SO in the month Hator, after thirty-four years of rule, died the Pharaoh Mer-Amen-Rameses XII., the ruler of two worlds, the lord of eternity, the giver of life and every happiness.
He died because he felt that his body was growing weak and useless. He died because he was yearning for his eternal home and he wished to confide the cares of earthly rule to hands that were more youthful. Finally he died because he wished to die, for such was his will. His divine spirit flew away, like a falcon which, circling for a time above the earth, vanishes at last in blue expanses.
As his life had been the sojourn of an immortal in the region of evanescence, his death was merely one among moments in the existence of the superhuman.
Rameses XII. woke about sunrise; leaning on two prophets, surrounded by a chorus of priests, he went to the chapel of Osiris. There, as usual, he resurrected the divinity, washed and dressed it, made offerings, and raised his hands in prayer. Meanwhile the priests sang:
Chorus I.“Honor to thee who raisest thyself on the horizon and coursest across the sky.”
Chorus II.“The pathway of thy sacredness is the prosperity of those on whose faces thy rays fall.”
Chorus I.“Would that I might go as thou goest, O sun! without halting.”
Chorus II.“Mighty wanderer in space, thou who hast no lord, for thee hundreds of millions of years are merely the twinkle of an eye.”
Chorus I.“Thou goest down, but endurest. Thou multipliest hours, days, and nights, and remainest in solitude according to thy own laws.”
Chorus II.“Thou dost illumine the earth, offering thy own self with thy own hands, when under the form of Ra thou comest up on the horizon.”
Chorus I.“O star, emerging great, through thy light, thou thyself formest thy own limbs.”
Chorus II.“And, not begotten of any, thou givest birth to thyself on the horizon.”[26]
[26]Authentic hymn.
[26]Authentic hymn.
At this point the pharaoh spoke:
“O thou radiant in the heavens! Permit that I enter eternity. Let me join the revered and perfect shadows of the upper land. Let me, together with them, behold thy rays in the morning, and in the evening, when thou joinest thy mother Nut. And when thou turnest thy face to the West let my hands join while praying in honor of life, which is going to sleep beyond the mountains.”[27]
[27]Authentic.
[27]Authentic.
Thus spoke the pharaoh with upraised hands, surrounded by a cloud of incense. All at once he ceased, and dropped into the arms of the priests behind him.
He was no longer living.
Intelligence of the pharaoh’s death flew through the palace like lightning. Servants left their occupations, overseers ceased to watch over their slaves, the guard was roused; all entrances were occupied.
In the main court a throng began to gather; cooks, cellarers, equerries, women of his holiness, and their children. Some inquired: “Is this true?” Others wondered that the sun shone in heaven, but all cried at once in heaven-piercing voices,—
“O our lord! O our father! O beloved! Can it be that thou hast gone from us? Oh it is true, he is going to Abydos! To the West, to the West, to the land of the just ones! The place which thou hast loved groans and weeps for thee!”[28]
[28]Authentic.
[28]Authentic.
Terrible uproar was heard throughout all the courts, throughout the whole park. It was echoed from the eastern hills, on the wings of the wind it flew across the Nile, and disturbed the city of Memphis.
Meanwhile, the priests, amid prayers, placed the body of the deceased in a rich closed litter. Eight stood at the poles of the litter; four took ostrich feather fans in their hands, others censers, and they prepared to go forth.
At this moment Queen Nikotris ran in, and, seeing theremains in the litter, threw herself at the feet of the dead pharaoh.
“O my husband! O my brother! O my beloved!” cried she, carried away with weeping. “O beloved, remain with us, remain in thy house, withdraw not from this place on earth in which thou art dwelling!”
“In peace, in peace, to the West,” sang the priests. “O mighty sovereign, go in peace to the West.”
“Misfortune,” said the queen, “thou art hastening to the ferry to pass to the other shore! O priests, O prophets, hasten not, leave him; for ye will return to your houses, but he will go to the land of eternity.”
“In peace, in peace to the West,” sang the priestly chorus. “If it please the god, when the day of eternity comes, we shall see thee, O sovereign! For now thou art going to the land which brings all men together.”[29]
[29]Authentic.
[29]Authentic.
At a sign given by the worthy Herhor, the attendants drew the queen from the feet of the pharaoh, and led her by force to her chambers.
The litter, borne by priests, moved on, and in it the sovereign, dressed and surrounded, as if living. On the right, and on the left, before and behind him, went generals, treasurers, judges, chief scribes, the bearers of the mace and the bow, and above all a throng of priests of various dignities.
In the courtyard, the servants fell on their faces, groaning and weeping, but the troops presented arms and the trumpets sounded, as if to greet a living pharaoh.
Between Memphis and the “Tableland of Mummies,” lay a peculiar division of the city. All its buildings were devoted to the dead, and it was inhabited only by dissectors and embalmers.
This division was the forecourt as it were, of the cemetery proper, the bridge which joined living society with the city of endless rest. To this place were brought corpses, and mummies were made of them; here families stipulated with priests, touching the cost of funerals. Here were prepared sacred books and bandages, coffins, implements, vessels, and statues for the departed.
This district was a couple of thousand yards from Memphis. It was surrounded by a long wall provided with gates here and there.
The retinue bearing the remains of the pharaoh halted before the richest gate, and one of the priests knocked at it.
“Who is there?” inquired those within.
“Osiris-Mer-Amen-Rameses, the lord of two worlds, has come and desires that ye prepare him for his eternal journey,” replied the priests.
“Is it possible that he, the sun of Egypt, is quenched? That he is dead who himself was breath and life?”
“Such was his will,” answered a priest. “Receive, then, the lord with due honor and render all service to him, as is befitting, lest punishments meet you in this and the coming life.”
“We will do as ye say,” said a voice from within.
The priests left the litter, and went away hurriedly, so that the evil odor of remains accumulated in that place should not fall on them. Only civil officials under the lead of the supreme judge and treasurer remained there.
After they had waited a considerable time, the gate opened, and from ten to twenty persons showed themselves. They wore priestly garments and their faces were covered.
“We give you,” said the judges, on seeing them, “the body of our lord and yours. Do with it what the rules of religion enjoin, and omit nothing, so that the great deceased may not experience unquiet in that world through your fault.”
