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

by Bolesław Prus

  CHAPTER XXXVIII

  Learning from Hiram that the Phoenicians had given him the priestess,Rameses wished to have her in his house at the earliest, not becausehe could not live without her, but because she had become for him anovelty.

  Kama delayed her coming; she implored the prince to leave her in peacetill the inflow of pilgrims diminished, and above all till the mostnoted among them should go from Pi-Bast. Were she to become hisfavorite during their presence, the income of the temple mightdecrease and danger threaten the priestess.

  "Our sages and great men," said she to Rameses, "would forgive me. Butthe common people would call the vengeance of the gods on my head, andthou, lord, knowest that the gods have long hands."

  "May they not lose those hands in thrusting them under my roof," saidRameses.

  But he did not insist greatly, as his attention was much occupied atthat juncture.

  The Assyrian ambassadors, Sargon and Istubar, had gone to Memphis toput their names to the treaty. At the same time the pharaoh hadsummoned Rameses to give a report of his journey.

  The prince commanded his scribes to write accurately of all that hadhappened from the time of leaving Memphis; hence the review ofartisans, the visits to fields and factories, the conversations withnomarchs and officials. To present the report he appointed Tutmosis.

  "Thou wilt be heart and lips for me before the face of the pharaoh,"said the prince to him, "and this is what thou must do there.

  "When the most worthy Herhor asks what, to my thinking, causes thepoverty of Egypt and the treasury, tell the minister to turn to hisassistant, Pentuer, and he will explain my views in the same way thathe did his own in the temple of Hator.

  "When Herhor wishes to know my opinion of a treaty with Assyria,answer that my duty is to carry out the commands of my master."

  Tutmosis nodded in sign that he comprehended.

  "But," continued the heir, "when thou shalt stand in the presence ofmy father,--may he live through eternity!--and convince thyself thatno one is listening, fall at his feet in my name, and say,--

  "'Our lord, thy son and servant, the worthy Rameses, to whom thou hastgiven life and power, says the following,--

  "'The cause of Egypt's suffering is the loss of fertile lands taken bythe desert, and the loss of men who die from want and hard labor. Butknow, our lord, that the damage caused thy treasury by priests is noless than that wrought by death and the desert; for not only are thetemples filled with gold and jewels, which would suffice to pay ourdebts entirely, but the holy fathers and the prophets have the bestlands, the best slaves and laborers, and lands far greater in extentthan those of the divine pharaoh.

  "'Thy son and slave, Rameses, says this to thee,--he who all the timeof his journey had his eyes open like a fish, and his ears set forwardlike an ass which is watching.'"

  The prince stopped. Tutmosis repeated the words mentally.

  "If," continued the viceroy, "his holiness asks for my opinion of theAssyrians, fall on thy face and answer,--

  "'Thy servant Rameses, if thou permit, makes bold to say that theAssyrians are strong and large men, and have perfect weapons; but itis evident that they have bad training. At the heels of Sargon marchedthe best Assyrian warriors, archers, axemen, spearmen, and still therewere not six among them who could march in line warrior fashion.Besides they carry their spears crookedly, their swords are badlyhung, they bear their axes like carpenters or butchers. Their clothingis heavy, their rude sandals gall their feet, and their shields,though strong, are of small use, for the men are awkward.'"

  "Thou speakest truth," said Tutmosis. "I have noticed that, and I haveheard the same from Egyptian officers who declare that Assyriantroops, like those which we saw here, would offer less resistance thanthe hordes of Libya."

  "Say also to our lord, who gives us life, that all the nobles and theEgyptian army are indignant at the mere report that Assyria mightannex Phoenicia. Why, Phoenicia is the port of Egypt, and thePhoenicians the best warriors in our navy.

  "Say, besides, that I have heard from Phoenicians (of this hisholiness must know best of all) that Assyria is weak at the moment,for she has a war on her northern and eastern boundaries; all westernAsia is arming against her. Should we attack to-day, we could winimmense wealth, and take multitudes of captives who would help ourslaves in their labor.

  "But say, in conclusion, that the wisdom of my father excels that ofall men, therefore I shall do whatsoever he commands, if only he givesnot Phoenicia to King Assar; if he gives it, we are ruined. Phoeniciais the bronze door of our treasure-house, and where is the man whowould yield his door to a robber?"

  Tutmosis went to Memphis in the month Paofi (July and August).

  The Nile was increasing mightily; hence the influx of Asiatic pilgrimsto the temple of Astaroth diminished. People of the place betookthemselves to the fields to gather with the utmost speed grapes,flax, and a certain plant which furnished cotton.

