The Pillar of Fire; or, Israel in Bondage

by J. H. Ingraham

LETTER XI.

Palace of Rhoda, on the Nile.

My beloved Mother:

In my last letter I narrated a conversation between Prince Remeses and myself, upon the myths of Egypt and Phœnicia, and other subjects, while being borne in his galley from the Memphis bank of the river down to the Island of Rhoda. I have already described this beautiful isle, and spoken of it as the favorite residence of the queen. It is situated nearly midway between her two chief cities, On and Memphis, both of which—one on the west and the other on the east—are in sight from the top of the central pylon of her palace, that divides the "court of fountains and statues" from her gardens.

Also from this point the queen commands, at one view, the noble spectacle of her navy anchored in the river, and her armies encamped, the one on the plain of Memphis, and the other upon that of Raamses.

I wrote you a letter day before yesterday, my dear mother, after my return from a very interesting visit to the plain of Memphis, whither the prince went in his state barge to review the 80,000 soldiers encamped there. I will devote this letter to an account of a second visit, and a description of the scenes I witnessed, and a narration of the events which transpired.

Early this morning, when the queen and Remeses and I were about to be seated at our repast; and, as the pious custom of the Egyptians of all ranks is, Remeses having just asked the blessing of the gods before partaking, lo! Prince Mœris, lord of the Thebaïd, came in unannounced, accompanied by his favorite lion, which always follows his steps or stalks by his side, and said, with bluntness unsuited to the presence—

"Your majesty, I have come to say to you that I am ready to weigh anchor and commence my voyage to the Cataracts! I await your orders and pleasure!"

Thus speaking, he stood with his head-admiral and half a dozen of his chief officers behind him in the entrance, his sword at his side, and his gold helm with its nodding plumes towering proudly. His whole appearance was singularly splendid and martial, and he seemed to be conscious of the effect the striking elegance and brilliancy of his costume produced upon me; for, though brave as Osirtasen the Conqueror, he is as vain as ever was the fair Princess Nitocris.

Queen Amense, who enjoined the strictest etiquette in her court, frowned at this discourteous intrusion; for the nobles of Lower Egypt are remarkable by the grace and refinement of their manners, and the court of the Pharaohs has for ages been distinguished for the high tone of its polite observances. From portico to saloon, from saloon to ante-room, from ante-room to reception-room, and so onward to the deepest recesses of the palace or house, the guest is ushered by successive pages, until the chief steward or grand-chamberlain admits him into the presence of the lord of the mansion, who already, by a swift page, has been informed of the advance of the visitor. In no case are these formalities dispensed with by persons of high breeding. Breaking through all such ancient and social ceremonies, the rude Theban viceroy came before her as I have described. The brow of Remeses darkened, but he preserved silence.

"I am glad, prince, that you have been so diligent," said Amense, coldly. "When will you depart?"

"Within the hour, my royal aunt. If Remeses, my warlike cousin, wishes to co-operate with me at Thebes, he will not long delay marching his army forward. I hear, by a swift galley just arrived, that the fierce Ethiopian king, Occhoris, with half his mighty host, has already dared to enter the Thinite province, and menaces Thebes!"

"There is no time for delay, then," cried Remeses, rising from the table, leaving the grapes, figs, and wheaten rolls untouched. "Farewell, my mother!" he said, embracing her. "In a few weeks I shall return to you with tidings that the scourge of your kingdom has perished with his armies!"

