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diff --git a/42393-8.txt b/42393-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 26c34b3..0000000 --- a/42393-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,17549 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, Sarchedon, by G. J. (George John) -Whyte-Melville, Illustrated by S. E. Waller - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - - - - -Title: Sarchedon - A Legend of the Great Queen - - -Author: G. J. (George John) Whyte-Melville - - - -Release Date: March 23, 2013 [eBook #42393] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SARCHEDON*** - - -E-text prepared by sp1nd, Mary Meehan, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made -available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org) - - - -Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this - file which includes the original illustrations. - See 42393-h.htm or 42393-h.zip: - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42393/42393-h/42393-h.htm) - or - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42393/42393-h.zip) - - - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - https://archive.org/details/sarchedonlegendo00whytrich - - - - - -SARCHEDON - -A Legend of the Great Queen - -by - -G. J. Whyte-Melville - -Author of "Roy's Wife," "Black but Comely," "Market Harborough," -etc. - -Illustrated by S. E. Waller - - - - - - - -London -Ward, Lock & Co., Limited -New York and Melbourne - - * * * * * - - TO - THE RIGHT HONOURABLE - AUSTIN LAYARD, D.C.L., - HER MAJESTY'S MINISTER AT MADRID, - THE - FOLLOWING ROMANCE IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED, - AS A TRIBUTE OF - ADMIRATION TO THE GREAT DISCOVERER, - WHOSE SKILL, COURAGE AND RESEARCH HAVE - EXCAVATED FROM THE DESERT SANDS - THE ARTS, ARMS, AND RECORDS OF A MIGHTY NATION; - WHOSE LEARNING AND PERSEVERANCE - HAVE RESTORED AN IMPORTANT LINK IN THE - WORLD'S HISTORY, - LONG SEVERED IN THE OBLIVION OF THE PAST. - - ONSLOW GARDENS, - _June, 1871_. - - * * * * * - - - - -[Illustration: "THE STARTLED HORSEMAN DREW REIN."] - - - - -CONTENTS - - -The Seven Stars. - - "They watch him who wakes--They watch him who sleeps--him who - speaks--him who is silent--the guilty, the blameless: there is none - on earth who is not watched."--_Bhuddhagosa Proverbs._ - - I. The King of Beasts 9 - - II. Merodach 16 - - III. Semiramis 24 - - IV. The Temple of his God 33 - - V. The Stars in their Courses 40 - - VI. A Dreamer of Dreams 47 - - VII. The King of Nations 55 - - VIII. The Lust of the Eye 63 - - IX. The Pride of Life 71 - - X. A Banquet of Wine 79 - - XI. Like to Like 87 - - XII. The Gods of the Heathen 94 - - XIII. Mother and Son 102 - - XIV. Strong as Death 110 - - XV. The Queen's Petition 118 - - XVI. Cruel as the Grave 125 - - XVII. The Divining Cup 133 - - XVIII. A Lying Spirit 141 - - XIX. The Feast of Baal 148 - - XX. Gone to the Stars 154 - - -Ashtaroth, Queen of Heaven. - - "From love comes grief, from love comes fear; he who is free from - love knows neither grief nor fear."--_Bhuddhagosa Proverbs._ - - XXI. Who is my Brother 162 - - XXII. The House of Bondage 170 - - XXIII. Pharaoh on the Throne 177 - - XXIV. The Captive in the Dungeon 187 - - XXV. The Wisdom of the Egyptians 193 - - XXVI. Deliverance 199 - - XXVII. In the Desert 206 - - XXVIII. A Ride for Life 216 - - XXIX. The City of Refuge 221 - - XXX. Loth 229 - - XXXI. Willing 235 - - XXXII. Bread and Salt 243 - - XXXIII. Parted 250 - - XXXIV. Forlorn 257 - - XXXV. The Lion's Cub 263 - - XXXVI. The Power of the Dog 270 - - XXXVII. The Wings of a Dove 276 - - XXXVIII. Bond and Free 284 - - XXXIX. In the Gate 292 - - XL. Unveiled 298 - - -Nisroch the Avenger. - - "Your sin follows steadily behind, as the cart-wheel follows the - draught-bullock."--_Bhuddhagosa Proverbs._ - - XLI. A Serpent on a Rock 304 - - XLII. Before the Altar 311 - - XLIII. The Snare of the Fowler 317 - - XLIV. The Veiled Queen 325 - - XLV. Aryas the Beautiful 332 - - XLVI. A Wind from the South 339 - - XLVII. The Fenced City 345 - - XLVIII. Sons of the Sword 355 - - XLIX. Faithful unto Death 361 - - L. A Fool in his Folly 365 - - LI. Bow and Spear 372 - - LII. Lost and Won 379 - - LIII. Sharing the Spoil 385 - - LIV. Counting the Cost 392 - - LV. The Voice of the Charmer 398 - - LVI. Requited 405 - - LVII. Betrayed 411 - - LVIII. Who is on my Side 417 - - LIX. Forgiven 424 - - LX. Lost in the Dark 430 - - - - -SARCHEDON - - - - -The Seven Stars - - - - -CHAPTER I - -THE KING OF BEASTS - - -Dying in the desert--stretched, limp and helpless, in the darkening -waste--poured out like water on the tawny sand--two specks poised high -above him in the deeper orange of the upper sky--a wide-winged vulture -hovering and wheeling between the stricken lion and the setting sun. - -Dying in the desert--grim, dignified, unyielding, like a monarch slain -in battle. So formidable in the morning--the herdsman's terror, the -archer's dread, the savage wrestler in whose grasp horse and rider went -down crushed, mangled, over-matched, like sucking fawn and unweaned -child--fierce, tameless, unconquered--a noble adversary for the noblest -champions of the plain--but ere the last red streak of evening faded on -the dusky level of their wilderness, a thing for the foul night-bird to -tear and buffet--for the wild ass, wincing and snorting, half in terror, -half in scorn, to spurn and trample with her hoof. - -Pitiful in its hopelessness, the wistful pleading of eyes gradually -waning to the apathy of death; pitiful the long flickering tongue, -licking with something of a dog's homely patience that fatal gash of -which the pain grew every moment more endurable, only because it was a -death-wound; and pitiful too the utter prostration of those massive -limbs, with knotted muscles and corded sinews--of that long, lean, -tapering body--the very emblem of agile strength--which, striving in -agony to rear but half its height, sank down again in dust, writhing, -powerless, like an earthworm beneath the spade. - -No yell, no moan--only a short quick breathing, a convulsive shiver, and -the occasional effort to rise, that time by time soaked and stained his -lair with darker jets of blood. - -So those specks on the upper sky widened into two huge soaring vultures, -while the wing of a third brushed lightly against the fallen lion's -mane, as the foul bird ventured nearer its coming banquet, croaking -hideous invitations to others and yet others, that emerged, as if by -magic, from the solemn cloudless heaven. - -Far back into the desert, varied here and there by clammy clotted spots, -lay a single track of footprints, closer together, less sharp, round, -and clearly-defined, as they dragged towards the end. Many a weary -furlong had he travelled, the king of beasts, on his journey here to -die; and yet he never was to reach the patch of arid reeds that instinct -bade him seek for a last shelter--the scanty covert where-with nature -prompted him to shield his death agony from the remorseless bird of -prey. - -It is a royal sport to-day. It was a royal sport, no doubt, thousands of -years ago, to rouse the kingly lion from his haunt of reeds, or rock, or -cool dank quivering morass, in those wide plains that stretch between -the Tigris and the Euphrates, the Mesopotamia of the ancients, the -Naharaina of its present migratory tribes. A royal sport, when followed -by a queen and all her glittering train, defiling from the lofty porches -of Babylon the Great, the tramp of horse and ring of bridle, with steady -footfall of Assyrian warriors--curled, bearded, erect, and -formidable--with ponderous tread of stately elephants, gorgeous in -trappings of scarlet, pearls, and gold, with stealthy gait of meek-eyed -camels, plodding patient under their burdens in the rear. Scouring into -the waste before that jewelled troop, herds of wild asses bruised and -broke the shoots of wormwood beneath their flying hoofs, till the hot -air was laden with an aromatic smell; the ostrich spread her scant and -tufted wings to scud before the wind, tall, swift, ungainly, in a cloud -of yellow dust; the fleet gazelle, with beating heart, and head tucked -back, sprang forward like an arrow from the bow, never to pause nor -stint in her terror-stricken flight, till man and horse, game and -hunter, pursuer and pursued, were left hopelessly behind, far down -beyond the unbroken level of the horizon. Was not her speed of foot the -strength and safety and glory of her being? Nor could the desert falcon -strike her save unawares, nor the cruel Eastern greyhound overtake her -save when she had lately drunk her fill from the spring. - -But the monarch of the desert, the grim and lordly lion, sought no -refuge in flight, accepted no compromise of retreat. Driven from his -covert, he might move slowly and sullenly away; but it was to turn in -savage wrath on the eager horseman who approached too near, on the -daring archer who ventured to bend his bow within point-blank distance -of so formidable an enemy. Nevertheless, even the fiercest of their kind -must yield before man, the conqueror of beasts; before woman, the -conqueror of man: and on the shaft which drank his life-blood, and -transfixed the lion from side to side, was graven the royal tiara of a -monarch's mate, were cut those wedge-shaped letters that indicated the -name of Semiramis the Great Queen. - -Fainter and fainter drooped the mighty frame of the dying beast; one by -one large red drops plashed heavily on the sand beneath him, as the -first bright stars of a Chaldean sky blazed from the clear depths of -heaven. The perishable was fast fading below. Was that indeed eternal -which shone so pure and pitiless above? - -Great Babylon lay spread out, massive, mysterious, and indistinct, in -the shades of coming night. Here and there, huge piles of building -loomed vast and shadowy against the sky, far below these, amidst the -tents, houses, palaces, and gardens within the town, glittered and -flashed a world of lamps and torches, scattered bright and countless as -the stars in that other world above; while rearing its head, like some -ghostly giant, high over shaft and column, fortress, palace, and -obelisk, rose a lofty tower that seemed to demand of heaven its secrets, -and bade defiance to the sky. - -Here, on the summit of this tower stood a human figure, gazing fixedly -on the planets already visible, scanning the heavens with rapt -attention; calm, serious, abstracted, wrestling, as it were, with all -its mental forces, for the triumph of intellect, the mastery of thought. - -It was Assarac, priest of Baal, reading the stars, as a student reads a -book writ in some symbolical language of which he holds the key. - -Assarac the priest, the man for whom in that voluptuous climate, amidst -that gorgeous people, delighted in splendour, in pleasure, in luxury, in -warfare, glory, arts, arms, and magnificence, the world could furnish -but one attraction--the insatiable craving of ambition--to lull which he -must rule supreme; therefore he trained himself, night and day, with the -weapons of victory, seeking diligently that knowledge which constitutes -power. - -The act of worship is amongst all creation indigenous and peculiar to -man. As he alone stands erect and raises his front without effort -towards heaven, so he bends the knee in reasoning adoration, neither -cowering down with his head in the dust, nor grovelling on his belly, -like other creatures, in abject fear; but wanton, unstable, and -extravagant even in his noblest aspirations, this viceroy of earth has -been ever prone to waver in his allegiance, eager to amplify his worship -of the one true God into a thousand false religions, more or less -beautiful, poetical, and absurd. Amongst these, none could be less -unworthy than that earliest form of superstition which attributed to the -celestial bodies certain properties of power and knowledge, such as -could affect the present no less than they predicted the future. Man's -intellect felt elevated and purified by scientific communion with the -book of Fate as written on the luminous pages of the sky, while his soul -seemed scarce debased by an adoration that lifted it at least to the -visible and material heaven. On the wide-stretching plains of Western -Asia, in the warm cloudless Assyrian night, with the lamps of heaven -flashing out their radiance in uninterrupted splendour from the centre -to the boundless horizon, it was no wonder that students and sages -should have accepted for deities those distant worlds of fire on which -eyes, brain, hopes, thoughts, and aspirations were nightly fixed--the -guides of their science, the exponents of their history, the arbiters of -their fate. - -While the rude camel-driver, as he plodded by night through the -trackless desert, relied, no less than the early mariner, for progress -and safety on the stars, priests in their temples, kings in their -palaces, consulted the same changeless, passionless, inscrutable -witnesses, for the web of policy, the conduct of warfare, the -furtherance of love, desire, ambition, or revenge. Ere long, by an -inevitable process in the human mind, the instructor of their course -came to be looked on as the originator of events; and that which began -only with an assumption that it could foretell, was soon credited with -the power to bias, to prevent, or to destroy. - -Then arose an idolatry which seemed irresistible to the noblest and -boldest nations of the ancient world, which, notwithstanding their own -sublime creed, possessed a strong fascination for the Chosen People -themselves. Yav, Nebo, Bel, and Ashtaroth[1] came to be worshipped as -living deities, reigning and revealing themselves through the planets -that bore these names. The Seven Stars[2] were believed to time the -inevitable march of the universe to their seven tones of mysterious -music, unheard by mortal ears only because it never ceased nor faltered -in its eternal diapason. The twelve months of the year were sacred, each -to its especial luminary. Thirty stars were worshipped as the Consulting -Gods. Twelve to the north, twelve to the south, were believed -respectively to compel the destinies of living men and dead, the whole -twenty-four bearing the title of Judges of the World. And finally, lest -superstition should overlook one single object of its adoration, or -idolatry fail in the smallest detail to sin against its Creator, -priests, temples, sacrifices, and votive offerings were assigned to -those countless worlds that gem a Southern night, under the collective -title of the Host of Heaven. - -[Footnote 1: Jupiter, Mercury, Saturn, and Venus.] - -[Footnote 2: Rather the seven spheres, or the five planets with the sun -and moon.] - -Assarac looked abroad, above, around, below--with the confident glance -of a monarch who reviews his powers, with the critical attention of a -calculator who sums up his total, with the visionary gaze of a prophet -who forecasts his destiny, yet not entirely without something of that -astute and wary expression which on the magician's face seems to scan -and dominate, while it half mistrusts, the implements of his art. - -He was yet a young man, to count by years, and his dark almond-shaped -eyes had lost none of the fire and softness which are only combined -before middle life; but above his black eyebrows there were lines traced -deep in the tawny forehead, and at his temples a few white hairs already -mingled with the black bushy ringlets that, confined by a fillet of -gold, were drawn back in clustering profusion to his neck and shoulders. -His arms, but for the heavy gold bracelets that clasped their wrists, -were bare, as were his strong muscular legs from knee to ankle; he wore -sandals, fastened by straps; of embroidered leather crossing and -recrossing so as to form no slight protection for foot and instep. His -long gown of white linen, open to the breast and looped so as to give -the legs freedom of action at the knee, was bordered with cunning -needlework wrought in tissue of gold and scarlet silk, its arrow-headed -characters displaying many a dark sentence and time-honoured record. A -tasselled cord fastened it at the waist, and a deep fringe also of -scarlet tissue, hung below its edges, while an ample cloak, white and -embroidered like the gown, fell from one shoulder and trailed behind the -priest as he stood erect and motionless, looking out into the night. - -On his solid earrings, on his golden bracelets, on the fillet that bound -his forehead, on the very clasps that secured his sandals, was graven -the mystic circle that, with or without its winged figure, constituted a -memorial and a symbol of fate, omnipotence, and eternity. If he -worshipped the stars, he could yet conceive of a power so supreme as to -control and dominate their influence: nor could his religion in its -aspirations for this ineffable essence find a better emblem of its ideal -than that geometrical figure which has neither beginning nor end. - -He bore in his hand a lotus-flower lately gathered, and was careful, -with something of superstitious reverence, to preserve its freshness; -though once, when it caught his eye by chance, a smile of mingled scorn -and curiosity wreathed his full red lips; but he looked aloft again the -next instant with a keener and more rapt attention in his gaze. If he -speculated on the symbolical interpretation of the plant, it was not -_there_ he sought the power and lore that should enable him to control -his kind. - -Though he carried two knives in his girdle, though his limbs were -massive and muscular, his chest deep and his head erect, the man's -habits seemed those of peace and study, not of action and warfare. His -face, for all its indications of intellectual virility, was somewhat too -rounded in outline, too full and flaccid, rather perhaps unmanly than -effeminate, and bearing an expression of sustained effort, as of one who -continually strives to hide and overcome a consciousness of unmerited -degradation. There was no sign of beard about the well-cut lips, nor on -the firmly-moulded chin; and for Assarac the priest it was too obvious -that the domestic affections must ever remain a sealed book--his hearth -must be the sacred fire of his worship, and the starry canopy of heaven -his home. - -"And what have you given me?" said he, rising his hand towards the -glittering world above, with a gesture that denoted quite as much of -defiance as devotion. "What have you given me, O my gods, in exchange -for the glow of youth, the dignity of manhood, the rapture and the folly -and the sweet sorrow that are common, like cool breezes and running -streams, to all but such as me? No wife, no child! None of the treasures -others guard so jealously; but, in compensation, none of the fears that -bid the brave man cower and the strong man quake. What have you given -me, O my gods? The thirst for power, the desire to rule, the knowledge -that causes brave and strong to bend and quiver like reeds in the -Euphrates before the breeze that hurries down its stream. You have given -me wisdom to forecast men's lives and destinies; it is strange if he who -has a knowledge of the future cannot control and warp the present to his -will. I have torn open your scrolls by force of hand; I have compelled -you to reveal your secrets by sheer strength of intellect--ye are my -gods indeed, and I your priest and servant; yet is there something -working here in this forehead, in this breast, that seems to dominate -you as the goad rules the elephant, as the bridle turns and guides the -foaming war-horse on the plain! Your strength, your knowledge, and your -fire are mine--mine until these reasoning powers are dulled--these -senses enervated by luxury and indulgence. Prophesy--prophesy! Trace for -me in your shafts of light the story of that which is to come: show me -the future of Assarac the priest--his growing knowledge, his indomitable -struggles, his successful encounters, the culminating glory of his -career. Show me the destiny of that fairest, bravest, fiercest of -women--the diamond of the East! whose white arm conquers nations, whose -flashing eyes set towns and palaces and kingdoms all ablaze--beautiful, -proud, and pitiless--Semiramis the Great Queen; of her lord, the king of -nations, the grim old champion who scoffs, forsooth, at your power, O my -gods! and trusts only in the strength of his right arm and in his sword. -Shall ye not avenge yourselves for his scorn and unbelief? Shall not -Assarac your priest rise on the war-worn monarch's ruin to a splendour -before which the glory of Ninus and all his line shall pale, even as ye -pale yourselves, eternal host, before the Lord of Light who comes with -day?" - -Even while he spoke, the dying lion, far off in the desert, turned on -his side with one quick gasping moan, one convulsive shudder of his -mighty limbs, ere they grew rigid and motionless for ever, breaking -short off in his death-pang the shaft on which was graven a royal tiara -and the symbol of the Great Queen. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -MERODACH - - -The boldest war-horse was never too courageous to wince and tremble at -the smell of blood. - -A solitary rider speeding across the surface of the desert, smooth, -swift, and noiseless, like a bird on the wing, found himself nearly -unseated by the violence with which the good horse under him plunged -aside in terror, swerving from a low dark object lying in his path. -While the startled horseman drew rein to examine it more closely, he -scared two sated vultures from their work, the gorged birds hopping -lazily and unconcernedly to a few paces' distance. Already the gray -streaks of morning were tinged with crimson, as they flushed and widened -on the long level of the horizon; and the lion, dead at nightfall, was -picked nearly to the bone. - -Ere dawn had fairly broke, and long before the gold on bit and -bridle-piece caught the first flash of sunrise, the traveller had sped -many a furlong on his way, and the vultures had laboured back to -continue their loathsome meal. He had been riding the live-long night, -yet his good horse seemed neither blown nor wearied; snorting, indeed, -in the very wantonness of strength, as he settled down again to his long -untiring gallop, and cleared his nostrils from the abomination that had -so disturbed him in his career. - -"Soh, Merodach!" said his master, "my gentle bold-hearted steed! I never -knew you shrink from living foe, be it man or brute; but you would not -trample on a dead enemy, would you, my king of horses? Steady then! At -this rate we shall see the tower of Belus springing out of the plain, -and the black tents by the Well of Palms, before the sun is another -spear's length above the sky-line of this half-cooled sand. Steady, my -gallant horse! Ah! you are indeed fit to carry him who takes the message -of a king!" - -Merodach, or Mars, no less sensible of his lord's caresses than he was -worthy of the praises lavished on him, arched his crest, shook his head -till his ornaments rang again, and increased his speed, for a reply. - -He was in truth a rare and unequalled specimen of his kind, the true -pure-bred horse of the Asiatic plains. Strong and bold as had been the -very lion he was leaving rapidly behind him, beautiful in his rounded -symmetry of shape, and so swift that Sarchedon, his rider, was wont to -boast only one steed in all the armies of the King of Assyria was able, -with a man's weight on his back, to outstrip the wild ass in her native -plains, and that steed was Merodach. Horse and rider seemed a pair well -matched, as they flung their dancing shadows behind them on the sand. -The arms of one and accoutrements of the other shone ablaze with gold in -the splendour of the morning sun. Both seemed full of pride, courage, -mettle, and endurance, counterparts in strength and beauty, forming -when combined the fairest and noblest ideal of the warlike element in -creation. So they galloped on, choosing their course as if by instinct, -through the trackless waste. - -Long before noon a lofty tower seemed to grow, cubit by cubit, out of -the horizon. Presently the walls and palaces of a city were seen -stretching far on either side along the plain, like a line of white surf -on a distant shore. Then strips of verdure, intersecting each other with -more frequency, as a network of irrigation filtered the waters of the -Euphrates through many a trickling stream, to fertilise the desert in -the neighbourhood of Great Babylon. Yet a few more furlongs of those -smooth untiring strides; a startled ostrich scudding away on long -awkward legs before the wind; a troop of wild asses standing at gaze for -a moment, to disappear with snort and whinny, and heels glancing upward -through volumes of dust; a fleet gazelle scouring off in one direction, -a desert-falcon darting through the sunlight in another; and Sarchedon -could already descry that knot of feathery trees, that sprinkling of -black tents, that low marble structure of dazzling white, which, under -the name of the Well of Palms, afforded a landmark for every thirsty -wayfarer journeying to the Great City. - -But, except the sea, there is no such fallacious medium through which to -estimate distance as the sun-dried atmosphere and unbroken expanse of -the desert. Ere they reached those scattered tents and halted at the -Well of Palms, neither man nor horse were unwilling to enjoy a moment's -respite from their exertions; while the former, at least, was suffering -from a protracted thirst, which under those scorching skies made a -draught from the desert spring such a cordial, such an elixir, as could -not be pressed from the choicest grapes that ever blushed and ripened -under the Assyrian sun. - -Springing off Merodach's back, his master drew the embossed bit -carefully from his favourite's mouth, pressing his head down with a -caress towards the water, while he administered, like a true horseman, -to the needs of his servant before he slaked his own parched lips, or so -much as dipped his hand in the cold, clear, tempting element. But -Merodach, though he pointed his ears and neighed joyfully, scarcely -wetted his muzzle in the marble basin; thereby affording a proof, had -any been wanting, of his celebrated pedigree and stainless purity of -breed. His young lord was not so abstemious. He looked about, indeed, -for a drinking-vessel; but would have done very well without it, had not -a shadow come between him and the sun as he was in the act of stooping -to immerse face, lips, and nostrils in the sparkling water. With the -ready instinct of one whose trade is war, he sprang erect, but bowed his -head again in manly courtesy when he saw a girlish figure bending over -him to dip her pitcher in the fountain. - -"Drink, my lord," said a very sweet and gentle voice from the folds of a -thin white veil. "When your thirst is quenched, your servant will take -her payment in news from the army of the Great King." - -He was young, bold, gallant, born under a Southern sun; but had -Ashtaroth, Queen of Heaven, come down in person to accost him, with a -pitcher of water in her hand, he must have drunk before he could utter a -syllable in reply. - -The girl watched him, while he emptied the vessel, with such tender -interest as women take in the physical needs of one to whom they render -aid, and refilled it forthwith, showing, perhaps not unconsciously, a -lithe and graceful figure as she bent over the fountain. - -"Thanks, maiden," said he. "You have put new life into a fainting man; -for I have galloped over many a weary league of sand, and scarce drawn -bridle since yesterday at noon." - -"The poor horse!" answered the girl, laying a slender hand on Merodach's -swelling neck. "But my lord comes doubtless from the camp, and has -joyful tidings to bring, or he had never ridden so far and fast. What of -the Great King? and O! what of Arbaces? Is he safe? Is he unhurt? Is he -well?" - -There was a tremble in her voice that denoted intense anxiety, and the -pitcher in her hand shook till it overflowed. - -Sarchedon marked her agitation with a sense of displeasure, -unaccountable as it was unjust. - -"The Great King," he answered, raising his right hand quickly to mouth -and eyes while he named him--"the Great King has triumphed, as he must -ever triumph when he mounts his war-chariot. The captain of the host is -well in health, unwounded, though foremost in battle;--trusted by his -lord, feared by the enemy, and honoured of all." - -She clasped her pretty hands together in delight, while the pitcher, -escaping from her grasp, poured its contents into the thirsty soil and -rolled under Merodach's hoofs, eliciting from the horse a prolonged -snort of astonishment and disgust. - -"You are indeed a messenger of the gods!" said she--"welcome as the -breeze at sundown; welcome as the rains of spring; welcome to the Great -Queen and her people yonder in the city; but to none so welcome as you -have been to me!" - -"Indeed!" he answered in a cold, measured voice. "Have I then brought -tidings of one so very dear to you?" - -"None can ever be so dear," she exclaimed with a light laugh, musical -and pleasant as the whisper of the rippling fountain--"none will ever -love me so well--none shall I ever love half so dearly in return! -Arbaces is my father, and every day since he mounted his chariot at the -head of the Great King's captains have I watched here with my maidens, -to catch the first gleam of his armour when he returns, to learn good -tidings of him by the first messenger who rides hither from the camp. -Not one has yet arrived but yourself, my lord. I say again, may all the -host of heaven befriend you, for to me you are welcome as the dawn!" - -It was unaccountable that his heart should have bounded so lightly at -her speech, that his tone should have been so much softer while he -replied: - -"I am bearing tidings from a king to his queen,--from the conqueror of -nations to his people in the greatest city of the earth. I have to -relate how we slew and spared not, crushing and trampling down the enemy -as an ox treads out the ripened corn; breaking their chariots of iron; -taking their fenced cities by assault; capturing and bringing away men, -women, and children by thousands and tens of thousands. All that I have -to tell is of honour, glory, and victory. Yet I speak truth when I swear -to you, maiden, by the light of morning, that whatever recompense it may -please the Great Queen to bestow on the lowest of her servants, to have -met you here to-day at the Well of Palms, and to have gladdened you with -assurance of my lord your father's welfare, is to me the richest and -brightest reward of all." - -"You have noble triumphs to report," she answered hurriedly, and drawing -her veil closer, as if he could see the blood rushing to her cheek -behind its folds. "Great victories, but not without fierce warfare--many -a broken shield and shivered spear, and deadly arrow quivering in its -mark! And you, my lord--have you escaped scathless? Has this good horse -borne you always unhurt and triumphant in the press of chariots?--Yes, I -know it, in the hottest fore-front of the battle? O, it is dreadful to -think of!--the wounded, the dying, the fallen steed, the pitiless -conqueror--those we love, it may be, gasping out their lives on the -trampled plain, and then to watch on the walls of the city, or here by -the Well of Palms, for the horseman that never comes! Pardon me, my -lord: I speak too freely. Let me give you to drink once more from the -fountain; then will I gather my maidens about me, and depart in peace." - -He took her hand in his own, nor did she withdraw it. - -"You are not alone?" he asked. "The daughter of Arbaces does not travel -unattended so much as a bowshot from the city walls?" - -"My damsels are in those tents," she answered, "my camels are kneeling -in the shade. I have no need of guards nor horsemen. Over many a league -without the ramparts of Babylon her father's fame is a tower of defence -for the daughter of Arbaces." - -"The daughter of Arbaces!" he repeated. "Maiden, so long as I eat bread -and drink water I will remember her by that name." - -"And by her own," she added hurriedly. "The servant of my lord is called -Ishtar. It was my mother's name, and Arbaces loved her well." - -"Ishtar!" he murmured--and his rich low voice dwelt softly on the -syllables--"Ishtar, the fair pure queen of night! 'twas well chosen, in -good truth; for the moon shines ever gentle, mild, and gracious, like a -true goddess." - -"And changes, my lord, like a true woman!" laughed the girl; but -continued in a graver and more respectful tone: "The day wears on--he -who carries a king's tidings must be diligent on the way. I thank my -lord for his favourable notice of his servant, and I bid him farewell." - -Then she gathered her dress about her, recovered the pitcher, and walked -away towards her tents, modest, stately, and graceful--a goddess in -gesture, as in name. - -She turned once, nevertheless, when he was busied adjusting the bridle -in his horse's mouth, and drew her veil aside while he might have -counted ten. The large serious eyes, the perfect oval, the pale delicate -beauty of that young face haunted him, even to the towers and ramparts -of haughty Babylon, even amidst the shouting crowds who thronged her -brazen gates. - -There is a spirit that, whether for good or evil, when it takes -possession of the heart of man, must needs tear and rend, stanch and -soothe, torture and perplex, or elevate and encourage, each and all in -turn; but, be it a blessing or a curse, it fills the tenement, occupies -the whole temple, and when it vanishes, leaves but bare walls and a -riven altar to mark the sacred spot that it has scathed and blasted ere -it passed away. - -Merodach galloped on, swift, mettlesome, untiring, regardless of the -many leagues he had traversed, as he was unconscious of the double -burden that he bore. - -Nearing the city, Sarchedon could not but admire the stupendous walls -that frowned over him as he rode at a slower pace through scores of -tents and lodges of wood or sun-dried bricks scattered through the -richly cultivated garden-grounds without the rampart walls, that, rising -to forty cubits in height, were yet so wide as to admit of three -chariots being driven abreast along their summits, flanked with lofty -towers standing out in pairs, bluff and bold, like defiant warriors, and -utterly impregnable to assault. Between every two of these, large gates -of brass, worked in fantastic ornaments representing gods, men, and -animals, amongst which the bull was the most conspicuous, stood open -from sunrise to sunset, while through their portals passed and repassed -a busy crowd, swarming like bees in and out of the rich and magnificent -city, her own especial residence, which the Great Queen had created to -be a Wonder of the World. What mattered waste of life and treasure, -starving families, fainting peasants, the sinking slave and the -task-master's whip? Each countless brick in all those leagues of -building might be moistened with tears and cemented with blood, every -stone raised on the crushed and mangled corpses of its founders; masses -of marble, slabs of alabaster, roof, tower, and pinnacle, beam of cedar, -and parapet of gold, might tell their separate tales of famine, disease, -misery, and oppression--what matter? The Great Queen said, "Raise me -here a city by the river that shall be worthy of my name!" and -straightway up-sprang, on either bank of the mighty stream, such -structures of pride, splendour, and magnificence, as were not to be -surpassed by that very tower of man's defiance to his Maker, about which -their foundations were laid. - -Passing within the walls, a guard of Assyrian bowmen turned out to greet -with warlike honours the messenger from their monarch's camp; their -exertions were even required to clear a passage for him as he rode -through the crowded streets--men, women, and children thronging and -pressing in as he passed on, shouting a thousand cheers and -acclamations, striving with each other to touch his feet, his garments, -the horn of his bow, the carved sheath of his sword, the very trappings -and accoutrements of his horse. With all his desire for dispatch, it was -necessary to rein Merodach back to a foot's-pace; and many a dainty -flower fell whirling down on the young warrior, many a charm and amulet -was cast with unerring aim on his knees and saddle-cloth, while he paced -forward under stately palaces, solemn temples, or broad terraces glowing -like gardens with bright-robed Assyrian women, who flung their veils -aside to shower greetings and welcome on the brave. - -The watchman at the gate had long expected such a one. With the first -glint of his armour in the distant waste the news spread like wildfire, -and the whole population of the city was astir. - -So he rode slowly on, the observed of all; and still, turn which way he -would, above that sea of faces, amidst that mass of triumph, splendour, -and gorgeous colouring, floated like a star shining through a mist the -pale spectral beauty of the gentle girl whom he had left an hour ago at -the Well of Palms--even the shouts that rent his ear seemed to reëcho -from afar in an unearthly whisper, "Ishtar, Ishtar! pure, sacred, and -beautiful queen of night!" - -The streets were wider, the buildings more magnificent, the crowd, if -possible, denser, as he proceeded through the city. - -Presently, reaching a wide flight of low broad marble steps, flanked by -those colossal bulls with eagles' wings and human heads, that -represented the strength and solidity of the great Assyrian empire, he -halted to dismount; for a cloth of gold and scarlet had been rolled out -from top to bottom, and down these stairs were marching a body of -white-robed priests with slow and solemn gait, their centre figure -walking three paces before the rest, and advancing obviously to hold -conference with the messenger from the camp. - -Then the young warrior took a jewelled signet from his breast, and with -a low obeisance pressed it to heart, mouth, and forehead; while over the -eager multitude came unbroken silence, as Sarchedon tendered to Assarac, -high-priest of Baal, his token from the Great King. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -SEMIRAMIS - - -The silence lasted but a short space. When his lord, ere he accompanied -that priestly escort into the palace, bestowed one parting caress on -Merodach, shouts longer and more deafening than ever went up into the -sunny sky. The good horse, led away by half a dozen negroes, now seemed -to attract universal attention; for Sarchedon had disappeared between -the gigantic bulls of stone that guarded each entrance to the royal -dwelling. His armour, here and there defaced with sword-stroke or -spear-thrust, his dusty, travel-stained garments, and, notwithstanding -bodily strength and warlike training, the weary gait of one who has seen -the sun set twice without quitting the saddle, were in marked contrast -to the glittering splendour and refined magnificence of all that -surrounded him. The marble steps, skirted by their entablatures of -gilding and sculpture coloured to the life; the broad level terrace, -glistening and polished like a steel breastplate inlaid with gold; the -regal front of the costly palace itself, with its colossal eagle-headed -figures, its winged monsters, couching or erect, its sacred emblems, its -strange deities, its mystic forms, tributes of adoration offered to a -host of gods, as the long succession of lifelike carvings on the walls, -brought out in high relief with boldness of design and brightness of -tint, were memorials of the triumphs won by a line of kings. - -Here were represented the pleasures of the chase, the vicissitudes of -war, the lion, the stag, the boar, the wild bull, beasts, landscapes, -rivers, chariots and horsemen, warriors, captives, towers, and towns. -Above rose a hundred stately pillars to support their painted chambers -roofed with cedar and other precious wood, inlaid in elaborate and -fantastic patterns, brilliant with vermilion or other gaudy colours, and -profusely ornamented with gold. Over these lofty rooms rose yet another -story, on ivory columns carved with the utmost skill that Indian -handicraft could produce and Bactrian triumphs furnish, under a roof of -which the very battlements and parapets were plated with silver and -gold. - -High above all towered the sacred structure of cedar, which formed that -mysterious retreat, remote from the gaze of man, where none might enter -but the monarch alone when ministering in his holy office, and combining -in his own person the sacred characters of priest and king. - -Assarac left his retinue at the gate of the palace, where stood two -pillars of sardonyx to render poison innocuous should it pass through, -and over which a gigantic carbuncle flashed its lurid rays, that seemed -to shed an angry gleam even in the darkness of night. He bade Sarchedon -follow, and the pair strode swiftly on through a cool and spacious -hall, propped by as many columns as there were days in the Assyrian -year, or furlongs in the circuit of the city walls, till, having thus -traversed the palace at its narrowest part, they emerged once more on a -paradise or garden, where the first object that met their eyes was a -wild stag roused from his lair, and scouring with all the freedom of his -native mountains to the shelter of a neighbouring thicket. - -"She seldom hunts within these gardens now," was the priest's comment on -this startling incident. "She cares for no tamer pastime than to ride -the lion down, and shoot him with bow and arrow when at bay. There are -none left here since my lord the king slew three with his javelin not a -bowshot from where we stand; so she must away to the desert, or the -mountains beyond the great river, for the sport she loves so well. -Follow me close; you might lose yourself in this pleasant labyrinth, and -it is death, my friend--by impalement too!--for any one caught -disturbing the game." - -He looked keenly in the other's face while he spoke, and seemed -gratified to observe that the young soldier received this announcement -with perfect unconcern. - -Notwithstanding the power of an Assyrian sun, its rays could not -penetrate to the darkling path by which they now threaded a tangled -thicket of verdure--the tender flickering of green leaves above their -heads, the sweet carol of song-birds in their ears, and a carpet of -velvet turf beneath their steps--while they followed the course of a -rippling stream, guiding them by its murmur, rather than its leap and -sparkle, back to the light of day. Emerging from this grateful shade, -they found a broad sheet of water spread at their feet, its surface -dotted with wild fowl, its banks fringed with flowers, reflecting in its -dazzling mirror a temple of silver and ivory raised in honour of Dagon, -the fish-god, and much affected by the Great Queen, who, leaving her own -especial palace, loved to retire here with her women and wile away the -hottest hours of the summer's day. - -One of these attendants seemed in expectation of the priest; for, -appearing suddenly in the portico of the temple, she made him a sign to -follow, and led the way, wrapping her veil so carelessly about her as -to afford ample opportunity for contemplation of her charms. At another -time Sarchedon might have observed with greater interest the jetty locks -and rich Southern colouring of this smiling dame; but besides his -new-born taste for beauty of a fairer, paler, and more gentle type, his -heart was beating, as it had never beat in the hurtle of chariots and -press of horsemen, at the thought that he was about to enter her -presence with whose name the whole world rang. - -Immediately within the entrance of this temple hung a curtain of crimson -silk embroidered in lotus-flowers of gold. Assarac raised the hangings, -and stepping quickly aside, gave place while he let them fall behind his -comrade. Sarchedon, prostrating his forehead till it touched the cool -shining floor, found himself alone with the Great Queen. - -The temple was circular, paved, panelled, vaulted, in ivory and silver, -the latter wrought and frosted with exceeding taste and skill, the -former carved into a thousand fantastic patterns, delicate and elaborate -as needlework. In the midst, a fountain threw its jets of silver to the -roof, falling back in silvery showers to an ivory basin, of which the -sparkling waters were thus continually moved with a refreshing drip and -murmur. White doves flitted about the building, or cooed their drowsy -love-song, perched peacefully on pinnacle and shaft. An odour of some -subtle perfume, like incense mingled with the scent of flowers, stole on -Sarchedon's senses; while he became aware of a figure reclining on the -couch of silver and ivory over against the entrance. He dared not raise -his eyes, and it was but the hem of her garment that he looked on, while -he heard the low musical tones of that enchantress who was destined to -subjugate the world. - -"Rise, trusty messenger," said Semiramis; "fear not to tell me your -tidings for good or evil, and speak with me face to face. He must needs -be welcome who carries a token from my lord the king." - -Sarchedon sprang to his feet at her bidding, and stood before the queen, -as fair a specimen of youth, manhood, and warlike grace as could have -been selected from the countless myriads that formed her husband's -hosts. He averted his eyes, nevertheless, and kept his head bent down -while, plucking from his breast the jewel that had already gained him -admission, he replied: - -"The light of the queen's countenance dazzles the eyes of her servant. -Let him take courage to look but once, and be blind for evermore!" - -While he spoke he laid the signet on a silken cushion under her feet. -She glanced at it carelessly enough, and bent her eyes on the young -warrior with a smile, half soft, half scornful. - -"Am I then so dangerous to look upon?" said she; "the face of a queen -should be gracious to a faithful servant. I say to _you_, Look and -live!" - -A thrill of intense triumph and pleasure shot through him with her -words. He took courage to scan the form and features of that celebrated -woman, whose intellect and beauty had already made her mistress of the -mightiest nation in the East. - -She was beautiful no doubt, in the nameless beauty that wins, no less -than in the lofty beauty that compels. Her form was matchless in -symmetry, so that her every gesture, in the saddle or on the throne, was -womanly, dignified, and graceful, while each dress she wore, from royal -robe and jewelled tiara to steel breastplate and golden headpiece, -seemed that in which she looked her best. With a man's strength of body, -she possessed more than a man's power of mind and force of will. A -shrewd observer would have detected in those bright eyes, despite their -thick lashes and loving glance, the genius that can command an army and -found an empire; in that delicate, exquisitely chiselled face, the lines -that tell of tameless pride and unbending resolution; in the full curves -of that rosy mouth, in the clean-cut jaw and prominence of the -beautifully-moulded chin, a cold recklessness that could harden on -occasion to pitiless cruelty--stern, impracticable, immovable as fate. - -But Sarchedon only saw a lovely woman of queenly bearing, glancing -approval on his glowing face. His Southern nature seemed to expand like -a flower in the sunshine of her smiles. - -His looks could not fail to express admiration, and she, who might have -been satiated with homage, seemed well pleased to accept as much as he -had to offer. - -Bending towards him with a gesture of condescension, that was almost a -caress, she bade him advance yet nearer to her couch. - -"And now," said she, "that you have looked on this terrible face of mine -without perdition, tell me your tidings from the camp. What of the war? -what of the host? what of my lord the king?" - -"The war is ended," he answered briefly; "the host is victorious. My -lord the king will return in triumph ere another day be past." - -She started, but controlled herself with an effort. - -"Enough," she answered haughtily and coldly; "you have done your -duty--you are dismissed!" - -Then she clapped her hands, and from behind the silken hangings appeared -the woman who had guided Sarchedon into the temple. - -"Kalmim," said the queen, still in the same constrained voice, "take -this messenger to Assarac without delay; bid the priest report to me, at -sunset, all the details he can learn from him regarding the host. But -stay"--her tone changed to one of winning sweetness, soft, sad, and -irresistible--"not till he has had food and rest. You have ridden day -and night through the desert; you have looked on your queen's face and -lived. Take courage, you may live to look on it again." - -With the last words she turned on him one of her rare intoxicating -smiles, and the strong soldier left her presence helpless, confused, -staggering like a man who wakes out of a dream. - -Within the gardens, or paradise, belonging to the royal palace stood a -vast pile of building, dedicated to the worship of Baal, and surrounding -the lofty tower of Belus, raised on the same site, and nearly to the -same altitude, as that by which human rebellion presumed to offend after -the Flood. Here, at the head of a thousand priests, dwelt Assarac in -solemn state and splendour, officiating daily in sacrifices offered to -the gods of Assyria, and their numerous satellites--Assarac, who -combined in his own person the leadership of religion and of politics; -for, during the absence of Ninus on his Egyptian expedition, it had been -the ambitious eunuch's aim to share, if he could not guide, the queen's -counsels, and, as far as he dared, to centre in his own person the -executive of government. - -Sarchedon found himself, therefore, again threading the shady paths by -which he had come, but on this occasion under the conduct of a guide -less swift of foot than the priest but, as became her sex, more nimble -of tongue. Kalmim made no scruple of unveiling, to afford her companion -the whole benefit of her charms. - -"A good beginning indeed," said this saucy dame, with a smile that did -justice to the reddest lips and wickedest eyes in Babylon; "you are in -favour, my young lord, I can tell you. To have seen her face to face is -no small boast; but that she should take thought of your food and rest, -and bid me charge myself with your guidance through this deserted -wilderness! why, I cannot remember her so gracious to any one -since--well--since the last of them--there, you needn't look so bold at -an unveiled woman--I ought never to have brought you here alone!" - -It was almost a challenge; but he was busy with his own thoughts, and -made no reply. Kalmim, unaccustomed to neglect, attributed his silence, -not unnaturally, to exhaustion and fatigue. - -"You are weary," said she kindly; "faint, doubtless, from lack of food, -and would not confess it to save your life? O, you men, how your pride -keeps you up! and why are you only ashamed of those things in which -there is no disgrace?" - -He compelled himself to answer, though his thoughts were far away. - -"I am not ashamed to be faint and athirst. I have ridden two nights and -a day, and drank water but once--at the Well of Palms." - -"The Well of Palms!" she repeated, her woman's wit marking his -abstraction, and assigning to it a woman's cause. "It is the sweetest -water in all the land of Shinar. It would taste none the worse when -drawn for you by the daughter of Arbaces." - -"Ishtar!" he exclaimed, while his whole face brightened. "You have seen -her--you know her! Is she not beautiful?" - -Kalmim laughed scornfully. - -"Beautiful!" she echoed, "with a poor thin face, white as ivory, and -solemn as Dagon's yonder, in the fishing-temple! Well, well! then she -_is_ beautiful, if you like; and we shall learn next that she is good as -well as fair!" - -"What do you mean?" he asked, stopping short to look his companion in -the face. - -Kalmim burst into another laugh. - -"I mean nothing, innocent youth!--for strangely innocent you are, though -the beard is budding on your chin. And a modest maiden means nothing, I -suppose, who frequents the well at which every traveller from the desert -must needs halt--who draws water for warriors to drink, and unveils for -a stranger she never saw before! Yes, I am unveiled too, I know; but it -is different here. The queen's palace has its privileges; and, believe -me, they are sometimes sadly abused!" - -"Not by one who has just left the light of her presence," answered -Sarchedon, angered to the core, though he scarce knew why. "I have never -been taught to offend against the majesty of a king's house--to believe -a fenced city taken because a bank is cast against it, nor a woman my -lawful prize because she lifts her veil." - -Next to making love, Kalmim enjoyed quarrelling. To tease, irritate, and -perplex a man, was sport only second to that of seeing him at her feet. -She clapped her hands mischievously, and exclaimed, - -"You are bewitched, my lord! Confess, now. She unveiled to turn her eyes -on you before you got to horse and went your way. Is it possible you do -not know who and what she is?" - -"Good or evil," he answered, "tell me the truth." - -"She bears her mother's name," replied Kalmim; "and, like her mother, -the blood that flows in her veins is mingled with the fire that glitters -in the stars of heaven--a fire affording neither light nor heat, serving -only to dazzle and bewilder the children of earth. Arbaces took a wife -from that race whom, far off in the northern mountains, the daughters of -men bare to the spirits of the stars, tempting them down from their -golden thrones with song and spell and all the wiles of grosser -earth-born beauty;--deceiving, debasing the Sons of Light, to be by them -deceived and deserted in turn, left to sorrow through long years of -hopeless solitude and remorse. Old people yet speak of some who had -themselves heard the voice of mourning on those mountains in the still -sad night--the shriek of woman wailing for the lost lover, in whose -bright face she might never look again! Ishtar, the wife of Arbaces, -possessed her share of the unearthly influence hereditary in her race. -Her husband became a slave. He loved the very print of her feet on the -sand. Travelling here from Nineveh, while this great city was building, -he halted in the desert, and Ishtar walked out from her tent into the -cool starlight night. They say he followed a few paces off. Suddenly she -stopped, and stretched her hands towards the sky, like one in distress -or pain. Rushing forward to take her in his arms, she vanished out of -his very grasp. At sunrise a camel-driver found Arbaces senseless on the -plain, and Ishtar was seen no more in tent or palace. But all the love -he bore the mother seemed henceforth transferred to the child. Doubtless -she has bewitched him too. Beware, my lord--beware! I have heard of men -leaving real springs in the desert for shining rivers and broad -glittering lakes, that faded always before them into the hot -interminable waste. I am but a woman; yet, had I your chance of fortune, -I would think twice before I bartered it away for a draught of water and -an empty dream!" - -He seemed very sad and thoughtful, but they had now reached the temple, -and he made no reply. A white-robed priest received the young warrior at -its portal with every mark of respect, and ushered him into the cool and -lofty building, where bath, raiment, food, and wine, he said, were -already prepared, casting a look of intelligence at Kalmim, who answered -with as meaning a glance, and one of her brightest smiles. Then dropping -her veil, since nobody was there to see her handsome face, she tripped -back a good deal faster than she had come to her duties about the person -of the Great Queen. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -THE TEMPLE OF HIS GOD - - -In the hierarchy of Baal, as in other religious orders, false and true, -it was deemed but right that the priests should want for nothing, while -the altar was well supplied with offerings. To one who had dismounted -from a two nights' ride, such luxuries as were scattered profusely about -the temple of the great Assyrian god formed a pleasing contrast to camp -lodging and camp fare. - -If Sarchedon, weary and travel-stained, was yet of so comely and fair a -countenance as to extort approval from the queen herself, Sarchedon, -bathed, refreshed, unarmed, clad in silken garments, and with a cup of -gold in his hand, was simply beautiful. Assarac the priest, sitting over -against him, could not but triumph in the sparkle of that bauble by -which he hoped to divert and dull the only intellect in the Eastern -world that he believed could rival his own. - -The servant of Ninus and the servant of Baal sat together on the roof of -a lower story of the temple; below them the pillars and porticoes of the -outer court, behind them vast piles of building, vague, gloomy, and -imposing in the shades of coming night. High over their heads rose the -tower of Belus, pointing to the sky, and many a fathom down beneath -their feet the stir and turmoil of the great city came up, terrace by -terrace, till it died to a faint drowsy murmur like the hum of bees in a -bed of flowers. The sun was sinking in uninterrupted splendour behind -the level sky-line of the desert, and already a cool breeze stole over -the plains from the hills beyond the marshes, to stir the priest's white -garments and lift the locks on Sarchedon's glossy head, while for each -it enhanced the flavour and fragrance of their rich Damascus wine, -bubbling and blushing in its vase of gold. Between them stood a table, -also of gold, studded with amethysts, while the liquor in their golden -cups was yet more precious than the metal and brighter than the gem. - -Something to this effect said Sarchedon, after a draught almost as -welcome and invigorating as that which he had drained in the morning at -the Well of Palms; while, with a sigh of extreme repose and content, he -turned his handsome face to the breeze. - -"It is so," answered Assarac; "and who more worthy to drink it than the -warrior whose bow and spear keep for us sheep-fold and vineyard--who -watches under arms by night, and bears his life in his hand by day, that -our oxen may tread the threshing-floor, and our peasants press out their -grapes in peace? I empty this cup to Ninus, the Great King, yonder in -the camp, in love, fear, and reverence, as I would pour out a -drink-offering from the summit of that tower to Ashtaroth, Queen of -Heaven." - -"And the Great King would dip his royal beard in it willingly enough, -were it set before him," answered the light-hearted warrior. "I saw him -myself come down from his chariot when we crossed the Nile, and drink -from the hollow of his buckler mouthful after mouthful of the sweet -vapid water; but he swore by the Seven Stars he would have given his -best horse had it been the roughest of country wine; and he bade us ever -spare the vineyards, though we were ordered to lay waste cornland and -millet-ground, to level fruit-trees, break down water-sluices, burn, -spoil, ravage, and destroy. Who is like the Great King--so fierce, so -terrible? Most terrible, I think, when he smiles and pulls his long -white beard; for then our captains know that his wrath is kindled, and -can only be appeased with blood. I had rather turn my naked breast to -all Pharaoh's bowmen than face the Great King's smile." - -Assarac was deep in thought, though his countenance wore but the -expression of a courteous host. - -"He is the king of warriors," said the priest carelessly--"drink, I pray -you, yet once more to his captains--and beloved, no doubt, as he is -feared among the host." - -"Nay, nay," answered the other laughing, for the good wine had somewhat -loosened his tongue, while it removed the traces of fatigue from his -frame. "_Feared_, if you will. Is he not descended from Nimrod and the -Thirteen Gods? Brave, indeed, as his mighty ancestors, but pitiless and -unsparing as Ashur himself." - -"Hush!" exclaimed the priest, looking round. "What mean you?" - -"I have not counted twenty sunsets," answered the other, "since I saw -the Great King's arrow fly through buckler and breastplate, aye, and a -brave Assyrian heart too, ere it stuck in the ground a spear's length -farther on. He has a strong arm, I can bear witness, and the man fell -dead under his very chariot; but it should not have been one of his own -royal guard that he thus slew in the mere wantonness of wrath. Sataspes, -the son of Sargon, had better have died in Egypt, where he fought so -bravely, than here, under an Assyrian sky, within a few days' march of -home." - -"Sataspes!" repeated the other; "and what said his father? It is not -Sargon's nature to be patient under injury or insult." - -"His dark face grew black as night," answered Sarchedon, "and the -javelin he held splintered in his grasp; but he bowed himself to the -ground, and said only, 'My lord draws a stiff bow, and the king's arrow -never yet missed its mark.'" - -"It was a heavy punishment," observed Assarac thoughtfully. - -"And for a light offence," answered the other. "Sataspes did but lift -her veil to look on the face of a virgin in a drove of captives who had -not yet defiled by the Great King's chariot. She cried out, half in -wrath, half in fear; and ere the veil fell back on her bosom, the -offender was a dead man." - -"Did the Great King look favourably on the virgin?" asked Assarac. "A -woman must needs be fair to warrant the taking of a brave man's life." - -"I scarce heeded her," answered Sarchedon. "She came of a captive race, -whom the Egyptians hold in bondage down yonder, imposing on them servile -offices and many hard tasks--a race that seem to mix neither with their -conquerors nor with strangers. They have peculiar laws and customs in -their houses and families, giving their daughters in marriage only to -their kindred, and arraying their whole people like an army, in hosts -and companies. I used to see them at work for their task-masters, -moving with as much order and precision as the archers and spearmen of -the Great King." - -"I have heard of them," said Assarac; "I have heard too that their -increasing numbers gave no small disquiet to the last Pharaoh, who was -wiser than his successor. Will they not rise at some future time, and -cast off the Egyptian yoke?" - -"Never!" answered the warrior scornfully. "It presses hard and heavy, -but this people will never strike a blow in self-defence: they are a -nation of slaves, of shepherds and herdsmen. Not a man have I seen -amongst them who could draw a bow, nor so much as sling a stone. Where -are they to find a leader? If such a one rose up, how are they to follow -him? They are utterly unwarlike and weak of heart; they have no arms, no -horses, and scarcely any gods." - -Assarac smiled with the good-humoured superiority of an adept -condescending to the crude intelligence of a neophyte. Did he not -believe that through the very exercise of his profession he had sounded -the depths of all faith, here and hereafter--in the earth, in the skies, -in the infinite--above all, in himself and his own destiny? - -"Their worship is not so unlike our own as you, who are outside the -temple, might believe," said he, pointing upwards to the glowing spark -on the summit of the tower of Belus, which was never extinguished night -or day. "I have learned in our traditions, handed down, word for word, -from priest to priest, since the first family of man peopled the earth -after the subsiding of the waters, that they too worship the sacred -element which constitutes the essence and spirit of the universe. If -they have no images, nor outward symbols of their faith, it is because -their deity is impalpable, invisible, as the principle of heat which -generates flame. If they turn from the Seven Stars with scorn, if they -pour out no drink-offering, make no obeisance to the Queen of Heaven, it -is because they look yet higher, to that mystic property from which -Baalim and Ashtaroth draw light and life and dominion over us poor -children of darkness down here below. Their great patriarch and leader -came out of this very land; and there is Assyrian blood, though I think -shame to confess it, in the veins of that captive people subject now to -our hereditary enemies in the South." - -"The men are well enough to look on," answered Sarchedon, "but, to my -thinking, their women are not so fair as the women of the plain between -the rivers; not to be spoken of with the Great Queen's retinue here, nor -the mountain maids who come down from the north to gladden old Nineveh -like sweet herbs and wild flowers growing in the crevices of a ruined -wall. If this people are of our lineage, they have fallen away sadly -from the parent stock." - -"What I tell you is truth," replied Assarac; "and I, sitting by you here -to-night, have spoken with men whose fathers remembered those that in -their boyhood had seen the great founder of our nation--old, wrinkled, -with a white beard descending to his feet, but lofty still, and mighty -as the tower of defiance he reared to heaven, though suffering daily -from torment unendurable; and why? Because of the patriarch and chief of -the nation you despise." - -Through all the Assyrian people, but especially amongst the hosts of the -Great King, to believe in Nimrod was to believe in Baal, in Ashur, in -their religion, their national existence, their very identity. - -The colour rose to Sarchedon's brow as he passed his hand over his lips, -scarcely yet darkened with a beard, while he answered haughtily, - -"Nimrod was lord of earth by right of bow and spear. No man living, -backed by all the gods of all the stars in heaven, would have dared to -dispute his word, nor so much as look him in his lion-like face!" - -"And yet did this old man, lord only in his own family--chief of a tribe -scarce numbering a thousand bowmen--beard the lion-king in the city he -had founded, in the palace where he reigned, in the very temple of his -worship. The patriarch reasoned with him on the multitude of his gods; -and Nimrod answered proudly, he could make as many as he would, but that -while they emanated from himself they had supreme dominion on earth and -over all in heaven, save only the Seven Stars and the Twenty-four Judges -of the World. Then the patriarch took the king's molten images out of -the temple, kindled a great furnace in the centre of the city, and in -the presence of all Nineveh, cast them into the midst." - -Sarchedon started to his feet. - -"And the king did not hew him in pieces with his own hand where he -stood!" exclaimed he. "It is impossible! It is contrary to all reason -and experience!" - -"The king could scarce believe his eyes," continued Assarac, smothering -a smile, "when he saw his sacred images crumbling down and stealing away -in streams of molten gold. It is even said that he uttered a great cry -of lamentation and sat on the ground a whole night, with his garments -rent, fasting, and in sore distress. This I scarcely think was the -fashion of the mighty hunter: what I _do_ believe is, that he sent a -company of bowmen after the offender with orders to bring him back into -his presence, alive or dead. They pursued the patriarch through the -Valley of Siddim, till they came to the bitter waters; and -here"--Assarac put his goblet with something of embarrassment to his -lips--"here the stars in their courses must have fought against Assyria; -for our warriors turned and fled in some confusion, so that the daring -son of Terah escaped. Then it is said that he prayed to his God for -vengeance against our lion-king, entreating that he who had been -conqueror of the mightiest men and slayer of the fiercest beasts on -earth, should be punished by the smallest and humblest of that animal -creation it had been his chief pleasure to persecute and destroy. His -God answered his prayer, though he raised no temples, made no golden -images of man, beast, bird, nor monster, and sacrificed but a lamb or a -kid in burnt-offering on the altar of unhewn stones in the plain. - -"A tiny gnat was sent to plague great Nimrod, as the sand-fly of the -wilderness maddens the lion in his lair. Under helm or diadem--in purple -robe or steel harness--at board and bed--in saddle, bath, or war -chariot, the lord of all the earth was goaded into a ceaseless encounter -where there was no adversary, and exhausted by perpetual flight where -none pursued. - -"Then he sent for cunning artificers, who made for him a chamber of -glass, impervious even to the air of heaven, so that the king entered it -well pleased; for he said, 'Now shall I have ease from my tormentor, to -eat bread and drink wine, and be refreshed with sleep.' - -"But while he spoke the gnat was in his ear, and soon it ascended, and -began to feed on his brain. Then the king's agony was greater than he -could bear, and he cried aloud to his servants, bidding them beat on his -head with a hammer, to ease the pain. So he endured for four hundred -years; and then he--then he went home to his father Ashur; and when the -Seven Stars shine out in the Northern sky, he looks down, well pleased, -from his throne of light, on the city that his children have built, and -the statue of gold they have raised to his name." - -"And this is true?" exclaimed Sarchedon, whose love of the marvellous -could not but be gratified by the priest's narrative. - -"True as our traditions," answered Assarac, with something like a sneer; -"true as our worship, true as our reason and intellect, true as the -lessons we have learned to read in the stars themselves. What can be -truer? except labour, sorrow, pain, and the insufficiency of man!" - -"Every one to his own duty," replied the young warrior. "Slingers and -bowmen in advance, spears and chariots in the centre, horsemen on the -wings. It is your business to guess where the shaft falls; mine is but -to fit the arrow and draw the bow. I am glad of it. I never could see -much in the stars but a scatter of lamps to help a night march, when no -brighter light was to be had. The moon has been a better friend to me -ere now than all the host of heaven. Tell me, Assarac, can you not read -on her fair open face when I shall be made captain of the guard to the -Great King?" - -"What you ask in jest," said the other, smiling, "I will hereafter -answer in sober earnest. I go hence to the summit of that high tower, -and all night long must I read on those scrolls of fire above us a -future which they alone can tell--the destiny of nations, the fate of a -line of kings, nay, the fortunes of a young warrior whom the queen -delighteth to honour, and who may well deserve to sleep to-night while -others take their turn to watch." - -Thus speaking, he spread his mantle over a heap of silken cushions, -disposed at the foot of the stairs leading to the tower of Belus so as -to form a tempting couch, in the cool night air, for one who had ridden -so far through the heat of an Assyrian day. - -He had not ascended three steps towards the tower, ere Sarchedon, -overcome with fatigue, excitement, and Damascus wine, laid his head -amongst the cushions and fell into a deep sound sleep. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -THE STARS IN THEIR COURSES - - -Casting his eye on the fire of fragrant wood that burned in its brazen -tripod at the summit of the tower, passing his fingers, as it seemed, -mechanically through its flame, and with the same unconscious gesture -touching his right eyebrow, Assarac leaned his massive figure against -the parapet, plunged in a train of deep engrossing thought. - -The tapering structure he had ascended was built, as his traditions -taught him to believe, for purposes of astral worship and observation. -It afforded, therefore, a standing-point from which, on all sides, an -uninterrupted view of the heavens could be obtained down to the horizon; -yet the eyes of Assarac were fixed steadfastly on the great city -sleeping at his feet, and it was of earthly interests, earthly -destinies, that he pondered, rather than those spheres of light, hanging -unmarked above him in the golden-studded sky. - -A soft but measured step, the rustle of a woman's garment, caused him to -turn with a start. He prostrated himself till his brow touched the -brickwork at her feet, and then, resuming an erect position, looked his -visitor proudly in the face, like a teacher with his pupil, rather than -a subject before his queen. - -"Assarac," said Semiramis, "I have trusted you with a royal and -unreserved confidence to-night. I do not say, deserve it, because your -life is in my hand, but because our wishes, our interests, and the very -object we aim at, are the same. Many have served me in slavish -subjection through fear. Do you serve me with loyal regard as a -friend?" - -She laid her white hand frankly on his arm, and he, priest, man of -science, as he was, ambitious, isolated, above and below the strongest -impulses of humanity, felt the blood mount to his brain, the colour to -his cheek, at that thrilling touch. - -"Your servant's life," he answered, "and the lives of a thousand priests -of Baal, are in the queen's hand to-night; for doth she not hold the -signet of my lord the king, sent with Sarchedon from the camp in token -of victory? And more than my life,--my art, my skill, the lore by which -I have learned to compel those gods above us, are but precious in my -sight so far as they can advantage the Great Queen." - -"You will unfold the mysteries of the sky," she replied eagerly. "You -will bid Baalim, Ashtaroth, and all the host of heaven speak with me -face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. If you will answer for -the gods up yonder," she added with a touch of sarcasm on her sweet -proud lip, "I will take upon myself to order the actions of men below." - -"Something of this I _can_ do," said he gravely, "or I have watched here -night by night, and fasted, and prayed, and cut myself with knives -before the altar of Baal, in vain. But, first, I must ask of the queen, -doth she believe in the power of the gods? Doth she trust her servant to -interpret truly the characters of fire engraved by them on the dark -tablets of night?" - -She scanned him with a searching look. "I believe," she said, "thus -far--that man makes for himself the destiny to which hereafter he must -submit. I believe the gods can foretell that destiny, and I would fain -believe, if I had proof, that you, Assarac, their faithful servant, -possess power to read up yonder the counsels of the Thirteen, and all -their satellites." - -"What proof does my queen desire?" asked the priest. "Shall I read off -to her from those shining tables the plastic mouldings of the future, or -the deep indelible engravings of the past?" - -The queen pondered. "Of the future," she replied, "I cannot judge -whether they speak true or false. Were they to tell me of a past known -only to myself and one long since gone from earth"--she sighed while -she spoke--"I might give credit to their intelligence, and shape my -course by those silent witnesses, as men do in the desert or at sea." - -"Look upward, my queen," answered Assarac, "and mark where the belt of -the Great Hunter points to that distant cluster of stars, like the -diamonds on your own royal tiara. Faintest and farthest shines one that -records her past history, as yonder golden planet, glowing low down by -the horizon, foretells her future destiny." - -He stopped, and from a vase of wine that stood near the sacred fire, -sprinkled a few drops to the four quarters of the sky. "I pour this -drink-offering," he said, "to Ashtaroth, Queen of Heaven! Shall I tell -the Queen of Earth a tale I read in those stars forming the symbol -which, rightly interpreted, contains the name of Semiramis?" - -The queen nodded assent, turning her beautiful face upward to the sky. - -"Could it all be true?" was the wild thought that fleeted for an instant -through his brain, "and had not Ashtaroth herself come down from heaven -to look on her adoring votary?" - -With a glance almost of awe into the queen's upturned countenance, -Assarac proceeded: "I read there of a city in the South, a city beyond -the desert, pleasant and beautiful in the waving of palms, the music of -rushing waters, built on the margin of a lake, where leaping fish at -sundown dot the glistening surface, countless as rain-drops in a shower. -On its bank stands a temple to that goddess who, like Dagon, bears half -a human form, terminating in the scales and body of a fish. Very fair is -Derceta to the girdle, and, womanlike, fanciful as she is fair. Near her -temple dwelt a young fisherman, comely, ruddy, of exceeding beauty and -manhood, so that the goddess did not scorn to love him with all the -ardour of her double nature, only too well. - -"Yet it shamed her of her human attributes when she gave birth to a -child, though the stars tell me, O queen, that never was seen so -beautiful a babe, even amongst those borne by the daughters of men to -the host of heaven. - -"Nevertheless, a foul wound festers equally beneath silk and sackcloth; -so that the goddess, in wrath and shame, carried her infant into the -wilderness, and left it there to die. - -"Behold how Ashtaroth glows and brightens in the darkening night. Surely -it was the Queen of Heaven who sent fair doves to pity, succour, and -preserve that child of light, tender as a flower, and beautiful as a -star. Day by day the fond birds brought her fruits and sustenance, till -certain peasants, observing their continual flight in the same -direction, followed their guidance, and found by a rill of water the -laughing infant, bearing even then a promise of beauty to be unequalled -hereafter in the whole world." - -There was pride and sorrow in the queen's deep eyes as she fixed them on -the seer, and whispered, - -"Ask, then, if it had not been better to have left the child there to -die." - -"The stars acknowledge no pity," was his answer. "It is the first of -human weaknesses cast off by those who rule in earth or heaven. Had they -not written the destiny of that babe by the desert spring in the same -characters I read up there to-night? They tell me how, in her earliest -womanhood, she was seen by Menon, governor of ten provinces under my -lord the king. They tell me how Menon made her his wife. They tell me, -too, of an amulet graven with a dove on the wing, which that maiden wore -hidden in her bosom when she came veiled into the presence of her lord." - -The queen started. - -"How know you this?" she exclaimed almost angrily. "I have never yet -shown it even to my lord the king." - -"I do but read that which is written," he answered. "They tell me also -how, when she shall part with that amulet, it will purchase for her the -dearest wish of her heart at the sacrifice of all its powers hereafter. -Its charm will then be broken, its virtue departed. She never showed it -man save Menon; for the governor of those wide provinces stretching to -the Southern sea would have gone ragged and barefoot, would have given -rank, riches, honours, life itself, for but one smile from the loveliest -face that ever laughed behind a veil." - -"They speak truth," murmured the queen; "he loved me only too well." - -"It was written in heaven," continued Assarac, "that the servant must -yield to his master, and that a jewel too precious for Menon was to -blaze in the diadem of the Great King. I read now of a fenced city, -frowning and threatening, far off in an Eastern land; of a bank cast -against its ramparts, and mighty engines smiting hard at its gates; of -archers, spears, slingers, and horsemen; of the king of nations seated -on his chariot in the midst, pulling his grey beard in anger because of -the tower of strength he could in no wise lay waste and level with the -ground. But for Menon and his skill in warfare, the besiegers must have -fled from before it in disorder and dismay. One morning at sunrise there -were heard strange tidings in the camp. Men asked each other who was the -youth who had ridden to Menon's tent in shining apparel, devoid of helm -and buckler, but armed with bow and spear--beautiful as Shamash the God -of Light, so that human eyes were dazzled, looking steadfastly on his -face. - -"Ere set of sun the Great King had himself taken counsel with this -blooming warrior; ere it had risen twice, Menon was made captain of the -host, and the work of slaughter commenced; for the proud city had -fallen, and the gods of Assyria were set up in its holy places, to be -appeased with blood and suffering and spoil. - -"When the host returned in triumph, they left a mighty warrior dead in -his tent over against the ruins of the smoking town. No meaner hand -could have sufficed to lay him low, and none but Menon took Menon's -life, because--Shall I read on?" - -A faint moan caused him to stop and scan the queen's face. It was fixed -and rigid as marble, pale too with an unearthly whiteness beneath that -starlit sky; but there was neither pity for herself nor others in the -calm, distinct articulation with which she syllabled her answer in his -own words--"Read on!" - -"They teach me," he continued, "that Menon could not bear his loss, -after she had left his tent whose place was on the loftiest throne the -earth has ever seen. When the triumph returned to Nineveh, there sat by -the Great King's side, in male attire, the fairest woman under heaven. -She guided his wisest counsels; she won for him his greatest victories; -she raised his noblest city; she became the light of his eyes, the glory -of his manhood, the treasure of his heart, mother of kings and mistress -of the world; but she had never yet parted with her amulet to living -man. All this is surely true; for it is written in those symbols of fire -that cannot lie, and that trace the history of the Great Queen." - -Semiramis turned her eyes on him with a look that seemed to read his -very heart. The priest bore that searching glance in austere composure, -creditable to his nerve and coolness; though these were enhanced by a -vague conviction of his own prophetic powers, the result, no doubt, of a -certain exaltation of mind, consequent on his previous fasts, his -studies, and his long hours of brooding over deep ambitious schemes. -After a protracted silence, she sighed like one who shakes off a heavy -burden of memories; and, giving her companion the benefit of her -brightest smile, asked him the pertinent question: "Is it the amulet -that controls the destiny, or the destiny that gives a value to the -amulet? Do the stars shed lustre on the woman, or is it the woman's fame -that adds a glory to her star?" - -For answer he pointed to a ruby in her bracelet, sparkling and glowing -in the light of the mystic flame. - -"That gem," said he, "was beyond price in the rayless cavern of its -birth. Nevertheless, behold how its brilliancy is enhanced by the gleams -it catches from the sacred fire. The stars shine down on a beautiful -woman, and they make of her an all-powerful queen." - -"All-powerful!" repeated Semiramis. "None is all-powerful but my lord -the king. To be second in place is to be little less a slave than the -meanest subject in his dominions." - -He took no heed of her words. He seemed not to hear, so engrossed was he -with his studies of the heavens, so awe-struck and preoccupied was the -voice in which he declaimed his testimony, like a man reading from a -sacred book. - -"She whose counsels have won battles shall lead armies in person; she -who has reached her hand to touch a sceptre shall lift her arm to take -a diadem; she who has built a city shall found an empire. Walls and -ramparts must hem in the one; but of the other brave men's weapons alone -constitute the frontier: as much as they win with sword and spear so -much do they possess. The dove is the bird of peace; and for her whom -doves nourished at her birth there shall be peace in her womanhood, -because none will be left to contend with the conqueror and mistress of -the world." - -He fell back against the parapet of the tower, pale, gasping, as if -faint and exhausted from the effects of the inspiration that had passed -away; but beneath those half-closed lids not a shade on the queen's -brow, not a movement of her frame, escaped his penetrating eyes. He -could read that fair proud face with far more certainty than the -lustrous pages of heaven. Perhaps he experienced a vague consciousness -that here on these delicate features were written the characters of -fate, rather than yonder above him in the fathomless inscrutable sky. -She seemed to have forgotten his presence. She was looking far out into -the night, towards that quarter of the desert over which Sarchedon had -ridden from the camp, where an arrow from her own quiver lay under the -bleaching bones of the dead lion. Her eyes were fierce, and her -countenance bore a rigid expression, bright, cold, unearthly, yet not -devoid of triumph, like one who defies and subdues mortal pain. - -Such a glare had he seen in the eyes of the Great King when he awarded -death to some shaking culprit--such a look on the victim's fixed face, -ere it was covered, while they dragged him away. - -It was well, thought Assarac, for men who dealt with kings and queens to -have no sympathies, no affections, none of the softer emotions and -weaknesses of our nature. The tools of ambition are sharp and -double-edged; the staff on which it leans too often breaks beneath it, -and pierces to the bone. Moreover, it would have been wiser and safer to -commit himself to the mercy of winds and waves than to depend on the -wilfulness of a woman, even though she wore a crown. Already the queen's -mood had changed: her face had resumed its habitual expression of calm, -indolent, and somewhat voluptuous repose. - -"No more to-night," she said, with a gracious gesture, as of thanks and -dismissal. "There is much to be done before the return in triumph of my -lord the king. To-morrow you will carry my commands to the captains -within the city, bidding them have all their preparations made for the -reception of the conquerors. Let them assemble their companies under -shield; let the chariots and horsemen be drawn up in the great square -over against the palace; and let the archers look that their bows have -new strings. You can answer for your own people here?" - -"For every hand that bears a lotus in temple, palace, or streets--two -thousand in all, without counting the prophets of the grove, and the -priests of Baal, outside the walls." - -"Enough," said the queen; "you have done well. I, too, can read in the -future more and mightier things than you have imparted to me to-night." - -She wrapped her mantle round her to depart, not suffering Assarac to -attend her one step on her way. Kalmim, she said, was waiting in the -garden, and would accompany her to the palace. So she walked slowly down -the winding staircase, grave, abstracted, as though revolving some -weighty purpose in her mind. At its foot she started to see the -recumbent figure of Sarchedon buried in profound sleep. - -Was it a fatality of the stars? Was it an impulse of womanhood? She bent -over that beautiful unconscious face till her breath stirred the curls -on its comely brow, then, with a gesture almost fierce in its passionate -energy, snatched the famous amulet from her neck, and laid it on his -breast. - -"It is a rash purchase," she muttered; "but I am willing to pay the -price." - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -A DREAMER OF DREAMS - - -He was sleeping, yet not so sound but that his rest was visited by a -strange and terrifying dream. - -He thought he was in the desert, galloping his good horse in pursuit of -an ostrich, winged with plumes worthy to tuft the spears that guarded -the Great King's tent. But for all his efforts of voice, hand, and -frame, Merodach laboured strangely in the deep sand, of which the -long-legged bird threw back such volumes as to choke his lips and -nostrils, wrapping him in a dim revolving cloud, that whirled and -towered to the sky. Like a stab came the conviction that he was in the -midst of the pitiless simoon, and he must die. Once more he strove to -rouse Merodach with heel and bridle; but the horse seemed turned to -stone, till, plunging wildly, he struggled forward, only to sink under -his rider and disappear beneath the sand. Then the cloud burst asunder -to reveal the glories of a dying sunset, fading into the purple sea. - -He was on foot in the desert, fainting, weary, and sore athirst; but he -heard the night-breeze sighing through palms and whispering in lofty -poplars; he heard the cool ripple of water against the shore, and the -pleasant welcome of a stream, singing in starts of broken melody as it -danced down to meet the waves; then he saw a yoke of oxen, a camel at -rest, a few huts, and a boat drawn up high and dry on the beach. - -He was no longer a warrior in the armies of the Great King, but a rude -fisherman amongst fishermen. He ate of their bread, he drank from their -pitcher; yet was he still hungry and athirst, still wore a sword at his -girdle and carried a bow in his hand. - -He took his share of their labour; he drew in their nets. It seemed to -him he had seen their faces before, though they knew him not; but he -marvelled why they moved so slowly, and neither spoke nor smiled. While -he helped them, too, it was as if the whole weight of rope and meshes -hung on his arm alone. So night fell; and they took him into a hut, -pointing to a cruse of water and a mantle spread in the corner, but -withdrawing in the same sad silence, calm and grave, like those who -mourn for the dead. - -He could not sleep. The moon rose and shone in on him where he lay. -After long hours of tossing troubled waking, a figure blocked the window -where her rays streamed in on his couch. Then a great horror came over -him without cause or reason, and tugging hard to draw his sword, he -found it fastened in the sheath. Solemnly, slowly the figure signed to -follow. Leaving his couch, he felt his heart leap, for it resembled -Ishtar! But in the porch of the hut he seemed to recognise the clear -proud features of the queen. Nevertheless, when its face was turned to -the moonlight, he knew it was Assarac under the garb of a fisherman, but -bearing the lotus-flower always in his hand. Without exchanging word or -look, with averted eyes and stealthy steps, these two set the little -bark afloat and took the oars. Then at last was broken the long weary -silence, by a voice that came up from the deep, saying, "Ferrymen, bring -over your dead!" - -Light, buoyant, and high in the water, the boat had danced like a -sea-bird on the surface; but now, though never a form was seen nor sound -heard, she began to sink--deeper, deeper, so that the waves seemed to -peer over her sides, leaping and sporting about her in cruel mockery, as -though eager to break in and send her down. - -It was a hard task to row that heavy freight out to sea. Weary and -horror-stricken he tugged at his oar till the sweat dropped from his -brow. - -The moon went down, and a great darkness settled on the waters--the -thick clogging waters, through which their oars passed so heavily. Was -it the sea of the plain whereon they were embarked? Yes, surely, it must -be the sea of the plain, the Dead Sea. - -Was he never to approach the term of this numbing oppressive labour? -Must he row on for ever and ever, without pause or respite, having bid -his last farewell to the shores of earth and the light of day? Thus -thinking, he felt the boat's keel grate against the bottom, while the -oar started from his hand. - -He took courage to look about him; but mortal eye could not pierce that -thick darkness; and though the toil awhile ago had been so severe, a -chill air curdled his blood, and crept into his very heart. - -Still and silent as the grave seemed that shadowy land, till the same -voice he had heard on the other shore called out the name of one he knew -well and loved with a brother's love. There was no answer; but the boat -lightened perceptibly, and her keel no longer touched the shingle. - -Another name was called, and yet another, always in the same calm -passionless accents, always with the same strange solemn result. - -At every summons the boat rose higher in the water. When Sataspes was -called, she swung to the flow and wash of the sluggish wave against her -sides; at the name of Ninus, the Great King, she floated free and -unencumbered as before she put out on her mysterious voyage. - -With a heart lightened as was the boat that bore him, he pushed her off -to return; for something warned him that now his task was done. He would -fain have spoken with Assarac; but the surrounding gloom seemed so to -oppress his lungs and chest, that the words formed by his tongue could -not find vent through his lips. - -Once more he was bending to the oar, when, as it were out of his own -heart, came a voice whispering his name, "Sarchedon! Sarchedon!" in low -sweet tones, which yet he knew vibrated with the sentence of his doom. - -An unseen power raised him to his feet, and would have lifted him to -shore, but that the priest held him back by his coarse fisher's garment, -which dragged on chest and throat till he was fairly choked. Then, in -extremity of fear and agony, he found his voice to call on Assarac for -help at the moment when his vesture, yielding to the strain laid on it, -parted asunder to let the cold night air in on his naked breast. - -So he awoke, scared, trembling, panting for breath, and even in his -waking seemed still wrapped in the gloom of that Isle of Shadows--seemed -still to catch the tread of muffled footsteps, the breath of airy -whispers, faint echoes from another world. - -In that age, and amongst a people ever striving after a mystic ideal, -yearning for communion with a higher world, dreams, and the -interpretations thereof, were held of no small account. - -Sarchedon, warrior though he was, and, like his great chief, little -imbued with the superstitions of his time and country, could not yet -pass over such a scene as his imagination had even now pictured without -much cogitation and concern. He sat up and considered it in no small -perplexity, inclining to regard the vision now as an omen of fortune, -anon as a warning of fate. In his suffocating struggles to wake, his -hands had been pressed close against his breast; a few moments elapsed -ere he became conscious that he held in them a jewel he had never seen -before. Rising from his couch at the foot of the tower, he hastened to -examine it by starlight under the open sky. It consisted of an emerald, -on which was cut the figure of a dove with outspread wings, following, -as it seemed, the course of an arrow flying upward through the air. That -it had come to him by supernatural influences during his sleep, he never -doubted, and interpreted it, as men always do interpret the -inexplicable, in the manner most agreeable to his own wishes. This dove, -he said to himself, must mean the girl he had so lately seen at the Well -of Palms; for what could be more dove-like than the maiden sweetness and -innocent bearing of Ishtar? The arrow doubtless signified, in its upward -flight, his own future career. He would become illustrious as a warrior, -and Ishtar would follow him in his brilliant course to fame. Was it an -arrow, or the initial of a name? He was forced to confess, from its -shape and direction, that it seemed intended to represent the weapon -itself, and not the letter of which he would fain consider it a symbol. -Nevertheless, it must be a sign that the gods intended him for great -things, and it should be no fault of his if the only woman who had yet -touched his heart did not share with him the good fortune thus promised -by the stars. - -Meantime it wanted many hours of dawn; so he returned to his cushions -and mantle for the remainder of his night's rest, stopping by the table -at which he had sat with Assarac in the evening for a pull at the golden -flagon, not yet emptied of its good Damascus wine. - -Nevertheless, long before sunrise, he awoke refreshed, invigorated, -happy; feeling the amulet resting on his breast, he accepted its -presence for a fortunate omen; and ere daylight paled the beacon-fire on -the tower of Belus, was galloping Merodach through the desert on his way -to the Well of Palms. - -"Surely," thought this dreamer, "she will be watching there for the -first glitter of spears that shall give token of her father's return? -Then will I tell her when to expect the host, and how to distinguish -between its vanguard and the spearmen of its strength, having Arbaces at -their head, who march with the chariot of the Great King. She will give -me to drink, and I will say unto her, Maiden, as this draught of water -to one athirst and stifled with the desert sand, so is a whisper from -the lips and a glance from the eyes of the fairest damsel in all the -land of Shinar to him who has ridden from the great city only to look on -her face ere he departs to see her no more. Then she cannot but lift her -veil, and speak kindly to me, bidding me tarry but a few moments, while -she draws water for my horse. So will I tell her the whole tale; and -hereafter, when my lord the king has rewarded his warriors for service -done with bow and spear, I will take to Arbaces a score of camels, a -hundred sheep, and a talent of gold, together with the armour I won of -that swarthy giant beyond the sweet river; and how shall he say me nay? -So will I lead her home to my tent, and then shall I have attained full -happiness, and need ask for nothing more on earth." - -Thus it fell out that Kalmim, arriving in the temple of Baal soon after -daybreak, missed both the object of her real and her fictitious search. -The queen after a heated restless night, bade her chief tiring-woman -seek in that edifice for an amulet, which Semiramis affirmed she could -only have dropped at the foot of the tower of Belus, where some one, she -added, was sleeping, who must be brought to her and interrogated -forthwith. Kalmim's experience, in her own person and that of her -mistress, led her at once to guess the truth; therefore she hurried off -to apprise Sarchedon he was wanted without delay in the royal palace. On -her arrival, it might be said that she found the nest still warm, though -the bird had flown; for a priest was carrying away the cloak and -cushions that had formed the young man's couch, and his dark eyes -glittered with a roguish smile while he peered into the flagon of -Damascus, to find little left in it but dregs. - -"These warriors seem to know the use of good wine when they can get it," -said he, "and I doubt not it sings and mantles under helm of steel no -less than linen tiara or fillet of gold; but they clasp bow and spear -through many a long night for one that they spend with goblet of Ophir -in hand. Men sleep little in the camp too, and feed sparingly, they -tell me, nor day after day must they be cheered by the sight of a -woman's veil or the sound of a woman's voice. To say nothing of a fierce -enemy and a place in the fore-front of the battle between two hosts in -array, where it is scarcely more dangerous to fight than to fly. Truly -it is better to be a servant of Baal than of the Great King." - -"It is better to be a boar in the marshes than a lion in the mountain!" -retorted Kalmim with high disdain; "a vulture battening on a dead camel -than an eagle striking the wild goat from its rock! Conquering or -conquered, up or down, a warrior is at least a _man_, and a match for -men!" - -"While a priest is a match for women," answered the other, laughing. "Is -that what you would say? Nevertheless, Kalmim, it must be a priest who -will serve your turn this morning, for there are here a thousand in the -temple, and never a hand among us to draw bowstring or close round the -shaft of a spear." - -"There was a warrior in the porch even now," replied Kalmim; "a goodly -young warrior with dark flowing locks, and a chin nearly as smooth, -Beladon, as your own. What have you done with him? He bore hither the -Great King's signet, and if he has come by harm, not all the gods of all -your temples will shield you from the fair face that never looked on man -in anger but he was consumed." - -Beladon, a handsome young priest, with bright roguish eyes and swarthy -complexion, turned pale while she spoke--pale even through the rich -crimson of his cheek and the blue tint of lips and chin, where his beard -was close-shaven, and rubbed down with pumice-stone in imitation of -Assarac's smooth unmanly face. - -"The youth lay here scarce an hour ago," said he, trembling. "He mounted -the noblest steed that ever wore a bridle--a white horse, with eyes of -fire--and rode off through the Great Brazen Gate into the desert like an -arrow from a bow. Surely he will return." - -Kalmim burst out laughing at his discomposure. - -"Surely he will return!" she repeated; "and when he does return, surely -you will bring him to me by the path through the great paradise without -delay. Semiramis hath been dealing justice amongst the people since -sunrise, but she will pass the heat of the day as usual in the fishing -temple, and you will find me in its porch. You do not fear to present -yourself before Dagon? His worship requires no sacrifice of sheep nor -oxen, no blood of priests to flow from the gashes they cut in their -naked flesh, before his altar." - -She spoke in a jesting tone ill befitting the solemnity of the subject, -and he answered in the same vein. - -"The sheep and oxen we offer are consumed without doubt by Baal himself, -while his servants live miraculously on the light of his countenance and -the fragments that he leaves! Touching our self-inflicted wounds, -notwithstanding all the blood spilt before the people, we scarcely feel -the pain; and this too cannot but be by a miracle of the god. I make no -secret with you of our mysteries. Tell me, in return, what mean these -warlike preparations that have set the whole city astir to-day?" - -Her tone was still of banter and sarcasm. - -"Would you wish the Great King to be received," said she, "with no more -ceremony than a shepherd bringing a stray lamb in from the wilderness on -his shoulders? When he returns a conqueror, shall not the triumph be -worthy of the victory?" - -"But if every man who can bear arms is to stand forth in array with bow -and spear; if the women and children, on pain of death, are not to come -down into the streets; if the priests of Baal and the prophets of the -grove are to be marshalled like warriors, with knives unsheathed and -sacrificing weapons in hand, our welcome will seem to Ninus more like -the assault of a fenced city than the return of my lord the king to his -home!" - -"So be it," answered Kalmim. "It is not the flash of a blade or the -gleam of a spear that will frighten the old king. By the serpent of -Ashtaroth, he fears neither man nor demon; and when his queen raised a -temple in Bactria to Abitur of the Mountains, he profaned his altar and -defied the Chief of the Devils in sight of our whole army. It angered -her, and she hath not forgotten it. Why, men say, he believes no more in -Baal than--than you do yourselves!" - -He looked about him in alarm. - -"Hush!" said he. "It is not for me to judge between my gods and my lord -the king. The divining cup of Assarac has not failed to tell him that -Ninus shall one day take his place with the Thirteen Gods. It may be -that he knows the golden throne is waiting for him even now." - -He scrutinised her face narrowly, but saw on it only a light and -careless smile. - -"Were I the queen, I'd have a younger one next time," was her reply. "Of -_your_ years, say you? No, thank you, Beladon--not for me. Well, you may -come with me to the Jaspar Gate and as far as the outer court; I dare -not pass alone through all those oxen, lowing, poor things, as if they -knew not one of them would be left alive to-day at noon." - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -THE KING OF NATIONS - - -Leaning on his spear within a day's march of the Great City, the tall -figure of a warrior loomed massive and indistinct in the early light of -morning breaking on the Assyrian camp. Line by line, shade by shade, as -dawn stole slowly upward, his form came out in bolder relief. Presently -a dark blurred mass, some few paces off, took the shape of a sleeping -camel; soon shadowy tents, dusky banners, spoil, arms, accoutrements, -all the encumbrances of an army on the march, grew into their real -outline, filled with their respective colours; and the man's features, -under his steel headpiece, became plainly visible in the light of day. - -He was arrayed in the utmost splendour of armour and apparel. The -former, inlaid throughout with gold, shone bright and polished like a -mirror, though the goodly silks and heavy embroidery that formed the -latter were sadly rent and frayed by the press of many a hot encounter, -the wear and tear of many a weary march. He wore in his girdle a short -straight sword with jewelled hilt and ornamented scabbard, carried a -bow and quiver of arrows at his back, and a shield studded with precious -stones on his arm. From his shoulders hung an ample mantle of crimson -silk, bordered with deep fringes of gold; while the head of the spear, -or rather javelin, on which he rested, though broad, sharp, and heavy, -was plated and ornamented with the same costly metal. - -In such an arm it seemed no doubt a formidable weapon; for the man's -square frame and weighty limbs denoted great personal strength; while -his marked features wore an expression of habitual fierceness, in -accordance with a swarthy complexion, thick black brows, and ample -curling beard. - -He was buried in thought of no pleasing nature, to judge by the working -of his lips and the scowling glances he directed towards a tent standing -apart, of which two upright spears tufted with ostrich-plumes marked, -and seemed to guard, the entrance. - -As morning brightened, the whole camp came into view from the mound -where he kept guard, and whereon the Great King's tent was pitched--a -camp of many sleeping thousands, ranged in warlike order under a hundred -banners drooping heavily in the still clear air. - -Suddenly the warrior started from his listless attitude into life and -action; for a light step was approaching, and a figure advanced to the -tufted spears that denoted the abode of royalty. - -"Stand!" he exclaimed in threatening accents, advancing his shield and -raising the javelin to strike. "Nay, pass, Sethos," he added with a -scornful laugh. "I have no orders to stop the king's cup-bearer; but you -are on foot betimes this morning, though you wot well the old lion stirs -not before break of day." - -Sethos patted the wine-skin under his arm--a homely vessel enough, -though its contents were to be poured into a jewelled cup. - -"The old lion laps ever at sunrise," said he; "and the hunter who brings -him to drink need not fear to enter his lair." - -"Fear!" repeated the other with an accent of contempt. "He who deals -with lions must forget the meaning of the word. 'Tis thus, man, they are -trapped and tamed." - -"Of a truth," answered Sethos, "I once believed that in all the hosts of -Assyria or of Egypt was to be found no frown so dark as gathers on the -brows of the Great King when he is angered. By the beard of Ashur, -Sargon, I have seen a fiercer look of late on the face of one who used -to be ready with smile and wine-cup as with bow and spear; and it comes -from under the helmet, my friend, that keeps _your_ head." - -"Have I not cause?" muttered the other, speaking below his breath in the -quick concentrated accents of intense feeling. "When the host marches -into Babylon, and the women come out with song and timbrel to welcome -the conquerors; when each man makes his boast, showing his treasure, his -spoil, and the captives of his bow and spear; when my lord the king -rewards his servants, giving gifts--to this a dress of honour, to that a -beautiful slave, to another a talent of gold and spoil of household -stuff--what shall be done for Sargon, the king's shield-bearer, -returning childless and bereaved by the king's own hand? Boy, it is well -I hold not your place. I might be tempted to mix that in the cup which -should cause Ninus to pour out his next drink-offering amongst a host of -heaven in whom he professes to have no belief." - -"Dangerous words," answered Sethos, "and empty as they are rash. Why, -man, you yourself cover him in battle with his shield. It is but -lowering your arm a cubit, and the king's life is in your hand." - -"I could not do it," said Sargon, drawing himself proudly up. "It shall -never be said that the great Assyrian fell to point of Egyptian arrow, -or gash of Bactrian steel. Nay; though the fire on Sargon's hearth may -be quenched, his name extinct, let Ninus fulfil his destiny, and sit -amongst the gods like his forefathers. It may be they are waiting for -him even now. Listen, Sethos; he calls from his tent. Hie thee into the -lion's den, and pour him out such a morning's draught as shall keep him -fasting from blood at least till noon." - -Sethos--a handsome light-hearted youth, who as the king's cup-bearer -enjoyed many privileges and immunities, of which he availed himself to -the utmost--passed swiftly between the tufted spears, and with a low -prostration raised its curtain, to enter the tent of the oldest and -mightiest warrior in the world. - -Ninus, half risen from his couch, ruder and simpler than that of any -captain in his host, stretched his long gaunt arm with impatience for -the wine he so craved, to replenish the exhausted energies and wasting -powers of extreme old age. The Great King's face was pale and sunken; -his eyes, deep in their sockets, were dull and dim; while his thin -scattered locks, shaggy brows, and long flowing beard had turned white -as snow. Nevertheless, the wreck of that mighty frame, like some hoary -fortress crumbling and tottering into ruin, still showed the remnant of -such grand proportions, such fabulous strength as was allotted to the -men of olden time, when earth was new and nature inexhaustible. Yet was -it whispered through the host, that as their fiercest champion would -have seemed a mere child by the side of their king in his prime, so was -Ninus but as a babe compared with great Nimrod, his ancestor, the god of -their idolatry, and mighty founder of their race. - -Sethos tendered the wine-cup as in duty bound, then stood with hands -crossed before him, and looks bent lowly on the earth. The king drained -his morning draught to the dregs; and for a moment there rose a faint -flush on the ashen features, a lurid glow in the wan weary eyes--but -only to fade as quickly; and it was a sadly tremulous hand, though so -broad and sinewy, that grasped his wine-cup; while the deep voice came -very hoarse and broken in which he asked Sethos, - -"Who waits outside? Is it near sunrise?" - -"Sargon, the royal shield-bearer," was the answer, "has been on guard -since cock-crow; and Shamash, Prince of Light, will doubtless show -himself above the horizon so soon as my lord the king appears at the -door of his tent." - -Ninus bent his shaggy brows in displeasure on the volubility of his -servant. - -"Halt!" said he. "Rein in thy tongue, lest the dogs have their share of -it without the camp. Fill yet again; and let me hear no more of this -endless jargon about the gods." - -It was death to laugh in the king's presence; but Sethos, replenishing -the goblet to its brim, did not repress a smile. The old warrior's -second draught seemed somewhat to renew his strength. - -"Reach me that gown," said he--"the heavy one; and the girdle yonder. -Fool! that in which hangs the sword--my good old sword! Ha! if Baal and -Ashtaroth had done for me but one half the service of horse and weapon, -they might take their share of the spoil, and welcome. By the belt of -Nimrod, they shall not have one shekel more than a tenth this time! -Thirteen gods, by my beard, and every god a thousand priests! Why, it is -enough to ruin the richest king that ever built treasure-house. I must -reduce them. I will about it at once, when the people are busy with the -triumph. I wonder what _she_ will say--my beautiful! I angered her long -ago, when I refused to worship Satan up yonder in the mountains. I would -be loath to anger her again, though I will worship nothing but the eyes -that are watching fondly for my return." - -Old, exhausted, weary as he was, there came a gentle look over his grim -war-worn face while he thought of the woman he loved so fondly, whom it -had cost him so much of crime and cruelty to possess. But the passion of -acquisition, almost inseparable from age, was strong in the king's -heart; and it chafed him to think the votaries of Baal should so largely -share in the fruits of this his last and most successful expedition -beyond the Nile. - -Sethos, standing before him in the prescribed attitude of respect, -marked every shade of his lord's countenance, drawing his own -conclusions, and preserving his usual air of imperturbable good humour -and self-conceit. - -The early flush of sunrise now stole under the hangings of the tent, -crimsoning the cup-bearer's feet where he stood, so that his sandals -looked as if they had been dipped in blood. - -"Bid them sound trumpets," said the king. "Go tell Arbaces that the -vanguard must set themselves in array at once. Where is Ninyas? He -should have been waiting before his father's tent ere now. Wine, sloth, -and pleasure--he loves them all too well. Yet the boy drew a good bow in -his first battle, and rode through Pharaoh's horsemen, dealing about him -like Nimrod himself. Go, bring him hither; and, Sethos, as you pass -through the camp, order the captain of the night to call in the watches. -So soon as the camels are loaded I shall march." - -A warrior to the very marrow, Ninus loved such minute details as the -marshalling of a vanguard, or the ordering of an encampment, better than -all the pomp of royalty; and felt more at ease in steel harness, on the -back of a good steed, than seated in purple and gold, with the royal -parasol over head, the royal sceptre in hand, an object of worship to -adoring crowds in ancient Nineveh, or even great Babylon itself. - -His son Ninyas, on the contrary, though scarcely yet verging on manhood, -was already steeped in sensuality, and a slave to that reckless -indulgence of the appetites which so soon degenerates from pleasure into -vice. His grim father perhaps would have been less patient of excesses -and outbreaks in camp and city but for the lad's exceeding beauty and -likeness to his mother, Semiramis, whose race and womanly graces were -reproduced with startling fidelity in those delicate boyish features, -that lithe symmetry of form. - -Sethos was a prime favourite with the prince, who approached his -father's tent, leaning on the cup-bearer's shoulder, in respectful -haste, denoted by his flushed face and disordered apparel. Though -careless of the displeasure with which Ninus visited such unwarlike -negligence, as he was of everything save the folly of the moment, he had -put on neither harness nor headpiece, had neither taken a spear in his -hand nor girt a sword upon his thigh. - -The old king's shaggy brows lowered till they almost hid his dull stern -eyes. - -"What maiden is this," said he, "who comes thus unveiled into the camp -of warriors? Go, take needle in hand, and busy them with cunning -embroidery if those unmanly fingers be too dainty to bear the weight of -heavier steel." - -It was death to laugh in the king's presence, death to assume any other -than the prescribed attitude with bowed head and crossed hands; -nevertheless a merry peal rang through the tent, the boy tossed the -king's goblet in the air, and caught it again, while his fresh young -voice answered lightly, - -"There is a season for all things, father, and I like fighting at the -proper time as well as old Nimrod himself. But this is a day of victory -and rejoicing. I begin it with a drink-offering to my lord the king." - -He held the cup to Sethos while he spoke, laughing to see how little of -the generous fluid was left in the wine-skin. His mirth was contagious, -and the old lion smiled a grim smile while he laid his large wrinkled -hand on the lad's shoulder, with a kindly gesture that was in itself a -caress. - -"Begone with you!" said he, "and if proven harness be too heavy for -those young bones, at least take bow and spear in hand. It was thus your -mother came riding into camp the first time I ever saw those arched -brows of hers. You have her fair face, lad, and something of her proud -spirit and wilful heart." - -He looked after the boy sadly and with a wistful shake of his head; but -just then a trumpet sounded, and the old warrior's eye gleamed, his -features assumed their usual fierce and even savage expression, while he -summoned his armour-bearer to rivet harness on his back, and the -captains of his host to take their short, stern orders for the day. - -And now the whole camp was astir. Tents were struck and camels loaded -with a rapidity only acquired by the daily repetition of such duties -under the eye of discipline and in presence of an enemy. Ere long, where -horses and beasts of burden had been loosely picketed, or wandering half -tethered amongst bundles of unbound forage, between the lines of dusky -weather-stained tents--where spears had been piled in sheaves, amongst -cooking utensils and drinking vessels--where bow and arrow, sword and -shield, helm and habergeon, had been tossed indiscriminately on -war-chariots, horse furniture, or scattered heaps of spoil--where the -movable city had seemed but a confused and disorganised mass, was fairly -marshalled the flower of an Assyrian army, perfect in formation, -splendid in equipment, and no less formidable, thus disposed in its -smooth motionless concentration, like a snake prepared to strike, than -when drawn out in winding shining lines to encircle and annihilate its -foe. - -Even the captives had their allotted station, and with the spoil were -disposed in mathematical regularity, to be guarded by a chosen band of -spears. These prisoners were of two kinds, separate and distinct in -every detail of feature, form, and bearing. The darker portion, some of -whom were so swarthy that their colour looked like bronze, scowled with -peculiar hatred on their conquerors, and, as it seemed, with the more -reason that several bore such wounds and injuries as showed they had -fought hard before they were taken alive, while a whiter-skinned and -better-favoured race, with flowing beards, high features, and stately -bearing, who kept entirely apart and to themselves, seemed to accept the -proceedings of their captors in the forbearance of conscious -superiority, not without a certain sympathy, as of those who have -interests and traditions in common with their masters. - -The admiration of all, however, was compelled by the imposing appearance -of those war-chariots and horsemen that formed the strength and pride of -an Assyrian army. - -As the old king, tottering somewhat under the weight of his harness, -appeared at the door of his tent, the entire host was set in -motion--bowmen and slingers in front, followed by a body of horsemen -glittering in scarlet and gold, raising clouds of dust, while their -trumpets sounded above the neigh and trample of those horses of the -desert that knew neither fatigue nor fear; then, with stately even -tread, marched a dark serried column of spears, bearded, curled, and -stalwart warriors, every man with shield on arm, sword on thigh, and -lance in hand; next, the war-chariots, thousands in number, with a roll -like distant thunder, as they came on in a solid mass of moving iron, -tipped with steel. After these a few priests of Baal, weary and -dejected, walking with but little assumption of sacred dignity, bore the -image of a bull and a few other idols small and portable, but formed of -molten gold. These hurried on, as if they feared to be ridden down by -the king's body-guard who succeeded them, picked champions, every one of -whom must have slain an enemy outright with his own hand, mounted on -white steeds, and glistening with shields and helmets of gold. In their -rear rode Arbaces, the captain of the host, and immediately behind him -came the chariot and led horse of the monarch himself. - -As these reached the mound on which the royal tent was pitched, the -whole force halted, and a shiver of steel ran like the ripple of a wave -along their ranks, while every man brandished his weapon over his head, -and shouted the name of the Great King. - -Ninus stood unmoved, though for an instant the wrinkles seemed less -furrowed on his brow. They gathered, however, deeper than ever, when his -quick eye caught sight of Ninyas reclining in his chariot, with his -favourite Sethos beside him, and a cup of wine half-emptied in his hand. - -The king's own chariot was in waiting; but he caused it to pass on, and -bade them bring his war-horse, a fiery animal, that came up curvetting -and champing at its bit. Sargon, with the same scowl that had never left -his face, went down on hands and knees for his lord to mount with -greater advantage from off his back, and Ninus, settling himself in the -saddle, while the war-horse plunged with a force that would have -unseated many a younger rider, looked his son fixedly in the face, -observing in a tone of marked reproach, - -"Couches for women! chariots for eunuchs! May you never learn to your -cost, boy, that his good horse is the only secure throne for an Assyrian -king!" - -Then he signed with his hand, and while trumpets rang out, and warriors -recovered their weapons, a globe of crystal, emblematic of the sun, and -suspended above the royal tent, was illumined by a priest with sacred -fire. As it flashed and kindled, the whole army set itself in motion, -and the King of Nations was once more on the march towards his last -triumph, after his last campaign. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -THE LUST OF THE EYE - - -Babylon the Great had pranked herself out in holiday attire, like some -loyal and splendid dame arrayed to welcome her lord. From the Gates of -Brass in her southern wall to the temple of Baal towering in her centre, -squares, streets, and terraces were hung with scarlet, blazing with -gold, and strewed knee-deep in flowers. Her population were shouting by -tens of thousands on either bank of the Euphrates, which ran through the -heart of the city, while even the broad river was dotted with boats of -every shape and colour, fantastic, gaudy, and beautiful as the exotics -on the tanks of those paradises or gardens which formed her -distinguishing characteristic and her pride. Myriads of women waved -their veils and scarfs from roof and balcony in endless perspective, -while countless children added a shriller echo to every cry of welcome -as it rose. - -It was remarkable, however, that, contrary to custom on similar -occasions, none of the weaker sex were to be seen in the streets. Such -had been the decree of the Great Queen; a decree enforced by the -presence of so strong an array of warriors as denoted the mighty -resources of an empire, which could thus furnish a formidable army at -home to receive an army of comrades returning from the frontier. - -Besides these champions of bow and spear, masses of white-robed priests -occupied the porches of every temple and every open space dedicated to -sacrifice throughout the city; while others, chosen from the servants of -Baal, and therefore under the immediate influence of Assarac, were -scattered through the crowd, conspicuous amongst the gay dresses and -glittering arms of their countrymen by their linen garment and the -lotus-flowers in their hands. - -Of these, Beladon seemed the busiest and most voluble, gliding from -group to group with plausible words and impressive gestures, which -nevertheless left on his listeners a nameless sense of dissatisfaction -in the pageant, the victory, and general results of the Egyptian -campaign. - -Amongst the warriors perhaps this discontent was most apparent, -amounting indeed to a sentiment of insubordination, which lost nothing -in strength and bitterness from the observations of the priest. - -"A feeble war," said he, addressing himself to the captain of a band of -spearmen who occupied one of the Brazen Gates--"a distant country and a -doubtful success. Few captives, I have heard, little spoil, and the -frontier remains where it was." - -"Not much to boast in the way of fighting," answered the other, a -stalwart warrior curled and bearded to the eyes. "Look at the vanguard -passing even now. Scarcely a dinted shield or a torn garment in their -ranks; every bowman with a whole skin and a quiver full of arrows at his -back. It was not thus we marched in from Bactria, when I myself could -count three scars on my breast, and one on my face that you may see -there even now; ay! and bore on my spear the head of a giant whom I slew -in sight of both armies with my own hand. Ninus laughed, and swore I -hewed at him like a wood-cutter at a broad-leafed oak in the northern -hills. I wonder if he will remember me to-day." - -"The Great King hath forgotten many a stout blow and faithful service -since then," answered Beladon. "The lion grows old now, his teeth are -gone, and his claws worn down. Ere long he will take his seat among the -Thirteen Gods, my friend, and Ninyas, his son, will reign in his stead." - -"He is a leader of promise, I have heard," said the other, "who can set -the battle in array; ay, and strike hard in the fore-front too, despite -his slender body and winsome woman's face." - -"Winsome indeed," replied Beladon, pointing upward to where the queen -sat in state on the wall amidst her people. "Is he not his mother's son? -and has he not inherited her very eyes and smile?" - -"She would make the noblest leader of the three," swore the captain of -spears. "By the serpent of Ashtaroth, she has more skill of warfare than -the Great King himself; and I have seen the Bactrians lay down their -arms and surrender without a blow, when she drove her war-horse into -their ranks. You are a priest, and priests are learned in such matters. -Have you never heard that she is something more than woman?" - -"The gods will take her to dwell with them in their own good time," -answered Beladon gravely, but smothering a smile as he reflected on -sundry feminine weaknesses and caprices of the Great Queen, freely -discussed by the priests of the inner circle in the temple of Baal. -"More than woman," he muttered, moving away to another group of -spectators--"more than woman in cunning, more than man in foresight, -more than the lion in courage, more than a goddess in beauty! The day -must come when she will rule the world! Assarac is her chief -adviser--Beladon is high in the counsels of Assarac--and so, what -matters a gash or so before an altar, a little reserve amongst the -people, compared with the prospect that opens before us, if only we were -rid of this fierce old unbeliever, who fears neither gods above nor men -below?" - -Then he moved a few paces on, and bade a listener mark how the queen had -turned the course of a stream out of her gardens round the royal palace -to fill the fountains of the city, wondering in the same breath how -Ninus would relish the alteration--Ninus, who a few years back had -levelled walls, streets, and temples to enlarge the borders of a -paradise for his game. This observation having won sufficient attention -from the crowd, he proceeded to discuss the value of provisions, a -subject of interest to all, reminding them that grain had been strangely -cheap during the king's absence from his dominions, and marvelling why -millet should have gone up in price as the conquering army advanced -nearer and nearer home. Were they better or worse for the Great King's -presence, he wanted to know; had they been athirst or ahungered while -Ninus was far away making war on the frontier; and why was it that now, -on the day of his return in triumph, they began to feel scarcity and to -be sparing of the children's bread? Men looked blankly in each other's -faces, and shook their heads for a reply; but such seed is never sown on -barren ground, and it dawned on many minds that their city, which after -all was not of his own founding, but his queen's, would have been none -the worse had the Great King never come back from the war at all. - -A hundred priests prating to the same effect in a hundred quarters -produced no contemptible result. Discontent soon grew to disloyalty, and -men who at daybreak would have asked no better than to fling themselves -in adoration under the king's chariot-wheels were now prepared to -receive him in sullen displeasure, and, as far as they dared, with -outward demonstrations of ill-will. - -Yet, like clouds before the northern breeze, all these symptoms of -disaffection were swept away by the first glitter of spears in the -desert, the first trumpet blast without the walls giving notice of his -approach--to return, when the triumph and the pageant should be over, -when the shouting and the excitement should have died away. - -There was one, however, who watched the alternations of temper in the -multitude as a steersman in shoal water watches the ebb and flow of the -tide. Assarac's keen intellect penetrated the wavering feelings of the -people, while his daring ambition aimed even at the overthrow of a -dynasty for the gratification of its pride. He had long dreaded the -return of Ninus as a check to his own power over the populace and -paramount influence with the queen. The old lion loved neither priests -nor priestcraft, and would have had small scruple in putting all the -servants of Baal to the sword, if he suspected them of treachery or -revolt. Had the army marched back from Egypt weakened and disorganised -by the fatigues of its campaign; had the numerous force within the walls -showed stronger symptoms of impatience and discontent; in short, had his -materials seemed but inflammable enough to take fire at a moment's -notice, Assarac would not have hesitated that one moment in applying a -torch to set the whole Assyrian empire in a blaze. - -But the priest, though swift to strike his blow, was also patient to -abide his time. The Great Conqueror's army marched home as it had -marched out, strong in numbers, in courage, in supplies--flushed -moreover with an easy victory and a sufficiency of spoil. Warlike -enthusiasm is of all excitement the most catching, and the hosts within -the city were fain to greet their brethren-in-arms with at least the -semblance of cordiality and good-will. Not thus on the day of his -triumph was the old lion to be taken in the toils. Assarac, in his place -of honour as high priest, standing near the queen, watched every turn of -her countenance, and bethought him that the stars in their courses -afforded no such difficult page to read as the text of a woman's heart. - -Semiramis was attired with a magnificence that, enhancing her own -unrivalled beauty, seemed to envelop her in splendour more than human. -When she raised her veil to look down on the crowd, an awe came over the -people, so that they forbore even to shout. It seemed as if Ashtaroth, -Queen of Heaven, had descended in their midst; but a single voice -finding vent at last, such a pent-up burst of cheers rose to the sky, -that her fair face turned a shade paler, and to him who was scanning it -with eager gaze of curiosity and admiration, it seemed as if a moisture -rose in her deep dark eyes. - -The shouts of the people were caught up again and again. Clad in a robe -of golden tissue, crowned with a diadem of rubies and diamonds set in -gold, wearing the star-shaped ornaments round her neck that denoted her -divine origin, and on her breast the most precious jewel in the empire, -representing a cock and a crescent-moon, emblems of that homage to the -Evil Principle which she had herself inculcated on the nation; wrapped -besides in the halo of her own surpassing beauty, it was scarce possible -to believe she was only a woman after all, of the same mould, the same -nature, the same passions, with the drudges they had left pounding corn -and drawing water at home. From gilded warrior to naked slave, from the -captain in his chariot to the leper at the wayside, not a man, as he -looked on that lovely face, but would have felt death cheaply purchased -by a kind word or a smile. And these were lavished on one who was asked -to encounter no danger--scarcely to perform an act of homage, in return. - -Sarchedon, flushed, dazzled, bewildered by the position, found himself -installed at her right hand, chief officer and prime favourite, placed -there ostensibly as bearer from the camp of the Great King's signet; in -reality, something whispered to his astonished senses, because he had -pleased the eye and taken captive the fancy of the queen. - -Many a stolen look had he intercepted that could but be interpreted as -of high favour and approval. Once she fixed her eyes on the amulet, -which, in ignorance of its ownership, he wore openly round his neck, and -seemed about to speak, but checked herself, sighing languidly, and -turning with impatience to Assarac; while she questioned him about the -details of the pageant, wondering why the vanguard, already marching in, -should be thus far in advance of the main body and the Great King. "Was -the army so encumbered with spoil? Had they so many captives? Were there -beautiful women among them? She had heard much concerning the daughters -of the South--Sarchedon could tell them--was it true the women of Egypt -were so dangerously fair?" - -Once more she bent her eyes on the young warrior, and was not displeased -to mark the colour deepen on his cheek, while bowing low he answered, -with his looks averted from her face. - -"I thought so till I returned to Babylon from the host. But a man who -has once seen the glitter of a diamond is blind thenceforth to the -lustre of meaner gems." - -"Your eyes must have been strangely dazzled," replied Semiramis with -exceeding graciousness; "and the diamond that so bewildered you--was it -rough from the mine, or cut and set in gold? Did it sparkle in the zone -of a maiden, or in the diadem of a--" She stopped short with a faint -laugh, adding in a more reserved tone, "She was no Egyptian, then, but -one of our own people, whose beauty thus reached the heart at which -Pharaoh's bowmen have been aiming in vain? Shall I press him to name -this victorious archer? Kalmim, do you plead guilty? Is it you? or you? -or you?" She looked round amongst her women while she spoke, and one -after another, trying hard to blush, bowed her modest disclaimer with -glances of admiration, not unmarked by the queen, at the warrior's -handsome face and figure, set off by the splendid armour and apparel in -which he stood. Even Semiramis, proud, conquering, almost omnipotent, -liked him none the worse that it was obvious the other women would have -liked him too, if they dared. But Assarac, ever watchful, ever jealous -of his own interests, which centred in the dignity of the Great Queen, -now interposed. - -"The land of Shinar has been the land of beauty ever since the sons of -heaven came down to woo her daughters on the mountains beyond the two -rivers," said the priest. "Even before the days of the Great Queen, has -not Ashtaroth the beautiful reigned ever goddess of the Assyrians? -Ashtaroth, with her golden crown, enrobed in streams of light!" - -"Ashtaroth trampling the lion beneath her feet!" added Semiramis, with a -curl on her lip and a dangerous glitter in her eyes. - -"Ashtaroth with the serpent in her hand," retorted Assarac, lowering his -voice to a meaning whisper. "The emblem of cunning, stratagem, and true -wisdom. Think not it is her star-like beauty, her golden crown, her -lustrous robes, that dominate the world. No; it is the counsel of the -serpent she carries in her hand!" - -The queen flung up her head. "I require no counsels," said she, "from -priest or serpent. When I spear the wild bull, I ride my horse freely -against his front. When I shoot the lion, I aim mine arrow straight at -his heart. Warriors bolder than the wild bull, fiercer than the lion, -must needs go down before the weapons of Semiramis!" - -It had been an ungraceful boast, but for the sweet smile, the soft -glance, that accompanied her words, causing them to convey a loving -invitation rather than a warlike defiance. - -Sarchedon's heart was thrilling and his brain burning. The sweet -intoxication of vanity possessed the one, the fiery spark of ambition -kindled in the other. He muttered low, that "to be slain and trampled -under foot by the Great Queen was a nobler lot than to drive a -war-chariot over prostrate nations," and was raising his eyes to learn -how the humility of such an avowal would be received, when his face -turned pale, and he started like a man who leaps to his feet at the -approach of danger. - -Not half a bowshot off, looking fixedly towards him, was the gentle -troubled face of Ishtar, on the terrace of her father's palace, watching -for the chief captain's return. - -The queen did not fail to detect his agitation and its cause. Her eyes -flashed, her delicate mouth shut close on the instant as if with a -clasp, her features set themselves like a mask, a beautiful mask, but of -the hardest steel. So looked she when she rode the lion down and pierced -him to the heart; so looked she when she urged her chariot through the -ranks of an enemy, over heaps of slain; so looked she when she -administered justice from the Great King's tribunal, and turned pitiless -from a suppliant pleading hard for life. The glance she shot at the -daughter of Arbaces was that of an unhooded falcon eyeing the gazelle -upon the plains. - -And at the same moment glances, pleading, passionate, longing, as of -that same gazelle when she nears the desert-spring, were directed -towards Ishtar from a gorgeous chariot passing slowly in pompous march -of triumph through the Brazen Gate, while veils were waved, steel -brandished, and the acclamations of ten thousand voices rose higher and -higher; for in that chariot stood their future king, the young Ninyas, a -living reflection of his mother, bright, delicate, and beautiful as the -queen herself. - -She marked her son's admiration of the pale fair girl; she marked -Sarchedon's uneasiness; but whatever thoughts were busy in her royal and -lovely head, she looked abroad into the desert and held her peace. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -THE PRIDE OF LIFE - - -As the glittering procession defiled in proud array through the gates of -that imperial city, Babylon might well be proud of her children. The -most warlike nation on earth had assembled to greet the flower of its -army returning from conquest; and the warriors of the old king bore -themselves like men who are conscious they deserve the meed of triumph -accorded to their fellows. Each black-browed spearman, so bold of -feature, so open-eyed, so curled and bearded, stalwart of limb and -stately of gesture, marched with haughty step and head erect, as though -he felt himself the picked and chosen champion of a host. Archers and -slingers assumed the staid dignity of veteran captains, while the very -horses that drew the war-chariots champed, snorted, and swelled their -crests as if they too were conscious of the reputation it behoved them -to uphold. - -Far as stretched the triumph--so far indeed that its van had already -reached the temple of Baal, while its rearguard was yet below the -sky-line of the desert--every link in that chain of victory afforded -some object of interest, admiration, or pride to the spectators. These -were the bows that had been bent to such purpose in their first pitched -battle with the ancient enemy, when Egypt was worsted and driven back -upon the Nile. Those strong and stately spearmen, so bronzed, so -scarred, so splendid in dress and armour, were the very warriors who had -withstood the fury of all Pharaoh's chariots and horsemen, nor yielded -one cubit of ground, though sore out-numbered and beset, while they -covered the Great King's passage of that famous river. Close in their -rear, with clang of trumpet, clash of steel, and ring of bridle, came -trampling four abreast the famous horsemen of Assyria; and men told each -other, with kindling eyes and eager gestures, how the steeds that drank -from the Tigris and the Euphrates had charged to the gates of Memphis -and been stabled in the temples of the Stork. - -Next, with horses gorgeously caparisoned, trapped, plumed, and stepping -daintily under the rein, rolled on the terrible war-chariots of iron, -that, with their scythes of steel, mowed down the ranks of an enemy in -broad swathes of slaughter where they passed. Each car, besides its -charioteer, held a heavily-armed warrior under shield, with bow and -arrows, sword and spear; three horses plunged abreast, two of which were -harnessed to the chariot, while a third, linked only with its fellows to -the bridle, was driven along-side in readiness to replace a maimed or -fallen steed. This formidable array, which struck with awe even the -accustomed senses of the bystanders, was compared by them to the chest -and body of the army, while the horsemen represented its limbs and feet. - -Immediately in rear of that moving mass of metal rode the captain of the -host, less distinguished for splendour of array than personal dignity of -bearing and such a noble face as must have been beautiful in youth. To -please his fierce old master, he followed the example of Ninus, and -abandoned his chariot for the back of so goodly a steed as could only -have been bred in the plain between the rivers. If a thousand -acclamations rent the air while this stately veteran came galloping on, -managing his war-horse with all the grace and pliancy of youth, they -were increased tenfold when he drew rein beneath the terrace where stood -Ishtar and her maidens, halting for a moment, while he looked fondly -upward at his daughter and his home. - -With the gesture of a child, she stretched out her arms towards him, as -if she would fain have leaped down into his embrace. Sarchedon, looking -on her from the wall, was but one of many thousands who felt her -innocent beauty thrill to his very heart. Nevertheless, Assarac, -narrowly watching Semiramis, observed her cheek turn a shade paler, -while the hard pitiless expression came back to the queen's unrivalled -face. - -Arbaces made no long delay. Waving his hand towards his daughter, and -glancing proudly round on his applauding countrymen, he paced slowly on, -while a whisper ran through the crowd: - -"Stand close--here they come! Welcome to the golden helmets! Honour to -the guards of the Great King!" - -Two by two, mounted on white horses with scarlet trappings, arrayed in -silks of white and scarlet, with shields and helmets of burnished gold, -came flashing on this picked and chosen body--every man of whom, -selected for strength and beauty, must also have distinguished himself -by an attested act of daring in the field. In their centre floated their -standard, likewise of scarlet, and on its folds was embroidered in gold -the figure of Merodach, god of war, standing on a bull with a drawn bow -in his hand. The arms of these champions were bare to the elbow, their -legs to the knee; but their persons were otherwise defended by close -scale armour, thickly inlaid with gold; precious jewels studded the belt -and pommel of each man's sword, and the shaft of his spear; the fringes -of their gowns were inordinately long, their beards and hair elaborately -curled and perfumed. It was evident that these guards of royalty -esteemed themselves no less ornaments than champions of the Assyrian -host. - -Sarchedon's eyes flashed, and his cheek glowed with pleasure while they -passed. He was proud to think that these were his own special comrades -and brethren-in-arms; that it was from their glittering ranks he had -been detached with the royal signet and tidings of the Great King's -return. - -The queen marked his enthusiasm; and, bending kindly towards him, -demanded in a soft voice, scarce above a whisper: - -"Who are these, Sarchedon? To my eye, they seem the goodliest and -best-favoured men in the armies of Assyria." - -"They are my comrades," he answered proudly; "the guards of the Great -King: the meanest of us holds himself equal to a leader of ten thousand. -Arbaces Tartan[3] is our captain, as he is captain of the host." - -[Footnote 3: Tartan, the general in command.] - -"And Sarchedon would look nobly at their head," she answered, with one -of her bewildering smiles. "It may come to pass yet for him who knows -when to strike and when to forbear. Hush! there are higher destinies -written in the stars than the posting of a few tinselled spearmen to -watch the slumbers of a king!" - -He was equal to the occasion. O, heart of man! so strong and bold when -beset by danger or privation, so weak and untenable when assailed on the -side of vanity! He replied in a low and trembling voice, "It is honour -enough for me. Yet is there one post I would rather hold--one watch I -would give my life to keep, if only for a day!" - -"You shall not pay so dear a price!" she answered gently. "Take a lesson -from the amulet on your own breast. See how that loving bird follows the -arrow's flight. So long as her career is upward, the shaft can never -pierce her heart. 'Tis a fair and precious jewel--let no temptation lead -you to part from it. I will examine it more closely hereafter." - -"It is my queen's!" he exclaimed. "As is my life, and all I have." - -"Keep it till I require it of you," was the answer. "And now tell me, -Sarchedon, amongst these goodly warriors, whom think you the fairest and -the comeliest?" - -"There are none in all the host to be compared with him now passing -beneath us in his chariot," said Sarchedon boldly. "None other face of -man or woman half so fair--but one!" - -Such words conveyed no mental reservation--though his own heart told him -he had over shot the truth. But punishment for his duplicity followed -quickly on the offence. - -Another of those rare smiles stole over the queen's face, as the -acclamations of the multitude rose higher than before to greet him who -must hereafter be their king; and Ninyas, reclining in his chariot, -accepted with indolent good-humour that loud and boisterous welcome. -His shield and spear were laid aside--his bow and quiver hung at the -back of the chariot. On his head, from which the dark curls were combed -back so daintily, he wore no helmet of defence--only a light linen tiara -bound by a circlet of gold. Robes of violet silk floated loosely round -his exquisite shape and womanly roundness of limb, while he carried a -jewelled drinking-cup, long since emptied, in his hand. It was the -attire--the attitude--the appearance of a votary of pleasure hastening -to the banquet, rather than of a tired warrior returning from the field. -Nevertheless, it may be that a character for prowess, cheaply earned -enough by a king's son in battle, lost nothing of its value among the -thoughtless crowd, for an affectation of effeminacy, only excusable in -one of such youth, beauty, and reputed valour. The queen, looking down -on him well-pleased, could not refrain from exclaiming: - -"My son is indeed comely! Yet is it the comeliness of a woman rather -than a man." - -"There is but one woman on earth more fair," whispered Assarac in her -ear. "Nevertheless, were she down yonder in male attire on a -war-chariot, and he sitting amongst us here in the royal robes of a -queen, I doubt if the change would be suspected by one of all that -countless multitude now gazing in admiration on both." - -She started, not expecting to receive her answer from the priest, and -bent her brows in deep thought, mingled with displeasure, as she -observed the uneasiness of Sarchedon, eagerly watching certain movements -going on below. - -Guiding the horses, by the side of Ninyas, sat Sethos, the king's -cup-bearer, who being in high favour with his young lord usually -accompanied him in his chariot, both to battle and to the chase. Perhaps -not entirely without a purpose, he drew rein immediately under the -terrace where stood Ishtar and her maidens, at the instant when a posy -of flowers, projected innocently enough by the damsel herself, came -whirling down at the feet of her future king. - -Ninyas looked up quickly; and even in that moment of vexation Sarchedon -could not but remark the winning smile, that, brightening all his face, -enhanced her son's extraordinary resemblance to Semiramis. - -The young prince lifted the flowers, and put them to his lips with a -graceful salutation. Then he bent his head to Sethos, and the latter, -taking the cup from his lord's hand, flung it deftly upward so as to -light on the terrace within a cubit of where the damsel stood. - -"Keep it for the sake of Ninyas," called out the giver, as he bowed his -head once more; whispering in the ear of Sethos, while the chariot moved -slowly on, "That comely maiden, pale and tender like a lily in a -paradise, is better worth the taking than all the beauty of Egypt, -captives of our bow and spear." - -"And my lord has won her with an empty cup," answered laughing Sethos. -"When he flings aside the maiden, like the goblet, may I be there to -catch her ere she falls!" - -Though the populace applauded loudly, as it was natural they should -applaud such an action of mingled gallantry, condescension, and -insolence, a shudder crept over Ishtar from head to heel, and she moved -the skirt of her garment to avoid touching that gift of a future -monarch, as if it had been some noxious reptile in her path. - -Semiramis did not fail to note how the daughter of Arbaces shot more -than one imploring glance at Sarchedon, that seemed to deprecate a -jealousy of which she was aware, while conscious of not being answerable -for its cause. It was perhaps more in character with the spite of a -woman than the dignity of a queen that she should have leant towards the -young warrior, and addressed him with such marked demonstrations of -favour as could not fail to be observed by Ishtar, whose perceptions and -feelings were now strung to their highest pitch. - -She might even have shown him greater condescension than was either -royal or prudent, but for the renewed intervention of Assarac, who once -more took possession of her ear, speaking so as to be heard by the queen -alone. - -"My directions have been carried out," he whispered, "and of every -hundred men assembled in the streets, ten are warriors and four are -priests. The people admire, but partake not in the triumph; they shout, -but their hearts go forth less freely than their voices. There is -discontent abroad, and even displeasure, relating to this conquest of -my lord the king. The men of war who have gone down with him to battle -are like to be ill-satisfied with their share of spoil. Those who have -remained within the walls already jeer and point the finger at the -unhacked armour and whole skins of their returning comrades. Our own -followers, servants of Baal and prophets of the grove, whisper strange -auguries, and the stars themselves declare that Ninus is destined ere -long to take his place among the gods. Caution, Great Queen! caution! I -must away on the instant, to be in readiness at the head of a thousand -priests who will receive the king on the steps before the temple. He -loves not such receptions, and holds but little with offerings and -sacrifices to the gods; nevertheless, even Ninus must not, _dare_ not, -beard the whole host of heaven in this their very stronghold. He will -make the ceremony short and simple as he can, however, and every priest -that ever laid knife to his own flesh before an altar will feel outraged -and aggrieved. You have the Great King's signet. Keep it safely. That -jewelled toy is worth ten thousand chariots of iron and as many -horsemen. Behold, the guards have now passed on. See what a handful of -priests are pacing with his chariot--an empty chariot, too; and look how -few in number and scant in metal are the molten gods that go before him -to battle. He comes. I say again, Caution, Great Queen! caution! and for -a space forbear!" - -Pointing his warning with an expressive glance towards Sarchedon, -Assarac bowed reverently and withdrew. - -Semiramis turned a shade paler, and for one moment a shudder seemed to -creep from her brow even to her feet. The next she stood forth to mark -her lord's approach, erect and beautiful, the stateliest queen, as she -was the fairest woman, in the world. - -Immediately in rear of the royal standard passed on the war-chariot of -the Great King, containing his charioteer and shield-bearer. Sargon's -lowering brow was black as night, and to the vociferous greetings of his -countrymen he returned but a silent scowl. In the brief space that had -elapsed since the cruel slaughter of his son, the man's nature seemed -wholly changed. His very beard, formerly so black and glossy, was -streaked with grey, and the dark eyes now dull and downcast, glowed -with lurid light as though from some inner fire. Few, however, remarked -this alteration in the aspect of the shield-bearer; for with the first -glimpse of Ninus, shouts of jubilee rose once more from the people, and -in that moment of enthusiasm, assembled Babylon could not have afforded -a fuller, fairer welcome to mighty Nimrod himself. - -The Great King came on at a foot's pace, reining his steed with that -craft of practised horsemanship which outlasts failing sight, lost -activity, and bodily powers impaired by age. His large, gaunt frame, -though bowed and tottering, swayed easily to every motion of his steed; -his broad loose hands, though numbed and stiff, closed with unimpaired -skill on spear and bridle; while ever and anon, with some vociferous -cheer or stirring trumpet-call, the drooping head went up, the dim eye -sparkled, and for a space in which bow might have been drawn or -sword-blow stricken, Ninus looked again the champion warrior of the -world. - -The king had abstained from all outward pomp of attire or panoply; he -wore neither diadem nor tiara, but a steel helmet, much dinted and -battered, guarded his brow. Save for the lion's head embossed in its -centre, his shield was the plainest, as it was the most defaced, that -passed into Babylon that day; while neither his horse's trappings nor -his own accoutrements could compare in splendour with those of his -guards who preceeded him on the march. But his sword was a span longer, -his spear some shekels heavier, than any other in the whole Assyrian -host, and none, looking on that renowned conqueror, so formidable even -in decay, but would have recognised him for the bravest and mightiest -fighter of his time. - -Slowly, sternly he came on, receiving the homage and acclamations of his -people with a royal indifference not far removed from scorn. The press -of chariots, the clash of steel, all the wild tumult and fierce music of -battle, could scarcely now call the light to his eye, the colour to his -visage. What was a mere peaceful triumph but an unmeaning pageant, a -protracted and somewhat wearisome dream? His grim old features sank and -lowered till it seemed to the nearer bystanders that they were looking -on a corpse in mail. - -But once the Great King's face brightened, the blood rushed redly to his -cheek, and his strong hand shook so on the bridle, that his good horse, -accepting the signal, bounded freely in the air. Then he turned ghastly -pale, drawing his breath hard, and trembling like a maiden or a child. - -Beaming down on him from the wall with her own bright smile, he saw the -face that had haunted him in those long night-watches for many a weary -month--the face that, of all on earth, had alone made itself a home in -his fierce old heart. - -The wild joy of battle was indeed over, but for him the calm of peace -had come at last. From his saddle where he sat to the wall whence she -smiled down on him, not a score of spear-lengths divided him from -Semiramis, looking fonder and more beautiful than she had ever appeared -even in his lonely dreams. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -A BANQUET OF WINE - - -On the first night of his return from conquest, it was customary for an -Assyrian king, his captains, and chief officers of state to be received -by his consort with a banquet, offered to their special entertainment. -The stars were already out, the moon was rising from the desert, when a -thousand torches, flaring on the summer night, lit up the central court -of the royal residence with a fierce red glow, vivid as the light of -day. It brought out in strange grotesque relief the gigantic sculptures -on the wall, till winged bull, man-faced lion, and eagle-headed deity -seemed but fleeting flickering shadows, that moved, threatened, and -retired as the night breeze rose and fell. It played in variegated hues -on the columns of porphyry and jaspar that supported the upper story, -blackening the remote recesses of its lofty chambers, while marble -pillar, shaft of alabaster, carving, cornice, and capital blushed in -crimson flame. It shed a ruddier lustre on wine, fruit, and flowers, the -rich profusion of a royal table, glittering from massive chalice and -ancient flagon, blazing in jewelled cup and vase of burnished gold. The -brilliant gems, the costly robes, the stately figures of those noble -guests, were enhanced tenfold by its power; while the king's wan face -showed paler, fiercer, ghastlier than ever, in that strong searching -glare. - -The procession had been long, the triumph protracted and wearisome; -sacrifices offered, not ungrudgingly, to the gods, had delayed him with -observances he loathed, ceremonials he despised; and Ninus had been in -the saddle since daybreak. It was not strange then that Arbaces, his -chief captain, sitting over against him, should have felt his heart sink -while he looked on the ashy war-worn face, from which he had so often -gathered counsel and resource, picturing to himself that he saw a dead -monarch presiding, stark and grim, at his own funeral feast. - -The king sat for a while with his head sunk on his breast, to all -appearance thoroughly out-wearied and overcome; but after Sethos had -filled his cup more than once, a feeble light came into his eyes, while -he glared around with a haughty air of inquiry, that seemed rather to -threaten the absent than welcome those who were present at his festival. -He looked sternly satisfied, however, with the number and importance of -his guests--men who formed the props of his throne and the very bulwarks -of his empire. There was Arbaces, captain of the host, firm in position -as in character, a sage counsellor, a skilful leader, and a stout man of -war in close fight, hand to hand; there was Sargon, his shield-bearer, -who slew before the gates of Memphis, in single combat, seven Egyptian -champions, one by one, and vowed in the hearing of both armies, that as -he had sacrificed these to the Seven Stars, so would he take life after -life from the host of Pharaoh till the Consulting Gods, the Judges of -the World, and each of the Assyrian deities, had been propitiated with a -victim. Scowling and silent, Sargon sat apart at the banquet; and a keen -eye, scanning him warily and by stealth, noted the seal of murder set -upon his brow. - -There was Assarac too, the scheming priest, unwarlike indeed in form and -nature, yet owning a more daring spirit, a more enduring courage, than -the fiercest archer who ever drew bow from a war-chariot--Assarac, -present in virtue of his office to pour out drink-offerings, to peer -into the divining cup if required, above all, to watch with jealous -supervision the temper and opinions of those who surrounded the king. -Though aware that Ninus disliked, suspected, and would have put him to -death without scruple, his eye never quailed, nor did his speech falter; -and when he raised his goblet, filled to its brim, the eunuch's hand was -firm and steady as a rock. - -These last-named persons, with the older leaders and captains of ten -thousand, were placed near the king; but scores of younger warriors, -rising in fame, comely in person, and splendid in apparel, thronged the -lower and more noisy extremity of the board. Over these, amongst whom -Sarchedon was not the least remarkable, presided Ninyas, distinguished -no less for his beautiful face and magnificent attire than for his deep -draughts, reckless hilarity, and boisterous freedom of discourse. - -"Once more in Babylon," said he, "after months of toil and heat, and -worst of all, that torturing thirst! After those weary marches by day, -those endless watches by night, welcome to the land of palm and -pomegranate, peace and plenty, women and wine! What say you, Sarchedon? -Well, I trow that, being of his guard, your duty bids you echo the Great -King. The old lion cannot hear you where you sit; you may speak the -truth freely as if you were reading the Seven Stars. Confess, now. None -but a fool would go forth in warfare who could stay to revel and sleep -at home." - -Sarchedon, though familiar with camps, was also no stranger to the -usages of a palace. - -"My lord did not seem of so peaceful a mind," he answered, "while he -drove his war-chariot through the archers who lined her vineyards when -we invested the city of Pasht, or it had cost us a weary siege ere we -broke in pieces the idols of the Cat!" - -"Well said, Sarchedon!" was the vain-glorious reply. "Why did we not -push on, as I advised? By the gods of my fathers, I swear to you, that -if Ninyas had been your leader but for one week, rather than the Great -King, he would have left the Ethiopians to lose themselves amongst the -marches in our rear, fought a pitched battle on the plain by the sweet -river, and you and I would have been drinking wine of Eshcol in the -palace of Pharaoh at this moment." - -It may be that Sarchedon had his own opinion of the strategy which -should have conduced to so triumphant a result. He answered gravely -enough: - -"My lord confessed even now that he was far better in the palaces of -Babylon. Is he not satisfied with the spoil, the captives, and the -cheers of the people? They lifted up their voices when he passed to-day -as it had been great Nimrod himself." - -"The lazy drones!" laughed his well-pleased listener. "When I come to -rule, they shall have something more to do than shout, I promise them. -Reach me that flagon, I pray you--nay, hold! I am like my scoffing old -sire, in one respect at least--I pour all drink-offerings down my own -throat! No; what pleased me best to-day was neither spoil nor glory nor -the voices of fools. It was the face of a maiden sweeter than the -honeysuckle and fairer than the rose. Did you not mark her Sarchedon? or -were you so busy in attendance on the queen, my mother, that you had -eyes for none beside?" - -Stifling the hideous misgivings that rose like a flood in his heart, -Sarchedon answered with forced calmness: - -"My lord must have passed to-day under the glances of a thousand -damsels, and every one his handmaid. The comeliest of all were standing -behind Kalmim, in attendance on the Great Queen." - -"You are blind! by the beak of Nisroch, you must be blind!" exclaimed -the excitable young prince. "Take Kalmim herself--for when she has tired -her head and painted her eyes she is the best of them, since the queen -loves not too much beauty so near her own--but take Kalmim, I say, and -tell me whether she shows not like a camel beside a courser when you -compare her with the daughter of Arbaces. O! never bend your brows and -look so scared towards the chief captain. He cannot hear us up there; -and, by the belt of Ashur, the king's voice raised in anger is enough to -deafen a man in both ears! What can have chafed the old lion to make him -roar so fiercely, even over his food?" - -In truth, the deep harsh tones of Ninus, loud and overbearing, were -heard above the ring of flagons, the clatter of tongues, all the din -that accompanies a feast--even above the vibration of the lyre, the roll -of the drum, the soft sweet music floating on the night air from an -unseen gallery, far off amongst the pillared corridors that surrounded -the open court. - -Like the lion to which his graceless son compared him, Ninus was lashing -himself into rage. His theme was the rapacity of priests, and, to use -his own words, the extortions of the gods. - -"Ten thousand of you!" roared the old warrior, turning fiercely on -Assarac, of whom he had asked a question relating to certain details of -the day's pageant. "Ten thousand demons! and for Baal alone. By the -beard of Nimrod, he should be better served than any of us his -descendants, who must needs feed the hungry swarming brood. And you -would have me believe that there are gods as many as stars in heaven? -Hear him, Arbaces! You and I have set armies in array ere this, so -strong that our trumpets in the centre carried no sound to the horsemen -on the wings; but if we are to have a thousand gods, and every god ten -thousand priests, it will pass your skill and mine to devise how such a -multitude may be ranged in order of battle. And one company of my bowmen -would put them all to flight ere you could ride a furlong! Ten thousand -priests of Baal! Ten thousand vultures tearing at a dead carcass! I trow -there will be little left for the desert-falcon that struck the prey. -You read the stars, forsooth, and can foretell the future easily as I -can forget the past! Go to! Will you compute me the share of spoil I am -likely to assign to-morrow for your entertainment and the altars of your -gods?" - -Without compromising one jot of his own dignity, the wily eunuch's -answer was yet temperate and respectful to the Great King. - -"My lord is himself the child of Ashur and of Baal--the father gives -freely to the son, requiring only honour and reverence in return." - -"Fill my cup!" thundered the king to Sethos, who ministered hastily to -his wants. "I have not found it so," he continued, harping still on the -theme that thus chafed him. "The honour and reverence I pay them -willingly, though they keep me standing long enough in their temples, -and, perhaps because they sit so far off, it seems hard to make them -hear. But if honour and reverence are to signify, sheep and oxen, wine, -jewels, raiment of needlework and heaps of treasure, they have had their -share from Ninus--henceforth I will follow the example of those poor -slaves we found in Egypt, the captives of our captives, who worship but -one God, and offer him neither silver nor gold!" - -"Therefore are they but servants to the servants of my lord the king," -replied Assarac, unabashed by the frowns of Ninus and the open derision -of certain veterans, who took their creed from their leader, as they -took their orders--without comment or inquiry. - -"Prate not to me!" was the angry answer; "I have scores of them down -yonder bound in the outer court amongst my Egyptian captives. I cannot -tell, Arbaces, what hinders me now, this moment, from sending you with a -handful of spearmen to clear his temple of its white-robed locusts, and -drive in these strangers, Egyptians and all, to worship Baal in their -stead." - -The chief captain, who to certain scruples of religion added those of -custom, policy, and propriety, would have ventured on expostulation; but -Assarac interposed. - -"The gods, thy fathers, who look upon us to-night!" said he, in a stern -loud voice, that awed even Ninyas and the younger revellers into -attention while he pointed gravely upward where the stars were shining -down in their eternal splendour on all the royal magnificence and -glittering profusion of that feast in the open court. - -At the same moment, sweeping round the outer walls of the palace, -vibrating through its long corridors and lofty painted chambers, there -rose a cry, so wild, so pitiful, so unearthly, that it arrested the -goblet in each man's hand, froze the jest on his lip, and curdling the -blood in his veins, caused him to sit mute and petrified, as if turned -to stone. - -The Great King started, and bade Arbaces summon up his guard; but -Assarac's voice was heard once more, solemn and majestic in its notes of -warning and reproach. - -"The gods, thy fathers!" he repeated, looking Ninus sternly in the face, -"who have spared the blasphemer, but visited his sin on the innocent -cause thereof. Hear those Egyptian prisoners mourning for a comrade this -moment passed away, wearied and out-worn by a toilsome march to the -house of his captivity, stricken and thrust through by the iron that has -entered into his soul!" - -It was indeed such a wail of bereavement and despair as was to rise -hereafter through all its length and breadth in the land of the South, -because of the terrible punishment that visited her people, "from -Pharaoh that sat on the throne to the captive that was in the -dungeon"--on that awful night, the climax of successive judgments, when -"there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there -was not one dead." - -As these long-drawn notes of woe swelled, sank, and swelled again, the -king's first emotions of horror were succeeded by a fresh outbreak of -wrath. It might have gone hard with the sorrowing herd of captives, and -perhaps not one had been left to mourn for another, but that the old -lion's fury, redoubled by its momentary check, was at this juncture -wholly diverted and appeased. A burst of music, so loud, so full, so -jubilant, that it drowned all other noises in its grand triumphant -swell, announced the entrance of Semiramis; and like the Queen of Heaven -rising from the dark back-ground of night, this Queen of Assyria, -blazing in jewels, and robed in the light of her incomparable beauty, -stood forth a shining vision from the black shadows of the gateway, to -move with stately step and slow through long lines of admiring -revellers, ere she made her royal obeisance before the throne of gold, -where sat the Great King. While she traversed the lower end of the -court, Assyria's chosen warriors, the goodliest men of all the East, -rose from the board and bent them low in courtly reverence, like a bed -of garden-flowers doing homage to the south wind as it passes by. With a -mother's love and a queen's dignity, she laid her hand on the shoulder -of her son Ninyas, while he bowed himself before her; but it was a -feeling stronger than the one, and but little in accordance with the -other, that bade her pause by the side of Sarchedon and whisper tenderly -in his ear. - -He started, colouring to his temples--two or three young warriors -glanced enviously at their favoured comrade; but it was dangerous to -observe too narrowly the motions of royalty, and each man fixed his eyes -in deep humility on the hem of her garment as Semiramis moved proudly -on. - -Ninus stirred uneasily where he sat. He would fain have risen to meet -his queen, and taken her in his gaunt embrace to the fierce old heart -that knew no other want; but such an innovation was not to be thought of -even by the conqueror of the East, and he could only reach towards her -the golden sceptre that lay on a cushion at his feet. - -While she pressed it to her fair white brow, there came a light in the -old king's haggard face that told of the loving spark too often kindled -but to be quenched in sorrow, the blind trust born to be betrayed, the -fond unreasoning pride in another that goeth before a fall. - -This final ceremony broke up the banquet. With loud peals of music, the -king and queen, waited on by their personal attendants, betook them to -their respective dwellings, between which ran the Euphrates, though -under the broad river a tunnelled passage afforded free communication -from one to the other. Arbaces and Sargon followed closely behind their -lord, as Kalmim and her group of women accompanied the queen. Ninyas, -pushing round a mighty flagon, called Sethos to his side, and swore he -would not stir till midnight; an intention loudly applauded by many of -the younger revellers, who gathered joyously round their prince. In the -change of places that ensued, Sarchedon made his escape from the -banquet, hastening through the outer gates to cool his brow in the night -air, while he communed with his own perplexed aspiring heart. - -The queen's soft breath seemed still upon his neck, her whisper -thrilling in his ear. What could she mean? "Follow the shaft! Fly on, -fly upward!" Was it possible? Could the stars have written for him such -a destiny as these words seemed to imply, or was he deceiving himself -like a fool? And how was this upward flight to be accomplished? A -thousand wild impossible longings and fancies filled his brain, but -shining calmly through them all, like the moon amidst clouds and -storm-wrack veiling a troubled sea, rose the gentle image of the girl he -really loved. Could he give her up? Must it so soon come to an end, -this dream, so short, so sweet, so cruel in its hour of waking? At any -risk he was resolved to see her once again; that very night, that very -hour, before the gods had time to cast his lot for him without recall. -He hurried, like a ghost, through the shadows of the silent courts -towards the palace of Arbaces. - -But Ninyas, while he filled cup and emptied flagon, by no means lost -sight of those interests and pleasures which, in his royal opinion, -constituted the chief advantages of his station as a prince. Sarchedon -had not moved ten paces from his seat to leave the revellers, ere the -king's son whispered to the king's cup-bearer, "Follow him, Sethos. A -wise hunter never loses sight of his hound till he pulls down the deer." - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -LIKE TO LIKE - - -Deep in his own thoughts, and wholly unconscious he was watched, -Sarchedon hurried through the outskirts of the palace, traversing, with -one passing glance of curiosity and compassion, an open space in which -the Israelitish and Egyptian captives lay bound. The voice of mourning -was hushed at last among these sufferers, save where some weeping woman, -waking, as it were, to a sense of intolerable misery, pressed both hands -against her throat, and thus enhanced the long vibrations of that dismal -wail--so piteous, so keen, so thrilling, that it stirred the very jackal -in his lair amongst the vineyards without the city walls. - -Groups of these prisoners sat or grovelled on the ground, in attitudes -expressive of the utmost sorrow and desolation. Here was a wounded -archer, one of Pharaoh's choicest marksmen, gnawing his bonds in -impotent rage and shame, while he cursed the javelin that disabled -him--the comrades who had fled and abandoned him to be taken -captive--the gods in all their different earthly shapes of goose, bull, -falcon, stork, and locust, whom he had worshipped faithfully by the -Nile, that they might leave him here in Babylon to die. There was a -cluster of children, the elder sleeping the calm lovely sleep of youth, -the youngest prattling, laughing, stretching its little arms towards the -stars. And beside them, on her knees, their tawny mother, with head -bowed down, dark eyes fixed, dim but tearless, and thoughts far away in -the South, by a rude hut raised on props above the river, where last she -saw him stark, motionless, and gashed from brow to breastplate, the -lover of her girlhood, the husband of her heart, the father of those -dear ones, dragged, without hope of return, into the land of their -captivity. Wherever grieved a dark-skinned mourner, from brawny warrior -to tender maiden, there seemed to be embodied the very abandonment of -woe; while a few Ethiopians, surprised by hazard amongst Pharaoh's -auxiliaries, before they had time to run away, wept and bemoaned -themselves, with a force of lungs and vehemence of gesture, so unbridled -as to border on the grotesque. - -But somewhat apart, treated, as it would seem, by their Assyrian -conquerors with less rigour than the rest, a handful of prisoners had -disposed themselves, with scrupulous attention to decency of attitude -and bearing. Conversing little, and only to each other, their low tones -were forcible and expressive; their demeanour, grave and gentle, was -marked with a certain sad dignity and grace. Though dark of beard and -hair, they were far less swarthy in complexion than their fellow -sufferers, and while nobler of stature and fuller of limb, lacked the -sinuous ease and pliancy of movement so remarkable in the slender -Egyptian. Their high features, kindling eyes, and curved nostrils -partook of the peculiar beauty general amongst their present masters; -but they showed none of the haughty self-assertion, the lofty warlike -bearing, of the fierce Assyrian race. Such kin they seemed to their -conquerors as the dog to the wolf, the ossifrage to the eagle, the -patient ox in the furrow to the fiery wild-bull of the fell. - -Presently silence came over them, and taking advantage of the laxity of -their fetters, one and all rose to their feet and stood erect. Then he -who seemed eldest and gravest spoke a few words in a loud solemn voice, -to which the others listened attentively, responding at intervals, with -heads sunk on their breasts. Sarchedon, hastening past, had yet time to -observe their motions, and marvelled, in his own mind, if this could be -a religious ceremonial, thus divested of all pomp and outward form; no -sacrifice of blood, nor drink-offering poured out, nor altar -raised,--only deep awe and reverence impressed on every face, courage, -love, and trust beaming in each worshipper's eyes. The white robe of a -priest of Baal flitted through the darkness round the circle; but -Sarchedon's heart was filled with a sentiment that left no room for -interest or curiosity, save on one subject, and he sped towards his -goal, longing only for the moment that should bring him face to face -with her he loved. - -The moon was low in the sky, yet gave light enough to have guided him on -his way, even had not every step of it been familiar as the handle of -his sword. Was it strange he should have found so readily a path that -led to the home of Ishtar? that he should have had access to the roof of -a dwelling adjoining the palace of Arbaces? that the girl herself should -have been restless, unable to sleep, and fevered with a desire to spread -her carpets and cushions under the sky in the cool night air by the -parapet of her father's house? - -No, it was not strange; and the reason seemed simple enough as explained -in a low measured chant, by a rich sweet voice--richer and sweeter that -it was toned down and suppressed--which thrilled and scorched through -every fibre of the young girl's being, while Sarchedon poured forth his -heart in passionate pleading conveyed through the fanciful imagery of -the East. - - "I pass'd without the city gate, - I linger'd by the way; - The palm was bending to her mate, - And thus I heard her say, - - 'The arrow to the quiver, - And the wild bird to the tree; - The stream to meet the river, - And the river to the sea. - The waves are wedded on the beach, - The shadows on the lea; - And like to like, and each to each, - And I to thee. - - 'The cedar on the mountain, - And the bramble in the brake; - The willow by the fountain, - And the lily on the lake; - The serpent coiling in its lair, - The eagle soaring free, - Draw kin to kin, and pair to pair, - And I to thee. - - 'For everything created - In the bounds of earth and sky, - Hath such longing to be mated, - It must couple, or must die. - The wind of heaven beguiles the leaf, - The rose invites the bee; - The sickle hugs the barley-sheaf, - And I love thee. - By night and day, in joy and grief, - Do thou love me?' - - The palm was bending to her mate, - I marked her meaning well; - And pass'd within the city gate, - The fond old tale to tell." - -When he ceased, she rose on him like a ghost, from behind the parapet. -In another moment her veil was up, her sweet lips parted in a greeting -that was rather breathed than spoken, and both hands were abandoned to -the caresses of her lover. - -"Ishtar," he murmured, "queen of my heart! I scarcely dared to hope, and -yet I _knew_ I should find you here." - -"I thought not you would come," she whispered, for a girl's modesty -thinks no shame to veil with ingenuous falsehood the truth of which she -is really proud. "But I could not sleep--I could not rest under a -roof--the war is over--my own dear father has returned safe. O -Sarchedon! this has been such a happy day." - -It was the first time she had called him by his name, and the endearing -syllables dropped like honey from her lips. It was no more to be "noble -damsel," "my lord's handmaiden," but "Ishtar," and "Sarchedon," because -they knew they loved each other with all the rich warmth, the stormy -passion of their race and climate. - -"A happy day!" he repeated, rather bitterly; "and a day of victory for -the fairest maiden in the land of Shinar! Think you it was such a happy -moment for _me_, Ishtar, when I saw the love-gift hurled from our -prince's chariot to your feet?" - -She had not been a woman, could she have quite suppressed a double sense -of triumph--of vanity gratified by the homage of a prince, and, sweeter -far, of pride in his own avowal that she could excite the jealousy of -him she loved. Very tender was her smile, very soft and kind her glance, -while she replied: - -"You may judge how I value the gift when I tell you the handmaidens are -shredding herbs in it even now. Yet is he a goodly youth, our young -lord, and a comely--fair he must surely seem in _your_ eyes, Sarchedon, -for is he not the very picture of his mother? and _you_ of all men would -be loath to dispute the beauty of the Great Queen." - -It was a feminine thrust, and planted fairly home; but here in Ishtar's -presence it rather roused in him a feeling of alarm, lest he should lose -the blossom in his hand, than any wish to reach the riper and costlier -fruit hanging above his head. - -"Beloved!" he answered gravely, "the desire of queens and princes is -like the hot wind of the desert, that blasts and scorches where it -strikes. It matters little what befalls Sarchedon, if he loses her who -has become the jewel of his treasure-house, and the light of his path. -With the young prince, to see is too often to covet, and to covet, too -surely to possess! It may be, that ere the days of triumph are over, he -will have asked you of Arbaces in marriage, and whither shall I go for -comfort then, if I am to look nevermore on the only face I love?" - -That face showed strangely pale in the wan light of the stars and -crescent moon. There was a thrill of deadly fear in the whisper that -appealed so piteously for succour and protection. - -"Save me, Sarchedon, save me! It would be worse than death. What shall I -do? What shall I do?" - -He pondered, pressing the hand he held fondly to his eyes and forehead. - -"Arbaces would not barter you away for treasure, like a herd of camels -or a drove of captives?" he asked, after a pause. - -"My father loves me dearly," she answered. "I know he fears to lose me; -for he has often said, if I were to vanish from his side, like my -mother, he would never wish to come out of his war-chariot alive!" - -"She was a daughter of the stars," said Sarchedon abstractedly; "their -love is fatal to mortal men! You see, I have learned it all, and yet I -care not--I have but you in the world!" - -The daughter of the stars, he thought, had surely transmitted her -celestial beauty to the girl who now bent fondly over him, and shook her -head. - -"They say so!" she answered. "But Arbaces is loath to be questioned, and -I know not what to think. She may have been the child of a priestess of -Baal, espoused to the god. I cannot believe that the stars have come -down from their thrones for the love of women in these later days, since -the plague of waters in the olden time, before the great tower of Belus -was built. I only know I would I had my mother's beauty and my father's -fame, and the wealth of the Great Queen, that I might bestow it all on -the man I love. You would be rich, Sarchedon, and of high repute; while -I should be----very, very happy!" - -"Then, if Ninyas sent to ask you of your father," whispered the young -warrior, "you would be loath to go and rule over him and his in a palace -of gold?" - -"Better to serve Sarchedon in a tent of goat's-hair," was the answer; -"better by far draw water at the Well of Palms for your herds, your -camels, and the fair horse you rode that happy morning; better to be the -meanest and lowest of your slaves, than never see your kind face again!" - -Vanity, pride, ambition--the dazzling career open to him--the lustrous -beauty of the queen: what were they to such love as this, but the flash -and glitter of tinsel, compared to the ray of a real diamond? If a -thought of Semiramis and her fatal favour crossed his brain, it did but -spur him on to secure his happiness ere she could thwart it, to remove -Ishtar, ere it was too late, from the sphere of the queen's displeasure, -and the still more dangerous admiration of her son. - -"Then I will ask you of your father before another day has gone down!" -exclaimed Sarchedon, stealing his arm round that lithe slender figure, -leaning over the parapet, like the palm-tree bending to meet her mate. -"To-morrow will I send into the court below a score of camels and a -hundred sheep, with a suit of the truest armour that ever brought the -captain of a host unwounded out of battle, and my young men shall say to -Arbaces--'they seek but Ishtar in return.'" - -"So my father will summon me from amongst my maidens, to know if -peradventure his daughter's heart hath gone forth to him who is so -lavish of sheep and camels, so skilled in choice of armour, and what -shall I say then?" - -Only from the depths of a young girl's heart, happy and triumphant in -her honest love, could have risen the smile that beamed on Ishtar's -face. It was reflected in Sarchedon's eyes, while he answered: - -"The daughter of Arbaces will tell him, that where her heart has gone -forth, thither must Ishtar needs follow, and she will be mine!" - -"And she will be yours!" repeated the girl, with a great sob of womanly -happiness, tempered by maiden shame, the blood rushing to her face, -while she hid it on her lover's breast. - -Fast as her heart was beating, it had scarce counted a score of -pulsations ere tramp of horses, call of servants, and flash of torches -in the court below, announced the return of Arbaces from his duties -about the Great King. - -No sooner had he dismounted at the porch of his palace than the fond -familiar voice was heard, asking loudly for his daughter; and gliding -like a shadow from the embrace of Sarchedon, she was gone. - -Yet even in that brief moment during which her brow was pressed against -his bosom, she had discovered the amulet he wore, and knew, as women -only do know such things, that it was not there when she saw him last. - -Perhaps to an impulse of female tenderness was added the stimulant of -female curiosity, when she whispered, even in the act of escape: - -"To-morrow, beloved one, at the same hour. You will tell me then whence -comes that jewel, and--and--if it was given you by the queen!" - -Turning stealthily to depart, with his hand on the amulet, doubtful -whether he would not tear it from his neck and trample it under foot, -but in the mean time leaving it where it was, Sarchedon felt conscious -of a strange depression, of vague misgivings, as though some future evil -were casting its shadow about him ere it came. The air felt heavy, the -night was darker, the stars had become dim. It seemed a different world -as he passed along the silent streets towards his home, and those keen -senses of his, quickened by the practice of war, must have been -strangely blunted, that he neither saw the form nor heard the footsteps -of one who had watched his interview with Ishtar from first to last. - -Sethos, no less nimble of foot than he was light of hand and heart, made -such good haste in returning to the queen's palace, that he found Ninyas -still seated at the banquet, flushed with wine, and more reckless, more -impetuous, as he was more beautiful, for the excess. - -"You are a trusty hunter," laughed the prince, steadying his uncertain -steps as he rose with a hand on his favourite's shoulder, "and you -followed the good hound bravely to the thicket where lies the deer? What -think you? Is she worth the bending of a bow?" - -"My lord had already wounded her with a random shaft," answered the -cup-bearer. "It is the daughter of Arbaces, who flung him the posy of -flowers as his chariot passed beneath her in our triumph." - -The intelligence seemed to sober Ninyas on the instant. - -"And it is Sarchedon who contends with me," said he, pondering. "By the -brows of Ashtaroth, the sport grows to earnest now, and the prize will -be won by him who can strike first!" - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -THE GODS OF THE HEATHEN - - -Hastening from the queen's palace towards his stolen interview with -Ishtar, Sarchedon had not failed to observe the white robe of a priest -in the neighbourhood of the Israelitish exiles, though his -preoccupation forbade his identifying the person to whom it belonged. -Sethos, on the contrary, whose wits were more at their master's service, -had no difficulty in recognising Assarac, and marvelled in his own mind -what interests could exist in common between the haughty servant of the -Assyrian god, and this fettered prisoner, a captive even amongst the -captives of the Great King's bow and spear. Could he have overheard -their conversation, his curiosity would indeed have been sharpened, but -any ideas he might have previously conceived regarding supernatural -influences must have sustained a shock very confusing to his -understanding and his faith. - -His interests, however, were of the earth, earthy, and he left to such -aspiring spirits as the high priest of Baal those abstruse speculations -which would fain penetrate the mysteries of another world. - -Assarac only waited till the last of the revellers had departed, the -last of the thousand torches flaring in the palace court had been -extinguished, to glide through the band of captives and lay his hand on -the shoulder of him who seemed chief amongst the Israelites. - -"Arise," said he, "my brother. Comfort your heart, I pray you, with a -morsel of bread and a draught of wine, while your servant spreads his -mantle for your ease, and loosens the fetters on your limbs." - -He took the cloak from his own shoulders while he spoke, and folded it -round the prisoner, releasing him at the same time from the chain that -clanked and rung with every movement of wrist or ankle. - -The Israelite accepted these good offices with the imperturbable -demeanour he had preserved through all the incidents of his captivity. -Standing erect by the priest of Baal, he seemed to look on his liberator -with a mild and condescending pity not far removed from contempt. - -Scanning him warily and closely in the dubious starlight, Assarac could -not but admire the lofty bearing and personal dignity of this chief -amongst a nation of bondsmen. His marked features, dark piercing eyes, -ample beard, and venerable aspect denoted the sage and counsellor, while -his well-proportioned figure, with its shapely limbs, inferred an -amount of physical strength and activity not always accompanying the -nobler qualities of the mind. - -There was a strange contrast between the eunuch's shifting restless -glances, his looks of eager curiosity, half doubtful, half scornful, -altogether suspicious and dissatisfied, with the expression of quiet -superiority and contented confidence that glorified the Israelite's -face, imparting to it a calm majesty like the light of sunset on a -mountain. - -"You offer bread," said he, "and pour out wine unto him who hath neither -cornland nor vineyard. Therefore shall your harvest and your grapes -return you an hundredfold." - -"Baal will not suffer me to want," replied the other. "Shall I, then, -see my brother hunger and thirst, while I have enough and to spare? Are -you not of our race and kindred? Are not your oppressors our ancient -enemies? Do we not come of one lineage and worship the same God?" - -The Israelite pointed upward to the stars, and shook his head. - -"Our fathers have taught us otherwise," said he solemnly; "and I, Sadoc -the son of Azael, standing here in the bonds of my captivity, protest -against your idols, your temples and your worship, your gashes and -drink-offerings, your winged monsters, your sacred tree, and all the -thousand unworthy forms to which you degrade the majesty of the -Omnipotent and the Infinite!" - -Assarac smiled with the frank liberality of a disputant who in admitting -his adversary's premises narrows, as it were, the field in which to do -battle. - -"Symbols," he answered, "symbols; the mere outward efforts of that inner -spirit of worship which must find vent, like the mind of man, through -the senses. He can see but with the eye, he can hear but with the ear, -he can impart his thoughts only in those forms of speech that his tongue -has learned to frame, and his fellows have skill to comprehend. How -shall you express the principle of heat but by fire? How shall you -comprehend the majesty of light but through the sun? How can you form a -nobler ideal of spirits, gods, and departed heroes than in those serene -and silent witnesses who never weary of their endless watches in the -unfathomable night?" - -"So you send a thousand labourers to the mountain," replied Sadoc, -pointing scornfully at the sculptures on the palace wall, "and bid them -rend the granite from its unyielding sides till they have hewn out a -creature such as was never seen in earth or sea or sky--a creature of -make and qualities in direct defiance to that nature you profess to -reverence--winged like a bird, headed like a man, limbed like a bull--a -monster, grotesque, impossible, imposing only from its gigantic size and -truthful outline. You rear it up at a prince's doorway, and call on men -to fall down and worship before the hoofs of that which is lower than -the lowest of the brutes in the system of creation!" - -"Are you a priest among your people?" asked Assarac quickly. - -"Every head of a family is the priest of his own household," was the -dignified reply. "There need no mysteries for a worship sublime as the -eternal heavens, and clear as the light of day." - -"Yet surely you cannot move the multitude without extraneous influences -stronger and more tangible than those truths of the inner shrine which -we the initiated know and accept at their real value," argued Assarac. -"That very figure which you scorn speaks to the senses of the Assyrian -nation far more forcibly than all the promptings from within that ever -moved a prophet to leap and howl and gash himself with knives before an -altar, while he foretold great actions and mighty events that should -never come to pass. Not a spearman in the Great King's host but, when he -looks on these carven blocks of granite, walks with a prouder step and -shakes his weapon in a stronger hand. He sees in that mighty frame the -over-powering forces that have made his race conquerors of the world; in -that majestic face, calm and indomitable, the true spirit of victory -marching unmoved over the ruins of an empire as over the ashes of a -peasant's hearth; in those unfurled wings, the ubiquity of a dominion -that can command ships for the sea, camels for the desert, and horsemen -swarming like locusts to overrun the fertile plain. It is no -representation of mere nature evoked by the toil, skill, and indeed the -sufferings of countless labourers, but of that spirit which dominates -and subdues nature for its own aggrandisement and fame. Where is the -type of godlike dominion to be found, if not here, in this impersonation -of conquest: strength, intellect, and audacity combined?" - -Sadoc pointed to an Egyptian child sleeping a few paces off with a -wild-flower grasped in its little hand. - -"Is there less of the godlike power," said he, "in the skill that put -together leaf and blossom for the delight of that poor infant, who has -no other joy nor comfort?" - -Assarac pondered. - -"There must be gods," he replied, "as there are stars, differing in -magnitude and glory. Dagon hath dominion on the waters, Anu and Abitur -in the mountain, Merodach raging in battle is yet subject to Ashur, and -even that monarch of the mighty circle yields to his irresistible -superior, and bows before the sentence of Nisroch, with the eagle's -head." - -"And your Nisroch," continued the Israelite; "hath he not also a master -at whose word he spreads his wings and flies to the uttermost parts of -the desert? Whence comes he? Who gave him his eagles head and his -feathered shoulders? If he is substantial, he must be perishable; and -when he has passed away, who will make another god for the land of -Shinar, and what shall he be called?" - -"You speak with reason," replied the priest of Baal, "and you speak to -one who has watched many a long night from the summit of the tower above -us, and pored on those starwritten scrolls till his brain reeled, to -learn that mystery which rules the heavens, and apply it to the -government of men below. You speak wisely indeed. Who shall make a god -for the land of Shinar? He it is who shall bring the whole Eastern world -beneath his feet." - -"I speak not of gods made by men's hands," answered Sadoc. "The time -must surely come ere long when there will be one worship of the true God -through all the earth, as there is one sun that shines over the whole -heaven. Clouds may obscure it for a season, but no less doth it exist in -its warmth and splendour, giving vitality to creation and light to day." - -"When there is but one worship, there will be but one dominion," argued -Assarac. "The altar and the temple will then become the judgment-seat -and throne, while the high-priest will be the true monarch and ruler -over all. Listen, my brother; for indeed here in the house of your -captivity you have found a friend. I am a priest of Baal, as you behold; -but in truth I am no hot-brained votary who mistakes his own intoxicated -frenzy for the inspiration of a god. My subordinates may gird their -loins to leap and run and gesticulate, shedding their own blood the -while in crimson streams. Such extravagances are foreign to my nature, -and below the dignity of my worship. I am a priest of Baal, but I am -also an Assyrian descended from a line of warriors, and to me the -greatness of my country is the paramount object and interest of life. -What else have such as I, who are severed, without being alienated, from -their kind? To extend an empire founded by our father Nimrod from the -Bactrian mountains to the Southern sea, to behold the standards of -Merodach waving on the confines of Armenia and over the gates of -Memphis, while conscious that I, Assarac the priest, had set in motion -the armies of victory and guided the march of triumph, were worth all -the fire-worshipper's dreams of luminous immortality, all the starry -thrones of the gods who are supposed to be looking down in judgment on -us even now." - -"And when your wishes have been fulfilled," said Sadoc quietly--"wishes -only to be accomplished through much bloodshed, cruelty, and sin--you -will not be one whit happier than now." - -The other laughed in scorn. - -"Is fame nothing?" he asked. "Is power nothing? Is it nothing to cast -down the mighty from their golden thrones, and to raise the lowly, as I -have raised you to-night, from fetters of iron and a bed on the cold -earth? Teach me the lore of your worship, as I will impart to you my own -secrets of priestcraft, and hereafter--ay, sooner than you may think--I -will set you in judgment over a score of nations, in a purpled robe, -with a sceptre in your hand." - -"_My_ lore!" repeated Sadoc, with a sad smile. "You would deem it -beneath your understanding, as it would be above your practice. It is -but to do justice, and to love mercy, dealing with man as before the -face of God." - -"But surely you have learned important secrets amongst the Egyptians?" -urged Assarac, somewhat disappointed with this exposition of the -Israelite's simple creed. "Surely they have taught you mysteries of -magic and the art of divination, in which they boast their proficiency, -handed down, as they profess, through scores of dynasties and hundreds -of successive generations. Or is it true that your nation have been the -teachers, and Egypt, with all her pride, is but the pupil of a people -who took with them from this very land the art that we, its present -inhabitants, have lost, the spells that compel gigantic spirits to work -out their behests--rearing colossal buildings, causing wide tracts of -desert to blossom like the rose, bidding the very waters of the great -deep to subside and overflow at their will?" - -"You know not our nation," answered Sadoc, "nor have you felt the iron -hand of our oppressors, who practice the forbidden arts of which you -speak, but with no result that hath ever spared groan or stripe to a -single captive. The Israelite must toil under the scourge for his scanty -morsel of bread. The great river indeed rises and falls at the command -of one who is mightier than our task-masters, and who will not surely -forget his people for ever in their bonds; but for the huge shapeless -structures--the gigantic monster idols of the South--they are reared by -a magic of which blood, sweat, and hunger constitute the spells, under -the fierce eye that never sleeps, the cruel hand that is never raised -but to urge, and smite and destroy. Yet when our fathers were driven by -famine into Egypt they found there one of their own people, reigning -wisely over a prosperous nation, and second only to Pharaoh on the -throne; they found themselves honoured guests where now they are -degraded prisoners, friends and allies where now they are hated and -despised, masters, in truth, where they are slaves! And slaves to those -who are themselves sunk in the degradation of a vile and brutal -idolatry." - -His eye blazed, and his very beard seemed to bristle with anger, while -he spoke. It was in such flashes of indignation or excitement that the -likeness of kindred races was to be noted on the features of Israelite -and Assyrian. - -"You scorn the gods of Nimrod," replied Assarac, with a sneer; "but the -fathers from whom we claim a common descent have taught _us_, at least, -a nobler impersonation of our worship than the goose, the serpent, the -stork, the locust, and the cat! If we choose the lotus, the fir-cone, or -the beetle to convey an idea of that reproductive power in nature, -always existing even when dormant, as the flower in the bud, or the -blade in the seed, at least we do not hang our temples with carvings of -the humblest animals, the most loathsome reptiles, and the meanest -utensils of our daily life! It is baser, I grant you, to adore the stars -than the principle which gives them light, baser to kneel before the -sculptured image than the god it represents; but basest surely of all -worship is that practised by the cruel Egyptian, the enemy whom _we_ -have humbled, the master who is grinding _your_ people into dust!" - -"Our God will surely free us," said Sadoc, in a low mournful tone. "It -cannot be that we, the lineal descendants of his favoured servant, are -to remain for ever in the house of bondage, eating the bitter morsel of -slavery, weeping tears of blood under the task-master's lash! But we -have neither arms nor leaders; there is no proven harness in our -dwellings, nor sword, nor shield, nor spear. How are we to go out from -our enemies in the garb of peace, with our wives and children in our -hands? And yet, I pray that it may come to this--I, for one, would march -out fearlessly to die in the wilderness rather than gather another -armful of straw, bake one more brick for the useless structures that -only bear witness to our sorrows and our shame." - -The pride of race, the intense consciousness of a peculiar destiny, in -all ages an inheritance of the sons of Abraham, gave to the words of -Sadoc a truth and bitterness, marked with no slight satisfaction by the -scheming priest of Baal. - -"Hands that have toiled so skilfully for their task-masters," said he, -"can surely strike a blow in their own behalf. Courage that has borne -long years of suffering and privation will not fail at the moment of -liberation and revenge. You and yours are of our blood and lineage. You -shall be no captives in Babylon, as you have been in Egypt. This very -night I will take order for your food and lodging--nay, fear not, they -shall be found you without the temple, if indeed you entertain any -scruples as to entering the abode of Baal--and you shall return to your -own people in safety and honour, as a son returns to the dwelling of his -father with a gift in his hand. You will tell them that here, in the -great city, our warlike Assyrians look on the Israelites as their -kinsmen and friends; that when the oppressed rises against the -oppressor, and the children of Terah resolve once for all to throw off -the Egyptian yoke, they will see a cloud rising out of the desert from -the trampling of horses, countless as locusts in a west wind--they will -hear a thousand trumpets sounding far and wide from the hosts of the -Great King!" - -The Israelite's eye sparkled and his cheek glowed but he answered -solemnly, - -"It must be a mightier king than yours, who leads us forth into the -wilderness out of the house of our captivity." - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -MOTHER AND SON - - -Not the least sumptuous range of halls and chambers in the queen's -palace had been devoted, from his boyhood, to the accommodation of her -son. Here, surrounded by his own servants, he had lived ever since he -could walk alone in princely state and magnificence, imitating, though -on a less extended scale, the splendour of the Great King's court, and -exacting from his attendants those ceremonious observances which -somewhat chafed his father's spirit, causing the fiery old warrior to -break out in words and gestures savouring rather of the swordsman's -impatience than the monarch's dignity. Here too he had been trained -under the queen's own eye in manly exercises befitting his rank, -practising mimic warfare on the wide terraces of the royal dwelling, and -even hunting the lion in dangerous earnest through its spacious -paradise, a wilderness in the heart of the swarming city. - -It had been the policy of Semiramis, as it was her pleasure, to keep the -future monarch under her own eye and within her immediate influence, -teaching him to depend on her alone for all his occupations and -amusements, thus obtaining an ascendancy over his young mind, which -daily custom rendered so easy and natural, that he never attempted to -shake it off. - -Arrogant at the feast, valorous in the fray, reckless and unscrupulous -in the gratification of every passing desire, every whim of the moment, -he was yet in his mother's presence the same loving wayward child, who, -though wilful and petulant, had ever looked to her alone for succour and -encouragement, had run to her knee with a bruised skin or a tear-stained -face, and would have begged of her, with equal confidence, a bunch of -grapes and a string of pearls worth a king's ransom. - -It was not strange then, that, waking from his heavy slumbers after the -banquet, with a vague impression of some unfulfilled desire burning at -his heart, his first wish was for his mother's presence, even before he -remembered the purpose for which he wanted her assistance and advice. - -Semiramis, on this the morning after his return from a campaign in which -her boy had won no slight reputation as a warrior, passing into his -chamber according to custom, found him, as she had often found him -before, tossing, heated, and restless on his couch, pushing his short -dishevelled locks off his brow, while he turned on her a glance, half -mirthful, half imploring, from eyes deep liquid and beautiful as her -own. - -The queen's head was tired, her dress arranged with the utmost skill and -care, while in her gait and bearing there was a dignity of repose no -less graceful than becoming; but if her dark locks had been unbound, her -robes shaken into disorder, and her fair face heated with the flush of -mirth, pleasure, or excitement, surely never had been seen so wondrous a -resemblance as existed between that unquiet youth on the couch and the -beautiful woman who bent over him to lay her hand against his hot -forehead with a gesture of endearment and caress. - -"What ails my boy?" asked Semiramis, looking fondly down on her -graceless offspring. "Was the triumph yesterday so long and wearisome? -the wine of Eshcol last night so rough and new? Or has he left his heart -among the daughters of Egypt, in exchange for the fame and high repute -of valour he has brought with him from the Nile?" - -"I wish I had never gone there!" answered Ninyas petulantly. "I wish the -reins had rotted in his hand who turned my chariot from the Gates of -Brass to leave Babylon and all the pleasures it contained!" - -"It would not have been like your father's child," said the queen, "to -have forborne going forth to warfare with the host. You would not be -_my_ son," she added more tenderly, "did not your heart leap to the -rattle of a quiver and the roll of a chariot, wheeling at a gallop -amongst the spearmen. Think you it was no pain to me when I sent you -down yonder to learn your first lesson in war, under the eye of my lord -the king? But you have made yourself a name for valour, and I am -content." - -"Valour!" repeated Ninyas. "Men have a strange way of computing courage -and portioning out the fame, which is indeed of small value when you -have got it. Is it such a great deed to be driven under shield in a -chariot of iron through ranks of half-armed wretches flying for their -lives? I saw one of our bowmen stand his ground in a vineyard, when we -passed the Nile, having three arrows in his limbs and a spear through -his body. But Arbaces scarce cast an eye on him as he drove by in hot -haste to bring up the rearguard of spears; and I thought, if a man would -be accounted mighty, it were well to be born a king's son. Valour -indeed! That very day, an hour later, I would have bartered all the -valour and all the fame of the Assyrian army for a cup of the roughest -wine that ever burst a skin. I love pleasure, for my part; and whosoever -will have it is welcome to my share of hunger and thirst, long marches, -weary sieges, heat, privation, night watches, and all the troubles of -war." - -The queen smiled, well pleased, as it would seem, with this frank -confession of opinions, in which of all women on earth she was the least -inclined to share. Had she been a man, she thought, the saddle should -have been her only home, the spear never out of her hand. Not even -Ninus, with his insatiable desire for fame, should have flaunted so far -and wide the banners of Assyria, so pushed the conquests of the mighty -line founded by Nimrod the Great. And yet here was one of her own -blood, her very counterpart, who, being of the stronger and nobler sex, -could sit calmly down in the flush of his youth to scoff at warlike -honours, to confess his unworthy preference of inglorious ease and -material pleasures to the immortality of a hero. - -"For one so young," said she, "you have already attained to high -dignity. Even my lord the king has spoken of you as a judicious leader -and a man of valour in fight. Arbaces himself was obliged to admit,--my -son, you are ill at ease,--Arbaces, I say, though so devoted to the -king's interests that he seems to look with an evil eye on the king's -successor, could not but acknowledge that on the field you were a worthy -descendant of the line of Ashur; though in camp, he added, the example -of one prince was more injurious to the discipline of armies than the -taking of ten towns by assault, with all the license and outrages of a -storm." - -There was enough of his father's nature in the lion's cub to bring the -flash to his eye, the scowl to his brow, while he listened. - -"Arbaces dared to speak thus of _me_!" he exclaimed, springing to his -feet, and grasping instinctively at a gilded javelin standing against -the wall. "He must be a bold man, this chief captain of the Assyrian -host." - -"He must be a bold man," repeated the queen, "since he is _your_ enemy -and _mine_." - -"Let him beware!" said the prince. "I can take up my mother's quarrel as -heartily as my own. He will have no woman to deal with if he crosses -_me_. And yet," he added, sinking back on the couch, and turning his -head aside amongst its cushions, "there is not in the whole empire one -whom I would so gladly call my friend." - -A shade of perplexity crossed the queen's brow; but she forced a -careless laugh while she asked, - -"What have you, the future ruler of all the earth, to gain from this -war-worn spearman, whose very existence hangs on the breath of your -father, my lord the king?" - -He turned to her with one of the caressing gestures of his childhood; -and even the queen's steadfast heart wavered for a moment in the -merciless prosecution of her schemes. - -"Mother," he said, "you have never denied me from my youth upward what -I asked. Give me now the daughter of Arbaces, and I am content. If she -be withheld from me, I care not to look on an unveiled woman again." - -As the light of morning creeps over a fair landscape, the queen's smile -brightened her face into matchless beauty; as the summer sky is mirrored -in the lake, that smile was reflected on the glowing features of her -son. Again how comely they were, and how alike! - -"Is she then so fair," asked Semiramis, "this pale slender girl, to whom -you flung a cup of gold yesterday from your chariot in return for a posy -of flowers? Such exchanges, my son, are made every day in follies like -yours; but I did not believe that a bow drawn thus at random could have -sent its shaft so deftly through the joints of _your_ harness. Is there -magic about the girl, that she draws men to her feet with a mere look -and sign? I have heard that her mother was a daughter of the stars." - -"The daughters of earth are good enough for me," replied the prince. -"But if this one comes not into my tent, I will never look in the face -of woman again." - -"The tent is not to be despised," answered Semiramis, glancing round the -gilding and vermilion, the beams of cedar, the inlaid flooring, the -purple hangings, of that painted chamber. "And she must be difficult to -please, if she find fault with its lord. Nevertheless, there are -obstacles in our way. Arbaces would surely neither wish nor dare to -oppose us, and, if he did, could be silenced or removed. But how shall -we set aside the opposition of my lord the king?" - -"He would never consent," said Ninyas. "I know it too well. The -mill-stone is not harder than the heart of the Great King. May he live -for ever!" - -"May he live for ever!" repeated the queen. "Those of Nimrod's race are -indeed immortal; and you have little to hope from the lapse of time. -Tell me, my son--do you really love this girl so much?" - -"I would give my whole life afterwards," he answered passionately, "to -bring her here into my dwelling for a year and a day." - -At the moment, no doubt, he spoke truth. The stream of a passing -inclination, stemmed by opposition and difficulty, had swelled into a -torrent of desire he had neither power nor inclination to control. - -"And if you might take this fair dove to your bosom," continued the -queen, "would you consent to forego Babylon and its pleasures? Would you -make your escape in secret, and remain for a season in seclusion, until -the wrath of the Great King was overpast?" - -"I am ready to go now," answered the impetuous boy. "My horses are of -the purest breed in all the land of Shinar. I will fly with her to the -ends of the earth." - -"You need not go farther than Ascalon," replied his mother with a smile. -"In mine ancient stronghold, rude and timeworn though it be, I can still -count many a friend who would beard Ninus and all his line at my -lightest word. And the common multitude are devoted to my service far -more than in Nineveh, or even here in Babylon, which but for me would -still have been a mere hamlet of huts in a marsh. My son, if ever you -come to rule, trust no longer to the people's gratitude than while you -have benefits to confer: the loyalty of a nation is seldom proof against -a rise in the price of corn. Nevertheless, in lofty Ascalon you may be -safe and secret enough, until time and my constant entreaties shall have -softened the resentment of my lord the king. The girl is willing, of -course," continued the queen, tenderly and in a half-sorrowful tone; -"for such faces as yours are made to be the ruin of all who look on them -too freely." - -No woman, she was thinking, could resist that smile of her boy's--so -fond, so winning, so like her own. - -Ninyas hesitated; and once more his hand stole towards the javelin by -the wall. - -"There must be neither delay," said he, "nor hesitation. The girl would -love well enough without doubt; but--but--" here the blood flew to his -temples and the angry light to his eye--"another has seen her, and would -fain make her his own: one who brought here tidings from the camp before -the host marched in--a goodly youth and a brave warrior. Nevertheless, -he must die." - -"Not so," exclaimed the queen, turning pale. "Believe me, this is a -matter to be carried through by the fine wit of woman, rather than the -strong hand of man. You must abide wholly by my counsel. I have never -failed you, my son. Shall I fail you now in this your great need?" - -It is possible that, had he trusted implicitly to his mother's guidance, -her heart might have been softened and her purpose set aside even now; -but he flung his head up impatiently, and threatened where he should -have confided or cajoled. - -"I will not wait a day!" he exclaimed angrily. "I will not sit still -while another is in my place. Sarchedon loves this girl very dearly, and -in a few hours I may be too late." - -"Sarchedon does _not_ love her," hissed the queen through her clenched -teeth, while her face turned white. "Foolish boy!" she added, recovering -her self-command, "with all your manhood and your valour, you are as -much a child as when you cried on my knee for a lotus-flower or a -pomegranate; and you must even have your toy to-day, at any sacrifice, -though you tire of it to-morrow, like the wilful babe you are." - -"I am satisfied when I have what I want," answered Ninyas. "Is it not so -with us all, from the Great King to the spearman that marches by his -chariot? Even Ninus will chafe and roar and lash himself into rage like -the lion of the desert, if the merest trifle runs contrary to his whim. -Am I not his _son_, mother, as well as _yours_?" - -"You are more easily ruled than your father," answered the queen. "And -it is well for you, my boy, that with your mother's form and features -you inherit her temperament--joyous, placable, and easily moulded to the -wishes of those you love." She spoke in a light, bantering tone, not -entirely devoid of scorn. "Carry your toy with you, if so it must be; -but do not murmur at the measures I take for your safety, nor quarrel -with the restraint that can alone preserve you from the king's anger, as -a young warrior chafes under the weight of that harness which fences -death from his heart." - -"I only ask for the daughter of Arbaces," was his reply. "Give me the -desire of mine eyes, and do with me what you will." - -"You shall carry her off from her father's house to-night," said the -queen. "Follow my counsel, and you shall pounce on the girl, swift and -secure as the hawk when she strikes a partridge on the mountain. Ride -out of the Great Gates, taking Sethos, or some one attendant whom you -can trust, with bow and spear, as though you purposed hunting the lion -in the desert. Let none see you return, but steal back to the city in -the darkness of night. I will take order for such a band of spearmen to -be under arms as no single household could attempt to resist, and I will -place one at their head who knows neither compunction nor remorse. With -these you shall force the gate of the chief-captain's palace. When they -have gained possession of the court, I need scarce tell you, my son, so -lately returned from warfare, the rights of those who occupy the -stronghold of an enemy--the women's apartments are not far to seek. A -shawl may be round her head, and the girl herself on the back of your -best horse or swiftest dromedary, in less time than it will take to put -to the sword such few servants as Arbaces can muster in the first watch -of night. Ere the alarm is sounded and the city in arms, you should be -many a furlong off in the desert, galloping towards your place of -refuge, like a wild stag to the hill." - -"And Arbaces?" asked Ninyas. "He has the courage of a lion. He will -resist to the death." - -"Arbaces will take his chance like another," answered the queen coldly. -"An adversary who stands in the path, my son, must be ridden down ere we -can pass on. Nevertheless, I will not have a hair of _your_ head fall in -this business. A few priests of Baal shall accompany the spearmen, wrap -one of their linen robes about you, and thus avoid detection as well as -danger; but do not neglect to wear your armour underneath. Is that a -proven harness I see yonder, thrown aside in the corner?" - -"It is inlaid with gold," answered Ninyas lightly, "and curiously -wrought; but Pharaoh's bowmen have blunted many a shaft on it, and it -turns the thrust of a spear as it were a bulrush." - -While he spoke, the queen had taken a helmet from amongst the other -pieces of armour, and placed it, laughing, on her brows. - -"They say I am like my mother," exclaimed her son, "in face and bearing. -By the beauty of Ashtaroth, it must be true! When I look at you I seem -to see my own image on the march stooping down to drink from a stream!" - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -STRONG AS DEATH - - -It is well known that secrets are not to be kept from princes, and that -for royal ears "the bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that -which hath wings shall tell the matter," however scrupulously it may be -hidden from curiosity of lower rank. Sarchedon's interview with Ishtar -had been witnessed by Sethos, who reported it, as in duty bound, to -Ninyas; and although that wilful youth, ignoring, according to custom, -everything running counter to her wishes, never mentioned it to his -mother, the whole affair came to her knowledge very soon after Semiramis -had quitted the apartments of her son. It may be that in Assyrian -palaces, below the surface of forms and ceremonies, stole an -under-current of interest, intrigue, and license, which, eddying upward -on occasion, troubled the courtly waters to the brim, and those who -lived habitually in an atmosphere of luxury and magnificence refused to -deny themselves certain relaxations of the heart or senses, that -relieved the peasant's toil, and sweetened his hard-earned fare. - -Sethos was a comely youth with laughing eyes. Kalmim a black-browed -dame, joyous of temperament, and pleasant to look on as a summer's -morning. It was natural that the woman's maturer tact and greater -experience should lead the king's cup-bearer into confidences it had -been wiser to withhold; and whatever Kalmim learned of good or evil, -within or without the city walls, she lost no time in imparting to her -mistress. - -Semiramis listened, to all appearance undisturbed. Only the most -practised of tire-women could have marked how the blue veins about her -temples traced themselves more distinctly, how the colour turned a shade -fainter in her cheek. - -And yet what rage and self-contempt were tearing at her heart! That she, -whose wishes were daily anticipated almost before they were formed, who, -never since she arrived at woman's estate, and succeeded to her royal -inheritance of matchless beauty, had left a desire ungratified, should -find, here in Babylon, the citadel of her power, the very throne, as it -were, of her dominion, a man who could resist the one and undervalue the -other, preferring, to the Great Queen's favour, and such a destiny as -the mightiest monarch on earth might envy, the smile of a sickly girl, -the simple follies of a homely, humble, unpolluted love! - -"Tire me nobly, Kalmim," said she, sitting before a mirror of burnished -silver, that reflected her faultless form from head to foot. "There must -be no crevice in mine armour to-day--not a fold must be ruffled, not a -plait laid awry, since I go hence straightway into the presence of my -lord the king." Thus to her woman, but to her own heart: "He will be on -duty about the gates. He shall see how fair that face is he has dared to -despise, and look on the beauty he undervalues, till he turns faint and -sick and dizzy in its rays. I will crush him to the earth, and when he -sues at my feet for the hope I bade him but yesterday to entertain, I -will turn coldly away, and leave him to perish like a trampled worm. But -he shall not go to this girl for comfort in his despair--no, he shall -die! I have said it; he shall die! O Sarchedon, Sarchedon, I could not -hate you so bitterly, did I not love you so well!" - -And all the while not a quiver moved her eyelid, nor caused her jewelled -hand to shake, while it smoothed the soft dark hair on her brow; the -fair bosom itself, white, smooth, and polished, seemed also hard and -motionless as marble. How different, the thought struck her, as she rose -to depart--how different was that stately figure sweeping past the -mirror from the flushed and panting woman, who, with shining eyes and -heated cheeks, and dewy lips apart, had bent over the sleeping form of -Sarchedon, to drop her love-token in the breast of him on whom she had -set her heart! And yet, could it be because she had lost him, she asked -herself, with fierce rage and longing, that he was a hundredfold more -precious now? - -There are women whom it is very dangerous to love, as in Eden there -stood a tree that it was death to taste. But the forbidden fruit was -gathered nevertheless; and these beauties seem to allure more than their -share of victims, to win more than their natural meed of triumph. -Perhaps it is their destiny to avenge on mankind the common wrongs of -their sex, and to fall at last by the very weapons they have wielded so -successfully in their march over a host of slain. - -The old king's eyes were dim, and his senses failed him perceptibly, as -life waned gradually, yet surely, like an unfed lamp, or a leaking -vessel of wine. The pomp of royalty, the joy of battle, the feast, the -pageant, the bright steel quivering in his grasp, the good horse -bounding between his knees, what were they all now but shadows, -memories, vague, idle dreams of the past? Was this the hand, he was fain -to ask himself, that drew the heaviest bow in the broad land of Shinar, -the arm that could drive a javelin through and through the lion's heart? - -Yonder upon the wall was sculptured many a deed of prowess, many a noble -triumph of warfare or the chase. Warriors in long array were marching to -the battle or the siege; archers bent their bows, slingers and spearmen -smote and slew and spared not; horsemen galloped, chariots rolled, and -vultures soared over heaps of corpses. A bank was raised against a city, -the battering-ram laid to its gates, while amidst a shower of arrows and -javelins men were falling headlong from its walls to feed the fishes in -the river below. - -Again, linked in a cruel chain, the line of captives paced slowly by, -bearing on their shoulders children, household stuff and goods, equally -the spoil of their conqueror. The men marched sullenly, with downcast -looks; the women beat their breasts and tore their hair. Here, with hook -in his victim's nostrils, or knife to flay his naked flesh, a fierce -warrior tortured some poor suppliant slave. There, proffering for a -tribute the productions of his country--garments, gold, grain, animals -wild and tame--some cringing wretch implored mercy at the feet of his -executioner. But amongst all these scenes of strife, glory, and rapine, -one figure still predominated, tall, fierce, and stately, the high tiara -bound about its brows, bow and spear in hand; but, whether careering in -the war-chariot over prostrate enemies, or sitting on the throne of -state under the royal parasol, there was still poised above its head the -winged mystery within a circle that heralded the sacred person of a -king. - -Could this be the same Ninus, he asked himself, whose limbs, so stiff -and aching, now endured his silken robes with less patience than once -they had carried his iron harness, whose head wavered and nodded on the -lean neck that was once a tower of strength, proud, erect, colossal, -like a column of stone? - -And that winged figure in the circle. What was it? Did it really hover -over them to protect the race of Nimrod in battle, or was this too a -myth, a fable, a mere imposition of the priests? Should he know when he -went to join his ancestors? and would it be long--how long!