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diff --git a/5460.txt b/5460.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0603b14 --- /dev/null +++ b/5460.txt @@ -0,0 +1,20354 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of An Egyptian Princess, Complete, by Georg Ebers + +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: An Egyptian Princess, Complete + +Author: Georg Ebers + +Last Updated: March 8, 2009 +Release Date: October 16, 2006 [EBook #5460] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AN EGYPTIAN PRINCESS, COMPLETE *** + + + +Produced by David Widger + + + + + +AN EGYPTIAN PRINCESS, Complete + +By Georg Ebers + + +Translated from the German by Eleanor Grove + + + + +PREFACE TO THE SECOND GERMAN EDITION + + Aut prodesse volunt ant delectare poetae, + Aut simul et jucunda et idonea dicere vitae. + Horat. De arte poetica v. 333. + +It is now four years since this book first appeared before the public, +and I feel it my duty not to let a second edition go forth into the +world without a few words of accompaniment. It hardly seems necessary to +assure my readers that I have endeavored to earn for the following pages +the title of a "corrected edition." An author is the father of his book, +and what father could see his child preparing to set out on a new +and dangerous road, even if it were not for the first time, without +endeavoring to supply him with every good that it lay in his power to +bestow, and to free him from every fault or infirmity on which the world +could look unfavorably? The assurance therefore that I have repeatedly +bestowed the greatest possible care on the correction of my Egyptian +Princess seems to me superfluous, but at the same time I think it +advisable to mention briefly where and in what manner I have found +it necessary to make these emendations. The notes have been revised, +altered, and enriched with all those results of antiquarian research +(more especially in reference to the language and monuments of ancient +Egypt) which have come to our knowledge since the year 1864, and which +my limited space allowed me to lay before a general public. On the +alteration of the text itself I entered with caution, almost with +timidity; for during four years of constant effort as academical tutor, +investigator and writer in those severe regions of study which exclude +the free exercise of imagination, the poetical side of a man's nature +may forfeit much to the critical; and thus, by attempting to remodel my +tale entirely, I might have incurred the danger of removing it from the +more genial sphere of literary work to which it properly belongs. I have +therefore contented myself with a careful revision of the style, the +omission of lengthy passages which might have diminished the interest of +the story to general readers, the insertion of a few characteristic or +explanatory additions, and the alteration of the proper names. These +last I have written not in their Greek, but in their Latin forms, having +been assured by more than one fair reader that the names Ibykus and +Cyrus would have been greeted by them as old acquaintances, whereas the +"Ibykos" and "Kyros" of the first edition looked so strange and learned, +as to be quite discouraging. Where however the German k has the same +worth as the Roman c I have adopted it in preference. With respect +to the Egyptian names and those with which we have become acquainted +through the cuneiform inscriptions, I have chosen the forms most adapted +to our German modes of speech, and in the present edition have placed +those few explanations which seemed to me indispensable to the right +understanding of the text, at the foot of the page, instead of among the +less easily accessible notes at the end. + +The fact that displeasure has been excited among men of letters by this +attempt to clothe the hardly-earned results of severer studies in an +imaginative form is even clearer to me now than when I first sent this +book before the public. In some points I agree with this judgment, but +that the act is kindly received, when a scholar does not scorn to render +the results of his investigations accessible to the largest number of +the educated class, in the form most generally interesting to them, is +proved by the rapid sale of the first large edition of this work. I +know at least of no better means than those I have chosen, by which to +instruct and suggest thought to an extended circle of readers. Those who +read learned books evince in so doing a taste for such studies; but it +may easily chance that the following pages, though taken up only for +amusement, may excite a desire for more information, and even gain a +disciple for the study of ancient history. + +Considering our scanty knowledge of the domestic life of the Greeks and +Persians before the Persian war--of Egyptian manners we know more--even +the most severe scholar could scarcely dispense with the assistance +of his imagination, when attempting to describe private life among the +civilized nations of the sixth century before Christ. He would however +escape all danger of those anachronisms to which the author of such a +work as I have undertaken must be hopelessly liable. With attention and +industry, errors of an external character may be avoided, but if I had +chosen to hold myself free from all consideration of the times in which +I and my readers have come into the world, and the modes of thought at +present existing among us, and had attempted to depict nothing but the +purely ancient characteristics of the men and their times, I should have +become unintelligible to many of my readers, uninteresting to all, and +have entirely failed in my original object. My characters will therefore +look like Persians, Egyptians, &c., but in their language, even more +than in their actions, the German narrator will be perceptible, not +always superior to the sentimentality of his day, but a native of the +world in the nineteenth century after the appearance of that heavenly +Master, whose teaching left so deep an impression on human thought and +feeling. + +The Persians and Greeks, being by descent related to ourselves, +present fewer difficulties in this respect than the Egyptians, whose +dwelling-place on the fruitful islands won by the Nile from the Desert, +completely isolated them from the rest of the world. + +To Professor Lepsius, who suggested to me that a tale confined entirely +to Egypt and the Egyptians might become wearisome, I owe many thanks; +and following his hint, have so arranged the materials supplied by +Herodotus as to introduce my reader first into a Greek circle. Here he +will feel in a measure at home, and indeed will entirely sympathize with +them on one important point, viz.: in their ideas on the Beautiful and +on Art. Through this Hellenic portico he reaches Egypt, from thence +passes on to Persia and returns finally to the Nile. It has been my +desire that the three nations should attract him equally, and I have +therefore not centred the entire interest of the plot in one hero, but +have endeavored to exhibit each nation in its individual character, by +means of a fitting representative. The Egyptian Princess has given +her name to the book, only because the weal and woe of all my other +characters were decided by her fate, and she must therefore be regarded +as the central point of the whole. + +In describing Amasis I have followed the excellent description of +Herodotus, which has been confirmed by a picture discovered on an +ancient monument. Herodotus has been my guide too in the leading +features of Cambyses' character; indeed as he was born only forty or +fifty years after the events related, his history forms the basis of my +romance. + +"Father of history" though he be, I have not followed him blindly, but, +especially in the development of my characters, have chosen those paths +which the principles of psychology have enabled me to lay down for +myself, and have never omitted consulting those hieroglyphic and +cuneiform inscriptions which have been already deciphered. In most cases +these confirm the statements of Herodotus. + +I have caused Bartja's murder to take place after the conquest of Egypt, +because I cannot agree with the usually received translation of the +Behistun inscription. This reads as follows: "One named Cambujiya, son +of Curu, of our family, was king here formerly and had a brother named +Bartiya, of the same father and the same mother as Cambujiya. Thereupon +Cambujiya killed that Bartiya." In a book intended for general readers, +it would not be well to enter into a discussion as to niceties of +language, but even the uninitiated will see that the word "thereupon" +has no sense in this connection. In every other point the inscription +agrees with Herodotus' narrative, and I believe it possible to bring it +into agreement with that of Darius on this last as well; but reserve my +proofs for another time and place. + +It has not been ascertained from whence Herodotus has taken the name +Smerdis which he gives to Bartja and Gaumata. The latter occurs again, +though in a mutilated form, in Justin. + +My reasons for making Phanes an Athenian will be found in Note 90. Vol. +I. This coercion of an authenticated fact might have been avoided in the +first edition, but could not now be altered without important changes in +the entire text. The means I have adopted in my endeavor to make Nitetis +as young as possible need a more serious apology; as, notwithstanding +Herodotus' account of the mildness of Amasis' rule, it is improbable +that King Hophra should have been alive twenty years after his fall. +Even this however is not impossible, for it can be proved that his +descendants were not persecuted by Amasis. + +On a Stela in the Leyden Museum I have discovered that a certain +Psamtik, a member of the fallen dynasty, lived till the 17th year of +Amasis' reign, and died at the age of seventy-five. + +Lastly let me be permitted to say a word or two in reference to +Rhodopis. That she must have been a remarkable woman is evident from the +passage in Herodotus quoted in Notes 10, and 14, Vol. I., and from the +accounts given by many other writers. Her name, "the rosy-cheeked one," +tells us that she was beautiful, and her amiability and charm of manner +are expressly praised by Herodotus. How richly she was endowed with +gifts and graces may be gathered too from the manner in which tradition +and fairy lore have endeavored to render her name immortal. By many she +is said to have built the most beautiful of the Pyramids, the Pyramid of +Mycerinus or Menkera. One tale related of her and reported by Strabo and +AElian probably gave rise to our oldest and most beautiful fairy tale, +Cinderella; another is near akin to the Loreley legend. An eagle, +according to AElian--the wind, in Strabo's tale,--bore away Rhodopis' +slippers while she was bathing in the Nile, and laid them at the feet of +the king, when seated on his throne of justice in the open market. +The little slippers so enchanted him that he did not rest until he had +discovered their owner and made her his queen. + +The second legend tells us how a wonderfully beautiful naked woman +could be seen sitting on the summit of one of the pyramids (ut in una ex +pyramidibus); and how she drove the wanderers in the desert mad through +her exceeding loveliness. + +Moore borrowed this legend and introduces it in the following verse: + + "Fair Rhodope, as story tells-- + The bright unearthly nymph, who dwells + 'Mid sunless gold and jewels hid, + The lady of the Pyramid." + +Fabulous as these stories sound, they still prove that Rhodopis must +have been no ordinary woman. Some scholars would place her on a level +with the beautiful and heroic Queen Nitokris, spoken of by Julius +Africanus, Eusebius and others, and whose name, (signifying the +victorious Neith) has been found on the monuments, applied to a queen +of the sixth dynasty. This is a bold conjecture; it adds however to the +importance of our heroine; and without doubt many traditions referring +to the one have been transferred to the other, and vice versa. +Herodotus lived so short a time after Rhodopis, and tells so many exact +particulars of her private life that it is impossible she should have +been a mere creation of fiction. The letter of Darius, given at the +end of Vol. II., is intended to identify the Greek Rhodopis with the +mythical builder of the Pyramid. I would also mention here that she +is called Doricha by Sappho. This may have been her name before she +received the title of the "rosy-cheeked one." + +I must apologize for the torrent of verse that appears in the +love-scenes between Sappho and Bartja; it is also incumbent upon me to +say a few words about the love-scenes themselves, which I have altered +very slightly in the new edition, though they have been more severely +criticised than any other portion of the work. + +First I will confess that the lines describing the happy love of a +handsome young couple to whom I had myself become warmly attached, +flowed from my pen involuntarily, even against my will (I intended to +write a novel in prose) in the quiet night, by the eternal Nile, among +the palms and roses. The first love-scene has a story of its own to me. +I wrote it in half an hour, almost unconsciously. It may be read in my +book that the Persians always reflected in the morning, when sober, upon +the resolutions formed the night before, while drunk. When I examined in +the sunshine what had come into existence by lamplight, I grew doubtful +of its merits, and was on the point of destroying the love-scenes +altogether, when my dear friend Julius Hammer, the author of "Schau +in Dich, und Schau um Dich," too early summoned to the other world by +death, stayed my hand. Their form was also approved by others, and I +tell myself that the 'poetical' expression of love is very similar in +all lands and ages, while lovers' conversations and modes of intercourse +vary according to time and place. Besides, I have to deal with one of +those by no means rare cases, where poetry can approach nearer the truth +than prudent, watchful prose. Many of my honored critics have censured +these scenes; others, among whom are some whose opinion I specially +value, have lavished the kindest praise upon them. Among these gentlemen +I will mention A. Stahr, C. V. Holtei, M. Hartmann, E. Hoefer, W. +Wolfsohn, C. Leemans, Professor Veth of Amsterdam, etc. Yet I will not +conceal the fact that some, whose opinion has great weight, have asked: +"Did the ancients know anything of love, in our sense of the word? +Is not romantic love, as we know it, a result of Christianity?" The +following sentence, which stands at the head of the preface to my first +edition, will prove that I had not ignored this question when I began my +task. + + "It has often been remarked that in Cicero's letters and those of + Pliny the younger there are unmistakable indications of sympathy + with the more sentimental feeling of modern days. I find in them + tones of deep tenderness only, such as have arisen and will arise + from sad and aching hearts in every land and every age." + + A. v. HUMBOLDT. Cosmos II. P. 19. + +This opinion of our great scholar is one with which I cheerfully +coincide and would refer my readers to the fact that love-stories were +written before the Christian era: the Amor and Psyche of Apuleius for +instance. Indeed love in all its forms was familiar to the ancients. +Where can we find a more beautiful expression of ardent passion than +glows in Sappho's songs? or of patient faithful constancy than in +Homer's Penelope? Could there be a more beautiful picture of the union +of two loving hearts, even beyond the grave, than Xenophon has preserved +for us in his account of Panthea and Abradatas? or the story of Sabinus +the Gaul and his wife, told in the history of Vespasian? Is there +anywhere a sweeter legend than that of the Halcyons, the ice-birds, who +love one another so tenderly that when the male becomes enfeebled by +age, his mate carries him on her outspread wings whithersoever he will; +and the gods, desiring to reward such faithful love, cause the sun to +shine more kindly, and still the winds and waves on the "Halcyon days" +during which these birds are building their nest and brooding over their +young? There can surely have been no lack of romantic love in days when +a used-up man of the world, like Antony, could desire in his will that +wherever he died his body might be laid by the side of his beloved +Cleopatra: nor of the chivalry of love when Berenice's beautiful hair +was placed as a constellation in the heavens. Neither can we believe +that devotion in the cause of love could be wanting when a whole +nation was ready to wage a fierce and obstinate war for the sake of one +beautiful woman. The Greeks had an insult to revenge, but the Trojans +fought for the possession of Helen. Even the old men of Ilium were ready +"to suffer long for such a woman." And finally is not the whole question +answered in Theocritus' unparalleled poem, "the Sorceress?" We see the +poor love-lorn girl and her old woman-servant, Thestylis, cowering over +the fire above which the bird supposed to possess the power of bringing +back the faithless Delphis is sitting in his wheel. Simoetha has learnt +many spells and charms from an Assyrian, and she tries them all. The +distant roar of the waves, the stroke rising from the fire, the dogs +howling in the street, the tortured fluttering bird, the old woman, the +broken-hearted girl and her awful spells, all join in forming a night +scene the effect of which is heightened by the calm cold moonshine. +The old woman leaves the girl, who at once ceases to weave her spells, +allows her pent-up tears to have their way, and looking up to Selene the +moon, the lovers' silent confidante, pours out her whole story: how when +she first saw the beautiful Delphis her heart had glowed with love, she +had seen nothing more of the train of youths who followed him, "and," +(thus sadly the poet makes her speak) + + "how I gained my home + I knew not; some strange fever wasted me. + Ten days and nights I lay upon my bed. + O tell me, mistress Moon, whence came my love!" + +"Then" (she continues) when Delphis at last crossed her threshold: + + "I + Became all cold like snow, and from my brow + Brake the damp dewdrops: utterance I had none, + Not e'en such utterance as a babe may make + That babbles to its mother in its dreams; + But all my fair frame stiffened into wax,-- + O tell me mistress Moon, whence came my love!" + +Whence came her love? thence, whence it comes to us now. The love of the +creature to its Creator, of man to God, is the grand and yet gracious +gift of Christianity. Christ's command to love our neighbor called +into existence not only the conception of philanthropy, but of humanity +itself, an idea unknown to the heathen world, where love had been at +widest limited to their native town and country. The love of man and +wife has without doubt been purified and transfigured by Christianity; +still it is possible that a Greek may have loved as tenderly and +longingly as a Christian. The more ardent glow of passion at least +cannot be denied to the ancients. And did not their love find vent +in the same expressions as our own? Who does not know the charming +roundelay: + + "Drink the glad wine with me, + With me spend youth's gay hours; + Or a sighing lover be, + Or crown thy brow with flowers. + When I am merry and mad, + Merry and mad be you; + When I am sober and sad, + Be sad and sober too!" +--written however by no poet of modern days, but by Praxilla, in the +fifth century before Christ. Who would guess either that Moore's little +song was modelled on one written even earlier than the date of our +story? + + "As o'er her loom the Lesbian maid + In love-sick languor hung her head. + Unknowing where her fingers stray'd, + She weeping turned away and said,' + Oh, my sweet mother, 'tis in vain, + + I cannot weave as once I wove; + So wilder'd is my heart and brain + With thinking of that youth I love.'" + +If my space allowed I could add much more on this subject, but will +permit myself only one remark in conclusion. Lovers delighted in nature +then as now; the moon was their chosen confidante, and I know of no +modern poem in which the mysterious charm of a summer night and the +magic beauty which lies on flowers, trees and fountains in those silent +hours when the world is asleep, is more exquisitely described than in +the following verses, also by Sappho, at the reading of which we seem +forced to breathe more slowly, "kuhl bis an's Herz hinan." + + "Planets, that around the beauteous moon + Attendant wait, cast into shade + Their ineffectual lustres, soon + As she, in full-orb'd majesty array'd, + Her silver radiance pours + Upon this world of ours." + +and:-- + + "Thro' orchard plots with fragrance crown'd, + The clear cold fountain murm'ring flows; + And forest leaves, with rustling sound, + Invite to soft repose." + +The foregoing remarks seemed to me due to those who consider a love such +as that of Sappho and Bartja to have been impossible among the ancients. +Unquestionably it was much rarer then than in these days: indeed I +confess to having sketched my pair of lovers in somewhat bright colors. +But may I not be allowed, at least once, to claim the poet's freedom? + +How seldom I have availed myself of this freedom will be evident from +the notes included in each volume. They seemed to me necessary, partly +in order to explain the names and illustrate the circumstances mentioned +in the text, and partly to vindicate the writer in the eyes of the +learned. I trust they may not prove discouraging to any, as the text +will be found easily readable without reference to the explanations. + + Jena, November 23, 1868. + GEORG EBERS, DR. + + + + +PREFACE TO THE FOURTH GERMAN EDITION. + +Two years and a half after the appearance of the third edition of "An +Egyptian Princess," a fourth was needed. I returned long since from +the journey to the Nile, for which I was preparing while correcting the +proof-sheets of the third edition, and on which I can look back with +special satisfaction. During my residence in Egypt, in 1872-73, a +lucky accident enabled me to make many new discoveries; among them one +treasure of incomparable value, the great hieratic manuscript, which +bears my name. Its publication has just been completed, and it is now in +the library of the Leipzig University. + +The Papyrus Ebers, the second in size and the best preserved of all the +ancient Egyptian manuscripts which have come into our possession, +was written in the 16th century B. C., and contains on 110 pages the +hermetic book upon the medicines of the ancient Egyptians, known also to +the Alexandrine Greeks. The god Thoth (Hermes) is called "the guide" of +physicians, and the various writings and treatises of which the work is +composed are revelations from him. In this venerable scroll diagnoses +are made and remedies suggested for the internal and external diseases +of most portions of the human body. With the drugs prescribed are +numbers, according to which they are weighed with weights and measured +with hollow measures, and accompanying the prescriptions are noted the +pious axioms to be repeated by the physician, while compounding and +giving them to the patient. On the second line of the first page of our +manuscript, it is stated that it came from Sais. A large portion of +this work is devoted to the visual organs. On the twentieth line of the +fifty-fifth page begins the book on the eyes, which fills eight large +pages. We were formerly compelled to draw from Greek and Roman authors +what we knew about the remedies used for diseases of the eye among the +ancient Egyptians. The portion of the Papyrus Ebers just mentioned +is now the only Egyptian source from whence we can obtain instruction +concerning this important branch of ancient medicine. + +All this scarcely seems to have a place in the preface of a historical +romance, and yet it is worthy of mention here; for there is something +almost "providential" in the fact that it was reserved for the author +of "An Egyptian Princess" to bestow the gift of this manuscript upon the +scientific world. Among the characters in the novel the reader will meet +an oculist from Sais, who wrote a book upon the diseases of the visual +organs. The fate of this valuable work exactly agrees with the course +of the narrative. The papyrus scroll of the Sais oculist, which a short +time ago existed only in the imagination of the author and readers of +"An Egyptian Princess," is now an established fact. When I succeeded in +bringing the manuscript home, I felt like the man who had dreamed of a +treasure, and when he went out to ride found it in his path. + +A reply to Monsieur Jules Soury's criticism of "An Egyptian Princess" in +the Revue des deux Mondes, Vol. VII, January 1875, might appropriately +be introduced into this preface, but would scarcely be possible without +entering more deeply into the ever-disputed question, which will be +answered elsewhere, whether the historical romance is ever justifiable. +Yet I cannot refrain from informing Monsieur Soury here that "An +Egyptian Princess" detained me from no other work. I wrote it in my +sick-room, before entering upon my academic career, and while composing +it, found not only comfort and pleasure, but an opportunity to give dead +scientific material a living interest for myself and others. + +Monsieur Soury says romance is the mortal enemy of history; but this +sentence may have no more justice than the one with which I think myself +justified in replying: Landscape painting is the mortal enemy of botany. +The historical romance must be enjoyed like any other work of art. +No one reads it to study history; but many, the author hopes, may be +aroused by his work to make investigations of their own, for which the +notes point out the way. Already several persons of excellent mental +powers have been attracted to earnest Egyptological researches by +"An Egyptian Princess." In the presence of such experiences, although +Monsieur Soury's clever statements appear to contain much that is true, +I need not apply his remark that "historical romances injure the cause +of science" to the present volume. + + Leipzig, April 19, 1875. + + GEORG EBERS. + + + + +PREFACE TO THE FIFTH GERMAN EDITION. + +Again a new edition of "An Egyptian Princess" has been required, and +again I write a special preface because the printing has progressed so +rapidly as unfortunately to render it impossible for me to correct +some errors to which my attention was directed by the kindness of +the well-known botanist, Professor Paul Ascherson of Berlin, who has +travelled through Egypt and the Oases. + +In Vol. I, page 7, I allow mimosas to grow among other plants in +Rhodopis' garden. I have found them in all the descriptions of the Nile +valley, and afterwards often enjoyed the delicious perfume of the golden +yellow flowers in the gardens of Alexandria and Cairo. I now learn that +this very mimosa (Acacia farnesiana) originates in tropical America, and +was undoubtedly unknown in ancient Egypt. The bananas, which I mentioned +in Vol. I, p. 64, among other Egyptian plants, were first introduced +into the Nile valley from India by the Arabs. The botanical errors +occurring in the last volume I was able to correct. Helm's admirable +work on "Cultivated Plants and Domestic Animals" had taught me to notice +such things. Theophrastus, a native of Asia Minor, gives the first +description of a citron, and this proves that he probably saw the +so-called paradise-apple, but not our citron, which I am therefore not +permitted to mention among the plants cultivated in ancient Lydia. Palms +and birches are both found in Asia Minor; but I permitted them to grow +side by side, thereby committing an offense against the geographical +possibility of vegetable existence. The birch, in this locality, +flourishes in the mountainous region, the palm, according to Griesbach +(Vegetation of the Earth, Vol. I, p. 319) only appears on the southern +coast of the peninsula. The latter errors, as I previously mentioned, +will be corrected in the new edition. I shall of course owe special +thanks to any one who may call my attention to similar mistakes. + + Leipzig, March 5, 1877 + + GEORG EBERS + + + + +PREFACE TO THE NINTH GERMAN EDITION. + +I have nothing to add to the ninth edition of "An Egyptian Princess" +except that it has been thoroughly revised. My sincere thanks are due +to Dr. August Steitz of Frankfort on the Main, who has travelled through +Egypt and Asia Minor, for a series of admirable notes, which he kindly +placed at my disposal. He will find that they have not remained unused. + + Leipzig, November 13, 1879. + GEORG EBERS + + + + + +AN EGYPTIAN PRINCESS. + +By Georg Ebers + + + + +BOOK 1. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +The Nile had overflowed its bed. The luxuriant corn-fields and blooming +gardens on its shores were lost beneath a boundless waste of waters; and +only the gigantic temples and palaces of its cities, (protected from the +force of the water by dikes), and the tops of the tall palm-trees and +acacias could be seen above its surface. The branches of the sycamores +and plane-trees drooped and floated on the waves, but the boughs of the +tall silver poplars strained upward, as if anxious to avoid the watery +world beneath. The full-moon had risen; her soft light fell on the +Libyan range of mountains vanishing on the western horizon, and in the +north the shimmer of the Mediterranean could faintly be discerned. Blue +and white lotus-flowers floated on the clear water, bats of all +kinds darted softly through the still air, heavy with the scent of +acacia-blossom and jasmine; the wild pigeons and other birds were at +roost in the tops of the trees, while the pelicans, storks and cranes +squatted in groups on the shore under the shelter of the papyrus-reeds +and Nile-beans. The pelicans and storks remained motionless, their long +bills hidden beneath their wings, but the cranes were startled by the +mere beat of an oar, stretching their necks, and peering anxiously into +the distance, if they heard but the song of the boatmen. The air was +perfectly motionless, and the unbroken reflection of the moon, lying +like a silver shield on the surface of the water, proved that, wildly as +the Nile leaps over the cataracts, and rushes past the gigantic temples +of Upper Egypt, yet on approaching the sea by different arms, he can +abandon his impetuous course, and flow along in sober tranquillity. + +On this moonlight night in the year 528 B. C. a bark was crossing the +almost currentless Canopic mouth of the Nile. On the raised deck at +the stern of this boat an Egyptian was sitting to guide the long +pole-rudder, and the half-naked boatmen within were singing as +they rowed. In the open cabin, which was something like a wooden +summer-house, sat two men, reclining on low cushions. They were +evidently not Egyptians; their Greek descent could be perceived even by +the moonlight. The elder was an unusually tall and powerful man of +more than sixty; thick grey curls, showing very little attempt at +arrangement, hung down over his short, firm throat; he wore a simple, +homely cloak, and kept his eyes gloomily fixed on the water. His +companion, on the contrary, a man perhaps twenty years younger, of a +slender and delicate build, was seldom still. Sometimes he gazed into +the heavens, sometimes made a remark to the steersman, disposed his +beautiful purple chlanis in fresh folds, or busied himself in the +arrangement of his scented brown curls, or his carefully curled beard. + + [The chlanis was a light summer-mantle, worn especially by the more + elegant Athenians, and generally made of expensive materials. The + simpler cloak, the himation, was worn by the Doric Greeks, and + principally by the Spartans.] + +The boat had left Naukratis, at that time the only Hellenic port in +Egypt, about half an hour before. + + [This town, which will form the scene of a part of our tale, lies in + the northwest of the Nile Delta, in the Saitic Nomos or district, on + the left bank of the Canopic mouth of the river. According to + Strabo and Eusebius it was founded by Milesians, and Bunsen reckons + 749 B. C. It seems that in the earliest times Greek ships were only + allowed to enter this mouth of the Nile in case of necessity. The + entire intercourse of the Egyptians with the hated strangers was, at + that time, restricted to the little island of Pharos lying opposite + to the town of Thonis.] + +During their journey, the grey-haired, moody man had not spoken one +word, and the other had left him to his meditations. But now, as the +boat neared the shore, the restless traveller, rising from his couch, +called to his companion: "We are just at our destination, Aristomachus! +That pleasant house to the left yonder, in the garden of palms which you +can see rising above the waters, is the dwelling of my friend Rhodopis. +It was built by her husband Charaxus, and all her friends, not excepting +the king himself, vie with one another in adding new beauties to it +year by year. A useless effort! Let them adorn that house with all the +treasures in the world, the woman who lives within will still remain its +best ornament!" + + [We are writing of the month of October, when the Nile begins to + sink. The inundations can now be accurately accounted for, + especially since the important and laborious synoptical work of H. + Barth and S. Baker. They are occasioned by the tropical rains, and + the melting of the snows on the high mountain-ranges at the Equator. + In the beginning of June a gradual rising of the Nile waters can be + perceived; between the 15th and 20th June, this changes to a rapid + increase; in the beginning of October the waters reach their highest + elevation, a point, which, even after having begun their retreat, + they once more attempt to attain; then, at first gradually, and + afterwards with ever increasing rapidity, they continue to sink. In + January, February and March, the Nile is still drying up; and in May + is at its lowest point, when the volume of its waters is only one- + twentieth of that in October.] + +The old man sat up, threw a passing glance at the building, smoothed the +thick grey beard which clothed his cheeks and chin, but left the lips +free,--[The Spartans were not in the habit of wearing a beard on the +upper lip.]--and asked abruptly: "Why so much enthusiasm, Phanes, +for this Rhodopis? How long have the Athenians been wont to extol +old women?" At this remark the other smiled, and answered in a +self-satisfied tone, "My knowledge of the world, and particularly of +women, is, I flatter myself, an extended one, and yet I repeat, that in +all Egypt I know of no nobler creature than this grey-haired woman. When +you have seen her and her lovely grandchild, and heard your favorite +melodies sung by her well-practised choir of slave-girls, I think you +will thank me for having brought you hither."--"Yet," answered the +Spartan gravely, "I should not have accompanied you, if I had not hoped +to meet Phryxus, the Delphian, here." + +"You will find him here; and besides, I cannot but hope that the songs +will cheer you, and dispel your gloomy thoughts." Aristomachus shook his +head in denial, and answered: "To you, sanguine Athenians, the melodies +of your country may be cheering: but not so to me; as in many a +sleepless night of dreams, my longings will be doubled, not stilled by +the songs of Alkman." + + [Alkman (Attic, Alkmaeon) flourished in Sparta about 650 B. C. His + mother was a Lydian slave in Sardes, and he came into the possession + of Agesides, who gave him his freedom. His beautiful songs soon + procured him the rights of a Lacedaemonian citizen. He was + appointed to the head-directorship in the entire department of music + in Lacedaemon and succeeded in naturalizing the soft Lydian music. + His language was the Doric-Laconian. After a life devoted to song, + the pleasures of the table and of love, he is said to have died of + a fearful disease. From the frequent choruses of virgins + (Parthenien) said to have been originally introduced by him, his + frequent songs in praise of women, and the friendly relations in + which he stood to the Spartan women (more especially to the fair + Megalostrata), he gained the name of the woman's poet.] + +"Do you think then," replied Phanes, "that I have no longing for my +beloved Athens, for the scenes of our youthful games, for the busy life +of the market? Truly, the bread of exile is not less distasteful to my +palate than to yours, but, in the society afforded by this house, it +loses some of its bitterness, and when the dear melodies of Hellas, so +perfectly sung, fall on my ear, my native land rises before me as in a +vision, I see its pine and olive groves, its cold, emerald green rivers, +its blue sea, the shimmer of its towns, its snowy mountain-tops and +marble temples, and a half-sweet, half-bitter tear steals down my cheek +as the music ceases, and I awake to remember that I am in Egypt, in this +monotonous, hot, eccentric country, which, the gods be praised, I am +soon about to quit. But, Aristomachus, would you then avoid the few +Oases in the desert, because you must afterwards return to its sands +and drought? Would you fly from one happy hour, because days of sadness +await you later? But stop, here we are! Show a cheerful countenance, my +friend, for it becomes us not to enter the temple of the Charites with +sad hearts."--[The goddesses of grace and beauty, better known by their +Roman name of "Graces."] + +As Phanes uttered these words, they landed at the garden wall, washed +by the Nile. The Athenian bounded lightly from the boat, the Spartan +following with a heavier, firmer tread. Aristomachus had a wooden +leg, but his step was so firm, even when compared with that of the +light-footed Phanes, that it might have been thought to be his own limb. + +The garden of Rhodopis was as full of sound, and scent and blossom as +a night in fairy-land. It was one labyrinth of acanthus shrubs, +yellow mimosa, the snowy gelder-rose, jasmine and lilac, red roses and +laburnums, overshadowed by tall palm-trees, acacias and balsam trees. +Large bats hovered softly on their delicate wings over the whole, and +sounds of mirth and song echoed from the river. + +This garden had been laid out by an Egyptian, and the builders of +the Pyramids had already been celebrated for ages for their skill in +horticulture. They well understood how to mark out neat flower-beds, +plant groups of trees and shrubs in regular order, water the whole +by aqueducts and fountains, arrange arbors and summerhouses, and even +inclose the walks with artistically clipped hedges, and breed goldfish +in stone basins. + +At the garden gate Phanes stopped, looked around him carefully and +listened; then shaking his head, "I do not understand what this can +mean," he said. "I hear no voices, there is not a single light to be +seen, the boats are all gone, and yet the flag is still flying at its +gay flag-staff, there, by the obelisks on each side of the gate." + + [Obelisks bearing the name of the owner were sometimes to be seen + near the gates of the Egyptian country-houses. Flags too were not + uncommon, but these were almost exclusively to be found at the gates + of the temples, where to this day the iron sockets for the flagstaff + can still be seen. Neither were flags unknown to the Greeks. It + appears from some inscriptions on the staffs of the Pylons, that if + the former were not actually erected for lightning-rods, it had been + noticed that they attracted the electricity.] + +"Rhodopis must surely be from home; can they have forgotten?"--Here +a deep voice suddenly interrupted him with the exclamation, "Ha! the +commander of the body-guard!" + +"A pleasant evening to you, Knakais," exclaimed Phanes, kindly greeting +the old man, who now came up. "But how is it that this garden is as +still as an Egyptian tomb, and yet the flag of welcome is fluttering at +the gate? How long has that white ensign waved for guests in vain?" + +"How long indeed?" echoed the old slave of Rhodopis with a smile. "So +long as the Fates graciously spare the life of my mistress, the old flag +is sure to waft as many guests hither as the house is able to contain. +Rhodopis is not at home now, but she must return shortly. The evening +being so fine, she determined on taking a pleasure-trip on the Nile with +her guests. They started at sunset, two hours ago, and the evening meal +is already prepared; they cannot remain away much longer. I pray you, +Phanes, to have patience and follow me into the house. Rhodopis would +not easily forgive me, if I allowed such valued guests to depart. You +stranger," he added, turning to the Spartan, "I entreat most heartily +to remain; as friend of your friend you will be doubly welcome to my +mistress." + +The two Greeks, following the servant, seated themselves in an arbor, +and Aristomachus, after gazing on the scene around him now brilliantly +lighted by the moon, said, "Explain to me, Phanes, by what good fortune +this Rhodopis, formerly only a slave and courtesan can now live as a +queen, and receive her guests in this princely manner?" + + [The mistresses (Hetaere) of the Greeks must not be compared with + modern women of bad reputation. The better members of this class + represented the intelligence and culture of their sex in Greece, and + more especially in the Ionian provinces. As an instance we need + only recall Aspasia and her well-attested relation to Pericles and + Socrates. Our heroine Rhodopis was a celebrated woman. The + Hetaera, Thargalia of Miletus, became the wife of a Thessalian king. + Ptolemy Lagi married Thais; her daughter was called Irene, and her + sons Leontiskus and Lagus. Finally, statues were erected to many.] + +"I have long expected this question," answered the Athenian. "I shall +be delighted to make you acquainted with the past history of this woman +before you enter her house. So long as we were on the Nile, I would not +intrude my tale upon you; that ancient river has a wonderful power of +compelling to silence and quiet contemplation. Even my usually quick +tongue was paralyzed like yours, when I took my first night-journey on +the Nile." + +"I thank you for this," replied the Spartan. "When I first saw the aged +priest Epimenides, at Knossus in Crete, he was one hundred and fifty +years old, and I remember that his age and sanctity filled me with a +strange dread; but how far older, how far more sacred, is this hoary +river, the ancient stream 'Aigyptos'! Who would wish to avoid the +power of his spells? Now, however, I beg you to give me the history of +Rhodopis." + +Phanes began: "When Rhodopis was a little child playing with her +companions on the Thracian sea-shore, she was stolen by some Phoenician +mariners, carried to Samos, and bought by Iadmon, one of the geomori, or +landed aristocracy of the island. The little girl grew day by day more +beautiful, graceful and clever, and was soon an object of love and +admiration to all who knew her. AEsop, the fable-writer, who was at that +time also in bondage to Iadmon, took an especial pleasure in the growing +amiability and talent of the child, taught her and cared for her in the +same way as the tutors whom we keep to educate our Athenian boys. + +The kind teacher found his pupil tractable and quick of comprehension, +and the little slave soon practised the arts of music, singing and +eloquence, in a more charming and agreeable manner than the sons of her +master Iadmon, on whose education the greatest care had been lavished. +By the time she had reached her fourteenth year, Rhodopis was so +beautiful and accomplished, that the jealous wife of Iadmon would not +suffer her to remain any longer in the house, and the Samian was forced, +with a heavy heart, to sell her to a certain Xanthus. The government of +Samos at that time was still in the hands of the less opulent nobles; +had Polykrates then been at the head of affairs, Xanthus need not have +despaired of a purchaser. These tyrants fill their treasuries as the +magpies their nests! As it was, however, he went off with his precious +jewel to Naukratis, and there gained a fortune by means of her wondrous +charms. These were three years of the deepest humiliation to Rhodopis, +which she still remembers with horror. + +Now it happened, just at the time when her fame was spreading through +all Greece, and strangers were coming from far to Naukratis for her sake +alone, that the people of Lesbos rose up against their nobles, drove +them forth, and chose the wise Pittakus as their ruler. + + [According to Herodotus the beauty of Rhodopis was so great that + every Greek knew her by name.] + +The highest families of Lesbos were forced to leave the country, and +fled, some to Sicily, some to the Greek provinces of Italy, and others +to Egypt. Alcaeus, the greatest poet of his day, and Charaxus, the +brother of that Sappho whose odes it was our Solon's last wish to +learn by heart, came here to Naukratis, which had already long been the +flourishing centre of commercial communication between Egypt and +the rest of the world. Charaxus saw Rhodopis, and soon loved her +so passionately, that he gave an immense sum to secure her from the +mercenary Xanthus, who was on the point of returning with her to his own +country; Sappho wrote some biting verses, derisive of her brother +and his purchase, but Alcaeus on the other hand, approved, and gave +expression to this feeling in glowing songs on the charms of Rhodopis. +And now Sappho's brother, who had till then remained undistinguished +among the many strangers at Naukratis, became a noted man through +Rhodopis. His house was soon the centre of attraction to all foreigners, +by whom she was overwhelmed with gifts. The King Hophra, hearing of her +beauty and talent, sent for her to Memphis, and offered to buy her +of Charaxus, but the latter had already long, though secretly, +given Rhodopis her freedom, and loved her far too well to allow of a +separation. She too, loved the handsome Lesbian and refused to leave +him despite the brilliant offers made to her on all sides. At length +Charaxus made this wonderful woman his lawful wife, and continued to +live with her and her little daughter Kleis in Naukratis, until the +Lesbian exiles were recalled to their native land by Pittakus. He then +started homeward with his wife, but fell ill on the journey, and died +soon after his arrival at Mitylene. Sappho, who had derided her brother +for marrying one beneath him, soon became an enthusiastic admirer of the +beautiful widow and rivalled Alcaeus in passionate songs to her praise. + +After the death of the poetess, Rhodopis returned, with her little +daughter, to Naukratis, where she was welcomed as a goddess. During this +interval Amasis, the present king of Egypt, had usurped the throne of +the Pharaohs, and was maintaining himself in its possession by help of +the army, to which caste he belonged. + + [Amasis, of whom much will be said in our text, reigned 570-526 B. + C. His name, in the hieroglyphic signs, was Aahmes or young moon + but the name by which he was commonly called was Sa-Nit "Son of + Neith." His name, and pictures of him are to be found on stones in + the fortress of Cairo, on a relief in Florence, a statue in the + Vatican, on sarcophagi in Stockholm and London, a statue in the + Villa Albani and on a little temple of red granite at Leyden. A + beautiful bust of gray-wacke in our possession probably represents + the same king.] + +As his predecessor Hophra had accelerated his fall, and brought the +army and priesthood to open rebellion by his predilection for the +Greek nation, and for intercourse with foreigners generally, (always +an abomination in the eyes of the Egyptians), men felt confident that +Amasis would return to the old ways, would rigorously exclude foreigners +from the country, dismiss the Greek mercenaries, and instead of taking +counsel from the Greeks, would hearken only to the commands of the +priesthood. But in this, as you must see yourself, the prudent Egyptians +had guessed wide of the mark in their choice of a ruler; they fell from +Scylla into Charybdis. If Hophra was called the Greeks' friend, Amasis +must be named our lover. The Egyptians, especially the priests and the +army, breathe fire and flame, and would fain strangle us one and all, +off hand, This feeling on the part of the soldiery does not disturb +Amasis, for he knows too well the comparative value of their and our +services; but with the priests it is another and more serious matter, +for two reasons: first, they possess an unbounded influence over the +people; and secondly. Amasis himself retains more affection than he +likes to acknowledge to us, for this absurd and insipid religion--a +religion which appears doubly sacred to its adherents simply because it +has existed in this eccentric land--unchanged for thousands of years. +These priests make the king's life burdensome to him; they persecute and +injure us in every possible way; and indeed, if it had not been for +the king's protection, I should long ago have been a dead man. But I +am wandering from my tale! As I said before, Rhodopis was received +at Naukratis with open arms by all, and loaded with marks of favor by +Amasis, who formed her acquaintance. Her daughter Kleis, as is the case +with the little Sappho now--was never allowed to appear in the society +which assembled every evening at her mother's house, and indeed was even +more strictly brought up than the other young girls in Naukratis. She +married Glaucus, a rich Phocaean merchant of noble family, who had +defended his native town with great bravery against the Persians, and +with him departed to the newly-founded Massalia, on the Celtic coast. +There, however, the young couple both fell victims to the climate, and +died, leaving a little daughter, Sappho. Rhodopis at once undertook the +long journey westward, brought the orphan child back to live with her, +spent the utmost care on her education, and now that she is grown up, +forbids her the society of men, still feeling the stains of her own +youth so keenly that she would fain keep her granddaughter (and this in +Sappho's case is not difficult), at a greater distance from contact +with our sex than is rendered necessary, by the customs of Egypt. To my +friend herself society is as indispensable as water to the fish or air +to the bird. Her house is frequented by all the strangers here, and +whoever has once experienced her hospitality and has the time at command +will never after be found absent when the flag announces an evening of +reception. Every Greek of mark is to be found here, as it is in this +house that we consult on the wisest measures for encountering the hatred +of the priests and bringing the king round to our own views. Here you +can obtain not only the latest news from home, but from the rest of the +world, and this house is an inviolable sanctuary for the persecuted, +Rhodopis possessing a royal warrant which secures her from every +molestation on the part of the police. + + [A very active and strict police-force existed in Egypt, the + organization of which is said to have owed much to Amasis' care. We + also read in inscriptions and papyrus rolls, that a body of mounted + police existed, the ranks of which were generally filled by + foreigners in preference to natives.] + +Our own songs and our own language are to be heard here, and here we +take counsel on the best means for delivering Greece from the ever fresh +encroachments of her tyrants. + +In a word, this house is the centre of attraction for all Hellenic +interests in Egypt, and of more importance to us politically, than our +temple, the Hellenion itself, and our hall of commerce. + +In a few minutes you will see this remarkable grandmother, and, if we +should be here alone, perhaps the grandchild too; you will then at once +perceive that they owe everything to their own rare qualities and not to +the chances of good fortune. Ah! there they come! they are going towards +the house. Cannot you hear the slave-girls singing? Now they are going +in. First let them quietly be seated, then follow me, and when the +evening is over you shall say whether you repent of having come +hither, and whether Rhodopis resembles more nearly a queen or a freed +bond-woman." + +The houses was built in the Grecian style. It was a rather long, +one-storied building, the outside of which would be called extremely +plain in the present day; within, it united the Egyptian brilliancy of +coloring with the Greek beauty of form. The principal door opened +into the entrance-hall. To the left of this lay a large dining-room, +overlooking the Nile, and, opposite to this last was the kitchen, an +apartment only to be found in the houses of the wealthier Greeks, the +poorer families being accustomed to prepare their food at the hearth in +the front apartment. The hall of reception lay at the other end of the +entrance-hall, and was in the form of a square, surrounded within by a +colonnade, into which various chambers opened. This was the apartment +devoted to the men, in the centre of which was the household fire, +burning on an altar-shaped hearth of rich AEginetan metal-work. + +It was lighted by an opening in the roof, which formed at the same time, +an outlet for the smoke. From this room (at the opposite end to that +on which it opened into the entrance-hall), a passage, closed by a +well-fastened door, led into the chamber of the women. This was also +surrounded by a colonnade within, but only on three sides, and here +the female inhabitants were accustomed to pass their time, when not +employed, spinning or weaving, in the rooms lying near the back or +garden-door as it was termed. Between these latter and the domestic +offices, which lay on the right and left of the women's apartment, were +the sleeping-rooms; these served also as places of security for the +valuables of the house. The walls of the men's apartment were painted of +a reddish-brown color, against which the outlines of some white marble +carvings, the gift of a Chian sculptor, stood out in sharp relief. +The floor was covered with rich carpets from Sardis; low cushions of +panthers' skins lay ranged along the colonnade; around the +artistically wrought hearth stood quaint Egyptian settees, and small, +delicately-carved tables of Thya wood, on which lay all kinds of musical +instruments, the flute, cithara and lyre. Numerous lamps of various +and singular shapes, filled with Kiki oil, hung against the walls. Some +represented fire-spouting dolphins; others, strange winged monsters from +whose jaws the flames issued; and these, blending their light with that +from the hearth, illumined the apartment. + +In this room a group of men were assembled, whose appearance and dress +differed one from the other. A Syrian from Tyre, in a long crimson robe, +was talking animatedly to a man whose decided features and crisp, curly, +black hair proclaimed him an Israelite. The latter had come to Egypt +to buy chariots and horses for Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah--the +Egyptian equipages being the most sought after at that time. Close to +him stood three Greeks from Asia Minor, the rich folds of whose +garments (for they wore the costly dress of their native city Miletus), +contrasted strongly with the plain and unadorned robe of Phryxus, the +deputy commissioned to collect money for the temple of Apollo at Delphi, +with whom they were in earnest conversation. Ten years before, the +ancient temple had been consumed by fire; and at this time efforts were +being made to build another, and a more beautiful one. + +Two of the Milesians, disciples of Anaximander and Anaximenes, were +staying then in Egypt, to study astronomy and the peculiar wisdom of +the Egyptians at Heliopolis, and the third was a wealthy merchant and +ship-owner, named Theopompus, who had settled at Naukratis. + + [Anaximander of Miletus, born 611-546, was a celebrated + geometrician, astronomer, philosopher and geographer. He was the + author of a book on natural phenomena, drew the first map of the + world on metal, and introduced into Greece a kind of clock which he + seems to have borrowed from the Babylonians. He supposes a primary + and not easily definable Being, by which the whole world is + governed, and in which, though in himself infinite and without + limits, everything material and circumscribed has its foundation. + "Chaotic matter" represents in his theory the germ of all created + things, from which water, earth, animals, nereids or fish-men, human + beings &c. have had their origin.] + +Rhodopis herself was engaged in a lively conversation with two Samian +Greeks: the celebrated worker in metals, sculptor and goldsmith +Theodorus, and the Iambic poet Ibykus of Rhegium, who had left the court +of Polykrates for a time in order to become acquainted with Egypt, and +were bearers of presents to Amasis from their ruler. Close to the fire +lay Philoinus of Sybaris, a corpulent man with strongly-marked features +and a sensual expression of face; he was stretched at full-length on a +couch covered with spotted furs, and amused himself by playing with his +scented curls wreathed with gold, and with the golden chains which fell +from his neck on to the long saffron-colored robe that clothed him down +to his feet. + + [Sybaris was a town in Lower Italy notorious throughout the ancient + world for its luxury. According to Strabo it was founded by + Achaeans 262. About 510 it was conquered and destroyed by the + Crotoniates and then rebuilt under the name of Thurii.] + +Rhodopis had a kind word for each of her guests, but at present she +occupied herself exclusively with the two celebrated Sarnians; their +talk was of art and poetry. The fire of youth still glowed in the eyes +of the Thracian woman, her tall figure was still full and unbent; +her hair, though grey, was wound round her beautifully formed head in +luxuriant waves, and laid together at the back in a golden net, and a +sparkling diadem shone above her lofty forehead. + +Her noble Greek features were pale, but still beautiful and without a +wrinkle, notwithstanding her great age; indeed her small mouth with its +full lips, her white teeth, her eyes so bright and yet so soft, and her +nobly-formed nose and forehead would have been beauty enough for a young +maiden. + +Rhodopis looked younger than she really was, though she made no attempt +to disavow her age. Matronly dignity was visible in every movement, and +the charm of her manner lay, not in a youthful endeavor to be pleasing, +but in the effort of age to please others, considering their wishes, and +at the same time demanding consideration in return. + +Our two friends now presenting themselves in the hall, every eye turned +upon them, and as Phanes entered leading his friend by the hand, the +heartiest welcome met him from all sides; one of the Milesians indeed +exclaimed: "Now I see what it is that was wanting to our assembly. There +can be no merriment without Phanes." + +And Philoinus, the Sybarite, raising his deep voice, but not allowing +himself for a moment to be disturbed in his repose, remarked: "Mirth +is a good thing, and if you bring that with you, be welcome to me also, +Athenian." + +"To me," said Rhodopis, turning to her new guests, "you are heartily +welcome, but not more in your joy than if borne down by sadness. I know +no greater pleasure than to remove the lines of care from a friend's +brow. Spartan, I venture to address you as a friend too, for the friends +of my friends are my own." Aristomachus bowed in silence, but Phanes, +addressing himself both to Rhodopis and to the Sybarite, answered: "Well +then, my friends, I can content you both. To you, Rhodopis, I must +come for comfort, for soon, too soon I must leave you and your pleasant +house; Philoinus however can still enjoy my mirth, as I cannot but +rejoice in the prospect of seeing my beloved Hellas once more, and +of quitting, even though involuntarily, this golden mouse-trap of a +country." + +"You are going away! you have been dismissed? Whither are you going?" +echoed on all sides. + +"Patience, patience, my friends," cried Phanes. "I have a long story +to tell, but I will rather reserve it for the evening meal. And indeed, +dear friend, my hunger is nearly as great as my distress at being +obliged to leave you." + +"Hunger is a good thing," philosophized the Sybarite once more, "when a +man has a good meal in prospect." + +"On that point you may be at ease, Philoinus," answered Rhodopis. "I +told the cook to do his utmost, for the most celebrated epicure from +the most luxurious city in the world, no less a person than Philoinus +of Sybaris, would pass a stern judgment on his delicate dishes. +Go, Knakias, tell them to serve the supper. Are you content now, my +impatient guests? As for me, since I heard Phanes' mournful news, the +pleasure of the meal is gone." The Athenian bowed, and the Sybarite +returned to his philosophy. "Contentment is a good thing when every wish +can be satisfied. I owe you thanks, Rhodopis, for your appreciation of +my incomparable native city. What says Anakreon? + + "To-day is ours--what do we fear? + To-day is ours--we have it here. + Let's treat it kindly, that it may + Wish at least with us to stay. + Let's banish business, banish sorrow; + To the gods belongs to-morrow." + +"Eh! Ibykus, have I quoted your friend the poet correctly, who feasts +with you at Polykrates' banquets? Well, I think I may venture to say of +my own poor self that if Anakreon can make better verses, I understand +the art of living quite as well as he, though he writes so many poems +upon it. Why, in all his songs there is not one word about the pleasures +of the table! Surely they are as important as love and play! I confess +that the two last are clear to me also; still, I could exist without +them, though in a miserable fashion, but without food, where should we +be?" + +The Sybarite broke into a loud laugh at his own joke; but the Spartan +turned away from this conversation, drew Phryxus into a corner, and +quite abandoning his usually quiet and deliberate manner, asked eagerly +whether he had at last brought him the long wished for answer from the +Oracle. The serious features of the Delphian relaxed, and thrusting +his hand into the folds of his chiton,--[An undergarment resembling a +shirt.]--he drew out a little roll of parchment-like sheepskin, on which +a few lines were written. + +The hands of the brave, strong Spartan trembled as he seized the roll, +and his fixed gaze on its characters was as if it would pierce the skin +on which they were inscribed. + +Then, recollecting himself, he shook his head sadly and said: "We +Spartans have to learn other arts than reading and writing; if thou +canst, read the what Pythia says." + +The Delphian glanced over the writing and replied: "Rejoice! Loxias +(Apollo) promises thee a happy return home; hearken to the prediction of +the priestess." + + "If once the warrior hosts from the snow-topped mountains descending + Come to the fields of the stream watering richly the plain, + Then shall the lingering boat to the beckoning meadows convey thee + Which to the wandering foot peace and a home will afford. + When those warriors come, from the snow-topped mountains descending, + Then will the powerful Five grant thee what long they refused." + +To these words the Spartan listened with intense eagerness; he had them +read over to him twice, then repeated them from memory, thanked Phryxus, +and placed the roll within the folds of his garment. + +The Delphian then took part in the general conversation, but +Aristomachus repeated the words of the Oracle unceasingly to himself in +a low voice, endeavoring to impress them on his memory, and to interpret +their obscure import. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +The doors of the supper-room now flew open. Two lovely, fair-haired +boys, holding myrtle-wreaths, stood on each side of the entrance, and +in the middle of the room was a large, low, brilliantly polished table, +surrounded by inviting purple cushions. + + [It was most probably usual for each guest to have his own little + table; but we read even in Homer of large tables on which the meals + were served up. In the time of Homer people sat at table, but the + recumbent position became universal in later times.] + +Rich nosegays adorned this table, and on it were placed large joints +of roast meat, glasses and dishes of various shapes filled with dates, +figs, pomegranates, melons and grapes, little silver beehives containing +honey, and plates of embossed copper, on which lay delicate cheese +from the island of Trinakria. In the midst was a silver table-ornament, +something similar to an altar, from which arose fragrant clouds of +incense. + +At the extreme end of the table stood the glittering silver cup in which +the wine was to be mixed. + + [The Greeks were not accustomed to drink unmingled wine. Zaleukus + forbade to all citizens the pure juice of the grape under penalty of + death, and Solon under very severe penalties, unless required as + medicine. The usual mixture was composed of three-fifths water to + two-fifths wine.] + +This was of beautiful AEginetan workmanship, its crooked handles +representing two giants, who appeared ready to sink under the weight of +the bowl which they sustained. + +Like the altar, it was enwreathed with flowers, and a garland of roses +or myrtle had been twined around the goblet of each guest. + +The entire floor was strewed with rose-leaves, and the room lighted by +many lamps which were hung against the smooth, white, stucco walls. + +No sooner were the guests reclining on their cushions, than the +fair-haired boys reappeared, wound garlands of ivy and myrtle around the +heads and shoulders of the revellers, and washed their feet in silver +basins. The Sybarite, though already scented with all the perfumes of +Arabia, would not rest until he was completely enveloped in roses and +myrtle, and continued to occupy the two boys even after the carver had +removed the first joints from the table in order to cut them up; but +as soon as the first course, tunny-fish with mustard-sauce, had been +served, he forgot all subordinate matters, and became absorbed in the +enjoyment of the delicious viands. + +Rhodopis, seated on a chair at the head of the table, near the +wine-bowl, not only led the conversation, but gave directions to the +slaves in waiting. + + [The women took their meals sitting. The Greeks, like the + Egyptians, had chairs with backs and arms. The form of the solia or + throne has become familiar to us from the discoveries at Pompeii and + the representations of many gods and distinguished persons. It had + a high, almost straight back, and supports for the arms.] + +She gazed on her cheerful guests with a kind of pride, and seemed to be +devoting her attention to each exclusively, now asking the Delphian +how he had succeeded in his mission, then the Sybarite whether he was +content with the performances of her cook, and then listening eagerly +to Ibykus, as he told how the Athenian, Phrynichus, had introduced the +religious dramas of Thespis of Ikaria into common life, and was now +representing entire histories from the past by means of choruses, +recitative and answer. + +Then she turned to the Spartan, remarking, that to him alone of all her +guests, instead of an apology for the simplicity of the meal, she felt +she owed one for its luxury. The next time he came, her slave Knakias, +who, as an escaped Helot, boasted that he could cook a delicious +blood-soup (here the Sybarite shuddered), should prepare him a true +Lacedaemonian repast. + +When the guests had eaten sufficiently they again washed their hands; +the plates and dishes were removed, the floor cleansed, and wine and +water poured into the bowl. + + [The Symposium began after the real meal. Not till that was over + did the guests usually adorn themselves with wreaths, wash their + hands with Smegma or Smema (a kind of soap) and begin to drink.] + +At last, when Rhodopis had convinced herself that the right moment was +come, she turned to Phanes, who was engaged in a discussion with the +Milesians, and thus addressed him: + +"Noble friend, we have restrained our impatience so long that it must +surely now be your duty to tell us what evil chance is threatening to +snatch you from Egypt and from our circle. You may be able to leave us +and this country with a light heart, for the gods are wont to bless +you Ionians with that precious gift from your very birth, but we shall +remember you long and sadly. I know of no worse loss than that of a +friend tried through years, indeed some of us have lived too long on the +Nile not to have imbibed a little of the constant, unchanging Egyptian +temperament. You smile, and yet I feel sure that long as you have +desired to revisit your dear Hellas, you will not be able to leave us +quite without regret. Ah, you admit this? Well, I knew I had not been +deceived. But now tell us why you are obliged to leave Egypt, that we +may consider whether it may not be possible to get the king's decree +reversed, and so keep you with us." + +Phanes smiled bitterly, and replied: "Many thanks, Rhodopis, for these +flattering words, and for the kind intention either to grieve over my +departure, or if possible, to prevent it. A hundred new faces will soon +help you to forget mine, for long as you have lived on the Nile, you are +still a Greek from the crown of the head to the sole of the foot, and +may thank the gods that you have remained so. I am a great friend of +constancy too, but quite as great an enemy of folly, and is there +one among you who would not call it folly to fret over what cannot be +undone? I cannot call the Egyptian constancy a virtue, it is a delusion. +The men who treasure their dead for thousands of years, and would rather +lose their last loaf than allow a single bone belonging to one of their +ancestors to be taken from them, are not constant, they are foolish. Can +it possibly make me happy to see my friends sad? Certainly not! You must +not imitate the Egyptians, who, when they lose a friend, spend months +in daily-repeated lamentations over him. On the contrary, if you will +sometimes think of the distant, I ought to say, of the departed, friend, +(for as long as I live I shall never be permitted to tread Egyptian +ground again), let it be with smiling faces; do not cry, 'Ah! why was +Phanes forced to leave us?' but rather, 'Let us be merry, as Phanes used +to be when he made one of our circle!' In this way you must celebrate my +departure, as Simonides enjoined when he sang: + + "If we would only be more truly wise, + We should not waste on death our tears and sighs, + Nor stand and mourn o'er cold and lifeless clay + More than one day. + + For Death, alas! we have no lack of time; + But Life is gone, when scarcely at its prime, + And is e'en, when not overfill'd with care + But short and bare!" + +"If we are not to weep for the dead, how much less ought we to grieve +for absent friends! the former have left us for ever, but to the latter +we say at parting, 'Farewell, until we meet again'" + +Here the Sybarite, who had been gradually becoming more and more +impatient, could not keep silent any longer, and called out in the most +woe begone tone: "Will you never begin your story, you malicious fellow? +I cannot drink a single drop till you leave off talking about death. I +feel cold already, and I am always ill, if I only think of, nay, if I +only hear the subject mentioned, that this life cannot last forever." +The whole company burst into a laugh, and Phanes began to tell his +story: + +"You know that at Sais I always live in the new palace; but at Memphis, +as commander of the Greek body-guard which must accompany the king +everywhere, a lodging was assigned me in the left wing of the old +palace. + +"Since Psamtik the First, Sais has always been the royal residence, +and the other palaces have in consequence become somewhat neglected. My +dwelling was really splendidly situated, and beautifully furnished; it +would have been first-rate, if, from the first moment of my entrance, a +fearful annoyance had not made its appearance. + +"In the day-time, when I was seldom at home, my rooms were all that +could be wished, but at night it was impossible to sleep for the +tremendous noise made by thousands of rats and mice under the old +floors, and couches, and behind the hangings. + +"Even in the first night an impudent mouse ran over my face. + +"I was quite at a loss what to do, till an Egyptian soldier sold me two +large cats, and these, in the course of many weeks, procured me some +rest from my tormentors. + +"Now, you are probably all aware that one of the charming laws of this +most eccentric nation, (whose culture and wisdom, you, my Milesian +friends, cannot sufficiently praise), declares the cat to be a sacred +animal. Divine honors are paid to these fortunate quadrupeds as well as +to many other animals, and he who kills a cat is punished with the same +severity as the murderer of a human being." + +Till now Rhodopis had been smiling, but when she perceived that Phanes' +banishment had to do with his contempt for the sacred animals, her face +became more serious. She knew how many victims, how many human lives, +had already been sacrificed to this Egyptian superstition, and how, only +a short time before, the king Amasis himself had endeavored in vain to +rescue an unfortunate Samian, who had killed a cat, from the vengeance +of the enraged populace. + + [The cat was probably the most sacred of all the animals worshipped + by the Egyptians. Herod tells that when a house was on fire the + Egyptians never thought of extinguishing the fire until their cats + were all saved, and that when a cat died, they shaved their heads in + sign of mourning. Whoever killed one of these animals, whether + intentionally or by accident, suffered the penalty, of death, + without any chance of mercy. Diod. (I. 81.) himself witnessed the + murder of a Roman citizen who had killed a cat, by the Egyptian + people; and this in spite of the authorities, who in fear of the + powerful Romans, endeavored to prevent the deed. The bodies of the + cats were carefully embalmed and buried, and their mummies are to be + found in every museum. The embalmed cat, carefully wrapped in linen + bandages, is oftener to be met with than any other of the many + animals thus preserved by the Egyptians. In spite of the great care + bestowed on cats, there can have been no lack of mice in Egypt. In + one nomos or province the shrew-mouse was sacred, and a satirical, + obscene papyrus in Turin shows us a war between the cats and mice; + the Papyrus Ebers contains poisons for mice. We ourselves possess a + shrew-mouse exquisitely wrought in bronze.] + +"Everything was going well," continued the officer, "when we left +Memphis two years ago. + +"I confided my pair of cats to the care of one of the Egyptian servants +at the palace, feeling sure that these enemies of the rats would keep +my dwelling clear for the future; indeed I began to feel a certain +veneration for my deliverers from the plague of mice. + +"Last year Amasis fell ill before the court could adjourn to Memphis, +and we remained at Sais. + +"At last, about six week ago, we set out for the city of the Pyramids. I +betook me to my old quarters; not the shadow of a mouse's tail was to be +seen there, but instead, they swarmed with another race of animals not +one whit dearer to me than their predecessors. The pair of cats had, +during my two years' absence, increased twelve-fold. I tried all in my +power to dislodge this burdensome brood of all ages and colors, but +in vain; every night my sleep was disturbed by horrible choruses of +four-footed animals, and feline war-cries and songs. + +"Every year, at the period of the Bubastis festival, all superfluous +cats may be brought to the temple of the cat-headed goddess Pacht, where +they are fed and cared for, or, as I believe, when they multiply too +fast, quietly put out of the way. These priests are knaves! + +"Unfortunately the journey to the said temple" did not occur during the +time of our stay in Memphis; however, as I really could not tolerate +this army of tormentors any longer, I determined at least to get rid +of two families of healthy kittens with which their mothers had just +presented me. My old slave Mus, from his very name a natural enemy of +cats, was told to kill the little creatures, put them into a sack, and +throw them into the Nile. + +"This murder was necessary, as the mewing of the kittens would otherwise +have betrayed the contents of the sack to the palace-warders. In the +twilight poor Muss betook himself to the Nile through the grove of +Hathor, with his perilous burden. But alas! the Egyptian attendant who +was in the habit of feeding my cats, had noticed that two families of +kittens were missing, and had seen through our whole plan. + +"My slave took his way composedly through the great avenue of Sphinxes, +and by the temple of Ptah, holding the little bag concealed under +his mantle. Already in the sacred grove he noticed that he was being +followed, but on seeing that the men behind him stopped before the +temple of Ptah and entered into conversation with the priests, he felt +perfectly reassured and went on. + +"He had already reached the bank of the Nile, when he heard voices +calling him and a number of people running towards him in haste; at the +same moment a stone whistled close by his head. + +"Mus at once perceived the danger which was threatening him. Summoning +all his strength he rushed down to the Nile, flung the bag in, and then +with a beating heart, but as he imagined without the slightest evidence +of guilt, remained standing on the shore. A few moments later he was +surrounded by at least a hundred priests. + +"Even the high-priest of Ptah, my old enemy Ptahotep, had not disdained +to follow the pursuers in person. + +"Many of the latter, and amongst them the perfidious palace-servant, +rushed at once into the Nile, and there, to our confusion, found the +bag with its twelve little corpses, hanging entirely uninjured among the +Papyrus-reeds and bean-tendrils. The cotton coffin was opened before +the eyes of the high-priest, a troop of lower priests, and at least a +thousand of the inhabitants of Memphis, who had hurried to the spot, +and when the miserable contents were disclosed, there arose such fearful +howls of anguish, and such horrible cries of mingled lamentation and +revenge, that I heard them even in the palace. + +"The furious multitude, in their wild rage, fell on my poor servant, +threw him down, trampled on him and would have killed him, had not +the all-powerful high-priest-designing to involve me, as author of the +crime, in the same ruin--commanded them to cease and take the wretched +malefactor to prison. + +"Half an hour later I was in prison too. + +"My old Mus took all the guilt of the crime on himself, until at last, +by means of the bastinado, the high-priest forced him to confess that +I had ordered the killing of the kittens, and that he, as a faithful +servant, had not dared to disobey. + +"The supreme court of justice, whose decisions the king himself has no +power to reverse, is composed of priests from Memphis, Heliopolis and +Thebes: you can therefore easily believe that they had no scruple in +pronouncing sentence of death on poor Mus and my own unworthy Greek +self. The slave was pronounced guilty of two capital offences: first, +of the murder of the sacred animals, and secondly, of a twelve-fold +pollution of the Nile through dead bodies. I was condemned as originator +of this, (as they termed it) four-and-twenty-fold crime. + + [According to the Egyptian law, the man who was cognizant of a crime + was held equally culpable with the perpetrator.] + +"Mus was executed on the same day. May the earth rest lightly on him! +I shall never think of him again as my slave, but as a friend and +benefactor! My sentence of death was read aloud in the presence of +his dead body, and I was already preparing for a long journey into the +nether world, when the king sent and commanded a reprieve. + + [This court of justice, which may be compared with the Areopagus at + Athens, and the Gerusia at Sparta, (Diod. I, 75.), was composed of + 30 judges taken from the priestly caste, (10 from Heliopolis, 10 + from Memphis, 10 from Thebes). The most eminent from among their + number was chosen by them as president. All complaints and defences + had to be presented in writing, that the judges might in no way be + influenced by word or gesture. This tribunal was independent, even + of the king's authority. Much information concerning the + administration of justice has been obtained from the Papyrus Abbott, + known by the name of the 'Papyrus judiciaire'. Particulars and an + account of their literature may be found in Ebers "Durch Gosen zum + Sinai," p. 534 and following.] + +"I was taken back to prison. One of my guards, an Arcadian Taxiarch, +told me that all the officers of the guard and many of the soldiers, +(altogether four thousand men) had threatened to send in their +resignation, unless I, their commander, were pardoned. + +"As it was beginning to grow dusk I was taken to the king. + +"He received me graciously, confirmed the Taxiarch's statement with +his own mouth, and said how grieved he should be to lose a commander so +generally beloved. I must confess that I owe Amasis no grudge for his +conduct to me, on the contrary I pity him. You should have heard how he, +the powerful king, complained that he could never act according to his +own wishes, that even in his most private affairs he was crossed and +compromised by the priests and their influence. + + [See the parallel in the history of 2000 years later in the reigns + of Henry III. and IV. confronting the Jesuit influence, finally + culminating in assassination. D.W.] + +"Had it only depended on himself, he could easily have pardoned the +transgression of a law, which I, as a foreigner, could not be expected +to understand, and might (though unjustly) esteem as a foolish +superstition. But for the sake of the priests he dare not leave me +unpunished. The lightest penalty he could inflict must be banishment +from Egypt. + +"He concluded his complaint with these words: 'You little know what +concessions I must make to the priests in order to obtain your pardon. +Why, our supreme court of justice is independent even of me, its king!' + +"And thus I received my dismissal, after having taken a solemn oath to +leave Memphis that very day, and Egypt, at latest, in three weeks. + +"At the palace-gate I met Psamtik, the crown-prince. He has long been my +enemy, on account of some vexatious matters which I cannot divulge, (you +know them, Rhodopis). I was going to offer him my parting salutation, +but he turned his back upon me, saying: Once more you have escaped +punishment, Athenian; but you cannot elude my vengeance. Whithersoever +you may go, I shall be able to find you!'--'That remains to be proved,' +I answered, and putting myself and my possessions on board a boat, came +to Naukratis. Here, by good fortune, I met my old friend Aristomachus of +Sparta, who, as he was formerly in command of the Cyprian troops, will +most likely be nominated my successor. I should rejoice to know that +such a first-rate man was going to take my place, if I did not at the +same time fear that his eminent services will make my own poor efforts +seem even more insignificant than they really were." + +But here he was interrupted by Aristomachus, who called out: "Praise +enough, friend Phanes! Spartan tongues are stiff; but if you should +ever stand in need of my help, I will give you an answer in deeds, which +shall strike the right nail on the head." + +Rhodopis smiled her approval, and giving her hand to each, said: +"Unfortunately, the only conclusion to be drawn from your story, my poor +Phanes, is that you cannot possibly remain any longer in this country. I +will not blame you for your thoughtlessness, though you might have known +that you were exposing yourself to great danger for a mere trifle. +The really wise and brave man never undertakes a hazardous enterprise, +unless the possible advantage and disadvantage that may accrue to him +from it can be reckoned at least as equal. Recklessness is quite as +foolish, but not so blamable as cowardice, for though both do the man an +injury, the latter alone can dishonor him. + +"Your thoughtlessness, this time, has very nearly cost your life, a life +dear to many, and which you ought to save for a nobler end. We cannot +attempt to keep you here; we should thereby only injure ourselves +without benefitting you. This noble Spartan must now take your place as +head and representative of the Greek nation at the Egyptian court, must +endeavor to protect us against the encroachment of the priests, and to +retain for us the royal favor. I take your hand, Aristomachus, and +will not let it go till you have promised that you will protect, to the +utmost of your power, every Greek, however humble, (as Phanes did before +you), from the insolence of the Egyptians, and will sooner resign your +office than allow the smallest wrong done to a Hellene to go unpunished. +We are but a few thousands among millions of enemies, but through +courage we are great, and unity must keep us strong. Hitherto the Greeks +in Egypt have lived like brothers; each has been ready to offer himself +for the good of all, and all for each, and it is just this unity that +has made us, and must keep us, powerful. + +"Oh! could we but bestow this precious gift on our mother-country and +her colonies! would the tribes of our native land but forget their +Dorian, Ionian or AEolian descent, and, contenting themselves with the +one name of Hellenes, live as the children of one family, as the sheep +of one flock,--then indeed we should be strong against the whole world, +and Hellas would be recognized by all nations as the Queen of the +Earth!" + + [This longing desire for unity was by no means foreign to the + Greeks, though we seldom hear it expressed. Aristotle, for example, + says VII. 7.: "Were the Hellenes united into one state, they could + command all the barbarous nations."] + +A fire glowed in the eyes of the grey-haired woman as she uttered these +words; and the Spartan, grasping her hand impetuously and stamping on +the floor with his wooden leg, cried: "By Zeus, I will not let a hair +of their heads be hurt; but thou, Rhodopis, thou art worthy to have been +born a Spartan woman." + +"Or an Athenian," cried Phanes. + +"An Ionian," said the Milesians, and the sculptor: "A daughter of the +Samian Geomori--" + +"But I am more, far more, than all these," cried the enthusiastic woman. +"I am a Hellene!" + +The whole company, even to the Jew and the Syrian, were carried away by +the intense feeling of the moment; the Sybarite alone remained +unmoved, and, with his mouth so full as to render the words almost +unintelligible, said: + +"You deserve to be a Sybarite too, Rhodopis, for your roast beef is the +best I have tasted since I left Italy, and your Anthylla wine' relishes +almost as well as Vesuvian or Chian!" + +Every one laughed, except the Spartan, who darted a look of indignation +and contempt at the epicure. + +In this moment a deep voice, hitherto unknown to us, shouted suddenly +through the window, "A glad greeting to you, my friends!" + +"A glad greeting," echoed the chorus of revellers, questioning and +guessing who this late arrival might prove to be. + +They had not long to wait, for even before the Sybarite had had time +carefully to test and swallow another mouthful of wine, the speaker, +Kallias, the son of Phaenippus of Athens, was already standing by the +side of Rhodopis. He was a tall thin man of over sixty, with a head of +that oval form which gives the impression of refinement and intellect. +One of the richest among the Athenian exiles, he had twice bought the +possessions of Pisistratus from the state, and twice been obliged to +surrender them, on the tyrant's return to power. Looking round with his +clear keen eyes on this circle of acquaintances, he exchanged friendly +greetings with all, and exclaimed: + +"If you do not set a high value on my appearance among you this evening, +I shall think that gratitude has entirely disappeared from the earth." + +"We have been expecting you a long time," interrupted one of the +Milesians. "You are the first man to bring us news of the Olympic +games!" + +"And we could wish no better bearer of such news than the victor +of former days?" added Rhodopis. "Take your seat," cried Phanes +impatiently, "and come to the point with your news at once, friend +Kallias." + +"Immediately, fellow-countryman," answered the other. "It is some time +ago now since I left Olympia. I embarked at Cenchreae in a fifty-oared +Samian vessel, the best ship that ever was built. + +"It does not surprise me that I am the first Greek to arrive in +Naukratis. We encountered terrific storms at sea, and could not have +escaped with our lives, if the big-bellied Samian galley, with her Ibis +beak and fish's tail had not been so splendidly timbered and manned. + +"How far the other homeward-bound passengers may have been driven out +of their course, I cannot tell; we found shelter in the harbor of Samos, +and were able to put to sea again after ten days. + +"We ran into the mouth of the Nile this morning. I went on board my own +bark at once, and was so favored by Boreas, who at least at the end of +my voyage, seemed willing to prove that he still felt kindly towards his +old Kallias, that I caught sight of this most friendly of all houses a +few moments since. I saw the waving flag, the brightly lighted windows, +and debated within myself whether to enter or not; but Rhodopis, your +fascination proved irresistible, and besides, I was bursting with all +my untold news, longing to share your feast, and to tell you, over the +viands and the wine, things that you have not even allowed yourselves to +dream of." + +Kallias settled himself comfortably on one of the cushions, and before +beginning to tell his news, produced and presented to Rhodopis a +magnificent gold bracelet in the form of a serpent's, which he had +bought for a large sum at Samos, in the goldsmith's workshop of the very +Theodorus who was now sitting with him at table. + +"This I have brought for you,"' he said, turning to the delighted +Rhodopis, "but for you, friend Phanes, I have something still better. +Guess, who won the four-horse chariot-race?" + +"An Athenian?" asked Phanes, and his face glowed with excitement; for +the victory gained by one citizen at the Olympic games belonged to his +whole people, and the Olympic olive-branch was the greatest honor and +happiness that could fall to the lot, either of a single Hellene, or an +entire Greek tribe. + +"Rightly guessed, Phanes!" cried the bringer of this joyful news, "The +first prize has been carried off by an Athenian; and not only so, your +own cousin Cimon, the son of Kypselos, the brother of that Miltiades, +who, nine Olympiads ago, earned us the same honor, is the man who has +conquered this year; and with the same steeds that gained him the prize +at the last games. + + [The second triumph won by the steeds of Cimon must have taken + place, as Duneker correctly remarks, about the year 528. The same + horses won the race for the third time at the next Olympic games, + consequently four years later. As token of his gratitude Cimon + caused a monument to be erected in their honor in "the hollow way" + near Athens. We may here remind our readers that the Greeks made + use of the Olympic games to determine the date of each year. They + took place every four years. The first was fixed 776 B. C. Each + separate year was named the 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th of such or such an + Olympiad.] + +"The fame of the Alkmaeonidae is, verily, darkening more and more before +the Philaidae. Are not you proud, Phanes? do not you feel joy at the +glory of your family?" + +In his delight Phanes had risen from his seat, and seemed suddenly to +have increased in stature by a whole head. + +With a look of ineffable pride and consciousness of his own position, +he gave his hand to the messenger of victory. The latter, embracing his +countryman, continued: + +"Yes, we have a right to feel proud and happy, Phanes; you especially, +for no sooner had the judges unanimously awarded the prize to Cimon, +than he ordered the heralds to proclaim the tyrant Pisistratus as +the owner of the splendid team, and therefore victor in the race. +Pisistratus at once caused it to be announced that your family was free +to return to Athens, and so now, Phanes, the long-wished for hour of +your return home is awaiting you." + +But at these words Phanes turned pale, his look of conscious pride +changed into one of indignation, and he exclaimed: + +"At this I am to rejoice, foolish Kallias? rather bid me weep that a +descendant of Ajax should be capable of laying his well-won fame thus +ignominiously at a tyrant's feet! No! I swear by Athene, by Father Zeus, +and by Apollo, that I will sooner starve in foreign lands than take one +step homeward, so long as the Pisistratidae hold my country in bondage. +When I leave the service of Amasis, I shall be free, free as a bird in +the air; but I would rather be the slave of a peasant in foreign lands, +than hold the highest office under Pisistratus. The sovereign power in +Athens belongs to us, its nobles; but Cimon by laying his chaplet at the +feet of Pisistratus has acknowledged the tyrants, and branded himself as +their servant. He shall hear that Phanes cares little for the tyrant's +clemency. I choose to remain an exile till my country is free, till her +nobles and people govern themselves, and dictate their own laws. Phanes +will never do homage to the oppressor, though all the Philaidae, the +Alkmaeonidae, and even the men of your own house, Kallias, the rich +Daduchi, should fall down at his feet!" + +With flashing eyes he looked round on the assembly; Kallias too +scrutinized the faces of the guests with conscious pride, as if he would +say: + +"See, friends, the kind of men produced by my glorious country!" + +Taking the hand of Phanes again, he said to him: "The tyrants are as +hateful to me as to you, my friend; but I have seen, that, so long +as Pisistratus lives, the tyranny cannot be overthrown. His allies, +Lygdamis of Naxos and Polykrates of Samos, are powerful; but the +greatest danger for our freedom lies in his own moderation and prudence. +During my recent stay in Greece I saw with alarm that the mass of the +people in Athens love their oppressor like a father. Notwithstanding +his great power, he leaves the commonwealth in the enjoyment of Solon's +constitution. He adorns the city with the most magnificent buildings. +They say that the new temple of Zeus, now being built of glorious marble +by Kallaeschrus, Antistates and Porinus (who must be known to you, +Theodorus), will surpass every building that has yet been erected by the +Hellenes. He understands how to attract poets and artists of all kinds +to Athens, he has had the poems of Homer put into writing, and the +prophecies of Musaeus collected by Onomakritus. He lays out new streets +and arranges fresh festivals; trade flourishes under his rule, and the +people find themselves well off, in spite of the many taxes laid upon +them. But what are the people? a vulgar multitude who, like the gnats, +fly towards every thing brilliant, and, so long as the taper burns, will +continue to flutter round it, even though they burn their wings in doing +so. Let Pisistratus' torch burn out, Phanes, and I'll swear that the +fickle crowd will flock around the returning nobles, the new light, just +as they now do around the tyrant. + +"Give me your hand once more, you true son of Ajax; for you, my friends, +I have still many an interesting piece of news untold. + +"The chariot-race, as I have just related, was won by Cimon who gave +the olive-branch to Pisistratus. Four finer horses than his I never +saw. Arkesilaus of Cyrene, Kleosthenes of Epidamnus, Aster of Sybaris, +Hekataeus of Miletus and many more had also sent splendid teams. Indeed +the games this time were more than brilliant. All Hellas had sent +deputies. Rhoda of the Ardeates, in distant Iberia, the wealthy +Tartessus, Sinope in the far East on the shores of Pontus, in short, +every tribe that could boast of Hellenic descent was well represented. +The Sybarite deputies were of a dazzling beauty; the Spartans, homely +and simple, but handsome as Achilles, tall and strong as Hercules; the +Athenians remarkable for their supple limbs and graceful movements, +and the men of Crotona were led by Milo, strongest of mortal birth. The +Samian and Milesian deputies vied in splendor and gorgeousness of attire +with those from Corinth and Mitylene: the flower of the Greek youth was +assembled there, and, in the space allotted to spectators, were seated, +not only men of every age, class and nation, but many virgins, fair and +lovely maidens, who had come to Olympia, more especially from Sparta, +in order to encourage the men during the games by their acclamations and +applause. The market was set up beyond the Alphaeus, and there traders +from all parts of the world were to be seen; Greeks, Carthaginians, +Lydians, Phrygians and shrewd Phoenicians from Palestine settled weighty +business transactions, or offered their goods to the public from tents +and booths. But how can I possibly describe to you the surging throngs +of the populace, the echoing choruses, the smoking festal hecatombs, the +bright and variegated costumes, the sumptuousness of the equipages, the +clang of the different dialects and the joyful cries of friends meeting +again after years of separation; or the splendid appearance of the +envoys, the crowds of lookers-on and venders of small wares, the +brilliant effect produced by the masses of spectators, who filled to +overflowing the space allotted to them, the eager suspense during the +progress of the games, and the never ending shouts of joy when the +victory was decided; the solemn investiture with the olive-branch, +cut with a golden knife by the Elean boy, (whose parents must both be +living), from the sacred tree in the Altis planted so many centuries ago +by Hercules himself; or lastly, the prolonged acclamations which, +like peals of thunder, resounded in the Stadium, when Milo of Crotona +appeared, bearing on his shoulders the bronze statue of himself cast by +Dameas, and carried it through the Stadium into the Altis without once +tottering. The weight of the metal would have crushed a bull to the +earth: but borne by Milo it seemed like a child in the arms of its +Lacedaemonian nurse. + +"The highest honors (after Cimon's) were adjudged to a pair of Spartan +brothers, Lysander and Maro, the sons of Aristomachus. Maro was victor +in the foot race, but Lysander presented himself, amidst the shouts of +the spectators, as the opponent of Milo! Milo the invincible, victor +at Pisa, and in the Pythian and Isthmian combats. Milo was taller and +stouter than the Spartan, who was formed like Apollo, and seemed from +his great youth scarcely to have passed from under the hands of the +schoolmaster. + +"In their naked beauty, glistening with the golden oil, the youth +and the man stood opposite to one another, like a panther and a lion +preparing for the combat. Before the onset, the young Lysander raised +his hands imploringly to the gods, crying: 'For my father, my honor, +and the glory of Sparta!' The Crotonian looked down on the youth with +a smile of superiority; just as an epicure looks at the shell of the +languste he is preparing to open. + +"And now the wrestling began. For some time neither could succeed in +grasping the other. The Crotonian threw almost irresistible weight into +his attempts to lay hold of his opponent, but the latter slipped through +the iron grip like a snake. This struggle to gain a hold lasted long, +and the immense multitude watched silently, breathless from excitement. +Not a sound was to be heard but the groans of the wrestlers and the +singing of the nightingales in the grove of the Altis. At last, the +youth succeeded, by means of the cleverest trick I ever saw, in clasping +his opponent firmly. For a long time, Milo exerted all his strength +to shake him oft, but in vain, and the sand of the Stadium was freely +moistened by the great drops of sweat, the result of this Herculean +struggle. + +"More and more intense waxed the excitement of the spectators, deeper +and deeper the silence, rarer the cries of encouragement, and louder +the groans of the wrestlers. At last Lysander's strength gave way. +Immediately a thousand voices burst forth to cheer him on. He roused +himself and made one last superhuman effort to throw his adversary: +but it was too late. Milo had perceived the momentary weakness. Taking +advantage of it, he clasped the youth in a deadly embrace; a full black +stream of blood welled from Lysander's beautiful lips, and he sank +lifeless to the earth from the wearied arms of the giant. Democedes, the +most celebrated physician of our day, whom you Samians will have known +at the court of Polycrates, hastened to the spot, but no skill could now +avail the happy Lysander,--he was dead. + +"Milo was obliged to forego the victor's wreath"; and the fame of this +youth will long continue to sound through the whole of Greece. + + [By the laws of the games the wrestler, whose adversary died, had no + right to the prize of victory.] + +I myself would rather be the dead Lysander, son of Aristomachus, than +the living Kallias growing old in inaction away from his country. +Greece, represented by her best and bravest, carried the youth to his +grave, and his statue is to be placed in the Altis by those of Milo of +Crotona and Praxidamas of AEgina". At length the heralds proclaimed the +sentence of the judges: 'To Sparta be awarded a victor's wreath for the +dead, for the noble Lysander hath been vanquished, not by Milo, but by +Death, and he who could go forth unconquered from a two hours' struggle +with the strongest of all Greeks, hath well deserved the olive-branch.'" + +Here Kallias stopped a moment in his narrative. During his animated +description of these events, so precious to every Greek heart, he had +forgotten his listeners, and, gazing into vacancy, had seen only the +figures of the wrestlers as they rose before his remembrance. Now, on +looking round, he perceived, to his astonishment, that the grey-haired +man with the wooden leg, whom he had already noticed, though without +recognizing him, had hidden his face in his hands and was weeping. +Rhodopis was standing at his right hand. Phanes at his left, and the +other guests were gazing at the Spartan, as if he had been the hero of +Kallias's tale. In a moment the quick Athenian perceived that the aged +man must stand in some very near relation to one or other of the victors +at Olympia; but when he heard that he was Aristomachus-the father of +that glorious pair of brothers, whose wondrous forms were constantly +hovering before his eyes like visions sent down from the abodes of the +gods, then he too gazed on the sobbing old man with mingled envy and +admiration, and made no effort to restrain the tears which rushed into +his own eyes, usually so clear and keen. In those days men wept, as well +as women, hoping to gain relief from the balm of their own tears. In +wrath, in ecstasy of delight, in every deep inward anguish, we find the +mighty heroes weeping, while, on the other hand, the Spartan boys would +submit to be scourged at the altar of Artemis Orthia, and would bleed +and even die under the lash without uttering a moan, in order to obtain +the praise of the men. + +For a time every one remained silent, out of respect to the old man's +emotion. But at last the stillness was broken by Joshua the Jew, who +began thus, in broken Greek: + +"Weep thy fill, O man of Sparta! I also have known what it is to lose +a son. Eleven years have passed since I buried him in the land of +strangers, by the waters of Babylon, where my people pined in captivity. +Had yet one year been added unto the life of the beautiful child, he +had died in his own land, and had been buried in the sepulchres of his +fathers. But Cyrus the Persian (Jehovah bless his posterity!) released +us from bondage one year too late, and therefore do I weep doubly for +this my son, in that he is buried among the enemies of my people Israel. +Can there be an evil greater than to behold our children, who are unto +us as most precious treasure, go down into the grave before us? And, may +the Lord be gracious unto me, to lose so noble a son, in the dawn of his +early manhood, just at the moment he had won such brilliant renown, must +indeed be a bitter grief, a grief beyond all others!" + +Then the Spartan took away his hands from before his face; he was +looking stern, but smiled through his tears, and answered: + +"Phoenician, you err! I weep not for anguish, but for joy, and would +have gladly lost my other son, if he could have died like my Lysander." + +The Jew, horrified at these, to him, sinful and unnatural words, shook +his head disapprovingly; but the Greeks overwhelmed the old man with +congratulations, deeming him much to be envied. His great happiness +made Aristomachus look younger by many years, and he cried to Rhodopis: +"Truly, my friend, your house is for me a house of blessing; for this +is the second gift that the gods have allowed to fall to my lot, since +I entered it."--"What was the first?" asked Rhodopis. "A propitious +oracle."--"But," cried Phanes, "you have forgotten the third; on this +day the gods have blessed you with the acquaintance of Rhodopis. But, +tell me, what is this about the oracle?"--"May I repeat it to our +friends?" asked the Delphian. + +Aristomachus nodded assent, and Phryxus read aloud a second time the +answer of the Pythia: + + "If once the warrior hosts from the snow-topped mountains descending + Come to the fields of the stream watering richly the plain, + Then shall the lingering boat to the beckoning meadows convey thee + Which to the wandering foot peace and a home will afford. + When those warriors come from the snow-topped mountains descending + Then will the powerful Five grant thee what they long refused." + +Scarcely was the last word out of his mouth, when Kallias the Athenian, +springing up, cried: "In this house, too, you shall receive from me the +fourth gift of the gods. Know that I have kept my rarest news till last: +the Persians are coming to Egypt!" + +At this every one, except the Sybarite, rushed to his feet, and Kallias +found it almost impossible to answer their numerous questions. "Gently, +gently, friends," he cried at last; "let me tell my story in order, or +I shall never finish it at all. It is not an army, as Phanes supposes, +that is on its way hither, but a great embassy from Cambyses, the +present ruler of the most powerful kingdom of Persia. At Samos I heard +that they had already reached Miletus, and in a few days they will be +here. Some of the king's own relations, are among the number, the aged +Croesus, king of Lydia, too; we shall behold a marvellous splendor +and magnificence! Nobody knows the object of their coming, but it is +supposed that King Cambyses wishes to conclude an alliance with Amasis; +indeed some say the king solicits the hand of Pharaoh's daughter." + +"An alliance?" asked Phanes, with an incredulous shrug of the shoulders. +"Why the Persians are rulers over half the world already. All the +great Asiatic powers have submitted to their sceptre; Egypt and our own +mother-country, Hellas, are the only two that have been shared by the +conqueror." + +"You forget India with its wealth of gold, and the great migratory +nations of Asia," answered Kallias. "And you forget moreover, that +an empire, composed like Persia of some seventy nations or tribes of +different languages and customs, bears the seeds of discord ever within +itself, and must therefore guard against the chance of foreign attack; +lest, while the bulk of the army be absent, single provinces should +seize the opportunity and revolt from their allegiance. Ask the +Milesians how long they would remain quiet if they heard that their +oppressors had been defeated in any battle?" + +Theopompus, the Milesian merchant, called out, laughing at the same +time: "If the Persians were to be worsted in one war, they would at once +be involved in a hundred others, and we should not be the last to rise +up against our tyrants in the hour of their weakness!" + +"Whatever the intentions of the envoys may be," continued Kallias, "my +information remains unaltered; they will be here at the latest in three +days." + +"And so your oracle will be fulfilled, fortunate Aristomachus!" +exclaimed Rhodopis, "for see, the warrior hosts can only be the +Persians. When they descend to the shores of the Nile, then the powerful +Five,' your Ephori, will change their decision, and you, the father of +two Olympian victors, will be recalled to your native land. + + [The five Ephori of Sparta were appointed to represent the absent + kings during the Messenian war. In later days the nobles made use + of the Ephori as a power, which, springing immediately from their + own body, they could oppose to the kingly authority. Being the + highest magistrates in all judicial and educational matters, and in + everything relating to the moral police of the country, the Ephori + soon found means to assert their superiority, and on most occasions + over that of the kings themselves. Every patrician who was past the + age of thirty, had the right to become a candidate yearly for the + office. Aristot. Potit, II. and IV. Laert. Diog. I. 68.] + +"Fill the goblets again, Knakias. Let us devote this last cup to the +manes of the glorious Lysander; and then I advise you to depart, for it +is long past midnight, and our pleasure has reached its highest point. +The true host puts an end to the banquet when his guests are feeling +at their best. Serene and agreeable recollections will soon bring you +hither again; whereas there would be little joy in returning to a house +where the remembrance of hours of weakness, the result of pleasure, +would mingle with your future enjoyment." In this her guests agreed, +and Ibykus named her a thorough disciple of Pythagoras, in praise of the +joyous, festive evening. + +Every one prepared for departure. The Sybarite, who had been drinking +deeply in order to counteract the very inconvenient amount of feeling +excited by the conversation, rose also, assisted by his slaves, who had +to be called in for this purpose. + +While he was being moved from his former comfortable position, he +stammered something about a "breach of hospitality;" but, when +Rhodopis was about to give him her hand at parting, the wine gained the +ascendancy and he exclaimed, "By Hercules, Rhodopis, you get rid of +us as if we were troublesome creditors. It is not my custom to leave a +supper so long as I can stand, still less to be turned out of doors like +a miserable parasite!" + +"Hear reason, you immoderate Sybarite," began Rhodopis, endeavoring +with a smile to excuse her proceeding. But these words, in Philoinus' +half-intoxicated mood, only increased his irritation; he burst into a +mocking laugh, and staggering towards the door, shouted: "Immoderate +Sybarite, you call me? good! here you have your answer: Shameless +slave! one can still perceive the traces of what you were in your youth. +Farewell then, slave of Iadmon and Xanthus, freedwoman of Charaxus!" +He had not however finished his sentence, when Aristomachus rushed upon +him, stunned him with a blow of his fist, and carried him off like +a child down to the boat in which his slaves were waiting at the +garden-gate. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +The guests were all gone. Their departing mirth and joy had been smitten +down by the drunkard's abusive words, like fresh young corn beneath +a hail storm. Rhodopis was left standing alone in the empty, brightly +decorated (supper-room). Knakias extinguished the colored lamps on +the walls, and a dull, mysterious half-light took the place of their +brilliant rays, falling scantily and gloomily on the piled-up plates and +dishes, the remnants of the meal, and the seats and cushions, pushed out +of their places by the retiring guests. A cold breeze came through the +open door, for the dawn was at hand, and just before sunrise, the air is +generally unpleasantly cool in Egypt. A cold chill struck the limbs of +the aged woman through her light garments. She stood gazing tearlessly +and fixedly into the desolate room, whose walls but a few minutes before +had been echoing with joy and gladness, and it seemed to her that the +deserted guest-chamber must be like her own heart. She felt as if a worm +were gnawing there, and the warm blood congealing into ice. + +Lost in these thoughts, she remained standing till at last her old +female slave appeared to light her to her sleeping apartment. + +Silently Rhodopis allowed herself to be undressed, and then, as +silently, lifted the curtain which separated a second sleeping apartment +from her own. In the middle of this second room stood a bedstead of +maplewood, and there, on white sheets spread over a mattress of fine +sheep's wool, and protected from the cold by bright blue coverlets's, +lay a graceful, lovely girl asleep; this was Rhodopis' granddaughter, +Sappho. The rounded form and delicate figure seemed to denote one +already in opening maidenhood, but the peaceful, blissful smile could +only belong to a harmless, happy child. + +One hand lay under her head, hidden among the thick dark brown hair, the +other clasped unconsciously a little amulet of green stone, which hung +round her neck. Over her closed eyes the long lashes trembled almost +imperceptibly, and a delicate pink flush came and went on the cheek of +the slumberer. The finely-cut nostrils rose and fell with her regular +breathing, and she lay there, a picture of innocence, of peace, smiling +in dreams, and of the slumber that the gods bestow on early youth, when +care has not yet come. + +Softly and carefully, crossing the thick carpets on tiptoe, the +grey-haired woman approached, looked with unutterable tenderness into +the smiling, childish face, and, kneeling down silently by the side of +the bed, buried her face in its soft coverings, so that the girl's +hand just came in contact with her hair. Then she wept, and without +intermission; as though she hoped with this flood of tears to wash away +not only her recent humiliation, but with it all other sorrow from her +mind. + +At length she rose, breathed a light kiss on the sleeping girl's +forehead, raised her hands in prayer towards heaven, and returned to her +own room, gently and carefully as she had come. + +At her own bedside she found the old slave-woman, still waiting for her. + +"What do you want so late, Melitta?" said Rhodopis, kindly, under her +breath. "Go to bed; at your age it is not good to remain up late, and +you know that I do not require you any longer. Good night! and do not +come to-morrow until I send for you. I shall not be able to sleep +much to-night, and shall be thankful if the morning brings me a short +repose." + +The woman hesitated; it seemed that she had some thing on her mind which +she feared to utter. + +"There is something you want to ask me?" said Rhodopis. + +Still the old slave hesitated. + +"Speak!" said Rhodopis, "speak at once, and quickly." + +"I saw you weeping," said the slave-woman, "you seem ill or sad; let me +watch this night by your bedside. Will you not tell me what ails you? +You have often found that to tell a sorrow lightens the heart and +lessens the pain. Then tell me your grief to-day too; it will do you +good, it will bring back peace to your mind." + +"No," answered the other, "I cannot utter it." And then she continued, +smiling bitterly: "I have once more experienced that no one, not even a +god, has power to cancel the past of any human being, and that, in this +world, misfortune and disgrace are one and the same. Good night, leave +me; Melitta!" + +At noon on the following day, the same boat, which, the evening before, +had carried the Athenian and the Spartan, stopped once more before +Rhodopis' garden. + +The sun was shining so brightly, so warmly and genially in the dark blue +Egyptian sky, the air was so pure and light, the beetles were humming so +merrily, the boatmen singing so lustily and happily, the shores of +the Nile bloomed in such gay, variegated beauty, and were so thickly +peopled, the palm-trees, sycamores, bananas and acacias were so +luxuriant in foliage and blossom, and over the whole landscape the +rarest and most glorious gifts seemed to have been poured out with such +divine munificence, that a passer-by must have pronounced it the very +home of joy and gladness, a place from which sadness and sorrow had been +forever banished. + +How often we fancy, in passing a quiet village hidden among its +orchards, that this at least must be the abode of peace, and unambitious +contentment! But alas! when we enter the cottages, what do we find? +there, as everywhere else, distress and need, passion and unsatisfied +longing, fear and remorse, pain and misery; and by the side of these, +Ah! how few joys! Who would have imagined on coming to Egypt, that this +luxuriant, laughing sunny land, whose sky is always unclouded, could +possibly produce and nourish men given to bitterness and severity? that +within the charming, hospitable house of the fortunate Rhodopis, covered +and surrounded, as it was, with sweet flowers, a heart could have been +beating in the deepest sadness? And, still more, who among all the +guests of that honored, admired Thracian woman, would have believed +that this sad heart belonged to her? to the gracious, smiling matron, +Rhodopis herself? + +She was sitting with Phanes in a shady arbor near the cooling spray of +a fountain. One could see that she had been weeping again, but her face +was beautiful and kind as ever. The Athenian was holding her hand and +trying to comfort her. + +Rhodopis listened patiently, and smiled the while; at times her smile +was bitter, at others it gave assent to his words. At last however she +interrupted her well-intentioned friend, by saying: + +"Phanes, I thank you. Sooner or later this last disgrace must be +forgotten too. Time is clever in the healing art. If I were weak I +should leave Naukratis and live in retirement for my grandchild alone; +a whole world, believe me, lies slumbering in that young creature. Many +and many a time already I have longed to leave Egypt, and as often have +conquered the wish. Not because I cannot live without the homage of your +sex; of that I have already had more than enough in my life, but because +I feel that I, the slave-girl and the despised woman once, am now +useful, necessary, almost indispensable indeed, to many free and noble +men. Accustomed as I am, to an extended sphere of work, in its nature +resembling a man's, I could not content myself in living for one being +alone, however dear. I should dry up like a plant removed from a rich +soil into the desert, and should leave my grandchild desolate indeed, +three times orphaned, and alone in the world. No! I shall remain in +Egypt. + +"Now that you are leaving, I shall be really indispensable to our +friends here. Amasis is old; when Psamtik comes to the throne we shall +have infinitely greater difficulties to contend with than heretofore. I +must remain and fight on in the fore-front of our battle for the freedom +and welfare of the Hellenic race. Let them call my efforts unwomanly if +they will. This is, and shall be, the purpose of my life, a purpose to +which I will remain all the more faithful, because it is one of those +to which a woman rarely dares devote her life. During this last night +of tears I have felt that much, very much of that womanly weakness still +lingers in me which forms at once the happiness and misery of our sex. +To preserve this feminine weakness in my granddaughter, united with +perfect womanly delicacy, has been my first duty; my second to free +myself entirely from it. But a war against one's own nature cannot be +carried on without occasional defeat, even if ultimately successful. +When grief and pain are gaining the upperhand and I am well nigh in +despair, my only help lies in remembering my friend Pythagoras, that +noblest among men, and his words: 'Observe a due proportion in all +things, avoid excessive joy as well as complaining grief, and seek to +keep thy soul in tune and harmony like a well-toned harp.'" + + [There is no question that Pythagoras visited Egypt during the reign + of Amasis, probably towards the middle of the 6th century (according + to our reckoning, about 536 B. C.) Herod. II. 81-123. Diod. I. 98. + Rich information about Pythagoras is to be found in the works of the + very learned scholar Roeth, who is however occasionally much too + bold in his conjectures. Pythagoras was the first among Greek + thinkers (speculators). He would not take the name of a wise man or + "sage," but called himself "Philosophos," or a "friend of wisdom."] + +"This Pythagorean inward peace, this deep, untroubled calm, I see daily +before me in my Sappho; and struggle to attain it myself, though many a +stroke of fate untunes the chords of my poor heart. I am calm now! You +would hardly believe what power the mere thought of that first of all +thinkers, that calm, deliberate man, whose life acted on mine like +sweet, soft music, has over me. You knew him, you can understand what +I mean. Now, mention your wish; my heart is as calmly quiet as the Nile +waters which are flowing by so quietly, and I am ready to hear it, be it +good or evil." + +"I am glad to see you thus," said the Athenian. "If you had remembered +the noble friend of wisdom, as Pythagoras was wont to call himself a +little sooner, your soul would have regained its balance yesterday. The +master enjoins us to look back every evening on the events, feelings and +actions of the day just past. + +"Now had you done this, you would have felt that the unfeigned +admiration of all your guests, among whom were men of distinguished +merit, outweighed a thousandfold the injurious words of a drunken +libertine; you would have felt too that you were a friend of the gods, +for was it not in your house that the immortals gave that noble old man +at last, after his long years of misfortune, the greatest joy that can +fall to the lot of any human being? and did they not take from you one +friend only in order to replace him in the same moment, by another and a +better? Come, I will hear no contradiction. Now for my request. + +"You know that people sometimes call me an Athenian, sometimes a +Halikarnassian. Now, as the Ionian, AEolian and Dorian mercenaries have +never been on good terms with the Karians, my almost triple descent +(if I may call it so) has proved very useful to me as commander of both +these divisions. Well qualified as Aristomachus may be for the command, +yet in this one point Amasis will miss me; for I found it an easy matter +to settle the differences among the troops and keep them at peace, while +he, as a Spartan, will find it very difficult to keep right with the +Karian soldiers. + +"This double nationality of mine arises from the fact that my father +married a Halikarnassian wife out of a noble Dorian family, and, at the +time of my birth, was staying with her in Halikarnassus, having come +thither in order to take possession of her parental inheritance. So, +though I was taken back to Athens before I was three months old, I +must still be called a Karian, as a man's native land is decided by his +birthplace. + +"In Athens, as a young nobleman, belonging to that most aristocratic +and ancient family, the Philaidae, I was reared and educated in all the +pride of an Attic noble. Pisistratus, brave and clever, and though of +equal, yet by no means of higher birth, than ourselves, for there exists +no family more aristocratic than my father's, gained possession of the +supreme authority. Twice, the nobles, by uniting all their strength, +succeeded in overthrowing him, and when, the third time, assisted by +Lygdamis of Naxos, the Argives and Eretrians, he attempted to return, we +opposed him again. We had encamped by the temple of Minerva at Pallene, +and were engaged in sacrificing to the goddess, early, before our first +meal, when we were suddenly surprised by the clever tyrant, who gained +an easy, bloodless victory over our unarmed troops. As half of the +entire army opposed to the tyrant was under my command, I determined +rather to die than yield, fought with my whole strength, implored the +soldiers to remain steadfast, resisted without yielding a point, but +fell at last with a spear in my shoulder. + +"The Pisistratidae became lords of Athens. I fled to Halikarnassus, my +second home, accompanied by my wife and children. There, my name being +known through some daring military exploits, and, through my having +once conquered in the Pythian games, I was appointed to a command in +the mercenary troops of the King of Egypt; accompanied the expedition +to Cyprus, shared with Aristomachus the renown of having conquered +the birthplace of Aphrodite for Amasis, and finally was named +commander-in-chief of all the mercenaries in Egypt. + +"Last summer my wife died; our children, a boy of eleven and a girl +of ten years, remained with an aunt in Halikarnassus. But she too has +followed to the inexorable Hades, and so, only a few days ago I sent for +the little ones here. They cannot, however, possibly reach Naukratis in +less than three weeks, and yet they will already have set out on their +journey before a letter to countermand my first order could reach them. + +"I must leave Egypt in fourteen days, and cannot therefore receive them +myself. + +"My own intentions are to go to the Thracian Chersonese, where my uncle, +as you know, has been called to fill a high office among the Dolonki. +The children shall follow me thither; my faithful old slave Korax will +remain in Naukratis on purpose to bring them to me. + +"Now, if you will show to me that you are in deed and truth my friend, +will you receive the little ones and take care of them till the next +ship sails for Thrace? But above all, will you carefully conceal them +from the eyes of the crown-prince's spies? You know that Psamtik hates +me mortally, and he could easily revenge himself on the father through +the children. I ask you for this great favor, first, because I know your +kindness by experience; and secondly, because your house has been made +secure by the king's letter of guarantee, and they will therefore be +safe here from the inquiries of the police; notwithstanding that, by the +laws of this most formal country, all strangers, children not excepted, +must give up their names to the officer of the district. + +"You can now judge of the depth of my esteem, Rhodopis; I am committing +into your hands all that makes life precious to me; for even my native +land has ceased to be dear while she submits so ignominiously to her +tyrants. Will you then restore tranquillity to an anxious father's +heart, will you--?" + +"I will, Phanes, I will!" cried the aged woman in undisguised delight. +"You are not asking me for any thing, you are presenting me with a gift. +Oh, how I look forward already to their arrival! And how glad Sappho +will be, when the little creatures come and enliven her solitude! But +this I can assure you, Phanes, I shall not let my little guests depart +with the first Thracian ship. You can surely afford to be separated from +them one short half-year longer, and I promise you they shall receive +the best lessons, and be guided to all that is good and beautiful." + +"On that head I have no fear," answered Phanes, with a thankful smile. +"But still you must send off the two little plagues by the first ship; +my anxiety as to Psamtik's revenge is only too well grounded. Take my +most heartfelt thanks beforehand for all the love and kindness which you +will show to my children. I too hope and believe, that the merry little +creatures will be an amusement and pleasure to Sappho in her lonely +life." + +"And more," interrupted Rhodopis looking down; "this proof of confidence +repays a thousand-fold the disgrace inflicted on me last night in a +moment of intoxication.--But here comes Sappho!" + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +Five days after the evening we have just described at Rhodopis' house, +an immense multitude was to be seen assembled at the harbor of Sais. + +Egyptians of both sexes, and of every age and class were thronging to +the water's edge. + +Soldiers and merchants, whose various ranks in society were betokened by +the length of their white garments, bordered with colored fringes, +were interspersed among the crowd of half-naked, sinewy men, whose only +clothing consisted of an apron, the costume of the lower classes. Naked +children crowded, pushed and fought to get the best places. Mothers in +short cloaks were holding their little ones up to see the sight, which +by this means they entirely lost themselves; and a troop of dogs and +cats were playing and fighting at the feet of these eager sight-seers, +who took the greatest pains not to tread on, or in any way injure the +sacred animals. + + [According to various pictures on the Egyptian monuments. The + mothers are from Wilkinson III. 363. Isis and Hathor, with the + child Horus in her lap or at her breast, are found in a thousand + representations, dating both from more modern times and in the Greek + style. The latter seem to have served as a model for the earliest + pictures of the Madonna holding the infant Christ.] + +The police kept order among this huge crowd with long staves, on the +metal heads of which the king's name was inscribed. Their care was +especially needed to prevent any of the people from being pushed into +the swollen Nile, an arm of which, in the season of the inundations, +washes the walls of Sais. + +On the broad flight of steps which led between two rows of sphinxes down +to the landing-place of the royal boats, was a very different kind of +assembly. + +The priests of the highest rank were seated there on stone benches. +Many wore long, white robes, others were clad in aprons, broad jewelled +collars, and garments of panther skins. Some had fillets adorned with +plumes that waved around brows, temples, and the stiff structures of +false curls that floated over their shoulders; others displayed the +glistening bareness of their smoothly-shaven skulls. The supreme judge +was distinguished by the possession of the longest and handsomest plume +in his head-dress, and a costly sapphire amulet, which, suspended by a +gold chain, hung on his breast. + +The highest officers of the Egyptian army wore uniforms of gay colors,97 +and carried short swords in their girdles. On the right side of the +steps a division of the body-guard was stationed, armed with battleaxes, +daggers, bows, and large shields; on the left, were the Greek +mercenaries, armed in Ionian fashion. Their new leader, our friend +Aristomachus, stood with a few of his own officers apart from the +Egyptians, by the colossal statues of Psamtik I., which had been erected +on the space above the steps, their faces towards the river. + +In front of these statues, on a silver chair, sat Psamtik, the heir to +the throne: He wore a close-fitting garment of many colors, interwoven +with gold, and was surrounded by the most distinguished among the king's +courtiers, chamberlains, counsellors, and friends, all bearing staves +with ostrich feathers and lotus-flowers. + +The multitude gave vent to their impatience by shouting, singing, and +quarrelling; but the priests and magnates on the steps preserved a +dignified and solemn silence. Each, with his steady, unmoved gaze, his +stiffly-curled false wig and beard, and his solemn, deliberate manner, +resembled the two huge statues, which, the one precisely similar to the +other, stood also motionless in their respective places, gazing calmly +into the stream. + +At last silken sails, chequered with purple and blue, appeared in sight. + +The crowd shouted with delight. Cries of, "They are coming! Here they +are!" "Take care, or you'll tread on that kitten," "Nurse, hold the +child higher that she may see something of the sight." "You are pushing +me into the water, Sebak!" "Have a care Phoenician, the boys are +throwing burs into your long beard." "Now, now, you Greek fellow, don't +fancy that all Egypt belongs to you, because Amasis allows you to live +on the shores of the sacred river!" "Shameless set, these Greeks, down +with them!" shouted a priest, and the cry was at once echoed from many +mouths. "Down with the eaters of swine's flesh and despisers of the +gods!" + + [The Egyptians, like the Jews, were forbidden to eat swine's flesh. + This prohibition is mentioned in the Ritual of the Dead, found in a + grave in Abd-el-Qurnah, and also in other places. Porphyr de + Abstin. IV. The swine was considered an especially unclean animal + pertaining to Typhon (Egyptian, Set) as the boar to Ares, and + swineherds were an especially despised race. Animals with bristles + were only sacrificed at the feasts of Osiris and Eileithyia. Herod. + I. 2. 