The excitement, which the return of the triumphant army from its brilliant Ethiopian campaign created, has now subsided, and the cities of Memphis and On, and the thousand villages in the valley of the Nile, have returned to their ordinary quiet, interrupted only by religious processions, the music of a banquet, or the festivities of a marriage. In this delicious climate, where there is no particular incentive to action, the general state of the people is one of indolence and leisure. The chief business, at the marts and quays, is over before the sun is at meridian; and during the remainder of the day, shade and repose are coveted. But when the sun sinks westward, and hangs low over the brown hills of Libya, this inaction ceases, and all classes, in their best apparel and most cheerful looks, fill the streets, the groves, the gardens, the walks and avenues along the river; and the spirit of enjoyment and life reigns.
One evening, not long since, I strolled along the banks of the Nile, beneath a row of mimosa-trees, to enjoy the gay and attractive scenes upon the river. It was covered with gayly painted barges, containing happy family parties, whose musicians played for them as the rowers slowly and idly propelled the boat; others, in sharp-prowed barisæ, darted in emulous races across the water; others were suspended upon the bosom of the stream, fishing for amusement; while others still moved about, with their beautifully pictured sails spread to the gentle breeze, as if enjoying the panorama of the shores they were gliding past.
I had rambled alone some distance up the river, without any vestige of my rank being apparent, in the plain Phœnician costume of a Tyrian merchant (which I often wear, to prevent constant interruption by the homage and prostrations of the deferent Egyptians), when I saw a small baris, containing a single person, coming close to the steps of the extensive terrace of one of the numerous temples of the image of Apis, which here faced the Nile, separated from it only by a double row of sphinxes. It was rowed by four Nubian slaves, clad in white linen vests and fringed loin-cloths, each having a red cap upon his head.
As the boat approached the marble steps, a decorated and unusually elegant galley, containing three young men of rank, as their dress and the emblems on their mast indicated, was coming swiftly down the stream, as if the owner strove to display the fleetness of his vessel before the eyes of the thousands who looked on. The pilot, at the lofty helm, called out to the baris to move quicker away from the line of his course; but either the rowers failed to hear or to comprehend, for they did not turn their heads. On like the wind came the galley. I called aloud to the person who sat in the stern of the baris, and who was intently engaged in reading a book, a portion of which lay unrolled at his feet.
He looked up quickly, and saw, first me, and then, by the direction of my finger, his danger. Before, however, he could give orders to his rowers, I heard one of the young men say to the pilot, who was changing his course a little—
"Keep right on! It is but a Hebrew; and it would be a favor to the gods to drown a thousand a day."
The pilot obeyed his lord, and the bronze hawk-head of the gilded galley struck the boat near the stern, nearly capsizing it, and then the whole armament of twelve oars passed over it, striking overboard two of the slaves, as the twenty-four oarsmen swept the galley along at the height of its speed. I expected to see the priest, for such his costume betrayed him, also pressed down by the long oars, under which, like a low roof of inclined rafters, he was entangled; but stooping low until his forehead touched the book on his knee, the sweeps passed harmlessly over him, and when the galley had gone by, he recovered his sitting posture, maintaining, the while, a composure and dignity that made me marvel. His dark, handsome, oriental face betrayed scarcely any emotion at the danger or the indignity. Seeing that one of the slaves was swimming ashore, and that the other rose no more, he waved his hand to the remaining two who had fallen into the bottom of the boat, and who, recovering their oars, pulled him to the steps.
"A Hebrew!" repeated I to myself. "Truly, and the very likeness of Remeses, save that his hair is of a browner hue, and his beard tinged with a golden light. A Hebrew! What philosophy under insult and peril! A Hebrew! What contempt of him and his life was evinced by the haughty Egyptian noble! A Hebrew, and a priest!"
Such were the reflections to which I gave utterance, in an under-tone.
He debarked, and giving an order to the slaves, placed his scroll of papyrus beneath his robe, and, ascending the steps, bowed low, and with singular courtesy (for the Hebrews, mother, are naturally the most polished and benignant people in the world), said in the Phœnician tongue—
"I am indebted to you, sir merchant, for my life! Your timely voice enabled me to save myself, although I have lost one of the poor Nubian lads. Accept my gratitude!"
I could not remove my eyes from his face. It fascinated me! It seemed to be Remeses himself speaking to me; yet the hair of the prince is raven-black, and his beard also, while this man's is a rich brown, and his fine beard like a golden river. The eyes of Remeses are black, with a mild expression naturally, as if they were animated by a gentle spirit; while those of the priest are hazel, or rather a brilliant bronze, and full of the light of courage and of ardent fire. In person he is just the height of Remeses—carried his head in the same imperial manner, as if born to command; and the tones of his voice are marked by that rich emotional cadence—winning the ear and touching the heart—which characterizes the prince. His step is firm and commanding—his motions self-poised and dignified. He seems three or four years older than Remeses; but the likeness of the features, and the entire presence of the stranger recalled my royal friend so forcibly to my mind, on the occasion of which I speak, that I said mentally—"Were the Prince Remeses a Hebrew, or were this Hebrew an Egyptian, I should think them cousins, if not brothers!"
Pardon me, dear mother, for thus speaking of a royal personage; but I only make use of the language, to express to you how wonderful in every way, save in the color of hair and eyes, is the resemblance of this man to the prince.
