❦ _The play is to be acted against a plain white backcloth with pale
brown hangings on either side, striped to resemble the decoration of a
papyrus roll._
❦ _Ranoutet is lying on a couch with lions’ heads. L., an altar with
cauldron, crown, and incense spoon. A long fan in corner. Ranoutet holds
some lotuses in Egyptian fashion._
❦ _Ouny enters with a festival basket on her head containing lotuses and
conical loaves._
❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦ ❦
_Ouny._
Here are the offerings to the setting sun. (_She places offerings
on altar and comes forward._) It is the last many brave men will
see.
_Ranoutet._
Has news arrived? Has the great Aahmes carried out his plan? Has
our mighty leader drawn the foes of Egypt into his net?
_Ouny._
Lady of wisdom, it is so. They have bidden me tell you that
victory comes with the dawn. The Hyksos, hateful in our land,
know nought of our armed men, who lie in wait for them, by order
of great Aahmes, along the road which they will follow to reach
our city. With the dawn the soldiers of Egypt will rise from
their hiding places and slay the Hyksos, and they shall be swept
from our land. This is the message of Aahmes to you, O lady of
wisdom.
(_Ouny kneels and touches the earth with her head. Ranoutet
rises and blesses her._)
_Ranoutet._
Dear messenger from the greatest in Egypt, may the gods protect
you, and may the gods protect Aahmes, now warrior, priest in
future years, the light of all our hearts.
_Ouny._
Great Aahmes is indeed a king of men. The leaders of the people
love him above all others. He stands almost as near their hearts
as you do, lady.
_Ranoutet._
Ah, yes, he is blessed from his birth. The foretelling of this
victory has been long in our ears; when it comes to pass we of
the temple will receive him with great honour. He is the beloved
of Hathor, and her will has been his pleasure. If he can
withstand temptation in the supreme hour of earthly triumph, she
will receive him into the great mysteries.
_Ouny._
Can Aahmes still be tempted—Aahmes, the lover of Hathor?
_Ranoutet._
The hour is at hand which is to try his strength of purpose. The
goddess will give us the victory, that our sacred land may be
purged of the people of Asia, who have worked in her evil and
uncleanness; but the soul of Aahmes stands alone in the last
trial, and can know no strength but its own. No name but the name
of Aahmes can be invoked; no power but the power of Aahmes can
prevail.
_Ouny._
Lady of wisdom, terror pierces me like a spear. Can it be that
the goddess will take back her great gift even after his hands
are raised to receive it? Can the goddess turn from her beloved?
and can Aahmes be an outcast from the sanctuary?
_Ranoutet._
These things are hidden in the heart of Hathor—the heart of mercy
and justice. To her mercy we commend him; to her justice we give
him up without fear. O Hathor, great diviner of beauty, who
rulest in those places where desire fails, and the substance of
human life fades and passes into eternal truth; O Hathor, guard
thy servant and do well to him.
_Ouny._
Will you not aid him, mighty priestess?
_Ranoutet._
I will do all that is permitted. Bring me the secret mirror and
the Lybian wax, the holy herbs and oil. I will burn incense from
all the corners of the world, and I will have lustral water and
the holy wands of power, the sacred Natron essence of the gods,
who alone can purify all shameful things by their touch. With
these I will bless great Aahmes and all his works once more. And
I will send up an incantation in the hour of battle, before which
all the dreadful gods of Asia shall be bound because their
worshippers have made our land unclean with going to and fro.
_Ouny goes, saluting and muttering the formula_,
I go in peace; may peace go with me!
(_Ranoutet puts on a crown bound with Urcari snakes and
faces the place of the sun. She pours out a libation._)
_Ranoutet._
O Ra Toum, thou enterest the kingdom of our Lady of the West
beyond the holy mountain Mannu amid flaming orisons. Thou fallest
into peace between the guardian serpents who are on either side
of thee. Thou art one with the sun-disk in the West, and its
powers have their place behind thee. Thy way divides the heavens,
and the gods of the North and the South bow before thee. I, too,
bow before thee, O creator of the gods; before thee who art king
over the souls dwelling in the circle of thy path. The blessed
one receives thee into the deep shadows of her embrace as thou
enterest into the mountain of the West.
(_She burns incense. Ouny returns with a magic mirror, wax,
cymbals, and serpent wands. Ranoutet takes beeswax and begins
to model it into shape._)
_Voice outside._
Will the great priestess Ranoutet receive the warrior chief
Aahmes?
