"What about her father?"

"He is honorable and wise. They call him Gideon. When I told him that Thou hadst the wish to take his daughter, he fell on the ground and tore his hair. Of course I waited till this outburst of fatherly suffering was over; I ate a little, drank some wine, and at last proceeded to bargaining. The weeping Gideon swore first of all that he would rather see his daughter dead than the mistress of any man. Then I told him that near Memphis, on the Nile, he would receive land which gives two talents of yearly income and pays no taxes. He was indignant. Then I stated that he might receive another talent yearly in gold and silver. He sighed and declared that his daughter had spent three years at school in Pi-Bailos; I added another talent. Then Gideon, still disconsolate, remembered that he would lose his very good position of manager for the lord Sesofris. I told him that he need not lose that place, and added ten milch cows from thy stables. His forehead cleared somewhat; then he confessed to me, as a profound secret, that a certain very great lord, Chaires, who bears the fan of the nomarch of Memphis, was turning attention toward Sarah. I promised then to add a young bull, a medium chain of gold, and a large bracelet. In this way thy Sarah will cost thee land, two talents yearly in money, ten cows, a young bull, a chain and a gold bracelet, immediately. These Thou wilt give to her father, the honest Gideon; to her Thou wilt give whatever pleases thee."

"What did Sarah say to this?"

"While we were bargaining she walked among the trees. When we had finished the matter and settled it by drinking good Hebrew wine, she told her father dost Thou know what? that if he had not given her to thee, she would have gone up the cliff and thrown herself down head foremost. Now Thou mayst sleep quietly, I think," ended Tutmosis.

"I doubt it," answered Ramses, leaning on the balustrade and looking into the emptiest side of the park. "Dost Thou know that on the way back we found a man hanging from a tree?"

"Oh! that is worse than the scarabs!"

"He hanged himself from despair because the warriors filled the canal which he had been digging for ten years in the desert."

"Well, that man is sleeping now quietly. So it is time for us."

"That man was wronged," said the prince. "I must find his children, ransom them, and rent a bit of laud to them."

"But Thou must do this with great secrecy," remarked Tutmosis, "or all slaves will begin to hang themselves, and no Phoenician will lend us, their lords, a copper uten."

"Jest not. Hadst Thou seen that man's face, sleep would be absent to- night from thy eyes as it is from mine."

Meanwhile from below, among the bushes, was heard a voice, not over powerful, but clear,

"May the One, the All-Powerful, bless thee, Ramses, He who has no name in human speech, or statue in a temple."

Both young men bent forward in astonishment.

"Who art thou?" called out the prince.

"I am the injured people of Egypt," replied the voice, slowly and with calmness.

Then all was silent. No motion, no rustle of branches betrayed human presence in that place.

At command of Ramses servants rushed out with torches, the dogs were unchained, and every bush around the house was searched. But they found no one.

"Who could that have been, Tutmosis?" asked the prince, with emotion. "Perhaps it was the ghost of that slave who hanged himself?"

"I have never heard ghosts talking, though I have been on guard at temples and tombs more than once. I should think, rather, that he who has just called to us is some friend of thine."

"Why should he hide?"

"But what harm is that to thee? Each one of us has tens, if not hundreds, of invisible enemies. Thank the gods, then, that Thou hast even one invisible friend."

"I shall not sleep to-night," whispered the excited prince.

"Be calm. Instead of running along the terrace listen to me and lie down. Thou wilt see Sleep that is a deliberate divinity, and it does not befit him to chase after those who run with the pace of a deer. If Thou wilt lie down on a comfortable couch, Sleep, who loves comfort, will sit near thee and cover thee with his great mantle, which covers not only men's eyes, but their memories."

Thus speaking, Tutmosis placed Ramses on a couch; then he brought an ivory pillow shaped like a crescent, and arranging the prince, placed his head on this pillow.

Then he let down the canvas walls of the tent, laid himself on the floor, and both were asleep in some minutes.

CHAPTER VI

THE entrance to the pharaoh's palace at Memphis was through a gate placed between two lofty towers or pylons. The external walls of these buildings were of gray sandstone covered from foundation to summit with bas reliefs.

At the top of the gate rose the arms of the state, or its symbol: a winged globe, from behind which appeared two serpents. Lower down sat a series of gods to which the pharaohs were bringing offerings. On side pillars images of the gods were cut out also in five rows, one above the other, while below were hieroglyphic inscriptions.

On the walls of each pylon the chief place was occupied by a flat sculpture of Ramses the Great, who held in one hand an uplifted axe and grasped in the other, by the hair of the head, a crowd of people tied in a bundle, like parsley. Above the king stood or sat two rows of gods; still higher, a line of people with offerings; at the very summit of the pylons were winged serpents intertwined with scarabs.

Those pylons with walls narrowing toward the top, the gate which connected them, the flat sculptures in which order was mingled with gloomy fantasy and piety with cruelty, produced a tremendous impression. It seemed difficult to enter that place, impossible to go out, and a burden to live there.

From the gate, before which stood troops and a throng of small officials, those who entered came into a court surrounded by porticos resting on pillars. That was an ornamental garden, in which were cultivated aloes, palms, pomegranates, and cedars in pots, all placed in rows and selected according to size. In the middle shot up a fountain; the paths were sprinkled with colored sand.

Under the gallery sat or walked higher officials of the state, speaking in low tones.

From the court, through a high door, the visitor passed to a hall of twelve lofty columns. The hall was large, but as the columns also were large, the hall seemed diminutive. It was lighted by small windows in the walls and through a rectangular opening in the roof. Coolness and shade prevailed there; the shade was almost a gloom, which did not, however, prevent him who entered from seeing the yellow walls and pillars, covered with lines of paintings. At the top leaves and flowers were represented; lower down, the gods; still lower, people who carried their statues or brought them offerings; and between these groups were lines of hieroglyphs.

All this was painted in clear, almost glaring colors, green, red, and blue.

In this hall, with its varied mosaic pavement, stood in silence, white robed and barefoot, the priests, the highest dignitaries of State, Herhor, the minister of war, also the leaders Nitager and Patrokles, who had been summoned to the presence of the pharaoh.

His holiness Ramses XII, as usual before he held council, was placing offerings before the gods in his chapel. This continued rather long. Every moment some priest or official ran in from the more distant chambers and communicated news touching the course of the service.

"The lord has broken the seal to the chapel He is washing the sacred divinity Now he is putting it away Now he has closed the door."

On the faces of courtiers, notwithstanding their offices, concern and humility were evident. But Herhor was indifferent, Patrokles impatient, and Nitager now and then disturbed with his deep voice the solemn silence. After every such impolite sound from the old leader, the courtiers moved, like frightened sheep, and looked at one another, as if saying,

"This rustic has been hunting barbarians all his life, we may pardon him."

From remoter chambers were heard the sound of bells and the clatter of weapons. Into the hall came in two ranks some tens of the guard in gilt helmets, in breastplates, and with drawn swords, next two ranks of priests, and at last appeared the pharaoh, carried in a litter, surrounded by clouds of smoke and incense.

The ruler of Egypt, Ramses XII, was nearly sixty years old. His face was withered. He wore a white mantle; on his head was a red and white cap with a golden serpent; in his hand he held a long staff.

When the retinue showed itself, all present fell on their faces, except Patrokles, who, as a barbarian, stopped at a low bow, while Nitager knelt on one knee, but soon rose again.

The litter stopped before a baldachin under which was an ebony throne on an elevation. The pharaoh descended slowly from the litter, looked awhile at those present, and then, taking his seat on the throne, gazed fixedly at the cornice on which was painted a rose-colored globe with blue wings and green serpents.

On the right of the pharaoh stood the chief scribe, on the left a judge with a staff; both wore immense wigs.

At a sign from the judge all sat down or knelt on the pavement, while the scribe said to the pharaoh,

"Our lord and mighty ruler! Thy servant Nitager, the great guard on the eastern boundary, has come to render thee homage, and has brought tribute from conquered nations: a vase of green stone filled with gold, three hundred oxen, a hundred horses, and the fragrant wood teshep."

"That is a mean tribute, my lord," said Nitager. "Real treasures we can find only on the Euphrates, where splendid kings, though weak so far, need much to be reminded of Ramses the Great."

"Answer my servant Nitager," said the pharaoh to the scribe, "that his words will be taken under careful consideration. But now ask him what he thinks of the military ability of my son and heir, whom he had the honor of meeting near Pi-Bailos yesterday."

"Our lord, the master of nine nations, asks thee, Nitager" began the scribe.

But the leader interrupted quickly, to the great dissatisfaction of the courtiers,

"I hear myself what my lord says. Only the heir to the throne could be his mouth when he turns to me; not thou, chief scribe."

The scribe looked with consternation at the daring leader, but the pharaoh answered,

"My faithful Nitager speaks truth."

The minister of war bowed.

Now the judge announced to all present to the priests, the officials, and the guards that they might go to the palace courtyard; and he himself, bowing to the throne, was the first to go thither. In the hall remained only the pharaoh, Herhor, and the two leaders.