"I did but a common duty to a fellow-being," was my reply. "But why did you address me in Syriac?"
"Are you not a Syrian merchant?" he asked, looking at me more closely, after I had spoken.
"I am from Tyre," I answered. "You are a Hebrew?"
"Yes," was his reply, casting down his eyes and moving past me towards the temple.
"Stay one moment," I said. He turned and regarded me with a look of surprise; just such an one as the Hebrew woman Miriam,—to whom also, dear mother, he bore a very striking resemblance,—gave me when I irresistibly addressed her, in the courteous tone I would have used towards any of her sex: such was my tone in speaking to this Hebrew; for although his dress showed that he was only a neophyte, or attendant with secular duties, yet the man himself commanded my respect.
"May I inquire, without offence, why I see a Hebrew in the service of religion?"
"When we are only degraded slaves, and brick and clay workers, and worship not the gods of Egypt?" he answered interrogatively; and I imagined I detected a haughty light in his eyes, and a movement of his lip, caused by a keen sense of the degradation of which he spake.
"You have expressed my motives," I replied. "If you are proceeding along the avenue of sphinxes, I will accompany you, as I am merely loitering."
"Will you be seen walking with a Hebrew, my lord prince?" he said, significantly.
"You know my rank, then?"
"Your language betrays you; merchants do not speak as you do. Besides, the signet of Prince Remeses, on your hand, designates your rank. I have, moreover, heard you described by one, who will never forget that the first words of kindness he ever received, save from his kinsfolk, fell upon his ears from your lips, O Prince of Tyre!"
"Who is he?" I asked with interest.
"The lad Israel, whom you assisted in restoring to animation by the well of Jacob the Shepherd!"
"At the strangers' fountain!" I repeated. "This little act seems to be known to all the Hebrews!"
"Not to all, but to a few," he answered; "yet it will be heard of by all of them; for kindness and sympathy from any one, especially from a foreign prince, is so strange an event that it will fly from lip to ear. Your name, O noble Sesostris, will be engraven in every memory, and the sound thereof warm hope in every heart!"
He spoke with deep feeling. We walked some distance side by side without speaking. After a few moments' silence I said—
"Where is the youth Israel?"
"With his people near Raamses."
"I am to receive him into my service."
"He will faithfully serve you, my lord prince. He is of my kindred, and I shall be grateful to you for protecting his weakness. Every shoulder in Israel cannot bear the burden!"
"Are you then of the family of Miriam?" I asked, recollecting that the ritual transcriber, in the palace of the hierarch, had also claimed kindred with the son of the venerable Ben Isaac.
"Miriam the scribe?"
"In the service of Luxora and Osiria, of Memphis."
"She is my sister."
"I would have said it!" I answered. "Is your father living?"
"He is in charge of the queen's flower-garden in On."
"I know him," I answered.
"It is he who has spoken of you to me, as well as the aged Ben Isaac, young Israel, and Miriam. Therefore did I at once recognize you, when your polished words led me to see that you were in rank above chief pilots and governors of galleys."
"Will you reply to my inquiry? for, as we know each other's friends, we need not now discourse wholly as strangers. How came you, being a Hebrew, to become a priest? Do not you Hebrews worship the One Infinite Maker and Upholder of worlds?"
"There are a few who retain, unmixed with superstition and idol-worship, the knowledge of the one God of our ancestors Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph; but this knowledge is confined, chiefly, to the descendants of one man, Levi; and only to a few of these. The residue are little better than the Egyptians."
"Art thou of the family of this Levi?" I asked.
"I am. We are more given to study than our brethren, and seek knowledge and wisdom. Hence it is, that some of our tribe are taken from the labor of the field to serve the priests. We are ready writers, skilful with the stylus and the coloring pencil, and our lot is preferable to that of others, who are more ignorant. Hence you behold me a servitor in an Egyptian temple!"
"Hast thou long been in this service?" I asked, as we stopped in the shade of the pyramidion of an obelisk, in front of the temple porch.
"From a child."
"So early! Then thou hast not borne the toils of thy people."
"I was discovered upon the banks of the Nile, in my fourth year, near the Island of Rhoda, weeping bitterly; for I had seen my mother commit my infant brother to a basket and launch it upon the river; and observing it borne down by the current, young as I was, I so felt all its danger, that I ran as well as I could along the shore crying piteously, when a priest (who has made known to me the incident) seeing me, took pity upon me, and noticing that I was a Hebrew child led me away, pacifying me by saying that I should see my brother. From that time I have been an inmate of the temple; for my mother seeing him take me away followed, and as he promised he would rear me as his own son, and that I should see her weekly, she yielded me up to him with reluctant gladness; for, my lord prince, in that day the children of Hebrew parents were not safe even at home, an edict having been published commanding all male infants to be strangled or drowned. Mothers held their children by a slight tenure, and seeing that the protection of a priest would insure my safety, and spare me the toils to which the little ones of our nation were early condemned, my parents readily acquiesced in the wishes of the priest."
"Was thy infant brother lost?" I asked with interest.
"Yes, without doubt. Like hundreds of other innocents, he perished."
"Might he not have been saved by some one as compassionate as your friendly priest?"
