Eine aegyptische königstochter. English

  CHAPTER VII.

  Psamtik went at once from his father's apartments to the temple of thegoddess Neith. At the entrance he asked for the high-priest and wasbegged by one of the inferior priests to wait, as the great Neithotepwas at that moment praying in the holiest sanctuary of the exalted Queenof Heaven.

  [The temples of Egypt were so constructed as to intensify the devotion of the worshipper by conducting him onward through a series of halls or chambers gradually diminishing in size. "The way through these temples is clearly indicated, no digression is allowed, no error possible. We wander on through the huge and massive gates of entrance, between the ranks of sacred animals. The worshipper is received into an ample court, but by degrees the walls on either side approach one another, the halls become less lofty, all is gradually tending towards one point. And thus we wander on, the sights and sounds of God's world without attract us no longer, we see nothing but the sacred representations which encompass us so closely, feel only the solemnity of the temple in which we stand. And the consecrated walls embrace us ever more and more closely, until at last we reach the lonely, resonant chamber occupied by the divinity himself, and entered by no human being save his priest." Schnaase, Kunstaeschirhtc I. 394.]

  After a short time a young priest appeared with the intelligence thathis superior awaited the Prince's visit. Psamtik had seated himselfunder the shadow of the sacred grove of silver poplars borderingthe shores of the consecrated lake, holy to the great Neith. He roseimmediately, crossed the temple-court, paved with stone and asphalte, onwhich the sun's rays were darting like fiery arrows, and turned into oneof the long avenues of Sphinxes which led to the isolated Pylons beforethe gigantic temple of the goddess. He then passed through the principalgate, ornamented, as were all Egyptian temple-entrances, with the wingedsun's disc. Above its widely-opened folding doors arose on either side,tower-like buildings, slender obelisks and waving flags. The front ofthe temple, rising from the earth in the form of an obtuse angle, hadsomewhat the appearance of a fortress, and was covered with coloredpictures and inscriptions. Through the porch Psamtik passed on into alofty entrance-chamber, and from thence into the great hall itself,the ceiling of which was strewn with thousands of golden stars, andsupported by four rows of lofty pillars. Their capitals were carved inimitation of the lotus-flower, and these, the shafts of the columns, thewalls of this huge hall, and indeed every niche and corner that met theeye were covered with brilliant colors and hieroglyphics. The columnsrose to a gigantic height, the eye seemed to wander through immeasurablespace, and the air breathed by the worshippers was heavy with thefragrance of Kyphi and incense, and the odors which arose from thelaboratory attached to the temple. Strains of soft music, proceedingfrom invisible hands, flowed on unceasingly, only occasionallyinterrupted by the deep lowing of the sacred cows of Isis, or the shrillcall of the sparrow-hawk of Horus, whose habitations were in one of theadjoining halls. No sooner did the prolonged low of a cow break likedistant thunder on the ear, or the sharp cry of the sparrow-hawk shootlike a flash of lightning through the nerves of the worshippers, thaneach crouching form bent lower still, and touched the pavement with hisforehead. On a portion of this pavement, raised above the rest, stoodthe priests, some wearing ostrich-feathers on their bald and shiningheads; others panther-skins over their white-robed shoulders. Mutteringand singing, bowing low and rising again, they swung the censers andpoured libations of pure water to the gods out of golden vessels. Inthis immense temple man seemed a dwarf in his own eyes. All his senseseven to the organs of respiration, were occupied by objects far removedfrom daily life, objects that thrilled and almost oppressed him.Snatched from all that was familiar in his daily existence, he seemedto grow dizzy and seek support beyond himself. To this the voice of thepriests directed him and the cries of the sacred animals were believedto prove a divinity at hand.

  Psamtik assumed the posture of a worshipper on the low, gilded andcushioned couch set apart for him, but was unable to pay any realdevotion, and passed on to the adjoining apartment before mentioned,where the sacred cows of Isis-Neith and the sparrow-hawk of Horus werekept. These creatures were concealed from the gaze of the worshippersby a curtain of rich fabric embroidered with gold; the people were onlyallowed an occasional and distant glimpse of the adorable animals. WhenPsamtik passed they were just being fed; cakes soaked in milk, saltand clover-blossoms were placed in golden cribs for the cows, and smallbirds of many-colored plumage in the beautifully-wrought and ornamentedcage of the sparrow-hawk. But, in his present mood, the heir to thethrone of Egypt had no eye for these rare sights; but ascended atonce, by means of a hidden staircase, to the chambers lying near theobservatory, where the high-priest was accustomed to repose after thetemple-service.