  In one word, the neighborhood grew quiet, and the gardens surroundingthe temples were almost deserted.

  At that time Prince Rameses, relieved from amusements and the dutiesof the state, turned to his love affair with Kama. On a certain day hehad a secret consultation with Hiram, who at his command gave thetemple of Astaroth twelve talents in gold, a statue of the goddesswonderfully carved out of malachite, fifty cows and of wheat onehundred and fifty measures. That was such a generous gift that thehigh priest of the temple himself came to Rameses to fall prostrateand thank him for the favor which, as he said, people who loved thegoddess would remember during all the ages.

  Having settled with the temple, the prince summoned the chief ofpolice in Pi-Bast and passed a long hour with him. Because of this thewhole city was shaken some days later under the influence ofextraordinary tidings: Kama, the priestess of Astaroth, had beenseized, borne away and lost, like a grain of sand in a desert.

  This unheard-of event occurred under the following conditions: Thehigh priest of the temple sent Kama to the town Sabne-Chetam at LakeMenzaleh with offerings for the chapel of Astaroth in that place. Toavoid summer heat and secure herself against curiosity and the homageof people, the priestess journeyed in a boat and during night hours.Toward morning, when the three wearied rowers were dozing, boatsmanned by Greeks and Hittites pushed out suddenly from among reeds atthe shore, surrounded the boat bearing Kama, and carried off thepriestess. The attack was so sudden that the Phoenician rowers made noresistance. The strangers gagged Kama, evidently, for she remainedsilent. The Greeks and Hittites after the sacrilege vanished in thereeds, to sail toward the sea afterward. To prevent pursuit they sankthe boat which had borne the priestess.

  Pi-Bast was as excited as a beehive. People talked of nothing else.They even guessed who did the deed. Some suspected Sargon, who hadoffered Kama the title of wife if she would leave the temple andremove to Nineveh. Others suspected Lykon, the temple singer, wholong had burned with passion for the priestess. He was moreover richenough to hire Greek slaves, and so godless that he would not hesitateto snatch away a priestess.

  A Phoenician council of the richest and most faithful members wassummoned to the temple. The council resolved, first of all, to freeKama from her duties as priestess and remove from her the curseagainst a virgin who lost her innocence in the service of the goddess.

  That was a wise and pious resolution, for if some one had carried offthe priestess and deprived her of sacredness against her will, itwould have been unjust to punish her.

  A couple of days later they announced, with sound of trumpet, toworshippers in the temple that the priestess Kama was dead, and if anyman should meet a woman seeming like her he would have no right toseek revenge or even make reproaches. The priestess had not left thegoddess, but evil spirits had borne her off; for this they would bepunished.

  That same day the worthy Hiram visited Rameses and gave him in a goldtube a parchment furnished with a number of seals of priests andsignatures of Phoenician notables.

  That was the decision of the spi
ritual court of Astaroth, whichreleased Kama from her vows and freed her from the curse if she wouldrenounce the name which she had borne while priestess.

  The prince took this document and went after sundown to a certain lonevilla in his garden. He opened the door in some unknown way andascended one story to a room of medium dimensions, where by light froma carved lamp in which fragrant olive oil was burning, he saw Kama.

  "At last!" cried he, giving her the gold tube. "Thou hast everythingaccording to thy wishes."

  The Phoenician woman was feverish; her eyes flashed. She snatched thetube, looked at it, and threw it on the floor.

  "Dost think this gold?" asked she. "I will bet my necklace that thattube is copper, and only covered on both sides with thin strips ofgold."

  "Is that thy way of greeting me?" inquired the astonished Rameses.

  "Yes, for I know my brethren," said she. "They counterfeit not onlygold, but rubies and sapphires."

  "Woman," said the heir, "in this tube is thy safety."

  "What is safety to me? I am wearied in this place, and I am afraid. Ihave sat here four days as in prison."

  "Dost thou lack anything?"

  "I lack air, amusement, laughter, songs, people. O vengeful goddess,how harshly thou art punishing!"

  The prince listened with amazement. In that mad woman he could notrecognize the Kama whom he had seen in the temple, that woman overwhose person had floated the passionate song of the Greek Lykon.

  "To-morrow," said the prince, "thou canst go to the garden; and whenwe visit Memphis or Thebes, thou wilt amuse thyself as never in thylife before. Look at me. Do I not love thee, and is not the honorwhich belongs to me enough for a woman?"

  "Yes," answered she, pouting, "but thou hadst four women before me."

  "But if I love thee best?"