I will not describe the tenderness of the parting between the queen and Remeses, whom she would have held, refusing to release him, if he had not gently disengaged himself, taken up his sword and helmet, and hastened from the apartment. Prince Mœris, with a haughty bow to the queen, for whom he seems to entertain bitter dislike, had already taken his departure with his captains at his heels. I followed Remeses, and together we crossed to the shore on the side of On, and there meeting chariots, we were in a short time in the midst of the war-camp of his chariot legions. They were encamped several stadia south of On, on the plain beyond Raamses. Here, in the little Temple of Horus, on the terrace of which we held our conversation about the Hebrews as we paced its long pavement (and which I have already repeated to you), the prince with his chief captains offered libations and burned incense, invoking the favor and aid of Heaven on the expedition. He then gave his orders to his generals of division, chiefs of legions, and captains; and the whole host, forming in column of march, moved forward towards the south, with trumpets sounding and the rumbling thunder of thousands of wheels of iron. Seeing that they were all in motion—each battalion under its own head-captain—the prince took boat to cross the Nile to the plain of Memphis, in order to put in motion the army of horse and foot there encamped. On our way over, we saw the van of the fleet of the Prince of Thebes coming up the broad river in stately style, fifty abreast, propelled by innumerable oars. It was a brave and battle-like front, and what with pennons flying, spears and shields gleaming from their poop-decks and mast-towers, and the brazen or gilt insignia of hawks', eagles', lions', or ibis' heads rising upon a thousand topmasts, and all catching the sunbeams, the spectacle was singularly impressive.

"There comes a prince, my Sesostris," said Remeses to me, as he surveyed the advancing front of war, "who, if I should fall in this Ethiopian expedition, will be Pharaoh of Egypt when my mother dies."

"The gods forbid!" I exclaimed with warmth.

"He is the next of blood. It is true, my mother could, by will, alienate her crown and confer her sceptre upon any one she chose to adopt. Indeed, I now remember that, by our laws, it would be necessary for her publicly and ceremoniously adopt him as her son before he could reign—since a nephew, by the ancient Memphitic law regulating succession, cannot inherit. Mœris would, therefore, have to be adopted."

"Then he would never reign," I said.

Remeses remained silent a moment. Resuming, he said, with a tone of indignant emotion—

"Sesostris, my mother fears that evil young prince. He possesses over her an inexplicable power. To this influence he owes his elevation, from being a mere governor of Saïs, to the viceroyalty of Upper Egypt. He would not fail, should I fall, to exert his mysterious power over her mind, and his ambition would prompt him to aim at even the throne of all Egypt. But let us mount!" he added, as we touched the shore.

A score of horsemen, armed with long spears, were in waiting. Remeses and I mounted horses already provided; and, at a wave of his hand, the whole party dashed off along the avenue of the aqueduct, a magnificent thoroughfare, two miles in length, bordered by palm-trees, with, at intervals, a monolith statue of red Syenite granite, or an obelisk, casting its needle-like shadow across the wide, paved road. At the end of this avenue, which leads straight from the river to the pyramids, we turned south, and before us beheld, spread out as far as the eye could reach, the tented field of the vast Egyptian host, cavalry and footmen of all arms, languages, and costumes, belonging to the nations tributary to Egypt. I had visited this vast camp the preceding day. It covered a league of ground, presenting a sea of tents, banners, plumes, spears, and shining helms. As we came in sight, a trumpeter sounded a few loud notes to proclaim the presence of the prince-general. We dashed up to the central pavilion, on the summit of which the winged sun of burnished gold showed that the army was to march under the particular guardianship of the god. From the summit of the staff of other handsome tents, the emblems of generals and chiefs of battalions were displayed in the form of silver hawks' heads, the brazen head of a lion or wolf, or the heads of the ibis, crocodile, and vulture. Each phalanx thus marched under and knew its peculiar emblem, following its lead in the column of advance on the march, and rallying around it in the midst of battle.

Prince Remeses was in a few moments surrounded by his generals and chief warriors, to whom he made known the advance of the Ethiopian king, Occhoris, upon Thebes,—intelligence of which he and the queen had received by a mounted messenger, while Prince Mœris, who had come to announce it also, was in her apartment. In a few words he made known his orders to each general in succession, who, making a low military obeisance, by bowing the head and turning the sword-point to the earth, instantly departed to their divisions. The general-in-chief in immediate command he retained by his side, with his gorgeous staff of officers. In a few minutes all was life and movement throughout the tented field. In four hours the whole army—their tents struck and conveyed to barges, together with all other military impediments not necessary for the soldiers on their march—was formed into a hollow square on the plain, twenty thousand men on each side facing inward to a temple of their war-god, Ranpo-re, which stood on the plain. This was a small but beautiful temple, or marble pavilion, in the form of a peristyle, with brazen columns, dedicated to the Egyptian Mars. It was erected in this martial plain by Amunophis I., for the purpose of sacrifices and oblations, and of offering libations and incense for armies assembled about it before marching on warlike expeditions. The circle of columns was cast from the shields and weapons which he had taken in his Arabian and Asiatic wars.

