The Plague, Pestilence & Apocalypse MEGAPACK™
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must be giants, some of them being twice the stature of ordinary
men . Their faces, however, wore an expression of pleased content-
ment, and they were most obsequious in their salutations . They were
lightly clad, and the symmetry of their proportion, and the massive
strength of their limbs, were a pleasure to the young Greek, ac-
customed to revere the great statues of the Athenian sculptors . She
thought to herself how easily a small band of such warriors would
break to pieces any army; but Thoth said to her, “These are the most
peaceful and quiet people in the whole world, and the most admi-
rable workers when strength is needed . Which of your Greeks could
contend with the weakest of these men?”
THOTH, by Joseph Shield Nicholson | 606
He then ordered one of the men to cast a huge piece of rock to a
distance, which he did with the most surprising ease .
The women in this quarter were nearly as huge as the men, and,
like them, admirably shaped, and, in spite of their great stature, very
graceful in their movements . Daphne noticed, however, both here as
through the rest of the city, that the women always retired to their
dwellings on the appearance of the masks .
But apparently to please Daphne, Thoth ordered some of the
giantesses to approach, and they did so with every sign of being
honoured and gratified.
Daphne was delighted to discover that, with the giants as with the
pigmies, the source of Thoth’s power was not tyranny . Evidently he
was regarded as a superior being, but as yet she could not imagine
in what the superiority consisted . It seemed as if the whole city was
ruled by perfect obedience, resting on perfect love .
When she returned to her apartments her little servants expressed
the most lively satisfaction, and Thoth left her in their care, promis-
ing, if she wished, to show her more of the city and its people on the
following day .
CHAPTER VIII
THE DISHONOURED STATUE
Day after day, Thoth conducted Daphne through the city, show-
ing to her all its wonders .
They were always masked, and were invariably treated with the
same profound respect—no one even speaking to them, except in
answer to some question of Thoth .
All the inhabitants seemed to be people of great skill; and many
of the arts which they practised Daphne would have thought magi-
cal, but for the constant assurance of her guide that everything was
due simply to the accumulated knowledge of ages .
She saw black charred wood changed into beautiful crystals, and
transparent fluids transformed to solid images of exquisite design.
THOTH, by Joseph Shield Nicholson | 607
Time itself seemed to be defeated at the hands of these cunning
workmen, for, in a few moments, she saw a seedling grow into a
plant with beautiful flowers, as strong and healthy as if it had taken
a whole spring and summer .
Space was conquered in an equally mysterious manner . In a few
moments they were carried under the ground, noiselessly and appar-
ently without motion, from one end of the city to the other . The pow-
ers of nature also seemed enslaved: the heat of the sun was made to
turn vapour into ice, the air was constrained to lift great weights, and
light as brilliant as the sun was drawn from running water .
To her amazement . Daphne found that the solid earth had been
honey-combed with workings, and forced to yield up abundance of
all kinds of treasures .
Streams of molten fluids were drawn from the centre of the earth,
and compelled to separate into parts and to congeal into solid metals;
and noxious gases were unloosed to drive intricate arrangements of
wheels and all kinds of tools .
Daphne began, unwillingly, to feel for Thoth something of the
veneration in which he was held by all the people of the place . There
seemed to be nothing which he did not understand perfectly, and she
thought that it must be this superiority of knowledge which com-
manded such respect Her interest in him was keenly aroused, for he
seemed compounded of opposite elements .
When simply speaking, he seemed as passionless as snow; but
when he removed his mask, his expression revealed sometimes a
keen conflict of emotion. Though he seemed in general bold, de-
termined, and inflexible, sometimes his eyes revealed a doubtful
hesitancy, and pride and confidence often seemed to give way to
despair and self-pity .
Once she said to him, “Is there anything left for thee to discover?”
and he replied, with all gravity, “The very beginnings of knowledge
are hid from me: my knowledge is a drop in an ocean of ignorance .
I have climbed a blind path which, perchance, will soon be lost in a
wilderness .” And then he relapsed into a melancholy silence .
THOTH, by Joseph Shield Nicholson | 608
Occasionally, in their wanderings and explorations . Daphne saw
others disguised like themselves, and treated with similar deference
by the people generally . Even these, however, showed to Thoth, on
sight of his golden staff, the submission of inferiors .
Daphne had been encouraged to ask questions on anything which
occurred to her, and one day she said to Thoth—
“Are there any superior to thee? Art thou really not the king?”
“There is one to whom I owe the utmost obedience, and there
are many equal to me in authority if they choose to exercise their
power .”
