SINCE the evening when Sarah sang in the boat, the royal barge had not
appeared on the Nile, and Prince Ramses was annoyed in real earnest.
The month Mechir (December) was approaching. The waters decreased, the
land extended more widely each day, the grass became higher and
thicker, and in the grass flashed up flowers of the most varied hues
and of incomparable odor. Like islands in a green sea appeared, in the
course of a single day, flowery places, as it were white, azure,
yellow, rosy, or many colored carpets from which rose an intoxicating
odor. Still the prince was wearied, and even feared something. From the
day of his father's departure he had not been in the palace, and no one
from the palace had come to him, save Tutmosis, who since the last
conversation had vanished like a snake in the grass. "Whether they
respected the prince's seclusion, or desired to annoy him, or simply
feared to pay him a visit because he had been touched by disfavor,
Ramses had no means of knowing.
"My father may exclude me from the throne, as he has my elder
brothers," thought the heir sometimes; and sweat came out on his
forehead, while his feet became cold.
"What would he do in that case?"
Moreover Sarah was ill, thin, pale, her great eyes sank; at times she
complained of faintness which attacked her in the morning.
"Surely some one has bewitched the poor thing," groaned the cunning
Tafet, whom the prince could not endure for her chattering and very bad
management.
A couple of times, for instance, the heir noticed that in the evening
Tafet sent off to Memphis immense baskets with food, linen, even
vessels. Next day she complained in heaven-piercing accents that flour,
wine, and even vessels were lacking. Since the heir had come to the
villa ten times more of various products had been used there than
formerly.
"I am certain," thought Ramses, "that that chattering termagant robs me
for her Jews, who vanish in the daytime but are prowling around in the
night, like rats in the nastiest comers!"
The prince's only amusement in these days was to look at the date
harvest. A naked man took his place at the foot of a high palm without
side branches, surrounded the trunk and himself with a circular rope
which resembled the hoop of a barrel. Then he raised himself on the
tree by his heels, his whole body bent backward, but the hoop-like rope
held him by squeezing his body to the tree. Next he shoved the flexible
hoop up the trunk some inches, raised himself by his heels again, then
shoved the rope up. In this way he climbed, exposed meanwhile to the
peril of breaking his neck, till he reached the top, where grew a crown
of great leaves and dates.
The prince was not alone when he saw these gymnastics; Jewish children
also were spectators. At first there was no trace of them. Then among
bushes and from beyond the wall curly heads and black gleaming eyes
appeared. Afterward, when they saw that the prince did not drive them
away, these children came out each from a hiding-place and approached
the tree gradually. The most daring among the girls picked up a
beautiful date which she brought to Ramses. One of the boys ate the
smallest date, and then the children began to eat and to give the
prince fruit. At first they brought him the best, then inferior dates,
finally some that were spoilt altogether.
The future ruler of the world fell to thinking, and said to himself,
"They crawl in at all points, and will treat me always in this way:
they will give the good as a bait, and what is spoiled out of
gratitude."
He rose and walked away gloomily; but the children of Israel rushed,
like a flock of birds, at the labor of the Egyptian, who high above
their heads was singing unmindful of his bones and of this, that he was
harvesting not for his own use.
Sarah's undiscovered disease, her frequent tears, her vanishing charms,
and above all the Jews, who, ceasing to hide, managed the place with
increasing tumult, disgusted Ramses to the utmost degree with that
beautiful comer. He sailed no more in a boat, he neither hunted nor
watched the date harvest, but wandered gloomily through the garden, or
looked from his roof at the palace. He would never go back to that
palace unless summoned, and now he thought of a trip to his lands near
the sea, in Lower Egypt.
In such a state of mind was he found by Tutmosis, who on a certain day
came in a ceremonial barge to the heir with a summons from the pharaoh.
"His holiness is returning from Thebes, and wishes the heir to go forth
and meet him."
The prince trembled, he grew pale and crimson, when he read the
gracious letter of his lord and ruler. He was so moved that he did not
notice his adjutant's new immense wig, which gave out fifteen different
perfumes, he did not see his tunic and mantle, more delicate than mist,
nor his sandals with gold rings as ornaments.
After some time Ramses recovered, and inquired without looking at
Tutmosis,
"Why hast Thou not been here for such a period? Did the disfavor into
which I have fallen alarm thee?"
"Gods!" cried the exquisite. "When wert Thou in disfavor, and in whose?
Every courier of his holiness inquired for thy health; the worthy lady,
Nikotris, and his worthiness Herhor have sailed toward this villa
repeatedly, thinking that Thou wouldst make a hundred steps toward them
after they had made a couple of thousand toward thee. I say nothing of
the troops. In time of review the warriors of thy regiments are as
silent as palm-trees, and do not go from the barracks. As to the worthy
Patrokles, he drinks and curses all day from vexation."