The treasurer added,—
“Use gold, silver, malachite, jasper, emerald, turquoise, and the most rare kinds of incenses for this lord, so that nothing be lacking that he may have whatever is best. I, the treasurer, say this to you. And if the wretch should be found who, instead of noble metals, gives counterfeit, and instead of genuine stones, gives Phœnician glass, let him remember that his hands will be cut off and his eyes dug out.”
“It will be as ye wish,” replied one of the veiled priests.
Others raised the litter and bore it to the interior of the district of the dead.
“Thou art going in peace to Abydos! Mayst thou go inpeace to the Theban West. To the West, to the West, to the land of the just ones!”
The gate closed, the supreme judge, the treasurer, and the officials accompanying them returned to the palace.
The hooded priests bore the litter to an immense building where only the remains of pharaohs were embalmed, or those of high dignitaries who had gained the exceptional favor of a pharaoh.
The priests stopped in the antechamber, where stood the golden boat on wheels, and took the corpse from the litter.
“Look ye!” cried one of the cowled priests, “are they not criminals? The pharaoh died in the chapel of Osiris, so he must have been in ceremonial costume, while here—oh!—instead of gold ornaments—bronze; the chain is bronze, too, and on his breast false jewels!”
“True,” said another. “I am curious to know who fitted him out thus: priests, or scribes?”
“Surely priests. Oh, would that your hands withered, ye scoundrels! And some wretch—they are all such—dared command us to give the deceased what was best.”
“It was not they, but the treasurer.”
“They are all rogues.”
Thus discoursing, the embalmers took from the deceased his garments of a pharaoh, put on him a gown of cloth of gold and bore the remains to the boat.
“Thanks to the gods,” said one of the cowled men, “we have a new pharaoh. He will bring the priests to order. What they have taken with their hands they will bring back with their mouths.”
“Uuu!—they say that he will be a shrewd ruler,” put in another. “He is friendly with the Phœnicians; he passes time willingly with Pentuer, who is not of priestly family, but of such poor people as we. But the army, they say the army would let itself be burnt and drowned for the new pharaoh.”
“Besides, he conquered the Libyans most gloriously a few days ago.”
“Where is he now, that new pharaoh?” asked another. “In the desert? I am afraid that misfortune may meet him before he comes back to us.”
“What will any one do to him when he has an army behind him? May I not live to an honest burial if the young lord will not treat the priests as a buffalo treats growing wheat.”
“O thou fool!” interrupted an embalmer who had been silent till that moment. “The pharaoh conquer the priests!”
“Why not?”
“But hast thou ever seen that a lion tore down a pyramid?”
“Nonsense!”
“Or that a buffalo tossed it apart?”
“Of course he cannot toss it.”
“Or that a tempest overturned it.”
“What has this man begun at to-day?”
“Well, I tell thee that sooner will a lion, a buffalo, or a tempest overturn the great pyramid than the pharaoh put an end to the priesthood. Even if that pharaoh were a lion, a buffalo, and a tempest in one person.”
“Hei ye, there!” cried men from above. “Is the corpse ready?”
“Yes, yes; but its jaw has fallen,” answered they at the entrance.
“All one—give it up here, for Isis must go to the city an hour from now.”
After a while the golden boat with the dead pharaoh was raised by means of ropes to an internal balcony.
From the entrance it went into a great hall, painted in the color of the sky, and ornamented with golden stars. Through the whole length of the hall, from one wall to the other, was fixed a balcony in the form of an arch the ends of which were one story high and the centre a story and a half.
The hall represented the dome of heaven, the balcony the road of the sun in the sky. The late pharaoh was to represent Osiris, or the sun, which passes from the east to the west.
On the pavement of the hall stood a throng of priests and priestesses who, while waiting for the solemnity, conversed about indifferent subjects.
“Ready!” cried they from the balcony.
Conversation ceased. Above was heard the sound of a metal plate beaten thrice—and on the balcony appeared the golden boat of the sun in which the late pharaoh was advancing.
Below sounded the hymn in honor of the sun:
“Behold he appears in a cloud to separate the sky from the earth, and later to connect them.
“Hidden unceasingly in all things, he alone lives, in him all things exist through eternity.”
The boat moved gradually upward on the balcony; finally it halted at the highest point.
Then at the lower end of the arch appeared a priestess, arrayed as the goddess Isis, with her son Horus, and with equal slowness she began to ascend. That was an image of the moon, which follows the sun.
Now the boat from the top of the arch began to go toward the west, and the chorus below sang again:
“The god incarnate in all things, the spirit of Shu in all gods. He is the body of a living person, the creator of the tree which bears fruit, the causer of fertilizing overflows. Without him nothing lives in the earthly circle.”[30]
[30]Authentic hymn.
[30]Authentic hymn.
The boat vanished at the western termination of the balcony, Isis and Horus stopped at the summit of the arch. A crowd of priests ran to the boat, took out the corpse of the pharaoh and placed it on a marble table, as Osiris to rest after his toils of the day.
Now to the dead man came the dissector, dressed as the god Typhon. On his head were a horrid mask and a red tangled wig, on his shoulders the skin of a wild boar, and in his hand an Ethiopian stone knife.
With this knife he began quickly to cut off the soles of the dead pharaoh’s sandals.
“What art thou doing, O Typhon, to thy sleeping brother?” asked Isis from the balcony.
“I am scraping the feet of my brother Osiris, so that he may not befoul heaven with earthly dust,” replied the dissector dressed as Typhon.
When he had cut off the soles, the dissector took a bent wire, thrust it into the nostrils of the deceased and began to extract his brains. Next he made an opening in his body, and through that opening drew out quickly the heart, lungs, and viscera.
During this time the assistants of Typhon brought four greaturns adorned with the heads of the gods Hape, Emset, Duamut and Quebhsneuf, and in each of those urns he placed some internal organ of the deceased pharaoh.
“But what art thou doing, O brother Typhon?” inquired Isis a second time.
“I am purifying my brother Osiris of earthly things, so that he may become more beautiful,” replied the dissector.
At the side of the marble table was a vat of water with soda in solution. The dissectors, when they had cleaned the body, put it into the vat where it was to soak seventy days.