"Who would dare to save a child from the king's edict of death? Not one, unless it had been the king's daughter! All his subjects trembled at his power."
"I have heard of that cruel command of Pharaoh Amunophis," I answered. "What is your office in this noble temple?" I asked, surveying the majestic edifice, before which stood a black statue of Apis, the size of life.
"My office is not that of a priest, though it is priestly. I write books of papyrus for the dead. I cast images, in gold, of the young calf Apis. I interpret hieroglyphics, make copies of the tables of rituals, and keep a list of the sacred scrolls. I also study foreign tongues, and transcribe from their books the wisest codes and most solemn forms of worship."
"Yours is an office of trust and honor," I said.
"It is, through the favor of the venerable priest, who is my benefactor, and to whom I am as a son," he answered. "If you will now enter the temple with me, I will show you the casting-room of sacred images; for my duty is there, during the next four hours."
I thanked the courteous Hebrew, and ascending the steps of the portico, entered the vestibule of the temple. By a side corridor, we reached a small court lined with alabastron, in which three priests were pacing up and down, reading and meditating.
Not being noticed at all by them, I was conducted by the stately Hebrew into a chamber, which was the vestibule to a large apartment, whither we descended by eight steps, that led to a large brazen door with two leaves. This was secured; but a small side door admitted us into a vast subterranean room, which I saw was a place for casting. Numerous workmen were busy about heated furnaces: some blowing the fire beneath crucibles for melting gold, some weighing gold and delivering it to the smiths; and others washing gold. Some were casting small images of Apis in moulds, while a superintendent moved up and down, dressed in the close robes of vesture priests wear, when not performing duties at the altar. It was a scene of busy toil and constant activity.
"This," said my guide, "is the casting-chamber of the temple. Each of us has his departments. It is mine, to oversee the mixing of gold with the proper alloy, and I have a scribe who records the results. Here, you see, is a life-size image of Apis, when he was a calf. It is for the temple at Bubastis, of the Delta. There you behold a mould for one of larger size, ordered for the shrine at Osymandyes."
"Do you never cast any figures of the size of Apis?" I asked, looking about me in amazement at this extraordinary scene.
"Not of gold," he answered, conducting me through the vast room in which fourscore men were at work "Those are cast of bronze, not here, but at a temple near the pyramid Dendara. The gods of this temple are in great repute throughout all Egypt. They are consecrated here before they are sent away, with ancient rites, known only to the priesthood of this shrine. Come with me into this side apartment."
I followed him through a passage having double-doors of brass, and found myself in a room full of vases, each one of which contained a quantity of jewelry, consisting of rings for the fingers and thumb, ear-rings, bracelets, flower-holders of gold, necklaces, and signets, all of gold.
"These are sent here from various temples in the different nomes, out of which, after melting them, we cast images of the size demanded."
In another room the intelligent Hebrew exhibited to me a great number of small figures of Apis, of gold of Havilah, which is remarkably beautiful from its deep orange-color. These figures, though not a palm long, were valued at a talent. On all these images of the sacred calf, I perceived that the mark of the crescent between the shoulders was distinctly imitated, as well as the other peculiarities. Upon the head of some of them was a sun enwreathed by the sacred uræus.
"Does your temple derive a revenue from all this?" I asked the Hebrew.
"There is a tithe retained from all the gold that is sent hither, for the expenses of the temple," he answered.
We now turned aside to see men grinding to powder an old image of Apis, of solid gold of Ophir. The image had been in the hands of the Ethiopians, and being recaptured, was sent here to be ground to dust; for it was regarded as accursed until this were done. This process is effected by the free use of natron, and is an art known only to the Egyptians. The dust is then washed in consecrated water. In taste, I am told, it is exceeding bitter and nauseous. Thus gold, as a drink, would not be coveted by men.
We next came to a flight of stairs which led to a paved hall surrounded by columns, and thence a door led into a small garden, where three majestic palms towered high above the columns that inclosed it; while a fountain ceaselessly let fall its refreshing rain, in a vast shallow vase, wherein gold and silver fishes glanced in the light.
It was now near the close of day, and I began to thank him for his courtesy, when he said—
"Do not leave now, O prince. This is my apartment, and the one opposite is that of the aged priest, my benefactor. Enter, and let me have water for thy feet and hands, and place before thee some refreshment; for it is a long walk back to the palace where thou art sojourning."
Willing to learn all I could of the remarkable Hebrew people, who seem to be a nation of princes as well as of bondmen, I accepted his invitation, and entered a cool porch, from which opened a handsome but simply furnished apartment, where he lodged. I seated myself upon a stone bench, when, at a signal made by him, two black slaves approached with ewers of water, one for the hands, and the other with a silver basin for my feet. Each of them had thrown over his shoulder a napkin of the finest linen. But upon the vessels, the vestures, the slaves, and the napkins, I saw the crescent, which showed that they were all the property of the temple.
At length fruit, and wheaten bread, and fish, were laid before me. The Hebrew stood while I partook, declining to eat with me, saying that his nation never broke bread with any but their own people; adding, "and the Egyptians regard it as infamy to sit down with us."
