* A gold ring in the Louvre bears in relief on its bezel two
     little horses; which are probably “Strength-in-Thebaid"and
     “Nurit satisfied.”

He determined that the most characteristic episodes of the campaign—­the beating of the spies, the surprise of the camp, the king’s repeated charges, the arrival of his veterans, the flight of the Syrians, and the surrender of Qodshu—­should be represented on the walls and pylons of the temples.  A poem in rhymed strophes in every case accompanies these records of his glory, whether at Luxor, at the Eamesseum, at the Memnonium of Abydos, or in the heart of Nubia at Abu Simbel.  The author of the poem must have been present during the campaign, or must have had the account of it from the lips of his sovereign, for his work bears no traces of the coldness of official reports, and a warlike strain runs through it from one end to the other, so as still to invest it with life after a lapse of more than thirty centuries.*

     * The author is unknown:  Pentaur, or rather Pentauirit, to
     whom E. de Rouge attributed the poem, is merely the
     transcriber of the copy we possess on papyrus.

But little pains are bestowed on the introduction, and the poet does not give free vent to his enthusiasm until the moment when he describes his hero, left almost alone, charging the enemy in the sight of his followers.  The Pharaoh was surrounded by two thousand five hundred chariots, and his retreat was cut off by the warriors of the “perverse” Khati and of the other nations who accompanied them—­the peoples of Arvad, Mysia, and Pedasos; each of their chariots contained three men, and the ranks were so serried that they formed but one dense mass.  “No other prince was with me, no general officers, no one in command of the archers or chariots.  My foot-soldiers deserted me, my charioteers fled before the foe, and not one of them stood firm beside me to fight against them.”  Then said His Majesty:  “Who art thou, then, my father Amon?  A father who forgets his son?  Or have I committed aught against thee?  Have I not marched and halted according to thy command?  When he does not violate thy orders, the lord of Egypt is indeed great, and he overthrows the barbarians in his path!  What are these Asiatics to thy heart?  Amon will humiliate those who know not the god.  Have I not consecrated innumerable offerings to thee?  Filling thy holy dwelling-place with my prisoners, I build thee a temple for millions of years, I lavish all my goods on thy storehouses, I offer thee the whole world to enrich thy domains....  A miserable fate indeed awaits him who sets himself against thy will, but happy is he who finds favour with thee by deeds done for thee with a loving heart.  I invoke thee, O my father Amon!  Here am I in the midst of people so numerous that it cannot be known who are the nations joined together against me, and I am alone among them, none other is with me.  My many soldiers have forsaken