  Neithotep, a man of seventy years, was seated in a splendid apartment.Rich Babylonian carpets covered the floor and his chair was of gold,cushioned with purple. A tastefully-carved footstool supported his feet,his hands held a roll covered with hieroglyphics, and a boy stood behindhim with a fan of ostrich-feathers to keep away the insects.

  The face of the old man was deeply lined now, but it might once havebeen handsome, and in the large blue eyes there still lay evidence of aquick intellect and a dignified self-respect.

  His artificial curls had been laid aside, and the bald, smooth headformed a strange contrast to the furrowed countenance, giving anappearance of unusual height to the forehead, generally so very lowamong the Egyptians. The brightly-colored walls of the room, onwhich numerous sentences in hieroglyphic characters were painted, thedifferent statues of the goddess painted likewise in gay colors, andthe snow-white garments of the aged priest, were calculated to fill astranger not only with wonder, but with a species of awe.

  The old man received the prince with much affection, and asked:

  "What brings my illustrious son to the poor servant of the Deity?"

  "I have much to report to thee, my father;" answered Psamtik with atriumphant smile, "for I come in this moment from Amasis."

  "Then he has at length granted thee an audience?"

  "At length!"

  "Thy countenance tells me that thou hast been favorably received by ourlord, thy father."

  "After having first experienced his wrath. For, when I laid before himthe petition with which thou hadst entrusted me, he was exceeding wrothand nearly crushed me by his awful words."

  "Thou hadst surely grieved him by thy language. Didst thou approachhim as I advised thee, with lowliness, as a son humbly beseeching hisfather?"

  "No, my father, I was irritated and indignant."

  "Then was Amasis right to be wrathful, for never should a son meet hisfather in anger; still less when he hath a request to bring before him.Thou know'st the promise, 'The days of him that honoreth his fathershall be many.'

  [This Egyptian command hears a remarkable resemblance to the fifth in the Hebrew decalogue, both having a promise annexed. It occurs in the Prisse Papyrus, the most ancient sacred writing extant.]

  In this one thing, my scholar, thou errest always; to gain thine endsthou usest violence and roughness, where good and gentle words wouldmore surely prevail. A kind word hath far more power than an angryone, and much may depend on the way in which a man ordereth his speech.Hearken to that which I will now relate. In former years there was aking in Egypt named Snefru, who ruled in Memphis. And it came to passthat he dreamed, and in his dream his teeth fell out of his mouth.And he sent for the soothsayers and told them the dream. The firstinterpreter answered: 'Woe unto thee, O king, all thy kinsmen shall diebefore thee!' Then was Snefru wroth, caused this messenger of evil to bescourged, and sent for a second interpreter. He answered: 'O king, livefor ever, thy life shall be longer than the life of thy kinsmen andthe men of thy house!' Then the king smiled and gave presents untothis interpreter, for though the interpretations were one, yet he hadunderstood to clothe his message in a web of fair and pleasant words.Apprehendest thou? then hearken to my voice, and refrain from ha
rshwords, remembering that to the ear of a ruler the manner of a man'sspeech is weightier than its matter."

  "Oh my father, how often hast thou thus admonished me! how often haveI been convinced of the evil consequences of my rough words and angrygestures! but I cannot change my nature, I cannot..."

  "Say rather: I will not; for he that is indeed a man, dare never againcommit those sins of which he has once repented. But I have admonishedsufficiently. Tell me now how thou didst calm the wrath of Amasis."

  "Thou knowest my father. When he saw that he had wounded me in thedepths of my soul by his awful words, he repented him of his anger. Hefelt he had been too hard, and desired to make amends at any price."

  "He hath a kindly heart, but his mind is blinded, and his senses takencaptive," cried the priest. "What might not Amasis do for Egypt, wouldhe but hearken to our counsel, and to the commandments of the gods!"

  "But hear me, my father! in his emotion he granted me the life ofPhanes!"

  "Thine eyes flash, Psamtik! that pleaseth me not. The Athenian mustdie, for he has offended the gods; but though he that condemns must letjustice have her way, he should have no pleasure in the death of thecondemned; rather should he mourn. Now speak; didst thou obtain aughtfurther?"

  "The king declared unto me to what house Nitetis belongs."

  "And further naught?"

  "No, my father; but art thou not eager to learn?... "

  "Curiosity is a woman's vice; moreover, I have long known all that thoucanst tell me."

  "But didst thou not charge me but yesterday to ask my father thisquestion?"

