CHAPTER II
OF THE DISOBEDIENCE OF HARMACHIS; OF THE SLAYING OF THE LION; AND OF THESPEECH OF THE OLD WIFE, ATOUA
And after these things Ptolemy the Piper troubled us no more, nor did heagain send his soldiers to seek for him of whom it was prophesied thathe should be Pharaoh. For the head of the child, my foster-brother,was brought to him by the eunuch as he sat in his palace of marble atAlexandria, flushed with Cyprian wine, and played upon the flute beforehis women. And at his bidding the eunuch lifted up the head by the hairfor him to look on. Then he laughed and smote it on the cheek with hissandal, bidding one of the girls crown Pharaoh with flowers. And hebowed the knee, and mocked the head of the innocent child. But the girl,who was sharp of tongue--for all of this I heard in after years--saidto him that "he did well to bow the knee, for this child was indeedPharaoh, the greatest of Pharaohs, and his name was the _Osiris_ and histhrone was _Death_."
Auletes was much troubled at these words, and trembled, for, being awicked man, he greatly feared entering into Amenti. So he caused thegirl to be slain because of the evil omen of her saying; crying that hewould send her to worship that Pharaoh whom she had named. And the otherwomen he sent away, and played no more upon the flute till he was onceagain drunk on the morrow. But the Alexandrians made a song on thematter, which is still sung about the streets. And this is the beginningof it--
Ptolemy the Piper played Over dead and dying; Piped and played he well. Sure that flute of his was made Of the dank reed sighing O'er the streams of Hell. There beneath the shadows grey, With the sisters three, Shall he pipe for many a day. May the Frog his butler be! And his wine the water of that countrie-- Ptolemy the Piper!
After this the years passed on, nor did I, being very little, knowanything of the great things that came to pass in Egypt; nor is it mypurpose to set them out here. For I, Harmachis, having little time leftto me, will only speak of those things with which I have been concerned.
And as the time went on, my father and the teachers instructed me in theancient learning of our people, and in such matters appertaining tothe Gods as it is meet that children should know. So I grew strong andcomely, for my hair was black as the hair of the divine Nout, and myeyes were blue as the blue lotus, and my skin was like the alabasterwithin the sanctuaries. For now that these glories have passed from meI may speak of them without shame. I was strong also. There was no youthof my years in Abouthis who could stand against me to wrestle with me,nor could any throw so far with the sling or spear. And I much yearnedto hunt the lion; but he whom I called my father forbade me, telling methat my life was of too great worth to be so lightly hazarded. But whenI bowed before him and prayed he would make his meaning clear to me,the old man frowned and answered that the Gods made all things clear intheir own season. For my part, however, I went away in wroth, for therewas a youth in Abouthis who with others had slain a lion which fell uponhis father's herds, and, being envious of my strength and beauty, he setit about that I was cowardly at heart, in that when I went out to huntI only slew jackals and gazelles. Now, this was when I had reached myseventeenth year and was a man grown.
It chanced, therefore, that as I went sore at heart from the presenceof the High Priest, I met this youth, who called to me and mocked me,bidding me know the country people had told him that a great lion wasdown among the rushes by the banks of the canal which runs past theTemple, lying at a distance of thirty stadia from Abouthis. And, stillmocking me, he asked me if I would come and help him slay this lion, orwould I go and sit among the old women and bid them comb my side lock?This bitter word so angered me that I was near to falling on him; butin place therefore, forgetting my father's saying, I answered that if hewould come alone, I would go with him and seek this lion, and he shouldlearn if I were indeed a coward. And at first he would not, for, as menknow, it is our custom to hunt the lion in companies; so it was my hourto mock. Then he went and fetched his bow and arrows and a sharp knife.And I brought forth my heavy spear, which had a shaft of thorn-wood, andat its end a pomegranate in silver, to hold the hand from slipping; and,in silence, we went, side by side, to where the lion lay. When wecame to the place, it was near sundown; and there, upon the mud of thecanal-bank, we found the lion's slot, which ran into a thick clump ofreeds.
"Now, thou boaster," I said, "wilt thou lead the way into yonder reeds,or shall I?" And I made as though I would lead the way.
"Nay, nay," he answered, "be not so mad! The brute will spring uponthee and rend thee. See! I will shoot among the reeds. Perchance, if hesleeps, it will arouse him." And he drew his bow at a venture.
