Die Nilbraut. English

  CHAPTER XXII.

  Horapollo made his way home to his new quarters from the court ofjustice with knit and gloomy brows. As he passed Susannah's garden hedgehe saw a knot of people gathered together and pointing out furtively tothe handsome residence beyond.

  They, like a hundred other groups he had passed, hailed him with wordsof welcome, thanks, and encouragement and, as he bowed to them slightly,his eyes followed the direction of their terrified gaze and he started;above the great garden gates hung the black tablet; a warning thatlooked like a mark of disgrace, crying out to the passer-by: "Avoid thisthreshold! Here rages the destroying pestilence!"

  The old man had a horror of everything that might remind him of death,and a cold shiver ran through him. To live so near to a focus of thedisease was most alarming and dangerous! How had it invaded this, thehealthiest part of the town, which the last raging epidemic had spared?

  An officer of the town-council, whom he called to him, told him that twoslaves, father and son, whose duty it was to take charge of the bathsin the widow's house, had been first attacked, but they had beencarried quietly away in the night to the new tents for the sick; to-day,however, the widow herself had fallen ill. To prevent the spread of theinfection, the plot of ground was now guarded on all sides.

  "Be strict, be sharp; not a rat must creep out!" cried the old man as herode on.

  He was later than he had been yesterday; supper must be ready. After ashort rest he was preparing to join the family at their meal, washingand dressing with the help of his servant, when a lame slave-girl cameinto his room and placed a tray covered with steaming dishes on the lowtable by the divan.

  What was the meaning of this? Before he could ask, he was informed thatfor the future the women wished to eat by themselves; he would be servedin his own room.

  At this a bright patch of red colored his cheeks; after brief reflectionhe cried to his servant. "My ass!" and added to the girl: "Where is yourmistress?"

  "In the viridarium with Gamaliel the goldsmith; but they are going tosupper immediately."

  "And without their guest? I understand!" muttered the old man, taking uphis hat and marching past the maid out of the room. In the hall he metGamaliel, to whom a slave-girl was handing his stick. Horapollo couldguess that the Jew had come only to warn the women against him and,without vouchsafing him a glance, he went into the dining-room. There hefound Pulchena and Mary kneeling in tears by the side of Joanna, who wasweeping too.

  He guessed for whom were these lamentations, and prompted by the wish toprove the falsity of the accusation that charged him with having enteredthe house as a spy, he spoke to the widow. She shuddered as he entered,and she now pointed to the door with an outstretched finger; whenhe nevertheless stood still and was about to make his defence, sheinterrupted him loudly and urgently: "No, no, my lord! This house ishenceforth closed against you! You yourself have broken every tie thatbound us! Do not any longer disturb our peace! Go back to the place youcame from."

  At this the old man made one more attempt to speak; but the widow rose,and saying: "Come, my children," she hastily withdrew with the girlsinto the adjoining room, and closed the door.

  Horapollo was left alone on the threshold.

  Old as he was, in all his life he had never suffered such an insult; buthe did not lay it to the score of those who had shown him the door, butto the already long one of the Syrian girl; as he rode back to hisown home on his white ass, he stopped several times to speak to thepassers-by.

  During the following day or two he heeded not the heat of the weather,nor his own need of rest for his body, and quiet occupation for hismind; morning, noon and night he was riding about the streets stirringup the people, and setting forth in insinuating speeches that they mustperish miserably if they rejected the only means of deliverance which hehad pointed out to them. He was present at every meeting of the Senate,and his inflammatory eloquence kept the town council on his side, andnullified the efforts of the bishop, while he pressed them to fix theday of the marriage of the Nile with his bride.

  He knew the Egyptians and their passion for the intoxicating joys of asplendid ceremonial. This festival: the wedding of the Bride of the Nileto her mighty and unresting spouse, on whom the weal or woe of theland depended, was to be as a flowery oasis in the waste of dearthand desolation. He recalled every detail of the reminiscences of hischildhood as to the processions in Honor of Isis, and the festivalsdedicated to her and her triad; every record of his own experienceand that of former generations; all he had read in books of the greatpilgrimages and dramas of heathen Egypt--and he described it all in hisspeeches, painted it in glowing colors to the Senate and the mob,and counselled the authorities to reproduce it all with unparalleledsplendor on the occasion of this marriage.