Meanwhile Isis, when she had passed over the entire vault, approached the chamber where the dissectors had cleaned the pharaoh’s body. She looked at the marble table, and, seeing that it was empty, inquired in terror,—
“Where is my brother? Where is my divine consort?”
Thereupon thunder roared, trumpets and bronze plates sounded; the dissector disguised as Typhon burst into laughter, and cried,—
“O beautiful Isis, who in company with the stars delightest the night, thy consort exists not. Never again will the radiant Osiris sit in the golden boat, never again will that sun appear on the firmament. I have done this, I, Set, and I have hidden him so deeply that none of the gods, nor all the gods together will find him.”
At these words the goddess rent her garments, she groaned and tore her hair. Again sounded trumpets, thunder, and plates; among the priests and priestesses an uproar began, then shouting and curses. Suddenly all rushed at Typhon crying,—
“Cursed spirit of darkness! Thou rousest the whirlwinds of the desert, thou rousest the sea, darkenest the light of day! Mayst thou fall into the pit from which the father of the gods himself could not free thee. Cursed! Cursed Set! May thy name be a disgust and a terror!”
While cursing in this way they all attacked Typhon with fists and clubs; the red-haired god fled, and rushed at last out of the building.
Again the bronze plates sounded thrice, and the solemnity was ended.
“Well, that is enough!” cried the senior priest to the assembly which had begun to fight in earnest. “Thou, Isis, mayest return to the city, but the rest of us must go to other departed ones who are waiting for our services. We must not neglect the ordinary dead, for it is unknown how much they will pay us for this one.”
“Not much indeed!” interrupted the embalmer. “People say that there is nothing in the treasury, while the Phœnicians threaten to cease lending unless new rights are given them.”
“May death destroy all those Phœnicians! Soon a man will be forced to beg a barley cake of them; even now they have snatched away everything.”
“But unless they lend the pharaoh money we shall get nothing for the funeral.”
Conversation ceased gradually, and those present left the heavenly hall. Only at the vat where the body of the pharaoh lay steeping was a guard left.
All this solemnity, representing the legend of the slaying of Osiris (the sun) by Typhon (the god of night and crime), served to open and clean the body of the pharaoh, and in this way prepare it for the embalming proper.
During seventy days the departed must lie in a solution of soda, in memory, it seems, of this, that the wicked Typhon had sunk the body of his brother in the Soda Lakes. During all these days a priestess, dressed as Isis, came to the heavenly hall, morning and evening. There, groaning and tearing her hair, she inquired of all present whether any one had seen her divine consort and brother.
At the expiration of that time of mourning, Horus, the son and heir of Osiris, with his suite appeared in the hall, and they were the first to see the vat with the solution.
“Might we look here for the remains of my father and brother?” asked Horus.
So they searched and found; amid the immense delight of the priests, with sounds of music, they removed the body of the pharaoh from the strengthening bath.
The body was put into a stone cylinder through which passed a hot breeze for a number of days, and, when the body was dried they gave it to the embalmers.
Now began the most important ceremonies, which were performed by the supreme priests of the court of the dead:
The body of the departed, turned head southward, they washed with consecrated water and the interior with palm wine. On the pavement, which was sprinkled with ashes, sat wailing women who tore their hair and scratched their faces; they bewailed the late pharaoh. Around the couch where the body lay were assembled priests dressed as gods. These were Isis naked with a crown of the pharaohs, the youthful Horus, Anubis with a jackal head, bird-headed Tot with tablets in his hands, and many others.
Under the inspection of this worthy assembly, specialists began to fill the body with strongly odorous plants and sawdust, they even poured in odorous resin, all amid prayers. Then in his eye-sockets they inserted glass eyes set in bronze. After that the whole body was sprinkled with powdered soda.
Another priest appeared now who explained to those present that the body of the departed was the body of Osiris, that his qualities were the qualities of Osiris. “The magic qualities of his left temple are the qualities of the god Tum and his right eye is the eye of the god Tum, whose rays pierce through darkness. His left eye is the eye of Horus, which dazzles every living creature; the upper lip that of Isis, and the lower that of Nefthys. The neck of the departed is the goddess, his hands are divine spirits, his fingers the heavenly serpents, sons of the goddess Setkit. His sides are the two feathers of Amon, his back the backbone of Sib, his belly is the good Nue.”[31]
[31]Maspero.
[31]Maspero.
Another priest spoke,—
“A mouth was given me for speaking, feet for walking, hands to overturn my enemies. I rise from the dead, I exist, I open heaven; I do what has been commanded me in Memphis.”[32]
[32]Authentic.
[32]Authentic.
Meanwhile on the neck of the departed they hung a scarab made of a precious stone, on which was this inscription: “O my heart, heart which I received from my mother, which I had when I was on earth, O heart do not rise against me and do not give evil witness in the day of judgment.”[33]
[33]Authentic.
[33]Authentic.
Next priests wound around each arm and foot, each finger and toe of the dead, strips on which were written prayers andspells. Those strips they fastened with gum and balsam. On the breast and on the neck they placed complete manuscripts of theBook of the Deadwith the following meditations which the priests read aloud over the body,—
“I am he before whom no god puts an obstacle.
“Who is that?
“He is Tum on his shield, he is Ra on his shield, which rises in the east of heaven.
“I am Yesterday and I know To-morrow.
“Who is he?
“Yesterday is Osiris, To-morrow is Ra on the day when he annihilates the enemies of the Lord who is above all and when he consecrates his son Horus. In other words, in the day when his father Ra meets the coffin of Osiris. He conquers the gods at command of Osiris, the lord of the mountain Amenti.
“What is that?
“Amenti is a creation of the soul of the gods, at command of Osiris, the lord of the mountain.
“In other words, Amenti is that impulse roused by Ra. Every god who arrives there carries on a battle. I know the great god who dwells there.
“I am from my country, I come from my city, I destroy evil, I set aside that which is not good, I remove uncleanness from myself, I betake myself to the country of dwellers in heaven, I enter through the mighty gate.
“O ye comrades, give me a hand, for I shall be one of you.”[34]
[34]“Book of the Dead.”