“And what do they?”
He hesitated, and then, appearing to remember his promise to an-
swer, said, “At present they spend their days and nights in sleep,—
they rest to prepare for great deeds . I am vice-regent .”
A strange people, thought Daphne, in which the king and his
princes are sleepers, and yet some say that is like the blessed gods .
* * * *
Months passed away, and Daphne began to think that Thoth must
have changed his intentions regarding her .
She had seen none of the other chiefs, unless those in disguise
were such, and the disguise was thorough and complete .
Sometimes, when half dreaming, she imagined that Thoth must
be reserving her for himself; but in a moment the image of his pas-
sionless face, which never showed any emotion save that of troubled
thought, put to flight the fancy. A marble statue seemed more ca-
pable of love than this superlatively wise vice-regent .
Never by one glance or touch, or word or gesture, had Thoth
shown the smallest sign of love for her . He treated her always with
the same delicacy; he never laughed at her ignorance; and in every-
thing he tried to consult her wishes . Yet Daphne was at that time one
of the most beautiful women in the world, in the full pride of youth
and health, and endowed with a mind capable of great thoughts, and
a spirit of courage to the performance of great deeds; and Thoth was
THOTH, by Joseph Shield Nicholson | 609
apparently in the very prime of vigorous manhood . The man was a
mystery to her—a my
stery surrounded by mysteries .
Yet why had he brought her and tried to bring more of her com-
panions thither, with infinite trouble and risk?
And why had he made such a careful selection?—for the maidens
were the flower of Greece.
When her reflections were turned in this direction, other ques-
tions forced themselves upon her which hitherto a certain delicacy
had prevented her from putting to Thoth .
How was it that his companions had shown such repugnance and
contempt for her compatriots and herself, whilst Thoth treated her
with such deference?
Over and over again she tried to detect in his manner some trace
of dislike, but without success . Was Thoth of a different race?
Then she wondered how the women of the highest rank were
treated, and why the chiefs should have sought for strange women
for wives . Many women she had seen in the city, but none who
seemed of a superior degree, unless indeed some of the masks were
women disguised like herself . At length she determined to ask
Thoth, and the next time they met a mask she inquired if there were
other women in her position .
He at once said “No .”
“Do any of the women of thy tribe use this dress?”
“No .”
“Do ye of the highest rank always seek wives from beyond the
seas?”
“With one exception,” he replied, “thou art the only stranger who
has entered our walls since their foundation .”
“Then are all your women dead—are none of queenly rank left?”
“There are more of them than of us .”
“Are they not beautiful?”
For answer he led her into a building which seemed to be a kind
of temple . He unlocked a massive gate, and conducted her into a
well-lighted apartment . In the middle was placed the statue of a
most beautiful woman .
THOTH, by Joseph Shield Nicholson | 610
“Such,” he said, “are our women by nature . Greece has rarely
produced such wonders of form and grace .”
From the statue Daphne turned to the walls, which seemed to be
covered with statues and painting, and she started back terrified.
A horrible fascination made her stare at the works, and her eyes
drank in the meaning of the artist in a moment .
All the highest skill of the painter and sculptor had apparently
been exercised to pour contempt upon women .
On the beautiful statue in the middle of the apartment a number
of stony figures looked down with sneering hatred. This grouping
she might possibly have thought accidental, but the pictures left no
doubt as to the design of the whole chamber . In every case beautiful
women were being treated in a degraded manner, and men of the
same race as Thoth were depicted as treating them with absolute
loathing and disgust .
Then in Daphne’s breast fear gave way to anger and offended
pride, and she said to Thoth—
“How dost thou dare to show such things to me? Is this thy re-
spect and honour? Dost thou not know that man is raised above the
beasts only by the reverence paid to women? I loathe thy city, thy
race, and thee! Of what avail is all the miserable skill and cunning
of thy slaves? A swallow or locust can fly more easily, a spider is a
better spinner, and the tiniest flower draws more varied beauty from
the dull earth . I scorn thy boasted reason . Liar and hypocrite! how
canst thou stay in my presence? Throw off thy mask and let me see
thy cowardly features livid with fear and shame . Let me see before
I die that in this abominable spot one blow in honour of women has
struck home . Take off that mask—wilt thou make me mad? Down
with the mask, I say, or my reason will not hold till I can find a way
to death . Thou shalt not make me mad, and keep me for thy lust and
cruelty in this horrid den . Hast thou no dagger—no deadly poison?
Let me die! Monster, make thyself human for a moment, and being
human, slay me . I will not be maddened and polluted .”
