The future ruler of the world fell to thinking, and said to himself,

"They crawl in at all points, and will treat me always in this way: they will give the good as a bait, and what is spoiled out of gratitude."

He rose and walked away gloomily; but the children of Israel rushed, like a flock of birds, at the labor of the Egyptian, who high above their heads was singing unmindful of his bones and of this, that he was harvesting not for his own use.

Sarah's undiscovered disease, her frequent tears, her vanishing charms, and above all the Jews, who, ceasing to hide, managed the place with increasing tumult, disgusted Ramses to the utmost degree with that beautiful comer. He sailed no more in a boat, he neither hunted nor watched the date harvest, but wandered gloomily through the garden, or looked from his roof at the palace. He would never go back to that palace unless summoned, and now he thought of a trip to his lands near the sea, in Lower Egypt.

In such a state of mind was he found by Tutmosis, who on a certain day came in a ceremonial barge to the heir with a summons from the pharaoh.

"His holiness is returning from Thebes, and wishes the heir to go forth and meet him."

The prince trembled, he grew pale and crimson, when he read the gracious letter of his lord and ruler. He was so moved that he did not notice his adjutant's new immense wig, which gave out fifteen different perfumes, he did not see his tunic and mantle, more delicate than mist, nor his sandals with gold rings as ornaments.

After some time Ramses recovered, and inquired without looking at Tutmosis,

"Why hast Thou not been here for such a period? Did the disfavor into which I have fallen alarm thee?"

"Gods!" cried the exquisite. "When wert Thou in disfavor, and in whose? Every courier of his holiness inquired for thy health; the worthy lady, Nikotris, and his worthiness Herhor have sailed toward this villa repeatedly, thinking that Thou wouldst make a hundred steps toward them after they had made a couple of thousand toward thee. I say nothing of the troops. In time of review the warriors of thy regiments are as silent as palm-trees, and do not go from the barracks. As to the worthy Patrokles, he drinks and curses all day from vexation."

So the prince had not been in disfavor, or if he had been the disfavor was ended. This thought acted on Ramses like a goblet of good wine. He took a bath quickly, anointed his body, put on fresh linen, a new kaftan, a helmet with plumes, and then went to Sarah.

Sarah screamed when she saw the prince arrayed thus. She rose up, and seizing him around the neck, whispered,

"Thou art going, my lord! Thou wilt not come back to me."

"Why not?" wondered the heir. "Have I not gone away often and returned afterward?"

"I remember thee dressed in just this way over there in our valley," said Sarah. "Oh, where are those hours! So quickly have they passed, and so long is it since they vanished."

"But I will return and bring the most famous physician."

"What for?" inquired Tafet. "She is well, my dear chick she needs only rest. But Egyptian physicians would bring real sickness."

The prince did not look at the talkative woman.

"This was my pleasantest month with thee," said Sarah, nestling up to Ramses, "but it has not brought happiness."

The trumpets sounded on the royal barge, repeating a signal given higher up on the river.

Sarah started.

"Dost Thou hear, lord, that terrible outburst? Thou hearest and smilest, and, woe to me, Thou art tearing away from my embraces. When trumpets call nothing can hold thee, least of all thy slave, Sarah."

"Wouldst them have me listen forever to the cackling of hens in the country?" interrupted the prince, now impatient. "Be well, and wait for me joyously."

Sarah let him go from her grasp, but she had such a mournful expression that Ramses grew mild and stroked her.

"Only be calm. Thou fearest the sound of our trumpets. But were they ill-omened the first day?"

"My lord," answered Sarah, "I know that over there they will keep thee, so grant me this one, this last favor. I will give thee," continued she, sobbing, "a cage of pigeons. They were hatched out and reared here; hence, as often as Thou rememberest thy servant, open the cage and set one of them free; it will bring me tidings of thee, and I will kiss and fondle it as as But go now!"

The prince embraced her and went to the barge, telling his black attendant to wait for the pigeons.

At sight of the heir, drums and fifes sounded, and the garrison raised a loud shout of welcome. When he found himself among warriors, the prince drew a deep breath, and stretched out his arms, like a man liberated from bondage.

"Well," said he to Tutmosis, "women have tormented me, and those Jews O Cyrus! command to roast me on a slow fire at once, but put me not in the country a second time."

"So it is," confirmed Tutmosis; "love is like honey. It must be taken by sips, a man must not swim in it. Brr! shudders pass over me when I think that Thou hast passed nearly two months fed on kisses in the evening, dates in the morning, and asses' milk at midday."

"Sarah is a very good girl," said Ramses.

"I do not speak of her, but of those Jews who have settled down at that villa like papyrus in swamp land. Dost Thou see, they are looking out at thee yet, and perhaps are sending greetings," said the flatterer.

The prince turned to another side with displeasure, and Tutmosis winked joyfully at the officers, as if to tell them that Ramses would not leave their society very soon this time.

The higher they ascended the Nile the denser on both banks were spectators, the more numerous were boats on the river, and the more did flowers, garlands, and bouquets float down; these had been thrown at the barge of the pharaoh.

About five miles above Memphis there were multitudes of people with banners, with statues of gods, and with music; an immense roar was heard, like the sound of a tempest.

"There is his holiness!" cried Tutmosis, delighted.

One spectacle was presented to the eyes of the onlookers: in the middle of a broad bend in the river sailed the great barge of the pharaoh, rising in front like the breast of a swan. At the right and left sides of it, like two giant wings, pushed forward the countless boats of his subjects, and in the rear, like a rich fan, stretched the retinue of the ruler of Egypt.

Every one living shouted, sang, clapped hands, and threw flowers at the feet of the lord whom no one even saw. It was enough that under that gilded canopy and those ostrich plumes waved a ruddy blue flag, denoting that the pharaoh was present.

The people in the boats were as if drunk, the people on the shore as if mad. Every moment some boat struck or overturned a boat and some man fell into the water, out of which luckily the crocodiles had fled, frightened by the unparalleled uproar. On the banks men ran into one another, for no one paid heed to his neighbor, his father, or his child, but fixed his wild eyes on the gilded beak of the barge and the tent of the pharaoh. Even people who were trampled, whose ribs the wild crowd broke stupidly, and whose joints they put out, had no cry save this,

"May he live through eternity, O our ruler! Shine on, Thou the sun of Egypt!"

The madness of greeting spread to the barge of Ramses: officers, soldiers, and oarsmen pressed into one throng and strove to outshout one another. Tutmosis, forgetting the heir to the throne, clambered up on the prow, and almost flew into the water.

Meanwhile a trumpet sounded from the pharaoh's barge, and soon after one answered from the barge of Ramses. A second signal, and the barge of the heir touched the great barge of the pharaoh.

Some official called to Ramses. From barge to barge they extended a gangway of cedar with carved railings, and the prince found himself next in the embrace of his father.

The presence of the pharaoh, or the storm of shouts roaring about him, so stunned Prince Ramses that he could not utter a syllable. He fell at his father's feet, and the lord of the world pressed the heir to his sacred bosom.

A moment later the side walls of the tent rose, and all the people on both banks of the Nile saw their ruler on a throne, and on the high step of it Ramses kneeling, with his head on the breast of his father.

Such silence followed that the rustling of banners on the barges was audible. Then on a sudden burst forth one immense roar, greater than all which had preceded. With this the Egyptian people honored the reconciliation of son and father; they greeted their present, and saluted their future ruler.

If any man had reckoned on dissensions in the sacred family of the pharaoh, he might convince himself then that the new royal branch held to its parent trunk firmly.

His holiness looked very ill. After the tender greeting of his son, he commanded him to sit at the side of the throne.

"My soul was rushing forth toward thee, Ramses," said he, "and all the more ardently the better were the tidings which I had of thee. Today I see not only that Thou hast the heart of a lion, but that Thou art a man full of prudence, who knows how to estimate his own acts, who is able to restrain himself, and who feels for the interests of Egypt."

When the prince, filled with emotion, was silent and kissed his father's feet, the pharaoh continued,

"Thou hast done well to renounce command of the Greek regiments, because from this day the corps in Memphis is thine, Thou art its commander."

"My father!" whispered the heir, trembling.

"Besides, in Lower Egypt, which is open on three sides to attacks of hostile nations, I need a wise, active man, who will watch all things round him, weigh them well in his heart, and act promptly. For this reason I appoint thee my lieutenant in that half of the kingdom."

Abundant tears flowed from the prince's eyes. With those tears he bade farewell to his youth; be greeted power, to which his soul had turned for years with uncertainty and longing.

"I am now weak and wearied," said the ruler, "and were it not for anxiety touching thy youth and the future of Egypt, I would this day beg my deathless ancestors to call me to their glory. Each day is for me more difficult, and therefore, Ramses, Thou wilt begin to share the burden of rule with me. As a hen teaches her chicks to search out grains of corn and hide before the hawk, so I will teach thee that toilsome art of ruling a state and watching the devices of enemies. May Thou fall on them in time, like an eagle on timid partridges."