"I have no such prejudices," I said, with a smile. When I had eaten, and laved my fingers in a crystal vase, which the priest placed before me, and the Nubians had retired, I said, "My meeting with you has been a source of great pleasure to me. I am deeply interested in your nation. As a Syrian we are not far from a kindred origin, and as a foreigner I have none of the feelings which, as masters, the Egyptians entertain towards a Hebrew. I have witnessed the working of the deep-seated prejudice in a variety of ways, and cannot but wonder at it. From all I can learn of your history, you have never been at war with them, nor wronged them."
"We are unfortunate, unarmed, and weak; and the greater ever oppress the helpless," he answered.
"Do you feel no resentment?"
"The bondage of one hundred and seventy years has graven the lines of patience deep in our hearts. Forbearance has become a second nature to the Hebrew. But, my lord prince, I feel that this will not always be," he added. "The time cannot be far off, when Egypt, for her own safety, will give us our liberty and the privileges of citizens. We are not a race of bondmen, like Nubia's children. We were once free! Our fathers were princes in Syria; and was not Joseph the ruler of Egypt for sixty-one years, during the long reign of Pharaoh-Apophis? Not long after the Theban dynasty, which now rules the two Egypts, assumed the double crown, did our degradation begin."
"Doubtless a change in your condition must ere long take place," I said. "There must be leaders among you. Not all the suffering of your oppression has destroyed the princely air among many of your people."
"But not one Hebrew is trained to war, or knows the use of any sort of weapon. For three generations, we have been a laboring, patient, unarmed people. If, here and there, one rises above the masses, it is by accident or favor, or from interest on the part of those who employ us. I have said that the family from which I spring is skilled in letters and art, and is ambitious of the learning of the Egyptians, and of becoming scribes and copyists to the priests. Others among us, of the sons of Dan, are skilful boatmen; others are builders; while others prefer the culture of the field, or the tending of flocks. We were twelve princes—brethren—in the ancient days, and the descendants of each are remarkable for some special skill; and the Egyptian taskmasters having discerned this aptitude, distribute them to their work accordingly. We are not all brick-makers, though four fifths of the nation are reduced to that degraded toil—all, of every tribe or family, who are not skilful in some art, being driven into the field. Of late years, the Egyptian artificers have made such great outcries, to the effect that the Hebrews were filling the places of their own workmen, that the chief governor of the Hebrews in Lower Egypt has, in order to preserve peace, sent thousands into the brick-fields, who had never before encountered such heavy toil. The result is, that hundreds perish, and that youths like Israel sink hourly under their unendurable sufferings."
"Have you no gods—no ear to hear your prayers?" I asked impulsively, as I am apt to do, dear mother, when my feelings are deeply moved. "Have you no worship? I hear of no altar or temple."
"A few among us have mysteries, such as the existence of One God; that He is a spirit; that all men are His offspring; and that we must be just in order to please Him. But I must confess, O prince," he said, sadly, "that we have very little knowledge, even the best among us, of the God in whose existence we profess to believe. It is easier to serve and trust to the visible gods of Egypt; and our people, from the depths of their misery, stretch forth their clay-soiled hands to Osiris, to Pthah, to the images of Apis, and cry, 'Deliver us, O gods of Egypt, deliver us from our bondage!' They have cried to the invisible God of Abraham in vain, and they now cry in vain to the gods of the land, also. Neither hear—neither answer; and they sink into blank despair, without any hope left in a god—a nation of infidel slaves!"
"Can this be a true picture?" I said.
"Nearly so. Even I, O prince, under the ever-present power of the religion to which this temple is upreared,—I, from the influence of example, from ignorance of the worship of the Hebrew God of Isaac, from the education of my life, am half an Egyptian. The religion of Egypt appeals to the senses, and these, in most men, are far stronger than the imagination; and we Hebrews know nothing of a God, except that our fathers had one, but that He has deserted and left us, their miserable descendants, under the yoke of oppressors. Is it any wonder that the wisest of us turn to the gods of Egypt? If the Egyptians can be happy, and cherish hope, and die in peace under their faith, let us also seek its shelter, and let their gods be our gods! Such is the prevailing language and growing feeling of our people."
This was all said in a tone of sadness and bitterness; while that despair of which he spoke, cast its shadow heavily over his noble countenance. I arose soon afterwards, and took my leave of him, more and more deeply interested, dear mother, in the history and condition of this singular people.
It is with emotions I am unable to command, that I commence, after a silence of several weeks, another letter to you. I know not how, properly to unfold and rightly to present before you the extraordinary events which have transpired since I last wrote to you. But I will endeavor to give a narrative of the unparalleled circumstances, in the order of their occurrence up to the present time, and will keep you advised of the progress of this remarkable and mysterious matter, as each day it develops itself.
I believe, in one of my letters to the Princess Thamonda, I spoke of the approaching birthday of Remeses—his thirty-fifth—and that the queen had resolved, on that day, to confer upon him the crowns of Egypt, and resigning, with the sceptre, all dominion into his hand, retire to a beautiful palace, which she has recently completed on the eastern slope of the Libyan hills, west of the pyramids, and overlooking a charming lake, which, begun by former rulers, has been enlarged and beautified by each, and by none more than by herself.
This purpose of the queen was made known to Remeses, about three weeks after his return from Thebes with his victorious army. I was not present at the interview, but will repeat to you the conversation that passed, as it was made known to me by the prince, who extends towards me all the confidence of one beloved brother to another; and, indeed, keeps no secrets from me. This pleasing confidence is fully reciprocated on my part, and we are in all things as one.
