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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 76242 ***
+
+
+
+
+
+ THE BELOVED OF HATHOR
+ AND THE SHRINE OF THE
+ GOLDEN HAWK. ❦ BY
+ FLORENCE FARR AND
+ O. SHAKESPEAR. ❦ ❦
+
+
+
+
+ ALL COPYRIGHTS AND ACTING RIGHTS RESERVED BY THE AUTHORS
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+
+
+ THE BELOVED OF HATHOR, AND
+ THE SHRINE OF THE GOLDEN HAWK.
+
+ BY FLORENCE FARR, AUTHOR OF “THE DANCING
+ FAUN,” &c., AND O. SHAKESPEAR, AUTHOR OF
+ “RUPERT ARMSTRONG,” “LOVE ON A MORTAL
+ LEASE,” &c. ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦
+
+ ------------------------------------------------
+
+❦ The action takes place in the first play on the roof of the Temple of
+Hathor, and in the second in a cave of Mount Bakhua, the home of the
+Metal-working Fire Magicians near Sinai. But the Authors wish the plays
+to be represented, not scenically but decoratively, with a simple white
+background or pale sienna hangings, so arranged that the figures of the
+actors, moving across the stage, may reproduce the effect of the ancient
+frescoes or illuminated papyri.
+
+
+ _THE ARGUMENT OF THE BELOVED OF HATHOR._
+
+❦ The scene is in the Temple of Hathor, at the time of the expulsion of
+the Hyksos, about 1500 B.C. Aahmes, the beloved of Hathor, has for many
+years been watched over by her High Priestess, in order that through him
+the great spiritual kingdom of Egypt might be restored. His final choice
+is between this great destiny and the mere splendour of material
+victory.
+
+
+ _CHARACTERS IN THE BELOVED OF HATHOR._
+
+❦ _Ranoutet_, the chief priestess of Hathor, and of royal blood, aged
+thirty-five. She wears a long black wig with a double fillet; a large
+square of cloth of gold is wound closely round her figure under the
+arms; she also wears a thin striped gauze overdress, an enamelled and
+beaded collar, sandals, and armlets. She puts on a vulture-crown during
+the war dance.
+
+❦ _Nouferou_, the daughter of a man of noble rank and of a wandering
+woman, who deserted him after the birth of her child. Nouferou inherits
+the wild instincts of her mother. She is seventeen years old. Her dress
+is white and gold. The wig is short and surmounted by a cone and lily.
+
+❦ _Aahmes_, a warrior chief of the Red Race, afterwards becomes king. He
+is in the prime of life. He wears an embroidered waistcloth over a thin
+cotton shirt, a cloth helmet, and carries a spear.
+
+❦ _Ouny_, a child attendant of the Temple of Hathor. Dressed in white.
+
+❦ The Chanters and Musicians do not appear.
+
+ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦
+
+
+ _THE ARGUMENT OF THE SHRINE OF THE GOLDEN HAWK._
+
+❦ The scene is in a cave on Mount Bakhua, near Sinai, about 4000 B.C.
+Gebuel, the Magician of Fire and Metals, makes a talisman to Heru in the
+form of a Golden Hawk, in the hope of overwhelming the power of Zozer,
+King of Egypt, builder of the Step-pyramid at Sakkara. Zozer finds this
+out, and sends his daughter, who is skilled in the sombre mysteries of
+Isis, to win for Egypt the Golden Hawk, giver of exultation of heart.
+
+
+ _CHARACTERS IN THE SHRINE OF THE GOLDEN HAWK._
+
+❦ _Gebuel_, a magician who has earned a great reputation for power in
+the brotherhood. He wears a richly decorated robe of red and gold,
+sandals, and a conical headdress with hawks’ eyes on either side of it.
+His age is forty-five.
+
+❦ _The Priest of the Floods and Storms_ wears a robe and symbolic
+headdress of blue and green.
+
+❦ _The Priest of the Harvests and Famines_ is also dressed symbolically.
+
+❦ _Nectoris_, daughter of Zozer, King of Egypt, is dressed as a member
+of a religious order; her undergarment and wig are of the ancient
+Egyptian pattern, but she is completely veiled in a thick gauze drapery.
+She is twenty-six years old.
+
+❦ _The Ka_ has the same kind of dress. She is the double or other self
+of Nectoris. The Ka is frequently represented on ancient frescoes as a
+smaller figure walking behind the king or queen. It represents the
+subtle body, and supports and strengthens the more material body.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+
+
+ THE BELOVED OF HATHOR
+
+
+❦ _The play is to be acted against a plain white backcloth with pale
+brown hangings on either side, striped to resemble the decoration of a
+papyrus roll._
+
+❦ _Ranoutet is lying on a couch with lions’ heads. L., an altar with
+cauldron, crown, and incense spoon. A long fan in corner. Ranoutet holds
+some lotuses in Egyptian fashion._
+
+❦ _Ouny enters with a festival basket on her head containing lotuses and
+conical loaves._
+
+ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦
+
+ _Ouny._
+ Here are the offerings to the setting sun. (_She places offerings
+ on altar and comes forward._) It is the last many brave men will
+ see.
+
+ _Ranoutet._
+ Has news arrived? Has the great Aahmes carried out his plan? Has
+ our mighty leader drawn the foes of Egypt into his net?
+
+ _Ouny._
+ Lady of wisdom, it is so. They have bidden me tell you that
+ victory comes with the dawn. The Hyksos, hateful in our land,
+ know nought of our armed men, who lie in wait for them, by order
+ of great Aahmes, along the road which they will follow to reach
+ our city. With the dawn the soldiers of Egypt will rise from
+ their hiding places and slay the Hyksos, and they shall be swept
+ from our land. This is the message of Aahmes to you, O lady of
+ wisdom.
+
+ (_Ouny kneels and touches the earth with her head. Ranoutet
+ rises and blesses her._)
+
+ _Ranoutet._
+ Dear messenger from the greatest in Egypt, may the gods protect
+ you, and may the gods protect Aahmes, now warrior, priest in
+ future years, the light of all our hearts.
+
+ _Ouny._
+ Great Aahmes is indeed a king of men. The leaders of the people
+ love him above all others. He stands almost as near their hearts
+ as you do, lady.
+
+ _Ranoutet._
+ Ah, yes, he is blessed from his birth. The foretelling of this
+ victory has been long in our ears; when it comes to pass we of
+ the temple will receive him with great honour. He is the beloved
+ of Hathor, and her will has been his pleasure. If he can
+ withstand temptation in the supreme hour of earthly triumph, she
+ will receive him into the great mysteries.
+
+ _Ouny._
+ Can Aahmes still be tempted—Aahmes, the lover of Hathor?
+
+ _Ranoutet._
+ The hour is at hand which is to try his strength of purpose. The
+ goddess will give us the victory, that our sacred land may be
+ purged of the people of Asia, who have worked in her evil and
+ uncleanness; but the soul of Aahmes stands alone in the last
+ trial, and can know no strength but its own. No name but the name
+ of Aahmes can be invoked; no power but the power of Aahmes can
+ prevail.
+
+ _Ouny._
+ Lady of wisdom, terror pierces me like a spear. Can it be that
+ the goddess will take back her great gift even after his hands
+ are raised to receive it? Can the goddess turn from her beloved?
+ and can Aahmes be an outcast from the sanctuary?
+
+ _Ranoutet._
+ These things are hidden in the heart of Hathor—the heart of mercy
+ and justice. To her mercy we commend him; to her justice we give
+ him up without fear. O Hathor, great diviner of beauty, who
+ rulest in those places where desire fails, and the substance of
+ human life fades and passes into eternal truth; O Hathor, guard
+ thy servant and do well to him.
+
+ _Ouny._
+ Will you not aid him, mighty priestess?
+
+ _Ranoutet._
+ I will do all that is permitted. Bring me the secret mirror and
+ the Lybian wax, the holy herbs and oil. I will burn incense from
+ all the corners of the world, and I will have lustral water and
+ the holy wands of power, the sacred Natron essence of the gods,
+ who alone can purify all shameful things by their touch. With
+ these I will bless great Aahmes and all his works once more. And
+ I will send up an incantation in the hour of battle, before which
+ all the dreadful gods of Asia shall be bound because their
+ worshippers have made our land unclean with going to and fro.
+
+ _Ouny goes, saluting and muttering the formula_,
+ I go in peace; may peace go with me!
+
+ (_Ranoutet puts on a crown bound with Urcari snakes and
+ faces the place of the sun. She pours out a libation._)
+
+ _Ranoutet._
+ O Ra Toum, thou enterest the kingdom of our Lady of the West
+ beyond the holy mountain Mannu amid flaming orisons. Thou fallest
+ into peace between the guardian serpents who are on either side
+ of thee. Thou art one with the sun-disk in the West, and its
+ powers have their place behind thee. Thy way divides the heavens,
+ and the gods of the North and the South bow before thee. I, too,
+ bow before thee, O creator of the gods; before thee who art king
+ over the souls dwelling in the circle of thy path. The blessed
+ one receives thee into the deep shadows of her embrace as thou
+ enterest into the mountain of the West.
+
+ (_She burns incense. Ouny returns with a magic mirror, wax,
+ cymbals, and serpent wands. Ranoutet takes beeswax and begins
+ to model it into shape._)
+
+ _Voice outside._
+ Will the great priestess Ranoutet receive the warrior chief
+ Aahmes?
+
+ (_Ranoutet hastily takes off the ceremonial crown, and
+ directs Ouny to cover the altar, and goes out. She re-enters,
+ after Ouny has done what is necessary, followed by Aahmes
+ carrying Nouferou. Ranoutet helps him lay her on the couch._)
+
+ _Aahmes._
+ Her heart is silent, she has seen men slain.
+
+ _Ranoutet._
+ She seems of noble birth; how is it that she went unattended?
+
+ _Aahmes._
+ The gods alone can tell. She is the Lady Nouferou. I found her
+ helpless in the hands of ruffians far from her home. Her father’s
+ palace is an hour’s journey hence. I cannot take her there
+ to-night, and I come to ask you to shelter her.
+
+ _Ranoutet._
+ She is known to you?
+
+ _Aahmes._
+ I have fought under her father’s leadership; and she was still a
+ child when I last feasted at his palace. How she came to this
+ adventure I can in no way tell.
+
+ (_Ranoutet restores Nouferou. Nouferou recovers and holds
+ out her hands to Aahmes, not seeing Ranoutet._)
+
+ _Nouferou_ (_to Aahmes, who kneels by her side_).
+ You killed men for my sake. Oh, I am afraid! I see their hideous
+ faces like beasts of prey! their claws clutch at my heart! Oh,
+ save me from this horror!
+
+ (_She throws herself into his arms._)
+
+ _Ranoutet_ (_with anxiety_).
+ Are the dead men still lying in the street?
+
+ _Aahmes._
+ I had no eyes to see what the crowd did with them.
+
+ _Ranoutet_ (_crosses to the door_).
+ I will send mourners to give notice of the dead. Until they have
+ been purified no help can come to Lady Nouferou. (_Exit
+ muttering_) I go in peace; may peace go with me!
+
+ _Nouferou._
+ Where am I? Who is that stern-faced priestess?
+
+ _Aahmes_ (_rising_).
+ She is the great Priestess Ranoutet, of the blood royal—the
+ wisest of the devotees. She is so near the hearts of the gods
+ that they will do all things at her behest, and Egypt has never
+ known famine, plague, or defeat since she first served them; and
+ when the war is over and the new dynasty established she will be
+ queen.
+
+ _Nouferou_ (_sadly_).
+ She will be queen and you will be king. She can choose no other
+ consort.
+
+ _Aahmes._
+ No man may dare desire such a fate unless the gods decree it.
+
+ _Nouferou_ (_walks across_).
+ Ah, no! I was forgetting. Love is not love among the priests. I
+ was forgetting the fierce laws of the gods, who stand between the
+ lovers holding the sceptre of ritual, and at each cry of nature
+ sternly denying!
+
+ _Aahmes._
+ And yet they say that the divine love which is given to the
+ Children of Wisdom, that their hearts may lie poised between the
+ two infinities of life and death, is greater than the earthly
+ love, for it is the servant of life and the lord of death. (_He
+ sits on the end of the couch._) But tell me how you left your
+ home and came unattended to the city.
+
+ _Nouferou._
+ I was forbidden to leave the palace. My father punishes—punishes
+ like the gods—and stands always denying me all joy in life. I was
+ a rebel and ran out alone, evading my old nurse. I longed to see
+ the soldiers and hear the clash of arms, and hear the war chant;
+ for I am told, before a battle there is a wonderous dance no
+ woman may see, when those about to die deliver up their souls to
+ Maut, the Vulture-Mother and Avenger.
+
+ _Aahmes._
+ Hush, these are mysteries of which none may speak.
+
+ _Nouferou._
+ I burn for knowledge, for the freedom of a bird upon the wing. I
+ am weary of the speech of the wise, who have not wisdom; who
+ would tell me that Egyptian women must always be discreet and
+ secret. I hear crying in me the blood of my mother, who was no
+ Egyptian, but a wanderer. It spoke in her, and she listened to
+ its wooing as to a lover; and she forsook my father, and, leaving
+ me with him, she came back no more.
+
+ _Aahmes._
+ Do you forget what fate awaited the wanderer?
+
+ _Nouferou._
+ A short life my mother had. I, too, would live here for a little
+ while, then go to join the shining spirits outside the walls of
+ heaven. I do not desire old age and ugliness in Egypt, nor the
+ great wisdom of the gods in heaven. To be always beautiful and
+ young is enough.
+
+ (_Aahmes rises, works round the back to R._)
+
+ _Ranoutet_ (_re-enters, muttering_).
+ I come in peace; may peace come with me. (_Comes forward._) The
+ rites for the slain are being carried out. Rest now, Lady
+ Nouferou, and let the little Ouny fan you and call about you your
+ own attendant spirits; for the spirits of the dead have passed to
+ their own place.
+
+ _Nouferou._
+ I am well; I need no rest.
+
+ _Ranoutet_ (_firmly_).
+ Rest, Lady Nouferou.
+
+ (_Nouferou lies on the couch, and Ouny fans her with long
+ feather fan._)
+
+ _Aahmes_ (_to himself_).
+ It were easy to die young, and live among the golden nets of
+ heaven—to die and drift like the Hammametu dancing in the rays of
+ the sun—to have neither thought nor human care, nor the stress of
+ human life.
+
+ _Ranoutet._
+ Do you forget Egypt, Aahmes? Would you have the destiny of those
+ formless souls, whose little light flickers through the one short
+ life they know, and then the rest is darkness? Is it in vain you
+ have become part of your country, dedicated to her tradition;
+ dedicated for ever to her destiny? Egypt has claimed her son, and
+ Egypt is no foster-mother whose claim can be put lightly aside.
+ There is no choice for her worshippers, for to fail in her
+ service means death to the soul.
+
+ _Aahmes._
+ Ah! Ranoutet, I know the terror of the second death, and my heart
+ is Egypt’s! My heart longs for Egypt! As I have fought for Egypt
+ in the past, so I will live for Egypt in the future! Is not such
+ service easy when she speaks to me through you, the greatest
+ priestess within the memory of the most ancient scribes? Give me
+ your blessing, for we have to do great work to-night.
+
+ _Ranoutet._
+ Let us go into the sanctuary together, for Hathor has heard my
+ invocation. She will receive you as her minister. After the
+ battle fought for Egypt comes the enlightenment. Then comes the
+ supreme vision. This flesh shall fall from you. You shall be no
+ more the warrior of Egypt, but shall know yourself to be the Lord
+ of Space and Being! Your soul shall tremble and rejoice at her
+ own image looming out of the darkness of what you now call life!
+ The light of the world shall be revealed to you amid the clash of
+ the worlds which shall own you their master, O lord of that which
+ has no end and no beginning!
+
+ _A Priest chanting without._
+
+ Flame round my crown the fiery snakes
+ About me and around.
+ The chantress sings, the sistrum shakes,
+ In symphony of sound.
+ Fire from the gods a lightning makes,
+ Earth’s thundrous depths resound.
+
+ _Ranoutet._
+ Accept the portent and receive the Yeoiret crown.
+
+ (_Aahmes kneels and is crowned by Ranoutet._)
+
+ To thee the earth, to thee the power,
+ The life and strength be given!
+ The scarab rests upon the flower!
+ The veil of the shrine is riven!
+ The stars are falling, for the hour
+ Sounds when the earth meets heaven.
+
+ _Ranoutet._
+ You hear the sacred hymn. The moment is propitious. Come to the
+ shrine of the goddess. To-night the battle for your soul must be
+ fought and won!
+
+ (_Aahmes follows her out. In the meantime Nouferou has been
+ watching them intently. She springs up and seizes the child,
+ gazing intently into its face as she speaks._)
+
+ _Nouferou._
+ Ouny, Ouny, do you love me?
+
+ _Ouny._
+ Yes.
+
+ _Nouferou._
+ Listen now, Ouny; my little Ouny. Do you love me very much?
+
+ (_She takes it in her arms._)
+
+ _Ouny._
+ Yes.
+
+ _Nouferou_ (_covers it with kisses_).
+ Now tell me how much you love me.
+
+ _Ouny._
+ I think you a very pretty lady.
+
+ _Nouferou_ (_laughs and clasps the child_).
+ Quick! now tell me what is the ceremony the great Priestess
+ Ranoutet performs to-night. Tell me, where will it take place?
+
+ _Ouny._
+ Here.
+
+ _Nouferou._
+ Tell me, will she make images of the enemies of Aahmes, and so
+ contrive by her magical arts that Aahmes shall overcome the
+ hateful Hyksos?
+
+ (_Ouny nods._)
+
+ _Nouferou._
+ Will she make a mighty image of Aahmes and small images of the
+ Hyksos, and will she place the foot of Aahmes on their heads, and
+ will she place nooses round their necks, and give the cords into
+ the hands of Aahmes, that he may hold their lives in the hollow
+ of his hands?
+
+ (_Ouny nods again._)
+
+ _Nouferou._
+ Fetch me some sacred wax, dear little Ouny, and I will help in
+ the ceremony. I am well skilled in magic, and would gladly aid
+ the mighty priestess in these simple arts.
+
+ _Ouny_ (_rises and goes to the covered altar_).
+ All things await the Lady Ranoutet. There is much wax, and I will
+ light the fire; it will help you to do the work more quickly.
+
+ (_The child lights the cauldron from the lamp which Ranoutet
+ brings in with her. Ranoutet returns wearily. It is dark. She
+ sinks on couch in profound thought._)
+
+ _Nouferou._
+ Lady, I have some simple skill in magic, and if you work to-night
+ in the sacred Libyan wax, I pray you let me help you. I long to
+ try, and in some measure repay the noble warrior chief.
+
+ _Ranoutet_ (_carelessly_).
+ Hush! I am thinking. Anything you will. But I must rest in peace,
+ to be ready for work at the hour of battle. The soldiers have
+ performed the sacred dance: the final preparations are going on:
+ they are stealing silently out of the town to reinforce the
+ leading troops, which even now surround the Hyksos. Aahmes will
+ lead the attack at dawn; and dawn will be the signal for the
+ watchers of the night!
+
+ _Nouferou._
+ Sleep, lady, and I will mould the waxen images. One, half a cubit
+ high for Aahmes; and two, one finger’s breadth in height to
+ represent the Hyksos leaders.
+
+ _Ranoutet._
+ That is the right proportion. I thank you for your service.
+
+ (_Goes out with lamp, which Ouny gives her, in opposite
+ direction to main entrance._)
+
+ _Nouferou_
+ (_takes wax and gives a small portion of it to Ouny_). Go, child,
+ and make two little images of the hideous Hyksos chiefs: copy
+ them from the walls in the great court of the Temple and bind
+ them with cords. Then sit at the foot of the stairs and play your
+ psaltery softly, and I will call you when your mistress wakes.
+
+ _Ouny._
+ Thanks, noble lady! I go in peace; may peace go with me! (_Goes
+ out._)
+
+ (_Nouferou takes cauldron of fire; and wax. She kneels by
+ the altar and models the form of a man; as she does so she
+ says_:—)
+
+ O noble Aahmes, may Nou protect thy hair!
+ O noble Aahmes, may Ra protect thine eyes!
+
+ (_Soft music begins._)
+
+ O noble Aahmes, may Anubis protect thy lips!
+ O noble Aahmes, may Isis protect thy neck!
+ O noble Aahmes, may Selket protect thy body!
+ O noble Aahmes, may Neith protect thine arms!
+ O noble Aahmes, may Nut protect thy legs!
+ O noble Aahmes, may Ptah protect thy feet!
+
+ I mould thee, Knoume moulds thee in beauty and strength, and
+ nourishes thee in the fields of the blessed! Heart of Aahmes,
+ thou art the dwelling of the creator of Aahmes. What thou doest,
+ he will do; what thou lovest, he will love!
+
+ (_She places statue on altar, and slowly moves round it,
+ waving her arms. She stands before the wax image and chants_:)
+
+ Aahmes, Aahmes, follow me
+ Where the poppy fields are white.
+ Aahmes, Aahmes, sleep the sleep
+ Deep with dreams of love’s delight.
+
+ Aahmes, Aahmes, follow me
+ Where there shines a hidden star.
+ Aahmes, Aahmes, turn thy feet
+ Where the golden dreamings are.
+
+ Aahmes, Aahmes, follow me
+ To the magic fields of sleep.
+ Aahmes, Aahmes, pluck the flower
+ That it work a spell more deep.
+
+ (_Dances round the altar, then says_:)
+
+ Aahmes, Aahmes, I am love,
+ Calling loudly in thy heart.
+ Aahmes, Aahmes, I am love;
+ Never more shall I depart.
+
+ _Ouny_ (_running in_).
+ I must awake the noble Ranoutet. Great Aahmes is below.
+
+ _Nouferou._
+ Hush! I will awaken her. Go you and bid him enter.
+
+ (_Ouny goes out. Nouferou puts out the fires. It gets very
+ dark. Aahmes enters, and she meets him._)
+
+ _Nouferou._
+ The Priestess Ranoutet bid me watch that none disturbed her body,
+ while she, in sleep, sought counsel of the great Ancestral One,
+ the ancient power that watches over Egypt.
+
+ _Aahmes._
+ No matter—I came drawn by some desire—I would speak to you, I
+ know not why.
+
+ _Nouferou_ (_puts out brazier_).
+ Come rest a little, you cannot start till dawn. Your senses
+ wander for want of sleep. Sit here. (_Business. She presently
+ walks round him, humming the air of the incantation softly, and
+ moving her arms as in the dance._)
+
+ Sleep, Aahmes, sleep and dream. (_He sleeps._)
+ Dream, Aahmes, dream and love. (_He gazes at her._)
+
+ (_She kneels on the end of the couch._)
+
+ Love, Aahmes, love and live.
+
+ (_He holds out his arms._)
+
+ Live, Aahmes, live and dream.
+
+ (_She flings herself into his arms._)
+
+ _Aahmes_ (_embracing her_).
+ Nouferou!
+
+ (_Men-at-arms chanting: the sound of marching troops._)
+
+ Gather the men-at-arms! the battle breaks,
+ The weary waiting days are over.
+ Let each man rush to battle as a lover.
+ The dawn with clarion note awakes.
+ Crowned with her radiance on our earth we stand,
+ Tried warriors of a sacred land,
+ Which trampling thunder shakes.
+
+ (_Ranoutet enters; goes towards the altar; sees Aahmes and
+ Nouferou on the couch._)
+
+ _Ranoutet_ (_in a loud voice_).
+ Aahmes! the dawn! the dawn!
+
+ _Aahmes._
+ What is the dawn to me? My life is here.
+
+ _Ranoutet._
+ Egypt is crying to her son!
+
+ _Aahmes._
+ Egypt is here.
+
+ (_Ranoutet wrings her hands._)
+
+ _Nouferou._
+ I am the dawn, and I am Egypt! Beyond the circle of my arms lies
+ the night. I am the dawn, and I am Egypt! When I speak with my
+ beloved the voices of all the world are hushed, and he hears me
+ only.
+
+ _Ranoutet._
+ O Hathor, look upon this image which I hold in the flames, that
+ the spell may fall from him in whose semblance it is made, and he
+ may be undefiled before thee.
+
+ (_The chant continues._)
+
+ Drums batter, cymbals clash, our hearts and feet
+ Responding to one splendid measure,
+ Wrapt with the glory of our mighty pleasure!
+ Standards on high our enemies to greet!
+ Answering the dawn’s light with our eyes aglow,
+ Serene and proud and passionate we go,
+ Treading the pasture sweet.
+
+ _Ranoutet._
+ The banners are unfurled, standards are raised on high.
+
+ _Aahmes._
+ Who is it that cries in the night?
+
+ _Nouferou._
+ Listen to my voice, O my beloved!
+
+ _Ranoutet._
+ O Hathor, let the spells woven by this woman dissolve before
+ thee, thou flaming eye of Heru. Let them fall from thy servant,
+ that he may stand upright and cast them away as the soul casts
+ away mortality.
+
+ (_She reverses the dance. The chant continues_:)
+
+ No man of us can be disheartened now;
+ Death have we challenged by this trial;
+ Before the hosts of death we dare denial.
+ Swift mother of our arms, do thou,
+ Who gavest us our land and the bright sun,
+ Give us the perfecting of work begun;
+ Only to thee we bow.
+
+ _Ranoutet._
+ The troops are in array!
+
+ _Aahmes._
+ What am I dreaming?
+
+ _Ranoutet._
+ The glamour of the witch-girl is upon you; your eyes are sealed
+ by her kiss. She has breathed the spirit of her dream into you.
+
+ _Nouferou._
+ I am the dawn, and I am Egypt. Sleep on, beloved, for our dreams
+ are a reality and the world a shadow.
+
+ (_The chant continues._)
+
+ O heart’s blood of remembrance! Long ago
+ This land upheld our ancient fathers,
+ And for this land, your land, our land now gathers
+ One fellowship against the foe.
+ The spears flash! Be they as your mothers’ eyes.
+ The trump sounds! Hearken to your fathers’ cries!
+ March you to battle so![1]
+
+-----
+
+Footnote 1:
+
+ N.B.—This poem is largely quoted from “The Coming of War,” by Lionel
+ Johnson.
+
+-----
+
+ _Aahmes_
+ (_starting away while Nouferou clings to him_). Your eyes are
+ demon’s eyes! Your arms are chains about my neck! I am lost!
+
+ (_He shakes her off._)
+
+ _Ranoutet._
+ The spirit of Temptation has awakened in this girl. Through her
+ Hathor has tried your strength of purpose, and it has failed you.
+ Go now to the battle, and pray to the mercy of Hathor that she
+ may use your arm to strike the Hyksos, so that you fail not in
+ this also.
+
+ _Aahmes_
+ (_cries_) I am lost! I am lost! (_As he goes voices outside._)
+ Aahmes! mighty Aahmes!
+
+ _Ranoutet_
+ (_prays_). May Aahmes go forth like the panther of the South! May
+ Aahmes go forth under the ægis of Hathor in the radiance of her
+ light! May Aahmes not forget Egypt, Egypt the mother of the
+ mighty! May Aahmes remember her in her need, that she may requite
+ him!
+
+ _Nouferou._
+ Woe, woe unto Egypt for the pain she has wrought!
+ She has warred against love, and love shall abandon her!
+ Wisdom is very powerful, but she cannot conquer love!
+ Wisdom is immortal, but love will destroy her works!
+
+ _Ranoutet._
+ Silence! before the sacrilege of your speech reaches to heaven
+ and awakes the wrath of Hathor, which, shaking the four pillars
+ of the world, would crush you into dust. Love must serve and
+ wisdom rule; but you would put love above all! Your love would
+ have put out the light that shines from the glory of Egypt, and
+ serve the cause of Egypt’s foes! You would have shamed Aahmes to
+ all time that love might rule his soul one little hour!
+
+ _Nouferou._
+ I would see Aahmes dead—dead and dishonoured before I’d give him
+ up to you, Ranoutet!
+
+ _Ranoutet._
+ Hush, hush! even now the battle begins! (_Enter Ouny._) Give me
+ the magic mirror. (_She looks in it._) Aahmes is in his chariot
+ leading the attack. Help me, Ouny.
+
+ (_Nouferou sits on the couch with her head bowed._)
+
+ _Ranoutet_ (_to Ouny_).
+ Lay the Hyksos’ chiefs under Aahmes’ feet, and when the sistrum
+ is shaken and the lute is plucked by the chanters and musicians
+ in the temple court, the Lady Nouferou will help you wave the
+ holy wands around him, so that the immortal serpents, guardians
+ of our land, may weave the web of protection round him and round
+ our troops.
+
+ (_Ouny arranges the images as in Egyptian triumphs described
+ above by Nouferou. Ranoutet holds out serpent wands to
+ Nouferou, who refuses with a gesture._)
+
+ _Ranoutet_ (_pleadingly_).
+ To-night the goddess strives with the destroyer for Aahmes’ soul!
+ Think! even now the Threefold Terror may devour him!
+
+ _Nouferou._
+ If Aahmes dies now he is mine—mine on the golden borders of
+ heaven; if he lives he is yours and Hathor’s.
+
+ _Ranoutet._
+ If Aahmes dies in sin, faithless to Hathor, his soul must die the
+ second death! There will be no light life for him on the horizons
+ with you for playfellow.
+
+ _Nouferou._
+ I will not believe it!
+
+ _Ranoutet._
+ That is the law of Hathor. Her servant must be faithful, or he
+ dies body and soul, and his name is trodden out by the Sebau in
+ the deepest cavern of Duat.
+
+ _Nouferou._
+ Woe! woe! Desolation, oh desolation! Has Hathor no mercy?
+
+ _Ranoutet._
+ Have you had mercy in your jealous rage? To the battle! to the
+ battle! Do as I do, and lift up your heart in prayer that Egypt
+ may conquer, and that Aahmes may conquer in his mortal combat!
+ (_pause_). And listen to my voice, if Aahmes dies your life shall
+ be the forfeit! (_Seizes her throat._) The traitress has short
+ trial in time of war!
+
+ _Nouferou._
+ Mercy! mercy!
+
+ _Ranoutet_ (_contemptuously_).
+ Mercy! see that your actions are fit for justice. (_The music in
+ the temple court is heard._) Quick, to the serpent dance!
+ (_Holding out the serpent wands._) Here, take the wands of power
+ and weave the magic cord.
+
+ _The priests chant outside._ Yeioret!
+
+ (_Nouferou and Ouny perform a dance._)
+
+ _Ranoutet._
+ Now call the spirits of the earth and sky!
+
+ _The priests chant._ Yakhu pout! Yakhu taw!
+
+ (_Nouferou and Ouny dance._)
+
+ _Ranoutet._
+ Now clash the cymbals (_presents them ceremonially_), and I will
+ call on the vultures of death—swift servants of the mother of our
+ arms!
+
+ _The priests chant._ Maut! Maut!
+
+ (_Nouferou and Ouny dance and clash cymbals. Drums,
+ sistrums, and cries of victory rising to a great clamour
+ without._)
+
+ _Nouferou_
+ (_seizes the image of Aahmes and shrieks_). Then let Aahmes die!
+
+ (_She shatters it on the ground and rushes out, Ouny hastens
+ to replace it._)
+
+ _Ranoutet_ (_sternly_).
+ Go, bring the meaning of this clamour. (_Ouny goes._)
+
+ _Ranoutet_
+ (_gathering together the pieces of the image_). This deed brings
+ judgment, for it shows that the hour is come when the Truth that
+ is eternal and the Truth that is of time will divide the ways of
+ Aahmes. As the semblance of Aahmes is broken, so shall the soul
+ of Aahmes be broken, and the victory be to the flesh alone. O
+ Lady Hathor! thou hast given this deed as a sign and an omen.
+ Nouferou has shattered the semblance of Aahmes, and has broken up
+ the waters of his soul! They no longer reflect the divine image;
+ but the troubled fantasies of love and human life. Verily Thy
+ judgments are keen and sudden as the lightnings in heaven, and
+ the thunders of Thy punishments make the earth shake in fear! The
+ ways wherein Thou comest and goest are tremendous, and no foot
+ but Thine may tread them!
+
+ _Ouny_ (_returning_).
+ Through the crowd I saw the father of Nouferou driving in his
+ chariot with white horses, and he stopped before the gates of the
+ temple and asked for her, and she came out from between the gates
+ doing obeisance to him. She is white and tall, and the crowd
+ rejoiced to see her; but her father had no smile for her, and
+ took her into his chariot and made his way through the people,
+ the horses plunging and scattering them; and I saw her no more.
+
+ _Ranoutet._
+ That is well; let him look to her.
+
+ (_Shouts of_ Aahmes! _outside_.)
+
+ _Ouny._
+ The people shout because great Aahmes is in the midst of them.
+ Their voice is like the hoarse note of the marsh-birds. He comes
+ that you should bless the victory.
+
+ (_Enter Aahmes. Kneels at Ranoutet’s feet._)
+
+ _Aahmes._
+ O Priestess of Hathor, smite me across the mouth that I may be
+ dumb, for I am not worthy to speak in the temple! Take away my
+ ears from me, that I may no longer hear the voice of Hathor; that
+ terrible voice which carries judgment: for I have failed in the
+ great trial.
+
+ _Ranoutet._
+ This plant of failure, Aahmes, which you have sown, bears a
+ flower which to the outward seeming is of splendid colour and a
+ sweet smell, and its name is Power. Put it upon your heart, and
+ be strong to rule our people; but know that such a blossom is
+ arid, and holds no promise of immortal fruit. Have power and the
+ ruling of the kingdom, but have sorrow also, and eternal grief;
+ because the doors of Hathor’s sanctuary open to you no more.
+
+
+ SLOW CURTAIN.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+
+
+ THE SHRINE OF THE
+ GOLDEN HAWK. ❦ ❦
+
+❦ _The Priest of the Waters is seated. Enter the Priest of the
+Harvests._
+
+ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦
+
+ _The Priest of Harvests._
+ Our Master finishes his work to-night.
+
+ _The Priest of Waters._
+ At last! Each day his spirit becomes more charged with lonely
+ suspicion. I doubt sometimes if this act of faith will bear good
+ fruit for us.
+
+ _The Priest of Harvests._
+ Do not fear. Gebuel, being a great magician and our master, has
+ promised us the victory. Even the Majesty of Egypt, whose name
+ shakes our land, is to be overcome.
+
+ _The Priest of Waters._
+ Gebuel shall overcome Zozer, the enemy of our arts.
+
+ _The Priest of Harvests._
+ Hark! did you not hear the distant thunder? Which of us has dared
+ name the king of Egypt for these many years?
+
+ _The Priest of Waters._
+ Pah! He, whom I have named, is the enemy of our arts. When
+ I cursed the land of Egypt with a great flood, he opened
+ watercourses, and the evil became a good, and the desert
+ was no longer waste.
+
+ _The Priest of Harvests._
+ The curse of famine, which I laid upon the land of Egypt, was
+ unavailing. I cursed the land when he, whom you have named, was
+ using the strength of his people to build the pyramid of six
+ heights and four sides as a tower of magic; for it is raised
+ above that chamber which lies empty, hidden deep in the earth,
+ waiting for the divine secret which is to manifest in its depths
+ and make full its vacancy.
+
+ _The Priest of Waters._
+ Curse the king over Egypt, for he has wrought so that our power
+ falls from us.
+
+ _The Priest of Harvests._
+ Curse the king over Egypt, for he has annulled the ancient law to
+ which all the works of men have been obedient! He has made bread
+ from the substance of heaven; wherewith he fed his people when it
+ was my will that they should starve.
+
+ _The Priest of Waters._
+ To-night great Gebuel will bless the talisman of Heru, for the
+ power of Heru is supreme: and if his godhead is on our side, not
+ even the Egyptian himself can work against our will.
+
+ _The Priest of Harvests._
+ The fire of Heru will take the form of the Golden Hawk; and his
+ wings shall stretch out, and he shall hover over the secret place
+ which Gebuel, blessed be he, has made of precious stones and rare
+ metals. And our ancient glory shall be given to us once more.
+
+ _The Priest of Waters._
+ So long as the Golden Hawk is with us, victory is with us.
+
+ _The Priest of Harvests._
+ Only the taking from us of the Golden Hawk can take victory from
+ us.
+
+ _Gebuel_ (_without_).
+ Ruler of the rivers and the floods, prepare for the coming of the
+ Hawk of the North!
+
+ _The Priest of Waters._
+ Here I obey, great Gebuel.
+
+ _Gebuel._
+ Ruler of the Harvests and the Famines, prepare for the coming of
+ the Hawk of the North!
+
+ _The Priest of Harvests._
+ Here I obey, great Gebuel.
+
+ (_Gebuel enters, carrying the enamelled pectoral of the
+ Golden Hawk._)
+
+ _Gebuel._
+ Let the ruler of the floods and of the storms stand on my right
+ hand.
+
+ (_The Priest of Waters brings libation vase to his right._)
+
+ _Gebuel._
+ Let the ruler of the harvest and the famines stand on my left
+ hand.
+
+ (_The Priest of Harvests brings corn and a cone of bread to
+ his left._)
+
+ _Gebuel._
+ Take the perfected talisman of the Golden Hawk between your hands
+ while I invoke Heru, who rests upon the central pillar of the
+ world! Heru, whose four servers uphold the shining adamantine
+ heavens! Heru, who has sent forth his retinue to the uttermost
+ limits of the earth, and remains solitary in the midst whilst
+ they wind the magic cord on the circle of the wheel. Heru, the
+ axletree of flame, the source of the fire of life!
+
+ (_The priests each hold one side of the pectoral while
+ Gebuel rests his hands on their shoulders and prays._)
+
+ _Gebuel._
+ O Ancient, before all time! Supreme Ruler over the work of That
+ Mighty Countenance which speaks the Word of Life! Pour thy golden
+ fire into this Golden Hawk now coming into being. I have made
+ thee in the image of the mountain hawk which thou hast chosen to
+ be thy symbol because of his fearless eye, which alone can
+ affront the eye of heaven. Thou hast commanded, and I have made
+ thy visible image in unchanging gold. May thy chosen ones rejoice
+ in its presence, feeling the spirit of peace resting upon them.
+ (_Removes his hands from the shoulders of the priests._) Lift the
+ bolt of the doors of the sanctuary.
+
+ (_Priests go out. Gebuel holds the pectoral on high. Priests
+ return._)
+
+ _Priests._
+ It is done, mighty one.
+
+ (_Gebuel stands before the door. The priests kneel on either
+ side of him._)
+
+ _Gebuel._
+ Hail in the holy place of thine Epiphany, solitary one! O thou
+ who restest on the star in the centre of the Northern heavens!
+ That star which alone is immovable. Thou art the celestial abode
+ of our god, Star of the North! Divine Hawk, hovering in the blue
+ night, dark as lapis lazuli! Immovable eye, in the midst of the
+ wheel of the stars, send down a ray from thy splendid solitude
+ upon this hawk—image of thee, thou solitary one, resting upon the
+ empty air, immovable as thou art in the midst of heaven. Let the
+ Priest of the Harvest and the Famine do homage before Heru! (_He
+ prostrates himself._) Let the Priest of the Floods and the Storms
+ do homage before Heru! (_He prostrates himself._) Hail, Hawk of
+ Gold! I give thy symbol into thine own keeping. Hail to thee,
+ resting over the Star of the North!
+
+ (_Veils himself and enters the sanctuary. The priests rise
+ and replace their symbols upon the altar._)
+
+ _The Priest of Harvests._ So long as Heru in the form of the
+ Golden Hawk is hidden within the shrine, victory is hidden
+ between our hands.
+
+ _The Priest of Waters._ The Golden Hawk is hidden within the
+ shrine; and victory is hidden between our hands.
+
+ (_Gebuel re-enters trembling. The priests support him._)
+
+ _Gebuel._
+ I am stricken by his eyes; I am stricken by the eyes of Heru.
+
+ (_They lead him to the seat._)
+
+ _Gebuel_ (_staring in front of him_).
+ The Star of the North shines beyond the open gates; but some
+ strong hand holds me back. I have a strange knowledge of one
+ coming—whose coming will bring darkness. (_Tries to stand._) I
+ cannot stand. Close the doors quickly. Drop the bolt. (_This is
+ done._) Bring me the sweet-smelling fire that I may breathe it
+ and find strength. (_They burn incense. He gradually recovers._)
+ Bring me the stones of wisdom, that I may understand this
+ portent. (_They bring two stones._) Let the secret be read and
+ the sign given. Speak! let me know the riddle. (_He holds the
+ stones to his ears. He says to the priests_) Leave me, for the
+ answer is adverse. There is a secret evil even at the doors of
+ this holy place. Go cleanse yourselves with rites till I summon
+ you again before me. (_The attendant priests go out._) O Heru,
+ dost thou demand that a victim should be sacrificed? How have I
+ unwittingly sinned against thee? Thou sayest, “One must be made
+ desolate.” Someone is to be made desolate.
+
+ (_Nectoris knocks outside._)
+
+ _Gebuel._
+ Who is there?
+
+ _Nectoris._
+ A wanderer.
+
+ _Gebuel._
+ There is food and shelter for all a little to the westward of
+ this place.
+
+ _Nectoris._
+ I ask no food for the body. I come to feed the soul on wisdom.
+ (_Gebuel opens the door._) Hail to you, guardian of the
+ mysteries.
+
+ (_She salutes him in the Egyptian manner._)
+
+ _Gebuel._
+ What wisdom do you seek?
+
+ _Nectoris._
+ The wisdom of the Golden Hawk.
+
+ _Gebuel._
+ Who told you of this place?
+
+ _Nectoris._
+ In my dreams I went into the forest where the bronze and gold
+ serpents coil like flames amid the leaves, and they made me wise
+ with great sayings, and the spirits of power passed into my
+ spirit; for the forest was the forest of knowledge. But when I
+ held the image of the Hawk exalted on the standard of the crossed
+ pole before the serpents, they paled and grew dim in the presence
+ of a strength greater than theirs; and as I looked the wood
+ became silent and empty, and the creatures of the wisdom, which
+ is of time, faded away.
+
+ _Gebuel._
+ The serpent is wisdom from the beginning of time, but the Golden
+ Hawk is poised in the immensities between that which has been and
+ the revelation of the last secret.
+
+ _Nectoris._
+ Even so. I saw before me the Hawk brooding with spread wings in
+ space beyond the worlds, in the midst of the network of the
+ stars; and as its wings moved they fanned the golden denseness of
+ the air, and sparks arose and came and went like luminous winged
+ creatures.
+
+ _Gebuel._
+ They are the flames of life.
+
+ _Nectoris._
+ I saw three towers rising from the head of the bird like a great
+ crown, and from them sprang the souls of the heroes.
+
+ _Gebuel._
+ Even so. This is one of the greater mysteries.
+
+ _Nectoris._
+ From the wings and the heart sprang the souls of the workers, who
+ make beautiful all they touch.
+
+ _Gebuel._
+ The heart is the kindling will of the golden one.
+
+ _Nectoris._
+ From the feet of the bird came the workers of less skill and
+ cunning, and these make the foundations of the works of beauty,
+ and drift onwards, without the inspiration and the kindling fire.
+
+ _Gebuel._
+ Where did you learn to discern these mysteries, my daughter?
+
+ _Nectoris._
+ Since my childhood I have lived among strangers in a place of
+ dreams. I have wandered from land to land searching for wisdom. I
+ have but the sombre knowledge born of time, which is shattered
+ before the final ecstacy. Now my footsteps have brought me to
+ you, O great magician.
+
+ _Gebuel_ (_kindly_).
+ You are welcome.
+
+ _Nectoris._
+ I have been guided by some star that smiled on my nativity, which
+ was darkened until this day in obedience to a wisdom higher than
+ its own.
+
+ _Gebuel._
+ Why did you seek for me?
+
+ _Nectoris._
+ Your spirit springs from the triple crown. You alone can fill my
+ soul, hungering for satisfaction in that wisdom which is beyond,
+ hidden behind the veil. (_Gebuel sighs, feeling conscious of his
+ own difficulties. He is genuine in his interest in Nectoris._)
+ Will you not let me follow you one step beyond the threshold of
+ the golden sanctuary?
+
+ _Gebuel._
+ O child of the serpent wisdom, do you not know that no mortal may
+ look upon the face of Heru and live? Only after the purifications
+ of long silences, long fasts, and constant uplifting of the
+ heart, may one born of the human race purge himself of the
+ perishable substance of the life we know, and exchange it for the
+ imperishable essence of the shining ones. Only after such rites
+ have been performed may you hope to pass through the closed doors
+ of the sanctuary.
+
+ _Nectoris_ (_with passion_).
+ Let me but look upon the door.
+
+ _Gebuel._
+ The door is there—your first duty is to keep vigil. But beware of
+ the brightness hidden in the heart of the shrine. To look upon it
+ is to be blind; to be enfolded by its heat is to pass through
+ fires too potent for any human soul.
+
+ _Nectoris._
+ I will keep vigil.
+
+ _Gebuel._
+ You are rash! being young, and do not know that there is a wisdom
+ before which the sun pales and the stars are put out.
+
+ _Nectoris._
+ Let me begin the vigil that it may be the sooner ended!
+
+ _Gebuel._
+ To watch from this day until your span of earthly life is ended
+ would not be long enough. Be warned, let the shut door remain
+ closed.
+
+ _Nectoris._
+ Father of Wisdom, put me to the test. I will endure all
+ hardships.
+
+ _Gebuel._
+ No hardship is before those who worship Heru. I ask nothing but
+ obedience to my warning. Keep vigil before the door of the
+ sanctuary; the bolts are easy, the secret of secrets is within,
+ but remember the light of flame brings desolation. You are
+ warned.
+
+ _Nectoris_ (_as if in a dream_).
+ “The light shines forth and leaves you desolate.”
+
+ _Gebuel_ (_suddenly becoming suspicious_).
+ The words that were spoken to me out of the stones! Desolate—one
+ to be made desolate! Where have you heard those words?
+
+ _Nectoris._
+ They passed through the air as you were speaking.
+
+ _Gebuel._
+ The warning is given for the second time! To you the unseen
+ spirits are not dumb. How have you this power?
+
+ _Nectoris._
+ Great Master, I am but a little child in the presence of your
+ wisdom. I come not to show that I have knowledge, but to gain it
+ by your aid. I have heard the voices of the unseen ones since I
+ was a child, and taken no thought of it.
+
+ (_Gebuel claps his hands. The priests enter._)
+
+ _Gebuel._
+ Set guards about the door, and see that none go in or out this
+ day.
+
+ (_The priests salute and go out._)
+
+ _Gebuel_ (_sardonically_).
+ The secret of all knowledge is within the shrine. The vigil must
+ be long. You will be alone for many hours, and none will enter in
+ to disturb you. Have courage!
+
+ _Nectoris._
+ Your look upon me is heavy and cold as stone. O Master, do you
+ deny me the wisdom of the Golden Hawk, for which I ask in all
+ humility?
+
+ _Gebuel._
+ Again I say the secret is within the shrine. Keep vigil!
+
+ _Nectoris._
+ I am afraid! Your face has become like a mask of stone. The human
+ face is hidden behind it. I am afraid!
+
+ _Gebuel._
+ The secret is within the shrine. Keep vigil till I come again.
+ (_He goes._)
+
+ _Nectoris_ (_shrieks_).
+ This terror kills me! (_She throws off her veil._) Spirit of
+ Zozer my father, I call on you for help! My flesh fails—I cannot
+ move, Father in thy magic shrine, save me! Father in thy magic
+ shrine, reign over me! Father in thy magic shrine, pour thy will
+ into me, for I am powerless alone! Spirit of Zozer my father,
+ help thy child!
+
+ (_She sinks on the floor. The Ka glides in and covers
+ herself with the veil._)
+
+ _The Ka._
+ Look upon me. I am with you. You have begun well, and are worthy
+ of your inheritance. Do not fail now. Have you forgotten your
+ father’s words?
+
+ _Nectoris._
+ Sister of my soul! they are in my heart for ever.
+
+ _The Ka._
+ Speak them.
+
+ _Nectoris._
+ He said, a Golden Hawk has been fashioned by the magicians of
+ Mount Bakhua, and will be hidden by them in a sanctuary. Its
+ capture would bring joy and great knowledge to Egypt. If you, a
+ woman wise with the serpent wisdom, should gain that sanctuary
+ and bring back the amulet, I will give the throne of Egypt to you
+ and to your daughters for ever; that honour may be paid to the
+ woman of splendid courage. And no man shall reign over Egypt, in
+ his own right, from that day.
+
+ _The Ka._
+ So he swore to you. You know what is within this shrine; enter
+ and take the Golden One for your people.
+
+ _Nectoris._
+ The face of the Guardian was terrible when he left me, as though
+ he knew I were tempting the gods to my ruin. Can a mortal look on
+ that hidden brightness and live?
+
+ _The Ka._
+ You are not mortal. The pure essence of the gods, whereof your
+ spirit is made, is but veiled with a gossamer of substance. Have
+ not we, O my sister soul, passed together through the flames
+ which cleanse us from mortality? Have I not stripped you naked of
+ that mortal flesh, which gives terror to the whirl of time and to
+ the immensity of the abyss, when your mortal heart died in you,
+ and your spirit dared greatly in those spaces beyond knowledge?
+
+ _Nectoris._
+ I will cast out trembling from my heart in this hour, and take
+ the strong soul which no passion can shake; that I may enter into
+ the shrine and win the Golden One for my people and the throne of
+ Egypt for myself and my daughters.
+
+ _The Ka._
+ Egypt is great and skilled in august mysteries; and to reign over
+ her and to follow her wisdom is to become equal with the gods;
+ and when the last mysteries are won, even greater than they.
+ Kneel with me, that we may together call the powers forth from
+ their hidingplace, for the great Heru is not without us. We shall
+ find him in ourselves.
+
+ (_They kneel._)
+ O thou whose wings cover the earth! cover the body of thy
+ servant, that she may find the living flame within herself, and
+ enter without fear before thee! O Hawk of the North, whose secret
+ places are paved with fire which consumeth time and the substance
+ thereof! bless the feet of thy servant that she may pass
+ unscathed to thy throne. O Heru, whose eye pierces the earth and
+ the heavens, bless the eyes of thy servant that she may look upon
+ thee and live. O Heru, on whose brow lies the weight of wisdom,
+ bless the brow of thy servant, that she may bind upon it the
+ triple crown of glory; and that she may win the wisdom of the
+ Golden Hawk, and give it to her people.
+
+ (_Nectoris rises and enters the shrine. The Ka looks after
+ her._)
+
+ _The Ka._
+ The bolts are lifted and the doors turn in their sockets. She
+ kneels, and fear wraps her round as a grey garment. O sister, let
+ the light of Heru pierce you. She rises, and her fear is rent
+ upon her as lightning rends the flesh. She is clothed in the cold
+ fires of the Northern Star. She flings her arms to the air, and a
+ wild joy is in her heart. The spirit and the flesh wrestle for
+ victory, for she has yet some part in what is mortal. She cannot
+ breathe—she speaks at last!
+
+ _Nectoris_ (_within_).
+ Let my feet move now in triumph to the music of the worlds beyond
+ space, where thy mighty heart beats out the rhythm, making the
+ worlds to fall and rise in their order, and the stars to follow
+ in their courses! I am drunk with conquest, and I shake the
+ sistrum and dance with my naked feet unscathed upon thy golden
+ floor! And the measures I dance are to me as the movement of a
+ great army which has scaled the awful walls of thy majesty, and
+ taken the fortress of thy wisdom!
+
+ _The Ka._
+ She moves in the dance as one who sees a splendour which is
+ beyond the eye of man. Her limbs shine in the nimbus of the Hawk
+ of Glory. She is more golden than the talisman upon her breast.
+ She is here! (_Dances._) She is around me! (_Dances._) Her
+ substance is not mortal! (_Dances._) She is around me; the flames
+ sweep over me, and the shadows of time pass away! (_Dances._)
+ Nectoris, my sister soul, the victory is won! (_Dances, and
+ passes into the shrine._)
+
+ _Gebuel_ (_enters and looks round_).
+ Yet another vigil broken! Heru has chosen his victim. He has
+ called her into the shrine that he may slay her. One more mortal
+ light put out by the light of the gods!
+
+ (_Nectoris appears at the door of the shrine, radiant,
+ looking younger and full of exultation. The amulet is on her
+ breast._)
+
+ _Gebuel._
+ You are not slain before the face of Heru?
+
+ _Nectoris._
+ I am not slain!
+
+ _Gebuel._
+ How have you, being unveiled, looked upon his face?
+
+ _Nectoris._
+ I look unharmed upon the face of the god because his eyes are my
+ eyes, and his power is my power, his spirit is my spirit. I am an
+ Egyptian and mistress of the mysteries. I have become one with
+ Heru, for I have eaten of his substance and I have drunk of his
+ spirit, and I am henceforth ruler of the holy places. Whoso is
+ made one with the gods makes their holy places desolate, and
+ himself becomes their sanctuary; and his being is greater than
+ theirs, being made of their own substance. For he has devoured
+ their mystical rites and symbols, he has swallowed their shining
+ forms, he has eaten the power and wisdom of every god, and the
+ period of his life is eternity!
+
+ _Gebuel._
+ Let the presence of Heru seal your blasphemous lips!
+
+ _Nectoris._
+ Yes, you are in the presence of the Flame of Life. I, a woman of
+ Egypt, have been chosen to pierce this mystery, and have entered
+ into the shrine of the Golden One, and his fires have not burned,
+ neither has his eye wounded me. The wise sister of my spirit
+ enfolded me in safety, and gathered about me the shining garment
+ of Heru. Enter in, O magician, and look upon the place of flame.
+ Enter into the empty shrine which has yielded its treasure to me.
+ The Golden Hawk is on my breast as a sign. Heru has put his
+ finger upon me and marked me for his own, and I am Egypt. I go to
+ my own country that I may sit on the throne and give wisdom and
+ exultation of heart to my people.
+
+ _Gebuel._
+ Desolation has fallen upon me! I am myself the victim of Heru.
+ Verily it is true, “In his shining I have seen darkness, and the
+ light of mine eyes has been put out.” You are stronger than I;
+ the amulet of the god lies upon your heart and does not strike
+ you dead. You have won it; let your triumph be enough. Give me
+ back my Golden Hawk, which I have made of the imperishable
+ substance of the earth!
+
+ _Nectoris._
+ I carry the Golden Hawk to my father, wise and beautiful Zozer,
+ builder of the pyramid of six heights and four sides, that he may
+ place it in the secret sanctuary under the bolt of granite that
+ will answer to the touch of his finger, but takes the strength of
+ a hundred men to lift.
+
+ _Gebuel._
+ Daughter of Zozer, wise and beautiful, let the spirit of your
+ victory remain with you, and give me back my image of the god;
+ that I, who am less than you, may see and worship with mine eyes,
+ which may only look upon the god in his semblance.
+
+ _Nectoris._
+ You can follow Heru into Egypt, O magician, and so long the
+ secret lord of this place! Your day is darkened. Come with your
+ god into Egypt, and serve him in that new land which is thirsty
+ for him; you shall see the dawn again when his light rises in a
+ great country, and you shall teach his wisdom.
+
+ _Gebuel._
+ And if I follow you, will it be to forsake this shrine which I
+ have made of precious stones and metals, each stone with its own
+ secret?—in chrysoprase the secret of vision, in amethyst the
+ inner fire of the soul, in chrysolyte the secret of seership, in
+ lapis lazuli the hidden wisdom, and in cornelian the secret of
+ ritual.
+
+ _Nectoris._
+ Bring the dwellingplace of Heru with you, for it is sacred; and
+ you are the master of these things. And my people shall hold you
+ in high honour, and your works shall live after you, wrought in
+ amethyst and in cornelian, in chrysoprase and in chrysolyte, and
+ in lapis lazuli. Bring the shrine of Heru, for his spirit goes
+ before. And put chains on the necks of your priests, and bend
+ their wills to the will of the great one who rules in Egypt, that
+ there may be no more floods or famines in the land.
+
+ _Gebuel._
+ O wearer of the Golden Hawk! Daughter of Zozer of whom prophecy
+ has spoken! Daughter of Zozer, builder of the pyramid of which
+ the six heights are the steps of wisdom, I follow you, and my
+ priests shall follow you; we are the victims upon his altar. Is
+ not the dwelling of Heru my dwelling? and shall not the shrine of
+ Heru be the eternal resting-place of my spirit? I follow you, O
+ great among women, for you are the will of Heru made manifest.
+
+ _Chorus of Priests._
+ Immovable in heaven, we adore thee. Heru, Hawk of Gold, we adore
+ thee.
+
+
+ CURTAIN.
+
+
+NOTE.—It is interesting to point out that the final ecstasy of Nectoris
+is quoted thought for thought from the earliest Egyptian texts which
+have yet been discovered. Just as the Modern World has come to think of
+Heaven as a state rather than as a place, so we learn from these texts
+that the wise men of the Ancient World had gone a step farther, and knew
+the gods to be states and not persons.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[Illustration: Logo for F. F., printer, Croydon]
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+
+
+ Transcriber’s Notes
+
+
+This file uses _underscores_ to indicate italic text, except on the
+title page, where quotation marks were used for improved readability.
+
+The text uses the terms “Yeoiret” and “Yeioret” once each. These are
+likely supposed to be the same, but since it was not clear which was
+correct, they have been left as printed.
+
+Itemized changes from the original text:
+
+ In _The Beloved of Hathor_:
+
+ • Changed “Mout” to “Maut” in line: Maut, the Vulture-Mother
+ • Adjusted final punctuation in stage direction: (_re-enters,
+ muttering_).
+ • Supplied missing opening parentheses in stage direction: (_The chant
+ continues._)
+ • Added period after stage direction: _Aahmes_ (_cries_).
+ • Added period after stage direction: (_As he goes voices outside._)
+ • Added period after stage direction: _Ranoutet_ (_prays_).
+
+ In _The Shrine of the Golden Hawk_:
+
+ • Supplied missing opening parentheses in stage direction: (_The Priest
+ of Harvests brings corn...._
+ • “Priests” changed to “Priest” in line: Let the Priest of the Harvest
+ and the Famine do homage before Heru!
+ • “_Priest of the Harvests._” changed to “_The Priest of Harvests._” to
+ match other occurrences before line: So long as Heru in the form of
+ the Golden Hawk....
+ • “_Priest of the Waters._” changed to “_The Priest of Waters._” to
+ match other occurrences before line: The Golden Hawk is hidden within
+ the shrine....
+ • Adjusted final punctuation in stage direction: (_She salutes him in
+ the Egyptian manner._)
+
+
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 76242 ***
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