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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 58343 ***
+
+
+
+Note: Images of the original pages are available through
+      Internet Archive. See
+      https://archive.org/details/hatsustoryofegyp00fess
+
+
+
+
+
+HATSU
+
+A Story of Egypt
+
+by
+
+LAURA DAYTON FESSENDEN
+
+Author of "A Colonial Dame," "Bonnie
+MacKirby," "The Moon Children," Etc.
+
+
+
+Christmas
+1904
+
+Copyright, 1904
+By Laura Dayton Fessenden
+
+The Canterbury Press, Highland Park (Chicago), Illinois
+
+
+
+
+                I dedicate
+                   this
+              Story of Egypt
+                    to
+        My Dearest and Best Friend
+
+                My Husband
+
+          LAURA DAYTON FESSENDEN
+
+          Highland Park, Illinois
+
+  "Happiegoluckie"
+  _Christmas, 1904_
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+  PART I             PAGE
+    CHAPTER I           1
+    CHAPTER II          6
+    CHAPTER III        17
+    CHAPTER IV         26
+    CHAPTER V          38
+    CHAPTER VI         45
+    CHAPTER VII        52
+    CHAPTER VIII       56
+
+  PART II
+    CHAPTER I          61
+    CHAPTER II         63
+    CHAPTER III        71
+    CHAPTER IV         77
+    CHAPTER V          84
+    CHAPTER VI         90
+    CHAPTER VII        91
+    CHAPTER VIII       95
+    CHAPTER IX         98
+
+
+
+
+PART I.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+
+The fifth day of the first month of summer had come, and in a sunset
+of gold and purple hues, the Nile was glorified; birds had ceased
+their songs, the air was heavy with the perfume of flowers, and away
+to the westward the evening star was setting.
+
+Here, and there, along the shore, lithe, tawney-skinned girls filled
+earthern jars with water, then lifted them to their shoulders, and
+walked across the greenness, into the deepening night.
+
+On this delta--or plain--of lower Egypt, there stood, three thousand
+years ago, the city of Abydos; it measured ten square miles in
+circumference, and was shut in on three sides, by walls of reddish
+sand-stone and the unwalled side--fronting the Nile--was a pleasure
+ground, belonging to a Royal residence and named, the "Palace of
+Tears," so called because it was occupied by the King or his family
+only during seasons of personal, or national distress. Entrance into
+Abydos, was obtainable through three gateways, and over each there
+were towers, in which night and day, year in, and year out, the
+priests of Osirus, kept watch and ward with much fasting and many
+prayers.
+
+The word "SILENCE" was cut into the stone arch above each gate, and
+within the city, conversation was carried on in whispers; no sound of
+instruments of music, no peal of bells, was ever heard, only the
+lowing of cattle in the Royal meadows, and the bellowing of sacred
+bulls, in the temple grounds, only the singing of birds among the
+trees, and the never ceasing chant of the priests broke the stillness.
+
+The reason the city of Abydos was so sanctified a spot was because it
+was believed to be the resting place of all that had once been mortal
+of the Man-GOD, Osirus.
+
+On this summer night three thousand years ago, in the Palace of Tears,
+Tothmes the First, of Egypt, lay dying.
+
+He had been a wise ruler, an able statesman, a brave and successful
+soldier. Under his guidance and supervision, architecture in Egypt had
+progressed, many new temples had been built, many ancient ruins
+restored.
+
+At Memphis he had erected a grand palace, and in the same city had
+beautified the temple of Ammon; but the greatest act of his reign, was
+the taking down, of the barriers, that had isolated Egypt from the
+world, beyond its borders, for ten centuries of time; the only blot on
+this King's life page was the enslavement of the Israelites, in a
+bitter and cruel bondage.
+
+Now, this great ruler lay upon his golden couch in an upper room in
+the Palace of Tears, waiting, in perfect consciousness, for the end.
+
+It was his wish that in his last hour, all should leave him, save his
+daughter, the Princess Hatsu, an olive-skinned, dark-eyed girl, who
+lay sobbing upon his breast.
+
+All sense of pain had left the once tortured body of the King, and a
+peace, like that of the twilight without, had fallen upon him.
+
+One hand cold with the damps of departing life was slowly and tenderly
+caressing the long braids of the girl's dark hair.
+
+"Hatsu," said the King, "do not cry any more, all the tears of Egypt,
+all the prayers of her priests avail not to stay this life of mine.
+Child, it matters not whether that which we call _breath_, is lodged
+under a King's robe, or a beggar's rags, at the bidding of some
+almighty power, it comes forth and goes its way into the _unknown_.
+Hatsu, the call has come to me, and I would fain be gone. I only
+linger to gain the promise that you will wed Tothmes the Second, for,
+full well I know, that, when your brother sits upon the throne, his
+mother,--standing behind the chair of state,--will speak her wish,
+through his poor faltering lips; full well I know that she will so
+guide and counsel her son that worse than sorrow may come to be your
+portion, because you will not become wife to the Prince--your
+brother. Child, how can I meet in some beyond the young mother who
+gave her life for yours, and to her question, 'Is it well with my
+babe?' make answer 'nay.'"
+
+The girl raised herself with a slowness that showed how weak and spent
+she was; she unknit her fingers from those of the King, and rose and
+stood before him.
+
+"Father," she said, "the promise you ask holds more of torture for my
+woman's soul than you with your man's nature can know, yet I defy your
+will no longer. I give you promise to wed Tothmes the Second."
+
+The King, with a mighty effort, raised himself to a sitting posture,
+his face was pinched and ghastly pale, his eyes gleamed with an
+unnatural light as he gasped, "Down upon your knees, girl, and repeat
+slowly and distinctly, that I may miss no word, the '_oath prayer_.'
+Quick! girl, quick!"
+
+She knelt at his bidding and slowly and quietly said these words:
+
+"O Thou Beneficent One!
+
+"Protector of life!
+
+"Thou to whom we flee for succor, when earth's tempests lower, or when
+death draws near.
+
+"To Thee, Great Principal, our Sun, our Moon, our Star.
+
+"To Thee, the guide of all who pass into the realms of shade, I call.
+Elder brother, Thou who having once been man and endured like us
+life's temptations. Thou knowest our infirmities, and can therefore
+with divine compassion forgive our proneness to err.
+
+"O, Osirus, Thou that shall judge us at the last day, and with
+infinite tenderness, shield us from Seth and his geni, when they
+strive to prove before the great tribunal, the unfitness of a world
+soul, for the realms of bliss.
+
+"O, Osirus, I swear to Thee, to obey the will of my father the King."
+
+Like a falcon, that needs but the loosing of the silken thread, that
+it may lift its wings and mount into the blue, the soul of Tothmes the
+First, upon the promise of his child, soared upward, and was not; and
+her cry of anguish told to those who stood without that the time had
+come in which to proclaim the reign of Tothmes the Second.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+
+The seventy-two days of mourning for the dead had been accomplished,
+the oblations and purifications of the living had been performed.
+
+Again it was night in the Palace of Tears.
+
+The ladies-in-waiting upon the Princess Hatsu were weary of the
+funeral pomp and circumstance by which they had been for so many weeks
+environed, and one and all hailed with delight the prospect of
+beginning on the morrow, the journey back to Thebes, where their royal
+mistress was to wed the now reigning King of Egypt.
+
+So they had happy thoughts, as they silently regarded Her Highness,
+who, with her favorite serving maid, standing behind her chair, sat by
+one of the narrow windows, her arm upon the sill, her hand forming a
+rest for her face, as she looked out on the river and the palace
+garden, bathed in the splendor of a full moon's light.
+
+The maid behind the Princess' chair was a girl whose appearance was in
+marked contrast, through its race characteristics, to the other women
+present. Her skin, unlike the Egyptian ladies', was devoid of yellow
+tinting, and its whiteness was the more marked because of the faint
+rose bloom on cheek and lip. Her hair, rippling on either side of her
+broad brow, was brown in color, and its two heavy braids fell to the
+hem of her gown.
+
+Her large blue eyes were shaded by long golden brown lashes; her
+eyebrows, strongly arched, were black.
+
+When she smiled, a little dimple played at hide-and-seek in one of the
+rounded cheeks and there was a shimmer of pearls between the rosy
+lips.
+
+The ladies-in-waiting upon the Princess Hatsu were all daughters of
+high priests, for the priesthood of Egypt represented, with the
+military officials, the gentry of Mizram. The function of priesthood
+was not confined exclusively to ecclesiastic thought; it embraced
+beside theology the professions of law, medicine, science, philosophy,
+poetry, and history, so it is easily seen that an intellectual, rather
+than a so-called spiritual condition was the priestly requirement.
+
+There was no such thing in Egypt as succession from father to son.
+Outside the office of kingship itself, _knowledge_ was the power,
+through which one and all must mount to distinction; education was a
+free gift to the people, irrespective of caste, and the child of the
+humblest pilot or artisan of to-day, might, through the force of his
+mentality, be the priestly or military influence behind a to-morrow's
+throne.
+
+Each _Nome_--or _State_--in Egypt had its High Priest or Governor; to
+him was entrusted the control of the industries of his province--the
+granaries, the garden produce, and all manufactured articles and to
+him came the rentals of public lands and houses that had been
+dedicated by the kingdom or given by private individuals for the
+service of some particular god or goddess.
+
+Celebacy in the priesthood was discouraged in Egypt. The number of
+children gathered about the hearthstone was a matter for pride and
+thanksgiving, the lack of such treasures always a cause for sorrow and
+shame.
+
+Now these ladies-in-waiting (or if you will, maids-of-honor) to the
+Princess Hatsu, came from the forty-nine states of the kingdom, their
+homes were scattered from one end of Egypt to the other and their
+fathers were devoted to one of the various intellectual callings that
+have been mentioned. These girls represented many distinctive mental
+types, and as for religious belief, what one thought spiritually in
+Egypt was a matter of individual choice, and it is not at all
+improbable that the forty-nine high priests (represented in the
+Princess' household by their daughters) served forty-nine distinctive
+ideals of Deity and were in their theological views as diametrically
+opposed as are the various sects and schisms of our day.
+
+Then as regarded the manner and speech of these girls one could tell
+by their pronunciation whether they came from Mazor--lower Egypt--or
+Pathos--upper Egypt; but there was a sameness about their appearance;
+they all had round voluptuous figures, small, well-shaped noses, long
+gray eyes, full red lips, and smooth hair, which--to meet a prevailing
+fashion--was dyed a dark blue.
+
+It had been the pleasure of Tothmes the First to give to his daughter
+only that which should charm her eye, and please her senses, so the
+maidens that the king had selected to bear the Princess company were
+endowed with beauty, wit, and all womanly graces and accomplishments;
+yet for them one and all Hatsu felt but a kindly friendship; her
+heart's love she gave to Miriam, her maid--Miriam, daughter of Abram,
+the Israelite, Abram the skilled architect, into whose hands the late
+King had given the planning and construction of the third pyramid.
+
+Had Miriam been a free woman, this fondness of the Princess for her
+might have caused a feeling of envy in the breasts of the
+ladies-in-waiting; but what did it signify--how Hatsu treated the girl
+who plaited her hair? Miriam was a slave! * * * It was a long and a
+silent service, that the ladies-in-waiting had kept this night, but at
+last the Princess lifted her face from her hands and turned toward her
+attendants.
+
+"I fear," she said, "that I am but a poor companion, and I will not
+weary you with longer waiting. The night is young, the gardens below
+are beautiful in the moonlight, go and enjoy them for the last time."
+
+Then the girls arose, and stepping backwards, curtseyed themselves out
+of the apartment, the last one closing the door softly behind her.
+When the sound of their footsteps had died away the Princess spoke.
+
+"Come, my Miriam," she said, "and take this seat beside me, wind your
+arm about my waist, and I will lay my head against your breast, and we
+will talk to one another. I have been looking at the Sphinx down
+yonder. For untold generations she has been asking her unsolvable
+riddle, 'Whence are we? whither do we go?' Night after night I have
+sat here and made inarticulate cry to the beautiful raised head,
+gazing with expectant eyes toward the west, until at last she seemed
+to say to my soul, 'Sister woman, there is no _god_, but fate, and
+_time_--the present _time_--is ALWAYS his prophet.'
+
+"If this be so, what need of losing breath in prayer? what need of
+so-called conscience, tell me, Miriam, may I not without fear of the
+wrath of an avenging God, break the vow I made to my father the King?
+and with your aid (and another's) escape from out the city to-night
+and so save myself from the living death that awaits me in Thebes?"
+
+"Hatsu, beloved," said Miriam gently (for so it was the will of the
+Princess that she should be addressed by Miriam when alone) "the great
+stone image on the plain is naught but the work of man! It has no
+life, save in the superstitious fancy of a priest-ridden nation!
+Hatsu, there is above, about, and around us, an eternal force, and it
+created that which we call humanity. We of Israel call this force
+'_God_'--the '_All Father_'--and '_Jehovah_,' and though our bondage
+under Egypt's yoke seems to human understanding intolerable, we feel
+spiritually that we are the children of this King of Kings and Lord of
+Lords. We understand that when His wise purpose is fulfilled, we shall
+bless this providence, of chains, and scourgings, and burdens, as a
+lesson of love, and mercy, making us the more worthy of our
+inheritance in the promised land."