[34]“Book of the Dead.”
When every member of the departed was covered with prayer bandages, and furnished with amulets, when he had a sufficient supply of meditations to find the way in the region of the gods, it was proper to think of a document which would open the gate of that region. For between the tomb and heaven forty-two terrible judges were waiting for the dead man; these, under presidency of Osiris, examined his earthly life. Only when the heart of the departed, weighed in the scales of justice, appeared equal to the goddess of truth, when the god Dutes, who writes on his tablets the deeds of the dead,considered it just, only then did Horus take the soul by the hand and lead it before the throne of Osiris.
So that the dead might be able to justify himself before the court it was necessary to wrap the mummy in a papyrus on which was written a general confession. While they were winding him in this document the priest spoke clearly and with emphasis, so that the dead might not forget:
“Lords of truth, I bring thee truth itself. I have not done evil to any man treacherously. I have not made any one near me unfortunate. I have not permitted myself any lewdness or abusive word in the house of veracity. I have had no intimacy with evil. I have committed nothing bad. As a superior I have not commanded my subordinates to work beyond their strength. No one through my fault has become afraid, poor, suffering, or unhappy. I have done nothing of any kind which the gods would despise. I have not tormented a slave. I have not killed him with hunger. I have not forced tears from him. I have not slain. I have not commanded to kill a slave treacherously. I have not lied, I have not plundered the property of temples. I have not decreased incomes devoted to the gods. I have not taken away the bread or the bandages of mummies. I have not committed sin with the priest of my district. I have not taken from him or decreased his property. I have not used false weights. I have not snatched away an infant from the breast of its nurse. I have never committed anything bestial. I have not caught in nets birds devoted to the gods. I have not hindered the inundation of water. I have not turned away the course of canals. I have not quenched fire at a time that was improper, I have not stolen from the gods offerings which they had chosen. I am pure—I am pure—I am pure.”[35]
[35]“Book of the Dead.” This is one of the loftiest documents left us by antiquity.
[35]“Book of the Dead.” This is one of the loftiest documents left us by antiquity.
When the departed was able, thanks to theBook of the Deadto help himself in the region of eternity, and above all when he knew how to justify himself before the court of the forty-two gods, the priests furnished him still further with an introduction to this book, and explained to him orally its immense importance. In view of this the embalmers who surrounded the freshmummy of the pharaoh withdrew and a high priest of that quarter came and whispered into the ear of the departed:
“Know that through the possession of this book thou shalt belong to the living and attain to great significance among gods. Know that, thanks to it, no one will dare to oppose thee. The gods themselves will approach thee and embrace thee, for thou wilt belong to their company.
“Know that this book informs thee of what was at the beginning. No man has uttered it, no eye has seen it, no ear has heard it. This book is truth itself, but no one has ever known it. Let it be seen only through thee and through him who will behold thee in it. Add to it no commentary which thy memory or imagination might suggest to thee. It is written entirely in the hall where the departed are embalmed. It is a great secret which no common man knows, not one in the world.
“This book will be thy nourishment in the lower region of spirits, it will give thy soul means of sojourn on the earth, it will give it life eternal, and effect this, that no one will have power over thee.”[36]
[36]“Book of the Dead.”
[36]“Book of the Dead.”
The remains of the pharaoh were arrayed in costly garments, with a gold mask on the face, with bracelets on the wrists, and with rings on the hands, which were crossed on the breast. Under the head was put a support of ivory, such as Egyptians were accustomed to sleep on. Finally the body was inclosed in three coffins: one of paper covered with inscriptions, one of cedar which was gilt, and one of marble. The form of the first two corresponded accurately to the form of the body; even the sculptured face was like the original, though smiling.
After a stay of three months in the quarter of the dead the mummy of the pharaoh was ready for a solemn funeral; therefore it was taken back to the palace.
DURING seventy days, in the course of which the revered remains were steeping in the solution of soda, Egypt was in mourning.
The temples were closed; there were no processions. All music ceased; no feasts were given. Dancing women became wailers; instead of dancing they tore their hair; this also brought them income.
No one drank wine, no one ate meat. The highest dignitaries went in coarse garments and barefoot. No one shaved (with the exception of priests); the most devoted did not wash, they smeared their faces with mud, and scattered ashes on their hair.
From the Mediterranean to the first cataract of the Nile, from the Libyan desert to the peninsula of Sinai reigned sadness and silence. The sun of Egypt had quenched, had gone to the West, the giver of life and gladness had deserted his servants.
In the highest circles the most fashionable conversation touched the universal sorrow, which was communicated even to nature.
“Hast thou not observed,” said one dignitary to another, “that the days are shorter and darker?”
“I did not wish to unburden myself of this before thee,” replied the other, “but it is so in reality. I have even noticed that fewer stars shine at night, and that the full moon lasts a shorter time, and the new moon longer than usual.”
“The shepherds say that cattle at pasture will not eat, they only bellow.”
“And I have heard from hunters that lions are reduced by weeping; they do not attack deer, for lions eat no meat at present.”
“A terrible time! Come to me this evening and we will drink a glass of mourning liquor which my cellarer has invented.”
“Thou hast, I suppose, dark beer of Sidon?”
“May the gods forbid that at this time we should use drinks which rejoice people. The liquor which my cellarer has invented is not beer; it is more like wine mixed with musk and fragrant plants.”
“A very proper drink when our lord is sojourning in the quarter of the dead, where the odor of musk and embalming herbs is always prevalent.”
Thus during seventy days did dignitaries mortify themselves.
The first quiver of delight ran through Egypt when it was announced from the quarter of the dead that the body of the sovereign had been taken from the soda bath, and that embalmers and priests were performing ceremonies over it.
That day for the first time people cut their hair and whoso had the wish washed himself. But in fact there was no need of mortification, since Horus had found the remains of Osiris. The ruler of Egypt, thanks to the art of embalmers, had received life, and, thanks to the prayers of the priests and theBook of the Dead, he had become equal to the gods.
From that moment on, the late pharaoh, Mer-Amen-Rameses, was called “Osiris” officially; unofficially, he had been called that since his death.