  "I did do so to prove thee, and know whether thou wert resigned to theDivine will, and wert walking in those ways wherein alone thou canstbecome worthy of initiation into the highest grade of knowledge. Thouhast told us faithfully all that thou hast heard, and thereby provedthat thou canst obey--the first virtue of a priest."

  "Thou knewest then the father of Nitetis?"

  "I myself pronounced the prayer over king Hophra's tomb."

  "But who imparted the secret to thee?"

  "The eternal stars, my son, and my skill in reading them."

  "And do these stars never deceive?"

  "Never him that truly understands them."

  Psamtik turned pale. His father's dream and his own fearful horoscopepassed like awful visions through his mind. The priest detected at oncethe change in his features and said gently: "Thou deem'st thyself alost man because the heavens prognosticated evil at thy birth; but takecomfort, Psamtik; I observed another sign in the heavens at thatmoment, which escaped the notice of the astrologers. Thy horoscope was athreatening, a very threatening one, but its omens may be averted, theymay..."

  "O tell me, father, tell me how!"

  "They must turn to good, if thou, forgetful of all else, canst livealone to the gods, paying a ready obedience to the Divine voice audibleto us their priests alone in the innermost and holiest sanctuary."

  "Father, I am ready to obey thy slightest word."

  "The great goddess Neith, who rules in Sais, grant this, my son!"answered the priest solemnly. "But now leave me alone," he continuedkindly, "lengthened devotions and the weight of years bring weariness.If possible, delay the death of Phanes, I wish to speak with him beforehe dies. Yet one more word. A troop of Ethiopians arrived yesterday.These men cannot speak a word of Greek, and under a faithful leader,acquainted with the Athenians and the locality, they would be the bestagents for getting rid of the doomed man, as their ignorance of thelanguage and the circumstances render treachery or gossip impossible.Before starting for Naukratis, they must know nothing of the designof their journey; the deed once accomplished, we can send them back toKush.--[The Egyptian name for Ethiopia.] Remember, a secret can neverbe too carefully kept! Farewell." Psamtik had only left the room a fewmoments, when a young priest entered, one of the king's attendants.

  "Have I listened well, father?" he enquired of the old man.

  "Perfectly, my son. Nothing of that which passed between Amasis andPsamtik has escaped thine ears. May Isis preserve them long to thee!"

  "Ah, father, a deaf man could have heard every word in the ante-chamberto-day, for Amasis bellowed like an ox."

  "The great Neith has smitten him with the lack of prudence, yet Icommand thee to speak of the Pharaoh with more reverence. But nowreturn, keep thine eyes open and inform me at once if Amasis, as ispossible, should attempt to thwart the conspiracy against Phanes. Thouwilt certainly find me here. Charge the attendants to admit no one, andto say I am at my devotions in the Holy of holies. May the ineffable Oneprotect thy footsteps!"

  [Isis, the wife or sister of Osiris, is the phenomena of nature, by means of which the god is able to reveal himself to human contemplation.]

  ..................................

  While Psamtik was making every preparation for the capture of Phanes,Croesus, accompanied by his followers, had embarked on board a royalbark, and was on his way down the Nile to spend the evening withRhodopis.

  His son Gyges and the three young Persians remained in Sais, passing thetime in a manner most agreeable to them.

  Amasis loaded them with civilities, allowed them, according to Egyptiancustom, the society of his queen and of the twin-sisters, as they werecalled, taught Gyges the game of draughts, and looking on while thestrong, dexterous, young heroes joined his daughters in the game ofthrowing balls and hoops, so popular among Egyptian maidens, enlivenedtheir amusements with an inexhaustible flow of wit and humor.

  [The Pharaohs themselves, as well as their subjects, were in the habit of playing at draughts and other similar games. Rosellini gives its Rameses playing with his daughter; see also two Egyptians playing together, Wilkinson II. 419. An especially beautiful draught-board exists in the Egyptian collection at the Louvre Museum. The Egyptians hoped to be permitted to enjoy these pleasures even in the other world.]

  [Balls that have been found in the tombs are still to be seen; some, for instance, in the Museum at Leyden.]

  "Really," said Bartja, as he watched Nitetis catching the slight hoop,ornamented with gay ribbons, for the hundredth time on her slender ivoryrod, "really we must introduce this game at home. We Persians are sodifferent from you Egyptians. Everything new has a special charm forus, while to you it is just as hateful. I shall describe the game to Ourmother Kassandane, and she will be delighted to allow my brother's wivesthis new amusement."

  "Yes, do, do!" exclaimed the fair Tachot blushing deeply. "Then Nitetiscan play too, and fancy herself back again at home and among those sheloves; and Bartja," she added in a low voice, "whenever you watch thehoops flying, you too must remember this hour."

