Humanity, piety, and every element of the soul call for the deepest
commiseration of this unhappy people. I sometimes feel that it would
be better to send them in a mass out of Egypt into Arabia, and follow
them with an army to see that they went beyond our boundaries, and
then establish a cordon of military posts from Ezion-Geber, on the
Arabian Sea, to the shores of the Great Sea, north. But how could we
provide food for such a host, now amounting to two and a half millions
of people? Thousands would perish in the wilderness for want of water
and food. Only a miracle of the gods could preserve them, their women
and children, from a lingering death. And would not this be more cruel
than the edict of Amunophis; only executing it in an indirect way, and
on a gigantic scale? I would, were I Pharaoh to-day, give the half of
my kingdom to the wise man who could devise a practicable way of
freeing Egypt from the Hebrews, without destroying them or suffering
them to die in the wilderness. If men are ever deified, such a
benefactor would deserve the honor."
These words, my dear mother, were spoken with deep feeling, and showed
me that the heart of Remeses is manly and tender, that his sentiments
are always elevated and noble, and that the oppression of the Hebrew
is not so much the fault of himself or of the queen mother, as it is
the irresistible sequence of causes which were in action before they
were born; and to the effects of which they must yield, until the gods
in their wisdom and power make known to them the way to remove from
the land so great an evil: for none but the Deity Supreme is wise
enough to solve this intricate problem of Egypt. Certain it is, that
if the Hebrews go on multiplying and growing as they now do, in
another generation they will outnumber the Egyptians, and will need
only a great leader like their warlike ancestor Prince Abram, or the
hero king of Philistia, who established the Phœnician dynasty, to
enable them to subvert the kingdom, and upon its ruins establish
another Syro-Hebraic dynasty. One of their ancestors has already ruled
Egypt, and another may yet sit in the very seat of the Pharaohs.
As we re-entered the City of the Sun, we passed by the base of an
obelisk which Queen Amense is erecting to mark the era and acts of her
long reign. Upon it were sculptured representations of her battles
with the Ethiopians, her wars with Libya, and her conquest of Arabia.
The work was executed by Phœnician and Egyptian artists; and I am
rejoiced to see that the painters of Tyre and the sculptors of Sidon
are greatly esteemed for the delicacy and perfection of their work.
When these persons saw me, they dropped their pencils and chisels, and
with their hands upon their bosoms, manifested every sign of delight.
You may suppose I responded with more than usual gratification to the
homage thus paid me; for in a foreign land the sight of the humblest
of one's own countrymen, refreshes the eye and warms the heart.
But I have too long occupied your time, dearest mother, with one
letter.
Your devoted son,
SESOSTRIS.
LETTER IX.
ISLE OF RHODA, NILE.
ROYAL AND BELOVED MOTHER:
My preceding letters, dearest mother, have enabled you to form some
idea of the Hebrew vassalage, which is one of the peculiarities of
Egypt. This subject has deeply interested me. In that oppressed people
I behold Syrians and men of my own race, as it were, reduced to such a
pitiable and miserable condition. My sympathies are therefore
naturally with them. Was not Prince Abram, of Palestine, who conquered
the enemy of our ancestor's throne in those days, Chedorlaomer, King
of Elam and Tidal, and sovereign of the nations east of the inland
sea, the founder of their family; and was not the same Abram the
friend of Neathor, the founder or restorer of Tyre upon the Isle? When
I recall these facts of past history, and how ably the wise Prince
Joseph ruled here, I am deeply moved at their present degradation and
suffering.
Since writing to you, I have conversed with the queen upon the
subject. I find her ready and willing, with mind and heart and hand,
to take any safe steps for putting an end to this bondage. But, as she
feelingly says:--
"It is an evil which descended to me with the crown and sceptre of my
father; and I know not how to remove it, and yet protect that crown
which I am bound to transmit to Remeses!"
Such then, dear mother, is the present condition of Hebrew servitude.
When it will terminate, whether by some bold act of Remeses, when he
comes to the throne, or by their own act, or by the intervention of
the gods, are questions the solution of which lies hidden in the womb
of the future.