The chief priest of Mars, who is a prince in rank, and allied to the throne, attended by more than one hundred inferior priests, advanced from the inner shrine upon a marble terrace, in the centre of which stood the iron-columned pavilion that inclosed the shrine of the god. He was attired in a grand and imposing costume, having a tiara, adorned by a winged sun sparkling with jewels, and the sacred uræus, encircling his brows. He wore a flowing robe of the whitest linen, descending to his feet. A loose upper cape of crimson, embroidered with gold, and having flowing sleeves, was put on over the robe. Still above this was a breastplate of precious stones, in the form of a corselet, while the tiara partook also of the martial form, being shaped like a helmet, with the sacred asp of gold projecting in front as a visor. Above all this, hanging from his left shoulder, was a splendid leopard's skin, heavy with a border of closely woven rings of gold. As he advanced, he extended in his right hand a short sword, the hilt of which was a crux, or the sacred cross-shaped Tau, surmounted by a ball, the whole being an emblem of life; while in his helmet towered, as symbols of truth and order, two ostrich feathers—the evenness and symmetry with which the feathery filaments grow on each side of their stem having suggested to the Egyptians the adoption of this emblem; for order and truth, according to Egyptian philosophy, are the foundation and preservation of the universe.

Having reached the front of the lofty terrace, upon which was an altar of brass, he raised his left arm by throwing back the superb leopard-skin mantle; and, elevating his commanding form to its full grandeur, he turned slowly round, pointing heavenward with his left hand, and holding his sword, as it were, over the army as he turned, until with it he had swept the circle of the horizon. This was an invocation to all the gods for a blessing upon the assembled hosts. During the act, every general bowed his head as if to receive it, every soldier lowered his weapon, and at its conclusion, all the music bands in the army before him simultaneously burst into an overwhelming sound—drums, trumpets, cornets, cymbals, filling the air with their mingled roll! Silence deep as night then succeeded; and the high-priest, facing the shrine, stood while a company of priests rolled out from the door of the temple the statue of the god, clad in full armor of steel, inlaid with gold, a jewelled helmet upon his head, and a spear in his right hand. It was of gigantic size, and standing in an attitude of battle, upon a lofty chariot of burnished brass, with wheels of iron. It was an imposing and splendid figure, and a just image of war. The priests, who wheeled the car out of the temple, having drawn it once all around the terrace, so that the whole army could behold the mailed and helmeted god (whose presence they hailed by striking their swords upon their shields, or swords against swords), stopped in front of the prince-priest. He then prostrated himself before it, the profoundest silence and awe prevailing during the few moments he remained upon his face at the feet of the deity.

When he rose and turned to the west, the Prince Remeses and all his captains advanced to the steps of the pyramidal base on which the temple was elevated. Each captain was followed by a Nubian slave, bearing in a sacred vase the offering of his own phalanx of soldiers. Remeses bore in his hand a costly necklace, dazzling with precious stones, the offering of his mother. The generals and captains came with flowers, chains of gold the lotus-leaf made of ivory, and sparkling with jewels scattered upon it in imitation of dewdrops. Some bore swords, and spears, and plumes.

Remeses, at the head of his officers, ascended the steps and presented to the priest his mother's offering, which he placed over the head of the god. He then laid a sword, brought for the purpose, at the feet of the statue; but, as he afterwards explained to me, and as I understood, not as an offering to a mythical Mars, but to the Infinite God of armies, whom the statue symbolized; yet I could see that the greater part of his officers paid their homage and made their offerings to the mere material statue. Such is the twofold idea attached, either by one or another class of devotees, dear mother, to all worship in Egypt. They do one thing and mean another; of course I speak of the priests, princes, and philosophers. As for the people, they mean what they do when they offer a libation or an invocation to a statue.

