Queen of the Dawn
_A Love Tale of Old Egypt_
By
H. Rider Haggard
[image: images/img_000.jpg]
Garden City, New York
Doubleday, Page & Company
1925
COPYRIGHT.
COPYRIGHT, 1925, BY
H. RIDER HAGGARD
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES
AT
THE COUNTRY LIFE PRESS, GARDEN CITY, N.Y.
_First Edition_
CONTENTS.
I. The Dream of Rima
II. The Messenger
III. The Escape
IV. The Temple of the Sphinx
V. The Swearing of the Oath
VI. Nefra Conquers the Pyramids
VII. The Plot of the Vizier
VIII. The Scribe Rasa
IX. The Crowning of Nefra
X. The Message
XI. The Fall
XII. The Spirit of the Pyramids
XIII. The Messenger from Tanis
XIV. The Sentence of Pharaoh
XV. Brother Temu
XVI. The Passing of Roy
XVII. The Fate of the Cliff-Climbers
XVIII. How Nefra Came to Babylon
XIX. The Four Brothers
XX. The March from Babylon
XXI. Traitor or Hero
XXII. Khian Returns to Tanis
XXIII. The Queen of the Dawn
Queen of the Dawn
CHAPTER I.
The Dream of Rima
There was war in Egypt and Egypt was rent in two. At Memphis in the
north, at Tanis, and in all the rich lands of the Delta where by many
mouths the Nile flows down to the sea, a usurping race held power,
whose forefathers, generations before, had descended upon Egypt
like a flood, destroyed its temples and deposed its gods, possessing
themselves of the wealth of the land. At Thebes in the south the
descendants of the ancient Pharaohs still ruled precariously, again
and again attempting to drive out the fierce Semitic or Bedouin kings,
named the Shepherds, whose banners flew from the walls of all the
northern cities.
They failed because they were too weak, indeed the hour of their final
victory was yet far away and of it our tale does not tell.
Nefra the Princess, she who was named the Beautiful and afterwards was
known as Uniter of Lands, was the only child of one of these Theban
Antefs, Kheperra, born of his Queen, Rima, daughter of Ditanah, the
King of Babylon, who had given her to him in marriage to strengthen
him in his struggle against the Shepherds, also called the _Aati_ or
“Plague-bearers.” Nefra was the first and only child of this marriage,
for shortly after she was born Kheperra the King, her father, with all
the host that he could gather, went down Nile to fight the Aati who
marched to meet him from Tanis and from Memphis. They met in a great
battle in which Kheperra was slain and his army defeated, though not
before it had slaughtered such numbers of the enemy that, abandoning
their advance on Thebes, the generals of the Shepherds returned with
the remnant of their troops whence they came. Yet by this victory
Apepi, the King of the Shepherds, became in fact Pharaoh of all Egypt.
Kheperra was dead, leaving behind him but one infant girl, and so were
numbers of the great Theban lords, others of whom hastened to submit
to the ruler of the North.
The Shepherd people too, like the Egyptians of the South, were weary
of war and would not fight again. Therefore, although they were
defeated, no cruelties were inflicted upon the followers of Kheperra,
nor was great tribute asked of them; also they were allowed to worship
their ancient gods in peace, and this in the northern as well as the
southern lands. Indeed, by now, although the god of the Shepherds was
Baal, to whom they gave the name of Set because already it was well
known upon the Nile, the Shepherd kings re-built the temples of Ra and
Amen and Ptah, of Isis and of Hathor, that their forefathers had
destroyed when first they invaded Egypt, and themselves made offerings
in them, acknowledging these divinities.
Only one thing did Apepi demand of the conquered Thebans, namely that
Rima the Queen of dead Kheperra, and the babe Nefra, his daughter and
lawful heiress of Upper Egypt, should be given up to him, hearing
which Rima hid herself away with the child, as shall be told.
Now of the birth of Nefra the Princess there were strange stories. It
was said that after she came into the world, a very fair babe,
gray-eyed, light-skinned, and black-haired, and the rites had been
accomplished, she was laid upon her mother’s bosom. When Rima had
looked upon her and she had been shown to the King her father, in a
weak voice, for she had suffered much, the Queen demanded to be left
alone, so earnestly that the physicians and women thought it best to
appear to obey her and withdrew themselves behind certain curtains
that divided the birth-chamber from another, where they remained
silent.
The night had fallen and the birth-chamber was dark, for as yet Rima
could bear no light near to her. Yet of a sudden one of the women, a
priestess of Hathor named Kemmah, who had nursed the King Kheperra
from his birth and now was to fill that office to his child, having
remained awake, saw a light glowing through the curtains, and being
frightened, peeped between them. Behold! in the birth-chamber, looking
down on the Queen, who seemed to be asleep, were two royal and
glorious women or so Kemmah swore and believed, from whose robes and
bodies flowed light and whose eyes shone like stars. Queens they
seemed to be, no less, for there were crowns upon their heads and they
glittered with jewels which only queens could wear. Moreover, one of
them held in her hand the Cross of Life fashioned in gold, and the
other a looped sistrum with gems strung on golden wires, such as is
used to make music when the priestesses walk in procession before the
statues of the gods.