I had been, that morning, on a visit to that part of Memphis which stretches away westward from the Nile in a succession of gardens, squares, palaces, and monuments, girdling the Lake of Amense with beautiful villas, and climbing with its terraces, grottoes, shrines, and marble pavilions, the very sides of the cliffs of Libya, two leagues from the river; for to the extent of Memphis there seems to be no limit measurable by the eye. Even the three great pyramids are almost central in the mighty embrace of the sacred city.
Upon landing from my galley upon the Island of Rhoda, my Hebrew page Israel, now become a bright and blooming youth, with a face always enriched by the light of gratitude, met me, and said:
"The prince, my lord, desires to see you in his private chamber. He bade me ask you not to delay."
I found Remeses walking to and fro in the apartment, with a pale face and troubled brow. As soon as I entered, he approached me, and taking my hand between his, pressed it to his heart affectionately, and said:
"I am glad you have returned, Sesostris, my friend and brother! Come and sit by me on this seat by the window. I have much to say—much! I need your counsel."
"My noble friend," I answered, moved by his unusual emotion, "I am not able to counsel one so wise and great as you are."
"Nay, you are too modest, prince. I must tell you all. Strange events have occurred. Hear me, and you will then be able to strengthen my soul! You know that of late my dear mother has been given to melancholy; that she has appeared absent in thought, abrupt in speech, and ill at ease. Thou hast observed this; for we have spoken of it together, and marvelled at her mood, which neither the memory of our victories in Ethiopia, the prosperity of her kingdom, the peace in her borders, the love of her subjects, nor my own devotion could remove; nor the music of the harp, nor the happy songs of the chanters dissipate."
"Do you not think," I said, "that this state of mind is connected with her illness before you left, when the viceroy Mœris dined with us?"
Remeses started, and fixed upon me his full gaze.
"Sesostris, what led you to connect the present with that event?"
"Because the queen has never been wholly well and cheerful since that day."
"What think you of Prince Mœris? Speak freely."
"He is a proud, ambitious, and unprincipled man."
"Do you think he loves me?"
"I fear not."
"You are right. But you shall hear what I have to relate. Three hours since my mother sent for me. I found her in the chapel where the shrine of Osiris receives her most private prayers. She was kneeling when I entered, her face towards the god; but her eyes, wet with tears, penetrated the heavens, and seemed to seek a living Power that could hear and answer prayer, Sesostris. She did not see me, and her voice was audible:
"'Protect him! Guard him from his foe! Spare me the discovery of the secret, and place him upon the throne of Egypt, O immortal and pitying Osiris! O Isis, hear! O goddess of the sacred bow, and mother of Horus, hear! Give me strength to act, and wisdom in this my great perplexity!'
"I drew near, and kneeling by my mother's side, laid her head against my heart, and said—
"'The God of all gods, the Father Infinite hear thee, O mother! What is it thou prayest for with such strong woe and fear?'
"'Hast thou heard me?' she exclaimed, rising and speaking wildly. 'What didst thou hear? Nay, I have betrayed no secret?'
"'None, mother, none! Thou didst only speak of one which distressed thee,' I said soothingly; for, my dear Sesostris, I was inexpressibly moved by her agitated manner, unlike any thing I have ever before witnessed in her usually calm, serene, and majestic demeanor.
"She leaned heavily upon me, and I led her to an alcove in which was the shrine of Athor.
"'Sit down, Remeses—my son Remeses,' she repeated, with a singular emphasis upon the words 'my son.' 'Hear what I wish to reveal to thee! I am now more composed. There is in my heart a great and ceaseless anxiety. Do not ask me what it is! The secret, I trust, will remain sealed forever from thy ears! Ask not—seek not to know it. You may as successfully obtain an answer from the heart of the great pyramid, revealing what is buried there from human eyes, as obtain an answer from me of the mystery lying at my heart. It will be embalmed with me, and go with me to the lower world!'
"'Mother,' I said, alarmed at her depressed manner, 'thou art ill—let me send for thy physician—'
"'Nay, nay—I am not ill! I shall be better soon! You, Remeses, have the key to my happiness and health,' she said tenderly, yet seriously.
"'Then I will yield it up to thee!' I answered pleasantly.
"'Hear my words, my son, for art thou not my son, my noble Remeses?' she asked, taking both my hands and holding them to her heart, and then pressing her lips upon them almost passionately; for I felt tears flow upon my hands.
"'Thy son, with undying love, my mother,' I answered, wondering in my heart, and deeply affected. She remained a few moments silent, and at length said—
"'Remeses, hast thou ever doubted my love?'
"'Never, no never, my mother!' I replied, moved.
"'Have I not been a true and fond mother to thee?'
"'Why distress yourself, dear mother, with such useless interrogatories?' I asked. No longer agitated, and her nervous air having quite disappeared, she spoke calmly but earnestly:
"'Have I neglected, in any way, a mother's duty to thee, O Remeses?'
"'Thou hast ever been all that a mother could be,' I answered her.
"'Do you think a mother could love a son more than I love thee?' she repeated.
"'No, O my mother!'