  "I shall never forget it," answered he with a smile, and then, turningto his future sister-in-law, he called out cheerfully, "Be of goodcourage, Nitetis, you will be happier than you fancy with us. WeAsiatics know how to honor beauty; and prove it by taking many wives."

  Nitetis sighed, and the queen Ladice exclaimed, "On the contrary,that very fact proves that you understand but poorly how to appreciatewoman's nature! You can have no idea, Bartja, what a woman feels onfinding that her husband--the man who to her is more than life itself,and to whom she would gladly and without reserve give up all thatshe treasures as most sacred--looks down on her with the same kindof admiration that he bestows on a pretty toy, a noble steed, or awell-wrought wine-bowl. But it is yet a thousand-fold more painful tofeel that the love which every woman has a right to possess for herselfalone, must be shared with a hundred others!"

  "There speaks the jealous wife!" exclaimed Amasis. "Would you not fancythat I had often given her occasion to doubt my faithfulness?"

  "No, no, my husband," answered Ladice, "in this point the Egyptian mensurpass other nations, that they remain content with that which theyhave once loved; indeed I venture to assert that an Egyptian wife is thehappiest of women.

  [According to Diodorus (I. 27) the queen of Egypt held a higher position than the king himself
. The monuments and lists of names certainly prove that women could rule with sovereign power. The husband of the heiress to the throne became king. They had their own revenues (Diodorus I. 52) and when a princess, after death, was admitted among the goddesses, she received her own priestesses. (Edict of Canopus.) During the reigns of the Ptolemies many coins were stamped with the queen's image and cities were named for them. We notice also that sons, in speaking of their descent, more frequently reckon it from the mother's than the father's side, that a married woman is constantly alluded to as the "mistress" or "lady" of the house, that according to many a Greek Papyrus they had entire disposal of all their property, no matter in what it consisted, in short that the weaker sex seems to have enjoyed equal influence with the stronger.]

  Even the Greeks, who in so many things may serve as patterns to us, donot know how to appreciate woman rightly. Most of the young Greek girlspass their sad childhood in close rooms, kept to the wheel and theloom by their mothers and those who have charge of them, and whenmarriageable, are transferred to the quiet house of a husband they donot know, and whose work in life and in the state allows him but seldomto visit his wife's apartments. Only when the most intimate friends andnearest relations are with her husband, does she venture to appear intheir midst, and then shyly and timidly, hoping to hear a little of whatis going on in the great world outside. Ah, indeed! we women thirstfor knowledge too, and there are certain branches of learning at least,which it cannot be right to withhold from those who are to be themothers and educators of the next generation. What can an Attic mother,without knowledge, without experience, give to her daughters? Naught buther own ignorance. And so it is, that a Hellene, seldom satisfied withthe society of his lawful, but, mentally, inferior wife, turns forsatisfaction to those courtesans, who, from their constant intercoursewith men, have acquired knowledge, and well understand how to adorn itwith the flowers of feminine grace, and to season it with the salt of awoman's more refined and delicate wit. In Egypt it is different. Ayoung girl is allowed to associate freely with the most enlightened men.Youths and maidens meet constantly on festive occasions, learn to knowand love one another. The wife is not the slave, but the friend of herhusband; the one supplies the deficiencies of the other. In weightyquestions the stronger decides, but the lesser cares of life are leftto her who is the greater in small things. The daughters grow up undercareful guidance, for the mother is neither ignorant nor inexperienced.To be virtuous and diligent in her affairs becomes easy to a woman, forshe sees that it increases his happiness whose dearest possession sheboasts of being, and who belongs to her alone. The women only do thatwhich pleases us! but the Egyptian men understand the art of makingus pleased with that which is really good, and with that alone. On theshores of the Nile, Phocylides of Miletus and Hipponax of Ephesus wouldnever have dared to sing their libels on women, nor could the fable ofPandora have been possibly invented here!"

  [Simonides of Amorgos, an Iambic poet, who delighted in writing satirical verses on women. He divides them into different classes, which he compares to unclean animals, and considers that the only woman worthy of a husband and able to make him happy must be like the bee. The well-known fable of Pandora owes its origin to Simonides. He lived about 650 B. C. The Egyptians too, speak very severely of bad women, comparing them quite in the Simonides style to beasts of prey (hyenas, lions and panthers). We find this sentence on a vicious woman: She is a collection of every kind of meanness, and a bag full of wiles. Chabas, Papyr. magrque Harris. p. 135. Phocylides of Miletus, a rough and sarcastic, but observant man, imitated Simonides in his style of writing. But the deformed Hipponax of Ephesus, a poet crushed down by poverty, wrote far bitterer verses than Phocylides. He lived about 550 B. C. "His own ugliness (according to Bernhardy) is reflected in every one of his Choliambics." ]

  "How beautifully you speak!" exclaimed Bartja. "Greek was not easy tolearn, but I am very glad now that I did not give it up in despair, andreally paid attention to Croesus' lessons."