How it chanced I know not, but the arrow struck the sleeping lion, and,like a flash of light from the belly of a cloud, he bounded from theshelter of the reeds, and stood before us with bristling mane and yelloweyes, the arrow quivering in his flank. He roared aloud in fury, and theearth shook.
"Shoot with the bow," I cried, "shoot swiftly ere he spring!"
But courage had left the breast of the boaster, his jaw dropped down andhis fingers unloosed their hold so that the bow fell from them; then,with a loud cry he turned and fled behind me, leaving the lion in mypath. But while I stood waiting my doom, for though I was sore afraidI would not fly, the lion crouched himself, and turning not aside, withone great bound swept over me, touching me not. He lit, and again hebounded full upon the boaster's back, striking him such a blow with hisgreat paw that his head was crushed as an egg thrown against a stone. Hefell down dead, and the lion stood and roared over him. Then I was madwith horror, and, scarce knowing what I did, I grasped my spear and witha shout I charged. As I charged the lion lifted himself up above me.He smote at me with his paw; but with all my strength I drove the broadspear into his throat, and, shrinking from the agony of the steel, hisblow fell short and did no more than rip my skin. Back he fell, thegreat spear far in his throat; then rising, he roared in pain and leapttwice the height of a man straight into the air, smiting at the spearwith his forepaws. Twice he leapt thus, horrible to see, and twice hefell upon his back. Then his strength spent itself with his rushingblood, and, groaning like a bull, he died; while I, being but a lad,stood and trembled with fear now that all cause of fear had passed.
But as I stood and gazed at the body of him who had taunted me, and atthe carcass of the lion, a woman came running towards me, even the sameold wife, Atoua, who, though I knew it not as yet, had offered up herflesh and blood that I might be saved alive. For she had been gatheringsimples, in which she had great skill, by the water's edge, not knowingthat there was a lion near (and, indeed, the lions, for the most part,are not found in the tilled land, but rather in the desert and theLibyan mountains), and had seen from a distance that which I have setdown. Now, when she was come, she knew me for Harmachis, and, bendingherself, she made obeisance to me, and saluted me, calling me Royal, andworthy of all honour, and beloved, and chosen of the Holy Three, ay, andby the name of the Pharaoh! the Deliverer!
But I, thinking that terror had made her sick of mind, asked her of whatshe would speak.
"Is it a great thing," I asked, "that I should slay a lion? Is it amatter worthy of such talk as thine? There live, and have lived, men whohave slain many lions. Did not the Divine Amen-hetep the Osirian slaywith his own hand more than a hundred lions? Is it not written on thescarabaeus that hangs within my father's chamber, that he slew lionsaforetime? And have not others done likewise? Why then, speakest thouthus, O foolish woman?"
All of which I said, because, having now slain the lion, I was minded,after the manner of youth, to hold it as a thing of no account. But shedid not cease to make obeisance, and to call me by names that are toohigh to be written.
"O Royal One," she cried, "wisely did thy mother prophecy. Surely theHoly Spirit, the Knepth, was in her, O thou conceived by a God! See theomen. The lion there--he growls within the Capitol at Rome--and the deadman, he is the Ptolemy--the Macedonian spawn that, like a foreign weed,hath overgrown the land of Nile; with t
he Macedonian Lagidae thou shaltgo to smite the lion of Rome. But the Macedonian cur shall fly, and theRoman lion shall strike him down, and thou shalt strike down the lion,and the land of Khem shall once more be free! free! Keep thyself butpure, according to the commandment of the Gods, O son of the RoyalHouse; O hope of Khemi! be but ware of Woman the Destroyer, and as Ihave said, so shall it be. I am poor and wretched; yea, stricken withsorrow. I have sinned in speaking of what should be hid, and for my sinI have paid in the coin of that which was born of my womb; willinglyhave I paid for thee. But I have still of the wisdom of our people, nordo the Gods, in whose eyes all are equal, turn their countenance fromthe poor; the Divine Mother Isis hath spoken to me--but last night shespake--bidding me come hither to gather herbs, and read to thee thesigns that I should see. And as I have said, so it shall come to pass,if thou canst but endure the weight of the great temptation. Comehither, Royal One!" and she led me to the edge of the canal, where thewater was deep, and still and blue. "Now gaze upon that face as thewater throws it back. Is not that brow fitted to bear the double crown?Do not those gentle eyes mirror the majesty of kings? Hath not the Ptah,the Creator, fashioned that form to fit the Imperial garb, and awe theglance of multitudes looking through thee to God?
