important intelligence from the seat of war in Ethiopia; and what is
more, that the Prince Remeses is even now on his return to Memphis, a
conqueror! The dispatches brought by the courier state, that four
weeks ago the army of Egypt engaged Occhoris, beyond the gates of
Thebes, and after a severe battle, in which the chariots and horse
were engaged, he was forced to retreat; that he gained a new position,
and fortified himself, but was dislodged from it, and finally routed
in the open plain, he himself being taken prisoner, with most of his
chief captains; while a great spoil in treasures, camp-equipage,
elephants, camels, and horses, besides captives innumerable, enriched
the victors. This news has gladdened the heart of Queen Amense, and
relieved her mind from the great anxiety that has oppressed it ever
since the departure of Remeses, lest he should lose his life in the
campaign, as his father had done before him. But, without a wound, he
returns triumphant, leading his enemy captive at the wheels of his
war-chariot. The city is excited with joy, and in all the temples,
ascending incense and bleeding sacrifices, together with libations and
oblations, bear testimony to the universal gratitude of the nation, at
the defeat of the hereditary foe of the kingdom.
I will for a time delay this letter, that I may witness the scenes in
the city and behold the rites for victory, which, I am told, will be
most imposing, especially in the temples of Apis and of Vulcan.
ISLAND AND PALACE OF RHODA.
Two weeks have elapsed since I laid down my pen, dearest mother. In
the interval I have been too much occupied to resume it, but do so now
with matter of the deepest interest to communicate. Remeses has
returned. Two days ago he entered Memphis in warlike triumph. On
hearing of his approach, I hastened to meet him three days' journey up
the Nile. When we met, he embraced me as a brother, with expressions
of joy; but the first question he put to me was:
"The queen--my mother, Sesostris, is she well?"
"Well, and happy at your victories," I answered.
"And your royal mother also, the Queen Epiphia, how fared she when
last you heard from her?"
"In good health, save her wish to see me," I answered.
Thus, dear mother, did this noble prince, amid all the splendor of his
victories, first think of his mother and mine! It is this filial
piety, which is one of the most eminent traits of his lofty and pure
character; and where love for a mother reigns supremely in the heart,
all other virtues will cluster around it.
I found Remeses descending the river in a hundred-oared galley, to
which I was conveyed by a barge which he sent for me, on recognizing
me. It was decorated with the insignia of all the divisions of his
army. Behind it came two galleys containing the prisoners of rank, who
were bound in chains upon the deck. The Ethiopian king was in the
galley with Remeses, who courteously let him go free in the cabin,
where he was served by his conqueror's own cup-bearer. Further in the
rear came the fleet, their parti-colored green, orange, blue, and
scarlet sails, and the bronzed and gilded heads of hawks, eagles,
wolves, lions, and ibises upon the topmasts, presenting a grand and
brilliant spectacle. Ever and anon, a loud, wild shout would swell
along the water, from the victorious troops. One half of the fleet had
been left in the Thebaïd country with Prince Mœris, who intended to
invade the interior of Ethiopia and menace its capital.
You may imagine, dear mother, that Remeses had many questions to ask
and answer, as well as I. I drew from him a modest narrative of his
battles; but he spoke more freely of the brilliant courage of Prince
Mœris than of his own acts. After we had sat in the moonlight, upon
the poop of his galley, conversing for several hours, I asked
permission to see his royal captive, who I fancied was some wild
savage chief, with the hairy head and neck of a lion, and the glaring
eyes of a wolf. When I expressed my opinion to Remeses, he smiled and
said:
"I will send to him and ask if he will receive me and the Prince of
Tyre; for he has heard me make mention of you."
"You Egyptians treat your captives with delicate courtesy," I said,
"to send to know if they will receive you."
"I fear such is not our custom. Captives taken in war by our soldiers,
are, I fear, but little better off than those of other conquering
armies; yet I have done all that is possible to alleviate their
condition, and have forbidden unnecessary cruelty, such as tying their
arms in unnatural positions and dragging them in long lines at the
rear of running chariots! If you see the army on shore, you will find
that it is hard to teach the Egyptian soldier mercy towards a captive
foe."
I regarded the prince with silent admiration. "How is it," I asked of
myself, "that this man is in advance of all his predecessors and
before his age in virtue?"
"His majesty will see the Prince of Tyre and also his conqueror," were
the words which the messenger brought to Remeses.