The innate joyfulness of the Egyptian people began to gain the victory over mourning, especially among warriors, artisans, and laborers. Delight took on, among common people, forms which at times were inappropriate. Reports began to circulate, it was unknown where they had originated, that the new pharaoh, whom the whole people loved instinctively, intended to occupy himself with improving the condition of earth-tillers, laborers, and even captives. For this cause it happened, an unheard-of thing, that masons, cabinet makers, potters, instead of drinking quietly and speaking of their own occupation, or family interests, dared to complain in dramshops, not only of taxes, but even to complain of the power of the priesthood. And earth-tillers, instead of devoting time free of labor to prayers and the memory of their ancestors, told one another how well it would be if each man had some bit of land as his own, and could rest one day in seven.
Of the army, and especially foreign regiments, nothing was to be said. Those men imagined that they were the most noted class in Egypt, and if they were not, they would soon be, after some fortunate war in the near future.
But the nomarchs, the nobility living on estates, and above all, the high priests of various temples mourned their deceased lord with solemnity, though they might have rejoiced, since the pharaoh had become Osiris.
Taking things as they were, the new ruler had interfered with no one thus far, hence the cause of grief for dignitaries lay in those same reports which delighted common people. The nomarchs and the nobility grieved at the thought that their earth-tillers might be idle fifty days in a year, and, what was worse, possess land, though even of an extent on which a tomb might be erected. Priests grew pale and gritted their teeth when they saw the management of Rameses XIII. and the way in which he treated them.
In fact, immense changes had taken place in the pharaoh’s palace.
The pharaoh had transferred his residence to one of the wing buildings, in which almost all the chambers were occupied by generals. In the cellars Greek warriors were quartered, on the first story the guard, in the chambers along the wall, Ethiopians. Guard around the building was kept by Asiatics, and near the chambers of his holiness was quartered that squadron from which were selected the warriors who had accompanied their lord when he hunted Tehenna through the desert.
What was worse, his holiness, in spite of the recent rebellion of the Libyans restored to them his favor; he condemned none to punishment, and gave them his confidence.
That corps of priests who had been in the main palace remained with him it is true, and performed religious ceremonies under the direction of his worthiness Sem. But as the priests did not accompany the pharaoh to meals, to dinners and suppers, their food was far from exquisite.
In vain did the holy men declare that they must feed the representatives of nineteen dynasties, and a multitude of gods. The treasurer, noting the intention of the pharaoh, answered that flowers and perfumes were sufficient for gods and ancestors, and that prophets like themselves, as morality commanded, should eat barley cakes and drink beer or water. To support these rude theories the treasurer referred to the example of Sem, the holy high priest, who lived like a penitent, and what was worse, he told them that his holiness, with the generals, had a military kitchen.
In view of this, the priests of the palace began to consider whether they had not better leave the stinted house of thepharaoh and go to their own dwellings at temples where their duties would be easier, and where hunger would not twist their entrails.
They would have done this before, had not the worthy Herhor and Mefres commanded them to remain in their places.
But the position of Herhor near the new pharaoh was not favorable. The all-powerful minister, who had till of late almost never left the chambers of the pharaoh, sat now alone in his villa, and frequently he did not see the new ruler for ten days in succession. He was still minister of war, but he gave out almost no orders. The pharaoh himself settled all military questions. He alone read reports of generals; he alone decided doubtful questions, while his adjutants took from the minister of war the necessary documents.
If his worthiness Herhor was ever called before the sovereign it was only to be reprimanded.
Nevertheless, all dignitaries acknowledged that the new pharaoh worked with great diligence.
Rameses XIII. rose before sunrise, he bathed and burnt incense before the statue of Osiris. Immediately afterward he heard the reports of the supreme judge, the chief scribe of the granaries and stables in the whole country, the high treasurer, finally the chief of his palaces. This last dignitary suffered most, for there was no day when his lord did not tell him that the court cost too much, and kept too many persons.
In the palace dwelt several hundred women of the late pharaoh with a corresponding number of servants and children. The chief of the palace, being reproached continually, dismissed from day to day a number of persons, and limited the allowances of others. At the end of a month, therefore, all the ladies of the court ran weeping and wailing to Queen Nikotris, and begged her to rescue them.
The worthy lady betook herself to the pharaoh, and, falling on her face, begged him to take compassion on the women of his father, and not let them die in destitution.
The pharaoh listened to her with frowning brows and commanded the chief of the court not to extend his saving farther. But at the same time he told the most worthy lady that afterthe funeral of his father the women would be removed from the palace and sent to the country.
“Our court,” said he, “costs about thirty thousand talents yearly, or once and a half as much as the whole army. I cannot expend such a sum without ruining myself and the kingdom.”
“Do as may please thee,” answered the queen. “Egypt is thine. But I fear that the persons rejected from the court will become thy enemies.”
At this he took his mother by the hand, led her to the window, and pointed to a forest of spears held by infantry drilling in the courtyard.
This act of the pharaoh produced an unexpected effect. The queen’s eyes, which a moment before gleamed with pride, were filled with tears. All at once she bent and kissed her son’s hand, saying with emotion,—
“Thou art, indeed, the son of Isis and Osiris, and I did well when I yielded thee to the goddess. Egypt at last has a ruler.”
From that time the worthy lady never appealed to her son in any question. And when she was asked for protection, she answered,—
“I am the servant of his holiness and I advise you to carry out his commands without resistance. All he does comes from inspiration of the gods. And who can oppose the gods?”
After breakfast the pharaoh was occupied in affairs of the ministry of war, and the treasury; about three in the afternoon, surrounded by a great suite, he went to the troops encamped outside Memphis, and reviewed them.
Indeed, the greatest changes had taken place in the military condition.
In less than two months his holiness had organized five new regiments, or rather he had reëstablished those disbanded during the reign of his father. He dismissed officers addicted to drunkenness and gambling, also those who tortured warriors.
Into the military bureaus, where priests alone had held office, he introduced his most capable adjutants, who very soon mastered important documents relative to the army. Hecommanded to make a list of all men in the state who belonged to the military order, but who for years had not fulfilled any duty. He opened two new schools, one for the education of officers, and one for children of twelve years, and renewed a custom then in abeyance, that youths in the army should receive breakfast only after three hours’ marching in line and in column.
