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diff --git a/old/clptr10.txt b/old/clptr10.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f11b58c --- /dev/null +++ b/old/clptr10.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10808 @@ +*The Project Gutenberg Etext of Cleopatra, by H. Rider Haggard* +#22 in our series by H. Rider Haggard + + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world, be sure to check +the copyright laws for your country before posting these files!! + +Please take a look at the important information in this header. +We encourage you to keep this file on your own disk, keeping an +electronic path open for the next readers. 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FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END* + + + + + +Etext prepared by John Bickers, jbickers@ihug.co.nz +Dagny, dagnyj@hotmail.com +and Emma Dudding, emma_302@hotmail.com + + + + + +Cleopatra + +by H. Rider Haggard + + + + +DEDICATION + + My dear Mother, + + I have for a long while hoped to be allowed to dedicate some book + of mine to you, and now I bring you this work, because whatever + its shortcomings, and whatever judgment may be passed upon it by + yourself and others, it is yet the one I should wish you to + accept. + + I trust that you will receive from my romance of "Cleopatra" some + such pleasure as lightened the labour of its building up; and that + it may convey to your mind a picture, however imperfect, of the + old and mysterious Egypt in whose lost glories you are so deeply + interested. + +Your affectionate and dutiful Son, +H. Rider Haggard. + +January 21, 1889. + + + + +AUTHOR'S NOTE + +The history of the ruin of Antony and Cleopatra must have struck many +students of the records of their age as one of the most inexplicable +of tragic tales. What malign influence and secret hates were at work, +continually sapping their prosperity and blinding their judgment? Why +did Cleopatra fly at Actium, and why did Antony follow her, leaving +his fleet and army to destruction? An attempt is made in this romance +to suggest a possible answer to these and some other questions. + +The reader is asked to bear in mind, however, that the story is told, +not from the modern point of view, but as from the broken heart and +with the lips of an Egyptian patriot of royal blood; no mere beast- +worshipper, but a priest instructed in the inmost mysteries, who +believed firmly in the personal existence of the gods of Khem, in the +possibility of communion with them, and in the certainty of immortal +life with its rewards and punishments; to whom also the bewildering +and often gross symbolism of the Osirian Faith was nothing but a veil +woven to obscure secrets of the Sanctuary. Whatever proportion of +truth there may have been in their spiritual claims and imaginings, if +indeed there was any, such men as the Prince Harmachis have been told +of in the annals of every great religion, and, as is shown by the +testimony of monumental and sacred inscriptions, they were not unknown +among the worshippers of the Egyptian Gods, and more especially of +Isis. + +Unfortunately it is scarcely possible to write a book of this nature +and period without introducing a certain amount of illustrative +matter, for by no other means can the long dead past be made to live +again before the reader's eyes with all its accessories of faded pomp +and forgotten mystery. To such students as seek a story only, and are +not interested in the faith, ceremonies, or customs of the Mother of +Religion and Civilisation, ancient Egypt, it is, however, respectfully +suggested that they should exercise the art of skipping, and open this +tale at its Second Book. + +That version of the death of Cleopatra has been preferred which +attributes her end to poison. According to Plutarch its actual manner +is very uncertain, though popular rumour ascribed it to the bite of an +asp. She seems, however, to have carried out her design under the +advice of that shadowy personage, her physician, Olympus, and it is +more than doubtful if he would have resorted to such a fantastic and +uncertain method of destroying life. + +It may be mentioned that so late as the reign of Ptolemy Epiphanes, +pretenders of native blood, one of whom was named Harmachis, are known +to have advanced their claims to the throne of Egypt. Moreover, there +was a book of prophecy current among the priesthood which declared +that after the nations of the Greeks the God Harsefi would create the +"chief who is to come." It will therefore be seen that, although it +lacks historical confirmation, the story of the great plot formed to +stamp out the dynasty of the Macedonian Lagidae and place Harmachis on +the throne is not in itself improbable. Indeed, it is possible that +many such plots were entered into by Egyptian patriots during the long +ages of their country's bondage. But ancient history tells us little +of the abortive struggles of a fallen race. + +The Chant of Isis and the Song of Cleopatra, which appear in these +pages, are done into verse from the writer's prose by Mr. Andrew Lang, +and the dirge sung by Charmion is translated by the same hand from the +Greek of the Syrian Meleager. + + + + + +CLEOPATRA + + + +INTRODUCTION + +In the recesses of the desolate Libyan mountains that lie behind the +temple and city of Abydus, the supposed burying place of the holy +Osiris, a tomb was recently discovered, among the contents of which +were the papyrus rolls whereupon this history is written. The tomb +itself is spacious, but otherwise remarkable only for the depth of the +shaft which descends vertically from the rock-hewn cave, that once +served as the mortuary chapel for the friends and relatives of the +departed, to the coffin-chamber beneath. This shaft is no less than +eighty-nine feet in depth. The chamber at its foot was found to +contain three coffins only, though it is large enough for many more. +Two of these, which in all probability inclosed the bodies of the High +Priest, Amenemhat, and of his wife, father and mother of Harmachis, +the hero of this history, the shameless Arabs who discovered them +there and then broke up. + +The Arabs broke the bodies up. With unhallowed hands they tore the +holy Amenemhat and the frame of her who had, as it is written, been +filled with the spirit of the Hathors--tore them limb from limb, +searching for treasure amidst their bones--perhaps, as is their +custom, selling the very bones for a few piastres to the last ignorant +tourist who came their way, seeking what he might destroy. For in +Egypt the unhappy, the living find their bread in the tombs of the +great men who were before them. + +But as it chanced, some little while afterwards, one who is known to +this writer, and a doctor by profession, passed up the Nile to Abydus, +and became acquainted with the men who had done this thing. They +revealed to him the secret of the place, telling him that one coffin +yet remained entombed. It seemed to be the coffin of a poor person, +they said, and therefore, being pressed for time, they had left it +unviolated. Moved by curiosity to explore the recesses of a tomb as +yet unprofaned by tourists, my friend bribed the Arabs to show it to +him. What ensued I will give in his own words, exactly as he wrote it +to me: + +"I slept that night near the Temple of Seti, and started before +daybreak on the following morning. With me were a cross-eyed rascal +named Ali--Ali Baba I named him--the man from whom I got the ring +which I am sending you, and a small but choice assortment of his +fellow thieves. Within an hour after sunrise we reached the valley +where the tomb is. It is a desolate place, into which the sun pours +his scorching heat all the long day through, till the huge brown rocks +which are strewn about become so hot that one can scarcely bear to +touch them, and the sand scorches the feet. It was already too hot to +walk, so we rode on donkeys, some way up the valley--where a vulture +floating far in the blue overhead was the only other visitor--till we +came to an enormous boulder polished by centuries of action of sun and +sand. Here Ali halted, saying that the tomb was under the stone. +Accordingly, we dismounted, and, leaving the donkeys in charge of a +fellah boy, went up to the rock. Beneath it was a small hole, barely +large enough for a man to creep through. Indeed it had been dug by +jackals, for the doorway and some part of the cave were entirely +silted up, and it was by means of this jackal hole that the tomb had +been discovered. Ali crept in on his hands and knees, and I followed, +to find myself in a place cold after the hot outside air, and, in +contrast with the light, filled with a dazzling darkness. We lit our +candles, and, the select body of thieves having arrived, I made an +examination. We were in a cave the size of a large room, and hollowed +by hand, the further part of the cave being almost free from drift- +dust. On the walls are religious paintings of the usual Ptolemaic +character, and among them one of a majestic old man with a long white +beard, who is seated in a carved chair holding a wand in his hand.[*] +Before him passes a procession of priests bearing sacred images. In +the right hand corner of the tomb is the shaft of the mummy-pit, a +square-mouthed well cut in the black rock. We had brought a beam of +thorn-wood, and this was now laid across the pit and a rope made fast +to it. Then Ali--who, to do him justice, is a courageous thief--took +hold of the rope, and, putting some candles into the breast of his +robe, placed his bare feet against the smooth sides of the well and +began to descent with great rapidity. Very soon he had vanished into +blackness, and the agitation of the cord alone told us that anything +was going on below. At last the rope ceased shaking and a faint shout +came rumbling up the well, announcing Ali's safe arrival. Then, far +below, a tiny star of light appeared. He had lit the candle, thereby +disturbing hundreds of bats that flitted up in an endless stream and +as silently as spirits. The rope was hauled up again, and now it was +my turn; but, as I declined to trust my neck to the hand-over-hand +method of descent, the end of the cord was made fast round my middle +and I was lowered bodily into those sacred depths. Nor was it a +pleasant journey, for, if the masters of the situation above had made +any mistake, I should have been dashed to pieces. Also, the bats +continually flew into my face and clung to my hair, and I have a great +dislike of bats. At last, after some minutes of jerking and dangling, +I found myself standing in a narrow passage by the side of the worthy +Ali, covered with bats and perspiration, and with the skin rubbed off +my knees and knuckles. Then another man came down, hand over hand like +a sailor, and as the rest were told to stop above we were ready to go +on. Ali went first with his candle--of course we each had a candle-- +leading the way down a long passage about five feet high. At length +the passage widened out, and we were in the tomb-chamber: I think the +hottest and most silent place that I ever entered. It was simply +stifling. This chamber is a square room cut in the rock and totally +devoid of paintings or sculpture. I held up the candles and looked +round. About the place were strewn the coffin lids and the mummied +remains of the two bodies that the Arabs had previously violated. The +paintings on the former were, I noticed, of great beauty, though, +having no knowledge of hieroglyphics, I could not decipher them. Beads +and spicy wrappings lay around the remains, which, I saw, were those +of a man and a woman.[+] The head had been broken off the body of the +man. I took it up and looked at it. It had been closely shaved--after +death, I should say, from the general indications--and the features +were disfigured with gold leaf. But notwithstanding this, and the +shrinkage of the flesh, I think the face was one of the most imposing +and beautiful that I ever saw. It was that of a very old man, and his +dead countenance still wore so calm and solemn, indeed, so awful a +look, that I grew quite superstitious (though as you know, I am pretty +well accustomed to dead people), and put the head down in a hurry. +There were still some wrappings left upon the face of the second body, +and I did not remove them; but she must have been a fine large woman +in her day. + +[*] This, I take it, is a portrait of Amenemhat himself.--Editor. + +[+] Doubtless Amenemhat and his wife.--Editor. + +"'There the other mummy,' said Ali, pointing to a large and solid case +that seemed to have been carelessly thrown down in a corner, for it +was lying on its side. + +"I went up to it and carefully examined it. It was well made, but of +perfectly plain cedar-wood--not an inscription, not a solitary God on +it. + +"'Never see one like him before,' said Ali. 'Bury great hurry, he no +"mafish," no "fineesh." Throw him down here on side.' + +"I looked at the plain case till at last my interest was thoroughly +aroused. I was so shocked by the sight of the scattered dust of the +departed that I had made up my mind not to touch the remaining coffin +--but now my curiosity overcame me, and we set to work. + +"Ali had brought a mallet and a cold chisel with him, and, having set +the coffin straight, he began upon it with all the zeal of an +experienced tomb-breaker. And then he pointed out another thing. Most +mummy-cases are fastened by four little tongues of wood, two on either +side, which are fixed in the upper half, and, passing into mortices +cut to receive them in the thickness of the lower half, are there held +fast by pegs of hard wood. But this mummy case had eight such tongues. +Evidently it had been thought well to secure it firmly. At last, with +great difficulty, we raised the massive lid, which was nearly three +inches thick, and there, covered over with a deep layer of loose +spices (a very unusual thing), was the body. + +"Ali looked at it with open eyes--and no wonder. For this mummy was +not as other mummies are. Mummies in general lie upon their backs, as +stiff and calm as though they were cut from wood; but this mummy lay +upon its side, and, the wrappings notwithstanding, its knees were +slightly bent. More than that, indeed, the gold mask, which, after the +fashion of the Ptolemaic period, had been set upon the face, had +worked down, and was literally pounded up beneath the hooded head. + +"It was impossible, seeing these things, to avoid the conclusion that +the mummy before us had moved with violence /since it was put in the +coffin/. + +"'Him very funny mummy. Him not "mafish" when him go in there,' said +Ali. + +"'Nonsense!' I said. 'Who ever heard of a live mummy?' + +"We lifted the body out of the coffin, nearly choking ourselves with +mummy dust in the process, and there beneath it half hidden among the +spices, we made our first find. It was a roll of papyrus, carelessly +fastened and wrapped in a piece of mummy cloth, having to all +appearance been thrown into the coffin at the moment of closing.[*] + +[*] This roll contained the third unfinished book of the history. The + other two rolls were neatly fastened in the usual fashion. All + three are written by one hand in the Demotic character.--Editor. + +"Ali eyed the papyrus greedily, but I seized it and put it in my +pocket, for it was agreed that I was to have all that might be +discovered. Then we began to unwrap the body. It was covered with very +broad strong bandages, thickly wound and roughly tied, sometimes by +means of simple knots, the whole working the appearance of having been +executed in great haste and with difficulty. Just over the head was a +large lump. Presently, the bandages covering it were off, and there, +on the face, lay a second roll of papyrus. I put down my hand to lift +it, but it would not come away. It appeared to be fixed to the stout +seamless shroud which was drawn over the whole body, and tied beneath +the feet--as a farmer ties sacks. This shroud, which was also thickly +waxed, was in one piece, being made to fit the form like a garment. I +took a candle and examined the roll and then I saw why it was fast. +The spices had congealed and glued it to the sack-like shroud. It was +impossible to get it away without tearing the outer sheets of +papyrus.[*] + +[*] This accounts for the gaps in the last sheets of the second roll. + --Editor. + +"At last, however, I wrenched it loose and put it with the other in my +pocket. + +"Then we went on with our dreadful task in silence. With much care we +ripped loose the sack-like garment, and at last the body of a man lay +before us. Between his knees was a third roll of papyrus. I secured +it, then held down the light and looked at him. One glance at his face +was enough to tell a doctor how he had died. + +"This body was not much dried up. Evidently it had not passed the +allotted seventy days in natron, and therefore the expression and +likeness were better preserved than is usual. Without entering into +particulars, I will only say that I hope I shall never see such +another look as that which was frozen on this dead man's face. Even +the Arabs recoiled from it in horror and began to mutter prayers. + +"For the rest, the usual opening on the left side through which the +embalmers did their work was absent; the finely-cut features were +those of a person of middle age, although the hair was already grey, +and the frame was that of a very powerful man, the shoulders being of +an extraordinary width. I had not time to examine very closely, +however, for within a few seconds from its uncovering, the unembalmed +body began to crumble now that it was exposed to the action of the +air. In five or six minutes there was literally nothing left of it but +a wisp of hair, the skull, and a few of the larger bones. I noticed +that one of the tibię--I forget if it was the right or the left--had +been fractured and very badly set. It must have been quite an inch +shorter than the other. + +"Well, there was nothing more to find, and now that the excitement was +over, what between the heat, the exertion, and the smell of mummy dust +and spices, I felt more dead than alive. + +"I am tired of writing, and this ship rolls. This letter, of course, +goes overland, and I am coming by 'long sea,' but I hope to be in +London within ten days after you get it. Then I will tell you of my +pleasing experiences in the course of the ascent from the tomb- +chamber, and of how that prince of rascals, Ali Baba, and his thieves +tried to frighten me into handing over the papyri, and how I worsted +them. Then, too, we will get the rolls deciphered. I expect that they +only contain the usual thing, copies of the 'Book of the Dead,' but +there /may/ be something else in them. Needless to say, I did not +narrate this little adventure in Egypt, or I should have had the +Boulac Museum people on my track. Good-bye, 'Mafish Fineesh,' as Ali +Baba always said." + + + +In due course, my friend, the writer of the letter from which I have +quoted, arrived in London, and on the very next day we paid a visit to +a learned acquaintance well versed in Hieroglyphics and Demotic +writing. The anxiety with which we watched him skilfully damping and +unfolding one of the rolls and peering through his gold-rimmed glasses +at the mysterious characters may well be imagined. + +"Hum," he said, "whatever it is, this is /not/ a copy of the 'Book of +the Dead.' By George, what's this? Cle--Cleo--Cleopatra---- Why, my +dear Sirs, as I am a living man, this is the history of somebody who +lived in the days of Cleopatra, /the/ Cleopatra, for here's Antony's +name with hers! Well, there's six months' work before me here--six +months, at the very least!" And in that joyful prospect he fairly lost +control of himself, and skipped about the room, shaking hands with us +at intervals, and saying "I'll translate--I'll translate it if it +kills me, and we will publish it; and, by the living Osiris, it shall +drive every Egyptologist in Europe mad with envy! Oh, what a find! +what a most glorious find!" + + + +And O you whose eyes fall upon these pages, see, they have been +translated, and they have been printed, and here they lie before you-- +an undiscovered land wherein you are free to travel! + +Harmachis speaks to you from his forgotten tomb. The walls of Time +fall down, and, as at the lightning's leap, a picture from the past +starts upon your view, framed in the darkness of the ages. + +He shows you those two Egypts which the silent pyramids looked down +upon long centuries ago--the Egypt of the Greek, the Roman, and the +Ptolemy, and that other outworn Egypt of the Hierophant, hoary with +years, heavy with the legends of antiquity and the memory of long-lost +honours. + +He tells you how the smouldering loyalty of the land of Khem blazed up +before it died, and how fiercely the old Time-consecrated Faith +struggled against the conquering tide of Change that rose, like Nile +at flood, and drowned the ancient Gods of Egypt. + +Here, in his pages, you shall learn the glory of Isis the Many-shaped, +the Executrix of Decrees. Here you shall make acquaintance with the +shade of Cleopatra, that "Thing of Flame," whose passion-breathing +beauty shaped the destiny of Empires. Here you shall read how the soul +of Charmion was slain of the sword her vengeance smithied. + +Here Harmachis, the doomed Egyptian, being about to die, salutes you +who follow on the path he trod. In the story of his broken years he +shows to you what may in its degree be the story of your own. Crying +aloud from that dim Amenti[*] where to-day he wears out his long +atoning time, he tells, in the history of his fall, the fate of him +who, however sorely tried, forgets his God, his Honour, and his +Country. + +[*] The Egyptian Hades or Purgatory.--Editor. + + + + +BOOK I + +THE PREPARATION OF HARMACHIS + + + +CHAPTER I + +OF THE BIRTH OF HARMACHIS; THE PROPHECY OF THE HATHORS; +AND THE SLAYING OF THE INNOCENT CHILD + +By Osiris who sleeps at Abouthis, I write the truth. + +I, Harmachis, Hereditary Priest of the Temple, reared by the divine +Sethi, aforetime a Pharaoh of Egypt, and now justified in Osiris and +ruling in Amenti. I, Harmachis, by right Divine and by true descent of +blood King of the Double Crown, and Pharaoh of the Upper and Lower +Land. I, Harmachis, who cast aside the opening flower of our hope, who +turned from the glorious path, who forgot the voice of God in +hearkening to the voice of woman. I, Harmachis, the fallen, in whom +are gathered up all woes as waters are gathered in a desert well, who +have tasted of every shame, who through betrayal have betrayed, who in +losing the glory that is here have lost the glory which is to be, who +am utterly undone--I write, and, by Him who sleeps at Abouthis, I +write the truth. + +O Egypt!--dear land of Khem, whose black soil nourished up my mortal +part--land that I have betrayed--O Osiris!--Isis!--Horus!--ye Gods of +Egypt whom I have betrayed!--O ye temples whose pylons strike the sky, +whose faith I have betrayed!--O Royal blood of the Pharaohs of eld, +that yet runs within these withered veins--whose virtue I have +betrayed!--O Invisible Essence of all Good! and O Fate, whose balance +rested on my hand--hear me; and, to the day of utter doom, bear me +witness that I write the truth. + + + +Even while I write, beyond the fertile fields, the Nile is running +red, as though with blood. Before me the sunlight beats upon the far +Arabian hills, and falls upon the piles of Abouthis. Still the priests +make orison within the temples at Abouthis that know me no more; still +the sacrifice is offered, and the stony roofs echo back the people's +prayers. Still from this lone cell within my prison-tower, I, the Word +of Shame, watch thy fluttering banners, Abouthis, flaunting from thy +pylon walls, and hear the chants as the long procession winds from +sanctuary to sanctuary. + +Abouthis, lost Abouthis! my heart goes out toward thee! For the day +comes when the desert sands shall fill thy secret places! Thy Gods are +doomed, O Abouthis! New Faiths shall make a mock of all thy Holies, +and Centurion shall call upon Centurion across thy fortress-walls. I +weep--I weep tears of blood: for mine is the sin that brought about +these evils and mine for ever is their shame. + +Behold, it is written hereafter. + + + +Here in Abouthis I was born, I, Harmachis, and my father, the +justified in Osiris, was High Priest of the Temple of Sethi. And on +that same day of my birth Cleopatra, the Queen of Egypt, was born +also. I passed my youth in yonder fields watching the baser people at +their labours and going in and out at will among the great courts of +the temples. Of my mother I knew naught, for she died when I yet hung +at the breast. But before she died in the reign of Ptolemy Aulźtes, +who is named the Piper, so did the old wife, Atoua, told me, my mother +took a golden uręus, the snake symbol of our Royalty of Egypt, from a +coffer of ivory and laid it on my brow. And those who saw her do this +believed that she was distraught of the Divinity, and in her madness +foreshadowed that the day of the Macedonian Lagidę was ended, and that +Egypt's sceptre should pass again to the hand of Egypt's true and +Royal race. But when my father, the old High Priest Amenemhat, whose +only child I was, she who was his wife before my mother having been, +for what crime I know not, cursed with barrenness by Sekhet: I say +when my father came in and saw what the dying woman had done, he +lifted up his hands towards the vault of heaven and adored the +Invisible, because of the sign that had been sent. And as he adored, +the Hathors[*] filled my dying mother with the Spirit of Prophecy, and +she rose in strength from the couch and prostrated herself thrice +before the cradle where I lay asleep, the Royal asp upon my brow, +crying aloud: + +[*] The Egyptian /Parcę/ or /Fates/.--Editor. + +"Hail to thee, fruit of my womb! Hail to thee, Royal child! Hail to +thee, Pharaoh that shalt be! Hail to thee, God that shalt purge the +land, Divine seed of Nekt-nebf, the descended from Isis. Keep thee +pure, and thou shalt rule and deliver Egypt and not be broken. But if +thou dost fail in thy hour of trial, then may the curse of all the +Gods of Egypt rest upon thee, and the curse of thy Royal forefathers, +the justified, who ruled the land before thee from the age of Horus. +Then in life mayst thou be wretched, and after death may Osiris refuse +thee, and the judges of Amenti give judgment against thee, and Set and +Sekhet torment thee, till such time as thy sin is purged, and the Gods +of Egypt, called by strange names, are once more worshipped in the +Temples of Egypt, and the staff of the Oppressor is broken, and the +footsteps of the Foreigner are swept clean, and the thing is +accomplished as thou in thy weakness shalt cause it to be done." + +When she had spoken thus, the Spirit of Prophecy went out of her, and +she fell dead across the cradle where I slept, so that I awoke with a +cry. + +But my father, Amenemhat, the High Priest, trembled, and was very +fearful, both because of the words which had been said by the Spirit +of the Hathors through the mouth of my mother, and because what had +been uttered was treason against Ptolemy. For he knew that, if the +matter should come to the ears of Ptolemy, Pharaoh would send his +guards to destroy the life of the child concerning whom such things +were prophesied. Therefore, my father shut the doors, and caused all +those who stood by to swear upon the holy symbol of his office, and by +the name of the Divine Three, and by the Soul of her who lay dead upon +the stones beside them, that nothing of what they had seen and heard +should pass their lips. + +Now among the company was the old wife, Atoua, who had been the nurse +of my mother, and loved her well; and in these days, though I know not +how it had been in the past, nor how it shall be in the future, there +is no oath that can bind a woman's tongue. And so it came about that +by-and-by, when the matter had become homely in her mind, and her fear +had fallen from her, she spoke of the prophecy to her daughter, who +nursed me at the breast now that my mother was dead. She did this as +they walked together in the desert carrying food to the husband of the +daughter, who was a sculptor, and shaped effigies of the holy Gods in +the tombs that are fashioned in the rock--telling the daughter, my +nurse, how great must be her care and love toward the child that +should one day be Pharaoh, and drive the Ptolemies from Egypt. But the +daughter, my nurse, was so filled with wonder at what she heard that +she could not keep the tale locked within her breast, and in the night +she awoke her husband, and, in her turn, whispered it to him, and +thereby compassed her own destruction, and the destruction of her +child, my foster-brother. For the man told his friend, and the friend +was a spy of Ptolemy's, and thus the tale came to Pharaoh's ears. + +Now, Pharaoh was much troubled thereat, for though when he was full of +wine he would make a mock of the God of the Egyptians, and swear that +the Roman Senate was the only God to whom he bowed the knee, yet in +his heart he was terribly afraid, as I have learned from one who was +his physician. For when he was alone at night he would scream and cry +aloud to the great Serapis, who indeed is no true God, and to other +Gods, fearing lest he should be murdered and his soul handed over to +the tormentors. Also, when he felt his throne tremble under him, he +would send large presents to the temples, asking a message from the +oracles, and more especially from the oracle that is at Philę. +Therefore, when it came to his ears that the wife of the High Priest +of the great and ancient Temple of Abouthis had been filled with the +Spirit of Prophecy before she died, and foretold that her son should +be Pharaoh, he was much afraid, and summoning some trusty guards--who, +being Greeks, did not fear to do sacrilege--he despatched them by boat +up the Nile, with orders to come to Abouthis and cut off the head of +the child of the High Priest and bring it to him in a basket. + +But, as it chanced, the boat in which the guards came was of deep +draught, and, the time of their coming being at the lowest ebb of the +river, it struck and remained fast upon a bank of mud that is opposite +the mouth of the road running across the plains to Abouthis, and, as +the north wind was blowing very fiercely, it was like to sink. Thereon +the guards of Pharaoh called out to the common people, who laboured at +lifting water along the banks of the river, to come with boats and +take them off; but, seeing that they were Greeks of Alexandria, the +people would not, for the Egyptians do not love the Greeks. Then the +guards cried that they were on Pharaoh's business, and still the +people would not, asking what was their business. Whereon a eunuch +among them who had made himself drunk in his fear, told them that they +came to slay the child of Amenemhat, the High Priest, of whom it was +prophesied that he should be Pharaoh and sweep the Greeks from Egypt. +And then the people feared to stand longer in doubt, but brought +boats, not knowing what might be meant by the man's words. But there +was one amongst them--a farmer and an overseer of canals--who was a +kinsman of my mother's and had been present when she prophesied; and +he turned and ran swiftly for three parts of an hour, till he came to +where I lay in the house that is without the north wall of the great +Temple. Now, as it chanced, my father was away in that part of the +Place of Tombs which is to the left of the large fortress, and +Pharaoh's guards, mounted on asses, were hard upon us. Then the +messenger cried to the old wife, Atoua, whose tongue had brought about +the evil, and told how the soldiers drew near to slay me. And they +looked at each other, not knowing what to do; for, had they hid me, +the guards would not have stayed their search till I was found. But +the man, gazing through the doorway, saw a little child at play: + +"Woman," he said, "whose is that child?" + +"It is my grandchild," she answered, "the foster-brother of the Prince +Harmachis; the child to whose mother we owe this evil case." + +"Woman," he said, "thou knowest thy duty, do it!" and he again pointed +at the child. "I command thee, by the Holy Name!" + +Atoua trembled exceedingly, because the child was of her own blood; +but, nevertheless, she took the boy and washed him and set a robe of +silk upon him, and laid him on my cradle. And me she took and smeared +with mud to make my fair skin darker, and, drawing my garment from me, +set me to play in the dirt of the yard, which I did right gladly. + +Then the man hid himself, and presently the soldiers rode up and asked +of the old wife if this were the dwelling of the High Priest +Amenemhat? And she told them yea, and, bidding them enter, offered +them honey and milk, for they were thirsty. + +When they had drunk, the eunuch who was with them asked if that were +the son of Amenemhat who lay in the cradle; and she said "Yea--yea," +and began to tell the guards how he would be great, for it had been +prophesied of him that he should one day rule them all. + +But the Greek guards laughed, and one of them, seizing the child, +smote off his head with a sword; and the eunuch drew forth the signet +of Pharaoh as warrant for the deed and showed it to the old wife, +Atoua, bidding her tell the High Priest that his son should be King +without a head. + +And as they went one of their number saw me playing in the dirt and +called out that there was more breeding in yonder brat than in the +Prince Harmachis; and for a moment they wavered, thinking to slay me +also, but in the end they passed on, bearing the head of my foster- +brother, for they loved not to murder little children. + +After a while, the mother of the dead child returned from the market- +place, and when she found what had been done, she and her husband +would have killed Atoua the old wife, her mother, and given me up to +the soldiers of Pharaoh. But my father came in also and learned the +truth, and he caused the man and his wife to be seized by night and +hidden away in the dark places of the temple, so that none saw them +more. + +But I would to-day that it had been the will of the Gods that I had +been slain of the soldiers and not the innocent child. + + + +Thereafter it was given out that the High Priest Amenemhat had taken +me to be as a son to him in the place of that Harmachis who was slain +of Pharaoh. + + + +CHAPTER II + +OF THE DISOBEDIENCE OF HARMACHIS; OF THE SLAYING OF THE +LION; AND OF THE SPEECH OF THE OLD WIFE, ATOUA + +And after these things Ptolemy the Piper troubled us no more, nor did +he again send his soldiers to seek for him of whom it was prophesied +that he should be Pharaoh. For the head of the child, my foster- +brother, was brought to him by the eunuch as he sat in his palace of +marble at Alexandria, flushed with Cyprian wine, and played upon the +flute before his women. And at his bidding the eunuch lifted up the +head by the hair for him to look on. Then he laughed and smote it on +the cheek with his sandal, bidding one of the girls crown Pharaoh with +flowers. And he bowed the knee, and mocked the head of the innocent +child. But the girl, who was sharp of tongue--for all of this I heard +in after years--said to him that "he did well to bow the knee, for +this child was indeed Pharaoh, the greatest of Pharaohs, and his name +was the /Osiris/ and his throne was /Death/." + +Aulźtes was much troubled at these words, and trembled, for, being a +wicked man, he greatly feared entering into Amenti. So he caused the +girl to be slain because of the evil omen of her saying; crying that +he would send her to worship that Pharaoh whom she had named. And the +other women he sent away, and played no more upon the flute till he +was once again drunk on the morrow. But the Alexandrians made a song +on the matter, which is still sung about the streets. And this is the +beginning of it-- + + Ptolemy the Piper played + Over dead and dying; + Piped and played he well. + Sure that flute of his was made + Of the dank reed sighing + O'er the streams of Hell. + There beneath the shadows grey, + With the sisters three, + Shall he pipe for many a day. + May the Frog his butler be! + And his wine the water of that countrie-- + Ptolemy the Piper! + +After this the years passed on, nor did I, being very little, know +anything of the great things that came to pass in Egypt; nor is it my +purpose to set them out here. For I, Harmachis, having little time +left to me, will only speak of those things with which I have been +concerned. + +And as the time went on, my father and the teachers instructed me in +the ancient learning of our people, and in such matters appertaining +to the Gods as it is meet that children should know. So I grew strong +and comely, for my hair was black as the hair of the divine Nout, and +my eyes were blue as the blue lotus, and my skin was like the +alabaster within the sanctuaries. For now that these glories have +passed from me I may speak of them without shame. I was strong also. +There was no youth of my years in Abouthis who could stand against me +to wrestle with me, nor could any throw so far with the sling or +spear. And I much yearned to hunt the lion; but he whom I called my +father forbade me, telling me that my life was of too great worth to +be so lightly hazarded. But when I bowed before him and prayed he +would make his meaning clear to me, the old man frowned and answered +that the Gods made all things clear in their own season. For my part, +however, I went away in wroth, for there was a youth in Abouthis who +with others had slain a lion which fell upon his father's herds, and, +being envious of my strength and beauty, he set it about that I was +cowardly at heart, in that when I went out to hunt I only slew jackals +and gazelles. Now, this was when I had reached my seventeenth year and +was a man grown. + +It chanced, therefore, that as I went sore at heart from the presence +of the High Priest, I met this youth, who called to me and mocked me, +bidding me know the country people had told him that a great lion was +down among the rushes by the banks of the canal which runs past the +Temple, lying at a distance of thirty stadia from Abouthis. And, still +mocking me, he asked me if I would come and help him slay this lion, +or would I go and sit among the old women and bid them comb my side +lock? This bitter word so angered me that I was near to falling on +him; but in place therefore, forgetting my father's saying, I answered +that if he would come alone, I would go with him and seek this lion, +and he should learn if I were indeed a coward. And at first he would +not, for, as men know, it is our custom to hunt the lion in companies; +so it was my hour to mock. Then he went and fetched his bow and arrows +and a sharp knife. And I brought forth my heavy spear, which had a +shaft of thorn-wood, and at its end a pomegranate in silver, to hold +the hand from slipping; and, in silence, we went, side by side, to +where the lion lay. When we came to the place, it was near sundown; +and there, upon the mud of the canal-bank, we found the lion's slot, +which ran into a thick clump of reeds. + +"Now, thou boaster," I said, "wilt thou lead the way into yonder +reeds, or shall I?" And I made as though I would lead the way. + +"Nay, nay," he answered, "be not so mad! The brute will spring upon +thee and rend thee. See! I will shoot among the reeds. Perchance, if +he sleeps, it will arouse him." And he drew his bow at a venture. + +How it chanced I know not, but the arrow struck the sleeping lion, +and, like a flash of light from the belly of a cloud, he bounded from +the shelter of the reeds, and stood before us with bristling mane and +yellow eyes, the arrow quivering in his flank. He roared aloud in +fury, and the earth shook. + +"Shoot with the bow," I cried, "shoot swiftly ere he spring!" + +But courage had left the breast of the boaster, his jaw dropped down +and his fingers unloosed their hold so that the bow fell from them; +then, with a loud cry he turned and fled behind me, leaving the lion +in my path. But while I stood waiting my doom, for though I was sore +afraid I would not fly, the lion crouched himself, and turning not +aside, with one great bound swept over me, touching me not. He lit, +and again he bounded full upon the boaster's back, striking him such a +blow with his great paw that his head was crushed as an egg thrown +against a stone. He fell down dead, and the lion stood and roared over +him. Then I was mad with horror, and, scarce knowing what I did, I +grasped my spear and with a shout I charged. As I charged the lion +lifted himself up above me. He smote at me with his paw; but with all +my strength I drove the broad spear into his throat, and, shrinking +from the agony of the steel, his blow fell short and did no more than +rip my skin. Back he fell, the great spear far in his throat; then +rising, he roared in pain and leapt twice the height of a man straight +into the air, smiting at the spear with his forepaws. Twice he leapt +thus, horrible to see, and twice he fell upon his back. Then his +strength spent itself with his rushing blood, and, groaning like a +bull, he died; while I, being but a lad, stood and trembled with fear +now that all cause of fear had passed. + +But as I stood and gazed at the body of him who had taunted me, and at +the carcass of the lion, a woman came running towards me, even the +same old wife, Atoua, who, though I knew it not as yet, had offered up +her flesh and blood that I might be saved alive. For she had been +gathering simples, in which she had great skill, by the water's edge, +not knowing that there was a lion near (and, indeed, the lions, for +the most part, are not found in the tilled land, but rather in the +desert and the Libyan mountains), and had seen from a distance that +which I have set down. Now, when she was come, she knew me for +Harmachis, and, bending herself, she made obeisance to me, and saluted +me, calling me Royal, and worthy of all honour, and beloved, and +chosen of the Holy Three, ay, and by the name of the Pharaoh! the +Deliverer! + +But I, thinking that terror had made her sick of mind, asked her of +what she would speak. + +"Is it a great thing," I asked, "that I should slay a lion? Is it a +matter worthy of such talk as thine? There live, and have lived, men +who have slain many lions. Did not the Divine Amen-hetep the Osirian +slay with his own hand more than a hundred lions? Is it not written on +the scarabęus that hangs within my father's chamber, that he slew +lions aforetime? And have not others done likewise? Why then, speakest +thou thus, O foolish woman?" + +All of which I said, because, having now slain the lion, I was minded, +after the manner of youth, to hold it as a thing of no account. But +she did not cease to make obeisance, and to call me by names that are +too high to be written. + +"O Royal One," she cried, "wisely did thy mother prophecy. Surely the +Holy Spirit, the Knepth, was in her, O thou conceived by a God! See +the omen. The lion there--he growls within the Capitol at Rome--and +the dead man, he is the Ptolemy--the Macedonian spawn that, like a +foreign weed, hath overgrown the land of Nile; with the Macedonian +Lagidę thou shalt go to smite the lion of Rome. But the Macedonian cur +shall fly, and the Roman lion shall strike him down, and thou shalt +strike down the lion, and the land of Khem shall once more be free! +free! Keep thyself but pure, according to the commandment of the Gods, +O son of the Royal House; O hope of Khemi! be but ware of Woman the +Destroyer, and as I have said, so shall it be. I am poor and wretched; +yea, stricken with sorrow. I have sinned in speaking of what should be +hid, and for my sin I have paid in the coin of that which was born of +my womb; willingly have I paid for thee. But I have still of the +wisdom of our people, nor do the Gods, in whose eyes all are equal, +turn their countenance from the poor; the Divine Mother Isis hath +spoken to me--but last night she spake--bidding me come hither to +gather herbs, and read to thee the signs that I should see. And as I +have said, so it shall come to pass, if thou canst but endure the +weight of the great temptation. Come hither, Royal One!" and she led +me to the edge of the canal, where the water was deep, and still and +blue. "Now gaze upon that face as the water throws it back. Is not +that brow fitted to bear the double crown? Do not those gentle eyes +mirror the majesty of kings? Hath not the Ptah, the Creator, fashioned +that form to fit the Imperial garb, and awe the glance of multitudes +looking through thee to God? + +"Nay, nay!" she went on in another voice--a shrill old wife's voice-- +"I will--be not so foolish, boy--the scratch of a lion is a venomous +thing, a terrible thing; yea, as bad as the bite of an asp--it must be +treated, else it will fester, and all thy days thou shalt dream of +lions; ay, and snakes; and, also, it will break out in sores. But I +know of it--I know. I am not crazed for nothing. For mark! everything +has its balance--in madness is much wisdom, and in wisdom much +madness. /La! la! la!/ Pharaoh himself can't say where the one begins +and the other ends. Now, don't stand gazing there, looking as silly as +a cat in a crocus-coloured robe, as they say in Alexandria; but just +let me stick these green things on the place, and in six days you'll +heal up as white as a three-year-child. Never mind the smart of it, +lad. By Him who sleeps at Philę, or at Abouthis, or at Abydus--as our +divine masters have it now--or wherever He does sleep, which is a +thing we shall all find out before we want to--by Osiris, I say, +you'll live to be as clean from scars as a sacrifice to Isis at the +new moon, if you'll but let me put it on. + +"Is it not so, good folk?"--and she turned to address some people who, +while she prophesied, had assembled unseen by me--"I've been speaking +a spell over him, just to make a way for the virtue of my medicine-- +/la! la!/ there's nothing like a spell. If you don't believe it, just +you come to me next time your wives are barren; it's better than +scraping every pillar in the Temple of Osiris, I'll warrant. I'll make +'em bear like a twenty-year-old palm. But then, you see, you must know +what to say--that's the point--everything comes to a point at last. +/La! la!/" + +Now, when I heard all this, I, Harmachis, put my hand to my head, not +knowing if I dreamed. But presently looking up, I saw a grey-haired +man among those who were gathered together, who watched us sharply, +and afterwards I learned that this man was the spy of Ptolemy, the +very man, indeed, who had wellnigh caused me to be slain of Pharaoh +when I was in my cradle. Then I understood why Atoua spoke so +foolishly. + +"Thine are strange spells, old wife," the spy said. "Thou didst speak +of Pharaoh and the double crown and of the form fashioned by Ptah to +bear it; is it not so?" + +"Yea, yea--part of the spell, thou fool; and what can one swear by +better nowadays than by the Divine Pharaoh the Piper, whom, and whose +music, may the Gods preserve to charm this happy land?--what better +than by the double crown he wears--grace to great Alexander of +Macedonia? By the way, you know about everything: have they got back +his chlamys yet, which Mithridates took to Cos? Pompey wore it last, +didn't he?--in his triumph, too--just fancy Pompey in the cloak of +Alexander!--a puppy-dog in a lion's skin! And talking of lions--look +what this lad hath done--slain a lion with his own spear; and right +glad you village folks should be to see it, for it was a very fierce +lion--just see his teeth and his claws--his claws!--they are enough to +make a poor silly old woman like me shriek to look at them! And the +body there, the dead body--the lion slew it. Alack! he's an Osiris[*] +now, the body--and to think of it, but an hour ago he was an everyday +mortal like you or me! Well, away with him to the embalmers. He'll +soon swell in the sun and burst, and that will save them the trouble +of cutting him open. Not that they will spend a talent of silver over +him anyway. Seventy days in natron--that's all he's likely to get. +/La! la!/ how my tongue does run, and it's getting dark. Come, aren't +you going to take away the body of that poor lad, and the lion, too? +There, my boy, you keep those herbs on, and you'll never feel your +scratches. I know a thing or two for all I'm crazy, and you, my own +grandson! Dear, dear, I'm glad his Holiness the High Priest adopted +you when Pharaoh--Osiris bless his holy name--made an end of his son; +you look so bonny. I warrant the real Harmachis could not have killed +a lion like that. Give me the common blood, I say--it's so lusty." + +[*] The soul when it has been absorbed in the Godhead.--Editor. + +"You know too much and talk too fast," grumbled the spy, now quite +deceived. "Well, he is a brave youth. Here, you men, bear this body +back to Abouthis, and some of you stop and help me skin the lion. +We'll send the skin to you, young man," he went on; "not that you +deserve it: to attack a lion like that was the act of a fool, and a +fool deserves what he gets--destruction. Never attack the strong until +you are stronger." + +But for my part I went home wondering. + + + +CHAPTER III + +OF THE REBUKE OF AMENEMHAT; OF THE PRAYER OF HARMACHIS; +AND OF THE SIGN GIVEN BY THE HOLY GODS + +For a while as I, Harmachis, went, the juice of the green herbs which +the old wife, Atoua, had placed upon my wounds caused me much smart, +but presently the pain ceased. And, of a truth, I believe that there +was virtue in them, for within two days my flesh healed up, so that +after a time no marks remained. But I bethought me that I had +disobeyed the word of the old High Priest, Amenemhat, who was called +my father. For till this day I knew not that he was in truth my father +according to the flesh, having been taught that his own son was slain +as I have written; and that he had been pleased, with the sanction of +the Divine ones, to take me as an adopted son and rear me up, that I +might in due season fulfil an office about the Temple. Therefore I was +much troubled, for I feared the old man, who was very terrible in his +anger, and ever spoke with the cold voice of Wisdom. Nevertheless, I +determined to go in to him and confess my fault and bear such +punishment as he should be pleased to put upon me. So with the red +spear in my hand, and the red wounds on my breast, I passed through +the outer court of the great temple and came to the door of the place +where the High Priest dwelt. It is a great chamber, sculptured round +about with the images of the solemn Gods, and the sunlight comes to it +in the daytime by an opening cut through the stones of the massy roof. +But at night it was lit by a swinging lamp of bronze. I passed in +without noise, for the door was not altogether shut, and, pushing my +way through the heavy curtains that were beyond, I stood with a +beating heart within the chamber. + +The lamp was lit, for the darkness had fallen, and by its light I saw +the old man seated in a chair of ivory and ebony at a table of stone +on which were spread mystic writings of the words of Life and Death. +But he read no more, for he slept, and his long white beard rested +upon the table like the beard of a dead man. The soft light from the +lamp fell on him, on the papyri and the gold ring upon his hand, where +were graven the symbols of the Invisible One, but all around was +shadow. It fell on the shaven head, on the white robe, on the cedar +staff of priesthood at his side, and on the ivory of the lion-footed +chair; it showed the mighty brow of power, the features cut in kingly +mould, the white eyebrows, and the dark hollows of the deep-set eyes. +I looked and trembled, for there was about him that which was more +than the dignity of man. He had lived so long with the Gods, and so +long kept company with them and with thoughts divine, he was so deeply +versed in all those mysteries which we do but faintly discern, here in +this upper air, that even now, before his time, he partook of the +nature of the Osiris, and was a thing to shake humanity with fear. + +I stood and gazed, and as I stood he opened his dark eyes, but looked +not on me, nor turned his head; and yet he saw me and spoke. + +"Why hast thou been disobedient to me, my son?" he said. "How came it +that thou wentest forth against the lion when I bade thee not?" + +"How knowest thou, my father, that I went forth?" I asked in fear. + +"How know I? Are there, then, no other ways of knowledge than by the +senses? Ah, ignorant child! was not my Spirit with thee when the lion +sprang upon thy companion? Did I not pray Those set about thee to +protect thee, to make sure thy thrust when thou didst drive the spear +into the lion's throat! How came it that thou wentest forth, my son?" + +"The boaster taunted me," I answered, "and I went." + +"Yes, I know it; and, because of the hot blood of youth, I forgive +thee, Harmachis. But now listen to me, and let my words sink into thy +heart like the waters of Sihor into the thirsty sand at the rising of +Sirius.[*] Listen to me. The boaster was sent to thee as a temptation, +he was sent as a trial of thy strength, and see! it has not been equal +to the burden. Therefore thy hour is put back. Hadst thou been strong +in this matter, the path had been made plain to thee even now. But +thou hast failed, and therefore thy hour is put back." + +[*] The dog-star, whose appearance marked the commencement of the + overflow of the Nile.--Editor. + +"I understand thee not, my father," I answered. + +"What was it, then, my son, that the old wife, Atoua, said to thee +down by the bank of the canal?" + +Then I told him all that the old wife had said. + +"And thou believest, Harmachis, my son?" + +"Nay," I answered; "how should I believe such tales? Surely she is +mad. All the people know her for mad." + +Now for the first time he looked towards me, who was standing in the +shadow. + +"My son! my son!" he cried; "thou art wrong. She is not mad. The woman +spoke the truth; she spoke not of herself, but of the voice within her +that cannot lie. For this Atoua is a prophetess and holy. Now learn +thou the destiny that the Gods of Egypt have given to thee to fulfil, +and woe be unto thee if by any weakness thou dost fail therein! +Listen: thou art no stranger adopted into my house and the worship of +the Temple; thou art my very son, saved to me by this same woman. But, +Harmachis, thou art more than this, for in thee and me alone yet flows +the Imperial blood of Egypt. Thou and I alone of men alive are +descended, without break or flaw, from that Pharaoh Nekt-nebf whom +Ochus the Persian drove from Egypt. The Persian came and the Persian +went, and after the Persian came the Macedonian, and now for nigh upon +three hundred years the Lagidę have usurped the double crown, defiling +the land of Khem and corrupting the worship of its Gods. And mark thou +this: but now, two weeks since, Ptolemy Neus Dionysus, Ptolemy Aulźtes +the Piper, who would have slain thee, is dead; and but now hath the +Eunuch Pothinus, that very eunuch who came hither, years ago, to cut +thee off, set at naught the will of his master, the dead Aulźtes, and +placed the boy Ptolemy upon the throne. And therefore his sister +Cleopatra, that fierce and beautiful girl, has fled into Syria; and +there, if I err not, she will gather her armies and make war upon her +brother Ptolemy: for by her father's will she was left joint-sovereign +with him. And, meanwhile, mark thou this, my son: the Roman eagle +hangs on high, waiting with ready talons till such time as he may fall +upon the fat wether Egypt and rend him. And mark again: the people of +Egypt are weary of the foreign yoke, they hate the memory of the +Persians, and they are sick at heart of being named "Men of Macedonia" +in the markets of Alexandria. The whole land mutters and murmurs +beneath the yoke of the Greek and the shadow of the Roman. + +"Have we not been oppressed? Have not our children been butchered and +our gains wrung from us to fill the bottomless greed and lust of the +Lagidę? Have not the temples been forsaken?--ay, have not the +majesties of the Eternal Gods been set at naught by these Grecian +babblers, who have dared to meddle with the immortal truths, and name +the Most High by another name--by the name of Serapis--confounding the +substance of the Invisible? Does not Egypt cry aloud for freedom?--and +shall she cry in vain? Nay, nay, for thou, my son, art the appointed +way of deliverance. To thee, being sunk in eld, I have decreed my +rights. Already thy name is whispered in many a sanctuary, from Abu to +Athu; already priests and people swear allegiance, even by the sacred +symbols, unto him who shall be declared to them. Still, the time is +not yet; thou art too green a sapling to bear the weight of such a +storm. But to-day thou wast tried and found wanting. + +"He who would serve the Gods, Harmachis, must put aside the failings +of the flesh. Taunts must not move him, nor any lusts of man. Thine is +a high mission, but this thou must learn. If thou learn it not, thou +shalt fail therein; and then, my curse be on thee! and the curse of +Egypt, and the curse of Egypt's broken Gods! For know thou this, that +even the Gods, who are immortal, may, in the interwoven scheme of +things, lean upon the man who is their instrument, as a warrior on his +sword. And woe be to the sword that snaps in the hour of battle, for +it shall be thrown aside to rust or perchance be melted with fire! +Therefore, make thy heart pure and high and strong; for thine is no +common lot, and thine no mortal meed. Triumph, Harmachis, and in glory +thou shalt go--in glory here and hereafter! Fail, and woe--woe be on +thee!" + +He paused and bowed his head, and then went on: + +"Of these matters thou shalt hear more hereafter. Meanwhile, thou hast +much to learn. To-morrow I will give thee letters, and thou shalt +journey down the Nile, past white-walled Memphis to Annu. There thou +shalt sojourn certain years, and learn more of our ancient wisdom +beneath the shadow of those secret pyramids of which thou, too, art +the Hereditary High Priest that is to be. And meanwhile, I will sit +here and watch, for my hour is not yet, and, by the help of the Gods, +spin the web of Death wherein thou shalt catch and hold the wasp of +Macedonia. + +"Come hither, my son; come hither and kiss me on the brow, for thou +art my hope, and all the hope of Egypt. Be but true, soar to the eagle +crest of destiny, and thou shalt be glorious here and hereafter. Be +false, fail, and I will spit upon thee, and thou shalt be accursed, +and thy soul shall remain in bondage till that hour when, in the slow +flight of time, the evil shall once more grow to good and Egypt shall +again be free." + +I drew near, trembling, and kissed him on the brow. "May all these +things come upon me, and more," I said, "if I fail thee, my father!" + +"Nay!" he cried, "not me, not me; but rather those whose will I do. +And now go, my son, and ponder in thy heart, and in thy secret heart +digest my words; mark what thou shalt see, and gather up the dew of +wisdom, making thee ready for the battle. Fear not for thyself, thou +art protected from all ill. No harm may touch thee from without; +thyself alone can be thine own enemy. I have said." + +Then I went forth with a full heart. The night was very still, and +none were stirring in the temple courts. I hurried through them, and +reached the entrance to the pylon that is at the outer gate. Then, +seeking solitude, and, as it were, to draw near to heaven, I climbed +the pylon's two hundred steps, until at length I reached the massive +roof. Here I leaned my breast against the parapet, and looked forth. +As I looked, the red edge of the full moon floated up over the Arabian +hills, and her rays fell upon the pylon where I stood and the temple +walls beyond, lighting the visages of the carven Gods. Then the cold +light struck the stretch of well-tilled lands, now whitening to the +harvest, and as the heavenly lamp of Isis passed up to the sky, her +rays crept slowly down to the valley, where Sihor, father of the land +of Khem, rolls on toward the sea. + +Now the bright beams kissed the water that smiled an answer back, and +now mountain and valley, river, temple, town, and plain were flooded +with white light, for Mother Isis was arisen, and threw her gleaming +robe across the bosom of the earth. It was beautiful, with the beauty +of a dream, and solemn as the hour after death. Mightily, indeed, the +temples towered up against the face of night. Never had they seemed so +grand to me as in that hour--those eternal shrines, before whose walls +Time himself shall wither. And it was to be mine to rule this moonlit +land; mine to preserve those sacred shrines, and cherish the honour of +their Gods; mine to cast out the Ptolemy and free Egypt from the +foreign yoke! In my veins ran the blood of those great Kings who await +the day of Resurrection, sleeping in the tombs of the valley of +Thebes. My spirit swelled within me as I dreamed upon this glorious +destiny, I closed my hands, and there, upon the pylon, I prayed as I +had never prayed before to the Godhead, who is called by many names, +and in many forms made manifest. + +"O Amen," I prayed, "God of Gods, who hast been from the beginning; +Lord of Truth, who art, and of whom all are, who givest out thy +Godhead and gatherest it up again; in the circle of whom the Divine +ones move and are, who wast from all time the Self-begot, and who +shalt be till time--hearken unto me.[*] + +[*] For a somewhat similar definition of the Godhead see the funeral + papyrus of Nesikhonsu, a Princess of the Twenty-first Dynasty.