The Pillar of Fire; or, Israel in Bondage

by J. H. Ingraham

LETTER XII.

Palace of the Pharaohs, Memphis.

My honored and very dear Mother:

In my last letter I was particular in describing to you the armies of Egypt, as I have not forgotten the interest you take in the discipline of your own, nor that once you led in your chariot a battle-charge when your kingdom was invaded by the king of the Elamites. In Egypt, which is truly a warlike country, one cannot but be inspired by the military spirit. Not only is she the school to all the world of astronomy, sculpture, physic, astrology, and magic, but also of arms.

In the army, recently departed for Ethiopia, I saw many young lords and princes and heroes, strangers, who accompany the expedition to learn the art of war. The Egyptians are eminent in planning and executing sieges, and few fortified towns can resist their war-engines.

From my description in the last letter, you would suppose that Egypt is now emptied of its soldiers. On the contrary, there is a garrison in every city, and a fortress filled with troops in every one of the thirty or more nomes. Besides, there are all over the country, where the Hebrews are congregated, lesser detachments, who keep vigilant guard over this toiling nation in bondage. The queen is also at war with a prince of Arabia Deserta, and an army of twelve thousand men, four hundred chariots, and a thousand horsemen, have recently marched against him. Egypt is powerful enough to combat the combined world. Her forces are not less than four hundred thousand trained warriors of all arms, besides sixteen thousand chariots of iron. Power, thrift, activity, and energy characterize Egypt. The wise, courageous, firm rule of the queen has contributed to this. What she has brought to such glory and perfection, Remeses, when he comes to the throne, will preserve and perpetuate.

The mention of my noble friend reminds me that he is no longer near me. The army has been in motion southward eight days, and he has written to the queen, and also to me, speaking of the prosperity attending their advance. The fleet had not kept up with the army of foot, while the chariot legion on the east bank has gone far in advance and encamped. Every day, incense is burned, and intervention made in all the temples, for the success of the expedition.

In the mean while, my dear mother, I will devote my letters to daily scenes around me.

The queen's health is now firmly established, and she extends to me the kindness and, I may say, affection, which she would to a son; but I am conscious that I am so honored as the friend of her absent son, who, at parting from me a stadium above Memphis, said:

"My Sesostris, be near my mother, and in the pleasure of your society, let her regrets at my absence find compensation. When you have seen all of Lower Egypt, come to the Thebaïd, and go with me and my army into Ethiopia."

I promised that I would follow him by and by; but now I am engaged in seeing the wonders of Memphis, and those marvels of ages—those "temples of the gods"—the mighty pyramids. I will soon devote a letter to an account of my first visit to Memphis and the pyramids. It was made a day or two after we came to reside in the palace at Rhoda. Remeses, though hourly occupied, had kindly promised he would accompany me to the city of Apis, and there place me in charge of a son of the priest of the temple. I arose the following morning a few minutes before sunrise, in order to be prepared to go early. My window looked forth upon On, a league and a half distant, with its grand avenue of columns, sphinxes, obelisks, and towering propyla clasping it to the shining river. The splendor of that morning, my dear mother, I shall never cease to remember. The atmosphere of Egypt is so crystalline, that light lends to it a peculiar glow. As I looked eastward, the skies had the appearance of sapphire blended with dust of gold; and from the as yet invisible sun, a gorgeous fan of radiant beams, of a pale orange-color, spread itself over the sky to the zenith. Not a cloud was visible; nor, indeed, have I seen one since I have been in Egypt. This magnificent glory of the Orient steadily grew more and more wonderful for beauty and richness of colored light, when, all at once, the disk of the bright god of day himself majestically rolled up into sight, filling heaven and earth with his dazzling and overpowering light, while the golden shield on the temple of the sun caught and reflected his rays with almost undiminished brilliancy.