Finally, no division of the army was permitted to dwell in villages, all must live in camps or in barracks. Each regiment had its fixed field of exercise, where for whole days the warriors hurled stones from slings or shot arrows from bows at marks from one to two hundred yards distant.
A command was issued to all families of military rank that the men should exercise themselves in hurling missiles under direction of officers and decurions of the army. The command was carried out straightway, therefore Egypt looked like a camp in no longer than two months after the death of the twelfth Rameses. For even village or city children, who before had played as scribes and priests, now, imitating their elders, began to play as warriors. So on every square and in every garden, from morning till evening, stones and arrows were whistling, and the courts were filled with complaints about bodily injuries.
Egypt was transformed, as it were, and in spite of complaints a great movement reigned in it, and all because of the new ruler.
The pharaoh himself was pleased and his pride increased, seeing that the whole state arranged itself to his wishes.
But a moment arrived when he became gloomy.
On the very day that the embalmers took the body of Rameses XII. from the soda bath, the chief treasurer, when making his usual report, said to the pharaoh,—
“I know not what to do. We have two thousand talents in the treasury, and for the funeral of the dead pharaoh we need at least one thousand.”
“How, two thousand?” asked Rameses, with astonishment. “When I assumed power thou didst tell me that we had twenty thousand.”
“We have expended eighteen.”
“In two months?”
“Our outlays are enormous.”
“True, but new taxes come in every day.”
“The taxes, I know not why, have decreased again, and do not come in so plentifully as I expected. But they too are expended. Be pleased to remember, holiness, that we have five new regiments; hence, about eight thousand men have left their occupations and live at the cost of the treasury.”
The pharaoh grew thoughtful.
“We must,” said he, “make a new loan. Come to an understanding with Herhor and Mefres, so that the temples may lend to us.”
“I have spoken with them. The temples will lend us nothing.”
“The prophets are offended,” said the pharaoh, smiling. “In that case we must call in unbelievers. Send to me Dagon.”
Toward evening the pharaoh’s banker came. He fell on the pavement before Rameses and offered him a golden goblet set with jewels.
“Now I can die!” said Dagon, “since my most gracious sovereign has mounted the throne.”
“But before thy death, find me a few thousand talents,” said his holiness to the kneeling banker.
The Phœnician was alarmed. Could he feign great embarrassment?
“Rather command me, holiness, to seek pearls in the Nile, for I shall perish at once, and my lord will not suspect me of ill-will toward him. But to find such a sum to-day!”
Rameses XIII. was astounded.
“How is this?” inquired he. “Then have the Phœnicians no money for me?”
“Our blood, our lives, our children we will give thee, holiness. But money—where can we find it?
“Formerly the temples gave us loans at fifteen or twenty per cent yearly, but since, as heir to the throne, thou wert in the temple of Hator at Pi-Bast the priests have refused us every credit.
“If they could they would expel us from Egypt, or, moregladly, they would destroy us. Ah, what we suffer because of them. The earth-tillers do what they like and whenever they like. As rent they give us what drops from their noses. If we strike one of them they rebel to the last man, and if an unfortunate Phœnician goes for redress to a court he either loses his case or pays terribly.
“Our hours in this land are numbered,” wailed Dagon.
The pharaoh frowned.
“I will take up these matters,” answered he, “and the courts will give thee justice. Meanwhile, I need about five thousand talents.”
“Where shall we get them, O lord?” groaned out Dagon. “Find us purchasers, holiness, and we will sell all our property movable and immovable, only to carry out thy commands. But where are the purchasers? There are none except the priests, who would value our property at a trifle, and then not pay ready money.”
“Send to Tyre, to Sidon,” interrupted Rameses. “Each of those cities might lend, not five, but a hundred thousand talents.”
“Tyre and Sidon!” repeated Dagon. “To-day all Phœnicia is collecting gold and jewels to pay the Assyrians. Envoys of King Assar are circling about through our country and they say that if we pay a liberal sum yearly the King and the satraps not only will not oppress us, but will offer us more profits than those which we have now in Egypt, O holiness, through thy favor.”
The pharaoh grew pale and set his teeth. The banker noted this and added, quickly,—
“But why should I waste thy time, holiness, with my stupid talk? Here in Memphis is Prince Hiram; he perhaps will explain all this to my lord far better than I can, for he is a sage and a member of the supreme council in our cities.”
“Send him hither quickly,” replied Rameses, “for thy conversation with me, Dagon, is not that of a banker, but of a wailing woman at a funeral.”
The Phœnician touched the floor once again with his forehead, and inquired,—
“What if the worthy Hiram cannot come immediately? Itis late now, it is true. But he is in such fear of the priests that he would rather come at night to do homage, O holiness.”
The pharaoh bit his lips, but agreed to that project; so he sent Tutmosis with the banker to conduct Hiram to the palace by secret passages.
ABOUT ten in the evening Hiram stood before his lord. He was dressed in the dark robe of a Memphis huckster.
“Why dost thou steal in thus, worthiness?” inquired Rameses. “Is my palace a prison, or a house of lepers?”
“Ah, our sovereign!” sighed the old Phœnician. “Since thou hast become lord of Egypt the criminals are those who dare to see thee and not give account of what thou art pleased to tell them.”
“To whom must ye repeat my words?” inquired the pharaoh.
Hiram raised his eyes and hands to heaven.
“Holiness, thou knowest thy enemies,” said he.
“Thou knowest, worthiness, why I have summoned thee. I wish to borrow a few thousand talents.”
Hiram made a hissing noise through his teeth, so that the pharaoh permitted him to sit in his presence, which was the highest honor. When he had disposed himself comfortably and rested, Hiram said,—
“Why shouldst thou borrow, holiness, when thou mayst have a rich treasury?”
“I know, when I shall get Nineveh,” interrupted Rameses. “That time is distant and I need money this day.”
“I speak not of war,” answered Hiram; “I speak of an affair which would bring large sums to the treasury immediately, and a permanent yearly income.”
“How?”
“Permit us, holiness, and assist us to dig a canal which would join the Red Sea with the Mediterranean.”
“Art thou jesting, old man?” cried the pharaoh, springing up from his seat. “Who could do such a work, and who could wish to endanger Egypt? The sea would inundate the country.”