The pharaoh's barge and its well-ordered retinue had descended to a point opposite the palace. The wearied ruler took a seat in his litter, and at that moment Herhor approached Ramses.

"Permit me, worthy prince," said he, "to be the earliest among those who are delighted with thy elevation. May Thou lead the army with as much success as Thou shalt govern the most important part of the state to the glory of Egypt."

Ramses pressed his hand firmly.

"Didst Thou do this, O Herhor?" asked he.

"It belonged to thee," replied the minister.

"Thou hast my gratitude, and wilt see that it is of value."

"Thou hast rewarded me already in speaking thus," replied Herhor.

The prince wished to depart; Herhor detained him.

"A brief word. Be careful, O heir, that one of thy women, Sarah, does not sing religious hymns."

When Ramses looked at him with astonishment, he added,

"During our sail on the Nile that maiden sang our most sacred hymn, a hymn to which only the pharaoh and high priests have the right to listen. Poor child! she might have suffered for her skill and for her ignorance of what she was singing."

"Then has she committed sacrilege?" inquired Ramses, in confusion.

"Yes, unconsciously," answered Herhor. "It is lucky that I was the only man who understood it, and my decision is that between that song and our hymn the resemblance is remote. In every case let her never repeat it."

"Well, and should she purify herself?" asked the prince. "Will it suffice her, as a foreign woman, if she gives thirty cows to the temple of Isis?"

"Yes, let her give them," replied Herhor, with a slight grimace. "The gods are not offended by gifts."

"Do thou, noble lord," said Ramses, "be pleased to accept this miraculous shield, which I received from my sacred grandfather."

"I? the shield of Amenhotep?" exclaimed the minister, with emotion. "Am I worthy of it?"

"By thy wisdom Thou art equal to my grandfather, and Thou wilt equal him in position."

Herhor made a low bow in silence. That golden shield set with precious stones, besides its great value in money, had moreover the virtue of an amulet; hence it was a regal present.

But the prince's words might have the loftier meaning that Herhor would equal Amenhotep in position. Amenhotep had been the father-in-law of a pharaoh. Had the heir decided already to marry Herhor's daughter?

That was the fond dream of Queen Nikotris and the minister. But it must be acknowledged that Ramses in speaking of the future dignities of Herhor had not thought in the least of marrying his daughter, but of giving him new offices, of which there was a multitude at the court and in the temples.



CHAPTER XVIII

FROM the day that he became viceroy of Lower Egypt a life unparalleled in troubles set in for Ramses, such a life as he had not even imagined, though born and reared in the pharaoh's palace.

People simply tortured him; his torturers were persons who had interests of various kinds and who were of various social classes.

On the very first day, at sight of the throngs of people, who crowded and pushed one another with eagerness, trampled his lawns, broke his trees, and injured even the wall which enclosed his villa, the heir demanded a guard for protection. But on the third day he was forced to flee from his own dwelling to the precincts of the palace proper, where, because of numerous sentries and above all because of high walls, access to him was made difficult.

During the ten days which preceded his departure, representatives of all Egypt, if not of the whole world of that period, passed before the eyes of the new viceroy.

First of all were admitted great personages. Hence to congratulate him came the high priests of temples, ministers, ambassadors, Phoenician, Greek, Hebrew, Assyrian, Nubian, men whose dresses even he could not remember. Next came the chiefs of neighboring provinces, judges, secretaries, the higher officers of the army corps in Memphis, and landowners.

These people desired nothing, they simply expressed their delight at honor shown him. But the prince, while listening to these persons from morning till midday and from midday till evening, felt confusion in his head, and a quivering in all his members.

After these came representatives of the lower classes with gifts: merchants bringing gold, foreign stuffs, amber, fruits, and perfumes. Then bankers and men who loaned money for interest. Further, architects with plans for new buildings, sculptors with projects for statues and carvings in relief, masons, potters, makers of ordinary and ornamental furniture, blacksmiths, founders, tanners, wine-merchants, weavers, even dissectors who opened the bodies of the departed.

The procession of those men rendering homage had not finished when an army of petitioners approached the viceroy. Invalids, widows, and orphans of officers requested pensions; noble lords required court offices for their sons. Engineers presented new methods of irrigating Egypt; physicians offered means against diseases of all sorts; soothsayers offered horoscopes. Relatives of prisoners petitioned to lessen punishments; those condemned to death begged for life; the sick implored the heir to touch them, or to bestow on them his spittle.

Finally, beautiful women announced themselves, the mothers of stately daughters begging the heir humbly but insistently to receive them into his mansion. Some indicated the amount of the pension demanded, praising their virginity and their talents.

After ten days of looking every moment at new persons and faces, and hearing petitions which only the possession of a world and divine power to dispense it could satisfy, Prince Ramses was exhausted. He could not sleep; he was so excited that the buzz of a fly pained his nerves, and at moments he did not understand what people said when they talked to him.

In this position Herhor came again to assist the viceroy. He commanded to inform the wealthy that the prince would not receive any more persons on questions of interest; and against common people, who, in spite of repeated invitations to disperse, were still waiting, he sent a company of Numidians with clubs. These succeeded with incomparably more ease than Ramses in meeting popular wishes, for before an hour had passed the petitioners had vanished from the square, like mist, while one and another of them for a couple of succeeding days poured water on their heads, or other bruised parts of their bodies.

After this trial of supreme power the prince felt profound contempt for men and became apathetic. He lay two days on a couch with his hands beneath his head gazing vacantly at the ceiling. He did not wonder that his sacred father passed his time at the altars of the gods, but he could not understand how Herhor was able to manage the avalanche of business, which, like a storm, not only surpassed the strength of a man, but might even crush him.

"How carry out plans in this case when a throng of petitions fetter our will, devour our thoughts, drink our blood? At the end of ten days I am sick, at the end of a year I should be an idiot. In this office it is impossible to carry out any plan; a man can just defend himself from madness."

He was so alarmed by his weakness in the position of ruler that he summoned Herhor, and with a complaining voice told of his suffering.

The statesman listened with a smile to the complaints of the young steersman of the ship of state, and at last said in answer,

"Knowest thou, lord, that this immense palace in which we dwell was reared by one architect, named Senebi, who moreover died before it was finished? And to a certainty Thou wilt understand how this famous architect could carry out his plan without weariness and be always in a cheerful temper."

"I am curious."

"Well, he did not do everything himself; he did not hew the beams or cut the stones, he did not make the bricks, he did not carry them to the scaffolding. He did not lay them into the wall and fasten them together. He only drew the plan, and moreover he had assistants. But thou, prince, hadst the wish to do all things thyself, to listen in person and transact every business. That goes beyond human strength."

"How should I do otherwise if among petitioners there are some who have suffered without cause, or if there is unrewarded service? Of course the foundation of the state is justice."

"How many canst Thou hear in a day without weariness?" asked Herhor.

"Well, twenty."

"Thou art happy. I hear at the most six or ten, but they are not interested in the petitions, they are chief secretaries, overseers, and ministers. These men report to me no details, only the most important things that are done in the army, on the estates of the pharaoh, in questions of religion, in the courts, in the provinces, and touching movements of the Nile. Therefore they report no trivial matter, because each man before he comes to me must hear ten inferior secretaries. Each inferior secretary and overseer collected information from ten sub- secretaries and sub-inspectors, and they in their turn have heard reports from ten officials who are under them. In this manner I and his holiness speaking with only ten people daily know all that is most important in a hundred thousand points of Egypt and the world beyond it.

"The watchman in charge of one part of a street in Memphis sees only a few houses. A decurion of ten policemen knows the whole street, a centurion a division of the city, the chief knows all the city. The pharaoh stands above them all, as if he were standing on the highest pylon of the temple of Ptah, and sees not only Memphis, but the cities, Sochem, On, Cheran, Turra, Tetani, with their suburbs, and a portion of the western desert.

"From that height his holiness is unable, it is true, to see the people who are wronged, or those who are unrewarded, but he is able to see the crowd of laborers who have collected without work. He cannot see warriors in the dramshops, but he can know what regiment is exercising. He cannot see what a given earth-tiller or citizen is preparing for dinner, but he can see a fire beginning in a given quarter of the city.

"This order in the state," continued Herhor, with growing animation, "is our strength and glory. Snofru, a pharaoh of the first dynasty, asked a certain priest what monument he should rear to himself.

"'Draw on the earth, O lord,' replied the priest, 'a square, and put on it six million unhewn stones; they will represent the people. On that foundation place sixty thousand hewn stones; they will be the lower officials. On them place six thousand polished stones; they will be thy higher officials. On these put sixty covered with carvings; those will be thy most intimate counselors and chief leaders, and on the summit place one monolith with its pedestal and the golden image of the sun; that will be thyself.'

