On the morrow of this visit to the Pyramids Pharaoh and the Queen hisdaughter made their state entry into the great white-walled city ofMemphis, where they were royally received by Pharaoh's brother, thePrince Abi, who was still the ruler of all this town and district. Asit chanced these two had not met since Abi, many years before, came toThebes, asking a share in the government of Egypt and to be nominated assuccessor to the throne.
Like every other lord and prince, he had been invited to be present atthe great ceremony of the Crowning of Neter-Tua, but at the last momentsent his excuses, saying that he was ill, which seemed to be true. Atany rate, the spies reported that he was confined to his bed, thoughwhether sickness or his own will took him thither at this moment, therewas nothing to show. At the time Pharaoh and his Council wondered alittle that he had made no proposal for the marriage of one of his sons,of whom he had four, to their royal cousin, Neter-Tua, but decided thathe had not done so because he was sure that it would not be accepted.For the rest, during all this period Abi had kept quiet in his ownGovernment, which he ruled well and strongly, remitting his taxes toThebes at the proper time with a ceremonial letter of homage, and evenincreasing the amount of them.
So it came about that Pharaoh, who by nature was kindly andunsuspicious, had long ago put away all mistrust of his brother, whoseambitions, he was sure, had come to an end with the birth of an heiressto the throne.
Yet, when escorted only by five hundred of his guard, for this wasa peaceful visit, Pharaoh rode into the mighty city and saw howimpregnable were its walls and how strong its gates; saw also that thestreets were lined with thousands of well-armed troops, doubts which hedismissed as unworthy, did creep into his heart. But if he said nothingof them, Tua, who rode in the chariot with him, was not so silent.
"My father," she said in a low voice while the crowds shouted theirwelcome, for they were alone in the chariot, the horses of which wereled, "this uncle of mine keeps a great state in Memphis."
"Yes, Daughter, why should he not? He is its governor."
"A stranger who did not know the truth might think he was its king,my father, and to be plain, if I were Pharaoh, and had chosen to enterhere, it would have been with a larger force."
"We can go away when we like, Tua," said Pharaoh uneasily.
"You mean, my father, that we can go away when it pleases the Princeyour brother to open those great bronze gates that I heard clash behindus--then and not before."
At this moment their talk came to an end, for the chariot was stayedat the steps of the great hall where Abi waited to receive his royalguests. He stood at the head of the steps, a huge, coarse, vigorous manof about sixty years of age, on whose fat, swarthy face there wasstill, oddly enough, some resemblance to the delicate, refined-featuredPharaoh.
Tua summed him up in a single glance, and instantly hated him even morethan she had hated Amathel, Prince of Kesh. Also she who had not fearedthe empty-headed, drunken Amathel, was penetrated with a strange terrorof this man whom she felt to be strong and intelligent, and whosegreat, greedy eyes rested on her beauty as though they could not tearthemselves away.
Now they were ascending the steps, and now Prince Abi was welcoming themto his "humble house," giving them their throne names, and sayinghow rejoiced he was to see them, his sovereigns, within the walls ofMemphis, while all the time he stared at Tua.
Pharaoh, who was tired, made no reply, but the young Queen, staring backat him, answered:
"We thank you for your greeting, but then, my uncle Abi, why did younot meet us outside the gates of Memphis where we expected to findits governor waiting to deliver up the keys of Pharaoh's city to theofficers of Pharaoh?"
Now Abi, who had thought to see some shrinking child clothed in theemblems of a queen, looked astonished at this tall and royal maiden whohad so sharp a tongue, and found no words to answer her. So she sweptpast him and commanded to be shown where she should lodge in Memphis.
They led her to its greatest palace that had been prepared for Pharaohand herself, a place surrounded by palm groves in the midst of the city,but having studied it with her quick eyes, she said that it did notplease her. So search was made elsewhere, and in the end she choseanother smaller palace that once had been a temple of Sekhet, thetiger-headed goddess of vengeance and of chastity, whereof the pylontowers fronted on the Nile which at its flood washed against them.Indeed, they were now part of the wall of Memphis, for the great unusedgateway between them had been built up with huge blocks of stone.
Surrounding this palace and outside its courts, lay the old gardens ofthe temple where the priests of Sekhet used to wander, enclosed within alofty limestone wall. Here, saying that the air from the river would bemore healthy for him, Tua persuaded Pharaoh to establish himself and hisCourt, and to encamp the guards under the command of his friend Mermes,in the outer colonnades and gardens.
When it was pointed out to the Queen that, owing to the lack ofdwelling-rooms, none which were fitting were left for her to occupy, shereplied that this mattered nothing, since in the old pylon tower weretwo small chambers hollowed in the thickness of its walls, which werevery pleasing to her, because of the prospect of the Nile and the wideflat lands and the distant Pyramids commanded from the lofty roofand window-places. So these chambers, in which none had dwelt forgenerations, were hastily cleaned out and furnished, and in them Tua andAsti her foster-mother, took up their abode.
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