-- + Editor. + +"O Amen--Osiris, the sacrifice by whom we are justified, Lord of the +Region of the Winds, Ruler of the Ages, Dweller in the West, the +Supreme in Amenti, hearken unto me. + +"O Isis, great Mother Goddess, mother of the Horus--mysterious Mother, +Sister, Spouse, hearken unto me. If, indeed, I am the chosen of the +Gods to carry out the purpose of the Gods, let a sign be given me, +even now, to seal my life to the life above. Stretch out your arms +towards me, O ye Gods, and uncover the glory of your countenance. +Hear! ah, hear me!" And I cast myself upon my knees and lifted up my +eyes to heaven. + +And as I knelt, a cloud grew upon the face of the moon covering it up, +so that the night became dark, and the silence deepened all around-- +even the dogs far below in the city ceased to howl, while the silence +grew and grew till it was heavy as death. I felt my spirit lifted up +within me, and my hair rose upon my head. Then of a sudden the mighty +pylon seemed to rock beneath my feet, a great wind beat about my brows +and a voice spoke within my heart: + +"Behold a sign! Possess thyself in patience, O Harmachis!" + +And as the voice spoke, a cold hand touched my hand, and left somewhat +within it. Then the cloud rolled from the face of the moon, the wind +passed, the pylon ceased to tremble, and the night was as the night +had been. + +As the light came back, I gazed upon that which had been left within +my hand. It was a bud of the holy lotus new breaking into bloom, and +from it came a most sweet scent. + +And while I gazed behold! the lotus passed from my grasp and was gone, +leaving me astonished. + + + +CHAPTER IV + +OF THE DEPARTURE OF HARMACHIS AND OF HIS MEETING WITH HIS +UNCLE SEPA, THE HIGH PRIEST OF ANNU EL RA; OF HIS LIFE AT ANNU, +AND OF THE WORDS OF SEPA + +At the dawning of the next day I was awakened by a priest of the +temple, who brought word to me to make ready for the journey of which +my father had spoken, inasmuch as there was an occasion for me to pass +down the river to Annu el Ra. Now this is the Heliopolis of the +Greeks, whither I should go in the company of some priests of Ptah at +Memphis who had come hither to Abouthis to lay the body of one of +their great men in the tomb that had been prepared near the resting +place of the blessed Osiris. + +So I made ready, and the same evening, having received letters and +embraced my father and those about the temple who were dear to me, I +passed down the banks of Sihor, and we sailed with the south wind. As +the pilot stood upon the prow and with a rod in his hand bade the +sailor-men loosen the stakes by which the vessel was moored to the +banks, the old wife, Atoua, hobbled up, her basket of simples in her +hand, and, calling out farewell, threw a sandal after me for good +chance, which sandal I kept for many years. + +So we sailed, and for six days passed down the wonderful river, making +fast each night at some convenient spot. But when I lost sight of the +familiar things that I had seen day by day since I had eyes to see, +and found myself alone among strange faces, I felt very sore at heart, +and would have wept had I not been ashamed. And of all the wonderful +things I saw I will not write here, for, though they were new to me, +have they not been known to men since such time as the Gods ruled in +Egypt? But the priests who were with me showed me no little honour and +expounded to me what were the things I saw. + +On the morning of the seventh day we came to Memphis, the city of the +White Hall. Here, for three days I rested from my journey and was +entertained of the priests of the wonderful Temple of Ptah the +Creator, and shown the beauties of the great and marvellous city. Also +I was led in secret by the High Priest and two others into the holy +presence of the God Apis, the Ptah who deigns to dwell among men in +the form of a bull. The God was black, and on his forehead there was a +white square, on his back was a white mark shaped like an eagle, +beneath his tongue was the likeness of a scarabęus, in his tail were +double hairs, and a plate of pure gold hung between his horns. I +entered the place of the God and worshipped, while the High Priest and +those with him stood aside, watching earnestly. And when I had +worshipped, saying the words which had been told me, the God knelt, +and lay down before me. Then the High Priest and those with him, who, +as I heard in after time, were great men of Upper Egypt, approached +wondering, and, saying no word, made obeisance to me because of the +omen. And many other things I saw in Memphis that are too long to +write of here. + +On the fourth day some priests of Annu came to lead me to Sepa, my +uncle, the High Priest of Annu. So, having bidden farewell to those of +Memphis, we crossed the river and rode on asses two parts of a day's +journey through many villages, which we found in great poverty because +of the oppression of the tax-gatherers. Also, as we went, I saw for +the first time the great pyramids that are beyond the image of the God +Horemkhu, that Sphinx whom the Greeks name Harmachis, and the Temples +of the Divine Mother Isis, Queen of the Memnonia, and the God Osiris, +Lord of Rosatou, of which temples, together with the Temple of the +worship of the Divine Menkau-ra, I, Harmachis, am by right Divine the +Hereditary High Priest. I saw them and marvelled at their greatness +and the white carven limestone, and red granite of Syene, that flashed +the sun's rays back to heaven. But at this time I knew nothing of the +treasure that was hid in /Her/, which is the third among the pyramids +--would I had never known of it! + +And so at last we came within sight of Annu, which after Memphis has +been seen is no large town, but stands on raised ground, before which +are lakes fed by a canal. Behind the town is the inclosed field of the +Temple of the God Ra. + +We dismounted at the pylon, and were met beneath the portico by a man +not great of stature, but of noble aspect, having his head shaven, and +with dark eyes that twinkled like the further stars. + +"Hold!" he cried, in a great voice which fitted his weak body but ill. +"Hold! I am Sepa, who opens the mouth of the Gods!" + +"And I," I said, "am Harmachis, son of Amenemhat, Hereditary High +Priest and Ruler of the Holy City Abouthis; and I bear letters to +thee, O Sepa!" + +"Enter," he said. "Enter!" scanning me all the while with his +twinkling eyes. "Enter, my son!" And he took me and led me to a +chamber in the inner hall, closed to the door, and then, having +glanced at the letters that I brought, of a sudden he fell upon my +neck and embraced me. + +"Welcome," he cried, "welcome, son of my own sister, and hope of Khem! +Not in vain have I prayed the Gods that I might live to look upon thy +face and impart to thee the wisdom which perchance I alone have +mastered of those who are left alive in Egypt. There are few whom it +is lawful that I should teach. But thine is the great destiny, and +thine shall be the ears to hear the lessons of the Gods." + +And he embraced me once more and bade me go bathe and eat, saying that +on the morrow he would speak with me further. + +This of a truth he did, and at such length that I will forbear to set +down all he said both then and afterwards, for if I did so there would +be no papyrus left in Egypt when the task was ended. Therefore, having +much to tell and but little time to tell it, I will pass over the +events of the years that followed. + +For this was the manner of my life. I rose early, I attended the +worship of the Temple, and I gave my days to study. I learnt of the +rites of religion and their meaning, and of the beginning of the Gods +and the beginning of the Upper World. I learnt of the mystery of the +movements of the stars, and of how the earth rolls on among them. I +was instructed in that ancient knowledge which is called magic, and in +the way of interpretation of dreams, and of the drawing nigh to God. I +was taught the language of symbols and their outer and inner secrets. +I became acquainted with the eternal laws of Good and Evil, and with +the mystery of that trust which is held of man; also I learnt the +secrets of the pyramids--which I would that I had never known. +Further, I read the records of the past, and of the acts and words of +the ancient kings who were before me since the rule of Horus upon +earth; and I was made to know all craft of state, the lore of earth, +and with it the history of Greece and Rome. Also I learnt the Grecian +and Roman tongues, of which indeed I already had some knowledge--and +all this while, for five long years, I kept my hands clean and my +heart pure, and did no evil in the sight of God or man; but laboured +heavily to acquire all things, and to prepare myself for the destiny +that awaited me. + +Twice every year greetings and letters came from my father Amenemhat, +and twice every year I sent back my answers asking if the time had +come to cease from labour. And so the days of my probation sped away +till I grew faint and weary at heart, for being now a man, ay and +learned, I longed to make a beginning of the life of men. And often I +wondered if this talk and prophecy of the things that were to be was +but a dream born of the brains of men whose wish ran before their +thought. I was, indeed, of the Royal blood, that I knew: for my uncle, +Sepa the Priest, showed me a secret record of the descent, traced +without break from father to son, and graven in mystic symbols on a +tablet of the stone of Syene. But of what avail was it to be Royal by +right when Egypt, my heritage, was a slave--a slave to do the pleasure +and minister to the luxury of the Macedonian Lagidę--ay, and when she +had been so long a serf that, perchance, she had forgotten how to put +off the servile smile of Bondage and once more to look across the +world with Freedom's happy eyes? + +Then I bethought me of my prayer upon the pylon tower of Abouthis and +of the answer given to my prayer, and wondered if that, too, were a +dream. + +And one night, as, weary with study, I walked within the sacred grove +that is in the garden of the temple, and mused thus, I met my uncle +Sepa, who also was walking and thinking. + +"Hold!" he cried in his great voice; "why is thy face so sad, +Harmachis? Has the last problem that we studied overwhelmed thee?" + +"Nay, my uncle," I answered, "I am overwhelmed indeed, but not of the +problem; it was a light one. My heart is heavy, for I am weary of life +within these cloisters, and the piled-up weight of knowledge crushes +me. It is of no avail to store up force which cannot be used." + +"Ah, thou art impatient, Harmachis," he answered; "it is ever the way +of foolish youth. Thou wouldst taste of the battle; thou dost tire of +watching the breakers fall upon the beach, thou wouldst plunge into +them and venture the desperate hazard of the war. And so thou wouldst +be going, Harmachis? The bird would fly the nest as, when they are +grown, the swallows fly from the eaves of the Temple. Well, it shall +be as thou desirest; the hour is at hand. I have taught thee all that +I have learned, and methinks that the pupil has outrun his master," +and he paused and wiped his bright black eyes, for he was very sad at +the thought of my departure. + +"And whither shall I go, my uncle?" I asked rejoicing; "back to +Abouthis to be initiated into the mysteries of the Gods?" + +"Ay, back to Abouthis, and from Abouthis to Alexandria, and from +Alexandria to the Throne of thy fathers, Harmachis! Listen, now; +things are thus: Thou knowest how Cleopatra, the Queen, fled into +Syria when that false eunuch Pothinus set the will of her father +Aulźtes at naught and raised her brother Ptolemy to the sole lordship +of Egypt. Thou knowest also how she came back, like a Queen indeed, +with a great army in her train, and lay at Pelusium, and how at this +juncture the mighty Cęsar, that great man, that greatest of all men, +sailed with a weak company hither to Alexandria from Pharsalia's +bloody field in hot pursuit of Pompey. But he found Pompey already +dead, having been basely murdered by Achillas, the General, and Lucius +Septimius, the chief of the Roman legions in Egypt, and thou knowest +how the Alexandrians were troubled at his coming and would have slain +his lictors. Then, as thou hast heard, Cęsar seized Ptolemy, the young +King, and his sister Arsinoė, and bade the army of Cleopatra and the +army of Ptolemy, under Achillas, which lay facing each other at +Pelusium, disband and go their ways. And for answer Achillas marched +on Cęsar, and besieged him straitly in the Bruchium at Alexandria, and +so, for a while, things were, and none knew who should reign in Egypt. +But then Cleopatra took up the dice, and threw them, and this was the +throw she made--in truth, it was a bold one. For, leaving the army at +Pelusium, she came at dusk to the harbour of Alexandria, and alone +with the Sicilian Apollodorus entered and landed. Then Apollodorus +bound her in a bale of rich rugs, such as are made in Syria, and sent +the rugs as a present to Cęsar. And when the rugs were unbound in the +palace, behold! within them was the fairest girl on all the earth--ay, +and the most witty and the most learned. And she seduced the great +Cęsar--even his weight of years did not avail to protect him from her +charms--so that, as a fruit of his folly, he wellnigh lost his life, +and all the glory he had gained in a hundred wars." + +"The fool!" I broke in--"the fool! Thou callest him great; but how can +the man be truly great who has no strength to stand against a woman's +wiles? Cęsar, with the world hanging on his word! Cęsar, at whose +breath forty legions marched and changed the fate of peoples! Cęsar +the cold! the far-seeing! the hero!--Cęsar to fall like a ripe fruit +into a false girl's lap! Why, in the issue, of what common clay was +this Roman Cęsar, and how poor a thing!" + +But Sepa looked at me and shook his head. "Be not so rash, Harmachis, +and talk not with so proud a voice. Knowest thou not that in every +suit of mail there is a joint, and woe to him who wears the harness if +the sword should search it out! For Woman, in her weakness, is yet the +strongest force upon the earth. She is the helm of all things human; +she comes in many shapes and knocks at many doors; she is quick and +patient, and her passion is not ungovernable like that of man, but as +a gentle steed that she can guide e'en where she will, and as occasion +offers can now bit up and now give rein. She has a captain's eye, and +stout must be that fortress of the heart in which she finds no place +of vantage. Does thy blood beat fast in youth? She will outrun it, nor +will her kisses tire. Art thou set toward ambition? She will unlock +thy inner heart, and show thee roads that lead to glory. Art thou worn +and weary? She has comfort in her breast. Art thou fallen? She can +lift thee up, and to the illusion of thy sense gild defeat with +triumph. Ay, Harmachis, she can do these things, for Nature ever +fights upon her side; and while she does them she can deceive and +shape a secret end in which thou hast no part. And thus Woman rules +the world. For her are wars; for her men spend their strength in +gathering gains; for her they do well and ill, and seek for greatness, +to find oblivion. But still she sits like yonder Sphinx, and smiles; +and no man has ever read all the riddle of her smile, or known all the +mystery of her heart. Mock not! mock not! Harmachis; for he must be +great indeed who can defy the power of Woman, which, pressing round +him like the invisible air, is often strongest when the senses least +discover it." + +I laughed aloud. "Thou speakest earnestly, my uncle Sepa," I said; +"one might almost think that thou hadst not come unscathed through +this fierce fire of temptation. Well, for myself, I fear not woman and +her wiles; I know naught of them, and naught do I wish to know; and I +still hold that this Cęsar was a fool. Had I stood where Cęsar stood, +to cool its wantonness that bale of rugs should have been rolled down +the palace steps, into the harbour mud." + +"Nay, cease! cease!" he cried aloud. "It is evil to speak thus; may +the Gods avert the omen and preserve to thee this cold strength of +which thou boastest. Oh! man, thou knowest not!--thou in thy strength +and beauty that is without compare, in the power of thy learning and +the sweetness of thy tongue--thou knowest not! The world where thou +must mix is not a sanctuary as that of the Divine Isis. But there--it +may be so! Pray that thy heart's ice may never melt, so thou shalt be +great and happy and Egypt shall be delivered. And now let me take up +my tale--thou seest, Harmachis, even in so grave a story woman claims +her place. The young Ptolemy, Cleopatra's brother, being loosed of +Cęsar, treacherously turned on him. Then Cęsar and Mithridates stormed +the camp of Ptolemy, who took to flight across the river. But his boat +was sunk by the fugitives who pressed upon it, and such was the +miserable end of Ptolemy. + +"Thereon, the war being ended, though she had but then borne him a +son, Cęsarion, Cęsar appointed the younger Ptolemy to rule with +Cleopatra, and be her husband in name, and he himself departed for +Rome, bearing with him the beautiful Princess Arsinoė to follow his +triumph in her chains. But the great Cęsar is no more. He died as he +had lived, in blood, and right royally. And but now Cleopatra, the +Queen, if my tidings may be trusted, has slain Ptolemy, her brother +and husband, by poison, and taken the child Cęsarion to be her fellow +on the throne, which she holds by the help of the Roman legions, and, +as they say, of young Sextus Pompeius, who has succeeded Cęsar in her +love. But, Harmachis, the whole land boils and seethes against her. In +every city the children of Khem talk of the deliverer who is to come-- +and thou art he, Harmachis. The time is almost ripe. The hour is nigh +at hand. Go thou back to Abouthis and learn the last secrets of the +Gods, and meet those who shall direct the bursting of the storm. Then +act, Harmachis--act, I say, and strike home for Khem, rid the land of +the Roman and the Greek, and take thy place upon the throne of thy +divine fathers and be a King of men. For to this end thou wast born, O +Prince!" + + + +CHAPTER V + +OF THE RETURN OF HARMACHIS TO ABOUTHIS; OF THE CELEBRATION +OF THE MYSTERIES; OF THE CHANT OF ISIS; AND OF THE WARNING +OF AMENEMHAT + +On the next day I embraced my uncle Sepa, and with an eager heart +departed from Annu back to Abouthis. To be short, I came thither in +safety, having been absent five years and a month, being now no more a +boy but a man full grown and having my mind well stocked with the +knowledge of men and the ancient wisdom of Egypt. So once again I saw +the old lands, and the known faces, though of these some few were +wanting, having been gathered to Osiris. Now, as, riding across the +fields, I came nigh to the enclosure of the Temple, the priests and +people issued forth to bid me welcome, and with them the old wife, +Atoua, who, but for a few added wrinkles that Time had cut upon her +forehead, was just as she had been when she threw the sandal after me +five long years before. + +"/La! la! la!/" she cried; "and there thou art, my bonny lad; more +bonny even than thou wert! /La!/ what a man! what shoulders! and what +a face and form! Ah, it does an old woman credit to have dandled thee! +But thou art over-pale; those priests down there at Annu have starved +thee, surely? Starve not thyself: the Gods love not a skeleton. 'Empty +stomach makes empty head' as they say at Alexandria. But this is a +glad hour; ay, a joyous hour. Come in--come in!" and as I lighted down +she embraced me. + +But I thrust her aside. "My father! where is my father?" I cried; "I +see him not!" + +"Nay, nay, have no fear," she answered; 'his Holiness is well; he +waits thee in his chamber. There, pass on. O happy day! O happy +Abouthis!" + +So I went, or rather ran, and reached the chamber of which I have +written, and there at the table sat my father, Amenemhat, the same as +he had been, but very old. I came to him and, kneeling before him, +kissed his hand, and he blessed me. + +"Look up, my son," he said, "let my old eyes gaze upon thy face, that +I may read thy heart." + +So I lifted up my head, and he looked upon me long and earnestly. + +"I read thee," he said at length; "thou art pure and strong in wisdom; +I have not been deceived in thee. Oh, the years have been lonely; but +I did well to send thee hence. Now, tell me of thy life; for thy +letters have told me little, and thou canst not know, my son, how +hungry is a father's heart." + +And so I told him; we sat far into the night and talked together. And +in the end he bade me know that I must now prepare to be initiated +into those last mysteries that are learned of the chosen of the Gods. + +And so it came about that for a space of three months I prepared +myself according to the holy customs. I ate no meat. I was constant in +the sanctuaries, in the study of the secrets of the Great Sacrifice +and of the woe of the Holy Mother. I watched and prayed before the +altars. I lifted up my soul to God; ay, in dreams I communed with the +Invisible, till at length earth and earth's desires seemed to pass +from me. I longed no more for the glory of this world, my heart hung +above it as an eagle on his outstretched wings, and the voice of the +world's blame could not stir it, and the vision of its beauty brought +no delight. For above me was the vast vault of heaven, where in +unalterable procession the stars pass on, drawing after them the +destinies of men; where the Holy Ones sit upon their burning thrones, +and watch the chariot-wheels of Fate as they roll from sphere to +sphere. O hours of holy contemplation! who, having once tasted of your +joy could wish again to grovel on the earth? O vile flesh to drag us +down! I would that thou hadst then altogether fallen from me, and left +my spirit free to seek Osiris! + +The months of probation passed but too swiftly, and now the holy day +drew near when I was in truth to be united to the universal Mother. +Never hath Night so longed for the promise of the Dawn; never hath the +heart of a lover so passionately desired the sweet coming of his +bride, as I longed to see Thy glorious face, O Isis! Even now that I +have been faithless to Thee, and Thou art far from me, O Divine! my +soul goes out to Thee, and once more I know---- But as it is bidden +that I should draw the veil, and speak of things which have not been +told since the beginning of this world, let me pass on and reverently +set down the history of that holy morn. + +For seven days the great festival had been celebrated, the suffering +of the Lord Osiris had been commemorated, the grief of the Mother Isis +had been sung and glory had been done to the memory of the coming of +the Divine Child Horus, the Son, the Avenger, the God-begot. All these +things had been carried out according to the ancient rites. The boats +had floated on the sacred lake, the priests had scourged themselves +before the sanctuaries, and the images had been borne through the +streets at night. + +And now, as the sun sank on the seventh day, once more the great +procession gathered to chant the woes of Isis and tell how the evil +was avenged. We went in silence from the temple, and passed through +the city ways. First came those who clear the path, then my father +Amenemhat in all his priestly robes, and the wand of cedar in his +hand. Then, clad in pure linen, I, the neophyte, followed alone; and +after me the white-robed priests, holding aloft banners and emblems of +the Gods. Next came those who bear the sacred boat, and after them the +singers and the mourners; while, stretching as far as the eye could +reach, all the people marched, clad in melancholy black because Osiris +was no more. We went in silence through the city streets till at +length we came to the wall of the temple and passed in. And as my +father, the High Priest, entered beneath the gateway of the outer +pylon, a sweet-voiced woman singer began to sing the Holy Chant, and +thus she sang: + + "Sing we Osiris dead, + Lament the fallen head: + The light has left the world, the world is grey. + Athwart the starry skies + The web of Darkness flies, + And Isis weeps Osiris passed away. + Your tears, ye stars, ye fires, ye rivers, shed, + Weep, children of the Nile, weep for your Lord is dead!" + +She paused in her most sweet song, and the whole multitude took up the +melancholy dirge: + + "Softly we tread, our measured footsteps falling + Within the Sanctuary Sevenfold; + Soft on the Dead that liveth are we calling: + 'Return, Osiris, from thy Kingdom cold! + Return to them that worship thee of old!'" + +The chorus ceased, and once again she sang: + + "Within the court divine + The Sevenfold sacred shrine + We pass, while echoes of the Temple walls + Repeat the long lament + The sound of sorrow sent + Far up within the imperishable halls, + Where, each in the other's arms, the Sisters weep, + Isis and Nephthys, o'er His unawaking sleep." + +And then again rolled forth the solemn chorus of a thousand voices: + + "Softly we tread, our measured footsteps falling + Within the Sanctuary Sevenfold; + Soft on the Dead that liveth are we calling: + 'Return, Osiris, from thy Kingdom cold! + Return to them that worship thee of old!'" + +It ceased, and sweetly she took up the song: + + "O dweller in the West, + Lover and Lordliest, + Thy love, thy Sister Isis, calls thee home! + Come from thy chamber dun + Thou Master of the Sun, + Thy shadowy chamber far below the foam! + With weary wings and spent + Through all the firmament, + Through all the horror-haunted ways of Hell, + I seek thee near and far, + From star to wandering star, + Free with the dead that in Amenti dwell. + I search the height, the deep, the lands, the skies, + Rise from the dead and live, our Lord Osiris, rise!" + + "Softly we tread, our measured footsteps falling + Within the Sanctuary Sevenfold; + Soft on the Dead that liveth are we calling: + 'Return, Osiris, from thy Kingdom cold! + Return to them that worship thee of old!'" + +Now in a strain more high and glad the singer sang: + + "He wakes--from forth the prison + We sing Osiris risen, + We sing the child that Nout conceived and bare. + Thine own love, Isis, waits + The Warden of the Gates, + She breathes the breath of Life on breast and hair, + And in her breast and breath + Behold! he waketh, + Behold! at length he riseth out of rest; + Touched with her holy hands, + The Lord of all the Lands, + He stirs, he rises from her breath, her breast! + But thou, fell Typhon, fly, + The judgment day drawn nigh, + Fleet on thy track as flame speeds Horus from the sky." + + "Softly we tread, our measured footsteps falling + Within the Sanctuary Sevenfold; + Soft on the Dead that liveth are we calling: + 'Return, Osiris, from thy Kingdom cold! + Return to them that worship thee of old!'" + +Once more, as we bowed before the Holy, she sang, and sent the full +breath of her glad music ringing up the everlasting walls till the +silence quivered with her round notes of melody, and the hearts of +those who hearkened stirred strangely in the breast. And thus, as we +walked, she sang the song of Osiris risen, the song of Hope, the song +of Victory: + + "Sing we the Trinity, + Sing we the Holy Three, + Sing we, and praise we and worship the Throne, + Throne that our Lord hath set-- + There peace and truth are met + There in the Halls of the Holy alone! + There in the shadowings + Faint of the folded wings, + There shall we dwell and rejoice in our rest, + We that thy servants are! + Horus drive ill afar! + Far in the folds of the dark of the West!" + +Again, as her notes died away, thundered forth the chorus of all the +voices: + + "Softly we tread, our measured footsteps falling + Within the Sanctuary Sevenfold; + Soft on the Dead that liveth are we calling: + 'Return, Osiris, from thy Kingdom cold! + Return to them that worship thee of old!'" + +The chanting ceased, and as the sun sank the High Priest raised the +statue of the living God and held it before the multitude that was now +gathered in the court of the temple. Then, with a mighty and joyful +shout of: + + "/Osiris our hope! Osiris! Osiris!/" + +the people tore their black wrappings from their dress, revealing the +white robes they wore beneath, and, as one man, they bowed before the +God, and the feast was ended. + + + +But for me the ceremony was only begun, for to-night was the night of +my initiation. Leaving the inner court I bathed myself, and, clad in +pure linen, passed, as it is ordained, into an inner, but not the +inmost, sanctuary, and laid the accustomed offerings on the altar. +Then, lifting my hands to heaven, I remained for many hours in +contemplation, striving, by holy thoughts and prayer, to gather up my +strength against the mighty moment of my trial. + +The hours sped slowly in the silence of the temple, till at length the +door opened and my father Amenemhat, the High Priest, came in, clad in +white, and leading by the hand the Priest of Isis. For, having been +married, he did not himself enter into the mysteries of the Holy +Mother. + +I rose to my feet and stood humbly before them. + +"Art thou ready?" said the priest, lifting the lamp he held so that +its light fell upon my face. "O thou chosen one, art thou ready to see +the glory of the Goddess face to face?" + +"I am ready," I answered. + +"Behold thee," he said again, in solemn tones, "it is no small thing. +If thou wilt carry out this thy last desire, understand, royal +Harmachis, that now this very night thou must die for a while in the +flesh, what time thy soul shall look on spiritual things. And if thou +diest and any evil shall be found within thy heart, when thou comest +at last into that awful presence, woe unto thee, Harmachis, for the +breath of life shall no more enter in at the gateway of thy mouth, thy +body shall utterly perish, and what shall befall thy other parts, if I +know, I may not say.[*] Art thou prepared to be taken to the breast of +Her who Was and Is and Shall Be, and in all things to do Her holy +will; for Her, while she shall so command, to put away the thought of +earthly woman; and to labour always for Her glory till at the end thy +life is gathered to Her eternal life?" + +[*] According to the Egyptian religion the being Man is composed of + four parts: the body, the double or astral shape (/ka/), the soul + (/bi/), and the spark of life sprung from the Godhead (/khou/).-- + Editor. + +"I am," I answered; "lead on." + +"It is well," said the priest. "Noble Amenemhat, we go hence alone." + +"Farewell, my son," said my father; "be firm and triumph over things +spiritual as thou shalt triumph over things earthly. He who would +truly rule the world must first be lifted up above the world. He must +be at one with God, for thus only shall he learn the secrets of the +Divine. But beware! The Gods demand much of those who dare to enter +the circle of their Divinity. If they go back therefrom, they shall be +judged of a sharper law, and scourged with a heavier rod, for as their +glory is, so shall their shame be. Therefore, make thy heart strong, +royal Harmachis! And when thou speedest down the ways of Night and +enterest the Holies, remember that from him to whom great gifts have +been given shall gifts be required again. And now--if, indeed, thy +mind be fixed--go whither it is not as yet given me to follow thee. +Farewell!" + +For a moment as my heart weighed these heavy words, I wavered, as well +as I might. But I was filled with longing to be gathered to the +company of the Divine ones, and I knew that I had no evil in me, and +desired to do only the thing that is just. Therefore, having with so +much labour drawn the bowstring to my ear, I was fain to let fly the +shaft. "Lead on," I cried with a loud voice; "lead on, thou holy +Priest! I follow thee!" + +And we went forth. + + + +CHAPTER VI + +OF THE INITIATION OF HARMACHIS; OF HIS VISIONS; OF HIS PASSING +TO THE CITY THAT IS IN THE PLACE OF DEATH; AND OF THE DECLARATIONS +OF ISIS, THE MESSENGER + +In silence we passed into the Shrine of Isis. It was dark and bare-- +only the feeble light from the lamp gleamed faintly upon the +sculptured walls, where, in a hundred effigies, the Holy Mother +suckled the Holy Child. + +The priest closed the doors and bolted them. "Once again," he said, +"art thou ready, Harmachis?" + +"Once again," I answered, "I am ready." + +He spoke no more; but, having lifted up his hands in prayer, led me to +the centre of the Holy, and with a swift motion put out the lamp. + +"Look before thee, Harmachis!" he cried; and his voice sounded hollow +in the solemn place. + +I gazed and saw nothing. But from the niche that is high in the wall, +where is hid that sacred symbol of the Goddess on which few may look, +there came a sound as of the rattling rods of the sistrum.[*] And as I +listened, awestruck, behold! I saw the outline of the symbol drawn as +with fire upon the blackness of the air. It hung above my head, and +rattled while it hung. And, as it turned, I clearly saw the face of +the Mother Isis that is graven on the one side, and signifies unending +Birth, and the face of her holy sister, Nephthys, that is graven on +the other, and signifies the ending of all birth in Death. + +[*] A musical instrument peculiarly sacred to Isis of which the shape + and rods had a mystic significance.--Editor. + +Slowly it turned and swung as though some mystic dancer trod the air +above me, and shook it in her hand. But at length the light went out, +and the rattling ceased. + +Then of a sudden the end of the chamber became luminous, and in that +white light I beheld picture after picture. I saw the ancient Nile +rolling through deserts to the sea. There were no men upon its banks, +nor any signs of man, nor any temples to the Gods. Only wild birds +moved on Sihor's lonely face, and monstrous brutes plunged and +wallowed in his waters. The sun sank in majesty behind the Libyan +Desert and stained the waters red; the mountains towered up towards +the silent sky; but in mountain, desert, and river there was no sign +of human life. Then I knew that I saw the world as it had been before +man was, and a terror of its loneliness entered my soul. + +The picture passed and another rose up in its place. Once again I saw +the banks of Sihor, and on them crowded wild-faced creatures, +partaking of the nature of the ape more than of the nature of mankind. +They fought and slew each other. The wild birds sprang up in affright +as the fire leapt from reed huts given by foemen's hands to flame and +pillage. They stole and rent and murdered, dashing out the brains of +children with axes of stone. And, though no voice told me, I knew that +I saw man as he was tens of thousands of years ago, when first he +marched across the earth. + +Yet another picture. Again I beheld the banks of Sihor; but on them +fair cities bloomed like flowers. In and out their gates went men and +women, passing to and fro from wide, well-tilled lands. But I saw no +guards or armies, and no weapons of war. All was wisdom, prosperity, +and peace. And while I wondered, a glorious Figure, clad in raiment +that shone as flame, came from the gates of a shrine, and the sound of +music went before and followed after him. He mounted an ivory throne +which was set in a market-place facing the water: and as the sun sank +called in all the multitudes to prayer. With one voice they prayed, +bending in adoration. And I understood that herein was shown the reign +of the Gods on earth, which was long before the days of Menes. + +A change came over the dream. Still the same fair city, but other men +--men with greed and evil on their faces--who hated the bonds of +righteous doing, and set their hearts on sin. The evening came; the +glorious Figure mounted the throne and called to prayer, but none +bowed themselves in adoration. + +"We are aweary of thee!" they cried. "Make Evil King! Slay him! slay +him! and loose the bonds of Evil! Make Evil King!" + +The glorious Shape rose up, gazing with mild eyes upon those wicked +men. + +"Ye know not what ye ask," he cried; "but as ye will, so be it! For if +I die, by me, after much travail, shall ye once again find a path to +the Kingdom of Good!" + +Even as he spoke, a Form, foul and hideous to behold, leapt upon him, +cursing, slew him, tore him limb from limb, and amidst the clamour of +the people sat himself upon the throne and ruled. But a Shape whose +face was veiled passed down from heaven on shadowy wings, and with +lamentations gathered up the rent fragments of the Being. A moment she +bent herself upon them, then lifted up her hands and wept. And as she +wept, behold! from her side there sprang a warrior armed and with a +face like the face of Ra at noon. He, the Avenger, hurled himself with +a shout upon the Monster who had usurped the throne, and they closed +in battle, and, struggling ever in a strait embrace, passed upward to +the skies. + +Then came picture after picture. I saw Powers and Peoples clad in +various robes and speaking many tongues. I saw them pass and pass in +millions--loving, hating, struggling, dying. Some few were happy and +some had woe stamped upon their faces; but most bore not the seal of +happiness nor of woe, but rather that of patience. And ever as they +passed from age to age, high above in the heavens the Avenger fought +on with the Evil Thing, while the scale of victory swung now here now +there. But neither conquered, nor was it given to me to know how the +battle ended. + +And I understood that what I had beheld was the holy vision of the +struggle between the Good and the Evil Powers. I saw that man was +created vile, but Those who are above took pity on him, and came down +to him to make him good and happy, for the two things are one thing. +But man returned to his wicked way, and then the bright Spirit of +Good, who is of us called Osiris, but who has many names, offered +himself up for the evil-doing of the race that had dethroned him. And +from him and the Divine Mother, of whom all nature is, sprang another +spirit who is the Protector of us on earth, as Osiris is our justifier +in Amenti. + +For this is the mystery of the Osiris. + +Of a sudden, as I saw the visions, these things became clear to me. +The mummy cloths of symbol and of ceremony that wrap Osiris round fell +from him, and I understood the secret of religion, which is Sacrifice. + +The pictures passed, and again the priest, my guide, spoke to me. + +"Hast thou understood, Harmachis, those things which it has been +granted thee to see?" + +"I have," I said. "Are the rites ended?" + +"Nay, they are but begun. That which follows thou must endure alone! +Behold I leave thee, to return at the morning light. Once more I warn +thee. That which thou shalt see, few may look upon and live. In all my +days I have known but three who dared to face this dread hour, and of +those three at dawn but one was found alive. Myself, I have not trod +this path. It is too high for me." + +"Depart," I said; "my soul is athirst for knowledge. I will dare it." + +He laid his hand upon my shoulder and blessed me. He went. I heard the +door shut to behind him, the echoes of his footsteps slowly died away. + +Then I felt that I was alone, alone in the Holy Place with Things +which are not of the earth. Silence fell--silence deep and black as +the darkness which was around me. The silence fell, it gathered as the +cloud gathered on the face of the moon that night when, a lad, I +prayed upon the pylon towers. It gathered denser and yet more dense +till it seemed to creep into my heart and call aloud therein; for +utter silence has a voice that is more terrible than any cry. I spoke; +the echoes of my words came back upon me from the walls and seemed to +beat me down. The stillness was lighter to endure than an echo such as +this. What was I about to see? Should I die, even now, in the fulness +of my youth and strength? Terrible were the warnings that had been +given to me. I was fear-stricken, and bethought me that I would fly. +Fly!--fly whither? The temple door was barred; I could not fly. I was +alone with the Godhead, alone with the Power that I had invoked. Nay, +my heart was pure--my heart was pure. I would face the terror that was +to come, ay, even though I died. + +"Isis, Holy Mother," I prayed. "Isis, Spouse of Heaven, come unto me, +be with me now; I faint! be with me now." + +And then I knew that things were not as things had been. The air +around me began to stir, it rustled as the wings of eagles rustle, it +took life. Bright eyes gazed upon me, strange whispers shook my soul. +Upon the darkness were bars of light. They changed and interchanged, +they moved to and fro and wove mystic symbols which I could not read. +Swifter and swifter flew that shuttle of the light: the symbols +grouped, gathered, faded, gathered yet again, faster and still more +fast, till my eyes could count them no more. Now I was afloat upon a +sea of glory; it surged and rolled, as the ocean rolls; it tossed me +high, it brought me low. Glory was piled on glory, splendour heaped on +splendour's head, and I rode above it all! + +Soon the lights began to pale in the rolling sea of air. Great shadows +shot across it, lines of darkness pierced it and rushed together on +its breast, till, at length, I was only a Shape of Flame set like a +star on the bosom of immeasurable night. Bursts of awful music +gathered from far away. Miles and miles away I heard them, thrilling +faintly through the gloom. On they came, nearer and more near, louder +and more loud, till they swept past, above, below, around me, swept on +rushing pinions, terrifying and enchanting me. They floated by, ever +growing fainter, till they died in space. Then others came, and no two +were akin. Some rattled as ten thousand sistra shaken all to tune. +Some rank from the brazen throats of unnumbered clarions. Some pealed +with a loud, sweet chant of voices that were more than human; and some +rolled along in the slow thunder of a million drums. They passed; +their notes were lost in dying echoes; and the silence once more +pressed in upon me and overcame me. + +The strength within me began to fail. I felt my life ebbing at its +springs. Death drew near to me and his shape was /Silence/. He entered +at my heart, entered with a sense of numbing cold, but my brain was +still alive, I could yet think. I knew that I was drawing near the +confines of the Dead. Nay, I was dying fast, and oh, the horror of it! +I strove to pray and could not; there was no more time for prayer. One +struggle and the stillness crept into my brain. The terror passed; an +unfathomable weight of sleep pressed me down. I was dying, I was +dying, and then--nothingness! + +/I was dead!/ + +A change--life came back to me, but between the new life and the life +that had been was a gulf and difference. Once again I stood in the +darkness of the shrine, but it blinded me no more. It was clear as the +light of day, although it still was black. I stood; and yet it was not +I who stood, but rather my spiritual part, for at my feet lay my dead +Self. There it lay, rigid and still, a stamp of awful calm sealed upon +its face, while I gazed on it. + +And as I gazed, filled with wonder, I was caught up on the Wings of +Flame and whirled away! away! faster than the lightnings flash. Down I +fell, through depths of empty space set here and there with glittering +crowns of stars. Down for ten million miles and ten times ten million, +till at length I hovered over a place of soft, unchanging light, +wherein were Temples, Palaces, and Abodes, such as no man ever saw in +the visions of his sleep. They were built of Flame, and they were +built of Blackness. Their spires pierced up and up; their great courts +stretched around. Even as I hovered they changed continually to the +eye; what was Flame became Blackness, what was Blackness became Flame. +Here was the flash of crystal, and there the blaze of gems shone even +through the glory that rolls around the city which is in the Place of +Death. There were trees, and their voice as they rustled was the voice +of music; there was air, and, as it blew, its breath was the sobbing +notes of song. + +Shapes, changing, mysterious, wonderful, rushed up to meet me, and +bore me down till I seemed to stand upon another earth. + +"Who comes?" cried a great Voice. + +"Harmachis," answered the Shapes, that changed continually. "Harmachis +who hath been summoned from the earth to look upon the face of Her +that Was and Is and Shall Be. Harmachis, Child of Earth!" + +"Throw back the Gates and open wide the Doors!" pealed the awful +Voice. "Throw back the Gates and open wide the Doors; seal up his lips +in silence, lest his voice jar upon the harmonies of Heaven, take away +his sight lest he see that which may not be seen, and let Harmachis, +who hath been summoned, pass down the path that leads to the place of +the Unchanging. Pass on, Child of Earth; but before thou goest, look +up that thou mayest learn how far thou art removed from Earth." + +I looked up. Beyond the glory that shone about the city was black +night, and high on its bosom twinkled one tiny star. + +"Behold the world that thou hast left," said the Voice, "behold and +tremble." + +Then my lips and eyes were sealed with silence and with darkness, so +that I was dumb and blind. The Gates rolled back, the Doors swung +wide, and I was swept into the city that is in the Place of Death. I +was swept swiftly I know not whither, till at length I stood upon my +feet. Again the great Voice pealed: + +"Draw the veil of blackness from his eyes, unseal the silence on his +lips, that Harmachis, Child of Earth, may see, hear, and understand, +and make adoration at the Shrine of Her that Was and Is and Shall Be." + +And my lips and eyes were touched once more, so that my sight and +speech came back. + +Behold! I stood within a hall of blackest marble, so lofty that even +in the rosy light scarce could my vision reach the great groins of the +roof. Music wailed about its spaces, and all adown its length stood +winged Spirits fashioned in living fire, and such was the brightness +of their forms that I could not look on them. In its centre was an +altar, small and square, and I stood before the empty altar. Then +again the Voice cried: + +"O Thou that hast been, art, and shalt be; Thou who, having many +names, art yet without a name; Measurer of Time; Messenger of God; +Guardian of the Worlds and the Races that dwell thereon; Universal +Mother born of Nothingness; Creatix uncreated; Living Splendour +without Form, Living Form without Substance; Servant of the Invisible; +Child of Law; Holder of the Scales and Sword of Fate; Vessel of Life, +through whom all Life flows, to whom it again is gathered; Recorder of +Things Done; Executrix of Decrees--/Hear!/ + +"Harmachis the Egyptian, who by Thy will hath been summoned from the +earth, waits before Thine Altar, with ears unstopped, with eyes +unsealed, and with an open heart. Hear and descend! Descend, O Many- +shaped! Descend in Flame! Descend in Sound! Descend in Spirit! Hear +and descend!" + + + +The Voice ceased and there was silence. Then through the silence came +a sound like the booming of the sea. It passed and presently, moved +thereto by I know not what, I raised my eyes from my hands with which +I had covered them, and saw a small dark cloud hanging over the Altar +in and out of which a fiery Serpent climbed. + +Then all the Spirits clad in light fell upon the marble floor, and +with a loud voice adored; but what they said I could not understand. +Behold! the dark cloud came down and rested on the Altar, the Serpent +of fire stretched itself towards me, touched me on the forehead with +its forky tongue and was gone. From within the cloud a Voice sweet and +low and clear spoke in heavenly accents: + +"Depart, ye Ministers, leave Me with my son whom I have summoned." + +Then like arrows rushing from a bow the flame-clad Spirits leapt from +the ground and sped away. + +"O Harmachis," said the Voice, "be not afraid, I am She whom thou dost +know as Isis of the Egyptians; but what else I am strive not thou to +learn, it is beyond thy strength. For I am all things, Life is my +spirit, and Nature is my raiment. I am the laughter of the babe, I am +the maiden's love, I am the mother's kiss. I am the Child and Servant +of the Invisible that is God, that is Law, that is Fate--though myself +I be not God and Fate and Law. When winds blow and oceans roar upon +the face of the Earth thou hearest my voice; when thou gazest on the +starry firmament thou seest my countenance; when the spring blooms out +in flowers, that is my smile, Harmachis. For I am Nature's self, and +all her shapes are shapes of Me. I breathe in all that breathes. I wax +and wane in the changeful moon: I grow and gather in the tides: I rise +with the suns: I flash with the lightning and thunder in the storms. +Nothing is too great for the measure of my majesty, nothing is so +small that I cannot find a home therein. I am in thee and thou art in +Me, O Harmachis. That which bade thee be bade Me also be. Therefore, +though I am great and thou art little, have no fear. For we are bound +together by the common bond of life--that life which flows through +suns and stars and spaces, through Spirits and the souls of men, +welding all Nature to a whole that, changing ever, is yet eternally +the same." + +I bowed my head--I could not speak, for I was afraid. + +"Faithfully hast thou served Me, O my son," went on the low sweet +Voice; "greatly thou hast longed to be brought face to face with Me +here in Amenti; and greatly hast thou dared to accomplish thy desire. +For it is no small thing to cast off the tabernacle of the Flesh and +before the appointed time, if only for an hour, put on the raiment of +the Spirit. And greatly, O my servant and my son, have I, too, desired +to look on thee there where I am. For the Gods love those who love +them, but with a wider and deeper love, and under One who is as far +from Me as I am from thee, mortal, I am a God of Gods. Therefore I +have caused thee to be brought hither, Harmachis; and therefore I +speak to thee, my son, and bid thee commune with Me now face to face, +as thou didst commune that night upon the temple towers of Abouthis. +For I was there with thee, Harmachis, as I was in ten thousand other +worlds. It was I, O Harmachis, who laid the lotus in thy hand, giving +thee the sign which thou didst seek. For thou art of the kingly blood +of my children who served Me from age to age. And if thou dost not +fail thou shalt sit upon that kingly throne and restore my ancient +worship in its purity, and sweep my temples from their defilements. +But if thou dost fail, then shall the eternal Spirit Isis become but a +memory in Egypt." + +The Voice paused; and, gathering up my strength, at length I spoke +aloud: + +"Tell me, O Holy," I said, "shall I then fail?" + +"Ask Me not," answered the Voice, "that which it is not lawful that I +should answer thee. Perchance I can read that which shall befall thee, +perchance it doth not please Me so to read. What can it profit the +Divine, that hath all time wherein to await the issues, to be eager to +look upon the blossom that is not blown, but which, lying a seed in +the bosom of the earth, shall blow in its season? Know, Harmachis, +that I do not shape the Future; the Future is to thee and not to Me; +for it is born of Law and of the rule ordained of the Invisible. Yet +thou art free to act therein, and thou shalt win or thou shalt fail +according to thy strength and the measure of thy heart's purity. Thine +be the burden, Harmachis, as thine in the event shall be the glory or +the shame. Little do I reck of the issue, I who am but the Minister of +what is written. Now hear me: I will always be with thee, my son, for +my love once given can never be taken away, though by sin it may seem +lost to thee. Remember then this: if thou dost triumph, thy guerdon +shall be great; if thou dost fail, heavy indeed shall be thy +punishment both in the flesh and in the land that thou callest Amenti. +Yet this for thy comfort: shame and agony shall not be eternal. For +however deep the fall from righteousness, if but repentance holds the +heart, there is a path--a stony and a cruel path--whereby the height +may be climbed again. Let it not be thy lot to follow it, Harmachis! + +"And now, because thou hast loved Me, my son, and, wandering through +the maze of fable, wherein men lose themselves upon the earth, +mistaking the substance for the Spirit, and the Altar for the God, +hast yet grasped a clue of Truth the Many-faced; and because I love +thee and look on to the day that, perchance, shall come when thou +shalt dwell blessed in my light and in the doing of my tasks: because +of this, I say, it shall be given to thee, O Harmachis, to hear the +Word whereby I may be summoned from the Uttermost, by one who hath +communed with Me, and to look upon the face of Isis--even into the +eyes of the Messenger, and not die the death. + +"/Behold!/" + +The sweet Voice ceased; the dark cloud upon the altar changed and +changed--it grew white, it shone, and seemed at length to take the +shrouded shape of a woman. Then the golden Snake crept from its heart +once more, and, like a living diadem, twined itself about the cloudy +brows. + +Now suddenly a Voice called aloud the awful Word, then the vapours +burst and melted, and with my eyes I saw that Glory, at the very +thought of which my spirit faints. But what I saw it is not lawful to +utter. For, though I have been bidden to write what I have written of +this matter, perchance that a record may remain, thereon I have been +warned--ay, even now, after these many years. I saw, and what I saw +cannot be imagined; for there are Glories and there are Shapes which +are beyond the reach of man's imagination. I saw--then, with the echo +of that Word, and the memory of that sight stamped for ever on my +heart, my spirit failed me, and I sank down before the Glory. + +And, as I fell, it seemed that the great hall burst open and crumbled +into flakes of fire round me. Then a great wind blew: there was a +sound as the sound of Worlds rushing down the flood of Time--and I +knew no more! + + + +CHAPTER VII + +OF THE AWAKING OF HARMACHIS; OF THE CEREMONY OF HIS CROWNING +AS PHARAOH OF THE UPPER AND THE LOWER LAND; AND OF THE +OFFERINGS MADE TO PHARAOH + +Once again I woke--to find myself stretched at length upon the stone +flooring of the Holy Place of Isis that is at Abouthis. By me stood +the old Priest of the Mysteries, and in his hand was a lamp. He bent +over me, and gazed earnestly upon my face. + +"It is day--the day of thy new birth, and thou hast lived to see it, +Harmachis!" he said at length. "I give thanks. Arise, royal Harmachis +--nay, tell me naught of that which has befallen thee. Arise, beloved +of the Holy Mother. Come forth, thou who hast passed the fire and +learned what lies behind the darkness--come forth, O newly-born!" + +I rose and, walking faintly, went with him, and, passing out of the +darkness of the Shrines filled with thought and wonder, came once more +into the pure light of the morning. And then I went to my own chamber +and slept; nor did any dreams come to trouble me. But no man--not even +my father--asked me aught of what I saw upon that dread night, or +after what fashion I had communed with the Goddess. + +After these things which have been written, I applied myself for a +space to the worship of the Mother Isis, and to the further study of +the outward forms of those mysteries to which I now held the key. +Moreover, I was instructed in matters politic, for many great men of +our following came secretly to see me from all quarters of Egypt, and +told me much of the hatred of the people towards Cleopatra, the Queen, +and of other things. At last the hour drew nigh; it was three months +and ten days from the night when, for a while, I left the flesh, and +yet living with our life, was gathered to the breast of Isis, on which +it was agreed that with due and customary rites, although in utter +secrecy, I should be called to the throne of the Upper and the Lower +Land. So it came about that, as the solemn time drew nigh, great men +of the party of Egypt gathered to the number of thirty-seven from +every nome, and each great city of their nome, meeting together at +Abouthis. They came in every guise--some as priests, some as pilgrims +to the Shrine, and some as beggars. Among them was my uncle, Sepa, +who, though he clad himself as a travelling doctor, had much ado to +keep his loud voice from betraying him. Indeed, I myself knew him by +it, meeting him as I walked in thought upon the banks of the canal, +although it was then dusk and the great cape, which, after the fashion +of such doctors, he had thrown about his head, half hid his face. + +"A pest on thee!" he cried, when I greeted him by his name. "Cannot a +man cease to be himself for a single hour? Didst thou but know the +pains that it has cost me to learn to play this part--and now thou +readest who I am even in the dark!" + +And then, still talking in his loud voice, he told me how he had +travelled hither on foot, the better to escape the spies who ply to +and fro upon the river. But he said he should return by the water, or +take another guise; for since he had come as a doctor he had been +forced to play a doctor's part, knowing but little of the arts of +medicine; and, as he greatly feared, there were many between Annu and +Abouthis who had suffered from it.[*] And he laughed loudly and +embraced me, forgetting his part. For he was too whole at heart to be +an actor and other than himself, and would have entered Abouthis with +me holding my hand, had I not chid him for his folly. + +[*] In Ancient Egypt an unskilful or negligent physician was liable to + very heavy penalties.--Editor. + +At length all were gathered. + +It was night, and the gates of the temple were shut. None were left +within them, except the thirty-seven; my father, the High Priest +Amenemhat; that aged priest who had led me to the Shrine of Isis; the +old wife, Atoua, who, according to ancient custom, was to prepare me +for the anointing; and some five other priests, sworn to secrecy by +that oath which none may break. They gathered in the second hall of +the great temple; but I remained alone, clad in my white robe, in the +passage where are the names of six-and-seventy ancient Kings, who were +before the day of the divine Sethi. There I rested in darkness, till +at length my father, Amenemhat, came, bearing a lamp, and, bowing low +before me, led me by the hand forth into the great hall. Here and +there, between its mighty pillars, lights were burning that dimly +showed the sculptured images upon the walls, and dimly fell upon the +long line of the seven-and-thirty Lords, Priests, and Princes, who, +seated upon carven chairs, awaited my coming in silence. Before them, +facing away from the seven Sanctuaries, a throne was set, around which +stood the priests holding the sacred images and banners. As I came +into the dim and holy place, the Dignitaries rose, and bowed before +me, speaking no word; while my father led me to the steps of the +throne, and in a low voice bade me stand before it. + +Then he spoke: + +"Lords, Priests, and Princes of the ancient orders of the land of Khem +--Nobles from the Upper and the Lower Country, have gathered in answer +to my summons, hear me: I present to you, with such scant formality as +the occasion can afford, the Prince Harmachis, by right and true +descent of blood the descendant and heir of the ancient Pharaohs of +our most unhappy land. He is priest of the inmost circle of the +Mysteries of the Divine Isis, Master of the Mysteries--Hereditary +Priest of the Pyramids, which are by Memphis, Instructed in the Solemn +Rites of the Holy Osiris. Is there any among you who has aught to urge +against the true line of his blood?" + +He paused, and my uncle Sepa, rising from his chair, spoke: "We have +made examination of the records and there is none, O Amenemhat. He is +of the Royal blood, his descent is true." + +"Is there any among you," went on my father, "who can deny that this +royal Harmachis, by sanction of the very Gods, has been gathered to +Isis, been shown the way of the Osiris, been admitted to be the +Hereditary High Priest of the Pyramids which are by Memphis, and of +the Temples of the Pyramids?" + +Then that old priest rose who had been my guide in the Sanctuary of +the Mother and made answer: "There is none; O Amenemhat; I know these +things of my own knowledge." + +Once more my father spoke: "Is there any among you who has aught to +urge against this royal Harmachis, in that by wickedness of heart or +life, by uncleanliness or falsity, it is not fit or meet that we +should crown him Lord of all the Lands?" + +Then an aged Prince of Memphis arose and made answer: + +"We have inquired of these matters: there is none, O Amenemhat." + +"It is well," said my father; "then naught is wanting in the Prince +Harmachis, seed of Nekt-nebf, the Osirian. Let the woman Atoua stand +forth and tell this company those things that came to pass when, at +the hour of her death, she who was my wife prophesied over this +Prince, being filled with the Spirit of the Hathors." + +Thereon old Atoua crept forward from the shadow of the columns, and +earnestly told those things that have been written. + +"Ye have heard," said my father: "do you believe that the woman who +was my wife spake with the Divine voice?" + +"We do," they answered. + +Now my uncle Sepa rose and spoke: + +"Royal Harmachis, thou hast heard. Know now that we are gathered here +to crown thee King of the Upper and the Lower Lands--thy holy father, +Amenemhat, renouncing all his right on thy behalf. We are met, not, +indeed, in that pomp and ceremony which is due to the occasion--for +what we do must be done in secret, lest our lives, and the cause that +is more dear to us than life, should pay the forfeit--but yet with +such dignity and observance of the ancient rites as our circumstance +may command. Learn, now, how this matter hangs, and if, after +learning, thy mind consents thereto, then mount thy throne, O Pharaoh +--and swear the oath! + +"Long has Khemi groaned beneath the mailed heel of the Greek, and +trembled at the shadow of the Roman's spear; long has the ancient +worship of its Gods been desecrated, and its people crushed with +oppression. But we believe that the hour of deliverance is at hand, +and with the solemn voice of Egypt and by the ancient Gods of Egypt, +to whose cause thou art of all men bound, we call upon thee, Prince, +to be the sword of our deliverance. Hearken! Twenty thousand good and +leal men are sworn to wait upon thy word, and at thy signal to rise as +one, to put the Grecian to the sword, and with their blood and +substance to build thee a throne set more surely on the soil of Khem +than are its ancient pyramids--such a throne as shall even roll the +Roman legions back. And for the signal, it shall be the death of that +bold harlot, Cleopatra. Thou must compass her death, Harmachis, in +such fashion as shall be shown to thee, and with her blood anoint the +Royal throne of Egypt. + +"Canst thou refuse, O our Hope? Doth not the holy love of country +swell within thy heart? Canst thou dash the cup of Freedom from thy +lips and bear to drink the bitter draught of slaves? The emprise is +great; maybe it shall fail, and thou with thy life, as we with ours, +shalt pay the price of our endeavour. But what of it, Harmachis? Is +life, then, so sweet? Are we so softly cushioned on the stony bed of +earth? Is bitterness and sorrow in its sum so small and scant a thing? +Do we here breathe so divine an air that we should fear to face the +passage of our breath? What have we here but hope and memory? What see +we here but shadows? Shall we then fear to pass pure-handed where +Fulfilment is and memory is lost in its own source, and shadows die in +the light which cast them? O Harmachis, that man alone is truly blest +who crowns his life with Fame's most splendid wreath. For, since to +all the Brood of Earth Death hands his poppy-flowers, he indeed is +happy to whom there is occasion given to weave them in a crown of +glory. And how can a man die better than in a great endeavour to +strike the gyves from his Country's limbs so that she again may stand +in the face of Heaven and raise the shrill shout of Freedom, and, clad +once more in a panoply of strength, trample under foot the fetters of +her servitude, defying the tyrant nations of the earth to set their +seal upon her brow? + +"Khem calls thee, Harmachis. Come then, thou Deliverer; leap like +Horus from the firmament, break her chains, scatter her foes, and rule +a Pharaoh on Pharaoh's Throne----" + +"Enough, enough!" I cried, while the long murmur of applause swept +about the columns and up the massy walls. "Enough; is there any need +to adjure me thus? Had I a hundred lives, would I not most gladly lay +them down for Egypt?" + +"Well said, well said!" answered Sepa. "Now go forth with the woman +yonder, that she may make thy hands clean before they touch the sacred +emblems, and anoint thy brow before it is encircled of the diadem." + +And so I went into a chamber apart with the old wife, Atoua. There, +muttering prayers, she poured pure water over my hands into a ewer of +gold, and having dipped a fine cloth into oil wiped my brow with it. + +"O happy Egypt!" she said; "O happy Prince, that art come to rule in +Egypt! O Royal youth!--too Royal to be a priest--so shall many a fair +woman think; but, perchance, for thee they will relax the priestly +rule, else how shall the race of Pharaoh be carried on? O happy I, who +dandled thee and gave my flesh and blood to save thee! O royal and +beautiful Harmachis, born for splendour, happiness, and love!" + +"Cease, cease," I said, for her talk jarred upon me; "call me not +happy till thou knowest my end, and speak not to me of love, for with +love comes sorrow, and mine is another and a higher way." + +"Ay, ay, so thou sayest--and joy, too, that comes with love! Never +talk lightly of love, my King, for it brought thee here! /La! la!/ but +it is always the way--'The goose on the wing laughs at crocodiles,' so +goes their saying down at Alexandria; 'but when the goose is asleep on +the water, it is the crocodiles that laugh.' Not but what women are +pretty crocodiles. Men worship the crocodiles at Anthribis-- +Crocodilopolis they call it now, don't they?--but they worship women +all the world over! /La!