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

by Bolesław Prus

  CHAPTER XXXII

  Next day the prince rose late, bathed himself and dressed, thensummoned Tutmosis.

  The exquisite appeared at once, dressed carefully and perfumed. Helooked sharply at the prince to learn in what humor he was, and to fixhis own features correspondingly. But on the face of Rameses was onlyweariness.

  "Well," asked the prince, yawning, "art thou sure that a son is bornto me?"

  "I have that news from the holy Mefres."

  "Oho! How long is it since the prophets are occupied with myhousehold?"

  "Since the time that thou hast shown them thy favor, worthiness."

  "Is that true?" asked the prince, and he fell to thinking.

  He recalled the scene of the previous night in the temple of Astaroth,and compared it with a similar spectacle in the temple of Hator.

  "They called my name," said he to himself, "both here and there. Butthere my cell was very narrow, and the walls were thick; here theperson calling, namely, Kama, could hide herself behind a column andwhisper. But here it was terribly dark, while in my cell it wasclear." At last he said to Tutmosis,--

  "When did that happen?"

  "When was thy worthy son born? About ten days ago. The mother andchild are well; they seem perfectly healthy. At the birth were presentMenes himself, thy worthy mother's physician, and his worthinessHerhor."

  "Well--well," said the prince, and again he fell to thinking: "Theytouched me here and there, with a hand in both cases. Was there such adifference? It seems to me that there was, maybe for the reason thathere I was, and there I was not, prepared to see a miracle. But herethey showed me another _myself_, which they did not succeed in doingthere. Very clever are the priests! I am curious to know whorepresented me so well,--a god or a man? Oh, the priests are veryclever, and I do not know even whom to trust more,--our priests or thePhoenicians?

  "Hear me, Tutmosis," said he, aloud. "They must come hither; I mustsee my son. At last no one will have the right to consider himselfbetter than I."

  "Is the worthy Sarah to come immediately with her son?"

  "Let them come at the earliest, if their health permit. Within thepalace bounds are many convenient buildings. It is necessary to choosea place among the trees, quiet, and, when the time of heat comes,cool. Let me, too, show the world my son."

  Again he was thoughtful; this disquieted Tutmosis.

  "Yes, they are clever!" thought Rameses. "That they deceive the commonpeople, even by rude methods, I knew. Poor sacred Apis! how many prodshe got during processions when people lay prostrate before him! But todeceive me, I should not have believed that,--voices of gods,invisible hands, a man covered with pitch; these were accessories!Then came Pentuer's song about the decrease of land and population,the officials, the Phoenicians, and all that to disgust me with war."

  Tutmosis said suddenly,--

  "I fall on my face before thee."

  "I must bring hither, gradually, regiments from cities near the sea. Iwish to have a review and reward them for loyalty."

  "But we, the nobles, are we not loyal to thee?" inquired Tutmosis,confused.

  "The nobles and the army are one."

  "But the nomarchs and the officials?"

  "Even the officials are loyal," answered the prince. "What do I say?The Phoenicians even are so, though in many other points they aredeceivers."

  "By the gods! speak in a lower voice," whispered Tutmosis; and helooked toward the other room timidly.

  "Oho!" laughed the prince, "why this alarm? So for thee, too, it is nosecret that we have traitors?"

  "I know of whom thou art speaking, worthiness, for thou wert alwaysprejudiced against--"

  "Against whom?"

  "Against whom--I divine. But I thought that after the agreement withHerhor, after a long stay in the temple--"

  "What of the temple? In the temple, and in the whole country, for thatmatter, I have convinced myself of one thing, that the very bestlands, the most active population, and immense wealth are not theproperty of the pharaoh."

  "Quieter! quieter!" whispered Tutmosis.

  "But I am quiet always; I have a calm face at all times, so let mespeak even here; besides, I should have the right to say, even in thesupreme council, that in this Egypt, which belongs entirely to myfather, I, his heir and viceroy, had to borrow a hundred talents froma petty prince of Tyre. Is this not a shame?"

  "But how did this come to thy mind to-day?" asked Tutmosis, wishing toput an end to the perilous conversation as quickly as possible.

  "How?" answered the prince; and he grew silent, to sink again intomeditation.