  "If thou love me best, make me first, put me in the palace which thatJewess Sarah occupies, and give a guard to me, not to her. Before thestatue of Astaroth I was first. Those who paid homage to the goddess,when kneeling before her, looked at me. But here what? Troops beatdrums and sound flutes; officials cross their hands on their breasts,and incline their heads before the house of the Jewess--"

  "Before my first-born son," interrupted the prince, now impatient,"and he is no Jew."

  "He is a Jew!" screamed Kama.

  Rameses sprang up.

  "Art thou mad?" but quieting himself quickly, he added, "Dost thou notknow that my son cannot be a Jew--"

  "But I tell thee that he is a Jew!" cried Kama, beating the table withher fist. "He is a Jew, just as his grandfather is, just as his unclesare; and his name is Isaac."

  "What hast thou said, Phoenician woman? Dost wish that I should turnthee out?"

  "Turn me out if a lie has gone from my lips. But if I have spokentruth, turn out that woman with her brat and give me her palace. Iwish and deserve to be first in thy household. She deceives thee,reviles thee. But I, for thy sake, have deserted my goddess andexposed myself to her vengeance."

  "Give me proofs and the palace will be thine. No, that is false!" saidRameses. "Sarah would not permit such a crime. My first-born son!"

  "Isaac--Isaac!" cried Kama. "Go to her, and convince thyself."

  Rameses, half unconscious, ran out from Kama's house and turned towardSarah's villa. Though the night was starry, he lost his way andwandered a certain time through the garden. The cool air sobered him;he found the road to the villa and entered almost calmly.

  Though the hour was late, they were awake there. Sarah with her ownhands was washing swaddling-clothes for her son, and the servants werepassing their time in eating, drinking, and music. When Rameses, palefrom emotion, stood on the threshold, Sarah cried out, but soon calmedherself.

  "Be greeted, lord," said she, wiping her wet hands and bending to hisfeet.

  "Sarah, what is the name of thy son?" inquired he.

  She seized her head in terror.

  "What is thy son's name?" repeated he.

  "But thou knowest, lord, that it is Seti," answered she, with a voicealmost inaudible.

  "Look me in the eyes."

  "O Jehovah!" whispered Sarah.

  "Thou seest that thou art lying. And now I will tell thee, my son, theson of the heir to the throne of Egypt, is called Isaac--and he is aJew--a low Jew."

  "O God, O God of mercy!" cried Sarah, throwing herself at his feet.

  Rameses did not raise his head for an instant, but his face was gray.

  "I was forewarned," said he, "not to take a Jewess to my house. I wasdisgusted when I saw thy country place filled with Jews; but I kept mydisgust in subjection, for I trusted thee. But thou, with thy Jews,hast stolen my son from me, thou child thief!"

  "The priests commanded that he should become a Jew," whispered Sarah,sobbing at the feet of Rameses.

  "The priests! What priests?"

  "The most worthy Herhor, the most worthy Mefres. They said that itmust be so,--that thy son would become the first king of the Jews."

  "The priests? Mefres?" repeated the prince. "King of the Jews? But Ihave told thee that thy son would become the chief of my archers, mysecretary. I told thee this, and thou, wretched woman, didst thinkthat the title of king of the Jews was equal to that of my secretaryand archer. Mefres--Herhor! Thanks to the gods that at last Iunderstand those dignitaries and know what fate they are preparing formy descendants."

  He thought awhile, gnawing his lips. Suddenly he called with apowerful voice,--

  "Hei, servants, warriors!"

  The room was filled in the twinkle of an eye. Sarah's serving-womencame in, the scribe and manager of the house, then the slaves;finally, a few warriors with an officer.

  "Death!" cried Sarah, with a piercing voice.

  She rushed to the cradle, seized her son, and, standing in the cornerof the room, called out,--

  "Kill me; but I will not yield my son!"

  Rameses smiled.

  "Centurion," said he to the officer, "take that woman with her childand conduct her to the building where my household slaves dwell. ThatJewess will not be mistress here; she is to be the servant of her whotakes this place.

  "And thou, steward," said he, turning to the official, "see that theJewess does not forget, to-morrow morning, to wash the feet of hermistress, who will come hither directly. If this serving-woman shouldprove stubborn, she is to receive stripes at command of her mistress.Conduct the woman to the servants' quarters."

  The officer and steward approached Sarah, but stopped, as they darednot touch her; but there was no need to do so. Sarah wound a garmentaround the puling child, and left the room, whispering,--

  "O God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, have mercy on us!"

  She bowed low before the prince, and from her eyes tears flowed insilence.

  While she was still in the antechamber, Rameses heard her sweetvoice,--

  "God of Abraham--Isa--"

  When all was quiet, the viceroy called the officer and steward.

  "Go with torches to the house among the fig-trees."

  "I understand," replied the steward.

