So I went, or rather ran, and reached the chamber of which I have written, and there at the table sat my father, Amenemhat, the same as he had been, but very old.  I came to him and, kneeling before him, kissed his hand, and he blessed me.

“Look up, my son,” he said, “let my old eyes gaze upon thy face, that I may read thy heart.”

So I lifted up my head, and he looked upon me long and earnestly.

“I read thee,” he said at length; “thou art pure and strong in wisdom; I have not been deceived in thee.  Oh, the years have been lonely; but I did well to send thee hence.  Now, tell me of thy life; for thy letters have told me little, and thou canst not know, my son, how hungry is a father’s heart.”

And so I told him; we sat far into the night and talked together.  And in the end he bade me know that I must now prepare to be initiated into those last mysteries that are learned of the chosen of the Gods.

And so it came about that for a space of three months I prepared myself according to the holy customs.  I ate no meat.  I was constant in the sanctuaries, in the study of the secrets of the Great Sacrifice and of the woe of the Holy Mother.  I watched and prayed before the altars.  I lifted up my soul to God; ay, in dreams I communed with the Invisible, till at length earth and earth’s desires seemed to pass from me.  I longed no more for the glory of this world, my heart hung above it as an eagle on his outstretched wings, and the voice of the world’s blame could not stir it, and the vision of its beauty brought no delight.  For above me was the vast vault of heaven, where in unalterable procession the stars pass on, drawing after them the destinies of men; where the Holy Ones sit upon their burning thrones, and watch the chariot-wheels of Fate as they roll from sphere to sphere.  O hours of holy contemplation! who, having once tasted of your joy could wish again to grovel on the earth?  O vile flesh to drag us down!  I would that thou hadst then altogether fallen from me, and left my spirit free to seek Osiris!

The months of probation passed but too swiftly, and now the holy day drew near when I was in truth to be united to the universal Mother.  Never hath Night so longed for the promise of the Dawn; never hath the heart of a lover so passionately desired the sweet coming of his bride, as I longed to see Thy glorious face, O Isis!  Even now that I have been faithless to Thee, and Thou art far from me, O Divine! my soul goes out to Thee, and once more I know——­But as it is bidden that I should draw the veil, and speak of things which have not been told since the beginning of this world, let me pass on and reverently set down the history of that holy morn.

For seven days the great festival had been celebrated, the suffering of the Lord Osiris had been commemorated, the grief of the Mother Isis had been sung and glory had been done to the memory of the coming of the Divine Child Horus, the Son, the Avenger, the God-begot.  All these things had been carried out according to the ancient rites.  The boats had floated on the sacred lake, the priests had scourged themselves before the sanctuaries, and the images had been borne through the streets at night.