Once more Reuel found himself alone with Ai. It was far into the night,
but he felt sleepless and restless. At last Ai broke a long silence:
“Tell me of the country from which you come, Ergamenes. Is it true that
the Ethiopian there is counted less than other mortals?”
“It is true, Ai,” replied Reuel. “There, the dark hue of your skin,
your waving hair with its trace of crispness, would degrade you below
the estate of any man of fair hue and straight locks, belonging to any
race outside the Ethiopian, for it is a deep disgrace to have within
the veins even one drop of the blood you seem so proud of possessing.”
“That explains your isolation from our race, then?”
Reuel bowed his head in assent, while over his face passed a flush of
shame. He felt keenly now the fact that he had played the coward’s part
in hiding his origin. What though obstacles were many, some way would
have been shown him to surmount the difficulties of caste prejudice.
“And yet, from Ethiopia came all the arts and cunning inventions
that make your modern glory. At our feet the mightiest nations have
worshipped, paying homage to our kings, and all nations have sought
the honor of alliance with our royal families because of our strength,
grandeur, riches and wisdom. Tell me of all the degradation that has
befallen the unfortunate sons of Ham.”
Then in the deep, mysterious silence of the night, Reuel gave in
minutest detail the story of the Negro, reciting with dramatic effect
the history of the wrongs endured by the modern Ethiopian.
To his queries as to the history of these mountain-dwelling Ethiopians,
Ai gave the following reply:
“We are a singular people, governed by a female monarch, all having
the same name, Candace, and a Council of twenty-five Sages, who are
educated for periodical visits to the outer world. Queen Candace is a
virgin queen who waits the coming of Ergamenes to inaugurate a dynasty
of kings. Our virgins live within the inner city, and from among them
Candace chooses her successor at intervals of fifteen years.
“To become a Sage, a man must be married and have at least two
children; a knowledge of two out-world languages, and to pass a severe
examination by the court as to education, fitness and ability. After
an arduous preparation they are initiated into the secrets of this
kingdom. They are chosen for life. The inner city is the virgins’
court, and it is adorned with beautiful gardens, baths, schools and
hospitals. When a woman marries she leaves this city for the outer one.
“We have a great temple, the one you entered, dedicated to the Supreme
or Trinity. It is a masterpiece of beauty and art. The population
assembles there twice a year for especial service. It seats about
12,000 persons. The Sages have seen nothing equal to it in the outer
world.
“Octagonal in shape, with four wings or galleries, on opposite sides;
the intervening spaces are filled with great prism columns, twenty-five
feet high, made of a substance like glass, malleable, elastic and
pure. The effect is gorgeous. The decorations of the hall are prepared
natural flowers; that is, floral garlands are subjected to the fumes
of the crystal material covering them like a film and preserving their
natural appearance. This is a process handed down from the earliest
days of Ethiopian greatness. I am told that the modern world has not
yet solved this simple process,” he said, with a gentle smile of
ridicule.
“We preserve the bodies of our most beautiful women in this way. We
suspend reflecting plates of the crystal material arranged in circles,
pendant from the ceiling of the central hall, and thus the music of the
instruments is repeated many times in sweetest harmony.
“We have services at noon every seventh day, chiefly choral, in praise
of the attributes of the Supreme. Our religion is a belief in One
Supreme Being, the center of action in all nature. He distributed a
portion of Himself at an early age to the care of man who has attained
the highest development of any of His terrestrial creatures. We call
this ever-living faculty or soul Ego.
“After its transition Ego has the power of expressing itself to other
bodies, with like gift and form, its innate feeling; and by law of
affinity, is ever striving to regain its original position near the
great Unity; but the physical attractions of this beautiful world
have such a fascination on the organism of man that there is ever a
contention against the greater object being attained; and unless the
Ego can wean the body from gross desires and raise it to the highest
condition of human existence, it cannot be united to its Creator. The
Ego preserves its individuality after the dissolution of the body.
We believe in re-incarnation by natural laws regulating material on
earth. The Ego can never be destroyed. For instance, when the body of
a good man or woman dies, and the Ego is not sufficiently fitted for
the higher condition of another world, it is re-associated with another
body to complete the necessary fitness for heaven.”
“What of the Son of man? Do you not know the necessity of belief in the
Holy Trinity? Have not your Sages brought you the need of belief in
God’s Son?” Ai looked somewhat puzzled.