As I regarded with delight this sublime sunrise, there came borne to my ears, from the direction of the temple of Osiris, in Memphis, the sound of music. Walking round the terrace to that side, I heard the voices of a thousand priests chanting the morning hymn to the god of light, the dazzling "Eye of Osiris." Then I recollected that this was the day of the celebration of the revival or resurrection of Osiris, one of the most important days in the sacred calendar. The whole city seemed to be in motion, and boats garlanded with flowers, and filled with gayly attired people, were crossing to the city and temple at every point. Music from a hundred instruments filled the air, which seemed to vibrate with joy and delight. The city of Apis had on its gala apparel, and all the world was abroad to welcome the sun-rising and join in the processions.

Remeses joined me while I was watching the scene, and listening to the grand waves of harmony as they rolled away from the temple and sounded along the air in majestic volumes of sound.

"I see you are interested, my Sesostris, in this enlivening scene. It is a day of rejoicing to the worshippers of Osiris."

"It seems, my dear prince," I replied, "as if every day I have passed in Egypt has been a festival to some of its deities."

"Our year is more than two thirds of it consecrated to the gods; that is, supposing a day given to each, the most of the year is religious. We are a people given to piety, so far as we understand. All our works are consecrated by prayer or sacrifice; and whether we go to war, or engage in merchandise, build a palace or a tomb, prayer and oblation precede all. Are you ready to go to the city and pyramids as soon as we break our fast? My mother has invited us to breakfast with her."

I expressed my readiness, and we left to seek the presence of the queen. As we entered, she was superintending a piece of embroidery of the richest colors, which three maidens were at work upon at one end of the apartment. They remained a few minutes after our entrance, glancing at us timidly, yet curiously and archly. When their royal mistress had received us, she made a slight gesture with her hand, and the dark-eyed girls, disappearing behind a screen, left the apartment. I had time to see that they were very young, of an olive, brunette complexion, with braided and tastefully arranged dark-brown hair, their slender persons habited in neat vestures of mingled colors, fitting the form, but open in front, displaying a soft, fine linen robe, with loose, fringed sleeves. They had ear-rings, and numerous finger-rings, and gilt, red, gazelle-leather sandals, laced with gay ribbons across the small, naked foot. These, as the queen informed me, belonged to families of officers of the palace. One of them, the tallest, and who was most striking in her appearance, had eyes of wonderful beauty, the effect of the expression of which was deepened by painting the lids with a delicate shade of cohol. She was the daughter of the royal scribe, Venephis, and her own name is Venephe; and here, my dear mother, since you asked me in your last letter why I am so silent upon the subject of Egyptian ladies, I will devote a little space to them. But you know that my heart so wholly belongs to the lovely Princess Thamonda, the daughter of the Prince of Chaldea, that it is entirely insensible to any impressions which the high-born Egyptian maids might otherwise make upon it. I will, however, learn more of them by seeking their society, my dear mother, and henceforward will give them all the attention they merit in my letters.

I have seen many ladies of great elegance and ease of manner. The court of Egypt is composed of an immense number of nobles and high officers, whose palaces crowd the cities of On and Memphis, and whose tasteful, garden-environed villas extend far beyond their limits. Some of these nobles have the title of princes, when they govern one of the thirty-six nomes, or command armies. They are opulent, fond of display in apparel and architecture, great lovers of flowers and paintings, and their dwellings are profusely decorated with the one and adorned with the other. These men of rank are educated, polished in bearing, courteous and affable. Their wives are their superiors in refinement, being daughters of men of the same rank and social distinction. Nobles and noble ladies by hereditary title there are none in Egypt; for it is the boast of the Egyptians, and it is often inscribed on their monuments, that Egyptians, being all equally "sons of Misr," are all born equal. It is official elevation and position at court, as the reward of talent or services, which create noble rank. Yet there are families here who speak with pride of the glory and fame of ancestors; and I know young Egyptian nobles whose forefathers were lords in the court of the old Pharaohs, of the XVth and XVIth dynasties. I have already alluded to the brave young officer of the chariot battalion, Potipharis, whose ancestor, a lord of the court of Apophis, purchased of the Idumeans the youthful Hebrew who subsequently ruled Egypt as prime minister; and whose family, now grown to a great nation, are held here in hopeless bondage.