  "It would not mean so much," thought he, "if they deceived me alone; Iam only heir to the pharaoh, and not admitted to all secrets. But whowill assure me that they have not acted in the same way with my worthyfather? He has trusted them entirely during thirty and some years; hehas bowed down before miracles, given abundant offerings to the gods,for this result,--that his property and power should pass into thehands of ambitious tricksters! And no one has opened his eyes. For thepharaoh cannot, like me, enter Phoenician temples at night, andabsolutely no one has admission to his holiness.

  "But who will assure me to-day that the priests are not striving tooverthrow the throne, as Hiram said? Even my father informed me thatthe Phoenicians are most truthful wherever they have an interest to beso. Assuredly it is their interest not to be expelled from Egypt, andnot to fall under the power of Assyria. The Assyrians are a herd ofraging lions! Wherever they pass through a country nothing is leftexcept ruins and dead bodies, as after a fire--"

  All at once Rameses raised his head; from a distance came the sound offlutes and horns.

  "What does this mean?" inquired he of Tutmosis.

  "Great news!" replied the courtier, with a smile. "The Asiatics arewelcoming a famous pilgrim from Babylon."

  "From Babylon? Who is he?"

  "His name is Sargon."

  "Sargon?" repeated the prince. "Sargon? Ha! ha!" laughed the prince."What is he?"

  "He must be a great dignitary at the court of King Assar. He bringswith him ten elephants, a herd of most beautiful steeds of the desert,crowds of slaves and servants."

  "But why has he come?"

  "To bow down before the wonderful goddess Astaroth, who is honored byall Asia," answered Tutmosis.

  "Ha! ha! ha!" laughed the prince, recalling what Hiram had said of thecoming of the Assyrian ambassador, Sargon. "Ha! ha! ha! Sargon, arelative of King Assar, has become all at once such a devotee that forwhole months he goes on a difficult journey only to do honor inPi-Bast to the goddess Astaroth. But in Nineveh he could have foundgreater gods and more learned priests. Ha! ha! ha!"

  Tutmosis looked at the prince with astonishment.

  "What has happened to thee, Erpatr?" asked he.

  "Here is a miracle not described, I think, in the chronicles of anytemple. But think, Tutmosis: When thou art most occupied with theproblem of catching the thief who is always plundering thee, that samethief puts his hand again into thy casket before thy eyes, in presenceof a thousand witnesses. Ha! ha! ha! Sargon, a pious pilgrim!"

  "I understand nothing," whispered Tutmosis, in anxiety.

  "And thou hast no need to understand," replied the viceroy. "Rememberonly that Sargon has come hither for devotional purposes."

  "It seems to me that everything of which thou art speaking," saidTutmosis, lowering his voice, "is very dangerous."

  "Then do not mention it to any one."

  "I will not; but art thou sure that thou thyself, prince, wilt notbetray the secret? Thou art as quick as lightning."

  The prince placed his hand on the courtier's shoulder.

  "Be at rest," said he, looking him in the eyes. "If ye will only beloyal to me, ye, the nobles, and the army, ye will see wonderfulthings, and, as regards you, evil times will be ended."

  "Thou knowest that we are ready to die at thy command," said Tutmosis,placing his hand on his breast.

  There was such uncommon seriousness o
n the adjutant's face that theprince understood, moreover not for the first time, that there wasconcealed in that riotous exquisite a valiant man, on whose sword andunderstanding he could put reliance.

  From that time the prince had no more such strange conversations withTutmosis. But that faithful friend and servant divined that connectedwith the arrival of Sargon were some great hidden interests of statewhich the priests alone had decided.

  For a certain time all the Egyptian aristocracy, nomarchs, higherofficials, and leaders had been whispering among themselves veryquietly, yes, very quietly, that important events were approaching.For the Phoenicians under an oath to keep the secret had told them ofcertain treaties with Assyria, according to which Phoenicia would belost, and Egypt be covered with disgrace and become even tributary.

  Indignation among the aristocracy was immense, but no one betrayedhimself; on the contrary, as well at the court of Rameses as at thecourts of the nomarchs of Lower Egypt, people amused themselvesperfectly. It might have been thought that with the weather had fallenon men a rage not only for amusements but for riot. There was no daywithout spectacles, feasts, and triumphal festivals; there was nonight without illuminations and uproar. Not only in Pi-Bast but inevery city it had become the fashion to run through the streets withtorches, music, and, above all, with full pitchers. They broke intohouses and dragged out sleeping dwellers to drinking-bouts; and sincethe Egyptians were inclined toward festivities every man living amusedhimself.