/ how my tongue runs on, and thou about to be +crowned Pharaoh! Did I not prophesy it to thee? Well, thou art clean, +Lord of the Double Crown. Go forth!" + +So I went from the chamber with the old wife's foolish talk ringing in +my ears, though of a truth her folly had ever a grain of wit in it. + +As I came, the Dignitaries rose once more and bowed before me. Then my +father, without delay, drew near me, and placed in my hands a golden +image of the divine Ma, the Goddess of Truth, and golden images of the +arks of the God Amen-Ra, of the divine Mout, and the divine Khons, and +spoke solemnly: + +"Thou swearest by the living majesty of Ma, by the majesty of Amen-Ra, +of Mout, and of Khons?" + +"I swear," I said. + +"Thou swearest by the holy land of Khem, by Sihor's flood, by the +Temples of the Gods and the eternal Pyramids?" + +"I swear." + +"Remembering thy hideous doom if thou shouldst fail therein, thou +swearest that thou wilt in all things govern Egypt according to its +ancient laws, that thou wilt preserve the worship of its Gods, that +thou wilt do equal justice, that thou wilt not oppress, that thou wilt +not betray, that thou wilt make no alliance with the Roman or the +Greek, that thou wilt cast out the foreign Idols, that thou wilt +devote thy life to the liberty of the land of Khem?" + +"I swear." + +"It is well. Mount, then, the throne, that in the presence of these +thy subjects, I may name thee Pharaoh." + +I mounted upon the throne, of which the footstool is a Sphinx, and the +canopy the overshadowing wings of Ma. Then Amenemhat drew nigh once +again and placed the Pshent upon my brow, and on my head the Double +Crown, and the Royal Robe about my shoulders, and in my hands the +Sceptre and the Scourge. + +"Royal Harmachis," he cried, "by these outward signs and tokens, I, +the High Priest of the Temple of Ra-Men-Ma at Abouthis, crown thee +Pharaoh of the Upper and Lower Land. Reign and prosper, O Hope of +Khemi!" + +"Reign and prosper, Pharaoh!" echoed the Dignitaries, bowing down +before me. + +Then, one by one, they swore allegiance, till all had sworn. And, +having sworn, my father took me by the hand; he led me in solemn +procession into each of the seven Sanctuaries that are in this Temple +of Ra-Men-Ma, and in each I made offerings, swung incense, and +officiated as priest. Clad in the Royal robes I made offerings in the +Shrine of Horus, in the Shrine of Isis, in the Shrine of Osiris, in +the Shrine of Amen-Ra, in the Shrine of Horemku, in the Shrine of +Ptah, till at length I reached the Shrine of the King's Chamber. + +Here they made their offering to me, as the Divine Pharaoh, and left +me very weary--but a King. + +[Here the first and smallest of the papyrus rolls comes to an end.] + + + + +BOOK II + +THE FALL OF HARMACHIS + + + +CHAPTER I + +OF THE FAREWELL OF AMENEMHAT TO HARMACHIS; OF THE COMING +OF HARMACHIS TO ALEXANDRIA; OF THE EXHORTATION OF SEPA; OF +THE PASSING OF CLEOPATRA ROBED AS ISIS; AND OF THE OVERTHROW +OF THE GLADIATOR BY HARMACHIS + +Now the long days of preparation had passed, and the time was at hand. +I was initiated, and I was crowned; so that although the common folk +knew me not, or knew me only as Priest of Isis, there were in Egypt +thousands who at heart bowed down to me as Pharaoh. The hour was at +hand, and my soul went forth to meet it. For I longed to overthrow the +foreigner, to set Egypt free, to mount the throne that was my +heritage, and cleanse the temples of my Gods. I was fain for the +struggle, and I never doubted of its end. I looked into the mirror, +and saw triumph written on my brows. The future stretched a path of +glory from my feet--ay, glittering with glory like Sihor in the sun. I +communed with my Mother Isis; I sat within my chamber and took counsel +with my heart; I planned new temples; I revolved great laws that I +would put forth for my people's weal; and in my ears rang the shouts +of exultation which should greet victorious Pharaoh on his throne. + +But still I tarried a little while at Abouthis, and, having been +commanded to do so, let my hair, that had been shorn, grow again long +and black as the raven's wing, instructing myself meanwhile in all +manly exercises and feats of arms. Also, for a purpose which shall be +seen, I perfected myself in the magic art of the Egyptians, and in the +reading of the stars, in which things, indeed, I already have great +skill. + +Now, this was the plan that had been built up. My uncle Sepa had, for +a while, left the Temple of Annu, giving out that his health had +failed him. Thence he had moved down to a house in Alexandria, to +gather strength, as he said, from the breath of the sea, and also to +learn for himself the wonders of the great Museum and the glory of +Cleopatra's Court. There it was planned that I should join him, for +there, at Alexandria, the egg of the plot was hatching. Accordingly, +when at last the summons came, all things being prepared, I made ready +for the journey, and passed into my father's chamber to receive his +blessing before I went. There sat the old man, as once before he sat +when he had rebuked me because I went out to slay the lion, his long +white beard resting on the table of stone and sacred writings in his +hand. When I came in he rose from his seat and would have knelt before +me, crying "Hail, Pharaoh!" but I caught him by the hand. + +"It is not meet, my father," I said. + +"It is meet," he answered, "it is meet that I should bow before my +King; but be it as thou wilt. And so thou goest, Harmachis; my +blessings go with thee, O my son! And may Those whom I serve grant to +me that my old eyes may, indeed, behold thee on the throne! I have +searched long, striving, Harmachis, to read the future that shall be; +but I can learn naught by all my wisdom. It is hid from me, and at +times my heart fails. But hear this, there is danger in thy path, and +it comes in the form of Woman. I have known it long, and therefore +thou hast been called to the worship of the heavenly Isis, who bids +her votaries put away the thought of woman till such time as she shall +think well to slacken the rule. Oh, my son, I would that thou wert not +so strong and fair--stronger and fairer, indeed, than any man in +Egypt, as a King should be--for in that strength and beauty may lie a +cause of stumbling. Beware, then, of those witches of Alexandria, +lest, like a worm, some one of them creep into my heart and eat its +secret out." + +"Have no fear, my father," I answered, frowning, "my thought is set on +other things than red lips and smiling eyes." + +"It is good," he answered; "so may it befall. And now farewell. When +next we meet, may it be in that happy hour when, with all the priests +of the Upper Land, I move down from Abouthis to do my homage to +Pharaoh on his throne." + +So I embraced him, and went. Alas! I little thought how we should meet +again. + + + +Thus it came about that once more I passed down the Nile travelling as +a man of no estate. And to such as were curious about me it was given +out that I was the adopted son of the High Priest of Abouthis, having +been brought up to the priesthood, and that I had at the last refused +the service of the Gods, and chosen to go to Alexandria, to seek my +fortune. For, be it remembered, I was still held to be the grandson of +the old wife, Atoua, by all those who did not know the truth. + +On the tenth night, sailing with the wind, we reached the mighty city +of Alexandria, the city of a thousand lights. Above them all towered +the white Pharos, that wonder of the world, from the crown of which a +light like the light of the sun blazed out across the waters of the +harbour to guide mariners on their way across the sea. The vessel +having been cautiously made fast to the quay, for it was night, I +disembarked and stood wondering at the vast mass of houses, and +confused by the clamour of many tongues. For here all peoples seemed +to be gathered together, each speaking after the fashion of his own +land. And as I stood a young man came and touched me on the shoulder, +asking me if I was from Abouthis and named Harmachis. I said "Yea." +Then, bending over me, he whispered the secret pass-word into my ear, +and, beckoning to two slaves, bade them bring my baggage from the +ship. This they did, fighting their way through the crowd of porters +who were clamouring for hire. Then I followed him down the quay, which +was bordered with drinking-places, where all sorts of men were +gathered, tippling wine and watching the dancing of women, some of +whom were but scantily arrayed, and some not arrayed at all. + +And so we went through the lamp-lit houses till at last we reached the +shore of the great harbour, and turned to the right along a wide way +paved with granite and bordered by strong houses, having cloisters in +front of them, the like of which I had never seen. Turning once more +to the right we came to a quieter portion of the city, where, except +for parties of strolling revellers, the streets were still. Presently +my guide halted at a house built of white stone. We passed in, and, +crossing a small courtyard, entered a chamber where there was a light. +And here, at last, I found my uncle Sepa, most glad to see me safe. + +When I had washed and eaten, he told me that all things went well, and +that as yet there was no thought of evil at the Court. Further, he +said, it having come to the ears of the Queen that the Priest of Annu +was sojourning at Alexandria, she sent for him and closely questioned +him--not as to any plot, for of that she never thought, but as to the +rumour which had reached her, that there was treasure hid in the Great +Pyramid which is by Annu. For, being ever wasteful, she was ever in +want of money, and had bethought her of opening the Pyramid. But he +laughed at her, telling her the Pyramid was the burying-place of the +divine Khufu, and that he knew nothing of its secrets. Then she was +angered, and swore that so surely as she ruled in Egypt she would tear +it down, stone by stone, and discover the secret at its heart. Again +he laughed, and, in the words of the proverb which they have at +Alexandria, told her that "Mountains live longer than Kings." Thereon +she smiled at his ready answer, and let him go. Also my uncle Sepa +told me that on the morrow I should see this Cleopatra. For it was her +birthday (as, indeed, it was also mine), and, dressed in the robes of +the Holy Isis, she would pass in state from her palace on the Lochias +to the Serapeum to offer a sacrifice at the Shrine of the false God +who sits in the Temple. And he said that thereafter the fashion by +which I should gain entrance to the household of the Queen should be +contrived. + +Then, being very weary, I went to rest, but could sleep little for the +strangeness of the place, the noises in the streets, and the thought +of the morrow. While it was yet dark, I rose, climbed the stair to the +roof of the house, and waited. Presently, the sun's rays shot out like +arrows, and lit upon the white wonder of the marble Pharos, whose +light instantly sank and died, as though, indeed, the sun had killed +it. Now the rays fell upon the palaces of the Lochias where Cleopatra +lay, and lit them up till they flamed like a jewel set on the dark, +cool bosom of the sea. Away the light flew, kissing the Soma's sacred +dome, beneath which Alexander sleeps, touching the high tops of a +thousand palaces and temples; past the porticoes of the great museum +that loomed near at hand, striking the lofty Shrine, where, carved of +ivory, is the image of the false God Serapis, and at last seeming to +lose itself in the vast and gloomy Necropolis. Then, as the dawn +gathered into day, the flood of brightness, overbrimming the bowl of +night, flowed into the lower lands and streets, and showed Alexandria +red in the sunrise as the mantle of a king, and shaped as a mantle. +The Etesian wind came up from the north, and swept away the vapour +from the harbours, so that I saw their blue waters rocking a thousand +ships. I saw, too, that mighty mole the Heptastadium; I saw the +hundreds of streets, the countless houses, the innumerable wealth and +splendour of Alexandria set like a queen between lake Mareotis and the +ocean, and dominating both, and I was filled with wonder. This, then, +was one city in my heritage of lands and cities! Well, it was worth +the grasping. And having looked my full and fed my heart, as it were, +with the sight of splendour, I communed with the Holy Isis and came +down from the roof. + +In the chamber beneath was my uncle Sepa. I told him that I had been +watching the sun rise over the city of Alexandria. + +"So!" he said, looking at me from beneath his shaggy eyebrows; "and +what thinkest thou of Alexandria?" + +"I think it is like some city of the Gods," I answered. + +"Ay!" he replied fiercely, "a city of the infernal Gods--a sink of +corruption, a bubbling well of iniquity, a home of false faith +springing from false hearts. I would that not one stone of it was left +upon another stone, and that its wealth lay deep beneath yonder +waters! I would that the gulls were screaming across its site, and +that the wind, untainted by a Grecian breath, swept through its ruins +from the ocean to Mareotis! O royal Harmachis, let not the luxury and +beauty of Alexandria poison thy sense; for in their deadly air, Faith +perishes, and Religion cannot spread her heavenly wings. When the hour +comes for thee to rule, Harmachis, cast down this accursed city and, +as thy fathers did, set up thy throne in the white walls of Memphis. +For I tell thee that, for Egypt, Alexandria is but a splendid gate of +ruin, and, while it endures, all nations of the earth shall march +through it, to the plunder of the land, and all false Faiths shall +nestle in it and breed the overthrow of Egypt's Gods." + +I made no answer, for there was truth in his words. And yet to me the +city seemed very fair to look on. After we had eaten, my uncle told me +it was now time to set out to view the march of Cleopatra, as she went +in triumph to the Shrine of Serapis. For although she would not pass +till within two hours of the midday, yet these people of Alexandria +have so great a love of shows and idling that had we not presently set +forth, by no means could we have come through the press of the +multitudes who were already gathering along the highways where the +Queen must ride. So we went out to take our places upon a stand, built +of timber, that had been set up at the side of the great road which +pierces through the city, to the Canopic Gate. For my uncle had +already purchased a right to enter there, and that dearly. + +We won our way with much struggle through the great crowds that were +already gathered in the streets till we reached the scaffolding of +timber, which was roofed in with an awning and gaily hung with scarlet +cloths. Here we seated ourselves upon a bench and waited for some +hours, watching the multitude press past shouting, singing, and +talking loudly in many tongues. At length soldiers came to clear the +road, clad, after the Roman fashion, in breast-plates of chain-armour. +After them marched heralds enjoining silence (at which the population +sung and shouted all the more loudly), and crying that Cleopatra, the +Queen, was coming. Then followed a thousand Cilician skirmishers, a +thousand Thracians, a thousand Macedonians, and a thousand Gauls, each +armed after the fashion of their country. Then passed five hundred men +of those who are called the Fenced Horsemen, for both men and horses +were altogether covered with mail. Next came youths and maidens +sumptuously draped and wearing golden crowns, and with them images +symbolising Day and Night, Morning and Noon, the Heavens and the +Earth. After these walked many fair women, pouring perfumes on the +road, and others scattering blooming flowers. Now there rose a great +shout of "Cleopatra! Cleopatra!" and I held my breath and bent forward +to see her who dared to put on the robes of Isis. + +But at that moment the multitude so gathered and thickened in front of +where I was that I could no longer clearly see. So in my eagerness I +leapt over the barrier of the scaffolding, and, being very strong, +pushed my way through the crowd till I reached the foremost rank. And +as I did so, Nubian slaves armed with thick staves and crowned with +ivy-leaves ran up, striking the people. One man I noted more +especially, for he was a giant, and, being strong, was insolent beyond +measure, smiting the people without cause, as, indeed, is the wont of +low persons set in authority. For a woman stood near to me, an +Egyptian by her face, bearing a child in her arms, whom the man, +seeing that she was weak, struck on the head with his rod so that she +fell prone, and the people murmured. But at the sight my blood rushed +of a sudden through my veins and drowned my reason. I held in my hand +a staff of olive-wood from Cyprus, and as the black brute laughed at +the sight of the stricken woman and her babe rolling on the ground, I +swung the staff aloft and smote. So shrewdly did I strike, that the +tough rod split upon the giant's shoulders and the blood spurted +forth, staining his trailing leaves of ivy. + +Then, with a shriek of pain and fury--for those who smite love not +that they be smitten--he turned and sprang at me! And all the people +round gave back, save only the woman who could not rise, leaving us +two in a ring as it were. On he came with a rush, and, as he came, +being now mad, I smote him with my clenched fist between the eyes, +having nothing else with which to smite, and he staggered like an ox +beneath the first blow of the priest's axe. Then the people shouted, +for they love to see a fight, and the man was known to them as a +gladiator victorious in the games. Gathering up his strength, the +knave came on with an oath, and, whirling his heavy staff on high, +struck me in such a fashion that, had I not avoided the blow by +nimbleness, I had surely been slain. But, as it chanced, the staff hit +upon the ground, and so heavily that it flew in fragments. Thereon the +multitude shouted again, and the great man, blind with fury, rushed at +me to smite me down. But with a cry I sprang straight at his throat-- +for he was so heavy a man that I knew I could not hope to throw him by +strength--ay, and gripped it. There I clung, though his fists battered +me like bludgeons, driving my thumbs into his throat. Round and round +we turned, till at length he flung himself to the earth, trusting thus +to shake me off. But I held on fast as we rolled over and over on the +ground, till at last he grew faint for want of breath. Then I, being +uppermost, drove my knee down upon his chest, and, as I believe, +should thus have slain him in my rage had not my uncle, and others +there gathered, fallen upon me and dragged me from him. + +And meanwhile, though I know it not, the chariot in which the Queen +sat, with elephants going before and lions led after it, had reached +the spot, and had been halted because of the tumult. I looked up, and +thus torn, panting, my white garments stained with the blood that had +rushed from the mouth and nostrils of the mighty Nubian, I for the +first time saw Cleopatra face to face. Her chariot was all of gold, +and drawn by milk-white steeds. She sat in it with two fair girls, +clad in Greek attire, standing one on either side, fanning her with +glittering fans. On her head was the covering of Isis, the golden +horns between which rested the moon's round disk and the emblem of +Osiris' throne, with the uręus twined around. Beneath this covering +was the vulture cap of gold, the blue enamelled wings and the vulture +head with gemmy eyes, under which her long dark tresses flowed towards +her feet. About her rounded neck was a broad collar of gold studded +with emeralds and coral. Round her arms and wrists were bracelets of +gold studded with emeralds and coral, and in one hand she held the +holy cross of Life fashioned of crystal, and in the other the golden +rod of royalty. Her breast was bare, but under it was a garment that +glistened like the scaly covering of a snake, everywhere sewn with +gems. Beneath this robe was a skirt of golden cloth, half hidden by a +scarf of the broidered silk of Cos, falling in folds to the sandals +that, fastened with great pearls, adorned her white and tiny feet. + +All this I discerned at a glance, as it were. Then I looked upon the +face--that face which seduced Cęsar, ruined Egypt, and was doomed to +give Octavian the sceptre of the world. I looked upon the flawless +Grecian features, the rounded chin, the full, rich lips, the chiselled +nostrils, and the ears fashioned like delicate shells. I saw the +forehead, low, broad, and lovely, the crisped, dark hair falling in +heavy waves that sparkled in the sun, the arched eyebrows, and the +long, bent lashes. There before me was the grandeur of her Imperial +shape. There burnt the wonderful eyes, hued like the Cyprian violet-- +eyes that seemed to sleep and brood on secret things as night broods +upon the desert, and yet as the night to shift, change, and be +illumined by gleams of sudden splendour born within their starry +depths. All those wonders I saw, though I have small skill in telling +them. But even then I knew that it was not in these charms alone that +the might of Cleopatra's beauty lay. It was rather in a glory and a +radiance cast through the fleshly covering from the fierce soul +within. For she was a Thing of Flame like unto which no woman has ever +been or ever will be. Even when she brooded, the fire of her quick +heart shone through her. But when she woke, and the lightning leapt +suddenly from her eyes, and the passion-laden music of her speech +chimed upon her lips, ah! then, who can tell how Cleopatra seemed? For +in her met all the splendours that have been given to woman for her +glory, and all the genius which man has won from heaven. And with them +dwelt every evil of that greater sort, which fearing nothing, and +making a mock of laws, has taken empires for its place of play, and, +smiling, watered the growth of its desires with the rich blood of men. +In her breast they gathered, together fashioning that Cleopatra whom +no man may draw, and yet whom no man, having seen, ever can forget. +They fashioned her grand as the Spirit of Storm, lovely as Lightning, +cruel as Pestilence, yet with a heart; and what she did is known. Woe +to the world when such another comes to curse it! + +For a moment I met Cleopatra's eyes as she idly bent herself to find +the tumult's cause. At first they were sombre and dark, as though they +saw indeed, but the brain read nothing. Then they awoke, and their +very colour seemed to change as the colour of the sea changes when the +water is shaken. First, there was anger written in them; next an idle +noting; then, when she looked upon the huge bulk of the man whom I had +overcome, and knew him for the gladiator, something, perchance, that +was not far from wonder. At the least they softened, though, indeed, +her face changed no whit. But he who would read Cleopatra's mind had +need to watch her eyes, for her countenance varied but a little. +Turning, she said some word to her guards. They came forward and led +me to her, while all the multitude waited silently to see me slain. + +I stood before her, my arms folded on my breast. Overcome though I was +by the wonder of her loveliness I hated her in my heart, this woman +who dared to clothe herself in the dress of Isis, this usurper who sat +upon my throne, this wanton squandering the wealth of Egypt in +chariots and perfumes. When she had looked me over from head to the +feet, she spake in a low full voice and in the tongue of Khemi which +she alone had learned of all the Lagidę: + +"And who and what art thou, Egyptian--for Egyptian I see thou art--who +darest to smite my slave when I make progress through my city?" + +"I am Harmachis," I answered boldly. "Harmachis, the astrologer, +adopted son of the High Priest and Governor of Abouthis, who am come +hither to seek my fortune. I smote thy slave, O Queen, because for no +fault he struck down the woman yonder. Ask of those who saw, royal +Egypt." + +"Harmachis," she said, "the name has a high sound--and thou hast a +high look;" and then, speaking to a soldier who had seen all, she bade +him tell her what had come to pass. This he did truthfully, being +friendly disposed towards me because I had overcome the Nubian. +Thereon she turned and spoke to the girl bearing the fan who stood +beside her--a woman with curling hair and shy dark eyes, very +beautiful to see. The girl answered somewhat. Then Cleopatra bade them +bring the slave to her. So they led forward the giant, who had found +his breath again, and with him the woman whom he had smitten down. + +"Thou dog!" she said, in the same low voice; "thou coward! who, being +strong, didst smite down this woman, and, being a coward, wast +overthrown of this young man. See, thou, I will teach thee manners. +Henceforth, when thou smitest women it shall be with thy left arm. Ho, +guards, seize this black slave and strike off his right hand." + +Her command given, she sank back in her golden chariot, and again the +cloud gathered in her eyes. But the guards seized the giant, and, +notwithstanding his cries and prayers for mercy, struck off his hand +with a sword upon the wood of the scaffolding and he was carried away +groaning. Then the procession moved on again. As it went the fair +woman with the fan turned her head, caught my eye, and smiled and +nodded as though she rejoiced, at which I wondered somewhat. + +The people cheered also and made jests, saying that I should soon +practice astrology in the palace. But, as soon as we might, I and my +uncle escaped, and made our way back to the house. All the while he +rated me for my rashness; but when we came to the chamber of the house +he embraced me and rejoiced greatly, because I had overthrown the +giant with so little hurt to myself. + + + +CHAPTER II + +OF THE COMING OF CHARMION; AND OF THE WRATH OF SEPA + +That same night, while we sat at supper in the house, there came a +knock upon the door. It was opened, and a woman passed in wrapped from +head to foot in a large dark peplos or cloak in such fashion that her +face could not be clearly seen. + +My uncle rose, and as he did so the woman uttered the secret word. + +"I am come, my father," she said in a sweet clear voice, "though of a +truth it was not easy to escape the revels at the palace yonder. But I +told the Queen that the sun and the riot in the streets had made me +sick, and she let me go." + +"It is well," he answered. "Unveil thyself; here thou art safe." + +With a little sigh of weariness she unclasped the peplos and let it +slip from her, giving to my sight the face and form of that beauteous +girl who had stood to fan Cleopatra in the chariot. For she was very +fair and pleasant to look upon, and her Grecian robes clung sweetly +about her supple limbs and budding form. Her wayward hair, flowing in +a hundred little curls, was bound in with a golden fillet, and on her +feet were sandals fastened with studs of gold. Her cheeks blushed like +a flower, and her dark soft eyes were downcast, as though with +modesty, but smiles and dimples trembled about her lips. + +My uncle frowned when his eyes fell upon her dress. + +"Why comest thou in this garb, Charmion?" he asked sternly. "Is not +the dress of thy mothers good enough for thee? This is no time or +place for woman's vanities. Thou art not here to conquer, but to +obey." + +"Nay, be not wroth, my father," she answered softly; "perchance thou +knowest not that she whom I serve will have none of our Egyptian +dress; it is out of fashion. To wear it would have been to court +suspicion--also I came in haste." And as she spoke I saw that all the +while she watched me covertly through the long lashes which fringed +her modest eyes. + +"Well, well," he said sharply, fixing his keen glance upon her face, +"doubtless thou speakest truth, Charmion. Be ever mindful of thy oath, +girl, and of the cause to which thou art sworn. Be not light-minded, +and I charge thee forget the beauty with which thou hast been cursed. +For mark thou this, Charmion: fail us but one jot, and vengeance shall +fall on thee--the vengeance of man and the vengeance of the Gods! To +this service," he continued, lashing himself to anger as he went on +till his great voice rang in the narrow room, "thou hast been bred; to +this end thou hast been instructed and placed where thou art to gain +the ear of that wicked wanton whom thou seemest to serve. See thou +forget it not; see that the luxury of yonder Court does not corrupt +thy purity and divert thy aim, Charmion," and his eyes flashed and his +small form seemed to grow till it attained to dignity--nay, almost to +grandeur. + +"Charmion," he went on, advancing towards her with outstretched +finger, "I say that at times I do not trust thee. But two nights gone +I dreamed I saw thee standing in the desert. I saw thee laugh and lift +thy hand to heaven, and from it fell a rain of blood; then the sky +sank down on the land of Khem and covered it. Whence came the dream, +girl, and what is its meaning? I have naught against thee as yet; but +hearken! On the moment that I have, though thou art of my kin, and I +have loved thee--on that moment, I say, I will doom those delicate +limbs, which thou lovest so much to show, to the kite and the jackal, +and the soul within thee to all the tortures of the Gods! Unburied +shalt thou lie, and bodiless and accursed shalt thou wander in Amenti! +--ay, for ever and ever!" + +He paused, for his sudden burst of passion had spent itself. But by +it, more clearly than before, I saw how deep a heart this man had +beneath the cloak of his merriness and simplicity of mien, and how +fiercely the mind within him was set upon his aim. As for the girl, +she shrank from him terrified, and, placing her hands before her sweet +face, began to weep. + +"Nay, speak not so, my father," she said, between her sobs; "for what +have I done? I know nothing of the evil wandering of thy dreams. I am +no soothsayer that I should read dreams. Have I not carried out all +things according to thy desire? Have I not been ever mindful of that +dread oath?"--and she trembled. "Have I not played the spy and told +thee all? Have I not won the heart of the Queen, so that she loves me +as a sister, refusing me nothing--ay, and the hearts of those about +her? Why dost thou affright me thus with thy words and threats?" and +she wept afresh, looking even more beautiful in her sorrow than she +was before. + +"Enough, enough," he answered; "what I have said, I have said. Be +warned, and affront our sight no more with this wanton dress. Thinkest +thou that we would feed our eyes upon those rounded arms--we whose +stake is Egypt and who are dedicated to the Gods of Egypt? Girl, +behold thy cousin and thy King!" + +She ceased weeping, wiping her eyes with her chiton, and I saw that +they seemed but the softer for her tears. + +"Methinks, most royal Harmachis, and beloved Cousin," she said, as she +bent before me, "that we are already made acquainted." + +"Yea, Cousin," I answered, not without shamefacedness, for I had never +before spoken to so fair a maid; "thou wert in the chariot with +Cleopatra this day when I struggled with the Nubian?" + +"Assuredly," she said, with a smile and a sudden lighting of the eyes, +"it was a gallant fight and gallantly didst thou overthrow that black +brute. I saw the fray and, though I knew thee not, I greatly feared +for one so brave. But I paid him for my fright, for it was I who put +it into the mind of Cleopatra to bid the guards strike off his hand-- +now, knowing who thou art, I would I had said his head." And she +looked up shooting a glance at me and then smiled. + +"Enough," put in my uncle Sepa, "the time draws on. Tell thou thy +mission, Charmion, and be gone." + +Then her manner changed; she folded her hands meekly before her and +spoke: + +"Let Pharaoh hearken to his handmaiden. I am the daughter of Pharaoh's +uncle, the brother of his father, who is now long dead, and therefore +in my veins also flows the Royal blood of Egypt. Also I am of the +ancient Faith, and hate these Greeks, and to see thee set upon the +throne has been my dearest hope now for many years. To this end I, +Charmion, have put aside my rank and become serving-woman to +Cleopatra, that I might cut a notch in which thou couldst set thy foot +when the hour came for thee to climb the throne. And, Pharaoh, the +notch is cut. + +"This then is our plot, royal Cousin. Thou must gain an entrance to +the Household and learn its ways and secrets, and, so far as may be, +suborn the eunuchs and captains, some of whom I have already tempted. +This done, and all things being prepared without, thou must slay +Cleopatra, and, aided by me with those whom I control, in the +confusion that shall ensue, throw wide the gates, and, admitting those +of our party who are in waiting, put such of the troops as remain +faithful to the sword and seize the Bruchium. Which being finished, +within two days thou shalt hold this fickle Alexandria. At the same +time those who are sworn to thee in every city of Egypt shall rise in +arms, and in ten days from the death of Cleopatra thou shalt indeed be +Pharaoh. This is the counsel which has been taken, and thou seest, +royal Cousin, that, though our uncle yonder thinks so ill of me, I +have learned my part--ay, and played it." + +"I hear thee, Cousin," I answered, marvelling that so young a woman-- +she had but twenty years--could weave so bold a plot, for in its +origin the scheme was hers. But in those days I little knew Charmion. +"Go on; how then shall I gain entrance to the palace of Cleopatra?" + +"Nay, Cousin, as things are it is easy. Thus: Cleopatra loves to look +upon a man, and--give me pardon--thy face and form are fair. To-day +she noted them, and twice she said she would she had asked where that +astrologer might be found, for she held that an astrologer who could +wellnigh slay a Nubian gladiator with his bare hands, must indeed be a +master of the fortunate stars. I answered her that I would cause +inquiry to be made. So hearken, royal Harmachis. At midday Cleopatra +sleeps in her inner hall which looks over the gardens to the harbour. +At that hour to-morrow, then, I will meet thee at the gates of the +palace, whither thou shalt come boldly asking for the Lady Charmion. I +will make appointment for thee with Cleopatra, so that she shall see +thee alone when she wakes, and the rest shall be for thee, Harmachis. +For much she loves to play with the mysteries of magic, and I have +known her stand whole nights watching the stars and making a pretence +to read them. And but lately she has sent away Dioscorides the +physician, because, poor fool! he ventured on a prophecy from the +conjunction of the stars, that Cassius would defeat Mark Antony. +Thereon Cleopatra sent orders to the General Allienus, bidding him add +the legions she had sent to Syria to help Antony to the army of +Cassius, whose victory, forsooth, was--according to Dioscorides-- +written on the stars. But, as it chanced, Antony beat Cassius first +and Brutus afterwards, and so Dioscorides has departed, and now he +lectures on herbs in the museum for his bread, and hates the name of +stars. But his place is empty, and thou shalt fill it, and then we +will work in secret and in the shadow of the sceptre. Ay, we will work +like the worm at the heart of a fruit, till the time of plucking +comes, and at thy dagger's touch, royal Cousin, the fabric of this +Grecian throne crumbles to nothingness, and the worm that rotted it +bursts his servile covering, and, in the sight of empires, spreads his +royal wings o'er Egypt." + +I gazed at this strange girl once more astonished, and saw that her +face was lit up with such a light as I had never seen in the eyes of +woman. + +"Ah," broke in my uncle, who was watching her, "ah, I love to see thee +so, girl; there is the Charmion that I knew and I bred up--not the +Court girl whom I like not, draped in silks of Cos and fragrant with +essences. Let thy heart harden in this mould--ay, stamp it with the +fervid zeal of patriot faith, and thy reward shall find thee. And now +cover up that shameless dress of thine and leave us, for it grows +late. To-morrow Harmachis shall come, as thou hast said, and so +farewell." + +Charmion bowed her head, and, turning, wrapped her dark-hued peplos +round her. Then, taking my hand, she touched it with her lips and went +without any further word. + +"A strange woman!" said Sepa, when she had gone; "a most strange +woman, and an uncertain!" + +"Methought, my uncle," I said, "that thou wast somewhat harsh with +her." + +"Ay," he answered, "but not without a cause. Look thou, Harmachis; +beware of this Charmion. She is too wayward, and, I fear me, may be +led away. In truth, she is a very woman; and, like a restive horse, +will take the path that pleases her. She has brain and fire, and she +loves our cause; but I pray that the cause come not face to face with +her desires, for what her heart is set on that will she do, at any +cost she will do it. Therefore I frightened her now while I may: for +who can know but that she will pass beyond my power? I tell thee, that +in this one girl's hand lie all our lives: and if she play us false, +what then? Alas! and alas! that we must use such tools as these! But +it was needful: there was no other way; and yet I misdoubted me. I +pray that it may be well; still, at times, I fear my niece Charmion-- +she is too fair, and the blood of youth runs too warm in those blue +veins of hers. + +"Ah, woe to the cause that builds its strength upon a woman's faith; +for women are faithful only where they love, and when they love their +faithlessness becomes their faith. They are not fixed as men are +fixed: they rise more high and sink more low--they are strong and +changeful as the sea. Harmachis, beware of this Charmion: for, like +the ocean, she may float thee home; or, like the ocean, she may wreck +thee, and, with thee, the hope of Egypt!" + + + +CHAPTER III + +OF THE COMING OF HARMACHIS TO THE PALACE; OF HOW HE DREW +PAULUS THROUGH THE GATES; OF CLEOPATRA SLEEPING; AND OF THE +MAGIC OF HARMACHIS WHICH HE SHOWED HER + +Thus it came to pass that on the next day I arrayed myself in a long +and flowing robe, after the fashion of a magician or astrologer. I +placed a cap on my head, about which were broidered images of the +stars, and in my belt a scribe's palette and a roll of papyrus written +over with magic spells and signs. In my hand I held a wand of ebony, +tipped with ivory, such as is used by priests and masters of magic. +Among these, indeed, I took high rank, filling my knowledge of their +secrets which I had learned at Annu what I lacked in that skill which +comes from use. And so with no small shame, for I love not such play +and hold this common magic in contempt, I set forth through the +Bruchium to the palace on the Lochias, being guided on my way by my +uncle Sepa. At length, passing up the avenue of sphinxes, we came to +the great marble gateway and the gates of bronze, within which is the +guard-house. Here my uncle left me, breathing many prayers for my +safety and success. But I advanced with an easy air to the gate, where +I was roughly challenged by the Gallic sentries, and asked of my name, +following, and business. I gave my name, Harmachis, the astrologer, +saying that my business was with the Lady Charmion, the Queen's lady. +Thereon the man made as though to let me pass in, when a captain of +the guard, a Roman named Paulus, came forward and forbade it. Now, +this Paulus was a large limbed man, with a woman's face, and a hand +that shook from wine-bibbing. Still he knew me again. + +"Why," he cried, in the Latin tongue, to one who came with him, "this +is the fellow who wrestled yesterday with the Nubian gladiator, that +same who now howls for his lost hand underneath my window. Curses on +the black brute! I had a bet upon him for the games! I have backed him +against Caius, and now he'll never fight again, and I must lose my +money, all through this astrologer. What is it thou sayest?--thou hast +business with the Lady Charmion? Nay, then, that settles it. I will +not let thee through. Fellow, I worship the Lady Charmion--ay, we all +worship her, though she gives us more slaps than sighs. And dost thou +think that we will suffer an astrologer with such eyes and such a +chest as thine to cut in the game?--by Bacchus, no! She must come out +to keep the tryst, for in thou shalt not go." + +"Sir," I said humbly and yet with dignity, "I pray that a message may +be sent to the Lady Charmion, for my business will not brook delay." + +"Ye Gods!" answered the fool, "whom have we here that he cannot wait? +A Cęsar in disguise? Nay, be off--be off! if thou wouldst not learn +how a spear-prick feels behind." + +"Nay," put in the other officer, "he is an astrologer; make him +prophesy--make him play tricks." + +"Ay," cried the others who had sauntered up, "let the fellow show his +art. If he is a magician he can pass the gates, Paulus or no Paulus." + +"Right willingly, good Sirs," I answered; for I saw no other means of +entering. "Wilt thou, my young and noble Lord"--and I addressed him +who was with Paulus--"suffer that I look thee in the eyes; perhaps I +may read what is written there?" + +"Right," answered the youth; "but I wish that the Lady Charmion was +the sorceress. I would stare her out of countenance, I warrant." + +I took him by the hand and gazed deep into his eyes. "I see," I said, +"a field of battle at night, and about it bodies stretched--among them +is /thy/ body, and a hyena tears its throat. Most noble Sir, thou +shalt die by sword-thrusts within a year." + +"By Bacchus!" said the youth, turning white to the gills, "thou art an +ill-omened sorcerer!" And he slunk off--shortly afterwards, as it +chanced, to meet this very fate. For he was sent on service and slain +in Cyprus. + +"Now for thee, great Captain!" I said, speaking to Paulus. "I will +show thee how I will pass those gates without thy leave--ay, and draw +thee through them after me. Be pleased to fix thy princely gaze upon +the point of this wand in my hand." + +Being urged by his comrades he did this, unwillingly; and I let him +gaze till I saw his eyes grow empty as an owl's eyes in the sun. Then +I suddenly withdrew the wand, and, shifting my countenance into the +place of it, I seized him with my will and stare, and, beginning to +turn round and round, drew him after me, his fierce face drawn fixed, +as it were, almost to my own. Then I moved slowly backwards till I had +passed the gates, still drawing him after me, and suddenly jerked my +head away. He fell to the ground, to rise wiping his brow and looking +very foolish. + +"Art thou content, most noble Captain?" I said. "Thou seest we have +passed the gates. Would any other noble Sir wish that I should show +more of my skill?" + +"By Taranis, Lord of Thunder, and all the Gods of Olympus thrown in, +no!" growled an old Centurion, a Gaul named Brennus, "I like thee not, +I say. The man who could drag our Paulus through those gates by the +eye, as it were, is not a man to play with. Paulus, too, who always +goes the way you don't want him--backwards, like an ass--Paulus! Why, +sirrah, thou needst must have a woman in one eye and a wine-cup in the +other to draw our Paulus thus." + +At this moment the talk was broken, for Charmion herself came down the +marble path, followed by an armed slave. She walked calm and +carelessly, her hands folded behind her, and her eyes gazing at +nothingness, as it were. But it was when Charmion thus looked upon +nothing that she saw most. And as she came the officers and men of the +guard made way for her bowing, for, as I learned afterwards, this +girl, next to Cleopatra's self, wielded more power than anyone about +the palace. + +"What is this tumult, Brennus?" she said, speaking to the Centurion, +and making as if she saw me not; "knowest thou not that the Queen +sleeps at this hour, and if she be awakened it is thou who must answer +for it, and that dearly?" + +"Nay, Lady," said the Centurion, humbly; "but it is thus. We have +here"--and he jerked his thumb towards me--"a magician of the most +pestilent--um, I crave his pardon--of the very best sort, for he hath +but just now, only by placing his eyes close to the nose of the worthy +Captain Paulus, dragged him, the said Paulus, through the gates that +Paulus swore the magician should not pass. By the same token, lady, +the magician says that he has business with you--which grieves me for +your sake." + +Charmion turned and looked at me carelessly. "Ay, I remember," she +said; "and so he has--at least, the Queen would see his tricks; but if +he can do none better than cause a sot"--here she cast a glance of +scorn at the wondering Paulus--"to follow his nose through the gates +he guards, he had better go whence he came. Follow me, Sir Magician; +and for thee, Brennus, I say, keep thy riotous crew more quiet. For +thee, most honourable Paulus, get thee sober, and next time I am asked +for at the gates give him who asks a hearing." And, with a queenly nod +of her small head, she turned and led the way, followed at a distance +by myself and the armed slave. + +We passed up the marble walk which runs through the garden grounds, +and is set on either side with marble statues, for the most part of +heathen Gods and Goddesses, with which these Lagidę were not ashamed +to defile their royal dwellings. At length we came to a beautiful +portico with fluted columns of the Grecian style of art, where we +found more guards, who made way for the Lady Charmion. Crossing the +portico we reached a marble vestibule where a fountain splashed +softly, and thence by a low doorway a second chamber, known as the +Alabaster Hall, most beautiful to see. Its roof was upheld by light +columns of black marble, but all its walls were panelled with +alabaster, on which Grecian legends were engraved. Its floor was of +rich and many-hued mosaic that told the tale of the passion of Psyche +for the Grecian God of Love, and about it were set chairs of ivory and +gold. Charmion bade the armed slave stay at the doorway of this +chamber, so that we passed in alone, for the place was empty except +for two eunuchs who stood with drawn swords before the curtain at the +further end. + +"I am vexed, my Lord," she said, speaking very low and shyly, "that +thou shouldst have met with such affronts at the gate; but the guard +there served a double watch, and I had given my commands to the +officer of the company that should have relieved it. Those Roman +officers are ever insolent, who, though they seem to serve, know well +that Egypt is their plaything. But it is not amiss, for these rough +soldiers are superstitious, and will fear thee. Now bide thou here +while I go into Cleopatra's chamber, where she sleeps. I have but just +sung her to sleep, and if she be awake I will call thee, for she waits +thy coming." And without more words she glided from my side. + +In a little time she returned, and coming to me spoke: + +"Wouldst see the fairest woman in all the world, asleep?" she +whispered; "if so, follow me. Nay, fear not; when she awakes she will +but laugh, for she bade me be sure to bring thee instantly, whether +she slept or woke. See, I have her signet." + +So we passed up the beautiful chamber till we came to where the +eunuchs stood with drawn swords, and these would have barred my entry. +But Charmion frowned, and drawing the signet from her bosom held it +before their eyes. Having examined the writing that was on the ring, +they bowed, dropping their sword points and we passed through the +heavy curtains broidered with gold into the resting-place of +Cleopatra. It was beautiful beyond imagining--beautiful with many +coloured marbles, with gold and ivory, gems and flowers--all art can +furnish and all luxury can dream of were here. Here were pictures so +real that birds might have pecked the painted fruits; here were +statues of woman's loveliness frozen into stone; here were draperies +fine as softest silk, but woven of a web of gold; here were couches +and carpets such as I never saw. The air, too, was sweet with perfume, +while through the open window places came the far murmur of the sea. +And at the further end of the chamber, on a couch of gleaming silk and +sheltered by a net of finest gauze, Cleopatra lay asleep. There she +lay--the fairest thing that man ever saw--fairer than a dream, and the +web of her dark hair flowed all about her. One white, rounded arm made +a pillow for her head, and one hung down towards the ground. Her rich +lips were parted in a smile, showing the ivory lines of teeth; and her +rosy limbs were draped in so thin a robe of the silk of Cos, held +about her by a jewelled girdle, that the white gleam of flesh shone +through it. I stood astonished, and though my thoughts had little bent +that way, the sight of her beauty struck me like a blow, so that for a +moment I lost myself as it were in the vision of its power, and was +grieved at heart because I must slay so fair a thing. + +Turning suddenly from the sight, I found Charmion watching me with her +quick eyes--watching as though she would search my heart. And, indeed, +something of my thought must have been written on my face in a +language that she could read, for she whispered in my ear: + +"Ay, it is pity, is it not? Harmachis, being but a man, methinks that +thou wilt need all thy ghostly strength to nerve thee to the deed!" + +I frowned, but before I could frame an answer she touched me lightly +on the arm and pointed to the Queen. A change had come upon her: her +hands were clenched, and about her face, all rosy with the hue of +sleep, gathered a cloud of fear. Her breath came quick, she raised her +arms as though to ward away a blow, then with a stifled moan sat up +and opened the windows of her eyes. They were dark, dark as night; but +when the light found them they grew blue as the sky grows blue before +the blushing of the dawn. + +"Cęsarion?" she said; "where is my son Cęsarion?--Was it then a dream? +I dreamed that Julius--Julius who is dead--came to me, a bloody toga +wrapped about his face, and having thrown his arms about his child led +him away. Then I dreamed I died--died in blood and agony; and one I +might not see mocked me as I died. /Ah!/ who is that man?" + +"Peace, Madam! peace!" said Charmion. "It is but the magician +Harmachis, whom thou didst bid me bring to thee at this hour." + +"Ah! the magician--that Harmachis who overthrew the giant? I remember +now. He is welcome. Tell me, Sir Magician, can thy magic mirror call +forth an answer to this dream? Nay, how strange a thing is Sleep, that +wrapping the mind in a web of darkness, straightly compels it to its +will! Whence, then, come those images of fear rising on the horizon of +the soul like some untimely moon upon a midday sky? Who grants them +power to stalk so lifelike from Memory's halls, and, pointing to their +wounds, thus confront the Present with the Past? Are they, then, +messengers? Does the half-death of sleep give them foothold in our +brains, and thus upknit the cut thread of human kinship? That was +Cęsar's self, I tell thee, who but now stood at my side and murmured +through his muffled robe warning words of which the memory is lost to +me. Read me this riddle, thou Egyptian Sphinx,[*] and I'll show thee a +rosier path to fortune than all thy stars can point. Thou hast brought +the omen, solve thou its problem." + +[*] Alluding to his name. Harmachis was the Grecian title of the + divinity of the Sphinx, as Horemkhu was the Egyptian.--Editor. + +"I come in a good hour, most mighty Queen," I answered, "for I have +some skill in the mysteries of Sleep, that is, as thou hast rightly +guessed, a stair by which those who are gathered to Osiris may from +time to time enter at the gateways of our living sense, and, by signs +and words that can be read of instructed mortals, repeat the echoes of +that Hall of Truth which is their habitation. Yes, Sleep is a stair by +which the messengers of the guardian Gods may descend in many shapes +upon the spirit of their choice. For, O Queen, to those who hold the +key, the madness of our dreams can show a clearer purpose and speak +more certainly than all the acted wisdom of our waking life, which is +a dream indeed. Thou didst see great Cęsar in his bloody robe, and he +threw his arms about the Prince Cęsarion and led him hence. Hearken +now to the secret of thy vision. It was Cęsar's self thou sawest +coming to thy side from Amenti in such a guise as might not be +mistaken. When he embraced the child Cęsarion he did it for a sign +that to him, and him alone, had passed his greatness and his love. +When he seemed to lead him hence he led him forth from Egypt to be +crowned in the Capitol, crowned the Emperor of Rome and Lord of all +the Lands. For the rest, I know not. It is hid from me." + +Thus, then, I read the vision, though to my sense it had a darker +meaning. But it is not well to prophesy evil unto Kings. + +Meanwhile Cleopatra had risen, and, having thrown back the gnat gauze, +was seated upon the edge of her couch, her eyes fixed upon my face, +while her fingers played with her girdle's jewelled ends. + +"Of a truth," she cried, "thou art the best of all magicians, for thou +readest my heart, and drawest a hidden sweet out of the rough shell of +evil omen!" + +"Ay, O Queen," said Charmion, who stood by with downcast eyes, and I +thought that there was bitter meaning in her soft tones; "may no +rougher words ever affront thy ears, and no evil presage tread less +closely upon its happy sense." + +Cleopatra placed her hands behind her head and, leaning back, looked +at me with half-shut eyes. + +"Come, show us of thy magic, Egyptian," she said. "It is yet hot +abroad, and I am weary of those Hebrew Ambassadors and their talk of +Herod and Jerusalem. I hate that Herod, as he shall find--and will +have none of the Ambassadors to-day, though I yearn a little to try my +Hebrew on them. What canst thou do? Hast thou no new trick? By +Serapis! if thou canst conjure as well as thou canst prophesy, thou +shalt have a place at Court, with pay and perquisites to boot, if thy +lofty soul does not scorn perquisites." + +"Nay," I answered, "all tricks are old; but there are some forms of +magic to be rarely used, and with discretion, that may be new to thee, +O Queen! Art thou afraid to venture on the charm?" + +"I fear nothing; go on and do thy worst. Come, Charmion, and sit by +me. But, stay, where are all the girls?--Iras and Merira?--they, too, +love magic." + +"Not so," I said; "the charms work ill before so many. Now behold!" +and, gazing at the twain, I cast my wand upon the marble and murmured +a spell. For a moment it was still, and then, as I muttered, the rod +slowly began to writhe. It bent itself, it stood on end, and moved of +its own motion. Next it put on scales, and behold it was a serpent +that crawled and fiercely hissed. + +"Fie on thee!" cried Cleopatra, clapping her hands; "callest thou that +magic? Why, it is an old trick that any wayside conjurer can do. I +have seen it a score of times." + +"Wait, O Queen," I answered, "thou hast not seen all." And, as I +spoke, the serpent seemed to break in fragments, and from each +fragment grew a new serpent. And these, too, broke in fragments and +bred others, till in a little while the place, to their glamoured +sight, was a seething sea of snakes, that crawled, hissed, and knotted +themselves in knots. Then I made a sign, and the serpents gathered +themselves round me, and seemed slowly to twine themselves about my +body and my limbs, till, save my face, I was wreathed thick with +hissing snakes. + +"Oh, horrible! horrible!" cried Charmion, hiding her countenance in +the skirt of the Queen's garment. + +"Nay, enough, Magician, enough!" said the Queen: "thy magic overwhelms +us." + +I waved my snake-wrapped arms, and all was gone. There at my feet lay +the black wand tipped with ivory, and naught beside. + +The two women looked upon each other and gasped with wonder. But I +took up the wand and stood with folded arms before them. + +"Is the Queen content with my poor art?" I asked most humbly. + +"Ay, that I am, Egyptian; never did I see its like! Thou art Court +astronomer from this day forward, with right of access to the Queen's +presence. Hast thou more of such magic at thy call?" + +"Yea, royal Egypt; suffer that the chamber be a little darkened, and I +will show thee one more thing." + +"Half am I afraid," she answered; "nevertheless do thou as this +Harmachis says, Charmion." + +So the curtains were drawn and the chamber made as though the twilight +were at hand. I came forward, and stood beside Cleopatra. "Gaze thou +there!" I said sternly, pointing with my wand to the empty space where +I had been, "and thou shalt behold that which is in thy mind." + +Then for a little space was silence, while the two women gazed fixedly +and half fearful at the spot. + +And as they gazed a cloud gathered before them. Very slowly it took +shape and form, and the form it took was the form of a man, though as +yet he was but vaguely mapped upon the twilight, and seemed now to +grow and now to melt away. + +Then I cried with a loud voice: + +"Spirit, I conjure thee, /appear!/" + +And as I cried the Thing, perfect in every part, leapt into form +before us, suddenly as the flash of day. His shape was the shape of +royal Cęsar, the toga thrown about his face, and on his form a +vestment bloody from a hundred wounds. An instant so he stood, then I +waved my wand and he was gone. + +I turned to the two women on the couch, and saw Cleopatra's lovely +face all clothed in terror. Her lips were ashy white, her eyes stared +wide, and all the flesh was shaking on her bones. + +"Man!" she gasped; "man! who and what art thou who canst bring the +dead before our eyes?" + +"I am the Queen's astronomer, magician, servant--what the Queen +wills," I answered, laughing. "Was this the form that was on the +Queen's mind?" + +She made no answer, but, rising, left the chamber by another door. + +Then Charmion rose also and took her hands from her face, for she, +too, had been stricken with dread. + +"How dost thou these things, royal Harmachis?" she said. "Tell me; for +of a truth I fear thee." + +"Be not afraid," I answered. "Perchance thou didst see nothing but +what was in my mind. All things are shadows. How canst thou, then, +know their nature, or what is and what only seems to be? But how goes +it? Remember, Charmion, this sport is played to an end." + +"It goes well," she said. "By to-morrow morning's dawn these tales +will have gone round, and thou wilt be more feared than any man in +Alexandria. Follow me, I pray thee." + + + +CHAPTER IV + +OF THE WAYS OF CHARMION; AND OF THE CROWNING OF HARMACHIS +AS THE KING OF LOVE + +On the following day I received the writing of my appointment as +Astrologer and Magician-in-Chief to the Queen, with the pay and +perquisites of that office, which were not small. Rooms were given me +in the palace, also, through which I passed at night to the high +watch-tower, whence I looked on the stars and drew their auguries. For +at this time Cleopatra was much troubled about matters political, and +not knowing how the great struggle among the Roman factions would end, +but being very desirous to side with the strongest, she took constant +counsel with me as to the warnings of the stars. These I read to her +in such manner as best seemed to fit the high interest of my ends. For +Antony, the Roman Triumvir, was now in Asia Minor, and, rumour ran, +very wroth because it had been told him that Cleopatra was hostile to +the Triumvirate, in that her General, Serapion, had aided Cassius. But +Cleopatra protested loudly to me and others that Serapion had acted +against her will. Yet Charmion told me that, as with Allienus, it was +because of a prophecy of Dioscorides the unlucky that the Queen +herself had secretly ordered Serapion so to do. Still, this did not +save Serapion, for to prove to Antony that she was innocent she +dragged the General from the sanctuary and slew him. Woe be to those +who carry out the will of tyrants if the scale should rise against +them! And so Serapion perished. + +Meanwhile all things went well with us, for the minds of Cleopatra and +those about her were so set upon affairs abroad that neither she nor +they thought of revolt at home. But day by day our party gathered +strength in the cities of Egypt, and even in Alexandria, which is to +Egypt as another land, all things being foreign there. Day by day, +those who doubted were won over and sworn to the cause by that oath +which cannot be broken, and our plans of action more firmly laid. And +every other day I went forth from the palace to take counsel with my +uncle Sepa, and there at his house met the Nobles and the great +priests who were for the party of Khem. + +I saw much of Cleopatra, the Queen, and I was ever more astonished at +the wealth and splendour of her mind, that for richness and variety +was as a woven cloth of gold throwing back all lights from its +changing face. She feared me somewhat, and therefore wished to make a +friend of me, asking me of many matters that seemed to be beyond the +province of my office. I saw much of the Lady Charmion also--indeed, +she was ever at my side, so that I scarce knew when she came and when +she went. For she would draw nigh with that soft step of hers, and I +would turn to find her at hand and watching me beneath the long lashes +of her downcast eyes. There was no service that was too hard for her, +and no task too long; for day and night she laboured for me and for +our cause. + +But when I thanked her for her loyalty, and said it should be had in +mind in that time which was at hand, she stamped her foot, and pouted +with her lips, like an angry child, saying that, among all the things +which I had learned, this had I not learned--that Love's service asked +no payment, and was its own guerdon. And I, being innocent in such +matters, and, foolish that I was, holding the ways of women as of +small account, read her sayings in the sense that her services to the +cause of Khem, which she loved, brought with them their own reward. +But when I praised so fine a spirit, she burst into angry tears and +left me wondering. For I knew nothing of the trouble at her heart. I +knew not then that, unsought, this woman had given me her love, and +that she was rent and torn by pangs of passion fixed like arrows in +her breast. I did not know--how should I know it, who never looked +upon her otherwise than as an instrument of our joint and holy cause? +Her beauty never stirred me--no, not even when she leaned over me and +breathed upon my hair, I never thought of it otherwise than as a man +thinks of the beauty of a statue. What had I to do with such delights, +I who was sworn to Isis and dedicate to the cause of Egypt? O ye Gods, +bear me witness that I am innocent of this thing which was the source +of all my woe and the woe of Khem! + +How strange a thing is this love of woman, that is so small in its +beginning and in its ends so great! See, at the first it is as the +little spring of water welling from a mountain's heart. And at the +last what is it? It is a mighty river that floats argosies of joy and +makes wide lands to smile. Or, perchance, it is a torrent to wash in a +flood of ruin across the fields of Hope, bursting in the barriers of +design, and bringing to tumbled nothingness the tenement of man's +purity and the temples of his faith. For when the Invisible conceived +the order of the universe He set this seed of woman's love within its +plan, that by its most unequal growth is doomed to bring about +equality of law. For now it lifts the low to heights untold, and now +it brings the noble to the level of the dust. And thus, while Woman, +that great surprise of nature, is, Good and Evil can never grow apart. +For still She stands, and, blind with love, shoots the shuttle of our +fate, and pours sweet water into the cup of bitterness, and poisons +the wholesome breath of life with the doom of her desire. Turn this +way and turn that, She is at hand to meet thee. Her weakness is thy +strength, her might is thy undoing. Of her thou art, to her thou +goest. She is thy slave, yet holds thee captive; at her touch honour +withers, locks open, and barriers fall. She is infinite as ocean, she +is variable as heaven, and her name is the Unforeseen. Man, strive not +to escape from Woman and the love of woman; for, fly where thou wilt, +She is yet thy fate, and whate'er thou buildest thou buildest it for +her! + +And thus it came to pass that I, Harmachis, who had put such matters +far from me, was yet doomed to fall by the thing I held of no account. +For, see, this Charmion: she loved me--why, I know not. Of her own +thought she learned to love me, and of her love came what shall be +told. But I, knowing naught, treated her like a sister, walking as it +were hand in hand with her towards our common end. + +And so the time passed on, till, at length, all things were made +ready. + +It was the night before the night when the blow should fall, and there +were revellings in the palace. That very day I had seen Sepa, and with +him the captains of a band of five hundred men, who should burst into +the palace at midnight on the morrow, when I had slain Cleopatra the +Queen, and put the Roman and the Gallic legionaries to the sword. That +very day I had suborned the Captain Paulus who, since I drew him +through the gates, was my will's slave. Half by fear and half by +promises of great reward I had prevailed upon him, for the watch was +his, to unbar that small gate which faces to the East at the signal on +the morrow night. + +All was made ready--the flower of Freedom that had been five-and- +twenty years in growth was on the point of bloom. Armed companies were +gathering in every city from Abu to Athu, and spies looked out from +their walls, awaiting the coming of the messenger who should bring +tidings that Cleopatra was no more and that Harmachis, the royal +Egyptian, had seized the throne. + +All was prepared, triumph hung in my hand as a ripe fruit to the hand +of the plucker. Yet as I sat at the royal feast my heart was heavy, +and a shadow of coming woe lay cold within my mind. I sat there in a +place of honour, near the majesty of Cleopatra, and looked down the +lines of guests, bright with gems and garlanded with flowers, marking +those whom I had doomed to die. There before me lay Cleopatra in all +her beauty, which thrilled the beholder as he is thrilled by the +rushing of the midnight gale, or by the sight of stormy waters. I +gazed on her as she touched her lips with wine and toyed with the +chaplet of roses on her brow, thinking of the dagger beneath my robe +that I had sworn to bury in her breast. Again, and yet again, I gazed +and strove to hate her, strove to rejoice that she must die--and could +not. There, too, behind her--watching me now, as ever, with her deep- +fringed eyes--was the lovely Lady Charmion. Who, to look at her +innocent face, would believe that she was the setter of that snare in +which the Queen who loved her should miserably perish? Who would dream +that the secret of so much death was locked in her girlish breast? I +gazed, and grew sick at heart because I must anoint my throne with +blood, and by evil sweep away the evil of the land. At that hour I +wished, indeed, that I was nothing but some humble husbandman, who in +its season grows and in its season garners the golden grain! Alas! the +seed that I had been doomed to sow was the seed of Death, and now I +must reap the red fruit of the harvest! + +"Why, Harmachis, what ails thee?" said Cleopatra, smiling her slow +smile. "Has the golden skein of stars got tangled, my astronomer? or +dost thou plan some new feat of magic? Say what is it that thou dost +so poorly grace our feast? Nay, now, did I not know, having made +inquiry, that things so low as we poor women are far beneath thy gaze, +why, I should swear that Eros had found thee out, Harmachis!" + +"Nay, that I am spared, O Queen," I answered. "The servant of the +stars marks not the smaller light of woman's eyes, and therein is he +happy!" + +Cleopatra leaned herself towards me, looking on me long and steadily +in such fashion that, despite my will, the blood fluttered at my +heart. + +"Boast not, thou proud Egyptian," she said in a low voice which none +but I and Charmion could hear, "lest perchance thou dost tempt me to +match my magic against thine. What woman can forgive that a man should +push us by as things of no account? It is an insult to our sex which +Nature's self abhors," and she leaned back again and laughed most +musically. But, glancing up, I saw Charmion, her teeth on her lip and +an angry frown upon her brow. + +"Pardon, royal Egypt," I answered coldly, but with such wit as I could +summon, "before the Queen of Heaven even stars grow pale!" This I said +of the moon, which is the sign of the Holy Mother whom Cleopatra dared +to rival, naming herself Isis come to earth. + +"Happily said," she answered, clapping her white hands. "Why, here's +an astronomer who has wit and can shape a compliment! Nay, such a +wonder must not pass unnoted, lest the Gods resent it. Charmion, take +this rose-chaplet from my hair and set it upon the learned brow of our +Harmachis. He shall be crowned /King of Love/, whether he will it or +not." + +Charmion lifted the chaplet from Cleopatra's brows and, bearing it to +where I was, with a smile set it upon my head yet warm and fragrant +from the Queen's hair, but so roughly that she pained me somewhat. She +did this because she was wroth, although she smiled with her lips and +whispered, "An omen, royal Harmachis." For though she was so very much +a woman, yet, when she was angered or suffered jealousy, Charmion had +a childish way. + +Having thus fixed the chaplet, she curtsied low before me, and with +the softest tone of mockery named me, in the Greek tongue, "Harmachis, +King of Love." Then Cleopatra laughed and pledged me as "King of +Love," and so did all the company, finding the jest a merry one. For +in Alexandria they love not those who live straitly and turn aside +from women. + +But I sat there, a smile upon my lips, and black wrath in my heart. +For, knowing who and what I was, it irked me to think myself a jest +for the frivolous nobles and light beauties of Cleopatra's Court. But +I was chiefly angered against Charmion, because she laughed the +loudest, and I did not then know that laughter and bitterness are +often the veils with which a sore heart wraps its weakness from the +world. "An omen" she said it was--that crown of flowers--and so it +proved indeed. For I was fated to barter the Double Diadem of the +Upper and the Lower Land for a wreath of passion's roses that fade +before they fully bloom, and Pharaoh's ivory bed of state for the +pillow of a faithless woman's breast. + +"/King of Love!/" they crowned me in their mockery; ay, and King of +Shame! And I, with the perfumed roses on my brow--I, by descent and +ordination the Pharaoh of Egypt--thought of the imperishable halls of +Abouthis and of that other crowning which on the morrow should be +consummate. + +But still smiling, I pledged them back, and answered with a jest. For +rising, I bowed before Cleopatra and craved leave to go. "Venus," I +said, speaking of the planet that we know as Donaou in the morning and +Bonou in the evening, "was in the ascendant. Therefore, as new-crowned +King of Love, I must now pass to do my homage to its Queen." For these +barbarians name Venus Queen of Love. + +And so amidst their laughter I withdraw to my watch-tower, and, +dashing that shameful chaplet down amidst the instruments of my craft, +made pretence to note the rolling of the stars. There I waited, +thinking on many things that were to be, until Charmion should come +with the last lists of the doomed and the messages of my uncle Sepa, +whom she had seen that evening. + +At length the door opened softly, and she came jewelled and clad in +her white robes, as she had left the feast. + + + +CHAPTER V + +OF THE COMING OF CLEOPATRA TO THE CHAMBER OF HARMACHIS; OF +THE THROWING FORTH OF THE KERCHIEF OF CHARMION; OF THE +STARS; AND OF THE GIFT BY CLEOPATRA OF HER FRIENDSHIP TO HER +SERVANT HARMACHIS + +"At length thou art come, Charmion," I said. "It is over-late." + +"Yea, my Lord; but by no means could I escape Cleopatra. Her mood is +strangely crossed to-night. I know not what it may portend. Strange +whims and fancies blow across it like light and contrary airs upon a +summer sea, and I cannot read her purpose." + +"Well, well; enough of Cleopatra. Hast thou seen our uncle?" + +"Yes, royal Harmachis." + +"And hast thou the last lists?" + +"Yes; here they are," and she drew them from her bosom. "Here is the +list of those who, after the Queen, must certainly be put to the +sword. Among them thou wilt note is the name of that old Gaul Brennus. +I grieve for him, for we are friends; but it must be. It is a heavy +list." + +"It is so," I answered conning it; "when men write out their count +they forget no item, and our count is long. What must be must be. Now +for the next." + +"Here is the list of those to be spared, as friendly or uncertain; and +here that of the towns which will certainly rise as soon as the +messenger reaches their gates with tidings of the death of Cleopatra." + +"Good. And now"--and I paused--"and now as to the manner of +Cleopatra's death. How hast thou settled it? Must it be by my own +hand?" + +"Yea, my Lord," she answered, and again I caught that note of +bitterness in her voice. "Doubtless Pharaoh will rejoice that his +should be the hand to rid the land of this false Queen and wanton +woman, and at one blow break the chains which gall the neck of Egypt." + +"Talk not thus, girl," I said; "thou knowest well that I do not +rejoice, being but driven to the act by deep necessity and the +pressure of my vows. Can she not, then, be poisoned? Or can no one of +the eunuchs be suborned to slay her? My soul turns from this bloody +work! Indeed, I marvel, however heavy be her crimes, that thou canst +speak so lightly of the death by treachery of one who loves thee!" + +"Surely Pharaoh is over-tender, forgetting the greatness of the moment +and all that hangs upon this dagger-stroke that shall cut the thread +of Cleopatra's life. Listen, Harmachis. /Thou/ must do the deed, and +/thou/ alone! Myself I would do it, had my arm the strength; but it +has not. It cannot be done by poison, for every drop she drinks and +every morsel that shall touch her lips is strictly tasted by three +separate tasters, who cannot be suborned. Nor may the eunuchs of the +guard be trusted. Two, indeed, are sworn to us; but the third cannot +be come at. He must be cut down afterwards; and, indeed, when so many +men must fall, what matters a eunuch more or less? Thus it shall be, +then. To-morrow night, at three hours before midnight thou dost cast +the final augury of the issue of the war. And then thou wilt, as is +agreed, descend alone with me, having the signet, to the outer chamber +of the Queen's apartment. For the vessel bearing orders to the Legions +sails from Alexandria at the following dawn; and alone with Cleopatra, +since she wills that the thing be kept secret as the sea, thou wilt +read the message of the stars. And as she pores over the papyrus, then +must thou stab her in the back, so that she dies; and see thou that +thy will and arm fail thee not! The deed being done--and indeed it +will be easy--thou wilt take the signet and pass out to where the +eunuch is--for the others will be wanting. If by any chance there is +trouble with him--but there will be no trouble, for he dare not enter +the private rooms, and the sounds of death cannot reach so far--thou +must cut him down. Then I will meet thee; and, passing on, we will +come to Paulus, and it shall be my care to see that he is neither +drunk nor backward, for I know how to hold him to the task. And he and +those with him shall throw open the side gate, when Sepa and the five +hundred chosen men who are in waiting shall pour in and cast +themselves upon the sleeping legionaries, putting them to the sword. +Why, the thing is easy so thou rest true to thyself, and let no +womanish fears creep into thy heart. What is this dagger's thrust? It +is nothing, and yet upon it hang the destinies of Egypt and the +world." + +"Hush!" I said. "What is that?--I hear a sound." + +Charmion ran to the door, and, gazing down the long, dark passage, +listened. In a moment she came back, her finger on her lips. "It is +the Queen," she whispered hurriedly; "the Queen who mounts the stair +alone. I heard her bid Iras to leave her. I may not be found alone +with thee at this hour; it has a strange look, and she may suspect. +What wants she here? Where can I hide?" + +I glanced round. At the further end of the chamber was a heavy curtain +that hid a little place built in the thickness of the wall which I +used for the storage of rolls and instruments. + +"Haste thee--there!" I said, and she glided behind the curtain, which +swung back and covered her. Then I thrust the fatal scroll of death +into the bosom of my robe and bent over the mystic chart. Presently I +heard the sweep of woman's robes and there came a low knock upon the +door. + +"Enter, whoever thou art," I said. + +The latch lifted, and Cleopatra swept in, royally arrayed, her dark +hair hanging about her and the sacred snake of royalty glistening on +her brow. + +"Of a truth, Harmachis," she said with a sigh, as she sank into a +seat, "the path to heaven is hard to climb! Ah! I am weary, for those +stairs are many. But I was minded, my astronomer, to see thee in thy +haunts." + +"I am honoured overmuch, O Queen!" I said bowing low before her. + +"Art thou now? And yet that dark face of thine has a somewhat angry +look--thou art too young and handsome for this dry trade, Harmachis. +Why, I vow thou hast cast my wreath of roses down amidst thy rusty +tools! Kings would have cherished that wreath along with their +choicest diadems, Harmachis! and thou dost throw it away as a thing of +no account! Why, what a man art thou! But stay; what is this? A lady's +kerchief, by Isis! Nay, now, my Harmachis, how came /this/ here? Are +our poor kerchiefs also instruments of thy high art? Oh, fie, fie!