"The Pharaoh Snofru followed that advice. Thus rose the oldest pyramid, the step pyramid, a tangible image of our state; from that pyramid all others had their origin. Those are immovable buildings, from the summits of which the rim of the world is visible, and they will be a marvel to the remotest generations.

"In this system resides our superiority over all neighbors. The Ethiopians were as numerous as we, but their king himself took care of his own cattle, and beat his own subjects with a club; he knew not how many subjects he had, nor was he able to collect them when our troops invaded his country. There was not a united Ethiopia, but a great crowd of unorganized people. For that reason they are our vassals at present.

"The Prince of Libya judges all disputes himself, especially among the wealthy, and gives so much time to them that he cannot attend to his own business. So at his side whole bands of robbers rise up; these we exterminate.

"Were there in Phoenicia a single ruler who knew what was happening and who commanded in all parts, that country would not pay us one uten of tribute. But what a happiness for us that the kings of Nineveh and Babylon have each only one minister, and are tormented with the onrush of business as Thou art this day. They wish to see, judge, and command everything; hence the affairs of their states are entangled for a century to come. But were some insignificant scribe to go from Egypt to those kings, explain their errors of management, and give them our official system, our pyramid, in a year's time Judaea and Phoenicia would fall into the hands of the Assyrians, and in a few tens of years powerful armies, coming from the East and the North by laud and by sea, would hurl themselves on us, armies which we might not be able to vanquish."

"Therefore let us fall on them today and take advantage of their want of order," cried Ramses.

"We are not cured yet of previous victories," answered Herhor, coldly; and he began to take leave of the viceroy.

"Have victories weakened us?" burst out the heir. "Or have we not brought home treasures?"

"But does not the axe with which we cut wood become blunted?" inquired Herhor; and he went out.

The prince understood that the great minister wished peace at all costs, in spite of the fact that he was chief of the armies.

"We shall see," whispered Ramses to himself.

A couple of days before his departure Ramses was summoned to his holiness. The pharaoh was sitting in an armchair in a marble hall; no other person was present, and the four entrances were guarded by Nubian sentries.

At the side of the royal armchair was a stool for the prince, and a small table covered with documents written on papyrus. On the walls were colored bas-reliefs showing the occupations of field-workers, and in the comers of the hall were ungraceful statues of Osiris smiling pensively.

When the prince at command of his father sat down, his holiness spoke to him,

"Here, my son, are thy documents as leader and viceroy. Well, have the first days of power wearied thee?"

"In thy service, holiness, I shall find strength."

"Flatterer!" said the pharaoh, smiling. "Remember that I do not require overwork on thy part. Amuse thyself; youth needs recreation. This does not mean, however, that Thou art not to have important affairs to manage."

"I am ready."

"First I will disclose my cares to thee. Our treasury has a bad aspect; the inflow of revenue decreases yearly, especially in Lower Egypt, and expenditures are rising."

The pharaoh fell to thinking.

"Those women those women, Ramses, they swallow up the wealth, not of mortal men only, but my wealth. I have some hundreds of them, and each woman wishes to have as many maids as possible, as many dressmakers, barbers, slaves, slaves for her litter, slaves for her chamber, horses, oarsmen, even her own favorites and their children Little children! When I was returning from Thebes one of those ladies, whom I do not even remember, ran into my road and, showing a sturdy boy of three years, desired that I should designate for him a property, since he was, as she said, a son of mine. My son, and three years of age. Canst Thou understand this? The affair was simple. I could not argue with a woman, besides, in such a delicate question. But for a man of noble birth it is easier to be polite than find money for every fancy of that sort."

He shook his head and continued,

"Meanwhile incomes since the beginning of my reign have decreased one- half, especially in Lower Egypt. I ask what this means. They answer: people have grown poor, many citizens have disappeared, the sea has covered a certain extent of land on the north, and the desert on the east, we have had a number of bad harvests; in a word, tale follows tale while the treasury becomes poorer and poorer. Therefore I beg thee to explain this matter. Look about, learn to know well-informed men who are truthful, and form of them an examining commission. When they begin to report, trust not over-much to papyrus, but verify here and there in person. I hear that Thou hast the eye of a leader; if that be true, one glance will tell thee how accurate the statements of the commission are. But hasten not in giving thy opinion, and above all, do not herald it. Note down every weighty conclusion which conies to thy head on a given day, and when a few days have passed reexamine that question and note it down a second time. This will teach thee caution in judgment and accuracy in grasping subjects."

"It will be as Thou commandest," replied the prince.

"Another mission which Thou must accomplish is truly difficult. Something is happening in Assyria which begins to alarm my government. Our priests declare that beyond the Northern sea stands a pyramidal mountain covered with green at its base and with snow on the summit. This mountain has marvelous qualities. After many years of quiet it begins all at once to smoke, roar, and tremble, and then it hurls out as much liquid fire as there is water in the Nile. This fire, which flows down its sides in various directions and over an immense stretch of country, ruins the labor of earth-tillers.

"Well, Assyria is a mountain of that sort. For whole ages calm and quiet reign in that region, till all on a sudden a tempest bursts out there, great armies pour forth from it and annihilate peaceful neighbors. At present around Nineveh and Babylon seething is audible: the mountain is smoking. Thou must learn therefore how far that smoke indicates an outburst, and think out means of precaution."

"Shall I be able to do so?" asked the prince, in a low voice.

"Thou must learn to observe. If Thou hast the wish to learn anything well, be not satisfied with the witness of thy own eyes, but strengthen thyself with the aid of a number of others. Confine not thyself to the judgment of Egyptians alone, for each people, each man has a special way of looking at subjects, and neither one grasps the whole truth in any question. Listen therefore to what the Phoenicians, the Hebrews, the Hittites, and the Egyptians think of the Assyrians, and weigh in thy own heart with care all that agrees in their judgments concerning Assyria. If all tell thee that danger is coming from that point, Thou wilt know that it is coming; but if different men speak variously, be on thy guard also, for wisdom commands us to look for less good and more evil."

"Thy speech is like that of the gods," whispered the heir of Egypt,

"I am old, and from the height of the throne things are seen of which mortal men have not even a suspicion. Wert Thou to inquire of the sun what he thinks of this world's affairs, he would tell thee things still more curious."

"Among the people from whom I am to gain knowledge of Assyria, Thou hast not mentioned the Greeks, O father," put in Ramses.

The pharaoh nodded, and said with a kindly smile,

"The Greeks! oh, the Greeks! A great future is in store for that people. In comparison with us they are in childhood, but what a spirit is in them!

"Dost remember my statue made by a Greek sculptor? That is my second self, a living person! I kept it a month in the palace, but at last I gave it to the temple in Thebes. Wilt Thou believe, fear seized me lest that stone should rise from its seat and claim one-half of the government. What a disorder would rise then in Egypt!

"The Greeks! Hast Thou seen the vases which they make, the palaces which they build? From that clay out there and from stone something comes that delights my old age and forbids me to think of my feebleness.

"And their language! O gods, it is music and sculpture and painting. In truth, I say that if Egypt could ever die as a man dies, the Greeks would take all its property. Nay more, they would persuade the world that everything done by us was their work, and that we never existed. And still they are only the pupils of our primary schools, for, as Thou knowest, we have no right to communicate the highest knowledge to foreigners."

"Still, father, it seems that Thou hast no trust in the Greeks."

"No, for they are peculiar; one can trust neither Greek nor Phoenician. The Phoenician, when he wishes, sees and will tell thee genuine truth of Egypt, but Thou wilt never know when he is telling it. The Greek, as simple as a child, would tell the truth always, but he is never able.

"The Greeks look at the world in a manner different altogether from our way. In their wonderful eyes everything glitters, assumes colors and changes, as the sky and the water of Egypt. How then could we rely on their judgment?

"In the days of the Theban dynasty, far away toward the north, was the little town of Troy. We have in Egypt twenty thousand as large as it. Various Greek vagrants laid siege to that hamlet, and so annoyed its few inhabitants that after ten years of trouble they burned their little fortress and moved to other places. An every-day robber narrative! Meanwhile just see what songs the Greeks sing of the Trojan combats. We laugh at those wonders and heroisms, for our government had accurate information of events there. We see the lies which strike any one, but still we listen to those songs, as a child does to tales which its nurse tells, and we cannot tear ourselves free from them.

"Such are the Greeks: born liars, but fascinating; yes, and valiant. Every man of them would rather die than tell truth. They do not lie for profit, as do the Phoenicians, but because their mind constrains them."

"Well, what am I to think of the Phoenicians?"

"They are wise people of mighty industry and daring, but hucksters: for them life means profit, be it great or the greatest. The Phoenicians are like water: they bring much with them, but bear away much, and push in at all points. One must give them the least possible, and above all watch that they enter not through hidden crannies into Egypt. If Thou pay them well and offer hope of still greater profit, they will be excellent assistants. What we know today of secret movements in Assyria we know through Phoenicians."