47. It is probable that Moses borrowed his prohibition of + swine's flesh from the Egyptian laws with regard to unclean + animals.] + +From words they were proceeding to deeds, but the police were not to be +trifled with, and by a vigorous use of their staves, the tumult was +soon stilled. The large, gay sails, easily to be distinguished among +the brown, white and blue ones of the smaller Nile-boats which swarmed +around them, came nearer and nearer to the expectant throng. Then at +last the crown-prince and the dignitaries arose from their seats. The +royal band of trumpeters blew a shrill and piercing blast of welcome, +and the first of the expected boats stopped at the landing-place. + +It was a rather long, richly-gilded vessel, and bore a silver +sparrow-hawk as figure-head. In its midst rose a golden canopy with a +purple covering, beneath which cushions were conveniently arranged. On +each deck in the forepart of the ship sat twelve rowers, their aprons +attached by costly fastenings. + + [Splendid Nile-boats were possessed, in greater or less numbers, by + all the men of high rank. Even in the tomb of Ti at Sakkara, which + dates from the time of the Pyramids, we meet with a chief overseer + of the vessels belonging to a wealthy Egyptian.] + +Beneath the canopy lay six fine-looking men in glorious apparel; and +before the ship had touched the shore the youngest of these, a beautiful +fair-haired youth, sprang on to the steps. + +Many an Egyptian girl's mouth uttered a lengthened "Ah" at this glorious +sight, and even the grave faces of some of the dignitaries brightened +into a friendly smile. + +The name of this much-admired youth was Bartja. + + [This Bartja is better known under the name of Smerdis, but on what + account the Greeks gave him this name is not clear. In the + cuneiform inscriptions of Bisitun or Behistun, he is called Bartja, + or, according to Spiegel, Bardiya. We have chosen, for the sake of + the easy pronunciation, the former, which is Rawlinson's simplified + reading of the name.] + +He was the son of the late, and brother of the reigning king of Persia, +and had been endowed by nature with every gift that a youth of twenty +years could desire for himself. + +Around his tiara was wound a blue and white turban, beneath which hung +fair, golden curls of beautiful, abundant hair; his blue eyes sparkled +with life and joy, kindness and high spirits, almost with sauciness; +his noble features, around which the down of a manly beard was already +visible, were worthy of a Grecian sculptor's chisel, and his slender +but muscular figure told of strength and activity. The splendor of his +apparel was proportioned to his personal beauty. A brilliant star of +diamonds and turquoises glittered in the front of his tiara. An upper +garment of rich white and gold brocade reaching just below the knees, +was fastened round the waist with a girdle of blue and white, the royal +colors of Persia. In this girdle gleamed a short, golden sword, its hilt +and scabbard thickly studded with opals and sky-blue turquoises. The +trousers were of the same rich material as the robe, fitting closely +at the ankle, and ending within a pair of short boots of light-blue +leather. + +The long, wide sleeves of his robe displayed a pair of vigorous arms, +adorned with many costly bracelets of gold and jewels; round his slender +neck and on his broad chest lay a golden chain. + +Such was the youth who first sprang on shore. He was followed by Darius, +the son of Hystaspes, a young Persian of the blood royal, similar in +person to Bartja, and scarcely less gorgeously apparelled than he. The +third to disembark was an aged man with snow-white hair, in whose +face the gentle and kind expression of childhood was united, with the +intellect of a man, and the experience of old age. His dress consisted +of a long purple robe with sleeves, and the yellow boots worn by the +Lydians;--his whole appearance produced an impression of the greatest +modesty and a total absence of pretension. + + [On account of these boots, which are constantly mentioned, Croesus + was named by the oracle "soft-footed."] + +Yet this simple old man had been, but a few years before, the most +envied of his race and age; and even in our day at two thousand years' +interval, his name is used as a synonyme for the highest point of +worldly riches attainable by mankind. The old man to whom we are now +introduced is no other than Croesus, the dethroned king of Lydia, who +was then living at the court of Cambyses, as his friend and counsellor, +and had accompanied the young Bartja to Egypt, in the capacity of +Mentor. + +Croesus was followed by Prexaspes, the king's Ambassador, Zopyrus, the +son of Megabyzus, a Persian noble, the friend of Bartja and Darius; and, +lastly, by his own son, the slender, pale Gyges, who after having become +dumb in his fourth year through the fearful anguish he had suffered +on his father's account at the taking of Sardis, had now recovered the +power of speech. + +Psamtik descended the steps to welcome the strangers. His austere, +sallow face endeavored to assume a smile. The high officials in his +train bowed down nearly to the ground, allowing their arms to hang +loosely at their sides. The Persians, crossing their hands on their +breasts, cast themselves on the earth before the heir to the Egyptian +throne. When the first formalities were over, Bartja, according to the +custom of his native country, but greatly to the astonishment of the +populace, who were totally unaccustomed to such a sight, kissed the +sallow cheek of the Egyptian prince; who shuddered at the touch of a +stranger's unclean lips, then took his way to the litters waiting to +convey him and his escort to the dwelling designed for them by the king, +in the palace at Sais. + +A portion of the crowd streamed after the strangers, but the larger +number remained at their places, knowing that many a new and wonderful +sight yet awaited them. + +"Are you going to run after those dressed-up monkeys and children of +Typhon, too?" asked an angry priest of his neighbor, a respectable +tailor of Sais. "I tell you, Puhor, and the high-priest says so too, +that these strangers can bring no good to the black land! I am for the +good old times, when no one who cared for his life dared set foot on +Egyptian soil. Now our streets are literally swarming with cheating +Hebrews, and above all with those insolent Greeks whom may the gods +destroy! + + [The Jews were called Hebrews (Apuriu) by the Egyptians; as brought + to light by Chabas. See Ebers, Aegypten I. p. 316. H. Brugsch + opposes this opinion.] + +"Only look, there is the third boat full of strangers! And do you know +what kind of people these Persians are? The high-priest says that in the +whole of their kingdom, which is as large as half the world, there +is not a single temple to the gods; and that instead of giving decent +burial to the dead, they leave them to be torn in pieces by dogs and +vultures." + + [These statements are correct, as the Persians, at the time of the + dynasty of the Achaemenidae, had no temples, but used fire-altars + and exposed their dead to the dogs and vultures. An impure corpse + was not permitted to defile the pure earth by its decay; nor might + it be committed to the fire or water for destruction, as their + purity would be equally polluted by such an act. But as it was + impossible to cause the dead bodies to vanish, Dakhmas or burying- + places were laid out, which had to be covered with pavement and + cement not less than four inches thick, and surrounded by cords to + denote that the whole structure was as it were suspended in the air, + and did not come in contact with the pure earth. Spiegel, Avesta + II.] + +"The tailor's indignation at hearing this was even greater than his +astonishment, and pointing to the landing-steps, he cried: + +"It is really too bad; see, there is the sixth boat full of these +foreigners!" + +"Yes, it is hard indeed!" sighed the priest, "one might fancy a whole +army arriving. Amasis will go on in this manner until the strangers +drive him from his throne and country, and plunder and make slaves of +us poor creatures, as the evil Hyksos, those scourges of Egypt, and the +black Ethiopians did, in the days of old." + +"The seventh boat!" shouted the tailor. + +"May my protectress Neith, the great goddess of Sais, destroy me, if I +can understand the king," complained the priest. "He sent three barks to +Naukratis, that poisonous nest hated of the gods, to fetch the servants +and baggage of these Persians; but instead of three, eight had to be +procured, for these despisers of the gods and profaners of dead bodies +have not only brought kitchen utensils, dogs, horses, carriages, chests, +baskets and bales, but have dragged with them, thousands of miles, a +whole host of servants. They tell me that some of them have no other +work than twining of garlands and preparing ointments. Their priests +too, whom they call Magi, are here with them. I should like to know what +they are for? of what use is a priest where there is no temple?" + +The old King Amasis received the Persian embassy shortly after their +arrival with all the amiability and kindness peculiar to him. + +Four days later, after having attended to the affairs of state, a duty +punctually fulfilled by him every morning without exception, he went +forth to walk with Croesus in the royal gardens. The remaining members +of the embassy, accompanied by the crown-prince, were engaged in an +excursion up the Nile to the city of Memphis. + +The palace-gardens, of a royal magnificence, yet similar in their +arrangement to those of Rhodopis, lay in the north-west part of Sais, +near the royal citadel. + +Here, under the shadow of a spreading plane-tree, and near a gigantic +basin of red granite, into which an abundance of clear water flowed +perpetually through the jaws of black basalt crocodiles, the two old men +seated themselves. + +The dethroned king, though in reality some years the elder of the two, +looked far fresher and more vigorous than the powerful monarch at his +side. Amasis was tall, but his neck was bent; his corpulent body was +supported by weak and slender legs: and his face, though well-formed, +was lined and furrowed. But a vigorous spirit sparkled in the small, +flashing eyes, and an expression of raillery, sly banter, and at times, +even of irony, played around his remarkably full lips. The low, broad +brow, the large and beautifully-arched head bespoke great mental power, +and in the changing color of his eyes one seemed to read that neither +wit nor passion were wanting in the man, who, from his simple place +as soldier in the ranks, had worked his way up to the throne of the +Pharaohs. His voice was sharp and hard, and his movements, in comparison +with the deliberation of the other members of the Egyptian court, +appeared almost morbidly active. + +The attitude and bearing of his neighbor Croesus were graceful, and in +every way worthy of a king. His whole manner showed that he had lived +in frequent intercourse with the highest and noblest minds of Greece. +Thales, Anaximander and Anaximenes of Miletus, Bias of Priene, Solon of +Athens, Pittakus of Lesbos, the most celebrated Hellenic philosophers, +had in former and happier days been guests at the court of Croesus in +Sardis. His full clear voice sounded like pure song when compared with +the shrill tones of Amasis. + + [Bias, a philosopher of Ionian origin, flourished about 560 B. C. + and was especially celebrated for his wise maxims on morals and law. + After his death, which took place during his defence of a friend in + the public court, a temple was erected to him by his countrymen. + Laert. Diog. I. 88.] + +"Now tell me openly," began king Pharaoh--[In English "great house," the +high gate or "sublime porte."]--in tolerably fluent Greek, "what opinion +hast thou formed of Egypt? Thy judgment possesses for me more worth than +that of any other man, for three reasons: thou art better acquainted +with most of the countries and nations of this earth; the gods have not +only allowed thee to ascend the ladder of fortune to its utmost summit, +but also to descend it, and thirdly, thou hast long been the first +counsellor to the mightiest of kings. Would that my kingdom might please +thee so well that thou wouldst remain here and become to me a brother. +Verily, Croesus, my friend hast thou long been, though my eyes beheld +thee yesterday for the first time!" + +"And thou mine," interrupted the Lydian. "I admire the courage with +which thou hast accomplished that which seemed right and good in thine +eyes, in spite of opposition near and around thee. I am thankful for the +favor shown to the Hellenes, my friends, and I regard thee as related to +me by fortune, for hast thou not also passed through all the extremes of +good and evil that this life can offer?" + +"With this difference," said Amasis smiling, "that we started from +opposite points; in thy lot the good came first, the evil later; whereas +in my own this order has been reversed. In saying this, however," he +added, "I am supposing that my present fortune is a good for me, and +that I enjoy it." + +"And I, in that case," answered Croesus, "must be assuming that I am +unhappy in what men call my present ill-fortune." + +"How can it possibly be otherwise after the loss of such enormous +possessions?" + +"Does happiness consist then in possession?" asked Croesus. "Is +happiness itself a thing to be possessed? Nay, by no means! It is +nothing but a feeling, a sensation, which the envious gods vouchsafe +more often to the needy than to the mighty. The clear sight of the +latter becomes dazzled by the glittering treasure, and they cannot but +suffer continual humiliation, because, conscious of possessing power to +obtain much, they wage an eager war for all, and therein are continually +defeated." + +Amasis sighed, and answered: "I would I could prove thee in the wrong; +but in looking back on my past life I am fain to confess that its +cares began with that very hour which brought me what men call my good +fortune."--"And I," interrupted Croesus, "can assure thee that I am +thankful thou delayedst to come to my help, inasmuch as the hour of my +overthrow was the beginning of true, unsullied happiness. When I beheld +the first Persians scale the walls of Sardis, I execrated myself and the +gods, life appeared odious to me, existence a curse. Fighting on, but in +heart despairing, I and my people were forced to yield. A Persian raised +his sword to cleave my skull--in an instant my poor dumb son had thrown +himself between his father and the murderer, and for the first time +after long years of silence, I heard him speak. Terror had loosened his +tongue; in that dreadful hour Gyges learnt once more to speak, and I, +who but the moment before had been cursing the gods, bowed down before +their power. I had commanded a slave to kill me the moment I should be +taken prisoner by the Persians, but now I deprived him of his sword. I +was a changed man, and by degrees learnt ever more and more to subdue +the rage and indignation which yet from time to time would boil up again +within my soul, rebellious against my fate and my noble enemies. Thou +knowest that at last I became the friend of Cyrus, and that my son grew +up at his court, a free man at my side, having entirely regained the use +of his speech. Everything beautiful and good that I had heard, seen +or thought during my long life I treasured up now for him; he was my +kingdom, my crown, my treasure. Cyrus's days of care, his nights so reft +of sleep, reminded me with horror of my own former greatness, and from +day to day it became more evident to me that happiness has nothing to +do with our outward circumstances. Each man possesses the hidden germ in +his own heart. A contented, patient mind, rejoicing much in all that +is great and beautiful and yet despising not the day of small things; +bearing sorrow without a murmur and sweetening it by calling to +remembrance former joy; moderation in all things; a firm trust in the +favor of the gods and a conviction that, all things being subject to +change, so with us too the worst must pass in due season; all this helps +to mature the germ of happiness, and gives us power to smile, where the +man undisciplined by fate might yield to despair and fear." + +Amasis listened attentively, drawing figures the while in the sand with +the golden flower on his staff. At last he spoke: + +"Verily, Croesus, I the great god, the 'sun of righteousness,' 'the son +of Neith,' 'the lord of warlike glory,' as the Egyptians call me, am +tempted to envy thee, dethroned and plundered as thou art. I have been +as happy as thou art now. Once I was known through all Egypt, though +only the poor son of a captain, for my light heart, happy temper, fun +and high spirits. The common soldiers would do anything for me, my +superior officers could have found much fault, but in the mad Amasis, +as they called me, all was overlooked, and among my equals, (the other +under-officers) there could be no fun or merry-making unless I took a +share in it. My predecessor king Hophra sent us against Cyrene. Seized +with thirst in the desert, we refused to go on; and a suspicion that the +king intended to sacrifice us to the Greek mercenaries drove the army to +open mutiny. In my usual joking manner I called out to my friends: 'You +can never get on without a king, take me for your ruler; a merrier you +will never find!' The soldiers caught the words. 'Amasis will be our +king,' ran through the ranks from man to man, and, in a few hours more, +they came to me with shouts, and acclamations of 'The good, jovial +Amasis for our King!' One of my boon companions set a field-marshal's +helmet on my head: I made the joke earnest, and we defeated Hophra at +Momempliis. The people joined in the conspiracy, I ascended the throne, +and men pronounced me fortunate. Up to that time I had been every +Egyptian's friend, and now I was the enemy of the best men in the +nation. + +"The priests swore allegiance to me, and accepted me as a member of +their caste, but only in the hope of guiding me at their will. My former +superiors in command either envied me, or wished to remain on the same +terms of intercourse as formerly. But this would have been inconsistent +with my new position, and have undermined my authority. One day, +therefore, when the officers of the host were at one of my banquets and +attempting, as usual, to maintain their old convivial footing, I showed +them the golden basin in which their feet had been washed before sitting +down to meat; five days later, as they were again drinking at one of my +revels, I caused a golden image of the great god Ra be placed upon the +richly-ornamented banqueting-table. + + [Ra, with the masculine article Phra, must be regarded as the + central point of the sun-worship of the Egyptians, which we consider + to have been the foundation of their entire religion. He was more + especially worshipped at Heliopolis. Plato, Eudoxus, and probably + Pythagoras also, profited by the teaching of his priests. The + obelisks, serving also as memorial monuments on which the names and + deeds of great kings were recorded, were sacred to him, and Pliny + remarks of them that they represented the rays of the sun. He was + regarded as the god of light, the director of the entire visible + creation, over which he reigned, as Osiris over the world of + spirits.] + +"On perceiving it, they fell down to worship. As they rose from +their knees, I took the sceptre, and holding it up on high with much +solemnity, exclaimed: 'In five days an artificer has transformed the +despised vessel into which ye spat and in which men washed your feet, +into this divine image. Such a vessel was I, but the Deity, which can +fashion better and more quickly than a goldsmith, has made me your king. +Bow down then before me and worship. He who henceforth refuses to obey, +or is unmindful of the reverence due to the king, is guilty of death!' + +"They fell down before me, every one, and I saved my authority, but lost +my friends. As I now stood in need of some other prop, I fixed on the +Hellenes, knowing that in all military qualifications one Greek is worth +more than five Egyptians, and that with this assistance I should be able +to carry out those measures which I thought beneficial. + +"I kept the Greek mercenaries always round me, I learnt their language, +and it was they who brought to me the noblest human being I ever met, +Pythagoras. I endeavored to introduce Greek art and manners among +ourselves, seeing what folly lay in a self-willed adherence to that +which has been handed down to us, when it is in itself bad and unworthy, +while the good seed lay on our Egyptian soil, only waiting to be sown. + +"I portioned out the whole land to suit my purposes, appointed the best +police in the world, and accomplished much; but my highest aim, namely: +to infuse into this country, at once so gay and so gloomy, the spirit +and intellect of the Greeks, their sense of beauty in form, their love +of life and joy in it, this all was shivered on the same rock which +threatens me with overthrow and ruin whenever I attempt to accomplish +anything new. The priests are my opponents, my masters, they hang like a +dead weight upon me. Clinging with superstitious awe to all that is old +and traditionary, abominating everything foreign, and regarding every +stranger as the natural enemy of their authority and their teaching, +they can lead the most devout and religious of all nations with a power +that has scarcely any limits. For this I am forced to sacrifice all my +plans, for this I see my life passing away in bondage to their severe +ordinances, this will rob my death-bed of peace, and I cannot be secure +that this host of proud mediators between god and man will allow me to +rest even in my grave!" + +"By Zeus our saviour, with all thy good fortune, thou art to be pitied!" +interrupted Croesus sympathetically, "I understand thy misery; for +though I have met with many an individual who passed through life darkly +and gloomily, I could not have believed that an entire race of human +beings existed, to whom a gloomy, sullen heart was as natural as a +poisonous tooth to the serpent. Yet it is true, that on my journey +hither and during my residence at this court I have seen none but morose +and gloomy countenances among the priesthood. Even the youths, thy +immediate attendants, are never seen to smile; though cheerfulness, +that sweet gift of the gods, usually belongs to the young, as flowers to +spring." + +"Thou errest," answered Amasis, "in believing this gloom to be a +universal characteristic of the Egyptians. It is true that our religion +requires much serious thought. There are few nations, however, who have +so largely the gift of bantering fun and joke: or who on the occasion +of a festival, can so entirely forget themselves and everything else but +the enjoyments of the moment; but the very sight of a stranger is odious +to the priests, and the moroseness which thou observest is intended as +retaliation on me for my alliance with the strangers. Those very boys, +of whom thou spakest, are the greatest torment of my life. They perform +for me the service of slaves, and obey my slightest nod. One might +imagine that the parents who devote their children to this service, +and who are the highest in rank among the priesthood, would be the most +obedient and reverential servants of the king whom they profess to honor +as divine; but believe me, Croesus, just in this very act of devotion, +which no ruler can refuse to accept without giving offence, lies the +most crafty, scandalous calculation. Each of these youths is my keeper, +my spy. They watch my smallest actions and report them at once to the +priests." + +"But how canst thou endure such an existence? Why not banish these spies +and select servants from the military caste, for instance? They would be +quite as useful as the priests." + +"Ah! if I only could, if I dared!" exclaimed Amasis loudly. And then, +as if frightened at his own rashness, he continued in a low voice, "I +believe that even here I am being watched. To-morrow I will have that +grove of fig-trees yonder uprooted. The young priest there, who seems +so fond of gardening, has other fruit in his mind besides the half-ripe +figs that he is so slowly dropping into his basket. While his hand is +plucking the figs, his ear gathers the words that fall from the mouth of +his king." + +"But, by our father Zeus, and by Apollo--" + +"Yes, I understand thy indignation and I share it; but every position +has its duties, and as a king of a people who venerate tradition as the +highest divinity, I must submit, at least in the main, to the ceremonies +handed down through thousands of years. Were I to burst these fetters, +I know positively that at my death my body would remain unburied; for, +know that the priests sit in judgment over every corpse, and deprive the +condemned of rest, even in the grave." + + [This well-known custom among the ancient Egyptians is confirmed, + not only by many Greek narrators, but by the laboriously erased + inscriptions discovered in the chambers of some tombs.] + +"Why care about the grave?" cried Croesus, becoming angry. "We live for +life, not for death!" + +"Say rather," answered Amasis rising from his seat, "we, with our Greek +minds, believe a beautiful life to be the highest good. But Croesus, I +was begotten and nursed by Egyptian parents, nourished on Egyptian food, +and though I have accepted much that is Greek, am still, in my innermost +being, an Egyptian. What has been sung to us in our childhood, and +praised as sacred in our youth, lingers on in the heart until the day +which sees us embalmed as mummies. I am an old man and have but a short +span yet to run, before I reach the landmark which separates us from +that farther country. For the sake of life's few remaining days, shall +I willingly mar Death's thousands of years? No, my friend, in this point +at least I have remained an Egyptian, in believing, like the rest of +my countrymen, that the happiness of a future life in the kingdom of +Osiris, depends on the preservation of my body, the habitation of the +soul. + + [Each human soul was considered as a part of the world-soul Osiris, + was united to him after the death of the body, and thenceforth took + the name of Osiris. The Egyptian Cosmos consisted of the three + great realms, the Heavens, the Earth and the Depths. Over the vast + ocean which girdles the vault of heaven, the sun moves in a boat or + car drawn by the planets and fixed stars. On this ocean too the + great constellations circle in their ships, and there is the kingdom + of the blissful gods, who sit enthroned above this heavenly ocean + under a canopy of stars. The mouth of this great stream is in the + East, where the sun-god rises from the mists and is born again as a + child every morning. The surface of the earth is inhabited by human + beings having a share in the three great cosmic kingdoms. They + receive their soul from the heights of heaven, the seat and source + of light; their material body is of the earth; and the appearance or + outward form by which one human being is distinguished from another + at sight--his phantom or shadow--belongs to the depths. At death, + soul, body, and shadow separate from one another. The soul to + return to the place from whence it came, to Heaven, for it is a part + of God (of Osiris); the body, to be committed to the earth from + which it was formed in the image of its creator; the phantom or + shadow, to descend into the depths, the kingdom of shadows. The + gate to this kingdom was placed in the West among the sunset hills, + where the sun goes down daily,--where he dies. Thence arise the + changeful and corresponding conceptions connected with rising and + setting, arriving and departing, being born and dying. The careful + preservation of the body after death from destruction, not only + through the process of inward decay, but also through violence or + accident, was in the religion of ancient Egypt a principal condition + (perhaps introduced by the priests on sanitary grounds) on which + depended the speedy deliverance of the soul, and with this her + early, appointed union with the source of Light and Good, which two + properties were, in idea, one and indivisible. In the Egyptian + conceptions the soul was supposed to remain, in a certain sense, + connected with the body during a long cycle of solar years. She + could, however, quit the body from time to time at will, and could + appear to mortals in various forms and places; these appearances + differed according to the hour, and were prescribed in exact words + and delineations.] + +"But enough of these matters; thou wilt find it difficult to enter into +such thoughts. Tell me rather what thou thinkest of our temples and +pyramids." + +Croesus, after reflecting a moment, answered with a smile: "Those huge +pyramidal masses of stone seem to me creations of the boundless desert, +the gaily painted temple colonnades to be the children of the Spring; +but though the sphinxes lead up to your temple gates, and seem to point +the way into the very shrines themselves, the sloping fortress-like +walls of the Pylons, those huge isolated portals, appear as if placed +there to repel entrance. Your many-colored hieroglyphics likewise +attract the gaze, but baffle the inquiring spirit by the mystery that +lies within their characters. The images of your manifold gods are +everywhere to be seen; they crowd on our gaze, and yet who knows not +that their real is not their apparent significance? that they are mere +outward images of thoughts accessible only to the few, and, as I have +heard, almost incomprehensible in their depth? My curiosity is excited +everywhere, and my interest awakened, but my warm love of the beautiful +feels itself in no way attracted. My intellect might strain to penetrate +the secrets of your sages, but my heart and mind can never be at home in +a creed which views life as a short pilgrimage to the grave, and death +as the only true life!" + +"And yet," said Amasis, "Death has for us too his terrors, and we do all +in our power to evade his grasp. Our physicians would not be celebrated +and esteemed as they are, if we did not believe that their skill could +prolong our earthly existence. This reminds me of the oculist Nebenchari +whom I sent to Susa, to the king. Does he maintain his reputation? is +the king content with him?" + +"Very much so," answered Croesus. "He has been of use to many of the +blind; but the king's mother is alas! still sightless. It was Nebenchari +who first spoke to Cambyses of the charms of thy daughter Tachot. But we +deplore that he understands diseases of the eye alone. When the Princess +Atossa lay ill of fever, he was not to be induced to bestow a word of +counsel." + +"That is very natural; our physicians are only permitted to treat one +part of the body. We have aurists, dentists and oculists, surgeons for +fractures of the bone, and others for internal diseases. By the ancient +priestly law a dentist is not allowed to treat a deaf man, nor a surgeon +for broken bones a patient who is suffering from a disease of the +bowels, even though he should have a first rate knowledge of internal +complaints. This law aims at securing a great degree of real and +thorough knowledge; an aim indeed, pursued by the priests (to whose +caste the physicians belong) with a most praiseworthy earnestness in all +branches of science. Yonder lies the house of the high-priest Neithotep, +whose knowledge of astronomy and geometry was so highly praised, even +by Pythagoras. It lies next to the porch leading into the temple of +the goddess Neith, the protectress of Sais. Would I could show thee the +sacred grove with its magnificent trees, the splendid pillars of the +temple with capitals modelled from the lotus-flower, and the colossal +chapel which I caused to be wrought from a single piece of granite, as +an offering to the goddess; but alas! entrance is strictly refused to +strangers by the priests. Come, let us seek my wife and daughter; they +have conceived an affection for thee, and indeed it is my wish that thou +shouldst gain a friendly feeling towards this poor maiden before she +goes forth with thee to the strange land, and to the strange nation +whose princess she is to become. Wilt thou not adopt and take her under +thy care?" + +"On that thou may'st with fullest confidence rely," replied Croesus +with warmth, returning the pressure of Amasis' hand. "I will protect +thy Nitetis as if I were her father; and she will need my help, for the +apartments of the women in the Persian palaces are dangerous ground. But +she will meet with great consideration. Cambyses may be contented with +his choice, and will be highly gratified that thou hast entrusted him +with thy fairest child. Nebenchari had only spoken of Tachot, thy second +daughter." + +"Nevertheless I will send my beautiful Nitetis. Tachot is so tender, +that she could scarcely endure the fatigues of the journey and the pain +of separation. Indeed were I to follow the dictates of my own heart, +Nitetis should never leave us for Persia. But Egypt stands in need of +peace, and I was a king before I became a father!" + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +The other members of the Persian embassy had returned to Sais from their +excursion up the Nile to the pyramids. Prexaspes alone, the ambassador +from Cambyses, had already set out for Persia, in order to inform the +king of the successful issue of his suit. + +The palace of Amasis was full of life and stir. The huge building +was filled in all parts by the followers of the embassy, nearly three +hundred in number, and by the high guests themselves, to whom every +possible attention was paid. The courts of the palace swarmed with +guards and officials, with young priests and slaves, all in splendid +festal raiment. + +On this day it was the king's intention to make an especial display of +the wealth and splendor of his court, at a festival arranged in honor of +his daughter's betrothal. + +The lofty reception-hall opening on to the gardens, with its ceiling +sown with thousands of golden stars and supported by gaily-painted +columns, presented a magic appearance. Lamps of colored papyrus hung +against the walls and threw a strange light on the scene, something like +that when the sun's rays strike through colored glass. The space +between the columns and the walls was filled with choice plants, palms, +oleanders, pomegranates, oranges and roses, behind which an invisible +band of harp and flute-players was stationed, who received the guests +with strains of monotonous, solemn music. + +The floor of this hall was paved in black and white, and in the middle +stood elegant tables covered with dishes of all kinds, cold roast meats, +sweets, well-arranged baskets of fruit and cake, golden jugs of wine, +glass drinking-cups and artistic flower-vases. + +A multitude of richly-dressed slaves under direction of the +high-steward, busied themselves in handing these dishes to the +guests, who, either standing around, or reclining on sumptuous seats, +entertained themselves in conversation with their friends. + +Both sexes and all ages were to be found in this assembly. As the women +entered, they received charming little nosegays from the young priests +in the personal service of the king, and many a youth of high degree +appeared in the hall with flowers, which he not only offered to her he +loved best, but held up for her to smell. + +The Egyptian men, who were dressed as we have already seen them at +the reception of the Persian embassy, behaved towards the women with a +politeness that might almost be termed submissive. Among the latter few +could pretend to remarkable beauty, though there were many bewitching +almond-shaped eyes, whose loveliness was heightened by having their lids +dyed with the eye-paint called "mestem." The majority wore their hair +arranged in the same manner; the wealth of waving brown locks floated +back over the shoulders and was brushed behind the ears, one braid being +left on each side to hang over the temples to the breast. A broad diadem +confined these locks, which as the maids knew, were quite as often the +wig-maker's work as Nature's. Many ladies of the court wore above their +foreheads a lotus-flower, whose stem drooped on the hair at the back. + +They carried fans of bright feathers in their delicate hands. These +were loaded with rings; the finger-nails were stained red, according to +Egyptian custom, and gold or silver bands were worn above the elbow, and +at the wrists and ankles. + + [This custom (of staining finger-nails) is still prevalent in the + East; the plant Shenna, Laosonia spinosa, called by Pliny XIII. + Cyprus, being used for the purpose. The Egyptian government has + prohibited the dye, but it will be difficult to uproot the ancient + custom. The pigment for coloring the eyelids, mentioned in the + text, is also still employed. The Papyrus Ebers alludes to the + Arabian kohl or antimony, which is frequently mentioned under the + name of "mestem" on monuments belonging to the time of the + Pharaohs.] + +Their robes were beautiful and costly, and in many cases so cut as to +leave the right breast uncovered. Bartja, the young Persian prince, +among the men, and Nitetis, the Pharaoh's daughter, among the women, +were equally conspicuous for their superior beauty, grace and charms. +The royal maiden wore a transparent rose-colored robe, in her black hair +were fresh roses, she walked by the side of her sister, the two robed +alike, but Nitetis pale as the lotus-flower in her mother's hair. + +Ladice, the queen, by birth a Greek, and daughter of Battus of Cyrene, +walked by the side of Amasis and presented the young Persians to her +children. A light lace robe was thrown over her garment of purple, +embroidered with gold; and on her beautiful Grecian head she wore the +Urmus serpent, the ornament peculiar to Egyptian queens. + +Her countenance was noble yet charming, and every movement betrayed the +grace only to be imparted by a Greek education. + +Amasis, in making choice of this queen, after the death of his second +wife, (the Egyptian Tentcheta, mother of Psamtik the heir to the +throne,) had followed his prepossession in favor of the Greek nation and +defied the wrath of the priests. + +The two girls at Ladice's side, Tachot and Nitetis, were called +twin-sisters, but showed no signs of that resemblance usually to be +found in twins. + +Tachot was a fair, blue-eyed girl, small, and delicately built; Nitetis, +on the other hand, tall and majestic, with black hair and eyes, evinced +in every action that she was of royal blood. + +"How pale thou look'st, my child!" said Ladice, kissing Nitetis' cheek. +"Be of good courage, and meet thy future bravely. Here is the noble +Bartja, the brother of thy future husband." + +Nitetis raised her dark, thoughtful eyes and fixed them long and +enquiringly on the beautiful youth. He bowed low before the blushing +maiden, kissed her garment, and said: + +"I salute thee, as my future queen and sister! I can believe that +thy heart is sore at parting from thy home, thy parents, brethren and +sisters; but be of good courage; thy husband is a great hero, and +a powerful king; our mother is the noblest of women, and among the +Persians the beauty and virtue of woman is as much revered as the +life-giving light of the sun. Of thee, thou sister of the lily Nitetis, +whom, by her side I might venture to call the rose, I beg forgiveness, +for robbing thee of thy dearest friend." + +As he said these words he looked eagerly into Tachot's beautiful blue +eyes; she bent low, pressing her hand upon her heart, and gazed on him +long after Amasis had drawn him away to a seat immediately opposite +the dancing-girls, who were just about to display their skill for the +entertainment of the guests. A thin petticoat was the only clothing +of these girls, who threw and wound their flexible limbs to a measure +played on harp and tambourine. After the dance appeared Egyptian singers +and buffoons for the further amusement of the company. + +At length some of the courtiers forsook the hall, their grave demeanor +being somewhat overcome by intoxication. + + [Unfortunately women, as well as men, are to be seen depicted on the + monuments in an intoxicated condition. One man is being carried + home, like a log of wood, on the heads of his servants. Wilkinson + II. 168. Another is standing on his head II. 169. and several + ladies are in the act of returning the excessive quantity which they + have drunk. Wilkinson II. 167. At the great Techu-festival at + Dendera intoxication seems to have been as much commanded as at the + festivals of Dionysus under the Ptolemies, one of whom (Ptolemy + Dionysus) threatened those who remained sober with the punishment of + death. But intoxication was in general looked upon by the Egyptians + as a forbidden and despicable vice. In the Papyrus Anastasi IV., + for instance, we read these words on a drunkard: "Thou art as a + sanctuary without a divinity, as a house without bread," and + further: "How carefully should men avoid beer (hek)." A number of + passages in the Papyrus denounce drunkards.] + +The women were carried home in gay litters by slaves with torches; and +only the highest military commanders, the Persian ambassadors and a +few officials, especial friends of Amasis, remained behind. These +were retained by the master of the ceremonies, and conducted to a +richly-ornamented saloon, where a gigantic wine-bowl standing on a table +adorned in the Greek fashion, invited to a drinking-bout. + +Amasis was seated on a high arm-chair at the head of the table; at his +left the youthful Bartja, at his right the aged Croesus. Besides these +and the other Persians, Theodorus and Ibykus, the friends of Polykrates, +already known to us, and Aristomachus, now commander of the Greek +body-guard, were among the king's guests. + +Amasis, whom we have just heard in such grave discourse with Croesus, +now indulged in jest and satire. He seemed once more the wild officer, +the bold reveller of the olden days. + +His sparkling, clever jokes, at times playful, at times scornful, flew +round among the revellers. The guests responded in loud, perhaps often +artificial laughter, to their king's jokes, goblet after goblet was +emptied, and the rejoicings had reached their highest point, when +suddenly the master of the ceremonies appeared, bearing a small gilded +mummy; and displaying it to the gaze of the assembly, exclaimed. "Drink, +jest, and be merry, for all too soon ye shall become like unto this!" + + [Wilkinson gives drawings of these mummies (II. 410.) hundreds of + which were placed in the tombs, and have been preserved to us. + Lucian was present at a banquet, when they were handed round. The + Greeks seem to have adopted this custom, but with their usual talent + for beautifying all they touched, substituted a winged figure of + death for the mummy. Maxims similar to the following one are by no + means rare. "Cast off all care; be mindful only of pleasure until + the day cometh when then must depart on the journey, whose goal is + the realm of silence!" Copied from the tomb of Neferhotep to + Abd-el-Qurnah.] + +"Is it your custom thus to introduce death at all your banquets?" said +Bartja, becoming serious, "or is this only a jest devised for to-day by +your master of the ceremonies?" + +"Since the earliest ages," answered Amasis, "it has been our custom to +display these mummies at banquets, in order to increase the mirth of the +revellers, by reminding them that one must enjoy the time while it is +here. Thou, young butterfly, hast still many a long and joyful year +before thee; but we, Croesus, we old men, must hold by this firmly. Fill +the goblets, cup-bearer, let not one moment of our lives be wasted! Thou +canst drink well, thou golden-haired Persian! Truly the great gods have +endowed thee not only with beautiful eyes, and blooming beauty, but with +a good throat! Let me embrace thee, thou glorious youth, thou rogue! +What thinkest thou Croesus? my daughter Tachot can speak of nothing else +than of this beardless youth, who seems to have quite turned her little +head with his sweet looks and words. Thou needest not to blush, young +madcap! A man such as thou art, may well look at king's daughters; but +wert thou thy father Cyrus himself, I could not allow my Tachot to leave +me for Persia!" + +"Father!" whispered the crown-prince Psamtik, interrupting this +conversation. "Father, take care what you say, and remember Phanes." The +king turned a frowning glance on his son; but following his advice, took +much less part in the conversation, which now became more general. + +The seat at the banquet-table, occupied by Aristomachus, placed him +nearly opposite to Croesus, on whom, in total silence and without once +indulging in a smile at the king's jests, his eyes had been fixed +from the beginning of the revel. When the Pharaoh ceased to speak, he +accosted Croesus suddenly with the following question: "I would know, +Lydian, whether the snow still covered the mountains, when ye left +Persia." + +Smiling, and a little surprised at this strange speech, Croesus +answered: "Most of the Persian mountains were green when we started for +Egypt four months ago; but there are heights in the land of Cambyses +on which, even in the hottest seasons, the snow never melts, and the +glimmer of their white crests we could still perceive, as we descended +into the plains." + +The Spartan's face brightened visibly, and Croesus, attracted by this +serious, earnest man, asked his name. "My name is Aristomachus." + +"That name seems known to me." + +"You were acquainted with many Hellenes, and my name is common among +them." + +"Your dialect would bespeak you my opinion a Spartan." + +"I was one once." + +"And now no more?" + +"He who forsakes his native land without permission, is worthy of +death." + +"Have you forsaken it with your own free-will?" + +"Yes." + +"For what reason?" + +"To escape dishonor." + +"What was your crime?" + +"I had committed none." + +"You were accused unjustly?" + +"Yes." + +"Who was the author of your ill-fortune?" + +"Yourself." + +Croesus started from his seat. The serious tone and gloomy face of +the Spartan proved that this was no jest, and those who sat near the +speakers, and had been following this strange dialogue, were alarmed and +begged Aristomachus to explain his words. + +He hesitated and seemed unwilling to speak; at last, however, at the +king's summons, he began thus: + +"In obedience to the oracle, you, Croesus, had chosen us Lacedaemonians, +as the most powerful among the Hellenes, to be your allies against the +might of Persia; and you gave us gold for the statue of Apollo on Mount +Thornax. The ephori, on this, resolved to present you with a gigantic +bronze wine-bowl, richly wrought. I was chosen as bearer of this gift. +Before reaching Sardis our ship was wrecked in a storm. The wine-cup +sank with it, and we reached Samos with nothing but our lives. On +returning home I was accused by enemies, and those who grudged my good +fortune, of having sold both ship and wine-vessel to the Samians. As +they could not convict me of the crime, and had yet determined on my +ruin, I was sentenced to two days' and nights' exposure on the pillory. +My foot was chained to it during the night; but before the morning of +disgrace dawned, my brother brought me secretly a sword, that my honor +might be saved, though at the expense of my life. But I could not +die before revenging myself on the men who had worked my ruin; and +therefore, cutting the manacled foot from my leg, I escaped, and hid in +the rushes on the banks of the Furotas. My brother brought me food and +drink in secret; and after two months I was able to walk on the wooden +leg you now see. Apollo undertook my revenge; he never misses his mark, +and my two worst opponents died of the plague. Still I durst not return +home, and at length took ship from Gythium to fight against the Persians +under you, Croesus. On landing at Teos, I heard that you were king no +longer, that the mighty Cyrus, the father of yonder beautiful youth, had +conquered the powerful province of Lydia in a few weeks, and reduced the +richest of kings to beggary." + +Every guest gazed at Aristomachus in admiration. Croesus shook his hard +hand; and Bartja exclaimed: "Spartan, I would I could take you back with +me to Susa, that my friends there might see what I have seen myself, the +most courageous, the most honorable of men!" + +"Believe me, boy," returned Aristomachus smiling, "every Spartan would +have done the same. In our country it needs more courage to be a coward +than a brave man." + +"And you, Bartja," cried Darius, the Persian king's cousin, "could you +have borne to stand at the pillory?" Bartja reddened, but it was easy to +see that he too preferred death to disgrace. + +"Zopyrus, what say you?" asked Darius of the third young Persian. + +"I could mutilate my own limbs for love of you two," answered he, +grasping unobserved the hands of his two friends. + +With an ironical smile Psamtik sat watching this scene--the pleased +faces of Amasis, Croesus and Gyges, the meaning glances of the +Egyptians, and the contented looks with which Aristomachus gazed on the +young heroes. + +Ibykus now told of the oracle which had promised Aristomachus a return +to his native land, on the approach of the men from the snowy mountains, +and at the same time, mentioned the hospitable house of Rhodopis. + +On hearing this name Psamtik grew restless; Croesus expressed a wish to +form the acquaintance of the Thracian matron, of whom AEsop had related +so much that was praiseworthy; and, as the other guests, many of whom +had lost consciousness through excessive drinking, were leaving the +hall, the dethroned monarch, the poet, the sculptor and the Spartan hero +made an agreement to go to Naukratis the next day, and there enjoy the +conversation of Rhodopis. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +On the night following the banquet just described, Amasis allowed +himself only three hours' rest. On this, as on every other morning, the +young priests wakened him at the first cock-crow, conducted him as usual +to the bath, arrayed him in the royal vestments and led him to the altar +in the court of the palace, where in presence of the populace he offered +sacrifice. During the offering the priests sang prayers in a loud voice, +enumerated the virtues of their king, and, that blame might in no case +light on the head of their ruler, made his bad advisers responsible for +every deadly sin committed in ignorance. + +They exhorted him to the performance of good deeds, while extolling his +virtues; read aloud profitable portions of the holy writings, containing +the deeds and sayings of great men, and then conducted him to his +apartments, where letters and information from all parts of the kingdom +awaited him. + +Amasis was in the habit of observing most faithfully these +daily-repeated ceremonies and hours of work; the remaining portion of +the day he spent as it pleased him, and generally in cheerful society. + +The priests reproached him with this, alleging that such a life was +not suited to a monarch; and on one occasion he had thus replied to the +indignant high-priest: "Look at this bow! if always bent it must lose +its power, but, if used for half of each day and then allowed to rest, +it will remain strong and useful till the string breaks." + +Amasis had just signed his name to the last letter, granting the +petition of a Nornarch--[Administrator of a Province]--for money +to carry on different embankments rendered necessary by the last +inundation, when a servant entered, bringing a request from the +crown-prince Psamtik for an audience of a few minutes. + +Amasis, who till this moment had been smiling cheerfully at the cheering +reports from all parts of the country, now became suddenly serious and +thoughtful. After long delay he answered: "Go and inform the prince that +he may appear." + +Psamtik appeared, pale and gloomy as ever; he bowed low and +reverentially, on entering his father's presence. + +Amasis nodded silently in return, and then asked abruptly and sternly: +"What is thy desire? my time is limited." + +"For your son, more than for others," replied the prince with quivering +lips. "Seven times have I petitioned for the great favor, which thou +grantest for the first time to-day." + +"No reproaches! I suspect the reason of thy visit. Thou desirest an +answer to thy doubts as to the birth of thy sister Nitetis." + +"I have no curiosity; I come rather to warn thee, and to remind thee +that I am not the only one who is acquainted with this mystery." + +"Speakest thou of Phanes?" + +"Of whom else should I speak? He is banished from Egypt and from his +own country, and must leave Naukratis in a few days. What guarantee hast +thou, that he will not betray us to the Persians?" + +"The friendship and kindness which I have always shown him." + +"Dost thou believe in the gratitude of men?" + +"No! but I rely on my own discernment of character. Phanes will not +betray us! he is my friend, I repeat it!" + +"Thy friend perhaps, but my mortal enemy!" + +"Then stand on thy guard! I have nothing to fear from him." + +"For thyself perhaps nought, but for our country! O father, reflect that +though as thy son I may be hateful in thine eyes, yet as Egypt's future +I ought to be near thy heart. Remember, that at thy death, which may the +gods long avert, I shall represent the existence of this glorious land +as thou dost now; my fall will be the ruin of thine house, of Egypt!" + +Amasis became more and more serious, and Psamtik went on eagerly: "Thou +knowest that I am right! Phanes can betray our land to any foreign +enemy; he is as intimately acquainted with it as we are; and beside +this, he possesses a secret, the knowledge of which would convert our +most powerful ally into a most formidable enemy." + +"There thou art in error. Though not mine, Nitetis is a king's daughter +and will know how to win the love of her husband." + +"Were she the daughter of a god, she could not save thee from Cambyses' +wrath, if he discovers the treachery; lying is to a Persian the worst +of crimes, to be deceived the greatest disgrace; thou hast deceived the +highest and proudest of the nation, and what can one inexperienced girl +avail, when hundreds of women, deeply versed in intrigue and artifice, +are striving for the favor of their lord?" + +"Hatred and revenge are good masters in the art of rhetoric," said +Amasis in a cutting tone. "And think'st thou then, oh, foolish son, +that I should have undertaken such a dangerous game without due +consideration? Phanes may tell the Persians what he likes, he can never +prove his point. I, the father, Ladice the mother must know best whether +Nitetis is our child or not. We call her so, who dare aver the contrary? +If it please Phanes to betray our land to any other enemy beside the +Persians, let him; I fear nothing! Thou wouldst have me ruin a man who +has been my friend, to whom I owe much gratitude, who has served me long +and faithfully; and this without offence from his side. Rather will I +shelter him from thy revenge, knowing as I do the impure source from +which it springs." + +"My father!" + +"Thou desirest the ruin of this man, because he hindered thee from +taking forcible possession of the granddaughter of Rhodopis, and because +thine own incapacity moved me to place him in thy room as commander +of the troops. Ah! thou growest pale! Verily, I owe Phanes thanks for +confiding to me your vile intentions, and so enabling me to bind my +friends and supporters, to whom Rhodopis is precious, more firmly to my +throne." + +"And is it thus thou speakest of these strangers, my father? dost thou +thus forget the ancient glory of Egypt? Despise me, if thou wilt; I know +thou lovest me not; but say not that to be great we need the help of +strangers! Look back on our history! Were we not greatest when our gates +were closed to the stranger, when we depended on ourselves and our own +strength, and lived according to the ancient laws of our ancestors +and our gods? Those days beheld the most distant lands subjugated by +Rameses, and heard Egypt celebrated in the whole world as its first and +greatest nation. What are we now? The king himself calls beggars and +foreigners the supporters of his throne, and devises a petty stratagem +to secure the friendship of a power over whom we were victorious before +the Nile was infested by these strangers. Egypt was then a mighty Queen +in glorious apparel; she is now a painted woman decked out in tinsel!" + + [Rameses the Great, son of Sethos, reigned over Egypt 1394-1328 B. + C. He was called Sesostris by the Greeks; see Lepsius (Chron. d. + Aegypter, p. 538.) on the manner in which this confusion of names + arose. Egypt attained the zenith of her power under this king, + whose army, according to Diodorus (I. 53-58). consisted of 600,000 + foot and 24,000 horsemen, 27,000 chariots and 400 ships of war. + With these hosts he subdued many of the Asiatic and African nations, + carving his name and likeness, as trophies of victory, on the rocks + of the conquered countries. Herodotus speaks of having seen two of + these inscriptions himself (II. 102-106.) and two are still to be + found not far from Bairut. His conquests brought vast sums of + tribute into Egypt. Tacitus annal. II. 60. and these enabled him to + erect magnificent buildings in the whole length of his land from + Nubia to Tanis, but more especially in Thebes, the city in which he + resided. One of the obelisks erected by Rameses at Heliopolis is + now standing in the Place de la Concorde at Paris, and has been + lately translated by E. Chabas. On the walls of the yet remaining + palaces and temples, built under this mighty king, we find, even to + this day, thousands of pictures representing himself, his armed + hosts, the many nations subdued by the power of his arms, and the + divinities to whose favor he believed these victories were owing. + Among the latter Ammon and Bast seem to have received his especial + veneration, and, on the other hand, we read in these inscriptions + that the gods were very willing to grant the wishes of their + favorite. A poetical description of the wars he waged with the + Cheta is to be found in long lines of hieroglyphics on the south + wall of the hall of columns of Rameses II. at Karnal, also at Luxor + and in the Sallier Papyrus, and an epic poem referring to his mighty + deeds in no less than six different places.] + +"Have a care what thou sayest!" shouted Amasis stamping on the floor. +"Egypt was never so great, so flourishing as now! Rameses carried our +arms into distant lands and earned blood; through my labors the products +of our industry have been carried to all parts of the world and instead +of blood, have brought us treasure and blessing. Rameses caused the +blood and sweat of his subjects to flow in streams for the honor of his +own great name; under my rule their blood flows rarely, and the sweat +of their brow only in works of usefulness. Every citizen can now end his +days in prosperity and comfort. Ten thousand populous cities rise on the +shores of the Nile, not a foot of the soil lies untilled, every child +enjoys the protection of law and justice, and every ill-doer shuns the +watchful eye of the authorities. + +"In case of attack from without, have we not, as defenders of those +god-given bulwarks, our cataracts, our sea and our deserts, the finest +army that ever bore arms? Thirty thousand Hellenes beside our entire +Egyptian military caste? such is the present condition of Egypt! Rameses +purchased the bright tinsel of empty fame with the blood and tears of +his people. To me they are indebted for the pure gold of a peaceful +welfare as citizens--to me and to my predecessors, the Saitic kings!" + + [The science of fortification was very fairly understood by the + ancient Egyptians. Walled and battlemented forts are to be seen + depicted on their monuments. We have already endeavored to show + (see our work on Egypt. I. 78 and following) that, on the northeast, + Egypt defended from Asiatic invasion by a line of forts extending + from Pelusium to the Red Sea.] + +"And yet I tell thee," cried the prince, "that a worm is gnawing at the +root of Egypt's greatness and her life. This struggle for riches and +splendor corrupts the hearts of the people, foreign luxury has given a +deadly blow to the simple manners of our citizens, and many an Egyptian +has been taught by the Greeks to scoff at the gods of his fathers. Every +day brings news of bloody strife between the Greek mercenaries and our +native soldiery, between our own people and the strangers. The shepherd +and his flock are at variance; the wheels of the state machinery are +grinding one another and thus the state itself, into total ruin. This +once, father, though never again, I must speak out clearly what is +weighing on my heart. While engaged in contending with the priests, thou +hast seen with calmness the young might of Persia roll on from the East, +consuming the nations on its way, and, like a devouring monster, growing +more and more formidable from every fresh prey. Thine aid was not, as +thou hadst intended, given to the Lydians and Babylonians against the +enemy, but to the Greeks in the building of temples to their false gods. +At last resistance seemed hopeless; a whole hemisphere with its rulers +lay in submission at the feet of Persia; but even then the gods +willed Egypt a chance of deliverance. Cambyses desired thy daughter in +marriage. Thou, however, too weak to sacrifice thine own flesh and blood +for the good of all, hast substituted another maiden, not thine own +child, as an offering to the mighty monarch; and at the same time, in +thy soft-heartedness, wilt spare the life of a stranger in whose hand he +the fortunes of this realm, and who will assuredly work its ruin; unless +indeed, worn out by internal dissension, it perish even sooner from its +own weakness!" + +Thus far Amasis had listened to these revilings of all he held dearest +in silence, though pale, and trembling with rage; but now he broke forth +in a voice, the trumpet-like sound of which pealed through the wide +hall: "Know'st thou not then, thou boasting and revengeful son of evil, +thou future destroyer of this ancient and glorious kingdom, know'st +thou not whose life must be the sacrifice, were not my children, and the +dynasty which I have founded, dearer to me than the welfare of the whole +realm? Thou, Psamtik, thou art the man, branded by the gods, feared by +men--the man to whose heart love and friendship are strangers, whose +face is never seen to smile, nor his soul known to feel compassion! +It is not, however, through thine own sin that thy nature is thus +unblessed, that all thine undertakings end unhappily. Give heed, for now +I am forced to relate what I had hoped long to keep secret from thine +ears. After dethroning my predecessor, I forced him to give me his +sister Tentcheta in marriage. She loved me; a year after marriage there +was promise of a child. During the night preceding thy birth I fell +asleep at the bedside of my wife. I dreamed that she was lying on the +shores of the Nile, and complained to me of pain in the breast. Bending +down, I beheld a cypress-tree springing from her heart. It grew larger +and larger, black and spreading, twined its roots around thy mother and +strangled her. A cold shiver seized me, and I was on the point of flying +from the spot, when a fierce hurricane came from the East, struck the +tree and overthrew it, so that its spreading branches were cast into the +Nile. Then the waters ceased to flow; they congealed, and, in place +of the river, a gigantic mummy lay before me. The towns on its banks +dwindled into huge funereal urns, surrounding the vast corpse of the +Nile as in a tomb. At this I awoke and caused the interpreters of dreams +to be summoned. None could explain the vision, till at last the priests +of the Libyan Ammon gave me the following interpretation 'Tentcheta will +die in giving birth to a son. The cypress, which strangled its mother, +is this gloomy, unhappy man. In his days a people shall come from the +East and shall make of the Nile, that is of the Egyptians, dead bodies, +and of their cities ruinous heaps; these are the urns for the dead, +which thou sawest." + +Psamtik listened as if turned into stone; his father continued; "Thy +mother died in giving birth to thee; fiery-red hair, the mark of the +sons of Typhon, grew around thy brow; thou becam'st a gloomy man. +Misfortune pursued thee and robbed thee of a beloved wife and four of +thy children. The astrologers computed that even as I had been born +under the fortunate sign of Amman, so thy birth had been watched over +by the rise of the awful planet Seb. Thou..." But here Amasis broke off, +for Psamtik, in the anguish produced by these fearful disclosures had +given way, and with sobs and groans, cried: + +"Cease, cruel father! spare me at least the bitter words, that I am the +only son in Egypt who is hated by his father without cause!" + +Amasis looked down on the wretched man who had sunk to the earth before +him, his face hidden in the folds of his robe, and the father's wrath +was changed to compassion. He thought of Psamtik's mother, dead forty +years before, and felt he had been cruel in inflicting this poisonous +wound on her son's soul. It was the first time for years, that he had +been able to feel towards this cold strange man, as a father and a +comforter. For the first time he saw tears in the cold eyes of his son, +and could feel the joy of wiping them away. He seized the opportunity +at once, and bending clown over the groaning form, kissed his forehead, +raised him from the ground and said gently: + +"Forgive my anger, my son! the words that have grieved thee came not +from my heart, but were spoken in the haste of wrath. Many years hast +thou angered me by thy coldness, hardness and obstinacy; to-day thou +hast wounded me again in my most sacred feelings; this hurried me into +an excess of wrath. But now all is right between us. Our natures are so +diverse that our innermost feelings will never be one, but at least we +can act in concert for the future, and show forbearance one towards the +other." + +In silence Psamtik bowed down and kissed his father's robe "Not so," +exclaimed the latter; "rather let my lips receive thy kiss, as is meet +and fitting between father and son! Thou needest not to think again of +the evil dream I have related. Dreams are phantoms, and even if sent +by the gods, the interpreters thereof are human and erring. Thy hand +trembles still, thy cheeks are white as thy robe. I was hard towards +thee, harder than a father...." + +"Harder than a stranger to strangers," interrupted his son. "Thou hast +crushed and broken me, and if till now my face has seldom worn a +smile, from this day forward it can be naught but a mirror of my inward +misery." + +"Not so," said Amasis, laying his hand on his son's shoulder. "If I +wound, I can also heal. Tell me the dearest wish of thy heart, it shall +be granted thee!" + +Psamtik's eyes flashed, his sallow cheeks glowed for a moment, and he +answered without consideration, though in a voice still trembling from +the shock he had just received: "Deliver Phanes, my enemy, into my +power!" + +The king remained a few moments in deep thought, then answered: "I knew +what thou wouldst ask, and will fulfil thy desire: but I would rather +thou hadst asked the half of my treasures. A thousand voices within warn +me that I am about to do an unworthy deed and a ruinous--ruinous for +myself, for thee, the kingdom and our house. Reflect before acting, and +remember, whatever thou mayst meditate against Phanes, not a hair of +Rhodopis' head shall be touched. Also, that the persecution of my poor +friend is to remain a secret from the Greeks. Where shall I find his +equal as a commander, an adviser and a companion? He is not yet in thy +power, however, and I advise thee to remember, that though thou mayst be +clever for an Egyptian, Phanes is a clever Greek. I will remind thee +too of thy solemn oath to renounce the grandchild of Rhodopis. Methinks +vengeance is dearer to thee than love, and the amends I offer will +therefore be acceptable! As to Egypt, I repeat once again, she was never +more flourishing than now; a fact which none dream of disputing, except +the priests, and those who retail their foolish words. And now give ear, +if thou wouldst know the origin of Nitetis. Self-interest will enjoin +secrecy." + +Psamtik listened eagerly to his father's communication, indicating his +gratitude at the conclusion by a warm pressure of the hand. + +"Now farewell," said Amasis. "Forget not my words, and above all shed no +blood! I will know nothing of what happens to Phanes, for I hate cruelty +and would not be forced to stand in horror of my own son. But thou, thou +rejoicest! My poor Athenian, better were it for thee, hadst thou never +entered Egypt!" + +Long after Psamtik had left, his father continued to pace the hall in +deep thought. He was sorry he had yielded; it already seemed as if he +saw the bleeding Phanes lying massacred by the side of the dethroned +Hophra. "It is true, he could have worked our ruin," was the plea he +offered to the accuser within his own breast, and with these words, +he raised his head, called his servants and left the apartment with a +smiling countenance. + +Had this sanguine man, this favorite of fortune, thus speedily quieted +the warning voice within, or was he strong enough to cloak his torture +with a smile? + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +Psamtik went at once from his father's apartments to the temple of the +goddess Neith. At the entrance he asked for the high-priest and was +begged by one of the inferior priests to wait, as the great Neithotep +was at that moment praying in the holiest sanctuary of the exalted Queen +of Heaven. + + [The temples of Egypt were so constructed as to intensify the + devotion of the worshipper by conducting him onward through a series + of halls or chambers gradually diminishing in size. "The way + through these temples is clearly indicated, no digression is + allowed, no error possible. We wander on through the huge and + massive gates of entrance, between the ranks of sacred animals. The + worshipper is received into an ample court, but by degrees the walls + on either side approach one another, the halls become less lofty, + all is gradually tending towards one point. And thus we wander on, + the sights and sounds of God's world without attract us no longer, + we see nothing but the sacred representations which encompass us so + closely, feel only the solemnity of the temple in which we stand. + And the consecrated walls embrace us ever more and more closely, + until at last we reach the lonely, resonant chamber occupied by the + divinity himself, and entered by no human being save his priest." + Schnaase, Kunstaeschirhtc I. 394.] + +After a short time a young priest appeared with the intelligence that +his superior awaited the Prince's visit. Psamtik had seated himself +under the shadow of the sacred grove of silver poplars bordering +the shores of the consecrated lake, holy to the great Neith. He rose +immediately, crossed the temple-court, paved with stone and asphalte, on +which the sun's rays were darting like fiery arrows, and turned into one +of the long avenues of Sphinxes which led to the isolated Pylons before +the gigantic temple of the goddess. He then passed through the principal +gate, ornamented, as were all Egyptian temple-entrances, with the winged +sun's disc. Above its widely-opened folding doors arose on either side, +tower-like buildings, slender obelisks and waving flags. The front of +the temple, rising from the earth in the form of an obtuse angle, had +somewhat the appearance of a fortress, and was covered with colored +pictures and inscriptions. Through the porch Psamtik passed on into a +lofty entrance-chamber, and from thence into the great hall itself, +the ceiling of which was strewn with thousands of golden stars, and +supported by four rows of lofty pillars. Their capitals were carved in +imitation of the lotus-flower, and these, the shafts of the columns, the +walls of this huge hall, and indeed every niche and corner that met the +eye were covered with brilliant colors and hieroglyphics. The columns +rose to a gigantic height, the eye seemed to wander through immeasurable +space, and the air breathed by the worshippers was heavy with the +fragrance of Kyphi and incense, and the odors which arose from the +laboratory attached to the temple. Strains of soft music, proceeding +from invisible hands, flowed on unceasingly, only occasionally +interrupted by the deep lowing of the sacred cows of Isis, or the shrill +call of the sparrow-hawk of Horus, whose habitations were in one of the +adjoining halls. No sooner did the prolonged low of a cow break like +distant thunder on the ear, or the sharp cry of the sparrow-hawk shoot +like a flash of lightning through the nerves of the worshippers, than +each crouching form bent lower still, and touched the pavement with his +forehead. On a portion of this pavement, raised above the rest, stood +the priests, some wearing ostrich-feathers on their bald and shining +heads; others panther-skins over their white-robed shoulders. Muttering +and singing, bowing low and rising again, they swung the censers and +poured libations of pure water to the gods out of golden vessels. In +this immense temple man seemed a dwarf in his own eyes. All his senses +even to the organs of respiration, were occupied by objects far removed +from daily life, objects that thrilled and almost oppressed him. +Snatched from all that was familiar in his daily existence, he seemed +to grow dizzy and seek support beyond himself. To this the voice of the +priests directed him and the cries of the sacred animals were believed +to prove a divinity at hand. + +Psamtik assumed the posture of a worshipper on the low, gilded and +cushioned couch set apart for him, but was unable to pay any real +devotion, and passed on to the adjoining apartment before mentioned, +where the sacred cows of Isis-Neith and the sparrow-hawk of Horus were +kept. These creatures were concealed from the gaze of the worshippers +by a curtain of rich fabric embroidered with gold; the people were only +allowed an occasional and distant glimpse of the adorable animals. When +Psamtik passed they were just being fed; cakes soaked in milk, salt +and clover-blossoms were placed in golden cribs for the cows, and small +birds of many-colored plumage in the beautifully-wrought and ornamented +cage of the sparrow-hawk. But, in his present mood, the heir to the +throne of Egypt had no eye for these rare sights; but ascended at +once, by means of a hidden staircase, to the chambers lying near the +observatory, where the high-priest was accustomed to repose after the +temple-service. + +Neithotep, a man of seventy years, was seated in a splendid apartment. +Rich Babylonian carpets covered the floor and his chair was of gold, +cushioned with purple. A tastefully-carved footstool supported his feet, +his hands held a roll covered with hieroglyphics, and a boy stood behind +him with a fan of ostrich-feathers to keep away the insects. + +The face of the old man was deeply lined now, but it might once have +been handsome, and in the large blue eyes there still lay evidence of a +quick intellect and a dignified self-respect. + +His artificial curls had been laid aside, and the bald, smooth head +formed a strange contrast to the furrowed countenance, giving an +appearance of unusual height to the forehead, generally so very low +among the Egyptians. The brightly-colored walls of the room, on +which numerous sentences in hieroglyphic characters were painted, the +different statues of the goddess painted likewise in gay colors, and +the snow-white garments of the aged priest, were calculated to fill a +stranger not only with wonder, but with a species of awe. + +The old man received the prince with much affection, and asked: + +"What brings my illustrious son to the poor servant of the Deity?" + +"I have much to report to thee, my father;" answered Psamtik with a +triumphant smile, "for I come in this moment from Amasis." + +"Then he has at length granted thee an audience?" + +"At length!" + +"Thy countenance tells me that thou hast been favorably received by our +lord, thy father." + +"After having first experienced his wrath. For, when I laid before him +the petition with which thou hadst entrusted me, he was exceeding wroth +and nearly crushed me by his awful words." + +"Thou hadst surely grieved him by thy language. Didst thou approach +him as I advised thee, with lowliness, as a son humbly beseeching his +father?" + +"No, my father, I was irritated and indignant." + +"Then was Amasis right to be wrathful, for never should a son meet his +father in anger; still less when he hath a request to bring before him. +Thou know'st the promise, 'The days of him that honoreth his father +shall be many.' + + [This Egyptian command hears a remarkable resemblance to the fifth + in the Hebrew decalogue, both having a promise annexed. It occurs + in the Prisse Papyrus, the most ancient sacred writing extant.] + +In this one thing, my scholar, thou errest always; to gain thine ends +thou usest violence and roughness, where good and gentle words would +more surely prevail. A kind word hath far more power than an angry +one, and much may depend on the way in which a man ordereth his speech. +Hearken to that which I will now relate. In former years there was a +king in Egypt named Snefru, who ruled in Memphis. And it came to pass +that he dreamed, and in his dream his teeth fell out of his mouth. +And he sent for the soothsayers and told them the dream. The first +interpreter answered: 'Woe unto thee, O king, all thy kinsmen shall die +before thee!' Then was Snefru wroth, caused this messenger of evil to be +scourged, and sent for a second interpreter. He answered: 'O king, live +for ever, thy life shall be longer than the life of thy kinsmen and +the men of thy house!' Then the king smiled and gave presents unto +this interpreter, for though the interpretations were one, yet he had +understood to clothe his message in a web of fair and pleasant words. +Apprehendest thou? then hearken to my voice, and refrain from harsh +words, remembering that to the ear of a ruler the manner of a man's +speech is weightier than its matter." + +"Oh my father, how often hast thou thus admonished me! how often have +I been convinced of the evil consequences of my rough words and angry +gestures! but I cannot change my nature, I cannot..." + +"Say rather: I will not; for he that is indeed a man, dare never again +commit those sins of which he has once repented. But I have admonished +sufficiently. Tell me now how thou didst calm the wrath of Amasis." + +"Thou knowest my father. When he saw that he had wounded me in the +depths of my soul by his awful words, he repented him of his anger. He +felt he had been too hard, and desired to make amends at any price." + +"He hath a kindly heart, but his mind is blinded, and his senses taken +captive," cried the priest. "What might not Amasis do for Egypt, would +he but hearken to our counsel, and to the commandments of the gods!" + +"But hear me, my father! in his emotion he granted me the life of +Phanes!" + +"Thine eyes flash, Psamtik! that pleaseth me not. The Athenian must +die, for he has offended the gods; but though he that condemns must let +justice have her way, he should have no pleasure in the death of the +condemned; rather should he mourn. Now speak; didst thou obtain aught +further?" + +"The king declared unto me to what house Nitetis belongs." + +"And further naught?" + +"No, my father; but art thou not eager to learn?... " + +"Curiosity is a woman's vice; moreover, I have long known all that thou +canst tell me." + +"But didst thou not charge me but yesterday to ask my father this +question?" + +"I did do so to prove thee, and know whether thou wert resigned to the +Divine will, and wert walking in those ways wherein alone thou canst +become worthy of initiation into the highest grade of knowledge. Thou +hast told us faithfully all that thou hast heard, and thereby proved +that thou canst obey--the first virtue of a priest." + +"Thou knewest then the father of Nitetis?" + +"I myself pronounced the prayer over king Hophra's tomb." + +"But who imparted the secret to thee?" + +"The eternal stars, my son, and my skill in reading them." + +"And do these stars never deceive?" + +"Never him that truly understands them." + +Psamtik turned pale. His father's dream and his own fearful horoscope +passed like awful visions through his mind. The priest detected at once +the change in his features and said gently: "Thou deem'st thyself a +lost man because the heavens prognosticated evil at thy birth; but take +comfort, Psamtik; I observed another sign in the heavens at that +moment, which escaped the notice of the astrologers. Thy horoscope was a +threatening, a very threatening one, but its omens may be averted, they +may..." + +"O tell me, father, tell me how!" + +"They must turn to good, if thou, forgetful of all else, canst live +alone to the gods, paying a ready obedience to the Divine voice audible +to us their priests alone in the innermost and holiest sanctuary." + +"Father, I am ready to obey thy slightest word." + +"The great goddess Neith, who rules in Sais, grant this, my son!" +answered the priest solemnly. "But now leave me alone," he continued +kindly, "lengthened devotions and the weight of years bring weariness. +If possible, delay the death of Phanes, I wish to speak with him before +he dies. Yet one more word. A troop of Ethiopians arrived yesterday. +These men cannot speak a word of Greek, and under a faithful leader, +acquainted with the Athenians and the locality, they would be the best +agents for getting rid of the doomed man, as their ignorance of the +language and the circumstances render treachery or gossip impossible. +Before starting for Naukratis, they must know nothing of the design +of their journey; the deed once accomplished, we can send them back to +Kush.--[The Egyptian name for Ethiopia.] Remember, a secret can never +be too carefully kept! Farewell." Psamtik had only left the room a few +moments, when a young priest entered, one of the king's attendants. + +"Have I listened well, father?" he enquired of the old man. + +"Perfectly, my son. Nothing of that which passed between Amasis and +Psamtik has escaped thine ears. May Isis preserve them long to thee!" + +"Ah, father, a deaf man could have heard every word in the ante-chamber +to-day, for Amasis bellowed like an ox." + +"The great Neith has smitten him with the lack of prudence, yet I +command thee to speak of the Pharaoh with more reverence. But now +return, keep thine eyes open and inform me at once if Amasis, as is +possible, should attempt to thwart the conspiracy against Phanes. Thou +wilt certainly find me here. Charge the attendants to admit no one, and +to say I am at my devotions in the Holy of holies. May the ineffable One +protect thy footsteps!" + + [Isis, the wife or sister of Osiris, is the phenomena of nature, by + means of which the god is able to reveal himself to human + contemplation.] + + .................................. + +While Psamtik was making every preparation for the capture of Phanes, +Croesus, accompanied by his followers, had embarked on board a royal +bark, and was on his way down the Nile to spend the evening with +Rhodopis. + +His son Gyges and the three young Persians remained in Sais, passing the +time in a manner most agreeable to them. + +Amasis loaded them with civilities, allowed them, according to Egyptian +custom, the society of his queen and of the twin-sisters, as they were +called, taught Gyges the game of draughts, and looking on while the +strong, dexterous, young heroes joined his daughters in the game of +throwing balls and hoops, so popular among Egyptian maidens, enlivened +their amusements with an inexhaustible flow of wit and humor. + + [The Pharaohs themselves, as well as their subjects, were in the + habit of playing at draughts and other similar games. Rosellini + gives its Rameses playing with his daughter; see also two Egyptians + playing together, Wilkinson II. 419. An especially beautiful + draught-board exists in the Egyptian collection at the Louvre + Museum. The Egyptians hoped to be permitted to enjoy these + pleasures even in the other world.] + + [Balls that have been found in the tombs are still to be seen; some, + for instance, in the Museum at Leyden.] + +"Really," said Bartja, as he watched Nitetis catching the slight hoop, +ornamented with gay ribbons, for the hundredth time on her slender ivory +rod, "really we must introduce this game at home. We Persians are so +different from you Egyptians. Everything new has a special charm for +us, while to you it is just as hateful. I shall describe the game to Our +mother Kassandane, and she will be delighted to allow my brother's wives +this new amusement." + +"Yes, do, do!" exclaimed the fair Tachot blushing deeply. "Then Nitetis +can play too, and fancy herself back again at home and among those she +loves; and Bartja," she added in a low voice, "whenever you watch the +hoops flying, you too must remember this hour." + +"I shall never forget it," answered he with a smile, and then, turning +to his future sister-in-law, he called out cheerfully, "Be of good +courage, Nitetis, you will be happier than you fancy with us. We +Asiatics know how to honor beauty; and prove it by taking many wives." + +Nitetis sighed, and the queen Ladice exclaimed, "On the contrary, +that very fact proves that you understand but poorly how to appreciate +woman's nature! You can have no idea, Bartja, what a woman feels on +finding that her husband--the man who to her is more than life itself, +and to whom she would gladly and without reserve give up all that +she treasures as most sacred--looks down on her with the same kind +of admiration that he bestows on a pretty toy, a noble steed, or a +well-wrought wine-bowl. But it is yet a thousand-fold more painful to +feel that the love which every woman has a right to possess for herself +alone, must be shared with a hundred others!" + +"There speaks the jealous wife!" exclaimed Amasis. "Would you not fancy +that I had often given her occasion to doubt my faithfulness?" + +"No, no, my husband," answered Ladice, "in this point the Egyptian men +surpass other nations, that they remain content with that which they +have once loved; indeed I venture to assert that an Egyptian wife is the +happiest of women. + + [According to Diodorus (I. 27) the queen of Egypt held a higher + position than the king himself. The monuments and lists of names + certainly prove that women could rule with sovereign power. The + husband of the heiress to the throne became king. They had their + own revenues (Diodorus I. 52) and when a princess, after death, was + admitted among the goddesses, she received her own priestesses. + (Edict of Canopus.) During the reigns of the Ptolemies many coins + were stamped with the queen's image and cities were named for them. + We notice also that sons, in speaking of their descent, more + frequently reckon it from the mother's than the father's side, that + a married woman is constantly alluded to as the "mistress" or "lady" + of the house, that according to many a Greek Papyrus they had entire + disposal of all their property, no matter in what it consisted, in + short that the weaker sex seems to have enjoyed equal influence with + the stronger.] + +Even the Greeks, who in so many things may serve as patterns to us, do +not know how to appreciate woman rightly. Most of the young Greek girls +pass their sad childhood in close rooms, kept to the wheel and the +loom by their mothers and those who have charge of them, and when +marriageable, are transferred to the quiet house of a husband they do +not know, and whose work in life and in the state allows him but seldom +to visit his wife's apartments. Only when the most intimate friends and +nearest relations are with her husband, does she venture to appear in +their midst, and then shyly and timidly, hoping to hear a little of what +is going on in the great world outside. Ah, indeed! we women thirst +for knowledge too, and there are certain branches of learning at least, +which it cannot be right to withhold from those who are to be the +mothers and educators of the next generation. What can an Attic mother, +without knowledge, without experience, give to her daughters? Naught but +her own ignorance. And so it is, that a Hellene, seldom satisfied with +the society of his lawful, but, mentally, inferior wife, turns for +satisfaction to those courtesans, who, from their constant intercourse +with men, have acquired knowledge, and well understand how to adorn it +with the flowers of feminine grace, and to season it with the salt of a +woman's more refined and delicate wit. In Egypt it is different. A +young girl is allowed to associate freely with the most enlightened men. +Youths and maidens meet constantly on festive occasions, learn to know +and love one another. The wife is not the slave, but the friend of her +husband; the one supplies the deficiencies of the other. In weighty +questions the stronger decides, but the lesser cares of life are left +to her who is the greater in small things. The daughters grow up under +careful guidance, for the mother is neither ignorant nor inexperienced. +To be virtuous and diligent in her affairs becomes easy to a woman, for +she sees that it increases his happiness whose dearest possession she +boasts of being, and who belongs to her alone. The women only do that +which pleases us! but the Egyptian men understand the art of making +us pleased with that which is really good, and with that alone. On the +shores of the Nile, Phocylides of Miletus and Hipponax of Ephesus would +never have dared to sing their libels on women, nor could the fable of +Pandora have been possibly invented here!" + + [Simonides of Amorgos, an Iambic poet, who delighted in writing + satirical verses on women. He divides them into different classes, + which he compares to unclean animals, and considers that the only + woman worthy of a husband and able to make him happy must be like + the bee. The well-known fable of Pandora owes its origin to + Simonides. He lived about 650 B. C. The Egyptians too, speak very + severely of bad women, comparing them quite in the Simonides style + to beasts of prey (hyenas, lions and panthers). We find this + sentence on a vicious woman: She is a collection of every kind of + meanness, and a bag full of wiles. Chabas, Papyr. magrque Harris. + p. 135. Phocylides of Miletus, a rough and sarcastic, but + observant man, imitated Simonides in his style of writing. But the + deformed Hipponax of Ephesus, a poet crushed down by poverty, wrote + far bitterer verses than Phocylides. He lived about 550 B. C. "His + own ugliness (according to Bernhardy) is reflected in every one of + his Choliambics." ] + +"How beautifully you speak!" exclaimed Bartja. "Greek was not easy to +learn, but I am very glad now that I did not give it up in despair, and +really paid attention to Croesus' lessons." + +"Who could those men have been," asked Darius, "who dared to speak evil +of women?" + +"A couple of Greek poets," answered Amasis, "the boldest of men, for I +confess I would rather provoke a lioness than a woman. But these Greeks +do not know what fear is. I will give you a specimen of Hipponax's +Poetry: + + "There are but two days when a wife, + Brings pleasure to her husband's life, + The wedding-day, when hopes are bright, + And the day he buries her out of his sight." + +"Cease, cease," cried Ladice stopping her ears, that is too had. Now, +Persians, you can see what manner of man Amasis is. For the sake of +a joke, he will laugh at those who hold precisely the same opinion as +himself. There could not be a better husband. + +"Nor a worse wife," laughed Amasis. "Thou wilt make men think that I am +a too obedient husband. But now farewell, my children; our young heroes +must look at this our city of Sais; before parting, however, I will +repeat to them what the malicious Siuionides has sung of a good wife: + + "Dear to her spouse from youth to age she grows; + Fills with fair girls and sturdy boys his house; + Among all women womanliest seems, + And heavenly grace about her mild brow gleams. + A gentle wife, a noble spouse she walks, + Nor ever with the gossip mongers talks. + Such women sometimes Zeus to mortals gives, + The glory and the solace of their lives." + +"Such is my Ladice! now farewell!" + +"Not yet!" cried Bartja. "Let me first speak in defence of our poor +Persia and instil fresh courage into my future sister-in-law; but no! +Darius, thou must speak, thine eloquence is as great as thy skill in +figures and swordsmanship!" + +"Thou speakst of me as if I were a gossip or a shopkeeper,"--[This +nickname, which Darius afterwards earned, is more fully spoken +of]--answered the son of Hystaspes. "Be it so; I have been burning all +this time to defend the customs of our country. Know then, Ladice, that +if Auramazda dispose the heart of our king in his own good ways, your +daughter will not be his slave, but his friend. Know also, that in +Persia, though certainly only at high festivals, the king's wives have +their places at the men's table, and that we pay the highest reverence +to our wives and mothers. A king of Babylon once took a Persian wife; +in the broad plains of the Euphrates she fell sick of longing for her +native mountains; he caused a gigantic structure to be raised on arches, +and the summit thereof to be covered with a depth of rich earth; caused +the choicest trees and flowers to be planted there, and watered by +artificial machinery. This wonder completed, he led his wife thither; +from its top she could look down into the plains below, as from the +heights of Rachined, and with this costly gift he presented her. Tell +me, could even an Egyptian give more?" + + [This stupendous erection is said to have been constructed by + Nebuchadnezzar for his Persian wife Amytis. Curtius V. 5. + Josephus contra Apion. I. 19. Antiquities X. II. 1. Diod. II. 10. + For further particulars relative to the hanging-gardens, see later + notes.] + +"And did she recover?" asked Nitetis, without raising her eyes. + +"She recovered health and happiness; and you too will soon feel well and +happy in our country." + +"And now," said Ladice with a smile, "what, think you, contributed most +to the young queen's recovery? the beautiful mountain or the love of the +husband, who erected it for her sake?" + +"Her husband's love," cried the young girls. + +"But Nitetis would not disdain the mountain either," maintained Bartja, +"and I shall make it my care that whenever the court is at Babylon, she +has the hanging-gardens for her residence." + +"But now come," exclaimed Amasis, "unless you wish to see the city in +darkness. Two secretaries have been awaiting me yonder for the last two +hours. Ho! Sachons! give orders to the captain of the guard to accompany +our noble guests with a hundred men." + +"But why? a single guide, perhaps one of the Greek officers, would be +amply sufficient." + +"No, my young friends, it is better so. Foreigners can never be too +prudent in Egypt. Do not forget this, and especially be careful not to +ridicule the sacred animals. And now farewell, my young heroes, till we +meet again this evening over a merry wine-cup." + +The Persians then quitted the palace, accompanied by their interpreter, +a Greek, but who had been brought up in Egypt, and spoke both languages +with equal facility. + + [Psamtik I. is said to have formed a new caste, viz.: the caste of + Interpreters, out of those Greeks who had been born and bred up in + Egypt. Herod. II. 154. Herodotus himself was probably conducted by + such a "Dragoman."] + +Those streets of Sais which lay near the palace wore a pleasant aspect. +The houses, many of which were five stories high, were generally covered +with pictures or hieroglyphics; galleries with balustrades of carved and +gaily-painted wood-work, supported by columns also brightly painted, ran +round the walls surrounding the courts. In many cases the proprietor's +name and rank was to be read on the door, which was, however, well +closed and locked. Flowers and shrubs ornamented the flat roofs, on +which the Egyptians loved to spend the evening hours, unless indeed, +they preferred ascending the mosquito-tower with which nearly every +house was provided. These troublesome insects, engendered by the Nile, +fly low, and these little watch-towers were built as a protection from +them. + +The young Persians admired the great, almost excessive cleanliness, with +which each house, nay, even the streets themselves, literally shone. The +door-plates and knockers sparkled in the sun; paintings, balconies and +columns all had the appearance of having been only just finished, and +even the street-pavement looked as if it were often scoured. + + [The streets of Egyptian towns seem to have been paved, judging from + the ruins of Alabastron and Memphis. We know at least with + certainty that this was the case with those leading to the temples.] + +But as the Persians left the neighborhood of the Nile and the palace, +the streets became smaller. Sais was built on the slope of a moderately +high hill, and had only been the residence of the Pharaohs for two +centuries and a half, but, during that comparatively short interval, had +risen from an unimportant place into a town of considerable magnitude. + +On its river-side the houses and streets were brilliant, but on the +hill-slope lay, with but few more respectable exceptions, miserable, +poverty-stricken huts constructed of acacia-boughs and Nile-mud. On the +north-west rose the royal citadel. + +"Let us turn back here," exclaimed Gyges to his young companions. During +his father's absence he was responsible as their guide and protector, +and now perceived that the crowd of curious spectators, which had +hitherto followed them, was increasing at every step. + +"I obey your orders," replied the interpreter, "but yonder in the +valley, at the foot of that hill, lies the Saitic city of the dead, and +for foreigners I should think that would be of great interest." + +"Go forward!" cried Bartja. "For what did we leave Persia, if not to +behold these remarkable objects?" + +On arriving at an open kind of square surrounded by workmen's booths, +and not far from the city of the dead, confused cries rose among the +crowd behind them. + + [Artisans, as well among the ancient as the modern Egyptians, were + accustomed to work in the open air.] + +The children shouted for joy, the women called out, and one voice louder +than the rest was heard exclaiming: "Come hither to the fore-court of +the temple, and see the works of the great magician, who comes from the +western oases of Libya and is endowed with miraculous gifts by Chunsu, +the giver of good counsels, and by the great goddess Hekt." + +"Follow me to the small temple yonder," said the interpreter, "and you +will behold a strange spectacle." He pushed a way for himself and the +Persians through the crowd, obstructed in his course by many a sallow +woman and naked child; and at length came back with a priest, who +conducted the strangers into the fore-court of the temple. Here, +surrounded by various chests and boxes, stood a man in the dress of a +priest; beside him on the earth knelt two negroes. The Libyan was a +man of gigantic stature, with great suppleness of limb and a pair of +piercing black eyes. In his hand he held a wind-instrument resembling +a modern clarionet, and a number of snakes, known in Egypt to be +poisonous, lay coiling themselves over his breast and arms. + +On finding himself in the presence of the Persians he bowed low, +inviting them by a solemn gesture to gaze at his performances; he then +cast off his white robe and began all kinds of tricks with the snakes. + +He allowed them to bite him, till the blood trickled down his cheeks; +compelled them by the notes of his flute to assume an erect position +and perform a kind of dancing evolution; by spitting into their jaws +he transformed them to all appearance into motionless rods; and then, +dashing them all on to the earth, performed a wild dance in their midst, +yet without once touching a single snake. + +Like one possessed, he contorted his pliant limbs until his eyes seemed +starting from his head and a bloody foam issued from his lips. + +Suddenly he fell to the ground, apparently lifeless. A slight movement +of the lips and a low hissing whistle were the only signs of life; but, +on hearing the latter, the snakes crept up and twined themselves like +living rings around his neck, legs and body. At last he rose, sang a +hymn in praise of the divine power which had made him a magician, +and then laid the greater number of his snakes in one of the chests, +retaining a few, probably his favorites, to serve as ornaments for his +neck and arms. + +The second part of this performance consisted of clever +conjuring-tricks, in which he swallowed burning flax, balanced swords +while dancing, their points standing in the hollow of his eye; drew long +strings and ribbons out of the noses of the Egyptian children, exhibited +the well-known cup-and-ball trick, and, at length, raised the admiration +of the spectators to its highest pitch, by producing five living rabbits +from as many ostrich-eggs. + +The Persians formed no unthankful portion of the assembled crowd; on the +contrary, this scene, so totally new, impressed them deeply. + +They felt as if in the realm of miracles, and fancied they had now seen +the rarest of all Egyptian rarities. In silence they took their way back +to the handsomer streets of Sais, without noticing how many mutilated +Egyptians crossed their path. These poor disfigured creatures were +indeed no unusual sight for Asiatics, who punished many crimes by the +amputation of a limb. Had they enquired however, they would have heard +that, in Egypt, the man deprived of his hand was a convicted forger, the +woman of her nose, an adulteress; that the man without a tongue had been +found guilty of high treason or false witness; that the loss of the ears +denoted a spy, and that the pale, idiotic-looking woman yonder had been +guilty of infanticide, and had been condemned to hold the little corpse +three days and three nights in her arms. What woman could retain her +senses after these hours of torture?--[Diodorus I. 77.] + +The greater number of the Egyptian penal laws not only secured the +punishment of the criminal, but rendered a repetition of the offence +impossible. + +The Persian party now met with a hindrance, a large crowd having +assembled before one of the handsomest houses in the street leading to +the temple of Neith. The few windows of this house that could be seen +(the greater number opening on the garden and court) were closed with +shutters, and at the door stood an old man, dressed in the plain white +robe of a priest's servant. He was endeavoring, with loud cries, to +prevent a number of men of his own class from carrying a large chest out +of the house. + +"What right have you to rob my master?" he shrieked indignantly. "I am +the guardian of this house, and when my master left for Persia (may the +gods destroy that land!) he bade me take especial care of this chest in +which his manuscripts lay." + +"Compose yourself, old Hib!" shouted one of these inferior priests, the +same whose acquaintance we made on the arrival of the Asiatic Embassy. +"We are here in the name of the high-priest of the great Neith, your +master's master. There must be queer papers in this box, or Neithotep +would not have honored us with his commands to fetch them." + +"But I will not allow my master's papers to be stolen," shrieked the old +man. "My master is the great physician Nebenchari, and I will secure his +rights, even if I must appeal to the king himself." + +"There," cried the other, "that will do; out with the chest, you +fellows. Carry it at once to the high-priest; and you, old man, would +do more wisely to hold your tongue and remember that the high-priest is +your master as well as mine. Get into the house as quick as you can, or +to-morrow we shall have to drag you off as we did the chest to-day!" So +saying, he slammed the heavy door, the old man was flung backward into +the house and the crowd saw him no more. + +The Persians had watched this scene and obtained an explanation of its +meaning from their interpreter. Zopyrus laughed on hearing that the +possessor of the stolen chest was the oculist Nebenchari, the same who +had been sent to Persia to restore the sight of the king's mother, and +whose grave, even morose temper had procured him but little love at the +court of Cambyses. + +Bartja wished to ask Amasis the meaning of this strange robbery, but +Gyges begged him not to interfere in matters with which he had no +concern. Just as they reached the palace, and darkness, which in Egypt +so quickly succeeds the daylight, was already stealing over the city, +Gyges felt himself hindered from proceeding further by a firm hand on +his robe, and perceived a stranger holding his finger on his lips in +token of silence. + +"When can I speak with you alone and unobserved?" he whispered. + +"What do you wish from me?" + +"Ask no questions, but answer me quickly. By Mithras, I have weighty +matters to disclose." + +"You speak Persian, but your garments would proclaim you an Egyptian." + +"I am a Persian, but answer me quickly or we shall be noticed. When can +I speak to you alone?" + +"To-morrow morning." + +"That is too late." + +"Well then, in a quarter of an hour, when it is quite dark, at this gate +of the palace." + +"I shall expect you." + +So saying the man vanished. Once within the palace, Gyges left Bartja +and Zopyrus, fastened his sword into his girdle, begged Darius to do +the same and to follow him, and was soon standing again under the great +portico with the stranger, but this time in total darkness. + +"Auramazda be praised that you are there!" cried the latter in Persian +to the young Lydian; "but who is that with you?" + +"Darius, the son of Hystaspes, one of the Achaemenidae; and my friend." + +The stranger bowed low and answered, "It is well, I feared an Egyptian +had accompanied you." + +"No, we are alone and willing to hear you; but be brief. Who are you and +what do you want?" + +"My name is Bubares. I served as a poor captain under the great Cyrus. +At the taking of your father's city, Sardis, the soldiers were at first +allowed to plunder freely; but on your wise father's representing to +Cyrus that to plunder a city already taken was an injury to the present, +and not to the former, possessor, they were commanded on pain of death +to deliver up their booty to their captains, and the latter to cause +everything of worth, when brought to them, to be collected in the +market-place. Gold and silver trappings lay there in abundance, costly +articles of attire studded with precious stones..." + +"Quick, quick, our time is short," interrupted Gyges. + +"You are right. I must be more brief. By keeping for myself an +ointment-box sparkling with jewels, taken from your father's palace, I +forfeited my life. Croesus, however, pleaded for me with his conqueror +Cyrus; my life and liberty were granted me, but I was declared a +dishonored man. Life in Persia became impossible with disgrace lying +heavily on my soul; I took ship from Smyrna to Cyprus, entered the army +there, fought against Amasis, and was brought hither by Phanes as a +prisoner-of-war. Having always served as a horse-soldier, I was placed +among those slaves who had charge of the king's horses, and in six years +became an overseer. Never have I forgotten the debt of gratitude I owe +to your father; and now my turn has come to render him a service." + +"The matter concerns my father? then speak--tell me, I beseech you!" + +"Immediately. Has Croesus offended the crown prince?" + +"Not that I am aware of." + +"Your father is on a visit to Rhodopis this evening, at Naukratis?" + +"How did you hear this?" + +"From himself. I followed him to the boat this morning and sought to +cast myself at his feet." + +"And did you succeed?" + +"Certainly. He spoke a few gracious words with me, but could not wait to +hear what I would say, as his companions were already on board when he +arrived. His slave Sandon, whom I know, told me that they were going to +Naukratis, and would visit the Greek woman whom they call Rhodopis." + +"He spoke truly." + +"Then you must speed to the rescue. At the time that the market-place +was full." + + [The forenoon among the Greeks was regulated by the business of the + market. "When the market-place begins to fill, when it is full, + when it becomes empty." It would be impossible to define this + division of time exactly according to our modern methods of + computation, but it seems certain that the market was over by the + afternoon. The busiest hours were probably from 10 till 1. At the + present day the streets of Athens are crowded during those hours; + but in Summer from two to four o'clock are utterly deserted.] + +"Ten carriages and two boats, full of Ethiopian soldiers under the +command of an Egyptian captain, were sent off to Naukratis to surround +the house of Rhodopis and make captives of her guests." + +"Ha, treachery!" exclaimed Gyges. + +"But how can they wish to injure your father?" said Darius. "They know +that the vengeance of Cambyses--" + +"I only know," repeated Bubares, "that this night the house of Rhodopis, +in which your father is, will be surrounded by Ethiopian soldiers. I +myself saw to the horses which transport them thither and heard Pentaur, +one of the crown-prince's fan-bearers, call to them, 'Keep eyes and ears +open, and let the house of Rhodopis be surrounded, lest he should escape +by the back door. If possible spare his life, and kill him only if he +resist. Bring him alive to Sais, and you shall receive twenty rings of +gold.'" + + [It is no longer a matter of question, that before the time of the + Persians, and therefore at this point of our history, no money had + been coined in Egypt. The precious metals were weighed out and used + as money in the shape of rings, animals, etc. On many of the + monuments we see people purchasing goods and weighing out the gold + in payment; while others are paying their tribute in gold rings. + These rings were in use as a medium of payment up to the time of the + Ptolemies. Pliny XXXIII. I. Balances with weights in the form of + animals may be seen in Wilkinson. During the reigns of the + Ptolemies many coins were struck.] + +"But could that allude to my father?" + +"Certainly not," cried Darius. + +"It is impossible to say," murmured Bubares. "In this country one can +never know what may happen." + +"How long does it take for a good horse to reach Naukratis?" + +"Three hours, if he can go so long, and the Nile has not overflowed the +road too much." + +"I will be there in two." + +"I shall ride with you," said Darius. + +"No, you must remain here with Zopyrus for Bartja's protection. Tell the +servants to get ready." + +"But Gyges--" + +"Yes, you will stay here and excuse me to Amasis. Say I could not +come to the evening revel on account of headache, toothache, sickness, +anything you like." + +"I shall ride Bartja's Nicaean horse; and you, Bubares, will follow me +on Darius's. You will lend him, my brother?" + +"If I had ten thousand, you should have them all." + +"Do you know the way to Naukratis, Bubares?" + +"Blindfold." + +"Then go, Darius, and tell them to get your horse and Bartja's ready! To +linger would be sin. Farewell Darius, perhaps forever! Protect Bartja! +Once more, farewell!" + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +It wanted two hours of midnight. Bright light was streaming through the +open windows of Rhodopis' house, and sounds of mirth and gaiety fell on +the ear. Her table had been adorned with special care in Croesus' honor. + +On the cushions around it lay the guests with whom we are already +acquainted: Theodorus, Ibykus, Phanes, Aristomachus, the merchant +Theopompus of Miletus, Croesus and others, crowned with chaplets of +poplar and roses. + +Theodorus the sculptor was speaking: "Egypt seems to me," he said, "like +a girl who persists in wearing a tight and painful shoe only because +it is of gold, while within her reach he beautiful and well-fitting +slippers in which she could move at ease, if she only would." + +"You refer to the Egyptians' pertinacity in retaining traditional forms +and customs?" asked Croesus. + +"Certainly I do," answered the sculptor. "Two centuries ago Egypt was +unquestionably the first of the nations. In Art and Science she far +excelled us; but we learnt their methods of working, improved on them, +held firm to no prescribed proportions, but to the natural types alone, +gave freedom and beauty to their unbending outlines, and now have left +our masters far behind us. But how was this possible? simply because the +Egyptians, bound by unalterable laws, could make no progress; we, on the +contrary, were free to pursue our course in the wide arena of art as far +as will and power would allow." + +"But how can an artist be compelled to fashion statues alike, which are +meant to differ from each other in what they represent?" + +"In this case that can be easily explained. The entire human body is +divided by the Egyptians into 21 1/4 parts, in accordance with which +division the proportion of each separate limb is regulated. I, myself, +have laid a wager with Amasis, in presence of the first Egyptian +sculptor, (a priest of Thebes), that, if I send my brother Telekles, in +Ephesus, dimensions, proportion and attitude, according to the Egyptian +method, he and I together can produce a statue which shall look as if +sculptured from one block and by one hand, though Telekles is to carve +the lower half at Ephesus, and I the upper here in Sais, and under the +eye of Amasis." + + [These numbers, and the story which immediately follows, are taken + from Diodorus I. 98. Plato tells us that, in his time, a law + existed binding the Egyptian artists to execute their works with + exactly the same amount of beauty or its reverse, as those which had + been made more than a thousand years before. This statement is + confirmed by the monuments; but any one well acquainted with + Egyptian art can discern a marked difference in the style of each + epoch. At the time of the ancient kingdom the forms were compressed + and stunted; under Seti I. beauty of proportion reached its highest + point. During and after the 20th dynasty the style declined in + beauty; in the 26th, under the descendants of Psammetichus, we meet + with a last revival of art, but the ancient purity of form was never + again attained.] + +"And shall you win your wager?" + +"Undoubtedly. I am just going to begin this trick of art; it will as +little deserve the name of a work of art, as any Egyptian statue." + +"And yet there are single sculptures here which are of exquisite +workmanship; such, for instance, as the one Amasis sent to Samos as a +present to Polykrates. In Memphis I saw a statue said to be about three +thousand years old, and to represent a king who built the great Pyramid, +which excited my admiration in every respect. With what certainty and +precision that unusually hard stone has been wrought! the muscles, how +carefully carved! especially in the breast, legs and feet; the harmony +of the features too, and, above all, the polish of the whole, leave +nothing to be desired." + +"Unquestionably. In all the mechanism of art, such as precision and +certainty in working even the hardest materials, the Egyptians, though +they have so long stood still in other points, are still far before us; +but to model form with freedom, to breathe, like Prometheus, a soul into +the stone, they will never learn until their old notions on this subject +have been entirely abandoned. Even the pleasing varieties of corporeal +life cannot be represented by a system of mere proportions, much less +those which are inner and spiritual. Look at the countless statues +which have been erected during the last three thousand years, in all the +temples and palaces from Naukratis up to the Cataracts. They are all +of one type, and represent men of middle age, with grave but benevolent +countenances. Yet they are intended, some as statues of aged monarchs, +others to perpetuate the memory of young princes. The warrior and the +lawgiver, the blood-thirsty tyrant and the philanthropist are only +distinguished from each other by a difference in size, by which the +Egyptian sculptor expresses the idea of power and strength. Amasis +orders a statue just as I should a sword. Breadth and length being +specified, we both of us know quite well, before the master has begun +his work, what we shall receive when it is finished. How could I +possibly fashion an infirm old man like an eager youth? a pugilist like +a runner in the foot-race? a poet like a warrior? Put Ibykus and our +Spartan friend side by side, and tell me what you would say, were I +to give to the stern warrior the gentle features and gestures of our +heart-ensnaring poet." + +"Well, and how does Amasis answer your remarks on this stagnation in +art?" + +"He deplores it; but does not feel himself strong enough to abolish the +restrictive laws of the priests." + +"And yet," said the Delphian, "he has given a large sum towards the +embellishment of our new temple, expressly, (I use his own words) for +the promotion of Hellenic art!" + +"That is admirable in him," exclaimed Croesus. "Will the Alkmaeonidae +soon have collected the three hundred talents necessary for the +completion of the temple? Were I as rich as formerly I would gladly +undertake the entire cost; notwithstanding that your malicious god so +cruelly deceived me, after all my offerings at his shrine. For when I +sent to ask whether I should begin the war with Cyrus, he returned this +answer: I should destroy a mighty kingdom by crossing the river Halys. +I trusted the god, secured the friendship of Sparta according to his +commands, crossed the boundary stream, and, in so doing, did indeed +destroy a mighty kingdom; not however that of the Medes and Persians, +but my own poor Lydia, which, as a satrapy of Cambyses, finds its loss +of independence a hard and uncongenial yoke." + +"You blame the god unjustly," answered Phryxus. "It cannot be his fault +that you, in your human conceit, should have misinterpreted his oracle. +The answer did not say 'the kingdom of Persia,' but 'a kingdom' should +be destroyed through your desire for war. Why did you not enquire what +kingdom was meant? Was not your son's fate truly prophesied by the +oracle? and also that on the day of misfortune he would regain his +speech? And when, after the fall of Sardis, Cyrus granted your wish to +enquire at Delphi whether the Greek gods made a rule of requiting their +benefactors by ingratitude, Loxias answered that he had willed the best +for you, but was controlled by a mightier power than himself, by that +inexorable fate which had foretold to thy great ancestor, that his fifth +successor was doomed to destruction." + +"In the first days of my adversity I needed those words far more than +now," interrupted Croesus. "There was a time when I cursed your god and +his oracles; but later, when with my riches my flatterers had left me, +and I became accustomed to pronounce judgment on my own actions, I saw +clearly that not Apollo, but my own vanity had been the cause of my +ruin. How could 'the kingdom to be destroyed' possibly mean mine, +the mighty realm of the powerful Croesus, the friend of the gods, the +hitherto unconquered leader? Had a friend hinted at this interpretation +of the ambiguous oracle, I should have derided, nay, probably caused him +to be punished. For a despotic ruler is like a fiery steed; the latter +endeavors to kick him who touches his wounds with intent to heal; the +former punishes him who lays a hand on the weak or failing points of his +diseased mind. Thus I missed what, if my eyes had not been dazzled, I +might easily have seen; and now that my vision is clearer, though I have +nothing to lose, I am far more often anxious than in the days when none +could possibly lose more than I. In comparison with those days, Phryxus, +I may be called a poor man now, but Cambyses does not leave me to +famish, and I can still raise a talent for your temple." + +Phryxus expressed his thanks, and Phanes remarked "The Alkmaeonida; will +be sure to erect a beautiful edifice, for they are rich and ambitious, +and desirous of gaining favor with the Amphiktyons, in order, by their +aid, to overthrow the tyrants, secure to themselves a higher position +than that of the family to which I belong, and with this, the guidance +of state-affairs." + +"Is it true, as people say," asked Ibykus, "that next to Agarista with +whom Megakles received so rich a dowry, you, Croesus, have been the +largest contributor to the wealth of the Alkmaeonidae?" + +"True enough," answered Croesus laughing. + +"Tell us the story, I beg," said Rhodopis. + +"Well," answered Croesus, "Alkmaeon of Athens once appeared at my court; +his cheerfulness and cultivation pleased me well, and I retained him +near me for some time. One day I showed him my treasure-chambers, at the +sight of which he fell into despair, called himself a common beggar and +declared that one good handful of these precious things would make him +a happy man. I at once allowed him to take as much gold away as he +could carry. What think you did Alkaemmon on this? sent for high Lydian +riding-boots, an apron and a basket, had the one secured behind him, put +the others on, and filled them all with gold, till they could hold no +more. Not content with this, he strewed gold-dust in his hair and beard +and filled his mouth to that extent that he appeared in the act of +choking. In each hand he grasped a golden dish, and thus laden dragged +himself out of the treasure-house, falling exhausted as he crossed the +threshold. Never have I laughed so heartily as at this sight." + +"But did you grant him all these treasures?" said Rhodopis. + +"Yes, yes, my friend; and did not think even then, that I had paid too +dearly for the experience that gold can make fools even of clever men." + +"You were the most generous of monarchs," cried Phanes. + +"And make a tolerably contented beggar," answered Croesus. "But tell me, +Phryxus, how much has Amasis contributed to your collection?" + +"He gave fifty tons of alum." + +"A royal gift!" + +"And the prince Psamtik?" + +"On my appealing to him by his father's munificence, he turned his +back on me, and answered with a bitter laugh: 'Collect money for +the destruction of your temple, and I am ready to double my father's +donation!'" + +"The wretch!" + +"Say rather: the true Egyptian! to Psamtik everything foreign is an +abomination." + +"How much have the Greeks in Naukratis contributed?" + +"Beside munificent private donations, each community has given twenty +minae." + +"That is much." + +"Philoinus, the Sybarite, alone sent me a thousand drachmm, and +accompanied his gift with a most singular epistle. May I read it aloud, +Rhodopis?" + +"Certainly," answered she, "it will show you that the drunkard has +repented of his late behaviour." + +The Delphian began: "Philoinus to Phryxus: It grieves me that at +Rhodopis' house the other night I did not drink more; for had I done so +I should have lost consciousness entirely, and so have been unable +to offend even the smallest insect. My confounded abstemiousness is +therefore to blame, that I can no longer enjoy a place at the best table +in all Egypt. I am thankful, however, to Rhodopis for past enjoyment, +and in memory of her glorious roast-beef (which has bred in me the wish +to buy her cook at any price) I send twelve large spits for roasting +oxen,--[Rhodopis is said to have sent such a gift to Delphi. +Herod.]--and beg they may be placed in some treasure-house at Delphi as +an offering from Rhodopis. As for myself, being a rich man, I sign +my name for a thousand drachmae, and beg that my gift may be publicly +announced at the next Pythian games. To that rude fellow, Aristomachus +of Sparta, express my thanks for the effectual manner in which he +fulfilled my intention in coming to Egypt. I came hither for the purpose +of having a tooth extracted by an Egyptian dentist said to take out +teeth without causing much pain. + + [The Egyptian dentists must have been very skilful. Artificial + teeth have been discovered in the jaws of mummies. See Blumenbach + on the teeth of the ancient Egyptians, and on mummies.] + +Aristomachus, however, knocked out the defective tooth and so saved me +from an operation, the thought of which had often made me tremble. On +recovering consciousness, I found that three teeth had been knocked into +my mouth, the diseased one and two others, which though healthy, would +probably at some future time have caused me pain. Salute Rhodopis and +the handsome Phanes from me. You I invite to an entertainment at my +house in Sybaris, this day year. We are accustomed to issue invitations +somewhat early, on account of my necessary preparations. I have caused +this epistle to be written by my slave Sophotatus in an adjoining +chamber, as merely to behold the labor of writing causes cramp in my +fingers." + +A burst of laughter arose at these words, but Rhodopis said: "This +letter gives me pleasure; it proves that Philoinus is not bad at heart. +Brought up a Sybarite."... She was suddenly interrupted by the voice of +a stranger, who had entered unperceived, and, after apologizing to the +venerable hostess and her guests for appearing without invitation among +them, continued thus: "I am Gyges the son of Croesus; and it has not +been merely for pastime, that I have ridden over from Sais in two hours +lest I should arrive too late!" + +"Menon, a cushion for our guest!" cried Rhodopis. "Be welcome to my +house and take some repose after your wild, thoroughly Lydian, ride." + +"By the dog, Gyges!" exclaimed Croesus. + + [An oath of Rhadamanthus used in order to avoid mentioning the names + of the gods. Schol. Aristoph. Aves. 520.] + +"What brings thee here at this hour? I begged thee not to quit Bartja's +side.... But how thou look'st! what is the matter? has aught happened? +speak, speak!" + +In the first moment Gyges could not answer a word. To see his beloved +father, for whose very life he had been in such anxiety, a safe and +happy guest at this rich banquet, seemed to rob him of his speech a +second time. At last, however, he was able to say: "The gods be praised, +my father, that I see thee safe once more! Think not I forsook my post +thoughtlessly. Alas! I am forced to appear as a bird of evil omen in +this cheerful assembly. Know at once, ye guests, for I dare not lose +time in preparing my words, that a treacherous assault awaits ye!" + +They all sprang up as if struck by lightning. Aristomachus silently +loosened his sword in its scabbard; Phanes extended his arms as if to +discern whether the old athletic elasticity still dwelt there. + +"What can it be?--what is their design?" echoed from all sides. + +"This house is surrounded by Ethiopian soldiers!" answered Gyges. "A +faithful fellow confided to me that the crown-prince had designs on one +of your number; he was to be taken alive if possible, but killed if he +resisted. Dreading lest thou shouldst be this victim, my father, I sped +hither. The fellow had not lied. This house is surrounded. My horse +shied on reaching your garden-gate, Rhodopis, jaded as he was. I +dismounted, and could discern behind every bush the glitter of weapons +and the eager eyes of men lying in ambush. They allowed us, however, to +enter unmolested." + +At this moment Knakias rushed in crying, "Important news! On my way to +the Nile to fetch water with which to prepare the wine-cup, I have just +met a man who, in his haste, nearly ran over me. + + [The water of the Nile has a very agreeable flavor. It is called by + one traveller the champagne among the waters. The ladies of the + Sultan's harem send for this water even from Constantinople, and the + Arabs say, that if Mahomet had drunk thereof he would have desired + to live for ever.] + +It was an Ethiop, one of Phanes' boatmen, and he tells that just as +he sprang out of the boat to bathe, a royal bark came alongside and a +soldier asked the rest of the crew in whose service they were. On the +helmsman answering, 'in Phanes' service,' the royal boat passed on +slowly. He, however, (the rower who was bathing), seated himself in +fun on the rudder of the royal boat, and heard one Ethiopian soldier on +board say to another, 'Keep that craft well in sight; now we know where +the bird sits, and it will be easy to catch him. Remember, Psamtik has +promised us fifty gold rings if we bring the Athenian to Sais dead or +alive.' This is the report of Sebek, who has been in your service seven +years, O Phanes." + +To both these accounts Phanes listened calmly. Rhodopis trembled. +Aristomachus exclaimed, "Not a hair of your head shall be touched, if +Egypt perish for it!" Croesus advised prudence. A tremendous excitement +had mastered the whole party. + +At last Phanes broke silence, saying: "Reflection is never more +necessary than in a time of danger. I have thought the matter over, and +see clearly that escape will be difficult. The Egyptians will try to +get rid of me quietly. They know that I intend going on board a Phoecean +trireme, which sets sail for Sigeum at a very early hour to-morrow +morning, and have therefore no time to lose, if they will seize me. Your +garden, Rhodopis, is entirely surrounded, and were I to remain here, +your house would no longer be respected as a sanctuary; it would be +searched and I taken in it. There can be no doubt that a watch has been +set over the Phoecean ship also. Blood shall not be shed in vain on my +account." + +"But you dare not surrender!" cried Aristomachus. + +"No, no, I have a plan," shouted Theopompus the Milesian merchant. "At +sunrise to-morrow a ship sails for Miletus laden with Egyptian corn, +but not from Naukratis, from Canopus. Take the noble Persian's horse and +ride thither. We will cut a way for you through the garden." + +"But," said Gyges, "our little band is not strong enough to carry out +such an attempt. We number in all ten men, and of these only three have +swords; our enemies, on the other hand, number at least a hundred, and +are armed to the teeth." + +"Lydian!" cried Aristomachus, "wert thou ten times more fainthearted +than thou art, and were our enemies double their number, I at least, +will fight them!" + +Phanes grasped his friend's hand. Gyges turned pale. This brave warrior +had called him fainthearted; and again he could find no words to answer; +for at every stirring emotion his tongue failed him. Suddenly the +blood mounted to his face; his words came quickly and with decision: +"Athenian, follow me! and thou, Spartan, who art not wont to use words +heedlessly, call no man fainthearted again before thou knowest him. +Friends, Phanes is safe, Farewell, father!" + +The remaining guests surveyed these two departing men in silent wonder. +As they stood there, silently listening, the sound of two horses +galloping swiftly away fell on their ear, and after a longer interval a +prolonged whistle from the Nile and a cry of distress. + +"Where is Knakias?" said Rhodopis to one of her slaves. + +"He went into the garden with Phanes and the Persian," was the +answer, and as it was being spoken, the old slave re-entered, pale and +trembling. + +"Have you seen my son?" cried Croesus. "Where is Phanes?" + +"I was to bid you farewell from them both." + +"Then they are gone.--Whither? How was it possible?"... + +"The Athenian and the Persian," began the slave, "had a slight dispute +in the anteroom. This over, I was told to divest both of their robes. +Phanes then put on the stranger's trousers, coat and girdle; on his own +curls he placed the pointed Persian cap. The stranger wrapped himself +in the Athenian's chiton and mantle, placed the golden circlet above his +brow, caused the hair to be shaved from his upper lip, and ordered me +to follow him into the garden. Phanes, whom in his present dress, none +could imagine to be other than a Persian, mounted one of the horses +still waiting before the gate; the stranger called after him, 'Farewell +Gyges, farewell beloved Persian, a pleasant journey to thee, Gyges!' The +servant, who had been waiting, followed on the other horse. I could hear +the clatter of arms among the bushes, but the Athenian was allowed to +depart unmolested, the soldiers, without doubt, believing him to be a +Persian. + +"On returning to the house the stranger's orders were: 'Accompany me to +Phanes' bark, and cease not to call me by the Athenian's name.' 'But the +boatmen will betray you,' I said. 