WHEN he left Fayum the pharaoh and his retinue advanced southward a
number of days up the Nile, surrounded by a throng of boats, greeted by
shouts, and covered with flowers.
On both banks of the river, on a background of green fields, extended
an unbroken series of huts of the people, groves of fig trees, groups
of palms. Every hour appeared the white houses of some village, or a
larger place with colored buildings, and the immense pylons of temples.
On the west the wall of the Libyan hills was outlined not very
distinctly; but on the east the Arabian line approached ever nearer to
the river. It was possible to see clearly the steep, jagged cliffs,
dark, yellow or rose colored, recalling by their forms the ruins of
fortresses or of temples built by giants.
In the middle of the Nile they met islands which had risen from the
water as it were yesterday, but were covered with rich vegetation today
and were occupied by birds in countless numbers. When the noisy retinue
of the pharaoh sailed near, the frightened birds flew up and, circling
above the boats, joined their cries with the mighty sound of people.
Above this all hung a transparent sky and light so full of life that in
the flood of it the black earth assumed a brightness, and the stones
rainbow colors.
Time passed, therefore, pleasantly for the pharaoh. At first the
incessant cries irritated him somewhat, but later he grew so,
accustomed that he turned no attention to them. He was able to read
documents, take counsel, and even sleep.
From a hundred and fifty to two hundred miles above Fayum on the left
bank of the Nile is Siut, where Ramses XIII took a rest of two days. He
was even obliged to halt there, for the mummy of the late pharaoh was
still in Abydos, where they were making solemn prayers at the grave of
Osiris.
Siut was one of the richest parts of Upper Egypt. At that place were
made the famous vessels of white and black clay, and there they wove
linen. It was also the chief market-place to which people brought goods
from the oases scattered throughout the desert. There besides was the
famous temple of the jackal-headed god, Anubis.
On the second day of his stay in that place the priest Pentuer appeared
before Ramses. He was the chief of that commission sent to investigate
the condition of the people.
"Hast Thou news?" inquired the sovereign.
"I have this, O holiness, that all the country blesses thee. All with
whom I speak are full of hope, and say, 'His reign will be a new life
for Egypt.'."
"I wish," replied Ramses, "my subjects to be happy; I wish the toiling
man to rest; I wish that Egypt might have eight millions of people as
aforetime and win back that land seized from it by the desert; I wish
the laborer to rest one day in seven and each man who digs the earth to
have some little part of it."
Pentuer fell on his face before the kindly sovereign.
"Rise," said Ramses. "But I have had hours of grievous sadness: I see
the suffering of my people; I wish to raise them, but the treasury is
empty. Thou thyself knowest best that without some tens of thousands of
talents I cannot venture on such changes. But now I am at rest; I can
get the needed treasure from the labyrinth."
Pentuer looked at his sovereign with amazement.
"The overseer of the treasure explained to me what I am to do," said
the pharaoh. "I must call a general council of all orders, thirteen of
each order. And if they declare that Egypt is in need the labyrinth
will furnish me with treasure."
"O gods!" added he, "for a couple for one of the jewels which lie there
it would be possible to give the people fifty rest days in a year!
Never will they be used to better purpose."
Pentuer shook his head.
"Lord," said he, "the six million Egyptians, with me and my friends
before others, will agree that Thou take from that treasure. But, O
holiness, be not deceived; one hundred of the highest dignitaries of
the state will oppose, and then the labyrinth will give nothing."
"They wish me, then, to beg before some temple!" burst out the pharaoh.
"No," replied the priest. "They fear lest that treasure house be
emptied once Thou touch it. They will suspect thy most faithful
servants, holiness, of sharing in the profits flowing from the
labyrinth. And then envy will whisper to each of them: 'Why shouldst
Thou not profit also?' Not hatred of thee, holiness, but mutual
distrust, greed, will urge them to resistance."
When he heard this the pharaoh was calm, he smiled even.
