On the right bank of the Nile, on the edge of the northern suburb of
Memphis, was that land which the heir to the throne had given as place
of residence to Sarah the daughter of Gideon.
That was a possession thirty-five acres in area, forming a quadrangle
which was seen from the house-top as something on the palm of the
hand. The land was on a hill and was divided into four elevations. The
two lowest and widest, which the Nile always flooded, were intended
for grain and for vegetables. The third, which at times was untouched
by the overflow, produced palms, figs, and other fruit-trees. On the
fourth, the highest, was a garden planted with olives, grapes, nuts,
and sweet chestnuts; in the middle garden stood the dwelling.
This dwelling was of wood, one story, as usual, with a flat roof on
which was a tent made of canvas. On the ground dwelt the prince's
black slave; above Sarah with her relative and serving-woman Tafet.
The place was surrounded by a wall of partially burnt brick, beyond
which at a certain distance were houses for cattle, workmen, and
overseers.
Sarah's chambers were not large, but they were elegant. On the floor
were divans, at the doors and windows were curtains with stripes of
various colors. There were armchairs and a carved bed, inlaid boxes
for clothing, three-legged and one-legged tables on which were pots
with flowers, a slender pitcher for wine, boxes and bottles of
perfume, golden and silver cups and goblets, porcelain vases and
dishes, bronze candlesticks. Even the smallest furniture or vessel was
ornamented with carving or with a colored drawing; every piece of
clothing with lace or bordering.
Sarah had dwelt ten days in this retreat, hiding herself before people
from fear and shame, so that almost no one of the servants had seen
her. In the curtained chamber she sewed, wove linen on a small loom,
or twined garlands of living flowers for Rameses. Sometimes she went
out on the terrace, pushed apart the sides of the tent with care, and
looked at the Nile covered with boats in which oarsmen were singing
songs joyfully. On raising her eyes she looked with fear at the gray
pylons of the pharaoh's palace, which towered silent and gloomy above
the other bank of the river. Then she ran again to her work and called
Tafet.
"Sit here, mother," said she; "what art thou doing down there?"
"The gardener has brought fruit, and they have sent bread, wine, and
game from the city; I must take them."
"Sit here and talk, for fear seizes me."
"Thou art a foolish child," said Tafet, smiling. "Fear looked at me
too the first day from every corner; but when I went out beyond the
wall, there was no more of it. Whom have I to fear here? All fall on
their knees before me. Before thee they would stand on their heads
even! Go to the garden; it is as beautiful as paradise. Look out at
the field, see the wheat harvest; sit down in the carved boat the
owner of which is withering from anxiety to see thee and take thee out
on the river."
"I am afraid."
"Of what?"
"Do I know? While I am sewing, I think that I am in our valley and
that my father will come right away; but when the wind pushes the
curtain aside from the window and I look on this great country it
seems to me,--knowest what?--that some mighty vulture has caught and
borne me to his nest on a mountain, whence I have no power to save
myself."
"Ah, thou--thou! If thou hadst seen what a bathtub the prince sent
this morning, a bronze one; and what a tripod for the fire, what pots
and spits! And if thou knew that to-day I have put two hens to set,
and before long we shall have little chicks here."
Sarah was more daring after sunset, when no one could see her. She
went out on the roof and looked at the river. And when from afar a
boat appeared, flaming with torches, which formed fiery and bloody
lines along the dark water, she pressed with both hands her poor
heart, which quivered like a bird caught that instant. Rameses was
coming, and she could not tell what had seized her,--delight because
that beautiful youth was approaching whom she had seen in the valley,
or dread because she would see again a great lord and ruler who made
her timid.
One Sabbath evening her father came for the first time since she had
settled in that villa. Sarah rushed to him with weeping; she washed
his feet herself, poured perfumes on his head, and covered him with
kisses. Gideon was an old man of stern features. He wore a long robe
reaching his feet and edged at the bottom with colored embroidery;
over this he wore a yellow sleeveless kaftan. A kind of cape covered
his breast and shoulders. On his head was a smallish cap, growing
narrow toward the top.
"Thou art here! thou art here!" exclaimed Sarah; and she kissed his
head again.
"I am astonished myself at being here," said Gideon, sadly. "I stole
to the garden like a criminal; I thought, along the whole way from
Memphis, that all the Egyptians were pointing me out with their
fingers and that each Jew was spitting."
"But thou didst give me thyself to the prince, father."
"I did, for what could I do? Of course it only seems to me that they
point and spit. Of Egyptians, whoever knows me bows the lower the
higher he is himself. Since thou art here our lord Sesofris has said
that he must enlarge my house; Chaires gave me a jar of the best wine,
and our most worthy nomarch himself has sent a trusty servant to ask
if thou art well, and if I will not become his manager."
"But the Jews?" inquired Sarah.
"What of the Jews! They know that I did not yield of my own will.
Every one of them would wish to be constrained in like manner. Let
the Lord God judge us all. Better tell how thou art feeling."
"In Abraham's bosom she will not have more comfort," said Tafet.
"Every day they bring us fruit, wine, bread, meat, and whatever the
soul wishes. And such baths as we have, all bronze, and such kitchen
utensils!"
"Three days ago," interrupted Sarah, "the Phoenician Dagon was here. I
did not wish to see him, but he insisted."