--ere he took -his place among the stars? - -There was not much to leave, after all! The wild bull had been driven -from the plains, and could be found in no nearer fastness than the -northern mountains now. He had himself exterminated the lion within the -paradise round his palace, and it was weary work to ride in search of -him over the scorching desert. Even the rush of battle was not what it -used to be. Where were the men of the olden time, such as the champion -he slew in Bactria, who stood two palms' breadths higher than the -tallest warrior of either host, leaning on their spears to witness the -single combat between a giant and a king? Or that fierce Ethiopian in -the first Egyptian campaign, whom Pharaoh's chief counsellor had made -captain of his armies for his matchless valour, and whose sturdy assault -caused Ninus to reel and stagger where he stood, ere the swarthy -swordsman went down under the buffets of the Great King, then in the -vigour of his prime? But in his last expedition the armies of Egypt -seemed to give way without a struggle before his spear, and it was -hardly worth while to bid his chariot driver turn his hand into the -press of battle. Even the wine of Eshcol was tasteless now; the wine of -Damascus worse, and the feast had become loathsome to him as the fray. -He was weary of it all, could give it up without a regret, but for the -queen. - -Feeling, in spite of his angry protest against his own misgivings, that -the link which bound them together grew slighter every day--that, like a -frayed bowstring, it must snap at last, and leave her free,--the love in -his fierce old heart began to be tinged with a savage and unreasoning -jealousy, such as made him intolerant of every glance she directed at -another, of every moment she was absent from his side. He had summoned -her to his presence with all those forms and observances, the necessary -ceremonial of royalty, which chafed him now more than ever; and in his -impatience he bade the light-footed Sethos hurry to and fro to see if -the queen and her train of attendants were not yet at the gates, -although from where he sat in his throne of state he could command a -noble approach, some furlongs in length, through double lines of -colossal monsters, leading to the wide entrance of his palace. - -A jewelled cup, filled to the brim, stood neglected at his hand. Ever -and anon he stormed at Sethos because the wine had lost its flavour, and -the queen tarried so long. - -"I could put on and prove ten suits of harness," said the angry old -monarch, "in less time than it takes a woman to tire her head! And yet -one hair of that comely head is surely better worth preserving than the -whole of this worn-out body of mine, that hath scarce strength left to -draw a bow or empty a cup. Saw you not, Sethos, how fair she looked on -the wall above us when we rode in, slender and pliant like a spear -bending beneath a truss of forage? Who was attending her, boy? My memory -halts and fails me now worse than a ham-strung steed." - -"Kalmim, my lord," answered the cup-bearer, "with certain of the women, -and Sarchedon." - -He was too good a courtier to mention Assarac, dreading the storm a -priest's name was likely to bring down in the king's present mood. - -"Sarchedon," repeated Ninus--"one of my own guards. A stout warrior -enough, in the boy's play we call fighting now, and a comely -youth--ruddy and comely as a maid. How came he absent from his duty in -the ranks?" - -"He had been sent by my lord from the host with the Great King's signet -to the queen," was the reply. "He has remained in attendance on her ever -since." - -The old face turned gray with some hidden pang, and the blood-shot eyes -rolled savage under their shaggy brows. - -"By the beard of Nimrod, I will take better order with these golden -guards of mine!" exclaimed the king. "Do they think, because Pharaoh and -his bowmen are no longer flying before my chariot, I have beaten my -sword into a pruning-hook, and have forgotten how to mount a war-chariot -or set a company in array? Where is this deserter now?" - -"He is on duty at the great entrance," was the respectful answer. "My -lord the king may see him from where he sits." - -Sarchedon, in truth, with a handful of his comrades, was on guard at the -palace gate, conspicuous even amongst those goodly warriors by the -beauty of his person and the splendour of his attire. - -Ere the king could summon him to his presence, his attention was -diverted by the approach of his wife, followed by the women of her -household; a fair and fragrant company, that wound through the avenues -of winged bulls and colossal monsters, like a growth of wild flowers -trailing across the surface of a rock. - -The king's eyes were not too dim to mark every movement of the woman he -loved. His old heart began to beat faster and the blood stirred in his -veins. - -How fair and noble was the bearing of that shapely figure, as it glided -on with the measured step that became her so well! How delicate and -beautiful the pale face! so easily recognised even at a distance from -which its features could not be distinguished, and bringing back to him -as it was unveiled now, on entering her husband's dwelling, that -well-remembered morning in Bactria, when she rode into the camp serene -and radiant, like a star dropped down from heaven. - -What was this? He started, and half rose from his throne; for she had -paused amongst the guards, and one of them had fallen on his face at her -feet. - -Semiramis, who was above all the forms and ceremonies that trammelled -weaker natures, breaking through them at will in court, camp, or -palace, had resolved to take signal vengeance on Sarchedon whenever she -should see him, careless alike whether they met in the desert, on the -house-top, or here in the formidable presence of the king. She knew how -to stab him too, and determined, at whatever cost to her own feelings, -she would drive her thrust home. - -How beautiful he looked, standing there in his golden helmet, with the -scarlet-bordered mantle falling from his shoulders, and the white tunic -reaching to his knee! Not Menon, she thought, when he wooed her by the -silver lake that mirrored the towers of Ascalon, was half so fair; but -Menon loved her dearly, while this man--well, she would make him eat the -hardest morsel, drink the bitterest waters of affliction, and afterward -he should die. What would be left her then? The love of this old dotard, -the hollow pageantry, the empty pleasures, the heavy magnificence of a -court. How she loathed them all! And what good would it do her even to -attain supreme power if she must rule alone, without companionship, -without sympathy, without love? - -She had wavered in her purpose a hundred times ere she stepped as many -paces. She was inflexible when she bade Sarchedon come forward from the -line of his comrades, irresolute while he advanced and pitiless once -more as he prostrated himself at her feet. - -"You are entitled to ask a request," said she, very coldly and -haughtily, "as having borne hither the signet of my lord the king. It is -my part to intercede with him in your favour, and the old custom in our -land of Shinar bids him grant your desire, even to the half of his -kingdom." - -His eyes lightened with pleasure, and her heart turned to stone. Yet -even in that moment she marked that he still wore her amulet round his -neck. - -The name of Ishtar was on his lips, but some instinct of the palace--it -may be something in the queen's face--forbade him to pronounce it. He -had wit enough to bow his forehead in the dust, and to answer, - -"I do but desire the light of her countenance, and permission to abide -in the service of the Great Queen." - -She was not deceived by his submission, though her eyes shone with a -softer lustre while she continued, "Is there no treasure you covet, no -post of honour you desire, no maiden in the whole land of Shinar you -would fain take home with you to your tent?" - -"I may not lift mine eyes to Ashtaroth," was his cautious reply. "If I -must needs choose from among the flowers of earth, I would beg of the -Great Queen to give me Ishtar, the daughter of Arbaces." - -She was ready with her blow. Looking him full in the face, with the calm -pitiless smile of one who puts some wounded reptile out of pain-- - -"It is too late," she said, in hard cutting accents. "The damsel has -been promised to my son. Even now the prince is lifting her veil to -salute his bride!" - -In his agony he fell forward, grasping the queen's robe wildly in his -hand. - -The Great King sprang to his feet, his beard bristling, his very -eyebrows shaking with ungovernable anger. For a space he could not even -find voice to speak. Then he burst out, - -"By the blood of Nisroch, it is too much! He has laid hands on the queen -before my very face! Were he flesh of my loins and bone of my body, he -should be consumed to ashes. Ho, guards, away with him! Cover his face -and lead him forth!" - -A score of hands grasped the offender, a score of spears were pointed at -his breast. Though it was her own act, nay, _because_ it was her own -act, a strong revulsion of feeling caused the queen's stately form to -shake from head to foot: and in that supreme moment she swore to her own -turbulent heart that, come what might, even to the fall of the Assyrian -empire, Sarchedon should _not_ die! - -She passed swiftly to the throne, and lifting the king's sceptre, laid -one end of it against her forehead, while she placed the other in his -hand. - -"My lord," she said, "this is the feast of Baal. It is not lawful to -slay an Assyrian born during the worship of the great Assyrian god." - -There shone a red light in the king's eyes that meant death, and the -foam stood on his lip. When he looked thus, it was in vain to sue for -pardon. Nevertheless, he passed his wrinkled hand over the fair brow of -the woman kneeling at his feet. - -"Be it so," said Ninus. "To-morrow he shall die at sunrise. The king -hath spoken." - -Then the guards looked furtively in each other's faces; for all men knew -from such a judgment there was no appeal, in such a sentence no hope of -mercy or reprieve. - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -THE QUEEN'S PETITION - - -Sarchedon was hurried away in the custody of his former comrades, who, -pitying the fate their experience taught them was inevitable, had yet -discretion to take him from the presence of Ninus ere some hideous -cruelty or mutilation should be added to his punishment. They were -hardly out of the king's sight, however, when a priest of Baal, arriving -in breathless haste, brought an order from Assarac to deliver up their -prisoner in the temple of the god. On the festival of that national -deity, unusual respect was paid to the sacerdotal character; and as, -even amongst the guards of the Great King, Assarac's policy had taught -him to cultivate friendship and acquire influence, the high priest's -behest was obeyed readily, as if it had emanated from Arbaces or even -Ninus himself. - -Sarchedon therefore became only so far a prisoner that he was not -permitted to pass the guards at any point of egress from the sacred -building, but might roam at large through its spacious chambers, -speculating on his chances of escape when night should fall, and he -could take advantage of such secret communications as his knowledge of -its votaries taught him must surely exist between the temple and the -town. - -Meantime, however, he was a caged bird, yearning wildly for freedom -because of her whom he dearly loved. The queen's shaft was shot deftly -home, and the poison with which it had been tipped did its work as -cruelly as the pitiless archer could have desired. It was madness to -think of Ishtar in the arms of Ninyas; to feel that, whilst he was a -prisoner here, she might even be struggling for personal freedom, -perhaps calling on _him_ to save her in vain. - -But men trained to warfare acquire the habit of reviewing calmly all -sides of a dilemma, neither undervaluing its difficulties nor despairing -to vanquish them; especially they take into consideration the bearing of -probabilities and the important doctrine of chance. It was not long -before Sarchedon reflected he had himself seen Arbaces under shield and -helmet within a brief space of the queen's arrival at her husband's -palace; that if the espousals of his daughter were really taking place -with a prince, the chief captain would hardly be absent from such a -ceremony; and that Semiramis might have thought it not below her dignity -to tell him an absolute falsehood for reasons of her own--reasons, he -suspected, that ought to be flattering to his self-love and conducive to -the safety of his person. It was impossible to mistake her avowed -interest, her obvious condescension, her changing moods and the -bitterness with which she accosted him in their late interview under the -very eyes of the Great King. If Semiramis loved him, he thought, she -would surely provide for his escape; and the first use he would make of -his freedom should be to seek Ishtar and urge her to fly with him at -once. Merodach could bear them both far beyond pursuit into the desert, -where they would find a hiding-place from the king's merciless hatred -and the queen's more cruel love. - -Sarchedon, then, imprisoned in the temple of Baal, was hardly so ill at -ease as the wilful imperious woman whose reckless malice had brought him -to captivity and shame. - -The old king scowled at her with fierce jealousy and rage as her eyes -followed the retiring form of the culprit, hurried out of the royal -presence with judicious promptitude by his comrades; but from the first -moment Ninus ever looked on that winsome face, he had found in it a -charm his heart was powerless to resist, and he was half subdued already -ere she leaned towards him with tender confiding grace, and crossing her -hands over his gaunt arm, rested her brow on them, while she murmured in -low soft accents, - -"I thank my lord that he has turned no deaf ear to the voice of his -handmaiden. But enough of this. It is not well that Ninus should be -moved by the misconduct of a thoughtless spearman born under an evil -star. I have been summoned hastily to his presence. I feared he was ill -at ease. Is it overbold of his loving servant to ask what ails my lord -the king?" - -"Nothing ails me," was the impatient answer; "nothing but the clamour of -women's voices and the senseless outcries of priests. I sent for the -queen," he added more gently, "because she is the light of mine eyes and -the priceless jewel of my treasure-house." - -Semiramis rose erect, and bowing her lovely head, stood with her hands -crossed in the prescribed attitude of humility proper for a subject. - -She knew right well that in no position could she show to more -advantage; the pride of her bearing softened, the tender graces of her -womanhood enhanced, by its expression of shy compliance, of loving -submission to her lord. - -"His servant hasted hither," said she, "on the instant the king's -command reached her palace. I had scarce time to tire my head and smooth -my robes. Yet I would fain look my best and proudest in the sight of my -lord the king." - -He gazed on her with a fond admiration that was touching to see in that -war-worn old face, softening its rugged outlines and bringing into the -sunken eyes something of the wistful fidelity with which a dog watches -for the smile of its owner. - -"Tired by a score of handmaidens," said he, "blazing in a hundred -jewels, or dishevelled and disrobed, with her free locks floating to her -knees, not the Queen of Heaven herself is to be compared to my queen, -fair and matchless to-day as on that bright morning when I saw her ride -through the camp like a vision, bow in hand, and granted her the very -first boon she asked me, for love of her sweet face and her soft -pleading eyes." - -"And am I still so fair?" smiled the queen, while a flush of hope, -triumph, and pride in conscious beauty deepened the colour on her cheek. -"Nay, I shall scarce be brought to believe he is in earnest unless I can -prevail on my lord the king to grant me once again the request I lay at -his royal feet. If he loves me, surely he will not refuse; and--and I -_think_ he loves me a little still!" - -"I will have him flayed alive who gainsays it!" answered Ninus. "I have -ceased to love most things now, from the roar of battle to the bubble of -a wine-cup. But may I burn like a log of cedar in the fire of Belus when -I cease to love my queen!" - -She shot at him one of those glances she could command at will, in which -mirth, tenderness, and modesty were blended with the fire of love. "I -believe it," she murmured gently. "Such an affection as ours is written -in the stars, and kindles into flame at the first meeting of those who -are destined for each other. It seems but yesterday that my lord burst -on my sight like Shamash, god of day, rising in splendour on the camp, -and I turned my head away to bury my blushing face in my hands, -because--because, already I loved him only too well." - -With the thrill that vibrated in every fibre of the old king's frame -arose the invariable accompaniment of sincere affection--a sense of -uncertainty and unworthiness. - -"I was a stout warrior then," said he, "and not so uncomely, for one -whose life had been spent in saddle and war-chariot; but the colour has -faded on my cheek now, and worse, the fire has gone from my spirit like -the strength from my limbs." - -There was a plaintive ring in the deep hoarse voice, that must have -touched any heart, save that of a woman with a purpose in view. - -"Not so!" she exclaimed, hanging fondly about him. "Not so, my lord, my -love, my hero! I swear by the host of heaven, that to me you are more -noble, more kingly, more beautiful now, in the dignity of your past -deeds and mature fame, than in all the vehemence and ardour of your -impetuous manhood. Nay, my beloved," she added, half playfully, half -sadly, while clinging yet closer to his side, "it is not I alone who -think so; there were looks shot at my lord as he rode through the -streets from the brightest eyes in Babylon, that had I not known full -surely I was his only queen and love, would have made me so miserable I -had fled straightway to the desert, and never looked on the face of man -again." - -Is there any age at which the male heart becomes insensible to such -flattery? With ebbing life and failing vigour, battered and out-worn by -a hundred battles, glorious in the splendour of a hundred victories, the -Great King might surely have been above that boyish vanity, which counts -for a triumph the empty gain of a woman's fancy; yet Ninus smiled well -pleased, and Semiramis felt that her petition was already more than half -granted, her game more than half won. - -"They know a stout spearman when they see one still," said the old hero -proudly, "and they judge by the ruin, doubtless, what the tower must -have been in its prime. Well, well, it stood many an assault in its day, -and from hosts of many nations, nor thought once of surrender, till my -queen here marched in and took possession, with all the honours of war." - -"And she has held it since against every woman in the world!" murmured -his wife, with another of those resistless glances, and a bright flush. -"Is it not so? Keep me not in the agony of suspense. Let me have the -king's word for my great happiness, and swear, by the head of Nisroch, -to grant me my desire!" - -"I must hear first what it is," said the old warrior playfully; but -observing the tears start to her eyes, he added in fond haste, "Nay, -nay, beloved, the queen's petition shall be granted, whatever it be, -even to the half of mine empire." - -"It is more than that!" exclaimed Semiramis, with a smile as ready as -her tears. "It is the whole empire I desire! I would fain sit in the -seat of my lord the king, but only for a day." - -Ninus shook his head. "You are like your boy," said he fondly. "Do you -not remember when we took Ninyas for the first time to hunt the lion -outside the walls, and the lad must needs ride Samiel, the wild -war-horse, that bent to no hand but mine? By the blood of Merodach, he -wept like a maid, and I had not the heart to refuse him; but when he was -fairly in the saddle the tears soon dried on his cheek, for the horse -broke away with him like the wind of the desert, from which he took his -name. I tell you, while I stood there dismounted, I must have felt what -men call fear! I never knew how I prized the boy, till my horse brought -him back to me unhurt. Samiel loved not to be far distant from his -lord; and now Samiel is dead, and his rider worn-out, and the -queen--what was it the queen asked? That she too should ride a steed she -cannot control? Does she know the pride of the Assyrian people, the -turbulence of the crowd, the daily clamour for sluices to be opened and -granaries unbarred, the craft of the priests, the false witness borne at -the seat of judgment, and the weight of the royal word, which may not be -recalled?" - -But for the last consideration, the heart of Semiramis might have been -softened towards one who, with all his crimes and cruelties, had yet -been tender and loving in his home. The thought, however, of Sarchedon's -doom, ratified and rendered inevitable by those fatal words, "The king -hath spoken," swept all other considerations to the winds, and she never -looked truer, fairer, fonder than now, while she answered in a tender -whisper: - -"My lord granted his request to our son at the sight of his wet eyes. -Shall he withhold from the mother her soul's desire, because she cannot -weep save when she fears to lose her place in the heart of the Great -King?" - -His head sank on his breast; he was soon weary now, withering, as it -seemed, more hopelessly in the confinement of a palace than in the freer -atmosphere of a camp. "Name it," said he--"it is granted: the king hath -spoken." - -Her eyes blazed with triumph, and the rich crimson mantled in her cheek. -"I have in my possession the signet of the Great King. I ask to keep it -until to-morrow at noon." - -"I have said it," was the reply. "But what use will my queen make of a -toy that has often cumbered my hand more wearily than ever did bridle, -spear, or shield?" - -"I will but use it to my lord's advantage," answered Semiramis calmly. -"Is not to-day the feast of Baal, and shall not the Great King go up at -nightfall into the cedar house on the roof to burn sacrifices, and pour -out drink-offerings before his god? There will be long procession of -priests, much leaping, howling, and gashing of themselves at the altars; -the prophets of the groves too must pass before my lord, bearing earth -and water, fir-cones, caskets, gold, frankincense, and gifts. My lord is -weary even now. Let him take his rest undisturbed to strengthen him for -the tedious labours of the night. Meanwhile I hold the signet of the -Great King and his authority. I will provide for the safety of the -nation, and for our own." - -He was getting drowsy, and his eyes were already half-closed. - -"You have my signet," he murmured. "Send to Arbaces, and advise with the -chief captain for setting of the watch. And that presumptuous -spearman"--here he blazed up with an expiring flame--"see that he be led -forth at dawn. I have spoken, and he who dared to cross the queen's path -must die before the rise of another day." - -"Before the rise of another day!" she repeated mechanically; adding, as -she gathered her robes about her to depart, "I thank him that his -handmaiden hath found favour in his sight. I cover the feet of my lord -the king, and I take my leave." - -But she turned at the great gate for one last look at the sleeping form, -mighty even in its ruin, and formidable in the abandonment of its -repose. - -Proceeding from the palace, Semiramis paused to whisper a few words in -the ear of Arbaces. The chief captain seemed surprised, and even -discomposed by the purport of her communication; but there was no appeal -from a command backed by the royal signet, and placing her hand, with -the jewel in it, against his forehead, he prostrated himself and -withdrew. Had he remained, his discomfiture might have been even greater -to observe the queen in deep consultation with Assarac, while Sargon, -the king's shield-bearer, remained, as if in waiting, a few paces off. -The eunuch's head was erect and his face bright with triumph; he wore -the air of a man on the eve of some great enterprise requiring skill, -courage, and intellect, but having at the same time perfect confidence -in his own power to carry it through. - -"Is all ready?" asked Semiramis in a hollow whisper, while her cheek -paled, and a strange fire shone in her dark eyes. - -"All is ready," answered the priest, in composed and measured accents, -as of one who states the details of a duty satisfactorily fulfilled. -"Double guards have been placed at the city gates; fifty thousand -archers, and as many spearmen, are mustered under arms. Not a strained -shaft nor a frayed bowstring amongst them, and every man with his hand -on his weapon, devoted to the queen's interest for life and death!" - -"We shall scarcely need them," was her reply. "I have commanded Arbaces -to remove his own especial power without the walls. Has my son gone -forth, and have you taken order for bestowing him in safety to-night?" - -"A company of spearmen will escort him," said the eunuch, "and will -guard the child and its new toy on the road to his refuge at Ascalon. -The king's signet will insure the obedience of such warriors as are -required to force the palace of Arbaces, and if the chief captain -resists with the strong hand, his blood be on his own head!" - -"More slaughter!" exclaimed the queen sorrowfully. "O that the road to -power were not mired so deep with blood! But it is too late to turn back -now. Your life, my own, that poor condemned spearman of the guard--all -are at stake to-night; and we must not, we _dare_ not, stop. Is Sargon -to be trusted? Yonder he stands, waiting for his orders even now." - -"Assarac glanced to where that warrior was stationed, a few paces off, -silent, erect, immovable, with the scowl of undying hatred on his brow. -The priest smiled--and the queen thought his smile more fearful than the -shield-bearer's frown--while he replied: - -"A captive in the dungeon longs for light, and a gourd in the garden for -water; but what is their desire to a father's thirst for vengeance on -one who has shed the blood of his child?" - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -CRUEL AS THE GRAVE - - -The queen passed on a few paces without speaking, yet glanced towards -Assarac, who walked respectfully at her side, as though she had -something of importance on her mind. At last she observed carelessly, -"That spearman who has incurred the displeasure of my lord the king. Is -it not the messenger who brought me the royal signet from the camp? -These guards are all somewhat alike; yet I seemed to recognise his face -as he fell so untowardly at my feet." - -"The same," answered Assarac, in his calm unmeaning tones. "A goodly -youth, and a stout warrior enough, by name Sarchedon. He has been -bestowed in the temple of Baal under my authority, safe at least till -nightfall. Nor can he escape, though guard and priest are out of call; -for there is no egress from the last chamber in the painted gallery on -the upper story where I have placed him, and whence he could scarcely -fly were he to borrow all the wings of Nisroch, whose image stands over -against the entrance to his stronghold. But it is not of him I would -speak," continued the priest, keenly noting, though he never seemed to -raise his eyes above the hem of her garment, the queen's burning cheeks -and air of breathless interest. "From sunset to sunrise have I watched -and waited for the decree of the Seven Stars, poring over the scroll of -fire they unrolled for me, till my brain was giddy and mine eyes were -dim. Great Queen, there are no secrets in the future for him who has -learned to read the book of heaven. It teaches me that in the darkness -of this night shall dawn unclouded glory for the land of Shinar, and -supreme empire for her who is fairest and bravest among women. As the -goddess Ashtaroth is Queen of Heaven above, so shall the great Semiramis -be Queen of Earth below. The Seven Stars have spoken it, and they cannot -lie!" - -He wondered at her preoccupation, contrasting with the attention she had -lately shown her present listlessness and apparent indifference to the -splendid destiny thus prophesied. Something almost of scorn passed over -his brow, while he reflected, that if the mighty engine of ambition -failed to move her intellect, he had yet a subtler instrument with which -to touch her heart. - -Presently she roused herself to ask, "Did the stars promise only that I -should be great, or will they permit me also to be happy?" - -"The queen's greatness," answered Assarac, "like her beauty, is -inseparable from her very being. Her happiness, like the robe that -covers it, can be put on or off at will." - -"You are right," she exclaimed, while the resolute look he knew so well -passed over her beautiful face down to the very chin. "And she who -stands panting at a fountain were indeed a fool not to stoop and drink. -Tell me, then, their behests. What the stars bid me, that will I do." - -"The Great Queen cannot read from the book of heaven so readily as a -humble priest, the lowest of her slaves, though this lore, too, will I -aspire to teach her at some future time; but there lies in the temple, -fairly writ out in the Assyrian character and plain as the flight of an -arrow through the air, a scroll that teaches us poor servants of Baal -the rudiments of those mysteries into which the ruler of a mighty empire -must needs inquire. It is to be found in a secure chamber of the painted -gallery under the winged image of Nisroch our god." - -While he spoke, not the slightest curl of his lip, the faintest -inflection of his voice, betrayed a hidden motive, another meaning from -that which the plain straightforward words seemed to convey. Yet the -queen glanced very keenly in his face, while she stopped short in her -walk and turned towards the temple, observing only-- - -"It is not yet near sunset. I shall have light to read the scroll." - -Then she dismissed Kalmim and her women, desiring that she might be -attended only by the priest of Baal, in whose steps, nevertheless, -Sargon followed like his shadow. - -Arrived within the porch of the temple, she gave a great sigh of relief, -as though she luxuriated in the refreshing coolness of those spacious -halls, with their smooth shining floors, their countless columns, their -vast shadowy recesses, that spoke of calm and secrecy and repose. She -had not gone far, ere Assarac stopped and prostrated himself at her -feet. - -"Let not the queen be wroth with the lowest of her servants," said the -wily eunuch, "if he ask permission to be relieved for a brief space from -attendance on her person. There is so much to be prepared for the feast -of Baal, so many details to arrange for the sacrifice of to-night, that -I must neglect my duties no longer. The scroll lies where all who pass -may read, and when the Great Queen has studied it enough, if, standing -in this spot, she will but clap her hands thus, those shall be within -call who can summon me to her presence without delay." - -Semiramis frowned, though the frown did but mask a smile. - -"It is scarce a royal reception," said she; "nevertheless, be it so. I -am content to breathe this cool and grateful air for a space, ere I -return with Kalmim and the women to my palace across the river. You are -dismissed." - -He rose and retired, making a sign to Sargon, who watched his every -movement, that caused the shield-bearer to follow him forthwith. - -Clear of the queen's presence, Assarac pointed to a table on which stood -a golden flagon and drinking-cups of the same metal. - -"Not even to-day?" said he, while the other shook his head in token of -dissent. "Trust me, Sargon, you will be faint and athirst before all is -done." - -"Not a drop of wine shall cross my lips," answered the shield-bearer in -a fierce determined whisper, "till I have dipped my hands in the blood -of him who has injured me. I have sworn it by the splendour of Nisroch. -It is the oath of the Great King!" - -"Is your vengeance, then, so deadly?" asked the eunuch, in a tone of -pity that obviously chafed and aggravated the passion it seemed to -commiserate. "Surely ten score of sheep, five yoke of oxen, a hundred -camel-loads of barley, or a talent of gold should absolve the shedder of -blood from farther reparation. In our land of Shinar the laws are -merciful, and do not exact life for life." - -"There is a law in man's heart," replied Sargon, still in the same low -concentrated accents, "that sets aside the law of nations and the -artificial ordinances of priests. See here," he continued, plucking from -his girdle a knotted bowstring, limp and frayed, which he put in the -other's hand; "a reader of the stars should be able to tell a simple -spearman how many knots on that bit of twisted silk go to the score." - -"It needs no great study to perceive that but one is left here now," -answered Assarac with an inquiring look into the other's face. - -"The bow from which I took that string had been bent many a time in the -Great King's service," was the reply; "and a shaft it sped but seldom -missed its mark. I have covered Ninus under shield, and defended him -with my body, when arrows and javelins were flying thick as the sands of -the desert before a south wind. I have waged my life, poured out my -blood freely for my lord, and he has rewarded me with his own royal -hand." - -"He is lavish enough," observed Assarac, "be it gold or stripes, honours -or death, that he awards. May the king live for ever!" - -"May the king live for ever!" repeated his shield-bearer, "a god among -gods, a star in the host of heaven. If an empty throne be waiting for -him up yonder, may it soon be filled! When I saw my boy fall stark dead, -the blood gushing from his mouth and nostrils, I prostrated myself and -did obeisance to the Great King; but I drew that string from my bow, and -in it I tied a score of knots, swearing with each a deadly oath, that by -the splendour of Nisroch I would be avenged ere the twentieth was -undone. Since then I have loosed a knot with every sunrise; and lo, a -priest of Baal counts, and tells me there is but one left!" - -Beneath its sallow skin a terrible smile rounded the fleshy outlines of -the eunuch's face. His voice, however, remained firm while he -whispered-- - -"We understand each other, and there must be no wavering--no escape--no -mercy!" - -Between his clenched teeth the shield-bearer's answer came in single -syllables, hissing like drops of blood on a burning hearth-- - -"Such wavering as stayed the cruel hand, the deadly bow! Such escape as -was afforded that light-footed youth, whom only an arrow's flight could -overtake! Such mercy as he showed my boy!" - -"Come with me," was the high-priest's reply; and the two ascended a -spiral staircase of carved and polished wood-work, leading to the Talar -or cedar-chamber on the roof of the temple, where at nightfall sacrifice -was to be offered, and drink-offerings poured out in person by the Great -King to his Assyrian god. Here they drew from a store-chamber within the -wall several bundles of reeds, which they strewed in profusion over the -wooden floor of the cedar-house, and which Assarac sprinkled assiduously -with a certain fluid from a phial he had kept hidden beneath his gown. - -"Every precaution must be taken," observed the priest with another -hideous smile. "But if it be the will of his ancestor Ashur to descend -for him in a chariot of fire, and these reeds thus saturated should -catch the flame, then must the Great King, if he be not overcome with -wine and sleep, escape by yonder narrow staircase. His shield-bearer -will lie in wait there to help him down." - -Sargon nodded, and his white teeth gleamed between the curls of his -jetty beard. - -"It is a faithful servant who thus risks life with his master," -continued the priest. "When a subject approaches the king in his sacred -office, the punishment is death." - -"Death!" repeated Sargon, and his hand stole to the haft of his -two-edged sword, while he burst into a mocking laugh. - -Semiramis meantime, left to her own devices, strolled through the long -corridors and lofty halls of the temple with wavering steps and slow, -that yet bore her nearer and nearer the chamber at the end of the -painted gallery, where Sarchedon was lodged. Opposite its entrance stood -an eagle-headed figure of Nisroch, with beak and wings of gold. On this -the prisoner's eyes were fixed, as he watched the lapse of time by the -fading sunlight on its burnished edges, and, looking only for -deliverance in the carelessness of the priests, longed for darkness, -that he might explore the temple and find for himself some secret -passage through which to gain the town. Thus gazing, it was with no -assumed start of surprise that he marked the queen's beautiful figure -and shining raiment emerge like a vision from under the very shadow of -the god; and while he prostrated himself at her feet, he could not -forbear covering his eyes with his hands in honest doubt whether he were -face to face with a woman of real flesh and blood, or with some illusive -creation of his own excited fancy. Perhaps no intentional flattery could -have been so grateful to the queen, whose daring nature was yet -sufficiently feminine to be tempered with a certain reserve and -restraint in the presence of a man she loved. - -Semiramis looked tenderly down on the kneeling form at her feet, leaning -towards it with the graceful pliancy of the palm-tree as she bends in -the evening breeze. - -"Rise, Sarchedon," she whispered, dwelling fondly on every syllable of -his name as it passed her trembling lips; "this is no time for empty -homage and unmeaning form. Know you not that you are to die with -to-morrow's dawn?" - -Even that hideous prospect, even love for another woman burning at his -heart, could not veil the passionate admiration that blazed from his -eyes while he looked up in the fairest face beneath the sky. - -Meeting his glances, her own kindled into fire. She laid her white hand -on his shoulder with a gesture that was almost a caress. But the hand, -so firm to draw a bow, to grasp a sceptre, to record a doom, shook like -a leaf of the great tamarisk-tree in her own gardens. - -"I have come to save you," she continued in a voice that sank lower and -lower with her failing breath. "Was I not the cause of your offence? Do -I not share your crime? I cannot let you die!" - -He scarcely believed his senses. Could this be the royal lady who had -ruled so calmly half the nations of the East--this panting, trembling, -eager woman, changing colour, mood, and bearing with every throb of her -beating heart? It was hard to find voice for the conventional -declaration, that "he was the lowest of her servants, and his life lay -in the hand of the Great Queen!" - -"Your life, Sarchedon," she murmured. "If your life be indeed mine, what -more can I desire? See, you shall take it back. It is a free gift; and -again I am all alone. A queen, forsooth! Who would be a queen, to burn -like Ashtaroth in heaven with fire kindled in her own heart, having none -to counsel, none to cherish, none to love?" - -He had sprung to his feet. He looked on the beautiful woman standing -beside him, and every manly instinct of his nature rose to answer her -appeal, so touching, so bewildering, and so fond. The very contrast of -her flushed temples and disordered looks with those royal robes of state -might have turned a cooler brain, and no consideration of danger or -duty could have caused him to forbear exclaiming, - -"I have but one desire on earth--to live and die at the queen's feet!" - -Never had she bestowed on Ninus, perhaps never even on Menon, the -husband of her youth, such a smile as now beamed from eyes and lips and -brow on the impulsive warrior, who had scarcely spoken ere something in -his inmost heart bade him wish his words unsaid. Her lithe and shapely -figure swayed towards him, as if, but for his outstretched arms, it must -have fallen. The perfume of her hair surrounded and intoxicated his -senses; her breath was on his cheek, her sweet lips scarce a palm's -breath from his ear, while in gasping broken syllables she murmured, - -"Not at her feet, Sarchedon, but at her heart! Nay, more, you shall----" - -[Illustration: "NOT AT HER FEET, SARCHEDON, BUT AT HER HEART!"] - -Had Nisroch descended bodily from his pedestal, or Ninus started up like -a ghost from the gaping floor, Semiramis could scarcely have changed so -suddenly to the cold impassive rigidity of marble. Following the -direction of her stony gaze, Sarchedon beheld, emerging, as it were, -from the very pannelling of the chamber, a dark face and armed figure he -recognised as those of the shield-bearer. Sargon, returning by a secret -passage from strewing reeds on the floor above, had thus unwillingly -interrupted an interview which his own instincts told him it was very -dangerous to have witnessed. With oriental readiness, indeed, his -countenance assumed an expression of unconscious stolidity; but in his -heart he knew that the queen's eye had identified him. And it was too -late. Sarchedon, though without a weapon, would have sprung at the -intruder, but the queen laid her hand, firm enough now, on his arm. - -"It is not time," she said in accents so unmoved, so pitiless, that they -made his blood run cold. "To-morrow, Sarchedon, we meet again here, at -the same hour." Then changing her tone to one of the deepest tenderness, -added, "I will claim that amulet you wear before the whole of Babylon;" -and so, whispering "farewell," was gone. - -When she vanished from his sight, Sarchedon could almost have believed -he was mocked by the illusions of a dream. - -Ere she left the temple, Semiramis did not fail to clap her hands, and -summon Assarac to her presence. With more than usual graciousness, she -bade him attend her to the gate, and when beyond the hearing of certain -priests who were busied about their usual offices, asked with a smile, -"that shield-bearer, Sargon, is a stout warrior, I have heard. Can you -depend on him?" - -"To the death!" answered the eunuch. "Less will not serve him. He -requires blood for blood." - -"If the flames do their work, there need be no bloodshed," was the -reply. "But of course he must never leave the temple alive." - -"Of course," assented Assarac; and so the Great Queen passed calmly on -to her own royal dwelling beyond the river. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -THE DIVINING CUP - - -His queen's command, backed by the signet of the Great King himself, was -a matter that brooked neither hesitation nor delay; and Arbaces, -retiring from the royal presence, reflected with considerable -apprehension on the order he had received from Semiramis. Like many -other veterans in the Assyrian army, he was devoted, body and soul, to -Ninus, reverencing him perhaps less as a monarch than as the famous -warrior, who had led armies to victory again and again. There is no bond -so close as that which is drawn by companionship in privation, danger -and adventure--by a share, however small, in that military glory, before -which all other fame pales to a wan and feeble light. But between his -tried captains and a despotic leader of whose authority there can be no -jealousy, as there can be no cavil at his command, exists the community -of interests, the mutual and reciprocal confidence of hounds with their -huntsman, the wild deer in the mountain with the broad-fronted -master-stag of the herd. - -Arbaces, riding slowly towards his palace, while a score of bearded -retainers paced beside his steed, shook his head in grievous doubt and -perplexity as to his duty in the present crisis. - -"To move without the wall at an hour's notice," thought the old warrior, -"that tried host, which has even now marched in, triumphant and -well-found in every detail, from a successful campaign; the veterans of -Ninus, trained under his own eye in the field, on every man of whom I -could depend as on myself, that he would shed his last drop of blood for -the glory of the Great King--to leave Babylon at the mercy of the -priests and that gilded army, which professes allegiance only to the -queen--thus to place ourselves, weakened and defenceless, in the hands -of such men as Assarac and Beladon, crafty intriguers who would shrink -from no secret crime, though they would tremble like girls to set a -company in array against an open foe--is it right? Is it wise? Is it for -the safety of the Great King? It is on my head. I must obey. Yet will I -make one effort to save him from himself, even though he consume me in -his wrath while I speak with him face to face." - -Drawing rein as he came to this conclusion, Arbaces dispatched -messengers to the captains of the host, summoning them to meet at his -own dwelling with the utmost promptitude; and, turning his horse, rode -off at speed towards the palace of the Great King. - -As he galloped through the wide streets, sitting erect and fair, his -golden armour gleaming in the sun, his long beard waving in the wind, -many an eye looked after him with glances of respect, admiration, and -even regard for the successful warrior, the noted captain, the right -hand and counsellor of Ninus himself. Stalwart water-carriers staggering -between their jars--tawny fruit-sellers sitting amongst their gourds -under booths at the street side--the very leper, grovelling and scraping -himself in the dust, had heard of his achievements, and envied rather -than grudged him his horses, his wealth, his splendour, his beautiful -daughter, and his warlike fame. - -How could they tell he was risking all these with every stride of his -good steed, from a sense of unquestioning loyalty to the grim old -monarch, who might put him to death on the spot for entering his -presence unrequired? - -Ninus in the camp was to be accosted by the meanest soldier; Ninus on -the seat of judgment turned a willing ear to the lowest of his subjects; -but to intrude on Ninus in the palace was a capital offence by royal -decree, by the custom of the olden time, and by the laws of the land of -Shinar. - -Nevertheless, Arbaces waited for no announcement, but flinging his -horse's rein to be held by a captain of ten thousand on duty at the -gate, strode swiftly through vast halls and shining corridors till he -reached the summer chamber of the old monarch's privacy. Two stalwart -spearmen at the entrance, guards of his own selection, made way for him -with looks of wonder and awe, while the chief captain, desperate as -though leaping with lowered point and raised buckler to the breach of a -fenced city, dashed headlong into the presence of the Great King. - -Ninus sprang to his feet, and once again the light of battle gleamed in -his eyes. - -"Welcome," he exclaimed, "my trusty servant!--welcome, as the sound of -trumpets that bids Assyria charge with chariots and horsemen along the -whole line! It can be no light matter, by the beard of Ashur, that -brings you thus into my presence. Reach your hand to the sceptre, and -out with it, man. Is the city in revolt? Hath Armenia sent us a -defiance? Are the rebels of Philistia swarming at the gate? O, I am -weary, weary to madness of this drowsy inaction! Tell me it is something -that shall force me to saddle and war-chariot. Bid me shake a spear -under shield once again, or you had better have leaped into the air from -the tower of Belus, rather than flown here thus, quivering and aimless, -like a random shaft from a wet bowstring!" - -Little reassured by the alternative, Arbaces hastened at least to take -hold of the royal sceptre, and thus secure himself against the worst -consequences of his indiscretion; for pardon was invariably accorded to -him for whom the king extended that emblem of sovereignty with his own -hand; but he dreaded the old warrior's disappointment to learn there -seemed no excuse for a recommencement of the game he loved so well, and -it was only because he was a brave man to the core that he looked his -lord steadily in the face while he said firmly, but respectfully, "O -king, live for ever! I speak not as the lowest of slaves to the highest -of masters; I speak as warrior to warrior, as man to man. Arbaces asks -Ninus if he has ever deceived him in council, or failed him in the -field." - -"Never!" exclaimed the king, on whose kindred spirit the other's manly -bearing produced such an effect as might have been expected. "Never," he -repeated, sitting down again, while the weary look crept over his gray -old face. "You have been true to me as the buckle of my belt, the handle -of my blade. Old servant, old friend, old comrade, something tells me I -shall never tighten one nor draw the other again." - -Arbaces burst into tears. The practised warrior, who had seen towns -sacked, foes slain, and captives flayed alive without a quiver of -sympathy, a throb of pity, was not proof against this unaccustomed mood -in his stern old master. Slave as he really was, slave in presence of a -fierce and irresponsible despot, his heart filled with a painful, -piteous sympathy that unmanned him, and he wept. - -The king's harsh laugh, covering, it may be, some kinder sentiment than -derision, and hoarse with other weakness besides the cough of age, -recalled him to himself. - -"Go, get a spindle!" exclaimed Ninus. "Surely, but for that rugged face -and grizzled beard, I had believed it was an old woman standing at my -footstool with wet eyes to pray for her son's release out of the -clutches of Arbaces, rather than the Tartan himself, whom I have seen -many a time in haste, anger, and perplexity, but never in sorrow nor in -fear." - -The other's face brightened with joy and pride; but he had a duty to -perform, and neither exultation in his lord's approval, nor dread of his -displeasure, would prevent his carrying it out to the end. - -Assuming the usual attitude of respect, and thus dropping, as it were, -to his proper level of humility, the chief captain demanded meekly, - -"Is it the king's pleasure to hearken, while the lowest of his servants -makes report concerning the ordering of the host, and setting of the -night-watches as in the day of battle?" - -"What have I to do with the day of battle?" answered the king testily. -"This is the day of priests and prophets, sacrifice and drink-offering, -waste of time, treasure, and good wine. May Nisroch consume them all to -ashes! Day of battle!--by the beard of Nimrod, day of folly rather, and -weariness and shame! Thou too must needs come prating about it. Well, -say on." - -"The whole army of Egypt has been commanded to encamp without the -walls," observed the other curtly. "Is this the pleasure of my lord the -king?" - -"Without the walls!" repeated his angry master. "Who dared give such a -fool's order at such a time? And you too: have you thus disposed the -host, scattered from their centre, and incapable of concentration or -movement? By the belt of Ashur, you are a bolder man than I thought, to -come and tell me this!" - -"I took my orders from the Great Queen," answered Arbaces, "and she -delivered them with the royal signet in her hand." - -Ninus calmed down at once, while on his face came the smile that was -never seen there, but in the presence of Semiramis, or at the mention of -her name. - -"It is well," he said. "Had it been any other man in the host but -yourself, who came here unbidden to question such an authority, his face -had been covered and his place should have known him no more. The king -hath spoken." - -His old heart thrilled while he thought how this unmilitary disposition -of his army was but another instance of the queen's love and care; -another proof of her confidence and affection. She would spare him all -incitement to exertion by thus withdrawing for a time his favourite -occupation, would exact a proof of his trust in thus confiding his -personal safety and his kingdom to those who were avowedly at her own -disposal. Well, he might not have many more opportunities to please her. -Let the queen's fancy be indulged unquestioned, and her commands obeyed. - -While he dismissed Arbaces, rudely enough it may be, according to his -wont, there was yet a rough kindliness underlying the haughty manner and -fierce peremptory tones, that caused the chief captain's heart to sink -with a sense of depression, a vague foreshadowing of evil he had never -felt before. As the subject raised his head, after the usual -prostration on leaving his king's presence, the eyes of master and -servant met. At the same moment, the same thought seemed to fall like -ice on the heart of each, that henceforth neither should look in the -other's face again. - -Wearily and slowly the chief captain paced back towards his home, the -good horse under him partaking, as it seemed, in his rider's -discomfiture. It was a sore and saddened heart, contrasting painfully -with his elation on the day of triumph, when he rode so proudly beneath -its walls, that he now carried through the lofty portals of his palace. -He had, however, one consolation left in the presence of his daughter. -So long as she remained under his roof, it seemed to her father there -was still peace and rest and tranquil happiness at home. - -"The girl," said he, with his Oriental turn of thought and expression, -"is like a light in the dwelling, a lily in the garden, a fountain in -the court." - -But his apprehensions were not destined to be relieved by the return of -those whom he had sent to summon the principal captains of the host. -With the first who prostrated himself before the Tartan while he -dismounted came evil tidings, which each successive messenger arrived -only to aggravate and confirm. - -Ispabara, chief of the spearmen, a tried warrior and leader of repute, -had been removed from his command, and cast into prison. Even now the -force that hitherto acknowledged his authority was defiling through the -great gate to quit the town under another captain. Scarcely was this -startling announcement digested when a second breathless runner appeared -to say that Sabacon, the captain of the chariots, had been summoned -hastily to the presence of the Great Queen, and had not since been heard -of. Meantime, the whole strength of the chariots of iron were already -massed in the plain by the Well of Palms. - -"What of Belasys and his trusty bowmen?" exclaimed Arbaces in deep -concern and perplexity, while a third light-footed youth laid his -forehead to the ground ere he made his ill-omened report. - -"Let not my lord be wroth," was the deprecating reply. "Belasys cannot -be found. The bowmen are in confusion, but Taracus has received orders -to command them under the signet of my lord the king, and has marched -them out by companies through the different gates of the city. The men -of Nineveh refused to move, and were scattered like chaff before the -wind by the horsemen of the Great Queen. Dagon! how the blue mantles -rode through and through their ranks, piercing, hewing, trampling them -down and sparing none! Men say their bowstrings had been cut when they -encamped last night by the temple of Baal. The women of Nineveh shall -look from their walls in vain, for by the Thirteen Gods I think not a -score of that northern band can have escaped alive!" - -"And all this on the feast-day," muttered Arbaces, turning into his -house with a heavy heart. - -It was obvious that some deadly plot had been contrived--some fearful -catastrophe was imminent. It needed but little of his warlike experience -to remind him that an army thus scattered, while disorganised by a -change of leaders, would be useless for all purposes of resistance or -offence. - -Of the queen's object he could form but vague speculations; for the -means she had employed to carry it out, he could not repress a sentiment -of admiration, considerably dashed with fear. That the authority which -devolved on her with the royal signet had been employed to place the -city of Babylon, and with it the great Assyrian empire, at her mercy was -too apparent; but he hesitated to believe she would use the power she -thus owed to his affection, for the destruction of her husband and her -king. - -Arbaces was a man of energy and action, accustomed to sudden peril, -fertile in the resources by which it should be met. But he was also -superstitious and a fatalist. It is possible that he might have -organised some scheme for the defence of his old master, made some -effort to avert the storm that was gathering over the royal head, had it -not been for one of those trifling events on which the fate of an empire -has sometimes been known to turn. - -Exhausted and perplexed, he called for wine almost as he left the -saddle. Ishtar, who had been watching for her father's arrival, sprang -joyfully forward and ministered to his wants, bringing him the restoring -draught in a golden cup, beautifully carved, chased, and set with -precious stones. - -The girl's step was free and buoyant; her bearing joyous, her sweet face -radiant in the light that once in a lifetime glorifies every child of -earth with a ray direct from heaven. - -The sun was setting, and a stream of crimson from its level beams -crossed the shining floor beneath her feet. Suddenly she stopped, and -looking wildly into the cup, turned pale--pale even in that rich glow of -evening, tinging hands and robe and hair with red. - -"O, father!" she said, "do not drink. It looks like blood!" - -He set the wine down untasted, and covered his eyes with his hands. - -"Enough!" he muttered. "Who shall strive against Nisroch, or flee from -him who hath the four winds of heaven for his wings? The Seven Stars -have spoken, and it is well!" - -Then there came on him a great trembling and fear; for he looked on his -daughter, and wondered who should protect her when he was gone. His own -head, the life of the Great King, the fate of the empire, seemed as -nothing compared to the safety of that beloved being--the child of his -bosom--the one ewe lamb of his fold! - -It was the divining cup of his race from which Ishtar had unwittingly -been about to give him to drink, and he would have been as loath to -defile his father's tomb, or question his father's honour, as to doubt -its gift of prophecy, or make light of the warning it proclaimed. - -He believed firmly enough that a pure maiden, looking into this -mysterious vessel at any crisis of her fate, would there behold -reflected, as in a mirror, a presentiment of that good or evil which the -future held for her in store. And what had she seen now? By her own -confession, to her obvious dismay, a hideous sea of blood! - -He dismissed her from his presence gently, kindly, yet with a stern -sorrow that forbade her to remonstrate or disobey. Then, alone at last, -in the hall of his stately palace, he rent his mantle from hem to hem -with a great cry of anguish, and sat down on the bare floor, unnerved, -unmanned, in a paroxysm of horror and despair. - -Above him, grand and imposing in the shadows of coming night, loomed his -own sculptured image on the wall--proud, erect, triumphant--driving at -speed in his war-chariot over a field of slain. - -So darkness gathered round original and likeness: the fierce conqueror -helmed and plated, bow in hand--the prostrate figure, with rent -garments, bowed in misery to the dust. And the stars came out in golden -lustre--mellow, benignant, radiant--smiling down, as it would seem, in -peace and good-will on the sleep of Babylon the Great. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -A LYING SPIRIT - - -In the meantime, not only to his temple had been confined the -preparations of his servants for celebrating the festival of the great -Assyrian god. Throughout the city, wherever shrine was sculptured or -altar reared, garlands had been woven, drink-offerings prepared, droves -of animals made ready for sacrifice, and trenches even dug to carry off -the blood that was to flow like water with the fall of night. The -priests of Baal swarmed in every open space, singing, shouting, -gesticulating with frantic leaps, and bare knives brandished to threaten -their own naked breasts. Nothing was left undone that could excite the -fanaticism of the multitude, and their hot Assyrian blood soon rose to -boiling pitch under the wild excitement of the hour. Men's eyes flashed, -their cheeks glowed, while they rent the air with cries in honour of -their deity, and troops of women, with dishevelled hair and unveiled -faces, might be seen beating their breasts, waving their arms, even -dancing in grotesque unison with the mystic transports of the priests. - -The prophets of the grove, too, had taken possession of every eminence -that might boast a leaf of verdure, every green and wooded spot, both -within and without the walls, for their comprehensive worship of the -host of heaven, figured as it would seem by the countless blossoms and -perennial vitality of their sacred tree--typical, it may be, of that -which long ago in Eden "stood in the midst of the garden, good for food, -pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise;" or -that of which he must eat who would live for ever, and which seemed to -have promised, far back in the buried ages, yet another tree of -expiation and suffering, on which the Great Sacrifice was to be -offered--the Great Sacrifice of immeasurable love and pity, that the -sense of man cannot fathom, nor his words describe, nor his narrow heart -conceive. - -In all idolatry, in the darkness of every superstition, however foul and -debasing, is there not some faint reflection of that true dawn which -shall hereafter brighten into perfect day? - -Amongst the crowds that surged and swayed in the main streets of the -city, carried away by present enthusiasm, and agape for fresh -excitement, might be seen many a proud dark face, with black curled -beard and hair, looking calmly, triumphantly, it may be even scornfully, -on the seething shifting throng. These faces all bore the same impress -of quiet daring and prompt resolve, satisfied to bide the right time -patiently, yet ready at any moment to strike the fatal blow. Their -haughty looks and stern self-confidence disclosed the temper of that -army which, having been left at home to protect the empire during the -last campaign, had assumed to itself the title of the Great Queen's -host, affecting to take its orders directly from Semiramis, to be at her -especial service, and devoted primarily to her interest or person, -rather than to the empire or the king. - -It needed less knowledge of human nature than was possessed by Assarac -to foresee that such a distinction between two such forces, as had now -entitled themselves respectively the armies of Egypt and Assyria, was -likely to produce feelings of jealousy and rancour, ready at any moment -to break out in open hostility. The eunuch, despite attentive study of -the stars, had not failed to read that book diligently which closes -every page with every passing day, sealed to the curiosity that is fain -to anticipate its coming chapters, but standing fairly open for those -who would learn the probabilities of the future from the records of the -past. He judged men's thoughts less by their deeds than their -inclinations, and calculated their future conduct rather from their -passions than their interests. It was through his advice that the army -of Egypt had been scattered over the surrounding country, and that of -Assyria, or the queen's host, concentrated in the city, by timely use of -the Great King's signet. With military decision, unexpected perhaps in -one whose avocations seemed unwarlike, as his character might have been -thought unmanly, he had seized, and caused to be securely guarded, the -principal gates of the city, the sluices that dammed its stream, even -the tunnel under the great river, which afforded communication between -the palaces of the king and queen. He had neglected no precaution; had -provided for every emergency; had corrupted one army, disorganised -another, maddened the priests, inflamed the multitude, set his snares in -the very path of the noble prey he had determined to destroy; and calmly -awaited the result. - -Beladon looked on his chief with the admiration of a neophyte for some -grand professor of his art. It seemed strange to see one on whom the -fate of an empire depended, whose slightest hesitation might involve -with his own the ruin of all his supporters, so calm, so confident, so -unmoved. Not the careless, pleasure-seeking Sethos, whose only business -in life was to fill the king's cup, as his chief recreation was to sun -himself in Kalmim's eyes, could have seemed less interested in the -mighty preparations going forward than was the prime mover and origin of -all. Nay, that thoughtless youth _did_ wear some slight air of -perplexity on his brow while he crossed the open space between the -temple and the royal palace, on his way from the apartments of the -prince. - -"What is this cloud coming up from the desert now?" said the cup-bearer -to the priest, as they met under shadow of the sacred building, and -observed, by such of its graduated steps as were still exposed to the -scorching glare, that not many hours had yet to pass before night. "The -Great King covers his feet in his summer-chamber; the queen tans her -fair face and heats her Southern blood hurrying to and fro, from palace -to temple, from hall to gallery, from the prince's apartments to the -royal judgment-seat. Kalmim keeps silence, which is in itself a marvel, -shaking her head, as if she knew more than she would tell; while in the -midst of these signs and wonders, Ninyas sends and bids me ride with him -into the desert in this stifling heat, as a man would say to his friend, -'Brother, you are athirst and an hungered. Here is a melon and a -water-jar. I pray you eat and drink.' What does it all mean, I say? The -desert forsooth! By the light of Ashtaroth, I never wish to travel the -desert again, after the toil and thirst and suffocation of that endless -campaign!" - -"The prince means to hunt the lion, no doubt," answered Beladon, "under -the eyes of Ishtar, or to speak plain, in the light of the rising moon." - -Sethos pondered. - -"A lion at bay is no pleasant companion," said he, "by moonlight or -daylight either. It is not the smile of a fair woman he puts on, I can -tell you, when your horse comes up with him, and he begins to look you -in the face." - -"I know which is most dangerous," replied the priest; "but I doubt if -Ninyas feels a wise man's fear for either one or other. Nevertheless, -the hunter at night may be a prey before dawn; and the child that cries -to its mother for the moon must be pacified ere it wake the household." - -"You speak in parables," answered Sethos, yawning, "and during the heat -of the day too! I cannot interpret parables, nor do I believe much in -priests. Well, at least I am free of the palace for to-night, and have -done with the Great King till to-morrow at dawn." - -"Till to-morrow at dawn," repeated the other, adding, in a tone of light -yet meaning banter: "When the lion turns to bay, Sethos, what is the -hunter to do then?" - -"He must drive an arrow through the wild beast's heart," was the reply, -"unless he likes to sleep in the desert with nothing on but his bones. -There is no compromise with the lion; if you slay not _him_, he will -surely slay _you_." - -"He will surely slay _you_," repeated the other in the same tone. "It is -a wise saying, though spoken by the king's cup-bearer. Nay, be not -wroth with me, Sethos. I love you well, partly, I think, because you are -not over-wise nor thoughtful, and a man may speak with _you_ freely, not -stopping to pick his words as if the plain truth would burn his lips. -Take my advice: ride your best horse to-day, and water him freely before -you mount. When Ninyas comes back from hunting, turn into the desert and -gallop for your life." - -"Where must I gallop?" asked Sethos, in some natural anxiety and alarm. - -"Where?" repeated the priest. "Anywhere but back to Babylon. Ascalon," -he added thoughtfully, "perhaps it would be the safest refuge, after -all. If you go by the way of the Dark Valley and the Bitter Waters, you -might reach it well enough." - -"And the Great King's draught at sunrise?" said the cup-bearer, -reverting to the first duty of his daily life. - -"The Great King's draught is provided for," was the answer. "See, -Assarac ascends the steps of the temple. I must prate here no longer. Do -as I warned you. Farewell, I am loath to part, for I think we shall -never meet again." - -Little reassured by so ominous a leave-taking, Sethos hastened to make -ready for the expedition to which he had been summoned by the prince. -Though greatly perplexed and at a loss how to act, he decided so far to -follow his friend's counsel as to select a true-bred steed of the plains -on which to accompany Ninyas, permitting the good horse to drink its -fill ere the bridle was put in its mouth. He slung also a little bag, -containing a handful or two of dates, to his saddle-cloth, and might -have completed farther preparations but that he was sent for to attend -on his future monarch without delay. - -Ninyas was already mounted and impatient to be off. His beautiful young -face glowed with excitement, and a fever of longing shone in his eager -eyes. Somewhat to the cup-bearer's dismay, he found that he alone was to -accompany the prince, though the latter muttered a few indistinct -sentences about attendants on foot and horseback, who had been directed -to meet them outside the walls; but it struck Sethos, himself no -inexperienced hunter, that for one who intended to make war on the king -of beasts in his native fastnesses, it would have been well to carry a -few more arrows in the quiver, a somewhat stiffer and heavier javelin in -the hand. - -With his unusual comeliness and graceful bearing, the person of Ninyas -was as well known in the streets of Babylon as that of the mother to -whom he bore so marvellous a likeness. Recognised and greeted with -enthusiastic acclamations as he passed on, his progress through the city -was one continued ovation. And Sethos wondered more and more to observe -that his young lord selected the most public thoroughfares for their -ride, although the absence of his usual guards, the waiving of all state -or ceremony, seemed to infer that he wished to depart unnoticed and -unknown. - -More thoughtful than he had ever been in his life, the cup-bearer -followed close on the prince's heels, anxious, silent, and sadly -embarrassed by the warning he had lately received. Ninyas, on the -contrary, laughed and jested with the crowd, breaking through the -habitual reserve that existed between his father's subjects and the -royal descendant of the gods with a joyous freedom that sat gracefully -enough on one so young, so renowned, and, above all, so fair. - -In an open space not a furlong from the gate by which they were about to -leave the city, the multitude seemed at its thickest. The prince's horse -could scarcely move in a foot's pace, although those against whom it -pressed prostrated themselves to the ground, kissing the body or -trappings of the animal, and even the feet of its rider. Much excitement -had been caused here by a huge altar of turf raised to Baal, gay in a -profusion of flowers, girt with the usual trench, and surrounded by a -numerous circle of priests, leaping, shouting, waving their arms in -paroxysms of an excitement too unbridled to be wholly feigned. As Ninyas -came to a halt almost in their midst, one of these, springing -frantically in the air, caught hold of the prince's bridle, and -brandishing a broad curved knife, laid his own breast open with a wild -flourish that cut, however, little more than skin-deep. - -It was a startling figure, standing there so tall and lean, naked to -the waist, and bleeding freely from its tawny sinewy chest. The thick -black hair and beard were matted together in foul disorder, the piercing -eyes rolled and glittered with the light of madness, while a long-drawn -howl of mingled agony and triumph denoted that the votary was under the -inspiration of his god. - -Sethos trembled, the horse of Ninyas pawed and snorted while his rider -smiled in scorn; but the crowd, swaying to and fro, caught the -excitement of the moment, and a whisper running from lip to lip like -wildfire rose to a shout of "Prophesy, prophesy! He foams, he writhes! -Baal has come down on him! Prophesy, prophesy!" - -Another gash, a hideous laugh, a long-drawn dismal wail, and that -unearthly figure, towering above the rest, hovering as it were with arms -extended towards the prince, took up its parable in raving incoherent -utterances, while the gleaming teeth and restless features worked in -frightful jerks, like the contortions of a man in a fit. - -"I am Nerig! I am Zachiah! I am Abitur of the Mountains! I have fought -with Merodach, and lain with Ashtaroth, and spoken with Baal face to -face! Mine eyes are opened, and I, even I, behold the things of earth -and heaven. I am no man, not I, to be born of woman, scorched with fire, -slain with steel. I am three devils in one--Nerig, Zachiah, and Abitur -of the Mountains--three devils, and yet I cannot lie, for it is not I -who speak, but Baal! Baal has come down on me, and cast out the devils, -and hereafter will I write them a bill of divorce, that they know me no -more; and the voice of Baal cries, 'O king, live for ever!' and the -finger of Baal points to this goodly youth, and bids him reach his hand -to take the sceptre, draw his girdle to wear the sword; and the fire of -Baal falls on my heart and consumes me, constraining me to cry without -ceasing, 'To-morrow, and to-morrow, and yet to-morrow!' It is spoke -below; it is writ above! O king, live for ever!" - -Then the foam flew from his mouth, and he fell on his face, stark and -senseless, under the very feet of the prince's horse. Swerving aside in -terror, the animal's hoof struck sharp on his defenceless head, and he -lay there to all appearance a dead man. - -But neither amongst his comrades nor the bystanders was an eye turned on -him in pity, nor an arm stretched to raise him from the earth. The looks -of all were bent on their future monarch and favourite, now hastening to -depart. - -As Ninyas disappeared through the city gate, once more a shout went up -into the sky; and like the countless birds of morning, with their -various notes of welcome to the rising sun, all these voices had but one -burden, one chorus, and thus it ran: - -"The gods cannot lie! Baal hath spoken. O king, live for ever!" - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -THE FEAST OF BAAL - - -With the last rays of the sinking sun, as its crimson disk went down -into the desert, there rose from the echoing temple such a clang of -cymbals, such a bray of trumpets, such a wild burst of loud triumphant -music, as caused to ring again her hundred brazen gates, and warned -Great Babylon, through all her countless palaces, that the sacrifice by -fire was now to be perfected before their god, and the sacred feast of -Baal consummated with the close of day. - -At this given signal, thousands of torches flared out on balcony and -terrace, innumerable lamps gleamed and twinkled in bower, grove, and -garden; while from the beacon-fire that crowned the tower of Belus a -thin red flame shot up into the night, like the tongue of an angry -serpent reared on end to strike. Far below, in street and square, were -massed the eager expectant multitude, their white garments and dark -faces brought into strong relief under that fitful glare; while above -them, in grand imposing perspective, loomed long avenues of the mighty -bulls of granite, with wings unfurled and stately human mien, calm, -stern, colossal, types of majesty and strength. - -Not a warrior was to be seen; not a bow nor spear, nor so much as the -glitter of a headpiece; but every tower at every gate, every stronghold -and place of concealment within the walls, swarmed with armed men; while -in the paradise that surrounded the palace of the Great Queen was -arrayed such a force as would have sufficed to sack the whole city in an -hour. - -Semiramis, dressed in royal robes, with the royal tiara on her head, saw -them served with food and wine ere she went down their ranks in person; -while every captain of a thousand, for himself and his command, swore -fidelity to the queen, to Ninus, to the dynasty of Nimrod, especially to -the young prince, who was destined hereafter for the throne of the Great -King. - -In all her varying moods, the present seemed to suit her best; and many -a fierce bowman remembered afterwards how lovely the queen had looked -under the shade, as of coming sorrow, that clouded her gentle brow--with -how tender a grace she seemed to take leave of each man individually, as -if something warned her she was bidding them a last farewell. When she -retired into her palace, not one but looked on its walls with something -of that sweet sad longing which thrills a lover's heart who gazes on the -dwelling of his mistress, on the casket that contains his priceless -pearl. - -But it was whispered in the rank that she had been seen afterwards in -the direction of the temple, disguised and unattended, desirous perhaps -of witnessing unrecognised the procession and ceremonies in which her -sex forbade her to take part. - -The pageant began on the very threshold of the Great King's palace, from -which Ninus emerged at sundown, arrayed in his royal robes, with the -royal tiara round his brows, the royal parasol held above his head. He -wore a long flowing garment of silk reaching to his ankles, embroidered -in mystic characters, edged with fringes and tassels of gold. Over this -a second robe or mantle, trailing behind him, of the sacred violet -colour, open in front, and bordered, a palm's-breadth deep, with an -edging of gold. His long gaunt arms were bare, save for the shining -bracelets that twined like serpents round his mighty wrists. He wore his -sword also and two daggers, being the only man armed in the whole -procession, except his shield-hearer, who, on the present occasion, in -right of his office, bore the state parasol even at night, and was bound -to attend his king as far as the upper story of the temple, on which the -Talar was reared, but not a step farther for his life. - -Those of his friends who were near enough to observe Sargon's face -hardly recognised him. Usually so swarthy, he had now turned deadly -pale, and the strong warrior's limbs dragged under him, as if he too, -like his worn old master, were closely approaching the end. - -Though men cast down their eyes before his splendour, appearing only to -study the hem of his garment, they yet knew that the Great King looked -very sad and weary; that his feet bore with difficulty that towering -frame, which was still so massive a ruin; that the brave old face had -grown wofully livid and sunken, the fierce eyes dull and tame and dim. -Even the martial spirit of his race seemed to have died within him. - -But it blazed up yet once more ere it went out for ever. When Assarac, -at the head of twenty thousand priests, prostrated himself in the -entrance of the temple, with a welcome, as it were, to his royal -visitor, there passed over the Great King's face a light of sudden wrath -and scorn. - -"To-morrow!" he muttered. "To-morrow! When a fire hath licked up the -locusts, mine oxen shall tread out the corn!" - -And Assarac, bending low in deepest reverence, heard the implacable -threat, accepting it calmly, without a quiver of pity, remorse, or fear. - -Shouts louder than any that had preceded them rose from his people as -the Assyrian king went up into the temple of his god. He never turned to -mark it. The dull listless apathy had come over him again, as if some -instinct told him that not thus, amongst odours of incense and oblation, -sounds of harp and tabor, lute and viol, in the mellow lustre of festive -lamps, gaudy with blazing gems and robes of shining silk, bearing -peaceful offerings, surrounded by white-robed priests, should a -warrior-king look his last on the nation of warriors he had ruled! - -At this point the cymbals clashed in a yet wilder burst of melody; a -chant, sweet, measured, and monotonous, was taken up by a thousand -practised voices; while in every part of Babylon, where shrine had been -adorned or altar raised, torch was laid to fagot, steel to victim; -streams of blood filled the new-cut trenches, fumes of sacrifice rose on -the evening breeze, loud shrieks and yells went up from his maddened -worshippers, while, leaping like demons in the fire and smoke, naked -priests of Baal raved and writhed and cut themselves with knives in -honour of their god. - -One man alone stood looking on unmoved. He was dressed as if for a -journey, with a long staff in his hand. His attendants, much interested -in the proceedings, held a few asses, large powerful animals of their -kind, at a short distance off. It was the Israelite out of the land of -Egypt, whom Assarac had released from his bonds, at liberty, and about -to depart. He looked very sad and thoughtful; there was less of scorn -and pity in his eye, though once, roused, as it appeared, by some -unusually intemperate outbreak, a cloud of resentment passed over his -face, and he muttered-- - -"Infinite mercy! Infinite patience! How long, Lord, how long?" - -Then he withdrew from the crowd to place himself in the centre of his -little band, where, formally and solemnly, he shook the dust from off -his feet ere he mounted an ass; and so, followed by his handful of -countrymen, proceeded gravely through the Southern Gate, outward to the -desert. - -Within the wide area that encircled the temple of Baal, his priests, -though so numerous, were drawn out in orderly array that must have -gratified the military eye of the Great King. Terrace by terrace the -long lines of white stretched in endless perspective, every votary, from -bearded patriarch to boy-faced eunuch, with a lotus-flower in his hand. -To the image of each deity in turn, as it was borne before the monarch, -they prostrated themselves with devout obeisance; while at every -prostration clouds of smoke ascended from the altars, golden cups were -emptied in drink-offerings, and blood spouted from the throats of fresh -victims as sheep and oxen fell prostrate at the propitious moment under -one well-directed blow. - -Shamash passed on--the god of light, with his burnished disk -representing the sun's dazzling surface, and identifying that statue of -solid gold, under the weight of which its bearers, tall stalwart -priests, seemed to fail and labour; Ishtar too, with her pale reflected -beauty, like the moon she typified, gentle sister to the Lord of Day; -and Bar and Nebo, versatile, pliant, representations of progress, -improvement, human intelligence and skill; Merodach, king of battles, -bold, defiant, standing on the lion's back bending his bow; and -Ashtaroth, spirit of beauty, love, and light, peerless, radiant, -alluring, with the bright star on her forehead and the serpent in her -hand. Other images followed, of different minor influences: winged -monsters threatening man, or coerced in turn by some superior -spirit--the beetle, the scorpion, lions with human faces, wild bulls -fighting head to head, or flying from each other heel to heel; Dagon, -with more than human beauty to the girdle, foul, hideous in fins and -scales below; Ashur too, monarch of the godlike circle; and Baal -himself; Nisroch with the eagle's head, the burnished pinions, supreme, -all-powerful, immutable, the Destiny from whose award there was no -appeal, from whose vengeance no escape. Lastly, the symbolical and -mystic representation of some power that must yet be superior even to -Fate, some abstract essence, some intelligence infinite, inconceivable, -expressed, vaguely enough, by a circle of gold encompassing a wheel of -wings. - -Only on such solemn occasions as the present was this emblem carried in -the place of honour, immediately preceding the monarch, when he -officiated in the sacred capacity of priest as well as king. It seemed -to be regarded with an awe-struck reverence by all; and even Ninus, -impatient as he was of such ceremonies, believing in little but his -queen and his sword, could not forbear a gesture of respect while he -passed beneath it, at the lowest of the steps he was about to ascend -into the secluded precincts of the Talar. - -Here Assarac, with another prostration, laid at the royal feet a square -casket of gold, and a representation of the fir-cone, worked in the same -metal, emblematic, as it were, of the two elements, fire and water; the -inflammable properties of the fir-cone, with its reproductive vitality, -representing the generative powers of heat; while the golden vessel -seemed suggestive of that fluid which, pervading all nature and -embracing the whole earth, tempering and allaying the ardour of its -opposite, may be considered as the feminine influence in creation. - -Thus flung down before him, these offerings signified that the Great -King in his present capacity assumed vicariously the attributes of -Ashur, or even Baal himself. Assarac, with considerable ceremony, now -presented a cup of wine, for his sovereign to pour out in drink-offering -to the host of heaven so soon as he should have reached the summit of -the temple. While Ninus took it from the high-priest's hand another look -of immeasureable scorn passed over the old lion face--a look that seemed -lost on the eunuch, whose final prostration expressed the deepest -homage, the utmost devotion, that could be rendered by a subject to his -king. - -The Southern night had fallen; the stars came out by countless thousands -in the calm fathomless sky. Once more, high above trumpet-peal and clash -of cymbal, lute and viol, harp and tabor, rose a deafening -heart-stirring shout--irrepressible tribute of honour and admiration for -the greatest warrior of a great warlike line. It was the farewell of his -Assyrian people to their Assyrian king. - -While it rang in his dull old ears, and brought the light back to his -dim old eyes, the heavy folds of a curtain hanging at the foot of that -sacred staircase he alone was privileged to ascend, parted, to close -again for ever on the grand old form, noble even in its last decline, -and majestic in the very ruin of its decay. - -Assarac drew a long breath of relief; and Beladon, at the extremity of -one of the lower terraces, whispered to the priest standing next him, - -"What think you, brother--will they come down for him to-night in -chariots of fire, as it is written in the stars?" - -To which the other replied: - -"Sacrifices and drink-offerings have been rendered, enough to propitiate -a thousand gods; and surely brother, the stars cannot lie." - -But on the face of his people, from which he had never turned in fear -nor scorn, it was the Great King's destiny to look no more. Ascending -into the seclusion of the Talar, he had no sooner entered its -cedar-house than a strange lethargy and drowsiness enwrapped his senses. -Ere he could pour out his drink-offering to the four quarters of heaven, -his eyes grew heavy, his perceptions failed, his feet seemed glued -amidst the rushes, strewed ankle-deep on the wooden floor, and he sank -wearily into the throne prepared for him, like a man overcome with -sleep. - -He must have been dreaming surely, when in a corner of that chamber, at -the level of his feet, he saw a dark face, brought out by a sudden glare -of light--a face of which the stern lineaments, familiar surely, yet now -so distorted as to be unrecognised, denoted some set purpose -inassailable by pity or remorse. In the gleaming eyes, fixed steadfastly -on his own, he read a horror that seemed to freeze his blood; but even -then in his ghastly trance the stout old heart laughed within him, to -acknowledge no sense of fear. - -Yes; he must be dreaming. What else could mean these gathering shadows -that oppressed his lungs, that smarted in his eyes, that numbed his -faculties? He was in a glow of torpid warmth now, conscious but of a -heavy drowsiness, broken by leaping flashes of light; while there passed -before him, like a spirit floating across a sea of fire, the delicate -head, the pale proud face, the matchless beauty of his queen. He -stretched his gaunt old arms, he strove to rise, to cry out; but his -limbs failed him, his head drooped, his tongue clove to his mouth. - -"A dream," he thought again; "surely a dream." - -But it was the last dream of the Great King, fallen into that sleep from -which he never woke on earth again. - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -GONE TO THE STARS - - -Bowed in the dust, his heart torn with anguish, as his mantle was rent -from hem to hem, Arbaces grovelled on his chamber floor, blind to the -shades of coming night, deaf to the sounds of sacred riot and religious -festivity that rang through all the city round. He was like a man in a -trance; and yet, though such noises were powerless to rouse his -faculties, they woke at once to a distant echo, that his practised ear -knew for the tramp of an armed party, to a faint familiar music his -fighting instincts warned him was the clink of steel. - -With one spring he leaped to his feet, snatched spear and shield from -the wall, drew his sword-belt tighter round his loins; and so, with -prospect of danger and necessity for action, felt he was a man again. - -Brave and wary, he ran on to a terrace of his palace which overlooked -the court. His heart sank to perceive that it was already filled with -spearmen, amongst whom two or three white-robed priests of Baal were -conspicuous. Something told him then that his enemies were upon him. -Remembering his fidelity to his old warrior lord, and the hostility he -had never shrunk from provoking in that monarch's service, he knew, even -while he recognised the spearmen as belonging to the queen's army, that -some powerful conspiracy was in the ascendant, and he must die. At the -same instant came across him the warning that Ishtar had read in his -divining cup, under the semblance of blood. - -They were in the court; they were crowding to the staircase. The only -chance of saving his daughter was to make such a desperate stand before -the women's apartments as should give her time to escape by the terrace -on the roof to an adjoining dwelling, and thence fly to take refuge. -Where? Not in the temple of Baal; not in the palace of Semiramis. No, -the last hope of safety must lie under the roof of the Great King. - -Most of the retainers were absent, partaking in the festivities of the -night. Half a score or so gathered round him on the stairs, and of these -he must dispatch one to warn Ishtar that they were assailed. - -Even in that anxious moment he remembered how, long ago, he had held a -pass in Bactria, though sore out-numbered, and the Great King said it -was well and bravely done. - -They called on him to surrender. They must search his palace, said -their leader--one who had formerly been under his own command, whom he -recognised as a bold, remorseless, and desperate man. - -"You have no authority," replied Arbaces, eager but to gain time, minute -by minute. "I am chief captain of all his hosts, under my lord the -king." - -The other was prompt and resolute enough. - -"May the king live for ever!" said he mechanically; adding, in short -sharp tones, "Open out, spearmen! Advance, archers, and bend your bows!" - -The front rank of spears stepped aside, unmasking a line of bowmen, with -every weapon drawn to the arrow's head. - -To pause was instant death. Arbaces raised his buckler, leaped down the -staircase, and dashed into their midst. - -At first, archers and spearmen gave way before the assault of that -practised warrior; but what was one in the midst of scores who had sworn -to put him to death? With a gash from temple to chin, with a spear-head -in his body, a javelin through his thigh, he fell where he had been -lying when they roused him, under the very feet of his own image, -sculptured on the wall to celebrate his fame. - -An arm was raised to strike, the angry steel quivered above his head; -nevertheless that threatening spearman had followed Arbaces to victory -more than once, and he would have forborne to slay his old leader, had -he dared. But a hoarse voice rose, fierce and savage, above the din. -"Strike," it said, "and spare not! Baal hath spoken, and the stars -cannot lie!" - -The pitiless words came from a priest whose white robes hovered on the -skirts of the encounter. They were followed by a downward thrust, a gush -of blood, and a hollow groan. Turning on his face to die, Arbaces gasped -a few broken syllables. The spearman who slew him, less remorseful now, -like a wild-beast that has tasted blood, heard them many a night -afterwards in his dreams, though they only murmured, "The king hath -spoken. O king, live for ever!" - -Panting, pale, beside herself with fear, Ishtar had taken refuge, as her -father bade, on the roof of the palace, with the intention of escaping -thence into the street. At the very spot where she had met Sarchedon, -watched a cloaked figure, and her heart leapt for one wild moment with -the thought that the man she loved had dropped from the skies to save -her at her need. Ere she could perceive he was not unattended, almost -before she was conscious of her illusion, she found her arms pinioned, a -shawl cast over her head, and herself borne forcibly away on stalwart -shoulders, while a sweet soft voice whispering terms of passionate -endearment in her ears, left no doubt as to the object and results of -the outrage to which she was exposed. - -Blindfold, gagged, half-stifled, she scarcely felt she was carried -rapidly down several steps into the street ere she became unconscious. -With the fresh air outside the walls, her senses returned, and she knew -by its sidelong pace and the rate at which it travelled that she was -riding a powerful dromedary, docile as an ox, swift as a courser, and to -all appearance no more sensible of fatigue than a boat. - -Then a horror of despair came over her; for she felt that those two she -loved best in the world must be lost to her for ever. Had Arbaces been -alive he would have rescued her. In such a captivity as seemed imminent, -how was she ever to set eyes on Sarchedon again? The shawl was still -round her head; but its folds had been loosened, so that she might -breathe more freely; and she could perceive the soft surface of the -desert sand passing beneath her, as she glided on smooth and noiseless -like a ghost. Utterly broken down, she bowed her head on her knees in an -agony of despair; and still that whisper stole into her ear at -intervals, with its hateful protestations of a love she loathed and an -admiration she despised. - -So she journeyed into the desert, while her father lay dead in the court -of his palace, and her lover sought her wildly, hurrying to and fro in a -paroxysm of grief and fear. - -Once, in an early stage of her fearful journey, she was conscious that -the dromedary had been urged to its utmost speed. She fancied, too, that -she could distinguish shouts, and other sounds of strife. Muffled and -confused, it was fortunate for her that she did not know their cause. - -With the first shades of evening, Sarchedon had taken advantage of the -darkness to escape. He had no difficulty in finding an egress from the -temple of Baal; nor did he meet with any interruption from the priests, -who, busied in their several offices, bore without exception an air of -considerable excitement and preoccupation. One figure indeed he passed, -wrapped in a mantle that completely shrouded face and form, of which -there was something feminine in the graceful outlines, though the height -was as the height of a man. It never moved, nor seemed aware of his -presence, when he glided by, remaining in an attitude of profound -meditation, conscious only of its own engrossing train of thought. Could -he have seen the beautiful face, so fixed and rigid, behind that veil, -could he have read the purpose burning under that gentle brow, he would -have fled from the Great Queen in horror and loathing, faster even than -he hurried towards Ishtar in anxiety and hope. No sooner was he clear of -the temple than his spirits rose, his energy returned, and his project -of escaping from Babylon with her he loved while there was yet time grew -to a fierce over-mastering desire, like that of a man who is suffocating -for the air which is his life. - -Hastening to his home, he made ready Merodach for a journey, and bridled -the good horse with his own hands; then took his way through the city, -now ablaze with innumerable torches and ringing with sounds of festival, -towards the palace of Arbaces. - -But the streets swarmed with revellers, and his progress was necessarily -slow. When he arrived at the well-known dwelling, it was too late. - -The dead body of the chief captain lay stark and grim where it had -fallen. The servants had fled, the place was empty, and Ishtar nowhere -to be found. - -In such a catastrophe the first impulse of a brave man seems to be one -of resistance and defiance, as though his combative instincts were -aroused, and he could face his fate more calmly because he feels the -worst has come at last. Cool and collected, Sarchedon soon satisfied -himself that the woman he loved had been carried away by force from her -father's dwelling; and a few cautious questions in the streets enabled -him to discover the gate by which she had left the town. - -Little by little he learned the maddening truth, and traced her through -the gardens and vineyards that surrounded the city walls into the -desert. Once on the sand, with a rising moon to help him, he could track -the footmarks of her dromedary surely as the bloodhound tracks a wounded -deer. He had not travelled many furlongs ere he came up with a small -band of wayfarers, plodding on their patient asses into the wilderness, -and recognised the Israelite whom Assarac had released, and to whom, -during his captivity in the camp of the Assyrians, Sarchedon had himself -done more than one slight service. - -He reined in his horse, and learnt that a party such as he was in search -of had passed them not long before. There were scarce half a score; they -were armed; they travelled fast; their horses were of the noblest breed, -and the dromedary in their midst seemed to have the wings of the desert -wind. Had he not better tarry with his informants where they meant to -encamp till morning? He would never overtake those whom he pursued. - -For the first time that night he smiled while he patted Merodach's neck, -and put the good horse into a gallop once more. - -Stretching on with that long untiring stride, he was aware of a solitary -horseman wandering aimlessly towards him, and riding at a foot's pace. -For all ages it has been a true saying, that he whom one meets in the -desert must be friend or foe. Sarchedon bore down on the other, and -halting in front of him, discovered, to his great surprise, that it was -Sethos. - -The cup-bearer, who accompanied Ninyas on his fictitious lion-hunt -outside the walls, had taken the earliest opportunity of leaving his -young prince, when the latter rode back at sundown to the city. -Impressed by the vague warning of Beladon, he had followed as far as he -could the advice it accompanied, and turned his horse's head towards the -desert, as directed by his friend. - -But it was not in the nature of Sethos to persevere for any length of -time in a course requiring sustained energy or self-denial. The fatigue -of the long ride before him soon suggested itself painfully to his mind. -Babylon with all her charms allured him irresistibly, now that he had -really turned his back on her temptations; Kalmim's dark eyes seemed to -plead with his own inclinations against an abandonment of courtly life, -an exchange of luxury and pleasure for hardship and privation. - -It was not long before he guided his willing horse back towards the -city, and so, pacing leisurely through the cool night air, came against -his friend, galloping in fiery haste on his errand of life and death. - -"Have you seen them?" exclaimed Sarchedon, pale, fierce, and breathless. -"Shall I catch them? How long have they gone past?" - -"Seen what?" asked Sethos in turn, marvelling at the other's disturbed -looks and wild imploring eyes. - -In a hoarse whisper, in the low quick accents of a desperate man, -Sarchedon briefly described the party of which he was in pursuit. - -"If it was daylight, they would be in sight even, now," replied the -other; and was entering into a long description of the dromedary's -extraordinary speed and powers, which he had not failed to observe, -although the little band had passed him at a pace which forbade his -identifying those who composed it, when Sarchedon, giving his -bridle-reins a shake, went away again in more furious haste than before, -neither wishing him farewell, nor thanking him for tidings that seemed -so welcome and yet so sad. - -"A woman," thought Sethos, nodding sagely, and thinking he would be back -with Kalmim by to-morrow's dawn--"a woman must needs be the cause of all -this turmoil. Surely there is wormwood with the honey, and a two-edged -sword in the scabbard of velvet and gold." - -But when did such pithy saws ever preserve a man from foolish deeds? Or -where is the armour of proof to fence his heart from a pair of soft -eyes, the mantle of wisdom that is not shrivelled to shreds in the -breath of a burning sigh? Sethos rode steadily back to Babylon, and -Sarchedon galloped on into the desert, like a falcon stooping for its -prey. - -Piercing as were his eager eyes, sharpened of love and hate and fear, he -was aware, by the swelling of Merodach's proud neck and the horse's -voluntary increase of speed, that they were nearing the object of -pursuit long ere his sight could distinguish certain dusky shadows -flying like vapours before him, but looming larger as his gallant -war-horse gained on them with every stride. - -"Merodach," he muttered, "king of horses, you are worthy of your name!" -Then, in husky frantic tones he shrieked out: "Stand, cowards, stand!" - -They were within ear-shot, and the dromedary was forced to its utmost -speed; but a horseman wheeled round, and halted not a bowshot from his -approaching enemy, supported by a follower, who bore his shield. - -"It is a spirit," said the latter; "it is Abitur of the Mountains!" - -"Fool, keep your arm down and cover me," replied the other, while, -bending his bow behind the buckler, he took a long steady aim. - -Swift and straight as Sarchedon dashed in, the arrow flew swifter, -straighter yet. It pierced through steel and silk and gold embroidered -baldrick; the very feathers that winged it were draggled red in blood. - -Faint, sick, and dizzy, the strickened man lowered himself on his -horse's neck, while stars and moon and desert sand spun round him like a -wheel. Had not Merodach's instincts taught him to obey its movements, -balancing himself as it were under the swaying body, his rider must have -fallen headlong to the earth. - -So while the successful archer and his shield-bearer followed their -party well pleased, Sarchedon, helpless, senseless, yet cleaving still -to the saddle, was carried back at a gallop towards Babylon, over the -same ground that he had traversed so gallantly when he bore the signet -of Ninus to his queen. - -Once more the good horse snorted at an object in his path--snorted and -swerved aside, casting his rider heavily to the sand, where lay a -framework of gaunt white ribs, with a strip or two of putrid flesh, -black and festering on the bones. - -For a moment the shock brought him to life. While his horse scoured away -riderless, Sarchedon was aware, as if in a trance, that he had fallen -across a splintered arrow bearing the same mark as that which was -drinking his own life-blood: a royal tiara, and the symbol of Semiramis -the queen. - -Ere he closed his eyes again, he saw a sheet of flame quiver in the sky. -It flared above the city where his gods had come down in chariots of -fire to take back with them the person of the Great King. - - - - -Ashtaroth, Queen of Heaven - - - - -CHAPTER XXI - -WHO IS MY BROTHER? - - -Sarchedon, stretched senseless in the desert, bled so freely, that he -must have bled to death but for the sand on which he lay. Its fine -particles served to stanch the wound ere life was quite extinct; and -though very faint and feeble, the mysterious spark was not so wholly -quenched but that a tender hand might nurse it into flame once more. - -Sadoc and his little band of Israelites, journeying peaceably on, so -long as their asses seemed to travel without fatigue, and finding their -course through the wilderness by the stars, were about to halt for the -night, when they came across the prostrate form of the Assyrian, very -white and death-like in the moonlight, lying near the lion's skeleton in -their path. Those were patriarchal times, and it was not the nature of a -son of Abraham, witnessing such a calamity, to "pass by on the other -side." Sadoc was down by the helpless figure in an instant with his hand -on its breast, rejoiced to trace the feeble flutterings of its heart. -What little skill of surgery he possessed came into practice forthwith. -He forced some drops of wine between the clenched teeth; he drew the -arrow, and poured oil into the gaping wound; he tore his linen garment -into strips for a bandage; and lifting the wounded man on his own beast, -walked patiently by its side, until they reached a fitting spot of -encampment for the night. - -That Sadoc should have been thus journeying in freedom and honour, while -his Egyptian fellow-captives were bewailing their bondage in the heart -of Babylon, was due to one of those strokes of policy in which Assarac -the eunuch took especial pride. - -Ever since her subjection under an Eastern people of wandering and -warlike habits, counting their possessions by their flocks, but showing -rather the rapacious instincts of the wolf than the meek and gentle -nature of those creatures they loved to tend, Egypt had learned to hate, -even more than she feared, all races of mankind that lay nearer the land -of Morning than herself. She had not long shaken off the loathed -supremacy of the Shepherd Kings ere she employed her new-found strength -in making war on the nations of her eastern border--the formidable -Philistines, the terrible sons of Anak, and the mighty empire of which -Nimrod was the founder, ruled in succession by a line of heroic kings. -As her victories increased, so she enlarged her territories, until she -became powerful enough to contest with her Assyrian rival the supremacy -of the Eastern world. - -Perhaps that protracted famine, which wasted other countries, and for -which the wise and high-minded stranger whom Pharaoh had made his regent -provided so skilfully, may have enhanced her relative resources as it -weakened her neighbours; perhaps the balance in which nations are -weighed was so adjusted by that Supreme Power, to whom worlds are but as -grains of sand, through other means; but it came to pass that the more -Southern and less warlike people contended with varying success against -their ancient enemy; and to proud Assyria the very name of Egypt was as -an offence that stunk in her nostrils, a wound that spread and festered -in her flesh. - -It was a day of triumph, therefore, in great Babylon when her fiery old -monarch returned victorious from his Egyptian campaign, and the common -multitude rejoiced to tell each other how their hereditary foes had been -humbled, how Memphis and Thebes had seen the banners of Ashur flaunting -defiance at their gates, his horsemen encompassing their walls; but -wiser heads reflected on the small amount of real gain represented by -all this glory, of real damage inflicted on the enemy by an invasion -that had obtained no concession of dominion, no increase of national -power. What were a few herds of cattle, a drove of captives, a heap or -two of gold, garments, armour, and common spoil. Like the subsiding of -their own river, this ebbing wave of war left, perhaps, increased -fertility where it had passed, in the stern lessons of experience -learned by those who were honourably worsted in hard-won fight. Egypt -was little weaker in numerical force than when the Great King entered -her territories; in skill, confidence, and spirit, she was actually -stronger than before. - -These considerations were not overlooked by the wisdom of Semiramis; -while to Assarac's far-seeing eye, the sapping of Egyptian strength, by -every means at home and abroad, seemed the surest and safest policy for -the attainment of his one paramount object--the aggrandisement of his -country, and through her supremacy, his own. - -It did not escape his penetration, that Assyria's great rival was vexed -with a sore at her very heart, to prove a constant drain on her -resources, an object of daily anxiety and alarm. By a flagrant breach of -faith, an unscrupulous desecration of the rites of hospitality, she had -converted a race of exiles into a nation of slaves. Those who came to -her for bread had indeed received a stone, and the hand she once -stretched to them in friendship was now clenched in menace, or fell -heavily in blows of tyranny and oppression. As the Israelites increased -in numbers, like certain herbs that spring into growth and vitality more -profusely, the more they are trampled under foot, the wiser Pharaohs -began to realise the danger they incurred. No state, however powerful, -could be safe having a numerous race of aliens mixed, yet not mingling, -with its native population, strangers in thought, feelings, usages, -above all, in creed and worship. They might be tamed with hard work, -disheartened by ill-usage, coerced and kept down in every mode that a -remorseless policy could suggest, still nothing less than their -absorption or extinction could give security to their conquerors; and -Providence permitted neither the one nor the other. - -They lived, a people apart, dogged, unresisting, suffering with but -little complaint, yet preserving, apparently for consolation under the -bitterest hardships, some strange confidence in their future, some -mysterious trust in a Power before which Pharaoh and his bowmen should -be swept away like locusts in an east wind. They worked in sad -suggestive silence, they earned their morsel of bread with sweat and -blood and tears; but they had no voluntary dealings with their -task-masters--neither ate nor drank with them, married nor gave in -marriage, bought nor sold. - -Much of this Assarac had already learned from intercourse with the many -strangers who crowded to the great mart of Babylon out of the South; -much from his conversation with Sadoc, whom he had liberated, not -without a purpose. By the Israelite's narrative, he verified his own -information concerning the captive people, and won the other's -confidence in his sympathy with their sufferings, his desire to right -them by the unanswerable arguments of sword and spear. His plan, he -thought, was not unworthy of his own intellect and the glory of the -Great Queen. - -To send back this venerable Israelite, as an emissary to his countrymen, -promising them the powerful aid of Assyria at the time when they should -see fit to cast off the Egyptian yoke; exhorting them to rise -unanimously from within, while all the force of Ashur pressed on the -enemy from without; thus to obtain complete conquest, to extend -unbounded dominion over the land of the South; and, finally, when the -sway of the Great Queen should extend from the sands of the Libyan -desert to the farthest mountains of Armenia, to place this strange -people in some district suited to their habits, there to become hewers -of wood and drawers of water for the Assyrian nation. What matter? They -would have served his purpose, and might be cast aside like a frayed -bowstring or the shaft of a broken spear. - -But the wily eunuch was perplexed by the coldness with which the -Israelite received, while he accepted, these warlike overtures. Sadoc -seemed to have but little confidence even in the mighty resources of -Assyria; little faith in chariots of iron, and horsemen countless as the -sands by the Red Sea. - -"Our fathers," said he, "came down into Egypt, directed by the finger of -our God. When he thinks fit, he will lead us out of the house of our -captivity into a land of corn and wine and oil, where we shall worship -him in freedom, teaching our children, and our children's children, -that he only is mighty, and that the gods of the nations are in his -sight but as chaff winnowed from the threshing-floor, as smoke from a -burnt-offering, that melts into empty air." - -Nevertheless, he was satisfied to take with him to his captive people -the good tidings of promised assistance at their need, and journeyed -back to Egypt, pondering deeply on the prospect of a path to freedom -thus opened out by the assurances of a priest of Baal. - -It was characteristic of the man and of his national habits, that he -refused all guard or escort for his long and toilsome journey. His own -servants, taken captive at the same time with himself, and a few asses -bearing a slender store of water and provisions, formed the whole troop. -Thus scarcely half a score of wayfarers gathered round Sarchedon, to -preserve him from a lonely death on the desert sand. - -Long days the little company plodded on, taking by choice the most -frequented route, in order to avoid those wandering and predatory tribes -of the Philistines, whose hand was already against every man, as "every -man's hand was against them." But the domestic policy of Semiramis had -made her name a terror to these pitiless spoilers; and many a swarthy -robber, who would have scorned to quail before the face of Ninus -himself, trembled at the ghastly punishments inflicted on his kindred by -order of the Great Queen. They believed her--and not entirely without -reason--to be omnipotent, omnipresent, beautiful as morning, terrible as -the lightning, pitiless as fate. - -Wide tracts of desert, therefore, stretching between the different wells -and stations that enabled travellers to proceed in a direct course to -Egypt, though lonely, were as secure as the main streets of Babylon -itself, especially since they had been so recently trodden by the -returning army of the Great King. Sadoc's only anxiety was the -insufficiency of water on their way; his only apprehension, lest his -patient should die ere he could bring him into the land of strangers he -was forced to call his home. - -It was weary work for the sick man in the wilderness, after he had -recovered consciousness and began to regain strength day by day. He had -never known before with what force that merciless sun could pour down on -his face and hands, with what a glare it could be refracted on his -aching eyes. How he sickened for the bright translucent waters of the -mirage, though he knew them false and illusive as a dream! How he -loathed the protracted crawl, the unbroken sky-line, the palms that -promised rest and refreshment, but seemed never a furlong nearer, as he -journeyed sadly on! The ass's patient step, the monotonous jingle of its -bell, the heat, the thirst, the unvarying interminable sea of sand, the -longing for something green, were it but a leaf, a blade of grass, a -single bulrush, became almost maddening; and when at noon they halted to -fling themselves gladly down in any cubit's-breadth of shade they could -find, no palace had ever seemed so commodious, no hangings of silk or -velvet so grateful, as the dark lines cast by a clump of slender -palm-trees, the protection of some uncovered boulder jutting from the -surface to offer repose and shelter--the "shadow of a great rock in a -weary land." - -The Assyrian's constitution, however, was sound, as his frame was strong -and agile. Ere he reached the confines of Egypt, his health was -reëstablished, he had strength to look his destiny firmly in the face. - -The wayfarers rose from their encampment before dawn. With the first -streaks of morning the summits of the mighty Pyramids--already -time-honoured records of long-past ages and exhausted dynasties--peered -daily above the horizon. Crossing the frontier, Sadoc pointed them out -to his companions, while over his usually gentle brow swept an -expression of fierce anger and hate. - -"Behold them!" said he--"the monuments and the archives of our masters, -detailing like a scroll the history of their cruelties, their -iniquities, and their oppressions. I tell you, the mortar that daubs -them has been tempered with human blood. Every brick is cemented with -tears of women and children, every slab founded on the body and bones of -a murdered man. I know their cruelties; for is not my own nation crushed -and tortured every hour to complete their like? I know that the Egyptian -is without compunction or remorse; that in life he would shrink from no -crime, as he would accept any privation, but to secure a palace for his -resting-place after death. Vain, frivolous, pleasure-seeking, this -people--living but for the empty gratification of the hour, jesting, -dancing, posture-making, revelling in wine and flowers--can yet erect -for the vile body they are so loath to leave tombs that might contain an -army, that shall outlast countless generations of their slavish, -tyrannous, blood-thirsty, and luxurious race." - -"They are skilful warriors," answered Sarchedon, whose only experience -of the Egyptian was under shield; "but they cannot stand against the -chariots of Assyria. Why do not your people rise and cast off their -yoke?" - -The Israelite shook his head. - -"Who is to lead us?" said he, "and whither are we to go? Shall we take -our little ones in our hand, and wander forth to the wilderness without -food, without arms, without flocks and herds, skins of water, beasts of -burden, and means of daily life? How shall you conduct a multitude like -ours through the desert? Where shall we encamp at night, and whither -bend our steps at dawn? If we fled to the South, we should arrive at -fathomless rivers, impassable mountains, troops of evil spirits and -demons, the servants of Seth and Abitur, if indeed, our task-masters -tell us truth, that the hideous square-eared offspring of the Great -Serpent has been expelled to the confines of Ethiopia. Shall we move -eastward to be a spoil to the terrible children of Anak and the fierce -tribes of Philistia, who live but to slay, ravage, and destroy? Should -we seek the land of our fathers, to find it occupied by our own -nation--a race of warriors, men of fierce countenance, worshippers of -many gods? No, my son, no. While we remain in Egypt, we have bread, -though it be moistened with tears; we have safety of life and limb, -though we are subject to outrage, insult, and ignominy; we have a home -like the weary ox in the stall, and food like the ass at his master's -crib." - -"And you can bear it!" exclaimed the fiery Assyrian. "I had rather go -out afoot in the desert to die of hunger and thirst with my bow in my -hand!" - -"We bear it," answered the other gravely, "because of the promise to our -father Abraham, in which we believe. We shall _not_ bear it a day -longer, when the time comes and the man!" - -They were approaching a small cavalcade of Egyptians, journeying in an -opposite direction. It consisted of a nobleman and his attendants on -some party of pleasure or business. The two principal figures were -seated in a light fanciful chariot, gaudily painted, drawn by a pair of -desert-born steeds, chestnut and grey. Contrary to the custom of the -Assyrians, who usually drove at a gallop, these proceeded in an airy, -lofty, trotting pace, their heads borne up, their yoke highly -ornamented, and their trappings heavily fringed with scarlet, blue, and -gold. In the car sat its lord, accompanied by his charioteer, who held -the reins, and attended by some score of servants on foot and -horseback--lithe, slender, laughing varlets, fancifully dressed and -garlanded with flowers. As this noisy throng approached, the Israelites -drew aside to let them pass, halting respectfully, and saluting their -present masters with deep humility. The Egyptian lord whirled by with no -more notice than a scornful smile; but his people laughed and jeered at -the way-worn travellers, mocking their speech and gestures with flippant -insolence and scorn. - -"Go to," said they, "shepherds and sons of shepherds! Go, seek your -straw and burn your bricks! So shall ye build houses and tombs for your -masters, and temples for your master's gods. Shepherds and sons of -shepherds, go to!" - -Sarchedon's grasp tightened round the tent-pole he carried in his hand. -The fiery temper illness had not subdued would soon have broken in on -their mirth; but Sadoc's restraining touch was on his shoulder, while -the Israelite's grave accents whispered in his ear, - -"And these be our masters. Better, indeed, the gripe of the demons or -the sword of the Anakim. Better, far better, the iron yoke of Assyria -than such degradation as this! How long must we endure--how long?" - - - - -CHAPTER XXII - -THE HOUSE OF BONDAGE - - -Advancing into Egypt step by step, the slavery of the captive people -became more obvious, the tyranny of their task-masters more offensive. -The fierce Assyrian could not patiently brook scoff and insult levelled -at his companions; but he controlled himself in deference to the wishes -of his preserver, and they reached Sadoc's home without any such overt -act of violence as would have brought the whole party into trouble. - -It was but a miserable hut of mud and reeds, standing a few leagues -without the walls of a city which Sarchedon had heretofore visited as a -conqueror--a city of palms and palaces, stately in its long avenues of -sphinxes, gaudy in the variegated paintings of its brick-built walls, -thronged with a dense population, glittering in a profusion of luxury, -dedicated to its tutelary deity the Cat. - -Somewhat removed from the bounteous river, on the rise and fall of which -depended their fertility and even their existence, the adjacent fields -were irrigated with all the skill that science and experience could -suggest. Their surface--moistened judiciously by canals, ditches, and -water-furrows--was alive with a thousand husbandmen. Hoes were plying, -buckets swinging, shrill voices rose on the serene air, and lean arms -gesticulated with a vehemence ill-proportioned to the amount of labour -accomplished or the importance of the subject discussed. All seemed -bustle, plenty, and prosperity, save in the huts of these poor -Israelites, that stood apart, types of the loathing in which their -inhabitants were held by a people with whom, in the days of famine long -ago, their fathers had come to dwell. - -Lighting down from his beast, Sadoc bade his guest welcome, somewhat -mournfully, to so squalid a home. Then turning to the dark-eyed youth -who had run out to take the ass's bridle in his hand, he asked eagerly, - -"And the river, my son--how many cubits hath it risen?" - -"Fifteen cubits, O my father!" replied the other, bowing himself in -reverence, and kissing the hem of the old man's dusty travel-worn skirt. - -"Praise be to our God!" ejaculated Sadoc; "we shall not then suffer -famine added to hard labour and heavy blows. And thy mother, thy -brethren? Is it well with them? Bid them fetch water for his feet, and a -morsel of bread to comfort the heart of this stranger, who hath come to -abide within our gates." - -Whatever might have been wanting in luxuries, Sarchedon found amply made -up for by the good-will with which his host's family applied themselves -to promote the comfort of their guest. The daughter of the house, a -tender little maiden yet far off womanhood, brought water for his feet, -and was not to be dissuaded from washing, drying, and chafing them with -her own hands. The young men lost no time in choosing from the fold a -kid to kill, dress, and set on the table forthwith. Barley-bread was -furnished by the mother, with butter, dried locusts, and a piece of wild -honey-comb. Fresh water stood to cool in jars of Egyptian earthenware; -nor was a skin of good wine wanting to crown the humble meal; for Sadoc -was an elder of his people, and a man of mark, even amongst the haughty -conquerors by whom they were oppressed. - -When it had somewhat warmed his heart, the old man seemed to brace -himself for a confession that had weighed on his mind ever since he -lifted the wounded Assyrian on his own beast, and resolved to bring him -home with him into the land of his captivity. Filling his guest's cup, -he bade him observe the shadows of declining day and the crimson of -sunset, tinging the solemn face of a gigantic sphinx in marble, visible -from the window of their hut. - -"My son," said he, "our people will be called to their tasks at dawn. -Not a male of the Israelites must be absent, when the servant of Pharaoh -beckons with his whip to count us, family by family, and man by man. Our -dwellings are searched, our very sick are summoned. There is but one -master who claims precedence of the Egyptian, and his name is Death. My -son, it is out of my power to conceal you here. Look around, and satisfy -yourself. You must cast in your lot with us, as though you belonged to -our people; and I will account for you as an Israelite who has made his -escape with me from our captivity in Babylon the Great." - -"I would not willingly bring danger on your household," answered -Sarchedon, "but I pray you remember that I am wont to handle bow and -spear. My fingers are not skilled to use mattock, hoe, and trowel; my -nature, too, does not calmly brook chiding, and refuses altogether to -abide blows." - -"It is not for long," urged Sadoc. "I beseech you be patient for a -little space. The time may come when you shall return to Assyria with -the good wishes of a whole nation to speed you on the way." - -"It cannot come too soon," answered the other, whose heart was with -Ishtar, and whose only hope of recovering some traces of her lay in a -speedy return to his own country. "I owe you my life, indeed; and but -for you, should have been bleaching in the desert, stripped to the bones -by jackal and bird of prey; yet what is life without honour, without -liberty, without love?" - -"Without faith rather," said Sadoc, grave, sorrowful, and dignified. -"The only possession the greedy Egyptian cannot ravish, the only jewel -Pharaoh's arm is not long enough to seize--too lofty for his reach, too -pure for his diadem, too precious for his throne. My son, there is a -something even in the weeping captive's breast that may be greater, -nobler, more enduring than the glory of warriors and the pride of -kings." - -"There are but two motives," answered Sarchedon, "to stir a brave man's -heart: the hope of warlike fame, the desire of woman's love." - -Sadoc smiled sadly. - -"And when the warrior is down in battle," he replied, "or pining in the -dungeon--when the woman turns false and cold, or her fair face is fixed -in death--what is left then to him whose arm has striven but for his own -vain glory, whose worship has turned from the God of his fathers to a -creature weaker and lower than himself?" - -"A man can always die," answered the Assyrian, "when there is nothing -left to live for, as he falls asleep when the sun has gone down into the -wilderness. How shall you compel _him_ who has no fear of death?" - -"Death!" repeated Sadoc. "And is it, then, so much more dreadful to die -than to live? Is rest more terrible than labour, fulness than want, -peace than strife? Which is nobler, the courage of resistance or of -attack? Which best fulfils the purpose of creation?