  During Rameses' stay in the temple of Hator the Phoenicians, seized bya panic, passed their days in prayer and refused credit to every man.But after Hiram's interview with the viceroy caution deserted thePhoenicians, and they began to make loans to Egyptian lords moreliberally than at any time earlier.

  Such abundance of gold and goods as there was in Lower Egypt, and,above all, such small per cent the oldest men could not remember.

  The severe and wise priests turned attention to the madness of theupper classes; but they were mistaken in estimating the cause of it,and the holy Mentezufis, who sent a report every few days to Herhor,stated that the heir, wearied by religious practices in the temple,was amusing himself to madness, and with him the entire aristocracy.

  The worthy minister did not even answer these statements, which showedthat he considered the rioting of the prince as quite natural andperhaps even useful.

  With such mental conditions around him Rameses enjoyed much freedom.Almost every evening when his attendants had drunk too much wine andhad begun to lose consciousness, the prince slipped out of the palace.Hidden by the dark burnous of an officer, he hurried through the emptystreets and out beyond the city to the gardens of the temple ofAstaroth. There he found the bench before that small villa, and,hidden among the trees, listened to the song of Kama's worshipper, anddreamed of the priestess.

  The moon rose later and later, drawing near its renewal. The nightswere dark, the effects of light were gone; but in spite of thisRameses continued to see that brightness of the first night, and heheard the passionate strophes of the Greek singer.

  More than once he rose from his bench to go directly to Kama'sdwelling, but shame seized him. He felt that it did not become theheir of Egypt to show himself in the house of a priestess who wasvisited by any pilgrim who gave a bountiful offering to the temple.What was more striking, he feared lest the sight of Kama surrounded bypitchers and unsuccessful admirers might extinguish the wonderfulpicture in the moonlight.

  When Dagon had sent her to turn away the prince's wrath, Kama seemedattractive, but not a maiden for whom a man might lose his headstraightway. But when he, a leader of armies and a viceroy, was forcedfor the first time in life to sit outside the house of a woman, whenthe night roused him to imaginings, and when he heard the adroitdeclarations of another, a strange feeling rose in him,--a mixture ofsadness, desire, and jealousy.

  If he could have had Kama at every call, she would have becomerepulsive quickly, and perhaps he would have fled from her. But Death,standing on the threshold of her bedchamber, an enamored singer, and,finally, that humiliating position of the highest dignitary before apriestess,--all this created a condition which for Rameses was unknowntill that time, hence enticing.

  And this was why he had appeared almost every evening of tensuccessive days in the gardens of the goddess Astaroth, shielding hisface from all who passed him.

  Once, when he had drunk much wine at a feast in his palace, Ramesesslipped out with a settled purpose.

  "To-night," said he to himself, "I will enter Kama's dwelling; as toher adorers--let them sing at her windows."

  He passed through the city quickly; but in the gardens of the templehe lessened his steps, for again he was shamefaced.

  "Has it ever been heard," thought he, "that the heir of a pharaoh ranafter women like a poor scribe who cannot borrow ten drachmasanywhere? All women come to me, so should this one."

  And he was ready then to turn back to his palace.

  "But she cannot come," said he to himself, "for they would kill her."

  He stopped and hesitated.

  "Who would kill her,--Hiram, who believes in nothing, or Dagon, whoknows not himself what he is? True, but there is a multitude of otherPhoenicians in Egypt, and hundreds of thousands of wild and fanaticalpilgrims are prowling around here. In the eyes of those idiots Kamawould commit sacrilege were she to visit me."

  So he went toward the villa. He did not even think that danger mightthreaten him there,--him, who without drawing his sword might by amere look bring the whole world to his feet; he, Rameses, and danger!

  When the prince came out from among trees, he saw that Kama's housewas more brightly lighted and more noisy than usual. In fact, theterrace and the rooms were filled with guests, and around the villawere throngs of people.

  "What band is this?" thought Rameses.

  It was an uncommon assemblage. Not far from the house was an immenseelephant, bearing on his back a gilded litter with purple curtains. Atthe side of the elephant, neighing and squealing, and, in general,acting impatiently, were horses with large necks and legs, with tailsplaited, and with something on their heads like metal helmets.