So the prince had not been in disfavor, or if he had been the disfavor
was ended. This thought acted on Ramses like a goblet of good wine. He
took a bath quickly, anointed his body, put on fresh linen, a new
kaftan, a helmet with plumes, and then went to Sarah.
Sarah screamed when she saw the prince arrayed thus. She rose up, and
seizing him around the neck, whispered,
"Thou art going, my lord! Thou wilt not come back to me."
"Why not?" wondered the heir. "Have I not gone away often and returned
afterward?"
"I remember thee dressed in just this way over there in our valley,"
said Sarah. "Oh, where are those hours! So quickly have they passed,
and so long is it since they vanished."
"But I will return and bring the most famous physician."
"What for?" inquired Tafet. "She is well, my dear chick she needs only
rest. But Egyptian physicians would bring real sickness."
The prince did not look at the talkative woman.
"This was my pleasantest month with thee," said Sarah, nestling up to
Ramses, "but it has not brought happiness."
The trumpets sounded on the royal barge, repeating a signal given
higher up on the river.
Sarah started.
"Dost Thou hear, lord, that terrible outburst? Thou hearest and
smilest, and, woe to me, Thou art tearing away from my embraces. When
trumpets call nothing can hold thee, least of all thy slave, Sarah."
"Wouldst them have me listen forever to the cackling of hens in the
country?" interrupted the prince, now impatient. "Be well, and wait for
me joyously."
Sarah let him go from her grasp, but she had such a mournful expression
that Ramses grew mild and stroked her.
"Only be calm. Thou fearest the sound of our trumpets. But were they
ill-omened the first day?"
"My lord," answered Sarah, "I know that over there they will keep thee,
so grant me this one, this last favor. I will give thee," continued
she, sobbing, "a cage of pigeons. They were hatched out and reared
here; hence, as often as Thou rememberest thy servant, open the cage
and set one of them free; it will bring me tidings of thee, and I will
kiss and fondle it as as But go now!"
The prince embraced her and went to the barge, telling his black
attendant to wait for the pigeons.
At sight of the heir, drums and fifes sounded, and the garrison raised
a loud shout of welcome. When he found himself among warriors, the
prince drew a deep breath, and stretched out his arms, like a man
liberated from bondage.
"Well," said he to Tutmosis, "women have tormented me, and those Jews O
Cyrus! command to roast me on a slow fire at once, but put me not in
the country a second time."
"So it is," confirmed Tutmosis; "love is like honey. It must be taken
by sips, a man must not swim in it. Brr! shudders pass over me when I
think that Thou hast passed nearly two months fed on kisses in the
evening, dates in the morning, and asses' milk at midday."
"Sarah is a very good girl," said Ramses.
"I do not speak of her, but of those Jews who have settled down at that
villa like papyrus in swamp land. Dost Thou see, they are looking out
at thee yet, and perhaps are sending greetings," said the flatterer.
The prince turned to another side with displeasure, and Tutmosis winked
joyfully at the officers, as if to tell them that Ramses would not
leave their society very soon this time.
The higher they ascended the Nile the denser on both banks were
spectators, the more numerous were boats on the river, and the more did
flowers, garlands, and bouquets float down; these had been thrown at
the barge of the pharaoh.
About five miles above Memphis there were multitudes of people with
banners, with statues of gods, and with music; an immense roar was
heard, like the sound of a tempest.
"There is his holiness!" cried Tutmosis, delighted.
One spectacle was presented to the eyes of the onlookers: in the middle
of a broad bend in the river sailed the great barge of the pharaoh,
rising in front like the breast of a swan. At the right and left sides
of it, like two giant wings, pushed forward the countless boats of his
subjects, and in the rear, like a rich fan, stretched the retinue of
the ruler of Egypt.
Every one living shouted, sang, clapped hands, and threw flowers at the
feet of the lord whom no one even saw. It was enough that under that
gilded canopy and those ostrich plumes waved a ruddy blue flag,
denoting that the pharaoh was present.
The people in the boats were as if drunk, the people on the shore as if
mad. Every moment some boat struck or overturned a boat and some man
fell into the water, out of which luckily the crocodiles had fled,
frightened by the unparalleled uproar. On the banks men ran into one
another, for no one paid heed to his neighbor, his father, or his
child, but fixed his wild eyes on the gilded beak of the barge and the
tent of the pharaoh. Even people who were trampled, whose ribs the wild
crowd broke stupidly, and whose joints they put out, had no cry save
this,
"May he live through eternity, O our ruler! Shine on, Thou the sun of
Egypt!"
The madness of greeting spread to the barge of Ramses: officers,
soldiers, and oarsmen pressed into one throng and strove to outshout
one another. Tutmosis, forgetting the heir to the throne, clambered up
on the prow, and almost flew into the water.
Meanwhile a trumpet sounded from the pharaoh's barge, and soon after
one answered from the barge of Ramses. A second signal, and the barge
of the heir touched the great barge of the pharaoh.