This glorious pair, at the sight of whom the knees of the watcher
trembled and the power of speech left her, so that she could say no
word to wake the others, bent down--first she who held the Cross of
Life and then she who held the sistrum--and whispered into the ear of
the sleeping Queen. Then she who held the Cross of Life very gently
lifted the babe from the mother’s breast, kissed it, and laid the
Cross upon its lips. This done she gave it to the other goddess, for
now the watcher knew that they must be goddesses, who also kissed it
and shook above its head the sistrum, which made a tinkling music ere
she laid the infant back upon its mother’s breast.
Next instant both were gone and the room that had been filled with
brightness grew black with night, while the priestess who had seen,
being overcome with fear, swooned away until the sun was risen.
Nor was she the first to speak of this matter which she deemed holy
and fearful, being afraid lest she had but dreamed or should be held a
teller of tales who took the names of the gods in vain. Yet on the
morrow the Queen called for her husband and said that a very strange
vision had come to her during the night which she described in these
words:
“It seemed to me that when weak with pain I had fallen asleep, two
glorious ladies appeared to me clothed in the garments and wearing the
emblems of goddesses of Egypt. One of these, who bore in her hand the
symbol of Life, spoke to me in my dream, saying, ‘O Daughter of
Babylon, by marriage Queen of Egypt and mother of Egypt’s heiress,
hear us. We are Isis and Hathor, ancient goddesses of Egypt, as you
know, who of late, since you came to this land, have worshipped in our
temples and made offerings on our altars. Be not afraid, for although
you were bred to the service of other gods we come to bless her who is
born of you. Know, O Queen, that great troubles await you and bitter
loss that shall leave you desolate, nor with all our strength can we
save you from these, for they are written in the book of fate and must
befall. Nor, for a while that to mortals must seem long, can we free
Egypt from the bonds with which the Shepherds have bound her, as they
bind the feet of their own sheep for slaughter, though the time shall
come when she will shake them loose, like a bull breaking through its
net, and grow greater than ever she has been. As every living thing
suffers for its sins, so must Egypt suffer for her sins who has not
been loyal to herself, her faith, or the lessons of the past. Yet in
the end, if only for a while, her troubles shall pass like summer
clouds, and from behind them shall shine out the bright star of her
glory.’
“Now I answered that vision or that goddess, saying: ‘These are heavy
words you speak to me, O divine Lady. With Egypt indeed I have little
to do, who am but the wife of one of its kings, a princess sprung from
another land. Egypt must find the fate that she has shaped, but as a
woman I would learn that of my lord whom I love and of the child that
has been given to us.’
“‘The fate of this lord of yours shall be glorious,’ answered she who
bore the symbol of Life--‘and in the end, that of your child shall be
happy.’
“Then she seemed to bend down and to take the babe in her arms and to
kiss it, saying: ‘The blessing of Isis the Mother be upon thee. The
strength of Isis be thy strength, and the wisdom of Isis be thy
guiding star. Fear not! Be not faint-hearted, O Royal Child, since
always Isis is at thy side, and however great thy danger, never shalt
thou come to harm. Long shall be thy day and peaceful at the last, and
thou shalt see thy grandchildren playing round thy knees. If only for
a while, thou shalt bind together that which is divided and thy name
shall be Uniter of Lands. Such are the gifts that Isis gives to thee,
O Lady of Egypt.’
“So that goddess spoke, holding out the babe in the hollow of her
shining arm to the divine sister who stood at her side. She took the
child; she too kissed her on the brow and said: ‘Behold! I, Hathor,
goddess of Love and Beauty, bestow upon thee, the Princess of Egypt,
all that I have to give. Beautiful exceedingly shalt thou be in body
and in spirit. Loved exceedingly shalt thou be, and through love thou
shalt make smooth the path of millions. Turning neither to right nor
left, forgetting crookedness and policies, follow thou Hathor’s star
and thine own heart, rejoicing in Hathor’s gifts and leaving all else
to Heaven that sees what thou canst not see and works to ends thou
dost not know. Thus, O Royal Child, shalt thou sow happiness upon the
earth and beyond the earth garner its harvest to thy breast.’
“Thus in my dream those goddesses seemed to speak, and lo! they were
gone.”
Kheperra the King listened to this tale and made light of it.
“A dream indeed,” he said, laughing, “and a happy dream since it
prophesies naught but good to this babe of ours, who it seems is to be
beautiful and wise, a very Flower of Love and a Uniter of Egypt, if
only for a while. What more could we wish for her?”