--the ox, plodding -obedient to the goad, or the wild ass, spurning control beneath her -hoof? I will show you to-morrow a whole people displaying such calm and -patient fortitude as shames the proudest triumphs of Assyria, with her -line of kings from Nimrod the Great down to that fierce old warrior -whose chariots rolled here, as it seems, but yesterday over a heap of -slain, and whose name to-day bids the false Egyptian tremble and turn -pale. My son, the hour may yet come when Pharaoh shall be humbled to the -dust, and we shall live like brethren with our kindred once more in the -land of Shinar--the land of our fathers, the land of our inheritance, -and of our hope. In the meantime, though the night has seemed long and -weary, morning may be close at hand." - -With these words, he spread a couch for his guest, and betook himself to -slumber. Sarchedon, looking round the hut, remembered it was of such a -shelter he had dreamed, sleeping beneath the tower of Belus, in the -temple of the Assyrian god. - -It was to hard reality, though, that he woke under the gray morning sky. -Company by company, as his host had warned him, family by family, and -man by man, the Israelites were summoned to their tasks. As he marched -to the scene of labour, between two sons of Sadoc, one a tender -stripling, the other a stalwart broad-shouldered youth, shame crimsoned -the cheek of the practised warrior, thus to find himself identified with -a nation of slaves. - -An Egyptian task-master, daintily attired, and mounted on a pure-bred -steed of the desert, pranced to and fro, marshalling the band of -workmen, threatening, and indeed striking hard with his whip, such as -failed to obey his orders, either from weakness of body or inability to -comprehend them. The sun was not a palm's-breadth above the horizon ere -more than one pair of naked shoulders were already scored with blood. -The lash was even raised for an instant over Sarchedon's head, but -something in the Assyrian's eye must have altered its direction; for it -curled round the massive neck and deep chest of Sadoc's elder son -instead, who accepted his stripes with a sullen patience, that denoted -some set purpose, some hope of vengeance at no distant date. - -"Go to! ye are idle, ye are idle!" was the unceasing reproach of the -pitiless Egyptian, while he hurried his gang forward at such a pace as -disordered even the light-armed bowmen who formed their guard. - -These Sarchedon recognised, by their shields and head-pieces, for a -company which had fled before a handful of his own comrades, at the -passage of the Nile by the Great King. - -How strangely the past came back to him!--the fierce excitement, the -restless variety, of war; the royal signet; the ride through the desert; -Ishtar's loving face; and the Great Queen's maddening smile. It seemed -impossible that he should be trudging on foot a peasant, a prisoner, a -slave. O for an hour of Merodach!--a bowshot's start, with the horse's -head turned towards home! He would have time, he thought, for one blow -at that painted task-master, and so, hurling him to the dust, swing -fairly into the saddle, and away! - -He was roused from his dreams by the back of his companion's hand -significantly touching his own, while it passed a rope into his grasp; -and at the same moment a monotonous chorus broke on his ear, to which, -while an Egyptian beat time with his hands, each Israelitish labourer -lent as much voice as his lungs could spare from the severity of his -toil. - -Their day's work was to move a few cubits on its way the colossal image -of Pharaoh, cut from a block of granite, destined to form at some future -period the ornament of a tomb, grander, costlier, and more spacious than -the palace in which he reigned. Sarchedon, looking upward at the -ponderous image, with its long cunning eyes, its grave cruel face, its -shapely limbs designed in the harmony of true proportion, could not but -admire the resources that had thus hewn a mountain into a statue, and -brought it inch by inch over many a weary furlong, to gratify the pride -and enhance the glory of a king. Firm, erect, sedentary, its hands -spread calmly on its knees, there was something in the very attitude of -the giant that suggested power unquestioned, irresponsible, without -pity, and without fear. - -Levers were employed at every step to raise the weighty mass -sufficiently for the insertion of rollers, on which it proceeded -wearily, slowly, painfully, yet surely propelled by the efforts of a -captive nation, whose straining muscles quivered under the labour, whose -blistered hands burned over the cable, whose spirits were broken by -slavery, as their backs were torn with stripes, yet whose voices, -keeping time with their exertions, swelled a mournful cry in honour of -their oppressor: - - "Work, my brother, rest is nigh-- - Pharaoh lives for ever! - Beast and bird of earth and sky, - Things that creep and things that fly-- - All must labour, all must die; - But Pharaoh lives for ever! - - Work, my brother, while 'tis day-- - Pharaoh lives for ever; - Rivers waste and wane away, - Marble crumbles down like clay, - Nations dwindle to decay; - But Pharaoh lives for ever! - - Work--it is thy mortal doom-- - Pharaoh lives for ever! - Shadows passing through the gloom, - Age to age gives place and room, - Kings go down into the tomb; - But Pharaoh lives for ever!" - -The task-master on his spirited little steed was here, there, -everywhere; now giving out the words of the chant, to which, dropping -his bridle, he clapped his hands in time; now directing a broken lever -to be replaced, the position of a roller altered, a hook secured, a rope -greased, or a fainting labourer revived by smart application of the -lash. The sun was high, the heat suffocating; even Sarchedon, inured to -the toils of war, longed for any catastrophe, however dangerous, that -might release him from the insupportable hardships of his task. - -The sand became softer, the men more fatigued, the ponderous image -rocked, wavered, and stood still. In terror of the lash, a simultaneous -effort was made, a cable snapped, and some score of Israelites were -hurled panting to the earth. - -Amongst them fell the younger son of Sadoc, a weakly stripling, whose -labour Sarchedon, working between him and his brother, had endeavoured -to spare by his own exertions. When the others scrambled to their feet, -this lad lay prostrate, too faint to rise. - -The task-master arrived at the scene of disorder almost as quickly as -the casualty took place. His eye glared fiercely on the boy's slender -shoulders, bare to the waist; his hand went up to strike; but even while -the lash whistled round his head, the Egyptian's wrist was clasped by an -iron grip, that shook him in the saddle where he sat. Sarchedon's eye -looked very fierce and resolute, his arms seemed powerful enough to have -torn the threatening horseman limb from limb. - -The latter foamed with rage while he struggled to release himself from -the Assyrian's grasp. The Israelites gathered round, the guard of bowmen -were fairly shut out by the crowd, a thousand tongues clamoured, a -thousand eyes glared vengeance, and the mocking colossus looked down on -all that turmoil with its eternal inscrutable smile. - -"By the Queen of Heaven, if you move a finger, or speak a syllable, I -will strangle you on the spot!" said Sarchedon, in those low distinct -tones men use when they mean to waste little more breath on words. - -There was enough similitude in their languages for the Egyptian to -understand his meaning; but had it not been so, he could scarce have -mistaken the other's attitude and bearing. The oath too, and the man's -determined face so close to his own, warned him that this was no -Israelitish slave, but one of those formidable enemies from the North, -before whom he had seen the choicest of Pharaoh's bowmen turn and flee. - -What could it mean? What did this stranger in the land of Egypt, -naturalised, it would seem, amongst her slaves? This was no time to -inquire while those slaves crowded round so wildly, as though eager for -an outbreak, of which his life would too surely be the prey. Men learned -discretion in the service of the Pharaoh's, and though he trembled and -turned pale, he did not lose his presence of mind. - -"Lift the youth from the ground," said he earnestly, "and take care of -him if you be indeed his brother. Bring here water!" he added, raising -his voice--"wine, if you have it. Stand off from him, Israelites, and -give him air! Make way, there, for the bowmen to bring him help!" - -Thus craftily summoning the guards to his assistance, he extricated -himself from the perplexity of his position, and ordering the youth's -brother to take him home, excused from farther labour, resumed the -direction of affairs; but during the rest of the day blows fell less -thickly among the Israelites, and the solemn senseless image made a -shorter journey than usual towards its final resting-place. - -Returning at nightfall to his hut, Sadoc found it surrounded by a -company of bowmen. The tale of bricks his family were required to -provide for the king's use had been increased one-tenth, and Sarchedon -was to be carried into the presence of Pharaoh without delay. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII - -PHARAOH ON THE THRONE - - -To be carried into the presence of Pharaoh!--words of significant -import, suggesting speedy condemnation and summary punishment. With arms -strapped tight to his body, with feet bound together under his horse's -girth, guarded on either side by mounted bowmen, surrounded by scores of -their comrades on horseback and on foot, Sarchedon rode slowly on -through the night, and at dawn found himself before the portals of a -flourishing town dedicated to the worship of Bubastis, as revealed in -the outward semblance of the cat. - -Here, in one of the noblest cities of his dominions, Pharaoh was -administering justice, according to custom. At sunrise the Egyptian king -ascended his judgment-seat to dispose without appeal of all cases laid -at the royal feet. Therefore had Sarchedon been conducted hither, -through the hours of darkness, to receive the award of his crime. - -As they neared their destination, the adjacent country began to teem -with life. Cows and oxen, speckled, spotted, and ring-streaked, dragged -the plough through a lately-irrigated soil, the former doing their work -far more nimbly than their weightier brothers. Playful calves leaped and -frisked behind, marked, like their dams, with the brand of their -respective owners. Slender husbandmen, naked to the waist, followed in -pairs, scattering seed over that rich and generous surface. Scores of -birds from the banks of the neighbouring river followed their movements; -while a steward or overseer in every field directed the toil of the -labourers, taking account of their expenditure and their stores. Peace -and plenty seemed to reign throughout the land, and Sarchedon could not -but reflect he might be looking his last on a world of light, life, -labour, and prosperity. - -Unlike his own Assyrian cities, there were no bowmen on these walls, no -guard in this capacious gate, through which all seemed free to pass at -will. Two gigantic sphinxes, indeed, couched half-a-bowshot apart, kept -watch in majestic gravity on either side. Two colossal idols, cat-headed -and of compound form, half man, half monster, faced each other at the -entrance; but within, a crowded market, swarming with peasants, glowed -in gaudy luscious fragrance of fruit and flowers. A thousand tongues -chattered, a thousand arms gesticulated; the ass munched its provender; -the sacred stork pushed its long beak at will into woven basket or -wicker pannier. Merry faces and broad smiles gleamed in the morning sun. -A burst of cymbals rose in the warm serene air, and Pharaoh went up to -his golden judgment-seat, the birthplace of those unanswerable decrees -that signified life and death. - -As his guards hurried Sarchedon along the streets, much interest and -curiosity seemed excited by the personal appearance of the prisoner; -while comments flew from lip to lip on his stature, his bearing, and the -probable punishment of his crime. - -"Stately as a sycamore," said one, apparently a carpenter by trade, "and -hard as a tamarisk; he will bear impalement as seasoned wood stands -soaking, without a warp. If they keep water from him, my friends, we -shall find him alive on the fourth day." - -"Impalement!" interrupted an old hag, grandmother to the first speaker; -"Pharaoh will never order such a goodly youth to the stake. No, no. Let -him be carefully disembowelled; give me a measure of myrrh, a pound or -two of cassia, and a handful of spice--I wouldn't ask you for cinnamon, -oil of cedar, nor palm-wine--and if he look not as tall and comely a -thousand years hence as at this moment, may I never touch salt or -natron, iron probe or linen swaddlers, again." - -"Fie, mother!" said a good-humoured peasant, emptying a basketful of -onions and lentils at the feet of a purchaser. "Pharaoh is merciful, -though he lives for ever. The youth may escape with the loss of his -shapely nose, or at worst a thousand blows on the soles of his feet. By -the talons of our Cat, 'tis a goodly measure of manhood; 'twere pity to -make a mummy of it before its time. Why, what hath he done?" - -"Ay, what hath he done?" echoed a score of voices, to be answered by a -score of extravagant surmises. - -He had slain an Israelite! Bah! they would fine him a quarter of wheat, -and let him go. He had murdered an Egyptian! It was a hanging matter; -but here at Bubastis their dams and banks were raised by working gangs -of such criminals. He would escape with hard labour for life. Not much -worse than their own peasant lot, after all. Better, forsooth, in so far -that such miscreants paid no taxes, and Pharaoh found them enough to -eat. No, it was a blacker business than this. He had insulted a priest; -he had blasphemed Athor; he had put his finger in his mouth to ridicule -Horus; he had said openly that Osiris was a falsehood and Isis a harlot; -he smote Anubis in the muzzle, mocked with feline sounds the majesty of -Bubastis; outrage of outrages, spat on the sacred bull itself! He was a -spy, a stranger disguised as an Israelite, a Philistine--nay, a child of -Seth, with square ears--a worshipper of Abitur in the mountains, a -devil, and a son of devils! Away with him! down with him! slay him! tear -him limb from limb! - -The wave gathered force as it advanced; the popular indignation swelled -into ferocity. Instead of merry good-morrows and happy laughter, the -air was filled with yell and shriek and wild revengeful howl. Faces, but -now smiling in content, were distorted with brutal hate and cruel lust -for blood. The crowd surged and swayed through the market-place, -leaping, bristling, closing in like wolves about their prey. Could they -have reached the Assyrian, he must have been torn to pieces ere he -lifted a finger in self-defence. But for those whose trade is war there -exists a professional instinct of brotherhood stronger than any -prejudices of nationality, any credulity of fanaticism. The bowmen who -guarded him recognised in Sarchedon one of their own calling, and made -common cause with a warrior, even against their kindred and countrymen -vociferating for his blood. With the unerring rapidity of discipline, -they formed round their charge in double rank, forcing their way at a -steady even tramp through the wavering crowd, and so opening a space on -every side, kept it clear by bending their formidable bows. - -Advancing thus in a long avenue of colossal sphinxes brightened by the -morning sun, they arrived at the entrance of the royal palace. Here, -with an infuriated yell, the populace made a final rush; but were beaten -back by the archers, at the cost of a few broken heads and bloody faces, -though, fortunately for the prisoner, without loss of life or injury to -limb. - -The judgment-seat of Pharaoh--a throne of solid gold, elevated on -twenty-four steps of the same metal above the raised floor on which -accusers and accused were stationed face to face--seemed to blaze in a -flood of sunlight, that bathed it from the open sky above. - -The palace, Sarchedon observed, was built, like those of his own -country, round an unroofed court. It differed but little from the -dwelling of an Assyrian king in architecture and general plan, but was -even more profusely decorated, in a greater variety of sculptures, -minutely designed, gaudily-coloured, and representing many of the lowest -reptiles and animals with a fidelity not entirely pleasing to the eye. - -Here, besides the fox, the jackal, the porcupine, the lizard, the -locust, and the asp, were an infinity of compound monsters, the produce -of a theology which persisted in embodying every attribute of its ideal -under a form, however grotesque, that should give tangible expression -to its idolatry. Such were the winged goat, the serpent-headed lion, the -griffin with pinions spread and feathered crest striding over its -mysterious triad of flowers, the bitch, dragging her homely chain, -hanging her heavy teats, canine in all her properties but her sleek -bird's head and delicate beak. Things that creep and things that fly, -from the stork and the raven, the crocodile and the ichneumon, to the -serpent, the beetle, and the bat, filled every interstice on the -variegated walls; while between the crowded figures closely-packed -hieroglyphics recorded for initiated readers the history, the nature, -and the occult signification of each. Deeds of arms too and field -sports, from taking of towns and spearing of the river-horse to -numbering of captives and snaring of song-birds, were handed down to -future ages in imperishable carving; while, at stately intervals, solemn -and majestic, here in the palace of the Pharaohs, towered the statues of -those numerous gods in whom Egypt had ever trusted for succour at her -need. - -Osiris, the great benefactor and founder of their nation, the inventor -of agriculture, mechanics, all arts necessary to life; who taught men -how to plough the earth and train the vine; who, in his contest with -Typhon, the principle of evil, was cut asunder into six-and-twenty -pieces; and who, as every true Egyptian firmly believed, would return in -his original form at some future epoch to judge and regenerate mankind. - -Had not Isis yonder, his wife and sister, collected the fragments of his -dismembered body to put together and embalm the whole ere, summoning the -high-priest from each of all her temples, she confided to him, and him -alone, as she caused him to think, the sacred deposit, so that each -carried away what he believed to be the body of his god, under solemn -oath that he would never divulge to living man the place of its -sepulture, persuaded that his own temple was the revered and sacred -spot? This mighty deity of the future and the past here revealed himself -for his worshippers to adore in the massive statue of a bull! - -Isis, too, with her ten thousand names, sat in a place of honour over -against her lord; and near her Horus, their son, with finger on his lip, -emblem of princely modesty and discretion, supported by his -half-brother, Anubis, the wise and faithful, with human form and a dog's -sagacious head. Multiplied too in many a niche and along many a lofty -corridor, stood erect and threatening the figure of that deity to whom -the city was especially sacred, worshipped under the semblance of a cat. -Avenues of cat-headed monsters kept watch in hall and passage; while -presiding, as it were, in the very entrance of the court, stood a -gigantic image of granite, wearing the short ears of the sacred animal, -its sleek round head, and cruel feline smile. - -Immediately behind this dazzling throne, constituting it indeed the very -tribunal of the Pharaohs, watching, as men believed, over sentence and -acquittal, accuser and accused, might be seen the statue of a female -figure, with blinded eyes, serene impassive face, and wings spread out -in front, as though grasping and embracing all within their sweep. This -was Thmei, emblematic goddess of truth and justice, whose essential -attributes were thus typified in her outward form: the blinded eyes -signifying her impartiality, the calm visage her indifference to -consequences, the wings instead of hands her incorruptible nature, -inaccessible to the bribes it was impossible for her to accept. - -Standing between his guards, still pinioned and secured, Sarchedon's eye -took in all these details of Pharaoh's sumptuous palace ere the glare of -burnished gold permitted him to observe the judgment-seat and its -occupant. After a time, however, he was able to distinguish the person -of a pale slender sallow man, showing like the wick of a lighted candle -through a blaze of shining raiment, dazzling jewels, and royal Egyptian -state. Pharaoh's attitude was one of extreme exhaustion and fatigue; his -face looked very sad and weary, but in its long narrow eyes, low brow, -and prominent chin there lurked a strange resemblance to the pitiless -features of that colossal figure which was destined hereafter to keep -watch over his tomb. - -A case had just been disposed of, trifling, indeed, in its details, and -scarcely worth the intervention of a monarch; but it was the custom of -Egypt, that wherever Pharaoh held his court, he should administer -justice in person, from the pilfering of a handful of lentils to -desecration of an idol, blasphemy against a god, or resistance to the -authority of the king. A dozen strokes of the bastinado had been -awarded for the first offence. Sarchedon, accused of the last, was -brought forward by the archers, and placed at the lowest step of the -throne. - -"Unbind him," said Pharaoh, looking round on his men of war with -something of scorn. Then, in the prisoner's own dialect, he addressed -him shortly and sternly: "You are an Assyrian. What do you here?" - -The tone was of one who had never known opposition, and the keen dark -eye wandered over Sarchedon from head to foot with something of the -cat's expression, pausing carelessly before she makes up her mind to -pounce. - -"My life is in the hand of Pharaoh," answered the prisoner. "I will not -deny my nation nor my name." - -"What brought you into Egypt?" continued the king, still in the same -scornful indifferent accents. "Have you any knowledge of my country and -its customs?" - -"I came here first as a conqueror," answered the haughty Assyrian. "It -was not for _us_ to learn the manners and customs of the Egyptians, but -to impose on them our own." - -The guards, who understood him passably well, exchanged looks of -consternation at this imprudent reply; but something like a smile -crossed Pharaoh's face, and sinking back into the throne, he observed -carelessly, - -"Let his accusation be read out." - -It was the law of Egypt that, even in the presence of the supreme -authority, all judicial proceedings should be reduced to a written -statement, comprising the charge, the evidence on both sides, and the -defence. It was believed that thus only could be avoided the bias of -skilful oratory and impassioned eloquence, where an offender was -pleading for his life. - -A priest--distinguished by gravity of demeanour and wisdom of aspect no -less than by the purity of his linen garments and the reverence he -seemed to command from the bystanders--now read from a roll of papyrus -the terms of the accusation with which the prisoner stood charged. It -set forth in simple language that "he this Assyrian stranger, having -come surreptitiously into the land of Egypt, had there consorted, of his -own free will, with their slaves the Israelites, tampering with their -patriarchs, and inciting that stiff-necked people to revolt; that he -had even headed the outbreak of a gang during a temporary respite from -their labours--an indulgence, it added, which ought never to have been -permitted by the task-master; had hurled that functionary from the -saddle, and well-nigh slain him while bleeding and helpless on the -ground; that such an enormity was in itself an insult to the majesty of -the king, an outrage on the Egyptian nation, and a crime only to be -expiated by death. He laid his charge at the feet of Pharaoh, who, like -Thmei, was the embodiment of truth, justice, and wisdom, and would live -in power and glory for ever." - -From out the blaze of splendour flaming round the throne came again that -calm and scornful voice, wearily enunciating the usual formula, - -"Produce your witnesses." - -Two or three archers belonging to the force that had guarded the working -gang of Israelites here stepped forward, and with them, to the -prisoner's consternation, the younger son of Sadoc--that fragile boy, in -whose defence he had brought down the wrath of Egypt on his own head. - -The poor youth had been on horseback since nightfall. Unaccustomed, like -his nation in general, to the exercise of riding, he was a pitiable -object of soreness, fatigue, perplexity, and alarm. The archers gave -their evidence clearly enough. It amounted to little more than the bare -facts of the case. Then they dragged the young Israelite into the -terrible presence of Pharaoh, pale and faint with mortal fear. - -"What needs all this weight of testimony?" exclaimed the prisoner in a -loud bold voice. "It is but heaping weariness and vexation on the head -of my lord the king. I deny that I have urged a nation to rebel against -its rulers. I admit that I opposed by force the violence that would have -scourged a helpless child lying in the dust. If this be deadly crime by -the laws of Egypt, would that we had given you a milder code when the -children of Ashur came of late to seek you with bow and spear. I have -spoken. My life is in Pharaoh's hands. Let him take it how and when he -will." - -The king looked round on his captains and counsellors with a passing -gleam of animation in his eyes. - -"This is a bold fellow," said he. "Which of you would dare speak thus, -while looking death in the face so close?" - -Nobody answered; but a murmur went round the circle, to the effect that -"Pharaoh lived for ever!" - -The king turned to a venerable man who, with the exception of that -indispensable official the fan-bearer, stood nearest the throne, and -asked him, - -"Have these sons of shepherds been numbered according to the royal -decree?" - -"The king hath spoken," was the subservient reply, while with a low -obeisance a roll of papyrus was laid at the royal feet. - -The fan-bearer handed it to his lord, who scanned it with an angry -frown. "So many!" muttered Pharaoh; "and so poor a tale of work! -Increasing, multiplying, swarming over the land, while they lay it waste -like locusts! Sleeping more than they labour, devouring more than they -produce, hoarding substance, no doubt, and having children at their -desire. Is Pharaoh's arm shortened, or has my hand waxed faint? I must -take order with this scum of nations, lest at last they outnumber us, -spreading through the land to eat it away like a sore. I have reached to -them the sceptre of my protection; it is time they should feel the edge -of my wrath!" - -Round the king's neck hung a small image in gold of Thmei, goddess of -Truth, corresponding in every respect with the statue that towered above -his throne. A similar ornament glittered on the breast of the old man -whom he addressed, denoting the regent of his kingdom, a magnate second -only in power to Pharaoh himself. When such an official possessed the -wisdom and courage to oppose the royal decree, for the king's own -welfare and that of his people, his granaries were full, his subjects -prospered, and, to use their own expression, "the land sung for joy." -Too often, however, he was only the echo of his lord. - -"The breath of Pharaoh's nostrils shall consume them," was his answer to -the king's outbreak, "even as the wind sweepeth a plague of locusts into -the sea." - -Again the evil smile passed across that weary sallow face. Sensual, -selfish, and indolent as was the great ruler of the South, he had yet -the political wisdom that foresees a crisis, the subtlety that prevents -it, and the resolution that opposes it when it comes. His smile, while -it boded no good to the children of Israel, indicated at the same time -that he considered his regent an imbecile old man. The facts of the case -now laid before him had been detailed to his private ear long before he -ascended the judgment-seat, and had been discussed with one of his -confidential advisers; a magician of no mean repute, whose keen -intellect and scientific knowledge influenced his lord no less than did -the startling resources of his art. - -This trusted counsellor had pointed out to Pharaoh the impolicy of -permitting one of the Assyrian nation to remain amongst a -people--situated in their very midst--whose increasing prosperity -tyranny and oppression seemed powerless to keep down; and the king -recognised in the bold out-spoken prisoner now before him such a leader -as the Israelites might be glad to obey, should they determine on a -general rising to cast off the Egyptian yoke. True, they had neither -arms nor horses nor war-chariots of iron; but they were formidable -nevertheless in their numbers, their organisation, and their dogged -persistence in some strange inscrutable belief. Pharaoh resolved to find -out more of this stranger from the enemy's country ere he let him slip -through his grasp either by acquittal or condemnation to death. - -Assuming, therefore, an air of rigid impartiality, the king turned to -the Israelitish lad, whose terror caused him, as it were, to wither and -shrink under the royal eye. - -"You have resisted authority," said Pharaoh, "and created a tumult; but -you are young, and the king is merciful. Take him back to his -dwelling-place," he added sternly to the archers; "scourge him, and let -him go." - -Then, while the lad, more dead than alive--dreading, perhaps, his weary -ride homeward fully as much as the subsequent punishment--was led away -between two bowmen, the king once more addressed himself to Sarchedon, - -"Assyrian," said he, "your crime, according to our law, must be punished -by impalement. Nevertheless, while I inquire farther into your case, I -grant you a few days' respite before you die. Remove him, and put him in -safe ward. Pharaoh has spoken." - -The deep response, "Pharaoh lives for ever!" rose from every quarter of -the court, and Sarchedon was hurried out of the royal presence, even as -a ragged old peasant hobbled into it to demand justice on his neighbour, -who had robbed him of a string of onions and a half-emptied gourd. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV - -THE CAPTIVE IN THE DUNGEON - - -A certain rough sympathy for his impending fate seemed elicited from his -guards, as they forced Sarchedon through the palace, down a dark -passage, bricked and vaulted, that led to some remote place of security, -unvisited by the light of day. - -"You should have held your peace, man," said one, easing a little the -belt that bound the prisoner's arms. "To bandy words with Pharaoh is to -throw scalding broth in the air, and stand under where it falls. Had you -feigned to be stricken dumb with fear, now, not daring to raise your -eyes in the face of my lord the king, you might have escaped with the -loss of your nose and tenscore stripes on the soles of your feet. But -that long tongue of yours has made it a hanging matter, believe me, no -less, if not impalement, which is worse." - -"Tush, brother!" interrupted his comrade, a comely archer, not -unconscious of his sleek dark locks, marked brows, and other personal -advantages; "a man can die but once. Better be stuffed and swathed -decently in a large cool resting-place, with plenty of room and shade, -than limp about in the heat a hideous object, crippled and disfigured -for life." - -"A man can die but once," repeated Sarchedon stoutly, repressing the -shudder that, in this dark downward passage, chilled him to the bone. "I -had hoped, however, to fall honourably from my war-chariot in the -fore-front of battle, rather than hang by the heels like a trapped -jackal, to rot and blacken, till my bones are stripped by the birds of -prey." - -"What matter?" observed the first speaker, accepting with resignation -the misfortunes of another. "Men come to the same resting-place, travel -the road how they will. Even the Great Sphinxes and the three royal -tombs must crumble down at last. It is only Pharaoh who lives for ever." - -Thus speaking, he thrust a bunch of onions and a lump of barley-bread -into Sarchedon's hands, unbinding them at the same moment while -dexterously pushing him through a door, which he shut and bolted on the -outside, leaving his own homely meal with the prisoner, whom he thus -consigned to solitude and gloom. - -The Assyrian listened to the retiring footsteps of his escort as a man -hanging over an abyss marks the last strands parting of a rope that -links him to life and light of day. When they faded into silence, he -seemed to taste already the bitterness of death. Unlike the Egyptian, -however, that fatalism which sinks without effort to despair was no part -of the Assyrian's character, and he soon roused himself to examine the -strength and quality of his prison-house. - -It was a cell of liberal dimensions, sunk deep into the earth, bricked -throughout and with vaulted roof, admitting a feeble glimmer from one -narrow loophole, which communicated with the passage he had left. The -more minutely he studied it, the more convinced was he that his dungeon -afforded no chance of escape. - -He felt the walls on each side, not leaving a single brick untouched; he -searched the flooring carefully for some inequality that might give hope -of a subterranean passage or concealed egress; but in vain. The work -seemed even and level, smooth as granite, and no more to be tampered -with than the pitiless rock itself. - -Wearied at length with his exertions, his ride through the night, and -the events of the morning, he made up his mind to die, and in the -meantime munched his barley-bread and onions ere he laid him down to -sleep. - -It seemed that he had scarcely rested an hour before the door of his -cell was opened, to be shut again ere he could spring to his feet. Food -and wine, however, of the best quality had been left for his -refreshment, and to these he did justice, notwithstanding the -exigencies of his situation and the prospect of a painful death. - -So the time dragged wearily on, the faint streak of light that stole -into his dungeon affording the prisoner no means of calculating the days -as they passed by. His meals, though served regularly, were brought by a -shrouded figure that vanished, phantom-like, before he could accost it. -No sound from upper earth penetrated these gloomy regions. It seemed to -Sarchedon that he was forgotten of men, and, as he somewhat bitterly -reflected, deserted by the gods. - -Could Baal not see him here, sunk surely but a fathom deep below the -surface--Baal, in whose service he had so often drawn bow and brandished -spear? Nor Ashtaroth, lovely Queen of Light, to whom, young, comely, -gallant, he had tendered an adoration not unmixed with something of -poetry and romance? Nor any of the Great Thirteen, wheeling aloft in -their golden cars? Nor one amongst the countless host of heaven? Was -this the reward they vouchsafed their worshipper? and would that other -God, of whom Sadoc spoke, have left him thus to die? He summoned all his -manhood, and it failed him; he drew on his courage, and found it but a -dogged form of despair. He felt the want of something to lean on, -something to trust in, something to help him from without, like a blind -man seeking a friendly grasp to guide his steps. He wished he had -questioned the Israelite more minutely as to that mysterious creed of -his, which taught men they could never be alone nor friendless; that -present with them always, but nearest at their greatest need, was a -power unseen, unheard, tender, compassionate, yet irresistible and -superior to Fate. - -Alas, it was too late now! He turned to the wall, with something of -hopeless apathy, and fell to thinking of Ishtar, fingering the while -that amulet round his neck which had clung to him through all his -troubles, and in which he put some vague superstitious trust. - -He felt persuaded it was mysteriously interwoven with his destiny; and -if this charm too had played him false, like all else, it must be time -to die, since he was indeed ruined and undone. - -Thus pondering, he started fiercely to his feet; for in an instant the -whole cell seemed ablaze with light, not on fire, but glowing in a mild -yellow lustre, which faded back to gloom ere his dazzled eyes could -distinguish more than the outline of a shrouded figure standing in the -midst. Some wild hope shot through his heart that it might be the -phantom of his love come to bid him farewell; but a moment later he -remembered his sentence, and prepared to confront a messenger from -Pharaoh, sent doubtless for the purpose of leading him forth to die. - -"I am ready," said the prisoner sternly. "I might strangle you where you -stand, before you could summon help; but what would that avail me? You -are but doing your duty. Lead on. 'Tis almost worth a life to see -daylight once more." - -"Life is dear," was the answer, "to the reptile in the mud, no less than -to the eagle in the sky. It should be doubly dear to a man of war, who -is the bulwark of a host and the favourite of a prince." - -Sarchedon started, and looked piercingly at the speaker, whose voice, -calm, low, and grave, seemed not entirely strange to his ear; but the -cell had again become so dark, he could make out no more than a cloaked -form and closely muffled face. - -"What mean you?" said he. "Did Pharaoh send you here to jest with me -before I die?" - -"I am indeed sent by Pharaoh," was the answer; "Pharaoh, who, through my -lore, can read events passing at Nineveh, at Babylon, at Thebes and -Memphis, clearly as here in the City of the Cat. Have you never heard, -my son, of the magic of the Egyptians?" - -"I have _heard_ of it," replied the out-spoken warrior. "But my -experience of your people is at bowshot distance, and more than once at -point of spear. They are skilful marksmen, I tell you fairly, and sturdy -men of war enough with push of steel. They needed but little magic to -help them when it came to downright blows. Yet we drove them before us, -we sons of Ashur, as the lion drives the wild ass across the plain." - -"The wild ass may yet spurn the lion with her hoof," answered the other. -"But what are sword and spear and human might to those forces we can -summon from the world of spirits at our will? Would you not tremble, my -son, to behold Typhon or Abitur of the mountains standing here on the -floor between you and me?" - -"Seeing is believing," was the reply of the stout-hearted Assyrian. - -"I will not test your courage so far," said his visitor; "the more that -I know it true as the steel you ought to wear on your thigh even now. -Nor would I dare to summon such powerful aid as those I have named -except at utmost need, or by the desire of Pharaoh himself. -Nevertheless, I will show you here on the spot such manifestations of my -power as will put to shame all the lore acquired from your lofty towers -or your wide Northern plains. Which of your star-readers will bid this -dry rod blossom like the almond-tree, or cause a fresh lotus to spring -up in flower from the arid soil of that cemented brickwork beneath our -feet?" - -While he spoke, the same glow as before, though somewhat milder in -lustre, shone through the cell, revealing to the astonished prisoner a -slender figure draped up to the keen black eyes, that never seemed to -leave his own. The magician, if such he were, looked imposing neither in -gravity of age nor majesty of stature; yet Sarchedon felt a strange -consciousness that he was in the presence of one superior to himself. - -He watched with eager curiosity every motion of his visitor. - -The latter brought out from beneath his robe a lamp of transparent -glass, traced with mystic characters in waving lines of gold, and which -shed the radiance that had so startled the Assyrian. Over the lamp he -brandished a rod some two cubits long, apparently of polished ebony; and -immediately a cloud of aromatic vapour filled the cell, hiding him for a -space from the prisoner's sight. When it cleared away, he reached to -Sarchedon the branch of an almond-tree, equal in length to the rod he -had carried in his hand, green, full of sap, and fragrant in a rich -growth of blossoms bursting into flower. - -"The warrior can take life," said he gravely, "and the king can level -fenced cities with the plain. Is not he greater than king and warrior -who can call into existence that which these have only power to -destroy?" - -Sarchedon gazed on him in mute astonishment and awe. That the magician -should have thus appeared in a dungeon of which the walls denoted no -possibility for secret entrance was of itself surprising enough; but to -inhale its fragrance, and behold in luxuriant blossom that which his own -eyes had told him was but now a dry rod of ebony, could only be -accounted for by supernatural influences; and he became a firm believer -in magic forthwith. He made a last stand, however, for his incredulity, -exclaiming almost unconsciously, - -"You must have brought it beneath your cloak." - -There was something of the kindly patience with which one instructs a -child in the other's tone, while he replied, - -"Seeing is indeed believing, as you even now averred. See, then, my son, -and believe!" - -With that, he cast his mantle from his shoulders, and stood forth erect, -letting its folds wind about his feet, and showing in the pure white -robe that enveloped his person like a pillar of alabaster on a black -pedestal. His features were still shrouded; but his eyes gleamed with a -mocking fire. - -Once more, while he passed his hand over the lamp, a cloud obscured the -dungeon as before, but for a somewhat longer space. When it cleared -away, he lifted his dark cloak from the floor, and there at the -prisoner's very feet, springing, as it seemed, from the hard brickwork, -bloomed a fresh lotus, the flower that every son of Ashur deemed -specially sacred to his country and his gods. - -Sarchedon was a brave man in battle; braver, indeed, than the average of -his countrymen, whose courage, perhaps, was their noblest quality. Had a -score of Pharaoh's archers been bending bows all round him, he would -have died like a lion in their midst, without a sign of weakness or -fear; but it was no part of his creed to set at defiance the powers of -another world, and he fell prostrate before his visitor in abject -humility, covering his face with his hands. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV - -THE WISDOM OF THE EGYPTIANS - - -The magician raised him kindly, tempered to a pale mild light the lamp -he had set down, and wrapping his cloak around him as before, fixed his -eyes on the prisoner with that calm scrutinising gaze which had -dominated the fiery spirit of the warrior from the first. - -"Have no fear," said he. "I came not hither through the solid earth that -I might destroy you, or I had created but now the greedy monster of the -river, the deadly serpent of the brake, rather than a fruitful branch -from our Egyptian orchards and the sacred flower of your own Assyrian -plains. Is it enough? or shall I show you here in this deep dark cell -greater and more terrible examples of my power?" - -"No more, my lord!" answered the Assyrian, who felt his courage, though -beginning to reassert itself, unequal to farther trials of a like -nature. "No more, I entreat you; for although I fear not mortal enemies, -I have no wish to meet the sons of Seth in all the terrors they bring -with them from the South; nor has Baal befriended me so stoutly, that I -would trust to his assistance in an encounter with Abitur face to face." - -"Blaspheme not Baal!" was the sarcastic reply. "Think you that he can -see down into the earth from his seat up yonder amongst the stars, or -that he would deign to aid you if he could? Has he not votaries by tens -of thousands in great Babylon, who offer him daily their goods, their -blood, their lives? Has he ever descended to his temple for one of them, -or made the least sign that he could taste the savour of their -sacrifices, could hear their prayers, take note of their outcries and -their wounds? Will Ashtaroth give you light in your dungeon, Nebo come -to release you from captivity, Dagon bring you to eat and drink, or -Shamash himself show pity while you are writhing under his very eyes on -the stake? These are your gods, O Assyrian! And you can venture to -compare them with ours--with Thmei, of eternal truth and justice; with -Osiris, benefactor and regenerator of earth and heaven: with wise -Anubis, and subtle Thoth, and Isis, fertile, lavish, glorious in her ten -thousand names!" - -"There are gods enough in both countries," answered Sarchedon; "and I -have heard the Great King swear by them all, that it was strange out of -so large a host he had never set eyes on a straggler yet. But I have not -heard of Assyrian priest, I tell you frankly, who can claim such -dominion over the powers of nature as you showed me even now." - -"And you think a man had better force Abitur to do his bidding than -implore succour from Baal in vain?" said the other, with a sneer. - -"Why not?" was the reply. "I carried a spear already in his royal guard -when Semiramis persuaded the Great King to rear an altar for the worship -of Abitur in the mountains beyond old Nineveh. It crossed him sore; for -he never endured such ceremonies with patience, complaining that he -could feed a score of companies with fewer bullocks than were slain to -satisfy one single god. But the queen's eyes have power in them to draw -men whither she will, and Ninus would do her bidding readily as the -humblest archer in the host. So we marched up into the mountains at -midnight, every man with bow and spear, axe and mattock. Plane, cedar, -and broad-leafed oak fell by scores under so many willing arms, while -the stoutest spearmen raised a lofty altar, and dug deep trenches, to -carry off the blood, bringing in bullocks and sheep for slaughter, that -we had driven up with no small trouble from the plains. Ere long we -built up such a fire that the watchmen on the walls of Nineveh -proclaimed the mountain was ablaze; and when the burnt offerings were -made ready, there rose such a smoke that the gods could have seen but -little of what we, their servants, were about beneath it. Perhaps it was -too thick even for him to penetrate, whom we went there to honour. I -know the Great King's wrath was kindled; for he caught up spear and -shield, bidding the demon come out if he dared, and speak with him face -to face." - -"Did Abitur make no sign?" asked the other, with the same covert mockery -in his tone. - -"There were shrieks heard in the mountain more than once before dawn," -answered Sarchedon; "but they seemed too shrill and faint for the voice -of man or demon. Some of the queen's women, who went up with her, -affirmed they were cries of lamentation from those daughters of earth -scorched in the olden time by the embraces of the stars, wailing that -they could not die till they had touched their spirit-lovers once again. -And the queen inclined to think so too." - -"But you--what did _you_ think?" inquired the Egyptian, not repressing a -smile. - -"I was of the guard," replied the Assyrian simply; "and I thought with -the Great King that the women in the mountain were fairer and fresher -than in the plain; also that our spearmen were ever somewhat hasty and -eager with those who would be wooed, before they were won. But we -marched down again to Nineveh at sunrise, and for my part, I saw no more -of Abitur than I had seen of Baal." - -The other pondered, as if he scarcely listened. Presently he looked up, -and asked, - -"This queen of yours--is she, then, so beautiful?" - -It was a topic on which Sarchedon could be eloquent, even in a dungeon. - -"Beautiful!" he repeated. "In Assyria all our women are beautiful; but -by the side of the Great Queen the fairest of them show like pearls -against a diamond. You have seen morning rising, serene and radiant out -of the east--the brow of Semiramis is purer, calmer, fresher than the -dawn. When she turns her eyes on you, it is like the golden lustre of -noon day; and her smile is brighter and more glorious than sunset in the -desert--sweeter, softer, lovelier than the evening breeze amongst the -palms. To look on her face unveiled is to be the Great Queen's slave for -ever more." - -"You have looked on it more than once it seems, and to some purpose," -was the answer. - -"I have seen her in silk and steel," replied Sarchedon, "robe and -diadem, helmet and war-harness. Deck her how you will, she rivals -Ashtaroth, Queen of Heaven, herself. There is not her equal on earth. -'Tis thought, indeed, that she is more than mortal, and will never taste -of death." - -"Like Pharaoh," said the other, laughing outright. "Nevertheless, if she -have many guards stout and devoted as yourself, there can be small risk -for that fair body of hers from outward foe. Yet I have heard she mounts -a war-chariot and bends a bow with the bravest warriors in your host." - -"I was in Bactria," answered Sarchedon, "when the Great Queen surprised -ten thousand spearmen of the enemy with the royal guard alone, and a -handful of horsemen she had begged of Ninus to bring in corn from the -plains the night before. She drove her war-chariot through the thickest -of the press, ere we could close in on it, and when we came up with her, -she had but one arrow left in the quiver, while around her lay a circle -of slain. Her cheek seemed a little flushed, but the smile was on her -lip, and her eyes shone softer, lovelier, kinder than ever. The Great -King swore that of all the captains in his host, she was the wariest and -boldest, but he forbade her sternly such ventures of battle for the -future. 'How shall I tarry, when my lord is in front?' was her answer, -gentle and low as I am speaking to you now. He would have taken her in -his arms then and there, before the assembled host. Perhaps he did; but -she had scarcely spoken, when the trumpets rang out an alarm that the -Bactrians were upon us, and I was down with an arrow through my ribs, -almost ere you could have bent a bow. But for Sargon, the royal -shield-bearer, who dragged me from under a broken chariot and a dead -horse, I had never lifted spear again. The next time I saw the queen she -was riding single-handed against a lion, that had slain two of her dogs, -and put her people to flight." - -"Single-handed!" exclaimed the Egyptian, "and against a lion! But you -made in to help without delay?" - -"You know not our laws of the land of Shinar," replied Sarchedon. "He -who draws bow at the royal quarry loses his right hand; he who takes a -prey before the prince forfeits his life. I had been safer lying naked -under the beast's very jaws than riding in unbidden between the lion and -the Great Queen. Yet would I have ventured too, for the sake of her -matchless face, but that while I stood watching, she brought her horse -within a spear length of the mighty brute, and drove an arrow right -through his heart from shoulder to shoulder. I turned rein then; for I -knew Semiramis would like well to stand alone over the dead carcase, and -jeer at her attendants as they came up." - -"Brave, wise, politic," observed the Egyptian, "and yet no doubt a very -woman to the core. What think you now? Would she rule prudently over the -land of Shinar, if the Great King were gathered to his fathers amongst -the stars?" - -"No woman may reign over the sons of Ashur," was the answer. "We only -owe allegiance to a king. It is our privilege and our law." - -"But hath she no favourites, this bold and beautiful archer?" pursued -the other, turning his lamp so as to mark every line and shade of the -prisoner's countenance. "None that share her sports and influence her -counsels? The Great King waxes old; does the queen look kindly on _none_ -of all the fair and noble warriors about the palace or in the host?" - -Not a quiver of his eyelid would have escaped the Egyptian's notice, but -Sarchedon's brow was open and unconcerned, as his tone was loyal, while -he replied, - -"I am a prisoner, alone here in a dungeon; you are--what are you? A -priest, an enchanter, a magician, backed, for all I can tell, by a -company of Pharaoh's archers and a host of spirits from the Southern -mountains. But were you and I standing two naked men in the -market-place, that question had been answered with a buffet; were we in -harness on the plain, it were well worth push of spear and clash of -steel." - -The Egyptian laughed once more--heartily this time, and without -disguise. - -"I am your friend," said he, "and you will not believe it. A powerful -friend, too, as I have shown you, and one who, while able to crush you -as a man crushes a locust beneath his hand, would yet lend you all the -resources of his art for your solace here and your deliverance from -captivity hereafter." - -"You cannot set me free!" exclaimed Sarchedon, a delightful hope -breaking in to cheer him like the dawn of day. - -"I can foretell the future," answered the magician, "clearly, certainly, -as you can relate the past. Behold this lamp: see, I darken it to a -faint pale gleam. Look on it, and tell me what it shows." - -In vain Sarchedon strained his eyes. - -"A line of waving gold within the crystal," said he; "no more." - -"Such is the blindness of him whose sight has not been sharpened by -learning," replied the magician. "You are as the rower labouring at the -oar, who can but see the ripple he leaves behind, and the banks on the -river-side that he has passed. I am the steersman who scans the coming -rapids, the rocks in mid-stream, the calm and comely reach of smooth -water that sleeps beyond. I look into the crystal, and I behold a youth -stretching his arms in freedom, rubbing, with unfettered hands, his eyes -dazzled by the light of day. I follow him into the presence of Pharaoh. -I behold him on the king's right hand, clad in a dress of honour, -drinking costly wine of the South from a cup of gold. He mounts a goodly -steed, he talks joyfully with one of dress and bearing like his own, a -troop of the sons of Ashur close round him, he rides away into the -desert, and I see him no more. That youth bears a strange resemblance to -him who stands before me now, with clasped hands and wondering eyes, a -captive in the strongest dungeon ever built at the command of Pharaoh by -a nation of slaves." - -Sarchedon again prostrated himself at his visitor's feet. - -"If you tell me true," he exclaimed, "I am the faithful servant of my -lord for ever more." - -"You will remember me when you are in Babylon," returned the other. "You -will recall the wisdom and power of the Egyptians. You will tell your -countrymen the wonders that I, the least and lowest amongst their wise -and great, have shown you without an effort, and you will not forget -that I have been your friend, even in your extreme need. Farewell! He -who sent me summons me back to his presence, and we shall not meet -again!" - -Even while he spoke, a thick cloud of aromatic vapour filled the dungeon -as before; when it cleared away the visitor was gone, and Sarchedon, -looking blankly about him, began to think he had been the sport of his -own fancy, beguiled by the illusions of a dream. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI - -DELIVERANCE - - -Had his bodily powers been weakened by starvation, his mind, enfeebled -in proportion, might, he thought, have played him false. But no; food -and wine had been supplied with constant regularity; and testing his -faculties in every way he could think of, he found them equal to any -effort of observation or reflection he desired to make. Once more he -tried the walls of his dungeon, and failed to discover the slightest -symptoms of an opening through which the visitor could have passed. This -seemed less surprising, as the blossoming of the ebony rod and sudden -growth of the lotus in flower denoted supernatural powers, which might -well penetrate a cubit of brickwork and a fathom or two of solid earth. -These wonders he accepted without question as worked by the spells of -that magic lore which could compel the gods themselves to do its -bidding; nor did he see reason to doubt, in his simple credulity, those -glimpses of the future which, though sealed to his own eyes, seemed -clear as day to his companion. - -And that companion--who and what could he be? Sarchedon, whose ideas of -a magician were of the vaguest, had yet some indistinct persuasion that -such a professor must be old and stately, with long gray beard and -thoughtful wrinkled brow. His late visitor, however, could scarcely yet -have reached middle life, and on his countenance, so far as he had -observed it, was stamped the wary vigilance, the keen foresight, of the -man of action, rather than the serene and saddened wisdom that denotes -the man of thought. Those eyes, too, haunted him strangely. Where had he -seen the piercing gaze, half pitiful, half mocking, that seemed to -master a man's inmost feelings, and scorn them while it read? He grew -very restless and uneasy now. He paced to and fro in his dungeon, -clenching his hands, grinding his teeth, longing with wild feverish -desire to breathe the desert air, and strike a blow for liberty in the -light of day once more. - -He had been calm, quiet, almost resigned when captivity seemed -inevitable, and death near at hand. - -The time dragged on so, that again he slept, despairing, exhausted, -heart-sick with hope deferred. As usual in calamity, the darkest hour -was that which brought the dawn. - -He was woke by the measured tramp of marching men. The door of his cell -opened, and a strong light streamed in, showing the passage outside -filled with archers. He drew himself together, like a wolf amongst the -hounds, resolved on fighting to the death; but the captain had fallen at -his feet, and was pressing the hem of Sarchedon's garment to his lips. - -"Let my lord look favourably on his servant," said the archer, "whose -happy lot it is to conduct him into the presence of Pharaoh, there to be -clothed in a dress of honour, and to stand at the right hand of my lord -the king." - -Confused, bewildered, all the more that he recalled the magician's -words, Sarchedon followed his conductor from the dungeon, gazing about -him amongst the guard like a man in a dream. Passing down their ranks, -he recognised him who had bestowed on the prisoner his own scanty meal -at the cell-door. The Assyrian wrenched from his tunic a golden clasp in -the form of a serpent--the only ornament save his mysterious amulet left -on his person--and thrust it in the bowman's hand as he went by. The -latter kissed it reverently, while he whispered in the next man's ear, - -"A good deed is like a handful of millet cast into the Nile. After many -days, lo, the river goes back to its bed, and leaves you a harvest!" - -"True enough," replied his comrade. "As our proverb runs, 'When the -waters wane, then sprouts the grain.' But the harvest of thy good deeds, -my friend, would be reaped but once in seven years at best." - -"Silence!" interrupted his captain; and the archers closing in the rear, -escorted Sarchedon ceremoniously to the palace. - -Here he was received by sundry officials gorgeously attired, and -obviously belonging to the royal household, who vied with each other in -rendering him every service that could be offered by inferiors to their -lord. They ushered him into a cool and spacious chamber, rich in -fantastic decorations, and ornamented with coloured figures of beast, -bird, and reptile. Here they stripped and rubbed him with fragrant -ointments; conducting him thence to the bath, from which two active -Ethiopians extricated him, grinning from ear to ear as they dried his -stalwart frame with the finest cloths, kneading and chafing limbs and -joints till his whole person glowed and tingled from the friction. Then -they brought him such a dress of honour as might become the favourite of -a king; and placing before him roast kid, parched locusts, milk, spices, -honey, wine, and fruit from Pharaoh's own table, left him to be served -by half a score of such Egyptian officials as waited on the king -himself. - -Presently the same captain of archers who had brought him from the -dungeon appeared at the door of his chamber, prostrating himself with -extreme humility ere he ventured to advance. - -"When my lord has eaten and drank," said he, "and comforted his heart, I -am sent to conduct him into the presence of Pharaoh. Thy servant is the -bearer of good tidings. Let him find favour in the sight of my lord." - -"There needs not so much ceremony," answered Sarchedon. "Are we not -warriors both?--enemies yesterday, perhaps enemies to-morrow, in the -mean time friends and comrades to-day?" - -"My lord speaks good words to the lowest of his servants, out of the -fulness of his own heart. How shall I answer him whom the king -delighteth to honour according to his greatness? What am I but dust -beneath the feet of my lord?" - -While he spoke thus humbly, it was evident to the Assyrian that his -conductor did but veil under this affectation of extreme deference a -strong professional jealousy and an intense hatred of race. He -recognised in the Egyptian warrior's dress and harness the distinctive -marks of a certain company, celebrated in Pharaoh's armies for their -warlike prowess--a company that the Great King, with a handful of his -body-guard, had driven to the very gates of Memphis, during his last -campaign. Its captain would fain have been bending a bow to-day against -the Assyrian's breast, rather than thus humbling himself at every step -before a national enemy; but his first duty was to Pharaoh, and Pharaoh -had commanded that the prisoner should be brought to him with all the -honours of a prince. - -They proceeded in silence through the lofty halls and corridors of the -palace, traversing that well-remembered court, in which stood the royal -judgment-seat--silent and deserted now but for several cats, arching -their backs and rubbing their sides against the pedestal of their own -special deity, and a pair of storks, each standing on one slender leg, -with head tucked back and wary eye, in the places of accuser and -accused, at the steps of Pharaoh's throne. - -"I little thought to have come here again," said the light-hearted -Assyrian, "save as a doomed man passing naked to the stake; and, behold, -I march by in a dress of honour at the head of a hundred archers. Who -shall say what a day may bring forth?" - -The well-drilled features of the Egyptian forced themselves to smile. - -"Man is but a vain thing," he answered sententiously--"a strained shaft, -a riven harness, a broken bow! But the king's hand stretches far and -wide. He giveth or taketh away, setteth up or casteth down, and Pharaoh -lives for ever!" - -The last four words he spoke in a loud voice, falling immediately on his -face; for they were entering the royal banquet-hall, at the extremity of -which the king sat in person, under a canopy of state, attended only by -his cup-bearer and the official who carried his fan. - -A venerable man, whom Sarchedon recognised as having stood at his right -hand while the king administered judgment, now stepped forward, and -conducted the guest to a place of honour provided for him, apart from -the great lords and captains, who were ranged all down the hall. Passing -before the royal table with a low obeisance, the Assyrian could not but -be gratified by the reception accorded him: Pharaoh even raised the wine -to his lips in acknowledgment of his guest's salute, while in the dark -eyes that gleamed over his cup, Sarchedon thought he recognised -something of that mocking mirth which had so disturbed him in the -magician's gaze, who foretold the term of his captivity. But he was -destined to higher honours yet; for no sooner had he taken his seat than -a portion of meat and a cup of wine were served him from the king's own -table, by no less a person than the old man who had conducted him -thither--Phrenes, governor of Egypt, second only in rank and authority -to Pharaoh himself. - -Adopting a tone of confidential intercourse, as with an equal, this -magnate now bade Sarchedon look round amongst these lords and captains -for the familiar face of a countryman. Had he not been so accustomed to -wonders of late, he could scarcely have believed his eyes when he -observed Sethos, gorgeously attired in the Assyrian fashion, seated like -himself in a place of honour, and pouring out a drink-offering to the -gods of his own land, ere he quenched his thirst with the choicest wine -of Egypt from a cup of gold. - -"He will scarce recognise you in that dress," said Phrenes; "but it was -the command of Pharaoh to make amends for the mishap of your ill-usage -and imprisonment, by such honours as are paid to the prince who is next -the throne. He must needs be a man of mark at home for whose sake an -Assyrian king sends his own cup-bearer with an embassy to Pharaoh." - -"An embassy to Pharaoh!" In the last stage of astonishment, Sarchedon -could only repeat the other's words. - -"No less," assented Phrenes. "And you must not take offence if I tell -you it arrived here not a day too soon. Your accusation was a heavy one, -and the penalty of your crime was death. These sons of shepherds begin -to overrun the land. Some of our wisest counsellors would rejoice to be -rid of them once for all; but Pharaoh loves well to see great buildings -growing to the skies, cubit by cubit, and day by day. He would not -willingly let this people go. Meanwhile they increase and multiply till -it seems that ere long they will outnumber their lords. If they had -arms, or could use them, it might come to a bad ending. We keep them -down with labour, and tame them with blows; nevertheless, if a leader -should rise up amongst them, they have it in their power to vex us sore. -You had not crossed into the dominions of Pharaoh a day ere your person -and character were as well known to us as they are now. When it came out -that yours was the daring hand which smote the Egyptian, we did you the -justice to believe you were a dangerous offender, and condemned you -accordingly, even before you were accused." - -"Your opinion of me far exceeded my merits," answered Sarchedon, who did -not fail to perceive he had run a very narrow risk. "To which of the -gods, then, did I owe my unexpected deliverance?" - -"Neither to Thmei nor Thoth," replied Phrenes. "Justice and policy alike -counselled a short examination and a speedy sentence; but Pharaoh"--here -he dropped his voice with an affectation of extreme caution--"Pharaoh, -whose wisdom is infallible, determined that you should be kept in safe -ward until he had caused you to disclose the inmost secrets of this -captive people with whom you had cast in your lot." - -"I could have told him nothing!" exclaimed Sarchedon; "nor would I have -turned traitor to the hand that succoured me for the half of his -kingdom." - -"It is well, then," answered the other calmly, "that the question was -never asked. It must be a loud shriek to reach upper earth from those -dungeons of ours; and in my opinion, though Pharaoh thinks otherwise, -knowledge is bought too dear even from a criminal at the price of -torture." - -Sarchedon shuddered. Glancing across the hall at the king's calm cruel -face, he could not help thinking how fruitless would have been an appeal -for mercy, how hopeless an attempt at escape. "Had you tortured me to -death," said he, "you would have gained nothing for yourselves but -shame!" - -"There was fortunately no need," replied the other with exceeding -courtesy. "Ere Pharaoh had leisure to attend to your affairs in person, -lo, there comes a cloud of horsemen out of Assyria, bearing rich -presents, speaking honeyed words, yet demanding plainly enough that you -should be delivered to them unhurt; threatening vengeance if a single -hair of your head had fallen while in our charge. And Ninyas, it seems, -is no more to be trifled with than his father." - -"Ninyas!" repeated Sarchedon. "Doth the Great King then rule no longer -in Babylon?" - -"Have you not heard?" replied the other. "Ninus has gone to his gods, -wherever they may be, and Ninyas his son reigns in his stead. If the new -king's counsellors be like that gaudy youth who hath ridden here on -behalf of his lord, sound wisdom must be less sought after than shining -raiment about his throne." - -He signed with something of contempt towards Sethos, who had now caught -sight of his countryman, and, being well warmed with wine, was showing -as much satisfaction as seemed compatible with the dignified presence in -which he found himself. The banquet, according to the custom of the -Egyptians, was prolonged to a late hour. When the guests could eat and -drink no more, singing-women entered the hall, bearing fruit and flowers -and golden measures of the rarest wines. These were succeeded by dancers -conspicuous for their beauty, and much appreciated by Sethos, who could -not refrain from audible comments on their charms. Wrestlers also, and -tumblers of the other sex, relieved them at intervals; and if Sarchedon -in his heart more admired the upright forms and noble proportions of his -countrymen, he could not but admit that the pliancy of limb and subtle -dexterity of those Egyptians were beyond praise. - -The sun had long set, and scores of lamps were flashing their radiance -over the revellers, ere a slow sad dirge swelled through the palace, -while an image of Osiris, swathed in mummy-clothes, and stretched -corpse-like on a bier, was borne to the feet of Pharaoh himself. Then -Phrenes, who, to his weightier avocations, added that of Master of the -Feast, raised his hands aloft for silence, and in the hush of voices -spoke that solemn warning with which it was the custom of Egypt to close -its richest entertainments: - -"What is man? Nothing. What is life? Nothing. What is death? Nothing. -For we are born at an adventure; and when we go hence, it will be as -though we had never seen the day. Life, though short, is weary; death, -though unwelcome, is not to be escaped. Let us, then, enjoy the good -things that are present; let us comfort our hearts with wine, and -gladden our faces with oil, and crown our locks with flowers: for wine -hath lees and oil hath dregs, and ere set of sun the lotus herself shall -have faded and passed away. Let none go fasting to his bed, nor joyless -to his grave, because in sleep there is neither mirth nor mourning; -there is neither good nor evil in the tomb. What is man, then? Nothing. -But Pharaoh lives for ever!" - -Then the strangers passed once more before the king, Sethos and -Sarchedon receiving each a costly present, the other Assyrians being -also gladdened with gifts according to their rank. It would have seemed -beneath the dignity of Pharaoh to hold converse with strangers in -person; but Phrenes, when he bade them farewell, took occasion to -enlarge on the power and riches of his own country, reminding the -visitors of its arts, its fertility, its resources in peace and war. -Lastly, retaining him for a moment behind his companions, he whispered -in Sarchedon's ear, - -"Forget not how the captive in his dungeon found favour in the sight of -my lord the king. He bids you think of Pharaoh when you are exalted in -your own country, and above all, he warns you, despise not the wisdom of -the Egyptians." - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII - -IN THE DESERT - - -Once more in the saddle, once more in the light of day, once more in the -boundless desert, free as the wild ass devouring the plain, the -long-winged hawk darting across the sun. Sarchedon set his horse to its -speed, and circled round the troop of warriors who accompanied him, in -sheer ecstasy of liberty and motion. How could he refrain? Was it not -life itself to feel beneath his limbs the old familiar swerve, and swing -and long elastic bound? fingering with light and skilful touch the -quivering rein, to which every motion answered, like the chord of an -instrument responsive to the practised hand of a musician? to borrow -from the animal under him, till each quality seemed his own, the speed -of a wild deer, the strength of a mountain bull, and the gentle generous -courage peculiar to a good horse alone? Yes, it was worth long days and -nights of captivity, of restless slumber and weary waking, of listless -apathy and dull sickening despair, to back a steed, wear sword on thigh, -and shake a javelin in the pure still air of the wilderness once again. -He said as much to Sethos, while they turned in the saddle to look their -last on the great pyramids of Egypt, sinking into the plain behind them. -The cup-bearer, moderating his companion's pace, like his own, to the -springing walk of their pure-bred steeds, expressed, as usual, his -earnest desire to behold the walls, pinnacles, and brazen gates of great -Babylon, with her pleasures and her repose. - -"A place, my friend," said Sethos, "that I was sore afraid you would -never see again. A fallen man in the desert is more commonly picked up -by jackals than Israelites; and it is not every horse that would take -another rider back, as did Merodach, to the very spot where he laid his -master on the sand. By the belt of Nimrod, I always said, for camp or -march, charge or chase, I have not found such a steed in the Great -King's host as the white horse with the wild eye." - -"Brave Merodach!" answered Sarchedon; "I would I were across him now. -Bold, gentle, and true, I never saw him frightened, and I never felt him -tired." - -"He was scared that night, nevertheless," said Sethos. "He came by me -like a stone out of a sling, even as I reached the middle gate in the -southern wall; but the archers on watch turned him back, and when I -caught his bridle, he let me lead him through the crowded streets like a -dog. By the brows of Ashtaroth, it was a night not to be forgotten in -Babylon, while the great tower of Belus has one brick standing on -another." - -"Was there a tumult, then?" asked Sarchedon. "Our countrymen need but -little to stir them into action at a festival." - -"Not so much a tumult," answered the cup-bearer, "as a great awe and -horror over all. The streets were thick with people; but men looked in -each other's faces, and scarce dared ask what might come next. Some told -me that the skies were raining fire and brimstone on the temple of Baal, -and that ere dawn of morning the whole city was to be consumed; some -that the Bactrians had vanquished our Great King's host, all scattered -about in the plain; that their elephants could be seen from the walls, -and that even now the fiercest of their mountaineers were advancing to -the assault." - -Sarchedon laughed. - -"Such tidings should have vexed you but little," said he. "Did you not -remember how we put them to flight by the Red Lake, from which our -warriors drank so freely, believing it was wine? I slew three of their -slingers at its very brim with my own hand." - -"I remembered nothing," answered Sethos, "but that when they drew the -sword they smote and spared not, old men and maidens, mothers and -children, the warrior in harness, and the wounded at their feet. If the -Bactrians were in truth over the wall, I bethought me whether it were -not best to leap on Merodach, and gallop back into the desert from -whence I came." - -"It was a stout-hearted resolution," laughed Sarchedon, who knew the -cup-bearer's courage to be beyond suspicion, but had not forgotten the -disinclination to hard work, hard fare, and hard blows his friend was -never ashamed of owning. "And what prevented this dignified retreat of -the Great King's chief officer before an old woman's fable of an -impossible attack?" - -"Speak not lightly of women, old or young," returned Sethos. "If these -make love, those make pottage; and thus two of man's chief needs are -satisfied. I repeat, I had begun to think gravely of flight, when I met -one in the crowd who was neither man nor woman precisely, but a priest -of Baal. He told me that his god descended at nightfall in a chariot of -fire, and had carried the Great King back with him to the stars. This -was the light I saw flaring in the sky over the city, while I approached -the gate." - -"I saw it too," observed Sarchedon. "When I fell heavily to the ground, -there passed before my eyes, as it were, a sheet of flame, and then I -remember nothing more, till I found myself on an ass's back, faint and -weak, swaying from side to side, but supported by that good old man who -picked me off the sand." - -"It was true enough," continued Sethos, "though told by a priest. While -I was riding about on a fool's errand, uncertain where to turn my -bridle, and you were galloping to and fro, with diverse wild purposes I -do not yet clearly understand, but which seem to have cost you somewhat -dear, our Great King went up into his Talar to pour out a drink-offering -to Baal. The god must have been thirsty, since he came down to wet his -beard with wine in person, and Ninus must have been in milder mood than -usual to mount the flaming chariot at his desire. Well, the Thirteen -have gained a stern comrade, and the land of Shinar has lost the -stoutest warrior that ever crossed a steed." - -"We shall see his like no more," answered the other. "He was the last of -those mighty men begotten by Nimrod to rule over the sons of Ashur with -sword and spear. But it is written in the stars that the Great King -lives for ever; and though Ninus be gone, doth not Ninyas his son reign -in his stead?" - -"Doubtless," was the reply. "So soon as the father set foot in his -flaming chariot, the diadem of Ashur blazed on the son's bright comely -brow. By the glory of Shamash, he shone beautiful as morning when he -showed himself to the people with the royal circle over his head, the -royal sceptre in his hand. There was a something changed in him too; I -know not what--a dignity of bearing, a smoothness of gesture, a quiet -courtesy to all--and he looked in his dazzling raiment more like a god -than a king." - -"Was there, then, no outbreak?" asked Sarchedon. "Unlike old Nineveh, -the people of Babylon must be reined with the strong hand, in great and -sudden changes such as these." - -"With the strong hand!" exclaimed Sethos. "Why, the spearmen of the -queen's host were drawn up in battle array by hundreds at the corner of -every street, while bowmen clustered on wall and tower like locusts -about a fig-tree. No man dared murmer if he would; and I think none who -looked in his fair face could have desired a nobler king than Ninyas." - -"And the queen?" said Sarchedon. "How fares it with Semiramis in her -woe?" - -"The queen remains hidden in her palace," replied his friend; "not to be -seen of men while she makes her moan, rending her garments and -scattering ashes on her head. Alas for the pride of her beauty, the pomp -and power of her dominion! Surely her glory passed away with the smoke -of the great sacrifice. Ninus ruled half the earth with his frown, and -she ruled Ninus with her smile. But all is changed now." - -"Has she, then, so little influence over her son?" asked Sarchedon, -reining his horse to a halt in his preoccupation, while he pondered on -his own future, and how it might be affected by these strange -unlooked-for events. - -Ninyas, he had reason to believe, loved him but little; and the -queen--he scarcely dared think of the terms on which he stood with the -queen. In every direction his path seemed beset with difficulties. But -for Ishtar, he could have been satisfied to remain in Egypt for ever, -even in the dungeon--Ishtar, whom perhaps he was never to see again. He -recalled the words of the magician; but their comfort was very vague and -hollow, compared with the steadfast belief of Sadoc, whom no troubles -seemed to perplex, no anticipations of evil to overcome. He almost -envied the carelessness of his light-hearted comrade, who proceeded with -his narrative as though it were but the detail of a lion-hunt or a -festival. - -"Ninyas seems resolved to reign in person--a great king, not only in -name, but in authority, who bears sword as well as sceptre, and tarries -longer in the seat of judgment than at the banquet of wine. I could not -have believed a man's nature might be thus changed in the putting on of -a tiara. When I prostrated myself in his presence, it seemed as though -years had passed since he dismissed me in the desert, and rode back -unattended into Babylon. Yet the interval was less than a day. And -Merodach: he sent for the good horse to his royal stables, and caressed -him fondly with his own hand." - -"Merodach loves not strangers," replied Sarchedon. "But if Ninyas -desires him, how shall his servant say him nay? Is not my life in the -hands of the Great King? Something warns me, nevertheless, that the -horse finds more favour in his sight than the rider." - -"You speak thus in your ignorance," said Sethos. "Had he lost the great -ruby from the handle of his sword, he could scarce have looked more -anxious, more concerned. If you find not that you are first in favour -when we return, never believe a king's cup-bearer again. Is it not for -this I ride at your right hand so humble even now? Think of us when you -come to high honour; but do not forget you owe more to your horse than -your friend." - -"I can well believe it," returned the other, smiling. "I have always -trusted less in the man than the beast. Nevertheless, I am loath to be -ungrateful, and will take care to remember both." - -"Had I not been leading Merodach through the streets," continued Sethos, -"I should not have been seen of Assarac; but the priest, knowing the -white horse afar off, bade some archers clear a passage, and beckoned me -to his presence. When he learned all I had to tell, how I had left you -but a short space before the horse came flying by me riderless through -the desert, he seemed unusually thoughtful and concerned: you know how -rarely his face betrays his thoughts, how good or evil seem powerless to -affect him, and yet there came a frown on his brow, a wicked fire in his -eyes, while he listened to my tale. I could hardly learn whether he was -pleased or angered, anxious for your safety or eager to know your fate. -He tarried but an instant. Leaders and warriors were thronging round him -for orders, and you would have thought him captain of a host setting the -battle in array, rather than priest and eunuch preparing a sacrifice for -his gods. He seemed calm enough while he gave his directions; but the -same evil look gleamed in his eyes again when he bade me yield up -Merodach in charge to his attendants, and return at day break to the -palace. What more was done in Babylon that night must be related by -others; for I was wearied sore, and when I lay down, without so much as -taking off my harness, I slept as sound as all the Pharaohs--who live -for ever--in their tombs." - -"And with daybreak you learned what had befallen Ninus?" asked -Sarchedon. "Of a truth, my friend, you must have felt that you woke to a -new world." - -"Not so," replied the other. "In the city, save that the guards had been -doubled, all was orderly and unchanged. The prophets of the grove had -discontinued their leapings and howlings and brandishing of knives. The -priests of Baal were busy cleaning gore and garbage from their temple. -In the royal palace I found the old servants of Ninus, with the queen's -archers, as usual, keeping their listless watch. When I prostrated -myself at the threshold, it seemed as though I must needs fill the -king's cup, and give him to drink with the first rays of the morning -sun." - -"A good old practice," observed Sarchedon, "and, if I know him, not to -be discontinued by Ninyas during his reign." - -"You do _not_ know him, it seems," replied the other; "for I came no -nearer his presence than the golden-winged bull in the middle of the -Great Court. Here I was stopped by Assarac, who bade me attend the king -armed and mounted within an hour at the southern wall. When I tendered -the wine-cup, he laughed, and said these old-world practices were to be -discontinued for the future; but I have no fear I shall lose my office, -nevertheless." - -"You are little given to despair," said his friend; "I know that of -old." - -"As chance would have it," resumed Sethos, in perfect good faith, "I -fell in with Kalmim, wearing her garment rent and her hair about her -face, but otherwise little vexed with woe; and she found time to bid me -keep heart, for that none of my honours, said she, would be taken away, -but rather new rewards added thereto; and in this she spoke truth, -though I scarce believed her at the time, for I thought Ninyas would -have done well to place me on his right hand in sight of all the people. -So I got to saddle with a heavy heart, and hastened me to the southern -wall, where I found the king and but two attendants--mountain-men, well -skilled to take a prey. Ninyas rode to and fro amongst the vineyards on -Merodach, turning the beast to his hand as though it had borne him ever -since it wore a bridle." - -Sarchedon's face fell. - -"I shall never ride him again," said he. "When a man has once backed a -horse like Merodach, he would take him by force from his own brother." - -"Ninyas seemed to love him well," replied Sethos, "for his palm was -never off neck or shoulder, and I swear by Ashur I saw him once press -his lips against the horse's crest. But he seemed strangely hurried and -restless, holding little discourse with me, but consulting eagerly the -mountain-men who accompanied us. One of these bade me point out the -exact spot at which Merodach passed me in his flight, and of this I -could make sure because I remembered how a single palm was growing there -by a spring. When we reached it, Ninyas laid the rein on Merodach's -neck, and, lo, the horse broke eagerly into a gallop, stretching away -over the desert at speed, so that it cost us some trouble to keep him in -sight. The king never touched his bridle, but let the beast bear him how -and where it would. My horse was already failing under me, when they -halted at a spot where lay a splintered arrow and a few large bones -picked white and bare. Merodach stood still, snorting and trembling, -while the tears fell from the king's eyes. Then the mountain-men -alighted, and showed how a human body had lain here the night before, -and how it had been lifted carefully by one whose footmarks were to be -traced, deep and wide, under his burden. Also, how others had gathered -round, leading their asses; and even boasted they could distinguish the -prints of that on which the fallen man had been disposed. "Can you track -them?" asked the king in a hoarse whisper; and he promised a reward of -camels and oxen, costly raiment, and a talent of gold each, if they -could follow up the chase successfully, and return with good tidings of -its result. - -"The mountain-men earned their wages fairly. It was not long ere they -brought back to Babylon such intelligence as seemed to cause the king no -little concern and anxiety. But that his royal word was passed, I think -Ninyas would have impaled them both, having no better news to tell. They -had traced you into Egypt, they said, and had left you lying in prison -by the decree of Pharaoh, under sentence of death. I would have given -you up, my friend, then; but our young king, it seems, abandons not his -servants at their greatest need. He sent for me to the royal palace, and -though I entered not his presence, I was received in the outer chamber -by Assarac, who clad me in a dress of honour, and threw a chain of gold -about my neck. You never saw such workmanship! Had the links been but of -bronze, they were so wrought as to be worth a score of camels each. They -prate of their gold and silver down yonder," added Sethos, with a -backward nod, "but I would defy the whole of Egypt, with all her -furnaces, to produce such a chain as that!" - -"You were wise not to bring it with you," observed Sarchedon. "They are -skilful thieves, and would have stolen it from round your very throat -while you slept." - -The cup-bearer's swarthy cheek reddened. - -"I gave it away," said he, "for all my haste, ere I laid hand on bridle -to ride southward. I know not if 'tis so with _you_, Sarchedon, but I -can keep nothing from a woman that she desires of me--not even the -secret of my dearest friend. They seem to have some strange power over -our wills, like that by which I turn this good horse under me with the -rein." - -Sarchedon thought of Ishtar, and held his peace. - -"The eunuch's directions," continued Sethos, "were brief enough. He -wastes few words, you know, when there is need of action. "You will -mount at noon," said he, "and ride without delay to the steps of -Pharaoh's throne, wherever he may be. You will take valuable presents. -Such a troop will accompany you as can protect you from violence or -insult. To Pharaoh's own face you will deliver the words of the Great -King, bidding him the salutation of brotherhood and peace, but demanding -the body of his Assyrian prisoner alive and unhurt. If he refuse, or if -a hair of Sarchedon's head have fallen, you will break your bow asunder, -and cast the fragments at his feet, telling him you will return to claim -them with an army of the sons of Ashur, to which the last that entered -Egypt was but as the lizard in the garden to the mighty monster of the -Nile. Be lavish, peremptory, and bold. The king hath spoken." You may -believe, my friend, that I turned my head more than once, thinking I -might be taking my last look of beautiful Babylon. To beard Pharaoh on -his throne with a handful even of the bravest horsemen in Assyria seemed -an action savouring little of wisdom or common prudence; but, as the old -king used to swear, Nisroch strikes with him who trusts his own right -hand. So, when I _did_ find myself in Pharaoh's presence, I spoke out as -if the hosts of Assyria stood in array a bowshot from my back. Small -reason had I to complain of my reception. A king in person could not -have been greeted with a nobler welcome. What riches! what luxury! what -splendour! I would we had taken their whole country when we fought so -hard to cross their river under the old king's leadership. Pharaoh must -have been weakened to some purpose, or he had scarce listened patiently -to a demand which seemed well-nigh a defiance. There was delay, indeed, -ere they produced you, and I feared for a time you had been slain in one -of their secret dungeons; but I took my bow from my back in presence of -Phrenes, and made as though I would break it across my knee. The old man -turned white with fear, and that very day I beheld you at the banquet of -wine, seated in a place of honour and apparelled like a king's son. Then -my heart leaped within me; for I knew that we were both safe, and might -hope to drink the wine of Damascus within the walls of Babylon once -more. I would we had a cup of it now!" - -Sarchedon was silent. His friend's account of the means by which an -imprisonment that seemed so hopeless had been cancelled, a decree of -Pharaoh reversed, perplexed him more and more. - -That he should have attained thus suddenly to the favour of Ninyas, on -accession of the latter to his father's throne, was perhaps to be -accounted for by one of those caprices to which he had already seen men -owe great honours and promotion under the authority of a despot; but -that the king should have ridden in person to discover his track, should -have actually shed tears of pity for his supposed fate, was so strange, -that he left to future events the solution of such a riddle, resolving -for the present to content himself with the improvement in his -prospects, and the hope that, when free and amongst his own countrymen, -he might succeed in obtaining some traces of the fate of Ishtar, some -clue to the perpetrators of that outrage by which Arbaces lost his -life. Deep in his own heart he swore never to rest until he had -recovered his lost love and avenged the slaughter of her father--blood -for blood. - -Thus journeying northward through the plain, at a rate which promised -ere many more furlongs were passed to bring them across the confines of -Egypt into their own land of Shinar, they observed a cloud of dust -rising on the sky-line behind them, and extending so far along the -horizon that it threatened to encompass their little troop in its -embrace. Swiftly as they travelled, it seemed to advance more swiftly -still. The Assyrian horsemen looked in each other's faces with blank -dismay, but none liked to be the first in expressing a hideous -apprehension that curdled at each man's heart. Nevertheless, reins were -instinctively tightened and horses pressed to increased speed. Presently -Sethos laid his hand on his companion's bridle-arm, and pointed -ominously to the rear. - -"Behold the red simoon!" he whispered. "The demon of the desert has -spread his wings from side to side, and there is no escape. It is the -will of Nisroch. When he breathes in our faces, we must die?" - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII - -A RIDE FOR LIFE - - -The little troop had been picked from the boldest horsemen of Assyria. -Not a man but would have spent life freely under the banner of Ashur, -and charged home into the host of an enemy, though out-numbered ten to -one. Their warlike traditions, their national character, their pride and -self-respect, had taught them to shrink from no professional danger, to -yield before no living foe; but the bold faces were pale now, and the -proud eyes haggard. They rode in wild disorder, as though flying before -the shadow of death; while the pure-bred steeds that bore them snorted, -and shook their bridles gaily, exulting in the glory of their strength, -the easy freedom of their speed. - -The simoon, even in its natural terrors, might well be an object of -dread to man and beast. No fate seems much more horrible than to be -overwhelmed and drowned in a storm of sand. But the Assyrian had been -also taught to regard this danger as a supernatural foe, a gigantic -demon of the desert, hidden in lurid clouds, advancing swift, -insatiable, portentous, swallowing furlongs at every stride, to seize -and stifle him in an inevitable embrace. - -Even Sethos caught the infection, and pushed his horse to its speed with -reckless energy, panic-stricken as the rest. - -Sarchedon could not forbear a laugh. - -"Hold!" he exclaimed, while he shot with some difficulty to the front, -raising his bow horizontally above his head to stop the undisciplined -flight. "Hold, fools and faint of heart! Can you not turn for one look -in your enemy's face, ere you scour away before him like a herd of -frightened deer? Stop, I say; lest I drive an arrow through the foremost -of ye, and leave him to be picked clean by the vultures ere the sun goes -down!" - -"The simoon!" gasped the leading horseman, pressing wildly onward -without pause. - -"The simoon!" repeated Sarchedon, seizing the other's bridle, and thus -bringing him to an involuntary halt. "Do you call yourself a son of -Ashur, and not know better the arms and apparel of your enemy? Can you -see the violet spot that marks the demon's eye, the purple hem that -borders his garment, the golden spangles that glitter through his veil? -For shame, man! And you, too, Sethos; I could not have believed you -would turn and fly, with bow and spear in hand, from a bushel of dust -flung up on the wayside!" - -Thus arguing, storming, and gesticulating, he succeeded in pacifying the -terror of his comrades, who consented to halt for a space and breathe -their horses, while they scanned the appearance that had given rise to -their alarm. The peril, when they examined it more coolly, was none the -less threatening that its cause seemed in no way supernatural. The -clouds of sand had indeed increased both in extent and volume; but -through the folds of that dusky curtain gleamed here and there a sparkle -of steel, while at its skirts an opaque winding line denoted to a -warrior's eye the approach of a strong body of horse. - -The Assyrians became somewhat reassured, though Sethos and Sarchedon -looked doubtfully from each other's faces to the advancing host. Already -they could distinguish fluttering garments, uplifted spears, and the -banners of Egypt waving over all. - -"He has sent to fetch us back!" exclaimed the cup-bearer. "He has -repented him of his counsel, and we have not done with Pharaoh yet!" - -Sarchedon burst into a mocking laugh. - -"Have they wings like the south wind," said he, "that they hope to -overtake the horses of Assyria in the open desert with heads turned for -home? If, as in good truth it seems, there be too many to fight, let us -put on at speed, and the hosts of Pharaoh shall toil after us in vain." - -They galloped on accordingly at a steady even pace, which, while it -could be kept up for a considerable distance, gained surely though -gradually on their pursuers. - -But the desert, flat, open, and boundless as the sea, has also its ports -and havens, to which men put in for fresh water and repose, thus -diverging from the straight line of their direct course. The Assyrians, -therefore, now resuming the shortest way to their own land, found they -had described an arc, of which, in order to overtake them, their -pursuers needed only to speed along the chord. And thus it fell out -that, nearing a range of rocks, one of the few landmarks in the -wilderness, they came suddenly on an ambush of Egyptian horsemen, who -had pushed forward to post themselves in that hiding-place. - -The little troop now found an enemy in front and rear, the latter -overwhelming in numbers, the former too strong for so scanty a force to -break through. - -They halted, and took counsel, inclining to dash forward in a desperate -charge, when an old man rode out from the ranks of their opponents, -making signs of parley and peace. - -Even a bowshot off they recognised Phrenes. Sarchedon and Sethos -advanced therefore to meet him, bidding their comrades remain in the -saddle with bows bent, watching every movement of the Egyptians. - -The old man broke his spear across, and cast it at their feet in token -of amity. - -"Your servant has ridden far and fast," said he, "to bid you return into -Egypt, and look on the light of Pharaoh's countenance once more. Behold, -my lords, these also are your servants, sent to bring you in honour to -his palace beyond the Nile." - -"We have taken our leave of my lord the king," returned Sethos -courteously, but keeping his horse well in hand under him; "Pharaoh has -given gifts to his servants, bidding them depart in peace. Why, then, -should we return at an untoward season, to the encumbrance of my lord -the king?" - -Phrenes cast one glance back amongst his followers, a glance not -unobserved by those he addressed, while he replied: - -"What am I, that I should interpret between my lords and the king my -master? I pray you, now, return with me of good will. So shall you come -to great honour, and sit on thrones in the land of Egypt." - -While he spoke, he edged his horse gradually round, showing no slight -skill in the art of managing it, so as to place himself between the -Assyrians and their comrades. - -"Not a bowshot will I return," answered Sethos, "until I have fulfilled -mine embassy, and sought in the land of Shinar a new command from the -Great King." - -The Egyptians, meanwhile, continued to move their horses imperceptibly -nearer the two Assyrians, who were now separated from their companions. -The cup-bearer, suspecting treachery, held his bow in readiness with an -arrow fitted to the string, while his movements were exactly copied by -the Assyrians, narrowly watching and mistrusting the parley. Sarchedon -too grasped a broad-headed javelin, prepared to hurl it at a moment's -notice into the ranks of the enemy. - -"I bid you once more in peace," said Phrenes, holding up his hand as it -seemed for a signal to his followers. "If you think to resist the might -of Egypt, your blood be on your own head! Pharaoh lives for--" - -He never finished the sentence, with the conclusion of which it was -doubtless intended that the two isolated horsemen should be surrounded -and taken prisoners. The cup-bearer's bowstring rattled even while he -spoke, and Phrenes fell heavily to the ground, with a shaft quivering -in his heart. At the same moment Sarchedon's weapon transfixed the -nearest Egyptian, and a storm of arrows from the Assyrians created no -small confusion in the rest of the band. Horses reared, men lost their -seats and weapons, shouting, storming, jostling each other, and looking -in vain for some one to direct; while the Assyrians turned bridle -without delay, to speed over the plain at a pace which put them many an -arrow's flight from their enemies ere the latter had sufficiently -recovered to form line and bend their bows. - -It was a ride for life through the desert. The rest of Pharaoh's army -had been advancing rapidly during the parley; their horses were fresher -than those they pursued; and it would have been madness for the -Assyrians to dream of resisting such a force, if it should succeed in -overtaking them. Sarchedon seemed to see the well-remembered gloom of -his Egyptian dungeon gathering round him once again. His horse, too, -began to fail, labouring to keep up with its companions. Bitterly did he -now regret the childish enthusiasm that had tempted him to waste its -strength and mettle at the commencement of their journey. - -"It is enough," said he. "My time is come. I will strive all that one -man can to delay a host. Peradventure when they have slain or taken me, -they will suffer you to escape unhurt." - -"Not so," replied Sethos, looking anxiously over his shoulder. "They -gain on us but little. Nay, take heart, my friend; we may baffle them -yet. Surely we are in the land of Shinar now. And yonder, by the beard -of Nimrod and the beauty of Ashtaroth! I see the City of Towers, and the -Silver Lake glittering in the sun!" - -"It is but the paradise of the desert," answered Sarchedon sadly. "I -have ridden after it many a weary hour, but never reached it yet." - -In spite of the enemy's rapid approach, Sethos reined in his horse, and -shaded his brows with his hand, in sore misgiving that he was the dupe -of that mirage which is so remarkable an effect of a level surface, a -rarified atmosphere, and a dazzling sun. Then he observed with the -utmost calmness: - -"Lofty palms, and shining pinnacles, and golden waters, all these adorn -the paradise of the desert; but who hath yet seen the banner of Ashur -floating over its walls? If those be not the towers of Ascalon, may I -never drink a cup of Damascus wine, nor drive an arrow through a false -Egyptian heart again! We are safe, my friend. Look yonder at that -glitter in the sky-line; it is the flash of sunlight on the western -sea." - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX - -THE CITY OF REFUGE - - -The fugitives pressed on apace, Sarchedon's horse, though wavering and -exhausted, vindicating nobly the purity of its lineage, a race of which -none ever failed to answer the rider's hand and voice, ask what he -would; but when they stopped, they fell stone dead. Nevertheless, the -foremost Egyptians gained ground too surely, and ere the Assyrians came -under the protection of a friendly city, the swiftest of their pursuers -had already halted to bend their bows. - -A volley of arrows whistled round Sarchedon's head, who arrived last -within the welcome shelter of the walls, bristling with bowmen, prepared -to defend it against a host. As the great gate closed behind him, he -heard the war-cry of Ashur swelling to a shout of triumph; while the -baffled Egyptians, making the circuit of the place at a gallop, wheeled -round and withdrew into the desert, as though content to abandon their -prey. - -"I never wish to look on Pharaoh's face again," said Sethos, drawing a -long breath of relief, while leaping nimbly to the ground, he loosened -the girths of his panting steed. "I have fronted the Great King in his -wrath, and it seemed like passing through a burning fiery furnace, that -scorches the beard and blisters the skin; but under the cold eye of -Pharaoh, I could feel the chill of death creeping into the marrow of my -bones." - -Sarchedon did not answer. His heart was beating fast, and all the blood -in his body seemed surging to his brain; for amongst the spectators -looking down from the housetops on the entrance of their countrymen, he -had caught sight of a veiled figure, that had in it something of her air -and gestures who was never absent from his mind--the object of his -search, the desire of his life, the woman he had loved and lost. - -It was but a momentary glimpse. The figure disappeared almost as soon as -seen. Nevertheless, for Sarchedon there was henceforth but one aim, one -interest, in the whole city of Ascalon. - -His progress through the streets reminded Sethos, though on a less -splendid scale, of the Great King's return after his successful Egyptian -campaign, with its greetings, its enthusiasm, its shouts of welcome, and -casting down of flowers on the warriors' heads, though the numbers were -scanty, compared to the population of imperial Babylon, the height from -which the garlands dropped but mean and humble, measured by the -pinnacles and terraces that crowned the City of Palaces, throned on her -mighty stream. - -Long before it could arrive beneath her walls, the watchman at the gate -of Ascalon had espied this scanty troop of his countrymen advancing -through the desert, pursued by an enemy from that south on which it was -his duty to keep a sleepless eye. Ere Sarchedon became satisfied that he -was making for a tangible stronghold, and not an illusion of the sandy -wilderness, the city had been alarmed, and its Assyrian garrison, tried -warriors all, were at their posts. Scores of bowmen therefore lined the -streets through which the little party passed. Many a broad hand -tendered its grasp of welcome and good-fellowship to the comrade who had -baffled yet one more danger, foiled the hated Egyptian with bow and -spear yet once again. Agron, the Captain of the Gate, a young warrior in -whose company Sethos had often emptied the wine-cup, spending days and -nights of revelry amongst the material joys of his beloved Babylon, -himself accompanied them to the stronghold of the city, now brightened -by a certain appearance of luxurious indulgence, added to its usual -aspect of defence and grim security. - -"Here," said Agron, "you shall be brought into the royal presence, with -the rising of to-morrow's sun. You shall be sped on your way to Babylon -under such a guard as may laugh Pharaoh and all his chariots to scorn, -if indeed they dare thus pursue their venture into the land of Shinar. -Fear not, my friends; you shall ride out of Ascalon almost as swiftly as -you rode in, and I wish it had been the will of Nisroch that I might be -permitted to accompany you." - -"Are you then so weary of the City of Towers?" asked Sethos, smiling -gaily on a group of women who were pelting him with flowers from an -upper story. "It seems to me that here, as elsewhere, Ashtaroth shines -down in light through the eyes of these southern damsels, and that Agron -may bask in her beams no less pleasantly than at home." - -"Ashtaroth!" repeated the other scornfully, "and the City of Towers! Say -rather Shamash and the City of Fire! Where shall you find a palm's -breadth of shade in the whole town at noon, or a green thing within a -day's march of the walls? There was a fountain here over against us when -we arrived; but the sun licked it up ere we saw him rise three times, -dry and clean as a dog's red tongue licks a platter. For duty, it is -watch and ward day by day, with your headpiece scorching the very hair -off your brow, and alarms throughout the night, every time a camel -tinkles its bell within or a jackal howls for hunger without. As to -pleasure, if you care not to fly your hawks over a plain so barren that -the very wormwood refuses to show a twig, or to follow a lion as sulky -as yourself for lack of food, who burrows into a cave when you come up -with him, you must be content to tie knots in your bowstring, and so -keep count of the days of your captivity, as they pass by and bring no -change." - -"But you hold a high post," said Sarchedon absently, for his thoughts -were still with the veiled figure that vanished so quickly from his -sight. "You have a noble command, and great honour amongst men." - -"And receive gifts from travellers entering in," added Sethos. "Caravans -out of Egypt, merchants from the coast, spoilers of the desert, who must -needs replenish quiver and sharpen steel, none can pass through without -doing homage to the keeper of the gate, and his hand is never empty -whose beard brushes the dust. Tell me, Agron, are there not bales of -silk piled in thy dwelling, myrrh, spices, inlaid arms, and talents of -gold, ay, and a captive maid or two, fresh and rosy as the dawn on those -eastern mountains from which she comes?" - -Agron laughed loud. - -"How long would she abide with me at the gate, think you, after the -prince had heard of her white skin and ruddy cheeks? No, my friends, -wayfarers are driven from our walls as if they brought a pestilence in -their very garments. For recompense, I have stern command and scornful -look; for food, camel's flesh and dried locusts; for handmaiden, an -Ethiopian wench, black and rough as a goat's-hair tent; and for -drink--well, for drink--you are a king's cup-bearer, Sethos--I can give -you, as you will presently confess, a skin of wine equal to the richest -you ever pressed at dawn for thirsty old Ninus. May he live for ever! -Hush, man! we are now within the royal gate, and none speaks here above -his breath who values the safety of his tongue." - -Thus cautioning his companions, Agron guided them through a massive -portal, into the central fortress of Ascalon, constructed to hold a foe -at bay even in the last extremity, were the outer walls destroyed, and -the town itself razed to the ground. - -As a bulwark against Egyptian aggression, and a check to the excesses of -those wild tribes that, from the earliest period of history, seem to -have made the desert their home, Ascalon had been fortified with all the -appliances of defence which the experience of Ninus could suggest; and -perhaps, as the birthplace of the queen whom he loved so dearly, had -acquired in his eyes a fictitious value that caused him to regard it -with jealous and constant supervision. Its central fastness was -therefore in proportion to the strength of the whole place, nor did it -fail to impress both Sethos and Sarchedon with feelings of awe and -wonder, quite incomprehensible to the light-hearted captain of the gate. -For Agron, this lowering fortress seemed but a dreary prison, only -preferable to the tomb, because of the hope that he might at last resume -life and light amidst the luxuries of Babylon the Great. Ascalon, as the -queen remembered it, was a glittering city, beautiful in architecture, -pleasant with verdant bowers, and ripening dates, and voice of rushing -waters. As Agron found it, shorn of beauty to enhance its strength, it -was a grim solemn citadel, denuded of palm and paradise to make room for -frowning rampart and threatening tower, drained of its bubbling streams -that they might fill its moats and ditches, retaining nothing of its -ancient loveliness but the blue sea and the silver lake, that continued -to mirror its rugged features in age truly and faithfully as the smiling -freshness of its youth. - -Making signs to them of silence and discretion, the captain of the gate -led his comrades through a succession of massive portals and vaulted -passages, to a chamber lined with cedar wood, taken, as it were, out of -the wall itself, and lit but sparingly by an aperture communicating with -the roof. - -"The prince will not see you," said he, "because he sits at the banquet -of wine, and he holds by our ancient custom of Ashur, which forbids the -clashing of cups and counsel; but you are fasting men as yet, and you -may see _him!