his head a starry light, inclosed in a crystal cup. "This imposing and magnificent representation and illustration of the march of Time through the heavens, with all the movements of the heavenly orbs, presented a spectacle of splendor unsurpassed by any human display. Solemn as the march of the stars themselves, this procession of constellations moved once around the grand circuit of the temple, and then the five leaders advanced towards the altar, by which I stood alone, deserted by those who had led me thither. Every one of these symbolic persons in succession bent the knee before me, in token that the powers of the earth, air, fire, and water, with the great Nile itself, were submissive to my will. Ah, Sesostris," interspoke Remeses here, "how little did they suspect, when paying me this customary homage, that I was a mere Hebrew slave, who could make use of the air, of fire, of water, of the earth, or of the Nile, only by the permission of my Egyptian masters! "Other striking ceremonies passed thereafter, and by and by I was left alone beside the altar, the flame of which it was my duty to feed with naphtha until morning, this being the first vigil of the last five nights. I was not, however, long left alone. Seven magicians, in their gorgeous apparel, came from a door that seemed to be an outlet from beneath the second pyramid, and approached me, chanting a war-song. Each bore a piece of royal armor,--one a helmet, one a cuirass, one a spear, another a shield. As they passed me they presented, and I received from each, a piece of the armor, and invested myself therewith. I was told by the leader to be strong and fight valiantly, for I should be assailed by powers of evil. They then left me, and again I was alone, yet on my guard. Feeding the flame till it burned high, I sought to penetrate the gloom, at least expecting to behold a lion let into the temple for me to combat with, that I might prove my right to the sword of the Pharaohs which I held in my grasp. "I know not, Sesostris, who or what would have been my assailant, if due time had elapsed for his coming; but I suddenly heard a step behind me, and behold, instead of a fierce beast or a warrior, a single magician, tall and commanding, who bore in one hand merely the sacred _crux_ or emblem of life, and in the other his black wand tipped with an emerald. I challenged him, as I was directed to do by my instructors, and demanded whether he came for good or evil, with war or peace in his heart. "He made no other reply than-- "'Follow me!' "I obeyed. Ah, how little did I suspect, O Sesostris, that I was about to encounter what was more fearful than a roaring lion,--more terrible than an armed host! But you shall hear.