Descending a flight of steps, we advanced along a second deck, and
then passing the door leading to the state-cabins, we descended again,
and came to the range of apartments occupied by the governor of the
rowers and the chief pilot. The latter had vacated his room to the
royal captive. Upon entering, reclining on a couch of leopard's skins
spread in the moonlight, which shone broadly in upon the floor through
the columns that supported the deck, I beheld a young man, not more
than my own age. His features were remarkable. His nose was slightly
aquiline, his forehead high and commanding, his brows arched and
delicate as a woman's, beneath which were the blackest and largest
eyes I ever beheld, and which seemed to emit a burning splendor. His
finely formed mouth was almost voluptuous in its fulness and
expression; yet I could perceive a slight nervous contraction of the
underlip, as if he were struggling between shame and haughty
indifference, when he beheld us. His chin was without beard. His black
locks were braided and bound up by a fillet of gold, studded with
jewels. His helmet, which was of beaten gold, lay by his side dented
with many a stroke of sword and battle-axe; and I saw that a wound
upon his left temple corresponded to one of these indentations. His
hands were very small, and of a nut-brown color (as was his
complexion), and covered with massive rings. A collar, rich with
emeralds, encircled his neck, from which was suspended an amulet of
agate, and a little silver box containing a royal charm. He was
dressed in a gaudy but rich robe of needle-work, which was open in
front, and displayed a corselet and breastplate of the finest steel,
inlaid with gold. His small feet were bare, save a light sandal of
gilded gazelle-leather. Altogether he was as elegant and fine-looking
a barbaric prince as one would care to behold, dear mother, and not at
all the monster in aspect I had pictured him: yet I am well convinced,
that in that splendid form lie powers of endurance which make him
respected, by the barbarians he commands; and that within those fierce
eyes blazes a soul, as fiery as any barbaric prince requires; while
the firm expression of his mouth, at times, betrayed a resolved and
iron will, with which no one of his subjects would willingly come into
antagonism.
He half-rose gracefully from his recumbent attitude, and said, with an
indolent yet not undignified air, and in good Koptic, as it is spoken
in the Thebaïd:
"Welcome, Prince of Tyre! I am sorry I cannot extend to you the
hospitality you merit. You see my kingdom is somewhat limited! As for
you, O Prince of Egypt, who have a right to command, I need not ask
you to be seated or recline." Then turning to me again, "I have heard
of Tyre. You are a nation of merchants who cover the great sea with
caravans of galleys, and plant your sandals in all lands. But you have
not yet had Ethiopia beneath them."
"Our commerce embraces even your own country's productions, O king!" I
answered. "I have seen in the mart of Tyre chœnixes of gold-dust,
ostrich-feathers, dried fruits and skins, vermilion, ebony, ivory, and
even baboons, apes, and leopards. In return we send you our purples."
"That is the name of Tyre, is it not,--the city of purple-cloth?" he
said interrogatively, and with a pointed sneer. "Ethiopia signifies
the land of warriors--children of the sun."
I could not help smiling at his vanity. Remeses did not say any thing.
The king then added, pleasantly:
"I have no quarrel with thee, O Tyre! Receive this ring--that is, if
the great Remeses do not regard all I possess, as well as myself, his
spoil--receive it in token that we are at peace."
As he spoke, he drew from his thumb a jewel of great price, and,
taking my hand, placed it upon my thumb, without looking to see
whether Remeses approved or no.
After a brief interview I left his presence, and soon retired to my
state-room. Remeses insists upon my retaining the ring, which, in
truth, the Ethiopian king, being a captive, had no right to dispose
of. Remeses says that he displayed the most daring courage and
marvellous generalship in battle; and that, though young, and
apparently effeminate, he inherits all the fierce, barbaric spirit of
his ancestor, Sabaco I., and of his uncle, Bocchiris the Great, and
third of the name.
At length arrived at the island of Rhoda, Remeses hastened to embrace
his mother, and to render to her an account of his expedition. The
next day, preparations were made to receive the vast and victorious
army, which had been slowly marching towards the capital, along the
western bank of the river. They entered the plain of the pyramids on
the same night, column succeeding column in a long line, attended by
an interminable train of captives, and by wagons, cars, and chariots
laden with spoils of arms, treasures, goods, and military stores.