-- +have I caught thee, then? Art thou indeed a fox?" + +"Nay, most royal Cleopatra, nay!" I said, turning; for the kerchief +which had fallen from Charmion's neck had an awkward look. "I know +not, indeed, how the frippery came here. Perhaps, some one of the +women who keeps the chamber may have let it fall." + +"Ah! so--so!" she said dryly, and still laughing like a rippling +brook. "Yes, surely, the slave-women who keep chambers own such toys +as this, of the very finest silk, worth twice its weight in gold, and +broidered, too, in many colours. Why, myself I should not shame to +wear it! Of a truth it seems familiar to my sight." And she threw it +round her neck and smoothed the ends with her white hand. "But there; +doubtless, it is a thing unholy in thine eyes that the scarf of thy +beloved should rest upon my poor breast. Take it, Harmachis; take it, +and hide it in thy bosom--nigh thy heart indeed!" + +I took the accursed thing, and, muttering what I may not write, +stepped on to the giddy platform whence I watched the stars. Then, +crushing it into a ball, I threw it to the winds of heaven. + +At this the lovely Queen laughed once more. + +"Nay, think now," she cried; "what would the lady say could she see +her love-gauge thus cast to all the world? Mayhap, Harmachis, thou +wouldst deal thus with my wreath also? See, the roses fade; cast it +forth," and, stooping, she took up the wreath and gave it to me. + +For a moment, so vexed was I, I had a mind to take her at her word and +send the wreath to join the kerchief. But I thought better of it. + +"Nay," I said more softly, "it is a Queen's gift, and I will keep it," +and, as I spoke, I saw the curtain shake. Often since that night I +have sorrowed over those simple words. + +"Gracious thanks be to the King of Love for this small mercy," she +answered, looking at me strangely. "Now, enough of wit; come forth +upon this balcony--tell me of the mystery of those stars of thine. For +I always loved the stars, that are so pure and bright and cold, and so +far away from our fevered troubling. There I would wish to dwell, +rocked on the dark bosom of the night, and losing the little sense of +self as I gazed for ever on the countenance of yon sweet-eyed space. +Nay--who can tell, Harmachis?--perhaps those stars partake of our very +substance, and, linked to us by Nature's invisible chain, do, indeed, +draw our destiny with them as they roll. What says the Greek fable of +him who became a star? Perchance it has truth, for yonder tiny sparks +may be the souls of men, but grown more purely bright and placed in +happy rest to illume the turmoil of their mother-earth. Or are they +lamps hung high in the heavenly vault that night by night some +Godhead, whose wings are Darkness, touches with his immortal fire so +that they leap out in answering flame? Give me of thy wisdom and open +these wonders to me, my servant, for I have little knowledge. Yet my +heart is large, and I would fill it, for I have the wit, could I but +find the teacher." + +Thereon, being glad to find footing on a safer shore, and marvelling +somewhat to learn that Cleopatra had a place for lofty thoughts, I +spoke and willingly told her such things as are lawful. I told her how +the sky is a liquid mass pressing round the earth and resting on the +elastic pillars of the air, and how above is the heavenly ocean Nout, +in which the planets float like ships as they rush upon their radiant +way. I told her many things, and amongst them how, through the certain +never-ceasing movement of the orbs of light, the planet Venus, that +was called Donaou when she showed as the Morning Star, became the +planet Bonou when she came as the sweet Star of Eve. And while I stood +and spoke watching the stars, she sat, her hands clasped upon her +knee, and watched my face. + +"Ah!" she broke in at length, "and so Venus is to be seen both in the +morning and the evening sky. Well, of a truth, she is everywhere, +though she best loves the night. But thou lovest not that I should use +these Latin names to thee. Come, we will talk in the ancient tongue of +Khem, which I know well; I am the first, mark thou, of all the Lagidę +who know it. And now," she went on, speaking in my own tongue, but +with a little foreign accent that did but make her talk more sweet, +"enough of stars, for, when all is said, they are but fickle things, +and perhaps may even now be storing up an evil hour for thee or me, or +for both of us together. Not but what I love to hear thee speak of +them, for then thy face loses that gloomy cloud of thought which mars +it and grows quick and human. Harmachis, thou art too young for such a +solemn trade; methinks that I must find thee a better. Youth comes but +once; why waste it in these musings? It is time to think when we can +no longer act. Tell me how old art thou, Harmachis?" + +"I have six-and-twenty years, O Queen," I answered, "for I was born in +the first month of Shomou, in the summer season, and on the third day +of the month." + +"Why, then, we are of an age even to a day," she cried, "for I too +have six-and-twenty years, and I too was born on the third day of the +first month of Shomou. Well, this may we say: those who begot us need +have no shame. For if I be the fairest woman in Egypt, methinks, +Harmachis, that there is in Egypt no man more fair and strong than +thou, ay, or more learned. Born of the same day, why, 'tis manifest +that we were destined to stand together, I, as the Queen, and thou, +perchance, Harmachis, as one of the chief pillars of my throne, and +thus to work each other's weal." + +"Or maybe each other's woe," I answered, looking up; for her sweet +speeches stung my ears and brought more colour to my face than I loved +that she should see there. + +"Nay, never talk of woe. Be seated here by me, Harmachis, and let us +talk, not as Queen and subject, but as friend to friend. Thou wast +angered with me at the feast to-night because I mocked thee with +yonder wreath--was it not so? Nay, it was but a jest. Didst thou know +how heavy is the task of monarchs and how wearisome are their hours, +thou wouldst not be wroth because I lit my dulness with a jest. Oh, +they weary me, those princes and those nobles, and those stiff-necked +pompous Romans. To my face they vow themselves my slaves, and behind +my back they mock me and proclaim me the servant of their Triumvirate, +or their Empire, or their Republic, as the wheel of Fortune turns, and +each rises on its round! There is never a man among them--nothing but +fools, parasites, and puppets--never a man since with their coward +daggers they slew that Cęsar whom all the world in arms was not strong +enough to tame. And I must play off one against the other, if maybe, +by so doing, I can keep Egypt from their grip. And for reward, what? +Why, this is my reward--that all men speak ill of me--and, I know it, +my subjects hate me! Yes, I believe that, woman though I am, they +would murder me could they find a means!" + +She paused, covering her eyes with her hand, and it was well, for her +words pierced me so that I shrank upon the seat beside her. + +"They think ill of me, I know it; and call me wanton, who have never +stepped aside save once, when I loved the greatest man of all the +world, and at the touch of love my passion flamed indeed, but burnt a +hallowed flame. These ribald Alexandrians swear that I poisoned +Ptolemy, my brother--whom the Roman Senate would, most unnaturally, +have forced on me, his sister, as a husband! But it is false: he +sickened and died of fever. And even so they say that I would slay +Arsinoė, my sister--who, indeed, would slay me!--but that, too, is +false! Though she will have none of me, I love my sister. Yes, they +all think ill of me without a cause; even thou dost think ill of me, +Harmachis. + +"O Harmachis, before thou judgest, remember what a thing is envy!-- +that foul sickness of the mind which makes the jaundiced eye of +pettiness to see all things distraught--to read Evil written on the +open face of Good, and find impurity in the whitest virgin's soul! +Think what a thing it is, Harmachis, to be set on high above the +gaping crowd of knaves who hate thee for thy fortune and thy wit; who +gnash their teeth and shoot the arrows of their lies from the cover of +their own obscureness, whence they have no wings to soar; and whose +hearts' quest it is to drag down thy nobility to the level of the +groundling and the fool! + +"Be not, then, swift to think evil of the Great, whose every word and +act is searched for error by a million angry eyes, and whose most tiny +fault is trumpeted by a thousand throats, till the world shakes with +echoes of their sin! Say not: 'It is thus, 'tis certainly thus'--say, +rather: 'May it not be otherwise? Have we heard aright? Did she this +thing of her own will?' Judge gently, Harmachis, as wert thou I thou +wouldst be judged. Remember that a Queen is never free. She is, +indeed, but the point and instrument of those forces politic with +which the iron books of history are graved. O Harmachis! be thou my +friend--my friend and counsellor!--my friend whom I can trust indeed! +--for here, in this crowded Court, I am more utterly alone than any +soul that breathes about its corridors. But /thee/ I trust; there is +faith written in those quiet eyes, and I am minded to lift thee high, +Harmachis. I can no longer bear my solitude of mind--I must find one +with whom I may commune and speak that which lies within my heart. I +have faults, I know it; but I am not all unworthy of thy faith, for +there is good grain among the evil seed. Say, Harmachis, wilt thou +take pity on my loneliness and befriend me, who have lovers, +courtiers, slaves, dependents, more thick than I can count, but never +one single /friend/?" and she leant towards me, touching me lightly, +and gazed on me with her wonderful blue eyes. + +I was overcome; thinking of the morrow night, shame and sorrow smote +me. /I/, her friend!--/I/, whose assassin dagger lay against my +breast! I bent my head, and a sob or a groan, I know not which, burst +from the agony of my heart. + +But Cleopatra, thinking only that I was moved beyond myself by the +surprise of her graciousness, smiled sweetly, and said: + +"It grows late; to-morrow night when thou bringest the auguries we +will speak again, O my friend Harmachis, and thou shalt answer me." +And she gave me her hand to kiss. Scarce knowing what I did, I kissed +it, and in another moment she was gone. + +But I stood in the chamber, gazing after her like one asleep. + + + +CHAPTER VI + +OF THE WORDS AND JEALOUSY OF CHARMION; OF THE LAUGHTER OF +HARMACHIS; OF THE MAKING READY FOR THE DEED OF BLOOD; AND OF THE + +I stood still, plunged in thought. Then by hazard as it were I took up +the wreath of roses and looked on it. How long I stood so I know not, +but when next I lifted up my eyes they fell upon the form of Charmion, +whom, indeed, I had altogether forgotten. And though at the moment I +thought but little of it, I noted vaguely that she was flushed as +though with anger, and beat her foot upon the floor. + +"Oh, it is thou, Charmion!" I said. "What ails thee? Art thou cramped +with standing so long in thy hiding-place? Why didst not thou slip +hence when Cleopatra led me to the balcony?" + +"Where is my kerchief?" she asked, shooting an angry glance at me. "I +let fall my broidered kerchief." + +"Thy kerchief!--why, didst thou not see? Cleopatra twitted me about +it, and I flung it from the balcony." + +"Yes, I saw," answered the girl, "I saw but too well. Thou didst fling +away my kerchief, but the wreath of roses--that thou wouldst not fling +away. It was 'a Queen's gift,' forsooth, and therefore the royal +Harmachis, the Priest of Isis, the chosen of the Gods, the crowned +Pharaoh wed to the weal of Khem, cherished it and saved it. But my +kerchief, stung by the laughter of that light Queen, he cast away!" + +"What meanest thou?" I asked, astonished at her bitter tone. "I cannot +read thy riddles." + +"What mean I?" she answered, tossing up her head and showing the white +curves of her throat. "Nay, I mean naught, or all; take it as thou +wilt. Wouldst know what I mean, Harmachis, my cousin and my Lord?" she +went on in a hard, low voice. "Then I will tell thee--thou art in +danger of the great offence. This Cleopatra has cast her fatal wiles +about thee, and thou goest near to loving her, Harmachis--to loving +her whom to-morrow thou must slay! Ay, stand and stare at that wreath +in thy hand--the wreath thou couldst not send to join my kerchief-- +sure Cleopatra wore it but to-night! The perfume of the hair of +Cęsar's mistress--Cęsar's and others'--yet mingles with the odour of +its roses! Now, prithee, Harmachis, how far didst thou carry the +matter on yonder balcony? for in that hole where I lay hid I could not +hear or see. 'Tis a sweet spot for lovers, is it not?--ay, and a sweet +hour, too? Venus surely rules the stars to-night?" + +All of this she said so quietly and in so soft and modest a way, +though her words were not modest, and yet so bitterly, that every +syllable cut me to the heart, and angered me till I could find no +speech. + +"Of a truth thou hast a wise economy," she went on, seeing her +advantage: "to-night thou dost kiss the lips that to-morrow thou shalt +still for ever! It is frugal dealing with the occasion of the moment; +ay, worthy and honourable dealing!" + +Then at last I broke forth. "Girl," I cried, "how darest thou speak +thus to me? Mindest thou who and what I am that thou loosest thy +peevish gibes upon me?" + +"I mind what it behoves thee to be," she answered quick. "What thou +art, that I mind not now. Surely thou knowest alone--thou and +Cleopatra!" + +"What meanest thou?" I said. "Am I to blame if the Queen----" + +"The Queen! What have we here? Pharaoh owns a Queen!" + +"If Cleopatra wills to come hither of a night and talk----" + +"Of stars, Harmachis--surely of stars and roses, and naught beside!" + +After that I know not what I said; for, troubled as I was, the girl's +bitter tongue and quiet way drove me wellnigh to madness. But this I +know: I spoke so fiercely that she cowered before me as she had +cowered before my uncle Sepa when he rated her because of her Grecian +garb. And as she wept then, so she wept now, only more passionately +and with great sobs. + +At length I ceased, half-shamed but still angry and smarting sorely. +For even while she wept she could find a tongue to answer with--and a +woman's shafts are sharp. + +"Thou shouldst not speak to me thus!" she sobbed; "it is cruel--it is +unmanly! But I forget thou art but a priest, not a man--except, +mayhap, for Cleopatra!" + +"What right hast thou?" I said. "What canst thou mean?" + +"What right have I?" she asked, looking up, her dark eyes all aflood +with tears that ran down her sweet face like the dew of morning down a +lily's heart. "What right have I? O Harmachis! art thou blind? Didst +thou not know by what right I speak thus to thee? Then I must tell +thee. Well, it is the fashion in Alexandria! By that first and holy +right of woman--by the right of the great love I bear thee, and which, +it seems, thou hast no eyes to see--by the right of my glory and my +shame. Oh, be not wroth with me, Harmachis, nor set me down as light, +because the truth at last has burst from me; for I am not so. I am +what thou wilt make me. I am the wax within the moulder's hands, and +as thou dost fashion me so I shall be. There breathes within me now a +breath of glory, blowing across the waters of my soul, that can waft +me to ends more noble than ever I have dreamed afore, if thou wilt be +my pilot and my guide. But if I lose thee, then I lose all that holds +me from my worse self--and let shipwreck come! Thou knowest me not, +Harmachis! thou canst not see how big a spirit struggles in this frail +form of mine! To thee I am a girl, clever, wayward, shallow. But I am +more! Show me thy loftiest thought and I will match it, the deepest +puzzle of thy mind and I will make it clear. Of one blood we are, and +love can ravel up our little difference and make us grow one indeed. +One end we have, one land we love, one vow binds us both. Take me to +thy heart, Harmachis, set me by thee on the Double Throne, and I swear +that I will lift thee higher than ever man has climbed. Reject me, and +beware lest I pull thee down! And now, putting aside the cold delicacy +of custom, stung to it by what I saw of the arts of that lovely living +falsehood, Cleopatra, which for pastime she practises on thy folly, I +have spoken out my heart, and answer thou!" And she clasped her hands +and, drawing one pace nearer, gazed, all white and trembling, on my +face. + +For a moment I stood struck dumb, for the magic of her voice and the +power of her speech, despite myself, stirred me like the rush of +music. Had I loved the woman, doubtless she might have fired me with +her flame; but I loved her not, and I could not play at passion. And +so thought came, and with thought that laughing mood, which is ever +apt to fashion upon nerves strained to the point of breaking. In a +flash, as it were, I bethought me of the way in which she had that +very night forced the wreath of roses on my head, I thought of the +kerchief and how I had flung it forth. I thought of Charmion in the +little chamber watching what she held to be the arts of Cleopatra, and +of her bitter speeches. Lastly, I thought of what my uncle Sepa would +say of her could he see her now, and of the strange and tangled skein +in which I was inmeshed. And I laughed aloud--the fool's laughter that +was my knell of ruin! + +She turned whiter yet--white as the dead--and a look grew upon her +face that checked my foolish mirth. "Thou findest, then, Harmachis," +she said in a low, choked voice, and dropping the level of her eyes, +"thou findest cause of merriment in what I have said?" + +"Nay," I answered; "nay, Charmion; forgive me if I laughed. It was +rather a laugh of despair; for what am I to say to thee? Thou hast +spoken high words of all thou mightest be: is it left for me to tell +thee what thou art?" + +She shrank, and I paused. + +"Speak," she said. + +"Thou knowest--none so well!--who I am and what my mission is: thou +knowest--none so well!--that I am sworn to Isis, and may, by law +Divine, have naught to do with thee." + +"Ay," she broke in, in her low voice, and with her eyes still fixed +upon the ground--"ay, and I know that thy vows are broken in spirit, +if not in form--broken like wreaths of cloud; for, Harmachis--/thou +lovest Cleopatra!/" + +"It is a lie!" I cried. "Thou wanton girl, who wouldst seduce me from +my duty and put me to an open shame!--who, led by passion or ambition, +or the love of evil, hast not shamed to break the barriers of thy sex +and speak as thou hast spoken--beware lest thou go too far! And if +thou wilt have an answer, here it is, put straightly, as thy question. +Charmion, outside the matter of my duty and my vows, thou art /naught/ +to me!--nor for all thy tender glances will my heart beat one pulse +more fast! Hardly art thou now my friend--for, of a truth, I scarce +can trust thee. But, once more: beware! To me thou mayest do thy +worst; but if thou dost dare to lift a finger against our cause, that +day thou diest! And now, is this play done?" + +And as, wild with anger, I spoke thus, she shrank back, and yet +further back, till at length she rested against the wall, her eyes +covered with her hand. But when I ceased she dropped her hand, +glancing up, and her face was as the face of a statue, in which the +great eyes glowed like embers, and round them was a ring of purple +shadow. + +"Not altogether done," she answered gently; "the arena must yet be +sanded!" This she said having reference to the covering up of the +bloodstains at the gladiatorial shows with fine sand. "Well," she went +on, "waste not thine anger on a thing so vile. I have thrown my throw +and I have lost. /Vę victis!/--ah! /Vę victis!/ Wilt thou not lend me +the dagger in thy robe, that here and now I may end my shame? No? Then +one word more, most royal Harmachis: if thou canst, forget my folly; +but, at the least, have no fear from me. I am now, as ever, thy +servant and the servant of our cause. Farewell!" + +And she went, leaning her hand against the wall. But I, passing to my +chamber, flung myself upon my couch, and groaned in bitterness of +spirit. Alas! we shape our plans, and by slow degrees build up our +house of Hope, never counting on the guests that time shall bring to +lodge therein. For who can guard against--the Unforeseen? + +At length I slept, and my dreams were evil. When I woke the light of +the day which should see the red fulfilment of the plot was streaming +through the casement, and the birds sang merrily among the garden +palms. I woke, and as I woke the sense of trouble pressed in upon me, +for I remembered that before this day was gathered to the past I must +dip my hands in blood--yes, in the blood of Cleopatra, who trusted me! +Why could I not hate her as I should? There had been a time when I +looked on to this act of vengeance with somewhat of a righteous glow +of zeal. And now--and now--why, I would frankly give my royal +birthright to be free from its necessity! But, alas! I knew that there +was no escape. I must drain this cup or be for ever cast away. I felt +the eyes of Egypt watching me, and the eyes of Egypt's Gods. I prayed +to my Mother Isis to give me strength to do this deed, and prayed as I +had never prayed before; and oh, wonder! no answer came. Nay, how was +this? What, then, had loosed the link between us that, for the first +time, the Goddess deigned no reply to her son and chosen servant? +Could it be that I had sinned in heart against her? What had Charmion +said--that I loved Cleopatra? Was this sickness love? Nay! a thousand +times nay!--it was but the revolt of Nature against an act of +treachery and blood. The Goddess did but try my strength, or perchance +she also turned her holy countenance from murder? + +I rose filled with terror and despair, and went about my task like a +man without a soul. I conned the fatal lists and noted all the plans-- +ay, in my brain I gathered up the very words of that proclamation of +my Royalty which, on the morrow, I should issue to the startled world. + +"Citizens of Alexandria and dwellers in the land of Egypt," it began, +"Cleopatra the Macedonian hath, by the command of the Gods, suffered +justice for her crimes----" + +All these and other things I did, but I did them as a man without a +soul--as a man moved by a force from without and not from within. And +so the minutes wore away. In the third hour of the afternoon I went as +by appointment fixed to the house where my uncle Sepa lodged, that +same house to which I had been brought some three months gone when I +entered Alexandria for the first time. And here I found the leaders of +the revolt in the city assembled in secret conclave to the number of +seven. When I had entered, and the doors were barred, they prostrated +themselves, and cried, "Hail, Pharaoh!" but I bade them rise, saying +that I was not yet Pharaoh, for the chicken was still in the egg. + +"Yea, Prince," said my uncle, "but his beak shows through. Not in vain +hath Egypt brooded all these years, if thou fail not with that dagger- +stroke of thine to-night; and how canst thou fail? Nothing can now +stop our course to victory!" + +"It is on the knees of the Gods," I answered. + +"Nay," he said, "the Gods have placed the issue in the hands of a +mortal--in thy hands, Harmachis!--and there it is safe. See: here are +the last lists. Thirty-one thousand men who bear arms are sworn to +rise when the tidings come to them. Within five days every citadel in +Egypt will be in our hands, and then what have we to fear? From Rome +but little, for her hands are full; and, besides, we will make +alliance with the Triumvirate, and, if need be, buy them off. For of +money there is plenty in the land, and if more be wanted thou, +Harmachis, knowest where it is stored against the need of Khem, and +outside the Roman's reach of arm. Who is there to harm us? There is +none. Perchance, in this turbulent city, there may be struggle, and a +counter-plot to bring Arsinoė to Egypt and set her on the throne. +Therefore Alexandria must be severely dealt with--ay, even to +destruction, if need be. As for Arsinoė, those go forth to-morrow on +the news of the Queen's death who shall slay her secretly." + +"There remains the lad Cęsarion," I said. "Rome might claim through +Cęsar's son, and the child of Cleopatra inherits Cleopatra's rights. +Here is a double danger." + +"Fear not," said my uncle; "to-morrow Cęsarion joins those who begat +him in Amenti. I have made provision. The Ptolemies must be stamped +out, so that no shoot shall ever spring from that root blasted by +Heaven's vengeance." + +"Is there no other means?" I asked sadly. "My heart is sick at the +promise of this red rain of blood. I know the child well; he has +Cleopatra's fire and beauty and great Cęsar's wit. It were shame to +murder him." + +"Nay, be not so chicken-hearted, Harmachis," said my uncle, sternly. +"What ails thee, then? If the lad is thus, the more reason that he +should die. Wouldst thou nurse up a young lion to tear thee from the +throne?" + +"Be it so," I answered, sighing. "At least he is spared much, and will +go hence innocent of evil. Now for the plans." + +We sat long taking counsel, till at length, in face of the great +emergency and our high emprise, I felt something of the spirit of +former days flow back into my heart. At the last all was ordered, and +so ordered that it could scarce miscarry, for it was fixed that if by +any chance I could not come to slay Cleopatra on this night, then the +plot should hang in the scale till the morrow, when the deed must be +done upon occasion. For the death of Cleopatra was the signal. These +matters being finished, once more we stood and, our hands upon the +sacred symbol, swore the oath that may not be written. And then my +uncle kissed me with tears of hope and joy standing in his keen black +eyes. He blessed me, saying that he would gladly give his life, ay, +and a hundred lives, if they were his, if he might but live to see +Egypt once more a nation, and me, Harmachis, the descendant of its +royal and ancient blood, seated on the throne. For he was a patriot +indeed, asking nothing for himself, and giving all things to his +cause. And I kissed him in turn, and thus we parted. Nor did I ever +see him more in the flesh who has earned the rest that as yet is +denied to me. + +So I went, and, there being yet time, walked swiftly from place to +place in the great city, taking note of the positions of the gates and +of the places where our forces must be gathered. At length I came to +that quay where I had landed, and saw a vessel sailing for the open +sea. I looked, and in my heaviness of heart longed that I were aboard +of her, to be borne by her white wings to some far shore where I might +live obscure and die forgotten. Also I saw another vessel that had +dropped down the Nile, from whose deck the passengers were streaming. +For a moment I stood watching them, idly wondering if they were from +Abouthis, when suddenly I heard a familiar voice beside me. + +"/La! la!/" said the voice. "Why, what a city is this for an old woman +to seek her fortune in! And how shall I find those to whom I am known? +As well look for the rush in the papyrus-roll.[*] Begone! thou knave! +and let my basket of simples lie; or, by the Gods, I'll doctor thee +with them!" + +[*] Papyrus was manufactured from the pith of rushes. Hence Atoua's + saying.--Editor. + +I turned, wondering, and found myself face to face with my foster- +nurse, Atoua. She knew me instantly, for I saw her start, but in the +presence of the people she checked her surprise. + +"Good Sir," she whined, lifting her withered countenance towards me, +and at the same time making the secret sign. "By thy dress thou +shouldst be an astronomer, and I was specially told to avoid +astronomers as a pack of lying tricksters who worship their own star +only; and, therefore, I speak to thee, acting on the principle of +contraries, which is law to us women. For surely in this Alexandria, +where all things are upside down, the astronomers may be the honest +men, since the rest are clearly knaves." And then, being by now out of +earshot of the press, "royal Harmachis, I am come charged with a +message to thee from thy father Amenemhat." + +"Is he well?" I asked. + +"Yes, he is well, though waiting for the moment tries him sorely." + +"And his message?" + +"It is this. He sends greeting to thee and with it warning that a +great danger threatens thee, though he cannot read it. These are his +words: 'Be steadfast and prosper.'" + +I bowed my head and the words struck a new chill of fear into my soul. + +"When is the time?" she asked. + +"This very night. Where goest thou?" + +"To the house of the honourable Sepa, Priest of Annu. Canst thou guide +me thither?" + +"Nay, I may not stay; nor is it wise that I should be seen with thee. +Hold!" and I called a porter who was idling on the quay, and, giving +him a piece of money, bade him guide the old wife to the house. + +"Farewell," she whispered; "farewell till to-morrow. Be steadfast and +prosper." + +Then I turned and went my way through the crowded streets, where the +people made place for me, the astronomer of Cleopatra, for my fame had +spread abroad. + +And even as I went my footsteps seemed to beat /Be steadfast, Be +steadfast, Be steadfast/, till at last it was as though the very +ground cried out its warning to me. + + + +CHAPTER VII + +OF THE VEILED WORDS OF CHARMION; OF THE PASSING OF HARMACHIS +INTO THE PRESENCE OF CLEOPATRA; AND OF THE OVERTHROW OF HARMACHIS + +It was night, and I sat alone in my chamber, waiting the moment when, +as it was agreed, Charmion should summon me to pass down to Cleopatra. +I sat alone, and there before me lay the dagger that was to pierce +her. It was long and keen, and the handle was formed of a sphinx of +solid gold. I sat alone, questioning the future, but no answer came. +At length I looked up, and Charmion stood before me--Charmion, no +longer gay and bright, but pale of face and hollow-eyed. + +"Royal Harmachis," she said, "Cleopatra summons thee, presently to +declare to her the voices of the stars." + +So the hour had fallen! + +"It is well, Charmion," I answered. "Are all things in order?" + +"Yea, my Lord; all things are in order: well primed with wine, Paulus +guards the gates, the eunuchs are withdrawn save one, the legionaries +sleep, and already Sepa and his force lie hid without. Nothing has +been neglected, and no lamb skipping at the shamble doors can be more +innocent of its doom than is Queen Cleopatra." + +"It is well," I said again; "let us be going," and rising, I placed +the dagger in the bosom of my robe. Taking a cup of wine that stood +near, I drank deep of it, for I had scarce tasted food all that day. + +"One word," Charmion said hurriedly, "for it is not yet time: last +night--ah, last night--" and her bosom heaved, "I dreamed a dream that +haunts me strangely, and perchance thou also didst dream a dream. It +was all a dream and 'tis forgotten: is it not so, my Lord?" + +"Yes, yes," I said; "why troublest thou me thus at such an hour?" + +"Nay, I know not; but to-night, Harmachis, Fate is in labour of a +great event, and in her painful throes mayhap she'll crush me in her +grip--me or thee, or the twain of us, Harmachis. And if that be so-- +well, I would hear from thee, before it is done, that 'twas naught but +a dream, and that dream forgot----" + +"Yes, it is all a dream," I said idly; "thou and I, and the solid +earth, and this heavy night of terror, ay, and this keen knife--what +are these but dreams, and with what face shall the waking come?" + +"So now, thou fallest in my humour, royal Harmachis. As thou sayest, +we dream; and while we dream yet can the vision change. For the +phantasies of dreams are wonderful, seeing that they have no +stability, but vary like the vaporous edge of sunset clouds, building +now this thing, and now that; being now dark and heavy, and now alight +with splendour. Therefore, before we wake to-morrow tell me one word. +Is that vision of last night, wherein I /seemed/ to be quite shamed, +and thou didst /seem/ to laugh upon my shame, a fixed phantasy, or can +it, perchance, yet change its countenance? For remember, when that +waking comes, the vagaries of our sleep will be more unalterable and +more enduring than are the pyramids. Then they will be gathered into +that changeless region of the past where all things, great and small-- +ay, even dreams, Harmachis, are, each in its own semblance, frozen to +stone and built into the Tomb of Time immortal." + +"Nay, Charmion," I replied, "I grieve if I did pain thee; but over +that vision comes no change. I said what was in my heart and there's +an end. Thou art my cousin and my friend, I can never be more to +thee." + +"It is well--'tis very well," she said; "let it be forgotten. And now +on from dream--to dream," and she smiled with such a smile as I had +never seen her wear before; it was sadder and more fateful than any +stamp that grief can set upon the brow. + +For, though being blinded by my own folly and the trouble at my heart +I knew it not, with that smile, the happiness of youth died for +Charmion the Egyptian; the hope of love fled; and the holy links of +duty burst asunder. With that smile she consecrated herself to Evil, +she renounced her Country and her Gods, and trampled on her oath. Ay, +that smile marks the moment when the stream of history changed its +course. For had I never seen it on her face Octavianus had not +bestridden the world, and Egypt had once more been free and great. + +And yet it was but a woman's smile! + +"Why lookest thou thus strangely, girl?" I asked. + +"In dreams we smile," she answered. "And now it is time; follow thou +me. Be firm and prosper, royal Harmachis!" and bending forward she +took my hand and kissed it. Then, with one strange last look, she +turned and led the way down the stair and through the empty halls. + +In the chamber that is called the Alabaster Hall, the roof of which is +upborne by columns of black marble, we stayed. For beyond was the +private chamber of Cleopatra, the same in which I had seen her +sleeping. + +"Abide thou here," she said, "while I tell Cleopatra of thy coming," +and she glided from my side. + +I stood for long, mayhap in all the half of an hour, counting my own +heart-beats, and, as in a dream, striving to gather up my strength to +that which lay before me. + +At length Charmion came back, her head held low and walking heavily. + +"Cleopatra waits thee," she said: "pass on, there is no guard." + +"Where do I meet thee when what must be done is done?" I asked +hoarsely. + +"Thou meetest me here, and then to Paulus. Be firm and prosper. +Harmachis, fare thee well!" + +And so I went; but at the curtain I turned suddenly, and there in the +midst of that lonely lamplit hall I saw a strange sight. Far away, in +such a fashion that the light struck full upon her, stood Charmion, +her head thrown back, her white arms outstretched as though to clasp, +and on her girlish face a stamp of anguished passion so terrible to +see that, indeed, I cannot tell it! For she believed that I, whom she +loved, was passing to my death, and this was her last farewell to me. + +But I knew naught of this matter; so with another passing pang of +wonder I drew aside the curtains, gained the doorway, and stood in +Cleopatra's chamber. And there, upon a silken couch at the far end of +the perfumed chamber, clad in wonderful white attire, rested +Cleopatra. In her hand was a jewelled fan of ostrich plumes, with +which she gently fanned herself, and by her side was her harp of +ivory, and a little table whereon were figs and goblets and a flask of +ruby-coloured wine. I drew near slowly through the soft dim light to +where the Wonder of the World lay in all her glowing beauty. And, +indeed, I have never seen her look so fair as she did upon that fatal +night. Couched in her amber cushions, she seemed to shine as a star on +the twilight's glow. Perfume came from her hair and robes, music fell +from her lips, and in her heavenly eyes all lights changed and +gathered as in the ominous opal's disc. + +And this was the woman whom, presently, I must slay! + +Slowly I drew near, bowing as I came; but she took no heed. She lay +there, and the jewelled fan floated to and fro like the bright wing of +some hovering bird. + +At length I stood before her, and she glanced up, the ostrich-plumes +pressed against her breast as though to hide its beauty. + +"What! friend; art thou come?" she said. "It is well; for I grew +lonely here. Nay; 'tis a weary world! We know so many faces, and there +are so few whom we love to see again. Well, stand not there so mute, +but be seated." And she pointed with her fan to a carven chair that +was placed near her feet. + +Once more I bowed and took the seat. + +"I have obeyed the Queen's desire," I said, "and with much care and +skill worked out the lessons of the stars; and here is the record of +my labour. If the Queen permits, I will expound it to her." And I +rose, in order that I might pass round the couch and, as she read, +stab her in the back. + +"Nay, Harmachis," she said quietly, and with a slow and lovely smile. +"Bide thou where thou art, and give me the writing. By Serapis! thy +face is too comely for me to wish to lose the sight of it!" + +Checked in this design, I could do nothing but hand her the papyrus, +thinking to myself that while she read I would arise suddenly and +plunge the dagger to her heart. She took it, and as she did so touched +my hand. Then she made pretence to read. But she read no word, for I +saw that her eyes were fixed upon me over the edge of the scroll. + +"Why placest thou thy hand within thy robe?" she asked presently; for, +indeed, I clutched the dagger's hilt. "Is thy heart stirred?" + +"Yea, O Queen," I said; "it beats high." + +She gave no answer, but once more made pretence to read, and the while +she watched me. + +I took counsel with myself. How should I do the hateful deed? If I +flung myself upon her now she would see me and scream and struggle. +Nay, I must wait a chance. + +"The auguries are favourable, then, Harmachis?" she said at length, +though this she must have guessed. + +"Yes, O Queen," I answered. + +"It is well," and she cast the writing on the marble. "The ships shall +sail. For, good or bad, I am weary of weighing chances." + +"This is a heavy matter, O Queen," I said. "I had wished to show upon +what circumstance I base my forecast." + +"Nay, not so, Harmachis; I have wearied of the ways of stars. Thou +hast prophesied; that is enough for me; for, doubtless, being honest, +thou hast written honestly. Therefore, save thou thy reasons and we'll +be merry. What shall we do? I could dance to thee--there are none who +can dance so well!--but it would scarce be queenly. Nay, I have it. I +will sing." And, leaning forward, she raised herself, and, bending the +harp towards her, struck some wandering chords. Then her low voice +broke out in perfect and most sweet song. + +And thus she sang: + + "Night on the sea, and night upon the sky, + And music in our hearts, we floated there, + Lulled by the low sea voices, thou and I, + And the wind's kisses in my cloudy hair: + And thou didst gaze on me and call me fair-- + Enfolded by the starry robe of night-- + And then thy singing thrilled upon the air, + Voice of the heart's desire and Love's delight. + + 'Adrift, with starlit skies above, + With starlit seas below, + We move with all the suns that move, + With all the seas that flow; + For bond or free, Earth, Sky, and Sea, + Wheel with one circling will, + And thy heart drifteth on to me, + And only time stands still. + + Between two shores of Death we drift, + Behind are things forgot: + Before the tide is driving swift + To lands beholden not. + Above, the sky is far and cold; + Below, the moaning sea + Sweeps o'er the loves that were of old, + But, oh, Love! kiss thou me. + + Ah, lonely are the ocean ways, + And dangerous the deep, + And frail the fairy barque that strays + Above the seas asleep! + Ah, toil no more at sail nor oar, + We drift, or bond or free; + On yon far shore the breakers roar, + But, oh, Love! kiss thou me.' + + "And ever as thou sangest I drew near, + Then sudden silence heard our hearts that beat, + For now there was an end of doubt and fear, + Now passion filled my soul and led my feet; + Then silent didst thou rise thy love to meet, + Who, sinking on thy breast, knew naught but thee, + And in the happy night I kissed thee, Sweet; + Ah, Sweet! between the starlight and the sea." + +The last echoes of her rich notes floated down the chamber, and slowly +died away; but in my heart they rolled on and on. I have heard among +the women-singers at Abouthis voices more perfect than the voice of +Cleopatra, but never have I heard one so thrilling or so sweet with +passion's honey-notes. And indeed it was not the voice alone, it was +the perfumed chamber in which was set all that could move the sense; +it was the passion of the thought and words, and the surpassing grace +and loveliness of that most royal woman who sang them. For, as she +sang, I seemed to think that we twain were indeed floating alone with +the night, upon the starlit summer sea. And when she ceased to touch +the harp, and, rising, suddenly stretched out her arms towards me, and +with the last low notes of song yet quivering upon her lips, let fall +the wonder of her eyes upon my eyes, she almost drew me to her. But I +remembered, and would not. + +"Hast thou, then, no word of thanks for my poor singing, Harmachis?" +she said at length. + +"Yea, O Queen," I answered, speaking very low, for my voice was +choked; "but thy songs are not good for the sons of men to hear--of a +truth they overwhelm me!" + +"Nay, Harmachis; there is no fear for thee," she said laughing softly, +"seeing that I know how far thy thoughts are set from woman's beauty +and the common weakness of thy sex. With cold iron we may safely toy." + +I thought within myself that coldest iron can be brought to whitest +heat if the fire be fierce enough. But I said nothing, and, though my +hand trembled, I once more grasped the dagger's hilt, and, wild with +fear at my own weakness, set myself to find a means to slay her while +yet my sense remained. + +"Come hither, Harmachis," she went on, in her softest voice. "Come, +sit by me, and we will talk together; for I have much to tell thee," +and she made place for me at her side upon the silken seat. + +And I, thinking that I might so more swiftly strike, rose and seated +myself some little way from her on the couch, while, flinging back her +head, she gazed on me with her slumbrous eyes. + +Now was my occasion, for her throat and breast were bare, and, with a +mighty effort, once again I lifted my hand to clutch the dagger-hilt. +But, more quick than thought, she caught my fingers with her own and +gently held them. + +"Why lookest thou so wildly, Harmachis?" she said. "Art sick?" + +"Ay, sick indeed!" I gasped. + +"Then lean thou on the cushions and rest thee," she answered, still +holding my hand, from which the strength had fled. "The fit will +surely pass. Too long hast thou laboured with thy stars. How soft is +the night air that flows from yonder casement heavy with the breath of +lilies! Hark to the whisper of the sea lapping against the rocks, +that, though it is faint, yet, being so strong, doth almost drown the +quick cool fall of yonder fountain. List to Philomel; how sweet from a +full heart of love she sings her message to her dear! Indeed it is a +lovely night, and most beautiful is Nature's music, sung with a +hundred voices from wind and trees and birds and ocean's wrinkled +lips, and yet sung all to tune. Listen, Harmachis: I have guessed +something concerning thee. Thou, too, art of a royal race; no humble +blood pours in those veins of thine. Surely such a shoot could spring +but from the stock of Princes? What! gazest thou at the leafmark on my +breast? It was pricked there in honour of great Osiris, whom with thee +I worship. See!" + +"Let me hence," I groaned, striving to rise; but all my strength had +gone. + +"Nay, not yet awhile. Thou wouldst not leave me yet? thou /canst/ not +leave me yet. Harmachis, hast thou never loved?" + +"Nay, nay, O Queen! What have I to do with love? Let me hence!--I am +faint--I am fordone!" + +"Never to have loved--'tis strange! Never to have known some woman- +heart beat all in tune to thine--never to have seen the eyes of thy +adored aswim with passion's tears, as she sighed her vows upon thy +breast!--Never to have loved!--never to have lost thyself in the +mystery of another's soul; nor to have learned how Nature can overcome +our naked loneliness, and with the golden web of love of twain weave +one identity! Why, it is never to have lived, Harmachis!" + +And ever as she murmured she drew nearer to me, till at last, with a +long, sweet sigh, she flung one arm about my neck, and gazed upon me +with blue, unfathomable eyes, and smiled her dark, slow smile, that, +like an opening flower, revealed beauty within beauty hidden. Nearer +she bent her queenly form, and still more near--now her perfumed +breath played upon my hair, and now her lips met mine. + +And woe is me! In that kiss, more deadly and more strong than the +embrace of Death, were forgotten Isis, my heavenly Hope, Oaths, +Honour, Country, Friends, all things--all things save that Cleopatra +clasped me in her arms, and called me Love and Lord. + +"Now pledge me," she sighed; "pledge me one cup of wine in token of +thy love." + +I took the draught, and I drank deep; then too late I knew that it was +drugged. + +I fell upon the couch, and, though my senses still were with me, I +could neither speak nor rise. + +But Cleopatra, bending over me, drew the dagger from my robe. + +"/I've won!/" she cried, shaking back her long hair. "I've won, and +for the stake of Egypt, why, 'twas a game worth playing! With this +dagger, then, thou wouldst have slain me, O my royal Rival, whose +myrmidons even now are gathered at my palace gate? Art still awake? +Now what hinders me that I should not plunge it to /thy/ heart?" + +I heard and feebly pointed to my breast, for I was fain to die. She +drew herself to the full of her imperial height, and the great knife +glittered in her hand. Down it came till its edge pricked my flesh. + +"Nay," she cried again, and cast it from her, "too well I like thee. +It were pity to slay such a man! I give thee thy life. Live on, lost +Pharaoh! Live on, poor fallen Prince, blasted by a woman's wit! Live +on, Harmachis--to adorn my triumph!" + + + +Then sight left me; and in my ears I only heard the song of the +nightingale, the murmur of the sea, and the music of Cleopatra's laugh +of victory. And as I sank away, the sound of that low laugh still +followed me into the land of sleep, and still it follows me through +life to death. + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +OF THE AWAKING OF HARMACHIS; OF THE SIGHT OF DEATH; OF THE +COMING OF CLEOPATRA; AND OF HER COMFORTABLE WORDS + +Once more I woke; it was to find myself in my own chamber. I started +up. Surely, I, too, had dreamed a dream? It could be nothing but a +dream? It could not be that I woke to know myself a /traitor!/ That +the opportunity had gone for ever! That I had betrayed the cause, and +that last night those brave men, headed by my uncle, had waited in +vain at the outer gate! That Egypt from Abu to Athu was even now +waiting--waiting in vain! Nay, whatever else might be, this could not +be! Oh, it was an awful dream which I had dreamed! a second such would +slay a man. It were better to die than face such another vision sent +from hell. But, though the thing was naught but a hateful phantasy of +a mind o'er-strained, where was I now? Where was I now? I should be in +the Alabaster Hall, waiting till Charmion came forth. + +Where was I? and O ye Gods! what was that dreadful thing, whose shape +was the shape of a man?--that thing draped in bloodstained white and +huddled in a hideous heap at the foot of the couch on which I seemed +to lie? + +I sprang at it with a shriek, as a lion springs, and struck with all +my strength. The blow fell heavily, and beneath its weight the thing +rolled over upon its side. Half mad with terror, I rent away the white +covering; and there, his knees bound beneath his hanging jaw, was the +naked body of a man--and that man the Roman Captain Paulus! There he +lay, through his heart a dagger--my dagger, handled with the sphinx of +gold!--and pinned by its blade to his broad breast a scroll, and on +the scroll, writing in the Roman character. I drew near and read, and +this was the writing: + + HARMACHIDI.SALVERE.EGO.SUM.QUEM.SUBDERE.NORAS + PAULUS.ROMANUS.DISCE.HINC.QUID.PRODERE.PROSIT. + + "Greeting, Harmachis! I was that Roman Paulus whom thou didst + suborn. Learn now how blessed are traitors!" + +Sick and faint I staggered back from the sight of that white corpse +stained with its own blood. Sick and faint I staggered back, till the +wall stayed me, while without the birds sang a merry greeting to the +day. So it was no dream, and I was lost! lost! + +I thought of my aged father, Amenemhat. Yes, the vision of him flashed +into my mind, as he would be, when they came to tell him his son's +shame and the ruin of all his hopes. I thought of that patriot priest, +my uncle Sepa, waiting the long night through for the signal which +never came. Ah, and another thought followed swift! How would it go +with them? I was not the only traitor. I, too, had been betrayed. By +whom? By yonder Paulus, perchance. If it were Paulus, he knew but +little of those who conspired with me. But the secret lists had been +in my robe. O Osiris! they were gone! and the fate of Paulus would be +the fate of all the patriots in Egypt. And at this thought my mind +gave way. I sank and swooned even where I stood. + +My sense came back to me, and the lengthening shadows told me that it +was afternoon. I staggered to my feet; the corpse of Paulus was still +there, keeping its awful watch above me. I ran desperately to the +door. It was barred, and without I heard the tramp of sentinels. As I +stood they challenged and grounded their spears. Then the bolts were +shot back, the door opened, and radiant, clad in royal attire, came +the conquering Cleopatra. She came alone, and the door was shut behind +her. I stood like one distraught; but she swept on till she was face +to face with me. + +"Greeting, Harmachis," she said, smiling sweetly. "So, my messenger +has found thee!" and she pointed to the corpse of Paulus. "Pah! he has +an ugly look. Ho! guards!" + +The door was opened, and two armed Gauls stepped across the threshold. + +"Take away this carrion," said Cleopatra, "and fling it to the kites. +Stay, draw that dagger from his traitor breast." The men bowed low, +and the knife, rusted red with blood, was dragged from the heart of +Paulus and laid upon the table. Then they seized him by the head and +body and staggered thence, and I heard their heavy footfalls as they +bore him down the stairs. + +"Methinks, Harmachis, thou art in an evil case," she said, when the +sound of the footfalls had died away. "How strangely the wheel of +Fortune turns! But for that traitor," and she nodded towards the door +through which the corpse of Paulus had been carried, "I should now be +as ill a thing to look on as he is, and the red rust on yonder knife +would have been gathered from /my/ heart." + +So it was Paulus who had betrayed me. + +"Ay," she went on, "and when thou camest to me last night, I /knew/ +that thou camest to slay. When, time upon time, thou didst place thy +hand within thy robe, I knew that it grasped a dagger hilt, and that +thou wast gathering thy courage to the deed which thou didst little +love to do. Oh! it was a strange wild hour, well worth the living, and +I wondered greatly, from moment to moment, which of us twain would +conquer, as we matched guile with guile and force to force! + +"Yea, Harmachis, the guards tramp before thy door, but be not +deceived. Did I not know that I hold thee to me by bonds more strong +than prison chains--did I not know that I am hedged from ill at thy +hands by a fence of honour harder for thee to pass than all the spears +of all my legions, thou hadst been dead ere now, Harmachis. See, here +is thy knife," and she handed me the dagger; "now slay me if thou +canst," and she drew near, tore open the bosom of her robe, and stood +waiting with calm eyes. + +"Thou canst not slay me," she went on; "for there are things, as I +know well, that no man--no man such as thou art--may do and live: and +this is the chief of them--to slay the woman who is all his own. Nay, +stay thy hand! Turn not that dagger against thy breast, for if thou +mayst not slay me, by how much more mayst thou not slay thyself, O +thou forsworn Priest of Isis! Art thou, then, so eager to face that +outraged Majesty in Amenti? With what eyes, thinkest thou, will the +Heavenly Mother look upon Her son, who, shamed in all things and false +to his most sacred vow, comes to greet Her, his life-blood on his +hands? Where, then, will be the space for thy atonement?--if, indeed, +thou mayest atone!" + +Then I could bear no more, for my heart was broken. Alas! it was too +true--I dared not die! I was come to such a pass that I did not even +dare to die! I flung myself upon the couch and wept--wept tears of +blood and anguish. + +But Cleopatra came to me, and, seating herself beside me, she strove +to comfort me, throwing her arms about my neck. + +"Nay, love, look up," she said; "all is not lost for thee, nor am I +angered against thee. We did play a mighty game; but, as I warned +thee, I matched my woman's magic against thine, and I have conquered. +But I will be open with thee. Both as Queen and woman thou hast my +pity--ay, and more; nor do I love to see thee plunged in sorrow. It +was well and right that thou shouldst strive to win back that throne +my fathers seized, and the ancient liberty of Egypt. Myself as lawful +Queen had done the same, nor shrunk from the deed of darkness to which +I was sworn. Therein, then, thou hast my sympathy, that ever goes out +to what is great and bold. It is well also that thou shouldst grieve +over the greatness of thy fall. Therein, then, as woman--as loving +woman--thou hast my sympathy. Nor is all lost. Thy plan was foolish-- +for, as I hold, Egypt could never have stood alone--for though thou +hadst won the crown and country--as without a doubt thou must have +done--yet there was the Roman to be reckoned with. And for thy hope +learn this: I am little known. There is no heart in this wide land +that beats with a truer love for ancient Khem than does this heart of +mine--nay, not thine own, Harmachis. Yet I have been heavily shackled +heretofore--for wars, rebellions, envies, plots, have hemmed me in on +every side, so that I might not serve my people as I would. But thou, +Harmachis, shalt show me how. Thou shalt be my counsellor and my love. +Is it a little thing, Harmachis, to have won the heart of Cleopatra; +that heart--fie on thee!--that thou wouldst have stilled? Yes, /thou/ +shalt unite me to my people and we will reign together, thus linking +in one the new kingdom and the old and the new thought and the old. So +do all things work for good--ay, for the very best: and thus, by +another and a gentler road, thou shalt climb to Pharaoh's throne. + +"See thou this, Harmachis: thy treachery shall be cloaked about as +much as may be. Was it, then, thy fault that a Roman knave betrayed +thy plans? that, thereon, thou wast drugged, thy secret papers stolen +and their key guessed? Will it, then, be a blame to thee, the great +plot being broken and those who built it scattered, that thou, still +faithful to thy trust, didst serve thee of such means as Nature gave +thee, and win the heart of Egypt's Queen, that, through her gentle +love, thou mightest yet attain thy ends and spread thy wings of power +across the land of Nile? Am I an ill-counsellor, thinkest thou, +Harmachis?" + +I lifted my head, and a ray of hope crept into the darkness of my +heart; for when men fall they grasp at feathers. Then, I spoke for the +first time: + +"And those with me--those who trusted me--what of them?" + +"Ay," she answered, "Amenemhat, thy father, the aged Priest of +Abouthis; and Sepa, thy uncle, that fiery patriot, whose great heart +is hid beneath so common a shell of form; and----" + +I thought she would have said Charmion, but she named her not. + +"And many others--oh, I know them all!" + +"Ay!" I said, "what of them?" + +"Hear now, Harmachis," she answered, rising and placing her hand upon +my arm, "for thy sake I will show mercy to them. I will do no more +than must be done. I swear by my throne and by all the Gods of Egypt +that not one hair of thy aged father's head shall be harmed by me; +and, if it be not too late, I will also spare thy uncle Sepa, ay, and +the others. I will not do as did my forefather, Epiphanes, who, when +the Egyptians rose against him, dragged Athinis, Pausiras, Chesuphus, +and Irobasthus, bound to his chariot--not as Achilles dragged Hector, +but yet living--round the city walls. I will spare them all, save the +Hebrews, if there be any Hebrews; for the Jews I hate." + +"There are no Hebrews," I said. + +"It is well," she said, "for no Hebrew will I ever spare. Am I then, +indeed, so cruel a woman as they say? In thy list, Harmachis, were +many doomed to die; and I have but taken the life of one Roman knave, +a double traitor, for he betrayed both me and thee. Art thou not +overwhelmed, Harmachis, with the weight of mercy which I give thee, +because--such are a woman's reasons--thou pleasest me, Harmachis? Nay, +by Serapis!" she added with a little laugh, "I'll change my mind; I +will not give thee so much for nothing. Thou shalt buy it from me, and +the price shall be a heavy one--it shall be a kiss, Harmachis." + +"Nay," I said, turning from that fair temptress, "the price is too +heavy; I kiss no more." + +"Bethink thee," she answered, with a heavy frown. "Bethink thee and +choose. I am but a woman, Harmachis, and one who is not wont to sue to +men. Do as thou wilt; but this I say to thee--if thou dost put me +away, I will gather up the mercy I have meted out. Therefore, most +virtuous priest, choose thou between the heavy burden of my love and +the swift death of thy aged father and of all those who plotted with +him." + +I glanced at her and saw that she was angered, for her eyes shone and +her bosom heaved. So, I sighed and kissed her, thereby setting the +seal upon my shame and bondage. Then, smiling like the triumphant +Aphrodité of the Greeks, she went thence, bearing the dagger with her. + +I knew not yet how deeply I was betrayed; or why I was still left to +draw the breath of life; or why Cleopatra, the tiger-hearted, had +grown merciful. I did not know that she feared to slay me, lest, so +strong was the plot and so feeble her hold upon the Double Crown, the +tumult that might tread hard upon the tidings of my murder should +shake her from the throne--even when I was no more. I did not know +that because of fear and the weight of policy only she showed scant +mercy to those whom I had betrayed, or that because of cunning and not +for the holy sake of woman's love--though, in truth, she liked me well +enough--she chose rather to bind me to her by the fibres of my heart. +And yet I will say this in her behalf: even when the danger-cloud had +melted from her sky she kept faith, nor, save Paulus and one other, +did any suffer the utmost penalty of death for their part in the great +plot against Cleopatra's crown and dynasty. But they suffered many +other things. + +And so she went, leaving the vision of her glory to strive with the +shame and sorrow in my heart. Oh, bitter were the hours that could not +now be made light with prayer. For the link between me and the Divine +was snapped, and Isis communed with Her Priest no more. Bitter were +the hours and dark, but ever through their darkness shone the starry +eyes of Cleopatra, and came the echo of her whispered love. For not +yet was the cup of sorrow full. Hope still lingered in my heart, and I +could almost think that I had failed to some higher end, and that in +the depths of ruin I should find another and more flowery path to +triumph. + +For thus those who sin deceive themselves, striving to lay the burden +of their evil deeds upon the back of Fate, striving to believe their +wickedness may compass good, and to murder Conscience with the sharp +plea of Necessity. But it can avail nothing, for hand in hand down the +path of sin rush Remorse and Ruin, and woe to him they follow! Ay, and +woe to me who of all sinners am the chief! + + + +CHAPTER IX + +OF THE IMPRISONMENT OF HARMACHIS; OF THE SCORN OF CHARMION; +OF THE SETTING FREE OF HARMACHIS; AND OF THE COMING OF QUINTUS DELLIUS + +For a space of eleven days I was thus kept prisoned in my chamber; nor +did I see anyone except the sentries at my doors, the slaves who in +silence brought me food and drink, and Cleopatra's self, who came +continually. But, though her words of love were many, she would tell +me nothing of how things went without. She came in many moods--now gay +and laughing, now full of wise thoughts and speech, and now passionate +only, and to every mood she gave some new-found charm. She was full of +talk as to how I should help her make Egypt great, and lessen the +burdens on the people, and fright the Roman eagles back. And, though +at first I listened heavily when she spoke thus, by slow advance as +she wrapped me closer and yet more close in her magic web, from which +there was no escape, my mind fell in time with hers. Then I, too, +opened something of my heart, and somewhat also of the plans that I +had formed for Egypt. She seemed to listen gladly, weighing them all, +and spoke of means and methods, telling me how she would purify the +Faith and repair the ancient temples--ay, and build new ones to the +Gods. And ever she crept deeper into my heart, till at length, now +that every other thing had gone from me, I learned to love her with +all the unspent passion of my aching soul. I had naught left to me but +Cleopatra's love, and I twined my life about it, and brooded on it as +a widow over her only babe. And thus the very author of my shame +became my all, my dearest dear, and I loved her with a strong love +that grew and grew, till it seemed to swallow up the past and make the +present a dream. For she had conquered me, she had robbed me of my +honour, and steeped me to the lips in shame, and I, poor fallen, +blinded wretch, I kissed the rod that smote me, and was her very +slave. + +Ay, even now, in those dreams which still come when Sleep unlocks the +secret heart, and sets its terrors free to roam through the opened +halls of Thought, I seem to see her royal form, as erst I saw it, come +with arms outstretched and Love's own light shining in her eyes, with +lips apart and flowing locks, and stamped upon her face the look of +utter tenderness that she alone could wear. Ay, still, after all the +years, I seem to see her come as erst she came, and still I wake to +know her an unutterable lie! + +And thus one day she came. She had fled in haste, she said, from some +great council summoned concerning the wars of Antony in Syria, and she +came, as she had left the council, in all her robes of state, the +sceptre in her hand, and on her brow the uręus diadem of gold. There +she sat before me, laughing; for, wearying of them, she had told the +envoys to whom she gave audience in the council that she was called +from their presence by a sudden message come from Rome; and the jest +seemed merry to her. Suddenly she rose, took the diadem from her brow, +and set it on my hair, and on my shoulders her royal mantle, and in my +hand the sceptre, and bowed the knee before me. Then, laughing again, +she kissed me on the lips, and said I was indeed her King. But, +remembering how I had been crowned in the halls of Abouthis, and +remembering also that wreath of roses of which the odour haunts me +yet, I rose, pale with wrath, and cast the trinkets from me, asking +how she dared to mock me--her caged bird. And I think there was that +about me which startled her, for she fell back. + +"Nay, Harmachis," she said, "be not wroth! How knowest thou that I +mock thee? How knowest thou that thou shalt not be Pharaoh in fact and +deed?" + +"What meanest thou?" I said. "Wilt thou, then, wed me before Egypt? +How else can I be Pharaoh now?" + +She cast down her eyes. "Perchance, love, it is in my mind to wed +thee," she said gently. "Listen," she went on: "Thou growest pale, +here, in this prison, and thou dost eat little. Gainsay me not! I know +it from the slaves. I have kept thee here, Harmachis, for thy own +sake, that is so dear to me; and for thy own sake, and thy honour's +sake, thou must still seem to be my prisoner. Else wouldst thou be +shamed and slain--ay, murdered secretly. But I can meet thee here no +more! therefore to-morrow I shall free thee in all, save in the name, +and thou shalt once more be seen at Court as my astronomer. And I will +give this reason--that thou hast cleared thyself; and, moreover, that +thy auguries as regards the war have been auguries of truth--as, +indeed, they have, though for this I have no cause to thank thee, +seeing that thou didst suit thy prophecies to fit thy cause. Now, +farewell; for I must return to those heavy-browed ambassadors; and +grow not so sudden wroth, Harmachis, for who knows what may come to +pass betwixt thee and me?" + +And, with a little nod, she went, leaving it on my mind that she had +it in her heart to wed me openly. And of a truth, I believe that, at +this hour, such was her thought. For, if she loved me not, still she +held me dear, and as yet she had not wearied of me. + +On the morrow Cleopatra came not, but Charmion came--Charmion, whom I +had not seen since that fatal night of ruin. She entered and stood +before me, with pale face and downcast eyes, and her first words were +words of bitterness. + +"Pardon me," she said, in her gentle voice, "in that I dare to come to +thee in Cleopatra's place. Thy joy is not delayed for long, for thou +shalt see her presently." + +I shrank at her words, as well I might, and, seeing her vantage, she +seized it. + +"I come, Harmachis--royal no more!--I come to say that thou art free! +Thou art free to face thine own infamy, and see it thrown back from +every eye which trusted thee, as shadows are from water. I come to +tell thee that the great plot--the plot of twenty years and more--is +at its utter end. None have been slain, indeed, unless it is Sepa, who +has vanished. But all the leaders have been seized and put in chains, +or driven from the land, and their party is broken and scattered. The +storm has melted before it burst. Egypt is lost, and lost for ever, +for her last hope is gone! No longer may she struggle--now for all +time she must bow her neck to the yoke, and bare her back to the rod +of the oppressor!" + +I groaned aloud. "Alas, I was betrayed!" I said. "Paulus betrayed us." + +"Thou wast betrayed? Nay, thou thyself wast the betrayer! How came it +that thou didst not slay Cleopatra when thou wast alone with her? +Speak, thou forsworn!" + +"She drugged me," I said again. + +"O Harmachis!" answered the pitiless girl, "how low art thou fallen +from that Prince whom once I knew!--thou who dost not scorn to be a +liar! Yea, thou wast drugged--drugged with a love-philtre! Yea, thou +didst sell Egypt and thy cause for the price of a wanton's kiss! Thou +Sorrow and thou Shame!" she went on, pointing her finger at me and +lifting her eyes to my face, "thou Scorn!--thou Outcast!