“We have heard of such a God, but have not paid much attention to it.
How believe you, Ergamenes?”
“In Jesus Christ, the Son of God,” replied Reuel solemnly.
“O Ergamenes, your belief shall be ours; we have no will but yours.
Deign to teach your subjects.”
When at last Reuel closed his eyes in slumber, it was with a feeling of
greater responsibility and humility than he had ever experienced. Who
was he that so high a destiny as lay before him should be thrust upon
his shoulders?
After these happenings, which we have just recorded, every day Reuel
received callers in state. It seemed to him that the entire populace
of that great hidden city turned out to do him homage. The Sages,
clad in silver armor, attended him as a body-guard, while soldiers
and officials high in the councils of the State, were ranged on both
sides of the immense hall. The throne on which he sat was a massive
one of silver, a bronze Sphinx couched on either side. The steps of
the throne were banked with blossoms, offerings from the procession
of children that filed slowly by, clad in white, wearing garlands of
roses, and laying branches of palm, oleander flowers, lilies and olive
sprays before their king.
Offerings of gold, silver and gems, silken cloths, priceless articles
moulded into unique and exquisite designs, sword of tempered steel,
beside which a Damascus blade was coarse and unfinished, filled his
artist soul with delight and wonder. Later, Ai escorted him to the
underground workshops where brawny smiths plied their trades; and there
the secrets of centuries dead and gone were laid bare to his curious
gaze.
How was it possible, he asked himself again and again, that a nation so
advanced in literature, science and the arts, in the customs of peace
and war, could fall as low as had the Ethiopian? Even while he held the
thought, the answer came: As Daniel interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s dream,
so has it been and is with Ethiopia. “They shall drive thee from men,
and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall
make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of
heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou knowest that
the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever
He will. Thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee; after that thou shalt
have known that the heavens do rule.”
But the excitement and changes through which he had passed began
to tell upon a constitution already weakened by mental troubles.
Ai observed with much concern, the apathy which foretold a serious
illness. Hoping to arouse him from painful thoughts which now engrossed
his mind, Ai proposed that the visit to the inner city, postponed by
the pressure of other duties, be made the next day.
That morning a company, of which the Sages formed a part, started for
the inner city. They were to spend the night in travel, resting by
day. The progress of the party was very slow, and in a direction Reuel
had not yet explored. A deep yellow glow suffused the sky. This soon
gave way to the powerful but mellow light of the African moon, casting
long shadows over the silvery green of the herbage and foliage. They
encountered a perfect network of streams, pursuing their way through
virgin forests, brilliant by daylight with beautiful flowers. The woods
were inhabited by various kinds of birds of exquisite note and plumage.
There were also a goodly number of baboons, who descended from the
trees and ranged themselves on the ground to obtain a nearer view of
the travellers. They grinned and chattered at the caravan, seeming to
regard them as trespassers in their domains.
The character of the country improved as they neared the interior.
Reuel noticed that this was at variance with the European idea
respecting Central Africa, which brands these regions as howling
wildernesses or an uninhabitable country. He found the landscape most
beautiful, the imaginary desert “blossomed like the rose,” and the
“waste sandy valleys” and “thirsty wilds,” which had been assigned to
this location, became, on close inspection, a gorgeous scene, decorated
with Nature’s most cheering garniture, teeming with choice specimens
of vegetable and animal life, and refreshed by innumerable streams,
branches of the rivers, not a few of which were of sufficient magnitude
for navigation and commerce. But Reuel remembered the loathsome desert
that stood in grim determination guarding the entrance to this paradise
against all intrusion, and with an American’s practical common sense,
bewailed this waste of material.
Proceeding along a mountain gorge, our travellers found the path
straitened between the impending mountain on one side and a rapid and
sparkling stream on the other. On the opposite side of the ravine the
precipices rose abruptly from the very edge of the water. The whole
appearance of this mountain pass was singularly grand, romantically
wild and picturesquely beautiful. They were often obliged to clamber
over huge masses of granite, fallen from the cliffs above; and, on
this account, progress was slow and toilsome. On turning an angle
of the rock, about the centre of the gorge, the party were suddenly
confronted by a huge, tawny lion, which stood directly in the path,
with not a wall and scarce a space between. The path was so narrow in
this place that it would have been impossible to pass the brute without
touching him. Used to the king of the African jungle, the company did
not shrink, but faced the animal boldly, although not without some
natural physical fear. The lion, too, seemed to be taken by surprise.
