say, in conclusion, that the wisdom of my father excels that of
all men, therefore I shall do whatsoever he commands, if only he gives
not Phoenicia to King Assar; if he gives it, we are ruined. Phoenicia
is the bronze door of our treasure-house, and where is the man who
would yield his door to a robber?"

Tutmosis went to Memphis in the month Paofi (July and August).

The Nile was increasing mightily; hence the influx of Asiatic pilgrims
to the temple of Astaroth diminished. People of the place betook
themselves to the fields to gather with the utmost speed grapes, flax,
and a certain plant which furnished cotton.

In one word, the neighborhood grew quiet, and the gardens surrounding
the temples were almost deserted.

At that time Prince Ramses, relieved from amusements and the duties of
the state, turned to his love affair with Kama. On a certain day he had
a secret consultation with Hiram, who at his command gave the temple of
Astaroth twelve talents in gold, a statue of the goddess wonderfully
carved out of malachite, fifty cows and of wheat one hundred and fifty
measures. That was such a generous gift that the high priest of the
temple himself came to Ramses to fall prostrate and thank him for the
favor which, as he said, people who loved the goddess would remember
during all the ages.

Having settled with the temple, the prince summoned the chief of police
in Pi-Bast and passed a long hour with him. Because of this the whole
city was shaken some days later under the influence of extraordinary
tidings: Kama, the priestess of Astaroth, had been seized, borne away
and lost, like a grain of sand in a desert.

This unheard-of event occurred under the following conditions: The high
priest of the temple sent Kama to the town Sabne-Chetam at Lake
Menzaleh with offerings for the chapel of Astaroth in that place. To
avoid summer heat and secure herself against curiosity and the homage
of people, the priestess journeyed in a boat and during night hours.
Toward morning, when the three wearied rowers were dozing, boats manned
by Greeks and Hittites pushed out suddenly from among reeds at the
shore, surrounded the boat bearing Kama, and carried off the priestess.
The attack was so sudden that the Phoenician rowers made no resistance.
The strangers gagged Kama, evidently, for she remained silent. The
Greeks and Hittites after the sacrilege vanished in the reeds, to sail
toward