"If it be as Thou sayst, be at rest, beloved Pentuer. At this moment I
understand exactly why Amon established the authority of the pharaoh
and gave him superhuman power. For the purpose, seest thou, that a
hundred, even of the most distinguished rascals, should not wreck the
state."
Ramses rose from his armchair and added,
"Say to 'my people: Work and be patient. Say to the priests who are
loyal: Serve the gods and cultivate wisdom, which is the sun of the
universe. But those stubborn and suspicious dignitaries leave to my
management. Woe to them if they anger me."
"Lord," said the priest, "I am thy faithful servant."
But when he had taken farewell and gone out care was evident on his
face.
About seventy-five miles from Siut, higher up the Nile, the wild
Arabian rocks almost touch the river, but the Libyan hills have pushed
away so far from it that the valley at that point is perhaps the widest
part of Egypt. Just there, side by side, stood Tibis and Abydos, two
holy cities. There was born the first Egyptian pharaoh, Menes, there, a
hundred thousand years before, were laid in the grave the holy relics
of the god Osiris slain by Set (his brother Typhon) treacherously.
There, finally, in memory of those great events, the famous pharaoh
Seti built a temple to which pilgrims came from every part of Egypt.
Each believer was bound even once during life to bring his forehead to
the blessed earth of Abydos. Truly happy was he whose mummy could make
a journey to that place and halt even at a distance from the temple.
The mummy of Ramses XII spent two days there; for he had been a ruler
noted for devotion. There is nothing wonderful in this, therefore, that
Ramses XIII began his reign by rendering homage to the grave of Osiris.
Seti's temple was not among the oldest or most splendid in Egypt, but
it was distinguished for pure Egyptian style. His holiness Ramses XIII,
accompanied by Sem the high priest, visited the temple and made
offerings in it.
The ground belonging to the edifice occupied a space of seventy-five
hectares, on which were fish ponds, flower beds, orchards and vegetable
gardens, besides the houses or rather villas of the temple priesthood.
Everywhere grew poplars and acacias, as well as palm, fig, and orange
trees which formed alleys directed toward the cardinal points of the
world, or groups of trees of almost the same height and set out in
order.
Under the watchful eyes of priests even the plant world did not develop
according to its own impulses into irregular but picturesque groups; it
was arranged in straight lines according to direction, or straight
lines according to height, or in geometrical figures.
Palms, tamarinds, cypresses, and myrtles were arranged like warriors in
ranks or columns. The grass was a divan shorn and ornamented with
pictures made of flowers, not of any chance color, but of that color
which was demanded. People looking from above saw pictures of gods or
sacred beasts blooming on the turf near the temple; a sage found there
aphorisms written out in hieroglyphs.
The central part of the gardens occupied a rectangular space nine
hundred yards long and three hundred wide. This space was enclosed by a
wall of no great height which had one visible gate and a number of
secret entrances. Through the gate pious people entered the space which
surrounded the dwelling of Osiris; this space was covered with a stone
pavement. In the middle of the space stood the temple, a rectangular
pile four hundred and fifty yards long and in width one hundred and
fifty.
From the public gate to the temple was an avenue of sphinxes with human
heads and lion bodies. They were in two lines, ten in each, and were
gazing into each others' eyes. Only the highest dignitaries might pass
between these sphinxes.
At the head of this avenue, and opposite the public gate, rose two
obelisks or slender and lofty granite columns of four sides, on which
was inscribed the history of the pharaoh Seti.
Beyond the obelisks rose the gate of the temple having at both sides of
it gigantic piles in the form of truncated pyramids called pylons.
These were like two strong towers, on the walls of which were paintings
representing the visits of Seti, or the offerings which he made to
divinities.
Earth-tillers were not permitted to pass this gate which was free only
to wealthy citizens and the privileged classes. Through it was the
entrance to the peristyle or court, surrounded by a corridor which had
a multitude of columns. From this court, where there was room for ten
thousand people, persons of the noble order might go still farther to
the first hall, the hypostyle; this had a ceiling which rested on two
rows of lofty columns, and there was space in it for two thousand
worshippers. This hall was the last to which lay people were admitted.