Thus the opponents stood at a distance of five yards, each staring at
the other for several minutes. Had the travellers shown the least signs
of fear, or had they attempted to escape, the fate of one, at least,
would have been sealed. Now appeared an exhibition of the power of
magnetism. Reuel stepped in advance of the foremost bearer, fixed his
wonderful and powerful eyes upon the beast, literally transfixing him
with a glance, poured the full force of his personal magnetism upon the
animal, which almost instantly responded by low growls and an uneasy
twisting of the head; finally, the terrible glance remaining inflexible
and unwavering, the beast turned himself about and slowly withdrew with
a stately and majestic tread, occasionally looking back and uttering a
low growl, as if admonishing the travellers to keep their distance.
Murmurs of wonder and admiration broke from Reuel’s companions, who
were aware of the danger attending the meeting of a hungry lion at
close quarters. His admirable intrepidity, and the remarkable powers
which were his birthright, had preserved him and his companions.
“Truly, he is the King!” they murmured among themselves. And more than
ever Ai watched him with increasing love and the fondness of a father.
Without further adventure they reached the portals of the inner city.
Their arrival was evidently anticipated, for they were received by
a band of young females under the guardianship of a matron. By this
escort they were shown to the palace and into the rooms set apart for
their reception. Having rested for an hour, bathed and dined, they
were ready for the ceremony of introduction. Another guard of women
took them in charge, and the procession started down one passage,
crossed a great, aisle-like hall, and came to a corresponding passage
on the other side. On through seemingly endless colonnades they passed,
till they came to a huge door formed of great winged creatures. Reuel
had thought that nothing could surpass the palace in the outer city
for beauty and luxury, but words failed him as his eyes drank in the
glories of the lofty apartment into which they stepped, as an Amazon in
silver mail threw wide the glittering doors, disclosing the splendor
of the royal Presence-chamber. It was a lofty saloon lined with gilded
columns, the sunlight falling from the open roof upon the mosaic floor
beneath. The tapestries which lined the walls bore exquisite paintings
of love and warfare.
As the door opened, a voice called. The company halted before a
curtained recess, guarded by a group of beautiful girls. Never had
Reuel beheld such subtle grace of form and feature, such masses of
coal-black hair, such melting eyes of midnight hue. Each girl might
have posed for a statue of Venus.
The heavy curtains were lifted now, and discovered the Queen reclining
upon a pile of silken cushions--a statue of Venus worked in bronze.
“The Queen is here!” exclaimed a voice. In an instant all present
prostrated themselves upon the floor. Reuel alone stood erect, his
piercing eyes fixed upon the woman before him.
Grave, tranquil and majestic, surrounded by her virgin guard, she
advanced gracefully, bending her haughty head; then, gradually her
sinuous body bent and swayed down, down, until she, too, had prostrated
herself, and half-knelt, half-lay, upon the marble floor at Reuel’s
feet.
“O Ergamenes, hast thou indeed returned to thine inheritance?” murmured
a voice like unto silver chimes. Reuel started, for it seemed to him
that Dianthe’s own voice was breathing in his ears.
Knowing now what was expected of him, he raised the Queen with one
hand, addressed her courteously in Arabic, led her to her silken couch,
seated himself, and would have placed her beside him, but she, with a
gesture of dissent, sank upon the cushions at his feet that had served
her for footstools.
By this time the Sages had risen and now reclined on the silken couches
with which the apartment was well supplied. Ai advanced and addressed
the Queen; during this exchange of courtesies, Reuel gazed upon her
curiously.
She reminded him strongly of his beautiful Dianthe; in fact, the
resemblance was so striking that it was painful, and tears, which were
no disgrace to his manhood, struggled to his eyes. She was the same
height as Dianthe, had the same well-developed shoulders and the same
admirable bust. What suppleness in all her movements! What grace,
and, at the same time, what strength! Yes; she was a Venus, a superb
statue of bronze, moulded by a great sculptor; but an animated statue,
in which one saw the blood circulate, and from which life flowed. And
what an expressive face, full of character! Long, jet-black hair and
totally free, covered her shoulders like a silken mantle; a broad,
square forehead, a warm bronze complexion; thick black eyebrows, great
black eyes, now soft and languishing--eyes which could weep in sorrow
or shoot forth lightning in their anger; a delicate nose with quivering
nostrils, teeth of dazzling whiteness behind lips as red as a rose;
in her smile of grace and sweetness lurked a sense of power. He was
astonished and lost in admiration in spite of himself. Her loveliness
was absolutely and ideally perfect. Her attitude of unstudied grace
accorded well with the seriousness of her face; she seemed the
embodiment of all chastity.