"Incline thy ears, O sovereign, and listen to complaints," began Nitager. "This morning the official priest, who came at thy command to anoint my hair, told me that in going to thee I was to leave my sandals in the entrance hall. Meanwhile it is known, not only in Upper and Lower Egypt, but in the Hittite country, Libya, Phoenicia, and the land of Punt, that twenty years ago Thou didst give me the right to stand before thee in sandals."

"Thou speakest truth," said the pharaoh. "Various disorders have crept into the court ceremonial."

"Only give command, O king, and my veterans will produce order immediately," added Nitager.

At a sign given by the minister of war, a number of officials ran in: one brought sandals and put them on Nitager's feet; others put down costly stools for the minister and leaders.

When the three dignitaries were seated, Ramses XII said,

"Tell me, Nitager, dost Thou think that my son will be a leader? But tell pure truth."

"By Amon of Thebes, by the glory of my ancestors in whom was blood royal, I swear that thy heir, Prince Ramses, will be a great leader, if the gods permit," replied Nitager. "He is a young man, a lad yet; still he concentrated his regiments, eased their march, and provided for them. He pleased me most of all by this, that he did not lose his head when I cut off the road before him, but led his men to the attack. He will be a leader, and will conquer the Assyrians, whom we must vanquish today if they are not to be seen on the Nile by our grandchildren."

"What dost Thou say to that?" inquired the pharaoh of Herhor.

"As to the Assyrians, I think that the worthy Nitager is concerned about them too early. We must strengthen ourselves well before we begin a new war. As to the heir, Nitager says justly that the young man has the qualities of a leader: he is as keen as a fox, and has the energy of a lion. Still he made many blunders yesterday.

"Who among us has not made them?" put in Patrokles, silent thus far.

"The heir," continued the minister, "led the main corps wisely, but he neglected his staff; through this neglect we marched so slowly and in such disorder that Nitager was able to cut off the road before us."

"Perhaps Ramses counted on your dignity," said Nitager.

"In government and war we must count on no man: one unreckoned little stone may overturn everything," said the minister.

"If thou, worthiness," answered Patrokles, "had not pushed the columns from the road because of those scarabs."

"Thou, worthiness, art a foreigner and an unbeliever," retorted Herhor, "hence this speech. But we Egyptians understand that when the people and the soldiers cease to reverence the scarabs, their sons will cease to fear the ureus (the serpent). From contempt of the gods is born revolt against the pharaohs."

"But what are axes for?" asked Nitager. "Whoso wishes to keep a head on his shoulders let him listen to the supreme commander."

"What then is your final opinion of the heir?" asked the pharaoh of Herhor.

"Living image of the sun, child of the gods," replied the minister. "Command to anoint Ramses, give him a grand chain and ten talents, but do not appoint him yet to command the corps in Memphis. The prince is too young for that office, too passionate and inexperienced. Can we recognize him as the equal of Patrokles, who has trampled the Ethiopians and the Libyans in twenty battles? Or can we place him at the side of Nitager, whose name alone brings pallor to our northern and eastern enemies?"

The pharaoh rested his head on his hand, meditated, and said,

"Depart with my favor and in peace. I will do what is indicated by wisdom and justice."

The dignitaries bowed low, and Ramses XII, without waiting for his suite, passed to remoter chambers.

When the two leaders found themselves alone in the entrance hall, Nitager said to Patrokles,

"Here priests rule as in their own house. I see that. But what a leader that Herhor is! He vanquished us before we spoke; he does not grant a corps to the heir."

"He praised me so that I dared not utter a word," said Patrokles.

"He is far seeing, and does not tell all he thinks. In the wake of the heir various young lords who go to war taking singers would have shoved themselves into the corps, and they would occupy the highest places. Naturally old officers would fall into idleness from anger, because promotion had missed them; the exquisites would be idle for the sake of amusement, and the corps would break up without even meeting an enemy. Oh, Herhor is a sage!"

"May his wisdom not cost thee more than the inexperience of Ramses," whispered Patrokles.

Through a series of chambers filled with columns and adorned with paintings, where at each door priests and palace officials gave low obeisances before him, the pharaoh passed to his cabinet. That was a lofty hall with alabaster walls on which in gold and bright colors were depicted the most famous events in the reign of Ramses XII, therefore homage given him by the inhabitants of Mesopotamia, the embassy from the King of Buchten, and the triumphal journey of the god Khonsu through the land of that potentate.

In this hall was the malachite statue of the bird-headed Horus, adorned with gold and jewels. In front of the statue was an altar shaped as a truncated pyramid, the king's armor, costly armchairs and stools, also tables covered with trifles and small objects.

When the pharaoh appeared, one of the priests burnt incense before him, and one of the officials announced Prince Ramses, who soon entered and bowed low before his father. On the expressive face of the prince feverish disquiet was evident.

"Erpatr, I rejoice," said the pharaoh, "that Thou hast returned in good health from a difficult journey."

"Mayst Thou live through eternity, holiness, and thy affairs fill the two worlds!" replied Ramses.

"My military advisers have just informed me of thy labor and prudence."

The heir's face quivered and changed. He fixed great eyes on the pharaoh and listened.

"Thy deeds will not remain without reward. Thou wilt receive ten talents, a great chain, and two Greek regiments with which Thou wilt exercise."

Ramses was amazed, but after a while he asked with a stifled voice,

"But the corps in Memphis?"

"In a year we will repeat the maneuvers, and if Thou make no mistake in leading the army Thou wilt get the corps."

"I know that Herhor did this!" cried the prince, hardly restraining his anger.

He looked around, and added, "lean never be alone with thee, my father; strangers are always between us."

The pharaoh moved his brows slightly, and his suite vanished, like a crowd of shadows.

"What hast Thou to tell me?"

"Only one thing, father. Herhor is my enemy. He accused me to thee and exposed me to this shame!"

In spite of his posture of obedience the prince gnawed his lips and balled his fists.

"Herhor is thy friend and my faithful servant. It was his persuasion that made thee heir to the throne. But I will not confide a corps to a youthful leader who lets himself be cut off from his army."

"I joined it," answered the crushed heir; "but Herhor commanded to march around two beetles."

"Dost Thou wish that a priest should make light of religion in the presence of the army?"

"My father," whispered Ramses, with quivering voice, "to avoid spoiling the journey of the beetles a canal was destroyed, and a man was killed."

"That man raised his own hands on himself."

"But that was the fault of Herhor."

"In the regiments which them didst concentrate near Pi-Bailos thirty men died from over-exertion, and several hundred are sick."

The prince dropped his head.

"Ramses," continued the pharaoh, "through thy lips is speaking not a dignitary of the state who is thinking of the soundness of canals and the lives of laborers, but an angry person. Anger does not accord with justice any more than a falcon with a dove."

"Oh, my father," burst out the heir, "if anger carries me away, it is because I feel the ill-will of the priests and of Herhor."

"But Thou art thyself the grandson of a high priest; the priests taught thee. Thou hast learned more of their secrets than any other prince ever has."

"I have learned their insatiable pride, and greed of power. And because I will abridge it they are my enemies. Herhor is not willing to give me even a corps, for he wishes to manage the whole army."

When he had thrown out these incautious words, the heir was frightened. But the ruler raised his clear glance, and answered quietly,

"I manage the state and the army. From me flow all commands and decisions. In this world I am the balance of Osiris, and I myself weigh the services of my servants, be they the heir, a minister, or the people. Imprudent would he be who should think that all intrigues are not known to me."

"But, father, if Thou hadst seen with thy own eyes the course of the maneuvers

"I might have seen a leader," interrupted the pharaoh, "who in the decisive moment was chasing through the bushes after an Israelite maiden. But I do not wish to observe such stupidity."

The prince fell at his father's feet, and whispered,

"Did Tutmosis speak to thee of that, lord?"

"Tutmosis is a child, just as Thou art. He piles up debts as chief of staff in the corps of Memphis, and thinks in his heart that the eyes of the pharaoh cannot reach to his deeds in the desert."



CHAPTER VII

Some days later Prince Ramses was summoned before the face of his most worthy mother, Nikotris, who was the second wife of the pharaoh, but now the greatest lady in Egypt. The gods were not mistaken when they called her to be the mother of a pharaoh. She was a tall person, of rather full habit, and in spite of forty years was still beautiful. There was in her eyes, face, and whole form such majesty that even when she went unattended, in the modest garb of a priestess, people bowed their heads to her.

The worthy lady received Ramses in her cabinet, which was paved with porcelain tiles. She sat on an inlaid armchair under a palm-tree. At her feet, on a small stool, lay a little dog; on the other side knelt a black slave woman with a fan. The pharaoh's wife wore a muslin robe embroidered with gold, and on her wig a circlet in the form of a lotus, ornamented with jewels.

When the prince had bowed low, the little dog sniffed him, then lay down again; while the lady, nodding her head, made inquiry, "For what reason, O Ramses, hast Thou desired an interview?"

"Two days ago, mother."

"I knew that Thou wert occupied. But today we both have time, and I can listen."

"Thy speech, mother, acts on me as a strong wind of the desert, and I have no longer courage to present my petition."

"Then surely it is a question of money."