(_Ranoutet hastily takes off the ceremonial crown, and
directs Ouny to cover the altar, and goes out. She re-enters,
after Ouny has done what is necessary, followed by Aahmes
carrying Nouferou. Ranoutet helps him lay her on the couch._)
_Aahmes._
Her heart is silent, she has seen men slain.
_Ranoutet._
She seems of noble birth; how is it that she went unattended?
_Aahmes._
The gods alone can tell. She is the Lady Nouferou. I found her
helpless in the hands of ruffians far from her home. Her father’s
palace is an hour’s journey hence. I cannot take her there
to-night, and I come to ask you to shelter her.
_Ranoutet._
She is known to you?
_Aahmes._
I have fought under her father’s leadership; and she was still a
child when I last feasted at his palace. How she came to this
adventure I can in no way tell.
(_Ranoutet restores Nouferou. Nouferou recovers and holds
out her hands to Aahmes, not seeing Ranoutet._)
_Nouferou_ (_to Aahmes, who kneels by her side_).
You killed men for my sake. Oh, I am afraid! I see their hideous
faces like beasts of prey! their claws clutch at my heart! Oh,
save me from this horror!
(_She throws herself into his arms._)
_Ranoutet_ (_with anxiety_).
Are the dead men still lying in the street?
_Aahmes._
I had no eyes to see what the crowd did with them.
_Ranoutet_ (_crosses to the door_).
I will send mourners to give notice of the dead. Until they have
been purified no help can come to Lady Nouferou. (_Exit
muttering_) I go in peace; may peace go with me!
_Nouferou._
Where am I? Who is that stern-faced priestess?
_Aahmes_ (_rising_).
She is the great Priestess Ranoutet, of the blood royal—the
wisest of the devotees. She is so near the hearts of the gods
that they will do all things at her behest, and Egypt has never
known famine, plague, or defeat since she first served them; and
when the war is over and the new dynasty established she will be
queen.
_Nouferou_ (_sadly_).
She will be queen and you will be king. She can choose no other
consort.
_Aahmes._
No man may dare desire such a fate unless the gods decree it.
_Nouferou_ (_walks across_).
Ah, no! I was forgetting. Love is not love among the priests. I
was forgetting the fierce laws of the gods, who stand between the
lovers holding the sceptre of ritual, and at each cry of nature
sternly denying!
_Aahmes._
And yet they say that the divine love which is given to the
Children of Wisdom, that their hearts may lie poised between the
two infinities of life and death, is greater than the earthly
love, for it is the servant of life and the lord of death. (_He
sits on the end of the couch._) But tell me how you left your
home and came unattended to the city.
_Nouferou._
I was forbidden to leave the palace. My father punishes—punishes
like the gods—and stands always denying me all joy in life. I was
a rebel and ran out alone, evading my old nurse. I longed to see
the soldiers and hear the clash of arms, and hear the war chant;
for I am told, before a battle there is a wonderous dance no
woman may see, when those about to die deliver up their souls to
Maut, the Vulture-Mother and Avenger.
_Aahmes._
Hush, these are mysteries of which none may speak.
_Nouferou._
I burn for knowledge, for the freedom of a bird upon the wing. I
am weary of the speech of the wise, who have not wisdom; who
would tell me that Egyptian women must always be discreet and
secret. I hear crying in me the blood of my mother, who was no
Egyptian, but a wanderer. It spoke in her, and she listened to
its wooing as to a lover; and she forsook my father, and, leaving
me with him, she came back no more.
_Aahmes._
Do you forget what fate awaited the wanderer?
_Nouferou._
A short life my mother had. I, too, would live here for a little
while, then go to join the shining spirits outside the walls of
heaven. I do not desire old age and ugliness in Egypt, nor the
great wisdom of the gods in heaven. To be always beautiful and
young is enough.
(_Aahmes rises, works round the back to R._)
_Ranoutet_ (_re-enters, muttering_).
I come in peace; may peace come with me. (_Comes forward._) The
rites for the slain are being carried out. Rest now, Lady
Nouferou, and let the little Ouny fan you and call about you your
own attendant spirits; for the spirits of the dead have passed to
their own place.
_Nouferou._
I am well; I need no rest.
_Ranoutet_ (_firmly_).
Rest, Lady Nouferou.
(_Nouferou lies on the couch, and Ouny fans her with long
feather fan._)
_Aahmes_ (_to himself_).