The maidens of her household waited near her--some of them with baskets
of flowers upheld in perfect arms. Some brought fruit in glittering
dishes and wine in golden goblets of fairy-like fretwork, which were
served from stands of ivory and gold. One maiden knelt at her lyre,
prepared to strike its chords at pauses in the conversation.
The attendants now retired modestly into the background, while Ai and
the other Sages conversed with the Queen. She listened with downcast
eyes, occasionally casting a curious, though deferential glance at the
muscular figure beside her.
“And dost thou agree, and art thou willing to accept the destiny
planned by the Almighty Trinity for thee and me from the beginning of
all things, my lord?” she questioned at length in her flute-like voice.
“Queen Candace, thy beauty and graciousness dazzle me. I feel that I
can love thee with all my heart; I will fulfill my destiny gladly, and
I will cleave to thee until the end.”
“Now,” answered the Queen with sweet humility, “now, when thou,
my lord, doth speak so royally, it doth not become me to lag in
generosity.” She paused.
Reuel, gazing into her beautiful face, was deeply moved by strong
emotions. Again she spoke:
“Behold! in token of submission I bow to my lord, King Ergamenes.”
She bent herself slowly to the ground, and pressed her knees for one
instant upon the mosaic floor. “Behold,” and she touched his forehead
lightly with her lips, “in earnest of connubial bliss, I kiss thee,
King Ergamenes. Behold,” and she placed her hand upon his heart,
“I swear to thee eternal fealty by the Spirit--the never-changing
Trinity.” This ceremony ended she seated herself once more beside him.
Reuel felt himself yielding readily to her infinite attractiveness. In
the azure light and regal splendor of the fragrant apartment, there was
rest and satisfaction. All the dreams of wealth and ambition that had
haunted the feverish existence by the winding Charles, that had haunted
his days of obscure poverty in the halls of Harvard, were about to be
realized. Only once had he known joy in his checkered life, and that
was when he basked in the society of Dianthe, whom he now designated
his spirit-bride. The delirium of that joy had ended in lamentation.
Doubts and misgivings had assailed him in the silence of the night when
Ai had left him and his influence was withdrawn. Then he had but a
faint-hearted belief in the wonderful tale told to him, but here, under
Queen Candace’s magic influence, all doubts disappeared, and it seemed
the most natural thing in the world to be sitting here among these
descendants of the ancient Ethiopians, acknowledged as their King,
planning a union with a lovely woman, that should give to the world a
dynasty of dark-skinned rulers, whose destiny should be to restore the
prestige of an ancient people.
Verily, if the wonders he had already seen and heard could be possible
in the nineteenth century of progress and enlightenment, nothing was
impossible. Dianthe was gone. The world outside held nothing dear to
one who had always lived much within himself. The Queen was loving,
beautiful--why not accept this pleasant destiny which held its alluring
arms so seductively towards him? A sudden moisture filled his eyes; a
curious vague softness and tenderness stole over him. Turning abruptly
toward his hostess, he held out his own swimming goblet:
“Drink we a loving cup together, oh Queen Candace!” he said in a voice
that trembled with earnestness. “I pledge my faith in return for thine!”
The Queen returned his ardent gaze with one of bright surprise and
joyous happiness, and bending her head, drank a deep draught of the
proffered wine.
“Almost thou lovest me, Ergamenes. May the Eternal Trinity hold fast
our bonds!” With a graceful salute she returned the goblet. Reuel drank
off in haste what remained within it.
“Behold! I have prepared against this happy hour,” continued the Queen,
and going to an inlaid cabinet at one side of the room, she took from
it a curious ring of dull gold, bearing one priceless gem cut in the
form of a lotus lily. “Hold forth thy hand,” she said, and on his
finger placed the ring.
“Thus do I claim thee for all eternity.”
The Sages had watched the actors in this life-drama with jealous eyes
that noted every detail with open satisfaction. At Queen Candace’s last
words, Ai extended his arms with the solemn words:
“And now it is done and never can be undone or altered. Let us hence,
that the union may be speedily accomplished.”