Ramses dropped his head; he was confused.

"But dost Thou need much money?"

"Fifteen talents."

"O gods!" cried the lady, "but a couple of days ago ten talents were paid thee from the treasury. Go, girl, into the garden; Thou must be tired," said she to the black slave; and when alone with her son she asked,

"But is thy Jewess so demanding?"

Ramses blushed, but raised his head.

"Thou knowest, mother, that she is not. But I promised a reward to the army, and I am unable to pay it."

The queen looked at him with calm loftiness.

"How evil it is," said she, after a while, "when a son makes decisions without consulting his mother. Just now I, remembering thy age, wished to give thee a Phoenician slave maiden sent me by Tyre with ten talents for dowry. But Thou hast preferred a Jewess."

"She pleased me. There is not such a beauty among thy serving maidens, mother, nor even among the wives of his holiness."

"But she is a Jewess!"

"Be not prejudiced, mother, I beg of thee. It is untrue that Jews eat pork and kill cats."

The worthy lady laughed.

"Thou art speaking like some boy from a primary school," answered she, shrugging her shoulders, "and hast forgotten the words of Ramses the Great: 'The yellow people are more numerous than we and they are richer; let us act against them, lest they grow too powerful, but let us act carefully.' I do not think, therefore, that a girl of that people is the one to be first mistress of the heir to the throne."

"Can the words of Ramses the Great apply to the daughter of a poor tenant?" asked the prince. "Besides, where are the Jews? Three centuries ago they left Egypt, and today they form a little state, ridiculous and priest-governed."

"I see," answered the worthy lady, frowning slightly, "that thy mistress is not losing time. Be careful, Ramses; remember, that their leader was Messu (Moses), that traitor priest whom we curse to this day in our temples. Remember that the Jews bore away out of Egypt more treasures than the labor of their few generations was worth to us; they took with them not only gold, but the faith in one god, and our sacred laws, which they give out today as their own faith and laws. Last of all, know this," added she, with great emphasis, "that the daughters of that people prefer death to the bed of a foreigner. And if they give themselves even to hostile leaders, it is to use them for their policy or to kill them."

"Believe me, mother, that it is our priests who spread all these reports. They will not admit to the footstool of the throne people of another faith lest those people might serve the pharaoh in opposition to their order."

The queen rose from the armchair, and crossing her arms on her breast, gazed at her son with amazement.

"What they tell me is true then, Thou art an enemy of our priests. Thou, their favorite pupil!"

"I must have the traces of their canes to this day on my shoulders," said Ramses.

"But thy grandfather and my father, Amenhotep, was a high priest, and possessed extensive power in this country."

"Just because my grandfather was a pharaoh, and my father is a pharaoh also, I cannot endure the rule of Herhor."

"He was brought to his position by thy grandfather, the holy Amenhotep."

"And I will cast him down from it."

The mother shrugged her shoulders.

"And it is thou," answered she, with sadness, "who wishest to lead a corps? But Thou art a spoiled girl, not a man and a leader."

"How is that?" interrupted the prince, restraining himself with difficulty from an outburst.

"I cannot recognize my own son. I do not see in thee the future lord of Egypt. The dynasty in thy person will be like a Nile boat without a rudder. Thou wilt drive the priests from the court, but who will remain with thee? Who will be thy eye in the Lower and the Upper Country, who in foreign lands? But the pharaoh must see everything, whatever it be, on which fall the divine rays of Osiris."

"The priests will be my servants, not my ministers."

"They are the most faithful servants. Thanks to their prayers thy father reigns thirty-three years, and avoids war which might be fatal."

"To the priests?"

"To the pharaoh and the state!" interrupted the lady. "Knowest Thou what takes place in our treasury, from which in one day Thou takest ten talents and desirest fifteen more? Knowest Thou that were it not for the liberality of the priests, who on behalf of the treasury even take real jewels from the gods and put false ones in their places, the property of the pharaoh would be now in the hands of Phoenicians?"

"One fortunate war would overflow our treasury as the increase of the Nile does our fields."

"No. Thou, Ramses, art such a child yet that we may not even reckon thy godless words as sinful. Occupy thyself, I beg, with thy Greek regiments, get rid of the Jew girl as quickly as may be, and leave politics to us."

"Why must I put away Sarah?"

"Shouldst Thou have a son from her, complications might rise in the State, which is troubled enough as matters now are. Thou mayst be angry with the priests," added she, "if Thou wilt not offend them in public. They know that it is necessary to overlook much in an heir to the throne, especially when he has such a stormy character. But time pacifies everything to the glory of the dynasty and the profit of Egypt."

The prince meditated; then he said suddenly,

"I cannot count, therefore, on money from the treasury."

"Thou canst not in any case. The grand secretary would have been forced to stop payment today had I not given him fourteen talents sent from Tyre to me."

"And what shall I do with the army?" asked the prince, rubbing his forehead impatiently.

"Put away the Jewess, and beg the priests. Perhaps they will make a loan to thee."

"Never! I prefer a loan from Phoenicians."

The lady shook her head.

"Thou art erpatr, act as may please thee. But I say that Thou must give great security, and the Phoenicians, when once thy creditors, will not let thee go. They surpass the Jews in treachery."

"A part of my income will suffice to cover such debts."

"We shall see. I wish sincerely to help thee, but I have not the means," said the lady, sadly. "Do, then, as Thou art able, but remember that the Phoenicians in our state are like rats in a granary; when one pushes in through a crevice, others follow."

Ramses loitered in leave-taking.

"Hast Thou something more to tell me?" inquired the queen.

"I should like to ask My heart divines that thou, mother, hast some plans regarding me. What are they?"

She stroked his face.

"Not now not yet. Thou art free today, like every young noble in the country; then make use of thy freedom. But, Ramses, the time is coming when Thou wilt have to take a wife whose children will be princes of the blood royal and whose son will be thy heir. I am thinking of that time."

"And what?"

"Nothing defined yet. In every case political wisdom suggests to me that thy wife should be a priest's daughter."

"Perhaps Herhor's?" said the prince, with a laugh.

"What would there be blamable in that? Herhor will be high priest in Thebes very soon, and his daughter is only fourteen years of age."

"And would she consent to occupy the place of the Jewess?" asked Ramses, ironically.

"Thou shouldst try to have people forget thy present error."

"I kiss thy feet, mother, and I go," said the prince, seizing his own head. "I hear so many marvelous things here that I begin to fear lest the Nile may flow up toward the cataract, or the pyramids pass over to the eastern desert."

"Blaspheme not, my child," whispered the lady, gazing with fear at Ramses. "In this land most wonderful miracles are seen."

"Are not they this, that the walls of the palace listen to their owners?" asked her son, with a bitter smile.

"Men have witnessed the death of pharaohs who had reigned a few months only, and the fall of dynasties which had governed nine nations."

"Yes, for those pharaohs forgot the sword for the distaff," retorted Ramses.

He bowed and went out.

In proportion as the sound of Ramses' steps grew less in the immense antechamber, the face of the worthy lady changed; the place of majesty was taken by pain and fear, while tears were glistening in her great eyes.

She ran to the statue of the goddess, knelt, and sprinkling incense from India on the coals, began to pray,

"O Isis, Isis, Isis! three times do I pronounce thy name. O Isis, who givest birth to serpents, crocodiles, and ostriches, may thy name be thrice praised. O Isis, who preservest grains of wheat from robber whirlwinds, and the bodies of our fathers from the destructive toil of time, Isis, take pity on my son and preserve him! Thrice be thy name repeated and here and there and beyond, today and forever, and for the ages of ages, as long as the temples of our gods shall gaze on themselves in the waters of the Nile."

Thus praying and sobbing, the queen bowed down and touched the pavement with her forehead. Above her at that moment a low whisper was audible,

"The voice of the just is heard always."

The worthy lady sprang up, and full of astonishment looked around. But there was no one in the chamber. Only the painted flowers gazed at her from the walls, and from above the altar the statue of the goddess full of super-terrestrial calm.



CHAPTER VIII

The prince returned to his villa full of care, and summoned Tutmosis.

"Thou must," said Ramses, "teach me how to find money."

"Ha!" laughed the exquisite; "that is a kind of wisdom not taught in the highest school of the priests, but wisdom in which I might be a prophet."

"In those schools they explain that a man should not borrow money," said Ramses.

"If I did not fear that blasphemy might stain my lips, I should say that some priests waste their time. They are wretched, though holy! They eat no meat, they are satisfied with one wife, or avoid women altogether, and they know not what it is to borrow. I am satisfied, Ramses," continued the exquisite, "that Thou wilt know this kind of wisdom through my counsels. Today Thou wilt learn what a source of sensations lack of money is. A man in need of money has no appetite, he springs up in sleep, he looks at women with astonishment, as if to ask, 'Why were they created?' Fire flashes in his face in the coolest temple. In the middle of a desert shivers of cold pass through him during the greatest heat. He looks like a madman; he does not hear what people say to him. Very often he walks along with his wig awry and forgets to sprinkle it with perfume. His only comfort is a pitcher of strong wine, and that for a brief moment. Barely has the poor man's thoughts come back when again he feels as though the earth were opening under him.

