GIFT OF Professor Whitten MOON OF ISRAEL WORKS BY H. RIDER HAGGARD PARLIAMENTARY BLUE-BOOK REPORT TO H. M.'s GOVERNMENT ON THE SALVATION ARMY COLONIES IN THE UNITED STATES, WITH SCHEME OF NATIONAL LAND SETTLEMENT. [Cd. 2562] POLITICAL HISTORY CETEWAYO AND HIS WHITE NEIGHBOURS WORKS ON SOCIOLOGY, AGRICULTURE, AND COUNTRY LIFE RURAL ENGLAND (2 vols.) THE POOR AND THE LAND RURAL DENMARK AND ITS LES- REGENERATION SONS A FARMER'S YEAR A GARDENER'S YEAR "Mr. Rider Haggard is probably most widely known as a novelist, but, as a matter of fact, there are few men nmu writing English whose books on vital sociological questions are of such value as his, and hardly one among this small number who has grasped as he has grasped the dangers that beset the future of the English-speaking people, and the way these dangers can best be met. " Mr. Theodore Roosevelt in " The Out- look," New York, July i, 1911. BOOK OF TRAVEL A WINTER PILGRIMAGE NOVELS BEATRICE JOAN HASTE DAWN THE WITCH'S HEAD JESS DOCTOR THERNE COLONEL QUARITCH, V.C. STELLA FREGELIUS MOON OF ISRAEL LOVE ETERNAL THE WAY OF THE SPIRIT ROMANCES KING SOLOMON'S MINES SHE AYESHA: The Return of She ALLAN QUATERMAIN MR. MEESON'S WILL ALLAN'S WIFE CLEOPATRA ERIC BRIGHTEYES NADA THE LILY MONTEZUMA'S DAUGHTER THE PEOPLE OF THE MIST HEART OF THE WORLD SWALLOW MARIE THE MAHATMA AND THE HARE ALLAN AND THE HOLY FLOWER FINISHED MOON OF ISRAEL BLACK HEART AND WHITE HEART LYSBETH PEARL-MAIDEN THE BRETHREN THE SPIRIT OF BAMBATSE (BENITA) MARGARET THE GHOST KINGS THE YELLOW GOD: AN IDOL OF AFRICA MORNING STAR THE LADY OF BLOSSHOLME QUEEN SHEBA'S RING RED EVE CHILD OF STORM THE WANDERER'S NECKLACE THE IVORY CHILD WHEN THE WORLD SHOOK (In Collaboration with Andrew Lang) THE WORLD'S DESIRE ' Merapi it was indeed . . (Page 112) MOON OF ISRAEL A TALE OF THE EXODUS BY H. RIDER HAGGARD AUTHOR or " SHE," " ALLAN QUATERMAIN," " MARIE,' "CHILD OF STORM," ETC. SECOND IMPRESSION LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO. FOURTH AVENUE AND 30TH STREET, NEW YORK 1920 COPYRIGHT, 1918, BY LONGMANS, GREEN AND Co. * "Reprinted, '/fpnl," 1919" Reprinted, March, 1920 Stanhope jpress H. GILSON COMPANY BOSTON, U.S.A. AUTHOR'S NOTE THIS book suggests that the real Pharaoh of the Exodus was not Meneptah, or Merenptah, son of Rameses the Great, but the mysterious usurper, Amen- meses, who for a year or two occupied the throne between the death of Meneptah and the accession of his son the heir-apparent, the gentle-natured Seti II. Of the fate of Ameumeses history says nothing; he may well have perished in the Red Sea or rather the Sea of Reeds, for, unlike those of Meneptah and the second Seti, his body has not been found. Students of Egyptology will be familiar with the writings of the scribe and novelist Anana, or Ana as he is here called. It was the Author's hope to dedicate this story to Sir Gaston Maspero, K.C.M.G., Director of the Cairo Museum, with whom on several occasions he discussed its plot some years ago. Unhappily, however, weighed down by one of the bereavements of the war, this great Egyptologist died in the interval between its writing and its publication. Still, since Lady Maspero informs him that such is the wish of his family, he adds the Dedication which he had proposed to offer to that eminent writer and student of the past. DEAR SIR GASTON MASPERO, When you assured me as to a romance of mine concerning ancient Egypt, that it was so full of the " inner spirit of the old Egyptians " that, ^44276 vi AUTHOR'S NOTE after kindred efforts of your own and a lifetime of study, you could not conceive how it had been possible for it to spring from the brain of a modern man, I thought your verdict, coming from such a judge, one of the greatest compliments that ever I received. It is this opinion of yours indeed which induces me to offer you another tale of a like complexion. Especially am I encouraged thereto by a certain conversation between us in Cairo, while we gazed at the majestic countenance of Pharaoh Meneptah, for then it was, as you may recall, that you said you thought the plan of this book probable and that it commended itself to your knowledge of those dim days. With gratitude for your help and kindness and the sincerest homage to your accumulated lore concerning the most mysterious of all the perished peoples of the earth, Believe me to remain Your true admirer, H. RIDER HAGGARD. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. SCRIBE ANA COMES TO TANIS i II. THE BREAKING or THE CUP 13 III. USERTI 29 IV. THE COURT OF BETROTHAL 44 V. THE PROPHECY 60 VI. THE LAND OF GOSHEN 79 VII. THE AMBUSH 100 VIII. SETI COUNSELS PHARAOH 116 IX. THE SMITING OF AMON 132 X. THE DEATH OF PHARAOH 148 XI. THE CROWNING OF AMENMESES 168 XII. THE MESSAGE OF JABEZ 183 XIII. THE RED NILE 201 XIV. Ki COMES TO MEMPHIS 217 XV. THE NIGHT OF FEAR 239 XVI. JABEZ SELLS HORSES 255 XVII. THE DREAM OF MERAPI 269 XVIII. THE CROWNING OF MERAPI 285 vii MOON OF ISRAEL CHAPTER I SCRIBE ANA COMES TO TANIS THIS is the story of me, Ana the scribe, son of Men, and of certain of the days that I have spent upon the earth. These things I have written down now that I am very old in the reign of Rameses, the third of that name, when Egypt is once more strong and as she was in the ancient time. I have written them before death takes me, that they may be buried with me in death, for as my spirit shall arise in the hour of resurrection, so also these my words may arise in their hour and tell to those who shall come after me upon the earth of what I knew upon the earth. Let it be as Those in heaven shall decree. At least I write and what I write is true. I tell of his divine Majesty whom I loved and love as my own soul, Seti Meneptah the second, whose day of birth was my day of birth, the Hawk who has flown to heaven before me; of Userti the Proud, his queen, she who afterwards married his divine Majesty, Saptah, whom I saw laid in her tomb at Thebes. I tell of Merapi, who was named Moon of Israel, and of her people, the Hebrews, who dwelt for long in Egypt and departed thence, having paid us back in loss and shame 2 '.:.. \MPP>E OF ISRAEL * *** for 4il:d)fe g(icfti;aji4 &\ V$ gaye them. I tell of the war between the "gods b! Egypt and the god of Israel, and of much that befell therein. Also I, the King's Companion, the great scribe, the beloved of the Pharaohs who have lived beneath the sun with me, tell of other men and matters. Behold! is it not written in this roll? Read, ye who shall find in the days unborn, if your gods have given you skill. Read, O children of the future, and learn the secrets of that past which to you is so far away and yet in truth so near. As it chanced, although the Prince Seti and I were born upon the same day and therefore, like the other mothers of gentle rank whose children saw the light upon that day, my mother received Pharaoh's gift and I received the title of Royal Twin in Ra, never did I set eyes upon the divine Prince Seti until the thirtieth birthday of both of us. All of which happened thus. In those days the great Pharaoh, Rameses the sec- ond, and after him his son Meneptah who succeeded when he was already old, since the mighty Rameses was taken to Osiris after he had counted one hundred risings of the Nile, dwelt for the most part at the city of Tanis in the desert, whereas I dwelt with my parents at the ancient, white-walled city of Memphis on the Nile. At times Meneptah and his court visited Mem- phis, as also they visited Thebes, where this king lies in his royal tomb to-day. But save on one occasion, the young Prince Seti, the heir-apparent, the Hope of Egypt, came not with them, because his mother, Asne- fert, did not favour Memphis, where some trouble had befallen her in youth they say it was a love matter SCRIBE ANA COMES TO TANIS 3 that cost the lover his life and her a sore heart and Seti stayed with his mother who would not suffer him out of sight of her eyes. Once he came indeed when he was fifteen years of age, to be proclaimed to the people as son of his father, as Son of the Sun, as the future wearer of the Double Crown, and then we, his twins in Ra there were nineteen of us who were gently born were called by name to meet him and to kiss his royal feet. I made ready to go in a fine new robe embroidered in purple with the name of Seti and my own. But on that very morning by the gift of some evil god I was smitten with spots all over my face and body, a common sickness that affects the young. So it happened that I did not see the Prince, for before I was well again he had left Memphis. Now my father Meri was a scribe of the great temple of Ptah, and I was brought up to his trade in the school of the temple, where I copied many rolls and also wrote out Books of the Dead which I adorned with paintings. Indeed, in this business I became so clever that, after my father went blind some years before his death, I earned enough to keep him, and my sisters also until they married. Mother I had none, for she was gathered to Osiris while I was still very little. So life went on from year to year, but in my heart I hated my lot. While I was still a boy there rose up in me a desire not to copy what others had written, but to write what others should copy. I became a dreamer of dreams. Walking at night beneath the palm-trees up- on the banks of Nile I watched the moon shining upon the waters, and in its rays I seemed to see many beauti- ful things. Pictures appeared there which were differ- 4 MOON OF ISRAEL ent from any that I saw in the world of men, although in them were men and women and even gods. Of these pictures I made stories in my heart and at last, although that was not for some years, I began to write these stories down in my spare hours. My sis- ters found me doing so and told my father, who scolded me for such foolishness which he said would never fur- nish me with bread and beer. But still I wrote on in secret by the light of the lamp in my chamber at night. Then my sisters married, and one day my father died suddenly while he was reciting prayers in the temple. I caused him to be embalmed in the best fashion and buried with honour in the tomb he had made ready for himself, although to pay the costs I was obliged to copy Books of the Dead for nearly two years, working so hard that I found no time for the writing of stories. When at length I was free from debt I met a maiden from Thebes with a beautiful face that always seemed to smile, and she took my heart from my breast into her own. In the end, after I returned from fighting in the war against the Nine Bow Barbarians, to which I was summoned like other young men, I married her. As for her name, let it be, I will not think of it even to myself. We had one child, a little girl which died within two years of her birth, and then I learned what sorrow can mean to man. At first my wife was sad, but her grief departed with time and she smiled again as she used to do. Only she said that she would bear no more children for the gods to take. Having little to do she began to go about the city and make friends whom I did not know, for of these, being a beautiful woman, she found many. The end of it was that she departed back to Thebes with a soldier whom SCRIBE ANA COMES TO TANIS 5 I had never even seen, for I was always working at home thinking of the babe who was dead and how hap- piness is a bird that no man can snare, though some- times, of its own will, it flies in at his window-place. It was after this that my hair went white before I had counted thirty years. Now, as I had none to work for and my wants were few and simple, I found more time for the writing of stories which, for the most part, were somewhat sad. One of these stories a fellow scribe borrowed from me and read aloud to a company, whom it pleased so much that there were, many who asked leave to copy it and publish it abroad. So by degrees I became known as a teller of tales, which tales I caused to be copied and sold, though out of them I made but little. Still my fame grew till on a day I received a message from the Prince Seti, my twin in Ra, saying that he had read certain of my writings which pleased him much and that it was his wish to look upon my face. I thanked him humbly by the messenger and answered that I would travel to Tanis and wait upon his Highness. First, however, I finished the longest story which I had yet written. It was called the Tale of Two Brothers, and told how the faithless wife of one of them brought trouble on the other, so that he was killed. Of how, also, the just gods brought him to life again, and many other mat- ters. This story I dedicated to his Highness, the Prince Seti, and with it in the bosom of my robe I trav- elled to Tanis, having hidden about me a sum of gold that I had saved. So I came to Tanis at the beginning of winter and, walking to the palace of the Prince, boldly demanded an audience. But now my troubles began, for the 6 MOON OF ISRAEL guards and watchmen thrust me from the doors. In the end I bribed them and was admitted to the ante- chambers, where were merchants, jugglers, dancing- women, officers, and many others, all of them, it seemed, waiting to see the Prince; folk who, having nothing to do, pleased themselves by making mock of me, a stranger. When I had mixed with them for several days, I gained their friendship by telling to them one of my stories, after which I was always wel- come among them. Still I could come no nearer to the Prince, and as my store of money was beginning to run low, I bethought me that I would return to Memphis. One day, however, a long-bearded old man, with a gold-tipped wand of office, who had a bull's head em- broidered on his robe, stopped in front of me and, call- ing me a white-headed crow, asked me what I was doing hopping day by day about the chambers of the pal- ace. I told him my name and business and he told me his, which it seemed was Pambasa, one of the Prince's chamberlains. When I asked him to take me to the Prince, he laughed in my face and said darkly that the road to his Highness's presence was paved with gold. I understood what he meant and gave him a gift which he took as readily as a cock picks corn, saying that he would speak of me to his master and that I must come back again. I came thrice and each time that old cock picked more corn. At last I grew enraged and, forgetting where I was, began to shout at him and call him a thief, so that folks gathered round to listen. This seemed to frighten him. At first he looked towards the door as though to summon the guard to thrust me out; then SCRIBE ANA COMES TO TANIS 7 changed his mind, and in a grumbling voice bade me follow him. We went down long passages, past sol- diers who stood at watch in them still as mummies in their coffins, till at length we came to some broidered curtains. Here Pambasa whispered to me to wait, and passed through the curtains which he left not quite closed, so that I could see the room beyond and hear all that took place there. It was a small room like to that of any scribe, for on the tables were palettes, pens of reed, ink in alabaster vases, and sheets of papyrus pinned upon boards. The walls were painted, not as I was wont to paint the Books of the Dead, but after the fashion of an earlier time, such as I have seen in certain ancient tombs, with pictures of wild fowl rising from the swamps and of trees and plants as they grow. Against the walls hung racks in which were papyrus rolls, and on the hearth burned a fire of cedar-wood. By this fire stood the Prince, whom I knew from his statues. His years appeared fewer than mine although we were born upon the same day, and he was tall and thin, very fair also for one of our people, perhaps be- cause of the Syrian blood that ran in his veins. His hair was straight and brown like to that of northern folk who come to trade in the markets of Egypt, and his eyes were grey rather than black, set beneath somewhat prominent brows such as those of his father, Meneptah. His face was sweet as a woman's, but made curious by certain wrinkles which ran from the corners of the eyes towards the ears. I think that these came from the bending of the brow in thought, but others say that they were inherited from an ances- tress on the female side. Bakenkhonsu my friend, 8 MOON OF ISRAEL the old prophet who served under the first Seti and died but the other day, having lived a hundred and twenty years, told me that he knew her before she was married, and that she and her descendant, Seti, might have been twins. In his hand the Prince held an open roll, a very an- cient writing as I, who am skilled in such matters that have to do with my trade, knew from its appear- ance. Lifting his eyes suddenly from the study of this roll, he saw the chamberlain standing before him. 'You come at a good time, Pambasa,' he said in a voice that was very soft and pleasant, and yet most manlike. 'You are old and doubtless wise. Say, are you wise, Pambasa?' 1 Yes, your Highness. I am wise like your High- ness's uncle, Khaemuas the mighty magician, whose sandals I used to clean when I was young.' 'Is it so? Then why are you so careful to hide your wisdom which should be open like a flower for us poor bees to suck at? Well, I am glad to learn that you are wise, for in this book of magic that I have been reading I find problems worthy of Khaemuas the departed, whom I only remember as a brooding, black-browed man much like my cousin, Amenmeses his son save that no one can call Amenmeses wise.' 1 Why is your Highness glad? ' 1 Because you, being by your own account his equal, can now interpret the matter as Khaemuas would have done. You know, Pambasa, that had he lived he would have been Pharaoh in place of my father. He died too soon, however, which proves to me that there was something in this tale of his wisdom, since no really wise man would ever wish to be Pharaoh of Egypt.' SCRIBE ANA COMES TO TANIS 9 Pambasa stared with his mouth open. 'Not wish to be Pharaoh!' he began - 'Now, Pambasa the Wise/ went on the Prince as though he had not heard him. 'Listen. This old book gives a charm " to empty the heart of its weari- ness," that it says is the oldest and most common sick- ness in the world from which only kittens, some children, and mad people are free. It appears that the cure for this sickness, so says the book, is to stand on the top of the pyramid of Khufu at midnight at that moment when the moon is largest in the whole year, and drink from the cup of dreams, reciting mean- while a spell written here at length in language which I cannot read/ 'There is no virtue in spells, Prince, if anyone can read them/ 'And no use, it would seem, if they can be read by none/ 'Moreover, how can any one climb the pyramid of Khufu, which is covered with polished marble, even in the day let alone at midnight, your Highness, and there drink of the cup of dreams?' 'I do not know, Pambasa. All I know is that I weary of this foolishness, and of the world. Tell me of something that will lighten my heart, for it is heavy/ 'There are jugglers without, Prince, one of whom says he can throw a rope into the air and climb up it until he vanishes into heaven/ 'When he has done it in your sight, Pambasa, bring him to me, but not before. Death is the only rope by which we can climb to heaven or be lowered into hell. For remember there is a god called Set, after whom, like my great-grandfather, I am named by the io MOON OF ISRAEL way the priests alone know why as well as one called Osiris/ 4 Then there are the dancers, Prince, and among them some very finely made girls, for I saw them bath- ing in the palace lake, such as would have delighted the heart of your grandfather, the great Rameses/ 'They do not delight my heart who want no naked women prancing here. Try again, Pambasa/ 'I can think of nothing else, Prince. Yet, stay. There is a scribe without named Ana, a thin, sharp- nosed man who says he is your Highness's twin in Ra/ ' Ana ! ' said the Prince. ' He of Memphis who writes stories? Why did you not say so before, you old fool? Let him enter at once, at once/ Now hearing this I, Ana, walked through the cur- tains and prostrated myself, saying, 'I am that scribe, O Royal Son of the Sun.' 'How dare you enter the Prince's presence without being bidden ' began Pambasa, but Seti broke in with a stern voice, saying, 'And how dare you, Pambasa, keep this learned man waiting at my door like a dog? Rise, Ana, and cease from giving me titles, for we are not at Court. Tell me, how long have you been in Tanis?' 'Many days, O Prince' I answered, 'seeking your presence and in vain/ 'And how did you win it at last?' 'By payment, O Prince/' I answered innocently, 'as it seems is usual. The doorkeepers - 'I understand/ said Seti, 'the doorkeepers! Pam- basa, you will ascertain what amount this learned scribe has disbursed to " the doorkeepers" and refund him double. Begone now and see to the matter/ SCRIBE ANA COMES TO TANIS n So Pambasa went, casting a piteous look at me out of the corner of his eye. 'Tell me,' said Seti when he was gone, 'you who must be wise in your fashion, why does a Court always breed thieves?' 'I suppose for the same reason, O Prince, that a dog's back breeds fleas. Fleas must live, and there is the dog.' 'True,' he answered, 'and these palace fleas are not paid enough. If ever I have power I will see to it. They shall be fewer but better fed. Now, Ana, be seated. I know you though you do not know me, and already I have learned to love you through your writ- ings. Tell me of yourself.' So I told him all my simple tale, to which he listened without a word, and then asked me why I had come to see him. I replied that it was because he had sent for me, which he had forgotten; also because I brought him a story that I had dared to dedicate to him. Then I laid the roll before him on the table. 'I am honoured,' he said in a pleased voice, 'I am greatly honoured. If I like it well, your story shall go to the tomb with me for my Ka to read and re-read un- til the day of resurrection, though first I will study it in the flesh. Do you know this city of Tanis, Ana? ' I answered that I knew little of it, who had spent my time here haunting the doors of his Highness. 'Then with your leave I will be your guide through it this night, and afterwards we will sup and talk.' I bowed and he clapped his hands, whereon a servant appeared, not Pambasa, but another. 'Bring two cloaks,' said the Prince, 'I go abroad with the scribe, Ana. Let a guard of four Nubians, no 12 MOON OF ISRAEL more, follow us, but at a distance and disguised. Let them wait at the private entrance.' The man bowed and departed swiftly. Almost immediately a black slave appeared with two long hooded cloaks, such as camel-drivers wear, which he helped us to put on. Then, taking a lamp, he led us from the room through a doorway opposite to that by which I had entered, down passages and a narrow stair that ended in a courtyard. Crossing this we came to a wall, great and thick, in which were double doors sheathed with copper that opened myste- riously at our approach. Outside of these doors stood four tall men, also wrapped in cloaks, who seemed to take no note of us. Still, looking back when we had gone a little way, I observed that they were following us, as though by chance. How fine a thing, thought I to myself, it is to be a Prince who by lifting a finger can thus command serv- ice at any moment of the day or night. Just at that moment Seti said to me, ' See, Ana, how sad a thing it is to be a Prince, who cannot even stir abroad without notice to his house- hold and commanding the service of a secret guard to spy upon his every action, and doubtless to make re- port thereof to the police of Pharaoh.' There are two faces to everything, thought I to my- self again. CHAPTER H THE BREAKING OF THE CUP WE walked down a broad street bordered by trees, beyond which were lime- washed, flat-roofed houses built of sun-dried brick, standing, each of them, in its own garden, till at length we came to the great market- place just as the full moon rose above the palm-trees, making the world almost as light as day. Tanis, or Rameses as it is also called, was a very fine city then, if only half the size of Memphis, though now that the Court has left it I hear it is much deserted. About this market-place stood great temples of the gods, with pylons and avenues of sphinxes, also that wonder of the world, the colossal statue of the second Rameses, while to the north upon a mound was the glorious palace of Pharaoh. Other palaces there were also, inhabited by the nobles and officers of the Court, and between them ran long streets where dwelt the citizens, ending, some of them, on that branch of the Nile by which the ancient city stood. Seti halted to gaze at these wondrous buildings. 'There are very old/ he said, 'but most of them, like the walls and those temples of Amon and of Ptah, have been rebuilt in the time of my grandfather or since his day by the labour of Israelitish slaves who dwell yon- der in the rich land of Goshen.' 'They must have cost much gold/ I answered. 13 14 MOON OF ISRAEL 'The Kings of Egypt do not pay their slaves/ re- plied the Prince shortly. Then we went on and mingled with the thousands of the people who were wandering to and fro seeking rest after the business of the day. Here on the frontier of Egypt were gathered folk of every race; Bedouins from the desert, Syrians from beyond the Red Sea, merchants from the rich Isle of Chittim, travellers from the coast, and traders from the land of Punt and from the unknown countries of the north. All were talking, laughing and making merry, save some who gathered in circles to listen to a teller of tales or wan- dering musicians, or to watch women who danced half naked for gifts. Now and again the crowd would part to let pass the chariot of some noble or lady before which went run- ning footmen who shouted, 'Make way, Make way!' and laid about them with their long wands. Then came a procession of the white-robed priests of Isis travelling by moonlight as was fitting for the servants of the Lady of the Moon, and bearing aloft the holy image of the goddess before which all men bowed and for a little while were silent. After this followed the corpse of some great one newly dead, preceded by a troop of hired mourners who rent the air with their lamentations as they conducted it to the quarter of the embalmers. Lastly, from out of one of the side streets emerged a gang of several hundred hook-nosed and bearded men, among whom were a few women, loosely roped together and escorted by a company of armed guards. 'Who are these?' I asked, for I had never seen their like. THE BREAKING OF THE CUP 15 ' Slaves of the people of Israel who return from their labour at the digging of the new canal which is to run to the Red Sea/ answered the Prince. We stood still to watch them go by, and I noted how proudly their eyes flashed and how fierce was their bearing although they were but men in bonds, very weary too and stained by toil in mud and water. Presently this happened. A white-bearded man lagged behind, dragging on the line and checking the march. Thereupon an overseer ran up and flogged him with a cruel whip cut from the hide of the sea-horse. The man turned and, lifting a wooden spade which he car- ried, struck the overseer such a blow that he cracked his skull so that he fell down dead. Other overseers rushed at the Hebrew, as these Israelites were called, and beat him till he also fell. Then a soldier appeared and, seeing what had happened, drew his bronze sword. From among the throng sprang out a girl, young and very lovely although she was but roughly clad. Since then I have seen Merapi, Moon of Israel, as she was called, clad in the proud raiment of a queen, and once even of a goddess, but never, I think, did she look more beauteous than in this hour of her slavery. Her large eyes, neither blue nor black, caught the light of the moon and were aswim with tears. Her plente- ous bronze-hued hair flowed in great curls over the snow-white bosom that her rough robe revealed. Her delicate hands were lifted as though to ward off the blows which fell upon him whom she sought to protect. Her tall and slender shape stood out against a flare of light which burned upon some market stall. She was beauteous exceedingly, so beauteous that my heart 16 MOON OF ISRAEL stood still at the sight of her, yes, mine that for some years had held no thought of woman save such as were black and evil. She cried aloud. Standing over the fallen man she appealed to the soldier for mercy. Then, seeing that there was none to hope for from him, she cast her great eyes around until they fell upon the Prince Seti. 'Oh! Sir, 7 she wailed, 'you have a noble air. Will you stand by and see my father murdered for no fault? ' 'Drag her off, or I smite through her/ shouted the captain, for now she had thrown herself down upon the fallen Israelite. The overseers obeyed, tearing her away. 'Hold, butcher!' cried the Prince. 