“Yes, Lord,” answered Rima heavily, “it prophesies good to the child,
but, as I fear, ill to others.”
“If so, what of it, Wife? One crop must fall before another can be
sown and in every crop there are weeds as well as wheat. Such is the
law to which all that lives must bow. Nay, do not weep over a phantasy
born of pain and darkness. They call me, I must go, for soon the army
starts to fight those Shepherds and to conquer them.”
Yet Kheperra thought more of this tale than he chose to say, so much
indeed that he went to the high priests of Isis and of Hathor and
repeated it to them, word for word. These priests, not knowing what to
believe, inquired if any had seen aught in the birth-chamber, and thus
came to learn of the vision of the Lady Kemmah for, to them, as her
superiors, she must tell all.
Now they were astonished indeed, and rejoiced, because they were sure
that such a wonder had happened as was not told of in Egypt for
generations. Moreover, they caused the words of the dream and the
vision of Kemmah to be written down in full and sealed by the Queen
and Kemmah, also by themselves as witnesses, in three different rolls,
one of which was given to the Queen to keep for the Princess Nefra,
while the others were hidden away in the archives of Hathor and Isis.
Yet both they and the magicians whom they consulted were frightened at
that part of the dream which told of great troubles and bitter loss
that were to befall the Queen and leave her desolate.
“What loss,” they asked, “could befall her, when happiness and
prosperity were promised to her child, save that of the King her
husband?--unless, indeed, other children were to be born to her whom
Heaven would take away.”
Still of these terrors they said nothing, only letting it be known
that Isis and Hathor had appeared and blessed the new-born Princess of
Egypt. Yet they were true enough, for very soon King Kheperra marched
to the war and within two moons came the evil tidings that he was
slain, fighting gallantly in the van of his troops, and that his army,
although not crushed, was too weak from loss of men and generals to
renew the battle and was retreating upon Thebes.
Rima the Queen heard the tidings, which indeed her heart seemed to
have taught her before they were spoken. When she had listened to
them, all she said was:
“That has happened which the great goddesses of Egypt foretold to me,
and so without doubt shall the rest of their words be fulfilled in due
season.”
Then, according to the Babylonian fashion she withdrew herself to her
chamber with the child, and there mourned many days for the husband
whom she loved, seeing none save the Lady Kemmah who tended the babe.
At length the army reached Thebes, bringing with it the body of King
Kheperra, that had been embalmed, though rudely, on the field of
battle. She caused the wrappings to be loosed and for the last time
looked upon her lord’s face all shattered and marred with wounds.
“The gods have taken him and he died well,” she said, “but my heart
tells me that as he has died in blood, in a day to come, so in blood
shall perish that usurper who brought him to his death.”
These words were repeated to Apepi and caused him to go in fear
through all his life, for his spirit told him that they were inspired
by the god of Vengeance, as did the magicians whom he consulted.
Indeed, when he remembered that Queen Rima was by birth of the royal
Babylonian House, he grew more afraid than he had been before, because
in his family, the Babylonians, to whom once his forefathers had been
subject, were held to be the greatest wizards in the world. Therefore
he was not surprised at the tale of the vision of Rima which came to
her on the night of the birth of her child, though he could not
understand why the goddesses of Egypt should appear to a Babylonian.
“If Babylon and Old Egypt come together, what chance will there be for
us Shepherd kings who sit astride of the mouths of Nile? Surely our
state will be as that of the corn between the upper and the nether
millstone and we shall be ground to fine flour,” he said to his wise
men.
“Those stones grind slowly, and after all flour is the bread of
peoples, O King,” answered the chief of them. “Did not the dream of
the wife of dead Kheperra tell--if report be true--that long years
would go by before the Egyptians shake off our yoke, and did it not
say that this Princess of Egypt who has been born to dead Kheperra and
the Babylonian should be a Uniter of Lands? Bring hither the
Babylonian widow and her daughter, the Royal Princess, O King, that
these things may be accomplished in their season, though as yet we
know not how.”
“Why should I admit to dwell in my house one who, inspired by the
devils of Babylon, has prophesied that I shall die in blood? Why
should I not rather kill her and be done, and her babe with her?”
asked Apepi.
“Because, O King,” answered the chief of the Wise Men, “the dead are
stronger than the living, and the spirit of this royal lady will smite
more shrewdly than can her flesh. Moreover, we think that if the
oracle of those Egyptian goddesses be true, this child of hers cannot
be killed. Make them captives, O King, and hold them fast, but do not
leave them at large to move mighty Babylon and the world against you.”
“You are right,” said Apepi. “It shall be done. Let Rima, the widow of
King Kheperra, and her daughter Nefra, Princess of Upper Egypt, be
brought to my Court, even if an army must be sent to fetch them. But
first try to lead them hither by peaceful words and promises, or if
these fail, bribe the Thebans to deliver them into my hand.”