"I see," continued the exquisite, "that at present Thou art passing through despair from lack of money. But soon Thou wilt know other feelings which will be as if a great sphinx were removed from thy bosom. Then Thou wilt yield to the sweet condition of forgetting thy previous trouble and present creditors, and then Ah, happy Ramses, unusual surprises will await thee! For the term will pass, and thy creditors will begin to visit thee under pretence of paying homage. Thou wilt be like a deer hunted by dogs, or an Egyptian girl who, while raising water from the river, sees the knotty back of a crocodile."

"All this seems very gladsome," interrupted Ramses, smiling; "but it brings not one drachma."

"Never mind," continued Tutmosis. "I will go this moment to Dagon, the Phoenician banker, and in the evening Thou wilt find peace, though he may not have given thee money."

He hastened out, took his seat in a small litter, and surrounded by servants vanished in the alleys of the park.

Before sunset Dagon, a Phoenician, the most noted banker in Memphis, came to the house of Ramses. He was a man in the full bloom of life, yellow, lean, but well built. He wore a blue tunic and over it a white robe of thin texture. He had immense hair of his own, confined by a gold circlet, and a great black beard, his own also. This rich growth looked imposing in comparison with the wigs and false beards of Egyptian exquisites.

The dwelling of the heir to the throne was swarming with youth of the aristocracy. Some on the ground floor were bathing and anointing themselves, others were playing chess and checkers on the first story, others in company with dancing girls were drinking under tents on the terrace. Ramses neither drank, played, nor talked with women; he walked along one side of the terrace awaiting the Phoenician impatiently. When he saw him emerge from an alley in a litter on two asses, he went to the first story, where there was an unoccupied chamber.

After awhile Dagon appeared in the door. He knelt on the threshold and exclaimed,

"I greet thee, new sun of Egypt! Mayst Thou live through eternity, and may thy glory reach those distant shores which are visited by the ships of Phoenicia."

At command of the prince, he rose and said with violent gesticulations,

"When the worthy Tutmosis descended before my mud hut my house is a mud hut in comparison with thy palaces, erpatr such was the gleam from his face that I cried at once to my wife, 'Tamara, the worthy Tutmosis has come not from himself, but from one as much higher than he as the Lebanon is higher than the sand of the seashore.' 'Whence dost Thou know, my lord, that the worthy Tutmosis has not come for himself?' 'Because he could not come with money, since he has none, and he could not come for money, because I have none.' At that moment we bowed down both of us to the worthy Tutmosis. But when he told us that it was thou, most worthy lord, who desirest fifteen talents from thy slave, I asked my wife, 'Tamara, did my heart teach me badly?' 'Dagon, Thou art so wise that Thou shouldst be an adviser to the heir,' replied my Tamara."

Ramses was boiling with impatience, but he listened to the banker, he, Ramses, who stormed in the presence of his own mother and the pharaoh.

"When we, lord, stopped and understood that Thou wert desirous of my services, such delight entered my house that I ordered to give the servants ten pitchers of beer, and my wife Tamara commanded me to buy her new earrings. My joy was increased so that when coming hither I did not let my driver beat the asses. And when my unworthy feet touched thy floor, O prince, I took out a gold ring, greater than that which the worthy Herhor gave Eunana, and presented it to thy slave who poured water on my fingers. With permission, worthiness, whence came that silver pitcher from which they poured the water?"

"Azarias, the son of Gaber, sold it to me for two talents."

"A Jew? Erpatr, dost Thou deal with Jews? But what will the gods say?"

"Azarias is a merchant, as Thou art," answered Ramses.

When Dagon heard this, he caught his head with both hands, he spat and groaned,

"O Baal Tammuz! O Baaleth! O Astoreth! Azarias, the son of Gaber, a Jew, to be such a merchant as I am. Oh, my legs, why did ye bring me hither? Oh, my heart, why dost Thou suffer such pain and palpitation? Most worthy prince," cried the Phoenician, "slay me, cut off my hand if I counterfeit gold, but say not that a Jew can be a merchant. Sooner will Tyre fall to the earth, sooner will sand occupy the site of Sidon than a Jew be a merchant. They will milk their lean goats, or mix clay with straw under blows of Egyptian sticks, but they will never sell merchandise. Tfu! tfu! Vile nation of slaves! Thieves, robbers!"

Anger boiled up in the prince, it is unknown why, but he calmed himself quickly. This seemed strange to Ramses himself, who up to that hour had not thought self-restraint needed in his case in presence of any one.

"And then," said the heir on a sudden, "wilt thou, worthy Dagon, loan me fifteen talents?"

"O Astoreth! Fifteen talents? That is such a great weight that I should have to sit down to think of it properly."

"Sit down then."

"For a talent," said Dagon, sitting in an armchair comfortably, "a man can have twelve gold chains, or sixty beautiful milch cows, or ten slaves for labor, or one slave to play on the flute or paint, and maybe even to cure. A talent is tremendous property."

The prince's eyes flashed,

"Then Thou hast not fifteen talents?"

The terrified Phoenician slipped suddenly from the chair to the floor.

"Who in the city," cried he, "has not money at thy command, O child of the sun? It is true that I am a wretch whose gold, precious stones, and whole property is not worth one glance of thine, O prince, but if I go around among our merchants and say who sent me, I shall get fifteen talents even from beneath the earth. Erpatr, if Thou shouldst stand before a withered fig-tree and say 'Give money!' the fig-tree would pay thee a ransom. But do not look at me in that way, O son of Horus, for I feel a pain in the pit of my heart and my mind is growing blunted," finished the Phoenician, in tones of entreaty.

"Well, sit in the chair, sit in the chair," said the prince, laughing.

Dagon rose from the floor and disposed himself still more agreeably in the armchair.

"For how long a time does the prince wish fifteen talents?"

"Certainly for a year."

"Let us say at once three years. Only his holiness might give back fifteen talents in the course of a year, but not the youthful heir, who must receive young pleasant nobles and beautiful women. Ah, those women! Is it true, with thy permission, that Thou hast taken to thyself Sarah the daughter of Gideon?"

"But what per cent dost Thou wish?" interrupted Ramses.

"A trifle, which thy sacred lips need not mention. For fifteen talents the prince will give five talents yearly, and in the course of three years I will take back all myself, so that thou, worthiness, wilt not even know."

"Thou wilt give me today fifteen talents, and during three years take back thirty?"

"Egyptian law permits percentage to equal the loan," answered Dagon, confusedly.

"But is that not too much?"

"Too much?" cried out Dagon. "Every great lord has a great court, a great property, and pays no per cent save a great one. I should be ashamed to take less from the heir to the throne; if I did the prince himself might command to beat me with sticks and to drive me out of his presence."

"When wilt Thou bring the money?"

"Bring it? O gods, one man would not have strength to bring so much. I will do better: I will make all payments for the prince, so that, worthiness, Thou wilt not need to think of such a wretched matter."

"Then dost Thou know my debts?"

"I know them a little," answered Dagon, carelessly.

"The prince wishes to send six talents to the Eastern army; that will be done by our bankers. Three talents to the worthy Nitager and three to the worthy Patrokles; that will be done here immediately. Sarah and her father I can pay through that mangy Azarias even better to pay them thus, for they would cheat the prince in reckoning."

Ramses began to walk through the room impatiently.

"Then am I to give a note for thirty talents?"

"What note? why a note? what good would a note be to me? The prince will rent me for three years lands in the provinces of Takens, Ses, Neha-Meut, Neha-Pechu, in Sebt-Het, in Habu."

"Rent them?" said the prince. "That does not please me."

"Whence then am I to get back my money, my thirty talents?"

"Wait! I must ask the inspector of my granaries how much these properties bring me in yearly."

"Why so much trouble, worthiness? What does the inspector know? He knows nothing; as I am an honest Phoenician, he knows nothing. Each year the harvest is different, and the income different also. I may lose in this business, and the inspector would make no return to me."

"But seest thou, Dagon, it seems to me that those lands bring far more than ten talents yearly."

"The prince is unwilling to trust me? Well, at command of the heir I will drop out the land of Ses. The prince is not sure of my heart yet? Well, I will yield Sebt-Het also. But what use for an inspector here? Will he teach the prince wisdom? O Astoreth! I should lose sleep and appetite if such an overseer, subject and slave, dared to correct my gracious lord. Here is needed only a scribe who will write down that my most worthy lord gives me as tenant for three years lands in such and such a province. And sixteen witnesses will be needed to testify that such an honor from the prince has come to me. But why should servants know that their lord borrows money from Dagon?"

The wearied heir shrugged his shoulders.

"Tomorrow," said he, "Thou wilt bring the money, and bring a scribe and witnesses. I do not wish to think of it."

"Oh, what wise words!" cried the Phoenician. "Mayst Thou live, worthiest lord, through eternity!"



CHAPTER IX

ON the right bank of the Nile, on the edge of the northern suburb of Memphis, was that laud which the heir to 'the throne had given as place of residence to Sarah the daughter of Gideon.