Having encamped on their former ground, they awaited the signal to
move towards the city in triumphal procession.
The following morning the queen made her appearance at the head of the
great square, in front of the temple of Apis. She was arrayed in her
royal robes, and seated in a state-chariot of ivory, inlaid with gold,
drawn by four white horses driven abreast, richly caparisoned, and
with ostrich-plumes nodding on their heads. Attended by a splendid
retinue of the lords of her palace, she took a position near the
pylon, surrounded by her body-guard, in their glittering cuirasses of
silver, and bearing slender lances in their right hands. The lords of
the realm were ranged, in extended wings, on either side of her
chariot; the whole presenting a strikingly beautiful spectacle.
When all was arranged, from the portals of the vast temple, headed by
the hierarch in full dress, issued a procession of four hundred
priests, a shining host, with golden tiaras, and censers of gold, and
crimson vestments. Other sacred processions came advancing along all
the streets, headed by their chiefs, each escorting the god of their
temple in a gorgeous shrine, blazing with the radiance of precious
stones.
Prince Remeses, attended by the governor of the city, the twenty-one
rulers of the departments thereof, and by all dignitaries, of whatever
office, in their sumptuous robes and badges of rank, had already
departed from the city to meet the army, which, headed by its
generals, was in full motion. They came on in columns of battalions,
as if marching through an enemy's country, and with all the pomp of
war--their battle-banners waving, and their bands of music sounding.
Instead of accompanying Remeses, I remained, by her request, near the
queen. The towers of the pylones, the roofs of temples, the colonnades
of palaces, terraces, house-tops--every vantage-point--were crowded
thickly with spectators.
At length the voice of trumpets, faint and far off, broke the silence
of expectation. Nearer and louder it was heard, now rising on the
breeze, now gradually dying away; but soon other instruments were
heard: the cymbals, the drum, the pipe and the cornet from a hundred
bands poured upon the air a martial uproar of instruments, which made
the blood bound quicker in every pulse. All eyes were now turned in
the direction of the entrance to the grand causeway of the pyramids,
and in a few moments, amid the answering clangor of the brazen
trumpets of the queen's guards, a party of cavalry, shining like the
sun, dashed into sight.
Their appearance was hailed by the vast assemblage of spectators with
acclamations. Then came one hundred and seventy priests abreast,
representing the male deities of Memphis, each attired like the image
of his god--an imposing and wonderful spectacle; as in it Horus was
not without his hawk-head, nor Thoth his horns and globe. Anubis
displayed the head of a jackal, and Osiris held the emblems of his
rank. These were followed by the high-priest of On, before whom was
borne the shield of the sun, resting upon a car carried by twenty-four
men, representing the hours. Following these were one thousand
priests--a hundred in line--chanting, with mighty voice, the song of
victory to the gods. They were succeeded by a battalion of cavalry,
the front of which filled the whole breadth of the avenue. It advanced
in solid column, till four thousand horsemen, in varied armor and
arms, had entered the immense quadrangle. Now burst out afresh the
clang of martial bands, and alone in his state-chariot, drawn by three
black steeds, appeared the Prince of Egypt, standing erect upon the
floor of his car. He was in full armor, and so splendid was his
appearance, so majestic his aspect, that he was hailed with a thunder
of voices, as conqueror! Leaving the golden-hued reins loosely
attached to the hilt of his sword, he suffered his proudly stepping
horses freely to prance and curvet, yet held them obedient to the
slightest gesture of his hand. On each side of their heads walked
three footmen. Behind him came his war-chariot of iron, from which he
had fought in battle on the Theban plains. The horses were led by two
lords of Egypt, and it was empty, save that it held his battered
shield, emptied quiver, broken lances, the hilt of his sword, and his
dented helmet--mute witnesses of his presence in the heat of battle.
Behind the chariot was a guard of honor, consisting of a brave soldier
out of every company in the army. But close to it, his wrists locked
together with a massive chain of gold, which was attached to the axle
of the war-chariot, walked the captive King of Ethiopia. His step was
proud and defiant, and a constant smile of contempt curled his lip, as
he saw the eyes of the spectators bent upon him, and heard their
shouts of hostile joy on beholding him. He moved, the king in heart,
though bound in hand. Over his shoulders hung a lion's skin as a royal
mantle, but his feet were bare. Behind him came a solid front of
chariots, which, line behind line, rolled into the square, until
nearly three thousand war-cars had entered, and moved, with all the
van of the vast warlike procession, towards the great pylon, before
which, in her chariot, stood the Queen of Egypt; for, as soon as the
head of the column came in sight, she had risen to her feet to receive
her returning army.