  Among these restless, almost wild animals, some tens of men werebusied,--men such as Rameses had never seen elsewhere. They had shaggyhair, great beards, pointed caps with ear-laps; some wore long robesof coarse cloth reaching to their heels; others wore short coats andskirts, and some had boots on their feet. All carried swords, bows,and darts.

  At sight of these foreigners, stalwart, awkward, laughing vulgarly,smelling of tallow, and speaking an unknown and harsh language, theprince was indignant. As a lion, though not hungry, prepares to springwhen he sees a common animal, so Rameses, though they had offended himin no way, felt a terrible hatred toward those strangers. He wasirritated by their language, their dress, the odor from their bodies,even their horses. The blood rushed to his head, and he reached forhis sword to attack those men--slay them and their beasts also. Butsoon he recovered his senses.

  "Set has cast a spell on me," thought Rameses.

  At that moment a naked Egyptian, with a cap on his head and a girdlearound his waist, passed along the path slowly. The prince felt thatthe man was near to him, even precious at that moment, for he was anEgyptian. He took from his purse a gold ring worth from ten to twentydrachmas, and gave it to the bondman.

  "Listen," said he; "who are those people?"

  "Assyrians," whispered the Egyptian; and hatred glittered in his eyesas he answered.

  "Assyrians," repeated the prince. "Are those Assyrians, then? And whatare they doing here?"

  "Their lord, Sargon, is paying court to the priestess, the sacredKama, and they are guarding him. May leprosy devour them, thewretches, the swine sons!"

  "Thou mayst go."

  The naked man made a low obeisance and ran, surely to some kitchen.

  "Are those Assyrians?" thought the prince, as he looked at theirstrange figures and heard their hated, though un-understood language."So alread
y Assyrians are on the Nile, to become brothers to us, orto deceive us, and their dignitary, Sargon, is courting Kama?"

  He returned home. His imaginings died before the light of a passionfelt then for the first time. He, a man mild and noble, felt a deadlyhatred toward the ancient enemies of Egypt, whom he had never met tillthat evening.

  When leaving the temple of Hator, and after his interview with Hiram,he began to think of war with Asia; that was merely thinking thatEgypt needed population, and the pharaoh needed treasure; and sincewar gave the easiest means to win them, and since, besides, it agreedwith his need of glory, Rameses conceived the plan of warfare. But nowhe was concerned neither with slaves, nor treasures, nor glory, for inhim was sounding at that moment a voice mightier than everyother,--the voice of hatred. The pharaohs had struggled so long withthe Assyrians, both sides had shed so much blood, the struggle hadfixed its roots in their hearts so profoundly, that the prince graspedfor his sword at the very sight of Assyrian warriors. It seemed thatthe spirits of all the slain Egyptians, their toils and sufferings,had risen in the soul of this descendant of pharaohs and cried forretribution.

  When Rameses reached the palace, he summoned Tutmosis. One of them haddrunk too much, the other was raging.

  "Dost thou know what I have seen just now?" asked the prince of hisfavorite.

  "One of the priests, perhaps."

  "I have seen Assyrians. O ye gods! what I felt! What a low people!Their bodies from head to foot are covered with wool, as wild beastsare; the stench of old tallow comes from them; and what speech, whatbeard, what hair!"

  The prince walked up and down the room quickly, panting, excited.

  "I thought," said he, "that I despised the robberies of scribes, thedeceit of nomarchs, that I hated the cunning and ambition of priests;I felt repulsion for Jews, and I feared the Phoenicians; but Iconvinced myself to-night that those were all amusements. I know now,for the first time, what hate is, after I have seen and heardAssyrians. I understand now why a dog tears the cat which has crossedhis path."

  "Thou art accustomed to Jews and Phoenicians, worthiness, thou hastmet Assyrians now for the first time," put in Tutmosis.

  "Stupidity! the Phoenicians!" continued the prince, as if to himself."The Phoenicians, the Philistines, the Arabs, the Libyans, even theEthiopians seem, as it were, members of our own family. When they failto pay tribute, we are angry; when they pay, we forget our feeling.

  "But the Assyrians are something strange, something inimical, sothat--I shall not be happy till I can count one hundred thousand oftheir hands cut off by us."

  Never had Tutmosis seen the prince in such a state of feeling.