The women of Egypt owe their high social rank to the respect shown them by the men, who give them precedence everywhere. The fact that Egypt is ruled by a queen, is testimony that woman is honored here by the laws of the realm, as well as by the customs of the people, or she would not have succeeded to the throne. It is not a mere influence derived from their personal attractions that women possess here; but their claims to honor and respect are acknowledged by law, in private as well as in public. Said Remeses to me, a day or two since, when I was remarking upon the universal deference paid to the sex, "We know, unless women are treated with respect and made to exercise an influence over the social state, that the standard of private virtue and of public opinion would soon be lowered, and the manners and morals of men would suffer." How differently situated is woman with us! Respected she undoubtedly is, but instead of the liberty she enjoys here, behold her confined to certain apartments, not permitted to go abroad unveiled, and leading a life of indolent repose.

In acknowledging this, dear mother, the laws point out to the favored women of Egypt the very responsible duties they have to perform. The elevation of woman to be the friend and companion of man, is due to the wisdom of the priesthood. These men have wives whom they love and respect, and I have seen the priest of On seated in his summer parlor, which overlooks the street, by the side of his noble-looking wife (who, it is said, is a descendant of a priest of On, whose daughter was married to Prince Joseph, the Hebrew), surrounded by their children, and manifesting their mutual affection by numberless domestic graces; and I was charmed with the expressions of endearment I heard them use to each other and to their children. What a contrast all this to the priests of Tyre, who regard celibacy as the highest act of piety!

The hand of your sex, my dear mother, is apparent in all the household arrangements, and in the furniture and style of the dwellings. In her contract of marriage it is written, that the lady shall have the whole regulation of domestic affairs and the management of the house, and that the husband shall, in all such matters, defer to the judgment and wishes of the wife. Neither king, priest, nor subject can have more than one wife, a custom differing from our own, and far superior to it. It is owing to this universal honor paid to the sex, that queens have repeatedly, since the ancient reign of Binothris, held the royal authority and had the supreme direction of affairs intrusted to them. It is proper to say, that although the Egyptians have but one wife, they are not forbidden by the laws to have favorites, who are usually slaves, and owe their elevation to talents or beauty. They do not, however, hold any social relation; and the wife, to whom alone is given the title "lady of the house," enjoys an acknowledged superiority over them. But concubinage, though tolerated, is not regarded with favor, and is practised by few.

The Egyptian ladies employ much of their time with the needle; and either with their own hands, or by the agency of their maidens, they embroider, weave, spin, and do needle-work—the last in the most skilful and beautiful manner. They embroider chairs with thread of gold or silver, adorn sofas with embroidery, and ornament coverings for their couches with needle-work of divers colors, so artfully executed as to appear, on both sides, of equal beauty and finish. At the banquets or social festivals, which are very frequent, for the Egyptians are fond of society, the ladies sit at the same table with the men, and no rigid mistrust closes their doors on such occasions to strangers, towards whom they are ever courteous and hospitable; save only in religious ceremonies, from which, and "the mysteries of their theology," they are jealously excluded.

I have already spoken of the services of women in the temples. These do not marry. Although females may make offerings to Isis, they cannot be invested with any sacerdotal office; and a priest must preside at the oblation. They are rarely seen reading, their leisure being occupied chiefly in talking together in social companies. They vie with each other in the display of silver jewels, and jewels set in gold; in the texture of their raiment, the neatness and elegance of the form of their sandals, and the arrangement or beauty of their plaited hair.