Not all the Hebrews are employed in the field. It has of late years
been a fashion with the nobles, governors, and chief captains of Egypt
to have the young captives of both sexes as servants near their
persons; their beauty, activity, and trustfulness rendering these
Syrian youths particularly fitted for this domestic employment. Thus,
I have seen Hebrew pages attending on lords and ladies in their
palaces, and Hebrew maidens acting as personal attendants upon the
mistress of the family. These young foreigners soon become favorites,
and are rewarded for their devotion and usefulness by rich dresses and
jewels, which last they all especially delight in, and wear in great
quantities. The Egyptians, also, lavishly display them on their
fingers, in their ears, and upon their necks. Every lord wears a large
signet, on which is carved his _cartouch_, or shield of arms. To
present this to any friend is a mark of the highest confidence and
honor. Such an expression of regard, you will remember, the Prince
Remeses bestowed upon me. With it I shall seal this letter, that you
may see its designs in the hieroglyph representation.
The queen has three Hebrew pages, noble and princely-looking boys,
with fine, sparkling, black eyes, and intelligent faces; but there is
a fixed air of pensiveness about them all, which is perhaps the result
of hereditary oppression. This pensive look I have remarked in Prince
Remeses, whose style of face is very strongly Syriac or Hebraic.
Indeed, I have seen an old Hebrew bondman, a gardener in the palace
garden, by the name of Amram, who is so strikingly like the prince
that I can easily see by him, how Remeses himself will look at eighty
years of age. But this Syriac countenance of Remeses comes from his
grandmother, Ephtha, the daughter of the last Phœnician Pharaoh;
yet it is marvellous he has about him nothing of the Egyptian type.
The Egyptian or Nilotic race, have a sharp and prominent face, in
which a long and straight, or gently aquiline nose forms a principal
part. The eye is sometimes oblique; the chin short and retracted; the
lips rather full and tumid, so to speak; and the hair, when it is
suffered to escape the razor in times of mourning, long and flowing.
The head is elongated upward, with a receding forehead. The profile is
delicate, rather than strong. This style of features and head is
strictly Egyptian, and pertains to every class, from Amense on the
throne to the priests and people. I see it sculptured on all the tombs
and monuments, and carved on the most ancient sarcophagi. The head of
Horus is but a sublimer modification of this type.
On the contrary, the head of the Hebrew is large and round, with full
brows, a forehead low in front, and high temples. The nose is strongly
eagle-like; the eyes set even, but of an almond-shape--yet large,
full, and exceedingly black, and soft in expression. The chin is full;
the face oval; the hair short, and inclined to curl in the neck and
over the brow. The profile is strong and bold--not unlike the Arabian.
The Egyptian is slender and light; the Hebrew usually below the medium
height, with broad shoulders and full chest. The Egyptian has a pale
reddish-copper complexion--save the women, who are bright
olive-colored--while the Hebrew face is a ruddy and finely toned
brown. The Egyptian females, when not exposed to the sun and outer
door labor, are exceedingly fair. The children of the race are all
beautiful. Prince Remeses does not share a single characteristic of
this Egyptian national head and face; on the contrary, he resembles
the highest type of the Hebrew. Is not this remarkable? That is, is it
not wonderful that the Syriac blood, derived from the Queen Ephtha,
should descend pure to the third generation, unmingled with the
Thebaïd characteristics of Amunophis, his grandfather?
I am not aware whether the prince is conscious of his great likeness
to this oppressed people, nor would I be so rude as to speak to him of
it; for though he has sympathy for them, and tries to improve their
condition, yet he possesses that haughty sense of superiority which is
natural, in a prince and an Egyptian educated to despise them both as
foreigners and slaves of the crown.
The father of Remeses, as I have before said, was the Vicegerent or
Prince of Upper Egypt, and one of the royal line of the powerful
Theban kings. He had been married but a few months to Pharaoh's
daughter, when, being called to repulse an invasion of the warlike
Ethiopians, he was slain in battle. Remeses was born not long
afterwards, and is, therefore in a twofold degree the heir of the
silver crown of the Thebaïd. Had he been willing to leave his mother,
she would, when he became thirty years old (which is the age of
maturity by the laws of Egypt), have sent him with a splendid retinue
to Upper Egypt, and made him Prince of Thebes, as his father had been
before him. But he chose to remain with the queen, to whom he appears
as much attached as I am to you, my dear mother; and Amense
substituted a nephew of her deceased husband, Prince Mœris, and
placed him, four years since, on the vicegerent throne of the kingdom
of the Upper Nile.
