all that was expected of him. Except in a few extraordinary cases,
the gifts sent never realised the expectations of the recipients; for
instance, when twenty or thirty pounds of precious metal were looked
for, the amount despatched would be merely two or three. The indignation
of these disappointed beggars and their recriminations were then most
amusing: "From the time when my father and thine entered into friendly
relations, they loaded each other with presents, and never waited to be
asked to exchange amenities;* and now my brother sends me two minas of
gold as a gift! Send me abundance of gold, as much as thy father sent,
and even, for so it must be, more than thy father."** Pretexts
were never wanting to give reasonable weight to such demands: one
correspondent had begun to build a temple or a palace in one of his
capitals,*** another was reserving his fairest daughter for the Pharaoh,
and he gave him to understand that anything he might receive would help
to complete the bride's trousseau.****

* Burnaburiash complains that the king's messengers had only
brought him on one occasion two minas of gold, on another
occasion twenty minas; moreover, that the quality of the
metal was so bad that hardly five minas of pure gold could
be extracted from it.

** Literally, "and they would never make each other a fair
request." The meaning I propose is doubtful, but it appears
to be required by the context. The letter from which this
passage was taken is from Burnaburiash, King of Babylon, to
Amenôthes IV.

*** This is the pretext advanced by Burnaburiash in the
letter just cited.