'Who are you, dog, that dare to teach Pharaoh's officer his duty?' answered the captain, smiting the Prince in the face with his left hand. Then swiftly he struck downwards and I saw the bronze sword pass through the body of the Israelite who quivered and lay still. It was all done in an in- stant, and on the silence that followed rang out the sound of a woman's wail. For a moment Seti choked - with rage, I think. Then he spoke a single word - 'Guards!' The four Nubians, who, as ordered, had kept at a distance, burst through the gathered throng. Ere they reached us I, who till now had stood amazed, sprang at the captain and gripped him by the throat. He struck at me with his bloody sword, but the blow, falling on my long cloak, only bruised me on the left thigh. Then I, who was strong in those days, grappled with him and we rolled together on the ground. After this there was great tumult. The Hebrew THE BREAKING OF THE CUP 17 slaves burst their rope and flung themselves upon the soldiers like dogs upon a jackal, battering them with their bare fists. The soldiers defended themselves with swords; the overseers plied their hide whips; women screamed, men shouted. The captain whom I had seized began to get the better of me; at least I saw his sword flash above me and thought that all was over. Doubtless it would have been, had not Seti himself dragged the man backwards and thus given the four Nubian guards time to seize him. Next I heard the Prince cry out in a ringing voice, 'Hold! It is Seti, the son of Pharaoh, the Governor of Tanis, with whom you have to do. See/ and he threw back the hood of his cloak so that the moon shone upon his face. Instantly there was a great quiet. Now, first one and then another as the truth sank into them, men be- gan to fall upon their knees, and I heard one say in an awed voice, 'The royal Son, the Prince of Egypt struck in the face by a soldier! Blood must pay for it.' 'How is that officer named?' asked Seti, pointing to the man who had killed the Israelite and well-nigh killed me. Someone answered that he was named Khuaka. 'Bring him to the steps of the temple of Amon,' said Seti to the Nubians who held him fast. 'Follow me, friend Ana, if you have the strength. Nay, lean upon my shoulder.' So resting upon the shoulder of the Prince, for I was bruised and breathless, I walked with him a hundred paces or more to the steps of the great temple where we climbed to the platform at the head of the stairs. i8 MOON OF ISRAEL After us came the prisoner, and after him all the multi- tude, a very great number who stood upon the steps and on the flat ground beyond. The Prince, who was very white and quiet, sat himself down upon the low granite base of a tall obelisk which stood in front of the temple pylon, and said, 'As Governor of Tanis, the City of Rameses, with power of life and death at all hours and in all places, I declare my Court open.' 'The Royal Court is open!' cried the multitude in the accustomed form. 'This is the case/ said the Prince. 'Yonder man who is named Khuaka, by his dress a captain of Pha- raoh's army, is charged with the murder of a certain Hebrew, and with the attempted murder of Ana the scribe. Let witnesses be called. Bring the body of the dead man and lay it here before me. Bring the woman who strove to protect him, that she may speak.' The body was brought and laid upon the platform, its wide eyes staring up at the moon. Then soldiers who had gathered thrust forward the weeping girl. 'Cease from tears,' said Seti, 'and swear by Kephera the creator, and by Maat the goddess of truth and law, to speak nothing but the truth.' The girl looked up and said in a rich low voice that in some way reminded me of honey being poured from a jar, perhaps because it was thick with strangled sobs, 'O Royal Son of Egypt, I cannot swear by those gods who am a daughter of Israel.' The Prince looked at her attentively and asked, 'By what god then can you swear, O Daughter of Israel?' 'By Jahveh, Prince, whom we hold to be the one THE BREAKING OF THE CUP 19 and only God, the Maker of the world and all that is therein.' 'Then perhaps his other name is Kephera/ said the Prince with a little smile. 'But have it as you will. Swear, then, by your god Jahveh.' Then she lifted both her hands above her head and said, 'I, Merapi, daughter of Nathan of the tribe of Levi of the people of Israel, swear that I will speak the truth and all the truth in the name of Jahveh, the God of Israel.' 'Tell us what you know of the matter of the death of this man, O Merapi/ 'Nothing that you do not know yourself, O Prince. He who lies there/ and she swept her hand towards the corpse, turning her eyes away, 'was my father, an elder of Israel. The captain Khuaka came when the corn was young to the Land of Goshen to choose those who should work for Pharaoh. He wished to take me into his house. My father refused because from my childhood I had been affianced to a man of Israel; also because it is not lawful under our law for our people to intermarry with your people. Then the captain Khuaka seized my father, although he was of high rank and beyond the age to work for Pharaoh, and he was taken away, as I think, because he would not suf- fer me to wed Khuaka. A while later I dreamed that my father was sick. Thrice I dreamed it and ran away to Tanis to visit him. But this morning I found him and, O Prince, you know the rest.' 'Is there no more?' asked Seti. The girl hesitated, then answered, 'Only this, O Prince. This man saw me with my 20 MOON OF ISRAEL father giving him food, for he was weak and overcome with the toil of digging the mud in the heat of the sun, he who being a noble of our people knew nothing of such labour from his youth. In my presence Khuaka asked my father if now he would give me to him. My father answered that sooner would he see me kissed by snakes and devoured by crocodiles. " I hear you," answered Khuaka. " Learn, now, slave Nathan, be- fore to-morrow's sun arises, you shall be kissed by swords and devoured by crocodiles or jackals." " So be it," said my father, " but learn, O Khuaka, that if so, it is revealed to me who am a priest and a prophet of Jahveh, that before to-morrow's sun you also shall be kissed by swords and of the rest we will talk at the foot of Jahveh's throne."' ' Afterwards, as you know, Prince, the overseer flogged my father as I heard Khuaka order him to do if he lagged through weariness, and then Khuaka killed him because my father in his madness struck the over- seer with a mattock. I have no more to say, save that I pray that I may be sent back to my own people there to mourn my father according to our custom.' 'To whom would you be sent? Your mother?' 'Nay, O Prince, my mother, a lady of Syria, is dead. I will go to my uncle, Jabez the Levite.' 'Stand aside,' said Seti. 'The matter shall be seen to later. Appear, O Ana the Scribe. Swear the oath and tell us what you have seen of this man's death, since two witnesses are needful.' So I swore and repeated all this story that I have written down. 'Now, Khuaka,' said the Prince when I had finished, 'have you aught to say?' THE BREAKING OF THE CUP 21 'Only this, O Royal One/ answered the captain throwing himself upon his knees, ' that I struck you by accident, not knowing that the person of your High- ness was hidden in that long cloak. For this deed it is true I am worthy of death, but I pray you to pardon me because I knew not what I did. The rest is noth- ing, since I only slew a mutinous slave of the Israelites, as such are slain every day/ 'Tell me, O Khuaka, who are being tried for this man's death and not for the striking of one of royal blood by chance, under which law it is lawful for you to kill an Israelite without trial before the appointed officers of Pharaoh. 7 'I am not learned. I do not know the law, O Prince. All that this woman said is false.' 1 At least it is not false that yonder man lies dead and that you slew him, as you yourself admit. Learn now, and let all Egypt learn, that even an Israelite may not be murdered for no offence save that of weariness and of paying back unearned blow with blow. Your blood shall answer for his blood. Soldiers! Strike off his head.' The Nubians leapt upon him, and when I looked again Khuaka's headless corpse lay by the corpse of the Hebrew Nathan and their blood was mingled upon the steps of the temple. 'The business of the Court is finished,' said the Prince. 'Officers, see that this woman is escorted to her own people, and with her the body of her father for burial. See, too, upon your lives that no insult or harm is done to her. Scribe Ana, accompany me hence to my house where I would speak with you. Let guards precede and follow me. J 22 MOON OF ISRAEL He rose and all the people bowed. As he turned to go the lady Merapi stepped forward, and falling upon her knees, said, 'O most just Prince, now and ever I am your serv- ant/ Then we set out, and as we left the market-place on our way to the palace of the Prince, I heard a tumult of voices rise behind us, some in praise and some in blame of what had been done. We walked on in silence broken only by the measured tramp of the guards. Presently the moon passed behind a cloud and the world was dark. Then from the edge of the cloud sprang out a ray of light that lay straight and narrow above us on the heavens. Seti studied it a while and said, 'Tell me, O Ana, of what does that moonbeam put you in mind?' 'Of a sword, O Prince,' I answered, 'stretched out over Egypt and held in the black hand of some mighty god or spirit. See, there is the blade from which fall little clouds like drops of blood, there the hilt of gold, and look! there beneath is the face of the god. Fire streams from his eyeholes and his brow is black and awful. I am afraid, though what I fear I know not.' 'You have a poet's mind, Ana. Still, what you see I see and of this I am sure, that some sword of ven- geance is indeed stretched out over Egypt because of its evil doings, whereof this light may be the symbol. Behold! it seems to fall upon the temples of the gods and the palace of Pharaoh, and to cleave them. Now it is gone and the night is as nights were from the be- ginning of the world. Come to my chamber and let us THE BREAKING OF THE CUP 23 eat. I am weary, I need food and wine, as you must after struggling with that lustful murderer whom I have sent to his own place.' The guards saluted and were dismissed. We mounted to the Prince's private chambers, in one of which his servants clad me in fine linen robes after a skilled physician of the household had doctored the bruises upon my thigh over which he tied a bandage spread with balm. Then I was led to a small dining- hall, where I found the Prince waiting for me as though I were some honoured guest and not a poor scribe who had wondered hence from Memphis with my wares. He caused me to sit down at his right hand and even drew up the chair for me himself, whereat I felt abashed. To this day I remember that leather -sea ted chair. The arms of it ended in ivory sphinxes and on its back of black wood in an oval was inlaid the name of the great Rameses, to whom indeed it had once be- longed. Dishes were handed to us only two of them and those quite simple, for Seti was no great eater by a young Nubian slave of a very merry face, and with them wine more delicious than any I had ever tasted. We ate and drank and the Prince talked to me of my business as a scribe and of the making of tales, which seemed to interest him very much. Indeed one might have thought that he was a pupil in the schools and I the teacher, so humbly and with such care did he weigh everything that I said about my art. Of matters of state or of the dreadful scene of blood through which we had just passed he spoke no word. At the end, however, after a little pause during which he held up a cup of alabaster as thin as an eggshell, studying the 24 MOON OF ISRAEL light playing through it on the rich red wine within, he said to me, t Friend Ana, we have passed a stirring hour to- gether, the first perhaps of many, or mayhap the last. Also we were born upon the same day and therefore, unless the astrologers lie, as do other men and women beneath the same star. Lastly, if I may say it, I like you well, though I know not how you like me, and when you are in the room with me I feel at ease, which is strange, for I know of no other with whom it is so. 'Now by a chance only this morning I found in some old records which I was studying, that the heir to the throne of Egypt a thousand years ago, had, and there- fore, as nothing ever changes in Egypt, still has, a right to a private librarian for which the State, that is, the toilers of the land, must pay as in the end they pay for all. Some dynasties have gone by, it seems, since there was such a librarian, I think because most of the heirs to the throne could not, or did not, read. Also by chance I mentioned the matter to the Vizier Nehesi who grudges me every ounce of gold I spend, as though it were one taken out of his own pouch, which perhaps it is. He answered with that crooked smile of his, 1 "Since I know well, Prince, that there is no scribe in Egypt whom you would suffer about you for a single month, I will set the cost of a librarian at the figure at which it stood in the Eleventh Dynasty upon the roll of your Highnesses household and defray it from the Royal Treasury until he is discharged." 'Therefore, Scribe Ana, I offer you this post for one month; that is all for which I can promise you will be paid whatever it may be, for I forget the sum.' THE BREAKING OF THE CUP 25 'I thank you, O Prince/ I exclaimed. ' Do not thank me. Indeed if you are wise you will refuse. You have met Pambasa. Well, Nehesi is Pambasa multiplied by ten, a rogue, a thief, a bully, and one who has Pharaoh's ear. He will make your life a torment to you and clip every ring of gold that at length you wring out of his grip. Moreover the place is wearisome, and I am fanciful and often ill-humoured. Do not thank me, I say. Refuse; return to Memphis and write stories. Shun courts and their plottings. Pharaoh himself is but a face and a puppet through which other voices talk and other eyes shine, and the sceptre which he wields is pulled by strings. And if this is so with Pharaoh, what is the case with his son? Then there are the women, Ana. They will make love to you, Ana, they even do so to me, and I think you told me that you know something of women. Do not accept, go back to Memphis. I will send you some old manuscripts to copy and pay you whatever it is Nehesi allows for the librarian/ 'Yet I accept, O Prince. As for Nehesi I fear him not at all, since at the worst I can write a story about him at which the world would laugh, and rather than that he will pay me my salary.' 'You have more wisdom than I thought, Ana. It never came into my mind to put Nehesi in a story, though it is true I tell tales about him which is much the same thing.' He bent forward, leaning his head upon his hand, and ceasing from his bantering tone, looked me in the eyes and asked, 'Why do you accept? Let me think now. It is not because you care for wealth if that is to be won here; 26 MOON OF ISRAEL nor for the pomp and show of courts; nor for the company of the great who really are so small. For all these things you, Ana, have no craving if I read your heart aright, you who are an artist, nothing less and nothing more. Tell me, then, why will you, a free man who can earn your living, linger round a throne and set your neck beneath the heel of princes to be crushed into the common mould of servitors and King's Companions and Bearers of the Footstool?' ( I will tell you, Prince. First, because thrones make history, as history makes thrones, and I think that great events are on foot in Egypt in which I would have my share. Secondly, because the gods bring gifts to men only once or twice in their lives and to refuse them is to offend the gods who gave them those lives to use to ends of which we know nothing. And thirdly' - here I hesitated. 'And thirdly out with the thirdly for, doubtless, it is the real reason.' 'And thirdly, O Prince well, the word sounds strangely upon a man's lips but thirdly because I love you. From the moment that my eyes fell upon your face I loved you as I never loved any other man - not even my father. I know not why. Certainly it is not because you are a prince.' When he heard these words Seti sat brooding and so silent that, fearing lest I, a humble scribe, had been too bold, I added hastily, 'Let your Highness pardon his servant for his pre- sumptuous words. It was his servant's heart that spoke and not his lips.' He lifted his hand and I stopped. THE BREAKING OF THE CUP 27 'Ana, my twin in Ra,' he said, 'do you know that I never had a friend? ' 'A prince who has no friend !' 'Never, none. Now I begin to think that I have found one. The thought is strange and warms me. Do you know also that when my eyes fell upon your face I loved you also, the gods know why. It was as though I had found one who was dear to me thousands of years ago but whom I had lost and forgotten. Per- haps this is but foolishness, or perhaps here we have the shadow of something great and beautiful which dwells elsewhere, in the place we call the Kingdom of Osiris, beyond the grave, Ana.' 'Such thoughts have come to me at times, Prince. I mean that all we see is shadow; that we ourselves are shadows and that the realities who cast them live in a different home which is lit by some spirit sun that never sets.' The Prince nodded his head and again was silent for a while. Then he took his beautiful alabaster cup, and pouring wine into it, he drank a little and passed the cup to me. ' Drink also, Ana,' he said, ' and pledge me as I pledge you, in token that by decree of the Creator who made the hearts of men, henceforward our two hearts are as the same heart through good and ill, through triumph and defeat, till death takes one of us. Henceforward, Ana, unless you show yourself unworthy, I hide no thought from you.' Flushing with joy I took the cup, saying, ' I add to your words, O Prince. We are one, not for this life alone but for all the lives to be. Death, O Prince, is, I think, but a single step in the pylon stair which 28 MOON OF ISRAEL leads at last to that dizzy height whence we see the face of God and hear his voice tell us what and why we are/ Then I pledged him, and drank, bowing, and he bowed back to me. 'What shall we do with the cup, Ana, the sacred cup that has held this rich heart-wine? Shall I keep it? No, it no longer belongs to me. Shall I give it to you? No, it can never be yours alone. See, we will break the priceless thing.' Seizing it by its stem with all his strength he struck the cup upon the table. Then what seemed to me to be a marvel happened, for instead of shattering as I thought it surely would, it split in two from rim to foot. Whether this was by chance, or whether the artist who fashioned it in some bygone generation had worked the two halves separately and cunningly cemented them to- gether, to this hour I do not know. At least so it befell. 'This is fortunate, Ana/ said the Prince, laughing a little in his light way. ' Now take you the half that lies nearest to you and I will take mine. If you die first I will lay my half upon your breast, and if I die first you shall do the same by me, or if the priests forbid it be- cause I am royal and may not be profaned, cast the thing into my tomb. What should we have done had the alabaster shattered into fragments, Ana, and what omen should we have read in them? ' 'Why ask, O Prince, seeing that it has befallen other- wise? ' Then I took my half, laid it against my forehead and hid it in the bosom of my robe, and as I did, so did Seti. So in this strange fashion the royal Seti and I sealed the holy compact of our brotherhood, as I think not for the first time or the last. CHAPTER IH USERTI SETI rose, stretching out his arms. 'That is finished/ he said, 'as everything finishes, and for once I am sorry. Now what next? Sleep, I suppose, in which all ends, or perhaps you would say, all begins. 7 As he spoke the curtains at the end of the room were drawn and between them appeared the cham- berlain, Pambasa, holding his gold-tipped wand cere- moniously before him. 'What is it now, man?' asked Seti. /Can I not even sup in peace? Stay, before you answer tell me, do things end or begin in sleep? The learned Ana and I differ on the matter and would hear your wis- dom. Bear in mind, Pambasa, that before we are born we must have slept, since of that time we remem- ber nothing, and after we are dead we certainly seem to sleep, as any who have looked on mummies know. Now answer.' The chamberlain stared at the wine flask on the table as though he suspected his master of having drunk too much. Then in a hard official voice he said, 'She comes! She comes! She comes, offering greet- ings and adoration to the Royal Son of Ra.' 'Does she indeed?' asked Seti. 'If so, why say it three times? And who comes?' 29 3 o MOON OF ISRAEL 'The high Princess, the heiress of Egypt, the daugh- ter of Pharaoh, your Highness's royal half-sister, the great lady Userti.' 'Let her enter then. Ana, stand you behind me. If you grow weary and I give leave you can depart; the slaves will show you your sleeping-place.' Pambasa went, and presently through the curtail appeared a royal-looking lady splendidly apparelled. She was accompanied by four waiting women who fell back on the threshold and were no more seen. The Prince stepped forward, took both her hands in his and kissed her on the brow, then drew back again, after which they stood a moment looking at each other. While they remained thus I studied her who was known throughout the land as the 'Beautiful Royal Daughter,' but whom till now I had never seen. In truth I did not think her beautiful, although even had she been clad in a peasant's robe I should have been sure that she was royal. Her face was too hard for beauty and her black eyes, with a tinge of grey in them, were too small. Also her nose was too sharp and her lips were too thin. Indeed, had it not been for the delicately and finely-shaped woman's form be- neath, I might have thought that a prince and not a princess stood before me. For the rest in most ways she resembled her half-brother Seti, though her coun- tenance lacked the kindliness of his; or rather both of them resembled their father, Meneptah. ' Greeting, Sister,' he said, eyeing her with a smile in which I caught a gleam of mockery. ' Purple-bordered robes, emerald necklace and enamelled crown of gold, rings and pectoral, everything except a sceptre why are you so royally arrayed to visit one so humble as USERTI 31 your loving brother? You come like sunlight into the darkness of a hermit's cell and dazzle the poor hermit, or rather hermits/ and he pointed to me. ' Cease your jests, Seti,' she replied in a full, strong voice. 'I wear these ornaments because they please me. Also I have supped with our father, and those who sit at Pharaoh's table must be suitably arrayed, though I have noted that sometimes you think other- wise.' ' Indeed. I trust that the good god, our divine par- ent, is well to-night as you leave him so early.' 'I leave him because he sent me with a message to you.' She paused, looking at me sharply, then asked, 'Who is that man? I do not know him.' 'It is your misfortune, Userti, but one which can be mended. He is named Ana the Scribe, who writes strange stories of great interest which you would do well to read who dwell too much upon the outside of life. He is from Memphis and his father's name was - 1 forget what. Ana, what was your father's name? ' 'One too humble for royal ears, Prince,' I answered, 'but my grandfather was Pentaur the poet who wrote of the deeds of the mighty Rameses.' 'Is it so? Why did you not tell me that before? The descent should earn you a pension from the Court if you can extract it from Nehesi. Well, Userti, his grandfather's name was Pentaur whose immortal verses you have doubtless read upon temple walls, where our grandfather was careful to publish them.' 'I have to my sorrow and thought them poor, boastful stuff,' she answered coldly. ' To be honest, if Ana will forgive me, so do I. I can assure you that his stories are a great improvement on 32 MOON OF ISRAEL them. Friend Ana, this is my sister, Userti, my father's daughter though our mothers were not the same.' 'I pray you, Seti, to be so good as to give me my rightful titles in speaking of me to scribes and other of your servants.' 'Your pardon, Userti. This, Ana, is the first Lady of Egypt, the Royal Heiress, the Princess of the Two Lands, the High-priestess of Amon, the Cherished of the Gods, the half-sister of the Heir-apparent, the Daughter of Hathor, the Lotus Bloom of Love, the Queen to be of Userti, whose queen will you be? Have you made up your mind? For myself I know no one worthy of so much beauty, excellence, learning and - what shall I add sweetness, yes, sweetness.' i Seti,' she said stamping her foot, 'if it pleases you to make a mock of me before a stranger, I suppose that I must submit. Send him away, I would speak with you.' 'Make a mock of you! Oh! mine is a hard fate. When truth gushes from the well of my heart, I am told I mock, and when I mock, all say he speaks truth. Be seated, Sister, and talk on freely. This Ana is my sworn friend who saved my life but now, for which deed perhaps he should be my enemy. His memory is excellent also and he will remember what you say and write it down afterwards, whereas I might forget. Therefore, with your leave, I will ask him to stay here.' 'My Prince,' I broke in, 'I pray you suffer me to go. J 'My Secretary,' he answered with a note of command in his voice, 'I pray you to remain where you are.' So I sat myself on the ground after the fashion of a USERTI 33 scribe, having no choice, and the Princess sat herself on a couch at the end of the table, but Seti remained standing. Then the Princess said, ' Since it is your will, Brother, that I should talk secrets into other ears than yours, I obey you. Still' here she looked at me wrathf ully ' let the tongue be careful that it does not repeat what the ears have heard, lest there should be neither ears nor tongue. My Brother, it has been reported to Pharaoh, while we ate together, that there is tumult in this town. It has been reported to him that because of a trouble about some base Israelite you caused one of his officers to be beheaded, after which there came a riot which still rages/ ' Strange that truth should have come to the ears of Pharaoh so quickly. Now, my Sister, if he had heard it three moons hence I could have believed you almost.' 'Then you did behead the officer ?' 'Yes, I beheaded him about two hours ago.' 'Pharaoh will demand an account of the matter.' 'Pharaoh,' answered Seti lifting his eyes, 'has no power to question the justice of the Governor of Tanis in the north.' 'You are in error, Seti. Pharaoh has all power.' ' Nay, Sister, Pharaoh is but one man among millions of other men, and though he speaks it is their spirit which bends his tongue, while above that spirit is a yet greater spirit who decrees what they shall think to ends of which we know nothing.' 'I do not understand, Seti.' 'I never thought you would, Userti, but when you have leisure, ask Ana here to explain the matter to you. I am sure that he understands.' 34 MOON OF ISRAEL 'Oh! I have borne enough/ exclaimed Userti rising. 'Hearken to the command of Pharaoh, Prince Seti. It is that you wait upon him to-morrow in full council, at an hour before noon, there to talk with him of this question of the Israelitish slaves and the officer whom it has pleased you to kill. I came to speak other words to you also, but as they were for your private ear, these can bide a more fitting opportunity. Fare- well, my Brother.' 'What, are you going so soon, Sister? I wished to to tell you the story about those Israelites, and espe- cially of the maid whose name is what was her name, Ana?' 'Merapi, Moon of Israel, Prince,' I answered with a groan. 'About the maid called Merapi, Moon of Israel, I think the sweetest that ever I have looked upon, whose father the dead captain murdered in my sight.' 'So there is a woman in the business? Well, I guessed it.' 'In what business is there not a woman, Userti, even in that of a message from Pharaoh. Pambasa, Pam- basa, escort the Princess and summon her servants, women everyone of them, unless my senses mock me. Good-night to you, Sister and Lady of the Two Lands, and forgive me that coronet of yours is some- what awry.' At last she was gone and I rose, wiping my brow with a corner of my robe, and looked at the Prince who stood before the fire laughing softly. 'Make a note of all this talk, Ana,' he said; ' there is more in it than meets the ear.' 'I need no note, Prince,' I answered; l every word is USERTI 35 burnt upon my mind as a hot iron burns a tablet of wood. With reason too, since now her Highness will hate me for all her life.' 