THE ESTATES. 13 



and a ritual prescribed. The classes were organised 

 in a more effective manner, and were not at first too 

 strictly fixed. All were at liberty to intermarry, 

 excepting only the swineherds, who were regarded as 

 unclean. The system of the government became 

 masterly, and the servitude of the people became com- 

 plete. Designs of imperial magnitude were accom- 

 plished, some of them gigantic but useless, mere 

 exploits of naked human strength ; others were struc- 

 tures of true grandeur and utility. The valley was 

 adorned with splendid monuments and temples ; 

 colossal statues were erected, which rose above the 

 houses, like the towers and spires of our cathedral 

 towns. An army of labourers was employed against 

 the Nile. The course of the mighty stream was 

 altered ; its waters were snatched from its bosom, 

 and stored up in the Lake Mceris, an artificial basin, 

 hollowed out of an extensive swamp, and thence were 

 conducted by a system of canals into the neighbouring 

 desert, which they changed to smiling fields. For the 

 Sahara can always be revived. It is barren only because 

 it receives no rain. 



The Empire consisted of three estates; the Monarch, 

 the Army, and the Church. There were in theory no 

 limits to the power of the king. His authority was 

 derived directly from the gods. He was called the 

 Sun ; he was the head of the religion and the state ; 

 he was the supreme judge and lawgiver ; he com- 

 manded the army and led it to war. But in reality 

 his power was controlled and reduced to mere pagean- 

 try by a parliament of priests. He was elected by 

 the military class ; but as soon as he was crowned he 

 was initiated into the mysteries and subjected to the 

 severe discipline of the holy order. No slave or 