"'And thou, Remeses, dost thou love me?' she continued, with the same fixed, solemn, and painful earnestness.
"'Why shouldst thou doubt?' I asked.
"'I have no reason to doubt,' she replied; 'yet I would hear thee say, 'Mother, I love thee above all things beneath the sun!'
"I smiled, and repeated the words, distressed to perceive that something had taken hold upon her noble and strong mind, and was shaking it to its centre.
"'Remeses, my son,' she said, answering my smile, and then immediately assuming an expression of singular majesty, 'I am now advancing in life. I have passed my fifty-first year, and am weary of the sceptre. I wish to see you king of Egypt while I live. I wish to see the grandeur and wisdom of your reign, and to rejoice in your power and glory. When I am laid in the sarcophagus, which I have caused to be hewn out in the chamber beneath the pyramidion of my obelisk, I shall know and behold nothing of thy dominion. It is my desire, therefore, to invest you with the sovereignty of Egypt; and after I see you crowned, robed, and sceptred as her king, I will retire to my Libyan palace and there contemplate thy greatness, and reign again in thee!'
"'I rose to my feet in surprise, dear Sesostris, at this announcement from the lips of my mother, but listened with deference until she had concluded, and I then said,—
"'This intent and purpose be far from thee, O my mother and queen! Thou art in the meridian of life, and still in the possession of thy wonderful beauty. Scarcely a silver thread has stolen amid thy soft, dark hair; thou art yet young; and may the Lord of the kings of the earth long preserve thee upon thy throne, and lend thee strength and wisdom to wield thy sceptre. Far be it from me, therefore, my mother, to accept the crown, until Osiris himself transfers it from thy majestic brow to mine!'
"'Nay, Remeses,' she said firmly, yet sadly, 'my will is the law of Egypt. Thou hast never opposed it.'
"'But this is where my own elevation involves your depression,' I answered. 'It cannot be!'
"'I am firm and immovable, my son, in my purpose,' she replied. 'Your thirty-fifth birthday will soon arrive. That is the age at which Horus, the son of Isis, was crowned. It is a number of good omen, and I wish you to prepare for your coronation, by performing all the rites and sacrifices, that the religion and laws of Egypt require of a prince who is about to ascend the throne of the Pharaohs.'
"'Mother, my dearly honored mother!' I said, kneeling to her, 'forgive me, but I must firmly decline the throne while you sit thereon. You are ill at ease in your mind to-day. Some deep grief, which you conceal from me, preys upon you. It is not because you are old that you would abdicate the throne to me, who am not yet old or wise enough to rule this mighty nation; but you have some secret, painful reason, which I beg you to reveal to me.'
"My words seemed to inflict pain upon her. She rose to her feet, and paced the apartment twice across in troubled reflection. Then she came to my side, and said impressively, placing her trembling grasp upon my arm:
"'Remeses, if I reveal to thee the secret of my heart, wilt thou then consent to be king?'
"'If I perceive, my mother,' I answered, 'that necessity demands my acceptance of the crown before my time, I will not refuse it.'
"'If your views of necessity do not influence you, O my son,' she said earnestly, and with a sudden gush of tears, 'let my affection, my happiness, my peace of mind, plead with you!'
"'Please, my beloved mother, to make known to me the circumstances under which you are moved to this unusual step,' I said.
"'Not unusual,' she replied. 'I have consulted the book of the reigns of the Pharaohs, in the hall of Books, in the temple of Thoth. Within two thousand years, not less than seven kings and three queens have resigned the sceptre of Egypt to children or adopted heirs. The Queen Nitocris resigned to her adopted son, Myrtæus; Chomæphtha, after reigning eleven years, weary with the weight of the crown, resigned it to her nephew, Sœconiosochus. Did not Phruron-Nilus, the great monarch, decide to abdicate in favor of Amuthantæus, his son, when sudden death only prevented his retirement? The crowns of Egypt are mine, my son, by the laws of the gods, and of the ancestral kings from whom I have inherited them. I will not wait for the god of death to remove them from my head; but with my own hands I would put them upon thy brow! It must be done soon,—now! or neither thou nor I will hold rule long in Egypt!'
"I begged my mother to explain her mysterious words.
"'Come, sit by me. Be calm, Remeses! Listen with your usual meekness and reverence to me when I speak.' I obeyed her, and she thus began:
"'Thou knowest thy cousin Mœris;—his lofty ambition; his impatience; his spirit of pride; his lust for dominion, which his viceroyship in the Thebaïd has only given him an unlimited thirst for;—his jealousy and hatred of you, Remeses! None of these things are concealed from you, my son.' My mother paused as if for my assent, which I signified by a respectful bow. She continued:
"'This Prince Mœris, for whom I have done all in my power—whom I have made second only to me in the Thebaïd, I have reason to know seeks your ruin and my throne!'
"'What proof hast thou of this?' I cried, deeply moved.
"'Remeses,' said my mother, in ringing tones, 'I must unfold to thee all! I know how slow thou art to suspect or believe evil of any one; and that you fancy Mœris an honorable prince, overlooking his jealousy of you. You have confidence in my judgment and truth?'
"'I have, the most undoubted and deferential,' I answered the queen.