  "Who could those men have been," asked Darius, "who dared to speak evilof women?"

  "A couple of Greek poets," answered Amasis, "the boldest of men, for Iconfess I would rather provoke a lioness than a woman. But these Greeksdo not know what fear is. I will give you a specimen of Hipponax'sPoetry:

  "There are but two days when a wife, Brings pleasure to her husband's life, The wedding-day, when hopes are bright, And the day he buries her out of his sight."

  "Cease, cease," cried Ladice stopping her ears, that is too had. Now,Persians, you can see what manner of man Amasis is. For the sake ofa joke, he will laugh at those who hold precisely the same opinion ashimself. There could not be a better husband.

  "Nor a worse wife," laughed Amasis. "Thou wilt make men think that I ama too obedient husband. But now farewell, my children; our young heroesmust look at this our city of Sais; before parting, however, I willrepeat to them what the malicious Siuionides has sung of a good wife:

  "Dear to her spouse from youth to age she grows; Fills with fair girls and sturdy boys his house; Among all women womanliest seems, And heavenly grace about her mild brow gleams. A gentle wife, a noble spouse she walks, Nor ever with the gossip mongers talks. Such women sometimes Zeus to mortals gives, The glory and the solace of their lives."

  "Such is my Ladice! now farewell!"

  "Not yet!" cried Bartja. "Let me first speak in defence of our poorPersia and instil fresh courage into my future sister-in-law; but no!Darius, thou must speak, thine eloquence is as great as thy skill infigures and swordsmanship!"

  "Thou speakst of me as if I were a gossip or a shopkeeper,"--[Thisnickname, which Darius afterwards earned, is more fully spokenof]--answered the son of Hystaspes. "Be it so; I have been burning allthis time to defend the customs of our country. Know then, Ladice, thatif Auramazda dispose the heart of our king in his own good ways, yourdaughter will not be his slave, but his friend. Know also, that inPersia, though certainly only at high festivals, the king's wives havetheir places at the men's table, and that we pay the highest reverenceto our wives and mothers. A king of Babylon once took a Persian wife;in the broad plains of the Euphrates she fell sick of longing for hernative mountains; he caused a gigantic structure to be raised on arches,and the summit thereof to be covered with a depth of rich earth; causedthe choicest trees and flowers to be planted there, and watered byartificial machinery. This wonder completed, he led his wife thither;from its top she could look down into the plains below, as from theheights of Rachined, and with this costly gift he presented her. Tellme, could even an Egyptian give more?"

  [This stupendous erection is said to have been constructed by Nebuchadnezzar for his Persian wife Amytis. Curtius V. 5. Josephus contra Apion. I. 19. Antiquities X. II. 1. Diod. II. 10. For further particulars relative to the hanging-gardens, see later notes.]

  "And did she recover?" asked Nitetis, without raising her eyes.

  "She recovered health and happiness; and you too will soon feel well andhappy in our country."

  "And now," said Ladice with a smile, "what, think you, contributed mostto the young queen's recovery? the beautiful mountain or the love of thehusband, who erected it for her sake?"

  "Her husband's love," cried the young girls.

  "But Nitetis would not disdain the mountain either," maintained Bartja,"and I shall make it my care that whenever the court is at Babylon, shehas the hanging-gardens for her residence."

  "But now come," exclaimed Amasis, "unless you wish to see the city indarkness. Two secretaries have been awaiting me yonder for the last twohours. Ho! Sachons! give orders to the captain of the guard to accompanyour noble guests with a hundred men."

  "But why? a single guide, perhaps one of the Greek officers, would beamply sufficient."

  "No, my young friends, it is better so. Foreigners can never be tooprudent in Egypt. Do not forget this, and especially be careful no
t toridicule the sacred animals. And now farewell, my young heroes, till wemeet again this evening over a merry wine-cup."

  The Persians then quitted the palace, accompanied by their interpreter,a Greek, but who had been brought up in Egypt, and spoke both languageswith equal facility.

  [Psamtik I. is said to have formed a new caste, viz.: the caste of Interpreters, out of those Greeks who had been born and bred up in Egypt. Herod. II. 154. Herodotus himself was probably conducted by such a "Dragoman."]