_" - -Thus speaking, he drew aside a heavy curtain that had hitherto darkened -their hiding-place, and disclosed a sufficiently sumptuous -banqueting-hall, in which feasted some twenty or thirty guests, of whom -at least half a score were women, unveiled, with flushed cheeks, -disordered raiment, and garlands of flowers clinging to their loosened -hair. - -Keen as the desert hawk's, Sarchedon's eye took in the gay assemblage at -a glance. There was less of disappointment than relief in the deep -breath he drew to miss the woman he loved amongst these restless, -lavish, and alluring forms. - -Ninyas sat in their midst, gorgeously attired as was his wont, with a -jewelled drinking-cup in hand, pledging his male guests at the lower end -of the board with loud hilarity, or whispering softly in the ear of one -of those fairer companions by whom he had surrounded himself. The good -humour of princes is contagious. To the royal challenge, men raised -their goblets full and set them down empty; to the royal jest, women -replied with peals of laughter and protestations of disapproval; while -the royal whisper was answered by blush, and smile, and smothered sigh, -more flattering than the wildest outbreak of mirth. - -"I told you so," said Sethos in his friend's ear. "He was anxious about -our embassy and could not remain in Babylon, but removed here to be -nearer the land of Egypt." - -"His mind seems easy enough now," answered Sarchedon; while Ninyas, -taking a lotus-flower from his own garland, and steeping it in wine, -twined it through the flowing locks of a free and laughing damsel, -leaning across a comrade, till her head almost reclined on the prince's -shoulder. - -As she suffered him to fasten the flower in her hair, it was evident to -those watching above that she made some vehement though mirthful -declaration, accompanied by many gestures of affected reluctance and -denial; presently, on a remark of the prince, her retort called forth an -over-powering burst of laughter, and Ninyas, taking the collar of gold -from his neck, wound it as a bracelet round her arm. - -In the meantime goblets had been emptied freely, eyes began to shine, -voices to rise, and the confusion of tongues became every moment more -and more unintelligible. The captain of the gate, though a stout -warrior, possessed, like his two comrades, a leavening of that -discretion which, even if laid aside in camp, cannot be dispensed with -at court. He judged it time to retire. - -"Those are full men down yonder," said he, with a meaning smile, "and ye -up here are fasting from all but desert air, and mayhap a mouthful or -two of desert sand. Had you taken your places at the banquet amongst the -others, with your feet washed, your locks combed, and garlands on your -heads, there would have seemed no shame in all this revelry, because you -too would have been merry with wine. That which is but decent mirth to -one who rises from a feast, looks like rank folly to another who is -about to sit down. Let us go hence, and you shall comfort your hearts -with bread ere I show you the place of your repose. To-morrow Ninyas -will speak with you face to face, in the light of the rising sun." - -He conducted them accordingly to the lodging he himself occupied when -not actually on duty at the city gate, placing before them such fare as, -notwithstanding his protestations of its unworthiness, was exceedingly -acceptable to their sharpened appetites, and producing a measure of -Damascus wine, that even Sethos, in his official capacity, pronounced -irreproachable. It proved, indeed, of so tempting a quality, that Agron -seemed well inclined to let the gate take care of itself, while he -assisted his guests in its consumption, expostulating earnestly with -Sarchedon on his insensibility to the merits of the matchless -vintage--"ripened," as he boasted, "in the brightest beams of an -Assyrian sun, pressed by the whitest feet that ever danced under a -mountain-maid, stored in royal cellars, and worthy, if ever wine was, to -be placed before the cup-bearer of a king." - -Sethos admitted its flavour, comparing it to that with which he had been -regaled in Egypt at Pharaoh's own table, not disparagingly, yet so as to -enhance in his listeners' esteem his own importance as a man of -pleasure, a man of counsel, and a man of action. - -"Their feasts," he observed gravely, "are spread more fairly than ours, -their dishes are more sumptuous, their attendants more numerous. There -is not the profusion of fish, flesh, and fowl that we waste in our land -of Shinar; but dainties are brought at any cost from the extremities of -Libya and the other side of the southern mountains. They would be -ashamed to hear the heifer lowing in the court for her calf smoking on -the board at which they sit, with knife in hand. Is it not so, -Sarchedon? You tarried longer as a guest of Pharaoh than I did myself." - -"My own experience is chiefly of prison fare," was the answer; -"nevertheless, though the lodging was somewhat strait and gloomy, I can -in no wise complain of the food. The bread of my captivity was meat and -wine, not to mention a barley-cake and a bunch of onions thrust into my -hand by the archer who led me to my cell." - -"Barley-cake and onions!" exclaimed Agron. "They fight passing well--I -pray you suffer me to fill your cups--passing well, indeed, these nimble -friends of ours, for men who fare no better than that!" - -"Fight!" repeated Sethos, in high disdain. "Call you it fighting, -forsooth, to set the battle in array, advancing in countless columns -with levelled spears and waving banners, only to halt in orderly line, -sound a trumpet, and retire discomfited before the sons of Ashur have -time to bend their bows? Fight, comrades! I tell you, that for real -fighting, man to man, hand to hand, foot to foot, and buckler to -buckler, there is but one nation on the face of the earth." - -"And but one champion in that nation," observed his host, with a covert -smile at Sarchedon. - -It was not lost on the merry nature of Agron, that his good wine already -sang in the brain of the king's cup-bearer. - -"You are my friend, and judge me too favourably," replied the latter, in -perfect good faith. "I am no boaster, by the quiver of Merodach! yet I -may say, that this belt of mine girdles a man who never shrank from -buffets with the Egyptian at a score, ay, a hundred to one! The sun has -scarcely set since the chosen host of Pharaoh, his chief captains, his -chariots and horsemen, surrounded me in the desert, as--as I surround -this goblet in my grasp. Did I yield? Did I fly? No. I retired to--to -draw them on, as it were, and loosen their array. What! thou art a -warrior--thou knowest my cunning of defence--my skill--" - -"In retreat?" asked the other, laughing outright. - -Sethos gazed on him angrily, and tried to rise; but resuming his seat, -burst out laughing too. - -"In retreat, in advance," said he, "in press of battle--when and how you -will. They came on at a gallop, with their spears down. I reined-in, and -stood like a rock, with my wine-cup--I would say, with my bow--laid -across my arm thus. Then I fitted an arrow to the string, and Sarchedon -will bear me witness--Is it not so? Why, where is he? Surely he was here -not a moment ago. Sarchedon, I say, will bear me--" - -But turning round for better summons of this additional testimony to his -valour, he found himself so unsteady, that he was fain to give up the -search and the subject together, fixing his attention rather on the -flagon, which he and his host finished in company ere they sank into a -sound and not entirely sober repose. - -Sarchedon in the meantime, anxious and sick at heart, had risen from the -revel unobserved, and retired to his assigned resting-place, where, -notwithstanding the day's exertions, sad thoughts and burning memories -banished sleep from his eyelids, peace from his troubled heart. - - - - -CHAPTER XXX - -LOTH - - -A lover's perceptions are not easily deceived; neither veil nor mantle -can hide that subtle, mysterious idiosyncrasy which makes the one woman, -while wholly distinct from the rest, a type and ideal of her sex. It was -indeed Ishtar whom Sarchedon had seen amongst the spectators of his -entry into Ascalon, nor is it necessary to add that she had recognised -him almost ere he passed through the gate. In those long weary days -since they parted, how many drink-offerings had she poured out, how many -prayers had she offered to Baal, Nebo, Merodach, all the host of heaven, -especially to Ashtaroth, Queen of Love and Light! Behold them accepted -and answered now! Her lover was in the same town with her; all the -cunning she had practised to keep him at bay whose ardour she so -loathed--her assumed fatigue, her feigned sickness, her feminine arts of -defence--were to be rewarded at last. Doubtless she would meet Sarchedon -in the streets--on the wall--what matter where?--before another sun had -set; and to look in his face, if only once again, would be happiness -enough for Ishtar. Her influence over the volatile young prince gave her -authority in his household, so that she could roam unquestioned through -all parts of the town and fortress where he reigned supreme. Sarchedon, -tossing uneasily on his couch, little thought whose hand had trimmed the -lamp by his head, strewn the rushes on his floor, and filled with the -purest coldest water in Ascalon the pitcher that stood ready to his -hand. - -During the first watch of night, Ishtar paced to and fro in her own -chamber, restless, perturbed, fevered with a wild joy far too keen for -happiness, her whole being, sense, heart, and brain, filled with the -image of the man she loved. When the archers had been relieved on the -wall, and the spearman's echoing tread had died out among the ramparts, -a well-known footfall passed along the gallery to her chamber: she -recognised, with indescribable fear and loathing, the step of the man -who loved _her_! - -Ninyas, weary of a banquet too late prolonged, of wine poured out too -freely, tresses unbound too readily, smiles lavished ere he provoked -them, and favours offered that he had little inclination to ask, broke -up the sitting with less than his usual cordiality, and flung his -festive garland under foot with something of the petulance shown by a -spoiled child, that destroys its playthings because of the one -unattainable gaud it has been forbidden to possess. - -His male attendants discreetly emptied their goblets and held their -peace; but some of the women showed signs of displeasure and discontent -ere they withdrew; Rekamat, indeed, a comely dame from the northern -mountains beyond Nineveh, who deemed her own ruddy cheeks and amber hair -too rare beauties thus to be wasted in Ascalon, spoke her mind freely -enough. - -"My lord is wrath," said she, "with his handmaidens, because, forsooth, -we grudge neither word nor deed, dance nor song, to do him honour. Shall -we not rejoice in the light of his countenance, as the golden fruit of -the palm deepens under the rays of a southern sun? When the date is ripe -it should be gathered ere it fall." - -"The dates are musty, and the palm-tree bare," answered Ninyas; "I am -weary of it all!" - -"Let not the anger of my lord be kindled," replied Rekamat in a voice -that betrayed considerable irritation, "while I tell him he is plunging -his hand through the thorns to pluck a cluster of wild-grapes; he is -pouring streams of fair water on a growth of bitter wormwood, and yoking -a team of oxen to plough the desert sand. O, my lord, have you not free -choice among all the birds of heaven? and cannot you refrain from the -poor gray linnet that sits sad and moulting in her cage?" - -"The linnet's plumage is sleek, and her song pleasant to hear," retorted -Ninyas with a mocking laugh. "The vulture's neck is bare and peeled, her -voice an ugly croak." - -"I thank my lord for the comparison," replied Rekamat, now quivering -with vexation. "He used not to think so when he hunted the lion under -the walls of Nineveh: the vulture had bright eyes and sweet tones when -she flapped her wings in Babylon before the Egyptian campaign, and my -lord seemed well-pleased to find her hovering over him in Ascalon when -he arrived with half-a-score of attendants, and a maiden swaddled up in -sere-cloths on a dromedary. O that I had never come here! never seen -this hideous, hot, and hateful town! never, never, _never_ looked on the -face of my lord!" - -Skilful in the science of such warfare, Rekamat burst into a storm of -sobs, veiling her bright face with her delicate hands, to hide the -tears, which were not perhaps forthcoming so freely as she could wish. - -It was no part of the prince's nature to soften at sight of a woman's -distress, real or simulated. He laughed heartily now, and she turned on -him like a tigress. - -"My lord has yet to learn the first lessons of manhood!" she exclaimed. -"What do I say? Am I not a fool to look for a warrior's beard on a boy's -chin? Out on the smooth cheek and the white skin! Give me the heart, I -say. As bright Ashtaroth is my witness, I would I were Prince Ninyas but -for a single day!" - -She was very handsome with her burning cheeks and flashing eyes. It may -be, that all the evil in her listener's disposition woke up at her -petulance and audacity; but his countenance remained unmoved, his voice -seemed unusually gentle, while he asked, "Why?" - -She looked in his face scared, dominated by the quiet tones that to her -feminine apprehension seemed more threatening than the loudest outbreak -of wrath. - -"Why?" she repeated. "Because I would cherish the faithful heart that -beats only for me, while the stubborn slave who dared to mock my power -should be thrust out with scorn into the wilderness." - -"Have you done?" asked Ninyas, still in the same placid tones, with the -same hard unchanging smile. - -She fell at his feet now, and her tears began to flow in sad earnest. In -her anger, she had been ready enough to run the risk of offending him; -but she shrank from paying the penalty. - -"I am but as dust in the sight of my lord," was her reply. "It is for -the prince to command, and for his handmaid to obey." - -"To-morrow, at dawn," said Ninyas, "you will sit in the gate of the -city, with your garments rent and ashes scattered on your head. In the -sight of archers and spearmen, and all the people of Ascalon, you will -draw water from the well to wash the feet of Ishtar, as she takes her -place of honour, doing homage to the beauty of her who is the chosen of -your lord. I have spoken." - -Then he turned coldly away, leaving the prostrate beauty cowed and -defeated, though maddened with the bitter prospect of her humiliation. - -Notwithstanding his self-assertion, however, Ninyas proceeded on his -undertaking with feelings of considerable annoyance and ill-humour. To -be baffled by one woman was bad enough, but to be flouted for his -failure by another was irritating in the extreme. He resolved that this -trifling must be borne no longer, that the royal favour he offered must -be accepted forthwith. What! the girl was in his power, after all! He -had not wavered when her father lay slain on his own hearth; why should -he hesitate now? She must be taught her lesson, here in this grim lonely -fortress, and learn to accept with becoming gratitude the honours thrust -upon her by the gods. - -Bold, reckless, unfeeling, he possessed the chief elements of success; -but he was young, and left out of his calculations the thousand wiles -and stratagems through which, in all encounters of their wits, a man is -invariably out-manoeuvred by a woman. - -While he entered her chamber, the girl felt her heart stop beating and -her whole frame tremble like a leaf. She dropped her veil, nevertheless, -with a steady hand, standing erect, to all appearance calm and -motionless as a statue. - -A flaring torch of pine-wood, dipped in pitch and fixed in a ring of -bronze against the wall, shed its wavering glare on these two comely -figures, playing over the sparkling jewels and festive garments of the -one, while it deepened into gloom and mystery the shrouded outline of -the other. Costly articles of furniture were scattered about the -apartment, such as ivory couches, dressed skins of beasts, silken -cushions, and tables of elaborate Egyptian carving. On one of these -stood two jewelled cups, and a flagon sparkling with amber wine from the -south. - -Ninyas paused at the threshold; then advancing on that silent inmate, -took her hand, and passed his arm round her waist. - -"I have quitted lighted hall," said he, "and circling wine-cup, because -of the Lily of Ascalon, without whom there seems no savour in the feast, -no mirth in the revellers. My lily is drooping here in solitude--lo, I -come to transplant her to a fairer garden and a richer soil." - -Quick as thought she flashed one glance into his beautiful face, and -made up her mind even while she looked. - -"His servant felt cruelly disappointed that my lord bade her not to the -banquet," was the deceitful answer. "It is to my shame and sorrow, if I -have in any way displeased my lord." - -Thus speaking, she disengaged herself gently from the encircling arm, -and fell at his feet in an attitude that expressed the utmost humility, -but made it exceedingly difficult for Ninyas to embrace her again. - -"You know," said he, "that you are always welcome to your prince. Come -when she will and how she will, he only desires to lay the lily in his -bosom, and place Ishtar beside him on a throne." - -"Then my lord is no longer wroth with his handmaid," said she, unveiling -and rising to her feet, while she called into her beautiful eyes a look -that thrilled her admirer to the core. "I have sat here silent and sad, -thinking that the cloud between us was never to pass away. Lo, my lord -looks favourably on his servant, and she is glad in the light of his -smile once more." - -Rejoiced, no less than surprised, by the happy turn matters seemed to -have taken, pluming himself also on his own wisdom in having left her -for a space to herself, all the heart Ninyas possessed flew to his lips -while he exclaimed: - -"I love you, Ishtar! love you better than power, riches, a warrior's -fame, a king's throne, the wine I drink, the very air I breathe! O, I -love you so, my pure and precious pearl, that I sometimes think the -pleasure can never pay me for the pain!" - -Fickle, self-indulgent, unstable as he was, yet in the fierce impulsive -ardour of his youth he meant it--honestly and heartily--for the time. - -Ishtar could not repress a sense of triumph in the consciousness of her -power--a power that should serve to baffle the gaoler even now, and -unlock the prison door. - -His eyes followed her with fond glances, while she moved to the table -and filled a wine-cup to the brim. It must have been a colder nature -than his that could resist the winning grace with which she offered him -to drink. - -"My lord will not refuse to pledge his handmaid," said she, "in token of -forgiveness and good-will?" - -He emptied the cup at a draught; for indeed to this impulsive young -prince there was a keen zest in every phase of luxury and indulgence: -the lust of the eye, the pleasures of the senses, feast and frolic, wine -and women--he loved them all too well. It was the strongest vintage of -the South, and succeeding his previous potations, its effects were -apparent at once. His cheek paled, his glance wandered, there came a -thickness in his speech, while he sank among shawls and cushions, -inviting Ishtar to sit beside him on the couch. Though it sickened her, -she suffered him to caress her hands, her arms, the fragrant wealth of -her flowing hair. Once more she filled for him. Once more he drank to -her beauty, her promotion, her coming happiness. - -She had ceased to fear him now; for the strong wine, though it blazed in -his eyes and inflamed his senses, fastened his limbs, like a chain of -iron, to the couch. - -Stretching his arms back to embrace her with the caressing gesture of a -child, he looked up in her face, betraying even more of mirth than -either love or longing in his own. - -She watched him, as the physician watches the sick man about to die; and -though an icy cold crept over her, she never smiled more sweetly than -while she took his beautiful head in her hands and pillowed it on her -own beating heart. - -In that fair smooth bosom thoughts of agony and horror were lurking, as -there are foul monsters and hideous secrets, wrecks and remnants and -dead men's bones, hidden beneath the smiling surface of the sea. She -longed for the wine to work its office--all the more wildly that he wore -a dagger in his girdle--and she prayed with her whole heart she might -not be driven to use that. - -Softly, sweetly, she sang him a drowsy lullaby, not a quiver on her lip -nor tremble in her voice, while she soothed him with tender care, like a -mother hushing off her child. - - "Sleep, my love, sleep; rest, my love, rest; - Dieth the moan of the wind in the tree, - Foldeth her pinions the bird in her nest, - Sinketh the sun to his bed in the sea. - Sleep, sleep--lull'd on my breast, - Tossing and troubled, and thinking of me. - - Hush, my love, hush; with petals that close, - Bowing and bending their heads to the lea, - Fainteth the lily, and fadeth the rose, - Sighing and sad for desire of the bee. - Hush, hush; drooping like those, - Weary of waking and watching for me. - - Peace, my love, peace; falleth the night, - Veiling in shadows her glory for thee; - Eyes may be darken'd, while visions are bright, - Senses be fettered, though fancy is free. - Peace, peace; slumbering light, - Longing and loving and dreaming of me." - -At last! He would not wake now till dawn. She kept her eyes from his -dagger, lest she might be tempted to make too sure; then disengaged -herself with cautious sinuous dexterity from the undisturbed sleeper, -and, slipping the ring off his finger, stole noiseless as a shadow from -the place. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXI - -WILLING - - -Hurrying through the corridors of the fortress, she passed the chamber -where Sethos and Agron, who had assiduously emptied their flagon, were -sleeping that sound and dreamless sleep, from which men are with -difficulty aroused until the draughts they have swallowed cease to -affect the brain. - -Neither had taken much thought in bestowing himself decently to rest. -The cup-hearer, stretched on the floor, still grasped a goblet in his -hand; while the captain of the gate, retaining, as it seemed, some vague -consciousness that his duties demanded unceasing vigilance, remained -seated at the table, his head pillowed on his arms, his whole faculties -so steeped in slumber that an enemy might have stormed the walls and -penetrated to the heart of the fortress, yet scarcely disturbed his -repose. - -With womanly foresight and precaution, Ishtar snatched a loaf of bread -and a handful of dates from the board, lifted mantle, bow and quiver -from the corner where these had been flung aside, and went her way. - -Sarchedon, tossing restlessly on his couch, courted sleep in vain. To no -purpose had he quaffed draughts of pure cold water, extinguished his -torch, and resolved to force his faculties into repose. - -The veiled figure he had seen on entering the gate thrust itself on his -senses. It might have been--it must have been--Ishtar! She was in the -same town, perhaps under the same roof. And if so, what had been her -fate since they parted? How came she in Ascalon, but by a violence and -treachery that could only have the basest object, the cruellest results. -Each after each, these maddening thoughts seemed to goad and sicken him, -like successive stabs, when their current was suddenly arrested by a -light step on his chamber-floor, the faint rustle of a garment at his -side. - -Starting to his feet with an exclamation of defiance, it was smothered -ere spoken by a soft hand laid to his lips, while the dear familiar -voice murmured in his ear, - -"Sarchedon my beloved, it is I--your own Ishtar! Hush, for your life! Be -silent, be obedient, and follow me." - -Was he dreaming? Was he in his right senses? This, at least, could be no -illusion of fancy. The glowing form panted in his arms, the sweet lips -were glued to his own. Even in that crisis of danger and suspense she -could spare him a moment of rapture, in her clinging close embrace. If -these were dreams--he prayed to Ashtaroth--let him never wake again! - -But despite of, perhaps because of, her affection, the woman retained -all her faculties, her common sense and presence of mind, while the man -was lost and bewildered in the tumult of his unexpected happiness. She -girded the sword on his thigh with her own hands, buckled Agron's bow -and quiver at his back, whispered caution once more, and so led him -through gloomy passage and vaulted archway to the outer court. - -Here the starlight showed him the loving eyes, the fair, fond face, he -had thought never to see again but in his dreams. Looking down on that -pure open brow, angry suspicions, hideous misgivings fled from his -troubled spirit, as evil dreams and phantoms of the night vanish with -dawn of day. - -"I am happy now," she murmured, "and I am safe. To-morrow it would have -been too late." - -But for this timely avowal, he might have urged her with a thousand -ill-advised questions, productive only of delay. Now he pressed the hand -that guided him gratefully to his lips, and she knew that he thanked her -from his inmost heart. - -"We have not a moment to lose," she whispered, as they made for one -corner of the court, where a continuous chewing of provender, and an -indistinct mass topped by two or three swan-like necks and motionless -heads, denoted that certain camels were at rest. "By to-morrow's dawn we -must be many leagues from Ascalon, and it is now the middle watch of -night. The dromedary that brought me here is the fleetest in all the -land of Shinar. He laughs at the wild ass, and scorns the desert wind in -its wrath. Sarchedon my beloved, if you and I were mounted on him, a -single bowshot outside the gate, we should be safe!" - -"They have fleet steeds," he answered, thinking of Merodach, and wishing -the good horse stood ready saddled for him now. - -"Steeds!" she repeated. "The fleetest that ever spurned sand would -labour, after that ill-favoured beast, like gorged vultures after the -long-winged hawk of the desert. Rouse him, Sarchedon, and fasten our -provender to his side. Beware! he is surly and savage; but he can travel -far and fast, untiring as a ship on the sea, swift as a bird in the -air." - -Thus speaking she helped him to secure the trappings of the unwilling -dromedary, disturbed from its repose, not without many angry -protestations, couched in discordant screams and fierce attempts to -bite. It was not long ere he had mounted and placed her behind him on -the creature's back, which then rose slowly to its knees and feet, -stretched its long neck with an inquiring gesture into the darkness, -blew the dust out of its nostrils, and shuffled with awkward sidelong -gait into the town. - -Those soft spongy feet roused no echo in the streets. The dromedary -passed on under its burden, like an ungainly ghost, without disturbing -spearmen in the fortress or archer on the wall. - -When the gate was reached, however, the fugitives found it too well -guarded. In Agron's absence, his subordinate was prepared to be -unusually vigilant and alert. - -The watchman challenged from the rampart, the archers mustered by -scores, bending their bows; a single torch shed its light on the -officer's warlike face and weapons, the clamps of the ponderous doors, -Sarchedon's bow and quiver, the dromedary's sullen head, and the feet -and hands of Ishtar, as she sat exalted over all. - -"None can pass out after nightfall," said the officer, levelling his -spear. "Turn back your beast and go your way. You can come hither again -at dawn." - -Sarchedon felt the hand of Ishtar press his shoulder as though to -inculcate silence and caution. Trusting to her resources he held his -peace. - -"Where is the captain of the gate?" said she, in a tone of anger deep -and imperious as a man's. "I demand to see Agron; we do not speak with a -common spearman of matters pertaining to the Great King." - -His instincts of discipline bade him screen his commander, while he -obeyed an appearance of authority so well sustained. - -"Let not my lord be wroth," said he, peering up into the darkness, in -hope of recognising the high official with whom he spoke. "The captain -of the gate is even now visiting his watchmen on the wall. At his return -he will doubtless give my lord liberty to pass out. In the meantime the -royal orders are strict. May the King live for ever!" - -Whispering to an archer, he bade him run with all speed, and apprise -Agron of the difficulty, but showed no disposition to relax his own -vigilance at the gate. - -"Fool!" exclaimed Ishtar, in the same deep tones. "Will you wear your -head to-morrow at sunrise? or do you wish it set here over the gate, -while your body is flung from the wall to make a morning meal for the -jackals? Know you not this token? Do you dare disavow the signet of -Ninyas in his own royal abode?" - -She held out the ring stripped from the Prince's finger in his drunken -sleep, and was not surprised to see the Assyrian officer prostrate -himself humbly before the jewel. He thought the manner of its -forthcoming unaccountable and irregular, the hand that tendered it -strangely white and delicate; but that was no affair of his. The -Prince's signet, here in Ascalon, conferred supreme authority on its -bearer, and he must simply obey. - -He lowered his spear; the archers unstrung their bows; the heavy gate -swung back; the dromedary paced leisurely through; and Sarchedon was -alone with Ishtar in the desert--free! - -They made but little haste while within bowshot of the walls. To arouse -suspicion would have been fatal. The stars gave light enough for a -practised archer to make sure of his mark. But when they had traversed a -few furlongs, Sarchedon could not resist a smothered cry of triumph, -while he urged the dromedary to its speed. The air from the sea blew -fresh and pleasant, lifting his locks and cooling his temples as he -hurried on, while every sense seemed sharpened, every muscle -strengthened by the rapidity of his flight. Behind him was sorrow, -outrage, and imprisonment; before him freedom, love, and joy. He could -scarce control his feelings; for was not Ishtar leaning on his shoulder? -and had he not gained all he desired in the world? - -Looking back in the beloved face of her who was to share his future, it -startled him to see it so pale, that in the starlight it was like the -face of a corpse. - -She had borne up bravely through difficulty and danger; but when the -crisis was past, and she knew her lover in safety, the strength that -self-sacrifice and devotion afford a woman at her need failed her -without warning; and she sank heavily against Sarchedon, faint, -helpless, inanimate, but clinging round him to the last. - -So the stars paled, the sky brightened, turning to pearly gray, and -clear faint green, primrose, orange, crimson, and molten gold. The sun -rose in his glory, bathing earth and heaven in floods of dazzling light. -The sand glowed, the waste widened, and still the dromedary travelled on -with free, unfaltering strides, swift, straight, and noiseless like an -arrow from a bow. - -Ninyas, waking out of his heavy slumbers, looked about him in a dim -confusion of thoughts that gradually resolved themselves to a sense of -irritation tinged with shame. - -The voice of Ishtar still seemed ringing in his ears, signs of her -presence--jewels, garments, articles of feminine luxury--were strewed -about the apartment; but she who made the charm of all was nowhere to be -found. He called, he clapped his hands, he rose, yawned, stretched -himself, and observing his finger bared of its accustomed jewel, the -whole truth flashed on him at a glance. - -He actually trembled with rage and self-contempt. To have been put off -so long, and thus outwitted at last! He could have inflicted on her the -severest punishment in all the code of Assyrian cruelty, and laughed her -to scorn the while, had she been within reach. His perceptions, -especially where self was concerned, were vivid enough; and the loss of -his signet showed him too clearly that not only had the bird escaped -from his hand, but that she was beyond the walls ere now, flown out of -reach for evermore. - -He had as yet vouchsafed no audience to the fugitives from Egypt, and -had indeed taken little notice of their arrival, reported during his -protracted carouse; so he was ignorant that Sarchedon had been his guest -for a night, and thus repaid his hospitality. It was maddening enough, -however, without this aggravation, to reflect that the woman he proposed -so to honour, should have preferred to his royal favour the danger and -hardships of a sudden flight into the wilderness. Ninyas felt he must -avenge himself on anything and everything that came to hand. - -The captain of the gate was obviously the first person to be -interrogated, brow-beaten, and disgraced. - -Agron, collecting his faculties after his debauch, and learning with -some anxiety from the report of his subordinate, that the gate had been -opened by royal order before the morning watch, was in no wise reassured -when he received a summons to attend the Prince forthwith. Bold as he -had proved himself many a day in battle, his cheek paled, and his -fingers trembled, so that he could hardly draw the buckle of his girdle, -or straighten the quiver at his back. - -Ninyas had bathed his temples, combed out his abundant locks, and -adjusted his apparel. Not a trace of his late excess was perceptible -save a slight flush, which perhaps rather enhanced the beauty of his -delicate cheek; and only those who knew him well could have detected in -the mocking calm of that fair womanly face signs of a storm that would -burst anon. - -Agron, however, while he prostrated himself before his lord, felt that -he was a doomed man. - -"I missed you from the banquet yesterday," said Ninyas, with exceeding -graciousness; "was it that my trusty captain remained to handle bow and -spear at the gate, rather than wine-cup at the board?" - -"The Prince hath spoken," answered Agron, steadying his voice by an -effort. - -"Not a mouse could have crept through, then, without your sanction," -continued his lord. "O, I know your vigilance, and shall reward it -richly as it deserves." - -Agron could but listen and tremble. - -"The fleetest dromedary in the land of Shinar was tethered in the court -of the fortress when the sun set yesterday. I have heard it passed out -of Ascalon, bearing a double burden, before the morning watch. Are these -things so?" - -It was obvious that the Prince had already made himself acquainted with -the truth. Agron only faltered out, - -"The rider bore the royal signet. What am I, that I should canvass the -commands of my lord?" - -The voice of Ninyas grew softer, his manner more gentle every moment. - -"You are an Assyrian captain," said he, "a trained man of war from your -youth. Rehearse me, lest I forget them, your duties as chief watchman at -the gate." - -Agron felt that the shadow of death was overtaking him fast, while he -replied, - -"Thy servant quits not his post on any pretence until relieved, but at -the express command of my lord. He visits the walls." - -"Enough!" exclaimed the Prince, bursting into fury at last, while his -cheeks kindled, his eyes blazed, and he looked like an angel possessed -by a fiend. "Coward! and slave! out of your own mouth you are judged, by -your own words you are condemned! All last night you were absent from -your post, passing the wine cup, striking the timbrel--what do I know or -care? And the gate of Ascalon was left open and unguarded as the great -market-place in Babylon. For such an offence there is a fitting -punishment, never yet remitted amongst the sons of Ashur.--Cover his -face, and lead him forth! I have spoken." - -Then, while the archers in attendance seized on their late commander to -fulfil the awful sentence, Ninyas turned with a calm brow and sweet -smile to a stately official standing near, and said, - -"Those fugitives from Egypt--I can attend to their matters now. Bring -them into my presence." - -The official seemed greatly troubled. - -"Let not my lord consume me utterly in his displeasure," said he. "One -of them hath escaped in the night, and there is but one left." - -It was in vain to calculate the Prince's changing moods. He laughed -aloud. - -"The more fool he to stay in the town since the gate stood open," was -his reply. "Put him in the fortress-dungeon, and keep him there on -bitter waters and bread of affliction till I send to bring him out. Now -lead the horses round, and unhood the hawks. I have done enough justice -for one sitting. Let us ride forth into the wilderness to take a prey!" - - - - -CHAPTER XXXII - -BREAD AND SALT - - -The dromedary travelled fast; but its pace, rough and fatiguing even to -Sarchedon's athletic frame, was especially trying to his companion. -Anxiety and agitation had done their usual work; so that when Ishtar -recovered from her swoon, refreshment and a short interval of repose -seemed absolutely necessary, if she was to continue her journey through -the night. Towards noon, therefore, her companion thought it wise to -halt at a convenient resting-place, where a clump of palms flung their -slender shadows over a desert spring; and while the dromedary, after -drinking its fill, browsed on the few dried shoots afforded by the -scanty vegetation of the wilderness, Sarchedon did all that a lover's -care and a traveller's experience could suggest for her comfort who was -thus confided to his affection. - -"You were wise," said he, forcing on her a share of their provision, "to -carry off this morsel of food from Agron's table. I know the stations -well at which we can halt to drink, and that good beast yonder, though -he will grow leaner and leaner, can journey on with unfailing strength -till the sun has risen twice again. Eat, then, and spare not; for on the -edge of the desert, when we have passed the bitter sea of the plain, -there are cities of refuge, where we can obtain such food as we require -for man and beast, ere we go on our way rejoicing to the country between -the rivers and the cool mountains of the North." - -"Your path is mine," answered Ishtar, with a fond smile; "I am not so -faint and weak of heart now, but I am very weary, and would fain sleep." - -He disposed his mantle so as to shade her yet more securely from the -pitiless sun, pillowed her head on his own broad breast, and watched her -slumbers with feelings pure and holy as his whose loving eyes are -resting on the face of the dead. - -Presently he became himself heavy with sleep, and strove in vain to keep -his faculties on the alert. He could not move a limb without disturbing -his charge, and it was not long ere his sight grew dim, his head began -to droop: with keen searching glances he swept the horizon round, and -then gave way, dropping at once into a deep and dreamless sleep. - -The sun was low when he woke with a start that roused his companion -also. The snorts and restless motions of the dromedary, straining at its -tether, denoted danger. The sleepers sprang to their feet, and looked in -each other's faces with anxious eyes. - -That danger was indeed very near. A cloud of dust had approached within -a furlong. Through its dusky veil could be heard and seen the tramp of -horses, the glitter of spears. - -"They must be Philistines!" "It is Ninyas!" were the exclamations that -rose to their respective lips; while Sarchedon, snatching the broken -loaf and few remaining dates from off the sand, released the dromedary, -lifted Ishtar hastily to her seat, and took his own place before her on -the animal's back. - -Urging it to the utmost, he was painfully conscious that although -swifter and more enduring for a long journey, it was not so nimble as a -horse in an effort of a few furlongs. Ere it had attained its full -speed, the enemy were within bowshot. Already an archer had halted and -was taking aim. - -Stung with the knowledge that, from their relative positions, he was -shielded by the body of Ishtar, Sarchedon pursued his flight in an -oblique direction, guiding the dromedary now to the right, now to the -left, in such alternate curves and bends as he thought might baffle the -hostile marksman. An injury to the beast on which their safety depended -would, he knew, be only less fatal than the wounding of Ishtar herself. - -The Philistine dismounted to draw his bow with exceeding care and -precision. Sarchedon felt the dromedary wince beneath him. In a few more -paces the animal's speed sensibly slackened; and, looking back, it -sickened him to see certain red drops soaking in on its track through -the sand. The successful archer had remounted to follow his companions, -who were rapidly nearing the fugitives. - -"It is hard," muttered Sarchedon, grinding his teeth in rage and -despair. "But ten out of all the horsemen of Assyria would suffice to -bring us through, and for the want of them we must perish. We are -forgotten of Nisroch, and are doomed!" - -Ishtar's face turned very pale, while she pressed her lips on his -shoulder, and murmured: - -"Better even here, my beloved, than in Ascalon! Behold, the time is -come, and in death we shall not be divided!" - -Their pace was now reduced to a walk: the arrow had sped deeply home, -and the dromedary, pierced through its loins, tottered at every step. -The Philistines gathered round, calling on their prey to halt. - -Sarchedon glanced at his own weapons--a bow, some half-score shafts, and -a short straight sword. Then he measured the strength of his -opponents--fifty horsemen at least; champions of exceeding stature, -fierce and terrible; children of Anak; objects of dread even to the -warlike sons of Ashur--in arms against all men, holding their tenure of -the wilderness by right of bow and spear. - -The dromedary stopped, drooping its head, groaning and shivering in sore -fear and pain. Sarchedon made signs of surrender by unstringing his bow -and casting it on the sand. The tallest of the Anakim threw up the spear -he had levelled, and reined his horse along-side of the dromedary; his -tribe gathering round, hemmed in their captives with an armed circle. - -Sarchedon was ordered to dismount. While he obeyed, Ishtar too alighted -nimbly on the ground. She had scarcely touched it ere the dromedary sank -to its knees, struggled, and turned over on its side. In the shock, that -loaf of broken bread on which the ill-fated pair depended for support, -rolled to the leader's feet, and he lifted it greedily from the earth. -He had not tasted food for many hours, and instinctively began eating, -even while he gave directions to secure their prisoners. Here and there, -like a scurf of mildew incrusted on some prison-wall, a white saline -crystallisation flecked the sand at their feet. - -Ishtar, separated from her lover, sprang at the chief's hand, tore from -him a morsel of the broken loaf, dipped it in these shining particles, -swallowed it hastily, and seizing the hem of his coarse homespun -garment, claimed the protection of her act. - -"Bread and salt!" said she, "the host's honour--the guest's right! I -demand the safeguard of bread and salt!" - -It was unanswerable. To have renounced the duties such an appeal exacted -would have been to forfeit rank, character, respect in the tribe, -authority in his own tent. Had she been his deadly enemy, thirsting for -his blood, who had slain his kindred, carried off his maidens, defiled -his father's grave, there was no help for it--she had eaten of his bread -and salt! Henceforth his relations with her must be those of courtesy, -friendship, and support--even to drawing of sword and bending of bow in -time of need. - -"It is enough!" said the chief; turning to his followers: "Place the -damsel on my own steed--I will myself lead it gently to our tents. For -her companion, he at least is a captive and a slave. Disarm him, and -bind him fast. Bread and salt is the only obligation I regard, and I -swear, maiden, by your own comeliness, you were but just in time." - -He laughed while the last morsel disappeared down his stalwart throat. -Ishtar, casting longing looks at Sarchedon, could not refrain from -tears. - -The Anakim had taken his sword from his thigh, and bound him securely -with his own bowstring. He learned by the chief's gestures that Ishtar -was safe for the present from insult or ill-usage, and this was his only -consolation. Standing, too, among his captors, he saw how hopeless would -have been resistance, even had there ridden at his back those ten -Assyrian horsemen he longed for so heartily but now. Himself a man of -goodly stature and powerful frame, he did not fail to remark that the -least of these giants towered fully a span over his own head, while -their weighty limbs and fierce bearing brought to mind all the stories -he had heard of their warlike prowess, their haughty defiance of Ninus -himself,--who hugely admired, while he waged a war of extermination -against them,--the many deeds of desperate courage for which they were -celebrated, and the marvellous strength which made a common proverb of -the question, "Who shall stand before the children of Anak?" - -It was natural enough for these sons of the desert to show considerable -interest in the dying dromedary. An animal of such extraordinary -qualities, as their critical eyes told them it possessed, would have -been a far more precious capture in the wilderness than a score of -maidens beautiful as Ishtar, a host of warriors stalwart as Sarchedon. A -creature that, travelling on without stint or pause, from rise to set of -sun, could leave their fleetest horses panting many a league behind, was -simply the most valuable property a robber by profession could possess. -Therefore, not until the last resources of their skill and experience -had been exhausted to preserve life, did they turn sorrowfully from its -carcase to the rider who had fallen into their hands. - -There seemed some difficulty in disposing of him. Two loose mares, -indeed, followed by their foals, had galloped up with the troop; but of -these the chief, twisting his bowstring into a halter, mounted one, -while the cumbrous furniture of the dead dromedary was packed on the -other. Sarchedon could hardly be expected to keep pace with his -conquerors on foot, and they took counsel accordingly. - -"Better slay the Assyrian where he stands," said a swarthy giant, coolly -balancing the profit and loss of retaining an inconvenient prisoner. -"The sand is hot, the way weary. It seems cruel to bid him walk, and men -like us, my brothers, cannot ask their steeds to bear a double burden." -He looked proudly round on his kindred, adding conclusively, - -"Besides, we have mouths enough to fill in the tents where our wells are -already dry, and there is no millet left to grind!" - -"You have said it, my brother!" exclaimed his nearest comrade, tall and -savage as himself, raising, while he spoke, the spear that Sarchedon -felt another movement of that brawny arm would drive home to his heart. -Nevertheless, his eye quailed not, nor did his cheek turn pale. A true -son of Ashur, he could look death in the face without flinching. The -striker paused with grim approving smile. His comrades, gathering -round, expressed in hoarse gutturals their admiration of such manly -courage. - -Ishtar's looks had never left her lover. Riding beside the chief, she -caught him by the garment, and claimed his interference. - -"I am your guest," said she, "here in the open desert, even as under the -shadow of your tents. All of mine should be sacred in your eyes, and I -call upon you to save that man's life." - -In two bounds of his lean active mare he was beside the prisoner, and -his powerful grasp had seized the threatening arm. - -"Hold!" he thundered out. "If I see fit, I will reserve that work for -myself. And now, damsel," he added, turning to Ishtar, "you claim this -man's body, and why?" - -Trembling with fear, she could only think of one unanswerable plea. - -"I am his wife," she answered, blushing, with downcast eyes. - -"His wife!" repeated the chief. "Who is he, then?" - -Thoughts of ransom, flight, freedom, flitted through her brain, all to -be accomplished with less difficulty by the prisoner of humble grade. - -"I will speak truth to my lord," said she, "and so find favour in his -sight. His servant is but a simple archer in the hosts of the king of -Assyria." - -"What are you doing here in the wilderness," was the next inquiry, "many -days' journey from the walls of Babylon and the footstool of the Great -King?" - -"The servant of my lord has been a prisoner in the land of Egypt," -replied Ishtar; "he was taken by the spearmen of Pharaoh. I followed him -into captivity, and ministered unto him till we found a fitting time to -escape." - -"But the dromedary?" pursued her questioner. - -"We stole it," she answered simply; and the son of Anak became less -inclined to doubt the probability of her statement. - -"An archer?" he repeated, pondering, as it seemed, with all his might. -"But for the damsel herself, the tale seems likely enough; yet must the -wives of his captains be marvellously fair, when a mere bowman in the -Great King's host can come by so white a skin as that! Nevertheless," -he added, turning to Ishtar, "if he be in truth an archer, and you his -wife, no doubt he can bend a bow to some purpose, and you are not afraid -to trust his skill. We shall prove you both on the spot." - -With these words, he halted his followers and gave them the order to -dismount. Sarchedon's arms were then freed, and a heavy bow, requiring -no slight strength to draw, was placed in his hands. Though surprised, -they laughed to observe that he was equally master of the weapon with -the tallest man in their tribe. - -One of the band then measured out, spear-length by spear-length, the -distance of a furlong on the desert sand. It seemed a considerable -flight for an arrow; but every child of Anak was bowman from his youth, -just as he was horseman, swordsman, spearman, and spoiler of all who -came across his path. - -The chief himself, lifting Ishtar from the saddle, led her to the spot -his follower had marked out. Then, taking off his own belt, he buckled -it so as to form a loop half a cubit in diameter. - -"Hold this in your hand," said he, "and stretch your arm to the -farthest. If an archer of the Great King is skilful as the Assyrians -boast, he can drive me a shaft through that loop without risk to a hair -of his wife's head." - -In vain Sarchedon protested; in vain he entreated that he might be -pitted against the fiercest champion of the tribe with sword or spear, -foot to foot and breast to breast. - -"No," said the Anakim; "the damsel told us he was an archer. As an -archer he shall be proved. Surely it is the wife's duty to give life, if -need be, for her lord." - -Not a shade was on Ishtar's brow, not a tinge of fear in eye, mouth, or -attitude, while she stood there over against him firm, erect, and -beautiful; but Sarchedon felt his heart turn sick, his head swim, as he -thought with horror of the result, should his hand fail him, or the -desert wind divert the arrow but a cubit from its course. - -He could not; no, he could not. Once, twice, he took aim--slowly, -steadily, with true unfaltering eye--but the third time his powerful arm -drew the bow to its utmost compass, directing its shaft at the sky, and -sending it high over Ishtar's head, to quiver in the earth as far behind -her as the marksman stood in front. - -"An archer! an archer!" exclaimed the Anakim with one accord. "Not a man -of us, with the wind against him, could have measured such a flight as -that!" - -"An archer, and a good one," assented their leader; "but the damsel is -no wife of his, nevertheless. If he were indeed her lawful lord, he had -not surely weighed the scratch of an arrow on her skin against his own -freedom and his life." - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIII - -PARTED - - -Thus arguing according to his lights, the chief directed that Sarchedon -should be secured once more, and, much to the dissatisfaction of the -troop, that they should place him on their horses in rotation, -journeying by turns on foot. Although Ishtar failed to make as good -terms for her lover as for herself, she had in no way forfeited the -protection she acquired so discreetly, and rode by their leader's side, -at the head of the band, as an honoured guest rather than the captive of -his bow and spear. Nevertheless, all her thoughts were engrossed by his -welfare whom she so dearly loved; her whole mind was bent on forming -some scheme for his security and freedom. Alas! it was to no purpose -that she wrung her hands and racked her brain. Sarchedon had fallen into -the power of men for whom human life and human suffering were of less -account than the wormwood that lay bruised beneath their horses' feet. -If a captive proved troublesome, what matter? It was but the push of a -spear, and they were rid of him once for all. - -Nevertheless, these children of Anak, though possessing themselves on -occasion with the strong hand of whatsoever they desired, had yet, like -other spoilers, peaceful relations with certain traders whose -propensities for barter could be of inestimable value to men against -whom every gate was barred, every wall guarded, through all the cities -of the plain. With these merchants their dealings were honourable -enough, the man of trade seldom failing to make exorbitant profit from -his transactions with the man of war. This mutual barter comprised -almost every one of the ruder articles required for support or -destruction of life. Horses, arms, camels, dates, bread, honey, -mare's-milk cheeses, even goodly raiment of needlework, were exchanged -freely; while a fair-faced maiden to adorn the tent, a stalwart youth to -keep the herds, were more than all other merchandise sought after and -desired. - -Thus it came to pass that Sarchedon, though out of favour with his -captors--who, like most practised horsemen, cared not to journey much on -foot--escaped a fate that seemed imminent each time some wrathful giant -dismounted to make room for the prisoner, and swore freely, by his gods, -that if this inconvenience was to continue through another day, he would -take such order with the Assyrian as should prevent him from ever riding -on horseback again. - -Night was falling fast when the troop approached the encampment of their -tribe; a temporary residence to be broken up and removed at an hour's -notice, on the slightest occasion. Rude goats'-hair tents were scattered -here and there, scarcely visible in the deepening gloom. Two or three -camels lay at rest amongst half a score of horses, fastened by the -forefoot, that neighed, screamed, and fought savagely, whenever the -loosening of their tethers permitted them to approach each other within -striking distance. A few giants, sauntering lazily about, took little -notice of the new arrivals, and their tall stately women scarcely lifted -veil for a glance of curiosity, so busied were they in twisting -bowstrings, repairing harness, grinding corn, pressing cheeses, or -baking loaves in the embers of a scanty fire for their lords; but two -swarthy travel-worn men, looking like dwarfs amongst the towering -figures that surrounded them, came forward to accost the chief with -words of extravagant welcome and looks of eager curiosity. These were -traders from the north, who examined the veiled figure of Ishtar with -professional interest, expecting, no doubt, to secure a golden profit by -her purchase. - -In this hope they were disappointed. With extreme courtesy the chief of -the Anakim conducted her to a tent standing beside his own, in which, -after a long loving look at Sarchedon, she disappeared, and was seen no -more. - -The Anakim seemed well pleased to find these dealers, with whom they had -so often traded, thus inmates of their camp. The leader, after disposing -of his fair guest by consigning her to the care of a stately beauty, -tender of heart as she was gigantic of frame, came out to meet them, and -at once broached a proposal that found immediate favour with his -followers. - -"The captive is a goodly youth," said he; "a stout warrior, an expert -archer--tall and strong too for an Assyrian. What say you? These -northern merchants are our brothers--shall we not sell him to them for a -price?" - -"Let him go," exclaimed his listeners with one accord; "he is fair, he -is precious, he is a man, even amongst the children of Anak. But the -traders from the north have eaten of our bread and drunken from our cup. -All we possess is theirs, and they shall have him--at a price!" - -Then the elder of the traders--keen-eyed, voluble, energetic--put in his -word: - -"You have many mouths to feed, my brothers, here within your tents. -Millet grows scarce, and the wells are running dry from day to day. We -also have a long journey before us in the desert. Our water-skins are -empty, our camels over-loaded. What have we to do with a captive who -eats and drinks, yet must be carried from day to day like a bale of -goods? How are your servants to bring this encumbrance with them from -city to city, till they reach their home in the mountains beyond the -great rivers of the plain?" - -"You will sell him for a talent of gold in the first market you enter," -was the answer. "Is he not a comely youth? Fair and strong, and of a -ruddy countenance? We have taken no such prey since we rode, without -ceasing, four days and nights to spoil the City of Palms, by the western -sea." - -"The Assyrians have more slaves than enough," answered the trader, -"since they brought captives up from Egypt, by scores and by hundreds, -at the chariot-wheels of the Great King. Nevertheless, are we not -brothers? You shall deliver him as a gift, and take two suits of -raiment in exchange." - -"He is yours, my brother," said the chief, "and my tents are yours; my -horses, my camels, my handmaidens; the sword on my thigh, and the bow in -my hand. But shall I give my brother ripened dates and receive from him -only their broken shells? Add to the raiment a measure of myrrh, at -least, and three cruses of oil." - -"With a new pack-saddle," suggested a bystander, whose own -camel-furniture had reached the last stage of decay; while a dozen more -took up the cry, insisting on such articles as each thought necessary to -his own comfort or equipment. - -"Some twisted rope for hobbles!" - -"A bale of silk from Tyre!" - -"Two skins of wine of Eshcol!" - -"An embossed girdle!" - -"A shield of brass!" - -"A score of new bowstrings!" - -"Or fifty shekels of silver, and no more said," exclaimed the trader, -turning from side to side, with the air of a man overcome by his own -liberality. - -"Add to them a hundred," urged the chief; "and go thy way, thou and thy -camels and thy servants, with the goodly slave I have given thee." - -"One hundred shekels, and he is mine," returned the trader, placing his -hand on the Assyrian's shoulder in token of ownership; and thus becoming -the possessor of Sarchedon at something less than the price of a good -horse. - -Regret was fruitless--resistance impossible. Bound hand and foot, he -could but grind his teeth, and submit. - -The merchants made ready their camels forthwith, taking advantage of the -coolness of night to journey through the desert, and guiding their -course by the pilotage of the stars. So noiseless was their departure, -after the bustle of concluding their bargain subsided, that they had -disappeared with her lover in the darkness, ere Ishtar knew they were -clear of the encampment. Seeking the spot where she had last seen -Sarchedon, to find it empty, the maddening truth flashed upon her, and -she could bear no more. Sick, faint, despairing, she uttered one -plaintive cry, and fell senseless on the sand. - -The first of the tribe who found her, lifted that drooping form, with -the ease and something of the pitiful admiration with which he would -have picked up a broken lily, and bore her gently to the chiefs tent. -Here she was tended carefully during the night, its gigantic owner -stepping softly to its entrance at intervals to assure himself of her -state. With morning she was able to rise, and as her faculties resumed -their vigour, she realised the whole force of the blow that had fallen. - -Ishtar's nature, however, was one which is only found amongst women. -Shrinking instinctively from everything approaching to pain or -danger--fond, trusting, sensitive, and docile--she could yet brave and -endure all things on behalf of those she loved; identifying herself so -wholly with their welfare as to forget her own fears, her own weakness, -and combining with the martyr's patient courage that cheerful energy, -which, looking only to duty, overcomes, by sheer persistence, the -difficulties it ignores. Sorrow might bend, but could not break her -spirit. Like certain flowers which, tread them down as you will, lift -their fair heads directly the crushing footstep has passed on, it rose, -for all its meekness, the more invincible, because of its misfortunes. - -Satisfied that Sarchedon was fairly gone, she set herself the one single -task of recovering him. Was he sold into captivity? He must be bought -back. Was he lost? He must be found. That should now be her sole object -in life; and no sooner did she feel strong enough to stand upright than -she began her work without wasting another moment in consideration or -delay. - -Seeking the chief of the Anakim, whom she found without the encampment -leading his mare to water, she placed herself in his path, standing -erect and motionless till he approached. Then she rent her garment to -the hem, and, lifting a handful of sand, poured it over her head. - -"The servant of my lord is in sore distress and perplexity," said she: -"to whom should she come for help, but to him of whose bread and salt -she has eaten within the shadow of his tents?" - -The mare was rubbing her head caressingly against his breast; he pushed -her away, extending both arms in token of sincerity, and replied, "All -that I have, my life, and the lives of my tribe, herds and horses, bows -and spears, are at the disposal of my guest." - -"My lord speaks well," answered Ishtar. "But words are vain. Like the -flight of a bird through the air, they leave no track. It is the steed -and the camel that stamp their mark on the sand." - -"The tongues of the Anakim are small and feeble," said he, "their arms -long and weighty. Desire of me what you will. It is a gift, before it is -asked." - -"What have you done with the Assyrian?" she murmured eagerly. "How fares -he? Whither is he gone? You will not deceive me!" - -"You are my guest," returned the chief, "and I _cannot_ deceive you. The -Assyrian is sold into captivity; ere now he has journeyed many a furlong -over the plain towards the city of the Great King." - -"Is he, then, bound for Babylon?" she asked, with something of hope -rising in her eyes. - -"I know not, of a surety," was his answer. "Yet I think these northern -traders, possessing so goodly a captive, would hardly pass within a few -days' journey of the great city, and fail to visit its market. They will -treat him well, and if he finds friends to redeem him, he may soon be -free. No doubt in Babylon he will sell for nearly a talent of gold, and -we let him go at a hundred shekels of silver! Half the price of a camel! -Truly there is injustice in the desert as in the city!" - -This reflection was unheard by Ishtar, being indeed but the echo of the -chief's own thoughts, and spoken aside, as it were, into the ear of his -mare. - -There seemed a vague hope, then, of seeing Sarchedon once again. The -girl seized her protector's hand, and, stooping but a little, pressed it -against her forehead. - -"You will take me under safe conduct to the gates of Babylon?" said she. - -He pondered, looking very grave. - -"Will you not abide with us in our tents?" he asked. "Will you be cooped -up in the walls of a city, when you might roam over the desert free as -the wild ass on the plain? Take thought, damsel, once more, as a man -fits a new bowstring when his arrow has missed its aim." - -"Had I a quiverful," she replied, "I can see but one mark for them all!" - -"You are my guest," said he stoutly; "and go where you will, it is my -duty to speed you safely on your way. You shall ride this my own mare, -the most precious of my possessions, and Lotus-flower, swift, easy, -gentle, will bear you like flowing water. But I must leave you, damsel, -under cover of night, in the vineyards that fringe the great city. If, -for every horseman who leaps to the saddle when I shake my spear, I -could muster a score, then should you enter Babylon through a breach of -fifty cubits in the wall. But a wolf or a jackal would meet with more -mercy than a child of Anak from the Assyrians when they set upon him, a -hundred to one! I have spoken." - -Their journey was begun accordingly. Ishtar, mounted on the chief's -favourite mare, led by its owner, and guarded by a score of the stalwart -sons of Anak, journeyed in security and comfort through the wilderness, -until they reached its confines, and entered a territory over which -Ninus, and more especially Semiramis, had thrown the protection of their -severe and pitiless laws. Here they lay hidden by day, advancing swiftly -and silently under cover of night; and Ishtar could not withhold her -admiration from the extraordinary skill and sagacity shown by these -professional spoilers in concealing their encampment on their march. On -such expeditions as the present, they were careful to ride their mares; -for these animals, docile and gentle, either loose or picketed, never -disclosed their presence by those paroxysms of neighing and screaming to -which their less tractable brothers were exceedingly prone. - -At length, soon after dawn, Ishtar found herself alone with the chief at -an easy distance from the great city. Taking the ass of a poor peasant, -who dared not even protest against the spoliation, he had dismounted his -guest from the high-bred mare, and placed her on the humbler animal's -back. The troop had been left many a league in the desert. Their leader, -at the utmost personal risk, was within a short ride of Babylon. It was -time to depart, and thus he bade his charge farewell: - -"May thy corn never fail nor thy well run dry! May thy vines yield a -hundredfold, and men-children play round thy feet! Thou camest into my -tent like the breeze from the mountain. Though the breeze passeth on, -the tent is glad because of the coolness it hath left. The desert is -boundless, and we scour it far and wide. Behold! Where rides a son of -Anak, there hast thou a brother. I have spoken." - -He swung himself on the mare from which he had lately dismounted, caught -Lotus-flower by the bridle, and sped away like the wind. - -She watched the gigantic form till it disappeared amongst the dust -raised by those two fleet animals, of which toil and privation seemed in -no way to diminish the mettle or speed; then she looked towards Great -Babylon, towering in state, with her glittering pinnacles, her flashing -gates, her frowning, forbidding walls, and felt that she had lost a -friend. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIV - -FORLORN - - -She had lost a friend, and where was there another left? Her father -slain, her home despoiled, the man she loved sold into slavery and -carried she knew not where: could human lot be more lonely, more -hopeless? Yet she never lost heart. Plodding on in lowly guise, riding -that humble animal, there was yet dominant in her tender frame a hopeful -courage, such as does not always animate the warrior in his chariot, a -spirit of self-reliance and self-devotion that would have ennobled a -sceptred monarch on his throne. - -Reaching the well-remembered spot where she used to watch for the return -of Arbaces, where she had first met Sarchedon riding home with tidings -from the Great King, it was no wonder that she saw the Well of Palms -through a mist of tears. - -Nevertheless she dashed them hastily from her eyes, and summoned all her -energies, when she became aware of a troop of horsemen moving rapidly on -her track. To be discovered by these, she knew too well, would entail -the risk of insult, perhaps injury, and the certainty of delay. While -they were yet afar off, she leaped from the ass, and, taking advantage -of her familiarity with the locality, concealed herself behind a broken -wall that skirted the fountain, while the animal jogged leisurely home, -to the relief and comfort of its disconsolate owner. - -So near the great city, a solitary wayfarer was an object of little -interest. She soon perceived she had escaped observation by the -movements of the party, who galloped on towards Babylon without -diverging to visit her hiding-place. She determined, however, to remain -concealed yet a while longer, and had no cause to regret her caution, -when a single horseman, detaching himself from the rest, approached the -marble basin of the Well of Palms, as if to water his good white steed, -ere he passed on. - -Half a bowshot off, she recognised the animal with a start of fear, -suspense, surprise, sweetened by a thrill of love. She could not be -deceived: it was Merodach! That spotless frame, those glancing limbs, -that gallant bearing, could belong to no other animal in the land of -Shinar; and where Merodach bent to the rein, it seemed cruelly hard -Sarchedon's should not be the hand to guide. - -[Illustration: "SHE COULD NOT BE DECEIVED: IT WAS MERODACH!"] - -Watching with fond and eager eyes, she turned sick and faint, while she -crouched down, like some poor hunted fawn, into her shelter; for on its -back, soothing the good horse with many a gentle word and tender caress, -sat the form of him whom most she feared and hated in the bounds of -earth. Yes; the beautiful face she seemed yet to behold lulled on her -own breast, in flushed and drunken sleep, was surely there, within a few -paces, gazing dreamily into the distance; while Merodach, scarcely -wetting his dark muzzle in the water, pawed and snorted in restless -impatience to rejoin the companions he had left. - -What was Ninyas doing here? Had the prince pursued her from Ascalon? was -he on her track, and searching for her even now? could she escape him, -neither in the city nor the plain? All these thoughts whirled through -her brain, while she lay still as death, scarcely daring to breathe, -peering at her enemy through a crevice of the crumbling wall with pale -face and wild dilated eyes. - -The horseman seemed moody and abstracted--strangely lavish of caresses -for his steed, strangely indifferent to the heat of the sun, the ripple -of the fountain, everything but his own engrossing thoughts. Without -dismounting, he sat wrapped in meditation for a space of time that -appeared interminable to the watcher, ere he woke up, as it were, with a -start, and, curbing his beast's impatience, rode away at a walk to enter -the city by a different gate from that which the party he had left were -about to pass through. - -Emerging from her shelter, though not until the white horse and his -rider had disappeared in the distance, Ishtar felt sadly perplexed. To -abide by her present hiding-place would be imprudent in the highest -degree, for the Well of Palms was the resort of every traveller who -approached Babylon on its southern side. If she retraced her steps, and -fled once more into the wilderness, she must perish from thirst and -fatigue; for to be afoot in the desert without a camel was to be adrift -on the sea without a boat; and she had even abandoned the honest -plodding beast that brought her thus far after she left her gigantic -protector at sunrise. She almost wished now she had remained in their -tents with the Anakim, intrusting to those tameless denizens of the -waste her own safety and the task of eventually recovering her lover. - -She saw no other course left but to trudge wearily on, and pass, if -possible, unnoticed through the gate of Babylon, there to seek high and -low some real friend, who, for her father's sake, would give her bread -to eat, a roof to cover her, and aid in the one object of her life. - -Wrapping her veil closely round her, counterfeiting as well as she could -the gait and bearing of a woman advanced in years and of humble grade, -Ishtar toiled slowly forward, carrying indeed a sorely laden heart into -that glittering capital of splendour, luxury, and sin. - -The troop that had so disquieted this forlorn and friendless fugitive -trampled bravely on, raising clouds of dust, through which flashed the -magnificence of their arms and apparel, as a beautiful face sparkles -and blushes through its tawny veil. Without waiting for the detached -horseman, they hastened towards the city, galloping, it seemed, from -sheer exuberance of spirits rather than from any actual necessity for -speed. The principal figure in the group, to whom the others turned -obsequiously for guidance, was Assarac; and the eunuch's bearing, as he -managed his steed with the graceful ease of an Assyrian born, was -dignified and commanding in the extreme. - -By his side rode Beladon, laughing, talking, gesticulating, proud to -show his countrymen that a priest of Baal could back a horse and bend a -bow with the best of them--that if his sacred character debarred him -from seeking fame in the war-chariot, he was yet a true child of Ashur -for skill and daring in the chase. - -His eye gleamed, his cheek glowed; there were stains of blood on his -linen garments; and from his horse's chest dangled the muzzle and fangs -of a full-grown lion, that had fallen since sunrise to his bow. - -He was never weary of detailing this achievement, dwelling in boundless -satisfaction on his own success and the formidable size of his prey. - -Assarac listened, with his usual imperturbable smile. - -"I called on Baal," said Beladon, "and urged my good horse to his speed; -for already the lion was scarce the cast of a javelin from the reeds, -and had he reached his thicket, I must have gone in and finished him on -foot. By the belt of Nimrod, I can tell you it was no comely face he -showed me when I came up with him. His eyes glared like the carbuncles -on the palace-gate, and he bared all these fangs that hang here at my -horse's breast, as who should say, Behold! a score of proven warriors, -and every one an enemy! I drew my bow thus--to my very ear--and as he -rose on his hind-legs, I pierced him straight and true right through his -open mouth, then turned my hand and galloped off across the plain, lest -he should rise up ere life was extinct, and tear my good horse limb from -limb in his death-pang." - -"So the spearmen gathered round and slew him," observed Assarac. - -"The spearmen gathered round and slew him," repeated the other, "after -they found him disabled by the might of this right arm. When I turned -back and got down to measure his carcass, there was my shaft driven -through the roof of his mouth, cleaving his very skull." - -"Was there not an arrow in his body when he fell?" asked the eunuch. - -Beladon coloured and looked vexed. - -"The king had, indeed, loosed a shaft at the beast when first we roused -him," said he. "Doubtless, the royal hand never misses its mark." - -"Had you come between Ninus and his prey in the olden time," observed -the other, "not all the host of heaven could have turned aside his -wrath. He would have impaled you before set of sun." - -"He loved the chase dearly," answered Beladon, "as did the Great Queen, -and Ninyas too, till lately. What has come over him now? He leaps to the -saddle at dawn--hasty, eager, excited, as though every beast of chase -between the rivers must be swept away forthwith, slaying and sparing -not--then, after one fierce dash at the wild-bull, one savage thrust at -the lion, leaves his followers, as he left us even now, to ride slowly -home, sad, moody, and alone. Always on the same steed too. It seems as -though he cared for nothing under heaven but the white horse with the -wild eyes." - -"'Tis a good beast," answered the other, scrutinising the face of his -follower, "and worthy to bear the person of a king." - -"A good beast indeed," said Beladon simply, "and belonged once to as -good a warrior as ever lifted spear or emptied wine-cup. It seems but -yesterday that Sarchedon brought back the Great King's signet, and made -his night's lodging with us in the temple of our god. What has become of -him now? I would we knew!" - -"I would we knew!" repeated Assarac in a careless tone, as if he only -echoed the other's sentiments, not as if he would have given wealth -untold, deemed no waste of blood or treasure too lavish, for the -information. - -Reining their horses to a walk, the gaudy troop had already passed -through one of her gates, and entered the crowded streets of Babylon. -Thinking their king was amongst the party, his people gathered round in -considerable numbers, and appeared disappointed to miss the beautiful -face and form they so seldom looked on now. It was a common remark -amongst all classes, that the wild, free-living, free-spoken young -prince had become strangely solemn and reserved since his accession to -the throne. There was far less revelry in the palace than in the days of -stern old Ninus. His son seldom rode abroad through the streets or -showed himself to his people. The shadow of the priests of Baal seemed -over the monarch, and it was known that Assarac had great influence in -the royal counsels. As is usual in such cases, the favourite came in for -a larger share of obloquy than his lord. - -Nevertheless, there is always enough popularity about a gay cavalcade to -insure its welcome in a pleasure-loving city like Babylon. Assarac could -not but observe that, although there were dark frowns and angry glances -in the outskirts of the crowd, the nearer spectators shouted their -welcome cordially enough, pressing in to kiss the trappings of his -horse, the hem of his garment, with all the transitory enthusiasm of -their impressionable nature. - -"Tis an easy people to rule!" whispered Beladon in the ear of his -superior. "Believers in Baal, and a thousand gods besides; mark the -reverence they pay your sacred character. Surely the sons of Ashur love -the linen vestment of the priest." - -"Were not their shouts yet louder, their welcome kinder, to the scarlet -and steel of the Great King's horsemen, when he marched in from Egypt?" -returned Assarac. "Trust me, Beladon, they bend lowest when they carry -the heaviest load. They love deepest where most they have to fear." - -"And they fear Baal," said the other. - -"Only because they know not Nisroch," replied Assarac. "God or man can -be great for this false fickle nation only until there cometh a greater -than he. Do they not offer homage willingly to Abitur of the Mountains? -And why? Because they dread his power, not knowing its nature nor its -extent. Their ruler should indeed be a god in all but benevolence. He -must have no natural sympathies, no human weaknesses, no remorse, no -pity, and, above all, no fear." - -"There is but one man in the land of Shinar who is above and without -these softer failings of his kind. May I sit on his right hand -henceforward, as to-day!" was Beladon's insidious reply. - -Though half despising the flattery of his follower, Assarac smiled. Yet -it did not escape the other's observation, ever on the alert, that in -the eunuch's smile lurked an expression of weariness and sorrow almost -amounting to pain. - -"The king has faithful followers," said he "and wise counsellors--may he -live for ever!" - -The crowd hemmed them in very close; his last sentence, though uttered -in a low voice, was caught up and repeated by a thousand tongues. -Through the noise and confusion that prevailed, only Assarac could hear -the whisper of his subordinate, - -"Baal is great. What are kings and princes compared to the mighty -Assyrian god? Let Baal rule alone in Babylon and through all the land of -Shinar; while Assarac, the interpreter of his will to the people, twines -the sacred lotus round the royal sceptre, he needs but stretch out his -hand to take." - -"As the serpent of Ashtaroth twines round a man's heart!" answered the -other. And Beladon, looking in his face, marvelled to see it drawn and -white, as of one who strives with an agony of mortal pain. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXV - -THE LION'S CUB - - -It was but according to an established principle of nature and general -law of race, that the descendants of Nimrod should entertain a keen -predilection for the chase. In this particular Ninyas, notwithstanding -habits of luxury and effeminacy at home, formed no exception to the -princes of his line. He was never so happy as when urging a good horse -to speed after the scudding ostrich, loosing a grim leopard from its -leash to spring on the fleet antelope, tracking with fierce and heavy -hounds the footprints of some lordly lion on the desert sand, or -watching with eager eyes his long-winged falcons wheeling and stooping -in the desert sky. Skilled in bodily exercises, sitting his horse with -the graceful ease of constant practice, flushed, panting, joyous, he -rode to and fro, beautiful as a woman and radiant as a god. - -After that night of revelry, on which he so lowered the pride of -Rekamat, to be in turn foiled by Ishtar, it was not strange that this -wayward prince should wake from a feverish sleep in the very worst of -humours; but having relieved his irritated feelings by condemning the -captain of the gate to a painful death, and settled himself in the -saddle for a long day's pleasure on the plain, he felt sufficiently -comforted to enter with considerable zest into the amusement of the -hour. - -While his horse was fresh, he had succeeded in approaching within -bowshot of some wild asses to wound one of the herd wantonly and -uselessly, with an arrow from his own royal quiver. He had fairly ridden -down and secured an ostrich of unusual plumage, breaking the bird's long -legs by a blow from the club, which he flung while galloping at speed -with marvellous dexterity. His leopard had not failed to strike an -antelope at the first pounce; his hawks never once missed their quarry, -nor delayed returning obedient to the lure; moreover, he had brought an -old male lion to bay, and, riding in on him, wounded the monster so -severely with his spear, that although it had crawled for refuge into -certain inaccessible rocks, it must have died before night; and as none -of his servants had come up to help him, the glory was exclusively his -own. - -Accordingly, when he paced back into Ascalon at sundown, weary and -dishevelled, yet happy and triumphant, he felt at peace with mankind; -revenge seemed hateful, anger impossible, and all he thirsted for was a -cup of wine. - -Dismounting within the gate of the fortress, it was served as his foot -touched the ground. Then he bethought him of the fugitive from Egypt, to -whom he had not yet granted audience, and desired that this visitor -should be brought into his presence forthwith. Sethos, in his dark and -cheerless apartment, scooped out of the very rock on which the fortress -stood, received such a summons with considerable dismay. The care taken -to secure him, the dreary nature of his lodging, the coarse food brought -by his only visitor, a spearman, belted with bow and quiver, grim, -silent, and armed to the teeth, denoted that his offence, whatever it -might be, was considered of exceeding gravity, and that in all -likelihood his imprisonment would soon be terminated by death. - -Bold and joyous as was his nature, the cup-bearer followed his conductor -with a sad brow and a heavy heart. He knew the prince's character well, -and a peal of laughter from his lord, while he bent low at the royal -feet, served by no means to allay his fears. - -"So I have kept him in ward from sunrise to sunset," exclaimed Ninyas, -shaking his sides and wiping his eyes, in the exuberance of his mirth, -"little guessing who he was! The Great King's cup-bearer, the curled and -scented ornament of all the Assyrian host, the daintiest flower in the -whole of dainty Babylon; for whom the royal banquet was but a coarse -meal of broken meat; the royal court, blazing with a thousand torches, -but a dim and dismal den. And I ordered him bitter water and bread of -affliction; shut him up in a stone cell without a breath of air or a -gleam of light! By the beard of Ashur, I shall never recover it. O -Sethos, Sethos! had I known this morning it was you, I could not have -sat my horse for laughing all day. And think what a spoil we should have -lost! Five antelopes, man; an ostrich as tall as my spear; scores of all -the birds of heaven; and a lion, though we brought him not in, so tawny -that he seemed almost black, old, and fierce, like Nimrod himself, big -as a wild bull, and with fangs more than a span long. By the quiver of -Merodach, I have not taken such a prey since we hunted that pleasant -time in the northern mountains, before the Egyptian campaign!" - -Ninyas seemed in high good-humour. Sethos, raising his eyes to look in -the prince's joyous face, knew that the bitterness of death was past. - -"His servant has received many good gifts from my lord," was the -conventional reply. "Shall he not accept evil without complaint? There -can be no injustice between a master and his slave." - -"But how come you here?" asked Ninyas, ignoring, from force of habit, -the accustomed formalities of the other. "They tell me you rode in with -half-a-score of bowmen, pursued by the hosts of Egypt--chariots and -horsemen, banner, bow, and spear. I would have loosed a shaft or two -amongst them nevertheless, had they been a hundred to one." - -"My lord speaks well," answered Sethos proudly. "His servant slew their -leader with his own hand ere he turned rein, and fled to seek shelter -with my lord!" - -"I would I had been at your back!" exclaimed the prince, kindling. "I -grew weary unto death of their country, I own, when we rode there under -the banner of Ashur, and I never wished to set eyes on one of their -tawny faces or their supple backs again. But to have them brought here -at bowshot distance, without any trouble, like a troop of wild asses or -a herd of deer! Ah, Sethos, you were always a favourite of the -gods--Baal, Nisroch, Merodach, and above all, Ashtaroth, Queen of -Light!" - -"My lord gives praise to his servant out of his own bounty," answered -the other. "Hath Ninyas ever yet been known to come down from saddle -or war-chariot without taking the first spoil? And as for -Ashtaroth--surely, fairer game than feeds in field or forest falls to -him, even before he lifts his bow." - -The prince loved flattery dearly, though he had wit to despise the -flatterer. He smiled well pleased. - -"I cannot blame the gods," said he; "they have served me better than -ever I served _them_. Do you remember the old lion we slew in the -mountains ten days' march from Nineveh, when you drove my chariot up to -the axles through the marsh? That was a prey worth the taking of a king. -How he grinned and roared, and fought, with my javelin through his -shoulder, and my arrow in his neck! Had he not torn at the chariot-wheel -with claws and fangs, in blind senseless rage, we had hardly brought his -dark skin home to make a foot-cloth for the Great Queen. Believe me, -man, the beast I slew to-day might have been whelped in the same -litter--as old, as savage, flecked in the jaws with grey, leaner -perhaps, and a thought longer--say a span--from muzzle to tail. I am no -boaster, Sethos; but surely old Nimrod himself can scarce have won -nobler triumphs over the fiercest beasts of chase than mine!" - -"My lord hath spoken," answered Sethos. "Is he not unrivalled in war, in -the chase, in love?" - -The last word seemed to touch some painful chord, rouse some bitter -memory in his listener. The prince's handsome face reddened, and then -turned pale. When he spoke again, it was the cup-bearer's turn to feel -discomposed; for the voice of Ninyas sounded cold and hard, his manner -had become stern and almost severe. - -The lion's cub so far resembled his fierce old father, that his mood -would change on occasion at a moment's notice from joyous good-humour -and hilarity to a paroxysm of wrath, all the more dangerous that it was -so sudden and unexpected. - -With Ninus, however, such an access of passion betrayed itself in -uncontrolled violence of language and gesture; while his son, on the -contrary, concealed his feelings under a smooth brow and calm demeanour, -far more implacable than the savage outbreak of his sire. The one would -order an offender to be taken out and strangled on the spot, but forgive -him perhaps before the fatal covering had been drawn round his head. The -other spoke softly, nodded courteously, passed sentence of death in a -whisper, and remitted it for no consideration of justice or mercy -whatsoever. - -But the prince loved pleasure even more than cruelty, and was therefore -popular enough with the multitude, who were willing to give his -beautiful face and graceful form credit for every royal virtue; -believing no evil of one who rode abroad so gallantly in such shining -raiment, sat so long at the feast among brave men and beautiful women, -drank so deep, laughed so loud, and looked so fair, garland on head and -wine-cup in hand. - -"You have not yet accounted for your presence in Ascalon," said he -coldly. - -And Sethos, knowing well that he must trim his sails according as the -wind blew, answered with the gravity of some high official making a -report: - -"In order to fulfil the mission of my lord, I was compelled to journey -swiftly, tarrying nowhere by the way. Therefore were our horses -somewhat faint and wearied, or we had laughed to scorn the speed of the -Egyptian, flinging sand like the wild ass in their faces who pursue." - -"You should have halted and fought it out," observed Ninyas. - -"The embassy of my lord spoke indeed of defiance," replied Sethos; "but -his servant was accompanied by scarce a score of horsemen. The hosts of -Egypt swarmed like locusts in a south wind. Had the city of refuge stood -but one furlong farther off, our bones had lain bleaching in the desert, -or we had been again brought into the terrible presence of Pharaoh ere -now." - -"Then you have seen Pharaoh?" interrupted Ninyas. "What is he like?" - -The cup-bearer looked surprised. - -"I have indeed stood before him," he answered, "and spoken with Pharaoh -face to face. His throne is of beaten gold, studded with jewels; his -garments shine and glisten so that he seems clad in light; but the man -himself is of low stature and puny frame, lean, sallow, undignified. It -is only the line of Ashur who are princes in bearing as in blood." - -"The princes of Ashur go out to war with their hosts," responded Ninyas, -accepting the compliment greedily enough. "Pharaoh lay soft in his -palace beyond the river many a night while I was watching with bow and -spear." - -"Pharaoh lives for ever," said the other. "So proclaim his captains and -officials from rise to set of sun. Perhaps it is that he cares not to -front death in battle or the chase. Nevertheless, he entertained me with -all the honour due to him who carried the message of my lord the king." - -"And what message had my lord the king for one with whom he might have -made his own terms at his very gate?" asked the prince. - -Once more the puzzled look crossed his face, while Sethos pondered ere -he replied. The path he trod seemed very dangerous; he must look well to -his balance at every step. Taking courage, he answered frankly, yet with -a certain caution, - -"What am I, that I should stand in the light of the king's countenance? -The reed withers in the furnace and is consumed, the bar of iron doth -but bend and obey. On such a matter it was not fitting that the lowest -of his servants should speak with the king face to face. I received my -instructions from him who stood on the king's right hand. Shall I repeat -them to my lord?" - -Ninyas watched him keenly. - -"Why not?" he asked. - -"I was commanded to make all speed through the desert, until I came into -the presence of Pharaoh himself," said the cup-bearer; "to speak out -boldly, as befitted him who represented the glory of Nimrod; to demand -the body of a son of Ashur, lying captive in the land of Egypt; and if -aught but good had befallen him, to warn Pharaoh that Assyria would come -down with her chariots and horsemen to take a life for every hair of -Sarchedon's head." - -The prince started as if he was stung. - -"Sarchedon!" he exclaimed. "Was it even so? And you brought him back -with you to Ascalon?" - -"It seemed but my duty," answered Sethos, "to shelter in a city of -refuge one on whose head the king set so high a price, rather than -suffer him to fall a second time into the hand of the false Egyptian." - -Ninyas seemed much disturbed, betraying his vexation, as the other could -not but perceive, in the unnatural composure of his demeanour. - -"And these instructions?" said he, after a pause. "They must have been -given by one in authority, standing at the right hand of my lord the -king." - -"They were given by Assarac, high-priest of Baal," answered the -cup-bearer. "Surely my lord is but proving his servant with empty words. -What am I, that I should seek to show aught but the truth in the sight -of my lord." - -"Assarac, high-priest of Baal!" repeated Ninyas. "And at the right hand -of the Great King! Beware, my friend; beware! There is yet a morsel of -bread and a cruse of water in that dungeon where you passed the day. -When a son of Ashur speaks to his lord with a lie in his mouth, surely -his face is already covered, and his blood lies on his own head." - -Hurt, alarmed, and in the utmost perplexity, the tears rising to his -eyes, Sethos could but answer in a broken voice: "The Great King is -gone to the gods! If my lord should slay his servant, he can only speak -of that which he hath seen and knows." - -In spite of all his self-control, Ninyas turned deadly pale, rocking and -tottering where he stood, like a man stricken sore in fight. Then he -called for another cup of wine, and turning to Sethos, with a smile said -only: - -"Leave me now; I am wearied, and the sun smote fierce to-day on the -desert sand. See that they water not my horse till he is cool; and, -Sethos, let not man nor woman come near me till I clap my hands." - -With these words Ninyas retired to his chamber, and was seen no more, -leaving the cup-bearer at his wits' end with astonishment, a state which -was shared more or less by all the household; for was not the banquet -spread, the hall lighted, the wine poured out, yet the prince absent? -Such an event had never yet come to pass in the memory of his servants; -and Rekamat, who hoped to-night she would regain some of the footing she -had lost in his favour, was loud in protestations of astonishment and -vexation. - -She was yet more dismayed, however, on the morrow to learn that a troop -of horsemen had passed out of the gate at sunrise, and disappeared in -the desert towards the north; the watchman farther reporting, that in -their centre, on the prince's favourite steed, rode a woman closely -veiled. Rekamat bit her lip in sore vexation, to keep back the tears of -spite and shame that rose brimming to her eyes. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVI - -THE POWER OF THE DOG - - -Towards sunset, Ishtar wandered into Babylon anxious, forlorn, and -desolate, yet carefully nursing in her breast that spark of true courage -she inherited from a line of warriors. In plain attire, travel-worn and -dejected, she passed on among a crowd of wayfarers heeded by none. -Desirous of escaping observation, she yet could not help reflecting -bitterly how everything about her was changed, herself perhaps most of -all. - -It seemed but yesterday that the daughter of Arbaces moved abroad -attended by a retinue of servants, escorted by a troop of horsemen. Even -when most she affected privacy, she could not stir without women, -camels, foot-cloths, fan-bearers, all the encumbrances of rank. Eager -eyes were fain to pierce her veil, that they might gaze on her beauty; -kind voices wafted after her their welcome or good wishes, because of -her own graces and her father's fame. She was flattered, admired--above -all, loved. And now she must shrink beneath the wall, to avoid the rude -camel-driver and his ungainly charge. The water-carrier, tottering under -his jars, gruffly bade her stand aside to let him pass; and the only -courtesy she experienced amongst that hurrying, shifting throng was from -a curled and bearded bowman, who would fain have lifted her veil as the -price of his protection, and whose good offices she repulsed with a -scornful energy that put him to flight in considerable dismay. - -She wept a little after this effort, and hurried on faster to the -shelter of what had once been her home. - -In the days of mourning that succeeded his death, or, as his subjects -were taught to believe, the enthronement amongst the stars of the Great -King, a strange repressive power had made itself felt amongst all -classes in the city of Babylon. An unseen hand, cold, weighty, and -irresistible, seemed laid upon the whole people, forbidding any -demonstration of sympathy and indeed all expression of feeling whatever, -public or private. The king's host, as it was still termed, had been -recalled within the walls, and amalgamated cordially enough with their -comrades of that army which was avowedly in the interests of the queen; -but the citizens gained little from such an alliance, save more mouths -to feed, more prejudices to consult, and it might almost be said more -masters to serve. The priests of Baal too, with whom, in the reign of -Ninus, his men of war had been covertly at variance, seemed now on terms -of the closest brotherhood with all who handled bow and spear. Such a -fusion of two non-productive classes boded little good to those whose -industry supported both; and the thoughtless Babylonian, usually so -light-hearted, found himself saddened and depressed when he had fondly -expected to eat, drink, and be merry, under the easy rule of a lord who -preferred feast to fray, bubble of wine-cup to clash of sword and spear. -From a change of rulers Babylon had expected a change of those -principles which constitute government itself. Ninus, though firm and -impartial, was severe, and reined her with a strong hand; she had -therefore always looked forward to the day when his son should sway the -sceptre, as a time of ease and luxury, with license for every man to -think and speak and act as seemed good in his own eyes. But Ninus went -to the stars, Ninyas reigned in his stead; and the citizens wondered, -with blank faces, why bread was dear and water scarce, the priest -covetous, the warrior oppressive, and the royal yoke harder than ever to -be borne. - -Under such circumstances none thought it worth while to bestir himself -for the bettering of his own position, or the assistance of his -neighbour. If a well was choked, he cared not to clear it: if a wall -fell down, he let it lie. There was a shadow over the city, and its -inhabitants already regretted the wise foresight and judicious -government of the Great Queen. - -Ishtar felt very weary before she reached the portals of her father's -house, very sad and friendless when she crossed its threshold and looked -round on the precincts of her home. The sun was down, but a clear cold -moon poured its beams over the scene of desolation and decay. It was -obvious that the palace must have been abandoned on the night of its -attack, and that no friend or servant of Arbaces had revisited it since. -The assailants, having another object than plunder, carried away from -his dwelling only that one of his possessions the chief captain most -dearly valued, which they took with them to Ascalon. But an unguarded -house could scarce remain unspoiled for a single night in such a city as -Babylon. And Ishtar found her father's dwelling rifled and sacked from -roof-tree to door-stone completely, as though an enemy had taken it by -storm. In the court-yard remnants of shawls, silks, precious arms, -costly flagons, strewed the inlaid pavement, dinted and defaced by marks -of struggling feet; but the shreds were frayed and torn, stained with -wine or stiff with blood, the weapons bent or broken; the flagons lay -crushed and battered where they had been emptied and dashed down. -Pushing aside some rent hangings at the entrance of the court, -night-hawks shrieked and night-owls hooted, while a bat, flying out, -struck cold and clammy against Ishtar's cheek. Her flesh crept with -horror; but that sorrow mastered fear, she must have cried aloud for -help. - -The moon shone brighter as it mounted in the sky. Patches of dried blood -stained courts and passages, a splintered javelin and a naked sword, lay -at her feet--fragments of alabaster and gilding broken from the -sculptures on the walls strewed the floor; but whatever loss the -assailants might have sustained, it seemed that they had borne away -their wounded and their dead. As yet she was spared the ghastly presence -of a corpse. - -Cold and faint, she leaned against the wall to take breath. It had come -to this. Amongst all that shattered splendour in those very halls where -her father feasted scores of warriors, every one a captain of ten -thousand, there was now neither bread to eat nor wine to drink--no, nor -the means of purchasing so much as a draught of fair water; though so -short a while ago the palace of Arbaces had been stored with royal gifts -and costly merchandise, meat and drink, gold, precious stones, and spoil -of war. - -If she could but find even an embroidered baldrick, a jewelled dagger, -whole and uninjured, something she might carry into the market, and sell -for as many skekels of silver as would put food in her mouth, and enable -her to continue those efforts for the delivery of Sarchedon, which -should never cease but with her life! - -Resolving to search the palace through, she pushed on, traversing the -court she had lately entered, and so reached the well-known stairs -leading to the women's apartment, that heretofore she had so often -climbed dreamily thinking of her lover, or run down blithely with a -smiling welcome for her sire. Here were indeed traces of deadly strife. -Embroidered curtains, torn and disordered, dangled from the wall; -defaced sculptures and shattered slabs encumbered the pavement; a -slender column of bronze, supporting a brazier, was bent and twisted to -its pedestal; a broken bow lay across a torch long since extinguished -on the floor. The lower part of the hall was black in shadow, while a -flood of moonlight bathed roof and rafters, painted wood-work, gilded -pinnacle, all that elaborate ornament and finish which had been above -the level of the conflict. - -As her foot touched the first step, two lurid eyes glared on her through -the darkness, and a long lean object glided swiftly by, brushing her -garments as it passed. - -It was the wild-dog disturbed from his loathsome meal. - -She had no fear now; only a thrill of intense suffering, with a fierce -hideous desire for revenge. Wreathing her white arms above her head, she -flung herself down by something, that an instinct of love, stronger than -the very horror of the situation, told her must be the remains of her -father. - -A cloven headpiece had rolled from the smooth and grinning skull. His -fleshless fingers still closed round the handle of a sword. He lay where -he fell, his face to heaven, grim, unyielding, defiant even in death; -but the wild-dogs had stripped him to the bone, and it was a bare -bleached skeleton against which Ishtar laid her pale and shuddering -cheek. - -There rose through roof and rafters, curdling her very blood, a shrill -and piercing shriek. She never knew it was the wail of agony wrung from -her by her own despair. - -Alas for the brave spirit passed away, the loyal heart, cold and still, -kind and true! He had been struck down in _her_ defence; had been -willing, eager, to purchase with drops of life-blood the brief moments -that might have aided _her_ to escape; his last blow struck on _her_ -behalf, his last breath drawn for the child who had sat on his knees and -lain in his bosom. The noblest warrior that ever drew bow in the service -of Ninus, fit leader of the brave who were arrayed under the banner of -Ashur at his behest. She was proud of him even then. - -As the moonbeams crept across the pavement where it lay, they were so -far merciful, that they revealed to her the ghastly sight by -imperceptible degrees. She seemed to gather strength from him whose -blood ran in her veins, stretched out in that white distorted heap, -scarce retaining a semblance of human form. She thought of him in the -majesty of his strength, the pride and beauty of his manhood, recalling -the broad hand that used to rest so lovingly on her head, the noble brow -that never wore a frown for _her_; and the weight seemed lifted from her -brain, the iron probe taken out of her heart, while sobs convulsed her -bosom, and scalding tears rushed to her eyes. - -She became human again. She was a woman now, and she wept. - -It was a weary watch. The long night through she never left his -skeleton, never changed her position, nor ceased her silent mourning, -nor moved a limb, but to drive away the wild-dogs that glided in and out -the entrance of the court, drawing near with eager whine and wistful -eyes while she was still, scouring off in vexed dismay when she stirred, -to return again, and yet again, till dawn. - -Though grief like hers may for a time dominate the requirements of the -body, these assert themselves at last. With the return of day Ishtar -felt conscious of hunger and weakness, the one threatening to overpower -her if the cravings of the other were not speedily satisfied. She knew -she must exert herself at once, lest she too should sink down, and die -by him whose bones lay bleaching beside her there. - -Would it not be better so? What had she to do with life now? There was -but one consideration to rouse her from the apathy of despair. The last -obsequies must be paid to the remains of her father; and who would -insure for him that final mark of respect if she was gone? She would -live at least till this was accomplished; and therefore must she go out -into the city, and stand unveiled in square and street till she could -find a friend. Surely amongst all those men of war who went forth to -battle at his word might pass one who would recognise his daughter, and -afford the only tribute of respect left to the memory of Arbaces! - -From the resolution to make her effort grew strength to attempt it. With -exertion came renewed vitality, and with vitality a spark of hope. Yes, -even through those depths of gloom and misery glimmered faint reflective -rays of that which was not quite impossible; as the light of heaven, -though blurred and dim, reaches one who is sinking in the green -bewildering sea. - -Then she rose up, tore a strip of curtain from the portal, and lifting -the skeleton with tender reverent care, disposed it in a seemly attitude -under that scanty covering, so as to baffle wild-dog and vulture till -her return. - -In raising her father's remains she found under them a baldrick in which -his sword had hung, embroidered by her own hands. Even this had been -gnawed and partly eaten away; but it was fastened with a jewelled clasp, -pressed down beneath the broad shoulder-blade of the dead warrior, and -had escaped alike the eyes of cupidity and the fangs of hunger. It was a -treasure to her now. Drawing it hastily out, she concealed it in her -bosom, kissing the precious relic once with eager, passionate lips, -because she must part from it so soon. - -Then she disposed his strange shroud about the remains of Arbaces, -looked high and low, to earth and heaven, with wild imploring eyes, -seeking aid, but finding none, and so walked out alone into the world -from her home. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVII - -THE WINGS OF A DOVE - - -An hour after sunrise, Babylon the Great was up and dressed like any -other restless lady, wakeful and astir, warm with life and beauty, rich -in gaudy colours, bright with gold and gems. - -Trumpets that mustered warriors by thousands were pealing from her -walls. Priests of Baal and prophets of the grove were chanting their -idolatrous hymns, to ring of harp or sound of timbrel, through a score -of stately temples, a hundred squares, terraces, and open places in the -city. Oxen were lowing, sheep bleating, as they stood in droves herded -together for sacrifice. Peasants from without were toiling under their -market-produce; merchants of Tyre and of the South were guiding their -camels, laden with bales of costly goods for the mart of nations; a -hundred streams of labour, luxury, and traffic converged to this common -centre; and through all her gates the wealth of a hundred countries was -flowing in to enrich the mistress of the world. - -She accepted their tribute like a queen lavish of smiles and honours, -repaying real substantial benefits with bright glitter of ornament, with -show of tinsel and gilding, with a false welcome and a cold farewell. -Her visitors took their leave, the better for her notice, by an acquired -taste for deteriorating luxuries, an increased discontent with the manly -simplicity of their homes. They thronged in and out nevertheless, -crowding especially to one quarter of the city, on the banks of the -broad river, at an equal distance from the two royal palaces, where it -was customary to hold a market for all kind of wares and provisions, -where a man might purchase, according to his needs, a barley loaf or a -dress of honour, a rope of onions or a string of pearls. - -Here prevailed that stir, turmoil, and confusion of tongues which must -necessarily accompany such gatherings of different tribes and -professions, especially under a southern sky. The plain-spoken -countryman discoursed volubly on the luxuriant growth of garden-stuff -that overflowed his baskets; the keener-witted citizen cheapened and -chaffered, sparing neither laughter nor sarcasm, nor shrill and -deafening abuse; dark-skinned Ethiopians grinned, nodded, clapped their -hands, and rubbed their woolly heads in mingled amazement and delight; -haughty warriors stalked in and out the stalls of the various traders -with martial strides and offensive demeanour, taking at their own price -such things as they required, or, on occasion, omitting the ceremony of -payment altogether; troops of women, chiefly from the lowest class, -added their eager voices to the general clamour, hanging their swaddled -infants at their backs, hoisting them on their shoulders, or extricating -with loud outcries and hearty cuffs the stronger urchins, who -persistently sought every opportunity of being trampled under foot by -the crowd; while over all, at no distant intervals, towered the pliant -necks and patient heads of meek-eyed camels, looking sleepily down on -the confusion, in calm tolerant contempt, like that of their swarthy -riders, for those who dwelt in cities, earning bread by the bustle and -competition of sedentary occupation rather than by long adventurous -journeys or the vicissitudes of robbery and war. - -These were invariably objects of undisguised interest to the bystanders; -for about man and beast hung a smack of the boundless desert, the wild -free air, the untrodden measureless waste, as from the dress and bearing -of the mariner seems to exhale a flavour of his adopted element, a -breath from the salt breezes of the sea. - -They were mostly sun-burned and travel-worn, bearing traces of fatigue, -hardship, and long exposure by night and day. - -To a group of these, standing somewhat apart, surrounding one of their -camels, which had lain calmly down, load and all, Ishtar thought well to -address herself. They were apparently traders of a superior class, while -something in their dress and furniture, denoting that their home was in -the north, led her to believe they would offer a more liberal price for -jewels than those southern merchants, who might probably have brought -with them many such valuables for sale. The men, like their camels, -seemed very weary; nevertheless they entered on the business of a -bargain without delay. - -"The damsel needs but look round," said one, "to see that her servants -have no need of such things. We are overcome with long travel, sore -hungered and athirst. What have we to do with clasp and jewel? Your -servants are faint for lack of bread. Can they comfort their hearts with -gems and gold?" - -"Behold the sandals dropping from our feet," pursued another, "the -halters of our camels worn to the last fibre! Bring us goats'-hair -ropes, woollen raiment, or even garments of fine linen; we will buy them -of you, and welcome--at a price." - -Sorely discouraged, Ishtar would have protested; but the words died on -her lips, and she turned meekly away. Perhaps no amount of eloquence -could have served her so well as this apparent indifference. The -principal trader leaped down from his camel, and accosted her with some -eagerness. - -"Be not hasty, my daughter," said he. "The foolish guest turns from a -smoking platter, the wise waits till it is cool. Those who desire not -to buy may be willing to sell. Will you look on the wares we have -brought out of the south?--over the long trackless desert, and through -the nations whose hand is ever stretched out to spoil and slay--the -Amalekites, the Hivites, and the Anakim." - -Ishtar started. The mention of the last-named tribe brought the blood to -her brow. She turned back, and replied, - -"Show me your wares, if you will, but I too am faint for lack of bread. -If I am compelled to take this jewel out of the market unsold, I must -creep hence to the city wall, turn my face to its shelter, and so lie -down to die." - -There was something in her tone that vouched for her truth. He was a -merciful man, though he had traded and travelled through the eastern -world. Had she bargained with him, he could have found it in his heart -to cozen her out of every article she possessed, and had been proud of -his own acuteness the while. But this was a different question. It was -like fighting an unarmed adversary, taking a prey that made no effort to -resist or flee. His heart melted within him for sheer pity and -good-will. Caution, however, whispered that such appeals might form the -new mode of trading lately adopted in Babylon; and while he took the -jewel from her hand, he only said, - -"We have enough and to spare of such ornaments. Nevertheless, let us -look, and judge for ourselves." - -His comrades, of whom there were but two, joined in the examination. -From their immovable features she could not guess their opinion; but -Ishtar gathered that they meant to trade from the quiet air of -depreciation assumed incontinently by each. - -After scrutinising the jewel at every possible angle, so as to subject -each particle of each stone to the searching test of sunlight, the last -speaker, who seemed the principal personage, weighed it carefully in a -pair of scales hanging at his belt, and observed, - -"One hundred shekels of silver would surely be a fair price, oh! my -daughter? But we too have merchandise to sell. Will you not take fifty -shekels and your choice of a breadth of silk, a piece of goodly -needlework, or a wrought ornament in bronze and ivory from Tyre?" - -The clasp was worth three hundred at the lowest, and he felt full of -pity and loving-kindness towards the damsel, but a profession is second -nature. He was a trader, and must live. - -"Your servant is in the hand of my lord," answered Ishtar humbly. "Take -the jewel, I pray. Give me the fifty shekels, so that I may buy a morsel -of bread, and eat before I die!" - -He counted them out, well pleased. It was not often, even in careless -pleasure-seeking Babylon, that he could trade to such advantage. But the -bargain now stood on a different footing. Ishtar's prompt compliance -with his terms caused him to feel bound in honour to give her free -choice of the various articles he had named, trusting only that she -might not select the rarest and most expensive. Neither he nor his -comrades would have refused her for their lives. Their probity, though -loose in the extreme, was not elastic, and no temptation could have -seduced them into any act they considered a breach of faith. Causing, -therefore, another camel to kneel down, they proceeded to unpack its -load, turning over for inspection shawls, silks, embroidery, and -trinkets, more or less costly, from the workshops of Tyre, Ascalon, or -other cities on the seacoast. - -Faint with watching and exhaustion, goods, camel, traders, and -bystanders swam before Ishtar's eyes; for amongst a handful of -glittering ornaments she distinguished the amulet that the Great Queen -had bestowed on Sarchedon, that she had last seen about her lover's -neck. - -With an effort of which few women would have been capable, she recalled -her fleeting senses in subservience to her will, and asked calmly to -examine the trinket. It was valuable, no doubt, yet more from its -exquisite finish than intrinsic worth, and she had presence of mind to -appear only desirous of possessing it as a gaudy trifle with which they -could have little disinclination to part. - -"I will ask my lord," said she, "to bestow on me no more than this -ornament I hold in my hand. Also, if a drop be left in the water-skin, -that I may wet my burning lips, for indeed I am faint and sore athirst!" - -"It is my daughter's," answered the trader. "My camels, my goods, all I -possess, are hers! The water-skin is indeed dried and shrivelled like -an ungathered grape, but here is a gourd not yet emptied, a barley-loaf -still unbroken. I pray you, eat and drink, my daughter; comfort your -heart, and go in peace." - -Complying eagerly with the invitation, Ishtar felt her very life -returning with each mouthful she swallowed. Had it not been so, she -never could have found strength for the task she had set herself to -perform. Looking on that amulet, with its bird of peace following the -weapon of war through the air, her whole being, her very soul, seemed to -go out towards the lover from whom she had been parted with so little -likelihood that they might ever meet again. - -"O, that I had the wings of a dove!" thought Ishtar, in the loving -impotence of her desire, wishing, with other tortured spirits of every -age and clime, but to burst through the invisible, impalpable wires of -her cage to seek the rest that none can find--broken in heart and hopes, -weary and wounded, yearning only to fly home. - -And it may be that those who have followed in the slimy path of the -serpent shall one day find their bitterest punishment in aimless, -endless longing for the wings of the dove. - -But could she have flown with all the speed of all the birds of air, it -was yet indispensable to follow out the clue she had already obtained in -the possession of the trinket that so lately belonged to Sarchedon. -Strengthened by food, her womanly wit regained its keenness, while -womanly shame bade her disclose but half the truth. It would be wise, -she thought, to trust this friendly merchant; yet she dared not confide -in him wholly, nor lay open to a stranger all the weakness of her heart. - -"My lord has shown favour to his servant," said she. "I desired of him a -gift, and, lo, it lieth here in my hand! I was hungered and athirst; he -gave me to eat and to drink! Am I not in some sort the guest of my lord? -I would fain ask him one question. All my happiness hangs on his lips. -As his soul liveth, I implore my lord to tell me the truth." - -"Speak on, my daughter," was the reply. "There is no space for falsehood -within the curtains of a tent, and he who dwells in the desert knows not -how to lie." - -"This trinket," she continued eagerly, "you took it from its owner. It -hung round his neck. He was a son of Ashur, tall and comely as a cedar -of the mountain, brave as the lion, ruddy as sunset, bright as morning, -and beautiful as day!" - -The astute trader smiled. - -"You know him," said he, "and you love him! It is as my daughter hath -said." - -"He is my brother," she answered, blushing crimson while she adjusted -her veil. "If aught but good hath befallen him, it were better for me -that I had never been born!" - -"Such a one as you have described," answered the other, "did indeed come -into our possession by lawful barter amongst the tents of the Anakim. A -slave can have no goods to call his own, and when we discovered beneath -his garment this jewel that had escaped the eyes of his spoilers, we -might have taken it righteously by force. Nevertheless, the man was -strong and warlike. Even in bonds, it may be that he would have done -_himself_ some injury, and so lessened his price. It was well that he -suffered me to strip it from his neck unnoticed while he looked back -upon the camp, as if he had left his very heart with the tribe." - -A thrill that, in spite of all, amounted to real happiness shot through -her trembling frame. - -"Can he not be redeemed?" she exclaimed, clasping her hands eagerly. -"Where is he now?" - -The trader pondered. - -"I too have a brother," said he, "and we parted at a day's march from -the tents of the Anakim, as we have parted many a time, trusting to meet -yet once again before we die. My course lay hither to the great city; -for are not my camels laden with silks and spices and costly jewels, -such as rich Babylon must have at all hazards and at any cost? I pray -you, damsel, remember I am a fair trader; I ask for no greater profit -than enables me to get bread for myself and forage for my beasts. Some -there be who scruple not to rob with the scales, as the Amalekite robs -with the spear; but such prosper not in life, and long before their -beards turn gray, their flesh is eaten by vultures and their bones -whiten the plain. - -"My lord spoke of the Assyrian," interrupted Ishtar. "Is he safe? Is he -alive?" - -"That he is alive, my daughter," replied the merchant, "if care and good -usage can keep the life in a valuable captive, I will answer with my -head. We bought him at a remunerative price, and my brother is even less -likely than myself to let one suffer damage whose welfare is of such -marketable value. That he is safe with the other goods I have sufficient -reason to hope. Surely they joined a caravan guarded by more than five -hundred horsemen of the desert. Ere now they must have reached the -pleasant confines of my home--the broad-leaved oaks, the cool green -valleys, and the breezy mountains of the north." - -"The north!" repeated Ishtar, aghast and discomfited. "What! beyond -Nineveh?" - -"Far beyond Nineveh," said the other, "far beyond the boundaries of the -land of Shinar, where the banner of Ashur hath never been lifted, the -spear of the Assyrian never dulled its point in blood--in the land of -corn and wine, pasture and fruit tree, flocks and herds, peace and -plenty, the happy hill country of Armenia!" - -"Sold to the Armenian for a slave!" was her answer. "O, my lord, shall I -never see him again?" - -He pitied her from his heart. - -"Much may be done," said he, "with these three weapons, sword, bow, and -spear; more yet with these, time, wisdom, patience. Add but a little -gold, and who shall say that aught is impossible? My brother is one of -those who, setting before them an object in the plain, turn neither to -right nor left till they have reached it. The Assyrian is of fine frame -and goodly stature, fit to stand on the steps of a throne. My brother -hath determined he will sell him to no meaner purchaser than a king. Not -all the wealth of Armenia will tempt him from his purpose, and to the -king he will be sold. I have spoken." - -Then he turned away to prosecute his business with those who were -waiting around for examination of his merchandise, and Ishtar found -herself alone and friendless in the crowded market--alone, with a wild -foolish hope in her heart, and Sarchedon's amulet in her hand. - -From the time she lost sight of him, she had never faltered one single -moment in her resolution; arduous, impossible as seemed her task, she -would not relinquish it even now. - -Had she needed any farther stimulant to exertion she would have found it -in the reflection that he, the distinguished warrior, the ornament of a -court, the flower of a host, the treasure of her own heart, was a slave! - -At least she knew where he had gone; at least there was one spot of -earth on which her loving thoughts could light, like weary birds, and -take their rest. But how to reach him? how to span the cruel distance -that lay between? Gazing wistfully on the amulet in her hand, she would -have bartered all her hopes here and hereafter, peace and safety, life -and beauty, innocence itself, in exchange for the wings of a dove. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVIII - -BOND AND FREE - - -"A horned owl in the twilight; a horned owl in the dark! How many horns -does my owl hold up!" A merry laugh was ringing in her ear, a soft hand -was laid over her eyes, while the white fingers of its fellow twinkled -before her face, and Ishtar recognised the voice of Kalmim, challenging -her to one of those foolish games of guessing so popular from the -earliest ages with the thoughtless children of the south. - -It was something to meet a friend, and of her own sex, even though that -friend was one with whom her deeper, purer nature had but little in -common. Strung to their highest pitch, her feelings now gave way; and -leaning on Kalmim's shoulder, Ishtar burst into a passion of weeping -that perhaps did more to calm and restore her than all the feminine -consolations and condolences lavished by the other, whose compassion, -lying near the surface, seemed easily aroused and quickly exhausted. - -A weeping girl was no unusual sight in the public places of great -Babylon. Exciting neither pity nor comment, Ishtar and Kalmim withdrew -unnoticed from the crowd, to stand apart in the shelter of a gigantic -fountain, erected for the refreshment of her people by the Great Queen, -where the younger woman soon recovered composure to answer the voluble -questions of the elder. - -"Where have you been hiding, and what have you been doing, and why have -we never seen you at the well, in the temple, at market, sacrifice, or -on the city wall?" said Kalmim, flirting the water about while she -dipped her white hand in its marble basin. "Surely the days of mourning -are past, and those of feasting should have begun. Why, then, in the -name of Ashtaroth, do I find the fairest damsel in Babylon with her eyes -unpainted, her head untied, and, my dear, a dress that looks as if it -had been trodden in the dust by every beast in the market? How did you -ever get it so rumpled and soiled?" - -Ignoring this important consideration, Ishtar took the other by the -hand, and gazing in her face with large serious eyes, replied, - -"Kalmim, I believe you would serve me, if you could. I believe you are -my friend." - -"As far as one woman can be a friend to another," laughed Kalmim. "And -that is about as far as I could fathom the great river with my bodkin. -Trust me, dear, you are too comely to possess friends, either men or -women. Nevertheless, you sat on my knees when you were a curly-headed -child, and I--well, when I was better and happier than I am now. I would -serve you if I could. By the light of Shamash, I would, though I might -hate myself and you the next minute! Take me, therefore, while the good -mood is on. What can I do to please my white-faced Ishtar?" - -"You have influence and power," was the reply. "He--my father used--I -have heard it said that you are deep in her counsels, and high in favour -with the Great Queen." - -An angry flush rose to Kalmim's brow, and her laugh was not pleasant to -hear, while she answered, - -"The Great Queen is a woman like the rest of us. I wish I had never seen -her haughty face. For days together it was Kalmim here, Kalmim there; -who so quick-witted as Kalmim? whom could she trust like Kalmim? Kalmim -was never to be out of her sight. I must have had a score of hands, and -as many wings as Nisroch, to do half her bidding. Then, in the -twinkling of an eye, lo, in the threading of a needle, all is changed, -and because the Great King went to the stars or wherever he _did_ go, I -am to be cast aside like a frayed robe or a soiled napkin, and must see -her face no more. She might have been a little fonder of him while he -_was_ here, I think, instead of making all this mourning now he's gone. -You would suppose that in the whole land of Shinar no wife was ever left -a widow before. Queen though she be, she must take her chance with the -others, I trow." - -"And are you no longer in the royal service?" asked Ishtar, sadly -disappointed. - -"In the royal service I must ever be," answered Kalmim, "since I was -born a bondwoman in old Nineveh, whence come the fairest of us, after -all, say what they will of this great wicked town! I can no more help my -bonds than my beauty, and I do not know, my pretty Ishtar, that I am -more anxious to get rid of the one than the other. But it vexes me sore, -and angers me too, when I think that the queen, because she sits in -sackcloth and scatters ashes on her head, should refuse to admit her -faithful slave and servant, who never failed her yet, even to the outer -court of the palace. If I were free, like you, my dear, I swear by Baal -I would take my leave of great Babylon for good and all!" - -"Free!" repeated the girl bitterly, reflecting how little availed her -freedom, her birth, even her beauty to attain the one object of her -life, in the pursuit of which she was fain to implore the assistance of -this bondwoman. "If I were _free_, as you say, I would leap on yonder -camel, with a lump of dates and a barley-cake in my hand, turn his head -for the northern mountains, and never wish to see the city walls again." - -"I guessed it!" exclaimed Kalmim, clapping her hands. "The daughter of -the stars has gone the way of us poor children of earth, as if she too -were made of common clay. He has taken your heart with him, whoever he -is. I see it all, and follow him you must, at any labour and at any -cost. I can feel for you, dear: I know what it is. Now, there was -Sethos, the Great King's cup-bearer, as goodly a youth as ever longed -for a beard. And, lo, he vanishes one summer's morning with a score of -horsemen, rides away into the desert, and I shall never see him more." - -"Take comfort," rejoined Ishtar, glad to do a kindness even for this -flighty dame. "I left him safe and well at Ascalon, and beheld him with -my own eyes drinking wine of Eschol the night before I fled." - -"At Ascalon!" exclaimed Kalmim. "Where Rekamat was--I heard them say so! -The treacherous tiger-cat! The false villain! See what it is to let a -man find out you have thought twice about him. He cares no more for you -than we do for a garment worn a score of times, or a husband we have -known a score of years. And yet he swore and protested. Well, I was born -under Ashtaroth, and I have been a fool like many another. Nevertheless, -the broken jar will mend no doubt, and the empty gourd can be filled -again at the stream." - -"I think he came not into Ascalon of his own free will," answered -Ishtar. "He galloped through the gate like one who rides for life, with -a cloud of Egyptian horsemen at his heels." - -"I wish with all my heart they had caught and flayed him alive!" laughed -the other. "But I might have known him better than to think he would -look at that cream-faced Rekamat, for all her delicate gait and her -tawny hair. So he escaped with the skin of his teeth, say you, and was -last seen safe in Ascalon. I pray you, is he there now?" - -"I know not," answered Ishtar. "O Kalmim, I will trust you. I am so -miserable. He entered the city with--with Sarchedon. And the walls were -guarded, the watch set, because of the false Egyptian, so that a mouse -could scarce creep out unnoticed. Nevertheless, we glided through the -gate at sunrise, he and I, and--and, right or wrong, we fled into the -wilderness." - -"Like a pair of pelicans!" exclaimed the other in high glee. "And so, -being in the wilderness, you made yourselves a nest no doubt, and folded -your wings in peace, as it had been behind the city wall!" - -"The children of Anak surprised us sleeping," sobbed Ishtar, whose tears -were beginning to flow afresh. "They killed our dromedary, poor beast, -and spoiled our goods--all that we had--a lump of bread and a handful of -dates. They spared our lives in pity, but they set me down beside the -Well of Palms, and they sold him into captivity. O Kalmim, comfort me, -for indeed I fear I shall never see him more!" - -Light-hearted and impressionable, the other was ready enough with -sympathy, advice, and perhaps assistance, up to the point at which it -could inconvenience herself. - -"Take heart," said she; "the world is wide, but woman has her wits, as -the bird of the air has its wings. Can you not discover where he is -gone? Knowing this, surely the bow is bent, and the arrow fitted to the -string. You need but let it fly." - -"I was guided by Nisroch," was the tearful answer; "for I came hither -into the market from the halls of my ruined home and the bones of my -dead father. O Kalmim, I watched by them all last night, to drive the -wild-dogs away." - -Again she laid her face on the other's shoulder, and wept. - -Kalmim was greatly moved. - -"I will help you," she protested. "Indeed, I will. I have friends; I -have lovers--scores of them, girl; and in high places too. I will seam -my face with scars, tear out my hair by handfuls, but they shall listen -to my prayer. What! is my cheek sun-burned? are mine eyes grown dim? I -will force my way to the queen! I will humble myself before the prince!" - -"The prince!" interrupted Ishtar. "He is in Ascalon." - -"Foolish girl!" replied the other. "He is even now coming out from the -queen's palace to do justice amongst the people. Every second morning he -rides forth on a white horse, with Assarac at his right hand. Grave has -he grown, and severe, putting aside the wine-cup, speaking but a word at -a time, and scarce suffering the people to look on his face. Ashtaroth, -what a face it is! Surely he is more beautiful than dawn." - -Ishtar shuddered. To her, for all his comeliness, he was loathsome as a -leper, terrible as a beast of prey. - -"It is but justice I require," said she, wringing her hands. "Bare -justice for an Assyrian-born carried into captivity." - -"He shall be brought back by the sons of Ashur with the strong hand," -replied Kalmim stoutly. "Who can stand against Assyria in her might? But -I know not yet whither they have taken him, nor how you have discovered -the prison-house where he is lodged." - -"I came into the market at sunrise," answered Ishtar, "to sell the clasp -of my father's girdle, that I might eat a morsel of bread. Ashtaroth -must have had pity on me; for she directed my steps to those very -traders who bought Sarchedon from the sons of Anak. One, who seemed -chief among them, spoke me fair, and treated me well. Perhaps he has a -daughter of his own. From him I learned, that when they divided the -spoil, his brother had taken the Assyrian warrior for his share, and was -journeying with him to Armenia, where he would sell him for a goodly -slave to stand before the king. I pray you, Kalmim, is it very far to -Armenia?" - -"It is many days' journey," replied Kalmim hopefully. "But those who -have horses and camels need not the wings of a bird. I have heard it -said of the Great King, that his sceptre stretched over the whole land -of Shinar, his spear to the uttermost ends of the earth, and his arrows -reached the heavens. I know not; but I think the sons of Ashur can -obtain what they want, even from beyond the mountains of Armenia, if -they go to ask for it with bow and spear. These traders, though, are -soft and smooth-spoken, false as prosperous lovers, every man of them! -How know you their tale is true?" - -"By this token," answered Ishtar, showing Sarchedon's amulet in her -hand. - -Kalmim recognised it at once. Many a time since she missed it from the -Great Queen's neck had she speculated on its absence, and wondered what -fresh combinations of intrigue and duplicity were denoted by this -imprudent generosity of her mistress. Though Semiramis, she knew, -entertained a peculiar reverence for the trinket, as possessing some -supernatural charm, yet when she bade her tirewoman go back to search -for it in the temple of Baal, there was a restless anxiety in her -demeanour not to be explained by mere concern for a lost jewel. And now -her eyes were opened. She marvelled how she could have been so dull and -blind. She resolved to hold the clue tight, and never let it go till she -had turned its possession to her own advantage. Though she tried to look -innocent and unconscious, it was impossible to keep down the sparkle in -her eye, the crimson on her cheek, while she asked as carelessly as she -could, - -"Is it a sign between you, and did he send it to vouch for the truth of -the messenger?" - -"Not so," answered Ishtar. "They took it from his neck by stealth, and -the good trader gave it into my hand, because I desired it from him as a -gift. When I look on it, I seem to see the noble face of my beloved. O -Kalmim, we must deliver him, and bring him back." - -"We must deliver him, and bring him back," repeated Kalmim, pondering -deeply. In a few seconds she ran through the main points and bearings of -the case. - -So long as Sarchedon remained a captive in Armenia, it was obvious that -he could be of little service to her designs, but if she could by any -means recall him to Babylon, a path seemed open that should lead to her -own aggrandisement and paramount influence in the palace. She was -sufficiently persuaded that the seclusion of Semiramis would last but -for a short time; that her masculine intellect would soon weary of -inactivity; and that her energies would again rule the nation through -the son, as heretofore through the sire. She was shrewd enough to have -observed that Ninyas did nothing without the counsel of Assarac; and she -had not forgotten Assarac's implicit and slavish devotion to the queen. -She was also satisfied that her royal lady had contracted one of those -infatuated passions for Sarchedon to which she was occasionally subject, -and which her tire-woman's experience reminded her would be gratified at -any cost of danger or shame. If, then, she could go to the queen when -the days of mourning had expired, and say to her, "I have got your -treasure safe in Babylon, under lock and key; I brought him back from -Armenia by my own exertions, and you need but lift up your finger to -behold him here at your feet," would she not become one of the greatest -personages in Assyria, herself the fount of honour, wealth, influence, -and promotion? Sethos, she decided, should obtain the leadership of the -royal guard, and her other lovers be rewarded, more or less, in -proportion to their attractions. Meantime Sarchedon must be brought -back. - -"You love him dearly then," said she, "and would shrink from no -sacrifice to insure his safety?" - -There was more than devotion in Ishtar's simple answer, - -"I would give my life for the life of him." - -"There is but one power under that of Ashtaroth to help you at your -need," pursued Kalmim. "If the king will send an embassy to Armenia, as -to Egypt, for the recovery of Sarchedon, the youth may yet return, fast -as camels can travel. But you must make your petition at once, and in -person. You are young and comely, though a little too pale. Such faces -as yours seldom plead with Ninyas in vain." - -Ishtar clasped her hands and trembled. - -"Is there no other way?" said she. "There is none in all the land of -Shinar before whom I would not rather bow down my face than the prince." - -"The prince, girl! what mean you?" exclaimed the other. "Are you mad? -There is none can help you in such a matter but the king." - -"Only--only," stammered Ishtar, "I fled on purpose to avoid him." - -"Fled!" repeated Kalmim scornfully; "whence and why? There is no time to -lose. Tell me in a word: has Ninyas, too, taken a fancy to that white -face of yours?" - -That white face turned crimson, while about brow and lip gathered such -haughty defiance, that for a moment the girl looked like her father when -he set the battle in array. - -"He would have forced me to love him," said she; "but I had rather be -lying dead without the city wall!" - -"Is it so indeed?" exclaimed Kalmim, a little vexed, it may be, to hear -of another woman's conquest, yet highly pleased with the promise of -success it seemed to offer. "Then Ashtaroth doth indeed favour us, and -the prey is taken ere we spread the net. If he wooed you unsuccessfully, -believe me, he is not out of your power yet. You need but ask your -price, and he will pay it. That price must be the recovery of -Sarchedon." - -Love and hatred were tearing at the poor girl's heart--love gained the -mastery. - -"What would you have me do?" she asked; but her voice was so changed, -the other looked anxiously in her face. - -"Now you are reasonable," said Kalmim, after a pause, "and will take a -friend's advice. So shall all turn to our advantage at last. This must -you do: rend that garment of yours thus, not down to the hem, but so -that it falls gracefully away in two pieces, uncovering neck and -shoulder. Scatter a little dust on your head--a very little--not enough -to dim the lustre on your hair. Then sit you down in the gate yonder; I -will show you the place. Wait till Ninyas rides by, coming from the -judgment seat. He must be leaving it ere now. When you hear the tramp of -the white horse, turn not your face to right or left; but as he draws -near, start up in front of him, throw back your veil, wreathe your arms -about his knee, pour forth your prayer, and implore your lord to do with -you what he will." - -"Be it so," answered Ishtar, calm and pale, like one in the grasp of -death. "Thus shall I save you, Sarchedon my beloved! But never, never -will I look in your dear face again." - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIX - -IN THE GATE - - -Bowed to the dust, with rent garments, drooping head, and aching heart, -from which the very life seemed pressed out, Ishtar sat herself down in -the gate to watch for the passing by of the king, as he rode from the -place where he had been administering justice to his people since -sunrise. She had not long to wait; the trampling of hoofs soon warned -her that the royal troop was approaching, and flinging back her veil, -she had scarcely time to rise erect before the well-known white horse -was upon her, guided by the hand that most she feared and hated in the -world. - -Its rider, buried in thought, proceeded at a walk, accompanied only by -Assarac, the few mounted spearmen in attendance remaining several paces -behind. Ninyas appeared unusually grave and preoccupied. His face was -somewhat hidden by the fall of a linen tiara and the profusion of his -dark silken hair, but in his rounded symmetry of limb, his graceful -gestures, and royal dignity of bearing were conspicuous those personal -advantages which formed perhaps the only merit of their new ruler in the -eyes of the common crowd. - -Faint and forced were the cheers that greeted his approach, dark and -discontented the glances that followed him as he passed on. He from whom -so much was expected had turned out a failure and a disappointment. To -cruelty and injustice the people of Babylon would have submitted without -a murmur, but for incapacity they had little forbearance; for one who -wasted neither blood nor treasure, they entertained a fierce and -dangerous contempt. - -Already loud regrets had been heard among the populace for the iron rule -of Ninus and the warlike glories of the Great King. Already whispers, -fierce and earnest in their suppression, asked when her days of mourning -would be ended; and suggested that the queen should again take part in -affairs of empire--should govern Babylon, her own especial city, in -person. Even before the seat of judgment, murmurs to this effect were -distinctly audible, and a cry of "Semiramis! Semiramis!" had been caught -up and reëchoed in the outskirts of the crowd. On such occasions, the -calm face of Assarac was observed to denote secret triumph and -gratification, yet clouded with something of anxiety and deep earnest -thought. Riding on the king's right hand, he seemed even now so -engrossed in meditation, that he was the more disturbed of the two when -a figure, rising, as it were, out of the earth, wound its arms round the -royal knee, at the imminent risk of being trampled to death, and laid -its forehead to the white horse's shoulder in an attitude of -heart-broken entreaty and abasement. Merodach must have recognised her. -Ishtar knew that the animal avoided touching her with its hoofs, while, -in spite of skilled hand and severe bridle, it pressed its muzzle -against her fair shoulder with a mute loving caress. - -"How now!" exclaimed the rider haughtily.--"What foolish damsel is this -who encumbers the royal path, seeing that the sun is already high? Know -you not how the people cry without ceasing for justice during the space -of two hours after dawn? Stand aside, girl, lest that tender body of -yours be trampled like a lily in the dust!" - -Ishtar raised her tear-stained face, pale as the flower to which she had -been compared, and sobbed out wildly, - -"As thy soul liveth, hear me! Only hear me, ere thou ride on in thy -might, and crush me to death beneath thy feet! What am I that I should -stand in the path of my lord the king?" - -Surely he remembered her voice. He seemed strangely disturbed, and the -hand that reined Merodach shook till the bridle rang again. Turning to -Assarac, he murmured in a stifled voice, - -"Bid them keep the people back, I pray you; with point of spear if need -be. I will hear what the damsel has to say." - -Then Ishtar poured forth her whole heart with an eloquence that could -only have been wrung from her by his danger whom she loved better than -her very life. She reminded Ninyas of his professed attachment to -herself, of their flight through the desert to the south, of her -unwilling thraldom, and constant resistance at Ascalon, notwithstanding -his rank, his beauty, his exceeding attractions, avoiding, with womanly -tact, every allusion that could hurt his self-love, and lavishing, with -womanly recklessness, every expression of flattery that could impress on -him the immeasurable distance between his handmaid and her lord. Then -she bade him judge of her feelings by his own. What had she to live for -but the man she loved? The youth was to _her_ as water in the desert, as -a breath of air to one bricked up in a dungeon. She was sick for his -comely face. She made her prayer to the king, because she had been -taught from childhood he was the representative of Baal in the land of -Shinar, the embodiment of truth, justice, and mercy amongst his people. -She knelt to him as to Nisroch with the eagle-head. She presumed not to -stand before his face without a gift. Let her find favour in his sight. -It was the only jewel she had left. Let him take it. Let him but grant -her petition, rescue this goodly youth from captivity, and take -herself--her life--all she had to give! - -In accordance with ancient custom forbidding the suppliant to enter the -presence of a superior without an offering, she thrust into the king's -hand that amulet of emerald which had already changed owners so many -times. Even at her extremity of need she could not help remarking how -white and delicate were those royal fingers that trembled round the -jewel, how fair and shapely was the arm that shook with some inward -conflict of passions, terrible in their struggle against the strength -that kept them down. It was marvellous to her that jealousy should have -such power over the male nature, and if Ninyas cared so very dearly for -her, surely she ought to pity him, she thought, even though she could -not love! All this under-current of feeling and reflection passed -through her mind while she watched every turn and gesture of her lord -with the eager eyes of one who balances between life and death. - -The royal face was hidden by its tiara; the royal voice came low and -husky with its haughty question, - -"Is it a lover, girl, for whom you make this bold petition? Did he buy -you with a trinket and cast you aside in the desert, and will nothing -force him back to your arms save a decree of the king? Go to! You seem -over-shameless for a maiden,--over-tender for a wife. I have spoken." - -She was on her knees again, pressing the rider's garment to her -forehead. - -"By the glory of Shamash!" she exclaimed--"by the might of Ashur!--by -the blood of Nisroch! I am a true woman. May my lips wither, may my -tongue drop out, may my heart be consumed to ashes, if I conceive a -falsehood in the face of my lord the king! His servant loves the -youth--loves him so dearly, that for his sake she would accept death -with joy, life-long bondage with gratitude--that to insure his safety -she would give her hopes, her heart, her all, and consent never, never -to see him again!" - -The king was certainly changed. Looking wildly up in that comely face, -it was colder, paler than before, and the lips turned very white while -they asked in a low stern voice, - -"How came you by this amulet? Speak the truth, girl, lest even now your -eyes be covered and your body flung from the wall. Was it given you -by--by this faithless lover of yours?" - -"Not so, my lord," answered Ishtar eagerly. "As your servant liveth, it -was round his neck when they bore him into captivity, and but that I had -come to the market at sunrise to eat bread, I should never have known -where they had taken him. I saw the jewel in the wares of an honest -merchant, and I learned from him all that my heart desired to know." - -Ninyas smiled as if well pleased, and spoke in a softer voice. - -"Let him be brought to the palace at once," said the king, turning to -Assarac. "An honest merchant ought to be easily distinguished in the -market-place of Babylon. I should like to see him, girl, and I should -like also to learn whither they have dared to carry this Assyrian-born. -How called you him? Sarchedon, was it not?" - -"Surely my lord is wiser than Nebo," answered the girl, "to know good -from evil. It is even as he hath said. Behold, the king discovered it -before my tongue could form the name that was in my heart." - -The rider's hand gave such an involuntary wrench to the bridle, as -caused Merodach to rear straight-on-end in resentment and surprise. -Caressing the horse, and laughing lightly the while, Ninyas continued to -question his suppliant: - -"They have carried this free-born son of Ashur into captivity. It seems -they have more courage than wisdom. And whither have they taken him?" - -"Far beyond the northern mountains," answered Ishtar, "into the land of -Armenia; and for that he is so comely of face and noble of stature, they -will be loth to yield him back, for he is to stand in goodly raiment at -the right hand of the king." - -"Hear her, Assarac!" exclaimed Ninyas, turning to the eunuch, with -flushed brow and sparkling eyes. "This comes of unstrung bows and -peaceful counsels, the way of the serpent on the rock rather than of -the lion by the water-spring, or the eagle in the sky. Go to! Are the -spears of Ashur bulrushes by the river-side? Are his horses ham-strung? -Hath the arm of his might dwindled to the lily hand of a maiden? I tell -you, that for every furlong they have taken their captive beyond the -bounds of Shinar, I will send chariots of iron and mailed horsemen a -league into the land of Armenia to burn, ravage and destroy, to bring -away their gods and lead their men and maidens into captivity! Nay, if -so much as a hair of Sarchedon's head shall have fallen, I will sow -their country with salt, and blot out its very name from among nations! -Damsel, depart in peace; your petition is granted. I have spoken." - -Exulting in her success, yet even more bewildered than rejoiced by the -good fortune that had gained her object without sacrifice of personal -freedom, Ishtar lost no time in obeying the royal injunction. Shrouding -her fair face in its veil, she wrapped her rent garments modestly about -her, and glided into the thickest of the crowd. Her escape was for a -moment unnoticed, while the king gazed thoughtfully on the amulet she -had left for a gift; but looking quickly up, as if about to give some -directions to Assarac, the attention of each was arrested by tumultuous -shouting at the adjoining gate, repeated in a thousand echoes of a -thousand voices along the city wall. - -It seemed that both were prepared for disaffection and disturbance among -the populace. They exchanged meaning looks, and Assarac whispered in the -royal ear, - -"There are twenty bands of spearmen massed behind the rampart; priests -and prophets are scattered in the market-places and squares of the city; -chariots of iron are harnessed in scores, and horsemen by thousands wait -but the holding up of my hand to mount. I pray you give the word, and -ere the sun goes down, Baal shall exterminate, root and branch, all who -question the authority of--of my lord the king." - -Looking on the royal personage he addressed, the eunuch's eyes blazed -with an admiration that seemed almost too warm for reverence, too -passionate for loyalty. At the sound of tumult, the signal-note of -conflict, Ninyas started into life with as much fire and energy as -Merodach himself. The folds of the tiara fell back, disclosing those -matchless features, that radiant face, glowing with just such -pleasurable excitement as brightens the aspect of an ardent hunter when -he sights the deer. That supple stately form, springing into graceful -energy of attitude and gesture, seemed an embodiment of beauty in -warlike harness. How could such softness and delicacy be endowed with -such resistless might? Surely horse and rider, thought Assarac, formed a -pair unequalled the wide world through. - -"Keep the men of war back!" exclaimed Ninyas gleefully. "Never take your -eye off my right hand. When I raise it thus, let the spears open out by -wings, unmask the archers, and bid them bend their bows." - -"You will return to the palace!" exclaimed Assarac. "You will not risk -that precious life in a city tumult! By the light of Ashtaroth, by the -blood of Nisroch, by the safety of the empire, by all you hold most -sacred, I entreat you to keep out of danger!" - -His voice was broken with real emotion, his features worked -convulsively, as if he pleaded for something dearer than life, but a -ringing laugh was the only answer to his appeal, and the anxious eunuch -could but press on at a gallop to keep near the white horse and its -rider, as they made for the great gate of Babylon that looked towards -the south. - - - - -CHAPTER XL - -UNVEILED - - -Like a swan cleaving the waters, Merodach forced his way through the ebb -and flow of an eager crowd, even dangerous in the impatience with which -it surged to one common centre, where two figures, dusty and -travel-worn, as though arriving from a journey, sat patiently on their -drooping horses to receive with exceeding calmness the cheers and -congratulations lavished by the populace. One of these was in female -attire, and enough of the veil and mantle were thrown aside to disclose -a beautiful face, recognised with wild enthusiasm by the people of -Babylon for that of the Great Queen. Shouts of welcome, acclamations -denoting a transport of loyalty and affection, rose on all sides. -"Semiramis! Semiramis!" was the ceaseless burden of many thousand -voices; while the lowest and dirtiest of the excited multitude demanded -angrily the repeal of that law which forbade a woman to reign over the -sons of Ashur, insisting that their queen should be invested with -supreme authority in this her especial city, the work of her hands, -proposing that she should ride at once to the palace, on a pavement -composed of their own necks and shoulders, many of them proceeding to -fling themselves on their faces with that object forthwith. - -So flattering a reception seemed, however, to raise no corresponding -gratitude in the person to whom it was offered. The beautiful face wore -only an expression of malicious amusement mingled with somewhat scornful -surprise; while the other horseman, riding in close attendance, looked -strangely troubled, whispering doubt and apprehension in the ear of his -more composed, if more contemptuous, companion. - -Sethos--for it was no other than the Great King's cup-bearer who thus -found himself in a situation of extreme perplexity--on his arrival in -Babylon felt indeed at his wits' end. When he obeyed the summons of his -young lord, to ride with him through the desert, day and night, till -they reached the great city, which Ninyas, for reasons of his own, -proposed to enter in female disguise, he bade farewell to the grim -towers of Ascalon with a light heart, looking on the expedition, though -it necessitated more bodily exertion than he loved, as one of intrigue, -mirth, and amusement, especially at the end. The little he could gather -from Ninyas during their journey failed to prepare him for such a -reception as awaited them; and indeed the young king toyed, trifled, and -galloped through all these leagues of burning sand as if life had -nothing more serious to offer than the jest of leaving his tired -attendants, one by one, in the wilderness, and riding his own good horse -mercilessly to the point of death. - -It had ever been the nature of Ninyas to appear lightest of heart when -most he saw cause for vexation or anxiety; nor, indeed, was it without -good reason that he quitted his retirement to look after his -inheritance in person, and made an effort to retain the sceptre, which -he first learned was his own at the moment it seemed so mysteriously to -be slipping from his grasp. - -His conversation with Sethos had been the earliest communication he -received of his father's departure to the stars; it filled him with -wonder and alarm. Subsequent explanations and comments of the cup-bearer -served only to increase his bewilderment. But for the audacity of such a -proceeding, he would have felt satisfied that another had personated him -in order to rob him of his crown. - -It perplexed him, too, that he should have received no tidings from the -mother to whom he was accustomed to fly in all his difficulties, -feeling, perhaps, no little concern for her safety as well as for his -own succession. - -The escape of Ishtar also angered him to the core, while of Rekamat he -was wearied, even to disgust. He resolved, therefore, on returning -without delay to Babylon, there to examine for himself the opposition -with which he had to contend, adopting the attire of a woman, as most -likely thus to avoid recognition, while he prosecuted his inquiries and -ascertained the nature of a conspiracy that must have been organised for -his destruction. - -It seemed, therefore, inconvenient and untoward in the last degree to -find himself the object of such an ovation as now greeted him, denoting -enthusiastic attachment, not for himself, but for the mother to whom he -bore so close a resemblance. He felt his position more embarrassing than -ever, when it dawned on him that in his own capital his own people -mistook him for the queen. A score of times he strove to address them, -and a score of times his voice was drowned in the deafening acclamations -that arose the moment he opened his lips. - -His patience was failing fast, and an angry light already glittered in -his eyes, when the whole expression of his face changed to one of -extreme consternation and dismay. Dashing up at a gallop, and halting -within two strides, sat a figure on a white horse, so like himself in -his ordinary royal attire, that for a space in which a man might have -counted a hundred, his senses deserted him, and, speechless from -sheer amazement, he could but gaze with dilated eyes, like one -horror-stricken at some vision from another world. The face, the form, -the scarlet robe, the princely tiara, the golden collar, the jewelled -sword, the very trappings of the horse, were all his own; and in the -gesture with which that figure suddenly drew rein to station itself -motionless over against him, he seemed to see _himself_ not in the -foolish disguise he had lately assumed, but as it had been his custom to -ride through the streets of Babylon, the darling of the Assyrian people, -the flower of young heroes, the fairest of young princes, in the eastern -world. - -Brief as was the interval during which his presence of mind forsook him, -it was long enough to permit one of those rapid strokes by which, in -love, war, and policy, bold spirits gain the mastery; the other Ninyas -had also paused for a moment, as if confused and uncertain how to act, -but Assarac, pressing to the white horse's side, whispered a few earnest -words in its rider's ear--words that brought a flash of energy and -intelligence into the beautiful face of his listener, ere the eunuch -turned in the saddle to impress some hasty directions on a captain of -ten thousand, who was in attendance at his back. - -Meantime the multitude shouted louder than ever, crowding, as they -believed, in eager homage about their queen, unconscious of the pressure -caused by a ring of spearmen circling gradually round Sethos and the -veiled figure at his side. - -Mingled, however, with the protestations of loyalty and affection -lavished on Semiramis, rose many a seditious outcry, many an angry burst -of impatience and contempt against the name of Ninyas. As the spearmen -encompassed the newcomers, there was much increase of ill-humour amongst -the multitude, thus wedged together by a band of iron that compressed -them from without--women shrieked and fainted--children were trampled -under foot--strong men, reeling and swaying to and fro, cursed audibly, -directing savage scowls and fierce abuse at the rider of the white -horse, as though their ruler were answerable even for the excesses of a -disorderly crowd. The storm increased, the human waves surged, swelled, -and roared, everything indicated a tumult, and still the serried ranks -of spearmen narrowed their circle, drawing closer and closer round the -little knot of figures on which all eyes were fixed. - -"Never had man or woman such a chance!" whispered Assarac. "By the body -of Ashur, his sceptre has come down from the stars into your very hand. -It is but to close your fingers, and you grasp it once for all!" - -The rider of the white horse replied by a look of intelligence in the -eunuch's face, and a gesture of supreme contempt for the noisy -multitude. - -Assarac's eyes answered with a gaze of devoted and passionate adoration. - -"Opportunity," he murmured, "is the harvest of the gods!" But the -sentiment seemed lost on the ear to which it was addressed; for the -fiery white horse, obeying hand and heel, began to plunge with such -formidable energy as soon cleared a breathing-space, so to speak, in the -receding crowd. - -And now the roll of chariots was heard without the gate, while a score -of trumpets answered each other in swelling notes of war from all -quarters of the city. Men knew that for every trumpet rode a thousand of -Assyria's terrible horsemen, armed with bow and spear. - -It was well, thought Sethos, for his lord and himself, that they were so -safely guarded. Stalwart warriors, massed ten deep, kept the people off -on every side; but with thunder of wheels and bray of clarions, a -certain panic took possession of the crowd, and it closed in so heavily -on the plunging Merodach that, active as was the animal, it seemed in -danger of being swept off its feet. Had they once gone down, neither -horse nor rider would ever have risen again. - -Assarac exerted all his strength and all his courage to keep in close -attendance. On his face was graven the set expression of one who elects -rather to die than fail in his desire; and under that storm of howls, -and threats, and bitter execrations, the eunuch bore himself like a man. - -An ever-increasing pressure in the crowd had now forced the white horse -against the surface of the city wall, which sloped upwards from within -at such an angle as permitted a nimble bowman to surmount the incline, -and reach a narrow platform, whence under cover of the rampart he could -discharge his missiles in safety against an enemy. It was very steep, -and afforded a foothold slippery and insecure to the last degree. - -Measuring it in one rapid glance, his rider's hand and heel roused -Merodach's courage to the utmost for his effort. With a bound like a -wild-deer, a shower of sun-baked clay, a hideous moment of poise, -struggle, and recovery, the white horse bore his rider to this point of -vantage and security, standing there motionless, save for a quick -vibration of his ears, a prolonged snort, expressing triumph, defiance, -and a sense of danger past. - -Throned in their recess, the pair seemed rather to have come down from -the gods than gone up from amongst men. - -Such a feat, with such a people, could not but produce an irresistible -effect. Voices raised a little earlier in scorn and hatred now shouted -enthusiastic admiration and approval. One such display of skill in -horsemanship seemed enough to regain for their reckless ruler all the -popularity that had been withdrawn. - -Every eye was now riveted on the white horse and its rider. At a signal -that the latter desired to speak, unbroken silence fell on those -assembled thousands, and not an accent was lost of that sweet measured -voice, clear, full, and musical in the cadence of its every tone. - -"Sons of Ashur," it said, "men of Babylon, conquerors of the world, ye -love the line of Nimrod dearly, but ye love not _me_! Tell me not ye -have changed in one brief moment, because of a bold leap and a willing -steed. I am unworthy to reign over you. I have been weighed, and found -wanting. I have tried, and failed. Baal in his temple has warned me to -abandon the reins I possess neither power nor wit to guide. I have seen -your reception of Semiramis. I know--none better--the worth and wisdom -of the Great Queen. Sons of Ashur, in her favour I abdicate; to her hand -I resign my sceptre, at her feet I lay my crown. May the queen live for -ever! I have spoken. And now stand aside, sons of Ashur, while I come -down, lest I hurt a hair of the head of one of her especial people, whom -she will rule with a mother's love, whom she will lead to triumphs -beside which the glory of Ninus himself shall pale and fade away!" - -With these words, Merodach was urged to the downward leap. A column of -spearmen cleared a passage through the crowd, and the brave white horse, -followed by the eyes of all Babylon, galloped off at speed towards the -palace of the Great Queen. - -When men turned to look for her, marvelling at her strange appearance -among them weary and travel-worn out of the desert, lo, she too had -vanished with her attendant, guarded, it was said, by hosts of archers, -clouds of horsemen who thronged about her so thick and close, that none -might lock on the royal person, nor come within hearing of the royal -voice. - -Nevertheless, each went to his home with a pleasing prospect of coming -rejoicings, of war and triumph, feast and revel, harp, timbrel, and beat -of dancing feet, splendour in the palace, plenty in the suburb, jovial -days and merry nights throughout great Babylon once more. - - - - -Hisroch the Abenger - - - - -CHAPTER XLI - -A SERPENT ON A ROCK - - -A southern sun beat fierce and pitiless on the terrace of the queen's -palace at Babylon. Hewn out of the solid rock, a smooth and glistening -pavement refracted those noon-day beams like burnished metal. Not a -breath of wind arose to cool the heated air; not a bird dared spread its -wing against the burning sky; yet Assarac stood motionless and -thoughtful in the open unshaded space, heedless alike of throbbing -brain, blistered skin, and sandals scorching under his very feet. - -Suddenly he started and stepped quickly forward, like one about to -trample something beneath his heel. Checking himself in the act, he -paused to mark a serpent gliding along the unfriendly pavement, as if -seeking for a hole or crevice wherein to shelter its shining skin and -smooth, flat, cunning head. - -He had thought to slay it; but no, it was not in him to do the creature -harm, as he stood watching it with wistful eyes, and bitter thoughts, -and a strange sad feeling of compassion at his heart. - -Uncoiling many a sleek and glistening fold, it worked its way slowly, -painfully, traversing in all its length and breadth the surface of that -pitiless pavement, so different from the dank morass and tangled brake -for which its nature yearned. The wise reptile, type of caution, -intellect, sagacity, measured its cunning in vain against the beautiful -impenetrable slab, could find no solace in the hard unyielding stone. - -"Is it better, after all," thought Assarac, "to wind, like this wily -creature, along the devious paths of policy, or to take the straight and -open road, leading to danger indeed, but to danger that may be foreseen, -assailed and vanquished with the strong hand? Would I be the tiger, -blind with desire of blood leaping at the wild-deer's throat, to slake a -cruel thirst? or the serpent, crafty, patient, persevering, exhausting -all its ingenuity, all its devices, against an obstacle smooth and -impenetrable as this adamantine pavement, heated by the sun's rays, not -to warm and cherish, but to scorch, wither, and consume?" - -Thus meditating, with an unusual cloud of despondency on his brow, -Assarac turned away, and traversing the large cool hall of the queen's -palace, walked thoughtfully through leafy wilderness and shaded -pleasure-ground to the silver temple of the Fish-God, where he had been -summoned by Semiramis, that he might assist with his counsels the great -design on which her heart was bent. - -Kalmim, who had again resumed attendance in the household of her royal -mistress, rejoicing that the days of mourning were at last expired, -waited as usual in the porch. - -With winning smiles and sparkling eyes--since Kalmim's bow was always -bent for practice as for slaughter--she drew those silken hangings that -screened the presence of Semiramis, and admitted him to the court of -ivory and silver, as she had admitted Sarchedon once before, when that -comely warrior arrived from the camp, bearing the signet of the Great -King. - -The queen had not forgotten. Something in the gesture of her tirewoman, -something in the murmur of doves, the babble of waters, the scene, the -place, the listless noon-day heat, recalled that other interview but too -forcibly now, and she received Assarac with a languid loving smile. - -The eunuch's whole nature glowed beneath her glance, while prostrating -himself at her feet, he pressed the hem of her garment to his lips, with -such rapture and devotion as he had never felt for Baal, Nisroch, -Ashtaroth, nor all the host of heaven. - -Her favourable looks emboldened him to speak; and after the formal -salutation, "Great Queen, live for ever!" he offered his advice unasked, -in a burst of impassioned eloquence, very different from his usual -composed immovable demeanour. - -"It is a war," said he, "of which the new-born babe in the land of -Shinar may never live to see the end, unless indeed it should terminate -in an advance on Babylon by innumerable hosts, under the leadership of -Aryas the Beautiful, and the sacking of our city by those swarms of -fierce savages who congregate in the wind-swept deserts of the north. -The Great Queen's arm reaches far, her hand is strong and skilful; but, -trust me, she is about to plunge it in a very hornets' nest!" - -"And crush them like locusts in my grasp!" exclaimed Semiramis, all her -beauty kindling into flame, while she threw up her graceful head in -feminine defiance. "I make no war with drones, sparing their lives and -taking away their gods, yet exacting small tribute of cattle or slaves: -but when the insects carry stings, it is worth while to conquer and -destroy. They breed _men_, I hear, beyond the Zagros range--men stronger -and fiercer, like their own storms, the farther you march towards the -north. I will carry back ten thousand of their champions, chained in -pairs, to make sport for my fickle people here in Babylon. The blind -fools! they are as proud of their queen's might as if it were their own. -'Twas a good stroke of yours, Assarac, that enabled me to resume my -woman's garment at will. You welded the iron like a cunning smith while -it glowed and sparkled on the forge. I could not patiently endure the -constant restraint; I never should have guessed how irksome it is to be -a man." - -"Irksome, indeed," said the eunuch, "so long as women have softer -skins, stronger wills, and harder hearts. But the prince himself made -the very opportunity that foiled him. I did but whisper in the Great -Queen's ear to seize it. And though she drew her bow almost at a -venture, the arrow flew deftly home, according to her wont." - -"Nevertheless," answered Semiramis generously, "it was _your_ eye that -aimed the shaft, though my finger pulled the string. I have always -esteemed the head that counsels far above the arm that strikes. By the -beak of Nisroch! I believe that I have not in the land of Shinar so wise -and true a servant as this high-priest of Baal!" - -For answer, he was fain to kiss the hem of her robe once more. When he -tried to speak, the words seemed stifled in his throat. With one of her -rapid glances, she even detected something like a tear glisten in his -eye. - -"It is far better and easier," she continued, "to reign for myself, and -meet my people frankly without disguise. While I personated my son, I -felt in every word, every gesture, the likelihood of detection; and they -were beginning to hate me as a king. I saw it every hour. To hate -without fearing--a fatal sentiment in such subjects as mine, whom I can -govern easily as I can rein Merodach, but by far different means. The -ruler of Babylon must have a frank brow, a close mouth, a sharp sword, a -long arm, and an immovable heart. When I reigned here in the absence of -the Great King, ere he--ere he--went before us to the stars--who can -reproach me that I ever turned one step aside, for any consideration of -pity or compunction? And yet, did you not hear, my friend, how they -yelled and shouted, leaping for joy to think they had got their queen -back again? Ah, they have not come to the end of it yet! And now counsel -me, Assarac. What is to be done about the prince?" - -"He is safely disposed," answered the eunuch, keeping his eyes -steadfastly off her face. "Nevertheless there is no gate so close but it -may be opened by treachery, no wall so high it cannot be surmounted with -a ladder of gold. The captains of ten thousand are loyal and trusty -warriors, yet who among them could resist a tempter offering the -leadership of the host? I would bestow my lord Prince Ninyas in a prison -from which no captive escapes, a fortress friend and foe are alike -powerless to break through. There is yet a golden throne vacant in the -sky, and he might take his place in it without delay, by the side of the -Great King." - -It was a ghastly proposal; yet Semiramis seemed to listen without -astonishment, and rather in sorrow than in any outburst of anger or -dismay. She answered in a sad, thoughtful and dejected tone: - -"Such a measure would be wise, I grant, and would set the question at -rest for ever. But I must not--I will not--consent! I cannot but think -the doves that fed me in my infancy have imparted something of their -nature to mine. I loved the boy dearly all his childhood through; none -the less, perhaps, that in form and features he seemed so entirely mine -own. I was a good mother to him, as any sun-burned peasant who brings -her babe into the vineyard on her back; and, will you believe me, -Assarac? he cared more for a rough word or a rude jest from the Great -King than for my fondest caress, my smiles, my very tears. When I have -pleaded with him, even to his own advantage, he has turned his back on -me, and laughed outright." - -How strange it seemed that any man on earth could see that matchless -face unmoved, hear that sweet voice unwon! But Assarac dared not speak, -lest all his self-control should fail, and Semiramis proceeded with her -complaint: - -"He loved the meanest dancing-girl out of the market better than the -mother to whom he owed his life, his beauty, his favour with the Great -King. He would leave me for horse, and hawk, and hound, without a -word--the ring of a timbrel, the flash of a torch, the clink of a -wine-cup, would have taken him from beside my dying bed; and yet I cared -for the lad through it all, sheltered him many a time from his father's -anger, and screened his weakness, his incapacity, his vices, from the -people over whom he thought some day to reign. I have done too much for -Ninyas, and I have had no return. When I sent him to Ascalon with that -white-faced girl, I thought we were rid of his follies for a space, to -the profit of every one concerned. I never dreamed she would leave him, -nor that the child loved its toy so well as to follow even to the gate -of Babylon. That he should ride through in woman's attire must have been -arranged expressly by the gods. Had he come in his own person, I had -been compelled to act with less mercy. I thank you again, Assarac, that -you saw the opportunity at a glance. One so sage in counsel, so quick in -action, cannot but be skilful in war. Ere this year's dates have turned -to russet, you and I will flaunt the banner of Ashur in the very face of -the Beautiful King before his gate at distant Ardesh, and water our -horses, whether he will or no, in the swift Araxes. War is the sport of -kings, and am not I more king than queen when I mount my chariot in -harness and headpiece, armed with bow and spear?" - -"And does love count for nothing in the project?" asked the eunuch, with -so much of reverence as masked, but did not quite conceal, a bitter -sneer. - -Semiramis turned from him in obvious displeasure: under the delicate ear -he marked her very neck grow crimson with a blush. He bore pain well, -this priest of a false god, and proceeded to urge his objections in the -calm tone befitting one who offers counsel to a superior. - -"Has the Great Queen counted well the cost?" said he. "Has she -considered how many bones of men and horses must whiten the line of -march to rearward of her armies, ere they pass the Zagros range? Can her -chariots of iron penetrate its wooded defiles? How shall her camels -climb its steep and slippery rocks? Say she advances to the fertile -country beyond the hills: she must either encounter those terrible -savages, who worship a naked sword as the sons of Ashur worship Nisroch -and Baal--gigantic warriors, clad in skins, but armed with bow and spear -eating human flesh and drinking horses' blood--or she will behold a -barren plain before her, its peasants fled, its wells choked up, its -harvest wasted by fire, affording neither food nor water to man or -beast. When she has surmounted these obstacles, with the loss of half -her strength, she will find herself face to face with a countless host -of horsemen from the northern desert, under the leadership of Aryas the -Beautiful himself." - -In many respects, she was a woman to the core. - -"I have heard he _is_ beautiful," she answered with a light laugh. - -His reply was grave and sad: - -"Could not he have met Semiramis, at the frontiers of her empire, in -all honour and splendour, without encounter of armies and shedding of -blood? Must he, too, rue the youthful manhood and comely face that bring -him a captive to the Great Queen's chariot-wheels, because of her -ungovernable desire--" - -"How, slave!" she burst out fiercely. - -"For glory and warlike renown," continued the eunuch; adding, humbly -enough, "My life is in her hand. Let the queen take it, here at the -shrine of Dagon, rather than do aught which shall prejudice her honour -and her name." - -She looked appeased. - -"It is mine honour," said she, "that this matter immediately concerns. I -send an embassy, demanding a certain captive at the hand of Aryas; and -what is his reply? Neither gifts nor tribute, nor words of homage and -respect, but two winged arrows bound together by a link of gold. It -needs not the dark wisdom of the Egyptian to interpret such a sign. He -means that this is no question of barter or ransom, but one to be -decided between us by bow and spear. It is the issue I most desired in -my heart." - -"He means that the Comely King and the Comely Queen should join their -hosts, and bind themselves together in a link that can never be -dissolved," murmured the eunuch, almost with a groan. - -She smiled in beautiful scorn. - -"I have the arrows in my quiver," said she; "the first shall be shot -into his camp, the day I meet him face to face, with its feathers dipped -in blood. It may warn him, perhaps, that I have sworn to drive the -second with mine own hand through his heart. There are goodly men in the -world, I trow, besides Aryas, and one ten thousand times as fair is -wasting in captivity even now. Prate not to me, Assarac! I tell you, -that if I wrap the world in flames, I will have Sarchedon back, here in -Babylon, before this year's dates have fallen from the palm! I am sick -till I see his noble face again. It is enough: I have spoken." - -Then the eunuch knew he was dismissed, and passed out of the temple -sadly, thoughtfully with drooping head, folded hands, and slow dejected -step. - -Crossing the terrace once more, he looked about for the serpent; but it -was gone. - -Calling to mind its struggles and windings, he wondered where and how it -could have found rest, foiled at every turn by the glowing surface of -that smooth unimpressionable stone. - - - - -CHAPTER XLII - -BEFORE THE ALTAR - - -But for priest, as for warrior, there is no respite from daily duty, to -be discharged with scrupulous care and unfailing zeal, however sore may -be the heart within, aching under linen garment or proven harness of -steel. Assarac must needs officiate at the altar of his god an hour -before the sun went down, even had a victorious enemy been wasting the -city with fire and sword, or had his own life been about to terminate -with the first shadows of night. - -How he loathed the mummery, that yet made him all he was; the machinery -of which he knew so well each cog-wheel, catch, and lever; the false -glare and sparkle that seemed so poor a substitute for the steady rays -of truth! And yet he dared not whisper, even to his own heart, how mean -and paltry was all this artifice by which he climbed to power. - -He had a new religion now--that religion of the heart which sweeps wiser -creeds away in a flood of blind unreasoning devotion; which degenerates, -without a misgiving, into the wildest fanaticism, and can number its -martyrs, as compared with those sacrificed to any other superstition, at -the rate of a hundred to one. - -He did not conceal from himself that he loved the queen--he, for whom -the love of woman must ever be as the blind man's desire for light, -fiercer, perhaps, and more ungovernable, because of the very -impossibility that it should be realised. Cruel are the pangs of a -hunger which is not even fed by hope. Intolerable is a thirst to which -the very offer of water seems but mockery and aggravation. Nevertheless, -he did not care to strive against his folly now. For a time, he had -believed himself invulnerable--thought his very nature kept him -safe--and that, for him at least, there must ever be an insuperable bar -between admiration, regard, sympathy, and the slavish devotion which -others call love. After admiration had become indiscriminating, regard -unreasoning, and sympathy painful, he shut his eyes to the truth for -about a day; but when he opened them, yielded without effort, plunging -wildly into the abyss, owning a certain morbid pride, in the -consciousness of his self-immolation, the while. - -And now heart, brain, and faculties were all saturated with the poison. -His strong will yielded gladly to the spell; his keen intellect was -content to follow where it ought to lead; and had the queen bid him help -her, as she said, to wrap the world in flames, his own hands would have -brought the fire, though it scorched him to the bone. - -To say that he loved is to say that he was jealous; but the torture he -suffered was to that of other men as a cancer feeding on the vitals to a -flesh-wound lacerating the skin. _They_ might fret and struggle, -gnashing their teeth, raving vengeance, threatening reprisals, -alternately worsting the rival and reproaching the idol; but _he_ must -suffer in silence, smiling however sad, erect however crushed and -humbled, outwardly serene though troubled to very madness within. - -And all unvisited by a ray of light, a glimpse of hope, even by the -dream of what _might_ be, which has gilded so many a weary night-watch -with fleeting visions of the dawn. Surely, through its very degradation, -there was something sublime in such utter self-abasement, such complete -self-sacrifice of love! - -And yet his port was never more assured, his step firmer, his aspect -more dignified, than when, after this interview with Semiramis, that had -stung him to the core, he took his place at the altar to offer the usual -evening sacrifice to his god. - -The sun was sinking, and its level beams shed a crimson flush on the -white garments of a band of priests, as on the spotless alabaster -columns that crowned the lower story of the temple, supporting those -upper chambers, of which the mysteries were veiled to eyes profane. A -hundred steps, broken by five stately terraces, led down to an open -space, in which thousands were crowded to witness the ceremony with -upturned faces, that glowed no less vividly than did altar, shrine, and -priests in the warm red lustre of a setting sun. - -As in the morning to the east, so in the evening sacrifice the people -turned themselves to the west. - -A score of oxen stood lowing behind the altar. It seemed the poor beasts -felt some forebodings of the fate that awaited them; though not till -incense had been burned and drink-offerings poured out were their -throats to be cut, at a given signal, and their flesh roasted for the -consumption of that lavish god, whose daily service thus required the -presence of a thousand satellites. These stood, marshalled like -warriors, in rear of Assarac and Beladon, who assisted him in his -functions. Swinging their censers, they continued chanting, or rather -muttering, in a low voice and a minor key, certain formal repetitions, -detailing the names and quality of their deity. - -After a short delay, during which Assarac kept his eyes steadily fixed -on the setting sun, he advanced before the altar, followed by Beladon, -who waved above his superior's head the mystic ring, which, enclosing a -representation of wings, formed the emblem of that incomprehensible -power whose attributes were ubiquity and eternity. The eunuch's gait and -gestures were solemn and imposing in the extreme; his ornaments of -massive gold, his spotless robes, deeply embroidered, falling in heavy -folds about his person, his fine stature and noble bearing--all were -calculated to enhance his own dignity and that of the sacred office he -fulfilled. Turning slowly to Beladon, he received at the hands of that -assistant a golden cup filled with wine to the brim, and poured from it -gravely a libation to the four quarters of heaven, finishing with the -west. A hundred priests then advanced, chanting their hymns in time to a -measured march, a hundred timbrels rang in sounding strains to the -praise of Baal; and while fires were kindled, while smoke went up, and -music swelled, the blood of twenty oxen flowed round the altar, filling -the channels cut to receive it with a bubbling crimson stream. - -Assarac and Beladon stood on each side, facing the people, wrapt, as it -were, in a holy trance. Men looked on them in awe-struck wonder as -votaries under the immediate influence of the god, whom Ashur himself, -coming down from his throne, might address face to face, who were -communing even now in spirit with the souls of departed heroes, with all -the powers of all the host of heaven. - -Little did they think how the eunuch's whole being was possessed at that -very moment by a human vision of the brightest eye that ever shone in -promise, the sweetest lips that ever kissed or smiled; while his -attendant, yielding to desires yet more of earth, earthly, pierced the -crowd with a gaze that, for all its semblance of holy preoccupation, did -but seek a well-known female figure, alluring of form, lavishly attired, -and not too closely veiled. - -No sooner had the sun gone down, the stars come out, than Beladon, whose -time was now his own, sought one of those courts which formed a -communication between the temple of Baal and the king's palace, supposed -by the people of Babylon to be occupied by Ninyas in a retirement from -which their present temper would have rendered it extremely dangerous -for him to emerge. Semiramis had returned to live in her own royal -dwelling, where she held such state as caused all former magnificence to -pale. The king's house, therefore, as it was called, became -comparatively deserted; and with the exception of its wooded parks or -paradises, fenced off for game, no spot in the whole city could have -been so secluded as that in which Beladon lingered, pacing to and fro, -stopping, muttering, glancing about him in fretful perturbation of -spirit, peculiar to one waiting for a woman on whom he cannot quite -depend. "At last!" he exclaimed, catching sight of a veiled figure -gliding amongst the arches that skirted the court, like a ghost in the -dubious starlight. "At last! And I saw you in the midst of the multitude -before the sun went down, looking on at the sacrifices. Where have you -lingered, woman, and what have you been doing since?" - -Kalmim, for it was none other, raised her veil and laughed in his face. - -"Who hunts learns cunning," said she. "Who toils learns skill. Who waits -learns patience. With cunning, skill, and patience, even a priest may -come at what he desires." - -"Kalmim," he exclaimed earnestly, "do you believe there is nothing I -would shrink from that you bade me undertake? Are you assured that I am -constant and true as your own shadow on the wall? Do you trust me as I -trust _you_?" - -She had an object; and laid her hand on his arm with a pressure that -implied a world of confidence, while she answered, - -"Stanch as string to bow, hound to slot, a woman to her mirror, and a -man to his desire. We have never been less than friends, Beladon, why -should we? Perhaps, at last, we may be something more." - -He had an object too; therefore, resisting the impulse that prompted him -to pass his arm round her waist without farther ceremony, he assumed an -air of respectful devotion and observed, - -"I have no secrets from Kalmim; I trust her without reserve. There is -not a question she could ask me I would hesitate to answer from my -heart. Will she do as much for me in return?" - -"Of course!" she burst out frankly, while her bold black eyes looked him -through and through. "What do you desire to know?" - -"Arbaces was my friend," he replied abruptly. "The Great King's chief -captain fell shamefully murdered in his own dwelling. His daughter was -carried off by force into the desert. What has become of her now?" - -"You love her!" she exclaimed, turning her head away in feigned -vexation. "You love Ishtar, the cunning white-faced wanton! I ought to -have known it; I _did_ know it all along! And yet _you_, Beladon--I -thought you so different from the others. O, it is hard to bear! How -could I have been so weak? How can I be so foolish now?" - -She had put him thoroughly in the wrong. Surprised, alarmed, perplexed, -perhaps not a little softened and flattered, he hastened to excuse -himself with more ardour than discretion. - -"It is for Assarac," he stammered, "not for me. The chief priest saw her -awhile ago in the market, and she has escaped him--_him_ who can track a -bird in the air surely as a camel on the sand! He bade me trace her. -That is why I came to _you_." - -It passed through Kalmim's mind, that if Assarac set such store by the -discovery of Ishtar's refuge, the information she had power to give -would only be of value so long as it was withheld. If she would get her -price, she must beware of submitting her merchandise to the light of -day. The good-will of her customer too must obviously be secured in the -first instance. - -"And you do not love her yourself, Beladon?" she sobbed. "You are sure of -it--you will swear it--on--on--the altar of your god!" - -The storm had lulled--yet not too suddenly. The heaving bosom, -half-unveiled, though somewhat deep in colour, was not without its -charms. - -"By every altar of every god that reigns," answered the deluded priest. -"By Ashtaroth, queen of love and light; by Baal, in whose very presence -even now I stood; and by your own sweet self, whom I worship perhaps -more fervently than all the host of heaven put together!" - -"I cannot but believe you," she answered, smiling sweetly, while she -abandoned her hand to his caresses. "Nay, it would make me very sad -_not_ to believe you, Beladon. Will you always be true to me?" - -"Always!" he exclaimed, with an appearance of sincerity that might -perhaps be attributed to his habit of making the same profession to -every woman who was kind and fair. - -She, too, was not without practice, and accepted the assurance calmly -enough. - -"You _do_ love me," she whispered, "and, indeed, if ever I could bring -myself to think of a priest, it should be one like--well, like Beladon, -perhaps, though I sought in every temple through the land of Shinar till -I found him. And now, if I tell you all I know, frankly and freely, will -you promise me what I ask in return?" - -"I promise," said he, pressing her hand to his lips. - -"Will you swear?" she asked. - -"Can you not trust me without an oath?" he pleaded. - -"Freely," was her answer. "But you must swear it nevertheless, to please -_me_." - -"I _do_ swear!" he exclaimed. "By the Seven Stars--the Consulting -Judges--the might of Baal--the blood of Nisroch himself!" - -"And by the three wings in the circle," she added impressively. - -He hesitated; but the dark eyes, softer and sadder than their wont, were -looking straight into his own, the balmy breath was on his cheek. Kalmim -had never before seemed so kind, so womanly, so lovable, and he -committed himself to his promise by swearing that solemn oath which, -neither in letter nor in spirit, did a son of Ashur ever dare to break. - -She looked more than satisfied. "I can tell you all about Ishtar," said -she, "so long as she remained within the city walls, because I, who -speak with you now, accompanied the girl, for old friendship's sake, -beyond the southern gate, even to the Well of Palms, when she departed. -She rode an old and sorry camel, bearing but a skin of water and a lump -of dates. She was veiled and clothed for a long journey. I had nursed -her on my knees when I was scarcely more than a babe myself; and I -helped her, I own (for she is poor and lonely now), to beast, clothes, -and provisions--though I begged hard of her to remain, little believing -her earnest assurance, that if she could but find them, she had powerful -friends in the wilderness. Nevertheless, even at the Well of Palms a -tall rider had stopped to water his horse, and she did but speak a word -in his ear, when he dropped on the sand to do obeisance at her feet. I -was frightened, and fled to hide myself in the vineyards; but when I -raised my head, they were riding away together into the desert with -their faces towards the east. My own opinion is, that she has vanished -from the earth like her mysterious mother, and gone back to the stars -from which she traces her descent. And now, Beladon, that I have told -you all I know, I claim from you the fulfilment of your promise and your -oath." - - - - -CHAPTER XLIII - -THE SNARE OF THE FOWLER - - -He had sworn by the eternal wings, and there was no escape. The wisest -men in their dealings with women have pledged themselves, ere now, to -give precious metal in exchange for dross, and Beladon made no better -bargain when he matched his wits against the keener intellect and finer -perceptions of the queen's tirewoman. - -With grave aspect, and much decreased ardour, he answered somewhat -ruefully: - -"I will do your bidding--not only for mine oath's sake, but because of -the love I bear you. Speak, then--your servant is waiting your -commands." - -"It is not much I desire," said she carelessly, though had there been -more light he might have seen the blush rising to her brow. "We women -have strange fancies, you know; I would fain revisit my old haunts, and -walk once more by night through the palace of the Great King!" - -"Impossible!" he exclaimed, turning pale. "You know not what you -ask----" - -"Impossible!" she repeated, mocking him. "There is no such word -acknowledged by the servants of Semiramis or Baal. Nothing is -impossible, nor impenetrable, nor improper in the city of the Great -Queen!" - -"But my life would hang on your discretion," urged Beladon, much -disturbed--"on the silence of a woman, whose very office it is to repeat -everything she hears, whether false or true!" - -"And where could it hang more safely?" she retorted. "Nay, Beladon, your -welfare and mine are blended together like the bronze and gold of that -buckle on your belt. The interest of one is the interest of both. -Besides, think of your oath! Lead on." - -There seemed no help for it. Taking her by the hand, he guided her -softly through those darkened courts and passages; urging, in impressive -whispers, the necessity of secrecy, laying no light stress on the peril -he was himself encountering for her sake. Thus gliding like shadows, -they passed stealthily through the great hall of the king's palace, -immediately beneath that _talar_, or upper chamber, into which Ninus had -ascended when he poured his last drink-offering to the host of heaven, -and was seen by his people here on earth no more. - -She could not help shuddering while she recalled that awful night, when -a great horror seemed to brood over the city, and men looked blankly in -each others' faces, wondering what should befall them next. - -Catching sight of the famous carbuncle over the gate, glowing, even in -utter darkness, like a living coal, her fortitude gave way, and she -screamed aloud. - -However obtained, Beladon's experience seemed to have taught him that -vigorous measures were judicious in cases of feminine alarm. Seizing her -arm so impressively that she well-nigh screamed again for bodily pain, -he whispered in her ear: - -"It is death for both of us if we are discovered by the priests of Baal, -who now guard the palace. I know my brethren, Kalmim, and I _love_ you. -Listen! I wear a knife at my girdle, and you shall die first!" - -Thoroughly frightened, she hung her head, and held her breath. Could -this be the free-spoken light-hearted Beladon, whom she had hitherto -esteemed a mere frivolous idler, fit only to fill a place in the showy -pageants of his god? He was rising rapidly in her good opinion, while in -her characteristic love of excitement a certain thrill of pleasure -sweetened the terror that admonished her how many risks she ran at every -step. - -Traversing the great hall, they emerged on a terrace commanding one of -those pleasure-grounds for which Babylon was then no less famous than in -after years for the celebrated hanging-gardens that adorned the age of -her decay. It was a wilderness of shrubs and flowers, of grove and rock -and stream--fit haunt for the game with which it had been plentifully -stocked--fit retreat for luxurious royalty during the heat of an -Assyrian day--fit hiding-place to secrete the fair favourite of a -jealous lord--fit stronghold to immure the person of an imprisoned king. - -Its recesses were distinctly visible from the terrace twenty feet above, -on which Kalmim stood. At that elevation she looked over its entire -length and breadth, while a bright moon, high in the heavens, flooded -every nook and corner of this paradise with a light like day. - -It was now dead of night, the wild bird had gone to roost, the wild deer -was couched in its lair, yet a dark object moved across the lawn, on -which Kalmim's eyes were fixed, slowly, stealthily, with long-continued -pauses, like some feline creature prowling for its prey. - -"Come away," whispered Beladon in her ear. "You have traversed the -palace; you have seen the king's garden. It is time to depart." - -She made no answer. Her eyes were fixed and shining; her face set like -that of a sleep-walker, or of one horror-stricken in a dream. - -The figure turned slowly round. Its garments fell disordered and awry, -its hair was dishevelled, its mien wild and scared, but none could -mistake the beauty of that pale startled face; and in the miserable -object thus stealing, shivering through the moonlight, Kalmim did not -fail to recognise the person of Ninyas the king. - -Surrounded by a dense column of spearmen, on whom threats, -protestations, and remonstrances were alike wasted, the hapless son of -Ninus and Semiramis had no sooner entered the city of his inheritance, -in ill-advised disguise, than he found himself a helpless prisoner under -the very eyes of his assembled people, shouting enthusiastic welcome of -his return. So wisely had Assarac's measure been taken, so skilfully had -he disposed the large force at his command, that Ninyas and his -attendant, spite of their struggles, found themselves engulfed, as it -were, and swept away in a resistless rush of spears. Their horses' -bridles were seized, the animals themselves urged to a gallop, the -guards who hemmed them in drowned with noisy cheers even the -acclamations of an excited populace; and so the whirlwind swept on -unchecked towards the king's palace, where all Babylon was persuaded its -beloved queen had betaken herself, there to assume the royal diadem and -sceptre, ere she sought her own dwelling on the other side of the river. - -But Ninyas shuddered while they hurried him under the outspread wings of -those colossal bulls; for something told him they guarded a prison-gate, -obdurate and impenetrable as the very granite from which their huge -proportions were hewn. - -"It is all over," he whispered to Sethos. "The bow is broke and there -are no more arrows in the quiver. This is one of the Great Queen's -master-strokes. I ought not to have trusted her, and yet I thought my -mother loved me too well to have worsted me like this!" Whereto his -follower, from whose smooth and easy nature fortune, good or bad, glided -without making much impression, only answered, "A silken cushion is a -softer couch than the desert sand; a palace in Babylon is a nobler -lodging than the fortress of Ascalon. Baal himself knows not what the -coming hour may bring, but the three wings never cease to turn their -everlasting wheel, and the spoke that is lowest one moment comes -uppermost the next!" - -The cup-bearer's philosophy was so far borne out, that the royal -prisoner found no reason to complain of his personal treatment. His -banquets were sumptuous, his pleasures magnificent, his retinue -submissive, as if he were in truth a king; but, turn which way he would, -he encountered the smooth faces and downcast looks of the priests of -Baal, who answered his questions with irritating professions of -ignorance, and waited on him with a subservience maddening in its -vigilant humility. To those whose very existence depended on the favour -of Assarac had been confided the care of this important captive, and -scrupulously they fulfilled their trust. Though he wandered at will from -court to court and hall to hall of the roomy palace--though he might -take the air, when it pleased him, in its gardens, or follow the chase -in its wilderness--he knew that never for a moment was he -unwatched--felt that words, looks, gestures, all were noted and -reported, that his very thoughts were known; for while many of his -wishes seemed anticipated, his attempts at escape were foiled almost -before contrived. - -This constant supervision could not but tell on such a nature as that of -Ninyas, could not but injure a constitution already sapped by luxury and -indulgence. His health gave way; his mind became affected. He drank wine -indeed, freely, but neither ate nor slept, wandering listlessly to and -fro, chiefly in the open air, regardless of times and season--during the -hours of darkness, as under the glare of noon. Had it not been for -Sethos, who attended him with touching fidelity, his intellects must -have wholly succumbed, and perhaps the purpose of his incarceration -would have been accomplished. But the cup-bearer exhausted all his -ingenuity to rouse and keep alive the faculties of his lord, desponding, -nevertheless, more than was natural to his cheerful spirit and tendency -in all things to hope the best. - -Kalmim, watching the king with sudden frightened gaze, marked how pale -he had grown and wan, how shrunken seemed his stature, how loose the -costly garments hung on his limbs. - -Could he see her? She knew not. He started indeed, and stood at gaze -like a frightened deer, then muttered and ran on, looking up at the -moon, pausing after a few steps, with drooping head and downcast eyes, -to stare on the ground beneath his feet. - -She was a hard, bold, pleasure-loving woman, yet her heart melted within -her, and she wept. - -"Are you satisfied?" whispered Beladon, in accents of considerable -alarm. "I tell you, it is death to know our secrets, death to look on -the sight you now see. Will you not depart ere it be too late?" - -But Kalmim, it is scarce necessary to observe, had another object -besides that of an idle visit to the king's palace, in thus cajoling her -admirer and risking discovery by the dissolute priests of Baal. She had -reason to believe that Sethos shared the captivity of his lord, and with -Sethos she resolved to speak, if such an interview could be brought -about by woman's wit, woman's duplicity, or woman's charms. Laying her -hand caressingly on his arm, she shot one of her sweetest glances in -Beladon's face, and whispered, - -"Be patient with me, if you love me. I do but ask that you will take me -hence to the cedar gallery. I know my way then to the outer court, and -so can depart in peace." - -Her quick wits reflected, that as a communication existed between the -lawn and the cedar gallery, Sethos would be there in attendance on his -lord. - -The young priest pondered in some perplexity. It was his turn to watch -all night over the seclusion of this important prisoner, and he had -counted on the society of Kalmim to beguile the tedious hours till -daybreak; but the risk of discovery by his comrades was too great, the -penalty they would surely exact too hideous, and, for her sake, he -thought better of his enterprise, even at the last. - -"You do with me what you will," he said, after a pause, in which she -almost believed she could hear her heart beat. "If I let you go free -now, you will promise to steal softly out, silent as the dead. -Whatsoever you see you will forget; whomsoever you meet you will pass -unnoticed. All that takes place here must be as a vision of the night, -to vanish with dawn of day. Swear it, by the Serpent of Ashtaroth!" - -"By the Serpent of Ashtaroth!" she repeated, glad to escape on such good -terms; and, true to her easy careless nature, added in a whisper that -sent Beladon well-pleased to his watch, "I am not ungrateful, as you -know; when shall I see you again?