The Pharaoh and the Priest: An Historical Novel of Ancient Egypt

by Bolesław Prus

  CHAPTER XXIV

  Rameses saw now that either he would not carry out the commands of thepharaoh or that he must yield to the will of the priesthood; thisfilled him with dislike and anger. Hence he did not hurry toward thesecrets hidden in temples. He had time yet for fasting and devotionalexercises; so he took part all the more zealously in feasts which weregiven in his honor.

  Tutmosis, a master in every amusement, had just returned, and broughtthe prince pleasant news from Sarah. She was in good health and lookedwell, which concerned Rameses less at that time. But the priests gavesuch a horoscope to the coming child that the prince was delighted.

  They assured him that the child would be a son, greatly gifted by thegods, and if his father loved him he would during life obtain highhonor.

  The prince laughed at the second part of this prediction. "Theirwisdom is wonderful," said he to Tutmosis. "They know that it will bea son, while I, its father, do not know; and they doubt whether Ishall love it, though it is easy to divine that I shall love the childeven should it be a daughter. And as to honor for it, let them be atrest; I will occupy myself with that question."

  In the month Pachons (January, February) the heir passed through theprovince of Ka, where he was received by the nomarch Sofra. The cityof Anu lay about seven hours of a foot journey from Atribis, but theprince was three days on this journey. At thought of the fasts andprayers which were awaiting him during initiation into temple secrets,Rameses felt a growing wish for amusements. His retinue divined this;hence pleasure followed pleasure.

  Again, on the road over which he travelled to Atribis, appearedthrongs of people with shouts, flowers, and music. The enthusiasmreached its height at the city. It even happened that a certaingigantic laborer threw himself under the chariot of the viceroy. Butwhen Rameses held in the horses, a number of young women stepped forthfrom the crowd and wreathed the whole chariot with flowers.

  "Still they love me!" thought the prince.

  In the province of Ka he did not ask the nomarch about the income ofthe pharaoh, he did not visit factories, he did not command to readreports to him; he knew that he would understand nothing, so hedeferred those occupations till the time of his initiation. But once,when he saw that the temple of the god Sebak stood on a loftyeminence, he desired to ascend the pylon and examine the surroundingcountry.

  The worthy Sofra accomplished at once the will of the heir, who, whenhe found himself on the summit of the pylon, passed a couple of hourswith great delight there.

  The province of Ka was a fertile plain. A number of canals andbranches of the Nile passed through it in every direction, like anetwork of silver and lapis lazuli. Melons and wheat sown in Novemberwere ripening. On the fields were crowds of naked people who weregathering cucumbers or planting cotton. The land was covered withsmall buildings which at points were close together and formedvillages.

  Most of the dwellings, especially those in the fields, were mud hutscovered with straw and palm leaves. In the towns the houses werewalled, had flat roofs, and looked like white cubes with holes inplaces where there were doors and windows. Very often on such a cubewas another somewhat smaller, and on that a third still smaller, andeach story was painted a different color. Under the fiery sun of Egyptthose houses looked like great pearls, sapphires, and rubies,scattered about on the green of the fields, and surrounded by palmsand acacias.

  From that place Rameses saw a phenomenon which arrested his attention.Near the temples the houses were more beautiful, and more people weremoving in the fields about them.

  "The lands of the priests are the most valuable," thought he; and onceagain he ran over with his eyes the temples great and small, of whichhe saw between ten and twenty from the pylon.

  But since he had agreed with Herhor, and needed the services of thepriesthood, he did not care to occupy himself longer with thatproblem.

  In the course of the following days the worthy Sofra arranged a seriesof hunts for Rameses, setting out toward the east from Atribis. Aroundthe canals they shot birds with arrows; some they snared in an immensenet trap which took in a number of tens of them, or they let outfalcons against those which were flying at freedom. When the prince'sretinue entered the eastern desert, great hunts began with dogs andpanthers against wild beasts. Of these they killed and seized, in thecourse of some days, a couple of hundred.

  When the worthy Sofra noticed that the prince had had enough ofamusement in the open air and of company intents, he ceased huntingand brought his guest by the shortest road to Atribis.

  They arrived about four hours after midday, and the nomarch invitedall to a feast in his palace.

  He conducted the prince to a bath, he assisted at the bathing, andbrought out from his own chest perfumes wherewith to anoint Rameses.Then he oversaw the barber who arranged the viceroy's hair; next hekneeled down on the pavement and implored the prince to accept newrobes from him.