  "And conduct hither, immediately, the woman who dwells there."

  "It will be done."

  "Thenceforth that woman will be thy mistress and the mistress ofSarah; the Jewess must wash the feet of her mistress every morning,pour water to her, and hold a mirror before her. That is my will, mycommand."

  "It shall be accomplished," said the steward.

  "And to-morrow morning thou wilt tell me if the new servant isstubborn."

  When he had given these commands, he returned home; but he did notsleep that night. He felt that without raising his voice for a momenthe had crushed Sarah, the wretched Jewess, who had dared to deceivehim. He had punished her as a king who with one movement of the eyedashes people down from heights into the abyss of servitude. But Sarahwas merely an instrument of the priests, and the heir had too great afeeling of justice to forgive the real authors when he had broken theinstrument.

  His rage was inte
nsified all the more because the priests wereunassailable. He might send out Sarah with her child in the middle ofthe night to the servants' house, but he could not deprive Herhor ofhis power, nor Mefres of the high priesthood. Sarah had fallen at hisfeet, like a trampled worm; but Herhor and Mefres, who had snatchedhis first-born from him, towered above Egypt, and, oh, shame! abovehim, the coming pharaoh, like pyramids.

  And he could not tell how often in that year he had recalled thewrongs which priests had inflicted. At school they had beaten him withsticks till his back was swollen, or had tortured him with hunger tillhis stomach and spine had grown together. At the manoeuvres of theyear past, Herhor spoiled his whole plan, then put the blame on him,and took away the command of an army corps. That same Herhor drew onhim the displeasure of his holiness because he had taken Sarah to hishouse, and did not restore him to honor till the humiliated prince hadpassed a couple of months in a voluntary exile.

  It would seem that when he had been leader of a corps and was viceroythe priests would cease tormenting him with their guardianship. Butjust then they appeared with redoubled energy. They had made himviceroy; for what purpose?--to remove him from the pharaoh, andconclude a shameful treaty with Assyria. They had used force in suchform that he betook himself to the temple as a penitent to obtaininformation concerning the condition of the state; there they deceivedhim through miracles and terrors, and gave thoroughly falseexplanations.

  Next they interfered with his amusements, his women, his relationswith the pharaoh, his debts, and, finally, to humiliate and render himridiculous in the eyes of Egyptians, they made his first-born aHebrew.

  Where was the laborer, where the slave, where an Egyptian convict inthe quarries who had not the right to say, "I am better than thou, theviceroy, for no son of mine is a Hebrew."

  Feeling the weight of the insult, Rameses understood at the same timethat he could not avenge himself immediately. Hence he determined todefer that affair to the future. In the school of the priests he hadlearned self-command, in the court he had learned deceit and patience;those qualities became a weapon and a shield to him in his battle withthe priesthood. Till he was ready he would lead them into error, andwhen the moment came he would strike so hard that they would neverrise again.

  It began to dawn. The heir fell asleep, and when he woke the firstperson he saw was the steward of Sarah's villa.

  "What of the Jewess?" asked the prince.

  "According to thy command, worthiness, she washed the feet of her newmistress," answered the official.

  "Was she stubborn?"

  "She was full of humility, but not adroit enough; so the angry ladystruck the Jewess with her foot between the eyebrows."

  The prince sprang up.

  "And what did Sarah do?" inquired he, quickly.

  "She fell to the pavement. And when the new mistress commanded her togo, she went out, weeping noiselessly."

  The prince walked up and down in the chamber.

  "How did she pass the night?"

  "The new lady?"

  "No! I ask about Sarah."

  "According to command, Sarah went with her child to the servants'house. The women, from compassion, yielded a fresh mat to her, but shedid not lie down to sleep; she sat the whole night with her child onher knees."

  "But how is the child?" asked Rameses.

  "The child is well. This morning, when the Jewess went to serve hernew mistress, the other women bathed the little one in warm water, andthe shepherd's wife, who also has an infant, gave her breast to it."

  The prince stopped before the steward.

  "It is wrong," said he, "when a cow instead of suckling its calf goesto the plough and is beaten. Though this Jewess has committed a greatoffence, I do not wish that her innocent child should be a sufferer.Therefore Sarah will not wash the feet of the new lady again, and willnot be kicked between the eyes by her a second time. Thou wilt setaside for her use in the servants' house a room with food andfurniture such as are proper for a woman recovered recently fromchildbirth. And let her nourish her infant in peace there."

  "Live thou through eternity, our ruler!" answered the steward: and heran quickly to carry out the commands of the viceroy.

  All the servants loved Sarah, and in a few days they had occasion tohate the angry and turbulent Kama.