the throne was no longer safe from conspiracy and domestic treason; the very sanctity of the grave was violated, and the mummies of the departed were not secure from outrage and plunder. The oracle-temple of Khons was consulted on every important occasion, and its fame seems to have spread far beyond the limits of Egypt itself. A curious episode belonging to the reign of Rameses XII. has been preserved, in a story written on the walls of this temple. It relates that the king had married a princess of the land of Bakhten, and that on a certain festival day there came a messenger from that country bringing presents for the king, accompanied by a request from the King of Bakhten. His daughter, the younger sister of the Queen of Egypt, had become possessed by a strange malady, and his majesty implored that a learned man acquainted with such things might be sent from Egypt to see her. Rameses XII. accordingly sent a learned man thither, who found the princess ‘in the state of one possessed with spirits,’ but the spirit was hostile, nor could the learned man prevail over him. A second message came from the troubled father, entreating that an Egyptian god might be sent to Bakhten. Pharaoh was standing before the shrine of the oracle-giving Khons, who was especially noted for power over such maladies. On inquiring whether the god would be willing to undertake the journey, the king received a favourable answer. Accordingly the shrine of Khons was borne upon the shoulders of twelve priests the whole way from Egypt to Bakhten, a journey of one year and five months, attended by chariots and horsemen on the right hand and on the left. The king and the princes came forth to meet and to welcome the ark, and prostrated themselves on the ground before it, and the god proceeded to the palace where the princess was, and speedily effected a cure. The expelled spirit thereupon made a humble submission to the god as his slave, and expressed his readiness to return whence he came—only, he asked that, first of all, a great sacrifice might be made in his honour. His request was granted, and, says the story, ‘the spirit went in peace wherever he chose by order of Khons, the giver of oracles. The prince of the land of Bakhten was very much delighted, and so was every one in the land. He said: “I will not let this god go back to Egypt; he shall stay in my country.” Three years, four months, five weeks, and one day did the god remain in Bakhten. Then it happened that the king saw in a dream the god come out of his shrine in the likeness of a hawk of gold; he spread forth his wings and flew on high towards the land of Khemi. When the king awoke he was troubled in his mind, and he called the prophet of Khons and said to him: “This god is hostile to us, let us send him back to Egypt.” And he gave him many presents, besides troops and very many horsemen. They reached Egypt in peace, and the presents were offered to the god.