It was this Prince Mœris, with whom Remeses was to dine in the
palace on the day we drove to the treasure-city of Raamses. I was also
present, dear mother, at the dinner. The Lord Mœris is about the
age of Remeses, but altogether a very different person. He is
thoroughly Egyptian, both in looks and lineage as well as by prejudice
and feeling.
He has a slender, elegant person; delicate straight features; a high,
retreating forehead; and a nose slightly aquiline. His mouth is
full-lipped and sensual. His retreating chin betrays deficiency of
firmness, and an undue proportion of obstinacy. The expression of his
oblique, Nubian-looking eye, I did not like. It was sinister and
restlessly observant. He was reserved, and while he asked questions
from time to time, he never replied to any. His complexion is a bright
olive, and he is a handsome man; his rich dress increasing the fine
effect of his personal appearance. The uniform he wore was that of
Admiral of the Nile; the queen having appointed him commander of the
great fleet of war-galleys she has collected near Memphis for the
subjugation of Ethiopia. He has, therefore, come down within a few
days to take charge of his ships. The character of this man for
courage is undoubted, but he has the reputation of great cruelty. He
tarries long at the wine-cup, and in his private life is a gross
sensualist. He professes great piety to the gods, and sacrifices
often, with pomp and display. In Memphis yesterday he burned incense
with his own hands to Apis, and to-day he worshipped Mnevis, the
sacred ox of On.
He was more communicative with me at the dinner than with Remeses. He
expressed the greatest admiration of Phœnicia, praised the
brilliancy of your reign, and the rich commerce of the Isle of Tyre.
He said he had a great reverence for our deities, Astarte, Hercules,
Io, and Isis; for, he asserted that Isis was quite as much a
Phœnician as an Egyptian goddess. "Had he not in Thebes," said he,
"instituted a procession and a rite in honor of the return of Isis
from Phœnicia! We are one in religion, one in commerce, one in
glory," he continued, with fulsome enthusiasm. "Are not our kingdoms
both ruled by queens? Let us draw closer the bonds of alliance, and
together rule the world! You are a free city, your Tyre! never been
conquered! Amunophis would have exacted tribute, but your king
replied: 'Since the foundation of the earth, and the great Deluge
retired from Libanus, Tyre has been free, and will remain free to the
end of days.'"
I answered, that I trusted the words of my noble grandsire would
remain prophetic forever. He then gave as a toast:--
"Phœnicia and Egypt, twin sisters of Isis, and health to their fair
queens!"
This was well received. Mœris was, however, evidently deep in his
cups, and soon became quarrelsome towards Remeses, to whom he said,
with a sneer--
"You and I, prince, when the queen, my aunt, has departed to the
shades of the realm of Osiris, will divide Egypt between us. I will be
content with the Thebaïd country, and will defend your borders on that
side. Two crowns are too much for one man's head, albeit you have a
large one upon your shoulders!"
"Prince Mœris," said Remeses, with a look of indignation, "forget
not yourself in my mother's palace!"
Thus speaking, the son of Amense rose from the table, and I followed
him to the portico which overlooked the gardens.
"That man, Sesostris," said he to me, after a moment's silence, "would
not hesitate to conspire to the whole throne and both crowns of Egypt,
if he were hopeful of success."
"He is a man of an evil eye," I said.
"And heart! But he must not be incensed. He is powerful, and as wicked
as powerful. In a few days he will be on his way to Upper Egypt; and
in this war with Ethiopia, will find an outlet for his restless
ambition."
"Suppose (the gods guarding your gracious mother, the queen) you
should come to the throne; what, Remeses, would you do with or for
your cousin, your father's nephew? Would you suffer so dangerous a man
to hold the viceroyalty of Upper Nile?"
"I should wear both crowns, Sesostris," answered Remeses, quietly and
steadily.
While we were thus conversing, a Hebrew page came, and said:
"My lord prince, her majesty is taken ill, and desires to have you
come to her."
"My mother ill!" he exclaimed, with deadly pallor covering his face.
"Pardon me, prince, I must leave you and go to her." And in a moment
he hastened to the wing of the palace occupied by his mother and the
ladies of her retinue.