--and thou +Contempt! Deny if it thou canst. Ay, shrink from me--knowing what thou +art, well mayst thou shrink! Crawl to Cleopatra's feet, and kiss her +sandals till such time as it pleases her to trample thee in thy +kindred dirt; but from all honest folk /shrink!/--/shrink!/" + +My soul quivered beneath the lash of her bitter scorn and hate, but I +had no words to answer. + +"How comes it," I said at last in a heavy voice, "that thou, too, art +not betrayed, but art still here to taunt me, thou who once didst +swear that thou didst love me? Being a woman, hast thou no pity for +the frailty of man?" + +"My name was not on the lists," she said, dropping her dark eyes. +"Here is an opportunity: betray me also, Harmachis! Ay, it is because +I once loved thee--dost thou, indeed, remember it?--that I feel thy +fall the more. The shame of one whom we have loved must in some sort +become our shame, and must ever cling to us, because we blindly held a +thing so base close to our inmost heart. Art thou also, then, a fool? +Wouldst thou, fresh from thy royal wanton's arms, come to me for +comfort--to /me/ of all the world?" + +"How know I," I said, "that it was not thou who, in thy jealous anger, +didst betray our plans? Charmion, long ago Sepa warned me against +thee, and of a truth now that I recall----" + +"It is like a traitor," she broke in, reddening to her brow, "to think +that all are of his family, and hold a common mind! Nay, I betrayed +thee not; it was that poor knave, Paulus, whose heart failed him at +the last, and who is rightly served. Nor will I stay to hear thoughts +so base. Harmachis--royal no more!--Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, bids me +say that thou art free, and that she waits thee in the Alabaster +Hall." + +And shooting one swift glance through her long lashes she curtsied and +was gone. + + + +So once more I came and went about the Court, though but sparingly, +for my heart was full of shame and terror, and on every face I feared +to see the scorn of those who knew me for what I was. But I saw +nothing, for all those who had knowledge of the plot had fled, and +Charmion had spoken no word, for her own sake. Also, Cleopatra had put +it about that I was innocent. But my guilt lay heavy on me, and made +me thin and wore away the beauty of my countenance. And though I was +free in name, yet I was ever watched; nor might I stir beyond the +palace grounds. + +And at length came the day which brought with it Quintus Dellius, that +false Roman knight who ever served the rising star. He bore letters to +Cleopatra from Marcus Antonius, the Triumvir, who, fresh from the +victory of Philippi, was now in Asia wringing gold from the subject +kings with which to satisfy the greed of his legionaries. + +Well I mind me of the day. Cleopatra, clad in her robes of state, +attended by the officers of her Court, among whom I stood, sat in the +great hall on her throne of gold, and bade the heralds admit the +Ambassador of Antony, the Triumvir. The great doors were thrown wide, +and amidst the blare of trumpets and salutes of the Gallic guards the +Roman came in, clad in glittering golden armour and a scarlet cloak of +silk, and followed by his suite of officers. He was smooth-faced and +fair to look upon, and with a supple form; but his mouth was cold, and +false were his shifting eyes. And while the heralds called out his +name, titles, and offices, he fixed his gaze on Cleopatra--who sat +idly on her throne all radiant with beauty--as a man who is amazed. +Then when the heralds had made an end, and he still stood thus, not +stirring, Cleopatra spoke in the Latin tongue: + +"Greeting to thee, noble Dellius, envoy of the most mighty Antony, +whose shadow lies across the world as though Mars himself now towered +up above us petty Princes--greeting and welcome to our poor city of +Alexandria. Unfold, we pray thee, the purpose of thy coming." + +Still the crafty Dellius made no answer, but stood as a man amazed. + +"What ails thee, noble Dellius, that thou dost not speak?" asked +Cleopatra. "Hast thou, then, wandered so long in Asia that the doors +of Roman speech are shut to thee? What tongue hast thou? Name it, and +We will speak in it--for all tongues are known to Us." + +Then at last he spoke in a soft full voice: "Oh, pardon me, most +lovely Egypt, if I have thus been stricken dumb before thee: but too +great beauty, like Death himself, doth paralyse the tongue and steal +our sense away. The eyes of him who looks upon the fires of the mid- +day sun are blind to all beside, and thus this sudden vision of thy +glory, royal Egypt, overwhelmed my mind, and left me helpless and +unwitting of all things else." + +"Of a truth, noble Dellius," answered Cleopatra, "they teach a pretty +school of flattery yonder in Cilicia." + +"How goes the saying here in Alexandria?" replied the courtly Roman: +"'The breath of flattery cannot waft a cloud,'[*] does it not? But to +my task. Here, royal Egypt, are letters under the hand and seal of the +noble Antony treating of certain matters of the State. Is it thy +pleasure that I should read them openly?" + +[*] In other words, what is Divine is beyond the reach of human + praise.--Editor. + +"Break the seals and read," she answered. + +Then bowing, he broke the seals and read: + +"The /Triumviri Reipublicę Constituendę/, by the mouth of Marcus +Antonius, the Triumvir, to Cleopatra, by grace of the Roman People +Queen of Upper and Lower Egypt, send greeting. Whereas it has come to +our knowledge that thou, Cleopatra, hast, contrary to thy promise and +thy duty, both by thy servant Allienus and by thy servant Serapion, +the Governor of Cyprus, aided the rebel murderer Cassius against the +arms of the most noble Triumvirate. And, whereas it has come to our +knowledge that thou thyself wast but lately making ready a great fleet +to this end. We summon thee that thou dost without delay journey to +Cilicia, there to meet the noble Antony, and in person make answer +concerning these charges which are laid against thee. And we warn thee +that if thou dost disobey this our summons it is at thy peril. +Farewell." + +The eyes of Cleopatra flashed as she hearkened to these high words, +and I saw her hands tighten on the golden lions' heads whereon they +rested. + +"We have had the flattery," she said; "and now, lest we be cloyed with +sweets, we have its antidote! Listen thou, Dellius: the charges in +that letter, or, rather, in that writ of summons, are false, as all +folk can bear us witness. But it is not now, and it is not to thee, +that We will make defence of our acts of war and policy. Nor will We +leave our kingdom to journey into far Cilicia, and there, like some +poor suppliant at law, plead our cause before the Court of the Noble +Antony. If Antony would have speech with us, and inquire concerning +these high matters, the sea is open, and his welcome shall be royal. +Let him come thither! That is our answer to thee and to the +Triumvirate, O Dellius!" + +But Dellius smiled as one who would put away the weight of wrath, and +once more spoke: + +"Royal Egypt, thou knowest not the noble Antony. He is stern on paper, +and ever he sets down his thoughts as though his stylus were a spear +dipped in the blood of men. But face to face with him, thou, of all +the world, shalt find him the gentlest warrior that ever won a battle. +Be advised, O Egypt! and come. Send me not hence with such angry +words, for if thou dost draw Antony to Alexandria, then woe to +Alexandria, to the people of the Nile, and to thee, great Egypt! For +then he will come armed and breathing war, and it shall go hard with +thee, who dost defy the gathered might of Rome. I pray thee, then, +obey this summons. Come to Cilicia; come with peaceful gifts and not +in arms. Come in thy beauty, and tricked in thy best attire, and thou +hast naught to fear from the noble Antony." He paused and looked at +her meaningly; while I, taking his drift, felt the angry blood surge +into my face. + +Cleopatra, too, understood, for I saw her rest her chin upon her hand +and the cloud of thought gathered in her eyes. For a time she sat +thus, while the crafty Dellius watched her curiously. And Charmion, +standing with the other ladies by the throne, she also read his +meaning, for her face lit up, as a summer cloud lights in the evening +when the broad lightning flares behind it. Then once more it grew pale +and quiet. + +At length Cleopatra spoke. "This is a heavy matter," she said, 'and +therefore, noble Dellius, we must have time to let our judgment ripen. +Rest thou here, and make thee as merry as our poor circumstances +allow. Thou shalt have thy answer within ten days." + +The envoy thought awhile, then replied smiling: "It is well, O Egypt; +on the tenth day from now I will attend for my answer, and on the +eleventh I sail hence to join Antony my Lord." + +Once more, at a sign from Cleopatra, the trumpets blared, and he +withdrew bowing. + + + +CHAPTER X + +OF THE TROUBLE OF CLEOPATRA; OF HER OATH TO HARMACHIS; AND +OF THE TELLING BY HARMACHIS TO CLEOPATRA OF THE SECRET OF +THE TREASURE THAT LAY BENEATH THE MASS OF "HER" + +That same night Cleopatra summoned me to her private chamber. I went, +and found her much troubled in mind; never before had I seen her so +deeply moved. She was alone, and, like some trapped lioness, walked to +and fro across the marble floor, while thought chased thought across +her mind, each, as clouds scudding over the sea, for a moment casting +its shadow in her deep eyes. + +"So thou art come, Harmachis," she said, resting for a while, as she +took my hand. "Counsel me, for never did I need counsel more. Oh, what +days have the Gods measured out to me--days restless as the ocean! I +have known no peace from childhood up, and it seems none shall I know. +Scarce by a very little have I escaped thy dagger's point, Harmachis, +when this new trouble, that, like a storm, has gathered beneath the +horizon's rim, suddenly bursts over me. Didst mark that tigerish fop? +Well should I love to trap him! How soft he spoke! Ay, he purred like +a cat, and all the time he stretched his claws. Didst hear the letter, +too? it has an ugly sound. I know this Antony. When I was but a child, +budding into womanhood, I saw him; but my eyes were ever quick, and I +took his measure. Half Hercules and half a fool, with a dash of genius +veining his folly through. Easily led by those who enter at the gates +of his voluptuous sense; but if crossed, an iron foe. True to his +friends, if, indeed, he loves them; and ofttimes false to his own +interest. Generous, hardy, and in adversity a man of virtue; in +prosperity a sot and a slave to woman. That is Antony. How deal with +such a man, whom fate and opportunity, despite himself, have set on +the crest of fortune's wave? One day it will overwhelm him; but till +that day he sweeps across the world and laughs at those who drown." + +"Antony is but a man," I answered, "and a man with many foes; and, +being but a man, he can be overthrown." + +"Ay, he can be overthrown; but he is one of three, Harmachis. Now that +Cassius hath gone where all fools go, Rome has thrown out a hydra +head. Crush one, and another hisses in thy face. There's Lepidus, and +with him, that young Octavianus, whose cold eyes may yet with a smile +of triumph look on the murdered forms of empty, worthless Lepidus, of +Antony, and of Cleopatra. If I go not to Cilicia, mark thou! Antony +will knit up a peace with these Parthians, and, taking the tales they +tell of me for truth--and, indeed, there is truth in them--will fall +with all his force on Egypt. And how then?" + +"How then? Why, then we'll drum him back to Rome." + +"Ah, thou sayest so, and, perchance, Harmachis, had I not won that +game we played together some twelve days gone, thou, being Pharaoh, +mightest well have done this thing, for round thy throne old Egypt +would have gathered. But Egypt loves not me nor my Greek blood; and I +have but now scattered that great plot of thine, in which half the +land was meshed. Will these men, then, arise to succour me? Were Egypt +true to me, I could, indeed, hold my own against all the force that +Rome may bring; but Egypt hates me, and had as lief be ruled by the +Roman as the Greek. Still I might make defence had I the gold, for +with money soldiers can be bought to feed the maw of mercenary battle. +But I have none; my treasuries are dry, and though there is wealth in +the land, yet debts perplex me. These wars have brought me ruin, and I +know not how to find a talent. Perchance, Harmachis, thou who art, by +hereditary right, Priest of the Pyramids," and she drew near and +looked me in the eyes, "perchance, if long descended rumour does not +lie, thou canst tell me where I can touch the gold to save thy land +from ruin, and thy Love from the grasp of Antony? Say, is it so?" + +I thought a while, and then I answered: + +"And if such a tale were true, and if I could show thee treasure +stored by the mighty Pharaohs of the most far-off age against the +needs of Khem, how can I know that thou wouldst indeed make use of +that wealth to those good ends?" + +"Is there, then, a treasure?" she asked curiously. "Nay, fret me not, +Harmachis; for of a truth the very name of gold at this time of want +is like the sight of water in the desert." + +"I believe," I said, "that there is such a treasure, though I myself +have never seen it. But I know this, that if it still lie in the place +where it was set, it is because so heavy a curse will rest upon him +who shall lay hands on it wickedly and for selfish ends, that none of +those Pharaohs to whom it has been shown have dared to touch it, +however sore their need." + +"So," she said, "they were cowardly aforetime, or else their need was +not great. Wilt thou show me this treasure, then, Harmachis?" + +"Perhaps," I answered, "I will show it to thee if it still be there, +when thou hast sworn that thou wilt use it to defend Egypt from this +Roman Antony and for the welfare of her people." + +"I swear it!" she said earnestly. "Oh, I swear by every God in Khem +that if thou showest me this great treasure, I will defy Antony and +send Dellius back to Cilicia with sharper words than those he brought. +Yes, I'll do more, Harmachis: so soon as may be, I will take thee to +husband before all the world, and thou thyself shalt carry out thy +plans and beat off the Roman eagles." + +Thus she spoke, gazing at me with truthful, earnest eyes. I believed +her, and for the first time since my fall was for a moment happy, +thinking that all was not lost to me, and that with Cleopatra, whom I +loved thus madly, I might yet win my place and power back. + +"Swear it, Cleopatra!" I said. + +"I swear, beloved! and thus I seal my oath!" and she kissed me on the +forehead. And I, too, kissed her; and we talked of what we would do +when we were wed, and how we should overcome the Roman. + +And thus I was again beguiled; though I believe that, had it not been +for the jealous anger of Charmion--which, as shall be seen, was ever +urging her forward to fresh deeds of shame--Cleopatra would have +wedded me and broken with the Roman. And, indeed, in the issue, it had +been better for her and Egypt. + +We sat far into the night, and I revealed to her somewhat of that +ancient secret of the mighty treasure hid beneath the mass of /Her/. +Thither, it was agreed, we should go on the morrow, and the second +night from now attempt its search. So, early on the next day, a boat +was secretly made ready, and Cleopatra entered it, veiled as an +Egyptian lady about to make a pilgrimage to the Temple of Horemkhu. +And I also entered, cloaked as a pilgrim, and with us ten of her most +trusted servants disguised as sailors. But Charmion went not with us. +We sailed with a fair wind from the Canopic mouth of the Nile; and +that night, pushing on with the moon, we reached Sais at midnight, and +here rested for a while. At dawn we once more loosed our craft, and +all that day sailed swiftly, till, at last, at the third hour from the +sunset, we came in sight of the lights of that fortress which is +called Babylon. Here, on the opposite bank of the river, we moored our +ship safely in a bed of reeds. + +Then, on foot and secretly, we set out for the pyramids, which were at +a distance of two leagues, Cleopatra, I and one trusted eunuch, for we +left the other servants with the boat. Only I caught an ass for +Cleopatra to ride that was wandering in a tilled field, and threw a +cloak upon it. She sat on it and I led the ass by paths I knew, the +eunuch following us on foot. And, within little more than an hour, +having gained the great causeway, we saw the mighty pyramids towering +up through the moonlit air and aweing us to silence. We passed on in +utter silence, through the haunted city of the dead, for all around us +stood the solemn tombs, till at length we climbed the rocky hill, and +stood in the deep shadow of Khufu Khut, the splendid Throne of Khufu. + +"Of a truth," whispered Cleopatra, as she gazed up the dazzling marble +slope above her, everywhere blazoned over with a million mystic +characters--"of a truth, there were Gods ruling in Khem in those days, +and not men. This place is sad as Death--ay, and as mighty and far +from man. Is it here that we must enter?" + +"Nay," I answered, "it is not here. Pass on." + +I led the way through a thousand ancient tombs, till we stood in the +shadow of Ur the Great, and gazed at his red heaven-piercing mass. + +"Is it here that we must enter?" she whispered once again. + +"Nay," I answered, "it is not here. Pass on." + +We passed on through many more tombs, till we stood in the shadow of +/Her/,[*] and Cleopatra gazed astonished at its polished beauty, which +for thousands of years, night by night, had mirrored back the moon, +and at the black girdle of Ethiopian stone that circled its base +about. For this is the most beautiful of all pyramids. + +[*] The "Upper," now known as the Third Pyramid.--Editor. + +"Is it that we must enter?" she said. + +I answered, "It is here." + +We passed round between the Temple of the Worship of his Divine +Majesty, Menkau-ra, the Osirian, and in the base of the pyramid till +we came to the north side. Here in the centre is graved the name of +Pharaoh Menkau-ra, who built the pyramid to be his tomb, and stored +his treasure in it against the need of Khem. + +"If the treasure still remains," I said to Cleopatra, "as it remained +in the days of my great-great-grandfather, who was Priest of this +Pyramid before me, it is hid deep in the womb of the mass before thee, +Cleopatra; nor can it be come by without toil, danger, and terror of +mind. Art thou prepared to enter--for thou thyself must enter and must +judge?" + +"Canst thou not go in with the eunuch, Harmachis, and bring the +treasure forth?" she said, for a little her courage began to fail her. + +"Nay, Cleopatra," I answered, "not even for thee and for the weal of +Egypt can I do this thing, for of all sins it would be the greatest +sin. But it is lawful for me to do this. I, as hereditary holder of +the secret, may, upon demand, show to the ruling monarch of Khem the +place where the treasure lies, and show also the warning that is +written. And if on seeing and reading, the Pharaoh deems that the need +of Khem is so sore and strait that it is lawful for him to brave the +curse of the Dead and draw forth the treasure, it is well, for on his +head must rest the weight of this dread deed. Three monarchs--so say +the records that I have read--have thus dared to enter in the time of +need. They were the Divine Queen Hatshepsu, that wonder known to the +Gods alone; her Divine brother Tahutimes Men-Kheper-ra; and the Divine +Rameses Mi-amen. But of these three Majesties, not one when they saw +dared to touch; for, though sharp their need, it was not great enough +to consecrate the act. So, fearing lest the curse should fall upon +them, they went hence sorrowing." + +She thought a little, till at last her spirit overcame her fear. + +"At the least I will see with mine own eyes," she said. + +"It is well," I answered. Then, stones having been piled up by me and +the eunuch who was with us on a certain spot at the base of the +pyramid, to somewhat more than the height of a man, I climbed on them +and searched for the secret mark, no larger than a leaf. I found it +with some trouble, for the weather and the rubbing of the wind-stirred +sand had worn even the Ethiopian stone. Having found it, I pressed on +it with all my strength in a certain fashion. even after the lapse of +many years the stone swung round, showing a little opening, through +which a man might scarcely creep. As it swung, a mighty bat, white in +colour as though with unreckoned age, and such as I had never seen +before for bigness, for his measure was the measure of a hawk, flew +forth and for a moment hovered over Cleopatra, then sailed slowly up +and up in circles, till at last he was lost in the bright light of the +moon. + +But Cleopatra uttered a cry of terror, and the eunuch, who was +watching, fell down in fear, believing it to be the guardian Spirit of +the pyramid. And I, too, feared, though I said nothing. For even now I +believe that it was the Spirit of Menkau-ra, the Osirian, who, taking +the form of a bat, flew forth from his holy House in warning. + +I waited a while, till the foul air should clear from the passage. +Then I drew out the lamps, kindled them, and passed them, to the +number of three, into the entrance of the passage. This done, I went +to the eunuch, and, taking him aside, I swore him by the living spirit +of Him who sleeps at Abouthis that he should not reveal those things +which he was about to see. + +This he swore, trembling sorely, for he was very much afraid. Nor, +indeed, did he reveal them. + +This done, I clambered through the opening, taking with me a coil of +rope, which I wound around my middle, and beckoned to Cleopatra to +come. Making fast the skirt of her robe, she came, and I drew her +through the opening, so that at length she stood behind me in the +passage which is lined with slabs of granite. After her came the +eunuch, and he also stood in the passage. Then, having taken counsel +of the plan of the passage that I had brought with me, and which, in +signs that none but the initiated can read, was copied from those +ancient writings that had come down to me through one-and-forty +generations of my predecessors, the Priests of this Pyramid of /Her/, +and of the worship of the Temple of the Divine Menkau-ra, the Osirian, +I led the way through that darksome place towards the utter silence of +the tomb. Guided by the feeble light of our lamps, we passed down the +steep incline, gasping in the heat and the thick, stagnated air. +Presently we had left the region of the masonry and were slipping down +a gallery hewn in the living rock. For twenty paces or more it ran +steeply. Then its slope lessened and shortly we found ourselves in a +chamber painted white, so low that I, being tall, had scarcely room to +stand; but in length four paces, and in breadth three, and cased +throughout with sculptured panels. Here Cleopatra sank upon the floor +and rested awhile, overcome by the heat and the utter darkness. + +"Rise!" I said. "We must not linger here, or we faint." + +So she rose, and passing hand in hand through that chamber, we found +ourselves face to face with a mighty door of granite, let down from +the roof in grooves. Once more I took counsel of the plan, pressed +with my foot upon a certain stone, and waited. Then, suddenly and +softly, I know not by what means, the mass heaved itself from its bed +of living rock. We passed beneath, and found ourselves face to face +with a second door of granite. Again I pressed on a certain spot, and +this door swung wide of itself, and we went through, to find ourselves +face to face with a third door, yet more mighty than the two through +which we had won our way. Following the secret plan, I struck this +door with my foot upon a certain spot, and it sank slowly as though at +a word of magic till its head was level with the floor of rock. We +crossed and gained another passage which, descending gently for a +length of fourteen paces, led us into a great chamber, paved with +black marble, more than nine cubits high, by nine cubits broad, and +thirty cubits long. In this marble floor was sunk a great sarcophagus +of granite, and on its lid were graved the name and titles of the +Queen of Menkau-ra. In this chamber, too, the air was purer, though I +know not by what means it came thither. + +"Is the treasure here?" gasped Cleopatra. + +"Nay," I answered; "follow me," and I led the way to a gallery, which +we entered through an opening in the floor of the great chamber. It +had been closed by a trap-door of stone, but the door was open. +Creeping along this shaft, or passage, for some ten paces, we came at +length to a well, seven cubits in depth. Making fast one end of the +rope that I had brought about my body and the other to a ring in the +rock, I was lowered, holding the lamp in my hand, till I stood in the +last resting-place of the Divine Menkau-ra. Then the rope was drawn +up, and Cleopatra, being made fast to it, was let down by the eunuch, +and I received her in my arms. But I bade the eunuch, sorely against +his will, since he feared to be left alone, await our return at the +mouth of the shaft. For it was not lawful that he should enter whither +we went. + + + +CHAPTER XI + +OF THE TOMB OF THE DIVINE MENKAU-RA; OF THE WRITING ON THE +BREAST OF MENKAU-RA; OF THE DRAWING FORTH OF THE TREASURE; +OF THE DWELLER IN THE TOMB; AND OF THE FLIGHT OF CLEOPATRA +AND HARMACHIS FROM THE HOLY PLACE + +We stood within a small arched chamber, paved and lined with great +blocks of the granite stone of Syene. There before us--hewn from a +single mass of basalt shaped like a wooden house and resting on a +sphinx with a face of gold--was the sarcophagus of the Divine +Menkau-ra. + +We stood and gazed in awe, for the weight of the silence and the +solemnity of that holy place seemed to crush us. Above us, cubit over +cubit in its mighty measure, the pyramid towered up to heaven and was +kissed of the night air. But we were deep in the bowels of the rock +beneath its base. We were alone with the dead, whose rest we were +about to break; and no sound of the murmuring air, and no sight of +life came to dull the awful edge of solitude. I gazed on the +sarcophagus; its heavy lid had been lifted and rested at its side, and +around it the dust of ages had gathered thick. + +"See," I whispered, pointing to a writing, daubed with pigment upon +the wall in the sacred symbols of ancient times. + +"Read it, Harmachis," answered Cleopatra, in the same low voice; "for +I cannot." + +Then I read: "I, Rameses Mi-amen, in my day and in my hour of need, +visited this sepulchre. But, though great my need and bold my heart, I +dared not face the curse of Menkau-ra. Judge, O thou who shalt come +after me, and, if thy soul is pure and Khem be utterly distressed, +take thou that which I have left." + +"Where, then, is the treasure?" she whispered. "Is that Sphinx-face of +gold?" + +"Even there," I answered, pointing to the sarcophagus. "Draw near and +see." + +And she took my hand and drew near. + +The cover was off, but the painted coffin of the Pharaoh lay in the +depths of the sarcophagus. We climbed the Sphinx, then I blew the dust +from the coffin with my breath and read that which was written on its +lid. And this was written: + + "Pharaoh Menkau-ra, the Child of Heaven. + + "Pharaoh Menkau-ra, Royal Son of the Sun. + + "Pharaoh Menkau-ra, who didst lie beneath the heart of Nout. + + "Nout, thy Mother, wraps thee in the spell of Her holy name. + + "The name of thy Mother, Nout, is the mystery of Heaven. + + "Nout, thy Mother, gathers thee to the number of the Gods. + + "Nout, thy Mother, breathes on thy foes and utterly destroys them. + + "O Pharaoh Menkau-ra, who livest for ever!" + +"Where, then, is the treasure?" she asked again. "Here, indeed, is the +body of the Divine Menkau-ra; but the flesh even of Pharaohs is not +gold, and if the face of this Sphinx be gold how may we move it?" + +For answer I bade her stand upon the Sphinx and grasp the upper part +of the coffin while I grasped its foot. Then, at my word, we lifted, +and the lid of the case, which was not fixed, came away, and we set it +upon the floor. And there in the case was the mummy of Pharaoh, as it +had been laid three thousand years before. It was a large mummy, and +somewhat ungainly. Nor was it adorned with a gilded mask, as is the +fashion of our day, for the head was wrapped in clothes yellow with +age, which were made fast with pink flaxen bandages, under which were +pushed the stems of lotus-blooms. And on the breast, wreathed round +with lotus-flowers, lay a large plate of gold closely written over +with sacred writing. I lifted up the plate, and, holding it to the +light, I read: + + "I, Menkau-ra, the Osirian, aforetime Pharaoh of the Land of Khem, + who in my day did live justly and ever walked in the path marked + for my feet by the decree of the Invisible, who was the beginning + and is the end, speak from my tomb to those who after me shall for + an hour sit upon my Throne. Behold, I, Menkau-ra, the Osirian, + having in the days of my life been warned of a dream that a time + will come when Khem shall fear to fall into the hands of + strangers, and her monarch shall have great need of treasure + wherewith to furnish armies to drive the barbarian back, have out + of my wisdom done this thing. For it having pleased the protecting + Gods to give me wealth beyond any Pharaoh who has been since the + days of Horus--thousands of cattle and geese, thousands of calves + and asses, thousands of measures of corn, and hundreds of measures + of gold and gems; this wealth I have used sparingly, and that + which remains I have bartered for precious stones--even for + emeralds, the most beautiful and largest that are in the world. + These stones, then, I have stored up against that day of the need + of Khem. But because as there have been, so there shall be, those + who do wickedly on the earth, and who, in the lust of gain, might + seize this wealth that I have stored, and put it to their uses; + behold, thou Unborn One, who in the fulness of time shalt stand + above me and read this that I have caused to be written, I have + stored the treasure thus--even among my bones. Therefore, O thou + Unborn One, sleeping in the womb of Nout, I say this to thee! If + thou indeed hast need of riches to save Khem from the foes of + Khem, fear not and delay not, but tear me, the Osirian, from my + tomb, loose my wrappings and rip the treasure from my breast, and + all shall be well with thee; for this only I do command, that thou + dost replace my bones within my hollow coffin. But if the need be + passing and not great, or if there be guile in thy heart, then the + curse of Menkau-ra be on thee! On thee be the curse that shall + smite him who breaks in upon the dead! On thee be the curse that + follows the traitor! On thee be the curse that smites him who + outrages the Majesty of the Gods! Unhappy shalt thou live, in + blood and misery shalt thou die, and in misery shalt thou be + tormented for ever and for ever! For, Wicked One, there in Amenti + we shall come face to face! + + "And to the end of the keeping of this secret, I, Menkau-ra, have + set up a Temple of my Worship, which I have built upon the + eastern side of this my House of Death. It shall be made known + from time to time to the Hereditary High Priest of this my Temple. + And if any High Priest that shall be do reveal this secret to + another than the Pharaoh, or Her who wears the Pharaoh's crown and + is seated upon the throne of Khem, accursed be he also. Thus have + I, Menkau-ra, the Osirian, written. Now to thee, who, sleeping in + the womb of Nout, yet shall upon a time stand over me and read, I + say, judge thou! and if thou judgest evilly, on thee shall fall + this the curse of Menkau-ra from which there is no escape. + Greeting and farewell." + +"Thou hast heard, O Cleopatra," I said solemnly; "now search thy +heart; judge thou, and for thine own sake judge justly." + +She bent her head in thought. + +"I fear to do this thing," she said presently. "Let us hence." + +"It is well," I said, with a lightening of the heart, and bent down to +lift the wooden lid. For I, too, feared. + +"And yet, what said the writing of the Divine Menkau-ra?--it was +emeralds, was it not? And emeralds are now so rare and hard to come +by. Ever did I love emeralds, and I can never find them without a +flaw." + +"It is not a matter of what thou dost love, Cleopatra," I said; "it is +a matter of the need of Khem and of the secret meaning of thy heart, +which thou alone canst know." + +"Ay, surely, Harmachis; surely! And is not the need of Egypt great? +There is no gold in the treasury, and how can I defy the Roman if I +have no gold? And have I not sworn to thee that I will wed thee and +defy the Roman; and do I not swear it again--yes, even in this solemn +hour, with my hand upon dead Pharaoh's heart? Why, here is that +occasion of which the Divine Menkau-ra dreamed. Thou seest it is so, +for else Hat-shepsu or Rameses or some other Pharaoh had drawn forth +the gems. But no; they left them to come to this hour because the time +was not yet come. Now it must be come, for if I take not the gems the +Roman will surely seize on Egypt, and then there will be no Pharaoh to +whom the secret may be told. Nay, let us away with fears and to the +work. Why dost look so frightened? Having pure hearts, there is naught +to fear, Harmachis." + +"Even as thou wilt," I said again; "it is for thee to judge, since if +thou judgest falsely on thee will surely fall the curse from which +there is no escape." + +"So, Harmachis, take Pharaoh's head and I will take his---- Oh, what +an awful place is this!" and suddenly she clung to me. "Methought I +saw a shadow yonder in the darkness! Methought that it moved toward us +and then straightway vanished! Let us be going! Didst thou see +naught?" + +"I saw nothing, Cleopatra; but mayhap it was the Spirit of the Divine +Menkau-ra, for the spirit ever hovers round its mortal tenement. Let +us, then, be going; I shall be right glad to go." + +She made as though to start, then turned back again and spoke once +more. + +"It was naught--naught but the mind that, in such a house of Horror, +bodies forth those shadowy forms of fear it dreads to see. Nay, I must +look upon these emeralds; indeed, if I die, I must look! Come--to the +work!" and stooping, she with her own hands lifted from the tomb one +of the four alabaster jars, each sealed with the graven likeness of +the heads of the protecting Gods, that held the holy heart and +entrails of the Divine Menkau-ra. But nothing was found in these jars, +save only what should be there. + +Then together we mounted on the Sphinx, and with toil drew forth the +body of the Divine Pharaoh, laying it on the ground. Now Cleopatra +took my dagger, and with it cut loose the bandages which held the +wrappings in their place, and the lotus-flowers that had been set in +them by loving hands, three thousand years before, fell down upon the +pavement. Then we searched and found the end of the outer bandage, +which was fixed in at the hinder part of the neck. This we cut loose, +for it was glued fast. This done, we began to unroll the wrappings of +the holy corpse. Setting my shoulders against the sarcophagus, I sat +upon the rocky floor, the body resting on my knees, and, as I turned +it, Cleopatra unwound the cloths; and awesome was the task. Presently +something fell out; it was the sceptre of the Pharaoh, fashioned of +gold, and at its end was a pomegranate cut from a single emerald. + +Cleopatra seized the sceptre and gazed on it in silence. Then once +more we went on with our dread business. And ever as we unwound, other +ornaments of gold, such as are buried with Pharaohs, fell from the +wrappings--collars and bracelets, models of sistra, an inlaid axe, and +an image of the holy Osiris and of the holy Khem. At length all the +bandages were unwound, and beneath we found a covering of coarsest +linen; for in those very ancient days the craftsmen were not so +skilled in matters pertaining to the embalming of the body as they are +now. And on the linen was written in an oval, "Menkau-ra, Royal Son of +the Sun." We could in no wise loosen this linen, it held so firm on to +the body. Therefore, faint with the great heat, choked with mummy dust +and the odour of spices, and trembling with fear of our unholy task, +wrought in that most lonesome and holy place, we laid the body down, +and ripped away the last covering with the knife. First we cleared +Pharaoh's head, and now the face that no man had gazed on for three +thousand years was open to our view. It was a great face, with a bold +brow, yet crowned with the royal uręus, beneath which the white locks, +stained yellow by the spices, fell in long, straight wisps. Not the +cold stamp of death, and not the slow flight of three thousand years, +had found power to mar the dignity of those shrunken features. We +gazed on them, and then, made bold with fear, stripped the covering +from the body. There at last it lay before us, stiff, yellow, and +dread to see; and on the left side, above the thigh, was the cut +through which the embalmers had done their work, but it was sewn up so +deftly that we could scarcely find the mark. + +"The gems are within," I whispered, for I felt that the body was very +heavy. "Now, if thy heart fail thee not, thou must make an entry to +this poor house of clay that once was Pharaoh," and I gave her the +dagger--the same dagger which had drunk the life of Paulus. + +"It is too late to doubt," she answered, lifting her white beauteous +face and fixing her blue eyes all big with terror upon my own. She +took the dagger, and with set teeth the Queen of this day plunged it +into the dead breast of the Pharaoh of three thousand years ago. And +even as she did so there came a groaning sound from the opening to the +shaft where we had left the eunuch! We leapt to our feet, but heard no +more, and the lamp-light still streamed down through the opening. + +"It is nothing," I said. "Let us make an end." + +Then with much toil we hacked and rent the hard flesh open, and as we +did so I heard the knife point grate upon the gems within. + +Cleopatra plunged her hand into the dead breast and drew forth +somewhat. She held it to the light, and gave a little cry, for from +the darkness of Pharaoh's heart there flashed into light and life the +most beauteous emerald that ever man beheld. It was perfect in colour, +very large, without a flaw, and fashioned to a scarabęus form, and on +the under side was an oval, inscribed with the divine name of +Menkau-ra, Son of the Sun. + +Again, again, and yet again, she plunged in her hand and drew emeralds +from Pharaoh's breast bedded there in spices. Some were fashioned and +some were not; but all were perfect in colour without a flaw, and in +value priceless. Again and again she plunged her white hand into that +dread breast, till at length all were found, and there were one +hundred and forty and eight of such gems as are not known in the +world. The last time that she searched she brought forth not emeralds, +indeed, but two great pearls, wrapped in linen, such as never have +been seen. And of these pearls more hereafter. + +So it was done, and all the mighty treasure lay glittering in a heap +before us. There it lay, and there, too, lay the regalia of gold, the +spiced and sickly-scented wrappings, and the torn body of white-haired +Pharaoh Menkau-ra, the Osirian, the ever living in Amenti. + +We rose, and a great awe fell upon us, now that the deed was done and +our hearts were no more upborne by the rage of search--so great an +awe, indeed, that we could not speak. I made a sign to Cleopatra. She +grasped the head of Pharaoh and I grasped his feet, and together we +lifted him, climbed the Sphinx, and placed him once more within his +coffin. I piled the torn mummy cloths over him and on them laid the +lid of the coffin. + +And now we gathered up the great gems, and such of the ornaments as +might be carried with ease, and I hid them as many as I could, in the +folds of my robe. Those that were left Cleopatra hid upon her breast. +Heavily laden with the priceless treasure, we gave one last look at +the solemn place, at the sarcophagus and the Sphinx on which it +rested, whose gleaming face of calm seemed to mock us with its +everlasting smile of wisdom. Then we turned and went from the tomb. + +At the shaft we halted. I called to the eunuch, who stayed above, and +methought a faint mocking laugh answered me. Too smitten with terror +to call again, and fearing that, should we delay, Cleopatra would +certainly swoon, I seized the rope, and being strong and quick mounted +by it and gained the passage. There burnt the lamp: but the eunuch I +saw not. Thinking, surely, that he was a little way down the passage, +and slept--as, in truth, he did--I bade Cleopatra make the rope fast +about her middle, and with much labour, drew her up. Then, having +rested awhile, we moved with the lamps to seek for the eunuch. + +"He was stricken with terror and has fled, leaving the lamp," said +Cleopatra. "O ye Gods! who is /that/ seated there?" + +I peered into the darkness, thrusting out the lamps, and this was what +their light fell on--this at the very dream of which my soul sickens! +There, facing us, his back resting against the rock, and his hands +splayed on either side upon the floor, sat the eunuch--/dead!/ His +eyes and mouth were open, his fat cheeks dropped down, his thin hair +yet seemed to bristle, and on his countenance was frozen such a stamp +of hideous terror as well might turn the beholder's brain. And lo! +fixed to his chin, by its hinder claws, hung that grey and mighty bat, +which, flying forth when we entered the pyramid, vanished in the sky, +but, returning, had followed us to its depths. There it hung upon the +dead man's chin slowly rocking itself to and fro, and we could see the +fiery eyes shining in its head. + +Aghast, utterly aghast, we stood and stared at the hateful sight; till +presently the bat spread his huge wings and, losing his hold, sailed +to us. Now he hovered before Cleopatra's face, fanning her with his +white wings. Then with a scream, like a woman's shriek of fury, the +accursed Thing flittered on, seeking his violated tomb, and vanished +down the well into the sepulchre. I fell against the wall. But +Cleopatra sank in a heap upon the floor, and, covering her head with +her arms, she shrieked till the hollow passages rang with the echoes +of her cries, that seemed to grow and double and rush along the depths +in volumes of shrill sound. + +"Rise!" I cried, "rise and let us hence before the Spirit shall return +to haunt us! If thou dost suffer thyself to be overwhelmed in this +place thou art lost for ever." + +She staggered to her feet, and never may I forget the look upon her +ashy face or in her glowing eyes. Seizing lamps with a rush, we passed +the dead eunuch's horrid form, I holding her by the hand. We gained +the great chamber, where was the sarcophagus of the Queen of +Menkau-ra, and traversed its length. We fled along the passage. What +if the Thing had closed the three mighty doors? No; they were open, +and we sped through them; the last only did I stay to close. I touched +the stone, as I knew how, and the great door crashed down, shutting us +off from the presence of the dead eunuch and the Horror that had hung +upon the eunuch's chin. Now we were in the white chamber with the +sculptured panels, and now we faced the last steep ascent. Oh that +last ascent! Twice Cleopatra slipped and fell upon the polished floor. +The second time--it was when half the distance had been done--she let +fall her lamp, and would, indeed, have rolled down the slide had I not +saved her. But in doing thus I, too, let fall my lamp that bounded +away into shadow beneath us, and we were in utter darkness. And +perchance about us, in the darkness, hovered that awful Thing! + +"Be brave!" I cried; "O love, be brave, and struggle on, or both are +lost! The way, though steep, is not far; and, though it be dark, we +can scarce come to harm in this straight shaft. If the gems weight +thee, cast them away!" + +"Nay," she gasped, "that I will not; this shall not be endured to no +end. I die with them!" + +Then it was that I saw the greatness of this woman's heart; for in the +dark, and notwithstanding the terrors we had passed and the awfulness +of our state, she clung to me and clambered on up that dread passage. +On we clambered, hand in hand, with bursting hearts, till there, by +the mercy or the anger of the Gods, at length we saw the faint light +of the moon, creeping through the little opening in the pyramid. One +struggle more, now the hole was gained, and like a breath from heaven, +the sweet night air played upon our brows. I climbed through, and, +standing on a pile of stones, lifted and dragged Cleopatra after me. +She fell to the ground and then sank down upon it motionless. + +I pressed upon the turning stone with trembling hands. It swung to and +caught, leaving no mark of the secret place of entry. Then I leapt +down and, having pushed away the pile of stones, looked on Cleopatra. +She had swooned, and notwithstanding the dust and grime upon her face, +it was so pale that at first I believed she must be dead. But placing +my hand upon her heart I felt it stir beneath; and, being spent, I +flung myself down beside her upon the sand, to gather up my strength +again. + + + +CHAPTER XII + +OF THE COMING BACK OF HARMACHIS; OF THE GREETING OF CHARMION; +AND OF THE ANSWER OF CLEOPATRA TO QUINTUS DELLIUS, +THE AMBASSADOR OF ANTONY THE TRIUMVIR + +Presently I lifted myself, and, laying the head of Egypt's Queen upon +my knee, strove to call her back to life. How fair she seemed, even in +her disarray, her long hair streaming down her breast! how deadly fair +she seemed in the faint light--this woman the story of whose beauty +and whose sin shall outlive the solid mass of the mighty pyramid that +towered over us! The heaviness of her swoon had smoothed away the +falseness of her face, and nothing was left but the divine stamp of +Woman's richest loveliness, softened by shadows of the night and +dignified by the cast of deathlike sleep. I gazed upon her and all my +heart went out to her; it seemed that I did but love her more because +of the depth of the treasons to which I had sunk to reach her, and +because of the terrors we had outfaced together. Weary and spent with +fears and the pangs of guilt, my heart sought hers for rest, for now +she alone was left to me. She had sworn to wed me also, and with the +treasure we had won we would make Egypt strong and free her from her +foes, and all should yet be well. Ah! could I have seen the picture +that was to come, how, and in what place and circumstance, once again +this very woman's head should be laid upon my knee, pale with that +cast of death! Ah! could I have seen! + +I chafed her hand between my hands. I bent down and kissed her on the +lips, and at my kiss she woke. She woke with a little sob of fear--a +shiver ran along her delicate limbs, and she stared upon my face with +wide eyes. + +"Ah! it is thou!" she said. "I mind me--thou hast saved me from that +horror-haunted place!" And she threw her arms about my neck, drew me +to her and kissed me. "Come, love," she said, "let us be going! I am +sore athirst, and--ah! so very weary! The gems, too, chafe my breast! +Never was wealth so hardly won! Come, let us be going from the shadow +of this ghostly spot! See the faint lights glancing from the wings of +Dawn. How beautiful they are, and how sweet to behold! Never, in those +Halls of Eternal Night, did I think to look upon the blush of dawn +again! Ah! I can still see the face of that dead slave, with the +Horror hanging to his beardless chin! Bethink thee!--there he'll sit +for ever--there--with the Horror! Come; where may we find water? I +would give an emerald for a cup of water!" + +"At the canal on the borders of the tilled land below the Temple of +Horemkhu--it is close by," I answered. "If any see us, we will say +that we are pilgrims who have lost our way at night among the tombs. +Veil thyself closely, therefore, Cleopatra; and beware lest thou dost +show aught of those gems about thee." + +So she veiled herself, and I lifted her on to the ass which was +tethered near at hand. We walked slowly through the plain till we came +to the place where the symbol of the God Horemkhu,[*] fashioned as a +mighty Sphinx (whom the Greeks call Harmachis), and crowned with the +royal crown of Egypt, looks out in majesty across the land, his eyes +ever fixed upon the East. As we walked the first arrow of the rising +sun quivered through the grey air, striking upon Horemkhu's lips of +holy calm, and the Dawn kissed her greeting to the God of Dawn. Then +the light gathered and grew upon the gleaming sides of twenty +pyramids, and, like a promise from Life to Death, rested on the +portals of ten thousand tombs. It poured in a flood of gold across the +desert sand--it pierced the heavy sky of night, and fell in bright +beams upon the green of fields and the tufted crest of palms. Then +from his horizon bed royal Ra rose up in pomp and it was day. + +[*] That is, "Horus on the horizon"; and signifies the power of Light + and Good overcoming the power of Darkness and Evil incarnate in + his enemy, Typhon.--Editor. + +Passing the temple of granite and of alabaster that was built before +the days of Khufu, to the glory of the Majesty of Horemkhu, we +descended the slope, and came to the banks of the canal. There we +drank; and that draught of muddy water was sweeter than all the +choicest wine of Alexandria. Also we washed the mummy dust and grime +from our hands and brows and made us clean. As she bathed her neck, +stooping over the water, one of the great emeralds slipped from +Cleopatra's breast and fell into the canal, and it was but by chance +that at length I found it in the mire. Then, once more, I lifted +Cleopatra onto the beast, and slowly, for I was very weary, we marched +back to the banks of Sihor, where our craft was. And having at length +come thither, seeing no one save some few peasants going out to labour +on the lands, I turned the ass loose in that same field where we had +found him, and we boarded the craft while the crew were yet sleeping. +Then, waking them, we bade them make all sail, saying that we had left +the eunuch to sojourn a while behind us, as in truth we had. So we +sailed, having first hidden away the gems and such of the ornaments of +gold as we could bring to the boat. + +We spent four days and more in coming to Alexandria, for the wind was +for the most part against us; and they were happy days! At first, +indeed, Cleopatra was somewhat silent and heavy at heart, for what she +had seen and felt in the womb of the pyramid weighed her down. But +soon her Imperial spirit awoke and shook the burden from her breast, +and she became herself again--now gay, now learned; now loving, and +now cold; now queenly, and now altogether simple--ever changing as the +winds of heaven, and as the heaven, deep, beauteous, and unsearchable! + +Night after night for those four perfect nights, the last happy hours +I ever was to know, we sat hand in hand upon the deck and heard the +waters lap the vessel's side, and watched the soft footfall of the +moon as she trod the depths of Nile. There we sat and talked of love, +talked of our marriage and all that we would do. Also I drew up plans +of war and of defence against the Roman, which now we had the means to +carry out; and she approved them, sweetly saying that what seemed good +to me was good to her. And so the time passed all too swiftly. + +Oh those nights upon the Nile! their memory haunts me yet! Yet in my +dreams I see the moonbeams break and quiver, and hear Cleopatra's +murmured words of love mingle with the sound of murmuring waters. Dead +are those dear nights, dead is the moon that lit them; the waters +which rocked us on their breast are lost in the wide salt sea, and +where we kissed and clung there lips unborn shall kiss and cling! How +beautiful was their promise, doomed, like an unfruitful blossom, to +wither, fall, and rot! and their fulfilment, ah, how drear! For all +things end in darkness and in ashes, and those who sow in folly shall +reap in sorrow. Ah! those nights upon the Nile! + +And so at length once more we stood within the hateful walls of that +fair palace on the Lochias, and the dream was done. + + + +"Whither hast thou wandered with Cleopatra, Harmachis?" Charmion asked +of me when I met her by chance on that day of return. "On some new +mission of betrayal? Or was it but a love-journey?" + +"I went with Cleopatra upon secret business of the State," I answered +sternly. + +"So! Those who go secretly, go evilly; and foul birds love to fly at +night. Not but what thou art wise, for it would scarce beseem thee, +Harmachis, to show thy face openly in Egypt." + +I heard, and felt my passion rise within me, for I could ill bear this +fair girl's scorn. + +"Hast thou never a word without a sting?" I asked. "Know, then, that I +went whither thou hadst not dared to go, to gather means to hold Egypt +from the grasp of Antony." + +"So," she answered, looking up swiftly. "Thou foolish man! Thou hadst +done better to save thy labour, for Antony will grasp Egypt in thy +despite. What power hast thou to-day in Egypt?" + +"That he may do in my despite; but in despite of Cleopatra that he +cannot do," I said. + +"Nay, but with the /aid/ of Cleopatra he can and will do it," she +answered with a bitter smile. "When the Queen sails in state up Cydnus +stream she will surely draw this coarse Antony thence to Alexandria, +conquering, and yet, like thee, a slave!" + +"It is false! I say that it is false! Cleopatra goes not to Tarsus, +and Antony comes not to Alexandria; or, if he come, it will be to take +the chance of war." + +"Now, thinkest thou thus?" she answered with a little laugh. "Well, if +it please thee, think as thou wilt. Within three days thou shalt know. +It is pretty to see how easily thou art fooled. Farewell! Go, dream on +Love, for surely Love is sweet." + +And she went, leaving me angered and troubled at heart. + + + +I saw Cleopatra no more that day, but on the day which followed I saw +her. She was in a heavy mood, and had no gentle word for me. I spake +to her of the defence of Egypt, but she put the matter away. + +"Why dost thou weary me?" she said with anger; "canst thou not see +that I am lost in troubles? When Dellius has had his answer to-morrow +then we will speak of these matters." + +"Ay," I said, "when Dellius has had his answer; and knowest thou that +but yesterday, Charmion--whom about the palace they name the 'Keeper +of the Queen's secrets'--Charmion swore that the answer would be 'Go +in peace, I come to Antony!'" + +"Charmion knows nothing of my heart," said Cleopatra, stamping her +foot in anger, "and if she talk so freely the girl shall be scourged +out of my Court, as is her desert. Though, in truth," she added, "she +has more wisdom in that small head of hers than all my privy +councillors--ay, and more wit to use it. Knowest thou that I have sold +a portion of those gems to the rich Jews of Alexandria, and at a great +price, ay, at five thousand sestertia for each one?[*] But a few, in +truth, for they could not buy more as yet. It was rare to see their +eyes when they fell upon them: they grew large as apples with avarice +and wonder. And now leave me, Harmachis, for I am weary. The memory of +that dreadful night is with me yet." + +[*] About forty thousand pounds of our money.--Editor. + +I bowed and rose to go, and yet stood wavering. + +"Pardon me, Cleopatra; it is of our marriage." + +"Our marriage! Why, are we not indeed already wed?" she answered. + +"Yes; but not before the world. Thou didst promise." + +"Ay, Harmachis, I promised; and to-morrow, when I have rid me of this +Dellius, I will keep my promise, and name thee Cleopatra's Lord before +the Court. See that thou art in thy place. Art content?" + +And she stretched out her hand for me to kiss, looking on me with +strange eyes, as though she struggled with herself. Then I went; but +that night I strove once more to see Cleopatra, and could not. "The +Lady Charmion was with the Queen," so said the eunuchs, and none might +enter. + + + +On the morrow the Court met in the great hall one hour before mid-day, +and I went thither with a trembling heart to hear Cleopatra's answer +to Dellius, and to hear myself also named King-consort to the Queen of +Egypt. It was a full and splendid Court; there were councillors, +lords, captains, eunuchs, and waiting-women, all save Charmion. The +house passed, but Cleopatra and Charmion came not. At length Charmion +entered gently by a side entrance, and took her place among the +waiting-ladies about the throne. Even as she did so she cast a glance +at me, and there was triumph in her eyes, though I knew not over what +she triumphed. I little guessed that she had but now brought about my +ruin and sealed the fate of Egypt. + +Then presently the trumpets blared, and, clad in her robes of state, +the uręus crown upon her head, and on her breast, flashing like a +star, that great emerald scarabęus which she had dragged from dead +Pharaoh's heart, Cleopatra swept in splendour to her throne, followed +by a glittering guard of Northmen. Her lovely face was dark, dark were +her slumbrous eyes, and none might read their message, though all that +Court searched them for a sign of what should come. She seated herself +slowly as one who may not be moved, and spoke to the chief of the +heralds in the Greek tongue: + +"Does the Ambassador of the noble Antony wait?" + +The herald bowed low and made assent. + +"Let him come in and hear our answer." + +The doors were flung wide, and, followed by his train of knights, +Dellius, clad in his golden armour and his purple mantle, walked with +cat-like step up the great hall, and made obeisance before the throne. + +"Most royal and beauteous Egypt," he said, in his soft voice, "as thou +hast graciously been pleased to bid me, thy servant, I am here to take +thy answer to the letter of the noble Antony the Triumvir, whom +to-morrow I sail to meet at Tarsus, in Cilicia. And I will say this, +royal Egypt, craving pardon the while for the boldness of my speech-- +bethink thee well before words that cannot be unspoken fall from those +sweet lips. Defy Antony, and Antony will wreck thee. But, like thy +mother Aphrodité, rise glorious on his sight from the bosom of the +Cyprian wave, and for wreck he will give thee all that can be dear to +woman's royalty--Empire, and pomp of place, cities and the sway of +men, fame and wealth, and the Diadem of rule made sure. For mark: +Antony holds this Eastern World in the hollow of his warlike hand; at +his will kings are, and at his frown they cease to be." + +And he bowed his head and, folding his hands meekly on his breast, +awaited answer. + +For a while Cleopatra answered not, but sat like the Sphinx Horemkhu, +dumb and inscrutable, gazing with lost eyes down the length of that +great hall. + +Then, like soft music, her answer came; and trembling I listened for +Egypt's challenge to the Roman: + +"Noble Dellius,--We have bethought us much of the matter of thy +message from great Antony to our poor Royalty of Egypt. We have +bethought us much, and we have taken counsel from the oracles of the +Gods, from the wisest among our friends, and from the teachings of our +heart, that ever, like a nesting bird, broods over our people's weal. +Sharp are the words that thou has brought across the sea; methinks +they had been better fitted to the ears of some petty half-tamed +prince than to those of Egypt's Queen. Therefore we have numbered the +legions that we can gather, and the triremes and the galleys wherewith +we may breast the sea, and the moneys which shall buy us all things +wanting to our war. And we find this, that, though Antony be strong, +yet has Egypt naught to fear from the strength of Antony." + +She paused, and a murmur of applause of her high words ran down the +hall. Only Dellius stretched out his hand as though to push them back. +Then came the end! + +"Noble Dellius,--Half are we minded there to bid our tongue stop, and, +strong in our fortresses of stone, and our other fortresses built of +the hearts of men, abide the issue. And yet thou shalt not go thus. We +are guiltless of those charges against us that have come to the ears +of noble Antony, and which now he rudely shouts in ours; nor will we +journey into Cilicia to answer them." + +Here the murmur arose anew, while my heart beat high in triumph; and +in the pause that followed, Dellius spoke once more. + +"Then, royal Egypt, my word to Antony is word of War?" + +"Nay," she answered; "it shall be one of Peace. Listen; we said that +we would not come to make answer to these charges, nor will we. But"-- +and she smiled for the first time--"we will gladly come, and that +swiftly, in royal friendship to make known our fellowship of peace +upon the banks of Cydnus." + +I heard, and was bewildered. Could I hear aright? Was it thus that +Cleopatra kept her oaths? Moved beyond the hold of reason, I lifted up +my voice and cried: + +"O Queen, /remember!/" + +She turned upon me like a lioness, with a flashing of the eyes and a +swift shake of her lovely head. + +"Peace, Slave!" she said; "who bade thee break in upon our counsels? +Mind thou thy stars, and leave matters of the world to the rulers of +the world!" + +I sank back shamed, and, as I did so, once more I saw the smile of +triumph on the face of Charmion, followed by what was, perhaps, the +shadow of pity for my fall. + +"Now that yon brawling charlatan," said Dellius, pointing at me with +his jewelled finger, "has been rebuked, grant me leave, O Egypt, to +thank thee from my heart for these gentle words----" + +"We ask no thanks from thee, noble Dellius; nor lies it in thy mouth +to chide our servant," broke in Cleopatra, frowning heavily; "we will +take thanks from the lips of Antony alone. Get thee to thy master, and +say to him that before he can make ready a fitting welcome our keels +shall follow in the track of thine. And now, farewell! Thou shalt find +some small token of our bounty upon thy vessel." + +Dellius bowed thrice and withdrew, while the Court stood waiting the +Queen's word. And I, too, waited, wondering if she would yet make good +her promise, and name me royal Spouse there in the face of Egypt. But +she said nothing. Only, still frowning heavily, she rose, and, +followed by her guards, left the throne, and passed into the Alabaster +Hall. Then the Court broke up, and as the lords and councillors went +by they looked on me with mockery. For though none knew all my secret, +nor how it stood between me and Cleopatra, yet they were jealous of +the favour shown me by the Queen, and rejoiced greatly at my fall. But +I took no heed of their mocking as I stood dazed with misery and felt +the world of Hope slip from beneath my feet. + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +OF THE REPROACH OF HARMACHIS; OF THE STRUGGLE OF HARMACHIS +WITH THE GUARDS; OF THE BLOW OF BRENNUS; AND OF THE SECRET +SPEECH OF CLEOPATRA + +And at length, all being gone, I, too, turned to go, when a eunuch +struck me on the shoulder and roughly bade me wait on the presence of +the Queen. An hour past this fellow would have crawled to me on his +knees; but he had heard, and now he treated me--so brutish is the +nature of such slaves--as the world treats the fallen, with scorn. For +to come low after being great is to learn all shame. Unhappy, +therefore, are the Great, for they may fall! + +I turned upon the slave with so fierce a word that, cur-like, he +sprang behind me; then I passed on to the Alabaster Hall, and was +admitted by the guards. In the centre of the hall, near the fountain, +sat Cleopatra, and with her were Charmion and the Greek girl Iras, and +Merira and other of her waiting-ladies. "Go," she said to these, "I +would speak with my astrologer." So they went, and left us face to +face. + +"Stand thou there," she said, lifting her eyes for the first time. +"Come not nigh me, Harmachis: I trust thee not. Perchance thou hast +found another dagger. Now, what hast thou to say? By what right didst +thou dare to break in upon my talk with the Roman?" + +I felt the blood rush through me like a storm; bitterness and burning +anger took hold of my heart. "What hast /thou/ to say, Cleopatra?" I +answered boldly. "Where is thy vow, sworn on the dead heart of +Menkau-ra, the ever-living? Where now thy challenge to this Roman +Antony? Where thy oath that thou wouldest call me 'husband' in the +face of Egypt?" and I choked and ceased. + +"Well doth it become Harmachis, who never was forsworn, to speak to me +of oaths!" she said in bitter mockery. "And yet, O thou most pure +Priest of Isis; and yet, O thou most faithful friend, who never didst +betray thy friends; and yet, O thou most steadfast, honourable, and +upright man, who never bartered thy birthright, thy country, and thy +cause for the price of a woman's passing love--by what token knowest +thou that my word is void?" + +"I will not answer thy taunts, Cleopatra," I said, holding back my +heart as best I might, "for I have earned them all, though not from +thee. By this token, then, I know it. Thou goest to visit Antony; thou +goest, as said that Roman knave, 'tricked in thy best attire,' to +feast with him whom thou shouldst give to vultures for their feast. +Perhaps, for aught I know, thou art about to squander those treasures +that thou hast filched from the body of Menkau-ra, those treasures +stored against the need of Egypt, upon wanton revels which shall +complete the shame of Egypt. By these things, then, I know that thou +art forsworn, and I, who, loving thee, believed thee, tricked; and by +this, also, that thou who didst but yesternight swear to wed me, dost +to-day cover me with taunts, and even before that Roman put me to an +open shame!" + +"To wed thee? and I did swear to wed thee? Well, and what is marriage? +Is it the union of the heart, that bond beautiful as gossamer and than +gossamer more light, which binds soul to soul, as they float through +the dreamy night of passion, a bond to be, perchance, melted in the +dews of dawn? Or is it the iron link of enforced, unchanging union +whereby if sinks the one the other must be dragged beneath the sea of +circumstance, there, like a punished slave, to perish of unavoidable +corruption?[*] Marriage! /I/ to marry! /I/ to forget freedom and court +the worst slavery of our sex, which, by the selfish will of man, the +stronger, still binds us to a bed grown hateful, and enforces a +service that love mayhap no longer hallows! Of what use, then, to be a +Queen, if thereby I may not escape the evil of the meanly born? Mark +thou, Harmachis: Woman being grown hath two ills to fear--Death and +Marriage; and of these twain is Marriage the more vile; for in Death +we may find rest, but in Marriage, should it fail us, we must find +hell. Nay, being above the breath of common slander that enviously +would blast those who of true virtue will not consent to stretch +affection's links, I /love/, Harmachis; but I /marry/ not!" + +[*] Referring to the Roman custom of chaining a living felon to the + body of one already dead.--Editor. + +"And yesternight, Cleopatra, thou didst swear that thou wouldst wed +me, and call me to thy side before the face of Egypt!" + +"And yesternight, Harmachis, the red ring round the moon marked the +coming of the storm, and yet the day is fair! But who knows that the +tempest may not break to-morrow? Who knows that I have not chosen the +easier path to save Egypt from the Roman? Who knows, Harmachis, that +thou shalt not still call me wife?" + +Then I no longer could bear her falsehood, for I saw that she but +played with me. And so I spoke that which was in my heart: + +"Cleopatra!" I cried," thou didst swear to protect Egypt, and thou art +about to betray Egypt to the Roman! Thou didst swear to use the +treasures that I revealed to thee for the service of Egypt, and thou +art about to use them to be her means of shame--to fashion them as +fetters for her wrists! Thou didst swear to wed me, who loved thee, +and for thee gave all, and thou dost mock me and reject me! Therefore +I say--with the voice of the dread Gods I say it!