"No, my prince; but his galley has brought hither a courier with letters." "Perhaps he has been defeated in the borders of Ethiopia," was my reflection; for I knew he had been contemplating an invasion of its capital, on account of the promise he had exacted from the queen, that he should rule alone on the ancient throne of the Theban kings in Upper Egypt. Ushered from apartment to apartment, I was soon led into the immediate presence of the queen. In the antechamber, before I entered, I had seen a stranger, whose features and costume showed that he was a Theban lord or high officer. He bowed haughtily to me, as I acknowledged his presence in the usual way when strangers meet. I found the queen alone. She was walking to and fro with a quick, nervous step. In her hand she held a letter with the seal broken. Upon seeing me, she came towards me, and said: "O Prince Sesostris, who art to me next to my son, I am glad you have come! Pardon me for sending for you!" Her eyes were bright with tears, and her voice was tremulous. "You ought to have done so, O noble queen," I answered, "since you are in trouble." "In trouble, Sesostris! It is more than trouble; it is a weight greater than I can bear!" "Has Mœris been defeated?" I asked, with earnest sympathy. "Mœris defeated! No, oh no; but rather conqueror. But I speak an enigma!" "Has aught happened to Remeses in his sacred duties?" "No, oh no! It is Mœris! He will break my heart!" "What has he done? What can I do?" I asked, perplexed. "Nothing--that is, _you_ can do nothing! As for Mœris, he has done every thing! But why do I talk to you? You understand me not! There is a fearful secret, O Sesostris! I did not send for you to reveal it to you--but--but for sympathy;--for your company! I know you love me, for you are the friend of Remeses, and you have a mother whom you love and honor." "And I also love and honor you, O my mother!" I said, taking her hand and conducting her to a chair. But she refused to sit down. She regarded me with eager eyes, as if she were penetrating my soul to its depths. Suddenly she said: "Has Remeses told you _all_ the conversations I have had with him?" "He has talked much with me of what has passed between you, O queen," I answered. "Did he speak of a secret I held locked in my heart even from him?" "He did. He said it was known, however, to Prince Mœris, who held it over you as a power of evil." "Did Remeses suspect its nature?" she demanded. "He informed me that he once had a suspicion which your majesty removed." "Yes," she said, with a strange, cold smile, "he fancied that Mœris's secret was, that he was the true heir of the throne--my son; and that Remeses was the nephew of Pharaoh, not himself! Was it not an extraordinary idea, prince?" she asked me with the same icy irony that was unaccountable to me. "Who could ever doubt that Remeses is my own son?" "No one, your majesty," I answered, seeing she looked to me for a reply.