'Much better so, Ana, than that she should pretend to love you, which she never would have done while you are my friend. Women oftimes respect those whom they hate and even will advance them because of policy, but let those whom they pretend to love beware. The time may come when you will yet be Userti's most trusted councillor.' Now here, I, Ana the Scribe, will state that in after days, when this same queen was the wife of Pharaoh Siptah, I did, as it chanced, become her most trusted councillor. Moreover, in those times, yes, and even in the hour of her death, she swore that from the moment her eyes first fell on me she had known me to be true- hearted and held me in esteem as no self-seeker. More, I think she believed what she said, having forgotten that once she looked upon me as her enemy. This in- deed I never was, who always held her in regard and honour as a great lady who loved her country, though one who sometimes was not wise. But as I could not foresee these things on that night of long ago, I only stared at the Prince and said, 'Oh! why did you not allow me to depart as your Highness said I might at the beginning? Soon or late my head will pay the price of this night's work.' 'Then she must take mine with it. Listen, Ana. I kept you here, not to vex the Princess or you, but for a good reason. You know that it is the custom of the royal dynasties of Egypt for kings, or those who will be kings, to wed their near kin in order that the blood may remain the purer.' 36 MOON OF ISRAEL 'Yes, Prince, and not only among those who are royal. Still, I think it an evil custom.' 'As I do, since the race wherein it is practised grows ever weaker in body and in mind; which is why, per- haps, my father is not what his father was and I am not what my father is.' 'Also, Prince, it is hard to mingle the love of the sis- ter and of the wife.' 'Very hard, Ana; so hard that when it is attempted both are apt to vanish. Well, our mothers having been true royal wives, though hers died before mine was wedded by my father, Pharaoh desires that I should marry my half-sister, Userti, and what is worse, she desires it also. Moreover, the people, who fear trouble ahead in Egypt if we, who alone are left of the true royal race born of queens, remain apart and she takes another lord, or I take another wife, demand that it should be brought about, since they believe that whoever calls Userti the Strong his spouse will one day rule the land.' ' Why does the Princess wish it that she may be a queen? ' 'Yes, Ana, though were she to wed my cousin, Amenmeses, the son of Pharaoh's elder brother Khae- muas, she might still be a queen, if I chose to stand aside as I should not be loth to do.' 'Would Egypt suffer this, Prince?' 'I do not know, nor does it matter since she hates Amenmeses, who is strong-willed and ambitious, and will have none of him. Also he is already married.' 'Is there no other royal one whom she might take, Prince?' ' None. Moreover she wishes me alone.' USERTI 37 6 Why, Prince?' 'Because of ancient custom which she worships. Also because she knows me well and in her fashion is fond of me, whom she believes to be a gentle-minded dreamer that she can rule. Lastly, because I am the lawful heir to the Crown and without me to share it, she thinks that she would never be safe upon the Throne, especially if I should marry some other woman, of whom she would be jealous. It is the Throne she desires and would wed, not the Prince Seti, her half- brother, whom she takes with it to be in name her husband, as Pharaoh commands that she should do. Love plays no part in Userti's breast, Ana, which makes her the more dangerous, since what she seeks with a cold heart of policy, that she will surely find.' 'Then it would seem, Prince, that the cage is built about you. After all it is a very splendid cage and made of gold.' 'Yes, Ana, yet not one in which I would live. Still, except by death how can I escape from the threefold chain of the will of Pharaoh, of Egypt, and of Userti? Oh!' he went on in a new voice, one that had in it both sorrow and passion, ' this is a matter in which I would have chosen for myself who in all others must be a servant. And I may not choose!' 'Is there perchance some other lady, Prince?' 'None! By Hathor, none at least I think not. Yet I would have been free to search for such a one and take her when I found her, if she were but a fishergirl. ' 'The Kings of Egypt can have large households, Prince.' 'I know it. Are there not still scores whom I should call aunt and uncle? I think that my grandsire, 38 MOON OF ISRAEL Rameses, blessed Egypt with quite three hundred children, and in so doing in a way was wise, since thus he might be sure that, while the world endures, in it will flow some of the blood that once was his.' 'Yet in life or death how will that help him, Prince? Some must beget the multitudes of the earth, what does it matter who these may have been? ' 1 Nothing at all, Ana, since by good or evil fortune they are born. Therefore, why talk of large house- holds? Though, like any man who can pay for it, Pharaoh may have a large household, I seek a queen who shall reign in my heart as well as on my throne, not a "large household," Ana. Oh! I am weary. Pambasa, come hither and conduct my secretary, Ana, to the empty room that is next my own, the painted chamber which looks toward the north, and bid my slaves attend to all his wants as they would to mine/ 'Why did you tell me you were a scribe, my lord Ana?' asked Pambasa, as he led me to my beautiful sleeping-place. 'Because that is my trade, Chamberlain.' He looked at me, shaking his great head till the long white beard waved across his breast like a temple banner in the faint evening breeze, and answered, 'You are no scribe, you are a magician who can win the love and favour of his Highness in an hour which others cannot do between two risings of the Nile. Had you said so at once, you would have been differ- ently treated yonder in the hall of waiting. Forgive me therefore what I did in ignorance, and, my lord, I pray it may please you not to melt away in the night, lest my feet should answer for it beneath the sticks.' USERTI 39 It was the fourth hour from sunrise of the following day that, for the first time in my life I found myself in the Court of Pharaoh standing with other members of his household in the train of his Highness, the Prince Seti. It was a very great place, for Pharaoh sat in the judgment hall, whereof the roof is upheld by round and sculptured columns, between which were set statues of Pharaohs who had been. Save at the throne end of the hall, where the light flowed down through clerestories, the vast chamber was dim al- most to darkness; at least so it seemed to me entering there out of the brilliant sunshine. Through this gloom many folk moved like shadows; captains, nobles, and state officers who had been summoned to the Court, and among them white-robed and shaven priests. Also there were others of whom I took no count, such as Arab headmen from the desert, traders with jewels and other wares to sell, farmers and even peasants with petitions to present, lawyers and their clients, and I know not who besides, though of all these none were suffered to advance beyond a certain mark where the light began to fall. Speaking in whispers all of these folk flitted to and fro like bats in a tomb. We waited between two Hathor-headed pillars in one of the vestibules of the hall, the Prince Seti, who was clad in purple-bordered garments and wore upon his brow a fillet of gold from which rose the uraeus or hooded snake, also of gold, that royal ones alone might wear, leaning against the base of a statue, while the rest of us stood silent behind him. For a time he was silent also, as a man might be whose thoughts were otherwhere. At length he turned and said to me, "This is weary work. Would I had asked you to 40 MOON OF ISRAEL bring that new tale of yours, Scribe Ana, that we might have read it together. ' 1 Shall I tell you the plot of it, Prince?' 'Yes. I mean, not now, lest I should forget my manners listening to you. Look/ and he pointed to a dark-browed, fierce-eyed man of middle age who passed up the hall as though he did not see us, 'there goes my cousin, Amenmeses. You know him, do you not? ' I shook my head. 'Then tell me what you think of him, at once before the first judgment fades/ 'I think he is a royal-looking lord, obstinate in mind and strong in body, handsome too in his way/ 'Ml can see that, Ana. What else?' 'I think/ I said in a low voice so that none might overhear, 'that his heart is as black as his brow; that he has grown wicked with jealousy and hate and will do you evil.' ' Can a man grow wicked, Ana? Is he not as he was born till the end? I do not know, nor do you. Still you are right, he is jealous and will do me evil if it brings him good. But tell me, which of us will tri- umph at the last?' While I hesitated what to answer I became aware that someone had joined us. Looking round I per- ceived a very ancient man clad in a white robe. He was broad-faced and bald-headed, and his eyes burned beneath his shaggy eyebrows like two coals in ashes. He supported himself on a staff of cedar-wood, gripping it with both hands that for thinness were Hke to those of a mummy. For a while he considered us both as though he were reading our souls, then said in a full and jovial voice, USERTI 41 'Greeting, Prince.' Seti turned, looked at him, and answered, ' Greeting, Bakenkhonsu. How comes it that you are still alive? When we parted at Thebes I made sure ' 'That on your return you would find me in my tomb. Not so, Prince, it is I who shall live to look upon you in your tomb, yes, and on others who are yet to sit in the seat of Pharaoh. Why not? Ho! ho! Why not, seeing that I am but a hundred and seven, I who remember the first Rameses and have played with his grandson, your grandsire, as a boy? Why should I not live, Prince, to nurse your grandson if the gods should grant you one who as yet have neither wife nor child?' 'Because you will get tired of life, Bakenkhonsu, as I am already, and the gods will not be able to spare you much longer. ' 'The gods can endure yet a while without me, Prince, when so many are flocking to their table. Indeed it is their desire that one good priest should be left in Egypt. Ki the Magician told me so only this morning. He had it straight from Heaven in a dream last night/ 'Why have you been to visit Ki?' asked Seti, looking at him sharply. 'I should have thought that being both of a trade you would have hated each other.' 'Not so, Prince. On the contrary we add up each other's account; I mean, check and interpret each other's visions, with which we are both of us much troubled just now. Is that young man a scribe from Memphis?' 'Yes, and my friend. His grandsire was Pentaur the poet. ' 'Indeed. I knew Pentaur well. Often has he read me to sleep with his long poems, rank stuff that grew 42 MOON OF ISRAEL like coarse grass upon a deep but half-drained soil. Are you sure, young man, that Pentaur was your grandfather? You are not like him. Quite a different kind of herbage, and you know that is a matter upon which we must take a woman's word.' Seti burst out laughing and I looked at the old priest angrily, though now that I came to think of it my father always said that his mother was one of the biggest liars in Egypt. 'Well, let it be,' went on Bakenkhonsu, 'till we find out the truth before Thoth. Ki was speaking of you, young man. I did not pay much attention to him, but it was something about a sudden vow of friendship between you and the Prince here. There was a cup in the story too, an alabaster cup that seemed familiar to me. Ki said it was broken. ' Seti started and I began angrily, 'What do you know of that cup? Where were you hid, Priest?' 'Oh, in your souls, I suppose,' he answered dreamily, 'or rather Ki was. But I know nothing and am not curious. If you had broken the cup with a woman now, it would have been more interesting, even to an old man. Be so good as to answer the Prince's question as to whether he or his cousin Amenmeses will triumph at the last, for on that matter both Ki and I are curious.' 'Am I a seer,' I began again still more angrily, 'that I should read the future? ' 'I think so, a little, but that is what I want to find out/ He hobbled towards me, laid one of his claw-like hands upon my arm, and said in a new voice of com- mand, USERTI 43 'Look now upon that throne and tell me what you see there/ I obeyed him because I must, staring up the hall at the empty throne. At first I saw nothing. Then figures seemed to flit around it. From among these figures emerged the shape of the Count Amenmeses. He sat upon the throne, looking about him proudly, and I noted that he was no longer clad as a prince but as Pharaoh himself. Presently hook-nosed men ap- peared who dragged him from his seat. He fell, as I thought, into water, for it seemed to splash up about him. Next Seti the Prince appeared to mount the throne, led thither by a woman, of whom I could only see the back. I saw him distinctly wearing the double crown and holding a sceptre in his hand. He also melted away and others came whom I did not know, though I thought that one of them was like to the Princess Userti. Now all were gone and I was telling Bakenkhonsu everything I had witnessed like a man who speaks in his sleep, not by his own will. Suddenly I woke up and laughed at my own foolishness. But the other two did not laugh; they regarded me very gravely. 'I thought that you were something of a seer/ said the old priest, 'or rather Ki thought it. I could not quite believe Ki, because he said that the young person whom I should find with the Prince here this morning would be one who loved him with all the heart, and it is only a woman who loves with all the heart, is it not? Or so the world believes. Well, I will talk the matter over with Ki. Hush ! Pharaoh comes. ' As he spoke from far away rose a cry of 'Life! Blood! Strength! Pharaoh! Pharaoh! Pharaoh!' CHAPTER IV THE COURT OF BETROTHAL 'LIFE! Blood! Strength I' echoed everyone in the great hall, falling to their knees and bending their foreheads to the ground. Even the Prince and the aged Baken- khonsu prostrated themselves thus as though before the presence of a god. And, indeed, Pharaoh Menep- tah, passing through the patch of sunlight at the head of the hall, wearing the double crown upon his head and arrayed in royal robes and ornaments, looked like a god, no less, as the multitude of the people of Egypt held him to be. He was an old man with the face of one worn by years and care, but from his person majesty seemed to flow. With him, walking a step or two behind, went Nehesi his Vizier, a shrivelled, parchment-faced officer whose cunning eyes rolled about the place, and Roy the High- priest, and Hora the Chamberlain of the Table, and Meranu the Washer of the King's Hands, and Yuy the private scribe, and many others whom Baken- khonsu named to me as they appeared. Then there were fan-bearers and a gorgeous band of lords who were called King's Companions and Head Butlers and I know not who besides, and after these guards with spears and helms that shone like gold, and black swords- men from the southern land of Kesh. But one woman accompanied his Majesty, walking THE COURT OF BETROTHAL 45 alone immediately behind him in front of the Vizier and the High-priest. She was the Royal Daughter, the Princess Userti, who looked, I thought, prouder and more splendid than any there, though somewhat pale and anxious. Pharaoh came to the steps of the throne. The Vizier and the High-priest advanced to help him up the steps, for he was feeble with age. He waved them aside, and beckoning to his daughter, rested his hand upon her shoulder and by her aid mounted the throne. I thought that there was meaning in this; it was as though he would show to all the assembly that this princess was the prop of Egypt. For a little while he stood still and Userti sat herself down on the topmost step, resting her chin upon her jewelled hand. There he stood searching the place with his eyes. He lifted his sceptre and all rose, hundreds and hundreds of them throughout the hall, their garments rustling as they rose like leaves in a sudden wind. He seated himself and once more from every throat went up the regal salutation that was the king's alone, of - 'Life! Blood! Strength! Pharaoh! Pharaoh! Pha- raoh !' In the silence that followed I heard him say, to the Princess, I think, 'Amenmeses I see, and others of our kin, but where is my son Seti, the Prince of Egypt? ' 'Watching us no doubt from some vestibule. My brother loves not ceremonials, ' answered Userti. Then, with a little sigh, Seti stepped forward, fol- lowed by Bakenkhonsu and myself, and at a distance by other members of his household. As he marched 46 MOON OF ISRAEL up the long hall all drew to this side or that, saluting him with low bows. Arriving in front of the throne he bent till his knee touched the ground, saying, 'I give greeting, O King and Father/ 'I give greeting, Prince and Son. Be seated, 7 answered Meneptah. Seti seated himself in a chair that had been made ready for him at the foot of the throne, and on its right, and in another chair to the left, but set farther from the steps, Amenmeses seated himself also. At a motion from the Prince I took my stand behind his chair. The formal business of the Court began. At the beckoning of an usher people of all sorts appeared singly and handed in petitions written on rolled-up papyri, which the Vizier Nehesi took and threw into a leathern sack that was held open by a black slave. In some cases an answer to his petition, whereof this was only the formal delivery, was handed back to the suppliant, who touched his brow with the roll that perhaps meant everything to him, and bowed himself away to learn his fate. Then appeared sheiks of the desert tribes, and captains from fortresses in Syria, and traders who had been harmed by enemies, and even peasants who had suffered violence from officers, each to make his prayer. Of all of these supplications the scribes took notes, while to some the Vizier and councillors made answers. But as yet Pharaoh said nothing. There he sat silent on his splendid throne of ivory and gold, like a god of stone above the altar, staring down the long hall and through the open doors as though he would read the secrets of the skies be- yond. THE COURT OF BETROTHAL 47 'I told you that courts were wearisome, friend Ana,' whispered the Prince to me without turning his head. 'Do you not already begin to wish that you were back writing tales at Memphis? ' Before I could answer some movement in the throng at the end of the hall drew the eyes of the Prince and of all of us. I looked, and saw advancing towards the throne a tall, bearded man already old, although his black hair was but grizzled with grey. He was ar- rayed in a white linen robe, over which hung a woollen cloak such as shepherds wear, and he carried in his hand a long thornwood staff. His face was splendid and very handsome, and his black eyes flashed like fire. He walked forward slowly, looking neither to the left nor the right, and the throng made way for him as though he were a prince. Indeed, I thought that they showed more fear of him than of any prince, since they shrank from him as he came. Nor was he alone, for after him walked another man who was very like to him, but as I judged, still older, for his beard, which hung down to his middle, was snow-white as was the hair of his head. He also was dressed in a sheepskin cloak and carried a staff in his hand. Now a whisper rose among the people and the whisper said, 'The prophets of the men of Israel! The prophets of the men of Israel!' The two stood before the throne and looked at Pharaoh, making no obeisance. Pharaoh looked at them and was silent. For a long space they stood thus in the midst of a great quiet, but Pharaoh would not speak, and none of his officers seemed to dare to open their mouths. At length the first of the prophets spoke in a clear, cold voice as some conqueror might do. 48 MOON OF ISRAEL 'You know me, Pharaoh, and my errand.' 1 1 know you/ answered Pharaoh slowly, 'as well I may, seeing that we played together when we were little. You are that Hebrew whom my sister, she who sleeps in Osiris, took to be as a son to her, giving to you a name that means "drawn forth" because she drew you forth as an infant from among the reeds of Nile. Aye, I know you and your brother also, but your errand I know not. ' 'This is my errand, Pharaoh, or rather the errand of Jahveh, God of Israel, for whom I speak. Have you not heard it before? It is that you should let his people go to do sacrifice to him in the wilderness. ' 'Who is Jahveh? I know not Jahveh who serve Amon and the gods of Egypt, and why should I let your people go? ' 'Jahveh is the God of Israel, the great God of all gods whose power you shall learn if you will not hearken, Pharaoh. As for why you should let the people go, ask it of the Prince your son who sits yonder. Ask him of what he saw in the streets of this city but last night, and of a certain judgment that he passed upon one of the officers of Pharaoh. Or if he will not tell you, learn it from the lips of the maiden who is named Merapi, Moon of Israel, the daughter of Nathan the Levite. Stand forward, Merapi, daughter of Nathan. ' Then from the throng at the back of the hall came forward Merapi, clad in a white robe and with a black veil thrown about her head in token of mourning, but not so as to hide her face. Up the hall she glided and made obeisance to Pharaoh, as she did so, casting one swift look at Seti where he sat. Then she stood still, THE COURT OF BETROTHAL 49 looking, as I thought, wonderfully beautiful in that simple robe of white and the veil of black. ' Speak, woman, ' said Pharaoh. She obeyed, telling all the tale in her low and honeyed voice, nor did any seem to think it long or wearisome. At length she ended, and Pharoah said, 'Say, Seti my son, is this truth? ' 'It is truth, O my Father. By virtue of my powers as Governor of this city I caused the captain Khuaka to be put to death for the crime of murder done by him before my eyes in the streets of the city.' 'Perchance you did right and perchance you did wrong, Son Seti. At least you are the best judge, and because he struck your royal person, this Khuaka deserved to die.' Again he was silent for a while staring through the open doors at the sky beyond. Then he said, 'What would ye more, Prophets of Jahveh? Justice has been done upon my officer who slew the man of your people. A life has been taken for a life according to the strict letter of the law. The matter is finished. Unless you have aught to say, get you gone. ' 'By the command of the Lord our God,' answered the prophet, 'we have this to say to you, O Pharaoh. Lift the heavy yoke from off the neck of the people of Israel. Bid that they cease from the labour of the making of bricks to build your walls and cities. ' 'And if I refuse, what then?' 'Then the curse of Jahveh shall be on you, Pharaoh, and with plague upon plague shall he smite this land of Egypt.' Now a sudden rage seized Meneptah. 'What!' he cried. 'Do you dare to threaten me in 50 MOON OF ISRAEL my own palace, and would ye cause all the multitude of the people of Israel who have grown fat in the land to cease from their labours? Hearken, my servants, and, scribes, write down my decree. Go ye to the country of Goshen and say to the Israelites that the bricks they made they shall make us aforetime and more work shall they do than aforetime in the days of my father, Rameses. Only no more straw shall be given to them for the making of the bricks. Because they are idle, let them go forth and gather the straw for themselves; let them gather it from the face of the fields.' There was silence for a while. Then with one voice both the prophets spoke, pointing with their wands to Pharaoh, ' In the Name of the Lord God we curse you, Pharaoh, who soon shall die and make answer for this sin. The people of Egypt we curse also. Ruin shall be their portion; death shall be their bread and blood shall they drink in a great darkness. Moreover, at the last Pharaoh shall let the people go.' Then, waiting no answer, they turned and strode away side by side, nor did any man hinder them in their goings. Again there was silence in the hall, the silence of fear, for these were awful words that the prophets had spoken. Pharaoh knew it, for his chin sank upon his breast and his face that had been red with rage turned white. Userti hid her eyes with her hand as though to shut out some evil vision, and even Seti seemed ill at ease as though that awful curse had found a home within his heart. At a motion of Pharaoh's hand the Vizier Nehesi struck the ground thrice with his wand of office and THE COURT OF BETROTHAL 51 pointed to the door, thus giving the accustomed sign that the Court was finished, whereon all the people turned and went away with bent heads speaking no words one to another. Presently the great hall was emptied save for the officers and guards and those who attended upon Pharaoh. When everyone had gone Seti the Prince rose and bowed before the throne. '0 Pharaoh/ he said, 'be pleased to hearken. We have heard very evil words spoken by these Hebrew men, words that threaten your divine life, O Pharaoh, and call down a curse upon the Upper and the Lower Land. Pharaoh, these people of Israel hold that they suffer wrong and are oppressed. Now give me, your son, a writing under your hand and seal, by virtue of which I shall have power to go down to the Land of Goshen and inquire of this matter, and afterwards make report of the truth to you. Then, if it seems to you that the People of Israel are unjustly dealt by, you may lighten their burden and bring the curse of their prophets to nothing. But if it seems to you that the tales they tell are idle then your words shall stand. ' Now, listening, I, Ana, thought that Pharaoh would once more be angry. But it was not so, for when he spoke again it was in the voice of one who is crushed by grief or weariness. 'Have your will, Son,' he said. 'Only take with you a great guard of soldiers lest these hook-nosed dogs should do you mischief. I trust them not, who, like the Hyksos whose blood runs in many of them, were ever the foes of Egypt. Did they not conspire with the Ninebow Barbarians whom I crushed in the great battle, and do they not now threaten us in the name of. their outland god? Still, let the writing be prepared 52 MOON OF ISRAEL and I will seal it. And stay. I think, Seti, that you, who were ever gentle-natured, have somewhat too soft a heart towards these shepherd slaves. Therefore I will not send you alone. Amenmeses your cousin shall go with you, but under your command. It is spoken.' 'Life! Blood! Strength!' said both Seti and Amen- meses, thus acknowledging the king's command. Now I thought that all was finished. But it was not so, for presently Pharaoh said, 'Let the guards withdraw to the end of the hall and with them the servants. Let the King's councillors and the officers of the household remain. ' Instantly all saluted and withdrew out of hearing. I, too, made ready to go, but the Prince said to me, ' Stay, that you may take note of what passes. ' Pharaoh, wafeching, saw if he did not hear. 1 Who is that man, Son? ' he asked. 'He is Ana my private scribe and librarian, O Pharaoh, whom I trust. It was he who saved me from harm but last night. ' 'You say it, Son. Let him remain in attendance on you, knowing that if he betrays our council he dies. ' Userti looked up frowning as though she were about to speak. If so, she changed her mind and was silent, perhaps because Pharaoh's word once spoken could not be altered. Bakenkhonsu remained also as a Councillor of the King according to his right. When all had gone Pharaoh, who had been brooding, lifted his head and spoke slowly but in the voice of one who gives a judgment that may not be questioned, saying, 'Prince Seti, you are my only son born of Queen THE COURT OF BETROTHAL 53 Ast-Nefert, royal Sister, royal Mother, who sleeps in the bosom of Osiris. It is true that you are not my first-born son, since the Count Ramessu' here he pointed to a stout mild-faced man of pleasing, rather foolish appearance 4s your elder by two years. But, as he knows well, his mother, who is still with us, is a Syrian by birth and of no royal blood, and there- fore he can never sit upon the throne of Egypt. Is it not so, my son Ramessu?' 'It is so, O Pharaoh,' answered the Count in a pleasant voice, 'nor do I seek ever to sit upon that throne, who am well content with the offices and wealth that Pharaoh has been pleased to confer upon me, his first-born. ' 'Let the words of the Count Ramessu be written down,' said Pharaoh, 'and placed in the temple of Ptah of this city, and in the temples of Ptah at Memphis and of Amon at Thebes, that hereafter they may never be questioned. ' The scribes in attendance wrote down the words and, at a sign from the Prince Seti, I also wrote them down, setting the papyrus I had with me on my knee. When this was finished Pharaoh went on. 'Therefore, O Prince Seti, you are the heir of Egypt and perhaps, as those Hebrew prophets said, will ere long be called upon to sit in my place on its throne.' 'May the King live for ever!' exclaimed Seti, 'for well he knows that I do not seek his crown and dig- nities.' 'I do know it well, my son; so well that I wish you thought more of that crown and those dignities which, if the gods will, must come to you. If they will it not, next in the order of succession stands your cousin, 54 MOON OF ISRAEL the Count Amenmeses, who is also of royal blood both on his father's and his mother's side, and after him I know not who, unless it be my daughter and your half-sister, the royal Princess Userti, Lady of Egypt.' Now Userti spoke, very earnestly, saying, 'O Pharaoh, surely my right in the succession, ac- cording to ancient precedent, precedes that of my cousin, the Count Amenmeses. ' Amenmeses was about to answer, but Pharaoh lifted his hand and he was silent. ' It is a matter for those learned in such lore to dis- cuss,' Meneptah replied in a somewhat hesitating voice. 