Cleopatra

by H. Rider Haggard

  CHAPTER III

  OF THE LIFE OF HIM WHO WAS NAMED THE LEARNED OLYMPUS, IN THE TOMB OF THEHARPERS THAT IS BY TAPE; OF HIS COUNSEL TO CLEOPATRA; OF THE MESSAGE OFCHARMION; AND OF THE PASSING OF OLYMPUS DOWN TO ALEXANDRIA

  These things then came to pass. For eighty days I was hidden of the oldwife, Atoua, while the body of the Prince, my father, was made ready forburial by those skilled in the arts of embalming. And when at lastall things were done in order, I crept from my hiding-place and madeofferings to the spirit of my father, and placing lotus-flowers on hisbreast went thence sorrowing. And on the following day, from where I layhid, I saw the Priests of the Temple of Osiris and of the holy shrine ofIsis come forth, and in slow procession bear his painted coffin to thesacred lake and lay it beneath the funeral tent in the consecrated boat.I saw them celebrate the symbol of the trial of the dead, and name himabove all men just, and then bear him thence to lay him by his wife,my mother, in the deep tomb that he had hewn in the rock near to theresting-place of the Holy Osiris, where, notwithstanding my sins, I,too, hope to sleep ere long. And when all these things were done and thedeep tomb sealed, the wealth of my father having been removed from thehidden treasury and placed in safety, I fled, disguised, with the oldwife, Atoua, up the Nile till we came to Tape,[*] and here in this greatcity I lay a while, till a place could be found where I should hidemyself.

  [*] Thebes.--Editor.

  And such a place I found. For to the north of the great city are brownand rugged hills, and desert valley blasted of the sun, and in thisplace of desolation the Divine Pharaohs, my forefathers, hollowed outtheir tombs in the solid rock, the most part of which are lost to thisday, so cunningly have they been hidden. But some are open, for theaccursed Persians and other thieves broke into them in searchof treasure. And one night--for by night only did I leave myhiding-place--just as the dawn was breaking on the mountain tops, Iwandered alone in this sad valley of death, like to which there isno other, and presently came to the mouth of a tomb hidden amid greatrocks, which afterwards I knew for the place of the burying of theDivine Rameses, the third of that name, now long gathered to Osiris. Andby the faint light of the dawn creeping through the entrance I saw thatit was spacious and that within were chambers.

  On the following night, therefore, I returned, bearing lights, withAtoua, my nurse, who ever ministered faithfully to me as when I waslittle and without discretion. And we searched the mighty tomb and cameto the great Hall of the Sarcophagus of granite, in which the DivineRameses sleeps, and saw the mystic paintings on the walls: the symbolof the Snake unending, the symbol of Ra resting upon the Scarabaeus, thesymbol of Ra resting upon Nout, the symbol of the Headless men, and manyothers, whereof, being initiated, well I read the mysteries. Andopening from the long descending passage I found chambers in which werepaintings beautiful to behold, and of all manner of things. For beneatheach chamber is entombed the master of the craft of which the paintingstell, he who was the chief of the servants of that craft in the houseof this Divine Rameses. And on the walls of the last chamber--onthe left-hand side, looking toward the Hall of the Sarcophagus--arepaintings exceedingly beautiful, and two blind harpers playing upontheir bent harps before the God Mou; and beneath the flooring theseharpers, who harp no more, are soft at sleep. Here, then, in this gloomyplace, even in the tomb of the Harpers and the company of the dead, Itook up my abode; and here for eight long years I worked out my penanceand made atonement for my sin. But Atoua, because she loved to be nearthe light, abode in the chamber of the Boats--that is, the first chamberon the right-hand side of the gallery looking toward the Hall of theSarcophagus.

  And this was the manner of my life. On every second day the old wife,Atoua, went forth and brought water from the city and such food as isnecessary to keep the life from failing, and also tapers made from fat.And one hour at the time of sunrise and one hour at the time of sunsetI did go forth also to wander in the valley for my health's sake and tosave my sight from failing in the great darkness of the tomb. But theother hours of the day and night, except when I climbed the mountainto watch the course of the stars, I spent in prayer and meditation andsleep, till the cloud of sin lifted from my heart and once more I drewnear to the Gods, though with Isis, my heavenly Mother, I might speak nomore. And I grew exceedingly wise also, pondering on all those mysteriesto which I held the key. For abstinence and prayer and sorrowfulsolitude wore away the grossness of my flesh, and with the eyes of theSpirit I learned to look deep into the heart of things till the joy ofWisdom fell like dew upon my soul.

