The Pharaoh And The Priest Part 110

Not greatly pleased by this end of his explanation, the holy Mentezufis took leave of the viceroy. After the priest had gone, Tutmosis entered.

"The Greeks are raising the pile for their chief," said he, "and a number of Libyan women have agreed to wail at the funeral ceremony."

"We shall be present," answered Rameses. "Dost thou know that my son is killed?--such a little child. When I carried him he laughed and held out his little hands to me. What wickedness may be in the human heart is beyond comprehension. If that vile Lykon had attempted my life I could understand, even forgive him. But to slay a little child--"

"But have they told thee of Sarah's devotion?" inquired Tutmosis.

"She was, as I think, the most faithful of women, and I did not treat her justly. But how is it," cried the prince, striking his fist on the table, "that they have not seized that wretch Lykon to this moment?

The Phnicians swore to me, and I promised a reward to the chief of police. There must be some secret in this matter."

Tutmosis approached the prince, and whispered,--

"A messenger from Hiram has been with me. Hiram, fearing the anger of the priests, is hiding before he leaves Egypt. Hiram has heard, from the chief of police in Pi-Bast perhaps, that Lykon was captured-- But quiet!" added the frightened Tutmosis.

The prince fell into anger for a moment, but soon mastered himself.

"Captured?" repeated he. "Why should that be a secret?"

"It is, for the chief of police had to yield him up to the holy Mefres at his command in the name of the supreme council."

"Aha! aha!" repeated the heir. "So the revered Mefres and the supreme council need a man who resembles me so much? Aha! They are to give my son and Sarah a beautiful funeral, and embalm their remains. But the murderer they will secrete safely. Aha!

"And the holy Mentezufis is a great sage. He told me to-day all the secrets of life beyond the grave; he explained to me the whole funeral ritual, as if I were a priest at least of the third degree. But touching the seizure of Lykon, the hiding of that murderer by Mefres, not a word! Evidently the holy fathers are more occupied by minute secrets of the heir to the throne than with the great secrets of future existence. Aha!"

"It seems to me, lord, that thou shouldst not wonder at that,"

interrupted Tutmosis. "Thou knowest that the priests suspect thee of ill-will, and are on their guard. All the more--"

"What, all the more?"

"Since his holiness is very ill. Very."

"Aha! my father is ill, and I meanwhile at the head of the army must watch the desert lest the sand should run out of it. It is well that thou hast reminded me of this! Yes, his holiness must be very ill, since the priests are so tender toward me. They show me everything and speak of everything, except this, that Mefres has secreted Lykon.

"Tutmosis," said the prince on a sudden, "dost thou think to-day that I can reckon on the army?"

"We will go to death, only give the order."

"And dost thou reckon on the n.o.bles?"

"As on the army."

"That is well. Now we may render the rites to Patrokles."

CHAPTER XLVIII

In the course of those few months, during which Prince Rameses had fulfilled the duties of viceroy of Lower Egypt, his holiness the pharaoh had failed in health continually. The moment was approaching in which the lord of eternity, who roused delight in human hearts, the sovereign of Egypt, and of all lands on which the sun shone, had to occupy a place at the side of his revered ancestors in the Libyan catacombs which lie on the other side of the city Teb.

Not over advanced in age was this potentate, the equal of the G.o.ds, he who gave life to his subjects, and had power to take from husbands their wives whenever his heart so desired. But thirty and some years of rule had so wearied him that he wished, of his own accord, to rest and regain youth and beauty in that kingdom of the west, where each pharaoh reigns without care through eternity over people who are so happy that no man of them has ever wished to return to this earth from that region.

Half a year earlier the holy lord had exercised every activity connected with his office, on which rested the safety and prosperity of all visible existence.

Barely had the c.o.c.ks crowed in the morning when the priests roused the sovereign with a hymn in honor of the rising sun. The pharaoh rose from his bed and bathed in a gilded basin containing water fragrant with roses. Then his divine body was rubbed with priceless perfumes amid the murmur of prayers, which had the power of expelling evil spirits.

Thus purified and incensed by prophets, the lord went to a chapel, removed a clay seal from the door and entered the sanctuary unattended, where on a couch of ivory lay the miraculous image of Osiris. This image had the wondrous quality that every night the hands, feet and head fall from it. These on a time had been cut off by the evil G.o.d Set; but after the prayer of the pharaoh all the members grew on without evident reason.

When his holiness convinced himself that Osiris was sound again he took the statue from the couch, bathed it, dressed it in precious garments, and putting it on a malachite throne burnt incense before it. This ceremony was vastly important, for if any morning the divine members would not grow together it would signify that Egypt, if not the whole world, was threatened by measureless misfortune.