--to-morrow, by the temple of Dagon, at -noon?" - -Nevertheless, her cheek paled and her breath came quick while she stole -through the cedar gallery, because, light and fickle as she was, she -_did_ entertain for the cup-bearer something of that mysterious -preference which makes a woman instinctively conscious of _his_ presence -whom she thus distinguishes from the rest of mankind; and, though she -could not see five paces before her, she felt that Sethos was there, and -would accost her as she passed. - -He could be vigilant enough for the safety of his lord, and, if he was -indeed slumbering, her light step brought him to his feet at a bound. -The next moment she was in his arms, with her head on his shoulder. - -"I have risked everything to see you!" she sobbed wildly; "life, and -more than life. O, Sethos, you are a prisoner to those who know not -mercy, suffering none to escape. Do they use you well?" - -His composure was sadly disturbed. It was startling enough to be -accosted in the dead of night by this beautiful vision, glowing and -panting in his embrace; but yet more surprising, surely, to find himself -an object of such interest to the queen's tirewoman. - -It is but justice to say that his first thought was for the safety of -his unexpected visitor. - -"How came you here, Kalmim?" he exclaimed, "and how are you to get away -again? Know you not that we are closely guarded by the priests of Baal? -If they found you in their precincts, all the wings of Nisroch would -scarcely save you from their wrath." - -"I am not so bad a captain," said she, hanging fondly to his arm, "but -that I have secured my retreat. I made Beladon guide me to this spot. I -know the secret passage hence to the outer court. It is guarded by a -hundred of the neophytes, hewers of wood and drawers of water for the -temple. They would as soon dare question Semiramis herself as the -favourite tirewoman of the Great Queen. It is of _you_ I am thinking, -Sethos. It was to find _you_ I came here at the dead of night--to see -_you_, to comfort _you_, and to consult upon some plan for _your_ -escape." - -The moon shone faintly into the gallery. By its light she could observe -how sad was his brow while he answered, pointing to the terrace: - -"Kings on their thrones have armies at command, and hosts are left them -after hosts have melted away. But this king in a prison hath but one -subject to do his bidding. Shall not that servant stick closer than a -brother, cherishing for his master a love surpassing the love of women?" - -"It is impossible to save you both," said she despondingly. - -"Then save the king," he answered simply and with a cheerful smile. - -"Nay, Sethos," said she; "I would peril much for your sake, -because--because--you never asked of me anything for yourself, and what -you bestow on man or woman is given freely and without an afterthought. -But Ninyas is one, and you are another. If I am to risk life and limb, -it must be for the cup-bearer, not for the king. I am not like an armour -of defence, to be put on or laid aside at will. Steel headpiece and -linked habergeon ward off death from this man as from that; but, trust -me, there is some difference between a harness of proof and a woman's -heart." - -He looked kindly in her face, and a thought seemed to strike him. - -"Even here, in our imprisonment," said he, "there sometimes reaches us -an echo, faint and feeble, of rumours that stir the outer world. Is it -true the Great Queen has summoned an innumerable host to march -forthwith on this expedition to the North?" - -"It _is_ true," said Kalmim; "and she leaves me here at home--_me_, -without whom awhile ago she could not lay a plait nor plant a bodkin. -But that you are here in captivity, Sethos, and I shall be near you, it -would have angered me bitterly, and I had reproached her roundly to her -face. But let her beware! A smouldering flame is not a fire -extinguished; and none was ever yet the better for offending Kalmim, -with or without a cause." - -"In the queen's absence, there must be a governor of the city," he -whispered. "Will the obedience of the people be given to such a one when -their ruler is many a day's march away? O Kalmim, if Ninyas be ever -righted, ever sit on the throne of Ashur in the palace of his fathers, -I, even I, shall stand in a dress of honour at his right hand; and who -but Kalmim will then really sway the sceptre, far and wide, over the -whole land of Shinar?" - -Her eyes flashed, her cheek glowed. No woman is so empty, so frivolous, -but that she willingly entertains a project of ambition; and the last -watch of night had passed away, dawn was already glimmering on the -horizon of the desert, while Sethos and his visitor were yet taking -earnest counsel together how they might restore the dynasty to its -rightful heir, and sap, till it crumbled into ruins, the glory and power -of her who was now supreme mistress of the eastern world. - - - - -CHAPTER XLIV - -THE VEILED QUEEN - - -In all her reflected splendour as the wife of the great conqueror--in -her richest lustre of youthful beauty--in her noblest state of royal -magnificence while she administered for an absent husband the affairs of -his boundless empire--never did Semiramis appear so glorious, so -beautiful, or so queenly, as when she passed in review, on the frontiers -of the land of Shinar, the innumerable forces she had collected, less, -indeed, to gratify the cravings of ambition than of a softer yet more -engrossing sentiment, which in her woman's heart predominated over -desire of conquest and love of war. - -Even with her untold resources, unscrupulous strength of will, and -unquestioned power, it was no light task for the Great Queen to muster -such a host as might invade the strange and distant regions for which it -was destined, if not with certainty of victory, at least, without -prospect of defeat. To the haughty Assyrian, polished and luxurious, -though fierce and warlike, that rude inhospitable country, from which he -was fenced by his northern mountains, seemed awful as the land beyond -the grave. For him, the word "Armenia" meant a place of horror, mystery, -and romance. With Egypt he was familiar as with the sandy desert that -parted him from his ancient enemy. Of Ethiopia, notwithstanding its -scorching suns and endless wastes, he had formed his own ideas, -sufficiently extravagant, attributing to its burning clime many demons, -monsters, and other prodigies, yet wholly satisfied that all the powers -of the south, in or out of nature, were as nothing before the face of -Baal and the might of Ashur. The warlike Philistine tribes, even the -redoubtable children of Anak, he had fought against, with varying -success, gradually absorbing them in his own dominion or pushing them -farther into the wilderness. It was his custom to conquer wherever he -found room to drive his chariots and wheel his horsemen; but he had -never yet penetrated beyond the Zagros range to the snowy peaks, the -shaggy woods, the dreary wilds of the North. That he should meet with -peril and adventure such as the veterans of Ninus had not even dreamed, -he was fully persuaded; that he should overcome all obstacles, he had -been no son of Ashur had he not implicitly believed; but that he was -engaged in a formidable undertaking, and would encounter a powerful foe, -seemed obvious from the enormous levies collected, and the gigantic -preparations made to carry out the war. - -The whole expedition was commanded to assemble within a few days' march -of the frontier, there to receive final orders, and pass in review under -the eyes of the Great Queen. - -Wearing a dazzling harness of steel inlaid with gold, and a burnished -helmet, on which blazed a ruby of such size and splendour that its rays -seemed to play round her head like a plume of fire, Semiramis, standing -in a war-chariot, revealed to her assembled host a beauty brighter than -the metal, richer and more lustrous than the gem. Close by her wheel, so -that she could mount him at a moment's notice, was led Merodach, -caparisoned with crimson and gold. Not a warrior in the host who looked -on him but swore that white horse with his eyes of fire was well worthy -to carry so precious a burden. She seemed to prize him dearly, laying -her hand on his smooth and swelling neck in frequent caresses, which the -horse acknowledged with arching crest, brightened eye, and quivering -ear, looking about him, nevertheless, as if not wholly satisfied, and -neighing loudly on occasion when a burst of martial music, or the tramp -of an armed column, seemed to wake in him certain memories of the heart, -so faithful and so touching in that creation man is pleased to call the -brute. Though Semiramis had broke him to her hand, and tamed him to her -will, she could not teach the horse to forget his rider. Perhaps she -loved him none the less that ear and eye seemed always on the watch for -his absent lord. - -Hanging diagonally against the panel of her chariot, within ready reach -of her royal hand, swung a quiver of sandal-wood, containing but the two -arrows which the Comely King had sent in answer to her haughty demand. -She had sworn by Ashtaroth never to draw bow till she came face to face -with Aryas, and then to return him his own warlike tokens in deadly -quittance, accompanied each with five hundred thousand men. - -Flashing back the light from its polished surface like a mirror of -steel, the queen's shield, all chased and embossed with gold, was -suspended at the back of her chariot. As the coveted office remained -unfilled, every mighty man of war in the host had in turn believed he -would be selected to bear it before her in battle; but Semiramis, having -long since made her choice, kept her own counsel, determining to face -the weapons of her enemies unfenced until she had set _him_ free to -protect her person, who was never out of her thoughts; who had obtained, -perhaps from his very indifference, so strange an ascendency over her -wild and wilful heart. - -Assarac, the eunuch, well pleased to accompany the expedition, coveted -more than others this honourable post. When captain after captain had -been passed over, a sweet intoxicating hope bade the priest's brain -swim, and so changed his character that in a transport of enthusiasm he -could forget alike the exigencies of policy and the dictates of common -sense. - -Descending from his chariot, he approached the position Semiramis had -taken up, while the flower of her armies passed by in countless -thousands, and, making his obeisance, proffered a request that he might -be permitted to guard her safely with his life, in terms of the humblest -devotion ever offered by a subject to a queen. - -She laughed in his face--a kind frank hearty laugh, that stung him to -the quick. - -"What are you thinking of," said she, "my trusty sage and counsellor? -Surely that weight of steel on your brow has disordered the workings of -your keen and subtle brain. Know you not, that when Semiramis mounts her -war-chariot, she drives in the fore-front of the battle? I tell you, -man, I have had shafts and javelins flying round me as thick as locusts -on a field of barley in the blade! I have seen the stoutest captains of -Ashur cower beneath that deadly hail! What would a priest of Baal do in -such a storm?" - -He was deeply hurt, and showed it. Had not he, the priest, the eunuch, -confronted dangers in her interests at home to which the reddest -battlefield that ever ran with blood was but a game of play? He felt -within him a spirit of fierce and reckless daring far above the animal -courage of the spearman, but he only answered sadly, - -"I could at least die at the feet of my queen, making of my body a -pedestal for her to crush and trample, if it raised her but an inch!" - -With a cruelty, the more pitiless that it seemed so utterly unconscious, -she turned on him her soft alluring glance, her sweet bewildering smile. -Perhaps, because of his very nature, she was more lavish of such -endearments to _him_ than to others; perhaps, in sheer wantonness of -beauty, she cared not what they were, nor how many, whom she scorched -to death with the fire she thus flung carelessly about; but the avowed -regard, the frank kindness with which she treated her devoted servant, -were at once the provocatives and the punishment of his presumption. - -Meanwhile he, the counsellor, the reader of the stars, the man of -statecraft, of wisdom, the priest, the eunuch, was blindly, madly, in -love with his queen! - -"Could I spare you?" said she earnestly, even tenderly. "Where should -stand the pedestal from which Semiramis may look over a conquered world, -but on the far-sighted wisdom, the unshaken fidelity of her best and -truest servant? I tell you, Assarac, that you and I, beardless though we -be, have more skill of war than all the captains of all this marching -host, that rather than lose your counsel, I would send the half of mine -armies, bows, spears, and auxiliaries, back to the homes they quitted at -my command. And yet look on them, priest. By the beauty of Ashtaroth, -these are not men to be despised!" - -While she spoke, the chariots of Assyria were filing past her, two by -two. Each, drawn by its three horses, contained its complement of -warriors--its heavily armed bowman, his charioteer, and shield-bearer, -all of whom were on occasion formidable foot-soldiers, strong, fierce, -and skilled in the use of deadly weapons. In their midst waved the -scarlet-and-gold banner of Ashur, representing Merodach, god of war, -standing on a bull, with a drawn bow in his hand. Their appointments, -their discipline, their very looks seemed to ensure victory. The queen's -eye sparkled, and the colour rose in her delicate cheek. - -"'Tis a gallant show!" she murmured; "each comelier than his comrade, -and every captain of ten thousand fit to mate a queen. Is it worth while -to hazard all for one so little different from the rest? Yes; I hold -that man was made for woman's pleasure, to destroy him how and when she -will!" - -The eunuch, hearing her last sentence, smiled sadly. "So be it!" he -answered. "The altar must have its victim and the flame its fuel, but -the votary is none the less destroyed that he is consumed in sacred -fire." - -She heeded him not. The war-chariots had passed on, and all her -faculties were concentrated on a troop of mounted auxiliaries, small -indeed in number, but of gigantic stature, riding on horses strong, -swift, and terrible as the desert wind with which they were accustomed -to compete. "What have we here?" exclaimed Semiramis, holding her bow -above her head, and thus bringing the whole array to a halt. "Have the -winged bulls of Ashur come down from their pedestals to march into -Armenia? Are these riders men or giants? Were their horses bred on -earthly plains or are they born from the fire and the simoon? Behold! -Surely they are led by a woman! As I live by bread, another -warrior-queen! but veiled and shrouded like a housewife in Babylon, -stealing out at night to the feast of Dagon. Halt them, I say! And, -Assarac, command her hither to my chariot-wheels forthwith!" - -The eunuch made haste to obey, and the small column formed line at once, -facing Semiramis, man and beast quivering with repressed strength and -spirit, held in subjection by the habit of warlike discipline. Their -veiled leader took her place in the centre, sitting her horse tranquil -and immovable as a statue. - -A tall well-armed warrior rode out, however, from her ranks, and -dismounting, prostrated himself before the queen, while his horse, -waiting for him, watched his motions like a dog. Rising erect, it did -not escape the notice of Semiramis, that his lofty head was on a level -with her shoulder, as she stood above him in the war-chariot. - -"Whence come ye?" asked the queen, "and wherefore are ye ranged under -the banner of Ashur, commanded by a woman like myself?" - -"Thy servants are children of Anak," answered the leader. "They are free -as the wild ass of the desert, paying tribute and owing subjection to -none. They came out of the wilderness at the summons of the Great Queen, -neither for gold nor spoil, but by _her_ bidding whom their prophets -foretold, a daughter of the stars, who has come down to lead her chosen -tribe into the North." - -"Doubtless, from her seat on high she could see far and wide," replied -Semiramis with grave irony; "and she has made no idle choice. By the -beard of Nimrod, I have never set eyes on such men! And she, that veiled -woman on the black horse, is your captain, then? How are ye assured she -is indeed a daughter of the stars?" - -"By the light in her eyes," said he simply. "Once before she appeared -among us, and we knew her not, but suffered her to depart in peace, -according to the prophecy--nevertheless, when she came a second time, -the fire-god cleared our sight, and we beheld in her face the glory of -those whom earthly mothers bore on the mountains to the sons of heaven. -Our fathers looked for her in vain; but she has descended for us, their -sons; therefore at her behest have we gathered under the banner of -Ashur, in the service of the Great Queen." - -"Trust me, you shall not be idle!" exclaimed Semiramis: adding, with -some curiosity, "And this queen of yours? Is she then always thus -shrouded and invisible?" - -"It is death to look on her face," answered the son of Anak. "When she -unveils before the enemy, behold, he will be consumed and waste away -like water spilt on the sand. May the queen live for ever!" - -Semiramis scarce concealed a smile. - -"It is well," said she graciously, making him a sign to retire. "When -the time comes, I doubt not you will quit you like men! Like men!" she -repeated, turning to the eunuch; "rather like the giants of our fathers' -time, whom ye equal in size and strength. Surely, Assarac, we may take -the Comely King by the beard with warriors like these--tall as camels, -strong as wild bulls, fierce as lions, foolish as the ostrich, true -slaves of Ashtaroth, veiled or unveiled, eager to ride to death at the -wave of a woman's hand!" - -He looked wistfully after the stalwart forms, sitting their horses so -proudly, as they trampled on in a cloud of dust; and his heart swelled -with bitter sadness while he asked himself, which of these lusty -champions would pour out his life for her so freely, so gladly as he, -the eunuch, the priest. Must he always be tongue-tied? Would he never -have courage to tell her? Could she not guess it, see it, feel it? O, if -she knew! If she only knew! - - - - -CHAPTER XLV - -ARYAS THE BEAUTIFUL - - -Those personal advantages of strength and beauty which caused the -captivity of Sarchedon in a distant land served also to obtain for him -royal notice and approval when he arrived at the place of his -destination. The merchant who had purchased him from the Anakim knew -well the price commanded by such specimens of manhood in an open market; -but he was also aware of the fictitious value the king of Armenia -attached to men of goodly stature and comely looks, who were skilled in -exercises of war. This wily trader laughed in his beard while he -reflected on the excellent bargain he had made with these simple -children of the desert, from whose tents he led away his Assyrian -purchase towards the mountains of the north. - -Sarchedon, notwithstanding anxiety for the fate of Ishtar, and sad -forebodings of an endless banishment from his own country, had become so -habituated to reverses that they affected his appearance and bearing but -little; while, in spite of mental uneasiness, health and strength could -not but increase under the care of the kindly merchant and his -companions, journeying easily on, with frequent halts, breathing night -and day the free open air, keener and purer as they neared those wooded -mountains that formed a natural defence for the frontier of the Armenian -king. - -The trader, whose avocations led him to visit different countries -bordering on the land of Shinar, spoke fluently the dialects of all. -Springing from a common root, the language differed so little from his -own, that Sarchedon mastered without difficulty such idioms and address -as became an Armenian slave in presence of his lord. When, therefore, he -reached at length the rushing waters of swift Araxis, and beheld the -towers of Ardesh against the clear pure northern sky, he was fit, -thought the trader, in every quality of mind and body to stand in a -dress of honour before Aryas the Beautiful himself. - -Ushered into the presence of the Armenian monarch, Sarchedon, lifting -his eyes to take note of his future master, actually started to behold a -form and figure that seemed, as it were, the reflection of his own in -some magic mirror, glorifying and enhancing every quality for which he -was himself most conspicuous. He beheld a man of similar stature, frame, -and countenance; but the stature was a trifle loftier, the frame even -more shapely, more graceful; while over the comely face, with all its -kingly dignity, played a light smile, so feminine in its softness that -it might well have irradiated the beauty of a twin-sister of Sarchedon. - -To outward splendour of jewels and apparel the king owed nothing. His -garments were of the coarsest texture and the simplest shape, such as -became a hunter of the mountains who would have every limb free and -unfettered for the chase. The bow in his hand, though tough, -well-seasoned, and of formidable length, was rudely tipped with -elk-horn, the sharp straight sword on his thigh hung in a frayed -leathern scabbard, the sandals on his feet were of untanned hide, and -one of them was stained with blood. - -Yet Sarchedon gazed on him with an admiration he was unable to control. -He had seen Ninus in pride and pomp of warlike power, Pharaoh dazzling -in the blaze of his golden throne. The one, without his chariots and -banners, might have been a mere war-worn spearman, the other, denuded of -priceless gems and shining raiment, a peasant or a slave; but this man, -standing unadorned, save by his comely face and noble bearing, looked -every inch a king. - -Twice he prostrated himself in unconscious and involuntary homage, and -twice Aryas the Beautiful smiled on him well pleased; for he too could -not but acknowledge the noble bearing and fair exterior of this stately -captive, vowing in his own mind, that if the courage and intelligence of -the Assyrian were in any proportion to his good looks, he would promote -him without delay to the most honourable post in his court, that of -bowbearer to the king on all dangerous expeditions, whether in warfare -or the chase. - -As time rolled on, there sprung up a strange feeling of regard and -attachment between these two men, so alike in person, so different in -all besides. Such a feeling as is indeed rarely reciprocal when race, -religion, and station are wholly at variance, when one is a monarch, -the other a captive, one master, the other slave. Nevertheless, Aryas -took no small pleasure in the society of Sarchedon, and the Assyrian -entertained in return for this foreign prince a sentiment of loyal -fidelity that bade him ignore hardship or danger, and count life as a -thing of little cost in the service of his lord. - -These feelings, the result of gratitude for kindly courtesy and gentle -usage, grew to utter and entire devotion, from an event that took place -soon after Sarchedon had been appointed bowbearer to the Armenian king. - -With all its feminine beauty of expression, the face of Aryas was that -of a brave resolute man, well suited to such an athletic and graceful -frame, as enabled the Comely Monarch to excel in bodily exercises -demanding strength, agility, or endurance. He was passionately fond of -the chase, and followed out his favourite pastime with a persistency and -reckless daring that rendered it more laborious, and even more -dangerous, than actual war. The Armenian lion, bred among the glens and -fastnesses of those colder regions, was doubtless inferior in size and -ferocity to his African brother, or even to that which Ninus loved to -hunt on the sunny plains of the country between the rivers; yet was he a -formidable antagonist to one who went out to meet him on equal terms, -discarding the advantage of horse or chariot, but advancing on foot to -take his enemy by the beard, opposing teeth and talons only with sword -and shield. Such was the practice of Aryas the Beautiful, and Sarchedon -could not control a transport of generous admiration when he witnessed -the confident courage with which this royal Armenian slew the lord of -the forest in single combat, rousing him to spring rampant against the -buckler, and stabbing the mighty beast from beneath that defence, with -well-directed thrusts of a broad two-edged sword in its tawny sinewy -chest. - -They were together in a deep ravine of that chain of mountains where -tradition declared the first ship to have rested with its various cargo -and its God-fearing crew, when the raven flitted round it to and fro, -when the white bird of peace came back with an olive-branch in her -mouth, ere she left it for evermore. Crowned by the dark and silent -forest, the gray rock rose precipitous on either side. The king's -retinue remained with their horses at a distance, and Aryas followed his -prey into the defile, attended only by Sarchedon in his capacity as -bowbearer. It did not increase the Assyrian's confidence to know that -his quiver was empty and his bow strained. Had Aryas been overpowered, -he could have rendered him no assistance; and the horsemen must have -gone round many furlongs ere they could have ridden down the -mountain-side into this deep and dangerous gorge. Nevertheless, Aryas -the Beautiful, with the bright smile and jaunty step of a peasant-girl -going to market, tracked the lion's footprints one by one till he came -up with him; and when the formidable game turned at bay, observed calmly -to his follower: - -"You are strong, Sarchedon, and I will help you; but 'tis a weighty -carcass for you and me to carry up that steep when we have slain him. -Nevertheless, I must have his skin at any cost. I want it for a -foot-cloth in my war-chariot." - -Ere he spoke again, the lion was quivering in its death-pangs at their -feet, and the king had drunk his fill from a clear cold mountain-spring, -sparkling like a diamond on a cushion in its mossy velvet nest. With no -little labour they carried the dead monster to their companions; and -then for the first time it occurred to Aryas that the life of his -attendant would have been somewhat wantonly risked if he had lost his -own. - -"Up in these mountains," he said kindly, "we are no longer lord and -servant, but true comrades and brother hunters of the wood. That is why -I love to come here. But we all take our share of sport and danger -alike. Wherefore did you not tell me you were unarmed? Had my foot -slipped on that strip of turf, you would have found yourself in no -maiden's embrace, my friend; and stout as you are, yonder, I think, lies -a better wrestler than you." - -"It was for his servant to follow where my lord led," answered Sarchedon -modestly; adding, with the inborn pride of his nation, "The sons of -Ashur are little given to fear; but if a man lacked courage, he might -borrow all he needed from such an example as is afforded by my lord the -king." - -"Nay, my friend," replied Aryas, laughing, "I have no such superfluity -to lavish, for I see my danger clearly when I confront it. Nevertheless, -where there is no fear there is no courage, as there can be no fortitude -where there is no pain. But I will not suffer my followers to risk life -for my amusement; and when we reach the dark forest you see yonder -across the valley, to drive the mountain-bull from his covert and chase -him over the plain, you shall be as well armed and mounted as myself." - -By such frank dealings with his inferiors, such kindly consideration for -others, the Comely King had so attached his attendants to his person, -that it was generally believed amongst his subjects he possessed some -magic amulet compelling all that came about his person to love him and -do his bidding. Perhaps they were not far wrong, and the charm he used -had in it much of strange and subtle power; for men cannot resist a fair -face, a frank manner, above all, the kindly sympathy of a brave and -generous heart. - -Leaping on his horse, the king bade Sarchedon change his bow, replenish -his quiver, and follow him across the defile. As he plunged down the -steep after his leader, over slabs of rock affording but slippery -foothold, and through broken ground clothed with tangled brushwood, -Sarchedon found himself wishing more than once for the sagacious -instinct and obedient paces of his own Merodach. The animal he rode was -strong, active, and full of mettle. For all common purposes he could not -have desired a better; but when a man is galloping at speed over -unforeseen obstacles, where a false step is a certain downfall, he -learns to appreciate that electric sympathy, the result of constant -companionship, which constitutes so subtle and mysterious a link between -the horse and its rider. Merodach would obey an inflection of the body -readily as a turn of the rein, would spring to the gentlest pressure as -to the lustiest shout; but Merodach stood picketed far off under a -southern sky, and Sarchedon's horse was on his head twice ere he rose -the opposite hill to come up with his leader, who had halted for a few -moments that he might look about him and observe his ground. - -"We have the wind of them," said Aryas, pointing to a few indistinct -dun-coloured objects glancing like shadows in and out amongst the -trees. "But they are disturbed, and have left off feeding. When their -heads are up like that, they mean moving, and pretty quickly too. Dost -see that broad-leafed oak standing by itself there over the waterfall? -Gallop round it, man, without drawing rein, and you will be in the thick -of them. They will not expect danger from that quarter, and even if they -do make a rush for it, you will turn the old bulls to me." - -While Sarchedon obeyed, the Armenian king unwound the scanty fold of -linen that formed his head-dress, and permitted it to float at length on -the breeze, thus distracting the attention of the wild cattle, now -thoroughly on the alert, from their enemy. - -Sarchedon galloped on unnoticed so long as his horse's footfall was lost -in the roar of the torrent. When within a bowshot, however, the herd -became aware of his approach, and forming line almost like the horsemen -of Assyria, paused for a space while they roused themselves to fury, -throwing the earth about them with horn and hoof. - -For once the king's wood-craft was at fault. Preferring, as it seemed, a -known to an unknown danger, they elected to bear down on the advancing -horseman rather than make farther acquaintance with that long mysterious -strip of white which had hitherto engrossed their attention. - -Sarchedon now found himself called on to sustain the charge of the whole -infuriated mass. While he fitted an arrow to his bowstring, his horse -snorted and trembled, its eye turning blue with terror. He could but -hope to discharge one shaft at the foremost and then take his chance -with the spear. - -"The fool!" muttered Aryas, sitting like a statue, though eagerly on the -watch, "not to keep on their flanks. It was my fault," he added; "I -should have warned him." - -Then he shook his horse's bridle and charged down at speed amongst the -herd. - -In the meantime the entire mass, headed by the oldest and heaviest -bulls, came thundering on against Sarchedon. Their leader he transfixed, -indeed, with an arrow through its mighty neck; but the animal, with a -roar of rage and pain, only lowered its head and made at him with the -more fury. Had he been on Merodach, he might have escaped; for watching -its attack with wary eye, he would have evaded the collision, and -stabbed it as it passed by; but the horse beneath him had now become -unmanageable from fright, would answer neither heel nor bridle, and -turning its flank towards the enemy, was rolled up by the wild bull in a -confused mass, with its prostrate helpless rider. - -Looking wildly out from under his horse, Sarchedon saw the conqueror's -eye glow like a living coal, felt its warm slaver streak his own -defenceless face, and knew that ringed, curved, massive horn, brandished -aloft with sidelong menace, would only descend to be buried in his -entrails. Already the bitterness of death seemed past, when a horse's -head showed over the wild bull's massive shoulder, an arm was raised to -strike, and the ponderous brute went down almost across Sarchedon's -feet, with spine and marrow deftly cloven by one lightning stroke from -the sharp hunting blade of the Comely King. - -Extricating himself from his fallen horse, the Assyrian bowed his -forehead to the ground, and kissed his preserver's feet. - -"My life is as a prey," said he, "delivered into the hand of my lord the -king, who has saved it at the peril of his own. Therefore, in storm and -sunshine, peace and war, good and evil, I am his slave for evermore." - -Aryas was measuring the dead bull's horn with his bowstring. - -"I can get slaves enough for gold," he answered carelessly. "When I -venture life, it is to buy a _friend_." - -Sarchedon's voice came very low and hoarse, and in his eyes shone the -unaccustomed glitter of tears, while he replied, - -"When I fail my lord, may my steed fall, may my bowstring rot, may my -javelin splinter, and may the woman I love betray me to another for a -measure of barley or a paltry handful of gold!" - - - - -CHAPTER XLVI - -A WIND FROM THE SOUTH - - -Day after day the friendship of these congenial spirits grew closer and -more familiar. The Assyrian had related his own eventful history to his -new lord, and Aryas seemed never weary of listening to the tale. Bold, -enterprising, and imaginative, he loved to hear of the conquest of -Ninus, the prowess of the sons of Ashur, the splendour of Babylon, the -wealth of Egypt, and the many adventures through which Sarchedon had -passed in his long journey from the tents of the Anakim to the mountain -fastnesses of his own northern kingdom. He would inquire minutely -concerning the evolutions and tactics of the Assyrian armies, the number -of their chariots, the strength of their cavalry, the weapons of their -men of war, and the proportion in which they made use of sling, bow, and -spear; but he could not be brought to take any interest, apart from her -warlike skill, in the character of Semiramis, paying little attention to -the other's glowing description of her lavish state and luxurious -magnificence, least of all caring to hear of her beauty, her -attractions, the glory of her apparel, the lustre of her personal -charms. - -Even when Sarchedon poured his heart out freely on the subject of his -beloved Ishtar, the Comely King listened, indeed, with a certain show of -kindly interest, as due to the emotion of his friend, but obviously -failed to appreciate the importance of the subject, or to comprehend the -enthusiasm which could thus set up a pair of soft eyes and a fair face -for the aim of a man's whole energies, the reward of his perils and -toils. He did not understand how a woman's smile could possess such -attraction as the bray of a clarion, the flaunt of a banner, or the -managed leap of a horse. - -Beautiful exceedingly, formed to be the delight of the other, as he was -the admired of his own, sex, love to the Comely King seemed but a -foolish riddle, not worth the trouble of solving, an irksome study -interfering with the pleasures of the chase, unmanly, untoward, but, -above all, tedious and out of place when other affairs were on hand. - -"Show me a woman," said he, smiling at his bowbearer's rhapsodies, "with -an eye like my falcon and a heart like my dog; so will I too drink -myself drunk with this folly as with wine, to get sober again as surely, -if not so soon. Till then, give me horse and hound, bow and spear. I -tell you, Sarchedon, the whitest arm that was ever thrown round a man's -neck could not yield me such a thrill of triumph and rapture as the -lion's claw that tore me from loin to shoulder over my buckler while I -stabbed him to the heart with my short sword, ere we carried him, you -and I, up the mountain-side, and skinned his tawny carcass under the old -oak-tree!" - -Sarchedon sighed. - -"I love the chase well," said he, "and warfare better, and Ishtar best -of all." - -"Warfare!" repeated Aryas, catching and kindling at the word like a -war-horse at ring of steel; "talk to me of that till sundown, if you -will! Ah, war is something to live for, something to die for, something -on which to wage sceptre and kingdom and all, if only the foe be worthy -of the venture. Could I but see the sons of Ashur drawn out fairly -before me in battle array, I would fall willingly in their midst, and -hold my fame was crowned since I had lived to measure swords with the -conquerors of the South. But what do I say? These are dreams and unreal -visions. Too many ranges of impassable mountains, too many leagues of -scorching desert, lie between the gaudy pinnacles of Babylon and my rude -towers here in Ardesh. I have not power to go to _him_; and I think, -with all his courage, all his lust of conquest, the fierce Assyrian dare -not come to _me_!" - -They had spent the morning since sunrise in the chase, and had been so -successful as to regain the palace in Ardesh by noon. After a rough but -plentiful repast, the king and his bowbearer were sitting over the -embers of a brazier, each with an untasted cup of wine beside him, -conversing as above. Scores of warriors and retainers, shaggy, tall, -athletic, clothed in furs and skins, crowded round a huge wood fire in -the outer court under the open sky; for although the sun was fierce and -powerful, a storm of sleet had lately swept across the heavens, and -these hardy champions laughed while they wrung their beards to dash the -frozen drops away. There was a shade of despondency on the young king's -brow, and he shook his comely head, while he reflected on the remote -position of his kingdom, and suggested the impossibility of an Assyrian -invasion. - -Sarchedon started to his feet and listened. - -"It is the tramp of a horse at speed," said he. "For good or for evil, -there comes a messenger bringing tidings in hot haste to my lord the -king." - -Even while he spoke, a stir in the outer court denoted some unusual -excitement, while the fire was deserted for the gate, where a crowd had -already gathered round a travel-worn horseman, dismounting from his -reeking beast, panting and jaded with fatigue. - -Sarchedon's face fell, and there was at least as much of self-reproach -as of gratitude in his tone while he exclaimed: - -"Cursed be my day, and oh! that I had never been born! Something tells -me I have brought evil to the hand that fed and the roof that sheltered -me. I know too surely that the enemy is at the gate, that the sons of -Ashur are bending their bows against the safety of my lord the king." - -Aryas smiled, and his eyes glittered like a hawk's. - -"Bring in the messenger," said he in calm sonorous accents; adding in a -lower tone to his bowbearer, "When, in return for fair words, costly -gifts, and a dishonourable demand, I sent two arrows to the land of -Shinar, the one a headless shaft, the other barbed and pointed, it was a -token that Armenia, though desirous of peace, would never shrink from -war. Had a dog sought my protection, he should have been safe behind a -nation of horsemen. Shall I deliver up my _friend_ at the whim of a -proud lascivious woman, though she be twenty times a queen?" - -"Alas," replied the other, "my lord knows not the might of Semiramis. -She is immovable by pity, she is insensible to fear. All the hosts of -heaven could not turn her purpose, nor thwart her desire. I will be the -bearer of an embassy speaking words of peace from my lord the king. I -will go back to put my neck under her foot, and abide my doom." - -"Let her come and take you!" was the gallant answer. "By the sword we -worship, she shall find the task a hard one!--ay, if for every bodkin -she looses from her head-gear she can set in array a hundred thousand -men!" - -The messenger, a rude and hardy horseman of the north, had now arrived -in the king's presence. Prostrating himself but once, and with scanty -ceremony, he stood erect to deliver his tidings in frank bluff tones. - -"I have ridden night and day from the southern frontier," said he. -"Thiras the governor sends greeting to the king. He bids me tell him the -south wind has brought up a flight of locusts, that darken heaven and -cover earth with their swarms. Shall I speak yet farther in the ears of -the people who throng the gate?" - -Aryas shot one glance of intelligence at Sarchedon. - -"Say on," he exclaimed; "I have no secrets from those who sit at meat -with me in the city, and stand beside me in the field." - -Thus adjured, the messenger proceeded: - -"The sons of Ashur have come up in their might from the land between the -rivers. Their war-chariots shake the mountain as they pass, their horses -drink the streams dry where they ride through. Thiras cannot count their -numbers, and what could he do but offer earth and water for tribute, -seeing that they muster under the banner of the Great Queen?" - -Aryas started as if he were stung. The comely face flushed dark red, and -rarely as he lost his self-command, some outburst of anger would surely -have followed, but that another messenger arrived on the heels of his -predecessor, if possible more hurried, more jaded, more travel-worn than -the first. - -He, too, scarcely prostrated himself in the royal presence, and through -the shaggy locks which fell across his brow his eyes shone with the -terror of some wild forest creature hunted by the wolves. - -"From Sambates, governor of Beznun," he stammered, "to the king -greeting. They have cast a bank against Betlis, they have surrounded the -great lake, and called it by the name of their queen. They have overrun -the province, taking fenced cities, burning villages, laying waste -cornland and vineyard, slaying men, and carrying into captivity women -and children. They are swifter than the south wind that brings them, -fiercer than leopards, more terrible than the lightning, and numberless -as the stars of heaven. What could Sambates do but offer earth and water -for tribute, seeing that they muster under the banner of the Great -Queen?" - -Once again Aryas winced and coloured, but controlled himself the more -effectually for the emergency of the situation. In the same instant he -realised his peril, resolved to meet it, and calculated his powers of -resistance. His first aim was to inspire his followers with confidence. -Filling his scarcely-tasted goblet to the brim, he advanced to the outer -court, and standing in their midst, bade them follow his example, while -he drank the national pledge--"To the Men of the Mountain and the Sons -of the Naked Sword!" Then, taking his bow from Sarchedon, he broke it -across, and cast the fragments at his feet in token that war was -declared, while he thus addressed them: - -"The wolves of the wood came up against the mountain-bull, and thought -to slay him, saying, We are fierce and daring, my brothers, because we -live on blood; and this creature cannot resist us, for his food cometh -up under the dews of heaven, and he slakes his thirst in the murmuring -stream of the hills. Also, we outnumber him a hundred to one. Therefore -will we encircle him, and leap on him, and pull him down; so shall we -fatten on his carcass, and drain the warm life-blood from his throat. -Let us go up against him without fear, in an open space, rejoicing that -he has been delivered unto us for a prey. - -"But a herd of wild deer were feeding in the plain, and when the wolves -approached they took to flight; so the mountain-bull, grazing far above -them, raised his head, and was aware of his enemy crowding and circling -towards him, like the waves of the Northern Sea. Then he withdrew into a -thicket, where he set his back against the solid rock; and when the -wolves made at him, fiercely, but one by one, they dashed themselves to -pieces in vain against his shaggy front, writhing under his feet, -falling pierced and mangled by his mighty horns. - -"Men of the Mountain and Sons of the Naked Sword, is not Armenia strong -and tameless as the wild bull of her hills? Are not the sons of Ashur -innumerable and pitiless as the wolves that scour the forest, leaving -only bones white and bare where they have passed? Ye have learned by -these messengers that our country has been entered and our honour -assailed. The banner of Assyria is flaunting in Armenian breezes, the -sons of the Mighty Hunter are trooping in by thousands from the south, -to slay and ravage and destroy. Therefore I call on you at my need, -therefore I bid you to council; not to deliberate on a question of peace -or war, for the bow is already broken and the sword unsheathed, but to -advise with your king and leader how best we shall rid us of our enemy, -and drive the wolf back, cowed, mangled, halting, and howling, to his -den!" - -Wilder, fiercer, louder with every peal, rose the shouts that greeted -the Comely King's harangue, while he paused and looked about him, -stately and graceful, like a master-stag at bay. Brawny arms were -tossed, and naked swords brandished aloft in very ecstasy of warlike -defiance, nor, of all those manly russet-bearded faces, was there one -that failed to express intense hatred of the stranger, implicit trust -and confidence in the might of Armenia, with a fixed resolve to die, if -need be, at worst, fighting hard to the very end. - -When the council which Aryas had summoned took their places for -deliberation, there seemed but one opinion--that, gathering all their -forces without delay, they should pour down into the plain, like their -own rivers in flood, and, overwhelming the foe in their onslaught, sweep -him back to the place from whence he came. Who could stand before the -hosts of the North? Were they not Men of the Mountain and Sons of the -Naked Sword? - -It was the king's bowbearer whose skill and experience tempered this -bold resolve with a degree of caution, resulting from his own knowledge -of the Assyrians' warlike resources. When it came to his turn to speak, -though somewhat mistrusting his advice as an alien, none could gainsay -the soundness of his argument, agreeing as it did with the -half-expressed opinion of the Comely King. - -Insisting strenuously on the countless numbers of the enemy, and their -over-powering strength in chariots and horsemen, he urged that it would -be the height of imprudence to meet them in the open plain, where they -would too surely be encircled and crushed by their enemy in a -resistless girdle of steel. - -"The wild bull," said he, "in the words of my lord the king, hath his -rock, and the Men of the Mountain have their fastnesses. The wolves of -the wood may dash themselves to pieces against the one, and the sons of -Ashur spend their might in vain against the other. Let them advance here -to meet us in the heart of Armenia, and so, falling on them weary, -impoverished, and exhausted, let us fight a decisive battle under the -very walls of Ardesh, and so destroy them, once for all, never to bend a -bow nor lift a spear again." - -After much discussion, the stranger's advice was allowed to be sound and -good. It was resolved, therefore, that the Armenian forces should be -concentrated in the very centre of the kingdom, there to await the -attack of Semiramis with her innumerable hosts; and the same decision -seeming also good when discussed, according to Armenian custom, over the -wine-cup, every man went home to sharpen his sword and fit his bowstring -for the coming fray. - - - - -CHAPTER XLVII - -THE FENCED CITY - - -"The storm has broke at last," said Aryas, stooping to lift a headless -arrow that had fallen at his feet. "If it hail no deadlier missiles than -this, there will be little glory in sheltering under buckler and -headpiece, behind stone buttress and unbroken wall." - -Sarchedon took the arrow from the king's hand. - -"Behold," said he, "the feathers are dipped in blood. Such a token is -the deadliest of all defiance from my countrymen. My lord the king hath -ever measured glory by danger. Trust me, he will have enough of both who -holds a fenced city against which the armies of Assyria come up to cast -a bank." - -"So be it," was the dauntless answer. "The god of our nation hath never -failed us yet, and those can scarce refuse to accept the award of battle -who worship no other power but that of the naked sword!" - -They were standing on the wall of Ardesh, scanning anxiously the lines -of the Assyrian camp, which now encircled them. The Comely King had here -concentrated all his forces, and the hosts of Semiramis, disappointed, -it may be, that they met so little resistance on their march, completely -invested the capital of Armenia, where the men of the north had taken -their stand, determined to put forth all their strength in a single -blow, and finish the struggle once for all. - -The Assyrians had surrounded the city by night. At dawn their trumpets -sounded about it on all sides, and ere noon the siege had so far -commenced, that the headless arrow, formerly dispatched to the Great -Queen as a token from Aryas, was shot into his stronghold, to alight at -his very feet, wet and stained with blood. - -"She is here in person," observed Sarchedon in a low grave voice, while -he turned the arrow round and round in his hand. "None of her servants -would have dared to send such a messenger as this. It means war to the -death, no ransom for the captive, no mercy for the wounded, no burial -for the slain." - -"Is she, then, so pitiless a conqueror?" asked the Comely King, -repressing certain hideous misgivings, that he had undertaken a task -beyond his strength, and that not only his own life, which he was always -willing enough to wage freely, but the safety of his people and the very -existence of his kingdom were in the utmost peril. - -"Merciless!" repeated Sarchedon. "An eagle has mercy when she turns from -the dead carrion, a lion has mercy when he is gorged; but how shall men -look for mercy from the solid impenetrable rock? That woman has, indeed, -the lion's courage and the eagle's ken; but her heart is stone. And yet -she is so beautiful,--so beautiful," he added, while a tide of wild and -thrilling memories imparted a mournful tone to his revilings; "I have -seen a poor wretch she has condemned turn on her his last look, full of -love and worship, ere they covered his face and led him forth to die. Is -she not more than woman? Is she not Ashtaroth, Queen of Light, come -down to lead the sons of Ashur to their doom?" - -The king was straining his eyes towards the camp of the enemy. He cared -as little for the beauty of Ashtaroth as of Semiramis. - -"If she is with her armies in person," said he, "and leads the attack, I -will slay her with mine own hand. Behold, when I have cut the string, -her captains and men of war shall bend the bow in vain. Look out yonder, -Sarchedon, over the eastern slope. You know the array of your countrymen -in camp or line of battle. Surely where the chariots of iron are massed, -down yonder by the waterside, between the lines of horses, should be the -abiding place of the Great Queen." - -From the rampart whereon they stood, a bluff face of rock descended -precipitously towards the camp of the Assyrians. Such, indeed, was the -defence of Ardesh on every side; the natural difficulties of the -stronghold being enhanced by a solid wall of masonry, against which, -even after a bank had been raised by the besiegers to the necessary -height, their battering-rams might be plied for a considerable period -without effect. Save on the eastern quarter, the fall was nearly -perpendicular, affording no encouraging prospect to an attacking force; -but here the cliff sloped off in an incline, up and down which a goat -might travel freely, or an active man unencumbered with armour might -pass to and fro. If Ardesh were to be carried by assault, this was its -only practicable point, although the inequalities of the surface were so -trifling, and the angle so imperceptible, that the ascent looked -perfectly smooth and upright from below. - -Leaning over, with his attention riveted on the camp of the enemy, the -king let his helmet fall from his head at this very spot. It rolled -several cubits down the incline, till caught by a projecting corner of -rock, where it hung bright and glittering, like a morning dew-drop on a -dead autumn leaf. Aryas looked after it and laughed. - -"Token for token," said he. "A headless helmet in answer to a headless -shaft. If it ever gets down to their camp, they may summon their wise -men to read the riddle in vain." - -"It must not remain _there_!" answered Sarchedon. "The flash of steel -will draw every eye in the host to the only joint in our harness; and I -know their cunning of warfare well. Let my lord the king shelter for a -space beneath the wall, lest I draw on him a storm from yonder dark -cloud of archers in the vineyard when I show myself. We shall have no -more headless arrows shot into Ardesh to-day." - -"I would I had known in time!" muttered Aryas. "Not a leaf had been left -on the vines to screen a marksman, not a hand's breadth of green but had -been scathed and shrivelled by fire within a bowshot of the walls. Well -climbed, Sarchedon! By the sword of my father, the Assyrian hath a leap -and a footfall like a goat!" - -While he spoke, the royal bowbearer crept cautiously down the precipice, -taking advantage of every inequality that afforded foothold, of every -tuft and fibre of vegetation that he could grasp. Slinging the recovered -helmet round his neck with a bowstring, and thus leaving both hands at -liberty for his ascent, he returned even less laboriously than he -departed; and surmounting the wall, stood by the king's side, panting, -breathless, but exulting with boyish glee in the achievement of his -exploit. - -"And they marked me not from below!" said he triumphantly; "though I -dared not often trust myself to look down, I could have seen if bow had -been bent or arrow pointed from the camp. Surely the Assyrian sleeps on -his post; surely they have lost their discipline since I carried a spear -in the guards of the Great King!" - -"We will give them a lesson in warfare ere long," answered Aryas, but -though his tone was bold enough, his eye wandered uneasily over the -mighty array of tents and banners that covered the plain below. "We can -hold them at our pleasure till the snow winds come to help us from the -north, unless they give the assault at this very spot beneath our feet, -and here, too, we are guarded by the river, shallow though it be, for if -to-day it steals smoothly and gladly through the water-flowers, like a -youth wooing a maiden to the dance, to-morrow it comes roaring down in a -seething flood, unbridled and irresistible as a host of northern -horsemen with a broken enemy in their front." - -But the king's prevision and the keen eyes of his bowbearer were alike -at fault. Thus it fell out that the only assailable point in the -defences of Ardesh was laid open to an enemy who never failed to strike -home without delay at the weakest place. - - * * * * * - -It had been the custom of the Great Queen, during their long and -toilsome progress from the country between the rivers to the mountain -regions of Armenia, to inspect with her own eyes the camp-life of her -armies, and to satisfy herself of their nourishment, their comfort, -their general efficiency, above all, their loyalty to her person and -fidelity to the standard under which they marched. - -For this purpose she would assume the disguise of a simple archer, -hiding her face, as if to screen it from the sun, with the folds of a -linen head-dress, such as has always been affected by inhabitants of hot -climates, and so, often without a single attendant, would stroll -unrecognised through the camp, listening to the rude talk of the -spearmen, and noting for future reproof any instances of negligence, -tyranny, or misconduct that took place within her observation. Men -wondered how an ill-yoked chariot, a trodden and turbid watering-place, -an over-loaded camel, all came under notice of the Great Queen; so that -the prevalent belief in her godlike birth and more than human attributes -gained ground day by day from these examples of a knowledge that seemed -at once ubiquitous and infallible. - -No sooner had she disposed her forces, with all the skill her experience -suggested, round the stronghold of her enemy than she determined to -examine for herself the actual state of the wall which fortified it, -even if she had to venture within bowshot of the defenders. For this -purpose she stole from her own magnificent pavilion in the attire of an -Assyrian archer, and covering her face as usual, passed slowly through -the lines where the flower of an army lay encamped, which, though sadly -weakened by the toil and hardships of its protracted march, seemed yet -formidable antagonists to any power on earth. - -The men were scattered about in groups, already making preparations, -though noon was not long past, for their principal meal at sundown. Here -a brawny warrior, with arms bare to the shoulder and legs to the thigh, -was shredding herbs in his headpiece, the homeliness of his occupation -contrasting ludicrously with the warlike nature of his cooking vessel, -as did the nudity of his extremities with the proven harness that kept -his mighty chest. A comrade, lying on his back with arms folded over his -face, kicked his legs in the air, while he watched the proceedings with -a listlessness that denoted he was for evening duty, and would have no -share in the result. A score of others, ungirt, unsandalled, half-armed, -half-dressed, were gathered round a dying camel, vociferating many -opposing remedies for the poor beast's treatment, while the roar of an -irritated stallion, the peal of a trumpet, the stamp and snort of a row -of feeding horses, mingled with the hum of voices rising from a circle -of stalwart warriors sitting, though the sun beat fiercely down, round -the embers of their camp-fire. - -It was not in the nature of Semiramis to pass these magnificent -specimens of manhood without notice. Half unconsciously she lingered in -their vicinity, marking their ample beards, fine stature, and robust -proportions, agreeing well with their deep full tones, while they -discussed freely enough the chances of the expedition and the stirring -events of their daily life, sparing not the captains of ten thousand, -nor forbearing to criticise the great leader herself, who stood by and -overheard. - -"'Tis a strained bow they bid us bend, my brothers," observed a scarred, -war-worn veteran, whose mien and bearing displayed all the fierce pride, -the overweening self-confidence assumed by those who had served under -the Great King; "a strained bow and a frayed cord--peradventure, a -headless shaft to point, as well; but that makes little odds against -solid masonry and bare rock. I doubt, if we are to get at the kernel of -this date here over against us, we must crack the shell with our teeth." - -"I can tell thee that mine are blunt for want of use," retorted a -comrade, hammering busily at a broken link in his habergeon. "How are -men to be fed on the march through a country that grows nothing but oaks -and brushwood? There is grass, indeed, between the hills, and game for -those who can hunt it in the woods, but of corn and cattle the valleys -are bare as the palm of my hand." - -"And empty as his belly," laughed a third. "He liketh well to have store -of good things in both." - -"But Semiramis forbade pillage," interposed his neighbour, grinning. -"They took an auxiliary with a shield full of barley that he snatched -from an old man's threshing-floor, and she impaled him on the spot." - -"Fool! that was in our own land of Shinar, before we crossed the -frontier," said the first speaker. "The Great Queen never forbade -pillage in an enemy's country till we marched into this wilderness, -where there is nothing to take. Besides, the rogue slew the old man in -his own vineyard, and he was only an auxiliary after all." - -"And an ungainly wretch to boot, I will wager my share of supper -presently out of that scanty pot," added a handsome young spearman, -arranging his curly beard in the breastplate he had polished up to the -brightness of a mirror for that purpose. "A comely youth of proper -stature, be he captain or camel-driver, need never fear but he will find -favour in the sight of the Great Queen." - -His fellows laughed loud and long. - -"Hear him!" shouted one, clapping the speaker on the back, "the -favourite of Ashtaroth!" - -"The dainty lotus-flower of the host!" exclaimed another; while a third, -turning on him with mock gravity, bade him, - -"Go to for a fool, who must be answered according to his folly." - -"Dost thou verily believe," said he, "that because of thy bull's head -and shoulders, thy foolish leer like a sheep in a sacrifice, and the -perpetual grin of a southern ape eating a sour pomegranate, thou wilt -get preferment at her hands, who knows a man when she sees one, and -treats him like the arrows in her quiver? Lo! the bow is bent, the mark -is struck or missed, another is fitted to the string; but the same shaft -never comes into her royal service again. Though thy turn of duty takes -thee daily to the great pavilion, I doubt if the queen hath ever seen -thee yet." - -"She shall hear of me, nevertheless," said the other, with a glance at -the beleaguered town. - -"Knocking that empty head of thine against the wall!" returned the -veteran. "I tell ye, my brothers, that of all the wars yet undertaken -by the sons of Ashur, this is the most untoward and ill-advised. What -said the Great King when he turned back from the Zagros range, taking -earth and water of the Men of the Mountain, but refraining to occupy -their country? 'I would be lord of all below,' said he, pointing to -those snow-whitened hills that mingle with the clouds, 'while I leave to -my fathers the dominion of the sky!' He has gone to join them at last; -but could he come back to us this night, I tell ye by to-morrow's sunset -we should be a day's march on our journey towards home!" - -"Then why are we here now?" was asked by two or three voices at once. - -The answer came in a grave important tone: - -"Because of a treasure within those walls that Semiramis would wage life -and empire, and you and me, and the whole might of Ashur to attain. What -it is, I know not; if I knew, peradventure I dared not tell. But this I -will uphold of the Great Queen, that her lightest wish is to the fixed -resolve of another, as a man walking in armour to a maiden washing her -feet in a stream." - -His listeners nodded approval, and scanning the lofty towers above them, -began hazarding many conjectures as to the nature of that possession so -coveted by their queen. A strong opinion seemed to prevail that Ardesh -contained some illimitable store of spoils hoarded by Armenian kings for -ages; and this impression served partly to counteract their general -feeling of despondency and disheartening belief in the impregnable -strength of the place. The youngest of these men of war spoke the most -hopefully. - -"I will never admit," said he, "that the might of man can shut out the -sons of Ashur under the banner of our Great Queen. A rock is steep. Go -to! shall we not cast a bank against it? A wall is thick; shall we not -undermine it from beneath? Give me a high curved shield to keep my head, -a steel pick, and an iron crowbar; behold, I will sit like a partridge -in the barley, and burrow like a coney amongst the rocks." - -"So be it," answered the veteran moodily. "The sooner our trumpets sound -to the assault the better. I tell thee, man, though the guards still -show a goodly front, the hosts of Assyria are wasting and waning day by -day, like that river in Egypt I passed over dry shod, like a flagon of -Damascus wine, my brother, standing betwixt thee and me." - -The archer turned thoughtfully away, walking through the lines with -folded hands and head bent down in earnest consideration. - -There was food for reflection, even for anxiety and alarm, in the light -talk of these careless spearmen. When they touched on her personal -weaknesses, her predilection for stalwart warriors, and especially her -indomitable strength of will, the queen could not forbear a smile; but -it faded into an expression of deeper gravity than was often worn by -that bright face, while she pondered on the cost and peril of this -adventurous expedition, so wild in its object, so disastrous in its -results, confessing to her own heart that its impolicy was as obvious to -her meanest followers as to their leader. Had not Assarac himself -expressed the same opinion, almost in the same words?--Assarac, to whom -she had never given a problem so hard but that he could solve it, a task -so difficult, but that, for her sake, it was fulfilled. - -Her armies melting away daily, her men of war dispirited and -ill-supplied, a strongly-fortified city in front, a barren desert in -rear! Not a captain of her host but would have quailed at the prospect, -and had he been chief in command, would have commenced a fatal and -disorderly retreat. - -The character of Semiramis, however, was one on which danger and -difficulty produced the effect of a hammer on glowing steel, welding and -forging it, indeed, to the ends in view, but tempering it to an -exceeding hardness and consistency the while. The desire of the present -too, whatever it might be, became her master-passion for the time, and -while sanguine and impetuous like a very woman, she possessed the -courage, foresight, and obstinate perseverance of a man; also she -enjoyed unlimited and irresponsible power as a queen; therefore it never -entered her mind to abandon her task, or forego her intention of taking -Sarchedon out of Ardesh by the strong hand, and marching the Comely King -back to Babylon, a fettered captive at her chariot wheels. - -"But to lie here inactive, waiting till he surrenders," thought the -queen, "is like staring at ripe fruit in an orchard, till it drop down -into the mouth. If a man hunger, let him climb the bough; I am but a -woman, yet I think I can at least shake the tree." - -So she resolved that, at all hazards and all loss, the place must be -carried by assault without delay. Thus musing, she passed through the -vineyard occupied by her own archers to within an arrow's flight of the -beleaguered fortress, unnoticed by those who believed her to be a simple -bowman like themselves, and so proceeded to scan the wall, with an eye -trained to detect the slightest point of advantage at a glance. - -It was strong, very strong. Here, perhaps, a bank might be cast against -it to some purpose; but the besiegers would suffer fearful slaughter in -the work. There, covered by their large wicker shields, and plying their -mining-tools, her heavy-armed spearmen might sap the foundations of the -wall; but could they climb, and fight, and work, all at once, where -there was scarce foothold for a goat? It must be done, nevertheless; but -how to do it? She taxed her memory and her invention in vain. - -Accident, however, came to her aid, when all her warlike skill was -insufficient. Gazing steadfastly on the place, she marked the king's -helmet drop from the wall, and her heart leaped with triumph when she -beheld his bowbearer, who recovered it, reascending with little -difficulty to return it to his lord--with triumph, and with a sharper, -keener, sweeter sensation still; for in that bowbearer she recognised -him for whom she was thus willing to risk life and empire; while the -same glance revealed to her at once the desire of her eyes, and the path -by which it was to be attained. She felt her cheek burn and her pulses -throb; but even in that glowing moment, the instincts of the commander -dominated those of the woman, and her brain was never clearer, nor her -eye more accurate, than while she measured the height of the steep, and -noted every fall of ground, every inequality of surface, that could be -turned to account in moving the strength of her army at this point to -the attack. - -Ashtaroth, she knew, would always be ready to do her bidding, but it -needed prudence, self-restraint, and a steadfast heart to force Merodach -to her will. - - - - -CHAPTER XLVIII - -SONS OF THE SWORD - - -On the brow of the Comely King lowered a cloud of anxiety and concern. -He sat in the great stone hall of his rude palace, surrounded by chiefs -and followers, to take counsel with them for the turning of this -overwhelming tide, and foiling of the enemy at his gate. - -Though, contrary to the custom of his nation, he rarely tasted wine -himself, mighty flagons and capacious drinking-cups stood within each -man's reach, so that while they pondered and stroked their beards, and -shook their shaggy heads with ominous wisdom, many a deep draught was -quaffed by these rugged heroes in silent pledge to the weapon they -professed to worship, and of which they boasted themselves the -offspring. In the middle of the hall, on a massive stone altar, -springing as it were from a groundwork of ferns and mosses, stood a -naked broadsword, pointing to the roof; and not Baal himself, thought -Sarchedon, in his stately temple of Babylon, with countless victims, -streams of blood, libations of wine, and all the pomp of his white-robed -priests, could have boasted a more sincere devotion than was offered by -these rugged champions to the warlike symbol of their faith. - -His bowbearer stood on the king's right hand. It did not escape him -that, although treated by Aryas with marked confidence and -consideration, angry brows were bent and suspicious glances levelled at -him from many in the assembly, who seemed to take exception at this -promotion of an alien to such a post, more especially at a time when the -stranger's own countrymen were pressing them so hard. - -The haughty Assyrian winced and chafed under these symptoms of ill-will -like a gallant steed, whose rider dare not trust his mettle, resolving -that, ere long, some daring act of valour in the field should reinstate -him in the good opinion of warriors, to whom success was a convincing -proof of merit, and desperate courage the only test of worth. - -To rush fiercely against the ranks of his own nation, hewing, sword in -hand, at the very men with whom he had heretofore broken bread in the -city and marched to conquest in the field, went indeed sorely against -the grain; but Sarchedon reflected that, besides the ties of gratitude -which bound him to Aryas the Beautiful, there were many reasons, hardly -less weighty, for his desertion from the banner of Ashur, and -abandonment of his service under the Great Queen. To become once more a -mere toy and plaything at the caprice of Semiramis was a thought too -humiliating to be endured, even could he escape the usual doom of those -on whom she cast a favouring eye, while it was probable that she would -at once take cruel vengeance for the vexation and disappointment of -which he had been unwittingly the cause. So long as she remained -mistress of the world, it was hopeless for him to think of honour and -safety, above all, of Ishtar, liberty, and love. But if the Assyrian -host could be defeated under the walls of Ardesh--if, baffled, -scattered, and disorganised, they could be driven back on the rugged -defiles and barren deserts that lay between them and their home--what -was there to prevent an Armenian army from marching to the gates of -Babylon? and how could Ishtar escape his search, who, at the conqueror's -right hand, would scour the land of Shinar through its length and -breadth, till he found the woman whom he had never ceased to love? - -While such thoughts were teeming in his brain, he was not likely to -endure with patience doubts of his fidelity to the cause he had -espoused. - -Many and opposite were the opinions of the warlike council. Saræus, a -wealthy chieftain, arrayed with something more of luxury than his -fellows, and lord of many a fertile valley beyond Mount Aragaz, as yet -unoccupied and unheard of by the Assyrian, urged strenuously the -prudence of standing a siege. - -"We have fuel," said he, "we have shelter; casks of wine to broach, -herds of beasts to slay. Let us eat, drink, and be merry, while the -enemy perishes with hunger at our gates. The river runs between us, our -walls are strong, our rocks are steep. Like the eagle on her eyrie, I -would sit with folded wings and scream my defiance to the leopard -prowling below." - -"Scream till thou art hoarse!" exclaimed Thorgon, a giant from the -northern desert, armed in chain harness and clad in undressed skins, -"but remember, 'He who hath the gullet of Saræus, should have his larder -to keep it full.'" - -There was a general laugh at this application of a well-known proverb, -founded on the wealth and fertility of the last speaker's dominions, and -the luxurious habits of their owner. Thorgon proceeded, much pleased -with the effect of his unaccustomed eloquence: - -"When thy father summoned me to council, O king, he never paused to take -my vote on a question of peace or war. Aramus knew and trusted his old -comrade well. 'Thorgon' said he, 'is a steed always saddled, a bow -always bent.' I am ready, as I have ever been, to lead my long-swords -into the fore-front of battle. But let not the king deceive himself: we -have an enemy down yonder in the plain accustomed to conquer, inured to -danger, skilled in all the arts and artifices of war. This is no -broad-leafed oak into which we must drive the old Armenian wedge, but a -front of solid earth-fast rock!" - -Men looked in each other's faces, discouraged and alarmed. It was -something new to hear this fiery patriarch express doubts of victory. A -hint of caution from Thorgon was tantamount to forebodings of defeat -from milder spirits; and a short but ominous silence fell on the -assembled council, while each realised the danger he had hitherto shrunk -from acknowledging even to himself. - -It was broken by the king. - -"There is a courage to endure," said he, "as there is a courage to -assail. When the snow-winds come, they will rid us of our enemy, without -bending of bow or shaking of spear. But our grapes are yet green in the -vineyards, our barley scarce whitening on the plain. How many days, -think you, my brothers, will meat and drink be forthcoming if we elect -to remain up here, cooped within the walls of Ardesh like a swarm of -bees in a hive?" - -Again opinions varied; some thought they might hold out a hundred, some -barely a score. Thorgon offered to break through the lines of the enemy, -and bring in sheep and horses from the wind-swept plains of his home. - -"When we have eaten the last down to their hoofs," growled the fierce -warrior, "we can always run out, sword in hand, and take what we want -from the tether ropes of this scolding housewife whom they call the -Great Queen!" - -"Sarchedon," said Aryas, turning to his bowbearer, "you have held your -peace too long. Give us your counsel, man; for you best know the -strength and the designs of our enemy." - -There was a stir in the hall at this appeal to the stranger, and more -than one sword leaped a hand's-breadth from its scabbard. Murmurs of -"Traitor, traitor!" rose by degrees to louder outcries. "Out with him!" -"Down with him!" "Slay him and cast him over the wall to his own people, -who have come hither at his desire!" were the mildest of these -revilings, while a scuffling of feet and crowding of shoulders about his -place at the king's right hand denoted no good-will to the Assyrian, -small chance of mercy or even justice if national prejudice and panic -should get the upper hand. Aryas flushed dark red with anger; but -Thorgon interposed his massive person between the bowbearer and those -who threatened him, while his deep hoarse voice cried "Shame!" in -accents that might have been heard by the besiegers outside. - -"A stranger, and treated thus in the king's council-chamber!" he -shouted. "By the sword that begot our nation, I will stamp the life out -of the first man who steps across the hall! What! the Assyrian came to -our gates a captive and a suppliant, and shall we deliver him up, were -he ten times a traitor, at the bidding of the loudest-tongued shrew that -ever wore a smock? Nay, my brothers, stand back, I say; give every man a -fair hearing, and room to swing a sword!" - -Thus adjured, the assembly subsided into their places, and Sarchedon -took advantage of restored order to protest earnestly against the -suspicions of those with whom he had come to dwell. - -"I am an Assyrian," said he, facing boldly round on such as had been -most vehement in their outcries "and I am proud of my birth as of my -nation. But I was also a soldier of the Great King, who could never be -urged to war within the confines of Armenia, and I owe no allegiance to -her who has taken unlawful possession of his throne, who would -establish herself thereon with tyranny and injustice. I came here a -weary footsore slave; I was fed, comforted, and raised to honour by my -lord the king. Every drop of my blood shall be poured out to do him -service. Bethink ye too, Men of the Mountain, if the Assyrian takes me -fighting in your ranks he will strip the skin from my body to make -sandals for his feet. Those strike fierce and hard who have no retreat; -and if honour, good faith, gratitude, count for nothing, at least you -may trust him for whom defeat is a cruel and shameful death. My lord the -king hath demanded my counsel. To so noble an assembly it is not for me -to offer advice, but I am enabled to give information. I have returned -but a short space from the outer wall. Since daybreak the enemy hath -been busied in turning the course of the river, that he may advance to -the assault dry shod. You yourselves best know to what purpose you can -defend the city from an attack on its weaker side; but my lord the king -hath demanded counsel of his servant, and it is not for me to shrink -from speaking because of angry threats and scowling brows. Were I King -Aryas of Armenia, as I am his faithful bowbearer, I would go down to -battle with the Assyrian, and strive with him, man to man, outside the -city-walls!" - -Loud shouts of applause greeted this daring speech, and Thorgon, -striding across the hall, laid his broad hand on the Assyrian's -shoulder, with a gesture of unqualified approval and respect. The -enthusiasm became general, so that even Saræus, shouted and gesticulated -with the rest; but Aryas, stepping proudly into the midst, drew his -sword from its sheath, and kissing its handle, raised its point towards -the roof. Each man present followed his example, and thus, with naked -weapons gleaming in their hands, they listened in silence to the words -of the Comely King. - -"It is well spoken!" said he. "Surely the bowbearer hath shot his arrow -home to the mark. If indeed the river be turned, steep rock and solid -wall will avail us little against the huge engines and innumerable -archers of the Assyrian. It is wise to attack when it seems hopeless to -defend; and who shall stand against Armenia coming down in her might, -like one of her own torrents from the snow-topped hills? I am a free -king, ruling over a free people, yet can I count on you, my friends and -followers, as on the steel in my own right hand. Let us set the battle -in array, and fight the quarrel to the death. The stranger never turned -from our father's gate in peace, nor entered it in war. Shall we forget -whose sons we are to-day, because of a fierce people, riding on horses, -worshipping strange gods, and mustering countless as the snowflakes in a -storm? I call on you, as Aramus would have called on your fathers, to -rally round his son; and I pledge you in that sacred cup to which, since -Armenia became a nation, traitor or coward hath never dared to lay his -lips!" - -With these words, the king filled a mighty bowl with wine, and bringing -the edge of his sword so briskly across his naked fore-arm that the -blood spouted from the gash, suffered a few drops to drain into the -liquid; then, raising the vessel to his lips, drank heartily ere he -passed the bowl to Thorgon, who, following his example, sent it round -amongst the rest, each man quaffing his share with the zeal and gravity -of one who partakes in a religious rite. When at last the bowl reached -Sarchedon, there was scarce a mouthful left; but the Assyrian, catching -the spirit of this strange ceremony, pierced his own arm without -hesitation, and thus pledged his new comrades in a draught of blood. - -Any lingering suspicions they might have entertained were completely -dissipated by so ready a compliance with their ancient custom, and not -one but went out from the presence of his lord to prepare for battle -with a confidence as implicit in the fidelity of the stranger as in his -own. - -With measured steps, lowered weapons, and a grave aspect, as having -before them a task it would tax all their strength to accomplish, these -Men of the Mountain departed one by one, each, as he left the hall, -turning with grim salute to do obeisance to the Naked Sword. When the -last had vanished, Sarchedon, looking into the face of his lord, felt -his heart sink and his blood run cold; for on the brow of the Comely -King, though courageous and serene as ever, there was imprinted the seal -of the destroyer--there seemed to sit that cloud, so awful and so -mysterious, which is the shadow of coming death. - - - - -CHAPTER XLIX - -FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH - - -"It is our only course against such a foe," said Aryas, after a gloomy -silence, during which lord and servant seemed to have been following out -no cheering train of thought. "For any nation on earth to oppose thy -countrymen in warfare is to wield a shepherd's staff against a blade of -tempered steel. But one heavy blow from the club, well-aimed and -unexpected, may sometimes shiver the deadlier weapon to its hilt. Our -long swords of the mountain bite sharp and true. The wedge of Armenia -can pierce a column, however dense, and the gap widens as we fight on. -Surely it will cleave the might of Assyria, as a woodman's axe cleaves -the sturdy oak of the hills." - -"But the oak is rooted to its place," objected Sarchedon, "while the -Assyrian can wheel and stoop and strike like a falcon in the air. His -horsemen will open out, and bend their bows till they have wrapped the -advancing wedge in a storm of deadly hail--till its men fall thick, and -its might is loosened from the rear. Then will Semiramis order up her -war-chariots on either flank; and, once broken, as well he knows, there -is no rallying for the long swords of my lord the king." - -"They shall _not_ be broken," exclaimed Aryas. "With Thorgon to lead -them on foot, with their king to direct the battle in his chariot, with -thy skill of warfare, Sarchedon, and our own good cause, I commit the -result to that power which hath ever befriended Armenia, in attack and -in defence--the might of the Naked Sword. Yet I would we could fight -them at a vantage, nevertheless," he added, his enthusiasm changing to -deep anxiety and concern. "Their armour, their weapons, their horses, -are better than ours, and they outnumber us ten to one." - -"True, O king!" replied Sarchedon; "therefore must we fall upon them -unawares. Behold! In their ranks every spearman hath been taught to -handle spade, every slinger uses the pick deftly as he whirls the thong, -each third man carries a mattock or a shovel; and the Great Queen -values their labour no dearer than their lives. This night one half her -host will be employed to turn the course of the river that keeps your -city on its eastern side. Let my lord the king summon his men of war in -the hours of darkness, and at daybreak go down to battle. If he conquer, -it will be with the first onslaught. If he fail, then may Sarchedon, his -friend and servant, pay back the life he owes, and die at his lord's -feet." - -Again that ominous shadow passed over the king's face: he laid his hand -kindly on the other's shoulder, and spoke in a low sad voice. - -"Sarchedon," said he, "when I shielded thee from the demand of an -Assyrian embassy, it was for jealousy of my father's honour--for the -cause of the stranger and the oppressed. When I took thee out from under -thy horse--ay, from off the very horns of the wild bull--it was for care -of a faithful servant risking life at the pleasure of his lord. Now we -are master and slave, crowned king and belted bowbearer no more, but -friends in esteem and affection, brothers in confidence and love. I tell -thee that the days of Aryas, the son of Aramus, are numbered, and the -Mountain Men must choose them another king to guide their counsels and -lead their long swords into battle. Last night I dreamed a dream; and it -needs no wise man, no cunning soothsayer, to read the interpretation -thereof. Behold, I was hunting in the mountain, riding to and fro with -bow in hand and hound in leash, seeking to take a prey. In vain I -traversed hill and valley, rock and river, stately forest and scattered -copse--leaf, grass, and flower were alike scathed and blighted. It -seemed that a flight of locusts had passed over all. Then I cursed the -nakedness of the land in my wrath; and while thrice I shouted 'Barren, -barren, barren!' mine own voice sounded hideous in mine ears. So I rode -slowly on, and beneath my horse's feet I beheld three things that caused -my blood to curdle and the hair of my flesh to stand on end. - -"The first was a slain eagle pierced by a headless shaft; the second was -a wild bull noosed in a woman's girdle; the third was a dead man lying -on his face with the king's sandals on his feet, the king's baldrick on -his shoulders, and the king's quiver at his back. I tell thee, -Sarchedon, the warning lies betwixt thee and me. Let us drink a cup of -wine in fellowship to-night; for if we go down to battle with -to-morrow's dawn, one of us shall have quenched his thirst for ever by -noon of day." - -"On my head may it fall!" exclaimed Sarchedon. "Let the slave perish, -and let his lord, who raised him from the dust, ride forth to victory!" - -"Nay, hear me," replied the king; "for I have already told thee lord and -slave are no words between Aryas and Sarchedon. If I accept the vision -for myself, I am willing to face its interpretation freely as I would -face the horsemen of Assyria and the chariots of the Great Queen. I -might die many a baser death than to fall in battle with Thorgon and his -long swords at my back. But if it is for thee that the dream has been -sent, I tell thee, my faithful friend and comrade, I cannot bear to -think that thy share in our joint venture should be all loss and no -gain. When I took thee into my palace, rude and homely though it seem, I -swore its halls should be a harness of proof and a tower of defence for -the stranger who sought its shelter. When I gave thee a place in my -heart, I resolved I would bring thee to promotion and honour--not to -danger, defeat, and death. Go out from among us, Sarchedon, ere it be -too late. Return, as of thine own free will, to the Assyrian, with fair -words and costly gifts. Buy their favour and the safety of thy body with -that fair province of the south that lies by the Glassy Lake. Behold, it -is a gift from me to thee. Tell them that the open hand of Aryas is -heavy as his clenched fist. Bid the Great Queen depart in peace; but if -she must needs come to buffets, there is space enough to fight a kingly -battle beneath the walls of Ardesh. If she desires to seize my father's -crown, she must take it off my brows by force where I stand, in my -war-chariot armed with bow and spear." - -For all answer, Sarchedon stripped the quiver from his shoulders, took -the sword from his thigh, and laid the weapons at his lord's feet. - -"It is enough," said he. "If the king can believe his servant capable of -thus ransoming one poor life at the cost of honour, I have served him -already too long. There are many brave men among his subjects better -fitted than Sarchedon for the highest post Armenia has to offer. Poor -and naked as he came, let the Assyrian return to the station from which -he was raised by the favour of my lord the king. Yet, if true service -and a grateful heart may plead for him, even now he will but ask to take -his place to-morrow in the fore-front of battle, and, habited like a -simple soldier of Aryas, march with the Men of the Mountain to his -death." - -The king's features worked with emotion. "Not so," he exclaimed in -hoarse and broken accents. "True and faithful servants I can number by -scores, but such a heart as this cleaveth to a man, be he king or -herdsman, once in a lifetime. Surely it sticketh faster than a brother. -I have proved thee, Sarchedon, as one proves the harness that is to keep -his life. I tell thee, we will go down to battle side by side; together -we will bend the bow and point the javelin. Honour, danger, and triumph -we will share alike; and when the end comes, as something warns me come -it will, peradventure in death we shall not be divided." - -Then he lifted belt and baldrick from the stones, and with his own hand -fastened the quiver at Sarchedon's back, girt the sword on his thigh, -thus reinstating the bowbearer in all the honours he had voluntarily -resigned. - -Standing side by side in this reversal of their relative positions, it -chanced that the servant caught sight of his own figure and his master's -reflected in the burnished surface of an empty wine-flagon over against -him. Remarking, not for the first time, their extraordinary similarity -of form and features, Sarchedon now ventured on a request that only the -high favour in which he stood, and the humility of his tone while -proffering it, could have rendered palatable to his listener. - -"Let not the king be wroth with his servant," said he, hesitating, like -one who tries a plank with his foot ere he commits it to the whole of -his weight, "if we ask yet another proof, in addition to all the honours -heaped on him, of the trust in which he is held by his lord. Behold, -like the sand that sucks the desert spring, he thirsteth yet for more! -Let the king grant him the desire of his heart, and live for ever!" - -"Say on, man!" replied Aryas, somewhat impatiently; "surely there needs -not all this ceremony between thee and me. By to-morrow's sunset," he -added, in a lower, sadder tone, "the same wild dog may be scaring the -vultures from us both." - -"Then, if we are to meet our death together," replied Sarchedon, "let it -be in the same habit and the same armour. This is the boon I earnestly -beg of my lord to grant. Men have said, ere now, that armed and in the -field there is some such resemblance between Sarchedon and him who is -called Aryas and Beautiful, as between the illusive verdure of the -desert and those groves and waters that it represents. Let me take upon -me then to array myself in such attire and harness as are worn by my -lord the king; so, in the press of battle, the advantage of his presence -and conduct shall be double, while the risk from his enemies--for my -people strike ever at the head--will be but half." - -Aryas pondered. - -"And if I fall," said he, "wilt thou bring on the Men of the Mountain -like a free Armenian king, leading the long swords to the charge again -and again, even unto death?" - -"I will do my best," replied the other; "for, indeed, whither am I to -retreat? and what will be my fate if I am made a captive? Surely I have -nothing to fear but defeat. If the long swords will follow, I ask no -better than to lead them through the ranks of Assyria--to the very -chariot of the Great Queen!" - -The king's eyes blazed with unwonted fire. - -"Swear it!" he exclaimed vehemently. - -"I swear it by the everlasting wings!" answered Sarchedon; and so they -made their compact with death. - - - - -CHAPTER L - -A FOOL IN HIS FOLLY - - -It is not to be supposed that the warlike skill which assisted Ninus to -form his plans, and the courage which rivalled his own in carrying them -out, would fail Semiramis now that she was unfettered by the counsels -and commands of her lord. The sons of Ashur had never yet been led so -judiciously, organised so carefully, as in this daring expedition to the -north, under conduct of the Great Queen. - -Aryas little knew with whom he had to deal, when he spoke of surprising -her by sudden onslaught, or hoped to rout her in the fury of his attack. -Her watchmen were posted, her defences prepared, her dispositions made -to meet his wiliest stratagems; and all the time, while every -working-party was covered by a guard of twice its number, the labour -progressed steadily, and the river, on which the besieged chiefly -depended for security, waned cubit by cubit and hour by hour. - -None knew better than this woman-warrior how the presence of a commander -infuses spirit into the operations of an army, how the ubiquity of a -leader promotes that attention to details which alone insures success: -there was no period of the day or night but the queen's white horse -might be seen flitting through the lines of her innumerable host, while -the lovely face smiled its calm approval, or expressed displeasure, no -less fatal because so grave and quiet; always pale, immovable, and -serene, under gleam of moonlight, flash of torches, or glare of day. - -Men wondered when she ate and slept, inclining to believe that this -supernatural beauty must be above such human wants, tended and nourished -by the stars from whence it came. - -Only Assarac perhaps, in all that host, knew too well that the Great -Queen's passions and affections were of earth, earthly; that the flame -which scorched her heart and blazed in her eyes was no enlightening -radiance, but a devouring fire to wither and consume--knew too well, yet -loved her all the more; for the eunuch's whole being was now saturated -with a sentiment noble in its origin, disastrous in its results, that -yet springs from the fairest and sweetest instincts of man's nature, as -poison may be distilled from flowers. - -It caused him to labour and watch, to endure hunger, thirst, heat and -fatigue. It bade him forget pride, ambition, self-respect. It made him a -warrior, a hero, and a slave. It rendered him brave, pitiful, generous, -and unhappy. - -Twice since sundown had the queen ridden out through the camp with -Assarac at her rein. Once more she was astir an hour before daybreak, -yet, as she mounted at the entrance of her pavilion, the eunuch stood -there in waiting to help her to the saddle, and attend her in her ride. -Without a word she galloped through the lines, at such speed as the -dubious light permitted amongst the numerous obstacles of a camp, nor -drew bridle till she reached a spot by the river, where certain masses -of shadows looming against the sky denoted that the walls of Ardesh -would be visible with dawn of day. Here she halted and broke silence. - -"A city of defence," said she with a gentle laugh, "like a blade, or a -pitcher, or a woman, or anything else you please, is no stronger than -its weakest place. On this side alone is Ardesh not impregnable. I have -made thee a warrior, Assarac, as a girl spins her hank out of a tangle -of flax, with the patient heart and the gentle hand. Show me thou hast -profited by my lessons, and tell me why I brought thee here at a gallop -before dawn?" - -Brightening as he always did with the sound of her voice, Assarac -answered, reasonably enough, "To scan the place warily as soon as it is -light: to learn every bush and stone, count every blade of grass on the -ground where we mean to give the assault." - -"Not so," she answered, in the same light tone. "All that was done in -this poor head of mine when first I marked the spot. No; the -warrior-eunuch has yet much to learn from the warrior-queen. It is not -enough to set your own host in array, and mark your own plan of battle; -you must also fight for your enemy, put yourself in his place, and so, -anticipating him in every plan he can devise, force him at last to -accept the contest when and where you choose to offer it. The reason -women always foil men is, that they _cannot_ put themselves in our -places, nor foresee what we may or may not do in the plainest situation. -But this concerns neither thee nor me. I think I have even less of the -woman than thou, Assarac, of the man." - -He answered not a word, moving uneasily in his saddle, as if from a -sudden hurt. - -"Nay," she added, guessing his discomposure from his silence; "I meant -we are both above the weaknesses of our fellows--kindred spirits -treading down all obstacles in our path, knowing no law but our own will -and our own desires. Listen, then, thou priest of Baal in harness of -proof--listen, and learn while I teach thee that which shall be of more -service to-day than all the lore aching neck and dazzled eyes ever yet -gathered from the stars. Is not this the weak side of the fortress, and -therefore the better for our assault?" - -"Aryas must know it also," replied the eunuch, "and will have mustered -here his chief power of defence. Peradventure we might surprise him, -with less loss, on a stronger quarter." - -"An apt scholar," replied the queen, "and worthy to be a captain of ten -thousand; nevertheless, in so far at fault that he sees not with the -eyes of his enemy. Behold! The Armenian, hopeless of defending his city -from such a host as mine in the process of a regular siege; and seeing -the river in which he trusted turning to dry ground beneath his eyes, -will determine to hazard a battle here on this narrow strip where he can -fight at a vantage, while half the attacking army is engaged with -pickaxe and spade. Listen, priest. I hear the tinkle of their tools even -now, borne on the light breeze that steals in advance of day. He little -guesses the work was all completed by the middle watch of night; that -every company is bending, armed, over a feigned task in order of battle; -that, at the first note of a trumpet from the queen's pavilion, be it -dark or daylight or gray uncertain dawn, the hosts of Assyria will set -themselves in array without hesitation or confusion, every bow bent, -every horse mounted, every man in his place. - -"Since my tent was pitched yonder by the stream, I have not found a -moment till now to breathe the cool night air and loose the buckle of my -belt. Is it not grand and joyous, this pause before the storm? At such a -moment I feel how noble it is to lead the sons of Ashur to battle. -To-night, Assarac, I _know_ that I am the Great Queen!" - -She seldom thus divulged her own thoughts, her own sentiments. The tones -of that voice, always so bewitching, thrilled to his heart's core; and -with irrepressible admiration he burst out, "Queen of the sons of -Ashur! Queen of the whole earth! Were there indeed crowns of fire above, -queen of the host of heaven! What have I to offer in earnest of such -devotion as never worshipper yielded to his god? It is little enough to -give this poor brain in council, this poor body in battle; but O that I -could take the heart out of my breast now, this moment, and lay it down -before thee there, to trample beneath thy feet!" - -"It is too much," she answered, almost in a whisper. "I may tread -warriors in the dust, but I make no footstool of a servant's heart, be -he man of war, eunuch, or priest of Baal. Keep it in thy harness, good -friend, and see that to-day it turn not to water in the face of the -Comely King." - -Dawn was still below the mountain, and he could not read her -countenance; but on his ear, sharpened by intense emotion, there jarred -a something in her voice that broke its full melodious ring. Was it -kindness? Was it pity? Maddening thought! was it the insult of covert -mirth? - -"I am not like others," said he. "I know it too well; and yet my -adoration of my queen is less the blind man's yearning for the day he -hath never seen than that desire of the spirit for some star it must not -hope to attain, which yet raises it, by the very agony of its despair, -towards the light for which it longs." - -She had a brief space of leisure before the joyous revelry of battle -would commence. There was no better pastime, she thought, at hand. Why -not examine into so strange a phase of human suffering, and learn how -much the heart, even of such a man as this, could be made to bear, -before it maddened him past all endurance? Surely such studies, so -curious in themselves, enhanced the flavour of that pursuit she -dignified with the name of love; a pursuit far inferior, no doubt, to -war, equal though, and perhaps in very hot weather preferable, to the -chase. Here a memory of Sarchedon came to disturb her equanimity; but so -much of bitterness and vexation mingled with the thought, that her heart -grew all the harder for its indulgence. What had she to do with pity, -she who had slain beasts by scores and men by hundreds to pass an idle -day? Had she ever wished her shaft recalled when it pierced the lion -through from shoulder to shoulder; and were these human creatures half -so brave, so noble as the brutes? Was she not the Great Queen, -answerable to none on earth, and fearless of the very stars in heaven? -Besides, it amused--more, it interested--her. So she, the conqueror of -the world, thought no shame to trifle with him as a village maid trifles -with her peasant lover, as a cat trifles with its paltry little prey. - -"There is a light," she said, reverting gently to his wild confession of -idolatry, "that blinds a man's eyes, besides burning his fingers. It is -not that by which he sees his way clearly to safety or success." - -"And of what avail are safety and success to _me_?" demanded Assarac, -striving in the early twilight to read his doom on that remorseless -face. "Success, the prize of him who hopes; safety, the desire of him -who fears. If I am below hope, surely I am also above fear. My queen, -look on that shadowy mass of wall and tower, darkening every moment -against the coming light of dawn. How many bold warriors, think you, are -within that city who to-day will draw the sword and throw away the -scabbard once for all? I too have drawn the sword and rushed upon my -fate. Like one who leaps into air from the tower of Belus, I cannot -recall my plunge. Great Queen, I have dared to love the very dust -beneath your feet. Here, in the day of battle, I dare to tell you so. -Ere set of sun, Semiramis shall be ruler over all the world, from the -warm river of Egypt to the bleak snow-deserts of the north; or Assarac -shall be down in the strife of horsemen, trodden out of all likeness to -humanity. Enough! I can but serve her at the end as I have served her -from the beginning; and for wages I do but ask, great glorious queen, -look kindly on me ere I die!" - -His voice came hoarse and broken, his smooth face worked convulsively -from chin to eyebrows. Surely any other woman must have been moved--at -least to compassion; but Semiramis, pulling her horse's head up from the -wet morning herbage he was cropping with avidity, gazed intently on the -walls of Ardesh, now visible in the light of dawn. - -Was not the great stake for which she played enclosed within those -towers, the desire of her eyes, the treasure of her wilful heart? She -could understand, she thought, those longings on which the eunuch laid -such stress, but of pity, save for her own sufferings, she had none to -spare. - -"Listen!" exclaimed the queen, turning round on her companion with one -hand held in air, as though she had not heard a syllable of his appeal, -"they are mustering even now within the place. Stand still, Merodach! -Good horse, the ring of steel stirs thee like thy mistress! What say -you, Assarac--can we creep on a bowshot nearer to make sure? The light -is behind them, and we may defy their archers for a few moments yet." - -Thus speaking, she moved her horse forward a score of paces, followed by -the priest, vexed, smarting, dizzy with anger and shame. - -But his tortures were not over, his punishment not yet complete. Sitting -calmly on her horse, though day was breaking fast, and every instant -brought nearer the certainty of a storm of arrows from the wall, -Semiramis looked round with a careless smile, like some light-minded -dame chattering with her tirewoman. - -"What think you, Assarac?" she whispered. "Is he waking yet, this Comely -King?--of whose beauty they make such a prate you would suppose he was -Shamash, god of day. I would fain see him rise from his couch; for I -like well to look on beauty, both of man and beast." - -Then she patted Merodach on his swelling neck, sighing and smiling too -while she caressed her favourite: the sigh was for memory, the smile for -triumph and for hope. - -"We shall rouse him to some purpose," answered the eunuch, mastering his -emotion bravely. "And the Great Queen shall judge of his beauty for -herself, naked and a prisoner, bound at her chariot-wheels." - -He spoke firmly, even gaily, as behoved one who had made up his mind for -the worst. That day, he resolved, should see the end of all this doubt, -and longing, and misery. In the front of battle he would perform such -deeds of valour as should force the queen's regard for _him_, the -eunuch, who could thus put to shame her stoutest men of war, or in the -ranks of the long swords he would find out the great secret, and start -for yonder place, wherever it might be, that Ninus and Sargon, and so -many others, had reached long ago. - -Semiramis caught up her rein with an exclamation of delight. - -"I was sure of it!" she said; "I knew it from the first! They will fight -in the plain--they are moving the host down even now. Behold, I can see -their archers on the wall! It is time for you and me, Assarac, to prove -the mettle of our horses and the surety of their archers' aim." - -As she spoke, she urged Merodach to a gallop, while an arrow whistling -by her cheek quivered in the ground a spear's length farther on. The -good horse only sped the faster, and ere morning had brightened the -mountain's crest, Semiramis reached her pavilion, and her trumpets rang -gaily out, to set the sons of Ashur in array. - - - - -CHAPTER LI - -BOW AND SPEAR - - -It was a goodly sight, could the queen have waited to behold it, that -downward march of the Armenian host to meet their enemy in the plain. -The flower and pride of all the north, formidable in size, number, and -length of weapons, they deployed, squadron by squadron, and company by -company, under cover of their archers on the wall, till they found space -near the river's empty bed to form that wedge, or solid triangle in -which it was their custom to offer battle. This mass consisted of -spearmen, who with levelled points and raised bucklers seemed to present -but an impervious hedge of steel to the efforts of an adversary. It was -designed to penetrate and cleave asunder by sheer weight and pressure -the opposing force, while Thorgon and his long swords, mounted on their -swift hardy horses, held themselves in readiness to cut up and destroy -in detail the fragments of an enemy thus riven the wider the more it -gave ground to its assailants. - -Such a method of fighting was considered by the mountain men to insure -victory; and the queen's eye sparkled, her cheek glowed, when she beheld -the hosts of Aryas the Beautiful thus eager to engage her own on a -system of which she had mastered all the details, prepared to worst it -at every point. - -"The lion is astir," she said, "and walking deliberately into the toils -without an effort at escape. By the light of Ashtaroth, I will have his -claws pared, his fangs drawn, and the beast as tame as a kitten, before -close of day!" - -Splendidly armed, ablaze with gold and jewels that flashed in the -morning sun, she stood in her chariot, looking like the goddess by whom -she swore, her beautiful face radiant with pleasure, her heart beating -high with courage, triumph, and the wild tumult of unbridled love. - -Her shield-bearer's place still remained vacant, and save a youth to -drive her horses, she was alone in the chariot; for Assarac, who -remained as usual in attendance, occupied another at her side. - -The eunuch's face was very grave and sad; its fleshy outlines had -fallen, the eyes were sunk and haggard, while about the lips care and -sorrow had carved those anxious lines that age itself fails to imprint -when the heart remains at ease. - -He looked little like a priest of Baal, less like a warrior of Ashur: -but never prophet burned with fiercer fire, never were nerves of -champion strung to more desperate courage, than glowed in the vexed -heart and wounded spirit of Assarac the eunuch, thus waiting on -Semiramis the queen. - -He had galloped back with her to the camp before sunrise, and at the -first trumpet call ascended into his chariot, that he might aid her with -his counsel, perhaps shield her with his body in the press of battle. - -In the disposal of her power she had shown her accustomed skill. Dark -masses of horsemen gathered like clouds on either flank. Her spearmen, -in a solid column, occupied the centre, protecting a bristling array of -war-chariots, ready to be launched against the enemy so soon as he -advanced into the plain; while forming her own guard and a reserve to be -hurled, as it were, at the critical moment on any point she should -select, rode a picked body of warriors clothed in blue, shining with -gilded armour, and chosen from the flower of her men of war by the -queen herself. - -Aryas the Beautiful, surveying from his chariot the line of battle thus -opposed to him, felt, while his courage rose with its very hopelessness, -a sad conviction of the impossibility of his task. He whispered as much -to Sarchedon, who accompanied him. - -"Behold," said he, "how the wolves are gathering to hem in the mountain -bull on every side. I knew not they were so many, nor so fierce. Surely -he is a daring leader who joins battle with the sons of Ashur." - -The other, while acknowledging so obvious a truth, could not repress a -thrill of exultation in the fair and formidable array of warriors with -whom he had heretofore gone out to victory. - -At the same moment Semiramis turned to Assarac, whose chariot now stood -by her own, and pointed with a radiant smile to those long lines of -steel glittering in the morning sun. - -"The blade is out," said she, "and balances so well in my hand, I can -smite when and where I will. Who would care to be a queen, but that the -arm which sways a sceptre has such strength to draw a sword? Behold, the -very auxiliaries stand fast, as if they too felt they carried on their -spears the honour of Assyria!" - -"Trust not their patience too far," urged the eunuch. "Great Queen, they -are clamouring to engage even now!" - -"Fools," she returned gaily, "I mean to sacrifice them soon enough. But -I can scarce trust them in the first shock of the assault, or I would -leave our own people to come in and reap the victory." - -"Let not the Great Queen scorn the words of her servant," replied -Assarac, "humble man of peace though he be. The children of Anak, led by -their woman-captain, claim the advance as their right. Behold, they are -fierce champions, tall as palms, greedy as beasts of prey, acknowledging -no law save the customs of their tribe. How shall these be satisfied -when the fight is over, the victory gained, and the spoil divided? Grant -them their wish: let them hurl themselves against the enemy. If they -loosen his formation, it is well; if they turn back in confusion while -he smites them hip and thigh, it is better. Assyria can do without them -in the day of triumph as in the day of battle." - -The queen scanned him from head to foot. - -"Do you think I cannot rein a steed," she asked, with a scornful laugh, -"because it is strong and wilful, or rule a handful of horsemen because -they stand a span higher than their fellows? Go to, Assarac; I thought -you knew me better. I have a task in store for these same Anakim, and I -purpose leading them myself. They shall help me to take this Comely King -captive from the very midst of his host. I tell you I mean to look at -his beautiful face before sunset, as close as I am to you!" - -"May the queen live for ever!" was his reply, for Assarac's whole -attention seemed now engrossed by the strength of Armenia advancing to -the attack. - -The wedge came on, solid and impenetrable as if it were indeed a living -mass of metal. Thus it crossed the level ground by the river's bed, -directing its point steadily for the centre of the Assyrian line; and so -long as it moved upon an even surface, nothing could be more warlike -than the mechanical regularity of its advance--nothing, perhaps, save -the discipline of the Assyrian archers, whom the queen kept so perfectly -in hand, that in spite of a tempting proximity to the Armenians not a -man moved in his saddle, turned his rein or bent his bow. But when the -huge triangular phalanx reached the channel, now dried up indeed, yet -rough with broken banks, sandy ledges, shingle, and boulders of rock, a -shiver seemed to pass over it like that which ripples the hide of some -huge monster in its death-pang, and Aryas drove furiously down in his -chariot to rectify the disorder ere it was too late. - -In compliance with his bowbearer's entreaties, the attire and harness of -the Comely King, though less simple than usual, were such as might be -worn by any captain or leader of his host. There was nothing about him -to identify his royalty but the handsome form and face. Sarchedon also -was armed and dressed in a precisely similar manner, so that at the -interval of a spear-length it was impossible to distinguish one from the -other. The bowbearer too had divested himself of the quiver that -denoted his office, and while he stood upright and brandished a spear in -the war-chariot, Aryas covered him with a shield. Even old Thorgon, -riding up to his lord for final orders, rubbed his eyes and pulled his -shaggy beard in angry confusion at its success, while he admitted the -wisdom of this stratagem. - -With voice and gesture, Aryas and Sarchedon strove in concert to restore -that dense consistency to the mass which constituted its strength and -safety; but eyes as quick, and skill more practised, were watching their -opportunity, so that as the leading Armenian spearman made his first -false step, the arm of Semiramis went up, a trumpet sounded, and the -horsemen of Assyria set themselves in motion by thousands, with bows -bent and arrows drawn to the head. - -There is a moment, and none knew it better than the Great Queen, on -which the tide of battle turns. - -"In the toils _now_!" she murmured viciously, "and that fair head of -yours will be at my mercy to-night, as sure as I hold this bow in my -hand. Assarac," she continued, in the calm ringing accents with which it -was her wont to issue her commands in battle, "let them feed that force -of archers thousands by thousands, as they want them, from the columns -on their flanks. When the Armenian host arrives at yonder white stone, -bring up the reserve of spearmen, and I will attack with the whole -line." - -Ere this landmark could be reached, she was well aware that the -advancing phalanx, stumbling at every step, galled on all sides by -mounted bowmen, who, circling swiftly round, wrapped it in a deadly -storm of arrows, must become so loosened and disorganised as with one -well-supported charge to be broken up and cut to pieces in detail. - -Already darting an upward glance at the towers of Ardesh, she was -doubting whether to occupy it with a strong Assyrian garrison or to burn -its palace, and level its defences to the ground. For a space all went -as she desired. Wheeling in clouds, succeeded and relieved by squadron -after squadron, each fresher, fiercer, more daring than the last, it -seemed to Aryas that the horsemen of Assyria were inexhaustible and -intangible as the locusts of their own fertile land. With each discharge -of arrows, his phalanx hesitated, tottered, and opened out. It was no -longer a solid wedge, but an irregular mass, melting and crumbling like -a snow-wreath in the southern breeze. There was not a moment to lose, -and the Comely King, whose habits of wood-craft had at least gifted him -with that promptitude of decision which is so necessary in war, saw the -crisis and prepared to meet it. - -"Sarchedon," he exclaimed, "leap on my horse, the bay standing there -behind the chariot! Ride down to Thorgon like the wind. Bid him bring up -his long swords steadily, but without delay. At the first step taken by -the enemy's spearmen, he must charge and drive them back amongst their -chariots. It is the last chance left. Away! Two Armenian kings are -fighting side by side this morning; Sarchedon, if at set of sun there is -but one left, my faithful friend and servant, fare thee well!" - -Touching his lord's hand reverently with his lips, the bowbearer flung -himself into the saddle, and galloped off at speed; while Aryas, -snatching reins and whip from his charioteer, shaking the former and -plying the latter to some purpose, flew towards that white stone which -the keen eye of Semiramis had already marked as the turning-point of -conflict. - -When they parted, scarce a bowshot intervened between the king's chariot -and the handful of Anakim who were drawn up in the position they had -clamoured to occupy, waiting with fiery impatience an order to begin. - -Their queen sat motionless at their head, her face concealed as usual, -her eyes intently scanning those hostile ranks in search of the man she -loved. - -Suddenly she dropped the rein and clasped her hands upon her heart. -Surely that was his figure yonder, riding, as he alone could ride, along -the river bank! A dead archer lay in his path, and the bay horse, -swerving wildly aside, brought his rider round with a swing that showed -his front to the enemy. - -"Sarchedon, Sarchedon!" she cried, in a stifled voice, then stretched -her arms out piteously, and, gasping for breath, flung the veil back -from her face. - -It was the signal they had expected since daybreak, the gesture by which -they were taught to believe their enemies would be consumed like thorns -crackling in a fire. The wild blood of the desert would take no denial -now; and with a shout that rang round the towers of Ardesh, reins were -loosed, spears lowered, while, sweeping their bewildered leader onward -in their centre, the children of Anak carried all before them in a -desperate and irresistible charge. - -The brow of Semiramis turned black for very anger, while the beautiful -features were distorted with a spasm of rage and scorn. - -"The fools!" she hissed between her teeth. "If but one comes out of the -press alive, I will impale him in the centre of the camp! And for their -leader--if she be wise, she will die on those Armenian spears, rather -than answer this mad frolic in the face of the Great Queen!" - -The next moment, with smooth calm smile and royal dignity, she beckoned -Assarac to her chariot, and gave her directions in that calm assured -tone which with Semiramis denoted a crisis of extreme peril, and perfect -confidence in her own powers to meet it. - -What she anticipated did indeed come to pass. The common saying, "Who -shall stand before the children of Anak?" had doubtless grown into a -proverb because of its undisputed truth. Individually, the champions of -Armenia went down before these stalwart horsemen like corn under the -sickle. Iron buckler made no better stand than wicker shield against -their mad thrusts and crashing strokes, linked harness proved no -stronger fence than linen gown, and bearded men of war seemed as but -puny infants contending with this gigantic foe. Charging against the -head of the Armenian phalanx, they drove its leaders back upon their -fellows; and while they hewed and shouted and smote without remorse, the -little band reared about them a barrier of ghastly mutilated corpses, -rising to their very girths. - -But while thus pressing sore against the front of their enemy, they -condensed him into his original formation; and the Great Queen, always -intolerant of shortcomings in discipline, had the mortification to -witness her well-digested plan destroyed, her whole order of battle put -to confusion, by this untoward advance of a force she intended -reserving to the last moment for a purpose of her own. - -"And ten more spear-lengths would have sufficed," said she, veiling her -vexation as best she might. "Behold, Assarac! In war, as in peace, it is -better to trust a haltered ass than an unbridled steed!" - - - - -CHAPTER LII - -LOST AND WON - - -Sarchedon, galloping furiously on his mission, yet cast more than one -glance over his shoulder at the battle raging behind him. He too marked -the overwhelming charge of the Anakim, and its effect on that solid mass -against which its might was hurled. Trained in the subtlest school of -war, by the great captain of the age, he perceived at once that if ever -they were to be routed, now was the critical moment at which the -discomfiture of his countrymen must be achieved. The bay horse reeked -with foam and reeled from want of breath when it reached Thorgon's side; -and Sarchedon, deeming not an instant should be lost, ventured so far to -extend the command he had received as to urge on that old warrior the -necessity of putting his men in motion at a gallop. Thorgon frowned and -bit his lip. "Go to!" said he. "I am not to be taught by an Assyrian -youth how to set the battle in array. Nevertheless, if thou wilt share -in a death-ride to-day with the children of the north, pull that knife -of thine out of thy girdle and come with me." - -Thus speaking, he drew his own long heavy sword, and waving it round his -head, placed himself in front of his horsemen, and led them against the -enemy at a rapid pace, which, when within a bowshot distance, he -increased to their utmost speed. - -The Anakim had now penetrated so far into the ranks of the Armenians as -to be nearly surrounded, while victorious, by the very foe they were -engaged in defeating. It needed but this charge of Thorgon and his grim -long swords in their rear to complete the circle that hemmed them in. - -Semiramis, from her chariot, marked the crisis and the manner in which -it must be met. "Assarac," said she, in her calm modulated voice, "I -cannot trust the children of the desert. They would not retire if I bade -them, and so weaken the wedge by drawing it after them in pursuit. We -must check these wild cattle of the mountain, nevertheless. Bring up my -spears in solid column of a thousand men in front, masking the chariots. -When I raise my bow, let them open out and every driver urge his horses -to a gallop. I will not give the signal till I see my opportunity, so -watch me like a falcon over a fawn. Send for my horsemen clothed in -blue. Ten squadrons may serve to bring the Anakim out of peril, and with -the rest I will myself make a dash for the person of this Beautiful -King." - -Her commands were implicitly obeyed. With a shout that denoted their -courage and unshaken confidence, the chief strength of the Assyrian army -advanced steadily to the attack. - -Meantime the Anakim were fighting at considerable disadvantage. Hemmed -in by falling foes, encumbered by dead of their own slaying, they had no -space to turn their horses, scarce elbow-room to swing their swords. -Twice had Ishtar's rein been seized by a dismounted enemy, and her horse -dragged down to its knees; twice had his veiled queen been rescued by -some tall champion, who pierced her assailant to the heart, or clove him -to the chin. But, nevertheless, the farther these desperate giants -fought their way towards the centre of the Armenians, the more difficult -became the task of extrication, the more hopeless their chances of -retreat. It seemed that all was indeed lost when Thorgon and his long -swords came pouring down upon their rear. - -To Ishtar the events passing before her eyes were but as the horrors of -some ghastly dream. Faint, gasping, terrified, stunned with the din, -choked in the dust, blinded by the flash of weapons, sickening at the -smell of blood, she was only sensible she had seen Sarchedon, as in a -vision, and had cried to him for assistance in vain. - -Helpless and bewildered, she must have been slain a score of times but -for the chief of the Anakim, whose weapon kept her assailants at bay, -while his hand guided her horse through the press of battle; but even -this protection failed her when that formidable champion found himself -engaged with Thorgon hand to hand. - -Wary and experienced, hardened and toughened by continual toil in -warfare and the chase, the old Armenian knew every wile of the -swordsman, every turn of the horseman, familiarly as he knew the spring -of a panther or the rush of a mountain bull. But he was no match for the -larger frame and lengthier limbs of an opponent who was a younger, -stronger, and quicker man, riding a better horse. While he waved his -long sword round his head to cleave his adversary to the girdle, the -other smote him sharp and true below the fifth rib, and, with a loud -curse on the only god he acknowledged--the weapon that had failed -him--Thorgon fell headlong from his saddle, dead before he reached the -ground. - -Men, horses, flashing weapons, reeling banners--all swam before Ishtar's -eyes; and, swaying blindly forward, she was scarcely conscious that a -protecting arm supported her, a careful hand guided her bridle, towards -the outskirts of the fight. - -The fall of their leader seemed in no way to discourage the mountain -men; rather they fought with greater fierceness and obstinacy than -before. The children of Anak too, considerably out-numbered, and -disheartened by the helplessness of their Veiled Queen, began to give -way, striking furiously about them indeed, without a thought of flight, -yet obviously bent on effecting a retreat, if possible in good order, -but at any sacrifice a retreat. - -In this imminent crisis of battle, the Comely King and the Great Queen -were moved simultaneously with a conviction that now was the moment at -which to throw all the weight attainable into the scale. If either side -could be driven back but a score of spear-lengths, it might be made to -give ground imperceptibly, till wavering grew to flight, and flight -culminated in defeat. For Armenia, it seemed the only hope to push -forward the wedge till it penetrated and divided the queen's solid -columns of spearmen; for the sons of Ashur the sure path to victory lay -in a breaking up of that dense obstinate mass, already weakened and -mutilated, while