  Soon the rumour was wafted about the city that a certain holy man namedOlympus abode in solitude in the tombs of the awful Valley of the Dead;and hither came people bearing sick that I might cure them. And I gavemy mind to the study of simples, in which Atoua instructed me; and bylore and the weight of my thought I gained great skill in medicine, andhealed many sick. And thus ever, as time went on, my fame was noisedabroad; for it was said that I was also a magician and that in thetombs I had commune with the Spirits of the Dead. And this, indeed, Idid--though it is not lawful for me to speak of these matters. Thus,then, it came to pass that no more need Atoua go forth to seek food andwater, for the people brought it--more than was needful, for I wouldreceive no fee. Now at first, fearing lest some in the hermit Olympusmight know the lost Harmachis, I would only meet those who came in thedarkness of the tomb. But afterwards, when I learned how it was heldthrough all the land that Harmachis was certainly no more, I came forthand sat in the mouth of the tomb, and ministered to the sick, andat times calculated nativities for the great. And thus my fame grewcontinually, till at length folk journeyed even from Memphis andAlexandria to visit me; and from them I learned how Antony had leftCleopatra for a while, and, Fulvia being dead, had married Octavia, thesister of Caesar. Many other things I learned also.

  And in the second year I did this: I despatched the old wife, Atoua,disguised as a seller of simples, to Alexandria, bidding her seek outCharmion, and, if yet she found her faithful, reveal to her the secretof my way of life. So she went, and in the fifth month from her sailingreturned, bearing Charmion's greetings and a token. And she told me thatshe had found means to see Charmion, and, in talk, had let fall the nameof Harmachis, speaking of me as one dead; at which Charmion, unable tocontrol her grief, wept aloud. Then, reading her heart--for the oldwife was very clever, and held the key of knowledge--she told her thatHarmachis yet lived, and sent her greetings. Thereon Charmion wept yetmore with joy, and kissed the old wife, and made her gifts, bidding hertell me that she had kept her vow, and waited for my coming and the hourof vengeance. So, having learned many secrets, Atoua returned again toTape.

  And in the following year messengers came to me from Cleopatra, bearinga sealed roll and great gifts. I opened the roll, and read this in it:

  "Cleopatra to Olympus, the learned Egyptian who dwells in the Valley ofDeath by Tape--

  "The fame of thy renown, O learned Olympus, hath reached our ears. Tellthou, then, this to us, and if thou tellest aright greater honour andwealth shalt thou have than any in Egypt: How shall we win back the loveof noble Antony, who is bewitched of cunning Octavia, and tarries longfrom us?"

  Now, in this I saw the hand of Charmion, who had made my renown known toCleopatra.

  All that night I took counsel with my wisdom, and on the morrow wrote myanswer as it was put into my heart to the destruction of Cleopatra andAntony. And thus I wrote:

  "Olympus the Egyptian to Cleopatra the Queen--

  "Go forth into Syria with one who shall be sent to lead thee; thus shaltthou win Antony to thy arms again, and with him gifts more great thanthou canst dream."

  And with this letter I dismissed the messengers, bidding them share thepresents sent by Cleopatra among their company.

  So they went wondering.

  But Cleopatra, seizing on the advice to which her passion prompted her,departed straightway with Fonteius Capito into Syria, and there thething came about as I had foretold, for Antony was subdued of her
and gave her the greater part of Cilicia, the ocean shore of ArabiaNabathaea, the balm-bearing provinces of Judaea, the province of Phoenicia,the province of Coele-Syria, the rich isle of Cyprus, and all the libraryof Pergamus. And to the twin children that, with the son Ptolemy,Cleopatra had borne to Antony, he impiously gave the names of "Kings,the Children of Kings"--of Alexander Helios, as the Greeks name the sun,and of Cleopatra Selene, the moon, the long-winged.

  These things then came to pass.

  Now on her return to Alexandria Cleopatra sent me great gifts, of whichI would have none, and prayed me, the learned Olympus, to come to her atAlexandria; but it was not yet time, and I would not. But thereafter sheand Antony sent many times to me for counsel, and I ever counselled themto their ruin, nor did my prophecies fail.