+
+The Princess raised her head and listened in silence until Miriam had
+ceased to speak. "Your words are pretty," she said with a sigh, "they
+soothe one like the crooning of a lullabye, and believing it, as you
+do, must be to you a great consolation, but to me, dear Miriam, it is
+all delusion, and emptiness! I have read much of theology, and have
+longed to cultivate faith, but to me all forms of religion seem
+phantom things, elusive, and delusive; they are assertions of Deity,
+founded upon legends, and then reared, by unreasoning superstition,
+through countless generations of men! do not shake your pretty head,
+Miriam, for I know whereof I speak, and I this day have cast my
+praying beads aside as worthless toys! while all my thoughts, hopes,
+and fears, are gathered about the awful fact of that near-at-hand
+wedding day. The time has come when, if I am to keep the pledge made
+to my dying father, I must lay aside these garments of sorrow, and don
+the bridal robe and crown. To-morrow we leave the blessed quiet of
+this place to journey back to Thebes, and there I shall wed that
+grewsome creature that reigns in my father's place! Small comfort do I
+take in the knowledge that my witless brother has been new calendared
+among Egypt's saints! So do they make gods of many noxious beasts and
+vipers! Tell me, Miriam, could any merciful force, anything with even
+finest human intelligence doom a maiden to link herself with yonder
+living, breathing mass of nothingness? My husband, that is to be,
+clings to the toys of his earliest childhood, merrily jingles his
+rattle and bells, and is soothed to sleep by the crooning of nursery
+rhyme! Tothmes the Second a saint! Tothmes the Second a King! There is
+no God! There is no unseen power! We are creatures of the dust, ruled
+by _creed_ and _greed_! See, Miriam, no fire from the Heaven you
+prate of consumes me for this uttered sacrilege! My heart beats on! My
+breath comes and goes, as I look up to the star-spangled sky and speak
+my mind! But, O Miriam, Miriam, is there nothing that can save me?"
+The Princess had arisen, in her agony, and she now flung herself upon
+the ground, burying her face in Miriam's lap.
+
+For a moment there was silence, and then Miriam spoke.
+
+"Hatsu, beloved," she said, "the path marked out for you to tread
+seems a dark and thorny one. I would that I could scatter rose leaves
+upon it or lift its gloom, but I can only read from one life guide,
+and in all its pages I see the word "obedience." Our God hath said,
+'Honor thy father and thy mother that thy days may be long in the
+land,' therefore, dear and honored mistress, cease to struggle against
+that which you have vowed beside your father's dying bed to perform,
+and, in the midst of your present despair let this thought comfort
+you, our sojourn on this planet, that men call the Earth, is but for a
+moment of time; this will lead you to believe that in some better
+sphere, you will look back to see that _yesterday's sorrows_ were but
+mists and nothing more. Think not of yourself, dear lady, but of your
+land, of Egypt. _She_ has need of you upon her throne. Your people
+love and trust you. Can you then subject them to a rule so terrible
+as would surely befall should the mother of Tothmes the Second have
+power to guide the State? Live for your people, Hatsu, and leave your
+present and your future in the hands of the One God; call Him if you
+will Osirus, for any name we call (if we call with reverent spirit)
+the Supreme Ruler will answer to."
+
+The Princess raised her head and looked into Miriam's eyes.
+
+"Dear Miriam," she said, "I have no faith to offer to Deity; have I
+not prayed and fasted through these days of mourning? and has help
+come? No, but rather with each new hour I have felt the meshes of the
+net more tightly drawn about me! And always night and day I see this
+picture. A girl stands before me. She wears upon her head a heavy
+golden crown. Its frontlet is an Eagle--the emblem of power, strength,
+and freedom; the Eagle's wings are wide spread; the bird glitters with
+gems--oh, how they shine!--but they are above eyes that fain would
+weep, yet dare not; they are above a heart that _must_ not break! The
+girl's garment is of cloth of gold, and her long braids are entwined
+with pearls; her sandalled feet glimmer like frost in the sunshine; on
+her arms, about her throat, and in her ears, diamonds glisten, and as
+she stands upon a carpet of freshly gathered flowers, she is a
+_priceless gift_ to the _King_, _her husband_ that is to be; but under
+this mask of silk, and gold, and gem, I see a degraded womanhood! the
+girl is spiritually bound by something stronger than captive chains;
+oh, Miriam," she cried, springing to her feet, "there are no _Gods_!
+there is no _one_ God! Nay! do not speak, but listen! I have from
+babyhood served the Gods of my people! I have with my own hands fed
+the sacred beasts and birds in the Temple. I have dedicated every
+heliotrope in all the palace gardens to Osirus, and what is my reward?
+I am to be mated to deformity of mind and body! A deformity that so
+disgraces the name of man that his coming shadow makes the bravest
+shudder! His touch is like leprosy! His caresses will be Hell. Oh,
+that the God you worship would hear my cry for escape! Pray to Him,
+Miriam, and may-hap, through your faith, in this eleventh hour, there
+_will_ be found a city of refuge for me."
+
+Even as the Princess spoke these words, there came a strong tap upon
+the door, and in an instant she had resumed her seat, and Miriam her
+place, behind her mistress' chair.
+
+Then, at the bidding of Hatsu, the door swung back, and two by two,
+there entered a company of youths, each bearing golden lamps.
+
+Following the youths came a man, holding a golden salver, on which lay
+a small parchment scroll. Bowing low (not kneeling), he presented it
+to the Princess, who received it and read aloud the contents, in a
+clear, quiet voice.
+
+"Hatsu, Daughter of our Departed Lord, and King. All Hail! It is the
+will of the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe, Osirus, King of Kings and
+Lord of Lords, that thou (accompanied by thine Israelitish handmaiden,
+Miriam) follow Alric, the bearer of this scroll, without question,
+through the Palace of Tears, even down into the subterranean grotto,
+known to the faithful of Mizram as the labyrinth of Death. At a
+certain place by the way, at Alric's bidding, leave the handmaiden,
+and the captain of the King's guards, and take thy way alone, even
+unto the doorway that opens into the Temple of Osirus in the city of
+Abydos. Come thither, oh daughter of a great King, wife to be of our
+sainted Monarch, and on thy lonely way give thy soul into Osirus' care
+and keeping. This, O Princess, is the will of Zelas the High Priest."
+
+When the last word had been read the Princess raised the scroll to her
+lips, then tying it with the red silken cord, she put it into the
+bosom of her gown. Raising her gray eyes and looking for the first
+time at the captain of the King's guard, she said, slowly and
+distinctly:
+
+"Lead the way, and Miriam and Hatsu will follow thee."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+
+Miriam stood watching in silence the form of her mistress the Princess
+Hatsu until she had disappeared from sight in a curve of the avenue,
+or path, then she sat herself down upon a stone bench, and with closed
+eyes and folded hands sent prayers--like white-winged angels--to keep
+the Princess company.
+
+So earnest was her thought that she had quite forgotten the
+companionship of the captain of the King's guard, until the sound of
+his voice called her back to her immediate surroundings.
+
+"She is _indeed_ brave of heart is the Princess," said the captain, a
+ring of enthusiasm sounding through his words. "There are not many
+women, old or young, that would start on this journey with no
+consciousness of fear, for, setting all thought of superstition aside,
+it _is_ a _grewsome place_. There is not, I assure you, a foot of the
+entire way from here to the Temple, that does not afford sepulchre to
+some lifeless object, once an animated '_I am_,' now a hideous
+semblance, an ugly jest upon being."
+
+Miriam lifted her great blue eyes to the speaker's face as she said:
+
+"Whatever else you may be, my lord, you are not a worshipper of
+Osirus, for all his faithful ones know that nothing is so sacred in
+his sight as are these embalmed birds, beasts and reptiles."
+
+The man smiled and shrugged his shoulders; he did not seem to consider
+that any explanation of his recent sacrilege was necessary to an
+Israelitish slave. This captain of the King's guard was probably well
+past his thirtieth year, and unlike the majority of Egyptian manhood,
+he was of athletic proportions; he wore upon his feet and legs,
+sandals and leggins of scarlet leather. The leggins were cut into
+numberless thongs or strips, and each one was fastened in place by a
+gold and jeweled buckle. His tunic, or loosely flowing frock, was of
+white linen exquisitely embroidered with colored flosses, to represent
+leaves and blossoms: at his shoulders the tunic was gathered up with
+broad clasps of diamonds. About his throat was a collar of diamonds,
+with pendant strings, that fell, like threads of shimmering light, to
+his broad breast. His arms were bare, save for the jeweled bracelets
+or coils that serpent-like twined from wrist to armpit and looked like
+part of a coat of mail. His hair was worn in short curly waves about
+his forehead and the sides of his fair smoothly shaven face, then, its
+curly brown profusion, fell from the back, far below his waist. Full
+well Miriam knew this handsome gallant captain of the King's guards,
+and heretofore (for reasons best known to herself) she had held him in
+honor as one who was her mistress' trusted and loyal servant; but
+to-day, in her loving anxiety for the Princess, the thought came to
+her that it would be best to guard her speech, for how (she reasoned)
+could she tell but that the Queen Regent, the mother of King Tothmes
+the Second, might not have sent the Captain to spy upon her mistress?
+Miriam was a wise maiden, she had been taught life's lessons in the
+school of adversity and she had come to know, through bitter
+experience, that he who listens has less to fear than he who talks. So
+she said gently:
+
+"My lord, it is not courteous to be mirthful or scornful over that
+which the King you serve holds so sacred," and she pointed to the
+niched wall where, in gaudily painted wooden cases, the faces of cats,
+birds, and other creatures of the animal kingdom, grinning of jaw and
+glassy of eye, looked down upon them.
+
+"Perhaps," replied the captain, "if you, my pretty Miriam, had been
+selected to go from one end of the kingdom to the other to act as
+escort to dead cats, and dogs, oxen, and birds, and so bring them to
+this their final resting place, perhaps, I say, if you had been
+selected and then detailed to instruct the natives as to the salting
+and other disgusting mortuary preparations, you would have come in
+time to regard these things as I do, as only powerful through their
+offensiveness to one's nostrils! as only capable of working harm,
+when as decaying animal matter they are allowed to pollute the
+otherwise pure atmosphere."
+
+"I do not understand how you dare to say all this to me, my lord,"
+said Miriam, "for unbelievers though we be, you, a Syrian, I an
+Israelite, we are now in the most sacred sepulchre of Osirus. We both
+know what the speaking ill of a living sacred animal may cost. We know
+what the wilful killing of any of these forms of life means for him
+who does the deed. How often have you and I, suddenly coming by the
+way upon some dead thing, fallen upon our knees and plucked from out
+our heads a few hairs to propitiate the anger of Deity?"
+
+"My charming Israelite," said the captain drawing a trifle nearer, "as
+you know full well, I have been reared from youth up in the household
+of Zelas the High Priest of Osirus. Let me confide to you that I,
+Alric, look into this great man's face as fearlessly as does the babe
+upon its mother! Aye, oftentimes I sit smiling in my content, while
+close at hand the awful voice of Zelas is heard, hurling anathemas
+upon the unfaithful as generously as a rose tree sheds its leaves when
+a breeze woos too roughly. This being so, do you fancy that these
+dried, glassy-eyed puppets mean anything to me but what they are?
+Then, as to my speaking openly to you, pray, who is there to hear my
+words? The folk in yonder palace would far rather accept an
+invitation to _Troth's_ kingdom than set so much as one foot upon this
+subterranean path. As for the priests, they hold the place in such
+superstitious horror that when they are forced to come thither they
+appear in great companies, singing at the top of their voices (which,
+of course, would give one an intimation of their proximity long before
+they themselves could appear). And now let me tell you a bit of
+pleasant news. The Princess Hatsu, through, and by this pilgrimage of
+hers, is going to inspire in her people an awesome reverence that
+shall exalt her to a goddesship far beyond that bestowed upon the
+idiot, her husband (that is to be), aye, even as I speak, by the
+command of Zelas, the news of this journey of the Princess (our future
+Queen) is being shouted through the land by mounted heralds, and
+everywhere prayers are offered for the preservation of the body and
+soul of this brave girl, that she may come through the awful,
+supernatural test, unconsumed; for you must know that it is usually
+believed that this cool and sequestered labyrinth is torrid in its
+temperature and holds many, if not all, the terrors and tortures, that
+meet and greet the human soul when a life on earth is past."
+
+"But, my lord, what will all this avail? The mother of our new King
+holds the controlling power in the councils of state, and well you
+know, she has for our late King's daughter a bitter and relentless
+hate."
+
+My lord Alric studied the smoothly worn stone path under foot, pushing
+with the toe of his sandal some imaginary straw aside, ere he made
+answer.
+
+"Our Sainted King's most noble and gracious mother hath become (so
+saith the all-wise High Priest Zelas) too sacred a thing to be put in
+daily and hourly contact with the naughty world. Be it known to you, O
+Miriam, that the mother of Tothmes the Second will hereafter be
+powerless to do aught but pray, since she has this day been received
+into the cloistered nunnery of the Sisterhood of Perpetual Silence."
+
+"To our One God, Jehovah, I offer my thanks," said Miriam fervently,
+"but, my lord, do you not fear to speak thus openly to me, for it must
+surely be known to you that from my mistress I will keep no word?"
+
+"For that matter," answered Alric lightly, "you and I have but one
+life purpose. I, _too_, keep nothing concealed from the Princess
+Hatsu. Listen, I will unfold to you now more serious matters. I,
+Alric, hold the peace, the happiness, the life of the Princess Hatsu
+in my power, and for my service the price I ask shall be one gift--I
+want Miriam, the daughter of Abram to wife."
+
+With a cry, Miriam rose to her feet and stood before Alric, moved
+(she did not question why) by an anger quite unknown to her in any
+hour of her past life.
+
+"Spy! Coward!!" she said, her pink cheeks flamed to a deep red, her
+eyes blazed with scorn, and her splendid figure seemed as fixed as a
+graven image. "You shall find that for all your cunning there will
+open for you _no vulnerable place_ in the armor of my loyalty to my
+mistress! Aye, all your brutal showing of your freeman's power over my
+bondage and my woman's weakness cannot reach my SOUL! I, Miriam,
+_defy_ you to gain from me in the future one word I do not choose to
+speak. Let the Princess make a free gift of her bondwoman! _to you!_
+and I must submit to the inevitable, but mark me, no word that the
+Princess ever has _said_, or will _say_, shall come _to you_ through
+me! and every word that _you_ have _said_ or _will say_ shall be
+whispered into her ear. My Lord Alric, in my young childhood the late
+King took me from among mine own people to be the companion of his
+daughter. He gave to my father a place of honor and trust among the
+builders, and the Princess has cherished me with sisterly tenderness.
+If you will that I die for it here at your feet, still I _swear_ not
+to become your _tool_, even though I be your _slave_, aye, to my God I
+swear it!"
+
+The Captain had moved a pace or two back from Miriam as she spoke,
+and as he listened to her every word he put one of his hands into the
+folds of his toga and drew from thence a small disk of glass. He never
+took his eyes from Miriam's eyes; his gaze was fixed, and intense, and
+as she had gone on with her speech, it was perceptible that all
+unconsciously a subtle power was weaving itself about her. A sense,
+not of faintness, but rather of pleasant numbness stole slowly and
+softly over Miriam, mind and nerves, and a sweet peace that stayed the
+angry torrent of her blood, and brought a smile to her lips came, when
+she heard (as in a dream) these words.
+
+"By my shield and buckler, by my good sword, I swear to you, that I am
+loyal to the Princess Hatsu."
+
+A change was passing over the girl's face. She still stood before him,
+erect, and calm, but expression was fading out. The look that the dead
+wear was with her. Her color had fled, giving place to ashen wanness,
+and the light in her beautiful eyes was dimmed. Her mouth grew set,
+her nostrils pinched, and her breathing came in great waves of effort.
+Alric now raised his other hand and moved it to and fro above the
+girl's head, to a sort of measured time, repeating slowly, crooningly,
+and softly:
+
+    "Go to sleep!
+    G-o t-o s-l-e-e-p.
+    G--o t--o s--l--e--e--p."
+
+Then he lowered the hand above her, gently pushed her back onto the
+stone bench from which she had risen, and rested her rigid head
+against the wall.
+
+Then it was that her sob-like breathing ceased and, save that her eyes
+were widely open and staring, one would have said that Miriam had
+found her way into slumberland.
+
+Keeping the disk of glass before her eyes, Alric spoke:
+
+"Spirit," he said softly, "spirit, what dost thou here?"
+
+And from the white lips came the answer:
+
+"I wait to do thy bidding, my Lord."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+
+"Spirit," he said, "give me the name of thy master."
+
+"My earthly master," she made answer, "is one Alric, the grandson of
+Emil, who was called the wise man of Damascus."
+
+"It is well, oh spirit. And although now, thou dost abide in a clay
+tenement, that the humanity of this generation, name Miriam, the
+Israelitish maiden, I know full well that thou, the soul, the life
+principal, can in memory go so far back, through eons of time, that
+its mention would be meaningless to the world of to-day; yet, because
+thou hast responded to my power, I know, oh spirit, that we have met
+before, that we came close in love, or hate, and that in the evolution
+of law, and order, we have met again. Tell me of that time. Speak of
+our past, oh spirit, it is my will."
+
+"My name was Gweneth," answered a voice (that was not Miriam's voice
+at all). "In that fleshly captivity I abode far to the westward. My
+land was over many leagues of immeasureable water. The nation,
+powerful then, is forgotten; its people are dust; its cities buried in
+the bowels of the earth.
+
+"You were my father's favorite knight--and his two daughters loved
+you; you were bold, and wooed them both in secret, and apart; but one
+that watched, made speed to tell the King! And it was so grave a crime
+that naught but life, could be its expiation, and yet, you had said no
+word; had only looked into her eyes and mine.
+
+"The day of doom came, and all were gathered to see the archer twang
+his bow, and mark how surely the sharp arrow should find your heart;
+but they who watched, saw a stranger sight. Behold! one arrow did set
+free three souls.
+
+"The winds of destiny parted us asunder; and through a dreary, dreary
+length of time, have I wandered. A myriad times have I been born, and
+lived, and died, and never in this infinite migration once beheld the
+soul I sought, until in Egypt's land, a slave, a bondmaid, I serve my
+sister now the Princess Hatsu. I kneel, to do the bidding of my
+father's knight who is called Alric now."
+
+"It is well, sweet Gweneth, we are met again. Now tell me all thou
+dost know concerning the life of Hatsu the Egyptian Princess?"
+
+"Alas, beloved, thou canst gain no secret knowledge concerning the
+Princess Hatsu from me, for the God to whom Miriam, the Israelitish
+maiden, prays is mightier than all the gods of Egypt. All thought,
+beloved, is of the soul, and I, Gweneth, dare not approach to read
+what is written in the mind of this Heaven-guarded maid, Miriam."
+
+An exclamation of irritation escaped from Alric's lips; and in that
+moment Miriam stirred, as one does who is about to awake; but he
+hastily made some passes above her head with his hand, and once more
+acknowledging his hypnotic power, she grew still.
+
+"Come, sweet Gweneth," he said gently, "time flies and thou must
+follow Hatsu on her way. Tell me what thou seest?"
+
+Miriam raised her head, and lifted her arm, placing her hand above her
+eyes, as one does who peers into the distance.
+
+"She is wending her way along a road," she said, "a narrow road,
+walled in and lighted by lamps, enclosed in globes of dull red glass,
+thus giving, if it were possible, a more grewsome effect to the
+creatures sepulchered there; but Hatsu has no dread, she has been used
+to count these things when living, as her friends, so she does not
+fear them dead! Neither does Hatsu's heart tremble, at the thought of
+meeting the great High Priest, although she knows that no woman has
+ever before beheld his face. Although she knows that when he ministers
+to the people, it is always behind the Temple's silken veil."
+
+"It is truth that thou speaketh, fair spirit, so lead on."
+
+"She is pausing," said Miriam, "for there has come to her ears the
+sound of voices. They the voices of a great company of priests, and
+they are repeating in low, even tones the prayers for the dead. She
+has prostrated herself upon the earth, and the priests forming in two
+lines, walk past her, swinging their golden censers right and left,
+and I can hear the voice of the Princess, joining in the petition, for
+the soul of her father--still on its journey to the kingdom that lies
+beyond the tomb. Now the sound of the singing grows fainter, the
+silence comes again, and Hatsu rises and goes on her way. She has
+reached a flight of broad stone steps. She is weary and the steps are
+many, but she presses on. She has reached the great door. She timidly
+touches it with her finger tips, but it swings noiselessly open, and
+she enters and finds herself within the temple."
+
+"Tell me of this temple."
+
+"It is a great hall, lofty and spacious, and it shines from floor to
+dome, with gold and silver and jewels. Panels of delicate yellow
+amber, give a satin-like touch of softness to the cold stone. The
+recesses that hold the cages of the sacred birds and beasts, are
+veiled by curtains of heavily embroidered silken stuffs, and all this
+splendor is added to by the brilliant lights that are set into the
+walls. Through the centre of the temple, and at intervals along its
+sides, are massive pillars of yellow and rose colored sand-stone.
+Beyond is the great altar, brilliant with lights, heavy with the
+fragrance of burning incense and of the sacred blossoms.
+
+"No human thing is in sight. The tame beasts and birds are wandering
+about the temple. They have noted the Princess's entrance, and are
+hastening to surround her.
+
+"Thus accompanied she is nearing the altar.
+
+"The heavy silken curtains are parting, and from between them there
+comes, not a man! but a god! the Sun God! in man's stature! He is
+exceeding tall and lithe and sinewy. He is in the zenith of manhood,
+neither young nor old.
+
+"His flesh is firm and white and colorless. His eyes are large and
+bright, and deeply blue, and his hair is as yellow as the sunbeam, and
+it falls in waves of glory about his shoulders.
+
+"His robe of blue and gold, is sprinkled with jewels as the dew
+sprinkles the green sward in the early morning time. He speaks, and
+his voice is like the tenderest note of music.
+
+"'Hatsu,' he says; 'Hatsu.' And the birds at the sound of his voice
+fly to him, and nestle against him, as children nestle close to a
+mother.
+
+"'Hatsu,' he says, 'daughter of Tothmes the First, draw near without
+fear, and mount the steps of the altar, and pass under the folds of
+the divine wings, into the sanctuary--the Holy of the Holies--and be
+thou not consumed.' With a cry Miriam rose and stretched out her arms.
+
+"God of my fathers," she wailed. "Save her! save Hatsu! Let no
+vengeance from any heathen god fall upon her, because in the madness
+of her grief, she has said defiant words! Stay their power, oh God, to
+turn Egypt's hope into the semblance of some defiled beast or bird.
+
+"She will not ask mercy from them, my strong, proud Princess! She
+knows not what fear may mean! Her eyes are calm, her lips are parted
+in a quiet smile; no fate can daunt her!
+
+"As I speak, lo! following the Sun God, she has passed through the
+folds! she stands on the other side of the curtain. It is a bare,
+plain room. In the centre of the apartment is set a rude table and a
+few chairs. The man with the golden hair speaks.
+
+"'Princess,' he says, 'I have bidden that you come thither, that I may
+speak in your ear, concerning that, which can no longer be cherished
+by me alone. I am, Princess, Zelas, the High Priest of Osirus.
+
+"'I am, at your father's behest, left to guide, and to guard you, I
+am left with the power to place you on the throne of Egypt, a virgin
+queen.
+
+"'Full well our late King knew, that his people could not be ruled
+over by his eldest son (his sister's child) who has not so much wisdom
+as yonder gibbering ape, and Ashel, Tothmes the Second's mother, the
+King had discovered to be a creature of mean cunning, and low
+covetuousness, and he saw in your second brother, an artful and
+ambitious plotter. Listen, oh Princess, while I rehearse to you the
+earth story of Tothmes the first. He was a born King, a statesman, and
+a diplomat, from the earliest day of his reign, Egypt was his constant
+and absorbing thought, Her power, Her glory, Her advancement, his
+waking theme.
+
+"'He revolutionized the army, added ships to the depleted squadrons on
+the sea, enlarged and beautified the temple of Ammon, and built the
+pyramid of Cheops--thus enabling the Scientists of his day, to bring
+to a completion, much that had never before been deemed possible of
+demonstration, in electricity, astronomy, and mathematics.
+
+"'It was at his bidding, that Egypt, after ten centuries of isolation,
+flung wide her gates, and welcomed to the marts of trade, the commerce
+of the outer world.
+
+"'He encouraged his people to export all their various manufactured
+and agricultural products, urging upon them the wisdom of learning
+from other nations, all that was best and most progressive in the arts
+and sciences.
+
+"'Thus it came to pass, that the King took small heed to his personal
+surroundings.
+
+"'Forced to marry--for state reasons--his own sister, a woman of
+repulsive appearance, and unlovable character, the domestic ties
+weighed lightly upon him.
+
+"'Being a scientist, he felt no surprise at the issue of this
+marriage.
+
+"'He knew that if the mating of near kin, is not thought wise for the
+horse, and hound, it must perforce prove disastrous, in humankind.
+
+"'The other son--a concubine's child--was brought into the world in
+accordance with the wishes of his ministers of state, who trembled at
+the thought of the idiot prince being sole heir to the kingdom.
+
+"'Thus matters stood, until one day when weary of the affairs of camp,
+and court, the King disguised his royalty, and wandered incognito
+through the city of Thebes, and he came at last to the quarter of the
+market place, set aside for the slave traders and their human
+merchandise.
+
+"'It was a scene that stirred the great heart with pity!
+
+"'The long, low building formed a square of considerable size, and
+after mounting a pair of steps, the King found himself in a hall,
+around which ran a platform of wood, encompassing every side of the
+apartment.
+
+"'This platform was divided into pens, shut in by wooden railings, and
+in these pens were confined human beings who were exposed for sale.
+
+"'These men and women represented life from earliest infancy to infirm
+age.
+
+"'In color they were from the blackest ebony to the whitest snowdrift.
+
+"'Walking about were merchants, and buyers, loudly commenting upon the
+occupants of the cages.
+
+"'The black folk for sale, either stared out upon these buyers, and
+sellers, with a stolid indifference, or with closed eyes, seemed wrapt
+in total oblivion of their surroundings.
+
+"'The white men, either paced nervously up and down their limited
+enclosure, or sat looking out, with inquiring eyes, that spoke of a
+questioning mind.
+
+"'The white women huddled together in groups, with their arms entwined
+and their faces full of silent sadness.
+
+"'One of the traders approached a cage within which the most highly
+priced group of the market were confined.
+
+"'He was followed by a portly, unctuous Egyptian, whose best years
+were behind him, and on whose bestial face was written the story of
+sensual indulgence.
+
+"'The merchant unlocked the door of this cage, and entering, selected
+from among the now pale and trembling group the particular slave that
+the fat Egyptian had indicated with his forefinger.
+
+"'Roughly seizing her by the arm, the merchant forced her to stand up;
+then pushing her before him (with no gentle hand) he brought her out
+of the cage--which he carefully re-locked--and bade her "go to the
+purchaser."
+
+"'The fat Egyptian, surveyed the girl, from head to foot, to the
+accompaniment, of the merchant's monotonous chanting, of her especial
+physical charms and at just the right time, in his oration, he placed
+one of his hands, on the back of the girl's neck, and with the other
+he jerked her head to his shoulder, and pried open the beautiful
+mouth, calling upon the purchaser, to examine the whiteness, and the
+soundness of her teeth.
+
+"'He next pinched her neck, and her arms, to show the firm quality of
+the flesh.
+
+"'As the trader drew aside the loose toga of linen, and displayed the
+small beautiful breast, the Egyptian who had before haggled and
+hesitated, began to draw out his purse and the girl looking up and
+seeing the other man--a man in whose eyes dwelt compassion for her
+helplessness--said softly the one word "Mercy."
+
+"'Then a courage born of his sheltering presence, came to her, and she
+removed the pin that held her golden hair and it fell like a mantle of
+light, all about her.
+
+"'The disguised monarch, impelled, by some strange force spoke:
+
+"'"Stay thy hand oh buyer," he said. "Thy bargain, is not sealed. _I_
+bid for this _slave_ a thousand more pieces of gold, and I will pay as
+much _more_ for the little lad, from whose arms she was untwined."
+
+"'Whether or not, the Egyptian saw through the king's disguise none
+can tell; but with many profound saalams, he expressed his
+willingness, to yield all _claim_, and making another appointment with
+the dealer, withdrew, leaving the king alone with the merchant.
+
+"'"Tell me," said the King, "of this maiden's past? Surely so fair a
+woman was not born for captivity!"
+
+"'"No my lord," answered the slave merchant, "none of these of the
+white skin are born slaves. Our vessels with well-armed crews thread
+the distant seas and visit remote lands in search of human gems. Our
+men seek some sequestered spot along the coast, wherein they may hide
+the ship, then they divide themselves, into companies, and steal to
+the main land, and watch about the villages, and towns until the
+husbands and fathers go off to the chase, or to do battle; then they
+enter the unprotected settlements, and securing such among the women
+and the children as seem salable, make off with them. It is a pleasant
+trade, my lord, and profitable."'"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+
+"'That night the white slave slept upon the King of Egypt's breast and
+the boy (her brother) the king in his pleasure, made such provision
+for that he was safe and happy evermore.'"
+
+As Miriam repeated these last words, Alric bent close, and his eyes
+seemed to be striving, to find in her expression some thing that her
+words did not reveal to him. "It was a spring song, this last love of
+Tothmes the first," went on Miriam, "for the blossom he had gathered,
+could not bear the transplanting, even though the garden was the home
+of a king, and so it came to pass that when her child was born,
+Grunheld, in a delirium of fever, that followed the hours of pain,
+talked in the language of a strange people, and one, who stood
+near--the great physician of the realm, a man versed in many tongues
+told the King,--that she spoke of an island home, over a great waste
+of waters, of breeze swept, rain washed hills, and then laying upon
+the altar, of some unknown God, chaplets of prayer,--the King's love,
+passed out of Mizram, and was not.--That she should not, in her
+journey of three thousand years, be forced to abide in the bodies of
+bird, beast, or reptile, the King, had her fair form, made ready, for
+sacred embalmment, and while the work progressed, there was no pause
+for breath, so thick and fast came the prayers, that the long sleep
+might not be broken.
+
+"And when the body was wrapped, and the priestly office for the dead
+accomplished, they laid the young stranger, in a rock chamber, and for
+her comfort, filled the room with all things needful, for a soul's
+journey should she by chance (in spite of prayer and charm) awake.
+
+"Then all that human love could do, being accomplished, the King
+turned him to his motherless child, Hatsu.
+
+"Now from her earliest childhood, the Princess Hatsu was beloved by
+the people, for in her outward form, she bore no trace of her alien
+mother's race; her skin was Egypt's clear transparent olive, her eyes
+dark, and langourous, her hair long, smooth, and easily dyed to the
+royal color.
+
+"But the soul of Hatsu, was the soul of her mother, not proud, and
+distant, was she, like Egypt's royal women, but gentle, and kind to
+all men, reverent to the Gods, and obedient to those in authority.
+
+"So it was not strange that she was beloved save by one, and that one
+the mother of her half brother the Idiot prince, now, King Tothmes the
+Second of Egypt.
+
+"The Idiot prince was her devoted slave, following her about like a
+faithful dog, and only showing glimmerings of intelligence, when his
+sister addressed him.
+
+"The other brother,--the concubine's son,--honored her too--and though
+selfish and crafty by nature he seemed--and seems to this day--her
+true and faithful friend.
+
+"This Princess is the story of thy life, until this hour as it is
+written in the sacred chronicle of our most holy order."
+
+As Zelas has thus spoken our Princess has drawn nearer, and nearer to
+his side.
+
+His quiet unmoved voice, has fallen like a benediction of peace upon
+her troubled heart. Hope is springing anew within her breast, and now
+that he has ceased, they are looking into each other's eyes, she
+kneels at his feet.
+
+"Holy father," she says. "I come to thee, in this my hour of need for
+council and guidance. Listen my lord! Standing beside the form of my
+departing father, I took solemn oath to Osirus to wed Tothmes the
+Second, to be Egypt's Queen.
+
+"My Lord, it is said, that the great Osirus, has given to you, the
+power to read the innermost thoughts of men. If this be true--small
+need, to tell you that the girl kneeling at your feet would joyfully
+lay down her young life, and enter the body of the most degraded thing
+that walks or crawls. Aye that she would rather abide in any evil
+form, through every hour of the next three thousand years! than
+endure one fleeting day, of such life as the coming Queenship implies.
+
+"My lord, I will speak to you, that which I dare scarce breathe to my
+own soul. I _know_ what it is to love. He, who is dearer to me than
+aught else in time, or endless eternity hath not a dream, that this is
+so; but, love like mine, is satisfied with the giving, it asks no
+more, than just to _love silently_ on, to live a _lonely_ empty _life_
+made fragrant by purity, and sanctified by prayer. Let me, I pray
+thee, my Lord, be committed to some sisterhood. With thy mighty power
+save me from the awful doom that Queenship with my brother Tothmes
+means."
+
+Miriam stops, she leans forward, and sways as though about to fall. "I
+can see no more," she says slowly, "a mist has arisen, my eyes, can
+not pierce it. I pray thee, let me rest."
+
+Alric, white to the lips, made with precision, a series of passes,
+before the fixed glassy eyes. His strong breast heaved, the muscles of
+his brawny arms stood out, and drops of sweat beaded his brow. With a
+deep sigh, the lips of the girl began to move, and she said: "I see
+the lips of the high priest quiver, there are tears in his God-like
+eyes, and he has laid two trembling hands upon Hatsu's head.
+
+"'My sister's child,' he is saying, 'gather my words and garner them
+deep in your heart, for you alone I live, for you--if need be--I die.'
+
+"'To the Idiot you must plight a solemn troth; but listen, Tothmes the
+Second, has been taken from his mother's side. Never will she speak
+word to him more, for ere this, by my command she has entered one of
+the nunneries, set apart for holy women, who night and day, for the
+enduring glory of Osirus, keep the lamps, filled with sacred oil, and
+tend the temple fires. Princess, thou shall make marriage vow to
+Tothmes; but he shall be safe kept, by one to whom I would trust _my
+life, my all_, a man who is honor's self! Whose every thought is known
+to me, as mine to him, in the hands and under the guidance of Alric,
+captain of the King's guards, I place the so-called _King_.'"
+
+A great sob broke from Alric's throat, and he made a movement, as
+though to break the trance, but the action was so rapid as to almost
+be lost sight of in the look of intense resolve the look of
+indomitable will that took its place.
+
+"'If,' went on Miriam, 'Tothmes the Second die, and Tothmes the Third
+ascend the throne, thou shalt still, be queen, for over Tothmes the
+Third, does Alric hold an influence that is plastic as meal, and as
+strong as death. Aye, Hatsu, while I live, and while Alric lives thou
+shalt reign in Egypt. Aye, I swear it!'"
+
+At the echo of his words, which are uttered in a voice loud and
+clear, there comes a clash of brazen instruments of music, and the ear
+catches the cries, and the moans, and the twitter, and the coos of the
+sacred beasts and birds in the great temple beyond.
+
+Now the temple door creaks on its hinges! and there comes, the slow
+muffled droning notes, of a myriad voices, men's, and women's, and the
+voices of youths and maidens.
+
+Hatsu has again risen to her feet, her eyes are bright, a red rose
+glows in each cheek, and the great Zelas has bent and kissed her upon
+her brow.
+
+He is calling the doves that have been fluttering about the apartment.
+They come at his bidding, and he places them upon Hatsu's shoulders;
+and upon her outstretched arms.
+
+Into her hand he has put a great bunch of heliotrope, and now he
+sprinkles a strong elixir of catnip over the hem of the Princess'
+gown, and upon her sandalled feet.
+
+"Go," he says, "and stand before the people." And opening the curtains
+a little way, he thrusts her forth! and as the silken folds fall back,
+behind her, the people hear the voice! that makes all men, high or
+low, rich, or poor, simple, or wise, tremble! the voice of the awful
+invisible High Priest Zelas, calling to them:
+
+"Behold your Queen! Hatsu, beloved of Osirus, dear to all the Gods,
+Hatsu, the Queen!"
+
+And there she stands, so young, so fair, so dove encircled! and all
+about her are fawning the sacred cats licking her sandalled feet, and
+the hem of her garment, and the people are crying out as with one
+voice:
+
+"ALL HAIL TO OUR GODDESS, QUEEN HATSU!! ALL HAIL!! AMEN AND AMEN!!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+
+As Miriam uttered the last words, Alric replaced the glass disk that
+he had been holding, in the bosom of his toga, he dropped his raised
+hands, and the Israelite closed her eyes, and her head fell upon her
+breast and she slept.
+
+Then Alric folded his arms and looked at the girl.
+
+"I would," he said softly, as to himself, "that you could know, sweet
+Miriam, that there is a something within me, crying '_Shame_, upon
+this power I wield;' but the necessity is great, and fate has made you
+the medium by which I may gain my end. I have sought Egypt for a
+subject upon whom I might yield perfect illusory impression, an
+impression conveyed by hypnotic suggestion to make me master of the
+actions, and spoken words of another, who is the next link in the
+human chain to this, my subject.
+
+"Oh, that this occult science, were less feebly understood in my day!
+Oh, that I may be re-born into that to come in the world's history,
+when this power shall be truly a subjective phenomena! a servant of
+man! when it shall, in its three stages of lethargy, somnambulism, and
+catelepsy, be used for the good of mankind in the arts of medicine
+and surgery, to a time when the priest physician, who believes in
+cure through faith, the priest physician who believes in cure through
+the cast-off garments of saints, or the charms of philtre and prayer
+wheel, shall be swept away, with the chaff and the dross! A time when
+the priest physician shall be the scientist, who can understand the
+harmony of the unseen, and apply it to the daily and hourly life
+conditions, and needs.
+
+"How far,--now having found my medium--shall I be able to use her?
+
+"I must take this woman into my own life. If she were any other than
+the property of the Princess, my gold and influence could buy her, as
+it is I must ask her from Hatsu. Not in the marriage of a master to a
+concubine, but through all the sacred Egyptian rights of vow and ring.
+Yes, I shall wed you, Miriam, and you will love me, and in the
+fullness of time you will bear me a son. Aye, carry it under your
+heart, and bring it forth unconscious of your motherhood. For I will
+keep you in entrancement through those days and safe hid from all eyes
+save Hatsu's and my own, and when the time has been accomplished Hatsu
+shall take the child, and holding it before the people, proclaim it
+her son and heir!
+
+"That Zelas is true to me, I now know, beyond all doubt. Zelas,
+Hatsu's uncle! Of what sad comminglings are we made! my soul and heart
+are crying out in pity, and yet my mortal mind, my scholar's
+questioning, urges me on----"
+
+But--he pauses--his quick ear detects a footstep--and looking up he
+sees coming slowly toward him the Princess.
+
+She walks with her lithe young body held erect, as though the
+generations of poising the urn upon the shoulder, had made a graceful
+carriage of the body, an Egyptian woman's distinguishing
+characteristic.
+
+As she draws still nearer, Alric kneels, and with bowed head awaits
+her command, "to rise."
+
+"Faithful Friend," said the sweet low voice "rejoice with me, my
+mission has prospered, on the morrow I go out of this city of sorrow,
+to meet, and to greet my sovereign lord, the King; my husband, that is
+to be."
+
+Alric took the hem of the Princess' robe, and touched it to his lips.
+
+"All hail sovereign Queen!" he said softly. "Egypt's sun by day, her
+moon by night."
+
+It was merciful, that he could not see the look of hungry, wistful
+woman's love, that she bent upon him, kneeling there; but he _could_
+hear, the quick fluttering breaths. He _could see_ the jewelled hands,
+held tight against her beating heart.
+
+"My queen," he said, "here among your sacred dead, I give my life, to
+your service."
+
+He had risen and they were looking into each other's faces; then, as
+if recalling Miriam for the first time, the princess with anxious eyes
+sought her maid, and seeming in one glance, to realize what Alric had
+done, her pale face flushed, and her gray eyes showed angry light.
+
+"How dare you trifle, with that which is most precious to me!" she
+said.
+
+"Quick undo the spell that binds her! Miriam! sister! Hatsu calls!
+Awake!"
+
+But Miriam slept on, and something in the unbroken silence of the man
+beside her, made Hatsu turn imploringly to him.
+
+"Surely my lord," she said. "You who know how dear Miriam is to me,
+can not hurt or wrong me through her! surely you know, that should
+this wanton act of yours, ever come to her, with the added knowledge,
+that I did not reprove you most severely, Miriam would turn from me,
+in scorn preferring _torture_ and _death_, to serving so false and
+thankless a mistress."
+
+"My Princess listen! No idle impulse has led to this unnatural
+slumber, in which you find Miriam, it has been induced, that I might
+gain the one chance, the only chance perhaps in our present life, to
+speak with you alone."
+
+"You are bold my lord!"
+
+"Aye but not so bold, as to do aught but prove to you my loyalty. 'Tis
+true it is but seldom, oh gracious bride of Tothmes the Second, that
+a subject forces upon the ear of his sovereign queen, his personal
+confidence and seeks the aid of the throne itself, to further his
+selfish aims, and ambitions! yet I Alric, venture into this untrodden
+path, and ask your interest, and may hap (since you have a gentle
+heart) your sympathy. Know then future queen, that at the court of
+Tothmes the Second--and very close to his throne--_my soul lives_, for
+it is there, the only woman I have ever loved, shall abide.
+
+"She is by birth and station, so far above me, that to love her, is
+like loving a star in heaven! but oh queen (that is to be) such love
+as mine knows no repining, because the object of its worship is beyond
+mortal possession! love such as mine, finds only joy in the thought
+that eons of what we call time, may stretch out, before I can take
+unto myself this other self but while I wait I can serve.
+
+"Listen! In and about the court of Tothmes the Second, lurk unnumbered
+dangers, for my _love_. All that I crave at the _queen's_ hands, is
+the power, to stand her sentinel, to guard her night, and day, day,
+and night, so long as my time on the earth continues."
+
+He ceased to speak, and stood in respectful attitude, awaiting her
+reply.
+
+"Love, that is faithful, pure, and true, is a gift from the Gods, my
+lord," she said. "And the woman that calls forth this affection (who
+e'er she be) should feel that nothing earth or heaven could give,
+could crown her with more _honor_ or more _glory_, aye, for love like
+this she should gladly renounce all else; speak on my lord."
+
+"My princess, there is but one way, _through_, and by _which_, I may
+serve my love, there is but one way in which I can guard her, and it
+comes through a gift from you to me. On the day in which you wed
+yonder _great_, and sainted _King_, give me as _wife_ not as _slave_,
+but as free woman _Miriam_."
+
+With a cry the Princess, all unmindful of past, and future, with no
+thought of Queenship, or of station, flung her arms about the neck of
+the man, and nestled close to him so that her warm lips touched his
+brown throat.
+
+"Not that!" she moaned, "not that! Ask from me any other woman high,
+or low, rich, or poor, bound, or free! and she is yours but not
+_Miriam_!
+
+"I have loved her, and she has loved me, and she _knows_ my soul, she
+has read my most sacred thoughts. If," (she cried looking up into his
+face) "if I thought, that _she_ had been false to me, if I thought,
+that she had _dared_ to love _you_! if I thought that you loved her, I
+would kill her as she sleeps, and then thrust the wet blade, into my
+own heart."
+
+He took the girl's arms from about his neck, and laid her head upon
+his breast. He drew her close to him, and bent down and kissed her
+lips--he said words to her that only complete possession justifies,
+and she answered with the silence of acceptance, the silence of
+unspoken gladness. How long they stood thus, locked in each others'
+arms, they never knew, for time and place are not spiritual
+attributes, and they had been lifted above the finite. It was Miriam
+stirring in her sleep, that came to be the Angel with the Sword, to
+drive them out, of their Eden! and the woman, wrapped her naked heart,
+in a mantle of crimson blushes, and the man rudely thrust away the
+light frail form, and fled to Miriam's side, and by a few passes kept
+back _still_--_a little longer_--her returning consciousness.
+
+Hatsu was the first to speak.
+
+"My lord," she said quietly, "ask your gift at my hands, and she shall
+be thine."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+
+Miriam had begun to stir, she raised her head, opened her eyes, and
+rubbed them sleepily as a child does in the early morning; then, she
+looked up, and saw Alric standing beside her.
+
+"You were saying to me, my lord, 'I vow to be loyal to Hatsu;' but, we
+were both standing!" she looked perplexed, then troubled; "did I
+swoon, my lord?"
+
+Alric laid one of his hands, with the freedom of a free man on the
+beautiful shoulder of the slave, with his other arm he drew her to
+him. With a mighty effort, she loosed herself from his hold, her face
+deadly pale, her nostrils distended.
+
+"My lord," she said slowly, "do not lay so much as the tip of your
+finger upon me!"
+
+"As you will," he said, shrugging his shoulders; "but in answer to
+your question, Miriam, you did not swoon, but fell asleep here, alone
+with me! it will not be the last time my pretty one, that this shall
+befall you, for I am to receive you as wife, from our princess on the
+day in which she weds her brother the king."
+
+Miriam said no word, she only looked at him as though she strove to
+read his soul.
+
+"My lord," she said at last, "the Princess will _never_ grant this
+request, she knows full well that in all this land, none is so
+faithful as her Miriam; she knows that I have almost ceased to mourn
+the captivity of my people, because she is so dear to my heart. My
+lord, I shall be no wife to you, I am a slave, and it ill becomes me
+to say _nay_ to one so high in authority, but my lord it can not be
+because I----"
+
+Alric had stepped close to her. "I do not care for your _why's_, and
+_wherefores_," he said haughtily, "it is because you _are_ so loyal,
+to the Princess, it is because I am bound body and soul to her
+service, that you _must come to me_. Thus only can the queen be sure
+to keep you beside her, enemies might, spirit away an Israelitish
+bondwoman; but who is _there_ that would _touch_ the _free wife_ of
+Alric, the beloved and adopted son of Zelas, the great high priest. So
+there is nothing but your death, that can prevent this union of ours,
+and I scarcely think your aversion to me, can be so great, as for you
+to take that road to balk my wishes." A ring of command sounded in his
+voice as he added, "Girl, I come of a race who, when they woo a maid,
+win her! a few days hence, with ring bell and pomgranate, will I wed
+_you_ and in my city house, and on my estates amid the lake country
+you will reign a free woman, when your duties upon the Princess permit
+of your absence from service upon Her Highness."
+
+"I _am a_ slave," answered Miriam, "and it ill becomes me to say
+aught, to the man, that has power to take me out of bondage, and make
+me free. I do not lack in gratitude to you my lord, and for the
+Princess, I would gladly lay down my _life_, only I _fancied_ I----"
+
+"Again I bid you pause," interrupted Alric; "telling one's thoughts,
+is not often wise. Accept thou that which the _Gods provide_, Miriam;
+not troubling much. You are to be mine! and knowing this, be content;
+but, for your enduring comfort let me repeat, that this marriage of
+ours only cements your nearness to the woman that you adore,--and who
+adores you--I am to be the constant companion of the King; you of the
+Queen."
+
+"The King!" again Miriam's eyes searched his face "then after all, it
+is to be, this dreadful _wedding_! that shall mate beauty to the
+beast!"
+
+For answer Alric pointed to the Princess, who now appeared at the
+turning of the road close at hand, and smiling hastened toward them.
+
+There were tears glittering in the soft dark eyes of Hatsu, as she
+drew Miriam to her breast and kissed her brow.
+
+"My sister," she said, "those that rule the destinies of Egypt, have
+taken knowledge of Miriam the Israelite, and knowing that she is
+without spot or blemish, pure as the whitest flower, guileless as the
+newborn child, they bid Miriam _live_ in unquestioning submission, the
+life that is pointed out to her by Hatsu, and Alric; and in some
+future state where love and ambition mean the highest, and the best,
+then may Hatsu and Alric open wide their souls and lay the _secret_
+burden of motive and purpose at Miriam's feet, and may she find it in
+her heart to forgive them, and love them still.
+
+"I go dear Miriam, from hence, on the morrow, to meet and to wed my
+lord; and now the hour being late let us hasten back to the palace,
+that we may be ready for our journey."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+
+"Some force, that is resistless, doth command me to on this night,
+take pen and papyrus page, and write upon it, much that fills my mind.
+I seem impelled to speak words concerning the lives of those among
+whom destiny has placed me. Keen as my memory is to-day, time will
+dull it, and thereby cause me to lose my hold upon some of the
+threads, that are useful to me, in solving the enigma of men, and the
+motives that govern them.
+
+"I am possessed of a series of hieroglyphics, whose meaning is known
+but to a few wise men in the civilized world; so I may safely speak
+upon this page, and first I choose to describe myself.
+
+"I was born--a posthumous child--in the house of my paternal
+grandsire, he was one of the most learned of Syria's priesthood; a man
+who had lived so much, and so long in an atmosphere of spiritual
+conditions, that he scarcely seemed of earth.
+
+"His food consisted of a few herbs, and roots, he drank naught save
+water, which he bent down to receive with his lips from the spring
+itself.
+
+"Of my father I know little; my mother was a gentle inoffensive soul;
+one of those negative creations, that pass through a state of being,
+making it neither better nor worse for the impress.
+
+"I was born in the spring time, and at the evening hour--when twilight
+goes to meet the night.
+
+"A strange phenomenon was taking place! Upon our land of mildest and
+balmiest clime had come a bitter cold, and a white frozen rain poured
+from the sky and covered the ground.
+
+"Scarce had I uttered my first wail, than the midwife heard close
+beside me, the warbling of an unseen bird, and all about me (while it
+continued to sing) there was a nimbus of light, bright and star like.
+
+"This condition, or occurrence, was repeated for several days at the
+same hour, and for the same space of time, and my grandsire who was
+present, after the first demonstration, prophesied that I should be
+able to control to my will, the destinies of all with whom I came in
+contact, so long as mind, governed my decisions, and not sentiment; he
+said that my danger would lay in the power that two women should
+possess over me.
+
+"When I had arrived at an age to permit of instruction, my grandsire
+carried me away from the city and we abode many days in the desert.
+
+"So keen was my sense of the occult, that it took but little space of
+time, for me to grasp, all that he had to teach, and when I questioned
+why it was, that what had taken him seventy years to acquire, came to
+me in as many days, he made answer in these words:
+
+"'Know oh Alric--beloved of my soul--that thy form alone is mortal,
+all thy senses are quickened by the spirit. Love and hate, joy, and
+sorrow, shall not touch thee. All this, did I knew before I saw thy
+face, while still thy mother cherished thee beneath her heart.'
+
+"Then my grandsire told me he had been warned in a dream, that he was
+soon to be called to lay aside the garment of the flesh, for a robe of
+light--that he was to proceed to a higher circle of doing, and being,
+and, it had been given him to prophesy to me, that Tothmes the First
+the great King of Egypt, would shortly arrive in Syria, that he should
+be drawn to me by chords of love, and fatherly affection, that he
+should ask me, of the King, and of my grandsire, promising I should be
+reared as his own son, and even taking his kingly oath, that upon my
+arrival at manhood's time, I should, under the order of the great high
+Priest Zelas, be invested with power as an officer in the King of
+Egypt's army.
+
+"And even so it came to be. _I_ Alric lived beside the good King, and
+sat at the feet of Zelas, the high Priest, and learned of him.
+He,--Zelas--taught me priestly law, and I in return taught him to love
+me as a son.
+
+"The two princes, the Idiot (who is King to-day) and the scholar (who
+shall be King in some to-morrow) I hold in my thrall! and Hatsu what
+shall I say of the Princess? Is she one of the women, of whom my
+grandsire spoke? and what of Miriam?
+
+"Only time shall tell."
+
+
+_End of Part First._
+
+
+
+
+PART II.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+
+Eighteen times has the year been born, grown old, and died, since in
+the vaulted sarcophagus, in the city of Abydos Hatsu, Miriam, and
+Alric, stood and spoke with one another.
+
+In the great scrolls that chronicled the history of Egypt's national
+life, one can read how after leaving the city of Abydos, with her
+retinue, the princess journeyed to the royal city, where to meet her,
+reposing in a golden chariot, came King Tothmes the Second.
+
+You will read how the Princess alighting from her chariot, went on
+foot, to the King, then, kneeling upon the earth kissed with her red
+lips, his sandalled feet and the hem of his robe.
+
+That, when she then arose, she was so wan, that those who beheld her
+feared lest death would snatch her from her bridegroom's arms!
+
+You will read, how the mighty sovereign Tothmes the Second,
+recognizing in Hatsu, his long absent sister, clapped his hands, and
+laughed for joy, and then of how the trumpets pealed! and the bells
+rang out!
+
+You will read that the wedding day dawned, and that great was the
+splendor of the raiment wherewith all the court were decked, of how
+the High Priest Zelas stood for the first time before the people and
+because of the exceeding glory, and brightness of his presence how
+some were stricken _blind_ and some fell _dead_.
+
+You will read how peace and prosperity filled the land, how all
+industries flourished. How the sainted king, and his sister, the
+queen, lived in perfect happiness. Their only sorrow being, that no
+child came to them.
+
+And how at last, after many years, the prayers of the faithful and
+holy ones, were answered. For Queen Hatsu walked upon the upper court
+of her palace holding out to the people her hour old son.
+
+You will read of the joy with which Egypt welcomed this child and then
+it will be seen that the little Prince grew and throve and was his
+father's constant playmate and companion.
+
+You will read how all that pertained to the dealings with foreign
+nations was entrusted to Alric, Mizram's great general. And how in the
+campaigns into Punt, and the far regions beyond, the Queen, Hatsu, led
+the Army, fighting like a man in the field, and sharing the brunt of
+war with her soldiers. Thus was it, until the time of which we now
+shall speak.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+
+The city residence of Alric, general in command of Their Majesties'
+forces, was within the palace enclosure.
+
+The house was two stories in height, the ground being used for the
+servants' quarters, offices, store-rooms, and the like, while the
+upper floor, was divided into commodious apartments and the flat top
+roof covered with linen awnings, forming a luxurious roof garden,
+where the master, his family and friends, were wont to spend their
+waking hours after sunset, for in Egypt the storms are so infrequent,
+that only once or twice in a hundred years is there any down pouring.
+
+The structure of the house, was of burnt brick, and built in the form
+of a quadrangle. In the center was a court, laid out in walks that
+were bright with beds of flowers, and foliage plants, all glistening
+with the spray, thrown upon them by innumerable fountains. There too,
+were tanks full of brilliant colored, swiftly darting fish, and pools
+where the Lotus blossoms, (flower and leaf,) grew and throve casting a
+penetrating sweetness upon the air.
+
+The stairway (as in all Egyptian mansions) was upon the outer side of
+the building, the floors were of some composite material and formed
+into squares of red and blue checker work, over which were laid rugs
+of white fur and large mats of colored camel's hair. About the rooms
+were scattered chairs, and divans, and tables of exquisite
+workmanship, the woods wonderfully polished and inlaid with gold and
+precious stones. And the chairs and lounges were cushioned and
+upholstered in rich silken stuffs.
+
+In the dining hall stood a huge sandal wood side-board not at all
+unlike in its fashioning, those used in houses a century ago and on
+this side-board were ranged golden flagons holding choice wines and
+cordials, golden filigree baskets, filled with fruits and flowers,
+golden goblets, and loving cups, golden ewers (or finger bowls) and
+delicate pottery; and there too, were to be found knives, and forks,
+and spoons.
+
+In this room were many little round tables covered with dainty linen
+cloths of purest white, beautifully embroidered about their edges in
+representation of roses, ferns, fruits, or berries.
+
+The walls were hung with trophies of the chase (for the Egyptian
+gentlemen were great hunters--and fishermen too) and in this dining
+room in the city house of Alric some famous artist had painted on the
+ceiling allegorical figures representing Pleasure, Plenty, and
+Hospitality; in this room as in all the others there was a charcoal
+stove because during the year there are chilly days in Egypt.
+
+Then there was the Library where on shelf after shelf, lay the papyrus
+and parchment scrolls holding a wealth of literature the science,
+history, poetry and fiction of many centuries.
+
+Beyond the Library after passing through a stone court one came to the
+bath. This was a high ceilinged apartment sweet and cool and fragrant
+and in its centre was set a deep pool of ever running water. All along
+the walls of this room were closets in which every article necessary
+for the bath was to be found. Brushes soft and hard, rough, and
+smooth, towels, ungents, oils, powders, perfumes and bags of brans and
+spices. This was not simply a luxury as in Egypt the preservation of
+health made it necessary to bathe at least five times daily.
+
+Seated at a table in his Library was the General in Chief of the
+Egyptian army and about him were gathered his staff.
+
+Time had dealt kindly with Alric; his clear skin showed no wrinkling,
+his mouth was still firm, his lips red, his hair (worn in the fashion
+of his youthful days) was thick and lustrous although it showed the
+touch of frost here and there, but there was in the stern firm face of
+the general no reminder of the merry captain of the guards.
+
+"Have you heard my lord," said one of the officers leaning forward,
+"that our King's new ships are exciting the admiration of all foreign
+nations?"
+
+"Why should they not?" cries another. "Who ever before had ships
+propelled at the same time by both oars and sails! each ship requiring
+thirty rowers and seventy sailors to man her?"
+
+"Is it true," asks another, "that an expedition is soon to be sent out
+to Punt to procure spice trees for our Botanical gardens?"
+
+"Let us hope," adds a handsome fellow, "that the ugly old Queen will
+not make this an opportunity to pay us another visit! never did I
+behold such a human monstrosity!"
+
+"But I have later news still," says another, taking as he speaks his
+cigarette from his lips and watching the smoke curl lazily up.
+
+"Our chancellor of state has by the King's command, ordered that the
+supply of straw shall no longer be brought to the brick yards
+hereafter, the Israelites must gather their own straw when the day's
+stint is over."
+
+A man with a cynical face broke in upon his neighbor's talk. "This is
+done," he said, "to give these strangers less time for rest, and if
+possible weaken their bodily force."
+
+"It is true," said another, "that they breed like lice and that the
+providing of grain and other produce for the consumption of the
+Israelites, depletes the granaries of Mizram at least one half." "As
+for their appetites," said Alric smiling, "I will not gainsay that
+they are a hearty people, and why should they not be hungry? Surely
+the bread of the laboring man should be sweet, but my dear Belthazur,
+I can not agree to the Lord Chancellor's dictum as regards
+prolificness, for my wife Miriam is an Israelite, and no child has
+blessed our bed lo! these many years."
+
+"I did not know, my lord," said the young officer blushing hotly,
+"that my Lady Miriam was an Israelite. I am from a distant Nome, and
+but a few years in the King's service, and so I beg you, pardon me."
+
+"Tut, tut," said the General, smiling kindly upon the young soldier,
+"the Lady Miriam is an individual Israelite, and we speak of the
+people, so I pray you go on." "To me," said another, "it is
+exasperating to see how humbly, how uncomplainingly these foreigners
+take every new infliction; if they even murmured, there might be
+something interesting in it, but by the gods! they say no word and bow
+lower and lower in quiet humility under each burden."
+
+"And," added another, "go on increasing more rapidly than ever."
+
+"But," said one who had not yet spoken, "none can call them coward or
+weakling who ever knew an Israelite to forsake his faith, he may be
+bound and forced into a bodily submission, but his soul, he keeps
+loyal and steadfast to the service of his one God, Jehovah."
+
+"Yes," said the cynical man, "had they been less obstinate in their
+religious beliefs doubtless through their women, Israel could long
+since have gained freedom and have been allowed to depart, for where
+can one find such beautiful women or such prudes? Isis should by
+rights turn them into cats! It would be an easy matter as their claws
+are already made."
+
+A general laugh followed, and many were the mirthful questions put to
+the rather confused officer.
+
+"What you say respecting the loyalty of the Israelites for their
+religion is true," said the General. "The Lady Miriam was a slave to
+the Princess Hatsu, and by her presented to me as free wife upon the
+royal wedding day. She hath been in all things loyal and obedient,
+faithful and true, but she has reared no altar in my home save to the
+one God, and that altar is within her heart."
+
+"Was the Queen's mother an Israelite?" asks one. "I have heard it so
+said, because of the young Prince's likeness to that race."
+
+"Nay, nay," answered Alric. "The Queen's mother came from far to the
+northward, where she told her husband (the King) there fell through
+many moons of the year a rain, that was white, and lay like a carpet
+of purity over the brown earth."
+
+"There were those," says the cynical man, "when the Queen Hatsu
+appeared upon her balcony, an hour after the birth of her son, with
+the child in her arms, that did question the truth of her having given
+Egypt an heir, but they were foreign born and from afar, and did not
+know that Egyptian women resent with scorn the plaint of child-bed
+weakness and such dalliance, and so rise at once the pang is spent, to
+fulfill their housewifely ministrations."
+
+"And, by the way," quoth another, "what ever did become of the boy,
+the child that the King Tothmes the first bought at the same time as
+he did Queen Hatsu's mother?"
+
+"That will never be known," said Alric quietly. "It is a secret that
+the King buried with his own body. There is a tale (I cannot vouch for
+its truth) that once upon a time, in answer to this same question, one
+(who was doubtless demented, or addled with wine) did say that the
+child became in time our great High Priest Zelas, but on the morrow
+this man was found lying dead and no one doubts that the wrath of
+Osirus overtook him! but let us leave these unsolvable speculations,
+and return to the Israelites. I doubt the wisdom of their retention."
+
+"Let me speak to your question most noble General." It was a new
+voice--the voice of the youngest son of Tothmes the first, brother to
+the reigning King.
+
+"We should miss the skilled labor of the Israelites. In a thousand
+industrial ways they pay amply for their keep."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+
+Even as he speaks there is a shuffling of feet heard, and into the
+room led by a beautiful child--a boy of eight years old--comes a
+something that makes even the strong men present involuntarily shrink,
+as they all rise and bow low before it.
+
+The creature is robed in white and scarlet, and on his brow there is
+fitted a crown of gold, glittering with diamonds, and rubies, emeralds
+and pearls.
+
+His protruding, wandering eyes have a blank stare, his full, wide
+open, drooling lips are mumbling something, but he has a firm grasp on
+the child's hand, and the child leads him.
+
+"It is the King," cries a sweet treble voice. "The King, my father,
+and we have run away from our good Miriam, for we are tired of our
+clay dolls, are we not, my father?"
+
+"Are we not, my father; are we not, my father?" mumbles the idiot, and
+then looking into the child's face, he falls into a fit of immoderate
+laughter and in the midst of it a woman enters. Although long past
+youth she is as slight as a girl, typically Egyptian in feature and
+coloring. She has about her something individual and distinctive and
+she is clad in a costume that is masculine in most of its make-up.
+
+Her upper garment is a tightly-fitting waist, with a full skirt that
+reaches just to below the knee and made of bright scarlet stuff. Over
+this she wears a corslet of finely wrought, flexible gold that clings
+to her slight, beautiful figure like a glove. In lieu of sleeves she
+is literally covered by bands of diamonds from forearm to wrist. A
+broad collar of diamonds encircles her throat. Upon her head is a cap,
+sewn thick with jewels, and her feet and legs are encased in sandals
+and leggins like those worn by the officers of the Egyptian army.
+
+As she enters the men salute her as their superior officer. She in
+return lifts one of her small hands to her jeweled cap in token of
+recognition.
+
+Thus she passes on until she reaches the side of the King, when,
+laying her hand firmly upon his shoulder, she says some gentle words
+to him that stay his mirth, that transform him, for his leering grin
+gives place to a solemn closing of the thick lips over the great
+wolfish teeth, and, seating himself in a chair he says slowly and
+distinctly: "Hatsu, the Goddess Queen, will speak my wishes"; but his
+eyes look longingly at the boy, beside his chair, the sunny-haired
+boy, whose hand is still clasped within his own--the little Prince,
+his son, who nestles his golden head against his mother's gown.
+
+"The King," says Queen Hatsu gravely, "the great King Tothmes the
+Second, my saintly husband, bids me speak lest the effort of words
+too much weary his great mind.
+
+"He wishes that among ourselves (as among trusted and bosom friends)
+we speak fully concerning the Israelites, and that this might be the
+better accomplished he has called to private audience the two learned
+men who have of late come out of Midian to plead Israel's cause with
+Egypt. One of these men has strong claim to the throne's affection,
+for our late lamented father and King had a twin sister, whom he
+fondly loved. This sister did take from the Nile's bosom an infant,
+and yearning toward it as a mother yearns for her child, the Princess
+made the waif her own and reared him as a prince of the land; great of
+mind was this adopted son; his play was study, his friends the sages;
+gentle and good was he, slow to anger and of much compassion, but
+silent was he because of a faltering in his speech. So grew he into
+early manhood, then on a sudden he vanished. Egypt knew him no more.
+'Tis said the Princess sped his going and being an Israelite he
+returned to his own. Now he has come again into Egypt and with him is
+his brother, Aaron, to make plea for the loosing of his people. We
+would have this matter speedily settled, that we may turn our thoughts
+upon more important matters, for you will recall that we have sent an
+embassy to her most gracious highness the Queen of Punt, asking her
+to be again our guest, and we must bring her thither in all pomp and
+honor, and it ill becomes us to make her a witness to the wailings of
+the Israelites."
+
+She has never let her eyes wander from the face of the King, as she
+has spoken, nor does she lift them when Alric says: "Gracious Queen
+and sovereign lady, who is there in Egypt that shall dispute the
+wisdom of our sainted sovereign, and surely we all know that people
+everywhere in the land are saying that the man Moses, and his brother,
+Aaron, come to Mizram vested with more than human power, that shall
+make Egypt suffer if she refuse to let Israel go."
+
+A voice interrupts Alric. It is the calm, clear voice of the King's
+brother. "The King," he says haughtily, "is all powerful! His will
+prevails. He rules Egypt's night as well as Egypt's day. He need not
+fear harm through the threats of Moses and Aaron. Superstition and
+ignorant fear have no place with Egypt's King and Egypt's councillors!
+Let us bid Gethro's son go back to his sheep! let him seek among the
+Midian hills a weakly race that listens trembling to old housewives'
+prophecies! Nay, nay, we should be mad to rid ourselves of such
+skilled workmen. My lord King, speak thou to these foolish ones and
+say Israel shall abide."
+
+It was Hatsu who replied: "It is well," she said slowly, "that we have
+one among us so keen for the welfare and interest of his brother the
+King and for the little Prince, the King that is to be, and while all
+the words that thou hast spoken are wise, the King shall, in his own
+good time, say HIS royal will." It was at this juncture that the child
+spoke.
+
+"My mother," he said, "how can the Israelites do good work for Egypt
+when they are being famished and beaten? and why do you, my good
+uncle, wish to bring suffering upon our dear Miriam, for Miriam is an
+Israelite? She does not worship the many gods of Egypt! I am the
+Prince Royal, the great King's only son, and I would make my father
+say that Israel shall go!"
+
+As the child began his speech the idiot had leaned forward in his
+chair and a light came into his dull eyes, a something of
+intelligence, as he replied: "Let Israel go! Let Israel go!"
+
+But what had come to the Queen? Was she for all her soldierly bearing
+a wilful woman? Surely no other motive could have so changed the
+current of her purpose! surely it was that which made her happening by
+chance to look into the General's eyes to say:
+
+"Child, child, hold thy peace! It is the great King's will that Israel
+shall not go, but go on to bitterer bondage, to a more intense
+servitude." "But, my mother, listen!" cried the child, "he said go,
+and not go on." It was then Miriam entered and Hatsu turned wearily
+to her saying: "Take him hence. His ceaseless prattle disturbs the
+Monarch's great thought."
+
+It was some power, mightier than man, that made the silent, gentle
+Miriam answer: "My Queen, fail not to remember, that out of the mouths
+of babes comes perfect wisdom, God's own truth! Thy son is a prophet!
+Listen to his plea ere it be too late! for the wrath of Jehovah, when
+it is kindled, does not quench till His will is done! The wrath of the
+God of Israel shall ere long darken this land! Hark, ye! has all your
+years of binding broken our strength? Our children wax strong! our
+cattle multiply! Listen to wisdom ere it be too late! listen to the
+great King's counsel! and let Israel go!" Then in the profound
+stillness, she stretched out her hand to the child, who, disentangling
+his other hand with much effort from his father (who was only stayed
+from following in obedience to some whispered words of the Queen), the
+two departed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+
+Then it was that Hatsu spoke. "Bring in the prophets of Israel," she
+said, "that they may hear the King's decree and so waste no more time
+in idle hoping."
+
+And into the apartment were ushered two men.
+
+Both were far past middle life. One was small and thin, with pinched
+features and bright, gray eyes; the other was tall and grandly formed,
+and both were in the garb of shepherds.
+
+They stood two mute figures before the chair of Tothmes the Second,
+and although it was the custom of the age to bend low the knee before
+sovereignty, neither man did aught save to wait his bidding.
+
+It was the Princess Hatsu who addressed them.
+
+"We have bidden you to come hither," she said, "that you might, oh
+great Poet and Lawgiver of Israel, speak with the freedom of a friend
+to us, of that, which has brought you back after many years into
+Egypt."
+
+It was Aaron who spoke. Yet while his sweet, strong voice told the
+story, the eyes of all were fixed upon the silent lips of Moses.
+
+"Great Queen of Egypt," began Aaron (and all remembered that to the
+poor idiot he addressed never a word). "There stands before you on
+this day, an instrument of the Almighty. One who by the will of the
+All Powerful, shall in time, rear out of ruins and ashes, out of
+ignorant, broken-spirited slaves, a great and enduring nation; a
+people that shall live with the riches of this globe when Egypt is but
+a faded memory. Of this glory that is to be, Moses is promised no
+portion, and no place, and being meekest of all men that are upon the
+face of the earth, he is satisfied to be the humblest servant of his
+Lord. There is for him no glory but the glory of God. Moses has dwelt
+always, in spirit, in Egypt. He has never day or night ceased to think
+upon the bondage of his people. And who knows the purposes of Mizram
+better than this son of Israel that stands before you. He is the
+adopted son of Pharaoh's great daughter. Aye it is from out of the
+tenderness of his heart for his adopted mother, and his adopted
+kinsmen, that he has pleaded with the God of Israel to stay His hand,
+that he might warn Egypt of the woes that shall before long befall her
+if she still holds Israel in thrall. Therefore he asks, oh gracious
+Queen, that thou loosen the cords, and open the gates, and bid thy
+bondsmen depart in peace."
+
+"Spare thy prayer." It was the King's brother that spoke. "We fear not
+thy one God, so hurl thy threats quickly that we may laugh them to
+scorn."
+
+There was no look of anger in the gentle face, and no tone of
+bitterness in the strong, sweet voice that said:
+
+"Our God hath thus spoken to Moses, His Prophet: 'Oh thou, who feedest
+thy flocks beside the green pastures, and the still waters, arise and
+get thee down into Egypt, and take with thee Aaron, thy brother, that
+he may speak for thee, and say thou, unto her, who holds the hearts of
+her people in the hollow of her woman's hand: "Hear, oh Egypt, harken
+unto the voice of the God of Israel. Lo! behold! the cry of Israel has
+reached the Mercy Seat and the wailing must cease." Thus saith the
+Lord. "Or most surely Egypt shall learn the power of the Most High."'
+
+"Hark, ye, oh Queen, an army shall fall upon Egypt and devour her
+substance; its ranks shall be unseen; its warriors shall be called
+famine, fever, pestilence and death. Take thou our challenge, oh
+stubborn of heart, for we two standing unarmed, save for our
+shepherd's staffs, shall alone abide unharmed in your midst when the
+will of our God shall be accomplished to the uttermost. Aye, not one
+hair of our heads shall ye touch for we are the anointed of Heaven.
+Listen, oh Queen, the princes of this world come to naught! Kingdoms
+fall and are forgotten, but the glory of the God of Israel remaineth
+forever. Once, yet again, for the love he bears the home of his
+youth, for the land that heard his first cry, does Moses plead: Oh
+Mizram, loose thy vain pride and let Israel go."
+
+"And who is thy God?" (It was Alric who spoke.) "Show us some sign by
+which we may be convinced of his power."
+
+Then the silent Moses lifted a small, lithe rod, which he held in one
+of his hands, and, lo! it was a rod no longer; but a serpent, the
+enemy of man! And it gazed with hungry eyes and spake with a hissing
+tongue! Then Alric drew from out his tunic a similar rod and it, too,
+changed into a scorpion, larger and fiercer than that, which the man
+Moses had created, and these two accursed objects, viewing each other,
+forgot man, and engaged in mortal combat the one with the other, and,
+lo! the serpent of Moses swallowed the serpent of Alric, and so doing,
+vanished.
+
+With a laugh Alric threw down his wand.
+
+"Thy skill, oh free Israelite," he said, "exceedeth mine. What say you
+of this power as a test of the God of Israel's might to perform upon
+Egypt, that which He threatens?"
+
+The Prince had watched with keenest interest and he now replied,
+rather than the Princess: "No test of foolish magic will move our King
+from his purpose, believe me. I speak both the will of the King and
+his sainted Queen, when I say Israel will abide in Egypt," and as
+though hushed by a power that she could not baffle, while her heart
+and soul were filled with protest, Hatsu held her peace.
+
+Then Aaron spoke: "But Israel shall go and Egypt shall open her gates
+and cry, 'Depart, depart, ere the remnant of us be lost forever.'
+Listen! In some near at hand day, Nature shall break no law, when she
+makes this fair land a chaos of misery! Your rivers and lakes shall be
+like unto blood, and the fish that is in them shall die and the people
+shall turn away with loathing, though their throats be parched and
+their thirst be intolerable. Then shall the waters breed frogs, and
+they shall be tame in their boldness, and go up into the houses, and
+consume all that there is therein, from the fair hangings on the
+palace walls, to the dough in the humblest dwellers' kneading troughs,
+and then if my people be not free, the dust of the land shall become
+fleas, and lice, and these shall fall upon man and beast and devour
+their bodies while they yet live, and then if wisdom comes not to
+thee, oh Egypt, there shall rise swarms of flies that shall buzz and
+sting without ceasing and a murrain shall come on thy beasts, the
+cattle and the horses and the camels, the oxen and the sheep, and a
+boil shall follow, breaking forth with blains upon man and beast! Then
+upon Egypt a tempest shall fall, whose like was never known--a tempest
+of hail that shall cut like a sword of fire that shall kill--of wind
+that howls, and tears, and destroys; and the hail shall smite the
+field, and the fire from heaven shall consume the cattle, and every
+green thing shall die! The trees shall perish! The flax shall be
+useless for the loom! The barley shall give no yield! Then shall come
+the locusts, singing a mournful song! They shall cover all things that
+be left, and then, be ye warned, if thou still vaunt thyself, there
+shall come a midnight wherein all the first born of the land shall
+die! The first born of Pharaoh that sitteth upon the throne and the
+first born of the lowliest in the realm! No hearth shall be spared!
+Listen, oh Queen! give heed to my word, oh councillors! for what the
+Lord saith that will He surely perform."
+
+It was with the same relentlessness that the Queen made answer:
+
+"Go back, Shepherd Prophets, to your flocks and herds! Your
+threatenings we do not heed! In the name of King Tothmes the Second of
+Egypt, I bid you depart, and wish you peace." The great Lawgiver felt,
+as the queen spoke, a hand upon his robe, and looking down beheld it
+in the grasp of the fingers of the idiot King. And he heard softly,
+but distinctly, these words: "Let Israel go! Let Israel go!" And it
+stirred in his grand soul a tender pity.
+
+"Israel shall go," he said gently, "and thy will (which thy people
+feign to misinterpret) is remembered in love, by the God of all the
+earth. Egypt shall harden her heart, and the sorrows of her sin shall
+fall upon her; but when Israel goes out thy soul shall go, too, and,
+leaving its poor tenement of clay, will inherit a better kingdom,
+wherein our God shall give thee light."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+
+In one of the summer houses--or arbors--of the King's garden, Miriam
+sat that day as the sun went down, her eyes fixed upon the forms of
+the King, and the little Prince, his son, who were busily at play with
+a mimic squadron in one of the smaller tanks or pools. So intent was
+her watching that she was startled to find the King's brother standing
+beside her and mindful of her duty to royalty she arose.
+
+"Nay, nay, my lady," said the prince, "do not rise to do me reverence!
+It is more meet that I should bend to thee." Miriam paid little heed
+to these words. She had been reared amid the meaningless flattery of
+the court, but she nevertheless resumed her seat, and was not
+surprised to have the Prince take the vacant place beside her. "It is
+to be regretted, my lady," he said, "that you did not linger in the
+council chamber to-day and hear the great prophet speak Egypt's doom!
+Your Moses (through the lips of Aaron his brother) bids us prepare for
+many calamities, and at Nature's door he lays them all! wind, rain,
+hail, a devouring insect horde, and then, if we hold Israel still, the
+grim spectre called Death will make a gleaning of Mizram's first
+born."
+
+"All this have I heard from the Queen, my lord," replied Miriam
+quietly. "And it will surely befall, as he has said, and, when it is
+accomplished, and Israel goes out, you will be the King." The Prince
+drew nearer to Miriam. "And where wilt thou be in that day?" he said
+slowly, and his eyes looked into hers with something that had a
+mingled motive (for Miriam was too pure of soul to inspire only carnal
+love, and for Miriam the Prince had felt an absorbing passion lo,
+these many years). "Nay," she answered. "It matters not to me, save
+that I wish thee well, and pray that thy reign may be one of peace,
+and prosperity, to Egypt." "And where wilt thou be, when Tothmes is
+dead and I am King?" he said. "Sire," she made answer, "I am an
+Israelite. When my people go hence I shall not be left in Egypt." "But
+the child," he said, and as he uttered the word it seemed as though he
+sought through the word to read her inmost soul. "The child, can you
+bear to part from him?" She laid her hand upon her heart and paled as
+though his words had the hurt of a blow; but she lifted her sweet,
+untroubled eyes to his face and said: "I, too, have thought of this
+parting from the child, but did Aaron not tell you, that when you sit
+upon the throne, the little Prince shall be no more. Nay," she said,
+as though speaking to herself, "I will not leave him in Egypt, I will
+not leave him, until God takes him."
+
+A madness seemed to sweep over the Prince. He drew closer to Miriam's
+side and whispered: "You shall not go hence, life of my life, soul of
+my soul. I have prayed to all the gods that the famine, and the fever,
+the pestilence, and the thirst may come! That yonder gibbering idiot,
+yonder fatherless child, may give up the ghost; that Hatsu may fall
+dead, and you alone be spared. Then may Israel go, if you, beloved,
+remain, my queen, sharing my throne. You who since my earliest boyhood
+have reigned supreme in my soul. I will be so tender to you, so much
+your slave, that ere I die you will love me, and in your love my
+highest desire will be fulfilled. Listen, what I tell you is true.
+Yonder Prince is but a Prince in name! He has no claim of heirship to
+the throne! He is a nameless waif, his parentage unknown; but for your
+sake, for your love, I would set him before the people, and call him
+King. And so, sweet one, go not out with Israel, but abide in Mizram,
+for the child's sake." As he still speaks she puts her hand upon her
+heart, then she lays her head back against the wall of the summer
+house, and to his horror, life seems departing from her! She grows
+ghastly to look upon. Terror stricken, conscience smitten (for he
+loves her better than himself) he turns and flees.
+
+Scarcely have his feet gained a safe retreat, when Alric enters the
+arbor. "It is well," he mutters as he catches sight of Miriam. "I came
+none too soon! I felt some poisonous thing was hovering too near my
+white rose." He came to her side and made mystic signs, and called her
+by the name of "Gweneth." She opened her eyes. "What wouldst thou,
+master," she said. "Where art thou?" he asked.
+
+"Here beside thee, master, but oh, so longing for rest. This journey
+through the flesh has been a bitter one. I have come e'en close to my
+beloved, and yet another has gained his love. It is hard to serve
+without reward. I pray you, my master, let me begone!"
+
+With a tenderness drawn from him, against judgment, the man Alric
+knelt beside her, and kissed her white hand. "Sweet one," he said,
+"the journey is nearly over. Would that I might tell thee what thou
+art become to me. I dare not, lest I lose my power over the thoughts
+and actions of the many, through the knowledge that you alone can
+impart. Yes, sweet soul, thy mission is all but ended in Egypt, as is
+also that of thy brave sister soul. So go forth again Gweneth, and
+come not as twain to me in any eon of rolling time, but wait, until as
+one soul, I can meet and claim you, forever and forever. But speak,
+oh Gweneth, who went from thee?"
+
+"It was the Prince, the King's brother. Long has he loved Miriam, the
+Israelite; long has he worshipped her from afar; and to-day he did
+speak to her of his hopes, when Egypt held out its crown to him."
+
+"And," said Alric slowly, "Egypt will soon call him King. But haste to
+speak to me of other things, dear spirit, for it is thy last service.
+Reveal to me the close at hand story of Egypt."
+
+A sigh escaped the white lips ere she said softly: "There will be an
+exodus of many besides the Israelites. The idiot King, the fair young
+Prince, Zelas the High Priest, Hatsu and Miriam shall go on, and Alric
+alone shall be left to abide in the land of his father, lo, these many
+years. Zelas and Hatsu shall be caught up in a chariot of fire, and
+the King and the Prince shall die, to ransom Israel, and in that same
+hour a merciful shaft from heaven shall set Miriam free." She
+stretched out her arms and cried: "I pray thee, good master, let me
+go! for I am weary."
+
+With a sigh Alric arose. "It will be as thou sayest, sweet one," he
+said, "our day is over, and another night of short oblivion draws
+near, for the many." Then he made some passes above her, calling:
+"Wake, Miriam, awake!" The color came stealing back into her cheeks
+and lips, and she looked up to Alric with a perplexed smile. "I am
+such a sleepy one," she said, "and such a dreamer of dreams! Listen,
+my lord, as I sat me here watching the King and the little Prince at
+their play, I fell asleep and had such a strange vision. I thought
+that the King's brother came to this arbor, and talked to me as would
+a lover. It was an idle, idle dream." And then she rose and (as a
+mother might) drew the head of Alric down to her breast and kissed
+him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+
+And now the prophecy had been fulfilled. The once fair land lay a
+barren waste. Egypt so long in thralldom to her myriad gods, was
+helpless, speechless, and prayerless, before the might of the ONE
+Jehovah. Hope was dead, courage had fled, and naught seemed left but a
+remnant of stubborn will in which to still cry out: "Israel shall not
+go."
+
+The hour had come in which the last curse was to fall. Scarce had the
+sun gone down when the idiot King gave up the ghost, and through all
+the realm there arose a wailing cry: "Oh, my first born; oh, my son,
+my son!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+
+In an upper room in the palace lay the little Prince. Through the open
+casement the moon looked in. Kneeling beside him was Miriam, her face
+buried in her hands, her body shaken by sobs. The child was speaking.
+"Dear Miriam," he said, "do not bid me linger in this parched land. I
+fain would go to the better country; one I love waits for me there.
+Didn't thou not tell me, that when Israel's great prophet stood to
+warn Egypt, that he did bless my father, the King, and promise to him
+a place in the heaven of heavens? Dear Miriam, the King has gone out
+of Egypt. Hark! how the heralds cry it through the streets! 'The King
+is dead,' they say. 'Long live the King.' I cannot linger here, I must
+go to him. He will lose his way; he could not find the golden gates;
+he does not know the angels; I led him here, and I must lead him
+there. Nay, sweet nurse, do not weep! I fain would go! Hark! he calls
+me. My father have but patience for a little while! I come." And then
+the child fell, panting, back among his pillows.