When the chief captains had presented their offerings, and the high-priest had either decorated the god with them, or laid them upon the altar of brass, then came the Nubian slaves, laden with the gifts of the soldiers. There were sixty of these offering-bearers, and in procession they ascended the terrace, each with a painted earthen vase upon his shoulder. One after another they deposited them around the over-burdened altar and descended to the plain, not daring to lift their eyes to the god, so near to whose presence they came. It was my privilege to stand always by the side of Remeses, who desired me to witness the scene.

The vases contained every imaginable article that, at the moment, a common soldier might have about his person. There were rings of silver, of copper, of wood, of glass; dried figs, tamarinds, dates, and raisins; garlics, leeks, onions, bits of inscribed papyrus, palm-leaves, flowers innumerable, scarabæi of burnt clay, pebbles, and metal; seeds of the melon and radish, and incense-gum; little clay images of Mars, of various weapons, and of Osiris. There were also myrrh, resin, and small pots of ointment; pieces of iron, fragments of weapons, locks of hair, shreds of linen, and bits of ostrich feathers; beans, sandal-clasps, charms, amulets, and even tiny bottles of wine. Indeed, to enumerate what met my eyes in the vases, which the common soldiers in their piety voted to the god, praying for a successful campaign, would fill the page on which I write, and give you the name of nearly every thing to be found in Egypt.

When all these offerings had been received by the high-priest, and while the prince and his officers stood some paces to one side, he stood before the altar: and one article from each vase being brought to him, he laid it upon the altar, and then, in a solemn manner, invoked the god, asking him to accept the offerings of this great army, and of its prince and captains, and to grant them victories over their foes, and a return to their queen crowned with conquest and glory.

In his prayer I could see that he elevated his noble countenance to the heavens, as if, in his mind, mentally overlooking the inanimate statue before him, and directing his thoughts to the Invisible and Supreme Dweller in the secret places of His universe beyond the sun! Remeses stood in a devotional attitude, but with his thoughtful brow bent to the ground. I could perceive, now that we had conversed so much together upon these divine things, that he was worshipping, in the depths of his heart, the God of gods, wherever that Dread and Mighty Power is enthroned on the height of His universe, or the wings of the imagination can go out to Him and find Him.

The great invocatory prayer ended, the high-priest received from Remeses a votive crystal box of the fragrant Ameracine ointment—a gift so costly and precious that only the princes and the priests are permitted to possess it—and broke it upon the breast of the god, anointing him in the name of the people of Egypt. The odor filled all the air. A priest then handed to him a golden cup richly chased with sacred symbols, and another, filling it from a vase of wine, the offering of the chief Archencherses, who is next in military rank to Remeses, he elevated it a moment, and poured it out at the feet of the god as a libation for the hosts. Some other interesting ceremonies followed, such as consecrating and presenting a sword to the prince, and the touching of the altar by all the chiefs with the points of their weapons as they passed it in descending to the field, the high-priest sprinkling each one of them with sacred water from the Nile. The last act of sacrifice—for, though bloodless, the Egyptians term the whole rite a sacrifice to the god—was by Remeses. The high-priest placed in his hands a censer—for the prince, by virtue of his rank, is a royal priest; and Remeses, accepting it with reverence, cast upon the live coals of palm-wood a quantity of incense. Then approaching the altar, he waved it before it until clouds of smoke rose into the air and enveloped his head.

At this moment, the most sacred one of the whole scene, there appeared advancing from the pavilion-temple a beautiful maiden, the daughter of the high-priest. She was arrayed in a pure white robe, which floated about her in the wind like a cloud. Over her shoulders was thrown a crimson scarf, on which was embroidered the cartouch of the god. Her rich, flowing hair was bound about her stately brow by a crown of flowers, above which rose a silver helm with a crest of emeralds and sapphires, in imitation of the feathery coronet of the bird-of-paradise. Her face was wonderfully beautiful, her dark eyes beamed with love and joy, and her form was the impersonation of grace.