That was a possession thirty-five acres in area, forming a quadrangle which was seen from the house-top as something on the palm of the hand. The land was on a hill and was divided into four elevations. The two lowest and widest, which the Nile always flooded, were intended for grain and for vegetables. The third, which at times was untouched by the overflow, produced palms, figs, and other fruit-trees. On the fourth, the highest, was a garden planted with olives, grapes, nuts, and sweet chestnuts; in the middle garden stood the dwelling.

This dwelling was of wood, one story, as usual, with a flat roof on which was a tent made of canvas. On the ground dwelt the prince's black slave; above Sarah with her relative and serving-woman Tafet. The place was surrounded by a wall of partially burnt brick, beyond which at a certain distance were houses for cattle, workmen, and overseers.

Sarah's chambers were not large, but they were elegant. On the floor were divans, at the doors and windows were curtains with stripes of various colors. There were armchairs and a carved bed, inlaid boxes for clothing, three-legged and one-legged tables on which were pots with flowers, a slender pitcher for wine, boxes and bottles of perfume, golden and silver cups and goblets, porcelain vases and dishes, bronze candlesticks. Even the smallest furniture or vessel was ornamented with carving or with a colored drawing; every piece of clothing with lace or bordering.

Sarah had dwelt ten days in this retreat, hiding herself before people from fear and shame, so that almost no one of the servants had seen her. In the curtained chamber she sewed, wove linen on a small loom, or twined garlands of living flowers for Ramses. Sometimes she went out on the terrace, pushed apart the sides of the tent with care, and looked at the Nile covered with boats in which oarsmen were singing songs joyfully. On raising her eyes she looked with fear at the gray pylons of the pharaoh's palace, which towered silent and gloomy above the other bank of the river. Then she ran again to her work and called Tafet.

"Sit here, mother," said she; "what art Thou doing down there?"

"The gardener has brought fruit, and they have sent bread, wine, and game from the city; I must take them."

"Sit here and talk, for fear seizes me."

"Thou art a foolish child," said Tafet, smiling. "Fear looked at me too the first day from every corner; but when I went out beyond the wall, there was no more of it. Whom have I to fear here? All fall on their knees before me. Before thee they would stand on their heads even! Go to the garden; it is as beautiful as paradise. Look out at the field, see the wheat harvest; sit down in the carved boat the owner of which is withering from anxiety to see thee and take thee out of the river."

"I am afraid."

"Of what?"

"Do I know? While I am sewing, I think that T am in our valley and that my father will come right away; but when the wind pushes the curtain aside from the window and I look on this great country it seems to me, knowest what? that some mighty vulture has caught and borne me to his nest on a mountain, whence I have no power to save myself."

"Ah, Thou thou! If Thou hadst seen what a bathtub the prince sent this morning, a bronze one; and what a tripod for the fire, what pots and spits! And if Thou knew that today I have put two hens to set, and before long we shall have little chicks here."

Sarah was more daring after sunset, when no one could see her. She went out on the roof and looked at the river. And when from afar a boat appeared, flaming with torches, which formed fiery and bloody lines along the dark water, she pressed with both hands her poor heart, which quivered like a bird caught that instant. Ramses was coming, and she could not tell what had seized her, delight because that beautiful youth was approaching whom she had seen in the valley, or dread because she would see again a great lord and ruler who made her timid.

One Sabbath evening her father came for the first time since she had settled in that villa. Sarah rushed to him with weeping; she washed his feet herself, poured perfumes on his head, and covered him with kisses. Gideon was an old man of stern features. He wore a long robe reaching his feet and edged at the bottom with colored embroidery; over this he wore a yellow sleeveless kaftan. A kind of cape covered his breast and shoulders. On his head was a smallish cap, growing narrow toward the top.

"Thou art here! Thou art here!" exclaimed Sarah; and she kissed his head again.

"I am astonished myself at being here," said Gideon, sadly. "I stole to the garden like a criminal; I thought, along the whole way from Memphis, that all the Egyptians were pointing me out with their fingers and that each Jew was spitting."

"But Thou didst give me thyself to the prince, father."

"I did, for what could I do? Of course it only seems to me that they point and spit. Of Egyptians, whoever knows me bows the lower the higher he is himself. Since Thou art here our lord Sesoforis has said that he must enlarge my house; Chaires gave me a jar of the best wine, and our most worthy nomarch himself has sent a trusty servant to ask if Thou art well, and if I will not become his manager."

"But the Jews?" inquired Sarah.

"What of the Jews! They know that I did not yield of my own will. Every one of them would wish to be constrained in like manner. Let the Lord God judge us all. Better tell how Thou art feeling."

"In Abraham's bosom she will not have more comfort," said Tafet. "Every day they bring us fruit, wine, bread, meat, and whatever the soul wishes. And such baths as we have, all bronze, and such kitchen utensils!"

"Three days ago," interrupted Sarah, "the Phoenician Dagon was here. I did not wish to see him, but he insisted."

"He gave me a gold ring," added Tafet.

"He told me," continued Sarah, "that he was a tenant of my lord; he gave me two anklets, pearl earrings, and a box of perfumes from the land of Punt."

"Why did he give them to thee?" asked her father.

"For nothing. He simply begged that I would think well of him, and tell my lord sometimes that Dagon was his most faithful servant."

"Very soon Thou wilt have a whole box of earrings and bracelets," said Gideon, smiling. But after a moment he added: "Gather up a great property quickly and let us flee back to our own land, for here there is misery at all times, misery when we are in trouble, and still more of it when we are prosperous."

"And what would my lord say?" asked Sarah, with sadness.

Her father shook his head.

"Before a year passes thy lord will cast thee aside, and others will help him. Wert Thou an Egyptian, he would take thee to his palace; but a Jewess."

"He will cast aside?" said Sarah, sighing.

"Why torment one's self with days to come, which are in the hand of God? I am here to pass the Sabbath with thee."

"I have splendid fish, meat, cakes, and wine of the Jews," put in Tafet, quickly. "I have bought also, in Memphis, a seven-branched candlestick and wax tapers. We shall have a better supper than has Lord Chaires."

Gideon went out on the flat roof with his daughter.

"Tafet tells me," said he, when they were alone, "that Thou art always in the house. Why is this? Thou shouldst look at least on the garden."

"I am afraid," whispered Sarah.

"Why be afraid of thy own garden? Here Thou art mistress, a great lady."

"Once I went out in the daytime. People of some sort stared at me, and said to one another, 'Look! that is the heir's Jewess; she delays the overflow.'."

"They are fools!" interrupted Gideon. "Is this the first time that the Nile is late in its overflow? But go out in the evening."

Sarah shook her head with greater vigor.

"I do not wish, I do not wish. Another time I went out in the evening. All at once two women pushed out from a side path. I was frightened and wished to flee, when one of them, the younger and smaller, seized my hands, saying, 'Do not flee, we must look at thee;' the second, the elder and taller, stood some steps in front and looked me in the eyes directly. Ah, father, I thought that I should turn into stone. What a look, what a woman!"

"Who could she be?" asked Gideon.

"The elder woman looked like a priestess."

"And did she say anything?"

"Nothing. But when going and they were hidden behind trees, I heard surely the voice of the elder say these words: 'Indeed she is beautiful!"

Gideon fell to thinking.

"Maybe they were great ladies from the court."

The sun went down, and on both banks of the Nile dense crowds of people collected waiting impatiently for the signal of the overflow, which in fact was belated. For two days the wind had been blowing from the sea and the river was green; the sun had passed the star Sothis already, but in the well of the priest in Memphis the water had not risen even the breadth of a finger. The people were alarmed, all the more since in Upper Egypt, according to signals, the overflow proceeded with regular increase and even promised to be perfect.

"What detains it at Memphis then?" asked the anxious earth-tillers waiting for the signal in disquiet.

When the stars had appeared in the sky, Tafet spread a white cloth on the table, placed on it the candlestick with seven lighted torches, pushed up three armchairs, and announced that the Sabbath supper would be served immediately.

Gideon covered his head then, and raising both hands above the table, said with his eyes looking heavenward,

"God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Thou who didst lead our people out of Egypt, who didst give a country to the slave and exile, who didst make with the sons of Judah an eternal covenant, O Jehovah, O Adonai, permit us to enjoy without sin the fruits of the enemies' country. Bring us out of sorrow and fear in which we are buried, and restore us to the banks of the Jordan, which we left for Thy glory."

At the moment a voice was heard from beyond the wall,

"His worthiness Tutmosis, the most faithful servant of his holiness and of his son Prince Ramses!"

"May he live through eternity!" called a number of voices from the garden.

"His worthiness," said a single voice again, "sends greeting to the most beautiful rose of Lebanon."

When the voice ceased, the sound of harps and flutes was heard.

"That is music!" exclaimed Tafet, clapping her hands. "We shall pass the Sabbath with music."

Sarah and her father, frightened at first, began to laugh, and sat down again at the table.

"Let them play," said Gideon; "their music is not bad for the appetite."

The flute and harp played, then a tenor voice sang,

"Thou art more beautiful than all the maidens who look at themselves in the Nile. Thy hair is blacker than the feathers of a raven, thy eyes have a milder glance than the eyes of a deer which is yearning for its fawn. Thy stature is the stature of a palm, and the lotus envies thee thy charm. Thy bosoms are like grape clusters with the juice of which kings delight themselves."