It were easy to die young, and live among the golden nets of
heaven—to die and drift like the Hammametu dancing in the rays of
the sun—to have neither thought nor human care, nor the stress of
human life.
_Ranoutet._
Do you forget Egypt, Aahmes? Would you have the destiny of those
formless souls, whose little light flickers through the one short
life they know, and then the rest is darkness? Is it in vain you
have become part of your country, dedicated to her tradition;
dedicated for ever to her destiny? Egypt has claimed her son, and
Egypt is no foster-mother whose claim can be put lightly aside.
There is no choice for her worshippers, for to fail in her
service means death to the soul.
_Aahmes._
Ah! Ranoutet, I know the terror of the second death, and my heart
is Egypt’s! My heart longs for Egypt! As I have fought for Egypt
in the past, so I will live for Egypt in the future! Is not such
service easy when she speaks to me through you, the greatest
priestess within the memory of the most ancient scribes? Give me
your blessing, for we have to do great work to-night.
_Ranoutet._
Let us go into the sanctuary together, for Hathor has heard my
invocation. She will receive you as her minister. After the
battle fought for Egypt comes the enlightenment. Then comes the
supreme vision. This flesh shall fall from you. You shall be no
more the warrior of Egypt, but shall know yourself to be the Lord
of Space and Being! Your soul shall tremble and rejoice at her
own image looming out of the darkness of what you now call life!
The light of the world shall be revealed to you amid the clash of
the worlds which shall own you their master, O lord of that which
has no end and no beginning!
_A Priest chanting without._
Flame round my crown the fiery snakes
About me and around.
The chantress sings, the sistrum shakes,
In symphony of sound.
Fire from the gods a lightning makes,
Earth’s thundrous depths resound.
_Ranoutet._
Accept the portent and receive the Yeoiret crown.
(_Aahmes kneels and is crowned by Ranoutet._)
To thee the earth, to thee the power,
The life and strength be given!
The scarab rests upon the flower!
The veil of the shrine is riven!
The stars are falling, for the hour
Sounds when the earth meets heaven.
_Ranoutet._
You hear the sacred hymn. The moment is propitious. Come to the
shrine of the goddess. To-night the battle for your soul must be
fought and won!
(_Aahmes follows her out. In the meantime Nouferou has been
watching them intently. She springs up and seizes the child,
gazing intently into its face as she speaks._)
_Nouferou._
Ouny, Ouny, do you love me?
_Ouny._
Yes.
_Nouferou._
Listen now, Ouny; my little Ouny. Do you love me very much?
(_She takes it in her arms._)
_Ouny._
Yes.
_Nouferou_ (_covers it with kisses_).
Now tell me how much you love me.
_Ouny._
I think you a very pretty lady.
_Nouferou_ (_laughs and clasps the child_).
Quick! now tell me what is the ceremony the great Priestess
Ranoutet performs to-night. Tell me, where will it take place?
_Ouny._
Here.
_Nouferou._
Tell me, will she make images of the enemies of Aahmes, and so
contrive by her magical arts that Aahmes shall overcome the
hateful Hyksos?
(_Ouny nods._)
_Nouferou._
Will she make a mighty image of Aahmes and small images of the
Hyksos, and will she place the foot of Aahmes on their heads, and
will she place nooses round their necks, and give the cords into
the hands of Aahmes, that he may hold their lives in the hollow
of his hands?
(_Ouny nods again._)
_Nouferou._
Fetch me some sacred wax, dear little Ouny, and I will help in
the ceremony. I am well skilled in magic, and would gladly aid
the mighty priestess in these simple arts.
_Ouny_ (_rises and goes to the covered altar_).
All things await the Lady Ranoutet. There is much wax, and I will
light the fire; it will help you to do the work more quickly.
(_The child lights the cauldron from the lamp which Ranoutet
brings in with her. Ranoutet returns wearily. It is dark. She
sinks on couch in profound thought._)
_Nouferou._
Lady, I have some simple skill in magic, and if you work to-night
in the sacred Libyan wax, I pray you let me help you. I long to
try, and in some measure repay the noble warrior chief.
_Ranoutet_ (_carelessly_).
Hush! I am thinking. Anything you will. But I must rest in peace,
to be ready for work at the hour of battle. The soldiers have
performed the sacred dance: the final preparations are going on:
they are stealing silently out of the town to reinforce the
leading troops, which even now surround the Hyksos. Aahmes will
lead the attack at dawn; and dawn will be the signal for the
watchers of the night!