  Every man in whose veins flowed Egyptian blood listened to himattentively, took pleasure in his projects, and was quite ready to dohis utmost to enhance the glories of this ceremonial, in which every onewas to take part either active or passive. Thousands were ruined, butthere was yet enough and to spare for this marriage feast, and theSenate did not hesitate to raise a fresh loan.

  "Destruction or Deliverance!" was the watch-word Horapollo had giventhe Memphites. If everything came to ruin their hoarded talents would belost too; if, on the other hand, the sacrifice produced its result, ifthe Nile should bless its children with renewed prosperity, what needthe town or country care for a few thousand drachmae more or less?

  So the day was fixed!

  Not quite two weeks after Paula's trial, on the day of Saint Serapisthe miraculous, saving, auspicious ceremonial was to take place. And howglowing was the picture given of the Bride's beauty by the old man,and by the judges and officials who had seen her! How brightly oldHorapollo's eyes would flash with hate as he described it! The eyes oflove could not be more radiant.

  All that this patrician hussy had done to aggrieve him--she shouldexpiate it all, and his triumph meant woe, not only to that one woman,but to the Christian faith which he hated!

  Bishop John, however, had not been idle meanwhile. Immediately afterhis interference with the popular vote he had despatched a letter bya carrier-pigeon to the patriarch in Upper Egypt, and Benjamin's replywould no doubt give him powers for still more vigorous measures. Inchurch, before the Senate, and even in the highways, he and his clergydid their utmost to combat the atrocious project of the authorities andthe populace, but the zeal which was stirred up by old Horapollo soonbroke into brighter flames than the conservatism, orthodoxy and breadthof view which the ecclesiastics did their utmost to fan. The windblew with equal force from both quarters, but on one side it blew onsmoldering fuel, and on the other on overflowing and flaming stores.Famine and despair had undermined faith, and weakened discipline;even the mightiest weapons of the Church--Cursing and blessing--werepowerless. A floating beam was held out to sinking men, and they wouldno longer wait for the life-boat that was approaching to rescue them,with strong hands at the oars and a trusty pilot at the helm.

  Horapollo went no more to the widow's home. A few hours after she hadshown him the door, his slaves came and fetched away the various thingshe had carried there with him. His body servant at the same time broughta large sealed phial and a letter to Dame Joanna, as follows:

  "It is wrong to judge a man without hearing his defence. This you havedone; but I owe you no grudge. Philippus, on his return, will perhapspick up the ends of the tie and join again what you have this day cut.I send you a portion of the remedy he left with me at parting to useagainst the plague in case of need. Its good effects have been testedwithin the last few days. May the sickness which has fallen on yourneighbors, spare you and yours."

  Joanna was much pleased with this letter but, when she had read italoud, little Mary exclaimed:

  "If any one should fall ill he shall not take a drop of that mixture! Itell you he only wants to poison us!"

  Joanna, however, maintained that the old man was not bad hearted inspite of his unaccountable hatred of
Paula; and Pulcheria declared thatit must be so, if only because Philip esteemed him so highly. If onlyhe were here, everything would have been different and have turned outwell.

  Mary remained with the mother and daughter till it grew dark; herchatter always led them back to Paula; and when, in the afternoon, theNabathaean messenger came to them, and told them from their captivefriend that he had brought her father home to her, the women once morebegan to hope, and Mary could allow herself to give free expressionto her fond love before she quitted them, without exciting theirsuspicions.

  At length she said she must go to her lessons with Eudoxia; she hada hard task before her and they must think of her and wish her goodsuccess. She threw her arms first round the widow's neck and then roundPulcheria's; and, as the tears would start to her eyes, she asked themif she were not indeed a silly childish thing--but they were to think ofher all the same and never to forget her.

  She met the governess in her own room; Eudoxia cut off the fine, softcurls, shedding her first tears over them; and those tears flowed fasteras she placed round Mary's neck a little reliquary containing a lockfrom the sheep-skin of St. John the Baptist, which had belonged to herown mother. It was very dear and sacred to her, and she had neverbefore parted from it, but now it was to protect the child and bring herhappiness--great happiness.