"And the Jews?" asked the prince, dropping his eyes.

"A quick people, but gloomy fanatics and born enemies of Egypt. Only when they feel on their necks the iron-shod sandal of the Assyrian, will they turn to us. May that time not come too late to them! It is possible to use their services, not here, of course, but in Nineveh and Babylon."

The pharaoh was wearied now. Hence the prince fell on his face before him, and when he had received the paternal embrace he went to his mother.

The lady, sitting in her study, was weaving delicate linen to make garments for the gods, and her ladies in waiting were sewing and embroidering robes or making bouquets. A young priest was burning incense before the statue of Isis.

"I come," said the prince, "to thank thee, my mother, and take farewell."

The queen rose and putting her arms around her son's neck, said to him tearfully,

"Hast Thou changed so much? Thou art a man now! I meet thee so rarely that I might forget thy features did I not see them in my heart every moment. Thou art unkind. How many times have I gone with the first dignitary of the state toward thy villa, thinking that at last Thou wouldst cease to be offended, but Thou didst bring out thy favorite in my presence."

"I beg thy pardon I beg thy pardon!" said Ramses, kissing his mother.

She conducted him to a garden in which peculiar flowers grew, and when they were without witnesses, she said,

"I am a woman, so a woman and a mother has interest for me. Dost Thou wish to take that girl with thee on thy journey? Remember that the tumult and the movement which will surround thee may harm her, for in her condition calm and quiet are needed."

"Art Thou speaking of Sarah?" inquired Ramses, astonished. "She has said nothing to me of that condition."

"She may be ashamed; perhaps she does not herself know," replied the queen. "In every case the journey."

"I have no intention of taking her!" exclaimed Ramses. "But why does she hide this from me as if the child were not mine?"

"Be not suspicious," chided the lady. "This is the usual timidity of young women. Moreover, she may be hiding her condition from fear lest Thou cast her away from thee."

"For that matter, I shall not take her to my court!" broke out the prince, so impatiently that the queen's eyes were smiling, but she covered them with their long lashes.

"It is not well to be over-harsh with a woman who loved thee. I know that Thou hast given an assured support to her. We will give her something also. And a child of the royal blood must be reared well, and have property."

"Naturally," answered Ramses. "My first son, though without princely rights, must be so placed that I may not be ashamed of him, and he must not regret separation from me."

After parting with the queen, Ramses wished to go to Sarah, and with that object returned to his chambers.

Two feelings were roused in him, anger at Sarah for hiding the cause of her weakness, and pride that he was going to be a father.

He a father! This title gave him an importance which, as it were, supported his titles of commander and viceroy. Father! that did not mean a stripling who must look perforce with reverence on older people.

He was roused and enraptured. He wished to see Sarah, to scold, then embrace her and give her presents.

But when he returned to his part of the palace he found there two nomarchs from Lower Egypt who had come to report on their provinces, and when he had heard them out, he was wearied. Besides, he was to hold an evening reception and did not wish to be late in beginning.

"And again I shall not be with her," thought he. "Poor girl! for twenty days she has not seen me."

He summoned the negro.

"Hast Thou that cage which Sarah gave thee when we went to greet his holiness?"

"I have."

"Take a pigeon from it, and let the bird loose."

"The pigeons are eaten."

"Who ate them?"

"Thou. I told the cook that those birds came from the Lady Sarah; so he made a roast and pies out of them for thee, worthiness."

"May the crocodiles eat you both!" cried the prince, in anger.

He sent for Tutmosis and dispatched him immediately to Sarah. He explained to him the history of the pigeons, and said,

"Give her emerald earrings, bracelets, anklets, and two talents. Say that I am angry because she concealed her condition, but that I will forgive her if the child is healthy and handsome. Should she have a boy, I will give her another place," finished he, with a smile. "But but persuade her to put away even a few Jews, and to take even a few Egyptian men and women. I do not wish my son to be born into such company; besides, he might play with Jew children. They would teach him to give his father the worst dates of the harvest."



CHAPTER XIX

THE foreign quarter in Memphis lay on the northeastern extremity of the city near the river. There were several hundred houses in that place and many thousand people, Assyrians, Greeks, Jews, most of all, Phoenicians.

That was a wealthy quarter. A street thirty paces in width formed its leading artery. This street was rather straight, and paved with flat stones. On both sides were houses of sandstone, brick, or limestone, varying in height from three to five stories. In the cellars were stores of raw materials; on the ground floors were arched rooms; on the first stories dwellings of wealthy people; higher were the workshops of weavers, tailors, jewelers; highest of all, the crowded dwellings of laborers.

The buildings of this quarter, like those in the whole city, were mainly white; but one might see stone houses as green as a meadow, as yellow as a wheat-field, as blue as the sky. or as red as blood.

The front walls of many houses were ornamented with pictures representing the occupations of people who dwelt in them. On the house of a jeweler long rows of pictures announced that its owner sold to foreign kings chains and bracelets of his own making which roused their amazement. The immense palace of a merchant was covered with pictures representing the labors and perils of a trafficker: on the sea dreadful monsters with fish tails were seizing the man; in the desert winged dragons breathing fire were grasping after him, and on distant islands he was tormented by a giant whose sandals were larger than any ship of the Phoenicians.

A physician on the wall of his office represented persons who, thanks to his aid, had recovered lost hands and feet, even teeth and youthfulness. On a building occupied by a government administrator of the quarter were to be seen a keg into which people were throwing gold rings; a scribe into whose ears some one was whispering; an offender, stretched on the ground, whom two other men were beating.

The street was full. Along the walls stood litter-bearers, men with fans, messengers and laborers, ready to offer their services. In the middle of the street moved an unbroken line of merchants' wares carried by men, asses, or oxen attached to vehicles. On the sidewalks pushed forward noisy sellers of fresh water, grapes, dates, dried fish, and among them hucksters, flower-girls, musicians, and tricksters of various descriptions.

In this torrent of people which flowed forward and separated, in which men bought and sold, crying out in various tones, policemen were prominent. Each had a brownish tunic reaching to his knees, bare legs, an apron with blue and red stripes, a short sword at his side, and a strong stick in his hand. This official walked along on the sidewalk; sometimes he conversed with a colleague; most frequently, however, he stood on a stone at the edge of the street, so as to take in more accurately the crowd which flowed past in front of him.

In view of such watchfulness street thieves had to do their work cleverly. Usually two began to fight, and when a crowd had gathered around them and the police clubbed both spectators and quarrelers, other confederates in the art did the stealing.

About half-way between the two ends of the street stood the inn of Asarhadon, a Phoenician from Tyre. In this inn, for easier control, all were forced to dwell who came from beyond the boundaries of Egypt. It was a large quadrangular building which on each side had a number of tens of windows, and was not connected with other houses; hence men could go around the place and watch it from all points. Over the principal gate hung the model of a ship; on the front wall were pictures representing his holiness Ramses XII placing offerings before the gods, or extending his protection to foreigners, among whom the Phoenicians were distinguished by a sturdy stature and very ruddy faces.

The windows were narrow, always open, and only in case of need shaded by curtains of linen or by colored slats. The chambers of the innkeeper and of travelers occupied three stories; the ground floor was devoted to a wine shop and an eating-place. Sailors, carriers, handicraftsmen, and in general the poorer class of travelers ate and drank in a courtyard which had a mosaic pavement and a linen roof resting on columns, so that all guests might be under inspection. The wealthier and better born ate in a gallery which surrounded the courtyard. In the courtyard the men sat on the pavement near stones which were used instead of tables; in the galleries, which were cooler, there were tables, stools, and armchairs, even low couches, with cushions, on which guests might slumber.

In each gallery there was a great table on which were bread, meat, fish, and fruits, also jugs holding several quarts of beer, wine, and water. Negroes, men and women, bore around food to the guests, removed empty vessels, and brought from the cellars full pitchers, while scribes watching scrupulously over the tables noted down carefully each piece of bread, bulb of garlic, and flagon of water. In the courtyard two inspectors stood on an elevation with sticks in their grasp; these men kept their eyes on the servants and the scribes on the one hand, and on the other by the aid of the sticks they settled quarrels between the poorer guests of various nations. Thanks to this arrangement thefts and battles happened rarely; they were more frequent in the galleries than the courtyard.

The Phoenician innkeeper himself, the noted Asarhadon, a man beyond fifty, dressed in a long tunic and a muslin cape, walked among the guests to see if each received what he had ordered.

"Eat and drink, my sons!" said he to the Greek sailors, "for such pork and beer there is not in all the world as I have. I hear that a storm struck your ship about Rafia? Ye should give a bounteous offering to the gods for preserving you. In Memphis a man might not see a storm all his life, but at sea it is easier to meet lightning than a copper uten. I have mead, flour, incense for holy sacrifices, and here, in the corner, stand the gods of all nations. In my inn a man may still his hunger and be pious for very slight charges."