The highest dignitaries who had not received ordination had the right
to pray there, and look thence at the veiled image of the god which
rose in the hall of "divine apparition."
Beyond the hall of "divine apparition" was the chamber of "tables of
offering," where priests placed before the gods gifts brought by the
faithful. Next was the chamber of "repose," where the god rested when
returning from or going to a procession, and last was the chapel or
sanctuary where the god had his residence.
Usually the chapel was very small, dark, sometimes cut out of one block
of stone. It was surrounded on all sides by chapels equally small,
filled with garments, furniture, vessels and jewels of the god which in
its inaccessible seclusion slept, bathed, was anointed with perfumes,
ate, drank, and as it seems even received visits from young and
beautiful women.
This sanctuary was entered only by the high priest, and the ruling
pharaoh if he had received ordination. If an ordinary mortal entered he
might lose his life there.
The walls and columns of each hall were covered with inscriptions and
explanatory paintings. In the corridor surrounding the peristyle were
the names and portraits of all the pharaohs from Menes the first ruler
of Egypt to Ramses XII In the hypostyle, or hall for nobles, the
geography and statistics of Egypt were presented pictorially, also the
subject nations. In the hall of "apparition" were the calendar and the
results of astronomical observation; in the chamber of "tables of
offering," and in that of "repose" figured pictures relating to
religious ceremonial, and in the sanctuary rules for summoning beings
beyond the earth and controlling the phenomena of nature.
This last kind of knowledge was contained in statements so involved
that even priests in the time of Ramses XII did not understand them.
The Chaldean Beroes was to revive this expiring wisdom.
Ramses XIII, after he had rested two days in the official palace at
Abydos, betook himself to the temple. He wore a white tunic, a gold
breastplate, an apron with orange and blue stripes, a steel sword at
his side and on his head a golden helmet. The pharaoh sat in a chariot
drawn by horses adorned with ostrich plumes, and was conducted by
nomarchs as he moved slowly toward the house of Osiris, surrounded by
his officers.
Whithersoever he looked: toward the field, the river, the roofs of
houses, or even the limbs of tamarind and fig-trees there was a throng
of people, and an unceasing shout which was like the roar of a tempest.
When he arrived at the temple the pharaoh stopped his horses and
descended before the public gate. This act pleased the common people
and delighted the priesthood. He passed on foot along the avenue of
sphinxes and, greeted by the holy men, burned incense before the
statues of Seti which occupied both sides of the main entrance.
In the peristyle the high priest turned the attention of his holiness
to the splendid portraits of the pharaohs, and pointed out the place
selected for that of Ramses. In the hypostyle he indicated to him the
meaning of the geographical maps and statistical tables.
In the chamber of "divine apparition" Ramses offered incense to the
gigantic statue of Osiris, and the high priest showed him the columns
dedicated to the separate planets: Mercury, Venus, the moon, Mars,
Jupiter, and Saturn. The planets stood around statues of the sun god to
the number of seven.
"Thou hast told me," said Ramses, "that there are six planets;
meanwhile I see seven columns."
"The seventh represents the earth, which is also a planet."
The astonished pharaoh asked for explanation, but the sage was silent,
indicating by signs that his lips were sealed on that subject.
In the chamber of the "tables of offering" was heard low but beautiful
music, during which a solemn dance was given by a chorus of
priestesses.
The pharaoh removed his golden helmet; next, his breastplate of great
value, and gave both to Osiris, desiring that these gifts should remain
in the treasury of the god, and not be transferred to the labyrinth.
In return for his bounty the high priest bestowed on the sovereign a
most beautiful dancer fifteen years of age, who seemed greatly
delighted with her fortune.
When the pharaoh found himself in the hall of "repose" he sat on the
throne, and his substitute in religion, Sem, to the sound of music and
amid the smoke of censers, entered the sanctuary to bring forth the
divinity.
Half an hour later, to the deafening sound of bells, appeared in the
gloom of the chamber a golden boat hidden by curtains which moved at
times as if some living being were sitting behind them.