'I pray the gods that it may never be needful that this high question should be considered in the Council. Nevertheless, let the words of the royal Princess be written down. Now, Prince Seti, ' he went on when this had been done, 'you are still unmarried, and if you have children they are not royal. ' ' I have none, O Pharaoh, ' said Seti. 'Is it so?' answered Meneptah indifferently. 'The Count Amenmeses has children I know, for I have seen them, but by his wife Unuri, who also is of the royal line, he has none. ' Here I heard Amenmeses mutter, 'Being my aunt that is not strange,' a saying at which Seti smiled. 'My daughter, the Princess, is also unmarried. So it seems that the fountain of the royal blood is running dry 'Now it is coming,' whispered Seti below his breath so that only I could hear. 'Therefore,' continued Pharaoh, 'as you know, Prince Seti, for the royal Princess of Egypt by my THE COURT OF BETROTHAL 55 command went to speak to you of this matter last night, I make a decree ' 'Pardon, Pharaoh/ interrupted the Prince, 'my sister spoke to me of no decree last night, save that I should attend at the court here to-day. ' 'Because I could not, Seti, seeing that another was present with you whom you refused to dismiss,' and she let her eyes rest on me. 'It matters not/ said Pharaoh, 'since now I will utter it with my own lips which perhaps is better. It is my will, Prince, that you forthwith wed the royal Princess Userti, that children of the true blood of the Ramessides may be born. Hear and obey. ' Now Userti shifted her eyes from me to Seti, watching him very closely. Seated at his side upon the ground with my writing roll spread across my knee, I, too, watched him closely, and noted that his lips turned white and his face grew fixed and strange. 'I hear the command of Pharaoh/ he said in a low voice making obeisance, and hesitated. 'Have you aught to add?' asked Meneptah sharply. 'Only, O Pharaoh, that though this would be a marriage decreed for reasons of the State, still there is a lady who must be given in marriage, and she my half- sister who heretofore has only loved me as a relative. Therefore, I would know from her lips if it is her will to take me as a husband. ' Now all looked at Userti who replied in a cold voice, 'In this matter, Prince, as in all others I have no will but that of Pharaoh.' 'You have heard/ interrupted Meneptah impa- tiently, 'and as in our House it has always been the custom for kin to marry kin, why should it not be her 56 MOON OF ISRAEL will? Also, who else should she marry? Amenmeses is already wed. There remains only Sap tab his brother who is younger than herself 'So am I/ murmured Seti, 'by two long years/ but happily Userti did not hear him. 'Nay, my father/ she said with decision, ' never will I take a deformed man to husband. ' Now from the shadow on the further side of the throne, where I could not see him, there hobbled for- ward a young noble, short in stature, light-haired like Seti, and with a sharp, clever face which put me in mind of that of a jackal (indeed for this reason he was named Thoth by the common people, after the jackal- headed god). He was very angry, for his cheeks were flushed and his small eyes flashed. 'Must I listen, Pharaoh/ he said in a little voice, 'while my cousin the Royal Princess reproaches me in public for my lame foot, which I have because my nurse let me fall when I was still in arms?' 'Then his nurse let his grandfather fall also, for he too was club-footed, as I who have seen him naked in his cradle can bear witness,' whispered old Baken- khonsu. 'It seems so, Count Saptah, unless you stop your ears/ replied Pharaoh. 'She says she will not rnarry me/ went on Saptah, 'me who from childhood have been a slave to her and to no other woman. ' 'Not by my wish, Saptah. Indeed, I pray you to go and be a slave to any woman whom you will/ ex- claimed Userti. 'But I say/ continued Saptah, 'that one day she shall marry me, for the Prince Seti will not live for ever. ' THE COURT OF BETROTHAL 57 'How do you know that, Cousin?' asked Seti. 'The High-priest here will tell you a different story. ' Now certain of those present turned their heads away to hide the smile upon their faces. Yet on this day some god spoke with Saptah's voice making him a prophet, since in a year to come she did marry him, in order that she might stay upon the throne at a time of trouble when Egypt would not suffer that a woman should have sole rule over the land. But Pharaoh did not smile like the courtiers; in- deed he grew angry. 1 Peace, Saptah!' he said. 'Who are you that wrangle before me, talking of the death of kings and saying that you will wed the Royal Princess? One more such word and you shall be driven into banish- ment. Hearken now. Almost am I minded to de- clare my daughter, the Royal Princess, sole heiress to the throne, seeing that in her there is more strength and wisdom than in any other of our House.' 1 If such be Pharaoh's will, let Pharaoh's will be done/ said Seti most humbly. 'Well I know my own un- worthiness to fill so high a station, and by all the gods I swear that my beloved sister will nnpl no more faith- ful subject than myself. ' 'You mean, Seti,' interrupted Userti, 'that rather than marry me you would abandon your right to the double crown Truly I am honoured. Seti, whether you reign or I, I will not marry you. ' 'What words are these I hear?' cried Meneptah. 'Is there indeed one in this land of Egypt who dares to say that Pharaoh's decree shall be disobeyed? Write it down, Scribes, and you, O Officers, let it be proclaimed from Thebes to the sea, that on the third 58 MOON OF ISRAEL day from now at the hour of noon in the temple of Hathor in this city, the Prince, the Royal Heir, Seti Meneptah, Beloved of Ra, will wed the Royal Princess of Egypt, Lily of Love, Beloved of Hathor, Userti, Daughter of me, the god/ 1 Life! Blood! Strength!' called all the Court. Then, guided by some high officer, the Prince Seti was led before the throne and the Princess Userti was set beside him, or rather facing him. According to the ancient custom a great gold cup was brought and filled with red wine, to me it looked like blood. Userti took the cup and, kneeling, gave it to the Prince, who drank and gave it back to her that she might also drink in solemn token of their betrothal. Is not the scene graven on the broad bracelets of gold which in after days Seti wore when he sat upon the throne, those same bracelets that at a future time I with my own hands clasped about the wrists of dead Userti? Then he stretched out his hand which she touched with her lips, and bending down he kissed her on the brow. Lastly, Pharaoh, descending to the lowest step of the throne, laid his sceptre, first upon the head of the Prince, and next upon that of the Princess, blessing them both in the name of himself, of his Ka or Double, and of the spirits and Kas of all their forefathers, kings and queens of Egypt, thus appointing them to come after him when he had been gathered to the bosom of the gods. These things done, he departed in state, surrounded by his court, preceded and followed by his guards and leaning on the arm of the Princess Userti, whom he loved better than anyone in the world. A while later I stood alone with the Prince in his private chamber, where I had first seen him. THE COURT OF BETROTHAL 59 'That is finished/ he said in a cheerful voice, 'and I tell you, Ana, that I feel quite, quite happy. Have you ever shivered upon the bank of a river of a winter morning, fearing to enter, and yet, when you did enter, have you not been pleased to find that the icy water refreshed you and made you not cold but hot? 'Yes, Prince. It is when one comes out of the water, if the wind blows and no sun shines, that one feels colder than before. ' 'True, Ana, and therefore one must not come out. One should stop there till one drowns or is eaten by a crocodile. But, say, did I do it well?' 'Old Bakenkhonsu told me, Prince, that he had been present at many royal betrothals, I think he said eleven, and had never seen one conducted with more grace. He added that the way in which you kissed the brow of her Highness was perfect, as was all your demeanour after the first argument. ' 'And so it would remain, Ana, if I were never called upon to do more than kiss her brow, to which I have been accustomed from boyhood. Oh! Ana, Ana,' he added in a kind of cry, 'already you are becoming a courtier like the rest of them, a courtier who cannot speak the truth. Well, nor can I, so why should I blame you? Tell me again all about your marriage, Ana, of how it began and how it ended.' CHAPTER V THE PROPHECY WHETHER or no the Prince Seti saw Userti again be- fore the hour of his marriage with her I cannot say, be- cause he never told me. Indeed I was not present at the marriage, for the reason that I had been granted leave to return to Memphis, there to settle my affairs and sell my house on entering upon my appointment as private scribe to his Highness. Thus it came about that fourteen full days went by from that of the holding of the Court of Betrothal before I found myself stand- ing once more at the gate of the Prince's palace, at- tended by a servant who led an ass on which were laden all my manuscripts and certain possessions that had descended to me from my ancestors with the title- deeds of their tombs. Different indeed was my re- ception on this my second coming. Even as I reached the steps the old chamberlain Pambasa appeared, run- ning down them so fast that his white robes and beard streamed upon the air. 1 Greeting, most learned scribe, most honourable Ana/ he panted. ' Glad indeed am I to see you, since every hour his Highness asks if you have returned, and blames me because you have not come. Verily I be- lieve that if you had stayed upon the road another day I should have been sent to look for you, who have had sharp words said to me because I did not arrange that 60 THE PROPHECY 61 you should be accompanied by a guard, as though the Vizier Nehesi would have paid the costs of a guard without the direct order of Pharaoh. O most excellent Ana, give me of the charm which you have doubtless used to win the love of our royal master, and I will pay you well for it who find it easier to earn his wrath/ 'I will, Pambasa. Here it is write better stories than I do instead of telling them, and he will love you more than he does me. But say how went the mar- riage? I have heard upon the way that it was very splendid.' 'Splendid! Oh! it was ten times more than splen- did. It was as though the god Osiris were once more wed to the goddess Isis in the very halls of heaven. Indeed his Highness, the bridegroom, was dressed as a god, yes, he wore the robes and the holy ornaments of Amon. And the procession! And the feast that Pharaoh gave! I tell you that the Prince was so over- come with joy and all this weight of glory that, before it was over, looking at him I saw that his eyes were closed, being dazzled by the gleam of gold and jewels and the loveliness of his royal bride. He told me that it was so himself, fearing perhaps lest I should have thought that he was asleep. Then there were the presents, something to everyone of us according to his degree. I got well it matters not. And, learned Ana, I did not forget you. Knowing well that every- thing would be gone before you returned I spoke your name in the ear of his Highness, offering to keep your gift.' 1 Indeed, Pambasa, and what did he say?' 'He said that he was keeping it himself. When I stared wondering what it might be, for I saw nothing 62 MOON OF ISRAEL on him, he added, "It is here," and touched the pri- vate signet guard that he has always worn, an ancient ring of gold, but of no great value I should say, with " Beloved of Thoth and of the King" cut upon it. It seems that he must take it off to make room for another and much finer ring which her Highness has given him.' Now, by this time, the ass having been unloaded by the slaves and led away, we had passed through the hall where many were idling as ever, and were come to the private apartments of the palace. 'This way/ said Pambasa. 'The orders are that I am to take you to the Prince wherever he may be, and just now he is seated in the great apartment with her Highness, where they have been receiving homage and deputations from distant cities. The last left about half an hour ago. 7 'First I will prepare myself, worthy Pambasa/ I began. 'No, no, the orders are instant, I dare not disobey them. Enter/ and with a courtly flourish he drew a rich curtain. 'By Amon/ exclaimed a weary voice which I knew as that of the Prince, 'here come more councillors or priests. Prepare, my sister, prepare !' 'I pray you, Seti/ answered another voice, that of Userti, ' to learn to call me by my right name, which is no longer sister. Nor, indeed, am I your full sister/ 'I crave your pardon/ said Seti. 'Prepare, Royal Wife, prepare P By now the curtain was fully drawn and I stood, travel-stained, forlorn and, to tell the truth, trembling a little, for I feared her Highness, in the doorway, hesi- THE PROPHECY 63 tating to pass the threshold. Beyond was a splendid chamber full of light, in the centre of which upon a carven and golden chair, one of two that were set there, sat her Highness magnificently apparelled, faultlessly beautiful and calm. She was engaged in studying a painted roll, left no doubt by the last deputation, for others similar to it were laid neatly side by side upon a table. The second chair was empty, for the Prince was walking restlessly up and down the chamber, his cere- monial robe somewhat disarrayed and the uraeus circlet of gold which he wore, tilted back upon his head, be- cause of his habit of running his fingers through his brown hair. As I still stood in the dark shadow, for Pambasa had left me, and thus remained unseen, the talk went on. 'I am prepared, Husband. Pardon me, it is you who look otherwise. Why would you dismiss the scribes and household before the ceremony was ended? ' 'Because they wearied me/ said Seti, 'with their continual bowing and praising and formalities.' 'In which I saw nothing unusual. Now they must be recalled.' 'Let whoever it is enter/ he exclaimed. Then I stepped forward into the light, prostrating myself. 'Why/ he cried, 'it is Ana returned from Memphis! Draw near, Ana, and a thousand welcomes to you. Do you know I thought that you were another high-priest, or governor of some Nome of which I had never heard.' 'Ana! Who is Ana?' asked the Princess. 'Oh! Ire- member that scribe - . Well, it is plain that he has returned from Memphis/ and she eyed my dusty robe. 64 MOON OF ISRAEL 'Royal One/ I murmured abashed, 'do not blame me that I enter your presence thus. Pambasa led me here against my will by the direct order of the Prince.' 'Is it so? Say, Seti, does this man bring tidings of import from Memphis that you needed his presence in such haste? ' 'Yes, Userti, at least I think so. You have the writings safe, have you not, Ana? ' 'Quite safe, your Highness,' I answered, though I knew not of what writings he spoke, unless they were the manuscripts of my stories. 'Then, my Lord, I will leave you to talk of the tidings from Memphis and these writings,' said the Princess. 'Yes, yes. We must talk of them, Userti. Also of the journey to the land of Goshen on which Ana starts with me to-morrow.' 'To-morrow! Why this morning you told me it was fixed for three days hence. 'Did I, Sister I mean Wife? If so, it was because I was not sure whether Ana, who is to be my chariot companion, would be back.' 'A scribe your chariot companion! Surely it would be more fitting that your cousin Amenmeses - 'To Set with Amenmeses!' he exclaimed. 'You know well, Userti, that the man is hateful to me with his cunning yet empty talk.' 'Indeed! I grieve to hear it, for when you hate you show it, and Amenmeses may be a bad enemy. Then if not our cousin Amenmeses who is not hateful to me, there is Saptah.' 'I thank you; I will not travel in a cage with a jackal.' 'Jackal! I do not love Saptah, but one of the royal THE PROPHECY 65 blood of Egypt a jackal! Then there is Nehesi the Vizier, or the General of the escort whose name I for- get.' 'Do you think, Userti, that I wish to talk about state economies with that old money-sack, or to listen to boastings of deeds he never did in war from a half- bred Nubian butcher? ' 'I do not know, Husband.' Yet of what will you talk with this Ana? Of poems, I suppose, and silliness. Or will it be perchance of Merapi, Moon of Israel, whom I gather both of you think so beautiful. Well, have your way. You tell me that I am not to accom- pany you upon this journey, I your new-made wife, and now I find that it is because you wish my place to be filled by a writer of tales whom you picked up the other day your " twin in Ra" forsooth! Fare you well, my Lord/ and she rose from her seat, gathering up her robes with both hands. Then Seti grew angry. ' Userti,' he said, stamping upon the floor, 'you should not use such words. You know well that I do not take you with me because there may be danger yonder among the Hebrews. Moreover, it is not Pharaoh's wish.' She turned and answered with cold courtesy, 'Then I crave your pardon and thank you for your kind thought for the safety of my person. I knew not this mission was so dangerous. Be careful, Seti, that the scribe Ana comes to no harm.' So saying she bowed and vanished through the curtains. 'Ana,' said Seti, 'tell me, for I never was quick at figures, how many minutes is it from now till the fourth 66 MOON OF ISRAEL hour to-morrow morning when I shall order my chariot to be ready? Also, do you know whether it is possible to travel from Goshen across the marshes and to return by Syria? Or, failing that, to travel across the desert to Thebes and sail down the Nile in the spring?' 'Oh! my Prince, my Prince,' I said, 'I pray you to dismiss me. Let me go anywhere out of the reach of her Highness's tongue.' 'It is strange how alike we think upon every matter, Ana, even of Merapi and the tongues of royal ladies. Hearken to my command. You are not to go. If it is a question of going, there are others who will go first. Moreover, you cannot go, but must stay and bear your burdens as I bear mine. Remember the broken cup, Ana.' 'I remember, my Prince, but sooner would I be scourged with rods than by such words as those to which I must listen. ' Yet that very night, when I had left the Prince, I was destined to hear more pleasant words from this same changeful, or perchance politic, royal lady. She sent for me and I went, much afraid. I found her in a small chamber alone, save for one old lady of honour who sat at the end of the room and appeared to be deaf, which perhaps was why she was chosen. Userti bade me be seated before her very courteously, and spoke to me thus, whether because of some talk she had held with the Prince or not, I do not know. 'Scribe Ana, I ask your pardon if, being vexed and wearied, I said to you and of you to-day what I now wish I had left unsaid. I know well that you, being of the gentle blood of Egypt, will make no report of what you heard outside these walls.' THE PROPHECY 67 ' May my tongue be cut out first/ I answered. 'It seems, Scribe Ana, that my lord the Prince has taken a great love of you. How or why this came about so suddenly, you being a man, I do not under- stand, but I am sure that as it is so, it must be because there is much in you to love, since never did I know the Prince to show deep regard for one who was not most honourable and worthy. Now things being so, it is plain that you will become the favourite of his High- ness, a man who does not change his mind in such matters, and that he will tell you all his secret thoughts, perhaps some that he hides from the Councillors of State, or even from me. In short you will grow into a power in the land and perhaps one day be the greatest in it after Pharaoh although you may still seem to be but a private scribe. 'I do not pretend to you that I should have wished this to be so, who would rather that my husband had but one real councillor myself. Yet seeing that it is so, I bow my head, hoping that it may be decreed for the best. If ever any jealousy should overcome me in this matter and I should speak sharply to you, as I did to-day, I ask your pardon in advance for that which has not happened, as I have asked it for that which has happened. I pray of you, Scribe Ana, that yoa will do your best to influence the mind of the Prince for good, since he is easily led by any whom he loves. I pray you also being quick and thoughtful, as I see you are, that you will make a study of statecraft, and of the policies of our royal House, coming to me, if it be needful, for instruction therein, so that you may be able to guide the feet of the Prince aright, should he turn to you for counsel.' 68 MOON OF ISRAEL 1 All of this I will do, your Highness, if by any chance it lies in my power, though who am I that I should hope to make a path for the feet of kings? Moreover, I vvould add this, although he is so gentle-natured, I think that in the end the Prince is one who will always choose his own path/ 'It may be so Ana. At the least I thank you. I pray you to be sure also that in me you will always have a friend and not an enemy, although at times the quickness of my nature, which has never been con- trolled, may lead you to think otherwise. Now I will say one more thing that shall be secret between us. I know that the Prince loves me as a friend and relative rather than as a wife, and that he would not have sought this marriage of himself, as is perhaps natural. I know, too, that other women will come into his life, though these may be fewer than in the case of most kings, because he is more hard to please. Of such I cannot complain, as this is according to the customs of our country. I fear only one thing namely that some woman, ceasing to be his toy, may take Seti's heart and make him altogether hers. In this matter, Scribe Ana, as in others I ask your help, since I would be queen of Egypt in all ways, not in name only/ 1 Your Highness, how can I say to the Prince " So much shall you love this or that woman and no more?" Moreover, why do you fear that which has not and may never come about? ' ' I do not know how you can say such a thing, Scribe, still I ask you to say it if you can. As to why I fear, it is because I seem to feel the near shadow of some woman lying cold upon me and building a wall of blackness between his Highness and myself. ' THE PROPHECY 69 'It is but a dream, Princess.' 'Mayhap. I hope so. Yet I think otherwise. Oh! Ana, cannot you, who study the hearts of men and women, understand my case? I have married where I can never hope to be loved as other women are, I who am a wife, yet not a wife. I read your thought; it is why then did you marry? Since I have told you so much I will tell you that also. First, it is be- cause the Prince is different to other men and in his own fashion above them, yes, far above any with whom I could have wed as royal heiress of Egypt. Secondly, because being cut off from love, what remains to me but ambition? At least I would be a great queen, as was Hatshepu in her day, and lift my country out of the many troubles in which it is sunk and write my name large upon the books of history, which I could only do by taking Pharaoh's heir to husband, as is my duty.' She brooded a while, then added, ' Now I have shown you all my thought. Whether I have been wise to do so the gods know alone and time will tell me.' 'Princess,' I said, 'I thank you for trusting me and I will help you if I may. Yet I am troubled. I, a humble man if of good blood, who a little while ago was but a scribe and a student, a dreamer who had known trouble also, have suddenly by chance, or some divine decree, been lifted high in the favour of the heir of Egypt, and it would seem have even won your trust. Now I wonder how I shall bear myself in this new place which in truth I never sought.' 'I do not know, who find the present and its troubles enough to carry. But, doubtless, the decree of which you speak that set you there has also written down 70 MOON OF ISRAEL what will be the end of all. Meanwhile, I have a gift for you. Say, Scribe, have you ever handled any weapon besides a pen?' 'Yes, your Highness, as a lad I was skilled in sword play. Moreover, though I do not love war and blood- shed, some years ago I fought in the great battle be- tween the Ninebow Barbarians, when Pharaoh called upon the young men of Memphis to do their part. With my own hands I slew two in fair fight, though one nearly brought me to my end, ' and I pointed to a scar which showed red through my grey hair where a spear had bitten deep. 'It is well, or so I think, who love soldiers better than stainers of papyrus pith.' Then, going to a painted chest of reeds, she took from it a wonderful shirt of mail fashioned of bronze rings, and a short sword also of bronze, having a golden hilt of which the end was shaped to the likeness of the head of a lion, and with her own hands gave them to me, saying, 'These are spoils that my grandsire, the great Rameses, took in his youth from a prince of the Khitah, whom he smote with his own hands in Syria in that battle whereof your grandfather made the poem. Wear the shirt, which no spear will pierce, beneath your robe and gird the sword about you when you go down yonder among the Israelites, whom I do not trust. I have given a like coat to the Prince. Let it be your duty to see that it is upon his sacred person day and night. Let it be your duty also, if need arises, with this sword to defend him to the death. Farewell.' 'May all the gods reject me from the Fields of the THE PROPHECY 71 Blessed if I fail in this trust/ I answered, and departed wondering, to seek sleep which, as it chanced, I was not to find for a while. For as I went down the corridor, led by one of the ladies of the household, whom should I find waiting at the end of it but old Pambasa to inform me with many bows that the Prince needed my presence. I asked how that could be seeing he had dismissed me for the night. He replied that he did not know, but he was commanded to conduct me to the private cham- ber, the same room in which I had first seen his High- ness. Thither I went and found him warming him- self at the fire, for the night was cold. Looking up he bade Pambasa admit those who were waiting, then noting the shirt of mail and the sword I carried in my hand, said, 1 You have been with the Princess, have you not, and she must have had much to say to you for your talk was long? Well, I think I can guess its purport who from a child have known her mind. She told you to watch me well, body and heart and all that comes from the heart oh! and much else. Also she gave you that Syrian gear to wear among the Hebrews as she has given the like to me, being of a careful mind which foresees everything. Now, hearken, Ana; I grieve to keep you from your rest, who must be weary both with talk and travel. But old Bakenkhonsu, whom you know, waits without, and with him Ki the great magician, whom I think you have not seen. He is a man of wonderful lore and in some ways not alto- gether human. At least he does strange feats of magic, and at times both the past and the future seem to be open to his sight, though as we know neither 72 MOON OF ISRAEL the one nor the other, who can tell whether he reads them truly. Doubtless he has, or thinks he has, some message to me from the heavens, which I thought you might wish to hear.' 'I wish it much, Prince, if I am worthy, and you will protect me from the anger of this magician whom I fear.' 'Anger sometimes turns to trust, Ana. Did you not find it so just now in the case of her Highness, as I told you might very well happen? Hush! They come. Be seated and prepare your tablets to make record of what they say.' The curtains were drawn and through them came the aged Bakenkhonsu leaning upon his staff, and with him another man, Ki himself, clad in a white robe and having his head shaven, for he was an hereditary priest of Amon of Thebes and an initiate of Isis, Mother of Mysteries. Also his office was that of Kherheb, or chief magician of Egypt. At first sight there was nothing strange about this man. Indeed, he might well have been a middle-aged merchant by his looks; in body he was short and stout; in face fat and smiling. But in this jovial countenance were set two very strange eyes, grey-hued rather than black. While the rest of the face seemed to smile these eyes looked straight into nothingness as do those of a statue. Indeed they were like to the eyes or rather the eye-places of a stone statue, so deeply were they set into the head. For my part I can only say I thought them awful, and by their look judged that whatever Ki might be he was no cheat. This strange pair bowed to the Prince and seated themselves at a sign from him, Bakenkhonsu upon a THE PROPHECY 73 stool because he found it difficult to rise, and Ki, who was younger, scribe fashion on the ground. ' What did I tell you, Bakenkhonsu? ' said Ki in a full, rich voice, ending the words with a curious chuckle. 