As she advanced, the priests on either side drew back with their hands crossed upon their foreheads, and their heads bent lowly before her presence. Coming forward between the two rows of officials, she shook in the air above her head a small temple bell called the sistrum, which emitted the sweetest and clearest melody. This little musical instrument is sacred to the services of the temples, and the sound of it is the signal for the beginning or ending of every rite. That which was now borne by the high-priest's daughter consisted of a cylindrical handle of pearl, surmounted by a double-faced head of ivory, one side being that of Isis, the other of Nephthys. From this twofold head rose a silver almond-shaped bow about five inches high, inlaid with gold and precious stones. In this bended loop of metal were inserted four metallic bars in the shape of asps, upon the body of which were loosely strung several silver rings, As the maiden held this beautiful instrument in the air, and shook it, the rings, moving to and fro upon the bars, produced the clear bell-like sounds I have mentioned. In ancient times so great was the privilege of holding the sacred sistrum in the temple, it was given to the queens; and on great occasions Amense has performed this high office. On an obelisk, now old, the daughter of Cheops is represented holding the sistrum while the king is sacrificing to Thoth. Though I have said little about the Egyptian females, as in truth I have seen but little of them, yet I ought not to omit to tell you that some of the most sacred offices are intrusted to distinguished women, in the services of temples. I have seen not only priests' daughters, but ladies of rank and eminent beauty, holding these places; and in On there is a band of noble young ladies having the distinguished title of "Virgins of the Sun," who devote their lives until they are thirty years of age, to certain principal services of the temples of Osiris and Isis. Indeed, my dear mother, in Egypt woman is singularly free, and regarded as man's companion and equal. She is respected and honored, both as wife and mother, and her social relations are of the most unrestrained and agreeable kind. In all houses, she is prepared gracefully to do honor to her lord's guests; and while she is devoted to domestic duties, prides herself upon her skill and taste at home; abroad, at banquets and evening festivals, which are frequent, and where there is music and dancing, she shines with all the charms she can borrow from splendor of attire, or derive from inherent loveliness of person; while a profusion of jewels upon her hands and neck reveal her wealth and rank.

When the prince saw her advancing, he approached the statue with his censer, and waving it once in the sight of the army, hung it upon the spear of the god. The sistrum sounded as the incense rose, and every man of that vast host bent his knee for a moment! Then the high-priest commenced a verse of a loud chant in a sonorous voice. The one hundred priests marching, in procession around the god, answered antiphonally with one voice in a part; and, the whole army catching up the hymn, the very pyramids seemed to tremble at the thunder of eighty thousand deep voices of men rolling along the air. Then Remeses chanted a few stirring words of this national and sacred war-hymn, the high-priest answered, the maiden's clear voice rose in a melodious solo, the hundred priests caught up the ravishing strain as it melted from her lips in the skies, and again the great army uttered its voice! My heart was oppressed by the sublimity. Tears of emotion filled my eyes. I never was more deeply impressed with the majesty of the human voice, united in a vast multitude, uttered as the voice of one man. The combined voice of the human race—if such a thing could be—must be like the voice of God when He speaks!

The invocation and sacrifice were over. Remeses embraced the priest, and receiving his blessing, in a few minutes every chief captain had joined his battalion, and at the cry of trumpets and cornets, sounded all over the plain, and echoed back from Cheops, the whole host formed in columns of march. Remeses, I being in his company, galloped forward and took a position on an elevation, from which he reviewed the whole army as it tramped by. The fleet was in parallel motion at the same time, and I saw the splendid galley of the Prince Mœris, with its colored silken sails, and golden beak, gallantly ascending the river. He stood upon the poop; a tame lion crouched by his side, on the tawny shoulders of which he rested one foot as he gazed at us. The division of cavalry was the last in moving, and trotted past us in splendid array. This arm of the service is not large, nor much relied on in Egypt. The chariots of iron, to the hubs of which terrible scythes are sometimes fastened on the eve of battle, and the bowmen and spearmen, have always been the main dependence of the kings in their wars.

Ethiopia, against which this great army is moving by water and land, is in a state of civilization and political power not greatly inferior to Egypt. It has vast cities, noble temples, extensive cultivated regions, adorned with palaces and villas; it has a gorgeous but semi-barbaric court, a well-disciplined army, and skilful generals. It is a race allied by blood and lineage to that of Egypt, and is not to be confounded with Nubia and the pure Africanic kingdoms. In religion it is idolatrous, and hostile to the worship of Egypt. A supposed title, by a former conquest, to the crown of Thebes, has made Ethiopia for three centuries the hereditary foe of Egypt.