The priests prostrated themselves, and Ramses looked intently at the
transparent curtains. One of these was turned aside and the pharaoh saw
a child of rare beauty which looked at him with such wise eyes that the
ruler of Egypt was almost afraid of it.
"This is Horus," whispered the priest. "Horus the rising sun. He is the
son of Osiris and also his father, and the husband of his own mother,
who is his sister."
The procession began, but only through the interior of the temple. In
advance went harpers and female dancers, next a white bull with a
golden shield between his horns, then two choruses of priests and high
priests bearing the god, then choruses, and finally the pharaoh in a
litter borne by eight priests of the temple.
When the procession had passed through all the corridors and halls of
the temple, and the god and Ramses had returned to the chamber of
repose, the curtain concealing the sacred boat slipped apart and the
beautiful child smiled at the pharaoh.
After that Sem bore away the boat and the god to the chapel.
"One might become a high priest," said the pharaoh, who was so pleased
with the child that he would have been glad to see it as often as
possible.
But when he had gone forth from the temple and seen the sun and the
throng of delighted people, he confessed in his soul that he understood
nothing. He knew not whence they had brought that child, unlike any
other child in Egypt, whence that superhuman wisdom in its eyes, nor
what the meaning was of all that he himself had seen.
Suddenly he remembered his murdered son, who might have been as
beautiful, and the ruler of Egypt wept in presence of a hundred
thousand subjects.
"Converted! The pharaoh is converted!" said the priests. "Barely has he
entered the dwelling of Osiris, and his heart is touched."
That same day one blind man and two paralytics, who were praying
outside the walls of the temple, recovered health. The council of
priests decided, therefore, to reckon that day in the list of those
which were miraculous, and to paint a picture on the external wall of
the edifice representing the weeping pharaoh and the cured people.
Ramses returned rather late in the afternoon to his palace to hear
reports. When all the dignitaries had left the cabinet Tutmosis came in
and said,
"Holiness, the priest Samentu wishes to pay thee homage."
"Well, let him come."
"He implores thee, lord, to receive him in a tent in the military camp;
he asserts that the walls of the palace are fond of listening."
Before sunset, the pharaoh went with Tutmosis to his faithful troops
and found among them the royal tent, at which Asiatics were on guard by
command of Tutmosis.
In the evening came Samentu dressed in the garb of a pilgrim, and when
he had greeted his holiness with honor, he whispered,
"It seems to me that I was followed the whole way by some man who has
stopped not far from this tent, O holiness. Perhaps he was sent by the
high priests."
At the pharaoh's command Tutmosis ran out, and found, in fact, a
strange officer.
"Who art thou?" asked he.
"I am Eunana, a centurion in the regiment of Isis. The unfortunate
Eunana. Dost Thou not remember me, worthiness? More than a year ago at
the maneuvers near Pi-Bailos I discovered the sacred scarabs."
"Ah, that is thou!" interrupted Tutmosis. "But thy regiment is not in
Abydos?"
"The water of truth flows from thy lips. We are quartered at a wretched
place near Mena where the priests have commanded us to clear a canal,
as if we were Hebrews or earthdiggers."
"How hast Thou appeared here?"
"I implored my superiors for a rest of some days, and like a deer
thirsting for a spring I, thanks to the swiftness of my feet, have
hurried hither."
"What dost Thou wish, then?"
"I wish to beg favor of his holiness against the shaven heads who give
me no promotion because I am sensitive to the sufferings of warriors."
Tutmosis returned to the tent, ill-humored, and repeated the
conversation to the pharaoh.
"Eunana?" repeated the sovereign. "Yes, I remember him. He caused us
trouble with his beetles, but got fifty blows of a stick through
Herhor. And Thou sayst that he complains of the priests? Bring him
hither."
The pharaoh told Samentu to go into the second division of the tent.
The unfortunate officer soon showed himself. He fell with his face to
the earth, and then kneeling, and sighing, continued,
"I pray every day at his rising and setting to Re Harmachis, and to
Amon, and Re, and Ptah, and to other gods and goddesses, for thy
health, O sovereign of Egypt! That Thou live! That Thou have success,
and that I might see even the splendor of thy heel." [Authentic]
"What does he wish?" asked the pharaoh of Tutmosis, observing etiquette
for the first time.