  These were a newly woven tunic covered with embroidery, a skirt workedwith pearls, and a mantle interwoven with gold very thickly, but sodelicate that it could be held between a man's ten fingers.

  The heir accepted this graciously, declaring that he had neverreceived a gift of such beauty.

  The sun set, and the nomarch conducted the prince to the hall ofentertainment.

  It was a large court surrounded by columns and paved with mosaic. Allthe walls were covered with paintings representing scenes in the livesof the ancestors of Sofra; hence expeditions by sea, hunts, andbattles. Over the space, instead of a roof, was a giant butterfly withmany-colored wings which were moved by hidden slaves to freshen theatmosphere. In bronze holders fastened to the columns blazed brighttapers which gave out smoke with fragrance.

  The hall was divided into two parts: one was empty, the other filledwith chairs and small tables for guests. Aside in the second part rosea platform on which, under a costly tent with raised sides, was atable and a couch for Rameses.

  At each small table were great vases with palms, acacias, andfig-trees. The table of the heir was surrounded with plants havingneedle-like leaves; these filled the space round about with the odorof balsam.

  The assembled guests greeted the prince with a joyful shout, and whenRameses occupied his place beneath a baldachin whence there was a viewof the court, his retinue sat down at the tables.

  Harps sounded, and ladies entered in rich, muslin robes with openbosoms; precious stones were glittering upon their persons. Four ofthe most beautiful surrounded Rameses; the others sat near thedignitaries of his retinue.

  In the air was the fragrance of roses, lilies of the valley, andviolets; the prince felt the throbbing of his temples.

  Slaves, male and female, in white, rose-colored, and blue tunics,brought in cakes, roasted birds, and game, fish, wine, fruits, alsogarlands of flowers with which the guests crowned themselves. Theimmense butterfly moved its wings more and more quickly, and in theunoccupied part of the court was a spectacle. In turn appeareddancers, gymnasts, buffoons, performers of tricks, swordsmen; when anyone gave an unusual proof of dexterity, the spectators threw to himgold rings or flowers from their garlands.

  The feast lasted some hours, interspersed with shouts of guestswishing happiness to the prince, and to the nomarch and his family.

  Rameses, who was in a reclining position on a couch covered with alion's skin which had golden claws, was served by four ladies. Onefanned him; another changed the garland on his head; the other twooffered food to him. Toward the end of the feast the one with whom theprince talked with most willingness brought a goblet of wine. Ramesesdrank half, and gave the remainder to the woman; when she had drunkthat half, he kissed her lips.

  Slaves quenched the torches then quickly, the butterfly ceased to moveits wings, there was night in the court, and silence interrupted bythe nervous laughter of women.

  All on a sudden the quick tramping of people was heard and a terribleshouting.

  "Let me in!" cried a hoarse voice. "Where is the heir? Where is theviceroy?"

  There
was a dreadful disturbance in the hall. Women were terrified;men called out,--

  "What is it?--An attack on the heir! Hei, guards!"

  The sound of broken dishes was heard, and the rattle of chairs.

  "Where is the heir?" bellowed the stranger.

  "Guards! Defend the life of the heir!" shouted men in the courtyard.

  "Light the torches!" called the youthful voice of the heir. "Who islooking for me? Here I am!"

  Torches were brought. In the hall were piles of overturned and brokenfurniture behind which guests were in hiding. On the platform theprince tore away from the women, who screamed while they held to hislegs and arms firmly. Near the prince was Tutmosis, his wig torn, abronze pitcher in his hand with which he was ready to open the head ofany one who dared to go nearer the viceroy. At the door of the hallappeared warriors with swords drawn for action.

  "What is this? Who is here?" cried the terrified nomarch.

  At last they beheld the author of the disturbance, a gigantic man,naked, and mud-covered. He had bloody stripes on his shoulders; he waskneeling on the steps of the platform and stretching his hands towardRameses.

  "This is the murderer," shouted the nomarch. "Seize him!"

  Tutmosis raised his pitcher; soldiers rushed up from the door. Thewounded man fell with his face to the steps, crying,--

  "Have mercy, sun of Egypt!"

  The soldiers were ready to seize him when Rameses pulled himself freeof the women and approached the unfortunate giant.

  "Touch him not!" cried Rameses to the warriors. "What dost thou wish,man?"

  "I wish, lord, to tell thee of the wrongs which we suffer."

  At that moment the nomarch stepped up to the viceroy and whispered,--

  "This is a Hyksos. Look, worthiness, at his shaggy hair and his beard.But the insolence with which he burst in proves that the criminal isnot a genuine Egyptian."

  "Who art thou?" asked Rameses.

