THE QUEEN OF SHEBA.
As soon as the wind dropped, we submitted ourselves to Ethbaal's
instructions as to the direction in which we ought to steer, and
taking his gaoul into tow, we proceeded on our course to Ophir.
When evening came we found that by Ethbaal's orders a true
Phœnician banquet had been prepared on the stern of the
_Ashtoreth_: cheese, olives, figs, raisins, and a double allowance of
wine were served out to the men; and we ourselves took our seats upon
brilliant carpets that had replaced the worn-out rags with which we
had been so long familiar, and for the first time for months, nay,
years, enjoyed the viands of Tyre and Sidon, and quaffed the wines of
Byblos and Arvad.
Our spirits rose to the occasion, and I should hesitate to say how
many times I filled and refilled my wine-cup before I began to
recount the adventures which Ethbaal was anxious to hear.
My story lasted far on into the night.
When I had finished, Ethbaal, who had never flagged for one moment in
his attention, raised his hands to the stars in the heavens above,
and swore by all the gods that my chronicle ought to be registered
in letters of gold. He went on to tell me that the cargo I had sent
from Gades and all my messages had been duly received at Tyre; that
everyone had come to the conclusion we must all have been drowned in
the ocean; and that nothing had been heard about Bodmilcar, who, it
was taken for granted, had been punished for his treachery by the
direct visitation of the gods.
I offered Ethbaal a present of some very fine pearls; he at first
refused to take any acknowledgment at all of his attention to us, but
I induced him ultimately to accept the gift. The damages to his gaoul
were only to the rigging, and did not affect the hull; and as we had
taken it into tow, there was nothing to cause us any anxiety, or to
prevent us from retiring to rest.
Next morning, in the course of conversation with Ethbaal, Himilco
asked:
"Have you had any fighting, captain, since you have been out?"
"Fighting? no, why?" he replied.
"Because if you continue in our company you will soon find that
fighting is our destiny. We are always fighting; if we are not
fighting men,--and that we are doing pretty frequently,--we are
fighting the beasts of the earth; and if we are not fighting beasts,
we are fighting against wind and waves. Go where we will we attract
the fightings, just like a headland attracts the storms. Fighting is
our luck; so I just warn you, you had better be on the look-out."
Ethbaal laughed. He said he hoped that we had come to the end of our
adventures in that way, and that we should have a prosperous voyage
to Ophir; then turning to me, he asked what I expected to procure
at Ophir, as I had already a large supply of gold, which was the
commodity ordinarily obtained there.
I reminded him that I had a much larger quantity of amber than I
really wanted, and that in return for a portion of it I intended to
lay in a stock of sandal-wood and spices, peacocks and apes, and
anything else that the country could offer.
The Arabian coast was rocky, but we sailed along it without
difficulty for six days, at the end of which we arrived at Havilah,
the principal city of the kingdom of Ophir and Sheba. Unlike the
Phœnician seaports, it has no quays, fortresses, nor arsenals,
but it is well-sheltered, and forms a commodious trade-harbour; the
town rises like an amphitheatre upon the surrounding heights, and the
white terraces, with their brown and red domes, broken by clusters
of palm-trees, stand out in pleasing contrast to the deep-blue sky,
while the domes of the temples are of gilded bronze, and glitter
with dazzling brightness in the sunlight. Although the people
are indifferent seamen, yet it is to the sea that they owe their
prosperity, their city forming the mart between our own country and
the distant Indies.
The Queen herself takes a keen interest in all matters connected with
navigation, and her palace is situated close to the sea-shore. It is
built of cedar, and ornamented with trellis-work and open balconies;
the walls are all adorned with paintings, inlaid with precious
stones, or hung with curtains of variegated stuffs.
I was very anxious to secure the Queen's favour, and to make her an
offering worthy of her acceptance. With this object, I placed some of
my finest pieces of amber in a casket made of Tarshish silver, and
carrying my gift in my hand, I presented myself with Ethbaal and most
of my officers at the entrance of the palace, and sounded the great
drum by which it is the custom to demand admittance to the royal
presence.
Ordinarily the Queen occupies a tapestried tent that overlooks
the sea; she had consequently been aware of our entrance into the
harbour, and when we presented ourselves at the gateway of the palace
she gave immediate orders that we should be conducted before her.
We were taken to her pavilion across a garden of surpassing beauty.
