"The shadows of life are gathering thick and fast, and my long day on
earth is drawing to its close, and I fain would write, ere it be too
late, that which the world should know from me, when the time is ripe
for its revealing.
"On the night of the fulfillment of the last curse, as the Queen and I
stood by the bed whereon lay my dead child, and while the all
unconscious mother, Miriam, strove to comfort the Queen, Hatsu and I
were summoned to attend upon Zelas the High Priest. The place to which
he called us was a subterranean grotto, under the great Sphinx, a
secret retreat known to but a few in all the kingdom, and where had
been long established that which was called, by the initiated, 'the
chamber of perfect peace.' This place was so hidden away by a
labyrinth of stairs and passages that, without the key to its winding
ways, he who entered would be hopelessly lost. This 'chamber of rest'
was hewn out of solid rock, and held two cradles, in which through
many generations a chosen number of the greatest and the best had been
rocked to a final sleep. It was a mad night. Egypt in all her history
had known no such warring of the elements, but the Queen and I,
heedless of all else, but the bidding of Zelas, made our way out of
the palace, and through the plague-ridden city. None marked us, as we
hurried on. Like two children, hand in hand, we walked, a speechless
pair, but true companions in adversity, until we came at length, to
the appointed place. Then it was that the Princess spoke to me. 'The
storm is fast spending itself,' she said slowly. 'On the morrow the
sky will be blue again, and the sun will shine. Israel will depart,
and Egypt will lift up her bowed head, and Tothmes, my brother, will
reign. It is my will that thou, follow me to the end, that, as I close
my eyes, in a last sleep, I may see thy face; for, in spite of warrior
fame, in spite of prowess in the chase, I carry a woman's heart, and
thou alone have had an altar there! Nay, let me tell thee more, I had
rather have lived my lonely empty life, with just the _dream_ of what
it could have been, as thine honored wife, than to have been given,
any other portion, however _blessed_.'
"My soul was stirred by this tenderness. 'Great Queen,' I made answer,
'why must we enter here? the night is dark, and in its gloom, we will
leave the city; then in some safe retreat, and under names unknown, we
will begin a life of happiness that shall be but the foretaste of
innumerable re-unitings in the progression from world to world.' She
shook her head sadly, 'Nay,' she said, 'not now, not now, my plane is
higher than thine, and I can not stoop to thee, much and fondly though
I love thee; when we can meet as soul equals, we shall _not_ part,
_believe me_, and so good-bye, and know in some beyond of time, _we
shall_ meet and _understand_, now _come_.'
"Guided by the Princess, we wended our way to one of the claws of the
great sphinx. There, she knelt down, and said some mystic words. A
stone slid noiselessly aside, and we entered the opening and found
ourselves in a long corridor. The air was pure and sweet, aye, even
fragrant, as though perfumed with growing flowers, lights glimmered
along the walls, lights created by a subtle power in nature known only
to the most learned. With the ease of one who treads a frequented way,
the Queen led me, until we came to a door, that opened as the other
had done at her bidding, and we stood inside a brilliantly lighted
hall, at whose farther end (and built out into the room,) was that
which seemed to be a white tomb, with a grated entrance gate. No one
was in sight, and the Queen, bidding me be seated and await her
further orders, turned into one of the arched door-ways, and
disappeared.
"How long I sat thus in solitude, none can tell; at last through the
same portal she came back, and with her my master Zelas; both were in
the robes of their office; jewels glittered upon them like hoar frost,
and there was that in the set faces, that spoke of the to come. The
Queen, said no word; but I felt that her eyes dwelt upon me with a
tenderness unspeakable. It was Zelas my master that broke the silence.
"'Alric, beloved,' he said, 'the hour is come, in which we twain must
depart. Keep thou a silent tryst, until yon clock shall toll ten times
the hour. Then rise, open the wicket gate, and enter without fear to
gather that which thou shalt find into the urn I hold; then, with this
scroll in thy hand, learn the way to return again, to the world. Day
shall scarce have dawned, and the tired nation will be wrapped in a
deep sleep; go thou up, and out of Egypt, and with thee, bear the urn
and when thou art upon the edge of _Mizram's_ skirt, scatter the
ashes, thou hast by thee, to the four winds of heaven. Alric, beloved,
adieu; somewhere, souls meet again, _somewhere_.'
"He lifted his grand face upward, and his lips moved as if in
prayer;--then the twain turned, and entered through the gate. All was
silent, and the unseen bell told the hours, until full ten had come
and gone; then I rose, and betook me to the iron gate, opened it, and
found myself in a low room that held two white cradles. The cradles
were empty, but in the hollow stone basin under each, lay small heaps
of white ashes. No trace of fire, no melted gold, no dulled gem was
there, no sign by which to tell, which had been Queen and which High
Priest. I stooped and gathered the dust into the urn, took my scroll,
and so departed, and in the early dawn (as Zelas had bade me) I went
out of Egypt.
"Years have come and gone since then, so many, that the past of which
I write seems like a dream and in my heart, there has come to be a
longing, to see once more, the faces of Miriam, and Hatsu, but most of
all to hear _again_, the voice of the little child--Miriam's child and
mine."
* * * * * *
Transcriber's note:
Archaic and variant spelling is preserved as printed, but variations
on spelling within the book have been made consistent. The author's
punctuation is preserved as printed, unless there appeared to be a
definite error.
The Table of Contents has been added by the transcriber for the
convenience of the reader.
Page 21 refers to "Troth's kingdom." This may be an error for "Thoth's
kingdom," but as there is no way to be sure, it is preserved as
printed.
Page 101 has an omitted word following 'the'--"... and there was that
in the set faces, that spoke of the to come." As there is no way to
determine what the missing word may have been, it is preserved as
printed.
Errors in quotation marks have been corrected, including omitted
commas in speech.
The following amendments have been made:
Page 5--Osiris amended to Osirus--"O, Osirus, I swear to Thee,
..."
Page 8--graneries amended to granaries--... the granaries, the
garden produce, ...
Page 14--sandaled amended to sandalled--... her sandalled feet
glimmer like frost ...
Page 15--There amended to there--"... oh, Miriam," she cried,
springing to her feet, "there are no _Gods_! ..."
Page 16--Alrick's amended to Alric's--At a certain place by the
way, at Alric's bidding, ...
Page 17--sents amended to sent--... and with closed eyes and
folded hands sent prayers ...
Page 21--Troths amended to Troth's--... would far rather accept
an invitation to _Troth's_ kingdom ...
Page 24--Alrick amended to Alric--Alric now raised his other
hand ...
Page 38--alter amended to altar--... and then laying upon the
altar, ...
Page 48--superfluous comma deleted following 'recalling'--...
then, as if recalling Miriam for the first time, ...
Page 53--bond-woman amended to bondwoman--... spirit away an
Israelitish bondwoman; ...
Page 62--superfluous comma deleted following 'old'--... holding
out to the people her hour old son.
Page 63--Majesties amended to Majesties'--... general in command
of Their Majesties' forces, ...
Page 75--women amended to woman--Was she for all her soldierly
bearing a wilful woman?
Page 82--Pharoah amended to Pharaoh--The first born of Pharaoh
that sitteth upon the throne ...
Page 96--comma amended to period--"... He waits, in the secret
grotto, under the Sphinx."
Page 98--labarinth amended to labyrinth--... hidden away by a
labyrinth of stairs and passages ...