Some official called to Ramses. From barge to barge they extended a
gangway of cedar with carved railings, and the prince found himself
next in the embrace of his father.
The presence of the pharaoh, or the storm of shouts roaring about him,
so stunned Prince Ramses that he could not utter a syllable. He fell at
his father's feet, and the lord of the world pressed the heir to his
sacred bosom.
A moment later the side walls of the tent rose, and all the people on
both banks of the Nile saw their ruler on a throne, and on the high
step of it Ramses kneeling, with his head on the breast of his father.
Such silence followed that the rustling of banners on the barges was
audible. Then on a sudden burst forth one immense roar, greater than
all which had preceded. With this the Egyptian people honored the
reconciliation of son and father; they greeted their present, and
saluted their future ruler.
If any man had reckoned on dissensions in the sacred family of the
pharaoh, he might convince himself then that the new royal branch held
to its parent trunk firmly.
His holiness looked very ill. After the tender greeting of his son, he
commanded him to sit at the side of the throne.
"My soul was rushing forth toward thee, Ramses," said he, "and all the
more ardently the better were the tidings which I had of thee. Today I
see not only that Thou hast the heart of a lion, but that Thou art a
man full of prudence, who knows how to estimate his own acts, who is
able to restrain himself, and who feels for the interests of Egypt."
When the prince, filled with emotion, was silent and kissed his
father's feet, the pharaoh continued,
"Thou hast done well to renounce command of the Greek regiments,
because from this day the corps in Memphis is thine, Thou art its
commander."
"My father!" whispered the heir, trembling.
"Besides, in Lower Egypt, which is open on three sides to attacks of
hostile nations, I need a wise, active man, who will watch all things
round him, weigh them well in his heart, and act promptly. For this
reason I appoint thee my lieutenant in that half of the kingdom."
Abundant tears flowed from the prince's eyes. With those tears he bade
farewell to his youth; be greeted power, to which his soul had turned
for years with uncertainty and longing.
"I am now weak and wearied," said the ruler, "and were it not for
anxiety touching thy youth and the future of Egypt, I would this day
beg my deathless ancestors to call me to their glory. Each day is for
me more difficult, and therefore, Ramses, Thou wilt begin to share the
burden of rule with me. As a hen teaches her chicks to search out
grains of corn and hide before the hawk, so I will teach thee that
toilsome art of ruling a state and watching the devices of enemies. May
Thou fall on them in time, like an eagle on timid partridges."
The pharaoh's barge and its well-ordered retinue had descended to a
point opposite the palace. The wearied ruler took a seat in his litter,
and at that moment Herhor approached Ramses.
"Permit me, worthy prince," said he, "to be the earliest among those
who are delighted with thy elevation. May Thou lead the army with as
much success as Thou shalt govern the most important part of the state
to the glory of Egypt."
Ramses pressed his hand firmly.
"Didst Thou do this, O Herhor?" asked he.
"It belonged to thee," replied the minister.
"Thou hast my gratitude, and wilt see that it is of value."
"Thou hast rewarded me already in speaking thus," replied Herhor.
The prince wished to depart; Herhor detained him.
"A brief word. Be careful, O heir, that one of thy women, Sarah, does
not sing religious hymns."
When Ramses looked at him with astonishment, he added,
"During our sail on the Nile that maiden sang our most sacred hymn, a
hymn to which only the pharaoh and high priests have the right to
listen. Poor child! she might have suffered for her skill and for her
ignorance of what she was singing."
"Then has she committed sacrilege?" inquired Ramses, in confusion.
"Yes, unconsciously," answered Herhor. "It is lucky that I was the only
man who understood it, and my decision is that between that song and
our hymn the resemblance is remote. In every case let her never repeat
it."
"Well, and should she purify herself?" asked the prince. "Will it
suffice her, as a foreign woman, if she gives thirty cows to the temple
of Isis?"
"Yes, let her give them," replied Herhor, with a slight grimace. "The
gods are not offended by gifts."
"Do thou, noble lord," said Ramses, "be pleased to accept this
miraculous shield, which I received from my sacred grandfather."
"I? the shield of Amenhotep?" exclaimed the minister, with emotion. "Am
I worthy of it?"
"By thy wisdom Thou art equal to my grandfather, and Thou wilt equal
him in position."
Herhor made a low bow in silence. That golden shield set with precious
stones, besides its great value in money, had moreover the virtue of an
amulet; hence it was a regal present.
But the prince's words might have the loftier meaning that Herhor would
equal Amenhotep in position. Amenhotep had been the father-in-law of a
pharaoh. Had the heir decided already to marry Herhor's daughter?
That was the fond dream of Queen Nikotris and the minister. But it must
be acknowledged that Ramses in speaking of the future dignities of
Herhor had not thought in the least of marrying his daughter, but of
giving him new offices, of which there was a multitude at the court and
in the temples.