  Those streets of Sais which lay near the palace wore a pleasant aspect.The houses, many of which were five stories high, were generally coveredwith pictures or hieroglyphics; galleries with balustrades of carved andgaily-painted wood-work, supported by columns also brightly painted, ranround the walls surrounding the courts. In many cases the proprietor'sname and rank was to be read on the door, which was, however, wellclosed and locked. Flowers and shrubs ornamented the flat roofs, onwhich the Egyptians loved to spend the evening hours, unless indeed,they preferred ascending the mosquito-tower with which nearly everyhouse was provided. These troublesome insects, engendered by the Nile,fly low, and these little watch-towers were built as a protection fromthem.

  The young Persians admired the great, almost excessive cleanliness, withwhich each house, nay, even the streets themselves, literally shone. Thedoor-plates and knockers sparkled in the sun; paintings, balconies andcolumns all had the appearance of having been only just finished, andeven the street-pavement looked as if it were often scoured.

  [The streets of Egyptian towns seem to have been paved, judging from the ruins of Alabastron and Memphis. We know at least with certainty that this was the case with those leading to the temples.]

  But as the Persians left the neighborhood of the Nile and the palace,the streets became smaller. Sais was built on the slope of a moderatelyhigh hill, and had only been the residence of the Pharaohs for twocenturies and a half, but, during that comparatively short interval, hadrisen from an unimportant place into a town of considerable magnitude.

  On its river-side the houses and streets were brilliant, but on thehill-slope lay, with but few more respectable exceptions, miserable,poverty-stricken huts constructed of acacia-boughs and Nile-mud. On thenorth-west rose the royal citadel.

  "Let us turn back here," exclaimed Gyges to his young companions. Duringhis father's absence he was responsible as their guide and protector,and now perceived that the crowd of curious spectators, which hadhitherto followed them, was increasing at every step.

  "I obey your orders," replied the interpreter, "but yonder in thevalley, at the foot of that hill, lies the Saitic city of the dead, andfor foreigners I should think that would be of great interest."

  "Go forward!" cried Bartja. "For what did we leave Persia, if not tobehold these remarkable objects?"

  On arriving at an open kind of square surrounded by workmen's booths,and not far from the city of the dead, confused cries rose among thecrowd behind them.

  [Artisans, as well among the ancient as the modern Egyptians, were accustomed to work in the open air.]

  The children shouted for joy, the women called out, and one voice louderthan the rest was heard exclaiming: "Come hither to the fore-court ofthe temple, and see the works of the great magician, who comes from thewestern oases of Libya and is endowed with miraculous gifts by Chunsu,the giver of good counsels, and by the great goddess Hekt."

  "Follow me to the small temple yonder," said the interpreter, "and youwill behold a strange spectacle." He pushed a way for himself and thePersians through the crowd, obstructed in his course by many a sallowwoman and naked child; and at length came back with a priest, whoconducted the strangers into the fore-court of the temple. Here,surrounded by various chests and boxes, stood a man in the dress of apriest; beside him on the earth knelt two negroes. The Libyan was aman of gigantic stature, with great suppleness of limb and a pair ofpiercing black eyes. In his hand he held a wind-instrument resemblinga modern clarionet, and a number of snakes, known in Egypt to bepoisonous, lay coiling themselves over his breast and arms.

  On finding himself in the presence of the Persians he bowed low,inviting them by a solemn gesture to gaze at his performances; he thencast off his white robe and began all kinds of tricks with the snakes.

  He allowed them to bite him, till the blood trickled down his cheeks;compelled them by the notes of his flute to assume an erect positionand perform a kind of dancing evolution; by spitting into their jawshe transformed them to all appearance into motionless rods; and then,dashing them all on to the earth, performed a wild dance in their midst,yet without once touching a single snake.

  Like one possessed, he contorted his pliant limbs until his eyes seemedstarting from his head and a bloody foam issued from his lips.

  Suddenly he fell to the ground, apparently lifeless. A slight movementof the lips and a low hissing whistle were the only signs of life; but,on hearing the latter, the snakes crept up and twined themselves likeliving rings around his neck, legs and body. At last he rose, sang ahymn in praise of the divine power which had made him a magician,and then laid the greater number of his snakes in one of the chests,retaining a few, probably his favorites, to serve as ornaments for hisneck and arms.