"His holiness is pleased to inquire what thy wish is?" repeated
Tutmosis.
The deceitful Eunana, remaining on his knees, turned toward the
favorite, and said,
"Thou art the ear and eye of the land; Thou givest delight and life,
hence I will answer thee as at the judgment of Osiris: I have served in
the priests' regiment of the divine Isis ten years; I have fought six
years on the eastern boundary. Men of my age are commanders of
thousands, but I am only a centurion. I receive blows of sticks at
command of the god-fearing priests. And why is such injustice done me?
In the day-time I think of books, and at night I read them, since the
fool who leaves books as quickly as a gazelle takes to flight is of low
mind; he is like the ass which receives lashes, like the deaf man who
does not hear, and with whom one must speak with his fingers. In spite
of my love for science I am not puffed up with my own knowledge, but I
take counsel with all, for from each man it is possible to learn
something, and I surround with my esteem worthy sages."
The pharaoh moved impatiently, but listened on, knowing that an
Egyptian considered garrulousness as his duty and the highest honor to
superiors.
"This is what I am," said Eunana. "In a strange house I look not at
women. I give my attendants to eat what is proper, but when my turn
comes I dispute not about the division. I have a face which is
satisfied at all times, and in presence of superiors I act
respectfully. I never sit in the presence of an older man standing; I
am not forward, and without invitation I go not into other men's
houses. I am silent touching that which my eyes see, for I know that we
are deaf to men who use many words.
"Wisdom teaches that the body of a man is like a granary full of
various objects. Therefore, I choose at all times the good that is in
me and express it. I keep the bad shut up in my person. The deceits of
other men I repeat not, and as to that which is committed to me I
always accomplish it in the best manner possible.
"And what is my reward?" finished Eunana, raising his voice; "I suffer
cold, I go in rags, I am not able to lie on my back, it is so beaten. I
read in books that the priestly order rewards valor and prudence.
Indeed! that must have been at some other time, and very long ago. For
the priests of today turn from men of ability and drive strength and
valor out of the bones of officers."
"I shall fall asleep in presence of this man," said the pharaoh.
"Eunana," said Tutmosis, "his holiness is convinced that Thou art
expert in books, but tell now in as few words as possible what thy wish
is."
"An arrow does not go so quickly to its mark as my request will fly to
the divine feet of his holiness," replied Eunana. "The service of the
shaven heads has so disgusted me, the priests have filled my heart with
such bitterness, that if I am not transferred to the army of the
pharaoh, I shall pierce myself with my own sword, before which the
enemies of Egypt have trembled more than one time and more than a
hundred times. I would rather be a decurion, nay a simple warrior of
his holiness than a centurion in priestly regiments; a pig or a dog may
serve them, but not a believing Egyptian!"
Eunana uttered the last words with such mad anger that the pharaoh said
in Greek to Tutmosis,
"Take him to the guard. An officer who does not like the priests may be
of use to us."
"His holiness, the lord of both worlds has given command to receive
thee into his guard," repeated Tutmosis.
"My health and life belong to our lord. May he live through eternity!"
exclaimed Eunana, and he kissed the footstool beneath the feet of the
pharaoh.
Eunana, now made happy, moved backward, falling on his face after every
couple of steps, and left the tent, blessing his sovereign.
"His garrulousness irritated me," said Ramses. "I must teach Egyptian
soldiers and officers to speak briefly, not like learned scribes."
"May the gods grant that to be his only failing," whispered Tutmosis,
on whom Eunana had made a bad impression.
Ramses summoned Samentu.
"Be at rest," said he to the priest. "That officer who came after thee
was not following. He is too stupid for commissions of that sort. But a
heavy hand may be used in case of necessity. Well, now, tell me what
inclined thee to such cautiousness?"
"I know, almost, the road to the treasure chambers in the labyrinth,"
said Samentu.