_Nouferou._
Sleep, lady, and I will mould the waxen images. One, half a cubit
high for Aahmes; and two, one finger’s breadth in height to
represent the Hyksos leaders.
_Ranoutet._
That is the right proportion. I thank you for your service.
(_Goes out with lamp, which Ouny gives her, in opposite
direction to main entrance._)
_Nouferou_
(_takes wax and gives a small portion of it to Ouny_). Go, child,
and make two little images of the hideous Hyksos chiefs: copy
them from the walls in the great court of the Temple and bind
them with cords. Then sit at the foot of the stairs and play your
psaltery softly, and I will call you when your mistress wakes.
_Ouny._
Thanks, noble lady! I go in peace; may peace go with me! (_Goes
out._)
(_Nouferou takes cauldron of fire; and wax. She kneels by
the altar and models the form of a man; as she does so she
says_:—)
O noble Aahmes, may Nou protect thy hair!
O noble Aahmes, may Ra protect thine eyes!
(_Soft music begins._)
O noble Aahmes, may Anubis protect thy lips!
O noble Aahmes, may Isis protect thy neck!
O noble Aahmes, may Selket protect thy body!
O noble Aahmes, may Neith protect thine arms!
O noble Aahmes, may Nut protect thy legs!
O noble Aahmes, may Ptah protect thy feet!
I mould thee, Knoume moulds thee in beauty and strength, and
nourishes thee in the fields of the blessed! Heart of Aahmes,
thou art the dwelling of the creator of Aahmes. What thou doest,
he will do; what thou lovest, he will love!
(_She places statue on altar, and slowly moves round it,
waving her arms. She stands before the wax image and chants_:)
Aahmes, Aahmes, follow me
Where the poppy fields are white.
Aahmes, Aahmes, sleep the sleep
Deep with dreams of love’s delight.
Aahmes, Aahmes, follow me
Where there shines a hidden star.
Aahmes, Aahmes, turn thy feet
Where the golden dreamings are.
Aahmes, Aahmes, follow me
To the magic fields of sleep.
Aahmes, Aahmes, pluck the flower
That it work a spell more deep.
(_Dances round the altar, then says_:)
Aahmes, Aahmes, I am love,
Calling loudly in thy heart.
Aahmes, Aahmes, I am love;
Never more shall I depart.
_Ouny_ (_running in_).
I must awake the noble Ranoutet. Great Aahmes is below.
_Nouferou._
Hush! I will awaken her. Go you and bid him enter.
(_Ouny goes out. Nouferou puts out the fires. It gets very
dark. Aahmes enters, and she meets him._)
_Nouferou._
The Priestess Ranoutet bid me watch that none disturbed her body,
while she, in sleep, sought counsel of the great Ancestral One,
the ancient power that watches over Egypt.
_Aahmes._
No matter—I came drawn by some desire—I would speak to you, I
know not why.
_Nouferou_ (_puts out brazier_).
Come rest a little, you cannot start till dawn. Your senses
wander for want of sleep. Sit here. (_Business. She presently
walks round him, humming the air of the incantation softly, and
moving her arms as in the dance._)
Sleep, Aahmes, sleep and dream. (_He sleeps._)
Dream, Aahmes, dream and love. (_He gazes at her._)
(_She kneels on the end of the couch._)
Love, Aahmes, love and live.
(_He holds out his arms._)
Live, Aahmes, live and dream.
(_She flings herself into his arms._)
_Aahmes_ (_embracing her_).
Nouferou!
(_Men-at-arms chanting: the sound of marching troops._)
Gather the men-at-arms! the battle breaks,
The weary waiting days are over.
Let each man rush to battle as a lover.
The dawn with clarion note awakes.
Crowned with her radiance on our earth we stand,
Tried warriors of a sacred land,
Which trampling thunder shakes.
(_Ranoutet enters; goes towards the altar; sees Aahmes and
Nouferou on the couch._)
_Ranoutet_ (_in a loud voice_).
Aahmes! the dawn! the dawn!
_Aahmes._
What is the dawn to me? My life is here.
_Ranoutet._
Egypt is crying to her son!
_Aahmes._
Egypt is here.
(_Ranoutet wrings her hands._)
_Nouferou._
I am the dawn, and I am Egypt! Beyond the circle of my arms lies
the night. I am the dawn, and I am Egypt! When I speak with my
beloved the voices of all the world are hushed, and he hears me
only.