"'Then, my son, hear me!' she said, with a face as pale as the fine linen of her vesture. 'Prince Mœris possesses a secret (ask me not what it is) which gives him a dangerous power over me. He obtained possession of it years ago, how I know not; but it has placed in his hands a power that I tremble beneath. Nay, ask not! My heart itself would as soon open to thine eyes, under the shield of my bosom, as reveal its secret! It will die with me! Yet Mœris, my nephew—a man of talents and ambition, in morals most unprincipled, and in disposition cruel and unjust—holds my happiness in his hand!'
"'My mother,' I cried, 'why then didst thou confer on him the principality of the Thebaïd and its enormous military power?'
"'To bribe him, when he menaced me with the betrayal of what he knew!' was the queen's almost fierce rejoinder.
"'But why make him the admiral of your fleet of the Nile?'
"'Another bribe when he renewed his threats to inform you—'
"'Me!' I exclaimed.
"'Did I say you? No! no!' she cried, checking herself; 'when he menaced me with the betrayal of the dreadful secret.'
"'And, my dear mother, who was interested to know it, whom would it benefit or injure?' I asked, lost in amazement.
"'Injure one whom—whom I love—destroy my happiness and hopes—benefit Mœris himself!' she answered coloring with deepest confusion and alarm.
"'Why not crush such a dangerous subject when he menaces your peace?' I demanded, my whole spirit roused for my mother, and my indignation excited against this wicked man. 'If thy happiness is thus menaced, O my mother, if this prince is the cause of all your sorrow, say the word, and in thirty days hence, he shall be brought bound in chains to your feet.'
"'Nay, Remeses, I dare not. One word from his lips, though he were in chains, would reveal all it has been the study of my life to conceal, and give him all the revenge his bitter spirit would ask. No, no! Mœris must not be made angry. It is only his ambitious hopes that keep him quiet.'
"What are these hopes?" I inquired, feeling that henceforth Mœris and I were mortal foes.
"Didst thou, O prince," said I, as he returned to his seat by me, which he had left, in the excitement of his narrative, to pace the floor, "suspect the secret?"
"No," he answered gloomily; "no, Sesostris; nor do I now know what it can be; neither have I the least idea, unless—" Here he colored, and looked confused.
"Unless what?" I asked, painfully interested.
"Unless Mœris be the son of the Prince of the Thebaïd, and I the son of the brother of Pharaoh. In other words, that Mœris and Remeses have changed places, and that Mœris knows or suspects the fact."
"A most extraordinary idea!" I exclaimed; yet at the same time, I must confess that I was forcibly reminded of what I have before alluded to, dear mother, the total absence of all likeness between Remeses and his mother, Amense.
"What can possibly have suggested to your mind such a strange conjecture?" I added.
"A mystery, my dear Sesostris," he said, "calls into exercise the whole machinery of suspicion, and all the talent of investigation; and a hundred things, which before had only an ordinary signification, under its wand, take an importance and meaning wholly new. Irresistibly, my mother's anxiety to impress upon me that she had been 'all a mother could be to a son,' in connection with her whole manner, and especially her uncalled for reiterations of affection for me, and of appeals to my devotion to her;—all this rushed upon my memory, and with a dizzy brain, and a heart full of anguish, under the dreadful suspicion, I cried, 'Why must not Prince Mœris be made angry? Why may he not be prevented from doing thee harm?'
"'I have told you,' she replied, with a deadly pallor. 'Remeses, your roused spirit alarms me for us three.'
"'But I must oppose, and if necessary destroy him,' I said, in my emotion, 'who destroys my mother's peace.'
"'Yes, I am thy mother. Thou art a son to me. I know thou wilt protect me from this prince-nephew,' she said, in broken sentences. 'He shall not come between me and thee, and the throne.'
"'He has no claim to the throne. He does not aspire to it in your lifetime,' I said; 'and if I hold it after, I will take care of my own crown. My mother, fear not Prince Mœris. Let his secret perish with him.'
"'And thou, also, Remeses!' she said, passionately.
"'I, my mother?' I repeated. A spirit of severe investigation then came upon me, strengthened by my suspicion.
"'My mother, Queen Amense,' I said, with the deepest emotion, and, O Sesostris, with fear and dread, 'a fearful suspicion has taken hold upon me! Am I thy SON?'
"No sooner had I given utterance to this interrogative doubt, which was wrung from my tortured heart, than shrieking aloud, she fell forward, and but for my intervening arm, her form would have been prostrate at my feet. I caught her in my arms; I kissed her marble brow; I chafed her cold pulses; and breathed words of comfort, words praying her forgiveness, into her ears. At length she revived, as I supported her against my wildly beating heart; and, with stony eyes staring me in the face, gasped—
"'Remeses! Who hath—who—who hath said this?'
"'No one, no one, my dearly loved mother,' I answered, tenderly. And when I saw that she was more composed, I said, 'It was only a conjecture—a wild suspicion—for I could not comprehend the mystery between you and my cousin Mœris, except that (as has been done in former dynasties) he and I are in each other's places. Is Mœris thy son, and am I the son of the brother of Amunophis?'
"I had no sooner said this, than she raised her head from the gold-embroidered purple cushion of the ivory couch, on which she lay reclining against my arm, and with a strange laugh of joy and surprise, said,—
"'So this is all, Remeses! Then thou needest not fear. Mœris is not my son. He is nothing to me but my kinsman. Canst thou believe that that wicked prince is my offspring? I forgive thee, Remeses, because, perhaps, my words, and the necessity of guarding my secret, may have forced thee to this conclusion.' This she spoke with a mind evidently greatly relieved.