Again the flute and harp were heard, and next a song,

"Come and repose in the garden. The servants which belong to thee will bring various vessels and beer of all kinds. Come, let us celebrate this night and the dawn which will follow it. In my shadow, in the shadow of the fig, giving sweet fruit, thy lover will rest at thy right hand; and Thou wilt give him to drink and consent to all his wishes."

Next came the flutes and harps, and after them a new song,

"I am of a silent disposition, I never tell what I see, I spoil not the sweetness of my fruits with vain tattling." [Authentic.]



CHAPTER X

THE song ceased, drowned by an uproar and by a noise as of many people running.

"Unbelievers! Enemies of Egypt!" cried some one. "Ye are singing when we are sunk in suffering, and ye are praising the Jewess who stops the flow of the Nile with her witchcraft."

"Woe to you!" cried another. "Ye are trampling the land of Prince Ramses. Death will fall on you and your children."

"We will go, but let the Jewess come out so that we may tell our wrongs to her."

"Let us flee!" screamed Tafet.

"Whither?" inquired Gideon.

"Never!" said Sarah, on whose mild face appeared a flush of anger. "Do I not belong to the heir, before whose face those people all prostrate themselves?"

And before her father and the old woman had regained their senses, she, all in white, had run out on the roof and called to the throng beyond the wall,

"Here I am! What do ye want of me?"

The uproar was stilled for a moment, but again threatening voices were raised,

"Be accursed, Thou strange woman whose sin stops the Nile in its overflow!"

A number of stones hurled at random whistled through the air; one of them struck Sarah's forehead.

"Father!" cried she, seizing her head.

Gideon caught her in his arms and bore her from the terrace. In the night were visible people, in white caps and skirts, who climbed over the wall below.

Tafet screamed in a heaven-piercing voice, the black slave seized an axe, took his place in the doorway, and declared that he would split the head of any man daring to enter.

"Stone that Nubian dog!" cried men from the wall to the crowd of people.

But the people became silent all at once, for from the depth of the garden came a man with shaven head; from this man's shoulders depended a panther skin.

"A prophet! A holy father!" murmured some in the crowd. Those sitting on the wall began now to spring down from it.

"People of Egypt," said the priest, calmly, "with what right do ye raise hands on the property of the erpatr?"

"The unclean Jewess dwells here, who stops the rise of the Nile. Woe to us! misery and famine are hanging over Lower Egypt."

"People of weak mind or of evil faith," said the priest, "where have ye heard that one woman could stop the will of the gods? Every year in the month Thoth the Nile begins to increase and rises till the mouth peak. Has it ever happened otherwise, though our land has been full at all times of strangers, sometimes foreign priests and princes, who groaning in captivity and grievous labor might utter the most dreadful curses through sorrow and anger? They would have brought on our heads all kinds of misfortune, and more than one of them would have given their lives if only the sun would not rise over Egypt in the morning, or if the Nile would not rise when the year began. And what came of their prayers? Either they were not heard in the heavens, or foreign gods had no power in presence of the gods of Egypt. How then is a woman who lives pleasantly among us to cause a misfortune which is beyond the power of our mightiest enemies?"

"The holy father speaks truth. Wise are the words of the prophet!" said people among the multitude.

"But Messu (Moses), the Jewish leader, brought darkness and death into Egypt!" said one voice.

"Let the man who said that step forth," cried the priest. "I challenge him, let him come forward, unless he is an enemy of the Egyptian people."

The crowd murmured like a wind from afar blowing between trees, but no man came forward,

"I speak truth," continued the priest; "evil men are moving among you like hyenas in a sheepfold. They have no pity on your misery, they urged you to destroy the house of the heir and to rebel against the pharaoh. If their vile plan had succeeded and blood had begun to flow from your bosoms, they would have hidden before spears as they hide now before my challenge."

"Listen to the prophet! Praise to thee, man of God!" cried the people, inclining their foreheads.

The most pious fell to the earth.

"Hear me, Egyptian people. In return for your faith in the words of a priest, for your obedience to the pharaoh and the heir, for the honor which ye give to a servant of the god, a favor will be shown you. Go to your houses in peace, and even before ye have left this hill the Nile will be rising."

"Oh, may it rise!"

"Go! The greater your faith and piety the more quickly will ye see the sign of favor."

"Let us go! Let us go! Be blessed, O prophet, Thou son of prophets!"

They began to separate, kissing the robe of the priest. With that some one shouted,

"The miracle, the miracle is accomplished."

On the tower in Memphis a light flamed up.

"The Nile is rising! See, more and more lights! Indeed a mighty saint spoke to us. May he live through eternity!"

They turned toward the priest, but he had vanished among shadows.

The throng raging a little while earlier, amazed and filled now with gratitude, forgot both its anger and the wonder-working priest. It was mastered by a wild delight; men rushed to the bank of the river, on which many lights were burning and where a great hymn was rising from the assembled people,

"Be greeted, Nile, sacred river, which appearest on this country! Thou comest in peace, to give life to Egypt. O hidden deity who scatterest darkness, who moistenest the fields, to bring food to dumb animals, O Thou the precious one, descending from heaven to give drink to the earth, O friend of bread, Thou who gladdenest our cottages! Thou art the master of fishes; when Thou art in our fields no bird dares touch the harvest. Thou art the creator of grain and the parent of barley; Thou givest rest to the hands of millions of the unfortunate and for ages Thou securest the sanctuary." [Authentic]

At this time the illuminated boat of Ramses sailed from the shore opposite amid songs and outcries. Those very persons who half an hour earlier wished to burst into his villa were falling now on their faces before him, or hurling themselves into the water to kiss the oars and the sides of the boat which was bearing the son of their ruler.

Gladsome, surrounded by torches, Ramses, in company with Tutmosis, approached Sarah's dwelling. At sight of him Gideon said to Tafet,

"Great is my alarm for my daughter, but still greater my wish to avoid Prince Ramses."

He sprang over the wall, and amid darkness through gardens and fields he held on in the direction of Memphis.

"Be greeted, O beauteous Sarah!" cried Tutmosis in the courtyard. "I hope that Thou wilt receive us well for the music which I sent to thee."

Sarah appeared, with bandaged head on the threshold, leaning on the black slave and her female attendant.

"What is the meaning of this?" cried the astonished Ramses.

"Terrible things!" called out Tafet. "Unbelievers attacked thy house; one hurled a stone and struck Sarah."

"What unbelievers?"

"But those the Egyptians!" explained Tafet.

The prince cast a contemptuous glance at her, but rage mastered him straightway.

"Who struck Sarah? Who threw the stone?" shouted he, seizing the arm of the black man.

"Those from beyond the river," answered the slave.

"Hei, watchman!" cried the prince, foaming at the mouth, "arm all the men in this place for me and follow that rabble!"

The black slave seized his axe again, the overseers fell to summoning workmen from the buildings, some soldiers of the prince's suite grasped their sword-hilts mechanically.

"By the mercy of Jehovah, what art Thou doing?" whispered Sarah, as she hung on the neck of Ramses.

"I wish to avenge thee," answered he; "whoso strikes at that which is mine strikes at me."

Tutmosis grew pale, and shook his head.

"Hear me, lord," said he; "wilt Thou discover in the night and in a multitude the men who committed the crime?"

"All one to me. The rabble did it, and the rabble must give answer."

"No judge will say that," reflected Tutmosis. "But Thou art to be the highest judge."

The prince became thoughtful. Tutmosis continued,

"Stop! what would the pharaoh our lord say to-morrow? And what delight would reign among our foes in the east and the west, if they heard that the heir to the throne, almost at the royal palace, was attacked in the night by his own people?"

"Oh, if my father would give me even half the army, our enemies on all sides of the world would be silent forever!" said the prince, stamping on the pavement.

"Finally, remember that man who hanged himself; Thou wert sorry when an innocent man lost his life. But today is it possible that Thou art willing thyself to slay innocent people?"

"Enough!" interrupted Ramses, in a deep voice. "My anger is like a water-jar. Woe to him on whom it falls! Let us enter."

The frightened Tutmosis drew back. The prince took Sarah by the hand and went to the terrace. He seated her near the table on which was the unfinished supper, and approaching the light drew the bandage from her forehead.

"Ah!" cried he, "this is not even a wound, it is only a blue spot."

He looked at Sarah attentively.

"I never-thought," said he, "that Thou wouldst have a blue spot. This changed thy face considerably."

"Then I please thee no longer?" whispered Sarah, raising on him great eyes full of fear.

"Oh, no! this will pass quickly."

Then he called Tutmosis and the black, and commanded to tell him what had happened that evening.

"He defended us," said Sarah. "He stood, with an axe, in the doorway."

"Didst Thou do that?" asked the prince, looking quickly into the eyes of the Nubian.

"Was I to let strange people break into thy house, lord?"

Ramses patted him on the curly head.

"Thou hast acted," said he, "like a brave man. I give thee freedom. Tomorrow Thou wilt receive a reward and mayst return to thy own people."