'You told me, Magician, that we should find the Prince in this chamber of which you described every detail to me as I see it now, although neither of us have entered it before. You said also that seated therein on the ground would be the scribe Ana, whom I know but you do not, having in his hands waxen tablets and a stylus and by him a coat of curious mail and a lion-hilted sword. ' 'That is strange/ interrupted the Prince, 'but for- give me, Bakenkhonsu sees these things. If you, O Ki, would tell us what is written upon Ana's tablets which neither of you can see, it would be stranger still, that is if anything is written. 7 Ki smiled and stared upwards at the ceiling. Pres- ently he said, 'The scribe Ana uses a shorthand of his own that is not easy to decipher. Yet I see written on the tablets the price he obtained for some house in a city that is not named it is so much. Also I see the sums he dis- bursed for himself, a servant, and the food of an ass at two inns where he stopped upon a journey. They are so much and so much. Also there is a list of papyrus rolls and the words, "blue cloak," and then an erasure.' 'Is that right, Ana?' asked the Prince. 'Quite right,' I answered with awe, 'only the words " blue cloak," which it is true I wrote upon the tablet, have also been erased.' Ki chuckled and turned his eyes from the ceiling to my face. 74 MOON OF ISRAEL 1 Would your Highness wish me to tell you anything of what is written upon the tablets of this scribe's memory as well as upon those of wax which he holds in his hand? They are easier to decipher than the others and I see on them many things of interest. For instance, secret words that seem to have been said to him by some Great One within an hour, mat- ters of high policy, I think. For instance, a certain saying, I think of your Highnesses, as to shivering upon the edge of water on a cold day, which when entered produced heat, and the answer thereto. For instance, words that were spoken in this palace when an alabaster cup was broke. By the way, Scribe, that was a very good place you chose in which to hide one half of the cup in the false bottom of a chest in your chamber, a chest that is fastened with a cord and sealed with a scarab of the time of the second Rameses. I think that the other half of the cup is somewhat nearer at hand and turning, he stared at the wall where I could see nothing save slabs of alabaster. Now I sat open-mouthed, for how could this man know these things, and the Prince laughed outright, saying, 'Ana, I begin to think you keep your counsel ill. At least I should think so, were it not that you have had no time to tell what the Princess yonder may have said to you, and can scarcely know the trick of the sliding panel in that wall which I have never shown to you. ' Ki chuckled again and a smile grew on old Baken- khonsu's broad and wrinkled face. '0 Prince/ I began, 'I swear to you that never has one word passed my lips of aught ' THE PROPHECY 75 'I know it, friend/ broke in the Prince, 'but it seems there are some who do not wait for words but can read the Book of Thought. Therefore it is well not to meet them too often, since all have thoughts that should be known only to them and God. Magician, what is your business with me? Speak on as though we were alone.' 'This, Prince. You go upon a journey among the Hebrews, as all have heard. Now, Bakenkhonsu and I, also two seers of my College, seeing that we all love you and that your welfare is much to Egypt, have separ- ately sought out the future as regards the issue of this journey. Although what we have learned differs in some matters, on others it is the same. Therefore we thought it our duty to tell you what we have learned.' 'Say on, Kherheb.' 'First, then, that your Highness's life will be in danger.' 'Life is always in danger, Ki. Shall I lose it? If so, do not fear to tell me.' 'We do not know, but we think not, because of the rest that is revealed to us. We learn that it is not your body only that will be in danger. Upon this journey you will see a woman whom you will come to love. This woman will, we think, bring you much sorrow and also much joy.' 'Then perhaps that journey is worth making, Ki, since many travel far before they find aught that they can love. Tell me, have I met this woman? ' 'There we are troubled, Prince, for it would seem unless we are deceived that you have met her often and often; that you have known her for thousands of years, as you have known that man at your side for thousands of years.' 76 MOON OF ISRAEL Seti's face grew very interested. 'What do you mean, Magician? ' he asked, eyeing him keenly. 'How can I who am still young have known a woman and a man for thousands of years?' Ki considered him with his strange eyes, and answered, 'You have many titles, Prince. Is not one of them "Lord of Re-births," and if so, how did you get it and what does it mean?' 'It is. What it means I do not know, but it was given to me because of some dream that my mother had the night before I was born. Do you tell me what it means, since you seem to know so much.' 'I cannot, Prince. The secret is not one that has been shown to me. Yet there was an aged man, a magician like myself from whom I learned much in my youth Bakenkhonsu here knew him well who made a study of this matter. He told me he was sure, be- cause it had been revealed to him, that men do not live once only and then depart hence for ever. He said that they live many times and in many shapes, though not always on this world, and that between each life there is a wall of darkness.' 'If so, of what use are lives which we do not re- member after death has shut the door of each of them?' 'The doors may open again at last, Prince, and show us all the chambers through which our feet have wan- dered from the beginning.' 'Our religion teaches us, Ki, that after death we live eternally elsewhere in our own bodies, which we find again on the day of resurrection. Now eternity, hav- ing no end, can have no beginning; it is a circle. Therefore if the one be true, namely that we live on, it THE PROPHECY 77 would seem that the other must be true, namely that we have always lived.' 'That is well reasoned, Prince. In the early days, before priests froze the thought of man into blocks of stone and built of them shrines to a thousand gods, many held that this reasoning was true, as then they held that there was but one god/ 'As do these Israelites whom I go to visit. What say you of their god, Ki? ' 'That he is the same as our gods, Prince. To men's eyes God has many faces, and each swears that the one he sees is the only true god. Yet they are wrong, for all are true/ 'Or perchance false, Ki, unless even falsehood is a part of truth. Well, you have told me of two dangers, one to my body and one to my heart. Has any other been revealed to your wisdom?' ' Yes, Prince. The third is that this journey may in the end cost you your throne.' 'If I die certainly it will cost me my throne.' 'No, Prince, if you live.' 'Even so, Ki, I think that I could endure life seated more humbly than on a throne, though whether her Highness could endure it is another matter. Then you say that if I go upon this journey another will be Pharaoh in my place.' 'We do not say that, Prince. It is true that our arts have shown us another rilling your place in a time of wizardry and wonders and of the death of thousands. Yet when we look again we see not that other but you once more filling your own place.' Here I, Ana, bethought me of my vision in Pharaoh's hall. 78 MOON OF ISRAEL 'The matter is even worse than I thought, Ki, since having once left the crown behind me, I think that I should have no wish to wear it any more/ said Seti. 'Who shows you all these things, and how?' 'Our Kas, which are our secret selves, show them to us, Prince, and in many ways. Sometimes it is by dreams or visions, sometimes by pictures on water, sometimes by writings in the desert sand. In all these fashions, and by others, our Kas, drawing from the infinite well of wisdom that is hidden in the being of every man, give us glimpses of the truth, as they give us who are instructed power to work marvels. ' 'Of the truth. Then these things you tell me are true?' 'We believe so, Prince/ 'And being true must happen. So what is the use of your warning me against what must happen? There cannot be two truths. What would you have me do? Not go upon this journey? Why have you told me that I must go, since if I did not go the truth would become a lie, which it 1 cannot? You say it is fated that I should go and because I go such and such things will come about. And yet you tell me not to go, for that is what you mean. Oh! Kherheb Ki and Baken- khonsu, doubtless you are great magicians and strong in wisdom, but there are greater than you who rule the world, and there is a wisdom to which yours is but as a drop of water to the Nile. I thank you for your warn- ings, but to-morrow I go down to the land of Goshen to fulfil the commands of Pharaoh. If I come back again we will talk more of these matters here upon the earth. If I do not come back, perchance we will talk of them elsewhere. Farewell.' CHAPTER VI THE LAND OF GOSHEN THE Prince Seti and all his train, a very great com- pany, came in safety to the land of Goshen, I, Ana, travelling with him in his chariot. It was then as now a rich land, quite flat after the last line of desert hills through which we travelled by a narrow, tortuous path. Everywhere it was watered by canals, between which lay the grain fields wherein the seed had just been sown. Also there were other fields of green fodder whereon were tethered beasts by the hundred, and beyond these, upon the drier soil, grazed flocks of sheep. The town Goshen, if so it could be called, was but a poor place, numbers of mud huts, no more, in the centre of which stood a building, also of mud, with two brick pillars in front of it, that we were told was the temple of this people, into the inner parts of which none might enter save their High-priest. I laughed at the sight of it, but the Prince reproved me, saying that I should not judge of the spirit by the body, or of the god by his house. We camped outside this town and soon learned that the people who dwelt in it or elsewhere in other towns must be numbered by the ten thousand, for more of them than I could count wandered round the camp to look at us. The men were fierce-eyed and hook- nosed; the young women well-shaped and pleasant 79 ' 8o MOON OF ISRAEL to behold; the older women for the most part stout and somewhat unwieldy, and the children very beauti- ful. All were roughly clad in robes of loosely-woven, dark-coloured cloth, beneath which the women wore garments of white linen. Notwithstanding the wealth we saw about us in corn and cattle, their ornaments seemed to be few, or perhaps these were hidden from our sight. It was easy to see that they hated us Egyptians, and even dared to despise us. Hate shone in their glit- tering eyes, and I heard them calling us the 'idol- worshippers' one to the other and asking where was our god, the Bull, for being ignorant they thought that we worshipped Apis (as mayhap some of the common people do) instead of looking upon the sacred beast as a symbol of the powers of Nature. Indeed they did more, for on the first night after our coming they slaughtered a bull marked much as Apis is, and in the morning we found it lying near the gate of the camp, and pinned to its hide with sharp thorns great num- bers of the scarabaeus beetle still living. For again they did not know that among us Egyptians this beetle is no god but an emblem of the Creator, because it rolls a ball of mud between its feet and sets therein its eggs to hatch, as the Creator rolls the world that seems to be round, and causes it to produce life. Now all were angry at these insults except the Prince, who laughed and said that he thought the jest coarse but clever. But worse was to happen. It seems that a soldier with wine in him had done insult to a Hebrew maiden who came alone to draw water at a canal. The news spread among the people and some thousands of them rushed to the camp, shouting and THE LAND OF GOSHEN 81 demanding vengeance in so threatening a manner that it was necessary to form up the regiments of guards. The Prince being summoned commanded that the girl and her kin should be admitted and state their case. She came, weeping and wailing and tearing her garments, throwing dust on her head also, though it appeared that she had taken no great harm from the soldier from whom she ran away. The Prince bade her point out the man if she could see him, and she showed us one of the bodyguard of the Count Amen- meses, whose face was scratched as though by a woman's nails. On being questioned he said he could remember little of the matter, but confessed that he had seen the maiden by the canal at moonrise and jested with her. The kin of this girl* clamoured that he should be killed, because he had offered insult to a high-born lady of Israel. This Seti refused, saying that the of- fence was not one of death, but that he would order him to be publicly beaten. Thereupon Amenmeses, who was fond of the soldier, a good man enough when not in his cups, sprang up in a rage, saying that no servant of his should be touched because he had offered to caress some light Israelitish woman who had no business to be wandering about alone at night. He added that if the man were flogged he and all those under his command would leave the camp and march back to make report to Pharaoh. Now the Prince, having consulted with the council- lors, told the woman and her kin that as Pharaoh had been appealed to, he must judge of the matter, and commanded them to appear at his court within a month and state their case against the soldier. They went away very ill-satisfied, saying that Amenmeses had 82 MOON OF ISRAEL insulted their daughter even more than his servant had done. The end of the matter was that on the following night this soldier was discovered dead, pierced through and through with knife thrusts. The girl, her parents and brethren could not be found, having fled away into the desert, nor was there any evidence to show by whom the soldier had been mur- dered. Therefore nothing could be done in the business except bury the victim. On the following morning the Inquiry began with due ceremony, the Prince Seti and the Count Amen- meses taking their seats at the head of a large pavilion with the councillors behind them and the scribes, among whom I was, seated at their feet. Then we learned that the two prophets whom I had seen at Pharaoh's court were not in the land of Goshen, having left before we arrived 'to sacrifice to God in the wilderness/ nor did any know when they would return. Other elders and priests, however, appeared and began to set out their case, which they did at great length and in a fierce and turbulent fashion, speaking often all of them at once, thus making it difficult for the interpreters to render their words, since they pretended that they did not know the Egyptian tongue. Moreover they told their story from the very be- ginning, when they had entered Egypt hundreds of years before and were succoured by the vizier of the Pharaoh of that day, one Yusuf, a powerful and clever man of their race who stored corn in a time of famine and low Niles. This Pharaoh was of the Hyksos people, one of the Shepherd kings whom we Egyptians hated and after many wars drove out of THE LAND OF GOSHEN 83 Khem. Under these Shepherd kings, being joined by many of their own blood, the Israelites grew rich and powerful, so that the Pharaohs who came after and who loved them not, began to fear them. This was as far as the story was taken on the first day. On the second day began the tale of their oppres- sion, under which, however, they still multiplied like gnats upon the Nile, and grew so strong and numerous that at length the great Rameses did a wicked thing, ordering that their male children should be put to death. This order was never carried out, because his daughter, she who found Moses among the reeds of the river, pleaded for them. At this point the Prince, wearied with the noise and heat in that crowded place, broke off the sitting until the morrow. Commanding me to accompany him, he ordered a chariot, not his own, to be made ready, and, although I prayed him not to do so, set out un- guarded save for myself and the charioteer, saying that he would see how these people laboured with his own eyes. Taking a Hebrew lad to run before the horses as our guide, we drove to the banks of a canal where the Israelites made bricks of mud which, after drying in the sun, were laden into boats that waited for them on the canal and taken away to other parts of Egypt to be used on Pharaoh's works. Thousands of men were en- gaged upon this labour, toiling in gangs under the com- mand of Egyptian overseers who kept count of the bricks, cutting their number upon tally sticks, or some- times writing them upon sherds. These overseers were brutal fellows, for the most part of a low class, who 84 MOON OF ISRAEL used vile language to the slaves. Nor were they con- tent with words. Noting a crowd gathered at one place and hearing cries, we went to see what passed. Here we found a lad stretched upon the ground being cruelly beaten with hide whips, so that the blood ran down him. At a sign from the Prince I asked what he had done and was told roughly, for the overseers and their guards did not know who we were, that during the past six days he had only made half of his allotted tale of bricks. 1 Loose him/ said the Prince quietly. 1 Who are you that give me orders? ' asked the head overseer, who was helping to hold the lad while the guards flogged him. ' Begone, lest I serve you as I serve this idle fellow.' Seti looked at him, and as he looked his lips turned white. 'Tell him/ he said to me. 'You dog!' I gasped. 'Do you know who it is to whom you dare to speak thus? ' 'No, nor care. Lay on, guard/ The Prince, whose robes were hidden by a wide- sleeved cloak of common stuff and make, threw the cloak open revealing beneath it the pectoral he had worn in the Court, a beautiful thing of gold whereon were inscribed his royal names and titles in black and red enamel. Also he held up his right hand on which was a signet of Pharaoh's that he wore as his commis- sioner. The men stared, then one of them who was more learned than the rest cried, 'By the gods! this is his Highness the Prince of Egypt!' at which words all of them fell upon their faces. THE LAND OF GOSHEN 85 'Rise,' said Seti to the lad who looked at him, forget- ting his pain in his wonderment, ' and tell me why you have not delivered your tale of bricks.' 'Sir,' sobbed the boy in bad Egyptian, 'for two reasons. First, because I am a cripple, see,' and he held up his left arm which was withered and thin as a mummy's, 'and therefore cannot work quickly. Sec- ondly, because my mother, whose only child I am, is a widow and lies sick in bed, so that there are no women or children in our home who can go out to gather straw for me, as Pharaoh has commanded that we should do. Therefore I must spend many hours in searching for straw, since I have no means wherewith to pay others to do this for me.' 'Ana,' said the Prince, 'write down this youth's name with the place of his abode, and if his tale prove true, see that his wants and those of his mother are re- lieved before we depart from Goshen. Write down also the names of this overseer and his fellows and com- mand them to report themselves at my camp to-mor- row at sunrise, when their case shall be considered. Say to the lad also that, being one afflicted by the gods, Pharaoh frees him from the making of bricks and all other labour of the State.' Now while I did these things the overseer and his companions beat their heads upon the ground and prayed for mercy, being cowards as the cruel always are. His Highness answered them never a word, but only looked at them with cold eyes, and I noted that his face which was so kind had grown terrible. So those men thought also, for that night they ran away to Syria, leaving their families and all their goods be- hind them, nor were they ever seen again in Egypt. 86 MOON OF ISRAEL When I had finished writing the Prince turned and, walking to where the chariot waited, bade the driver cross the canal by a bridge there was here. We drove on a while in silence, following a track which ran be- tween the cultivated land and the desert. At length I pointed to the sinking sun and asked if it were not time to return. 'Why?' replied the Prince. 'The sun dies, but there rises the full moon to give us light, and what have we to fear with swords at our sides and her Highness Userti's mail beneath our robes? Oh! Ana, I am weary of men with their cruelties and shouts and strugglings, and I find this wilderness a place of rest, for in it I seem to draw nearer to my own soul and the Heaven whence it came, or so I hope.' 'Your Highness is fortunate to have a soul to which he cares to draw near; it is not so with all of us'; I answered laughing, for I sought to change the current of his thoughts by provoking argument of a sort that he loved. Just then, however, the horses, which were not of the best, came to a halt on a slope of heavy sand. Nor would Seti allow the driver to flog them, but com- manded him to let them rest a space. While they did so we descended from the chariot and walked up the desert rise, he leaning on my arm. As we reached its crest we heard sobs and a soft voice speaking on the further side. Who it was that spoke and sobbed we could not see, because of a line of tamarisk shrubs which once had been a fence. 'More cruelty, or at least more sorrow/ whispered Seti. 'Let us look.' So we crept to the tamarisks, and peeping through THE LAND OF GOSHEN 87 their feathery tops, saw a very sweet sight in the pure rays of that desert moon. There, not five paces away, stood a woman clad in white, young and shapely in form. Her face we could not see because it was turned from us, also the long dark hair which streamed about her shoulders hid it. She was praying aloud, speaking now in Hebrew, of which both of us knew something, and now in Egyptian, as does one who is accustomed to think in either tongue, and stopping from time to time to sob. '0 God of my people/ she said, 'send me succour and bring me safe home, that Thy child may not be left alone in the wilderness to become the prey of wild beasts, or of men who are worse than beasts.' Then she sobbed, knelt down on a great bundle which I saw was stubble straw, and again began to pray. This time it was in Egyptian, as though she feared lest the Hebrew should be overheard and under- stood. 'O God,' she said, 'O God of my fathers, help my poor heart, help my poor heart! 7 We were about to withdraw, or rather to ask her what she ailed, when suddenly she turned her head, so that the light fell full upon her face. So lovely was it that I caught my breath and the Prince at my side started. Indeed it was more than lovely, for as a lamp shines through an alabaster vase or a shell of pearl so did the spirit within this woman shine through her tear-stained face, making it mysterious as the night. Then I understood, perhaps for the first time, that it is the spirit which gives true beauty both to maid and man and not the flesh. The white vase of ala- baster, however shapely, is still a vase alone; it is the 88 MOON OF ISRAEL hidden lamp within that graces it with the glory of a star. And those eyes, those large, dreaming eyes aswim with tears and hued like richest lapis-lazuli, oh! what man could look on them and not be stirred? 'Merapi!' I whispered. 'Moon of Israel!' murmured Seti, ' rilled with the moon, lovely as the moon, mystic as the moon and worshipping the moon, her mother. 7 'She is in trouble; let us help her/ I said. 'Nay, wait a while, Ana, for never again shall you and I see such a sight as this.' Low as we spoke beneath our breath, I think the lady heard us. At least her face changed and grew frightened. Hastily she rose, lifted the great bundle of straw upon which she had been kneeling and placed it on her head. She ran a few steps, then stumbled and sank down with a little moan of pain. In an in- stant we were at her side. She stared at us affrighted, for who we were she could not see because of the wide hoods of our common cloaks that made us look like midnight thieves, or slave-dealing Bedouins. 'Oh! Sirs,' she babbled, 'harm me not. I have nothing of value on me save this amulet.' 'Who are you and what do you here?' asked the Prince disguising his voice. 'Sirs, I am Merapi, the daughter of Nathan the Levite, he whom the accursed Egyptian captain, Khuaka, murdered at Tanis.' 'How do you dare to call the Egyptians accursed?' asked Seti in tones made gruff to hide his laughter. 'Oh! Sirs, because they are I mean because I thought you were Arabs who hate them, as we do. At least this Egyptian was accursed, for the high Prince THE LAND OF GOSHEN 89 Seti, Pharaoh's heir, caused him to be beheaded for that crime.' 'And do you also hate the high Prince Seti, Pha- raoh's heir, and called him accursed?' She hesitated, then in a doubtful voice said, 'No, I do not hate him.' 'Why not, seeing that you hate the Egyptians of whom he is one of the first and therefore twice worthy of hatred, being the son of your oppressor, Pharaoh?' 'Because, although I have tried my best, I cannot. Also,' she added with the joy of one who has found a good reason, 'he avenged my father.' 'This is no cause, girl, seeing that he only did what the law forced him to do. They say that this dog of a Pharaoh's son is here in Goshen upon some mission. Is it true, and have you seen him? Answer, for we of the desert folk desire to know.' 'I believe it is true, Sir, but I have not seen him.' 'Why not, if he is here?' 'Because I did not wish to, Sir. Why should a daughter of Israel desire to look upon the face of a prince of Egypt? ' 'In truth I do not know,' replied Seti forgetting his feigned voice. Then, seeing that she glanced at him sharply, he added in gruff tones, 'Brother, either this woman lies or she is none other than the maid they call Moon of Israel who dwells with old Jabez the Levite, her uncle. What think you?' 'I think, Brother, that she lies, and for three rea- sons,' I answered, falling into the jest. 'First, she is too fair to be of the black Hebrew blood.' 'Oh! Sir,' moaned Merapi, 'my mother was a Syrian 90 MOON OF ISRAEL lady of the mountains, with a skin as white as milk, and eyes blue as the heavens/ 'Secondly/ I went on without heeding her, 'if the great Prince Seti is really in Goshen and she dwells there, it is unnatural that she should not have gone to look upon him. Being a woman only two things would have kept her away, one that she feared and hated him, which she denies, and the other that she liked him too well, and, being prudent, thought it wisest not to look upon him more/ When she heard the first of these words, Merapi glanced up with her lips parted as though to answer. Instead, she dropped her eyes and suddenly seemed to choke, while even in the moonlight I saw the red blood pour to her brow and along her white arms. 'Sir,' she gasped, 'why should you affront me? I swear that never till this moment did I think such a thing. Surely it would be treason/ 'Without doubt/ interrupted Seti, 'yet one of a sort that kings might pardon/ 'Thirdly/ I went on as though I heard neither of them, 'if this girl were what she declares, she would not be wandering alone in the desert at night, seeing that I have heard among the Arabs that Merapi, daughter of Nathan the Levite, is a lady of no mean blood among the Hebrews and that her family has wealth. Still, however much she lies, we can see for ourselves that she is beautiful/ 'Yes, Brother, in that we are fortunate, since with- out doubt she will sell for a high price among the slave traders beyond the desert/ 'Oh! Sir/ cried Merapi seizing the hem of his robe, 'surely you who I feel, I know not why, are no evil THE LAND OF GOSHEN 91 thief, you who have a mother and, perchance, sisters, would not doom a maiden to such a fate. Misjudge me not because I am alone. Pharaoh has commanded that we must find straw for the making of bricks. This morning I came far to search for it on behalf of a neighbour whose wife is ill in childbed. But towards sundown I slipped and cut myself upon the edge of a sharp stone. See,' and holding up her foot she showed a wound beneath the instep from which the blood still dropped, a sight that moved both of us not a little, ' and now I cannot walk and carry this heavy straw which I have been at such pains to gather.' ' Perchance she speaks truth, Brother/ said the Prince, 'and if we took her home we might earn no small reward from Jabez the Levite. But first tell me, Maiden, what was that prayer which you made to the moon, that Hathor should help your heart? ' 'Sir/ she answered, 'only the idolatrous Egyptians pray to Hathor, the Lady of Love. 7 'I thought that all the world prayed to the Lady of Love, Maiden. But what of the prayer? Is there some man whom you .desire? ' 'None,' she answered angrily. 