The queen had left the table some time before Prince Mœris began to
converse with me, excusing herself on the plea of slight fatigue and
indisposition; for she had passed an hour that day in giving
directions to the chief architect, to whom was intrusted the erection
of her obelisk, outside of the gate of the Temple of the Sun. Remeses
had been gone but a few moments, when I beheld Prince Mœris borne
across the terrace by his servants to his chariot, in a state of
helpless intoxication.
The illness of the queen was not of an alarming nature, and the next
day she appeared in the saloon, but was very pale. The result is, the
court physicians have advised her to go to her palace on the isle of
Rhoda, in the Nile, as a more salubrious spot than the interior of a
vast city. Remeses accompanied her thither, and the date of my letter,
my dear mother, shows you that I am also still one of the queen's
favored household. Her health continues doubtful, but she is much
improved in appearance by the change. Remeses, with beautiful filial
devotion, passes with her every hour he can spare from the various
pressing duties which demand his personal attention; and preparations
for the Ethiopian war call for all his time as general of the armies.
Opposite the palace in which I write to you, the plain between the
river and the pyramids is covered with a vast army assembled there
within three days, preparatory to their southern march; while the
bosom of the Nile, for half a league above this palace-covered island,
is almost concealed by war-galleys, which, to the number of one
thousand and upward, are at anchor ready to ascend the river.
From the lofty west wing of the propylon of the gate of this
island-palace of the Pharaohs, I command not only a prospect of the
fleet, but of the plain of the pyramids outside of Memphis. I have but
to turn slowly round from that elevation, to see On with its three
hundred and sixty temples--its gardens and towers; and Raamses, the
treasure-city, to the east: to the south, the Nile, studded with
barges and gay vessels having silken and colored sails, filled with
citizens, come to look at the fleet of war-ships; the immense squadron
itself, gay with the variegated flags of its different divisions and
captains; with towers, temples, obelisks, and propyla on the two
shores terminating the perspective: and on the west, Jizeh, with its
sphinxes and colossi, its terraced gardens and amphitheatre of the
gods; and still farther off, Memphis united to the Nile by a
magnificent aqueduct; and the pyramids of Cheops and of his daughter.
Between the city and these mysterious mausolea, stands alone, amid
gardens, the red granite temple of Pthah and Athor, the two chief
divinities of Memphis: for Apis, the sacred bull of Memphis, is not a
divinity, properly, but only a visible incarnation of Osiris, the
emblem and type of the power and strength of the Supreme Creator
Imagine this vast and varied scene of architectural and naval glory,
interspersed with verdure of the brightest green, with palm, orange,
and fig trees, garden linked to garden, grove to grove, and villas
half seen through the foliage; and lastly, the mighty river flowing
with shining waves amid the inimitable landscape, and you have before
you a scene of grandeur and beauty such as Egypt alone can produce.
Add the myriads of human beings, the crowded galleys, the thronged
shores, the eighty thousand soldiers encamped on the west plain, the
army of chariots drawn up on the east bank, and farther up, opposite
the aqueduct of Pharaoh Apophis, a battalion of twelve thousand
cavalry manœuvering, and the scene which I, an hour since, beheld
from the top of the gateway, is before you.
Since I wrote the last sentence, I have witnessed a naval review, with
a sham battle. The Prince Mœris, in a gorgeous galley decorated
with all the emblems of the cities and nomes of Egypt, after
displaying the skill of his one hundred oarsmen, and the swiftness of
his vessel in front of the palace, before the eyes of the queen, moved
among his ships, and gave orders for their division into lines of
battle. The greater number of these galleys had only a single mast
with a long swallow-winged sail; and were propelled by forty rowers.
But the ships of the captains were larger and more imposing. All the
galleys were handsomely painted, and the whole fleet together made a
splendid moving spectacle, which was heightened by the thousand
bannerets fluttering in the wind, and the ten thousand shields and
spears gleaming in the sun, as they were held in the hands of the
soldiers upon their decks.
When the signal was given for the two parties to combat, the air was
filled by a loud shout, and a hundred galleys charged each other, just
as did the battalions of chariots in the review I have already
described. The vessels, set in motion by the rowers, were driven
towards each other with terrific velocity. The Abyssinian soldiers
upon the bows, and the bowmen in the tops, shot off flights of arrows,
which sounded like a storm of wind, as they hurtled through the air.