He turned and went to the gallery among the merchants. "Eat and drink, worthy lords," incited he, making obeisance. "The times are good. The most worthy heir may he live for ever! is going to Pi-Bast with an enormous retinue, but from the upper kingdom a transport of gold has come, of which more than one of you will win a good portion. I have partridges, young goslings, fish direct from the river, perfect roast venison. And what wine they have sent me from Cyprus! May I be turned into a Jew if a goblet of that luxury is not worth two drachmas, but to you, my benefactors and fathers, I will give it today for one drachma, only today, to make a beginning."

"Give it for half a drachma a goblet, and we will taste it," said one of the merchants.

"Half a drachma!" repeated the host. "Sooner will the Nile flow upward toward Thebes than I give such sweetness for half a drachma, unless I do it for thee, Lord Belezis, who art the pearl of Sidon. Hei, slaves! bring to our benefactors the largest pitcher of wine from Cyprus."

When the innkeeper had walked on, the merchant named Belezis said to his companions,

"May my hand wither if that wine is worth half a drachma! But never mind! We shall have less trouble with the police hereafter."

Conversation with guests of all nations and conditions did not prevent the host from looking at the scribes who noted down food and drink, at the watchman who stared at the scribes and the servants, and above all at a traveler who had seated himself on cushions in the front gallery, with his feet under him, and who was dozing over a handful of dates and a goblet of pure water. That traveler was about forty years old, he had abundant hair and beard of raven color, thoughtful eyes, and wonderfully noble features which seemed never to have been wrinkled by anger or distorted by fear.

"That is a dangerous rat!" thought the innkeeper, frowning. "He has the look of a priest, but he wears a dark coat. He has left gold and jewels with me to the value of a talent, and he neither eats meat nor drinks wine. He must be a great prophet or a very great criminal."

Two naked serpent tamers came into the courtyard bearing a basket full of poisonous reptiles, and began their exhibition. The younger one played on a flute, while the elder wound around his body snakes big and little, any one of which would have sufficed to drive away guests from the inn "Under the Ship."

The flute-player gave out shriller and shriller notes; the serpent- tamer squirmed, foamed at the mouth, quivered convulsively, and irritated the reptiles till one of them bit him on the hand, another on the face, while he swallowed alive a third one, the smallest.

The guests and the servants looked at the exhibition of the serpent- tamer with alarm. They trembled when he irritated the reptiles, they closed their eyes when they bit him; but when the performer swallowed one of the snakes, they howled with delight and wonder.

The traveler in the front gallery, however, did not leave his cushions, he did not deign even to look at the exhibition. But when the tamer approached for pay, he threw to the pavement two copper utens, giving a sign with his hand not to come nearer.

The exhibition lasted half an hour perhaps. When the performers left the courtyard, a negro attending to the chambers of the inn rushed up to the host and whispered something anxiously. After that, it was unknown whence, a decurion of the police appeared, and when he had conducted Asarhadon to a remote window, he conversed long with him. The worthy owner of the inn beat his breast, clasped his hands, or seized his head. At last he kicked the black man in the belly, and commanded him to give the police official a roast goose and a pitcher of Cyprus wine; then he approached the guest in the front gallery, who seemed to doze there un brokenly, though his eyes were open.

"I have evil news for thee, worthy lord," said the host, sitting at the side of the traveler.

"The gods send rain and sadness on people whenever it pleases them," replied the guest, with indifference.

"While we were looking at the snake-tamers," continued the host, pulling at his parti-colored beard, "thieves reached the second story and stole thy effects, three bags and a casket, of course very precious."

"Thou must inform the court of my loss."

"Wherefore the court?" whispered the host. "With us thieves have a guild of their own. We will send for their elder, and value the effects; Thou wilt pay him twenty per cent of the value and all will be found again. I can assist thee."

"In my country," replied the guest, "no man compounds with thieves, and I will not. I lodge with thee, I trusted thee with my property, and Thou wilt answer."

The worthy Asarhadon began to scratch his shoulder-blades.

"Man of a distant region," continued he, in a lower voice, "ye Hittites and we Phoenicians are brothers, hence I advise thee sincerely not to turn to an Egyptian court, for it has only one door, that by which a man enters, but none by which he goes out."

"The gods can conduct an innocent man through a wall," said the Hittite.

"Innocent! Who of us in the land of bondage is innocent?" whispered the host. "Look in that direction; over there that commander of ten policemen is finishing a goose, an excellent young goose, which I myself would have eaten gladly. But dost Thou know why, taking it from my own mouth, I gave that goose to him?"

"It was because the man came to inquire about thee."

When he said this, the Phoenician looked askance at the traveler, who did not lose calmness for an instant.

"He asked me," continued the host, "that master of ten policemen asked, 'What sort of man is that black one who sits two hours over a handful of dates?' I replied: 'A very honorable man, the lord Phut.' 'Whence comes he?' 'From the country of the Hittites, from the city of Harran; he has a good house there of three stories, and much land.' 'Why has he come hither?' 'He has come,' I replied, 'to receive five talents from a certain priest, talents lent by his father.'

"And dost Thou know, worthy lord," continued the innkeeper, "what that decurion answered? 'Asarhadon,' said he, 'I know that Thou art a faithful servant of his holiness, Thou hast good food and pure wines; for this reason I warn thee, look to thyself. Have a care of foreigners who make no acquaintances, who avoid wine and every amusement, and are silent. That Phut of Harran may be an Assyrian spy.' The heart died in the when I heard this. But these words do not affect thee," said he, indignantly, when he saw that the terrible suspicion of espionage did not disturb the calm face of the Hittite.

"Asarhadon," said the guest, after a while, "I confided to thee myself and my property. See to it, therefore, that my bags and my casket are returned to me, for in the opposite case I shall complain of thee to that same chief of tea who is eating the goose which was intended for thee."

"Well, but permit me to pay the thieves only fifteen per cent of the value of the things," cried the host.

"Thou hast no right to pay."

"Give them even thirty drachmas."

"Not an uten."

"Give the poor fellows even ten drachmas."

"Go in peace, Asarhadon, and beg the gods to return thee thy reason," answered the traveler, with the same unchanging calmness.

The host sprang up, panting from anger.

"The reptile!" thought he. "He has not come for a debt simply. He is doing some business here. My heart tells me that he is a rich merchant, or maybe an innkeeper who, in company with priests and judges, will open another inn somewhere near this one. May the first fire of heaven burn thee! May the leprosy devour thee! Miser, deceiver, criminal from whom an honest man can make nothing."

The worthy Asarhadon had not succeeded yet in calming himself when the sounds of a flute and a drum were heard on the street, and after a while four dancers, almost naked, rushed into the courtyard. The carriers and sailors greeted them with shouts of delight, and even important merchants in the galleries looked at them with curiosity and made remarks on their beauty. The dancers with motions of the hands and with smiles greeted all the company. One began to play on a double flute, another accompanied with a drum, and the two others danced around the court in such fashion that there was hardly a guest whom their muslin shawls did not strike as they whirled.

Those who were drinking began to sing, shout, and call to the dancers, while among the common herd a quarrel sprang up which the inspectors settled with canes. A certain Libyan, angered at sight of the canes, drew a knife, but two black men seized his arms, took from him some bronze rings as pay for food, and hurled him out to the street. Meanwhile one of the dancers remained with the sailors, two went among the merchants who offered them wine and cakes, and the oldest passed among the tables to make a collection.

"By the sanctuary of the divine Isis!" cried she, "pious strangers, give offerings to the goddess who guards all creation. The more you give the more happiness and blessing will come to you. For the sanctuary of Mother Isis!"

They threw onto her drum coils of copper wire, sometimes a grain of gold. One merchant asked if it were permitted to visit her, to which she nodded with a smile.

When she entered the front gallery, Phut of Harran reached for his leather bag and took out a gold ring, saying,

"Is tar is a great and good goddess; take this for her sanctuary."

The priestess looked quickly at him and whispered,

"Anael, Sachiel."

"Amabiel, Abalidot," answered the traveler, in the same low tone.

"I see that Thou lovest Mother Isis," said the priestess, aloud. "Thou must be wealthy and art bountiful, so it is worth while to soothsay for thee."

She sat down near him, ate a couple of dates, and looking at his hand began,

"Thou art from a distant region, from Bretor and Hagit. [The spirits of the northern and eastern parts of the world.]Thou hast had a pleasant journey. For some days the Phoenicians are watching thee," added she, in a lower voice.

"Thou hast come for money, though Thou art not a merchant. Visit me this day after sunset. Thy wishes will be accomplished," said she, aloud. "They should be accomplished. I live on the Street of Tombs in the house of the Green Star," whispered she. "But beware of thieves who are watching for thy property," finished she, seeing that the worthy Asarhadon was listening.

"There are no thieves in my house!" burst out the Phoenician. "None steal except those who come from the street."

"Be not angry, old man," replied the priestess, jeeringly, "or a red line will come out oil thy neck right away; that means an unlucky death."

