The Pharaoh And The Priest Part 151

"Chief," said Eunana, "yesterday I saw a man running in the garden naked, and crying in an unearthly voice. He was brought in to me, and, chief--slay me!"

Eunana fell again at the feet of Tutmosis.

"That naked man--that-- I cannot tell."

"Who was he?" inquired the terrified Tutmosis.

"I will not tell!" groaned Eunana. "I took off my mantle and covered sacred nakedness. I wanted to take him to the palace--but--I--the lord commanded me to stay where I was, and be silent--be silent!"

"Whither did he go?"

"I know not. I did not look, and I did not let the warriors look. He vanished somewhere among the bushes of the garden. I told my men not to see anything, not to hear anything; that if any man saw or heard anything he would be strangled that instant."

Tutmosis had succeeded in mastering himself.

"I know nothing," said he, coldly, "and understand nothing of what thou hast said to me. But remember one thing: I myself ran naked once when I had drunk too much wine, and I gave a good reward to those who failed to see me. Common people, Eunana, and laborers always go naked; great persons only when it may please them. And if the wish should come to me or any of the officials to stand head downward, a wise and pious officer should not wonder at my action."

"I understand," replied Eunana, looking into the eyes of his chief quickly. "And not only will I repeat that to my warriors, but I will even go naked this night through the garden to let them know that superiors have the right to do whatever pleases them."

Still, notwithstanding the small number of men who had seen the pharaoh or his counterfeit in a state of insanity, the reports of these strange happenings circulated everywhere very quickly. In a few days all the inhabitants of Thebes, from dissectors and water-carriers to scribes and merchants, whispered that Rameses XIII. was affected with the disease which had deprived his older brothers of succession.

Dread of the pharaoh and honor for him were so great that people feared to speak openly, especially before strangers. Still, all heard of it--all save Rameses.

But most peculiar was this, that the report went around the whole kingdom very speedily; a proof that it circulated by means of the temples. For priests alone possessed the power of communicating in a few hours from one end of Egypt to the other.

No one mentioned these disagreeable tidings to Tutmosis directly, but the chief of the pharaoh's guard felt their existence everywhere. From the bearing of people with whom circ.u.mstances brought him in contact he divined that the servants, the slaves, the warriors, the purveyors of the court were discussing the insanity of the pharaoh, and were silent only when some superior might overhear them.

At last Tutmosis, impatient and alarmed, decided on a conversation with the Theban nomarch.

On arriving at the palace of his father-in-law he found Antefa lying on a sofa in a room, one half of which was filled with rare plants like a garden. In the centre played a fountain of water perfumed with roses; in the corners of the room were statues of G.o.ds; on the walls were depicted the deeds of the renowned nomarch. Standing near his head was a black slave who cooled his master with an ostrich feather fan; on the pavement sat the scribe of the province reading a report to him.

Tutmosis had such an anxious face that the nomarch dismissed the scribe and the slave straightway; then rising from the couch he looked toward every corner of the chamber to be sure that no one overheard them.

"Worthy father of Lady Hebron, my revered wife," said Tutmosis, "from thy bearing I see that thou divinest the subject of which I wish to speak."

"The nomarch of Thebes must always look ahead," replied Antefa. "I divine also that the commander of the guard of his holiness would not honor me by a visit for a frivolous reason."

For a moment they looked each other in the eyes. Then Tutmosis took a seat at the side of his father-in-law, and whispered,--

"Hast thou heard vile reports about our sovereign, which the enemies of the state are spreading?"

"If it be a question of my daughter Hebron," replied the nomarch quickly, "I declare that thou art her lord to-day, and canst have no question with me."

Tutmosis waved his hand with indifference.

"Some vile persons are reporting that the pharaoh is insane. Hast heard of this, my father?"

Antefa nodded and turned his head--motions which meant equally that he had, or that he had not. At last he said,--

"Stupidity is as great as the ocean; everything finds a place in it."

"This is not stupidity," replied Tutmosis, "but a crime of the priests, who have in their possession a man who resembles his holiness, and they make use of him for evil purposes." And he told the nomarch the story of the Greek Lykon, and his crime in Pi-Bast.

"I have heard of this Lykon who killed the son of the heir," said Antefa. "But hast thou proof that Mefres imprisoned Lykon in Pi-Bast, that he brought him to Thebes, and that he lets him enter the gardens of the pharaoh to counterfeit the sovereign as insane?"