  "I am Bakura, a laborer in the regiment of diggers in Sochem. We haveno work now, so the nomarch Otoes commanded us--"

  "He is a drunkard and a madman!" whispered the excited Sofra. "Howdares he speak to thee, lord--"

  The prince gave such a look to the nomarch that he bent double andmoved backward.

  "What did the worthy Otoes command you the workers?" asked theviceroy of Bakura.

  "He commanded us, lord, to go along the bank of the Nile, swim in theriver, stand at the roads, make an uproar in thy honor, and hepromised to give us what was proper for doing so. For two monthsbefore that, we, O lord, received nothing,--neither barley cakes, norfish, nor olive oil for our bodies."

  "What is thy answer to this, worthy lord?" asked the prince of thenomarch.

  "He is a dangerous drunkard, a foul liar," answered Sofra.

  "What noise didst thou make in my honor?"

  "That which was commanded," said the giant. "My wife and daughtercried with the others, 'May he live through eternity!' I sprang intothe water and threw a garland at thy barge, worthiness; for this theypromised an uten. When thou wert pleased graciously to enter the cityof Atribis, I approached to throw myself under the horses and stop thychariot--"

  The prince laughed.

  "As I live," said he, "I did not think that we should end the feastwith such joyousness. But how much did they pay thee for falling underthe chariot?"

  "They promised three utens, but have paid nothing to me or my wife ormy daughter. Nothing has been given to the whole regiment of diggersto eat for two months past."

  "On what do ye live then?"

  "On begging, or on that which we earn from some earth-worker. In thissore distress we revolted three times, and desired to go home. But theofficers and scribes either promised to give something or commanded tobeat us."

  "For the noise made in my honor?" put in the prince, laughing.

  "Thy worthiness speaks truth. Yesterday the revolt was greatest, forwhich the worthy nomarch Sofra gave command to take the tenth man.Every tenth man was clubbed, and I got the most, for I am big and havethree mouths to feed,--my own, my wife's, and my daughter's. When Iwas clubbed I broke away from them to fall down, O lord, in thypresence, and tell thee our sorrows. Beat us if we are guilty, but letthe scribes give us that which is due, for we are dying ofhunger,--we, our wives, and our children."

  "This man is possessed!" exclaimed Sofra. "Be pleased, lord, to seethe damage he has wrought here. I would not take ten talents for thosedishes, pitchers, and tables."

  Among the guests, who now were recovering their senses, a mutteringbegan.

  "This is a bandit!" said they. "Look at him, really a Hyksos. Boilingup in him is the cursed blood of his ancestors, the men who invadedand ruined Egypt. Such costly furniture, such splendid vessels, brokeninto fragments!"

  "The loss caused the state by one rebellion of unpaid laborers isgreater than the value of these vessels," said Rameses.

  "Sacred words! They should be written on monuments," said some amongthe guests. "Rebellion takes people from their labor and grieves theheart of his holiness. It is not proper that laborers should be unpaidfor two months in succession."

  The prince looked with contempt on those courtiers, changeable asclouds; he turned then to the nomarch.

  "I give thee," said he, threateningly, "this punished man. I amcertain that a hair of his head will not fall from him. To-morrowmorning I wish to see the regiment to which he belongs and learnwhether he speaks truth or falsehood."

  After these words Rameses went out, leaving the nomarch and the guestsin vexation.

  Next morning the prince, while dressing with the aid of Tutmosis,asked him,--

  "Have the laborers come?"

  "They have, lord; they have been waiting for thy commands sincedaybreak."

  "And is that man Bakura among them?"

  Tutmosis made a wry face and answered,--

  "A marvellous thing has happened. The worthy Sofra gave command toshut the fellow up in an empty cellar of the palace. Well, thedisorderly rascal, a very strong man, broke the door to another placewhere there is wine; he overturned a number of pots of very costlywine, and got so drunk that--"

  "That what?" asked the prince.

  "That he perished."

  The prince sprang up from his chair.

  "And dost thou believe that he drank himself to death?"

  "I must believe, for I have no proof that they killed him."

  "But if I look for proof?" burst out the prince.

  He ran through the room, and snorted like an angry lion. When he wassomewhat quieted, Tutmosis added,--

  "Seek not for proof where it is not to be discovered, for thou wiltnot find even witnesses. If any man strangled that laborer at commandof the nomarch, he will not confess; the laborer himself is dead, andwill not say anything; besides, what would his complaint against thenomarch amount to? In these conditions no court would begin toinvestigate."

  "But if I command?" asked the viceroy.