The Libyan spearmen, on the lofty poops, brandished their spears with
wild cries; while the Nubians, amidships, struck their triangular
shields with battle-axes of iron, producing a sound like crashing
thunders. The war bugles and hollow drums beaten on board each vessel
increased the loud confusion, and added to the terror of the scene.
The fall of thousands of oars, the rush of waters from the cleaving
bows, the shouts of the captains, the warlike spirit and
battle-fierceness of the whole, presented a spectacle of sublimity
unequalled. Nor was it without an element of terror. Such was the
excited manner of the simulating combatants, I believed that no
earthly power could prevent a real collision and hand-to-hand conflict
in hot blood, when, at a signal from the Prince Mœris, the rowers
of the leading galleys turned suddenly, as they came within touch of
each other's sweeps, and so, one after another wheeling in line, both
divisions passed down the river, until they moved in parallel columns.
The whole manœuvre was one of the most wonderful exhibitions of
naval discipline and generalship. Ere the shouts of the people on the
shores and in the numerous pleasure barges had died away, the two
columns, at a signal from the mast of the ship of their admiral, came
side by side, and a battle between the soldiers on opposite decks
commenced--one party attempting to board, the other repelling them.
Not less than six thousand combatants were engaged at once, above the
heads of the banks of rowers. The clash of swords and spears and
battle-axes, and other offensive and defensive weapons, produced a
noise so terrible and grand that I believe there is no other sound on
earth, as well calculated to quicken the pulse and bring out all the
enthusiasm of the soul of a man. I can compare these metallic and iron
tones, only to what might be the sound of the brazen voice of Mars
himself rolling his war-cry along the battle-ranks of his foes.
Suddenly the iron din of war ceased, and separating, one of the
divisions commenced a flight, and the other a pursuit. This scene was
the most exciting of all. The chase was in a direction down the east
side of the island, opposite the queen's window; for all these
exhibitions were given in her honor, and, though by no means well, she
remained upon the terrace during the whole; and it was, perhaps, the
consciousness of their monarch's eye being upon them, that caused
these demi-barbaric soldiers, gathered from all the provinces and
tributary countries of Egypt, to surpass themselves, being ready even,
at her nod, to convert the mock battle into a real one.
The two fleets, flying and pursuing, moved past the island like a
sirocco. Their lion or eagle-headed prows tossed high in the air
clouds of white spray. The roar of the waters as the vessels ploughed
through them, the dash of the banks of oars, the cries of pursuit, the
whizzing and shrieks of arrows cleaving the air, the shouts of the
contending thousands, and the velocity with which they moved, brought
color to the queen's cheek, and the light of interest to her eyes. It
was now an actual and real trial for mastery in speed; and the contest
partook of all the realities of a war-chase. The two divisions,
rounding the lower end of the island, were hidden by the Temple of
Isis, which crowns it, but soon reappeared on the west arm of the
river, ascending. When they came opposite to the queen, having passed
entirely round the island, they resumed their former line, two or
three with broken banks of oars, and shattered poops or prows from
collision.
Prince Mœris came on shore to receive the compliments of the queen,
and dined with us. Remeses was not present, being with the cohorts of
cavalry; for he is visiting and inspecting every arm of the service,
as it is intended this shall be the most formidable host that has ever
been sent into Ethiopia.
Adieu, dearest mother, and believe me
Your truly devoted son,
SESOSTRIS.
LETTER X.
ISLAND PALACE OF RHODA.
MY DEAREST MOTHER:
It is with heartfelt pleasure I assure you of the recovery of the
queen. The heart of the noble and devoted Remeses is lightened of a
heavy weight of solicitude. Smiles once more revisit his features, and
cheerfulness replaces his late depression.
"Sesostris," said he to me this morning, as we were returning in his
galley from a visit to the pyramids and vast city of tombs that
stretch between Memphis and the Libyan hills, "if my excellent and
dear mother had died, I should have been made one of the most unhappy
of men. I shall to-morrow, in testimony of my gratitude, offer in the
Temple of Osiris a libation and incense to the God of Health and Life,
wherever in his illimitable universe such a Being may dwell."
"Then you would not, my dear Remeses, offer it to Osiris himself?" I
said.