"He gave me a gold ring," added Tafet.
"He told me," continued Sarah, "that he was a tenant of my lord; he
gave me two anklets, pearl earrings, and a box of perfumes from the
land of Punt."
"Why did he give them to thee?" asked her father.
"For nothing. He simply begged that I would think well of him, and
tell my lord sometimes that Dagon was his most faithful servant."
"Very soon thou wilt have a whole box of earrings and bracelets," said
Gideon, smiling. But after a moment he added: "Gather up a great
property quickly and let us flee back to our own land, for here there
is misery at all times, misery when we are in trouble, and still more
of it when we are prosperous."
"And what would my lord say?" asked Sarah, with sadness.
Her father shook his head.
"Before a year passes thy lord will cast thee aside, and others will
help him. Wert thou an Egyptian, he would take thee to his palace; but
a Jewess--"
"He will cast aside?" said Sarah, sighing.
"Why torment one's self with days to come, which are in the hand of
God? I am here to pass the Sabbath with thee."
"I have splendid fish, meat, cakes, and wine of the Jews," put in
Tafet, quickly. "I have bought also, in Memphis, a seven-branched
candlestick and wax tapers. We shall have a better supper than has
Lord Chaires."
Gideon went out on the flat roof with his daughter.
"Tafet tells me," said he, when they were alone, "that thou art always
in the house. Why is this? Thou shouldst look at least on the garden."
"I am afraid," whispered Sarah.
"Why be afraid of thy own garden? Here thou art mistress, a great
lady."
"Once I went out in the daytime. People of some sort stared at me,
and said to one another, 'Look! that is the heir's Jewess; she delays
the overflow.'"
"They are fools!" interrupted Gideon. "Is this the first time that the
Nile is late in its overflow? But go out in the evening."
Sarah shook her head with greater vigor.
"I do not wish, I do not wish. Another time I went out in the evening.
All at once two women pushed out from a side path. I was frightened
and wished to flee, when one of them, the younger and smaller, seized
my hands, saying, 'Do not flee, we must look at thee;' the second, the
elder and taller, stood some steps in front and looked me in the eyes
directly. Ah, father, I thought that I should turn into stone. What a
look, what a woman!"
"Who could she be?" asked Gideon.
"The elder woman looked like a priestess."
"And did she say anything?"
"Nothing. But when going and they were hidden behind trees, I heard
surely the voice of the elder say these words: 'Indeed she is
beautiful!'"
Gideon fell to thinking.
"Maybe they were great ladies from the court."
The sun went down, and on both banks of the Nile dense crowds of
people collected waiting impatiently for the signal of the overflow,
which in fact was belated. For two days the wind had been blowing from
the sea and the river was green; the sun had passed the star Sothis
already, but in the well of the priest in Memphis the water had not
risen even the breadth of a finger. The people were alarmed, all the
more since in Upper Egypt, according to signals, the overflow
proceeded with regular increase and even promised to be perfect.
"What detains it at Memphis then?" asked the anxious earth-tillers
waiting for the signal in disquiet.
When the stars had appeared in the sky, Tafet spread a white cloth on
the table, placed on it the candlestick with seven lighted torches,
pushed up three armchairs, and announced that the Sabbath supper would
be served immediately.
Gideon covered his head then, and raising both hands above the table,
said with his eyes looking heavenward,--
"God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Thou who didst lead our people out
of Egypt, who didst give a country to the slave and exile, who didst
make with the sons of Judah an eternal covenant, O Jehovah, O Adonai,
permit us to enjoy without sin the fruits of the enemies' country.
Bring us out of sorrow and fear in which we are buried, and restore us
to the banks of the Jordan, which we left for Thy glory."
At the moment a voice was heard from beyond the wall,--
"His worthiness Tutmosis, the most faithful servant of his holiness
and of his son Prince Rameses!"
"May he live through eternity!" called a number of voices from the
garden.
"His worthiness," said a single voice again, "sends greeting to the
most beautiful rose of Lebanon."
When the voice ceased, the sound of harps and flutes was heard.
"That is music!" exclaimed Tafet, clapping her hands. "We shall pass
the Sabbath with music."
Sarah and her father, frightened at first, began to laugh, and sat
down again at the table.
"Let them play," said Gideon; "their music is not bad for the
appetite."
The flute and harp played, then a tenor voice sang,--
"Thou art more beautiful than all the maidens who look at themselves
in the Nile. Thy hair is blacker than the feathers of a raven, thy
eyes have a milder glance than the eyes of a deer which is yearning
for its fawn. Thy stature is the stature of a palm, and the lotus
envies thee thy charm. Thy bosoms are like grape clusters with the
juice of which kings delight themselves."
Again the flute and harp were heard, and next a song,--
"Come and repose in the garden. The servants which belong to thee will
bring various vessels and beer of all kinds. Come, let us celebrate
this night and the dawn which will follow it. In my shadow, in the
shadow of the fig, giving sweet fruit, thy lover will rest at thy
right hand; and thou wilt give him to drink and consent to all his
wishes--"
Next came the flutes and harps, and after them a new song,--
"I am of a silent disposition, I never tell what I see, I spoil not
the sweetness of my fruits with vain tattling."[4]
[4] Authentic.