  The second part of this performance consisted of cleverconjuring-tricks, in which he swallowed burning flax, balanced swordswhile dancing, their points standing in the hollow of his eye; drew longstrings and ribbons out of the noses of the Egyptian children, exhibitedthe well-known cup-and-ball trick, and, at length, raised the admirationof the spectators to its highest pitch, by producing five living rabbitsfrom as many ostrich-eggs.

  The Persians formed no unthankful portion of the assembled crowd; on thecontrary, this scene, so totally new, impressed them deeply.

  They felt as if in the realm of miracles, and fancied they had now seenthe rarest of all Egyptian rarities. In silence they took their way backto the handsomer streets of Sais, without noticing how many mutilatedEgyptians crossed their path. These poor disfigured creatures wereindeed no unusual sight for Asiatics, who punished many crimes by theamputation of a limb. Had they enquired however, they would have heardthat, in Egypt, the man deprived of his hand was a convicted forger, thewoman of her nose, an adulteress; that the man without a tongue had beenfound guilty of high treason or false witness; that the loss of the earsdenoted a spy, and that the pale, idiotic-looking woman yonder had beenguilty of infanticide, and had been condemned to hold the little corpsethree days and three nights in her arms. What woman could retain hersenses after these hours of torture?--[Diodorus I. 77.]

  The greater number of the Egyptian penal laws not only secured thepunishment of the criminal, but rendered a repetition of the offenceimpossible.

  The Persian party now met with a hindrance, a large crowd havingassembled before one of the handsomest houses in the street leading tothe temple of Neith. The few windows of this house that could be seen(the greater number opening on the garden and court) were closed withshutters, and at the door stood an old man, dressed in the plain whiterobe of a priest's servant. He was endeavoring, with loud cries, toprevent a number of men of his own class from carrying a large chest outof the house.

  "What right have you to rob my master?" he shrieked indignantly. "I amthe guardian of this house, and when my master left for Persia (may thegods destroy that land!) he bade me take especial care of this chest inwhich his manuscripts lay."

  "Compose yourself, old Hib!" shouted one of these inferior priests, thesame whose acquaintance we made on the arrival of the Asiatic Embassy."We are here in the name of the high-priest of the great Neith, yourmaster's master. There must be queer papers in this box, or Neithotepwould not have honored us with his commands to fetch them."

  "But I will not allow my master's papers to be stolen," shrieked the oldman. "My master is the great physician Nebenchari, and I will secure hisrights, even if I must appeal to the king himself."

  "There," cried the other, "that will do; out with
the chest, youfellows. Carry it at once to the high-priest; and you, old man, woulddo more wisely to hold your tongue and remember that the high-priest isyour master as well as mine. Get into the house as quick as you can, orto-morrow we shall have to drag you off as we did the chest to-day!" Sosaying, he slammed the heavy door, the old man was flung backward intothe house and the crowd saw him no more.

  The Persians had watched this scene and obtained an explanation of itsmeaning from their interpreter. Zopyrus laughed on hearing that thepossessor of the stolen chest was the oculist Nebenchari, the same whohad been sent to Persia to restore the sight of the king's mother, andwhose grave, even morose temper had procured him but little love at thecourt of Cambyses.

  Bartja wished to ask Amasis the meaning of this strange robbery, butGyges begged him not to interfere in matters with which he had noconcern. Just as they reached the palace, and darkness, which in Egyptso quickly succeeds the daylight, was already stealing over the city,Gyges felt himself hindered from proceeding further by a firm hand onhis robe, and perceived a stranger holding his finger on his lips intoken of silence.

  "When can I speak with you alone and unobserved?" he whispered.

  "What do you wish from me?"

  "Ask no questions, but answer me quickly. By Mithras, I have weightymatters to disclose."

  "You speak Persian, but your garments would proclaim you an Egyptian."

  "I am a Persian, but answer me quickly or we shall be noticed. When canI speak to you alone?"

  "To-morrow morning."

  "That is too late."

  "Well then, in a quarter of an hour, when it is quite dark, at this gateof the palace."

  "I shall expect you."

  So saying the man vanished. Once within the palace, Gyges left Bartjaand Zopyrus, fastened his sword into his girdle, begged Darius to dothe same and to follow him, and was soon standing again under the greatportico with the stranger, but this time in total darkness.

  "Auramazda be praised that you are there!" cried the latter in Persianto the young Lydian; "but who is that with you?"

  "Darius, the son of Hystaspes, one of the Achaemenidae; and my friend."

  The stranger bowed low and answered, "It is well, I feared an Egyptianhad accompanied you."

  "No, we are alone and willing to hear you; but be brief. Who are you andwhat do you want?"

