Page:The Pharaohs and their people; scenes of old Egyptian life and history (IA pharaohstheirpeo00berkiala).pdf/82

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62
STORY OF SANEHA.

in the right, O my lord the king!' But Amenemhat, as we know, was not one to be thwarted or turned aside from his purpose;[1] and he only replies, 'He is in the right,' and proceeds forthwith to lavish tokens of reconciliation and favour upon Saneha. He gives him precedence in the palace, and appoints him one of the king's intimate councillors. He is clothed in fine linen, the attire of a prince, and is anointed with fragrant oil. A princely habitation is assigned for his use whilst the labourers are busily employed erecting for him a house 'befitting a councillor.' No sooner is it completed than Saneha's thoughts turn to that other house which he must prepare for himself in the western land—to the day of burial and the 'passage to Amenti' of which the royal letter had spoken. He built himself a tomb of stone. The king selected the spot, the chief painter designed and the sculptors carved it; all the decorations were of hewn stone. The field in which it was situated was made over to him as his own possession, and he adds: 'My image was

  1. At least he says of himself in his Instructions, 'I never faltered since the day I was born.'