There were countless plants, wonderful alike in their blossoms and
their foliage, grouped in exquisite order around sparkling fountains;
there were sumptuous tents of every hue pitched amongst the rare and
graceful trees, to the boughs of which monkeys were attached by
golden chains; Indian birds with gayest plumage fluttered overhead;
and peacocks, displaying their gorgeous tails, were strutting along
the avenues. Every thing we saw seemed worthy of the stateliest
empire in the world.
We prostrated ourselves before the Queen, who at once bade us rise.
She was young and very fascinating; and although she was surrounded
by ladies in waiting and maids of honour, she was conspicuous among
them all for grace and beauty. Her attire, redolent of perfume, was
alike sumptuous and elegant; in her hair and round her neck were
jewels valuable enough not only to equip a fleet, but to maintain
it as well; a long robe, embroidered in gold with figures of men,
beasts, and birds, was thrown over her, but opened to display the
richness of the dress below; her sleeves were loose to the elbows,
and on her wrists were bracelets that must have been all but
priceless.
We were dazzled into silence as we first gazed upon her beauty and
magnificence; but Hanno almost immediately advanced, and ventured to
recite some verses of an Arab ode:
"Fairer than moons are thy beaming eyes,
Nay, they are radiant suns:
Forth from the bow of thine arched brow
Shoot the arrows that pierce man's heart:
Be it thy justice prevails far and wide,
The universe yields to thy charms.
What are thy favours? Say I not true?
Fetters they are that bind the soul;
What are thy fingers? What do I kiss?
Keys of a heavenly joy."
The language spoken in Ophir is very similar to our own, and the
Queen, who understands Phœnician well, expressed herself as being
highly gratified at Hanno's courtier-like address. She then deigned
to examine the presents I had brought, and requested me to give her
a brief outline of my travels and adventures; then rising from her
seat, and bidding us follow her, she went out, accompanied by her
retinue, into the garden, and moving with all the grace and dignity
of a goddess, herself conducted us to every point of interest in
her paradise. Before we took leave of her she desired me to visit
her again on the eve of our departure, that I might receive some
instructions that she wished to give me.
[Illustration]
The same evening the munificent lady sent us a store of provisions
for our ships, and various presents for ourselves, amongst which I
should especially note several embroidered robes for the women, and
a scarlet tunic, a hyacinth-coloured girdle, and a gold-embroidered
shoulder-belt for Hanno.
We remained a week at Havilah, making exchanges, and inspecting
all that was worth seeing in the place. Representatives of nearly
every nation seemed to be congregated in the town; men from India
and Taprobane, from Ethiopia, and the mouth of the Euphrates. The
people of Sheba themselves bear a strong resemblance to the Jews,
Phœnicians, and Arabians, the principal difference being that they
are of smaller stature and darker complexion. The queen, however, is
remarkably fair. The gold and the tin that we procured here, as well
as the peacocks, tortoise-shell, and ivory, are all imported from
India; but the spices, stuffs, and vases of opaque glass, are brought
through India from a still more distant land, to which hitherto no
one has ever sailed, and which could not be reached in less than a
two years' voyage.
On the day of my departure I presented myself again before the Queen.
[Illustration]
"I have to inform you, Captain Mago," she said, "that the old King
David who sent you to Tarshish died a year and a half ago, and has
been succeeded by his son Solomon, of whose power, but especially
of whose wisdom, I hear a wonderful report. His dominions extend
as far as the Gulf of Elam on the Sea of Reeds, where he holds the
port of Ezion-Geber. I am eager to enter into a treaty with him, and
I commission you, on my behalf, to convey to this august monarch a
present that shall be worthy of himself and me."
"Your will, O Queen, is my law," I replied, as I made my obeisance.
"But first of all, captain," she continued, "tell me whether you
and your companions in toil are too worn out with the fatigues that
you have already endured to undertake another voyage in my service.
Information has reached me that the King of Babylon, Assur, and Accad
is on his way, with a powerful army, to the mouth of the Euphrates to
put down an insurrection. No one so well as yourself can fulfil what
I desire. I want you, if you will, to convey him some messages from
me, and to be the bearer of presents that I shall send."
I did not hesitate to comply; not only did I express my willingness
to go, but assured her that the voyage would be neither difficult nor
long.
"Go then, brave mariner," said the Queen, with a beaming smile, "and
I shall not fail to recompense you royally."
I prostrated myself once again before her, and withdrew.
An hour later I had taken leave of Ethbaal, who was returning to
Sidon by way of Ezion-Geber and the canal of Pharaoh, and, with all
my people, I was embarking for yet another voyage.