Les aventures du Capitaine Magon. English
Page 23
CHAPTER XXI.
THE QUEEN OF SHEBA.
As soon as the wind dropped, we submitted ourselves to Ethbaal'sinstructions as to the direction in which we ought to steer, andtaking his gaoul into tow, we proceeded on our course to Ophir.
When evening came we found that by Ethbaal's orders a truePhœnician banquet had been prepared on the stern of the_Ashtoreth_: cheese, olives, figs, raisins, and a double allowance ofwine were served out to the men; and we ourselves took our seats uponbrilliant carpets that had replaced the worn-out rags with which wehad been so long familiar, and for the first time for months, nay,years, enjoyed the viands of Tyre and Sidon, and quaffed the wines ofByblos and Arvad.
Our spirits rose to the occasion, and I should hesitate to say howmany times I filled and refilled my wine-cup before I began torecount the adventures which Ethbaal was anxious to hear.
My story lasted far on into the night.
When I had finished, Ethbaal, who had never flagged for one moment inhis attention, raised his hands to the stars in the heavens above,and swore by all the gods that my chronicle ought to be registeredin letters of gold. He went on to tell me that the cargo I had sentfrom Gades and all my messages had been duly received at Tyre; thateveryone had come to the conclusion we must all have been drowned inthe ocean; and that nothing had been heard about Bodmilcar, who, itwas taken for granted, had been punished for his treachery by thedirect visitation of the gods.
I offered Ethbaal a present of some very fine pearls; he at firstrefused to take any acknowledgment at all of his attention to us, butI induced him ultimately to accept the gift. The damages to his gaoulwere only to the rigging, and did not affect the hull; and as we hadtaken it into tow, there was nothing to cause us any anxiety, or toprevent us from retiring to rest.
Next morning, in the course of conversation with Ethbaal, Himilcoasked:
"Have you had any fighting, captain, since you have been out?"
"Fighting? no, why?" he replied.
"Because if you continue in our company you will soon find thatfighting is our destiny. We are always fighting; if we are notfighting men,--and that we are doing pretty frequently,--we arefighting the beasts of the earth; and if we are not fighting beasts,we are fighting against wind and waves. Go where we will we attractthe fightings, just like a headland attracts the storms. Fighting isour luck; so I just warn you, you had better be on the look-out."
Ethbaal laughed. He said he hoped that we had come to the end of ouradventures in that way, and that we should have a prosperous voyageto Ophir; then turning to me, he asked what I expected to procureat Ophir, as I had already a large supply of gold, which was thecommodity ordinarily obtained there.
I reminded him that I had a much larger quantity of amber than Ireally wanted, and that in return for a portion of it I intended tolay in a stock of sandal-wood and spices, peacocks and apes, andanything else that the country could offer.
The Arabian coast was rocky, but we sailed along it withoutdifficulty for six days, at the end of which we arrived at Havilah,the principal city of the kingdom of Ophir and Sheba. Unlike thePhœnician seaports, it has no quays, fortresses, nor arsenals,but it is well-sheltered, and forms a commodious trade-harbour; thetown rises like an amphitheatre upon the surrounding heights, and thewhite terraces, with their brown and red domes, broken by clustersof palm-trees, stand out in pleasing contrast to the deep-blue sky,while the domes of the temples are of gilded bronze, and glitterwith dazzling brightness in the sunlight. Although the peopleare indifferent seamen, yet it is to the sea that they owe theirprosperity, their city forming the mart between our own country andthe distant Indies.
The Queen herself takes a keen interest in all matters connected withnavigation, and her palace is situated close to the sea-shore. It isbuilt of cedar, and ornamented with trellis-work and open balconies;the walls are all adorned with paintings, inlaid with preciousstones, or hung with curtains of variegated stuffs.
I was very anxious to secure the Queen's favour, and to make her anoffering worthy of her acceptance. With this object, I placed some ofmy finest pieces of amber in a casket made of Tarshish silver, andcarrying my gift in my hand, I presented myself with Ethbaal and mostof my officers at the entrance of the palace, and sounded the greatdrum by which it is the custom to demand admittance to the royalpresence.