'Then why does your heart need so much help that you ask it of the air? Is there perchance someone whom you do not desire? ' She hung her head and made no answer. 'Come, Brother,' said the Prince, 'this lady is weary of us, and I think that if she were a true woman she would answer our questions more readily. Let us go and leave her. As she cannot walk we can take her later if we wish.' 'Sirs,' she said, 'I am glad that you are going, since 9 2 MOON OF ISRAEL the hyenas will be safer company than two men who can threaten to sell a helpless woman into slavery. Yet as we part to meet no more I will answer your question. In the prayer to which you were not ashamed to listen I did not pray for any lover, I prayed to be rid of one.' 'Now, Ana,' said the Prince bursting into laughter and throwing back his dark cloak, ' do you discover the name of that unhappy man of whom the lady Merapi wishes to be rid, for I dare not.' She gazed into his face and uttered a little cry. 'Ah!' she said, 'I thought I knew the voice again when once you forgot your part. Prince Seti, does your Highness think that this was a kind jest to prac- tise upon one alone and in fear? ' 'Lady Merapi,' he answered smiling, 'be not wroth, for at least it was a good one and you have told us nothing that we did not know. You may remember that at Tanis you said that you were affianced and there was that in your voice . Suffer me now to tend this wound of yours.' Then he knelt down, tore a strip from his ceremonial robe of fine linen, and began to bind up her foot, not unskilfully, being a man full of strange and unexpected knowledge. As he worked at the task, watching them, I saw their eyes meet, saw too that rich flood of colour creep once more to Merapi's brow. Then I began to think it unseemly that the Prince of Egypt should play the leech to a woman's hurts in the desert, and to won- der why he had not left that humble task to me. Presently the bandaging was done and made fast with a royal scarabaeus mounted on a pin of gold, which the Prince wore in his garments. On it was cut THE LAND OF GOSHEN 93 the uraeus crown and beneath it were the signs which read 'Lord of the Lower and the Upper Land/ being Pharaoh's style and title. 'See now, Lady/ he said, 'you have Egypt beneath your foot/ and when she asked him what he meant, he read her the writing upon the jewel, whereat for the third time she coloured to the eyes. Then he lifted her up, instructing her to rest her weight upon his shoulder, saying he feared lest the scarab, which he valued, should be broken. Thus we started, I bearing the bundle of straw be- hind as he bade me, since, he said, having been gathered with such toil, it must not be lost. On reaching the chariot, where we found the guide gone and the driver asleep, he sat her in it upon his cloak, and wrapped her in mine which he borrowed, saying I should not need it who must carry the straw. Then he mounted also and they drove away at a foot's pace. As I walked after the chariot with the straw that fell about my ears, I heard nothing of their further talk, if indeed they talked at all which, the driver being present, perhaps they did not. Nor in truth did I listen who was en- gaged in thought as to the hard lot of these poor Hebrews, who must collect this dirty stuff and bear it so far, made heavy as it was by the clay that clung about the roots. Even now, as it chanced, we did not reach Goshen without further trouble. Just as we had crossed the bridge over the canal I, toiling behind, saw in the clear moonlight a young man running towards us. He was a Hebrew, tall, well-made and very handsome in his fashion. His eyes were dark and fierce, his nose was hooked, his teeth were regular and white, and his long, 94 MOON OF ISRAEL black hair hung down in a mass upon his shoulders. He held a wooden staff in his hand and a naked knife was girded about his middle. Seeing the chariot he halted and peered at it, then asked in Hebrew if those who travelled had seen aught of a young Israelitish lady who was lost. 1 If you seek me, Laban, I am here,' replied Merapi, speaking from the shadow of the cloak. 'What do you there alone with an Egyptian, Mer- api?' he said fiercely. What followed I do not know for they spoke so quickly in their unfamiliar tongue that I could not understand them. At length Merapi turned to the Prince, saying, 'Lord, this is Laban my affianced, who commands me to descend from the chariot and accompany him as best I can.' ( And I, Lady, command you to stay in it. Laban your affianced can accompany us. 7 Now at this Laban grew angry, as I could see he was prone to do, and stretched out his hand as though to push Seti aside and seize Merapi. 'Have a care, man/ said the Prince, while I, throw- ing down the straw, drew my sword and sprang be- tween them, crying, 'Slave, would you lay hands upon the Prince of Egypt?' ' Prince of Egypt ! ' he said, drawing back astonished, then added sullenly, 'Well what does the Prince of Egypt with my affianced? ' ' He helps her who is hurt to her home, having found her helpless in the desert with this accursed straw/ I answered. THE LAND OF GOSHEN 95 'Forward, driver/ said the Prince, and Merapi added, l Peace, Laban, and bear the straw which his Highness's companion has carried such a weary way/ He hesitated a moment, then snatched up the bundle and set it on his head. As we walked side by side, his evil temper seemed to get the better of him. Without ceasing, he grumbled because Merapi was alone in the chariot with an Egyptian. At length I could bear it no longer. 'Be silent, fellow,' I said. 'Least of all men should you complain of what his Highness does, seeing that already he has avenged the killing of this lady's father, and now has saved her from lying out all night among the wild beasts and men of the wilderness.' 'Of the first I have heard more than enough,' he answered, 'and of the second doubtless I shall hear more than enough also. Ever since my affianced met this prince, she has looked on me with different eyes and spoken to me with another voice. Yes, and when I press for marriage, she says it cannot be for a long while yet, because she is mourning for her father; her father forsooth, whom she never forgave because he betrothed her to me according to the custom of our people.' 'Perhaps she loves some other man?' I queried, wishing to learn all I could about this lady. 'She loves no man, or did not a while ago. She loves herself alone.' ' One with so much beauty may look high in marriage.' 'High!' he replied furiously. 'How can she look higher than myself who am a lord of the line of Judah, and therefore greater far than an upstart prince or any other Egyptian, were he Pharaoh himself?' 96 MOON OF ISRAEL 'Surely you must be trumpeter to your tribe,' I mocked, for my temper was rising. 'Why?' he asked. 'Are not the Hebrews greater than the Egyptians, as those oppressors soon shall learn, and is not a lord of Israel more than any idol- worshipper among your people?' I looked at the man clad in mean garments and foul from his labour in the brickfield, marvelling at his in- solence. There was no doubt but that he believed what he said; I could see it in his proud eye and bearing. He thought that his tribe was of more import in the world than our great and ancient nation, and that he, an unknown youth, equalled or surpassed Pharaoh him- self. Then, being enraged by these insults, I answered, ' You say so, but let us put it to the proof. I am but a scribe, yet I have seen war. Linger a little that we may learn whether a lord of Israel is better than a scribe of Egypt.' ' Gladly would I chastise you, Writer,' he answered, 'did I not see your plot. You wish to delay me here, and perhaps to murder me by some foul means, while your master basks in the smiles of the Moon of Israel. Therefore I will not stay, but another time it shall be as you wish, and perhaps ere long.' Now I think that I should have struck him in the face, though I am not one of those who love brawling. But at this moment there appeared a company of Egyptain horse led by none other than the Count Amenmeses. Seeing the Prince in the Chariot, they halted and gave the salute. Amenmeses leapt to the ground. 'We are come out to search for your Highness/ he said, 'fearing lest some hurt had befallen you.' THE LAND OF GOSHEN 97 'I thank you, Cousin, 5 answered the Prince, 'but the hurt has befallen another, not me/ 'That is well, your Highness/ said the Count, study- ing Merapi with a smile. * Where is the lady wounded? Not in the breast, I trust.' 'No, Cousin, in the foot, which is why she travels with me in this chariot/ ' Your Highness was ever kind to the unfortunate. I pray you let me take your place, or suffer me to set this girl upon a horse.' 'Drive on/ said Seti. So, escorted by the soldiers whom I heard making jests to each other about the Prince and the lady, as I think did the Hebrew Laban also, for he glared about him and ground his teeth, we came at last to the town. Here, guided by Merapi, the chariot was halted at the house of Jabez her uncle, a white-bearded old Hebrew with a cunning eye, who rushed from the door of his mud-roofed dwelling crying he had done no harm that soldiers should come to take him. 'It is not you whom the Egyptians wish to capture, it is your neice and my betrothed/ shouted Laban, whereat the soldiers laughed, as did some women who had gathered round. Meanwhile the Prince was help- ing Merapi to descend out of the chariot, from which indeed he lifted her. The sight seemed to madden Laban, who rushed forward to tear her from his arms, and in the attempt jostled his Highness. The captain of the soldiers he was an officer of Pharaoh's body- guard lifted his sword in a fury and struck Laban such a blow upon the head with the flat of the blade that he fell upon his face and lay there groaning. 'Away with that Hebrew dog and scourge him! ' cried 9 8 MOON OF ISRAEL the captain. 'Is the royal blood of Egypt to be handled by such as he? 7 Soldiers sprang forward to do his bidding, but Seti said quietly, 'Let the fellow be, friends; he lacks manners, that is all. Is he hurt? ' As he spoke Laban leapt to his feet and, fearing worse things, fled away with a curse and a glare of hate at the Prince. 'Farewell, Lady/ said Seti. 'I wish you a quick recovery.' 'I thank your Highness/ she answered, looking about her confusedly. 'Be pleased to wait a little while that I may return to you your jewel.' 'Nay, keep it, Lady, and if ever you are in need or trouble of any sort, send it to me who know it well and you shall not lack succour.' She glanced at him and burst into tears. 'Wh^ do you weep?' he asked. 'Oh! your Highness, because I fear that trouble is near at hand. My affianced, Laban, has a revengeful heart. Help me to the house, my uncle.' 'Listen, Hebrew/ said Seti, raising his voice; 'if aught that is evil befalls this niece of yours, or if she is forced to walk whither she would not go, sorrow shall be your portion and that of all with whom you have to do. Do you hear? ' 'O my Lord, I hear, I hear. Fear nothing. She shall be guarded carefully as as she will doubtless guard that trinket on her foot.' 'Ana/ said the Prince to me that night, when I was talking with him before he went to rest, 'I know not THE LAND OF GOSHEN 99 why, but I fear that man Laban; he has an evil eye/ 'I too think it would have been better if your High- ness had left him to be dealt with by the soldiers, after which there would have been nothing to fear from him in this world/ 'Well, I did not, so there's an end. Ana, she is a fair woman and a sweet.' 'The fairest and the sweetest that ever I saw, my Prince/ 'Be careful, Ana. I pray you be careful, lest you should fall in love with one who is already affianced/ I only looked at him in answer, and as I looked I be- thought me of the words of Ki the Magician. So, I think, did the Prince; at least he laughed not un- happily and turned away. For my part I rested ill that night, and when at last I slept, it was to dream of Merapi making her prayer in the rays of the moon. CHAPTER VII THE AMBUSH EIGHT full days went by before we left the land of Goshen. The story that the Israelites had to tell was long, sad also. Moreover, they gave evidence as to many cruel things that they had suffered, and when this was finished the testimony of the guards and others must be called, all of which it is necessary to write down. Lastly, the Prince seemed to be in no hurry to be gone, as he said because he hoped that the two prophets would return from the wilderness, which they never did. During all this time Seti saw no more of Merapi, nor indeed did he speak of her, even when the Count Amenmeses jested him as to his chariot com- panion and asked him if he had driven again in the desert by moonlight. I, however, saw her once. When I was wandering in the town one day towards sunset, I met her walking with her uncle Jabez upon one side and her lover, Laban, on the other, like a prisoner between two guards. I thought she looked unhappy, but her foot seemed to be well again; at least she moved without limping. I stopped to salute her, but Laban scowled and hurried her away. Jabez stayed behind and fell into talk with me. He told me that she was recovered of her hurt, but that there had been trouble between her 100 THE AMBUSH 101 and Laban because of all that happened on that even- ing when she came by it, eiidii?g h his cncoa.tr with the captain. 'This young man seems to be of a jealous nature/ I said, 'one who will make a harsh husband for any woman.' 'Yes, learned scribe, jealously has been his curse from youth as it is with so many of our people, and I thank God that I am not the woman whom he is to marry.' 'Why, then, do you suffer her to marry him, Jabez?' 'Because her father affianced her to this lion's whelp when she was scarce more than a child, and among us that is a bond hard to break. For my own part,' he added, dropping his voice, and glancing round with his shifting eyes, 'I should like to see my niece in some different place to that of the wife of Laban. With her great beauty and wit, she might become anything anything if she had opportunity. But under our laws, even if Laban died, as might happen to so violent a man, she could wed no one who is not a Hebrew.' 'I thought she told us that her mother was a Syrian.' ' That is so, Scribe Ana. She was a beautiful captive of war whom Nathan came to love and made his wife, and the daughter takes after her. Still she is Hebrew and of the Hebrew faith and congregation. Had it not been so, she might have shone like a star, nay, like the very moon after which she is named, perhaps in the court of Pharaoh himself. 'As the great queen Taia did, she who changed the religion of Egypt to the worship of one god in a bygone generation,' I suggested. 'I have heard of her, Scribe Ana. She was a won- drous woman, beautiful too by her statues. Would 102 MOON OF ISRAEL that you Egyptians could find such another to turn your hearts to a purer faith and to soften them towards us poor aliens. When does his Highness leave the land of Goshen?' 'At sunrise on the third day from this.' 'Provision will be needed for the journey, much pro- vision for so large a train. I deal in sheep and other foodstuffs, Scribe Ana.' 'I will mention the matter to his Highness and to the Vizier, Jabez.' 'I thank you, Scribe, and will be in waiting at the camp to-morrow morning. See, Laban return's with Merapi. One word, let his Highness beware of Laban. He is very revengeful and has not forgotten that sword- blow on the head.' 'Let Laban be careful,' I answered. 'Had it not been for his Highness the soldiers would have killed him the other night because he dared to offer affront to the royal blood. A second time he will not escape. Moreover, Pharaoh would avenge aught he did upon the people of Israel.' 'I understand. It would be sad if Laban were killed, very sad. But the people of Israel have One who can protect them even against Pharaoh and all his hosts. Farewell, learned Scribe. If ever I come to Tanis, with your leave we will talk more together.' That night I told the Prince all that had passed. He listened, and said, 'I grieve for the lady Merapi, for hers is like to be a hard fate. Yet,' he added laughing, 'perhaps it is as well for you, friend, that you should see no more of her who is sure to bring trouble wherever she goes. That woman has a face which haunts the mind, as the Ka THE AMBUSH 103 haunts the tomb, and for my part I do not wish to look upon it again/ ' I am glad to hear it, Prince, and for my part, I have done with women, however sweet. I will tell this Jabez that the provisions for the journey will be bought elsewhere.' ' Nay, buy them from him, and if Nehesi grumbles at the price, pay it on my account. The way to a He- brew's heart is through his treasure bags. If Jabez is well treated, it may make him kinder to his niece, of whom I shall always have a pleasant memory, for which I am grateful among this sour folk who hate us, and with reason.' So the sheep and all the foodstuffs for the journey were bought from Jabez at his own price, for which he thanked me much, and on the third day we started. At the last moment the Prince, whose mood seemed to be preverse that evening, refused to travel with the host upon the morrow because of the noise and dust. In vain did the Count Amenmeses reason with him, and Nehesi and the great officers implore him almost on their knees, saying that they must answer for his safety to Pharaoh and the Princess Userti. He bade them begone, replying that he would join them at their camp on the following night. I also prayed him to listen, but he told me sharply that what he had said he had said, and that he and I would journey in his chariot alone, with two armed runners and no more, adding that if I thought there was danger I could go forward with the troops. Then I bit my lip and was silent, whereon, seeing that he had hurt me, he turned and craved my pardon humbly enough as his kind heart taught him to do. io 4 MOON OF ISRAEL 'I can bear no more of Amenmeses and those officers/ he said, 'and I love to be in the desert alone. Last time we journeyed there we met with adventures that were pleasant, Ana, and at Tanis doubtless I shall find others that are not pleasant. Admit that Hebrew priest who is waiting to instruct me in the mysteries of his faith which I desire to understand.' So I bowed and left him to make report that I had failed to shake his will. Taking the risk of his wrath, however, I did this for had I not sworn to the Prin- cess that I would protect him? In place of the runners I chose two of the best and bravest soldiers to play their part. Moreover, I instructed that captain who smote down Laban to hide away with a score of picked men and enough chariots to carry them, and to follow after the Prince, keeping just out of sight. So on the morrow the troops, nobles, and officers went on at daybreak, together with the baggage car- riers; nor did we follow them till many hours had gone by. Some of this time the Prince spent in driving about the town, taking note of the condition of the people. These, as I saw, looked on us sullenly enough, more so than before, I thought, perhaps because we were unguarded. Indeed, turning round I caught sight of a man shaking his fist and of an old hag spitting after us, and wished that we were out of the land of Goshen. But when I reported it to the Prince he only laughed and took no heed. 1 All can see that they hate us Egyptians/ he said. 'Well, let it be our task to try to turn their hate to love. ' 'That you will never do, Prince, it is too deep-rooted in their hearts; for generations they have drunk it in THE AMBUSH 105 with their mother's milk. Moreover, this is a war of the gods of Egypt and of Israel, and men must go where their gods drive them/ 'Do you think so, Ana? Then are men nothing but dust blown by the winds of heaven, blown from the darkness that is before the dawn to be gathered at last and for ever into the darkness of the grave of night?' He brooded a while, then went on, 'Yet if I were Pharaoh I would let these people go, for without doubt their god has much power and I tell you that I fear them.' 'Why will he not let them go?' I asked. 'They are a weakness, not a strength to Egypt, as was shown at the time of the invasion of the Barbarians with whom they sided. Moreover, the value of this rich land of theirs, which they cannot take with them, is greater than that of all their labour.' 'I do not know, friend. The matter is one upon which my father keeps his own counsel, even from the Princess Userti. Perhaps it is because he will not change the policy of his father, Rameses; perhaps because he is stiff-necked to those who cross his will. Or it may be that he is held in this path by a madness sent of some god to bring loss and shame on Egypt.' 'Then, Prince, all the priests and nobles are mad also, from Count Amenmeses down.' 'Where Pharaoh leads priests and nobles follow. The question is, who leads Pharaoh? Here is the temple of these Hebrews; let us enter.' So we descended from the chariot, where, for my part, I would have remained, and walked through the gateway in the surrounding mud wall into the outer court of the temple, which on this the holy seventh io6 MOON OF ISRAEL day of the Hebrews was full of praying women, who feigned not to see us yet watched us out of the corners of their eyes. Passing through them we came to a door- way, by which we entered another court that was roofed over. Here were many men who murmured as we appeared. They were engaged in listening to a preacher in a white robe, who wore a strange shaped cap and some ornaments on his breast. I knew the man; he was the priest Kohath who had instructed the Prince in so much of the mysteries of the Hebrew faith as he chose to reveal. On seeing us he ceased suddenly in his discourse, uttered some hasty blessing and advanced to greet us. I waited behind the Prince, thinking it well to watch his back among all those fierce men, and did not hear what the priest said to him, as he whispered in that holy place. Kohath led him forward, to free him from the throng, I thought, till they came to the head of the little temple that was marked by some steps, above which hung a thick and heavy curtain. The Prince, walking on, did not see the lowest of these steps in the gloom, which was deep. His foot caught on it; he fell forward, and to save himself grasped at the cur- tain where the two halves of it met, and dragged it open, revealing a chamber plain and small beyond, in which was an altar. That was all I had time to see, for next instant a roar of rage rent the air and knives flashed in the gloom. 'The Egyptian defiles the tabernacle!' shouted one. 'Drag him out and kill him!' screamed another. ' Friends/ said Seti, turning as they surged towards him, 'if I have done aught wrong it was by chance He could add no more, seeing that they were on him, THE AMBUSH 107 or rather on me who had leapt in front of him. Al- ready they had grasped my robes and my hand was on my sword-hilt, when the priest Kohath cried out, 'Men of Israel, are you mad? Would you bring Pharaoh's vengeance on us? ' They halted a little and their spokesman shouted, 'We defy Pharaoh! Our God will protect us from Pharaoh. Drag him forth and kill him beyond the wall!' Again they began to move, when a man, in whom I recognised Jabez, the uncle of Merapi, called aloud, 'Cease! If this Prince of Egypt has done insult to Jahveh by will and not by chance, it is certain that he will avenge himself upon him. Shall men take the judgment of God into their own hands? Stand back and wait awhile. If Jahveh is affronted, the Egyptian will fall dead. If he does not fall dead, let him pass hence unharmed, for such is Jahveh's will. Stand back, I say, while I count threescore/ They withdrew a space and slowly Jabez began to count. Although at that time I knew nothing of the power of the god of Israel, I will say that I was filled with fear as one by one he counted, pausing at each ten. The scene was very strange. There by the steps stood the Prince against the background of the curtain, his arms folded and a little smile of wonder mixed with contempt upon his face, but not a sign of fear. On one side of him was I, who knew well that I should share his fate whatever it might be, and indeed de- sired no other; and on the other the priest Kohath, whose hands shook and whose eyes started from his head. In front of us old Jabez counted, watching the io8 MOON OF ISRAEL fierce-faced congregation that in a dead silence waited for the issue. The count went on. Thirty. Forty. Fifty oh! it seemed an age. At length sixty fell from his lips. He waited a while and all watched the Prince, not doubting but that he would fall dead. But instead he turned to Kohath and asked quietly if this ordeal was now finished, as he desired to make an offering to the temple, which he had been invited to visit, and begone. 'Our God has given his answer/ said Jabez. ' Ac- cept it, men of Israel. What this Prince olid he did by chance, not of design. ' They turned and went without a word, and after I had laid the offering, no mean one, in the appointed place, we followed them. ' It would seem that yours is no gentle god, ' said the Prince to Kohath, when at length we were outside the temple. 'At least he is just, your Highness. Had it been otherwise, you who had violated his sanctuary, al- though by chance, would ere now be dead. ' 'Then you hold, Priest, that Jahveh has power to slay us when he is angry? ' 'Without a doubt, your Highness as, if our Prophets speak truth, I think that Egypt will learn ere all be done, ' he added grimly. Seti looked at him and answered, 'It may be so, but all gods, or their priests, claim the power to torment and slay those who worship other gods. It is not only women who are jealous, Kohath, or so it seems. Yet I think that you do your god in- justice, seeing that even if this strength is his, he proved more merciful than his worshippers who knew THE AMBUSH 109 well that I only grasped the veil to save myself from falling. If ever I visit your temple again it shall be in the company of those who can match might against might, whether of the spirit or the sword. Farewell.' So we reached the chariot, near to which stood Jabez, he who had saved us. 'Prince,' he whispered, glancing at the crowd who lingered not far away, silent and glowering, 'I pray you leave this land swiftly for here your life is not safe. I know it was by chance, but you have denied the sanctuary and seen that upon which eyes may not look save those of the highest priests, an offence no Israelite can forgive.' 'And you, or your people, Jabez, would have denied this sanctuary of my life, spilling my heart's blood and not by chance. Surely you are a strange folk who seek to make an enemy of one who has tried to be your friend.' 'I do not seek it/ exclaimed Jabez. 'I would that we might have Pharaoh's mouth and ear who soon will himself be Pharaoh upon our side. O Prince of Egypt, be not wroth with all the children of Israel because their wrongs have made some few of them stubborn and hard-hearted. Begone now, and of your goodness remember my words. ' 1 1 will remember, ' said Seti, signing to the charioteer to drive on. Yet still the Prince lingered in the town, saying that he feared nothing and would learn all he could of this people and their ways that he might report the better of them to Pharaoh. For my part I believed that there was one face which he wished to see again before he left, but of this I thought it wise to say nothing. no MOON OF ISRAEL At length about midday we did depart, and drove eastwards on the track of Amenmeses and our com- pany. All the afternoon we drove thus, preceded by the two soldiers disguised as runners and followed, as a distant cloud of dust told me, by the captain and his chariots, whom I had secretly commanded to keep us in sight. Towards evening we came to the pass in the stony hills which bounded the land of Goshen. Here Seti descended from the chariot, and we climbed, accom- panied by the two soldiers whom I signed to follow us, to the crest of one of these hills that was strewn with huge boulders and lined with ridges of sandstone, between which gullies had been cut by the winds of thousands of years. Leaning against one of these ridges we looked back upon a wondrous sight. Far away across the fertile plain appeared the town that we had left, and behind it the sun sank. It would seem as though some storm had broken there, although the firmament above us was clear and blue. At least in front of the town two huge pillars of cloud stretched from earth to heaven like the columns of some mighty gateway. One of these pillars was as though it were made of black marble, and the other like to molten gold. Between them ran a road of light ending in a glory, and in the midst of the glory the round ball of Ra, the Sun, burned like the eye of God. The spectacle was as awesome as it was splendid. 