of Athu even to Nubia; he repaired their sculptures so that they were better than before, not to speak of the fine things he did in them, rejoicing the eyes of Ra.  That which he had found injured he put into its original condition, erecting a hundred statues, carefully formed of valuable stone, for every one which was lacking.  He inspected the ruined towns of the gods in the land, and made them such as they had been in the time of the first Ennead, and he allotted to them estates and offerings for every day, as well as a set of sacred vessels entirely of gold and silver; he settled priests in them, bookmen, carefully chosen soldiers, and assigned to them fields, cattle, all the necessary material to make prayers to Ra every morning.”  These measures were inspired by consideration for the ancient deities; but he added to them others, which tended to secure the welfare of the people and the stability of the government.  Up to this time the officials and the Egyptian soldiers had displayed a tendency to oppress the fellahin, without taking into consideration the injury to the treasury occasioned by their rapacity.  Constant supervision was the only means of restraining them, for even the best-served Pharaohs, Thutmosis, and Amenothes III. themselves, were obliged to have frequent recourse to the rigour of the law to keep the scandalous depredations of the officials within bounds.*

     * Harmhabi refers to the edicts of Thutmosis III.

The religious disputes of the preceding years, in enfeebling the authority of the central power, had given a free hand to these oppressors.  The scribes and tax-collectors were accustomed to exact contributions for the public service from the ships, whether laden or not, of those who were in a small way of business, and once they had laid their hands upon them, they did not readily let them go.  The poor fellow falling into their clutches lost his cargo, and he was at his wits’ end to know how to deliver at the royal storehouses the various wares with which he calculated to pay his taxes.  No sooner had the Court arrived at some place than the servants scoured the neighbourhood, confiscating the land produce, and seizing upon slaves, under pretence that they were acting for the king, while they had only their personal ends in view.  Soldiers appropriated all the hides of animals with the object, doubtless, of making from them leather jackets and helmets, or of duplicating their shields, with the result that when the treasury made its claim for leather, none was to be found.  It was hardly possible, moreover, to bring the culprits to justice, for the chief men of the towns and villages, the prophets, and all those who ought to have looked after the interests of the taxpayer, took money from the criminals for protecting them from justice, and compelled the innocent victims also to purchase their protection.  Harmhabi, who was continually looking for opportunities to put down injustice and to punish deceit, at length decided