The pharaoh shook his head.
"That is a difficult task," said he in a low voice. "I ran an hour
through various halls and corridors, like a mouse chased by a cat. And
I confess that, not merely did I not understand that road, but I could
not have even escaped from the place unattended. Death in the sunlight
may be pleasant, but death in those dens, where a mole would lose its
way! Brr!"
"Still we must find that road and master it," said Samentu.
"But if the overseers themselves give the necessary part of the
treasure," inquired the pharaoh.
"They will not do that while Mefres, Herhor, and their confederates are
living. Believe me, sovereign, the question for those dignitaries is to
roll thee in swaddling clothes, like an infant."
Ramses grew pale from anger.
"Unless I wind them in chains! How wilt Thou discover the way?"
"Here in Abydos, in the grave of Osiris, I found the whole plan of the
road to the treasure," said Samentu.
"But how didst Thou learn that it was here?"
"Inscriptions in my temple of Set explained that to me."
"When didst Thou find the plan?"
"When the mummy of thy eternally living father, O holiness, was in the
temple of Osiris. I accompanied the revered relics and while on night
service in the hall of 'repose' I entered the sanctuary."
"Thou shouldst be a general, not a high priest!" cried Ramses,
laughing. "And now Thou understandest the way of the labyrinth?"
"I have understood it this long time, now I have taken indications for
guidance."
"Canst Thou explain it to me?"
"Of course, at the right time, I will even show thee a plan, holiness.
That way," continued Samentu, "passes in zigzags four times through the
whole labyrinth; it begins on the upper story and ends in the lowest
place underground, and has a number of other twists. That is why it is
so long."
"And how couldst Thou go from one hall to another when there is such a
multitude of doors in them?"
"On every door leading to the object there is a portion of this
sentence: 'Woe to the traitor who tries to penetrate the supreme secret
of the state and to stretch forth a sacrilegious hand toward the
treasure of the gods. His remains will be like offal, and his soul,
torn by its sins, will wander without rest, through dark places.'"
"And that inscription does not terrify thee?"
"But, holiness, does the sight of a Libyan spear terrify thee? Threats
are good against common people, but not against me, who am able myself
to write curses still more dreadful."
The pharaoh fell to thinking.
"Thou art right," said he. "A spear will not harm him who knows how to
ward it off, and a deceitful road will not lead astray the sage who
knows the word of truth. But how wilt Thou manage to make stones in the
wall move apart before thee, and columns change into doors of
entrance?"
Samentu shrugged his shoulders contemptuously.
"In my temple," replied he, "there are imperceptible entrances even
more difficult to open than those in the labyrinth. Whoso knows the key
to a mystery can go everywhere, as Thou hast said justly, O holiness."
Ramses rested his head on his hand and continued thinking.
"I should be sorry," said he, "if misfortune were to meet thee on the
way."
"In the worst event I shall meet death, and does not death threaten
even a pharaoh. Besides, didst Thou not march to the Soda Lakes boldly,
though Thou wert not sure of returning? And, lord, think not,"
continued the priest, "that I must pass over the same distance as other
men who visit the labyrinth. I shall find nearer points, and in the
course of one prayer to Osiris I can reach a place which Thou wouldst
only reach after thirty prayers."
"But are there other entrances?"
"There are, most assuredly, and I must find them. I shall not enter as
Thou didst, by the main gate or in the daytime."
"How then?"
"There are external doors which I know and which the wise overseers of
the labyrinth leave unguarded. In the court the watches are not
numerous and they trust so much to the care of the gods, or to the fear
of the people that they sleep in the night time most frequently.
Besides, the priests go to pray in the temple three times between
sunset and sunrise, but the guards perform their devotions in the open
air. Before one prayer is finished I shall be in the edifice."
"And if Thou go astray?"
"I have a plan."
"But if the plan is imperfect?" asked the pharaoh, unable to hide his
anxiety.