--that on /thee/ +shall fall the curse of Menkau-ra, whom thou hast robbed indeed! Let +me go hence and work out my fate! Let me go, O thou fair Shame! thou +living Lie! whom I have loved to my doom, and who hast brought upon me +the last curse of doom! Let me hide myself and see thy face no more!" + +She rose in her wrath, and she was terrible to see. + +"Let thee go to stir up evil against me! Nay, Harmachis, thou shalt +not go to build new plots against my throne! I say to thee that thou, +too, shalt come to visit Antony in Cilicia, and there, perchance, I +will let thee go!" And ere I could answer, she had struck upon the +silver gong that hung near her. + +Before its rich echo had died away, Charmion and the waiting-women +entered from one door, and from the other, a file of soldiers--four of +them of the Queen's bodyguard, mighty men, with winged helmets and +long fair hair. + +"Seize that traitor!" cried Cleopatra, pointing to me. The captain of +the guard--it was Brennus--saluted and came towards me with drawn +sword. + +But I, being mad and desperate, and caring little if they slew me, +flew straight at his throat, and dealt him such a heavy blow that the +great man fell headlong, and his armour clashed upon the marble floor. +As he fell I seized his sword and targe, and, meeting the next, who +rushed on me with a shout, caught his blow upon the shield, and in +answer smote with all my strength. The sword fell where the neck is +set into the shoulder, and, shearing through the joints of his +harness, slew him, so that his knees were loosened and he sank down +dead. And the third, as he came, I caught upon the point of my sword +before he could strike, and it pierced him and he died. Then the last +rushed on me with a cry of "Taranis!" and I, too, rushed on him, for +my blood was aflame. Now the women shrieked--only Cleopatra said +nothing, but stood and watched the unequal fray. We met, and I struck +with all my strength, and it was a mighty blow, for the sword shore +through the iron shell and shattered there, leaving me weaponless. +With a shout of triumph the guard swung up his sword and smote down +upon my head, but I caught the blow with my shield. Again he smote, +and again I parried; but when he raised his sword a third time I saw +this might not endure, so with a cry I hurled my buckler at his face. +Glancing from his shield it struck him on the breast and staggered +him. Then, before he could gain his balance, I rushed in beneath his +guard and gripped him round the middle. + +For a full minute the tall man and I struggled furiously, and then, so +great was my strength in those days, I lifted him like a toy and +dashed him down upon the marble floor in such fashion that his bones +were shattered so that he spoke no more. But I could not save myself +and fell upon him, and as I fell the Captain Brennus, whom I had +smitten to earth with my fist, having once more found his sense, came +up behind me and smote me upon the head and shoulders with the sword +of one of those whom I had slain. But I being on the ground, the blow +did not fall with all its weight, also my thick hair and broidered cap +broke its force; and thus it came to pass that, though sorely wounded, +the life was yet whole in me. But I could struggle no more. + +Then the cowardly eunuchs, who had gathered at the sound of blows and +stood huddled together like a herd of cattle, seeing that I was spent, +threw themselves upon me, and would have butchered me with their +knives. But Brennus, now that I was down, would strike no more, but +stood waiting. And the eunuchs had surely slain me, for Cleopatra +watched like one who watches in a dream and made no sign. Already my +head was dragged back, and their knife-points were at my throat, when +Charmion, rushing forward, threw herself upon me and, calling them +"Dogs!" desperately thrust her body before them in such fashion that +they could not smite. Now Brennus with an oath seized first one and +then another and cast them from me. + +"Spare his life, Queen!" he cried in his barbarous Latin. "By Jupiter, +he is a brave man! Myself felled like an ox in the shambles, and three +of my boys finished by a man without armour and taken unawares! I +grudge them not to such a man! A boon, Queen! spare his life, and give +him to me!" + +"Ay, spare him! spare him!" cried Charmion, white and trembling. + +Cleopatra drew near and looked upon the dead and him who lay dying as +I had dashed him to the ground, and on me, her lover of two days gone, +whose wounded head rested now on Charmion's white robes. + +I met the Queen's glance. "Spare not!" I gasped; "/vę victis!/" Then a +flush gathered on her brow--methinks it was a flush of shame! + +"Dost after all love this man at heart, Charmion," she said with a +little laugh, "that thou didst thrust thy tender body between him and +the knives of these sexless hounds?" and she cast a look of scorn upon +the eunuchs. + +"Nay!" the girl answered fiercely; "but I cannot stand by to see a +brave man murdered by such as these." + +"Ay!" said Cleopatra, "he is a brave man, and he fought gallantly; I +have never seen so fierce a fight even in the games at Rome! Well, I +spare his life, though he is weak of me--womanish weak. Take him to +his own chamber and guard him there till he is healed or--dead." + +Then my brain reeled, a great sickness seized upon me, and I sank into +the nothingness of a swoon. + + + +Dreams, dreams, dreams! without end and ever-changing, as for years +and years I seemed to toss upon a sea of agony. And through them a +vision of a dark-eyed woman's tender face and the touch of a white +hand soothing me to rest. Visions, too, of a royal countenance bending +at times over my rocking bed--a countenance that I could not grasp, +but whose beauty flowed through my fevered veins and was a part of me +--visions of childhood and of the Temple towers of Abouthis, and of +the white-haired Amenemhat, my father--ay, and an ever-present vision +of that dread hall in Amenti, and of the small altar and the Spirits +clad in flame! There I seemed to wander everlastingly, calling on the +Holy Mother, whose memory I could not grasp; calling ever and in vain! +For no cloud descended upon the altar, only from time to time the +great Voice pealed aloud: "Strike out the name of Harmachis, child of +Earth, from the living Book of Her who Was and Is and Shall Be! /Lost! +lost! lost!/" + +And then another voice would answer: + +"Not yet! not yet! Repentance is at hand; strike not out the name of +Harmachis, child of Earth, from the living Book of Her who Was and Is +and Shall Be! By suffering may sin be wiped away!" + +I woke to find myself in my own chamber in the tower of the palace. I +was so weak that I scarce could lift my hand, and life seemed but to +flutter in my breast as flutters a dying dove. I could not turn my +head; I could not stir; yet in my heart there was a sense of rest and +of dark trouble done. The light from the lamp hurt my eyes: I shut +them, and, as I shut them, heard the sweep of a woman's robes upon the +stair, and a swift, light step that I knew well. It was that of +Cleopatra! + +She entered and drew near. I felt her come! Every pulse of my poor +frame beat an answer to her footfall, and all my mighty love and hate +rose from the darkness of my death-like sleep, and rent me in their +struggle! She leaned over me; her ambrosial breath played upon my +face: I could hear the beating of her heart! Lower she leaned, till at +last her lips touched me softly on the brow. + +"Poor man!" I heard her murmur. "Poor, weak, dying Man! Fate hath been +hard to thee! Thou wert too good to be the sport of such a one as I-- +the pawn that I must move in my play of policy! Ah, Harmachis! thou +shouldst have ruled the game! Those plotting priests could give thee +learning; but they could not give thee knowledge of mankind, nor fence +thee against the march of Nature's law. And thou didst love me with +all thy heart--ah! well I know it! Manlike, thou didst love the eyes +that, as a pirate's lights, beckoned thee to shipwrecked ruin, and +didst hang doting on the lips which lied thy heart away and called +thee 'slave'! Well; the game was fair, for thou wouldst have slain me; +and yet I grieve. So thou dost die? and this is my farewell to thee! +Never may we meet again on earth; and, perchance, it is well, for who +knows, when my hour of tenderness is past, how I might deal with thee, +didst thou live? Thou dost die, they say--those learned long-faced +fools, who, if they let thee die, shall pay the price. And where, +then, shall we meet again when my last throw is thrown? We shall be +equal there, in the kingdom that Osiris rules. A little time, a few +years--perhaps to-morrow--and we shall meet; then, knowing all I am, +how wilt thou greet me? Nay, here, as there, still must thou worship +me! for injuries cannot touch the immortality of such a love as thine. +Contempt alone, like acid, can eat away the love of noble hearts, and +reveal the truth in its pitiful nakedness. Thou must still cling to +thee, Harmachis; for, whatever my sins, yet I am great and set above +thy scorn. Would that I could have loved thee as thou lovest me! +Almost I did so when thou slewest those guards; and yet--not quite. + +"What a fenced city is my heart, that none can take it, and, even when +I throw the gates wide, no man may win its citadel! Oh, to put away +this loneliness and lose me in another's soul! Oh, for a year, a +month, an hour to quite forget policy, peoples, and my pomp of place, +and be but a loving woman! Harmachis, fare thee well! Go join great +Julius whom thy art called up from death before me, and take Egypt's +greetings to him. Ah well! I fooled thee, and I fooled Cęsar-- +perchance before all is done Fate will find me, and myself I shall be +fooled. Harmachis, fare thee well!" + +She turned to go, and as she turned I heard the sweep of another dress +and the light fall of another woman's foot. + +"Ah! it is thou, Charmion. Well, for all thy watching the man dies." + +"Ay," she answered, in a voice thick with grief. "Ay, O Queen, so the +physicians say. Forty hours has he lain in stupor so deep that at +times his breath could barely lift this tiny feather's weight, and +hardly could my ear, placed against his breast, take notice of the +rising of his heart. I have watched him now for ten long days, watched +him day and night, till my eyes stare wide with want of sleep, and for +faintness I can scarce keep myself from falling. And this is the end +of all my labour! The coward blow of that accursed Brennus has done +its work, and Harmachis dies!" + +"Love counts not its labour, Charmion, nor can it weight its +tenderness on the scale of purchase. That which it has it gives, and +craves for more to give and give, till the soul's infinity be drained. +Dear to thy heart are these heavy nights of watching; sweet to thy +weary eyes is that sad sight of strength brought so low that it hangs +upon thy weakness like a babe to its mother's breast! For, Charmion, +thou dost love this man who loves thee not, and now that he is +helpless thou canst pour thy passion forth over the unanswering +darkness of his soul, and cheat thyself with dreams of what yet might +be." + +"I love him not, as thou hast proof, O Queen! How can I love one who +would have slain thee, who art as my heart's sister? It is for pity +that I nurse him." + +She laughed a little as she answered, "Pity is love's own twin, +Charmion. Wondrous wayward are the paths of woman's love, and thou +hast shown thine strangely, that I know. But the more high the love, +the deeper the gulf whereinto it can fall--ay, and thence soar again +to heaven, once more to fall! Poor woman! thou art thy passion's +plaything: now tender as the morning sky, and now, when jealousy grips +thy heart, more cruel than the sea. Well, thus are we made. Soon, +after all this troubling, nothing will be left thee but tears, +remorse, and--memory." + +And she went forth. + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +OF THE TENDER CARE OF CHARMION; OF THE HEALING OF HARMACHIS; +OF THE SAILING OF THE FLEET OF CLEOPATRA FOR CILICIA; AND OF THE +SPEECH OF BRENNUS TO HARMACHIS + +Cleopatra went, and for a while I lay silent, gathering up my strength +to speak. But Charmion came and stood over me, and I felt a great tear +fall from her dark eyes upon my face, as the first heavy drop of rain +falls from a thunder cloud. + +"Thou goest," she whispered; "thou goest fast whither I may not +follow! O Harmachis, how gladly would I give my life for thine!" + +Then at length I opened my eyes, and spoke as best I could: + +"Restrain thy grief, dear friend," I said, "I live yet; and, in truth, +I feel as though new life gathered in my breast!" + +She gave a little cry of joy, and I never saw aught more beautiful +than the change that came upon her weeping face! It was as when the +first lights of the day run up the pallor of that sad sky which veils +the night from dawn. All rosy grew her lovely countenance; her dim +eyes shone out like stars; and a smile of wonderment, more sweet than +the sudden smile of the sea as its ripples wake to brightness beneath +the kiss of the risen moon, broke through her rain of tears. + +"Thou livest!" she cried, throwing herself on her knees beside my +couch. "Thou livest--and I thought thee gone! Thou art come back to +me! Oh! what say I? How foolish is a woman's heart! 'Tis this long +watching! Nay; sleep and rest thee, Harmachis!--why dost thou talk? +Not one more word, I command thee straitly! Where is the draught left +by that long-bearded fool? Nay thou shalt have no draught! There, +sleep, Harmachis; sleep!" and she crouched down at my side and laid +her cool hand upon my brow, murmuring, "/Sleep! sleep!/" + +And when I woke there she was still, but the lights of dawn were +peeping through the casement. There she knelt, one hand upon my +forehead, and her head, in all its disarray of curls, resting upon her +outstretched arm. + +"Charmion," I whispered, "have I slept?" + +Instantly she was wide awake, and, gazing on me with tender eyes, +"Yea, thou hast slept, Harmachis." + +"How long, then, have I slept?" + +"Nine hours." + +"And thou hast held thy place there, at my side, for nine long hours?" + +"Yes, it is nothing; I also have slept--I feared to waken thee if I +stirred." + +"Go, rest," I said; "it shames me to think of this thing. Go rest +thee, Charmion!" + +"Vex not thyself," she answered; "see, I will bid a slave watch thee, +and to wake me if thou needest aught; I sleep there, in the outer +chamber. Peace--I go!" and she strove to rise, but, so cramped was +she, fell straightway on the floor. + +I can scarcely tell the sense of shame that filled me when I saw her +fall. Alas! I could not stir to help her. + +"It is naught," she said; "move not, I did but catch my foot. There!" +and she rose, again to fall--"a pest upon my awkwardness! Why--I must +be sleeping. 'Tis well now. I'll send the slave;" and she staggered +thence like one overcome with wine. + +And after that, I slept once more, for I was very weak. When I woke it +was afternoon, and I craved for food, which Charmion brought me. + +I ate. "Then I die not," I said. + +"Nay," she answered, with a toss of her head, "thou wilt live. In +truth, I did waste my pity on thee." + +"And thy pity saved my life," I said wearily, for now I remembered. + +"It is nothing," she answered carelessly. "After all, thou art my +cousin; also, I love nursing--it is a woman's trade. Like enough I had +done as much for any slave. Now, too, that the danger is past, I leave +thee." + +"Thou hadst done better to let me die, Charmion," I said after a +while, "for life to me can now be only one long shame. Tell me, then, +when sails Cleopatra for Cilicia?" + +"She sails in twenty days, and with such pomp and glory as Egypt has +never seen. Of a truth, I cannot guess where she has found the means +to gather in this store of splendour, as a husbandman gathers his +golden harvest." + +But I, knowing whence the wealth came, groaned in bitterness of +spirit, and made no answer. + +"Goest thou also, Charmion?" I asked presently. + +"Ay, I and all the Court. Thou, too--thou goest." + +"I go? Nay, why is this?" + +"Because thou art Cleopatra's slave, and must march in gilded chains +behind her chariot; because she fears to leave thee here in Khem; +because it is her will, and there is an end." + +"Charmion, can I not escape?" + +"Escape, thou poor sick man? Nay, how canst thou escape? Even now thou +art most strictly guarded. And if thou didst escape, whither wouldst +thou fly? There's not an honest man in Egypt but would spit on thee in +scorn!" + +Once more I groaned in spirit, and, being so very weak, I felt the +tears roll adown my cheek. + +"Weep not!" she said hastily, and turning her face aside. "Be a man, +and brave these troubles out. Thou hast sown, now must thou reap; but +after harvest the waters rise and wash away the rotting roots, and +then seed-time comes again. Perchance, yonder in Cilicia, a way may be +found, when once more thou art strong, by which thou mayst fly--if in +truth thou canst bear thy life apart from Cleopatra's smile; then in +some far land must thou dwell till these things are forgotten. And now +my task is done, so fare thee well! At times I will come to visit thee +and see that thou needest nothing." + +So she went, and I was nursed thenceforward, and that skilfully, by +the physician and two women-slaves; and as my wound healed so my +strength came back to me, slowly at first, then most swiftly. In four +days from that time I left my couch, and in three more I could walk an +hour in the palace gardens; another week and I could read and think, +though I went no more to Court. And at length one afternoon Charmion +came and bade me make ready, for the fleet would sail in two days, +first for the coast of Syria, and thence to the gulf of Issus and +Cilicia. + +Thereon, with all formality, and in writing, I craved leave of +Cleopatra that I might be left, urging that my health was so feeble +that I could not travel. But a message was sent to me in answer that I +must come. + +And so, on the appointed day, I was carried in a litter down to the +boat, and together with that very soldier who had cut me down, the +Captain Brennus, and others of his troop (who, indeed, were sent to +guard me), we rowed aboard a vessel where she lay at anchor with the +rest of the great fleet. For Cleopatra was voyaging as though to war +in much pomp, and escorted by a fleet of ships, among which her +galley, built like a house and lined throughout with cedar and silken +hangings, was the most beautiful and costly that the world has ever +seen. But I went not on this vessel, and therefore it chanced that I +did not see Cleopatra or Charmion till we landed at the mouth of the +river Cydnus. + +The signal being made, the fleet set sail; and, the wind being fair, +we came to Joppa on the evening of the second day. Thence we sailed +slowly with contrary winds up the coast of Syria, making Cęsarea, and +Ptolemais, and Tyrus, and Berytus, and past Lebanon's white brow +crowned with his crest of cedars, on to Heraclea and across the gulf +of Issus to the mouth of Cydnus. And ever as we journeyed, the strong +breath of the sea brought back my health, till at length, save for a +line of white upon my head where the sword had fallen, I was almost as +I had been. And one night, as we drew near Cydnus, while Brennus and I +sat alone together on the deck, his eye fell upon the white mark his +sword had made, and he swore a great oath by his heathen Gods. "An +thou hadst died, lad," he said, "methinks I could never again have +held up my head! Ah! that was a coward stroke, and I am shamed to +think that it was I who struck it, and thou on the ground with thy +back to me! Knowest thou that when thou didst lie between life and +death, I came every day to ask tidings of thee? and I swore by Taranis +that if thou didst die I'd turn my back upon that soft palace life and +then away for the bonny North." + +"Nay, trouble not, Brennus," I answered; "it was thy duty." + +"Mayhap! but there are duties that a brave man should not do--nay, not +at the bidding of any Queen who ever ruled in Egypt! Thy blow had +dazed me or I had not struck. What is it, lad?--art in trouble with +this Queen of ours? Why art thou dragged a prisoner upon this pleasure +party? Knowest thou that we are strictly charged that if thou dost +escape our lives shall pay the price?" + +"Ay, in sore trouble, friend," I answered; "ask me no more." + +"Then, being of the age thou art, there's a woman in it--that I swear +--and, perchance, though I am rough and foolish, I might make a guess. +Look thou, lad, what sayest thou? I am weary of this service of +Cleopatra and this hot land of deserts and of luxury, that sap a man's +strength and drain his pocket; and so are others whom I know of. What +sayest thou: let's take one of these unwieldy vessels and away to the +North? I'll lead thee to a better land than Egypt--a land of lake and +mountain, and great forests of sweet-scented pine; ay, and find thee a +girl fit to mate with--my own niece--a girl strong and tall, with wide +blue eyes and long fair hair, and arms that could crack thy ribs were +she of a mind to hug thee! Come, what sayest thou? Put away the past, +and away for the bonny North, and be a son to me." + +For a moment I thought, and then sadly shook my head; for though I was +sorely tempted to be gone, I knew that my fate lay in Egypt, and I +might not fly my fate. + +"It may not be, Brennus," I answered. "Fain would I that it might be, +but I am bound by a chain of destiny which I cannot break, and in the +land of Egypt I must live and die." + +"As thou wilt, lad," said the old warrior. "I should have dearly loved +to marry thee among my people, and make a son of thee. At the least, +remember that while I am here thou hast Brennus for a friend. And one +thing more; beware of that beauteous Queen of thine, for, by Taranis, +perhaps an hour may come when she will hold that thou knowest too +much, and then----" and he drew his hand across his throat. "And now +good night; a cup of wine, then to sleep, for to-morrow the +foolery----" + +[Here several lengths of the second roll of papyrus are so broken as +to be undecipherable. They seem to have been descriptive of +Cleopatra's voyage up the Cydnus to the city of Tarsus.] + +"And--[the writing continues]--to those who could take joy in such +things, the sight must, indeed, have been a gallant one. For the stern +of our galley was covered with sheets of beaten gold, the sails were +of the scarlet of Tyre, and the oars of silver touched the water to a +measure of music. And there, in the centre of the vessel, beneath an +awning ablaze with gold embroidery, lay Cleopatra, attired as the +Roman Venus (and surely Venus was not more fair!), in thin robes of +whitest silk, bound in beneath her breast with a golden girdle +delicately graven over with scenes of love. All about her were little +rosy boys, chosen for their beauty, and clad in naught save downy +wings strapped upon their shoulders, and on their backs Cupid's bow +and quiver, who fanned her with fans of plumes. Upon the vessel's +decks, handling the cordage, that was of silken web, and softly +singing to the sound of harps and the beat of oars, were no rough +sailors, but women lovely to behold, some robed as Graces and some as +Nereids--that is, scarce robed at all, except in their scented hair. +And behind the couch, with drawn sword, stood Brennus, in splendid +armour and winged helm of gold; and by him others--I among them--in +garments richly worked, and knew that I was indeed a slave! On the +high poop also burned censers filled with costliest incense, of which +the fragrant steam hung in little clouds about our wake. + +Thus, as in a dream of luxury, followed by many ships, we glided on +towards the wooded slopes of Taurus, at whose foot lay that ancient +city Tarshish. And ever as we came the people gathered on the banks +and ran before us, shouting: "Venus is risen from the sea! Venus hath +come to visit Bacchus!" We drew near to the city, and all its people-- +everyone who could walk or be carried--crowded down in thousands to +the docks, and with them came the whole army of Antony, so that at +length the Triumvir was left alone upon the judgment seat. + +Dellius, the false-tongued, came also, fawning and bowing, and in the +name of Antony gave the "Queen of Beauty" greeting, bidding her to a +feast that Antony had made ready. But she made high answer, and said, +"Forsooth, it is Antony who should wait on us; not we on Antony. Bid +the noble Antony to our poor table this night--else we dine alone." + +Dellius went, bowing to the ground; the feast was made ready; and then +at last I set eyes on Antony. He came clad in purple robes, a great +man and beautiful to see, set in the stout prime of life, with bright +eyes of blue, and curling hair, and features cut sharply as a Grecian +gem. For he was great of form and royal of mien, and with an open +countenance on which his thoughts were so clearly written that all +might read them; only the weakness of the mouth belied the power of +the brow. He came attended by his generals, and when he reached the +couch where Cleopatra lay he stood astonished, gazing on her with +wide-opened eyes. She, too, gazed on him earnestly; I saw the red +blood run up beneath her skin, and a great pang of jealousy seized +upon my heart. And Charmion, who saw all beneath her downcast eyes, +saw this also and smiled. But Cleopatra spoke no word, only she +stretched out her white hand for him to kiss; and he, saying no word, +took her hand and kissed it. + +"Behold, noble Antony!" she said at last in her voice of music, "thou +hast called me, and I am come." + +"Venus has come," he answered in his deep notes, and still holding his +eyes fixed upon her face. "I called a woman--a Goddess hath risen from +the deep!" + +"To find a God to greet her on the land," she laughed with ready wit. +"Well, a truce to compliments, for being on the earth even Venus is +ahungered. Noble Antony, thy hand." + +The trumpets blared, and through the bowing crowd Cleopatra, followed +by her train, passed hand in hand with Antony to the feast. + +[Here there is another break in the papyrus.] + + + +CHAPTER XV + +OF THE FEAST OF CLEOPATRA; OF THE MELTING OF THE PEARL; +OF THE SAYING OF HARMACHIS; AND OF CLEOPATRA'S VOW OF LOVE + +On the third night the feast was once more prepared in the hall of the +great house that had been set aside to the use of Cleopatra, and on +this night its splendour was greater even than on the nights before. +For the twelve couches that were set about the table were embossed +with gold, and those of Cleopatra and Antony were of gold set with +jewels. The dishes also were all of gold set with jewels, the walls +were hung with purple cloths sewn with gold, and on the floor, covered +with a net of gold, fresh roses were strewn ankle-deep, that as the +slaves trod them sent up their perfume. Once again I was bidden to +stand, with Charmion and Iras and Merira, behind the couch of +Cleopatra, and, like a slave, from time to time call out the hours as +they flew. And there being no help, I went wild at heart; but this I +swore--it should be for the last time, since I could not bear that +shame. For though I would not yet believe what Charmion told me--that +Cleopatra was about to become the Love of Antony--yet I could no more +endure this ignominy and torture. For from Cleopatra now I had no +words save such as a Queen speaks to her slave, and methinks it gave +her dark heart pleasure to torment me. + +Thus it came to pass that I, the Pharaoh, crowned of Khem, stood among +eunuchs and waiting-women behind the couch of Egypt's Queen while the +feast went merrily and the wine-cup passed. And ever Antony sat, his +eyes fixed upon the face of Cleopatra, who from time to time let her +deep glance lose itself in his, and then for a little while their talk +died away. For he told her tales of war and of deeds that he had done +--ay, and love-jests such as are not meet for the ears of women. But +she took offence at nothing; rather, falling into his humour, she +would cap his stories with others of a finer wit, but not less +shameless. + +At length, the rich meal being finished, Antony gazed at the splendour +around him. + +"Tell me, then, most lovely Egypt," he said; "are the sands of Nile +compact of gold, that thou canst, night by night, thus squander the +ransom of a King upon a single feast? Whence comes this untold +wealth?" + +I bethought me of the tomb of the Divine Menkau-ra, whose holy +treasure was thus wickedly wasted, and looked up so that Cleopatra's +eye caught mine; but, reading my thoughts, she frowned heavily. + +"Why, noble Antony," she said, "surely it is nothing! In Egypt we have +our secrets, and know whence to conjure riches at our need. Say, what +is the value of this golden service, and of the meats and drinks that +have been set before us?" + +He cast his eyes about, and hazarded a guess. + +"Maybe a thousand sestertia."[*] + +[*] About eight thousand pounds of English money.--Editor. + +"Thou hast understated it by half, noble Antony! But such as it is I +will give it thee and those with thee as a free token of my +friendship. And more will I show thee now: I myself will eat and drink +ten thousand sestertia at a draught." + +"That cannot be, fair Egypt!" + +She laughed, and bade a slave bring her white vinegar in a glass. When +it was brought she set it before her and laughed again, while Antony, +rising from his couch, drew near and set himself at her side, and all +the company leant forward to see what she would do. And this she did. +She took from her ear one of those great pearls which last of all had +been drawn from the body of the Divine Pharaoh; and before any could +guess her purpose she let it fall into the vinegar. Then came silence, +the silence of wonder, and slowly the priceless pearl melted in the +strong acid. When it was melted she lifted the glass and shook it, +then drank the vinegar, to the last drop. + +"More vinegar, slave!" she cried; "my meal is but half finished!" and +she drew forth the second pearl. + +"By Bacchus, no! that shalt thou not!" cried Antony, snatching at her +hands; "I have seen enough;" and at that moment, moved to it by I know +not what, I called aloud: + +"The hour falls, O Queen!--/the hour of the coming of the curse of +Menkau-ra!/" + +An ashy whiteness grew upon Cleopatra's face, and she turned upon me +furiously, while all the company gazed wondering, not knowing what the +words might mean. + +"Thou ill-omened slave!" she cried. "Speak thus once more and thou +shalt be scourged with rods!--ay, scourged like an evildoer--that I +promise thee, Harmachis!" + +"What means the knave of an astrologer?" asked Antony. "Speak, sirrah! +and make clear thy meaning, for those who deal in curses must warrant +their wares." + +"I am a servant of the Gods, noble Antony. That which the Gods put in +my mind that must I say; nor can I read their meaning," I answered +humbly. + +"Oh, oh! thou servest the Gods, dost thou, thou many-coloured +mystery?" This he said having reference to my splendid robes. "Well, I +serve the Goddesses, which is a softer cult. And there's this between +us: that though what they put in my mind I say, neither can I read +their meaning," and he glanced at Cleopatra as one who questions. + +"Let the knave be," she said impatiently; "to-morrow we'll be rid of +him. Sirrah, begone!" + +I bowed and went; and, as I went, I heard Antony say: "Well, he may be +a knave--for that all men are--but this for thy astrologer: he hath a +royal air and the eye of a King--ay, and wit in it." + +Without the door I paused, not knowing what to do, for I was +bewildered with misery. And, as I stood, someone touched me on the +hand. I glanced up--it was Charmion, who in the confusion of the +rising of the guests, had slipped away and followed me. + +For in trouble Charmion was ever at my side. + +"Follow me," she whispered; "thou art in danger." + +I turned and followed her. Why should I not? + +"Whither go we?" I asked at length. + +"To my chamber," she said. "Fear not; we ladies of Cleopatra's Court +have small good fame to lose; if anyone by chance should see us, +they'll think that it is a love-tryst, and such are all the fashion." + +I followed, and, presently, skirting the crowd, we came unseen to a +little side entrance that led to a stair, up which we passed. The +stair ended in a passage; we turned down it till we found a door on +the left hand. Charmion entered silently, and I followed her into a +dark chamber. Being in, she barred the door and, kindling tinder to a +flame, lit a hanging lamp. As the light grew strong I gazed around. +The chamber was not large, and had but one casement, closely +shuttered. For the rest, it was simply furnished, having white walls, +some chests for garments, an ancient chair, what I took to be a tiring +table, on which were combs, perfumes, and all the frippery that +pertains to woman, and a white bed with a broidered coverlid, over +which was hung a gnat-gauze. + +"Be seated, Harmachis," she said, pointing to the chair. I took the +chair, and Charmion, throwing back the gnat-gauze, sat herself upon +the bed before me. + +"Knowest thou what I heard Cleopatra say as thou didst leave the +banqueting-hall?" she asked presently. + +"Nay, I know not." + +"She gazed after thee, and, as I went over to her to do some service, +she murmured to herself: 'By Serapis, I will make an end! I will wait +no longer: to-morrow he shall be strangled!'" + +"So!" I said, "it may be; though, after all that has been, I can +scarce believe that she will murder me." + +"Why canst thou not believe it, thou most foolish of men? Dost forget +how nigh thou wast to death there in the Alabaster Hall? Who saved +thee then from the knives of the eunuchs? Was it Cleopatra? Or was it +I and Brennus? Stay, I will tell thee. Thou canst not yet believe it, +because, in thy folly, thou dost not think it possible that the woman +who has but lately been as a wife to thee can now, in so short a time, +doom thee to be basely done to death. Nay, answer not--I know all; and +I tell thee this: thou hast not measured the depth of Cleopatra's +perfidy, nor canst thou dream the blackness of her wicked heart. She +had surely slain thee in Alexandria had she not feared that thy +slaughter being noised abroad might bring trouble on her. Therefore +has she brought thee here to kill thee secretly. For what more canst +thou give her? She has thy heart's love, and is wearied of thy +strength and beauty. She has robbed thee of thy royal birthright and +brought thee, a King, to stand amidst the waiting-women behind her at +her feasts; she has won from thee the great secret of the holy +treasure!" + +"Ah, thou knowest that?" + +"Yes, I know all; and to-night thou seest how the wealth stored +against the need of Khem is being squandered to fill up the wanton +luxury of Khem's Macedonian Queen! Thou seest how she has kept her +oath to wed thee honourably. Harmachis--at length thine eyes are open +to the truth!" + +"Ay, I see too well; and yet she swore she loved me, and I, poor fool, +I believed her!" + +"She swore she loved thee!" answered Charmion, lifting her dark eyes: +"now I will show thee how she loves thee. Knowest thou what was this +house? It was a priest's college; and, as thou wottest, Harmachis, +priests have their ways. This little room aforetime was the room of +the Head Priest, and the chamber that is beyond and below was the +gathering-place of the other priests. The old slave who keeps the +house told me all this, and also she revealed what I shall show thee. +Now, Harmachis, be silent as the dead, and follow me!" + +She blew out the lamp, and by the little light that crept through the +shuttered casement led me by the hand to the far corner of the room. +Here she pressed upon the wall, and a door opened in its thickness. We +entered, and she closed the spring. Now we were in a little chamber, +some five cubits in length by four in breadth; for a faint light +struggled into the closet, and also the sound of voices, I knew not +whence. Loosing my hand, she crept to the end of the place, and looked +steadfastly at the wall; then crept back and, whispering "Silence!" +led me forward with her. Then I saw that there were eyeholes in the +wall, which pierced it, and were hidden on the farther side by carved +work in stone. I looked through the hole that was in front of me, and +I saw this: six cubits below was the level of the floor of another +chamber, lit with fragrant lamps, and most richly furnished. It was +the sleeping-place of Cleopatra, and there, within ten cubits of where +we stood, sat Cleopatra on a gilded couch, and by her side sat Antony. + +"Tell me," Cleopatra murmured--for this place was so built that every +word spoken in the room below came to the ears of the listener above-- +"tell me, noble Antony, wast pleased with my poor festival?" + +"Ay," he answered in his deep soldier's voice, "ay, Egypt, I have made +feasts, and been bidden to feasts, but never saw I aught like thine; +and I tell thee this, though I am rough of tongue and unskilled in +pretty sayings such as women love, thou wast the richest sight of all +that splendid board. The red wine was not so red as thy beauteous +cheek, the roses smelt not so sweet as the odour of thy hair, and no +sapphire there with its changing light was so lovely as thy eyes of +ocean blue." + +"What! Praise from Antony! Sweet words from the lips of him whose +writings are so harsh! Why, it is praise indeed!" + +"Ay," he went on, "it was a royal feast, though I grieve that thou +didst waste that great pearl; and what meant that hour-calling +astrologer of thine, with his ill-omened talk of the curse of +Menkau-ra?" + +A shadow fled across her glowing face. "I know not; he was lately +wounded in a brawl, and methinks the blow has crazed him." + +"He seemed not crazed, and there was that about his voice which rings +in my ears like some oracle of fate. So wildly, too, he looked upon +thee, Egypt, with those piercing eyes of his, like one who loved and +yet hated through the love." + +"He is a strange man, I tell thee, noble Antony, and a learned. +Myself, at times, I almost fear him, for he is deeply versed in the +ancient arts of Egypt. Knowest thou that the man is of royal blood, +and once he plotted to slay me? But I won him over, and slew him not, +for he had the key to secrets that I fain would learn; and, indeed, I +loved his wisdom, and to listen to his deep talk of all hidden +things." + +"By Bacchus, I grow jealous of the knave! And now, Egypt?" + +"And now I have sucked his knowledge dry, and have no more cause to +fear him. Didst thou not see that I have made him stand these three +nights a slave amid my slaves, and call aloud the hours as they fled +in festival. No captive King marching in thy Roman triumphs can have +suffered pangs so keen as that proud Egyptian Prince when he stood +shamed behind my couch." + +Here Charmion laid her hand on mine and pressed it, as though in +tenderness. + +"Well, he shall trouble us no more with his words of evil omen," +Cleopatra went on slowly; "to-morrow morn he dies--dies swiftly and in +secret, leaving no trace of what his fate has been. On this is my mind +fixed; of a truth, noble Antony, it is fixed. Even as I speak the fear +of this man grows and gathers in my breast. Half am I minded to give +the word even now, for I breathe not freely till he be dead," and she +made as though to rise. + +"Let it be till morning," he said, catching her by the hand; "the +soldiers drink, and the deed will be ill done. 'Tis pity too. I love +not to think of men slaughtered in their sleep." + +"In the morning, perchance, the hawk may have flown," she answered, +pondering. "He hath keen ears, this Harmachis, and can summon things +to aid him that are not of the earth. Perchance, even now he hears me +in the spirit; for, of a truth, I seem to feel his presence breathing +round me. I could tell thee--but no, let him be! Noble Antony, be my +tiring-woman and loose me this crown of gold, it chafes my brow. Be +gentle, hurt me not--so." + +He lifted the uręus crown from her brows, and she shook loose her +heavy weight of hair that fell about her like a garment. + +"Take back thy crown, royal Egypt," he said, speaking low, "take it +from my hand; I will not rob thee of it, but rather set it more firmly +on that beauteous brow." + +"What means my Lord?" she asked, smiling and looking into his eyes. + +"What mean I? Why then, this: thou camest hither at my bidding to make +answer of the charges laid against thee as to matters politic. And +knowest thou, Egypt, that hadst thou been other than thou art thou +hadst not gone back to queen it on the Nile; for of this I am sure, +the charges against thee are true in fact. But, being what thou art-- +and look thou! never did Nature serve a woman better!--I forgive thee +all. For the sake of thy grace and beauty I forgive thee that which +had not been forgiven to virtue, or to patriotism, or to the dignity +of age! See now how good a thing is woman's wit and loveliness, that +can make kings forget their duty and cozen even blindfolded Justice to +peep ere she lifts her sword! Take back thy crown, O Egypt! It is now +my care that, though it be heavy, it shall not chafe thee." + +"These are royal words, most notable Antony," she made answer; +"gracious and generous words, such as befit the Conqueror of the +world! And touching my misdeeds in the past--if misdeeds there have +been--I say this, and this alone--then I knew not Antony. For, knowing +Antony, who could sin against him? What woman could lift a sword +against one who must be to all women as a God--one who, seen and +known, draws after him the whole allegiance of the heart, as the sun +draws flowers? And what more can I say and not cross the bounds of +woman's modesty? Why, only this--set that crown upon my brow, great +Antony, and I will take it as a gift from thee, by the giving made +doubly dear, and to thy uses I will guard it. + +"There, now I am thy vassal Queen, and through me all old Egypt that I +rule does homage to Antony the Triumvir, who shall be Antony the +Emperor of Rome and Khem's Imperial Lord!" + +And, having set the crown upon her locks, he stood gazing on her, +grown passionate in the warm breath of her living beauty, till at +length he caught her by both hands and drawing her to him kissed her +thrice, saying: + +"Cleopatra, I love thee, Sweet--I love thee as I never loved before." +She drew back from his embrace, smiling softly; and as she did so the +golden circlet of the sacred snakes fell, being but loosely set upon +her brow, and rolled away into the darkness beyond the ring of light. + +I saw the omen, and even in the bitter anguish of my heart knew its +evil import. But these twain took no note. + +"Thou lovest me?" she said, most sweetly; "how know I that thou lovest +me? Perchance it is Fulvia whom thou lovest--Fulvia, thy wedded wife?" + +"Nay, it is not Fulvia, 'tis thou, Cleopatra, and thou alone. Many +women have looked favourably upon me from my boyhood up, but to never +a one have I known such desire as to thee, O thou Wonder of the World, +like unto whom no woman ever was! Canst thou love me, Cleopatra, and +to me be true, not for my place or power, not for that which I can +give or can withhold, not for the stern music of my legion's tramp, or +for the light that flows from my bright Star of Fortune; but for +myself, for the sake of Antony, the rough captain, grown old in camps? +Ay, for the sake of Antony the reveller, the frail, the unfixed of +purpose, but who yet never did desert a friend, or rob a poor man, or +take an enemy unawares? Say, canst thou love me, Egypt? Oh! if thou +wilt, why, I am more happy than though I sat to-night in the Capitol +at Rome crowned absolute Monarch of the World!" + +And, ever as he spoke, she gazed on him with wonderful eyes, and in +them shone a light of truth and honesty such as was strange to me. + +"Thou speakest plainly," she said, "and thy words are sweet to mine +ears--they would be sweet, even were things otherwise than they are, +for what woman would not love to see the world's master at her feet? +But things being as they are, why, Antony, what can be so sweet as thy +sweet words? The harbour of his rest to the storm-tossed mariner-- +surely that is sweet! The dream of Heaven's bliss which cheers the +poor ascetic priest on his path of sacrifice--surely that is sweet! +The sight of Dawn, the rosy-fingered, coming in his promise to glad +the watching Earth--surely that is sweet! But, ah! not one of these, +nor all dear delightful things that are, can match the honey-sweetness +of thy words to me, O Antony! For thou knowest not--never canst thou +know--how drear my life hath been, and empty, since thus it is +ordained that in love only can woman lose her solitude! And I have +/never/ loved--never might I love--till this happy night! Ay, take me +in thy arms, and let us swear a great vow of love--an oath that may +not be broken while life is in us! Behold! Antony! now and for ever I +do vow most strict fidelity unto thee! Now and for ever I am thine, +and thine alone!" + + + +Then Charmion took me by the hand and drew me thence. + +"Hast seen enough?" she asked, when we were once more within the +chamber and the lamp was lit. + +"Yea," I answered; "my eyes are opened." + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +OF THE PLAN OF CHARMION; OF THE CONFESSION OF CHARMION; AND +OF THE ANSWER OF HARMACHIS + +For some while I sat with bowed head, and the last bitterness of shame +sank into my soul. This, then, was the end. For this I had betrayed my +oaths; for this I had told the secret of the pyramid; for this I had +lost my Crown, my Honour, and, perchance, my hope of Heaven! Could +there be another man in the wide world so steeped in sorrow as I was +that night? Surely not one! Where should I turn? What could I do? And +even through the tempest of my torn heart the bitter voice of jealousy +called aloud. For I loved this woman, to whom I had given all; and she +at this moment--she was---- Ah! I could not bear to think of it; and +in my utter agony, my heart burst in a river of tears such as are +terrible to weep! + +Then Charmion drew near me, and I saw that she, too, was weeping. + +"Weep not, Harmachis!" she sobbed, kneeling at my side. "I cannot +endure to see thee weep. Oh! why wouldst thou not be warned? Then +hadst thou been great and happy, and not as now. Listen, Harmachis! +Thou didst hear what that false and tigerish woman said--to-morrow she +hands thee over to the murderers!" + +"It is well," I gasped. + +"Nay: it is not well. Harmachis, give her not this last triumph over +thee. Thou hast lost all save life: but while life remains, hope +remains also, and with hope the chance of vengeance." + +"Ah!" I said, starting from my seat. "I had not thought of that. Ay-- +the chance of vengeance! It would be sweet to be avenged!" + +"It would be sweet, Harmachis, and yet this--Vengeance is an arrow +that in falling oft pierces him who shot it. Myself--I know it," and +she sighed. "But a truce to talk and grief. There will be time for us +twain to grieve, if not to talk, in all the heavy coming years. Thou +must fly--before the coming of the light must thou fly. Here is a +plan. To-morrow, ere the dawn, a galley that but yesterday came from +Alexandria, bearing fruit and stores, sails thither again, and its +captain is known to me, but to thee he is not known. Now, I will find +thee the garb of a Syrian merchant, and cloak thee, as I know how, and +furnish thee with a letter to the captain of the galley. He shall give +thee passage to Alexandria; for to him thou wilt seem but as a +merchant going on the business of thy trade. Brennus is officer of the +guard to-night, and Brennus is a friend to me and thee. Perhaps he +will guess somewhat; or, perhaps, he will not guess; at the least, the +Syrian merchant shall safely pass the lines. What sayest thou?" + +"It is well," I answered wearily; "little do I reck the issue." + +"Rest thou, then, here, Harmachis, while I make these matters ready; +and, Harmachis, grieve not overmuch; there are others who should +grieve more heavily than thou." And she went, leaving me alone with my +agony which rent me like a torture-bed. Had it not been for that +fierce desire of vengeance which from time to time flashed across my +tormented mind as the lightning over a midnight sea, methinks my +reason had left me in that dark hour. At length I heard her footstep +at the door, and she entered, breathing heavily, for she bore a sack +of clothing in her arms. + +"It is well," she said: "here is the garb with spare linen, and +writing-tablets, and all things needful. I have seen Brennus also, and +told him that a Syrian merchant would pass the guard an hour before +the dawn. And though he made pretence of sleep, I think he understood, +for he answered, yawning, that if they but had the pass-word, +'Antony,' fifty Syrian merchants might go through about their lawful +business. And here is the letter to the captain--thou canst not +mistake the galley, for she is moored along to the right--a small +galley, painted black, as thou dost enter on the great quay, and, +moreover, the sailors make ready for sailing. Now I will wait here +without, while thou dost put off the livery of thy service and array +thyself." + +When she was gone I tore off my gorgeous garments and spat upon them +and trod them on the ground. Then I put on the modest robe of a +merchant, and bound the tablets round me, on my feet the sandals of +untanned hide, and at my waist the knife. When it was done Charmion +entered once again and looked on me. + +"Too much art thou still the royal Harmachis," she said; "see, it must +be changed." + +Then she took scissors from her tiring-table, and, bidding me be +seated, she cut off my locks, clipping the hair close to the head. +Next she found stains of such sort as women use to make dark the eyes, +and mixed them cunningly, rubbing the stuff on my face and hands and +on the white mark in my hair where the sword of Brennus had bitten to +the bone. + +"Now thou art changed--somewhat for the worse, Harmachis," she said, +with a dreary laugh, "scarce myself should I know thee. Stay, there is +one more thing," and, going to a chest of garments, she drew thence a +heavy bag of gold. + +"Take thou this," she said; "thou wilt have need of money." + +"I cannot take thy gold, Charmion." + +"Yes, take it. It was Sepa who gave it to me for the furtherance of +our cause, and therefore it is fitting that thou shouldst spend it. +Moreover, if I want money, doubtless Antony, who is henceforth my +master, will give me more; he is much beholden to me, and this he +knows well. There, waste not the precious time in haggling o'er the +pelf--not yet art thou all a merchant, Harmachis;" and, without more +words, she thrust the pieces into the leather bag that hung across my +shoulders. Then she made fast the sack containing the spare garments, +and, so womanly thoughtful was she, placed in it an alabaster jar of +pigment, with which I might stain my countenance afresh, and, taking +the broidered robes of my office that I had cast off, hid them in the +secret passage. And so at last all was made ready. + +"Is it time that I should go," I asked. + +"Not yet a while. Be patient, Harmachis, for but one little hour more +must thou endure my presence, and then, perchance, farewell for ever." + +I made a gesture signifying that this was no time for sharp words. + +"Forgive me my quick tongue," she said; "but from a salt spring bitter +waters well. Be seated, Harmachis; I have heavier words to speak to +thee before thou goest." + +"Say on," I answered; "words, however heavy, can move me no more." + +She stood before me with folded hands, and the lamp-light shone upon +her beauteous face. I noticed idly how great was its pallor and how +wide and dark were the rings about the deep black eyes. Twice she +lifted her white face and strove to speak, twice her voice failed her; +and when at last it came it was in a hoarse whisper. + +"I cannot let thee go," she said--"I cannot let thee go unwitting of +the truth. + +"/Harmachis, 'twas I who did betray thee!/" + +I sprang to my feet, an oath upon my lips; but she caught me by the +hand. + +"Oh, be seated," she said--"be seated and hear me; then, when thou +hast heart, do to me as thou wilt. Listen. From that evil moment when, +in the presence of thy uncle Sepa, for the second time I set eyes upon +thy face, I loved thee--how much, thou canst little guess. Think upon +thine own love for Cleopatra, and double it, and double it again, and +perchance thou mayst come near to my love's mighty sum. I loved thee, +day by day I loved thee more, till in thee and for thee alone I seemed +to live. But thou wast cold--thou wast worse than cold! thou didst +deal with me not as a breathing woman, but rather as the instrument to +an end--as a tool with which to grave thy fortunes. And then I saw-- +yes, long before thou knewest it thyself--thy heart's tide was setting +strong towards that ruinous shore whereon to-day thy life is broken. +And at last that night came, that dreadful night when, hid within the +chamber, I saw thee cast my kerchief to the winds, and with sweet +words cherish my royal Rival's gift. Then--oh, thou knowest--in my +pain I betrayed the secret that thou wouldst not see, and thou didst +make a mock of me, Harmachis! Oh! the shame of it--thou in thy +foolishness didst make a mock of me! I went thence, and within me were +rising all the torments which can tear a woman's heart, for now I was +sure that thou didst love Cleopatra! Ay, and so mad was I, even that +night I was minded to betray thee: but I thought--not yet, not yet; +to-morrow he may soften. Then came the morrow, and all was ready for +the bursting of the great plot that should make thee Pharaoh. And I +too came--thou dost remember--and again thou didst put me away when I +spake to thee in parables, as something of little worth--as a thing +too small to claim a moment's weighty thought. And, knowing that this +was because--though thou knewest it not--thou didst love Cleopatra, +whom now thou must straightway slay, I grew mad, and a wicked Spirit +entered into me, possessing me utterly, so that I was myself no +longer, nor could control myself. And because thou hadst scorned me, I +did this, to my everlasting shame and sorrow!--I passed into +Cleopatra's presence and betrayed thee and those with thee, and our +holy cause, saying that I had found a writing which thou hadst let +fall and read all this therein." + +I gasped and sat silent; and gazing sadly at me she went on: + +"When she understood how great was the plot, and how deep its roots, +Cleopatra was much troubled; and, at first, she would have fled to +Sais or taken ship and run for Cyprus, but I showed her that the ways +were barred. Then she said she would cause thee to be slain, there, in +the chamber, and I left her so believing; for, at that hour, I was +glad that thou shouldst be slain--ay, even if I wept out my heart upon +thy grave, Harmachis. But what said I just now?--Vengeance is an arrow +that oft falls on him who looses it. So it was with me; for between my +going and thy coming Cleopatra hatched a deeper plan. She feared that +to slay thee would only be to light a fiercer fire of revolt; but she +saw that to bind thee to her, and, having left men awhile in doubt, to +show thee faithless, would strike the imminent danger at its roots and +wither it. This plot once formed, being great, she dared its doubtful +issue, and--need I go on? Thou knowest, Harmachis, how she won; and +thus the shaft of vengeance that I loosed fell upon my own head. For +on the morrow I knew that I had sinned for naught, that the burden of +my betrayal had been laid on the wretched Paulus, and that I had but +ruined the cause to which I was sworn and given the man I loved to the +arms of wanton Egypt." + +She bowed her head awhile, and then, as I spoke not, once more went +on: + +"Let all my sin be told, Harmachis, and then let justice come. See +now, this thing happened. Half did Cleopatra learn to love thee, and +deep in her heart she bethought her of taking thee to wedded husband. +For the sake of this half love of hers she spared the lives of those +in the plot whom she had meshed, bethinking her that if she wedded +thee she might use them and thee to draw the heart of Egypt, which +loves not her nor any Ptolemy. And then, once again she entrapped +thee, and in thy folly thou didst betray to her the secret of the +hidden wealth of Egypt, which to-day she squanders to delight the +luxurious Antony; and, of a truth, at that time she purposed to make +good her oath and marry thee. But on the very morn when Dellius came +for answer she sent for me, and telling me all--for my wit, above any, +she holds at price--demanded of me my judgment whether she should defy +Antony and wed thee, or whether she should put the thought away and +come to Antony. And I--now mark thou all my sin--I, in my bitter +jealousy, rather than I would see her thy wedded wife and thou her +loving lord, counselled her most strictly that she should come to +Antony, well knowing--for I had had speech with Dellius--that if she +came, this weak Antony would fall like a ripe fruit at her feet, as, +indeed, he has fallen. And but now I have shown thee the issue of the +scheme. Antony loves Cleopatra and Cleopatra loves Antony, and thou +art robbed, and matters have gone well for me, who of all women on the +earth to-night am the wretchedest by far. For when I saw how thy heart +broke but now, my heart seemed to break with thine, and I could no +longer bear the burden of my evil deeds, but knew that I must tell +them and take my punishment. + +"And now, Harmachis, I have no more to say; save that I thank thee for +thy courtesy in hearkening, and this one thing I add. Driven by my +great love I have sinned against thee unto death! I have ruined thee, +I have ruined Khem, and myself also I have ruined! Let death reward +me! Slay thou me, Harmachis--I will gladly die upon thy sword; ay, and +kiss its blade! Slay thou me and go; for if thou slayest me not, +myself I will surely slay!" And she threw herself upon her knees, +lifting her fair breast toward me, that I might smite her with my +dagger. And, in my bitter fury, I was minded to strike; for, above +all, I thought how, when I was fallen, this woman, who herself was my +cause of shame, had scourged me with her whip of scorn. But it is hard +to slay a fair woman; and, even as I lifted my hand to strike, I +remembered that she had now twice saved my life. + +"Woman! thou shameless woman!" I said, "arise! I slay thee not! Who am +I, that I should judge thy crime, that, with mine own, doth overtop +all earthly judgment?" + +"Slay me, Harmachis!" she moaned; "slay me, or I slay myself! My +burden is too great for me to bear! Be not so deadly calm! Curse me, +and slay!" + +"What was it that thou didst say to me just now, Charmion--that as I +had sown so I must reap? It is not lawful that thou shouldst slay +thyself; it is not lawful that I, thine equal in sin, should slay thee +because through thee I sinned. As /thou/ hast sown, Charmion, so must +/thou/ also reap. Base woman! whose cruel jealousy has brought all +these woes on me and Egypt, live--live on, and from year to year pluck +the bitter fruit of crime! Haunted be thy sleep by visions of thy +outraged Gods, whose vengeance awaits thee and me in their dim Amenti! +Haunted be thy days by memories of that man whom thy fierce love +brought to shame and ruin, and by the sight of Khem a prey to the +insatiate Cleopatra and a slave to Roman Antony." + +"Oh, speak not thus, Harmachis! Thy words are sharper than any sword; +and more surely, if more slowly, shall they slay! Listen, Harmachis," +and she grasped my robe: "when thou wast great, and all power lay +within thy grasp, thou didst reject me. Wilt reject me now that +Cleopatra hast cast thee from her--now that thou art poor and shamed +and with no pillow to thy head? Still am I fair, and still I worship +thee. Let me fly with thee, and make atonement for my lifelong love. +Or, if this be too great a thing to ask, let me be but as thy sister +and thy servant--thy very slave, so that I may still look upon thy +face, and share thy trouble and minister to thee. O Harmachis, let me +but come and I will brave all things and endure all things, and +nothing but Death himself shall stay me from thy side. For I do +believe that the love that sank me to so low a depth, dragging thee +with me, can yet lift me to an equal height, and thee with me!" + +"Wouldst tempt me to fresh sin, woman? And dost thou think, Charmion, +that in some hovel where I must hide, I could bear, day by day, to +look upon thy fair face, and seeing, remember that those lips betrayed +me? Not thus easily shalt thou atone! This I know even now: many and +heavy shall be thy lonely days of penance! Perchance that hour of +vengeance yet may come, and perchance thou shalt live to play thy part +in it. Thou must still abide in the Court of Cleopatra; and, while +thou art there, if I yet live, I will from time to time find means to +give thee tidings. Perhaps a day may dawn when once more I shall need +thy service. Now, swear that, in this event, thou wilt not fail me a +second time." + +"I swear, Harmachis!--I swear! May everlasting torments, too hideous +to be dreamed--more hideous, even, by far, than those that wring me +now--be my portion if I fail thee in one jot or tittle--ay, though I +wait a lifetime for thy word!" + +"It is well; see that thou keep the oath--not twice may we betray. I +go to work out my fate; abide thou to work out thine. Perchance our +divers threads will once more mingle ere the web be spun. Charmion, +who unasked didst love me--and who, prompted by that gentle love of +thine, didst betray and ruin me--fare thee well!" + +She gazed wildly upon my face--she stretched out her arms as though to +clasp me; then, in the agony of her despair, she cast herself at +length and grovelled upon the ground. + +I took up the sack of clothing and the staff and gained the door, and, +as I passed it, I threw one last glance upon her. There she lay, with +arms outstretched--more white than her white robes--her dark hair +streaming about her, and her fair brows hidden in the dust. + +And thus I left her, nor did I again set my eyes upon her till nine +long years had come and gone. + +[Here ends the second and largest roll of papyrus.] + + + + +BOOK III + +THE VENGEANCE OF HARMACHIS + + + +CHAPTER I + +OF THE ESCAPE OF HARMACHIS FROM TARSUS; OF HIS BEING CAST +FORTH AS AN OFFERING TO THE GODS OF THE SEA; OF HIS SOJOURN IN +THE ISLE OF CYPRUS; OF HIS RETURN TO ABOUTHIS; AND OF THE +DEATH OF AMENEMHAT + +I made my way down the stair in safety, and presently stood in the +courtyard of that great house. It was but an hour from dawn, and none +were stirring. The last reveller had drunk his fill, the dancing-girls +had ceased their dancing, and silence lay upon the city. I drew near +the gate, and was challenged by an officer who stood on guard, wrapped +in a heavy cloak. + +"Who passes," said the voice of Brennus. + +"A merchant, may it please you, Sir, who, having brought gifts from +Alexandria to a lady of the Queen's household, and, having been +entertained of the lady, now departs to his galley," I answered in a +feigned voice. + +"Umph!" he growled. "The ladies of the Queen's household keep their +guests late. Well; it is a time of festival. The pass-word, Sir +Shopkeeper? Without the pass-word you must needs return and crave the +lady's further hospitality." + +"'/Antony/,' Sir; and a right good word, too. Ah! I've wandered far, +and never saw I so goodly a man or so great a general. And, mark you, +Sir! I've travelled far, and seen many generals." + +"Ay; '/Antony/''s the word! And Antony is a good general in his way-- +when it is a sober way, and when he cannot find a skirt to follow. +I've served with Antony--and against him, too; and know his points. +Well, well; he's got an armful now!" + +And all this while that he was holding me in talk, the sentry had been +pacing to and fro before the gate. But now he moved a little way to +the right, leaving the entrance clear. + +"Fare thee well, Harmachis, and begone!" whispered Brennus, leaning +forward and speaking quickly. "Linger not. But at times bethink thee +of Brennus who risked his neck to save thine. Farewell, lad, I would +that we were sailing North together," and he turned his back upon me +and began to hum a tune. + +"Farewell, Brennus, thou honest man," I answered, and was gone. And, +as I heard long afterwards, when on the morrow the hue and cry was +raised because the murderers could not find me, though they sought me +everywhere to slay me, Brennus did me a service. For he swore that as +he kept his watch alone an hour after midnight he saw me come and +stand upon the parapet of the roof, that then I stretched out my robes +and they became wings on which I floated up to Heaven, leaving him +astonished. And all those about the Court lent ear to this history, +believing in it, because of the great fame of my magic; and they +wondered much what the marvel might portend. The tale also travelled +into Egypt, and did much to save my good name among those whom I had +betrayed; for the more ignorant among them believed that I acted not +of my will, but of the will of the dread Gods, who of their own +purpose wafted me into Heaven. And thus to this day the saying runs +that "/When Harmachis comes again Egypt shall be free./" But alas, +Harmachis comes no more! Only Cleopatra, though she was much afraid, +doubted her of the tale, and sent an armed vessel to search for the +Syrian merchant, but not to find him, as shall be told. + + + +When I reached the galley of which Charmion had spoken, I found her +about to sail, and gave the writing to the captain, who conned it, +looking on me curiously, but said nothing. + +So I went aboard, and immediately we dropped swiftly down the river +with the current. And having come to the mouth of the river +unchallenged, though we passed many vessels, we put out to sea with a +strong favouring wind that before night freshened to a great gale. +Then the sailor men, being much afraid, would have put about and run +for the mouth of Cydnus again, but could not because of the wildness +of the sea. All that night it blew furiously, and by dawn our mast was +carried away, and we rolled helplessly in the trough of the great +waves. But I sat wrapped in a cloak, little heeding; and because I +showed no fear the sailors cried out that I was a wizard, and sought +to cast me into the sea, but the captain would not. At dawn the wind +slackened, but ere noon it once more blew in terrible fury, and at the +fourth hour from noon we came in sight of the rocky coast of that cape +in the island of Cyprus which is called Dinaretum, where is a mountain +named Olympus, and thither-wards we drifted swiftly. Then, when the +sailors saw the terrible rocks, and how the great waves that smote on +them spouted up in foam, once more they grew much afraid, and cried +out in their fear. For, seeing that I still sat unmoved, they swore +that I certainly was a wizard, and came to cast me forth as a +sacrifice to the Gods of the sea. And this time the captain was over- +ruled, and said nothing. Therefore, when they came to me I rose and +defied them, saying, "Cast me forth, if ye will; but if ye cast me +forth ye shall perish." + +For in my heart I cared little, having no more any love of life, but +rather a desire to die, though I greatly feared to pass into the +presence of my Holy Mother Isis. But my weariness and sorrow at the +bitterness of my lot overcame even this heavy fear; so that when, +being mad as brute beasts, they seized me and, lifting me, hurled me +into the raging waters, I did but utter one prayer to Isis and made +ready for death. But it was fated that I should not die; for, when I +rose to the surface of the water, I saw a spar of wood floating near +me, to which I swam and clung. And a great wave came and swept me, +riding, as it were, upon the spar, as when a boy I had learned to do +in the waters of the Nile, past the bulwarks of the galley where the +fierce-faced sailors clustered to see me drown. And when they saw me +come mounted on the wave, cursing them as I came, and saw, too, that +the colour of my face had changed--for the salt water had washed way +the pigment, they shrieked with fear and threw themselves down upon +the deck. And within a very little while, as I rode toward the rocky +coast, a great wave poured into the vessel, that rolled broadside on, +and pressed her down into the deep, whence she rose no more. + +So she sank with all her crew. And in that same storm also sank the +galley which Cleopatra had sent to search for the Syrian merchant. +Thus all traces of me were lost, and of a surety she believed that I +was dead. + +But I rode on toward the shore. The wind shrieked and the salt waves +lashed my face as, alone with the tempest, I rushed upon my way, while +the sea-birds screamed about my head. I felt no fear, but rather a +wild uplifting of the heart; and in the stress of my imminent peril +the love of life seemed to waken again. And so I plunged and drifted, +now tossed high toward the lowering clouds, now cast into the deep +valleys of the sea, till at length the rocky headland loomed before +me, and I saw the breakers smite upon the stubborn rocks, and through +the screaming of the wind heard the sullen thunder of their fall and +the groan of stones sucked seaward from the beach. On! high-throned +upon the mane of a mighty billow--fifty cubits beneath me the level of +the hissing waters; above me the inky sky! It was done! The spar was +torn from me, and, dragged downwards by the weight of the bag of gold +and the clinging of my garments, I sank struggling furiously. + +Now I was under--the green light for a moment streamed through the +waters, and then came darkness, and on the darkness pictures of the +past. Picture after picture--all the long scene of life was written +here. Then in my ears I only heard the song of the nightingale, the +murmur of the summer sea, and the music of Cleopatra's laugh of +victory, following me softly and yet more soft as I sank away to +sleep. + + + +Once more my life came back, and with it a sense of deadly sickness +and of aching pain. I opened my eyes and saw a kind face bending over +me, and knew that I was in the room of a builded house. + +"How came I hither?" I asked faintly. + +"Of a truth, Poseidon brought thee, Stranger," answered a rough voice +in barbarous Greek; "we found thee cast high upon the beach like a +dead dolphin and brought thee to our house, for we are fisher-folk. +And here, methinks, thou must lie a while, for thy left leg is broken +by the force of the waves." + +I strove to move my foot and could not. It was true, the bone was +broken above the knee. + +"Who art thou, and how art thou named?" asked the rough-bearded +sailor. + +"I am an Egyptian traveller whose ship has sunk in the fury of the +gale, and I am named Olympus," I answered, for these people called a +mountain that we had sighted Olympus, and therefore I took the name at +hazard. And as Olympus I was henceforth known. + +Here with these rough fisher-folk I abode for the half of a year, +paying them a little out of the sum of gold that had come safely +ashore upon me. For it was long before my bones grew together again, +and then I was left somewhat of a cripple; for I, who had been so tall +and straight and strong, now limped--one limb being shorter than the +other. And after I recovered from my hurt, I still lived there, and +toiled with them at the trade of fishing; for I knew not whither I +should go or what I should do, and, for a while, I was fain to become +a peasant fisherman, and so wear my weary life away. And these people +entreated me kindly, though, as others, they feared me much, holding +me to be a wizard brought hither by the sea. For my sorrows had +stamped so strange an aspect on my face that men gazing at me grew +fearful of what lay beneath its calm. + +There, then, I abode, till at length, one night as I lay and strove to +sleep, great restlessness came upon me, and a mighty desire once more +to see the face of Sihor. But whether this desire was of the Gods or +born of my own heart, not knowing, I cannot tell. So strong was it, at +the least, that before it was dawn I rose from my bed of straw and +clothed myself in my fisher garb, and, because I had no wish to answer +questions, thus I took farewell of my humble hosts. First I placed +some pieces of gold on the well-cleaned table of wood, and then taking +a pot of flour I strewed it in the form of letters, writing: + + "This gift from Olympus, the Egyptian, who returns into the sea." + +Then I went, and on the third day I came to the great city of Salamis, +that is also on the sea. Here I abode in the fishermen's quarters till +a vessel was about to sail for Alexandria, and to the captain of this +vessel, a man of Paphos, I hired myself as a sailor. We sailed with a +favouring wind, and on the fifth day I came to Alexandria, that +hateful city, and saw the light dancing on its golden domes. + +Here I might not abide. So again I hired myself out as a sailor, +giving my labour in return for passage, and we passed up the Nile. And +I learned from the talk of men that Cleopatra had come back to +Alexandria, drawing Antony with her and that they lived together with +royal state in the palace on the Lochias. Indeed, the boatmen already +had a song thereon, which they sang as they laboured at the oar. Also +I heard how the galley that was sent to search for the vessel which +carried the Syrian merchant had foundered with all her crew, and the +tale that the Queen's astronomer, Harmachis, had flown to Heaven from +the roof of the house at Tarsus. And the sailors wondered because I +sat and laboured and would not sing their ribald song of the loves of +Cleopatra. For they, too, began to fear me, and mutter concerning me +among themselves. Then I knew that I was a man accursed and set apart +--a man whom none might love. + +On the sixth day we drew nigh to Abouthis, where I left the craft, and +the sailors were right glad to see me go. And, with a breaking heart, +I walked through the fertile fields, seeing faces that I knew well. +But in my rough disguise and limping gait none knew me. At length, as +the sun sank, I came near to the great outer pylon of the temple; and +here I crouched down in the ruins of a house, not knowing why I had +come or what I was about to do. Like a lost ox I had strayed from far, +back to the fields of my birth, and for what? If my father, Amenemhat, +still lived, surely he would turn his face from me. I dared not go +into the presence of my father. I sat hidden there among the broken +rafters, and idly watched the pylon gates, to see if, perchance, a +face I knew should issue from them. But none came forth or entered in, +though the great gates stood wide; and then I saw that herbs were +growing between the stones, where no herbs had grown for ages. What +could this be? Was the temple deserted? Nay; how could the worship of +the eternal Gods have ceased, that for thousands of years had, day by +day, been offered in the holy place? Was, then, my father dead? It +well might be. And yet, why this silence? Where were the priests: +where the worshippers? + +I could bear the doubt no more, but as the sun sank red I crept like a +hunted jackal through the open gates, and on till I reached the first +great Hall of Pillars. Here I paused and gazed around me--not a sight, +not a sound, in the dim and holy place! I went on with a beating heart +to the second great hall, the hall of six-and-thirty pillars where I +had been crowned Lord of all the Lands: still not a sight or a sound! +Thence, half fearful of my own footfall, so terribly did it echo in +the silence of the deserted Holies, I passed down the passage of the +names of the Pharaohs towards my father's chamber. The curtain still +swung over the doorway; but what would there be within?