If two ladies meet at a banquet or festival, it is considered an amiable courtesy to exchange flowers from the bouquet that Egyptian ladies always carry in the hand when in full costume. They are passionately devoted to dancing, and frequently both ladies and gentlemen dance together; but I think when the former dance in separate parties, their movements are marked by superior grace and elegance. Their dances consist usually of a succession of figures more or less involved; yet I have seen two daughters of the captain of the guard, at a private entertainment given by the queen, perform a dance to a slow air played upon the flute and lyre, with a grace of attitude and harmony of motion delightful to follow with the eye. Grace in posture, elegance of attitude, and ease of movement are their chief objects in the dance.

It is not, however, customary for the nobles and their families to indulge in this amusement in public, where usually the dancing is performed by those who gain a livelihood by attending festive meetings. They look upon it, however, as a recreation in which all classes may partake; and all castes engage in it, either in private festivities or in public. The lower orders delight in exhibiting great spirit in their dances, which often partake of the nature of pantomime; and they aim rather at ludicrous and extravagant dexterity, than displays of elegance and grace. At evening, under the trees of an avenue; at noon, in the shade of a temple, by public fountains, and before the doors of their dwellings, I often see the men and women amusing themselves, dancing to the sound of music, which is indispensable. At the houses of the higher classes, they dance to the harp, pipe, guitar, lyre, and tambourine; but in the streets and other places, the people perform their part to the music of the shrill double-pipe, the crotala or wooden clappers, held in the fingers, and even to the sound of the drum; indeed, I have seen a man dancing a solo on the deck of a galley at anchor in the river, to the sound of the clapping of hands by his companions. Certain wanton dances, consisting of voluptuous and passionate movements, by Arabian and Theban girls, whose profession it was, from the impure tendency of their songs and gestures, have been very properly forbidden by the queen in her dominions. There are certain religious processions in which women take part; they attend the funerals of their deceased relatives, and hired women appear as mourners.

I have devoted, my dear mother, so much of this letter to a description of the ladies of Egypt, in compliance with your expressed wish, and I will appropriate the residue of my papyrus, if the ink fail not, to an account of their homes, that you may see how they live; since, from their private life, great insight is obtained into their manners and customs. The household arrangements, the style of the dwellings, as well as the amusements and occupations of a people, explain their habits.

The style of domestic architecture, in this warm climate, is modified to suit the heat of the weather. The poorer classes (for though all Egyptians are born equal, yet there are poor classes), as well as castes, live a great part of their time out of doors, seeking rather the shade of trees than the warmth of habitations. And now that I have alluded to "castes," I will briefly explain the degrees of society in Egypt.

Though a marked line of distinction is maintained between the different ranks of society, they appear to be divided rather into "classes" than "castes," as no man is bound by law to follow the occupation of his father. Sons, indeed, do usually follow the trade of their father, and the rank of each man depends on his occupation. But there are occasional exceptions, as, for instance, the sons of a distinguished priest are in the army with Remeses, and a son of the admiral of the fleet of the Delta is high-priest in Memphis.

Below the crown and royal family, the first class consists of the priests; the second, of soldiers; the third, of husbandmen, gardeners, huntsmen, and boatmen; the fourth, of tradesmen, shop-keepers, artificers in stone and metals, carpenters, boat-builders, stone-masons, and public weighers; the fifth, of shepherds, poulterers fowlers, fishermen, laborers, and the common people at large. Many of these, says the record from which I have obtained my information, are again subdivided, as chief shepherds into ox-herds, goat-herds, and swine-herds; which last is the lowest grade of the whole community, since no one of the others will marry their daughters, or establish any family connection with them; for so degrading is the occupation of tending swine held by the Egyptians, that they are looked upon as impure, and are even forbidden to enter a temple without previously undergoing purification.

Thus you perceive, my mother, that Egypt practically acknowledges many degrees of rank, although she boasts that "every son of Misr is born equal."