The black tottered and rubbed his eyes, the whites of which were shining. Suddenly he dropped on his knees, and cried as he struck the floor with his forehead,

"Do not put me away, lord."

"Well," replied Ramses, "remain with me, but as a free warrior. I need just such men," said he, turning to Tutmosis. "He cannot talk like the overseer of the house of books, but he is ready for battle."

And again he inquired for details of the attack, when the Nubian told how a priest had approached, and when he related his miracles the prince seized his own head, exclaiming,

"I am the most hapless man in all Egypt! Very soon I shall find a priest in my bed even. Whence did he come? Who was he?"

The black servitor could not explain this, but he said that the priest's action toward the prince and toward Sarah was very friendly; that the attack was directed not by Egyptians, but by people who, the priest said, were enemies of Egypt, and whom he challenged to step forward, but they would not.

"Wonders! wonders!" said Ramses, meditating, and throwing himself on a couch. "My black slave is a valiant warrior and a man full of judgment. A priest defends a Jewess, because she is mine. What a strange priest he is! The Egyptian people who kneel down before the pharaoh's dogs attack the house of the erpatr under direction of unknown enemies of Egypt. I myself must look into this."



CHAPTER XI

The month Thoth has ended and the month Paofi (the second half of July) has begun. The water of the Nile, from being greenish and then white, has become ruddy and is rising continually. The royal indicator in Memphis is filled to the height of two men almost, and the Nile rises two hands daily. The lowest land is inundated; from higher ground people are removing hastily flax, grapes, and cotton of a certain species. Over places which were dry in the early morning, waves plash as evening approaches. A mighty, unseen whirlwind seems to blow in the depth of the Nile. This wind ploughs up broad spaces on the river, fills the furrows with foam, then smoothes for a moment the surface, and after a time twists it into deep eddies. Again the hidden wind ploughs, again it smoothes out, whirls, pushes forward new hills of water, new rows of foam, and raises the rustling river, wins without ceasing new platforms of land. Sometimes the water, after reaching a certain boundary, leaps across in a twinkle, pours into a low place, and makes a shining pond where a moment earlier withered grass was breaking up into dust heaps.

Though the rise of the river has reached barely one third of its height, the whole region near the banks is under water. Every hour some little height takes on the semblance of an island, divided from others by a narrow channel, which widens gradually and cuts off the house more and more from its neighbors. Very often he who walked out to work comes home in a boat from his labor.

Boats and rafts appear more and more frequently on the river. From some of them men are catching fish in nets; on others they bring the harvest to granaries, or bellowing cattle to their stables. With other boats visits are made to acquaintances to inform them amid shouts and laughter that the river is rising. Sometimes boats gather in one place, like a flock of daws, and then shoot apart on all sides before a broad raft bearing down from Upper Egypt immense blocks of stone hewn out in quarries near the river.

In the air, as far as the ear can hear, extend the roar of the rising water, the cries of frightened birds, and the gladsome songs of people. The Nile is rising, there will be bread in abundance.

During a whole month investigation continued in the affair of the attack on the house of Ramses. Each morning a boat with officials and warriors came to some small estate. People were snatched from their labor, overwhelmed with treacherous questions, beaten with sticks. Toward evening two boats returned to Memphis: one brought officials, the other brought prisoners.

In this way some hundreds of men were caught, of whom one half knew nothing, the other half were threatened by imprisonment or toil for a number of years in the quarries. But nothing was learned of those who led the attack, or of that priest who had persuaded the people to leave the place. Prince Ramses had qualities which were uncommonly contradictory. He was as impetuous as a lion and as stubborn as a bullock, but he had a keen understanding and a deep sense of justice.

Seeing that this investigation by officials gave no result whatever, he sailed on a certain day to Memphis and commanded to open the prison.

The prison was built on an eminence surrounded by a lofty wall, and was composed of a great number of stone, brick, and wooden buildings. These buildings for the main part were merely the dwellings of overseers. Prisoners were placed in subterranean dens hewn out in a cliff of limestone.

When Prince Ramses passed the gate, he saw a crowd of women washing and feeding some prisoner. This naked man, who resembled a skeleton, was sitting on the ground, having his hands and feet in four openings of a square plank which took the place of fetters.

"Has this man suffered long in this way?" asked Ramses.

"Two months," said the overseer.

"And must he sit here much longer?"

"A month."

"What did he do?"

"He was insolent to a tax gatherer."

The prince turned and saw another crowd, composed of women and children. Among them was an old man.

"Are these prisoners?"

"No, most worthy lord. That is a family waiting for the body of a criminal who is to be strangled oh, they are taking him already to the chamber," said the overseer.

Then, turning to the crowd, he said,

"Be patient a short time, dear people. Ye will get the body soon."

"We thank thee greatly, worthy lord," answered an old man, doubtless the father of the delinquent. "We left home yesterday evening, our flax is in the field, and the river is rising."

The prince grew pale, and halted.

"Dost Thou know," asked he of the overseer, "that I have the right of pardon?"

"Erpatr, Thou hast that right," answered the overseer, bowing; and then he added: "The law declares, O child of the sun, that in memory of thy presence men condemned for offences against the state and religion, but who conduct themselves properly, should receive some abatement. A list of such persons will be placed at thy feet within a month."

"But he who is to be strangled this moment, has he not the right to my grace?"

The overseer opened his arms, and bent forward in silence.

They moved from place to place, and passed a number of courts. In wooden cases on the bare ground were crowded men sentenced to imprisonment. In one building were heard awful screams; they were clubbing prisoners to force confession.

"I wish to see those accused of attacking my house," said the heir, deeply moved.

"Of those there are more than three hundred," said the overseer.

"Select according to thy own judgment the most guilty, and question them in my presence. I do not wish, though, to be known to them."

They opened to Ramses a chamber in which the investigating official was occupied. The prince commanded him to take his usual place, but sat himself behind a pillar.

The accused appeared one by one. All were lean; much hair had grown out on them, and their eyes had the expression of settled bewilderment.

"Dutmoses," said the official, "tell how ye attacked the house of the most worthy erpatr."

"I will tell truth, as at the judgment seat of Osiris. It was the evening of that day when the Nile was to begin rising. My wife said to me, 'Come, father, let us go up on the hills, where we can have an earlier sight of the signal in Memphis.' Then we went up where we could see the signal in Memphis more easily. Some warrior came to my wife and said, 'Come with me into that garden. We will find grapes there, and something else also.' Then my wife went into the garden with that warrior. I fell into great rage, and I looked at them through the wall. But whether stones were thrown at the prince's house or not I cannot tell, for because of the trees and darkness I could not see anything."

"But how couldst Thou let thy wife go with a warrior?" asked the official.

"With permission, worthiness, what was I to do? I am only an earth worker, and he is a warrior and soldier of his holiness."

"But didst Thou see the priest who spoke to you?"

"That was not a priest," said the man, with conviction. "That must have been the god Num himself, for he came out of a fig-tree and he had a ram's head on him."

"But didst Thou see that he had a ram's head?"

"With permission I do not remember well whether I saw myself or whether people told me. My eyes were affected by anxiety for my wife."

"Didst Thou throw stones at the garden?"

"Why should I throw stones, lord of life and death? If I had hit my wife, I should have made trouble for a week. If I had hit the warrior, I should have got a blow of a fist in the belly that would have made my tongue stick out, for I am nothing but an earth-worker, and he is a warrior of our lord who lives through eternity."

The heir leaned out from behind the column. They led away Dutmoses, and brought in Anup. He was a short fellow. On his shoulders were scars from club-strokes.

"Tell me, Anup," began the official again, "how was it about that attack on the garden of the heir to the throne?"

"Eye of the sun," said the man, "vessel of wisdom, Thou knowest best of all that I did not make the attack, only a neighbor comes to me and says he, 'Anup, come up, for the Nile is rising.' And I say to him, 'Is it rising?' And he says to me, 'Thou art duller than an ass, for an ass would hear music on a hill, and Thou dost not hear it.' 'But,' says I, 'I am dull, for I did not learn writing; but with permission music is one thing and the rise of the river is another.' 'If there were not a rise,' says he, 'people would not have anything to be glad about and play and sing.' So I say to thy justice, we went to the hill, and they had driven away the music there and were throwing stones at the garden."

"Who threw stones?"

"I could not tell. The men did not look like earth-workers, but more like unclean dissectors who open dead bodies for embalming."

"And didst Thou see the priest?"

"With thy permission, O watchfulness, that was not a priest, but some spirit that guards the house of the erpatr may he live through eternity!"

"Why a spirit?"

"For at moments I saw him and at moments he went somewhere."

"Perhaps he was behind the people?"

"Indeed the people sometimes were in front of him. But at one time he was higher and at another time lower."

"Maybe he went up on the hill and came down from it?"

"He must have gone up and come down, but maybe he stretched and shortened himself, for he was a great wonderworker. Barely had he said, 'The Nile will rise,' and that minute the Nile began to rise."

"And didst Thou throw stones, Anup?"