  "In that case they will investigate and prove the innocence of Sofra.Then thou wilt be put to shame, and all the nomarchs with theirrelatives and servants will become thy enemies."

  The prince stood in the middle of the chamber and pondered.

  "Finally," said Tutmosis, "everything seems to show this, that theunfortunate Bakura was a drunkard or a maniac, and, above all, a manof foreign blood. If a genuine Egyptian in his senses were to gowithout pay for a year, and be clubbed twice as much as this man,would he dare to break into the palace of the nomarch and appeal tothee with such an outcry?"

  Rameses bent his head, and seeing that there were nobles in the nextchamber, he said in a voice somewhat lowered,--

  "Knowest thou, Tutmosis, since I set out on this journey Egypt beginsto appear somehow strange to me? At times I ask my own self if I amnot in some foreign region. Then again my heart is disturbed, as if Ihad a curtain before me, behind which all kinds of villany arepractised, but which I myself cannot see with my own eyes."

  "Then do not look at them; for
if thou do, it will seem at last tothee that we should all be sent to the quarries," said Tutmosis,smiling. "Remember that the nomarchs and officials are the shepherdsof thy flock. If one of them takes a measure of milk for himself, orkills a little sheep, of course thou wilt not kill him or drive theman away. Thou hast many sheep, and it is not easy to find shepherds."

  The viceroy, now dressed, passed into the hall of waiting, where hissuite stood assembled,--priests, officers, and officials. Then heleft the palace with them, and went to the outer courtyard.

  That was a broad space, planted with acacias, under the shade of whichthe laborers were waiting for the viceroy. At the sound of a trumpetthe whole crowd sprang up, and stood in five ranks before him.

  Rameses, attended by a glittering retinue of dignitaries, haltedsuddenly, wishing, first of all, to look at the regiment from adistance. The men were naked, each with a white cap on his head, andgirt about the hips with stuff like that of which the cap was made. Inthe ranks Rameses could distinguish easily the brown Egyptian, thenegro, the yellow Asiatic, the white inhabitants of Libya, and alsothe Mediterranean islands.

  In the first rank stood workers with pickaxes, in the second thosewith mattocks, in the third those with shovels. The fourth rank wascomposed of carriers, of whom each had a pole and two buckets; thefifth was also of carriers, but with large boxes borne by two men.These last carried earth freshly dug.

  In front of the ranks, some yards distant, stood the overseers; eachheld a long stick in his hand, and either a large wooden circle or asquare measure.

  When the prince approached them, they cried in a chorus,--

  "Live thou through eternity!" and kneeling, they struck the earth withtheir foreheads. The heir commanded them to rise, and surveyed themagain with attention.

  They were healthy, strong persons, not looking in the least like menwho had lived two months on begging.

  Sofra with his retinue approached the prince. But Rameses, feigningnot to see him, turned to one of the overseers,--

  "Are ye earth-tillers from Sochem?" inquired he.

  The overseer fell at full length with his face to the earth.

  The prince shrugged his shoulders, and called out to the laborers,--

  "Are ye from Sochem?"

  "We are earth-workers from Sochem," answered they, in chorus.

  "Have ye received pay?"

  "We have received pay; we are sated and happy servants of hisholiness," answered the chorus, giving out each word with emphasis.

  "Turn around!" commanded the prince.

  They turned. It is true that each had frequent and deep scars from theclub, but no fresh stripes on their bodies.

  "They are deceiving me," thought the heir.

  He commanded the laborers to go to their barracks, and, withoutgreeting the nomarch or taking leave of him, he returned to thepalace.

  "Wilt thou, too, tell me," said he to Tutmosis on the road, "thatthose men are laborers from Sochem?"

  "But they say that they are, they themselves give answer," replied thecourtier.

  Rameses gave command to bring his horse, and he rode to the armyencamped beyond the city. He reviewed the regiments all day. Aboutnoon, on the field of exercise, appeared, at command of the nomarch,some tens of carriers with food and wine, tents and furniture. But theprince sent them back to Atribis; and when the hour came for armyfood, he commanded to serve that to him; so he ate dried meat with oatcakes.

  These were the mercenary regiments of Libya. When the prince orderedthem to lay aside arms in the evening, and took farewell of the men,it seemed as though the soldiers and officers had yielded to madness.Shouting "May he live through eternity!" they kissed his hands andfeet, made a litter of their spears and mantles, and bore him to thecity, disputing on the way with one another for the honor of carryingthe heir on their shoulders.

  The nomarch and the officials of the province were frightened, whenthey saw the enthusiasm of the Libyans, and the favor which the heirshowed barbarians.