"'Then, dear mother, I am thy son in spite of Prince Mœris?'
"'In spite of Mœris,' she answered. 'Hast thou ever known any other mother? Remeses, let thy heart be at peace! Mœris is not my son! On that he does not found his hopes to grasp the reins of Egypt. Now hear me, my son,' she said, solemnly. 'That prince once sought my life. When I was taken ill on the day that he dined with me, he had bribed my cup-bearer to drop a subtle poison in my cup. Dread of the prince forced him, under his eyes, to do it; but, as the cup-bearer handed me the wine, he pressed my little finger, where it clasped the cup, so significantly, that I looked in his eyes, and saw them full of warning. I did not drink, but pleaded illness, and left the banquet-room. I sent for the cup-bearer, and he confessed what he had done. When I heard his confession, and was thereby acquainted with the purpose of Prince Mœris against my life, I was overwhelmed with despair. My future safety lay in sending for him the next day. He came. It was a brief but dreadful interview. He acknowledged that he sought my life, because I had the day before refused him the crown of Upper Egypt, declining to give him the half of my empire. He threatened to betray my secret, and I pleaded for silence. He demanded the white crown of the Thebaïd as his reward, but I put him off with evasions. He had command of the fleet, and I dared not anger him. I shrunk from making known to you his demand, and the terror with which he inspired me. I promised that if he entered the Ethiopian capital within six months, he should reign in Thebes.'
"'My mother,' I cried, 'gave you such a promise to him? He is already marshalling his forces!'
"'And in order not so much to conquer Ethiopia, as to usurp one of the thrones of Egypt,' she answered.
"'And are you bound by this promise to him?' I demanded, overwhelmed with amazement, both at the audacity of Mœris, and the power he held over my mother by means of this secret.
"'By all the vows that a mortal can make to the gods! Here, in this sacred chapel, before these shrines, he made me swear that in consideration he subdued the central capital of Ethiopia, and preserved my secret, I would transfer from my head to his the white-gold crown of Upper Egypt, the most ancient kingdom mortal ever ruled over on earth, after the demigods.'
"When, my dear Sesostris," said Remeses, after having related to me, with a dark countenance, the foregoing conversation, "I heard this, I was for some time confounded, and could not speak. At length I cried out—
"'That mystery—that secret, known only to you and Mœris, and for the safe-keeping of which you part with one of your crowns, what is it! divulge it! Am I not worthy, O my mother, of the confidence which Prince Mœris, by foul means, shares with you? Will you not intrust me with the secret which he can extort by bribery?'
"The queen looked deadly pale, and her whole frame trembled. She essayed to reply, and then said, with an effort, as if a corpse had become vocal—
"'Remeses—you must—must not know it! Do not ask—do not suspect evil. Do not doubt me, or you will kill me! Kiss me, Remeses! Kiss me, my son! Are you not my son? I love you, and know you love me. Let all else pass by. You shall be king! You shall wear the double tiara! You shall grasp both sceptres! Therefore is it, I would now make you king. Dost thou understand me? Mœris must not march into Ethiopia. That evil man must have a master. My power is failing! I would surrender it to thee. The only safety of Egypt, the only security for thy crown and dominion, is in taking the throne, and ruling all Egypt in thine own right.'
"'Is this so, my mother?' I demanded. 'Does Prince Mœris not only torture thy soul with a secret, which, as a just prince, he ought forever to forget, if thou desirest it, but does he also aspire to sever Egypt, and rule in the Thebaïd, on the ancient throne of my ancestors, as the price of a secret held over thee with an unmanly advantage?'
"'He does, my son,' she answered. 'The only safety of the empire depends on my resignation of the crowns into your hands. Once Pharaoh, you have Mœris at your feet, and if he prate his secret, you will then be able to despise it, and put to silence his tongue.'
"'Mother, my dear mother,' I answered, after long reflection, 'what you have told me has brought me to a decision. I shall act blindly—not knowing the nature of the power of the prince over you; but I shall act from affection and sympathy for you, in obedience to your wishes, and for the preservation of the integrity of the united kingdom. I am ready to obey you. In order to defeat Prince Mœris, and relieve your mind, I will accept the sceptre which you are desirous of placing in my feeble and inexperienced hand. I am ready to enter upon the sacred rites of initiation, and in all things will be your dutiful and obedient son. The wickedness and ambition of Mœris must be crushed.'
"When I had thus said, my mother, with a cry of joy cast herself into my arms. I bore her, almost fainting with happiness realized, to the apartments of her women, and again assuring her of my full compliance with her wishes, I took tender leave of her, and hastened to my room to reflect upon all that had passed in that extraordinary interview; and then I sought you."
Thus the Prince Remeses ended his interesting and singular statement. I knew not what to respond to him when he had done. But be sure, dear mother, there must something grow out of this, of the greatest importance to this dynasty. Who can divine the secret?
But I must here close my letter, with assurances of my fondest attachment to you, my dear mother, whom the gods guard from all mysteries and secrets, and from ambitious princes like the lord Mœris.