The Pharaoh and the Priest: An Historical Novel of Ancient Egypt

  CHAPTER X

  The song ceased, drowned by an uproar and by a noise as of many peoplerunning.

  "Unbelievers! Enemies of Egypt!" cried some one. "Ye are singing whenwe are sunk in suffering, and ye are praising the Jewess who stops theflow of the Nile with her witchcraft."

  "Woe to you!" cried another. "Ye are trampling the land of PrinceRameses. Death will fall on you and your children."

  "We will go, but let the Jewess come out so that we may tell ourwrongs to her."

  "Let us flee!" screamed Tafet.

  "Whither?" inquired Gideon.

  "Never!" said Sarah, on whose mild face appeared a flush of anger. "DoI not belong to the heir, before whose face those people all prostratethemselves?"

  And before her father and the old woman had regained their senses,she, all in white, had run out on the roof and called to the throngbeyond the wall,--

  "Here I am! What do ye want of me?"

  The uproar was stilled for a moment, but again threatening voices wereraised,--

  "Be accursed, thou strange woman whose sin stops the Nile in itsoverflow!"

  A number of stones hurled at random whistled through the air; one ofthem struck Sarah's forehead.

  "Father!" cried she, seizing her head.

  Gideon caught her in his arms and bore her from the terrace. In thenight were visible people, in white caps and skirts, who climbed overthe wall below.

  Tafet screamed in a heaven-piercing voice, the black slave seized anaxe, took his place in the doorway, and declared that he would splitthe head of any man daring to enter.

  "Stone that Nubian dog!" cried men from the wall to the crowd ofpeople.

  But the people became silent all at once, for from the depth of thegarden came a man with shaven head; from this man's shoulders dependeda panther skin.

  "A prophet! A holy father!" murmured some in the crowd. Those sittingon the wall began now to spring down from it.

  "People of Egypt," said the priest, calmly, "with what right do yeraise hands on the property of the erpatr?"

  "The unclean Jewess dwells here, who stops the rise of the Nile. Woeto us! misery and famine are hanging over Lower Egypt."

  "People of weak mind or of evil faith," said the priest, "where haveye heard that one woman could stop the will of the gods? Every year inthe month Thoth the Nile begins to increase and rises till the monthChoeak. Has it ever happened otherwise, though our land has been fullat all times of strangers, sometimes foreign priests and princes, whogroaning in captivity and grievous labor might utter the most dreadfulcurses through sorrow and anger? They would have brought on our headsall kinds of misfortune, and more than one of them would have giventheir lives if only the sun would not rise over Egypt in the morning,or if the Nile would not rise when the year began. And what came oftheir prayers? Either they were not heard in the heavens, or foreigngods had no power in presence of the gods of Egypt. How then is awoman who lives pleasantly among us to cause a misfortune which isbeyond the power of our mightiest enemies?"

  "The holy father speaks truth. Wise are the words of the prophet!"said people among the multitude.

  "But Messu (Moses), the Jewish leader, brought darkness and death intoEgypt!" said one voice.

  "Let the man who said that step forth," cried the priest. "I challengehim, let him come forward, unless he is an enemy of the Egyptianpeople."

  The crowd murmured like a wind from afar blowing between trees, but noman came forward.

  "I speak truth," continued the priest; "evil men are moving among youlike hyenas in a sheepfold. They have no pity on your misery, theyurged you to destroy the house of the heir and to rebel against thepharaoh. If their vile plan had succeeded and blood had begun to flowfrom your bosoms, they would have hidden before spears as they hidenow before my challenge."

  "Listen to the prophet! Praise to thee, man of God!" cried the people,inclining their foreheads.

  The most pious fell to the earth.

  "Hear me, Egyptian people. In return for your faith in the words of apriest, for your obedience to the pharaoh and the heir, for the honorwhich ye give to a servant of the god, a favor will be shown you. Goto your houses in peace, and even before ye have left this hill theNile will be rising."

  "Oh, may it rise!"

  "Go! The greater your faith and piety the more quickly will ye see thesign of favor."

  "Let us go! Let us go! Be blessed, O prophet, thou son of prophets!"

  They began to separate, kissing the robe of the priest. With that someone shouted,--

  "The miracle, the miracle is accomplished."

  On the tower in Memphis a light flamed up.

  "The Nile is rising! See, more and more lights! Indeed a mighty saintspoke to us. May he live through eternity!"

  They turned toward the priest, but he had vanished among shadows.

  The throng raging a little while earlier, amazed and filled now withgratitude, forgot both its anger and the wonder-working priest. It wasmastered by a wild delight; men rushed to the bank of the river, onwhich many lights were burning and where a great hymn was rising fromthe assembled people,--

  "Be greeted, O Nile, sacred river, which appearest on this country!Thou comest in peace, to give life to Egypt. O hidden deity whoscatterest darkness, who moistenest the fields, to bring food to dumbanimals, O thou the precious one, descending from heaven to give drinkto the earth, O friend of bread, thou who gladdenest our cottages!Thou art the master of fishes; when thou art in our fields no birddares touch the harvest. Thou art the creator of grain and the parentof barley; thou givest rest to the hands of millions of theunfortunate and for ages thou securest the sanctuary."[5]

  [5] Authentic.