--also +emptiness? I lifted it, and noiselessly passed in, and there in his +carven chair at the table on which his long white beard flowed, sat my +father, Amenemhat, clad in his priestly robes. At first I thought that +he was dead, he sat so still; but at length he turned his head, and I +saw that his eyes were white and sightless. He was blind, and his face +was thin as the face of a dead man, and woeful with age and grief. + +I stood still and felt the blind eyes wandering over me. I could not +speak to him--I dared not speak to him; I would go and hide myself +afresh. + +I had already turned and grasped the curtain, when my father spoke in +a deep, slow voice: + +"Come hither, thou who wast my son and art a traitor. Come hither, +thou Harmachis, on whom Khem builded up her hope. Not in vain, then, +have I drawn thee from far away! Not in vain have I held my life in me +till I heard thy footfall creeping down these empty Holies, like the +footfall of a thief!" + +"Oh! my father," I gasped, astonished. "Thou art blind: how knowest +thou me?" + +"How do I know thee?--and askest thou that who hast learned of our +lore? Enough, I know thee and I brought thee hither. Would, Harmachis, +that I knew thee not! Would that I had been blasted of the Invisible +ere I drew thee down from the womb of Nout, to be my curse and shame, +and the last woe of Khem!" + +"Oh, speak not thus!" I moaned; "is not my burden already more than I +can bear? Am I not myself betrayed and utterly outcast? Be pitiful, my +father!" + +"Be pitiful!--be pitiful to thee who hast shown so great pity? It was +thy pity which gave up noble Sepa to die beneath the hands of the +tormentors!" + +"Oh, not that--not that!" I cried. + +"Ay, traitor, that!--to die in agony, with his last poor breath +proclaiming thee, his murderer, honest and innocent! Be pitiful to +thee, who gavest all the flower of Khem as the price of a wanton's +arms!--thinkest thou that, labouring in the darksome desert mines, +those noble ones in thought are pitiful to thee, Harmachis? Be pitiful +to thee, by whom this Holy Temple of Abouthis hath been ravaged, its +lands seized, its priests scattered, and I alone, old and withered, +left to count out its ruin--to thee, who hast poured the treasures of +/Her/ into thy leman's lap, who hast forsworn Thyself, thy Country, +thy Birthright, and thy Gods! Yea, thus am I pitiful: Accursed be +thou, fruit of my loins!--Shame be thy portion, Agony thy end, and +Hell receive thee at the last! Where art thou? Yea, I grew blind with +weeping when I heard the truth--sure, they strove to hide it from me. +Let me find thee that I may spit upon thee, thou Renegade! thou +Apostate! thou Outcast!"--and he rose from his seat and staggered like +a living Wrath toward me, smiting the air with his wand. And as he +came with outstretched arms, awful to see, suddenly his end found him, +and with a cry he sank down upon the ground, the red blood streaming +from his lips. I ran to him and lifted him; and as he died, he +babbled: + +"He was my son, a bright-eyed lovely boy, and full of promise as the +Spring; and now--and now--oh, would that he were dead!" + +Then came a pause and the breath rattled in his throat. + +"Harmachis," he gasped, "art there?" + +"Yea, father." + +"Harmachis, atone!--atone! Vengeance can still be wreaked--forgiveness +may still be won. There's gold; I've hidden it--Atoua--she can tell +thee--ah, this pain! Farewell!" + +And he struggled faintly in my arms and was dead. + + + +Thus, then, did I and my holy father, the Prince Amenemhat, meet +together for the last time in the flesh, and for the last time part. + + + +CHAPTER II + +OF THE LAST MISERY OF HARMACHIS; OF THE CALLING DOWN OF THE +HOLY ISIS BY THE WORD OF FEAR; OF THE PROMISE OF ISIS; OF THE +COMING OF ATOUA, AND OF THE WORDS OF ATOUA + +I crouched upon the floor gazing at the dead body of my father, who +had lived to curse me, the utterly accursed, while the darkness crept +and gathered round us, till at length the dead and I were alone in the +black silence. Oh, how tell the misery of that hour! Imagination +cannot dream it, nor words paint it forth. Once more in my +wretchedness I bethought me of death. A knife was at my girdle, with +which I might cut the thread of sorrow and set my spirit free. Free? +ay, free to fly and face the last vengeance of the Holy Gods! Alas! +and alas! I did not dare to die. Better the earth with all its woes +than the quick approach of those unimagined terrors that, hovering in +dim Amenti, wait the advent of the fallen. + +I grovelled on the ground and wept tears of agony for the lost +unchanging past--wept till I could weep no more; but no answer came +from the silence--no answer but the echoes of my grief. Not a ray of +hope! My soul wandered in a darkness more utter than that which was +about me--I was forsaken of the Gods and cast out of men. Terror took +hold upon me crouching in that lonely place hard by the majesty of the +awful Dead. I rose to fly. How could I fly in this gloom?--And where +should I fly who had no place of refuge? Once more I crouched down, +and the great fear grew on me till the cold sweat ran from my brow and +my soul was faint within me. Then, in my last despair, I prayed aloud +to Isis, to whom I had not dared to pray for many days. + +"O Isis! Holy Mother!" I cried; "put away Thy wrath, and of Thine +infinite pity, O Thou all-pitiful, hearken to the voice of the anguish +of him who was Thy son and servant, but who by sin hath fallen from +the vision of Thy love. O throned Glory, who, being in all things, +hast of all things understanding and of all griefs knowledge, cast the +weight of Thy mercy against the scale of my evil-doing, and make the +balance equal. Look down upon my woe, and measure it; count up the sum +of my repentance and take Thou note of the flood of sorrow that sweeps +my soul away. O Thou Holy, whom it was given to me to look upon face +to face, by that dread hour of commune I summon Thee; I summon Thee by +the mystic word. Come, then, in mercy, to save me; or, in anger, to +make an end of that which can no more be borne." + +And, rising from my knees, I stretched out my arms and dared to cry +aloud the Word of Fear, to use which unworthily is death. + +Swiftly the answer came. For in the silence I heard the sound of the +shaken sistra heralding the coming of the Glory. Then, at the far end +of the chamber, grew the semblance of the horned moon, gleaming +faintly in the darkness, and betwixt the golden horns rested a small +dark cloud, in and out of which the fiery serpent climbed. + +My knees waxed loose in the presence of the Glory, and I sank down +before it. + +Then spake the small, sweet Voice within the cloud: + +"Harmachis, who wast my servant and my son, I have heard thy prayer, +and the summons that thou hast dared to utter, which on the lips of +one with whom I have communed, hath power to draw Me from the +Uttermost. No more, Harmachis, may we be one in the bond of Love +Divine, for thou hast put Me away of thine own act. Therefore, after +this long silence I come, Harmachis, clothed in terrors, and, +perchance, ready for vengeance, for not lightly can Isis be drawn from +the halls of Her Divinity." + +"Smite, Goddess!" I answered. "Smite, and give me over to those who +wreak Thy vengeance; for I can no longer bear the burden of my woe!" + +"And if thou canst not bear thy burden here, upon this upper earth," +came the soft reply, "how then shalt thou bear the greater burden that +shall be laid upon thee there, coming defiled and yet unpurified into +my dim realm of Death, that is Life and Change unending? Nay, +Harmachis, I smite thee not, for not all am I wroth that thou hast +dared to utter the awful Word which calls Me down to thee. Hearken, +Harmachis; I praise not, and I reproach not, for I am the Minister of +Reward and Punishment and the Executrix of Decrees; and if I give, I +give in silence; and if I smite, in silence do I smite. Therefore, I +will add naught to thy burden by the weight of heavy words, though +through thee it has come to pass that soon shall Isis, the Mother- +Mystery, be but a memory in Egypt. Thou hast sinned, and heavy shall +be thy punishment, as I did warn thee, both in the flesh and in my +kingdom of Amenti. But I told thee that there is a road of repentance, +and surely thy feet are set thereon, and therein must thou walk with a +humble heart, eating of the bread of bitterness, till such time as thy +doom be measured." + +"Have I, then, no hope, O holy?" + +"That which is done, Harmachis, is done, nor can its issues be +altered. Khem shall no more be free till all its temples are as the +desert dust; strange Peoples shall, from age to age, hold her hostage +and in bonds; new Religions shall arise and wither within the shadow +of her pyramids, for to every World, Race, and Age the countenances of +the Gods are changed. This is the tree that shall spring from thy seed +of sin, Harmachis, and from the sin of those who tempted thee!" + +"Alas! I am undone!" I cried. + +"Yea, thou art undone; and yet shall this be given to thee: thy +Destroyer thou shalt destroy--for so, in the purpose of my justice, it +is ordained. When the sign comes to thee, arise, go to Cleopatra, and +in such manner as I shall put into thy heart do Heaven's vengeance +upon her! And now for thyself one word, for thou hast put Me from +thee, Harmachis, and no more shall I come face to face with thee till, +cycles hence, the last fruit of thy sin hath ceased to be upon this +earth! Yet, through the vastness of the unnumbered years, remember +thou this: the Love Divine is Love Eternal, which cannot be +extinguished, though it be everlastingly estranged. Repent, my son; +repent and do well while there is yet time, that at the dim end of +ages thou mayest once more be gathered unto Me. Still, Harmachis, +though thou seest Me not; still, when the very name by which thou +knowest Me has become a meaningless mystery to those who shall be +after thee; still I, whose hours are eternal--I, who have watched +Universes wither, wane, and, beneath the breath of Time, melt into +nothingness; again to gather, and, re-born, thread the maze of space-- +still, I say, I shall companion thee. Wherever thou goest, in whatever +form of life thou livest, there I shall be! Art thou wafted to the +farthest star, art thou buried in Amenti's lowest deep--in lives, in +deaths, in sleeps, in wakings, in remembrances, in oblivions, in all +the fevers of the outer Life, in all the changes of the Spirit--still, +if thou wilt but atone and forget Me no more, I shall be with thee, +waiting thine hour of redemption. For this is the nature of Love +Divine, wherewith it loves that which partakes of its divinity and by +the holy tie hath once been bound to it. Judge then, Harmachis: was it +well to put this from thee to win the dust of earthly woman? And, now, +dare not again to utter the Word of Power till these things are done! +Harmachis, for this season, fare thee well!" + + + +As the last note of the sweet Voice died away, the fiery snake climbed +into the heart of the cloud. Now the cloud rolled from the horns of +light, and was gathered into the blackness. The vision of the crescent +moon grew dim and vanished. Then, as the Goddess passed, once more +came the faint and dreadful music of the shaken sistra, and all was +still. + +I hid my face in my robe, and even then, though my outstretched hand +could touch the chill corpse of that father who had died cursing me, I +felt hope come back into my heart, knowing that I was not altogether +lost nor utterly rejected of Her whom I had forsaken, but whom I yet +loved. And then weariness overpowered me, and I slept. + + + +I woke, the faint lights of dawn were creeping from the opening in the +roof. Ghastly they lay upon the shadowy sculptured walls and ghastly +upon the dead face and white beard of my father, the gathered to +Osiris. I started up, remembering all things, and wondering in my +heart what I should do, and as I rose I heard a faint footfall +creeping down the passage of the names of the Pharaohs. + +"/La! La! La!/" mumbled a voice that I knew for the voice of the old +wife, Atoua. "Why, 'tis dark as the House of the Dead! The Holy Ones +who built this Temple loved not the blessed sun, however much they +worshipped him. Now, where's the curtain?" + +Presently it was drawn, and Atoua entered, a stick in one hand and a +basket in the other. Her face was somewhat more wrinkled, and her +scanty locks were somewhat whiter than aforetime, but for the rest she +was as she had ever been. She stood and peered around with her sharp +black eyes, for as yet she could see nothing because of the shadows. + +"Now where is he?" she muttered. "Osiris--glory to His name--send that +he has not wandered in the night, and he blind! Alack! that I could +not return before the dark. Alack! and alack! what times have we +fallen on, when the Holy High Priest and the Governor, by descent, of +Abouthis, is left with one aged crone to minister to his infirmity! O +Harmachis, my poor boy, thou hast laid trouble at our doors! Why, +what's this? Surely he sleeps not, there upon the ground?--'twill be +his death! Prince! Holy Father! Amenemhat! awake, arise!" and she +hobbled towards the corpse. "Why, how is it! By Him who sleeps, he's +dead! untended and alone--/dead! dead!/" and she sent her long wail of +grief ringing up the sculptured walls. + +"Hush! woman, be still!" I said, gliding from the shadows. + +"Oh, what art thou?" she cried, casting down her basket. "Wicked man, +hast thou murdered this Holy One, the only Holy One in Egypt? Surely +the curse will fall on thee, for though the Gods do seem to have +forsaken us now in our hour of trial, yet is their arm long, and +certainly they will be avenged on him who hath slain their anointed!" + +"Look on me, Atoua," I cried. + +"Look! ay, I look--thou wicked wanderer who hast dared this cruel +deed! Harmachis is a traitor and lost far away, and Amenemhat his holy +father is murdered, and now I'm all alone without kith or kin. I gave +them for him. I gave them for Harmachis, the traitor! Come, slay me +also, thou wicked one!" + +I took a step toward her, and she, thinking that I was about to smite +her, cried out in fear: + +"Nay, good Sir, spare me! Eighty and six, by the Holy Ones, eighty and +six, come next flood of Nile, and yet I would not die, though Osiris +is merciful to the old who served him! Come no nearer--help! help!" + +"Thou fool, be silent," I said; "knowest thou me not?" + +"Know thee? Can I know every wandering boatman to whom Sebek grants to +earn a livelihood till Typhon claims his own? And yet--why, 'tis +strange--that changed countenance!--that scar!--that stumbling gait! +It is thou, Harmachis!--'tis thou, O my boy! Art come back to glad +mine old eyes? I hoped thee dead! Let me kiss thee?--nay, I forget. +Harmachis is a traitor, ay, and a murderer! Here lies the holy +Amenemhat, murdered by the traitor, Harmachis! Get thee gone! I'll +have none of traitors and of parricides! Get thee to thy wanton!--it +is not thou whom I did nurse." + +"Peace! woman; peace! I slew not my father--he died, alas!--he died +even in my arms." + +"Ay, surely, and cursing thee, Harmachis! Thou hast given death to him +who gave thee life! /La! la!/ I am old, and I've seen many a trouble; +but this is the heaviest of them all! I never liked the looks of +mummies; but I would I were one this hour! Get thee gone, I pray +thee!" + +"Old nurse, reproach me not! Have I not enough to bear?" + +"Ah! yes, yes!--I did forget! Well; and what is thy sin? A woman was +thy bane, as women have been to those before thee, and shall be to +those after thee. And what a woman! /La! la!/ I saw her, a beauty such +as never was--an arrow pointed by the evil Gods for destruction! And +thou, a young man bred as a priest--an ill training--a very ill +training! 'Twas no fair match. Who can wonder that she mastered thee? +Come, Harmachis; let me kiss thee! It is not for a woman to be hard on +a man because he loved our sex too much. Why, that is but nature; and +Nature knows her business, else she had made us otherwise. But here is +an evil case. Knowest thou that this Macedonian Queen of thine hath +seized the temple lands and revenues, and driven away the priests-- +all, save the holy Amenemhat, who lies here, and whom she left, I know +not why; ay, and caused the worship of the Gods to cease within these +walls. Well, he's gone!--he's gone! and indeed he is better with +Osiris, for his life was a sore burden to him. And hark thou, +Harmachis: he hath not left thee empty-handed; for, so soon as the +plot failed, he gathered all his wealth, and it is large, and hid it-- +where, I can show thee--and it is thine by right of descent." + +"Talk not to me of wealth, Atoua. Where shall I go and how shall I +hide my shame?" + +"Ah! true, true; here mayst thou not abide, for if they found thee, +surely they would put thee to the dreadful death--ay, to the death by +the waxen cloth. Nay, I will hide thee, and, when the funeral rites of +the holy Amenemhat have been performed, we will fly hence, and cover +us from the eyes of men till these sorrows are forgotten. /La! la!/ it +is a sad world, and full of trouble as the Nile mud is full of +beetles. Come, Harmachis, come." + + + +CHAPTER III + +OF THE LIFE OF HIM WHO WAS NAMED THE LEARNED OLYMPUS, IN +THE TOMB OF THE HARPERS THAT IS BY TĮPÉ; OF HIS COUNSEL TO +CLEOPATRA; OF THE MESSAGE OF CHARMION; AND OF THE PASSING +OF OLYMPUS DOWN TO ALEXANDRIA + +These things then came to pass. For eighty days I was hidden of the +old wife, Atoua, while the body of the Prince, my father, was made +ready for burial by those skilled in the arts of embalming. And when +at last all things were done in order, I crept from my hiding-place +and made offerings to the spirit of my father, and placing lotus- +flowers on his breast went thence sorrowing. And on the following day, +from where I lay hid, I saw the Priests of the Temple of Osiris and of +the holy shrine of Isis come forth, and in slow procession bear his +painted coffin to the sacred lake and lay it beneath the funeral tent +in the consecrated boat. I saw them celebrate the symbol of the trial +of the dead, and name him above all men just, and then bear him thence +to lay him by his wife, my mother, in the deep tomb that he had hewn +in the rock near to the resting-place of the Holy Osiris, where, +notwithstanding my sins, I, too, hope to sleep ere long. And when all +these things were done and the deep tomb sealed, the wealth of my +father having been removed from the hidden treasury and placed in +safety, I fled, disguised, with the old wife, Atoua, up the Nile till +we came to Tįpé,[*] and here in this great city I lay a while, till a +place could be found where I should hide myself. + +[*] Thebes.--Editor. + +And such a place I found. For to the north of the great city are brown +and rugged hills, and desert valley blasted of the sun, and in this +place of desolation the Divine Pharaohs, my forefathers, hollowed out +their tombs in the solid rock, the most part of which are lost to this +day, so cunningly have they been hidden. But some are open, for the +accursed Persians and other thieves broke into them in search of +treasure. And one night--for by night only did I leave my hiding-place +--just as the dawn was breaking on the mountain tops, I wandered alone +in this sad valley of death, like to which there is no other, and +presently came to the mouth of a tomb hidden amid great rocks, which +afterwards I knew for the place of the burying of the Divine Rameses, +the third of that name, now long gathered to Osiris. And by the faint +light of the dawn creeping through the entrance I saw that it was +spacious and that within were chambers. + +On the following night, therefore, I returned, bearing lights, with +Atoua, my nurse, who ever ministered faithfully to me as when I was +little and without discretion. And we searched the mighty tomb and +came to the great Hall of the Sarcophagus of granite, in which the +Divine Rameses sleeps, and saw the mystic paintings on the walls: the +symbol of the Snake unending, the symbol of Ra resting upon the +Scarabęus, the symbol of Ra resting upon Nout, the symbol of the +Headless men, and many others, whereof, being initiated, well I read +the mysteries. And opening from the long descending passage I found +chambers in which were paintings beautiful to behold, and of all +manner of things. For beneath each chamber is entombed the master of +the craft of which the paintings tell, he who was the chief of the +servants of that craft in the house of this Divine Rameses. And on the +walls of the last chamber--on the left-hand side, looking toward the +Hall of the Sarcophagus--are paintings exceedingly beautiful, and two +blind harpers playing upon their bent harps before the God Mou; and +beneath the flooring these harpers, who harp no more, are soft at +sleep. Here, then, in this gloomy place, even in the tomb of the +Harpers and the company of the dead, I took up my abode; and here for +eight long years I worked out my penance and made atonement for my +sin. But Atoua, because she loved to be near the light, abode in the +chamber of the Boats--that is, the first chamber on the right-hand +side of the gallery looking toward the Hall of the Sarcophagus. + +And this was the manner of my life. On every second day the old wife, +Atoua, went forth and brought water from the city and such food as is +necessary to keep the life from failing, and also tapers made from +fat. And one hour at the time of sunrise and one hour at the time of +sunset I did go forth also to wander in the valley for my health's +sake and to save my sight from failing in the great darkness of the +tomb. But the other hours of the day and night, except when I climbed +the mountain to watch the course of the stars, I spent in prayer and +meditation and sleep, till the cloud of sin lifted from my heart and +once more I drew near to the Gods, though with Isis, my heavenly +Mother, I might speak no more. And I grew exceedingly wise also, +pondering on all those mysteries to which I held the key. For +abstinence and prayer and sorrowful solitude wore away the grossness +of my flesh, and with the eyes of the Spirit I learned to look deep +into the heart of things till the joy of Wisdom fell like dew upon my +soul. + +Soon the rumour was wafted about the city that a certain holy man +named Olympus abode in solitude in the tombs of the awful Valley of +the Dead; and hither came people bearing sick that I might cure them. +And I gave my mind to the study of simples, in which Atoua instructed +me; and by lore and the weight of my thought I gained great skill in +medicine, and healed many sick. And thus ever, as time went on, my +fame was noised abroad; for it was said that I was also a magician and +that in the tombs I had commune with the Spirits of the Dead. And +this, indeed, I did--though it is not lawful for me to speak of these +matters. Thus, then, it came to pass that no more need Atoua go forth +to seek food and water, for the people brought it--more than was +needful, for I would receive no fee. Now at first, fearing lest some +in the hermit Olympus might know the lost Harmachis, I would only meet +those who came in the darkness of the tomb. But afterwards, when I +learned how it was held through all the land that Harmachis was +certainly no more, I came forth and sat in the mouth of the tomb, and +ministered to the sick, and at times calculated nativities for the +great. And thus my fame grew continually, till at length folk +journeyed even from Memphis and Alexandria to visit me; and from them +I learned how Antony had left Cleopatra for a while, and, Fulvia being +dead, had married Octavia, the sister of Cęsar. Many other things I +learned also. + +And in the second year I did this: I despatched the old wife, Atoua, +disguised as a seller of simples, to Alexandria, bidding her seek out +Charmion, and, if yet she found her faithful, reveal to her the secret +of my way of life. So she went, and in the fifth month from her +sailing returned, bearing Charmion's greetings and a token. And she +told me that she had found means to see Charmion, and, in talk, had +let fall the name of Harmachis, speaking of me as one dead; at which +Charmion, unable to control her grief, wept aloud. Then, reading her +heart--for the old wife was very clever, and held the key of knowledge +--she told her that Harmachis yet lived, and sent her greetings. +Thereon Charmion wept yet more with joy, and kissed the old wife, and +made her gifts, bidding her tell me that she had kept her vow, and +waited for my coming and the hour of vengeance. So, having learned +many secrets, Atoua returned again to Tįpé. + +And in the following year messengers came to me from Cleopatra, +bearing a sealed roll and great gifts. I opened the roll, and read +this in it: + + "Cleopatra to Olympus, the learned Egyptian who dwells in the + Valley of Death by Tįpé-- + + "The fame of thy renown, O learned Olympus, hath reached our ears. + Tell thou, then, this to us, and if thou tellest aright greater + honour and wealth shalt thou have than any in Egypt: How shall we + win back the love of noble Antony, who is bewitched of cunning + Octavia, and tarries long from us?" + +Now, in this I saw the hand of Charmion, who had made my renown known +to Cleopatra. + +All that night I took counsel with my wisdom, and on the morrow wrote +my answer as it was put into my heart to the destruction of Cleopatra +and Antony. And thus I wrote: + + "Olympus the Egyptian to Cleopatra the Queen-- + + "Go forth into Syria with one who shall be sent to lead thee; thus + shalt thou win Antony to thy arms again, and with him gifts more + great than thou canst dream." + +And with this letter I dismissed the messengers, bidding them share +the presents sent by Cleopatra among their company. + +So they went wondering. + +But Cleopatra, seizing on the advice to which her passion prompted +her, departed straightway with Fonteius Capito into Syria, and there +the thing came about as I had foretold, for Antony was subdued of her +and gave her the greater part of Cilicia, the ocean shore of Arabia +Nabathęa, the balm-bearing provinces of Judęa, the province of +Phnicia, the province of Cle-Syria, the rich isle of Cyprus, and all +the library of Pergamus. And to the twin children that, with the son +Ptolemy, Cleopatra had borne to Antony, he impiously gave the names of +"Kings, the Children of Kings"--of Alexander Helios, as the Greeks +name the sun, and of Cleopatra Selene, the moon, the long-winged. + +These things then came to pass. + +Now on her return to Alexandria Cleopatra sent me great gifts, of +which I would have none, and prayed me, the learned Olympus, to come +to her at Alexandria; but it was not yet time, and I would not. But +thereafter she and Antony sent many times to me for counsel, and I +ever counselled them to their ruin, nor did my prophecies fail. + + + +Thus the long years rolled away, and I, the hermit Olympus, the +dweller in a tomb, the eater of bread and the drinker of water, by +strength of the wisdom that was given me of the avenging Power, became +once more great in Khem. For I grew ever wiser as I trampled the +desires of the flesh beneath my feet and turned my eyes to heaven. + +At length eight full years were accomplished. The war with the +Parthians had come and gone, and Artavasdes, King of Armenia, had been +led in triumph through the streets of Alexandria. Cleopatra had +visited Samos and Athens; and, by her counselling, the noble Octavia +had been driven, like some discarded concubine, from the house of +Antony at Rome. And now, at the last, the measure of the folly of +Antony was full even to the brim. For this Master of the World had no +longer the good gift of reason; he was lost in Cleopatra as I had been +lost. Therefore, in the event, Octavianus declared war against him. + +And as I slept upon a certain day in the chamber of the Harpers, in +the tomb of Pharaoh that is by Tįpé, there came to me a vision of my +father, the aged Amenemhat, and he stood over me, leaning on his +staff, and spoke, saying: + +"Look forth, my son." + +Then I looked forth, and with the eyes of my spirit saw the sea, and +two great fleets grappling in war hard by a rocky coast. And the +emblems were those of Octavian, and of the other those of Cleopatra +and Antony. The ships of Antony and Cleopatra bore down upon the ships +of Cęsar, and drove them on, for victory inclined to Antony. + +I looked again. There sat Cleopatra in a gold-decked galley watching +the fight with eager eyes. Then I cast my Spirit on her so that she +seemed to hear the voice of dead Harmachis crying in her ear. + +"/Fly, Cleopatra,/" it seemed to say, "/fly or perish!/" + +She looked up wildly, and again she heard my Spirit's cry. Now a +mighty fear took hold of her. She called aloud to the sailors to hoist +the sails and make signal to her fleet to put about. This they did +wondering but little loath, and fled in haste from the battle. + +Then a great roar went up from friend and foe. + +"Cleopatra is fled! Cleopatra is fled!" And I saw wreck and red ruin +fall upon the fleet of Antony and awoke from my trance. + +The days passed, and again a vision of my father came to me and spoke, +saying: + +"Arise, my son!--the hour of vengeance is at hand! Thy plots have not +failed; thy prayers have been heard. By the bidding of the Gods, as +she sat in her galley at the fight of Actium, the heart of Cleopatra +was filled with fears, so that, deeming she heard thy voice bidding +her fly or perish, she fled with all her fleet. Now the strength of +Actium is broken on the sea. Go forth, and as it shall be put into thy +mind, so do thou." + +In the morning I awoke, wondering, and went to the mouth of the tomb, +and there, coming up the valley, I saw the messengers of Cleopatra, +and with them a Roman guard. + +"What will ye with me now?" I asked, sternly. + +"This is the message of the Queen and of great Antony," answered the +Captain, bowing low before me, for I was much feared by all men. "The +Queen commands thy presence at Alexandria. Many times has she sent, +and thou wouldst not come; now she bids thee to come, and that +swiftly, for she has need of thy counsel." + +"And if I say Nay, soldier, what then?" + +"These are my orders, most holy Olympus; that I bring thee by force." + +I laughed aloud. "By force, thou fool! Use not such talk to me, lest I +smite thee where thou art. Know, then, that I can kill as well as +cure!" + +"Pardon, I beseech thee!" he answered, shrinking. "I say but those +things that I am bid." + +"Well, I know it, Captain. Fear not; I come." + +So on that very day I departed, together with the aged Atoua. Ay, I +went as secretly as I had come; and the tomb of the Divine Rameses +knew me no more. And with me I took all the treasures of my father, +Amenemhat, for I was not minded to go to Alexandria empty-handed and +as a suppliant, but rather as a man of much wealth and condition. Now, +as I went, I learned that Antony, following Cleopatra, had, indeed, +fled from Actium, and knew that the end drew nigh. For this and many +other things had I foreseen in the darkness of the tomb of Tįpé, and +planned to bring about. + + + +Thus, then, I came to Alexandria, and entered into a house which had +been made ready for me at the palace gates. + +And that very night Charmion came to me--Charmion whom I had not seen +for nine long years. + + + +CHAPTER IV + +OF THE MEETING OF CHARMION WITH THE LEARNED OLYMPUS; OF HER +SPEECH WITH HIM; OF THE COMING OF OLYMPUS INTO THE +PRESENCE OF CLEOPATRA; AND OF THE COMMANDS OF CLEOPATRA. + +Clad in my plain black robe, I sat in the guest-chamber of the house +that had been made ready for me. I sat in a carven lion-footed chair, +and looked upon the swinging lamps of scented oil, the pictured +tapestries, the rich Syrian rugs--and, amidst all this luxury, +bethought me of that tomb of the Harpers which is at Tįpé, and of the +nine long years of dark loneliness and preparation. I sat; and +crouched upon a rug near to the door, lay the aged Atoua. Her hair was +white as snow, and shrivelled with age was the wrinkled countenance of +the woman who, when all deserted me, had yet clung to me, in her great +love forgetting my great sins. Nine years! nine long years! and now, +once again, I set my foot in Alexandria! Once again in the appointed +circle of things I came forth from the solitude of preparation to be a +fate to Cleopatra; and this second time I came not forth to fail. + +And yet how changed the circumstance! I was out of the story: my part +now was but the part of the sword in the hands of Justice; I might no +more hope to make Egypt free and great and sit upon my lawful throne. +Khem was lost, and lost was I, Harmachis. In the rush and turmoil of +events, the great plot of which I had been the pivot was covered up +and forgotten; scarce a memory of it remained. The curtain of dark +night was closing in upon the history of my ancient Race; its very +Gods were tottering to their fall; I could already, in the spirit, +hear the shriek of the Roman eagles as they flapped their wings above +the furthest banks of Sihor. + +Presently I roused myself and bade Atoua go seek a mirror and bring it +to me, that I might look therein. + +And I saw this: a face shrunken and pallid, on which no smile came; +great eyes grown wan with gazing into darkness looking out beneath the +shaven head, emptily, as the hollow eye-pits of a skull; a wizened +halting form wasted by abstinence, sorrow, and prayer; a long wild +beard of iron grey; thin blue-veined hands that ever trembled like a +leaf; bowed shoulders and lessened limbs. Time and grief had done +their work indeed; scarce could I think myself the same as when, the +royal Harmachis--in all the splendour of my strength and youthful +beauty--I first had looked upon the woman's loveliness that did +destroy me. And yet within me burned the same fire as of yore; yet I +was not changed, for time and grief have no power to alter the +immortal spirit of man. Seasons may come and go; Hope, like a bird, +may fly away; Passion may break its wings against the iron bars of +Fate; Illusions may crumble as the cloudy towers of sunset flame; +Faith, as running water, may slip from beneath our feet; Solitude may +stretch itself around us like the measureless desert sand; Old Age may +creep as the gathering night over our bowed heads grown hoary in their +shame--yea, bound to Fortune's wheel, we may taste of every turn of +chance--now rule as Kings, now serve as Slaves; now love, now hate; +now prosper, and now perish. But still, through all, we are the same; +for this is the marvel of Identity. + + + +And as I sat and thought these things in bitterness of heart, there +came a knocking at the door. + +"Open, Atoua!" I said. + +She rose and did my bidding; and a woman entered, clad in Grecian +robes. It was Charmion, still beautiful as of old, but sad faced now +and very sweet to see, with a patient fire slumbering in her downcast +eyes. + +She entered unattended; and, speaking no word, the old wife pointed to +where I sat, and went. + +"Old man," she said, addressing me, "lead me to the learned Olympus. I +come upon the Queen's business." + +I rose, and, lifting my head, looked upon her. + +She gazed, and gave a little cry. + +"Surely," she whispered, glancing round, "surely thou art not +that----" And she paused. + +"That Harmachis whom once thy foolish heart did love, O Charmion? Yes, +I am he and what thou seest, most fair lady. Yet is Harmachis dead +whom thou didst love; but Olympus, the skilled Egyptian, waits upon +thy words!" + +"Cease!" she said, "and of the past but one word, and then--why, let +it lie. Not well, with all thy wisdom, canst thou know a true woman's +heart, if thou dost believe, Harmachis, that it can change with the +changes of the outer form, for then assuredly could no love follow its +beloved to that last place of change--the Grave. Know thou, learned +Physician, I am of that sort who, loving once, love always, and being +not beloved again, go virgin to the death." + +She ceased, and having naught to say, I bowed my head in answer. Yet +though I said nothing and though this woman's passionate folly had +been the cause of all our ruin, to speak truth, in secret I was +thankful to her who, wooed of all and living in this shameless Court, +had still through the long years poured out her unreturned love upon +an outcast, and who, when that poor broken slave of Fortune came back +in such unlovely guise, held him yet dear at heart. For what man is +there who does not prize that gift most rare and beautiful, that one +perfect thing which no gold can buy--a woman's unfeigned love? + +"I thank thee that thou dost not answer," she said; "for the bitter +words which thou didst pour upon me in those days that long are dead, +and far away in Tarsus, have not lost their poisonous sting, and in my +heart is no more place for the arrows of thy scorn, new venomed +through thy solitary years. So let it be. Behold! I put it from me, +that wild passion of my soul," and she looked up and stretched out her +hands as though to press some unseen presence back, "I put it from me +--though forget it I may not! There, 'tis done, Harmachis; no more +shall my love trouble thee. Enough for me that once more my eyes +behold thee, before sleep seals thee from their sight. Dost remember +how, when I would have died by thy dear hand, thou wouldst not slay, +but didst bid me live to pluck the bitter fruit of crime, and be +accursed by visions of the evil I had wrought and memories of thee +whom I have ruined?" + +"Ay, Charmion, I remember well." + +"Surely the cup of punishment has been filled. Oh! couldst thou see +into the record of my heart, and read in it the suffering that I have +borne--borne with a smiling face--thy justice would be satisfied +indeed!" + +"And yet, if report be true, Charmion, thou art the first of all the +Court, and therein the most powerful and beloved. Does not Octavianus +give it out that he makes war, not on Antony, nor even on his +mistress, Cleopatra, but on Charmion and Iras?" + +"Yes, Harmachis, and think that it has been to me thus, because of my +oath to thee, to be forced to eat the bread and do the tasks of one +whom so bitterly I hate!--one who robbed me of thee, and who, through +the workings of my jealousy, brought me to be that which I am, brought +thee to shame, and all Egypt to its ruin! Can jewels and riches and +the flattery of princes and nobles bring happiness to such a one as I, +who am more wretched than the meanest scullion wench? Oh, I have often +wept till I was blind; and then, when the hour came, I must arise and +tire me, and, with a smile, go do the bidding of the Queen and that +heavy Antony. May the Gods grant me to see them dead--ay, the twain of +them!--then myself I shall be content to die! Thy lot has been hard, +Harmachis; but at least thou have been free, and many is the time that +I have envied thee the quiet of thy haunted cave." + +"I do perceive, O Charmion, that thou art mindful of thy oaths; and +it is well, for the hour of vengeance is at hand." + +"I am mindful, and in all things I have worked for thee in secret--for +thee, and for the utter ruin of Cleopatra and the Roman. I have fanned +his passion and her jealousy, I have egged her on to wickedness and +him to folly, and of all have I caused report to be brought to Cęsar. +Listen! thus stands the matter. Thou knowest how went the fight at +Actium. Thither went Cleopatra with her fleet, sorely against the will +of Antony. But, as thou sentest me word, I entreated him for the +Queen, vowing to him, with tears, that, did he leave her, she would +die of grief; and he, poor slave, believed me. And so she went, and in +the thick of the fight, for what cause I know not, though perchance +thou knowest, Harmachis, she made signal to her squadron, and, putting +about fled from the battle, sailing for Peloponnesus. And now, mark +the end! When Antony saw that she was gone, he, in his madness, took a +galley, and deserting all, followed hard after her, leaving his fleet +to be shattered and sunk, and his great army in Greece, of twenty +legions and twelve thousand horse, without a leader. And all this no +man would believe, that Antony, the smitten of the Gods, had fallen so +deep in shame. Therefore for a while the army tarried, and but now +to-night comes news brought by Canidius, the General, that, worn with +doubt and being at length sure that Antony had deserted them, the +whole of his great force has yielded to Cęsar." + +"And where, then, is Antony?" + +"He has built him a habitation on a little isle in the Great Harbour +and named it Timonium; because, forsooth, like Timon, he cries out at +the ingratitude of mankind that has forsaken him. And there he lies +smitten by a fever of the mind, and thither thou must go at dawn, so +wills the Queen, to cure him of his ills and draw him to her arms; for +he will not see her, nor knows he yet the full measure of his woe. But +first my bidding is to lead thee instantly to Cleopatra, who would ask +thy counsel." + +"I come," I answered, rising. "Lead thou on." + +And so we passed the palace gates and along the Alabaster Hall, and +presently once again I stood before the door of Cleopatra's chamber, +and once again Charmion left me to warn her of my coming. + +Presently she came back and beckoned to me. "Make strong thy heart," +she whispered, "and see that thou dost not betray thyself, for still +are the eyes of Cleopatra keen. Enter!" + +"Keen, indeed, must they be to find Harmachis in the learned Olympus! +Had I not willed it, thyself thou hadst not known me, Charmion," I +made answer. + +Then I entered that remembered place and listened once more to the +plash of the fountain, the song of the nightingale, and the murmur of +the summer sea. With bowed head and halting gait I came, till at +length I stood before the couch of Cleopatra--that same golden couch +on which she had sat the night she overcame me. Then I gathered my +strength, and looked up. There before me was Cleopatra, glorious as of +old, but, oh! how changed since that night when I saw Antony clasp her +in his arms at Tarsus! Her beauty still clothed her like a garment; +the eyes were yet deep and unfathomable as the blue sea, the face +still splendid in its great loveliness. And yet all was changed. Time, +that could not touch her charms, had stamped upon her presence such a +look of weary grief as may not be written. Passion, beating ever in +that fierce heart of hers, had written his record on her brow, and in +her eyes shone the sad lights of sorrow. + +I bowed low before this most royal woman, who once had been my love +and destruction, and yet knew me not. + +She looked up wearily, and spoke in her slow, well remembered voice: + +"So thou art come at length, Physician. How callest thou thyself?-- +Olympus? 'Tis a name of promise, for surely now that the Gods of Egypt +have deserted us, we do need aid from Olympus. Well, thou hast a +learned air, for learning does not with beauty. Strange, too, there is +that about thee which recalls what I know not. Say, Olympus, have we +met before?" + +"Never, O Queen, have my eyes fallen on thee in the body," I answered +in a feigned voice. "Never till this hour, when I come forth from my +solitude to do thy bidding and cure thee of thy ills!" + +"Strange! and even in the voice--Pshaw! 'tis some memory that I cannot +catch. In the body, thou sayest? then, perchance, I knew thee in a +dream?" + +"Ay, O Queen; we have met in dreams." + +"Thou art a strange man, who talkest thus, but, if what I hear be +true, one well learned; and, indeed, I mind me of thy counsel when +thou didst bid me join my Lord Antony in Syria, and how things befell +according to thy word. Skilled must thou be in the casting of +nativities and in the law of auguries, of which these Alexandrian +fools have little knowledge. Once I knew such another man, one +Harmachis," and she sighed: "but he is long dead--as I would I were +also!--and at times I sorrow for him." + +She paused, while I sank my head upon my breast and stood silent. + +"Interpret me this, Olympus. In the battle at that accursed Actium, +just as the fight raged thickest and Victory began to smile upon us, a +great terror seized my heart, and thick darkness seemed to fall before +my eyes, while in my ears a voice, ay, the voice of that long dead +Harmachis, cried '/Fly! fly, or perish!/' and I fled. But from my +heart the terror leapt to the heart of Antony, and he followed after +me, and thus was the battle lost. Say, then, what God brought this +evil thing about?" + +"Nay, O Queen," I answered, "it was no God--for wherein hast thou +angered the Gods of Egypt? Hast thou robbed the temples of their +Faith? Hast thou betrayed the trust of Egypt? Having done none of +these things, how, then, can the Gods of Egypt be wroth with thee? +Fear not, it was nothing but some natural vapour of the mind that +overcame thy gentle soul, made sick with the sight and sound of +slaughter; and as for the noble Antony, where thou didst go needs must +that he should follow." + +And as I spoke, Cleopatra turned white and trembled, glancing at me +the while to find my meaning. But I well knew that the thing was of +the avenging Gods, working through me, their instrument. + +"Learned Olympus," she said, not answering my words; "my Lord Antony +is sick and crazed with grief. Like some poor hunted slave he hides +himself in yonder sea-girt Tower and shuns mankind--yes, he shuns even +me, who, for his sake, endure so many woes. Now, this is my bidding to +thee. To-morrow, at the coming of the light, do thou, led by Charmion, +my waiting-lady, take boat and row thee to the Tower and there crave +entry, saying that ye bring tidings from the army. Then he will cause +you to be let in, and thou, Charmion, must break this heavy news that +Canidius bears; for Canidius himself I dare not send. And when his +grief is past, do thou, Olympus, soothe his fevered frame with thy +draughts of value, and his soul with honeyed words, and draw him back +to me, and all will yet be well. Do thou this, and thou shalt have +gifts more than thou canst count, for I am yet a Queen and yet can pay +back those who serve my will." + +"Fear not, O Queen," I answered, "this thing shall be done, and I ask +no reward, who have come hither to do thy bidding to the end." + +So I bowed and went and, summoning Atoua, made ready a certain potion. + + + +CHAPTER V + +OF THE DRAWING FORTH OF ANTONY FROM THE TIMONIUM BACK TO +CLEOPATRA; OF THE FEAST MADE BY CLEOPATRA; AND OF THE MANNER +OF THE DEATH OF EUDOSIUS THE STEWARD + +Ere it was yet dawn Charmion came again, and we walked to the private +harbour of the palace. There, taking boat, we rowed to the island +mount on which stands the Timonium, a vaulted tower, strong, small, +and round. And, having landed, we twain came to the door and knocked, +till at length a grating was thrown open in the door, and an aged +eunuch, looking forth, roughly asked our business. + +"Our business is with the Lord Antony," said Charmion. + +"Then it is no business, for Antony, my master, sees neither man nor +woman." + +"Yet will he see us, for we bring tidings. Go tell him that the Lady +Charmion brings tidings from the army." + +The man went, and presently returned. + +"The Lord Antony would know if the tidings be good or ill, for, if +ill, then will he none of it, for with evil tidings he has been +overfed of late." + +"Why--why, it is both good and ill. Open, slave, I will make answer to +thy master!" and she slipped a purse of gold through the bars. + +"Well, well," he grumbled, as he took the purse, "the times are hard, +and likely to be harder; for when the lion's down who will feed the +jackal? Give thy news thyself, and if it do but draw the noble Antony +out of this hall of Groans, I care not what it be. Now the palace door +is open, and there's the road to the banqueting-chamber." + +We passed on, to find ourselves in a narrow passage, and, leaving the +eunuch to bar the door, advanced till we came to a curtain. Through +this entrance we went, and found ourselves in a vaulted chamber, ill- +lighted from the roof. On the further side of this rude chamber was a +bed of rugs, and on them crouched the figure of a man, his face hidden +in the folds of his toga. + +"Most noble Antony," said Charmion drawing near, "unwrap thy face and +hearken to me, for I bring thee tidings." + +Then he lifted up his head. His face was marred by sorrow; his tangled +hair, grizzled with years, hung about his hollow eyes, and white on +his chin was the stubble of an unshaven beard. His robe was squalid, +and his aspect more wretched than that of the poorest beggar at the +temple gates. To this, then, had the love of Cleopatra brought the +glorious and renowned Antony, aforetime Master of half the World! + +"What will ye with me, Lady," he asked, "who would perish here alone? +And who is this man who comes to gaze on fallen and forsaken Antony?" + +"This is Olympus, noble Antony, that wise physician, the skilled in +auguries, of whom thou hast heard much, and whom Cleopatra, ever +mindful of thy welfare, though but little thou dost think of hers, has +sent to minister to thee." + +"And, can thy physician minister to a grief such as my grief? Can his +drugs give me back my galleys, my honour, and my peace? Nay! Away with +thy physician! What are thy tidings?--quick!--out with it! Hath +Canidius, perchance, conquered Cęsar? Tell me but that, and thou shalt +have a province for thy guerdon--ay! and if Octavianus be dead, twenty +thousand sestertia to fill its treasury. Speak--nay--speak not! I fear +the opening of thy lips as never I feared an earthly thing. Surely the +wheel of fortune has gone round and Canidius has conquered? Is it not +so? Nay--out with it! I can no more!" + +"O noble Antony," she said, "steel thy heart to hear that which I +needs must tell thee! Canidius is in Alexandria. He has fled far and +fast, and this is his report. For seven whole days did the legions +wait the coming of Antony, to lead them to victory, as aforetime, +putting aside the offers of the envoys of Cęsar. But Antony came not. +And then it was rumoured that Antony had fled to Tęnarus, drawn +thither by Cleopatra. The man who first brought that tale to the camp +the legionaries cried shame on--ay, and beat him to the death! But +ever it grew, until at length there was no more room to doubt; and +then, O Antony, thy officers slipped one by one away to Cęsar, and +where the officers go there the men follow. Nor is this all the story; +for thy allies--Bocchus of Africa, Tarcondimotus of Cilicia, +Mithridates of Commagene, Adallas of Thrace, Philadelphus of +Paphlagonia, Archelaus of Cappadocia, Herod of Judęa, Amyntas of +Galatia, Polemon of Pontus, and Malchus of Arabia--all, all have fled +or bid their generals fly back to whence they came; and already their +ambassador's crave cold Cęsar's clemency." + +"Hast done thy croakings, thou raven in a peacock's dress, or is there +more to come?" asked the smitten man, lifting his white and trembling +face from the shelter of his hands. "Tell me more; say that Egypt's +dead in all her beauty; say that Octavianus lowers at the Canopic +gate; and that, headed by dead Cicero, all the ghosts of Hell do +audibly shriek out the fall of Antony! Yea, gather up every woe that +can o'erwhelm those who once were great, and loose them on the hoary +head of him whom--in thy gentleness--thou art still pleased to name +'the noble Antony'!" + +"Nay, my Lord, I have done." + +"Ay, and so have I done--done, quite done! It is altogether finished, +and thus I seal the end," and snatching a sword from the couch, he +would, indeed, have slain himself had I not sprung forward and grasped +his hand. For it was not my purpose that he should die as yet; since +had he died at that hour Cleopatra had made her peace with Cęsar, who +rather wished the death of Antony than the ruin of Egypt. + +"Art mad, Antony? Art, indeed, a coward?" cried Charmion, "that thou +wouldst thus escape thy woes, and leave thy partner to face the sorrow +out alone?" + +"Why not, woman? Why not? She would not be long alone. There's Cęsar +to keep her company. Octavianus loves a fair woman in his cold way, +and still is Cleopatra fair. Come now, thou Olympus! thou hast held my +hand from dealing death upon myself, advise me of thy wisdom. Shall I, +then, submit myself to Cęsar, and I, Triumvir, twice Consul, and +aforetime absolute Monarch of all the East, endure to follow in his +triumph along those Roman ways where I myself have passed in triumph?" + +"Nay, Sire," I answered. "If thou dost yield, then art thou doomed. +All last night I questioned of the Fates concerning thee, and I saw +this: when thy star draws near to Cęsar's it pales and is swallowed +up; but when it passes from his radiance, then bright and big it +shines, equal in glory to his own. All is not lost, and while some +part remains, everything may be regained. Egypt can yet be held, +armies can still be raised. Cęsar has withdrawn himself; he is not yet +at the gates of Alexandria, and perchance may be appeased. Thy mind in +its fever has fired thy body; thou art sick and canst not judge +aright. See, here, I have a potion that shall make thee whole, for I +am well skilled in the art of medicine," and I held out the phial. + +"A potion, thou sayest man!" he cried. "More like it is a poison, and +thou a murderer, sent by false Egypt, who would fain be rid of me now +that I may no more be of service to her. The head of Antony is the +peace offering she would send to Cęsar--she for whom I have lost all! +Give me thy draught. By Bacchus! I will drink it, though it be the +very elixir of Death!" + +"Nay, noble Antony; it is no poison, and I am no murderer. See, I will +taste it, if thou wilt," and I held forth the subtle drink that has +the power to fire the veins of men. + +"Give it me, Physician. Desperate men are brave men. There!---- Why, +what is this? Yours is a magic draught! My sorrows seem to roll away +like thunder-clouds before the southern gale, and the spring of Hope +blooms fresh upon the desert of my heart. Once more I am Antony, and +once again I see my legions' spears asparkle in the sun, and hear the +thunderous shout of welcome as Antony--beloved Antony--rides in pomp +of war along his deep-formed lines! There's hope! there's hope! I may +yet see the cold brows of Cęsar--that Cęsar who never errs except from +policy--robbed of their victor bays and crowned with shameful dust!" + +"Ay," cried Charmion, "there still is hope, if thou wilt but play the +man! O my Lord! come back with us; come back to the loving arms of +Cleopatra! All night she lies upon her golden bed, and fills the +hollow darkness with her groans for 'Antony!' who, enamoured now of +Grief, forgets his duty and his love!" + +"I come! I come! Shame upon me, that I dared to doubt her! Slave, +bring water, and a purple robe: not thus can I be seen of Cleopatra. +Even now I come." + + + +In this fashion, then, did we draw Antony back to Cleopatra, that the +ruin of the twain might be made sure. + + + +We led him up the Alabaster Hall and into Cleopatra's chamber, where +she lay, her cloudy hair about her face and breast, and tears flowing +from her deep eyes. + +"O Egypt!" he cried, "behold me at thy feet!" + +She sprang from the couch. "And art thou here, my love?" she murmured; +"then once again are all things well. Come near, and in these arms +forget thy sorrows and turn my grief to joy. Oh, Antony, while love is +left to us, still have we all!" + +And she fell upon his breast and kissed him wildly. + + + +That same day, Charmion came to me and bade me prepare a poison of the +most deadly power. And this at first I would not do, fearing that +Cleopatra would therewith make an end of Antony before his time. But +Charmion showed me that this was not so, and told me also for what +purpose was the poison. Therefore I summoned Atoua, the skilled in +simples, and all that afternoon we laboured at the deadly work. And +when it was done, Charmion came once more, bearing with her a chaplet +of fresh roses, that she bade me steep in the poison. + +This then I did. + +That night at the great feast of Cleopatra, I sat near Antony, who was +at her side, and wore the poisoned wreath. Now as the feast went on, +the wine flowed fast, till Antony and the Queen grew merry. And she +told him of her plans, and of how even now her galleys were being +drawn by the canal that leads from Bubastis on the Pelusiac branch of +the Nile, to Clysma at the head of the Bay of Heroopolis. For it was +her design, should Cęsar prove stubborn, to fly with Antony and her +treasure down the Arabian Gulf, where Cęsar had no fleet, and seek +some new home in India, whither her foes might not follow. But, +indeed, this plan came to nothing, for the Arabs of Petra burnt the +galleys, incited thereto by a message sent by the Jews of Alexandria, +who hated Cleopatra and were hated of her. For I caused the Jews to be +warned of what was being done. + +Now, when she had made an end of telling him, the Queen called on him +to drink a cup with her, to the success of this new scheme, bidding +him, as she did so, steep his wreath of roses in the wine, and make +the draught more sweet. This, then, he did, and it being done, she +pledged him. But when he was about to pledge her back, she caught his +hand, crying "/Hold!/" whereat he paused, wondering. + +Now, among the servants of Cleopatra was one Eudosius, a steward; and +this Eudosius, seeing that the fortunes of Cleopatra were at an end, +had laid a plan to fly that very night to Cęsar, as many of his +betters had done, taking with him all the treasure in the palace that +he could steal. But this design being discovered to Cleopatra, she +determined to be avenged upon Eudosius. + +"Eudosius," she cried, for the man stood near; "come hither, thou +faithful servant! Seest thou this man, most noble Antony; through all +our troubles he has clung to us and been of comfort to us. Now, +therefore, he shall be rewarded according to his deserts and the +measure of his faithfulness, and that from thine own hand. Give him +thy golden cup of wine, and let him drink a pledge to our success; the +cup shall be his guerdon." + +And still wondering, Antony gave it to the man, who, stricken in his +guilty mind, took it, and stood trembling. But he drank not. + +"Drink! thou slave; drink!" cried Cleopatra, half rising from her seat +and flashing a fierce look on his white face. "By Serapis! so surely +as I yet shall sit in the Capitol at Rome, if thou dost thus flout the +Lord Antony, I'll have thee scourged to the bones, and the red wine +poured upon thy open wounds to heal them! /Ah!