These classes keep singularly distinct, and yet live harmoniously and sociably with each other. Out of them the queen's workmen are taken, and the lowest supplies the common laborers on the public works,—thousands of whom, clad only in an apron and short trowsers of coarsely woven grass-cloth, are to be found at work all over Egypt, and even mingled with the Hebrews in some parts of their tasks. "And the Hebrews?" you may ask; for I perceive by your letter that you are interested in the fate and history of this captive nation; "what rank do they hold among all these castes?"

They remain a distinct and separate people, neither regarded as a class or caste. They pursue but one occupation, brick-making, with its kindred work of digging the loam, gathering the straw, kneading the clay, and carrying the bricks to the place where the masons need them. They neither associate nor intermarry with any of the Egyptian classes. They are the crown slaves, born in bondage, below the lowest free-born Egyptian in the land of Misraim. Even the swine-herd belongs to a class, and is equal by birth, at least, with the Pharaoh who rules; but the Hebrew is a bond-servant, a stranger, despised and oppressed. Yet among them have I seen men worthy to be kings, if dignity of aspect and nobleness of bearing entitle men to that position.

I will now return, and describe to you the habitations of the Egyptians, my dear mother. Houses slightly removed beyond the degree of mere barbarous huts, built of crude brick, and very small, are the habitations of the lower orders. Others, of more pretension, are stuccoed, and have a court; others, still superior, have the stuccoed surface painted, either vermilion and orange, in stripes, or of a pale-brown color, with green or blue ornaments, fanciful rather than tasteful. Those of merchants and persons of that grade, are more imposing;—corridors, supported on columns, give access to the different apartments, through a succession of shady avenues and courts, having one side open to the breezes; while currents of fresh air are made to circulate freely through the rooms and halls, by a peculiar arrangement of the passages and courts; for, to have a cool house in this ardent latitude is the aim of all who erect habitations. Even small detached dwellings of artificers and tradesmen, consisting of four walls, with a flat roof of palm-branches, laid on split date-trees as a beam, covered with mats, and plastered with mud of the Nile, having but one door, and wooden shutters,—even such humble habitations have in the centre an open court, however limited, with rooms opening to the air on one side; while around the small court are planted one or more palms, for shade, besides adorning it with plants of their favorite flowers. I have seen some such neat little abodes, not much larger than cages, with a cheerful family in it, who lived out of doors all day, dining under the shade of their tree, and dancing in their open court by moonlight, to the music of clapping hands or the castanets, until bedtime, using their houses only to sleep in; and such is the happy life of half the Egyptians of their grade.

The grander mansions, less than palaces, are not only stuccoed within and without, but painted with artistic and tasteful combinations of brilliant tints. They have numerous paved courts, with fountains and decorated walls, and are adorned with beautiful architectural devices, copied from the sacred emblems and symbols in the temples, and arranged and combined in forms or groups in the most attractive style. Over the doors of many houses are handsome shields or tablets, charged with the hieroglyph of the master, inscribed with some sentence. Over that of the house of the chief weigher of metals, opposite my palace window in On, was written "The House of the Just Balance." Over another "The good house;" and over a third, "The friend of Rathoth, the royal scribe, liveth here." Any distinction, or long journey, or merit, or attribute, gives occasion for an inscription over the entrances.

The beauty of a house depends on the taste, caprice, or wealth of its builders. The priests and lords of Egypt live in luxurious abodes, and a display of wealth is found to be useful in maintaining their power, and securing the respect and obedience of the under classes.