When he heard this, Asarhadon spat three times, and in a low voice repeated a charm against evil predictions. When he had moved away to the depth of the gallery, the priestess began to coquet with the Harran man. She gave him a rose from her crown, embraced him at parting, and went to the other tables.

The traveler beckoned to the host.

"I wish," said he, "that woman to come to me. Give command to conduct her to my chamber."

Asarhadon looked into his eyes, clapped his hands, and burst out laughing.

"Typhon has possessed thee, O man of Harran!" cried he. "If anything of that sort happened in my house with an Egyptian priestess, they would drive me out of the city. Here it is permissible to receive only foreign women."

"In that case I will go to her," answered Phut, "for she is a wise and devout person, and has told me of many happenings. After sunset Thou wilt give me a guide, so that I may not go astray."

"All the evil spirits have entered thy heart," said Asarhadon. "Dost Thou know that this acquaintance will cost thee two hundred drachmas, perhaps three hundred, not counting that which Thou must give the servants and the sanctuary. For such a sum, or say five hundred drachmas, Thou mayst make the acquaintance of a young and virtuous woman, my daughter, who is now fourteen years of age, and like a prudent girl is collecting for herself a dowry. Do not wander in the night through a strange city, for Thou wilt fall into the hands of the police or of thieves, but make use of that which the gods give thee at home. Dost Thou wish?"

"But will thy daughter go with me to Harran?" inquired Phut.

The innkeeper looked at him with astonishment. All at once he struck his forehead, as if he had divined a secret, and seizing the traveler by the hand, he drew him to a quieter place at the window.

"I know all," whispered he, excitedly. "Thou art dealing in women. But remember that for taking away one Egyptian woman Thou mayst lose thy property and go to the quarries. But perhaps Thou wilt take me into thy company, for here I know every road."

"In that case show me the road to the priestess," said Phut. "Remember that after sunset Thou art to have a guide for me, and to-morrow my bags and casket, otherwise I shall complain to the court."

Then Phut left the gallery and went to his chamber on a higher story.

Asarhadon with anger approached a table at which Phoenician merchants were drinking, and called aside one of them named Kush.

"Thou bringest beautiful guests to me!" said he, unable to restrain the quivering of his voice. "That Phut eats almost nothing, and now, as if to insult my house, he is going out to an Egyptian dancer instead of giving presents to my women."

"What wonder in that?" answered Kush, smiling. "He could find a Phoenician woman in Sidon, but here he prefers an Egyptian. A fool is he who in Cyprus does not taste Cyprus wine, but Tyrian beer."

"But I say," broke in the host, "that that man is dangerous. He seems to be a citizen, though he looks like a priest."

"Thou, Asarhadon, hast the look of a high priest, though Thou art only an innkeeper. A bench does not cease to be a bench, though it has a lion's skin on it."

"But why does he go to priestesses? I would swear that that is a pretence, and that this churlish Hittite, instead of going to a feast with women, is going to some meeting of conspirators."

"Anger and greed have darkened thy reason," answered Kush, with impatience. "Thou art like a man who looking for melons on a fig-tree sees not the figs on it. It is clear to any merchant that if Phut is to collect five talents from a priest he must win favors from all who go around in the sanctuaries. But Thou hast no understanding."

"My heart tells me that this must be an Assyrian ambassador watching to destroy his holiness."

Kush looked with contempt on Asarhadon.

"Watch him, then; follow every step of his. If Thou discover anything, perhaps Thou wilt get some part of his property."

"Oh, now them hast given wise counsel," said the host. "Let that rat go to the priestesses, and from them to places unknown to me. But I will send after him my vision, from which nothing will be secret."



CHAPTER XX

About nine in the evening Phut left the inn "Under the Ship" in company with a negro who carried a torch. Half an hour earlier Asarhadon sent out a confidential servant, commanding him to observe carefully if the guest from Harran left the house of the "Green Star," and if so to follow him.

A second confidential servant went at a certain distance behind Phut; in the narrower streets he hid among the houses, on the broader ones he feigned drunkenness.

The streets were empty; carriers and hucksters were sleeping. There was light only in the houses of artisans who were at work, or in those of rich people who were feasting on the terraces. In various houses were heard the sounds of harps and flutes, songs, laughter, the blows of hammers, the sound of saws in the hands of cabinet makers; at times the cry of a drunken man, or a call for assistance.

The streets along which Phut and the slave passed were narrow for the greater part, crooked and full of holes. As they approached the end of the journey, the stone houses were lower and lower, those of one story more frequent, and there were more gardens, or rather palms, fig-trees, and stunted acacias, which, inclining out from between the walls, seemed to have the intention to escape from their places. On the Street of Tombs the view changed on a sudden. In place of stone buildings there were broad gardens, and in the middle of them splendid villas. The negro stopped before one of the gates and quenched his torch.

"Here is the 'Green Star,'" said he, and, making a low bow to Phut, he turned homeward.

The man of Harran knocked at the gate. After a while the gatekeeper appeared. He looked attentively at the stranger, and muttered,

"Anael, Sachiel."

"Amabiel, Abalidot," answered Phut.

"Be greeted," said the gatekeeper; and he opened quickly to the visitor.

When he had passed some tens of steps between trees, Phut found himself in the antechamber of the villa, where the priestess whom he knew greeted him. Farther in stood some man with black beard and hair; so much like the man of Harran was he, that Phut could not hide his astonishment.

"He will take thy place in the eyes of those who are spying thee," said the priestess, smiling.

The man who was disguised as Phut put a garland of roses on his head, and in company with the priestess went to the first story, where the sound of flutes and the clatter of goblets were heard soon after. Meanwhile two inferior priests conducted Phut to a bath in the garden. After the bath they curled his hair and put white robes on him.

From the bath all three went out again among the trees, passed a number of gardens, and found themselves in an empty space finally.

"There," said one of the priests, "are the ancient tombs; on that side is the city, and here the temple. Go whithersoever Thou wishest. May wisdom point out the road to thee, and sacred words guard thee from perils."

The two priests went back to the garden, and Phut was in solitude. The moonless night was rather clear. From afar, covered with mist, glittered the Nile; higher up gleamed the seven stars of the Great Bear. Over the head of the stranger was Orion, and above the dark pylons flamed the star Sirius.

"The stars shine in our land more brightly," thought Phut.

He began to whisper prayers in an unknown tongue, and turned toward the temple.

When he had gone a number of steps, from one of the gardens a man pushed out and followed him. But almost at that very moment such a thick fog fell on the place that it was quite impossible to see aught save the roofs of the temple.

After a certain time the man of Harran came to a high wall. He looked up at the sky and began to go westward. From moment to moment night birds and great bats flew above him.

The mist had become so dense that he was forced to touch the wall so as not to lose it. The journey had lasted rather long when all at once Phut found himself before a low door with a multitude of bronze nail heads. He fell to counting these from the left side on the top; at the same time he pressed some of them powerfully, others he turned.

When he had pressed the last nail at the bottom, the door opened. The man of Harran advanced a few steps, and found himself in a narrow niche where there was utter darkness.

He tried the ground carefully with his foot till he struck upon something like the brink of a well from which issued coolness. He sat down then and slipped fearlessly into the abyss, though he found himself in that place and in Egypt for the first time.

The opening was not deep. Phut stood erect on a sloping pavement, and began to descend along a narrow corridor with as much confidence as if he had known the passage for a lifetime.

At the end of the corridor was a door. By groping the stranger found a knocker, and struck three times with it. In answer came a voice, it was unknown from what direction.

"Hast thou, who art disturbing in a night hour the peace of a holy place, the right to enter?"

"I have done no wrong to man, child, or woman. Blood has not stained my hands. I have eaten no unclean food. I have not taken another's property. I have not lied. I have not betrayed the great secret," answered the man of Harran, calmly.

"Art Thou he for whom we are waiting, or he who in public Thou declarest thyself to be?" inquired the voice, after a while.

"I am he who was to come from brethren in the East; but that other name is mine also, and in the northern city I possess a house and land, as I have told other persons."

The door opened, and Phut walked into a spacious cellar which was lighted by a lamp burning on a small table before a purple curtain. On the curtain was embroidered in gold a winged globe with two serpents.

At one side stood an Egyptian priest in a white robe.

"Dost them who hast entered," asked the priest, pointing at Phut, "know what this sign on the curtain signifies?"

"The globe," answered the stranger, "is an image of the world on which we live; the wings indicate that it is borne through space like an eagle."

"And the serpents?" asked the priest.

"The two serpents remind him who is wise that whoso betrays the great secret will die a double death, he will die soul and body."

After a moment of silence the priest continued,

"If Thou art in real fact Beroes" (here he inclined his head), "the great prophet of Chaldea" (he inclined his head a second time), "for whom there is no secret in heaven or on earth, be pleased to inform thy servant which star is the most wonderful."