  At this time the illuminated boat of Rameses sailed from the shoreopposite amid songs and outcries. Those very persons who half an hourearlier wished to burst into his villa were falling now on their facesbefore him, or hurling themselves into the water to kiss the oars andthe sides of the boat which was bearing the son of their ruler.

  Gladsome, surrounded by torches, Rameses, in company with Tutmosis,approached Sarah's dwelling. At sight of him Gideon said to Tafet,--

  "Great is my alarm for my daughter, but still greater my wish to avoidPrince Rameses."

  He sprang over the wall, and amid darkness through gardens and fieldshe held on in the direction of Memphis.

  "Be greeted. O beauteous Sarah!" cried Tutmosis in the courtyard. "Ihope that thou wilt receive us well for the music which I sent tothee."

  Sarah appeared, with bandaged head on the threshold, leaning on theblack slave and her female attendant.

  "What is the meaning of this?" cried the astonished Rameses.

  "Terrible things!" called out Tafet. "Unbelievers attacked thy house;one hurled a stone and struck Sarah."

  "What unbelievers?"

  "But those--the Egyptians!" explained Tafet.

  The prince cast a contemptuous glance at her, but rage mastered himstraightway.

  "Who struck Sarah? Who threw the stone?" shouted he, seizing the armof the black man.

  "Those from beyond the river," answered the slave.

  "Hei, watchman!" cried the prince, foaming at the mouth, "arm all themen in this place for me and follow that rabble!"

  The black slave seized his axe again, the overseers fell to summoningworkmen from the buildings, some soldiers of the prince's suitegrasped their sword-hilts mechanically.

  "By the mercy of Jehovah, what art thou doing?" whispered Sarah, asshe hung on the neck of Rameses.

  "I wish to avenge thee," answered he; "whoso strikes at that which ismine strikes at me."

  Tutmosis grew pale, and shook his head.

  "Hear me, lord," said he; "wilt thou discover in the night and in amultitude the men who committed the crime?"

  "All one to me. The rabble did it, and the rabble must give answer."

  "No judge will say that," reflected Tutmosis. "But thou art to be thehighest judge."

  The prince became though
tful. Tutmosis continued,--

  "Stop! what would the pharaoh our lord say to-morrow? And what delightwould reign among our foes in the east and the west, if they heardthat the heir to the throne, almost at the royal palace, was attackedin the night by his own people?"

  "Oh, if my father would give me even half the army, our enemies on allsides of the world would be silent forever!" said the prince, stampingon the pavement.

  "Finally, remember that man who hanged himself; thou wert sorry whenan innocent man lost his life. But to-day is it possible that thou artwilling thyself to slay innocent people?"

  "Enough!" interrupted Rameses, in a deep voice. "My anger is like awater-jar. Woe to him on whom it falls! Let us enter."

  The frightened Tutmosis drew back. The prince took Sarah by the handand went to the terrace. He seated her near the table on which was theunfinished supper, and approaching the light drew the bandage from herforehead.

  "Ah!" cried he, "this is not even a wound, it is only a blue spot."

  He looked at Sarah attentively.

  "I never thought," said he, "that thou wouldst have a blue spot. Thischanged thy face considerably."

  "Then I please thee no longer?" whispered Sarah, raising on him greateyes full of fear.

  "Oh, no! this will pass quickly."

  Then he called Tutmosis and the black, and commanded to tell him whathad happened that evening.

  "He defended us," said Sarah. "He stood, with an axe, in the doorway."

  "Didst thou do that?" asked the prince, looking quickly into the eyesof the Nubian.

  "Was I to let strange people break into thy house, lord?"

  Rameses patted him on the curly head.

  "Thou hast acted," said he, "like a brave man. I give thee freedom.To-morrow thou wilt receive a reward and mayst return to thy ownpeople."

  The black tottered and rubbed his eyes, the whites of which wereshining. Suddenly he dropped on his knees, and cried as he struck thefloor with his forehead,--

  "Do not put me away, lord."

  "Well," replied Rameses, "remain with me, but as a free warrior. Ineed just such men," said he, turning to Tutmosis. "He cannot talklike the overseer of the house of books, but he is ready for battle."

  And again he inquired for details of the attack, when the Nubian toldhow a priest had approached, and when he related his miracles theprince seized his own head, exclaiming,--

  "I am the most hapless man in all Egypt! Very soon I shall find apriest in my bed even. Whence did he come? Who was he?"

  The black servitor could not explain this, but he said that thepriest's action toward the prince and toward Sarah was very friendly;that the attack was directed not by Egyptians, but by people who, thepriest said, were enemies of Egypt, and whom he challenged to stepforward, but they would not.

  "Wonders! wonders!" said Rameses, meditating, and throwing himself ona couch. "My black slave is a valiant warrior and a man full ofjudgment. A priest defends a Jewess, because she is mine. What astrange priest he is! The Egyptian people who kneel down before thepharaoh's dogs attack the house of the erpatr under direction ofunknown enemies of Egypt. I myself must look into this."