Such and other wild words spoke Daphne, every moment becom-
ing more and more infuriated, and, in truth, approaching the verge
THOTH, by Joseph Shield Nicholson | 611
of madness . At last she rushed at Thoth and tore off his mask with a
passionate cry .
His face struck her dumb with amazement . Instead of shame and
fear, she saw wonder and triumph depicted on his features . Yet his
look was rather like that of a spectator in a theatre who applauds a
good actor, than of a man in real life . Certainly he showed neither
contempt nor lust nor cruelty. The flood of passion in Daphne’s soul
was swept away in momentary wonder, and she fell senseless to the
ground .
CHAPTER IX
THE WOMEN OF ROYAL RACE
When Daphne recovered consciousness she was surrounded by
her little servants, all of whom manifested the most tender interest in
her welfare . She was still in the same apartment, but every vestige of
painting and sculpture had been removed, except the beautiful statue
in the middle .
Just as she opened her eyes Thoth himself was placing on the
statue’s head a wreath of laurel, and a number of the pigmies were
encircling the limbs and body with garlands of beautiful flowers.
Thoth had resumed his mask, but removed it as soon as he ob-
served she was aroused . His features were perfectly calm, and say-
ing “All shall be explained to thy liking,” he departed .
The little people drew Daphne in a low carriage back to the pal-
ace, and she soon slept, wearied with her passion and wonder .
The next morning Thoth did not appear in person, but sent her a
picture, which was obviously intended to soothe her troubled mind .
It represented in the most accurate manner the room of the statue,
with the walls bare and the image garlanded, just as Daphne had left
it . But the chief interest in the picture lay in the fact that Thoth him-
self was represented as gazing on the statue with the most profound
reverence, and as if supplicating for pardon .
THOTH, by Joseph Shield Nicholson | 612
For many days he did not appear, and Daphne found herself con-
stantly looking at the picture .
Thoth was certainly a skilled physician, and had administered the
best medicine to her mind . In time her repugnance completely wore
away, and she forgot a little the horror of her recent anxiety .
Later she reproached herself with injustice . She should have
waited for some explanation . And then, as the time went by, she be-
gan to wish to see her protector again, and to wonder what he meant
by saying to her, “All shall be explained to thy liking .”
Still Thoth came not, nor sent any message, and at last Daphne
sent to him one of the pigmies with this request, “All is well . Come
to me . I would have the mystery explained .”
In a short time Thoth appeared, and inquired with tender defer-
ence if she had recovered from her vexation and anxiety . He spoke
as calmly as if it were merely some bodily suffering she had en-
thy promise—tell me why I was taken into that dreadful place, and
with what intent those horrible designs were made .”
He looked at her narrowly, as a physician at his patient, and said,
“I know not if thou canst bear it; and yet everything hangs upon this
mystery,—the object of our journey to Athens—the nature of our
rule in this city—ay, and the future of the whole human race .”
He spoke slowly and with the most distinct articulation, and the
last words were uttered with all the solemnity of a priest interpreting
the signs of a great national disaster . He seemed even to increase in
stature, and Daphne was overcome with his impressive dignity .
“Tell me everything, I implore thee,” she said .
“Come, then,” he replied; “but arm thine heart with triple brass,
for this time it is living women thou must see . Take care, however,
to stay thy reproaches till thou hast heard all . Know always that it is
my intention to pay honour to thee, and through thee to all women .
But the women thou must see first of all will perchance again alarm
thee . Art thou strong enough?”
Daphne shuddered, but she was determined to understand the af-
fair, and she replied, “Lead the way .”
THOTH, by Joseph Shield Nicholson | 613
* * * *
Thoth conducted her to a part of the city to which they had never
before been, and they stopped at a narrow gate in a lofty wall . Thoth
unlocked the gate, and they entered a spacious garden, in the midst
of which was placed a huge building .
Scarcely had they passed through the gate when Daphne heard
cries of alarm, apparently from women, and saw some figures van-
ish through the trees in a hurried, fearful manner. For the first time
since she had come to the city she noticed signs of distrust and fear .
Here, at any rate, Thoth’s rule seemed to rest not on love but on
tyranny .
Such was Daphne’s first impression, for the women, if women
they were, were plainly terror-stricken .
They passed into the building, at the gate of which a huge giant-
ess of hideous aspect presented Thoth with a scroll, which seemed
to be a carefully kept record .
They entered a large hall, and again Daphne saw the same hor-
rible designs as before .
Thoth said to her, “These, too, shall be destroyed, but first we