When Remeses came before her, he turned his horses towards her and
remained at her side. Past them marched first the foot-soldiers. To
the sound of drums and the tramp of ten thousand sandals, they wheeled
into the arena of temples, elevating their war-hacked symbols, each
man laden with his spoil. Then it was, that a company of sacred
virgins, issuing from the temple of Athor, each with a silver star
upon her brow, all clad in white, and bearing branches of flowers,
green palm-branches, ivy and lotus leaves, cast them before the army,
and sang with beautiful voices the hymn of the Conqueror. As they
passed, the priests, with censers, waved incense towards them, and
others sprinkled sacred water in the path of the battle-worn warriors.
The soldiers responded to the hymn of the maidens with a loud chorus,
that rent the skies as they marched and sang.
When half the army had defiled, there came a procession of Ethiopian
cars and wagons, drawn by captured oxen, and laden with trophies. Upon
one was piled scores of shields, another was filled with helmets, a
third bristled with spears, and a fourth was weighed down by cuirasses
and swords. After many hundreds of these had passed--for the whole
Ethiopian army was destroyed and their possessions captured--came
chariots, heavy with chests containing gold, and silver, and bronze
vessels; others glaring with ivory tusks; others full of blocks of
ebony. Five royal elephants, with their castles and keepers, and a
troop of camels, laden with treasures and mounted by their
wild-looking guides, preceded a body of horse escorting the purple
pavilion of the captive king--a gorgeous yet barbaric edifice of ivory
frames, covered with silk and fringed with gold. Next came a painted
car containing his wives, all of whom were closely veiled, and
followed by a train of royal servants and slaves.
Bringing up the rear of the immense procession was another large body
of horse, at the head of a long column of captives, twelve thousand in
number--the disarmed and chained soldiers of the defeated monarch.
Such a spectacle of human misery, such an embodiment of human
woe!--how can I depict the scene, my mother! Perhaps when I am older,
and have seen more of war than I have, I may feel less sympathy at a
sight so painful, and be more indifferent to the necessary horrors of
this dread evil.
Their features denoted them to be of a race very different from the
Egyptian. They were slender and tall, with swarthy, but not black,
faces like the Nubians--showing more of the Oriental than the African
in their physiognomy. Their long hair hung half-way down the back, and
they were dressed in costumes as various as the tribes which composed
the army of Occhoris.
These captives marched in parties of from one to two hundred
each--some linked by the wrists to a long connecting chain passing
along the line; others, chained two and two by the hands, and with
shackled feet, were led by their captors. Many of them were confined
to a long iron bar, by neck-collars, eight and ten abreast, each
compelled to step together, and sit or rise at the same moment, or be
subjected to dislocation of the neck. Several, of the most
unmanageable, were tied with their hands high above their heads, in
the most painful positions; while other wretches were so cruelly
bound, that their arms met behind in the most unnatural manner. There
was a long chain of Nubian and Southern Arabian soldiers so bound, who
writhed in agony as they were forced onward in the march. After these
came hundreds of women and children, the latter naked, and led by the
hand, or carried by their mothers in baskets, slung behind by a belt
carried across the forehead. Finally, when these had passed the queen,
who humanely ordered those so unnaturally bound to be relieved, the
rear division of the army came tramping on, with symbols aloft, and
drums beating, and trumpets blowing.
At length, this vast army of nearly one hundred thousand men,
including chariots, horsemen, and foot-soldiers, had marched past
before the queen, receiving her thanks and smiles, and the flowers
that were showered upon them from thousands of fair hands. As they
moved on, they wheeled in column, and gradually filled up the whole
area of the vast quadrangle, save the space in front of the pyramidal
gateway, where the queen and Remeses stood in their chariots.
