III
THE SHERD OF AMENARTAS
On the day preceding Leo's twenty-fifth birthday we both journeyed toLondon, and extracted the mysterious chest from the bank where I haddeposited it twenty years before. It was, I remember, brought up by thesame clerk who had taken it down. He perfectly remembered having hiddenit away. Had he not done so, he said, he should have had difficulty infinding it, it was so covered up with cobwebs.
In the evening we returned with our precious burden to Cambridge, and Ithink that we might both of us have given away all the sleep we got thatnight and not have been much the poorer. At daybreak Leo arrived in myroom in a dressing-gown, and suggested that we should at once proceed tobusiness. I scouted the idea as showing an unworthy curiosity. The chesthad waited twenty years, I said, so it could very well continue to waituntil after breakfast. Accordingly at nine--an unusually sharp nine--webreakfasted; and so occupied was I with my own thoughts that I regret tostate that I put a piece of bacon into Leo's tea in mistake for a lumpof sugar. Job, too, to whom the contagion of excitement had, of course,spread, managed to break the handle off my Sèvres china tea-cup, theidentical one I believe that Marat had been drinking from just before hewas stabbed in his bath.
At last, however, breakfast was cleared away, and Job, at my request,fetched the chest, and placed it upon the table in a somewhat gingerlyfashion, as though he mistrusted it. Then he prepared to leave the room.
Stop a moment, Job, I said. If Mr. Leo has no objection, I shouldprefer to have an independent witness to this business, who can berelied upon to hold his tongue unless he is asked to speak.
Certainly, Uncle Horace, answered Leo; for I had brought him up tocall me uncle--though he varied the appellation somewhat disrespectfullyby calling me old fellow, or even my avuncular relative.
Job touched his head, not having a hat on.
Lock the door, Job, I said, and bring me my despatch-box.
He obeyed, and from the box I took the keys that poor Vincey, Leo'sfather, had given me on the night of his death. There were three ofthem; the largest a comparatively modern key, the second an exceedinglyancient one, and the third entirely unlike anything of the sort that wehad ever seen before, being fashioned apparently from a strip of solidsilver, with a bar placed across to serve as a handle, and leavingsome nicks cut in the edge of the bar. It was more like a model of anantediluvian railway key than anything else.
Now are you both ready? I said, as people do when they are going tofire a mine. There was no answer, so I took the big key, rubbed somesalad oil into the wards, and after one or two bad shots, for my handswere shaking, managed to fit it, and shoot the lock. Leo bent over andcaught the massive lid in both his hands, and with an effort, for thehinges had rusted, forced it back. Its removal revealed another casecovered with dust. This we extracted from the iron chest without anydifficulty, and removed the accumulated filth of years from it with aclothes-brush.
It was, or appeared to be, of ebony, or some such close-grained blackwood, and was bound in every direction with flat bands of iron. Itsantiquity must have been extreme, for the dense heavy wood was in partsactually commencing to crumble from age.
Now for it, I said, inserting the second key.
Job and Leo bent forward in breathless silence. The key turned, andI flung back the lid, and uttered an exclamation, and no wonder, forinside the ebony case was a magnificent silver casket, about twelveinches square by eight high. It appeared to be of Egyptian workmanship,and the four legs were formed of Sphinxes, and the dome-shaped cover wasalso surmounted by a Sphinx. The casket was of course much tarnished anddinted with age, but otherwise in fairly sound condition.
I drew it out and set it on the table, and then, in the midst of themost perfect silence, I inserted the strange-looking silver key, andpressed this way and that until at last the lock yielded, and the casketstood before us. It was filled to the brim with some brown shreddedmaterial, more like vegetable fibre than paper, the nature of which Ihave never been able to discover. This I carefully removed to the depthof some three inches, when I came to a letter enclosed in an ordinarymodern-looking envelope, and addressed in the handwriting of my deadfriend Vincey.
_To my son Leo, should he live to open this casket._
I handed the letter to Leo, who glanced at the envelope, and then put itdown upon the table, making a motion to me to go on emptying the casket.
The next thing that I found was a parchment carefully rolled up. Iunrolled it, and seeing that it was also in Vincey's handwriting, andheaded, Translation of the Uncial Greek Writing on the Potsherd, putit down by the letter. Then followed another ancient roll of parchment,that had become yellow and crinkled with the passage of years. This Ialso unrolled. It was likewise a translation of the same Greek original,but into black-letter Latin, which at the first glance from the styleand character appeared to me to date from somewhere about the beginningof the sixteenth century. Immediately beneath this roll was somethinghard and heavy, wrapped up in yellow linen, and reposing upon anotherlayer of the fibrous material. Slowly and carefully we unrolled thelinen, exposing to view a very large but undoubtedly ancient potsherdof a dirty yellow colour! This potsherd had in my judgment, once beena part of an ordinary amphora of medium size. For the rest, it measuredten and a half inches in length by seven in width, was about a quarterof an inch thick, and densely covered on the convex side that laytowards the bottom of the box with writing in the later uncial Greekcharacter, faded here and there, but for the most part perfectlylegible, the inscription having evidently been executed with thegreatest care, and by means of a reed pen, such as the ancientsoften used. I must not forget to mention that in some remote age thiswonderful fragment had been broken in two, and rejoined by means ofcement and eight long rivets. Also there were numerous inscriptions onthe inner side, but these were of the most erratic character, and hadclearly been made by different hands and in many different ages, andof them, together with the writings on the parchments, I shall have tospeak presently.
[plate 1]
FACSIMILE OF THE SHERD OF AMENARTAS
One 1/2 size
Greatest length of the original 10½ inches Greatest breadth 7 inches Weight 1lb 5½ oz
[plate 2]
FACSIMILE OF THE SHERD OF AMENARTAS
One 1/2 size
Is there anything more? asked Leo, in a kind of excited whisper.
I groped about, and produced something hard, done up in a little linenbag. Out of the bag we took first a very beautiful miniature doneupon ivory, and secondly, a small chocolate-coloured composition_scarabæus_, marked thus:--
[sketch omitted]
symbols which, we have since ascertained, mean Suten se Ra, which isbeing translated the Royal Son of Ra or the Sun. The miniature was apicture of Leo's Greek mother--a lovely, dark-eyed creature. On the backof it was written, in poor Vincey's handwriting, My beloved wife.
That is all, I said.
Very well, answered Leo, putting down the miniature, at which hehad been gazing affectionately; and now let us read the letter, andwithout further ado he broke the seal, and read aloud as follows:--
My Son Leo,--When you open this, if you ever live to do so, you willhave attained to manhood, and I shall have been long enough dead tobe absolutely forgotten by nearly all who knew me. Yet in reading itremember that I have been, and for anything you know may still be, andthat in it, through this link of pen and paper, I stretch out my handto you across the gulf of death, and my voice speaks to you from thesilence of the grave. Though I am dead, and no memory of me remainsin your mind, yet am I with you in this hour that you read. Since yourbirth to this day I have scarcely seen your face. Forgive me this. Yourlife supplanted the life of one whom I loved better than women are oftenloved, and the bitterness of it endureth yet. Had I lived I should intime have conquered this foolish feeling, but I am not destined to live.My sufferings, physical and mental, are more than I can bear, and whensuch small arrangements as I have to make for your future well-being arecompleted it is my intention to put a period to them. May God forgive meif I do wrong. At the best I could not live more than another year.
So he killed himself, I exclaimed. I thought so.
And now, Leo went on, without replying, enough of myself. What has tobe said belongs to you who live, not to me, who am dead, and almost asmuch forgotten as though I had never been. Holly, my friend (to whom, ifhe will accept the trust, it is my intention to confide you), will havetold you something of the extraordinary antiquity of your race. Inthe contents of this casket you will find sufficient to prove it. Thestrange legend that you will find inscribed by your remote ancestressupon the potsherd was communicated to me by my father on his deathbed,and took a strong hold in my imagination. When I was only nineteen yearsof age I determined, as, to his misfortune, did one of our ancestorsabout the time of Elizabeth, to investigate its truth. Into all thatbefell me I cannot enter now. But this I saw with my own eyes. On thecoast of Africa, in a hitherto unexplored region, some distance to thenorth of where the Zambesi falls into the sea, there is a headland,at the extremity of which a peak towers up, shaped like the head of anegro, similar to that of which the writing speaks. I landed there,and learnt from a wandering native, who had been cast out by his peoplebecause of some crime which he had committed, that far inland are greatmountains, shaped like cups, and caves surrounded by measureless swamps.I learnt also that the people there speak a dialect of Arabic, and areruled over by a _beautiful white woman_ who is seldom seen by them, butwho is reported to have power over all things living and dead. Twodays after I had ascertained this the man died of fever contractedin crossing the swamps, and I was forced by want of provisions and bysymptoms of an illness which afterwards prostrated me to take to my dhowagain.
Of the adventures that befell me after this I need not now speak. I waswrecked upon the coast of Madagascar, and rescued some months afterwardsby an English ship that brought me to Aden, whence I started forEngland, intending to prosecute my search as soon as I had madesufficient preparations. On my way I stopped in Greece, and there, for'Omnia vincit amor,' I met your beloved mother, and married her, andthere you were born and she died. Then it was that my last illnessseized me, and I returned hither to die. But still I hoped against hope,and set myself to work to learn Arabic, with the intention, should Iever get better, of returning to the coast of Africa, and solvingthe mystery of which the tradition has lived so many centuries in ourfamily. But I have not got better, and, so far as I am concerned, thestory is at an end.
For you, however, my son, it is not at an end, and to you I hand onthese the results of my labour, together with the hereditary proofs ofits origin. It is my intention to provide that they shall not be putinto your hands until you have reached an age when you will be able tojudge for yourself whether or no you will choose to investigate what, ifit is true, must be the greatest mystery in the world, or to put it byas an idle fable, originating in the first place in a woman's disorderedbrain.
I do not believe that it is a fable; I believe that if it can onlybe re-discovered there is a spot where the vital forces of the worldvisibly exist. Life exists; why therefore should not the means ofpreserving it indefinitely exist also? But I have no wish to prejudiceyour mind about the matter. Read and judge for yourself. If you areinclined to undertake the search, I have so provided that you will notlack for means. If, on the other hand, you are satisfied that the wholething is a chimera, then, I adjure you, destroy the potsherd and thewritings, and let a cause of troubling be removed from our race forever. Perhaps that will be wisest. The unknown is generally taken to beterrible, not as the proverb would infer, from the inherent superstitionof man, but because it so often _is_ terrible. He who would tamper withthe vast and secret forces that animate the world may well fall a victimto them. And if the end were attained, if at last you emerged from thetrial ever beautiful and ever young, defying time and evil, and liftedabove the natural decay of flesh and intellect, who shall say that theawesome change would prove a happy one? Choose, my son, and may thePower who rules all things, and who says 'thus far shalt thou go, andthus much shalt thou learn,' direct the choice to your own happinessand the happiness of the world, which, in the event of your success,you would one day certainly rule by the pure force of accumulatedexperience.-- Farewell!
Thus the letter, which was unsigned and undated, abruptly ended.
What do you make of that, Uncle Holly, said Leo, with a sort of gasp,as he replaced it on the table. We have been looking for a mystery, andwe certainly seem to have found one.
What do I make of it? Why, that your poor dear father was off his head,of course, I answered, testily. I guessed as much that night, twentyyears ago, when he came into my room. You see he evidently hurried hisown end, poor man. It is absolute balderdash.
That's it, sir! said Job, solemnly. Job was a most matter-of-factspecimen of a matter-of-fact class.
Well, let's see what the potsherd has to say, at any rate, said Leo,taking up the translation in his father's writing, and commencing toread:--
_I, Amenartas, of the Royal House of the Pharaohs of Egypt, wife ofKallikrates (the Beautiful in Strength), a Priest of Isis whom thegods cherish and the demons obey, being about to die, to my little sonTisisthenes (the Mighty Avenger). I fled with thy father from Egypt inthe days of Nectanebes,[*] causing him through love to break the vowsthat he had vowed. We fled southward, across the waters, and we wanderedfor twice twelve moons on the coast of Libya (Africa) that looks towardsthe rising sun, where by a river is a great rock carven like the headof an Ethiopian. Four days on the water from the mouth of a mighty riverwere we cast away, and some were drowned and some died of sickness. Butus wild men took through wastes and marshes, where the sea fowl hid thesky, bearing us ten days' journey till we came to a hollow mountain,where a great city had been and fallen, and where there are caves ofwhich no man hath seen the end; and they brought us to the Queen of thepeople who place pots upon the heads of strangers, who is a magicianhaving a knowledge of all things, and life and loveliness that does notdie. And she cast eyes of love upon thy father, Kallikrates, and wouldhave slain me, and taken him to husband, but he loved me and feared her,and would not. Then did she take us, and lead us by terrible ways, bymeans of dark magic, to where the great pit is, in the mouth of whichthe old philosopher lay dead, and showed to us the rolling Pillar ofLife that dies not, whereof the voice is as the voice of thunder; andshe did stand in the flames, and come forth unharmed, and yet morebeautiful. Then did she swear to make thy father undying even as she is,if he would but slay me, and give himself to her, for me she couldnot slay because of the magic of my own people that I have, and thatprevailed thus far against her. And he held his hand before his eyes tohide her beauty, and would not. Then in her rage did she smite him byher magic, and he died; but she wept over him, and bore him thence withlamentations: and being afraid, me she sent to the mouth of the greatriver where the ships come, and I was carried far away on the shipswhere I gave thee birth, and hither to Athens I came at last after manywanderings. Now I say to thee, my son, Tisisthenes, seek out the woman,and learn the secret of Life, and if thou mayest find a way slay her,because of thy father Kallikrates; and if thou dost fear or fail, thisI say to all thy seed who come after thee, till at last a brave man befound among them who shall bathe in the fire and sit in the place of thePharaohs. I speak of those things, that though they be past belief, yetI have known, and I lie not._
[*] Nekht-nebf, or Nectanebo II., the last native Pharaoh of Egypt, fled from Ochus to Ethiopia, B.C. 339.--Editor.
May the Lord forgive her for that, groaned Job, who had been listeningto this marvellous composition with his mouth open.
As for myself, I said nothing: my first idea being that my poor friend,being demented, had composed the whole thing, though it scarcely seemedlikely that such a story could have been invented by anybody. It was toooriginal. To solve my doubts I took up the potsherd and began to readthe close uncial Greek writing on it; and very good Greek of the periodit is, considering that it came from the pen of an Egyptian born. Hereis an exact transcript of it:--
?????????????'????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????'????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????'??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????'??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????'?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????'?????????????????????????????????????????????????'??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????'?????????????????????????????????????????????'???????????????????'??'???????'???'??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????'???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????'????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????'???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????'???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????'?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
The general convenience in reading, I have here accurately transcribedthis inscription into the cursive character.
?????????, ??? ??????? ????????? ?????????, ? ??? ?????????????????? ??????, ?? ?? ??? ???????????? ?? ?? ???????? ???????????,??? ????????? ?????????? ?? ??????????????? ????? ????????? ??? ?????? ??? ????????? ??? ?????????????? ??? ??? ??????, ??? ??? ???????? ???? ?????????????. ???????? ?????? ????? ?????????? ??? ???? ????????? ?? ???????????? ??? ?????? ?????? ????? ???????? ???????????,??????? ????? ??? ??????, ?????????????? ???????? ???????, ?????????? ?? ??? ???????? ?????????????? ??????????, ?? ??????????????????, ?? ?? ??????????????? ????? ?? ??? ?????????????? ????????? ??? ????? ????? ???????? ??????? ?????? ???????????????? ??? ???????, ?????? ?,??? ??????? ??? ?????? ?? ????, ???????? ?????? ??? ????? ??, ????? ??????????· ?????? ?? ?? ???????????? ??? ?????? ??????? ????????????,???? ?????? ??? ?????? ???????? ???????? ??? ?? ??? ?????? ??? ??????????? ??· ? ?? ???????????? ????????? ????????? ?? ??? ??????????????? ???????? ??? ?? ???????·??????, ?? ??? ?????????, ??? ????????????? ??? ??? ????? ????????,???????? ???? ??? ??????? ????????? ???????? ???? ?? ???????? ??????, ?? ???? ????? ?????? ? ?????? ????????? ???????, ????????????? ?????? ??? ??? ???? ????, ????????? ??????????? ????? ???????????? ???????, ???? ??? ????????????? ??????? ??? ??? ??????????? ?????? ???????. ?? ?? ??????????? ??? ??? ??? ?????? ??????????????????, ?? ????????? ?????????? ??? ?? ???????, ?? ?????? ???? ??????? ?????? ??? ??????????? ?? ??? ???? ??? ???????.? ?? ????? ?? ?????? ?????, ?? ???????? ??????? ???????? ??? ?? ?? ??????????? ?????? ?? ????· ???????????????? ???????????? ??? ?????,?????????? ?????? ??????? ??????????? ??????? ?????????, ??? ?????? ?????? ??? ????? ??? ?????????????? ??? ??????????, ????? ????????, ??? ????? ??????? ????????, ??????????? ????? ???? ???????????? ?????????. ?? ??, ???????????, ?? ????????? ??????????· ??? ??? ??? ???????????????? ?? ??? ?? ???? ????????????????, ??? ????????, ????? ???????, ??? ??? ??????????????????. ?? ?? ?????????? ? ??????? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ?????, ???????? ??????? ???? ????? ?????????,??? ???? ?????? ??? ????????? ?????? ????????? ???????? ??? ?????????? ???? ?????????? ???????????· ?????? ??? ?? ?? ???????????, ???? ?? ? ???? ?????? ????????????.
The English translation was, as I discovered on further investigation,and as the reader may easily see by comparison, both accurate andelegant.
Besides the uncial writing on the convex side of the sherd at the top,painted in dull red, on what had once been the lip of the amphora, wasthe cartouche already mentioned as being on the _scarabæus_, which wehad also found in the casket. The hieroglyphics or symbols, however,were reversed, just as though they had been pressed on wax. Whether thiswas the cartouche of the original Kallikrates,[*] or of some Prince orPharaoh from whom his wife Amenartas was descended, I am not sure, norcan I tell if it was drawn upon the sherd at the same time that theuncial Greek was inscribed, or copied on more recently from the Scarabby some other member of the family. Nor was this all. At the foot ofthe writing, painted in the same dull red, was the faint outline of asomewhat rude drawing of the head and shoulders of a Sphinx wearingtwo feathers, symbols of majesty, which, though common enough upon theeffigies of sacred bulls and gods, I have never before met with on aSphinx.
[*] The cartouche, if it be a true cartouche, cannot have been that of Kallikrates, as Mr. Holly suggests. Kallikrates was a priest and not entitled to a cartouche, which was the prerogative of Egyptian royalty, though he might have inscribed his name or title upon an _oval_.--Editor.
Also on the right-hand side of this surface of the sherd, paintedobliquely in red on the space not covered by the uncial characters, andsigned in blue paint, was the following quaint inscription:--
IN EARTH AND SKIE AND SEA
STRANGE THYNGES THER BE.
HOC FECIT
DOROTHEA VINCEY.
Perfectly bewildered, I turned the relic over. It was covered from topto bottom with notes and signatures in Greek, Latin, and English. Thefirst in uncial Greek was by Tisisthenes, the son to whom the writingwas addressed. It was, I could not go. Tisisthenes to his son,Kallikrates. Here it is in fac-simile with its cursive equivalent:--
????????????????????????????????????????????????????
??? ?? ???????? ??????????.?????????? ??????????? ?? ?????.
This Kallikrates (probably, in the Greek fashion, so named after hisgrandfather) evidently made some attempt to start on the quest, for hisentry written in very faint and almost illegible uncial is, I ceasedfrom my going, the gods being against me. Kallikrates to his son. Hereit is also:--
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????
??? ???? ??????????? ????????? ??????????. ??????????? ?? ?????.
Between these two ancient writings, the second of which was inscribedupside down and was so faint and worn that, had it not been for thetranscript of it executed by Vincey, I should scarcely have been able toread it, since, owing to its having been written on that portion of thetile which had, in the course of ages, undergone the most handling, itwas nearly rubbed out--was the bold, modern-looking signature of oneLionel Vincey, Ætate sua 17, which was written thereon, I think, byLeo's grandfather. To the right of this were the initials J. B. V.,and below came a variety of Greek signatures, in uncial and cursivecharacter, and what appeared to be some carelessly executed repetitionsof the sentence ?? ????? (to my son), showing that the relicwas religiously passed on from generation to generation.
The next legible thing after the Greek signatures was the wordRomae, A.U.C., showing that the family had now migrated to Rome.Unfortunately, however, with the exception of its termination (evi) thedate of their settlement there is for ever lost, for just where it hadbeen placed a piece of the potsherd is broken away.
Then followed twelve Latin signatures, jotted about here and there,wherever there was a space upon the tile suitable to their inscription.These signatures, with three exceptions only, ended with the nameVindex or the Avenger, which seems to have been adopted by thefamily after its migration to Rome as a kind of equivalent to the GreekTisisthenes, which also means an avenger. Ultimately, as might beexpected, this Latin cognomen of Vindex was transformed first into DeVincey, and then into the plain, modern Vincey. It is very curiousto observe how the idea of revenge, inspired by an Egyptian who livedbefore the time of Christ, is thus, as it were, embalmed in an Englishfamily name.
A few of the Roman names inscribed upon the sherd I have actually sincefound mentioned in history and other records. They were, if I rememberright,
MVSSIVS. VINDEX
SEX. VARIVS MARVLLVS
C. FVFIDIVS. C. F. VINDEX
and
LABERIA POMPEIANA. CONIVX. MACRINI. VINDICIS
this last being, of course, the name of a Roman lady.
The following list, however, comprises all the Latin names upon thesherd:--
C. CAECILIVS VINDEX M. AIMILIVS VINDEX SEX. VARIVS. MARVLLVS Q. SOSIVS PRISCVS SENECIO VINDEX L. VALERIVS COMINIVS VINDEX SEX. OTACILIVS. M. F. L. ATTIVS. VINDEX MVSSIVS VINDEX C. FVFIDIVS. C. F. VINDEX LICINIVS FAVSTVS LABERIA POMPEIANA CONIVX MACRINI VINDICIS MANILIA LVCILLA CONIVX MARVLLI VINDICIS
After the Roman names there is evidently a gap of very many centuries.Nobody will ever know now what was the history of the relic during thosedark ages, or how it came to have been preserved in the family. Mypoor friend Vincey had, it will be remembered, told me that his Romanancestors finally settled in Lombardy, and when Charlemagne invadedit, returned with him across the Alps, and made their home in Brittany,whence they crossed to England in the reign of Edward the Confessor. Howhe knew this I am not aware, for there is no reference to Lombardy orCharlemagne upon the tile, though, as will presently be seen, there is areference to Brittany. To continue: the next entries on the sherd, if Imay except a long splash either of blood or red colouring matter ofsome sort, consist of two crosses drawn in red pigment, and probablyrepresenting Crusaders' swords, and a rather neat monogram (D. V.)in scarlet and blue, perhaps executed by that same Dorothea Vincey whowrote, or rather painted, the doggrel couplet. To the left of this,inscribed in faint blue, were the initials A. V., and after them a date,1800.
Then came what was perhaps as curious an entry as anything upon thisextraordinary relic of the past. It is executed in black letter, writtenover the crosses or Crusaders' swords, and dated fourteen hundred andforty-five. As the best plan will be to allow it to speak for itself, Ihere give the black-letter fac-simile, together with the original Latinwithout the contractions, from which it will be seen that the writerwas a fair mediæval Latinist. Also we discovered what is still morecurious, an English version of the black-letter Latin. This, alsowritten in black letter, we found inscribed on a second parchment thatwas in the coffer, apparently somewhat older in date than that on whichwas inscribed the mediæval Latin translation of the uncial Greek ofwhich I shall speak presently. This I also give in full.
_Fac-simile of Black-Letter Inscription on the Sherd of Amenartas._
I?ta reliq?ia e?t valde mi?ticu? et myrificu? op?s q?d maioresmei ex Armorica ?? Brittania mi?ore ?ecu? co?veheba?t et q?dm?c?s cleric?s ?e?per p?ri meo in manu ferebat q?d pe?itus illvdde?trueret, affirma?s q?d e??et ab ip?o ?athana co?flatu?pre?tigio?a et dyabolica arte q?re p?ter mevs co?fregit illvdi? dvas p?tes q?s q?dm ego Johs? de Vi?ceto ?alvas ?ervavi etadaptavi ?icut ap?paret die lu?e p?r? po?t fe?t beate Mrie vir{g}anni gr?e mccccxlv.
_Expanded Version of the above Black-Letter Inscription._
Ista reliquia est valde misticum et myrificum opus, quod majores meiex Armorica, scilicet Britannia Minore, secum convehebant; et et quidamsanctus clericus semper patri meo in manu ferebat quod penitus illuddestrueret, affirmans quod esset ab ipso Sathana conflatum prestigiosaet dyabolica arte, quare pater meus confregit illud in duas partes, quasquidem ego Johannes de Vinceto salvas servavi et adaptavi sicut apparetdie lune proximo post festum beate Marie Virginis anni gratie MCCCCXLV.
_Fac-simile of the Old English Black-Letter Translation of the aboveLatin Inscription from the Sherd of Amenartas found inscribed upon aparchment._
Thys rellike ys a ryghte mistycall worke & a marvaylous y? whychemyne aunceteres afore tyme dyd conveigh hider w? y? ffrom Armorykewh? ys to ?eien Britaine y? le??e & a certayne holye clerke?houlde allweyes beare my ffadir on honde y? he owghte uttirly fforto ffru??he y? ?ame affyrmynge y? yt was ffourmyd & confflatydoff ?athanas hym ?elffe by arte magike & dyvelly??he wherefore myffadir dyd take y? ?ame & to bra?t yt yn tweyne but I John de Vinceydyd ?ave whool y? tweye p?tes therof & topeecyd y? togydder agayne?oe as yee ?e on y{s} daye mondaye next ffolowynge after y? ffeesteof ?eynte Marye y? ble??ed vyrgyne yn y? yeere of ?alvaciounffowertene hundreth & ffyve & ffowrti.
_Modernised Version of the above Black-Letter Translation._
Thys rellike ys a ryghte mistycall worke and a marvaylous, ye whychemyne aunceteres aforetyme dyd conveigh hider with them from Armorykewhich ys to seien Britaine ye Lesse and a certayne holye clerke shouldallweyes beare my fadir on honde that he owghte uttirly for to frussheye same, affyrmynge that yt was fourmed and conflatyed of Sathanas hymselfe by arte magike and dyvellysshe wherefore my fadir dyd take ye sameand tobrast yt yn tweyne, but I, John de Vincey, dyd save whool ye tweyepartes therof and topeecyd them togydder agayne soe as yee se, on thisdaye mondaye next followynge after ye feeste of Seynte Marye ye BlessedVyrgyne yn ye yeere of Salvacioun fowertene hundreth and fyve andfowerti.
The next and, save one, last entry was Elizabethan, and dated 1564. Amost strange historie, and one that did cost my father his life; for inseekynge for the place upon the east coast of Africa, his pinnancewas sunk by a Portuguese galleon off Lorenzo Marquez, and he himselfperished.--John Vincey.
Then came the last entry, apparently, to judge by the style ofwriting, made by some representative of the family in the middle of theeighteenth century. It was a misquotation of the well-known lines inHamlet, and ran thus: There are more things in Heaven and earth thanare dreamt of in your philosophy, Horatio.[*]
[*] Another thing that makes me fix the date of this entry at the middle of the eighteenth century is that, curiously enough, I have an acting copy of Hamlet, written about 1740, in which these two lines are misquoted almost exactly in the same way, and I have little doubt but that the Vincey who wrote them on the potsherd heard them so misquoted at that date. Of course, the lines really run:--
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.--L. H. H.
And now there remained but one more document to be examined--namely, theancient black-letter transcription into mediæval Latin of the uncialinscription on the sherd. As will be seen, this translation was executedand subscribed in the year 1495, by a certain learned man, Edmundusde Prato (Edmund Pratt) by name, licentiate in Canon Law, of ExeterCollege, Oxford, who had actually been a pupil of Grocyn, the firstscholar who taught Greek in England.[*] No doubt, on the fame of thisnew learning reaching his ears, the Vincey of the day, perhaps that sameJohn de Vincey who years before had saved the relic from destruction andmade the black-letter entry on the sherd in 1445, hurried off toOxford to see if perchance it might avail to dissolve the secret ofthe mysterious inscription. Nor was he disappointed, for the learnedEdmundus was equal to the task. Indeed his rendering is so excellentan example of mediæval learning and latinity that, even at the risk ofsating the learned reader with too many antiquities, I have made up mymind to give it in fac-simile, together with an expanded version for thebenefit of those who find the contractions troublesome. The translationhas several peculiarities on which this is not the place to dwell, but Iwould in passing call the attention of scholars to the passage duxeruntautem nos ad reginam _advenaslasaniscoronantium_, which strikes me asa delightful rendering of the original, ?????? ?? ??????????? ??? ??? ?????? ???????????????????.
[*] Grocyn, the instructor of Erasmus, studied Greek under Chalcondylas the Byzantine at Florence, and first lectured in the Hall of Exeter College, Oxford, in 1491.--Editor.
_Mediæval Black-Letter Latin Translation of the Uncial Inscription on the Sherd of Amenartas_
Amenartas e gen. reg. Egyptii uxor Callicratis ?acerdot? I?idisqua? dei fove?t demonia atte?du?t filiol’ ?uo Ti?i?theni ia?moribu?da ita ma?dat: Effugi quo?da? ex Egypto regna?te Nectanebocu? patre tuo, p?pter mei amore? pejerato. Fugie?tes aute? v’?usNotu? trans mare et xxiiij me??es p’r litora Libye v’?usOrie?te? errant? ubi e?t petra queda? m?gna ?culpta in?tarEthiop? capit?, deinde dies iiij ab o?t? flum? m?gni eiectip’tim ?ubmer?i ?umus p’tim morbo mortui ?um?: in fine aute? afer? ho?i?bs portabamur p?r palud? et vada. ubi aviu? m’titudocelu? obu?brat dies x. donec advenim? ad cavu? que?da? monte?,ubi olim m?gna urbs erat, caverne quoq? im?e??e: duxeru?t aute?nos ad regina? Advena?la?ani?corona?tiu? que magic? utebat?et peritia omniu? rer? et ?alte? pulcrit? et vigorei??e?e?cibil’ erat. Hec m?gno patr? tui amore p?cul?ap’mu? q’de? ei con?ubiu? michi morte? parabat. po?tea v’rorecu?a?te Callicrate amore mei et timore regine affecto nos p?rmagica? abduxit p’r vias horribil’ ubi e?t puteus ille p?fu?dus,cuius iuxta aditu? iacebat ?enior? philo?ophi cadaver, etadve?ie?tib? mo??travit flam?a? Vite erecta?, i?star columnevoluta?tis, voces emitte?te? q??i tonitrus: tu?c p?r igne?i?petu nociuo expers tra??iit et ia? ipsa ?e?e formo?ior vi?ae?t.
Quib? fact? iuravit ?e patre? tuu? quoq? im?ortale?o?te??ura? e??e, ?i me prius occi?a regine co?tuberniu?mallet; neq? eni? ip?a me occidere valuit, p?pter no?tratu?m?gica? cuius egomet p?tem habeo. Ille vero nichil huius geñ maluit,manib ante ocul? pa??is ne mulier? formo?itate? ad?piceret:po?tea eu? m?gica p?cu??it arte, at mortuu? efferebat i?decu? fletib? et vagitib?, me p?r timore? expulit ad o?tiu? m?gniflumiñ veliuoli porro in nave in qua te peperi, uix po?t dies hvcAthenas invecta ?u?. At tu, O Ti?i?theñ, ne q’d quoru? ma?donauci fac: nece??e eni? e?t muliere? exquirere ?i qva Vitemy?teriu? i?petres et vi?dicare, qua?tu? in te e?t, patre?tuu? Callierat? in regine morte. Sin timore ?ue aliq? cav?a re?reli?quis i?fecta?, hoc ip?u? oi?b? po?ter? ma?do du? bonvsq?s inveniatur qvi ignis lauacru? no? p?rhorre?cet et p?tentiadigñ do?i?abit? ho?i?u?.
Talia dico incredibilia q?de? at min?e ñcta de reb? michi cognitis.
Hec Grece scripta Latine reddidit vir doctus Edm?ds de Prato, inDecretis Licenciatus e Coll. Exon: Oxon: docti??imi Grocyni quondam epupillis, Id. Apr. A?'. Dn?i. MCCCCLXXXXV°.
_Expanded Version of the above Mediæval Latin Translation_
Amenartas, e genere regio Egyptii, uxor Callicratis, sacerdotis Isidis,quam dei fovent demonia attendunt, filiolo suo Tisistheni jam moribundaita mandat: Effugi quodam ex Egypto, regnante Nectanebo, cum patre tuo,propter mei amorem pejerato. Fugientes autem versus Notum trans mare,et viginti quatuor menses per litora Libye versus Orientem errantes,ubi est petra quedam magna sculpta instar Ethiopis capitis, deinde diesquatuor ab ostio fluminis magni ejecti partim submersi sumus partimmorbo mortui sumus: in fine autem a feris hominibus portabamur perpaludes et vada, ubi avium multitudo celum obumbrat, dies decem, donecadvenimus ad cavum quendam montem, ubi olim magna urbs erat, cavernequoque immense; duxerunt autem nos ad reginam Advenaslasaniscoronantium,que magicâ utebatur et peritiá omnium rerum, et saltem pulcritudine etvigore insenescibilis erat. Hec magno patris tui amore perculsa,primum quidem ei connubium michi mortem parabat; postea vero, recusanteCallicrate, amore mei et timore regine affecto, nos per magicam abduxitper vias horribiles ubi est puteus ille profundus, cujus juxta aditumjacebat senioris philosophi cadaver, et advenientibus monstravitflammam Vite erectam, instar columne voluntantis, voces emittentem quasitonitrus: tunc per ignem impetu nocivo expers transiit et jam ipsa seseformosior visa est.
Quibus factis juravit se patrem tuum quoque immortalem ostensuramesse, si me prius occisa regine contubernium mallet; neque enim ipsa meoccidere valuit, propter nostratum magicam cujus egomet partem habeo.Ille vero nichil hujus generis malebat, manibus ante oculos passis, nemulieris formositatem adspiceret: postea illum magica percussit arte,at mortuum efferebat inde cum fletibus et vagitibus, et me per timoremexpulit ad ostium magni fluminis, velivoli, porro in nave, in qua tepeperi, vix post dies huc Athenas vecta sum. At tu, O Tisisthenes, nequid quorum mando nauci fac: necesse enim est mulierem exquirere si quaVite mysterium impetres et vindicare, quautum in te est, patrem tuumCallieratem in regine morte. Sin timore sue aliqua causa rem reliquisinfectam, hoc ipsum omnibus posteris mando, dum bonus quis inveniaturqui ignis lavacrum non perhorrescet, et potentia dignus dominabiturhominum.
Talia dico incredibilia quidem at minime ficta de rebus michi cognitis.
Hec Grece scripta Latine reddidit vir doctus Edmundus de Prato, inDescretis Licenciatus, e Collegio Exoniensi Oxoniensi doctissimi Grocyniquondam e pupillis, Idibus Aprilis Anno Domini MCCCCLXXXXV°.
Well, I said, when at length I had read out and carefully examinedthese writings and paragraphs, at least those of them that were stilleasily legible, that is the conclusion of the whole matter, Leo, andnow you can form your own opinion on it. I have already formed mine.
And what is it? he asked, in his quick way.
It is this. I believe that potsherd to be perfectly genuine, and that,wonderful as it may seem, it has come down in your family from sincethe fourth century before Christ. The entries absolutely prove it, andtherefore, however improbable it may seem, it must be accepted. Butthere I stop. That your remote ancestress, the Egyptian princess, orsome scribe under her direction, wrote that which we see on the sherdI have no doubt, nor have I the slightest doubt but that her sufferingsand the loss of her husband had turned her head, and that she was notright in her mind when she did write it.
How do you account for what my father saw and heard there? asked Leo.
Coincidence. No doubt there are bluffs on the coast of Africa thatlook something like a man's head, and plenty of people who speak bastardArabic. Also, I believe that there are lots of swamps. Another thingis, Leo, and I am sorry to say it, but I do not believe that your poorfather was quite right when he wrote that letter. He had met witha great trouble, and also he had allowed this story to prey on hisimagination, and he was a very imaginative man. Anyway, I believe thatthe whole thing is the most unmitigated rubbish. I know that there arecurious things and forces in nature which we rarely meet with, and, whenwe do meet them, cannot understand. But until I see it with my own eyes,which I am not likely to, I never will believe that there is any meansof avoiding death, even for a time, or that there is or was a whitesorceress living in the heart of an African swamp. It is bosh, my boy,all bosh!--What do you say, Job?
I say, sir, that it is a lie, and, if it is true, I hope Mr. Leo won'tmeddle with no such things, for no good can't come of it.
Perhaps you are both right, said Leo, very quietly. I express noopinion. But I say this. I am going to set the matter at rest once andfor all, and if you won't come with me I will go by myself.
I looked at the young man, and saw that he meant what he said. When Leomeans what he says he always puts on a curious look about the mouth. Ithas been a trick of his from a child. Now, as a matter of fact, I had nointention of allowing Leo to go anywhere by himself, for my own sake, ifnot for his. I was far too attached to him for that. I am not a manof many ties or affections. Circumstances have been against me in thisrespect, and men and women shrink from me, or at least, I fancy thatthey do, which comes to the same thing, thinking, perhaps, that mysomewhat forbidding exterior is a key to my character. Rather thanendure this, I have, to a great extent, secluded myself from the world,and cut myself off from those opportunities which with most men resultin the formation of relations more or less intimate. Therefore Leo wasall the world to me--brother, child, and friend--and until he wearied ofme, where he went there I should go too. But, of course, it would not doto let him see how great a hold he had over me; so I cast about for somemeans whereby I might let myself down easy.
Yes, I shall go, Uncle; and if I don't find the 'rolling Pillar ofLife,' at any rate I shall get some first-class shooting.
Here was my opportunity, and I took it.
Shooting? I said. Ah! yes; I never thought of that. It must be a verywild stretch of country, and full of big game. I have always wanted tokill a buffalo before I die. Do you know, my boy, I don't believe in thequest, but I do believe in big game, and really on the whole, if, afterthinking it over, you make up your mind to go, I will take a holiday,and come with you.
Ah, said Leo, I thought that you would not lose such a chance. Buthow about money? We shall want a good lot.
You need not trouble about that, I answered. There is all your incomethat has been accumulating for years, and besides that I have savedtwo-thirds of what your father left to me, as I consider, in trust foryou. There is plenty of cash.
Very well, then, we may as well stow these things away and go up totown to see about our guns. By the way, Job, are you coming too? It'stime you began to see the world.
Well, sir, answered Job, stolidly, I don't hold much with foreignparts, but if both you gentlemen are going you will want somebody tolook after you, and I am not the man to stop behind after serving youfor twenty years.
That's right, Job, said I. You won't find out anything wonderful, butyou will get some good shooting. And now look here, both of you. I won'thave a word said to a living soul about this nonsense, and I pointedto the potsherd. If it got out, and anything happened to me, my next ofkin would dispute my will on the ground of insanity, and I should becomethe laughing stock of Cambridge.
That day three months we were on the ocean, bound for Zanzibar.