+
+Rising from her knees Miriam stood for one moment looking down upon
+him, then, all unnoticed, in the wild confusion of grief that was
+sweeping like a flood through every home in the city, she made her
+way out of the palace, and the gates, to the plain beyond, where in a
+rude hut dwelt the prophet Moses and his brother, Aaron, waiting until
+the time should come for them to guide Israel out of Egypt. With no
+asking for admittance, Miriam entered the hut, and seeing Aaron
+within, she hastened to throw herself at his feet. "Oh, my lord," she
+cried, "I come to beg of thee, in the name of Jehovah, take all Egypt,
+but spare the life of Hatsu's son, the little Prince! No dearer could
+he be to me, my lord, had I carried him for nine long moons under my
+heart, no dearer had I known the pangs that bring the joyous gift to
+motherhood. My lord, take me, an unworthy daughter of Israel, aye,
+blot out my soul for all eternity, but spare the child!"
+
+Upon her bowed head the prophet laid a gentle hand.
+
+"Miriam, daughter of Abram," he said, "no more faithful child hath God
+of Israel than thou. Thy human form has been used, as a shield, by
+those to whom thou hast given thy pure love; but they have had no
+power to touch thy white soul. It is not the will of the 'All-Wise'
+that thine eyes should see, on this earth, that which has been hidden
+from thee. But be comforted, for thy God is a God of Mercy, and so let
+the child go in peace. The little one that thou hast reared, to say
+thy prayers, and call upon the Blessed One of Israel, shall see no
+evil days, aye, ere thy returning feet shall cross the threshold of
+the city gates the child shall die, and thou shalt quickly follow
+him."
+
+With a moan of hopeless agony, Miriam arose. She said no word of
+parting. She turned and made her way back across the barren moonlit
+plain. A cloud now covered the moon, and a strange low-voiced wind
+arose that was like unto a warning cry; but Miriam heeded naught; she
+hurried on repeating through her white lips: "God is greater than
+Moses! God is greater than Aaron! God notes the fall of the bird from
+its nest, and He will hear my prayer! He will hear! Oh, my Father in
+Heaven, spare the child, spare the child!"
+
+There comes to some, in every age of time, the actual power of
+reaching the source of light. It is to the mother that this awful
+privilege is oftenest granted. When in her supreme agony of love she
+spans all space and reaches the eternal to beg the life of her child.
+
+Suddenly Miriam stood still, her cry ceased and in a quiet voice she
+spake to the great silence:
+
+"What is it that Thou sayest to my soul? Aye, I know the words, 'Be
+strong and of good courage; fear not, for it is the Lord that doth go
+with thee; He will not fail thee or forsake thee.' Yea, they are sweet
+and comforting words! What is Thy name, Thou that art clothed in
+light?" Then she stretched forth her hands, a smile came to her lips.
+"Thou art an angel of the Lord," she cried. "Aye, spirit, I will lean
+upon thy breast and thou shalt lead me through the gates."
+
+And the prophet Aaron, watching Miriam from his doorway (for the moon
+had come out of hiding and again the parched plain was as bright as at
+midday) lifted up his voice and said: "Keep Thy strong arm about her,
+oh Merciful One; rest her weary head upon thy loving, tender breast,
+for Thou, too, in Thy time of earthly sojourn, knew the yearning of
+the Mother heart. Oh, thou shining one, thou, too, wert once like her,
+a sorrowing woman, and thy God, and Miriam's God, hath sent thee to
+lead her through the gate."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+
+The low muttering had grown to louder tone, the wind came in mad
+gusts. There were vivid ribbons of fire, and great reverberating
+crashes of thunder.
+
+Beside the little bed on which lay the dead child knelt Miriam, and at
+the foot of the couch stood the Queen and Alric. It would have been
+hard to tell which of the two faces (the man's or the woman's) showed
+the less of fear or sorrow. The ravages of pestilence, famine and
+fever had left them unmoved and the present visitation of death they
+were meeting in quiet and silence. The great General had no tears to
+shed for the dead King, or the dead King's little son, and the woman
+warrior stood dry eyed, gazing upon the fast stiffening body of the
+child.
+
+To Miriam this calmness meant a pent up agony. So, forgetting her own
+sorrow, she strove to form words of comfort for the Queen; and as she
+spoke the darkness grew deeper, and the very air became, as it were
+shut out, so that not in breaths, but in gasps, did the stifling
+Egyptians strive to fill their lungs. A silence fell, a great hush
+came, and in its midst a man crawled into the room and stopped at the
+Queen's feet, then he gasped out: "Zelas, the great High Priest, bids
+thee, oh Queen, and thee, my Lord Alric, to hasten to him. He waits,
+in the secret grotto, under the Sphinx." As he uttered the last word,
+he fell dead. It was at this instant that an awful flood of light
+filled the room. In its glory one saw that Miriam, with an ecstatic
+smile, arose for an instant, stretched her arms upward, and fell
+lifeless across the body of the little Prince.
+
+Then the storm burst, and the blessed rain fell, and the curse had
+been lifted. * * *
+
+When the storm was over, Israel went out of Egypt, and Tothmes the
+Third (a wiser and a better man for this awful visitation) began with
+speed to renew, rebuild, and re-create Egypt, to a higher place among
+the nations of the earth.
+
+For centuries it was believed, by the most learned, that on that
+fateful night, Hatsu, Alric and Zelas were carried by Osirus, into his
+own _kingdom_, for no mortal eye ever beheld them more, living or
+dead; neither did any see them depart. * * *
+
+In Syria there dwelt, for many years, a wise man. He came from none
+knew whither, and as he was _great_ in _sorcery_, none dared provoke
+his wrath by questionings. He left naught upon his death, but a scroll
+on which were written characters so strange that none could find their
+_meaning_. So the baffled scholars of each generation bequeathed it
+to the next and thus the scroll was treasured through much time, until
+at last, one was born, who said: "I can read what is written therein,"
+and when he read the wise men of his day laughed him to scorn, and
+cried out that he was mad. "To think," they said, "that the world has
+been treasuring this scroll for centuries, only to be rewarded with
+what is at best an unfinished and impossible love tale."
+
+Here is what the scholar found written upon the parchment:
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+
+"The shadows of life are gathering thick and fast, and my long day on
+earth is drawing to its close, and I fain would write, ere it be too
+late, that which the world should know from me, when the time is ripe
+for its revealing.
+
+"On the night of the fulfillment of the last curse, as the Queen and I
+stood by the bed whereon lay my dead child, and while the all
+unconscious mother, Miriam, strove to comfort the Queen, Hatsu and I
+were summoned to attend upon Zelas the High Priest. The place to which
+he called us was a subterranean grotto, under the great Sphinx, a
+secret retreat known to but a few in all the kingdom, and where had
+been long established that which was called, by the initiated, 'the
+chamber of perfect peace.' This place was so hidden away by a
+labyrinth of stairs and passages that, without the key to its winding
+ways, he who entered would be hopelessly lost. This 'chamber of rest'
+was hewn out of solid rock, and held two cradles, in which through
+many generations a chosen number of the greatest and the best had been
+rocked to a final sleep. It was a mad night. Egypt in all her history
+had known no such warring of the elements, but the Queen and I,
+heedless of all else, but the bidding of Zelas, made our way out of
+the palace, and through the plague-ridden city. None marked us, as we
+hurried on. Like two children, hand in hand, we walked, a speechless
+pair, but true companions in adversity, until we came at length, to
+the appointed place. Then it was that the Princess spoke to me. 'The
+storm is fast spending itself,' she said slowly. 'On the morrow the
+sky will be blue again, and the sun will shine. Israel will depart,
+and Egypt will lift up her bowed head, and Tothmes, my brother, will
+reign. It is my will that thou, follow me to the end, that, as I close
+my eyes, in a last sleep, I may see thy face; for, in spite of warrior
+fame, in spite of prowess in the chase, I carry a woman's heart, and
+thou alone have had an altar there! Nay, let me tell thee more, I had
+rather have lived my lonely empty life, with just the _dream_ of what
+it could have been, as thine honored wife, than to have been given,
+any other portion, however _blessed_.'
+
+"My soul was stirred by this tenderness. 'Great Queen,' I made answer,
+'why must we enter here? the night is dark, and in its gloom, we will
+leave the city; then in some safe retreat, and under names unknown, we
+will begin a life of happiness that shall be but the foretaste of
+innumerable re-unitings in the progression from world to world.' She
+shook her head sadly, 'Nay,' she said, 'not now, not now, my plane is
+higher than thine, and I can not stoop to thee, much and fondly though
+I love thee; when we can meet as soul equals, we shall _not_ part,
+_believe me_, and so good-bye, and know in some beyond of time, _we
+shall_ meet and _understand_, now _come_.'
+
+"Guided by the Princess, we wended our way to one of the claws of the
+great sphinx. There, she knelt down, and said some mystic words. A
+stone slid noiselessly aside, and we entered the opening and found
+ourselves in a long corridor. The air was pure and sweet, aye, even
+fragrant, as though perfumed with growing flowers, lights glimmered
+along the walls, lights created by a subtle power in nature known only
+to the most learned. With the ease of one who treads a frequented way,
+the Queen led me, until we came to a door, that opened as the other
+had done at her bidding, and we stood inside a brilliantly lighted
+hall, at whose farther end (and built out into the room,) was that
+which seemed to be a white tomb, with a grated entrance gate. No one
+was in sight, and the Queen, bidding me be seated and await her
+further orders, turned into one of the arched door-ways, and
+disappeared.
+
+"How long I sat thus in solitude, none can tell; at last through the
+same portal she came back, and with her my master Zelas; both were in
+the robes of their office; jewels glittered upon them like hoar frost,
+and there was that in the set faces, that spoke of the to come. The
+Queen, said no word; but I felt that her eyes dwelt upon me with a
+tenderness unspeakable. It was Zelas my master that broke the silence.
+
+"'Alric, beloved,' he said, 'the hour is come, in which we twain must
+depart. Keep thou a silent tryst, until yon clock shall toll ten times
+the hour. Then rise, open the wicket gate, and enter without fear to
+gather that which thou shalt find into the urn I hold; then, with this
+scroll in thy hand, learn the way to return again, to the world. Day
+shall scarce have dawned, and the tired nation will be wrapped in a
+deep sleep; go thou up, and out of Egypt, and with thee, bear the urn
+and when thou art upon the edge of _Mizram's_ skirt, scatter the
+ashes, thou hast by thee, to the four winds of heaven. Alric, beloved,
+adieu; somewhere, souls meet again, _somewhere_.'
+
+"He lifted his grand face upward, and his lips moved as if in
+prayer;--then the twain turned, and entered through the gate. All was
+silent, and the unseen bell told the hours, until full ten had come
+and gone; then I rose, and betook me to the iron gate, opened it, and
+found myself in a low room that held two white cradles. The cradles
+were empty, but in the hollow stone basin under each, lay small heaps
+of white ashes. No trace of fire, no melted gold, no dulled gem was
+there, no sign by which to tell, which had been Queen and which High
+Priest. I stooped and gathered the dust into the urn, took my scroll,
+and so departed, and in the early dawn (as Zelas had bade me) I went
+out of Egypt.
+
+"Years have come and gone since then, so many, that the past of which
+I write seems like a dream and in my heart, there has come to be a
+longing, to see once more, the faces of Miriam, and Hatsu, but most of
+all to hear _again_, the voice of the little child--Miriam's child and
+mine."
+
+
+
+
+      *      *      *      *      *      *
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+Archaic and variant spelling is preserved as printed, but variations
+on spelling within the book have been made consistent. The author's
+punctuation is preserved as printed, unless there appeared to be a
+definite error.
+
+The Table of Contents has been added by the transcriber for the
+convenience of the reader.
+
+Page 21 refers to "Troth's kingdom." This may be an error for "Thoth's
+kingdom," but as there is no way to be sure, it is preserved as
+printed.
+
+Page 101 has an omitted word following 'the'--"... and there was that
+in the set faces, that spoke of the to come." As there is no way to
+determine what the missing word may have been, it is preserved as
+printed.
+
+Errors in quotation marks have been corrected, including omitted
+commas in speech.
+
+The following amendments have been made:
+
+    Page 5--Osiris amended to Osirus--"O, Osirus, I swear to Thee,
+    ..."
+
+    Page 8--graneries amended to granaries--... the granaries, the
+    garden produce, ...
+
+    Page 14--sandaled amended to sandalled--... her sandalled feet
+    glimmer like frost ...
+
+    Page 15--There amended to there--"... oh, Miriam," she cried,
+    springing to her feet, "there are no _Gods_! ..."
+
+    Page 16--Alrick's amended to Alric's--At a certain place by the
+    way, at Alric's bidding, ...
+
+    Page 17--sents amended to sent--... and with closed eyes and
+    folded hands sent prayers ...
+
+    Page 21--Troths amended to Troth's--... would far rather accept
+    an invitation to _Troth's_ kingdom ...
+
+    Page 24--Alrick amended to Alric--Alric now raised his other
+    hand ...
+
+    Page 38--alter amended to altar--... and then laying upon the
+    altar, ...
+
+    Page 48--superfluous comma deleted following 'recalling'--...
+    then, as if recalling Miriam for the first time, ...
+
+    Page 53--bond-woman amended to bondwoman--... spirit away an
+    Israelitish bondwoman; ...
+
+    Page 62--superfluous comma deleted following 'old'--... holding
+    out to the people her hour old son.
+
+    Page 63--Majesties amended to Majesties'--... general in command
+    of Their Majesties' forces, ...
+
+    Page 75--women amended to woman--Was she for all her soldierly
+    bearing a wilful woman?
+
+    Page 82--Pharoah amended to Pharaoh--The first born of Pharaoh
+    that sitteth upon the throne ...
+
+    Page 96--comma amended to period--"... He waits, in the secret
+    grotto, under the Sphinx."
+
+    Page 98--labarinth amended to labyrinth--... hidden away by a
+    labyrinth of stairs and passages ...
+
+
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 58343 ***