  "Here is a ruler!" whispered the chief secretary to Sofra. "If hewished, those people would kill us and our children."

  The troubled nomarch sighed to the gods, and commended himself totheir gracious protection.

  Late at night Rameses found himself in his own palace, and there theservants told him that another bedchamber had been given him.

  "Why is this?"

  "Because in the first chamber people saw a poisonous serpent, whichhid, and no one could find it."

  In a wing near the house of the nomarch was a new sleeping chamber,--afour-cornered room surrounded by columns on all sides. Its walls wereof alabaster, covered with painted bas-reliefs; below were plants invases; higher up garlands of olive and laurel.

  Almost in the centre of the room stood a great bed inlaid with ebony,gold, and ivory. The chamber was lighted by two fragrant tapers; underthe colonnade were small tables with wine, food, and garlands ofroses. In the ceiling was a large quadrangular opening covered withlinen.

  The prince bathed and lay on the soft bed; his servants went to remotechambers. The tapers were burning out; cool air filled with the odorof flowers moved in the chamber. At the same time low music from harpswas heard above him.

  Rameses raised his head. The linen canopy of the chamber slipped toone side, and through the opening he saw the constellation Leo, and init the brilliant star Regulus. The music of harps became louder.

  "Are the gods preparing to make me a visit?" thought the viceroy, witha smile.

  In the opening of the ceiling shone a broad streak of light; it waspowerful but tempered. A moment later a litter appeared in the form ofa golden boat, bearing a small arbor with flowers in it; the pillarsof the arbor were entwined with garlands of roses, the top of itcovered with lotuses and violets.

  On ropes, entwined with green, the golden boat descended to thechamber in silence. It stopped on the pavement, and from beneath theflowers came forth a naked maiden of unparalleled beauty. Her body hadthe smoothness of marble; from her amber-like waves of hair came anintoxicating odor.

  The maiden stepped from the litter and knelt before Rameses.

  "Art thou the daughter of Sofra?" asked he.

  "Thou speakest truth, Lord Rameses."

  "And still thou hast come to me!"

  "To implore thee to pardon my father. He is unhappy; since midday hehas been shedding tears and covering his head with ashes."

  "And if I would not forgive him, wouldst thou leave me?"

  "No," whispered she.

  Rameses drew her toward him and kissed her with passion. His eyesflashed.

  "For this I forgive him."

  "Oh, how good thou art!" cried she, nestling up to Rameses; then sheadded with sweetness,--

  "Wilt thou command a reward for the damages done by that mad laborer?"

  "I will command."

  "And wilt thou take me to thy household?"

  Rameses looked at her.

  "I will take thee, for thou art a beauty."

  "Really?" asked she, putting her arm around his neck. "Look at mebetter. Among the beauties of Egypt I hold only the fourth place."

  "What does that mean?"

  "In Memphis, or near there, dwells thy first; happily she is only aJewess! In Sochem is the second--"

  "I know nothing of that one," interrupted Rameses.

  "Oh, thou dove! Then surely thou knowest nothing of the third one inAnu."

  "Does she too belong to my household?"

  "Ungrateful!" cried the girl, striking him with a lotus flower. "Thouwouldst be ready to say the same of me a month hence. But I will notlet myself be injured."

  "Like thy father."

  "Hast thou not forgotten him yet? Remember that I will go--"

  "Stay, stay!"

  Next day the viceroy was pleased to receive homage and a feast fromSofra. He praised in public the nomarch's government of the province,and to reward him for the damages caused by the drunken laborer,Rameses presented him with one-half of the furniture and
vesselspresented in Anu.

  The second half of those gifts was taken by the beautiful Abeb,daughter of the nomarch, as lady of the court. Besides, she commandedthat five talents be given her from the treasury of the viceroy, forclothes, slaves, and horses.

  In the evening the prince, while yawning, spoke thus to Tutmosis,--

  "His holiness my father gave me a great lesson when he said that womenare very costly."

  "The position is worse when there are no women," replied theexquisite.

  "But I have four, and I do not even know clearly how. I might givethee two of them."

  "And Sarah?"

  "Not her, especially if she has a son."

  "If thou wilt assign a good dowry, husbands will be found for thosecharmers most easily."

  The prince yawned a second time.

  "I do not like to hear of dowries," said he. "Aaa! What luck, that Ishall tear away from thee and settle among the priests!"

  "Wilt thou indeed?"

  "I must. At last I shall learn of them why the pharaohs are growingpoorer. Well, I shall sleep."