"Just because I have not proof of this do I ask thee, worthiness, what to do. I am the commander of the guard and I must watch over the honor and safety of our sovereign."

"'What thou must do?'" repeated Antefa. "Well, first of all take care that these vile reports do not reach the ears of the pharaoh."

"Why?"

"Because a great misfortune would happen. If our lord hears that Lykon feigns insanity and pretends to be the pharaoh, he will fall into terrible anger. Naturally he will direct that anger against Herhor and Mefres. Maybe he will only abuse them in words, maybe he will imprison them, maybe he will kill them. Whatever he does, he will do it without proof, and what then? Egypt at present does not care to give offerings to the G.o.ds, but it will take the part of priests injured without reason. And what then? Well," added he, approaching his lips to Tutmosis' ear, "I think it would be the end of the dynasty."

"What am I to do?"

"One thing!" exclaimed Antefa. "Find Lykon, prove that Mefres and Herhor secreted him, and ordered him to counterfeit the pharaoh as insane. Thou must do this, if thou wish to keep the favor of thy sovereign. Proofs--as many proofs as possible! Egypt is not a.s.syria; thou canst not act against high priests without the court, and no court will condemn them without tangible evidence. Where hast thou the certainty that some one did not give the pharaoh an intoxicating potion? That would be simpler than to send out a man at night who knows neither the watchword, nor the palace, nor the garden. I have heard of Lykon from an authentic source, for I heard from Hiram.

Still, I do not understand how Lykon could perform such miracles in Thebes."

"But--but--" interrupted Tutmosis, "where is Hiram?"

"Immediately after the wedding he went to Memphis, and in these last days he was in Hiten."

Tutmosis again was in trouble: "That night," thought he, "when they took a naked man to Eunana, the pharaoh said that he was going to see Hiram. But as Hiram was not in Thebes, then what? Well, his holiness knew not at the moment that of which he himself was talking."

Tutmosis returned home dazed. Not only did he fail to understand what he was to do in that unheard-of position, but even he knew not what to think of the position itself. His conviction while conversing with Nikotris, that Lykon, the emissary of high priests, had appeared in the garden, was equalled now by his doubts as to whether the Greek had been there at all.

And if this was the case with Tutmosis the favorite, who saw Rameses at all times, what must it be in the hearts of strangers. The most devoted adherents of the pharaoh and his measures might hesitate on hearing from all sides that their sovereign was demented.

This was the first blow which the priests gave Rameses XIII. Slight in itself, it involved results which were beyond reckoning.

Not only did Tutmosis hesitate, he suffered. Under a frivolous exterior he had a character at once energetic and n.o.ble. So that day, when men struck at the honor and power of his sovereign, inactivity was devouring Tutmosis. He seemed to himself the commander of a fortress which the enemy was undermining, while he himself was looking on in helplessness. This thought so tortured him that under its influence he fell upon a daring plan. Meeting the high priest Sem, he said to him,--

"Worthiness, hast thou heard the reports about our sovereign?"

"The pharaoh is young, hence various scandals may circulate concerning him," replied Sem, looking strangely at Tutmosis. "But such affairs pertain not to me; I take the place of his holiness in the service of the G.o.ds; I fulfil that office as I know best, and have no care for other questions."

"I know, worthiness, that thou art a faithful servant of the pharaoh,"

said Tutmosis, "and I have no thought of interfering with priestly secrets; I must turn thy attention, however, to one trifle. I have learned that holy Mefres holds a certain Lykon, a Greek, on whom two crimes are weighing: he murdered the pharaoh's son, and besides he looks like his holiness. Let the worthy Mefres not bring disgrace on the revered priestly order; let him yield the murderer to justice at the earliest; for if we find Lykon, I swear that Mefres will lose not his office alone, but his head also. In our kingdom it is not permitted to patronize murderers and secrete men who resemble the sovereign."

Sem, in whose presence Mefres had taken Lykon from the police, was confused out of fear perhaps that he might be suspected of co-operation, still he answered,--

"I will try to forewarn holy Mefres of these suspicions. But thou knowest, worthiness, how people answer who attribute crimes to others."

"I know and a.s.sume responsibility. I am so certain of my case that I have no concern as to the result of my suspicions. Alarm I leave to holy Mefres; I trust that he will not force me to pa.s.s from warning to energetic action."

The conversation had its result: from that day forth no man ever saw the counterfeit of the pharaoh. But reports did not cease; Rameses XIII., however, knew nothing of them; Tutmosis feared violent action of the pharaoh against the priests, hence gave him no information.