_Ranoutet._
O Hathor, look upon this image which I hold in the flames, that
the spell may fall from him in whose semblance it is made, and he
may be undefiled before thee.
(_The chant continues._)
Drums batter, cymbals clash, our hearts and feet
Responding to one splendid measure,
Wrapt with the glory of our mighty pleasure!
Standards on high our enemies to greet!
Answering the dawn’s light with our eyes aglow,
Serene and proud and passionate we go,
Treading the pasture sweet.
_Ranoutet._
The banners are unfurled, standards are raised on high.
_Aahmes._
Who is it that cries in the night?
_Nouferou._
Listen to my voice, O my beloved!
_Ranoutet._
O Hathor, let the spells woven by this woman dissolve before
thee, thou flaming eye of Heru. Let them fall from thy servant,
that he may stand upright and cast them away as the soul casts
away mortality.
(_She reverses the dance. The chant continues_:)
No man of us can be disheartened now;
Death have we challenged by this trial;
Before the hosts of death we dare denial.
Swift mother of our arms, do thou,
Who gavest us our land and the bright sun,
Give us the perfecting of work begun;
Only to thee we bow.
_Ranoutet._
The troops are in array!
_Aahmes._
What am I dreaming?
_Ranoutet._
The glamour of the witch-girl is upon you; your eyes are sealed
by her kiss. She has breathed the spirit of her dream into you.
_Nouferou._
I am the dawn, and I am Egypt. Sleep on, beloved, for our dreams
are a reality and the world a shadow.
(_The chant continues._)
O heart’s blood of remembrance! Long ago
This land upheld our ancient fathers,
And for this land, your land, our land now gathers
One fellowship against the foe.
The spears flash! Be they as your mothers’ eyes.
The trump sounds! Hearken to your fathers’ cries!
March you to battle so![1]
-----
Footnote 1:
N.B.—This poem is largely quoted from “The Coming of War,” by Lionel
Johnson.
-----
_Aahmes_
(_starting away while Nouferou clings to him_). Your eyes are
demon’s eyes! Your arms are chains about my neck! I am lost!
(_He shakes her off._)
_Ranoutet._
The spirit of Temptation has awakened in this girl. Through her
Hathor has tried your strength of purpose, and it has failed you.
Go now to the battle, and pray to the mercy of Hathor that she
may use your arm to strike the Hyksos, so that you fail not in
this also.
_Aahmes_
(_cries_) I am lost! I am lost! (_As he goes voices outside._)
Aahmes! mighty Aahmes!
_Ranoutet_
(_prays_). May Aahmes go forth like the panther of the South! May
Aahmes go forth under the ægis of Hathor in the radiance of her
light! May Aahmes not forget Egypt, Egypt the mother of the
mighty! May Aahmes remember her in her need, that she may requite
him!
_Nouferou._
Woe, woe unto Egypt for the pain she has wrought!
She has warred against love, and love shall abandon her!
Wisdom is very powerful, but she cannot conquer love!
Wisdom is immortal, but love will destroy her works!
_Ranoutet._
Silence! before the sacrilege of your speech reaches to heaven
and awakes the wrath of Hathor, which, shaking the four pillars
of the world, would crush you into dust. Love must serve and
wisdom rule; but you would put love above all! Your love would
have put out the light that shines from the glory of Egypt, and
serve the cause of Egypt’s foes! You would have shamed Aahmes to
all time that love might rule his soul one little hour!
_Nouferou._
I would see Aahmes dead—dead and dishonoured before I’d give him
up to you, Ranoutet!
_Ranoutet._
Hush, hush! even now the battle begins! (_Enter Ouny._) Give me
the magic mirror. (_She looks in it._) Aahmes is in his chariot
leading the attack. Help me, Ouny.
(_Nouferou sits on the couch with her head bowed._)
_Ranoutet_ (_to Ouny_).
Lay the Hyksos’ chiefs under Aahmes’ feet, and when the sistrum
is shaken and the lute is plucked by the chanters and musicians
in the temple court, the Lady Nouferou will help you wave the
holy wands around him, so that the immortal serpents, guardians
of our land, may weave the web of protection round him and round
our troops.
(_Ouny arranges the images as in Egyptian triumphs described
above by Nouferou. Ranoutet holds out serpent wands to
Nouferou, who refuses with a gesture._)
_Ranoutet_ (_pleadingly_).