"The worldly possessions of the priest," said an Egyptian scribe of the temple of Apis, "are very great, and as a compensation for imposing upon themselves at times abstemiousness, and occasionally limiting their food to certain things, they are repaid by improved health, and by the influence they acquire thereby. Their superior intelligence enables them," he continued, ironically, "to put their own construction on regulations and injunctions emanating from their sacred body, with the convenient argument, that what suits them does not suit others." The windows of the houses are not large, and freely admit the cool breezes, but are closed at night by shutters. The apartments are usually on the ground-floor, and few houses, except perhaps in Thebes, exceed two stories in height. They are accessible by an entrance court, often having a columnar portico decked with banners or ribbons, while larger porticos have double rows of columns, with statues between them. When there is an additional story, a terrace surmounts it, covered by an awning, or by a light roof supported upon graceful columns. Here the ladies often sit by day: and here all the family gather at the close of the afternoon to enjoy the breeze, and the sight of the thronged streets and surrounding scene,—for it is open on all sides to the air. In the trades' streets the shops are on the ground-floor, and the apartments for families are above. As it scarcely ever rains, the tops of the houses, terraced, and covered with a handsomely fringed awning, are occupied at all hours, and even at night as sleeping-places by the "lord of the house," if the apartments below are sultry and close. Some noble edifices have flights of steps of porphyry or marble leading to a raised platform of Elephantine or Arabic stone, with a doorway between two columns as massive as towers—ambitious imitations of the propyla of the temples. These gateways have three entrances, a smaller one on each side of the principal entrance for servants, who are very numerous in an Egyptian house of the first class. Such is the house of my friend, the Admiral Pathromenes, whom I visited the day I saw him in his galley, and just before he sailed with the fleet for Ethiopia.

On entering the portal, I passed into an open court, on the right side of which was the mándara or receiving-room for visitors, where servants took my sandals, and offered water for my hands in silver ewers, at the same time giving me bouquets of flowers. This room, surrounded by gilt columns, and decorated with banners, was covered by an awning supported by the columns, and was on all sides open to within four feet of the floor, which lower space was closed by intercolumnar panels, exquisitely painted with marine subjects. Above the paneling a stream of cool air was admitted, while the awning afforded protection from the rays of the sun. This elegant reception-hall had two doors—that by which I had entered from the street, and another opposite to it which communicated with the inner apartments. Upon my announcement by the chief usher, the admiral came through the latter door to receive me; hence the title of "reception-room" given to this column-adorned and paneled hall. He embraced me, and entered with me by his side into a corridor which led into a court of large dimensions, ornamented in the centre with an avenue of trees—palm, olive, orange, and fig trees, the latter being an emblem of the land of Egypt. Here numerous birds filled their leafy coverts with melody. Six apartments faced as many more on two sides of this court—the corridor, or piazza, of pictured columns extending along their entire front; and before the corridor was a double row of acacia-trees. We did not turn to these rooms, but, advancing along the charming avenue between them, passed around a brazen fountain-statue of Eothos or Neptune, who was pouring water out of a shell upon a marble lotus-leaf, from which it fell into a vase of granite. Passing this figure, we kept the avenue till we came to a beautiful door facing the great court. It was of palm-wood, carved with devices of branches and flowers, and inlaid with ivory and colored woods, all finely polished. At this door a servant, in neat apparel, met us, and opening it ushered us into the sitting-room of "the lady of the house," who had already received notice of our approach, and who, presenting me with flowers, welcomed me graciously, and with a cordiality that gave me a favorable estimation of the goodness of her heart, and the amiability of her disposition.

Thus, dear mother, have I given you some insight into Egyptian home-life, and introduced you into the inmost private room of one of their houses. I will close my description by saying, that the ceiling of the reception-room was richly and tastefully adorned with the pencil; that gracefully shaped chairs, covered with needle-work; sofas, inlaid tables, couches with crimson and gold embroidery, and elegant vases of flowers, were charmingly disposed about it; and that a lute and two sistra were placed near a window, and a harp stood between two of the columns that inclosed a pictured panel representing the finding of Osiris.

Farewell, dearest mother. You will see that I have now acquitted myself of the charge of indifference to so interesting a subject as the mode of life of the ladies of Egypt, and by hastening to describe it to you in this letter, have evinced my profound filial reverence for your slightest wish.

Your faithful and affectionate son,

Sesostris