"But, holiness, if Thou obtain not the treasures of the labyrinth? If
the Phoenicians change their minds and refuse the promised loan? If the
army be hungry, and the hopes of the common people be deceived? Be
pleased to believe me, lord," continued the priest, "that I amid the
corridors of the labyrinth shall be safer than Thou in thy kingdom of
Egypt."
"But the darkness the darkness! And the walls which one cannot break
through, and the depth, and those hundreds of ways in which he who
enters must lose himself. Believe me, Samentu, a battle with men is
amusement, but a conflict with darkness and doubt that is dreadful."
"Holiness," answered Samentu, smiling, "Thou dost not know my life. At
the age of twenty-five I was a priest of Osiris."
"Thou?" asked Ramses, with astonishment.
"I, and I will tell at once why I passed to the service of Set. They
sent me to the peninsula of Sinai to build a small chapel for miners.
The labor of building continued six years. I, had much free time and
wandered among mountains, examining the caves in them.
"What have I not seen in those places! Corridors so long that it took
hours to pass through them, narrow entrances through which if a man
passes he must crawl on his stomach; chambers so immense that in each a
whole temple might find room sufficient. I saw underground rivers,
lakes, crystal chambers, dens totally dark in which no man could see
his own hand, again others in which there was as much light as if a
second sun had been shining there.
"How often have I been lost in countless passages, how often has my
torch gone out, how often was I approaching an unseen precipice? I have
passed many days in subterranean places, living on parched barley,
licking the moisture from wet rocks, not knowing whether I should ever
see this upper world again.
"But I gained experience. My vision grew sharp and I even came to love
those underground regions. And today when I think of the childish
recesses of the labyrinth I am ready for laughter. Edifices built by
men are like mole-hills when compared with the immense structures
reared by those silent and invisible earth spirits.
"But once I met a dreadful thing which brought me to change my
position. West from the quarries of Sinai is a group of ravines and
mountains among which subterranean thunders are heard frequently, the
earth trembles, and flames are seen sometimes. I was made curious, so I
went there for a longer visit. I sought, and, thanks to an
inconsiderable opening, I discovered a whole chain of immense caves
under the arches of which it would be possible to place the largest
pyramid.
"When I wandered into those places I was met by a smell of
putrefaction, a smell so strong that I wished to flee from it. But,
conquering myself, I entered the cave whence it came, and beheld
Imagine, lord, a man with legs and arms shorter by one half than ours,
but thick, awkward, and with claws at their extremities. Add to this
figure a broad tail, flattened at the side, indented like the comb of a
cock, a very long neck, and on it a dog's head. Finally, dress this
monster in armor covered on the back with carved spikes. Now imagine
that figure standing on its feet with arms and breast resting against a
cliff."
"That was something very ugly," put in Ramses; "I should have killed it
immediately."
"It was not ugly," answered Samentu, shaking himself. "For think, lord,
that monster was as tall as an obelisk."
Ramses made a movement of displeasure.
"Samentu," said he, "it seems to me that Thou didst visit thy caves in
a dream."
"I swear to thee, holiness, by the life of my children!" exclaimed the
priest, "that I speak truth. Yes; that monster in the skin of a reptile
covered with a scaly armor, if lying on the ground, would with its tail
be fifty paces long. In spite of fear and repulsion I returned a number
of times to that cave and examined the creature most carefully."
"Then it was alive?"
"No, it was dead. Dead a very long time, but preserved like our
mummies. The great dryness of the air preserved it, and perhaps some.
salt of the earth unknown to me.
"That was my last discovery," continued Samentu. "I went no more into
caves, for I meditated greatly. 'Osiris,' said I, 'creates lions,
elephants, horses, and Set gives birth to serpents, bats, crocodiles;
the monster which I met is surely a creation of Set, and since it
exceeds everything known by us under the sun, Set is a mightier god
than Osiris.'
"So I turned to Set, and on returning to Egypt fixed myself in his
temple. When I told the priests of my discovery they explained to me
that they knew a great many monsters of that sort."