The Egyptian army is divided into sections, formed and distinguished according to the arms they bear. They consist, like ours, of bowmen, spearmen, swordsmen, macemen, slingers, and other corps. There are captains of thousands, captains of hundreds, fifties, and tens. When in battle-array, the heavy foot-soldiers, or infantry armed with spears, and a falchion, or other similar weapon, are drawn up in the form of an impenetrable phalanx; and once this massive wall of ten thousand men formed, it is fixed and unchangeable; and such is its strength, one hundred men on each front, and one hundred deep, no efforts of any of the enemies of Egypt have been able to break it. Presenting a wall of huge shields lapping and interlocked, resting on the ground, and reaching to their heads, the missiles of the foe rattle against it as against the steel-sheathed side of one of their battle-ships. The bowmen, slingers, javelin-men, and lighter troops act in line, or dispose themselves according to the nature of the ground, or the exigency of the moment. There is a corps armed with battle-axes and pole-axes, having bronze blades ornamented with heads of animals. These wear quilted helmets, without crests, which effectually protect the head. The chariot battalions are drawn up to charge and rout the enemy's line, and the cavalry follow to slay the resisting, and pursue the flying. Each battalion has its particular standard, which represents a sacred subject—either a king's name on his cartouch or painted shield, a sacred baris, a hawk, or a feather. The chief standard-bearer is a man of approved valor, and an officer of the greatest dignity, and stands next to the chief in rank. He is distinguished by a gold necklace collar, on which are represented two lions and an eagle—emblems of courage. The troops are summoned to all movements by the sound of the trumpet and the long drum, with other instruments.

The offensive weapons of the army are the bow, spear, javelin, sling, a short, straight sword, a dagger, broad knife, falchion, battle-axe, spear-axe, iron-headed mace, and a curved club adopted from the Ethiopians. Their defensive arms consist of the helmet, either of iron, bronze, brass, silver, or plaited gold, according to the rank of the wearer; usually without a crest, and extending to the shoulders, in a collar or hood of chain-mail, protecting the neck; they wear also a cuirass of metal plates, or quilted with bands of polished iron, and an ample shield, of various forms, but usually that of a funeral tablet, or a long and narrow horseshoe. This piece of armor is the chief defence. It is a frame covered with bull's or lion's hide, bound with a rim of metal, and studded with iron pins. The archers wear no bucklers, but corselets of scale-armor.

I will now end this long letter, my dear mother, and my description of Egyptian armies, by naming the nations of which it was made up. As I sat upon my horse by the side of the prince, surveying the marching columns as they moved southward, I distinguished the tall, Asiatic-looking Sharetanian by his helmet ornamented with bull's horns, and a red ball for a crest, his round shield, and large ear-rings—a fierce race, once the foes but now the allies of Egypt; the bearded Tokkari from beyond the horns of the Arabian Sea, armed with a pointed knife, and short, straight sword, with arched noses and eagle eyes,—also once enemies of the queen, but now added to her armies; an unknown people, with tall caps, short kilt and knife-girdle of lion's hide, an amulet of agate on the neck of every man—strangers, with wild, restless eyes, and fierce looks; the swarthy Rebos, with his naked breast and shoulders, and long two-headed javelin; the Pouonti, with faces painted with vermilion, and cross-bows with iron-headed arrows, archers that never miss their mark. There marched by, also, the relentless Shari, who neither ask nor give quarter to their enemies, their masses of black hair bound up in fillets of leather, and skull-caps of bull's hide on their heads, whose weapons are clubs and short daggers. Other bands, differing in costume and appearance, continued to pass, until it seemed that the queen's army had in it representatives of all nations tributary to Egypt.

Continuing with Remeses a day's march, I then parted from him to return to the palace, promising, as soon as I had seen Lower Egypt, I would ascend the Nile and meet him at Thebes.

Farewell, dearest mother; may the gods of our country preserve you in health.

Your devoted son,

Sesostris