"Wonderful is Hor-set, [Jupiter] which encircles heaven in the course of twelve years; for four smaller stars go around it. But the most wonderful is Horka, [Saturn] which encircles heaven in thirty years; for it has subject to it not only stars, but a great ring which vanishes sometimes."

On hearing this, the Egyptian priest prostrated himself before the Chaldean. Then he gave him a purple scarf and a muslin veil, indicated where the incense was, and left the cave with low obeisances.

The Chaldean remained alone. He put the scarf on his right shoulder, covered his face with the veil, and, taking a golden spoon sprinkled into it incense, which he lighted at the lamp before the curtain. Whispering, he turned three times in a circle, and the smoke of the incense surrounded him with a triple ring, as it were.

During this time a wonderful disturbance prevailed in the cave. It seemed as if the top were rising and the sides spreading out. The t purple curtain at the altar quivered, as if moved by hidden fingers. The air began to move in waves, as if flocks of unseen birds were flying through it.

The Chaldean opened the robe on his bosom, and drew forth a gold medal covered with mysterious characters. The cave trembled, the sacred curtain moved with violence, and little flames appeared in space at various points.

Then the seer raised his hands and began,

"Heavenly Father, gracious and merciful, purify my spirit. Send down on Thy unworthy servant a blessing, and extend Thy almighty arm against rebellious spirits, so that I may manifest Thy power.

"Here is the sign which I touch in thy presence. Here I am I, leaning on the assistance of that God, the foreseeing and the fearless. I am mighty, and summon and conjure thee. Come hither with obedience in the name of Aye, Saraye, Aye Saraye!"

At that moment from various sides were heard voices as of distant trumpets. Near the lamp some bird flew past, then a robe of ruddy color, afterward a man with a tail, finally a crowned cock which stood on the table before the curtain.

The Chaldean spoke again, f

"In the name of the Almighty and Eternal Amorul, Tanecha, Rabur, Latisten."

Distant sounds of trumpets were heard for a second time.

"In the name of the just and ever-living Eloy, Archima, Rabu, I conjure and summon thee. In the name of the star, which is the sun, by this its sign, by the glorious and awful name of the living God."

The trumpets sounded again, and stopped on a sudden. Before the altar appeared a crowned vision with a scepter in its hand, and sitting on a lion.

"Beroes! Beroes!" cried the vision, with a restrained voice. "Why dost Thou summon me?"

"I wish my brethren of this temple to receive me with sincere hearts, and incline their ears to the words which I bring them from brethren in Babylon," said the Chaldean.

"Be it so," said the vision, and vanished.

The Chaldean stood as motionless as a statue, with his head thrown back, with hands lifted upward. He stood thus half an hour in a position impossible for an ordinary person.

During this time a part of the wall which formed one side of the cave pushed back, and three Egyptian priests entered. At sight of the Chaldean, who seemed to lie in the air, resting his shoulders on an invisible support, the priests looked at one another with amazement. The eldest said,

"Long ago there were men like this among us, but no one has such power in our day."

They walked around him on all sides, touched his stiffened members, and looked with fear at his face, which was bloodless and sallow, like that of a corpse.

"Is he dead?" asked the youngest.

After these words the body of the Chaldean, which had been bent backward, returned to a perpendicular position. On his face appeared a slight flush, and his upraised hands dropped. He sighed, rubbed his eyes like a man roused from sleep, looked at the priests, and said after a while, turning to the eldest,

"Thou art Mefres, high priest of the temple of Ptah in Memphis. Thou art Herhor, high priest of Amon in Thebes, the first dignity in this state after the pharaoh. Thou," he indicated the youngest, "art Pentuer, the second prophet in the temple of Amon, and the adviser of Herhor."

"Thou art undoubtedly Beroes, the high priest and sage of Babylon, whose coming was announced to us a year ago," answered Mefres.

"Thou hast told truth," said the Chaldean.

He embraced them in turn, and they inclined before him.

"I bring you great words from our common fatherland, which is Wisdom," said Beroes. "Be pleased to listen and act as is needful."

At a sign from Herhor, Pentuer withdrew to the rear of the cave and brought out three armchairs of light wood for his superiors, and a low stool for his own use. He seated himself near the lamp, and took from his bosom a small dagger and wax-covered tablets.

When all three had occupied their chairs, the Chaldean began,

"Mefres, the highest college of priests in Babylon addresses thee: 'The sacred order of priests in Egypt is falling. Many priests collect money and women, and pass their lives amid pleasure. Wisdom is neglected. Ye have no power over the world, which is invisible. Ye have no power over your own souls. Some of you have lost the highest faith, and the future is concealed from you. Things worse than this even happen; for many priests, feeling that their spiritual power is exhausted, have entered the way of falsehood and deceive simple people by cunning devices.'

"The highest college says this: 'If ye wish to return to the good road, Beroes will remain some years with you, so as to rouse true light on the Nile by the aid of a spark brought from the high altar of Babylon.'."

"All is as Thou sayest," answered Mefres, confused. "Remain with us therefore a number of years, so that the youth growing up at present may remember thy wisdom."

"And now, Herhor, to thee come words from the highest college."

Herhor inclined his head.

"Because ye neglect the great secrets, your priests have not noted that evil years are approaching Egypt. Ye are threatened by internal disasters from which only virtue and wisdom can save you. But the worst is that if in the course of the coming decade ye begin war with Assyria, she will defeat your forces. Her armies will come to the Nile and destroy all that has existed here for ages.

"Such an ominous juncture of stars as is now weighing on Egypt happened first during the XIV. dynasty, when the Hyksos kings captured and plundered this country. It will come for the third time in five or six hundred years from Assyria and the people of Paras, who dwell to the east of Chaldea."

The priests listened in terror. Herhor was pale; the tablets fell from Pentuer's fingers; Mefres held the amulet hanging on his breast, and prayed while his lips were parching.

"Be on your guard then against Assyria," continued the Chaldean, "for her hour is the present. The Assyrians are a dreadful people! They despise labor, they live by war. They conquer, they impale on stakes or flay living people, they destroy captured cities and lead away their inhabitants to bondage. For them to kill savage beasts is repose; to pierce prisoners with arrows or scoop out their eyes is amusement. Temples they turn into ruins, the vessels of the gods they use at their banquets, and make buffoons of priests and sages. They adorn their walls with skins torn from living people, and their tables with the blood-stained skulls of their enemies."

When the Chaldean ceased speaking, the worthy Mefres answered,

"Great prophet, Thou hast cast fear on our souls, and dost not indicate a remedy. It may be true, and to a certainty is so, since Thou hast said it, that the fates for a certain time will be against us, but how avoid this predicament? In the Nile there are dangerous places through which no boat can pass safely; so the wisdom of the helmsmen avoids deadly whirlpools. It is the same with misfortunes of nations. A nation is a boat, and an epoch is the river, which at certain periods has whirlpools. If the frail boat of a fisherman can avoid peril, why should not millions of people escape under similar conditions?"

"Thy words are wise," replied Beroes, "but I can answer in part only."

"Dost Thou not know all that will happen?" asked Herhor.

"Ask me not touching that which I know, but which I may not disclose at this moment. Most important in your case is to keep peace for ten years with Assyria. Ye have power to do that. Assyria still dreads you; she knows not the juncture of evil fates above Egypt, and desires to wage war with northern and eastern nations who live near the seacoast. Ye might, therefore, conclude a treaty today with Assyria."

"On what conditions?" asked Herhor.

"On very good ones. Assyria will yield to you the land of Israel as far as the city of Akko, and the land of Edom to the city of Elath. So your boundaries will be advanced ten days march toward the north without war, and ten days toward the east also."

"But Phoenicia?" inquired Herhor.

"Approach not temptation!" exclaimed Beroes. "If the pharaoh were to stretch his hand today toward Phoenicia, in a month Assyrian armies intended for the north and east would turn southward, and a year hence or earlier their horses would be swimming in your sacred river."

"Egypt cannot renounce influence over Phoenicia," interrupted Herhor, with an outburst.

"Should she not renounce she would prepare her own ruin," said the Chaldean. "Moreover, I repeat the words of the highest college: 'Tell Egypt,' declared the brothers in Babylon, 'to cower to the earth for ten years, like a partridge, for the falcon of evil fate is watching her. Tell her that we Chaldeans hate Assyria more than do the Egyptians, for we endure the burden of its rule; but still we recommend to the Egyptians peace with that bloodthirsty nation. Ten years is a short period; after that not only can ye regain your ancient place, but ye can save us.'."

"That is true!" added Mefres.

"Only consider," continued the Chaldean, "should Assyria begin war with you, she would involve also Babylon, which hates warfare. War will exhaust our wealth and stop the labor of wisdom. Even were ye not defeated your country would be ruined for a long period. Ye would lose not only people, but the fertile soil, which would be buried by sand in the absence of earth-tillers."