After the resurrection and restoration of the G.o.d, his holiness opened the door of the chapel, so that through it blessings might flow forth to the country. Then he designated the priests, who all that day were to guard the sanctuary, not so much against the ill-will, as the frivolity of people. For more than once it happened that a careless mortal who had gone too near that most holy place received an invisible blow which deprived him of consciousness or of life, even.

After he had finished divine service, the lord went, surrounded by chanting priests to a great hall of refection, where stood a small table and an armchair for him and nineteen other tables before nineteen statues which represented the nineteen preceding dynasties.

When the sovereign had seated himself youths and maidens came in with silver plates, on which were meat and cakes, also pitchers of wine.

The priest, the inspector of the dishes, tasted what was on the first dish, and what was in the first pitcher, then, on his knees, he gave these to the pharaoh, but the other plates and pitchers were placed before the statues of the pharaoh's ancestors. When the sovereign had satisfied his hunger and left the hall princes or priests had the right to eat food intended for the ancestors.

From the hall of refection the lord betook himself to the grand hall of audience. There the highest dignitaries of state, and the nearest members of the family prostrated themselves before him, after that the minister, Herhor; the chief treasurer, the supreme judge, and the supreme chief of police made reports to him. The reading was varied by religious music and dancing, during which wreaths and flowers were cast on the throne of the pharaoh.

After the audience his holiness betook himself to a side chamber and reposing on a couch slumbered lightly for a time; then he offered wine and incense to the G.o.ds, and narrated to the priests his dreams, from which those sages made the final disposition in affairs which his holiness was to settle.

But sometimes, when there were no dreams, or when the interpretation of them seemed inappropriate to the pharaoh, his holiness smiled and commanded kindly to act in this way or that in given cases. This command was law which no one might change except in the execution perhaps of details.

In hours after dinner his holiness, borne in a litter, showed himself in the court to his faithful guard, and then he ascended to the roof and looked toward the four quarters of the earth, to impart to them his blessing. At that moment on the summits of pylons banners appeared, and mighty sounds came from trumpets. Whoso heard these sounds in the city or the country, an Egyptian or a stranger, fell on his face so that a portion of supreme grace might descend on him.

At that moment it was not permitted to strike man, or beast: a stick raised over a man's back dropped of itself. If a criminal sentenced to death, declared that the sentence was read to him at the time when the lord of earth and heaven had appeared, his punishment was lessened. For before the pharaoh went might, and behind him followed mercy.

When he had made his people happy, the ruler of all things beneath the sun entered his gardens among palms and sycamores, there he sat a longer time than elsewhere, receiving homage from his women and looking at the amus.e.m.e.nts of the children of his household. When one of them arrested his attention by beauty or adroitness he called it up, and made inquiry,--

"Who art thou, my little child?"

"I am Prince Binotris, the son of his holiness," answered the little boy.

"And what is thy mother's name?"

"My mother is the lady Ameses, a woman of his holiness."

"What dost thou know?"

"I know how to count to ten and to write: 'May he live through eternity our G.o.d and father, his holiness the pharaoh Rameses!'"

The lord of eternity smiled benignly and touched with his delicate, almost transparent, hand the curly head of the sprightly little boy.

Then the child became a prince really, though the smile of his holiness was ever enigmatical. But whoso had been touched by the divine hand was not to know misfortune in life and had to be raised above others.

The sovereign dined in another hall of refection and shared his meal with the G.o.ds of all the divisions of Egypt, G.o.ds whose statues were ranged along the walls there. Whatever the G.o.ds did not eat went to the priests and higher court dignitaries.

Toward evening his holiness received a visit from Lady Nikotris, the mother to the heir to the throne of Egypt; looked at religious dances and heard a concert. After that he went again to the bath and, thus purified, entered the chapel of Osiris to undress and lay to sleep the marvellous divinity. When he had finished this he closed and sealed the chapel door and then, surrounded by a procession of priests, the pharaoh went to his bedchamber.

In an adjoining apartment the priests offered up, till the following sunrise, silent prayers to the soul of the pharaoh, which found itself among G.o.ds during the sleep of the sovereign. They laid before it their prayers for a favorable transaction of current state business, for guardianship over the boundaries of Egypt, and over the tombs of the pharaohs, so that no thief might dare to enter in and disturb the endless rest of those potentates. But the prayers of the priests, because of night weariness, surely, were not always effectual, for state difficulties increased, and sacred tombs were robbed, not only of costly objects, but even of the mummies of sovereigns.