'Have you ever seen such a sky in Egypt, Prince?' I asked. ' Never/ he answered, and although he spoke low, in that great stillness his voice sounded loud to me. THE AMBUSH in For a while longer we watched, till suddenly the sun sank, and only the glory about it and above re- mained, which took shapes like to the palaces and temples of a city in the heavens, a far city that no mortal could reach except in dreams. 'I know not why, Ana/ said Seti, 'but for the first time since I was a man I feel afraid. It seems to me that there are omens in that sky and I cannot read them. Would that Ki were here to tell us what is signified by the pillar of blackness to the right and the pillar of fire to the left, and what god has his home in the city of glory behind, and how man's feet may walk along the shining road which reaches to its pylon gates. I tell you that I am afraid; it is as though Death were very near to me and all his wonders open to my mortal sight.' 'I too am afraid/ I whispered. 'Look! The pillars move. That of fire goes before; that of black cloud follows after, and between them I seem to see a count- less multitude marching in unending companies. See how the light glitters on their spears! Surely the god of the Hebrews is afoot.' 'He, or some other god, or no god at all, who knows? Come, Ana, let us be going if we would reach that camp ere dark.' So we descended from the ridge, and re-entering the chariot, drove on towards the neck of the pass. Now this neck was very narrow, not more than four paces wide for a certain distance, and, on either side of the roadway were tumbled sandstone boulders, between which grew desert plants, and gullies that had been cut by storm-water, while beyond these rose the sides of the mountain. Here the horses went at a walk ii2 MOON OF ISRAEL towards a turn in the path, at which point the land began to fall again. When we were about half a spear's throw from this turn of a sudden I heard a sound and, glancing to the right, perceived a woman leaping down the hillside towards us. The charioteer saw also and halted the horses, and the two runner guards turned and drew their swords. In less than half a minute the woman had reached us, coming out of the shadow so that the light fell upon her face. 'Merapi!' exclaimed the Prince and I, speaking as though with one breath. Merapi it was indeed, but in evil case. Her long hair had broken loose and fell about her, the cloak she wore was torn, and there were blood and foam upon her lips. She stood gasping, since speak she could not for breathlessness, supporting herself with one hand upon the side of the chariot and with the other pointing to the bend in the road. At last a word came, one only. It was: 1 Murder !' 'She means that she is going to be murdered,' said the Prince to me. 'No,' she panted, 'you you! The Hebrews. Go back!' 'Turn the horses!' I cried to the charioteer. He began to obey helped by the two guards, but because of the narrowness of the road and the steepness of the banks this was not easy. Indeed they were but half round in such fashion that they blocked the pathway from side to side, when a wild yell of ' Jahveh ' broke upon our ears, and from round the bend, a few paces away, rushed a horde of fierce, hook-nosed men, THE AMBUSH 113 brandishing knives and swords. Scarcely was there time for us to leap behind the shelter of the chariot and make ready, when they were on us. 'Hearken/ I said to the charioteer as they came, 'run as you never ran before, and bring up the guard behind! ' He sprang away like an arrow. 'Get back, Lady/ cried Seti. 'This is no woman's work, and see here comes Laban to seek you/ and he pointed with his sword to the leader of the murderers. She obeyed, staggering a few paces to a stone at the roadside, behind which she crouched. Afterwards she told me that she had no strength to go further, and in- deed no will, since if we were killed, it were better that she who had warned us should be killed also. Now they had reached us, the whole flood of them, thirty or forty men. The first who came stabbed the frightened horses, and down they went against the bank, struggling. On to the chariot leapt the Hebrews, seeking to come at us, and we met them as best we might, tearing off our cloaks and throwing them over our left arms to serve as shields. Oh! what a fight was that. In the open, or had we not been prepared, we must have been slain at once, but, as it was, the place and the barrier of the chariot gave us some advantage. So narrow was the road- way, the walls of which were here too steep to climb, that not more than four of the Hebrews could strike at us at once, which four must first surmount the chariot or the still living horses. But we also were four, and thanks to Userti, two of us were clad in mail beneath our robes four strong men fighting for their lives. Against us came four of the Hebrews. One leapt from the chariot straight at ii4 MOON OF ISRAEL Seti, who received him upon the point of his iron sword, whereof I heard the hilt ring against his breast-bone, that same famous iron sword which to-day lies buried with him in his grave. Down he came dead, throwing the Prince to the ground by the weight of his body. The Hebrew who attacked me caught his foot on the chariot pole and fell forward, so I killed him easily with a blow upon the head, which gave me time to drag the Prince to his feet again before another followed. The two guards also, sturdy fighters both of them, killed or mortally wounded their men. But others were pressing behind so thick and fast that I could keep no count of all that hap- pened afterwards. Presently I saw one of the guards fall, slain by Laban. A stab on the breast sent me reeling backwards; had it not been for that mail I was sped. The other guard killed him who would have killed me, and then him- self was killed by two who came on him at once. Now only the Prince and I were left, fighting back to back. He closed with one man, a very great fellow, and wounded him on the hand, so that he dropped his sword. This man gripped him round the middle and they rolled together on the ground. Laban appeared and stabbed the Prince in the back, but the curved knife he was using snapped on the Syrian mail. I struck at Laban and wounded him on the head, dazing him so that he staggered back and seemed to fall over the chariot. Then others rushed at me, and but for Userti's armour three times at least I must have died. Fighting madly, I staggered against the rock, and whilst waiting for a new onset, saw that Seti, hurt by Laban's thrust, was now beneath the great Hebrew THE AMBUSH 115 who had him by the throat, and was choking the life out of him. I saw something else also a woman holding a sword with both hands and stabbing downward, after which the grip oi the Hebrew loosened from Seti's throat. ' Traitress!' cried one, and struck at her, so that she reeled back hurt. Then when all seemed finished, and beneath the rain of blows my senses were failing, I heard the thunder of horses' hoofs and the shout of 1 Egypt! Egypt!' from the throats of soldiers. The flash of bronze caught my dazed eyes, and with the roar of battle in my ears I seemed to fall asleep just as the light of dav departed. CHAPTER VIII SETI COUNSELS PHARAOH DREAM upon dream. Dreams of voices, dreams of faces, dreams of sunlight and of moonlight and of myself being borne forward, always forward; dreams of shouting crowds, and, above all, dreams of Merapi's eyes looking down on me like two watching stars from heaven. Then at last the awakening, and with it throbs of pain and qualms of sickness. At first I thought that I was dead and lying in a tomb. Then by degrees I saw that I was in no tomb but in a darkened room that was familiar to me, my own room in Seti's palace at Tanis. It must be so, for there, near to the bed on which I lay, was my own chest filled with the manuscripts that I had brought from Memphis. I tried to lift my left hand, but could not, and looking down saw that the arm was bandaged like to that of a mummy, which made me think again that I must be dead, if the dead could suffer so much pain. I closed my eyes and thought or slept a while. As I lay thus I heard voices. One of them seemed to be that of a physician, who said, 'Yes, he will live and ere long recover. The blow upon the head which has made him senseless for so many days was the worst of his wounds, but the bone was but bruised, not shattered or driven in upon the brain. The flesh cuts on his 116 SETI COUNSELS PHARAOH 117 arms are healing well, and the mail he wore protected his vitals from being pierced. ' 'I am glad, physician/ answered a voice that I knew to be that of Userti, l since without doubt, had it not been for Ana, his Highness would have perished. It is strange that one whom I thought to be nothing but a dreaming scribe should have shown himself so brave a warrior. The Prince says that this Ana killed three of those dogs with his own hands, and wounded others. ' 'It was well done, your Highness/ answered the physician, 'but still better was his forethought in pro- viciing a rear-guard and in despatching the charioteer to call it up. It seems to have been the Hebrew lady who really saved the life of his Highness, when, for- getting her sex, she stabbed the murderer who had him by the throat. ' 'That is the Prince's tale, or so I understand/ she answered coldly. 'Yet it seems strange that a weak and worn-out girl could have pierced a giant through from back to breast.' * 'At least she warned him of the ambush, your High- ness.' 'So they say. Perhaps Ana here will soon tell us the truth about these matters. Tend him well, physi- cian, and you shall not lack for your reward. ' Then they went away, still talking, and I lay quiet, filled with thankfulness and wonder, for now every- thing came back to me. A while later, as I lay with my eyes still shut, for even that low light seemed to hurt them, I became aware of a woman's soft step stealing round my bed and of a fragrance such as comes from a woman's robes n8 MOON OF ISRAEL and hair. I looked and saw Merapi's star-like eyes gazing down on me just as I had seen them in my dreams. 1 Greeting, Moon of Israel/ I said. 'Of a truth we meet again in strange case. ' 'Oh!' she whispered, 'are you awake at last? I thank God, Scribe Ana, who for three days thought that you must die. ' 'As, had it not been for you, Lady, surely I should have done I and another. Now it seems that all three of us will live.' 'Would that but two lived, the Prince and you, Ana. Would that / had died,' she answered, sighing heavily. 'Why?' 'Cannot you guess? Because I am an outcast who have betrayed my people. Because their blood flows between me and them. For I killed that man, and he was my own kinsman, for the sake of an Egyptian I mean, Egyptians. Therefore the curse of Jahveh is on me, and as my kinsman died doubtless I shall die in a day to come, and afterwards what? ' 'Afterwards peace and great reward, if there be justice in earth or heaven, O most noble among women. ' 'Would that I could think so! Hush, I hear steps.. Drink this; I am the chief of your nurses, Scribe Ana, an honourable post, since to-day all Egypt loves and praises you. ' 'Surely it is you, lady Merapi, whom all Egypt should love and praise,' I answered. Then the Prince Seti entered. I strove to salute him by lifting my less injured arm, but he caught my hand and pressed it tenderly. SETI COUNSELS PHARAOH 119 'Hail to you, beloved of Menthu, god of war/ he said, with his pleasant laugh. 'I thought I had hired a scribe, and lo! in this scribe I find a soldier who might be an army's boast. ' At this moment he caught sight of Merapi, who had moved back into the shadow. 'Hail to you also, Moon of Israel/ he said bowing. 'If I name Ana here a warrior of the best, what name can both of us find for you to whom we owe our lives? Nay, look not down, but answer. ' * Prince of Egypt, ' she replied confusedly, ' I did but little. The plot came to my ears through Jabez my uncle, and I fled away and, knowing the short paths from childhood, was just in time. Had I stayed to think perchance I should not have dared.' 'And what of the rest, Lady? What of the Hebrew who was choking me and of a certain sword thrust that loosed his hands for ever?' 'Of that, your Highness, I can recall nothing, or very little, ' then, doubtless remembering what she had just said to me, she made obeisance and passed from the chamber. 'She can tell falsehoods as sweetly as she does all else/ said Seti, when he had watched her go. 'Oh! what a woman have we here, Ana. Perfect in beauty, perfect in courage, perfect in mind. Where are her faults, I wonder? Let it be your part to search them out, since I find none.' 'Ask them of Ki, O Prince. He is a very great magician, so great that perhaps his art may even avail to discover what a woman seeks to hide. Also you may remember that he gave you certain warnings before we journeyed to Goshen. ' 120 MOON OF ISRAEL 1 Yes he told me that my life would be in danger, as certainly it was. There he was right. He told me also that I should see a woman whom I should come to love. There he was wrong. I have seen no such woman. Oh! I know well what is passing in your mind. Because I hold the lady Merapi to be beautiful and brave, you think that I love her. But it is not so. I love no woman, except, of course, her Highness. Ana, you judge me by yourself/ 1 Ki said "come to love," Prince. There is yet time.' 'Not so, Ana. If one loves, one loves at once. Soon I shall be old and she will be fat and ugly, and how can one love then? Get well quickly, Ana, for I wish you to help me with my report to Pharaoh. I shall tell him that I think these Israelites are much op- pressed and that he should make them amends and let them go.' 'What will Pharaoh say to that after they have just tried to kill his heir?' 'I think Pharaoh will be angry, and so will the people of Egypt, who do not reason well. He will not see that, believing what they do, Laban and his band were right to try to kill me who, however unwittingly, had desecrated the sanctuary of their god. Had they done otherwise they would have been no good Hebrews, and for my part I cannot bear them malice. Yet all Egypt is afire about this business and cries out that the Israelites should be destroyed.' 'It seems to me, Prince, that whatever may be the case with Ki's second prophecy, his third is in the way of fulfilment namely that this journey to Goshen may cause you to risk your throne. ' He shrugged his shoulders and answered, SETI COUNSELS PHARAOH 121 'Not even for that, Ana, will I say to Pharaoh what is not in my mind. But let that matter be till you are stronger.' 'What chanced at the end of the fight, Prince, and how came I here? ' 'The guard killed most of the Hebrews who remained alive. Some few fled and escaped in the darkness, among them Laban their leader, although you had wounded him, and six were taken alive. They await their trial. I was but little hurt and you, whom we thought dead, were but senseless, and senseless or wandering you have remained till this hour. We carried you in a litter, and here you have been these three days.' 'And the lady Merapi?' ' We set her in a chariot and brought her to the city, since had we left her she would certainly have been murdered by her people. When Pharaoh heard what she had done, as I did not think it well that she should dwell here, he gave her the small house in this garden that she might be guarded, and with it slave women to attend upon her. So there she dwells, having the freedom of the palace, and all the while has filled the office of your nurse. ' At this moment I grew faint and shut my eyes. When I opened them again, the Prince had gone. Six more days went by before I was allowed to leave my bed, and during this time I saw much of Merapi. She was very sad and lived in fear of being killed by the Hebrews. Also she was troubled in her heart because she thought she had betrayed her faith and people. 'At least you are rid of Laban,' I said. 122 MOON OF ISRAEL ' Never shall I be rid of him while we both live,' she answered. 'I belong to him and he will not loose my bond, because his heart is set on me. ' 'And is your heart set on him?' I asked. Her beautiful eyes filled with tears. 'A woman may not have a heart. Oh! Ana, I am unhappy, ' she answered, and went away. Also I saw others. The Princess came to visit me. She thanked me much because I had fulfilled my promise to her and guarded the Prince. Moreover she brought me a gift of gold from Pharaoh, and other gifts of fine raiment from herself. She questioned me closely about Merapi, of whom I could see she was already jealous, and was glad when she learned that she was affianced to a Hebrew. Old Bakenkhonsu came too, and asked me many things about the Prince, the Hebrews and Merapi, especially Merapi, of whose deeds, he said, all Egypt was talking, questions that I answered as best I could. 'Here we have that woman of whom Ki told us/ he said, ' she who shall bring so much joy and so much sorrow to the Prince of Egypt. ' 'Why so?' I asked. 'He has not taken her into his house, nor do I think that he means to do so.' 'Yet he will, Ana, whether he means it or not. For his sake she betrayed her people, which among the Israelites is a deadly crime. Twice she saved his life, once by warning him of the ambush, and again by stabbing with her own hands one of her kinsmen who was murdering him. Is it not so? Tell me; you were there. ' 'It is so, but what then?' 'This: that whatever she may say, she loves him; SETI COUNSELS PHARAOH 123 unless indeed, it is you whom she loves,' and he looked at me shrewdly. 'When a woman has a prince, and such a prince to her hand, would she trouble herself to set snares to catch a scribe? ' I asked, with some bitterness. 'Oho!' he said, with one of his great laughs, 'so things stand thus, do they? Well, I thought it, but, friend Ana, be warned in time. Do not try to conjure down the Moon to be your household lamp lest she should set, and the Sun, her lord, should grow wroth and burn you up. Well, she loves him, and therefore soon or late she will make him love her, being what she is.' 'How, Bakenkhonsu?' 'With most men, Ana, it would be simple. A sigh, some half-hidden tears at the right moment, and the thing is done, as I have known it done a thousand times. But this prince being what he is, it may be otherwise. She may show him that her name is gone for him; that because of him she is hated by her people, and rejected by her god, and thus stir his pity, which is Love's own sister. Or mayhap, being also, as I am told, wise, she will give him counsel as to all these matters of the Israelites, and thus creep into his heart under the guise of friendship, and then her sweetness and her beauty will do the rest in Nature's way. At least by this road or by that, upstream or downstream, thither she will come. ' 'If so, what of it? It is the custom of the kings of Egypt to have more wives than one.' 'This, Ana; Seti, I think, is a man who in truth will have but one, and that one will be this Hebrew. Yes, a Hebrew woman will rule Egypt, and turn him to the 124 MOON OF ISRAEL worship of her god, for never will she worship ours. Indeed, when they see that she is lost to them, her people will use her thus. Or perchance her god himself will use her to fulfil his purpose, as already he may have used her.' 1 And afterwards, Bakenkhonsu?' ' After wards who knows? I am not a magician, at least not one of any account, ask it of Ki. But I am very, very old and I have watched the world, and I tell you that these things will happen, unless - and he paused. ' Unless what?' He dropped his voice. I Unless Userti is bolder than I think, and kills her first or, better still, procures some Hebrew to kill her say, that cast-off lover of hers. If you would be a friend to Pharaoh and to Egypt, you might whisper it in her ear, Ana. ' 'Never!' I answered angrily. I 1 did not think you would, Ana, who also struggle in this net of moonbeams that is stronger and more real than any twisted out of palm or flax. Well, nor will I, who in my age love to watch such human sport and, being so near to them, fear to thwart the schemes of gods. Let this scroll unroll itself as it will, and when it is open, read it, Ana, and remember what I said to you this day. It will be a pretty tale, written at the end with blood for ink. Oho! 6-ho-ho!' and, laugh- ing, he hobbled from the room, leaving me frightened. Moreover the Prince visited me every day, and even before I left my bed began to dictate to me his report to Pharaoh, since he would employ no other scribe. The substance of it was what he had foreshadowed, namely SETI COUNSELS PHARAOH 125 that the people of Israel, having suffered much for generations at the hands of the Egyptians, should now be allowed to depart as their prophets demanded, and go whither they would unharmed. Of the attack upon us in the pass he made light, saying that it was the evil work of a few zealots wrought on by fancied insult to their god, a deed for which the whole people should not be called upon to suffer. The last words of the report were: ' Remember, O Pharaoh, I pray thee, that Amon, god of the Egyptians, and Jahveh, the god of the Isra- elites, cannot rule together in the same land. If both abide in Egypt there will be a war of the gods wherein mortals may be ground to dust. Therefore, I pray thee, let Israel go.' After I had risen and was recovered, I copied out this report in my fairest writing, refusing to tell any of its purport, although all asked, among them the Vizier Nehesi, who offered me a bribe to disclose its secret. This came to the ears of Seti, I know not how, and he was much pleased with me about the matter, saying he rejoiced to find that there was one scribe in Egypt who could not be bought. Userti also questioned me, and when I refused to answer, strange to say, was not angry, because, she declared, I only did my duty. At last the roll was finished and sealed, and the Prince with his own hand, but without speaking, laid it on the knees of Pharaoh at a public Court, for this he would trust no one else to do. Amenmeses also brought up his report, as did Nehesi the Vizier, and the Captain of the guard which saved us from death. Eight days later the Prince was summoned to a great Council of State, as were all others of the royal House, 126 MOON OF ISRAEL together with the high officers. I too received a sum- mons, as one who had been concerned in these matters. The Prince, accompanied by the Princess, drove to the palace in Pharaoh's golden chariot, drawn by two milk-white horses of the blood of those famous steeds that had saved the life of the great Rameses in the Syrian war. All down the streets, that were filled with thousands of the people, they were received with shouts of welcome. 'See/ said the old councillor Bakenkhonsu, who was my companion in a second chariot, 'Egypt is proud and glad. It thought that its Prince was but a dreamer of dreams. But now it has heard the tale of the ambush in the pass and learned that he is a man of war, a warrior who can fight with the best. There- fore it loves him and rejoices.' 'Then, by the same rule, Bakenkhonsu, a butcher should be more great than the wisest of scribes.' ' So he is, Ana, especially if the butcher be one of men. The writer creates, but the slayer kills, and in a world ruled of death he who kills has more honour than he who creates. Hearken, now they are shouting out your name. Is that because you are the author of cer- tain writings? I tell you, No. It is because you killed three men yonder in the pass. If you would become famous and beloved, Ana, cease from the writing of books and take to the cutting of throats.' 'Yet the writer still lives when he is dead.' 'Oho!' laughed Bakenkhonsu, 'you are even more foolish than I thought. How is a man advantaged by what happens when he is dead? Why, to-day that blind beggar whining on the temple steps means more to Egypt than all the mummies of all the Pharaohs, un- SETI COUNSELS PHARAOH 127 less they can be robbed. Take what life can give you, Ana, and do not trouble about the offerings which are laid in the tombs for time to crumble/ 'That is a mean faith, Bakenkhonsu.' 'Very mean, Ana, like all else that we can taste and handle. A mean faith suited to means hearts, among whom should be reckoned all save one in every thou- sand. Yet, if you would prosper, follow it, and when you are dead I will come and laugh upon your grave, and say, "Here lies one of whom I had hoped higher things, as I hope them of your master." 3 'And not in vain, Bakenkhonsu, whatever may hap- pen to the servant.' 1 That we shall learn, and ere long, I think. I won- der who will ride at his side before the next Nile flood. By then, perchance, he will have changed Pharaoh's golden chariot for an ox-cart, and you will goad the oxen and talk to him of the stars or, mayhap of the moon. Well, you might both be happier thus, and she of the moon is a jealous goddess who loves worship. Oho-ho! Here are the palace steps. Help me to de- scend, Priest of the Lady of the Moon.' We entered the palace and were led through the great hall to a smaller chamber where Pharaoh, who did not wear his robes of sta te, awaited us, seated in a cedar chair. Glancing at him I saw that his face was stern and troubled; also it seemed to me that he had grown older. The Prince and Princess made obeisance to him, as did we lesser folk, but he took no heed. When all were present and the doors had been shut, Pharaoh said, 'I have read your report, Son Seti, concerning your visit to the Israelites, and all that chanced to you; and 128 MOON OF ISRAEL also the reports of you, nephew Amenmeses, and of you, Officers, who accompanied the Prince of Egypt. Be- fore I speak of them, let the Scribe Ana, who was the chariot companion of his Highness when the Hebrews attacked him, stand forward and tell me all that passed.' So I advanced, and with bowed head repeated that tale, only leaving out so far as was possible any mention of myself. When I had finished, Pharaoh said, 'He who speaks but half the truth is sometimes more mischievous than a liar. Did you then sit in the chariot, Scribe, doing nothing while the Prince battled for his life? Or did you run away? Speak, Seti, and say what part this man played for good or ill.' Then the Prince told of my share in the fight, with words that brought the blood to my brow. He told also how that it was I who, taking the risk of his wrath, had ordered the guard of twenty men to follow us unseen, had disguised two seasoned soldiers as chariot runners, and had thought to send back the driver to summon help at the commencement of the fray; how I had been hurt also, and was but lately recovered. When he had finished, Pharaoh said, 'That this story is true I know from others. Scribe, you have done well. But for you to-day his Highness would lie upon the table of the embalmers, as indeed for his folly he deserves to do, and Egypt would mourn from Thebes to the mouths of Nile. Come hither.' I came with trembling steps, and knelt before his Majesty. Around his neck hung a beauteous chain of wrought gold. He took it, and cast it over my head, saying, 'Because you have shown yourself both brave and SETI COUNSELS PHARAOH 129 wise, with this gold I give you the title of Councillor and King's Companion, and the right to inscribe the same upon your funeral stele. Let it be noted. Re- tire, Scribe Ana, Councillor and King's Companion/ So I withdrew confused, and as I passed Seti, he whispered in my ear, 'I pray you, my lord, do not cease to be Prince's Companion, because you have become that of the King/ Then Pharaoh ordered that the Captain of the guard should be advanced in rank, and that gifts should be given to each of the soldiers, and provision be made for the children of those who had been killed, with double allowance to the families of the two men whom I had disguised as runners. This done, once more Pharaoh spoke, slowly and with much meaning, having first ordered that all at- tendants and guards should leave the chamber. I was about to go also, but old Bakenkhonsu caught me by the robe, saying that in my new rank of Councillor I had the right to remain. 'Prince Seti,' he said, 'after all that I have heard, I find this report of yours strange reading. Moreover, the tenor of it is different indeed to that of those of the Count Amenmeses and the officers. You counsel me to let these Israelites go where they will, because of certain hardships that they have suffered in the past, which hardships, however, have left them many and rich. That counsel I am not minded to take. Rather am I minded to send an army to the land of Goshen with orders to despatch this people, who conspired to murder the Prince of Egypt, through the Gateway of the West, there to worship their god in heaven or in i 3 o MOON OF ISRAEL hell. Aye, to slay them all from the greybeard down to the suckling at the breast. 7 'I hear Pharaoh/ said Seti, quietly. 