"We understand that," replied Herhor; "hence we have no thought of attacking Assyria. But Phoenicia."

"What harm will it be to you," asked Beroes, "if the Assyrian robber squeezes the Phoenician thief? Your merchants and ours will gain by such action. But if ye want Phoenicians, let them settle on your shores. I am sure that the richest and most adroit of them would flee from Assyrian conquest."

"What would happen to our fleet, if the Assyrians settled in Phoenicia?" inquired Herhor.

"That is not your fleet, but the Phoenician," replied Beroes. "When Tyrian and Sidonian ships are lost to you, ye will build your own, and exercise Egyptians in navigation. If ye have mind and a practical character, ye will drive out Phoenician commerce from western regions."

Herhor waved his hand.

"I have told that which was commanded me," said Beroes, "and do ye that which pleaseth you. But remember that ten evil years are impending."

"It seems to me, holy father," said Pentuer, "that Thou didst speak of internal troubles which threaten Egypt in the future. What will they be, if it please thee to answer thy servant?"

"Do not ask. Those are things which ye ought to know better than I, who am a stranger. Clear sight will discover the disease, and experience will give the remedy."

"Our working people are terribly oppressed by the great," whispered Pentuer.

"Devotion has decreased," added Mefres.

"There are many who sigh for a foreign war," began Herhor. "I have seen this long time that we cannot carry on one, unless ten years hence."

"Then will ye conclude a treaty with Assyria?" inquired the Chaldean.

"Amon, who knows my heart," answered Herhor, "knows how repugnant that treaty is to me. It is not so long since those vile Assyrians paid us tribute. But if thou, holy father, and the highest college say that the fates are against us, we must make the treaty."

"We must indeed," added Mefres.

"In that case inform the priests in Babylon of your decision, and they will arrange that King Assar shall send an embassy to Egypt. This treaty, believe me, is of great advantage; without war ye will increase your possessions. Indeed our priesthood have given deep thought to this question."

"May all blessings fall on you, wealth, power, and wisdom," said Mefres. "Yes, we must raise our priestly order, and do thou, holy Beroes, assist us."

"There is need, above all, to assuage the suffering of the people." put in Pentuer.

"The priests! the people!" said Herhor, as if to himself. "Above all, it is needful in this case to restrain those who wish war. It is true that his holiness the pharaoh is with me, and I think I have gained influence over the heir, may he live through eternity! But Nitager, to whom war is as water to a fish; but the leaders of our mercenary forces, who only in war have significance; but our aristocracy, who think that war will pay Phoenician debts and give them property."

"Meanwhile earth-tillers are fainting beneath an avalanche of labor, and public workmen are revolting against demands of overseers," added Pentuer.

"He is always expressing his thought!" said Herhor, in meditation. "Think thou, Pentuer, of earth-tillers and laborers; thou, Mefres, of the priests. I know not what ye will effect, but I swear that if my own son favored war I would bind and destroy him."

"Act in this way," said Beroes, "let him carry on war who wishes, but not in those regions where he can meet Assyria."

With this the session ended. The Chaldean put his scarf on his shoulder and the veil on his face; Mefres and Herhor, one on each side of him, and behind him Pentuer, all turned toward the altar.

When Beroes had crossed his hands on his breast, he whispered, and again subterranean disturbance set in, and they heard as it were a distant uproar, which astonished the assistants.

"Baralanensis, Baldachiensis, Paumachiae," said the seer, aloud, "I summon thee to witness our stipulations and support our wishes."

The sound of trumpets was heard so distinctly that Mefres bowed to the earth, Herhor looked around in astonishment, while Pentuer knelt, fell to trembling, and covered his ears.

The purple curtain at the altar shook, and its folds took such a form as if a man were behind who wished to pass through it.

"Be witnesses," cried the Chaldean, in a changed voice, "ye powers above and ye powers beneath! And cursed be he who observes not this treaty or betrays its secret."

"Cursed!" repeated some voice.

"And destroyed!"

"And destroyed."

"In this visible and in that invisible life. By the ineffable name of Jehovah, at the sound of which the earth trembles, the sea draws back, fire quenches, and the elements of nature become evident."

A real tempest rose in the cave. The sound of trumpets was mingled with voices, as it were, of distant thunders.

The curtain of the altar rose almost horizontally, and behind it, amid glittering lightning, appeared wonderful creatures, half human, half plant and animal, crowded and mingled together.

Suddenly all was silent, and Beroes rose slowly in the air, higher than the heads of the priests there attending.

At eight o'clock next morning Phut of Harran returned to the Phoenician inn "Under the Ship" to which his bags and casket stolen by thieves had been returned safely. A few minutes later came Asarhadon's confidential servant, whom the innkeeper took to the cellar and examined briefly,

"Well?"

"I was all night on the square where the temple of Set is," answered the servant. "At ten in the evening out of the garden which lies about four places farther than the house of the 'Green Star,' came three priests. One of them, with black beard and hair, turned his steps through the square toward the temple of Set. I ran after him, but mist fell, and he vanished from my eyes. Whether he returned to the 'Green Star' or when, I know not."

The innkeeper, when he had heard this account, struck his forehead and muttered to himself,

"So my man from Harran, if he dresses as a priest and goes to a temple, must be a priest; and if he wears beard and hair, he must be a Chaldean priest. But if he meets priests here in secret, there must be some rogue's tricks. I will not tell the police, for I might be caught. But I will inform some great man from Sidon, for there may be profit in this, if not for me, for our people."

Soon the other messenger returned. Asarhadon went down to the cellar with this one also, and heard the following narrative,

"I stood all night in front of the 'Green Star.' The man of Harran was there; he got drunk and raised such shouts that the policeman warned the doorkeeper."

"Did he?" inquired the innkeeper. "The man of Harran was at the 'Green Star' all night, and Thou didst see him?"

"Not only I, but the policeman."

Asarhadon brought down the first servant, and commanded each to repeat his story. They repeated the stories faithfully, with the utmost conviction. It appeared then that Phut of Harran had remained all night at the "Green Star" without leaving the place for a moment; at the same time he went to the temple of Set, and did not return from it.

"Oh," muttered Asarhadon, "in all this there is some very great villainy. I must inform the elders of the Phoenician society, as quickly as possible, that this Hittite knows how to be in two places at once. I shall also beg him to move out of my inn. I do not take people who have two forms, one their own, the other in supply. For a man of that kind is a great criminal, a wizard, or a conspirator."

Asarhadon was afraid of such things; so he secured himself against enchantment by prayers to all the gods which adorned his inn. Then he hurried to the city, where he notified the elder of the Phoenician society and the elder of the guild of thieves of what had happened. Then, returning home, he summoned the decurion of police, and informed him that Phut might be a dangerous person. Finally he asked the man of Harran to leave the inn, to which he brought no profit, nothing but loss and suspicion.

Phut agreed to the proposition willingly, and informed the innkeeper that he intended to sail for Thebes that same evening.

"May Thou never return!" thought the hospitable host. "May Thou rot in the quarries, or fall into the river to be eaten by crocodiles."



CHAPTER XXI

Prince Ramses began his journey in the most beautiful season of the year, during the month Phamenoth (end of December and beginning of January). The river had fallen to half its height, laying bare new strips of land day by day. From Thebes many barges with wheat were sailing down toward the sea; in Lower Egypt clover and beans had been harvested. Orange and pomegranate trees were covered with blossoms; in the fields earth tillers had sown lupines, flax, barley, and had planted various beans, cucumbers, and other garden products.

Escorted to the landing of Memphis by priests, the highest dignitaries of the state, the guards of his holiness the pharaoh, the heir entered a gilded barge about ten in the morning. Under the bridge, on which were costly tents, twenty soldiers worked the oars, at the mast and at both ends of the boat the best naval engineers had taken their places. Some looked after the sails, others commanded the rowers, while still others steered the vessel.

Ramses had invited to his boat the most worthy high priest Mefres and the holy father Mentezufis, who were to be with him on the journey and in governing. The prince had invited also the worthy nomarch of Memphis, who conducted him to the boundary of his province.

Some hundreds of yards in front of the viceroy sailed the beautiful boat of the worthy Otoes, nomarch of Aa, a province adjoining the capital. Behind the prince came countless barges occupied by the court, by priests, by officials and officers.

Provisions and servants had been dispatched earlier.

The Nile flows to Memphis between two lines of mountains. Farther the mountains turn eastward and westward, and the river divides into a number of arms in which the water flows through a broad plain to the Mediterranean.

When the barge had pushed away from the landing, the prince wished to converse with Mefres, the high priest. But at that moment such a shout broke forth that he was forced to leave his tent and show himself to the people.

The uproar grew greater, however, instead of subsiding. On both shores stood and increased every moment throngs of half naked laborers, or people of the city dressed in holiday garments. Very many had garlands on their heads, almost all held green branches in their hands. Some groups sang; among others were heard the beating of drums and the sound of flutes.