'Then go alone to them,' he answered, +'and command them to receive me as their master, Phanes.' Then I prayed +him to allow me to take the dress of the fugitive and become a prey to +the pursuers; but he would by no means allow this, and said my gait and +carriage would betray me. There alas! he spoke truly, for only the free +man can walk erect; the neck of the slave is bent; the schools in which +the noble and the freeborn learn grace and beauty of movement are +not for him. And so it must remain, the children must be even as the +fathers; can the unclean onion-root produce a rose, or the unsightly +radish a hyacinth? Constant bondage bows the neck of the slave, but the +consciousness of freedom gives dignity to the stature." + +"But what has become of my son?" interrupted Croesus. + +"He would not accept my poor offer, and took his seat in the bark, +sending a thousand greetings unto thee, O king! I cried after him, +'Farewell Phanes! I wish thee a prosperous journey, Phanes!' At that +moment a cloud crossed the moon; and from out the thick darkness I heard +screams, and cries for help; they did not, however, last long, a shrill +whistle followed, then all was silent; and the measured strokes of +oars were the only sounds that fell on my ear. I was on the point of +returning to relate what I had seen, when the boatman Sebek swam up once +more and told as follows: The Egyptians had caused a leak to be made in +Phanes' boat, and at a short distance from land it had filled and began +to sink. On the boatmen crying for help, the royal bark, which was +following, had come up and taken the supposed Phanes on board, but had +prevented the rowers from leaving their benches. They all went down with +the leaking boat, the daring Sebek alone excepted. Gyges is on board the +royal boat; Phanes has escaped, for that whistle must have been intended +for the soldiers in ambush at the garden-gate. I searched the bushes, +the soldiers were gone, and I could hear the sound of their voices and +weapons on their way back to Sais." + +The guests listened with eager attention to this tale. At its close a +mingled feeling of relief and anxiety was felt by all; relief that their +favorite companion had escaped so fearful a danger, anxiety for the +brave young Lydian who had risked his life to save him. They praised his +generosity, congratulated Croesus on possessing such a son, and finally +agreed in the conclusion, that, when the crown-prince discovered the +error into which his emissaries had fallen, he must certainly release +Gyges, and even make him compensation for what he had suffered at their +hands. + +The friendship already shown by Amasis, and the fear in which he +evidently stood of the Persian power, were the thoughts which had power +to calm Croesus, who soon left, in order to pass the night at the house +of Theopompus, the Milesian merchant. At parting, Aristomachus said: +"Salute Gyges in my name; tell him I ask his forgiveness, and hope one +day either to enjoy his friendship, or, if that cannot be, to meet him +as a fair foe on the field of battle." + +"Who knows what the future may bring?" answered Croesus giving his hand +to the Spartan. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +The sun of a new day had risen over Egypt, but was still low in the +east; the copious dew, which, on the Nile, supplies the place of rain, +lay sparkling like jewels on the leaves and blossoms, and the morning +air, freshened by a north-west wind, invited those to enjoy it who could +not bear the heat of mid-day. + +Through the door of the country-house, now so well known to us, two +female figures have just passed; Melitta, the old slave, and Sappho, the +grandchild of Rhodopis. + +The latter is not less lovely now, than when we saw her last, asleep. +She moves through the garden with a light quick step, her white morning +robe with its wide sleeves falling in graceful drapery over her lithe +limbs, the thick brown hair straying from beneath the purple kerchief +over her head, and a merry, roguish smile lurking round her rosy mouth +and in the dimples of her cheeks and chin. + +She stooped to pick a rose, dashed the dew from it into the face of her +old nurse, laughing at her naughty trick till the clear bell-like tones +rang through the garden; fixed the flower in her dress and began to sing +in a wonderfully rich and sweet voice-- + + Cupid once upon a bed + Of roses laid his weary head; + Luckless urchin! not to see + Within the leaves a slumbering bee. + The bee awak'd--with anger wild + The bee awak'd, and stung the child. + Loud and piteous are his cries; + To Venus quick he runs, he flies; + "Oh mother! I am wounded through-- + "I die with pain--in sooth I do! + "Stung by some little angry thing. + "Some serpent on a tiny wing, + "A bee it was--for once, I know, + "I heard a rustic call it so." + +"Isn't that a very pretty song?" asked the laughing girl. "How stupid of +little Eros to mistake a bee for a winged snake! Grandmother says that +the great poet Anacreon wrote another verse to this song, but she will +not teach it me. Tell me, Melitta, what can there be in that verse? +There, you are smiling; dear, darling Melitta, do sing me that one +verse. Perhaps though, you don't know it yourself? No? then certainly +you can't teach it me." + +"That is a new song," answered the old woman, evading her darling's +question, "I only know the songs of the good old times. But hark! did +not you hear a knock at the gate?" + + [The last lines which contain the point of this song are: + + Thus he spoke, and she, the while, + Heard him with a soothing smile; + Then said, "My infant, if so much + "Thou feel the little wild bee's touch, + "How must the heart, ah! Cupid be, + "The hapless heart that's stung by thee?" + + --Translation from one of Anacreon's songs] + +"Yes, of course I did, and I think the sound of horses' hoofs too. +Go and see who seeks admission so early. Perhaps, after all, our kind +Phanes did not go away yesterday, and has come to bid us farewell once +more." + +"Phanes is gone," said Melitta, becoming serious, "and Rhodopis has +ordered me to send you in when visitors arrive. Go child, that I may +open the gate. There, they have knocked again." + +Sappho pretended to run in, but instead of obeying her nurse's orders, +stopped and hid herself behind a rose-bush, hoping to catch sight of +these early guests. In the fear of needlessly distressing her, she had +not been told of the events of the previous evening, and at this +early hour could only expect to see some very intimate friend of her +grandmother's. + +Melitta opened the gate and admitted a youth splendidly apparelled, and +with fair curling hair. + +It was Bartja, and Sappho was so lost in wonder at his beauty, and the +Persian dress, to her so strange, that she remained motionless in her +hiding-place, her eyes fixed on his face. Just so she had pictured to +herself Apollo with the beautiful locks, guiding the sun-chariot. + +As Melitta and the stranger came nearer she thrust her little head +through the roses to hear what the handsome youth was saying so kindly +in his broken Greek. + +She heard him ask hurriedly after Croesus and his son; and then, from +Melitta's answer, she gathered all that had passed the evening before, +trembled for Phanes, felt so thankful to the generous Gyges, and again +wondered who this youth in royal apparel could possibly be. Rhodopis had +told her about Cyrus's heroic deeds, the fall of Croesus and the power +and wealth of the Persians, but still she had always fancied them +a wild, uncultivated people. Now, however, her interest in Persia +increased with every look at the handsome Bartja. At last Melitta went +in to wake her grandmother and announce the guest, and Sappho tried +to follow her, but Eros, the foolish boy whose ignorance she had been +mocking a moment before, had other intentions. Her dress caught in the +thorns, and before she could disengage it, the beautiful Bartja was +standing before her, helping her to get free from the treacherous bush. + +Sappho could not speak a word even of thanks; she blushed deeply, and +stood smiling and ashamed, with downcast eyes. + +Bartja, too, generally so full of fun and spirit, looked down at her +without speaking, the color mounting to his cheeks. + +The silence, however, did not last long, for Sappho, recovering from her +fright, burst into a laugh of childish delight at the silent stranger +and the odd scene, and fled towards the house like a timid fawn. + +In a moment Bartja was himself again; in two strides he reached +the young girl, quick as thought seized her hand and held it fast, +notwithstanding all her struggles. + +"Let me go!" she cried half in earnest and half laughing, raising her +dark eyes appealingly to him. + +"Why should I?" he answered. "I took you from the rose-bush and shall +hold you fast until you give me your sister there, the other rose, from +your bosom, to take home with me as a keepsake." + +"Please let me go," repeated Sappho, "I will promise nothing unless you +let my hand go." + +"But if I do, you will not run away again?" + +"Certainly not." + +"Well, then, I will give you your liberty, but now you must give me your +rose." + +"There are plenty on the bush yonder, and more beautiful ones; choose +whichever you like. Why do you want just this one?" + +"To keep it carefully in remembrance of the most beautiful maiden I ever +saw." + +"Then I shall certainly not give it to you; for those are not my real +friends who tell me I am beautiful, only those who tell me I am good." + +"Where did you learn that?" + +"From my grandmother Rhodopis." + +"Very well, then I will tell you you are better than any other maiden in +the whole world." + +"How can you say such things, when you don't know me at all? Oh, +sometimes I am very naughty and disobedient. If I were really good I +should be indoors now instead of talking to you here. My grandmother +has forbidden me ever to stay in the garden when visitors are here, +and indeed I don't care for all those strange men who always talk about +things I cannot understand." + +"Then perhaps you would like me to go away too?" + +"Oh no, I can understand you quite well; though you cannot speak half so +beautifully as our poor Phanes for example, who was obliged to escape +so miserably yesterday evening, as I heard Melitta saying just this +minute." + +"Did you love Phanes?" + +"Love him? Oh yes,--I was very fond of him. When I was little he always +brought me balls, dolls ninepins from Memphis and Sais; and now that I +am older he teaches me beautiful new songs." + + [Jointed dolls for children. Wilkinson II. 427. Note 149. In the + Leyden Museum one of these jointed toys is to be seen, in very good + preservation.] + +"As a parting gift he brought me a tiny Sicilian lapdog, which I am +going to call Argos, because he is so white and swiftfooted. But in a +few days we are to have another present from the good Phanes, for.... +There, now you can see what I am; I was just going to let out a great +secret. My grandmother has strictly forbidden me to tell any one what +dear little visitors we are expecting; but I feel as if I had known you +a long time already, and you have such kind eyes that I could tell you +everything. You see, when I am very happy, I have no one in the whole +world to talk to about it, except old Melitta and my grandmother, and, I +don't know how it is, that, though they love me so much, they sometimes +cannot understand how trifles can make me so happy." + +"That is because they are old, and have forgotten what made them happy +in their youth. But have you no companions of your own age that you are +fond of?" + +"Not one. Of course there are many other young girls beside me in +Naukratis, but my grandmother says I am not to seek their acquaintance, +and if they will not come to us I am not to go to them." + +"Poor child! if you were in Persia, I could soon find you a friend. I +have a sister called Atossa, who is young and good, like you." + +"Oh, what a pity that she did not come here with you!--But now you must +tell me your name." + +"My name is Bartja." + +"Bartja! that is a strange name! Bartja-Bartja. Do you know, I like it. +How was the son of Croesus called, who saved our Phanes so generously?" + +"Gyges. Darius, Zopyrus and he are my best friends. We have sworn never +to part, and to give up our lives for one another, and that is why I +came to-day, so early and quite in secret, to help my friend Gyges, in +case he should need me." + +"Then you rode here for nothing." + +"No, by Mithras, that indeed I did not, for this ride brought me to you. +But now you must tell me your name." + +"I am called Sappho." + +"That is a pretty name, and Gyges sings me sometimes beautiful songs by +a poetess called Sappho. Are you related to her?" + +"Of course. She was the sister of my grandfather Charaxus, and is called +the tenth muse or the Lesbian swan. I suppose then, your friend Gyges +speaks Greek better than you do?" + +"Yes, he learnt Greek and Lydian together as a little child, and speaks +them both equally well. He can speak Persian too, perfectly; and what is +more, he knows and practises all the Persian virtues." + +"Which are the highest virtues then according to you Persians?" + +"Truth is the first of all; courage the second, and the third is +obedience; these three, joined with veneration for the gods, have made +us Persians great." + +"But I thought you worshipped no gods?" + +"Foolish child! who could live without a god, without a higher ruler? +True, they do not dwell in houses and pictures like the gods of the +Egyptians, for the whole creation is their dwelling. The Divinity, who +must be in every place, and must see and hear everything, cannot be +confined within walls." + +"Where do you pray then and offer sacrifice, if you have no temples?" + +"On the grandest of all altars, nature herself; our favorite altar is +the summit of a mountain. There we are nearest to our own god, Mithras, +the mighty sun, and to Auramazda, the pure creative light; for there the +light lingers latest and returns earliest." + + [From Herodotus (I. 131 and 132.), and from many other sources, we + see clearly that at the time of the Achaemenidae the Persians had + neither temples nor images of their gods. Auramazda and + Angramainjus, the principles of good and evil, were invisible + existences filling all creation with their countless train of good + and evil spirits. Eternity created fire and water. From these + Ormusd (Auramazda), the good spirit, took his origin. He was + brilliant as the light, pure and good. After having, in the course + of 12000 years, created heaven, paradise and the stars, he became + aware of the existence of an evil spirit, Ahriman (Angramainjus), + black, unclean, malicious and emitting an evil odor. Ormusd + determined on his destruction, and a fierce strife began, in which + Ormusd was the victor, and the evil spirit lay 3000 years + unconscious from the effects of terror. During this interval Ormusd + created the sky, the waters, the earth, all useful plants, trees and + herbs, the ox and the first pair of human beings in one year. + Ahriman, after this, broke loose, and was overcome but not slain. + As, after death, the four elements of which all things are composed, + Earth, Air, Fire and Water, become reunited with their primitive + elements; and as, at the resurrection-day, everything that has been + severed combines once more, and nothing returns into oblivion, all + is reunited to its primitive elements, Ahriman could only have been + slain if his impurity could have been transmuted into purity, his + darkness into light. And so evil continued to exist, and to produce + impurity and evil wherever and whenever the good spirit created the + pure and good. This strife must continue until the last day; but + then Ahriman, too, will become pure and holy; the Diws or Daewa + (evil spirits) will have absorbed his evil, and themselves have + ceased to exist. For the evil spirits which dwell in every human + being, and are emanations from Ahriman, will be destroyed in the + punishment inflicted on men after death. From Vuller's Ulmai Islam + and the Zend-Avesta.] + +"Light alone is pure and good; darkness is unclean and evil. Yes, +maiden, believe me, God is nearest to us on the mountains; they are his +favorite resting-place. Have you never stood on the wooded summit of a +high mountain, and felt, amid the solemn silence of nature, the still +and soft, but awful breath of Divinity hovering around you? Have you +prostrated yourself in the green forest, by a pure spring, or beneath +the open sky, and listened for the voice of God speaking from among the +leaves and waters? Have you beheld the flame leaping up to its parent +the sun, and bearing with it, in the rising column of smoke, our prayers +to the radiant Creator? You listen now in wonder, but I tell you, you +would kneel and worship too with me, could I but take you to one of our +mountain-altars." + +"Oh! if I only could go there with you! if I might only once look down +from some high mountain over all the woods and meadows, rivers and +valleys. I think, up there, where nothing could be hidden from my +eyes, I should feel like an all-seeing Divinity myself. But hark, my +grandmother is calling. I must go." + +"Oh, do not leave me yet!" + +"Is not obedience one of the Persian virtues?" + +"But my rose?" + +"Here it is." + +"Shall you remember me?" + +"Why should I not?" + +"Sweet maiden, forgive me if I ask one more favor." + +"Yes, but ask it quickly, for my grandmother has just called again." + +"Take my diamond star as a remembrance of this hour." + +"No, I dare not." + +"Oh, do, do take it. My father gave it me as a reward, the first time +that I killed a bear with my own hand, and it has been my dearest +treasure till to-day, but now you shall have it, for you are dearer to +me than anything else in the world." + +Saying this, he took the chain and star from his breast, and tried to +hang it round Sappho's neck. She resisted, but Bartja threw his arms +round her, kissed her forehead, called her his only love, and looking +down deep into the eyes of the trembling child, placed it round her neck +by gentle force. + +Rhodopis called a third time. Sappho broke from the young prince's +embrace, and was running away, but turned once more at his earnest +entreaty and the question, "When may I see you again?" and answered +softly, "To-morrow morning at this rose-bush." + +"Which held you fast to be my friend." + +Sappho sped towards the house. Rhodopis received Bartja, and +communicated to him all she knew of his friend's fate, after which the +young Persian departed for Sais. + +When Rhodopis visited her grandchild's bed that evening, she did not +find her sleeping peacefully as usual; her lips moved, and she sighed +deeply, as if disturbed by vexing dreams. + +On his way back, Bartja met Darius and Zopyrus, who had followed at once +on hearing of their friend's secret departure. They little guessed that +instead of encountering an enemy, Bartja had met his first love. Croesus +reached Sais a short time before the three friends. He went at once to +the king and informed him without reserve of the events of the preceding +evening. Amasis pretended much surprise at his son's conduct, assured +his friend that Gyges should be released at once, and indulged in some +ironical jokes at the discomfiture of Psamtik's attempt to revenge +himself. + +Croesus had no sooner quitted the king than the crown-prince was +announced. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +Amasis received his son with a burst of laughter, and without noticing +Psamtik's pale and troubled countenance, shouted: "Did not I tell thee, +that a simple Egyptian would find it no easy task to catch such a Greek +fox? I would have given ten cities to have been by, when thy captive +proved to be the stammering Lydian instead of the voluble Athenian." + +Psamtik grew paler and paler, and trembling with rage, answered in a +suppressed voice: "Is it well, my father, thus to rejoice at an affront +offered to thy son? I swear, by the eternal gods, that but for Cambyses' +sake that shameless Lydian had not seen the light of another day. But +what is it to thee, that thy son becomes a laughing-stock to these +beggarly Greeks!" + +"Abuse not those who have outwitted thee." + +"Outwitted! my plan was so subtly laid, that... + +"The finer the web, the sooner broken." + +"That that intriguing Greek could not possibly have escaped, if, in +violation of all established precedents; the envoy of a foreign power +had not taken it upon himself to rescue a man whom we had condemned." + +"There thou art in error, my son. We are not speaking of the execution +of a judicial sentence, but of the success or failure of an attempt at +personal revenge." + +"The agents employed were, however, commissioned by the king, and +therefore the smallest satisfaction that I can demand of thee, is to +solicit from Cambyses the punishment of him who has interfered in the +execution of the royal decrees. In Persia, where men bow to the king's +will as to the will of a god, this crime will be seen in all its +heinousness. The punishment of Gyges is a debt which Cambyses owes us." + +"But I have no intention of demanding the payment of this debt," +answered Amasis. "On the contrary, I am thankful that Phanes has +escaped. Gyges has saved my soul from the guilt of shedding innocent +blood, and thine from the reproach of having revenged thyself meanly on +a man, to whom thy father is indebted." + +"Wilt thou then conceal the whole affair from Cambyses?" + +"No, I shall mention it jestingly in a letter, as my manner is, and at +the same time caution him against Phanes. I shall tell him that he has +barely escaped my vengeance, and will therefore certainly endeavor to +stir up the power of Persia against Egypt; and shall entreat my future +son-in-law to close his ears to this false accuser. Croesus and Gyges +can help us by their friendship more than Phanes can injure by his +hatred." + +"Is this then thy final resolve? Can I expect no satisfaction?" + +"None. I abide by what I have said." + +"Then tremble, not alone before Phanes, but before another--before one +who holds thee in his power, and who himself is in ours." + +"Thou thinkest to alarm me; thou wouldst rend the bond formed only +yesterday? Psamtik, Psamtik, I counsel thee to remember, that thou +standest before thy father and thy king." + +"And thou, forget not that I am thy son! If thou compell'st me to forget +that the gods appointed thee to be my father--if I can hope for no help +from thee, then I will resort to my own weapons." + +"I am curious to learn what these may be." + +"And I need not conceal them. Know then that the oculist Nebenchari is +in our power." + +Amasis turned pale. + +"Before thou couldst possibly imagine that Cambyses would sue for the +hand of thy daughter, thou sentest this man to the distant realm of +Persia, in order to rid thyself of one who shared thy knowledge of the +real descent of my so-called, sister Nitetis. He is still there, and +at a hint from the priests will disclose to Cambyses that he has been +deceived, and that thou hast ventured to send him, instead of thine own, +the child of thy dethroned predecessor Hophra. All Nebenchari's papers +are in our possession, the most important being a letter in thine own +hand promising his father, who assisted at Nitetis' birth, a thousand +gold rings, as an inducement to secrecy even from the priests." + +"In whose hands are these papers?" asked Amasis in a freezing tone. + +"In the hands of the priesthood." + +"Who speak by thy mouth?" + +"Thou hast said it." + +"Repeat then thy requests." + +"Entreat Cambyses to punish Gyges, and grant me free powers to pursue +the escaped Phanes as it shall seem good in mine eyes." + +"Is that all?" + +"Bind thyself by a solemn oath to the priests, that the Greeks shall be +prevented from erecting any more temples to their false gods in Egypt, +and that the building of the temple to Apollo, in Memphis, shall be +discontinued." + +"I expected these demands. The priests have discovered a sharp weapon +to wield against me. Well, I am prepared to yield to the wishes of +my enemies, with whom thou hast leagued thyself, but only on two +conditions. First, I insist that the letter, which I confess to have +written to the father of Nebenchari in a moment of inconsideration, be +restored to me. If left in the hands of thy party, it could reduce me +from a king to the contemptible slave of priestly intrigue." + +"That wish is reasonable. The letter shall be returned to thee, if.... " + +"Not another if! on the contrary, know that I consider thy petition for +the punishment of Gyges so imprudent, that I refuse to grant it. Now +leave me and appear not again before mine eyes until I summon thee! +Yesterday I gained a son, only to lose him to-day. Rise! I demand no +tokens of a love and humility, which thou hast never felt. Go to the +priests when thou needest comfort and counsel, and see if they can +supply a father's place. Tell Neithotep, in whose hands thou art as wax, +that he has found the best means of forcing me to grant demands, which +otherwise I should have refused. Hitherto I have been willing to make +every sacrifice for the sake of upholding Egypt's greatness; but now, +when I see that, to attain their own ends, the priests can strive to +move me by the threat of treachery to their own country, I feel inclined +to regard this privileged caste as a more dangerous enemy to Egypt, than +even the Persians. Beware, beware! This once, having brought danger upon +Egypt through my own fatherly weakness, I give way to the intrigues of +my enemies; but, for the future, I swear by the great goddess Neith, +that men shall see and feel I am king; the entire priesthood shall +be sacrificed rather than the smallest fraction of my royal will! +Silence--depart!" + +The prince left, but this time a longer interval was necessary, before +the king could regain even outward cheerfulness sufficient to enable him +to appear before his guests. + +Psamtik went at once to the commander of the native troops, ordered +him to banish the Egyptian captain who had failed in executing his +revengeful plans, to the quarries of Thebais, and to send the Ethiopians +back to their native country. He then hurried to the high-priest of +Neith, to inform him how much he had been able to extort from the king. + +Neithotep shook his head doubtfully on hearing of Amasis' threats, and +dismissed the prince with a few words of exhortation, a practice he +never omitted. + +Psamtik returned home, his heart oppressed and his mind clouded with +a sense of unsatisfied revenge, of a new and unhappy rupture with his +father, a fear of foreign derision, a feeling of his subjection to the +will of the priests, and of a gloomy fate which had hung over his head +since his birth. + +His once beautiful wife was dead; and, of five blooming children, only +one daughter remained to him, and a little son, whom he loved tenderly, +and to whom in this sad moment he felt drawn. For the blue eyes and +laughing mouth of his child were the only objects that ever thawed this +man's icy heart, and from these he now hoped for consolation and courage +on his weary road through life. + +"Where is my son?" he asked of the first attendant who crossed his path. + +"The king has just sent for the Prince Necho and his nurse," answered +the man. + +At this moment the high-steward of the prince's household approached, +and with a low obeisance delivered to Psamtik a sealed papyrus letter, +with the words: "From your father, the king." + +In angry haste he broke the yellow wax of the seal bearing the king's +name, and read: "I have sent for thy son, that he may not become, like +his father, a blind instrument in the hands of the priesthood, forgetful +of what is due to himself and his country. His education shall be my +care, for the impressions of childhood affect the whole of a man's later +life. Thou canst see him if thou wilt, but I must be acquainted with thy +intention beforehand." + + [Signet rings were worn by the Egyptians at a very early period. + Thus, in Genesis 41. 42., Pharaoh puts his ring on Joseph's hand. + In the Berlin Museum and all other collections of Egyptian + antiquities, numbers of these rings are to be found, many of which + are more than 4000 years old.] + +Psamtik concealed his indignation from the surrounding attendants with +difficulty. The mere wish of a royal father had, according to Egyptian +custom, as much weight as the strictest command. After reflecting a few +moments, he called for huntsmen, dogs, bows and lances, sprang into a +light chariot and commanded the charioteer to drive him to the western +marshes, where, in pursuing the wild beasts of the desert, he could +forget the weight of his own cares and wreak on innocent creatures his +hitherto baffled vengeance. + +Gyges was released immediately after the conversation between his father +and Amasis, and welcomed with acclamations of joy by his companions. The +Pharaoh seemed desirous of atoning for the imprisonment of his friend's +son by doubling his favors, for on the same day Gyges received from +the king a magnificent chariot drawn by two noble brown steeds, and +was begged to take back with him to Persia a curiously-wrought set of +draughts, as a remembrance of Sais. The separate pieces were made +of ebony and ivory, some being curiously inlaid with sentences, in +hieroglyphics of gold and silver. + +Amasis laughed heartily with his friends at Gyges' artifice, allowed +the young heroes to mix freely with his family, and behaved towards +them himself as a jovial father towards his merry sons. That the ancient +Egyptian was not quite extinguished in him could only be discerned at +meal-times, when a separate table was allotted to the Persians. The +religion of his ancestors would have pronounced him defiled, had he +eaten at the same table with men of another nation. + + [Herodotus II. 41. says that the Egyptians neither kissed, nor ate + out of the same dish with foreigners, nay, indeed, that they refused + to touch meat, in the cutting up of which the knife of a Greek had + been used. Nor were the lesser dynasties of the Delta allowed, + according to the Stela of Pianchi, to cross the threshold of the + Pharaohs because they were unclean and ate fish. In the book of + Genesis, the brethren of Joseph were not allowed to eat bread with + the Egyptians.] + +When Amasis, at last, three days after the release of Gyges, declared +that his daughter Nitetis would be prepared to depart for Asia in the +course of two more weeks, all the Persians regretted that their stay in +Egypt was so near its close. + +Croesus had enjoyed the society of the Samian poets and sculptors. Gyges +had shared his father's preference for Greek art and artists. Darius, +who had formerly studied astronomy in Babylon, was one evening observing +the heavens, when, to his surprise, he was addressed by the aged +Neithotep and invited to follow him on to the temple-roof. Darius, ever +eager to acquire knowledge, did not wait to be asked twice, and was +to be found there every night in earnest attention to the old priest's +lessons. + +On one occasion Psamtik met him thus with his master, and asked the +latter what could have induced him to initiate a Persian in the Egyptian +mysteries. + +"I am only teaching him," answered the high-priest, "what is as well +known to every learned Chaldee in Babylon as to ourselves, and am +thereby gaining the friendship of a man, whose stars as far outshine +those of Cambyses as the sun outshines the moon. This Darius, I tell +thee, will be a mighty ruler. I have even seen the beams of his planet +shining over Egypt. The truly wise man extends his gaze into the future, +regards the objects lying on either side of his road, as well as the +road itself. Thou canst not know in which of the many houses by which +thou passest daily, a future benefactor may not have been reared for +thee. Leave nought unnoticed that lies in thy path, but above all direct +thy gaze upward to the stars. As the faithful dog lies in wait night +after night for thieves, so have I watched these pilgrims of the heavens +fifty years long--these foretellers of the fates of men, burning in +ethereal space, and announcing, not only the return of summer and +winter, but the arrival of good and bad fortune, honor and disgrace. +These are the unerring guides, who have pointed out to me in Darius a +plant, that will one day wax into a mighty tree." + +To Bartja, Darius' nightly studies were especially welcome; they +necessitated more sleep in the morning, and so rendered Bartja's stolen +early rides to Naukratis, (on which Zopyrus, to whom he had confided +his secret, accompanied him), easier of accomplishment. During the +interviews with Sappho, Zopyrus and the attendants used all their +endeavors to kill a few snipes, jackals or jerboas. They could then, +on their return, maintain to their Mentor Croesus, that they had been +pursuing fieldsports, the favorite occupation of the Persian nobility. + +The change which the power of a first love had wrought in the innermost +character of Bartja, passed unnoticed by all but Tachot, the daughter +of Amasis. From the first day on which they had spoken together she had +loved him, and her quick feelings told her at once that something had +happened to estrange him from herself. Formerly his behavior had been +that of a brother, and he had sought her companionship; but now he +carefully avoided every approach to intimacy, for he had guessed her +secret and felt as if even a kind look would have been an offence +against his loyalty to Sappho. + +In her distress at this change Tachot confided her sorrows to Nitetis. +The latter bade her take courage, and the two girls built many a castle +in the air, picturing to themselves the happiness of being always +together at one court, and married to two royal brothers. But as the +days went by, the visits of the handsome prince became more and more +rare, and when he did come, his behavior to Tachot was cold and distant. +Yet the poor girl could not but confess that Bartja had grown handsomer +and more manly during his stay in Egypt. An expression of proud and yet +gentle consciousness lay beaming in his large eyes, and a strange dreamy +air of rest often took the place of his former gay spirits. His cheeks +had lost their brilliant color, but that added to his beauty, while it +lessened hers, who, like him, became paler from day to day. + +Melitta, the old slave, had taken the lovers under her protection. She +had surprised them one morning, but the prince had given her such rich +presents, and her darling had begged, flattered and coaxed so sweetly, +that at last Melitta promised to keep their secret, and later, yielding +to that natural impulse which moves all old women to favor lovers, +had even given them every assistance in her power. She already saw +her "sweet child" mistress of a hemisphere, often addressed her as "my +Princess" and "my Queen" when none were by to hear, and in many a weak +moment imagined a brilliant future for herself in some high office at +the Persian court. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +Three days before the time fixed for the departure of Nitetis, Rhodopis +had invited a large number of guests to her house at Naukratis, amongst +whom Croesus and Gyges were included. + +The two lovers had agreed to meet in the garden, protected by the +darkness and the old slave, while the guests were occupied at the +banquet. Melitta, therefore, having convinced herself that the guests +were thoroughly absorbed in conversation, opened the garden-gate, +admitted the prince, brought Sappho to him, and then retired, promising +to warn them of any intruder by clapping her hands. + +"I shall only have you near me three days longer," whispered Sappho. "Do +you know, sometimes it seems to me as if I had only seen you yesterday +for the first time; but generally I feel as if you had belonged to me +for a whole eternity, and I had loved you all my life." + +"To me too it seems as if you had always been mine, for I cannot imagine +how I could ever have existed without you. If only the parting were over +and we were together again!" + +"Oh, believe me, that will pass more quickly than you fancy. Of course +it will seem long to wait--very long; but when it is over, and we are +together again, I think it will seem as if we had never been parted. So +it has been with me every day. How I have longed for the morning to come +and bring you with it! but when it came and you were sitting by my side, +I felt as if I had had you all the time and your hand had never left my +head." + +"And yet a strange feeling of fear comes over me, when I think of our +parting hour." + +"I do not fear it so very much. I know my heart will bleed when you say +farewell, but I am sure you will come back and will not have forgotten +me. Melitta wanted to enquire of the Oracle whether you would remain +faithful; and to question an old woman who has just come from Phrygia +and can conjure by night from drawn cords, with incense, styrax, +moon-shaped cakes, and wild-briar leaves; but I would have none of this, +for my heart knows better than the Pythia, the cords, or the smoke of +sacrifice, that you will be true to me, and love me always." + +"And your heart speaks the truth." + +"But I have sometimes been afraid; and have blown into a poppy-leaf, and +struck it, as the young girls here do. If it broke with a loud crack +I was very happy, and cried, 'Ah! he will not forget!' but if the leaf +tore without a sound I felt sad. I dare say I did this a hundred times, +but generally the leaf gave the wished-for sound, and I had much oftener +reason to be joyful than sad." + +"May it be ever thus!" + +"It must be! but dearest, do not speak so loudly; I see Knakias going +down to the Nile for water and he will hear us." + +"Well, I will speak low. There, I will stroke back your silky hair and +whisper in your ear 'I love you.' Could you understand?" + +"My grandmother says that it is easy to understand what we like to hear; +but if you had just whispered, 'I hate you,' your eyes would have told +me with a thousand glad voices that you loved me. Silent eyes are much +more eloquent than all the tongues in the world." + +"If I could only speak the beautiful Greek language as you do, I +would.." + +"Oh, I am so glad you cannot, for if you could tell me all you feel, I +think you would not look into my eyes so lovingly. Words are nothing. +Listen to the nightingale yonder! She never had the gift of speech and +yet I think I can understand her." + +"Will you confide her secret to me? I should like to know what Gulgul, +as we Persians call the nightingale, has to talk about to her mate in +the rose-bush. May you betray her secret?" + +"I will whisper it softly. Philomel sings to her mate 'I love thee,' and +he answers, (don't you hear him?), 'Itys, ito, itys.'" + +"And what does that mean, 'Ito, ito?'" + +"I accept it." + +"And Itys?" + +"Oh, that must be explained, to be rightly understood. Itys is a circle; +and a circle, I was always taught, is the symbol of eternity, having +neither beginning nor end; so the nightingale sings, 'I accept it for +eternity.'" + +"And if I say to you, 'I love thee?'" + +"Then I shall answer gladly, like the sweet nightingale, 'I accept it +for to-day, to-morrow, for all eternity!'" + +"What a wonderful night it is! everything so still and silent; I do not +even hear the nightingale now; she is sitting in the acacia-tree among +the bunches of sweet blossoms. I can see the tops of the palm-trees +in the Nile, and the moon's reflection between them, glistening like a +white swan." + +"Yes, her rays are over every living thing like silver fetters, and the +whole world lies motionless beneath them like a captive woman. Happy as +I feel now, yet I could not even laugh, and still less speak in a loud +voice." + +"Then whisper, or sing!" + +"Yes, that is the best. Give me a lyre. Thank you. Now I will lean my +head on your breast, and sing you a little, quiet, peaceful song. It was +written by Alkman, the Lydian, who lived in Sparta, in praise of +night and her stillness. You must listen though, for this low, sweet +slumber-song must only leave the lips like a gentle wind. Do not kiss me +any more, please, till I have finished; then I will ask you to thank me +with a kiss: + + "Now o'er the drowsy earth still night prevails, + Calm sleep the mountain tops and shady vales, + The rugged cliffs and hollow glens; + + The wild beasts slumber in their dens; + The cattle on the bill. Deep in the sea + The countless finny race and monster brood + Tranquil repose. Even the busy bee + Forgets her daily toil. The silent wood + No more with noisy hum of insect rings; + And all the feathered tribe, by gentle sleep subdued, + Roost in the glade and hang their drooping wings." + --Translation by Colonel Mure. + +"Now, dearest, where is my kiss?" + +"I had forgotten it in listening, just as before I forgot to listen in +kissing." + +"You are too bad. But tell me, is not my song lovely?" + +"Yes, beautiful, like everything else you sing." + +"And the Greek poets write?" + +"Yes, there you are right too, I admit." + +"Are there no poets in Persia?" + +"How can you ask such a question? How could a nation, who despised song, +pretend to any nobility of feeling?" + +"But you have some very bad customs." + +"Well?" + +"You take so many wives." + +"My Sappho..." + +"Do not misunderstand me. I love you so much, that I have no other +wish than to see you happy and be allowed to be always with you. If, +by taking me for your only wife, you would outrage the laws of your +country, if you would thereby expose yourself to contempt, or even +blame, (for who could dare to despise my Bartja!) then take other wives; +but let me have you, for myself alone, at least two, or perhaps even +three years. Will you promise this, Bartja?" + +"I will." + +"And then, when my time has passed, and you must yield to the customs +of your country (for it will not be love that leads you to bring home +a second wife), then let me be the first among your slaves. Oh! I have +pictured that so delightfully to myself. When you go to war I shall set +the tiara on your head, gird on the sword, and place the lance in your +hand; and when you return a conqueror, I shall be the first to crown you +with the wreath of victory. When you ride out to the chase, mine will be +the duty of buckling on your spurs, and when you go to the banquet, of +adorning and anointing you, winding the garlands of poplar and roses and +twining them around your forehead and shoulders. If wounded, I will be +your nurse; will never stir from your side if you are ill, and when I +see you happy will retire, and feast my eyes from afar on your glory and +happiness. Then perchance you will call me to your side, and your kiss +will say, 'I am content with my Sappho, I love her still.'" + +"O Sappho, wert thou only my wife now!--to-day! The man who possesses +such a treasure as I have in thee, will guard it carefully, but +never care to seek for others which, by its side, can only show their +miserable poverty. He who has once loved thee, can never love another: I +know it is the custom in my country to have many wives, but this is +only allowed; there is no law to enjoin it. My father had, it is true, +a hundred female slaves, but only one real, true wife, our mother +Kassandane." + +"And I will be your Kassandane." + +"No, my Sappho, for what you will be to me, no woman ever yet was to her +husband." + +"When shall you come to fetch me?" + +"As soon as I can, and am permitted to do so." + +"Then I ought to be able to wait patiently." + +"And shall I ever hear from you?" + +"Oh, I shall write long, long letters, and charge every wind with loving +messages for you." + +"Yes, do so, my darling; and as to the letters, give them to the +messenger who will bring Nitetis tidings from Egypt from time to time." + +"Where shall I find him?" + +"I will see that a man is stationed at Naukratis, to take charge of +everything you send to him. All this I will settle with Melitta." + +"Yes, we can trust her, she is prudent and faithful; but I have another +friend, who is dearer to me than any one else excepting you, and who +loves me too better than any one else does, but you--" + +"You mean your grandmother Rhodopis." + +"Yes, my faithful guardian and teacher." + +"Ah, she is a noble woman. Croesus considers her the most excellent +among women, and he has studied mankind as the physicians do plants and +herbs. He knows that rank poison lies hidden in some, in others healing +cordials, and often says that Rhodopis is like a rose which, while +fading away herself, and dropping leaf after leaf, continues to shed +perfume and quickening balsam for the sick and weak, and awaits in +patience the wind which at last shall waft her from us." + +"The gods grant that she may be with us for a long time yet! Dearest, +will you grant me one great favor?" + +"It is granted before I hear it." + +"When you take me home, do not leave Rhodopis here. She must come with +us. She is so kind and loves me so fervently, that what makes me happy +will make her so too, and whatever is dear to me, will seem to her +worthy of being loved." + +"She shall be the first among our guests." + +"Now I am quite happy and satisfied, for I am necessary to my +grandmother; she could not live without her child. I laugh her cares and +sorrows away, and when she is singing to me, or teaching me how to guide +the style, or strike the lute, a clearer light beams from her brow, +the furrows ploughed by grief disappear, her gentle eyes laugh, and she +seems to forget the evil past in the happy present." + +"Before we part, I will ask her whether she will follow us home." + +"Oh, how glad that makes me! and do you know, the first days of our +absence from each other do not seem so very dreadful to me. Now you are +to be my husband, I may surely tell you everything that pains or pleases +me, even when I dare not tell any one else, and so you must know, that, +when you leave, we expect two little visitors; they are the children +of the kind Phanes, whom your friend Gyges saved so nobly. I mean to be +like a mother to the little creatures, and when they have been good I +shall sing them a story of a prince, a brave hero, who took a simple +maiden to be his wife; and when I describe the prince I shall have you +in my mind, and though my little listeners will not guess it, I shall +be describing you from head to foot. My prince shall be tall like you, +shall have your golden curls and blue eyes, and your rich, royal dress +shall adorn his noble figure. Your generous heart, your love of truth, +and your beautiful reverence for the gods, your courage and heroism, +in short, every thing that I love and honor in you, I shall give to the +hero of my tale. How the children will listen! and when they cry, 'Oh, +how we love the prince, how good and beautiful he must be! if we could +only see him? then I shall press them close to my heart and kiss them as +I kiss you now, and so they will have gained their wish, for as you are +enthroned in my heart, you must be living within me and therefore near +to them, and when they embrace me they will embrace you too." + +"And I shall go to my little sister Atossa and tell her all I have +seen on my journey, and when I speak of the Greeks, their grace, their +glorious works of art, and their beautiful women, I shall describe +the golden Aphrodite in your lovely likeness. I shall tell her of your +virtue, your beauty and modesty, of your singing, which is so sweet that +even the nightingale is silent in order to listen to it, of your love +and tenderness. But all this I shall tell her belongs to the divine +Cypris, and when she cries, 'O Aphrodite, could I but see thee!' I too +shall kiss my sister." + +"Hark, what was that? Melitta surely clapped her hands. Farewell, we +must not stay! but we shall soon see each other again." + +"One more kiss!" + +"Farewell!" + +Melitta had fallen asleep at her post, overcome by age and weariness. +Her dreams were suddenly disturbed by a loud noise, and she clapped her +hands directly to warn the lovers and call Sappho, as she perceived by +the stars that the dawn was not far off. + +As the two approached the house, they discovered that the noise +which had awakened the old slave, proceeded from the guests, who were +preparing for departure. + +Urging her to make the greatest haste, Melitta pushed the frightened +girl into the house, took her at once to her sleeping-room, and was +beginning to undress her when Rhodopis entered. + +"You are still up, Sappho?" she asked. + +"What is this, my child?" + +Melitta trembled and had a falsehood ready on her lips, but Sappho, +throwing herself into her grandmother's arms, embraced her tenderly and +told the whole story of her love. + +Rhodopis turned pale, ordered Melitta to leave the chamber, and, placing +herself in front of her grandchild, laid both hands on her shoulders +and said earnestly, "Look into my eyes, Sappho. Canst thou look at me as +happily and as innocently, as thou couldst before this Persian came to +us?" + +The girl raised her eyes at once with a joyful smile; then Rhodopis +clasped her to her bosom, kissed her and continued: "Since thou wert +a little child my constant effort has been to train thee to a noble +maidenhood and guard thee from the approach of love. I had intended, in +accordance with the customs of our country, to choose a fitting husband +for thee shortly myself, to whose care I should have committed thee; but +the gods willed differently. + + [The Spartans married for love, but the Athenians were accustomed to + negotiate their marriages with the parents of the bride alone.] + +Eros mocks all human efforts to resist or confine him; warm AEolian +blood runs in thy veins and demands love; the passionate heart of thy +Lesbian forefathers beats in thy breast. + + [Charaxus, the grandfather of our heroine, and brother of the + poetess Sappho, was, as a Lesbian, an AEolian Greek.] + +What has happened cannot now be undone. Treasure these happy hours of a +first, pure love; hold them fast in the chambers of memory, for to +every human being there must come, sooner or later, a present so sad and +desolate, that the beautiful past is all he has to live upon. Remember +this handsome prince in silence, bid him farewell when he departs to his +native country, but beware of hoping to see him again. The Persians are +fickle and inconstant, lovers of everything new and foreign. The prince +has been fascinated by thy sweetness and grace. He loves thee ardently +now, but remember, he is young and handsome, courted by every one, and a +Persian. Give him up that he may not abandon thee!" + +"But how can I, grandmother? I have sworn to be faithful to him for +ever." + +"Oh, children! Ye play with eternity as if it were but a passing moment! +I could blame thee for thus plighting thy troth, but I rejoice that thou +regardest the oath as binding. I detest the blasphemous proverb: 'Zeus +pays no heed to lovers' oaths.' Why should an oath touching the best and +holiest feelings of humanity be regarded by the Deity, as inferior in +importance to asseverations respecting the trifling questions of mine +and thine? Keep thy promise then,--hold fast thy love, but prepare to +renounce thy lover." + +"Never, grandmother! could I ever have loved Bartja, if I had not +trusted him? Just because he is a Persian and holds truth to be the +highest virtue, I may venture to hope that he will remember his oath, +and, notwithstanding those evil customs of the Asiatics, will take and +keep me as his only wife." + +"But if he should forget, thy youth will be passed in mourning, and with +an embittered heart..." + +"O, dear kind grandmother, pray do not speak of such dreadful things. If +you knew him as well as I do, you would rejoice with me, and would tell +me I was right to believe that the Nile may dry up and the Pyramids +crumble into ruins, before my Bartja can ever deceive me!" + +The girl spoke these words with such a joyful, perfect confidence, and +her eyes, though filled with tears, were so brilliant with happiness and +warmth of feeling, that Rhodopis' face grew cheerful too. + +Sappho threw her arms again round her grandmother, told her every word +that Bartja had said to her, and ended the long account by exclaiming: +"Oh, grandmother, I am so happy, so very happy, and if you will +come with us to Persia, I shall have nothing more to wish from the +Immortals." + +"That will not last long," said Rhodopis. "The gods cast envious glances +at the happiness of mortals; they measure our portion of evil with +lavish hands, and give us but a scanty allowance of good. But now go to +bed, my child, and let us pray together that all may end happily. I met +thee this morning as a child, I part from thee to-night a woman; and, +when thou art a wife, may thy kiss be as joyful as the one thou givest +me now. To-morrow I will talk the matter over with Croesus. He must +decide whether I dare allow thee to await the return of the Persian +prince, or whether I must entreat thee to forget him and become +the domestic wife of a Greek husband. Sleep well, my darling, thy +grandmother will wake and watch for thee." + +Sappho's happy fancies soon cradled her to sleep; but Rhodopis remained +awake watching the day dawn, and the sun rise, her mind occupied with +thoughts which brought smiles and frowns across her countenance in rapid +succession. + +The next morning she sent to Croesus, begging him to grant her an hour's +interview, acquainted him with every particular she had heard from +Sappho, and concluded her tale with these words: "I know not what +demands may be made on the consort of a Persian king, but I can truly +say that I believe Sappho to be worthy of the first monarch of the +world. Her father was free and of noble birth, and I have heard that, +by Persian law, the descent of a child is determined by the rank of the +father only. In Egypt, too, the descendants of a female slave enjoy the +same rights as those of a princess, if they owe their existence to the +same father." + +"I have listened to you in silence," answered Croesus, "and must +confess, that, like yourself, I do not know in this moment whether to be +glad or sorry for this attachment. Cambyses and Kassandane (the king's +and Bartja's mother) wished to see the prince married before we left +Persia, for the king has no children, and should he remain childless, +the only hope for the family of Cyrus rests on Bartja, as the great +founder of the Persian empire left but two sons,--Cambyses, and him +who is now the suitor of your granddaughter. The latter is the hope and +pride of the entire Persian nation, high and low; the darling of the +people; generous, and noble, handsome, virtuous, and worthy of their +love. It is indeed expected that the princes shall marry in their +own family, the Achaemenidae; but the Persians have an unbounded +predilection for everything foreign. Enchanted with the beauty of your +granddaughter, and rendered indulgent by their partiality for Bartja, +they would easily forgive this breach of an ancient custom. Indeed, if +the king gives his approval, no objection on the part of his subjects +can be entertained. The history of Iran too offers a sufficient number +of examples, in which even slaves became the mothers of kings. The queen +mother, whose position, in the eyes of the people, is nearly as high as +that of the monarch himself, will do nothing to thwart the happiness of +her youngest and favorite son. When she sees that he will not give up +Sappho,--that his smiling face, in which she adores the image of her +great husband Cyrus, becomes clouded, I verily believe she would be +ready to sanction his taking even a Scythian woman to wife, if it could +restore him to cheerfulness. Neither will Cambyses himself refuse his +consent if his mother press the point at a right moment." + +"In that case every difficulty is set aside," cried Rhodopis joyfully. + +"It is not the marriage itself, but the time that must follow, which +causes me uneasiness," answered Croesus. + +"Do you think then that Bartja...?" + +"From him I fear nothing. He has a pure heart, and has been so long +proof against love, that now he has once yielded, he will love long and +ardently." + +"What then do you fear?" + +"You must remember that, though the charming wife of their favorite +will be warmly received by all his friends of his own sex, there are +thousands of idle women in the harems of the Persian nobles, who will +endeavor, by every artifice and intrigue in their power, to injure the +newly-risen star; and whose greatest joy it will be to ruin such an +inexperienced child and make her unhappy." + +"You have a very bad opinion of the Persian women." + +"They are but women, and will naturally envy her, who has gained the +husband they all desired either for themselves or for their daughters. +In their monotonous life, devoid of occupation, envy easily becomes +hatred, and the gratification of these evil passions is the only +compensation which the poor creatures can obtain for the total absence +of love and loss of freedom. I repeat, the more beautiful Sappho is, the +more malicious they will feel towards her, and, even if Bartja should +love her so fervently as not to take a second wife for two or three +years, she will still have such heavy hours to encounter, that I really +do not know whether I dare congratulate you on her apparently brilliant +future." + +"That is quite my own feeling. A simple Greek would be more welcome to +me than this son of a mighty monarch." + +In this moment Knakias brought Bartja into the room. He went to Rhodopis +at once, besought her not to refuse him the hand of her granddaughter, +spoke of his ardent love, and assured her that his happiness would be +doubled, if she would consent to accompany them to Persia. Then turning +to Croesus, he seized his hand and entreated forgiveness for having so +long concealed his great happiness from one who had been like a father +to him, at the same time begging him to second his suit with Rhodopis. + +The old man listened to the youth's passionate language with a smile, +and said: "Ah, Bartja, how often have I warned thee against love! It is +a scorching fire." + +"But its flame is bright and beautiful." + +"It causes pain." + +"But such pain is sweet." + +"It leads the mind astray." + +"But it strengthens the heart." + +"Oh, this love!" cried Rhodopis. "Inspired by Eros, the boy speaks as if +he had been all his life studying under an Attic orator!" + +"And yet," answered Croesus, "these lovers are the most unteachable of +pupils. Convince them as clearly as you will, that their passion is +only another word for poison, fire, folly, death, they still cry, 'Tis +sweet,' and will not be hindered in their course." + +As he was speaking Sappho came in. A white festal robe, with wide +sleeves, and borders of purple embroidery, fell in graceful folds round +her delicate figure, and was confined at the waist by a golden girdle. +Her hair was adorned with fresh roses, and on her bosom lay her lover's +first gift, the flashing diamond star. + +She came up modestly and gracefully, and made a low obeisance to +the aged Croesus. His eyes rested long on the maidenly and lovely +countenance, and the longer he gazed the kindlier became his gaze. For +a moment he seemed to grow young again in the visions conjured up by +memory, and involuntarily he went up to the young girl, kissed her +affectionately on the forehead, and, taking her by the hand, led her to +Bartja with the words: "Take her, thy wife she must be, if the entire +race of the Achaemenidae were to conspire against us!" + +"Have I no voice in the matter?" said Rhodopis, smiling through her +tears. + +On hearing these words, Bartja and Sappho each took one of her hands, +and gazed entreatingly into her face. She rose to her full stature, and +like a prophetess exclaimed: "Eros, who brought you to each other, Zeus +and Apollo defend and protect you. I see you now like two fair roses on +one stem, loving and happy in the spring of life. What summer, autumn +and winter may have in store for you, lies hidden with the gods. May +the shades of thy departed parents, Sappho, smile approvingly when these +tidings of their child shall reach them in the nether world." + + ................................. + +Three days later a densely packed crowd was once more surging round the +Sais landing-place. This time they had assembled to bid a last farewell +to their king's daughter, and in this hour the people gave clear tokens +that, in spite of all the efforts of the priestly caste, their hearts +remained loyal to their monarch and his house. For when Amasis and +Ladice embraced Nitetis for the last time with tears--when Tachot, in +presence of all the inhabitants of Sais, following her sister down the +broad flight of steps that led to the river, threw her arms round her +neck once more and burst into sobs--when at last the wind filled the +sails of the royal boat and bore the princess, destined to be the great +king's bride, from their sight, few eyes among that vast crowd remained +dry. + +The priests alone looked on at this sad scene with unmoved gravity and +coldness; but when the south wind at last bore away the strangers who +had robbed them of their princess, many a curse and execration followed +from the Egyptians on the shore; Tachot alone stood weeping there and +waving her veil to them. For whom were these tears? for the play-fellow +of her youth, or for the handsome, beloved prince? + +Amasis embraced his wife and daughter in the eyes of all his people; +and held up his little grandson, Prince Necho, to their gaze, the +sight eliciting cries of joy on all sides. But Psamtik, the child's own +father, stood by the while, tearless and motionless. The king appeared +not to observe him, until Neithotep approached, and leading him to his +father, joined their hands and called down the blessing of the gods upon +the royal house. + +At this the Egyptians fell on their knees with uplifted hands. Amasis +clasped his son to his heart, and when the high-priest had concluded his +prayer, the following colloquy between the latter and Amasis took place +in low tones: + +"Let peace be between us for our own and Egypt's sake!" + +"Hast thou received Nebenchari's letter?" + +"A Samian pirate-vessel is in pursuit of Phanes' trireme." + +"Behold the child of thy predecessor Hophra, the rightful heiress of the +Egyptian throne, departing unhindered to a distant land!" + +"The works of the Greek temple now building in Memphis shall be +discontinued." + +"May Isis grant us peace, and may prosperity and happiness increase in +our land!" + + ............................ + +The Greek colonists in Naukratis had prepared a feast to celebrate the +departure of their protector's daughter. + +Numerous animals had been slaughtered in sacrifice on the altars of the +Greek divinities, and the Nile-boats were greeted with a loud cry of +"Ailinos" on their arrival in the harbor. + +A bridal wreath, composed of a hoop of gold wound round with scented +violets, was presented to Nitetis by a troop of young girls in holiday +dresses, the act of presentation being performed by Sappho, as the most +beautiful among the maidens of Naukratis. + +On accepting the gift Nitetis kissed her forehead in token of gratitude. +The triremes were already waiting; she went on board, the rowers took +their oars and began the Keleusma. + + [The measure of the Keleusma was generally given by a flute-player, + the Trieraules. AEschylus, Persians 403. Laert. Diog. IV. 22. In + the Frogs of Aristophanes the inhabitants of the marshes are made to + sing the Keleusma, v. 205. The melody, to the measure of which the + Greek boatmen usually timed their strokes.] + +Ailinos rang across the water from a thousand voices. Bartja stood +on the deck, and waved a last loving farewell to his betrothed; while +Sappho prayed in silence to Aphrodite Euploia, the protectress of those +who go down to the sea in ships. A tear rolled down her cheek, but +around her lips played a smile of love and hope, though her old slave +Melitta, who accompanied her to carry her parasol, was weeping as if +her heart would break. On seeing, however, a few leaves fall from +her darling's wreath, she forgot her tears for a moment and whispered +softly: "Yes, dear heart, it is easy to see that you are in love; when +the leaves fall from a maiden's wreath, 'tis a sure sign that her heart +has been touched by Eros. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +Seven weeks after Nitetis had quitted her native country, a long train +of equipages and horsemen was to be seen on the king's highway from +the west to Babylon, moving steadily towards that gigantic city, whose +towers might already be descried in the far distance. + + [The great road called the "king's road," of which we shall have + more to say, was made by Cyrus and carefully kept up by Darius.] + +The principal object in this caravan was a richly-gilded, four-wheeled +carriage, closed in at the sides by curtains, and above by a roof +supported on wooden pillars. In this vehicle, called the Harmamaxa, +resting on rich cushions of gold brocade, sat our Egyptian Princess. + + [Harmamaxa--An Asiatic travelling carriage. The first mention of + these is in Xenophon's Anabasis, where we find a queen travelling in + such a vehicle. They were later adopted by the Romans and used for + the same object.] + +On either side rode her escort, viz.: the Persian princes and nobles +whom we have already learnt to know during their visit to Egypt, Croesus +and his son. + +Behind these, a long train, consisting of fifty vehicles of different +kinds and six hundred beasts of burden, stretched away into +the distance, and the royal carriage was preceded by a troop of +splendidly-mounted Persian cavalry. + +The high-road followed the course of the Euphrates, passing through +luxuriant fields of wheat, barley and sesame yielding fruit two, and +sometimes even three, hundred-fold. Slender date-palms covered with +golden fruit were scattered in every direction over the fields, which +were thoroughly irrigated by means of canals and ditches. + +It was winter, but the sun shone warm and bright from a cloudless sky. +The mighty river swarmed with craft of all sizes, either transporting +the products of Upper Armenia to the plains of Mesopotamia, or the wares +of Greece and Asia Minor from Thapsakus to Babylon. + + [Thapsakus--An important commercial town on the Euphrates, and the + point of observation from which Eratosthenes took his measurements + of the earth.] + +Pumps and water-wheels poured refreshing streams over the thirsty land, +and pretty villages ornamented the shores of the river. Indeed every +object gave evidence that our caravan was approaching the metropolis of +a carefully governed and civilized state. + +Nitetis and her retinue now halted at a long brick house, roofed with +asphalte, and surrounded by a grove of plane-trees. + + [Asphalte--Nearly all authorities, ancient as well as modern, report + that bitumen, which is still plentifully found in the neighborhood + of Babylon, was used by the Babylonians as mortar. See, besides the + accounts of ancient writers, W. Vaux, 'Nineveh and Persepolis'. + Burnt bitumen was used by Assyrians for cement in building.] + +Here Croesus was lifted from his horse, and approaching the carriage, +exclaimed: "Here we are at length at the last station! That high tower +which you see on the horizon is the celebrated temple of Bel, next to +the Pyramids, one of the most gigantic works ever constructed by human +hands. Before sunset we shall have reached the brazen gates of Babylon. +And now I would ask you to alight, and let me send your maidens into the +house; for here you must put on Persian apparel, to appear well-pleasing +in the eyes of Cambyses. In a few hours you will stand before your +future husband. But you are pale! Permit your maidens to adorn your +cheeks with a color that shall look like the excitement of joy. A first +impression is often a final one, and this is especially true with regard +to Cambyses. If, which I doubt not, you are pleasing in his eyes at +first, then you have won his love for ever; but if you should displease +him to-day he will never look kindly on you again, for he is rough and +harsh. But take courage, my daughter, and above all, do not forget the +advice I have given you." Nitetis dried her tears as she answered: "How +can I ever thank you, O Croesus, my second father, my protector and +adviser, for all your goodness? Oh, forsake me not in the days to come! +and if the path of my life should lead through grief and care, be near +to help and guide me as you did on the mountain-passes of this long and +dangerous journey. A thousand times I thank thee, O my father!" + +And, as she said these words, the young girl threw her arms around the +old man's neck and kissed him tenderly. + +On entering the court-yard, a tall stout man, followed by a train of +Asiatic serving-maidens, came forward to meet them. This was Boges, the +chief of the eunuchs, an important official at the Persian court. His +beardless face wore a smile of fulsome sweetness; in his ears hung +costly jewelled pendents; his neck, arms, legs and his effeminately long +garments glittered all over with gold chains and rings, and his crisp, +stiff curls, bound round by a purple fillet, streamed with powerful and +penetrating perfumes. + +Making a low and reverential obeisance before Nitetis, and holding, the +while, his fat hands overloaded with rings before his mouth, he thus +addressed her: "Cambyses, lord of the world, hath sent me to thee, O +Queen, that I may refresh thy heart with the dew of his salutations. +He sendeth thee likewise by me, even by me the lowest of his servants, +Persian raiment, that thou, as befitteth the consort of the mightiest +of all rulers, mayest approach the gates of the Achaemenidae in Median +garments. These women whom thou seest are thy handmaidens, and only +await thy bidding to transform thee from an Egyptian jewel into a +Persian pearl." + +The master of the caravansary then appeared, bearing, in token of +welcome, a basket of fruits arranged with great taste. + +Nitetis returned her thanks to both these men in kind and friendly +words; then entering the house laid aside the dress and ornaments of her +native land, weeping as she did so, allowed the strangers to unloose the +plait of hair which hung down at the left side of her head, and was the +distinctive mark of an Egyptian princess, and to array her in Median +garments. + + [In almost all the Egyptian pictures, the daughters and sons of the + Pharaohs are represented with these locks of hair, plaited and + reaching from the forehead to the neck. Rosellini, Mon. stor. II. + 123. Lepsius, Denkmaler. The daughter of Rameses II. is drawn + thus, and we have examples of the same in many other pictures.] + +In the meantime, a repast had been commanded by the princes +who accompanied her. Eager and agile attendants rushed to the +baggage-waggons, fetching thence, in a few moments, seats, tables, and +golden utensils of all kinds. The cooks vied with them and with each +other, and as if by magic, in a short space of time a richly-adorned +banquet for the hungry guests appeared, at which even the flowers were +not wanting. + +During the entire journey our travellers had lived in a similar luxury, +as their beasts of burden carried every imaginable convenience, from +tents of water-proof materials inwrought with gold, down to silver +foot-stools; and in the vehicles which composed their train were +not only bakers, cooks, cup-bearers and carvers, but perfumers, +hair-dressers and weavers of garlands. Beside these conveniences, a +well-fitted up caravansary, or inn, was to be found about every eighteen +miles along the whole route, where disabled horses could be replaced, +the plantations around which afforded a refreshing shelter from the +noonday heat, or their hearths a refuge from the snow and cold on the +mountain-passes. + +The kingdom of Persia was indebted for these inns (similar to the +post-stations of modern days) to Cyrus, who had endeavored to connect +the widely-distant provinces of his immense dominions by a system of +well-kept roads, and a regular postal service. At each of these stations +the horseman carrying the letter-bag was relieved by a fresh man on a +fresh steed, to whom the letters were transferred, and who, in his turn, +darted off like the wind, to be again replaced at a similar distance +by another rider. These couriers, called Angari, were considered the +swiftest horsemen in the world. + + [Herodotus V. 14. 49-52. Persian milestones are still to be found + among the ruins of the old king's road, which led from Nineveh to + Ecbatana. The Kurds call them keli-Shin (blue pillars).] + +Just as the banqueters, amongst whom Boges had taken his seat, were +rising from table, the door opened, and a vision appeared, which +drew prolonged exclamation of surprise from all the Persians present. +Nitetis, clad in the glorious apparel of a Median princess, proud in the +consciousness of her triumphant beauty, and yet blushing like a young +girl at the wondering admiration of her friends, stood before them. + +The attendants involuntarily fell on their faces before her, according +to the custom of the Asiatics, and the noble Achaemenidae bowed low and +reverentially; for it seemed as if Nitetis has laid aside all her former +bashfulness and timidity with her simple Egyptian dress, and with the +splendid silken garments of a Persian princess, flashing as they were +with gold and jewels, had clothed herself in the majesty of a queen. + +The deep reverence paid by all present seemed agreeable to her, and +thanking her admiring friends by a gracious wave of the hand, she turned +to the chief of the eunuchs and said in a kind tone but mingled with a +touch of pride; "Thou hast performed thy mission well; I am content with +the raiment and the slaves that thou hast provided and shall commend thy +circumspection to the king, my husband. Receive this gold chain in the +meanwhile, as a token of my gratitude." + +The eunuch kissed the hem of her garment, and accepted the gift in +silence. This man, hitherto omnipotent in his office, had never before +encountered such pride in any of the women committed to his charge. Up +to the present time all Cambyses' wives had been Asiatics, and, well +aware of the unlimited power of the chief of the eunuchs, had used every +means within their reach to secure his favor by flattery and submission. + +Boges now made a second obeisance before Nitetis, of which, however, she +took no notice, and turning to Croesus said: "Neither words nor gifts +could ever suffice to express my gratitude to you, kindest of friends, +for, if my future life at the court of Persia prove, I will not venture +to say a happy, but even a peaceful one, it is to you alone that I +shall owe it. Still, take this ring. It has never left my finger since +I quitted Egypt, and it has a significance far beyond its outward worth. +Pythagoras, the noblest of the Greeks, gave it to my mother, when he +was tarrying in Egypt to learn the wisdom of our priests, and it was her +parting gift to me. The number seven is engraved upon the simple stone. +This indivisible number represents perfect health, both to soul and body +for health is likewise one and indivisible. + + [Seven, the "motherless" number, which has no factor below ten.] + +The sickness of one member is the sickness of all; one evil thought, +allowed to take up its abode within our heart, destroys the entire +harmony of the soul. When you see this seven therefore, let it recall my +heart's wish that you may ever enjoy undisturbed bodily health, and long +retain that loving gentleness which has made you the most virtuous, and +therefore the healthiest of men. No thanks, my father, for even if I +could restore to Croesus all the treasures that he once possessed, I +should still retrain his debtor. Gyges, to you I give this Lydian lyre; +let its tones recall the giver to your memory. For you, Zopyrus, I +have a golden chain; I have witnessed that you are the most faithful of +friends; and we Egyptians are accustomed to place cords and bands in +the hands of our lovely Hathor, the goddess of love and friendship, +as symbols of her captivating and enchaining attributes. As Darius has +studied the wisdom of Egypt and the signs of the starry heavens, I beg +him to take this circlet of gold, on which a skilful hand has traced the +signs of the Zodiac. + + [Diodorus (I. 49.) tells, that in the tomb of Osymandyas (palace of + Rameses II. at Thebes) there lay a circle of gold, one ell thick and + 365 ells in circumference, containing a complete astronomical + calendar. The circle of the zodiac from Dendera, which is now in + Paris,--an astronomical ceiling painting, which was believed at the + time of its discovery to be of great age, is not nearly so ancient + as was supposed, dating only from the end of the Ptolemaic dynasty. + Letronne was the first to estimate it correctly. See Lepsius, + Chron. p.63. and Lauth, 'les zodiaques de Dendera'. Munich 1865.] + +And lastly, to my dear brother-in-law Bartja I commit the most precious +jewel in my possession--this amulet of blue stone. My sister Tachot hung +it round my neck as I kissed her on the last night before we parted; she +told me it could bring to its wearer the sweet bliss of love. And then, +Bartja, she wept! I do not know of whom she was thinking in that +moment, but I hope I am acting according to her wishes in giving you +her precious jewel. Take it as a gift from Tachot, and sometimes call to +mind our games in the Sais gardens." + +Thus far she had been speaking Greek, but now, addressing the attendants +who remained standing in an attitude of deep reverence, she began in +broken Persian: "Accept my thanks also. In Babylon you shall receive a +thousand gold staters." Then turning to Boges, she added: "Let this +sum be distributed among the attendants at latest by the day after +to-morrow. Take me to my carriage, Croesus." + +The old king hastened to do her bidding, and as he was leading her +thither she pressed his arm and whispered gently, "Are you pleased with +me, my father?" + +"I tell you, girl," the old man answered, "that no one but the king's +mother can ever be your equal at this court, for a true and queenly +pride reigns on your brow, and you have the power of using small means +to effect great ends. Believe me, the smallest gift, chosen and bestowed +as you can choose and bestow, gives more pleasure to a noble mind +than heaps of treasure merely cast down at his feet. The Persians are +accustomed to present and receive costly gifts. They understand already +how to enrich their friends, but you can teach them to impart a joy +with every gift. How beautiful you are to-day! Are your cushions to +your mind, or would you like a higher seat? But what is that? There are +clouds of dust in the direction of the city. Cambyses is surely coming +to meet you! Courage, my daughter. Above all try to meet his gaze and +respond to it. Very few can bear the lightning glance of those eyes, +but, if you can return it freely and fearlessly, you have conquered. +Fear nothing, my child, and may Aphrodite adorn you with her most +glorious beauty! My friends, we must start, I think the king himself is +coming." Nitetis sat erect in her splendid, gilded carriage; her hands +were pressed on her throbbing heart. The clouds of dust came nearer +and nearer, her eye caught the flash of weapons like lightning across +a stormy sky. The clouds parted, she could see single figures for a +moment, but soon lost them as the road wound behind some thickets and +shrubs. Suddenly the troop of horsemen appeared in full gallop only a +hundred paces before her, and distinctly visible. + +Her first impression was of a motley mass of steeds and men, glittering +in purple, gold, silver and jewels. It consisted in reality of a troop +of more than two hundred horsemen mounted on pure white Nicaean horses, +whose bridles and saddle-cloths were covered with bells and bosses, +feathers, fringes, and embroidery. Their leader rode a powerful +coal-black charger, which even the strong will and hand of his rider +could not always curb, though in the end his enormous strength proved +him the man to tame even this fiery animal. This rider, beneath whose +weight the powerful steed trembled and panted, wore a vesture of scarlet +and white, thickly embroidered with eagles and falcons in silver. + + [Curtius III. 3. Xenoph. Cyrap, VIII. 3. 7. Aeschylus, Persians + 835. 836. The king's dress and ornaments were worth 12,000 talents, + or L2,250,000 (estimate of 1880) according to Plutarch, Artaxerxes + 24.] + +The lower part of his dress was purple, and his boots of yellow leather. +He wore a golden girdle; in this hung a short dagger-like sword, +the hilt and scabbard of which were thickly studded with jewels. The +remaining ornaments of his dress resembled those we have described as +worn by Bartja, and the blue and white fillet of the Achaemenidae was +bound around the tiara, which surmounted a mass of thick curls, black as +ebony. The lower part of his face was concealed by an immense beard. His +features were pale and immovable, but the eyes, (more intensely black, +if possible, than either hair or beard), glowed with a fire that was +rather scorching than warming. A deep, fiery-red scar, given by the +sword of a Massagetan warrior, crossed his high forehead, arched +nose and thin upper lip. His whole demeanor expressed great power and +unbounded pride. + +Nitetis' gaze was at once riveted by this man. She had never seen any +one like him before, and he exercised a strange fascination over her. +The expression of indomitable pride, worn by his features, seemed to her +to represent a manly nature which the whole world, but she herself above +all others, was created to serve. She felt afraid, and yet her true +woman's heart longed to lean upon his strength as the vine upon the elm. +She could not be quite sure whether she had thus pictured to herself the +father of all evil, the fearful Seth, or the great god Ammon, the giver +of light. + +The deepest pallor and the brightest color flitted by turns across her +lovely face, like the light and shadow when clouds pass swiftly over a +sunny noonday sky. She had quite forgotten the advice of her fatherly +old friend, and yet, when Cambyses brought his unruly, chafing steed to +a stand by the side of her carriage, she gazed breathless into the fiery +eyes of this man and felt at once that he was the king, though no one +had told her so. + +The stern face of this ruler of half the known world relaxed, as +Nitetis, moved by an unaccountable impulse, continued to bear his +piercing gaze. At last he waved his hand to her in token of welcome, and +then rode on to her escort, who had alighted from their horses and were +awaiting him, some having cast themselves down in the dust, and others, +after the Persian manner, standing in an attitude of deep reverence, +their hands concealed in the wide sleeves of their robes. + +He sprang from his horse, an example which was followed at once by his +entire suite. The attendants, with the speed of thought, spread a rich +purple carpet on the highway, lest the foot of the king should come +in contact with the dust of the earth, and then Cambyses proceeded to +salute his friends and relations by offering them his mouth to kiss. + +He shook Croesus by the right hand, commanding him to remount and +accompany him to the carriage, as interpreter between himself and +Nitetis. + +In an instant his highest office-bearers were at hand to lift the king +once more on to his horse, and at a single nod from their lord, the +train was again in motion. + +Cambyses and Croesus rode by the side of the carriage. + +"She is beautiful, and pleases me well," began the king. "Interpret +faithfully all her answers, for I understand only the Persian, Assyrian +and Median tongues." + +Nitetis caught and understood these words. A feeling of intense joy +stole into her heart, and before Croesus could answer, she began softly +in broken Persian and blushing deeply: "Blessed be the gods, who have +caused me to find favor in thine eyes. I am not ignorant of the speech +of my lord, for the noble Croesus has instructed me in the Persian +language during our long journey. Forgive, if my sentences be broken and +imperfect; the time was short, and my capacity only that of a poor and +simple maiden." + + [Diodorus tells us that Themistocles learnt the Persian language + during the journey to Susa. We are not, therefore, requiring an + impossibility of Nitetis.] + +A smile passed over the usually serious mouth of Cambyses. His vanity +was flattered by Nitetis' desire to win his approbation, and, accustomed +as he was to see women grow up in idleness and ignorance, thinking of +nothing but finery and intrigue, her persevering industry seemed to +him both wonderful and praise worthy. So he answered with evident +satisfaction: "I rejoice that we can speak without an interpreter. +Persevere in learning the beautiful language of my forefathers. Croesus, +who sits at my table, shall still remain your instructor." + +"Your command confers happiness!" exclaimed the old man. "No more eager +or thankful pupil could be found, than the daughter of Amasis." + +"She justifies the ancient report of the wisdom of Egypt," answered the +king, "and I can believe that she will quickly understand and receive +into her soul the religious instructions of our Magi." + +Nitetis dropped her earnest gaze. Her fears were being realized. She +would be compelled to serve strange gods. + +But her emotion passed unnoticed by Cambyses, who went on speaking: +"My mother Kassandane will tell you the duties expected from my wives. +To-morrow I myself will lead you to her. The words, which you innocently +chanced to hear, I now repeat; you please me well. Do nothing to +alienate my affection. We will try to make our country agreeable, +and, as your friend, I counsel you to treat Boges whom I sent as my +forerunner, in a kind and friendly manner. As head over the house of the +women, you will have to conform to his will in many things." + +"Though he be head over the house of the women," answered Nitetis, +"surely your wife is bound to obey no other earthly will than yours. +Your slightest look shall be for me a command; but remember that I am a +king's daughter, that in my native land the weaker and the stronger sex +have equal rights, and that the same pride reigns in my breast, which +I see kindling in your eyes, my lord and king! My obedience to you, my +husband and my ruler, shall be that of a slave, but I can never stoop +to sue for the favor, or obey the orders of a venal servant, the most +unmanly of his kind!" + +Cambyses' wonder and satisfaction increased. He had never heard any +woman speak in this way before, except his mother; the clever way in +which Nitetis acknowledged, and laid stress on, his right to command her +every act, was very flattering to his self-love, and her pride found an +echo in his own haughty disposition. He nodded approvingly and answered: +"You have spoken well. A separate dwelling shall be appointed you. I, +and no one else, will prescribe your rules of life and conduct. This day +the pleasant palace on the hanging-gardens shall be prepared for your +reception." + +"A thousand, thousand thanks," cried Nitetis. "You little know the +blessing you are bestowing in this permission. Again and again I have +begged your brother Bartja to repeat the story of these gardens, and the +love of the king who raised that verdant and blooming hill, pleased us +better than all the other glories of your vast domains." + +"To-morrow," answered the king, "you can enter your new abode. But tell +me now how my messengers pleased you and your countrymen." + +"How can you ask? Who could know the noble Croesus without loving him? +Who could fail to admire the beauty of the young heroes, your friends? +They have all become dear to us, but your handsome brother Bartja +especially, won all hearts. The Egyptians have no love for strangers, +and yet the gaping crowd would burst into a murmur of admiration, when +his beautiful face appeared among them." + +At these words the king's brow darkened; he struck his horse so sharply +that the creature reared, and then turning it quickly round he gallopped +to the front and soon reached the walls of Babylon. + + ........................... + +Though Nitetis had been brought up among the huge temples and palaces +of Egypt, she was still astonished at the size and grandeur of this +gigantic city. + +Its walls seemed impregnable; they measured more than seventy-five +feet--[Fifty ells. The Greek ell is equal to one foot and a half +English.]--in height and their breadth was so great, that two chariots +could conveniently drive abreast upon them. These mighty defences were +crowned and strengthened by two hundred and fifty high towers, and even +these would have been insufficient, if Babylon had not been protected on +one side by impassable morasses. The gigantic city lay on both shores +of the Euphrates. It was more than forty miles in circumference, and +its walls enclosed buildings surpassing in size and grandeur even the +Pyramids and the temples of Thebes. + + [These numbers and measurements are taken partly from Herodotus, + partly from Diodorus, Strabo and Arrian. And even the ruins of this + giant city, writes Lavard, are such as to allow a very fair + conclusion of its enormous size. Aristotle (Polit. III. I.) says + Babylon's dimensions were not those of a city, but of a nation.] + +The mighty gates of brass, through which the royal train entered the +city, had opened wide to receive this noble company. This entrance was +defended on each side by a strong tower, and before each of these towers +lay, as warder, a gigantic winged bull carved in stone, with a human +head, bearded and solemn. Nitetis gazed at these gates in astonishment, +and then a joyful smile lighted up her face, as she looked up the long +broad street so brightly and beautifully decorated to welcome her. + +The moment they beheld the king and the gilded carriage, the multitude +burst into loud shouts of joy, but when Bartja, the people's darling, +came in sight, the shouts rose to thunder-peals and shrieks of delight, +which seemed as if they would never end. It was long since the populace +had seen Cambyses, for in accordance with Median customs the king seldom +appeared in public. Like the Deity, he was to govern invisibly, and his +occasional appearance before the nation to be looked upon as a festival +and occasion of rejoicing. Thus all Babylon had come out to-day to +look upon their awful ruler and to welcome their favorite Bartja on his +return. The windows were crowded with eager, curious women, who threw +flowers before the approaching train, or poured sweet perfumes from +above as they passed by. The pavement was thickly strewn with myrtle +and palm branches, trees of different kinds had been placed before the +house-doors, carpets and gay cloths hung from the windows, garlands of +flowers were wreathed from house to house, fragrant odors of incense and +sandal-wood perfumed the air, and the way was lined with thousands of +gaping Babylonians dressed in white linen shirts, gaily-colored woollen +petticoats and short cloaks, and carrying long staves headed with +pomegranates, birds, or roses, of gold or silver. + +The streets through which the procession moved were broad and straight, +the houses on either side, built of brick, tall and handsome. Towering +above every thing else, and visible from all points, rose the gigantic +temple of Bel. Its colossal staircase, like a huge serpent, wound round +and round the ever-diminishing series of stories composing the tower, +until it reached the summit crowned by the sanctuary itself. + + [This temple of Bel, which many consider may have been the tower of + Babel of Genesis XI., is mentioned by Herodotus I. 181. 182. 183. + Diodorus II. 8. 9. (Ktesias), Strabo 738 and many other ancient + writers. The people living in its neighborhood now call the ruins + Birs Nimrod, the castle of Nimrod. In the text we have + reconstructed it as far as possible from the accounts of classical + writers. The first story, which is still standing, in the midst of + a heap of ruins, is 260 feet high. The walls surrounding the tower + are said to be still clearly recognizable, and were 4000 feet long + and 3000 broad. ] + +The procession approached the royal palace. This corresponded in its +enormous size to the rest of the vast city. The walls surrounding it +were covered with gaily-colored and glazed representations of strange +figures made up of human beings, birds, quadrupeds and fishes; +hunting-scenes, battles and solemn processions. By the side of the river +towards the north, rose the hanging-gardens, and the smaller palace lay +toward the east on the other bank of the Euphrates, connected with the +larger one by the wondrous erection, a firm bridge of stone. + +Our train passed on through the brazen gates of three of the walls +surrounding the palace, and then halted. Nitetis was lifted from her +carriage by bearers; she was at last in her new home, and soon after in +the apartments of the women's house assigned to her temporary use. + +Cambyses, Bartja and their friends already known to us, were still +standing in the gaily-carpeted court of the palace, surrounded by +at least a hundred splendid dignitaries in magnificent dresses, when +suddenly a sound of loud female voices was heard, and a lovely Persian +girl richly dressed, her thick fair hair profusely wreathed with pearls, +rushed into the court, pursued by several women older than herself. She +ran up to the group of men; Cambyses with a smile placed himself in her +path, but the impetuous girl slipped adroitly past him, and in another +moment was hanging on Bartja's neck, crying and laughing by turns. + +The attendants in pursuit prostrated themselves at a respectful +distance, but Cambyses, on seeing the caresses lavished by the young +girl on her newly-returned brother, cried: "For shame, Atossa! remember +that since you began to wear ear-rings you have ceased to be a child! + + [Ear-rings were given to the Persian girls in their fifteenth year, + the marriageable age. Vendid. Farlard XIV. 66. At this age too + boys as well as girls were obliged to wear the sacred cord, Kuctl or + Kosti as a girdle; and were only allowed to unloose it in the night. + The making of this cord is attended with many ceremonies, even among + the Persians of our own day. Seventy-two threads must be employed, + but black wool is prohibited.] + +It is right that you should rejoice to see your brother again, but a +king's daughter must never forget what is due to her rank, even in her +greatest joy. Go back to your mother directly. I see your attendants +waiting yonder. Go and tell them, that as this is a day of rejoicing I +will allow your heedless conduct to pass unpunished, but the next time +you appear unbidden in these apartments, which none may enter without +permission, I shall tell Boges to keep you twelve days in confinement. +Remember this, thoughtless child, and tell our mother, Bartja and I are +coming to visit her. Now give me a kiss. You will not? We shall see, +capricious little one!" And so saying the king sprang towards his +refractory little sister, and seizing both her hands in one of his own, +bent back her charming head with the other and kissed her in spite of +her resistance. She screamed from the violence of his grasp, and ran +away crying to her attendants, who took her back to her apartments. + +When Atossa had disappeared, Bartja said; "You were too rough with the +little one, Cambyses. She screamed with pain!" + +Once more the king's face clouded, but suppressing the harsh words which +trembled on his lips, he only answered, turning towards the house: "Let +us come to our mother now; she begged me to bring you as soon as you +arrived. The women, as usual, are all impatience. Nitetis told me your +rosy cheeks and fair curls had bewitched the Egyptian women too. I would +advise you to pray betimes to Mithras for eternal youth, and for his +protection against the wrinkles of age!" + +"Do you mean to imply by these words that I have no virtues which could +make an old age beautiful?" asked Bartja. + +"I explain my words to no one. Come." + +"But I ask for an opportunity of proving, that I am inferior to none of +my nation in manly qualities." + +"For that matter, the shouts of the Babylonians today will have been +proof enough, that deeds are not wanted from you, in order to win their +admiration." + +"Cambyses!" + +"Now come! We are just on the eve of a war with the Massagetae; there +you will have a good opportunity of proving what you are worth." + +A few minutes later, and Bartja was in the arms of his blind mother. She +had been waiting for her darling's arrival with a beating heart, and +in the joy of hearing his voice once more, and of being able to lay her +hands again on that beloved head, she forgot everything else--even her +first-born son who stood by smiling bitterly, as he watched the rich and +boundless stream of a mother's love flowing out to his younger brother. + +Cambyses had been spoiled from his earliest infancy. Every wish had been +fulfilled, every look regarded as a command; and thus he grew up totally +unable to brook contradiction, giving way to the most violent anger +if any of his subjects (and he knew no human beings who were not his +subjects) dared to oppose him. + +His father Cyrus, conqueror of half the world--the man whose genius +had raised Persia from a small nation to the summit of earthly +greatness--who had secured for himself the reverence and admiration of +countless subjugated tribes--this great king was incapable of carrying +out in his own small family-circle the system of education he had so +successfully adopted towards entire countries. He could see nought else +in Cambyses but the future king of Persia, and commanded his subjects to +pay him an unquestioning obedience, entirely forgetful of the fact that +he who is to govern well must begin by learning to obey. + +Cambyses had been the first-born son of Kassandane, the wife whom Cyrus +had loved and married young; three daughters followed, and at last, +fifteen years later, Bartja had come into the world. Their eldest son +had already outgrown his parents' caresses, when this little child +appeared to engross all their care and love. His gentle, affectionate +and clinging nature made him the darling of both father and mother: +Cambyses was treated with consideration by his parents, but their love +was for Bartja. Cambyses was brave; he distinguished himself often in +the field, but his disposition was haughty and imperious; men served him +with fear and trembling, while Bartja, ever sociable and sympathizing, +converted all his companions into loving friends. As to the mass of +the people, they feared the king, and trembled when he drew near, +notwithstanding the lavish manner in which he showered rich gifts around +him; but they loved Bartja, and believed they saw in him the image of +the great Cyrus the "Father of his people." + +Cambyses knew well that all this love, so freely given to Bartja, was +not to be bought. He did not hate his younger brother, but he felt +annoyed that a youth who had as yet done nothing to distinguish himself, +should be honored and revered as if he were already a hero and public +benefactor. Whatever annoyed or displeased him he considered must be +wrong; where he disapproved he did not spare his censures, and from his +very childhood, Cambyses' reproofs had been dreaded even by the mighty. + +The enthusiastic shouts of the populace, the overflowing love of his +mother and sister, and above all, the warm encomiums expressed by +Nitetis, had excited a jealousy which his pride had never allowed +hitherto. Nitetis had taken his fancy in a remarkable degree. This +daughter of a powerful monarch, like himself disdaining everything mean +and inferior, had yet acknowledged him to be her superior, and to win +his favor had not shrunk from the laborious task of mastering his native +language. These qualities, added to her peculiar style of beauty, which +excited his admiration from its rare novelty, half Egyptian half +Greek, (her mother having been a Greek), had not failed to make a deep +impression on him. But she had been liberal in her praise of Bartja; +that was enough to disturb Cambyses' mind and prepare the way for +jealousy. + +As he and his brother were leaving the women's apartments, Cambyses +adopted a hasty resolution and exclaimed: "You asked me just now for an +opportunity of proving your courage. I will not refuse. The Tapuri +have risen; I have sent troops to the frontier. Go to Rhagae, take the +command and show what you are worth." + +"Thanks, brother," cried Bartja. "May I take my friends, Darius, Gyges +and Zopyrus with me?" + +"That favor shall be granted too. I hope you will all do your duty +bravely and promptly, that you may be back in three months to join the +main army in the expedition of revenge on the Massagetae. It will take +place in spring." + +"I will start to-morrow." + +"Then farewell." + +"If Auramazda should spare my life and I should return victorious, will +you promise to grant me one favor?" + +"Yes, I will." + +"Now, then, I feel confident of victory, even if I should have to stand +with a thousand men against ten thousand of the enemy." Bartja's eyes +sparkled, he was thinking of Sappho. + +"Well," answered his brother, "I shall be very glad if your actions bear +out these glowing words. But stop; I have something more to say. You are +now twenty years of age; you must marry. Roxana, daughter of the noble +Hydarnes, is marriageable, and is said to be beautiful. Her birth makes +her a fitting bride for you." + +"Oh! brother, do not speak of marriage; I..." "You must marry, for I +have no children." + +"But you are still young; you will not remain childless. Besides, I do +not say that I will never marry. Do not be angry, but just now, when I +am to prove my courage, I would rather hear nothing about women." + +"Well, then, you must marry Roxana when you return from the North. But I +should advise you to take her with you to the field. A Persian generally +fights better if he knows that, beside his most precious treasures, he +has a beautiful woman in his tent to defend." + +"Spare me this one command, my brother. I conjure thee, by the soul +of our father, not to inflict on me a wife of whom I know nothing, and +never wish to know. Give Roxana to Zopyrus, who is so fond of women, or +to Darius or Bessus, who are related to her father Hydarnes. I cannot +love her, and should be miserable..." + +Cambyses interrupted him with a laugh, exclaiming: "Did you learn these +notions in Egypt, where it is the custom to be contented with one wife? +In truth, I have long repented having sent a boy like you abroad. I am +not accustomed to bear contradiction, and shall listen to no excuses +after the war. This once I will allow you to go to the field without a +wife. I will not force you to do what, in your opinion, might endanger +your valor. But it seems to me that you have other and more secret +reasons for refusing my brotherly proposal. If that is the case, I am +sorry for you. However, for the present, you can depart, but after the +war I will hear no remonstrances. You know me." + +"Perhaps after the war I may ask for the very thing, which I am refusing +now--but never for Roxana! It is just as unwise to try to make a man +happy by force as it is wicked to compel him to be unhappy, and I thank +you for granting my request." + +"Don't try my powers of yielding too often!--How happy you look! I +really believe you are in love with some one woman by whose side all the +others have lost their charms." + +Bartja blushed to his temples, and seizing his brother's hand, +exclaimed: "Ask no further now, accept my thanks once more, and +farewell. May I bid Nitetis farewell too, when I have taken leave of our +mother and Atossa?" + +Cambyses bit his lip, looked searchingly into Bartja's face, and finding +that the boy grew uneasy under his glance, exclaimed abruptly and +angrily: "Your first business is to hasten to the Tapuri. My wife needs +your care no longer; she has other protectors now." So saying he turned +his back on his brother and passed on into the great hall, blazing with +gold, purple and jewels, where the chiefs of the army, satraps, judges, +treasurers, secretaries, counsellors, eunuchs, door-keepers, introducers +of strangers, chamberlains, keepers of the wardrobe, dressers, +cup-bearers, equerries, masters of the chase, physicians, eyes and ears +of the king, ambassadors and plenipotentiaries of all descriptions--were +in waiting for him. + + [The "eyes and ears" of the king may be compared to our police- + ministers. Darius may have borrowed the name from Egypt, where such + titles as "the 2 eyes of the king for Upper Egypt, the 2 ears of the + king for Lower Egypt" are to be found on the earlier monuments, for + instance in the tomb of Amen en, heb at Abd el Qurnah. And in + Herodotus II. 114. the boy Cyrus calls one of his playfellows "the + eye of the king," Herod. (I, 100.)] + +The king was preceded by heralds bearing staves, and followed by a +host of fan, sedan and footstool-bearers, men carrying carpets, and +secretaries who the moment he uttered a command, or even indicated a +concession, a punishment or a reward, hastened to note it down and at +once hand it over to the officials empowered to execute his decrees. + +In the middle of the brilliantly-lighted hall stood a gilded table, +which looked as if it must give way beneath the mass of gold and silver +vessels, plates, cups and bowls which were arranged with great order +upon it. The king's private table, the service on which was of immense +worth and beauty, was placed in an apartment opening out of the large +hall, and separated from it by purple hangings. These concealed him from +the gaze of the revellers, but did not prevent their every movement from +being watched by his eye. It was an object of the highest ambition to be +one of those who ate at the king's table, and even he to whom a portion +was sent might deem himself a highly-favored man. + +As Cambyses entered the hall, nearly every one present prostrated +themselves before him; his relations alone, distinguished by the blue +and white fillet on the tiara, contented themselves with a deferential +obeisance. + +After the king had seated himself in his private apartment, the rest +of the company took their places, and then a tremendous revel began. +Animals, roasted whole, were placed on the table, and, when hunger was +appeased, several courses of the rarest delicacies followed, celebrated +in later times even among the Greeks under the name of "Persian +dessert." + + [Herodotus (I. 133.) writes that the Persians fancied the Greeks' + hunger was never satisfied, because nothing special was brought to + the table at the end of the meal.] + +Slaves then entered to remove the remains of the food. Others brought in +immense jugs of wine, the king left his own apartment, took his seat +at the head of the table, numerous cup-bearers filled the golden +drinking-cups in the most graceful manner, first tasting the wine to +prove that it was free from poison, and soon one of those drinking-bouts +had begun under the best auspices, at which, a century or two later, +Alexander the Great, forgot not only moderation but even friendship +itself. + +Cambyses was unwontedly silent. The suspicion had entered his mind, that +Bartja loved Nitetis. Why had he, contrary to all custom, so decidedly +refused to marry a noble and beautiful girl, when his brother's +childlessness rendered marriage an evident and urgent duty for him? Why +had he wished to see the Egyptian princess again before leaving Babylon? +and blushed as he expressed that wish? and why had she, almost without +being asked, praised him so warmly? + +It is well that he is going, thought the king; at least he shall not rob +me of her love. If he were not my brother I would send him to a place +from whence none can return. + +After midnight he broke up the banquet. Boges appeared to conduct him +to the Harem, which he was accustomed to visit at this hour, when +sufficiently sober. + +"Phaedime awaits you with impatience," said the eunuch. + +"Let her wait!" was the king's answer. "Have you given orders that the +palace on the hanging-gardens shall be set in order?" + +"It will be ready for occupation to-morrow." + +"What apartments have been assigned to the Egyptian Princess?" + +"Those formerly occupied by the second wife of your father Cyrus, the +deceased Amytis." + +"That is well. Nitetis is to be treated with the greatest respect, and +to receive no commands even from yourself, but such as I give you for +her." + +Boges bowed low. + +"See that no one, not even Croesus, has admission to her before my.... +before I give further orders." + +"Croesus was with her this evening." + +"What may have been his business with my wife?" + +"I do not know, for I do not understand the Greek language, but I heard +the name of Bartja several times, and it seemed to me that the Egyptian +had received sorrowful intelligence. She was looking very sad when I +came, after Croesus had left, to inquire if she had any commands for +me." + +"May Ahriman blast thy tongue," muttered the king, and then turning his +back on the eunuch he followed the torch-bearers and attendants, who +were in waiting to disrobe him, to his own private apartments. + +At noon on the following clay, Bartja, accompanied by his friends and a +troop of attendants, started on horseback for the frontier. Croesus +went with the young warriors as far as the city gates, and as their last +farewells and embraces were being exchanged, Bartja whispered to his old +friend: "If the messenger from Egypt should have a letter for me in his +bag, will you send it on?" + +"Shall you be able to decipher the Greek writing?" + +"Gyges and love will help me!" + +"When I told Nitetis of your departure she begged me to wish you +farewell, and tell you not to forget Egypt." + +"I am not likely to do that." + +"The gods take thee into their care, my son. Be prudent, do not risk +your life heedlessly, but remember that it is no longer only your own. +Exercise the gentleness of a father towards the rebels; they did not +rise in mere self-will, but to gain their freedom, the most precious +possession of mankind. Remember, too, that to shew mercy is better than +to shed blood; the sword killeth, but the favor of the ruler bringeth +joy and happiness. Conclude the war as speedily as possible, for war is +a perversion of nature; in peace the sons outlive the fathers, but in +war the fathers live to mourn for their slain sons. Farewell, my young +heroes, go forward and conquer!" + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +Cambyses passed a sleepless night. The feeling of jealousy, so totally +new to him, increased his desire to possess Nitetis, but he dared not +take her as his wife yet, as the Persian law forbade the king to marry a +foreign wife, until she had become familiar with the customs of Iran and +confessed herself a disciple of Zoroaster. + + [Zoroaster, really Zarathustra or Zerethoschtro, was one of the + `greatest among founders of new religions and lawgivers. His name + signified "golden star" according to Anquetil du Perron. But this + interpretation is as doubtful, as the many others which have been + attempted. An appropriate one is given in the essay by Kern quoted + below, from zara golden, and thwistra glittering; thus "the gold + glittering one." It is uncertain whether he was born in Bactria, + Media or Persia, Anquetil thinks in Urmi, a town in Aderbaijan. His + father's name was Porosehasp, his mother's Dogdo, and his family + boasted of royal descent. The time of his birth is very,--Spiegel + says "hopelessly"--dark. Anquetil, and many other scholars would + place it in the reign of Darius, a view which has been proved to be + incorrect by Spiegel, Duncker and v. Schack in his introduction.] + +According to this law a whole year must pass before Nitetis could become +the wife of a Persian monarch? but what was the law to Cambyses? In his +eyes the law was embodied in his own person, and in his opinion three +months would be amply sufficient to initiate Nitetis in the Magian +mysteries, after which process she could become his bride. + +To-day his other wives seemed hateful, even loathsome, to him. From +Cambyses' earliest youth his house had been carefully provided with +women. Beautiful girls from all parts of Asia, black-eyed Armenians, +dazzlingly fair maidens from the Caucasus, delicate girls from the +shores of the Ganges, luxurious Babylonian women, golden-haired Persians +and the effeminate daughters of the Median plains; indeed many of the +noblest Achaemenidae had given him their daughters in marriage. + +Phaedime, the daughter of Otanes, and niece of his own mother +Kassandane, had been Cambyses' favorite wife hitherto, or at least +the only one of whom it could be said that she was more to him than a +purchased slave would have been. But even she, in his present sated and +disgusted state of feeling, seemed vulgar and contemptible, especially +when he thought of Nitetis. + +The Egyptian seemed formed of nobler, better stuff than they all. +They were flattering, coaxing girls; Nitetis was a queen. They humbled +themselves in the dust at his feet; but when he thought of Nitetis, +he beheld her erect, standing before him, on the same proud level as +himself. He determined that from henceforth she should not only occupy +Phaedime's place, but should be to him what Kassandane had been to his +father Cyrus. + +She was the only one of his wives who could assist him by her knowledge +and advice; the others were all like children, ignorant, and caring +for nothing but dress and finery: living only for petty intrigues and +useless trifles. This Egyptian girl would be obliged to love him, for he +would be her protector, her lord, her father and brother in this foreign +land. + +"She must," he said to himself, and to this despot to wish for a thing +and to possess it seemed one and the same. "Bartja had better take +care," he murmured, "or he shall know what fate awaits the man who dares +to cross my path." + +Nitetis too had passed a restless night. + +The common apartment of the women was next to her own, and the noise +and singing there had not ceased until nearly midnight. She could often +distinguish the shrill voice of Boges joking and laughing with these +women, who were under his charge. At last all was quiet in the wide +palace halls and then her thoughts turned to her distant home and her +poor sister Tachot, longing for her and for the beautiful Bartja, who, +Croesus had told her, was going to-morrow to the war and possibly to +death. At last she fell asleep, overcome by the fatigue of the journey +and dreaming of her future husband. She saw him on his black charger. +The foaming animal shied at Bartja who was lying in the road, threw his +rider and dragged him into the Nile, whose waves became blood-red. In +her terror she screamed for help; her cries were echoed back from the +Pyramids in such loud and fearful tones that she awoke. + +But hark! what could that be? That wailing, shrill cry which she had +heard in her dream,--she could hear it still. + +Hastily drawing aside the shutters from one of the openings which served +as windows, she looked out. A large and beautiful garden, laid out with +fountains and shady avenues, lay before her, glittering with the early +dew. + + [The Persian gardens were celebrated throughout the old world, and + seem to have been laid out much less stiffly than the Egyptian. + Even the kings of Persia did not consider horticulture beneath their + notice, and the highest among the Achaemenidae took an especial + pleasure in laying out parks, called in Persian Paradises. Their + admiration for well-grown trees went so far, that Xerxes, finding on + his way to Greece a singularly beautiful tree, hung ornaments of + gold upon its branches. Firdusi, the great Persian epic poet, + compares human beauty to the growth of the cypress, as the highest + praise he can give. Indeed some trees were worshipped by the + Persians; and as the tree of life in the Hebrew and Egyptian, so we + find sacred trees in their Paradise.] + +No sound was to be heard except the one which had alarmed her, and this +too died away at last on the morning breeze. After a few minutes she +heard cries and noise in the distance, then the great city awaking to +its daily work, which soon settled down into a deep, dull murmur like +the roaring of the sea. + +Nitetis was by this time so thoroughly awakened from the effect of the +fresh morning air, that she did not care to lie down again. She went +once more to the window and perceived two figures coming out of the +house. One she recognized as the eunuch Boges; he was talking to a +beautiful Persian woman carelessly dressed. They approached her window. +Nitetis hid herself behind the half-opened shutter and listened, for she +fancied she heard her own name. + +"The Egyptian is still asleep." said Boges. "She must be much fatigued +by the journey. I see too that one of her windows is still firmly +closed." + +"Then tell me quickly," said the Persian. "Do you really think that this +stranger's coming can injure me in any way?" + +"Certainly, I do, my pretty one." + +"But what leads you to suppose this?" + +"She is only to obey the king's commands, not mine." + +"Is that all?" + +"No, my treasure. I know the king. I can read his features as the Magi +read the sacred books." + +"Then we must ruin her." + +"More easily said than done, my little bird." + +"Leave me alone! you are insolent." + +"Well, but nobody can see us, and you know you can do nothing without my +help." + +"Very well then, I don't care. But tell me quickly what we can do." + +"Thanks, my sweet Phaedime. Well, for the present we must be patient +and wait our time. That detestable hypocrite Croesus seems to have +established himself as protector of the Egyptian; when he is away, we +must set our snares." + +The speakers were by this time at such a distance, that Nitetis could +not understand what they said. In silent indignation she closed the +shutter, and called her maidens to dress her. She knew her enemies +now--she knew that a thousand dangers surrounded her, and yet she felt +proud and happy, for was she not chosen to be the real wife of Cambyses? +Her own worth seemed clearer to her than ever before, from a comparison +with these miserable creatures, and a wonderful certainty of ultimate +victory stole into her heart, for Nitetis was a firm believer in the +magic power of virtue. + +"What was that dreadful sound I heard so early?" she asked of her +principal waiting-woman, who was arranging her hair. + +"Do you mean the sounding brass, lady?" + +"Scarcely two hours ago I was awakened by a strange and frightful +sound." + +"That was the sounding brass, lady. It is used to awaken the young sons +of the Persian nobles, who are brought up at the gate of the king. You +will soon become accustomed to it. We have long ceased even to hear it, +and indeed on great festivals, when it is not sounded, we awake from the +unaccustomed stillness. From the hanging-gardens you will be able to see +how the boys are taken to bathe every morning, whatever the weather may +be. The poor little ones are taken from their mothers when they are six +years old, to be brought up with the other boys of their own rank under +the king's eye." + +"Are they to begin learning the luxurious manners of the court so +early?" + +"Oh no! the poor boys lead a terrible life. They are obliged to sleep on +the hard ground, to rise before the sun. Their food is bread and water, +with very little meat, and they are never allowed to taste wine or +vegetables. Indeed at times they are deprived of food and drink for +some days, simply to accustom them to privations. When the court is at +Ecbatana or Pasargadae, and the weather is bitterly cold, they are sure +to be taken out to bathe, and here in Susa, the hotter the sun, the +longer and more difficult the marches they are compelled to take." + + [The summer residences of the kings cf Persia, where it is sometimes + very cold. Ecbatana lies at the foot of the high Elburs (Orontes) + range of mountains in the neighborhood of the modern Hamadan; + Pasargadae not far from Rachmet in the highlands of Iran] + +"And these boys, so simply and severely brought up, become in after life +such luxurious men?" + +"Yes, that is always the case. A meal that has been waited for is +all the more relished when it comes. These boys see splendor and +magnificence around them daily; they know how rich they are in reality, +and yet have to suffer from hunger and privation. Who can wonder, if, +when at last they gain their liberty, they plunge into the pleasures of +life with a tenfold eagerness? But on the other hand, in time of war, or +when going to the chase, they never murmur at hunger or thirst, spring +with a laugh into the mud regardless of their thin boots and purple +trousers, and sleep as soundly on a rock as on their beds of delicate +Arabian wool. You must see the feats these boys perform, especially when +the king is watching them! Cambyses will certainly take you if you ask +him." + +"I know those exercises already. In Egypt the girls as well as the +boys are kept to such gymnastic exercises. My limbs were trained to +flexibility by running, postures, and games with hoops and balls. + +"How strange! Here, we women grow up just as we please, and are taught +nothing but a little spinning and weaving. Is it true that most of the +Egyptian women can read and write?" + +"Yes, nearly all." + +"By Mithras, you must be a clever people! Scarcely any of the Persians, +except the Magi and the scribes, learn these difficult arts. The sons +of the nobles are taught to speak the truth, to be courageous, obedient, +and to reverence the gods; to hunt, ride, plant trees and discern +between herbs; but whoever, like the noble Darius, wishes to learn the +art of writing, must apply to the Magi. Women are forbidden to turn +their minds to such studies.--Now your dress is complete. This string +of pearls, which the king sent this morning, looks magnificent in your +raven-black hair, but it is easy to see that you are not accustomed to +the full silk trousers and high-heeled boots. If, however, you walk two +or three times up and down the room you will surpass all the Persian +ladies even in your walk!" + +At this moment a knock was heard and Boges entered. He had come to +conduct Nitetis to Kassandane's apartments, where Cambyses was waiting +for her. + +The eunuch affected an abject humility, and poured forth a stream of +flattering words, in which he likened the princess to the sun, the +starry heavens, a pure fount of happiness, and a garden of roses. +Nitetis deigned him not a word in reply, but followed, with a beating +heart, to the queen's apartment. + +In order to keep out the noonday sun and produce a salutary half-light +for the blind queen's eyes, her windows were shaded by curtains of green +Indian silk. The floor was covered with a thick Babylonian carpet, soft +as moss under the foot. The walls were faced with a mosaic of ivory, +tortoise-shell, gold, silver, malachite, lapis-lazuli, ebony and amber. +The seats and couches were of gold covered with lions' skins, and a +table of silver stood by the side of the blind queen. Kassandane +was seated in a costly arm-chair. She wore a robe of violet-blue, +embroidered with silver, and over her snow-white hair lay a long veil +of delicate lace, woven in Egypt, the ends of which were wound round her +neck and tied in a large bow beneath her chin. She was between sixty and +seventy years old; her face, framed, as it were, into a picture by the +lace veil, was exquisitely symmetrical in its form, intellectual, kind +and benevolent in its expression. + +The blind eyes were closed, but those who gazed on her felt that, +if open, they would shine with the gentle light of stars. Even when +sitting, her attitude and height showed a tall and stately figure. +Indeed her entire appearance was worthy the widow of the great and good +Cyrus. + +On a low seat at her feet, drawing long threads from a golden spindle, +sat the queen's youngest child Atossa, born to her late in life. +Cambyses was standing before her, and behind, hardly visible in the dim +light, Nebenchari, the Egyptian oculist. + +As Nitetis entered, Cambyses came towards her and led her to his mother. +The daughter of Amasis fell on her knees before this venerable woman, +and kissed her hand with real affection. + +"Be welcome here!" exclaimed the blind queen, feeling her way to the +young girl's head, on which she laid her hand, "I have heard much in +your praise, and hope to gain in you a dear and loving daughter." + +Nitetis kissed the gentle, delicate hand again, saying in a low voice: +"O how I thank you for these words! Will you, the wife of the great +Cyrus, permit me to call you mother? My tongue has been so long +accustomed to this sweet word; and now after long weeks of silence, I +tremble with joy at the thought that I may say 'my mother' once more! I +will indeed try to deserve your love and kindness; and you--you will +be to me all that your loving countenance seems to promise? Advise and +teach me; let me find a refuge at your feet, if sometimes the longing +for home becomes too strong, and my poor heart too weak to bear its +grief or joy alone. Oh, be my mother! that one word includes all else!" + +The blind queen felt the warm tears fall on her hand; she pressed +her lips kindly on the weeping girl's forehead, and answered: "I can +understand your feelings. My apartments shall be always open to you, my +heart ready to welcome you here. Come when you will, and call me your +mother with the same perfect confidence with which I, from my whole +heart, name you my daughter. In a few months you will be my son's wife, +and then the gods may grant you that gift, which, by implanting within +you the feelings of a mother, will prevent you from feeling the need of +one." + +"May Ormuszd hear and give his blessing!" said Cambyses. "I rejoice, +mother, that my wife pleases you, and I know that when once she becomes +familiar with our manners and customs she will be happy here. If Nitetis +pay due heed, our marriage can be celebrated in four months." + +"But the law--" began his mother. + +"I command--in four months, and should like to see him who dare raise +an objection. Farewell! Nebenchari, use your best skill for the queen's +eyes, and if my wife permit, you, as her countryman, may visit her +to-morrow. Farewell! Bartja sends his parting greetings. He is on the +road to the Tapuri." + +Atossa wiped away a tear in silence, but Kassandane answered: "You would +have done well to allow the boy to remain here a few months longer. Your +commander, Megabyzus, could have subdued that small nation alone." + +"Of that I have no doubt," replied the king, "but Bartja desired an +opportunity of distinguishing himself in the field; and for that reason +I sent him." + +"Would he not gladly have waited until the war with the Massageta; where +more glory might be gained?" asked the blind woman. + +"Yes," said Atossa, "and if he should fall in this war, you will +have deprived him of the power of fulfilling his most sacred duty, of +avenging the soul of our father!" + +"Be silent!" cried Cambyses in an overbearing tone, "or I shall have to +teach you what is becoming in women and children. Bartja is on far too +good terms with fortune to fall in the war. He will live, I hope, to +deserve the love which is now so freely flung into his lap like an +alms." + +"How canst thou speak thus?" cried Kassandane. "In what manly virtue is +Bartja wanting? Is it his fault, that he has had no such opportunity of +distinguishing himself in the field as thou hast had? You are the +king and I am bound to respect your commands, but I blame my son for +depriving his blind mother of the greatest joy left to her in her old +age. Bartja would have gladly remained here until the Massagetan war, if +your self-will had not determined otherwise." + +"And what I will is good!" exclaimed Cambyses interrupting his mother, +and pale with anger, "I desire that this subject be not mentioned +again." + +So saying, he left the room abruptly and went into the reception-hall, +followed by the immense retinue which never quitted him, whithersoever +he might direct his steps. + +An hour passed, and still Nitetis and the lovely Atossa were sitting +side by side, at the feet of the queen. The Persian women listened +eagerly to all their new friend could tell them about Egypt and its +wonders. + +"Oh! how I should like to visit your home!" exclaimed Atossa. "It must +be quite, quite different from Persia and everything else that I have +seen yet. The fruitful shores of your great river, larger even than the +Euphrates, the temples with their painted columns, those huge artificial +mountains, the Pyramids, where the ancient kings be buried--it must +all be wonderfully beautiful. But what pleases me best of all is your +description of the entertainments, where men and women converse together +as they like. The only meals we are allowed to take in the society +of men are on New Year's Day and the king's birthday, and then we are +forbidden to speak; indeed it is not thought right for us even to raise +our eyes. How different it is with you! By Mithras! mother, I should +like to be an Egyptian, for we poor creatures are in reality nothing but +miserable slaves; and yet I feel that the great Cyrus was my father too, +and that I am worth quite as much as most men. Do I not speak the +truth? can I not obey as well as command? have I not the same thirst and +longing for glory? could not I learn to ride, to string a bow, to fight +and swim, if I were taught and inured to such exercises?" + +The girl had sprung from her seat while speaking, her eyes flashed and +she swung her spindle in the air, quite unconscious that in so doing she +was breaking the thread and entangling the flax. + +"Remember what is fitting," reminded Kassandane. "A woman must submit +with humility to her quiet destiny, and not aspire to imitate the deeds +of men." + +"But there are women who lead the same lives as men," cried Atossa. +"There are the Amazons who live on the shores of the Thermodon in +Themiscyra, and at Comana on the Iris; they have waged great wars, and +even to this day wear men's armor." + +"Who told you this?" + +"My old nurse, Stephanion, whom my father brought a captive from Sinope +to Pasargadae." + +"But I can teach you better," said Nitetis. "It is true that in +Themiscyra and Comana there are a number of women who wear soldier's +armor; but they are only priestesses, and clothe themselves like the +warlike goddess they serve, in order to present to the worshippers a +manifestation of the divinity in human form. Croesus says that an army +of Amazons has never existed, but that the Greeks, (always ready +and able to turn anything into a beautiful myth), having seen these +priestesses, at once transformed the armed virgins dedicated to the +goddess into a nation of fighting women." + +"Then they are liars!" exclaimed the disappointed girl. + +"It is true, that the Greeks have not the same reverence for truth as +you have," answered Nitetis, "but they do not call the men who invent +these beautiful stories liars; they are called poets." + +"Just as it is with ourselves," said Kassandane. "The poets, who sing +the praises of my husband, have altered and adorned his early life in +a marvellous manner; yet no one calls them liars. But tell me, my +daughter, is it true that these Greeks are more beautiful than other +men, and understand art better even than the Egyptians?" + +"On that subject I should not venture to pronounce a judgment. There +is such a great difference between the Greek and Egyptian works of art. +When I went into our own gigantic temples to pray, I always felt as if I +must prostrate myself in the dust before the greatness of the gods, and +entreat them not to crush so insignificant a worm; but in the temple +of Hera at Samos, I could only raise my hands to heaven in joyful +thanksgiving, that the gods had made the earth so beautiful. In Egypt +I always believed as I had been taught: 'Life is asleep; we shall not +awake to our true existence in the kingdom of Osiris till the hour of +death;' but in Greece I thought: 'I am born to live and to enjoy this +cheerful, bright and blooming world.'" + +"Ah! tell us something more about Greece," cried Atossa; "but first +Nebenchari must put a fresh bandage on my mother's eyes." + +The oculist, a tall, grave man in the white robes of an Egyptian priest, +came forward to perform the necessary operation, and after being kindly +greeted by Nitetis, withdrew once more silently into the background. +At the same time a eunuch entered to enquire whether Croesus might be +allowed to pay his respectful homage to the king's mother. + +The aged king soon appeared, and was welcomed as the old and tried +friend of the Persian royal family. Atossa, with her usual impetuosity, +fell on the neck of the friend she had so sorely missed during his +absence; the queen gave him her hand, and Nitetis met him like a loving +daughter. + +"I thank the gods, that I am permitted to see you again," said Croesus. +"The young can look at life as a possession, as a thing understood and +sure, but at my age every year must be accepted as an undeserved gift +from the gods, for which a man must be thankful." + +"I could envy you for this happy view of life," sighed Kassandane. +"My years are fewer than yours, and yet every new day seems to me a +punishment sent by the Immortals." + +"Can I be listening to the wife of the great Cyrus?" asked Croesus. "How +long is it since courage and confidence left that brave heart? I tell +you, you will recover sight, and once more thank the gods for a good +old age. The man who recovers, after a serious illness, values health a +hundred-fold more than before; and he who regains sight after blindness, +must be an especial favorite of the gods. Imagine to yourself the +delight of that first moment when your eyes behold once more the bright +shining of the sun, the faces of your loved ones, the beauty of all +created things, and tell me, would not that outweigh even a whole life +of blindness and dark night? In the day of healing, even if that come +in old age, a new life will begin and I shall hear you confess that my +friend Solon was right." + +"In what respect?" asked Atossa. + +"In wishing that Mimnermos, the Colophonian poet, would correct the poem +in which he has assigned sixty years as the limit of a happy life, and +would change the sixty into eighty." + +"Oh no!" exclaimed Kassandane. "Even were Mithras to restore my sight, +such a long life would be dreadful. Without my husband I seem to myself +like a wanderer in the desert, aimless and without a guide." + +"Are your children then nothing to you, and this kingdom, of which you +have watched the rise and growth?" + +"No indeed! but my children need me no longer, and the ruler of this +kingdom is too proud to listen to a woman's advice." + +On hearing these words Atossa and Nitetis seized each one of the queen's +hands, and Nitetis cried: "You ought to desire a long life for our +sakes. What should we be without your help and protection?" + +Kassandane smiled again, murmuring in a scarcely audible voice: "You are +right, my children, you will stand in need of your mother." + +"Now you are speaking once more like the wife of the great Cyrus," cried +Croesus, kissing the robe of the blind woman. "Your presence will indeed +be needed, who can say how soon? Cambyses is like hard steel; sparks +fly wherever he strikes. You can hinder these sparks from kindling a +destroying fire among your loved ones, and this should be your duty. You +alone can dare to admonish the king in the violence of his passion. He +regards you as his equal, and, while despising the opinion of others, +feels wounded by his mother's disapproval. Is it not then your duty to +abide patiently as mediator between the king, the kingdom and your loved +ones, and so, by your own timely reproofs, to humble the pride of your +son, that he may be spared that deeper humiliation which, if not thus +averted, the gods will surely inflict." + +"You are right," answered the blind woman, "but I feel only too well +that my influence over him is but small. He has been so much accustomed +to have his own will, that he will follow no advice, even if it come +from his mother's lips." + +"But he must at least hear it," answered Croesus, "and that is much, +for even if he refuse to obey, your counsels will, like divine voices, +continue to make themselves heard within him, and will keep him back +from many a sinful act. I will remain your ally in this matter; for, as +Cambyses' dying father appointed me the counsellor of his son in word +and deed, I venture occasionally a bold word to arrest his excesses. +Ours is the only blame from which he shrinks: we alone can dare to speak +our opinion to him. Let us courageously do our duty in this our office: +you, moved by love to Persia and your son, and I by thankfulness to that +great man to whom I owe life and freedom, and whose son Cambyses is. +I know that you bemoan the manner in which he has been brought up; but +such late repentance must be avoided like poison. For the errors of the +wise the remedy is reparation, not regret; regret consumes the heart, +but the effort to repair an error causes it to throb with a noble +pride." + +"In Egypt," said Nitetis, "regret is numbered among the forty-two deadly +sins. One of our principal commandments is, 'Thou shalt not consume +thine heart.'" + + [In the Ritual of the Dead (indeed in almost every Papyrus of the + Dead) we meet with a representation of the soul, whose heart is + being weighed and judged. The speech made by the soul is called the + negative justification, in which she assures the 42 judges of the + dead, that she has not committed the 42 deadly sins which she + enumerates. This justification is doubly interesting because it + contains nearly the entire moral law of Moses, which last, apart + from all national peculiarities and habits of mind, seems to contain + the quintessence of human morality--and this we find ready + paragraphed in our negative justification. Todtenbuch ed. Lepsius. + 125. We cannot discuss this question philosophically here, but the + law of Pythagoras, who borrowed so much from Egypt, and the contents + of which are the same, speaks for our view. It is similar in form + to the Egyptian.] + +"There you remind me," said Croesus "that I have undertaken to arrange +for your instruction in the Persian customs, religion and language. I +had intended to withdraw to Barene, the town which I received as a gift +from Cyrus, and there, in that most lovely mountain valley, to take +my rest; but for your sake and for the king's, I will remain here and +continue to give you instruction in the Persian tongue. Kassandane +herself will initiate you in the customs peculiar to women at the +Persian court, and Oropastes, the high-priest, has been ordered by the +king to make you acquainted with the religion of Iran. He will be your +spiritual, and I your secular guardian." + +At these words Nitetis, who had been smiling happily, cast down her eyes +and asked in a low voice: "Am I to become unfaithful to the gods of my +fathers, who have never failed to hear my prayers? Can I, ought I to +forget them?" + +"Yes," said Kassandane decidedly, "thou canst, and it is thy bounden +duty, for a wife ought to have no friends but those her husband calls +such. The gods are a man's earliest, mightiest and most faithful +friends, and it therefore becomes thy duty, as a wife, to honor them, +and to close thine heart against strange gods and superstitions, as thou +wouldst close it against strange lovers." + +"And," added Croesus, "we will not rob you of your deities; we will only +give them to you under other names. As Truth remains eternally the +same, whether called 'maa', as by the Egyptians, or 'Aletheia' as by the +Greeks, so the essence of the Deity continues unchanged in all places +and times. Listen, my daughter: I myself, while still king of Lydia, +often sacrificed in sincere devotion to the Apollo of the Greeks, +without a fear that in so doing I should offend the Lydian sun-god +Sandon; the Ionians pay their worship to the Asiatic Cybele, and, now +that I have become a Persian, I raise my hands adoringly to Mithras, +Ormuzd and the lovely Anahita. Pythagoras too, whose teaching is not new +to you, worships one god only, whom he calls Apollo; because, like the +Greek sun-god, he is the source of light and of those harmonies which +Pythagoras holds to be higher than all else. And lastly, Xenophanes of +Colophon laughs at the many and divers gods of Homer and sets one single +deity on high--the ceaselessly creative might of nature, whose essence +consists of thought, reason and eternity. + + [A celebrated freethinker, who indulged in bold and independent + speculations, and suffered much persecution for his ridicule of the + Homeric deities. He flourished at the time of our history and lived + to a great age, far on into the fifth century. We have quoted some + fragments of his writings above. He committed his speculations also + to verse.] + +"In this power everything has its rise, and it alone remains unchanged, +while all created matter must be continually renewed and perfected. The +ardent longing for some being above us, on whom we can lean when our own +powers fail,--the wonderful instinct which desires a faithful friend to +whom we can tell every joy and sorrow without fear of disclosure, the +thankfulness with which we behold this beautiful world and all the +rich blessings we have received--these are the feelings which we call +piety--devotion. + +"These you must hold fast; remembering, however, at the same time, that +the world is ruled neither by the Egyptian, the Persian, nor the Greek +divinities apart from each other, but that all these are one; and +that one indivisible Deity, how different soever may be the names and +characters under which He is represented, guides the fate of men and +nations." + +The two Persian women listened to the old man in amazement. Their +unpractised powers were unable to follow the course of his thoughts. +Nitetis, however, had understood him thoroughly, and answered: "My +mother Ladice was the pupil of Pythagoras, and has told me something +like this already; but the Egyptian priests consider such views to be +sacrilegious, and call their originators despisers of the gods. So I +tried to repress such thoughts; but now I will resist them no longer. +What the good and wise Croesus believes cannot possibly be evil or +impious! Let Oropastes come! I am ready to listen to his teaching. The +god of Thebes, our Ammon, shall be transformed into Ormuzd,--Isis or +Hathor, into Anahita, and those among our gods for whom I can find no +likeness in the Persian religion, I shall designate by the name of 'the +Deity.'" + +Croesus smiled. He had fancied, knowing how obstinately the Egyptians +clung to all they had received from tradition and education, that it +would have been more difficult for Nitetis to give up the gods of her +native land. He had forgotten that her mother was a Greek, and that the +daughters of Amasis had studied the doctrines of Pythagoras. Neither +was he aware how ardently Nitetis longed to please her proud lord and +master. Even Amasis, who so revered the Samian philosopher, who had so +often yielded to Hellenic influence, and who with good reason might be +called a free-thinking Egyptian, would sooner have exchanged life for +death, than his multiform gods for the one idea "Deity." + +"You are a teachable pupil," said Croesus, laying his hand on her head, +"and as a reward, you shall be allowed either to visit Kassandane, or +to receive Atossa in the hanging-gardens, every morning, and every +afternoon until sunset." + +This joyful news was received with loud rejoicings by Atossa, and with a +grateful smile by the Egyptian girl. + +"And lastly," said Croesus, "I have brought some balls and hoops with +me from Sais, that you may be able to amuse yourselves in Egyptian +fashion." + +"Balls?" asked Atossa in amazement; "what can we do with the heavy +wooden things?" + +"That need not trouble you," answered Croesus, laughing. "The balls I +speak of are pretty little things made of the skins of fish filled with +air, or of leather. A child of two years old can throw these, but you +would find it no easy matter even to lift one of those wooden balls with +which the Persian boys play. Are you content with me, Nitetis?" + + [In Persia games with balls are still reckoned among the amusements + of the men. One player drives a wooden hall to the other, as in the + English game of cricket. Chardin (Voyage en Perse. III. p. 226.) + saw the game played by 300 players.] + +"How can I thank you enough, my father?" + +"And now listen to my plan for the division of your time. In the morning +you will visit Kassandane, chat with Atossa, and listen to the teaching +of your noble mother." + +Here the blind woman bent her head in approval. "Towards noon I shall +come to teach you, and we can talk sometimes about Egypt and your loved +ones there, but always in Persian. You would like this, would you not?" + +Nitetis smiled. + +"Every second day, Oropastes will be in attendance to initiate you in +the Persian religion." + +"I will take the greatest pains to comprehend him quickly." + +"In the afternoon you can be with Atossa as long as you like. Does that +please you too?" + +"O Croesus!" cried the young girl and kissed the old man's hand. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +The next day Nitetis removed to the country-house in the +hanging-gardens, and began a monotonous, but happy and industrious life +there, according to the rules laid down by Croesus. Every day she was +carried to Kassandane and Atossa in a closely shut-up litter. Nitetis +soon began to look upon the blind queen as a beloved and loving mother, +and the merry, spirited Atossa nearly made up to her for the loss of +her sister Tachot, so far away on the distant Nile. She could not have +desired a better companion than this gay, cheerful girl, whose wit and +merriment effectually prevented homesickness or discontent from settling +in her friend's heart. The gravity and earnestness of Nitetis' character +were brightened by Atossa's gaiety, and Atossa's exuberant spirits +calmed and regulated by the thoughtful nature of Nitetis. + +Both Croesus and Kassandane were pleased and satisfied with their new +daughter and pupil, and Oropastes extolled her talents and industry +daily to Cambyses. She learnt the Persian language unusually well and +quickly; Cambyses only visited his mother when he hoped to find Nitetis +there, and presented her continually with rich dresses and costly +jewels. But the highest proof of his favor consisted in his abstaining +from visiting her at her house in the hanging-gardens, a line of conduct +which proved that he meant to include Nitetis in the small number of his +real and lawful wives, a privilege of which many a princess in his harem +could not boast. + +The grave, beautiful girl threw a strange spell over this strong, +turbulent man. Her presence alone seemed enough to soften his stubborn +will, and he would watch their games for hours, his eyes fixed on her +graceful movements. Once, when the ball had fallen into the water, +the king sprang in after it, regardless of his costly apparel. Nitetis +screamed on seeing his intention, but Cambyses handed her the dripping +toy with the words: "Take care or I shall be obliged to frighten you +again." At the same time he drew from his neck a gold chain set with +jewels and gave it to the blushing girl, who thanked him with a look +which fully revealed her feelings for her future husband. + +Croesus, Kassandane and Atossa soon noticed that Nitetis loved the king. +Her former fear of this proud and powerful being had indeed changed into +a passionate admiration. She felt as if she must die if deprived of his +presence. He seemed to her like a glorious and omnipotent divinity, +and her wish to possess him presumptuous and sacrilegious; but its +fulfilment shone before her as an idea more beautiful even than return +to her native land and reunion with those who, till now, had been her +only loved ones. + +Nitetis herself was hardly conscious of the strength of her feelings, +and believed that when she trembled before the king's arrival it was +from fear, and not from her longing to behold him once more. Croesus, +however, had soon discovered the truth, and brought a deep blush to his +favorite's cheek by singing to her, old as he was, Anacreon's newest +song, which he had learnt at Sais from Ibykus + + "We read the flying courser's name + Upon his side in marks of flame; + And by their turban'd brows alone + The warriors of the East are known. + But in the lover's glowing eyes, + The inlet to his bosom lies; + Through them we see the tiny mark, + Where Love has dropp'd his burning spark" + --Paegnion 15 + +And thus, in work and amusement, jest, earnest, and mutual love, the +weeks and months passed with Nitetis. Cambyses' command that she was +to be happy in his land had fulfilled itself, and by the time the +Mesopotamian spring-tide (January, February and March), which succeeds +the rainy month of December, was over, and the principal festival of the +Asiatics, the New Year, had been solemnized at the equinox, and the +May sun had begun to glow in the heavens, Nitetis felt quite at home in +Babylon, and all the Persians knew that the young Egyptian princess had +quite displaced Phaedime, the daughter of Otanes, in the king's favor, +and would certainly become his first and favorite wife. + +Boges sank considerably in public estimation, for it was known that +Cambyses had ceased to visit the harem, and the chief of the eunuchs had +owed all his importance to the women, who were compelled to coax from +Cambyses whatever Boges desired for himself or others. Not a day passed +on which the mortified official did not consult with the supplanted +favorite Phaedime, as to the best means of ruining Nitetis, but their +most finely spun intrigues and artifices were baffled by the strength of +king's love and the blameless life of his royal bride. + +Phaedime, impatient, mortified, and thirsting for vengeance, was +perpetually urging Boges to some decided act; he, on the contrary, +advised patience. + +At last, however, after many weeks, he came to her full of joy, +exclaiming: "I have devised a little plan which must ruin the Egyptian +woman as surely as my name is Boges. When Bartja comes back, my +treasure, our hour will have arrived." + +While saying this the creature rubbed his fat, soft hands, and, with his +perpetual fulsome smile, looked as if he were feasting on some good deed +performed. He did not, however, give Phaedime the faintest idea of the +nature of his "little plan," and only answered her pressing questions +with the words: "Better lay your head in a lion's jaws, than your secret +in the ears of a woman. I fully acknowledge your courage, but at the +same time advise you to remember that, though a man proves his courage +in action, a woman's is shown in obedience. Obey my words and await the +issue in patience." Nebenchari, the oculist, continued to attend +the queen, but so carefully abstained from all intercourse with the +Persians, that he became a proverb among them for his gloomy, silent +ways. During the day he was to be found in the queen's apartments, +silently examining large rolls of papyri, which he called the book of +Athotes and the sacred Ambres; at night, by permission of the king and +the satraps of Babylon, he often ascended one of the high towers on the +walls, called Tritantaechmes, in order to observe the stars. + +The Chaldaean priests, the earliest astronomers, would have allowed him +to take his observations from the summit of the great temple of +Bel, their own observatory, but he refused this offer decidedly, and +persisted in his haughty reserve. When Oropastes attempted to explain +to him the celebrated Babylonian sun-dial, introduced by Anaximander of +Miletus into Greece, he turned from the Magian with a scornful laugh, +saying: "We knew all this, before you knew the meaning of an hour." + +Nitetis had shown Nebenchari much kindness, yet he took no interest in +her, seemed indeed to avoid her purposely, and on her asking whether she +had displeased or offended him, answered: "For me you are a stranger. +How can I reckon those my friends, who can so gladly and so quickly +forget those they loved best, their gods, and the customs of their +native land?" + +Boges quickly discovered this state of feeling on the part of +Nebenchari, and took much pains to secure him as an ally, but the +physician rejected the eunuch's flatteries, gifts, and attentions with +dignity. + +No sooner did an Angare appear in the court of the palace with +despatches for the king, than Boges hastened to enquire whether news +from the Tapuri had arrived. + +At length the desired messenger appeared, bringing word that the rebels +were subdued, and Bartja on the point of returning. + +Three weeks passed--fresh messengers arrived from day to day announcing +the approach of the victorious prince; the streets glittered once more +in festal array, the army entered the gates of Babylon, Bartja thanked +the rejoicing multitude, and a short time after was in the arms of his +blind mother. + +Cambyses received his brother with undisguised warmth, and took him to +the queen's apartments, when he knew that Nitetis would be there. + +For he was sure the Egyptian girl loved him; his previous jealousy +seemed a silly fancy now, and he wished to give Bartja an opportunity of +seeing how entirely he trusted his bride. + +Cambyses' love had made him mild and gentle, unwearied in giving and in +doing good. His wrath slumbered for a season, and around the spot where +the heads of those who had suffered capital punishment were exhibited as +a warning to their fellow-men, the hungry, screeching crows now wheeled, +in vain. + +The influence of the insinuating eunuchs (a race who had never been seen +within the gates of Cyrus until the incorporation of Media, Lydia and +Babylon, in which countries they had filled many of the highest offices +at court and in the state), was now waning, and the importance of +the noble Achaemenidae increasing in proportion; for Cambyses applied +oftener to the latter than to the former for advice in matters relating +to the welfare of the country. + +The aged Hystaspes, father of Darius, governor of Persia proper and +cousin to the king; Pharnaspes, Cambyses' grandfather on the mother's +side; Otanes, his uncle and father-in-law. Intaphernes, Aspathines, +Gobryas, Hydarnes, the general Megabyzus, father of Zopyrus, the envoy +Prexaspes, the noble Croesus, and the old warrior Araspes; in short, +the flower of the ancient Persian aristocracy, were now at the court of +Cambyses. + +To this must be added that the entire nobility of the realm, the satraps +or governors of the provinces, and the chief priests from every town +were also assembled at Babylon to celebrate the king's birthday. + + [The king's birthday was the principal feast among the Persians, and + called "the perfect feast." Herod. I. 133. Birthdays were held in + much honor by the ancients, and more especially those of their + kings. Both the great bilingual Egyptian tablets, which we possess + (the Rosetta stone, line 10 of hieroglyphic text; Gr. text, line 46. + and the edict of Canopus ed. Lepsius, hieroglyphic text 1. 3. Gr. + text 1. 5.) mention the celebration of the birthday of one of the + Ptolemies; and even of Rameses II., so early as the 14th century B. + C. we read: "There was joy in heaven on his birthday."] + +The entire body of officials and deputies streamed from the provinces +up to the royal city, bringing presents to their ruler and good wishes; +they came also to take part in the great sacrifices at which horses, +stags, bulls and asses were slaughtered in thousands as offerings to the +gods. + +At this festival all the Persians received gifts, every man was allowed +to ask a petition of the king, which seldom remained unfulfilled, and +in every city the people were feasted at the royal expense. Cambyses had +commanded that his marriage with Nitetis should be celebrated eight days +after the birthday, and all the magnates of the realms should be invited +to the ceremony. + +The streets of Babylon swarmed with strangers, the colossal palaces on +both shores of the Euphrates were overfilled, and all the houses stood +adorned in festal brightness. + +The zeal thus displayed by his people, this vast throng of human +beings,--representing and bringing around him, as it were, his entire +kingdom, contributed not a little to raise the king's spirits. + +His pride was gratified; and the only longing left in his heart had been +stilled by Nitetis' love. For the first time in his life he believed +himself completely happy, and bestowed his gifts, not only from a sense +of his duty as king of Persia, but because the act of giving was in +itself a pleasure. + +Megabyzus could not extol the deeds of Bartja and his friends too +highly. Cambyses embraced the young warriors, gave them horses and gold +chains, called them "brothers" and reminded Bartja, that he had promised +to grant him a petition if he returned victorious. + +At this Bartja cast down his eyes, not knowing at first in what form to +begin his request, and the king answered laughing: "Look, my friends; +our young hero is blushing like a girl! It seems I shall have to grant +something important; so he had better wait until my birthday, and then, +at supper, when the wine has given him courage, he shall whisper in my +ear what he is now afraid to utter. Ask much, Bartja, I am happy myself, +and wish all my friends to be happy too." Bartja only smiled in answer +and went to his mother; for he had not yet opened his heart to her on +the matter which lay so near it. + +He was afraid of meeting with decided opposition; but Croesus had +cleared the way far him by telling Kassandane so much in praise of +Sappho, her virtues and her graces, her talents and skill, that Nitetis +and Atossa maintained she must have given the old man a magic potion, +and Kassandane, after a short resistance, yielded to her darling's +entreaties. + +"A Greek woman the lawful wife of a Persian prince of the blood!" cried +the blind woman. "Unheard of! What will Cambyses say? How can we gain +his consent?" + +"On that matter you may be at ease, my mother," answered Bartja, "I am +as certain that my brother will give his consent, as I am that Sappho +will prove an ornament and honor to our house." + +"Croesus has already told me much in favor of this maiden," answered +Kassandane, "and it pleases me that thou hast at last resolved to marry; +but never-the-less this alliance does not seem suitable for a son of +Cyrus. And have you forgotten that the Achaemenidae; will probably +refuse to recognize the child of a Greek mother as their future king, if +Cambyses should remain childless?" + +"Mother, I fear nothing; for my heart is not set upon the crown. And +indeed many a king of Persia has had a mother of far lower parentage +than my Sappho. I feel persuaded that when my relations see the precious +jewel I have won on the Nile, not one of them will chide me." + +"The gods grant that Sappho may be equal to our Nitetis!" answered +Kassandane, "I love her as if she were my own child, and bless the day +which brought her to Persia. The warm light of her eyes has melted your +brother's hard heart; her kindness and gentleness bring beauty into the +night of my blind old age, and her sweet earnestness and gravity have +changed your sister Atossa from an unruly child into a gentle maiden. +But now call them, (they are playing in the garden), and we will tell +them of the new friend they are to gain through you." + +"Pardon me, my mother," answered Bartja, "but I must beg you not to tell +my sister until we are sure of the king's consent." + +"You are right, my son. We must conceal your wish, to save Nitetis and +Atossa from a possible disappointment. A bright hope unfulfilled is +harder to bear than an unexpected sorrow. So let us wait for your +brother's consent, and may the gods give their blessing!" Early in the +morning of the king's birthday the Persians offered their sacrifices on +the shores of the Euphrates. A huge altar of silver had been raised on +an artificial hill. On this a mighty fire had been kindled, from which +flames and sweet odors rose towards heaven. White-robed magi fed the +fire with pieces of daintily-cut sandal-wood, and stirred it with +bundles of rods. + +A cloth, the Paiti-dhana, was bound round the heads of the priests, the +ends of which covered the mouth, and thus preserved the pure fire from +pollution by human breath. + + [The Persians were ordered to hold this little square piece of cloth + before their mouths when they prayed. It was from 2 to 7 fingers + broad. Anquetil gives a drawing of it in his Zend-Avesia. Strabo + speaks of the Paiti-dhana p. 733. He says the ends of the cloth + used as a covering for the head hung down over the mouth.] + +The victims had been slaughtered in a meadow near the river, the flesh +cut into pieces, sprinkled with salt, and laid out on tender grasses, +sprouts of clover, myrtle-blossoms, and laurel-leaves, that the +beautiful daughter of Ormuzd, the patient, sacred Earth, might not be +touched by aught that was dead or bleeding. + +Oropastes, the chief Destur,--[Priest]--now drew near the fire and +cast fresh butter into it. The flames leapt up into the air and all the +Persians fell on their knees and hid their faces, in the belief that the +fire was now ascending to their great god and father. The Magian then +took a mortar, laid some leaves and stalks of the sacred herb Haomas +within it, crushed them and poured the ruddy juice, the food of the +gods, into the flames. + +After this he raised his hands to heaven, and, while the other priests +continually fed the flames into a wilder blaze by casting in fresh +butter, sang a long prayer out of the sacred books. In this prayer the +blessing of the gods was called down on everything pure and good, but +principally on the king and his entire realm. The good spirits of light, +life and truth; of all noble deeds; of the Earth, the universal giver; +of the refreshing waters, the shining metals, the pastures, trees and +innocent creatures, were praised: the evil spirits of darkness; of +lying, the deceiver of mankind; of disease, death and sin; of the rigid +cold; the desolating heat; of all odious dirt and vermin, were cursed, +together with their father the malignant Ahriman. At the end all present +joined in singing the festival prayer: "Purity and glory are sown for +them that are pure and upright in heart." + +The sacrificial ceremony was concluded with the king's prayer, and then +Cambyses, arrayed in his richest robes, ascended a splendid chariot +drawn by four snow-white Nicoean horses, and studded with topazes, +cornelian and amber, and was conveyed to the great reception-hall, where +the deputies and officers from the provinces awaited him. + +As soon as the king and his retinue had departed, the priests selected, +for themselves, the best pieces of the flesh which had been offered in +sacrifice, and allowed the thronging crowd to take the rest. + +The Persian divinities disdained sacrifices in the light of food, +requiring only the souls of the slaughtered animals, and many a poor +man, especially among the priests, subsisted on the flesh of the +abundant royal sacrifices. + +The prayer offered up by the Magian was a model for those of the Persian +people. No man was allowed to ask anything of the gods for himself +alone. Every pious soul was rather to implore blessings for his nation; +for was not each only a part of the whole? and did not each man share +in the blessings granted to the whole kingdom? But especially they +were commanded to pray for the king, in whom the realm was embodied and +shadowed forth. It was this beautiful surrender of self for the public +weal, that had made the Persians great. The doctrines of the Egyptian +priesthood represented the Pharaohs as actual divinities, while the +Persian monarchs were only called "sons of the gods;" yet the power of +the latter was far more absolute and unfettered than that of the former; +the reason for this being that the Persians had been wise enough to +free themselves from priestly domination, while the Pharaohs, as we have +seen, if not entirely under the dominion of the priestly caste, were yet +under its influence in the most important matters. + +The Egyptian intolerance of all strange religions was unknown in Asia. +The conquered Babylonians were allowed by Cyrus to retain their own +gods, after their incorporation in the great Asiatic kingdom. The Jews, +Ionians and inhabitants of Asia Minor, in short, the entire mass of +nations subject to Cambyses remained unmolested in possession of their +hereditary religions and customs. + +Beside the great altar, therefore, might be seen many a smaller +sacrificial flame, kindled in honor of their own divinities, by the +envoys from the conquered provinces to this great birthday feast. + +Viewed from a distance, the immense city looked like a gigantic furnace. +Thick clouds of smoke hovered over its towers, obscuring the light of +the burning May sun. + +By the time the king had reached the palace, the multitude who had come +to take part in the festival had formed themselves into a procession of +interminable length, which wandered on through the straight streets of +Babylon towards the royal palace. + +Their road was strewn with myrtle and palm-branches, roses, poppy +and oleander-blossoms, and with leaves of the silver poplar, palm and +laurel; the air perfumed with incense, myrrh, and a thousand other sweet +odors. Carpets and flags waved and fluttered from the houses. + +Music too was there; the shrill peal of the Median trumpet, and soft +tone of the Phrygian flute; the Jewish cymbal and harp, Paphlagonian +tambourines and the stringed instruments of Ionia; Syrian kettle-drums +and cymbals, the shells and drums of the Arians from the mouth of the +Indus, and the loud notes of the Bactrian battle-trumpets. But above +all these resounded the rejoicing shouts of the Babylonian multitude, +subjugated by the Persians only a few short years before, and yet, like +all Asiatics, wearing their fetters with an air of gladness so long as +the fear of their tyrant was before their eyes. + +The fragrant odors, the blaze of color and sparkling of gold and jewels, +the neighing of the horses, and shouts and songs of human beings, all +united to produce a whole, at once bewildering and intoxicating to the +senses and the feelings. + +The messengers had not been sent up to Babylon empty-handed. Beautiful +horses, huge elephants and comical monkeys; rhinoceroses and buffaloes +adorned with housings and tassels; double-humped Bactrian camels with +gold collars on their shaggy necks; waggon-loads of rare woods and +ivory, woven goods of exquisite texture, casks of ingots and gold-dust, +gold and silver vessels, rare plants for the royal gardens, and foreign +animals for the preserves, the most remarkable of which were antelopes, +zebras, and rare monkeys and birds, these last being tethered to a tree +in full leaf and fluttering among the branches. Such were the offerings +sent to the great king of Persia. + +They were the tribute of the conquered nations and, after having +been shown to the king, were weighed and tested by treasurers and +secretaries, either declared satisfactory, or found wanting and +returned, in which case the niggardly givers were condemned to bring a +double tribute later. + + [At the time of which we are writing, the kings of Persia taxed + their kingdom at whatever time and to whatever extent seemed good in + their own eyes. Cambyses' successor, Darius, was the first to + introduce a regular system of taxation, in consequence of which he + was nicknamed "the shopkeeper." Up to a much later period it still + remained the duty of certain districts to send natural products to + the court Herod. I. 192. Xenoph. Anab. IV. 5.] + +The palace-gates were reached without hindrance, the way being kept +clear by lines of soldiers and whipbearers stationed on either side of +the street. + +If the royal progress to the place of sacrifice, when five hundred +richly-caprisoned horses had been led behind the king's chariot, +could be called magnificent, and the march of the envoys a brilliant +spectacle, the great throne-room presented a vision of dazzling and +magic beauty. + +In the background, raised on six steps, each of which was guarded, as it +were, by two golden clogs, stood the throne of gold; above it, supported +by four golden pillars studded with precious stones, was a purple +canopy, on which appeared two winged discs, the king's Feruer. + + [The Feruer or Ferwer is the spiritual part of every man-his soul + and reason. It was in existence before the man was horn, joins him + at his birth and departs at his death. The Ferwer keeps up a war + with the Diws or evil spirits, and is the element of man's + preservation in life. The moment he departs, the body returns to + its original elements. After death he becomes immortal if he has + done well, but if his deeds have been evil he is cast into hell. It + is right to call upon the Ferwer and entreat his help. He will + bring the prayer before God and on this account is represented as a + winged disc.] + +Fan-bearers, high in office at the court, stood behind the throne, and, +on either side, those who sat at the king's table, his relations +and friends, and the most important among the officers of state, the +priestly caste and the eunuchs. + +The walls and ceiling of the entire hall were covered with plates of +burnished gold, and the floor with purple carpets. + +Before the silver gates lay winged bulls, and the king's +body-guard-their dress consisting of a gold cuirass under a purple +overcoat, and the high Persian cap, their swords in golden scabbards +glittering with jewels, and their lances ornamented with gold and silver +apples, were stationed in the court of the palace. Among them the band +of the "Immortals" was easily to be distinguished by their stately forms +and dauntless bearing. + +Officers, whose duty consisted in announcing and presenting strangers, +and who carried short ivory staves, led the deputies into the hall, and +up to the throne, where they cast themselves on the ground as though +they would kiss the earth, concealing their hands in the sleeves of +their robes. A cloth was bound over the mouth of every man before he was +allowed to answer the king's questions, lest the pure person of the king +should be polluted by the breath of common men. + +Cambyses' severity or mildness towards the deputations with whose chiefs +he spoke, was proportioned to the obedience of their province and +the munificence of their tribute-offerings. Near the end of the train +appeared an embassy from the Jews, led by two grave men with sharply-cut +features and long beards. Cambyses called on them in a friendly tone to +stop. + +The first of these men was dressed in the fashion of the Babylonian +aristocracy. The other wore a purple robe woven without seam, trimmed +with bells and tassels, and held in at the waist by a girdle of blue, +red and white. A blue garment was thrown over his shoulders and a little +bag suspended around his neck containing the sacred lots, the Urim and +Thummin, adorned with twelve precious stones set in gold, and bearing +the names of the tribes of Israel. The high-priest's brow was grave and +thoughtful. A white cloth was wound round his head, the ends of which +hung down to the shoulders. + +"I rejoice to behold you once more, Belteshazzar," exclaimed the king +to the former of the two men. "Since the death of my father you have not +been seen at my gate." + +The man thus addressed bowed humbly and answered: "The favor of the king +rejoices his servant! If it seem good unto thee, to cause the sun of +thy favor to shine on me, thine unworthy servant, so hearken unto my +petition for my nation, which thy great father caused to return unto the +land of their fathers' sepulchres. This old man at my side, Joshua, the +high-priest of our God, hath not feared the long journey to Babylon, +that he might bring his request before thy face. Let his speech be +pleasing in thine ears and his words bring forth fruit in thine heart." + +"I foresee what ye desire of me," cried the king. "Am I wrong, priest, +in supposing that your petition refers to the building of the temple in +your native land?" + +"Nothing can be hidden from the eyes of my lord," answered the priest, +bowing low. "Thy servants in Jerusalem desire to behold the face of +their ruler, and beseech thee by my mouth to visit the land of their +fathers, and to grant them permission to set forward the work of the +temple, concerning which thine illustrious father (the favor of our God +rest upon him), made a decree." + +The king answered with a smile: "You have the craft of your nation, and +understand how to choose the right time and words for your petition. On +my birthday it is difficult for me to refuse my faithful people even +one request. I promise you, therefore, so soon as possible to visit +Jerusalem and the land of your fathers." + +"By so doing thou wilt make glad the hearts of thy servants," answered +the priest; "our vines and olives will bear more fruit at thine +approach, our gates will lift up their heads to receive thee, and Israel +rejoice with shouts to meet his lord doubly blessed if as lord of the +building--" + +"Enough, priest, enough!" cried Cambyses. "Your first petition, I have +said it, shall not remain unfulfilled; for I have long desired to visit +the wealthy city of Tyre, the golden Sidon, and Jerusalem with its +strange superstitions; but were I to give permission for the building +now, what would remain for me to grant you in the coming year?" + +"Thy servants will no more molest thee by their petitions, if thou +grant unto them this one, to finish the temple of the Lord their God," +answered the priest. + +"Strange beings, these men of Palestine!" exclaimed Cambyses. "I have +heard it said that ye believe in one God alone, who can be represented +by no likeness, and is a spirit. Think ye then that this omnipresent +Being requires a house? Verily, your great spirit can be but a weak and +miserable creature, if he need a covering from the wind and rain, and a +shelter from the heat which he himself has created. If your God be like +ours, omnipresent, fall down before him and worship as we do, in every +place, and feel certain that everywhere ye will be heard of him!" + +"The God of Israel hears his people in every place," exclaimed the +high-priest. "He heard us when we pined in captivity under the Pharaohs +far from our land; he heard us weeping by the rivers of Babylon. He +chose thy father to be the instrument of our deliverance, and will hear +my prayer this day and soften thine heart like wise. O mighty king, +grant unto thy servants a common place of sacrifice, whither our +twelve tribes may repair, an altar on the steps of which they can +pray together, a house in which to keep their holy feasts! For this +permission we will call down the blessing of God upon thine head and his +curse upon thine enemies." + +"Grant unto my brethren the permission to build their temple!" added +Belteshazzar, who was the richest and most honorable and respected of +the Jews yet remaining in Babylon; a man whom Cyrus had treated with +much consideration, and of whom he had even taken counsel from time to +time. + +"Will ye then be peaceable, if I grant your petition?" asked the king. +"My father allowed you to begin the work and granted the means for its +completion. Of one mind, happy and content, ye returned to your native +land, but while pursuing your work strife and contention entered among +you. Cyrus was assailed by repeated letters, signed by the chief men of +Syria, entreating him to forbid the work, and I also have been lately +besought to do the same. Worship your God when and where ye will, but +just because I desire your welfare, I cannot consent to the prosecution +of a work which kindles discord among you." + +"And is it then thy pleasure on this day to take back a favor, which thy +father made sure unto us by a written decree?" asked Belteshazzar. + +"A written decree?" + +"Which will surely be found even to this day laid up in the archives of +thy kingdom." + +"Find this decree and show it me, and I will not only allow the building +to be continued, but will promote the same," answered the king; "for my +father's will is as sacred to me as the commands of the gods." + +"Wilt thou allow search to be made in the house of the rolls at +Ecbatana?" asked Belteshazzar. "The decree will surely be found there." + +"I consent, but I fear ye will find none. Tell thy nation, priest, that +I am content with the equipment of the men of war they have sent to take +the field against the Massagetae. My general Megabyzus commends their +looks and bearing. May thy people prove as valiant now as in the wars of +my father! You, Belteshazzar, I bid to my marriage feast, and charge you +to tell your fellows, Meshach and Abednego, next unto you the highest in +the city of Babylon, that I expect them this evening at my table." + +"The God of my people Israel grant thee blessing and happiness," +answered Belteshazzar bowing low before the king. + +"A wish which I accept!" answered the king, "for I do not despise +the power of your wonder-working great Spirit. But one word more, +Belteshazzar. Many Jews have lately been punished for reviling the +gods of the Babylonians. Warn your people! They bring down hatred on +themselves by their stiff-necked superstition, and the pride with +which they declare their own great spirit to be the only true God. Take +example by us; we are content with our own faith and leave others to +enjoy theirs in peace. Cease to look upon yourselves as better than the +rest of the world. I wish you well, for a pride founded on self-respect +is pleasing in mine eyes; but take heed lest pride degenerate into +vainglory. Farewell! rest assured of my favor." + +The Jews then departed. They were disappointed, but not hopeless; for +Belteshazzar knew well that the decree, relative to the building of the +temple, must be in the archives at Ecbatana. + +They were followed by a deputation from Syria, and by the Greeks +of Ionia; and then, winding up the long train, appeared a band of +wild-looking men, dressed in the skins of animals, whose features +bespoke them foreigners in Babylon. They wore girdles and shoulderbands +of solid, unwrought gold; and of the same precious metal were their +bow-cases, axes, lance-points, and the ornaments on their high fur caps. +They were preceded by a man in Persian dress, whose features proved him, +however, to be of the same race as his followers. + +The king gazed at first on these envoys with wonder; then his brow +darkened, and beckoning the officer whose duty it was to present +strangers, he exclaimed "What can these men have to crave of me? If I +mistake not they belong to the Massagetae, to that people who are so +soon to tremble before my vengeance. Tell them, Gobryas, that an armed +host is standing on the Median plains ready to answer their demands with +the sword." + +Gobryas answered, bowing low: "These men arrived this morning during +the sacrifice bringing huge burdens of the purest gold to purchase your +forbearance. When they heard that a great festival was being celebrated +in your honor, they urgently besought to be admitted into your presence, +that they might declare the message entrusted to them by their country." + +The king's brow cleared and, after sharply scrutinizing the tall, +bearded Massageta, he said: "Let them come nearer. I am curious to know +what proposals my father's murderers are about to make me." + +Gobryas made a sign, and the tallest and eldest of the Massagetae came +up close to the throne and began to speak loudly in his native tongue. +He was accompanied by the man in a Persian dress, who, as one of Cyrus' +prisoners of war, had learnt the Persian language, and now interpreted +one by one the sentences uttered by the spokesman of this wandering +tribe. + +"We know," began the latter, "that thou, great king, art wroth with the +Massagetae because thy father fell in war with our tribe--a war which he +alone had provoked with a people who had done naught to offend him." + +"My father was justified in punishing your nation," interrupted the +king. "Your Queen Tomyris had dared to refuse him her hand in marriage." + +"Be not wroth, O King," answered the Massagetan, "when I tell thee that +our entire nation approved of that act. Even a child could see that the +great Cyrus only desired to add our queen to the number of his wives, +hoping, in his insatiable thirst for more territories, to gain our land +with her." + +Cambyses was silent and the envoy went on. "Cyrus caused a bridge to be +made over our boundary river, the Araxes. We were not dismayed at this, +and Tomyris sent word that he might save himself this trouble, for that +the Massagetae were willing either to await him quietly in their own +land, leaving the passage of the river free, or to meet him in his. +Cyrus decided, by the advice of the dethroned king of Lydia, (as we +learnt afterwards, through some prisoners of war) on meeting us in our +own land and defeating us by a stratagem. With this intention he sent at +first only a small body of troops, which could be easily dispersed and +destroyed by our arrows and lances, and allowed us to seize his camp +without striking a blow. Believing we had defeated this insatiable +conqueror, we feasted on his abundant stores, and, poisoned by the sweet +unknown drink which you call wine, fell into a stupefied slumber, during +which his soldiers fell upon us, murdered the greater number of our +warriors and took many captives. Among the latter was the brave, young +Spargapises, our queen's son. + +"Hearing in his captivity, that his mother was willing to conclude +peace with your nation as the price of his liberty, he asked to have his +chains taken off. The request was granted, and on obtaining the use +of his hands he seized a sword and stabbed himself, exclaiming: 'I +sacrifice my life for the freedom of my nation.'" + +"No sooner did we hear the news that the young prince we loved so well +had died thus, than we assembled all the forces yet left to us from your +swords and fetters. Even old men and boys flew to arms to revenge our +noble Spargapises, and sacrifice themselves, after his example, for +Massagetaen freedom. Our armies met; ye were worsted and Cyrus fell. +When Tomyris found his body lying in a pool of human blood, she cried: +'Methinks, insatiable conqueror, thou art at last sated with blood!' +The troop, composed of the flower of your nobility, which you call the +Immortals, drove us back and carried your father's dead body forth from +our closest ranks. You led them on, fighting like a lion. I know you +well, and that wound across your manly face, which adorns it like a +purple badge of honor, was made by the sword now hanging at my side." + +A movement passed through the listening crowd; they trembled for +the bold speaker's life. Cambyses, however, looked pleased, nodded +approvingly to the man and answered: "Yes, I recognize you too now; you +rode a red horse with golden trappings. You shall see that the Persians +know how to honor courage. Bow down before this man, my friends, for +never did I see a sharper sword nor a more unwearied arm than his; and +such heroic courage deserves honor from the brave, whether shown by +friend or foe. As for you, Massagetae, I would advise you to go home +quickly and prepare for war; the mere recollection of your strength +and courage increases my longing to test it once more. A brave foe, by +Mithras, is far better than a feeble friend. You shall be allowed to +return home in peace; but beware of remaining too long within my reach, +lest the thought of the vengeance I owe my father's soul should rouse my +anger, and your end draw suddenly nigh." + +A bitter smile played round the bearded mouth of the warrior as he made +answer to this speech. "The Massagetae deem your father's soul too well +avenged already. The only son of our queen, his people's pride, and in +no way inferior to Cyrus, has bled for him. The shores of the Araxes +have been fertilized by the bodies of fifty thousand of my countrymen, +slain as offerings for your dead king, while only thirty thousand fell +there on your own side. We fought as bravely as you, but your armor is +better able to resist the arrows which pierce our clothing of skins. And +lastly, as the most cruel blow of all, ye slew our queen." + +"Tomyris is dead?" exclaimed Cambyses interrupting him. "You mean to +tell me that the Persians have killed a woman? Answer at once, what has +happened to your queen?" + +"Tomyris died ten months ago of grief for the loss of her only son, and +I have therefore a right to say that she too fell a sacrifice to the war +with Persia and to your father's spirit." + +"She was a great woman," murmured Cambyses, his voice unsteady from +emotion. "Verily, I begin to think that the gods themselves have +undertaken to revenge my father's blood on your nation. Yet I tell you +that, heavy as your losses may seem, Spargapises, Tomyris and fifty +thousand Massagetae can never outweigh the spirit of one king of Persia, +least of all of a Cyrus." + +"In our country," answered the envoy, "death makes all men equal. The +spirits of the king and the slave are of equal worth. Your father was a +great man, but we have undergone awful sufferings for his sake. My tale +is not yet ended. After the death of Tomyris discord broke out among the +Massagetae. Two claimants for the crown appeared; half our nation fought +for the one, half for the other, and our hosts were thinned, first by +this fearful civil war and then by the pestilence which followed in its +track. We can no longer resist your power, and therefore come with heavy +loads of pure gold as the price of peace." + +"Ye submit then without striking a blow?" asked Cambyses. "Verily, I had +expected something else from such heroes; the numbers of my host, which +waits assembled on the plains of Media, will prove that. We cannot go to +battle without an enemy. I will dismiss my troops and send a satrap. Be +welcome as new subjects of my realm." + +The red blood mounted into the cheeks of the Massagetan warrior +on hearing these words, and he answered in a voice trembling with +excitement: "You err, O King, if you imagine that we have lost our old +courage, or learnt to long for slavery. But we know your strength; we +know that the small remnant of our nation, which war and pestilence have +spared, cannot resist your vast and well-armed hosts. This we admit, +freely and honestly as is the manner of the Massagetae, declaring +however at the same time, that we are determined to govern ourselves +as of yore, and will never receive laws or ordinances from a Persian +satrap. You are wroth, but I can bear your angry gaze and yet repeat my +declaration." + +"And my answer," cried Cambyses, "is this: Ye have but one choice: +either to submit to my sceptre, become united to the kingdom of Persia +under the name of the Massagetan province, and receive a satrap as my +representative with due reverence, or to look upon yourselves as my +enemies, in which case you will be forced by arms to conform to those +conditions which I now offer you in good part. To-day you could secure +a ruler well-affected to your cause, later you will find in me only a +conqueror and avenger. Consider well before you answer." + +"We have already weighed and considered all," answered the warrior, +"and, as free sons of the desert, prefer death to bondage. Hear what the +council of our old men has sent me to declare to you:--The Massageta; +have become too weak to oppose the Persians, not through their own +fault, but through the heavy visitation of our god, the sun. We know +that you have armed a vast host against us, and we are ready to buy +peace and liberty by a yearly tribute. But if you persist in compelling +us to submit by force of arms, you can only bring great damage on +yourselves. The moment your army nears the Araxes, we shall depart +with our wives and children and seek another home, for we have no fixed +dwellings like yours, but are accustomed to rove at will on our swift +horses, and to rest in tents. Our gold we shall take with us, and shall +fill up, destroy, and conceal the pits in which you could find new +treasures. We know every spot where gold is to be found, and can give +it in abundance, if you grant us peace and leave us our liberty; but, if +you venture to invade our territory, you win nothing but an empty +desert and an enemy always beyond your reach,--an enemy who may become +formidable, when he has had time to recover from the heavy losses which +have thinned his ranks. Leave us in peace and freedom and we are ready +to give every year five thousand swift horses of the desert, besides +the yearly tribute of gold; we will also come to the help of the Persian +nation when threatened by any serious danger." + +The envoy ceased speaking. Cambyses did not answer at once; his eyes +were fixed on the ground in deep thought. At last he said, rising at the +same time from his throne: "We will take counsel on this matter over the +wine to-night, and to-morrow you shall hear what answer you can bring +to your people. Gobryas, see that these men are well cared for, and send +the Massagetan, who wounded me in battle, a portion of the best dishes +from my own table." + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +During these events Nitetis had been sitting alone in her house on the +hanging-gardens, absorbed in the saddest thoughts. To-day, for the first +time, she had taken part in the general sacrifice made by the king's +wives, and had tried to pray to her new gods in the open air, before the +fire-altars and amidst the sound of religious songs strange to her ears. + +Most of the inhabitants of the harem saw her to-day for the first time, +and instead of raising their eyes to heaven, had fixed them on her +during the ceremony. The inquisitive, malevolent gaze of her rivals, and +the loud music resounding from the city, disquieted and distracted her +mind. Her thoughts reverted painfully to the solemn, sultry stillness +of the gigantic temples in her native land where she had worshipped the +gods of her childhood so earnestly at the side of her mother and sister; +and much as she longed, just on this day, to pray for blessings on +her beloved king, all her efforts were in vain; she could arouse no +devotional feeling. Kassandane and Atossa knelt at her side, joining +heartily in the very hymns which to Nitetis were an empty sound. + +It cannot be denied, that many parts of these hymns contain true poetry; +but they become wearisome through the constant repetition and invocation +of the names of good and bad spirits. The Persian women had been taught +from childhood, to look upon these religious songs as higher and holier +than any other poetry. Their earliest prayers had been accompanied by +such hymns, and, like everything else which has come down to us from +our fathers, and which we have been told in the impressionable time of +childhood is divine and worthy of our reverence, they were still sacred +and dear to them and stirred their most devotional feelings. + +But for Nitetis, who had been spoilt for such things by an intimate +acquaintance with the best Greek poets, they could have but little +charm. What she had lately been learning in Persia with difficulty had +not yet become a part of herself, and so, while Kassandane and Atossa +went through all the outward rites as things of course and perfectly +natural to them, Nitetis could only prevent herself from forgetting the +prescribed ceremonials by a great mental effort, and dreaded lest she +should expose her ignorance to the jealous, watchful gaze of her rivals. + +And then, too, only a few minutes before the sacrifice, she had received +her first letter from Egypt. It lay unread on her dressing-table, and +came into her mind whenever she attempted to pray. She could not help +wondering what news it might bring her. How were her parents? and how +had Tachot borne the parting from herself, and from the prince she loved +so well? + +The ceremony over, Nitetis embraced Kassandane and Atossa, and drew a +long, deep breath, as if delivered from some threatening danger. Then +ordering her litter, she was carried back to her dwelling, and hastened +eagerly to the table where her letter lay. Her principal attendant, +the young girl who on the journey had dressed her in her first Persian +robes, received her with a smile full of meaning and promise, which +changed however, into a look of astonishment, on seeing her mistress +seize the letter, without even glancing at the articles of dress and +jewelery which lay on the table. + +Nitetis broke the seal quickly and was sitting down, in order to begin +the difficult work of reading her letter, when the girl came up, and +with clasped hands, exclaimed: "By Mithras, my mistress, I cannot +understand you. Either you are ill, or that ugly bit of grey stuff must +contain some magic which makes you blind to everything else. Put +that roll away and look at the splendid presents that the great king +(Auramazda grant him victory!) has sent while you were at the sacrifice. +Look at this wonderful purple robe with the white stripe and the rich +silver embroidery; and then the tiara with the royal diamonds! Do not +you know the high meaning of these gifts? Cambyses begs, (the messenger +said 'begs,' not 'commands') you to wear these splendid ornaments at +the banquet to-day. How angry Phaedime will be! and how the others +will look, for they have never received such presents. Till now only +Kassandane has had a right to wear the purple and diamonds; so by +sending you these gifts, Cambyses places you on a level with his mother, +and chooses you to be his favorite wife before the whole world.' O pray +allow me to dress you in these new and beautiful things. How lovely you +will look! How angry and envious the others will feel! If I could only +be there when you enter the hall! Come, my mistress, let me take off +your simple dress, and array you, (only as a trial you know,) in the +robes that as the new queen you ought to wear." + +Nitetis listened in silence to the chattering girl, and admired the +gifts with a quiet smile. She was woman enough to rejoice at the sight, +for he, whom she loved better than life itself, had sent them; and +they were a proof that she was more to the king than all his other +wives;--that Cambyses really loved her. The long wished-for letter fell +unread to the ground, the girl's wish to dress her was granted without a +word, and in a short time the splendid toilette was completed. The royal +purple added to her beauty, the high flashing tiara made her slender, +perfect figure seem taller than it really was, and when, in the metal +mirror which lay on her dressing table, she beheld herself for the first +time in the glorious likeness of a queen, a new expression dawned on her +features. It seemed as if a portion of her lord's pride were reflected +there. The frivolous waiting-woman sank involuntarily on her knees, +as her eyes, full of smiling admiration, met the radiant glance of +Nitetis,--of the woman who was beloved by the most powerful of men. + +For a few moments Nitetis gazed on the girl, lying in the dust at her +feet; but soon shook her beautiful head, and blushing for shame, raised +her kindly, kissed her forehead, gave her a gold bracelet, and then, +perceiving her letter on the ground, told her she wished to be alone. +Mandane ran, rather than walked, out of the room in her eagerness +to show the splendid present she had just received to the inferior +attendants and slaves; and Nitetis, her eyes glistening and her heart +beating with excess of happiness, threw herself on to the ivory chair +which stood before her dressing-table, uttered a short prayer of +thanksgiving to her favorite Egyptian goddess, the beautiful Hathor, +kissed the gold chain which Cambyses had given her after plunging into +the water for her ball, then her letter from home, and rendered almost +over-confident by her great happiness, began to unroll it, slowly +sinking back into the purple cushions as she did so and murmuring: "How +very, very happy I am! Poor letter, I am sure your writer never thought +Nitetis would leave you a quarter of an hour on the ground unread." + +In this happy mood she began to read, but her face soon grew serious and +when she had finished, the letter fell once more to the ground. + +Her eyes, whose proud glance had brought the waiting-maid to her feet, +were dimmed by tears; her head, carried so proudly but a few minutes +before, now lay on the jewels which covered the table. Tears rolled down +among the pearls and diamonds, as strange a contrast as the proud tiara +and its unhappy, fainting wearer. + +The letter read as follows: + +"Ladice the wife of Amasis and Queen of Upper and Lower Egypt, to her +daughter Nitetis, consort of the great King of Persia. + +"It has not been our fault, my beloved daughter, that you have remained +so long without news from home. The trireme by which we sent our letters +for you to AEgae was detained by Samian ships of war, or rather pirate +vessels, and towed into the harbor of Astypalaea. + +"Polykrates' presumption increases with the continual success of his +undertakings, and since his victory over the Lesbians and Milesians, who +endeavored to put a stop to his depredations, not a ship is safe from +the attacks of his pirate vessels. + +"Pisistratus is dead," but his sons are friendly to Polykrates. Lygdamis +is under obligations to him, and cannot hold his own in Naxos without +Samian help. He has won over the Amphiktyonic council to his side by +presenting the Apollo of Delos with the neighboring island of Rhenea. +His fifty-oared vessels, requiring to be manned by twenty-thousand men, +do immense damage to all the seafaring nations; yet not one dares to +attack him, as the fortifications of his citadel and his splendid +harbor are almost impregnable, and he himself always surrounded by a +well-drilled body-guard. + +"Through the traders, who followed the fortunate Kolxus to the far west, +and these pirate ships, Samos will become the richest of islands and +Polykrates the most powerful of men, unless, as your father says, the +gods become envious of such unchanging good fortune and prepare him a +sudden and speedy downfall. + +"In this fear Amasis advised Polykrates as his old friend, to put away +from him the thing he held dearest, and in such a manner that he might +be sure of never receiving it again. Polykrates adopted this advice and +threw into the sea, from the top of the round tower on his citadel, +his most valuable signet-ring, an unusually large sardonyx held by two +dolphins. This ring was the work of Theodorus, and a lyre, the symbol of +the ruler, was exquisitely engraved on the stone." + +"Six days later, however, the ring was found by Polykrates' cooks in the +body of a fish. He sent us news at once of this strange occurrence, but +instead of rejoicing your father shook his grey head sadly, saying: 'he +saw now it was impossible for any one to avoid his destiny!' On the same +day he renounced the friendship of Polykrates and wrote him word, that +he should endeavor to forget him in order to avoid the grief of seeing +his friend in misfortune. + +"Polykrates laughed at this message and returned the letters his pirates +had taken from our trireme, with a derisive greeting. For the future all +your letters will be sent by Syria. + +"You will ask me perhaps, why I have told you this long story, which +has so much less interest for you than any other home news. I answer: +to prepare you for your father's state. Would you have recognized the +cheerful, happy, careless Amasis in that gloomy answer to his Samian +friend? + +"Alas, my husband has good reason to be sad, and since you left us, my +own eyes have seldom been free from tears. My time is passed either at +the sick-bed of your sister or in comforting your father and guiding +his steps; and though much in need of sleep I am now taking advantage of +night to write these lines. + +"Here I was interrupted by the nurses, calling me to your sister Tachot, +your own true friend. + +"How often the dear child has called you in her feverish delirium; +and how carefully she treasures your likeness in wax, that wonderful +portrait which bears evidence not only of the height to which Greek art +has risen, but of the master hand of the great Theodorus. To-morrow it +will be sent to AEgina, to be copied in gold, as the soft wax becomes +injured from frequent contact with your sister's burning hands and lips. + +"And now, my daughter, you must summon all your courage to hear what I +need all my strength of mind to tell-the sad story of the fate which the +gods have decreed for our house. + +"For three days after you left us Tachot wept incessantly. Neither our +comforting words nor your father's good advice--neither offerings nor +prayers--could avail to lessen her grief or divert her mind. At last on +the fourth day she ceased to weep and would answer our questions in +a low voice, as if resigned; but spent the greater part of every day +sitting silently at her wheel. Her fingers, however, which used to be so +skilful, either broke the threads they tried to spin, or lay for hours +idle in her lap, while she was lost in dreams. Your father's jokes, at +which she used to laugh so heartily, made no impression on her, and when +I endeavored to reason with her she listened in anxious suspense. + +"If I kissed her forehead and begged her to control herself, she would +spring up, blushing deeply, and throw herself into my arms, then sit +down again to her wheel and begin to pull at the threads with almost +frantic eagerness; but in half an hour her hands would be lying idle in +her lap again and her eyes dreamily fixed, either on the ground, or +on some spot in the air. If we forced her to take part in any +entertainment, she would wander among the guests totally uninterested in +everything that was passing. + +"We took her with us on the great pilgrimage to Bubastis, during which +the Egyptians forget their usual gravity, and the shores of the Nile +look like a great stage where the wild games of the satyrs are being +performed by choruses, hurried on in the unrestrained wantonness of +intoxication. When she saw thus for the first time an entire people +given up to the wildest and most unfettered mirth and enjoyment, she +woke up from her silent brooding thoughts and began to weep again, as in +the first days after you went away. + +"Sad and perplexed, we brought our poor child back to Sais. + +"Her looks were not those of a common mortal. She grew thinner, and we +all fancied, taller; her complexion was white, and almost transparent, +with a tender bloom on her cheek, which I can only liken to a young +rose-leaf or the first faint blush of sunrise. Her eyes are still +wonderfully clear and bright. It always seems to me as if they looked +beyond the heaven and earth which we see. + +"As she continued to suffer more and more from heat in the head and +hands, while her tender limbs often shivered with a slight chill, we +sent to Thebes for Thutmes, the most celebrated physician for inward +complaints. + +"The experienced priest shook his head on seeing your sister and +foretold a serious illness. He forbade her to spin or to speak much. +Potions of all kinds were given her to drink, her illness was discussed +and exorcised, the stars and oracles consulted, rich presents and +sacrifices made to the gods. The priest of Hathor from the island of +Philae sent us a consecrated amulet, the priest of Osiris in Abydos +a lock of hair from the god himself set in gold, and Neithotep, the +high-priest of our own guardian goddess, set on foot a great sacrifice, +which was to restore your sister to health. + +"But neither physicians nor charms were of any avail, and at last +Neithotep confessed that Tachot's stars gave but little ground for hope. +Just then, too, the sacred bull at Memphis died and the priests +could discover no heart in his entrails, which they interpreted as +prognosticating evil to our country. They have not yet succeeded in +finding a new Apis, and believe that the gods are wroth with your +father's kingdom. Indeed the oracle of Buto has declared that the +Immortals will show no favor to Egypt, until all the temples that have +been built in the black land for the worship of false gods are destroyed +and their worshippers banished. + + [Egypt was called by its ancient inhabitants Cham, the black, + or black-earthed.] + +"These evil omens have proved, alas, only too true. Tachot fell ill of +a dreadful fever and lay for nine days hovering between life and death; +she is still so weak that she must be carried, and can move neither hand +nor foot. + +"During the journey to Bubastis, Amasis' eyes, as so often happens here, +became inflamed. Instead of sparing them, he continued to work as usual +from sunrise until mid-day, and while your sister was so ill he never +left her bed, notwithstanding all our entreaties. But I will not enter +into particulars, my child. His eyes grew worse, and on the very day +which brought us the news of your safe arrival in Babylon, Amasis became +totally blind. + +"The cheerful, active man has become old, gloomy and decrepit since that +day. The death of Apis, and the unfavorable constellations and oracles +weigh on his mind; his happy temper is clouded by the unbroken night in +which he lives; and the consciousness that he cannot stir a step alone +causes indecision and uncertainty. The daring and independent ruler will +soon become a mere tool, by means of which the priests can work their +will. + +"He spends hours in the temple of Neith, praying and offering +sacrifices; a number of workmen are employed there in building a tomb +for his mummy, and the same number at Memphis in levelling the temple +which the Greeks have begun building to Apollo. He speaks of his own and +Tachot's misfortunes as a just punishment from the Immortals. + +"His visits to Tachot's sick-bed are not the least comfort to her, for +instead of encouraging her kindly, he endeavors to convince her that +she too deserves punishment from the gods. He spends all his remarkable +eloquence in trying to persuade her, that she must forget this world +entirely and only try to gain the favor of Osiris and the judges of the +nether world by ceaseless prayers and sacrifices. In this manner he only +tortures our poor sick child, for she has not lost her love of life. +Perhaps I have still too much of the Greek left in me for a queen of +Egypt; but really, death is so long and life so short, that I cannot +help calling even wise men foolish, when they devote the half of even +this short term to a perpetual meditation on the gloomy Hades. + +"I have just been interrupted again. Our great physician, Thutmes, +came to enquire after his patient. He gives very little hope, and seems +surprised that her delicate frame has been able to resist death so long. +He said yesterday: 'She would have sunk long ago if not kept up by her +determined will, and a longing which gives her no rest. If she ceased +to care for life, she could allow death to take her, just as we dream +ourselves asleep. If, on the other hand, her wish could be gratified, +she might, (though this is hardly probable) live some years yet, but if +it remain but a short time longer unfulfilled, it will certainly wear +her to death. + +"Have you any idea for whom she longs so eagerly? Our Tachot has allowed +herself to be fascinated by the beautiful Bartja, the brother of your +future husband. I do not mean to say by this that he has employed magic, +as the priest Ameneman believes, to gain her love; for a youth might be +far less handsome and agreeable than Bartja, and yet take the heart of +an innocent girl, still half a child. But her passionate feeling is so +strong, and the change in her whole being so great, that sometimes I too +am tempted to believe in the use of supernatural influence. A short time +before you left I noticed that Tachot was fond of Bartja. Her distress +at first we thought could only be for you, but when she sank into that +dreamy state, Ibykus, who was still at our court, said she must have +been seized by some strong passion. + +"Once when she was sitting dreaming at her wheel, I heard him singing +softly Sappho's little love-song to her: + + "I cannot, my sweet mother, + Throw shuttle any more; + My heart is full of longing, + My spirit troubled sore, + All for a love of yesterday + A boy not seen before." + + [Sappho ed. Neue XXXII. Translation from Edwin Arnold's + Poets of Greece.] + +"She turned pale and asked him: 'Is that your own song?' + +"'No,' said he, 'Sappho wrote it fifty years ago.' + +"'Fifty years ago,' echoed Tachot musingly. + +"'Love is always the same,' interrupted the poet; 'women loved centuries +ago, and will love thousands of years to come, just as Sappho loved +fifty years back.' + +"The sick girl smiled in assent, and from that time I often heard +her humming the little song as she sat at her wheel. But we carefully +avoided every question, that could remind her of him she loved. In the +delirium of fever, however, Bartja's name was always on her burning +lips. When she recovered consciousness we told her what she had said in +her delirium; then she opened her heart to me, and raising her eyes to +heaven like a prophetess, exclaimed solemnly: 'I know, that I shall not +die till I have seen him again.' + +"A short time ago we had her carried into the temple, as she longed to +worship there again. When the service was over and we were crossing +the temple-court, we passed some children at play, and Tachot noticed a +little girl telling something very eagerly to her companions. She told +the bearers to put down the litter and call the child to her. + +"'What were you saying?' she asked the little one. + +"I was telling the others something about my eldest sister.' + +"'May I hear it too?'" said Tachot so kindly, that the little girl began +at once without fear: "Batau, who is betrothed to my sister, came back +from Thebes quite unexpectedly yesterday evening. Just as the Isis-star +was rising, he came suddenly on to our roof where Kerimama was playing +at draughts with my father; and he brought her such a beautiful golden +bridal wreath." + + [Among the Egyptians the planet Venus bore the name of the goddess + Isis. Pliny II. 6. Arist De mundo II. 7. Early monuments prove + that they were acquainted with the identity of the morning and + evening star. Lepsius, Chronologie p. 94.] + +"Tachot kissed the child and gave her her own costly fan. When we were +at home again she smiled archly at me and said: 'You know, mother dear, +that the words children say in the temple-courts are believed to be +oracles.' So, if the little one spoke the truth, he must come; and did +not you hear that he is to bring the bridal-wreath? O mother, I am sure, +quite sure, that I shall see him again.' + +"I asked her yesterday if she had any message for you, and she begged me +to say that she sent you thousands of kisses, and messages of love, and +that when she was stronger she meant to write, as she had a great deal +to tell you. She has just brought me the little note which I enclose; it +is for you alone, and has cost her much fatigue to write. + +"But now I must finish my letter, as the messenger has been waiting for +it some time. + +"I wish I could give you some joyful news, but sadness and sorrow +meet me whichever way I turn. Your brother yields more and more to the +priests' tyranny, and manages the affairs of state for your poor blind +father under Neithotep's guidance. + +"Amasis does not interfere, and says it matters little whether his place +be filled a few days sooner or later by his successor. + +"He did not attempt to prevent Psamtik from seizing the children of +Phanes in Rhodopis' house, and actually allowed his son to enter into a +negotiation with the descendants of those two hundred thousand soldiers, +who emigrated to Ethiopia in the reign of Psamtik I. on account of +the preference shown to the Greek mercenaries. In case they declared +themselves willing to return to their native land, the Greek mercenaries +were to have been dismissed. The negotiation failed entirely, but +Psamtik's treatment of the children of Phanes has given bitter offence +to the Greeks. Aristomachus threatened to leave Egypt, taking with him +ten thousand of his best troops, and on hearing that Phanes' son had +been murdered at Psamtik's command applied for his discharge. From that +time the Spartan disappeared, no one knows whither; but the Greek troops +allowed themselves to be bribed by immense sums and are still in Egypt. + +"Amasis said nothing to all this, and looked on silently from the midst +of his prayers and sacrifices, while your brother was either offending +every class of his subjects or attempting to pacify them by means +beneath the dignity of a ruler. The commanders of the Egyptian and Greek +troops, and the governors of different provinces have all alike assured +me that the present state of things is intolerable. No one knows what to +expect from this new ruler; he commands today the very thing, which he +angrily forbade the day before. Such a government must soon snap the +beautiful bond, which has hitherto united the Egyptian people to their +king. + +"Farewell, my child, think of your poor friend, your mother; and forgive +your parents when you hear what they have so long kept secret from you. +Pray for Tachot, and remember us to Croesus and the young Persians whom +we know. Give a special message too from Tachot to Bartja; I beg him to +think of it as the last legacy of one very near death. If you could only +send her some proof, that he has not forgotten her! Farewell, once more +farewell and be happy in your new and blooming home." + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +Sad realities follow bright anticipations nearly as surely as a rainy +day succeeds a golden sunrise. Nitetis had been so happy in the thought +of reading the very letter, which poured such bitter drops of wormwood +into her cup of happiness. + +One beautiful element in her life, the remembrance of her dear home and +the companions of her happy childhood, had been destroyed in one moment, +as if by the touch of a magician's wand. + +She sat there in her royal purple, weeping, forgetful of everything but +her mother's grief, her father's misfortunes and her sister's illness. +The joyful future, full of love, joy, and happiness, which had been +beckoning her forward only a few minutes before, had vanished. Cambyses' +chosen bride forgot her waiting, longing lover, and the future queen of +Persia could think of nothing but the sorrows of Egypt's royal house. + +It was long past mid-day, when the attendant Mandane came to put a last +touch to Nitetis' dress and ornaments. + +"She is asleep," thought the girl. "I can let her rest another quarter +of an hour; the sacrifice this morning has tired her, and we must have +her fresh and beautiful for the evening banquet; then she will outshine +the others as the moon does the stars." + +Unnoticed by her mistress she slipped out of the room, the windows of +which commanded a splendid view over the hanging-gardens, the immense +city beneath, the river, and the rich and fruitful Babylonian plain, and +went into the garden. + +Without looking round she ran to a flower-bed, to pluck some roses. Her +eyes were fixed on her new bracelet, the stones of which sparkled in the +sun, and she did not notice a richly-dressed man peering in at one of +the windows of the room where Nitetis lay weeping. On being disturbed +in his watching and listening, he turned at once to the girl and greeted +her in a high treble voice. + +She started, and on recognizing the eunuch Boges, answered: "It is not +polite, sir, to frighten a poor girl in this way. By Mithras, if I had +seen you before I heard you, I think I should have fainted. A woman's +voice does not take me by surprise, but to see a man here is as rare as +to find a swan in the desert." + +Boges laughed good-humoredly, though he well understood her saucy +allusion to his high voice, and answered, rubbing his fat hands: "Yes, +it is very hard for a young and pretty bird like you, to have to live +in such a lonely corner, but be patient, sweetheart. Your mistress will +soon be queen, and then she will look out a handsome young husband for +you. Ah, ha! you will find it pleasanter to live here alone with him, +than with your beautiful Egyptian." + +"My mistress is too beautiful for some people's fancy, and I have never +asked any one to look out a husband for me," she answered pertly. "I can +find one without your help either." + +"Who could doubt it? Such a pretty face is as good a bait for a man, as +a worm for a fish." + +"But I am not trying to catch a husband, and least of all one like you." + +"That I can easily believe," he answered laughing. "But tell me, my +treasure, why are you so hard on me? Have I done anything to vex you? +Wasn't it through me, that you obtained this good appointment, and are +not we both Medes?" + +"You might just as well say that we are both human beings, and have five +fingers on each hand and a nose in the middle of our faces. Half +the people here are Medes, and if I had as many friends as I have +countrymen, I might be queen to-morrow. And as to my situation here, +it was not you, but the high-priest Oropastes who recommended me to the +great queen Kassandane. Your will is not law here." + +"What are you talking about, my sweet one? don't you know, that not a +single waiting-woman can be engaged without my consent?" + +"Oh, yes, I know that as well as you do, but..." + +"But you women are an unthankful race, and don't deserve our kindness." + +"Please not to forget, that you are speaking to a girl of good family." + +"I know that very well, my little one. I know that your father was a +Magian and your mother a Magian's daughter; that they both died early +and you were placed under the care of the Destur Ixabates, the father of +Oropastes, and grew up with his children. I know too that when you had +received the ear-rings, Oropastes' brother Gaumata, (you need not blush, +Gaumata is a pretty name) fell in love with your rosy face, and wanted +to marry you, though he was only nineteen. Gaumata and Mandane, how well +the two names sound together! Mandane and Gaumata! If I were a poet I +should call my hero Gaumata and his lady-love Mandane." + +"I insist on your ceasing to jest in this way," cried Mandane, blushing +deeply and stamping her foot. + +"What, are you angry because I say the names sound well together? You +ought rather to be angry with the proud Oropastes, who sent his younger +brother to Rhagar and you to the court, that you might forget one +another." + +"That is a slander on my benefactor." + +"Let my tongue wither away, if I am not speaking the truth and nothing +but the truth! Oropastes separated you and his brother because he had +higher intentions for the handsome Gaumata, than a marriage with the +orphan daughter of an inferior Magian. He would have been satisfied with +Amytis or Menische for a sister-in-law, but a poor girl like you, who +owed everything to his bounty, would only have stood in the way of his +ambitious plans. Between ourselves, he would like to be appointed +regent of Persia while the king is away at the Massagetan war, and would +therefore give a great deal to connect himself by marriage in some +way or other with the Archemenidae. At his age a new wife is not to be +thought of; but his brother is young and handsome, indeed people go so +far as to say, that he is like the Prince Bartja." + +"That is true," exclaimed the girl. "Only think, when we went out to +meet my mistress, and I saw Bartja for the first time from the window +of the station-house, I thought he was Gaumata. They are so like one +another that they might be twins, and they are the handsomest men in the +kingdom." + +"How you are blushing, my pretty rose-bud! But the likeness between them +is not quite so great as all that. When I spoke to the high-priest's +brother this morning..." + +"Gaumata is here?" interrupted the girl passionately. "Have you really +seen him or are you trying to draw me out and make fun of me?" + +"By Mithras! my sweet one, I kissed his forehead this very morning, +and he made me tell him a great deal about his darling. Indeed his blue +eyes, his golden curls and his lovely complexion, like the bloom on +a peach, were so irresistible that I felt inclined to try and +work impossibilities for him. Spare your blushes, my little +pomegranate-blossom, till I have told you all; and then perhaps in +future you will not be so hard upon poor Boges; you will see that he +has a good heart, full of kindness for his beautiful, saucy little +countrywoman." + +"I do not trust you," she answered, interrupting these assurances. "I +have been warned against your smooth tongue, and I do not know what I +have done to deserve this kind interest." + +"Do you know this?" he asked, showing her a white ribbon embroidered all +over with little golden flames. + +"It is the last present I worked for him," exclaimed Mandane. + +"I asked him for this token, because I knew you would not trust me. Who +ever heard of a prisoner loving his jailer?" + +"But tell me at once, quickly--what does my old playfellow want me to +do? Look, the-western sky is beginning to glow. Evening is coming on, +and I must arrange my mistress's dress and ornaments for the banquet." + +"Well, I will not keep you long," said the eunuch, becoming so serious +that Mandane was frightened. "If you do not choose to believe that I +would run into any risk out of friendship to you, then fancy that I +forward your love affair to humble the pride of Oropastes. He threatens +to supplant me in the king's favor, and I am determined, let him plot +and intrigue as he likes, that you shall marry Gaumata. To-morrow +evening, after the Tistar-star has risen, your lover shall come to +see you. I will see that all the guards are away, so that he can come +without danger, stay one hour and talk over the future with you; but +remember, only one hour. I see clearly that your mistress will be +Cambyses' favorite wife, and will then forward your marriage, for she +is very fond of you, and thinks no praise too high for your fidelity +and skill. So to-morrow evening," he continued, falling back into the +jesting tone peculiar to him, "when the Tistar-star rises, fortune +will begin to shine on you. Why do you look down? Why don't you answer? +Gratitude stops your pretty little mouth, eh? is that the reason? Well, +my little bird, I hope you won't be quite so silent, if you should ever +have a chance of praising poor Boges to your powerful mistress. And what +message shall I bring to the handsome Gaumata? May I say that you have +not forgotten him and will be delighted to see him again? You hesitate? +Well, I am very sorry, but it is getting dark and I must go. I have to +inspect the women's dresses for the birthday banquet. Ah! one thing I +forgot to mention. Gaumata must leave Babylon to-morrow. Oropastes is +afraid, that he may chance to see you, and told him to return to Rhage +directly the festival was over. What! still silent? Well then, I really +cannot help you or that poor fellow either. But I shall gain my ends +quite as well without you, and perhaps after all it is better that you +should forget one another. Good-bye." + +It was a hard struggle for the girl. She felt nearly sure that Boges was +deceiving her, and a voice within warned her that it would be better to +refuse her lover this meeting. Duty and prudence gained the upper hand, +and she was just going to exclaim: "Tell him I cannot see him," when +her eye caught the ribbon she had once embroidered for her handsome +playfellow. Bright pictures from her childhood flashed through her mind, +short moments of intoxicating happiness; love, recklessness and longing +gained the day in their turn over her sense of right, her misgivings +and her prudence, and before Boges could finish his farewell, she called +out, almost in spite of herself and flying towards the house like a +frightened fawn: "I shall expect him." + +Boges passed quickly through the flowery paths of the hanging-gardens. +He stopped at the parapet end cautiously opened a hidden trap-door, +admitting to a secret staircase which wound down through one of the +huge pillars supporting the hanging-gardens, and which had probably been +intended by their original designer as a means of reaching his wife's +apartments unobserved from the shores of the river. The door moved +easily on its hinges, and when Boges had shut it again and strewed a few +of the river-shells from the garden walks over it, it would have been +difficult to find, even for any one who had come with that purpose. The +eunuch rubbed his jeweled hands, smiling the while as was his custom, +and murmured: "It can't fail to succeed now; the girl is caught, her +lover is at my beck and call, the old secret flight of steps is in +good order, Nitetis has been weeping bitterly on a day of universal +rejoicing, and the blue lily opens to-morrow night. Ah, ha! my little +plan can't possibly fail now. And to-morrow, my pretty Egyptian kitten, +your little velvet paw will be fast in a trap set by the poor despised +eunuch, who was not allowed, forsooth, to give you any orders." + +His eyes gleamed maliciously as he said these words and hurried from the +garden. + +At the great flight of steps he met another eunuch, named Neriglissar, +who held the office of head-gardener, and lived at the hanging-gardens. + +"How is the blue lily going on?" asked Boges. + +"It is unfolding magnificently!" cried the gardener, in enthusiasm at +the mere mention of his cherished flower. "To-morrow, as I promised, +when the Tistar-star rises, it will be in all its beauty. My Egyptian +mistress will be delighted, for she is very fond of flowers, and may I +ask you to tell the king and the Achaemenidae, that under my care this +rare plant has at last flowered? It is to be seen in full beauty only +once in every ten years. Tell the noble Achaemenidae; this, and bring +them here." + +"Your wish shall be granted," said Boges smiling, "but I think you +must not reckon on the king, as I do not expect he will visit the +hanging-gardens before his marriage with the Egyptian. Some of the +Archimenidae, however, will be sure to come; they are such lovers of +horticulture that they would not like to miss this rare sight. Perhaps, +too, I may succeed in bringing Croesus. It is true that he does not +understand flowers or doat on them as the Persians do, but he makes +amends for this by his thorough appreciation of everything beautiful." + +"Yes, yes, bring him too," exclaimed the gardener. "He will really be +grateful to you, for my queen of the night is the most beautiful flower, +that has ever bloomed in a royal garden. You saw the bud in the clear +waters of the reservoir surrounded by its green leaves; that bud will +open into a gigantic rose, blue as the sky. My flower..." + +The enthusiastic gardener would have said much more in praise of his +flower, but Boges left him with a friendly nod, and went down the flight +of steps. A two-wheeled wooden carriage was waiting for him there; +he took his seat by the driver, the horses, decked out with bells and +tassels, were urged into a sharp trot and quickly brought him to the +gate of the harem-garden. + +That day was a busy, stirring one in Cambyses' harem. In order that the +women might look their very best, Boges had commanded that they should +all be taken to the bath before the banquet. He therefore went at once +to that wing of the palace, which contained the baths for the women. + +While he was still at some distance a confused noise of screaming, +laughing, chattering and tittering reached his ears. In the broad porch +of the large bathing-room, which had been almost overheated, more than +three hundred women were moving about in a dense cloud of steam. + + [We read in Diodorus XVII. 77. that the king of Persia had as many + wives as there are days in the year. At the battle of Issus, + Alexander the Great took 329 concubines, of the last Darius, + captive.] + +The half-naked forms floated over the warm pavement like a motley crowd +of phantoms. Their thin silken garments were wet through and clung to +their delicate figures, and a warm rain descended upon them from the +roof of the bath, rising up again in vapor when it reached the floor. + +Groups of handsome women, ten or twenty together, lay gossiping saucily +in one part of the room; in another two king's wives were quarrelling +like naughty children. One beauty was screaming at the top of her +voice because she had received a blow from her neighbor's dainty little +slipper, while another was lying in lazy contemplation, still as death, +on the damp, warm floor. Six Armenians were standing together, singing a +saucy love-song in their native language with clear-toned voices, and +a little knot of fair-haired Persians were slandering Nitetis so +fearfully, that a by-stander would have fancied our beautiful Egyptian +was some awful monster, like those nurses used to frighten children. + +Naked female slaves moved about through the crowd, carrying on their +heads well-warmed cloths to throw over their mistresses. The cries of +the eunuchs, who held the office of door-keepers, and were continually +urging the women to greater haste,--the screeching calls of those whose +slaves had not yet arrived,--the penetrating perfumes and the warm vapor +combined to produce a motley, strange and stupefying scene. + +A quarter of an hour later, however, the king's wives presented a very +different spectacle. + +They lay like roses steeped in dew, not asleep, but quite still and +dreaming, on soft cushions placed along the walls of an immense room. +The wet perfumes still lay on their undried and flowing hair, and nimble +female slaves were busied in carefully wiping away, with little bags +made of soft camels' hair, the slightest outward trace of the moisture +which penetrated deep into the pores of the skin. + +Silken coverlets were spread over their weary, beautiful limbs, and a +troop of eunuchs took good care that the dreamy repose of the entire +body should not be disturbed by quarrelsome or petulant individuals. +Their efforts, however, were seldom so successful as to-day, when every +one knew that a disturbance of the peace would be punished by exclusion +from the banquet. They had probably been lying a full hour in +this dreamy silence, when the sound of a gong produced another +transformation. + +The reposing figures sprang from their cushions, a troop of female +slaves pressed into the hall, the beauties were annointed and perfumed, +their luxuriant hair ingeniously braided, plaited, and adorned with +precious stones. Costly ornaments and silken and woolen robes in all the +colors of the rainbow were brought in, shoes stiff with rich embroidery +of pearls and jewels were tied on to their tender feet, and golden +girdles fastened round their waists. + + [Some kings gave their wives the revenues of entire cities as + "girdle-money" (pin-money).] + +By the time Boges came in, the greater number of the women were already +fully adorned in their costly jewelry, which would have represented +probably, when taken together, the riches of a large kingdom. + +He was greeted by a shrill cry of joy from many voices. Twenty of the +women joined hands and danced round their smiling keeper, singing +a simple song which had been composed in the harem in praise of his +virtues. On this day it was customary for the king to grant each of his +wives one reasonable petition. So when the ring of dancers had loosed +hands, a troop of petitioners rushed in upon Boges, kissing his hands, +stroking his cheeks, whispering in his ear all kinds of requests, and +trying by flattery to gain his intercession with the king. The woman's +tyrant smiled at it all, stopped his ears and pushed them all back +with jests and laughter, promising Amytis the Median that Esther the +Phoenician should be punished, and Esther the same of Amytis,--that +Parmys should have a handsomer set of jewels than Parisatys, and +Parisatys a more costly one than Parmys, but finding it impossible +to get rid of these importunate petitioners, he blew a little golden +whistle. Its shrill tones acted like magic on the eager crowd; the +raised hands fell in a moment, the little tripping feet stood still, the +opening lips closed and the eager tumult was turned into a dead silence. + +Whoever disobeyed the sound of this little whistle, was certain of +punishment. It was as important as the words "Silence, in the king's +name!" or the reading of the riot-act. To-day it worked even more +effectually than usual. Boges' self-satisfied smile showed that he had +noticed this; he then favored the assembly with a look expressive of his +contentment with their conduct, promised in a flowery speech to exert +all his influence with the king in behalf of his dear little white +doves, and wound up by telling them to arrange themselves in two long +rows. + +The women obeyed and submitted to his scrutiny like soldiers on drill, +or slaves being examined by their buyer. + +With the dress and ornaments of most he was satisfied, ordering, +however, to one a little more rouge, to another a little white powder +to subdue a too healthy color, here a different arrangement of the +hair--there a deeper tinge to the eyebrows, or more pains to be taken in +anointing the lips. + +When this was over he left the hall and went to Phaedime, who as one +of the king's lawful wives, had a private room, separated from those +allotted to the concubines. + +This former favorite,--this humbled daughter of the Achaemenidae, had +been expecting him already some time. + +She was magnificently dressed, and almost overloaded with jewels. A +thick veil of gauze inwrought with gold hung from her little tiara, and +interlaced with this was the blue and white band of the Achaemenidae. +There could be no question that she was beautiful, but her figure was +already too strongly developed, a frequent result of the lazy harem life +among Eastern women. Fair golden hair, interwoven with little silver +chains and gold pieces, welled out almost too abundantly from beneath +her tiara, and was smoothed over her white temples. + +She sprang forward to meet Boges, trembling with eagerness, caught a +hasty glance at herself in the looking-glass, and then, fixing her eyes +on the eunuch, asked impetuously: "Are you pleased with me? Will he +admire me?" + +Boges smiled his old, eternal smile and answered: "You always please me, +my golden peacock, and the king would admire you too if he could see you +as you were a moment ago. You were really beautiful when you called +out, 'Will he admire me?' for passion had turned your blue eyes black +as night, and your lip was curled with hatred so as to show two rows of +teeth white as the snow on the Demawend!" + +Phaedime was flattered and forced her face once more into the admired +expression, saying: "Then take us at once to the banquet, for I know +my eyes will be darker and more brilliant, and my teeth will gleam more +brightly, when I see that Egyptian girl sitting where I ought to sit." + +"She will not be allowed to sit there long." + +"What! is your plan likely to succeed then? Oh, Boges, do not hide it +any longer from me--I will be as silent as the grave--I will help you--I +will--" + +"No, I cannot, I dare not tell you about it, but this much I will say in +order to sweeten this bitter evening: we have dug the pit for our enemy, +and if my golden Phaedime will only do what I tell her, I hope to give +her back her old place, and not only that, but even a higher one." + +"Tell me what I am to do; I am ready for anything and everything." + +"That was well and bravely spoken; like a true lioness. If you obey me +we must succeed; and the harder the task, the higher the reward. Don't +dispute what I am going to say, for we have not a minute to lose. Take +off all your useless ornaments and only wear the chain the king gave you +on your marriage. Put on a dark simple dress instead of this bright one; +and when you have prostrated yourself before Kassandane, bow down humbly +before the Egyptian Princess too." + +"Impossible!" + +"I will not be contradicted. Take off those ornaments at once, I entreat +you. There, that is right. We cannot succeed unless you obey me. How +white your neck is! The fair Peri would look dark by your side." + +"But--" + +"When your turn comes to ask a favor of the king, tell him you have no +wishes, now that the sun of your life has withdrawn his light." + +"Yes, that I will do." + +"When your father asks after your welfare, you must weep." + +"I will do that too." + +"And so that all the Achaemenidae can see that you are weeping." + +"That will be a fearful humiliation!" + +"Not at all; only a means by which to rise the more surely. Wash the +red color from your cheeks and put on white powder. Make yourself +pale--paler still." + +"Yes, I shall need that to hide my blushes. Boges, you are asking +something fearful of me, but I will obey you if you will only give me a +reason." + +"Girl, bring your mistress's new dark green robe." + +"I shall look like a slave." + +"True grace is lovely even in rags." + +"The Egyptian will completely eclipse me." + +"Yes, every one must see that you have not the slightest intention of +comparing yourself with her. Then people will say: 'Would not Phaedime +be as beautiful as this proud woman, if she had taken the same pains to +make herself so?"' + +"But I cannot bow down to her." + +"You must." + +"You only want to humble and ruin me." + +"Short-sighted fool! listen to my reasons and obey. I want especially +to excite the Achaemenidae against our enemy. How it will enrage your +grandfather Intaphernes, and your father Otanes to see you in the dust +before a stranger! Their wounded pride will bring them over to our side, +and if they are too 'noble,' as they call it, to undertake anything +themselves against a woman, still they will be more likely to help than +to hinder us, if I should need their assistance. Then, when the Egyptian +is ruined, if you have done as I wish, the king will remember your sad +pale face, your humility and forgetfulness of self. The Achaemenidae, +and even the Magi, will beg him to take a queen from his own family; and +where in all Persia is there a woman who can boast of better birth than +you? Who else can wear the royal purple but my bright bird of Paradise, +my beautiful rose Phaedime? With such a prize in prospect we must no +more fear a little humiliation than a man who is learning to ride fears +a fall from his horse." + +And she, princess as she was, answered: "I will obey you." + +"Then we are certain of victory," said the eunuch. "There, now your +eyes are flashing darkly again as I like to see them, my queen. And so +Cambyses shall see you when the tender flesh of the Egyptian shall have +become food for dogs and the birds of the air, and when for the first +time after long months of absence, I bring him once more to the door of +your apartments. Here, Armorges! tell the rest of the women to get ready +and enter their litters. I will go on and be there to show them their +places." + + .......................... + +The great banqueting-hall was bright as day--even brighter, from the +light of thousands of candles whose rays were reflected in the gold +plates forming the panelling of the walls. A table of interminable +length stood in the middle of the hall, overloaded with gold and +silver cups, plates, dishes, bowls, jugs, goblets, ornaments and +incense-altars, and looked like a splendid scene from fairy-land. + +"The king will soon be here," called out the head-steward of the table, +of the great court-lords, to the king's cup-bearer, who was a member of +the royal family. "Are all the wine-jugs full, has the wine been tasted, +are the goblets ranged in order, and the skins sent by Polykrates, have +they been emptied?" + +"Yes," answered the cup-bearer, "everything is ready, and that Chian +wine is better than any I ever tasted; indeed, in my opinion, even the +Syrian is not to be compared to it. Only taste it." + +So saying he took a graceful little golden goblet from the table in one +hand, raised a wine-pitcher of the same costly metal with the other, +swung the latter high into the air and poured the wine so cleverly into +the narrow neck of the little vessel that not a drop was lost, though +the liquid formed a wide curve in its descent. He then presented +the goblet to the head-steward with the tips of his fingers, bowing +gracefully as he did so. + +The latter sipped the delicious wine, testing its flavor with great +deliberation, and said, on returning the cup: "I agree with you, it is +indeed a noble wine, and tastes twice as well when presented with such +inimitable grace. Strangers are quite right in saying that there are no +cupbearers like the Persian." + +"Thanks for this praise," replied the other, kissing his friend's +forehead. "Yes, I am proud of my office, and it is one which the king +only gives to his friends. Still it is a great plague to have to stay +so long in this hot, suffocating Babylon. Shall we ever be off for the +summer, to Ecbatana or Pasargada?" + +"I was talking to the king about it to-day. He had intended not to leave +before the Massagetan war, and to go straight from Babylon into the +field, but to-day's embassy has changed matters; it is probable that +there may be no war, and then we shall go to Susa three days after the +king's marriage--that is, in one week from the present time." + +"To Susa?" cried the cup-bearer. "It's very little cooler there than +here, and besides, the old Memnon's castle is being rebuilt." + +"The satrap of Susa has just brought word that the new palace is +finished, and that nothing so brilliant has ever been seen. Directly +Cambyses heard, it he said: Then we will start for Susa three days +after our marriage. I should like to show the Egyptian Princess that +we understand the art of building as well as her own ancestors. She is +accustomed to hot weather on the Nile, and will not find our beautiful +Susa too warm.' The king seems wonderfully fond of this woman." + +"He does indeed! All other women have become perfectly indifferent to +him, and he means soon to make her his queen." + +"That is unjust; Phaedime, as daughter of the Achaemenidae, has an older +and better right." + +"No doubt, but whatever the king wishes, must be right." + +"The ruler's will is the will of God." + +"Well said! A true Persian will kiss his king's hand, even when dripping +with the blood of his own child." + +"Cambyses ordered my brother's execution, but I bear him no more +ill-will for it than I should the gods for depriving me of my parents. +Here, you fellows! draw the curtains back; the guests are coming. Look +sharp, you dogs, and do your duty! Farewell, Artabazos, we shall have +warm work to-night." + + + + + +BOOK 2. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +The principal steward of the banquet went forward to meet the guests as +they entered, and, assisted by other noble staff-bearers (chamberlains +and masters of the ceremonies), led them to their appointed places. + +When they were all seated, a flourish of trumpets announced that the +king was near. As he entered the hall every one rose, and the multitude +received him with a thundering shout of "Victory to the king!" again and +again repeated. + +The way to his seat was marked by a purple Sardian carpet, only to be +trodden by himself and Kassandane. His blind mother, led by Croesus, +went first and took her seat at the head of the table, on a throne +somewhat higher than the golden chair for Cambyses, which stood by it. +The king's lawful wives sat on his left hand; Nitetis next to him, then +Atossa, and by her side the pale, plainly-dressed Phaedime; next to this +last wife of Cambyses sat Boges, the eunuch. Then came the high-priest +Oropastes, some of the principal Magi, the satraps of various provinces +(among them the Jew Belteshazzar), and a number of Persians, Medes and +eunuchs, all holding high offices under the crown. + +Bartja sat at the king's right hand, and after him Croesus, Hystaspes, +Gobryas, Araspes, and others of the Achaemenidae, according to their +rank and age. Of the concubines, the greater number sat at the foot of +the table; some stood opposite to Cambyses, and enlivened the banquet +by songs and music. A number of eunuchs stood behind them, whose duty it +was to see that they did not raise their eyes towards the men. + +Cambyses' first glance was bestowed on Nitetis; she sat by him in all +the splendor and dignity of a queen, but looking very, very pale in her +new purple robes. + +Their eyes met, and Cambyses felt that such a look could only come from +one who loved him very dearly. But his own love told him that something +had troubled her. There was a sad seriousness about her mouth, and a +slight cloud, which only he could see, seemed to veil the usually calm, +clear and cheerful expression of her eyes. "I will ask her afterwards +what has happened," thought he, "but it will not do to let my subjects +see how much I love this girl." + +He kissed his mother, sister, brother and his nearest relations on the +forehead--said a short prayer thanking the gods for their mercies and +entreating a happy new year for himself and the Persians--named the +immense sum he intended to present to his countrymen on this day, and +then called on the staff bearers to bring the petitioners before his +face, who hoped to obtain some reasonable request from the king on this +day of grace. + +As every petitioner had been obliged to lay his request before the +principal staff bearer the day before, in order to ascertain whether it +was admissible, they all received satisfactory answers. The petitions of +the women had been enquired into by the eunuchs in the same manner, +and they too were now conducted before their lord and master by Boges, +Kassandane alone remaining seated. + +The long procession was opened by Nitetis and Atossa, and the two +princesses were immediately followed by Phaedime and another beauty. The +latter was magnificently dressed and had been paired with Phaedime by +Boges, in order to make the almost poverty-stricken simplicity of the +fallen favorite more apparent. + +Intaphernes and Otanes looked as annoyed as Boges had expected, on +seeing their grandchild and daughter so pale, and in such miserable +array, in the midst of all this splendor and magnificence. + +Cambyses had had experience of Phaedime's former extravagance in matters +of dress, and, when he saw her standing before him so plainly dressed +and so pale, looked both angry and astonished. His brow darkened, and as +she bent low before him, he asked her in an angry and tyrannical tone: +"What is the meaning of this beggarly dress at my table, on the day set +apart in my honor? Have you forgotten, that in our country it is the +custom never to appear unadorned before the king? Verily, if it were not +my birthday, and if I did not owe you some consideration as the daughter +of our dearest kinsman, I should order the eunuchs to take you back +to the harem, that you might have time to think over your conduct in +solitude." + +These words rendered the mortified woman's task much easier.... She +began to weep loud and bitterly, raising her hands and eyes to her +angry lord in such a beseeching manner that his anger was changed into +compassion, and he raised her from the ground with the question: "Have +you a petition to ask of me?" + +"What can I find to wish for, now that the sun of my life has withdrawn +his light?" was her faltering answer, hindered by sobs. + +Cambyses shrugged his shoulders, and asked again "Is there nothing then +that you wish for? I used to be able to dry your tears with presents; +ask me for some golden comfort to-day." + +"Phaedime has nothing left to wish for now. For whom can she put +on jewels when her king, her husband, withdraws the light of his +countenance?" + +"Then I can do nothing for you," exclaimed Cambyses, turning away +angrily from the kneeling woman. Boges had been quite right in advising +Phaedime to paint herself with white, for underneath the pale color +her cheeks were burning with shame and anger. But, in spite of all, +she controlled her passionate feelings, made the same deep obeisance to +Nitetis as to the queen-mother, and allowed her tears to flow fast and +freely in sight of all the Achaemenidae. + +Otanes and Intaphernes could scarcely suppress their indignation +at seeing their daughter and grandchild thus humbled, and many an +Achaemenidae looked on, feeling deep sympathy with the unhappy Phaedime +and a hidden grudge against the favored, beautiful stranger. + +The formalities were at last at an end and the feast began. Just before +the king, in a golden basket, and gracefully bordered round with other +fruits, lay a gigantic pomegranate, as large as a child's head. + +Cambyses noticed it now for the first time, examined its enormous size +and rare beauty with the eye of a connoisseur, and said: "Who grew this +wonderful pomegranate?" + +"Thy servant Oropastes," answered the chief of the Magi, with a low +obeisance. "For many years I have studied the art of gardening, and have +ventured to lay this, the most beautiful fruit of my labors, at the feet +of my king." + +"I owe you thanks," cried the king: "My friends, this pomegranate will +assist me in the choice of a governor at home when we go out to war, +for, by Mithras, the man who can cherish and foster a little tree so +carefully will do greater things than these. What a splendid fruit! +Surely it's like was never seen before. I thank you again, Oropastes, +and as the thanks of a king must never consist of empty words alone, I +name you at once vicegerent of my entire kingdom, in case of war. For we +shall not dream away our time much longer in this idle rest, my friends. +A Persian gets low-spirited without the joys of war." + +A murmur of applause ran through the ranks of the Achaemenidae and fresh +shouts of "Victory to the king" resounded through the hall. Their anger +on account of the humiliation of a woman was quickly forgotten; thoughts +of coming battles, undying renown and conqueror's laurels to be won by +deeds of arms, and recollections of their former mighty deeds raised the +spirits of the revellers. + +The king himself was more moderate than usual to-day, but he encouraged +his guests to drink, enjoying their noisy merriment and overflowing +mirth; taking, however, far more pleasure still in the fascinating +beauty of the Egyptian Princess, who sat at his side, paler than +usual, and thoroughly exhausted by the exertions of the morning and the +unaccustomed weight of the high tiara. He had never felt so happy as on +this day. What indeed could he wish for more than he already possessed? +Had not the gods given him every thing that a man could desire? and, +over and above all this, had not they flung into his lap the precious +gift of love? His usual inflexibility seemed to have changed into +benevolence, and his stern severity into good-nature, as he turned to +his brother Bartja with the words: "Come brother, have you forgotten my +promise? Don't you know that to-day you are sure of gaining the dearest +wish of your heart from me? That's right, drain the goblet, and take +courage! but do not ask anything small, for I am in the mood to give +largely to-day. Ah, it is a secret! come nearer then. I am really +curious to know what the most fortunate youth in my entire kingdom can +long for so much, that he blushes like a girl when his wish is spoken +of." + +Bartja, whose cheeks were really glowing from agitation, bent his head +close to his brother's ear, and whispered shortly the story of his love. +Sappho's father had helped to defend his native town Phocaea against the +hosts of Cyrus, and this fact the boy cleverly brought forward, speaking +of the girl he loved as the daughter of a Greek warrior of noble birth. +In so saying he spoke the truth, but at the same time he suppressed +the facts that this very father had acquired great riches by mercantile +undertakings. + + [The Persians were forbidden by law to contract debts, because + debtors were necessarily led to say much that was untrue. Herod. I. + For this reason they held all money transactions in contempt, such + occupations being also very uncongenial to their military tastes. + They despised commerce and abandoned it to the conquered nations.] + +He then told his brother how charming, cultivated and loving his Sappho +was, and was just going to call on Croesus for a confirmation of his +words, when Cambyses interrupted him by kissing his forehead and saying: +"You need say no more, brother; do what your heart bids you. I know the +power of love too, and I will help you to gain our mother's consent." +Bartja threw himself at his brother's feet, overcome with gratitude and +joy, but Cambyses raised him kindly and, looking especially at Nitetis +and Kassandane, exclaimed: "Listen, my dear ones, the stem of Cyrus is +going to blossom afresh, for our brother Bartja has resolved to put an +end to his single life, so displeasing to the gods. + + [The Persians were commanded by their religion to marry, and the + unmarried were held up to ridicule. Vendid. IV. Fargard. 130. + The highest duty of man was to create and promote life, and to have + many children was therefore considered praiseworthy. Herod. I. + 136.] + +In a few days the young lover will leave us for your country, Nitetis, +and will bring back another jewel from the shores of the Nile to our +mountain home." + +"What is the matter, sister?" cried Atossa, before her brother had +finished speaking. Nitetis had fainted, and Atossa was sprinkling her +forehead with wine as she lay in her arms. + +"What was it?" asked the blind Kassandane, when Nitetis had awakened to +consciousness a few moments later. + +"The joy--the happiness--Tachot," faltered Nitetis. Cambyses, as well +as his sister, had sprung to the fainting girl's help. When she had +recovered consciousness, he asked her to take some wine to revive her +completely, gave her the cup with his own hand, and then went on at the +point at which he had left off in his account: "Bartja is going to your +own country, my wife--to Naukratis on the Nile--to fetch thence the +granddaughter of a certain Rhodopis, and daughter of a noble warrior, a +native of the brave town of Phocaea, as his wife." + +"What was that?" cried the blind queen-mother. + +"What is the matter with you?" exclaimed Atossa again, in an anxious, +almost reproachful tone. + +"Nitetis!" cried Croesus admonishingly. But the warning came too late; +the cup which her royal lover had given her slipped from her hands and +fell ringing on the floor. All eyes were fixed on the king's features +in anxious suspense. He had sprung from his seat pale as death; his +lips trembled and his fist was clenched. Nitetis looked up at her lover +imploringly, but he was afraid of meeting those wonderful, fascinating +eyes, and turned his head away, saying in a hoarse voice: "Take the +women back to their apartments, Boges. I have seen enough of them--let +us begin our drinking-bout--good-night, my mother; take care how you +nourish vipers with your heart's blood. Sleep well, Egyptian, and pray +to the gods to give you a more equal power of dissembling your feelings. +To-morrow, my friends, we will go out hunting. Here, cup-bearer, give +me some wine! fill the large goblet, but taste it well--yes, well--for +to-day I am afraid of poison; to-day for the first time. Do you hear, +Egyptian? I am afraid of poison! and every child knows--ah-ha--that all +the poison, as well as the medicine comes from Egypt." + +Nitetis left the hall,--she hardly knew how,--more staggering than +walking. Boges accompanied her, telling the bearers to make haste. + +When they reached the hanging-gardens he gave her up to the care of the +eunuch in attendance, and took his leave, not respectfully as usual, +but chuckling, rubbing his hands, and speaking in an intimate and +confidential tone: "Dream about the handsome Bartja and his Egyptian +lady-love, my white Nile-kitten! Haven't you any message for the +beautiful boy, whose love-story frightened you so terribly? Think +a little. Poor Boges will very gladly play the go-between; the poor +despised Boges wishes you so well--the humble Boges will be so sorry +when he sees the proud palm-tree from Sais cut down. Boges is a prophet; +he foretells you a speedy return home to Egypt, or a quiet bed in the +black earth in Babylon, and the kind Boges wishes you a peaceful sleep. +Farewell, my broken flower, my gay, bright viper, wounded by its own +sting, my pretty fir-cone, fallen from the tall pine-tree!" + +"How dare you speak in this impudent manner?" said the indignant +princess. + +"Thank you," answered the wretch, smiling. + +"I shall complain of your conduct," threatened Nitetis. + +"You are very amiable," answered Boges. "Go out of my sight," she cried. + +"I will obey your kind and gentle hints;" he answered softly, as if +whispering words of love into her ear. She started back in disgust and +fear at these scornful words; she saw how full of terror they were for +her, turned her back on him and went quickly into the house, but his +voice rang after her: "Don't forget my lovely queen, think of me now +and then; for everything that happens in the next few days will be a +keepsake from the poor despised Boges." + +As soon as she had disappeared he changed his tone, and commanded the +sentries in the severest and most tyrannical manner, to keep a strict +watch over the hanging-gardens. "Certain death," said he, "to whichever +of you allows any one but myself to enter these gardens. No one, +remember--no one--and least of all messengers from the queen-mother, +Atossa or any of the great people, may venture to set foot on these +steps. If Croesus or Oropastes should wish to speak to the Egyptian +Princess, refuse them decidedly. Do you understand? I repeat it, +whoever is begged or bribed into disobedience will not see the light +of to-morrow's sun. Nobody may enter these gardens without express +permission from my own mouth. I think you know me. Here, take these +gold staters, your work will be heavier now; but remember, I swear by +Plithras not to spare one of you who is careless or disobedient." + +The men made a due obeisance and determined to obey; they knew that +Boges' threats were never meant in joke, and fancied something great +must be coming to pass, as the stingy eunuch never spent his staters +without good reason. + +Boges was carried back to the banqueting-hall in the same litter, which +had brought Nitetis away. + +The king's wives had left, but the concubines were all standing in their +appointed place, singing their monotonous songs, though quite unheard by +the uproarious men. + +The drinkers had already long forgotten the fainting woman. The uproar +and confusion rose with every fresh wine-cup. They forgot the dignity +of the place where they were assembled, and the presence of their mighty +ruler. + +They shouted in their drunken joy; warriors embraced one another with +a tenderness only excited by wine, here and there a novice was carried +away in the arms of a pair of sturdy attendants, while an old hand at +the work would seize a wine-jug instead of a goblet, and drain it at a +draught amid the cheers of the lookers-on. + +The king sat on at the head of the table, pale as death, staring into +the wine-cup as if unconscious of what was going on around hint. But at +the sight of his brother his fist clenched. + +He would neither speak to him, nor answer his questions. The longer he +sat there gazing into vacancy, the firmer became his conviction that +Nitetis had deceived him,--that she had pretended to love him while her +heart really belonged to Bartja. How shamefully they had made sport of +him! How deeply rooted must have been the faithlessness of this clever +hypocrite, if the mere news that his brother loved some one else could +not only destroy all her powers of dissimulation, but actually deprive +her of consciousness! + +When Nitetis left the hall, Otanes, the father of Phaedime had called +out: "The Egyptian women seem to take great interest in the love-affairs +of their brothers-in-law. The Persian women are not so generous with +their feelings; they keep them for their husbands." + +Cambyses was too proud to let it be seen that he had heard these words; +like the ostrich, he feigned deafness and blindness in order not to seem +aware of the looks and murmurs of his guests, which all went to prove +that he had been deceived. + +Bartja could have had no share in her perfidy; she had loved this +handsome youth, and perhaps all the more because she had not been able +to hope for a return of her love. If he had had the slightest suspicion +of his brother, he would have killed him on the spot. Bartja was +certainly innocent of any share in the deception and in his brother's +misery, but still he was the cause of all; so the old grudge, which +had only just been allowed to slumber, woke again; and, as a relapse is +always more dangerous than the original illness, the newly-roused anger +was more violent than what he had formerly felt. + +He thought and thought, but he could not devise a fitting punishment for +this false woman. Her death would not content his vengeance, she must +suffer something worse than mere death! + +Should he send her back to Egypt, disgraced and shamed? Oh, no! she +loved her country, and she would be received by her parents with +open arms. Should he, after she had confessed her guilt, (for he was +determined to force a confession from her) shut her up in a solitary +dungeon? or should he deliver her over to Boges, to be the servant of +his concubines? Yes! now he had hit upon the right punishment. Thus the +faithless creature should be disciplined, and the hypocrite, who had +dared to make sport of him--the All-powerful--forced to atone for her +crimes. + +Then he said to himself: "Bartja must not stay here; fire and water +have more in common than we two--he always fortunate and happy, and I so +miserable. Some day or other his descendants will divide my treasures, +and wear my crown; but as yet I am king, and I will show that I am." + +The thought of his proud, powerful position flashed through him like +lightning. He woke from his dreams into new life, flung his golden +goblet far into the hall, so that the wine flew round like rain, and +cried: "We have had enough of this idle talk and useless noise. Let us +hold a council of war, drunken as we are, and consider what answer we +ought to give the Massagetae. Hystaspes, you are the eldest, give us +your opinion first." + + [Herod. I. 134. The Persians deliberated and resolved when they + were intoxicated, and when they were sober reconsidered their + determinations. Tacitus tells the same of the old Germans. Germ, + c. 22.] + +Hystaspes, the father of Darius, was an old man. He answered: "It seems +to me, that the messengers of this wandering tribe have left us no +choice. We cannot go to war against desert wastes; but as our host is +already under arms and our swords have lain long in their scabbards, war +we must have. We only want a few good enemies, and I know no easier work +than to make them." + +At these words the Persians broke into loud shouts of delight; but +Croesus only waited till the noise had ceased to say: "Hystaspes, you +and I are both old men; but you are a thorough Persian and fancy you can +only be happy in battle and bloodshed. You are now obliged to lean +for support on the staff, which used to be the badge of your rank as +commander, and yet you speak like a hot-blooded boy. I agree with you +that enemies are easy enough to find, but only fools go out to look for +them. The man who tries to make enemies is like a wretch who mutilates +his own body. If the enemies are there, let us go out to meet them like +wise men who wish to look misfortune boldly in the face; but let us +never try to begin an unjust war, hateful to the gods. We will wait +until wrong has been done us, and then go to victory or death, conscious +that we have right on our side." + +The old man was interrupted by a low murmur of applause, drowned however +quickly by cries of "Hystaspes is right! let us look for an enemy!" + +It was now the turn of the envoy Prexaspes to speak, and he answered +laughing: "Let us follow the advice of both these noble old men. We will +do as Croesus bids us and not go out to seek an enemy, but at the +same time we will follow Hystaspes' advice by raising our claims and +pronouncing every one our enemy, who does not cheerfully consent to +become a member of the kingdom founded by our great father Cyrus. For +instance, we will ask the Indians if they would feel proud to obey your +sceptre, Cambyses. If they answer no, it is a sign that they do not love +us, and whoever does not love us, must be our enemy." + +"That won't do," cried Zopyrus. "We must have war at any price." + +"I vote for Croesus," said Gobryas. "And I too," said the noble +Artabazus. + +"We are for Hystaspes," shouted the warrior Araspes, the old +Intaphernes, and some more of Cyrus's old companions-in-arms. + +"War we must have at any price," roared the general Megabyzus, the +father of Zopyrus, striking the table so sharply with his heavy fist, +that the golden vessels rang again, and some goblets even fell; "but not +with the Massagetac--not with a flying foe." + +"There must be no war with the Massagetae," said the high-priest +Oropastes. "The gods themselves have avenged Cyrus's death upon them." + +Cambyses sat for some moments, quietly and coldly watching the +unrestrained enthusiasm of his warriors, and then, rising from his seat, +thundered out the words: "Silence, and listen to your king!" + +The words worked like magic on this multitude of drunken men. Even those +who were most under the influence of wine, listened to their king in a +kind of unconscious obedience. He lowered his voice and went on: "I did +not ask whether you wished for peace or war--I know that every Persian +prefers the labor of war to an inglorious idleness--but I wished to know +what answer you would give the Massagetan warriors. Do you consider +that the soul of my father--of the man to whom you owe all your +greatness--has been sufficiently avenged?" + +A dull murmur in the affirmative, interrupted by some violent voices +in the negative, was the answer. The king then asked a second question: +"Shall we accept the conditions proposed by their envoys, and grant +peace to this nation, already so scourged and desolated by the gods?" To +this they all agreed eagerly. + +"That is what I wished to know," continued Cambyses. "To-morrow, when +we are sober, we will follow the old custom and reconsider what has been +resolved on during our intoxication. Drink on, all of you, as long as +the night lasts. To-morrow, at the last crow of the sacred bird Parodar, +I shall expect you to meet me for the chase, at the gate of the temple +of Bel." + +So saying, the king left the hall, followed by a thundering "Victory to +the king!" Boges had slipped out quietly before him. In the forecourt he +found one of the gardener's boys from the hanging-gardens. + +"What do you want here?" asked Boges. "I have something for the prince +Bartja." + +"For Bartja? Has he asked your master to send him some seeds or slips?" + +The boy shook his sunburnt head and smiled roguishly. + +"Some one else sent you then?" said Boges becoming more attentive. + +"Yes, some one else." + +"Ah! the Egyptian has sent a message to her brother-in-law?" + +"Who told you that?" + +"Nitetis spoke to me about it. Here, give me what you have; I will give +it to Bartja at once." + +"I was not to give it to any one but the prince himself." + +"Give it to me; it will be safer in my hands than in yours." + +"I dare not." + +"Obey me at once, or--" + +At this moment the king came up. Boges thought a moment, and then called +in a loud voice to the whip-bearers on duty at the palace-gate, to take +the astonished boy up. + +"What is the matter here?" asked Cambyses. + +"This fellow," answered the eunuch, "has had the audacity to make his +way into the palace with a message from your consort Nitetis to Bartja." + +At sight of the king, the boy had fallen on his knees, touching the +ground with his forehead. + +Cambyses looked at him and turned deadly pale. Then, turning to +the eunuch, he asked: "What does the Egyptian Princess wish from my +brother?" + +"The boy declares that he has orders to give up what has been entrusted +to him to no one but Bartja." On hearing this the boy looked imploringly +up at the king, and held out a little papyrus roll. + +Cambyses snatched it out of his hand, but the next moment stamped +furiously on the ground at seeing that the letter was written in Greek, +which he could not read. + +He collected himself, however, and, with an awful look, asked the +boy who had given him the letter. "The Egyptian lady's waiting-woman +Mandane," he answered; "the Magian's daughter." + +"For my brother Bartja?" + +"She said I was to give the letter to the handsome prince, before the +banquet, with a greeting from her mistress Nitetis, and I was to tell +him ..." + +Here the king stamped so furiously, that the boy was frightened and +could only stammer: "Before the banquet the prince was walking with +you, so I could not speak to him, and now I am waiting for him here, for +Mandane promised to give me a piece of gold if I did what she told me +cleverly." + +"And that you have not done," thundered the king, fancying himself +shamefully deceived. "No, indeed you have not. Here, guards, seize this +fellow!" + +The boy begged and prayed, but all in vain; the whip-bearers seized +him quick as thought, and Cambyses, who went off at once to his own +apartments, was soon out of reach of his whining entreaties for mercy. + +Boges followed his master, rubbing his fat hands, and laughing quietly +to himself. + +The king's attendants began their work of disrobing him, but he told +them angrily to leave him at once. As soon as they were gone, he +called Boges and said in a low voice: "From this time forward the +hanging-gardens and the Egyptian are under your control. Watch her +carefully! If a single human being or a message reaches her without my +knowledge, your life will be the forfeit." + +"But if Kassandane or Atossa should send to her?" + +"Turn the messengers away, and send word that every attempt to see or +communicate with Nitetis will be regarded by me as a personal offence." + +"May I ask a favor for myself, O King?" + +"The time is not well chosen for asking favors." + +"I feel ill. Permit some one else to take charge of the hanging-gardens +for to-morrow only." + +"No!--now leave me." + +"I am in a burning fever and have lost consciousness three times during +the day--if when I am in that state any one should..." + +"But who could take your place?" + +"The Lydian captain of the eunuchs, Kandaules. He is true as gold, and +inflexibly severe. One day of rest would restore me to health. Have +mercy, O King!" + +"No one is so badly served as the king himself. Kandaules may take your +place to-morrow, but give hum the strictest orders, and say that the +slightest neglect will put his life in danger.--Now depart." + +"Yet one word, my King: to-morrow night the rare blue lily in the +hanging-gardens will open. Hystaspes, Intaphernes, Gobyras, Croesus and +Oropastes, the greatest horticulturists at your court, would very much +like to see it. May they be allowed to visit the gardens for a few +minutes? Kandaules shall see that they enter into no communication with +the Egyptian." + +"Kandaules must keep his eyes open, if he cares for his own life.--Go!" + +Boges made a deep obeisance and left the king's apartment. He threw a +few gold pieces to the slaves who bore the torches before him. He was so +very happy. Every thing had succeeded beyond his expectations:--the fate +of Nitetis was as good as decided, and he held the life of Kandaules, +his hated colleague, in his own hands. + +Cambyses spent the night in pacing up and down his apartment. By +cock-crow he had decided that Nitetis should be forced to confess her +guilt, and then be sent into the great harem to wait on the concubines. +Bartja, the destroyer of his happiness, should set off at once for +Egypt, and on his return become the satrap of some distant provinces. He +did not wish to incur the guilt of a brother's murder, but he knew his +own temper too well not to fear that in a moment of sudden anger, he +might kill one he hated so much, and therefore wished to remove him out +of the reach of his passion. + +Two hours after the sun had risen, Cambyses was riding on his fiery +steed, far in front of a Countless train of followers armed with +shields, swords, lances, bows and lassos, in pursuit of the game which +was to be found in the immense preserves near Babylon, and was to be +started from its lair by more than a thousand dogs. + + [The same immense trains of followers of course accompanied the + kings on their hunting expeditions, as on their journeys. As the + Persian nobility were very fond of hunting, their boys were taught + this sport at an early age. According to Strabo, kings themselves + boasted of having been mighty hunters in the inscriptions on their + tombs. A relief has been found in the ruins of Persepolis, on which + the king is strangling a lion with his right arm, but this is + supposed to have a historical, not a symbolical meaning. Similar + representations occur on Assyrian monuments. Izdubar strangling a + lion and fighting with a lion (relief at Khorsabad) is admirably + copied in Delitzsch's edition of G. Smith's Chaldean Genesis. + Layard discovered some representations of hunting-scenes during his + excavations; as, for instance, stags and wild boars among the reeds; + and the Greeks often mention the immense troops of followers on + horse and foot who attended the kings of Persia when they went + hunting. According to Xenophon, Cyrop. I. 2. II. 4. every hunter + was obliged to be armed with a bow and arrows, two lances, sword and + shield. In Firdusi's Book of Kings we read that the lasso was also + a favorite weapon. Hawking was well known to the Persians more than + 900 years ago. Book of Kabus XVIII. p. 495. The boomerang was + used in catching birds as well by the Persians as by the ancient + Egyptians and the present savage tribes of New Holland.] + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +The hunt was over. Waggons full of game, amongst which were several +enormous wild boars killed by the king's own hand, were driven home +behind the sports men. At the palace-gates the latter dispersed to +their several abodes, in order to exchange the simple Persian leather +hunting-costume for the splendid Median court-dress. + +In the course of the day's sport Cambyses had (with difficulty +restraining his agitation) given his brother the seemingly kind order to +start the next day for Egypt in order to fetch Sappho and accompany +her to Persia. At the same time he assigned him the revenues of Bactra, +Rhagae and Sinope for the maintenance of his new household, and to +his young wife, all the duties levied from her native town Phocaea, as +pin-money. + +Bartja thanked his generous brother with undisguised warmth, but +Cambyses remained cold as ice, uttered a few farewell words, and then, +riding off in pursuit of a wild ass, turned his back upon him. + +On the way home from the chase the prince invited his bosom-friends +Croesus, Darius, Zopyrus and Gyges to drink a parting-cup with him. + +Croesus promised to join them later, as he had promised to visit the +blue lily at the rising of the Tistarstar. + +He had been to the hanging-gardens that morning early to visit Nitetis, +but had been refused entrance by the guards, and the blue lily seemed +now to offer him another chance of seeing and speaking to his beloved +pupil. He wished for this very much, as he could not thoroughly +understand her behavior the day before, and was uneasy at the strict +watch set over her. + +The young Achaemenidae sat cheerfully talking together in the twilight +in a shady bower in the royal gardens, cool fountains plashing round +them. Araspes, a Persian of high rank, who had been one of Cyrus's +friends, had joined them, and did full justice to the prince's excellent +wine. + +"Fortunate Bartja!" cried the old bachelor, "going out to a golden +country to fetch the woman you love; while I, miserable old fellow, am +blamed by everybody, and totter to my grave without wife or children to +weep for me and pray the gods to be merciful to my poor soul." + +"Why think of such things?" cried Zopyrus, flourishing the wine-cup. +"There's no woman so perfect that her husband does not, at least once a +day, repent that he ever took a wife. Be merry, old friend, and remember +that it's all your own fault. If you thought a wife would make you +happy, why did not you do as I have done? I am only twenty-two years old +and have five stately wives and a troop of the most beautiful slaves in +my house." + +Araspes smiled bitterly. + +"And what hinders you from marrying now?" said Gyges. "You are a +match for many a younger man in appearance, strength, courage and +perseverance. You are one of the king's nearest relations too--I tell +you, Araspes, you might have twenty young and beautiful wives." + +"Look after your own affairs," answered Araspes. "In your place, I +certainly should not have waited to marry till I was thirty." + +"An oracle has forbidden my marrying." + +"Folly? how can a sensible man care for what an oracle says? It is +only by dreams, that the gods announce the future to men. I should have +thought that your own father was example enough of the shameful way in +which those lying priests deceive their best friends." + +"That is a matter which you do not understand, Araspes." + +"And never wish to, boy, for you only believe in oracles because you +don't understand them, and in your short-sightedness call everything +that is beyond your comprehension a miracle. And you place more +confidence in anything that seems to you miraculous, than in the plain +simple truth that lies before your face. An oracle deceived your father +and plunged him into ruin, but the oracle is miraculous, and so you too, +in perfect confidence, allow it to rob you of happiness!" + +"That is blasphemy, Araspes. Are the gods to be blamed because we +misunderstand their words?" + +"Certainly: for if they wished to benefit us they would give us, with +the words, the necessary penetration for discovering their meaning. What +good does a beautiful speech do me, if it is in a foreign language that +I do not understand?" + +"Leave off this useless discussion," said Darius, "and tell us instead, +Araspes, how it is that, though you congratulate every man on becoming +a bridegroom, you yourself have so long submitted to be blamed by the +priests, slighted at all entertainments and festivals, and abused by the +women, only because you choose to live and die a bachelor?" + +Araspes looked down thoughtfully, then shook himself, took a long +draught from the wine-cup, and said, "I have my reasons, friends, but I +cannot tell them now." + +"Tell them, tell them," was the answer. + +"No, children, I cannot, indeed I cannot. This cup I drain to the +health of the charming Sappho, and this second to your good fortune, my +favorite, Darius." + +"Thanks, Araspes!" exclaimed Bartja, joyfully raising his goblet to his +lips. + +"You mean well, I know," muttered Darius, looking down gloomily. + +"What's this, you son of Hystaspes?" cried the old man, looking more +narrowly at the serious face of the youth. "Dark looks like these don't +sit well on a betrothed lover, who is to drink to the health of his +dearest one. Is not Gobryas' little daughter the noblest of all the +young Persian girls after Atossa? and isn't she beautiful?" + +"Artystone has every talent and quality that a daughter of the +Achaemenidae ought to possess," was Darius's answer, but his brow did +not clear as he said the words. + +"Well, if you want more than that, you must be very hard to please." + +Darius raised his goblet and looked down into the wine. + +"The boy is in love, as sure as my name is Araspes!" exclaimed the elder +man. + +"What a set of foolish fellows you are," broke in Zopyrus at this +exclamation. "One of you has remained a bachelor in defiance of all +Persian customs; another has been frightened out of marrying by an +oracle; Bartja has determined to be content with only one wife; and +Darius looks like a Destur chanting the funeral-service, because his +father has told him to make himself happy with the most beautiful and +aristocratic girl in Persia!" + +"Zopyrus is right," cried Araspes. "Darius is ungrateful to fortune." + +Bartja meanwhile kept his eyes fixed on the friend, who was thus blamed +by the others. He saw that their jests annoyed him, and feeling his own +great happiness doubly in that moment, pressed Darius's hand, saying: "I +am so sorry that I cannot be present at your wedding. By the time I come +back, I hope you will be reconciled to your father's choice." + +"Perhaps," said Darius, "I may be able to show a second and even a third +wife by that time." + +"'Anahita' grant it!" exclaimed Zopyrus. "The Achaemenidae would soon +become extinct, if every one were to follow such examples as Gyges and +Araspes have set us. And your one wife, Bartja, is really not worth +talking about. It is your duty to marry three wives at once, in order to +keep up your father's family--the race of Cyrus." + +"I hate our custom of marrying many wives," answered Bartja. "Through +doing this, we make ourselves inferior to the women, for we expect them +to remain faithful to us all our lives, and we, who are bound to respect +truth and faithfulness above every thing else, swear inviolable love to +one woman to-day, and to another to-morrow." + +"Nonsense!" cried Zopyrus. "I'd rather lose my tongue than tell a he to +a man, but our wives are so awfully deceitful, that one has no choice +but to pay them back in their own coin." + +"The Greek women are different," said Bartja, "because they are +differently treated. Sappho told me of one, I think her name was +Penelope, who waited twenty years faithfully and lovingly for her +husband, though every one believed he was dead, and she had fifty lovers +a day at her house." + +"My wives would not wait so long for me," said Zopyrus laughing. "To +tell the truth, I don't think I should be sorry to find an empty house, +if I came back after twenty years. For then I could take some new wives +into my harem, young and beautiful, instead of the unfaithful ones, who, +besides, would have grown old. But alas! every woman does not find some +one to run away with her, and our women would rather have an absent +husband than none at all." + +"If your wives could hear what you are saying!" said Araspes. + +"They would declare war with me at once, or, what is still worse, +conclude a peace with one another." + +"How would that be worse?" + +"How? it is easy to see, that you have had no experience." + +"Then let us into the secrets of your married life." + +"With pleasure. You can easily fancy, that five wives in one house do +not live quite so peacefully as five doves in a cage; mine at least +carry on an uninterrupted, mortal warfare. But I have accustomed myself +to that, and their sprightliness even amuses me. A year ago, however, +they came to terms with one another, and this day of peace was the most +miserable in my life." + +"You are jesting." + +"No, indeed, I am quite in earnest. The wretched eunuch who had to keep +watch over the five, allowed them to see an old jewel-merchant from +Tyre. Each of them chose a separate and expensive set of jewels. When +I came home Sudabe came up and begged for money to pay for these +ornaments. The things were too dear, and I refused. Every one of the +five then came and begged me separately for the money; I refused each of +them point blank and went off to court. When I came back, there were all +my wives weeping side by side, embracing one another and calling each +other fellow-sufferers. These former enemies rose up against me with +the most touching unanimity, and so overwhelmed me with revilings and +threats that I left the room. They closed their doors against me. The +next morning the lamentations of the evening before were continued. I +fled once more and went hunting with the king, and when I came back, +tired, hungry and half-frozen--for it was in spring, we were already at +Ecbatana, and the snow was lying an ell deep on the Orontes--there was +no fire on the hearth and nothing to eat. These noble creatures had +entered into an alliance in order to punish me, had put out the fire, +forbidden the cooks to do their duty and, which was worse than all--had +kept the jewels! No sooner had I ordered the slaves to make a fire and +prepare food, than the impudent jewel-dealer appeared and demanded +his money. I refused again, passed another solitary night, and in the +morning sacrificed ten talents for the sake of peace. Since that time +harmony and peace among my beloved wives seems to me as much to be +feared as the evil Divs themselves, and I see their little quarrels with +the greatest pleasure." + +"Poor Zopyrus!" cried Bartja. + +"Why poor?" asked this five-fold husband. "I tell you I am much happier +than you are. My wives are young and charming, and when they grow old, +what is to hinder me from taking others, still handsomer, and who, +by the side of the faded beauties, will be doubly charming. Ho! +slave--bring some lamps. The sun has gone down, and the wine loses all +its flavor when the table is not brightly lighted." + +At this moment the voice of Darius, who had left the arbor and gone out +into the garden, was heard calling: "Come and hear how beautifully the +nightingale is singing." + +"By Mithras, you son of Hystaspes, you must be in love," interrupted +Araspes. "The flowery darts of love must have entered the heart of him, +who leaves his wine to listen to the nightingale." + +"You are right there, father," cried Bartja. "Philomel, as the Greeks +call our Gulgul, is the lovers' bird among all nations, for love has +given her her beautiful song. What beauty were you dreaming of, Darius, +when you went out to listen to the nightingale?" + +"I was not dreaming of any," answered he. "You know how fond I am of +watching the stars, and the Tistar-star rose so splendidly to-night, +that I left the wine to watch it. The nightingales were singing so +loudly to one another, that if I had not wished to hear them I must have +stopped my ears." + +"You kept them wide open, however," said Araspes laughing. "Your +enraptured exclamation proved that." + +"Enough of this," cried Darius, to whom these jokes were getting +wearisome. "I really must beg you to leave off making allusions to +matters, which I do not care to hear spoken of." + +"Imprudent fellow!" whispered the older man; "now you really have +betrayed yourself. If you were not in love, you would have laughed +instead of getting angry. Still I won't go on provoking you--tell me +what you have just been reading in the stars." + +At these words Darius looked up again into the starry sky and fixed his +eyes on a bright constellation hanging over the horizon. Zopyrus +watched him and called out to his friends, "Something important must be +happening up there. Darius, tell us what's going on in the heavens just +now." + +"Nothing good," answered the other. "Bartja, I have something to say to +you alone." + +"Why to me alone? Araspes always keeps his own counsel, and from the +rest of you I never have any secrets." + +"Still--" + +"Speak out." + +"No, I wish you would come into the garden with me." + +Bartja nodded to the others, who were still sitting over their wine, +laid his hand on Darius' shoulder and went out with him into the bright +moonlight. As soon as they were alone, Darius seized both his friend's +hands, and said: "To-day is the third time that things have happened in +the heavens, which bode no good for you. Your evil star has approached +your favorable constellation so nearly, that a mere novice in astrology +could see some serious danger was at hand. Be on your guard, Bartja, and +start for Egypt to-day; the stars tell me that the danger is here on the +Euphrates, not abroad." + +"Do you believe implicitly in the stars?" + +"Implicitly. They never lie." + +"Then it would be folly to try and avoid what they have foretold." + +"Yes, no man can run away from his destiny; but that very destiny +is like a fencing-master--his favorite pupils are those who have the +courage and skill to parry his own blows. Start for Egypt to-day, +Bartja." + +"I cannot--I haven't taken leave of my mother and Atossa." + +"Send them a farewell message, and tell Croesus to explain the reason of +your starting so quickly." + +"They would call me a coward." + +"It is cowardly to yield to any mortal, but to go out of the way of +one's fate is wisdom." + +"You contradict yourself, Darius. What would the fencing-master say to a +runaway-pupil?" + +"He would rejoice in the stratagem, by which an isolated individual +tried to escape a superior force." + +"But the superior force must conquer at last.--What would be the use +of my trying to put off a danger which, you say yourself, cannot +be averted? If my tooth aches, I have it drawn at once, instead of +tormenting and making myself miserable for weeks by putting off the +painful operation as a coward or a woman would, till the last moment. +I can await this coming danger bravely, and the sooner it comes the +better, for then I shall have it behind me." + +"You do not know how serious it is." + +"Are you afraid for my life?" + +"No." + +"Then tell me, what you are afraid of." + +"That Egyptian priest with whom I used to study the stars, once cast +your horoscope with me. He knew more about the heavens, than any man I +ever saw. I learnt a great deal from him, and I will not hide from you +that even then he drew my attention to dangers that threaten you now." + +"And you did not tell me?" + +"Why should I have made you uneasy beforehand? Now that your destiny is +drawing near, I warn you." + +"Thank you,--I will be careful. In former times I should not have +listened to such a warning, but now that I love Sappho, I feel as if my +life were not so much my own to do what I like with, as it used to be." + +"I understand this feeling..." + +"You understand it? Then Araspes was right? You don't deny?" + +"A mere dream without any hope of fulfilment." + +"But what woman could refuse you?" + +"Refuse!" + +"I don't understand you. Do you mean to say that you--the boldest +sportsman, the strongest wrestler--the wisest of all the young +Persians--that you, Darius, are afraid of a woman?" + +"Bartja, may I tell you more, than I would tell even to my own father?" + +"Yes." + +"I love the daughter of Cyrus, your sister and the king's, Atossa." + +"Have I understood you rightly? you love Atossa? Be praised for this, O +ye pure Amescha cpenta! Now I shall never believe in your stars again, +for instead of the danger with which they threatened me, here comes +an unexpected happiness. Embrace me, my brother, and tell me the whole +story, that I may see whether I can help you to turn this hopeless +dream, as you call it, into a reality." + +"You will remember that before our journey to Egypt, we went with the +entire court from Ecbatana to Susa. I was in command of the division of +the 'Immortals' appointed to escort the carriages containing the king's +mother and sister, and his wives. In going through the narrow pass which +leads over the Orontes, the horses of your mother's carriage slipped. +The yoke to which the horses were harnessed broke from the pole, and +the heavy, four-wheeled carriage fell over the precipice without +obstruction. + + [There was a yoke at the end of the shaft of a Persian carriage, + which was fastened on to the backs of the horses and took the place + of our horse-collar and pole-chain.] + +On seeing it disappear, we were horrified and spurred our horses to +the place as quickly as possible. We expected of course to see only +fragments of the carriages and the dead bodies of its inmates, but the +gods had taken them into their almighty protection, and there lay the +carriage, with broken wheels, in the arms of two gigantic cypresses +which had taken firm root in the fissures of the slate rocks, and whose +dark tops reached up to the edge of the carriage-road. + +"As quick as thought I sprang from my horse and scrambled down one of +the cypresses. Your mother and sister stretched their arms to me, crying +for help. The danger was frightful, for the sides of the carriage had +been so shattered by the fall, that they threatened every moment to give +way, in which case those inside it must inevitably have fallen into +the black, unfathomable abyss which looked like an abode for the gloomy +Divs, and stretched his jaws wide to crush its beautiful victims. + +"I stood before the shattered carriage as it hung over the precipice +ready to fall to pieces every moment, and then for the first time I met +your sister's imploring look. From that moment I loved her, but at the +time I was much too intent on saving them, to think of anything else, +and had no idea what had taken place within me. I dragged the trembling +women out of the carriage, and one minute later it rolled down the abyss +crashing into a thousand pieces. I am a strong man, but I confess that +all my strength was required to keep myself and the two women from +falling over the precipice until ropes were thrown to us from above. +Atossa hung round my neck, and Kassandane lay on my breast, supported by +my left arm; with the right I fastened the rope round my waist, we were +drawn up, and I found myself a few minutes later on the high-road--your +mother and sister were saved. + +"As soon as one of the Magi had bound up the wounds cut by the rope in +my side, the king sent for me, gave me the chain I am now wearing and +the revenues of an entire satrapy, and then took me to his mother and +sister. They expressed their gratitude very warmly; Kassandane allowed +me to kiss her forehead, and gave me all the jewels she had worn at the +time of the accident, as a present for my future wife. Atossa took a +ring from her finger, put it on mine and kissed my hand in the warmth of +her emotion--you know how eager and excitable she is. Since that happy +day--the happiest in my life--I have never seen your sister, till +yesterday evening, when we sat opposite to each other at the banquet. +Our eyes met. I saw nothing but Atossa, and I think she has not +forgotten the man who saved her. Kassandane..." + +"Oh, my mother would be delighted to have you for a son-in-law; I will +answer for that. As to the king, your father must apply to him; he is +our uncle and has a right to ask the hand of Cyrus's daughter for his +son." + +"But have you forgotten your father's dream? You know that Cambyses has +always looked on me with suspicion since that time." + +"Oh, that has been long forgotten. My father dreamt before his death +that you had wings, and was misled by the soothsayers into the fancy +that you, though you were only eighteen then, would try to gain the +crown. Cambyses thought of this dream too; but, when you saved my +mother and sister, Croesus explained to him that this must have been its +fulfilment, as no one but Darius or a winged eagle could possibly have +possessed strength and dexterity enough to hang suspended over such an +abyss." + +"Yes, and I remember too that these words did not please your brother. +He chooses to be the only eagle in Persia; but Croesus does not spare +his vanity--" + +"Where can Croesus be all this time?" + +"In the hanging-gardens. My father and Gobryas have very likely detained +him." + +Just at that moment the voice of Zopyrus was heard exclaiming, "Well, +I call that polite! Bartja invites us to a wine-party and leaves us +sitting here without a host, while he talks secrets yonder." + +"We are coming, we are coming," answered Bartja. Then taking the hand of +Darius heartily, he said: "I am very glad that you love Atossa. I shall +stay here till the day after to-morrow, let the stars threaten me with +all the dangers in the world. To-morrow I will find out what Atossa +feels, and when every thing is in the right track I shall go away, and +leave my winged Darius to his own powers." + +So saying Bartja went back into the arbor, and his friend began to watch +the stars again. The longer he looked the sadder and more serious became +his face, and when the Tistar-star set, he murmured, "Poor Bartja!" His +friends called him, and he was on the point of returning to them, +when he caught sight of a new star, and began to examine its position +carefully. His serious looks gave way to a triumphant smile, his tall +figure seemed to grow taller still, he pressed his hand on his heart and +whispered: "Use your pinions, winged Darius; your star will be on your +side," and then returned to his friends. + +A few minutes after, Croesus came up to the arbor. The youths sprang +from their seats to welcome the old man, but when he saw Bartja's +face by the bright moonlight, he stood as if transfixed by a flash of +lightning. + +"What has happened, father?" asked Gyges, seizing his hand anxiously. + +"Nothing, nothing," he stammered almost inaudibly, and pushing his son +on one side, whispered in Bartja's ear: "Unhappy boy, you are still +here? don't delay any longer,--fly at once! the whip-bearers are close +at my heels, and I assure you that if you don't use the greatest speed, +you will have to forfeit your double imprudence with your life." + +"But Croesus, I have..." + +"You have set at nought the law of the land and of the court, and, in +appearance at least, have done great offence to your brother's honor. +..." + +"You are speaking..." + +"Fly, I tell you--fly at once; for if your visit to the hanging-gardens +was ever so innocently meant, you are still in the greatest danger. You +know Cambyses' violent temper so well; how could you so wickedly disobey +his express command?" + +"I don't understand." + +"No excuses,--fly! don't you know that, Cambyses has long been jealous +of you, and that your visit to the Egyptian to-night..." + +"I have never once set foot in the hanging-gardens, since Nitetis has +been here." + +"Don't add a lie to your offence, I..." + +"But I swear to you..." + +"Do you wish to turn a thoughtless act into a crime by adding the guilt +of perjury? The whip-bearers are coming, fly!" + +"I shall remain here, and abide by my oath." + +"You are infatuated! It is not an hour ago since I myself, Hystaspes, +and others of the Achaemenidae saw you in the hanging-gardens..." + +In his astonishment Bartja had, half involuntarily, allowed himself to +be led away, but when he heard this he stood still, called his friends +and said "Croesus says he met me an hour ago in the hanging-gardens, +you know that since the sun set I have not been away from you. Give your +testimony, that in this case an evil Div must have made sport of our +friend and his companions." + +"I swear to you, father," cried Gyges, "that Bartja has not left this +garden for some hours." + +"And we confirm the same," added Araspes, Zopyrus and Darius with one +voice. + +"You want to deceive me?" said Croesus getting very angry, and looking +at each of them reproachfully: "Do you fancy that I am blind or mad? +Do you think that your witness will outweigh the words of such men as +Hystaspes, Gobryas, Artaphernes and the high priest, Oropastes? In spite +of all your false testimony, which no amount of friendship can justify, +Bartja will have to die unless he flies at once." + +"May Angramainjus destroy me," said Araspes interrupting the old man, +"if Bartja was in the hanging-gardens two hours ago!" and Gyges added: + +"Don't call me your son any longer, if we have given false testimony." + +Darius was beginning to appeal to the eternal stars, but Bartja put an +end to this confusion of voices by saying in a decided tone: "A division +of the bodyguard is coming into the garden. I am to be arrested; I +cannot escape because I am innocent, and to fly would lay me open to +suspicion. By the soul of my father, the blind eyes of my mother, and +the pure light of the sun, Croesus, I swear that I am not lying." + +"Am I to believe you, in spite of my own eyes which have never yet +deceived me? But I will, boy, for I love you. I do not and I will not +know whether you are innocent or guilty, but this I do know, you must +fly, and fly at once. You know Cambyses. My carriage is waiting at the +gate. Don't spare the horses, save yourself even if you drive them to +death. The Soldiers seem to know what they have been sent to do; there +can be no question that they delay so long only in order to give their +favorite time to escape. Fly, fly, or it is all over with you." + +Darius, too, pushed his friend forward, exclaiming: "Fly, Bartja, and +remember the warning that the heavens themselves wrote in the stars for +you." + +Bartja, however, stood silent, shook his handsome head, waved his +friends back, and answered: "I never ran away yet, and I mean to hold my +ground to-day. Cowardice is worse than death in my opinion, and I would +rather suffer wrong at the hands of others than disgrace myself. There +are the soldiers! Well met, Bischen. You've come to arrest me, haven't +you? Wait one moment, till I have said good-bye to my friends." + +Bischen, the officer he spoke to, was one of Cyrus's old captains; he +had given Bartja his first lessons in shooting and throwing the spear, +had fought by his side in the war with the Tapuri, and loved him as if +he were his own son. He interrupted him, saying: "There is no need to +take leave of your friends, for the king, who is raging like a madman, +ordered me not only to arrest you, but every one else who might be with +you." + +And then he added in a low voice: "The king is beside himself with rage +and threatens to have your life. You must fly. My men will do what I +tell them blindfold; they will not pursue you; and I am so old that +it would be little loss to Persia, if my head were the price of my +disobedience." + +"Thanks, thanks, my friend," said Bartja, giving him his hand; "but I +cannot accept your offer, because I am innocent, and I know that though +Cambyses is hasty, he is not unjust. Come friends, I think the king will +give us a hearing to-day, late as it is." + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +Two hours later Bartja and his friends were standing before the king. +The gigantic man was seated on his golden throne; he was pale and his +eyes looked sunken; two physicians stood waiting behind him with all +kinds of instruments and vessels in their hands. Cambyses had, only a +few minutes before, recovered consciousness, after lying for more than +an hour in one of those awful fits, so destructive both to mind and +body, which we call epileptic. + + [The dangerous disease to which Herodotus says Cambyses had been + subject from his birth, and which was called "sacred" by some, can + scarcely be other than epilepsy. See Herod, III. 33.] + +Since Nitetis' arrival he had been free from this illness; but it had +seized him to-day with fearful violence, owing to the overpowering +mental excitement he had gone through. + +If he had met Bartja a few hours before, he would have killed him with +his own hand; but though the epileptic fit had not subdued his anger it +had at least so far quieted it, that he was in a condition to hear what +was to be said on both sides. + +At the right hand of the throne stood Hystaspes, Darius's grey-haired +father, Gobryas, his future father-in-law, the aged Intaphernes, the +grandfather of that Phaedime whose place in the king's favor had been +given to Nitetis, Oropastes the high-priest, Croesus, and behind them +Boges, the chief of the eunuchs. At its left Bartja, whose hands were +heavily fettered, Araspes, Darius, Zopyrus and Gyges. In the background +stood some hundred officials and grandees. + +After a long silence Cambyses raised his eyes, fixed a withering look +on his fettered brother, and said in a dull hollow voice: "High-priest, +tell us what awaits the man who deceives his brother, dishonors and +offends his king, and darkens his own heart by black lies." + +Oropastes came forward and answered: "As soon as such a one is proved +guilty, a death full of torment awaits him in this world, and an awful +sentence on the bridge Chinvat; for he has transgressed the highest +commands, and, by committing three crimes, has forfeited the mercy of +our law, which commands that his life shall be granted to the man who +has sinned but once, even though he be only a slave." + + [On the third day after death, at the rising of the bright sun, the + souls are conducted by the Divs to the bridge Chinvat, where they + are questioned as to their past lives and conduct. Vendid. + Fargard. XIX. 93. On that spot the two supernatural powers fight + for the soul.] + +"Then Bartja has deserved death. Lead him away, guards, and strangle +him! Take him away! Be silent, wretch! never will I listen to that +smooth, hypocritical tongue again, or look at those treacherous eyes. +They come from the Divs and delude every one with their wanton glances. +Off with him, guards!" + +Bischen, the captain, came up to obey the order, but in the same moment +Croesus threw himself at the king's feet, touched the floor with his +forehead, raised his hands and cried: "May thy days and years bring +nought but happiness and prosperity; may Auramazda pour down all +the blessings of this life upon thee, and the Amescha cpenta be the +guardians of thy throne! + + [The Amescha cpenta, "holy immortal ones," maybe compared to the + archangels of the Hebrews. They surround the throne of Auramazda + and symbolize the highest virtues. Later we find their number fixed + at six.] + +Do not close thine ear to the words of the aged, but remember that thy +father Cyrus appointed me to be thy counsellor. Thou art about to +slay thy brother; but I say unto thee, do not indulge anger; strive to +control it. It is the duty of kings and of the wise, not to act without +due enquiry. Beware of shedding a brother's blood; the smoke thereof +will rise to heaven and become a cloud that must darken the days of the +murderer, and at last cast down the lightnings of vengeance on his head. +But I know that thou desirest justice, not murder. Act then as those who +have to pronounce a sentence, and hear both sides before deciding. When +this has been done, if the criminal is proved guilty and confesses his +crime, the smoke of his blood will rise to heaven as a friendly shadow, +instead of a darkening cloud, and thou wilt have earned the fame of a +just judge instead of deserving the divine judgments." + +Cambyses listened in silence, made a sign to Bischen to retire, and +commanded Boges to repeat his accusation. + +The eunuch made an obeisance, and began: "I was ill and obliged to +leave the Egyptian and the Hanging-gardens in the care of my colleague +Kandaules, who has paid for his negligence with his life. Finding myself +better towards evening, I went up to the hanging-gardens to see if +everything was in order there, and also to look at the rare flower which +was to blossom in the night. The king, (Auramazda grant him victory!) +had commanded that the Egyptian should be more strictly watched than +usual, because she had dared to send the noble Bartja..." + +"Be silent," interrupted the king, "and keep to the matter in hand." + +"Just as the Tistar-star was rising, I came into the garden, and staid +some time there with these noble Achaemenidae, the high-priest and +the king Croesus, looking at the blue lily, which was marvellously +beautiful. I then called my colleague Kandaules and asked him, in +the presence of these noble witnesses, if everything was in order. He +affirmed that this was the case and added, that he had just come from +Nitetis, that she had wept the whole day, and neither tasted food nor +drink. Feeling anxious lest my noble mistress should become worse, I +commissioned Kandaules to fetch a physician, and was just on the point +of leaving the noble Achaemenidae, in order in person to ascertain my +mistress's state of health, when I saw in the moon-light the figure of +a man. I was so ill and weak, that I could hardly stand and had no one +near to help me, except the gardener. + +"My men were on guard at the different entrances, some distance from us. + +"I clapped my hands to call some of them, but, as they did not come, +I went nearer to the house myself, under the protection of these +noblemen.--The man was standing by the window of the Egyptian Princess's +apartment, and uttered a low whistle when he heard us coming up. +Another figure appeared directly--clearly recognizable in the bright +moonlight--sprang out of the sleeping-room window and came towards us +with her companion. + +"I could hardly believe my eyes on discovering that the intruder was no +other than the noble Bartja. A fig-tree concealed us from the fugitives, +but we could distinctly see them, as they passed us at a distance of not +more than four steps. While I was thinking whether I should be justified +in arresting a son of Cyrus, Croesus called to Bartja, and the two +figures suddenly disappeared behind a cypress. No one but your brother +himself can possibly explain the strange way in which he disappeared. +I went at once to search the house, and found the Egyptian lying +unconscious on the couch in her sleeping-room." + +Every one listened to this story in the greatest suspense. Cambyses +ground his teeth and asked in a voice of great emotion: "Can you testify +to the words of the eunuch, Hystaspes?" + +"Yes." + +"Why did you not lay hands on the offender?" + +"We are soldiers, not policemen." + +"Or rather you care for every knave more than for your king." + +"We honor our king, and abhor the criminal just as we formerly loved the +innocent son of Cyrus." + +"Did you recognize Bartja distinctly?" + +"Yes." + +"And you, Croesus, can you too give no other answer?" + +"No! I fancied I saw your brother in the moonlight then, as clearly as I +see him now; but I believe we must have been deceived by some remarkable +likeness." Boges grew pale at these words; Cambyses, however, shook his +head as if the idea did not please him, and said: "Whom am I to believe +then, if the eyes of my best warriors fail them? and who would wish to +be a judge, if testimony such as yours is not to be considered valid?" + +"Evidence quite as weighty as ours, will prove that we must have been in +error." + +"Will any one dare to give evidence in favor of such an outrageous +criminal?" asked Cambyses, springing up and stamping his foot. + +"We will," "I," "we," shouted Araspes, Darius, Gyges and Zopyrus with +one voice. + +"Traitors, knaves!" cried the king. But as he caught sight of Croesus' +warning eye fixed upon him, he lowered his voice, and said: "What have +you to bring forward in favor of this fellow? Take care what you say, +and consider well what punishment awaits perjurers." + +"We know that well enough," said Araspes, "and yet we are ready to swear +by Mithras, that we have not left Bartja or his garden one moment since +we came back from hunting." + +"As for me," said Darius, "I, the son of Hystaspes, have especially +convincing evidence to give in favor of your brother's innocence; I +watched the rising of the Tistar-star with him; and this, according to +Boges, was the very star that shone on his flight." + +Hystaspes gazed on his son in astonishment and doubt at hearing these +words, and Cambyses turned a scrutinizing eye first on the one and then +on the other party of these strange witnesses, who wished so much, and +yet found it so impossible, to believe one another, himself unable to +come to a decision. + +Bartja, who till now had remained perfectly silent, looking down sadly +at his chained hands, took advantage of the silence to say, making at +the same time a deep obeisance: "May I be allowed to speak a few words, +my King?" + +"Speak!" + +"From our father we learnt to strive after that which was pure and good +only; so up to this time my life has been unstained. If you have ever +known me take part in an evil deed, you have a right not to believe me, +but if you find no fault in me then trust to what I say, and remember +that a son of Cyrus would rather die than tell a lie. I confess that +no judge was ever placed in such a perplexing position. The best men in +your kingdom testify against one another, friend against friend, father +against son. But I tell you that were the entire Persian nation to rise +up against you, and swear that Cambyses had committed this or that evil +deed, and you were to say, 'I did not commit it,' I, Bartja, would give +all Persia the lie and exclaim, 'Ye are all false witnesses; sooner +could the sea cast up fire than a son of Cyrus allow his mouth to deal +in lies.' No, Cambyses, you and I are so high-born that no one but +yourself can bear evidence against me; and you can only be judged out of +your own mouth." + +Cambyses' looks grew a little milder on hearing these words, and his +brother went on: "So I swear to you by Mithras, and by all pure spirits, +that I am innocent. May my life become extinct and my race perish from +off the earth, if I tell you a lie, when I say that I have not once set +foot in the hanging-gardens since my return!" + +Bartja's voice was so firm and his tone so full of assurance, as he +uttered this oath that Cambyses ordered his chains to be loosened, and, +after a few moments' thought, said: "I should like to believe you, for +I cannot bear to imagine you the worst and most abandoned of men. +To-morrow we will summon the astrologers, soothsayers and priests. +Perhaps they may be able to discover the truth. Can you see any light in +this darkness, Oropastes?" + +"Thy servant supposes, that a Div has taken upon him the form of Bartja, +in order to ruin the king's brother and stain thine own royal soul with +the blood of thy father's son." + +Cambyses and every one present nodded their assent to this proposition, +and the king was just going to offer his hand to Bartja, when a +staff-bearer came in and gave the king a dagger. A eunuch had found it +under the windows of Nitetis' sleeping-apartment. + +Cambyses examined the weapon carefully. Its costly hilt was thickly set +with rubies and turquoises. As he looked he turned pale, and dashed the +dagger on the ground before Bartja with such violence, that the stones +fell out of their setting. + +"This is your dagger, you wretch!" he shrieked, seized by the same +violent passion as before. "This very morning you used it to give the +last thrust to the wild boar, that I had mortally wounded. Croesus, you +ought to know it too, for my father brought it from your treasure-house +at Sardis. At last you are really convicted, you liar!--you impostor! +The Divs require no weapons, and such a dagger as this is not to be +picked up everywhere. Ah, ha! you are feeling in your girdle! You may +well turn pale; your dagger is gone!" + +"Yes, it is gone. I must have lost it, and some enemy..." + +"Seize him, Bischen, put on his fetters! Take him to prison--the +traitor, the perjurer! He shall be strangled to-morrow. Death is the +penalty of perjury. Your heads for theirs, you guards, if they escape. +Not one word more will I hear; away with you, you perjured villains! +Boges, go at once to the hanging-gardens and bring the Egyptian to me. +Yet no, I won't see that serpent again. It is very near dawn now, and at +noon she shall be flogged through the streets. Then I'll..." + +But here he was stopped by another fit of epilepsy, and sank down on to +the marble floor in convulsions. At this fearful moment Kassandane was +led into the hall by the old general Megabyzus. The news of what +had happened had found its way to her solitary apartments, and, +notwithstanding the hour, she had risen in order to try and discover +the truth and warn her son against pronouncing a too hasty decision. She +believed firmly that Bartja and Nitetis were innocent, though she could +not explain to herself what had happened. Several times she had tried +to put herself in communication with Nitetis, but without avail. At last +she had been herself to the hanging-gardens, but the guards had actually +had the hardihood to refuse her admission. + +Croesus went at once to meet her, told her what had happened, +suppressing as many painful details as possible, confirmed her in her +belief of the innocence of the accused, and then took her to the bedside +of the king. + +The convulsions had not lasted long this time. He lay on his golden bed +under purple silk coverlets, pale and exhausted. His blind mother seated +herself at his side, Croesus and Oropastes took their station at the +foot of the bell, and in another part of the room, four physicians +discussed the patient's condition in low whispers. + + [It was natural, that medicine should be carefully studied among a + people who set such a high value upon life as did the Persians. + Pliny indeed, (XXX. I.) maintains, that the whole of Zoroaster's + religion was founded on the science of medicine, and it is true that + there are a great many medical directions to be found in the Avesta. + In the Vendidad, Farg. VII. there is a detailed list of medical + fees. "The physician shall treat a priest for a pious blessing or + spell, the master of a house for a small draught animal, etc., the + lord of a district for a team of four oxen. If the physician cures + the mistress of the house, a female ass shall be his fee, etc., + etc." We read in the same Fargard, that the physician had to pass a + kind of examination. If he had operated thrice successfully on bad + men, on whose bodies he had been permitted to try his skill, he was + pronounced "capable for ever." If, on the other hand, three evil + Daevayacna (worshippers of the Divs) died under his hands, he was + pronounced "incapable of healing for evermore."] + +Kassandane was very gentle with her son; she begged him not to yield to +passionate anger, and to remember what a sad effect every such outburst +had on his health. + +"Yes, mother, you are right," answered the king, smiling bitterly; "I +see that I must get rid of everything that rouses my anger. The Egyptian +must die, and my perfidious brother shall follow his mistress." + +Kassandane used all her eloquence to convince him of the innocence of +the accused, and to pacify his anger, but neither prayers, tears, nor +her motherly exhortations, could in the least alter his resolution to +rid himself of these murderers of his happiness and peace. + +At last he interrupted her lamentations by saying: "I feel fearfully +exhausted; I cannot bear these sobs and lamentations any longer. Nitetis +has been proved guilty. A man was seen to leave her sleeping-apartment +in the night, and that man was not a thief, but the handsomest man +in Persia, and one to whom she had dared to send a letter yesterday +evening." + +"Do you know the contents of that letter?" asked Croesus, coming up to +the bed. + +"No; it was written in Greek. The faithless creature made use of +characters, which no one at this court can read." + +"Will you permit me to translate the letter?" Cambyses pointed to a +small ivory box in which the ominous piece of writing lay, saying: +"There it is; read it; but do not hide or alter a single word, for +to-morrow I shall have it read over again by one of the merchants from +Sinope." + +Croesus' hopes revived; he seemed to breathe again as he took the +paper. But when he had read it over, his eyes filled with tears and he +murmured: "The fable of Pandora is only too true; I dare not be angry +any longer with those poets who have written severely against women. +Alas, they are all false and faithless! O Kassandane, how the Gods +deceive us! they grant us the gift of old age, only to strip us bare +like trees in winter, and show us that all our fancied gold was dross +and all our pleasant and refreshing drinks poison!" + +Kassandane wept aloud and tore her costly robes; but Cambyses clenched +his fist while Croesus was reading the following words: + +"Nitetis, daughter of Amasis of Egypt, to Bartja, son of the great +Cyrus: + +"I have something important to tell you; I can tell it to no one but +yourself. To-morrow I hope I shall meet you in your mother's apartments. +It lies in your power to comfort a sad and loving heart, and to give it +one happy moment before death. I have a great deal to tell you, and some +very sad news; I repeat that I must see you soon." + +The desperate laughter, which burst from her son cut his mother to the +heart. She stooped down and was going to kiss him, but Cambyses resisted +her caresses, saying: "It is rather a doubtful honor, mother, to be +one of your favorites. Bartja did not wait to be sent for twice by that +treacherous woman, and has disgraced himself by swearing falsely. His +friends, the flower of our young men, have covered themselves with +indelible infamy for his sake; and through him, your best beloved +daughter... but no! Bartja had no share in the corruption of that fiend +in Peri's form. Her life was made up of hypocrisy and deceit, and her +death shall prove that I know how to punish. Now leave me, for I must be +alone." + +They had scarcely left the room, when he sprang up and paced backwards +and forwards like a madman, till the first crow of the sacred bird +Parodar. When the sun had risen, he threw himself on his bed again, and +fell into a sleep that was like a swoon. + +Meanwhile Bartja had written Sappho a farewell letter, and was sitting +over the wine with his fellow-prisoners and their elder friend Araspes. +"Let us be merry," said Zopyrus, "for I believe it will soon be up with +all our merriment. I would lay my life, that we are all of us dead by +to-morrow. Pity that men haven't got more than one neck; if we'd two, +I would not mind wagering a gold piece or two on the chance of our +remaining alive." + +"Zopyrus is quite right," said Araspes; "we will make merry and keep our +eyes open; who knows how soon they may be closed for ever?" + +"No one need be sad who goes to his death as innocently as we do," said +Gyges. "Here, cup-bearer, fill my goblet!" + +"Ah! Bartja and Darius!" cried Zopyrus, seeing the two speaking in a +low voice together, "there you are at your secrets again. Come to us and +pass the wine-cup. By Mithras, I can truly say I never wished for death, +but now I quite look forward to the black Azis, because he is going to +take us all together. Zopyrus would rather die with his friends, than +live without them." + +"But the great point is to try and explain what has really happened," +said Darius. + +"It's all the same to me," said Zopyrus, "whether I die with or without +an explanation, so long as I know I am innocent and have not deserved +the punishment of perjury. Try and get us some golden goblets, Bischen; +the wine has no flavor out of these miserable brass mugs. Cambyses +surely would not wish us to suffer from poverty in our last hours, +though he does forbid our fathers and friends to visit us." + +"It's not the metal that the cup is made of," said Bartja, "but the +wormwood of death, that gives the wine its bitter taste." + +"No, really, you're quite out there," exclaimed Zopyrus. "Why I had +nearly forgotten that strangling generally causes death." As he said +this, he touched Gyges and whispered: "Be as cheerful as you can! don't +you see that it's very hard for Bartja to take leave of this world? What +were you saying, Darius?" + +"That I thought Oropastes' idea the only admissible one, that a Div had +taken the likeness of Bartja and visited the Egyptian in order to ruin +us." + +"Folly! I don't believe in such things." + +"But don't you remember the legend of the Div, who took the beautiful +form of a minstrel and appeared before king Kawus?" + +"Of course," cried Araspes. "Cyrus had this legend so often recited at +the banquets, that I know it by heart. + +"Kai Kawus hearkened to the words of the disguised Div and went to +Masenderan, and was beaten there by the Divs and deprived of his +eyesight." + +"But," broke in Darius, "Rustem, the great hero, came and conquered +Erscheng and the other bad spirits, freed the captives and restored +sight to the blind, by dropping the blood of the slaughtered Divs into +their eyes. And so it will be with us, my friends! We shall be set free, +and the eyes of Cambyses and of our blind and infatuated fathers will +be opened to see our innocence. Listen, Bischen; if we really should be +executed, go to the Magi, the Chaldwans, and Nebenchari the Egyptian, +and tell them they had better not study the stars any longer, for that +those very stars had proved themselves liars and deceivers to Darius." + +"Yes," interrupted Araspes, "I always said that dreams were the only +real prophecies. Before Abradatas fell in the battle of Sardis, the +peerless Panthea dreamt that she saw him pierced by a Lydian arrow." + +"You cruel fellow!" exclaimed Zopyrus. "Why do you remind us, that it is +much more glorious to die in battle than to have our necks wrung off?" + +"Quite right," answered the elder man; "I confess that I have seen many +a death, which I should prefer to our own,--indeed to life itself. Ah, +boys, there was a time when things went better than they do now." + +"Tell us something about those times." + +"And tell us why you never married. It won't matter to you in the next +world, if we do let out your secret." + +"There's no secret; any of your own fathers could tell you what you want +to hear from me. Listen then. When I was young, I used to amuse myself +with women, but I laughed at the idea of love. It occurred, however, +that Panthea, the most beautiful of all women, fell into our hands, +and Cyrus gave her into my charge, because I had always boasted that my +heart was invulnerable. I saw her everyday, and learnt, my friends, that +love is stronger than a man's will. However, she refused all my offers, +induced Cyrus to remove me from my office near her, and to accept her +husband Abradatas as an ally. When her handsome husband went out to the +war, this high-minded, faithful woman decked him out with all her own +jewels and told him that the noble conduct of Cyrus, in treating her +like a sister, when she was his captive, could only be repaid by the +most devoted friendship and heroic courage. Abradatas agreed with her, +fought for Cyrus like a lion, and fell. Panthea killed herself by his +dead body. Her servants, on hearing of this, put an end to their own +lives too at the grave of this best of mistresses. Cyrus shed tears over +this noble pair, and had a stone set up to their memory, which you can +see near Sardis. On it are the simple words: 'To Panthea, Abradatas, and +the most faithful of servants.' You see, children, the man who had loved +such a woman could never care for another." + +The young men listened in silence, and remained some time after Araspes +had finished, without uttering a word. At last Bartja raised his hands +to heaven and cried: "O thou great Auramazda! why dost thou not grant +us a glorious end like Abradatas? Why must we die a shameful death like +murderers?" + +As he said this Croesus came in, fettered and led by whip-bearers. The +friends rushed to him with a storm of questions, and Bartja too went up +to embrace the man who had been so long his tutor and guide. But the old +man's cheerful face was severe and serious, and his eyes, generally so +mild, had a gloomy, almost threatening, expression. He waved the prince +coldly back, saying, in a voice which trembled with pain and reproach: +"Let my hand go, you infatuated boy! you are not worth all the love I +have hitherto felt for you. You have deceived your brother in a fourfold +manner, duped your friends, betrayed that poor child who is waiting for +you in Naukratis, and poisoned the heart of Amasis' unhappy daughter." + +Bartja listened calmly till he heard the word "deceived"; then his +hand clenched, and stamping his foot, he cried: "But for your age and +infirmities, and the gratitude I owe you, old man, these slanderous +words would be your last." + +Croesus beard this outbreak of just indignation unmoved, and answered: +"This foolish rage proves that you and Cambyses have the same blood in +your veins. It would become you much better to repent of your crimes, +and beg your old friend's forgiveness, instead of adding ingratitude to +the unheard-of baseness of your other deeds." + +At these words Bartja's anger gave way. His clenched hands sank down +powerless at his side, and his cheeks became pale as death. + +These signs of sorrow softened the old man's indignation. His love was +strong enough to embrace the guilty as well as the innocent Bartja, and +taking the young man's right hand in both his own, he looked at him as +a father would who finds his son, wounded on the battle-field, and said: +"Tell me, my poor, infatuated boy, how was it that your pure heart fell +away so quickly to the evil powers?" + +Bartja shuddered. The blood came back to his face, but these words +cut him to the heart. For the first time in his life his belief in the +justice of the gods forsook him. + +He called himself the victim of a cruel, inexorable fate, and felt +like a bunted animal driven to its last gasp and hearing the dogs and +sportsmen fast coming nearer. He had a sensitive, childlike nature, +which did not yet know how to meet the hard strokes of fate. His body +and his physical courage had been hardened against bodily and physical +enemies; but his teachers had never told him how to meet a hard lot in +life; for Cambyses and Bartja seemed destined only to drink out of the +cup of happiness and joy. + +Zopyrus could not bear to see his friend in tears. He reproached the +old man angrily with being unjust and severe. Gyges' looks were full +of entreaty, and Araspes stationed himself between the old man and the +youth, as if to ward off the blame of the elder from cutting deeper into +the sad and grieved heart of the younger man. Darius, however, after +having watched them for some time, came up with quiet deliberation to +Croesus, and said: "You continue to distress and offend one another, and +yet the accused does not seem to know with what offence he is charged, +nor will the accuser hearken to his defence. Tell us, Croesus, by the +friendship which has subsisted between us up to this clay, what has +induced you to judge Bartja so harshly, when only a short time ago you +believed in his innocence?" + +The old man told at once what Darius desired to know--that he had seen +a letter, written in Nitetis' own hand, in which she made a direct +confession of her love to Bartja and asked him to meet her alone. The +testimony of his own eyes and of the first men in the realm, nay, even +the dagger found under Nitetis' windows, had not been able to convince +him that his favorite was guilty; but this letter had gone like a +burning flash into his heart and destroyed the last remnant of his +belief in the virtue and purity of woman. + +"I left the king," he concluded, "perfectly convinced that a sinful +intimacy must subsist between your friend and the Egyptian Princess, +whose heart I had believed to be a mirror for goodness and beauty alone. +Can you find fault with me for blaming him who so shamefully stained +this clear mirror, and with it his own not less spotless soul?" + +"But how can I prove my innocence?" cried Bartja, wringing his hands. +"If you loved me you would believe me; if you really cared for me.... " + +"My boy! in trying to save your life only a few minutes ago, I forfeited +my own. When I heard that Cambyses had really resolved on your death, I +hastened to him with a storm of entreaties; but these were of no avail, +and then I was presumptuous enough to reproach him bitterly in his +irritated state of mind. The weak thread of his patience broke, and in +a fearful passion he commanded the guards to behead me at once. I was +seized directly by Giv, one of the whip-bearers; but as the man is +under obligations to me, he granted me my life until this morning, and +promised to conceal the postponement of the execution. I am glad, my +sons, that I shall not outlive you, and shall die an innocent man by the +side of the guilty." + +These last words roused another storm of contradiction. + +Again Darius remained calm and quiet in the midst of the tumult. He +repeated once more the story of the whole evening exactly, to prove +that it was impossible Bartja could have committed the crime laid to his +charge. He then called on the accused himself to answer the charge of +disloyalty and perfidy. Bartja rejected the idea of an understanding +with Nitetis in such short, decided, and convincing words, and confirmed +his assertion with such a fearful oath, that Croesus' persuasion of his +guilt first wavered, then vanished, and when Bartja had ended, he drew +a deep breath, like a man delivered from a heavy burden, and clasped him +in his arms. + +But with all their efforts they could come to no explanation of what +had really happened. In one thing, however, they were all agreed: that +Nitetis loved Bartja and had written the letter with a wrong intention. + +"No one who saw her," cried Darius, "when Cambyses announced that Bartja +had chosen a wife, could doubt for a moment that she was in love with +him. When she let the goblet fall, I heard Phaedime's father say that +the Egyptian women seemed to take a great interest in the affairs of +their brothers-in-law." + +While they were talking, the sun rose and shone pleasantly into the +prisoners' room. + +"Bartja," murmured Mithras, "means to make our parting difficult." + +"No," answered Croesus, "he only means to light us kindly on our way +into eternity." + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +The innocent originator of all this complicated misery had passed many +a wretched hour since the birthday banquet. Since those harsh words with +which Cambyses had sent her from the hall, not the smallest fragment of +news had reached her concerning either her angry lover, or his mother +and sister. Not a day had passed since her arrival in Babylon, that had +not been spent with Kassandane and Atossa; but now, on her desiring to +be carried to them, that she might explain her strange conduct, her +new guard, Kandaules, forbade her abruptly to leave the house. She had +thought that a free and full account of the contents of her letter from +home, would clear up all these misunderstandings. She fancied she saw +Cambyses holding out his hand as if to ask forgiveness for his hastiness +and foolish jealousy. And then a joyful feeling stole into her mind +as she remembered a sentence she had once heard Ibykus say: "As fever +attacks a strong man more violently than one of weaker constitution; so +a heart that loves strongly and deeply can be far more awfully tormented +by jealousy, than one which has been only superficially seized by +passion." + +If this great connoisseur in love were right, Cambyses must love her +passionately, or his jealousy could not have caught fire so quickly and +fearfully. Sad thoughts about her home, however, and dark forebodings +of the future would mix with this confidence in Cambyses' love, and she +could not shut them out. Mid-day came, the sun stood high and burning in +the sky, but no news came from those she loved so well; and a feverish +restlessness seized her which increased as night came on. In the +twilight Boges came to her, and told her, with bitter scorn, that her +letter to Bartja had come into the king's hands, and that the gardener's +boy who brought it had been executed. The tortured nerves of the +princess could not resist this fresh blow, and before Boges left, he +carried the poor girl senseless into her sleeping-room, the door of +which he barred carefully. + +A few minutes later, two men, one old, the other young, came up through +the trap-door which Boges had examined so carefully two days before. The +old man remained outside, crouching against the palace, wall; a hand +was seen to beckon from the window: the youth obeyed the signal, swung +himself over the ledge and into the room at a bound. Then words of love +were exchanged, the names Gaumata and Mandane whispered softly, kisses +and vows given and received. At last the old man clapped his hands. +The youth obeyed, kissed and embraced Nitetis' waiting-maid once more, +jumped out of the window into the garden, hurried past the admirers of +the blue lily who were just coming up, slipped with his companion +into the trap-door which had been kept open, closed it carefully, and +vanished. + +Mandane hurried to the room in which her mistress generally spent the +evening. She was well acquainted with her habits and knew that every +evening, when the stars had risen, Nitetis was accustomed to go to the +window looking towards the Euphrates, and spend hours gazing into the +river and over the plain; and that at that time she never needed her +attendance. So she felt quite safe from fear of discovery in this +quarter, and knowing she was under the protection of the chief of the +eunuchs himself, could wait for her lover calmly. + +But scarcely had she discovered that her mistress had fainted, when +she heard the garden filling with people, a confused sound of men's +and eunuchs' voices, and the notes of the trumpet used to summon the +sentries. At first she was frightened and fancied her lover had been +discovered, but Boges appearing and whispering: "He has escaped safely," +she at once ordered the other attendants, whom she had banished to the +women's apartments during her rendezvous, and who now came flocking +back, to carry their mistress into her sleeping-room, and then began +using all the remedies she knew of, to restore her to consciousness. +Nitetis had scarcely opened her eyes when Boges came in, followed by two +eunuchs, whom he ordered to load her delicate arms with fetters. + +Nitetis submitted; she could not utter one word, not even when Boges +called out as he was leaving the room: "Make yourself happy in your +cage, my little imprisoned bird. They've just been telling your lord +that a royal marten has been making merry in your dove-cote. Farewell, +and think of the poor tormented Boges in this tremendous heat, when you +feel the cool damp earth. Yes, my little bird, death teaches us to know +our real friends, and so I won't have you buried in a coarse linen sack, +but in a soft silk shawl. Farewell, my darling!" + +The poor, heavily-afflicted girl trembled at these words, and when the +eunuch was gone, begged Mandane to tell her what it all meant. The +girl, instructed by Boges, said that Bartja had stolen secretly into the +hanging-gardens, and had been seen by several of the Achaemenidae as he +was on the point of getting in at one of the windows. The king had been +told of his brother's treachery, and people were afraid his jealousy +might have fearful consequences. The frivolous girl shed abundant tears +of penitence while she was telling the story, and Nitetis, fancying this +a proof of sincere love and sympathy, felt cheered. + +When it was over, however, she looked down at her fetters in despair, +and it was long before she could think of her dreadful position quietly. +Then she read her letter from home again, wrote the words, "I am +innocent," and told the sobbing girl to give the little note containing +them to the king's mother after her own death, together with her letter +from home. After doing this she passed a wakeful night which seemed as +if it would never end. She remembered that in her box of ointments there +was a specific for improving the complexion, which, if swallowed in +a sufficiently large quantity, would cause death. She had this poison +brought to her, and resolved calmly and deliberately, to take her own +life directly the executioner should draw near. From that moment she +took pleasure in thinking of her last hour, and said to herself: "It is +true he causes my death; but he does it out of love." Then she thought +she would write to him, and confess all her love. He should not receive +the letter until she was dead, that he might not think she had written +it to save her life. The hope that this strong, inflexible man might +perhaps shed tears over her last words of love filled her with intense +pleasure. + +In spite of her heavy fetters, she managed to write the following words: +"Cambyses will not receive this letter until I am dead. It is to tell +him that I love him more than the gods, the world, yes, more than my own +young life. Kassandane and Atossa must think of me kindly. They will see +from my mother's letter that I am innocent, and that it was only for my +poor sister's sake that I asked to see Bartja. Boges has told me that my +death has been resolved upon. When the executioner approaches, I shall +kill myself. I commit this crime against myself, Cambyses, to save you +from doing a disgraceful deed." + +This note and her mother's she gave to the weeping Mandane, and begged +her to give both to Cambyses when she was gone. She then fell on her +knees and prayed to the gods of her fathers to forgive her for her +apostasy from them. + +Mandane begged her to remember her weakness and take some rest, but +she answered: "I do not need any sleep, because, you know, I have such +little waking-time still left me." + +As she went on praying and singing her old Egyptian hymns, her heart +returned more and more to the gods of her fathers, whom she had denied +after such a short struggle. In almost all the prayers with which she +was acquainted, there was a reference to the life after death. In the +nether world, the kingdom of Osiris, where the forty-two judges of +the dead pronounce sentence on the worth of the soul after it has been +weighed by the goddess of truth and Thoth, who holds the office of +writer in heaven, she could hope to meet her dear ones again, but only +in case her unjustified soul were not obliged to enter on the career of +transmigration through the bodies of different animals, and her body, to +whom the soul had been entrusted, remained in a state of preservation. +This, "if" filled her with a feverish restlessness. The doctrine that +the well-being of the soul depended on the preservation of the earthly +part of every human being left behind at death, had been impressed on +her from childhood. She believed in this error, which had built pyramids +and excavated rocks, and trembled at the thought that, according to the +Persian custom, her body would be thrown to the dogs and birds of prey, +and so given up to the powers of destruction, that her soul must be +deprived of every hope of eternal life. Then the thought came to her, +should she prove unfaithful to the gods of her fathers again, and once +more fall down before these new spirits of light, who gave the dead body +over to the elements and only judged the soul? And so she raised her +hands to the great and glorious sun, who with his golden sword-like rays +was just dispersing the mists that hung over the Euphrates, and opened +her lips to sing her newly-learnt hymns in praise of Mithras; but her +voice failed her, instead of Mithras she could only see her own great +Ra, the god she had so often worshipped in Egypt, and instead of a +Magian hymn could only sing the one with which the Egyptian priests are +accustomed to greet the rising sun. + +This hymn brought comfort with it, and as she gazed on the young light, +the rays of which were not yet strong enough to dazzle her, she thought +of her childhood, and the tears gathered in her eyes. Then she looked +down over the broad plain. There was the Euphrates with his yellow waves +looking so like the Nile; the many villages, just as in her own +home, peeping out from among luxuriant cornfields and plantations of +fig-trees. To the west lay the royal hunting-park; she could see its +tall cypresses and nut-trees miles away in the distance. The dew was +glistening on every little leaf and blade of grass, and the birds sang +deliciously in the shrubberies round her dwelling. Now and then a gentle +breath of wind arose, carrying the sweet scent of the roses across to +her, and playing in the tops of the slender, graceful palms which grew +in numbers on the banks of the river and in the fields around. + +She had so often admired these beautiful trees, and compared them to +dancing-girls, as she watched the wind seizing their heavy tops and +swaying the slender stems backwards and forwards. And she had often said +to herself that here must be the home of the Phoenix, that wonderful +bird from the land of palms, who, the priests said, came once in every +five hundred years to the temple of Ra in Heliopolis and burnt himself +in the sacred incense-flames, only to rise again from his own ashes more +beautiful than before, and, after three days, to fly back again to his +home in the East. While she was thinking of this bird, and wishing that +she too might rise again from the ashes of her unhappiness to a new and +still more glorious joy, a large bird with brilliant plumage rose out of +the dark cypresses, which concealed the palace of the man she loved and +who had made her so miserable, and flew towards her. It rose higher and +higher, and at last settled on a palmtree close to her window. She had +never seen such a bird before, and thought it could not possibly be a +usual one, for a little gold chain was fastened to its foot, and its +tail seemed made of sunbeams instead of feathers. It must be Benno, the +bird of Ra! She fell on her knees again and sang with deep reverence +the ancient hymn to the Phoenix, never once turning her eyes from the +brilliant bird. + +The bird listened to her singing, bending his little head with its +waving plumes, wisely and inquisitively from side to side, and flew +away directly she ceased. Nitetis looked after him with a smile. It was +really only a bird of paradise that had broken the chain by which he had +been fastened to a tree in the park, but to her he was the Phoenix. A +strange certainty of deliverance filled her heart; she thought the god +Ra had sent the bird to her, and that as a happy spirit she should take +that form. So long as we are able to hope and wish, we can bear a great +deal of sorrow; if the wished-for happiness does not come, anticipation +is at least prolonged and has its own peculiar sweetness. This feeling +is of itself enough, and contains a kind of enjoyment which can take the +place of reality. Though she was so weary, yet she lay down on her couch +with fresh hopes, and fell into a dreamless sleep almost against her +will, without having touched the poison. + +The rising sun generally gives comfort to sad hearts who have passed the +night in weeping, but to a guilty conscience, which longs for darkness, +his pure light is an unwelcome guest. While Nitetis slept, Mandane lay +awake, tormented by fearful remorse. How gladly she would have held +back the sun which was bringing on the day of death to this kindest of +mistresses, and have spent the rest of her own life in perpetual night, +if only her yesterday's deed could but have been undone! + +The good-natured, thoughtless girl called herself a wretched murderess +unceasingly, resolved again and again to confess the whole truth and so +to save Nitetis; but love of life and fear of death gained the victory +over her weak heart every time. To confess was certain death, and she +felt as if she had been made for life; she had so many hopes for the +future, and the grave seemed so dreadful. She thought she could perhaps +have confessed the whole truth, if perpetual imprisonment had been +all she had to fear; but death! no, she could not resolve on that. And +besides, would her confession really save the already condemned Nitetis? + +Had she not sent a message to Bartja herself by that unfortunate +gardener's boy? This secret correspondence had been discovered, and that +was enough of itself to ruin Nitetis, even if she, Mandane, had done +nothing in the matter. We are never so clever as when we have to find +excuses for our own sins. + +At sunrise, Mandane was kneeling by her mistress's couch, weeping +bitterly and wondering that Nitetis could sleep so calmly. + +Boges, the eunuch, had passed a sleepless night too, but a very happy +one. His hated colleague, Kandaules, whom he had used as a substitute +for himself, had been already executed, by the king's command, for +negligence, and on the supposition that he had accepted a bribe; Nitetis +was not only ruined, but certain to die a shameful death. The influence +of the king's mother had suffered a severe shock; and lastly, he had +the pleasure of knowing, not only that he had outwitted every one and +succeeded in all his plans, but that through his favorite Phaedime he +might hope once more to become the all-powerful favorite of former days. +That sentence of death had been pronounced on Croesus and the young +heroes, was by no means an unwelcome thought either, as they might have +been instrumental in bringing his intrigues to light. + +In the grey of the morning he left the king's apartment and went to +Phaedime. The proud Persian had taken no rest. She was waiting for him +with feverish anxiety, as a rumor of all that had happened had already +reached the harem and penetrated to her apartments. She was lying on +a purple couch in her dressing-room; a thin silken chemise and yellow +slippers thickly sown with turquoises and pearls composed her entire +dress. Twenty attendants were standing round her, but the moment +she heard Boges she sent her slaves away, sprang up to meet him, and +overwhelmed him with a stream of incoherent questions, all referring to +her enemy Nitetis. + +"Gently, gently, my little bird," said Boges, laying his hand on her +shoulder. "If you can't make up your mind to be as quiet as a little +mouse while I tell my story, and not to ask one question, you won't hear +a syllable of it to-day. Yes, indeed, my golden queen, I've so much +to tell that I shall not have finished till to-morrow, if you are to +interrupt me as often as you like. Ah, my little lamb, and I've still so +much to do to-day. First I must be present at an Egyptian donkey-ride; +secondly, I must witness an Egyptian execution... but I see I am +anticipating my story; I must begin at the beginning. I'll allow you to +cry, laugh and scream for joy as much as you will, but you're forbidden +to ask a single question until I have finished. I think really I have +deserved these caresses. There, now I am quite at my ease, and can +begin. Once upon a time there was a great king in Persia, who had many +wives, but he loved Phaedime better than the rest, and set her above +all the others. One day the thought struck him that he would ask for the +hand of the King of Egypt's daughter in marriage, and he sent a great +embassy to Sais, with his own brother to do the wooing for him--" + +"What nonsense!" cried Phaedime impatiently; "I want to know what has +happened now." + +"Patience, patience, my impetuous March wind. If you interrupt me again, +I shall go away and tell my story to the trees. You really need not +grudge me the pleasure of living my successes over again. While I tell +this story, I feel as happy as a sculptor when he puts down his hammer +and gazes at his finished work." + +"No, no!" said Phaedime, interrupting him again. "I cannot listen now +to what I know quite well already. I am dying of impatience, and every +fresh report that the eunuchs and slave-girls bring makes it worse. I +am in a perfect fever--I cannot wait. Ask whatever else you like, only +deliver me from this awful suspense. Afterwards I will listen to you for +days, if you wish." + +Boges' smile at these words was one of great satisfaction; he rubbed his +hands and answered: "When I was a child I had no greater pleasure than +to watch a fish writhing on the hook; now I have got you, my splendid +golden carp, at the end of my line, and I can't let you go until I have +sated myself on your impatience." + +Phaedime sprang up from the couch which she had shared with Boges, +stamping her foot and behaving like a naughty child. This seemed to +amuse the eunuch immensely; he rubbed his hands again and again, laughed +till the tears ran down over his fat cheeks, emptied many a goblet of +wine to the health of the tortured beauty, and then went on with his +tale: "It had not escaped me that Cambyses sent his brother (who had +brought Nitetis from Egypt), out to the war with the Tapuri purely from +jealousy. That proud woman, who was to take no orders from me, seemed to +care as little for the handsome, fair-haired boy as a Jew for pork, or +an Egyptian for white beans. But still I resolved to nourish the king's +jealousy, and use it as a means of rendering this impudent creature +harmless, as she seemed likely to succeed in supplanting us both in his +favor. It was long, however, before I could hit on a feasible plan. + +"At last the new-year's festival arrived and all the priests in the +kingdom assembled at Babylon. For eight days the city was full of +rejoicing, feasting and merry-making. At court it was just the same, and +so I had very little time to think of my plans. But just then, when I +had hardly any hope of succeeding, the gracious Amescha cpenta sent a +youth across my path, who seemed created by Angramainjus himself to +suit my plan. Gaumata, the brother of Oropastes, came to Babylon to +be present at the great new-year's sacrifice. I saw him first in his +brother's house, whither I had been sent on a message from the king, +and his likeness to Bartja was so wonderful, that I almost fancied I was +looking at an apparition. When I had finished my business with +Oropastes the youth accompanied me to my carriage. I showed no signs +of astonishment at this remarkable likeness, treated him however, with +immense civility, and begged him to pay me a visit. He came the very +same evening. I sent for my best wine, pressed him to drink, and +experienced, not for the first time, that the juice of the vine has one +quality which outweighs all the rest: it can turn even a silent man into +a chatter-box. The youth confessed that the great attraction which had +brought him to Babylon was, not the sacrifice, but a girl who held the +office of upper attendant to the Egyptian Princess. He said he had loved +her since he was a child; but his ambitious brother had higher views for +him, and in order to get the lovely Mandane out of his way, had procured +her this situation. At last he begged me to arrange an interview with +her. I listened good-naturedly, made a few difficulties, and at last +asked him to come the next day and see how matters were going on. He +came, and I told him that it might be possible to manage it, but only if +he would promise to do what I told him without a question. He agreed to +everything, returned to Rhagae at my wish, and did not come to Babylon +again until yesterday, when he arrived secretly at my house, where I +concealed him. Meanwhile Bartja had returned from the war. The great +point now was to excite the king's jealousy again, and ruin the Egyptian +at one blow. I roused the indignation of your relations through your +public humiliation, and so prepared the way for my plan. Events were +wonderfully in my favor. You know how Nitetis behaved at the birthday +banquet, but you do not know that that very evening she sent a +gardener's boy to the palace with a note for Bartja. The silly fellow +managed to get caught and was executed that very night, by command of +the king, who was almost mad with rage; and I took care that Nitetis +should be as entirely cut off from all communication with her friends, +as if she lived in the nest of the Simurg. You know the rest." + +"But how did Gaumata escape?" + +"Through a trap-door, of which nobody knows but myself, and which stood +wide open waiting for him. Everything turned out marvellously; I even +succeeded in getting hold of a dagger which Bartja had lost while +hunting, and in laying it under Nitetis' window. In order to get rid of +the prince during these occurrences, and prevent him from meeting the +king or any one else who might be important as a witness, I asked the +Greek merchant Kolxus, who was then at Babylon with a cargo of Milesian +cloth, and who is always willing to do me a favor, because I buy all the +woollen stuffs required for the harem of him, to write a Greek letter, +begging Bartja, in the name of her he loved best, to come alone to +the first station outside the Euphrates gate at the rising of the +Tistar-star. But I had a misfortune with this letter, for the messenger +managed the matter clumsily. He declares that he delivered the letter +to Bartja; but there can be no doubt that he gave it to some one else, +probably to Gaumata, and I was not a little dismayed to hear that Bartja +was sitting over the wine with his friends on that very evening. Still +what had been done could not be undone, and I knew that the witness of +men like your father, Hystaslies, Croesus and Intaphernes, would far +outweigh anything that Darius, Gyges and Araspes could say. The former +would testify against their friend, the latter for him. And so at +last everything went as I would have had it. The young gentlemen +are sentenced to death and Croesus, who as usual, presumed to speak +impertinently to the king, will have lived his last hour by this time. +As to the Egyptian Princess, the secretary in chief has just been +commanded to draw up the following order. Now listen and rejoice, my +little dove! "'Nitetis, the adulterous daughter of the King of Egypt, +shall be punished for her hideous crimes according to the extreme rigor +of the law, thus: She shall be set astride upon an ass and led through +the streets of Babylon; and all men shall see that Cambyses knows how +to punish a king's daughter, as severely as his magistrates would punish +the meanest beggar. --To Boges, chief of the eunuchs, is entrusted the +execution of this order. + +By command of King Cambyses. Ariabignes, chief of the Secretaries' + +"I had scarcely placed these lines in the sleeve of my robe, when +the king's mother, with her garments rent, and led by Atossa, pressed +hastily into the hall. Weeping and lamentation followed; cries, +reproaches, curses, entreaties and prayers; but the king remained firm, +and I verily believe Kassandane and Atossa would have been sent after +Croesus and Bartja into the other world, if fear of Cyrus's spirit had +not prevented the son, even in this furious rage, from laying hands +on his father's widow. Kassandane, however, did not say one word for +Nitetis. She seems as fully convinced of her guilt as you and I can be. +Neither have we anything to fear from the enamored Gaumata. I have hired +three men to give him a cool bath in the Euphrates, before he gets back +to Rhagae. Ah, ha! the fishes and worms will have a jolly time!" + +Phaedime joined in Boges' laughter, bestowed on him all the flattering +names which she had caught from his own smooth tongue, and in token of +her gratitude, hung a heavy chain studded with jewels round his neck +with her own beautiful arms. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +Before the sun had reached his mid-day height, the news of what had +happened and of what was still to happen had filled all Babylon. The +streets swarmed with people, waiting impatiently to see the strange +spectacle which the punishment of one of the king's wives, who had +proved false and faithless, promised to afford. The whip-bearers were +forced to use all their authority to keep this gaping crowd in order. +Later on in the day the news that Bartja and his friends were soon to be +executed arrived among the crowd; they were under the influence of the +palm-wine, which was liberally distributed on the king's birthday and +the following days, and could not control their excited feelings; but +these now took quite another form. + +Bands of drunken men paraded the streets, crying: "Bartja, the good son +of Cyrus, is to be executed!" The women heard these words in their quiet +apartments, eluded their keepers, forgot their veils, and rushing forth +into the streets, followed the excited and indignant men with cries and +yells. Their pleasure in the thought of seeing a more fortunate sister +humbled, vanished at the painful news that their beloved prince was +condemned to death. Men, women and children raged, stormed and cursed, +exciting one another to louder and louder bursts of indignation. The +workshops were emptied, the merchants closed their warehouses, and the +school-boys and servants, who had a week's holiday on occasion of the +king's birthday, used their freedom to scream louder than any one else, +and often to groan and yell without in the least knowing why. + +At last the tumult was so great that the whip-bearers were insufficient +to cope with it, and a detachment of the body-guard was sent to patrol +the streets. At the sight of their shining armor and long lances, the +crowd retired into the side streets, only, however, to reassemble in +fresh numbers when the troops were out of sight. + +At the gate, called the Bel gate, which led to the great western +high-road, the throng was thicker than at any other point, for it was +said that through this gate, the one by which she had entered Babylon, +the Egyptian Princess was to be led out of the city in shame and +disgrace. For this reason a larger number of whipbearers were stationed +here, in order to make way for travellers entering the city. Very +few people indeed left the city at all on this day, for curiosity was +stronger than either business or pleasure; those, on the other hand, +who arrived from the country, took up their stations near the gate on +hearing what had drawn the crowd thither. + +It was nearly mid-day, and only wanted a few hours to the time fixed for +Nitetis' disgrace, when a caravan approached the gate with great speed. +The first carriage was a so-called harmamaxa, drawn by four horses +decked out with bells and tassels; a two-wheeled cart followed, and last +in the train was a baggage-wagon drawn by mules. A fine, handsome man of +about fifty, dressed as a Persian courtier, and another, much older, in +long white robes, occupied the first carriage. The cart was filled by a +number of slaves in simple blouses, and broad-brimmed felt hats, +wearing the hair cut close to the head. An old man, dressed as a Persian +servant, rode by the side of the cart. The driver of the first carriage +had great difficulty in making way for his gaily-ornamented horses +through the crowd; he was obliged to come to a halt before the gate and +call some whip-bearers to his assistance. "Make way for us!" he cried to +the captain of the police who came up with some of his men; "the royal +post has no time to lose, and I am driving some one, who will make you +repent every minute's delay." + +"Softly, my son," answered the official. "Don't you see that it's easier +to-day to get out of Babylon, than to come in? Whom are you driving?" + +"A nobleman, with a passport from the king. Come, be quick and make way +for us." + +"I don't know about that; your caravan does not look much like royalty." + +"What have you to do with that? The pass.... " + +"I must see it, before I let you into the city." These words were half +meant for the traveller, whom he was scrutinizing very suspiciously. + +While the man in the Persian dress was feeling in his sleeve for the +passport, the whip-bearer turned to some comrades who had just come up, +and pointed out the scanty retinue of the travellers, saying: "Did +you ever see such a queer cavalcade? There's something odd about these +strangers, as sure as my name's Giv. Why, the lowest of the king's +carpet-bearers travels with four times as many people, and yet this man +has a royal pass and is dressed like one of those who sit at the royal +table." + +At this moment the suspected traveller handed him a little silken roll +scented with musk, sealed with the royal seal, and containing the king's +own handwriting. + +The whip-bearer took it and examined the seal. "It is all in order," he +murmured, and then began to study the characters. But no sooner had +he deciphered the first letters than he looked even more sharply than +before at the traveller, and seized the horses' bridles, crying out: +"Here, men, form a guard round the carriage! this is an impostor." + +When he had convinced himself that escape was impossible, he went up to +the stranger again and said: "You are using a pass which does not belong +to you. Gyges, the son of Croesus, the man you give yourself out for, +is in prison and is to be executed to-day. You are not in the least like +him, and you will have reason to repent leaving tried to pass for him. +Get out of your carriage and follow me." + +The traveller, however, instead of obeying, began to speak in broken +Persian, and begged the officer rather to take a seat by him in the +carriage, for that he had very important news to communicate. The man +hesitated a moment; but on seeing a fresh band of whip-bearers come up, +he nodded to them to stand before the impatient, chafing horses, and got +into the carriage. + +The stranger looked at him with a smile and said: "Now, do I look like +an impostor?" + +"No; your language proves that you are not a Persian, but yet you look +like a nobleman." + +"I am a Greek, and have come hither to render Cambyses an important +service. Gyges is my friend, and lent me his passport when he was in +Egypt, in case I should ever come to Persia. I am prepared to vindicate +my conduct before the king, and have no reason for fear. On the +contrary, the news I bring gives me reason to expect much from his +favor. Let me be taken to Croesus, if this is your duty; he will be +surety for me, and will send back your men, of whom you seem to stand in +great need to-day. Distribute these gold pieces among them, and tell +me without further delay what my poor friend Gyges has done to deserve +death, and what is the reason of all this crowd and confusion." + +The stranger said this in bad Persian, but there lay so much dignity and +confidence in his tone, and his gifts were on such a large scale, that +the cringing and creeping servant of despotism felt sure he must be +sitting opposite to a prince, crossed his arms reverentially, and, +excusing himself from his many pressing affairs, began to relate +rapidly. He had been on duty in the great hall during the examination +of the prisoners the night before, and could therefore tell all that had +happened with tolerable accuracy. The Greek followed his tale eagerly, +with many an incredulous shake of his handsome head, however, when the +daughter of Amasis and the son of Cyrus were spoken of as having +been disloyal and false, that sentence of death had been pronounced, +especially on Croesus, distressed him visibly, but the sadness soon +vanished from his quickly-changing features, and gave place to thought; +this in its turn was quickly followed by a joyful look, which could +only betoken that the thinker had arrived at a satisfactory result. His +dignified gravity vanished in a moment; he laughed aloud, struck his +forehead merrily, seized the hand of the astonished captain, and said: + +"Should you be glad, if Bartja could be saved?" + +"More than I can say." + +"Very well, then I will vouch for it, that you shall receive at least +two talents, if you can procure me an interview with the king before the +first execution has taken place." + +"How can you ask such a thing of me, a poor captain?..." + +"Yes, you must, you must!" + +"I cannot." + +"I know well that it is very difficult, almost impossible, for a +stranger to obtain an audience of your king; but my errand brooks no +delay, for I can prove that Bartja and his friends are not guilty. +Do you hear? I can prove it. Do you think now, you can procure me +admittance?" + +"How is it possible?" + +"Don't ask, but act. Didn't you say Darius was one of the condemned?" + +"Yes." + +"I have heard, that his father is a man of very high rank." + +"He is the first in the kingdom, after the sons of Cyrus." + +"Then take me to him at once. He will welcome me when he hears I am able +to save his son." + +"Stranger, you are a wonderful being. You speak with so much confidence +that..." + +"That you feel you may believe me. Make haste then, and call some of +your men to make way for us, and escort us to the palace." + +There is nothing, except a doubt, which runs more quickly from mind to +mind, than a hope that some cherished wish may be fulfilled, especially +when this hope has been suggested to us by some one we can trust. + +The officer believed this strange traveller, jumped out of the carriage, +flourishing his scourge and calling to his men: "This nobleman has come +on purpose to prove Bartja's innocence, and must be taken to the king at +once. Follow me, my friends, and make way for him!" + +Just at that moment a troop of the guards appeared in sight. The captain +of the whip-bearers went up to their commander, and, seconded by the +shouts of the crowd, begged him to escort the stranger to the palace. + +During this colloquy the traveller had mounted his servant's horse, and +now followed in the wake of the Persians. + +The good news flew like wind through the huge city. As the riders +proceeded, the crowd fell back more willingly, and loader and fuller +grew the shouts of joy until at last their march was like a triumphal +procession. + +In a few minutes they drew up before the palace; but before the brazen +gates had opened to admit them, another train came slowly into sight. At +the head rode a grey-headed old man; his robes were brown, and rent, in +token of mourning, the mane and tail of his horse had been shorn off and +the creature colored blue.--It was Hystaspes, coming to entreat mercy +for his son. + +The whip-bearer, delighted at this sight, threw himself down before +the old man with a cry of joy, and with crossed arms told him what +confidence the traveller had inspired him with. + +Hystaspes beckoned to the stranger; he rode up, bowed gracefully and +courteously to the old man, without dismounting, and confirmed the words +of the whip bearer. Hystaspes seemed to feel fresh confidence too after +hearing the stranger, for he begged him to follow him into the palace +and to wait outside the door of the royal apartment, while he himself, +conducted by the head chamberlain, went in to the king. + +When his old kinsman entered, Cambyses was lying on his purple couch, +pale as death. A cup-bearer was kneeling on the ground at his feet, +trying to collect the broken fragments of a costly Egyptian drinking-cup +which the king had thrown down impatiently because its contents had not +pleased his taste. At some distance stood a circle of court-officials, +in whose faces it was easy to read that they were afraid of their +ruler's wrath, and preferred keeping as far from him as possible. The +dazzling light and oppressive heat of a Babylonian May day came in +through the open windows, and not a sound was to be heard in the great +room, except the whining of a large dog of the Epirote breed, which had +just received a tremendous kick from Cambyses for venturing to fawn on +his master, and was the only being that ventured to disturb the solemn +stillness. Just before Hystaspes was led in by the chamberlain, Cambyses +had sprung up from his couch. This idle repose had become unendurable, +he felt suffocated with pain and anger. The dog's howl suggested a new +idea to his poor tortured brain, thirsting for forgetfulness. + +"We will go out hunting!" he shouted to the poor startled courtiers. The +master of the hounds, the equerries, and huntsmen hastened to obey his +orders. He called after them, "I shall ride the unbroken horse Reksch; +get the falcons ready, let all the dogs out and order every one to come, +who can throw a spear. We'll clear the preserves!" + +He then threw himself down on his divan again, as if these words had +quite exhausted his powerful frame, and did not see that Hystaspes +had entered, for his sullen gaze was fixed on the motes playing in the +sunbeams that glanced through the window. + +Hystaspes did not dare to address him; but he stationed himself in the +window so as to break the stream of motes and thus draw attention to +himself. + +At first Cambyses looked angrily at him and his rent garments, and then +asked with a bitter smile; "What do you want?" + +"Victory to the king! Your poor servant and uncle has come to entreat +his ruler's mercy." + +"Then rise and go! You know that I have no mercy for perjurers and false +swearers. 'Tis better to have a dead son than a dishonorable one." + +"But if Bartja should not be guilty, and Darius..." + +"You dare to question the justice of my sentence?" + +"That be far from me. Whatever the king does is good, and cannot be +gainsaid; but still..." + +"Be silent! I will not hear the subject mentioned again. You are to be +pitied as a father; but have these last few hours brought me any joy? +Old man, I grieve for you, but I have as little power to rescind his +punishment as you to recall his crime." + +"But if Bartja really should not be guilty--if the gods..." + +"Do you think the gods will come to the help of perjurers and +deceivers?" + +"No, my King; but a fresh witness has appeared." + +"A fresh witness? Verily, I would gladly give half my kingdom, to be +convinced of the innocence of men so nearly related to me." + +"Victory to my lord, the eye of the realm! A Greek is waiting outside, +who seems, to judge by his figure and bearing, one of the noblest of his +race." + +The king laughed bitterly: "A Greek! Ah, ha! perhaps some relation to +Bartja's faithful fair one! What can this stranger know of my family +affairs? I know these beggarly Ionians well. They are impudent enough to +meddle in everything, and think they can cheat us with their sly tricks. +How much have you had to pay for this new witness, uncle? A Greek is +as ready with a lie as a Magian with his spells, and I know they'll do +anything for gold. I'm really curious to see your witness. Call him in. +But if he wants to deceive me, he had better remember that where the +head of a son of Cyrus is about to fall, a Greek head has but very +little chance." And the king's eyes flashed with anger as he said these +words. Hystaspes, however, sent for the Greek. + +Before he entered, the chamberlains fastened the usual cloth before his +mouth, and commanded him to cast himself on the ground before the king. +The Greek's bearing, as he approached, under the king's penetrating +glance, was calm and noble; he fell on his face, and, according to the +Persian custom, kissed the ground. + +His agreeable and handsome appearance, and the calm and modest manner in +which he bore the king's gaze, seemed to make a favorable impression on +the latter; he did not allow him to remain long on the earth, and asked +him in a by no means unfriendly tone: "Who are you?" + +"I am a Greek nobleman. My name is Phanes, and Athens is my home. I have +served ten years as commander of the Greek mercenaries in Egypt, and not +ingloriously." + +"Are you the man, to whose clever generalship the Egyptians were +indebted for their victories in Cyprus?" + +"I am." + +"What has brought you to Persia?" + +"The glory of your name, Cambyses, and the wish to devote my arms and +experience to your service." + +"Nothing else? Be sincere, and remember that one single lie may cost +your life. We Persians have different ideas of truth from the Greeks." + +"Lying is hateful to me too, if only, because, as a distortion and +corruption of what is noblest, it seems unsightly in my eyes." + +"Then speak." + +"There was certainly a third reason for my coming hither, which I should +like to tell you later. It has reference to matters of the greatest +importance, which it will require a longer time to discuss; but +to-day--" + +"Just to-day I should like to hear something new. Accompany me to the +chase. You come exactly at the right time, for I never had more need of +diversion than now." + +"I will accompany you with pleasure, if..." + +"No conditions to the king! Have you had much practice in hunting?" + +"In the Libyan desert I have killed many a lion." + +"Then come, follow me." + +In the thought of the chase the king seemed to have thrown off all his +weakness and roused himself to action; he was just leaving the hall, +when Hystaspes once more threw himself at his feet, crying with +up-raised hands: "Is my son--is your brother, to die innocent? By the +soul of your father, who used to call me his truest friend, I conjure +you to listen to this noble stranger." + +Cambyses stood still. The frown gathered on his brow again, his voice +sounded like a menace and his eyes flashed as he raised his hand and +said to the Greek: "Tell me what you know; but remember that in every +untrue word, you utter your own sentence of death." + +Phanes heard this threat with the greatest calmness, and answered, +bowing gracefully as he spoke: "From the sun and from my lord the king, +nothing can be hid. What power has a poor mortal to conceal the truth +from one so mighty? The noble Hystaspes has said, that I am able to +prove your brother innocent. I will only say, that I wish and hope I may +succeed in accomplishing anything so great and beautiful. The gods have +at least allowed me to discover a trace which seems calculated to throw +light on the events of yesterday; but you yourself must decide whether +my hopes have been presumptuous and my suspicions too easily aroused. +Remember, however, that throughout, my wish to serve you has been +sincere, and that if I have been deceived, my error is pardonable; that +nothing is perfectly certain in this world, and every man believes that +to be infallible which seems to him the most probable." + +"You speak well, and remind me of... curse her! there, speak and have +done with it! I hear the dogs already in the court." + +"I was still in Egypt when your embassy came to fetch Nitetis. At the +house of Rhodopis, my delightful, clever and celebrated countrywoman, +I made the acquaintance of Croesus and his son; I only saw your brother +and his friends once or twice, casually; still I remembered the young +prince's handsome face so well, that some time later, when I was in +the workshop of the great sculptor Theodorus at Samos, I recognized his +features at once." + +"Did you meet him at Samos?" + +"No, but his features had made such a deep and faithful impression on +Theodorus' memory, that he used them to beautify the head of an Apollo, +which the Achaemenidae had ordered for the new temple of Delphi." + +"Your tale begins, at least, incredibly enough. How is it possible to +copy features so exactly, when you have not got them before you?" + +"I can only answer that Theodorus has really completed this +master-piece, and if you wish for a proof of his skill would gladly send +you a second likeness of..." + +"I have no desire for it. Go on with your story." + +"On my journey hither, which, thanks to your father's excellent +arrangements, I performed in an incredibly short time, changing horses +every sixteen or seventeen miles..." + +"Who allowed you, a foreigner, to use the posthorses?" + +"The pass drawn out for the son of Croesus, which came by chance into +my hands, when once, in order to save my life, he forced me to change +clothes with him." + +"A Lydian can outwit a fox, and a Syrian a Lydian, but an Ionian is a +match for both," muttered the king, smiling for the first time; "Croesus +told me this story--poor Croesus!" and then the old gloomy expression +came over his face and he passed his hand across his forehead, as if +trying to smooth the lines of care away. The Athenian went on: "I met +with no hindrances on my journey till this morning at the first hour +after midnight, when I was detained by a strange occurrence." + +The king began to listen more attentively, and reminded the Athenian, +who spoke Persian with difficulty, that there was no time to lose. + +"We had reached the last station but one," continued he, "and hoped to +be in Babylon by sunrise. I was thinking over my past stirring life, and +was so haunted by the remembrance of evil deeds unrevenged that I +could not sleep; the old Egyptian at my side, however, slept and dreamt +peacefully enough, lulled by the monotonous tones of the harness bells, +the sound of the horses' hoofs and the murmur of the Euphrates. It was +a wonderfully still, beautiful night; the moon and stars were so +brilliant, that our road and the landscape were lighted up almost +with the brightness of day. For the last hour we had not seen a +single vehicle, foot-passenger, or horseman; we had heard that all +the neighboring population had assembled in Babylon to celebrate your +birthday, gaze with wonder at the splendor of your court, and enjoy your +liberality. At last the irregular beat of horses' hoofs, and the sound +of bells struck my ear, and a few minutes later I distinctly heard cries +of distress. My resolve was taken at once; I made my Persian servant +dismount, sprang into his saddle, told the driver of the cart in which +my slaves were sitting not to spare his mules, loosened my dagger and +sword in their scabbards, and spurred my horse towards the place from +whence the cries came. They grew louder and louder. I had not ridden a +minute, when I came on a fearful scene. Three wild-looking fellows had +just pulled a youth, dressed in the white robes of a Magian, from his +horse, stunned him with heavy blows, and, just as I reached them, were +on the point of throwing him into the Euphrates, which at that place +washes the roots of the palms and fig-trees bordering the high-road. I +uttered my Greek war-cry, which has made many an enemy tremble before +now, and rushed on the murderers. Such fellows are always cowards; the +moment they saw one of their accomplices mortally wounded, they fled. I +did not pursue them, but stooped down to examine the poor boy, who was +severely wounded. How can I describe my horror at seeing, as I believed, +your brother Bartja? Yes, they were the very same features that I had +seen, first at Naukratis and then in Theodorus' workshop, they were..." + +"Marvellous!" interrupted Hystaspes. + +"Perhaps a little too much so to be credible," added the king. "Take +care, Hellene! remember my arm reaches far. I shall have the truth of +your story put to the proof." + +"I am accustomed," answered Phanes bowing low, "to follow the advice +of our wise philosopher Pythagoras, whose fame may perhaps have reached +your ears, and always, before speaking, to consider whether what I am +going to say may not cause me sorrow in the future." + +"That sounds well; but, by Mithras, I knew some one who often spoke +of that great teacher, and yet in her deeds turned out to be a most +faithful disciple of Angramainjus. You know the traitress, whom we are +going to extirpate from the earth like a poisonous viper to-day." + +"Will you forgive me," answered Phanes, seeing the anguish expressed in +the king's features, "if I quote another of the great master's maxims?" + +"Speak." + +"Blessings go as quickly as they come. Therefore bear thy lot patiently. +Murmur not, and remember that the gods never lay a heavier weight on any +man than he can bear. Hast thou a wounded heart? touch it as seldom +as thou wouldst a sore eye. There are only two remedies for +heart-sickness:--hope and patience." + +Cambyses listened to this sentence, borrowed from the golden maxims +of Pythagoras, and smiled bitterly at the word "patience." Still the +Athenian's way of speaking pleased him, and he told him to go on with +his story. + +Phanes made another deep obeisance, and continued: "We carried the +unconscious youth to my carriage, and brought him to the nearest +station. There he opened his eyes, looked anxiously at me, and asked +who I was and what had happened to him? The master of the station was +standing by, so I was obliged to give the name of Gyges in order not to +excite his suspicions by belying my pass, as it was only through this +that I could obtain fresh horses. + +"This wounded young man seemed to know Gyges, for he shook his head +and murmured: 'You are not the man you give yourself out for.' Then he +closed his eyes again, and a violent attack of fever came on. + +"We undressed, bled him and bound up his wounds. My Persian servant, who +had served as overlooker in Amasis' stables and had seen Bartja there, +assisted by the old Egyptian who accompanied me, was very helpful, and +asserted untiringly that the wounded man could be no other than your +brother. When we had cleansed the blood from his face, the master of the +station too swore that there could be no doubt of his being the younger +son of your great father Cyrus. Meanwhile my Egyptian companion had +fetched a potion from the travelling medicine-chest, without which an +Egyptian does not care to leave his native country. + + [A similar travelling medicine-chest is to be seen in the Egyptian + Museum at Berlin. It is prettily and compendiously fitted up, and + must be very ancient, for the inscription on the chest, which + contained it stated that it was made in the 11th dynasty (end of the + third century B. C.) in the reign of King Mentuhotep.] + +The drops worked wonders; in a few hours the fever was quieted, and at +sunrise the patient opened his eyes once more. We bowed down before him, +believing him to be your brother, and asked if he would like to be taken +to the palace in Babylon. This he refused vehemently, and asseverated +that he was not the man we took him for, but,..." + +"Who can be so like Bartja? tell me quickly," interrupted the king, "I +am very curious to know this." + +"He declared that he was the brother of your high-priest, that his name +was Gaumata, and that this would be proved by the pass which we should +find in the sleeve of his Magian's robe. The landlord found this +document and, being able to read, confirmed the statement of the sick +youth; he was, however, soon seized by a fresh attack of fever, and +began to speak incoherently." + +"Could you understand him?" + +"Yes, for his talk always ran on the same subject. The hanging-gardens +seemed to fill his thoughts. He must have just escaped some great +danger, and probably had had a lover's meeting there with a woman called +Mandane." + +"Mandane, Mandane," said Cambyses in a low voice; "if I do not mistake, +that is the name of the highest attendant on Amasis' daughter." + +These words did not escape the sharp ears of the Greek. He thought a +moment and then exclaimed with a smile; "Set the prisoners free, my +King; I will answer for it with my own head, that Bartja was not in the +hanging-gardens." + +The king was surprised at this speech but not angry. The free, +unrestrained, graceful manner of this Athenian towards himself produced +the same impression, that a fresh sea-breeze makes when felt for the +first time. The nobles of his own court, even his nearest relations, +approached him bowing and cringing, but this Greek stood erect in his +presence; the Persians never ventured to address their ruler without a +thousand flowery and flattering phrases, but the Athenian was simple, +open and straightforward. Yet his words were accompanied by such a +charm of action and expression, that the king could understand them, +notwithstanding the defective Persian in which they were clothed, better +than the allegorical speeches of his own subjects. Nitetis and Phanes +were the only human beings, who had ever made him forget that he was a +king. With them he was a man speaking to his fellow-man, instead of a +despot speaking with creatures whose very existence was the plaything +of his own caprice. Such is the effect produced by real manly dignity, +superior culture and the consciousness of a right to freedom, on the +mind even of a tyrant. But there was something beside all this, that had +helped to win Cambyses' favor for the Athenian. This man's coming seemed +as if it might possibly give him back the treasure he had believed +was lost and more than lost. But how could the life of such a foreign +adventurer be accepted as surety for the sons of the highest Persians +in the realm? The proposal, however, did not make him angry. On the +contrary, he could not help smiling at the boldness of this Greek, who +in his eagerness had freed himself from the cloth which hung over his +mouth and beard, and exclaimed: "By Mithras, Greek, it really seems as +if you were to prove a messenger of good for us! I accept your offer. +If the prisoners, notwithstanding your supposition, should still prove +guilty you are bound to pass your whole life at my court and in my +service, but if, on the contrary, you are able to prove what I so +ardently long for, I will make you richer than any of your countrymen." + +Phanes answered by a smile which seemed to decline this munificent +offer, and asked: "Is it permitted me to put a few questions to yourself +and to the officers of your court?" + +"You are allowed to say and ask whatever you wish." + +At this moment the master of the huntsmen, one of those who daily ate +at the king's table, entered, out of breath from his endeavors to hasten +the preparations, and announced that all was ready. + +"They must wait," was the king's imperious answer. "I am not sure, that +we shall hunt at all to-day. Where is Bischen, the captain of police?" + +Datis, the so-called "eye of the king," who held the office filled in +modern days by a minister of police, hurried from the room, returning in +a few minutes with the desired officer. These moments Phanes made use of +for putting various questions on important points to the nobles who were +present. + +"What news can you bring of the prisoners?" asked the king, as the man +lay prostrate before him. "Victory to the king! They await death with +calmness, for it is sweet to die by thy will." + +"Have you heard anything of their conversation?" + +"Yes, my Ruler." + +"Do they acknowledge their guilt, when speaking to each other?" + +"Mithras alone knows the heart; but you, my prince, if you could hear +them speak, would believe in their innocence, even as I the humblest of +your servants." + +The captain looked up timidly at the king, fearing lest these words +should have excited his anger; Cambyses, however, smiled kindly instead +of rebuking him. But a sudden thought darkened his brow again directly, +and in a low voice he asked: "When was Croesus executed?" + +The man trembled at this question; the perspiration stood on his +forehead, and he could scarcely stammer the words: "He is... he has ... +we thought...." + +"What did you think?" interrupted Cambyses, and a new light of hope +seemed to dawn in his mind. "Is it possible, that you did not carry out +my orders at once? Can Croesus still be alive? Speak at once, I must +know the whole truth." + +The captain writhed like a worm at his lord's feet, and at last +stammered out, raising his hands imploringly towards the king: "Have +mercy, have mercy, my Lord the king! I am a poor man, and have thirty +children, fifteen of whom..." + +"I wish to know if Croesus is living or dead." + +"He is alive! He has done so much for me, and I did not think I +was doing wrong in allowing him to live a few hours longer, that he +might...." + +"That is enough," said the king breathing freely. "This once your +disobedience shall go unpunished, and the treasurer may give you two +talents, as you have so many children.--Now go to the prisoners,--tell +Croesus to come hither, and the others to be of good courage, if they +are innocent." + +"My King is the light of the world, and an ocean of mercy." + +"Bartja and his friends need not remain any longer in confinement; they +can walk in the court of the palace, and you will keep guard over them. +You, Datis, go at once to the hanging-gardens and order Boges to defer +the execution of the sentence on the Egyptian Princess; and further, I +wish messengers sent to the post-station mentioned by the Athenian, and +the wounded man brought hither under safe escort." + +The "king's eye" was on the point of departure, but Phanes detained him, +saying: "Does my King allow me to make one remark?" + +"Speak." + +"It appears to me, that the chief of the eunuchs could give the most +accurate information. During his delirium the youth often mentioned his +name in connection with that of the girl he seemed to be in love with." + +"Go at once, Datis, and bring him quickly." + +"The high-priest Oropastes, Gaumata's brother, ought to appear too; and +Mandane, whom I have just been assured on the most positive authority, +is the principal attendant of the Egyptian Princess." + +"Fetch her, Datis." + +"If Nitetis herself could..." + +At this the king turned pale and a cold shiver ran through his limbs. +How he longed to see his darling again! But the strong man was afraid of +this woman's reproachful looks; he knew the captivating power that lay +in her eyes. So he pointed to the door, saying "Fetch Boges and Mandane; +the Egyptian Princess is to remain in the hanging-gardens, under strict +custody." + +The Athenian bowed deferentially; as if he would say: "Here no one has a +right to command but the king." + +Cambyses looked well pleased, seated himself again on the purple divan, +and resting his forehead on his hand, bent his eyes on the ground and +sank into deep thought. The picture of the woman he loved so dearly +refused to be banished; it came again and again, more and more vividly, +and the thought that these features could not have deceived him--that +Nitetis must be innocent--took a firmer root in his mind; he had already +begun to hope. If Bartja could be cleared, there was no error that might +not be conceivable; in that case he would go to the hanging-gardens, +take her hand and listen to her defence. When love has once taken firm +hold of a man in riper years, it runs and winds through his whole nature +like one of his veins, and can only be destroyed with his life. + +The entrance of Croesus roused Cambyses from his dream; he raised the +old man kindly from the prostrate position at his feet, into which he +had thrown himself on entering, and said: "You offended me, but I will +be merciful; I have not forgotten that my father, on his dying bed, told +me to make you my friend and adviser. Take your life back as a gift from +me, and forget my anger as I wish to forget your want of reverence. +This man says he knows you; I should like to hear your opinion of his +conjectures." + +Croesus turned away much affected, and after having heartily welcomed +the Athenian, asked him to relate his suppositions and the grounds on +which they were founded. + +The old man grew more and more attentive as the Greek went on, and when +he had finished raised his hands to heaven, crying: "Pardon me, oh ye +eternal gods, if I have ever questioned the justice of your decrees. +Is not this marvellous, Cambyses? My son once placed himself in great +danger to save the life of this noble Athenian, whom the gods have +brought hither to repay the deed tenfold. Had Phanes been murdered in +Egypt, this hour might have seen our sons executed." + +And as he said this he embraced Hystaspes; both shared one feeling; +their sons had been as dead and were now alive. + +The king, Phanes, and all the Persian dignitaries watched the old men +with deep sympathy, and though the proofs of Bartja's innocence were as +yet only founded on conjecture, not one of those present doubted it one +moment longer. Wherever the belief in a man's guilt is but slight, his +defender finds willing listeners. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +THE sharp-witted Athenian saw clearly how matters lay in this sad story; +nor did it escape him that malice had had a hand in the affair. How +could Bartja's dagger have come into the hanging-gardens except through +treachery? + +While he was telling the king his suspicions, Oropastes was led into the +hall. + +The king looked angrily at him and without one preliminary word, asked: +"Have you a brother?" + +"Yes, my King. He and I are the only two left out of a family of six. My +parents..." + +"Is your brother younger or older than yourself?" + +"I was the eldest of the family; my brother, the youngest, was the joy +of my father's old age." + +"Did you ever notice a remarkable likeness between him and one of my +relations?" + +"Yes, my King. Gaumata is so like your brother Bartja, that in the +school for priests at Rhagae, where he still is, he was always called +'the prince.'" + +"Has he been at Babylon very lately?" + +"He was here for the last time at the New Year's festival." + +"Are you speaking the truth?" + +"The sin of lying would be doubly punishable in one who wears my robes, +and holds my office." + +The king's face flushed with anger at this answer and he exclaimed: +"Nevertheless you are lying; Gaumata was here yesterday evening. You may +well tremble." + +"My life belongs to the king, whose are all things; nevertheless +I swear--the high-priest-by the most high God, whom I have served +faithfully for thirty years, that I know nothing of my brother's +presence in Babylon yesterday." + +"Your face looks as if you were speaking the truth." + +"You know that I was not absent from your side the whole of that high +holiday." + +"I know it." + +Again the doors opened; this time they admitted the trembling Mandane. +The high-priest cast such a look of astonishment and enquiry on her, +that the king saw she must be in some way connected with him, and +therefore, taking no notice of the trembling girl who lay at his feet, +he asked: "Do you know this woman?" + +"Yes, my King. I obtained for her the situation of upper attendant to +the--may Auramazda forgive her!--King of Egypt's daughter." + +"What led you,--a priest,--to do a favor to this girl?" + +"Her parents died of the same pestilence, which carried off my brothers. +Her father was a priest, respected, and a friend of our family; so we +adopted the little girl, remembering the words: 'If thou withhold help +from the man who is pure in heart and from his widow and orphans, then +shall the pure, subject earth cast thee out unto the stinging-nettles, +to painful sufferings and to the most fearful regions!' Thus I became +her foster-father, and had her brought up with my youngest brother until +he was obliged to enter the school for priests." + +The king exchanged a look of intelligence with Phanes, and asked: "Why +did not you keep the girl longer with you?" + +"When she had received the ear-rings I, as priest, thought it more +suitable to send such a young girl away from my house, and to put her in +a position to earn her own living." + +"Has she seen your brother since she has been grown up?" + +"Yes, my King. Whenever Gaumata came to see me I allowed him to be with +her as with a sister; but on discovering later that the passionate love +of youth had begun to mingle with the childish friendship of former +days, I felt strengthened in my resolution to send her away." + +"Now we know enough," said the king, commanding the high-priest by a +nod to retire. He then looked down on the prostrate girl, and said +imperiously: "Rise!" + +Mandane rose, trembling with fear. Her fresh young face was pale as +death, and her red lips were blue from terror. + +"Tell all you know about yesterday evening; but remember, a lie and your +death are one and the same." + +The girl's knees trembled so violently that she could hardly stand, and +her fear entirely took away the power of speaking. + +"I have not much patience," exclaimed Cambyses. Mandane started, grew +paler still, but could not speak. Then Phanes came forward and asked the +angry king to allow him to examine the girl, as he felt sure that fear +alone had closed her lips and that a kind word would open them. + +Cambyses allowed this, and the Athenian's words proved true; no sooner +had he assured Mandane of the good-will of all present, laid his hand +on her head and spoken kindly to her, than the source of her tears +was unlocked, she wept freely, the spell which had seemed to chain her +tongue, vanished, and she began to tell her story, interrupted only +by low sobs. She hid nothing, confessed that Boges had given her his +sanction and assistance to the meeting with Gaumata, and ended by +saying: "I know that I have forfeited my life, and am the worst and +most ungrateful creature in the world; but none of all this would have +happened, if Oropastes had allowed his brother to marry me." + +The serious audience, even the king himself, could not resist a smile at +the longing tone in which these words were spoken and the fresh burst of +sobs which succeeded them. + +And this smile saved her life. But Cambyses would not have smiled, after +hearing such a story, if Mandane, with that instinct which always seems +to stand at a woman's command in the hour of her greatest danger, had +not known how to seize his weak side, and use it for her own interests, +by dwelling much longer than was necessary, on the delight which Nitetis +had manifested at the king's gifts. + +"A thousand times" cried she, "did my mistress kiss the presents which +were brought from you, O King; but oftenest of all did she press her +lips to the nosegay which you plucked with your own hands for her, some +days ago. And when it began to fade, she took every flower separately, +spread out the petals with care, laid them between woollen cloths, and, +with her own hands, placed her heavy, golden ointment-box upon them, +that they might dry and so she might keep them always as a remembrance +of your kindness." + +Seeing Cambyses' awful features grow a little milder at these words, the +girl took fresh courage, and at last began to put loving words into her +mistress's mouth which the latter had never uttered; professing that she +herself had heard Nitetis a hundred times murmur the word "Cambyses" +in her sleep with indescribable tenderness. She ended her confession by +sobbing and praying for mercy. + +The king looked down at her with infinite contempt, though without +anger, and pushing her away with his foot said: "Out of my sight, you +dog of a woman! Blood like yours would soil the executioner's axe. Out +of my sight!" + +Mandane needed no second command to depart. The words "out of my sight" +sounded like sweet music in her ears. She rushed through the courts +of the palace, and out into the streets, crying like a mad woman "I am +free! I am free!" + +She, had scarcely left the hall, when Datis, the "king's eye" reappeared +with the news that the chief of the eunuchs was nowhere to be found. He +had vanished from the hanging-gardens in an unaccountable manner; +but he, Datis, had left word with his subordinates that he was to be +searched for and brought, dead or alive. + +The king went off into another violent fit of passion at this news, and +threatened the officer of police, who prudently concealed the excitement +of the crowd from his lord, with a severe punishment, if Boges were not +in their hands by the next morning. + +As he finished speaking, a eunuch was brought into the hall, sent by the +king's mother to ask an interview for herself with her son. + +Cambyses prepared at once to comply with his mother's wish, at the same +time giving Phanes his hand to kiss, a rare honor, only shown to those +that ate at the king's table, and saying: "All the prisoners are to +be set at liberty. Go to your sons, you anxious, troubled fathers, and +assure them of my mercy and favor. I think we shall be able to find +a satrapy a-piece for them, as compensation for to-night's undeserved +imprisonment. To you, my Greek friend, I am deeply indebted. In +discharge of this debt, and as a means of retaining you at my court, I +beg you to accept one hundred talents from my treasury." + +"I shall scarcely be able to use so large a sum," said Phanes, bowing +low. + +"Then abuse it," said the king with a friendly smile, and calling out +to him, "We shall meet again at supper," he left the hall accompanied by +his court. + + ........................ + +In the meantime there had been sadness and mourning in the apartments +of the queen-mother. Judging from the contents of the letter to Bartja, +Kassandane had made up her mind that Nitetis was faithless, and her own +beloved son innocent. But in whom could she ever place confidence again, +now that this girl, whom she had looked upon as the very embodiment of +every womanly virtue, had proved reprobate and faithless--now that the +noblest youths in the realm had proved perjurers? + +Nitetis was more than dead for her; Bartja, Croesus, Darius, Gyges, +Araspes, all so closely allied to her by relationship and friendship, +as good as dead. And yet she durst not indulge her sorrow; she had to +restrain the despairing outbursts of grief of her impetuous child. + +Atossa behaved like one deprived of her senses when she heard of the +sentences of death. The self-control which she had learnt from Nitetis +gave way, and her old impetuosity burst forth again with double +vehemence. + +Nitetis, her only friend,--Bartja, the brother whom she loved with her +whole heart,--Darius, whom she felt now she not only looked up to as her +deliverer, but loved with all the warmth of a first affection--Croesus +to whom she clung like a father,--she was to lose every one she loved in +one day. + +She tore her dress and her hair, called Cambyses a monster, and every +one who could possibly believe in the guilt of such people, infatuated +or insane. Then her tears would burst out afresh, she would utter +imploring supplications to the gods for mercy, and a few minutes later, +begin conjuring her mother to take her to the hanging-gardens, that they +might hear Nitetis' defence of her own conduct. + +Kassandane tried to soothe the violent girl, and assured her every +attempt to visit the hanging-gardens would be in vain. Then Atossa began +to rage again, until at last her mother was forced to command silence, +and as morning had already began to dawn, sent her to her sleeping-room. + +The girl obeyed, but instead of going to bed, seated herself at a tall +window looking towards the hanging-gardens. Her eyes filled with tears +again, as she thought of her friend--her sister-sitting in that palace +alone, forsaken, banished, and looking forward to an ignominious death. +Suddenly her tearful, weary eyes lighted up as if from some strong +purpose, and instead of gazing into the distance, she fixed them on +a black speck which flew towards her in a straight line from Nitetis' +house, becoming larger and more distinct every moment; and finally +settling on a cypress before her window. The sorrow vanished at once +from her lovely face and with a deep sigh of relief she sprang up, +exclaiming: + +"Oh, there is the Homai, the bird of good fortune! Now everything will +turn out well." + +It was the same bird of paradise which had brought so much comfort to +Nitetis that now gave poor Atossa fresh confidence. + +She bent forward to see whether any one was in the garden; and finding +that she would be seen by no one but the old gardener, she jumped out, +trembling like a fawn, plucked a few roses and cypress twigs and took +them to the old man, who had been watching her performances with a +doubtful shake of the head. + +She stroked his cheeks coaxingly, put her flowers in his brown hand, and +said: "Do you love me, Sabaces?" + +"O, my mistress!" was the only answer the old man could utter, as he +pressed the hem of her robe to his lips. + +"I believe you, my old friend, and I will show you how I trust my +faithful, old Sabaces. Hide these flowers carefully and go quickly to +the king's palace. Say that you had to bring fruit for the table. My +poor brother Bartja, and Darius, the son of the noble Hystaspes, are +in prison, near the guard-house of the Immortals. You must manage that +these flowers reach them, with a warm greeting from me, but mind, the +message must be given with the flowers." + +"But the guards will not allow me to see the prisoners." + +"Take these rings, and slip them into their hands." + +"I will do my best." + +"I knew you loved me, my good Sabaces. Now make haste, and come back +soon." + +The old man went off as fast as he could. Atossa looked thoughtfully +after him, murmuring to herself: "Now they will both know, that I +loved them to the last. The rose means, 'I love you,' and the evergreen +cypress, 'true and steadfast.'" The old man came back in an hour; +bringing her Bartja's favorite ring, and from Darius an Indian +handkerchief dipped in blood. + +Atossa ran to meet him; her eyes filled with tears as she took the +tokens, and seating herself under a spreading plane-tree, she pressed +them by turns to her lips, murmuring: "Bartja's ring means that he +thinks of me; the blood-stained handkerchief that Darius is ready to +shed his heart's blood for me." + +Atossa smiled as she said this, and her tears, when she thought of +her friends and their sad fate, were quieter, if not less bitter, than +before. + +A few hours later a messenger arrived from Croesus with news that the +innocence of Bartja and his friends had been proved, and that Nitetis +was, to all intents and purposes, cleared also. + +Kassandane sent at once to the hanging-gardens, with a request that +Nitetis would come to her apartments. Atossa, as unbridled in her joy as +in her grief, ran to meet her friend's litter and flew from one of her +attendants to the other crying: "They are all innocent; we shall not +lose one of them--not one!" + +When at last the litter appeared and her loved one, pale as death, +within it, she burst into loud sobs, threw her arms round Nitetis as she +descended, and covered her with kisses and caresses till she perceived +that her friend's strength was failing, that her knees gave way, and she +required a stronger support than Atossa's girlish strength could give. + +The Egyptian girl was carried insensible into the queen-mother's +apartments. When she opened her eyes, her head-more like a marble piece +of sculpture than a living head--was resting on the blind queen's lap, +she felt Atossa's warm kisses on her forehead, and Cambyses, who had +obeyed his mother's call, was standing at her side. + +She gazed on this circle, including all she loved best, with anxious, +perplexed looks, and at last, recognizing them one by one, passed her +hand across her pale fore head as if to remove a veil, smiled at each, +and closed her eyes once more. She fancied Isis had sent her a beautiful +vision, and wished to hold it fast with all the powers of her mind. + +Then Atossa called her by her name, impetuously and lovingly. She opened +her eyes again, and again she saw those loving looks that she fancied +had only been sent her in a dream. Yes, that was her own Atossa--this +her motherly friend, and there stood, not the angry king, but the man +she loved. And now his lips opened too, his stern, severe eyes rested on +her so beseechingly, and he said: "O Nitetis, awake! you must not--you +cannot possibly be guilty!" She moved her head gently with a look of +cheerful denial and a happy smile stole across her features, like a +breeze of early spring over fresh young roses. + +"She is innocent! by Mithras, it is impossible that she can be guilty," +cried the king again, and forgetful of the presence of others, he sank +on his knees. + +A Persian physician came up and rubbed her forehead with a sweet-scented +oil, and Nebenchari approached, muttering spells, felt her pulse, shook +his head, and administered a potion from his portable medicine-chest. +This restored her to perfect consciousness; she raised herself with +difficulty into a sitting posture, returned the loving caresses of her +two friends, and then turning to Cambyses, asked: "How could you believe +such a thing of me, my King?" There was no reproach in her tone, but +deep sadness, and Cambyses answered softly, "Forgive me." + +Kassandane's blind eyes expressed her gratitude for this +self-renunciation on the part of her son, and she said: "My daughter, I +need your forgiveness too." + +"But I never once doubted you," cried Atossa, proudly and joyfully +kissing her friend's lips. + +"Your letter to Bartja shook my faith in your innocence," added +Kassandane. + +"And yet it was all so simple and natural," answered Nitetis. "Here, my +mother, take this letter from Egypt. Croesus will translate it for you. +It will explain all. Perhaps I was imprudent. Ask your mother to tell +you what you would wish to know, my King. Pray do not scorn my poor, ill +sister. When an Egyptian girl once loves, she cannot forget. But I feel +so frightened. The end must be near. The last hours have been so very, +very terrible. That horrible man, Boges, read me the fearful sentence +of death, and it was that which forced the poison into my hand. Ah, my +heart!" + +And with these words she fell back into the arms of Kassandane. + +Nebenchari rushed forward, and gave her some more drops, exclaiming: "I +thought so! She has taken poison and her life cannot be saved, though +this antidote may possibly prolong it for a few days." Cambyses stood +by, pale and rigid, following the physician's slightest movements, and +Atossa bathed her friend's forehead with her tears. + +"Let some milk be brought," cried Nebenchari, "and my large +medicine-chest; and let attendants be called to carry her away, for +quiet is necessary, above all things." + +Atossa hastened into the adjoining room; and Cambyses said to the +physician, but without looking into his face: "Is there no hope?" + +"The poison which she has taken results in certain death." + +On hearing this the king pushed Nebenchari away from the sick girl, +exclaiming: "She shall live. It is my will. Here, eunuch! summon all the +physicians in Babylon--assemble the priests and Alobeds! She is not to +die; do you hear? she must live, I am the king, and I command it." + +Nitetis opened her eyes as if endeavoring to obey her lord. Her face was +turned towards the window, and the bird of paradise with the gold chain +on its foot, was still there, perched on the cypress-tree. Her eyes fell +first on her lover, who had sunk down at her side and was pressing his +burning lips to her right hand. She murmured with a smile: "O, this +great happiness!" Then she saw the bird, and pointed to it with her left +hand, crying: "Look, look, there is the Phoenix, the bird of Ra!" + +After saying this she closed her eyes and was soon seized by a violent +attack of fever. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +Prexaspes, the king's messenger, and one of the highest officials at +court, had brought Gaumata, Mandane's lover, whose likeness to Bartja +was really most wonderful, to Babylon, sick and wounded as he was. He +was now awaiting his sentence in a dungeon, while Boges, the man who +had led him into crime, was nowhere to be found, notwithstanding all +the efforts of the police. His escape had been rendered possible by the +trap-door in the hanging-gardens, and greatly assisted by the enormous +crowds assembled in the streets. + +Immense treasures were found in his house. Chests of gold and jewels, +which his position had enabled him to obtain with great ease, were +restored to the royal treasury. Cambyses, however, would gladly have +given ten times as much treasure to secure possession of the traitor. + +To Phaedime's despair the king ordered all the inhabitants of the harem, +except his mother, Atossa and the dying Nitetis, to be removed to Susa, +two days after the accused had been declared innocent. Several eunuchs +of rank were deposed from their offices. The entire caste was to suffer +for the sins of him who had escaped punishment. + +Oropastes, who had already entered on his duties as regent of the +kingdom, and had clearly proved his non-participation in the crime of +which his brother had been proved guilty, bestowed the vacant places +exclusively on the Magi. The demonstration made by the people in favor +of Bartja did not come to the king's ears until the crowd had long +dispersed. Still, occupied as he was, almost entirely, by his anxiety +for Nitetis, he caused exact information of this illegal manifestation +to be furnished him, and ordered the ringleaders to be severely +punished. He fancied it was a proof that Bartja had been trying to +gain favor with the people, and Cambyses would perhaps have shown his +displeasure by some open act, if a better impulse had not told him that +he, not Bartja, was the brother who stood in need of forgiveness. In +spite of this, however, he could not get rid of the feeling that Bartja, +had been, though innocent, the cause of the sad events which had just +happened, nor of his wish to get him out of the way as far as might be; +and he therefore gave a ready consent to his brother's wish to start at +once for Naukratis. + +Bartja took a tender farewell of his mother and sister, and started two +days after his liberation. He was accompanied by Gyges, Zopyrus, and +a numerous retinue charged with splendid presents from Cambyses for +Sappho. Darius remained behind, kept back by his love for Atossa. The +day too was not far distant, when, by his father's wish, he was to marry +Artystone, the daughter of Gobryas. + +Bartja parted from his friend with a heavy heart, advising him to be +very prudent with regard to Atossa. The secret had been confided to +Kassandane, and she had promised to take Darius' part with the king. + +If any one might venture to raise his eyes to the daughter of Cyrus, +assuredly it was the son of Hystaspes; he was closely connected +by marriage with the royal family, belonged like Cambyses to the +Pasargadae, and his family was a younger branch of the reigning dynasty. +His father called himself the highest noble in the realm, and as such, +governed the province of Persia proper, the mother-country, to which +this enormous world-empire and its ruler owed their origin. Should the +family of Cyrus become extinct, the descendants of Hystaspes would have +a well-grounded right to the Persian throne. Darius therefore, apart +from his personal advantages, was a fitting claimant for Atossa's hand. +And yet no one dared to ask the king's consent. In the gloomy state of +mind into which he had been brought by the late events, it was likely +that he might refuse it, and such an answer would have to be regarded as +irrevocable. So Bartja was obliged to leave Persia in anxiety about the +future of these two who were very dear to him. + +Croesus promised to act as mediator in this case also, and before Bartja +left, made him acquainted with Phanes. + +The youth had heard such a pleasant account of the Athenian from Sappho, +that he met him with great cordiality, and soon won the fancy of the +older and more experienced man, who gave him many a useful hint, and a +letter to Theopompus, the Milesian, at Naukratis. Phanes concluded by +asking for a private interview. + +Bartja returned to his friends looking grave and thoughtful; soon, +however, he forgot his cause of anxiety and joked merrily with them over +a farewell cup. Before he mounted his horse the next morning, Nebenchari +asked to be allowed an audience. He was admitted, and begged Bartja to +take the charge of a large written roll for king Amasis. It contained a +detailed account of Nitetis' sufferings, ending with these words: "Thus +the unhappy victim of your ambitious plans will end her life in a few +hours by poison, to the use of which she was driven by despair. The +arbitrary caprices of the mighty can efface all happiness from the life +of a human creature, just as we wipe a picture from the tablet with a +sponge. Your servant Nebenchari is pining in a foreign land, deprived of +home and property, and the wretched daughter of a king of Egypt dies a +miserable and lingering death by her own hand. Her body will be torn to +pieces by dogs and vultures, after the manner of the Persians. Woe +unto them who rob the innocent of happiness here and of rest beyond the +grave!" + +Bartja had not been told the contents of this letter, but promised to +take it with him; he then, amid the joyful shouts of the people, set +up outside the city-gate the stones which, according to a Persian +superstition, were to secure him a prosperous journey, and left Babylon. + +Nebenchari, meanwhile, prepared to return to his post by Nitetis' +dying-bed. + +Just as he reached the brazen gates between the harem-gardens and the +courts of the large palace, an old man in white robes came up to him. +The sight seemed to fill Nebenchari with terror; he started as if the +gaunt old man had been a ghost. Seeing, however, a friendly and familiar +smile on the face of the other, he quickened his steps, and, holding out +his hand with a heartiness for which none of his Persian acquaintances +would have given him credit, exclaimed in Egyptian: "Can I believe my +eyes? You in Persia, old Hib? I should as soon have expected the sky to +fall as to have the pleasure of seeing you on the Euphrates. But now, in +the name of Osiris, tell me what can have induced you, you old ibis, +to leave your warm nest on the Nile and set out on such a long journey +eastward." + +While Nebenchari was speaking, the old man listened in a bowing posture, +with his arms hanging down by his side, and when he had finished, +looked up into his face with indescribable joy, touched his breast with +trembling fingers, and then, falling on the right knee, laying one hand +on his heart and raising the other to heaven, cried: "Thanks be unto +thee, great Isis, for protecting the wanderer and permitting him to see +his master once more in health and safety. Ah, child, how anxious I have +been! I expected to find you as wasted and thin as a convict from the +quarries; I thought you would have been grieving and unhappy, and here +you are as well, and handsome and portly as ever. If poor old Hib had +been in your place he would have been dead long ago." + +"Yes, I don't doubt that, old fellow. I did not leave home of my own +will either, nor without many a heartache. These foreigners are all the +children of Seth. The good and gracious gods are only to be found in +Egypt on the shores of the sacred, blessed Nile." + +"I don't know much about its being so blessed," muttered the old man. + +"You frighten me, father Hib. What has happened then?" + +"Happened! Things have come to a pretty pass there, and you'll hear of +it soon enough. Do you think I should have left house and grandchildren +at my age,--going on for eighty,--like any Greek or Phoenician vagabond, +and come out among these godless foreigners (the gods blast and destroy +them!), if I could possibly have staid on in Egypt?" + +"But tell me what it's all about." + +"Some other time, some other time. Now you must take me to your own +house, and I won't stir out of it as long as we are in this land of +Typhon." + +The old man said this with so much emphasis, that Nebenchiari could not +help smiling and saying: "Have they treated you so very badly then, old +man?" + +"Pestilence and Khamsin!" blustered the old man. + + [The south-west wind, which does so much injury to the crops in the + Nile valley. It is known to us as the Simoom, the wind so perilous + to travellers in the desert.] + +"There's not a more good-for-nothing Typhon's brood on the face of the +earth than these Persians. I only wonder they're not all red-haired and +leprous. Ah, child, two whole days I have been in this hell already, and +all that time I was obliged to live among these blasphemers. They said +no one could see you; you were never allowed to leave Nitetis' sick-bed. +Poor child! I always said this marriage with a foreigner would come to +no good, and it serves Amasis right if his children give him trouble. +His conduct to you alone deserves that." + +"For shame, old man!" + +"Nonsense, one must speak one's mind sometimes. I hate a king, who comes +from nobody knows where. Why, when he was a poor boy he used to steal +your father's nuts, and wrench the name-plates off the house-doors. I +saw he was a good-for-nothing fellow then. It's a shame that such people +should be allowed to...." + +"Gently, gently, old man. We are not all made of the same stuff, and if +there was such a little difference between you and Amasis as boys, it, +is your own fault that, now you are old men, he has outstripped you so +far. + +"My father and grandfather were both servants in the temple, and of +course I followed in their footsteps." + +"Quite right; it is the law of caste, and by that rule, Amasis ought +never to have become anything higher than a poor army-captain at most." + +"It is not every one who's got such an easy conscience as this upstart +fellow." + +"There you are again! For shame, Hib! As long as I can remember, and +that is nearly half a century, every other word with you has been an +abusive one. When I was a child your ill-temper was vented on me, and +now the king has the benefit of it." + +"Serves him right! All, if you only knew all! It's now seven months +since ..." + +"I can't stop to listen to you now. At the rising of the seven stars I +will send a slave to take you to my rooms. Till then you must stay in +your present lodging, for I must go to my patient." + +"You must?--Very well,--then go and leave poor old Hib here to die. I +can't possibly live another hour among these creatures." + +"What would you have me do then?" + +"Let me live with you as long as we are in Persia." + +"Have they treated you so very roughly?" + +"I should think they had indeed. It is loathsome to think of. They +forced me to eat out of the same pot with them and cut my bread with the +same knife. An infamous Persian, who had lived many years in Egypt, +and travelled here with us, had given them a list of all the things and +actions, which we consider unclean. They took away my knife when I +was going to shave myself. A good-for-nothing wench kissed me on the +forehead, before I could prevent it. There, you needn't laugh; it will +be a month at least before I can get purified from all these pollutions. +I took an emetic, and when that at last began to take effect, they all +mocked and sneered at me. But that was not all. A cursed cook-boy +nearly beat a sacred kitten to death before my very eyes. Then an +ointment-mixer, who had heard that I was your servant, made that godless +Bubares ask me whether I could cure diseases of the eye too. I said yes, +because you know in sixty years it's rather hard if one can't pick up +something from one's master. Bubares was interpreter between us, and the +shameful fellow told him to say that he was very much disturbed about +a dreadful disease in his eyes. I asked what it was, and received for +answer that he could not tell one thing from another in the dark!" + +"You should have told him that the best remedy for that was to light a +candle." + +"Oh, I hate the rascals! Another hour among them will be the death of +me!" + +"I am sure you behaved oddly enough among these foreigners," said +Nebenchiari smiling, "you must have made them laugh at you, for the +Persians are generally very polite, well-behaved people. Try them again, +only once. I shall be very glad to take you in this evening, but I can't +possibly do it before." + +"It is as I thought! He's altered too, like everybody else! Osiris is +dead and Seth rules the world again." + +"Farewell! When the seven stars rise, our old Ethiopian slave, Nebununf, +will wait for you here." + +"Nebununf, that old rogue? I never want to see him again." + +"Yes, the very same." + +"Him--well it's a good thing, when people stay as they were. To be sure +I know some people who can't say so much of themselves, and who instead +of minding their own business, pretend to heal inward diseases, and when +a faithful old servant..." + +"Hold your tongue, and wait patiently till evening." These last words +were spoken seriously, and produced the desired impression. The old man +made another obeisance, and before his master left him, said: "I came +here under the protection of Phanes, the former commander of the Greek +mercenaries. He wishes very much to speak with you." + +"That is his concern. He can come to me." + +"You never leave that sick girl, whose eyes are as sound as..." + +"Hib!" + +"For all I care she may have a cataract in both. May Phanes come to you +this evening?" + +"I wished to be alone with you." + +"So did I; but the Greek seems to be in a great hurry, and he knows +nearly everything that I have to tell you." + +"Have you been gossiping then?" + +"No--not exactly--but..." + +"I always thought you were a man to be trusted." + +"So I was. But this Greek knows already a great deal of what I know, and +the rest..." + +"Well?" + +"The rest he got out of me, I hardly know how myself. If I did not wear +this amulet against an evil eye, I should have been obliged..." + +"Yes, yes, I know the Athenian--I can forgive you. I should like him +to come with you this evening. But I see the sun is already high in +the heavens. I have no time to lose. Tell me in a few words what has +happened." + +"I thought this evening..." + +"No, I must have at least a general idea of what has happened before I +see the Athenian. Be brief." + +"You have been robbed!" + +"Is that all?" + +"Is not that enough?" + +"Answer me. Is that all?" + +"Yes!" + +"Then farewell." + +"But Nebenchari!" + +The physician did not even hear this exclamation; the gates of the harem +had already closed behind him. + +When the Pleiades had risen, Nebenchari was to be found seated alone in +one of the magnificent rooms assigned to his use on the eastern side +of the palace, near to Kassandane's apartments. The friendly manner in +which he had welcomed his old servant had given place to the serious +expression which his face usually wore, and which had led the cheerful +Persians to call him a morose and gloomy man. + +Nebenchari was an Egyptian priest through and through; a member of that +caste which never indulged in a jest, and never for a moment forgot +to be dignified and solemn before the public; but when among their +relations and their colleagues completely threw off this self-imposed +restraint, and gave way at times even to exuberant mirth. + +Though he had known Phanes in Sais, he received him with cold +politeness, and, after the first greeting was ended, told Hib to leave +them alone. + +"I have come to you," said the Athenian, "to speak about some very +important affairs." + +"With which I am already acquainted," was the Egyptian's curt reply. + +"I am inclined to doubt that," said Phanes with an incredulous smile. + +"You have been driven out of Egypt, persecuted and insulted by Psamtik, +and you have come to Persia to enlist Cambyses as an instrument of +revenge against my country." + +"You are mistaken. I have nothing against your country, but all the more +against Amasis and his house. In Egypt the state and the king are one, +as you very well know." + +"On the contrary, my own observations have led me to think that the +priests considered themselves one with the state." + +"In that case you are better informed than I, who have always looked on +the kings of Egypt as absolute. So they are; but only in proportion +as they know how to emancipate themselves from the influence of your +caste.--Amasis himself submits to the priests now." + +"Strange intelligence!" + +"With which, however, you have already long been made acquainted." + +"Is that your opinion?" + +"Certainly it is. And I know with still greater certainty that once--you +hear me--once, he succeeded in bending the will of these rulers of his +to his own." + +"I very seldom hear news from home, and do not understand what you are +speaking of." + +"There I believe you, for if you knew what I meant and could stand there +quietly without clenching your fist, you would be no better than a dog +who only whimpers when he's kicked and licks the hand that torments +him." + +The physician turned pale. "I know that Amasis has injured and insulted +me," he said, "but at the same time I must tell you that revenge is far +too sweet a morsel to be shared with a stranger." + +"Well said! As to my own revenge, however, I can only compare it to a +vineyard where the grapes are so plentiful, that I am not able to gather +them all myself." + +"And you have come hither to hire good laborers." + +"Quite right, and I do not even yet give up the hope of securing you to +take a share in my vintage." + +"You are mistaken. My work is already done. The gods themselves have +taken it in hand. Amasis has been severely enough punished for banishing +me from country, friends and pupils into this unclean land." + +"You mean by his blindness perhaps?" + +"Possibly." + +"Then you have not heard that Petammon, one of your colleagues, has +succeeded in cutting the skin, which covered the pupil of the eye and so +restoring Amasis' sight?" + +The Egyptian started and ground his teeth; recovered his presence of +mind, however, in a moment, and answered: "Then the gods have punished +the father through the children." + +"In what way? Psamtik suits his father's present mood very well. It is +true that Tachot is ill, but she prays and sacrifices with her father +all the more for that; and as to Nitetis, you and I both know that her +death will not touch him very closely." + +"I really do not understand you." + +"Of course not, so long as you fancy that I believe your beautiful +patient to be Amasis' daughter." + +The Egyptian started again, but Phanes went on without appearing to +notice his emotion: "I know more than you suppose. Nitetis is the +daughter of Hophra, Amasis' dethroned predecessor. Amasis brought her +up as his own child-first, in order to make the Egyptians believe that +Hophra had died childless; secondly, in order to deprive her of her +rights to the throne; for you know women are allowed to govern on the +Nile." + +"These are mere suppositions." + +"For which, however, I can bring irrefragable proofs. Among the papers +which your old servant Hib brought with him in a small box, there must +be some letters from a certain Sonnophre, a celebrated accoucheur, your +own father, which..." + + [To judge from the pictures on the monuments and from the 1st Chap. + of Exodus, it would seem that in ancient, as in modern Egypt, + midwives were usually called in to assist at the birth of children; + but it is also certain, that in difficult cases physicians were + employed also. In the hieratic medical papyrus in Berlin, women are + often spoken of as assisting at such times. In the medical Papyrus + Ebers certain portions are devoted to diseases peculiar to women. + "There were special rooms set aside in private houses for the birth + of children, as symbolical ones were reserved in the temples. These + chambers were called meschen, and from them was derived the name + given to midwives, to meschennu.] + +"If that be the case, those letters are my property, and I have not the +slightest intention of giving them up; besides which you might search +Persia from one end to the other without finding any one who could +decipher my father's writing." + +"Pardon me, if I point out one or two errors into which you have fallen. +First, this box is at present in my hands, and though I am generally +accustomed to respect the rights of property, I must assure you that, in +the present instance, I shall not return the box until its contents have +served my purpose. Secondly, the gods have so ordained, that just at +this moment there is a man in Babylon who can read every kind of writing +known to the Egyptian priests. Do you perhaps happen to know the name of +Onuphis?" + +For the third time the Egyptian turned pale. "Are you certain," he said, +"that this man is still among the living?" + +"I spoke to him myself yesterday. He was formerly, you know, high-priest +at Heliopolis, and was initiated into all your mysteries there. My wise +countryman, Pythagoras of Samos, came to Egypt, and after submitting to +some of your ceremonies, was allowed to attend the lessons given in the +schools for priests. His remarkable talents won the love of the great +Onuphis and he taught him all the Egyptian mysteries, which Pythagoras +afterwards turned to account for the benefit of mankind. My delightful +friend Rhodopis and I are proud of having been his pupils. When the rest +of your caste heard that Onuphis had betrayed the sacred mysteries, the +ecclesiastical judges determined on his death. This was to be caused by +a poison extracted from peach-kernels. The condemned man, however, heard +of their machinations, and fled to Naukratis, where he found a safe +asylum in the house of Rhodopis, whom he had heard highly praised by +Pythagoras, and whose dwelling was rendered inviolable by the king's +letter. Here he met Antimenidas the brother of the poet Alcarus of +Lesbos, who, having been banished by Pittakus, the wise ruler of +Mitylene, had gone to Babylon, and there taken service in the army of +Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Assyria. Antimenidas gave him letters to the +Chaldians. Onuphis travelled to the Euphrates, settled there, and was +obliged to seek for some means of earning his daily bread, as he had +left Egypt a poor man. He is now supporting himself in his old age, by +the assistance which his superior knowledge enables him to render the +Chaldoeans in their astronomical observations from the tower of Bel. +Onuphis is nearly eighty, but his mind is as clear as ever, and when I +saw him yesterday and asked him to help me, his eyes brightened as he +promised to do so. Your father was one of his judges, but he bears you +no malice and sends you a greeting." + +Nebenchari's eyes were fixed thoughtfully on the ground during this +tale. When Phanes had finished, he gave him a penetrating look and said: +"Where are my papers?" + +"They are in Onuphis' hands. He is looking among them for the document I +want." + +"I expected to hear that. Be so good as to tell me what the box is like, +which Hib thought proper to bring over to Persia?" + +"It is a small ebony trunk, with an exquisitely-carved lid. In the +centre is a winged beetle, and on the four corners..." + +"That contains nothing but a few of my father's notices and +memorandums," said Nebenchari, drawing a deep breath of relief. + +"They will very likely be sufficient for my purpose. I do not know +whether you have heard, that I stand as high as possible in Cambyses' +favor." + +"So much the better for you. I can assure you, however, that the paper. +which would have been most useful to you have all been left behind in +Egypt." + +"They were in a large chest made of sycamore-wood and painted in +colors." + +"How do you know that?" + +"Because--now listen well to what I am going to say, Nebenchari--because +I can tell you (I do not swear, for our great master Pythagoras forbade +oaths), that this very chest, with all it contained, was burnt in the +grove of the temple of Neith, in Sais, by order of the king." + +Phanes spoke slowly, emphasizing every syllable, and the words seemed +to strike the Egyptian like so many flashes of lightning. His quiet +coolness and deliberation gave way to violent emotion; his cheeks glowed +and his eyes flashed. But only for one single minute; then the strong +emotion seemed to freeze, his burning cheeks grew pale. "You are trying +to make me hate my friends, in order to gain me as your ally," he said, +coldly and calmly. "I know you Greeks very well. You are so intriguing +and artful, that there is no lie, no fraud, too base, if it will only +help to gain your purpose." + +"You judge me and my countrymen in true Egyptian fashion; that is, +they are foreigners, and therefore must be bad men. But this time your +suspicions happen to be misplaced. Send for old Hib; he will tell you +whether I am right or not." + +Nebenchari's face darkened, as Hib came into the room. + +"Come nearer," said he in a commanding tone to the old man. + +Hib obeyed with a shrug of the shoulders. + +"Tell me, have you taken a bribe from this man? Yes or no? I must know +the truth; it can influence my future for good or evil. You are an old +and faithful servant, to whom I owe a great deal, and so I will forgive +you if you were taken in by his artifices, but I must know the truth. I +conjure you to tell me by the souls of your fathers gone to Osiris!" + +The old man's sallow face turned ashy pale as he heard these words. +He gulped and wheezed some time before he could find an answer, and at +last, after choking down the tears which had forced their way to his +eyes, said, in a half-angry, half-whining tone: "Didn't I say so? +they've bewitched him, they've ruined him in this wicked land. Whatever +a man would do himself, he thinks others are capable of. Aye, you may +look as angry as you like; it matters but little to me. What can it +matter indeed to an old man, who has served the same family faithfully +and honestly for sixty years, if they call him at last a rogue, a knave, +a traitor, nay even a murderer, if it should take their fancy." + +And the scalding tears flowed down over the old man's cheeks, sorely +against his will. + +The easily-moved Phanes clapped him on the shoulder and said, turning +to Nebenchari: "Hib is a faithful fellow. I give you leave to call me a +rascal, if he has taken one single obolus from me." + +The physician did not need Phanes' assurance; he had known his old +servant too well and too long not to be able to read his simple, open +features, on which his innocence was written as clearly as in the pages +of an open book. "I did not mean to reproach you, old Hib," he said +kindly, coming up to him. "How can any one be so angry at a simple +question?" + +"Perhaps you expect me to be pleased at such a shameful suspicion?" + +"No, not that; but at all events now you can tell me what has happened +at our house since I left." + +"A pretty story that is! Why only to think of it makes my mouth as +bitter, as if I were chewing wormwood." + +"You said I had been robbed." + +"Yes indeed: no one was ever so robbed before. There would have been +some comfort if the knaves had belonged to the thieves' caste, for then +we should have got the best part of our property back again, and should +not after all have been worse off than many another; but when..." + + [The cunning son of the architect, who robbed the treasure-house of + Rhampsinitus was, according to Herodotus, (II. 120), severely + punished; but in Diod. I. 80. we see that when thieves acknowledged + themselves to the authorities to be such, they were not punished, + though a strict watch was set over them. According to Diodorus, + there was a president of the thieves' caste, from whom the stolen + goods could be reclaimed on relinquishment of a fourth part of the + same. This strange rule possibly owed its rise to the law, which + compelled every Egyptian to appear once in each year before the + authorities of his district and give an account of his means of + subsistence. Those who made false statements were punished with + death. Diod. I. 77. Thus no one who valued his life could escape + the watchful eye of the police, and the thief sacrificed the best + part of his gains in order to save his life.] + +"Keep to the point, for my time is limited." + +"You need not tell me that; I see old Hib can't do anything right here +in Persia. Well, be it so, you're master; you must give orders; I am +only the servant, I must obey. I won't forget it. Well, as I was saying, +it was just at the time when the great Persian embassy came over to +Sais to fetch Nitetis, and made everybody stare at them as if they were +monsters or prodigies, that this shameful thing happened. I was sitting +on the mosquito-tower just as the sun was setting, playing with my +little grandson, my Baner's eldest boy--he's a fine strapping little +lad now, wonderfully sharp and strong for his age. The rogue was just +telling me how his father, the Egyptians do that when their wives leave +the children too much alone--had hidden his mother's shoes, and I was +laughing heartily, because my Baner won't let any of the little ones +live with me, she always says I spoil them, and so I was glad she should +have the trick played her--when all of a sudden there was such a loud +knocking at the house-door, that I thought there must be a fire and let +the child drop off my lap. Down the stairs I ran, three steps at a time, +as fast as my long legs would carry me, and unbarred the door. Before I +had time to ask them what they wanted, a whole crowd of temple-servants +and policemen--there must have been at least fifteen of them--forced +their way into the house. Pichi,--you know, that impudent fellow from +the temple of Neith,--pushed me back, barred the door inside and told +the police to put me in fetters if I refused to obey him. Of course I +got angry and did not use very civil words to them--you know that's my +way when I'm put out--and what does that bit of a fellow do--by our god +Thoth, the protector of knowledge who must know all, I'm speaking the +truth--but order them to bind my hands, forbid me--me, old Hib--to +speak, and then tell me that he had been told by the high-priest to +order me five-and-twenty strokes, if I refused to do his bidding. He +showed me the high-priest's ring, and so I knew there was nothing for it +but to obey the villain, whether I would or no. And what was his modest +demand? Why, nothing less than to give him all the written papers you +had left behind. But old Hib is not quite so stupid as to let himself +be caught in that way, though some people, who ought to know better, do +fancy he can be bribed and is no better than the son of an ass. What did +I do then? I pretended to be quite crushed into submission by the sight +of the signet-ring, begged Pichi as politely as I could to unfasten my +hands, and told him I would fetch the keys. They loosened the cords, +I flew up the stairs five steps at a time, burst open the door of your +sleeping-room, pushed my little grandson, who was standing by it, into +the room and barred it within. Thanks to my long legs, the others were +so far behind that I had time to get hold of the black box which you had +told me to take so much care of, put it into the child's arms, lift him +through the window on to the balcony which runs round the house towards +the inner court, and tell him to put it at once into the pigeon-house. +Then I opened the door as if nothing had happened, told Pichi the child +had had a knife in his mouth, and that that was the reason I had run +upstairs in such a hurry, and had put him out on the balcony to punish +him. That brother of a hippopotamus was easily taken in, and then +he made me show him over the house. First they found the great +sycamore-chest which you had told me to take great care of too, then +the papyrus-rolls on your writing-table, and so by degrees every written +paper in the house. They made no distinction, but put all together +into the great chest and carried it downstairs; the little black box, +however, lay safe enough in the pigeon-house. My grandchild is the +sharpest boy in all Sais! + +"When I saw them really carrying the chest downstairs, all the anger I'd +been trying so hard to keep down burst out again. I told the impudent +fellows I would accuse them before the magistrates, nay, even before the +king if necessary, and if those confounded Persians, who were having the +city shown them, had not come up just then and made everybody stare at +them, I could have roused the crowd to take my side. The same evening +I went to my son-in-law-he is employed in the temple of Neith too, you +know,--and begged him to make every effort to find out what had become +of the papers. The good fellow has never forgotten the handsome dowry +you gave my Baner when he married her, and in three days he came and +told me he had seen your beautiful chest and all the rolls it contained +burnt to ashes. I was so angry that I fell ill of the jaundice, but +that did not hinder me from sending in a written accusation to the +magistrates. The wretches,--I suppose only because they were priests +too,--refused to take any notice of me or my complaint. Then I sent in +a petition to the king, and was turned away there too with the shameful +threat, that I should be considered guilty of high treason if I +mentioned the papers again. I valued my tongue too much to take any +further steps, but the ground burnt under my feet; I could not stay in +Egypt, I wanted to see you, tell you what they had done to you, and +call on you, who are more powerful than your poor servant, to revenge +yourself. And besides, I wanted to see the black box safe in your hands, +lest they should take that from me too. And so, old man as I am, with +a sad heart I left my home and my grandchildren to go forth into this +foreign Typhon's land. Ah, the little lad was too sharp! As I was +kissing him, he said: 'Stay with us, grandfather. If the foreigners make +you unclean, they won't let me kiss you any more.' Baner sends you a +hearty greeting, and my son-in-law told me to say he had found out that +Psamtik, the crown-prince, and your rival, Petammon, had been the sole +causes of this execrable deed. I could not make up my mind to trust +myself on that Typhon's sea, so I travelled with an Arabian trading +caravan as far as Tadmor,--[Palmyra]--the Phoenician palm-tree station +in the wilderness, and then on to Carchemish, on the Euphrates, with +merchants from Sidon. The roads from Sardis and from Phoenicia meet +there, and, as I was sitting very weary in the little wood before the +station, a traveller arrived with the royal post-horses, and I saw at +once that it was the former commander of the Greek mercenaries." + +"And I," interrupted Phanes, "recognized just as soon in you, the +longest and most quarrelsome old fellow that had ever come across my +path. Oh, how often I've laughed to see you scolding the children, +as they ran after you in the street whenever you appeared behind your +master with the medicine-chest. The minute I saw you too I remembered a +joke which the king once made in his own way, as you were both passing +by. 'The old man,' he said, reminds me of a fierce old owl followed by +a flight of small teasing birds, and Nebenchari looks as if he had a +scolding wife, who will some day or other reward him for healing other +people's eyes by scratching out his own!'" + +"Shameful!" said the old man, and burst into a flood of execrations. + +Nebenchari had been listening to his servant's tale in silence and +thought. He had changed color from time to time and on hearing that the +papers which had cost him so many nights of hard work had been burnt, +his fists clenched and he shivered as if seized by biting frost. Not one +of his movements escaped the Athenian. He understood human nature; he +knew that a jest is often much harder to bear than a grave affront, and +therefore seized this opportunity to repeat the inconsiderate joke which +Amasis had, it is true, allowed himself to make in one of his merry +moods. Phanes had calculated rightly, and had the pleasure of seeing, +that as he uttered the last words Nebenchari pressed his hand on a rose +which lay on the table before him, and crushed it to pieces. The Greek +suppressed a smile of satisfaction, and did not even raise his eyes +from the ground, but continued speaking: "Well, now we must bring the +travelling adventures of good old Hib to a close. I invited him to share +my carriage. At first he refused to sit on the same cushion with such +a godless foreigner, as I am, gave in, however, at last, had a good +opportunity at the last station of showing the world how many clever +processes of manipulation he had learnt from you and your father, in his +treatment of Oropastes' wounded brother; he reached Babylon at last safe +and sound, and there, as we could not get sight of you, owing to the +melancholy poisoning of your country-woman, I succeeded in obtaining him +a lodging in the royal palace itself. The rest you knew already." + +Nebenchari bowed assent and gave Hib a sign to leave the room, which +the old man obeyed, grumbling and scolding in a low tone as he departed. +When the door had closed on him, Nebenchari, the man whose calling was +to heal, drew nearer to the soldier Phanes, and said: "I am afraid we +cannot be allies after all, Greek." + +"Why not?" + +"Because I fear, that your revenge will prove far too mild when compared +with that which I feel bound to inflict." + +"On that head there is no need for solicitude," answered the Athenian. +"May I call you my ally then?" + +"Yes," answered the other; "but only on one condition." + +"And that is--?" + +"That you will procure me an opportunity of seeing our vengeance with my +own eyes." + +"That is as much as to say you are willing to accompany Cambyses' army +to Egypt?" + +"Certainly I am; and when I see my enemies pining in disgrace and misery +I will cry unto them, 'Ah ha, ye cowards, the poor despised and exiled +physician, Nebenchari, has brought this wretchedness upon you!' Oh, my +books, my books! They made up to me for my lost wife and child. Hundreds +were to have learnt from them how to deliver the blind from the dark +night in which he lives, and to preserve to the seeing the sweetest +gift of the gods, the greatest beauty of the human countenance, the +receptacle of light, the seeing eye. Now that my books are burnt I have +lived in vain; the wretches have burnt me in burning my works. O my +books, my books!" And he sobbed aloud in his agony. Phanes came up and +took his band, saying: "The Egyptians have struck you, my friend, but +me they have maltreated and abused--thieves have broken into your +granaries, but my hearth and home have been burnt to ashes by +incendiaries. Do you know, man, what I have had to suffer at their +hands? In persecuting me, and driving me out of Egypt, they only did +what they had a right to do; by their law I was a condemned man; and I +could have forgiven all they did to me personally, for I loved Amasis, +as a man loves his friend. The wretch knew that, and yet he suffered +them to commit a monstrous, an incredible act--an act that a man's brain +refuses to take in. They stole like wolves by night into a helpless +woman's house--they seized my children, a girl and boy, the pride, the +joy and comfort of my homeless, wandering life. And how think you, did +they treat them? The girl they kept in confinement, on the pretext that +by so doing they should prevent me from betraying Egypt to Cambyses. +But the boy--my beautiful, gentle boy--my only son--has been murdered +by Psamtik's orders, and possibly with the knowledge of Amasis. My +heart was withered and shrunk with exile and sorrow, but I feel that it +expands--it beats more joyfully now that there is a hope of vengeance." + +Nebenchari's sullen but burning glance met the flashing eye of the +Athenian as he finished his tale; he gave him his hand and said: "We are +allies." + +The Greek clasped the offered hand and answered: "Our first point now is +to make sure of the king's favor." + +"I will restore Kassandane's sight." + +"Is that in your power?" + +"The operation which removed Amasis' blindness was my own discovery. +Petammon stole it from my burnt papers." + +"Why did you not exert your skill earlier?" + +"Because I am not accustomed to bestow presents on my enemies." + +Phanes shuddered slightly at these words, recovered himself, however, +in a moment, and said: "And I am certain of the king's favor too. The +Massagetan envoys have gone home to-day; peace has been granted them +and...." + +While he was speaking the door was burst open and one of Kassandane's +eunuchs rushed into the room crying: "The Princess Nitetis is dying! +Follow me at once, there is not a moment to lose." + +The physician made a parting sign to his confederate, and followed the +eunuch to the dying-bed of the royal bride. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +The sun was already trying to break a path for his rays through the +thick curtains, that closed the window of the sick-room, but Nebenchari +had not moved from the Egyptian girl's bedside. Sometimes he felt her +pulse, or spread sweet-scented ointments on her forehead or chest, and +then he would sit gazing dreamily into vacancy. Nitetis seemed to have +sunk into a deep sleep after an attack of convulsions. At the foot of +her bed stood six Persian doctors, murmuring incantations under the +orders of Nebenchari, whose superior science they acknowledged, and who +was seated at the bed's head. + +Every time he felt the sick girl's pulse he shrugged his shoulders, and +the gesture was immediately imitated by his Persian colleagues. From +time to time the curtain was lifted and a lovely head appeared, whose +questioning blue eyes fixed at once on the physician, but were always +dismissed with the same melancholy shrug. It was Atossa. Twice she had +ventured into the room, stepping so lightly as hardly to touch the thick +carpet of Milesian wool, had stolen to her friend's bedside and lightly +kissed her forehead, on which the pearly dew of death was standing, but +each time a severe and reproving glance from Nebenchari had sent her +back again into the next room, where her mother Kassandane was lying, +awaiting the end. + +Cambyses had left the sick-room at sunrise, on seeing that Nitetis had +fallen asleep; he flung himself on to his horse, and accompanied by +Phanes, Prexaspes, Otanes, Darius, and a number of courtiers, only just +aroused from their sleep, took a wild ride through the game-park. He +knew by experience, that he could best overcome or forget any violent +mental emotion when mounted on an unmanageable horse. + +Nebenchari started on hearing the sound of horses' hoofs in the +distance. In a waking dream he had seen Cambyses enter his native land +at the head of immense hosts; he had seen its cities and temples on +fire, and its gigantic pyramids crumbling to pieces under the powerful +blows of his mighty hand. Women and children lay in the smouldering +ruins, and plaintive cries arose from the tombs in which the very +mummies moved like living beings; and all these-priests, warriors, +women, and children--the living and the dead--all had uttered +his,--Nebenchari's,--name, and had cursed him as a traitor to his +country. A cold shiver struck to his heart; it beat more convulsively +than the blood in the veins of the dying girl at his side. Again the +curtain was raised; Atossa stole in once more and laid her hand on his +shoulder. He started and awoke. Nebenchari had been sitting three days +and nights with scarcely any intermission by this sick-bed, and such +dreams were the natural consequence. + +Atossa slipped back to her mother. Not a sound broke the sultry air of +the sick-room, and Nebenchiari's thoughts reverted to his dream. He told +himself that he was on the point of becoming a traitor and a criminal, +the visions he had just beheld passed before him again, but this time +it was another, and a different one which gained the foremost place. The +forms of Amasis, who had laughed at and exiled him,--of Psamtik and the +priests,--who had burnt his works,--stood near him; they were heavily +fettered and besought mercy at his hands. His lips moved, but this was +not the place in which to utter the cruel words which rose to them. And +then the stern man wiped away a tear as he remembered the long nights, +in which he had sat with the reed in his hand, by the dull light of the +lamp, carefully painting every sign of the fine hieratic character +in which he committed his ideas and experience to writing. He had +discovered remedies for many diseases of the eye, spoken of in the +sacred books of Thoth and the writings of a famous old physician of +Byblos as incurable, but, knowing that he should be accused of sacrilege +by his colleagues, if he ventured on a correction or improvement of the +sacred writings, he had entitled his work, "Additional writings on +the treatment of diseases of the eye, by the great god Thoth, newly +discovered by the oculist Nebenchari." + +He had resolved on bequeathing his works to the library at Thebes, that +his experience might be useful to his successors and bring forth fruit +for the whole body of sufferers. This was to be his reward for the long +nights which he had sacrificed to science--recognition after death, and +fame for the caste to which he belonged. And there stood his old rival +Petammon, by the side of the crown-prince in the grove of Neith, and +stirred the consuming fire, after having stolen his discovery of the +operation of couching. Their malicious faces were tinged by the red glow +of the flames, which rose with their spiteful laughter towards heaven, +as if demanding vengeance. A little further off he saw in his dream +Amasis receiving his father's letters from the hands of the high-priest. +Scornful and mocking words were being uttered by the king; Neithotep +looked exultant.--In these visions Nebenchari was so lost, that one of +the Persian doctors was obliged to point out to him that his patient was +awake. He nodded in reply, pointing to his own weary eyes with a smile, +felt the sick girl's pulse, and asked her in Egyptian how she had slept. + +"I do not know," she answered, in a voice that was hardly audible. "It +seemed to me that I was asleep, and yet I saw and heard everything that +had happened in the room. I felt so weak that I hardly knew whether I +was awake or asleep. Has not Atossa been here several times?" + +"Yes." + +"And Cambyses stayed with Kassandane until sunrise; then he went out, +mounted his horse Reksch, and rode into the game-park." + +"How do you know that?" + +"I saw it." + +Nebenchari looked anxiously into the girl's shining eyes. She went on: +"A great many dogs have been brought into the court behind this house." + +"Probably the king has ordered a hunt, in order to deaden the pain which +he feels at seeing you suffer." + +"Oh, no. I know better what it means. Oropastes taught me, that whenever +a Persian dies dogs' are brought in, that the Divs may enter into them." + +"But you are living, my mistress, and..." + +"Oh, I know very well that I shall die. I knew that I had not many hours +more to live, even if I had not seen how you and the other physicians +shrugged your shoulders whenever you looked at me. That poison is +deadly." + +"You are speaking too much, my mistress, it will hurt you." + +"Oh let me speak, Nebenchari! I must ask you to do something for me +before I die." + +"I am your servant." + +"No, Nebenchari, you must be my friend and priest. You are not angry +with me for having prayed to the Persian gods? Our own Hathor was always +my best friend still. Yes, I see by your face that you forgiven me. Then +you must promise not to allow my corpse to be torn in pieces by dogs and +vultures. The thought is so very dreadful. You will promise to embalm my +body and ornament it with amulets?" + +"If the king allows." + +"Of course he will. How could Cambyses possibly refuse my last request?" + +"Then my skill is at your service." + +"Thank you; but I have still something else to ask." + +"You must be brief. My Persian colleagues are already making signs to +me, to enjoin silence on you." + +"Can't you send them away for a moment?" + +"I will try to do so." + +Nebenchari then went up and spoke to the Magi for a few minutes, and +they left the room. An important incantation, at which no one but the +two concerned might be present, and the application of a new and secret +antidotal poison were the pretexts which he had used in order to get rid +of them. + +When they were alone, Nitetis drew a breath of relief and said: "Give +me your priestly blessing on my long journey into the nether world, and +prepare me for my pilgrimage to Osiris." + +Nebenchari knelt down by her bed and in a low voice repeated hymns, +Nitetis making devotional responses. + +The physician represented Osiris, the lord of the nether world--Nitetis +the soul, justifying itself before him. + +When these ceremonies were ended the sick girl breathed more freely. +Nebenchari could not but feel moved in looking at this young suicide. He +felt confident that he had saved a soul for the gods of his native +land, had cheered the last sad and painful hours of one of God's good +creatures. During these last moments, compassion and benevolence had +excluded every bitter feeling; but when he remembered that this lovely +creature owed all her misery to Amasis too, the old black cloud of +thought darkened his mind again.--Nitetis, after lying silent for some +time, turned to her new friend with a pleasant smile, and said: "I shall +find mercy with the judges of the dead now, shall not I?" + +"I hope and believe so." + +"Perhaps I may find Tachot before the throne of Osiris, and my +father...." + +"Your father and mother are waiting for you there. Now in your last hour +bless those who begot you, and curse those who have robbed you of your +parents, your crown and your life." + +"I do not understand you." + +"Curse those who robbed you of your parents, crown and life, girl!" +cried the physician again, rising to his full height, breathing hard +as he said the words, and gazing down on the dying girl. "Curse those +wretches, girl! that curse will do more in gaining mercy from the judges +of the dead, than thousands of good works!" And as he said this he +seized her hand and pressed it violently. + +Nitetis looked up uneasily into his indignant face, and stammered in +blind obedience, "I curse those who robbed my parents of their throne +and lives!" + +"Those who robbed my parents of their throne and their lives," she +repeated after him, and then crying, "Oh, my heart!" sank back exhausted +on the bed. + +Nebenchari bent down, and before the royal physicians could return, +kissed her forehead gently, murmuring: "She dies my confederate. The +gods hearken to the prayers of those who die innocent. By carrying the +sword into Egypt, I shall avenge king Hophra's wrongs as well as my +own." + +When Nitetis opened her eyes once more, a few hours later, Kassandane +was holding her right hand, Atossa kneeling at her feet, and Croesus +standing at the head of her bed, trying, with the failing strength +of old age, to support the gigantic frame of the king, who was so +completely overpowered by his grief, that he staggered like a drunken +man. The dying girl's eyes lighted up as she looked round on this +circle. She was wonderfully beautiful. Cambyses came closer and kissed +her lips; they were growing cold in death. It was the first kiss he had +ever given her, and the last. Two large tears sprang to her eyes; their +light was fast growing dim; she murmured Cambyses' name softly, fell +back in Atossa's arms, and died. + +We shall not give a detailed account of the next few hours: it would +be an unpleasant task to describe how, at a signal from the principal +Persian doctor, every one, except Nebenchari and Croesus, hastily left +the room; how dogs were brought in and their sagacious heads turned +towards the corpse in order to scare the demon of death;--how, directly +after Nitetis' death, Kassandane, Atossa and their entire retinue +moved into another house in order to avoid defilement;--how fire was +extinguished throughout the dwelling, that the pure element might be +removed from the polluting spirits of death;--how spells and exorcisms +were muttered, and how every person and thing, which had approached or +been brought into contact with the dead body, was subjected to numerous +purifications with water and pungent fluids. + +The same evening Cambyses was seized by one of his old epileptic +attacks. Two days later he gave Nebenchari permission to embalm Nitetis' +body in the Egyptian manner, according to her last wish. The king gave +way to the most immoderate grief; he tore the flesh of his arms, rent +his clothes and strewed ashes on his head, and on his couch. All the +magnates of his court were obliged to follow his example. The troops +mounted guard with rent banners and muffled drums. The cymbals and +kettle-drums of the "Immortals" were bound round with crape. The horses +which Nitetis had used, as well as all which were then in use by the +court, were colored blue and deprived of their tails; the entire court +appeared in mourning robes of dark brown, rent to the girdle, and the +Magi were compelled to pray three days and nights unceasingly for the +soul of the dead, which was supposed to be awaiting its sentence for +eternity at the bridge Chinvat on the third night. + +Neither the king, Kassandane, nor Atossa shrank from submitting to the +necessary purifications; they repeated, as if for one of their nearest +relations, thirty prayers for the dead, while, in a house outside +the city gates Nebenchari began to embalm her body in the most costly +manner, and according to the strictest rules of his art. + + [Embalming was practised in three different ways. The first cost a + talent of silver (L225.); the second 20 Minae (L60.) and the third + was very inexpensive. Herod. II. 86-88. Diod. I. 9. The brain + was first drawn out through the nose and the skull filled with + spices. The intestines were then taken out, and the body filled in + like manner with aromatic spices. When all was finished, the corpse + was left 70 days in a solution of soda, and then wrapped in bandages + of byssus spread over with gum. The microscopical examinations of + mummy-bandages made by Dr. Ure and Prof. Czermak have proved that + byssus is linen, not cotton. The manner of embalming just described + is the most expensive, and the latest chemical researches prove that + the description given of it by the Greeks was tolerably correct. L. + Penicher maintains that the bodies were first somewhat dried in + ovens, and that then resin of the cedar-tree, or asphalte, was + poured into every opening. According to Herodotus, female corpses + were embalmed by women. Herod. II. 89. The subject is treated in + great detail by Pettigrew, History of Egyptian Mummies. London. + 1834. Czermak's microscopical examinations of Egyptian mummies show + how marvellously the smallest portions of the bodies were preserved, + and confirm the statements of Herodotus on many points. The + monuments also contain much information in regard to embalming, and + we now know the purpose of nearly all the amulets placed with the + dead.] + +For nine days Cambyses remained in a condition, which seemed little +short of insanity. At times furious, at others dull and stupefied, he +did not even allow his relations or the high-priest to approach him. On +the morning of the tenth day he sent for the chief of the seven +judges and commanded, that as lenient a sentence as possible should +be pronounced on Gaumata. Nitetis, on her dying-bed, had begged him to +spare the life of this unhappy youth. + +One hour later the sentence was submitted to the king for ratification. +It ran thus: "Victory to the king! Inasmuch as Cambyses, the eye of the +world and the sun of righteousness, hath, in his great mercy, which +is as broad as the heavens and as inexhaustible as the great deep, +commanded us to punish the crime of the son of the Magi, Gaumata, with +the indulgence of a mother instead of with the severity of a judge, we, +the seven judges of the realm, have determined to grant his forfeited +life. Inasmuch, however, as by the folly of this youth the lives of +the noblest and best in this realm have been imperilled, and it may +reasonably be apprehended that he may again abuse the marvellous +likeness to Bartja, the noble son of Cyrus, in which the gods have been +pleased in their mercy to fashion his form and face, and thereby bring +prejudice upon the pure and righteous, we have determined to disfigure +him in such wise, that in the time to come it will be a light matter to +discern between this, the most worthless subject of the realm, and +him who is most worthy. We therefore, by the royal Will and command, +pronounce sentence, that both the ears of Gaumata be cut off, for the +honor of the righteous and shame of the impure." + +Cambyses confirmed this sentence at once, and it was executed the same +day. + + [With reference to Gaumata's punishment, the same which Herodotus + says was inflicted on the pretended Smerdis, we would observe that + even Persians of high rank were sometimes deprived of their ears. + In the Behistan inscription (Spiegel p. 15 and 21.) the ears, tongue + and nose of the man highest in rank among the rebels, were cut off. + Similar punishments are quoted by Brisson.] + +Oropastes did not dare to intercede for his brother, though this +ignominious punishment mortified his ambitious mind more than even +a sentence of death could have done. As he was afraid that his own +influence and consideration might suffer through this mutilated brother, +he ordered him to leave Babylon at once for a country-house of his own +on Mount Arakadris. + +During the few days which had just passed, a shabbily-dressed and +closely-veiled woman had watched day and night at the great gate of the +palace; neither the threats of the sentries nor the coarse jests of the +palace-servants could drive her from her post. She never allowed one of +the less important officials to pass without eagerly questioning him, +first as to the state of the Egyptian Princess, and then what had +become of Gaumata. When his sentence was told her as a good joke by a +chattering lamp-lighter, she went off into the strangest excitement, and +astonished the poor man so much by kissing his robe, that he thought +she must be crazed, and gave her an alms. She refused the money, but +remained at her post, subsisting on the bread which was given her by the +compassionate distributors of food. Three days later Gaumata himself, +with his head bound up, was driven out in a closed harmamaxa. She rushed +to the carriage and ran screaming by the side of it, until the driver +stopped his mules and asked what she wanted. She threw back her veil +and showed the poor, suffering youth her pretty face covered with deep +blushes. Gaumata uttered a low cry as he recognized her, collected +himself, however, in a moment, and said: "What do you want with me, +Mandane?" + +The wretched girl raised her hands beseechingly to him, crying: "Oh, do +not leave me, Gaumata! Take me with you! I forgive you all the misery +you have brought on me and my poor mistress. I love you so much, I will +take care of you and nurse you as if I were the lowest servant-girl." + +A short struggle passed in Gaumata's mind. He was just going to open the +carriage-door and clasp Mandane-his earliest love-in his arms, when +the sound of horses' hoofs coming nearer struck on his ear, and looking +round he saw, a carriage full of Magi, among whom were several who +had been his companions at the school for priests. He felt ashamed +and afraid of being seen by the very youths, whom he had often treated +proudly and haughtily because he was the brother of the high-priest, +threw Mandane a purse of gold, which his brother had given him at +parting, and ordered the driver to go on as fast as possible. The mules +galloped off. Mandane kicked the purse away, rushed after the carriage +and clung to it firmly. One of the wheels caught her dress and dragged +her down. With the strength of despair she sprang up, ran after the +mules, overtook them on a slight ascent which had lessened their speed, +and seized the reins. The driver used his three-lashed whip, or scourge, +the creatures reared, pulled the girl down and rushed on. Her last +cry of agony pierced the wounds of the mutilated man like a sharp +lance-thrust. + + ..................... + +On the twelfth day after Nitetis' death Cambyses went out hunting, in +the hope that the danger and excitement of the sport might divert his +mind. The magnates and men of high rank at his court received him with +thunders of applause, for which he returned cordial thanks. These few +days of grief had worked a great change in a man so unaccustomed to +suffering as Cambyses. His face was pale, his raven-black hair and beard +had grown grey, and the consciousness of victory which usually shone in +his eyes was dimmed. Had he not, only too painfully, experienced that +there was a stronger will than his own, and that, easily as he could +destroy, it did not be in his power to preserve the life of the meanest +creature? Before starting, Cambyses mustered his troop of sportsmen, and +calling Gobryas, asked why Phanes was not there. + +"My King did not order..." + +"He is my guest and companion, once for all; call him and follow us." + +Gobryas bowed, dashed back to the palace, and in half an hour reappeared +among the royal retinue with Phanes. + +The Athenian was warmly welcomed by many of the group, a fact which +seems strange when we remember that courtiers are of all men the most +prone to envy, and a royal favorite always the most likely object to +excite their ill will. But Phanes seemed a rare exception to this +rule. He had met the Achaemenidae in so frank and winning a manner, had +excited so many hopes by the hints he had thrown out of an expected and +important war, and had aroused so much merriment by well-told jests, +such as the Persians had never heard before, that there were very few +who did not welcome his appearance gladly, and when--in company with +the king--he separated from the rest in chase of a wild ass, they openly +confessed to one another, that they had never before seen so perfect a +man. The clever way in which he had brought the innocence of the accused +to light, the finesse which he had shown in securing the king's favor, +and the ease with which he had learnt the Persian language in so short a +time, were all subjects of admiration. Neither was there one even of the +Achaemenidae themselves, who exceeded him in beauty of face or symmetry +of figure. In the chase he proved himself a perfect horseman, and in a +conflict with a bear an exceptionally courageous and skilful sportsman. +On the way home, as the courtiers were extolling all the wonderful +qualities possessed by the king's favorite, old Araspes exclaimed, "I +quite agree with you that this Greek, who by the way has proved himself +a better soldier than anything else, is no common man, but I am sure +you would not praise him half as much, if he were not a foreigner and a +novelty." + +Phanes happened to be only separated from the speaker by some thick +bushes, and heard these words. When the other had finished, he went up +and said, smiling: "I understood what you said and feel obliged to you +for your kind opinion. The last sentence, however, gave me even more +pleasure than the first, because it confirmed my own idea that the +Persians are the most generous people in the world--they praise the +virtues of other nations as much, or even more, than their own." + +His hearers smiled, well pleased at this flattering remark, and Phanes +went on: "How different the Jews are now, for instance! They fancy +themselves the exclusive favorites of the gods, and by so doing incur +the contempt of all wise men, and the hatred of the whole world. And +then the Egyptians! You have no idea of the perversity of that people. +Why, if the priests could have their way entirely, (and they have a +great deal of power in their hands) not a foreigner would be left alive +in Egypt, nor a single stranger allowed to enter the country. A true +Egyptian would rather starve, than eat out of the same dish with one of +us. There are more strange, astonishing and wonderful things to be +seen in that country than anywhere else in the world. And yet, to do it +justice, I must say that Egypt has been well spoken of as the richest +and most highly cultivated land under the sun. The man who possesses +that kingdom need not envy the very gods themselves. It would be mere +child's play to conquer that beautiful country. Ten years there gave me +a perfect insight into the condition of things, and I know that their +entire military caste would not be sufficient to resist one such troop +as your Immortals. Well, who knows what the future may bring! Perhaps we +may all make a little trip together to the Nile some day. In my opinion, +your good swords have been rather long idle." These well-calculated +words were received with such shouts of applause, that the king turned +his horse to enquire the cause. Phanes answered quickly that the +Achaemenidae were rejoicing in the thought that a war might possibly be +near at hand. + +"What war?" asked the king, with the first smile that had been seen on +his face for many days. + +"We were only speaking in general of the possibility of such a thing," +answered Phanes carelessly; then, riding up to the king's side, his +voice took an impressive tone full of feeling, and looking earnestly +into his face, he began: "It is true, my Sovereign, that I was not born +in this beautiful country as one of your subjects, nor can I boast of a +long acquaintance with the most powerful of monarchs, but yet I cannot +resist the presumptuous, perhaps criminal thought, that the gods at my +birth appointed me to be your real friend. It is not your rich gifts +that have drawn me to you. I did not need them, for I belong to the +wealthier class of my countrymen, and I have no son,--no heir,--to +whom I can bequeath my treasures. Once I had a boy--a beautiful, gentle +child;--but I was not going to speak of that,--I... Are you offended at +my freedom of speech, my Sovereign?" + +"What is there to offend me?" answered the king, who had never been +spoken to in this manner before, and felt strongly attracted to the +original foreigner. + +"Till to-day I felt that your grief was too sacred to be disturbed, but +now the time has come to rouse you from it and to make your heart glow +once more. You will have to hear what must be very painful to you." + +"There is nothing more now, that can grieve me." + +"What I am going to tell you will not give you pain; on the contrary, it +will rouse your anger." + +"You make me curious." + +"You have been shamefully deceived; you and that lovely creature, who +died such an early death a few days ago." + +Cambyses' eyes flashed a demand for further information. + +"Amasis, the King of Egypt, has dared to make sport of you, the lord +of the world. That gentle girl was not his daughter, though she herself +believed that she was; she..." + +"Impossible!" + +"It would seem so, and yet I am speaking the simple truth. Amasis spun +a web of lies, in which he managed to entrap, not only the whole world, +but you too, my Sovereign. Nitetis, the most lovely creature ever born +of woman, was the daughter of a king, but not of the usurper Amasis. +Hophra, the rightful king of Egypt, was the father of this pearl among +women. You may well frown, my Sovereign. It is a cruel thing to be +betrayed by one's friends and allies." + +Cambyses spurred his horse, and after a silence of some moments, kept by +Phanes purposely, that his words might make a deeper impression, cried, +"Tell me more! I wish to know everything." + +"Hophra had been living twenty years in easy captivity in Sais after his +dethronement, when his wife, who had borne him three children and buried +them all, felt that she was about to give birth to a fourth. Hophra, in +his joy, determined to offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving in the temple +of Pacht, the Egyptian goddess supposed to confer the blessing of +children, when, on his way thither, a former magnate of his court, +named Patarbemis, whom, in a fit of unjust anger, he had ignominiously +mutilated, fell upon him with a troop of slaves and massacred him. +Amasis had the unhappy widow brought to his palace at once, and assigned +her an apartment next to the one occupied by his own queen Ladice, who +was also expecting soon to give birth to a child. A girl was born to +Hophra's widow, but the mother died in the same hour, and two days later +Ladice bore a child also.--But I see we are in the court of the palace. +If you allow, I will have the report of the physician, by whom this +imposture was effected, read before you. Several of his notes have, by +a remarkable conjuncture of circumstances, which I will explain to +you later, fallen into my hands. A former high-priest of Heliopolis, +Onuphis, is now living in Babylon, and understands all the different +styles of writing in use among his countrymen. Nebenchari will, of +course, refuse to help in disclosing an imposture, which must inevitably +lead to the ruin of his country." + +"In an hour I expect to see you here with the man you have just spoken +of. Croesus, Nebenchari, and all the Achaemenidae who were in Egypt, +will have to appear also. I must have certainty before I can act, and +your testimony alone is not sufficient, because I know from Amasis, that +you have cause to feel a grudge against his house." + +At the time appointed all were assembled before the king in obedience to +his command. + +Onuphis, the former high-priest, was an old man of eighty. A pair of +large, clear, intelligent, grey eyes looked out of a head so worn and +wasted, as to be more like a mere skull than the head of a living man. +He held a large papyrus-roll in his gaunt hand, and was seated in an +easy chair, as his paralyzed limbs did not allow of his standing, even +in the king's presence. His dress was snow-white, as beseemed a priest, +but there were patches and rents to be seen here and there. His figure +might perhaps once have been tall and slender, but it was now so bent +and shrunk by age, privation and suffering, as to look unnatural and +dwarfish, in comparison with the size of his head. + +Nebenchari, who revered Onuphis, not only as a high-priest deeply +initiated in the most solemn mysteries, but also on account of his great +age, stood by his side and arranged his cushions. At his left stood +Phanes, and then Croesus, Darius and Prexaspes. + +The king sat upon his throne. His face was dark and stern as he broke +the silence with the following words:--"This noble Greek, who, I am +inclined to believe, is my friend, has brought me strange tidings. He +says that I have been basely deceived by Amasis, that my deceased wife +was not his, but his predecessor's daughter." + +A murmur of astonishment ran through the assembly. "This old man is here +to prove the imposture." Onuphis gave a sign of assent. + +"Prexaspes, my first question is to you. When Nitetis was entrusted to +your care, was it expressly said that she was the daughter of Amasis?" + +"Expressly. Nebenchari had, it is true, praised Tachot to the noble +Kassandane as the most beautiful of the twin sisters; but Amasis +insisted on sending Nitetis to Persia. I imagined that, by confiding his +most precious jewel to your care, he meant to put you under a special +obligation; and as it seemed to me that Nitetis surpassed her sister, +not only in beauty but in dignity of character, I ceased to sue for the +hand of Tachot. In his letter to you too, as you will remember, he spoke +of confiding to you his most beautiful, his dearest child." + +"Those were his words." + +"And Nitetis was, without question, the more beautiful and the nobler +of the two sisters," said Croesus in confirmation of the envoy's remark. +"But it certainly did strike me that Tachot was her royal parents' +favorite." + +"Yes," said Darius, "without doubt. Once, at a revel, Amasis joked +Bartja in these words: 'Don't look too deep into Tachot's eyes, for if +you were a god, I could not allow you to take her to Persia!' Psamtik +was evidently annoyed at this remark and said to the king, 'Father, +remember Phanes.'" + +"Phanes!" + +"Yes, my Sovereign," answered the Athenian. "Once, when he was +intoxicated, Amasis let out his secret to me, and Psamtik was warning +him not to forget himself a second time." + +"Tell the story as it occurred." + +"On my return from Cyprus to Sais as a conqueror, a great entertainment +was given at court. Amasis distinguished me in every way, as having won +a rich province for him, and even, to the dismay of his own countrymen, +embraced me. His affection increased with his intoxication, and at last, +as Psamtik and I were leading him to his private apartments, he stopped +at the door of his daughter's room, and said: 'The girls sleep there. +If you will put away your own wife, Athenian, I will give you Nitetis. +I should like to have you for a son-in-law. There's a secret about that +girl, Phanes; she's not my own child.' Before his drunken father could +say more, Psamtik laid his hand before his mouth, and sent me roughly +away to my lodging, where I thought the matter over and conjectured +what I now, from reliable sources, know to be the truth. I entreat +you, command this old man to translate those parts of the physician +Sonnophre's journal, which allude to this story." + +Cambyses nodded his consent, and the old man began to read in a voice +far louder than any one could have supposed possible from his infirm +appearance "On the fifth day of the month Thoth, I was sent for by the +king. I had expected this, as the queen was near her confinement. With +my assistance she was easily and safely delivered of a child--a weakly +girl. As soon as the nurse had taken charge of this child, Amasis led me +behind a curtain which ran across his wife's sleeping-apartment. There +lay another infant, which I recognized as the child of Hophra's widow, +who herself had died under my hands on the third day of the same month. +The king then said, pointing to this strong child, 'This little creature +has no parents, but, as it is written in the law that we are to show +mercy to the desolate orphans, Ladice and I have determined to bring her +up as our own daughter. We do not, however, wish that this deed should +be made known, either to the world or to the child herself, and I ask +you to keep the secret and spread a report that Ladice has given birth +to twins. If you accomplish this according to our wish, you shall +receive to-day five thousand rings of gold, and the fifth part of this +sum yearly, during your life. I made my obeisance in silence, ordered +every one to leave the sick room, and, when I again called them in, +announced that Ladice had given birth to a second girl. Amasis' real +child received the name of Tachot, the spurious one was called Nitetis." + +At these words Cambyses rose from his seat, and strode through the hall; +but Onuphis continued, without allowing himself to be disturbed: "Sixth +day of the month Thoth. This morning I had just lain down to rest after +the fatigues of the night, when a servant appeared with the promised +gold and a letter from the king, asking me to procure a dead child, to +be buried with great ceremony as the deceased daughter of King Hophra. +After a great deal of trouble I succeeded, an hour ago, in obtaining one +from a poor girl who had given birth to a child secretly in the house +of the old woman, who lives at the entrance to the City of the Dead. The +little one had caused her shame and sorrow enough, but she would not be +persuaded to give up the body of her darling, until I promised that it +should be embalmed and buried in the most splendid manner. We put the +little corpse into my large medicine-chest, my son Nebenchari carried it +this time instead of my servant Hib, and so it was introduced into the +room where Hophra's widow had died. The poor girl's baby will receive a +magnificent funeral. I wish I might venture to tell her, what a glorious +lot awaits her darling after death. Nebenchari has just been sent for by +the king." + +At the second mention of this name, Cambyses stopped in his walk, and +said: "Is our oculist Nebenchari the man whose name is mentioned in this +manuscript?" + +"Nebenchari," returned Phanes, "is the son of this very Sonnophre who +changed the children." + +The physician did not raise his eyes; his face was gloomy and sullen. + +Cambyses took the roll of papyrus out of Onuphis' band, looked at +the characters with which it was covered, shook his head, went up to +Nebenchari and said: + +"Look at these characters and tell me if it is your father's writing." + +Nebenchari fell on his knees and raised his hands. + +"I ask, did your father paint these signs?" + +"I do not know-whether... Indeed..." + +"I will know the truth. Yes or no?" + +"Yes, my King; but..." + +"Rise, and be assured of my favor. Faithfulness to his ruler is the +ornament of a subject; but do not forget that I am your king now. +Kassandane tells me, that you are going to undertake a delicate +operation to-morrow in order to restore her sight. Are you not venturing +too much?" + +"I can depend on my own skill, my Sovereign." + +"One more question. Did you know of this fraud?" + +"Yes." + +"And you allowed me to remain in error?" + +"I had been compelled to swear secrecy and an oath..." + +"An oath is sacred. Gobryas, see that both these Egyptians receive a +portion from my table. Old man, you seem to require better food." + +"I need nothing beyond air to breathe, a morsel of bread and a draught +of water to preserve me from dying of hunger and thirst, a clean robe, +that I may be pleasing in the eyes of the gods and in my own, and a +small chamber for myself, that I may be a hindrance to no man. I have +never been richer than to-day." + +"How so?" + +"I am about to give away a kingdom." + +"You speak in enigmas." + +"By my translation of to-day I have proved, that your deceased consort +was the child of Hophra. Now, our law allows the daughter of a king to +succeed to the throne, when there is neither son nor brother living; if +she should die childless, her husband becomes her legitimate successor. +Amasis is a usurper, but the throne of Egypt is the lawful birthright +of Hophra and his descendants. Psamtik forfeits every right to the +crown the moment that a brother, son, daughter or son-in-law of Hophra +appears. I can, therefore, salute my present sovereign as the future +monarch of my own beautiful native land." + +Cambyses smiled self-complacently, and Onuphis went on: "I have read in +the stars too, that Psamtik's ruin and your own accession to the throne +of Egypt have been fore-ordained." + +"We'll show that the stars were right," cried the king, "and as for you, +you liberal old fellow, I command you to ask me any wish you like." + +"Give me a conveyance, and let me follow your army to Egypt. I long to +close my eyes on the Nile." + +"Your wish is granted. Now, my friends, leave me, and see that all those +who usually eat at my table are present at this evening's revel. We will +hold a council of war over the luscious wine. Methinks a campaign in +Egypt will pay better than a contest with the Massagetae." + +He was answered by a joyful shout of "Victory to the king!" They all +then left the hall, and Cambyses, summoning his dressers, proceeded for +the first time to exchange his mourning garments for the splendid royal +robes. + +Croesus and Phanes went into the green and pleasant garden lying on the +eastern side of the royal palace, which abounded in groves of trees, +shrubberies, fountains and flower-beds. Phanes was radiant with delight; +Croesus full of care and thought. + +"Have you duly reflected," said the latter, "on the burning brand that +you have just flung out into the world?" + +"It is only children and fools that act without reflection," was the +answer. + +"You forget those who are deluded by passion." + +"I do not belong to that number." + +"And yet revenge is the most fearful of all the passions." + +"Only when it is practised in the heat of feeling. My revenge is as cool +as this piece of iron; but I know my duty." + +"The highest duty of a good man, is to subordinate his own welfare to +that of his country." + +"That I know." + +"You seem to forget, however, that with Egypt you are delivering your +own country over to the Persians." + +"I do not agree with you there." + +"Do you believe, that when all the rest of the Mediterranean coasts +belong to Persia, she will leave your beautiful Greece untouched?" + +"Certainly not, but I know my own countrymen; I believe them fully +capable of a victorious resistance to the hosts of the barbarians, +and am confident that their courage and greatness will rise with the +nearness of the danger. It will unite our divided tribes into one great +nation, and be the ruin of the tyrants." + +"I cannot argue with you, for I am no longer acquainted with the state +of things in your native country, and besides, I believe you to be a +wise man--not one who would plunge a nation into ruin merely for the +gratification of his own ambition. It is a fearful thing that entire +nations should have to suffer for the guilt of one man, if that man be +one who wears a crown. And now, if my opinion is of any importance +to you, tell me what the deed was which has roused your desire of +vengeance." + +"Listen then, and never try again to turn me from my purpose. You know +the heir to the Egyptian throne, and you know Rhodopis too. The former +was, for many reasons, my mortal enemy, the latter the friend of every +Greek, but mine especially. When I was obliged to leave Egypt, Psamtik +threatened me with his vengeance; your son Gyges saved my life. A few +weeks later my two children came to Naukratis, in order to follow me +out to Sigeum. Rhodopis took them kindly under her protection, but some +wretch had discovered the secret and betrayed it to the prince. The very +next night her house was surrounded and searched,--my children found +and taken captive. Amasis had meanwhile become blind, and allowed his +miserable son to do what he liked; the wretch dared to..." + +"Kill your only son?" + +"You have said it." + +"And your other child?" + +"The girl is still in their hands." + +"They will do her an injury when they hear..." + +"Let her die. Better go to one's grave childless, than unrevenged." + +"I understand. I cannot blame you any longer. The boy's blood must be +revenged." + +And so saying, the old man pressed the Athenian's right hand. The latter +dried his tears, mastered his emotion, and cried: "Let us go to the +council of war now. No one can be so thankful for Psamtik's infamous +deeds as Cambyses. That man with his hasty passions was never made to be +a prince of peace." + +"And yet it seems to me the highest duty of a king is to work for the +inner welfare of his kingdom. But human beings are strange creatures; +they praise their butchers more than their benefactors. How many poems +have been written on Achilles! but did any one ever dream of writing +songs on the wise government of Pittakus?" + +"More courage is required to shed blood, than to plant trees." + +"But much more kindness and wisdom to heal wounds, than to make them.--I +have still one question which I should very much like to ask you, before +we go into the hall. Will Bartja be able to stay at Naukratis when +Amasis is aware of the king's intentions?" + +"Certainly not. I have prepared him for this, and advised his assuming a +disguise and a false name." + +"Did he agree?" + +"He seemed willing to follow my advice." + +"But at all events it would be well to send a messenger to put him on +his guard." + +"We will ask the king's permission." + +"Now we must go. I see the wagons containing the viands of the royal +household just driving away from the kitchen." + +"How many people are maintained from the king's table daily?" + +"About fifteen thousand." + +"Then the Persians may thank the gods, that their king only takes one +meal a day." + + [This immense royal household is said to have cost 400 talents, that + is (L90,000.) daily. Athenaus, Deipn. p. 607.] + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +Six weeks after these events a little troop of horsemen might have been +seen riding towards the gates of Sardis. The horses and their riders +were covered with sweat and dust. The former knew that they were drawing +near a town, where there would be stables and mangers, and exerted all +their remaining powers; but yet their pace did not seem nearly fast +enough to satisfy the impatience of two men, dressed in Persian costume, +who rode at the head of the troop. + +The well-kept royal road ran through fields of good black, arable land, +planted with trees of many different kinds. It crossed the outlying +spurs of the Tmolus range of mountains. At their foot stretched rows of +olive, citron and plane-trees, plantations of mulberries and vines; at +a higher level grew firs, cypresses and nut-tree copses. Fig-trees and +date-palms, covered with fruit, stood sprinkled over the fields; and +the woods and meadows were carpeted with brightly-colored and +sweetly-scented flowers. The road led over ravines and brooks, now half +dried up by the heat of summer, and here and there the traveller came +upon a well at the side of the road, carefully enclosed, with seats for +the weary, and sheltering shrubs. Oleanders bloomed in the more damp +and shady places; slender palms waved wherever the sun was hottest. Over +this rich landscape hung a deep blue, perfectly cloudless sky, bounded +on its southern horizon by the snowy peaks of the Tmolus mountains, and +on the west by the Sipylus range of hills, which gave a bluish shimmer +in the distance. + +The road went down into the valley, passing through a little wood of +birches, the stems of which, up to the very tree-top, were twined with +vines covered with bunches of grapes. + +The horsemen stopped at a bend in the road, for there, before them, in +the celebrated valley of the Hermus, lay the golden Sardis, formerly the +capital of the Lydian kingdom and residence of its king, Croesus. + +Above the reed-thatched roofs of its numerous houses rose a black, steep +rock; the white marble buildings on its summit could be seen from a +great distance. These buildings formed the citadel, round the threefold +walls of which, many centuries before, King Meles had carried a lion in +order to render them impregnable. On its southern side the citadel-rock +was not so steep, and houses had been built upon it. Croesus' +former palace lay to the north, on the golden-sanded Pactolus. This +reddish-colored river flowed above the market-place, (which, to our +admiring travellers, looked like a barren spot in the midst of a +blooming meadow), ran on in a westerly direction, and then entered +a narrow mountain valley, where it washed the walls of the temple of +Cybele. + +Large gardens stretched away towards the east, and in the midst of +them lay the lake Gygaeus, covered with gay boats and snowy swans, and +sparkling like a mirror. + +A short distance from the lake were a great number of artificial mounds, +three of which were especially noticeable from their size and height. + + [See also Hamilton's Asia Minor, I. P. 145. Herodotus (I. 93.) + calls the tombs of the Lydian kings the largest works of human + hands, next to the Egyptian and Babylonian. These cone-shaped hills + can be seen to this day, standing near the ruins of Sardis, not far + from the lake of Gygaea. Hamilton (Asia Minor, I. p. i) counted + some sixty of them, and could not ride round the hill of Alayattes + in less than ten minutes. Prokesch saw 100 such tumuli. The + largest, tomb of Alyattes, still measures 3400 feet in + circumference, and the length of its slope is 650 feet. According + to Prokesch, gigantic Phallus columns lie on some of these graves.] + +"What can those strange-looking earth-heaps mean?" said Darius, the +leader of the troop, to Prexaspes, Cambyses' envoy, who rode at his +side. + +"They are the graves of former Lydian kings," was the answer. "The +middle one is in memory of the princely pair Panthea and Abradatas, and +the largest, that one to the left, was erected to the father of Croesus, +Alyattes. It was raised by the tradesmen, mechanics, and girls, to their +late king, and on the five columns, which stand on its summit, you can +read how much each of these classes contributed to the work. The girls +were the most industrious. Gyges' grandfather is said to have been their +especial friend." + +"Then the grandson must have degenerated very much from the old stock." + +"Yes, and that seems the more remarkable, because Croesus himself in +his youth was by no means averse to women, and the Lydians generally are +devoted to such pleasures. You see the white walls of that temple yonder +in the midst of its sacred grove. That is the temple of the goddess of +Sardis, Cybele or Ma, as they call her. In that grove there is many a +sheltered spot where the young people of Sardis meet, as they say, in +honor of their goddess." + +"Just as in Babylon, at the festival of Mylitta." + +"There is the same custom too on the coast of Cyprus. When I landed +there on the way back from Egypt, I was met by a troop of lovely girls, +who, with songs, dances, and the clang of cymbals, conducted me to the +sacred grove of their goddess." + +"Well, Zopyrus will not grumble at Bartja's illness." + +"He will spend more of his time in the grove of Cybele, than at his +patient's bedside. How glad I shall be to see that jolly fellow again!" + +"Yes, he'll keep you from falling into those melancholy fits that you +have been so subject to lately." "You are quite right to blame me for +those fits, and I must not yield to them, but they are not without +ground. Croesus says we only get low-spirited, when we are either too +lazy or too weak to struggle against annoyances, and I believe he is +right. But no one shall dare to accuse Darius of weakness or idleness. +If I can't rule the world, at least I will be my own master." And as he +said these words, the handsome youth drew himself up, and sat erect in +his saddle. His companion gazed in wonder at him. + +"Really, you son of Hystaspes," he said, "I believe you must be meant +for something great. It was not by chance that, when you were still a +mere child, the gods sent their favorite Cyrus that dream which induced +him to order you into safe keeping." + +"And yet my wings have never appeared." + +"No bodily ones, certainly; but mental ones, likely enough. Young man, +young man, you're on a dangerous road." + +"Have winged creatures any need to be afraid of precipices?" + +"Certainly; when their strength fails them." + +"But I am strong." + +"Stronger creatures than you will try to break your pinions." + +"Let them. I want nothing but what is right, and shall trust to my +star." + +"Do you know its name?" + +"It ruled in the hour of my birth, and its name is Anahita." + +"I think I know better. A burning ambition is the sun, whose rays guide +all your actions. Take care; I tried that way myself once; it leads to +fame or to disgrace, but very seldom to happiness. Fame to the ambitious +is like salt water to the thirsty; the more he gets, the more he wants. +I was once only a poor soldier, and am now Cambyses' ambassador. But +you, what can you have to strive for? There is no man in the kingdom +greater than yourself, after the sons of Cyrus... Do my eyes deceive me? +Surely those two men riding to meet us with a troop of horsemen must +be Gyges and Zopyrus. The Angare, who left the inn before us, must have +told them of our coming." + +"To be sure. Look at that fellow Zopyrus, how he's waving and beckoning +with that palm-leaf." + +"Here, you fellows, cut us a few twigs from those bushes-quick. We'll +answer his green palm-leaf with a purple pomegranate-branch." + +In a few minutes the friends had embraced one another, and the two +bands were riding together into the populous town, through the gardens +surrounding the lake Gygaeus, the Sardians' place of recreation. It was +now near sunset, a cooler breeze was beginning to blow, and the citizens +were pouring through the gates to enjoy themselves in the open air. +Lydian and Persian warriors, the former wearing richly-ornamented +helmets, the latter tiaras in the form of a cylinder, were following +girls who were painted and wreathed. Children were being led to the lake +by their nurses, to see the swans fed. An old blind man was seated under +a plane-tree, singing sad ditties to a listening crowd and accompanying +them on the Magadis, the twenty-stringed Lydian lute. Youths were +enjoying themselves at games of ball, ninepins, and dice, and half-grown +girls screaming with fright, when the ball hit one of their group or +nearly fell into the water. + +The travellers scarcely noticed this gay scene, though at another time +it would have delighted them. They were too much interested in enquiring +particulars of Bartja's illness and recovery. + +At the brazen gates of the palace which had formerly belonged +to Croesus, they were met by Oroetes, the satrap of Sardis, in a +magnificent court-dress overloaded with ornaments. He was a stately man, +whose small penetrating black eyes looked sharply out from beneath a +bushy mass of eyebrow. His satrapy was one of the most important +and profitable in the entire kingdom, and his household could bear a +comparison with that of Cambyses in richness and splendor. Though +he possessed fewer wives and attendants than the king, it was no +inconsiderable troop of guards, slaves, eunuchs and gorgeously-dressed +officials, which appeared at the palace-gates to receive the travellers. + +The vice-regal palace, which was still kept up with great magnificence, +had been, in the days when Croesus occupied it, the most splendid of +royal residences; after the taking of Sardis, however, the greater part +of the dethroned king's treasures and works of art had been sent to +Cyrus's treasure-house in Pasargadae. When that time of terror had +passed, the Lydians brought many a hidden treasure into the light of day +once more, and, by their industry and skill in art during the peaceful +years which they enjoyed under Cyrus and Cambyses, recovered their +old position so far, that Sardis was again looked upon as one of the +wealthiest cities of Asia Minor, and therefore, of the world. + +Accustomed as Darius and Prexaspes were to royal splendor, they were +still astonished at the beauty and brilliancy of the satrap's palace. +The marble work, especially, made a great impression on them, as nothing +of the kind was to be found in Babylon, Susa or Ecbatana, where burnt +brick and cedar-wood supply the place of the polished marble. + + [The palace of Persepolis did not exist at the date of our story. + It was built partly of black stone from Mount Rachmed, and partly of + white marble; it was probably begun by Darius. The palace of Susa + was built of brick, (Strabo p. 728) that of Ecbatana of wood + overlaid with plates of gold of immense value, and roofed with tiles + made of the precious metals.] + +They found Bartja lying on a couch in the great hall; he looked very +pale, and stretched out his arms towards them. + +The friends supped together at the satrap's table and then retired to +Bartja's private room, in order to enjoy an undisturbed conversation. + +"Well, Bartja, how did you come by this dangerous illness?" was Darius' +first question after they were seated. + +"I was thoroughly well, as you know," said Bartja, "when we left +Babylon, and we reached Germa, a little town on the Sangarius, without +the slightest hindrance. The ride was long and we were very tired, burnt +too by the scorching May sun, and covered with dust; the river flows by +the station, and its waves looked so clear and bright--so inviting for +a bathe--that in a minute Zopyrus and I were off our horses, undressed, +and in the water. Gyges told us we were very imprudent, but we felt +confident that we were too much inured to such things to get any +harm, and very much enjoyed our swim in the cool, green water. Gyges, +perfectly calm as usual, let us have our own way, waited till our bath +was over, and then plunged in himself. + +"In two hours we were in our saddles again, pushing on as if for our +very lives, changing horses at every station, and turning night into +day. + +"We were near Ipsus, when I began to feel violent pains in the head and +limbs. I was ashamed to say anything about it and kept upright on my +saddle, until we had to take fresh horses at Bagis. Just as I was in the +very act of mounting, I lost my senses and strength, and fell down on +the ground in a dead faint." + +"Yes, a pretty fright you gave us," interrupted Zopyrus, "by dropping +down in that fashion. It was fortunate that Gyges was there, for I lost +my wits entirely; he, of course, kept his presence of mind, and after +relieving his feelings in words not exactly flattering to us two, he +behaved like a circumspect general.--A fool of a doctor came running up +and protested that it was all over with poor Bart, for which I gave him +a good thrashing." + +"Which he didn't particularly object to," said the satrap, laughing, +"seeing that you told them to lay a gold stater on every stripe." + +"Yes, yes, my pugnacity costs me very dear sometimes. But to our story. +As soon as Bartja had opened his eyes, Gyges sent me off to Sardis to +fetch a good physician and an easy travelling-carriage. That ride won't +so soon be imitated. An hour before I reached the gates my third horse +knocked up under me, so I had to trust to my own legs, and began running +as fast as I could. The people must all have thought me mad. At last I +saw a man on horseback--a merchant from Kelaenze--dragged him from his +horse, jumped into the saddle, and, before the next morning dawned, I +was back again with our invalid, bringing the best physician in Sardis, +and Oroetes' most commodious travelling-carriage. We brought him to this +house at a slow footpace, and here a violent fever came on, he became +delirious, talked all the nonsense that could possibly come into a human +brain, and made us so awfully anxious, that the mere remembrance of that +time brings the big drops of perspiration to my forehead." + +Bartja took his friend's hand: "I owe my life to him and Gyges," said +he, turning to Darius. "Till to-day, when they set out to meet you, they +have never left me for a minute; a mother could not have nursed her sick +child more carefully. And Oroetes, I am much obliged to you too; doubly +so because your kindness subjected you to annoyance." + +"How could that be?" asked Darius. + +"That Polykrates of Samos, whose name we heard so often in Egypt, has +the best physician that Greece has ever produced. While I was lying here +ill, Oroetes wrote to this Democedes, making him immense promises, if he +would only come to Sardis directly. The Sainian pirates, who infest +the whole Ionian coast, took the messenger captive and brought Oroetes' +letter to their master Polykrates. He opened it, and sent the messenger +back with the answer, that Democedes was in his pay, and that if Oroetes +needed his advice he must apply to Polykrates himself. Our generous +friend submitted for my sake, and asked the Samian to send his physician +to Sardis." + +"Well," said Prexaspes, "and what followed?" + +"The proud island-prince sent him at once. He cured me, as you see, and +left us a few days ago loaded with presents." + +"Well," interrupted Zopyrus, "I can quite understand, that Polykrates +likes to keep his physician near him. I assure you, Darius, it would not +be easy to find his equal. He's as handsome as Minutscher, as clever as +Piran Wisa, as strong as Rustem, and as benevolent and helpful as the +god Soma. I wish you could have seen how well he threw those round metal +plates he calls discs. I am no weakling, but when we wrestled he soon +threw me. And then he could tell such famous stories--stories that made +a man's heart dance within him." + + [This very Oroetes afterwards succeeded in enticing Polykrates to + Sardis and there crucified him. Herod. III. 120-125. Valerius + Maximus VI. 9. 5.] + +"We know just such a fellow too," said Darius, smiling at his friend's +enthusiasm. "That Athenian Phanes, who came to prove our innocence." + +"The physician Democedes is from Crotona, a place which must be +somewhere very near the setting sun." + +"But is inhabited by Greeks, like Athens." added Oroetes. "Ah, my +young friends, you must beware of those fellows; they're as cunning, +deceitful, and selfish, as they are strong, clever, and handsome." + +"Democedes is generous and sincere," cried Zopyrus. + +"And Croesus himself thinks Phanes not only an able, but a virtuous +man," added Darius. + +"Sappho too has always, and only spoken well of the Athenian," said +Bartja, in confirmation of Darius's remark. "But don't let us talk any +more about these Greeks," he went on. "They give Oroetes so much trouble +by their refractory and stubborn conduct, that he is not very fond of +them." + +"The gods know that," sighed the satrap. "It's more difficult to keep +one Greek town in order, than all the countries between the Euphrates +and the Tigris." + +While Oroetes was speaking, Zopyrus had gone to the window. "The stars +are already high in the heavens," he said, "and Bartja is tired; so make +haste, Darius, and tell us something about home." + +The son of Hystaspes agreed at once, and began by relating the events +which we have heard already. Bartja, especially, was distressed at +hearing of Nitetis' sad end, and the discovery of Amasis' fraud filled +them all with astonishment. After a short pause, Darius went on: + +"When once Nitetis' descent had been fully proved, Cambyses was like a +changed man. He called a council of war, and appeared at table in +the royal robes instead of his mourning garments. You can fancy what +universal joy the idea of a war with Egypt excited. Even Croesus, who +you know is one of Amasis' well-wishers, and advises peace whenever +it is possible, had not a word to say against it. The next morning, as +usual, what had been resolved on in intoxication was reconsidered +by sober heads; after several opinions had been given, Phanes asked +permission to speak, and spoke I should think for an hour. But how well! +It was as if every word he said came direct from the gods. He has learnt +our language in a wonderfully short time, but it flowed from his lips +like honey. Sometimes he drew tears from every eye, at others excited +stormy shouts of joy, and then wild bursts of rage. His gestures were +as graceful as those of a dancing-girl, but at the same time manly and +dignified. I can't repeat his speech; my poor words, by the side of his, +would sound like the rattle of a drum after a peal of thunder. But when +at last, inspired and carried away by his eloquence, we had unanimously +decided on war, he began to speak once more on the best ways and means +of prosecuting it successfully." + +Here Darius was obliged to stop, as Zopyrus had fallen on his neck in an +ecstasy of delight. Bartja, Gyges and Oroetes were not less delighted, +and they all begged him to go on with his tale. + +"Our army," began Darius afresh, "ought to be at the boundaries of Egypt +by the month Farwardin, (March) as the inundation of the Nile, which +would hinder the march of our infantry, begins in Murdad (July). Phanes +is now on his way to the Arabians to secure their assistance; in hopes +that these sons of the desert may furnish our army with water and guides +through their dry and thirsty land. He will also endeavor to win the +rich island of Cyprus, which he once conquered for Amasis, over to our +side. As it was through his mediation that the kings of the island were +allowed to retain their crowns, they will be willing to listen to his +advice. In short the Athenian leaves nothing uncared for, and knows +every road and path as if he were the sun himself He showed us a picture +of the world on a plate of copper." + +Oroetes nodded and said, "I have such a picture of the world too. A +Milesian named Hekataeus, who spends his life in travelling, drew it, +and gave it me in exchange for a free-pass." + + [Hekataeus of Miletus maybe called "the father of geography," as + Herodotus was "the father of history." He improved the map made by + Anaximander, and his great work, "the journey round the world," was + much prized by the ancients; but unfortunately, with the exception + of some very small fragments, has now perished. Herodotus assures + us, (V. 36.) that Hekataeus was intimately acquainted with every + part of the Persian empire, and had also travelled over Egypt. he + lived at the date of our narrative, having been born at Miletus 550 + B. C. He lived to see the fall of his native city in 4966 B. C. + His map has been restored by Klausen and can be seen also in Mure's + Lan. and Lit. of Ancient Greece. Vol. IV. Maps existed, however, + much earlier, the earliest known being one of the gold-mines, drawn + very cleverly by an Egyptian priest, and so well sketched as to give + a pretty clear idea of the part of the country intended. It is + preserved in the Egyptian Museum at Turin.] + +"What notions these Greeks have in their heads!" exclaimed Zopyrus, +who could not explain to himself what a picture of the world could look +like. + +"To-morrow I will show you my copper tablet, said Oroetes, but now we +must allow Darius to go on." + +"So Phanes has gone to Arabia," continued Darius, "and Prexaspes was +sent hither not only to command you, Oroetes, to raise as many forces as +possible, especially Ionians and Carians, of whom Phanes has offered +to undertake the command, but also to propose terms of alliance to +Polykrates." + +"To that pirate!" asked Oroetes, and his face darkened. + +"The very same," answered Prexaspes, not appearing to notice the change +in Oroetes' face. "Phanes has already received assurances from this +important naval power, which sound as if we might expect a favorable +answer to my proposal." + +"The Phoenician, Syrian and Ionian ships of war would be quite +sufficient to cope with the Egyptian fleet." + +"There you are right; but if Polykrates were to declare against us, we +should not be able to hold our own at sea; you say yourself that he is +all-powerful in the AEgean." + +"Still I decidedly disapprove of entering into treaty with such a +robber." + +"We want powerful allies, and Polykrates is very powerful at sea. +It will be time to humble him, when we have used him to help us in +conquering Egypt. For the present I entreat you to suppress all personal +feeling, and keep the success of our great plan alone in view. I am +empowered to say this in the king's name, and to show his ring in token +thereof." + +Oroetes made a brief obeisance before this symbol of despotism, and +asked: "What does Cambyses wish me to do?" + +"He commands you to use every means in your power to secure an alliance +with the Samian; and also to send your troops to join the main army on +the plains of Babylon as soon as possible." + +The satrap bowed and left the room with a look betraying irritation and +defiance. + +When the echo of his footsteps had died away among the colonnades of the +inner court, Zopyrus exclaimed: "Poor fellow, it's really very hard for +him to have to meet that proud man, who has so often behaved insolently +to him, on friendly terms. Think of that story about the physician for +instance." + +"You are too lenient," interrupted Darius. "I don't like this Oroetes. +He has no right to receive the king's commands in that way. Didn't you +see him bite his lips till they bled, when Prexaspes showed him the +king's ring?" + +"Yes," cried the envoy, "he's a defiant, perverse man. He left the room +so quickly, only because he could not keep down his anger any longer." + +"Still," said Bartja, "I hope you will keep his conduct a secret from my +brother, for he has been very good to me." + +Prexaspes bowed, but Darius said: "We must keep an eye on the fellow. +Just here, so far from the king's gate and in the midst of nations +hostile to Persia, we want governors who are more ready to obey their +king than this Oroetes seems to be. Why, he seems to fancy he is King of +Lydia!" + +"Do you dislike the satrap?" said Zopyrus. + +"Well, I think I do," was the answer. "I always take an aversion or a +fancy to people at first sight, and very seldom find reason to change my +mind afterwards. I disliked Oroetes before I heard him speak a word, and +I remember having the same feeling towards Psamtik, though Amasis took +my fancy." + +"There's no doubt that you're very different from the rest of us," said +Zopyrus laughing, "but now, to please me, let this poor Oroetes alone. +I'm glad he's gone though, because we can talk more freely about home. +How is Kassandane? and your worshipped Atossa? Croesus too, how is +he? and what are my wives about? They'll soon have a new companion. +To-morrow I intend to sue for the hand of Oroetes' pretty daughter. +We've talked a good deal of love with our eyes already. I don't know +whether we spoke Persian or Syrian, but we said the most charming things +to one another." + +The friends laughed, and Darius, joining in their merriment, said: "Now +you shall hear a piece of very good news. I have kept it to the last, +because it is the best I have. Now, Bartja, prick up your ears. Your +mother, the noble Kassandane, has been cured of her blindness! Yes, yes, +it is quite true.--Who cured her? Why who should it be, but that crabbed +old Nebenchari, who has become, if possible, moodier than ever. Come, +now, calm yourselves, and let me go on with my story; or it will be +morning before Bartja gets to sleep. Indeed. I think we had better +separate now: you've heard the best, and have something to dream about +What, you will not? Then, in the name of Mithras, I must go on, though +it should make my heart bleed. + +"I'll begin with the king. As long as Phanes was in Babylon, he seemed +to forget his grief for Nitetis. + +"The Athenian was never allowed to leave him. They were as inseparable +as Reksch and Rustem. Cambyses had no time to think of his sorrow, for +Phanes had always some new idea or other, and entertained us all, as +well as the king, marvellously. And we all liked him too; perhaps, +because no one could really envy him. Whenever he was alone, the tears +came into his eyes at the thought of his boy, and this made his great +cheerfulness--a cheerfulness which he always managed to impart to the +king, Bartja,--the more admirable. Every morning he went down to the +Euphrates with Cambyses and the rest of us, and enjoyed watching the +sons of the Achaemenidae at their exercises. When he saw them riding at +full speed past the sand-hills and shooting the pots placed on them into +fragments with their arrows, or throwing blocks of wood at one another +and cleverly evading the blows, he confessed that he could not imitate +them in these exercises, but at the same time he offered to accept a +challenge from any of us in throwing the spear and in wrestling. In his +quick way he sprang from his horse, stripped off his clothes--it +was really a shame--and, to the delight of the boys, threw their +wrestling-master as if he had been a feather. + + [In the East, nudity was, even in those days, held to be + disgraceful, while the Greeks thought nothing so beautiful as the + naked human body. The Hetaira Phryne was summoned before the judges + for an offence against religion. Her defender, seeing that sentence + was about to be pronounced against his client, suddenly tore away + the garment which covered her bosom. The artifice was successful. + The judges pronounced her not guilty, being convinced that such + wondrous grace and beauty could only belong to a favorite of + Aphrodite. Athen. XIII. p. 590] + +"Then he knocked over a number of bragging fellows, and would have +thrown me too if he had not been too fatigued. I assure you, I am really +stronger than he is, for I can lift greater weights, but he is as +nimble as an eel, and has wonderful tricks by which he gets hold of +his adversary. His being naked too is a great help. If it were not so +indecent, we ought always to wrestle stripped, and anoint our skins, as +the Greeks do, with the olive-oil. He beat us too in throwing the spear, +but the king, who you know is proud of being the best archer in Persia, +sent his arrow farther. Phanes was especially pleased with our rule, +that in a wrestling-match the one who is thrown must kiss the hand of +his victor. At last he showed us a new exercise:--boxing. He refused, +however, to try his skill on any one but a slave, so Cambyses sent for +the biggest and strongest man among the servants--my groom, Bessus--a +giant who can bring the hind legs of a horse together and hold them so +firmly that the creature trembles all over and cannot stir. This +big fellow, taller by a head than Phanes, shrugged his shoulders +contemptuously on hearing that he was to box with the little foreign +gentleman. He felt quite sure of victory, placed himself opposite his +adversary, and dealt him a blow heavy enough to kill an elephant. Phanes +avoided it cleverly, in the same moment hitting the giant with his naked +fist so powerfully under the eyes, that the blood streamed from his nose +and mouth, and the huge, uncouth fellow fell on the ground with a +yell. When they picked him up his face looked like a pumpkin of a +greenish-blue color. The boys shouted with delight at his discomfiture; +but we admired the dexterity of this Greek, and were especially glad to +see the king in such good spirits; we noticed this most when Phanes was +singing Greek songs and dance-melodies to him accompanied by the lute. + +"Meanwhile Kassandane's blindness had been cured, and this of course +tended not a little to disperse the king's melancholy. + +"In short it was a very pleasant time, and I was just going to ask +for Atossa's hand in marriage, when Phanes went off to Arabia, and +everything was changed. + +"No sooner had he turned his back on the gates of Babylon than all the +evil Divs seemed to have entered into the king. He went about, a moody, +silent man, speaking to no one; and to drown his melancholy would +begin drinking, even at an early hour in the morning, quantities of the +strongest Syrian wine. By the evening he was generally so intoxicated +that he had to be carried out of the hall, and would wake up the next +morning with headache and spasms. In the day-time he would wander about +as if looking for something, and in the night they often heard him +calling Nitetis. The physicians became very anxious about his health, +but when they sent him medicine he threw it away. It was quite right of +Croesus to say, as he did once 'Ye Magi and Chaldaeans! before trying to +cure a sick man we must discover the seat of his disease. Do you know +it in this case? No? Then I will tell you what ails the king. He has +an internal complaint and a wound. The former is called ennui, and the +latter is in his heart. The Athenian is a good remedy for the first, +but for the second I know of none; such wounds either scar over of +themselves, or the patient bleeds to death inwardly.'" + +"I know of a remedy for the king though," exclaimed Otanes when he heard +these words. "We must persuade him to send for the women, or at least +for my daughter Phaedime, back from Susa. Love is good for dispersing +melancholy, and makes the blood flow faster." We acknowledged that he +was right, and advised him to remind the king of his banished wives. He +ventured to make the proposal while we were at supper, but got such a +harsh rebuff for his pains, that we all pitied him. Soon after this, +Cambyses sent one morning for all the Mobeds and Chaldaeans, and +commanded them to interpret a strange dream which he had bad. In his +dream he had been standing in the midst of a dry and barren plain: +barren as a threshing-floor, it did not produce a single blade of grass. +Displeased at the desert aspect of the place, he was just going to seek +other and more fruitful regions, when Atossa appeared, and, without +seeing him, ran towards a spring which welled up through the arid soil +as if by enchantment. While he was gazing in wonder at this scene, he +noticed that wherever the foot of his sister touched the parched soil, +graceful terebinths sprang up, changing, as they grew, into cypresses +whose tops reached unto heaven. As he was going to speak to Atossa, he +awoke. + +The Mobeds and Chaldaeans consulted together and interpreted the dream +thus? 'Atossa would be successful in all she undertook.' + +"Cambyses seemed satisfied with this answer, but, as the next night the +vision appeared again, he threatened the wise men with death, unless +they could give him another and a different interpretation. They +pondered long, and at last answered, 'that Atossa would become a queen +and the mother of mighty princes.' + +"This answer really contented the king, and he smiled strangely to +himself as he told us his dream. 'The same day Kassandane sent for me +and told me to give up all thoughts of her daughter, as I valued my +life. + +"'Just as I was leaving the queen's garden I saw Atossa behind a +pomegranate-bush. She beckoned. I went to her; and in that hour we +forgot danger and sorrow, but said farewell to each other for ever. Now +you know all; and now that I have given her up--now that I know it would +be madness even to think of her again--I am obliged to be very stern +with myself, lest, like the king, I should fall into deep melancholy +for the sake of a woman. And this is the end of the story, the close +of which we were all expecting, when Atossa, as I lay under sentence of +death, sent me a rose, and made me the happiest of mortals. If I had +not betrayed my secret then, when we thought our last hour was near, it +would have gone with me to my grave. But what am I talking about? I know +I can trust to your secrecy, but pray don't look at me so deplorably. I +think I am still to be envied, for I have had one hour of enjoyment that +would outweigh a century of misery. Thank you,--thank you: now let me +finish my story as quickly as I can. + +"Three days after I had taken leave of Atossa I had to marry Artystone, +the daughter of Gobryas. She is beautiful, and would make any other man +happy. The day after the wedding the Angare reached Babylon with the +news of your illness. My mind was made up at once; I begged the king to +let me go to you, nurse you, and warn you of the danger which threatens +your life in Egypt--took leave of my bride, in spite of all my +father-in-law's protestations, and went off at full speed with +Prexaspes, never resting till I reached your side, my dear Bartja. Now +I shall go with you and Zopyrus to Egypt, for Gyges must accompany the +ambassador to Samos, as interpreter. This is the king's command; he has +been in better spirits the last few days; the inspection of the +masses of troops coming up to Babylon diverts him, besides which, the +Chaldaeans have assured him that the planet Adar, which belongs to their +war-god Chanon, promises a great victory to the Persian arms. When do +you think you shall be able to travel, Bartja?" + +"To-morrow, if you like," was the answer. "The doctors say the +sea-voyage will do me good, and the journey by land to Smyrna is very +short." + +"And I can assure you," added Zopyrus, "that Sappho will cure you sooner +than all the doctors in the world." + +"Then we will start in three days;" said Darius after some +consideration, "we have plenty to do before starting. Remember we are +going into what may almost be called an enemy's country. I have been +thinking the matter over, and it seems to me that Bartja must pass for a +Babylonian carpet-merchant, I for his brother, and Zopyrus for a dealer +in Sardian red." + +"Couldn't we be soldiers?" asked Zopyrus. "It's such an ignominious +thing to be taken for cheating peddlers. How would it be, for instance, +if we passed ourselves off for Lydian soldiers, escaped from punishment, +and seeking service in the Egyptian army?" + +"That's not a bad idea," said Bartja, "and I think too that we look more +like soldiers than traders." + +"Looks and manner are no guide," said Gyges. "Those great Greek +merchants and ship-owners go about as proudly as if the world belonged +to them. But I don't find Zopyrus' proposal a bad one." + +"Then so let it be," said Darius, yielding. "In that case Oroetes must +provide us with the uniform of Lydian Taxiarchs." + +"You'd better take the splendid dress of the Chiliarchs at once, I +think," cried Gyges. + +"Why, on such young men, that would excite suspicion directly." + +"But we can't appear as common soldiers." + +"No, but as Hekatontarchs." + +"All right," said Zopyrus laughing. "Anything you like except a +shop-keeper.