'Such is my will,' went on Meneptah, 'and those who accompanied you upon your business, and all my councillors think as I do, for truly Egypt cannot bear so hideous a treason. Yet, according to our law and custom it is needful, before such great acts of war and policy are undertaken, that he who stands next to the throne, and is destined to fill it, should give consent thereto. Do you consent, Prince of Egypt? ' 'I do not consent, Pharaoh. I think it would be a wicked deed that tens of thousands should be massa- cred for the reason that a few fools waylaid a man who chanced to be of royal blood, because by inadvertence, he had desecrated their sanctuary.' Now I saw that this answer made Pharaoh wroth, for never before had his will been crossed in such a fashion. Still he controlled himself, and asked, 'Do you then consent, Prince, to a gentler sentence, namely that the Hebrew people should be broken up; that the more dangerous of them should be sent to labour in the desert mines and quarries, and the rest distributed throughout Egypt, there to live as slaves? ' 'I do not consent, Pharaoh. My poor counsel is written in yonder roll and cannot be changed.' Meneptah's eyes flashed, but again he controlled self, and asked, 'If you should come to fill this place of mine, Prince Seti, tell us, here assembled, what policy will you pur- sue towards these Hebrews?' 'That policy, Pharaoh, which I have counselled in SETI COUNSELS PHARAOH 131 the roll. If ever I fill the throne, I shall let them go whither they will, taking their goods with them/ Now all those present stared at him and murmured. But Pharaoh rose, shaking with wrath. Seizing his robe where it was fastened at the breast, he rent it, and cried in a terrible voice, 'Hear him, ye gods of Egypt! Hear this son of mine who defies me to my face and would set your necks be- neath the heel of a stranger god. Prince Seti, in the pres- ence of these royal ones, and these my councillors, I He said no more, for the Princess Userti, who till now had sat silent, ran to him, and throwing her arms about him, began to whisper in his ear. He hearkened to her, then sat himself down, and spoke again, ' The Princess brings it to my mind that this is a great matter, one not to be dealt with hastily. It may happen that when the Prince has taken counsel with her, and with his own heart, and perchance has sought the wisdom of the gods, he will change the words which have passed his lips. I command you, Prince, to wait upon me here at the same hour on the third day from this. Meanwhile, I command all present, upon pain of death, to say nothing of what has passed within these walls/ 'I hear Pharaoh/ said the Prince, bowing. Meneptah rose to show that the Council was dis- charged, when the Vizier Nehesi approached him, and asked, 'What of the Hebrew prisoners, O Pharaoh, those murderers who were captured in the pass?' 'Their guilt is proved. Let them be beaten with rods till they die, and if they have wives or children, let them be seized and sold as slaves/ 'Pharaoh's will be done!' said the Vizier. CHAPTER IX THE SMITING OF AMON THAT evening I sat ill at ease in my work-chamber in Seti's palace, making pretence to write, I who felt that great evils threatened my lord the Prince, and knew not what to do to turn them from him. The door opened, and old Pambasa the chamberlain ap- peared and addressed me by my new titles, saying that the Hebrew lady Merapi, who had been my nurse in sickness, wished to speak with me. Presently she came and stood before me. 'Scribe Ana/ she said, 'I have but just seen my uncle Jabez, who has come, or been sent, with a mes- sage to me/ and she hesitated. 'Why was he sent, Lady? To bring you news of Laban? ' 1 Not so. Laban has fled away and none know where he is, and Jabez has only escaped much trouble as the uncle of a traitress by undertaking this mission.' 'What is the mission?' 'To pray me, if I would save myself from death and the vengeance of God, to work upon the heart of his Highness, which I know not how to do ' 'Yet I think you might find means, Merapi/ -save through you, his friend and counsellor/ she went on, turning away her face. 'Jabez has learned that it is in the mind of Pharaoh utterly to destroy the people of Israel/ 132 THE SMITING OF AMON 133 1 How does he know that, Merapi?' 'I cannot say, but I think all the Hebrews know. I knew it myself though none had told me. He has learned also that this cannot be done under the law of Egypt unless the Prince who is heir to the throne and of full age consents. Now I am come to pray you to pray the Prince not to consent.' 1 Why not pray to the Prince yourself, Merapi I began, when from the shadows behind me I heard the voice of Seti, who had entered by the private door bearing some writings in his hand, saying, 'And what prayer has the lady Merapi to make to me? Nay, rise and speak, Moon of Israel/ '0 Prince/ she pleaded, 'my prayer is that you will save the Hebrews from death by the sword, as you alone have the power to do.' At that moment the doors opened and in swept the royal Userti. 'What does this woman here?' she asked. 'I think that she came to see Ana, wife, as I did, and as doubtless you do. Also being here she prays me to save her people from the sword. ' 'And I pray you, husband, to give her people to the sword, which they have earned, who would have murdered you. ' 'And been paid, everyone of them, Userti, unless some still linger beneath the rods, ' he added with a shud- der. ' The rest are innocent why should they die? ' 'Because your throne hangs upon it, Seti. I say that if you continue to thwart the will of Pharaoh, as by the law of Egypt you can do, he will disinherit you and set your cousin Amenmeses in your place, as by the law of Egypt he can do. ' 134 MOON OF ISRAEL *I thought it, Userti. Yet why should I turn my back upon the right over a matter of my private for- tunes? The question is is it the right? ' She stared at him in amazement, she who never understood Seti and could not dream that he would throw away the greatest throne in all the world to save a subject people, merely because he thought that they should not die. Still, warned by some instinct, she left the first question unanswered, dealing only with the second. 'It is the right/ she said, f for many reasons whereof I need give but one, for in it lie all the others. The gods of Egypt are the true gods whom we must serve and obey, or perish here and hereafter. The god of the Israelites is a false god and those who worship him are heretics and by their heresy under sentence of death. Therefore it is most right that those whom the true gods have condemned should die by the swords of their servants. 7 'That is well argued, Userti, and if it be so, mayhap my mind will become as yours in this matter, so that I shall no longer stand between Pharaoh and his desire. But is it so? There's the problem. I will not ask you why you say that the gods of the Egyptians are the true gods, because I know what you would answer, or rather that you could give no answer. But I will ask this lady whether her god is a false god, and if she replies that he is not, I will ask her to prove this to me if she can. If she is able to prove it, then I think that what I said to Pharaoh to-day I shall repeat three days hence. If she is not able to prove it, then I shall consider very earnestly of the matter. Answer now, Moon of Israel, remem- THE SMITING OF AMON 135 bering that many thousands of lives may hang on what you say.' ' O your Highness, ' began Merapi. Then she paused, clasped her hands and looked upwards. I think that she was praying, for her lips moved. As she stood thus I saw, and I think Seti saw also, a very wonderful light grow on her face and gather in her eyes, a kind of divine fire of inspiration and resolve. 'How can I, a poor Hebrew maiden, prove to your Highness that my God is the true God and that the gods of Egypt are false gods? I know not, and yet, is there any one god among all the many whom you worship, whom you are prepared to set up against him?' 'Of a surety, Israelite/ answered Userti. 'There is Amon-Ra, Father of the gods, of whom all other gods have their being, and from whom they draw their strength. Yonder his statue sits in the sanctuary of his ancient temple. Let your god stir him from his place! But what will you bring forward against the majesty of Amon-Ra?' 'My God has no statues, Princess, and his place is in the hearts of men, or so I have been taught by his prophets. I have nothing to bring forward in this war save that which must be offered in all wars my life.' 'What do you mean?' asked Seti, astounded. 'I mean that I, unfriended and alone, will enter the presence of Amon-Ra in his chosen sanctuary, and in the name of my God will challenge him to kill me, if he can. ' We stared at her, and Userti exclaimed, 'If he can! Hearken now to this blasphemer, and 136 MOON OF ISRAEL do you, Seti, accept her challenge as hereditary high- priest of the god Amon? Let her life pay forfeit for her sacrilege/ 'And if the great god Amon cannot, or does not deign to kill you, Lady, how will that prove that your god is greater than he?' asked the Prince. 'Per- chance he might smile and in his pity, let the insult pass, as your god did by me. ' 1 Thus it shall be proved, your Highness. If naught happens to me, or if I am protected from anything that does happen, then I will dare to call upon my god to work a sign and a wonder, and to humble Amon-Ra before your eyes. ' 'And if your god should also smile and let the mat- ter pass, Lady, as he did by me the other day when his priests called upon him, what shall we have learned as to his strength, or as to that of Amon-Ra? 7 '0 Prince, you will have learned nothing. Yet if I escape from the wrath of Amon and my God is deaf to my prayer, then I am ready to be delivered over into the hands of the priests of Amon that they may avenge my sacrilege upon me. ' 'There speaks a great heart,' said Seti; 'yet I am not minded that this lady should set her life upon such an issue. I do not believe that either the high-god of Egypt or the god of the Israelites will stir, but I am quite sure that the priests of Amon will avenge the sacrilege, and that cruelly enough. The dice are loaded against you, Lady. You shall not prove your faith with blood. ' 'Why not?' asked Userti. 'What is this girl to you, Seti, that you should stand between her and the fruit of her wickedness, you who at least in name are THE SMITING OF AMON 137 the high-priest of the god whom she blasphemes and who wear his robes at temple feasts? She believes in her god, leave it to her god to help her as she has dared to say he will. ' 'You believe in Amon, Userti. Are you prepared to stake your life against hers in this contest? ' 'I am not so mad and vain, Seti, as to believe that the god of all the world will descend from heaven to save me at my prayer, as this impious girl pretends that she believes. ' 'You refuse. Then, Ana, what say you, who are a loyal worshipper of Amon? ' 'I say, O Prince, that it would be presumptuous of me to take precedence of his high-priest in such a matter. ' Seti smiled and answered, 'And the high-priest says that it would be presump- tuous of him to push so far the prerogative of a high office which he never sought. ' 'Your Highness/ broke in Merapi in her honeyed, pleading voice, ' I pray you to be gracious to me, and to suffer me to make this trial, which I have sought, I know not why. Words such as I have spoken can- not be recalled. Already they are registered in the books of Eternity, and soon or late, in this way or in that, must be fulfilled. My life is staked, and I desire to learn at once if it be forfeit.' Now even Userti looked on her with admiration, but answered only, 'Of a truth, Israelite, I trust that this courage will not forsake you when you are handed over to the mer- cies of Ki, the Sacrificer of Amon, and the priests, in the vaults of the temple you would profane. ' 138 MOON OF ISRAEL 1 1 also trust that it will not, your Highness, if such should be my fate. Your word, Prince of Egypt. ' Seti looked at her standing before him so calmly with bowed head, and hands crossed upon her breast. Then he looked at Userti, who wore a mocking smile upon her face. He read the meaning of that smile as I did. It was that she did not believe that he would allow this beautiful woman, who had saved his life, to risk her life for the sake of any or all the powers of heaven or hell. For a little while he walked to and fro about the chamber, then he stopped and said suddenly addressing, not Merapi, but Userti, 1 Have your will, remembering that if this brave woman fails and dies, her blood is on your hands, and that if she triumphs and lives, I shall hold her to be one of the noblest of her sex, and shall make study of all this matter of religion. Moon of Israel, as titular high-priest of Amon-Ra, I accept your challenge on behalf of the god, though whether he will take note of it I do not know. The trial shall be made to-morrow night in the sanctuary of the temple, at an hour that will be communicated to you. I shall be present to make sure that you meet with justice, as will some others. Register my commands, Scribe Ana, and let the head-priest of Amon, Roi, and the sacrificer to Amon, Ki the Magician, be summoned, that I may speak with them. Farewell, Lady.' She went, but at the door turned and said, 'I thank you, Prince, on my own behalf, and on that of my people. Whatever chances, I beseech you do not forget the prayer that I have made to you to save them, being innocent, from the sword. Now I ask THE SMITING OF AMON 139 that I may be left quite alone till I am summoned to the temple, who must make such preparation as I can to meet my fate, whatever it may be/ Userti departed also without a word. 'Oh! friend, what have I done?' said Seti. 'Are there any gods? Tell me, are there any gods? ' 'Perhaps we shall learn to-morrow night, Prince/ I answered. 'At least Merapi thinks that there is a god, and doubtless has been commanded to put her faith to proof. This, as I believe, was the real message that Jabez her uncle has brought to her. ' It was the hour before the dawn, just when the night is darkest. We stood in the sanctuary of the ancient temple of Amon-Ra, that was lit with many lamps. It was an awful place. On either side the great col- umns towered to the massive roof. At the head of the sanctuary sat the statue of Amon-Ra, thrice the size of a man. On his brow, rising fom the crown, were two tall feathers of stone, and in his hands he held the Scourge of Rule and the symbols of Power and Ever- lastingness. The lamplight flickered upon his stern and terrible face staring towards the east. To his right was the statue of Mut, the Mother of all things. On her head was the double crown of Egypt and the uraeus crest, and in her hand the looped cross, the sign of Life eternal. To his left sat Khonsu, the hawk- headed god of the moon. On his head was the cres- cent of the young moon carrying the disc of the full moon; in his right hand he also held the looped cross, the sign of Life eternal, and in his left the Staff of Strength. Such was this mighty triad, but of these the greatest was Amon-Ra, to whom the shrine was i 4 o MOON OF ISRAEL dedicated. Fearful they looked towering above us against the background of blackness. Gathered there were Seti the Prince, clothed in a priest's white robe, and wearing a linen headdress, but no ornaments, and Userti the Princess, high-priestess of Hathor, Lady of the West, Goddess of Love and Nature. She wore Hathor's vulture headdress, and on it the disc of the moon fashioned of silver. Also were present Roi the head-priest, clad in his sacerdotal robes, an old and wizened man with a strong, fierce face, Ki the Sacrificer and Magician, Bakenkhonsu the ancient, myself, and a company of the priests of Amon-Ra, Mut, and Khonsu. From behind the statues came the sound of solemn singing, though who sang we could not see. Presently from out of the darkness that lay beyond the lamps appeared a woman, led by two priestesses and wrapped in a long cloak. They brought her to an open place in front of the statue of Amon, took from her the cloak and departed, glancing back at her with eyes of hate and fear. There before us stoo< Merapi, clad in white, with a white wimple about her head made fast beneath her chin with that scarabasus clasp which Seti had given to her in the city of Goshen, one spot of brightest blue amid a cloud of white. She looked neither to right nor left of her. Once only she glanced at the towering statue of the god that frowned above, then with a little shiver, fixed her eyes upon the pattern of the floor. 'What does she look like?' whispered Bakenkhonsu to me. 'A corpse made ready for the embalmers, ' I answered. He shook his great head. THE SMITING OF AMON 141 'Then a bride made ready for her husband/ Again he shook his head. 'Then a priestess about to read from the roll of Mysteries. ' 'Now you have it, Ana, and to understand what she reads, which few priestesses ever do. Also all three answers were right, for in this woman I seem to see doom that is Death, life that is Love, and spirit that is Power. She has a soul which both Heaven and Earth have kissed. ' 'Aye, but which of them will claim her in the end?' 'That we may learn before the dawn, Ana. Hush! the fight begins/ The head-priest, Roi, advanced and, standing before the god, sprinkled his feet with water and with perfume. Then he stretched out his hands, whereon all present prostrated themselves, save Merapi only, who stood alone in that great place like the survivor of a battle. 'Hail to thee, Amon-Ra,' he began, 'Lord of Heaven, Establisher of all things, Maker of the gods, who un- rolled the skies and built the foundations of the Earth. O god of gods, appears before thee this woman Merapi, daughter of Nathan, a child of the Hebrew race that owns thee not. This woman blasphemes thy might; this woman defies thee; this woman sets up her god above thee. Is it not so, woman? ' ' It is so, ' answered Merapi in a low voice. 'Thus does she defy thee, thou Only One of many Forms, saying "if the god Amon of the Egyptians be a greater god than my god, let him snatch me out of the arms of my god and here in this the shrine of Amon take the breath from out my lips and leave me a thing of clay." Are these thy words, O woman?' i 4 2 MOON OF ISRAEL 'They are my words, ' she said in the same low voice, and oh! I shivered as I heard. The priest went on. 'O Lord of Time, Lord of Life, Lord of Spirits and the Divinities of Heaven, Lord of Terror, come forth now in thy majesty and smite this blasphemer to the dust. ' Roi withdrew and Seti stood forward. 'Know, O god Amon,' he said, addressing the statue as though he were speaking to a living man, 'from the lips of me, thy high-priest, by birth the Prince and Heir of Egypt, that great things hang upon this matter here in the Land of Egypt, mayhap even who shall sit upon the throne that thou givest to its kings. This woman of Israel dares thee to thy face, saying that there is a greater god than thou art and that thou canst not harm her through the buckler of his strength. She says, moreover, that she will call upon her god to work a sign and a wonder upon thee. Lastly, she says that if thou dost not harm her and if her god works no sign upon thee, then she is ready to be handed over to thy priests and die the death of a blasphemer. Thy honour is set against her life, O great God of Egypt, and we, thy worshippers, watch to see the balance turn/ 'Well and justly put/ muttered Bakenkhonsu to me. 'Now if Amon fails us, what will you think of Amon, Ana?' 'I shall learn the high-priest's mind and think what the high-priest thinks,' I answered darkly, though in my heart I was terribly afraid for Merapi, and, to speak truth, for myself also, because of the doubts which arose in me and would not be quenched. Seti withdrew, taking his stand by Userti, and Ki stood forward and said, THE SMITING OF AMON 143 'O Amon, I thy Sacrifice!, I thy Magician, to whom thou givest power, I the priest and servant of Isis, Mother of Mysteries, Queen of the company of the gods, call upon thee. She who stands before thee is but a Hebrew woman. Yet, as thou knowest well, Father, in this house she is more than woman, inas- much as she is the Voice and Sword of thine enemy, Jahveh, god of the Israelites. She thinks, mayhap, that she has come here of her own will, but thou knowest, Father Amon, as I know, that she is sent by the great prophets of her people, those magicians who guide her soul with spells to work thee evil and to set thee, Amon, beneath the heel of Jahveh. The stake seems small, the life of this one maid, no more; yet it is very great. This is the stake, Father: Shall Amon rule the world, or Jahveh. If thou fallest to-night, thou fallest for ever; if thou dost triumph to-night, thou dost triumph for ever. In yonder shape of stone hides thy spirit; in yonder shape of woman's flesh hides the spirit of thy foe. Smite her, O Amon, smite her to small dust; let not the strength that is in her prevail against thy strength, lest thy name should be defiled and sorrows and loss should come upon the land which is thy throne; lest, too, the wizards of the Israelites should overcome us thy servants. Thus prayeth Ki thy Magician, on whose soul it has pleased thee to pour strength and wisdom.' Then followed a great silence. Watching the statue of the god, presently I thought that it moved, and as I could see by the stir among them, so did the others. I thought that its stone eyes rolled, I thought that it lifted the Scourge of Power in its granite hand, though whether these things 144 MOON OF ISRAEL were done by some spirit or by some priest, or by the magic of Ki, I do not know. At the least, a great wind began to blow about the temple, stirring our robes and causing the lamps to flicker. Only the robes of Merapi did not stir. Yet she saw what I could not see, for suddenly her eyes grew frightened. 1 The god is awake, ' whispered Bakenkhonsu. ' Now good-bye to your fair Israelite. See, the Prince trembles, Ki smiles, and the face of Userti glows with triumph.' As he spoke the blue scarabaeus was snatched from Merapi's breast as though by a hand. It fell to the floor as did her wimple, so that now she appeared with her rich hair flowing down her robe. Then the eyes of the statue seemed to cease to roll, the wind ceased to blow, and again there was silence. Merapi stooped, lifted the wimple, replaced it on her head, found the scarabaeus clasp, and very quietly, as a woman who was tiring herself might do, made it fast in its place again, a sight at which I heard Userti gasp. For a long while we waited. Watching the faces of the congregation, I saw amazement and doubt on those of the priests, rage on that of Ki, and on Seti's the flicker of a little smile. Merapi's eyes were closed as though she were asleep. At length she opened them, and turning her head towards the Prince said, 1 high-priest of Amon-Ra, has your god worked his will on me, or must I wait longer before I call upon my God?' ' Do what you will or can, woman, and make an end, for almost it is the moment of dawn when the temple worship opens.' Then Merapi clasped her hands, and looking up- wards, prayed aloud very sweetly and simply, saying, THE SMITING OF AMON 145 'O God of my fathers, trusting in Thee, I, a poor maid of Thy people Israel, have set the life Thou gavest me in Thy Hand. If, as I believe, Thou art the God of gods, I pray Thee show a sign and a wonder upon this god of the Egyptians, and thereby declare Thine Honour and keep my breath within my breast. If it pleases Thee not, then let me die, as doubtless for my many sins I deserve to do. O God of my fathers, I have made my prayer. Hear it or reject it according to Thy Will.' So she ended, and listening to her, I felt the tears rising in my eyes, because she was so much alone, and I feared that this god of hers would never come to save her from the torments of the priests. Seti also turned his head away, and stared down the sanctuary at the sky over the open court where the lights of dawn were gathering. Once more there was silence. Then again that wind blew, very strongly, extinguishing the lamps, and, as it seemed to me, whirling away Merapi from where she was, so that now she stood to one side of the statue. The sanctuary was filled with gloom, till presently the first rays of the rising sun struck upon the roof. They fell down, down, as minute followed minute, till at length they rested like a sword of flame upon the statue of Amon-Ra. Once more that statue seemed to move. I thought that it lifted its stone arms to pro- tect its head. Then in a moment with a rending noise, its mighty mass burst asunder, and fell in small dust about the throne, almost hiding it from sight. ' Behold my God has answered me, the most humble of His servants/ said Merapi in the same sweet and gentle voice. ' Behold the sign and the wonder!' 146 MOON OF ISRAEL ' Witch!' screamed the head-priest Roi, and fled away, followed by his fellows. 1 Sorceress!' hissed Userti, and fled also, as did all the others, save the Prince, Bakenkhonsu, I Ana, and Ki the Magician. We stood amazed, and while we did so, Ki turned to Merapi and spoke. His face was terrible with mingled fear and fury, and his eyes shone like lamps. Al- though he did but whisper, I who was nearest to them heard all that was said, which the others could not do. 'Your magic is good, Israelite/ he muttered, 'so good that it has overcome mine here in the temple where I serve.' 'I have no magic,' she answered very low. 'I obeyed a command, no more.' He laughed bitterly, and asked, 'Should two of a trade waste time on foolishness? Listen now. Teach me your secrets, and I will teach you mine, and together we will drive Egypt like a chariot.' 'I have no secrets, I have only faith,' said Merapi again. 'Woman,' he went on, 'woman or devil, will you take me for friend or foe? Here I have been shamed, since it was to me and not to their gods that the priests trusted to destroy you. Yet I can still forgive. Choose now, knowing that as my friendship will lead you to rule, to life and splendour, so my hate will drive you to shame and death.' 'You are beside yourself, and know not what you say. I tell you that I have no magic to give or to withhold,' she answered, as one who did not under- stand or was indifferent, and turned away from him. THE SMITING OF AMON 147 Thereon he muttered some curse which I could not catch, bowed to the heap of dust that had been the statue of the god, and vanished away among the pillars of the sanctuary. ' Oho-ho ! ' laughed Bakenkhonsu. ' Not in vain have I lived to be so very old, for now it seems we have a new god in Egypt, and there stands his prophetess.' Merapi came to the prince. 'O high-priest of Amon,' she said, 'does it please you to let me go, for I am very weary?' CHAPTER X THE DEATH OF PHARAOH IT was the appointed day and hour. By command of the Prince I drove with him to the palace of Pharaoh, whither her Highness the Princess refused to be his companion, and for the first time we talked together of that which had passed in the temple. 'Have you seen the lady Merapi?' he asked of me. I answered No, as I was told that she was sick with- in her house and lay abed suffering from weariness, or I knew not what. 'She does well to keep there/ said Seti, 'I think that if she came out those priests would murder her if they could. Also there are others/ and he glanced back at the chariot that bore Userti in state. 'Say, Ana, can you interpret all this matter? 7 'Not I, Prince. I thought that perhaps your High- ness, the high-priest of Amon, could give me light.' 'The high-priest of Amon wanders in thick darkness. Ki and the rest swear that this Israelite is a sorceress who has outmatched their magic, but to me it seems more simple to believe that what she says is true; that her god is greater than Amon.' 'And if this be so, Prince, what are we to do who are sworn to the gods of Egypt?' 'Bow our heads and fall with them, I suppose, Ana, since honour will not suffer us to desert them.' 148 THE DEATH OF PHARAOH 149 'Even if they be false, Prince?' 'I do not think that they are false, Ana, though mayhap they be less true. At least they are the gods of the Egyptians and we are Egyptians.' He paused and glanced at the crowded streets, then added, 'See, when I passed this way three days ago I was received with shouts of welcome by the people. Now they are silent, every one.' 'Perhaps they have heard of what passed in the temple.' 'Doubtless, but it is not that which troubles them who think that the gods can guard themselves. They have heard also that I would befriend the Hebrews whom they hate, and therefore they begin to hate me. Why should I complain when Pharaoh shows them the way?' 'Prince,' I whispered, 'what will you say to Pha- raoh?' 'That depends on what Pharaoh says to me. Ana, if I will not desert our gods because they seem to be the weaker, though it should prove to my advantage, do you think that I would desert these Hebrews because they seem to be weaker, even to gain a throne? ' 'There greatness speaks,' I murmured, and as we de- scended from the chariot he thanked me with a look. We passed through the great hall to that same cham- ber where Pharaoh had given me the chain of gold. Al- ready he was there seated at the head of the chamber and wearing on his head the double crown. About him were gathered all those of royal blood and the great officers of state. We made our obeisances, but of these he seemed to take no note. His eyes were almost closed, and t