  Had it brought her such happiness?--Not much, in truth; and yet shebelieved in the saving and beneficent influence of the relic.

  At last Mary stood before her with short hair and in a boy's dress; andwhat a sweet and lovely little fellow it was; Eudoxia could not wearyof looking at him. But Mary was too pretty, too frail for a boy; andEudoxia advised her to pull her broad travelling hat low over her eyesas soon as she came in sight of men, or else to darken her color.

  Gamaliel, who had in fact come to warn Dame Joanna against Horapollo,had kept them informed of the progress of this day's sitting, andPaula's conduct to save her lover had increased Mary's admiration forher. When she should confront Amru she could answer him on every head,so she felt equipped at all points as she stole through the garden withEudoxia, and down to the quay.

  When she had passed the gateway she once more kissed her hand to thehouse she loved and its inmates; then, pointing with a sigh to theneighboring garden, she said:

  "Poor Katharina! she is a prisoner now.--Do you know, Eudoxia, I amstill very fond of her, and when I think that she may take the plague,and die but no!--Tell Mother Joanna and Pulcheria to be kind to her.To-morrow, after breakfast, give them my letter; and this evening, ifthey get anxious, you can only quiet them by saying you know all andthat it is of no use to fret about me. You will set it all right and notallow them to grieve."

  As they passed a Jacobite chapel that stood open, she begged Eudoxia towait for her and fell on her knees before the crucifix. In a few minutesshe came out again, bright and invigorated and, as they passed the lasthouses in the town, she exclaimed:

  "Is it not wicked, Eudoxia? I am leaving those I love dearly, verydearly, and yet I feel as glad as a bird escaping from its cage. GoodHeaven! Only to think of the ride by night through the desert and overthe hills, a swift beast under me, and over my head no ceiling but theblue sky and countless stars! Onward and still onward to a gloriousend, left entirely to myself and entrusted with an important task like agrownup person! Is it not splendid? And by God's help--and if I find thegovernor and succeed in touching his heart.... Now, confess, Eudoxia,can there be a happier girl in the whole wide world?"

  They found the Masdakite at Nesptah's inn with some capital dromedariesand the necessary drivers and attendants. The Greek governess gave herpupil much good advice, and added her "maternal" blessing with her wholeheart. Rustem lifted the child on to the dromedary, carefully settlingher in the saddle, and the little caravan set out. Mary waved repeatedadieux to her old governess and newly-found friend, and Eudoxia wasstill gazing after her long after she had vanished in the darkness.

  Then she made her way home, at first weeping silently with bowed head,but afterwards tearless, upright, and with a confident step. She wasin unusually good spirits, her heart beat higher than it had done foryears; she felt uplifted by the sense of relief from a burthensomeduty, and of freedom to act independently on the dictates of her ownintelligence. She would assert herself, she would show the others thatshe had acted rightly; and when at supper-time Mary was missing, andhad not returned even at bed-time, there was much to do to soothe andcomfort them, and much misconstruction to endure; but she took it allpatiently, and it was a consolation to her to bear such annoyance forher little favorite.

  Next morning, when she had delivered Mary's letter to Dame Joanna,her love and endurance were put to still severer proof; indeed, themeek-tempered widow allowed herself to be carried away to such anoutbreak as hitherto would undoubtedly have led Eudoxia to request herdismissal, with sharp recrimination; but she took it all calmly.

  It was not till noon-day--when the bishop made his appearance tocarry the child off to the convent, and was highly wrathful at Mary'sdisappearance, threatening the widow, and declaring that he would searchthe whole country through for the little girl and find her at last,that Eudoxia felt that the moment of her triumph had come. She quietlyallowed the bishop to depart, and then only did she send her last andbest shaft at Joanna by informing her that she had in fact encouragedthe child in her exploit on purpose to save her from the cloister. Hernewly-found motherly feeling made her eloquent, and with a result thatshe had almost ceased to hope for: the warm-hearted little woman, whohad hurt her with such cruel words, threw her arms round Eudoxia's tall,meagre figure, put up her face to kiss her, called her a brave, clevergirl, and begged her forgiveness for all she had said and done the daybefore.

  So, when the Greek went to bed, she felt as if her life had turnedbackwards and she had grown more like the happy young creature she hadonce been with her sisters in her parents' house.