“What sea? Neither the Mediterranean nor the Red Sea would,” answered Hiram calmly. “I know that Egyptian priests who are engineers have examined this work and have calculated that it would give immense profit, it is the best work on earth. But they wish to do it themselves, or rather they do not wish that the pharaoh should do it.”
“Where are thy proofs?” asked Rameses.
“I have not the proofs, but I will send a priest, holiness, who will explain the whole affair to thee, with plans and estimates.”
“Who is this priest?”
Hiram thought a moment and then asked,—
“Have I thy promise, holiness, that no one will know of him except us? He, lord, will render more service than I. He knows many secrets and many iniquities of the priesthood.”
“I promise,” answered the pharaoh.
“This priest is Samentu. He is a great sage, but needs money, and he is very ambitious. And since the high priests degrade him he—he—will overturn the order of priests; for he knows many secrets—oh, many!”
Rameses meditated. He understood that that priest was a great traitor, but he estimated the magnitude of the service which the man might render.
“Well,” said the pharaoh, “I will think of this Samentu. But now let us suppose for the moment that it is possible to make such a canal; what profit shall I have from it?”
Hiram raised his left hand, and counted on his fingers.
“First, holiness, Phœnicia will give thee five thousand talents of unpaid tribute; second, Phœnicia will pay for the right of doing this work; third, when the work begins we will pay one thousand talents of yearly rent, and besides as many talents as Egypt furnishes us tens of laborers; fourth, for every Egyptian engineer we will give to thee, holiness, a talent a year; fifth, when the work is finished thou wilt give us the canal for one hundred years, and we will pay for that one thousand talents yearly. Are those small gains?” inquired Hiram.
“But now, to-day,” asked Rameses, “would ye give me those five thousand talents tribute?”
“If the treaty is made to-day we will give ten thousand, and we will add three thousand as an advance of rent for a three years’ period.”
Rameses meditated. More than once Phœnicians had proposed the cutting of this canal to the rulers of Egypt, but they had always met the unbending resistance of the priesthood. The Egyptian sages explained to the pharaoh that that canal would expose the country to inundations from the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. But Hiram asserted that such a thing would not happen; the priests knew that it would not.
“Ye Phœnicians,” said the pharaoh, after a long time, “promise to pay one thousand talents yearly for one hundred years. Ye say that that canal dug in the sand is the best affair in the world. I do not understand this, and I confess, Hiram, that I am suspicious.”
Hiram’s eyes flashed.
“Lord,” replied he, “I will tell thee everything, but I abjure thee by thy crown, by the shade of thy father, not to discover the secret to any one. This is the greatest secret of the Chaldean and Egyptian priests, and even of Phœnicia. On it depends the future of the world.”
“Well, well, Hiram,” answered the pharaoh with a smile.
“To thee, O pharaoh,” continued the Phœnician, “the gods have given wisdom, nobility, and energy, therefore, thou art on our side. Thou, alone, of earthly rulers mayst be initiated, for thou art the only one who will be able to accomplish great objects. For this reason thou wilt have power such as no man has ever reached before thee.”
Rameses felt the sweetness of pride in his heart, but he mastered his feelings.
“Praise me not for what I have not done; but explain to me what profit will come from this canal to Phœnicia and to Egypt?”
Hiram straightened himself in the chair, and began in a lowered voice,—
“Know, lord, that east, north, and south of Assyria and Babylon are not morasses inhabited by strange monsters, but immense—immense states and countries. Those countries are so great that thy foot warriors, O holiness, renowned formarching, would have to move eastward two years without halt before they could reach the end of them.”
Rameses raised his brows like one who permits some man to lie, but knows that he is lying.
“Southeast of Babylon, at the great sea, dwell one hundred millions of people who have mighty kings, who have priests wiser than those of Egypt, who have ancient books, and skilled artisans. Those people know how to make woven stuffs, implements and vessels as beautiful as those of the Egyptians, and from time immemorial they have temples above ground and underground, which are grander, richer, and larger than the temples of Egypt.”
“Speak on, speak on!” said the pharaoh. But it was impossible to learn from his face whether his curiosity was roused by the description, or he was indignant at the untruth of the Phœnician.
“In those countries,” continued Hiram, “are pearls, precious stones, gold, copper; in those countries grow the most curious grains, flowers, and fruits; finally they have forests where a man might wander whole months among trees thicker than the columns in the temples of Egypt and taller than palms. The inhabitants of those countries are mild and simple. And, holiness, if thou wouldst send thither two regiments on ships, thou wouldst be able to win an area of land larger than Egypt, richer than the treasures of the labyrinth. If thou permit, I will send thee to-morrow specimens of the woven stuffs of those regions, with bronzes and woods from them. I will send also two grains of a wondrous balsam from those countries; if a man swallows this balsam, it opens the gates of eternity before him, and he experiences the happiness which falls to divinities only.”
“I beg thee to send specimens of the stuffs, and the utensils. As to the balsam, never mind! We shall enjoy eternity and the gods without it sufficiently after death.”
“But far, very far east of Assyria,” added Hiram, “lie still greater countries—countries which have two hundred millions of inhabitants.”
“How easy millions come to you Phœnicians,” laughed Rameses.
Hiram placed his hand on his heart.
“I swear,” said he, “by the souls of my ancestors, and by my honor that I am telling truth.”
The pharaoh was moved; such a great oath arrested his attention.
“Speak on—speak!” said he.
“These last lands,” continued the Phœnician, “are very wonderful. They are inhabited by people with yellow skin and sloping eyes. Those people have a sovereign who is called the Son of Heaven, and he governs through sages, who are not priests, however, and have not such power as priests have in Egypt. Still those people are like the Egyptians. They honor dead ancestors and take great care of their remains. They use writing which calls to mind the writing of Egyptian priests. But they wear long robes of such stuffs as are unknown in this country; they have sandals which are like little benches, and they cover their heads with pointed boxes. The roofs of their houses are pointed too at the top, and are turned up at the edges.