"How should I dare to throw stones into the garden of the erpatr? I am a simple fellow, my hand would wither to the elbow for such sacrilege."

The prince gave command to stop the examination, and when they had led away the accused, he asked the official,

"Are these of the most guilty?"

"Thou hast said it, lord," answered the official.

"In that case all must be liberated today. We should not imprison people because they wished to convince themselves that the holy Nile was rising or for listening to music."

"The highest wisdom is speaking through thy lips, erpatr," said the official. "I was commanded to find the most guilty, hence I have summoned those whom I have found so; but it is not in my power to return them liberty."

"Why?"

"Look, most worthy, on that box. It is full of papyruses on which are written the details of the case. A judge in Memphis receives a report on the progress of the case daily, and reports to his holiness. What would become of the labor of so many learned scribes and great men if the accused were set free?"

"But they are innocent!" cried the prince.

"There was an attack, therefore an offence. Where there is an offence there must be offenders. Whoever has fallen once into the hands of power, and is described in acts, cannot get free without some result. In an inn a man drinks and pays; at a fair he sells something and receives; in a field he sows and harvests; at graves he receives blessings from his deceased ancestors. How, then, could any one after he has come to a court return with nothing, like a traveler stopping half-way on his journey and turning back his steps homeward without attaining his object?"

"Thou speakest wisely," answered the heir. "But tell me, has not his holiness the right to free these people?"

The official crossed his arms on his breast and bent his head,

"He is equal to the gods, he can do what he wishes; liberate accused, nay, condemned men, and destroy even the documents of a case, things which if done by a common man would be sacrilege."

The prince took farewell of the official, and said to the overseer, "Give the accused better food at my expense." Then he sailed, greatly irritated, to the other bank, stretching forth his hands toward the palace continually, as if begging the pharaoh to destroy the case.

But that day his holiness had many religious ceremonies and a counsel with the ministers, hence the heir could not see him. The prince went immediately to the grand secretary, who next to the minister of war had most significance at the court of the pharaoh. That ancient official, a priest at one of the temples in Memphis, received the prince politely but coldly, and when he had heard him he answered,

"It is a marvel to me that Thou wishest, worthiness, to disturb our lord with such questions. It is as if Thou wert to beg him not to destroy locusts which devour what is on the fields."

"But they are innocent people."

"We, worthy lord, cannot know that, for law and the courts decide as to guilt and innocence. One thing is clear to me, the state cannot suffer an attack on any one's garden, and especially cannot suffer that hands should be raised against property of the erpatr."

"Thou speakest justly, but where are the guilty?" answered Ramses.

"Where there are no guilty there must at least be men who are punished. Not the guilt of a man, but the punishment which follows a crime, teaches others that they are not to commit the crime in question."

"I see," interrupted the heir, "that your worthiness will not support my prayer."

"Wisdom flows from thy lips, erpatr," answered the priest. "Never shall I give my lord a counsel which would expose the dignity of power to a blow."

The prince returned home pained and astonished. He felt that an injury had been done to some hundreds of people, and he saw that he could not save them any more than he could rescue a man on whom an obelisk or the column of a temple had fallen.

"My hands are too weak to rear this edifice," thought the prince, with anguish of spirit.

For the first time he felt that there was a power infinitely greater than his will, the interest of the state, which even the all-powerful pharaoh acknowledges and before which he the erpatr must bend himself.

Night had fallen. Ramses commanded his servants to admit no one, and walked in loneliness on the terrace of his villa, thinking,

"A wonderful thing! Down there at Pi-Bailos the invincible regiments of Nitager opened before me, while in Memphis an overseer of prisons, an investigating official, and a scribe bar the way to me. What are they? Mere servants of my father, may he live through eternity! who can cast them down to the rank of slaves at any moment and send them to the quarries. But why should not my father pardon the innocent? The state does not wish him to do so. And what is the state? Does it eat? where does it sleep? where are its hands and its sword, of which all are in terror?"

He looked into the garden, and among the trees on the summit of an eminence he saw two immense silhouettes of pylons, on which sentry lights were burning. The thought came to him that that watch never slept, those pylons never ate, but still they existed. Those pylons had existed for ages, mighty, like Ramses the Great, that potentate who had reared them.

Could he lift those edifices and hundreds of similar grandeur; could he escape those guards and thousands of others who watch over the safety of Egypt; could he disobey laws established by Ramses the Great and other preceding pharaohs still greater, laws which twenty dynasties had consecrated by their reverence?

In the soul of the prince for the first time in life a certain idea, dim but gigantic, began to fix itself in outline, the idea of the state. The state is something more magnificent than the temple in Thebes, something grander than the pyramid of Cheops, something more ancient than the subterranean temple of the Sphinx, something more enduring than granite in that immense though invisible edifice people are like ants in some cranny of a cliff, and the pharaoh a mere traveling architect who is barely able to lay one stone in the wall of the edifice and then go on farther. But the walls increase from generation to generation and the edifice continues.

He, the son of the pharaoh, had never felt yet his littleness as in that moment, when his glance in the midst of the night was wandering beyond the Nile among pylons of the pharaoh's palace, and the indefinite but imposing outlines of the Memphis temples.

At that moment from among the trees whose branches touched the terrace, he heard a voice.

"I know thy anxiety and I bless thee. The court will not free the prisoners. But the case will drop, and they may return to their houses if the overseer of thy land does not support the complaint of attack."

"Then did my overseer make the charge?" asked the astonished prince.

"Thou hast spoken truth. He made the charge in thy name. But if he does not go to the court, there will be no injured person; and there is no offence if there is no injured person."

The thicket rustled.

"Stop!" cried Ramses; "who art thou?"

No one gave answer. But it seemed to the prince that in a streak of light from a torch burning on the lower floor a naked head was visible for an instant, and also a panther skin.

"A priest," whispered the heir. "Why does he hide himself?"

But at that moment it occurred to him that the priest might answer grievously for giving counsel which stopped the dispensation of justice.



CHAPTER XII

RAMSES passed most of the night in feverish imaginings. Once the vision of the state appeared to him as an immense labyrinth with strong walls through which no one could force a way, then again he saw the shadow of a priest who with one wise opinion had indicated to him the method of escape from that labyrinth. And now appeared unexpectedly before him two powers, the interest of the state, which he had not felt thus far, though he was heir to the throne; and the priesthood, which he wished to debase and then make his servant.

That was a burdensome night. The prince turned on his bed repeatedly, and asked himself whether he had not been blind, and if he had not received sight that day for the first time in order to convince himself of his folly and nothingness. How differently during those night hours did the warnings of his mother appear to him, and the restraint of his father in enouncing the supreme will, and even the stern conduct of the minister, Herhor.

"The state and the priesthood!" repeated the prince, half asleep, and covered with cold perspiration.

The heavenly deities alone know what would have happened had there been time to develop and ripen those thoughts which were circling that night in the soul of Ramses. Perhaps if he had become pharaoh he would have been one of the most fortunate and longest-lived rulers. Perhaps his name, carved in temples above ground and underground, would have come down to posterity surrounded with the highest glory. Perhaps he and his dynasty would not have lost the throne, and Egypt would have avoided great disturbance and the bitterest days of her history.

But the serenity of morning scattered the visions which circled above the heated head of the heir, and the succeeding days changed greatly his ideas of the inflexible interests of Egypt.

The visit of the prince to the prison was not fruitless. The investigating official made a report to the supreme judge immediately, the judge looked over the case again, examined some of the accused himself, and in the course of some days liberated the greater number; the remainder he brought to trial as quickly as possible.

When he who had complained of the damage done the prince's property did not appear, though summoned in the hall of the court and on the market- place, the case was dropped, and the rest of the accused were set at liberty.

One of the judges remarked, it is true, that according to law the prince's overseer should be prosecuted for false complaint, and, in case of conviction, suffer the punishment which threatened the defendants. This question too they passed over in silence.

The overseer disappeared from the eyes of justice, he was sent by the heir to the province of Takeus, and soon the whole box of documents in the case vanished it was unknown whither.

On hearing this, Prince Ramses went to the grand secretary and asked with a smile,

"Well, worthy lord, the innocent are liberated, the documents concerning them have been destroyed sacrilegiously, and still the dignity of the government has not been exposed to danger."

"My prince," answered the grand secretary, with his usual coolness, "I did not understand that Thou offerest complaints with one hand and wishest to withdraw them with the other. Worthiness, Thou wert offended by the rabble; hence it was thy affair to punish it. If Thou hast forgiven it, the state has nothing to answer."

"The state! the state!" repeated the prince. "We are the state," added he, blinking.

"Yes, the state is the pharaoh and his most faithful servants," added the secretary.

This conversation with such a high official sufficed to obliterate in the prince's soul those ideas of state dignity which were growing and powerful, though indistinct yet. "The state, then, is not that immovable, ancient edifice to which each pharaoh is bound to add one stone of glory, but rather a sand-heap, which each ruler reshapes as he pleases. In the state there are no narrow doors, known as laws, in passing through which each must bow his head, whoever he be, erpatr or earth-worker. In this edifice are various entrances and exits, narrow for the weak and small, very wide, nay, commodious for the powerful."