To-night the goddess strives with the destroyer for Aahmes’ soul!
Think! even now the Threefold Terror may devour him!
_Nouferou._
If Aahmes dies now he is mine—mine on the golden borders of
heaven; if he lives he is yours and Hathor’s.
_Ranoutet._
If Aahmes dies in sin, faithless to Hathor, his soul must die the
second death! There will be no light life for him on the horizons
with you for playfellow.
_Nouferou._
I will not believe it!
_Ranoutet._
That is the law of Hathor. Her servant must be faithful, or he
dies body and soul, and his name is trodden out by the Sebau in
the deepest cavern of Duat.
_Nouferou._
Woe! woe! Desolation, oh desolation! Has Hathor no mercy?
_Ranoutet._
Have you had mercy in your jealous rage? To the battle! to the
battle! Do as I do, and lift up your heart in prayer that Egypt
may conquer, and that Aahmes may conquer in his mortal combat!
(_pause_). And listen to my voice, if Aahmes dies your life shall
be the forfeit! (_Seizes her throat._) The traitress has short
trial in time of war!
_Nouferou._
Mercy! mercy!
_Ranoutet_ (_contemptuously_).
Mercy! see that your actions are fit for justice. (_The music in
the temple court is heard._) Quick, to the serpent dance!
(_Holding out the serpent wands._) Here, take the wands of power
and weave the magic cord.
_The priests chant outside._ Yeioret!
(_Nouferou and Ouny perform a dance._)
_Ranoutet._
Now call the spirits of the earth and sky!
_The priests chant._ Yakhu pout! Yakhu taw!
(_Nouferou and Ouny dance._)
_Ranoutet._
Now clash the cymbals (_presents them ceremonially_), and I will
call on the vultures of death—swift servants of the mother of our
arms!
_The priests chant._ Maut! Maut!
(_Nouferou and Ouny dance and clash cymbals. Drums,
sistrums, and cries of victory rising to a great clamour
without._)
_Nouferou_
(_seizes the image of Aahmes and shrieks_). Then let Aahmes die!
(_She shatters it on the ground and rushes out, Ouny hastens
to replace it._)
_Ranoutet_ (_sternly_).
Go, bring the meaning of this clamour. (_Ouny goes._)
_Ranoutet_
(_gathering together the pieces of the image_). This deed brings
judgment, for it shows that the hour is come when the Truth that
is eternal and the Truth that is of time will divide the ways of
Aahmes. As the semblance of Aahmes is broken, so shall the soul
of Aahmes be broken, and the victory be to the flesh alone. O
Lady Hathor! thou hast given this deed as a sign and an omen.
Nouferou has shattered the semblance of Aahmes, and has broken up
the waters of his soul! They no longer reflect the divine image;
but the troubled fantasies of love and human life. Verily Thy
judgments are keen and sudden as the lightnings in heaven, and
the thunders of Thy punishments make the earth shake in fear! The
ways wherein Thou comest and goest are tremendous, and no foot
but Thine may tread them!
_Ouny_ (_returning_).
Through the crowd I saw the father of Nouferou driving in his
chariot with white horses, and he stopped before the gates of the
temple and asked for her, and she came out from between the gates
doing obeisance to him. She is white and tall, and the crowd
rejoiced to see her; but her father had no smile for her, and
took her into his chariot and made his way through the people,
the horses plunging and scattering them; and I saw her no more.
_Ranoutet._
That is well; let him look to her.
(_Shouts of_ Aahmes! _outside_.)
_Ouny._
The people shout because great Aahmes is in the midst of them.
Their voice is like the hoarse note of the marsh-birds. He comes
that you should bless the victory.
(_Enter Aahmes. Kneels at Ranoutet’s feet._)
_Aahmes._
O Priestess of Hathor, smite me across the mouth that I may be
dumb, for I am not worthy to speak in the temple! Take away my
ears from me, that I may no longer hear the voice of Hathor; that
terrible voice which carries judgment: for I have failed in the
great trial.
_Ranoutet._
This plant of failure, Aahmes, which you have sown, bears a
flower which to the outward seeming is of splendid colour and a
sweet smell, and its name is Power. Put it upon your heart, and
be strong to rule our people; but know that such a blossom is
arid, and holds no promise of immortal fruit. Have power and the
ruling of the kingdom, but have sorrow also, and eternal grief;
because the doors of Hathor’s sanctuary open to you no more.