"Nay, nay!" she went on in another voice--a shrill old wife's voice--"Iwill--be not so foolish, boy--the scratch of a lion is a venomous thing,a terrible thing; yea, as bad as the bite of an asp--it must be treated,else it will fester, and all thy days thou shalt dream of lions; ay, andsnakes; and, also, it will break out in sores. But I know of it--I know.I am not crazed for nothing. For mark! everything has its balance--inmadness is much wisdom, and in wisdom much madness. _La! la! la!_Pharaoh himself can't say where the one begins and the other ends. Now,don't stand gazing there, looking as silly as a cat in a crocus-colouredrobe, as they say in Alexandria; but just let me stick these greenthings on the place, and in six days you'll heal up as white as athree-year-child. Never mind the smart of it, lad. By Him who sleepsat Philae, or at Abouthis, or at Abydus--as our divine masters have itnow--or wherever He does sleep, which is a thing we shall all find outbefore we want to--by Osiris, I say, you'll live to be as clean fromscars as a sacrifice to Isis at the new moon, if you'll but let me putit on.
"Is it not so, good folk?"--and she turned to address some people who,while she prophesied, had assembled unseen by me--"I've been speaking aspell over him, just to make a way for the virtue of my medicine--_la!la!_ there's nothing like a spell. If you don't believe it, just youcome to me next time your wives are barren; it's better than scrapingevery pillar in the Temple of Osiris, I'll warrant. I'll make 'em bearlike a twenty-year-old palm. But then, you see, you must know what tosay--that's the point--everything comes to a point at last. _La! la!_"
Now, when I heard all this, I, Harmachis, put my hand to my head, notknowing if I dreamed. But presently looking up, I saw a grey-hairedman among those who were gathered together, who watched us sharply, andafterwards I learned that this man was the spy of Ptolemy, the very man,indeed, who had wellnigh caused me to be slain of Pharaoh when I was inmy cradle. Then I understood why Atoua spoke so foolishly.
"Thine are strange spells, old wife," the spy said. "Thou didst speak ofPharaoh and the double crown and of the form fashioned by Ptah to bearit; is it not so?"
"Yea, yea--part of the spell, thou fool; and what can one swear bybetter nowadays than by the Divine Pharaoh the Piper, whom, and whosemusic, may the Gods preserve to charm this happy land?--what better thanby the double crown he wears--grace to great Alexander of Macedonia? Bythe way, you know about everything: have they got back his chlamys yet,which Mithridates took to Cos? Pompey wore it last, didn't he?--in histriumph, too--just fancy Pompey in the cloak of Alexander!--a puppy-dogin a lion's skin! And talking of lions--look what this lad hathdone--slain a lion with his own spear; and right glad you village folksshould be to see it, for it was a very fierce lion--just see his teethand his claws--his claws!--they are enough to make a poor silly oldwoman like me shriek to look at them! And the body there, the deadbody--the lion slew it. Alack! he's an Osiris[*] now, the body--and tothink of it, but an hour ago he was an everyday mortal like you or me!Well, away with him to the embalmers. He'll soon swell in the sun andburst, and that will save them the trouble of cutting him open. Notthat they will spend a talent of silver over him anyway. Seventy days innatron--that's all he's likely to get. _La! la!_ how my tongue does run,and it's getting dark. Come, aren't you going to take away the body ofthat poor lad, and the lion, too? There, my boy, you keep those herbson, and you'll never feel your scratches. I know a thing or two for allI'm crazy, and you, my own grandson! Dear, dear, I'm glad his Holinessthe High Priest adopted you when Pharaoh--Osiris bless his holyname--made an end of his son; you look so bonny. I warrant the realHarmachis could not have killed a lion like that. Give me the commonblood, I say--it's so lusty."
[*] The soul when it has been absorbed in the Godhead.-- Editor.
"You know too much and talk too fast," grumbled the spy, now quitedeceived. "Well, he is a brave youth. Here, you men, bear this body backto Abouthis, and some of you stop and help me skin the lion. We'll sendthe skin to you, young man," he went on; "not that you deserve it: toattack a lion like that was the act of a fool, and a fool deserves whathe gets--destruction. Never attack the strong until you are stronger."
But for my part I went home wondering.