its nucleus should be annihilated by their chariots, -and its component parts cut to pieces by their horsemen hovering on its -flanks. - -Therefore Aryas, standing erect in his chariot, encouraged his men of -war, with voice and gesture, in the very fore-front of battle. Therefore -Semiramis, scanning with undisguised approval the ranks of her -body-guard clothed in blue, placed herself joyfully at their head. The -Armenian monarch had resolved to save crown, kingdom, and friend, or -die, like a true mountain man, in his war-harness; while the Great -Queen, thirsting for victory as the drunkard thirsts for wine, was urged -by her longing after Sarchedon and the spur of a feminine desire to -behold Aryas the Beautiful face to face. - -They were now scarce ten spear-lengths apart, on the dried-up river's -brink. - -The ground was rough and broken, the wheels of her chariot drove -heavily, and Semiramis found herself more than once in danger of being -thrown from her elevated position between the horses that plunged and -laboured over slippery rock or yielding sand. - -Against the carved and inlaid panel beside her hung a quiver with its -single arrow--one of those sent to Babylon in return for her embassy, -and which she had sworn by Nisroch to plant in the breast of Aryas the -Beautiful with her own hand. She snatched it from its case, made a sign -to the attendant who led him, leaped on Merodach, and, looking proudly -round, raised her bow aloft to brandish it over her head. - -Then, while spears went down and bridles shook, a shout rose from the -warriors in blue raiment that was caught up by the whole Assyrian army, -and every man called lustily on Baal, swearing a mighty oath that he -would fight to the death for the Great Queen. - -Aiming, as was her custom, at the heart of the enemy, Semiramis broke -furiously through the opposing long swords, now deprived of their -leader, with the view of first extricating the Anakim from their -perilous position, and afterwards directing all her force against the -Armenian king in person. - -Assarac too had done his part like a practised warrior. The deep array -of spears, a solid column many furlongs in length, strong in its front -of a thousand marching men, was nearing the conflict every moment, with -that smooth and even step, that mechanical regularity of approach, which -seems the very impersonation of discipline and power. Concealed behind -its masses, betrayed only by an unceasing jar of iron and roll of -wheels, came on those formidable war-chariots, so irresistible by an -enemy who had sustained a check that caused the slightest confusion in -its ranks; and wielding the whole array, governing at once each element -of the storm, drove Assarac the eunuch--he of the cool brain, the -steadfast courage, the pitiless heart, who could be moved but by one -sentiment on earth--his mad infatuation for the queen. - -Aryas marked it all, and knew that now the end was very near. Glancing -towards Sarchedon, he beheld his bowbearer, scarce ten spear-lengths -off, in the hottest of the struggle, defending, as it seemed, from -stroke and thrust some object at his side. The Anakim gathered about -him; while the long swords, shouting "Aryas! Aryas!" were making -desperate efforts to approach, believing, no doubt, they were rallying -round their king. - -Semiramis neared her object with every stride. Aryas had stooped to take -another arrow from his quiver, and, as he raised his head again to -confront his enemy, looking boldly over his shield, behold! for the -first time, he stood face to face with the Great Queen. - -Deceived by the likeness, duped by her own wild heart and reckless -longing, she called on him she loved by the name she had learned to -whisper in her dreams; but the hoarse shriek that cried "Sarchedon, -Sarchedon!" was so different from the full soft tones in which she was -used to doom a culprit or direct a battle, that her guards pressed -fiercely in, thinking their leader must have been stricken with a -death-hurt. - -Casting down horse and rider in the fury of her career, she urged -Merodach towards the chariot, every consideration of war and policy, all -care for herself, her army, her people, lost in a fierce thrill of -triumph that the desire of her eyes had not escaped her, and she had -found him even at the last. - -Surrounded by the chosen horsemen of Assyria, over-matched, -out-numbered, and now at his sorest need, Aryas shouted to his bowbearer -for help; and Sarchedon, still struggling in the strife as a swimmer -fights and reels amongst the breakers, answered lustily to the call. - -The Great Queen, making, as she believed, for another, was now within -ten paces of Aryas the Beautiful himself. - -In that hideous din of battle she neither heard his cry nor the voice -that replied to it; but the white horse with the eyes of fire had a -truer memory and a sharper ear. Recognising his master's accents, he -swerved aside to reach him, but meeting the wrench of the queen's -practised hand on his bridle, reared high with tossing head, and plunged -blindly forward against the king's chariot, struck himself and his rider -heavily to the ground. - -As the good horse rolled over a maimed Armenian, the dying mountain man -shortened the sword he grasped fiercely even then, and buried it in the -animal's bowels. - -Agile as a panther, Semiramis extricated herself, and was up like -lightning; but when she saw the beast she prized so dearly dead at her -very feet, her heart burned, and her eyes blazed with a fury wilder, -fiercer, madder, than the rage of any beast of prey. - -Baffled, stunned, bewildered, she only knew that Merodach lay slain -beneath her; that an armed enemy stood above with shielded face and -javelin raised to strike; that here across the body of her horse was the -turning-point of battle, and that she held a bow and arrow in her hand. -Unconsciously, she fitted the one to the string, and drew the other at a -venture, as it were, in self-defence. - -It was the Armenian arrow, cut in Armenian forests, tipped with Armenian -steel. It had travelled to Babylon and back as a symbol of dignified -remonstrance and royal self-respect; now the white cruel arm impelled it -straight and true, to find its home in the heart of an Armenian king. - -Stricken below the buckler, he felt his life-blood oozing down to wet -its feathers, drop by drop. - -"Turn thy hand out of the battle," murmured Aryas to his charioteer, -"since I am hurt even unto death!" - -But he never spoke again; for the Great Queen's men of war, making in to -aid their leader, hurled him from his chariot, gashing with pitiless -sword-strokes the comely face so fair even in death, crushing under -trampling hoofs the stately form that, maimed, bruised, and mangled, was -grand and kingly still. - -So the horsemen of Assyria triumphed; her spears made victory secure, -her chariots rolled over the slain. The blue mantles smote and spared -not; the Anakim extricating themselves, not without considerable loss, -departed in good order; and the pursuit rolled on till the sons of Ashur -sacked the town of Ardesh--to burn, pillage, and destroy, even unto the -going down of the day. - -But men looked in vain for her who had led the attack and achieved the -victory, asking each other with eager looks and anxious faces, - -"What tidings of the Great Queen?" - -[Illustration: "SHE KNELT BESIDE THE BODY OF A DEAD HORSE."] - -Her armour lay, piece by piece, beside her; there was dust on her -lustrous hair, the pride of her royal garment was rent from hem to hem, -while bowed down in anguish, with fixed eyes, white face, and rigid -lips, she knelt beside a dead horse, over the body of a dead king. - - - - -CHAPTER LIII - -SHARING THE SPOIL - - -In the palace of Ardesh, where the naked sword stood for men to worship, -they set up a golden image of Baal; where a free monarch sat amongst his -free warriors, the servant of a despotic mistress now lorded it over a -conquered race. Between rise and set of sun a king had perished, an army -had been cut to pieces, and a warlike people ceased to hold its place -among nations. - -In the court of that royal dwelling, under the soft evening sky, Assarac -stood in state to receive the captains of the host, take note of their -prisoners, and count the spoil. He had borne him all day like a warrior -of might--cool as the wariest of leaders, bold as the fiercest of -spearmen. None the less was his practised eye scanning the material -results of triumph, his active brain plotting to consolidate the fruits -of victory. - -Though himself unwounded, the eunuch's harness was riven and dented, the -linen garment, which, in right of his priestly office, he affected even -in battle, was streaked and spotted with blood. Fed by the fire within, -his look was keen and piercing; there seemed little more trace of -fatigue on his care-worn face than it had worn day and night since the -host marched out from the northern gate of Babylon; and, conscious he -had borne him like a true son of Ashur, under the eyes of the Great -Queen, his aspect, lately so dejected and morose, was brightened by a -passing gleam, as from the light of hope. - -It looked a ghastly task on which his mind was bent. Files of Assyrian -spearmen, passing proudly before him, laid down the heads of enemies -slain in arms or taken prisoners after the combat; so lavishly and with -such precision, that a pile of these hideous trophies had already risen -to the height of a man's girdle. Two scribes, tablet in hand, took note -of their exact number; while Assarac, as the queen's chief counsellor, -recorded the names of the successful warriors, and apportioned the share -to which each would be entitled in dividing the spoil. - -Not a murmur rose against his award; for it was still fresh in men's -minds how at the turning-point of battle, when victory hung doubtful in -the balance, all that fierce energy and daring which had rendered Ninus -such a successful leader seemed to have descended on the priest of Baal -whom the old king so mistrusted and reviled. - -Man by man the champions of the Assyrian host passed by. One laden with -the spoil he had already gathered, rude in workmanship, yet precious in -its barbaric splendour and intrinsic worth. Another, dragging some -hapless foeman, whom he had bound securely with his girdle, and whose -fate hung on the eunuch's nod; for the conqueror, with bared arm and -naked steel, held himself ready to pierce, flay, or decapitate at the -lightest sign. A third, leading a comely mountain maid, white and ruddy, -with shy blue eyes and tangled locks of gold, scared, trembling, -weeping, yet sometimes blushing, not without conscious triumph, that -she had herself taken captive the strong fighter in whose power she -seemed to be. - -For the vanquished, Assarac now showed a clemency unusual in the -traditions of his people, not entirely in accordance with his own -nature, as it had hitherto appeared, hard, practical, uninfluenced by -feeling, and looking only to results. It was observed that he spared all -captives save only such warriors as had been taken fighting against the -bodyguards of the Great Queen; while for the Armenian women, in this -their hour of sorrow, he manifested a pity and consideration that -elicited certain ribald comments from his countrymen, and no small -surprise from the prisoners themselves. But censure, praise, and -ridicule were alike unable to affect him to-day. With that power of -concentration which constitutes the principal element of success in war, -government, or indeed any business of life, his energies were engrossed -in the important task of so disposing that great Assyrian army, as to -provide for security and good order in the captured town. - -Leader after leader therefore he summoned and dismissed, receiving their -tale of spoil and captives, giving directions for the distribution of -their men. "Where has he learned his skill of warfare," said the old -captains to each other, "this high-priest of our Assyrian god? Surely -Baal comes down to him by night and speaks with him face to face." - -So strongly was national pride and self-confidence imbued with a -religious belief in their gods, that this opinion seemed to the sons of -Ashur extremely probable and well-conceived. It reflected honour on -themselves, their worship, and their triumph; above all, it invested -Assarac with an influence and authority most essential in the absence of -the Great Queen. Not a line of the eunuch's face, not a turn of his -body, was permitted to weaken this impression of superhuman strength and -sagacity, of holiness fresh from the fount of fire itself. Calm, -dignified, imperious, moved by no casualty, equal to all occasions, he -issued his commands with a foresight and wisdom that elicited order from -the very excesses of a victorious army in a city taken by assault; and -yet at Assarac's heart, though stifled and suppressed by the strong will -within, raged a tumult far more difficult to deal with in its unbridled -folly than the wildest license of warriors drunk with wine and blood. - -Where was the queen? Again and again had that question presented itself -in the hour of victory, and now, though the stars were out, he could not -answer it yet. - -While driving the Armenians back upon the town of Ardesh, and entering -their capital with a routed enemy, he never doubted but that Semiramis -was performing her part of the battle, and that they would meet at -sunset in the Comely King's palace, where he would receive from her some -acknowledgment of the valour he had shown, some word of thanks for the -service he had done. For a time the exigencies of such a success left -him not a moment to make inquiries concerning the mistress of nations, -even had it been prudent to do so. It was necessary to assume supreme -authority, and wield it without scruple; but when a clear head, an -undisputed will, and an unequalled organisation had disposed of their -immediate necessities, and the Assyrian host with its captives was -securely established for the night, Assarac's anxiety became maddening -as hour by hour passed on, but brought no tidings of the Great Queen. - -It never entered his head that she could be slain. To him, Ashtaroth was -no more an impersonation of light, beauty, and unearthly power than -Semiramis. That she might have been taken up at the moment of victory, -to join the stars of heaven in a chariot of fire, he was perhaps the -only man of all the host who did _not_ believe; but none the less was it -impossible for him to realise that imperial glory as shadowed by defeat, -that matchless face as pale and fixed in death. - -Thus was he spared more than one hideous pang; yet perhaps it is a -question whether the suspense that racked him now, with all its -maddening possibilities, was not fiercer torture than would have been -the certainty that she was gone from him for ever, and he must grovel -before his idol no more. - -While the stars shone coldly down on the scene of conflict, while a new -moon shed her gentle light on fire-scathed tower and blackened wall -above--on writhing sufferer and stiffened corpse below--on riven -harness, prostrate horses, chariots broken where they fell--on the -tents of the conquerors, the lines of the vanquished, the wounded, the -sleeping, the dying, and the great banner of Ashur drooping sullenly -over all,--Assarac wrapped himself in a dark-coloured mantle, and -leaving the royal palace of Ardesh, stole down to the plain below, -hoping that on the field of battle, where he had last seen her, he might -recover some traces of the queen. - -Already, ere he proceeded half a bowshot, he had disturbed a jackal at -its loathsome feast. The eunuch shuddered and hurried on. Was this, -then, the end and climax of all the pomp of war, the glory of the host, -the thunder of chariots, the shouting of captains, the sword, the -shield, and the battle? - -A nation rising in its might at sunrise, going forth to conquer, and at -nightfall--lo, a wild dog mumbling a bone! - -His pursuits, his profession, the juggleries that deceived the people, -the pseudo-science that professed to read the stars, had taught him, -perhaps, to ponder and reflect, where others of his nation were content -to act and to enjoy. Looking from the scene of carnage at his feet to -that summer's night so fair and pure above, the great question thrust -itself upon his mind, which his experience, his reason, all the -traditions of Ashur, all the mystic lore of Baal, seemed unable to -answer. - -What was this confusion on earth, this order and regularity in heaven, -and why were these things so? Did Nisroch take thought for that Armenian -woman, wailing in the darkness over the body of her dead lord, or Baal -pity the maimed swordsman yonder, trailing his length like a crushed -reptile towards the stream that, in his agony of thirst, he forgot had -been drained and turned aside? Was there indeed a motive power to govern -in heaven? And if so, did it leave the evils of earth to right -themselves as best they might, by force, fraud, and subtlety, the strong -arm and the cunning brain? A thrill of triumph passed through him, while -he murmured, - -"It must be so! Let him lord it up yonder who will, man is the god -below; and he who never flinches from his purpose shall not fail in his -desire. Such a one stands here to-night in these my garments. Conqueror -of the north, Assarac the eunuch has to-day taken his place among the -mighty ones of earth, and who shall say him nay? Hath he not led the -hosts of Assyria to victory? Hath he not adjudged to each triumphant man -of war the meed of his deserts; and shall not he also take his share of -the spoil? Costly jewels, treasures of gold, herds of camels, horses, -armour, and cunning needlework--the common needs of common men--he -careth for none of these; and yet to-night, surely to-night, shall he -garner the harvest that has been sown in fire, and reaped in blood. -Ashtaroth, Ashtaroth, queen of love and light, hast thou ever known a -worshipper who flung before thee all he had to give, taking his heart -out, to lay it at thy feet, and asked only in return for one approving -glance, one soft and kindly smile? Surely she to whom I pray cannot -withhold these from me in such a time as this! Surely there is a goodly -meed in store for him who has to-day placed her crowning victory on the -brows of the Great Queen!" - -He had nearly reached the river's bed, where the battle had been -hottest, where the carnage lay thick and reeking in broad swathes of -slaughter; a few more steps brought him to where Merodach lay stiff and -cold, with a vulture feasting on his eyes, and a wild dog tearing at his -flank. The bright stars and the young moon afforded light enough to -distinguish the dead white horse with its ghastly attendants. Assarac's -brain reeled, his blood ran cold, while he remembered that he had last -seen its rider charging furiously through the battle, on the back of her -favourite. - -The vulture croaked and flapped its wings, the wild dog growled, glared, -and slunk away. Like a man chained in a nightmare, half conscious that -he is dreaming, yet wholly unable to resist the petrifying spell, -Assarac felt as if some unseen power compelled him to remain and -confront the nameless horror that he so dreaded, yet was so resolved to -disbelieve. He tried to shout, but his tongue clave to the roof of his -mouth; to draw his sword, but his hand hung powerless, and his flesh -crept, so that the very hair rose in the nape of his neck; for gliding -through the gloom, scarce half a bowshot off, there passed him a -ghostly procession, such as the spirits of the dead might form, in their -land of shadows beyond the grave. - -Four tall dark figures, moving with solemn gait, bore aloft, on one of -the long wicker shields used by assailants of a fenced city, such a -shrouded burden as denoted the presence of death under the cloak that -veiled its ghastly truth. - -Behind them, with drooping head, clasped hands, and a bearing that -betrayed the utmost abandonment of woe, walked a female mourner, -majestic even in the hour of sorrow that bowed her to the earth. Assarac -started into life now, if indeed that could be called life which was but -restoration to consciousness under the smart of a deadly stab; for in -the folds hanging about the corpse he recognised a royal mantle--in the -drooping and dejected mourner, beheld the person of the Great Queen. - -With fixed and rigid face, with hands clasped tight, with steps that -seemed borne up and guided by some extraneous power, independent of and -even dominating his own will, the eunuch followed through the darkness, -as a sleep-walker follows the immaterial object of his dreams, never -decreasing the space that intervened, never turning aside from the -footprints of those who led, passing without heed over mailed corpse and -broken chariot, through sand and shingle and shallow pools of blood. - -So the procession laboured gravely on, away from the battlefield, across -the vineyards, up the rocky path that led to those mountain forests in -which the dead king of Armenia might have found safety from his foes. - -The bearers neither increased their speed nor halted, nor stinted for -lack of breath, but moved calmly forward with even measured pace, symbol -of a haughty reverence and respect, rather than of pity or distress; for -he whom they bore feet foremost had been a warrior like themselves, and -lay warlike in his riven harness, with a broken bow in his hand. He had -fallen, as was meet for a stout champion, in the fore-front of battle, -and though the horsemen of Assyria slashed it cruelly with their swords, -his comely face had never turned one hair's-breadth from the foe. - -Therefore the sons of Ashur thought no shame to carry him sternly and -proudly to his rest, at the command of their mistress; therefore in -their hearts they told themselves, how at Nisroch's appointed time, it -would be well for them too that they should die in their armour, and -that their last end should be like his. - -The frogs clamoured in the marsh, the night wind moaned in the pines, -filmy clouds swept over the crescent moon, and the corpse went ever -upward into the mountain, while the queen followed after it, weeping, -mute, unconscious, and Assarac, giddy and bewildered, followed blindly -after the queen. - - - - -CHAPTER LIV - -COUNTING THE COST - - -Ever as their path grew steeper, and they penetrated farther into its -recesses, the forest became more gloomy, while its trees assumed more -hideous and fantastic shapes. The sky was dark and wild, the air loaded -with those murmurs of the night that are to sounds of waking life as -passing shadows to real objects of flesh and blood; gigantic faces, -grim, gray, and indistinct, blinked and peered from naked crag or -gnarled and wrinkled trunk; while here, there, everywhere around, -brooded a presence, no less awful because so vague and impalpable, that -would have curdled and chilled the boldest human heart. It seemed to -Assarac, he was treading the border-land between here and hereafter; -that at every step he might come face to face with some departed spirit, -for which the universal experience was no longer a problem to be solved, -which could tell him the secret all his life had been but an effort to -inquire. - -A white owl flitted noiselessly through the darkness, and the eunuch's -heart stood still with something less debasing, yet far more horrible -than fear. Nevertheless, as the shadowy train moved before him, -mechanically he followed on. - -In a gorge of the mountain, where night was blackest, a red light glowed -suddenly across the sky. Wheeling round the stem of a rugged oak, the -bearers halted with their burden, in an open space where four glades -met, converging on an indistinct mass, that seemed, in the fitful -glare, some rough rude altar reared of unhewn stones. - -Reverently they laid the dead hero down. Rising erect, when he touched -the earth, Assarac recognised in their lofty frames and costly armour -four spearmen from the body-guard of the Great Queen. - -Semiramis stood apart, peering eagerly into the gloom, only the outline -of a white face visible in the deep folds of a mantle, that shrouded her -head and figure. - -Wild yells and piercing shrieks rose from the forest, while the flash of -many torches danced fitfully among the trees. A score of hideous figures -now came leaping into the open space, and formed themselves in a circle -round the queen, the spearmen and the dead warrior laid upon his shield. - -Interest and curiosity had somewhat mastered the eunuch's over-powering -sense of horror, so that, waking, as it were, from the oppression of a -trance, he seemed to resume his faculties of body and mind. - -He knew the shapes at last, recognising them for those frantic votaries -who, electing to worship Abitur of the Mountains, disowned all human -ties and interests, abjured all other creeds and professions, that they -might serve the great principle of evil in the wilderness. - -These men were naked to the waist, their hair and beards were matted and -tangled in foul disorder, they tossed their lean arms aloft with frantic -vehemence, and their eyes glared in the torchlight with the fierce -cunning of insanity. - -They might have been themselves the demons they adored, so strange and -unearthly was their appearance, while dancing, gibbering, howling, they -came and went, now opening out, now closing in, their circle, now -retiring among the trees, now advancing towards the altar, but still, -like vultures about a carrion, converging gradually round the corpse. - -The queen held up her hand; immediately the torches gave a steadier -light, the wavering shapes were still, and prostrated themselves before -her with mute signs of submission, reverence, even abject fear. - -She had protected the sect, respected their tenets, even joined in -their worship, from motives of policy long ago. - -Now, in her great need, she clung to this desperate resource, and had -come to wring from Abitur of the Mountains that which the host of heaven -seemed unable to bestow. - -With the increased light afforded by a score of torches, no longer -whirled and brandished in the air, Assarac observed that, in the rock -over against him, was hewn an entrance to some vast cavernous temple, -ornamented with rough symbols and grotesque representations of the demon -worshipped within. This cavity seemed partly natural, partly hollowed -out from the bowels of the earth, by the same rude labour that had -erected the altar in its front. - -Four of the wild men raised the burden recently laid down by the -Assyrian warriors, and, preceded by two of their companions with -torches, disappeared in the entrance of the temple or mouth of the -cavern. While they lifted the corpse, Semiramis passed her hand, with a -gesture of exceeding tenderness, over the dead face, and followed close -behind, succeeded by the rest of the torch-bearing troop, leaving the -spearmen without, as if to guard the threshold. - -An irresistible impulse drove the eunuch onward in his strange -adventure, yet it seemed that he could not have uttered a word to save -his life. With every faculty strained, every sense painfully sharpened, -speech was alone denied him. - -The sons of Ashur crossed their spears to bar his entrance; but throwing -the cloak back from his face, though still without a word, he caused -them to recognise him that stood at the right hand of the Great Queen, -and thus passed unimpeded into the temple of the fiend. - -In a vaulted cavern, so lofty that the glare of twenty torches scarce -illumined the shadowy masses of its roof, stood four unhewn blocks of -granite, supporting, at the height of a man's knee a rough slab of the -same, on a flooring of rock, over which nature had spread a deep -covering of sand. There was here no appearance of shrine or altar, none -of those attempts at ornament, by which even the rudest of worshippers -do honour to their deity with hand and brain. The walls of this natural -temple were of bare bulging stone, its roof was reared far into the -bowels of the mountain; it had but one aperture, through which a dim -thread of light might be seen at noon-day, and where, if he ever did -visit them, the worshippers of Abitur were taught to expect the -appearance of their master. - -Buried in the depths of the forest, beneath those wild shaggy hills, -this dwelling of the evil principle was as dark and shadowy compared -with the temple of Baal, as that shrine of the Assyrian god, glowing in -vermilion and gold, seemed poor and paltry to the starry dome above, of -which it professed to be the type. - -From behind a jutting boulder of rock, forming, as it were, a natural -buttress of the cavern, Assarac watched in horror. The dew stood on his -brow, damp and chill as the slime on the surface against which he -leaned. - -Semiramis snatched a torch from one of the wild figures at her side, and -with its unlighted end described a triangular figure, while keeping -herself carefully within that mystic border, around the broad flat stone -on which the dead man lay. - -A wild unreasoning terror then seemed to take possession of the -worshippers, they trembled from head to foot, and cowered back as far as -the limits of the cavern would allow. In the silence that succeeded this -movement, even Assarac expected some tangible horror to appear. - -The Great Queen planted her torch firmly in the sand at the corpse's -head, stripping off at the same time its enshrouding mantle, while her -own cloak fell from her shoulder in the act, revealing at one stroke her -matchless beauty and the glittering splendour of her attire. - -It was a ghastly contrast--the same wavering light that played on the -queen's jewels imparted a flicker of life and motion to the dead man's -face, gashed and seamed with the sword, drawn and distorted with spasms -of mortal pain. He seemed to gasp, to gibber, to be about to speak, as -if the longing eyes that looked down on him were indeed able to draw his -very soul back from those unknown regions to which it had taken flight, -as if the force of a woman's will, the desire of a woman's love, must -needs have power to bridge the gulf that parts the living and the dead. - -Was it indeed Sarchedon who laid there disfigured into so maimed and -unsightly an object? And did she love him so dearly, that now to-night, -in the very hour of her triumph, she could forego her royal pomp and -glory, could stoop her neck and bend her pride for such a thing as this? - -Then Assarac felt at his heart that keen and searching stab to which -every other pain is but as a dull outward bruise to a serpent's venomed -sting. - -With dropped jaw, fixed eyes, and rigid limbs, he watched like a man -turned to stone. - -She plucked an amulet from her neck, gazing on it for an instant ere she -laid it softly, tenderly, in the dead man's breast. Then she looked -upward, moving lips and hands, like one who pleads hard for life, though -not a sound came forth. This was the second time she had bartered away -her mystic charm. Surely all her resources of peace and war must stand -her in some stead! Surely the dove and the arrow would not fail her now! - -When she turned her eyes again to the body, they gleamed with the light -of hope. On her face was the smile that welcomes some dear one's -home-coming, and she stretched her arms, as if to invite the wanderer -back to her loving heart. - -But while still he moved not, lying there stark and rigid, without word -or sign, it seemed strange to Assarac, that the Great Queen, whose -nature was so imperious, manifested neither anger nor impatience at this -protracted opposition to her will. Sorrow indeed came down over the -beautiful face like a veil; but through it there shone the exceeding -tenderness of a love that owns no limit of time or place, that -acknowledges no barrier, even in the chasm of an open grave. - -Once more her lips and eyes moved wildly, once more she looked around, -as if to plead for that fiendish help she had come here to implore; then -while her bosom heaved, and her throat swelled high, she burst into a -strain of melody that rang through the remotest corners of the cavern, -causing the wild men's senses to thrill with a strange intoxicating -delight, and the eunuch's heart to quiver with a fierce intolerable -pain. - -It was the incantation by which, in sight of all the gods of her people, -she protested against her loss, calling on the parted spirit to return -from its place beyond the grave. - -Laying her right hand on the dead man's forehead, her left upon his -heart, she raised her head and sang: - - "By the power of the Seven - Great tokens of light; - By the Judges of Heaven, - The watchers of night; - By the might of those forces - That govern on high, - The Stars in their courses, - The hosts of the sky; - By Ashur, grim pagan, - Our father in mail; - By Nebo and Dagon, - By Nisroch and Baal; - By pale Ishtar contrasting - With Red Merodach, - By the wings everlasting, - I summon thee back! - - From the ranks of a legion - That files through the gloom - Of a shadowy region - Disclosed by the tomb; - From the gulf of black sorrow - Of silence and sleep, - Where a night with no morrow - Broods over the deep; - By desire unavailing, - And pleasure that's fled; - By the living bewailing - Her love for the dead; - By the wish that endears thee, - The kisses that burn, - And the passion that sears thee, - I bid thee return! - - Thou art cold, and thy face is - So waxen at rest, - In my fiery embraces - Seek warmth on my breast. - Through the lips that caress thee - Draw balm in my breath, - And the arms that compress thee - Shall wrench thee from Death. - Though he boasteth to spare not - For ransom or fee, - Yet he shall not, he dare not, - Take tribute of me. - Then if love can restore thee, - Though bound on the track, - From the journey before thee, - Beloved, come back!" - -While the last syllables died on her lips in long pathetic tones, she -sank across the dead body, brow to brow, breast to breast, and mouth to -mouth. Surely, if but one spark of life had been left, that wild embrace -must have drawn and kindled it into flame. - -But Assarac's brain reeled, and the cavern swam before his eyes. -Staggering, suffocated, he hastened from the place, passing the men of -war at the entrance as he rushed blindly out into the darkness. Said one -spearman to his comrade, "Surely it is a spirit. Behold how it vanisheth -in the night!" To which the other, leaning thoughtfully on his shield, -replied, - -"It is the demon who hath entered, and taken possession of the man, and -driven him forth, and fled with him into the wilderness." - - - - -CHAPTER LV - -THE VOICE OF THE CHARMER - - -It was not the custom of an Assyrian army to leave its work half done. -The day after the great battle of Ardesh, the Armenians were scattered -to the four winds of heaven. Thorgon and his long swords indeed lay on -the field in regular lines of rank and file, as they had fallen; but, -though resisting bravely while his crest could be seen above the tumult, -when their king went down, the remnant of the mountain men broke up and -fled in confusion to their homes. The very stratagem that had, as it -were, doubled his presence for their encouragement, served perhaps but -to dishearten them the more, when they no longer beheld the royal form -which had hitherto seemed ubiquitous in the fight. Every portion of his -host was satisfied it had taken its orders directly from the monarch; -and when at last those two mailed figures, each of which was believed to -be Aryas himself, came together in the hottest of the conflict, men lay -so thick about the spot, that few indeed were left to observe the fall -of one and disappearance of the other warrior, either of whom might have -been their king. - -Through many a league of mountain pass and tangled brake, fording the -torrent or scouring the wind-swept plain, fled broken bands of -fugitives, panting, scared, disarmed, looking wildly over their shoulder -for the fierce and terrible foe, who spared not where he conquered, and -when he lifted sword or javelin, never failed to drive it home. - -But there was one troop of horsemen, scanty in number, yet formidable in -appearance, that although fighting on the side of victory had suffered -considerable loss. Returning towards the south in fair and orderly -retreat, it yet bore no symptoms of discomfiture or flight. The children -of Anak presented rather the appearance of assailants proceeding on some -promising expedition than of a solitary force wilfully deserting the -cause it had espoused. They restrained their invincible little horses to -a steady regulated pace, halting at frequent intervals to show a bold -front in case of pursuit from friend or foe. Their arms were bright, and -held in readiness; their bearing was haughty and full of confidence; -even the wounded sat firm and upright in their saddles, and at any -moment all seemed prepared to resume the fray. - -In the centre rode their Veiled Queen, accompanied by one in Armenian -armour, who seemed less a prisoner than a guest. - -While the battle raged at its fiercest round the white stone which -Semiramis had marked at its turning-point, Ishtar found herself carried -on its tide against the very person of him whom she had come to seek. It -needed but a wave of her arm to rally round her those champions who -believed so simply in her supernatural attributes, with whom no horsemen -in the world could counter stroke for stroke. Pressing in on their -leader, they soon encircled Ishtar and Sarchedon, soon cut their way to -the outskirts of the battle, and merging alike their compact with -Semiramis and their own love of fighting in blind obedience to their -queen, drew off in perfectly good order, to commence a steady retreat -for their southern home. - -The Assyrian had seen Aryas fall in fight, had noted the destruction of -the long swords, the total rout of those hardy warriors who hoped in -vain to make head against his countrymen. What was left him now, but to -drift with the stream of fate in the arms of the woman he loved? - -The Anakim soon recognised him as the companion of their leader, when -first she appeared among their tents and they knew her not. This was -enough to insure their protection and regard. At the first halt, there -was even a question of receiving him as an adopted brother in the tribe; -but he wanted more than a span of the necessary stature, and that -project was unwillingly abandoned. Nevertheless, every man felt pledged -to do him homage and defend his person to the death. - -It seemed to Sarchedon that he was riding through some unreal paradise -in a dream. He told Ishtar as much, while she related her trials, her -sorrows, and her undeviating constancy since they parted in the desert -after their flight from Ascalon. He feared to wake, he said, and find -himself again in that Egyptian dungeon, from which escape seemed -hopeless as from the tomb. - -"Beloved," she answered, "the queen of heaven will not permit us to be -tried yet farther. Behold! twice has she brought you deliverance through -me her servant in your hour of greatest need. It is enough. We shall be -parted no more. We will cast in our lot with these children of the -wilderness: they are brave, generous, faithful; they will fence us from -our enemies with a hedge of steel." - -"Be it so," he answered, looking fondly in the dear face that was -unveiled only to _him_. "Better a goats' hair tent with Ishtar in the -desert than a painted chamber and an empty heart in the palace of a -king. And yet," he added somewhat wistfully, "I would fain see the -inside of great Babylon again before I die." - -They were crossing a fair and level plain, the mountains above Ardesh -were already sinking on the horizon, and the children of the desert -welcomed that smooth unvaried surface, as reminding them of the -boundless tract they called their home. - -Presently the chief, riding warily in their rear, shouted to halt. -Forming towards the point of danger, they observed a column of dust -rising in the distance, as of an armed party proceeding rapidly on their -track. - -To those observant eyes, prompt and reliable information was afforded by -the lightest tokens of earth or sky. While Sarchedon could detect but a -rolling yellow cloud, the sons of Anak told each other of ten score -horsemen and a war-chariot travelling at speed. - -They bore down, therefore, in the direction of the approaching party, -forming carefully round Ishtar and her companion in case of conflict. - -When within a furlong of each other, both troops somewhat slackened -pace, and a chariot, driven furiously towards the Anakim, was stopped at -a spear-length from their chief. - -Standing in it, erect and fearless before drawn bows and levelled -spears, with head bared, shield lowered in token of amity, Assarac -raised his unarmed hands, and cried in a loud voice, "Is it peace, O my -brother?" - -"Let there be peace, my brother, between thee and me," answered the -chief of the Anakim; and the eunuch, getting down out of his chariot, -proceeded to explain the reason of his coming and his absence in the -hour of victory from the army of the Great Queen. - -"Semiramis," he said, "had been grievously wounded at the very moment of -triumph. If not hurt to the death, she was at least unable to retain -command of the host, or even to provide for the government of her empire -at home. Therefore must he hasten back to Babylon, that he might rule -wisely and in accordance with the laws of Shinar, while the queen's -authority was thus for a space in abeyance. New times were coming--a new -policy, perhaps a new dominion. Those who were so skilful to rein a -steed and wield a sword must ever be welcome to a warlike government, -such as could alone control the sons of Ashur. He had it in his power to -offer the Anakim a tract of fertile country, a land of corn and wine and -oil, in which to dwell at ease, ruled by their hereditary chief and -subject to their fathers' laws. Would they not hold it of the Great -Queen by service of bow and spear, each man sitting under his own vine -and his own fig-tree, doing that which seemed good in his own eyes?" - -The Anakim glanced doubtfully at each other; their chief pointed to the -mare from which he had dismounted, and shook his head. - -"I could not breathe Lotus-flower," said he, "in the confines of such a -tract. Like the wild ass, whose speed she laughs to scorn, her limbs -would stiffen if she might not stretch them on a plain boundless as the -sky that meets it on every side." - -"There is rich spoil to share," urged the eunuch. "Herds of sheep, oxen, -and camels, droves of captives--men, women, and children--wine, jewels, -goodly raiment, and gold to be had for the asking." - -The other stooped his tall person to bend his bow against the hollow of -his foot and ease its string. - -"All these," he answered, "I can have by the tightening of this weapon -in my hand. What need I more than the inheritance of my fathers--the -desert sun, the trackless sand, and the goods of every man whose spear -is a span shorter than mine own? Go to, thou lordly son of Ashur! my -portion is better than thine. I have spoken. Take a gift from thy -servant, and depart in peace." - -Assarac would never have been in his present position had he admitted -the impossibility of an enterprise because of its first failure. - -"I will accept the gift of my brother," said he, receiving with -exceeding courtesy a loaf of barley-bread and a handful of dried dates, -offered by one of the Anakim at a signal from his chief. "May it be -returned to him a hundredfold when he encamps without the gate of -Babylon, and I, even I, Assarac, governor of the city, bow my head at -the door of his tent to do him honour! If we may not draw bow again side -by side in battle, at least let there be peace between thy people and my -people, so that a son of Ashur, meeting a child of Anak in the -wilderness, shall cast his spear down before him and say, Is it well -with thee, O my brother?" - -Pausing to mark the effect of these friendly sentiments, and observing -that they were well received by his listeners, the eunuch turned to -Sarchedon, and continued in a lighter tone: - -"There is indeed a new dominion in Babylon when those laws of the land -of Shinar have been set aside which sentence to death that Assyrian-born -who shall be found arrayed in war-harness against the banner of Ashur. -And therefore, Sarchedon, if thou art a prisoner among these my -brethren, I will ransom thee at a royal price. If a friend, I will bid -thee leave them for a space, to their profit and thine own. If a captain -and leader, I will promote thee to yet higher honour in the great army -that has never known defeat." - -Sarchedon, glancing doubtfully at Ishtar, noted the colour fade from her -cheek ere she drew the veil over her face. Nevertheless, the tempter was -skilled in his art; and the prospect of once more bearing arms with his -countrymen was too welcome to be dismissed. - -"I would fain return to the land of my fathers," said he, "and ride to -battle with my brethren in burnished armour and costly raiment once -more. But yet it is better to dwell in the desert with a whole skin than -to writhe on a stake in the sun, even though it be over against the -palace of a king. If I came in the light of the Great Queen's -countenance, behold, she would consume me in her wrath. If Ninyas -reigned in her stead, my death might peradventure be more merciful, but -more speedy also, and no less sure." - -Assarac had a purpose to serve, and the lie glided smooth and facile -from his lips. - -"Semiramis," he answered--and even now, in this his hour of fierce -revenge and mad disloyalty, he could not speak that name without a -quiver of the lip, a tremble of the voice--"Semiramis sickens in her -tent with a death-hurt. Ninyas her son, sunk in sloth and pleasure, -lover of the garland, the wine-cup, and the couch, would soon weary of -the sceptre as he wearied of the sword. The Assyrian ruler needs a wise -brain and a long arm. The Assyrian people look for qualities in their -kings that are the attributes of their gods. Ninus will never return to -us from the stars; but Ninus was less powerful than Nimrod, even as -Nimrod himself was weaker than Ashur, from whose loins he sprang. Why -should we, his descendants, owe allegiance to any earthly power? Why -should kings, queens, and princes come between Baal and the people of -his choice?" - -The audacious project of wresting from the line of Nimrod that dynasty -it had held with so strong a hand, and substituting a hierarchy of -which he should himself be the head, had long appeared to Assarac a -feasible project enough--one worthy of his own tameless energy and -insatiable ambition, although the temptation had been stifled hitherto -by his loyalty, his devotion to the queen. Now, in the torture of a -vexed heart and wounded spirit, he swore to cast aside every sentiment -but revenge, at least till Semiramis was at the mercy of him whose -fidelity she had used, and scorned, and outraged without remorse. -Therefore, it would be well, he thought, to strengthen his hands with -all the weapons he could seize, to make such friends for himself on -every side as should become willing tools, to ply at need, and cast away -at will. When he met them by chance in the plain, it struck him that the -Anakim would be no contemptible auxiliaries; when he found Ishtar and -Sarchedon in their midst, he reflected that the former might still be -made a bait, if necessary, for the allurement of Ninyas; the latter, -according as events fell out, might form a snare, a bribe, or a -punishment for the Great Queen. That she believed him to have been -killed, and in her agony of sorrow thought to raise him from the dead, -he knew by the evidence of his own senses, and although the Armenian -habit, in which he now recognised Sarchedon, convinced him of her error, -the bitterness of his anguish seemed rather enhanced than modified by -this discovery that the object of her desire was not yet wholly out of -reach. - -It was scarcely jealousy he experienced, for jealousy implies -possession, past, present, or prospective; it was rather that morbid -recklessness of despair, which pulls down the whole edifice on its own -head, if only the idol may be crushed and buried in the ruins of its -shrine. - -Could he have hated her as sincerely as he wished, he would, perhaps, -have triumphed, and, favoured by circumstances, might have held the -proud Semiramis in his power, if only for a day; but when did man ever -succeed in any perilous enterprise who suffered his heart to paralyse -his arm, the outcry of his affections to drown the promptings of his -brain? - -Nevertheless, it was his present object to gain over Sarchedon, and -after a pause, as of deep consideration, he spoke out with a semblance -of the utmost frankness: - -"Hearken, my son. Let nothing be kept back between thee and me. Baal, -though he lead a host in heaven, needs also an army here on earth. That -army must have a captain. He who has set the battle in array for friend -and foe, at home, in Egypt, here among the mountains of the north, is -surely well fitted to command the warriors of the Assyrian god. When -Assarac declares his will from the altar before his temple at home, -Sarchedon shall stand forth in shining raiment, chief and Tartan of the -great Assyrian host. Said I well, my son? and wilt thou not follow me in -all haste to Babylon?" - -He had bought him, he thought, for a price, and, through him, that -foolish girl, together with this formidable tribe of stalwart -simple-minded warriors. - -Again Sarchedon glanced at Ishtar; but her veil was down, and she made -no sign. - -"To lead the host!" he muttered thoughtfully. "To have the power of -Ninus, and wield it wisely, as did Arbaces!" - -"Ponder it well, my son," said the eunuch solemnly, "while I speed on to -prepare the way. What art thou here?" he added, lowering his voice. "A -hostage in a foeman's camp, at a woman's will. Behold, I can make thee -the noblest leader on earth, and she, this veiled queen of a handful of -horsemen, shall sit on the throne of a province larger than the great -northern land we went out to conquer. What Baal offers, do not thou -despise. Go to! Stretch forth thy hand, and take it whilst thou canst. -To-morrow it may be too late. I have spoken." - -Then, with a courteous farewell to the Anakim, he mounted into his -chariot, and was gone, speeding, like some pestilent wind, towards the -south on his mission of treachery, rebellion, and revenge. - - - - -CHAPTER LVI - -REQUITED - - -"I have cast stones in the air to fall on mine own head! I have knelt at -the stream, and, lo, the waters were bitter and defiled! O Kalmim, -there is neither faith, nor honour, nor gratitude in Ninyas, the son of -Ninus. May the king live for ever!" - -She laughed outright. It was a rare jest to behold Sethos in a vein of -serious reflection; above all, to hear him revile the prince to whom, -through good and evil, he had been a devoted servant, notwithstanding -the vices, caprices, and heartless ingratitude of his lord. - -"You are but a child," she answered lightly, "and for all your downy lip -and shapely limbs, not yet fit to run alone. Trust a strained bow, a -frayed string, a blown horse, or a baffled woman--all these will quit -them better in the hour of need than a king on the throne, whom you have -served when he was a captive in the dungeon." - -They were standing together on a terrace of the royal palace in Babylon, -looking over many a league of gardens, vineyards, lofty palms, thin -silvery streams--vast tracts of desert sand beyond--all shining and -glowing in the bright morning sun, while their own comely faces and -splendid attire were rich and deep in colour as the surrounding hues of -earth and sky. - -A great change had indeed taken place at home, since the queen's -expedition to Armenia left the city without a ruler, while its lawful -prince languished a weary prisoner, losing health, energy, and all the -dignity of manhood, under supervision of the priests of Baal. The return -of Assarac, bearing, as he affirmed, full powers and authority on the -part of Semiramis, sickening even to death in the far north, had -extricated Ninyas from captivity, and placed him on the throne to which -he was entitled by the laws of Shinar, the eunuch, in a secret -interview, extorting a solemn oath of vengeance on the mother who had -deprived him of his liberty and his empire. Broken in health and courage -by close imprisonment, acting on a frame already yielding to the effects -of unbridled indulgence, the young king was but a tool in the hands of -Assarac, who soon conceived the idea of making him also a mere -stepping-stone to the attainment of supreme power at which he aimed. - -Though scrupulous in practising the usual forms and observances towards -his lord, the eunuch scarcely affected to ignore his own real -superiority, affirming only that his words and deeds were prompted by -the immediate inspiration of his god. - -"And Baal bids him store up goodly treasures for himself, you may be -sure," observed Kalmim, discussing with her old admirer the character of -their new and arbitrary ruler; "so that at any time he may win over the -spearmen with spoil, as he secured the priests by promises, and the -prophets of the grove by threats. Gold and steel, Sethos--these are the -only real forces on earth, and I sometimes think there is no power that -can dominate them in heaven." - -"Good faith," answered Sethos, "is precious as the one and true as the -other. I have never wavered, Kalmim, in my loyalty to Ninyas, nor my -love for _you_." - -"And what have they profited you?" she retorted lightly. "You stood by -the prince in good and evil, eating with him the bitter morsel and -sharing the cup of affliction. One fine morning, Baal forsooth sends a -fat man in white to pull the king of nations out of a prison-house and -put him in a palace with a royal mantle on his shoulders, and a golden -sceptre in his hand. Then comes the cup-bearer, who has proved his -readiness to go to the gates of death with his lord, and asks to be made -leader of the host and to stand on the king's right hand, in the day of -his glory as in the night of his bondage. What said Ninyas to the poor -youth, in answer to so modest a request?" - -"He laughed in my face," replied the other, with considerable -irritation. "And if there is justice in heaven it will be repaid him -fourfold. May the king live for ever!" - -"So much for loyalty to a prince," she continued. "Now for truth to a -woman. Have you _really_ kept faith with me, Sethos, all this time? It -is many a long day since you and I first met by a strange chance in the -queen's paradise, and you told me--I forget what you told me, but it was -something very foolish, no doubt." - -"You know I have," said Sethos bitterly, almost fiercely, turning his -head away while he spoke. - -It was a short answer, but to a woman's ear worth a whole series of -protestations. In perception of such matters, Kalmim was no whit behind -her sex. - -If he had but looked at her, he would have seen her blush, and surely in -no encounter whatsoever should a man take his eye off his enemy. -Sethos, alas, was completely at the adversary's mercy, and she trampled -him accordingly. - -"Well, and what has this service, also, profited you for your pains?" -she asked in taunting accents, wholly unable to forbear the pleasure of -tormenting him. "You have stood by _me_ at my need faithfully, nobly, -grudging nothing, keeping nothing back. When the time comes, you will -ask _me_ too to make you my captain and leader, to seat you on my right -hand till I die, and, Sethos, I too--I shall laugh in your face!" - -"Be it so," he answered in a grave quiet voice, so unlike his usual -tones that she glanced anxiously towards him. He seemed sad and -troubled, yet looked like a man whose loyalty was still unshaken and -unimpeachable. - -"And you are tired of it at last?" she asked, in the same mocking -accents. - -"It is too late to change now," was his answer, with a wan and weary -smile. - -"Ninyas refused you?" she continued, looking straight into his eyes. - -He bowed his head in silence. - -"But _I_ have only laughed at you," she murmured, drawing her veil -hastily over her face. "And, Sethos, have you passed your life in -Babylon and not found out that liking grows with laughter as blossoms -come with rain? _I_ am not a king, I am only a woman; and I cannot deny -a faithful servant who asks the reward he has toiled through storm and -sunshine to attain." - -He would have passed his arm round her waist, but with a dexterous -twirl, the result, perhaps, of considerable practice, she placed herself -out of reach. - -"No," she said with imposing force and gesture, "my friend, and more -than friend, this is not a time for follies such as these. Some day, -when the heavy hand of Baal has been taken off this unhappy city, when -men's flocks and herds and wives and children have ceased to be at the -command of those who are but hewers of wood and drawers of water in the -temple, I may peradventure suffer you to--to--well, to touch the tip of -my finger with your lips. But now, the first duty of every son of Ashur -is to cast off this hateful yoke that bows his nation to the dust. O -that the old lion had but lived to see the white robes lording it in -his well-beloved city! He would have cleared them out with fire and -sword, ay, though all the host of heaven had come down from the stars to -take their part. - -"Look at _me_! O, I know well you never take your eyes off me if you can -help it; but I am serious now. Look at _me_, I say--a woman who in her -life before never knew a thought nor care weightier than the smoothing -of a plait, the planting of a bodkin: I tell you I would take up spear -and shield to-morrow, if I might help to lay Assarac and his priests in -their blood at the altar before which they serve. What have they done -for us? What has Baal himself done for us since he has governed from the -throne of Nimrod? Corn is dear, water scarce, the people starve, and the -priests wax fatter, prouder, fiercer, day by day. Even Beladon, who used -to be meek and gentle as a weaned child, and was indeed a personable -youth, and one of my truest friends--even Beladon, I say, holds that we -are to be at his beck and call without question or murmur, you and I, -and every one within the hundred gates of the city wall." - -"May Nisroch tear him limb from limb!" exclaimed Sethos, in high wrath; -for he had long been jealous of the comely young priest's intimacy with -Kalmim, and it was in no ignorance of his feelings that the latter now -worked upon her listener with the hated name. - -"Yes, Beladon," she continued, "though he be not so bad as some of the -rest. But how long are we to bear this? How long are we to be trodden on -and kept down, not by a conqueror of worlds like old Ninus, wielding bow -and spear as I would handle a needle, but by a slothful priest, a eunuch -forsooth, in flowing robes and linen tiara, who never lifted weapon -deadlier than gilded fir-cone or fresh-gathered lotus, never bore -heavier burden than jewelled casket, nor faced a fiercer enemy than the -poor sheep he slays to please his god!" - -"Nay, there you wrong him," argued honest Sethos. "If all that comes out -of Armenia be true, never bolder champion mounted war-chariot than -Assarac, the priest of Baal." - -"Armenia!" retorted Kalmim, with infinite contempt--"a desert peopled by -a few half-starved wretches, doubtless naked and without arms. Besides, -was he not warring in the mountains under the banner of the Great Queen? -I pray you, when did Semiramis ever fail to conquer where she set the -battle in array? And now, by his own confession, she languishes with a -death-wound, and he is not ashamed to be standing here within the brazen -gates in a whole skin! O, it passes all patience! But I know my mistress -well. Surely never yet was that shaft feathered which could drink her -life-blood. Once I loved her dearly, and she repaid my faithful service -with the gratitude of--of a Great Queen, I suppose! But for all that is -past and gone, I will never believe, wounded or unwounded, she could -abandon the sceptre of Nimrod, or license Baal himself to usurp her -authority in the land of Shinar and the city she loves to call her own." - -"But Ninyas sits in the royal palace," observed Sethos, "under the -mystic circle and the wings of gold. It is before Ninyas that the -spearmen defile at noon, and to Ninyas that the people cry for justice -in the gate at sunrise, when he is sober enough to hear." - -"And how often is that?" exclaimed Kalmim. "Not once in twenty days. But -are you too blind to perceive, O simple youth, that while Ninyas wears -the tiara, Assarac holds the sceptre; while Ninyas fits the arrow, -Assarac draws the bow? It is time Babylon were rid of both. The fire -that crowns that sacred tower burns doubtless night and day; but what is -that to me if it be so high up I cannot thread my needle in its light? -When Baal means to rule over us in person, let him come down and show -himself. I am tired of a god who never answers, call on him loudly as -you will." - -Such liberal sentiments would have astonished her companion more, but -that Sethos, during his lord's captivity, had dwelt long enough within -its sacred precincts to have lost much of his former reverence for the -mysteries of the temple, of his early confidence in the unseen power of -its god. He felt somewhat bewildered, nevertheless, and astray in this -uprooting of a faith that seemed like a birth-right to every son of -Ashur, and asked helplessly, - -"If Baal cannot, and Ninyas must not, and Assarac will not, succour us, -to whom then are we to look?" - -"To the Great Queen," answered Kalmim proudly: "never believe but she -will come again in her majesty, beautiful as morning, fierce and -terrible as the storm that rises with midday. I have seen her angered -once, only once in all my life. I tell you, Sethos, I would rather stand -in the presence of Nisroch to be consumed than face the blaze of those -eyes again. She spoke not, scarcely moved a limb; but I felt as the lamb -must feel when the leopard has made her spring, and there is no escape. -In her love, her hatred, and her desire, she knows no bounds and -acknowledges no check, yet never sunlight was welcomed by captive in a -dungeon as would be that beautiful face to-day in Babylon by the people -of the Great Queen." - -While she spoke, she looked wistfully out over the desert towards the -north; Sethos, watching her eager face, saw it brighten with a sudden -gleam of triumph and hope. Following the direction of her eyes, he -observed the flash of spears through a dense cloud low on the horizon, -that denoted a body of horsemen on the march. - -Pointing towards it, Kalmim burst into tears. - -"It is the Great Queen!" she sobbed. "For my sake, Sethos--for my sake, -will you not be on our side?" - - - - -CHAPTER LVII - -BETRAYED - - -Pacing to and fro in the familiar cedar gallery, vexed, troubled, and -impatient, Assarac shot glances of anger and defiance at the four-winged -image of Nisroch, as though reproaching the god in whom he did _not_ -believe for withholding aid he would have considered it childish folly -to implore. Though he had dispatched a messenger in eager haste to seek -out the tents of the Anakim, and renew the offer of promotion he made to -Sarchedon, so preoccupied was he, that Beladon had already prostrated -himself more than once, ere his superior seemed conscious of his -presence. The younger priest wondered to see the resolute and subtle -eunuch so changed, so worn, so saddened. He marked the restless step, -the sullen gesture, the moody unquiet eye, remembering, not without -pity, a caged wild beast that had been trapped and brought into Babylon, -long ago by certain hunters of the mountain, as a gift to the Great -Queen. - -Though a faithful servant enough, while a keener intellect and firmer -spirit held him in subjection, he bethought him somewhat remorsefully it -was time to leave his master now. - -Assarac's eyes wandered over the other's figure with the unconscious -stare of a sleep-walker ere they lighted into recognition, then he -started and exclaimed, "How now, Beladon? Returned so soon? What tidings -of Semiramis--I mean of Sarchedon, and the children of Anak with whom he -dwells?" - -"Let not my lord be wroth," was the answer. "Though his servant fled -through the waste like an ostrich, yet was he wiser than that foolish -bird, which plies her long legs and helpless wings to meet the storm of -thunder and lightning she dreads. I have heard the thunder of the -queen's chariots; I have seen the lightning of her spears. Instead of -scouring the desert to seek the Anakim, lo, I turned bridle, and -hastened back that I might warn my lord of her approach." - -Though something seemed to tell him the information was tantamount to a -death-warrant, his heart leaped up with a wild unreasoning joy. - -"The queen!" he exclaimed, while the blood flew to his wan heavy cheek. -"Is she then so near?" - -"She will encamp to-night beneath the city walls," answered Beladon -imperturbably. "She marches with the vanguard of her army; but the -conquerors of Armenia cannot be many furlongs in her rear; and when the -sun goes down to-morrow, the hosts of Ninyas will be increased fourfold, -while the Great Queen lays her trophies and her sceptre at the feet of -her son. May the king live for ever!" - -Something in the cold sneering tones seemed to recall the eunuch's -energies and wake him, as it were, from a dream. - -"Never!" he muttered between his teeth; and seizing the other's arm in a -gripe that caused him to wince with pain, he hurried out of the -corridor, past the golden image of Baal, across the court of the -temple, and so, through leafy thicket and level lawn, threaded its cool -green paradise to the palace of the Great King. - -Here Beladon, notwithstanding a sufficiently good opinion of his own -merits, would have excused himself from entering; but Assarac's grasp -was never relaxed, and ere the younger priest could realise the -imprudence of such an intrusion, he found himself in the presence of one -for whom he had been alternately spy and gaoler, yet who held over him -irresponsible power of life and death. - -Ninyas was seated in the shade on a chair of state, ornamented and -embossed with the symbols of Assyrian sovereignty, under a trellis-work -whereon had been trained the luxuriant tendrils of a vine, already -bending and blushing in clusters of ripening grapes. A fountain -scattered its silver spray in the sunshine, while female forms, with -jetty locks, transparent veils, and glancing eyes, flitted through the -shade. Soft airs murmured among the flowers, birds carolled from the -thicket, and the king held a half-emptied goblet in his hand. With a -hasty inclination of head and body, far short of the usual ceremony -observed on entering the royal presence, Assarac placed himself in front -of his lord, and looking him full in the face, arrested the cup that -Ninyas was raising to his lips. - -"Is this a time," said he, in grave sonorous accents, "for bubble of -wine and sound of timbrel--for dance and song and careless revel--the -mirth that goes before destruction--the folly that is a sure fore-runner -of death? Rouse you, my lord, rouse you! Take bow in hand, gird you -sword upon your thigh; for the watchman cries out on the wall, and even -now your enemy is at the gate!" - -The king's eyes, once so bright, looked dim and dull, the handsome -features were flushed and sodden with excess; but he set his goblet down -untasted, while there seemed something of interest, even apprehension, -in the tone with which he asked, "What enemy, and whence? I have but one -in all the kingdoms of the earth, and she is sick unto death beyond the -mountains of the north." - -Again, while he smiled in scorn, came a glow of triumph on the eunuch's -weary face. "Semiramis," he answered, "is encamped within bowshot of the -wall--Semiramis, the mother of my lord the king--Semiramis, who never -cast a bank against a city but she razed it to the ground--who never -drew bow but she shot her arrow home--who never took account of an -injury but she requited it with death! O my queen, my queen!" he added -in a broken murmur, "even now the lord of earth trembles and cowers at -the very whisper of your name!" - -Ninyas turned pale. "Counsel me, Assarac!" he exclaimed, while his eye -roved helplessly over all the splendour and luxury that surrounded him. -"If my mother enters the city, I am undone." - -"Not so," answered the eunuch. "Let my lord the king go out to meet her -as a son should welcome the mother of his affections bringing home the -wife of his desire. Let the gates be thrown open, and the people give -her greeting as she passes by. The hosts of the Great Queen are yet many -a league off in the desert. Her vanguard, few in number, must be wearied -sore with travel. When she enters her own city, who so fitting to -provide for her safety as the son of her vows? Let him guard her like -the apple of his eye, and relieve her of all care in the government of -the people whom he rules." - -"You know her not!" exclaimed Ninyas, much disturbed. "Where is the -prison-house in Babylon that could hold her for a single day? Where is -the son of Ashur who would not leap to the saddle with bow and spear at -the first wave of the Great Queen's hand?" - -The eunuch's answer came in firm and measured accents, though his face -was distorted as with a hidden agony of pain. - -"There is a prison-house from which not Ashtaroth herself could break -out--from which old Nimrod might not be delivered by all the horsemen of -Assyria. When my lord's servants shall surround and hew her in pieces, -then may every son of Ashur bind on his headpiece a shred of the Great -Queen's garments, whom he loved so well." - -Ninyas laughed aloud, and, seizing his discarded goblet, drained it to -the dregs. - -"Enough!" he exclaimed. "She sinned against Nisroch and Baal, when she -took the sceptre of Nimrod from the hand of his descendant. What am I, -that I should interfere to avert her doom? And yet, I would it might be -done without shedding of blood. Can we not lead her forth from the city -into some desert place, and so dispose of her in safety, where she shall -disturb the king no more?" - -"Will my lord trust his servant?" asked the eunuch. - -"I will remain here at the banquet in my palace until it is over," -answered Ninyas brutally. "Let Baal be his own avenger, and let Assarac -see to vindicating the honour of his god. I have spoken." Then, clapping -his hands, Ninyas summoned back the women who usually surrounded him at -his revels, to dismiss the whole matter from his mind in a deep and -stupefying carouse. - -Leaving the royal presence, Beladon felt his arm seized once more in the -eunuch's painful gripe, while Assarac muttered, half-unconsciously, such -broken sentences as served to disclose the plot he had constructed, and -the means by which it was to be carried out. Presently, in a few simple -directions, he imparted to his subordinate the outline of his purpose, -commanding him to muster all the priests and prophets in the city at the -great northern gate by which the queen should enter, with knife and -lotus-flower in hand; to surround these with so strong a force of -spearmen as it would be impossible for the populace to break through; -and then, at a given signal, to fall on Semiramis with his followers, -bind her in fetters of iron, and so bring her a helpless captive into -the temple of Baal. It would be a fine revenge, thought Assarac, to keep -her there till the arrival of Sarchedon from the desert, and then to -slay them, in each other's sight, before the altar of his god. Better -still, perhaps, and worthier of his fierce mad love, to strike his own -knife into her heart at the first halt of her chariot within the gate. - -"I can trust you," said he, when they parted, and Beladon proposed to -attest his fidelity in a great oath by the everlasting wings, "because -the queen's first act, when she reënters the city, will be to take -vengeance on him who kept the door of her son's prison-house, and -suffered the captive to escape." - -But the wariest of mankind may leave one weak point undefended--the -keenest judges of human nature will omit from their calculation some -vice, prejudice, or folly, such as dominates the very self-interest of -their tools. That Beladon should have disclosed a plot, on the success -of which his own personal safety, his very life depended, would have -been unaccountable, but for the joyous, pleasure-loving disposition -which, priest of Baal though he was, could not keep his secret from a -woman. - -Kalmim had beguiled him out of every particular before sundown, -affecting, the better to deceive him, an irreconcilable enmity to the -Great Queen, and entire devotion in the service of her son. - -If a woman makes up her mind to duplicity, a little more or a little -less counts as nothing to her conscience. She finds it as easy to -profess an affection she does not feel, and a candour of which she is -incapable, as to push another bodkin into her hair, lay another coat of -red or white on the cheek she is not ashamed to paint. When Kalmim had -resolved she would take him into captivity, it was no more possible for -Beladon to resist than for the bird to escape out of the snare of the -fowler. And, although the latter was exceedingly lavish of smiles and -liberal of promises, the prey found itself captured, plumed, and -despoiled, with no material equivalent for utter discomfiture and -disgrace. - -More than a match for a score of priests, she could indeed have -outwitted the whole male population of Babylon, but that she too had -found her master, and was but a weak foolish woman in presence of the -man she loved. - -To him she betook herself in her distress, imploring him to interfere at -such a juncture, and prevent a crime which, with all his loyalty to his -prince, seemed to Sethos too foul and unnatural to contemplate. - -"There is danger also for _you_," she exclaimed, wringing her hands and -sobbing in real perplexity. "No son of Ashur must leave the city -to-night on pain of death; and yet, if the queen be not forewarned, -nothing can save her from the vengeance of these blood-thirsty priests. -O Sethos, Sethos, did I not love you dearly, I had never trusted you -with such a mission; yet how can I bear to send you out into the very -jaws of death?" - -But the cup-bearer's equanimity was proof even against so formidable a -consideration. Accepting her confession of attachment with a -good-humoured carelessness that at any other time would have cut her to -the quick, he professed his readiness to incur any amount of peril so -that he might preserve Semiramis from the threatened assault, and her -son from the commission of so hideous an outrage. It was agreed, -therefore, that he should escape from the city at all hazards, and make -his way to the tent of the Great Queen, under cover of night. To leave -Babylon through any one of her gates was impracticable, so closely were -they guarded by the spearmen of Ninyas under Assarac's orders; and it -was only by watching a favourable opportunity during the darkest hours -before the moon had risen, that Kalmim succeeded in letting her lover -down from the wall by a rope, to dispatch him on his errand of life and -death. - -With characteristic coolness the cup-bearer received his instructions -and embarked on his perilous enterprise; but Kalmim, though not a nerve -failed her while, swinging in mid-air, his life depended on her -steadiness of hand, had over-taxed her strength; for no sooner was the -tension of the rope relaxed, and the form of Sethos lost in darkness as -he sped from beneath the wall, than brain and sense gave way, leaving -her pale, prostrate, and helpless on the ground. - - - - -CHAPTER LVIII - -WHO IS ON MY SIDE? - - -Reconciled to their change of rulers under the crafty administration of -Assarac, careless who swayed the sceptre of Nimrod so long as wine was -cheap and corn plentiful, the people of Babylon troubled themselves but -little that the Armenian expedition seemed so tardy in returning; that -Semiramis lay sick and dying, as they were told, among those northern -mountains; or that Ninyas, whom they had been taught to believe a -dutiful son abdicating in his mother's favour, reigned once more in her -stead. Nevertheless, even among that fierce and fickle populace remained -a leaven of the adoration she alone was able to inspire, and every child -of Ashur at home or a-field felt his dignity, his self-love, and his -nationality identified with the glory of the Great Queen. - -They were stirred more than the eunuch expected by the news of her -return; so that when it became known she was within bowshot of the wall, -and about to reënter her own especial city, Assarac's watchful eye -discerned among the multitude those signs of discontent and restlessness -which precede a tumult, as lowering clouds and whitened waves indicate -the coming of a storm. - -Groups were forming and dispersing in the street, women and children -remained on the roofs and terraces of their houses, men looked expectant -in each other's faces; while captains and warriors thronged the -ramparts, as though an enemy were already at the gate. - -Presently there came a hush and calm over all that vast assemblage, -succeeded by a shiver that stirred the rippling mass from edge to edge, -when the tramp of horses, the roll of a chariot, broke on the still warm -air; then, wild and fierce as a defiance, though loud, jubilant, and -overwhelming, rose a mighty shout from Great Babylon to welcome back her -queen. - -Assarac, eager and preoccupied, watching these signs of earth with more -anxiety than he had ever read the stars, felt a momentary thrill of -triumph in that very enthusiasm which, uncontrolled by his own skill, -must herald his doom. For a moment, in the agony of conflicting -feelings, he thought it would be well could he abandon every scheme of -glory and greatness, forego pride, ambition, revenge, to die at the -queen's feet, and be at rest. Gazing on her as she drew near in the -chariot, this temporary weakness passed away, leaving all that was evil -in his nature to resume the ascendency once more. Could this be the -proud Semiramis, the bright, the matchless, the beautiful? this sad and -stately woman, pale with the long fatigue of woe, yet wearing in her -desolation the same unrivalled beauty that had enhanced the glory of her -pride? It seemed the ghost of her former self, thus bending its haughty -head in acknowledgment of a nation's greeting, as she passed within the -gate--a spirit too sad to be of good, too fair to be of evil, sublimed -and elevated by the prescience of its doom, catching and reflecting the -spectral rays of a cold clear light that dawns beyond the grave. - -Had she glowed, as was her wont, in all the flush and sparkle of her -imperial charms, he could have found it in his heart to have spared her -even then; for her dear sake, could have betrayed his followers, broken -faith with his king, and forsworn himself before his god. But marking -the sorrow she did not care to hide, and remembering its cause, his -blood turned to gall, and he vowed with bitter oaths she should never -light down from that chariot a living woman--no, not if he must hew her -in pieces with his own hand. - -But for the Great Queen to be forewarned was to be forearmed. In no -extremity of sorrow nor of danger was it possible for her to lose that -unconscious presence of mind, that instinctive power of combination, -which had made her the conqueror of the world. Informed by Sethos of the -conspiracy against her life, she had taken measures to defeat it wisely, -calmly, promptly, yet deliberately, just as she would have sat down to -besiege a fenced city, or gone out to meet an enemy in the open field. -While the eunuch waited to hem her in with his priests and spearmen, -Semiramis, watching her opportunity, foiled him by the suddenness of her -attack. - -Halting her chariot in the open space immediately within the gate, and -taking advantage of the astonished silence which succeeded this -unexpected stoppage, the Great Queen stood erect, flung her arms above -her head, and cried with a loud voice, "Who is on my side?" Then Assarac -knew that by so much time as it took to speak those words, he was too -late; and immediately before his eyes there passed a darkness, that was -as the shadow of death. - -From her people, who loved the very ground she trod on, rose an outcry -to which their previous shouts had been but a maiden's whisper compared -to the roar of a beast of prey. Swords leaped from the scabbard, strong -arms beat the air, dark eyes gleamed, and dark-curled beards bristled -with fierce enthusiasm, eager hate, or wild desire for blood--archers -and spearmen descended like a torrent from the wall, stout champions of -a hundred battles came rushing and crowding through the streets. They -gathered in swarms about their queen; they hemmed her in with a circle -of steel; they swore, they wept, they gnashed their teeth, they -implored, they adjured her only to point out an enemy, and they would -tear him limb from limb. - -Never before, through all the years she reigned in Babylon, had her -power seemed so absolute, her dominion so secure; yet she knew, none -better, that had her outcry been deferred by one short minute, had she -halted her chariot but fifty paces farther on within the city, a score -of blades would have carved away life and sorrow together from her -aching heart, her cheek, now so cold and pale in its bereavement, would -have been for ever cold and pale in death. - -But not a shade of colour deepened that lovely cheek; no glitter of -wrath, nor anxiety, nor even excitement of mortal strife, disturbed the -scorn of those calm proud eyes, while she pointed to the eunuch, -standing erect in his chariot over against her, and spoke in the clear -full tones that had so often turned the tide of battle, like the -trumpets of a succouring host. - -"I have need of that man!" said she, stretching out her round white arm. -"Sons of Ashur, I bid you fall on Assarac, priest of Baal. Slay him not, -but bind him and bring him to me!" - -He was no coward, yet he trembled in every joint. Perhaps the sound of -her voice moved him no less than the yells of rage, the scowls of -hatred, the flashes of steel that met him on every side, than the mighty -rush that made at him, wave on wave, as the wolves of the forest pour on -some wounded mountain bull to get him down. - -He bore himself bravely, notwithstanding, calling priests and spearmen -to his rescue, fitting an arrow to the bow he was never to draw again. -For a moment his white-clad form towered above the press and tumult, -like a sail in a troubled sea, that disappears among the breakers ere a -man has summoned courage for a second look. The priests of Baal could -not resist the shock. In spite of numbers and discipline, the hired -spearmen gave way. There was a rush, a recoil, an angry roar, a scuffle -of feet, the crash of a broken chariot, the scream of a woman from the -housetops, a horse reared high above their heads, the surging crowd -divided, and on the open space emerged some half a score Assyrian -warriors, dragging in their midst Assarac, priest of Baal, to the feet -of the Great Queen. - -Even now in this extremity of danger and disgrace, bruised, panting, -dishevelled, doomed to certain death, he sought in the queen's eyes for -something of sympathy, of recognition, of acknowledgment, that they had -once looked kindly in his own. Of all he suffered, this was perhaps the -keenest pang--that on the fair face he had loved, and hated, and -worshipped so madly, there showed no more of anger than of pity. -Immovable, impenetrable, but for her beauty she might have been an image -of Nisroch the avenger, god of retribution and of fate. - -Then he laughed out loud, a strange harsh laugh that scared the guards -who held him, while he thought that here in his mortal anguish, -throbbing under the knife or writhing on the stake, he had power to -wring and torture that proud heart still. - -Before deigning to notice him, she thanked her people for their loyalty -with a sad and weary smile. - -"Sons of Ashur," said she, "let none persuade you I have ever believed -you could fail your queen. She has but trusted you once more to-day, and -nobly have you once more answered her appeal. I have spoiled for you -another city; I have conquered for you another kingdom; I have journeyed -far and fast to return to you. My bow is unstrung, my sword is sheathed, -and I would fain rest from my labours. But Ashtaroth sleeps not in -heaven, nor Semiramis on earth; and be the queen's eyes never so heavy, -justice must be done by the greatest, as by the least, through the -length and breadth of the land of Shinar. There is one here who has -imagined evil in his heart against his ruler. Assarac, priest of Baal, -what have you to say why you should not forthwith be put to death?" - -With these last syllables she turned full upon him her deep inscrutable -eyes, and if he had any hope of it before, he neither desired nor -expected pardon now. The pitiless gaze chilled him to the marrow, while -he felt, that were their positions reversed, he too could be as cold and -calm and cruel as his judge. - -One glance of sympathy in the crowd would have unmanned him; but he -looked for it in vain. On earth he saw a dreary wavering mass of sullen -faces, and in heaven a wide-winged vulture, wheeling, hovering, poising -itself in the blue eternal sky. - -It was not his god that sustained him now, nor his sacred character, nor -his priestly lore; not even the stubborn pride engrained in the nature -of such spirits, destined to affect the fate of dynasties and trouble -the security of an empire. No; he took refuge in the bitterness of that -despair which has found and proved the worst--when love turns to hate, -and faith to scorn--when the sweet springs of hope are poisoned at their -source, and the vision of an angel in a halo of light changes to a -mocking fiend, or a bare gaunt skeleton crowned with a grinning skull. - -He returned a stare of defiance, calm and contemptuous as her own. - -"It is for the Great Queen to reward her servants according to their -deserts," said he. "Let her ask herself if I have merited death at her -hands." - -"It is not Semiramis who accuses you," she retorted coldly. "By the laws -of Shinar you are judged, and by them you are condemned. I have spoken." - -There was no hope; none. Yet would she but look kindly on him, he could -bear it bravely, he thought, and die in his utter weariness, as a man -lies down to sleep. He made one last effort. - -"Have I not served her," he asked, "through good and evil, in no hope of -payment or reward, but for the love and loyalty I bore to the Great -Queen? I have lived too long when the face of Semiramis is turned from -me in anger. I ask for no pardon, no reprieve. Let her but say that she -forgives me before I die!" - -"I have nothing to forgive," she replied, with pitiless unconcern. "The -servant has raised his hand against his ruler; the subject has conspired -against his queen. Whose are these white-robed bands cowering and -trembling before me, though each man carries a naked knife in his -girdle, and another in his hand? Who drew up that sullen and dejected -line of warriors, instructing them to bend their bows and point their -spears against the leader they have followed to victory? It is not for -Semiramis to ask the question, but Assyria. It is not for Semiramis to -answer it, but Baal, and he cries with a loud voice, 'Assarac the -priest!'" - -"Who turned on her at the last!" he shouted, in a paroxysm of fury and -despair. "Who bears here in his bosom the secret she would give all her -empire to obtain; but who defies and reviles the Great Queen to her -face, even in the jaws of death!" - -She started, and for a moment seemed uncertain how to act; but -recovering herself, pronounced firmly the fatal words, "Cover his face, -and lead him forth. I have spoken." - -It was a sentence that could never be annulled. The eunuch felt he was -doomed, and glanced instinctively upward, where the vulture passed -between him and the sun. - -So they brought the hideous stake, and impaled him in sight of all men, -that the people of Babylon might pass by to rebuke him with scoffs and -curses, for a traitor who had lifted his hand against the Great Queen. - -Two days, two nights, he writhed and languished in his agony. On the -third morning men had become wearied of him, and he was left alone, save -that the vulture floating overhead kept watch on untiring wing, and -waited for him still. - -At sunrise there came a veiled woman, with a jar of water in her hand. -His dim eye lightened, and the spasm, that should have been a smile, -crossed his face, for he recognised in her gait and bearing the presence -of his queen. - -She raised her veil to look fixedly on those dying features, so changed, -so distorted--to mark the quiver of those dry cracked lips, the flutter -of life that played over the blackened, withered frame. - -"Speak," said she, in a low hoarse whisper, while the water rippled -pleasantly in its jar. "Speak, and I will have mercy; for you shall -drink and die." - -He nodded assent, eyeing with piteous eagerness the deadly draught for -which he longed. - -"Doth he live?" she asked, and laid the jar almost against his lips. - -Another nod, a convulsive choking gasp, and a roll of the half closed -eyes. - -"And where?" she continued, in fierce impatience, pitiless of his -sufferings, careless of all but the secret she was fain to extort, even -from the dead. - -It was obvious that till his lips were moistened he could not answer, if -he would. She held the jar to his mouth, and he took such a long and -greedy draught as dulled his mortal agony with a sense of relief from -suffering that was almost joy. - -Again she watched those baked black lips with jealous eyes. They strove -to form a word that yet died on them ere it could be uttered. Was it in -mockery they trembled with certain faint syllables, that to her sense of -sight, rather than hearing, seemed to indicate the desert? Was it in -mockery they smiled and writhed and gibbered ere they set themselves, -fixed and rigid for evermore? - -Semiramis turned thoughtfully away, and the vulture came swooping down; -for he, too, had waited long and patiently to take his share of one who -had been a reader of the stars, a governor of the empire, the Great -Queen's favourite servant, Assarac, high priest of Baal. - - - - -CHAPTER LIX - -FORGIVEN - - -For two days, woe, perplexity, and dire confusion reigned in the temple -of the great Assyrian god. Baal might be an hungered, but they slew for -him no droves of sheep and oxen; athirst, but they poured him out no -drink-offerings; displeased, but they sought not favour and forgiveness -with praise and prayer, because his servants looked in vain for a -high-priest to interpret the commands of their deity, and the great -golden image, towering sullen, and unmoved, afforded neither word nor -sign. The denizens of the temple stared blankly in each other's faces, -for men doubted sore in this crisis of the Assyrian hierarchy whose turn -it might next be to die. - -But on the third day, court and temple were once more redolent of -incense and bright with flowers; altars blazed, victims fell, ditches -ran crimson with blood. A hundred priests leaped, howled, and cut -themselves with knives, a thousand voices raised their hymn of triumph, -and Beladon, chosen by direct interposition of his god, under the -authority of Ninyas his king, was proclaimed high-priest of Baal, in -place of the dead man, crouched yonder on his stake in an open space -near the northern gate, already torn and mangled out of human likeness -by the birds of prey. - -Careless of a fallen master, the new high-priest had turned gladly from -Assarac to obtain favour in the sight of Ninyas; and that prince was -content to give him honour and promotion in the mean time, waiting his -own leisure to destroy him without pity or remorse. - -For on this third day, the son of Ninus again sat in the gate to -administer justice, again shook off the fetters of sloth, and the -drowsiness of wine-cups, to wear the royal tiara of his fathers, and -carry the sceptre of Nimrod in his hand. - -The people of Babylon indeed clamoured loudly for their queen, crowding -the streets and terraces about her palace, rending the air with their -cries, vowing vengeance on priest and prophet, if she forbore to show -herself, and even threatening the sacred person of her son. - -It needed all the influence of a priesthood bribed by gifts and -promises, all the intimidation of an army corrupted by gold and spoil, -to persuade them that she had left her faithful subjects for the realm -of those divinities to whom she was akin, and that the white doves they -had seen since sunrise, flitting on restless pinions through her -favourite city, were but so many messengers from the spirit-world, -bidding a nation of mourners take comfort for the departure of the Great -Queen. - -It was to Beladon that Ninyas intrusted the promulgation of this strange -belief, resolving that so soon as the tumult had subsided, so soon as he -was himself firmly established on the throne, it would be wise to -destroy the only power that rivalled his own in the land of Shinar, by -the slaughter of their new high-priest, and general destruction of the -worship of Baal, in favour of Nebo, Nisroch, or some other deity, over -whose servants he would take care to retain undisputed influence and -control. - -For in the golden morning, lying tossing and troubled on his couch, a -deep sleep had fallen on Ninyas, even with the rising of the sun, and he -had dreamed a dream, or seen a vision, such as moved even that heart of -his, so hardened by years of vice and self-indulgence, brought the -unaccustomed tears to those eyes blinded by folly, sensuality, and sin. - -He dreamed that he was a child once more--a tender happy child, -triumphant in a new toy, or a treasure of fruit and flowers, loving, -hopeful, and believing in his mother, the queen, as he believed in the -light of day. He thought she came to his bedside carrying a fair and -bending lotus in her hand; that she withheld from him the flower, -resisting alike his prayers, his caresses, and his tears; that in his -impatience and childish wrath, he seized the white caressing hand and -bit it till the blood came, striking and buffeting the while so fiercely -that his efforts seemed to wake him, and yet he could not rise, though -he knew that he lay there a grown man, stretched on his own royal couch, -struggling with the influence of a dream. - -He must be helpless, he felt, and passive--chilled, shivering, -speechless--so long as those reproachful eyes held him in their gaze, so -long as that stately figure bent over him so tenderly, that pale sad -face confronted his own in the shadow of an unearthly beauty, that awed -him with the majesty of death. - -His tongue clave to the roof of his mouth, yet it seemed loosened, and -his senses were freed from their heaviest restraint, when the vision -addressed him; for was it not his mother's voice? And in spite of the -injuries she had inflicted, in spite of injustice, treachery, all that -had come and gone, those tones were liquid with a music that could still -dominate his spirit, still soften and subdue his heart. "Ninyas," she -said, "beloved, has it come to this, that my son could thirst for his -mother's blood?" He almost believed while she spoke there were red drops -on the white hand that had tended and fondled him from a child. Twice he -raised his eyes to hers, and cast them down in very shame; twice he -essayed an answer, and his lips refused to form the words; but the third -time he took courage, and, with a great effort, exclaimed, "Forgive me, -mother; for I have sinned! I am unworthy to reign in Shinar; I am -unworthy even to draw bow among the sons of Ashur! Yet forgive me, -mother; for am I not your son?" - -A smile, unspeakably sad and tender, came over the pale fair face. "I -have forgiven," said she, "although the arrow from my son's quiver bit -into my very heart. Listen, Ninyas: it was foretold long ago, by one who -read the stars, and who knows doubtless, ere now, whether he read them -right--it was foretold, I say, by this wise man, that when the spear on -which she leaned at her utmost need should break and wound her hand, -then must the doves that nourished her childhood come back to lead -Semiramis away, and the sons of Ashur must wander to and fro through old -Nineveh and mighty Babylon, and all the wide bounds of the land of -Shinar, asking each other in vain for tidings of the Great Queen. I -mourned in sorrow and sadness, but my son was yet left to me, and I -leaned on him as his father was wont to lean after battle on his spear. -My spear is broken, my son has failed me; he would reign unvexed, -unwearied by the counsels of his mother. Go to! He will never look on -that mother's face again." - -He fell into a great sweat and trembling; with a desperate effort, he -leaped like a young lion from his couch, to fall at her feet and clasp -her knees, and detain her even by force, that he might make amends. -Alas, he grasped the empty air! He searched in vain with eager gaze -throughout the chamber, and looked only on coloured carvings and -vermilion roof, on alabaster columns, scarlet hangings, winged monsters -tipped with gold, all the pomp and symbols of imperial sovereignty, his -own without question now, because she was gone for evermore. Then he -burst into a passion of tears, and so, draining the flagon of Damascus -wine that stood by his couch, felt comforted, and went out among his -people with diadem and sceptre, feeling in his heart, that at last he -was really an Assyrian king. - -As the day waned, and the populace, who had been feasted at the royal -expense, found themselves refreshed with food and gladdened by wine, -discontent gave way to hilarity, and anxiety for the fate of their queen -lapsed into easy indifference, or a stupid satisfaction in those -supernatural attributes, by which they were taught to account for her -disappearance. - -It was credited of all men that she had been claimed by the unearthly -order of beings to which she belonged; that she had only been intrusted -for a time to the Assyrians, for the completion of their national glory; -and that now, having fulfilled her mission, she was summoned back by -kindred spirits, who, in the form of doves, birds she always prized and -cherished, were to-day flitting in unusual numbers about the city of her -choice. - -Kalmim, whose eyes were red with weeping, stoutly supported the general -belief, finding in it, no doubt, a salve for certain qualms of -conscience she could not but entertain, regarding her own varying -loyalty towards the mistress she served. This nimble-tongued tirewoman -found herself regretting many a hint she had thrown out, many a petty -scandal she had promulgated in derision of the Great Queen to have seen -her back in the royal palace, to have smoothed her robes, tired her -head, and done her bidding once more, Kalmim would willingly have given -all she prized in the world, except perhaps the affection of Sethos, -whom she now claimed as her own possession, by every rite of love and -law known in the land of Shinar. - -Standing with him on a house-top over against the temple of Baal, and -marking with fond eyes how his bright young face glowed in the parting -rays of a sun already touching the horizon of the desert, she could not -forbear a sigh of pity for one whose lot, in spite of beauty, glory, and -power, seemed so dark and sad, compared to her own. - -"She had everything Baal and Ashtaroth could bestow," observed Kalmim, -looking lovingly in her companion's face. "And see what has been the -end. To hover, like an evil spirit, saddened and restless, about the -place that is still bright with her glory, and then to vanish, none can -tell where, like a cloud that comes up from the desert with promise of -rain, and while man and beast are yet athirst to welcome it, lo, it has -passed over, and is gone." - -"We shall see her no more," answered Sethos. "Nor shall we see one like -unto her again. Since Ashur came down from the stars to lead them, his -children have known but one great Queen. Of a surety, it is enough! -Another Ashtaroth would set the heavens in a blaze; another Semiramis -would be too much for the vexed earth to sustain." - -She glanced at him sharply, but his features wore their usual expression -of placid and somewhat languid content. - -"She was not happy," said Kalmim, as if puzzled to account for the -anomaly. "And yet she had wisdom, fame, courage, riches, unlimited -empire, and, O Sethos, beauty surpassing even the daughters of the -stars!" - -"The last is the gift you grudge her most," observed the cup-bearer, -with a quiet smile, as of one who directs his shaft, though without -malice, straight towards its mark. - -But instead of flushed denial or indignant retort, he was surprised to -note on Kalmim's face an expression of real apprehension. She turned -quite pale, while she replied, - -"It is a fatal possession for the owner, when spoilers can be found who -scruple not to share in it by the strong hand. O Sethos," she added, -with a shudder, pointing to the temple of Baal, "there is but one man I -fear in the whole of Babylon, and he stands, night and morning, before -the altar of his god, the second in power through all the land of -Shinar, after my lord the king." - -Sethos laughed outright, whereat, in Kalmim's eyes, displeasure took the -place of fear. - -"Listen," said he, "and remember that I am not given to vain words, but -that I speak only so much as I surely know. Do you dread the handful of -bleached bones, the few dangling strips of blackened flesh, that were -once that famous eunuch who made himself chief counsellor of princes, -mightiest leader of armies in all Assyria, and great interpreter of the -god he worshipped, to rule, as it seemed, rather than to obey? I tell -you, Kalmim, that Assarac, withering yonder on his stake, is as much to -be feared as comely Beladon, now high-priest of Baal. I tell you that I -had rather change places with the one who has known and proved the worst -than with the other, who has yet to learn the mercies of Ninyas for such -as thwart his projects or stand in the way of his convenience." - -"What mean you?" she asked. "Are you in the secrets of my lord the -king?" - -"He has shown favour to his servant," answered the other, with mock -gravity, "since the days of his youth, when I filled his cup to the brim -at the bidding of Ninus, now driving a golden chariot amongst the stars. -He has not forgotten that I waited dutifully at his footstool, while he -wore sackcloth in his prison-house, as he had been clad in purple on a -throne. Above all, he remembers that, but for me, he would have sinned a -hideous sin against the Great Queen; therefore is my place at his right -hand in his secret chamber; therefore can I tell you, Kalmim, that -Beladon and his priests are doomed, and that the jackals you hear now -howling beneath the wall shall scarcely wait another moon ere they tear -them limb from limb. Beladon is thine enemy and mine. What am I that I -should set myself against the counsels of my lord the king?" - -She drew a deep sigh of relief. The tirewoman was happy now, and had -reached the haven of her rest; yet, even in her fulness of content, -there crept a dreary sadness about her heart, while she thought on the -vanished glories of the mistress she had served and loved, marvelling, -even while she mourned, at the strange departure and sad mysterious fate -of the Great Queen. - - - - -CHAPTER LX - -LOST IN THE DARK - - -As in the heart of man, seared, desolate, and lonely though it be, there -remains a tender spot, bearing remembrance of the tears that freshened -it long ago; so in the wildest tract of desert is hidden some green and -pleasant place where, even should the leaf be faded or the well-spring -dry, lingers a certain sense of peace, freshness, and repose, a faint -but precious echo from the drip and murmur of the drowsy waters, and the -breeze whispering through the palms. - -In such a refuge, many a league from the stir and turmoil of crowded -Babylon, had Sarchedon unstrung his bow, and laid his spear aside. - -Notwithstanding the promises of Assarac, and the promptings of a martial -spirit, he had yielded to the persuasions of her he loved, satisfied, -after all his perils and adventures, to have gained the one treasure he -coveted, and to keep it in his own possession for evermore. - -Under the protection of his adopted brethren--for the Anakim, -overlooking comparative deficiency of stature in consideration of -courage and prowess, had received him into their tribe--and secured on -all sides by the unbroken expanse of desert that surrounded him, he felt -he had nothing to dread from the vengeance of Ninyas, nor even from -pursuit by the Great Queen. These might rule unquestioned over many a -fair and fertile province of their mighty empire, bearing absolute sway -wherever forest waved or river flowed, wherever brick was laid on brick -for human habitation, or smiling surface, tilled by human hands, grew -fat with corn, and wine, and oil; but was not their boundless waste the -heritage of the sons of Anak? and scouring it at all seasons, as in all -directions, how were they to be eluded by assailants who would penetrate -into their dominion? what tactics or what stratagems could foil those -watchful eyes, keen as the vulture's poised in their burning sky, those -matchless horses, swift and untiring as the wind that swept their desert -sands? - -"We are indeed safe, my beloved," said Sarchedon, after recapitulating -the many difficulties with which an enemy who sought them would have to -contend. "Safer here than we should be in the fortress of Ascalon, -guarded by wall and rampart, bristling with bow and spear; for while the -chariots of our foes were labouring far beyond the horizon, one of our -long limbed brethren would come galloping lightly in to give us warning, -and even if they ever reached our nest, it would be cold many hours -before they found it. I should be loth to leave it too," he added, -surveying with extreme content the pleasant refuge in which they had -taken up their rest; "for in all the paradises of Babylon was never so -green and lovely a spot as this!" - -Contrasted with the arid waste that stretched around them to the sky, it -seemed, indeed, a fair and peaceful retreat. Like the mirage of the -desert, it was adorned by a knot of waving palms, a glittering lake, a -breadth of verdant pasture, a thicket of tufted grass, bending reeds, -and aromatic shrubs. Like the mirage too, it was difficult to find, but -unlike the mirage, it was dotted with a goats' hair tent, at the door of -which, smiling and unveiled, she sat for whose sake Sarchedon had -abandoned friends, fame, ambition, country: his treasure, his pearl of -price, the fairest woman in all the earth--but one. - -"I dread only Ninyas," said Ishtar. "For I know the young king's wilful -spirit, and the proud heart that cannot endure to be crossed or thwarted -in its desire. Only Ninyas for myself," she added, with a wistful smile, -"and--and the Great Queen for you." - -"The Great Queen!" he repeated, laughing lightly. "Ere now I must surely -have had more than one successor, and doubtless I am forgotten, as -though I had never been; indeed I hope--I hope it may be so." - -While he reiterated his wish, she looked sharply and inquiringly in his -face, withdrawing her eyes, however, in some confusion, when his glance -met her own. He perceived it not, and Ishtar scarce knew whether she was -vexed or gratified to mark how the jealous anxieties of love had thus -been quenched in the frank confidence of possession, but on reflection -set his blindness down to the engrossing nature of his occupation, for -he was busy shaping one of those short thick clubs used by desert -horsemen in chase of the ostrich, to be hurled at the bird's long legs, -while they rode her down. - -"I shall be back at sunset," said he, putting the finishing touch to his -wooden weapon, and loosing the tether of his horse ere he sprang to the -saddle, "then shall Ishtar have at her tent-door such a tuft of plumes -as were never seen even before the pavilion of the Great King." - -She was scanning the far horizon with anxious eyes. "I pray you go not -forth, beloved," she murmured. "There is a dull blurred line yonder, -where sand and sky meet. Already the whirlwind is stirring in his sleep. -Surely, he will wake up in his fury before night." - -Her lord laughed and shook his bridle, waving a light farewell as he -rode away; while Ishtar turned wistfully into the tent and wondered if -he never regretted enterprise, fame, ambition, all he had foregone for -her sake; if he never let his thoughts wander back to the matchless -beauty and fatal smile of the Great Queen. - -So the woman pondered, half in sadness, asking untoward questions of her -own anxious heart, and the man sped merrily over the plain, rejoicing in -the freedom of the saddle, leaving care to plod hopelessly in his -tracks, as he galloped on. - -But though her eye brightened and his soul rejoiced, because of the -boundless waste and the free desert air, there was death in his right -hand. The poor ungainly ostrich lay bleeding at his feet, her legs -broken by his skill, her wings despoiled of their precious tufts, to -make a gift for the woman he loved. - -The sun was yet high when he turned bridle towards his home, and peering -about him in search of those scarce perceptible inequalities on its -surface, which form the landmarks of the wilderness, he found cause to -remember Ishtar's warning, while for a moment his heart stood still, -with a sense of coming danger, such as braces the brave man for mortal -conflict, and bids the coward tremble with mortal fear. - -Where the palms that nodded above his tent should have broke the level -sky-line, there was no horizon now. Only shifting misty shadows, dull, -dim, and tawny, a fusion of earth and heaven. He could bear to look on -the sun too, glowing yonder like a ball of burnished copper, and he knew -what that rim of violet foretold--a cruel portent--beautiful -exceedingly. - -There was a falling glitter in the air, as if it were raining gold, and -his horse snorted violently, betraying symptoms of restlessness and -alarm. O for Merodach now! Merodach, whose bones were bleaching far -away, where the dead lay in heaps under the wall of Ardesh. - -He pressed into a gallop, nevertheless; for a dun cloud-like column, -growing in height and volume as it approached, was moving steadily -towards him, in many whirls and gyrations, yet, fast as he rode, gaining -on him with every stride. The sky had darkened, and the fine particles -of sand with which the air was filled blistered his skin, choking his -nostrils and penetrating into his very lungs. - -Then the mighty rush of the whirlwind roared in his ears, turning his -linen head-dress over his face, driving man and horse before it in an -opaque, impenetrable cloud of sand. - -He had once dreamed of such a death. Could this be his fate, and had it -indeed overtaken him at last? - -He thought of Ishtar at the tent-door, looking for one who never came; -he thought of the other woman who had loved him--his temptation, his -evil spirit, his enemy, beautiful and wicked, Semiramis the Great Queen. - -Driving on, as a ship at sea drives before the tempest, he was aware of -certain phantom shapes, some few spear-lengths off, that loomed gigantic -in the fatal cloud. Were they real or but creatures of his brain, -already maddened by a sense of suffocation? Perhaps demons of the -simoon, triumphant, derisive, rejoicing in his destruction. No; they -were surely earthly forms--two or three horsemen plunging up to their -girths, and a dromedary in the midst. Were they waving to him for help, -or only struggling and gesticulating in blind perplexity, in the agony -of a fierce despair? The whirlwind drove him nearer, nearer yet. He -could distinguish the reddened eye of the dromedary, and its distended -nostril craving for a breath of air, while choked with sand. - -There came another mighty rush and roar to stun him as with a blow. Half -conscious, he was aware of a face that moved before him through the -gloom like a vision of the night--a dreamy face, calm, fearless, -beautiful, smiling its sad farewell. Even at such extremity his heart -leaped up with keen guilty throbs, for in that passing vision it -recognised the face of the Great Queen. - -Deeper and thicker grew the darkness; louder and fiercer roared the -storm. A gleam of white seemed to flit before his eyes ere they were -blinded by the driving sand. His horse struggled, fell, and rose again, -trembling with exhaustion and fear; but the air had cleared now, and he -could see, half a bowshot before him, a fair dove winging her flight -calmly on towards the light of day. Looking back to where his peril had -been shared by those shadowy wayfarers, he only noticed a few slight -undulations on the surface of the desert--a rolling wave or two of sand -to mark the terrible track of the simoon, and hide his buried secrets, -whatever they might be. - -Following the dove, as it flitted before him, Sarchedon rode slowly on, -pondering many things in his heart, but never taking his eyes off the -bird that was guiding him home. At sunset, lighting down beneath the -palms he loved, it circled twice round his head, and disappeared within -the darkness of his tent. - -Entering in, he was encircled by the arms of Ishtar, who laid her cheek -against his breast, and wept for very joy because of his safe return. - -"Where is the dove," he asked, "that flew before me through the -tent-door even now?" - -"There is no dove here but me," said Ishtar tenderly. "O, Sarchedon, for -you I would ever be the Bird of Love!" - -He looked fondly down in those trustful pleading eyes. "The Bird of -Love," he answered, "and better, dearer still--the Bird of Peace!" - - - -The Gresham Press, -UNWIN BROTHERS, -WOKING AND LONDON. - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SARCHEDON*** - - -******* This file should be named 42393-8.txt or 42393-8.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/4/2/3/9/42393 - - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, -set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to -copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to -protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. 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