/ at length thou +drinkest! Why, what is it, good Eudosius? art sick? Surely, then, this +wine must be as the water of jealousy of those Jews, that has power to +slay the false and strengthen the honest only. Go, some of you, search +this man's room; methinks he is a traitor!" + +Meanwhile the man stood, his hands to his head. Presently he began to +tremble, and then fell, clutching at his bosom, as though to tear out +the fire in his heart. He staggered, with livid, twisted face and +foaming lips, to where Cleopatra lay watching him with a slow and +cruel smile. + +"Ah, traitor! thou hast it now!" she said. "Prithee, is death sweet?" + +"Thou wanton!" yelled the dying man, "thou hast poisoned me! Thus +mayst thou also perish!" and with one shriek he flung himself upon +her. She saw his purpose, and swift and supple as a tiger sprang to +one side, so that he did but grasp her royal cloak, tearing it from +its emerald clasp. Down he fell upon the ground, rolling over and over +in the purple chiton, till presently he lay still and dead, his +tormented face and frozen eyes peering ghastly from its folds. + +"Ah!" said the Queen, with a hard laugh, "the slave died wondrous +hard, and fain would have drawn me with him. See, he has borrowed my +garment for a pall! Take him away and bury him in his livery." + +"What means Cleopatra?" said Antony, as the guards dragged the corpse +away; "the man drank of my cup. What is the purpose of this most sorry +jest?" + +"It serves a double end, noble Antony! This very night that man would +have fled to Octavianus, bearing of our treasure with him. Well, I +have lent him wings, for the dead fly fast! Also this: thou didst fear +that I should poison thee, my Lord; nay, I know it. See now, Antony, +how easy it were that I should slay thee if I had the will. That +wreath of roses which thou didst steep within the cup is dewed with +deadly bane. Had I, then, a mind to make an end of thee, I had not +stayed thy hand. O Antony, henceforth trust me! Sooner would I slay +myself than harm one hair of thy beloved head! See, here come my +messengers! Speak, what did ye find?" + +"Royal Egypt, we found this. All things in the chamber of Eudosius are +made ready for flight, and in his baggage is much treasure." + +"Thou hearest?" she said, smiling darkly. "Think ye, my loyal servants +all, that Cleopatra is one with whom it is well to play the traitor? +Be warned by this Roman's fate!" + + + +Then a great silence of fear fell upon the company, and Antony sat +also silent. + + + +CHAPTER VI + +OF THE WORKINGS OF THE LEARNED OLYMPUS AT MEMPHIS; OF THE +POISONINGS OF CLEOPATRA; OF THE SPEECH OF ANTONY TO HIS +CAPTAINS; AND OF THE PASSING OF ISIS FROM THE LAND OF KHEM + +Now I, Harmachis, must make speed with my task, setting down that +which is permitted as shortly as may be, and leaving much untold. For +of this I am warned, that Doom draws on and my days are wellnigh sped. +After the drawing forth of Antony from the Timonium came that time of +heavy quiet which heralds the rising of the desert wind. Antony and +Cleopatra once again gave themselves up to luxury, and night by night +feasted in splendour at the palace. They sent ambassadors to Cęsar; +but Cęsar would have none of them; and, this hope being gone, they +turned their minds to the defence of Alexandria. Men were gathered, +ships were built, and a great force was made ready against the coming +of Cęsar. + +And now, aided by Charmion, I began my last work of hate and +vengeance. I wormed myself deep into the secrets of the palace, +counselling all things for evil. I bade Cleopatra keep Antony gay, +lest he should brood upon his sorrows: and thus she sapped his +strength and energy with luxury and wine. I gave him of my draughts-- +draughts that sank his soul in dreams of happiness and power, leaving +him to wake to a heavier misery. Soon, without my healing medicine he +could not sleep, and thus, being ever at his side, I bound his +weakened will to mine, till at last he would do little if I said not +"It is well." Cleopatra, also grown very superstitious, leaned much +upon me; for I prophesied falsely to her in secret. + +Moreover, I wove other webs. My fame was great throughout Egypt, for +during the long years that I had dwelt in Tįpé it had spread through +all the land. Therefore many men of note came to me, both for their +health's sake and because it was known that I had the ear of Antony +and the Queen; and, in these days of doubt and trouble, they were fain +to learn the truth. All these men I worked upon with doubtful words, +sapping their loyalty; and I caused many to fall away, and yet none +could bear an evil report of what I had said. Also, Cleopatra sent me +to Memphis, there to move the Priests and Governors that they should +gather men in Upper Egypt for the defence of Alexandria. And I went +and spoke to the priests with such a double meaning and with so much +wisdom that they knew me to be one of the initiated in the deeper +mysteries. But how I, Olympus the physician, came thus to be initiated +none might say. And afterwards they sought me secretly, and I gave +them the holy sign of brotherhood; and thereunder bade them not to ask +who I might be, but send no aid to Cleopatra. Rather, I said, must +they make peace with Cęsar, for by Cęsar's grace only could the +worship of the Gods endure in Khem. So, having taken counsel of the +Holy Apis, they promised in public to give help to Cleopatra, but in +secret sent an embassy to Cęsar. + +Thus, then, it came to pass that Egypt gave but little aid to its +hated Macedonian Queen. Thence from Memphis I came once more to +Alexandria, and, having made favourable report, continued my secret +work. And, indeed, the Alexandrians could not easily be stirred, for, +as they say in the marketplace, "The ass looks at its burden and is +blind to its master." Cleopatra had oppressed them so long that the +Roman was like a welcome friend. + +Thus the time passed on, and every night found Cleopatra with fewer +friends than that which had gone before, for in evil days friends fly +like swallows before the frost. Yet she would not give up Antony, whom +she loved; though to my knowledge Cęsar, by his freedman, Thyreus, +made promise to her of her dominions for herself and for her children +if she would but slay Antony, or even betray him bound. But to this +her woman's heart--for still she had a heart--would not consent, and, +moreover, we counselled her against it, for of necessity we must hold +him to her, lest, Antony escaping or being slain, Cleopatra might ride +out the storm and yet be Queen of Egypt. And this grieved me, because +Antony, though weak, was still a brave man, and a great; and, +moreover, in my own heart I read the lesson of his woes. For were we +not akin in wretchedness? Had not the same woman robbed us of Empire, +Friends, and Honour? But pity has no place in politics, nor could it +turn my feet from the path of vengeance it was ordained that I should +tread. Cęsar drew nigh; Pelusium fell; the end was at hand. It was +Charmion who brought the tidings to the Queen and Antony, as they +slept in the heat of the day, and I came with her. + +"Awake!" she cried. "Awake! This is no time for sleep! Seleucus hath +surrendered Pelusium to Cęsar, who marches straight on Alexandria!" + +With a great oath, Antony sprang up and clutched Cleopatra by the arm. + +"Thou hast betrayed me--by the Gods I swear it! Now thou shalt pay the +price!" And snatching up his sword he drew it. + +"Stay thy hand, Antony!" she cried. "It is false--I know naught of +this!" And she sprang upon him, and clung about his neck, weeping. "I +know naught, my Lord. Take thou the wife of Seleucus and his little +children, whom I hold in guard, and avenge thyself. O Antony, Antony! +why dost thou doubt me?" + +Then Antony threw down his sword upon the marble, and, casting himself +upon the couch, hid his face, and groaned in bitterness of spirit. + +But Charmion smiled, for it was she who had sent secretly to Seleucus, +her friend, counselling him to surrender forthwith, saying that no +fight would be made at Alexandria. And that very night Cleopatra took +all her great store of pearls and emeralds--those that remained of the +treasure of Menkau-ra--all her wealth of gold, ebony, ivory, and +cinnamon, treasure without price, and placed it in the mausoleum of +granite which, after our Egyptian fashion, she had built upon the hill +that is by the Temple of the Holy Isis. These riches she piled up upon +a bed of flax, that, when she fired it, all might perish in the flame +and escape the greed of money-loving Octavianus. And she slept +henceforth in this tomb, away from Antony; but in the daytime she +still saw him at the palace. + +But a little while after, when Cęsar with all his great force had +already crossed the Caponic mouth of the Nile and was hard on +Alexandria, I came to the palace, whither Cleopatra had summoned me. +There I found her in the Alabaster Hall, royally clad, a wild light in +her eyes, and, with her, Iras and Charmion, and before her guards; and +stretched here and there upon the marble, bodies of dead men, among +whom lay one yet dying. + +"Greeting, thou Olympus!" she cried. "Here is a sight to glad a +physician's heart--men dead and men sick unto death!" + +"What doest thou, O Queen?" I said affrighted. + +"What do I? I wreak justice on these criminals and traitors; and, +Olympus, I learn the ways of death. I have caused six different +poisons to be given to these slaves, and with an attentive eye have +watched their working. That man," and she pointed to a Nubian, "he +went mad, and raved of his native deserts and his mother. He thought +himself a child again, poor fool! and bade her hold him close to her +breast and save him from the darkness which drew near. And that Greek, +he shrieked, and, shrieking, died. And this, he wept and prayed for +pity, and in the end, like a coward, breathed his last. Now, note the +Egyptian yonder, he who still lives and groans; first he took the +draught--the deadliest draught of all, they swore--and yet the slave +so dearly loves his life he will not leave it! See, he yet strives to +throw the poison from him; twice have I given him the cup and yet he +is athirst. What a drunkard we have here! Man, man, knowest thou not +that in death only can peace be found? Struggle no more, but enter +into rest." And even as she spoke, the man, with a great cry, gave up +the spirit. + +"There!" she cried, "at length the farce is played--away with those +slaves whom I have forced through the difficult gates of Joy!" and she +clapped her hands. But when they had borne the bodies thence she drew +me to her, and spoke thus: + +"Olympus, for all thy prophecies, the end is at hand. Cęsar must +conquer, and I and my Lord Antony be lost. Now, therefore, the play +being wellnigh done, I must make ready to leave this stage of earth in +such fashion as becomes a Queen. For this cause, then, I do make trial +of these poisons, seeing that in my person I must soon endure those +agonies of death that to-day I give to others. These drugs please me +not; some wrench out the soul with cruel pains, and some too slowly +work their end. But thou art skilled in the medicines of death. Now, +do thou prepare me such a draught as shall, pangless, steal my life +away." + +And as I listened the sense of triumph filled my bitter heart, for I +knew now that by my own hand should this ruined woman die and the +justice of the Gods be done. + +"Spoken like a Queen, O Cleopatra!" I said. "Death shall cure thy +ills, and I will brew such a wine as shall draw him down a sudden +friend and sink thee in a sea of slumber whence, upon this earth, thou +shalt never wake again. Oh! fear not Death: Death is thy hope; and, +surely, thou shalt pass sinless and pure of heart into the dreadful +presence of the Gods!" + +She trembled. "And if the heart be not altogether pure, tell me--thou +dark man--what then? Nay, I fear not the Gods! for if the Gods of Hell +be men, there I shall Queen it also. At the least, having once been +royal, royal I shall ever be." + +And, as she spoke, suddenly from the palace gates came a great +clamour, and the noise of joyful shouting. + +"Why, what is this?" she said, springing from her couch. + +"Antony! Antony!" rose the cry; "Antony hath conquered!" + +She turned swiftly and ran, her long hair streaming on the wind. I +followed her, more slowly, down the great hall, across the courtyards, +to the palace gates. And here she met Antony, riding through them, +radiant with smiles and clad in his Roman armour. When he saw her he +leapt to the ground, and, all armed as he was, clasped her to his +breast. + +"What is it?" she cried; "is Cęsar fallen?" + +"Nay, not altogether fallen, Egypt: but we have beat his horsemen back +to their trenches, and, like the beginning, so shall be the end, for, +as they say here, 'Where the head goes, the tail will follow.' +Moreover, Cęsar has my challenge, and if he will but meet me hand to +hand, the world shall soon see which is the better man, Antony or +Octavian." And even as he spoke and the people cheered there came the +cry of "A messenger from Cęsar!" + +The herald entered, and, bowing low, gave a writing to Antony, bowed +again, and went. Cleopatra snatched it from his hand, broke the silk +and read aloud: + + "Cęsar to Antony, greeting. + + "This answer to thy challenge: Can Antony find no better way of + death than beneath the sword of Cęsar? Farewell!" + +And thereafter they cheered no more. + + + +The darkness came, and before it was midnight, having feasted with his +friends who to-night went over his woes and to-morrow should betray +him, Antony went forth to the gathering of the captains of the land- +forces and of the fleet, attended by many, among whom was I. + +When all were come together, he spoke to them, standing bareheaded in +their midst, beneath the radiance of the moon. And thus he most nobly +spoke: + +"Friends and companions in arms! who yet cling to me, and whom many a +time I have led to victory, hearken to me now, who to-morrow may lie +in the dumb dust, disempired and dishonoured. This is our design: no +longer will we hang on poised wings above the flood of war, but will +straightway plunge, perchance thence to snatch the victor's diadem, +or, failing, there to drown. Be now but true to me, and to your +honour's sake, and you may still sit, the most proud of men, at my +right hand in the Capitol of Rome. Fail me now, and the cause of +Antony is lost and so are ye. To-morrow's battle must be hazardous +indeed, but we have stood many a time and faced a fiercer peril, and +ere the sun had sunk, once more have driven armies like desert sands +before our gale of valour and counted the spoil of hostile kings. What +have we to fear? Though allies be fled, still is our array as strong +as Cęsar's! And show we but as high a heart, why, I swear to you, upon +my princely word, to-morrow night I shall deck yonder Canopic gate +with the heads of Octavian and his captains! + +"Ay, cheer, and cheer again! I love that martial music which swells, +not as from the indifferent lips of clarions, now 'neath the breath of +Antony and now of Cęsar, but rather out of the single hearts of men +who love me. Yet--and now I will speak low, as we do speak o'er the +bier of some beloved dead--yet, if Fortune should rise against me and +if, borne down by the weight of arms, Antony, the soldier, dies a +soldier's death, leaving you to mourn him who ever was your friend, +this is my will, that, after our rough fashion of the camp, I here +declare to you. You know where all my treasure lies. Take it, most +dear friends; and, in the memory of Antony, make just division. Then +go to Cęsar and speak thus: 'Antony, the dead, to Cęsar, the living, +sends greeting; and, in the name of ancient fellowship and of many a +peril dared, craves this boon: the safety of those who clung to him +and that which he hath given them.' + +"Nay, let not my tears--for I must weep--overflow your eyes! Why, it +is not manly; 'tis most womanish! All men must die, and death were +welcome were it not so lone. Should I fall, I leave my children to +your tender care--if, perchance, it may avail to save them from the +fate of helplessness. Soldiers, enough! to-morrow at the dawn we +spring on Cęsar's throat, both by land and sea. Swear that ye will +cling to me, even to the last issue!" + +"We swear!" they cried. "Noble Antony, we swear!" + +"It is well! Once more my star grows bright; to-morrow, set in the +highest heaven, it yet may shine the lamp of Cęsar down! Till then, +farewell!" + +He turned to go. As he went they caught his hand and kissed it; and so +deeply were they moved that many wept like children; nor could Antony +master his grief, for, in the moonlight, I saw tears roll down his +furrowed cheeks and fall upon that mighty breast. + +And, seeing all this, I was much troubled. For I well knew that if +these men held firm to Antony all might yet go well for Cleopatra; and +though I bore no ill-will against Antony, yet he must fall, and in +that fall drag down the woman who, like some poisonous plant, had +twined herself about his giant strength till it choked and mouldered +in her embrace. + +Therefore, when Antony went I went not, but stood back in the shadow +watching the faces of the lords and captains as they spoke together. + +"Then it is agreed!" said he who should lead the fleet. "And this we +swear to, one and all, that we will cling to noble Antony to the last +extremity of fortune!" + +"Ay! ay!" they answered. + +"Ay! ay!" I said, speaking from the shadow; "cling, and /die!/" + +They turned fiercely and seized me. + +"Who is he?" quoth one. + +"'Tis that dark-faced dog, Olympus!" cried another. "Olympus, the +magician!" + +"Olympus, the traitor!" growled another; "put an end to him and his +magic!" and he drew his sword. + +"Ay! slay him; he would betray the Lord Antony, whom he is paid to +doctor." + +"Hold a while!" I said in a slow and solemn voice, "and beware how ye +try to murder the servant of the Gods. I am no traitor. For myself, I +abide the event here in Alexandria, but to you I say, Flee, flee to +Cęsar! I serve Antony and the Queen--I serve them truly; but above all +I serve the Holy Gods; and what they make known to me, that, Lords, I +do know. And I know this: that Antony is doomed, and Cleopatra is +doomed, for Cęsar conquers. Therefore, because I honour you, noble +gentlemen, and think with pity on your wives, left widowed, and your +little fatherless children, that shall, if ye hold to Antony, be sold +as slaves--therefore, I say, cling to Antony if ye will and die; or +flee to Cęsar and be saved! And this I say because it is so ordained +of the Gods." + +"The Gods!" they growled; "what Gods? Slit the traitor's throat, and +stop his ill-omened talk!" + +"Let him show us a sign from his Gods or let him die: I do mistrust +this man," said another. + +"Stand back, ye fools!" I cried. "Stand back--free mine arms--and I +will show you a sign;" and there was that in my face which frightened +them, for they freed me and stood back. Then I lifted up my hands and +putting out all my strength of soul searched the depths of space till +my Spirit communed with the Spirit of my Mother Isis. Only the Word of +Power I uttered not, as I had been bidden. And the holy mystery of the +Goddess answered to my Spirit's cry, falling in awful silence upon the +face of the earth. Deeper and deeper grew the terrible silence; even +the dogs ceased to howl, and in the city men stood still afeared. +Then, from far away, there came the ghostly music of the sistra. Faint +it was at first, but ever as it came it grew more loud, till the air +shivered with the unearthly sound of terror. I said naught, but +pointed with my hand toward the sky. And behold! bosomed upon the air, +floated a vast veiled Shape that, heralded by the swelling music of +the sistra, drew slowly near, till its shadow lay upon us. It came, it +passed, it went toward the camp of Cęsar, till at length the music +died away, and the awful Shape was swallowed in the night. + +"It is Bacchus!" cried one. "Bacchus, who leaves lost Antony!" and, as +he spoke, there rose a groan of terror from all the camp. + +But I knew that it was not Bacchus, the false God, but the Divine Isis +who deserted Khem, and, passing over the edge of the world, sought her +home in space, to be no more known of men. For though her worship is +still upheld, though still she is here and in all Earths, Isis +manifests herself no more in Egypt. I hid my face and prayed, but when +I lifted it from my robe, lo! all had fled and I was alone. + + + +CHAPTER VII + +OF THE SURRENDER OF THE TROOPS AND FLEET OF ANTONY BEFORE +THE CANOPIC GATE; OF THE END OF ANTONY, AND OF THE BREWING OF +THE DRAUGHT OF DEATH + +On the morrow, at dawn, Antony came forth and gave command that his +fleet should advance against the fleet of Cęsar, and that his cavalry +should open the land-battle with the cavalry of Cęsar. Accordingly, +the fleet advanced in a triple line, and the fleet of Cęsar came out +to meet it. But when they met, the galleys of Antony lifted their oars +in greeting, and passed over to the galleys of Cęsar; and they sailed +away together. And the cavalry of Antony rode forth beyond the +Hippodrome to charge the cavalry of Cęsar; but when they met, they +lowered their swords and passed over to the camp of Cęsar, deserting +Antony. Then Antony grew mad with rage and terrible to see. He shouted +to his legions to stand firm and wait attack; and for a little while +they stood. One man, however--that same officer who would have slain +me on the yesternight--strove to fly; but Antony seized him with his +own hand, threw him to the earth, and, springing from his horse, drew +his sword to slay him. He held his sword on high, while the man, +covering his face, awaited death. But Antony dropped his sword and +bade him rise. + +"Go!" he said. "Go to Cęsar, and prosper! I did love thee once. Why, +then, among so many traitors, should I single thee out for death?" + +The man rose and looked upon him sorrowfully. Then, shame overwhelming +him, with a great cry he tore open his shirt of mail, plunged his +sword into his own heart and fell down dead. Antony stood and gazed at +him, but he said never a word. Meanwhile the ranks of Cęsar's legions +drew near, and so soon as they crossed spears the legions of Antony +turned and fled. Then the soldiers of Cęsar stood still mocking them; +but scarce a man was slain, for they pursued not. + +"Fly, Lord Antony! fly!" cried Eros, his servant, who alone with me +stayed by him. "Fly ere thou art dragged a prisoner to Cęsar!" + +So he turned and fled, groaning heavily. I went with him, and as we +rode through the Canopic gate, where many folk stood wondering, Antony +spoke to me: + +"Go, thou, Olympus; go to the Queen and say: 'Antony sends greeting to +Cleopatra, who hath betrayed him! To Cleopatra he sends greeting and +farewell!'" + +And so I went to the tomb, but Antony fled to the palace. When I came +to the tomb I knocked upon the door, and Charmion looked forth from +the window. + +"Open," I cried, and she opened. + +"What news, Harmachis?" she whispered. + +"Charmion," I said, "the end is at hand. Antony is fled!" + +"It is well," she answered; "I am aweary." + +And there on her golden bed sat Cleopatra. + +"Speak, man!" she cried. + +"Antony has fled, his forces are fled, Cęsar draws near. To Cleopatra +the great Antony sends greeting and farewell. Greeting to Cleopatra +who betrayed him, and farewell." + +"It is a lie!" she screamed; "I betrayed him not! Thou, Olympus, go +swiftly to Antony and answer thus: 'To Antony, Cleopatra, who hath not +betrayed him, sends greeting and farewell. Cleopatra is no more.'" + +And so I went, following out my purpose. In the Alabaster Hall I found +Antony pacing to and fro, tossing his hands toward heaven, and with +him Eros, for of all his servants Eros alone remained by this fallen +man. + +"Lord Antony," I said, "Egypt bids thee farewell. Egypt is dead by her +own hand." + +"Dead! dead!" he whispered, "and is Egypt dead? and is that form of +glory now food for worms? Oh, what a woman was this! E'en now my heart +goes out towards her. And shall she outdo me at the last, I who have +been so great; shall I become so small that a woman can overtop my +courage and pass where I fear to follow? Eros, thou hast loved me from +a boy--mindest thou how I found thee starving in the desert, and made +thee rich, giving thee place and wealth? Come, now pay me back. Draw +that sword thou wearest and make an end of the woes of Antony." + +"Oh, Sire," cried the Greek, "I cannot! How can I take away the life +of godlike Antony?" + +"Answer me not, Eros; but in the last extreme of fate this I charge +thee. Do thou my bidding, or begone and leave me quite alone! No more +will I see thy face, thou unfaithful servant!" + +Then Eros drew his sword and Antony knelt before him and bared his +breast, turning his eyes to heaven. But Eros, crying "I cannot! oh, I +cannot!" plunged the sword to his own heart, and fell dead. + +Antony rose and gazed upon him. "Why, Eros, that was nobly done," he +said. "Thou art greater than I, yet I have learned thy lesson!" and he +knelt down and kissed him. + +Then, rising of a sudden, he drew the sword from the heart of Eros, +plunged it into his bowels, and fell, groaning, on the couch. + +"O thou, Olympus," he cried, "this pain is more than I can bear! Make +an end of me, Olympus!" + +But pity stirred me, and I could not do this thing. + +Therefore I drew the sword from his vitals, staunched the flow of +blood, and, calling to those who came crowding in to see Antony die, I +bade them summon Atoua from my house at the palace gates. Presently +she came, bringing with her simples and life-giving draughts. These I +gave to Antony, and bade Atoua go with such speed as her old limbs +might to Cleopatra, in the tomb, and tell her of the state of Antony. + +So she went, and after a while returned, saying that the Queen yet +lived and summoned Antony to die in her arms. And with her came +Diomedes. When Antony heard, his ebbing strength came back, for he was +fain to look upon Cleopatra's face again. So I called to the slaves-- +who peeped and peered through curtains and from behind pillars to see +this great man die--and together, with much toil, we bore him thence +till we came to the foot of the Mausoleum. + +But Cleopatra, being afraid of treachery, would no more throw wide the +door; so she let down a rope from the window and we made it fast +beneath the arms of Antony. Then did Cleopatra, who the while wept +most bitterly, together with Charmion and Iras the Greek, pull on the +rope with all their strength, while we lifted from below till the +dying Antony swung in the air, groaning heavily, and the blood dropped +from his gaping wound. Twice he nearly fell to earth: but Cleopatra, +striving with the strength of love and of despair, held him till at +length she drew him through the windowplace, while all who saw the +dreadful sight wept bitterly, and beat their breasts--all save myself +and Charmion. + +When he was in, once more the rope was let down, and, with some aid +from Charmion, I climbed into the tomb, drawing up the rope after me. +There I found Antony, laid upon the golden bed of Cleopatra; and she, +her breast bare, her face stained with tears, and her hair streaming +wildly about him, knelt at his side and kissed him, wiping the blood +from his wounds with her robes and hair. And let all my shame be +written: as I stood and watched her the old love awoke once more +within me, and mad jealousy raged in my heart because--though I could +destroy these twain--I could not destroy their love. + +"O Antony! my Sweet, my Husband, and my God!" she moaned. "Cruel +Antony, hast thou the heart to die and leave me to my lonely shame? I +will follow thee swiftly to the grave. Antony, awake! awake!" + +He lifted up his head and called for wine, which I gave him, mixing +therein a draught that might allay his pain, for it was great. And +when he had drunk he bade Cleopatra lie down on the bed beside him, +and put her arms about him; and this she did. Then was Antony once +more a man; for, forgetting his own misery and pain, he counselled her +as to her own safety: but to this talk she would not listen. + +"The hour is short," she said; "let us speak of this great love of +ours that hath been so long and may yet endure beyond the coasts of +Death. Mindest thou that night when first thou didst put thine arms +about me and call me 'Love'? Oh! happy, happy night! Having known that +night it is well to have lived--even to this bitter end!" + +"Ay, Egypt, I mind it well and dwell upon its memory, though from that +hour fortune has fled from me--lost in my depth of love for thee, thou +Beautiful. I mind it!" he gasped; "then didst thou drink the pearl in +wanton play, and then did that astrologer of thine call out his hour-- +'The hour of the coming of the curse of Menkau-ra.' Through all the +after-days those words have haunted me, and now at the last they ring +in my ears." + +"He is long dead, my love," she whispered. + +"If he be dead, then I am near him. What meant he?" + +"He is dead, the accursed man!--no more of him! Oh! turn and kiss me, +for thy face grows white. The end is near!" + +He kissed her on the lips, and for a little while so they stayed, to +the moment of death, babbling their passion in each other's ears, like +lovers newly wed. Even to my jealous heart, it was a strange and awful +thing to see. + + + +Presently, I saw the Change of Death gather on his face. His head fell +back. + +"Farewell, Egypt; farewell!--I die!" + +Cleopatra lifted herself upon her hands, gazed wildly on his ashen +face, and then, with a great cry, she sank back swooning. + + + +But Antony yet lived, though the power of speech had left him. Then I +drew near and, kneeling, made pretence to minister to him. And as I +ministered I whispered in his ear: + +"Antony," I whispered, "Cleopatra was my love before she passed from +me to thee. I am Harmachis, that astrologer who stood behind thy couch +at Tarsus; and I have been the chief minister of thy ruin. + +"/Die, Antony!--the curse of Menkau-ra hath fallen!/" + +He raised himself, and stared upon my face. He could not speak, but, +gibbering, he pointed at me. Then with a groan his spirit fled. + +Thus did I accomplish my revenge upon Roman Antony, the World-loser. + + + +Thereafter, we recovered Cleopatra from her swoon, for not yet was I +minded that she should die. And taking the body of Antony, Cęsar +permitting, I and Atoua caused it to be most skilfully embalmed after +our Egyptian fashion, covering the face with a mask of gold fashioned +like to the features of Antony. Also I wrote upon his breast his name +and titles, and painted his name and the name of his father within his +inner coffin, and drew the form of the Holy Nout folding her wings +about him. + +Then with great pomp Cleopatra laid him in that sepulchre which had +been made ready, and in a sarcophagus of alabaster. Now, this +sarcophagus was fashioned so large that place was left in it for a +second coffin, for Cleopatra would lie by Antony at the last. + +These things then happened. And but a little while after I learned +tidings from one Cornelius Dolabella, a noble Roman who waited upon +Cęsar, and, moved by the beauty that swayed the souls of all who +looked upon her, had pity for the woes of Cleopatra. He bade me warn +her--for, as her physician, it was allowed me to pass in and out of +the tomb where she dwelt--that in three days she would be sent away to +Rome, together with her children, save Cęsarion, whom Octavian had +already slain, that she might walk in the triumph of Cęsar. +Accordingly I went in, and found her sitting, as now she always sat, +plunged in a half stupor, and before her that blood-stained robe with +which she had staunched the wounds of Antony. For on this she would +continually feast her eyes. + +"See how faint they grow, Olympus," she said, lifting her sad face and +pointing to the rusty stains, "and he so lately dead! Why, Gratitude +could not fade more fast. What is now thy news? Evil tidings is writ +large in those dark eyes of thine, which ever bring back to me +something that still slips my mind." + +"The news is ill, O Queen," I answered. "I have this from the lips of +Dolabella, who has it straight from Cęsar's secretary. On the third +day from now Cęsar will send thee and the Princes Ptolemy and +Alexander and the Princess Cleopatra to Rome, there to feast the eyes +of the Roman mob, and be led in triumph to that Capitol where thou +didst swear to set thy throne!" + +"Never, never!" she cried, springing to her feet. "Never will I walk +in chains in Cęsar's triumph! What must I do? Charmion, tell me what I +can do!" + +And Charmion, rising, stood before her, looking at her through the +long lashes of her downcast eyes. + +"Lady, thou canst die," she said quietly. + +"Ay, of a truth I had forgotten; I can die. Olympus, hast thou the +drug?" + +"Nay; but if the Queen wills it, by to-morrow morn it shall be brewed +--a drug so swift and strong that not the Gods themselves can hold him +who drinks it back from sleep." + +"Let it be made ready, thou Master of Death!" + +I bowed, and withdrew myself; and all that night I and old Atoua +laboured at the distilling of the deadly draught. At length it was +done, and Atoua poured it into a crystal phial, and held it to the +light of the fire; for it was white as the purest water. + +"/La! la!/" she sang, in her shrill voice; "a drink for a Queen! When +fifty drops of that water of my brewing have passed those red lips of +hers, thou wilt indeed be avenged of Cleopatra, O Harmachis! Ah, that +I could be there to see thy Ruin ruined! /La! la!/ it would be sweet +to see!" + +"Vengeance is an arrow that oft-times falls upon the archer's head," I +answered, bethinking me of Charmion's saying. + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +OF THE LAST SUPPER OF CLEOPATRA; OF THE SONG OF CHARMION; +OF THE DRINKING OF THE DRAUGHT OF DEATH; OF THE REVEALING OF HARMACHIS; +OF THE SUMMONING OF THE SPIRITS BY HARMACHIS; +AND OF THE DEATH OF CLEOPATRA + +On the morrow Cleopatra, having sought leave of Cęsar, visited the +tomb of Antony, crying that the Gods of Egypt had deserted her. And +when she had kissed the coffin and covered it with lotus-flowers she +came back, bathed, anointed herself, put on her most splendid robes, +and, together with Iras, Charmion, and myself, she supped. Now as she +supped her spirit flared up wildly, even as the sky lights up at +sunset; and once more she laughed and sparkled as in bygone years, +telling us tales of feasts which she and Antony had eaten of. Never, +indeed, did I see her look more beauteous than on that last fatal +night of vengeance. And thus her mind drew on to that supper at Tarsus +when she drank the pearl. + +"Strange," she said; "strange that at the last the mind of Antony +should have turned back to that night among all the nights and to the +saying of Harmachis. Charmion, dost thou remember Harmachis the +Egyptian?" + +"Surely, O Queen," she answered slowly. + +"And who, then, was Harmachis?" I asked; for I would learn if she +sorrowed o'er my memory. + +"I will tell thee. It is a strange tale, and now that all is done it +may well be told. This Harmachis was of the ancient race of the +Pharaohs, and, having, indeed, been crowned in secret at Abydus, was +sent hither to Alexandria to carry out a great plot that had been +formed against the rule of us royal Lagidę. He came and gained entry +to the palace as my astrologer, for he was very learned in all magic-- +much as thou art, Olympus--and a man beautiful to see. Now this was +his plot--that he should slay me and be named Pharaoh. In truth it was +a strong one, for he had many friends in Egypt, and I had few. And on +that very night when he should carry out his purpose, yea, at the very +hour, came Charmion yonder, and told the plot to me; saying that she +had chanced upon its clue. But, in after days--though I have said +little thereon to thee, Charmion--I misdoubted me much of that tale of +thine; for, by the Gods! to this hour I believe that thou didst love +Harmachis, and because he scorned thee thou didst betray him; and for +that cause also hast all thy days remained a maid, which is a thing +unnatural. Come, Charmion, tell us; for naught matters now at the +end." + +Charmion shivered and made answer: "It is true, O Queen; I also was of +the plot, and because Harmachis scorned me I betrayed him; and because +of my great love for him I have remained unwed." And she glanced up at +me and caught my eyes, then let the modest lashes veil her own. + +"So! I thought it. Strange are the ways of women! But little cause, +methinks, had that Harmachis to thank thee for thy love. What sayest +thou, Olympus? Ah, and so thou also wast a traitor, Charmion? How +dangerous are the paths which Monarchs tread! Well, I forgive thee, +for thou hast served me faithfully since that hour. + +"But to my tale. Harmachis I dared not slay, lest his great party +should rise in fury and cast me from the throne. And now mark the +issue. Though he must murder me, in secret this Harmachis loved me, +and something thereof I guessed. I had striven a little to draw him to +me, for the sake of his beauty and his wit; and for the love of man +Cleopatra never strove in vain. Therefore when, with the dagger in his +robe, he came to slay me, I matched my charms against his will, and +need I tell you, being man and woman, how I won? Oh, never can I +forget the look in the eyes of that fallen prince, that forsworn +priest, that discrowned Pharaoh, when, lost in the poppied draught, I +saw him sink into a shameful sleep whence he might no more wake with +honour! And, thereafter--till, in the end, I wearied of him, and his +sad learned mind, for his guilty soul forbade him to be gay--a little +I came to care for him, though not to love. But he--he who loved me-- +clung to me as a drunkard to the cup which ruins him. Deeming that I +should wed him, he betrayed to me the secret of the hidden wealth of +the pyramid of /Her/--for at the time I much needed treasure--and +together we dared the terrors of the tomb and drew it forth, even from +dead Pharaoh's breast. See, this emerald was a part thereof!"--and she +pointed to the great scarabęus that she had drawn from the holy heart +of Menkau-ra. + +"And because of what was written in the tomb, and of that Thing which +we saw in the tomb--ah, pest upon it! why does its memory haunt me +now?--and also because of policy, for I would fain have won the love +of the Egyptians, I was minded to marry this Harmachis and declare his +place and lineage to the world--ay, and by his aid hold Egypt from the +Roman. For Dellius had then come to call me to Antony, and after much +thought I determined to send him back with sharp words. But on that +very morning, as I tired me for the Court, came Charmion yonder, and I +told her this, for I would see how the matter fell upon her mind. Now +mark, Olympus, the power of jealousy, that little wedge which yet has +strength to rend the tree of Empire, that secret sword which can carve +the fate of Kings! This she could in no wise bear--deny it, Charmion, +if thou canst, for now it is clear to me!--that the man she loved +should be given to me as husband--me, whom /he/ loved! And therefore, +with more skill and wit than I can tell, she reasoned with me, showing +that I should by no means do this thing, but journey to Antony; and +for that, Charmion, I thank thee, now that all is come and gone. And +by a very little, her words weighed down my scale of judgment against +Harmachis, and I went to Antony. Thus it is through the jealous spleen +of yonder fair Charmion and the passion of a man on which I played as +on a lyre, that all these things have come to pass. For this cause +Octavian sits a King in Alexandria; for this cause Antony is +discrowned and dead; and for this cause I, too, must die to-night! Ah! +Charmion! Charmion! thou hast much to answer, for thou hast changed +the story of the world; and yet, even now--I would not have it +otherwise!" + +She paused awhile, covering her eyes with her hand; and, looking, I +saw great tears upon the cheek of Charmion. + +"And of this Harmachis," I asked; "where is he now, O Queen?" + +"Where is he? In Amenti, forsooth--making his peace with Isis, +perchance. At Tarsus I saw Antony, and loved him; and from that moment +I loathed the sight of the Egyptian, and swore to make an end of him; +for a lover done with should be a lover dead. And, being jealous, he +spoke some words of evil omen, even at that Feast of the Pearl; and on +the same night I would have slain him, but before the deed was done, +he was gone." + +"And whither was he gone?" + +"Nay; that know not I. Brennus--he who led my guard, and last year +sailed North to join his own people--Brennus swore he saw him float to +the skies; but in this matter I misdoubted me of Brennus, for methinks +he loved the man. Nay, he sank off Cyprus, and was drowned; perchance +Charmion can tell us how?" + +"I can tell thee nothing, O Queen; Harmachis is lost." + +"And well lost, Charmion, for he was an evil man to play with--ay, +although I bettered him I say it! Well he served my purpose; but I +loved him not, and even now I fear him; for it seemed to me that I +heard his voice summoning me to fly, through the din of the fight at +Actium. Thanks be to the Gods, as thou sayest, he is lost, and can no +more be found." + + + +But I, listening, put forth my strength, and, by the arts I have, cast +the shadow of my Spirit upon the Spirit of Cleopatra so that she felt +the presence of the lost Harmachis. + +"Nay, what is it?" she said. "By Serapis! I grow afraid! It seems to +me that I feel Harmachis here! His memory overwhelms me like a flood +of waters, and he these ten years dead! Oh! at such a time it is +unholy!" + +"Nay, O Queen," I answered, "if he be dead then he is everywhere, and +well at such a time--the time of thy own death--may his Spirit draw +near to welcome thine at its going." + +"Speak not thus, Olympus. I would see Harmachis no more; the count +between us is too heavy, and in another world than this more evenly, +perchance should we be matched. Ah, the terror passes! I was but +unnerved. Well the fool's story hath served to wile away the heaviest +of our hours, the hour which ends in death. Sing to me, Charmion, +sing, for thy voice is very sweet, and I would soothe my soul to +sleep. The memory of that Harmachis has wrung me strangely! Sing, +then, the last song I shall hear from those tuneful lips of thine, the +last of so many songs." + +"It is a sad hour for song, O Queen!" said Charmion; but, +nevertheless, she took her harp and sang. And thus she sang, very soft +and low, the dirge of the sweet-tongued Syrian Meleager: + + Tears for my lady dead, + Heliodore! + Salt tears and strange to shed, + Over and o'er; + Go tears and low lament + Fare from her tomb, + Wend where my lady went, + Down through the gloom-- + Sighs for my lady dead, + Tears do I send, + Long love remembered, + Mistress and friend! + Sad are the songs we sing, + Tears that we shed, + Empty the gifts we bring-- + Gifts to the dead! + Ah, for my flower, my Love, + Hades hath taken, + Ah, for the dust above, + Scattered and shaken! + Mother of blade and grass, + Earth, in thy breast + Lull her that gentlest was, + Gently to rest! + +The music of her voice died away, and it was so sweet and sad that +Iras began to weep and the bright tears stood in Cleopatra's stormy +eyes. Only I wept not; my tears were dry. + +"'Tis a heavy song of thine, Charmion," said the Queen. "Well, as thou +saidst, it is a sad hour for song, and thy dirge is fitted to the +hour. Sing it over me once again when I lie dead, Charmion. And now +farewell to music, and on to the end. Olympus, take yonder parchment +and write what I shall say." + +I took the parchment and the reed, and wrote thus in the Roman tongue: + + "Cleopatra to Octavianus, greeting. + + "This is the state of life. At length there comes an hour when, + rather than endure those burdens that overwhelm us, putting off + the body we would take wing into forgetfulness. Cęsar, thou hast + conquered: take thou the spoils of victory. But in thy triumph + Cleopatra cannot walk. When all is lost, then we must go to seek + the lost. Thus in the desert of Despair the brave do harvest + Resolution. Cleopatra hath been great as Antony was great, nor + shall her fame be minished in the manner of her end. Slaves live + to endure their wrong; but Princes, treading with a firmer step, + pass through the gates of Wrong into the royal Dwellings of the + Dead. This only doth Egypt ask of Cęsar--that he suffer her to lie + in the tomb of Antony. Farewell!" + +This I wrote, and having sealed the writing, Cleopatra bade me go find +a messenger, despatch it to Cęsar, and then return. So I went, and at +the door of the tomb I called a soldier who was not on duty, and, +giving him money, bade him take the letter to Cęsar. Then I went back, +and there in the chamber the three women stood in silence, Cleopatra +clinging to the arm of Iras, and Charmion a little apart watching the +twain. + +"If indeed thou art minded to make an end, O Queen," I said, "the time +is short, for presently Cęsar will send his servants in answer to thy +letter," and I drew forth the phial of white and deadly bane and set +it upon the board. + +She took it in her hand and gazed thereon. "How innocent it seems!" +she said; "and yet therein lies my death. 'Tis strange." + +"Ay, Queen, and the death of ten other folk. No need to take so long a +draught." + +"I fear," she gasped--"how know I that it will slay outright? I have +seen so many die by poison and scarce one has died outright. And some +--ah, I cannot think on them!" + +"Fear not," I said, "I am a master of my craft. Or, if thou dost fear, +cast this poison forth and live. In Rome thou mayst still find +happiness; ay, in Rome, where thou shalt walk in Cęsar's triumph, +while the laughter of the hard-eyed Latin women shall chime down the +music of thy golden chains." + +"Nay, I will die, Olympus. Oh, if one would but show the path." + +Then Iras loosed her hand and stepped forward. "Give me the draught, +Physician," she said. "I go to make ready for my Queen." + +"It is well," I answered; "on thy own head be it!" and I poured from +the phial into a little golden goblet. + +She raised it, curtsied low to Cleopatra, then, coming forward, kissed +her on the brow, and Charmion she also kissed. This done, tarrying not +and making no prayer, for Iras was a Greek, she drank, and, putting +her hand to her head, instantly fell down and died. + +"Thou seest," I said, breaking in upon the silence, "it is swift." + +"Ay, Olympus; thine is a master drug! Come now, I thirst; fill me the +bowl, lest Iras weary in waiting at the gates!" + +So I poured afresh into the goblet; but this time, making pretence to +rinse the cup, I mixed a little water with the bane, for I was not +minded that she should die before she knew me. + +Then did the royal Cleopatra, taking the goblet in her hand, turn her +lovely eyes to heaven and cry aloud: + +"O ye Gods of Egypt! who have deserted me, to you no longer will I +pray, for your ears are shut unto my crying and your eyes blind to my +griefs! Therefore, I make entreaty of that last friend whom the Gods, +departing, leave to helpless man. Sweep hither, Death, whose winnowing +wings enshadow all the world, and give me ear! Draw nigh, thou King of +Kings! who, with an equal hand, bringest the fortunate head of one +pillow with the slave, and by thy spiritual breath dost waft the +bubble of our life far from this hell of earth! Hide me where winds +blow not and waters cease to roll; where wars are done and Cęsar's +legions cannot march! Take me to a new dominion, and crown me Queen of +Peace! Thou art my Lord, O Death, and in thy kiss I have conceived. I +am in labour of a Soul: see--it stands new-born upon the edge of Time! +Now--now--go, Life! Come, Sleep! Come, Antony!" + +And, with one glance to heaven, she drank, and cast the goblet to the +ground. + + + +Then at last came the moment of my pent-up vengeance, and of the +vengeance of Egypt's outraged Gods, and of the falling of the curse of +Menkau-ra. + +"What's this?" she cried; "I grow cold, but I die not! Thou dark +physician, thou hast betrayed me!" + +"Peace, Cleopatra! Presently shalt thou die and know the fury of the +Gods! /The curse of Menkau-ra hath fallen!/ It is finished! Look upon +me, woman! Look upon this marred face, this twisted form, this living +mass of sorrow! /Look! look!/ Who am I?" + +She stared upon me wildly. + +"Oh! oh!" she shrieked, throwing up her arms; "at last I know thee! By +the Gods, thou art Harmachis!--Harmachis risen from the dead!" + +"Ay, Harmachis risen from the dead to drag thee down to death and +agony eternal! See, thou Cleopatra; /I/ have ruined thee as thou didst +ruin me! I, working in the dark, and helped of the angry Gods, have +been thy secret spring of woe! I filled thy heart with fear at Actium; +I held the Egyptians from thy aid; I sapped the strength of Antony; I +showed the portent of the Gods unto thy captains! By my hand at length +thou diest, for I am the instrument of Vengeance! Ruin I pay thee back +for ruin, Treachery for treachery, Death for death! Come hither, +Charmion, partner of my plots, who betrayed me, but, repenting, art +the sharer of my triumph, come watch this fallen wanton die!" + +Cleopatra heard, and sank back upon the golden bed, groaning "And +thou, too, Charmion!" + +A moment so she sat, then her Imperial spirit burnt up glorious before +she died. + +She staggered from the bed, and, with arms outstretched, she cursed +me. + +"Oh! for one hour of life!" she cried--"one short hour, that therein I +might make thee die in such fashion as thou canst not dream, thou and +that false paramour of thine, who betrayed both me and thee! And thou +didst love me! Ah, /there/ I have thee still! See, thou subtle, +plotting priest"--and with both hands she rent back the royal robes +from her bosom--"see, on this fair breast once night by night thy head +was pillowed, and thou didst sleep wrapped in these same arms. Now, +put away their memory /if thou canst!/ I read it in thine eyes--that +mayst thou not! No torture which I bear can, in its sum, draw nigh to +the rage of that deep soul of thine, rent with longings never, never +to be reached! Harmachis, thou slave of slaves, from thy triumph- +depths I snatch a deeper triumph, and conquered yet I conquer! I spit +upon thee--I defy thee--and, dying, doom thee to the torment of thy +deathless love! O Antony! I come, my Antony!--I come to thy own dear +arms! Soon I shall find thee, and, wrapped in a love undying and +divine, together we will float through all the depths of space, and, +lips to lips and eyes to eyes, drink of desires grown more sweet with +every draught! Or if I find thee not, then I shall sink in peace down +the poppied ways of Sleep: and for me the breast of Night, whereon I +shall be softly cradled, will yet seem thy bosom, Antony! Oh, I die!-- +come, Antony--and give me peace!" + +Even in my fury I had quailed beneath her scorn, for home flew the +arrows of her winged words. Alas! and alas! it was /true/--the shaft +of my vengeance fell upon my own head; never had I loved her as I +loved her now. My soul was rent with jealous torture, and thus I swore +she should not die. + +"Peace!" I cried; "what peace is there for thee? Oh! ye Holy Three, +hear now my prayer. Osiris, loosen Thou the bonds of Hell and send +forth those whom I shall summon! Come Ptolemy, poisoned of thy sister +Cleopatra; come Arsinoė, murdered in the sanctuary by thy sister +Cleopatra; come Sepa, tortured to death of Cleopatra; come Divine +Menkau-ra, whose body Cleopatra tore and whose curse she braved for +greed; come one, come all who have died at the hands of Cleopatra! +Rush from the breast of Nout and greet her who murdered you! By the +link of mystic union, by the symbol of the Life, Spirits, I summon +you!" + +Thus I spoke the spell; while Charmion, affrighted, clung to my robe, +and the dying Cleopatra, resting on her hands, swung slowly to and +fro, gazing with vacant eyes. + +Then the answer came. The casement burst asunder, and on flittering +wings that great bat entered which last I had seen hanging to the +eunuch's chin in the womb of the pyramid of /Her/. Thrice it circled +round, once it hovered o'er dead Iras, then flew to where the dying +woman stood. To her it flew, on her breast it settled, clinging to +that emerald which was dragged from the dead heart of Menkau-ra. +Thrice the grey Horror screamed aloud, thrice it beat its bony wings, +and lo! it was gone. + +Then suddenly within that chamber sprang up the Shapes of Death. There +was Arsinoė, the beautiful, even as she had shrunk beneath the +butcher's knife. There was young Ptolemy, his features twisted by the +poisoned cup. There was the majesty of Menkau-ra, crowned with the +uręus crown; there was grave Sepa, his flesh all torn by the +torturer's hooks; there were those poisoned slaves; and there were +others without number, shadowy and dreadful to behold! who, thronging +that narrow chamber, stood silently fixing their glassy eyes upon the +face of her who slew them! + + + +"Behold! Cleopatra!" I said. "/Behold thy peace, and die!/" + +"Ay!" said Charmion. "Behold and die! thou who didst rob me of my +honour, and Egypt of her King!" + + + +She looked, she saw the awful Shapes--her Spirit, hurrying from the +flesh, mayhap could hear words to which my ears were deaf. Then her +face sank in with terror, her great eyes grew pale, and, shrieking, +Cleopatra fell and died: passing, with that dread company, to her +appointed place. + + + +Thus, then, I, Harmachis, fed my soul with vengeance, fulfilling the +justice of the Gods, and yet knew myself empty of all joy therein. For +though that thing we worship doth bring us ruin, and Love being more +pitiless than Death, we in turn do pay all our sorrow back; yet we +must worship on, yet stretch out our arms towards our lost Desire, and +pour our heart's blood upon the shrine of our discrowned God. + +For Love is of the Spirit, and knows not Death. + + + +CHAPTER IX + +OF THE FAREWELL OF CHARMION; OF THE DEATH OF CHARMION; OF +THE DEATH OF THE OLD WIFE, ATOUA; OF THE COMING OF HARMACHIS +TO ABOUTHIS; OF HIS CONFESSION IN THE HALL OF SIX-AND-THIRTY +PILLARS; AND OF THE DECLARING OF THE DOOM OF HARMACHIS + +Charmion unclasped my arm, to which she had clung in terror. + +"Thy vengeance, thou dark Harmachis," she said, in a hoarse voice, "is +a thing hideous to behold! O lost Egypt, with all thy sins thou wast +indeed a Queen! + +"Come, aid me, Prince; let us stretch this poor clay upon the bed and +deck it royally, so that it may give its dumb audience to the +messengers of Cęsar as becomes the last of Egypt's Queens." + +I spoke no word in answer, for my heart was very heavy, and now that +all was done I was weary. Together, then, we lifted up the body and +laid it on the golden bed. Charmion placed the uręus crown upon the +ivory brow, and combed the night-dark hair that showed never a thread +of silver, and, for the last time, shut those eyes wherein had shone +all the changing glories of the sea. She folded the chill hands upon +the breast whence Passion's breath had fled, and straightened the bent +knees beneath the broidered robe, and by the head set flowers. And +there at length Cleopatra lay, more splendid now in her cold majesty +of death than in her richest hour of breathing beauty! + +We drew back and looked on her, and on dead Iras at her feet. + +"It is done!" quoth Charmion; "we are avenged, and now, Harmachis, +dost follow by this same road?" And she nodded towards the phial on +the board. + +"Nay, Charmion. I fly--I fly to a heavier death! Not thus easily may I +end my space of earthly penance." + +"So be it, Harmachis! And I, Harmachis--I fly also, but with swifter +wings. My game is played. I, too, have made atonement. Oh! what a +bitter fate is mine, to have brought misery on all I love, and, in the +end, to die unloved! To thee I have atoned; to my angered Gods I have +atoned; and now I go to find a way whereby I may atone to Cleopatra in +that Hell where she is, and which I must share! For she loved me well, +Harmachis; and, now that she is dead, methinks that, after thee, I +loved her best of all. So of her cup and the cup of Iras I will surely +drink!" And she took the phial, and with a steady hand poured what was +left of the poison into the goblet. + +"Bethink thee, Charmion," I said; "yet mayst thou live for many years, +hiding these sorrows beneath the withered days." + +"Yet I may, but I will not! To live the prey of so many memories, the +fount of an undying shame that night by night, as I lie sleepless, +shall well afresh from my sorrow-stricken heart!--to live torn by a +love I cannot lose!--to stand alone like some storm-twisted tree, and, +sighing day by day to the winds of heaven, gaze upon the desert of my +life, while I wait the lingering lightning's stroke--nay, that will +not I, Harmachis! I had died long since, but I lived on to serve thee; +now no more thou needest me, and I go. Oh, fare thee well!--for ever +fare thee well! For not again shall I look again upon thy face, and +there I go thou goest not! For thou dost not love me who still dost +love that queenly woman thou hast hounded to the death! Her thou shalt +never win, and I thee shall never win, and this is the bitter end of +Fate! See, Harmachis: I ask one boon before I go and for all time +become naught to thee but a memory of shame. Tell me that thou dost +forgive me so far as thine is to forgive, and in token thereof kiss me +--with no lover's kiss, but kiss me on the brow, and bid me pass in +peace." + +And she drew near to me with arms outstretched and pitiful trembling +lips and gazed upon my face. + +"Charmion," I answered, "we are free to act for good or evil, and yet +methinks there is a Fate above our fate, that, blowing from some +strange shore, compels our little sails of purpose, set them as we +will, and drives us to destruction. I forgive thee, Charmion, as I +trust in turn to be forgiven, and by this kiss, the first and the +last, I seal our peace." And with my lips I touched her brow. + +She spoke no more; only for a little while she stood gazing on me with +sad eyes. Then she lifted the goblet, and said: + +"Royal Harmachis, in this deadly cup I pledge thee! Would that I had +drunk of it ere ever I looked upon thy face! Pharaoh, who, thy sins +outworn, yet shalt rule in perfect peace o'er worlds I may not tread, +who yet shalt sway a kinglier sceptre than that I robbed thee of, for +ever, fare thee well!" + +She drank, cast down the cup, and for a moment stood with the wide +eyes of one who looks for Death. Then He came, and Charmion the +Egyptian fell prone upon the floor, dead. And for a moment more I +stood alone with the dead. + +I crept to the side of Cleopatra, and, now that none were left to see, +I sat down on the bed and laid her head upon my knee, as once before +it had been laid in that night of sacrilege beneath the shadow of the +everlasting pyramid. Then I kissed her chill brow and went from the +House of Death--avenged, but sorely smitten with despair! + + + +"Physician," said the officer of the Guard as I went through the +gates, "what passes yonder in the Monument? Methought I heard the +sounds of death." + +"Naught passes--all hath passed," I made reply, and went. + +And as I went in the darkness I heard the sound of voices and the +running of the feet of Cęsar's messengers. + +Flying swiftly to my house I found Atoua waiting at the gates. She +drew me into a quiet chamber and closed the doors. + +"Is it done?" she asked, and turned her wrinkled face to mine, while +the lamplight streamed white upon her snowy hair. "Nay, why ask I--I +know that it is done!" + +"Ay, it is done, and well done, old wife! All are dead! Cleopatra, +Iras, Charmion--all save myself!" + +The aged woman drew up her bent form and cried: "Now let me go in +peace, for I have seen my desire upon thy foes and the foes of Khem. +/La! la!/--not in vain have I lived on beyond the years of man! I have +seen my desire upon thy enemies---I have gathered the dews of Death, +and thy foe hath drunk thereof! Fallen is the brow of Pride! the Shame +of Khem is level with the dust! Ah, would that I might have seen that +wanton die!" + +"Cease, woman! cease! The Dead are gathered to the Dead! Osiris holds +them fast, and everlasting silence seals their lips! Pursue not the +fallen great with insults! Up!--let us fly to Abouthis, that all may +be accomplished!" + +"Fly thou, Harmachis!--Harmachis, fly--but I fly not! To this end only +I have lingered on the earth. Now I untie the knot of life and let my +spirit free! Fare thee well, Prince, the pilgrimage is done! +Harmachis, from a babe have I loved thee, and love thee yet!--but no +more in this world may I share thy griefs--I am spent. Osiris, take +thou my Spirit!" and her trembling knees gave way and she sank to the +ground. + +I ran to her side and looked upon her. She was already dead, and I was +alone upon the earth without a friend to comfort me! + +Then I turned and went, no man hindering me, for all was confusion in +the city, and departed from Alexandria in a vessel I had made ready. +On the eighth day, I landed, and, in the carrying out of my purpose, +travelled on foot across the fields to the Holy Shrine of Abouthis. +And here, as I knew, the worship of the Gods had been lately set up +again in the Temple of the Divine Sethi: for Charmion had caused +Cleopatra to repent of her decree of vengeance and to restore the +lands that she had seized, though the treasure she restored not. And +the temple having been purified, now, at the season of the Feast of +Isis, all the High Priests of the ancient Temples of Egypt were +gathered together to celebrate the coming home of the Gods into their +holy place. + +I gained the city. It was on the seventh day of the Feast of Isis. +Even as I came the long array wended through the well-remembered +streets. I joined in the multitude that followed, and with my voice +swelled the chorus of the solemn chant as we passed through the pylons +into the imperishable halls. How well known were the holy words: + + "Softly we tread, our measured footsteps falling + Within the Sanctuary Sevenfold; + Soft on the Dead that liveth are we calling: + 'Return, Osiris, from thy Kingdom cold! + Return to them that worship thee of old!'" + +And then, when the sacred music ceased, as aforetime on the setting of +the majesty of Ra, the High Priest raised the statue of the living God +and held it on high before the multitude. + +With a joyful shout of + + "Osiris! our hope, Osiris! Osiris!" + +the people tore the black wrappings from their dress, showing the +white robes beneath, and, as one man, bowed before the God. + +Then they went to feast each at his home; but I stayed in the court of +the temple. + +Presently a priest of the temple drew near, and asked me of my +business. And I answered him that I came from Alexandria, and would be +led before the council of the High Priests, for I knew that the Holy +Priests were gathered together debating the tidings from Alexandria. + +Thereon the man left, and the High Priests, hearing that I was from +Alexandria, ordered that I should be led into their presence in the +Hall of Columns--and so I was led in. It was already dark, and between +the great pillars lights were set, as on that night when I was crowned +Pharaoh of the Upper and the Lower Land. There, too, was the long line +of Dignitaries seated in their carven chairs, and taking counsel +together. All was the same; the same cold images of Kings and Gods +gazed with the same empty eyes from the everlasting walls. Ay, more; +among those gathered there were five of the very men who, as leaders +of the great plot, had sat here to see me crowned, being the only +conspirators who had escaped the vengeance of Cleopatra and the +clutching hand of Time. + +I took my stand on the spot where once I had been crowned and made me +ready for the last act of shame with such bitterness of heart as +cannot be written. + +"Why, it is the physician Olympus," said one. "He who lived a hermit +in the Tombs of Tįpé, and who but lately was of the household of +Cleopatra. Is it, then, true that the Queen is dead by her own hand, +Physician?" + +"Yea, holy Sirs, I am that physician; also Cleopatra is dead by /my/ +hand." + +"By thy hand? Why, how comes this?--though well is she dead, forsooth, +the wicked wanton!" + +"Your pardon, Sirs, and I will tell you all, for I am come hither to +that end. Perchance among you there may be some--methinks I see some-- +who, nigh eleven years ago, were gathered in this hall to secretly +crown one Harmachis, Pharaoh of Khem?" + +"It is true!" they said; "but how knowest thou these things, thou +Olympus?" + +"Of the rest of those seven-and-thirty nobles," I went on, making no +answer, "are two-and-thirty missing. Some are dead, as Amenemhat is +dead; some are slain, as Sepa is slain; and some, perchance, yet +labour as slaves within the mines, or live afar, fearing vengeance." + +"It is so," they said: "alas! it is so. Harmachis the accursed +betrayed the plot, and sold himself to the wanton Cleopatra!" + +"It is so," I went on, lifting up my head. "Harmachis betrayed the +plot and sold himself to Cleopatra; and, holy Sirs--/I am that +Harmachis!/" + +The Priests and Dignitaries gazed astonished. Some rose and spoke; +some said naught. + +"I am that Harmachis! I am that traitor, trebly steeped in crime!--a +traitor to my Gods, a traitor to my Country, a traitor to my Oath! I +come hither to say that I have done this. I have executed the Divine +vengeance on her who ruined me and gave Egypt to the Roman. And now +that, after years of toil and patient waiting, this is accomplished by +my wisdom and the help of the angry Gods, behold I come with all my +shame upon my head to declare the thing I am, and take the traitor's +guerdon!" + +"Mindest thou of the doom of him who hath broke the oath that may not +be broke?" asked he who first had spoken, in heavy tones. + +"I know it well," I answered; "I court that awful doom." + +"Tell us more of this matter, thou who wast Harmachis." + +So, in cold clear words, I laid bare all my shame, keeping back +nothing. And ever as I spoke I saw their faces grow more hard, and +knew that for me there was no mercy; nor did I ask it, nor, had I +asked, could it have been granted. + +When, at last, I had done, they put me aside while they took counsel. +Then they drew me forth again, and the eldest among them, a man very +old and venerable, the Priest of the Temple of the Divine Hatshepu at +Tįpé, spoke, in icy accents: + +"Thou Harmachis, we have considered this matter. Thou hast sinned the +threefold deadly sin. On thy head lies the burden of the woe of Khem, +this day enthralled of Rome. To Isis, the Mother Mystery, thou hast +offered the deadly insult, and thou hast broken thy holy oath. For all +of these sins there is, as well thou knowest, but one reward, and that +reward is thine. Naught can it weigh in the balance of our justice +that thou hast slain her who was thy cause of stumbling; naught that +thou comest to name thyself the vilest thing who ever stood within +these walls. On thee also must fall the curse of Menkau-ra, thou false +priest! thou forsworn patriot! thou Pharaoh shameful and discrowned! +Here, where we set the Double Crown upon thy head, we doom thee to the +doom! Go to thy dungeon and await the falling of its stroke! Go, +remembering what thou mightest have been and what thou art, and may +those Gods who through thy evil doing shall perchance ere long cease +to be worshipped within these holy temples, give to thee that mercy +which we deny! Lead him forth!" + + + +So they took me and led me forth. With bowed head I went, looking not +up, and yet I felt their eyes burn upon my face. + +Oh! surely of all my shames this is the heaviest! + + + +CHAPTER X + +OF THE LAST WRITING OF HARMACHIS, THE ROYAL EGYPTIAN + +They led me to the prison chamber that is high in the pylon tower and +here I wait my doom. I know not when the sword of Fate shall fall. +Week grows to week, and month to month, and still it is delayed. Still +it quivers unseen above my head. I know that it will fall, but when I +know not. Perchance, I shall wake in some dead hour of midnight to +hear the stealthy steps of the slayers and be hurried forth. +Perchance, they are now at hand. Then will come the secret cell! the +horror! the nameless coffin! and at last it will be done! Oh, let it +come! let it come swiftly! + + + +All is written; I have held back nothing--my sin is sinned--my +vengeance is finished. Now all things end in darkness and in ashes, +and I prepare to face the terrors that are to come in other worlds +than this. I go, but not without hope I go: for, though I see Her not, +though no more She answers to my prayers, still I am aware of the Holy +Isis, who is with me for evermore, and whom I shall yet again behold +face to face. And then at last in that far day I shall find +forgiveness; then the burden of my guilt will roll from me and +innocency come back and wrap me round, bringing me holy Peace. + + + +Oh! dear land of Khem, as in a dream I see thee! I see Nation after +Nation set its standard on thy shores, and its yoke upon thy neck! I +see new Religions without end calling out their truths upon the banks +of Sihor, and summoning thy people to their worship! I see thy temples +--thy holy temples--crumbling in the dust: a wonder to the sight of +men unborn, who shall peer into thy tombs and desecrate the great ones +of thy glory! I see thy mysteries a mockery to the unlearned, and thy +wisdom wasted like waters on the desert sands! I see the Roman Eagles +stoop and perish, their beaks yet red with the blood of men, and the +long lights dancing down the barbarian spears that follow in their +wake! And then, at last, I see Thee once more great, once more free, +and having once more a knowledge of thy Gods--ay, thy Gods with a +changed countenance, and called by other names, but still thy Gods! + + + +The sun sinks over Abouthis. The red rays of Ra flame on temple roofs, +upon green fields, and the wide waters of father Sihor. So as a child +I watched him sink; just so his last kiss touched the further pylon's +frowning brow; just that same shadow lay upon the tombs. All is +unchanged! I--I only am changed--so changed, and yet the same! + + + +Oh, Cleopatra! Cleopatra! thou Destroyer! if I might but tear thy +vision from my heart! Of all my griefs, this is the heaviest grief-- +still must I love thee! Still must I hug this serpent to my heart! +Still in my ears must ring that low laugh of triumph--the murmur of +the falling fountain--the song of the nightinga---- + +[Here the writing on the third roll of papyrus abruptly ends. It would +almost seem that the writer was at this moment broken in upon by those +who came to lead him to his doom.] + + + + + +End of The Project Gutenberg Etext of Cleopatra, by H. Rider Haggard* + |