“Those uncommon people have a grain which is more plentiful than Egyptian wheat, and they make of it a drink which is stronger than wine. They have a plant the leaves of which give strength to the members, gladness to the mind, and which enables them even to dispense with sleep. They have paper which they adorn with many colored images, and they have clay which after it is burned shines like glass, and is as resonant as metal.
“To-morrow, if thou permit, holiness, I will send specimens of the works of these people.”
“Thou art narrating wonders, Hiram. But I do not see the connection between those things and the canal which thou wishest to dig.”
“I will tell in brief,” replied the Phœnician. “When there is a canal all the Phœnician and Egyptian fleets will sail on the Red Sea and beyond it; in the course of a couple of months they will reach those rich countries which by land are almost inaccessible.
“But dost thou not see, holiness,” continued he, with gleaming eyes, “the treasures which we shall find there? Gold,precious stones, grain, woods? I swear to thee, lord,” added he with enthusiasm, “that gold will be cheaper than copper is now, wood will be cheaper than straw, and a slave cheaper than a cow. Only let us, lord, dig the canal, and hire fifty thousand of thy warriors.”
Rameses, too, was excited.
“Fifty thousand warriors,” repeated he. “But what will ye give me for this?”
“I have said already, holiness. One thousand talents yearly for the right to work, and five thousand for the workmen, to whom we will give food and wages.”
“But ye will kill them with work?”
“May the gods forbid! There is no profit when workmen perish. Thy warriors, holiness, will not work more at the canal than to-day on roads and at fortresses—but what glory for thee, lord! what income for the treasury, what profit for Egypt! The poorest earth-tiller will have a wooden cottage, some cattle, tools, and furniture, and as I live, a slave. No pharaoh has ever raised the state to such a height or carried out such a work.
“What will dead and useless pyramids be in comparison with a canal to facilitate the passage of treasures to the whole world?”
“Yes,” added the pharaoh, “and fifty thousand warriors on the eastern boundary.”
“Of course!” exclaimed Hiram. “In view of that force, which will cost thee nothing, holiness, Assyria will not dare to stretch a hand toward Phœnicia.”
The project was so brilliant and promised such profit that Rameses XIII. felt dazed by it. But he mastered himself.
“Hiram,” said he, “thou art making splendid promises. So splendid that I fear lest thou art concealing behind them some less favorable outcome. Therefore I must think over this matter deeply and take counsel with the priests.”
“They will never consent of themselves!” exclaimed the Phœnician. “Though—may the gods forgive me the blasphemy—I am certain that if to-day the highest power were in the hands of the priests they would summon us in a couple of months to make the canal for them.”
Rameses looked with cold contempt at Hiram.
“Old man,” said he, “leave me to care for the obedience of the priests, and do thou present proofs that what thou hast said is true. I should be a very poor sovereign were I unable to remove obstacles springing up between my will and the interests of Egypt.”
“Thou art indeed a great sovereign, our lord,” whispered Hiram, bending to the floor.
It was then late at night. The Phœnician took farewell of the pharaoh and left the palace with Tutmosis. The following day he sent through Dagon a box with specimens of wealth from the unknown countries.
The pharaoh found in it statues of gods, woven stuffs, rings from India, small morsels of opium, and in a second division handfuls of rice, leaves of tea, two porcelain cups ornamented with pictures, and a number of drawings made on paper with China ink and colors. He examined them with the greatest attention and confessed that those articles were new to him: the rice, the paper, the pictures of people with pointed hats and sloping eyes.
He had no doubt now that a new region existed which differed in every way from Egypt: in mountains, trees, houses, bridges, ships.
“And that country has existed for ages undoubtedly,” thought he; “our priests know of it, they know of its wealth, but say nothing. Evidently they are traitors who wish to limit the power of the pharaoh and impoverish him so as to push him down from the height of the throne afterward.
“But O ye my ancestors and my heirs,” said he in spirit, “I call you to witness that I will put a limit to these iniquities; I will elevate wisdom, but I will stamp out deceit, and I will give Egypt hours of rest from labor.”
Thinking thus, he raised his eyes and beheld Dagon waiting for an answer.
“Thy box is very curious,” said he to the banker, “but—this is not what I asked of thee.”
The Phœnician approached him on tiptoe and, kneeling before him, whispered,—
“Deign holiness, to sign a treaty with the worthy Hiram,then Tyre and Sidon will place all their treasures at thy feet.”
Rameses frowned. He was displeased by the insolence of the Phœnicians who dared to lay down conditions to him; so he answered coldly,—
“I will reflect and give Hiram my answer. Thou mayst withdraw, Dagon.”
After the Phœnician had gone, Rameses meditated again; a reaction began in him,—
“Those hucksters,” said he in his heart, “consider me as one of themselves,—nay more, they dare to hold up to me a bag of gold from afar so as to extort a treaty! I know not that any of the pharaohs admitted them to such confidence! I must change. The men who fall on their faces before the envoys of Assar may not say to me, ‘Sign and thou wilt get!’ Stupid Phœnician rats, who steal into the pharaoh’s palace and look on it as their own den a moment later!”
The longer he thought over it the more precisely he recalled the bearing of Hiram and Dagon, the greater the anger that seized him,—
“How dare they—how dare they lay conditions down to me? Hei, Tutmosis!” cried he.
His favorite stood before him immediately.
“What dost thou command, my lord?”
“Send some one of the younger officers to Dagon to inform him that he has ceased to be my banker. He is too stupid for such a lofty position.”
“But to whom dost thou predestine the honor, holiness?”
“I know not at the moment. It will be necessary to find some one among Egyptian or Greek merchants. In the last resort we will turn to the priests.”
Information of this resolve went through all the palaces, and before an hour it had reached Memphis. Throughout the whole city people said that the Phœnicians were in disfavor with the pharaoh. Towards evening the Egyptians had begun to break into the shops of the hated foreigners.
The priests drew a breath of relief. Herhor even made a visit to holy Mefres and said to him,—
“My heart felt that our lord would turn from thoseunbelievers who are drinking the blood of the people. I think that it is proper for us to show him gratitude.”
“And perhaps open the doors to our treasures?” asked Mefres, rudely. “Hasten not, worthiness, I have divined this young man—woe to us if ever we let him get the upper hand.”
“But if he has broken with the Phœnicians?”