Samentu drew breath, then continued,
"Shouldst Thou desire to visit our temple at any time, holiness, I will
show thee wondrous and terrible beings in coffins: geese with lizards'
heads and bats' wings. Lizards like swans, but larger than ostriches,
crocodiles three times as long as those which live now in the Nile,
frogs as bulky as mastiffs. Those are mummies, or skeletons found in
caves and preserved in our coffins. People think that we adore them,
but we merely save them from decay and examine their structure."
"I shall believe thee when I see them myself," replied the pharaoh.
"But tell me, whence could such creatures come?"
"The world in which we live, holiness, has suffered great changes. In
Egypt itself we find ruins of cities and temples hidden in the earth
deeply. There was a time when that which is now Lower Egypt was an arm
of the sea, and the Nile flowed through the whole width of our valley.
Still earlier the sea was here, where this kingdom is now. Our
ancestors inhabited the region which the western desert has taken.
Still earlier tens of thousands of years ago the people were not as we
are, they rather resembled monkeys, but they knew how to build huts,
they had fire, and they used stones and clubs in fighting.
"There were no horses in those days, nor bulls; while elephants,
rhinoceroses and lions were three or even four times as large as those
beasts are in our time.
"But enormous elephants were not the first creatures. Before them lived
immense reptiles: flying, swimming, and walking. Earlier than the
reptiles in this world there were only snails and fish, and before them
only plants, but plants such as exist not at present."
"And still earlier?" inquired Ramses.
"Still earlier the earth was empty and void, and the spirit of God
moved over the waters."
"I have heard something of this," said Ramses, "but I shall not believe
it till Thou show me mummies of monsters which, as Thou sayst, are in
thy temple."
"With permission, holiness, I will finish what I have begun," said
Samentu. "When I saw that immense body in the cave at Sinai fear seized
me, and for two years or more I entered no cave of any kind. But when
priests of Set explained to me the origin of such wonderful creatures
my alarm vanished and curiosity rose up in place of it. I have no
pleasanter amusement today than to wander in subterranean places and
search for ways amid darkness. For this reason the labyrinth will not
cause me more trouble than a walk through the pharaoh's garden."
"Samentu," said the sovereign, "I esteem thy marvelous daring and thy
wisdom; Thou hast told me so many curious things that indeed I myself
have conceived a wish to examine caves, and some time I will even go
with thee to Sinai. Still I have fears as to thy conquest of the
labyrinth, and in every event I will summon an assembly of Egyptians to
empower me to use its treasures."
"That will do no harm," replied the priest. "But none the less will my
labor be needed, since Mefres and Herhor will never consent to yield
the treasure."
"And art Thou sure of success?" inquired Ramses persistently.
"Since Egypt is Egypt," said Samentu, "there has not been a man who had
such means to win victory as I have. This encounter is for me not even
a struggle, but an amusement. Darkness terrifies some men; I love
darkness and can even see in the midst of it. Others are unable to
guide themselves among the numerous chambers and corridors; I shall do
that very easily. Besides, the secrets of opening hidden doors are
unknown to other men, while I know them thoroughly.
"Had I nothing beyond what I have recounted I should discover the ways
of the labyrinth in one month or in two, but I have besides a detailed
plan of those passages and I know the expressions which will lead me
from hall to hall. What then can hinder me?"
"Still doubt is concealed at the bottom of thy heart; Thou didst fear
that officer who seemed to pursue thee."
The priest shrugged his shoulders.
"I fear nothing and no man," replied he with calmness, "but I am
cautious. I provide against everything, and I am prepared even for
this, that they may seize me."
"Dreadful tortures would await thee in that case!" whispered Ramses.
"No tortures. I shall open a door directly from the subterranean
chamber of the labyrinth to the land of endless light."
"And wilt Thou not be sorry for me?"
"Why should I? I aim at a great object; I wish to occupy Herhor's
place."
"I swear that Thou shalt have it."
"Unless I perish," added Samentu. "But if I go along precipices to
mountain summits, and in that wandering my foot slips and I fall, what
does it signify? Thou, lord, wilt care for the future of my children?"
"Go forward," said Ramses. "Thou art worthy to be my foremost
assistant."