  "My name is Bubares. I served as a poor captain under the great Cyrus.At the taking of your father's city, Sardis, the soldiers were at firstallowed to plunder freely; but on your wise father's representing toCyrus that to plunder a city already taken was an injury to the present,and not to the former, possessor, they were commanded on pain of deathto deliver up their booty to their captains, and the latter to causeeverything of worth, when brought to them, to be collected in themarket-place. Gold and silver trappings lay there in abundance, costlyarticles of attire studded with precious stones..."

  "Quick, quick, our time is short," interrupted Gyges.

  "You are right. I must be more brief. By keeping for myself anointment-box sparkling with jewels, taken from your father's palace, Iforfeited my life. Croesus, however, pleaded for me with his conquerorCyrus; my life and liberty were granted me, but I was declared adishonored man. Life in Persia became impossible with disgrace lyingheavily on my soul; I took ship from Smyrna to Cyprus, entered the armythere, fought against Amasis, and was brought hither by Phanes as aprisoner-of-war. Having always served as a horse-soldier, I was placedamong those slaves who had charge of the king's horses, and in six yearsbecame an overseer. Never have I forgotten the debt of gratitude I oweto your father; and now my turn has come to render him a service."

  "The matter concerns my father? then speak--tell me, I beseech you!"

  "Immediately. Has Croesus offended the crown prince?"

  "Not that I am aware of."

  "Your father is on a visit to Rhodopis this evening, at Naukratis?"

  "How did you hear this?"

  "From himself. I followed him to the boat this morning and sought tocast myself at his feet."

  "And did you succeed?"

  "Certainly. He spoke a few gracious words with me, but could not wait tohear what I would say, as his companions were already on board when hearrived. His slave Sandon, whom I know, told me that they were going toNaukratis, and would visit the Greek woman whom they call Rhodopis."

  "He spoke truly."

  "Then you must speed to the rescue. At the time that the market-placewas full."

  [The forenoon among the Greeks was regulated by the business of the market. "When the market-place begins to fill, when it is full, when it becomes empty." It would be impossible to define this division of time exactly according to our modern methods of computation, but it seems certain that the market was over by the afternoon. The busiest hours were probably from 10 till 1. At the present day the streets of Athens are crowded during those hours; but in Summer from two to four o'clock are utterly deserted.]

  "Ten carriages and two boats, full of Ethiopian soldiers under thecommand of an Egyptian captain, were sent off to Naukratis to surroundthe house of Rhodopis and make captives of her guests."

  "Ha, treachery!" exclaimed Gyges.

  "But how can they wish to injure your father?" said Darius. "They knowthat the vengeance of Cambyses--"

  "I only know," repeated Bubares, "that this night the house of Rhodopis,in which your father is, will be surrounded by Ethiopian soldiers. Imyself saw to the horses which transport them thither and heard Pentaur,one of the crown-prince's fan-bearers, call to them, 'Keep eyes and earsopen, and let the house of Rhodopis be surrounded, lest he should escapeby the back door. If possible spare his life, and kill him only if heresist. Bring him alive to Sais, and you shall receive twenty rings ofgold.'"

  [It is no longer a matter of question, that before the time of the Persians, and therefore at this point of our history, no money had been coined in Egypt. The precious metals were weighed out and used as money in the shape of rings, animals, etc. On many of the monuments we see people purchasing goods and weighing out the gold in payment; while others are paying their tribute in gold rings. These rings were in use as a medium of payment up to the time of the Ptolemies. Pliny XXXIII. I. Balances with weights in the form of animals may be seen in Wilkinson. During the reigns of the Ptolemies many coins were struck.]

  "But could that allude to my father?"

  "Certainly not," cried Darius.

  "It is impossible to say," murmured Bubares. "In this country one cannever know what may happen."

  "How long does it take for a good horse to reach Naukratis?"

  "Three hours, if he can go so long, and the Nile has not overflowed theroad too much."

  "I will be there in two."

  "I shall ride with you," said Darius.

  "No, you must remain here with Zopyrus for Bartja's protection. Tell theservants to get ready."

  "But Gyges--"

  "Yes, you will stay here and excuse me to Amasis. Say I could notcome to the evening revel on account of headache, toothache, sickness,anything you like."

  "I shall ride Bartja's Nicaean horse; and you, Bubares, will follow meon Darius's. You will lend him, my brother?"

  "If I had ten thousand, you should have them all."

  "Do you know the way to Naukratis, Bubares?"

  "Blindfold."

  "Then go, Darius, and tell them to get your horse and Bartja's ready! Tolinger would be sin. Farewell Darius, perhaps forever! Protect Bartja!Once more, farewell!"