At this juncture, the high-priest of On--a man of venerable
aspect--amid the profoundest silence, advanced before them, and thus
addressed Prince Remeses:
"Mighty and excellent prince, and lord of worlds, son of the queen,
and upholder of the kingdoms of the earth, may the gods bless thee and
grant thee honor and prosperity! Thou hast led the armies of Misr to
battle, and conquered. Thou hast brought down the pride of Ethiopia,
and placed the crown of the South underneath thy foot. Thou hast
fought, and overthrown, and taken captive the enemy of Egypt, and the
scourge of the world. Lo, chained he walks at thy chariot-wheels! his
soldiers are captives to thy sword, and his spoil is in thy hand! By
thy courage in battle, thou hast saved Egypt from desolation, filled
her borders with peace, and covered her name with glory. Let thy
power, henceforth, be exalted in the world like the sun in the
heavens, and thy glory and virtues only be equalled by those of the
sacred deities themselves!"
Remeses, with the gentle dignity and modesty which characterize him,
replied to this eulogistic address of the Egyptian pontiff. The queen
then embraced him before the whole army, which cried, "Long live our
queen! Long live Remeses our general!" All the while Occhoris stood by
the wheel of the chariot to which he was chained, his arms folded, and
his bearing as proud as that of a caged lion. He did not even deign to
look upon the queen, whom he had never before beheld; and seemed to be
above, or below, all manifestation of curiosity. Self-reliance,
fearlessness, immobility, characterized him.
Preparations having already been made for a national thanksgiving, the
queen and Remeses descended from their chariots, and led a procession
consisting of the priest of On, the high-priest of Apis, the priest of
Memphis, hierophants and chief priests from each of the thirty-eight
or forty nomes, and several hundreds of ecclesiastics in magnificent
dresses. This august procession entered the great temple of Pthah.
Here, after an imposing invocation, offerings from the queen to the
presiding deity, and also to Mars--whose statue was present,--were
made in recognition of their presence with the victorious army, and as
an acknowledgment that it was by their special favor and intercession
that the victory had been obtained.
This done, Remeses, in a formal manner, addressed the priest of the
temple, presenting to the deity all the prisoners, and the spoil taken
with them. As the vast army could not enter the temple, each captain
of fifty and of a hundred was present for his own men. The high-priest
then went forth upon the portico of the temple, and on an altar there,
in the presence of the whole army, offered incense, meat-offerings,
and libations.
All these customs and rites being ended, the army once more commenced
its march, and passed through the city, and beyond the pyramid of
Cheops' daughter to the plain of Libya, where Osirtasen used to review
his armies. There they pitched their camp, prior to being posted and
garrisoned in different parts of Egypt,--ready again to be summoned,
at three days' notice, to go forth to war.
The captives, being delivered up to the authorities, were at once put
to labor in the service of the queen, and are already engaged in
building temples, cutting canals, raising dykes and embankments, and
other public and state works. Some were purchased by the nobles; and
the women, both Nubian and white, were distributed among the wealthy
and noble families in the city. The Hebrew is the only captive or
servant in Egypt who cannot be bought and sold. Those who have them in
their houses do not own them, for, as a nation, they belong to the
crown; but the queen's treasurer is paid a certain tribute or tax for
their service, and must restore them whenever the queen commands them
to do so.
The King of Ethiopia, himself, after having been led through the city
at the chariot-wheel of his conqueror, was sent to the royal prison,
there to await his fate, which hangs upon the word of the queen.
It is possible he may be redeemed by his own nation with a vast
ransom-price; but if not, he will probably pass his days a captive,
unless he consents to a proposition, which will be made to him by the
prince, for recovering his liberty--namely, the surrender of the
northern half of his kingdom to Egypt, in order that he may be
permitted to reign over the remainder. As half a kingdom is far better
than none, any other monarch would probably acquiesce; but the spirit
of this king (whose looks and movements irresistibly make me think of
a Nubian leopard) is so indomitable and proud, that I believe be would
rather die a prisoner in a dungeon than live a king with half a
sceptre.
This letter, dear mother, has been written at three or four different
sittings, with a greater or less interval of time between them. It was
my intention to have given you, before closing it, some account of a
meeting which I had with a remarkable Hebrew, whose resemblance to
Remeses, is, if possible, more striking than that of Miriam the
papyrus writer, or of Amram the royal gardener. But having quite
filled it with a description of the triumphal entry of Remeses into
the capital, I must defer doing so till another occasion.
With my most affectionate wishes for your happiness, I am, my beloved
mother,
Your faithful son,
SESOSTRIS
LETTER XX.
PALACE OF RHODA.
MY DEARLY BELOVED MOTHER: