The king then called Rameri forward from among his brothers, and thanked him before them all for his brave conduct during the fire.  He had already been invested with the robe of manhood after the battle of Kadesh; he was now appointed to the command of a legion of chariot-warriors, and the order of the lion to wear round his neck was bestowed on him for his bravery.  The prince knelt, and thanked his father; but Rameses took the curly head in his hands and said: 

“You have won praise and reward by your splendid deeds from the father whom you have saved and filled with pride.  But the king watches over the laws, and guides the destiny cf this land, the king must blame you, nay perhaps punish you.  You could not yield to the discipline of school, where we all must learn to obey if we would afterwards exercise our authority with moderation, and without any orders you left Egypt and joined the army.  You showed the courage and strength of a man, but the folly of a boy in all that regards prudence and foresight—­things harder to learn for the son of a race of heroes than mere hitting and slashing at random; you, without experience, measured yourself against masters of the art of war, and what was the consequence?  Twice you fell a prisoner into the hands of the enemy, and I had to ransom you.

“The king of the Danaids gave you up in exchange for his daughter, and he rejoices long since in the restoration of his child; but we, in losing her, lost the most powerful means of coercing the seafaring nations of the islands and northern coasts of the great sea who are constantly increasing in might and daring, and so diminished our chances of securing a solid and abiding peace.

“Thus—­through the careless wilfulness of a boy, the great work is endangered which I had hoped to have achieved.  It grieves me particularly to humiliate your spirit to-day, when I have had so much reason to encourage you with praise.  Nor will I punish you, only warn you and teach you.  The mechanism of the state is like the working of the cogged wheels which move the water-works on the shore of the Nile-if one tooth is missing the whole comes to a stand-still however strong the beasts that labor to turn it.  Each of you—­bear this in mind—­is a main-wheel in the great machine of the state, and can serve an end only by acting unresistingly in obedience to the motive power.  Now rise! we may perhaps succeed in obtaining good security from the Asiatic king, though we have lost our hostage.”

Heralds at this moment marched into the tent, and announced that the representative of the Cheta king and the allied princes were in attendance in the council tent; Rameses put on the crown of Upper and Lower Egypt and all his royal adornments; the chamberlain who carried the insignia of his power, and his head scribe with his decoration of plumes marched before him, while his sons, the commanders in chief, and the interpreters followed him.  Rameses took his seat on his throne with great dignity, and the sternest gravity marked his demeanor while he received the homage of the conquered and fettered kings.