--So in three days we are off. I am glad I shall just have +time to make sure of the satrap's little daughter, and to visit the +grove of Cybele at last. Now, goodnight, Bartja; don't get up too early. +What will Sappho say, if you come to her with pale cheeks?" + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +The sun of a hot midsummer-day had risen on Naukratis. The Nile had +already begun to overflow its banks, and the fields and gardens of the +Egyptians were covered with water. + +The harbor was crowded with craft of all kinds. Egyptian vessels were +there, manned by Phoenician colonists from the coasts of the Delta, and +bringing fine woven goods from Malta, metals and precious stones from +Sardinia, wine and copper from Cyprus. Greek triremes laden with +oil, wine and mastic-wood; metal-work and woollen wares from Chalcis, +Phoenician and Syrian craft with gaily-colored sails, and freighted +with cargoes of purple stuffs, gems, spices, glass-work, carpets and +cedar-trees,--used in Egypt, where wood was very scarce, for building +purposes, and taking back gold, ivory, ebony, brightly-plumaged tropical +birds, precious stones and black slaves,--the treasures of Ethiopia; +but more especially the far-famed Egyptian corn, Memphian chariots, lace +from Sais, and the finer sorts of papyrus. The time when commerce +was carried on merely by barter was now, however, long past, and the +merchants of Naukratis not seldom paid for their goods in gold coin and +carefully-weighed silver. + +Large warehouses stood round the harbor of this Greek colony, and +slightly-built dwelling-houses, into which the idle mariners were lured +by the sounds of music and laughter, and the glances and voices of +painted and rouged damsels. Slaves, both white and colored, rowers and +steersmen, in various costumes, were hurrying hither and thither, +while the ships' captains, either dressed in the Greek fashion or in +Phoenician garments of the most glaring colors, were shouting orders to +their crews and delivering up their cargoes to the merchants. Whenever a +dispute arose, the Egyptian police with their long staves, and the Greek +warders of the harbor were quickly at hand. The latter were appointed by +the elders of the merchant-body in this Milesian colony. + +The port was getting empty now, for the hour at which the market opened +was near, and none of the free Greeks cared to be absent from the +market-place then. This time, however, not a few remained behind, +curiously watching a beautifully-built Samian ship, the Okeia, with a +long prow like a swan's neck, on the front of which a likeness of the +goddess Hera was conspicuous. It was discharging its cargo, but the +public attention was more particularly attracted by three handsome +youths, in the dress of Lydian officers, who left the ship, followed by +a number of slaves carrying chests and packages. + +The handsomest of the three travellers, in whom of course our readers +recognize their three young friends, Darius, Bartja and Zopyrus, spoke +to one of the harbor police and asked for the house of Theopompus the +Milesian, to whom they were bound on a visit. + +Polite and ready to do a service, like all the Greeks, the police +functionary at once led the way across the market-place,--where the +opening of business had just been announced by the sound of a bell,--to +a handsome house, the property of the Milesian, Theopompus, one of the +most important and respected men in Naukratis. + +The party, however, did not succeed in crossing the market-place without +hindrance. They found it easy enough to evade the importunities of +impudent fishsellers, and the friendly invitations of butchers, bakers, +sausage and vegetable-sellers, and potters. But when they reached the +part allotted to the flower-girls, Zopyrus was so enchanted with the +scene, that he clapped his hands for joy. + + [Separate portions of the market were set apart for the sale of + different goods. The part appointed for the flower-sellers, who + passed in general for no better than they should be, was called the + "myrtle-market." Aristoph. Thesmoph. 448.] + +Three wonderfully-lovely girls, in white dresses of some +half-transparent material, with colored borders, were seated together +on low stools, binding roses, violets and orange-blossoms into one long +wreath. Their charming heads were wreathed with flowers too, and looked +very like the lovely rosebuds which one of them, on seeing the young men +come up, held out to their notice. + +"Buy my roses, my handsome gentlemen," she said in a clear, melodious +voice, "to put in your sweethearts' hair." + +Zopyrus took the flowers, and holding the girl's hand fast in his own, +answered, "I come from a far country, my lovely child, and have no +sweetheart in Naukratis yet; so let me put the roses in your own golden +hair, and this piece of gold in your white little hand." + +The girl burst into a merry laugh, showed her sister the handsome +present, and answered: "By Eros, such gentlemen as you cannot want for +sweethearts. Are you brothers?" + +"No." + +"That's a pity, for we are sisters." + +"And you thought we should make three pretty couples?" + +"I may have thought it, but I did not say so." + +"And your sisters?" + + [This passage was suggested by the following epigram of Dionysius + "Roses are blooming on thy cheek, with roses thy basket is laden, + Which dost thou sell? The flowers? Thyself? Or both, my pretty + maiden?"] + +The girls laughed, as if they were but little averse to such a +connection, and offered Bartja and Darius rosebuds too. + +The young men accepted them, gave each a gold piece in return, and were +not allowed to leave these beauties until their helmets had been crowned +with laurel. + +Meanwhile the news of the strangers' remarkable liberality had spread +among the many girls, who were selling ribbons, wreaths and flowers +close by. They all brought roses too and invited the strangers with +looks and words to stay with them and buy their flowers. + +Zopyrus, like many a young gentleman in Naukratis, would gladly have +accepted their invitations, for most of these girls were beautiful, and +their hearts were not difficult to win; but Darius urged him to come +away, and begged Bartja to forbid the thoughtless fellow's staying any +longer. After passing the tables of the money-changers, and the +stone seats on which the citizens sat in the open air and held their +consultations, they arrived at the house of Theopompus. + +The stroke given by their Greek guide with the metal knocker on the +house-door was answered at once by a slave. As the master was at the +market, the strangers were led by the steward, an old servant grown grey +in the service of Theopompus, into the Andronitis, and begged to wait +there until he returned. + +They were still engaged in admiring the paintings on the walls, and the +artistic carving of the stone floor, when Theopompus, the merchant whom +we first learnt to know at the house of Rhodopis, came back from the +market, followed by a great number of slaves bearing his purchases. + + [Men of high rank among the Greeks did not disdain to make purchases + at market, accompanied by their slaves, but respectable women could + not appear there. Female slaves were generally sent to buy what was + needed.] + +He received the strangers with charming politeness and asked in what +way he could be of use to them, on which Bartja, having first convinced +himself that no unwished--for listeners were present, gave him the roll +he had received from Phanes at parting. + +Theopompus had scarcely read its contents, when he made a low bow to +the prince, exclaiming: "By Zeus, the father of hospitality, this is +the greatest honor that could have been conferred upon my house! All I +possess is yours, and I beg you to ask your companions to accept with +kindness what I can offer. Pardon my not having recognized you at once +in your Lydian dress. It seems to me that your hair is shorter and your +beard thicker, than when you left Egypt. Am I right in imagining that +you do not wish to be recognized? It shall be exactly as you wish. He +is the best host, who allows his guests the most freedom. All, now I +recognize your friends; but they have disguised themselves and cut +their curls also. Indeed, I could almost say that you, my friend, whose +name--" + +"My name is Darius." + +"That you, Darius, have dyed your hair black. Yes? Then you see my +memory does not deceive me. But that is nothing to boast of, for I saw +you several times at Sais, and here too, on your arrival and departure. +You ask, my prince, whether you would be generally recognized? Certainly +not. The foreign dress, the change in your hair and the coloring of your +eyebrows have altered you wonderfully. But excuse me a moment, my old +steward seems to have some important message to give." + +In a few minutes Theopompus came back, exclaiming: "No, no, my honored +friends, you have certainly not taken the wisest way of entering +Naukratis incognito. You have been joking with the flower-girls and +paying them for a few roses, not like runaway Lydian Hekatontarchs, but +like the great lords you are. All Naukratis knows the pretty, frivolous +sisters, Stephanion, Chloris and Irene, whose garlands have caught many +a heart, and whose sweet glances have lured many a bright obolus out +of the pockets of our gay young men. They're very fond of visiting the +flower-girls at market-time, and agreements are entered into then for +which more than one gold piece must be paid later; but for a few roses +and good words they are not accustomed to be so liberal as you have +been. The girls have been boasting about you and your gifts, and showing +your good red gold to their stingier suitors. As rumor is a goddess who +is very apt to exaggerate and to make a crocodile out of a lizard, it +happened that news reached the Egyptian captain on guard at the market, +that some newly-arrived Lydian warriors had been scattering gold +broadcast among the flower-girls. This excited suspicion, and induced +the Toparch to send an officer here to enquire from whence you come, and +what is the object of your journey hither. I was obliged to use a little +stratagem to impose upon him, and told him, as I believe you wish, that +you were rich young men from Sardis, who had fled on account of having +incurred the satrap's ill-will. But I see the government officer coming, +and with him the secretary who is to make out passports which will +enable you to remain on the Nile unmolested. I have promised him a +handsome reward, if he can help you in getting admitted into the king's +mercenaries. He was caught and believed my story. You are so young, that +nobody would imagine you were entrusted with a secret mission." + +The talkative Greek had scarcely finished speaking when the clerk, +a lean, dry-looking man, dressed in white, came in, placed himself +opposite the strangers and asked them from whence they came and what was +the object of their journey. + +The youths held to their first assertion, that they were Lydian +Hekatontarchs, and begged the functionary to provide them with passes +and tell them in what way they might most easily obtain admittance into +the king's troop of auxiliaries. + +The man did not hesitate long, after Theopompus had undertaken to be +their surety, and the desired documents were made out. + +Bartja's pass ran thus: + +"Smerdis, the son of Sandon of Sardis, about 22 years of age--figure, +tall and slender-face, well-formed:--nose, straight:--forehead, high +with a small scar in the middle:--is hereby permitted to remain in those +parts of Egypt in which the law allows foreigners to reside, as surety +has been given for him. + + "In the King's name. + "Sachons, Clerk." + +Darius and Zopyrus received passports similarly worded. + +When the government official had left the houses, Theopompus rubbed his +hands and said: "Now if you will follow my advice on all points you can +stay in Egypt safely enough. Keep these little rolls as if they were the +apple of your eye, and never part from them. Now, however, I must beg +you to follow me to breakfast and to tell me, if agreeable to you, +whether a report which has just been making the round of the market +is not, as usual, entirely false. A trireme from Kolophon, namely, has +brought the news that your powerful brother, noble Bartja, is preparing +to make war with Amasis." + + ......................... + +On the evening of the same day, Bartja and Sappho saw each other again. +In that first hour surprise and joy together made Sappho's happiness too +great for words. When they were once more seated in the acanthus-grove +whose blossoming branches had so often seen and sheltered their young +love, she embraced him tenderly, but for a long time they did not speak +one word. They saw neither moon nor stars moving silently above them, in +the warm summer night; they did not even hear the nightingales who were +still repeating their favorite, flute-like, Itys-call to one another; +nor did they feel the dew which fell as heavily on their fair heads as +on the flowers in the grass around them. + +At last Bartja, taking both Sappho's hands in his own, looked long and +silently into her face, as if to stamp her likeness for ever on his +memory. When he spoke at last, she cast down her eyes, for he said: "In +my dreams, Sappho, you have always been the most lovely creature that +Auramazda ever created, but now I see you again, you are more lovely +even than my dreams." + +And when a bright, happy glance from her had thanked him for these +words, he drew her closer to him, asking: "Did you often think of me?" + +"I thought only of you." + +"And did you hope to see me soon?" + +"Yes; hour after hour I thought, 'now he must be coming.' Sometimes I +went into the garden in the morning and looked towards your home in the +East, and a bird flew towards me from thence and I felt a twitching in +my right eyelid; or when I was putting my box to rights and found the +laurel crown which I put by as a remembrance, because you looked so well +in it,--Melitta says such wreaths are good for keeping true love--then +I used to clap my hands with joy and think, 'to-day he must come;' and +I would run down to the Nile and wave my handkerchief to every passing +boat, for every boat I thought must be bringing you to me." + + [A bird flying from the right side, and a twitching of the right eye + were considered fortunate omens. Theokrirus, III. 37] + +"But you did not come, and then I went sadly home, and would sit down by +the fire on the hearth in the women's room, and sing, and gaze into the +fire till grandmother would wake me out of my dream by saying: 'Listen +to me, girl; whoever dreams by daylight is in danger of lying awake at +night, and getting up in the morning with a sad heart, a tired brain and +weary limbs. The day was not given us for sleep, and we must live in +it with open eyes, that not a single hour may be idly spent. The past +belongs to the dead; only fools count upon the future; but wise men +hold fast by the ever young present; by work they foster all the various +gifts which Zeus, Apollo, Pallas, Cypris lend; by work they raise, +and perfect and ennoble them, until their feelings, actions, words and +thoughts become harmonious like a well-tuned lute. You cannot serve the +man to whom you have given your whole heart,--to whom in your great +love you look up as so much higher than yourself--you cannot prove the +steadfastness and faithfulness of that love better, than by raising +and improving your mind to the utmost of your power. Every good and +beautiful truth that you learn is an offering to him you love best, for +in giving your whole self, you give your virtues too. But no one gains +this victory in dreams. The dew by which such blossoms are nourished is +called the sweat of man's brow.' So she would speak to me, and then I +started up ashamed and left the hearth, and either took my lyre to learn +new songs, or listened to my loving teacher's words--she is wiser than +most men--attentively and still. And so the time passed on; a rapid +stream, just like our river Nile, which flows unceasingly, and brings +such changing scenes upon its waves, sometimes a golden boat with +streamers gay,--sometimes a fearful, ravenous crocodile." + +"But now we are sitting in the golden boat. Oh, if time's waves would +only cease to flow! If this one moment could but last for aye. You +lovely girl, how perfectly you speak, how well you understand and +remember all this beautiful teaching and make it even more beautiful by +your way of repeating it. Yes, Sappho, I am very proud of you. In you I +have a treasure which makes me richer than my brother, though half the +world belongs to him." + +"You proud of me? you, a king's son, the best and handsomest of your +family?" + +"The greatest worth that I can find in myself is, that you think me +worthy of your love." + +"Tell me, ye gods, how can this little heart hold so much joy without +breaking? 'Tis like a vase that's overfilled with purest, heaviest +gold?" + +"Another heart will help you to bear it; and that is my own, for mine is +again supported by yours, and with that help I can laugh at every evil +that the world or night may bring." + +"Oh, don't excite the envy of the gods; human happiness often vexes +them. Since you left us we have passed some very, very sad days. The +two poor children of our kind Phanes--a boy as beautiful as Eros, and a +little girl as fair and rosy as a summer morning's cloud just lit up +by the sun,--came for some happy days to stay with us. Grandmother grew +quite glad and young again while looking on these little ones, and as +for me I gave them all my heart, though really it is your's and your's +alone. But hearts, you know, are wonderfully made; they're like the sun +who sends his rays everywhere, and loses neither warmth nor light by +giving much, but gives to all their due. I loved those little ones so +very much. One evening we were sitting quite alone with Theopompus in +the women's room, when suddenly we heard aloud, wild noise. The good old +Knakias, our faithful slave, just reached the door as all the bolts +gave way, and, rushing through the entrance-hall into the peristyle, the +andronitis, and so on to us, crashing the door between, came a troop of +soldiers. Grandmother showed them the letter by which Amasis secured our +house from all attack and made it a sure refuge, but they laughed +the writing to scorn and showed us on their side a document with the +crown-prince's seal, in which we were sternly commanded to deliver up +Phanes' children at once to this rough troop of men. Theopompus reproved +the soldiers for their roughness, telling them that the children came +from Corinth and had no connection with Phanes; but the captain of the +troop defied and sneered at him, pushed my grandmother rudely away, +forced his way into her own apartment, where among her most precious +treasures, at the head of her own bed, the two children lay sleeping +peacefully, dragged them out of their little beds and took them in an +open boat through the cold night-air to the royal city. In a few days we +heard the boy was dead. They say he has been killed by Psamtik's orders; +and the little girl, so sweet and dear, is lying in a dismal dungeon, +and pining for her father and for us. Oh, dearest, isn't it a painful +thing that sorrows such as these should come to mar our perfect +happiness? My eyes weep joy and sorrow in the same moment, and my lips, +which have just been laughing with you, have now to tell you this sad +story." + +"I feel your pain with you, my child, but it makes my hand clench with +rage instead of filling my eyes with tears. That gentle boy whom you +loved, that little girl who now sits weeping in the dark dungeon, shall +both be revenged. Trust me; before the Nile has risen again, a powerful +army will have entered Egypt, to demand satisfaction for this murder." + +"Oh, dearest, how your eyes are glowing! I never saw you look so +beautiful before. Yes, yes, the boy must be avenged, and none but you +must be his avenger." + +"My gentle Sappho is becoming warlike too." + +"Yes, women must feel warlike when wickedness is so triumphant; women +rejoice too when such crimes are punished. Tell me has war been declared +already?" + +"Not yet; but hosts on hosts are marching to the valley of the Euphrates +to join our main army." + +"My courage sinks as quickly as it rose. I tremble at the word, the mere +word, war. How many childless mothers Ares makes, how many young fair +heads must wear the widow's veil, how many pillows are wet through with +tears when Pallas takes her shield." + +"But a man developes in war; his heart expands, his arm grows strong. +And none rejoice more than you when he returns a conqueror from the +field. The wife of a Persian, especially, ought to rejoice in the +thought of battle, for her husband's honor and fame are dearer to her +than his life." + +"Go to the war. I shall pray for you there." + +"And victory will be with the right. First we will conquer Pharaoh's +host, then release Phanes' little daughter..." + +"And then Aristomachus, the brave old man who succeeded Phanes when he +fled. He has vanished, no one knows whither, but people say that the +crown-prince has either imprisoned him in a dismal dungeon on account of +his having uttered threats of retaliating the cruelty shown to Phanes' +children, or--what would be worse--has had him dragged off to some +distant quarry. The poor old man was exiled from his home, not for his +own fault, but by the malice of his enemies, and the very day on which +we lost sight of him an embassy arrived here from the Spartan people +recalling Aristomachus to the Eurotas with all the honors Greece could +bestow, because his sons had brought great glory to their country. A +ship wreathed with flowers was sent to fetch the honored old man, and +at the head of the deputation was his own brave, strong son, now crowned +with glory and fame." + +"I know him. He's a man of iron. Once he mutilated himself cruelly to +avoid disgrace. By the Anahita star, which is setting so beautifully in +the east, he shall be revenged!" + +"Oh, can it be so late? To me the time has gone by like a sweet breeze, +which kissed my forehead and passed away. Did not you hear some one +call? They will be waiting for us, and you must be at your friend's +house in the town before dawn. Good-bye, my brave hero." + +"Good-bye, my dearest one. In five days we shall hear our marriage-hymn. +But you tremble as if we were going to battle instead of to our +wedding." + +"I'm trembling at the greatness of our joy; one always trembles in +expectation of anything unusually great." + +"Hark, Rhodopis is calling again; let us go. I have asked Theopompus +to arrange everything about our wedding with her according to the usual +custom; and I shall remain in his house incognito until I can carry you +off as my own dear wife." + +"And I will go with you." + +The next morning, as the three friends were walking with their host in +his garden, Zopyrus exclaimed: "Wily, Bartja, I've been dreaming all +night of your Sappho. What a lucky fellow you are! Why I fancied my new +wife in Sardis was no end of a beauty until I saw Sappho, and now when I +think of her she seems like an owl. If Araspes could see Sappho he would +be obliged to confess that even Panthea had been outdone at last. Such +a creature was never made before. Auramazda is an awful spendthrift; +he might have made three beauties out of Sappho. And how charmingly it +sounded when she said 'good-night' to us in Persian." + +"While I was away," said Bartja, "she has been taking a great deal of +trouble to learn Persian from the wife of a Babylonian carpet-merchant, +a native of Susa, who is living at Naukratis, in order to surprise me. + +"Yes, she is a glorious girl," said Theopompus. "My late wife loved the +little one as if she had been her own child. She would have liked to +have had her as a wife for our son who manages the affairs of my house +at Miletus, but the gods have ordained otherwise! Ah, how glad she would +have been to see the wedding garland at Rhodopis' door!" + +"Is it the custom here to ornament a bride's house with flowers?" said +Zopyrus. + +"Certainly," answered Theopompus. "When you see a door hung with flowers +you may always know that house contains a bride; an olive-branch is a +sign that a boy has just come into the world, and a strip of woollen +cloth hanging over the gate that a girl has been born; but a vessel of +water before the door is the token of death. But business-hour at the +market is very near, my friends, and I must leave you, as I have affairs +of great importance to transact." + +"I will accompany you," said Zopyrus, "I want to order some garlands for +Rhodopis' house." + +"Aha," laughed the Milesian. "I see, you want to talk to the +flower-girls again. Come, it's of no use to deny. Well, if you like you +can come with me, but don't be so generous as you were yesterday, and +don't forget that if certain news of war should arrive, your disguise +may prove dangerous." + +The Greek then had his sandals fastened on by his slaves and started for +the market, accompanied by Zopyrus. In a few hours he returned with such +a serious expression on his usually cheerful face, that it was easy to +see something very important had happened. + +"I found the whole town in great agitation," he said to the two friends +who had remained at home; "there is a report that Amasis is at the point +of death. We had all met on the place of exchange in order to settle our +business, and I was on the point of selling all my stored goods at such +high prices as to secure me a first-rate profit, with which, when the +prospect of an important war had lowered prices again, I could have +bought in fresh goods--you see it stands me in good stead to know your +royal brother's intentions so early--when suddenly the Toparch appeared +among us, and announced that Amasis was not only seriously ill, but that +the physicians had given up all hope, and he himself felt he was very +near death. We must hold ourselves in readiness for this at any moment, +and for a very serious change in the face of affairs. The death of +Amasis is the severest loss that could happen to us Greeks; he was +always our friend, and favored us whenever he could, while his son is +our avowed enemy and will do his utmost to expel us from the country. +If his father had allowed, and he himself had not felt so strongly the +importance and value of our mercenary troops, he would have turned us +hateful foreigners out long ago. Naukratis and its temples are odious to +him. When Amasis is dead our town will hail Cambyses' army with delight, +for I have had experience already, in my native town Miletus, that you +are accustomed to show respect to those who are not Persians and to +protect their rights." + +"Yes," said Bartja, "I will take care that all your ancient liberties +shall be confirmed by my brother and new ones granted you." + +"Well, I only hope he will soon be here," exclaimed the Greek, "for we +know that Psamtik, as soon as he possibly can, will order our temples, +which are an abomination to him, to be demolished. The building of a +place of sacrifice for the Greeks at Memphis has long been put a stop +to." + +"But here," said Darius, "we saw a number of splendid temples as we came +up from the harbor." + +"Oh, yes, we have several.--Ah, there comes Zopyrus; the slaves are +carrying a perfect grove of garlands behind him. He's laughing so +heartily, he must have amused himself famously with the flower-girls. +Good-morning, my friend. The sad news which fills all Naukratis does not +seem to disturb you much." + +"Oh, for anything I care, Amasis may go on living a hundred years yet. +But if he dies now, people will have something else to do beside looking +after us. When do you set off for Rhodopis' house, friends?" + +"At dusk." + +"Then please, ask her to accept these flowers from me. I never thought +I could have been so taken by an old woman before. Every word she says +sounds like music, and though she speaks so gravely and wisely it's as +pleasant to the ear as a merry joke. But I shan't go with you this time, +Bartja; I should only be in the way. Darius, what have you made up your +mind to do?" + +"I don't want to lose one chance of a conversation with Rhodopis." + +"Well, I don't blame you. You're all for learning and knowing +everything, and I'm for enjoying. Friends, what do you say to letting me +off this evening? You see...." + +"I know all about it," interrupted Bartja laughing: "You've only seen +the flower-girls by daylight as yet, and you would like to know how they +look by lamplight." + +"Yes, that's it," said Zopyrus, putting on a grave face. "On that point +I am quite as eager after knowledge as Darius." + +"Well, we wish you much pleasure with your three sisters." + +"No, no, not all three, if you please; Stephanion, the youngest, is my +favorite." + +Morning had already dawned when Bartja, Darius and Theopompus left +Rhodopis' house. Syloson, a Greek noble who had been banished from his +native land by his own brother, Polykrates the tyrant, had been spending +the evening with them, and was now returning in their company to +Naukratis, where he had been living many years. + +This man, though an exile, was liberally supplied with money by his +brother, kept the most brilliant establishment in Naukratis, and was +as famous for his extravagant hospitality as for his strength and +cleverness. Syloson was a very handsome man too, and so remarkable for +the good taste and splendor of his dress, that the youth of Naukratis +prided themselves on imitating the cut and hang of his robes. Being +unmarried, he spent many of his evenings at Rhodopis' house, and had +been told the secret of her granddaughter's betrothal. + +On that evening it had been settled, that in four days the marriage +should be celebrated with the greatest privacy. Bartja had formally +betrothed himself to Sappho by eating a quince with her, on the same day +on which she had offered sacrifices to Zeus, Hera, and the other deities +who protected marriage. The wedding-banquet was to be given at the house +of Theopompus, which was looked upon as the bridegroom's. The prince's +costly bridal presents had been entrusted to Rhodopis' care, and Bartja +had insisted on renouncing the paternal inheritance which belonged +to his bride and on transferring it to Rhodopis, notwithstanding her +determined resistance. + +Syloson accompanied the friends to Rhodopis' house, and was just +about to leave them, when a loud noise in the streets broke the quiet +stillness of the night, and soon after, a troop of the watch passed by, +taking a man to prison. The prisoner seemed highly indignant, and the +less his broken Greek oaths and his utterances in some other totally +unintelligible language were understood by the Egyptian guards, the more +violent he became. + +Directly Bartja and Darius heard the voice they ran up, and recognized +Zopyrus at once. + +Syloson and Theopompus stopped the guards, and asked what their captive +had done. The officer on duty recognized them directly; indeed every +child in Naukratis knew the Milesian merchant and the brother of the +tyrant Polykrates by sight; and he answered at once, with a respectful +salutation, that the foreign youth they were leading away had been +guilty of murder. + +Theopompus then took him on one side and endeavored, by liberal +promises, to obtain the freedom of the prisoner. The man, however, would +concede nothing but a permission to speak with his captive. Meanwhile +his friends begged Zopyrus to tell them at once what had happened, +and heard the following story: The thoughtless fellow had visited the +flower-girls at dusk and remained till dawn. He had scarcely closed +their housedoor on his way home, when he found himself surrounded by a +number of young men, who had probably been lying in wait for him, as +he had already had a quarrel with one of them, who called himself the +betrothed lover of Stephanion, on that very morning. The girl had told +her troublesome admirer to leave her flowers alone, and had thanked +Zopyrus for threatening to use personal violence to the intruder. When +the young Achaemenidae found himself surrounded, he drew his sword and +easily dispersed his adversaries, as they were only armed with sticks, +but chanced to wound the jealous lover, who was more violent than the +rest, so seriously, that he fell to the ground. Meanwhile the watch +had come up, and as Zopyrus' victim howled "thieves" and "murder" +incessantly, they proceeded to arrest the offender. This was not so +easy. His blood was up, and rushing on them with his drawn sword, he had +already cut his way through the first troop when a second came up. +He was not to be daunted, attacked them too, split the skull of one, +wounded another in the arm and was taking aim for a third blow, when +he felt a cord round his neck. It was drawn tighter and tighter till at +last he could not breathe and fell down insensible. By the time he came +to his senses he was bound, and notwithstanding all his appeals to his +pass and the name of Theopompus, was forced to follow his captors. + +When the tale was finished the Milesian did not attempt to conceal his +strong disapprobation, and told Zopyrus that his most unseasonable love +of fighting might be followed by the saddest consequences. After saying +this, he turned to the officer and begged him to accept his own personal +security for the prisoner. The other, however, refused gravely, saying +he might forfeit his own life by doing so, as a law existed in Egypt +by which the concealer of a murder was condemned to death. He must, +he assured them, take the culprit to Sais and deliver him over to the +Nomarch for punishment. "He has murdered an Egyptian," were his last +words, "and must therefore be tried by an Egyptian supreme court. In any +other case I should be delighted to render you any service in my power." + +During this conversation Zopyrus had been begging his friends not to +take any trouble about him. "By Mithras," he cried, when Bartja offered +to declare himself to the Egyptians as a means of procuring his freedom, +"I vow I'll stab myself without a second thought, if you give yourselves +up to those dogs of Egyptians. Why the whole town is talking about +the war already, and do you think that if Psamtik knew he'd got such +splendid game in his net, he would let you loose? He would keep you as +hostages, of course. No, no, my friends. Good-bye; may Auramazda send +you his best blessings! and don't quite forget the jovial Zopyrus, who +lived and died for love and war." + +The captain of the band placed himself at the head of his men, gave the +order to march, and in a few minutes Zopyrus was out of sight. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +According to the law of Egypt, Zopyrus had deserved death. + +As soon as his friends heard this, they resolved to go to Sais and try +to rescue him by stratagem. Syloson, who had friends there and could +speak the Egyptian language well, offered to help them. + +Bartja and Darius disguised themselves so completely by dyeing their +hair and eyebrows and wearing broad-brimmed felt-hats,--that they could +scarcely recognize each other. Theopompus provided them with ordinary +Greek dresses, and, an hour after Zopyrus' arrest, they met the +splendidly-got-up Syloson on the shore of the Nile, entered a boat +belonging to him and manned by his slaves, and, after a short sail, +favored by the wind, reached Sais,--which lay above the waters of the +inundation like an island,--before the burning midsummer sun had reached +its noonday height. + +They disembarked at a remote part of the town and walked across the +quarter appropriated to the artisans. The workmen were busy at their +calling, notwithstanding the intense noonday heat. The baker's men were +at work in the open court of the bakehouse, kneading bread--the coarser +kind of dough with the feet, the finer with the hands. Loaves of various +shapes were being drawn out of the ovens-round and oval cakes, and rolls +in the form of sheep, snails and hearts. These were laid in baskets, and +the nimble baker's boys would put three, four, or even five such baskets +on their heads at once, and carry them off quickly and safely to +the customers living in other quarters of the city. A butcher was +slaughtering an ox before his house, the creature's legs having been +pinioned; and his men were busy sharpening their knives to cut up a +wild goat. Merry cobblers were calling out to the passers-by from their +stalls; carpenters, tailors, joiners and weavers--were all there, busy +at their various callings. The wives of the work-people were going out +marketing, leading their naked children by the hand, and some soldiers +were loitering near a man who was offering beer and wine for sale. + +But our friends took very little notice of what was going on in the +streets through which they passed; they followed Syloson in silence. + +At the Greek guard-house he asked them to wait for him. Syloson, +happening to know the Taxiarch who was on duty that day, went in and +asked him if he had heard anything of a man accused of murder having +been brought from Naukratis to Sais that morning. + +"Of course," said the Greek. "It's not more than half an hour since he +arrived. As they found a purse full of money in his girdle, they think +he must be a Persian spy. I suppose you know that Cambyses is preparing +for war with Egypt." + +"Impossible!" + +"No, no, it's a fact. The prince-regent has already received +information. A caravan of Arabian merchants arrived yesterday at +Pelusium, and brought the news." + +"It will prove as false as their suspicions about this poor young +Lydian. I know him well, and am very sorry for the poor fellow. He +belongs to one of the richest families in Sardis, and only ran away for +fear of the powerful satrap Oroetes, with whom he had had a quarrel. +I'll tell you the particulars when you come to see me next in Naukratis. +Of course you'll stay a few days and bring some friends. My brother has +sent me some wine which beats everything I ever tasted. It's perfect +nectar, and I confess I grudge offering it to any one who's not, like +you, a perfect judge in such matters." The Taxiarch's face brightened up +at these words, and grasping Syloson's hand, he exclaimed. "By the dog, +my friend, we shall not wait to be asked twice; we'll come soon enough +and take a good pull at your wine-skins. How would it be if you were to +ask Archidice, the three flower-sisters, and a few flute-playing-girls +to supper?" + + [Archidice--A celebrated Hetaira of Naukratis mentioned by Herod. + II. 135. Flute-playing girls were seldom missing at the young + Greeks' drinking-parties] + +"They shall all be there. By the bye, that reminds me that the +flower-girls were the cause of that poor young Lydian's imprisonment. +Some jealous idiot attacked him before their house with a number of +comrades. The hot-brained young fellow defended himself...." + +"And knocked the other down?" + +"Yes; and so that he'll never get up again." + +"The boy must be a good boxer." + +"He had a sword." + +"So much the better for him." + +"No, so much the worse; for his victim was an Egyptian." + +"That's a bad job. I fear it can only have an unfortunate end. A +foreigner, who kills an Egyptian, is as sure of death as if he had the +rope already round his neck. However, just now he'll get a few days' +grace; the priests are all so busy praying for the dying king that they +have no time to try criminals." + +"I'd give a great deal to be able to save that poor fellow. I know his +father." + +"Yes, and then after all he only did his duty. A man must defend +himself." + +"Do you happen to know where he is imprisoned?" + +"Of course I do. The great prison is under repair, and so he has been +put for the present in the storehouse between the principal guard-house +of the Egyptian body-guard and the sacred grove of the temple of Neith. +I have only just come home from seeing them take him there." + +"He is strong and has plenty of courage; do you think he could get away, +if we helped him?" + +"No, it would be quite impossible; he's in a room two stories high; +the only window looks into the sacred grove, and that, you know, is +surrounded by a ten-foot wall, and guarded like the treasury. There are +double sentries at every gate. There's only one place where it is left +unguarded during the inundation season, because, just here, the water +washes the walls. These worshippers of animals are as cautious as +water-wagtails." + +"Well, it's a great pity, but I suppose we must leave the poor fellow to +his fate. Good-bye, Doemones; don't forget my invitation." + +The Samian left the guard-room and went back directly to the two +friends, who were waiting impatiently for him. + +They listened eagerly to his tidings, and when he had finished his +description of the prison, Darius exclaimed: "I believe a little courage +will save him. He's as nimble as a cat, and as strong as a bear. I have +thought of a plan." + +"Let us hear it," said Syloson, "and let me give an opinion as to its +practicability." + +"We will buy some rope-ladders, some cord, and a good bow, put all these +into our boat, and row to the unguarded part of the temple-wall at dusk. +You must then help me to clamber over it. I shall take the things over +with me and give the eagle's cry. Zopyras will know at once, because, +since we were children, we have been accustomed to use it when we were +riding or hunting together. Then I shall shoot an arrow, with the cord +fastened to it, up into his window, (I never miss), tell him to fasten +a weight to it and let it down again to me. I shall then secure the +rope-ladder to the cord, Zopyrus will draw the whole affair up again, +and hang it on an iron nail,--which, by the bye, I must not forget to +send up with the ladder, for who knows whether he may have such a thing +in his cell. He will then come down on it, go quickly with me to the +part of the wall where you will be waiting with the boat, and where +there must be another rope-ladder, spring into the boat, and there he +is-safe!" + +"First-rate, first-rate!" cried Bartja. + +"But very dangerous," added Syloson. "If we are caught in the sacred +grove, we are certain to be severely punished. The priests hold strange +nightly festivals there, at which every one but the initiated is +strictly forbidden to appear. I believe, however, that these take place +on the lake, and that is at some distance from Zopyrus' prison." + +"So much the better," cried Darius; "but now to the main point. We must +send at once, and ask Theopompus to hire a fast trireme for us, and have +it put in sailing order at once. The news of Cambyses' preparations have +already reached Egypt; they take us for spies, and will be sure not to +let either Zopyrus or his deliverers escape, if they can help it. It +would be a criminal rashness to expose ourselves uselessly to danger. +Bartja, you must take this message yourself, and must marry Sappho this +very day, for, come what may, we must leave Naukratis to-morrow. Don't +contradict me, my friend, my brother! You know our plan, and you must +see that as only one can act in it, your part would be that of a mere +looker-on. As it was my own idea I am determined to carry it out myself. +We shall meet again to-morrow, for Auramazda protects the friendship of +the pure." + +It was a long time before they could persuade Bartja to leave his +friends in the lurch, but their entreaties and representations at last +took effect, and he went down towards the river to take a boat for +Naukratis, Darius and Syloson going at the same time to buy the +necessary implements for their plan. + +In order to reach the place where boats were to be hired, Bartja had to +pass by the temple of Neith. This was not easy, as an immense crowd +was assembled at the entrance-gates. He pushed his way as far as the +obelisks near the great gate of the temple with its winged sun-disc and +fluttering pennons, but there the temple-servants prevented him from +going farther; they were keeping the avenue of sphinxes clear for a +procession. The gigantic doors of the Pylon opened, and Bartja, who, in +spite of himself, had been pushed into the front row, saw a brilliant +procession come out of the temple. The unexpected sight of many faces +he had formerly known occupied his attention so much, that he scarcely +noticed the loss of his broad-brimmed hat, which had been knocked off in +the crowd. From the conversation of two Ionian mercenaries behind him he +learnt that the family of Amasis had been to the temple to pray for the +dying king. + +The procession was headed by richly-decorated priests, either wearing +long white robes or pantherskins. They were followed by men holding +office at the court, and carrying golden staves, on the ends of which +peacocks' feathers and silver lotus-flowers were fastened, and these by +Pastophori, carrying on their shoulders a golden cow, the animal sacred +to Isis. When the crowd had bowed down before this sacred symbol, the +queen appeared. She was dressed in priestly robes and wore a costly +head-dress with the winged disc and the Uraeus. In her left hand she +held a sacred golden sistrum, the tones of which were to scare away +Typhon, and in her right some lotus-flowers. The wife, daughter and +sister of the high-priest followed her, in similar but less splendid +ornaments. Then came the heir to the throne, in rich robes of state, as +priest and prince; and behind him four young priests in white carrying +Tachot, (the daughter of Amasis and Ladice and the pretended sister of +Nitetis,) in an open litter. The heat of the day, and the earnestness +of her prayers, had given the sick girl a slight color. Her blue eyes, +filled with tears, were fixed on the sistrum which her weak, emaciated +hands had hardly strength to hold. + +A murmur of compassion ran through the crowd; for they loved their dying +king, and manifested openly and gladly the sympathy so usually felt for +young lives from whom a brilliant future has been snatched by disease. +Such was Amasis' young, fading daughter, who was now being carried past +them, and many an eye grew dim as the beautiful invalid came in sight. +Tachot seemed to notice this, for she raised her eyes from the sistrum +and looked kindly and gratefully at the crowd. Suddenly the color left +her face, she turned deadly pale, and the golden sistrum fell on to the +stone pavement with a clang, close to Bartja's feet. He felt that he +had been recognized and for one moment thought of hiding himself in the +crowd; but only for one moment--his chivalrous feeling gained the day, +he darted forward, picked up the sistrum, and forgetting the danger in +which he was placing himself, held it out to the princess. + +Tachot looked at him earnestly before taking the golden sistrum from his +hands, and then said, in a low voice, which only he could understand: +"Are you Bartja? Tell me, in your mother's name--are you Bartja?" + +"Yes, I am," was his answer, in a voice as low as her own, "your friend, +Bartja." + +He could not say more, for the priests pushed him back among the crowd. +When he was in his old place, he noticed that Tachot, whose bearers had +begun to move on again, was looking round at him. The color had come +back into her cheeks, and her bright eyes were trying to meet his. He +did not avoid them; she threw him a lotus-bud-he stooped to pick it up, +and then broke his way through the crowd, for this hasty act had roused +their attention. + +A quarter of an hour later, he was seated in the boat which was to +take him to Sappho and to his wedding. He was quite at ease now about +Zopyrus. In Bartja's eyes his friend was already as good as saved, and +in spite of the dangers which threatened himself, he felt strangely calm +and happy, he could hardly say why. + +Meanwhile the sick princess had been carried home, had had her +oppressive ornaments taken off, and her couch carried on to one of +the palace-balconies where she liked best to pass the hot summer days, +sheltered by broad-leaved plants, and a kind of awning. + +From this veranda, she could look down into the great fore-court of the +palace, which was planted with trees. To-day it was full of priests, +courtiers, generals and governors of provinces. Anxiety and suspense +were expressed in every face: Amasis' last hour was drawing very near. + +Tachot could not be seen from below; but listening with feverish +eagerness, she could hear much that was said. Now that they had to dread +the loss of their king, every one, even the priests, were full of +his praises. The wisdom and circumspection of his plans and modes of +government, his unwearied industry, the moderation he had always shown, +the keenness of his wit, were, each and all, subjects of admiration. +"How Egypt has prospered under Amasis' government!" said a Nomarch. "And +what glory he gained for our arms, by the conquest of Cyprus and the +war with the Libyans!" cried one of the generals. "How magnificently he +embellished our temples, and what great honors he paid to the goddess of +Sais!" exclaimed one of the singers of Neith. "And then how gracious and +condescending he was!" murmured a courtier. "How cleverly he managed to +keep peace with the great powers!" said the secretary of state, and the +treasurer, wiping away a tear, cried: "How thoroughly he understood the +management of the revenue! Since the reign of Rameses III. the treasury +has not been so well filled as now." "Psamtik comes into a fine +inheritance," lisped the courtier, and the soldier exclaimed, "Yes, but +it's to be feared that he'll not spend it in a glorious war; he's too +much under the influence of the priests." "No, you are wrong there," +answered the temple-singer. "For some time past, our lord and master +has seemed to disdain the advice of his most faithful servants." "The +successor of such a father will find it difficult to secure universal +approbation," said the Nomarch. "It is not every one who has the +intellect, the good fortune and the wisdom of Amasis." "The gods know +that!" murmured the warrior with a sigh. + +Tachot's tears flowed fast. These words were a confirmation of what they +had been trying to hide from her: she was to lose her dear father soon. + +After she had made this dreadful certainty clear to her own mind, and +discovered that it was in vain to beg her attendants to carry her to her +dying father, she left off listening to the courtiers below, and began +looking at the sistrum which Bartja himself had put into her hand, and +which she had brought on to the balcony with her, as if seeking comfort +there. And she found what she sought; for it seemed to her as if the +sound of its sacred rings bore her away into a smiling, sunny landscape. + +That faintness which so often comes over people in decline, had seized +her and was sweetening her last hours with pleasant dreams. + +The female slaves, who stood round to fan away the flies, said +afterwards that Tachot had never looked so lovely. + +She had lain about an hour in this state, when her breathing became +more difficult, a slight cough made her breast heave, and the bright red +blood trickled down from her lips on to her white robe. She awoke, and +looked surprised and disappointed on seeing the faces round her. The +sight of her mother, however, who came on to the veranda at that moment, +brought a smile to her face, and she said, "O mother, I have had such a +beautiful dream." + +"Then our visit to the temple has done my dear child good?" asked the +queen, trembling at the sight of the blood on the sick girl's lips. + +"Oh, yes, mother, so much! for I saw him again." Ladice's glance at +the attendants seemed to ask "Has your poor mistress lost her senses?" +Tachot understood the look and said, evidently speaking with great +difficulty: "You think I am wandering, mother. No, indeed, I really +saw and spoke to him. He gave me my sistrum again, and said he was +my friend, and then he took my lotus-bud and vanished. Don't look so +distressed and surprised, mother. What I say is really true; it is no +dream.--There, you hear, Tentrut saw him too. He must have come to Sais +for my sake, and so the child-oracle in the temple-court did not deceive +me, after all. And now I don't feel anything more of my illness; I +dreamt I was lying in a field of blooming poppies, as red as the blood +of the young lambs that are offered in sacrifice; Bartja was sitting +by my side, and Nitetis was kneeling close to us and playing wonderful +songs on a Nabla made of ivory. And there was such a lovely sound in the +air that I felt as if Horus, the beautiful god of morning, spring, and +the resurrection, was kissing me. Yes, mother, I tell you he is coming +soon, and when I am well, then--then--ah, mother what is this?... I am +dying!" + +Ladice knelt down by her child's bed and pressed her lips in burning +kisses on the girl's eyes as they grew dim in death. + +An hour later she was standing by another bedside--her dying husband's. + +Severe suffering had disfigured the king's features, the cold +perspiration was standing on his forehead, and his hands grasped the +golden lions on the arms of the deep-seated invalid chair in which he +was resting, almost convulsively. + +When Ladice came in he opened his eyes; they were as keen and +intelligent as if he had never lost his sight. + +"Why do not you bring Tachot to me?" he asked in a dry voice. + +"She is too ill, and suffers so much, that..." + +"She is dead! Then it is well with her, for death is not punishment; +it is the end and aim of life,--the only end that we can attain without +effort, but through sufferings!--the gods alone know how great. Osiris +has taken her to himself, for she was innocent. And Nitetis is dead too. +Where is Nebenchari's letter?" + +"Here is the place: 'She took her own life, and died calling down a +heavy curse on thee and thine. The poor, exiled, scorned and plundered +oculist Nebenchari in Babylon sends thee this intelligence to Egypt. It +is as true as his own hatred of thee.' Listen to these words, Psamtik, +and remember how on his dying bed thy father told thee that, for every +drachm of pleasure purchased on earth by wrong-doing, the dying bed will +be burdened by a talent's weight of remorse. Fearful misery is coming +on Egypt for Nitetis' sake. Cambyses is preparing to make war on us. He +will sweep down on Egypt like a scorching wind from the desert. Much, +which I have staked my nightly sleep and the very marrow of my existence +to bring into existence, will be annihilated. Still I have not lived in +vain. For forty years I have been the careful father and benefactor of a +great nation. Children and children's children will speak of Amasis as +a great, wise and humane king; they will read my name on the great works +which I have built in Sais and Thebes, and will praise the greatness +of my power. Neither shall I be condemned by Osiris and the forty-two +judges of the nether world; the goddess of truth, who holds the +balances, will find that my good deeds outweigh my bad."--Here the king +sighed deeply and remained silent for some time. Then, looking tenderly +at his wife, he said: "Ladice, thou hast been a faithful, virtuous wife +to me. For this I thank thee, and ask thy forgiveness for much. We have +often misunderstood one another. Indeed it was easier for me to accustom +myself to the Greek modes of thought, than for a Greek to understand our +Egyptian ideas. Thou know'st my love of Greek art,--thou know'st how +I enjoyed the society of thy friend Pythagoras, who was thoroughly +initiated in all that we believe and know, and adopted much from us. +He comprehended the deep wisdom which lies in the doctrines that I +reverence most, and he took care not to speak lightly of truths which +our priests are perhaps too careful to hide from the people; for though +the many bow down before that which they cannot understand, they would +be raised and upheld by those very truths, if explained to them. To a +Greek mind our worship of animals presents the greatest difficulty, but +to my own the worship of the Creator in his creatures seems more just +and more worthy of a human being, than the worship of his likeness in +stone. The Greek deities are moreover subject to every human infirmity; +indeed I should have made my queen very unhappy by living in the same +manner as her great god Zeus." + +At these words the king smiled, and then went on: "And what has given +rise to this? The Hellenic love of beauty in form, which, in the eye of +a Greek, is superior to every thing else. He cannot separate the body +from the soul, because he holds it to be the most glorious of formed +things, and indeed, believes that a beautiful spirit must necessarily +inhabit a beautiful body. Their gods, therefore, are only elevated human +beings, but we adore an unseen power working in nature and in ourselves. +The animal takes its place between ourselves and nature; its actions +are guided, not, like our own, by the letter, but by the eternal laws +of nature, which owe their origin to the Deity, while the letter is a +device of man's own mind. And then, too, where amongst ourselves do +we find so earnest a longing and endeavor to gain freedom, the highest +good, as among the animals? Where such a regular and well-balanced life +from generation to generation, without instruction or precept?" + +Here the king's voice failed. He was obliged to pause for a few moments, +and then continued: "I know that my end is near; therefore enough of +these matters. My son and successor, hear my last wishes and act upon +them; they are the result of experience. But alas! how often have I +seen, that rules of life given by one man to another are useless. Every +man must earn his own experience. His own losses make him prudent, his +own learning wise. Thou, my son, art coming to the throne at a mature +age; thou hast had time and opportunity to judge between right and +wrong, to note what is beneficial and what hurtful, to see and compare +many things. I give thee, therefore, only a few wholesome counsels, and +only fear that though I offer them with my right hand, thou wilt accept +them with the left. + +"First, however, I must say that, notwithstanding my blindness, my +indifference to what has been going on during the past months has been +only apparent. I left you to your own devices with a good intention. +Rhodopis told me once one of her teacher AEsop's fables: 'A traveller, +meeting a man on his road, asked him how long it would be before he +reached the nearest town.' 'Go on, go on,' cried the other. 'But I want +to know first when I shall get to the town.' 'Go on, only go on,' was +the answer. The traveller left him with angry words and abuse; but he +had not gone many steps when the man called after him: 'You will be +there in an hour. I could not answer your question until I had seen your +pace.' + +"I bore this fable in my mind for my son's sake, and watched in silence +at what pace he was ruling his people. Now I have discovered what I wish +to know, and this is my advice: Examine into everything your self. It +is the duty of every man, but especially of a king, to acquaint himself +intimately with all that concerns the weal or woe of his people. You, my +son, are in the habit of using the eyes and ears of other men instead of +going to the fountain-head yourself. I am sure that your advisers, the +priests, only desire what is good; but... Neithotep, I must beg you to +leave us alone for a few moments." + +When the priest was gone the king exclaimed "They wish for what is +good, but good only for themselves. But we are not kings of priests and +aristocrats only, we are kings of a nation! Do not listen to the advice +of this proud caste alone, but read every petition yourself, and, by +appointing Nomarchs devoted to the king and beloved by the people, make +yourself acquainted with the needs and wishes of the Egyptian nation. +It is not difficult to govern well, if you are aware of the state of +feeling in your land. Choose fit men to fill the offices of state. I +have taken care that the kingdom shall be properly divided. The laws are +good, and have proved themselves so; hold fast by these laws, and trust +no one who sets himself above them; for law is invariably wiser than the +individual man, and its transgressor deserves his punishment. The people +understand this well, and are ready to sacrifice themselves for us, when +they see that we are ready to give up our own will to the law. You do +not care for the people. I know their voice is often rude and rough, but +it utters wholesome truths, and no one needs to hear truth more than a +king. The Pharaoh who chooses priests and courtiers for his advisers, +will hear plenty of flattering words, while he who tries to fulfil the +wishes of the nation will have much to suffer from those around him; but +the latter will feel peace in his own heart, and be praised in the ages +to come. I have often erred, yet the Egyptians will weep for me, as one +who knew their needs and considered their welfare like a father. A king +who really knows his duties, finds it an easy and beautiful task to win +the love of the people--an unthankful one to gain the applause of the +great--almost an impossibility to content both. + +"Do not forget,--I say it again,--that kings and priests exist for the +people, and not the people for their kings and priests. Honor religion +for its own sake and as the most important means of securing the +obedience of the governed to their governors; but at the same time +show its promulgators that you look on them, not as receptacles, but as +servants, of the Deity. Hold fast, as the law commands, by what is old; +but never shut the gates of your kingdom against what is new, if better. +Bad men break at once with the old traditions; fools only care for what +is new and fresh; the narrowminded and the selfish privileged class +cling indiscriminately to all that is old, and pronounce progress to be +a sin; but the wise endeavor to retain all that has approved itself in +the past, to remove all that has become defective, and to adopt whatever +is good, from whatever source it may have sprung. Act thus, my son. +The priests will try to keep you back--the Greeks to urge you forward. +Choose one party or the other, but beware of indecision--of yielding to +the one to-day, to the other to-morrow. Between two stools a man +falls to the ground. Let the one party be your friends, the other your +enemies; by trying to please both, you will have both opposed to you. +Human beings hate the man who shows kindness to their enemies. In the +last few months, during which you have ruled independently, both parties +have been offended by your miserable indecision. The man who runs +backwards and forwards like a child, makes no progress, and is soon +weary. I have till now--till I felt that death was near--always +encouraged the Greeks and opposed the priests. In the active business of +life, the clever, brave Greeks seemed to me especially serviceable; at +death, I want men who can make me out a pass into the nether regions. +The gods forgive me for not being able to resist words that sound so +like a joke, even in my last hour! They created me and must take me as +I am. I rubbed my hands for joy when I became king; with thee, my son, +coming to the throne is a graver matter.--Now call Neithotep back; I +have still something to say to you both." + +The king gave his hand to the high-priest as he entered, saving: "I +leave you, Neithotep, without ill-will, though my opinion that you have +been a better priest than a servant to your king, remains unaltered. +Psamtik will probably prove a more obedient follower than I have been, +but one thing I wish to impress earnestly on you both: Do not dismiss +the Greek mercenaries until the war with the Persians is over, and has +ended we will hope--in victory for Egypt. My former predictions are not +worth anything now; when death draws near, we get depressed, and things +begin to look a little black. Without the auxiliary troops we shall be +hopelessly lost, but with them victory is not impossible. Be clever; +show the Ionians that they are fighting on the Nile for the freedom of +their own country--that Cambyses, if victorious, will not be contented +with Egypt alone, while his defeat may bring freedom to their own +enslaved countrymen in Ionia. I know you agree with me, Neithotep, for +in your heart you mean well to Egypt.--Now read me the prayers. I feel +exhausted; my end must be very near. If I could only forget that poor +Nitetis! had she the right to curse us? May the judges of the dead-may +Osiris--have mercy on our souls! Sit down by me, Ladice; lay thy hand on +my burning forehead. And Psamtik, in presence of these witnesses, swear +to honor and respect thy step-mother, as if thou wert her own child. My +poor wife! Come and seek me soon before the throne of Osiris. A widow +and childless, what hast thou to do with this world? We brought up +Nitetis as our own daughter, and yet we are so heavily punished for her +sake. But her curse rests on us--and only on us;--not on thee, Psamtik, +nor on thy children. Bring my grandson. Was that a tear? Perhaps; well, +the little things to which one has accustomed one's self are generally +the hardest to give up." + + ...................... + +Rhodopis entertained a fresh guest that evening; Kallias, the son of +Phoenippus, the same who first appeared in our tale as the bearer of +news from the Olympic games. + +The lively, cheerful Athenian had just come back from his native +country, and, as an old and tried friend, was not only received by +Rhodopis, but made acquainted with the secret of Sappho's marriage. + +Knakias, her old slave, had, it is true, taken in the flag which was +the sign of reception, two days ago; but he knew that Kallias was always +welcome to his mistress, and therefore admitted him just as readily as +he refused every one else. + +The Athenian had plenty to tell, and when Rhodopis was called away +on business, he took his favorite Sappho into the garden, joking and +teasing her gaily as they looked out for her lover's coming. But Bartja +did not come, and Sappho began to be so anxious that Kallias called +old Melitta, whose longing looks in the direction of Naukratis were, if +possible, more anxious even than those of her mistress, and told her to +fetch a musical instrument which he had brought with him. + +It was a rather large lute, made of gold and ivory, and as he handed +it to Sappho, he said, with a smile: "The inventor of this glorious +instrument, the divine Anakreon, had it made expressly for me, at my +own wish. He calls it a Barbiton, and brings wonderful tones from its +chords--tones that must echo on even into the land of shadows. I have +told this poet, who offers his life as one great sacrifice to the Muses, +Eros and Dionysus, a great deal about you, and he made me promise to +bring you this song, which he wrote on purpose for you, as a gift from +himself. + +"Now, what do you say to this song? But by Hercules, child, how pale you +are! Have the verses affected you so much, or are you frightened at this +likeness of your own longing heart? Calm yourself, girl. Who knows what +may have happened to your lover?" + +"Nothing has happened,--nothing," cried a gay, manly voice, and in a few +seconds Sappho was in the arms of him she loved. + +Kallias looked on quietly, smiling at the wonderful beauty of these two +young lovers. + +"But now," said the prince, after Sappho had made him acquainted with +Kallias, "I must go at once to your grandmother. We dare not wait four +days for our wedding. It must be to-day! There is danger in every hour +of delay. Is Theopompus here?" + +"I think he must be," said Sappho. "I know of nothing else, that could +keep my grandmother so long in the house. But tell me, what is this +about our marriage? It seems to me..." + +"Let us go in first, love. I fancy a thunder-storm must be coming on. +The sky is so dark, and it's so intolerably sultry." + +"As you like, only make haste, unless you mean me to die of impatience. +There is not the slightest reason to be afraid of a storm. Since I was +a child there has not been either lightning or thunder in Egypt at this +time of year." + +"Then you will see something new to-day," said Kallias, laughing; for a +large drop of rain has just fallen on my bald head, "the Nile-swallows +were flying close to the water as I came here, and you see there is a +cloud coming over the moon already. Come in quickly, or you will get +wet. Ho, slave, see that a black lamb is offered to the gods of the +lower world." + +They found Theopompus sitting in Rhodopis' own apartment, as Sappho had +supposed. He had finished telling her the story of Zopyrus' arrest, and +of the journey which Bartja and his friends had taken on his behalf. + +Their anxiety on the matter was beginning to be so serious, that +Bartja's unexpected appearance was a great relief. His words flew as he +repeated the events of the last few hours, and begged Theopompus to +look out at once for a ship in sailing order, to convey himself and his +friends from Egypt. + +"That suits famously," exclaimed Kallias. "My own trireme brought me +from Naukratis to-day; it is lying now, fully equipped for sea, in the +port, and is quite at your service. I have only to send orders to +the steersman to keep the crew together and everything in sailing +order.--You are under no obligations to me; on the contrary it is I +who have to thank you for the honor you will confer on me. Ho, +Knakias!--tell my slave Philomelus, he's waiting in the hall,--to take a +boat to the port, and order my steersman Nausarchus to keep the ship in +readiness for starting. Give him this seal; it empowers him to do all +that is necessary." + +"And my slaves?" said Bartja. + +"Knakias can tell my old steward to take them to Kallias' ship," +answered Theopompus. + +"And when they see this," said Bartja, giving the old servant his ring, +"they will obey without a question." + +Knakias went away with many a deep obeisance, and the prince went on: +"Now, my mother, I have a great petition to ask of you." + +"I guess what it is," said Rhodopis, with a smile. "You wish your +marriage to be hastened, and I see that I dare not oppose your wish." + +"If I'm not mistaken," said Kallias, "we have a remarkable case here. +Two people are in great peril, and find that very peril a matter of +rejoicing." + +"Perhaps you are right there," said Bartja, pressing Sappho's hand +unperceived. And then, turning to Rhodopis again, he begged her to delay +no longer in trusting her dearest treasure to his care,--a treasure +whose worth he knew so well. + +Rhodopis rose, she laid her right hand on Sappho's head and her left on +Bartja's, and said: "There is a myth which tells of a blue lake in the +land of roses; its waves are sometimes calm and gentle, but at others +they rise into a stormy flood; the taste of its waters is partly sweet +as honey, partly bitter as gall. Ye will learn the meaning of this +legend in the marriage-land of roses. Ye will pass calm and stormy-sweet +and bitter hours there. So long as thou wert a child, Sappho, thy life +passed on like a cloudless spring morning, but when thou becam'st a +maiden, and hadst learnt to love, thine heart was opened to admit pain; +and during the long months of separation pain was a frequent guest +there. This guest will seek admission as long as life lasts. Bartja, it +will be your duty to keep this intruder away from Sappho, as far as it +lies in your power. I know the world. I could perceive,--even before +Croesus told me of your generous nature,--that you were worthy of my +Sappho. This justified me in allowing you to eat the quince with her; +this induces me now to entrust to you, without fear, what I have always +looked upon as a sacred pledge committed to my keeping. Look upon +her too only as a loan. Nothing is more dangerous to love, than a +comfortable assurance of exclusive possession--I have been blamed for +allowing such an inexperienced child to go forth into your distant +country, where custom is so unfavorable to women; but I know what love +is;--I know that a girl who loves, knows no home but the heart of her +husband;--the woman whose heart has been touched by Eros no misfortune +but that of separation from him whom she has chosen. And besides, I +would ask you, Kallias and Theopompus, is the position of your own wives +so superior to that of the Persian women? Are not the women of Ionia and +Attica forced to pass their lives in their own apartments, thankful +if they are allowed to cross the street accompanied by suspicious and +distrustful slaves? As to the custom which prevails in Persia of taking +many wives, I have no fear either for Bartja or Sappho. He will be more +faithful to his wife than are many Greeks, for he will find in her what +you are obliged to seek, on the one hand in marriage, on the other in +the houses of the cultivated Hetaere:--in the former, housewives and +mothers, in the latter, animated and enlivening intellectual society. +Take her, my son. I give her to you as an old warrior gives his sword, +his best possession, to his stalwart son:--he gives it gladly and with +confidence. Whithersoever she may go she will always remain a Greek, and +it comforts me to think that in her new home she will bring honor to +the Greek name and friends to our nation, Child, I thank thee for those +tears. I can command my own, but fate has made me pay an immeasurable +price for the power of doing so. The gods have heard your oath, my noble +Bartja. Never forget it, but take her as your own, your friend, your +wife. Take her away as soon as your friends return; it is not the +will of the gods that the Hymenaeus should be sung at Sappho's nuptial +rites." + +As she said these words she laid Sappho's hand in Bartja's, embraced her +with passionate tenderness, and breathed a light kiss on the forehead of +the young Persian. Then turning to her Greek friends, who stood by, much +affected: + +"That was a quiet nuptial ceremony," she said; "no songs, no +torch-light! May their union be so much the happier. Melitta, bring the +bride's marriage-ornaments, the bracelets and necklaces which lie in the +bronze casket on my dressing-table, that our darling may give her hand +to her lord attired as beseems a future princess." + +"Yes, and do not linger on the way," cried Kallias, whose old +cheerfulness had now returned. "Neither can we allow the niece of the +greatest of Hymen's poets to be married without the sound of song and +music. The young husband's house is, to be sure, too far off for our +purpose, so we will suppose that the andronitis is his dwelling. + + [The Hymenaeus was the wedding-song, so called because of its + refrain "Hymen O! Hymenae' O!" The god of marriage, Hymen, took + his origin and name from the hymn, was afterwards decked out richly + with myths, and finally, according to Catullus, received a seat on + Mount Helikon with the Muses.] + + [A Greek bride was beautifully adorned for her marriage, and her + bridesmaids received holiday garments. Homer, Odyss. VI. 27. + Besides which, after the bath, which both bride and bridegroom were + obliged to take, she was anointed with sweet-smelling essences. + Thucyd. II. 15. Xenoph. Symp. II. 3.] + +"We will conduct the maiden thither by the centre door, and there we +will enjoy a merry wedding-feast by the family hearth. Here, slavegirls, +come and form yourselves into two choruses. Half of your number take +the part of the youths; the other half that of the maidens, and sing us +Sappho's Hymenaeus. I will be the torch-bearer; that dignity is mine by +right. You must know, Bartja, that my family has an hereditary right +to carry the torches at the Eleusinian mysteries and we are therefore +called Daduchi or torch-bearers. Ho, slave! see that the door of the +andronitis is hung with flowers, and tell your comrades to meet us with +a shower of sweetmeats as we enter. That's right, Melitta; why, how did +you manage to get those lovely violet and myrtle marriage-crowns made so +quickly? The rain is streaming through the opening above. You see, Hymen +has persuaded Zeus to help him; so that not a single marriage-rite shall +be omitted. You could not take the bath, which ancient custom prescribes +for the bride and bridegroom on the morning of their wedding-day, so +you have only to stand here a moment and take the rain of Zeus as an +equivalent for the waters of the sacred spring. Now, girls, begin your +song. Let the maidens bewail the rosy days of childhood, and the youths +praise the lot of those who marry young." + +Five well-practised treble voices now began to sing the chorus of +virgins in a sad and plaintive tone. + +Suddenly the song was hushed, for a flash of lightning had shone down +through the aperture beneath which Kallias had stationed the bride +and bridegroom, followed by a loud peal of thunder. "See!" cried the +Daduchus, raising his hand to heaven, "Zeus himself has taken the +nuptial-torch, and sings the Hymenaeus for his favorites." + +At dawn the next morning, Sappho and Bartja left the house and went +into the garden. After the violent storm which had raged all night, the +garden was looking as fresh and cheerful in the morning light as the +faces of the newly-married pair. + +Bartja's anxiety for his friends, whom he had almost forgotten in the +excitement of his marriage, had roused them so early. + +The garden had been laid out on an artificial hill, which overlooked +the inundated plain. Blue and white lotus-blossoms floated on the smooth +surface of the water, and vast numbers of water-birds hovered along the +shores or over the flood. Flocks of white, herons appeared on the +banks, their plumage gleaming like glaciers on distant mountain peaks; +a solitary eagle circled upward on its broad pinions through the +pure morning air, turtle-doves nestled in the tops of the palm-trees; +pelicans and ducks fluttered screaming away, whenever a gay sail +appeared. The air had been cooled by the storm, a fresh north-wind was +blowing, and, notwithstanding the early hour, there were a number of +boats sailing over the deluged fields before the breeze. The songs of +the rowers, the plashing strokes of their oars and the cries of the +birds, all contributed to enliven the watery landscape of the Nile +valley, which, though varied in color, was somewhat monotonous. + +Bartja and Sappho stood leaning on each other by the low wall which ran +round Rhodopis' garden, exchanging tender words and watching the scene +below, till at last Bartja's quick eye caught sight of a boat making +straight for the house and coming on fast by the help of the breeze and +powerful rowers. + +A few minutes later the boat put in to shore and Zopyrus with his +deliverers stood before them. + +Darius's plan had succeeded perfectly, thanks to the storm, which, by +its violence and the unusual time of its appearance, had scared +the Egyptians; but still there was no time to be lost, as it might +reasonably be supposed that the men of Sais would pursue their fugitive +with all the means at their command. + +Sappho, therefore, had to take a short farewell of her grandmother, all +the more tender, however, for its shortness,--and then, led by Rartja +and followed by old Melitta, who was to accompany her to Persia, she +went on board Syloson's boat. After an hour's sail they reached a +beautifully-built and fast-sailing vessel, the Hygieia, which belonged +to Kallias. + +He was waiting for them on board his trireme. The leave-taking between +himself and his young friends was especially affectionate. Bartja hung +a heavy and costly gold chain round the neck of the old man in token +of his gratitude, while Syloson, in remembrance of the dangers they had +shared together, threw his purple cloak over Darius' shoulders. It was +a master-specimen of Tynan dye, and had taken the latter's fancy. Darius +accepted the gift with pleasure, and said, as he took leave: "You must +never forget that I am indebted to you, my Greek friend, and as soon as +possible give me an opportunity of doing you service in return." + +"You ought to come to me first, though," exclaimed Zopyrus, embracing +his deliverer. "I am perfectly ready to share my last gold piece with +you; or what is more, if it would do you a service, to sit a whole week +in that infernal hole from which you saved me. Ah! they're weighing +anchor. Farewell, you brave Greek. Remember me to the flower-sisters, +especially to the pretty, little Stephanion, and tell her her +long-legged lover won't be able to plague her again for some time to +come at least. And then, one more thing; take this purse of gold for the +wife and children of that impertinent fellow, whom I struck too hard in +the heat of the fray." + +The anchors fell rattling on to the deck, the wind filled the sails, +the Trieraules--[Flute-player to a trireme]--took his flute and set the +measure of the monotonous Keleusma or rowing-song, which echoed again +from the hold of the vessel. The beak of the ship bearing the statue of +Hygieia, carved in wood, began to move. Bartja and Sappho stood at the +helm and gazed towards Naukratis, until the shores of the Nile vanished +and the green waves of the Hellenic sea splashed their foam over the +deck of the trireme. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +Our young bride and bridegroom had not travelled farther than Ephesus, +when the news reached them that Amasis was dead. From Ephesus they +went to Babylon, and thence to Pasargadae, which Kassandane, Atossa and +Croesus had made their temporary residence. Kassandane was to accompany +the army to Egypt, and wished, now that Nebenchari had restored her +sight, to see the monument which had lately been built to her great +husband's memory after Croesus' design, before leaving for so long a +journey. She rejoiced in finding it worthy of the great Cyrus, and spent +hours every day in the beautiful gardens which had been laid out round +the mausoleum. + +It consisted of a gigantic sarcophagus made of solid marble blocks, +and resting like a house on a substructure composed of six high marble +steps. The interior was fitted up like a room, and contained, beside the +golden coffin in which were preserved such few remains of Cyrus as had +been spared by the dogs, vultures, and elements, a silver bed and a +table of the same metal, on which were golden drinking-cups and numerous +garments ornamented with the rarest and most costly jewels. + +The building was forty feet high. The shady paradises--[Persian +pleasure-gardens]--and colonnades by which it was surrounded had +been planned by Croesus, and in the midst of the sacred grove was a +dwelling-house for the Magi appointed to watch over the tomb. + +The palace of Cyrus could be seen in the distance--a palace in which he +had appointed that the future kings of Persia should pass at least +some months of every year. It was a splendid building in the style of +a fortress, and so inaccessibly placed that it had been fixed on as the +royal treasure-house. + +Here, in the fresh mountain air of a place dedicated to the memory of +the husband she had loved so much, Kassandane felt well and at peace; +she was glad too to see that Atossa was recovering the old cheerfulness, +which she had so sadly lost since the death of Nitetis and the departure +of Darius. Sappho soon became the friend of her new mother and sister, +and all three felt very loath to leave the lovely Pasargadm. + +Darius and Zopyrus had remained with the army which was assembling in +the plains of the Euphrates, and Bartja too had to return thither before +the march began. + +Cambyses went out to meet his family on their return; he was much +impressed with Sappho's great beauty, but she confessed to her husband +that his brother only inspired her with fear. + +The king had altered very much in the last few months. His formerly pale +and almost noble features were reddened and disfigured by the quantities +of wine he was in the habit of drinking. In his dark eyes there was the +old fire still, but dimmed and polluted. His hair and beard, formerly so +luxuriant, and black as the raven's wing, hung down grey and disordered +over his face and chin, and the proud smile which used so to improve his +features had given way to an expression of contemptuous annoyance and +harsh severity. + +Sometimes he laughed,--loudly, immoderately and coarsely; but this was +only when intoxicated, a condition which had long ceased to be unusual +with him. + +He continued to retain an aversion to his wives; so much so that the +royal harem was to be left behind in Susa, though all his court took +their favorite wives and concubines with them on the campaign. Still no +one could complain that the king was ever guilty of injustice; indeed he +insisted more eagerly now than before on the rigid execution of the +law; and wherever he detected an abuse his punishments were cruel and +inexorable. Hearing that a judge, named Sisamnes, had been bribed +to pronounce an unjust sentence, he condemned the wretched man to +be flayed, ordered the seat of justice to be covered with his skin, +appointed the son to the father's vacant place and compelled him to +occupy this fearful seat.--[Herodot. V. 25.]--Cambyses was untiring as +commander of the forces, and superintended the drilling of the troops +assembled near Babylon with the greatest rigor and circumspection. + +The hosts were to march after the festival of the New Year, which +Cambyses celebrated this time with immense expense and profusion. The +ceremony over, he betook himself to the army. Bartja was there. He came +up to his brother, beaming with joy, kissed the hem of his robe, and +told him in a tone of triumph that he hoped to become a father. The king +trembled as he heard the words, vouchsafed his brother no answer, drank +himself into unconsciousness that evening, and the next morning called +the soothsayers, Magi and Chaldaeans together, in order to submit a +question to them. "Shall I be committing a sin against the gods, if I +take my sister to wife and thus verify the promise of the dream, which +ye formerly interpreted to mean that Atossa should bear a future king to +this realm?" + +The Magi consulted a short time together. Then Oropastes cast himself at +the king's feet and said, "We do not believe, O King, that this marriage +would be a sin against the gods; inasmuch as, first: it is a custom +among the Persians to marry with their own kin; and secondly, though it +be not written in the law that the pure man may marry his sister, it +is written that the king may do what seemeth good in his own eyes. That +which pleaseth thee is therefore always lawful." + +Cambyses sent the Magi away with rich gifts, gave Oropastes full +powers as regent of the kingdom in his absence, and soon after told +his horrified mother that, as soon as the conquest of Egypt and the +punishment of the son of Amasis should have been achieved, he intended +to marry his sister Atossa. + +At length the immense host, numbering more than 800,000 fighting men, +departed in separate divisions, and reached the Syrian desert in +two months. Here they were met by the Arabian tribes whom Phanes had +propitiated--the Amalekites and Geshurites--bringing camels and horses +laden with water for the host. + +At Accho, in the land of the Canaanites, the fleets of the Syrians, +Phoenicians and Ionians belonging to Persia, and the auxiliary ships +from Cyprus and Samos, won by the efforts of Phanes, were assembled. +The case of the Samian fleet was a remarkable one. Polykrates saw in +Cambyses' proposal a favorable opportunity of getting rid of all +the citizens who were discontented with his government, manned forty +triremes with eight thousand malcontent Samians, and sent them to +the Persians with the request that not one might be allowed to return +home.--[Herod. III. 44.] + +As soon as Phanes heard this he warned the doomed men, who at once, +instead of sailing to join the Persian forces, returned to Samos and +attempted to overthrow Polykrates. They were defeated, however, on land, +and escaped to Sparta to ask help against the tyrant. + +A full month before the time of the inundation, the Persian and Egyptian +armies were standing face to face near Pelusium on the north-east coast +of the Delta. + +Phanes' arrangements had proved excellent. The Arabian tribes had kept +faith so well that the journey through the desert, which would usually +have cost thousands of lives, had been attended with very little loss, +and the time of year had been so well chosen that the Persian troops +reached Egypt by dry roads and without inconvenience. + +The king met his Greek friend with every mark of distinction, and +returned a friendly nod when Phanes said: "I hear that you have been +less cheerful than usual since the death of your beautiful bride. A +woman's grief passes in stormy and violent complaint, but the sterner +character of a man cannot so soon be comforted. I know what you feel, +for I have lost my dearest too. Let us both praise the gods for granting +us the best remedy for our grief--war and revenge." Phanes accompanied +the king to an inspection of the troops and to the evening revel. It was +marvellous to see the influence he exercised over this fierce spirit, +and how calm--nay even cheerful--Cambyses became, when the Athenian was +near. + +The Egyptian army was by no means contemptible, even when compared with +the immense Persian hosts. Its position was covered on the right by the +walls of Pelusium, a frontier fortress designed by the Egyptian kings as +a defence against incursions from the east. The Persians were assured by +deserters that the Egyptian army numbered altogether nearly six hundred +thousand men. Beside a great number of chariots of war, thirty thousand +Karian and Ionian mercenaries, and the corps of the Mazai, two +hundred and fifty thousand Kalasirians, one hundred and sixty thousand +Hermotybians, twenty thousand horsemen, and auxiliary troops, amounting +to more than fifty thousand, were assembled under Psamtik's banner; +amongst these last the Libyan Maschawascha were remarkable for their +military deeds, and the Ethiopians for their numerical superiority. + +The infantry were divided into regiments and companies, under different +standards, and variously equipped. + + [In these and the descriptions immediately following, we have drawn + our information, either from the drawings made from Egyptian + monuments in Champollion, Wilkinson, Rosellini and Lepsius, or from + the monuments themselves. There is a dagger in the Berlin Museum, + the blade of which is of bronze, the hilt of ivory and the sheath of + leather. Large swords are only to be seen in the hands of the + foreign auxiliaries, but the native Egyptians are armed with small + ones, like daggers. The largest one of which we have any knowledge + is in the possession of Herr E. Brugsch at Cairo. It is more than + two feet long.] + +The heavy-armed soldiers carried large shields, lances, and daggers; the +swordsmen and those who fought with battle-axes had smaller shields and +light clubs; beside these, there were slingers, but the main body of the +army was composed of archers, whose bows unbent were nearly the height +of a man. The only clothing of the horse-soldiers was the apron, and +their weapon a light club in the form of a mace or battle-axe. Those +warriors, on the contrary, who fought in chariots belonged to the +highest rank of the military caste, spent large sums on the decoration +of their two-wheeled chariots and the harness of their magnificent +horses, and went to battle in their most costly ornaments. They were +armed with bows and lances, and a charioteer stood beside each, so that +their undivided attention could be bestowed upon the battle. + +The Persian foot was not much more numerous than the Egyptian, but they +had six times the number of horse-soldiers. + +As soon as the armies stood face to face, Cambyses caused the great +Pelusian plain to be cleared of trees and brushwood, and had the +sand-hills removed which were to be found here and there, in order to +give his cavalry and scythe-chariots a fair field of action. Phanes' +knowledge of the country was of great use. He had drawn up a plan of +action with great military skill, and succeeded in gaining not only +Cambyses' approval, but that of the old general Megabyzus and the best +tacticians among the Achaemenidae. His local knowledge was especially +valuable on account of the marshes which intersected the Pelusian plain, +and might, unless carefully avoided, have proved fatal to the Persian +enterprise. At the close of the council of war Phanes begged to be heard +once more: "Now, at length," he said, "I am at liberty to satisfy your +curiosity in reference to the closed waggons full of animals, which I +have had transported hither. They contain five thousand cats! Yes, you +may laugh, but I tell you these creatures will be more serviceable to us +than a hundred thousand of our best soldiers. Many of you are aware that +the Egyptians have a superstition which leads them rather to die than +kill a cat, I, myself, nearly paid for such a murder once with my life. +Remembering this, I have been making a diligent search for cats during +my late journey; in Cyprus, where there are splendid specimens, in Samos +and in Crete. All I could get I ordered to be caught, and now propose +that they be distributed among those troops who will be opposed to the +native Egyptian soldiers. Every man must be told to fasten one firmly +to his shield and hold it out as he advances towards the enemy. I will +wager that there's not one real Egyptian, who would not rather fly from +the battle-field than take aim at one of these sacred animals." + +This speech was met by a loud burst of laughter; on being discussed, +however, it was approved of, and ordered to be carried out at once. The +ingenious Greek was honored by receiving the king's hand to kiss, his +expenses were reimbursed by a magnificent present, and he was urged to +take a daughter of some noble Persian family in marriage. + + [Themistocles too, on coming to the Persian court, received a high- + born Persian wife in marriage. Diod. XI. 57.] + +The king concluded by inviting him to supper, but this the Athenian +declined, on the plea that he must review the Ionian troops, with whom +he was as yet but little acquainted, and withdrew. + +At the door of his tent he found his slaves disputing with a ragged, +dirty and unshaven old man, who insisted on speaking with their master. +Fancying he must be a beggar, Phanes threw him a piece of gold; the old +man did not even stoop to pick it up, but, holding the Athenian fast by +his cloak, cried, "I am Aristomachus the Spartan!" + +Cruelly as he was altered, Phanes recognized his old friend at once, +ordered his feet to be washed and his head anointed, gave him wine and +meat to revive his strength, took his rags off and laid a new chiton +over his emaciated, but still sinewy, frame. + +Aristomachus received all in silence; and when the food and wine had +given him strength to speak, began the following answer to Phanes' eager +questions. + +On the murder of Phanes' son by Psamtik, he had declared his intention +of leaving Egypt and inducing the troops under his command to do the +same, unless his friend's little daughter were at once set free, and a +satisfactory explanation given for the sudden disappearance of the boy. +Psamtik promised to consider the matter. Two days later, as Aristomachus +was going up the Nile by night to Memphis, he was seized by Egyptian +soldiers, bound and thrown into the dark hold of a boat, which, after a +voyage of many days and nights, cast anchor on a totally unknown shore. +The prisoners were taken out of their dungeon and led across a desert +under the burning sun, and past rocks of strange forms, until they +reached a range of mountains with a colony of huts at its base. These +huts were inhabited by human beings, who, with chains on their feet, +were driven every morning into the shaft of a mine and there compelled +to hew grains of gold out of the stony rock. Many of these miserable men +had passed forty years in this place, but most died soon, overcome by +the hard work and the fearful extremes of heat and cold to which they +were exposed on entering and leaving the mine. + + [Diodorus (III. 12.) describes the compulsory work in the gold mines + with great minuteness. The convicts were either prisoners taken in + war, or people whom despotism in its blind fury found it expedient + to put out of the way. The mines lay in the plain of Koptos, not + far from the Red Sea. Traces of them have been discovered in modern + times. Interesting inscriptions of the time of Rameses the Great, + (14 centuries B. C.) referring to the gold-mines, have been found, + one at Radesich, the other at Kubnn, and have been published and + deciphered in Europe.] + +"My companions," continued Aristomachus, "were either condemned +murderers to whom mercy had been granted, or men guilty of high treason +whose tongues had been cut out, and others such as myself whom the king +had reason to fear. Three months I worked among this set, submitting +to the strokes of the overseer, fainting under the fearful heat, and +stiffening under the cold dews of night. I felt as if picked out +for death and only kept alive by the hope of vengeance. It happened, +however, by the mercy of the gods, that at the feast of Pacht, our +guards, as is the custom of the Egyptians, drank so freely as to fall +into a deep sleep, during which I and a young Jew who had been deprived +of his right hand for having used false weights in trade, managed to +escape unperceived; Zeus Lacedaemonius and the great God whom this young +man worshipped helped us in our need, and, though we often heard the +voices of our pursuers, they never succeeded in capturing us. I had +taken a bow from one of our guards; with this we obtained food, and when +no game was to be found we lived on roots, fruits and birds' eggs. The +sun and stars showed us our road. We knew that the gold-mines were not +far from the Red Sea and lay to the south of Memphis. It was not long +before we reached the coast; and then, pressing onwards in a northerly +direction, we fell in with some friendly mariners, who took care of us +until we were taken up by an Arabian boat. The young Jew understood the +language spoken by the crew, and in their care we came to Eziongeber +in the land of Edom. There we heard that Cambyses was coming with an +immense army against Egypt, and travelled as far as Harma under the +protection of an Amalekite caravan bringing water to the Persian army. +From thence I went on to Pelusium in the company of some stragglers from +the Asiatic army, who now and then allowed me a seat on their horses, +and here I heard that you had accepted a high command in Cambyses' army. +I have kept my vow, I have been true to my nation in Egypt; now it is +your turn to help old Aristomachus in gaining the only thing he still +cares for--revenge on his persecutors." + +"And that you shall have!" cried Phanes, grasping the old man's hand. +"You shall have the command of the heavy-armed Milesian troops, and +liberty to commit what carnage you like among the ranks of our enemies. +This, however, is only paying half the debt I owe you. Praised be +the gods, who have put it in my power to make you happy by one single +sentence. Know then, Aristomachus, that, only a few days after your +disappearance, a ship arrived in the harbor of Naukratis from Sparta. +It was guided by your own noble son and expressly sent by the Ephori +in your honor--to bring the father of two Olympic victors back to his +native land." + +The old man's limbs trembled visibly at these words, his eyes filled +with tears and he murmured a prayer. Then smiting his forehead, he cried +in a voice trembling with feeling: "Now it is fulfilled! now it has +become a fact! If I doubted the words of thy priestess, O Phoebus +Apollo! pardon my sin! What was the promise of the oracle? + + "If once the warrior hosts from the snow-topped mountains + descending, + Come to the fields of the stream watering richly the plain, + Then shall the lingering boat to the beckoning meadows convey thee, + Which to the wandering foot peace and a home can afford. + When those warriors come, from the snow-topped mountains descending, + Then will the powerful Five grant thee what long they refused." + +"The promise of the god is fulfilled. Now I may return home, and I will; +but first I raise my hands to Dice, the unchanging goddess of justice, +and implore her not to deny me the pleasure of revenge." + +"The day of vengeance will dawn to-morrow," said Phanes, joining in +the old man's prayer. "Tomorrow I shall slaughter the victims for the +dead--for my son--and will take no rest until Cambyses has pierced +the heart of Egypt with the arrows which I have cut for him. Come, my +friend, let me take you to the king. One man like you can put a whole +troop of Egyptians to flight." + + ....................... + +It was night. The Persian soldiers, their position being unfortified, +were in order of battle, ready to meet any unexpected attack. The +foot-soldiers stood leaning on their shields, the horsemen held their +horses saddled and bridled near the camp-fires. Cambyses was riding +through the ranks, encouraging his troops by words and looks. Only one +part of the army was not yet ranged in order of battle--the centre. It +was composed of the Persian body-guard, the apple-bearers, Immortals, +and the king's own relatives, who were always led into battle by the +king in person. + +The Ionian Greeks too had gone to rest, at Phanes' command. He wanted to +keep his men fresh, and allowed them to sleep in their armor, while he +kept watch. Aristomachus was welcomed with shouts of joy by the Greeks, +and kindly by Cambyses, who assigned him, at the head of one half the +Greek troops, a place to the left of the centre attack, while Phanes, +with the other half, had his place at the right. The king himself was to +take the lead at the head of the ten thousand Immortals, preceded by the +blue, red and gold imperial banner and the standard of Kawe. Bartja was +to lead the regiment of mounted guards numbering a thousand men, and +that division of the cavalry which was entirely clothed in mail. + +Croesus commanded a body of troops whose duty it was to guard the camp +with its immense treasures, the wives of Cambyses' nobles, and his own +mother and sister. + +At last Mithras appeared and shed his light upon the earth; the spirits +of the night retired to their dens, and the Magi stirred up the sacred +fire which had been carried before the army the whole way from Babylon, +until it became a gigantic flame. They and the king united in feeding it +with costly perfumes, Cambyses offered the sacrifice, and, holding the +while a golden bowl high in the air, besought the gods to grant him +victory and glory. He then gave the password, "Auramazda, the helper and +guide," and placed himself at the head of his guards, who went into +the battle with wreaths on their tiaras. The Greeks offered their own +sacrifices, and shouted with delight on hearing that the omens were +auspicious. Their war-cry was "Hebe." + +Meanwhile the Egyptian priests had begun their day also with prayer and +sacrifice, and had then placed their army in order of battle. + +Psamtik, now King of Egypt, led the centre. He was mounted on a golden +chariot; the trappings of his horses were of gold and purple, and plumes +of ostrich feathers nodded on their proud heads. He wore the double +crown of Upper and Lower Egypt, and the charioteer who stood at his left +hand holding the reins and whip, was descended from one of the noblest +Egyptian families. + +The Hellenic and Karian mercenaries were to fight at the left of the +centre, the horse at the extreme of each wing, and the Egyptian and +Ethiopian foot were stationed, six ranks deep, on the right and left of +the armed chariots, and Greek mercenaries. + +Psamtik drove through the ranks of his army, giving encouraging and +friendly words to all the men. He drew up before the Greek division, and +addressed them thus: "Heroes of Cyprus and Libya! your deeds in arms +are well known to me, and I rejoice in the thought of sharing your glory +to-day and crowning you with fresh laurels. Ye have no need to fear, +that in the day of victory I shall curtail your liberties. Malicious +tongues have whispered that this is all ye have to expect from me; but I +tell you, that if we conquer, fresh favors will be shown to you and +your descendants; I shall call you the supporters of my throne. Ye +are fighting to-day, not for me alone, but for the freedom of your own +distant homes. It is easy to perceive that Cambyses, once lord of Egypt, +will stretch out his rapacious hand over your beautiful Hellas and its +islands. I need only remind you, that they be between Egypt and your +Asiatic brethren who are already groaning under the Persian yoke. Your +acclamations prove that ye agree with me already, but I must ask for a +still longer hearing. It is my duty to tell you who has sold, not only +Egypt, but his own country to the King of Persia, in return for immense +treasures. The man's name is Phanes! You are angry and inclined to +doubt? I swear to you, that this very Phanes has accepted Cambyses' gold +and promised not only to be his guide to Egypt, but to open the gates of +your own Greek cities to him. He knows the country and the people, and +can be bribed to every perfidy. Look at him! there he is, walking by +the side of the king. See how he bows before him! I thought I had heard +once, that the Greeks only prostrated themselves before their gods. But +of course, when a man sells his country, he ceases to be its citizen. +Am I not right? Ye scorn to call so base a creature by the name of +countryman? Yes? then I will deliver the wretch's daughter into your +hands. Do what ye will with the child of such a villain. Crown her with +wreaths of roses, fall down before her, if it please you, but do not +forget that she belongs to a man who has disgraced the name of Hellene, +and has betrayed his countrymen and country!" + +As he finished speaking the men raised a wild cry of rage and took +possession of the trembling child. A soldier held her up, so that her +father--the troops not being more than a bow-shot apart--could see all +that happened. At the same moment an Egyptian, who afterwards earned +celebrity through the loudness of his voice, cried: "Look here, +Athenian! see how treachery and corruption are rewarded in this +country!" A bowl of wine stood near, provided by the king, from which +the soldiers had just been drinking themselves into intoxication. A +Karian seized it, plunged his sword into the innocent child's breast, +and let the blood flow into the bowl; filled a goblet with the awful +mixture, and drained it, as if drinking to the health of the wretched +father. Phanes stood watching the scene, as if struck into a statue +of cold stone. The rest of the soldiers then fell upon the bowl like +madmen, and wild beasts could not have lapped up the foul drink with +greater eagerness.--[Herodotus tells this fearful tale (III. ii.)] + +In the same moment Psamtik triumphantly shot off his first arrow into +the Persian ranks. + +The mercenaries flung the child's dead body on to the ground; drunk with +her blood, they raised their battle-song, and rushed into the strife far +ahead of their Egyptian comrades. + +But now the Persian ranks began to move. Phanes, furious with pain +and rage, led on his heavy-armed troops, indignant too at the brutal +barbarity of their countrymen, and dashed into the ranks of those +very soldiers, whose love he had tried to deserve during ten years of +faithful leadership. + +At noon, fortune seemed to be favoring the Egyptians; but at sunset the +Persians had the advantage, and when the full-moon rose, the Egyptians +were flying wildly from the battle-field, perishing in the marshes and +in the arm of the Nile which flowed behind their position, or being cut +to pieces by the swords of their enemies. + +Twenty thousand Persians and fifty thousand Egyptians lay dead on +the blood-stained sea-sand. The wounded, drowned, and prisoners could +scarcely be numbered. + + [Herod. III. 12. Ktesias, Persica 9. In ancient history the loss + of the conquered is always far greater than that of the conquerors. + To a certain extent this holds good in the present day, but the + proportion is decidedly not so unfavorable for the vanquished.] + +Psamtik had been one of the last to fly. He was well mounted, and, with +a few thousand faithful followers, reached the opposite bank of the Nile +and made for Memphis, the well-fortified city of the Pyramids. + +Of the Greek mercenaries very few survived, so furious had been Phanes' +revenge, and so well had he been supported by his Ionians. Ten thousand +Karians were taken captive and the murderer of his little child was +killed by Phanes' own hand. + +Aristomachus too, in spite of his wooden leg, had performed miracles of +bravery; but, notwithstanding all their efforts, neither he, nor any of +his confederates in revenge, had succeeded in taking Psamtik prisoner. + +When the battle was over, the Persians returned in triumph to their +tents, to be warmly welcomed by Croesus and the warriors and priests +who had remained behind, and to celebrate their victory by prayers and +sacrifices. + +The next morning Cambyses assembled his generals and rewarded them with +different tokens of distinction, such as costly robes, gold chains, +rings, swords, and stars formed of precious stones. Gold and silver +coins were distributed among the common soldiers. + +The principal attack of the Egyptians had been directed against the +centre of the Persian army, where Cambyses commanded in person; and +with such effect that the guards had already begun to give way. At +that moment Bartja, arriving with his troop of horsemen, had put fresh +courage into the wavering, had fought like a lion himself, and by his +bravery and promptitude decided the day in favor of the Persians. + +The troops were exultant in their joy: they shouted his praises, as "the +conqueror of Pelusium" and the "best of the Achaemenidae." + +Their cries reached the king's ears and made him very angry. He knew +he had been fighting at the risk of life, with real courage and the +strength of a giant, and yet the day would have been lost if this boy +had not presented him with the victory. The brother who had embittered +his days of happy love, was now to rob him of half his military glory. +Cambyses felt that he hated Bartja, and his fist clenched involuntarily +as he saw the young hero looking so happy in the consciousness of his +own well-earned success. + +Phanes had been wounded and went to his tent; Aristomachus lay near him, +dying. + +"The oracle has deceived me, after all," he murmured. "I shall die +without seeing my country again." + +"The oracle spoke the truth," answered Phanes. "Were not the last words +of the Pythia?" + + 'Then shall the lingering boat to the beckoning meadows convey thee, + Which to the wandering foot peace and a home will afford?' + +"Can you misunderstand their meaning? They speak of Charon's lingering +boat, which will convey you to your last home, to the one great +resting-place for all wanderers--the kingdom of Hades." + +"Yes, my friend, you are right there. I am going to Hades." + +"And the Five have granted you, before death, what they so long +refused,--the return to Lacedaemon. You ought to be thankful to the gods +for granting you such sons and such vengeance on your enemies. When my +wound is healed, I shall go to Greece and tell your son that his father +died a glorious death, and was carried to the grave on his shield, as +beseems a hero." + +"Yes, do so, and give him my shield as a remembrance of his old father. +There is no need to exhort him to virtue." + +"When Psamtik is in our power, shall I tell him what share you had in +his overthrow?" + +"No; he saw me before he took to flight, and at the unexpected vision +his bow fell from his hand. This was taken by his friends as a signal +for flight, and they turned their horses from the battle." + +"The gods ordain, that bad men shall be ruined by their own deeds. +Psamtik lost courage, for he must have believed that the very spirits of +the lower world were fighting against him." + +"We mortals gave him quite enough to do. The Persians fought well. But +the battle would have been lost without the guards and our troops." + +"Without doubt." + +"I thank thee, O Zeus Lacedaemonius." + +"You are praying?" + +"I am praising the gods for allowing me to die at ease as to my country. +These heterogeneous masses can never be dangerous to Greece. Ho, +physician, when am I likely to die?" + +The Milesian physician, who had accompanied the Greek troops to Egypt, +pointed to the arrow-head sticking fast in his breast, and said with a +sad smile, "You have only a few hours more to live. If I were to draw +the arrow from your wound, you would die at once." + +The Spartan thanked him, said farewell to Phanes, sent a greeting to +Rhodopis, and then, before they could prevent him, drew the arrow from +his wound with an unflinching hand. A few moments later Aristomachus was +dead. + +The same day a Persian embassy set out for Memphis on board one of +the Lesbian vessels. It was commissioned to demand from Psamtik the +surrender of his own person and of the city at discretion. Cambyses +followed, having first sent off a division of his army under Megabyzus +to invest Sais. + +At Heliopolis he was met by deputations from the Greek inhabitants of +Naukratis and the Libyans, praying for peace and his protection, and +bringing a golden wreath and other rich presents. Cambyses received +them graciously and assured them of his friendship; but repulsed the +messengers from Cyrene and Barka indignantly, and flung, with his own +hand, their tribute of five hundred silver mince among his soldiers, +disdaining to accept so contemptible an offering. + +In Heliopolis he also heard that, at the approach of his embassy, the +inhabitants of Memphis had flocked to the shore, bored a hole in the +bottom of the ship, torn his messengers in pieces without distinction, +as wild beasts would tear raw flesh, and dragged them into the fortress. +On hearing this he cried angrily: "I swear, by Mithras, that these +murdered men shall be paid for; ten lives for one." + +Two days later and Cambyses with his army stood before the gates of +Memphis. The siege was short, as the garrison was far too small for +the city, and the citizens were discouraged by the fearful defeat at +Pelusium. + +King Psamtik himself came out to Cambyses, accompanied by his principal +nobles, in rent garments, and with every token of mourning. Cambyses +received him coldly and silently, ordering him and his followers to +be guarded and removed. He treated Ladice, the widow of Amasis, who +appeared at the same time as her step-son, with consideration, and, at +the intercession of Phanes, to whom she had always shown favor, allowed +her to return to her native town of Cyrene under safe conduct. She +remained there until the fall of her nephew, Arcesilaus III. and the +flight of her sister Pheretime, when she betook herself to Anthylla, +the town in Egypt which belonged to her, and where she passed a quiet, +solitary existence, dying at a great age. + +Cambyses not only scorned to revenge the imposture which had been +practised on him on a woman, but, as a Persian, had far too much respect +for a mother, and especially for the mother of a king, to injure Ladice +in any way. + +While he was engaged in the siege of Sais, Psamtik passed his +imprisonment in the palace of the Pharaohs, treated in every respect as +a king, but strictly guarded. + +Among those members of the upper class who had incited the people to +resistance, Neithotep, the high-priest of Neith, had taken the foremost +place. He was therefore sent to Memphis and put in close confinement, +with one hundred of his unhappy confederates. The larger number of the +Pharaoh's court, on the other hand, did homage voluntarily to Cambyses +at Sais, entitled him Ramestu, "child of the sun," and suggested that he +should cause himself to be crowned King of Upper and Lower Egypt, with +all the necessary formalities, and admitted into the priestly caste +according to ancient custom. By the advice of Croesus and Phanes, +Cambyses gave in to these proposals, though much against his own will: +he went so far, indeed, as to offer sacrifice in the temple of Neith, +and allowed the newly-created high-priest of the goddess to give him +a superficial insight into the nature of the mysteries. Some of +the courtiers he retained near himself, and promoted different +administrative functionaries to high posts; the commander of Amasis' +Nile fleet succeeded so well in gaining the king's favor, as to be +appointed one of those who ate at the royal table. + + [On a statue in the Gregorian Museum in the Vatican, there is an + inscription giving an account of Cambyses' sojourn at Sais, which + agrees with the facts related in our text. He was lenient to his + conquered subjects, and, probably in order to secure his position as + the lawful Pharaoh, yielded to the wishes of the priests, was even + initiated into the mysteries and did much for the temple of Neith. + His adoption of the name Ramestu is also confirmed by this statue. + E. de Rough, Memoire sur la statuette naophore du musee Gregorian, + au Vatican. Revue Archeol. 1851.] + +On leaving Sais, Cambyses placed Megabyzus in command of the city; but +scarcely had the king quitted their walls than the smothered rage of the +people broke forth; they murdered the Persian sentinels, poisoned the +wells, and set the stables of the cavalry on fire. Megabyzus at once +applied to the king, representing that such hostile acts, if not +repressed by fear, might soon be followed by open rebellion. "The two +thousand noble youths from Memphis whom you have destined to death as +an indemnification for our murdered ambassadors," said he, "ought to +be executed at once; and it would do no harm if the son of Psamtik were +added to the number, as he can some day become a rallying centre for +the rebels. I hear that the daughters of the dethroned king and of the +high-priest Neithotep have to carry water for the baths of the noble +Phanes." + +The Athenian answered with a smile: "Cambyses has allowed me to employ +these aristocratic female attendants, my lord, at my own request." + +"But has forbidden you to touch the life of one member of the royal +house," added Cambyses. "None but a king has the right to punish kings." + +Phanes bowed. The king turned to Megabyzus and ordered him to have the +prisoners executed the very next day, as an example. He would decide the +fate of the young prince later; but at all events he was to be taken to +the place of execution with the rest. "We must show them," he concluded, +"that we know how to meet all their hostile manifestations with +sufficient rigor." + +Croesus ventured to plead for the innocent boy. "Calm yourself, old +friend," said Cambyses with a smile; "the child is not dead yet, and +perhaps will be as well off with us as your own son, who fought so well +at Pelusium. I confess I should like to know, whether Psamtik bears his +fate as calmly and bravely as you did twenty-five years ago." + +"That we can easily discover, by putting him on trial," said Phanes. +"Let him be brought into the palace-court to-morrow, and let the +captives and the condemned be led past him. Then we shall see whether he +is a man or a coward." + +"Be it so," answered Cambyses. "I will conceal myself and watch him +unobserved. You, Phanes, will accompany me, to tell me the name and rank +of each of the captives." + +The next morning Phanes accompanied the king on to a balcony which ran +round the great court of the palace--the court we have already described +as being planted with trees. The listeners were hidden by a grove of +flowering shrubs, but they could see every movement that took place, +and hear every word that was spoken beneath them. They saw Psamtik, +surrounded by a few of his former companions. He was leaning against +a palm-tree, his eyes fixed gloomily on the ground, as his daughters +entered the court. The daughter of Neithotep was with them, and some +more young girls, all dressed as slaves; they were carrying pitchers of +water. At sight of the king, they uttered such a loud cry of anguish +as to wake him from his reverie. He looked up, recognized the miserable +girls, and bowed his head lower than before; but only for a moment. +Drawing himself up quickly, he asked his eldest daughter for whom she +was carrying water. On hearing that she was forced to do the work of a +slave for Phanes, he turned deadly pale, nodded his head, and cried to +the girls, "Go on." + +A few minutes later the captives were led into the court, with ropes +round their necks, and bridles in their mouths. + + [This statement of Herodotus (III. 14.) is confirmed by the + monuments, on which we often see representations of captives being + led along with ropes round their necks. What follows is taken + entirely from the same passage in Herodotus.] + +At the head of the train was the little prince Necho. He stretched his +hands out to his father, begging him to punish the bad foreigners who +wanted to kill him. At this sight the Egyptians wept in their exceeding +great misery; but Psamtik's eyes were dry. He bowed his tearless face +nearly to the earth, and waved his child a last farewell. + +After a short interval, the captives taken in Sais entered. Among them +was Neithotep, the once powerful high-priest, clothed in rags and moving +with difficulty by the help of a staff. At the entrance-gate he raised +his eyes and caught sight of his former pupil Darius. Reckless of all +the spectators around him, he went straight up to the young man, poured +out the story of his need, besought his help, and ended by begging an +alms. Darius complied at once, and by so doing, induced others of the +Achaemenidae, who were standing by, to hail the old man jokingly and +throw him little pieces of money, which he picked up laboriously and +thankfully from the ground. + +At this sight Psamtik wept aloud, and smote upon his forehead, calling +on the name of his friend in a voice full of woe. + +Cambyses was so astonished at this, that he came forward to the +balustrade of the veranda, and pushing the flowers aside, exclaimed: +"Explain thyself, thou strange man; the misfortunes of a beggar, not +even akin to thee, move thy compassion, but thou canst behold thy son +on the way to execution and thy daughters in hopeless misery without +shedding a tear, or uttering a lament!" + +Psamtik looked up at his conqueror, and answered: "The misfortunes of +my own house, O son of Cyrus, are too great for tears; but I may be +permitted to weep over the afflictions of a friend, fallen, in his old +age, from the height of happiness and influence into the most miserable +beggary." + +Cambyses' face expressed his approval, and on looking round he saw that +his was not the only eye which was filled with tears. Croesus, Bartja, +and all the Persians-nay, even Phanes himself, who had served as +interpreter to the kings-were weeping aloud. + +The proud conqueror was not displeased at these signs of sympathy, and +turning to the Athenian: "I think, my Greek friend" he said, "we may +consider our wrongs as avenged. Rise, Psamtik, and endeavor to imitate +yonder noble old man, (pointing to Croesus) by accustoming yourself to +your fate. Your father's fraud has been visited on you and your family. +The crown, which I have wrested from you is the crown of which Amasis +deprived my wife, my never-to-be-forgotten Nitetis. For her sake I began +this war, and for her sake I grant you now the life of your son--she +loved him. From this time forward you can live undisturbed at our court, +eat at our table and share the privileges of our nobles. Gyges, fetch +the boy hither. He shall be brought up as you were, years ago, among the +sons of the Achaemenidae." + +The Lydian was hastening to execute this delightful commission, but +Phanes stopped him before he could reach the door, and placing himself +proudly between the king and the trembling, thankful Psamtik, said: "You +would be going on a useless errand, noble Lydian. In defiance of your +command, my Sovereign, but in virtue of the full powers you once gave +me, I have ordered the grandson of Amasis to be the executioner's first +victim. You have just heard the sound of a horn; that was the sign that +the last heir to the Egyptian throne born on the shores of the Nile has +been gathered to his fathers. I am aware of the fate I have to expect, +Cambyses. I will not plead for a life whose end has been attained. +Croesus, I understand your reproachful looks. You grieve for the +murdered children. But life is such a web of wretchedness and +disappointment, that I agree with your philosopher Solon in thinking +those fortunate to whom, as in former days to Kleobis and Biton, the +gods decree an early death. + + [Croesus, after having shown Solon his treasures, asked him whom he + held to be the most fortunate of men, hoping to hear his own name. + The sage first named Tellus, a famous citizen of Athens, and then + the brothers Kleobis and Biton. These were two handsome youths, who + had gained the prize for wrestling, and one day, when the draught- + animals had not returned from the field, dragged their mother + themselves to the distant temple, in presence of the people. The + men of Argos praised the strength of the sons,--the women praised + the mother who possessed these sons. She, transported with delight + at her sons' deed and the people's praise, went to the statue of the + goddess and besought her to give them the best that could fall to + the lot of men. When her prayer was over and the sacrifice offered, + the youths fell asleep, and never woke again. They were dead. + Herod. I, 31. Cicero. Tuscul. I. 47.] + +"If I have ever been dear to you, Cambyses--if my counsels have been +of any use, permit me as a last favor to say a few more words. Psamtik +knows the causes that rendered us foes to each other. Ye all, whose +esteem is worth so much to me, shall know them too. This man's father +placed me in his son's stead at the head of the troops which had been +sent to Cyprus. Where Psamtik had earned humiliation, I won success and +glory. I also became unintentionally acquainted with a secret, which +seriously endangered his chances of obtaining the crown; and lastly, +I prevented his carrying off a virtuous maiden from the house of her +grandmother, an aged woman, beloved and respected by all the Greeks. +These are the sins which he has never been able to forgive; these are +the grounds which led him to carry on war to the death with me directly +I had quitted his father's service. The struggle is decided now. My +innocent children have been murdered at thy command, and I have been +pursued like a wild beast. That has been thy revenge. But mine!--I +have deprived thee of thy throne and reduced thy people to bondage. Thy +daughter I have called my slave, thy son's death-warrant was pronounced +by my lips, and my eyes have seen the maiden whom thou persecutedst +become the happy wife of a brave man. Undone, sinking ever lower and +lower, thou hast watched me rise to be the richest and most powerful of +my nation. In the lowest depth of thine own misery--and this has been +the most delicious morsel of my vengeance--thou wast forced to see +me--me, Phanes shedding tears that could not be kept back, at the sight +of thy misery. The man, who is allowed to draw even one breath of +life, after beholding his enemy so low, I hold to be happy as the gods +themselves I have spoken." + +He ceased, and pressed his hand on his wound. Cambyses gazed at him +in astonishment, stepped forward, and was just going to touch his +girdle--an action which would have been equivalent to the signing of a +death-warrant when his eye caught sight of the chain, which he himself +had hung round the Athenian's neck as a reward for the clever way in +which he had proved the innocence of Nitetis. + + [The same sign was used by the last Darius to denote that his able + Greek general Memnon, who had offended him by his plainness of + speech, was doomed to death. As he was being led away, Memnon + exclaimed, in allusion to Alexander, who was then fast drawing near: + "Thy remorse will soon prove my worth; my avenger is not far off." + Droysen, Alex. d. Grosse, Diod. XVII. 30. Curtius III. 2.] + +The sudden recollection of the woman he loved, and of the countless +services rendered him by Phanes, calmed his wrath his hand dropped. +One minute the severe ruler stood gazing lingeringly at his disobedient +friend; the next, moved by a sudden impulse, he raised his right hand +again, and pointed imperiously to the gate leading from the court. + +Phanes bowed in silence, kissed the king's robe, and descended slowly +into the court. Psamtik watched him, quivering with excitement, sprang +towards the veranda, but before his lips could utter the curse which his +heart had prepared, he sank powerless on to the ground. + +Cambyses beckoned to his followers to make immediate preparations for a +lion-hunt in the Libyan mountains. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +The waters of the Nile had begun to rise again. Two months had passed +away since Phanes' disappearance, and much had happened. + +The very day on which he left Egypt, Sappho had given birth to a girl, +and had so far regained strength since then under the care of her +grandmother, as to be able to join in an excursion up the Nile, which +Croesus had suggested should take place on the festival of the goddess +Neith. Since the departure of Phanes, Cambyses' behavior had become so +intolerable, that Bartja, with the permission of his brother, had taken +Sappho to live in the royal palace at Memphis, in order to escape any +painful collision. Rhodopis, at whose house Croesus and his son, Bartja, +Darius and Zopyrus were constant guests, had agreed to join the party. + +On the morning of the festival-day they started in a gorgeously +decorated boat, from a point between thirty and forty miles below +Memphis, favored by a good north-wind and urged rapidly forward by a +large number of rowers. + +A wooden roof or canopy, gilded and brightly painted, sheltered them +from the sun. Croesus sat by Rhodopis, Theopompus the Milesian lay at +her feet. Sappho was leaning against Bartja. Syloson, the brother of +Polykrates, had made himself a comfortable resting-place next to Darius, +who was looking thought fully into the water. Gyges and Zopyrus busied +themselves in making wreaths for the women, from the flowers handed them +by an Egyptian slave. + +"It seems hardly possible," said Bartja, "that we can be rowing against +the stream. The boat flies like a swallow." + +"This fresh north-wind brings us forward," answered Theopompus. "And +then the Egyptian boatmen understand their work splendidly." + +"And row all the better just because we are sailing against the stream," +added Croesus. "Resistance always brings out a man's best powers." + +"Yes," said Rhodopis, "sometimes we even make difficulties, if the river +of life seems too smooth." + +"True," answered Darius. "A noble mind can never swim with the stream. +In quiet inactivity all men are equal. We must be seen fighting, to be +rightly estimated." + +"Such noble-minded champions must be very cautious, though," said +Rhodopis, "lest they become contentious, and quarrelsome. Do you see +those melons lying on the black soil yonder, like golden balls? Not one +would have come to perfection if the sower had been too lavish with his +seed. The fruit would have been choked by too luxuriant tendrils +and leaves. Man is born to struggle and to work, but in this, as in +everything else, he must know how to be moderate if his efforts are to +succeed. The art of true wisdom is to keep within limits." + +"Oh, if Cambyses could only hear you!" exclaimed Croesus. "Instead of +being contented with his immense conquests, and now thinking for the +welfare of his subjects, he has all sorts of distant plans in his head. +He wishes to conquer the entire world, and yet, since Phanes left, +scarcely a day has passed in which he has not been conquered himself by +the Div of drunkenness." + +"Has his mother no influence over him?" asked Rhodopis. "She is a noble +woman." + +"She could not even move his resolution to marry Atossa, and was forced +to be present at the marriage feast." + +"Poor Atossa!" murmured Sappho. + +"She does not pass a very happy life as Queen of Persia," answered +Croesus; "and her own naturally impetuous disposition makes it all the +more difficult or her to live contentedly with this husband and mother; +I am sorry to hear it said that Cambyses neglects her sadly, and treats +her like a child. But the marriage does not seem to have astonished the +Egyptians, as brothers and sisters often marry here." + +"In Persia too," said Darius, putting on an appearance of the most +perfect composure, "marriages with very near relations are thought to be +the best." + +"But to return to the king," said Croesus, turning the conversation for +Darius' sake. "I can assure you, Rhodopis, that he may really be called +a noble man. His violent and hasty deeds are repented of almost as soon +as committed, and the resolution to be a just and merciful ruler has +never forsaken him. At supper, for instance, lately, before his mind was +clouded by the influence of wine, he asked us what the Persians thought +of him in comparison with his father." + +"And what was the answer?" said Rhodopis. "Intaphernes got us out of the +trap cleverly enough," answered Zopyrus, laughing. "He exclaimed: 'We +are of opinion that you deserve the preference, inasmuch as you have not +only preserved intact the inheritance bequeathed you by Cyrus, but have +extended his dominion beyond the seas by your conquest of Egypt.' This +answer did not seem to please the king, however, and poor Intaphernes +was not a little horrified to hear him strike his fist on the table and +cry, 'Flatterer, miserable flatterer!' He then turned to Croesus and +asked his opinion. Our wise friend answered at once: 'My opinion is that +you have not attained to the greatness of your father; for,' added he +in a pacifying tone, 'one thing is wanting to you--a son such as Cyrus +bequeathed us in yourself." + +"First-rate, first-rate," cried Rhodopis clapping her hands and +laughing. "An answer that would have done honor to the ready-witted +Odysseus himself. And how did the king take your honeyed pill?" + +"He was very much pleased, thanked Croesus, and called him his friend." + +"And I," said Croesus taking up the conversation, "used the favorable +opportunity to dissuade him from the campaigns he has been planning +against the long lived Ethiopians, the Ammonians and the Carthaginians. +Of the first of these three nations we know scarcely anything but +through fabulous tales; by attacking them we should lose much and gain +little. The oasis of Ammon is scarcely accessible to a large army, on +account of the desert by which it is surrounded; besides which, it +seems to me sacrilegious to make war upon a god in the hope of obtaining +possession of his treasures, whether we be his worshippers or not. As +to the Carthaginians, facts have already justified my predictions. Our +fleet is manned principally by Syrians and Phoenicians, and they have, +as might be expected, refused to go to war against their brethren. +Cambyses laughed at my reasons, and ended by swearing, when he was +already somewhat intoxicated, that he could carry out difficult +undertakings and subdue powerful nations, even without the help of +Bartja and Phanes." + +"What could that allusion to you mean, my son?" asked Rhodopis. + +"He won the battle of Pelusiam," cried Zopyrus, before his friend could +answer. "He and no one else!" + +"Yes," added Croesus, "and you might have been more prudent, and have +remembered that it is a dangerous thing to excite the jealousy of a man +like Cambyses. You all of you forget that his heart is sore, and that +the slightest vexation pains him. He has lost the woman he really loved; +his dearest friend is gone; and now you want to disparage the last thing +in this world that he still cares for,--his military glory." + +"Don't blame him," said Bartja, grasping the old man's hand. "My brother +has never been unjust, and is far from envying me what I must call my +good fortune, for that my attack arrived just at the right time can +hardly be reckoned as a merit on my part. You know he gave me this +splendid sabre, a hundred thorough-bred horses, and a golden hand-mill +as rewards of my bravery." + +Croesus' words had caused Sappho a little anxiety at first; but this +vanished on hearing her husband speak so confidently, and by the time +Zopyrus had finished his wreath and placed it on Rhodopis' head, all her +fears were forgotten. + +Gyges had prepared his for the young mother. It was made of snow-white +water-lilies, and, when she placed it among her brown curls, she looked +so wonderfully lovely in the simple ornament, that Bartja could not help +kissing her on the forehead, though so many witnesses were present. This +little episode gave a merry turn to the conversation; every one did his +best to enliven the others, refreshments of all kinds were handed round, +and even Darius lost his gravity for a time and joined in the jests that +were passing among his friends. + +When the sun had set, the slaves set elegantly-carved chairs, +footstools, and little tables on the open part of the deck. Our cheerful +party now repaired thither and beheld a sight so marvellously beautiful +as to be quite beyond their expectations. + +The feast of Neith, called in Egyptian "the lamp-burning," was +celebrated by a universal illumination, which began at the rising of the +moon. The shores of the Nile looked like two long lines of fire. Every +temple, house and but was ornamented with lamps according to the means +of its possessors. The porches of the country-houses and the little +towers on the larger buildings were all lighted up by brilliant flames, +burning in pans of pitch and sending up clouds of smoke, in which the +flags and pennons waved gently backwards and forwards. The palm-trees +and sycamores were silvered by the moonlight and threw strange fantastic +reflections on the red waters of the Nile-red from the fiery glow of the +houses on their shores. But strong and glowing as was the light of the +illumination, its rays had not power to reach the middle of the giant +river, where the boat was making its course, and the pleasure-party felt +as if they were sailing in dark night between two brilliant days. Now +and then a brightly-lighted boat would come swiftly across the river and +seem, as it neared the shore, to be cutting its way through a glowing +stream of molten iron. + +Lotus-blossoms, white as snow, lay on the surface of the river, rising +and falling with the waves, and looking like eyes in the water. Not a +sound could be heard from either shore. The echoes were carried away by +the north-wind, and the measured stroke of the oars and monotonous song +of the rowers were the only sounds that broke the stillness of this +strange night--a night robbed of its darkness. + +For a long time the friends gazed without speaking at the wonderful +sight, which seemed to glide past them. Zopyrus was the first to break +the silence by saying, as he drew a long breath: "I really envy you, +Bartja. If things were as they should be, every one of us would have his +dearest wife at his side on such a night as this." + +"And who forbade you to bring one of your wives?" answered the happy +husband. + +"The other five," said the youth with a sigh. "If I had allowed Oroetes' +little daughter Parysatis, my youngest favorite, to come out alone with +me to-night, this wonderful sight would have been my last; tomorrow +there would have been one pair of eyes less in the world." + +Bartja took Sappho's hand and held it fast, saying, "I fancy one wife +will content me as long as I live." The young mother pressed his hand +warmly again, and said, turning to Zopyrus: "I don't quite trust you, my +friend. It seems to me that it is not the anger of your wives you fear, +so much as the commission of an offence against the customs of your +country. I have been told that my poor Bartja gets terribly scolded in +the women's apartments for not setting eunuchs to watch over me, and for +letting me share his pleasures." + +"He does spoil you terribly," answered Zopyrus, "and our wives are +beginning to quote him as an example of kindness and indulgence, +whenever we try to hold the reins a little tight. Indeed there will soon +be a regular women's mutiny at the king's gate, and the Achaemenidae +who escaped the swords and arrows of the Egyptians, will fall victims to +sharp tongues and floods of salt tears." + +"Oh! you most impolite Persian!" said Syloson laughing. "We must make +you more respectful to these images of Aphrodite." + +"You Greeks! that's a good idea," answered the youth. "By Mithras, our +wives are quite as well off as yours. It's only the Egyptian women, that +are so wonderfully free." + +"Yes, you are quite right," said Rhodopis. "The inhabitants of this +strange land have for thousands of years granted our weaker sex the same +rights, that they demand for themselves. Indeed, in many respects, they +have given us the preference. For instance, by the Egyptian law it is +the daughters, not the sons, who are commanded to foster and provide +for their aged parents, showing how well the fathers of this now humbled +people understood women's nature, and how rightly they acknowledged that +she far surpasses man in thoughtful solicitude and self-forgetful love. +Do not laugh at these worshippers of animals. I confess that I cannot +understand them, but I feel true admiration for a people in the teaching +of whose priests, even Pythagoras, that great master in the art of +knowledge, assured me lies a wisdom as mighty as the Pyramids." + +"And your great master was right," exclaimed Darius. "You know that I +obtained Neithotep's freedom, and, for some weeks past, have seen him +and Onuphis very constantly, indeed they have been teaching me. And oh, +how much I have learnt already from those two old men, of which I had no +idea before! How much that is sad I can forget, when I am listening to +them! They are acquainted with the entire history of the heavens and the +earth. They know the name of every king, and the circumstances of every +important event that has occurred during the last four thousand years, +the courses of the stars, the works of their own artists and sayings of +their sages, during the same immense period of time. All this knowledge +is recorded in huge books, which have been preserved in a palace at +Thebes, called the 'place of healing for the soul.' Their laws are a +fountain of pure wisdom, and a comprehensive intellect has been shown +in the adaptation of all their state institutions to the needs of the +country. I wish we could boast of the same regularity and order at home. +The idea that lies at the root of all their knowledge is the use of +numbers, the only means by which it is possible to calculate the course +of the stars, to ascertain and determine the limits of all that exists, +and, by the application of which in the shortening and lengthening of +the strings of musical instruments, tones can be regulated. + + [We agree with Iamblichus in supposing, that these Pythagorean views + were derived from the Egyptian mysteries.] + +"Numbers are the only certain things; they can neither be controlled nor +perverted. Every nation has its own ideas of right and wrong; every law +can be rendered invalid by circumstances; but the results obtained from +numbers can never be overthrown. Who can dispute, for instance, that +twice two make four? Numbers determine the contents of every existing +thing; whatever is, is equal to its contents, numbers therefore are the +true being, the essence of all that is." + +"In the name of Mithras, Darius, do leave off talking in that style, +unless you want to turn my brain," interrupted Zopyrus. "Why, to hear +you, one would fancy you'd been spending your life among these old +Egyptian speculators and had never had a sword in your hand. What on +earth have we to do with numbers?" + +"More than you fancy," answered Rhodopis. "This theory of numbers +belongs to the mysteries of the Egyptian priests, and Pythagoras learnt +it from the very Onuphis who is now teaching you, Darius. If you will +come to see me soon, I will show you how wonderfully that great Samian +brought the laws of numbers and of the harmonies into agreement. But +look, there are the Pyramids!" + +The whole party rose at these words, and stood speechless, gazing at the +grand sight which opened before them. + +The Pyramids lay on the left bank of the Nile, in the silver moonshine, +massive and awful, as if bruising the earth beneath them with their +weight; the giant graves of mighty rulers. They seemed examples of +man's creative power, and at the same time warnings of the vanity and +mutability of earthly greatness. For where was Chufu now,--the king +who had cemented that mountain of stone with the sweat of his subjects? +Where was the long-lived Chafra who had despised the gods, and, defiant +in the consciousness of his own strength, was said to have closed the +gates of the temples in order to make himself and his name immortal by +building a tomb of superhuman dimensions? + + [Herodotus repeats, in good faith, that the builders of the great + Pyramids were despisers of the gods. The tombs of their faithful + subjects at the foot of these huge structures prove, however, that + they owe their bad repute to the hatred of the people, who could not + forget the era of their hardest bondage, and branded the memories of + their oppressors wherever an opportunity could be found. We might + use the word "tradition" instead of "the people," for this it is + which puts the feeling and tone of mind of the multitude into the + form of history.] + +Their empty sarcophagi are perhaps tokens, that the judges of the dead +found them unworthy of rest in the grave, unworthy of the resurrection, +whereas the builder of the third and most beautiful pyramid, Menkera, +who contented himself with a smaller monument, and reopened the gates of +the temples, was allowed to rest in peace in his coffin of blue basalt. + +There they lay in the quiet night, these mighty pyramids, shone on by +the bright stars, guarded by the watchman of the desert--the gigantic +sphinx,--and overlooking the barren rocks of the Libyan stony mountains. +At their feet, in beautifully-ornamented tombs, slept the mummies of +their faithful subjects, and opposite the monument of the pious Menkera +stood a temple, where prayers were said by the priests for the souls +of the many dead buried in the great Memphian city of the dead. In the +west, where the sun went down behind the Libyan mountains, where the +fruitful land ended and the desert began--there the people of Memphis +had buried their dead; and as our gay party looked towards the west they +felt awed into a solemn silence. + +But their boat sped on before the north-wind; they left the city of the +dead behind them and passed the enormous dikes built to protect the city +of Menes from the violence of the floods; the city of the Pharaohs came +in sight, dazzlingly bright with the myriads of flames which had been +kindled in honor of the goddess Neith, and when at last the gigantic +temple of Ptah appeared, the most ancient building of the most ancient +land, the spell broke, their tongues were loosed, and they burst out +into loud exclamations of delight. + +It was illuminated by thousands of lamps; a hundred fires burnt on its +Pylons, its battlemented walls and roofs. Burning torches flared between +the rows of sphinxes which connected the various gates with the main +building, and the now empty house of the god Apis was so surrounded by +colored fires that it gleamed like a white limestone rock in a tropical +sunset. Pennons, flags and garlands waved above the brilliant picture; +music and loud songs could be heard from below. + +"Glorious," cried Rhodopis in enthusiasm, "glorious! Look how the +painted walls and columns gleam in the light, and what marvellous +figures the shadows of the obelisks and sphinxes throw on the smooth +yellow pavement!" + +"And how mysterious the sacred grove looks yonder!" added Croesus. "I +never saw anything so wonderful before." + +"I have seen something more wonderful still," said Darius. "You will +hardly believe me when I tell you that I have witnessed a celebration of +the mysteries of Neith." + +"Tell us what you saw, tell us!" was the universal outcry. + +"At first Neithotep refused me admission, but when I promised to remain +hidden, and besides, to obtain the freedom of his child, he led me up to +his observatory, from which there is a very extensive view, and told me +that I should see a representation of the fates of Osiris and his wife +Isis. + +"He had scarcely left, when the sacred grove became so brightly +illuminated by colored lights that I was able to see into its innermost +depths. + +"A lake, smooth as glass, lay before me, surrounded by beautiful trees +and flower-beds. Golden boats were sailing on this lake and in them sat +lovely boys and girls dressed in snow-white garments, and singing sweet +songs as they passed over the water. There were no rowers to direct +these boats, and yet they moved over the ripples of the lake in a +graceful order, as if guided by some magic unseen hand. A large ship +sailed in the midst of this little fleet. Its deck glittered with +precious stones. It seemed to be steered by one beautiful boy only, +and, strange to say, the rudder he guided consisted of one white +lotus-flower, the delicate leaves of which seemed scarcely to touch the +water. A very lovely woman, dressed like a queen, lay on silken cushions +in the middle of the vessel; by her side sat a man of larger stature +than that of ordinary mortals. He wore a crown of ivy on his flowing +curls, a panther-skin hung over his shoulders and he held a crooked +staff in the right hand. In the back part of the ship was a roof made +of ivy, lotus-blossoms and roses; beneath it stood a milk-white cow with +golden horns, covered with a cloth of purple. The man was Osiris, the +woman Isis, the boy at the helm their son Horus, and the cow was the +animal sacred to the immortal Isis. The little boats all skimmed over +the water, singing glad songs of joy as they passed by the ship, and +receiving in return showers of flowers and fruits, thrown down upon the +lovely singers by the god and goddess within. Suddenly I heard the roll +of thunder. It came crashing on, louder, and louder, and in the midst of +this awful sound a man in the skin of a wild boar, with hideous features +and bristling red hair, came out of the gloomiest part of the sacred +grove, plunged into the lake, followed by seventy creatures like +himself, and swam up to the ship of Osiris. + + [We have taken our description of this spectacle entirely from the + Osiris-myth, as we find it in Plutarch, Isis and Orisis 13-19. + Diod. I. 22. and a thousand times repeated on the monuments. Horus + is called "the avenger of his father," &c. We copy the battle with + all its phases from an inscription at Edfu, interpreted by Naville.] + +"The little boats fled with the swiftness of the wind, and the trembling +boy helmsman dropped his lotus-blossom. + +"The dreadful monster then rushed on Osiris, and, with the help of his +comrades, killed him, threw the body into a coffin and the coffin into +the lake, the waters of which seemed to carry it away as if by magic. +Isis meanwhile had escaped to land in one of the small boats, and was +now running hither and thither on the shores of the lake, with streaming +hair, lamenting her dead husband and followed by the virgins who had +escaped with her. Their songs and dances, while seeking the body of +Osiris, were strangely plaintive and touching, and the girls accompanied +the dance by waving black Byssus scarfs in wonderfully graceful curves. +Neither were the youths idle; they busied themselves in making a costly +coffin for the vanished corpse of the god, accompanying their work with +dances and the sound of castanets. When this was finished they joined +the maidens in the train of the lamenting Isis and wandered on the shore +with them, singing and searching. + +"Suddenly a low song rose from some invisible lips. It swelled louder +and louder and announced, that the body of the god had been transported +by the currents of the Mediterranean to Gebal in distant Phoenicia. This +singing voice thrilled to my very heart; Neithotep's son, who was my +companion, called it 'the wind of rumor.' + +"When Isis heard the glad news, she threw off her mourning garments and +sang a song of triumphant rejoicing, accompanied by the voices of her +beautiful followers. Rumor had not lied; the goddess really found the +sarcophagus and the dead body of her husband on the northern shore of +the lake. + + [It is natural, that Isis should find the body of her husband in the + north. The connection between Phoenicia and Egypt in this myth, as + it has been handed down to us by Plutarch, is very remarkable. We + consider the explanation of the close affinity between the Isis and + Osiris and the Adonis myths to be in the fact, that Egyptians and + Phoenicians lived together on the shores of the Delta where the + latter had planted their colonies. Plutarch's story of the finding + of Osiris' dead body is very charming. Isis and Osiris. Ed. Parth. + 15.] + +"They brought both to land with dances; Isis threw herself on the +beloved corpse, called on the name of Osiris and covered the mummy with +kisses, while the youths wove a wonderful tomb of lotus-flowers and ivy. + +"When the coffin had been laid under this beautiful vault, Isis left the +sad place of mourning and went to look for her son. She found him at the +east end of the lake, where for a long time I had seen a beautiful youth +practising arms with a number of companions. + +"While she was rejoicing over her newly-found child, a fresh peal of +thunder told that Typhon had returned. This time the monster rushed upon +the beautiful flowering grave, tore the body out of its coffin, hewed it +into fourteen pieces, and strewed them over the shores of the lake. + +"When Isis came back to the grave, she found nothing but faded flowers +and an empty coffin; but at fourteen different places on the shore +fourteen beautiful colored flames were burning. She and her virgins ran +to these flames, while Horus led the youths to battle against Typhon on +the opposite shore. + +"My eyes and ears hardly sufficed for all I had to see and hear. On the +one shore a fearful and interesting struggle, peals of thunder and the +braying of trumpets; on the other the sweet voices of the women, singing +the most captivating songs to the most enchanting dances, for Isis had +found a portion of her husband's body at every fire and was rejoicing. + +"That was something for you, Zopyrus! I know of no words to describe +the grace of those girls' movements, or how beautiful it was to see +them first mingling in intricate confusion, then suddenly standing in +faultless, unbroken lines, falling again into the same lovely tumult and +passing once more into order, and all this with the greatest swiftness. +Bright rays of light flashed from their whirling ranks all the time, for +each dancer had a mirror fastened between her shoulders, which flashed +while she was in motion, and reflected the scene when she was still. + +"Just as Isis had found the last limb but one of the murdered Osiris, +loud songs of triumph and the flourish of trumpets resounded from the +opposite shore. + +"Horus had conquered Typhon, and was forcing his way into the nether +regions to free his father. The gate to this lower world opened on the +west side of the lake and was guarded by a fierce female hippopotamus. + +"And now a lovely music of flutes and harps came nearer and nearer, +heavenly perfumes rose into the air, a rosy light spread over the sacred +grove, growing brighter every minute, and Osiris came up from the lower +world, led by his victorious son. Isis hastened to embrace her risen +and delivered husband, gave the beautiful Horus his lotus-flower again +instead of the sword, and scattered fruits and flowers over the earth, +while Osiris seated himself under a canopy wreathed with ivy, and +received the homage of all the spirits of the earth and of the Amenti." + + [The lower world, in Egyptian Amenti, properly speaking, the West or + kingdom of death, to which the soul returns at the death of the + body, as the sun at his setting. In a hieroglyphic inscription of + the time of the Ptolemies the Amenti is called Hades.] + +Darius was silent. Rhodopis began: + +"We thank you for your charming account; but this strange spectacle +must have a higher meaning, and we should thank you doubly if you would +explain that to us." + +"Your idea is quite right," answered Darius, "but what I know I dare not +tell. I was obliged to promise Neithotep with an oath, not to tell tales +out of school." + +"Shall I tell you," asked Rhodopis, "what conclusions various hints from +Pythagoras and Onuphis have led me to draw, as to the meaning of this +drama? Isis seems to me to represent the bountiful earth; Osiris, +humidity or the Nile, which makes the earth fruitful; Horus, the young +spring; Typhon, the scorching drought. The bounteous earth, robbed of +her productive power, seeks this beloved husband with lamentations in +the cooler regions of the north, where the Nile discharges his waters. +At last Horus, the young springing power of nature, is grown up and +conquers Typhon, or the scorching drought. Osiris, as is the case with +the fruitful principle of nature, was only apparently dead, rises from +the nether regions and once more rules the blessed valley of the Nile, +in concert with his wife, the bounteous earth." + +"And as the murdered god behaved properly in the lower regions," said +Zopyrus, laughing, "he is allowed, at the end of this odd story, to +receive homage from the inhabitants of Hamestegan, Duzakh and Gorothman, +or whatever they call these abodes for the Egyptian spirit-host." + +"They are called Amenti," said Darius, falling into his friend's merry +mood; "but you must know that the history of this divine pair represents +not only the life of nature, but also that of the human soul, which, +like the murdered Osiris, lives an eternal life, even when the body is +dead." + +"Thank you," said the other; "I'll try to remember that if I should +chance to die in Egypt. But really, cost what it may, I must see this +wonderful sight soon." + +"Just my own wish," said Rhodopis. "Age is inquisitive." + +"You will never be old," interrupted Darius. "Your conversation and your +features have remained alike beautiful, and your mind is as clear and +bright as your eyes." + +"Forgive me for interrupting you," said Rhodopis, as if she had not +heard his flattering words, "but the word 'eyes' reminds me of the +oculist Nebenchari, and my memory fails me so often, that I must ask +you what has become of him, before I forget. I hear nothing now of this +skilful operator to whom the noble Kassandane owes her sight." + +"He is much to be pitied," replied Darius. "Even before we reached +Pelusium he had begun to avoid society, and scorned even to speak with +his countryman Onuphis. His gaunt old servant was the only being allowed +to wait on or be with him. But after the battle his whole behavior +changed. He went to the king with a radiant countenance, and asked +permission to accompany him to Sais, and to choose two citizens of that +town to be his slaves. Cambyses thought he could not refuse anything to +the man, who had been such a benefactor to his mother, and granted him +full power to do what he wished. On arriving at Amasis' capital, he went +at once to the temple of Neith, caused the high-priest (who had moreover +placed himself at the head of the citizens hostile to Persia), to +be arrested, and with him a certain oculist named Petammon. He then +informed them that, as punishment for the burning of certain papers, +they would be condemned to serve a Persian to whom he should sell them, +for the term of their natural lives, and to perform the most menial +services of slaves in a foreign country. I was present at this scene, +and I assure you I trembled before the Egyptian as he said these +words to his enemies. Neithotep, however, listened quietly, and when +Nebenchari had finished, answered him thus: If thou, foolish son, hast +betrayed thy country for the sake of thy burnt manuscripts, the deed +has been neither just nor wise. I preserved thy valuable works with the +greatest care, laid them up in our temple, and sent a complete copy to +the library at Thebes. Nothing was burnt but the letters from Amasis +to thy father, and a worthless old chest. Psamtik and Petammon were +present, and it was then and there resolved that a new family tomb in +the city of the dead should be built for thee as a compensation for the +loss of papers, which, in order to save Egypt, we were unfortunately +forced to destroy. On its walls thou canst behold pleasing paintings of +the gods to whom thou hast devoted thy life, the most sacred chapters +from the book of the dead, and many other beautiful pictures touching +thine own life and character." + +"The physician turned very pale--asked first to see his books, and then +his new and beautifully-fitted-up tomb. He then gave his slaves their +freedom, (notwithstanding which they were still taken to Memphis as +prisoners of war), and went home, often passing his hand across his +forehead on the way, and with the uncertain step of one intoxicated. On +reaching his house he made a will, bequeathing all he possessed to the +grandson of his old servant Hib, and, alleging that he was ill, went to +bed. The next morning he was found dead. He had poisoned himself with +the fearful strychnos-juice." + +"Miserable man" said Croesus. "The gods had blinded him, and he reaped +despair instead of revenge, as a reward for his treachery." + +"I pity him," murmured Rhodopis. "But look, the rowers are taking in +their oars. We are at the end of our journey; there are your litters and +carriages waiting for you. It was a beautiful trip. Farewell, my dear +ones; come to Naukratis soon, I shall return at once with Theopompus and +Syloson. Give little Parmys a thousand kisses from me, and tell Melitta +never to take her out at noon. It is dangerous for the eyes. Good-night, +Croesus; good-night, friends, farewell my dear son." + +The Persians left the vessel with many a nod and farewell word, and +Bartja, looking round once more, missed his footing and fell on the +landing-pier. + +He sprang up in a moment without Zopyrus' help, who came running back, +calling out, "Take care, Bartja! It's unlucky to fall in stepping +ashore. I did the very same thing, when we left the ship that time at +Naukratis." + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +While our friends were enjoying their row on the Nile, Cambyses' envoy, +Prexaspes, had returned from a mission to the long-lived Ethiopians. He +praised their strength and stature, described the way to their country +as almost inaccessible to a large army, and had plenty of marvellous +tales to tell. How, for instance; they always chose the strongest +and handsomest man in their nation for their king, and obeyed him +unconditionally: how many of them reached the age of 120 years, and some +even passed it: how they ate nothing but boiled flesh, drank new milk +and washed in a spring the waters of which had the scent of violets, +gave a remarkable lustre to their skins, and were so light that wood +could not swim in them: how their captives wore golden fetters, because +other metals were rare and dear in their country; and lastly, how they +covered the bodies of the dead with plaster or stucco, over which a +coating of some glass-like material was poured, and kept the pillars +thus formed one year in their houses, during which time sacrifices were +offered them, and at the year's end they were placed in rows around the +town. + +The king of this strange people had accepted Cambyses' presents, saying, +in a scornful tone, that he new well his friendship was of no importance +to the Persians, and Prexaspes had only been sent to spy out the land. +If the prince of Asia were a just man, he would be contented with his +own immense empire and not try to subjugate a people who had done him no +wrong. "Take your king this bow," he said, "and advise him not to begin +the war with us, until the Persians are able to bend such weapons as +easily as we do. Cambyses may thank the gods, that the Ethiopians have +never taken it into their heads to conquer countries which do not belong +to them." + +He then unbent his mighty bow of ebony, and gave it to Prexaspes to take +to his lord. + +Cambyses laughed at the bragging African, invited his nobles to a trial +of the bow the next morning, and awarded Prexaspes for the clever way +in which he had overcome the difficulties of his journey and acquitted +himself of his mission. He then went to rest, as usual intoxicated, and +fell into a disturbed sleep, in which he dreamed that Bartja was seated +on the throne of Persia, and that the crown of his head touched the +heavens. + +This was a dream, which he could interpret without the aid of soothsayer +or Chaldean. It roused his anger first, and then made him thoughtful. + +He could not sleep, and such questions as the following came into his +mind: "Haven't you given your brother reason to feel revengeful? Do you +think he can forget that you imprisoned and condemned him to death, when +he was innocent? And if he should raise his hand against you, would +not all the Achaemenidae take his part? Have I ever done, or have I +any intention of ever doing anything to win the love of these venal +courtiers? Since Nitetis died and that strange Greek fled, has there +been a single human being, in whom I have the least confidence or on +whose affection I can rely?" + +These thoughts and questionings excited him so fearfully, that he sprang +from his bed, crying: "Love and I have nothing to do with one another. +Other men maybe kind and good if they like; I must be stern, or I shall +fall into the hands of those who hate me--hate me because I have been +just, and have visited heavy sins with heavy chastisements. They whisper +flattering words in my ear; they curse me when my back is turned. The +gods themselves must be my enemies, or why do they rob me of everything +I love, deny me posterity and even that military glory which is my just +due? Is Bartja so much better than I, that everything which I am forced +to give up should be his in hundred-fold measure? Love, friendship, +fame, children, everything flows to him as the rivers to the sea, while +my heart is parched like the desert. But I am king still. I can show +him which is the stronger of us two, and I will, though his forehead +may touch the heavens. In Persia there can be only one great man. He +or I,--I or he. In a few days I'll send him back to Asia and make him +satrap of Bactria. There he can nurse his child and listen to his wife's +songs, while I am winning glory in Ethiopia, which it shall not be in +his power to lessen. Ho, there, dressers! bring my robes and a good +morning-draught of wine. I'll show the Persians that I'm fit to be +King of Ethiopia, and can beat them all at bending a bow. Here, give me +another cup of wine. I'd bend that bow, if it were a young cedar and its +string a cable!" So saying he drained an immense bowl of wine and went +into the palace-garden, conscious of his enormous strength and therefore +sure of success. + +All his nobles were assembled waiting for him there, welcomed him with +loud acclamations, and fell on their faces to the ground before their +king. + +Pillars, connected by scarlet cords, had been quickly set up between the +closely-cut hedges and straight avenues. From these cords, suspended by +gold and silver rings, yellow and dark blue hangings fluttered in the +breeze. Gilded wooden benches had been placed round in a large circle, +and nimble cup-bearers handed wine in costly vessels to the company +assembled for the shooting-match. + +At a sign from the king the Achaemenidae rose from the earth. + +Cambyses glanced over their ranks, and his face brightened on seeing +that Bartja was not there. Prexaspes handed him the Ethiopian bow, and +pointed out a target at some distance. Cambyses laughed at the large +size of the target, weighted the bow with his right hand, challenged +his subjects to try their fortune first, and handed the bow to the aged +Hystaspes, as the highest in rank among the Achaemenidae. + +While Hystaspes first, and then all the heads of the six other highest +families in Persia, were using their utmost efforts to bend this monster +weapon in vain, the king emptied goblet after goblet of wine, his +spirits rising as he watched their vain endeavors to solve the +Ethiopian's problem. At last Darius, who was famous for his skill in +archery, took the bow. Nearly the same result. The wood was inflexible +as iron and all his efforts only availed to move it one finger's +breadth. The king gave him a friendly nod in reward for his success, +and then, looking round on his friends and relations in a manner that +betokened the most perfect assurance, he said: "Give me the bow now, +Darius. I will show you, that there is only one man in Persia who +deserves the name of king;--only one who can venture to take the field +against the Ethiopians;--only one who can bend this bow." + +He grasped it tightly with his left hand, taking the string, which was +as thick as a man's finger and made from the intestines of a lion, in +his right, fetched a deep breath, bent his mighty back and pulled and +pulled; collected all his strength for greater and greater efforts, +strained his sinews till they threatened to break, and the veins in his +forehead were swollen to bursting, did not even disdain to use his +feet and legs, but all in vain. After a quarter of an hour of almost +superhuman exertion, his strength gave way, the ebony, which he had +succeeded in bending even farther than Darius, flew back and set all +his further endeavors at nought. At last, feeling himself thoroughly +exhausted, he dashed the bow on to the ground in a passion, crying: +"The Ethiopian is a liar! no mortal man has ever bent that bow. What is +impossible for my arm is possible for no other. In three days we will +start for Ethiopia. I will challenge the impostor to a single combat, +and ye shall see which is the stronger. Take up the bow, Prexaspes, +and keep it carefully. The black liar shall be strangled with his own +bow-string. This wood is really harder than iron, and I confess that +the man who could bend it, would really be my master. I should not be +ashamed to call him so, for he must be of better stuff than I." + +As he finished speaking, Bartja appeared in the circle of assembled +Persians. His glorious figure was set off to advantage by his rich +dress, his features were bright with happiness and a feeling of +conscious strength. He passed through the ranks of the Achaemenidae with +many a friendly nod, which was warmly returned, and going straight to +his brother, kissed his robe, looked up frankly and cheerfully into his +gloomy eyes, and said: "I am a little late, and ask your forgiveness, my +lord and brother. Or have I really come in time? Yes, yes, I see there's +no arrow in the target yet, so I am sure you, the best archer in the +world, cannot have tried your strength yet. But you look so enquiringly +at me. Then I will confess that our child kept me. The little creature +laughed to-day for the first time, and was so charming with its mother, +that I forgot how time was passing while I watched them. You have all +full leave to laugh at my folly; I really don't know how to excuse +myself. See, the little one has pulled my star from the chain. But I +think, my brother, you will give me a new one to-day if I should hit the +bull's eye. Shall I shoot first, or will you begin, my Sovereign?" + +"Give him the bow, Prexaspes," said Cambyses, not even deigning to look +at his brother. + +Bartja took it and was proceeding to examine the wood and the string, +when Cambyses suddenly called out, with a mocking laugh: "By Mithras, I +believe you want to try your sweet looks on the bow, and win its favor +in that fashion, as you do the hearts of men. Give it back to Prexaspes. +It's easier to play with beautiful women and laughing children, than +with a weapon like this, which mocks the strength even of real men." + +Bartja blushed with anger and annoyance at this speech, which was +uttered in the bitterest tone, picked up the giant arrow that lay before +him, placed himself opposite the target, summoned all his strength, bent +the bow, by an almost superhuman effort, and sent the arrow into the +very centre of the target, where its iron point remained, while the +wooden shaft split into a hundred shivers. + + [Herodotus tells this story (III, 30.), and we are indebted to him + also for our information of the events which follow. The following + inscription, said to have been placed over the grave of Darius, and + communicated by Onesikritus, (Strabo 730.) proves that the Persians + were very proud of being reputed good archers: "I was a friend to my + friends, the best rider and archer, a first-rate hunter; I could do + everything."] + +Most of the Achaemenidae burst into loud shouts of delight at this +marvellous proof of strength; but Bartja's nearest friends turned pale +and were silent; they were watching the king, who literally quivered +with rage, and Bartja, who was radiant with pride and joy. + +Cambyses was a fearful sight at that moment. It seemed to him as if that +arrow, in piercing the target, had pierced his own heart, his strength, +dignity and honor. Sparks floated before his eyes, in his ears was a +sound like the breaking of a stormy sea on the shore; his cheeks glowed +and he grasped the arm of Prexaspes who was at his side. Prexaspes only +too well understood what that pressure meant, when given by a royal +hand, and murmured: "Poor Bartja!" + +At last the king succeeded in recovering his presence of mind. Without +saying a word, he threw a gold chain to his brother, ordered his nobles +to follow him, and left the garden, but only to wander restlessly up +and down his apartments, and try to drown his rage in wine. Suddenly he +seemed to have formed a resolution and ordered all the courtiers, except +Prexaspes, to leave the hall. When they were alone, he called out in a +hoarse voice and with a look that proved the extent of his intoxication: +"This life is not to be borne! Rid me of my enemy, and I will call you +my friend and benefactor." + +Prexaspes trembled, threw himself at the king's feet and raised his +hands imploringly; but Cambyses was too intoxicated, and too much +blinded by his hatred to understand the action. He fancied the +prostration was meant as a sign of devotion to his will, signed to him +to rise, and whispered, as if afraid of hearing his own words: "Act +quickly and secretly; and, as you value your life, let no one know of +the upstart's death. Depart, and when your work is finished, take as +much as you like out of the treasury. But keep your wits about you. The +boy has a strong arm and a winning tongue. Think of your own wife and +children, if he tries to win you over with his smooth words." + +As he spoke he emptied a fresh goblet of pure wine, staggered through +the door of the room, calling out as he turned his back on Prexaspes: +"Woe be to you if that upstart, that woman's hero, that fellow who has +robbed me of my honor, is left alive." + +Long after he had left the hall, Prexaspes stood fixed on the spot where +he had heard these words. The man was ambitious, but neither mean nor +bad, and he felt crushed by the awful task allotted to him. He knew that +his refusal to execute it would bring death or disgrace on himself +and on his family; but he loved Bartja, and besides, his whole nature +revolted at the thought of becoming a common, hired murderer. A fearful +struggle began in his mind, and raged long after he left the palace. On +the way home he met Croesus and Darius. He fancied they would see from +his looks that he was already on the way to a great crime, and hid +himself behind the projecting gate of a large Egyptian house. As they +passed, he heard Croesus say: "I reproached him bitterly, little as he +deserves reproach in general, for having given such an inopportune proof +of his great strength. We may really thank the gods, that Cambyses did +not lay violent hands on him in a fit of passion. He has followed my +advice now and gone with his wife to Sais. For the next few days Bartja +must not come near the king; the mere sight of him might rouse his anger +again, and a monarch can always find unprincipled servants..." + +The rest of the sentence died away in the distance, but the words he had +heard were enough to make Prexaspes start, as if Croesus had accused him +of the shameful deed. He resolved in that moment that, come what +would, his hands should not be stained with the blood of a friend. This +resolution restored him his old erect bearing and firm gait for the +time, but when he reached the dwelling which had been assigned as his +abode in Sais his two boys ran to the door to meet him. They had stolen +away from the play-ground of the sons of the Achaemenidae, (who, as was +always the case, had accompanied the king and the army), to see their +father for a moment. He felt a strange tenderness, which he could not +explain to himself, on taking them in his arms, and kissed the beautiful +boys once more on their telling him that they must go back to their +play-ground again, or they should be punished. Within, he found his +favorite wife playing with their youngest child, a sweet little girl. +Again the same strange, inexplicable feeling of tenderness. He overcame +it this time for fear of betraying his secret to his young wife, and +retired to his own apartment early. + +Night had come on. + +The sorely-tried man could not sleep; he turned restlessly from side to +side. The fearful thought, that his refusal to do the king's will would +be the ruin of his wife and children, stood before his wakeful eyes in +the most vivid colors. The strength to keep his good resolution forsook +him, and even Croesus' words, which, when he first heard them had given +his nobler feelings the victory, now came in as a power on the other +side. "A monarch can always find unprincipled servants." Yes, the words +were an affront, but at the same time a reminder, that though he might +defy the king's command a hundred others would be ready to obey it. +No sooner had this thought become clear to him, than he started up, +examined a number of daggers which hung, carefully arranged, above his +bed, and laid the sharpest on the little table before him. + +He then began to pace the room in deep thought, often going to the +opening which served as a window, to cool his burning forehead and see +if dawn were near. + +When at last daylight appeared, he heard the sounding brass calling the +boys to early prayer. That reminded him of his sons and he examined +the dagger a second time. A troop of gaily-dressed courtiers rode by on +their way to the king. He put the dagger in his girdle; and at last, on +hearing the merry laughter of his youngest child sound from the women's +apartments, he set the tiara hastily on his head, left the house without +taking leave of his wife, and, accompanied by a number of slaves, went +down to the Nile. There he threw himself into a boat and ordered the +rowers to take him to Sais. + + ......................... + +A few hours after the fatal shooting-match, Bartja had followed Croesus' +advice and had gone off to Sais with his young wife. They found Rhodopis +there. She had yielded to an irresistible impulse and, instead of +returning to Naukratis, had stopped at Sais. Bartja's fall on stepping +ashore had disturbed her, and she had with her own eyes seen an owl fly +from the left side close by his head. These evil omens, to a heart +which had by no means outgrown the superstitions of the age, added to +a confused succession of distressing dreams which had disturbed her +slumbers, and her usual wish to be always near Bartja and Sappho, led +her to decide quickly on waiting for her granddaughter at Sais. + +Bartja and Sappho were delighted to find such a welcome guest, and after +she had dandled and played with her great grandchild, the little +Parmys, to her heart's content, they led her to the rooms which had been +prepared for her. + + [Herodotus states, that beside Atossa, &c.. Darius took a daughter + of the deceased Bartja, named Parmys, to be his wife. Herod. III. + 88. She is also mentioned VII. 78.] + +They were the same in which the unhappy Tachot had spent the last months +of her fading existence. Rhodopis could not see all the little trifles +which showed, not only the age and sex of the former occupant, but her +tastes and disposition, without feeling very sad. On the dressing-table +were a number of little ointment-boxes and small bottles for perfumes, +cosmetics, washes and oils. Two larger boxes, one in the form of a +Nile-goose, and another on the side of which a woman playing on a +lute had been painted, had once contained the princess's costly golden +ornaments, and the metal mirror with a handle in the form of a sleeping +maiden, had once reflected her beautiful face with its pale pink flush. +Everything in the room, from the elegant little couch resting on lions' +claws, to the delicately-carved ivory combs on the toilet-table, proved +that the outward adornments of life had possessed much charm for +the former owner of these rooms. The golden sisirum and the +delicately-wrought nabla, the strings of which had long ago been broken, +testified to her taste for music, while the broken spindle in the +corner, and some unfinished nets of glass beads shewed that she had been +fond of woman's usual work. + +It was a sad pleasure to Rhodopis to examine all these things, and the +picture which she drew in her own mind of Tachot after the inspection, +differed very little from the reality. At last interest and curiosity +led her to a large painted chest. She lifted the light cover and found, +first, a few dried flowers; then a ball, round which some skilful hand +had wreathed roses and leaves, once fresh and bright, now, alas, +long ago dead and withered. Beside these were a number of amulets +in different forms, one representing the goddess of truth, another +containing spells written on a strip of papyrus and concealed in a +little golden case. Then her eyes fell on some letters written in the +Greek character. She read them by the light of the lamp. They were from +Nitetis in Persia to her supposed sister, and were written in ignorance +of the latter's illness. When Rhodopis laid them down her eyes were full +of tears. The dead girl's secret lay open before her. She knew now that +Tachot had loved Bartja, that he had given her the faded flowers, and +that she had wreathed the ball with roses because he had thrown it to +her. The amulets must have been intended either to heal her sick heart, +or to awaken love in his. + +As she was putting the letters back in their old place, she touched some +cloths which seemed put in to fill up the bottom of the chest, and felt +a hard round substance underneath. She raised them, and discovered a +bust made of colored wax, such a wonderfully-exact portrait of Nitetis, +that an involuntary exclamation of surprise broke from her, and it was +long before she could turn her eyes away from Theodorus' marvellous +work. + +She went to rest and fell asleep, thinking of the sad fate of Nitetis, +the Egyptian Princess. + +The next morning Rhodopis went into the garden--the same into which +we led our readers during the lifetime of Amasis-and found Bartja and +Sappho in an arbor overgrown with vines. + +Sappho was seated in a light wicker-work chair. Her child lay on her +lap, stretching out its little hands and feet, sometimes to its father, +who was kneeling on the ground before them, and then to its mother whose +laughing face was bent down over her little one. + +Bartja was very happy with his child. When the little creature buried +its tiny fingers in his curls and beard, he would draw his head back +to feel the strength of the little hand, would kiss its rosy feet, its +little round white shoulders and dimpled arms. Sappho enjoyed the fun, +always trying to draw the little one's attention to its father. + +Sometimes, when she stooped down to kiss the rosy baby lips, her +forehead would touch his curls and he would steal the kiss meant for the +little Parmys. + +Rhodopis watched them a long time unperceived, and, with tears of joy in +her eyes, prayed the gods that they might long be as happy as they now +were. At last she came into the arbor to wish them good-morning, and +bestowed much praise on old Melitta for appearing at the right moment, +parasol in hand, to take her charge out of the sunshine before it became +too bright and hot, and put her to sleep. + +The old slave had been appointed head-nurse to the high-born child, and +acquitted herself in her new office with an amount of importance which +was very comical. Hiding her old limbs under rich Persian robes, she +moved about exulting in the new and delightful right to command, and +kept her inferiors in perpetual motion. + +Sappho followed Melitta into the palace, first whispering in her +husband's ear with her arm round his neck: "Tell my grandmother +everything and ask whether you are right." + +Before he could answer, she had stopped his mouth with a kiss, and then +hurried after the old woman who was departing with dignified steps. + +The prince smiled as he watched her graceful walk and beautiful figure, +and said, turning to Rhodopis: "Does not it strike you, that she has +grown taller lately." + +"It seems so," answered Rhodopis. "A woman's girlhood has its own +peculiar charm, but her true dignity comes with motherhood. It is the +feeling of having fulfilled her destiny, which raises her head and makes +us fancy she has grown taller." + +"Yes," said Bartja, "I think she is happy. Yesterday our opinions +differed for the first time, and as she was leaving us just now, she +begged me, privately, to lay the question before you, which I am very +glad to do, for I honor your experience and wisdom just as much, as I +love her childlike inexperience." + +Bartja then told the story of the unfortunate shooting-match, finishing +with these words: "Croesus blames my imprudence, but I know my brother; +I know that when he is angry he is capable of any act of violence, and +it is not impossible that at the moment when he felt himself defeated he +could have killed me; but I know too, that when his fierce passion has +cooled, he will forget my boastful deed, and only try to excel me by +others of the same kind. A year ago he was by far the best marksman in +Persia, and would be so still, if drink and epilepsy had not undermined +his strength. I must confess I feel as if I were becoming stronger every +day." + +"Yes," interrupted Rhodopis, "pure happiness strengthens a man's arm, +just as it adds to the beauty of a woman, while intemperance and mental +distress ruin both body and mind far more surely even than old age. My +son, beware of your brother; his strong arm has become paralyzed, and +his generosity can be forfeited too. Trust my experience, that the man +who is the slave of one evil passion, is very seldom master of the +rest; besides which, no one feels humiliation so bitterly as he who +is sinking--who knows that his powers are forsaking him. I say again, +beware of your brother, and trust the voice of experience more than that +of your own heart, which, because it is generous itself, believes every +one else to be so." + +"I see," said Bartja, "that you will take Sappho's side. Difficult as it +will be for her to part from you, she has still begged me to return with +her to Persia. She thinks that Cambyses may forget his anger, when I +am out of sight. I thought she was over-anxious, and besides, it +would disappoint me not to take part in the expedition against the +Ethiopians." + +"But I entreat you," interrupted Rhodopis, "to follow her advice. The +gods only know what pain it will give me to lose you both, and yet I +repeat a thousand times: Go back to Persia, and remember that none +but fools stake life and happiness to no purpose. As to the war +with Ethiopia, it is mere madness; instead of subduing those black +inhabitants of the south, you yourselves will be conquered by heat, +thirst and all the horrors of the desert. In saying this I refer to the +campaigns in general; as to your own share in them, I can only say that +if no fame is to be won there, you will be putting your own life and the +happiness of your family in jeopardy literally for nothing, and that if, +on the other hand, you should distinguish yourself again, it would only +be giving fresh cause of jealousy and anger to your brother. No, go to +Persia, as soon as you can." + +Bartja was just beginning to make various objections to these arguments, +when he caught sight of Prexaspes coming up to them, looking very pale. + +After the usual greeting, the envoy whispered to Bartja, that he should +like to speak with him alone. Rhodopis left them at once, and he began, +playing with the rings on his right hand as he spoke, in a constrained, +embarrassed way. "I come from the king. Your display of strength +irritated him yesterday, and he does not wish to see you again for some +time. His orders are, that you set out for Arabia to buy up all the +camels that are to be had. + + [Camels are never represented on the Egyptian monuments, whereas + they were in great use among the Arabians and Persians, and are now + a necessity on the Nile. They must have existed in Egypt, however. + Hekekyan-Bey discovered the bones of a dromedary in a deep bore. + Representations of these creatures were probably forbid We know this + was the case with the cock, of which bird there were large numbers + in Egypt: It is remarkable, that camels were not introduced into + Barbary until after the birth of Christ.] + +"As these animals can bear thirst very long, they are to be used in +conveying food and water for our army on the Ethiopian campaign. There +must be no delay. Take leave of your wife, and (I speak by the king's +command) be ready to start before dark. You will be absent at least a +month. I am to accompany you as far as Pelusium. Kassandane wishes to +have your wife and child near her during your absence. Send them to +Memphis as soon as possible; under the protection of the queen mother, +they will be in safety." + +Prexaspes' short, constrained way of speaking did not strike Bartja. +He rejoiced at what seemed to him great moderation on the part of his +brother, and at receiving a commission which relieved him of all doubt +on the question of leaving Egypt, gave his friend, (as he supposed +him to be), his hand to kiss and an invitation to follow him into the +palace. + +In the cool of the evening, he took a short but very affectionate +farewell of Sappho and his child, who was asleep in Melitta's arms, told +his wife to set out as soon as possible on her journey to Kassandane, +called out jestingly to his mother-in-law, that at least this time she +had been mistaken in her judgment of a man's character, (meaning his +brother's), and sprang on to his horse. + +As Prexaspes was mounting, Sappho whispered to him, "Take care of that +reckless fellow, and remind him of me and his child, when you see him +running into unnecessary danger." + +"I shall have to leave him at Pelusium," answered the envoy, busying +himself with the bridle of his horse in order to avoid meeting her eyes. + +"Then may the gods take him into their keeping!" exclaimed Sappho, +clasping her husband's hand, and bursting into tears, which she could +not keep back. Bartja looked down and saw his usually trustful wife +in tears. He felt sadder than he had ever felt before. Stooping down +lovingly from his saddle, he put his strong arm round her waist, lifted +her up to him, and as she stood supporting herself on his foot in the +stirrup, pressed her to his heart, as if for a long last farewell. He +then let her safely and gently to the ground, took his child up to him +on the saddle, kissed and fondled the little creature, and told her +laughingly to make her mother very happy while he was away, exchanged +some warm words of farewell with Rhodopis, and then, spurring his horse +till the creature reared, dashed through the gateway of the Pharaohs' +palace, with Prexaspes at his side. + +When the sound of the horses' hoofs had died away in the distance, +Sappho laid her head on her grandmother's shoulder and wept +uncontrollably. Rhodopis remonstrated and blamed, but all in vain, she +could not stop her tears. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +On the morning after the trial of the bow, Cambyses was seized by such +a violent attack of his old illness, that he was forced to keep his room +for two days and nights, ill in mind and body; at times raging like a +madman, at others weak and powerless as a little child. + +On the third day he recovered consciousness and remembered the awful +charge he had laid on Prexaspes, and that it was only too possible he +might have executed it already. At this thought he trembled, as he +had never trembled in his life before. He sent at once for the envoy's +eldest son, who was one of the royal cup-bearers. The boy said his +father had left Memphis, without taking leave of his family. He then +sent for Darius, Zopyrus and Gyges, knowing how tenderly they loved +Bartja, and enquired after their friend. On hearing from them that he +was at Sais, he sent the three youths thither at once, charging them, +if they met Prexaspes on the way, to send him back to Memphis +without delay. This haste and the king's strange behavior were quite +incomprehensible to the young Achaemenidae; nevertheless they set out on +their journey with all speed, fearing that something must be wrong. + +Cambyses, meanwhile, was miserably restless, inwardly cursed his habit +of drinking and tasted no wine the whole of that clay. Seeing his mother +in the palace-gardens, he avoided her; he durst not meet her eye. + +The next eight days passed without any sign of Prexaspes' return; they +seemed to the king like a year. A hundred times he sent for the young +cup-bearer and asked if his father had returned; a hundred times he +received the same disappointing answer. + +At sunset on the thirteenth day, Kassandane sent to beg a visit from +him. The king went at once, for now he longed to look on the face of his +mother; he fancied it might give him back his lost sleep. + +After he had greeted her with a tenderness so rare from him, that it +astonished her, he asked for what reason she had desired his presence. +She answered, that Bartja's wife had arrived at Memphis under singular +circumstances and had said she wished to present a gift to Cambyses. He +gave Sappho an audience at once, and heard from her that Prexaspes had +brought her husband an order to start for Arabia, and herself a summons +to Memphis from the queen-mother. At these words the king turned very +pale, and his features were agitated with pain as he looked at his +brother's lovely young wife. She felt that something unusual was passing +in his mind, and such dreadful forebodings arose in her own, that she +could only offer him the gift in silence and with trembling hands. + +"My husband sends you this," she said, pointing to the +ingeniously-wrought box, which contained the wax likeness of Nitetis. +Rhodopis had advised her to take this to the king in Bartja's name, as a +propitiatory offering. + +Cambyses showed no curiosity as to the contents of the box, gave it in +charge to a eunuch, said a few words which seemed meant as thanks to his +sister-in law, and left the women's apartments without even so much as +enquiring after Atossa, whose existence he seemed to have forgotten. + +He had come to his mother, believing that the visit would comfort and +calm his troubled mind, but Sappho's words had destroyed his last hope, +and with that his last possibility of rest or peace. By this time either +Prexaspes would already have committed the murder, or perhaps at that +very moment might be raising his dagger to plunge it into Bartja's +heart. + +How could he ever meet his mother again after Bartja's death? how could +he answer her questions or those of that lovely Sappho, whose large, +anxious, appealing eyes had touched him so strangely? + +A voice within told him, that his brother's murder would be branded as +a cowardly, unnatural, and unjust deed, and he shuddered at the thought. +It seemed fearful, unbearable, to be called an assassin. He had already +caused the death of many a man without the least compunction, but that +had been done either in fair fight, or openly before the world. He was +king, and what the king did was right. Had he killed Bartja with his own +hand, his conscience would not have reproached him; but to have had +him privately put out of the way, after he had given so many proofs +of possessing first-rate manly qualities, which deserved the highest +praise--this tortured him with a feeling of rage at his own want of +principle,-a feeling of shame and remorse which he had never known +before. He began to despise himself. The consciousness of having acted, +and wished to act justly, forsook him, and he began to fancy, that +every one who had been executed by his orders, had been, like Bartja, +an innocent victim of his fierce anger. These thoughts became so +intolerable, that he began to drink once more in the hope of drowning +them. But now the wine had precisely the opposite effect, and brought +such tormenting thoughts, that, worn out as he was already by epileptic +fits and his habit of drinking, both body and mind threatened to give +way to the agitation caused by the events of the last months. Burning +and shivering by turns, he was at last forced to lie down. While the +attendants were disrobing him, he remembered his brother's present, +had the box fetched and opened, and then desired to be left alone. The +Egyptian paintings on the outside of the box reminded him of Nitetis, +and then he asked himself what she would have said to his deed. Fever +had already begun, and his mind was wandering as he took the beautiful +wax bust out of the box. He stared in horror at the dull, immovable +eyes. The likeness was so perfect, and his judgment so weakened by wine +and fever, that he fancied himself the victim of some spell, and yet +could not turn his eyes from those dear features. Suddenly the eyes +seemed to move. He was seized with terror, and, in a kind of convulsion, +hurled what he thought had become a living head against the wall. The +hollow, brittle wax broke into a thousand fragments, and Cambyses sank +back on to his bed with a groan. + +From that moment the fever increased. In his delirium the banished +Phanes appeared, singing a scornful Greek song and deriding him in +such infamous words, that his fists clenched with rage. Then he saw his +friend and adviser, Croesus, threatening him in the very same words of +warning, which he had used when Bartja had been sentenced to death +by his command on account of Nitetis: "Beware of shedding a brother's +blood; the smoke thereof will rise to heaven and become a cloud, +that must darken the days of the murderer, and at last cast down the +lightnings of heaven upon his head." + +And in his delirious fancy this figure of speech became a reality. A +rain of blood streamed down upon him from dark clouds; his clothes and +hands were wet with the loathsome moisture. He went down to the Nile to +cleanse himself, and suddenly saw Nitetis coming towards him. She had +the same sweet smile with which Theodorus had modelled her. Enchanted +with this lovely vision, he fell down before her and took her hand, but +he had scarcely touched it, when drops of blood appeared at the tips of +her delicate fingers, and she turned away from him with every sign +of horror. He humbly implored her to forgive him and come back; she +remained inexorable. He grew angry, and threatened her, first with his +wrath, and then with awful punishments. At last, as she only answered +his threats by a low scornful laugh, he ventured to throw his dagger at +her. She crumbled at once into a thousand pieces, like the wax statue. +But the derisive laughter echoed on, and became louder. Many voices +joined in it, each trying to outbid the other. And the voices of Bartja +and Nitetis were the loudest,--their tone the most bitter. At last he +could bear these fearful sounds no longer and stopped his ears; this was +of no use, and he buried his head, first in the glowing desert-sand +and then in the icy cold Nile-water, until his senses forsook him. On +awaking, the actual state of things seemed incomprehensible to him. He +had gone to bed in the evening, and yet he now saw, by the direction of +the sun's rays which fell on his bed, that, instead of dawning as he had +expected, the day was growing dark. There could be no mistake; he heard +the chorus of priests singing farewell to the setting Mithras. + +Then he heard a number of people moving behind a curtain, which had been +hung up at the head of his bed. He tried to turn in his bed, but could +not; he was too weak. At last, finding it impossible to discover whether +he was in real life or still in a dream, he called for his dressers +and the courtiers, who were accustomed to be present when he rose. They +appeared in a moment, and with them his mother, Prexaspes, a number of +the learned among the Magi, and some Egyptians who were unknown to him. +They told him, that he had been lying in a violent fever for weeks, and +had only escaped death by the special mercy of the gods, the skill +of the physicians, and the unwearied nursing of his mother. He looked +enquiringly first at Kassandane, then at Prexaspes, lost consciousness +again, and fell into a deep sleep, from which he awoke the next morning +with renewed strength. + +In four days he was strong enough to sit up and able to question +Prexaspes on the only subject, which occupied his thoughts. + +In consideration of his master's weakness the envoy was beginning an +evasive reply, when a threatening movement of the king's gaunt, worn +hand, and a look which had by no means lost its old power of awing into +submission, brought him to the point at once, and in the hope of giving +the king a great pleasure and putting his mind completely at rest, +he began: "Rejoice, O King! the youth, who dared to desire the +disparagement of thy glory, is no more. This hand slew him and buried +his body at Baal-Zephon. The sand of the desert and the unfruitful waves +of the Red Sea were the only witnesses of the deed; and no creature +knows thereof beside thyself, O King, thy servant Prexaspes, and the +gulls and cormorants, that hover over his grave." + +The king uttered a piercing shriek of rage, was seized by a fresh +shivering-fit, and sank back once more in raving delirium. + +Long weeks passed, every day of which threatened its death. At last, +however, his strong constitution gained the day, but his mind had given +way, and remained disordered and weak up to his last hour. + +When he was strong enough to leave the sick-room and to ride and shoot +once more, he abandoned himself more than ever to the pleasure of +drinking, and lost every remnant of self-control. + +The delusion had fixed itself in his disordered mind, that Bartja was +not dead, but transformed into the bow of the King of Ethiopia, and +that the Feruer (soul) of his father Cyrus had commanded him to restore +Bartja to its original form, by subjugating the black nation. + +This idea, which he confided to every one about him as a great secret, +pursued him day and night and gave him no rest, until he had started for +Ethiopia with an immense host. He was forced, however, to return without +having accomplished his object, after having miserably lost the greater +part of his army by heat and the scarcity of provisions. An historian, +who may almost be spoken of as contemporary, tells us that the wretched +soldiers, after having subsisted on herbs as long as they could, came +to deserts where there was no sign of vegetation, and in their despair +resorted to an expedient almost too fearful to describe. Lots were drawn +by every ten men, and he on whom the lot fell was killed and eaten by +the other nine. + + [Herodotus visited Egypt some 60 years after the death of Cambyses, + 454 B.C. He describes the Ethiopian campaign, III. 25.] + +At last things went so far, that his subjects compelled this madman to +return, but only, with their slavish Asiatic feelings, to obey him all +the more blindly, when they found themselves once more in inhabited +regions. + +On reaching Memphis with the wreck of his army, he found the Egyptians +in glorious apparel celebrating a festival. They had found a new Apis +and were rejoicing over the reappearance of their god, incarnate in the +sacred bull. + +As Cambyses had heard at Thebes, that the army he had sent against +the oasis of Ammon in the Libyan desert, had perished miserably in a +Khamsin, or Simoom, and that his fleet, which was to conquer Carthage, +had refused to fight with a people of their own race, he fancied that +the Memphians must be celebrating a festival of joy at the news of his +misfortunes, sent for their principal men, and after reproaching them +with their conduct, asked why they had been gloomy and morose after +his victories, but joyous at hearing of his misfortunes. The Memphians +answered by explaining the real ground for their merry-making, and told +him, that the appearance of the sacred bull was always celebrated in +Egypt with the greatest rejoicings. Cambyses called them liars, and, as +such, sentenced them to death. He then sent for the priests; received, +however, exactly the same answer from them. + +With the bitterest irony he asked to be allowed to make the acquaintance +of this new god, and commanded them to bring him. The bull Apis was +brought and the king told that he was the progeny of a virgin cow and +a moonbeam, that he must be black, with a white triangular spot on the +forehead, the likeness of an eagle on his back, and on his side the +crescent moon. There must be two kinds of hair on his tail, and on his +tongue an excrescence in the form of the sacred beetle Scarabaeus. + +When Cambyses saw this deified creature he could discover nothing +remarkable in him, and was so enraged that he plunged his sword into its +side. As the blood streamed from the wound and the animal fell, he broke +out into a piercing laugh, and cried: "Ye fools! so your gods are flesh +and blood; they can be wounded. Such folly is worthy of you. But ye +shall find, that it is not so easy to make a fool of me. Ho, guards! +flog these priests soundly, and kill every one whom you find taking +part in this mad celebration." The command was obeyed and fearfully +exasperated the Egyptians. + + [According to Herod. III. 29. Cambyses' sword slipped and ran into + the leg of the sacred bull. As the king died also of a wound in the + thigh, this just suits Herodotus, who always tries to put the + retribution that comes after presumptuous crime in the strongest + light; but it is very unlikely that the bull should have died of a + mere thigh wound.] + +Apis died of his wound; the Memphians buried him secretly in the vaults +belonging to the sacred bulls, near the Serapeum, and, led by Psamtik, +attempted an insurrection against the Persians. This was very quickly +put down, however, and cost Psamtik his life,--a life the stains and +severities of which deserve to be forgiven, in consideration of his +unwearied, ceaseless efforts to deliver his people from a foreign yoke, +and his death in the cause of freedom. + +Cambyses' madness had meanwhile taken fresh forms. After the failure of +his attempt to restore Bartja, (transformed as he fancied into a bow) +to his original shape, his irritability increased so frightfully that a +single word, or even a look, was sufficient to make him furious. Still +his true friend and counsellor, Croesus, never left him, though the king +had more than once given him over to the guards for execution. But the +guards knew their master; they took good care not to lay hands on +the old man, and felt sure of impunity, as the king would either have +forgotten his command, or repented of it by the next day, Once, however, +the miserable whip bearers paid a fearful penalty for their lenity. +Cambyses, while rejoicing that Croesus was saved, ordered his deliverers +to be executed for disobedience without mercy. + +It would be repugnant to us to repeat all the tales of barbarous +cruelties, which are told of Cambyses at this insane period of his +life; but we cannot resist mentioning a few which seem to us especially +characteristic. + +While sitting at table one day, already somewhat intoxicated, he asked +Prexaspes what the Persians thought of him. The envoy, who in hopes +of deadening his tormenting conscience by the performance of noble and +dangerous acts, let no opportunity pass of trying to exercise a good +influence over his sovereign, answered that they extolled him on every +point, but thought he was too much addicted to wine. + +These words, though spoken half in jest, put the king into a violent +passion, and he almost shrieked: "So the Persians say, that the wine +has taken away my senses, do they? on the contrary, I'll show them that +they've lost their own." And as he spoke he bent his bow, took aim for a +moment at Prexaspes' eldest son, who, as cup-bearer, was standing at the +back of the hall waiting for and watching every look of his sovereign, +and shot him in the breast. He then gave orders that the boy's body +should be opened and examined. The arrow had pierced the centre of his +heart. This delighted the senseless tyrant, and he called out with a +laugh: "Now you see, Prexaspes, it's the Persians who have lost their +judgment, not I. Could any one have hit the mark better?" + +Prexaspes stood there, pale and motionless, compelled to watch the +horrid scene, like Niobe when chained to Sipylus. His servile spirit +bowed before the ruler's power, instead of arming his right hand with +the dagger of revenge, and when the frantic king asked him the same +question a second time, he actually answered, pressing his hand on his +heart: "A god could not have hit the mark more exactly." + +A few weeks after this, the king went to Sais, and there was shown the +rooms formerly occupied by his bride. This brought back all the old +painful recollections in full force, and at the same time his clouded +memory reminded him, though without any clearness of detail, that Amasis +had deceived both Nitetis and himself. He cursed the dead king and +furiously demanded to be taken to the temple of Neith, where his mummy +was laid. There he tore the embalmed body out of its sarcophagus, caused +it to be scourged, to be stabbed with pins, had the hair torn off and +maltreated it in every possible way. In conclusion, and contrary to the +ancient Persian religious law, which held the pollution of pure fire by +corpses to be a deadly sin, he caused Amasis' dead body to be burnt, +and condemned the mummy of his first wife, which lay in a sarcophagus at +Thebes, her native place, to the same fate. + +On his return to Memphis, Cambyses did not shrink from personally +ill-treating his wife and sister, Atossa. + +He had ordered a combat of wild beasts to take place, during which, +amongst other entertainments of the same kind, a dog was to fight with a +young lion. The lion had conquered his antagonist, when another dog, the +brother of the conquered one, broke away from his chain, attacked the +lion, and with the help of the wounded dog, vanquished him. + +This scene delighted Cambyses, but Kassandane and Atossa, who had been +forced by the king's command to be present, began to weep aloud. + +The tyrant was astonished, and on asking the reason for their tears, +received as answer from the impetuous Atossa, that the brave creature +who had risked its own life to save its brother, reminded her of Bartja. +She would not say by whom he had been murdered, but his murder had never +been avenged. + +These words so roused the king's anger, and so goaded his conscience, +that in a fit of insane fury he struck the daring woman, and might +possibly have killed her, if his mother had not thrown herself into his +arms and exposed her own body to his mad blows. + +Her voice and action checked his rage, for he had not lost reverence for +his mother; but her look of intense anger and contempt, which he +clearly saw and could not forget, begot a fresh delusion in his mind. +He believed from that moment, that the eyes of women had power to poison +him; he started and hid himself behind his companions whenever he saw +a woman, and at last commanded that all the female inhabitants of the +palace at Memphis, his mother not excepted, should be sent back to +Ecbatana. Araspes and Gyges were appointed to be their escort thither. + + ...................... + +The caravan of queens and princesses had arrived at Sais; they alighted +at the royal palace. Croesus had accompanied them thus far on their way +from Egypt. + +Kassandane had altered very much during the last few years. Grief and +suffering had worn deep lines in her once beautiful face, though they +had had no power to bow her stately figure. + +Atossa, on the contrary, was more beautiful than ever, notwithstanding +all she had suffered. The refractory and impetuous child, the daring +spirited girl, had developed into a dignified, animated and determined +woman. The serious side of life, and three sad years passed with her +ungovernable husband and brother, had been first-rate masters in the +school of patience, but they had not been able to alienate her heart +from her first love. Sappho's friendship had made up to her in some +measure for the loss of Darius. + +The young Greek had become another creature, since the mysterious +departure of her husband. Her rosy color and her lovely smile were both +gone. But she was wonderfully beautiful, in spite of her paleness, her +downcast eyelashes and languid attitude. She looked like Ariadne waiting +for Theseus. Longing and expectation lay in every look, in the low tone +of her voice, in her measured walk. At the sound of approaching steps, +the opening of a door or the unexpected tones of a man's voice, she +would start, get up and listen, and then sink back into the old waiting, +longing attitude, disappointed but not hopeless. She began to dream +again, as she had been so fond of doing in her girlish days. + +She was her old self only when playing with her child. Then the color +came back to her cheeks, her eyes sparkled, she seemed once more to live +in the present, and not only in the past or future. + +Her child was everything to her. In that little one Bartja seemed to +be still alive, and she could love the child with all her heart and +strength, without taking one iota from her love to him. With this little +creature the gods had mercifully given her an aim in life and a link +with the lower world, the really precious part of which had seemed to +vanish with her vanished husband. Sometimes, as she looked into her +baby's blue eyes, so wonderfully like Bartja's, she thought: Why was +not she born a boy? He would have grown more like his father from day to +day, and at last, if such a thing indeed could ever be, a second Bartja +would have stood before me. + +But such thoughts generally ended soon in her pressing the little one +closer than ever to her heart, and blaming herself for ingratitude and +folly. + +One day Atossa put the same idea in words, exclaiming: "If Parmys were +only a boy! He would have grown up exactly like his father, and have +been a second Cyrus for Persia." Sappho smiled sadly at her friend, and +covered the little one with kisses, but Kassandane said: "Be thankful +to the gods, my child, for having given you a daughter. If Parmys were +a boy, he would be taken from you as soon as he had reached his sixth +year, to be brought up with the sons of the other Achaemenidae, but your +daughter will remain your own for many years." + +Sappho trembled at the mere thought of parting from her child; she +pressed its little fair curly head close to her breast, and never found, +fault with her treasure again for being a girl. + +Atossa's friendship was a great comfort to her poor wounded heart. With +her she could speak of Bartja as much and as often as she would, and was +always certain of a kind and sympathizing listener. Atossa had loved +her vanished brother very dearly. And even a stranger would have enjoyed +hearing Sappho tell of her past happiness. Her words rose into real +eloquence in speaking of those bright days; she seemed like an inspired +poetess. Then she would take her lyre, and with her clear, sweet, +plaintive voice sing the love-songs of the elder Sappho, in which all +her own deepest feelings were so truly expressed, and fancy herself +once more with her lover sitting under the sweet-scented acanthus in the +quiet night, and forget the sad reality of her present life. And when, +with a deep sigh, she laid aside the lyre and came back out of this +dream-kingdom, the tears were always to be seen in Kassandane's eyes, +though she did not understand the language in which Sappho had been +singing, and Atossa would bend down and kiss her forehead. + +Thus three long years had passed, during which Sappho had seldom seen +her grandmother, for, as the mother of Parmys, she was by the king's +command, forbidden to leave the harem, unless permitted and accompanied +either by Kassandane or the eunuchs. + +On the present occasion Croesus, who had always loved, and loved her +still, like a daughter, had sent for Rhodopis to Sais. He, as well as +Kassandane, understood her wish to take leave of this, her dearest +and most faithful friend, before setting out for Persia; besides which +Kassandane had a great wish to see one in whose praise she had heard so +much. When Sappho's tender and sad farewell was over therefore, Rhodopis +was summoned to the queen-mother. + +A stranger, who saw these two women together, would have thought both +were queens; it was impossible to decide which of the two had most right +to the title. + +Croesus, standing as he did in as close a relation to the one as to the +other, undertook the office of interpreter, and the ready intellect of +Rhodopis helped him to carry on an uninterrupted flow of conversation. + +Rhodopis, by her own peculiar attractions, soon won the heart of +Kassandane, and the queen knew no better way of proving this than by +offering, in Persian fashion, to grant her some wish. + +Rhodopis hesitated a moment; then raising her hands as if in prayer, she +cried: "Leave me my Sappho, the consolation and beauty of my old age." + +Kassandane smiled sadly. "It is not in my power to grant that wish," +she answered. "The laws of Persia command, that the children of the +Achaemenidae shall be brought up at the king's gate. I dare not allow +the little Parmys, Cyrus' only grandchild, to leave me, and, much as +Sappho loves you, you know she would not part from her child. Indeed, +she has become so dear to me now, and to my daughter, that though I well +understand your wish to have her, I could never allow Sappho to leave +us." + +Seeing that Rhodopis' eyes were filling with tears, Kassandane went on: +"There is, however, a good way out of our perplexity. Leave Naukratis, +and come with us to Persia. There you can spend your last years with +us and with your granddaughter, and shall be provided with a royal +maintenance." + +Rhodopis shook her head, hoary but still so beautiful, and answered in +a suppressed voice: "I thank you, noble queen, for this gracious +invitation, but I feel unable to accept it. Every fibre of my heart +is rooted in Greece, and I should be tearing my life out by leaving it +forever. I am so accustomed to constant activity, perfect freedom, and +a stirring exchange of thought, that I should languish and die in the +confinement of a harem. Croesus had already prepared me for the gracious +proposal you have just made, and I have had a long and difficult battle +to fight, before I could decide on resigning my dearest blessing for my +highest good. It is not easy, but it is glorious, it is more worthy of +the Greek name--to live a good and beautiful life, than a happy one--to +follow duty rather than pleasure. My heart will follow Sappho, but my +intellect and experience belong to the Greeks; and if you should ever +hear that the people of Hellas are ruled by themselves alone, by their +own gods, their own laws, the beautiful and the good, then you will know +that the work on which Rhodopis, in league with the noblest and best of +her countrymen, has staked her life, is accomplished. Be not angry +with the Greek woman, who confesses that she would rather die free as +a beggar than live in bondage as a queen, though envied by the whole +world." + +Kassandane listened in amazement. She only understood part of what +Rhodopis had said, but felt that she had spoken well and nobly, and +at the conclusion gave her her hand to kiss. After a short pause, +Kassandane said: "Do what you think right, and remember, that as long as +I and my daughter live, your granddaughter will never want for true and +faithful love." + +"Your noble countenance and the fame of your great virtue are warrant +enough for that." answered Rhodopis. + +"And also," added the queen, "the duty which lies upon me to make good +the wrong, that has been done your Sappho." + +She sighed painfully and went on: "The little Parmys shall be carefully +educated. She seems to have much natural talent, and can sing the songs +of her native country already after her mother. I shall do nothing to +check her love of music, though, in Persia the religious services are +the only occasions in which that art is studied by any but the lower +classes." + +At these words Rhodopis' face glowed. "Will you permit me to speak +openly, O Queen?" she said. "Speak without fear," was Kassandane's +answer. "When you sighed so painfully just now in speaking of your dear +lost son, I thought: Perhaps that brave young hero might have been still +living, if the Persians had understood better how to educate their sons. +Bartja told me in what that education consisted. To shoot, throw the +spear, ride, hunt, speak the truth, and perhaps also to distinguish +between the healing and noxious properties of certain plants: that is +deemed a sufficient educational provision for a man's life. The Greek +boys are just as carefully kept to the practice of exercises for +hardening and bracing the body; for these exercises are the founders and +preservers of health, the physician is only its repairer and restorer. +If, however, by constant practice a Greek youth were to attain to the +strength of a bull, the truth of the Deity, and the wisdom of the most +learned Egyptian priest, we should still look down upon him were he +wanting in two things which only early example and music, combined with +these bodily exercises, can give: grace and symmetry. You smile because +you do not understand me, but I can prove to you that music, which, from +what Sappho tells me, is not without its moving power for your heart, is +as important an element in education as gymnastics, and, strange as it +may sound, has an equal share in effecting the perfection of both body +and mind. The man who devotes his attention exclusively to music will, +if he be of a violent disposition, lose his savage sternness at first; +he will become gentle and pliable as metal in the fire. But at last his +courage will disappear too; his passionate temper will have changed into +irritability, and he will be of little worth as a warrior, the calling +and character most desired in your country. If, on the other hand, he +confines himself to gymnastics only, he will, like Cambyses, excel in +manliness and strength; but his mind--here my comparison ceases--will +remain obtuse and blind, his perceptions will be confused, He will not +listen to reason, but will endeavor to carry everything by force, and, +lacking grace and proportion, his life will probably become a succession +of rude and violent deeds. On this account we conclude that music is +necessary not only for the mind, and gymnastics not only for the +body, but that both, working together, elevate and soften the mind and +strengthen the body--give manly grace, and graceful manliness." + + [The fundamental ideas of this speech are drawn from + Plato's ideal "State."] + +After a moment's pause Rhodopis went on: "The youth who has not received +such an education, whose roughness has never been checked even in +childhood, who has been allowed to vent his temper on every one, +receiving flattery in return and never hearing reproof; who has been +allowed to command before he has learnt to obey, and who has been +brought up in the belief that splendor, power and riches are the highest +good, can never possibly attain to the perfect manhood, which we beseech +the gods to grant our boys. And if this unfortunate being happens to +have been born with an impetuous disposition, ungovernable and eager +passions, these will be only nourished and increased by bodily exercise +unaccompanied by the softening influence of music, so that at last +a child, who possibly came into the world with good qualities, +will, merely through the defects in his education, degenerate into a +destructive animal, a sensual self-destroyer, and a mad and furious +tyrant." + +Rhodopis had become animated with her subject. She ceased, saw tears +in the eyes of the queen, and felt that she had gone too far and had +wounded a mother's heart,--a heart full of noble feeling. She touched +her robe, kissed its border, and said softly: "Forgive me." + +Kassandane looked her forgiveness, courteously saluted Rhodopis and +prepared to leave the room. On the threshold, however, she stopped +and said: "I am not angry. Your reproaches are just; but you too must +endeavor to forgive, for I can assure you that he who has murdered the +happiness of your child and of mine, though the most powerful, is of all +mortals the most to be pitied. Farewell! Should you ever stand in need +of ought, remember Cyrus' widow, and how she wished to teach you, that +the virtues the Persians desire most in their children are magnanimity +and liberality." + +After saying this she left the apartment. + +On the same day Rhodopis heard that Phanes was dead. He had retired to +Crotona in the neighborhood of Pythagoras and there passed his time in +reflection, dying with the tranquillity of a philosopher. + +She was deeply affected at this news and said to Croesus: "Greece has +lost one of her ablest men, but there are many, who will grow up to be +his equals. The increasing power of Persia causes me no fear; indeed, I +believe that when the barbarous lust of conquest stretches out its hand +towards us, our many-headed Greece will rise as a giant with one head of +divine power, before which mere barbaric strength must bow as surely as +body before spirit." + +Three days after this, Sappho said farewell for the last time to her +grandmother, and followed the queens to Persia. Notwithstanding the +events which afterwards took place, she continued to believe that Bartja +would return, and full of love, fidelity and tender remembrance, devoted +herself entirely to the education of her child and the care of her aged +mother-in-law, Kassandane. + +Little Parmys became very beautiful, and learnt to love the memory +of her vanished father next to the gods of her native land, for her +mother's tales had brought him as vividly before her as if he had been +still alive and present with them. + +Atossa's subsequent good fortune and happiness did not cool her +friendship. She always called Sappho her sister. The hanging-gardens +were the latter's residence in summer, and in her conversations there +with Kassandane and Atossa one name was often mentioned--the name of +her, who had been the innocent cause of events which had decided the +destinies of great kingdoms and noble lives--the Egyptian Princess. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +Here we might end this tale, but that we feel bound to give our readers +some account of the last days of Cambyses. We have already described +the ruin of his mind, but his physical end remains still to be told, and +also the subsequent fate of some of the other characters in our history. + +A short time after the departure of the queens, news reached Naukratis +that Oroetes, the satrap of Lydia, had, by a stratagem, allured his old +enemy, Polykrates, to Sardis and crucified him there, thus fulfilling +what Amasis had prophecied of the tyrant's mournful end. This act the +satrap had committed on his own responsibility, events having +taken place in the Median kingdom which threatened the fall of the +Achaemenidaean dynasty. + +The king's long absence in a foreign country had either weakened or +entirely dissipated, the fear which the mere mention of his name had +formerly inspired in those who felt inclined to rebel. The awe that +his subjects had formerly felt for him, vanished at the tidings of +his madness, and the news that he had wantonly exposed the lives of +thousands of their countrymen to certain death in the deserts of Libya +and Ethiopia, inspired the enraged Asiatics with a hatred which, when +skilfully fed by the powerful Magi, soon roused, first the Medes and +Assyrians, and then the Persians, to defection and open insurrection. +Motives of self-interest led the ambitious high-priest, Oropastes, whom +Cambyses had appointed regent in his absence, to place himself at the +head of this movement. He flattered the people by remitting their taxes, +by large gifts and larger promises, and finding his clemency gratefully +recognized, determined on an imposture, by which he hoped to win the +crown of Persia for his own family. + +He had not forgotten the marvellous likeness between his brother Gaumata +(who had been condemned to lose his ears) and Bartja, the son of Cyrus, +and on hearing that the latter, the universal favorite, as he well knew, +of the Persian nation, had disappeared, resolved to turn this to account +by passing off his brother as the vanished prince, and setting him on +the throne in place of Cambyses. The hatred felt throughout the entire +kingdom towards their insane king, and the love and attachment of the +nation to Bartja, made this stratagem so easy of accomplishment, that +when at last messengers from Oropastes arrived in all the provinces of +the empire declaring to the discontented citizens that, notwithstanding +the rumor they had heard, the younger son of Cyrus was still alive, had +revolted from his brother, ascended his father's throne and granted to +all his subjects freedom from tribute and from military service during +a period of three years, the new ruler was acknowledged throughout the +kingdom with rejoicings. + +The pretended Bartja, who was fully aware of his brother's mental +superiority, had obeyed his directions in every particular, had taken up +his residence in the palace of Nisaea,--in the plains of Media, placed +the crown on his head, declared the royal harem his own, and had shown +himself once from a distance to the people, who were to recognize in him +the murdered Bartja. After that time, however, for fear of being at last +unmasked, he concealed himself in his palace, giving himself up, after +the manner of Asiatic monarchs, to every kind of indulgence, while +his brother held the sceptre with a firm hand, and conferred all the +important offices of state on his friends and family. + +No sooner did Oropastes feel firm ground under his feet, than he +despatched the eunuch Ixabates to Egypt, to inform the army of the +change of rulers that had taken place and persuade them to revolt in +favor of Bartja, who he knew had been idolized by the Soldiers. + +The messenger had been well chosen, fulfilled his mission with much +skill, and had already won over a considerable part of the army for the +new king, when he was taken prisoner by some Syrians, who brought him to +Memphis in hopes of reward. + +On arriving in the city of the Pyramids he was brought before the king, +and promised impunity on condition of revealing the entire truth. + +The messenger then confirmed the rumor, which had reached Egypt, that +Bartja had ascended the throne of Cyrus and had been recognized by the +greater part of the empire. + +Cambyses started with terror at these tidings, as one who saw a dead +man rise from his grave. He was by this time fully aware that Bartja +had been murdered by Prexaspes at his own command, but in this moment +he began to suspect that the envoy had deceived him and spared his +brother's life. The thought had no sooner entered his mind than he +uttered it, reproaching Prexaspes so bitterly with treachery, as to +elicit from him a tremendous oath, that he had murdered and buried the +unfortunate Bartja with his own hand. + +Oropastes' messenger was next asked whether he had seen the new king +himself. He answered that he had not, adding that the supposed brother +of Cambyses had only once appeared in public, and had then shown himself +to the people from a distance. On hearing this, Prexaspes saw through +the whole web of trickery at once, reminded the king of the unhappy +misunderstandings to which the marvellous likeness between Bartja and +Gaumata had formerly given rise, and concluded by offering to stake his +own life on the correctness of his supposition. The explanation pleased +the king, and from that moment his diseased mind was possessed by one +new idea to the exclusion of all others--the seizure and slaughter of +the Magi. + +The host was ordered to prepare for marching. Aryandes,--one of the +Achaemenidae, was appointed satrap of Egypt, and the army started +homeward without delay. Driven by this new delusion, the king took no +rest by day or night, till at last his over-ridden and ill-used horse +fell with him, and he was severely wounded in the fall by his own +dagger. + +After lying insensible for some days, he opened his eyes and asked first +to see Araspes, then his mother, and lastly Atossa, although these three +had set out on their journey home months before. From all he said it +appeared that during the last four years, from the attack of fever until +the present accident, he had been living in a kind of sleep. He seemed +astonished and pained at hearing what had happened during these years. +But of his brother's death he was fully aware. He knew that Prexaspes +had killed him by his--the king's--orders and had told him that Bartja +lay buried on the shores of the Red Sea.--During the night which +followed this return to his senses it became clear to himself also, that +his mind had been wandering for along time. Towards morning he fell +into a deep sleep, and this so restored his strength, that on waking he +called for Croesus and required an exact relation of the events that had +passed during the last few years. + +His old friend and adviser obeyed; he felt that Cambyses was still +entrusted to his care, and in the hope, faint as it was, of bringing +him back to the right way, he did not suppress one of the king's acts of +violence in his relation. + +His joy was therefore great at perceiving, that his words made a deep +impression on the newly-awakened mind of the king. With tears in his +eyes, and with the ashamed look of a child, he grieved over his wrong +deeds and his madness, begged Croesus to forgive him, thanked him for +having borne so long and faithfully with him, and commissioned him to +ask Kassandane and Sappho especially for forgiveness, but also, Atossa +and all whom he had unjustly offended. + +The old man wept too, but his tears were tears of joy and he repeatedly +assured Cambyses that he would recover and have ample opportunity of +making amends for the past. But to all this Cambyses shook his head +resolutely, and, pale and wan as he looked, begged Croesus to have his +couch carried on to a rising ground in the open air, and then to summon +the Achaemenidae. When these orders, in spite of the physicians, had +been obeyed, Cambyses was raised into an upright sitting position, and +began, in a voice which could be heard at a considerable distance: + +"The time to reveal my great secret has arrived, O ye Persians. Deceived +by a vision, provoked and annoyed by my brother, I caused him to be +murdered in my wrath. Prexaspes wrought the evil deed by my command, but +instead of bringing me the peace I yearned for, that deed has tortured +me into madness and death. By this my confession ye will be convinced, +that my brother Bartja is really dead. The Magi have usurped the throne +of the Achaemenidae. Oropastes, whom I left in Persia as my vicegerent +and his brother Gaumata, who resembles Bartja so nearly that even +Croesus, Intaphernes and my uncle, the noble Hystaspes, were once +deceived by the likeness, have placed themselves at their head. Woe is +me, that I have murdered him who, as my nearest kinsman, should have +avenged on the Magi this affront to my honor. But I cannot recall him +from the dead, and I therefore appoint you the executors of my last +will. By the Feruer of my dead father, and in the name of all good and +pure spirits, I conjure you not to suffer the government to fall into +the hands of the unfaithful Magi. If they have obtained possession +thereof by artifice, wrest it from their hands in like manner; if by +force, use force to win it back. Obey this my last will, and the earth +will yield you its fruits abundantly; your wives, your flocks and herds +shall be blessed and freedom shall be your portion. Refuse to obey it, +and ye shall suffer the corresponding evils; yea, your end, and that of +every Persian shall be even as mine." + +After these words the king wept and sank back fainting, on seeing which, +the Achaemenidae rent their clothes and burst into loud lamentations. +A few hours later Cambyses died in Croesus' arms. Nitetis was his last +thought; he died with her name on his lips and tears of penitence in his +eyes. When the Persians had left the unclean corpse, Croesus knelt down +beside it and cried, raising his hand to heaven: "Great Cyrus, I have +kept my oath. I have remained this miserable man's faithful adviser even +unto his end." + +The next morning the old man betook himself, accompanied by his son +Gyges, to the town of Barene, which belonged to him, and lived there +many years as a father to his subjects, revered by Darius and praised by +all his contemporaries. + + ........................ + +After Cambyses' death the heads of the seven Persian tribes held +a council, and resolved, as a first measure, on obtaining certain +information as to the person of the usurper. With this view, Otanes sent +a confidential eunuch to his daughter Phaedime, who, as they knew, had +come into the possession of the new king with the rest of Cambyses' +harem. + + [The names of the seven conspiring chiefs, given by Herodotus agree + for the most part with those in the cuneiform inscriptions. The + names are: Otanes, Intaphernes, Gobryas, Megabyzus, Aspatines, + Hydarnes and Darius Hystaspis. In the inscription Otana: + Vindafrand, Gaubaruva, Ardumams, Vidarna, Bagabukhsa and Darayavus.] + +Before the messenger returned, the greater part of the army had +dispersed, the soldiers seizing this favorable opportunity to return +to their homes and families, after so many years of absence. At last, +however, the long-expected messenger came back and brought for answer, +that the new king had only visited Phaedime once, but that during that +visit she had, at great personal risk, discovered that he had lost both +ears. Without this discovery, however, she could assert positively that +though there were a thousand points of similarity between the usurper +and the murdered Bartja, the former was in reality none other than +Gaumata, the brother of Oropastes. Her old friend Boges had resumed his +office of chief of the eunuchs, and had revealed to her the secrets of +the Magi. The high-priest had met the former keeper of the women begging +in the streets of Susa, and had restored him to his old office with the +words: "You have forfeited your life, but I want men of your stamp." +In conclusion. Phaedime entreated her father to use every means in +his power for the overthrow of the Magi, as they treated her with the +greatest contempt and she was the most miserable of women. + +Though none of the Achaemenidae hall really for a moment believed; that +Bartja was alive and had seized on the throne, so clear an account +of the real person of the usurper was very welcome to them, and they +resolved at once to march on Nisaea with the remnant of the army and +overthrow the Magi either by craft or force. + +They entered the new capital unassailed, and finding that the majority +of the people seemed content with the new government, they also +pretended to acknowledge the king as the son of Cyrus, to whom they were +prepared to do homage. The Magi, however, were not deceived; they shut +themselves up in their palace, assembled an army in the Nisaean plain, +promised the soldiers high pay, and used every effort to strengthen the +belief of the people in Gaumata's disguise. On this point no one could +do them more injury, or, if he chose, be more useful to them, than +Prexaspes. He was much looked up to by the Persians, and his assurance, +that he had not murdered Bartja, would have been sufficient to tame the +fast-spreading report of the real way in which the youth had met his +death. Oropastes, therefore, sent for Prexaspes, who, since the king's +dying words, had been avoided by all the men of his own rank and had led +the life of an outlaw, and promised him an immense sum of money, if he +would ascend a high tower and declare to the people, assembled in the +court beneath, that evil-disposed men had called him Bartja's murderer, +whereas he had seen the new king with his own eyes and had recognized +in him the younger son of his benefactor. Prexaspes made no objection to +this proposal, took a tender leave of his family while the people were +being assembled, uttered a short prayer before the sacred fire-altar and +walked proudly to the palace. On his way thither he met the chiefs of +the seven tribes and seeing that they avoided him, called out to +them: "I am worthy of your contempt, but I will try to deserve your +forgiveness." + +Seeing Darius look back, he hastened towards him, grasped his hand and +said: "I have loved you like a son; take care of my children when I am +no more, and use your pinions, winged Darius." Then, with the same proud +demeanor he ascended the tower. + +Many thousands of the citizens of Nisaea were within reach of his voice, +as he cried aloud: "Ye all know that the kings who have, up to the +present time, loaded you with honor and glory, belonged to the house of +the Achaemenidae. Cyrus governed you like a real father, Cambyses was a +stern master, and Bartja would have guided you like a bridegroom, if +I, with this right hand which I now show you, had not slain him on the +shores of the Red Sea. By Mithras, it was with a bleeding heart that +I committed this wicked deed, but I did it as a faithful servant in +obedience to the king's command. Nevertheless, it has haunted me by day +and night; for four long years I have been pursued and tormented by the +spirits of darkness, who scare sleep from the murderer's couch. I have +now resolved to end this painful, despairing existence by a worthy deed, +and though even this may procure me no mercy at the bridge of Chinvat, +in the mouths of men, at least, I shall have redeemed my honorable name +from the stain with which I defiled it. Know then, that the man who +gives himself out for the son of Cyrus, sent me hither; he promised me +rich rewards if I would deceive you by declaring him to be Bartja, the +son of the Achaemenidae. But I scorn his promises and swear by Mithras +and the Feruers of the kings, the most solemn oaths I am acquainted +with, that the man who is now ruling you is none other than the Magian +Gaumata, he who was deprived of his ears, the brother of the king's +vicegerent and high-priest, Oropastes, whom ye all know. If it be your +will to forget all the glory ye owe to the Achaemenidae, if to this +ingratitude ye choose to add your own degradation, then acknowledge +these creatures and call them your kings; but if ye despise a lie and +are ashamed to obey worthless impostors, drive the Magi from the throne +before Mithras has left the heavens, and proclaim the noblest of the +Achaemenidae, Darius, the exalted son of Hystaspes, who promises to +become a second Cyrus, as your king. And now, in order that ye may +believe my words and not suspect that Darius sent me hither to win you +over to his side, I will commit a deed, which must destroy every doubt +and prove that the truth and glory of the Achaemenidae are clearer to +me, than life itself. Blessed be ye if ye follow my counsels, but curses +rest upon you, if ye neglect to reconquer the throne from the Magi and +revenge yourselves upon them.--Behold, I die a true and honorable man!" + +With these words he ascended the highest pinnacle of the tower and cast +himself down head foremost, thus expiating the one crime of his life by +an honorable death. + +The dead silence with which the people in the court below had listened +to him, was now broken by shrieks of rage and cries for vengeance. They +burst open the gates of the palace and were pressing in with cries of +"Death to the Magi," when the seven princes of the Persians appeared in +front of the raging crowd to resist their entrance. + +At sight of the Achaemenidae the citizens broke into shouts of joy, and +cried more impetuously than ever, "Down with the Magi! Victory to King +Darius!" + +The son of Hystaspes was then carried by the crowd to a rising ground, +from which he told the people that the Magi had been slain by the +Achaemenidae, as liars and usurpers. Fresh cries of joy arose in answer +to these words, and when at last the bleeding heads of Oropastes and +Gaumata were shown to the crowd, they rushed with horrid yells through +the streets of the city, murdering every Magian they could lay hold of. +The darkness of night alone was able to stop this awful massacre. + +Four days later, Darius, the son of Hystaspes, was chosen as king by the +heads of the Achaemenidae, in consideration of his high birth and noble +character, and received by the Persian nation with enthusiasm. Darius +had killed Gaumata with his own hand, and the highpriest had received +his death-thrust from the hand of Megabyzus, the father of Zopyrus. +While Prexaspes was haranguing the people, the seven conspiring Persian +princes, Otanes, Intaphernes, Gobryas, Megabyzus, Aspatines, Hydarnes +and Darius, (as representative of his aged father Hystaspes), had +entered the palace by a carelessly-guarded gate, sought out the part +of the building occupied by the Magi, and then, assisted by their own +knowledge of the palace, and the fact that most of the guards had been +sent to keep watch over the crowd assembled to hear Prexaspes easily +penetrated to the apartments in which at that moment they were to be +found. Here they were resisted by a few eunuchs, headed by Boges, but +these were overpowered and killed to a man. Darius became furious on +seeing Boges, and killed him at once. Hearing the dying cries of these +eunuchs, the Magi rushed to the spot and prepared to defend themselves. +Oropastes snatched a lance from the fallen Boges, thrust out one of +Intaphernes' eyes and wounded Aspatines in the thigh, but was stabbed +by Megabyzus. Gaumata fled into another apartment and tried to bar +the door, but was followed too soon by Darius and Gobryas; the latter +seized, threw him, and kept him down by the weight of his own body, +crying to Darius, who was afraid of making a false stroke in the +half-light, and so wounding his companion instead of Gaumata, "Strike +boldly, even if you should stab us both." Darius obeyed, and fortunately +only hit the Magian. + +Thus died Oropastes, the high-priest, and his brother Gaumata, better +known under the name of the "pseudo" or "pretended Smerdis." + +A few weeks after Darius' election to the throne, which the people +said had been marvellously influenced by divine miracles and the +clever cunning of a groom, he celebrated his coronation brilliantly at +Pasargadae, and with still more splendor, his marriage with his beloved +Atossa. The trials of her life had ripened her character, and she proved +a faithful, beloved and respected companion to her husband through +the whole of that active and glorious life, which, as Prexaspes had +foretold, made him worthy of the names by which he was afterwards +known--Darius the Great, and a second Cyrus. + + [Atossa is constantly mentioned as the favorite wife of Darius, and + be appointed her son Xerxes to be his successor, though he had three + elder sons by the daughter of Gobryas. Herodotus (VII. 3.) speaks + with emphasis of the respect and consideration in which Atossa was + held, and Aeschylus, in his Persians, mentions her in her old age, + as the much-revered and noble matron.] + +As a general he was circumspect and brave, and at the same time +understood so thoroughly how to divide his enormous realm, and to +administer its affairs, that he must be classed with the greatest +organizers of all times and countries. That his feeble successors were +able to keep this Asiatic Colossus of different countries together for +two hundred years after his death, was entirely owing to Darius. He was +liberal of his own, but sparing of his subjects' treasures, and made +truly royal gifts without demanding more than was his due. He introduced +a regular system of taxation, in place of the arbitrary exactions +practised under Cyrus and Cambyses, and never allowed himself to be +led astray in the carrying out of what seemed to him right, either by +difficulties or by the ridicule of the Achaemenidae, who nicknamed +him the "shopkeeper," on account of what seemed, to their exclusively +military tastes, his petty financial measures. It is by no means one of +his smallest merits, that he introduced one system of coinage through +his entire empire, and consequently through half the then known world. + +Darius respected the religions and customs of other nations. When the +writing of Cyrus, of the existence of which Cambyses had known nothing, +was found in the archives of Ecbatana, he allowed the Jews to carry on +the building of their temple to Jehovah; he also left the Ionian cities +free to govern their own communities independently. Indeed, he would +hardly have sent his army against Greece, if the Athenians had not +insulted him. + +In Egypt he had learnt much; among other things, the art of managing the +exchequer of his kingdom wisely; for this reason he held the Egyptians +in high esteem, and granted them many privileges, amongst others a canal +to connect the Nile with the Red Sea, which was greatly to the advantage +of their commerce. + + [Traces of this canal can be found as early as the days of Setos I; + his son Rameses II. caused the works to be continued. Under Necho + they were recommenced, and possibly finished by Darius. In the time + of the Ptolemies, at all events, the canal was already completed. + Herod. II. 158. Diod. I. 33. The French, in undertaking to + reconstruct the Suez canal, have had much to encounter from the + unfriendly commercial policy of the English and their influence over + the internal affairs of Egypt, but the unwearied energy and great + talent of Monsr. de Lesseps and the patriotism of the French nation + have at last succeeded in bringing their great work to a successful + close. Whether it will pay is another question. See G. Ebers, Der + Kanal von Suez. Nordische Revue, October 1864. The maritime canal + connecting the Mediterranean with the Red Sea has also been + completed since 1869. We were among those, who attended the + brilliant inauguration ceremonies, and now willingly recall many of + the doubts expressed in our work 'Durch Gosen zum Sinai'. The + number of ships passing through the canal is constantly increasing.] + +During the whole of his reign, Darius endeavored to make amends for +the severity with which Cambyses had treated the Egyptians; even in the +later years of his life he delighted to study the treasures of their +wisdom, and no one was allowed to attack either their religion or +customs, as long as he lived. The old high-priest Neithotep enjoyed +the king's favor to the last, and Darius often made use of his wise old +master's astrological knowledge. + +The goodness and clemency of their new ruler was fully acknowledged by +the Egyptians; they called him a deity, as they had called their +own kings, and yet, in the last years of his reign, their desire for +independence led them to forget gratitude and to try to shake off his +gentle yoke, which was only oppressive because it had originally been +forced on them. + + [The name of Darius occurs very often on the monuments as Ntariusch. + It is most frequently found in the inscriptions on the temple in the + Oasis el-Khargah, recently photographed by G. Rohlfs. The Egypto- + Persian memorial fragments, bearing inscriptions in the hieroglyphic + and cuneiform characters are very interesting. Darius' name in + Egyptian was generally "Ra, the beloved of Ammon." On a porcelain + vessel in Florence, and in some papyri in Paris and Florence he is + called by the divine titles of honor given to the Pharaohs.] + +Their generous ruler and protector did not live to see the end of this +struggle. + + [The first rebellion in Egypt, which broke out under Aryandes, the + satrap appointed by Cambyses, was put down by Darius in person. He + visited Egypt, and promised 100 talents (L22,500.) to any one who + would find a new Apis. Polyaen. VII. ii. 7. No second outbreak + took place until 486 B.C. about 4 years before the death of Darius. + Herod. VI i. Xerxes conquered the rebels two years after his + accession, and appointed his brother Achaemenes satrap of Egypt.] + +It was reserved for Xerxes, the successor and son of Darius and Atossa, +to bring back the inhabitants of the Nile valley to a forced and +therefore insecure obedience. + +Darius left a worthy monument of his greatness in the glorious palace +which he built on Mount Rachmed, the ruins of which are the wonder and +admiration of travellers to this day. Six thousand Egyptian workmen, +who had been sent to Asia by Cambyses, took part in the work and also +assisted in building a tomb for Darius and his successors, the rocky and +almost inaccessible chambers of which have defied the ravages of time, +and are now the resort of innumerable wild pigeons. + +He caused the history of his deeds to be cut, (in the cuneiform +character and in the Persian, Median and Assyrian languages), on the +polished side of the rock of Bisitun or Behistan, not far from the spot +where he saved Atossa's life. The Persian part of this inscription +can still be deciphered with certainty, and contains an account of the +events related in the last few chapters, very nearly agreeing with our +own and that of Herodotus. The following sentences occur amongst others: +"Thus saith Darius the King: That which I have done, was done by the +grace of Auramazda in every way. I fought nineteen battles after the +rebellion of the kings. By the mercy of Auramazda I conquered them. I +took nine kings captive. One was a Median, Gaumata by name. He lied and +said: 'I am Bardiya (Bartja), the son of Cyrus.' He caused Persia to +rebel." + +Some distance lower down, he names the chiefs who helped him to dethrone +the Magi, and in another place the inscription has these words: "Thus +saith the King Darius: That which I have done was done in every way +by the grace of Auramazda. Auramazda helped me, and such other gods as +there be. Auramazda and the other gods gave me help, because I was +not swift to anger, nor a liar, nor a violent ruler, neither I nor my +kinsmen. I have shown favor unto him who helped my brethren, and I have +punished severely him who was my enemy. Thou who shalt be king after me, +be not merciful unto him who is a liar or a rebel, but punish him with a +severe punishment. Thus saith Darius the King: Thou who shalt hereafter +behold this tablet which I have written, or these pictures, destroy them +not, but so long as thou shalt live preserve them, &c." + +It now only remains to be told that Zopyrus, the son of Megabyzus, +continued to the last the king's most faithful friend. + +A courtier once showed the king a pomegranate, and asked him of what one +gift of fortune he would like so many repetitions, as there were seeds +in that fruit. Without a moment's hesitation Darius answered, "Of my +Zopyrus."--[Plutarch] + +The following story will prove that Zopyrus, on his part, well +understood how to return his royal friend's kindness. After the death of +Cambyses, Babylon revolted from the Persian empire. Darius besieged the +city nine months in vain, and was about to raise the siege, when one day +Zopyrus appeared before him bleeding, and deprived of his ears and nose, +and explained that he had mutilated himself thus in order to cheat the +Babylonians, who knew him well, as he had formerly been on intimate +terms with their daughters. He said he wished to tell the haughty +citizens, that Darius had thus disfigured him, and that he had come to +them for help in revenging himself. He thought they would then place +troops at his disposal, with which he intended to impose upon them by +making a few successful sallies at first. His ultimate intention was to +get possession of the keys, and open the Semiramis gate to his friends. + +These words, which were spoken in a joking tone, contrasted so sadly +with the mutilated features of his once handsome friend, that Darius +wept, and when at last the almost impregnable fortress was really won by +Zopyrus' stratagem, he exclaimed: "I would give a hundred Babylons, if +my Zopyrus had not thus mutilated himself." + +He then appointed his friend lord of the giant city, gave him its entire +revenues, and honored him every year with the rarest presents. In later +days he used to say that, with the exception of Cyrus, who had no equal, +no man had ever performed so generous a deed as Zopyrus. + + [Herod. III. 160. Among other presents Zopyrus received a gold + hand-mill weighing six talents, the most honorable and distinguished + gift a Persian monarch could bestow upon a subject. According to + Ktesias, Megabaezus received this gift from Xerxes.] + +Few rulers possessed so many self-sacrificing friends as Darius, because +few understood so well how to be grateful. + +When Syloson, the brother of the murdered Polykrates, came to Susa +and reminded the king of his former services, Darius received him as +a friend, placed ships and troops at his service, and helped him to +recover Samos. + +The Samians made a desperate resistance, and said, when at last they +were obliged to yield: "Through Syloson we have much room in our land." + +Rhodopis lived to hear of the murder of Hipparchus, the tyrant of +Athens, by Harmodius and Aristogiton, and died at last in the arms of +her best friends, Theopompus the Milesian and Kallias the Athenian, firm +in her belief of the high calling of her countrymen. + +All Naukratis mourned for her, and Kallias sent a messenger to Susa, to +inform the king and Sappho of her death. + +A few months later the satrap of Egypt received the following letter +from the hand of the king: + + "Inasmuch as we ourselves knew and honored Rhodopis, the Greek, who + has lately died in Naukratis,--inasmuch as her granddaughter, as + widow of the lawful heir to the Persian throne, enjoys to this day + the rank and honors of a queen,--and lastly, inasmuch as I have + lately taken the great-grandchild of the same Rhodopis, Parmys, the + daughter of Bartja and Sappho, to be my third lawful wife, it seems + to me just to grant royal honors to the ancestress of two queens. I + therefore command thee to cause the ashes of Rhodopis, whom we have + always esteemed as the greatest and rarest among women, to be buried + in the greatest and rarest of all monuments, namely, in one of the + Pyramids. The costly urn, which thou wilt receive herewith, is sent + by Sappho to preserve the ashes of the deceased." + + Given in the new imperial palace at Persepolis. + + DARIUS, son of Hystaspes. + + King. + + + + ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS: + + A kind word hath far more power than an angry one + A first impression is often a final one + A noble mind can never swim with the stream + Abuse not those who have outwitted thee + Age is inquisitive + Apis the progeny of a virgin cow and a moonbeam + Assigned sixty years as the limit of a happy life + At my age every year must be accepted as an undeserved gift + Avoid excessive joy as well as complaining grief + Be not merciful unto him who is a liar or a rebel + Between two stools a man falls to the ground + Blessings go as quickly as they come + Call everything that is beyond your comprehension a miracle + Cambyses had been spoiled from his earliest infancy + Canal to connect the Nile with the Red Sea + Cannot understand how trifles can make me so happy + Cast off all care; be mindful only of pleasure + Confess I would rather provoke a lioness than a woman + Corpse to be torn in pieces by dogs and vultures + Creed which views life as a short pilgrimage to the grave + Curiosity is a woman's vice + Death is so long and life so short + Devoid of occupation, envy easily becomes hatred + Did the ancients know anything of love + Does happiness consist then in possession + Easy to understand what we like to hear + Eros mocks all human efforts to resist or confine him + Eyes are much more eloquent than all the tongues in the world + Folly to fret over what cannot be undone + For the errors of the wise the remedy is reparation, not regret + Go down into the grave before us (Our children) + Greeks have not the same reverence for truth + Happiness has nothing to do with our outward circumstances + Hast thou a wounded heart? touch it seldom + He who kills a cat is punished (for murder) + He is the best host, who allows his guests the most freedom + He who is to govern well must begin by learning to obey + Human beings hate the man who shows kindness to their enemies + I cannot... Say rather: I will not + I was not swift to anger, nor a liar, nor a violent ruler + In war the fathers live to mourn for their slain sons + In our country it needs more courage to be a coward + In this immense temple man seemed a dwarf in his own eyes + In those days men wept, as well as women + Inn, was to be found about every eighteen miles + Introduced a regular system of taxation-Darius + Know how to honor beauty; and prove it by taking many wives + Lovers delighted in nature then as now + Lovers are the most unteachable of pupils + Misfortune too great for tears + Mosquito-tower with which nearly every house was provided + Multitude who, like the gnats, fly towards every thing brilliant + Natural impulse which moves all old women to favor lovers + Never so clever as when we have to find excuses for our own sins + No man was allowed to ask anything of the gods for himself + Nothing is more dangerous to love, than a comfortable assurance + Nothing is perfectly certain in this world + Numbers are the only certain things + Observe a due proportion in all things + Olympics--The first was fixed 776 B.C. + One must enjoy the time while it is here + Only two remedies for heart-sickness:--hope and patience + Ordered his feet to be washed and his head anointed + Papyrus Ebers + Pilgrimage to the grave, and death as the only true life + Pious axioms to be repeated by the physician, while compounding + Remember, a lie and your death are one and the same + Resistance always brings out a man's best powers + Robes cut as to leave the right breast uncovered + Romantic love, as we know it, a result of Christianity + Rules of life given by one man to another are useless + Scarcely be able to use so large a sum--Then abuse it + Sent for a second interpreter + Sing their libels on women (Greek Philosophers) + So long as we are able to hope and wish + Take heed lest pride degenerate into vainglory + The past belongs to the dead; only fools count upon the future + The priests are my opponents, my masters + The gods cast envious glances at the happiness of mortals + The beautiful past is all he has to live upon + They praise their butchers more than their benefactors + Those are not my real friends who tell me I am beautiful + Time is clever in the healing art + True host puts an end to the banquet + Unwise to try to make a man happy by force + War is a perversion of nature + We live for life, not for death + We've talked a good deal of love with our eyes already + Whatever a man would do himself, he thinks others are capable of + When love has once taken firm hold of a man in riper years + Whether the historical romance is ever justifiable + Wise men hold fast by the ever young present + Ye play with eternity as if it were but a passing moment + Young Greek girls pass their sad childhood in close rooms + Zeus pays no heed to lovers' oaths + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's An Egyptian Princess, Complete, by Georg Ebers + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AN EGYPTIAN PRINCESS, COMPLETE *** + +***** This file should be named 5460.txt or 5460.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/5/4/6/5460/ + +Produced by David Widger + + +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. 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