Ordinarily the Queen occupies a tapestried tent that overlooksthe sea; she had consequently been aware of our entrance into theharbour, and when we presented ourselves at the gateway of the palaceshe gave immediate orders that we should be conducted before her.We were taken to her pavilion across a garden of surpassing beauty.There were countless plants, wonderful alike in their blossoms andtheir foliage, grouped in exquisite order around sparkling fountains;there were sumptuous tents of every hue pitched amongst the rare andgraceful trees, to the boughs of which monkeys were attached bygolden chains; Indian birds with gayest plumage fluttered overhead;and peacocks, displaying their gorgeous tails, were strutting alongthe avenues. Every thing we saw seemed worthy of the stateliestempire in the world.
We prostrated ourselves before the Queen, who at once bade us rise.She was young and very fascinating; and although she was surroundedby ladies in waiting and maids of honour, she was conspicuous amongthem all for grace and beauty. Her attire, redolent of perfume, wasalike sumptuous and elegant; in her hair and round her neck werejewels valuable enough not only to equip a fleet, but to maintainit as well; a long robe, embroidered in gold with figures of men,beasts, and birds, was thrown over her, but opened to display therichness of the dress below; her sleeves were loose to the elbows,and on her wrists were bracelets that must have been all butpriceless.
We were dazzled into silence as we first gazed upon her beauty andmagnificence; but Hanno almost immediately advanced, and ventured torecite some verses of an Arab ode:
"Fairer than moons are thy beaming eyes, Nay, they are radiant suns: Forth from the bow of thine arched brow Shoot the arrows that pierce man's heart: Be it thy justice prevails far and wide, The universe yields to thy charms. What are thy favours? Say I not true? Fetters they are that bind the soul; What are thy fingers? What do I kiss? Keys of a heavenly joy."
The language spoken in Ophir is very similar to our own, and theQueen, who understands Phœnician well, expressed herself as beinghighly gratified at Hanno's courtier-like address. She then deignedto examine the presents I had brought, and requested me to give hera brief outline of my travels and adventures; then rising from herseat, and bidding us follow her, she went out, accompanied by herretinue, into the garden, and moving with all the grace and dignityof a goddess, herself conducted us to every point of interest inher paradise. Before we took leave of her she desired me to visither again on the eve of our departure, that I might receive someinstructions that she wished to give me.
The same evening the munificent lady sent us a store of provisionsfor our ships, and various presents for ourselves, amongst which Ishould especially note several embroidered robes for the women, anda scarlet tunic, a hyacinth-coloured girdle, and a gold-embroideredshoulder-belt for Hanno.
We remained a week at Havilah, making exchanges, and inspectingall that was worth seeing in the place. Representatives of nearlyevery nation seemed to be congregated in the town; men from Indiaand Taprobane, from Ethiopia, and the mouth of the Euphrates. Thepeople of Sheba themselves bear a strong resemblance to the Jews,Phœnicians, and Arabians, the principal difference being that theyare of smaller stature and darker complexion. The queen, however, isremarkably fair. The gold and the tin that we procured here, as wellas the peacocks, tortoise-shell, and ivory, are all imported fromIndia; but the spices, stuffs, and vases of opaque glass, are broughtthrough India from a still more distant land, to which hitherto noone has ever sailed, and which could not be reached in less than atwo years' voyage.
On the day of my departure I presented myself again before the Queen.
; "I have to inform you, Captain Mago," she said, "that the old KingDavid who sent you to Tarshish died a year and a half ago, and hasbeen succeeded by his son Solomon, of whose power, but especiallyof whose wisdom, I hear a wonderful report. His dominions extendas far as the Gulf of Elam on the Sea of Reeds, where he holds theport of Ezion-Geber. I am eager to enter into a treaty with him, andI commission you, on my behalf, to convey to this august monarch apresent that shall be worthy of himself and me."
"Your will, O Queen, is my law," I replied, as I made my obeisance.
"But first of all, captain," she continued, "tell me whether youand your companions in toil are too worn out with the fatigues thatyou have already endured to undertake another voyage in my service.Information has reached me that the King of Babylon, Assur, and Accadis on his way, with a powerful army, to the mouth of the Euphrates toput down an insurrection. No one so well as yourself can fulfil whatI desire. I want you, if you will, to convey him some messages fromme, and to be the bearer of presents that I shall send."
I did not hesitate to comply; not only did I express my willingnessto go, but assured her that the voyage would be neither difficult norlong.
"Go then, brave mariner," said the Queen, with a beaming smile, "andI shall not fail to recompense you royally."
I prostrated myself once again before her, and withdrew.
An hour later I had taken leave of Ethbaal, who was returning toSidon by way of Ezion-Geber and the canal of Pharaoh, and, with allmy people, I was embarking for yet another voyage.